cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of Boron for the Control of Eutypa Dieback of Grapevines.

ABSTRACT Eutypa dieback is a perennial canker disease of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) caused by Eutypa lata. The fungus produces ascospores, which infect grapevines through pruning wounds during the dormant season. Management of the disease has been achieved with fungicide applications during the dormant period. However, no effective fungicide was available for this purpose after Benlate was withdrawn from the market. Boric acid (17.5% a.i. boron), a potential alternative to Benlate, was tested in the present study against E. lata. The EC50 values for inhibition of mycelial growth and ascospore germination were 125 and 475 μg of boric acid per ml (22 and 83 μg a.i./ml), respectively. Two boron-based treatments were developed and tested in vitro and in four field trials during 2001 to 2003. One product, biopaste, contained 5% boric acid (8.75 mg a.i./ml) in a commercial paste. The second product, bioshield, contained 5% boric acid in a spore suspension of Cladosporium herbarum. Both products significantly re...
Development of a modern biosystems based undergraduate bioengineering program at Binghamton

Binghamton University has initiated a new bioengineering undergraduate program grounded in complex systems theory. Our goal is to create a core curriculum, combining computationally based learning with laboratory experiences, which will provide students with the foundation for dealing with the inherent complexity of biological and biomedical systems, whether at the molecular, tissue, organismic, or clinical system level.
Humans as Geologic Agents

Humans as Geologic Agents began as a 2002 Geological Society of America (GSA) annual meeting thematic session dedicated to George Kiersch. The volume from that session, edited by J. Ehlen, W. Haneberg, and R. Larson, is a far-reaching collection of 13 papers totaling 168 pages that cover diverse topics in engineering geology. The geographic focus of this volume is predominantly the United States, but the examples and engineering principles and practices in those papers are applicable to any region of our planet where humans have interacted with and modified the landscape. The volume is not arranged in any apparent order, except that the opening paper by Allen Hatheway is devoted to George Kiersch and describes his profound impact on the field of engineering geology. For George, it was “all about site characterization” and the detailed field observations that are essential elements of a successful engineering geological investigation. That is the overarching theme of the volume. The chapter “Effects of Human Activity on Lineation Analysis,” by J. Ehlen, reiterates that principle for lineation analysis around Dartmoor, England. There, lineation mapping is strongly biased by human activities dating from at least 4000 b.c., when Bronze Age people began building field boundaries (reaves) across the landscape. The idea of careful site characterization is beautifully examined in the analysis of the Glen Creek landslide by Philip Johnson. In this case, the …
Learning the meaning of music

Expression as complex and personal as music is not adequately represented by the signal alone. We define and model meaning in music as the mapping between the acoustic signal and its contextual interpretation---the 'community metadata' based on popularity, description and personal reaction, collected from reviews, usage, and discussion. In this thesis we present a framework for capturing community metadata from free text sources, audio representations general enough to work across domains of music, and a machine learning framework for learning the relationship between the music signals and the contextual reaction iteratively at a large scale. Our work is evaluated and applied as semantic basis functions ---meaning classifiers that are used to maximize semantic content in a perceptual signal. This process improves upon statistical methods of rank reduction as it aims to model a community's reaction to perception instead of relationships found in the signal alone. We show increased accuracy of common music retrieval tasks with audio projected through semantic basis functions. We also evaluate our models in a 'query-by-description' task for music, where we predict description and community interpretation of audio. These unbiased learning approaches show superior accuracy in music and multimedia intelligence tasks such as similarity, classification and recommendation. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
A new genus and species of Macrochelidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) associated with the Texas leafcutting ant, Atta texana (Buckley) in Louisiana, USA.

Adults and nymphs of a new genus and species of the family Macrochelidae are described from detritus cavities of the leafcutting ant, Atta texana. This new species is notable in having peritremes with no posterior loop, a series of small subterminal teeth on the fixed cheliceral digit rather than the single large tooth typical of other macrochelids and well-developed paranal cribral extensions in both the protonymph and the deutonymph, but not in adults.
Residual scaling techniques in multigrid, I: Equivalence proof

This paper addresses the residual scaling techniques (coarse-grid-correction optimization techniques) in multigrid methods. We surveyed recent developments in this area and prove the equivalence of the overweighted residual technique and the overcorrection technique. This leads to the proof of mathematical equivalence of the prescaling and postscaling acceleration techniques. Two theorems have been proved to unify the concept of the residual scaling techniques. These theoretical results clear the way for developing efficient prescaling acceleration techniques for practical applications. Those practical prescaling acceleration techniques are discussed in a companion paper: Residual scaling techniques, II: practical applications.
Outcomes of Extraperitoneal Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy in the Morbidly Obese: A Propensity Score-Matched Study.

Abstract Introduction: An increasing number of obese patients (body mass index [BMI] >30 kg/m2]) with localized prostate cancer are presenting as candidates for robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), which can be carried out using the transperitoneal or the extraperitoneal (EP) approach. Morbidly obese (BMI >40 kg/m2) patients present as an especially challenging surgical cohort. We sought to evaluate the perioperative and pathologic outcomes associated with EP-RARP in morbidly obese men. Materials and Methods: In this institutional review board-approved study, our prospectively collected database (Cancer Information Systems [CAISIS]) was reviewed. One thousand six hundred sixty-three patients underwent EP-RARP for localized prostate cancer at our institution between July 2003 and December 2013 by a single surgeon. Forty patients were considered morbidly obese. A propensity score-matched analysis was performed using multivariate analysis incorporating 10 covariates to identify the comparable group o...
Rôle de la duplication partielle du gène SRGAP2 dans l'évolution et le développement du cerveau humain

Un evenement majeur de l’evolution du cerveau des mammiferes est l’expansion du neocortex et l’accroissement de sa complexite. Ces differences representent le substrat anatomique des differences cognitives et culturelles entre les humains et les primates non-humains. Cependant, notre comprehension des mecanismes genetiques, qui ont permis l’emergence de ces differences durant l’evolution, et leurs consequences sur la composition neuronale, les reseaux neuronaux ou le fonctionnement synaptique reste frag-mentaire.Il a ete montre recemment qu’un pic de duplications de segments de chromo-somes s’est produit dans la lignee humaine lors de la separation de cette derniere d’avec les primates non-humains (chim-panzes, bonobos), il y environ six millions d’annees. Les duplications de sequences genomiques representent un mecanisme d’innovation moleculaire majeur en per-mettant la creation de nouveaux genes au cours de l’evolution [1, 2]. Une trentaine de genes ont ete dupliques uniquement chez l’homme [3, 4], dont (
Electrophysiological Source Imaging of the Brain and Heart: Past, Present and Future

We reviewed the principles and applications of electrophysiological source imaging as applied to imaging electrical activity in the brain and heart. We discussed the historical development and state of arts of electrophysiological source imaging. Important trends of future development were also reviewed.
An isotropic universal decentralized estimation scheme for a bandwidth constrained ad hoc sensor network

Consider a decentralized estimation problem whereby an ad hoc network of K distributed sensors wish to cooperate to estimate an unknown parameter over a bounded interval [-U,U]. Each sensor collects one noise-corrupted sample, performs a local data quantization according to a fixed (but possibly probabilistic) rule, and transmits the resulting discrete message to its neighbors. These discrete messages are then percolated in the network and used by each sensor to form its own minimum mean squared error (MMSE) estimate of the unknown parameter according to a fixed fusion rule. In this paper, we propose a simple probabilistic local quantization rule: each sensor quantizes its observation to the first most significant bit (MSB) with probability 1/2, the second MSB with probability 1/4, and so on. Assuming the noises are uncorrelated and identically distributed across sensors and are bounded to [-U,U], we show that this local quantization strategy together with a fusion rule can guarantee a MSE of 4U/sup 2//K, and that the average length of local messages is bounded (no more than 2.5 bits). Compared with the worst case Cramer-Rao lower bound of U/sup 2//K (even for the centralized counterpart), this is within a factor of at most 4 to the minimum achievable MSE. Moreover, the proposed scheme is isotropic and universal in the sense that the local quantization rules and the final fusion rules are independent of sensor index, noise distribution, network size, or topology. In fact, the proposed scheme allows sensors in the network to operate identically and autonomously even when the network undergoes changes in size or topology.
High hospital admission rates and inappropriate care.

Abstract: This study tests whether the rate of inappropriate hospital admissions is high in areas with high medical admission rates. Seventy small geographic areas were formed by grouping Massachusetts ZIP codes by similarity of hospital use. Appropriateness of hospital admission was measured both by applying the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol and by applying physicians' judgment to the medical records of patients age sixty-five and older who were admitted for treatment of a medical condition in 1990-1992. No relationship between hospital admission rate and inappropriate admission rate was found, which calls into question the common assumption that areas with higher hospital use have more inappropriate use of hospital care.
Global synthesis of leaf area index observations: implications for ecological and remote sensing studies

Aim We present the first global synthesis of plant canopy leaf area index (LAI) measurements from more than 1000 published estimates representing ∼ 400 unique field sites. LAI is a key variable for regional and global models of biosphereatmosphere exchanges of energy, carbon dioxide, water vapour, and other materials. Location The location is global, geographically distributed. Results Biomes with LAI values well represented in the literature included croplands, forests and plantations. Biomes not well represented were deserts, shrublands, tundra and wetlands. Nearly 40% of the records in the database were published in the past 10 years (1991‐2000), with a further 20% collected between 1981 and 1990. Mean ( ± SD) LAI, distributed between 15 biome classes, ranged from 1.3 ± 0.9 for deserts to 8.7 ± 4.3 for tree plantations, with temperate evergreen forests (needleleaf and broadleaf) displaying the highest average LAI (5.1‐6.7) among the natural terrestrial vegetation classes. Following a statistical outlier analysis, the global mean ( ± SD) LAI decreased from 5.2 (4.1) to 4.5 (2.5), with a maximum LAI of 18. Biomes with the highest LAI values were plantations > temperate evergreen forests > wetlands. Those with the lowest LAI values were deserts < grasslands < tundra. Mean LAI values for all biomes did not differ statistically by the methodology employed. Direct and indirect measurement approaches produced similar LAI results. Mean LAI values for all biomes combined decreased significantly in the 1990s, a period of substantially more studies and improved methodologies. Main conclusions Applications of the LAI database span a wide range of ecological, biogeochemical, physical, and climate research areas. The data provide input to terrestrial ecosystem and land-surface models, for evaluation of global remote sensing products, for comparisons to field studies, and other applications. Example uses of the database for global plant productivity, fractional energy absorption, and remote sensing studies are highlighted.
VLSI partitioning of a 2-Gs/s digital spectrometer

A digital correlating spectrometer for radioastronomy that is based on a custom GaAs digitizer and a custom micropipelined CMOS correlator is described. The digitizer quantizes at two gigasamples per second (Gs/s) and 2-b resolution. A GaAs demultiplexer distributes the data into eight parallel streams of 250 Ms/s each. The CMOS correlator operates at 250 Ms/s using 20 mW per correlator lag. The correlator output is processed on a host microcomputer to create a 1-GHz spectrum of the input signal that can be displayed interactively. An 8*9-mm chip is being developed in a 2- mu process that contains 320 correlator lags. The design is partitioned into GaAs and CMOS components according to the required throughput at each stage of the system. The fastest signals (2 GHz) are kept on the chip level to minimize delay, crosstalk, system noise, and power consumption. Moderate-speed signals (250 MHz) are driven by GaAs components. CMOS components are used where high-speed outputs are not required. A strong synergy between the correlator architecture and micropipelined CMOS technology improves the performance by an order of magnitude compared to existing designs. Preliminary correlator chips have been built and tested at 250 Ms/s; final chips are under design. >
Influence of pH on Transungual Passive and Iontophoretic Transport

The present study investigated the effects of pH on nail permeability and the transport of ions such as sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) ions endogenous to nail and hydronium and hydroxide ions present at low and high pH, which might compete with drug transport across hydrated nail plate during iontophoresis. Nail hydration and passive transport of water across the nail at pH 1-13 were assessed. Subsequently, passive and iontophoretic transport experiments were conducted using (22)Na and (36)Cl ions under various pH conditions. Nail hydration was independent of pH under moderate pH conditions and increased significantly under extreme pH conditions (pH >11). Likewise, nail permeability for water was pH independent at pH 1-10 and an order of magnitude higher at pH 13. The results of passive and iontophoretic transport of Na and Cl ions are consistent with the permselective property of nail. Interestingly, extremely acidic conditions (e.g., pH 1) altered nail permselectivity with the effect lasting several days at the higher pH conditions. Hydronium and hydroxide ion competition in iontophoretic transport was generally negligible at pH 3-11 was significant at the extreme pH conditions studied.
In vivo iron quantification in collagenase‐induced microbleeds in rat brain

Brain microbleeds (BMB) are associated with chronic and acute cerebrovascular disease. Because BMB present in the brain is a source of potentially cytotoxic iron proportional to the volume of extravasated blood, BMB iron content is a potentially valuable biomarker both to assess tissue risk and small cerebral vessel health. We recently reported methods to quantify focal iron sources using phase images that were tested in phantoms and BMB in postmortem tissue. In this study, we applied our methods to small hemorrhagic lesions induced in the in vivo rat brain using bacterial collagenase. As expected by theory, measurements of geometric features in phase images correlated with lesion iron content measured by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Iron content estimation following BMB in an in vivo rodent model could shed light on the role and temporal evolution of ironmediated tissue damage and efficacy of potential treatments in cerebrovascular diseases associated with BMB. Magn Reson Med 67:711–717, 2012. V C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Flt3 ligand and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor preferentially expand and stimulate different dendritic and T-cell subsets

Objective. Mechanisms of T-cell stimulation by Flt3 ligand (Flt3L) and granulocyte-macro- phage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) remain unclear. Herein, we compared the effects of Flt3L and GM-CSF on the expansion of dendritic cells (DC) and T-cell subsets and cytokine expression. Methods. Naive and effector/memory T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry (FC). CD4 � and CD8 � T cells and CD11cCD11b dull/ � (DC1) and CD11cCD11b � (DC2) subsets were iso- lated and the frequency of IFN- � -, IL-12- (type 1) and IL-4-, IL-10 (type 2)-producing cells and cytokine mRNA expression evaluated. Results. Flt3L expanded both DC1 and DC2 subsets with a significantly higher percentage and number of DC1 than DC2, while GM-CSF preferentially expanded the DC2 subset. Iso- lated DC1 from Flt3L-injected mice had significantly higher levels of IL-12 (p40) than IL-10, while the converse occurred with DC2. The numbers of naive and memory T cells were ele- vated in mice that received Flt3L or GM-CSF. However, the number of memory CD4 � and CD8 � T cells was significantly increased in Flt3L as compared to GM-CSF cohorts. While GM-CSF increased the frequency of both type 1 and type 2 cytokine-producing cells, Flt3L significantly augmented the frequency of type 1 T cells. Conclusions. In contrast to GM-CSF, Flt3L preferentially induces the expansion of type 1 T cells. The mechanism of Flt3L-induced T-cell stimulation is associated with the expansion of the IL-12 (p40)-producing DC1 and memory T cells. © 2001 International Society for Ex- perimental Hematology. Published by Elsevier Science Inc.
COMPARATIVE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THREE SPECIES OF ANOPHELES FROM BELIZE, CENTRAL AMERICA, TO PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM (NF-54)

ABSTRACT In August of 2000, a comparative susceptibility study was conducted using 3 species of Anopheles mosquitoes from Belize, Central America, and a standard species used in laboratory infection studies, Anopheles stephensi. Test populations were fed human blood infected with cultured Plasmodium falciparum (NF-54 strain) parasites via a membrane feeder. The control species, An. stephensi, exhibited the highest infections, with 73.8% of dissected specimens positive for sporozoites in the salivary glands. The control species also showed heavier sporozoite loads; 74.0% of positive glands having greater than 200 sporozoites. Of species from Belize, Anopheles darlingi was the most susceptibile, e.g., 41.0% of salivary glands were positive, with more than 200 sporozoites per gland. Anopheles vestitipennis had a low salivary gland infection rate (9.3%) and a moderate number of sporozoites in glands (i.e., 85.7% containing 50–250 sporozoites). Anopheles albimanus was the least susceptible species to infection...
Can Earnings Innovations Explain The Inverse Relationship Between Unanticipated Inflation And Stock Returns

Hooks (1991) argues that the explanatory power of unanticipated inflation in stock return models appears to result from the relationship of unanticipated inflation with the earnings capitalization rate and not the impact inflation has on the level or growth rate of earnings. Here we extend this line of investigation by examining the relationship between unanticipated inflation and the earnings innovation extracted from a univariate earnings forecast. We show that unanticipated inflation has no significant relationship with innovations in conventional earnings. However, we find that unanticipated inflation has a significant positive relationship with the magnitude of the earnings innovation during the 1955-85 period when earnings are adjusted to account for the effects of inflation on firms assets and liabilities.
Finite Element Analysis

Finite elements (FE) is the only numerical method that can, in detail, analyze electronics packaging structures of complex geometric shapes, material combinations, and constitutive behaviors under variegated loading conditions. As a good example, the structure of Fig. 2.1 is a plastic quad flatpack chip carrier, its gull wing leads surface soldered to an epoxy-glass circuit card, the assembly deformed owing to temperature [1]. A brief introduction to the highly developed subject of FE will be given here.
From planning to execution to the future: An overview of a concerted effort to enhance biological control in apple, pear, and walnut orchards in the western U.S.

We embarked on a large project designed to help enhance biological control in apple, pear and walnut orchards in the western U.S., where management programs were in the midst of a transition from older organo-phosphate insecticides to mating disruption and newer reduced-risk insecticides. A “pesticide replacement therapy” approach resulted in unstable management programs with unpredictable outbreaks of spider mites and aphids. Our project was designed to provide growers and pest managers with information on the effects of newer pesticide chemistries on a suite of representative natural enemies in both the laboratory and field, potential of new monitoring tools using herbivore-induced plant volatiles and floral volatiles, phenology of the key natural enemy species, economic consequences of using an enhanced biological control program, and value of an outreach program to get project outcomes into the hands of decision-makers. We present an overview of both the successes and failures of the project and of new projects that have spun off from this project to further enhance biological control in our systems in the near future.
ANTITHROMBOTIC THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH AN INDICATION FOR ORAL ANTICOAGULATION AFTER TRANSCATHETER AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT

Aspirin (ASA) + clopidogrel is recommended for 3-6 months following transcather aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Many patients undergoing TAVR also have an indication for oral anticoagulation (OAC). Antithrombotic regimens prescribed to these patients have not been well studied. Chart review of all
Aggregated estimating equation estimation

Motivated by the recent active research on online analytical processing (OLAP), we develop a computation and storage efficient algorithm for estimating equation (EE) estimation in massive data sets using a “divide-and-conquer” strategy. In each partition of the data set, we compress the raw data into some low dimensional statistics and then discard the raw data. Then, we obtain an approximation to the EE estimator, the aggregated EE (AEE) estimator, by solving an equation aggregated from the saved low dimensional statistics in all partitions. Such low dimensional statistics are taken as the EE estimates and first-order derivatives of the estimating equations in each partition. We show that, under proper partitioning and some regularity conditions, the AEE estimator is strongly consistent and asymptotically equivalent to the EE estimator. A major application of the AEE technique is to support fast OLAP of EE estimations for data warehousing technologies such as data cubes and data streams. It can also be used to reduce the computation time and conquer the memory constraint problem posed by massive data sets. Simulation studies show that the AEE estimator provides efficient storage and remarkable deduction in computational time, especially in its applications to data cubes and data streams.
Effect of B-complex deficiencies on rat serum complement.

Summary1. Serum complement titers were studied in pteroylglutamic acid, biotin, riboflavin and pyridoxine-deficient rats and their respective controls. A decreased level of complement was noted only in the pyridoxine and riboflavin-deficient rats. This effect could be attributed to the concomitant state of inanition in these deficiencies. 2. The rates of serum complement regeneration in pyridoxine and riboflavin-deficient rats were similar to those of control animals.
Controlling Physical Properties of Iron Nanoparticles during Assembly by “Click Chemistry”

The use of chemical functionalization of nanoparticles for controlled assembly relies on selective surface modification that promotes highly specific chemical transformations. It is often also important to control physical properties of the materials produced by this approach, and in the case of iron nanoparticles, magnetic properties are often the target of the applications. Here, iron nanoparticles are assembled using “click chemistry”, with two batches of iron nanoparticles functionalized with 5-hexynoic acid and 5-azidopentanoic acid, respectively. The functionalization process and the final assembly are followed by a combination of spectroscopic techniques, scanning electron microscopy, and density functional theory calculations. Most importantly, the magnetic properties of the material produced can be retained, as demonstrated by vibrating sample magnetometer measurements, with substantial changes in the morphology of the material. The observed changes are attributed to partial oxidation of the prod...
Effect of Metals Purified by Electrolytic Deposition on Hemoglobin Regeneration in Anaemic White Rat

Recent work by Hart, Steenbock and others1 and Myers and Beard2 has given rise to opposing results as to the value of metals other than copper in the regeneration of hemoglobin in the anaemic white rat. The suggestion has been made3 that these differing results were due to the fact that the work was carried out in 2 rather widely separated localities. It has seemed to us that the publication of our results obtained in a third and entirely different section of the country might be of value as bearing on this point.The rats used were from a local laboratory strain, originally a Wistar Institute stock. The milk used came entirely from one cow, was milked in an enamelled vessel and brought to the laboratory in glass bottles, with the result that there was no contact with metal previous to feeding. This precaution was found to be necessary since neither raw nor pasteurized milk bought on the open market sufficed to produce an anaemia in the white rat, although it comprised the sole diet of the animals for a pe...
Teaching Scheme for Design of Asynchronous Pipeline Multiplier Based on FPGA

This paper takes the example of asynchronous pipeline multiplier to illustrate the design method of asynchronous circuit based on FPGA. Two handshake protocol is used. The asynchronous multiplier is divided to three modules: signal branching module,asynchronous shift module and asynchronous adder module. The method and steps to realize the asynchronous multiplier is explained,functional simulation is performed using Modelsim,and then the configuration bit stream is downloaded to the Genesys for system testing. The teaching scheme accords can help students to master the asynchronous circuit design method.
Observation of Local Redox Events at Individual Au Nanoparticles Using Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence Microscopy

Au nanoparticles (NPs) are known to be able to enhance the oxidation of tripropylamine (TrPA) and the generation of electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) from Ru(bpy)32+ when TrPA is used as a coreactant. Local redox activities of single Au NPs can therefore be investigated using the combined methods of voltammetry and ECL imaging. Our study shows that ECL generation at individual Au NPs increases with particle size (diameters from 30 to 300 nm) and is affected by the local chemical and charge transfer environment of the NPs. Such an ECL detection scheme can allow one to study the local redox activities of single nanoparticles with improved spatial resolution. ECL at single Au NPs shows slight temporal variations in intensity attributed to the oxidation and reconstruction of small clusters on the Au surface during ECL generation. Quantitative agreement between calculations and experiment concerning the effect of particle size and electrode potential on spatial and transient ECL profiles is presented.
Point of Care Echocardiography in an Acute Thoracic Dissection with Tamponade in a Young Man with Chest Pain, Tachycardia, and Fever.

Abstract Background Although thoracic aortic dissections are uncommon in young patients, they must be considered in the differential diagnosis in the presence of chest pain and abnormal vital signs. Although computed tomography angiography is the test of choice for thoracic dissection in the emergency department, point of care (POC) transthoracic echocardiography has a high specificity in the diagnosis of this disease. It is especially helpful in patients with proximal ascending dissections in the presence of a pericardial effusion. Case Report This case report illustrates a young patient presenting with chest pain, persistent tachycardia, and fever with a presumed upper respiratory infection who had an ascending thoracic dissection with tamponade discovered on POC echocardiography. Why Should An Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? POC echocardiography should be an important part of the algorithm in young patients presenting with chest pain and abnormal vital signs that do not improve with supportive measures. Definitive care in patients who present with a thoracic aortic dissection in the presence of cardiac tamponade diagnosed on POC echocardiography should not be delayed in order to wait for other imaging methods to be performed. POC echocardiography may expedite care and treatment in young patients presenting with this deadly disease.
The Concept in Life and the Life of the Concept: Canguilhem’s Final Reckoning with Bergson

Foucault famously divided the history of twentieth-century French philosophy between a “philosophy of experience” and a “philosophy of the concept,” placing Bergson in the former camp and his teacher Canguilhem in the latter. This division has shaped the Anglophone reception of Canguilhem as primarily a historian and philosopher of biology. Canguilhem, however, was also a philosopher of life and a careful reader of Bergson. The recently-begun publication of Canguilhem’s Œuvres completes has revealed the depth of this engagement, and a re-reading of Canguilhem’s final major statement on Bergson, the 1966 essay “The Concept and Life,” has thus become necessary. The basic problem of that essay is the relationship between knowledge and life in the history of biology and philosophy, with a special place for Bergson. Canguilhem’s strong criticism of him turns, however, on a misquotation. In claiming that Bergson fails to account for the struggle of the living being to maintain a species form, Canguilhem misconstrues the crucial Bergsonian distinction between vital order and geometrical identity; he thus misses the importance that Bergson accords to general biological tendencies, rather than to the generality of the species. Despite the differences on display in the 1966 essay, it will be argued that Canguilhem’s earlier remarks on Bergson show a surprising convergence in the underlying aim of each thinker’s biological philosophy: the call for a new ontology that grasps the ordered and intelligible character of life without relying on a principle of identity.
Robert Borofsky, Making History: Pukapukan and Anthropological Constructions of Knowledge

Robert Borofsky’s Making History, one of the most original and thought-provoking ethnographies I have read in some time, takes as its point of departure the Akatawa, a dual form of social organization briefly instituted on the island of Pukapuka in 1976. Borofsky wonders why, even though previous ethnographers had not mentioned this institution, his informants claimed that it had appeared repeatedly in the past. Although the Akatawa itself would seem a slight subject for even a short monograph, it provides a convenient excuse for parallel investigations of how ethnographer and native gather and validate knowledge, how they construct understandings of a culture’s past and present, and how these understandings influence each other. As a contribution to anthropological theory and methodology, Making History has multiple strengths. (As a contribution to Pacific ethnology, it falls outside my area of competence—I am a Latin Americanist.) Tactful and gentle concerning his predecessors, Borofsky steps quietly around the polemical pitfalls into which Freeman leapt. Stronger on fieldwork than on history and theory, perhaps a bit myopic about himself and his relationship to his predecessors, Borofsky is nonetheless always provocative and incisive.
Photo-physical studies of ruthenium(II) tris(1,10-phenanthroline) confined within a polyhedral zinc(II)-trimesic acid metal organic framework

Abstract The development of new classes of photo-active porous materials is of specific interest in photocatalysis and light harvesting applications. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) provide an excellent platform through which to develop photo-active materials as the large pores can serve as hosts for photo-active guests. Here the photophysical properties of [Ru(1,10-phenanthroline)3]2+ (RuPhen) encapsulated within a polyhedral Zn(II)-trimesic acid metal organic framework material, hereafter, USF2, are reported. Encapsulation alters the photophysical properties of the RuPhen exhibiting a biphasic decay of the triplet metal to ligand charge transfer state (3MLCT) with lifetimes of 142 ns and 966 ns at 20 °C relative to 320 ns for RuPhen in deaerated ethanol solution. In addition, the encapsulated RuPhen displays a hypsochromic shift in the steady state emission relative to RuPhen in ethanol from 586 nm to 579 nm. These results are quite distinct from the corresponding RuBpy@USF2 and it is suggested that RuBpy and RuPhen encapsulate within different cavities of the USF2 framework.
Reducing Curtailed Wind Energy Through Energy Storage and Demand Response

Curtailed wind energy is a challenge in utilities with high wind energy penetration. This happens mainly when wind generation exceeds load minus the minimum stable operating point of generation units. At first, the role of generation mix on the curtailed wind energy is analyzed. Then, demand response (DR) applications are modeled to quantify additional reductions in the curtailed wind energy. The uniqueness of this approach is that the impact of the DR rebound effect on the system load shape can be directly reflected. This allows scheduling of DR such that the rebound period (higher demand) aligns itself with high wind output period. This minimizes the need for curtailment. Next, the issue of charging/discharging different large-scale energy storage technologies (e.g., compressed air energy storage, pumped hydro energy storage, and batteries) is addressed. This allows their impact on wind curtailment to be analyzed in detail. Finally, various combinations of energy storage and DR options are considered for investigating their impacts on further reducing wind curtailments. This problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming using wind and load data from Bonneville Power Administration.
Second and third-order successive requantizers for spurious tone reduction in low-noise fractional-N PLLs

This paper presents 2nd- and 3rd-order digital requantizers which can be used as drop-in replacements for digital delta-sigma modulators in analog fractional-N PLLs to reduce fractional spurs. The requantizers are demonstrated and compared to conventional delta-sigma modulators in a low-noise 3.35 GHz PLL IC and shown to offer significant reductions in worst-case spurious tones with similar phase noise relative to their delta-sigma modulator counterparts.
Predicting discard mortality in Florida stone crab, Menippe mercenaria, using reflexes

Abstract Predicting discard mortality of species from fishery operations is essential for developing accurate stock assessments and determining sustainable fishery practices. The Florida stone crab, Menippe mercenaria, is a highly exploited fishery resource in which only the claws are harvested and declawed legal-size and both intact ovigerous females and under-size (i.e., sublegal) crabs are discarded alive. A technique for assessing discard mortality—the reflex action mortality predictor (RAMP) method—defines the relationship between the severity of reflex impairment observed in an animal and the likelihood of mortality. We successfully adapted the RAMP method to the Florida stone crab with the ultimate goal of furthering knowledge of delayed mortality of discarded sublegal animals in the fishery. We identified eight reliable reflex behaviors, then exposed 230 sublegal M. mercenaria to three treatments in laboratory conditions: no trauma (control, n = 25), physiological trauma (five different time periods of desiccation, n = 20–22 per treatment), or physical trauma (being dropped from five different heights, n = 19–21 per treatment). Crabs were evaluated and scored based on the impairment of reflexes immediately before and after treatment and again at the end of a 14-day holding period. Stone crabs survived the range of desiccation treatments but were sensitive to the damage sustained during dropping treatments. Analysis using a logistic exposure model revealed that reflex impairment and the height from which crabs were dropped were strong predictors of daily survival (i.e., probability of surviving a single day) with 76.5% correct predictions. Other variables (sex, carapace width, degree of external injury, and side of the body upon which the reflexes were tested) appeared only to minimally influence daily survival. When reflexes of sublegal crabs were scored immediately after removal from traps fished for two weeks in field conditions, RAMP revealed low reflex impairment, indicating that the impact of the traps was negligible. Therefore, the RAMP method should be a beneficial tool in assessing discard mortality rates of sublegal crabs, along with the efficacy of current handling and holding techniques in the stone crab fishery.
Separation of Human Hemoglobins by Electrofocusing

The isoelectric point (pI) of a protein is the pH at which the number of positive and negative charges of the protein molecule are equal, which means that the net electric charge of the molecule is zero. The procedure of electrofocusing is the separation of proteins based on differences in their pI.
SeqStruct: A New Amino Acid Similarity Matrix Based on Sequence Correlations and Structural Contacts Yields Sequence-Structure Congruence

Protein sequence matching does not properly account for some well-known features of protein structures: surface residues being more variable than core residues, the high packing densities in globular proteins, and does not yield good matches of sequences of many proteins known to be close structural relatives. There are now abundant protein sequences and structures to enable major improvements to sequence matching. Here, we utilize structural frameworks to mount the observed correlated sequences to identify the most important correlated parts. The rationale is that protein structures provide the important physical framework for improving sequence matching. Combining the sequence and structure data in this way leads to a simple amino acid substitution matrix that can be readily incorporated into any sequence matching. This enables the incorporation of allosteric information into sequence matching and transforms it effectively from a 1-D to a 3-D procedure. The results from testing in over 3,000 sequence matches demonstrate a 37% gain in sequence similarity and a loss of 26% of the gaps when compared with the use of BLOSUM62. And, importantly there are major gains in the specificity of sequence matching across diverse proteins. Specifically, all known cases where protein structures match but sequences do not match well are resolved.
Clinical utility of pharmacogenetic testing in children and adolescents with severe mental disorders.

This is a retrospective cohort study of 20 children and adolescents to evaluate the clinical utility of a pharmacogenetic decision support tool. Twenty children and adolescents underwent pharmacogenetic testing between June 2014 and May 2017. All children and adolescents were evaluated at Puerta de Hierro University Hospital-Majadahonda (Madrid, Spain). We report the proportion of patients achieving clinical improvement, amelioration of side effects, and changes in number of drugs. Data normality was assessed with the Shapiro–Wilk test, and changes of pre- and post-pharmacogenetic testing were analyzed with the Wilcoxon test for paired samples. A two-sided p value threshold of 0.05 was considered for significance. Pharmacogenetic testing helped to improve the clinical outcome as measured by the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) Scale in virtually all children (95%; 19 out of 20 children). The CGI improvement (CGI-I) was 2 (0.79) (range 1–4), 2.1 (0.56) (range 1–3), and 1.9 (0.99) (range 1–4) in foster and non-foster care children, respectively. Pharmacogenetic testing also helped to reduce the number of children using polypharmacy (from 65 to 45%), the mean number of drugs per children (from 3.3 to 2.4 drugs, p = 0.017), and self-reported relevant side effects (p = 0.006). Pharmacogenetic testing helped to improve the clinical outcome, and to reduce polypharmacy and the number of drugs used in children and adolescents with severe mental disorders. More evidence using robust (i.e., clinical trials) independent studies is required to properly determine the clinical utility and cost-effectiveness of pharmacogenetic testing tools in children and adolescents with mental disorders.
Effectiveness of Intravenous Dihydroergotamine for Pediatric Headache: Does Headache Diagnosis Matter? (P4.135)

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether effectiveness of intravenous (IV) dihydroergotamine (DHE) varies by headache diagnosis. Background: DHE is an effective medication for many patients with intractable, acute pediatric headache, but anecdotal experience suggests it may not be equally effective in different headache types. Design/Methods: This study was a retrospective review of inpatients at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who received IV DHE between January 2014 and July 2016. Data has so far been collected for 106 of the 194 subjects identified. Data was extracted from the chart, stored in RedCap, and analyzed with Stata. Subjects were included if their diagnosis was new onset headache (NOH) of 3mo), episodic migraine with status migrainosus (EM), or chronic migraine with status migrainosus (CM). Patients with cluster headache, post-concussive headache, chronic migraine with constant pain admitted for treatment of baseline pain, other headache types, and repeat admissions were excluded. Results: Of the 106 subjects, 92 had NOH, EM, or CM. There was a trend toward greater improvement after DHE for subjects with EM and CM compared to NOH. The median difference between admission and discharge pain scores was 3 points for NOH, 7 for EM, and 5 for CM (p=0.12). A smaller portion of NOH subjects (36%) were discharged with resolution of acute headache than patients with EM (55%) or CM (71%) (p=0.083). Of note, comorbid pain diagnoses were more common in subjects with CM (41%) than EM (17%) or NOH (0%) (p=0.005). Conclusions: The trend toward decreased effectiveness of DHE for NOH and the greater prevalence of comorbid pain diagnoses among subjects with CM suggest pathophysiologic differences between these headache types. Additional treatments are needed for patients with NOH. Disclosure: Dr. Fridinger has nothing to disclose. Dr. Szperka has received research support from Pfizer.
Supernova birth for a black hole

The mystery of how black holes form has generated several theories, including the idea that they are left behind after a supernova -- the explosion of a massive star. Evidence supporting this idea comes from a binary system containing a black hole, in which traces of the supernova are left behind in the atmosphere of the companion star.
Synthesis of high-specific volume carbon nanotube structures for gas-phase applications

Abstract A novel and efficient gas-phase method has been developed for synthesizing carbon nanotube (CNT) structures with very high specific volume, high surface area and high porosity. The resulting material has potential application as a catalyst and adsorbent support for gas-phase chemical processes and has several advantages over the conventional liquid-phase approach that involves multiple steps and takes many hours to days resulting in a dense mat of CNTs. Multi-walled CNTs were initially nucleated and grown on alumina nanoparticles using a liquid precursor of ferrocene dissolved in xylene. The CNT seeds were extended using ethylene as the gas precursor. Forces generated by CNT growth separated the alumina support clusters to result in a porous entangled structure with a 60 times gain in weight and a 1300 times gain in volume, compared to the original alumina particles. Effects of ferrocene injection rate, alumina particle sizes, and CNT growth parameters on the volume of the structure were analyzed and it was determined that high ferrocene input, moderate temperatures, and small alumina particles all favor the synthesis of high-volume CNT structures.
Late Holocene Structural Style and Seismicity of Highly Transpressional Faults in Southern Haiti

Author(s): Wang, J; Mann, P; Stewart, RR | Abstract: The devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake (Mw 7.0) was caused by rupture of the Leogâne, blind, thrust fault located 5nkm north of the 1,200-km-long, left-lateral, Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone (EPGFZ). Unexpectedly, the EPGFZ remained largely quiescent or slightly reactivated during the 2010 earthquake. Nevertheless, the EPGFZ still formed a major, crustal boundary between a coseismically uplifted lowland north of the EPGFZ and a subsided area in the highlands south of the fault. Here we use high-resolution sonar data from two Haitian Lakes that straddle the EPGFZ to demonstrate the presence of a 10- to 15-km-wide, 120-km-long, late Holocene fold-thrust belt which deforms clastic, lowland basins along the northern edge of the EPGFZ. In the eastern part of the study area, sonar results from Lake Azuey show that the linear trace of the EPGFZ cutting the Holocene lake bed is more deeply buried and less active than the adjacent, newly discovered, northwest striking, northeast dipping Jimani thrust fault that is part of the adjacent, transpressional belt of ennechelon thrusts and folds. This structural relationship between a less active EPGFZ and more recently active, transpression-related Jimani thrust is remarkably similar to the 2010 epicentral area 70nkm to the west between the less active EPGFZ and seismogenic, northeast-dipping, Leogâne thrust during the 2010 Haiti earthquake. In this complex transpressional zone, we propose that coseismic deformation alternates at recurrence intervals of centuries between oblique, transpression-related structures (Leogâne, Jimani, and Trois Baies thrusts) and the main strike-slip, plate boundary fault zone (EPGFZ).
A Comparison of the Prevalence Rates of Language Impairment Before and After Response-to-Intervention Implementation

Purpose This research note presents a secondary data analysis of language impairment (LI) prevalence rates of children in public schools before and after a statewide mandate for response-to-interve...
Severe Vitamin A Deficiency After Biliopancreatic Diversion.

Biliopancreatic diversion is a surgical procedure that causes weight loss via volume restriction and malabsorption. It is now rarely performed due to the risk of severe nutritional deficiencies inc...