cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exomphalos with intestinal fistulation: Case series and systematic review for clinical characterization, management and embryopathogenesis.

Abstract Introduction Exomphalos with intestinal fistulation (EIF) is a rare variant of exomphalos with intestine opening to the surface of an intact sac, and may result in a diagnostic challenge. We report 3 new cases and conducted a systematic review of the literature, to characterize its association with the type of exomphalos and vitellointestinal duct (VI) as well as to evaluate its management and outcomes. Methods A literature search from PubMed using keywords pertaining to exomphalos and fistulation was used to identify all unique cases reported between 1950 and 2020, in addition to the case series reported here, to establish the clinical presentation, histological findings, management and outcomes. Results We found a total of 28 cases of EIF, of which 25 had been reported in 70 years from 19 reports. There was a male predominance (4-to-1 ratio). The majority presented as an exomphalos minor (n = 23, 82%) with a prolapsing patent VI duct (n = 16, 57%), most had evidence of Meckel's diverticulum (n = 25, 89%). All but one case were managed by fistula excision with or without ileal resection and anastomosis, followed by primary closure of the abdominal wall defect. All patients, except one with Trisomy 13 who received only palliative care, underwent surgery. Post-operative complications occurred in 7 patients (25%). Congenital anomalies were present in 12 (43%) and none had Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. Mortality occurred in 4 patients (14%) between 3 and 17 days. One EIF with exomphalos major failed early conservative treatment due to sac disintegration and sepsis, requiring staged closure, but had a good outcome. Discussion EIF is a rare entity usually associated with exomphalos minor and vitelline duct involvement. EIF presentation is variable but primary surgery is the mainstay of treatment with generally good outcomes. Common features of EIF suggest a different embryopathogenesis to other forms of exomphalos.
Multilevel secure database concurrency control

The implications of multilevel security on database concurrency control are explored. Transactions are vital for multilevel secure database management systems (MLS/DBMSs) because they provide transparency to concurrency and to failure. Concurrent execution of transactions may lead to contention among subjects for access to data, which in MLS/DBMSs may lead to security problems. An abstraction of security models in terms of the transactions which they produce is presented. The notion of DC-Security which identifies a class of covert channels that are caused by contention for access to shared data, is introduced. This notion is useful for evaluating the security of transaction schedulers. A framework for multilevel secure schedulers which allows analysis of a schedulers' security properties at the protocol level is presented. Necessary and sufficient conditions are developed for DC-Security in this framework and proved using noninterference. A wide range of schedulers is evaluated against these conditions. >
NUTRITION OF CELLULAR SLIME MOLDS I. Growth on Living and Dead Bacteria

Hohl, Hans-Rudolf (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and Kenneth B. Raper. Nutrition of cullular slime molds. I. Growth on living and dead bacteria. J. Bacteriol. 85:191–198. 1963.—Methods for growing selected species of cellular slime molds in liquid culture on living and dead bacteria are described. Species investigated included Polysphondylium pallidum, P. violaceum, Dictyostelium discoideum, and D. purpureum. Maximal growth of myxamoebae occurred in suspensions of 1010 living bacteria (Escherichia coli B/r)/ml in Sorensen9s phosphate buffer (pH 6.0), reaching a density of 107 to 2 × 107 cells/ml in 48 hr. The generation time for the different slime molds ranged from 2.4 hr for P. violaceum to 2.9 hr for D. discoideum (strain V-12). Good growth of P. pallidum occurred between pH 3.6 and 7.8. The slime molds grew less well on dead (autoclaved) than on living bacteria and, except for P. pallidum, the amount and rate of growth decreased markedly as the time of autoclaving was increased from 2.5 to 80 min. Bacteria killed with propylene oxide supported growth equal to those autoclaved for a few minutes. The myxamoebae were very sensitive to the osmotic pressure of the culture medium, especially in the presence of living bacteria, and addition of as little as 0.01 m NaCl caused a measurable decrease in slime mold growth. The culture techniques employed afford useful methods for investigating the nutritional requirements of the cellular slime molds, and the experiments described provide the bases for subsequent studies relating to the axenic cultivation of these singular microorganisms. Images
A Match in the Dark: Understanding Crossing Network Liquidity

I model the decision of whether or not to use a crossing network (CN) or a traditional quoting exchange (QE) and derive hypotheses regarding the factors that affect this decision. I test these hypotheses on realized CN volumes and find that the likelihood of using CNs increases and then decreases with increasing relative bid ask spread and other measures of market liquidity. These findings are consistent with the model and reflect two countervailing effects: (1) increased savings on spread related transaction costs on CNs and (2) concerns regarding gaming when QE prices are more easily manipulated. Gaming concerns also decrease the consistency of volume on CNs. Additionally, I find that CN use increases with information asymmetry and the difficulty of disguising informed trading on QEs. In addition to providing empirical support for the model, these findings inform the debate on CN regulation and suggest that gaming is likely to inhibit CN growth.
Fossilization Processes in Siliceous Thermal Springs: Trends in Preservation Along Thermal Gradients

To enhance our ability to extract palaeobiological and palaeoenvironmental information from ancient thermal spring deposits, we have studied the processes responsible for the development and preservation of stromatolites in modern subaerial thermal spring systems in Yellowstone National Park (USA). We investigated specimens collected from silica-depositing thermal springs along the thermal gradient using petrographic techniques and scanning electron microscopy. Although it is known that thermophilic cyanobacteria control the morphogenesis of thermal spring stromatolites below 73 degrees C, we have found that biofilms which contain filamentous thermophiles contribute to the microstructural development of subaerial geyserites that occur along the inner rims of thermal spring pools and geyser effluents. Biofilms intermittently colonize the surfaces of subaerial geyserites and provide a favoured substrate for opaline silica precipitation. We have also found that the preservation of biotically produced microfabrics of thermal spring sinters reflects dynamic balances between rates of population growth, decomposition of organic matter, silica deposition and early diagenesis. Major trends in preservation of thermophilic organisms along the thermal gradient are defined by differences in the mode of fossilization, including replacement, encrustation and permineralization.
Analyzing the performance of randomized information sharing

In large, collaborative, heterogeneous teams, team members often collect information that is useful to other members of the team. Recognizing the utility of such information and delivering it efficiently across a team has been the focus of much research, with proposed approaches ranging from flooding to complex filters and matchmakers. Interestingly, random forwarding of information has been found to be a surprisingly effective information sharing approach in some domains. In this paper, we investigate this phenomenon in detail and show that in certain systems, random forwarding of information performs almost half as well as a globally optimal approach. We present analytic and empirical results comparing random methods with theoretically optimal sharing in small-worlds, scale-free, and random networks. In addition, we demonstrate a method for modeling real domains that allows our results to be applied toward estimating information sharing performance.
Network Interface Support for User-Level Buffer Management

The network interfaces of existing multicomputers and workstations require a significant amount of software overhead to provide protection and buffer management in order to implement message-passing protocols. This paper advocates a physical memory mapping method in a network interface design that supports user-level buffer management. The method requires only a minimal addition to the traditional DMA-based network interface design and eliminates the need for memory buffer management in the operating system kernel. As a result, the software overhead on message passing is reduced by up to 78% and both receive system call and receive interrupt can be avoided.
Progress in scaling biomolecular simulations to petaflop scale platforms

This paper describes some of the issues involved with scaling biomolecular simulations onto massively parallel machines drawing on the Blue Matter application team's experiences with Blue Gene/L. Our experiences in scaling biomolecular simulation to one atom/node on BG/L should be relevant to scaling biomolecular simulations onto larger peta-scale platforms because the path to increased performance is through the exploitation of increased concurrency so that even larger systems will have to operate in the extreme strong scaling regime. Petascale platforms also present challenges with regard to the correctness of biomolecular simulations since longer time-scale simulations are more likely to encounter significant energy drift. Total energy drift data for a microsecond-scale simulation is presented along with the measured scalability of various components of a molecular dynamics time-step.
Special Education Teachers Use Science-Technology-Society (STS) Themes to Teach Science to Students With Learning Disabilities

(1997). Special Education Teachers Use Science-Technology-Society (STS) Themes to Teach Science to Students With Learning Disabilities. Journal of Science Teacher Education: Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 55-68.
Political Worlds of Women: Activism, Advocacy, and Governance in the Twenty-First Century by Mary Hawkesworth

Mary Hawkesworth has a deft hand—applying feminist theories skillfully to test, and often find wanting, many of the assumptions prevalent in today’s international relations and comparative politics...
A taxonomy of political processes in systems development

Significant resources invested in information system development (ISD) are wasted due to political manoeuvres. Prior research on ISD politics has contributed mainly through theoretical development and case studies. This has enhanced understanding of relevant concepts, political tactics and conditions facilitating politics. However, there is limited understanding of the different pro- cesses through which politics unfold. This paper uses 89 ISD projects to develop a taxonomy of political processes in ISD. The taxonomy includes three distinct processes: Tug of War, wherein multiple parties strive to gain project control; Obstacle Race, which involves efforts to resist and pursue the project; and Empire Building, wherein the project is used as an instrument to enhance political or resource bases. The taxonomy is explained using the non-proponents' view of the project and the balance of power between system's proponents and non- proponents. We also discuss the emergent taxonomy's implications for how poli- tics can be managed and studied.
User Privacy Enhancement in Modern Web Applications

It has been shown recently that a vast majority of modern web applications are prone to compromising privacy of online activity of their users due to the applications' vulnerability to analysis of unique network traffic patterns generated by them for user input actions. Such vulnerability usually results from popular convenience features, like auto-suggestion and auto-completion. We present a configurable method for achieving a desired level of user privacy in such applications. Our method, based on padding packets with dummy content, incurs no data utility expense, and effectively thwarts attacks that employ background information about input action probabilities. We present an algorithm that makes intelligent, minimal-cost padding decisions during the application development phase. In comparison with a recent existing technique, our method provides privacy at the expense of provably lower run-time network bandwidth overhead.
Aberrant ceRNA activity drives lung cancer

In a recent issue of Nature, Kumar et al. demonstrate that the oncogenic potential of the Hmga2 gene is largely due to the ability of its transcript to operate as a competing endogenous RNA in a protein coding-independent manner. The Hmga2 mRNA decoys the let-7 microRNA family to regulate Tgfbr3 expression and enhance TGF-β signaling, thereby promoting lung cancer progression.
Observation of capacitance–voltage oscillations in porous silicon

Abstract This paper presents the experimental observation of room temperature capacitance–voltage oscillations in porous silicon (PS). Analysis of the experimental data suggests density-of-states discontinuities in the PS nanostructures to be the likely origins of the oscillations. From the experimental data, a sub-band energy separation of 0.19 eV is estimated for the dominant silicon nanostructures. This corresponds to a nanostructure dimension of approximately 3 nm , which agrees well with the value expected for the PS fabrication conditions.
Evaluation of a simple static method for measuring vapor pressure

Abstract To complement transpiration and other methods when applied to partially dissociated or associated vapors, a direct static method was developed for measuring vapor pressures of around 1 kPa. A valve brings argon, originally at a little higher pressure, into direct contact with the pure vapor, whose pressure is very simply calculated from the reduction in pressure of the argon. Several types of systematic error were estimated; these include especially the effects of diffusion, viscosity, and steady-state gradients in gas temperature and molar mass, and indicate suitable dimensions of the capillary admitting the argon such that the vapor will remain confined essentially to its original volume during the time required for total-pressure equilibration. To test the method and apparatus, the vapor pressures of I 2 at 343 and 353 K (using saturated vapor) and that of MoF 6 at 237 K (using “superheated” vapor) were measured. The three mean values agree to better than 1 per cent with the most reliable published values, which themselves probably have absolute uncertainties this great. Further refinement of the method to give a general accuracy of 0.1 per cent seems feasible.
Opportunities for intervention: discussing physical abuse during prenatal care visits.

Background: The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend that screening for physical abuse during prenatal care visits becomes routine. Although prenatal care visits offer a unique intervention opportunity, screening is not yet standard practice. Data and Methods: We used data from the 1996 and 1997 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) to assess the prevalence of and the factors associated with health care providers’ discussion of physical abuse with pregnant women in 14 states. PRAMS is a state-specific, population-based surveillance system that collects information from women on maternal behaviors before and during pregnancy, and at 2 to 6 months postpartum. Results: Between 22% and 39% of the women surveyed reported that health care providers talked with them about physical abuse during prenatal care visits. Health care providers were more likely to discuss physical abuse with women who were black, Hispanic, young (aged <20 and 20 to 29), had a high school education or less, or paid for prenatal care with Medicaid. Conclusions: Our results indicate that most pregnant women do not report that their prenatal care providers discussed physical abuse with them. Logistic regression analyses identified consistent associations across the 14 states between discussion of abuse and demographic and pregnancy-related factors. A better understanding of the factors associated with whether a health care provider discusses physical abuse with a pregnant woman could increase intervention opportunities.
SU-FF-J-42: Analytical Image Guided Radiotherapy for Head and Neck

Purpose: Present a general cost‐effective robust clinical process that can analytically evaluate and correct patient setup error for head and neck radiotherapy by comparing orthogonal megavoltage portal images (PI) with corresponding digitally reconstructedradiographs(DRR).Method and Materials: Adobe Photoshop CS2 is used to interactively segment images. Scripts are available to automate many steps, including image enhancement. MATLAB is a software package with many features for rapid matrix computations and image analysis. The closest point distance (CPD) for each PI point to a DRR point forms a set of homologous points. The translation T that aligns the PI to the DRR is equal to the difference in centers of mass. The original PI points are transformed and the process repeated with an Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm. Analytical results are displayed as a cumulative histogram of the percentage of points exceeding CPD. The total area Σ under the histogram is a general error metric. A color coded image is provided to display the anatomical location of the PI points with respect to the DRR and their CPD. Results: The ICP algorithm always converged. The integral Σ was consistently lower for the analyticalIGRT, with a mean reduction of 16%. The process was tested retrospectively by three users. Typical user dependence was below 0.5 mm. The time for segmentation of two images and computations was under ten minutes. The process has been integrated with a Visual Basic Toolbox that guides the user through the required all the steps from importing the daily Portal Image, segmentation, computing the translation, and printing a standard report. Conclusion: Inexpensive commercial software has been shown to be useful for on line analyticalIGRT. The process developed is robust, consistently better then IGRT, provides documented error metrics, and can be customized by the user for individual applications.
New formalism of the Kronig-Penney model with application to superlattices

A new formalism of the Kronig-Penney model has been developed which is considerably simpler than the conventional one. It gives not only the carrier energy bands but also the wave functions at the edges of each band. Although it is formulated to be applied to superlattices, it is also applicable to bulk materials.
John Miller Turpin Finney: the first president of the American College of Surgeons.

s m g p m t r t f s e t e o B d F r Franklin H. Martin, a visionary gynecologist from hicago, was the driving force for the formation of the merican College of Surgeons. He had earlier founded he journal Surgery Gynecology and Obstetrics in 1905, nd organized the Clinical Congress of Surgeons of orth America in 1910. He then decided that to elevate he standards of surgical practice and improve the care of he surgical patient in the United States, the country hould form the American College of Surgeons, based oosely on the Royal College of Surgeons of England. An rganizing committee of 11 surgeons was established to evelop a structure for the new college, and to pick a man o be its first president. Because the goals of the college were o elevate the standards of practice and improve surgical are, the first president to represent this group had to be arefully chosen. He would need to be an ideal role model, epresenting what the founders of the college believed to be he gold standard they wished to achieve with this new rganization. Many individuals could have been chosen. William tewart Halsted, arguably the most innovative, important, nd influential surgeon this country has produced, would ave been an ideal choice. The legendary Mayo brothers ould have been chosen. The popular surgeon from New rleans, Rudolph Matas, would have been an excellent hoice. Dr W W Keene, in the twilight of a brilliant career n Philadelphia, was a possibility, as were Dr J B Murphy, he prominent surgeon from Chicago, and Dr John Collins arren from Boston. They were all prominent, innovative, cademically oriented surgeons who made many contribuions during the evolution of the modern era of surgery. one of them was chosen. Dr John MillerTurpin Finney of altimore was nominated and unanimously elected as the irst president of the American College of Surgeons. He was hosen because he was believed to represent the best of merican surgery, and could be a role model for what the ew college wished to achieve. Dr J M T Finney was born June 20, 1863, in Natchez, ississippi during the Civil War. His father Ebenezer inney was from Maryland, but at that time was the min-
Associations Between Menarcheal Timing and Behavioral Developmental Trajectories for Girls from Age 6 to Age 15

Substantial evidence from cross-sectional and short time-span longitudinal studies exists about negative associations between early pubertal maturation on a number of psychological outcomes. The objective of the present study was to assess the association between early maturation and developmental trajectories of social skills and internalizing and externalizing problems in girls from grades 1 through 9, including pre- and post-pubertal periods. The sample came from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and included 398 Caucasian and 60 African American girls. Multilevel modeling revealed early maturing Caucasian girls were at risk for higher internalizing and externalizing problems and experiencing higher levels of problems pre-pubertally. African American youth had lower social skills and internalizing problems with no group differences due to early pubertal development. Findings are discussed in light of literature on continuity of girls' psychosocial development before and during the pubertal transition.
SODA: A secure object-oriented database system

This paper describes a security model for object-oriented systems. The model supports a flexible data classification policy based on inheritance. The classification poligy allows for a smooth transition between rigid classification rules and unlimited polyinstantiation. The security model treats the data model as well as the computational model of object-oriented systems allowing more flexibility. This model trades an increase in complexity for a more flexible security model.
The Erdos-Kac theorem for polynomials of several variables

We prove two versions of the Erdős-Kac type theorem for polynomials of several variables on some varieties arising from translation and affine linear transformation.
Epitaxial pore-free gadolinia-doped ceria thin films on yttria-stabilized zirconia by RF magnetron sputtering

Abstract A thin film of gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) grown on (001) single crystal of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was produced by RF magnetron sputtering using a stoichiometric target. Films deposited at room temperature showed columnar porosity which changed to equiaxed on annealing at 1150 °C. It is shown that films deposited at 500 °C were epitaxial, uniform in thickness, pore-free and remained dense after annealing at 1150 °C. This method can be used to attain reproducible control over important characteristics of the film such as structure, composition, orientation, thickness and morphology.
The Establishment of the Church of England: Its Constitutional and Legal Significance

Among American churchmen and statesmen, there has been a tendency to regard the Establishment of the Anglican Church entirely in the light of a privilege conferred by the State on one church to the exclusion of others. Where the idea of the Establishment has been derived from the sight of the immunities and official endowment enjoyed by the church of the colonial governor, this point of view is natural. It determined the early statesmen of the young republic to dispense with a luxury which appeared to them to be pregnant with oppression and arrogance. Externally there is little to criticize in the view for it represents fairly accurately the relative position of the Anglican Church both in colonial and English history in the eyes of non-Anglican communions. Internally, however, the case is not as simple, as the Free Churchman, whether within or without the Anglican fold, has been ready to detect, and Cartwright here is in complete accord with Newman. The conflict was brought to an issue when the House of Commons rejected the proposals for the revision of the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 in two consecutive years, 1927 and 1928.
Compatibilization of PBT/ABS blends by methyl methacrylate-glycidyl methacrylate-ethyl acrylate terpolymers

Abstract Poly (butylene terephthalate), PBT, can be impact modified by blending with appropriate ABS materials within a limited range of processing conditions. The morphology of these uncompatibilized blends is unstable; the dispersed phase coarsens when the melt is subjected to low shear conditions, e.g. during certain moulding conditions, which has a deleterious effect on the final blend properties. Terpolymers of methyl methacrylate, glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), and ethyl acrylate have been synthesized and shown to be effective reactive compatibilizers for blends of PBT with styrene-acrylonitrile copolymers (SAN) or ABS materials as revealed by improvements in SAN or ABS dispersion and morphological stability. Evidence for reaction between the carboxyl endgroups of PBT and the epoxide groups of GMA during melt processing to form a graft copolymer is presented. The effect of terpolymer composition and content on morphology generation and stabilization of PBT-SAN blends has been examined in depth. Moderate amounts of GMA in the terpolymer (>5%) and small amounts of compatibilizer in the blend (
Gas adsorption studies by ellipsometry in combination with low energy electron diffraction and mass spectrometry

Abstract Isotherms for physical adsorption on a silver single crystal surface from ultrahigh vacuum have been determined by ellipsometry. Molecular volumes, derived from the optically determined monolayer film thickness, indicate that the classical macroscopic theory of ellipsometry for film covered surfaces is surprisingly well suited for physically adsorbed coverages of molecular dimensions. For a fractional monolayer coverage, the electron diffraction pattern has been found to remain characteristic of the clean substrate surface. The results also show the difficulties in the preparation and definition of clean solid surfaces, and indicate a sensitivity of the ellipsometer to surface roughness on an atomic level.
Compact spreader schemes

This paper describes beam distribution schemes adopting a novel implementation based on low amplitude vertical deflections combined with horizontal ones generated by Lambertson-type septum magnets. This scheme offers substantial compactness in the longitudinal layouts of the beam lines and increased flexibility for beam delivery of multiple beam lines on a shot-to-shot basis. Fast kickers (FK) or transverse electric field RF Deflectors (RFD) provide the low amplitude deflections. Initially proposed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) as tools for beam diagnostics and more recently adopted for multiline beam pattern schemes, RFDs offer repetition capabilities and a likely better amplitude reproducibility when compared to FKs, which, in turn, offer more modest financial involvements both in construction and operation. Both solutions represent an ideal approach for the design of compact beam distribution systems resulting in space and cost savings while preserving flexibility and beam quality.
Discipline‐based efforts to enhance undergraduate STEM education

Initiatives designed to enhance STEM undergraduate education have much in common, as well as distinctive differences by field.
A transformed two-stage method for reducing the part-usage variation and a comparison of the product-level and part-level solutions in sequencing mixed-model assembly lines

Abstract The minimization of the two-stage variation in the mixed-model sequencing problem of reducing the part-level variation is transformed to product-level terms. The development is based on an existing simplification of the one-stage part-level variation, a simplification of the two-stage part-level variation, and the usage of a relationship matrix that evaluates the relevance among the product structures of various models. Algorithms based on these simplification and transformation are presented. The transformation can be shown to be equivalent to that of Bautista et al. (1996) but results in a smaller empirical computational burden in minimizing the two-stage variation and uses a relationship matrix that is independent of product-mix changes. The computational results show that the transformed two-stage algorithm significantly outperforms the direct enumeration method in computation time for large problems, and generally outperforms the one-stage method in mean squared deviation. The transformed two-stage method can be used as a heuristic procedure or as an intermediate tool for another solution approach. A more general sufficient condition than the existing conditions for the equivalence of the problems of minimizing the product-level variation and minimizing the part-level variation is also presented. The computational experimentation demonstrates that there is a potential of obtaining significantly better solutions in part usage variation by directly considering the part-level variation when this sufficient condition is not met.
Review of Yechiel Michael Barilan, Human Dignity, Human Rights, and Responsibility: The New Language of Global Bioethics and Biolaw

In a world where dignity is a buzz word and “rights talk” is increasingly viewed as a global language, Barilan's Human Dignity, Human Rights, and Responsibility: The New Language of Global Bioethic...
Imperfect markets: Business ethics as an easy virtue

This paper marks a radical diversion from the large body of prevailing literature in business ethics which primarily views the issue in individual-personal terms, i.e., corporate executive and employee, and suggests that making corporations more ethical would primarily come through changes in executive behavior. While this approach has strong intellectual roots in moral philosophy and religion, it fails in explaining the persistence of unethical and illegal behavior among corporations of all sizes, financial health, competitive market conditions, and, level of individual executive compensation. This paper argues for a fundamentally different approach to understanding ethical behavior, or lack thereof, among corporations and their executives. It is asserted that an overwhelmingly large rationale and/or inducement for proactive ethical business behavior is rooted in competitive aspects of particular markets, and industry structures prevailing in those markets. Furthermore, while highly competitive markets may promote efficiency, they do not guarantee ethical behavior and may indeed provide greater opportunities and incentives for unethical business behavior. Thus, by following the current prognosis, we could be wasting enormous resources in terms of teaching business ethics, and creating and imposing corporate codes of conduct. We assert that these approaches would at best make a marginal improvement in the ethical performance of corporations while at the same time exacerbate the problem by ignoring more fundamental, structural issues. Imperfect markets, with their above-market profits, are a necessary but insufficient condition for corporations to behave ethically. It is only under conditions of imperfect markets that individual executives can play an important role in guiding their corporations toward greater ethical norms. These are undertaken for a variety of reasons, including, protecting a corporation's good name, public expectations, competitive norms, and, corporate culture and individual executive's predilections, to name a few.
Increasing base station anonymity using distributed beamforming

Advances in wireless communication technologies have enabled the networking of devices, which conventionally operated standalone, to form an Internet of Things (IoT). A typical network architecture consists of a set of data sources that report to a base station (BS), e.g., a data aggregation unit, over multi-hop paths. An example of such a network operation model includes surveillance of an unattended area using wireless sensor nodes, and advanced metering within a smart power grid. The unique role of the BS makes it a natural target for an adversary that desires to achieve the most impactful attack possible against an IoT network. Even if a network employs conventional security mechanisms such as encryption and authentication, an adversary may apply traffic analysis techniques to exploit unique traffic patterns within the network and ultimately identify the BS. The first step to successfully protect the BS from attack is to keep the BS's identity, role, and location anonymous. This paper proposes a novel, cross-layer approach that boosts BS anonymity using distributed beamforming. We demonstrate that the characteristics of distributed beamforming make it extremely effective in improving BS anonymity in a wireless network while minimizing the amount of required communication energy overhead. Through analysis and simulation we demonstrate that the proposed approach is both efficient and effective at countering an adversary that employs evidence theory analysis to locate the BS.
Uptake of bacterial extracellular polymer by a deposit-feeding holothurian (Isostichopus badionotus)

A laboratory experiment shows that exopolymer (=mucopolysaccharide) produced by the estuarine marine bacterium Pseudomonas atlantica can be a source of nutrition for the deposit-feeding holothurian Isostichopus badionotus (Selenka). Holothurians fed sediment prepared with 14C-labeled exopolymer incorporated radioactive carbon into their rete mirabile.
Reproducing occlusal anatomy for crowns and extensive inlays

Summary Exact occlusal contours of natural teeth can be reproduced in castings for fixed restorations. Anatomic cores can be constructed when natural occlusal surfaces remain intact, and functional cores are used when it is desirable to correct the occlusal surface in areas where the anatomy has been altered by a defective filling or by caries. The methods of constructing the cores were described, and indications for their use were discussed.
Unity as the Universal Upper Bound for Reliability

It is proved that the reliability of any measurement may be as close to one as is pleased; thus, the universal upper bound for the reliability of any measurement may always approach one, implying that a stronger upper bound cannot be found.
Synthesis of lithium tantalate whiskers from metal alkoxide derived gels

Abstract We report a sol-gel processing technique for the synthesis of lithium tantalate whiskers. Rapid thermal processing of gels, prepared using a lithium tantalum heteroalkoxide resulted in the formation of polycrystalline particles and single crystal whiskers. The whiskers were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron diffraction. Such LiTaO 3 whiskers may have optical and electro-optical applications.
EFFECTS OF HYPOTHERMIA AND PYREXIA ON LEFT VENTRICULAR FUNCTION IN THE INTACT ANIMAL.

Abstract Left ventricular contractile function was studied during hypothermia and pyrexia in the intact anesthetized dog. Changes of body temperature were rapidly induced with a heat exchanger which conducted blood from a femoral artery to a femoral vein. Measurements were made of left ventricular contractile capacity (P 12.5 index), pressure-rise velocity (dP/dtmax.), blood temperature and cardiac output by methods previously described. Pharmacologic autonomic and adrenergic blockade were utilized to evaluate the role of the sympathetic nervous system in these experiments, and vagal stimulation was used to evaluate changes of heart rate. It was found that hypothermia diminished left ventricular contractile capacity in the intact animal, probably because reduction of cardiac sympathetic tone superseded the direct stimulant effect of hypothermia which was evident in some experiments during autonomic blockade. Pyrexia, on the other hand, directly augmented left ventricular contractile capacity, even during adrenergic or autonomic blockade. It was also observed that a dose of ouabain (0.03 mg./kg.) which augmented left ventricular contractile capacity at normal body temperature was ineffective during hypothermia.
Spectrophotometric procedures for determination of sea water alkalinity using bromocresol green

Abstract Spectrophotometric procedures are presented for the determination of sea water total alkalinity over a range of temperatures and salinities. One-step volumetric acid addition with prompt spectrophotometric measurement of excess acid provides total alkalinities precise to ± 2 micromolal. Excess acid concentrations are quantified using the sulfonephthalein indicator. bromocresol green. Measurements of bromocresol green absorbance ratios [ R ( t ) = 616 A/ 444 A] at temperature t (°C) and salinity S provide molal scale total hydrogen ion concentrations ([H + ] T = [H + ] + [HSO 4 − ] + [HF]) through the equation
Current status of medical and surgical therapy for obesity

Abstract The incidence of obesity (especially childhood obesity) and its associated health-related problems have reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Recent investigations suggest that the causes of obesity involve a complex interplay of genetic, environmental, psychobehavioral, endocrine, metabolic, cultural, and socioeconomic factors. Several genes and their protein products, such as leptin, may be particularly important in appetite and metabolic control, although the genetics of human obesity appear to involve multiple genes and metabolic pathways that require further elucidation. Severe obesity is frequently associated with significant comorbid medical conditions, including coronary artery disease, hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus, gallstones, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, pulmonary hypertension, and sleep apnea. Long-term reduction of significant excess weight in these patients may improve or resolve many of these obesity-related health problems, although convincing evidence of long-term benefit is lacking. Available treatments of obesity range from diet, exercise, behavioral modification, and pharmacotherapy to surgery, with varying risks and efficacy. Nonsurgical modalities, although less invasive, achieve only relatively short-term and limited weight loss in most patients. Currently, surgical therapy is the most effective modality in terms of extent and duration of weight reduction in selected patients with acceptable operative risks. The most widely performed surgical procedure, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, achieves permanent (followed up for more than 14 years) and significant weight loss (more than 50% of excess body weight) in more than 90% of patients. GASTROENTROLOGY 2001;120:669-681
INHIBITION OF THE RENIN-ALDQSTERONE RESPONSE TO FUROSEMIDE BY INDOMETHACIN

In 12 human volunteers, indomethacin was shown to inhibit renal prostaglandin production as reflected by RIA of urinary PGE2. The increases in plasma renin activity and plasma and urinary aldosterone following acute furosemide challenge were markedly blunted in the presence of indomethacin. In light of recent developments indicating an intimate relationship between prostaglandins and renin release, these results provide further evidence for a pivotal role of renal prostaglandins in modulating the responsiveness of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis in Man.
Immunocytochemical localization of AMPA receptors in the rat inferior colliculus

Immunocytochemistry was used to study the distribution of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor subtypes in the inferior colliculus (IC) of genetically epilepsy-prone rats (GEPR-9s) and normal Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The analysis was conducted using 3 antibodies specific for glutamate receptor subtypes, GluR 1, GluR 2/3, and GluR 4. Light microscopy showed that immunostaining of the IC was most dense with the GluR 2/3 antibody for both strains of animals. The amount of GluR 2/3 immunolabeling was similar for sound-stimulated GEPR-9s, seizure-naive GEPR-9s, and SD rats. The electron microscopy of GluR 2/3 in the IC revealed immunoreaction products associated with the postsynaptic densities of asymmetric synapses. The thin sections had comparable amounts of reaction product in dendrites or dendritic spines for both strains. Since the distribution and quantity of AMPA receptors in the IC of GEPR-9s and SD rats are similar, our results indicate that altered AMPA receptors are probably not the primary cause of seizure initiation in GEPR-9s.
Thermochemical hydrogen production from water using reducible oxide materials: a critical review

This review mainly focuses on summarizing the different metal oxide systems utilized for water-splitting reaction using concentrated solar energy. Only two or three cyclic redox processes are considered. Particle size effect on redox reactions and economic aspect of hydrogen production via concentrated solar energy are also briefly discussed. Among various metal oxides system CeO2 system is emerging as a promising candidate and researchers have demonstrated workability of this system in the solar cavity-receiver reactor for over 500 cycles. The highest solar thermal process efficiency obtained so far is about 0.4 %, which needs to be increased for real commercial applications. Among traditionally studied oxides, thin-film ferrites looks more promising and could meet US Department of energy target of $2.42/kg H2 by 2025. The cost is mainly driven by high heliostat cost which needs to reduced significantly for economic feasibility. Overall, more work needs to be done in terms of redox material engineering, reactor technology, heliostat cost reduction and gas separation technologies before commercialization of this technology.
Multicriteria multigoal decision making: the fuzzy paradigm

Abstract In real life, the imprecise and subjective nature of information makes decision making rather complex and incosistent. This paper presents a Fuzzy Decision Support Expert System that enables more efficient and consistant decision making. The linguistic thought process of the decision maker are qualified and quantified using fuzzy logic and approximate reasoning. The system integrates multicriteria decision rules and various measures of decision factors to make the inference. The mechanism of this system is illustrated by addressing the Aggregate Production Planning Problem. Holt's[1] HMMS Paint Factory data is used with the rule base proposed by Rinks[2]. Comparison of results with Rinks and Turksen[3] shows that the proposed system can be used successfully to generate a near-optimum solution. The capability of the system in handling diverse problem domains that require group decision making with imprecise and incomplete information in a multigoal environment is also discussed.
The Histologic Fate of Autologous Collagen Injected into the Canine Vocal Fold

Collagen is a functionally essential component of the five-layered structure of the vocal fold. Soluble bovine collagen has previously been shown to be an effective injectable bioimplant for vocal fold defects, paralysis, and, especially, scarred larynges. Although bovine collagen appears to be well tolerated, the concern for possible adverse immunologic responses has deterred approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its clinical use in the larynx. Currently we are investigating the use of injectable autologous collagen for vocal fold augmentation. The purpose of this study is to examine the histologic fate of autologous collagen injected into the canine vocal fold at multiple intervals after injection. An ellipse of skin measuring 3 x 6 cm was harvested from each of three dogs and processed into a naturally cross-linked injectable solution of collagen (Autologen). This autologous collagen was injected into one vocal fold and a control injection of buffer solution was injected contralaterally. The injections were well tolerated and no dog appeared to suffer any immediate or delayed ill effects. The dog larynges were harvested 1, 3, and 6 months after collagen injection and examined grossly and histologically. Injected autologous collagen material persisted in these experimental animals and appeared to be well tolerated. Based on this preliminary study, we anticipate autologous collagen to be at least as suitable as bovine chemically cross-linked collagen as an injectable bioimplant for vocal fold augmentation. It may also have the advantage of added safety and stability.
THE CONSPICUITY OF FIRST-RESPONDER SAFETY GARMENTS

Abstract Introduction This study compared the conspicuity of three types of first-responder safety garments (NFPA 1971-2007 turnout gear coats, and ANSI/ISEA 107 and 207 safety vests). Method Participants drove instrumented vehicles on a closed track during both daytime and nighttime, indicating when they could first detect pedestrians in a simulated emergency response scene. Pedestrians wore one of the safety garments and stood on either side of the emergency scene, facing or perpendicular to oncoming traffic, and either stationary or walking in place. Results All three garment standards provided equal levels of conspicuity, in that the distances at which the pedestrians were detected were equivalent. Time of day was a significant factor, with longer mean detection distances being observed in daytime. Pedestrian orientation was significant, with mean detection distances being longest when facing traffic. Pedestrian motion did not result in significant differences in detection distance. Discussion The results suggest that all three garment types studied are equivalent in making first responders conspicuous as pedestrians when working an emergency response scene in close proximity to traffic. Impact on Industry Whether an NFPA or ANSI/ISEA compliant is worn, first responders are equally likely to be detected by passing motorists, and as such these garments should be considered to be equivalent.
Ultrasonic enhancement of photoacoustic emissions by nanoparticle-targeted cavitation

A technique to enhance the photoacoustic emissions from laser-heated nanoparticles is presented. Gold nanoparticle-doped phantoms are subjected to pulsed optical and ultrasound fields, resulting in bubble formation and collapse and producing strong acoustic emissions. The applied ultrasound field allows for cavitation at lower laser fluences than using light alone. The acoustic emission associated with bubble collapse well exceeds the direct photoacoustic response and is used to image a nanoparticle-doped region in a tissue phantom. The strong acoustic emission and low-threshold fluence associated with ultrasound-assisted cavitation make the technique well suited for nanoparticle-targeted biological imaging and tissue therapy.