cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Model-based incomplete data analysis with an application to occupational mobility and migration accounts.

In many planning and policy research settings available secondary data sources may be incapable of answering pertinent research questions because certain variable combinations are unavailable. One solution to this constraint is to try to construct the desired data using information from multiple data sources and prior information. Current methods for accomplishing this task tend to focus predominantly on updating transaction matrices (input‐output tables, transportation flows, or interregional migration accounts) and emphasize an algorithmic approach to the problem. This paper attempts to broaden the applications and generalize the solution by extending the model‐based approach to incomplete data analysis advocated by Willekens (1982). The log‐linear model is presented here as a flexible platform for incomplete data analysis and a path diagram describes several alternative modeling approaches; different paths are determined by the level of available information. The paper concludes with an application to ...
The Homologous Chromosome Is an Effective Template for the Repair of Mitotic DNA Double-Strand Breaks in Drosophila

In recombinational DNA double-strand break repair a homologous template for gene conversion may be located at several different genomic positions: on the homologous chromosome in diploid organisms, on the sister chromatid after DNA replication, or at an ectopic position. The use of the homologous chromosome in mitotic gene conversion is thought to be limited in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and mammalian cells. In contrast, by studying the repair of double-strand breaks generated by the I-SceI rare-cutting endonuclease, we find that the homologous chromosome is frequently used in Drosophila melanogaster, which we suggest is attributable to somatic pairing of homologous chromosomes in mitotic cells of Drosophila. We also find that Drosophila mitotic cells of the germ line, like yeast, employ the homologous recombinational repair pathway more often than imperfect nonhomologous end joining.
On helping people to die: a pragmatic account.

Here is the doubt that triggers my inquiry: I have two beliefs that are apparently at odds. The first is that we should never kill; the second, that we should always attempt to alleviate pain. The apparent conflict between these beliefs arises from the fact that death may constitute the ultimate pain relief.
The Role of Stage at Diagnosis in Colorectal Cancer Black–White Survival Disparities: A Counterfactual Causal Inference Approach

Background: To date, a counterfactual framework has not been used to study determinants of social inequalities in cancer. Considering the case of colorectal cancer, for which racial/ethnic differences in stage at diagnosis and survival are well documented, we quantify the extent to which black versus white survival disparities would be reduced had disparities in stage at diagnosis been eliminated in a large patient population. Methods: We obtained data on colorectal cancer patients (diagnosed between 1992 and 2005 and followed until 2010) from US-SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) cancer registries. We employed a counterfactual approach to estimate the mean survival time up to the 60th month since diagnosis for black colorectal cancer patients had black–white disparities in stage at diagnosis been eliminated. Results: Black patients survive approximately 4.0 [confidence interval (CI), 4.6–3.2] months less than white patients within five years since diagnosis. Had disparities in stage at diagnosis been eliminated, survival disparities decrease to 2.6 (CI, 3.4–1.7) months, an approximately 35% reduction. For patients diagnosed after the age of 65 years, disparities would be halved, while reduction of approximately 30% is estimated for younger patients. Survival disparities would be reduced by approximately 44% for women and approximately 26% for men. Conclusions: Employing a counterfactual approach and allowing for heterogeneities in black–white disparities across patients' characteristics, we give robust evidence that elimination of disparities in stage at diagnosis contributes to a substantial reduction in survival disparities in colorectal cancer. Impact: We provide the first evidence in the SEER population that elimination of inequities in stage at diagnosis might lead to larger reductions in survival disparities among elderly and women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(1); 83–89. ©2015 AACR .
The subgenus Rusticoit/us of genus Aedes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Europe and Asia

In 1973, Shevchenko & Prudkina described the new subgenus Rusticoidus in genus Aedes Meigen and based the subgenus on structures of the male genitalia and the larval siphon. The following discussion and description is from their paper and is based on a translation from Russian to English by SCITRAN, Santa Barbara, California, USA. My comments are included in square brackets. The authors indicated [page 41] that in subgenus Ochlerotatus, among all species they investigated [see their table], only Ae. refiki should be singled out. It is distinguished from the remaining species of the subgenus by the structure of the sternite and c1aspettes, by the presence (only in it and in other species of the group) oflanceolate scales on the basal verroca [lobe] of the coxite, and by a few other characteristics. In addition, in contrast to other species, there are additional hairs on the siphon of the latvae. Evidently, it is expedient to single outAe. refzki, as well as all the other species of the rusticus group, into a special subgenusRusticoidus Shevchenko & Prodkina. For precisely this reason [their] table presents ten and not eleven species. [On page 46 Shevchenko & Prodkina presented the following characteristics of the male genitalia for subgenus Rusticoidus.] The wing [c1aspette filament] of the claspette is spindle-shaped and has cross-striations. The length of the trunk [claspette stem] of the claspette is 285.6 microns, at the base and apex the trunk is widened, at the apex it is claviform. Sk = 3.1. Three spines are arranged one after another along the basal part of the trunk. Sb = 3.9. The central and lateral-proximal parts of the IXth tergite are wide with a concave anterior margin, the lateral-distal part is narrowed with a weakly widened margin. The depression between the projections is wide and deep, and on the projections there are an average of8 bristles (7-10). St = 0.9. The IXth sternite is elongated and has the shape of a small boat with a convex central part, and it has five bristles. Sc = 4.8. The phallosome is greatly constricted in the middle, the apical part is expanded, and the posterior margin has a projection. The posterior margins of the wall contact each other in the first half. [Their] Figure 2 shows IXth sternite, IXth tergite, phallosome, and claspette ofAe. refiki.
Gene targeting in drosophila and caenorhabditis elegans with zinc-finger nucleases

Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) are promising new tools for enhancing the efficiency of gene targeting in many organisms. Because of the flexibility of zinc finger DNA recognition, ZFNs can be designed to bind many different genomic sequences. The double-strand breaks they create are repaired by cellular processes that generate new mutations at the cleavage site. In addition, the breaks can be repaired by homologous recombination with an exogenous donor DNA, allowing the experimenter to introduce designed sequence alterations. We describe the construction of ZFNs for novel targets and their application to targeted mutagenesis and targeted gene replacement in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans.
Michigan's Local Leaders are Divided Over the State's Emergency Manager Law

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state’s emergency manager law, officially called the Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act (Public Act 4 of 2011). This law provides for the appointment of emergency managers to oversee local governments and school districts in fiscal distress. The findings in this report are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the Spring 2012 wave of the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS).
Data, exergy, and energy analyses of a vertical-bore, ground-source heat pump for domestic water heating under simulated occupancy conditions

Abstract Evidence is provided to support the view that 68%–76% of the energy required to produce domestic hot water may be extracted from the ground which serves as a renewable energy resource. The case refers to a 345 m 2 research house located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 36.01°N 84.26°W in a mixed-humid climate with HDD of 2218 °C-days (3993 °F-days) and CDD of 723 °C-days (1301 °F-days). The house is operated under simulated occupancy conditions in which the hot water use protocol is based on the Building America Research Benchmark Definition which captures the water consumption lifestyles of the average family in the United States. The 5.3 kW (1.5-ton) water-to-water ground source heat pump (WW-GSHP) shared the same vertical bore with a separate 7.56 KW water-to-air ground source heat pump for space conditioning the same house. Energy and exergy analysis of data collected continuously over a twelve month period provide performance metrics and sources of inherent systemic inefficiencies. Data and analyses are vital to better understand how WW-GSHPs may be further improved to enable the ground to be used as a practical renewable energy resource.
Historical Racial Contexts and Contemporary Spatial Differences in Racial Inequality

Research examining regional variation in the impact of racial concentration on black-white economic inequality assumes that the American South is distinct from the non-South because of its slavery history. However, slavery's influence on the relationship has not been directly examined nor has it been adequately theorized within the economic inequality literature. We assess whether the link between contemporary black concentration and poverty disparities is structured by historical racial context. We find that while there is contemporary racial inequality throughout the United States, inequality-generating processes vary spatially and in ways that are tied to the local historical racial context.
Introducing Model-based Design Methodology with LabVIEW to Teaching ARM-based Embedded System Design

This paper presents our latest experience of introducing the new topic of model-based design (MBD) concepts and tools to a Programming Tools (PT) course for educating students to be capable of utilizing modern tools for correctly developing complicated ARM-based embedded systems. It describes the course contents, student outcomes and lecture and lab preparation for teaching this topic with the emphasis on two sub-topics. Firstly, we present the details of using NI LabVIEW tool in programming ARM Cortex-M MCUs or ARM Cortex-A9 MCUs on the embedded device like NI myRIO for fast developing embedded applications. Secondly, to integrate an on-going research effort on the model-based verification into this course, we also introduce model-checking and the tools that have been utilized in the research project. This new topic helps introducing students the latest research advances which promote the wide applications of the MBD in safety-critical embedded applications. Our primary experience shows that the project-based learning approach with the graphical programming tools and selected MCUs is efficient and practical to teach the MBD of 32-bit MCUs programming.
Confirmation of a computer-derived nomogram to predict gentamicin serum concentrations in postsurgical patients

The applicability of a previously reported nomogram to predict serum gentamicin levels in postsurgical patients was investigated. Seventeen patients accounting for 20 courses of gentamicin were studied. A total of 72 peak serum gentamicin levels were measured by a microbiological assay and compared with predicted serum levels determined by the dosing nomogram. Eighty-five percent of the measured peak gentamicin serum levels agreed with nomogram-predicted levels. This figure was reduced to 65% when certain unforeseen factors (i.e., patient interference with intravenous lines, dosage miscalculation and extra routes of gentamicin elimination) were identified. The nomogram is a particularly useful tool for the clinician to whom serum gentamicin levels are unavailable and who needs a method to predict serum gentamicin concentration based upon a given dosage.
Cultural Effects on the Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Latinos

The role of culture in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has been too often neglected in research. The present study evaluated the implications of cultural factors for ASD screening and diagnosis by ...
Discriminant functions applied to the problem of predicting cerebral damage from behavioral tests: a cross-validation study.

Linear discriminant functions were applied to 23 behavioral test scores from each of 304 patients who were divided into control, left cerebral damage, right damage, and diffuse or bilateral damage groups. Random-half and temporal-half (early versus late test period) cross-validations were performed by generating weights from the scores of each of the foregoing halves and applying them to the appropriate counter-halves. The reduction in accuracy of criterion prediction attributable to cross-validating, i.e., the “noise” in the system, varied between 10% and 20% of the uncrossed accuracy. Validated accuracy was about 80% for comparisons between controls and (a) all the damaged groups together, (b) diffuse or bilateral damage groups, (c) left damage groups, (d) right damage groups, and (e) between left and right damage groups; it was about 70% between the left damage and diffuse or bilateral damage groups; about 60–65% (essentially no better than chance) between the right damage and diffuse or bilateral dama...
COCCIDIAL INFECTION OF THE ADRENAL GLANDS OF LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLES (DERMOCHELYS CORIACEA)

Histologic lesions incidental to the cause of death were observed in the adrenal glands of 17 subadult and adult leatherback sea turtles ( Dermochelys coriacea ) found dead or moribund on or near shore in North America. Round bodies, 250-300 μm in diameter composed of an outer capsule and large multinucleated cells surrounding a central mass of acellular material were distributed throughout the affected glands. Protozoal etiology was suspected based on some resemblance to coccidia; however, features diagnostic for coccidial infection were lacking in all but one case, which had a focal area of adrenalitis containing zoites. A novel eucoccidian partial 18S rRNA genetic sequence was consistently detected in adrenal glands with lesions. With the use of quantitative PCR, a specific area of the V4 region of the coccidian 18S gene was quantified in affected adrenal glands and correlated significantly with density of the histologic lesions. A second distinct, but closely related, 18S sequence was also amplified from the adrenal gland of one turtle and from a fecal sample containing unsporulated coccidian oocysts. The two 18S sequences identified from leatherback sea turtles form a clade within the family Eimeriidae. Further investigation is required to understand better the morphology of the life stages, life cycle, and potential effects of this coccidian parasite on adrenal function.
Double Diffusive Convection during Solidification at a Vertical Wall

Transient solidification of a confined volume of a homogeneous binary solution at vertical wall produces horizontal gradients of solute concentration and temperature in the liquid. For solutions in which the density varies with the concentration of both of these properties, the potential exists for a double-diffusive (thermosolutal) convective flow to develop in the vicinity of the solidification front. The boundary layer motion contributes to the establishment of a vertical density (compositional and thermal) stratification of the liquid in the interior of the enclosure, and the subsequent onset of double-diffusive layering. A mathematical model is developed to describe the time-dependent solidification process and double-diffusive interactions in the liquid phase. Preliminary results of the calculations are compared to experimental observations of the solidification behavior of aqueous sodium carbonate solutions with initial compositions on both sides of the eutectic.
The Hall Effect in Group 1B Metals

This chapter is a review of the progress which has been made in the interpretation of the Hall effect in Cu, Ag, and Au and in some simple alloys based on them. The available results relating to the galvanomagnetic properties of noble-metal alloys in general form a relatively large field and much of it consists of data, often collected in the course of gross metallurgical studies, which are for high-concentration binary or ternary systems that are hopelessly complex for even qualitative interpretation from a fundamental point of view. It is only in the cases of the pure metals, some very dilute alloys, and certain α-phase alloys having either homovalent or polyvalent solutes that some progress toward a fundamental understanding has been made. That is the subject of this chapter and we find it convenient to divide it arbitrarily into the three foregoing categories, which are considered separately in Sections 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4. In this introduction we briefly review for the benefit of the nonspecialist reader those aspects of the electronic structure of the group IB metals which bear directly on the interpretation of the Hall effect data.
Directivity and intermittency in the nearfield of a Mach 1.3 jet

Local fluctuations in a Mach 1.3 cold jet are tracked to understand the genesis of nearfield directivity and intermittency. A newly developed approach leveraging two synchronized large-eddy simulat...
Transnational Intersectionality in Family Therapy With Resettled Refugees

In this article, we discuss incorporating the transnational intersectionality framework in family therapy with resettled refugees. Transnational intersectionality is an extension of the framework of intersectionality which helps to better understand complexities of power and oppression across national contexts and their influence on refugees' lives. Adopting this framework alerts family therapists to: (a) develop critical awareness of refugee's transnational contexts; (b) understand differences in experiences of social identities across contexts; (c) acknowledge postmigration factors of oppression affecting resettlement; and (d) critically reflect upon therapist-interpreter-client intersectionalities. This shifts our conceptualization of therapy with refugees to actively consider transnational contexts which refugees uniquely occupy. We describe the framework and provide two case illustrations to highlight its usefulness.
Between Reason and Coercion: Ethically Permissible Influence in Health Care and Health Policy Contexts

In bioethics, the predominant categorization of various types of influence has been a tripartite classification of rational persuasion (meaning influence by reason and argument), coercion (meaning influence by irresistible threats—or on a few accounts, offers), and manipulation (meaning everything in between). The standard ethical analysis in bioethics has been that rational persuasion is always permissible, and coercion is almost always impermissible save a few cases such as imminent threat to self or others. However, many forms of influence fall into the broad middle terrain—and this terrain is in desperate need of conceptual refining and ethical analysis in light of recent interest in using principles from behavioral science to influence health decisions and behaviors. This paper aims to address the neglected space between rational persuasion and coercion in bioethics. First, I argue for conceptual revisions that include removing the "manipulation" label and relabeling this space "nonargumentative]influence," with two subtypes: "reason-bypassing" and "reason-countering." Second, I argue that bioethicists have made the mistake of relying heavily on the conceptual categories themselves for normative work and instead should assess the ethical permissibility of a particular instance of influence by asking several key ethical questions, which I elucidate, that relate to (1) the impact of the form of influence on autonomy and (2) the relationship between the influencer and the influenced. Finally, I apply my analysis to two examples of nonargumentative influence in health care and health policy: (1) governmental agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) trying to influence the public to be healthier using nonargumentative measures such as vivid images on cigarette packages to make more salient the negative effects of smoking, and (2) a physician framing a surgery in terms of survival rates instead of mortality rates to influence her patient to consent to the surgery.
Endoscope-Assisted Abscess Drainage Secondary to Endoscope-Assisted Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion: 1-Year Follow-Up.

Introduction Endoscopic discectomy and fusions have been gaining popularity in the recent past and are noted to be safe for their application in elderly population. The procedure involves ultra-small incision for discectomy followed by placement of percutaneous screws in awake patients. Treatment of advanced spinal pathology with endoscope-assisted techniques is challenging. Although not common with the endoscopic approach, postoperative infection can be problematic, as there are no established guidelines on its management. Methods A 76-year-old female patient underwent lumbar 4–5 endoscopic-assisted transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for severe degenerative changes leading to back and radicular leg pain. She did well postoperatively and was discharged home the following day. She presented to the outside hospital with new onset of severe back pain, sepsis, and positive methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus with blood culture and demonstrated no improvement while on antibiotics. Results Initial magnetic resonance imaging revealed postoperative changes only. With positive blood culture and localized pain, she was then offered to undergo a percutaneous drainage of the abscess. Under local anesthesia and intravenous sedation, a small pocket of collection was found along the endoscopic trajectory from previous surgery. After evacuation of the collection, the interbody device was irrigated with vancomycin through endoscope. Postoperatively, immediate symptomatic improvement was noted in back pain. She was discharged home on oxacillin and continues to do well at 12 months' follow-up with excellent fusion. Conclusions The present case illustrates the successful treatment of a surgical-site infection after endoscope-assisted transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion via a repeat percutaneous endoscopic approach.
New assays for parathyroid hormone (PTH) and the relevance of PTH fragments in renal failure

New assays for parathyroid hormone (PTH) and the relevance of PTH fragments in renal failure. Background Immunometric assays for parathyroid hormone (PTH) are used extensively to assess bone and mineral metabolism in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who are treated with dialysis. Results generally correspond to bone histology as documented by bone biopsy, and they are useful in monitoring disease progression. Recent work has shown, however, that older, first-generation immunometric PTH assays detect not only full-length PTH(1-84), but also other amino-terminally-truncated PTH fragments (ntPTH) that may have inhibitory effects on bone cell metabolism and/or contribute to the development of adynamic renal osteodystrophy. New second-generation immunometric PTH assays, by contrast, detect PTH(1-84) exclusively. The diagnostic value of plasma PTH determinations using second-generation immunometric PTH assays and the utility of estimates of the concentration of ntPTH in plasma in patients with ESRD has been assessed only recently. Methods Results were reviewed from three published studies that examined the relationship between bone histology and plasma PTH levels as measured both by first- and by second-generation immunometric PTH assays in patients with ESRD. In all three studies, the concentration of ntPTH was estimated from the numerical difference between the results obtained with each assay and a ratio of PTH(1-84)/ntPTH was calculated. Results In one report, all patients with adynamic renal osteodystrophy had PTH(1-84)/ntPTH ratio values Conclusion Plasma PTH levels, as determined by first-generation and second-generation immunometric assays, are highly correlated and have similar diagnostic value for the non-invasive assessment of renal osteodystrophy. The contention that ntPTH estimates and values for the PTH(1-84)/ntPTH ratio are useful in the diagnostic assessment of renal osteodystrophy has yet to be confirmed.
Adaptive Optics and Its Use in Inflammatory Eye Disease

Adaptive optics is an emerging technology that has enabled the direct visualization of individual cells in patients with eye diseases. There are many different versions of adaptive optics instruments that have been developed, but in the past decade, adaptive optics instruments have been used to image cone and rod photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelial cells, inner retinal capillaries, retinal ganglion cells, and the optic nerve head. This chapter provides an overview of the current clinical capabilities of adaptive optics, practical considerations related to the clinical use of adaptive optics, and the potential for using adaptive optics in inflammatory eye conditions.
Do Analysts' Cash Flow Forecasts Encourage Managers to Improve the Firm's Cash Flows? Evidence from Tax Planning

Recent research finds that analysts' cash flow forecasts have meaningful financial reporting ramifications, but, to date, the identified effects are unlikely to yield meaningful cash flow benefits. This study examines whether analysts' cash flow forecasts encourage managers to enhance the firm's cash flow position through tax avoidance activities. We evaluate the change in cash tax avoidance after analysts begin issuing cash flow forecasts relative to a propensity score matched control sample of firms without cash flow forecasts. Consistent with analysts' cash flow forecasts encouraging tax avoidance that enhances the firm's cash flow health, we find a negative association between cash tax payments and analysts' cash flow coverage. Additional analysis suggests this association is driven primarily by strategies to permanently avoid rather than to temporarily defer tax payments and that increased cash tax avoidance activity represents a nontrivial component of the overall increase in reported operating cash flows after the initiation of analysts' cash flow coverage. Les travaux de recherche recents revelent que les previsions de tresorerie des analystes ont d'importantes repercussions sur l'information financiere; jusqu'a maintenant, cependant, les incidences relevees sont peu susceptibles d'entrainer des avantages appreciables au chapitre de la tresorerie. Les auteurs se demandent si les previsions de tresorerie des analystes encouragent les gestionnaires a ameliorer la position de tresorerie de l'entreprise en recourant a des mesures d'evitement des decaissements relatifs a l'impot. Ils evaluent l'evolution du comportement d'evitement fiscal une fois que les analystes ont commence a produire des previsions de tresorerie par rapport a un echantillon de controle constitue d'entreprises a l'egard desquelles les analystes ne produisent pas de previsions de tresorerie, selectionnees selon la methode de l'appariement des coefficients de propension. Conformement a l'idee selon laquelle les previsions de tresorerie des analystes encouragent les activites d'evitement fiscal propres a ameliorer la sante de la tresorerie de l'entreprise, les auteurs notent l'existence d'un lien negatif entre les decaissements relatifs a l'impot et la couverture des flux de tresorerie par les analystes. Une analyse supplementaire semble indiquer que ce lien repose principalement sur des strategies visant a eviter de facon permanente, plutot qu'a reporter temporairement, les decaissements relatifs a l'impot, et que l'intensification des activites d'evitement des decaissements relatifs a l'impot constitue un element non negligeable de la hausse globale des flux de tresorerie lies a l'exploitation observee apres le debut de la couverture des flux de tresorerie par les analystes.
The Role of Vitamin B12 in the Management and Optimization of Treatment in Patients With Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy.

Study Design:Narrative review.Objectives:To discuss the relationship between degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) and vitamin B12 deficiency. Specifically, it is the aim to outline the rational f...
Neutron transmission tomography applied to reactive dissolution through percolating porous media

Publisher Summary This chapter describes a neutron imaging facility that can be operated in the radiographic mode to obtain two-dimensional transmission images having a high degree of spatial resolution or in the radioscopic mode to image dynamic events. Both systems can be used in conjunction with computer tomography for three-dimensional imaging. To demonstrate the imaging technique, neutron radiography, neutron radioscopy, and neutron transmission tomography were applied to the reactive dissolution of carbonate porous media, a process pertinent to the stimulation of petroleum reservoirs. Neutron transmission tomography is a three-dimensional imaging technique ideally suited for imaging flow and reaction in porous media. The computer tomography (CT) based technique provides excellent contrast between substances containing hydrogen or cadmium and host materials, such as consolidated porous media and most metals. The technique provides moderate contrast when stainless steel is the host material. Previous investigators have applied this technique to the inspection of nuclear fuel assemblies, the non-destructive testing of large metallic objects, the imaging of hydrocarbon sprays inside metallic structures, and the imaging of water saturation in dolomite core samples.
Robotic preparation of metal samples for analysis by plasma emission spectrometry

A method utilizing a laboratory robotic system to automate sample preparation for the chemical analysis of metals was developed. Anticipated elemental concentration values for samples are entered into the robotic system, and the system determines the needed sample weights and calibration solution concentrations. The robot then weighs, dissolves, and dilutes the samples and prepares calibration solutions prior to multi-elemental analyses by inductively-coupled plasma — atomic-emission spectrometry. Zinc-base alloy standard reference materials were used to evaluate this method. For a batch of ten samples, operator times compared with a similar manual method were reduced by about 5-fold. Precision and accuracy data for samples prepared by robotic and manual methods were equivalent.
THE THERMOCHEMISTRY AND KINETICS OF GAS PHASE REACTIONS

The history of free radical chemistry leading to current modeling efforts for complex kinetic processes is examined briefly. Current understanding of molecular and free radical mechanisms is summarized as is the current state of the art in predicting thermochemical data for radicals and molecules. An application of these techniques to understanding the reaction of thermal electrons with SF gas is given. Arrhenius parameters are deduced for the thermal reaction SF 6 − → SF 6 + e − , the first such data for an electron ejection.
Enzyme Induction, Gene Amplification and Insect Resistance to Insecticides

Perhaps the most fully understood mechanism of insecticide resistance in insects is that due to increased metabolism of the toxicant. We will refer to this as biochemical resistance. It is obvious that any metabolism that inactivites an insecticide will be beneficial to the insect and that such traits will be transmitted genetically. What is not so obvious, however, is how the organism achieves the observed increase in enzyme activity. We will consider some possibilities in this chapter.
Pooling Experiments for Blood Screening and Drug Discovery

Pooling experiments date as far back as 1915 and were initially used in dilution studies for estimating the density of organisms in some medium. These early uses of pooling were necessitated by scientific and technical limitations. Today, pooling experiments are driven by the potential cost savings and precision gains that can result, and they are making a substantial impact on blood screening and drug discovery. A general review of pooling experiments is given here, with additional details and discussion of issues and methods for two important application areas, namely, blood testing and drug discovery. The blood testing application is very old, from 1943, yet is still used today, especially for HIV antibody screening. In contrast, the drug discovery application is relatively new, with early uses occurring in the period from the late 1980s to early 1990s. Statistical methods for this latter application are still actively being investigated and developed through both the pharmaceutical industries and academic research. The ability of pooling to investigate synergism offers exciting prospects for the discovery of combination therapies.
Illness Perceptions Predict Health Practices and Mental Health Following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Objective Beliefs about illness have been shown to shape health practices and coping efforts. The present study investigated illness perceptions among patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). We also examined the extent to which perceptions predicted health practices and mental health following transplant. Methods Participants (N = 332) completed measures of illness perceptions (beliefs about cancer consequences and course, personal and treatment control over cancer, and understanding of one's cancer) prior to HSCT. Health practices (diet, physical activity, and alcohol use) and mental health (depression, anxiety, and psychological well-being) were assessed pre transplant and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post transplant. Results On average, HSCT recipients felt they understood their cancer, viewed their cancer to be a chronic condition with severe consequences, and believed they had moderate personal control over their cancer but that medical treatment provided more control. Perceptions varied by transplant type. Mixed-effects linear regression models revealed that HSCT recipients who perceived the consequences of their cancer to be more serious experienced more depression and anxiety, less well-being, and ate a healthier diet, but were less physically active during the year following transplant. Those with greater personal and treatment control ate a healthier diet and reported greater well-being. Patients with a better understanding of their cancer also ate a healthier diet and reported less depression, less anxiety, and greater well-being. Conclusions Perceptions of cancer shape HSCT recipients' health practices and psychological well-being during the critical first year of recovery after transplant.
Decreasing the radiated acoustic and vibration noise of autonomous underwater vehicles

An outstanding challenge in ocean engineering is decreasing the radiated acoustic and vibration noise of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) while transiting at high speed. At low speed below 4–5 kt, our previously published results for both a modified mid-size, prop-driven AUV and a large (30 liter) buoyancy driven glider demonstrate that, with proper engineering, own-platform-created noise levels recorded by hull-mounted hydrophone arrays can be decreased below typical background ocean noise levels across the frequency band above a few hundred hertz. Below this frequency, the remaining noise is primarily vibration induced. Recent efforts have focused on decreasing propulsion noise at high speed from prop-driven platforms. Since buoyancy can be changed only over a very short portion of the dive cycle, buoyancy-driven propulsion systems provide an alternative approach to achieving low-self noise, high-speed, underwater flight. However, vibration and flow noise created by hydrodynamic forces still can present challenges at low frequencies. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research and BP.]
The Single Incision Minimally Invasive (SIMI) Neck Lift.

Background With the increased focus on the neck and chin in the era of selfies and social media, neck contouring continues to be an in-demand procedure. Full correction of the neck typically requires both submental and postauricular incisions, but the postauricular incisions can be unsightly and painful. This article introduces a viable alternative for the patient. Methods A case series of appropriate candidates undergoing a novel neck lift technique (the single incision minimally invasive neck lift) is described. Participants include men and women with an age range of 30-70. The surgical technique incorporates shifting of the typical submental incision used in a full neck lift to a cervicomental incision, and when accompanied by wide undermining, the postauricular incisions are avoided entirely. Results Among the 20 patients in this case study, photographs show that it is possible to achieve results commonly associated with a full neck lift but without the postauricular incisions typically associated with a full neck lift. Conclusions The single incision minimally invasive neck lift allows the surgeon to offer an effective procedure for appropriate candidates who want to treat excess fat, a sagging platysma muscle and loose, misplaced skin in the submental region without postauricular incisions typically utilized in a traditional full neck lift.
Understanding Atrial Cardiopathy: an Under-Recognized Contributor to Cardioembolic Stroke

Ischemic stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the world with cardioembolic stroke (CES) causing a disproportional amount of the morbidity and mortality associated with stroke. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the leading cause of CES, and as the population ages, the incidence of CES is anticipated to rise. The importance of proper diagnosis and treatment of patients with embolic-appearing stroke is significant due to the burden of disease and the severity of the illness. The past decade has seen an explosion of treatment options for patients with CES related to AF as well as better mechanisms by which to monitor and diagnose patients with AF. While optimal secondary prevention of stroke with anticoagulation in the setting of AF is known, what remains to be defined is the appropriate treatment of other types of strokes that appear embolic, but no source of the embolism is discovered. In this article, we will review what is known about the diagnosis and treatment of CES, discuss the emergence of novel therapeutics and emphasize what must be investigated in the future to move the field forward, such as the emerging concept of atrial cardiopathy.
Concepts of Structural Safety

This paper presents methods of providing engineering safety and additional safety necessary for social purposes. The methods considered are the ratio, probability, and combined ratio and probability. Functional and collapse failure are discussed and also the concept of structural life in design.
sixteen – CHI-SQUARE

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a statistic called chi-square. The chi-square statistic is used when the data are categories rather than scores. Most independent variables are classified variables. Therefore, whenever there is no wide-ranging set of measurements for a dependent variable, just a nominally classified variable, the chi-square statistic should be considered for the dependent variable. The underlying question in chi-square tests is the same question as in t tests and omnibus F tests in the analysis of variance. The question is that are the two variables related. The marginally placed totals of frequencies in each column and each row are called marginal frequencies. The chi-square statistic is computed to have a numerical index of just how much the observed frequencies deviate from the expected frequencies in the cells of the contingency table. The expected frequencies in the contingency table are the expected frequencies only when the null hypothesis is true. The further apart the expected and observed frequencies, the larger the value of the computed chi-square.
Induced prostaglandin release alters steroid concentrations but not pregnancy survival in cows

Abstract Embryonic mortality (EM) is a major factor limiting reproductive efficiency in cattle, and despite negative connotations related to reproductive performance, prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) is capable of being released by the uterus by Day 30 of gestation. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate differences in PGF2α release after an oxytocin challenge between cows with high circulating concentrations of pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) vs low PAG because of the association of increased PAG concentrations with pregnancy success. At Day 30 of gestation, pregnant cows were divided into oxytocin treatment (OT; n = 13) and control (CON; n = 12) groups. Treatment cows were further subdivided by circulating PAG concentration (high PAG, n = 7; and low PAG, n = 6). Blood samples were collected every 30 min beginning 1 h before oxytocin administration and continuing for 4 h. Prostaglandin F2α metabolite (PGFM), progesterone, estradiol-17β (E2), and PAG concentrations were quantified. The peak concentration of PGFM occurred 2 h after oxytocin injection in treatment animals and returned to baseline levels by 4 h. No correlations were observed between PAG and PGFM, progesterone, or E2 concentrations (P > 0.05). There was no difference in initial or final PGFM concentrations between groups (P > 0.05). Progesterone and E2 concentrations decreased in cows after treatment of oxytocin (P
SOCS5 Regulates JAK-STAT Signaling and T-ALL Development

Abstract T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a hematopoietic disease that tends to present with high-risk features in children, adolescents and young adults. While cure rates have improved in recent decades, event free survival is Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Ultrasonic Characterization of Solid-Solid Bonds from Microstructural Changes

In recent years, new methods of bonding solids have been introduced. These methods (e.g., diffusion bonding and pressure welding) can produce very high quality bonds. In favorable cases the strength of the material in the bond is nearly indistinguishable from that of the host. Similarly, metallographic analysis may indicate almost no microstructural change between the host material and the material in the bonding region. Since these bonds can be of such high quality, they are being used for critical joins. Consequently, an urgent need has arisen for reliable nondestructive inspection methods. This paper is concerned with the use of ultrasound to determine bond quality [1–5].
Abstract P805: Inhibition of α5β1 Integrin as a Novel Therapeutic Approach in Experimental Vascular Dementia in Middle-Aged and Diabetic Mice

Bilateral carotid artery stenosis (BCAS), a model of vascular dementia (VaD), causes cognitive impairment due to white matter injury and blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. Although risk factors ...
Atypical Presentation of Intracranial Hypotension Secondary to Hypothalamic Compromise (P4.313)

Objective: NA Background: Hyperpyrexia: severely elevated body temperature beyond abnormal hypothalamic set regulatory temperature (i.e intracranial hemorrhage). Hyperthermia: elevation body temperature beyond normal hypothalamic set regulatory temperature (i.e drugs). Intracranial hypotension can present with many symptoms ranging from orthostatic headache up to a coma. Our case is likely the first to recognize hyperpyrexia as a presentation of intracranial hypotension. Design/Methods: A 55-year-old female patient with history of depression, diabetes-mellitus, hypertension, and angiogram negative subarachnoid hemorrhage status post ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt placement six years ago who presented with worsening headache and slurred speech for the past three months but acutely decompensated one morning. She suddenly became confused and agitated but became obtunded. Initially, she was given Haldol. She was found to be febrile (rectal temperature of 104.8 F). She was given dantrolene and bromocriptine for suspected malignant neuroleptic syndrome with no effect. Results: Creatine phosphokinase was not elevated. She underwent infectious work up which came back negative. Cooling measures with external and peripheral intravenous cooling, Tylenol and NSAIDs were also not helpful. Fever responded to central intravascular cooling but encephalopathy did not. Several expert attempts of lumbar puncture and shunt tapping failed to obtain cerebrospinal fluid. Brain imaging showed chronic bilateral hygromas, diffuse pachy-meningeal thickening, and enhancement, lit like ventricles and slumping of the midbrain with closure of the mammillary pontine distance. Following shunt setting adjustment, the encephalopathy markedly improved and the fever didn’t recur after stopping the cooling measures and antimicrobials. Conclusions: Intracranial hypotension might present with hyperpyrexia likely secondary to hypothalamic dysfunction. In our case, hyperpyrexia was reversible as the intracranial hypotension was emergently treated. Nevertheless, spontaneous intracranial hypotension might be difficult to diagnose if it presented with non-classical symptoms like fever. Study Supported by: NA Disclosure: Dr. Abd Elazim has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hussein has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sawalha has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hamed has nothing to disclose. Dr. Torbey has nothing to disclose.
Serving in Developing Countries: A Mixed Methods Study of International Voluntary Service Performance

Many volunteer organizations offer short-term international voluntary service (IVS) opportunities as an avenue for participants to provide aid and humanitarian relief in international communities. This study empirically examines four potential antecedents of IVS performance among short-term IVS participants in developing countries: IVS participants’ intention to serve in similar IVS roles in the future, whether their IVS is at their preferred geographic location, IVS participants’ prior experience in the host country, and their performance in the sending organization’s trainings prior to the IVS. Utilizing both analyses of variance and OLS regression analysis of 147 IVS participants across 18 developing countries, we find evidence that short-term IVS performance is positively associated with future intentions to participate in IVS, previously having visited the host country, and performance during pre-travel trainings. Further, we analyze 158 blog posts written by 19 sample IVS participants, which provides a unique ‘inside look’ into the relationship between host country language skills and IVS performance.