cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhanced nondegenerate four-wave mixing owing to electromagnetically induced transparency in a spectral hole-burning crystal

We have demonstrated electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in an inhomogeneously broadened spectral hole-burning system of Pr(3+)-doped Y(2)SiO(5) at 6 K. We have also shown enhancement of four-wave mixing under conditions of reduced absorption. This demonstration opens the possibilities of pursuing EIT applications such as high-resolution optical image processing and optical data storage in solids.
Prostacyclin and vascular disease.

We hypothesize that prostacyclin (PGI 2 ) is an anti-atherosclerotic hormone and that atherosclerosis develops when endothelial PGI 2 synthetase is inhibited by lipid peroxides. Serum lipid peroxides occur in low-density lipoproteins (LDL). LDL lipid peroxides are elevated in common types of hyperlipoproteinaemias, PGI 2 generation is impaired in atherosclerosis, and infusion of synthetic PGI 2 into patients alleviates symptoms resulting from arteriosclerosis obliterans, central retinal vein occlusion or spontaneous angina.
Native and Nonnative Speakers' Pragmatic Interpretations of English Texts.

in the U.S. academic environment. The study compares nativespeaker (NS) and nonnative-speaker (NNS) evaluations of four short essays, two written by NSs and two by advanced ESL learners. In terms commonly used in the teaching of L2 academic writing (e.g. a text's purpose and audience, specificity, clarity, and adequate support), there was little similarity between NS and NNSjudgment. The effects of this disparity on L2 learners' pragmatic interpretations and practical applications of L2 writing conventions are examined and pedagogical implications are discussed.
Creatine Retention Capacity of Boys in Relation to Androgen Function12

It is known that prepuberal boys and girls and adult women exhibit a creatinuria though the adult male does not. Also that the tolerance for exogenous creatine is much less in the former group than in the adult male. The difference in tolerance between the sexes is, apparently, not due to a difference in sex, per se, since some muscular women exhibit a marked capacity to retain exogenous creatine (1). It is believed that a poor creatine tolerance occurs until about the age of 13 years and parallels the physiological creatinuria of adolescence (2). Castrates, eunuchoids, aged humans and those exhibiting hypogonadism also show impaired creatine retention. Thus interest is focused on the relation of hormones to the metabolism of creatine. Remen (3) found a creatinuria in elderly men (70–90 years), one eunuch and one castrate. These behaved like infants and children in that they excreted most of the injected creatine. Thus he concludes the male gonad has a definite effect on creatine excretion.
Strategy for ensuring a better future for the vessel wall

Prevention of cardiovascular events should involve an adequate control of the risk factors (diabetes, blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, etc). Once the thrombotic complications occur, the invasive approaches combined with potent antithrombotic agents appears to have some advantage over fibrinolytic therapy. A need for better and more efficacious antithrombotics is indicated by the high incidence of thrombotic complications. Among the new antothrombotic agents, the inhibition of the TF pathway (inhibitors of factors VIIa, Xa or oral thrombin inhibitors) seems to be more promising. Their efficacy should be demonstrated in large and controlled clinical trials.
Self-Esteem and Social Desirability in Relation to College Students' Retrospective Perceptions of Parental Fairness and Disciplinary Practices

This study examined the relationships that fathers' and mothers' interactive or disciplinary behaviors have with college students' Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory scores, Social Desirability scale scores, and their retrospective perceptions of their parents' fairness (50 sons, 84 daughters). Sons with higher scores in self-esteem reported that their mothers were fairer, had more interest in their activities, and were less likely to use verbal put-downs (abuse). Daughters with high self-esteem reported both of their parents were more interested in their activities, used praise more often, and refrained from verbal abuse. Also, these daughters reported that their mothers were more fair and encouraged their independence more. Daughters who reported their fathers as being more strict had lower self-esteem scores. There was no evidence that spanking, grounding, scolding, or monetary rewards had any effect on children's self-esteem scores, whether these methods were used by mothers or by fathers. Both sons an...
Improving Software Security by Eliminating the CWE Top 25 Vulnerabilities

CWE, which stands for Common Weakness Enumeration, is a project sponsored by the National Cyber Security Division of the US Department of Homeland Security to classify security bugs. It assigns a unique number to weakness types such as buffer overruns or cross-site scripting bugs (for example, CWE- 327 is "Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm"). Shortly after the Top 25 list's release, Microsoft unveiled a document entitled, "The Microsoft SDL and the CWE/SANS Top 25," to explain how Microsoft's security processes can help prevent the worst offenders (http://blogs.msdn.com/sdl/ archive/2009/01/27/sdl-and-the -cwe-sans-top-25. aspx).
Effects of copper supplementation on copper absorption, tissue distribution, and copper transporter expression in an infant rat model.

Infants are exposed to variable copper (Cu) intake; Cu in breast milk is low, whereas infant formulas vary in Cu content as well as the water used for their preparation. Little is known about the r...
Construction and Characterization of a 1,3-Propanediol Operon

The genes for the production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) in Klebsiella pneumoniae, dhaB, which encodes glycerol dehydratase, and dhaT, which encodes 1,3-PD oxidoreductase, are naturally under the control of two different promoters and are transcribed in different directions. These genes were reconfigured into an operon containing dhaB followed by dhaT under the control of a single promoter. The operon contains unique restriction sites to facilitate replacement of the promoter and other modifications. In a fed-batch cofermentation of glycerol and glucose, Escherichia coli containing the operon consumed 9.3 g of glycerol per liter and produced 6.3 g of 1,3-PD per liter. The fermentation had two distinct phases. In the first phase, significant cell growth occurred and the products were mainly 1,3-PD and acetate. In the second phase, very little growth occurred and the main products were 1,3-PD and pyruvate. The first enzyme in the 1,3-PD pathway, glycerol dehydratase, requires coenzyme B12, which must be provided in E. coli fermentations. However, the amount of coenzyme B12 needed was quite small, with 10 nM sufficient for good 1,3-PD production in batch cofermentations. 1,3-PD is a useful intermediate in the production of polyesters. The 1,3-PD operon was designed so that it can be readily modified for expression in other prokaryotic hosts; therefore, it is useful for metabolic engineering of 1,3-PD pathways from glycerol and other substrates such as glucose.
A flexible postoperative debriefing process can effectively provide formative resident feedback.

Background Providing residents with formative operative feedback is one of the ongoing challenges in modern surgical education. This is highlighted by the recent American Board of Surgery requirement for formal operative assessments. A flexible and adaptable procedure feedback process may allow attending surgeons to provide qualitative and quantitative feedback to residents while encouraging surgeons-in-training to critically reflect on their own performance. Study Design We designed and implemented a flexible feedback process in which residents initiated a postoperative feedback discussion and completed a Procedure Feedback Form (PFF) with their supervising attending surgeon. Comparisons were made between the quantitative and qualitative assessments of attending and resident surgeons. Free text statements describing strengths and weaknesses were analyzed using grounded theory with constant comparison. Results We identified 346 assessments of 48 surgery residents performing 38 different cases. There was good inter-rater reliability between resident and attending surgeons' quantitative assessment, Goodman and Kruskal gamma > 0.65. Key themes identified on qualitative analysis included flow, technique, synthesis/decision, outcomes, knowledge, and communication/attitudes. Subthematic analysis demonstrated that our novel debriefing procedure was easily adaptable to a wide variety of clinical settings and grew more individualized for senior learners. Conclusions This procedure feedback process is easily adaptable to a wide variety of cases and supports resident self-reflection. The process grows in nuance and complexity with the learner and may serve as a guide for a flexible and widely applicable postoperative feedback process.
Randomized phase III intergroup trial of etoposide and cisplatin with or without paclitaxel and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in patients with extensive- stage small-cell lung cancer : Cancer and leukemia group B trial 9732

Purpose To determine, in a randomized comparison, whether the addition of paclitaxel to etoposide and cisplatin improves the time to progression and overall survival in patients with extensive small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) compared with standard etoposide and cisplatin and to compare the regimens' toxicity. Patients and Methods Eligible patients (N = 587) with untreated extensive SCLC were randomly assigned to receive either cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on day 1 and etoposide 80 mg/m2 on days 1 through 3 administered every 3 weeks for six cycles (EP) or cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on day 1, paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 over 4 hours on day 1, and etoposide 80 mg/m2 on days 1 to 3 followed by recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on days 4 to 18 administered every 3 weeks for six cycles (PET). Results Reporting of demographics, response, and survival included 565 patients, of whom 282 were randomly assigned to receive EP and 283 were assigned to receive PET. Overall response rates were 68% for the EP arm and 75% for...
High Energy Tunable Coherent Source And Applications

Remote analytical sensing requires a high pulse energy tunable infrared source for detection of molecular species(1)This paper describes progress made in a Nd:YAG pumped, computer controlled LiNb03 parametric oscillator with a tuning range of 1.4 - 4.0 μm.© (1977) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Design and analysis framework for linear permanent magnet machines

This paper presents a design and analysis framework for the general class of permanent magnet electric machines. In the authors' analysis, surface-mounted linear motors consisting of permanent magnets and ironless current-carrying coils are treated in a uniform way via the magnetic vector potential. This analysis is developed to design novel linear magnetic levitators for driving precision motion control stages such as those used in wafer steppers. For one such motor structure, they give analytical formulae for its magnetic field, force, flux linkage, inductance of the winding, and back electromotive force. They provide experimental results with a six degree-of-freedom magnetic levitator. These results are in good agreement with analytical estimations. The levitator uses a permanent-magnet Halbach array in order to improve its power efficiency. By analogy, there also exists an electromagnetic dual of the Halbach array. One such dual utilizes a triangular winding pattern in order to achieve a primarily single-sided magnetic field.
Individual Counseling Is the Preferred Treatment for Depression in Breast Cancer Survivors

A substantial number of cancer patients experience depression. This study investigated treatment preferences for depression. Breast cancer survivors (N = 134) completed an anonymous survey asking preference and interest in three treatments for depression: individual counseling (IC), antidepressant medication (MED), or support groups (SG). Participants were recruited from a surgical oncology office and asked to complete the survey as they waited for their appointment. Preference was compared using Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests. More than 50% ranked IC as first choice of treatment. Preference for IC was significantly higher than preference for MED and SG. Preference between MED and SG did not differ. Survivors prefered counseling for treatment of depression. Cancer centers should be prepared to provide preferred treatment methods, particulary as screening, and therefore management, of psychosocial distress is to be required.
Analogies in Spontaneous Discourse

This paper presents an analysis of analogies based on observations of natural conversations. People's spontaneous use of analogies provides insight into their implicit evaluation procedures for analogies. The treatment here, therefore, reveals aspects of analogical processing that is somewhat more difficult to see in an experimental context. The work involves explicit treatment of the discourse context in which analogy occurs. A major focus here is the formalization of the effects of analogy on discourse development. There is much rule-like behavior in this process, both in underlying thematic development of the discourse and in the surface linguistic forms used in this development. Both these forms of regular behavior are discussed in terms of a hierarchical structuring of a discourse into distinct, but related and linked, context spaces.
Improved Solution of Optimal Impulsive Fixed-Time Rendezvous

A linear approach to the minimum-fuel problem of fixed-time multi-impulse rendezvous between vehicles on close circular orbits has proven to be simple and convenient. It deals with the linearized motion of the active vehicle relative to a reference point moving on a circular reference orbit. This paper shows that the normalized characteristic velocity is invariant with respect to each choice of reference orbit in the domain of normalized initial angular difference-normalized rendezvous time. Numerical examples are used to demonstrate the adaptability of linear solutions to the nonlinear case by means of a hybrid method. It is shown that the proposed mean velocity reference orbit more accurately describes the impulse locations and magnitudes than does the mean radius reference orbit.
A Nonparametric Density Estimation Method for Brand Choice Using Scanner Data

Nonparametric density estimation using a kernel method is proposed to model consumer brand choice. Recent availability of large scanner panel data allows the use of nonparametric approach, which has few or at least fewer underlying assumptions and affords greater structural flexibility. By removing as many assumptions as possible, the author constructs the “ultimate” nonparametric model, radically departing from the traditional approaches, to highlight the differences in implementation and performance. The proposed model does not involve either parameters that approximate certain distributions as in stochastic models or latent concepts such as utility as in utility maximization models. The performance criteria include prediction of market response and brand choice, share tracking, and robustness under violation of various assumptions involved in parametric choice models, such as correlated disturbance and misspecification. The method is compared with a popular parametric counterpart, the multinomial logit model, on simulated and actual scanner panel data. The paper emphasizes the conceptual importance of the nonparametric approach by discussing its advantages, limitations, and its complementary role in developing, refining, and diagnosing parametric models. This perspective affords insight to modeling philosophy and suggests the possibility of a hybrid approach.
On short-time-scale stress wave phenomena and initiation of mechanical faults in flip-chip configurations

Small scale mechanical faults including microcracks and interfacial delaminations that compromise the integrity of solder balls and bimaterial adhesion are crucial issues impacting the reliability of flip-chip devices of small feature sizes. A small rise in junction temperature in a gigahertz flip-chip ball grid array (BGA) is found to initiate broadband, dispersive stress waves having a main frequency in the 200-800 MHz range. Numerical investigations incorporating a generalized thermoelasticity formulated to account for short-time-scale thermal-mechanical phenomena show that these waves, although fast-attenuating with the short presence of a few microseconds upon power-on, propagate in the bulk and along bonding interfaces with extreme time rate of change of stresses as high as 10/sup 11/ Pascal/s (or 10/sup 11/Watt/m/sup 3/ in equivalent units). The high frequency and high power density associated with the propagating stress waves provide potent mechanisms for the formation of geometric singularities such as microcracks, small scale delaminations, and debond at short time scales (several microseconds). These singularities would eventually lead to mechanical detachment and ultimate electrical failure subject to the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch-induced stress state at operating temperature on a longer time scale (several minutes).
Targeted disruption of the estrogen receptor-alpha gene in female mice: characterization of ovarian responses and phenotype in the adult.

Targeted disruption of the mouse estrogen receptor-α gene (estrogen receptor-α knockout; ERKO) results in a highly novel ovarian phenotype in the adult. The ERKO mouse model was used to characterize ERα-dependent processes in the ovary. Visualization of the ovaries of 10-, 20-, and 50-day-old wild-type (WT) and ERKO mice showed that the ERKO phenotype developed between 20 and 50 days of age. Developmental progression through the primordial, primary, and antral follicle stages appeared normal, but functional maturation of preovulatory follicles was arrested resulting in atresia or in anovulatory follicles, which in many cases formed large, hemorrhagic cysts. Corpora lutea were absent, which also indicates that the normal biochemical and mechanical processes that accomplish ovulation were compromised. Northern and ribonuclease protection analyses indicated that ERKO ovary FSH receptor (FSHR) messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was approximately 4-fold greater than in WT controls. Ovarian LH receptor (LHR) mRNA ...
Synthesis and Dilute-Solution Behavior of Model Star-Branched Polymers

Abstract The occurrence of polymers branched in a random fashion is common. Chain transfer reactions can cause short- and long-chain branching in polymerizations such as the high-pressure polymerization of ethylene. Branching can also be introduced intentionally by the use of a polyfunctional monomer in end-linking polymerizations. Similar branching can be produced in addition polymerizations by the use of a small amount of difunctional monomer, e.g., divinylbenzene. There also has been much interest in graft polymerization by which long chain branches can be introduced onto a backbone, which is often a different polymer from the branches. The properties of branched polymers can be quite different from those of linear polymers of the same molecular weight. For example, bulk viscosities as well as concentrated and dilute solution viscosities can be lower for branched polymers than for a linear material of equivalent molecular weight. As an example, the melt processing behavior of polymers can be manipulate...
Monte Carlo Capabilities of the SCALE Code System

SCALE is a widely used suite of tools for nuclear systems modeling and simulation that provides comprehensive, verified and validated, user-friendly capabilities for criticality safety, reactor physics, radiation shielding, and sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. For more than 30 years, regulators, licensees, and research institutions around the world have used SCALE for nuclear safety analysis and design. SCALE provides a “plug-and-play” framework that includes three deterministic and three Monte Carlo radiation transport solvers that can be selected based on the desired solution, including hybrid deterministic/Monte Carlo simulations. SCALE includes the latest nuclear data libraries for continuous-energy and multigroup radiation transport as well as activation, depletion, and decay calculations. SCALE’s graphical user interfaces assist with accurate system modeling, visualization, and convenient access to desired results. SCALE 6.2, to be released in 2014, will provide several new capabilities and significant improvements in many existing features, especially with expanded continuous-energy Monte Carlo capabilities for criticality safety, shielding, depletion, and sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. An overview of the Monte Carlo capabilities of SCALE is provided here, with emphasis on new features for SCALE 6.2.
Green Tea Extract and Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Genotype Modify Fasting Serum Insulin and Plasma Adiponectin Concentrations in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Overweight and Obese Postmenopausal Women

BACKGROUND Green tea consumption has been associated with favorable changes in body weight and obesity-related hormones, although it is not known whether these changes result from green tea polyphenols or caffeine. OBJECTIVE We examined the impact of decaffeinated green tea extract (GTE) containing 843 mg of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate on anthropometric variables, obesity-associated hormones, and glucose homeostasis. METHODS The Minnesota Green Tea Trial was a 12-mo randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 937 healthy postmenopausal women assigned to either decaffeinated GTE (1315 mg total catechins/d) or a placebo, stratified by catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype. This study was conducted in a subset of 237 overweight and obese participants [body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m(2)]. RESULTS No changes in energy intake, body weight, BMI, or waist circumference (WC) were observed over 12 mo in women taking GTE (n = 117) or placebo (n = 120). No differences were seen in circulating leptin, ghrelin, adiponectin, or glucose concentrations at month 12. Participants randomly assigned to GTE with baseline insulin ≥10 μIU/mL (n = 23) had a decrease in fasting serum insulin from baseline to month 12 (-1.43 ± 0.59 μIU/mL), whereas those randomly assigned to placebo with baseline insulin ≥10 μIU/mL (n = 19) had an increase in insulin over 12 mo (0.55 ± 0.64 μIU/mL, P < 0.01). Participants with the homozygous high-activity (G/G) form of COMT had significantly lower adiponectin (5.97 ± 0.50 compared with 7.58 ± 0.53 μg/mL, P = 0.03) and greater insulin concentrations (7.63 ± 0.53 compared with 6.18 ± 0.36 μIU/mL, P = 0.02) at month 12 compared with those with the low-activity (A/A) genotype, regardless of treatment group. CONCLUSIONS Decaffeinated GTE was not associated with reductions in body weight, BMI, or WC and did not alter energy intake or mean hormone concentrations in healthy postmenopausal women over 12 mo. GTE decreased fasting insulin concentrations in those with elevated baseline fasting concentrations. The high-activity form of the COMT enzyme may be associated with elevations in insulin and a reduction in adiponectin concentrations over time. This trial was registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00917735.
Synthesis of Ni@SiO2 Nanotube Particles in a Water-in-Oil Microemulsion Template

SiO2 nanotubes containing Ni nanoparticles were synthesized in a template nonionic surfactant water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion, and were characterized by bright-field TEM. The highly defined cylindrical nanotube cavities had a uniform diameter of 12–13 nm; however cavity lengths were shown to be strongly dependent on aging time before silica precursor addition, hydrazine concentration, and synthesis temperature. Depending on synthesis conditions, Ni@SiO2 (i.e., core@shell) nanotubes attained lengths up to 2 μm. A hypothesis is advanced that gas phases form and remain entrained in reverse-micelles, effecting both their elongation and also the exclusion of agglomerating silica species to outer micellar regions, thereby causing cavity formation. SiO2 shell thicknesses could be controlled in the range of 5.1 to 12.4 nm by simple variation of the amount of silica precursor used. Furthermore, H2 chemisorption measurements demonstrated 14–15% Ni dispersions, and N2 physisorption analyses showed intraparticle por...
Growth and sexual dimorphism of the boat-tailed grackle

-At hatching, male and female Boat-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus major) are similar in size. By day 12, just before fledging, they differ in manus and tarsal lengths, tarsal thickness, and weight, but not in culmen, primary remex 7, and tail lengths. Male and female nestlings attain asymptotic weights of 102.4 g and 65.6 g, respectively, at a rate faster than predicted from the general passerine pattern. Furthermore, these asymptotes are only 54.8% and 65.3%, respectively, of adult weight. The combination of a faster growth rate and an asymptote below adult size means that grackles fledge sooner than would be expected for the general passerine pattern. Clutches of three eggs hatch asynchronously; the hatching of the third chick does not decrease growth rates of the early-hatching chicks. Thirdhatched young fledge at weights significantly below those of early-hatching young. Compared to males hatching from the first or second egg, males from the third egg require several more days to attain sizes larger than females. The pattern of growth represents an important component of an animal’s life history. Bird species differ widely in the rate at which young attain independence and adult size. Much of this variation is correlated with body size (Ricklefs 1968) and, presumably, fitness. For species in which the sexes differ in size, the pattern of growth often differs between sexes. Typically, at hatching, males and females of many size-dimorphic species do not differ significantly in size, but by fledging, one sex is significantly larger (Ricklefs 1968, Newton 1978, Moss 1979, Howe 1979, Fiala 1981). Frequently the smaller sex develops its plumage and motor skills sooner than the larger sex (Holcomb and Twiest 1970, Newton 1978, Moss 1979, Richter 1983). The larger sex may be more variable in growth and take longer to reach adult size (Howe 1979, Richter 1983). Asynchronous hatching leads to a size hierarchy among the nestlings (Howe 1976, Bryant 1978) which influences how the parents feed the nestlings and the nestlings’ subsequent growth. I have found little information about the effects of asynchronous hatching on the development of sexual dimorphism. Boat-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus major) are sexually dimorphic as adults; this dimorphism develops during the nestling period (McIlhenny 1937). I could find no detailed study of their growth. In central Florida, Boat-tailed Grackles typically lay clutches of two or three eggs (Bancroft 1983). Clutches of two, and the first two eggs in clutches of three, usually hatch on the same day, but several hours apart. In clutches of three, the third egg hatches one day later. Relative to adult size, grackles have a short nestling period (13-l 5 days). This suggests that they grow rapidly and/or fledge before they reach adult size. I investigated the development of sexual dimorphism in Boattailed Grackles and examined the effect of brood size and asynchronous hatching on their growth.
Determination of Free Amino Acids in Serum by Pre-column Derivatization and RP-HPLC

Objective:To establish a pre-column derivatization and RP-HPLC determination method for the determination of free amino acids in serum.Methods:After proteins were precipitated with methanol,the sample was derived by PITC with norleucine as its internal standard.The separation of 17 free amino acids was got on Venusil-AA column with a detection wavelength of 254 nm.The mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile-0.05% sodium acetate solution with gradient elution mode.Results:The linear range of 17 free amino acids was 15.6~500 μmol/L and the relative recovery averaged between 90%~110%,RSD≤5%.Conclusions:The method is sensitive,accurate and quick.Results of determination can be relevant for the clinical diagnosis of the disease,hence provides a reference.
Effect of fertilizer levels on plant growth and nutrient accumulation in sugarcane/soybean intercropping system

In this study,the plant growth in sugarcane/soybean intercropping system and the intercropping advantage were evaluated by plot experiments under different levels of fertilizer.The results revealed that plant growth parameters had no significantly difference between intercropping soybean and sole cropping soybean,while the root parameters,the number of nodules and the weight of nodules were improved under no fertilizer.However most of growth parameters in intercropping sugarcane decreased,but the total root length of sugarcane was not affected by intercropping.The accumulation amount of nitrogen,phosphorous and potassium in intercropping sugarcane was significantly lower than that in sole cropping,whereas only accumulation amount of phosphorus and potassium in intercropping soybean was significantly lower than that in sole cropping soybean under no fertilizer.The LER value of normal fertilizer and no fertilizer were all up to 1,which indicating that there were intercropping advantages under two fertilizer levels.The total accumulation amount of nitrogen,phosphorous and potassium in intercropping system was higher than those in sole intercropping.All these results indicated that the intercropping advantage did not show on the single plant but on enhancing land use rate.
Stenosis of individual pulmonary veins. Review of the literature and report of a surgical case.

Stenosis or atresia of the individual pulmonary veins is a rare condition that is usually fatal when untreated, even when only one side is involved. The lesion can be diagnosed at cardiac catheterization by pressure and angiographic data. The surgical approach to pulmonary vein stenosis must be flexible. The technique of repair will depend upon the local anatomy of each lesion. Those of the diaphragmatic type can be treated effectively by excision of the obstructing membrane. Increase of the vein's caliber can be achieved by patch angioplasty. When segmental stenosis or atresia is present, it may be necessary to anastomose the vein directly to the left atrium. Relief of most types of extrapulmonary venous stenosis and atresia should be possible with currently available techniques. If relief of the obstruction is not possible, undrained pulmonary tissue should be excised whenever technically feasible.
HIGH BETA RESULTS IN ISX-B WITH INTENSE NEUTRAL BEAM INJECTION

Experiments on the ISX-B device show a deterioration in confinement at high beam power. In particular the electron energy confinement time falls catastrophically with increasing beam power. The maximum volume averaged beta values achieved are <2.5%; this is much less than would be predicted by extrapolating the low power data. Elongation has not been observed to have any significant effect on the maximum attainable beta, perhaps due to the limited range of both internal and external elongation. The electron energy confinement time does not follow Alcator scaling at high injection powers. There are two likely candidates for the loss of confinement. The phenomena may be ..beta../sub p/ specific and caused by the gradual onset of resistive MHD pressure driven modes producing deteriorating confinement through fluctuations in the poloidal magnetic field. Alternatively the phenomena may be specific to the method of heating, neutral injection, being caused, for example, by plasma rotation, where the rotation speed approaches the ion thermal velocity. Experiments are in progress to investigate both of these possibilities.
Creating 'Reasonable Accommodations' for Disabled Individuals. The Golf Cart Test.

Identification of, and policies to discourage, discrimination have long been prevalent in academic research. While the evidence surrounding the consequences, efficacy, and desirability of affirmative action policies remains mixed, one area that remains unexplained is the workplace advantages gained to the discriminated group when affirmative action policies are implemented. Using the ADA’s requirement that businesses make reasonable accommodations for disabled individuals, I estimate the workplace advantage disabled individuals may have in a golf tournament. Exploiting the exogenous assignment of golf carts in intercollegiate golf tournaments, I find that golf carts actually provide no performance advantage and actually inhibit performance.
Incorporation of [2-3H]glycerol into rat brain 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine and 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol molecular species in vivo

Rat brain 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols (diglycerides) and 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols obtained from 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine after treatment with phospholipase C differ markedly in carbon number distribution. 70% of the 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols had a total of 38 fatty acid carbon atoms, and there was no detectable change in the 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol mass pattern between 7 and 23 days of age. In contrast, 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine contained at most 10% of this molecular species in the brains of rats of comparable age. A small increase in the C36 species of 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine, which is associated with myelination, was noted between 10 and 17 days. The incorporation of intracranially injected [2-3H]glycerol into 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine species with polyunsaturated fatty acids containing 20 or 22 carbon atoms was greater than into the species containing only saturated and/or monoenoic fatty acids between 30 min and 24 hr. The 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol fractions containing polyunsaturated fatty acids had the lowest specific activity at 30 min. The specific activity of the particular 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol fraction containing the stearate-arachidonate pair is the lowest for 4 hr after intracranial injection of the isotope. Thus, molecular species of 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol and 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine differed considerably in their labeling patterns, and a direct precursor-product relationship could not be demonstrated during the time period studied.
Achieving the performance benefits of hands-on experience when using digital devices

Digital devices have become ubiquitous fixtures in classrooms nationwide. Despite this rapid incorporation of tablet computers in educational settings, the costs and benefits of digitization are understudied. Prior research shows that reading comprehension tends to be best in physical rather than digital modalities. The current study extends these findings to physical and digital versions of spatial tasks. Participants engaged in a physical or digital tangram task and demonstrated significant performance differences in both accuracy and response time. Later, on a timed math test, participants solved more problems correctly and solved each problem more quickly if physical manipulatives, rather than a digital interface, were used in the tangram task. Two follow-up experiments showed that these performance differences are not due to interactional limitations of the tablet, but are instead likely driven by representational differences. These results show that priming physical representations of spatial tasks can reduce the digital task performance deficit. Physical interaction with tangrams yields spatial and math performance benefits.Benefits of physical interaction are not obtained with an analogous digital task.Interactional limitations do not account for interface-based performance differences.Spatial and math performance differences are mitigated by representational priming.
Preventive Medical Care and its Consequences: The Effect of a Randomly Assigned Physical Examination

How much preventive care is desirable? Should preventive care receive special attention and recognition in public health insurance programs, or specially favorable tax treatment in private insurance (as the Congress debates how such tax treatment should be structured in the future). These and other questions about public policy issues depend considerably on the efficacy of preventive care in achieving its goals. Rhetoric about prevention lauds its value, yet private insurance policies often deliberately exclude it from coverage. A number of studies have assessed the efficacy of preventive care, but most were flawed, some critically so; see Phelps (1978). This study uses data from a randomized trial, the Health Insurance Study (HIS) to assess the effects of a general physical examination upon the use of medical services and general health status.
Lie groups: basic definitions

Reminders from differential geometry This book assumes that the reader is familiar with basic notions of differential geometry, as covered for example, in. For reader's convenience, in this section we briefly remind some definitions and fix notation. Unless otherwise specified, all manifolds considered in this book will be C ∞ real manifolds; the word “smooth” will mean C ∞ . All manifolds we will consider will have at most countably many connected components. For a manifold M and a point m ∈ M , we denote by T m M the tangent space to M at point m , and by TM the tangent bundle to M . The space of vector fields on M (i.e., global sections of TM ) is denoted by Vect( M ). For a morphism f : X → Y and a point x ∈ X , we denote by f * : T x X → T f(x) Y the corresponding map of tangent spaces. Recall that a morphism f : X → Y is called an immersion if rank f * = dim X for every point x ∈ X ; in this case, one can choose local coordinates in a neighborhood of x ∈ X and in a neighborhood of f(x) ∈ Y such that f is given by f ( x 1 , … x n ) = ( x 1 , …, x n , 0, … 0).
Augmentation pharyngoplasty for treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency in children: Results with injectable dextranomer and hyaluronic acid copolymer.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS To evaluate the effectiveness, durability, and safety of a tissue filler (dextranomer and hyaluronic acid copolymer) when injected submucosally in the nasopharynx to treat velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) in pediatric patients. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective case series. METHODS Charts were reviewed for all patients treated with injectable filler at a tertiary children's center for VPI from April 2010 through September 2013. Main outcome measures included perceptual speech assessments before and after the procedure, velopharyngeal gap size on nasendoscopy, and nasalance. Length of follow-up, length of surgery, hospital admission, and complications were also identified. RESULTS After injection augmentation pharyngoplasty, 93% of patients had no or mild hypernasality, 83% had resolution of nasal grimace, and 96% had resolution of audible nasal emission. Complications were minor and included mucosal infection, neck pain, snoring, and obstructive sleep apnea. CONCLUSIONS Use of injectable filler to augment the nasopharynx is an effective, minimally invasive therapy for small or moderate-sized velopharyngeal gaps, with shorter procedural times, easier recovery, and acceptable durability. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4 Laryngoscope, 126:S5-S13, 2016.
Alcohol Consumption, Left Atrial Diameter, and Atrial Fibrillation.

BackgroundAlcohol consumption has been associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) in several epidemiologic studies, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We sought to test the hypothesis that...
Biomechanical Analysis of Normal Brain Development during the First Year of Life Using Finite Strain Theory

The first year of life is the most critical time period for structural and functional development of the human brain. Combining longitudinal MR imaging and finite strain theory, this study aimed to provide new insights into normal brain development through a biomechanical framework. Thirty-three normal infants were longitudinally imaged using MRI from 2 weeks to 1 year of age. Voxel-wise Jacobian determinant was estimated to elucidate volumetric changes while Lagrange strains (both normal and shear strains) were measured to reveal directional growth information every 3 months during the first year of life. Directional normal strain maps revealed that, during the first 6 months, the growth pattern of gray matter is anisotropic and spatially inhomogeneous with higher left-right stretch around the temporal lobe and interhemispheric fissure, anterior-posterior stretch in the frontal and occipital lobes, and superior-inferior stretch in right inferior occipital and right inferior temporal gyri. In contrast, anterior lateral ventricles and insula showed an isotropic stretch pattern. Volumetric and directional growth rates were linearly decreased with age for most of the cortical regions. Our results revealed anisotropic and inhomogeneous brain growth patterns of the human brain during the first year of life using longitudinal MRI and a biomechanical framework.
Approach Towards a Decision Support System for Additive Manufacturing

Advancements in the capabilities of additive manufacturing (AM) have increased its usage as an appropriate manufacturing process, particularly when the number of parts in an assembly can be significantly reduced, production volumes are low, or geometric complexity is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain through conventional subtractive processes. However, there are many reasons why it is best to not design a given part based on AM technology. The choice of conventional versus AM manufacturing must occur as early as possible in the design process as this choice can substantially affect how the product is designed. Making the wrong decision will lead to wasted design time, increased time to market the product, a functionally inferior design, and/or a costlier product. To address this critical manufacturing decision, we introduce a usable template and a decision making method for manufacturing process selection which is integrated early into the design process (DS-SAM). This work can serve as the logical foundation for a potential holistic and more mathematically rigorous formulation toward a decision making method that could infer design evaluations based on designer inputs. This approach improves early design efficiency and effectiveness by methodically focusing on the key design process elements to optimally compare alternatives earlier in a design process. The benefits and potential cost savings of using the DS-SAM approach are demonstrated by a pair of case studies, and the results are discussed.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
A second-generation low-background gamma-ray spectrometer

For the ultimate sensitivity in trace radiochemical analysis, the radiation detector must have high efficiency and low background. A low-background gamma-ray spectrometer in regular use at NIST for over twenty years is being supplemented by a new system, improved in several ways. The new detector is much larger, a shield of iron reduces cosmic neutron background compared with lead, large plastic scintillators reduce the muon continuum background, and a digital data acquisition system gives new opportunities for optimization.
EPA Regulation and Relative Food Cost

Cost-benefit analysis of agri-environmental regulation is limited in the sense that it only examines the effects a single regulation will have on the public and polluters. Further, important mechanisms through which the public might bear part of the cost of regulation are not examined. This paper uses new data that allows for examination of regulation by a specific government agency on a specific industry to determine whether and to what extent relative food costs are affected by regulation of agriculture by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The index allows for an examination of the overall effect of regulation, which is an important addition to the existing literature. Findings indicate that the costs of EPA regulation have not been borne solely by producers and that relative food costs would be lower now if EPA regulation had not increased over time.
Spiroperidol binding in the human caudate nucleus.

The displacement of spiroperidol binding by the optical isomers of butaclamol in synaptosomal preparations of the caudate nucleus obtained from parkinsonians and non-parkinsonians at post mortem were investigated. A group of spiroperidol binding sites found in the non-parkinsonians was less strongly expressed or absent in analogous tissue of the parkinsonian. The significance of these findings in relation to Parkinson’s disease and its treatment are discussed.
The role of pre-operative imaging and double balloon enteroscopy in the surgical management of small bowel neuroendocrine tumors: Is it necessary?

Background and Objectives Pre-operative localization of small bowel neuroendocrine tumors (SBNET) is important for operative planning. The aim was to determine the effectiveness of pre-operative imaging and double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) in identifying extent of disease. Methods Database review identified 85 patients with primary SBNET between 2006 and 2013. Analysis included patients who underwent imaging, endoscopy, and surgery at our institution. Results Average age was 60.7 years. Sixty-six (77.1%) patients had a primary NET in the ileum. Seventy-two patients (67.3%) underwent CT, 47 (46.7%) had MRI, 44 (46.7%) had somatostatin receptor imaging (SRI), and 41 (39.3%) underwent DBE. The sensitivity of each in identifying the NET was 59.7% for CT, 54% for MRI, 56% for SRI, and 88.1% for DBE. Eighteen (21.2%) patients had primary tumors not identified on imaging. Of these 18, 13 underwent DBE, and 12 of 13 (92.3%) DBEs identified the primary lesion. DBE was significantly better at identifying the primary NET than CT, MRI or SRI (P = 0.004, 0.007, and 0.012). Conclusions Most SBNETs are identified with a combination of imaging modalities. In those with unidentified primary tumors after imaging, DBE should be considered as it may provide valuable information as to the location of the primary tumor.
Soft errors in 7nm FinFET SRAMs with integrated fan-out packaging

The susceptibility of SRAM circuits to alpha induced soft errors is dominated by sources extrinsic to the circuit such as lead-bearing solder, and bumping materials. Using wafer-level integrated fan-out (InFO) packaging technology, alpha particles emitted from extrinsic packaging materials can be blocked by redistribution layers (RDL) in the packaging, leaving the soft error susceptibility due to intrinsic alpha sources associated with materials used to fabricated the circuit. With technology scaling, voltage dependent SER due to intrinsic alpha particles as well as high-energy neutrons is significantly reduced in 7nm SRAM.
Variance based joint sparsity reconstruction of synthetic aperture radar data for speckle reduction

In observing multiple synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the same scene, it is apparent that the brightness distributions of the images are not smooth, but rather composed of complicated granular patterns of bright and dark spots. Further, these brightness distributions vary from image to image. This salt and pepper like feature of SAR images, called speckle, reduces the contrast in the images and negatively affects texture based image analysis. This investigation uses the variance based joint sparsity reconstruction method for forming SAR images from the multiple SAR images. In addition to reducing speckle, the method has the advantage of being non-parametric, and can therefore be used in a variety of autonomous applications. Numerical examples include reconstructions of both simulated phase history data that result in speckled images as well as the images from the MSTAR T-72 database.