cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Methods of DNA extraction and PCR amplification for individual freshwater mussel (Bivalvia: Unionidae) glochidia, with the first report of multiple paternity in these organisms

Freshwater mussels (Unionidae) are among North America's most imperilled organisms. Mussels produce small larvae (glochidia) that parasitize aquatic vertebrates. We modified the Epicentre QuickExtract protocol to extract DNA from a single glochidium, collected directly from the marsupium of a female mussel, to use as template in polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). Yield per glochidium in a 40 µL extraction volume provided enough DNA for ≥ 15 PCRs per individual. We were successful in using this DNA for microsatellite analysis of up to three loci per individual. Offspring from one female showed evidence for multiple paternity within her brood. Our results are the first documentation of this phenomenon in freshwater mussels.
Process-Centered Development Environments: An Exploration of Issues

Software development environments are beginning to move from research communities to commercial applications. As this occurs, the need to address process issues related to such environments is becoming increasingly apparent. Thus there is a growing awareness of the need for process-centered development environments (PCDEs). This report addresses process definition and enactment issues which pertain to the specification and design of a PCDE. The first part of the report explores some of the required characteristics of an enactable graphical language and the relationship between process definition and enactment. This process language naturally led to the ability to perform process verification, i.e., a verification that the actual process path taken throughout a project conforms to the defined process. The issue of process verification is thus also explored. The success of PCDEs rests heavily on end-user acceptance. Because of this, the report concludes with a review of user-oriented process and social issues relevant to the successful adoption of PCDEs.
Presence of sarcopenia (muscle wasting) in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

To The Editor: We read with great interest the article by Hong et al. published in August 2013 in the online version of Hepatology. Hong et al. report an increased risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with lower muscle mass. Here we take the chance to share the results of a study we conducted to investigate the presence of sarcopenia in patients with Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis "NASH" and NASH-related cirrhosis. NASH is an aggressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. It is widely accepted now that NASH is associated with insulin resistance(1), and can progress to cirrhosis in 21–28% of patients(2). Pro-inflammatory cytokines and insulin resistance result in muscle catabolism leading to muscle wasting "sarcopenia" in obese patients(3). In addition, sarcopenia is being more frequently described and addressed in cirrhotic patients(4). In our study, we divided the subjects into three groups, each one included 25 individuals; control group, NASH and NASH-cirrhosis groups. The diagnosis of NASH was proven by liver biopsy. To assess the presence of sarcopenia, we evaluated the muscle mass by measuring the cross-sectional area of the psoas and paraspinal muscles at the level of the midpoint of L4 vertebra on computed tomography (CT) scan (5). Total psoas and paraspinal muscles densities were also measured. Analysis of covariance was performed to assess differences in muscle area while adjusting for age and gender. Our results showed that patients with NASH and NASH-related cirrhosis were older and had higher body mass index than the control group. There was a stepwise significant decrease in total psoas area "TPA" from the control group to NASH group to cirrhosis group (29.3 ± 0.88 cm2, 24.8 ± 0.8 cm2, and 19.3 ± 0.93 cm2, respectively, p< 0.001). This difference remained significant after adjusting for age, gender and height(Figure). Similar findings were noted for the paraspinal muscle area. The density of the muscles as assessed by Hounsfield units was lower in patients with NASH or cirrhosis suggesting fatty infiltration (controls 36.9 ± 2.6 HU, NASH 31.2 ± 2.3, cirrhosis 18.5 ± 2.7). Figure Age and Gender Adjusted Means (95% Confidence Limits) for TPA/Height2 and Paraspinal Muscle Area/Height2 In conclusion, our data suggest that there is progressive muscle wasting in patients with NASH that precedes the development of cirrhosis and worsens with progression to cirrhosis.
A Hierarchical Markov Random Field Model for Figure-Ground Segregation

To segregate overlapping objects into depth layers requires the integration of local occlusion cues distributed over the entire image into a global percept. We propose to model this process using hierarchical Markov random field (HMRF), and suggest a broader view that clique potentials in MRF models can be used to encode any local decision rules. A topology-dependent multiscale hierarchy is used to introduce long range interaction. The operations within each level are identical across the hierarchy. The clique parameters that encode the relative importance of these decision rules are estimated using an optimization technique called learning from rehearsals based on 2-object training samples. We find that this model generalizes successfully to 5-object test images, and that depth segregation can be completed within two traversals across the hierarchy. This computational framework therefore provides an interesting platform for us to investigate the interaction of local decision rules and global representations, as well as to reason about the rationales underlying some of recent psychological and neurophysiological findings related to figure-ground segregation.
Community Organizations in the Foreclosure Crisis: The Failure of Neoliberal Civil Society

This paper looks at the prehistory of the foreclosure crisis in Cleveland, Ohio, in order to understand the effectiveness of civil society organizations in mitigating its impact on the city’s neighborhoods. Social theorists and movement activists have often postulated civil society as an authentic and voluntaristic realm in which we constitute and act on shared values. The voluntary nature of civil society organizations also, it is argued, make them more responsive, adaptable, and effective in meeting the needs of the communities they operate in. The question is whether or not this has held true in the contemporary crisis. I find that in the 1970s, Cleveland’s community-based organizations were instrumental in securing resources from government and private philanthropies to deal with the urban crisis. The unintended result of this success was a general rationalization of Cleveland’s civil society around narrow practices and market-based conceptions of value. In the process, civil society was transformed i...
Dispersion of the Gilbert-Elliott channel

Channel dispersion plays a fundamental role in assessing the backoff from capacity due to finite blocklength. This paper analyzes the channel dispersion for a simple channel with memory: the Gilbert-Elliott communication model in which the crossover probability of a binary symmetric channel evolves as a binary symmetric Markov chain, with and without side information at the receiver about the channel state. With side information, dispersion is equal to the average of the dispersions of the individual binary symmetric channels plus a term that depends on the Markov chain dynamics, which do not affect the channel capacity. Without side information, dispersion is equal to the spectral density at zero of a certain stationary process, whose mean is the capacity. In addition, the finite blocklength behavior is analyzed in the non-ergodic case, in which the chain remains in the initial state forever.
Achieving student diversity in dental schools: a model that works.

It is well known that there is a large disparity between the proportions of African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians in the general U.S. population and in the nation’s dental profession. While these underrepresented minorities (URMs) together make up almost 30 percent of the population, they comprise only about 6 percent of U.S. dentists. For years, the American Dental Education Association has been diligently working with U.S. dental schools to reduce this disparity by increasing the diversity of their student bodies. However, with approximately 13 percent of first-year dental students coming from URM groups, the proportion of URM students entering dental school continues to remain significantly below that of the general population. Diversifying the dental profession is important for improving access to care for underrepresented groups, and student diversity provides better educational experiences for all students. Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry’s strategy for increasing the number of URM dentists was to create a series of initiatives that together form a successful comprehensive program addressing students’ awareness of and attraction to a dental career, academic enrichment, admissions, and graduation. The cumulative impact of this program is that the college enrolled greater numbers and proportions of URM students than any other non-minority U.S. dental school from 2006 to 2009. This article describes the program that led to these successes.
The new millennium program: management challenges in the 21st century

NASA's New Millennium Program (NMP) will accelerate the infusion of technologies into its space and Earth science missions of the 21st century. The program plans a series of technology-validation flights in the 1998-2000 time frame, anticipating a rate of two flights per year, which will demonstrate technologies for deep space and Earth-orbiting missions. In tandem with developing and validating new technologies, NMP is also undertaking new management approaches, particularly in the area of team partnership between government and industry. A novel application of the concept of integrated product development teams (IPDTs) is being pursued, one in which cross-organizational teams, made up of members from government, industry, and academia, create roadmaps for development of the high payoff technologies that NMP intends to flight validate. The IPDT approach is expected to reduce cost and improve product. This paper discusses the management challenges that must be addressed today in order to more efficiently undertake space exploration and Earth observation in the 21st century: the new millennium.
Discovery of a Gene Conferring Multiple-Aminoglycoside Resistance in Escherichia coli

Bovine-origin Escherichia coli isolates were tested for resistance phenotypes using a disk diffusion assay and for resistance genotypes using a DNA microarray. An isolate with gentamicin and amikacin resistance but with no corresponding genes detected yielded a 1,056-bp DNA sequence with the closest homologues for its inferred protein sequence among a family of 16S rRNA methyltransferase enzymes. These enzymes confer high-level aminoglycoside resistance and have only recently been described in Gram-negative bacteria.
Staged laparoscopic gastric bypass in super obese patients

weight). Conclusions: A statistically significant association was found between the number of adjustments per year and weight loss. Patients who underwent more adjustments experienced improved weight loss compared with those who had fewer adjustments. It seemed to take a few adjustments for each patient to sense the right amount of restriction. Each extra visit also provided an opportunity to reinforce appropriate lifestyle changes that are important for longterm weight loss. PII: S1550-7289(05)00152-8
The Function of Guanylate Cyclase 1 and Guanylate Cyclase 2 in Rod and Cone Photoreceptors

Retinal guanylate cyclases 1 and 2 (GC1 and GC2) are responsible for synthesis of cyclic GMP in rods and cones, but their individual contributions to phototransduction are unknown. We report here that the deletion of both GC1 and GC2 rendered rod and cone photoreceptors nonfunctional and unstable. In the rod outer segments of GC double knock-out mice, guanylate cyclase-activating proteins 1 and 2, and cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase were undetectable, although rhodopsin and transducin α-subunit were mostly unaffected. Outer segment membranes of GC1–/– and GC double knock-out cones were destabilized and devoid of cone transducin (α- and γ-subunits), cone phosphodiesterase, and G protein-coupled receptor kinase 1, whereas cone pigments were present at reduced levels. Real time reverse transcription-PCR analyses demonstrated normal RNA transcript levels for the down-regulated proteins, indicating that down-regulation is posttranslational. We interpret these results to demonstrate an intrinsic requirement of GCs for stability and/or transport of a set of membrane-associated phototransduction proteins.
Chemistry of ketene acetals V. Catalyzed and non-catalyzed (2 + 2)- and (4 + 2)-cycloadditions between 1,2-diketones and ketene acetals†

Generally, 1,1-dimethoxypropene [CH3CH=C(OMe)2, 1b] yields only (2 + 2)-cycloadducts, viz. oxetanes (3) and bis-oxetanes (4), in reactions with 1,2-diketones; (4 + 2)-cycloaddition products, viz. dihydrodioxins (5), are not formed because of their thermodynamic instability. In similar reactions of tetramethoxyethene [(MeO)2C=C(OMe)2, 1a], compounds 5, however, are obtained, when the (4 + 2)-cycloaddition is accompanied by an increase in the stabilization energy of the diketone moiety. The difference between 1a and 1b can be ascribed to the low π-bond energy of 1a.
Research Needs, Opportunities and Prospects

The evolution of science and the application of new scientific concepts to technology occurs by a chain reaction mechanism as indicated in Figure 1. Researchers in basic science focus on the process of understanding natural principles, with applied goals as a secondary consideration. Conversely, researchers in applied science focus on well defined problems with clear applications in mind, bringing to bear whatever knowledge is known and available to them. In the absence of communication between these groups, valuable opportunities for advancing the technology may be lost, since the goal-oriented researcher may not be aware of the implications of new scientific advances, and the researcher in basic science may not appreciate the technical significance of applications of his techniques.
A broad-host-range vector of incompatibility group Q can work as a plasmid vector in Neisseria meningitidis: a new genetical tool

Plasmid pHT128, a derivative of the broad-host-range IncQ vector pGSS33, was successfully introduced into Neisseria meningitidis. Under optimal conditions, pHT128 was transferred from Escherichia coli to N. meningitidis by triparental conjugation at a frequency of 10−5–10−6. The copy number of pHT128 in N. meningitidis was almost the same as in E. coli, in which the copy number of IncQ plasmids per chromosome is estimated to be 10. pHT128 was maintained as an episome in N. meningitidis in the presence of chloramphenicol, a marker of the plasmid. It was also shown that an opc or pilE1 gene cloned on pHT128 could be expressed in N. meningitidis under control of the tac promoter and could complement a mutation of opc or pilE1, respectively. In addition, the conjugational introduction of pHT128 into N. meningitidis was demonstrated to be independent of natural transformation competence. All the results indicate that pHT128 is a useful vector for N. meningitidis as a new genetical tool.
Genomic chart guiding embryonic stem cell cardiopoiesis

Embryonic stem cells possess a pluripotent transcriptional background with the developmental capacity for distinct cell fates. Simultaneous expression of genetic elements for multiple outcomes obscures cascades relevant to specific cell phenotypes. To map molecular patterns critical to cardiogenesis, we interrogated gene expression in stem cells undergoing guided differentiation, and defined a genomic paradigm responsible for confinement of pluripotency. Functional annotation analysis of the transcriptome of differentiating embryonic stem cells exposed downregulated components of DNA replication, recombination and repair machinery, cell cycling, cancer mechanisms, and RNA post-translational modifications. Concomitantly, cardiovascular development, cell-to-cell signaling, cell development and cell movement were upregulated. These simultaneous gene ontology rearrangements engaged a repertoire switch that specified lineage development. Bioinformatic integration of genomic and gene ontology data further unmasked canonical signaling cascades prioritized within discrete phases of cardiopoiesis. Examination of gene relationships revealed a non-stochastic network anchored by integrin, WNT/β-catenin, transforming growth factor β and vascular endothelial growth factor pathways, validated by manipulation of selected cascades that promoted or restrained cardiogenic yield. Moreover, candidate genes within anchor pathways acted as nodes that organized correlated expression profiles into functional clusters, which collectively orchestrated and secured an overall cardiogenic theme. The present systems biology approach reveals a dynamically integrated and tractable gene network fundamental to embryonic stem cell specification, and represents an initial step towards resolution of a genomic cardiopoietic atlas.
Medical diagnostics using digitized optical imaging

An electronic optical imaging system consisting of a computer-controlled CCD array with 576*384 detection elements and 14 bits of digitization is presented. The system is used for in-vivo characterization of laser-tissue interactions by obtaining spatially resolved transmission images as a function of wavelength with a resolution on the order of 10 mu m from tissue structure using the hamster flap model. Fluorescence images of the hamster tissue excited with argon laser light at 457.9 nm before and as a function of time after injection of the photosensitizing drug Photofrin II are described, The system is also used to obtain internal and external intensity distributions for optical fiber tips proposed for use with photodynamic therapy and laser angioplasty. >
Computational approach for optimal sensor setup

Optical metrology has been widely used in quality inspection. However, the sensor setup during part inspection is often done in an ad hoc way. This leads to unnecessarily high signal dynamic range. Conse- quently, optical sensors do not have sufficient light dynamic range capa- bilities especially for shiny surface measurement. We present a compu- tational approach for optimal sensor setup that takes into account the sensor/part interaction to decrease signal dynamic range and to increase model coverage for structured light or similar optical inspection systems. First, we transform the signal dynamic range issue into a distance prob- lem in a spherical map. We then present novel algorithms on the spheri- cal map to search a near-optimal sensor orientation. Based on this near- optimal orientation, we use a gradient method to obtain the free-optimal solution that gives the lowest possible dynamic range. Experimental re- sults demonstrated that under the optimal orientation, there is lower sig- nal dynamic range and better model coverage. Future work on extending this method to multiple sensor planning, sensor design, and stage design for large part inspection is also discussed. © 2003 Society of Photo-Optical
Does Afferent Heterogeneity Matter in Conveying Tactile Feedback Through Peripheral Nerve Stimulation

One approach to conveying tactile feedback from sensorized neural prostheses is to characterize the neural signals that would normally be produced in an intact limb and reproduce them through electrical stimulation of the residual peripheral nerves. Toward this end, we have developed an integrate-and-fire model that predicts with millisecond accuracy the timing of responses of the mechanoreceptive afferents that innervate the glabrous skin of the hand. Individual afferents produce highly repeatable and stereotyped responses to a given stimulus. However, responses differ considerably across afferents, even across afferents of a given type. In the present study, we wish to assess the extent to which this within-type variability shapes the signal conveyed by the hand to the brain. Specifically, we wish to determine the extent to which a single canonical model can be used to mimic the responses of a population of afferents during a set of activities of daily living. We find that the spiking responses simulated using the canonical model does not match, in their fine temporal structure, those simulated using individually fit models. However, population firing rates simulated using a canonical model match those simulated using individual models. Our results suggest that afferent heterogeneity is important if the read-out of the response of afferent populations is sensitive to the precise temporal structure of the population response. To the extent that precise spike timing (at a resolution of milliseconds) is not essential, a canonical model can be used to simulate the responses of populations of afferents.
On the cost function and splitting criteria in deterministic annealing for the design of entropy constrained vector quantizers

Deterministic annealing is a technique, which has the potential to solve two problems in variable-rate vector quantizer design-avoiding local optima, and determining optimal codebook size and also generalize existing work on the subject to gain insight to proper cost functions and splitting algorithms.
The June 13, 1975 earthquake and its relationship to the New Madrid seismic zone

abstract The June 13, 1975 earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone produced the first recorded strong-motion accelerograms for an event in the region, as well as the largest recorded accelerations to date for any event in eastern North America. The peak strong-motion values obtained from an analysis of the accelerograms are the following: a max = 43 cm/sec 2 , v max = 1 cm/sec and d max = 0.05 cm for the longitudinal S88°W component; a max = 31 cm/sec 2 , v max = 0.6 cm/sec and d max = 0.01 cm for the DOWN component; a max = 64 cm/sec 2 , v max = 1.6 cm/sec 2 , and d max = 0.09 cm for the tangential S02°E component. Source parameter estimation using long-period surface waves, Lg spectra, P -wave first motions and the integrated accelerograms leads to a consistent solution. The seismic moment is estimated to be 4E21 dyne-cm and the corner period 0.6 sec. The corner period-seismic moment pair for this event agrees with the regional scaling of these parameters observed by Street et al. (1975).
Membrane-anchored ubiquitin ligase complex is required for the turnover of lysosomal membrane proteins.

Cells must regulate the abundance and activity of numerous nutrient transporters in different organelle membranes to achieve nutrient homeostasis. As the recycling center and major storage organelle, lysosomes are essential for maintaining nutrient homeostasis. However, very little is known about mechanisms that govern the regulation of its membrane proteins. In this study, we demonstrated that changes of Zn2+ levels trigger the downregulation of vacuolar Zn2+ transporters. Low Zn2+ levels cause the degradation of the influx transporter Cot1, whereas high Zn2+ levels trigger the degradation of the efflux channel Zrt3. The degradation process depends on the vacuole membrane recycling and degradation pathway. Unexpectedly, we identified a RING domain–containing E3 ligase Tul1 and its interacting proteins in the Dsc complex that are important for the ubiquitination of Cot1 and partial ubiquitination of Zrt3. Our study demonstrated that the Dsc complex can function at the vacuole to regulate the composition and lifetime of vacuolar membrane proteins.
Controversies in neuro-oncology: role of whole-brain radiation therapy in the treatment of newly diagnosed brain metastases

As therapies for systemic cancers improve and patients survive longer, the incidence of brain metastases is increasing. Current therapies include varying combinations of surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT), and in a small subset of patients, systemic therapy. The use of SRS to treat brain metastases has been one of the major successes in neuro-oncology, providing effective local control of even radioresistant brain metastases. Several studies have compared the outcomes of patients with a limited number of brain metastases treated with surgery or radiosurgery alone, with the addition of WBRT. – 4 These studies, which usually included heterogeneous tumor histologies and varying extent of systemic disease, have generally shown improved intracranial control with the addition of WBRT, but no significant improvement in overall survival, and an increased risk of neurocognitive impairment. Most recently, at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, Brown et al presented the results of the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) (Alliance) N0574 study, a phase III trial comparing SRS+WBRT to SRS alone in patients with 1–3 brain metastases. This study for the first time used decline in cognitive function at 3 months as the primary endpoint. Cognitive deterioration at 3 months was significantly more frequent in the WBRT+SRS group than the SRS alone group, involving especially immediate recall, memory, and verbal fluency. As with prior studies, intracranial disease control was improved with WBRT but there was no improvement in overall survival. This study adds to the growing body of literature addressing this issue. Nonetheless, there is currently no consensus on the value of WBRT and the optimal management of patients with brain metastases remains a dilemma that confronts clinicians looking after these patients. In this issue of Neuro-Oncology, Dr Arjun Sahgal from the University of Toronto discusses the data in favor of omitting WBRT from patients with newly-diagnosed brain metastases, while Dr. Minesh Mehta from the University of Maryland provides the counter-argument of including WBRT for these patients.
Origins of Emissions Trading in Theory and Early Practice

This chapter surveys the origins of emissions trading in theory and early practice, from John Dales' initial explication of the instrument through its first large scale experiment in the 1990 US Clean Air Act Amendments.
Complexity and Information: Cancer as a Multi-Scale Complex Adaptive System

Our current understanding of biology and cancer is an implicit model of cellular and organismic regulation with its roots in early biochemical genetics inquiries. The concept that a gene is responsible for a particular protein and can be responsible for a disease was first proposed in 1908 by Archibald Garrod, an English physician (Garrod 1908). Garrod was interested in heritable diseases containing “inborn errors of metabolism.” He suggested (correctly) that alkaptonuria results from a single recessive gene, which causes a deficiency in the enzyme that normally breaks down alkapton. It is now known that alkaptonuria is caused by a defect in homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase which impairs the degradation of tyrosine (La Du et al. 1958; Zatkova 2011). Beadle and Tatum’s subsequent work demonstrated that single gene mutations could incapacitate specific enzymes, so that neurospora with these mutations had significantly altered physiology—they required an external supply of nutrients to generate something that endogenous enzymes normally produced (Beadle and Tatum 1941).
FAILURE OF RNA TO INHIBIT REJECTION OF SKIN HOMOGRAFTS.

Summary1. Intravenous infusion of donor lymphoid RNA and RNA extracted from rabbit liver had no detectable effect on survival of skin homografts in White New Zealand recipient rabbits. 2. Intravenous administration of heparin, sodium citrate, sodium versenate and polyvinyl sulfate did not detectably depress serum ribonuclease activity in rabbits. 3. Intravenous infusion of poly-vinyl sulfate induced an accelerated rejection of test skin homografts.
Was There a Compromise of 1877

THERE was a time, not too long ago, when the disputed election of 1876 could be treated as a relatively uncomplicated story. The Democratic candidate, Samuel J. Tilden, had won the popular vote and undisputed title to 184 electoral votes, only one short of victory. The campaign managers of Rutherford B. Hayes claimed victory for their side on the basis of disputed returns from the three southern states still under Republican control-Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina. The ensuing deadlock proved unresolvable by traditional means, and, in "one of the wisest pieces of statecraft ever evolved by an American Congress,", an extraordinary electoral commission was created, composed of members of the Senate, House, and Supreme Court. The decision of this commission in favor of Hayes, by a strictly partisan eight to seven vote, so angered Democrats that many of them openly threatened revolution, while others in the House of Representatives began a filibuster to prevent Hayes' inauguration. Fortunately for the nation, reasonable men in both parties struck a bargain at Wormley's Hotel. There, in the traditional smoke-filled room, emissaries of Hayes agreed to abandon the Republican state governments in Louisiana and South Carolina while southern Democrats agreed to abandon the filibuster and thus trade off the presidency in exchange for the end of Reconstruction. This familiar account was challenged in 1951 with the publication of C. Vann Woodward's Reunion and Reaction. The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction.2 Generally well received by reviewers in the major historical journals,3 Woodward's new interpretation soon won "almost universal accep-
Effect of sulfobromophthalein and indocyanine green on bile excretion.

SummaryThe administration of sulfobromophthalein (BSP) and indocyanine green (ICG) produced a decrease in bile flow, in the isolated perfused rat liver. A dose-related effect is shown for BSP while ICG, in equimolar concentrations, produced a more prolonged inhibitory effect on bile flow and rate of excretion. Possible mechanisms for the effect of these dyes on bile excretion are discussed.The authors are grateful to Mrs. A. Harinasuta for technical assistance and to Dr. J. Penhos for advice.
Lesions of the petrous ridge: metastatic pituitary carcinoma with discussion of differential diagnosis

Objective To discuss the differential diagnosis of petrous ridge lesions based on a rare case of metastatic pituitary carcinoma. Patient A 41-year-old man with a past medical history of pituitary adenoma and hypopituitarism presented with imbalance and vertigo. Imaging showed a mass eroding the left posterior petrous face. Intervention Transtemporal, transmastoid approach for complete resection of tumor. Main outcome measures Surgical pathology and imaging studies. Results Surgical pathology revealed metastatic pituitary carcinoma. The patient has been followed at our institution for 28 months postoperatively without evidence of recurrence. Conclusion Lesions of the petrous ridge are rare. The wide differential diagnosis includes endolympatic sac tumor, meningioma, jugulotympanic paraganglioma, myeloma, and metastasis. The clinician must take into account unique imaging features on CT and MRI, and final diagnosis often requires pathologic analysis.
Pruitt–Igoe Homes

Large-scale multistory public housing complexes were a common and sometimes celebrated device in the United States to house low-income and minority persons whose presence in cities made some kind of official response necessary. But they made better warehouses than they ever did homes for the people who lived there. The Pruitt–Igoe homes in St. Louis, Missouri, have acquired an iconic status as embodying the worst traits of public housing in the United States. Keywords: housing; poverty; urban sociology
44.1 Luftballons: The Communication Breakdown of Foreign Law in the Federal Courts

Foreign law has become an increasingly important element of many cases brought before federal courts. Rule 44.1, which controls determinations of foreign law, is intended to make the process for determining foreign law as painless as possible, but like the regime that preceded it, it has become a procedural minefield for those wishing to rely on foreign law, as courts have declined to apply Rule 44.1 when it should be used, either deliberately or due to uncertainty as to its application. This is in large part due to the lack of concrete standards outlined in the rule. This Note examines the standards associated with the rule and their application in the years immediately after its promulgation and concludes that the reliant party’s burden of production with respect to foreign law should vary based on whether statutory text is provided. If a statute is available, the courts should be required to undertake a Rule 44.1 analysis, while if a statute is unavailable, the reliant party should bear the burden of producing substantial evidence of foreign law. This standard, elaborated in the text of Rule 44.1, should ensure that as many foreign law determinations as possible can be resolved on the merits.
Incorporating Critical Care Oncology Nursing in a Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing Curriculum

Nursing educators face a daunting task of preparing graduates to meet the high demand for professional nurses who are able to care for an aging population suffering from multiple chronic and debilitating health problems, including cancer. Preparing graduates for this reality can be accomplished through the blending of oncological emergencies as a content area within an existing critical care-focused course. The merging of oncology and critical care concepts results in several benefits, including greater comprehension and retention of oncology content and a newfound interest in oncology nursing as a desired career path.
Femtosecond Optical Time-of-Flight Measurement of the Electron Velocity in GaN

A femtosecond optically-detected time-of-flight technique has been used to determine the electron transit time and steady-state velocity-field characteristic in a GaN p-i-n diode. The peak electron velocity of 1.9x107 crn/sec is attained at 225 kV/cm.
Adaptive Regression Modeling of Univariate Continuous Outcomes

This chapter formulates and demonstrates adaptive regression modeling of means and variances for repeatedly measured continuous outcomes treated as multivariate normal. Analyses are presented of dental measurements of the distance in mm from the center of the pituitary to the pterygomaxillary fissure in terms of the age and gender of the child while accounting for dependence of dental measurements for the same child. These are example analyses of data with no missing outcome values. Analyses are also presented of strength in terms of time and type of weightlifting program while accounting for dependence of strength measurements for the same subject. These are example analyses of data with missing outcome values. Analyses of these data sets use marginal models based on order 1 autoregressive (AR1) correlations and exchangeable correlations (EC) and estimated with maximum likelihood (ML) or generalized estimating equations (GEE). They also use transition models, with the current outcome value a function of prior outcome values, and general conditional models, with the current outcome value a function of other, past as well as prior, outcome values. The issue of moderation is addressed, that is, how the effect of a predictor on an outcome can change with values of a moderator variable. For example, how the effect of age on the child’s dental measurements can change with the gender of the child. Moderation analyses are commonly based on interactions, but can be more generally based on geometric combinations, that is, products of power transforms of primary predictors using possibly different powers.
NDE of Corrosion and Disbonding on Aircraft Using Thermal Wave Imaging

Thermal wave imaging has been shown to have the quantitative capability for measuring aircraft skin corrosion thinning. [1] For single fuselage skin, the technique is sensitive to less than 1% material loss, and can make rapid (a few seconds) measurements which compare well with direct micrometer readings. The method uses pulse heating of the aircraft by means of photographic flashlamps which are enclosed in a metal shroud to trap and funnel the light uniformly onto the surface during the 5msec duration of the pulse. An infrared (IR) focal plane array camera, aimed and focused at the surface through an opening in the rear of the hand-held shroud, monitors the rapid cooling of that surface following the pulse. Metal doublers, bonded to the inside surface of the fuselage, cause the outside surface just above them to cool more rapidly, whereas regions which are thinned because of internal surface corrosion cool less rapidly. By appropriate selection of the gate time(s) for monitoring the cooling, these features show up as distinct dark (light) features in the resulting thermal wave images. The system we have developed at Wayne State University has the electronics and computer mounted on a two-wheeled cart, and the imaging head (shroud/lamps/camera) remotely located and connected to the cart by a long (50-ft) umbilical cable (shown in the photo from the FAA’s Airworthiness Assurance Validation Center (AANC) hangar in Albuquerque, NM).
Hybrid human-machine vision systems: image annotation using crowds, experts and machines

The amount of digital image and video data keeps increasing at an ever-faster rate. While "big data" holds the promise of leading science to new discoveries, raw image data in itself is not of much use. In order to statistically analyze the data, it must be quantified and annotated. We argue that entirely automated methods are not accurate enough to annotate data in the short term. Crowdsourcing is an alternative that provides higher accuracy, but is too expensive to scale to millions of images. Instead, the solution is hybrid human-machine vision systems, where the work of both humans and machines is balanced to be as cost-effective and accurate as possible. With this goal in mind, we begin by categorizing different types of image annotations, and describe how nonexpert annotators can be trained to carry out challenging image annotation tasks. Having identified which types of annotations are appropriate for most tasks, including binary, confidence, pair-wise and continuous annotations, we present models for crowdsourcing annotations from hundreds of expert and nonexpert annotators (humans). By trading off the bias and expertise of multiple annotators, we show that it is possible to achieve high-quality annotations with very few labels. We show that the number of labels can be further reduced by actively choosing the best annotators to carry out most of the work. Finally, we study the problem of estimating the performance of automated classifiers (machines) used to annotate large datasets where few ground truth labels are available. Using a semisupervised model for classifier confidence scores, we show that it is possible to accurately estimate classifier performance with very few labels.
“Prayed to God, Knitted a Stocking”: Needlework on a Nineteenth-Century Russian Estate

This article explores the needlework practices of a provincial gentrywoman in mid-nineteenth century Russia. Natal’ia Chikhacheva (1799-1866) managed her family’s modest estates in Vladimir province, in the heart of the textile region surrounding the village of Ivanovo. She oversaw serf labor in textiles, especially the growing and processing of flax and weaving, but she also did spinning, knitting, sewing, and lacemaking herself. The products of her needles were used not only by her own family, but also by their serfs, while some were sold for profit or given as gifts to friends. Chikhacheva provides a rare glimpse of everyday Russian needlework of the period, its uses, and cultural associations.
Degree of Convergence for a Class of Linear Operators

Saturation order and saturation class for operators based on the partial sums of Fourier series have been studied by many authors. Kuttner and Sahney [17] obtained results on the nonuniqueness of the degree of saturation. Subsequently Kuttner, Moha-patra and Sahney [18] obtained general results on saturation order \(O\left( {\frac{1}{{n\log n}}} \right)\)and saturation class of a sequence of operators based on the infinite matrix transformation of any bounded, measurable functions of period 2π. In that paper it was shown that the operator based on harmonic method has a saturation order and a saturation class which is con tained in the class of all functions f for which the conjugate function \(\bar f \in {\text{Lip}}\) 1. In this paper we consider operators based on generalized harmonic method, Nδ, and obtain the saturation order and information regarding its saturation class.
Insulin--not always a life sentence: withdrawal of insulin therapy in non-insulin dependent diabetes.

The extent of unnecessary insulin administration was assessed by reviewing the records of 350 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM). Subjects were included only if previously told that insulin therapy was to be permanent, and not if the need for insulin was known to be temporary (e.g. post-operatively). Fifty-one such patients were identified, 26 men and 25 women, mean age 59.5 (range 24-79) yr, with mean duration of diabetes 10.7 (1-34) yr. Insulin had been administered for a mean of 4.8 (0.3-34) yr in a mean daily dosage of 52.5 (12-280) units. Twenty-nine subjects (57%) were more than 110% of ideal body mass. Insulin therapy was ceased on an outpatient basis, using self blood glucose monitoring in nearly all cases. Mean duration of follow-up since ceasing insulin is 16 (3-48) months. Body mass in overmass subjects fell from (mean +/- S.D.) 92.3 +/- 20.5 to 82.1 +/- 17.8 kg (p less than 0.001). Mean HbA1 level fell from 12.0 +/- 2.2 to 11.0 +/- 2.0% (p less than 0.05). Sixteen patients are currently treated with diet, and 35 require diet and oral hypoglycemic agents. It appears that insulin therapy in NIDDM is often commenced for "dietary failure" rather than true secondary failure of oral hypoglycemic agents. Despite progressive increase in dosage, insulin may not improve diabetic control, and may cause weight gain. A management program of diet and exercise, based on self blood glucose monitoring allows reduction in dosage and withdrawal of insulin without hospitalization.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Tissue Engineering at the Blood-Contacting Surface: A Review of Challenges and Strategies in Vascular Graft Development.

Tissue engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) are beginning to achieve clinical success and hold promise as a source of grafting material when donor grafts are unsuitable or unavailable. Significant technological advances have generated small-diameter TEVGs that are mechanically stable and promote functional remodeling by regenerating host cells. However, developing a biocompatible blood-contacting surface remains a major challenge. The TEVG luminal surface must avoid negative inflammatory responses and thrombogenesis immediately upon implantation and promote endothelialization. The surface has therefore become a primary focus for research and development efforts. The current state of TEVGs is herein reviewed with an emphasis on the blood-contacting surface. General vascular physiology and developmental challenges and strategies are briefly described, followed by an overview of the materials currently employed in TEVGs. The use of biodegradable materials and stem cells requires careful control of graft composition, degradation behavior, and cell recruitment ability to ensure that a physiologically relevant vessel structure is ultimately achieved. The establishment of a stable monolayer of endothelial cells (ECs) and the quiescence of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are critical to the maintenance of patency. Several strategies to modify blood-contacting surfaces to resist thrombosis and control cellular recruitment are reviewed, including coatings of biomimetic peptides and heparin.
De-Moralizing Gay Rights

In this introductory chapter, I synopsize the argument of the book. In so doing, I begin by pointing out that this book is intended as a polemic. I then delineate the argument in what follows. This book critically interrogates three sets of distortions in twenty-first century public discourse on LGBT+ rights in the United States. The first relates to the critique of pinkwashing, often advanced by scholars who claim to be proponents of a radical politics. I suggest that this critique sometimes suffers from analytical overreach. The second concerns a recent US Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), a judgment that established marriage equality across the 50 states. I argue that this judgment mobilizes the Court’s own endorsement of two elements of homonormativity: amatonormativity and repronormativity. Instead of endorsing homonormativity, the Court should have instead employed an approach based on decisional minimalism. The third distortion occurs in Kenji Yoshino’s theorization of the concept of gay covering. Yoshino’s calls to dismantle cultural demands for gay covering turn out, I argue, to constitute an oppressive command to “gay-flaunt.”
231. Künstlicher Ersatz der thorakalen Trachea

Wir entwickelten eine Silastikprothese, um eine einfache Implantation in jeder Hohe des Bronchialbaumes zu ermoglichen. Sie ist nach dem Prinzip des Hagen-Poiseuilleschen Gesetzes — maximalen Luftgeschwindigkeit — gebaut und erleichtert damit die Bronchialtoilette. Die Prothese wurde bei 14 Hunden nach Resektion der unteren Trachea eingesetzt. 3 Hunde starben wegen Prothesendislokation an Erstickung. Andere Komplikationen — wie Sepsis, Arterienarrosion oder Stenosen - traten bei keinem der Versuchstiere auf. Wir glauben, an absehbarer Zeit, dieses Prothesenmodell in ausgewahlten Fallen, auch am Menschen, einzusetzen.
Keys to the Interpretation of Geological History

Compressional mountain systems are defined by their geology and are understood based on an interpretation of the rock record. Chapter 20 introduces some of the basic principles of the way rocks are interpreted, the way rocks record time, and some of the nomenclature involved in understanding the process of mountain building. This information sets the stage for a more advanced look at mountain building and can be used as a proxy to delve deeper into the geological history of the United States. Included in this discussion are topics such as the significance of geologic field mapping, fossils and the geologic time scale, cross-cutting relationships, metamorphism, and radiometric dating of intrusive, metamorphic, and detrital minerals.
The Development and use of Biomechanical Strength Models

The general objective for the development and use of biomechanical strength models is to more accurately determine the amount of physical stress imposed on a person’s musculoskeletal system by infrequent material handling tasks, i.e., each of which has a duration of less than five seconds and with a minimum of a minute between tasks. (Otherwise the limit of performance would not be a function of the mechanical characteristics of the skeletal muscle system, but instead of the physiological capacities of the supporting respiratory and cardiovascular systems). With increased identification of manual material handling related injuries, amounting up to 25% of industrial accidents (National Safety Council, 1974) and three billion dollars in medical expenses and lost wages per year (Chaffin and Ayoub, 1976), and with the growing concern for the health and safety of the worker, such as the OSHAct of 1970, the proper achievement of such an objective is becoming imperative.