cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nitrogen fixation by unicellular blue-green algae.

The ability of some unicellular blue-green algae to grow at the expense of N2 under aerobic conditions has been confirmed and the distribution of this property in the Chroococcaceae has been investigated. It appears to be confined to strains with spherical cells enclosed by the multilaminate sheaths characteristic of the genus Gloeocapsa. Only two unicellular blue-green algae of this type are now available in pure culture; and their properties are so similar that they may well be independent isolates of the same species.
Metro Stroke Task Force: first-year experience.

According to recent statistics, stroke is the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. Of the estimated 40 000 ischemic strokes per month in the United States, only approximately 2% are being treated with tPA. A primary reason for the underutilization of tPA is the lack of public awareness of stroke warning signs and the urgent nature of stroke. In an attempt to combat this problem, the American Heart Association launched a campaign entitled Metro Stroke Task Force (MSTF) in 1997, in conjunction with the generous support of an unrestricted educational grant by Genentech, Inc. The objective of the MSTF was to identify metropolitan cities in which a coalition of representatives from hospitals, healthcare providers, emergency medical systems, and civic and …
Western Apache Witchcraft: Comment on Review of Basso

Baumol, W. J. 1963 Towards the construction of more useful models. In Models of markets. A. R. Oxenfeldt, ed. New York: Columbia University Press. 1965 Economic theory and operational analysis. Englewood Cliffs: PrenticeHall. Friedman, M. 1962 Essays in positive economics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Lange, O. 1945-1946 The scope and method of economics. Review of Economic Studies 13:19-32. Ortiz, S. 1967 The structure of decision-making among Indians of Colombia. In Themes in economic anthropology. R. Firth, ed. London: Tavistock. Popper, K. 1967 La rationalite et le statut du principe de rationalitY. In Les fondements philosophique des systems economiques. M. Claassen, ed. Paris: Payot.
Comparison of Metal Stenting with Radiofrequency Ablation Versus Stenting Alone for Treating Malignant Biliary Strictures: Is There an Added Benefit?

Background Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been reported to be a beneficial treatment option for palliation of malignant biliary strictures. Biliary obstruction is a common complication in pancreatic and cholangiocarcinoma and many patients require stenting for definitive decompression. The objective of this study was to compare the survival duration of patients as well as safety and efficacy of RFA and metal stent versus stent alone.
Elastic response of post- and in situ consolidated laminated cylinders

Abstract This paper aims to investigate the effect of interactions between the various processing variables th application of a generalized plane deformation analysis for predicting the thermoelastic response of post-consolidated filament-wound cylinders, to post- and in situ consolidated cylinders. The theory has been enhanced significantly to model the effects of winding tension in the in situ process and the redistribution of stresses resulting from the removal of the mandrel at any point in the process. The thermal stresses resulting from post- and in situ consolidation of an IM7/PEEK cylinder are compared. The enhanced capability of the model is then used to investigate the interaction between the cylindrical part and the tool (mandrel) and also the effect of winding tension on the residual stresses in the cylinder.
Glucocorticoids and triglyceride transport: Effects on triglyceride secretion rates, lipoprotein lipase, and plasma lipoproteins in the rat☆☆☆

In order to elucidate the mechanism(s) of hyperlipidemia following glucocorticoid administration, dexamethasone (0.125 mg/Kg) was administered daily intramuscularly for 2 wk to male Sprague-Dawley rats and the effects on plasma triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol (Chol), lipoprotein neutral lipids, hepatic triglyceride secretion rates (TGSR; Triton), and epididymal fat lipoprotein lipase (LPL) were determined. Special measures were taken to maintain positive caloric balance and keep the weights of control and dexamethasone-treated animals comparable. Significant increases (p < 0.001) in TG and very-low density lipoprotein (VLDL) triglyceride associated with no change in Chol and actual reduction in both triglyceride and cholesterol in low density lipoprotein (LDL) were observed in the steroid-treated animals. Dexamethasone treatment was associated with increased basal insulin and glucose levels, an insignificant increment in TGSR, and a highly significant reduction (p < 0.001) in LPL. These findings suggest that glucocorticoid treatment increases splanchnic triglyceride production rates, but the resulting hypertriglyceridemia is primarily a consequence of impaired VLDL removal due to low adipose tissue LPL activity.
Susceptibility of Streptococcus pyogenes to Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole

With interest we read the recent paper by Bowen et al. in which they propose that detection of in vitro susceptibility of Streptococcus pyogenes to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is enhanced by testing on media containing low concentrations of thymidine ([1][1]). Whether their data on in
Tryptic peptide map analyses of mouse transplantation antigens

Tryptic peptide map analyses of five K- and three D-gene products of variousH-2 haplotypes are presented. These data support earlier sequence studies and demonstrate that the variations in allelic gene products of theK orD loci are scattered throughout much of the polypeptide chains. Furthermore, the K allelic gene products are no more closely related to one another than they are to the D allelic gene products. This apparent lack of K-ness and D-ness places interesting constraints on the genetic organization and evolutionary history of the genes encoding the transplantation antigens.
Branchless distance driven projection and backprojection

This paper presents a variation on our Distance Driven projection and backprojection method in which the inner loop is essentially branchless. The new inner loop structure is highly parallelizable and amenable to vectorization or highly pipelined implementations. We demonstrate that the new loop structure computes the same results as the original method to within numerical precision.
Entropy–enthalpy compensation in solution properties of solutes at infinite dilution in nonpolar polymers

The knowledge of the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter, χ, between organic liquids and polymers is very important in the study of their miscibility. From the temperature dependency of χ the enthalpy and residual entropy of solution can be determined. In this study literature data of thirty-two solutes, ranging from alkanes to alcohols, at infinite dilution in isotatic polypropylene, poly(ethyl ethylene), and poly(dimethylsiloxane), were tested and linear entropy–enthalpy compensation was observed. The plot of residual free energy versus enthalpy of solution was also linear, with a lower correlation coefficient than the entropy–enthalpy plot. The range of enthalpy of solution was wider than those of the size corrected free energy of solution. In nonpolar solvents the enthalpy of solution reflected largely the interaction within the solute liquid state, and showed a linear trend with respect to solute cohesive energy density for n-alcohols. The wide range of enthalpy of solution suggests the use of a two-dimensional solubility parameter model to correlate the enthalpy of solution. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 1241–1247, 2007
Evidence for an excited-state reaction contributing to NADH fluorescence

The fluorescence of reduced β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) was monitored as a function of the excitation and emission wavelengths. In aqueous and organic solvents the intensity decay was found to be more heterogeneous than reported earlier. When the ternary complex of NADH with the enzyme (horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase) and substrate analog (iso-butyramide) is formed, three exponents are required to fit the data. The decay-associated spectrum for the shortest lifetime undergoes a sign change from positive at the blue edge of emission to negative at the red edge. This phenomenon is interpreted as an outcome of reversible excited-state reaction leading to the appearance of at least one fluorescent product.
Synthesis of cadmium tungstate films via sol-gel processing

Abstract Cadmium tungstate is a scintillator material with excellent intrinsic photoluminescent properties. It is highly resistant to gamma radiation, has an almost non-existent afterglow and is highly efficient. Cadmium tungstate is also non-hydroscopic, unlike the more prevalent thallium-doped alkali halide scintillators. In order to create thin films of cadmium tungstate with precise stoichiometric control, a sol–gel processing technique has been applied to produce this material for the first time. In addition to lower processing temperatures, sol–gel-derived cadmium tungstate is cheaper and easier than other technologies, particularly for thin films. Furthermore, it has the potential to produce nanostructured materials with good optical quality. X-Ray diffraction results of sol–gel-derived materials fired at various temperatures imply crystallization of cadmium tungstate without the intermediate formation of either tungsten oxide or cadmium oxide. Scanning electron microscopy analysis shows the formation of nano-sized particles prior to heat treatment, which form meso-sized particles after the heat treatment. Photoluminesce analysis indicates emission of derived films at 480 nm, which agrees with other published data. Finally, the efficiency of derived films was approximately 6%±1.8%.
Treating Displaced Distal Forearm Fractures in Children

Distal forearm fractures are among the most common fractures in children. In the past few years the option of percutaneous pinning has gained more attention in the treatment of unstable fractures. However, it remains unclear in which cases a fracture or its reduction should be considered unstable. In order to evaluate which type of fractures profit most from additional pinning after closed reduction, we performed a retrospective analysis of 225 consecutive cases using the recently published AO pediatric classification of long bone fractures. After closed reduction, position in the cast was lost in 23% of the cases. The proportion of unstable reductions was much higher in completely displaced fractures. The amount of dislocation was more important than the type of fracture according to the AO classification proposal. Fully displaced fractures should always be reduced in a setting with pins immediately available. If anatomical reduction cannot be achieved, pinning is advocated. The AO proposal for pediatric long bone fracture classification could be a useful tool to render the diverse studies more comparable. However, the important feature of complete versus subtotal displacement is lacking.
Vulnerability of synapses in the frontal cortex of mice developmentally exposed to an insecticide: Potential contribution to neuropsychiatric disease

Increasingly, exposure to various chemicals found in our environment has been found to be a significant contributor to the risk of developing neurological disease, such as Parkinson disease, autism spectrum disorder, as well as other deficits in thought and function. Exposure to these compounds during critical periods of neurodevelopment, encompassing exposures that occur in utero, during infancy, childhood, and adolescence, represents a time period of nervous system growth that is uniquely vulnerable to disruption by environmental chemicals. Indeed, a contemporary hypothesis suggests that the pathological cascade associated with many common neurological disorders has its origin in disturbances of normal neurodevelopment. Moreover, alterations to the ontogeny of the synapse and neurotransmitter signaling during neurodevelopment may be a premier pathological event that underlies neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disease. To interrogate the impact of exposure to a ubiquitous environmental chemical, the pesticide, endosulfan, on development of neurotransmitter circuits, we coupled in vitro and in vivo platforms to evaluate its effect on the formation of GABAergic, glutamatergic, and dopaminergic pathways in the frontal cortex. With this approach we found exposure of cortical neurons, in vitro, exhibited a marked reduction in the length of their neurite process as well as the number of synaptic connections. Further investigation using an in vivo model of developmental exposure identified significant alterations to pre and postsynaptic proteins involved in neurotransmitter handling and signaling in each of the neurotransmitter systems investigated. These findings suggest that exposure to endosulfan during vulnerable periods of neurodevelopment can alter the normal development and potential function of neurotransmission in the frontal cortex. Interestingly, the alterations identified in our study closely mimic the pathological markers associated with schizophrenia, which shows disturbances in synaptic proteins important for GABAergic, glutamatergic, and dopaminergic signaling in the frontal cortex. These findings provide important support for the impact of exposure to environmental chemicals during neurodevelopment and risk for neurological disease.
Studies on the Stimulation of Growth by Dietary Antibiotics 2. Effect of Antibiotics on Metabolizable Energy of the Diet

Abstract IMPROVEMENT in the utilization of protein and of certain vitamins and minerals are associated with the feeding of antibiotics to poultry and swine (Jukes, 1955). However, the effect of antibiotics on energy metabolism has not been thoroughly investigated. Sibbald et al. (1961) and Slinger et al. (1962) concluded that antibiotics had little or no effect on metabolizable energy (ME) of feeds fed to turkeys. On the other hand, Gorril et al. (1960) reported an increased energy digestibility coefficient in swine that had responded in growth to antibiotic feeding, and Abraham et al. (1958) concluded that antibiotics spare energy during antibiotic growth stimulation of rats. The experiments reported here were conducted to study the effect of antibiotics on chick growth, feed efficiency and ME of a practical chick diet. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Day-old Delaware×New Hampshire crossbred chicks were randomly distributed into groups of five male and five female chicks each. Three groups…
Recent Shifts in Place of Service for Noninvasive Diagnostic Imaging: Have Hospitals Missed an Opportunity?

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine recent shifts in place of service for noninvasive diagnostic imaging (NDI) and determine whether hospitals have lost business to private outpatient imaging facilities. Method and Materials The nationwide Medicare Part B databases for 1996 through 2006 were used, and all Current Procedural Terminology ® , fourth edition, codes for NDI were studied. Utilization rates per 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries were calculated. Medicare uses place-of-service codes to differentiate examinations performed in hospital inpatients, hospital outpatients, and hospital emergency departments from those performed in private office settings. Changes in utilization rates in these locations were compared over the course of the decade, with particular emphasis on possible outpatient NDI shifts between hospital outpatient departments and private offices or imaging centers. Also, Medicare physician specialty codes were used to determine whether radiologists or other specialists were more responsible for growth. Results Between 1996 and 2006, Medicare NDI utilization rates per 1,000 -hospital inpatients increased from 1,056.5 to 1,211.8 (+15%). Emergency department rates increased from 222.1 to 392.2 (+77%). Hospital outpatient rates increased from 793.4 to 993.2 (+25%), while private office rates went from 883.3 to 1,442.2 (+63%). Total outpatient imaging rates (both hospital and office) went from 1,676.7 to 2,435.4 (+45%). As a result of the more rapid growth in private office imaging, hospitals' share of this market dropped from 47% in 1996 to 41% in 2006. Private office imaging utilization rates between 1996 and 2006 grew by 71% among nonradiologist physicians, compared with 44% among radiologists. Conclusion Medicare NDI utilization rates increased in all places of service between 1996 and 2006. Growth in hospital outpatient imaging was slower than that in private imaging facilities. Because NDI can be a profitable business, it seems that hospitals have lost an important opportunity. Much of this loss of business was to nonradiologist physicians, whose private office imaging utilization rate grew considerably more rapidly than that of radiologists.
New instrumentation for measuring spectral effects during outdoor and indoor PV device testing

It is well known that the performance of any photovoltaic (PV) device is a function of the spectral response of the device and the spectral content of the optical radiation. In a PV device testing environment, the spectral characteristics of the radiation must be taken into account. The purpose of this work is to describe some instrumentation being developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to quantify spectral characteristics for both outdoor and indoor test environments for solar cells. >
Mechanism of Electron Heating in Radio Frequency Capacitive Discharges

Summary form only given. Using a fixed ion background to focus on the electron physics, an investigation is conducted to examine the heating mechanisms of the electrons using PIC simulation. The simulation is compared to theory. The pressure dependence of collision frequency depends upon the heating mechanism: ohmic heating results in a collision frequency proportional to pressure, and stochastic heating results in a collision frequency independent of pressure. The heating mechanism that occurs is important in understanding how to control the heating in the plasma. PIC simulations verify these results within typical operating ranges for low-temperature materials processing plasmas. At pressures above 100 mtorr and below 1 mtorr, there remain unexplained effects pending further study
Point Spread Function Characterization of a Radially Displaced Scatterer Using Circular Synthetic Aperture Radar

This paper presents results for characterizing the point spread function (PSF) behavior of radially displaced point scatterers for circular synthetic aperture radar (CSAR). For SAR data collection systems utilizing a circular aperture for target recognition, it is important to know how a target's PSF behaves as a function of various radar functional parameters and different target positions. Using the backprojection image formation algorithm, we generate point target PSF responses using various point target locations. Consistent with previous studies, the three dimensional PSF for a point target located at the image center is cone shaped and serves as the basis for comparing and characterizing the PSFs for radially displaced scatterers. Simulated results show impulse response of a radially displaced point scatterer is asymmetric and tends to become an elliptic shaped.
Guiding a Reinforcement Learner with Natural Language Advice: Initial Results in RoboCup Soccer

We describe our current efforts towards creating a reinforcement learner that learns both from reinforcements provided by its environment and from human-generated advice. Our research involves two complementary components: (a) mapping advice expressed in English to a formal advice language and (b) using advice expressed in a formal notation in a reinforcement learner. We use a subtask of the challenging RoboCup simulated soccer task (Noda et al. 1998) as our testbed.
Successful eradication of a monoclonal strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae during a K. pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae outbreak in a surgical intensive care unit in Miami, Florida

We describe the investigation and control of a Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae outbreak in a 20-bed surgical intensive care unit during the period from January 1, 2009 through January 1, 2010. Nine patients were either colonized or infected with a monoclonal strain of K. pneumoniae. The implementation of a bundle of interventions on July 2009 successfully controlled the further horizontal spread of this organism.
Reinforcing Expository Reading and Writing Skills: A More Versatile Sentence Completion Task

This article introduces a modification of the sentence completion task that acquaints students with various types of informational text structures (e.g., cause–effect, compare–contrast) and challenges their higher order reading and writing skills. When the individual sentences comprising an expository paragraph are intermingled with unrelated sentences and presented in a random order, students are challenged in several ways: First, students must fill in the blanks with the appropriate vocabulary word. Then they must separate the related sentences from the unrelated ones. Next, they must locate the main idea or topic sentence. Finally, students must arrange the related sentences to form a cohesive paragraph. The results of an investigation conducted with fourth- and fifth-grade students suggest that use of this strategy facilitates locating main ideas in addition to providing practice in forming logical paragraphs. Recommendations for introducing, creating, and modifying this activity are offered.
A Taxonomy of Accountable Care Organizations for Policy and Practice

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) granted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the authority to create accountable care organizations (ACOs) with the intent that this new payment and delivery model might help achieve the triple aim goals of better quality of care, greater population health, and lower growth in health care cost (Berenson and Devers 2009; Shortell and Casalino 2010; Colla et al. 2012; Fisher et al. 2012). Private insurers and Medicaid programs have also begun to contract with ACOs (Larson et al. 2012; McGinnis and Small 2012; Lewis et al. 2014). ACOs are entities that take responsibility for both the cost and quality of care for a defined population of patients. Although there are a variety of different payment arrangements, the key idea is that the ACO has financial incentives to improve quality based on predefined criteria and keep overall costs within a target budget. But given the historical difficulty of bringing together hospitals, physicians, and other delivery organizations to provide integrated care, the ACO concept has met with skepticism (Burns and Pauly 2012; Mathews 2012; Christensen, Flier, and Vijayaraghavan 2013). Yet today, there are an estimated over 600 ACOs, both federal and private, with diverse organizational attributes (Larson et al. 2012; Lewis et al. 2014; Muhlestein, Crowshaw, and Pena 2014). With so much activity under way and so little known about the ACO model (Fisher et al. 2012), there is a great need to understand these new organizations; identify some of the characteristics that may be associated with their success or failure; help target needs for technical assistance and support; and measure their progress in achieving performance goals (Fisher et al. 2012; Kroch et al. 2012; Larson et al. 2012). With these objectives in mind, we develop a conceptually based exploratory taxonomy of ACOs that policy makers, practitioners, and researchers can use to achieve the above objectives.
EMI characterization and simulation with parasitic models for a low-voltage high current AC motor drive

In this paper, a 12-V 1-kW permanent-magnet ac motor drive is tested extensively at a wide frequency range, and the frequency spectra are partitioned for identification of noise sources and their propagation paths. Switching characterization of the power MOSFET and its body diode reverse-recovery characterization are evaluated for circuit modeling. The parasitic components and common mode path are identified and measured with the time-domain reflectometry (TDR) method. The inverter circuit model is then constructed with major parasitic inductance and capacitance in device modules, passive components, leads, and interconnects. To verify the validity of the inverter model, a comparative study is performed with computer simulations and hardware experiments. The fundamental mechanisms by which the electromagnetic interference (EMI) noises are excited and propagated are analyzed, and the significant roles of parasitic elements coupling with device switching dynamics in EMI generation are examined. The results indicate that the identification of parasitic inductance through TDR measurement helps verify the voltage spike during turn-off, or vice versa. The conducted EMI noise caused by parasitic components of bus capacitor, dc bus, and devices is proven to be identifiable with the characterization and simulation techniques used in this paper.
Autonomous Gravity Perception and Responses of Single Plant Cells

Although multicellular plants are favored experimental subjects for most studies of gravitational responses in plants, there are single cells that can both sense and respond to gravity, independent of any input from other cells. This review focuses on what is known about these single-cell phenomena. Highlighted are studies in algae and moss that relate to the statolith hypothesis, studies in Euglena on gravitaxis, and studies in fern spores on gravityinduced calcium signaling and gene expression changes.
Secular Cooling in Convection

We show how long-term cooling effects in convection can be analyzed in terms of the underlying boundary-layer structure, by a method analogous to averaging in nonlinear oscillations.
The Congressional Oversight Panel's Valuation of the TARP Warrants (A)

The Congressional Oversight Panel wants to value the warrants issued to the government in connection with the TARP investments of 2008, in order to increase the transparency of options repurchases. The case describes the methodology used to value the warrants. Students have the opportunity to value warrants issued by ten of the largest banks, and to evaluate whether the Black-Scholes model can be used to value these very long-lived (ten-year) options. Can be used to teach basic option valuation using Black-Scholes, but also raise dynamic hedging issues of interest to advanced students.
Iron Oxide-Coated GAC Adsorbents: Diffusion-Controlled Sorption of Selenite

Iron oxide-impregnated granular activated carbon has been proven to be successful in removal of selenite (Se(IV)) from aqueous solution. However, the key application component of the mass transfer ...
Some Effects of Alpha Dinitrophenol on Pregnancy in the White Rat.

Summary(1) Dinitroplienol administered intragastrically twice daily, in 20 mg. per kg. of body weight did not appreciably affect the fertility of white rats. (2) This dosage of dinitrophenol in the presence of an unlimited diet did not appreciably affect the body weight gains of mothers during pregnancy. (3) Neither did it affect the average number of young horn to each mother. Rats given dinitrophenol intragastrically will bear about as many young per litter as control rats, but the number of stillbirths is increased 3% times over that of the control litters. (4) During the nursing period the mortality of the young of dinitrophenol-treated mothers was considerably greater than that of the young of control mothers.
TOWARDS A SOLUTION FOR INTEROPERABILITY OF SMART HOMES DEVICES

During the recent years, we can observe how mobile devices entered in the lives of people, becoming their main personal assistants and helping in various daily tasks. However not just mobile devices have evolved. And others electronic devices we use every day also experienced changes that have become smarter as the example of home devices. All these devices interconnected in the same environment or the same network, making use of services and exchange information with other devices, characterize a smart environment. smarthomes are special class of such environments and, increasingly, has become a scene with a variety of heterogeneous devices. However, due to the rapid progress of technology and the rise of a large number of heterogeneous devices, a variety of independent communication protocols were created, establishing a complex scenario to ensure interoperability between them. In this context, the main objective of this paper is to analyze the state of the art with an emphasis on the interoperability of current Mobile Devices with other digital devices present in a smarthome. Thus, it will be defined which protocols are currently most commonly used for this purpose, what are the current ongoing projects, what are the limitations of the solutions found in the research and, finally, it will be proposed an alternative solution for interoperability between the devices at a smarthome..
Epidemiological analysis of infectious diseases in Anhua county from 1997 to 2009

Objective To explore the prevalence of infectious diseases in Anhua county so as to provide reference for the future control measures.Methods Descriptive epidemiological method was used to analyze the prevalence of infectious diseases in Anhua from 1997 to 2009.Results Altogether 20,045 cases of 20 kinds of infectious diseases were reported,178 cases dead,with an average annual morbidity of 158.96/100 thousand,and mortality of 1.41/100 thousand.The morbidity tended to increase on the whole,yet there was no statistical difference in morbidity between years(χ2=15 313,P0.05).The average annual morbidity of respiratory infections was 71.37/100 thousand,ranking the first onset,that of blood and sexually transmitted diseases 68.39/100 thousand,ranking the second.Intestinal infections with morbidity of 14.59/100 thousand ranked the third,and vector-borne and natural foci infections with morbidity of 4.59/100 thousand ranked the fourth.The diseases ranking the top five morbidities were viral hepatitis,tuberculosis,gonorrhea,bacterial dysentery and syphilis.Tuberculosis,of which 8,329 cases were reported,accounting for 39.36% of the total number of infectious diseases,ranked first in all kinds of infectious diseases.Conclusions During the period of 13 years,intestinal infections and natural foci diseases have been effectively controlled in Anhua county,yet the morbidity of respiratory infectious diseases as well as blood and sexually transmitted diseases tend to increase and remain at a high level.EPI targeted diseases are effectively controlled,while AIDS tends to spread increasingly.
Melt-Spun Magnets

The discovery of high performance melt-spun Nd-Fe-B magnets ushered in a new era in permanent magnets. Since then, melt-spinning has proven to be a powerful and versatile technique for magnetic hardening, and a commercially viable alternative to conventional powder metallurgy (sintering) processing. Although most often viewed as a means of making amorphous metals, its success in fabricating permanent magnets depends instead on its ability to produce nanocrystalline material: crystalline compounds with submicron grain sizes. The wide variety of materials amenable to melt-spinning makes it an excellent research tool for exploring the potential as permanent magnets of compounds having favorable intrinsic magnetic properties, and evaluating the effects of compositional variations and additives on their hard magnetic properties. As a non-equilibrium process it is capable of fabricating magnetically hard metastable compounds which are difficult or impossible to make by more conventional means. Most recently, melt-spinning has been used to magnetically harden Sm-Fe-V and Sm-Fe-Ti alloys.
Remote pain in the diagnosis of abdominal diseases.

Remote pain of visceral disease does not always have qualities suggestive of visceral origin. However, pain in certain areas should arouse suspicion of abdominal disease. Lack of associated abdominal pain does not exclude an abdominal lesion as the source of the trouble. Remote pain may be either referred or somatic, and unless visceral causes are considered the true diagnosis may be missed.
The effects of fluticasone propionate on nasal epithelial potential difference.

Background Human airway epithelium maintains homeostasis of the fluid and salt composition at the airway surface by a regulated transport of sodium and chloride ions. The volume and composition of airway surface liquid have been shown to be important in the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis, nasal inflammatory disease, and nasal polyposis. The presence of functional epithelial sodium and chloride channels in the airway epithelium can be evaluated electrically by measuring the voltage across the nasal epithelium (Vt). Because fluticasone propionate is commonly used to treat nasal inflammatory diseases, we tested its effect on the nasal ion transport. Methods A single-blind prospective trial was performed on 12 healthy volunteers. Subjects were randomized to receive either fluticasone propionate or normal saline nasal spray twice daily for 2 weeks. We measured the nasal voltage at baseline, days 3 and 14, and 2 weeks after cessation of treatment. The basal voltage, the change in voltage after perfusion with amiloride (sodium channel blocker), and the change in voltage after perfusion with isoproterenol in a low-chloride buffer (chloride channel activator) were recorded. Saccharin clearance times were measured also. Results Two-week treatment with fluticasone propionate resulted in a significant increase in the change in Vt after perfusion with amiloride. There was no significant change in the group treated with normal saline. These findings also were observed on day 3 and were reversed completely after the 2-week washout period The increase in amiloride-sensitive Vt did not result in a decrease in mucociliary clearance. Conclusions This study suggests that one effect of fluticasone propionate use on nasal mucosa in normal volunteers is increased epithelial sodium absorption.
Dissertation Abstract: The Relationship of Work Role Involvement to Job Characteristics with Higher-Order Need Satisfaction Potential.

The article presents abstracts of studies on business management, including “The Relationship of Work Role Involvement to Job Characteristics With Higher-Order Need Satisfaction Potential', by John...
Discoidin Domain Receptors in Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and Europe. Tyrosine kinases, involved in signal transduction pathways, are frequently mutated in lung cancer, and novel therapeutic interventions have substantially improved the outcome for patients whose tumors have detectable mutations. The discoidin domain receptors (DDRs) are members of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family. They are activated by collagen, and mounting evidence from biological model systems suggests key roles for these receptors in tumor cell invasion, migration, and metastatic spread. Several investigations have described associations between expression levels or mutations of DDRs and patients’ survival and response to therapy. However, results from these studies are inconsistent and sometimes contradictory, which may be explained by differences in the use of analytic methods, the retrospective nature of study reports, and differences in biospecimen procurement, storage, and processing.
Seeing the Wrecking Ball in Motion: Ex Parte Protection Orders and the Realities of Domestic Violence

The authors explored the reasons why judges too often fail to see the likelihood of future violence — the wrecking ball in motion — when petitioners request ex parte orders of protection in domestic violence cases. One reason is that the dynamics of domestic violence are very different from the dynamics at play in other situations wherein petitioners request emergency ex parte orders. Another reason is that the dynamics of domestic violence are counterintuitive and judges often do not understand them. Because judges do not understand these dynamics, they often misapply assumptions (called cognitive schemas and scripts) from other domains to domestic violence situations where they are inappropriate. Like all people, judges use decision-making shortcuts such as heuristics and reason-based or justification-based decision-making to overcome cognitive limitations, but the criteria they use for these shortcuts are too often inappropriate and fail to consider the dynamics of domestic violence. Judges also inappropriately rely on gendered stereotypes when deciding whether to grant emergency domestic violence ex parte orders of protection, and because the potential consequences of denying requests for emergency ex parte orders of protection are delayed and uncertain, judges have a tendency to discount the likelihood of further abuse in some situations. The authors analyzed reported judicial decisions and court observations and found strong evidence of the problems in decision making noted above, leading to some survivors of domestic violence not receiving the protection they needed from further abuse. The authors propose legislative reforms that better take into account the dynamics of domestic violence and that provide judges with a heuristic to use that capture the realities of domestic violence. If implemented, these reforms should better protect survivors of domestic violence from further, often escalating, abuse. The authors also consider and propose measures to protect those accused of abuse from false accusations and address related thorny issues that arise in judicial decision making in this area of law.
Role of the Native Outer-Membrane Environment on the Transporter BtuB

BtuB is a TonB-dependent transporter that permits the high-affinity binding and transport of cobalamin (CBL), or vitamin B12, across the asymmetric outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria. It has been shown that Ca2+ binding is necessary for high-affinity binding of CBL to BtuB, and earlier simulations suggested that calcium ions serve to stabilize key substrate-binding extracellular loops. However, those simulations did not account for the lipopolysaccharides in the OM. To illuminate the roles of both Ca2+ and lipopolysaccharides in protein functionality, we performed simulations of apo and Ca2+-loaded BtuB in symmetric and asymmetric bilayers. The simulations reveal that the oligosaccharides of LPS stabilize the extracellular loops to some degree, apparently obviating the need for Ca2+. However, it is shown that Ca2+ ions stabilize a key substrate-binding loop to an even greater degree, as well as reposition specific CBL-binding residues, bringing them closer to the organization found in the CBL-bound structure. These results indicate the importance of including realistic membrane models when simulating outer-membrane proteins.
LOGIQ E9 Shear Wave Elastrography for Detection of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus.

OBJECTIVES Shear wave elastography (SWE) is an emerging technology that assesses hepatic fibrosis. The aim of our study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of General Electric (GE) Healthcare's LOGIQ E9 SWE in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus using liver biopsy as the reference standard. METHODS The liver stiffness of 43 subjects with hepatitis C virus was assessed using LOGIQ E9 SWE immediately before they underwent liver biopsy. The Fibrosis-4 Index (FIB-4) and Aspartate Aminotransferase-to-Platelet Index (APRI) were calculated, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were determined. RESULTS Mild hepatic fibrosis (F0-F2) was noted in 30 of the 43 (69.7%) patients and advanced disease (F3-F4) was seen in 13 of the 43 (30.3%) individuals. Using the GE LOGIQ E9 SWE proposed cutoff value of ≥9.4 kPa for advanced fibrosis, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were only 69.2%, 73.3%, 52.9%, and 84.6%, respectively. The post hoc analysis identified best cutoff values of <9.4 and ≥12 kPa, thereby classifying 76% of patients with an NPV of 84.6% and a PPV of 85.7%. The Aminotransferase-to-Platelet Index results were as follows: 83.3%, sensitivity, 95.2% specificity, 83.3% PPV, and 95.2% NPV in 27 of the individuals (37% remained unclassifiable). The FIB-4 Index demonstrated 100% sensitivity, 76.9% specificity, 66.6% PPV, and 100% NPV; however, 24 (56%) of the patients were classified within the indeterminate range. CONCLUSIONS In our cohort, the proposed GE LOGIQ value of ≥9.4 kPa did not adequately discriminate subjects with advanced fibrosis. Further prospective evaluation of our post hoc analyses is warranted to identify the ideal cutoff values for the LOGIQ E9 system.
Gallbladder cancer (GBC): 10-year experience at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC)

4648 Background: The incidence of GBC in the US is 1.2/ 100,000. Given the dearth of phase III data on the use of adjuvant therapy, institutional review can provide a justification for future studi...
Steam-water cycle chemistry relevant to nuclear steam generators

Abstract Steam generators are one of the most important key components of pressurized water reactors. Besides their basic design function of steam production, their most important function from a safety point of view is being the barrier between the radioactive primary coolant and the nonradioactive fluids in the water-steam cycle. Any degradation mechanism impacting this barrier is a significant safety concern. This chapter gives an overview of the historical and currently applied water chemistry strategies and measures applied in PWRs. Furthermore, the influence of those strategies and measures on safe and reliable steam generator operation is outlined. Optimum water chemistry treatment focuses not only on the steam generator itself, but rather on the whole steam-water cycle including components like heaters, piping, feed water tank, etc. Keeping the steam generators clean and in good shape (as main target) is therefore not limited to the SG itself. The target of the chapter is to emphasize the importance of water chemistry for reliable operation and to outline the most important parameters and correlations, which are possible impacting SG integrity and/or operation.
Contributions of Indian Mathematicians to Quantum Statistics

While modern Algebra and Number Theory have well documented and established roots deep into India’s ancient scholarly history, the understanding of the springing up of statistics, specifically quantum statistics, demands a closer inquiry. My project is two-fold. Firstly, I explore and delineate the cultural and educational circumstances that presided over the inception of the very concept that quantum theory required its own dedicated statistical analysis. My quest therefore is anchored in a brief review of the pioneering contributions of personalities as diverse as those of Bose and Chandrasekhar, or Raman and Krishnan, and Mahalanobis. Secondly, I examine how the intellectual climate and some of the local mathematical traditions have fostered the ongoing development of quantum probability and stochastic processes theories in India.
Adaptive magnetoelastic metamaterials: A new class of magnetorheological elastomers:

This article reports means to significantly enhance the adaptation of static and dynamic properties using magnetorheological elastomers and demonstrates the enhancements experimentally. The tunabil...
Porphyrias – An Overview and Update for Physicians and their Staffs

AbstractHeme is an essential molecule involved in various biochemical processes in many species. It is used in the formation of cytochromes P-450, mitochondrial cytochromes, hemoproteins, catalase, peroxidase, myoglobin, and hemoglobin. Formation of the heme molecule involves a multistep process using eight enzymes. Biosynthesis of heme occurs in the mitochondria and in the cytoplasm. Most tissues in the human body synthesize heme, but the main sites of formation are in the bone marrow (erythroblasts) and in the liver (hepatocytes). Porphyrias are a unique group of disorders mainly due to inborn errors of metabolism of the heme synthetic pathway. The deficient activity of the enzymes can lead to a build-up of heme precursors, resulting in wide heterogeneity of clinical symptoms. To date, there are nine described porphyrias: aminolevulinic acid dehydratase deficient porphyria (ALADP), acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), hereditary coproporphyria (HCP), variegate porphyria (VP), porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT), hepatoerythropoietic porphyria (HEP), congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP), erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP), and X-linked protoporphyria (XLPP). The classification of porphyrias is based on 1) the main sites of heme precursor synthesis (hepatic, erythropoietic), 2) acute or chronic porphyria, and 3) cutaneous involvement. In this review, we focus on AIP, PCT, and EPP, the three most common forms of porphyria in the United States. A case vignette for each of the three is provided and followed by a discussion regarding the clinical features, pathogenesis, diagnosis/management, and prognosis of each. Management of AIP currently revolves around avoidance of drugs and chemicals and severe caloric deprivation, which may trigger acute attacks, and use of intravenous heme for acute attacks. Exciting new therapies, particularly siRNA to down regulate hepatic 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase, are under active development. Management of EPP currently involves protection from sunlight, but implants of afamelanotide have shown good efficacy and are already approved by the European Medicines Agency.
Interpreting Change in Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers.

Rationale and Objectives Quantitative imaging biomarkers (QIBs) are becoming increasingly adopted into clinical practice to monitor changes in patients' conditions. The repeatability coefficient (RC) is the clinical cut-point used to discern between changes in a biomarker's measurements due to measurement error and changes that exceed measurement error, thus indicating real change in the patient. Imaging biomarkers have characteristics that make them difficult for estimating the repeatability coefficient, including nonconstant error, non-Gaussian distributions, and measurement error that must be estimated from small studies. Methods We conducted a Monte Carlo simulation study to investigate how well three statistical methods for estimating the repeatability coefficient perform under five settings common for QIBs. Results When the measurement error is constant and replicates are normally distributed, all of the statistical methods perform well. When the measurement error is proportional to the true value, approaches that use the log transformation or coefficient of variation perform similarly. For other common settings, none of the methods for estimating the repeatability coefficient perform adequately. Conclusion Many of the common approaches to estimating the repeatability coefficient perform well for only limited scenarios. The optimal approach depends strongly on the pattern of the within-subject variability; thus, a precision profile is critical in evaluating the technical performance of QIBs. Asymmetric bounds for detecting regression vs progression can be implemented and should be used when clinically appropriate.
Additive Manufacturing of Luneburg Lens Antennas Using Space-Filling Curves and Fused Filament Fabrication

We demonstrate a new method for realizing Luneburg lens antennas with nearly continuously graded permittivity profiles in three dimensions. The method combines fused filament fabrication, a nearly ubiquitous additive manufacturing technique, with an effective media approach that employs space-filling curves. We experimentally validate our design methodology by fabricating and characterizing two Luneburg lenses designed to operate at separate frequency bands (26–40 GHz and 70–110 GHz) with antenna gains of 20 and 24 dBi, respectively. The results demonstrate good agreement with rigorous electromagnetic simulations. We also demonstrate the ability to passively beam steer over a wideband of operation (26–40 GHz and 70–110 GHz) with less than 0.5% power loss due to dielectric material losses within the Luneburg lens.