cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multispectral Photoacoustic Imaging of Prostate Cancer: Preliminary Ex-vivo Results.

Objective: The objective of this study is to validate if ex-vivo multispectral photoacoustic (PA) imaging can differentiate between malignant prostate tissue, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and normal human prostate tissue. Materials and Methods: Institutional Review Board's approval was obtained for this study. A total of 30 patients undergoing prostatectomy for biopsy-confirmed prostate cancer were included in this study with informed consent. Multispectral PA imaging was performed on surgically excised prostate tissue and chromophore images that represent optical absorption of deoxyhemoglobin (dHb), oxyhemoglobin (HbO 2 ), lipid, and water were reconstructed. After the imaging procedure is completed, malignant prostate, BPH and normal prostate regions were marked by the genitourinary pathologist on histopathology slides and digital images of marked histopathology slides were obtained. The histopathology images were co-registered with chromophore images. Region of interest (ROI) corresponding to malignant prostate, BPH and normal prostate were defined on the chromophore images. Pixel values within each ROI were then averaged to determine mean intensities of dHb, HbO 2 , lipid, and water. Results: Our preliminary results show that there is statistically significant difference in mean intensity of dHb ( P P = 0.0251) between malignant prostate and normal prostate tissue. There was difference in mean intensity of dHb ( P Conclusion: Our preliminary results of ex-vivo human prostate study suggest that multispectral PA imaging can differentiate between malignant prostate, BPH and normal prostate tissue.
An automated profiling subsystem for QoS-aware services

The advent of QoS-sensitive Internet applications such as multimedia and the proliferation of priced performance-critical applications such as online trading raise a need for building server systems with guaranteed performance. The new applications must run on different heterogeneous platforms, provide soft performance guarantees commensurate with platform capacity and adapt efficiently to upgrades in platform resources over the system's lifetime. Profiling the application for the purposes of providing QoS guarantees on each new platform becomes a significant undertaking. Automated profiling mechanisms must be built to enable efficient computing of QoS guarantees tailored to platform capacity and facilitate wide deployment of soft performance-guaranteed systems on heterogeneous platforms. The article investigates the design of the automated profiling subsystem: an essential component of future "general-purpose" QoS-sensitive systems. The subsystem estimates application resource requirements and adapts the software transparently to the resource capacity of the underlying platform. A novel aspect of the proposed profiling subsystem is its use of estimation theory for profiling. Resource requirements are estimated by correlating applied workload with online resource utilization measurements. We focus explicitly on profiling server software. The convergence and accuracy of our online profiling techniques are evaluated in the context of an Apache Web server serving both static Web pages and dynamic content. Results show the viability of using estimation theory for automated online profiling and for achieving QoS guarantees.
Advanced diagnostic architecture for JIAWG compliant designs

An advanced diagnostic architecture which supports JIAWG (Joint Integrated Avionics Working Group) compliant designs is described. The hardware and software diagnostic components for achieving accurate localization of failures and the reestablishment of full system functionality are identified. It is noted that, in order to support the air-land battle concept for the next decade, advanced architectures must employ a comprehensive diagnostic approach for rapid and accurate troubleshooting and fault location of failures that will enable restoration of combat readiness. The advanced diagnostic architecture described identifies many of these approaches. >
Persistent thrombocytopaenia in a young man with splenomegaly, rebound thrombocytosis after splenectomy and subsequent pulmonary embolism: splenic littoral cell angioma and associated events

Littoral cell angioma (LCA) is a rare endothelial cell neoplasm in the spleen. Although many cases of LCA are asymptomatic, some present with signs and symptoms related to splenomegaly, whereas others manifest with haematological abnormalities, including anaemia and/or thrombocytopaenia (ie, hypersplenism). We report a case of LCA presenting with chronic thrombocytopaenia, probably due to splenic sequestration of platelets or phagocytosis of platelets by neoplastic cells. Following therapeutic splenectomy, the patient suffered from a marked rebound thrombocytosis and subsequently developed pulmonary embolisms. He was treated with anticoagulant therapy combined with antiplatelet therapy, and his symptoms were quickly resolved. This case emphasises an exclusion of primary splenic disorders in patients with chronic thrombocytopaenia, especially in those with splenomegaly and the contemplation of thromboembolism prophylaxis postsplenectomy.
A comparison of Google Glass and traditional video vantage points for bedside procedural skill assessment.

Abstract Background This pilot study assessed the feasibility of using first person (1P) video recording with Google Glass (GG) to assess procedural skills, as compared with traditional third person (3P) video. We hypothesized that raters reviewing 1P videos would visualize more procedural steps with greater inter-rater reliability than 3P rating vantages. Methods Seven subjects performed simulated internal jugular catheter insertions. Procedures were recorded by both Google Glass and an observer's head-mounted camera. Videos were assessed by 3 expert raters using a task-specific checklist (CL) and both an additive- and summative-global rating scale (GRS). Mean scores were compared by t -tests. Inter-rater reliabilities were calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients. Results The 1P vantage was associated with a significantly higher mean CL score than the 3P vantage (7.9 vs 6.9, P = .02). Mean GRS scores were not significantly different. Mean inter-rater reliabilities for the CL, additive-GRS, and summative-GRS were similar between vantages. Conclusions 1P vantage recordings may improve visualization of tasks for behaviorally anchored instruments (eg, CLs), whereas maintaining similar global ratings and inter-rater reliability when compared with conventional 3P vantage recordings.
Transversity-Amplitude Analysis of the Reactions K - p-->(ω,ϕ)Λ

We present a model-independent amplitude analysis of the reactions ${K}^{\ensuremath{-}}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}(\ensuremath{\omega},\ensuremath{\phi})\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ using combined data at 3.9- and 4.6-GeV/c incident momenta. The joint correlations between the vector meson and the $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ hyperon, in addition to the single density-matrix elements and the $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ polarization, are observed and the magnitudes and four relative phases of the six independent transversity amplitudes which describe the reactions are determined. The amplitudes for ${K}^{\ensuremath{-}}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\phi}\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ are compared with results from a similar analysis of ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{K}^{*0}\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ and excellent agreement with the quark-model prediction of equality of the amplitudes is found. In addition, for the reaction ${K}^{\ensuremath{-}}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ we make some model-dependent assumptions which allow the determination of the structure of the $s$-channel helicity amplitudes. These amplitudes are compared with duality predictions and implications concerning absorption prescriptions are discussed.
Generation of Genetically Modified Mice Using the CRISPR–Cas9 Genome-Editing System

Genetically modified mice are extremely valuable tools for studying gene function and human diseases. Although the generation of mice with specific genetic modifications through traditional methods using homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells has been invaluable in the last two decades, it is an extremely costly, time-consuming, and, in some cases, uncertain technology. The recently described CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing technology significantly reduces the time and the cost that are required to generate genetically engineered mice, allowing scientists to test more precise and bold hypotheses in vivo. Using this revolutionary methodology we have generated more than 100 novel genetically engineered mouse strains. In the current protocol, we describe in detail the optimal conditions to generate mice carrying point mutations, chromosomal deletions, conditional alleles, fusion tags, or endogenous reporters.
The diagnosis of coronary artery spasm in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.

Coronary artery spasm can now be well documented in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. In this article, the author presents the criteria for the diagnosis of coronary artery spasm and discusses catheter-induced coronary artery spasm. He also details several provocative modalities for the documentation of coronary artery spasm, including the ergonovine provocation test, pharmacologic agents, the cold-pressor test, and exercise, and presents the indications of provocation. Other diagnostic approaches discussed are electrocardiographic monitoring and radionuclide techniques such as thallium-201 myocardial perfusion imaging.
An Evaluation of the President's Health Insurance Proposal

President Bush has proposed to replace most tax subsidies for healthcare with a standard deduction for health insurance available for taxpayers who have qualifying insurance coverage. The proposal would equalize the tax treatment of traditional health insurance for people who get coverage through their jobs and those who buy insurance in the nongroup market, although it would retain some preferences for high-deductible health plans. It would also remove current incentives to overspend on healthcare. The basic thrust of the proposal - leveling the playing field for health insurance - is laudable. But the plan fails to address some of the most significant problems in today's market for health insurance and actually threatens many of the most vulnerable families. This report explains the proposal and its likely effect on the distribution of tax burdens and insurance coverage. It suggests specific changes that would make the proposal fairer, improve its chances of meeting its goals, and reduce the risks of exacerbating the market's current problems.
Earth’s “missing” minerals

Recent studies of mineral diversity and distribution lead to the prediction of >1563 mineral species on Earth today that have yet to be described—approximately one fourth of the 6394 estimated total mineralogical diversity. The distribution of these “missing” minerals is not uniform with respect to their essential chemical elements. Of 15 geochemically diverse elements (Al, B, C, Cr, Cu, Mg, Na, Ni, P, S, Si, Ta, Te, U, and V), we predict that approximately 25% of the minerals of Al, B, C, Cr, P, Si, and Ta remain to be described—a percentage similar to that predicted for all minerals. Almost 35% of the minerals of Na are predicted to be undiscovered, a situation resulting from more than 50% of Na minerals being white, poorly crystallized, and/or water soluble, and thus easily overlooked. In contrast, we predict that fewer than 20% of the minerals of Cu, Mg, Ni, S, Te, U, and V remain to be discovered. In addition to the economic value of most of these elements, their minerals tend to be brightly colored and/or well crystallized, and thus likely to draw attention and interest. These disparities in percentages of undiscovered minerals reflect not only natural processes, but also sociological factors in the search, discovery, and description of mineral species.
Family Imagery in a Passage by Mao Tse-tung: An Essay in Psycho-Cultural Method

THIS article points out and analyzes some overt and implicit family imagery underlying political and economic discussion in one passage by Mao Tse-tung, and discusses the value of such analysis. Along the way, some methodological questions-the significance of form and content in such "content analysis," and verification of the findingsare also considered. Late in I939, Mao wrote a brief work entitled "The Chinese Revolution and the Communist Party of China."' This work, said by its translator to have been intended primarily for the education of the Chinese Communists, is a short description and discussion of Chinese society in ages past and its recent revolutionary struggles. The first section deals with "The Chinese People," the second with "Ancient Feudal Society." Then follows a section on "The Colonial, Semi-Colonial and Semi-Feudal Society of Modern Days." The passage of interest here forms the beginning of this section. It reads:
Lipid Degradation in Turkey Breast Meat During Cooking and Storage

Abstract Compositional changes of neutral lipids and phospholipids (PL) during frozen storage were evaluated on raw and cooked turkey breast meat. The concentration of phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidyl choline (PC) decreased after cooking and during frozen storage at −25 C for 1, 3, 6, and 12 mo (P
445 MYCOBACTERIUM 19 KDA LIPOPROTEIN IS NOT REQUIRED FOR APOPTOSIS IN VIVO.

Tuberculosis is a major and growing problem worldwide, and much effort has gone into understanding the pathogenesis of the disease. One of the perplexing issues is the role of macrophage apoptosis in vivo. Apoptosis of cultured macrophages has been observed in response to infection; however, the relevance of this response in vivo is unclear, and there are conflicting reports on whether apoptosis is more beneficial to the bacteria or the host. The Mycobacterium 19 kDa lipoprotein is a potent inducer of macrophage apoptosis in vitro and so we wanted to examine the role of this protein in vivo. To do this we used a M. marinum-zebra fish infection model of mycobacterial pathogenesis and compared the ability of wild-type versus 19 kDa lipoprotein-deficient (lpqH-) bacteria to induce apoptosis. We examined induction of apoptosis in a murine macrophage cell line (J774) and in zebra fish embryos using TUNEL labeling with fluorescent microscopic and flow cytometric analysis of the murine macrophages and TUNEL labeling with fluorescent microscopic examination of the embryos. Results suggest that the level of apoptosis induced by infection with the lpqH- strain of M. marinum was not reduced compared to the level of apoptosis induced by infection with the wild-type M. marinum in the murine macrophages. In the zebra fish embryos, Mycobacterium-induced granulomas infected with the lpqH- strain were not any less likely to be TUNEL + than the aggregates formed in response to the wild-type infection (p = .47), but the number of TUNEL + cells in each aggregate was slightly lower in the lpqH- infection (p = .018). Taken all together, these results lead us to believe that the lpqH gene in M. marinum is not necessary to induce apoptosis in macrophages in vitro or in vivo.
Form Meets Function in the Brain: Observing the Activity and Structure of Specific Neural Connections

Recent advances in neuroscience have enabled increasingly detailed insight into the activity and structure of brain circuitry. In previous work, we have developed and applied methods for precisely controlling the activity of specific cells and projections within neural systems during behavior (optogenetics). Here I review distinct complementary technological approaches for observing natural activity patterns in these cells and projections during behavior (fiber photometry) and for obtaining anatomical insights into the wiring and molecular phenotype of these circuit elements within the intact mammalian brain (CLARITY-optimized lightsheet microscopy). Together these approaches may help further advance understanding of the circuit dynamics and wiring patterns that underlie adaptive and maladaptive behavior.
Simulation Based Case Teaching—New Method of Military Teaching in Information Age

Simulation based case teaching is a new form of case teaching which is heavily relied on war gaming and simulation systems.First,the definition of the simulation based case teaching and its features were given.Then,the difference between simulation based case teaching and simulation based exercises were discussed.Next,the basic steps of using simulation based case teaching were described.Finally,some issues in using simulation based case teaching that should be noted were listed.
Language and cross-border acquisitions: An exploratory study

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of language on post-acquisition performance of US based cross-border acquisitions. In this study we attempt to show that post-acquisition performance is explained by the linguistic distance between the acquirer and target country of the acquisition. In addition, this study explains the moderating role of acquisition experience in the linguistic distance-acquisition performance relationship. An analysis of 1120 US acquisitions in 33 target countries over a period of 6 years (2007 to 2012) demonstrates that linguistic distance has explanatory value in post-acquisition performance. Our analysis also demonstrates that the acquirer’s cross-border acquisition experience plays a significant role as a moderator of this linguistic distance—acquisition performance relationship. In addition, our analysis of lingua franca proficiency also lends support to our hypothesized relationships and demonstrates the robustness of our findings.
The Noncompliant Patient

The failure of patient to follow recommendations is present in all practices and can have dire consequences. Prevention is possible if the factors which may contribute to noncompliance are recognized. If the physician is alert to the existence of poor compliance in his practice, successful intervention can be achieved.
Managing boundary turbulence through the use of information manipulation strategies: A report on two studies

AbstractIn two studies, participants responded to a scenario in which they were asked to imagine they had revealed private information shared with a close friend or a recent acquaintance to a third party, thereby violating a privacy boundary, and were then confronted by the friend or acquaintance. Also manipulated was the degree of privacy of the information involved. The combined results suggest, among other things, that clarity, whether in the form of truth-telling or falsification, was a preferred strategy in situations involving information of a more private nature and that privacy level and relationship type influenced truth-telling. The strategies of falsification and equivocation were found to be significantly related to these independent variables. Communication competence and ambiguity tolerance were also implicated in strategy selection.
The Growth and Mechanical Properties of Abalone Nacre Mesolayer

Abalone nacre has long been interesting to material engineers due to its fascinating structure and outstanding mechanical behavior. It is a self-organized biogenic mineral composite which has a hierarchical architecture composite. The main component of this structure is “block and mortar” like tablets. Between the tablets structures is a layered structure which consist of both organic and inorganic parts called mesolayer. This research focus on the growth behavior of the mesolayer structure and its mechanical influence on nacre. Fresh-grown nacre is harvested by the “flat pearl” technique under different temperature schemes. SEM observation of those nacre reveals temperature scheme will inhibits the growth of tablets structure, and form other layered structure. The mechanical property of harvested “flat pearl” is tested by nano-indentation. In this work, we aim to show the mechanic significance of mesolayer in nacre structure, and hope to establish its strengthening and growth mechanism.
Early Economic Works of Henry Brougham

As noted earlier, Brougham is often characterized as one who tried to do too many things and in the end accomplished nothing of lasting value.1 Many of his writings, particularly those on political economy, are dismissed as too hastily formulated or not well considered; indeed his biographers generally ignore his economic writings. When his economic efforts are considered, they are usually not evaluated favorably. Arthur Aspinall (1927, p. 226) observed that ‘his knowledge of the general principles of political economy was lamentably inferior to his knowledge of practical detail;’ and noted further that David Ricardo had once remarked that Brougham was ‘not even perfect in Adam Smith’s work, and really appears not to have paid any attention to the works which have been published in our day.’2
The incidence of subminimum pay among native and immigrant workers.

This paper econometrically compares the subminimum wage propensities of immigrants and US natives using 1989 microdata. A conventional expectation is that immigrants are more likely to earn subminimum wages because of their lesser education and knowledge of labor rights. However, immigrants also tend to participate full time in the labor market and field studies suggest they provide employers an 'experienced' labor pool. Indeed, our findings indicate that immigrants by age, sex, and race/ethnic group are less likely than natives to receive subminimum wages. These findings imply that the foreign born do not contribute disproportionately to the informal economy.
Salivary and serum HPV antibody levels before and after definitive treatment in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is increasing in incidence. Laboratory assays that identify virally-mediated disease and predict HPV clearance in OPSCC may have important prognostic implications. Objective Here we investigated serum, salivary HPV16 early (E) antibodies before and after definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with locoregionally advanced OPSCC. Methods We prospectively measured salivary, serum samples at the beginning of and 6-7 weeks following the completion of CRT in 44 patients. IgG antibodies targeting N- and C-terminal fragments of E2 (NE2, CE2), E6 and E7 were measured by programmable enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results We observed serum antibodies directed against HPV-associated E proteins in patients with HPV-associated OPSCC. E7 directed antibodies were detected in saliva in the majority of patients, and were associated with HPV status (p= 0.03). When analyzed longitudinally, median salivary E7 antibody levels decreased significantly post-treatment (p= 0.007). Conclusions Our results demonstrate the feasibility of measuring HPV16 E antibodies in saliva and serum. E7 antibodies, in particular, are more detectable in saliva as compared with other E protein antibodies. Measuring E7 salivary antibody levels at various time points may have utility in understanding HPV clearance and should be explored for their ability to predict the risk of recurrence.
An Advent Witness: C. S. Lewis and the Rhetoric of Goodwill

Scholars and critics have long recognized C. S. Lewis’s potent persuasiveness and acute audience awareness; however, only a few have written about Lewis’s self-designation as a “rhetor,” and scholarship exploring how Lewis’s writings work rhetorically remains in short supply. This article advances existing conversations about Lewis’s rhetoric through an investigation of appeals to ethos in his nonfiction. I contend that a primary way that Lewis establishes ethos is by demonstrating what Aristotle refers to as eunoia, goodwill towards one’s audience. Resonating with postures that Christians are often called to embrace during the Advent season, Lewis’s rhetoric of goodwill enables him to achieve one of his chief aims as a writer: preparing a way for the coming of the Lord into people’s lives. This mode of rhetorical engagement is also consistent with Lewis’s emphasis on the doctrine of the Incarnation, his interest in the concept of joy, and his conversion experience.
Irrigation and Debridement for Periprosthetic Hip Infection: Does Timing Play a Role?

Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating complication of total joint arthroplasty (TJA). The rate of PJIs in total hip arthroplasty (THA) procedures varies from 0.3 to 2.9%. Irrigation and debridement (ID while unsuccessful I&Ds were performed 51.6 days after index THA. Additionally, our study demonstrated that obese patients were more likely to fail debridement, antibiotics, irrigation, and retention of the prosthesis (DAIR) procedures ( p = 0.006). While our results demonstrate that the average time to I&D with a modular exchange was shorter for those who had a successful outcome, the difference was not significant ( p = 0.37).
The Big Trial: Law as Public Spectacle. By Lawrence M. Friedman. (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2015. Pp. 225. $29.95.) : Book Review

The author of this volume is one of America's preeminent legal historians. His works on the history of American law and on crime and punishment in US history are standard texts in college classroom...
“So You’re Going to Have a Baby?”: Breastfeeding Messages in Parenting Guides and Children’s Books

As a society, we have become increasingly dependent on “experts” for parenting advice. This chapter analyzes the breastfeeding messages in popular expectant parent and childrearing books. What to Expect When You’re Expecting , On Becoming Babywise , and other manuals often present “breast as best,” but then undermine breastfeeding success by avoiding specific advice at overcoming challenges, while touting the advantages of bottle-feeding. Similarly, an analysis of new baby/sibling books written for children reveals mixed messages about infant feeding, typically constructing bottles as the “norm.” More pro-breastfeeding messages and pictures of a diverse range of nursing mothers are needed to improve the cultural climate, with less emphasis on so-called “experts.”
Probing the Rotating Table

Consider the following generalization of the Problem of the Rotating Table: the shape of the table is a regular n-gon; at each of the n corners of the table is a well containing a glass that is either upright or inverted; and the player has k hands. For each k and n, the question then arises whether or not there exists a procedure that is guaranteed to ring the bell after a finite number of moves. In this paper, we will see that such a procedure exists if and only if the parameters k and n satisfy the inequality k ≥ (1 – 1/p)n, where p is the largest prime factor of n.
Range contractions of the world's large carnivores.

The majority of the world's terrestrial large carnivores have undergone substantial range contractions and many of these species are currently threatened with extinction. However, there has been li...
Frequent programmed death-ligand 1 expression in gastric cancer associated with Epstein-Barr virus or microsatellite instability: Implications for predictive biomarker development.

e15579Background: Immune checkpoint blockade of the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway has emerged as a novel therapeutic approach for cancer. Therefore development of predictive biomarkers,...
QoS-oriented Management of Multi-vehicle Coordinated Cruise Control in Uncertain Environments

Networked embedded software systems incorporate varying degrees of adaptation behavior to sustain their operations with acceptable quality of service (QoS), in the face of hostile external events (e.g., resource outages in a cloud, road slipperiness faced by cars). A highly agile cruise control system of a car, for e.g., may dynamically adjust its controller parameters to generate a higher-than-normal increase in torque when encountering a higher road elevation (relative to a basic controller). With the high complexity of such dynamic adaptive systems, their QoS capability depends on how well they respond to hostile external events in meeting QoS specs. We benchmark the QoS capability of a networked system by a stress-testing a simulation model of the system with artificially injected environment conditions (such as road elevation and message loss). As a case study, we describe the QoS assessment of a multi-vehicle adaptive cruise control system.
Hybrid Integration of III–V Solar Microcells for High-Efficiency Concentrated Photovoltaic Modules

The design, fabrication, and performance of InGaAs and InGaP/GaAs microcells are presented. These cells are integrated with a Si wafer providing a path for insertion in hybrid concentrated photovoltaic modules. Comparisons are made between bonded cells and cells fabricated on their native wafer. The bonded cells showed no evidence of degradation in spite of the integration process that involved significant processing including the removal of the III–V substrate.
Some crystal growth strategies for diffraction structure studies of iridium complexes

Abstract We cover our recent work on low and high oxidation state as well as cluster Ir complexes where a wide variety of standard crystallization methods failed. For Ir(I), butane-1,4-diol can promote crystallization by hydrogen bonding to unpartnered basic hydrogen bonding groups on the complex. Two gel methods proved useful in the cluster cases. For the [Ir4(IMe)8H9]3+ cluster cation, we find the Keggin cluster anion [PW12O40]3− is most suitable. The related [Ir4(IMe)8(H)10][B(Arf)4]2 even gave large enough crystals (0.9 × 0.4 × 0.1 mm) for neutron diffraction, needed to locate the hydrides. For Ir(IV) and (V), CCl4 proves a useful precipitant that also tends to incorporate in the lattice. Finally, Ir(V) complexes were crystallized directly from the electrosynthetic solutions.
Coherent Raman Spectroscopy: Techniques and Recent Applications

With the advent of tunable pulsed lasers of high power, a large variety of nonlinear optical mixing processes have become possible in recent years. Coherent Raman Spectroscopy refers to those interactions in which the frequency difference ω1–ω2 of two incident laser fields is tuned to match a vibrational- rotational energy difference in the ground electronic state of a molecule. The fields can thus drive the molecular oscillators in phase, causing a coherent scattering of the incident ω1 beam at the ω3 = 2ω1–ω2 anti-Stokes Raman frequency (CARS). The interaction will also pump molecules to the higher energy level and, due to energy conservation, thereby cause a loss (or gain) in the ω1(or ω2) intensity, leading to Stimulated Raman Loss (SRL) or Gain (SRG) Spectroscopy (more generally, SRS). Subsequent energy relaxation to create an acoustic wave can alternatively be detected by sensitive microphones, giving rise to Photo-Acoustic Raman Spectroscopy (PARS). Other acronyms based on polarization changes also exist.1
Is the Single-Transition-State Model Appropriate for the Fundamental Reactions of Organic Chemistry? Experimental Methods and Data Treatment, Pertinent Reactions, and Complementary Computational Studies

Abstract The experimental recording of spectrophotometric data suitable for detailed kinetic analysis and reaction mechanism determination is covered early in the chapter with examples of experiments and subsequent data treatment on a variety of different chemical systems. Several new methods to distinguish between single-step and complex reaction mechanisms are described in detail. The fundamental organic reactions covered in more detail were limited to recent work on four general reaction types. These include (1) proton transfer reactions of nitroalkanes and related compounds, (2) S N 2 reactions of CH 3 -X where X is the leaving group, (3) electrophilic aromatic substitution, and (4) hydride transfer reactions of NADH/NAD + model systems. In all cases possible, discussion of the experimental studies was complemented by computational studies on the same reaction systems. The experimental kinetic studies all involved short-lived intermediates and could only distinguish the complex mechanisms involved from the mechanism with a single transition state. Computational studies confirmed the complex nature of the mechanisms and provided structures for the likely intermediates in the experimental reactions. The energies of the noncovalently bonded intermediates were highly dependent on the computational method and therefore could not confirm the apparent Gibbs free energies of the transition states.
Carbon Nanoparticle Generation, Collection, and Characterization Using a Spark Generator and a Thermophoretic Deposition Cell

Nanoparticles can form during nuclear accidents as well as during normal nuclear reactor operations and can be both radioactive and nonradioactive. It is important to understand particle size characteristics, transport properties, and deposition in order to better predict the behaviors of, and effects due to, these particles in a reactor. Fission products can deposit (adsorb/absorb) on the graphite dust in the core [an amount of carbon dust is present in the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) because of graphite sphere abrasion] and can also be carried by the helium flow (together with some dust). Generating nanoparticles of desired shape, size, and purity for experimental purposes is difficult, and hence, there is a need for new and refined synthesis techniques. Nanoparticle generation using high-voltage electric sparks has become a technique of interest for a wide range of conducting materials, and particles with sizes ranging from a few nanometers up to microns have been generated in this manner in an aerosol state. Our purpose in this paper is to report on the generation, collection, and characterization of carbon nanoparticles. We have used a spark generator and a thermophoretic deposition cell, as well as environmental scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning mobility particle spectrometry. We have explored a number of experimental conditions, and we find that one can generate and effectively collect test particles with a variety of different useful characteristics. We also discuss some computational fluid dynamics simulations of particle deposition in the thermophoretic deposition cell.
Extrinsic Determinants of Retinal Ganglion Cell Development in Cats and Monkeys

Vision in vertebrates is subserved by a number of specialized channels that function in parallel in order to extract simultaneously a variety of features of the environment (reviewed by Stone et al, 1979). As with all things visual, these parallel pathways begin in the retina. The mammalian retina contains a variety of ganglion cell types which have different forms, functional properties, and central projections (Enroth-Cugell and Robson, 1966; Boycott and Wassle, 1974; Cleland and Levick, 1974a,b; Stone and Fukuda, 1974). The developmental processes through which neurons in general and ganglion cells in particular differentiate into distinct types have recently begun to be explored (Eysel et al, 1985; Kirby and Chalupa, 1986; Maslim et al, 1986; Ramoa et al, 1987; Leventhalet al, 1988a,b). Both intrinsic (genetic) factors and extrinsic influences of the cell’s environment appear to mediate the determination of adult cell type.
Obesity and Nutrition

Obesity in America has reached epidemic proportions. It has been called a major health care crisis. In little over a decade, between 1971–1980 and 1988–1991, the prevalence of significantly overweight adults in the United States rose by 33%, far from the decrease of 23% targeted by the US Public Health Service. Currently, 20% of adolescent children and approximately one third of all adults in America are defined as obese. Minority populations, especially minority women, are disproportionately affected; nearly 50% of African-American women are overweight. Overweight and obese adults are at increased risk for morbidity and mortality associated with acute and chronic medical conditions including hypertension, elevated serum lipid levels, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, respiratory disease, certain types of cancer, gout, and arthritis (American Dietetic Association, 1997).
Relative Autonomy and Navigation for Command and Control of Low-Cost Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

The underwater environment severely constrains robotic navigation and communications, making the use of traditional multi-robot control and coordination schemes very difficult. These challenges are exacerbated on a new generation of low-cost autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that lack a Doppler velocity log, acoustic modem, or high-end inertial sensors typically used for underwater robotic navigation and communications.This letter demonstrates multi-robot operations for low-cost AUVs via a novel and user-friendly operating paradigm that allows intuitive command and control of an AUV group. Each vehicle is equipped with a low-power and inexpensive acoustic system for navigation and receipt of operator commands. This system consists of a passive array of hydrophones and a timed acquisition and data processing stack that allows each AUV to self-localize relative to a time-synchronized acoustic beacon. Switching between different operational “modes” on the beacon causes it to broadcast different acoustic signals which, when received by the AUVs, result in the vehicles switching between different autonomous behaviors. These behaviors are defined in a beacon-centric coordinate system using pre-defined parameters unique to each vehicle; as a result, the movement of the beacon itself allows the operator to control the group-wide movement of all vehicles concurrently. This letter presents field experiments with three SandShark AUVs in which operational mode and beacon movement were controlled by an operator. However, by installing the beacon on an autonomous vehicle, this paradigm would provide a method for remote command and control of an arbitrarily large number of miniature, low-cost AUVs, without the need for sophisticated navigational sensors or acoustic modems.
The naive Bayes classifier for functional data

Abstract In this article, we extended the approach of Dai et al. (2017) to several populations case and compared various other approaches on simulated and real data. The results show that the naive Bayes classifier for functional data is applicable to multi-category classification problems and has preferable finite-sample performance over competitors.
‘Todos en el mismo saco’: discapacidad y crisis de la vivienda en Black, black, black (2010) de Marta Sanz

Tras el estallido de la burbuja inmobiliaria en 2008, un 25 por ciento de la poblacion espanola se quedo en paro; miles de familias se encontraron sin forma de pagar la hipoteca y enfrentando el desahucio. Este articulo considera la novela Black, black, black de Marta Sanz (2010) en el contexto de este momento de desesperacion. La obra presenta la investigacion del asesinato de una doctora joven en Madrid. Es Paula Quinones, una mujer con discapacidad que no es investigadora profesional, quien consigue resolver el crimen. Las tacticas que utiliza son poco convencionales, sostenidas por su entendimiento emocional de su entorno y de la naturaleza humana. El presente trabajo sostiene que la crisis inmobiliaria ha fomentado las condiciones del asesinato y que Paula, por haber luchado contra el sexismo y los prejuicios hacia la gente con discapacidad, resulta ser quien esta mejor ubicada para observar y criticar las iniquidades del sistema social.
Application of diazodecomposition reactions in tandem with [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements to prepare substituted azabicyclic ring systems

Stereospecific [2,3]-Sigmatropic rearrangements occurring via ylides generated from the decomposition of α-diazoamides provided good yields of substituted azabicyclo[3.3.0]octanes. In addition some of the non-rearranged cyclopropanes were formed.
Population Diversity and Ancestral Diversity As Distinct Contributors to Outgroup Prejudice.

Previous research has shown conflicting findings on how population diversity influences outgroup prejudice. In some cases, prejudice is greater when minority groups make up a larger portion of the ...
The Perky effect revisited: Imagery hinders perception at high levels, but aids it at low

Visual, although not auditory, imagery typically interferes with visual acuity: the so-called Perky effect. However, visual images can facilitate detection of visual Gabor patterns. Here we report that this discrepancy is not due so much to the class of stimuli but primarily to the level of accuracy; visual imagery interferes with acuity when performance is good but facilitates it when performance is poor. This finding is analogous to the 'dipper' function obtained when visual stimuli that mask visual targets when above threshold improve target detection near threshold.
Thyroid Hormone Treatment in Heart Surgery and Heart Transplantation

The development of brain death not only causes major structural injury to the heart, but also leads to major hormonal changes. In particular, there is a rapid reduction in the circulating level of thyroid hormone. This leads to an inability of the body to metabolize aerobically. Anaerobic metabolism results in loss of energy stores in the myocardium, resulting in a deterioration in cardiac function. Replacement therapy with triiodothyronine reverses the situation—aerobic metabolism resumes and cardiac function improves. Our experience in both experimental large animal models and in brain-dead human subjects is summarized.Similar changes occur in patients undergoing heart surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass, and also following regional myocardial ischemia, and we suggest that thyroid hormone therapy is also beneficial in these patients. It therefore became our policy to treat both the brain-dead heart donor and the heart recipient with triiodothyronine.Finally, we make a case for thyroid hormone therapy to be considered in patients with severe or critical non-thyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS), and report its beneficial effect in one such patient.
Understanding the Performance Costs and Benefits of Privacy-focused Browser Extensions

Advertisements and behavioral tracking have become an invasive nuisance on the Internet in recent years. Indeed, privacy advocates and expert users consider the invasion significant enough to warrant the use of ad blockers and anti-tracking browser extensions. At the same time, one of the largest advertisement companies in the world, Google, is developing the most popular browser, Google Chrome. This conflict of interest, that is developing a browser (a user agent) and being financially motivated to track users’ online behavior, possibly violating their privacy expectations, while claiming to be a ”user agent,” did not remain unnoticed. As a matter of fact, Google recently sparked an outrage when proposing changes to Chrome how extensions can inspect and modify requests to ”improve extension performance and privacy,” which would render existing privacy-focused extensions inoperable. In this paper, we analyze how eight popular privacy-focused browser extensions for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, the two desktop browsers with the highest market share, affect browser performance. We measure browser performance through several metrics focused on user experience, such as page-load times, number of fetched resources, as well as response sizes. To address potential regional differences in advertisements or tracking, such as influenced by the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we perform our study from two vantage points, the United States of America and Germany. Moreover, we also analyze how these extensions affect system performance, in particular CPU time, which serves as a proxy indicator for battery runtime of mobile devices. Contrary to Google’s claims that extensions which inspect and block requests negatively affect browser performance, we find that a browser with privacy-focused request-modifying extensions performs similar or better on our metrics compared to a browser without extensions. In fact, even a combination of such extensions performs no worse than a browser without any extensions. Our results highlight that privacy-focused extensions not only improve users’ privacy, but can also increase users’ browsing experience.
The Design of a CMOS Nanoelectrode Array With 4096 Current-Clamp/Voltage-Clamp Amplifiers for Intracellular Recording/Stimulation of Mammalian Neurons

CMOS microelectrode arrays (MEAs) can record electrophysiological activities of a large number of neurons in parallel but only extracellularly with a low signal-to-noise ratio. Patch-clamp electrodes can perform intracellular recording with a high signal-to-noise ratio but only from a few neurons in parallel. Recently, we have developed and reported a neuroelectronic interface that combines the parallelism of the CMOS MEA and the intracellular sensitivity of the patch clamp. Here, we report the design and characterization of the CMOS integrated circuit (IC), a critical component of the neuroelectronic interface. Fabricated in 0.18- $\mu \text{m}$ technology, the IC features an array of 4096 platinum black (PtB) nanoelectrodes spaced at a 20- $\mu \text{m}$ pitch on its surface and contains 4096 active pixel circuits. Each active pixel circuit, consisting of a new switched-capacitor current injector—-capable of injecting from ±15 pA to ±0.7 $\mu \text{A}$ with a 5-pA resolution—-and an operational amplifier, is highly configurable. When configured into the current-clamp mode, the pixel intracellularly records membrane potentials, including subthreshold activities with ~23- $\mu \text{V}_{\mathrm {rms}}$ input-referred noise while injecting a current for simultaneous stimulation. When configured into the voltage-clamp mode, the pixel becomes a switched-capacitor transimpedance amplifier with ~1-pArms input-referred noise and intracellularly records ion channel currents while applying a voltage for simultaneous stimulation. Such voltage-/current-clamp intracellular recording/stimulation is a feat only previously possible with the patch-clamp method. At the same time, as an array, the IC overcomes the lack of parallelism of the patch-clamp method, measuring thousands of mammalian neurons in parallel, with full-frame intracellular recording/stimulation at 9.4 kHz.
Impact of body mass index on survival and serious adverse events in advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with bevacizumab: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

Lung cancer accounts for 28% of all cancer deaths, more deaths than any other cancer in the United States. The influence of body composition has been evaluated in several studies, specifically, the...
Accomplishing CAPE Domain 3 During APPE Rotations: Student Perceptions.

Introduction:The purpose of this study is to examine student perceptions of accomplishment among 6 subdomains of Center for Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) Domain 3 “Approach to Practice a...
Pediatric Surgeons' Adoption of an Innovative Laparoscopic Technique for Inguinal Hernia Repair: A Mixed Methods Study.

Purpose: We studied adoption of an innovative laparoscopic technique for pediatric inguinal hernia repair by pediatric surgeons and pediatric urologists following dissemination of evidence for its ...