cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cladding stress during extended storage of high burnup spent nuclear fuel

Abstract In an effort to assess the potential for low temperature creep and delayed hydride cracking failures in high burnup spent fuel cladding during extended dry storage, the U.S. NRC analytical fuel performance tools were used to predict cladding stress during a 300 year dry storage period for UO 2 fuel burned up to 65 GWd/MTU. Fuel swelling correlations were developed and used along with decay gas production and release fractions to produce circumferential average cladding stress predictions with the FRAPCON-3.5 fuel performance code. The resulting stresses did not result in cladding creep failures. The maximum creep strains accumulated were on the order of 0.54–1.04%, but creep failures are not expected below at least 2% strain. The potential for delayed hydride cracking was assessed by calculating the critical flaw size required to trigger this failure mechanism. The critical flaw size far exceeded any realistic flaw expected in spent fuel at end of reactor life.
Intimacy Issues and the Older Patient

Retirement, role loss, health, and other variables related to aging have been examined with regard to their impact on older persons. Their effects have been measured and carefully documented. Intimacy in the elderly, defined here as a basic need for pursuit of and satisfaction in close relationships embracing but clearly not confined to sexual activity, has not been as seriously or frequently considered. It has been scrutinized much more carefully in relation to children. Spitz and Bowlby, for example, have dramatically illuminated the need for intimacy and, through their writings and research, have demonstrated the extreme negative effects of contact deprivation. Under more rigorous laboratory conditions, Harlow’s monkeys have evidenced the dramatic changes brought about by lack of contact. Children do not seem able to retain an inner image of a mothering figure until a sufficient time-related developmental sequence has taken place; this inner awareness of and conviction of the mother is a sine qua non of normal growth. In a further development, the child and later the adult need to know that they exist in the feelings and thoughts of another person. The certainty of being part of someone else’s existence validates one’s being, one’s personhood, and eventually one’s constancy.
Management of Bleeding from Unresectable Gastric Cancer.

Bleeding from unresectable gastric cancer (URGC) is not a rare complication. Two major ways in which the management of this issue differs from the management of benign lesions are the high rate of rebleeding after successful hemostasis and that not only endoscopic therapy (ET) and transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) but palliative radiotherapy (PRT) can be applied in the clinical setting. However, there are no specific guidelines concerning the management of URGC with bleeding. We herein discuss strategies for managing bleeding from URGC. A high rate of initial hemostasis for active bleeding is expected when using various ET modalities properly. If ET fails in patients with hemostatic instability, emergent TAE is considered in order to avoid a life-threating condition due to massive bleeding. Early PRT, especially, regimens with a high biologically effective dose (BED) of ≥39 Gy should be considered not only for patients with hemostatic failure but also for those with successful hemostasis and inactive hemorrhage, as longer duration of response with few complications can be expected. Further prospective, comparative studies considering not only the hemostatic efficacy of these modalities but the patients’ quality of life are needed in order to establish treatment strategies for bleeding from URGC.
Self-Supervised Incremental Learning for Sound Source Localization in Complex Indoor Environment

This paper presents an incremental learning framework for mobile robots localizing the human sound source using a microphone array in a complex indoor environment consisting of multiple rooms. In contrast to conventional approaches that leverage direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation, the framework allows a robot to accumulate training data and improve the performance of the prediction model over time using an incremental learning scheme. Specifically, we use implicit acoustic features obtained from an auto-encoder together with the geometry features from the map for training. A self-supervision process is developed such that the model ranks the priority of rooms to explore and assigns the ground truth label to the collected data, updating the learned model on-the-fly. The framework does not require pre-collected data and can be directly applied to real-world scenarios without any human supervisions or interventions. In experiments, we demonstrate that the prediction accuracy reaches 67% using about 20 training samples and eventually achieves 90% accuracy within 120 samples, surpassing prior classification-based methods with explicit GCC-PHAT features.
In Defense of the Monolith: How Standards are Good News for Innovation

“Standardization: IT's lazy way to reduce costs and make IT's job easier, from the people who have no idea what I need to do my job.”That's the perception many of IT's customers have, at least, about standards. And there's the popular but misplaced idea that best practices hinder innovation. IT customers of a large organization are by nature consumers of IT, and consumers have a difficult time understanding what commodity technology is and why it's important to use the standards. Even IT workers are sometimes unaware of the value proposition and institutional strategy around commodity IT. Standardization, associated with commodity computing, is often seen as the antithesis of flexibility and innovation, but this is an inaccurate view. Standardization fosters rather than stifles innovation; and best practices enable flexibility in an organization to become “smart practices.” The purpose of this talk is to enable you to quickly and succinctly speak to your customers and colleagues about the benefits of standardization.
Creation of Music Image in Vocal Music Works

Music image is the aesthetic display of music creation. Vocal music works with various elements to create musical images, and finally realize the expression of artistic emotions and ideological goals. This article uses Liu Hegang’s vocal work “Father” as the material, analyzes the shaping of characters in vocal works from four aspects.
Too Close or Optimally Positioned? The Value of Personally Relevant Research

Much of organizational research is inspired by the real-life experiences of scholars. Yet pervading our field and much of social science is a stigma against engaging in personally relevant research...
Clinical Features of Myositis: Cardiac Manifestations

The reported incidence of cardiac involvement in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) is increasing, and cardiovascular events are recognized as one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality. Histopathologic analyses suggest that immune-mediated inflammation is the major cause of damage in the heart muscle as well as the cardiac conduction system, which may lead to congestive heart failure and arrhythmias. Subclinical cardiac involvement is reported much more commonly than clinically evident cardiac manifestations, and the incidence varies between 13% and 72% of IIM patients dependent on the diagnostic modalities. A threefold to fivefold increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) has been reported in patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis compared to nonmyositis controls. All patients with a diagnosis of IIM should undergo a detailed cardiac history at initial evaluation and, if required, a screening EKG and echocardiogram. Tailored cardiac therapy should be used in conjunction with immunosuppression as indicated. IIM patients require continued cardiac “vigilance” even when the skeletal muscle disease is in remission.
Mixed data generation packages and related computational tools in R

This paper is concerned with providing some computation-related details of the 16R packages that have been developed by Demirtas and his colleagues in the context of random number generation. The d...
Factor analysis of the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument: Kuakini Honolulu-Asia Aging Study.

OBJECTIVE The Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI) is a screening test of global cognitive function used in research and clinical settings. However, the CASI was developed using face validity and has not been investigated via empirical tests such as factor analyses. Thus, we aimed to develop and test a parsimonious conceptualization of the CASI rooted in cognitive aging literature reflective of crystallized and fluid abilities. DESIGN Secondary data analysis implementing confirmatory factor analyses where we tested the proposed two-factor solution, an alternate one-factor solution, and conducted a χ2 difference test to determine which model had a significantly better fit. SETTING N/A. PARTICIPANTS Data came from 3,491 men from the Kuakini Honolulu-Asia Aging Study. MEASUREMENTS The Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument. RESULTS Findings demonstrated that both models fit the data; however, the two-factor model had a significantly better fit than the one-factor model. Criterion validity tests indicated that participant age was negatively associated with both factors and that education was positively associated with both factors. Further tests demonstrated that fluid abilities were significantly and negatively associated with a later-life dementia diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS We encourage investigators to use the two-factor model of the CASI as it could shed light on underlying cognitive processes, which may be more informative than using a global measure of cognition.
Satellite-Based Fire Progression Mapping: A Comprehensive Assessment for Large Fires in Northern California

Satellite-based active fire (AF) products provide opportunities for constructing continuous fire progression maps, a critical dataset needed for improved fire behavior modeling and fire management. This study aims to investigate the geospatial interpolation techniques in mapping the daily fire progression and assess the accuracy of the derived maps from multisensor AF products. We focused on 42 large wildfires greater than 5000 acres in Northern California from 2017 to 2018, where the USDA Forest Service National Infrared Operations (NIROPS) daily fire perimeters were available for the comparison. The standard AF products from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS), the visible infrared imaging radiometer suite (VIIRS), and the combined products were used as inputs. We found that the estimated fire progression areas generated by the natural neighbor method with the combined MODIS and VIIRS AF input layers performed the best, with R 2 of 0.7 ± 0.31 and RMSE of 1.25 ± 1.21 (103 acres) at a daily time scale; the accuracy was higher when assessed at a two-day rolling window, e.g., R 2 of 0.83 ± 0.20 and RMSE of 0.74 ± 0.94 (103 acres). A relatively higher spatial accuracy was found using the 375 m VIIRS AF product as inputs, with a kappa score of 0.55 and an overall accuracy score of 0.59, when interpolated with the natural neighbor method. Furthermore, the locational pixel-based comparison showed 61% matched to a single day and an additional 25% explained within ±1 day of the estimation, revealing greater confidence in fire progression estimation at a two-day moving time interval. This study demonstrated the efficacy and potential improvements of daily fire progression mapping at local and regional scales.
Enhancer RNAs Mediate Estrogen-Induced Decommissioning of Selective Enhancers by Recruiting Erα and Its Cofactor

Although accumulating evidence has demonstrated that individual enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) exert critical biological functions rather than being passive transcriptional byproducts, the mechanisms of action of these non-coding transcripts remain obscure and divergent. By analyzing genome-wide nascent transcript profiling in breast cancer cells, we identified a special group of eRNAs that are functionally important for estrogen-induced transcriptional repression. Using eRNAs of TM4SF1 and EFEMP1 as the paradigms, we found that these RNA molecules not only stabilize promoter-enhancer looping structure, but also recruit liganded estrogen receptor α (ERα) to particular enhancers of target genes, facilitate the hierarchical formation of a functional transcriptional complex, and cause gene downregulation. Interestingly, we found that ERα directly binds to eRNAs via its DNA-binding domain. These eRNAs help with the formation of a specific ERa-centered transcriptional complex and promote the association of the histone demethylase KDM2A, which dismisses RNA polymerase II from designated enhancers and suppresses transcription of target genes. Our work demonstrated a complete mechanism underlying the function of eRNAs, as a distinctive class of cis-acting RNA molecules, in modulating and refining locus-specific transcriptional program.
Days alive out of hospital in heart failure: Insights from the PARADIGM-HF and CHARM trials.

Background An endpoint that has received some attention in recent cardiovascular trials is ‘days alive and out of hospital’ (DAOH). Percent DAOH is a natural extension of DAOH that adjusts for differences in length of follow-up. This endpoint measure incorporates mortality and morbidity together in a way that has the potential to give more insight regarding treatment effects compared to conventional time-to-event endpoints. Other advantages of this measure include the relative ease of collection and interpretation. However, research on how to analyze this measure is still limited. Methods We propose using the one-inflated beta model to analyze percent DAOH. This model is appropriate for highly left-skewed data with a large proportion of boundary values. Data from the Prospective Comparison of ARNI [Angiotensin Receptor-Neprilysin Inhibitor] with ACEI [Angiotensin-Converting-Enzyme Inhibitor] to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure Trial (PARADIGM-HF) and Candesartan in Heart Failure Assessment of Reduction in Mortality and morbidity (CHARM) trials are used to illustrate this method. Results Statistically significant differences in percent DAOH were observed for PARADIGM-HF and CHARM in favor of treatment. In PARADIGM-HF, treatment with sacubitril plus valsartan increased DAOH on average by 11 days (95% CI: 1.4-20.9 days) and increased percent DAOH by 1.64% at a fixed follow-up length of 1,000 days (95% CI: 0.61%- 2.67%). For the CHARM overall program, the candesartan group has 1.79% more DAOH (95% CI: 0.91%- 2.68%). Conclusion DAOH, and especially percent DAOH, can enhance our understanding of treatment effects in future cardiovascular trials, and the one-inflated beta model is an appropriate choice for its analysis.
Gene expression signature to predict radiation response in lower-grade gliomas.

2019Background: Standard of care for lower-grade glioma (LGG) is maximal safe resection and risk-adaptive adjuvant therapy. While patients who benefit the most from adjuvant chemotherapy have been ...
Deformable Capsules for Object Detection

Capsule networks promise significant benefits over convolutional networks by storing stronger internal representations, and routing information based on the agreement between intermediate representations' projections. Despite this, their success has been mostly limited to small-scale classification datasets due to their computationally expensive nature. Recent studies have partially overcome this burden by locally-constraining the dynamic routing of features with convolutional capsules. Though memory efficient, convolutional capsules impose geometric constraints which fundamentally limit the ability of capsules to model the pose/deformation of objects. Further, they do not address the bigger memory concern of class-capsules scaling-up to bigger tasks such as detection or large-scale classification. In this study, we introduce deformable capsules (DeformCaps), a new capsule structure (SplitCaps), and a novel dynamic routing algorithm (SE-Routing) to balance computational efficiency with the need for modeling a large number of objects and classes. We demonstrate that the proposed methods allow capsules to efficiently scale-up to large-scale computer vision tasks for the first time, and create the first-ever capsule network for object detection in the literature. Our proposed architecture is a one-stage detection framework and obtains results on MS COCO which are on-par with state-of-the-art one-stage CNN-based methods, while producing fewer false positive detections.
6-year change in high sensitivity cardiac troponin T and the risk of atrial fibrillation in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort.

BACKGROUND Circulating high sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) is associated with incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF), but the association of changes in hs-cTnT over time on incident AF has not been explored. HYPOTHESIS Six-year increase in circulating hs-cTnT will be associated with increased risk of AF and will contribute to improved prediction of incident AF. METHODS We conducted a prospective cohort analysis of 8431 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. hs-cTnT change was categorized at visit 2 and 4 as undetectable (<5 ng/L), detectable (≥5 ng/L, <14 ng/L), or elevated (≥14 ng/L). We used Cox regression to examine the association between the combination of hs-cTnT categories at two visits and incident AF. We also assessed the impact of adding absolute hs-cTnT change on risk discrimination for AF by C-statistics and net reclassification improvement (NRI). RESULTS Over a mean follow-up of 16.5 years, 1629 incident AF cases were diagnosed. Among participants with undetectable hs-cTnT at visit 2, the multivariable HR of AF was 1.28 (95% CI 1.12-1.48) among those with detectable or elevated hs-cTnT at visit 4 compared to those in which hs-cTnT remained undetectable. Among those with detectable hs-cTnT at visit 2, compared to those who remained in the detectable hs-cTnT group, reduction to undetectable at visit 4 was associated with lower risk of AF (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.59-0.94), while increment to elevated was associated with higher AF risk (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.01-1.68). Adding hs-cTnT change to our main model with baseline hs-cTnT did not result in significant improvement in the C-statistic or substantial NRI. CONCLUSION Six-year increase in circulating hs-cTnT was associated with elevated risk of incident AF.
The effect of flood mitigation spending on flood damage: Accounting for dynamic feedback

Abstract Simple correlations and even more complicated regression-based estimators examining flood mitigation spending and flood damages counterintuitively reveal a positive relationship. This result makes accurately formulating or analyzing flood mitigation policy problematic. Using a unique longitudinal survey of U.S. counties from 1989 to 2017, this paper employs a dynamic feedback model which relaxes the “strict exogeneity” assumption in previous models, allowing flood damages to “feed back” and influence future mitigation. After accounting for feedback, the paper finds a 100% increase in mitigation spending reduces the financial consequence of flood damages by approximately 9%. The modeling approach and results can be used to perform cost-benefit analysis on public flood mitigation investment, as well as inform the efficient level of future public support.
Stability of non-autonomous delay differential equations by Liapunov functionals

which contains N lag or delay functions. Also considered are systems of equations and some nonlinear equations. All the equations contain a non-delayed dissipative term. The principal novelty in our method lies in the choice of a class of non-autonomous Liapunov functionals. Examples are given in which our conditions improve on those obtained by using autonomous functionals. In particular, these conditions involve the delay functions ri(t) rather than being independent of the delay.
Information and Its Metric

Information is taken as the primary physical entity from which probabilities can be derived. Information produced by a source is defined as the class of sources that are recodingequivalent. Shannon entropy is one of a family of formal Renyi information measures on the space of unique sources. Each of these measures quantifies the volume of the source’s recoding-equivalence class. A space of information sources is constructed from elements each of which is the class of recoding-equivalent, but otherwise unique sources. The norm in this space is the source entropy. A measure of distance between information sources is derived from an algebra of measurements. With this, the space of information sources is shown to be a metric space whose logic is described by a metric lattice. Applications of the information metric to quantum informational uncertainty and to information densities in multicomponent dynamical systems are outlined.
Investigating the role of individual characteristics, interpersonal sexual communication, media exposure, and gender differences on condom use among Chinese college students in Hunan.

ABSTRACTObjectives: The objective of this study was to investigate factors of condom use among a sample of 490 sexually active Chinese college students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey by systematic sampling was conducted on students' interpersonal sexual communication, media exposure, and condom use. Multiple regression was employed for analysis. Results: Self-efficacy, peer and partner sexual communication, parent norms about condom usage, HIV/AIDS information from brochures, and exposure to sexual content in books were associated with variables related to condom use. Conclusions: The current study underscores the importance of self-efficacy and peer and partner sexual communication in HIV preventive intervention programs that promote condom use among young Chinese.
Scheduled Faculty Modeling of Bedside Skills for 3rd Year Medical Students on the Neurology Clerkship (P1.336)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of instituting scheduled bedside skills modeling for third year medical students on the neurology clerkship. BACKGROUND: Direct observation is an important component to learning clinical skills. Faculty modeling of neurologic bedside skills for third year medical student clerks is often informal and incomplete. DESIGN/METHODS: During the 2012-2013 academic year, a modeling experience was scheduled for third year neurology clerks at the University of Rochester during two out of the four block rotations. Each student observed a neurology faculty member conduct a comprehensive history and neurologic examination on a new outpatient, and afterwards had an opportunity for questions and de-briefing. The students were given an observation guide to record written questions and learning points generated by the encounter. These statements were compiled, de-identified and categorized into learning themes. Student observations were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis by two separate coders (RTS, TT). In addition, students in all blocks were given an anonymous survey to assess their exposure to clinical skills modeling during the rotation. RESULTS: 56 students were exposed to modeling experiences, and 253 total observation statements were collected from 43 returned observation guides. Five major emergent learning themes were identified: (1) Detail and thoroughness, (2) Flow of the encounter, (3) Techniques for history-taking, (4) Techniques for examination, and (5) Connecting and communicating with patients. Survey data indicated that scheduling a formal modeling experience increased the percentage of students observing a complete history from 44% to 64%, and a complete examination from 48% to 70%. CONCLUSIONS: Modeling a neurologic encounter and allowing students to be “active” observers by using an observation guide was useful in augmenting education of third year clerks. Creating a formalized process helped maximize the number of students exposed to the experience. Disclosure: Dr. Thompson-Stone has nothing to disclose. Dr. Tollefson has nothing to disclose. Dr. Epstein has nothing to disclose. Dr. Jozefowicz has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for The Neurologist. Dr. Mink has received personal compensation for activities with Edison Pharmaceuticals and Medtronic, Inc. Dr. Mink has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Neurology.
Macrolide antibiotics—VII : The structure of neomethymycin

Abstract Degradation experiments are described which establish rigorously structure (II) for neomethymycin (C 25 H 43 NO 7 ). This antibiotic belongs, therefore, to the macrolide group and differs from methymycin (I) only in the location of one hydroxyl group, which results in marked changes in chemical behavior. The two antibiotics appear to have the same absolute configuration at the relevant asymmetric centers as inferred by the isolation of a common degradation product and the general similarity of certain rotatory dispersion curves. The position of the hydroxyl group at C-12 in neomethymycin is noteworthy from a biogenetic standpoint.
HYCOM Consortium for Data Assimilative Modeling

Abstract : The goal of the project is to make HYCOM (HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model) a state of the art community ocean model with data assimilation capability of sea surface height from altimetry, sea surface temperature from MCSST and in-situ data. The ultimate goal is to have an eddy-resolving assimilative fully global nowcast/forecast system running in real time.
"Past the brink of tacit support": Fan activism and the Whedonverses

For decades, the phrase fan activism has referred almost exclusively to television fans' efforts to save their favorite series. These campaigns—dating at least as far back as the original Star Trek (1966–69) to the more recent Farscape (1999–2003), Firefly (2002–3), Jericho (2006–8), and Veronica Mars (2004–7), among others—appear effective at catalyzing fan involvement, yet are largely ineffective at saving series. In other words, while it may achieve some secondary, albeit significant, victories such as tighter-knit relationships among fans, fan crusading rarely seems to end with the supposed primary goal of activist labors: more installments of the texts devotees admire and love. Recently, however, the phenomenon of fan activism has taken on a new dimension, and scholars are beginning to take note by asking several important questions. As Henry Jenkins asks, how does a fan move from "participatory culture to public participation"? And what does this move mean? As one might expect, there are many reasons for and implications that emerge from this reallocation of such devoted attention. To explore some of those reasons and implications, the author considers some of the devotees of television auteur Joss Whedon, their activist efforts, and the distinct ways Whedon inspires a politically participatory fan following. Ultimately, the author contends that through their activism, many enthusiasts of the Whedonverses extend the worlds of Whedon's stories by consciously constructing a sociopolitical, feminist identity.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Bonds and Recognizes: Regulate Bail Bond Recovery Agents

The Act establishes that the surety limit on criminal bonds can be no higher than twelve percent on bonds in the amount of $ 10,000 or less and no higher than fifteen percent on bonds in amounts greater than $ 10,000. Additionally, the Act defines bail recovery agent, establishes prerequisites for those people serving as bail recovery agents, and provides that sheriffs require bondsmen to list all of the bail recovery agents who serve them. Furthermore, the Act establishes minimum notification requirements to sheriffs for bond recovery agents who seek to apprehend or conduct surveillance within the sheriff's jurisdiction and sets forth particular notification and qualification requirements for out-of-state bond recovery agents who enter a Georgia jurisdiction for purposes of apprehension or surveillance. Further, the Act requires that bondsmen issue uniform identification cards to all of their bond recovery agents and that bond recovery agents have in their possession the uniform identification card at all times when acting in the capacity of a bond recovery agent. Finally, the Act establishes criminal penalties for bail recovery agents and bondsmen for violations of the Act and authorizes private rights of action against bond recovery agents who enter the wrong property, damage the property, or injure any person therein.
Diagnostic applications of near infrared solid-state lasers in the eye

For early detection and quantification of potential pathological changes in retinal and subretinal structures the authors use near infrared lasers and a scanning laser ophthalmoscope. The laser beam is scanned in a raster pattern across the fundus, light is sampled by confocal apertures, and a sensitive solid state detector provides a video rate image. Data of the ocular fundus are compared using infrared imaging with no dye enhancement and using indocyanine green angiography. Solid state, near infra-red lasers provide an ideal source for imaging the ocular fundus, since the many pigments are greatly decreased in total absorption at infrared wavelengths, compared with visible light. The effect is that images can be acquired in vivo, with safe, comfortable levels of light, without dilating the pupil.
Transformative A 4 mixing of neutrinos with C P violation

A new theoretical insight into the pattern of neutrino mixing and leptonic $CP$ violation is presented. It leads naturally and uniquely to a specific dark sector of three real neutral scalar singlets, with the radiative implementation of the inverse seesaw mechanism for neutrino mass. The new simple but crucial enabling idea is that a familiar $A_4$ transformation turns any orthogonal $3 \times 3$ matrix into one which predicts $\theta_{23} = \pi/4$ and $\delta_{CP} = \pm \pi/2$ for the neutrino mixing matrix, in good agreement with present data.
Will you throw out the baby with the bathwater? [engineering/computer science education technology]

Using the old adage of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, the author discusses the place of technology in the future of engineering and computer science education. Technology can be considered the baby and the environment around technology the bathwater. This environment includes factors such as classroom layout, the equipment within the classroom, the make up of the students in the class, the course curriculum, and finally, the teacher leading the class. We don't, can't, and won't be able to throw out the baby. Therefore, put on your bathing clothes and ready the bathwater. We have a baby to wash.
Congenital Familial Nonhemolytic Hyperbilirubinemia in an Adult with Central Nervous System Derangement

Summary The clinical and laboratory findings in a 22-year-old Pakistani male with congenital familial nonhemolytic indirect hyperbilirubinemia are described. Jaundice began at an early age, and abnormal deposition of unconjugated bilirubin presumably caused severe central nervous system derangement. The liver was normal histologically and no evidence of hepatic, extrahepatic, or hemolytic disturbances was demonstrated. A 10-year-old sister of the patient showed moderate elevation of indirect reacting bilirubin without evidence of central nervous system involvement. The probable functional abnormality of the patient and his sister is a deficiency of the glucuronyl transferase enzyme system.
Multiphoton molecular spectroscopy and excited-state dynamics of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP): acid–base specificity ☆

Green fluorescent protein (GFP), isolated from Aequorea victoria jellyfish, has been used extensively as a noninvasive intracellular pH indicator and site-specific fluorescent marker in biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular genetics. Numerous mutations, aimed at optimizing spectroscopic and thermodynamic properties of GFP, have been created for different applications. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) reveals that the enhanced green fluorescent protein mutant (EGFP; S65T/F64L) undergoes external proton exchange with the buffer on ∼45–300 μs time scale with pKa=5.8±0.1 [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95 (1998) 13573]. This contribution represents a comprehensive characterization of pH and excitation mode (wavelength, one and two photon (2P)) effects on the spectroscopy, excited-state dynamics, and rotational mobility of EGFP aiming at elucidating the significant electronic states of this molecular system. EGFP exhibits a large 2P action cross-section and, therefore, is well suited for intracellular imaging using 2P fluorescence microscopy.
The US’ Food and Drug Administration, Normativity of Risk Assessment, GMOs, and American Democracy

The process of risk assessment of biotechnologies, such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), has normative dimensions. However, the US' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seems committed to the idea that such evaluations are objective. This essay makes the case that the agency's regulatory approach should be changed such that the public is involved in deciding any ethical or social questions that might arise during risk assessment of GMOs. It is argued that, in the US, neither aggregative nor deliberative (representative) democracy ought to be used to make such determinations. Instead, participatory (deliberative) democracy should be the means by which members of the polity decide which normative concerns ought to underlie FDA's assessment of GMOs. This paper uses a hypothetical case involving a new GM seed to make that argument.
The high-energy heavy ion nuclear microprobe at the University of North Texas

Abstract The high-energy, heavy ion, microprobe recently installed at the University of North Texas (UNT) has a demagnification factor of ∼60. It has a probe-forming lens system with a new Russian quadruplet configuration. The microprobe is installed on a 3 MV NEC 9SDH-2 Pelletron tandem accelerator, which has ultra stable high energy for heavy ions ( ΔE / E ∼10 −4 ). Sputter and RF sources produce a variety of ions for microprobe applications. A resolution of ∼2 μm has been achieved for 2.0 MeV protons, 4.0 MeV C ions and 9.0 MeV α-particles with a current of about 50–100 pA. Materials characterization and failure analysis of microelectronics are discussed. Current limitations and future improvements to the system are outlined.
Thought Time and Musical Time

Not until the composition of one of his last books, The Poetics of Reverie, published in 1960, does Bachelard define his particular philosophical perspective: as a “differential ontology” (The Poet...
Stress loading of the cable shovel boom under in-situ digging conditions

Abstract Cable shovels are capital-intensive equipment, whose operations are characterized by high stress loading and fatigue failure resulting in high maintenance costs. The operating environment and the stress fields on the boom must continually be monitored to avoid random fatigue failure to achieve reliability, longevity and economic usage. In this paper, the authors develop dynamic models for real-time stress monitoring using a combination of flexible and rigid body approach. A virtual prototype simulator is developed to simulate the cable shovel excavation in oil sands and to examine the motion, stress and local deformation of the boom. The P&H 4100A cable shovel, deployed in the Athabasca oil sands formation, is used to examine the cable shovel boom durability using stress fields simulation. The results show that high stresses occur at regions around the joint between the upper body and the boom, resulting in large deformations. In hard formations, the results show that the stress fields in this region exceed the Von Mises yield strength of steel used in making the shovel boom components. The results also show that the FE nodes of 178, 168, 120, 63, 127 and 84 for 10 MPa modulus of elasticity and 127, 61, 126, 45, 60 and 39 nodes for 20 MPa modulus of elasticity are the highly stressed nodes with high degree of boom deformation and fatigue failure. The study provides a solid foundation for further study of failure life analysis of the cable shovel components.
The effects of nutrients and environment on germination and longevity of oospores of Pythium hydnosporum

Oospores germinated in distilled water, but the addition of nutrients increased the percent germinating. A germ tube emerged which quickly elongated into a branched aseptate hypha. Germination occurred over a wide range of temperature. Germinability decreased with age of culture. The incubation temperature and the addition of cholesterol to the medium affected germination percentage. Oospores, formed in cultures on media to which cholesterol was added, were more resistant to heat and to ultraviolet radiation. Oospores survived 2 hours exposure to 50 °C. Oospores formed on mushroom compost survived 18 months at 25 °C.
Emissions of carbon from forestry and land-use change in tropical Asia

The net emissions of carbon from forestry and changes in land use in south and southeast Asia were calculated here with a book-keeping model that used rates of land-use change and associated per hectare changes in vegetation and soil to calculate changes in the amount of carbon held in terrestrial ecosystems and wood products. The total release of carbon to the atmosphere over the period 1850–1995 was 43.5 PgC. The clearing of forests for permanent croplands released 33.5 PgC, about 75% of the total. The reduction of biomass in the remaining forests, as a result of shifting cultivation, logging, fuelwood extraction, and associated regrowth, was responsible for a net loss of 11.5 PgC, and the establishment of plantations withdrew from the atmosphere 1.5 PgC, most of it since 1980. Based on comparisons with other estimates, the uncertainty of this long-term flux is estimated to be within ±30%. Reducing this uncertainty will be difficult because of the difficulty of documenting the biomass of forests in existence >40 years ago. For the 15-y period 1981–1995, annual emissions averaged 1.07 PgC y–1, about 50% higher than reported for the 1980s in an earlier study. The uncertainty of recent emissions is probably within ± 50% but could be reduced significantly with systematic use of satellite data on changes in forest area. In tropical Asia, the emissions of carbon from land-use change in the 1980s accounted for approximately 75% of the region’s total carbon emissions. Since 1990 rates of deforestation and their associated emissions have declined, while emissions of carbon from combustion of fossil fuels have increased. The net effect has been a reduction in emissions of CO2 from this region since 1990.
Nahum Stutchkoff's Yiddish Play and Radio Scripts in the Dorot Jewish Division, New York Public Library

The Nahum Stutchkoff collection in the Dorot Jewish Division of The New York Public Library contains Yiddish translations, plays, song lyrics, and radio programs created by Yiddish linguist and playwright Nahum Stutchkoff (1893–1965). This article describes the collection in the context of the Jewish Division’s holdings, using bibliographic details about his known works to trace Stutchkoff’s career as a Yiddish actor, translator, director, playwright, and linguist. Stutchkoff’s radio scripts in particular provide rare documentation of the golden era of Yiddish radio explored by Henry Sapoznik and Ari Y. Kelman. A detailed bibliography of Stutchkoff’s published and unpublished works is included.
A Practical 24 Channel Microelectrode for Neural Recording in Vivo

We have developed a multichannel microelectrode that has 24 recording sites, spaced at 85 ?m intervals along the edge of its tip. The sites are arranged in one of two ways: either as a 1 ×24 linear array along one edge or as a 2 ×12 array along both edges. In the first, the sites span 2 mm while in the second, the sites span 1 mm ×135 ?m.
The influence of HIV disease events/stages on smoking attitudes and behaviors: project STATE (Study of Tobacco Attitudes and Teachable Events)

Given the increase in life expectancy among HIV-positive individuals attributable to antiretroviral therapies, cigarette smoking now represents one of the most salient health risks confronting the HIV-positive population. Despite this risk, very few efforts to date have been made to target persons living with HIV for smoking cessation treatment, and no efforts have been made to explore the role of cognitions and HIV disease events/stages on smoking outcomes. The purpose of the study, Project STATE (Study of Tobacco Attitudes and Teachable Events), is to prospectively examine the relationship between HIV events/stages, perceived impact of HIV disease, attitudes about cigarette smoking, and smoking behaviors. This study employs a prospective design. Patients are recruited at the time of their first physician visit at a large inner city HIV-clinic – Thomas Street Health Center (TSHC). Consenting participants then complete a baseline assessment. All participants are offered standard care smoking cessation treatment. Follow-up assessments are completed on four subsequent occasions: 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-baseline. These follow-up assessments are scheduled to coincide with routine clinic appointments with their TSHC physicians. In addition, each participant is given a prepaid cell phone at the time of enrollment and asked to complete brief phone assessments weekly for the first three months of the study period. By evaluating events/stages of HIV disease as potential teaching moments for smoking cessation, findings from this study could be used to develop treatments tailored to an individual’s stage of HIV disease. This study design will enable us to carefully track changes in smoking behavior over time, and to link these changes to both the course of HIV disease and/or to the participant’s’ perceived impact of HIV. By identifying optimal time points for intervention, the findings from this study will have the potential to maximize the efficiency and efficacy of cessation treatments delivered in resource-limited settings. In addition, the findings will be instrumental in identifying specific constructs that should be targeted for intervention and will provide a strong foundation for the development of future cessation interventions targeting smokers living with HIV/AIDS.
Reducing Dietary Crude Protein for Broilers While Satisfying Amino Acid Requirements by Least-Cost Formulation: Live Performance, Litter Composition, and Yield of Fast-Food Carcass Cuts at Six Weeks

Abstract A dietary regimen employing the CP, ME, and essential amino acid (EAA) levels advocated by National Research Council in 1984 for broilers from 0 to 3 and 3 to 6 wk was compared with one in which only the CP was reduced from 23 to 20 and 20 to 17%, respectively. Corn, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, and fish meal analog were used together with the commercially available free EAA in least-cost formulation. Males and females from Peterson × Arbor Acres and Ross × Arbor Acres were grown in floor pens simulating commercial conditions. Live body weights were unaffected by dietary CP level throughout production; however, feed conversion was increased during the 3- to 6-wk interval when the CP was reduced. Reducing the dietary CP substantially decreased N content of the litter. Processing the birds revealed an increase of depot fat in the abdominal cavity when low CP had been fed. Removal of this fat depot led to a lower chilled carcass weight than when the 1984 National Research Council levels were employed. Cutting the carcass into fast-food portions indicated that reduced CP also decreased the proportion of split breast with back using an eight-piece cut and keel portion of the breast based on a nine-piece cut whereas thigh with split back increased. Both sexes and each strain responded similarly. Although reducing dietary CP reduces N content and, therefore, pollution potential of the resulting litter, adverse effects occur in live performance and the yield of breast pieces with two fast-food cutting procedures.
Updating our knowledge of adult learning

Whether one is involved in undergraduate, graduate, or continuing professional education, the learning transaction can be enhanced by understanding how adults learn and the conditions under which adults learn best. Andragogy, self-directed learning, and transformational learning, three major contributions to the growing knowledge base of adult learning theory, are first reviewed in this article. The second half of the article introduces readers to several new perspectives on adult learning; in particular, consciousness and learning, situated cognition, and feminist pedagogy are examined for what they can offer adult learning theory. Several conclusions are advanced about the state of adult learning theory, and implications are drawn for continuing education in the health professions.
Subcutaneous anti-D globulin application is a safe treatment option of immune thrombocytopenia in children.

Subcutaneous (sc) administration of anti-d seems to offer the same efficacy as intravenous administration but with less side effects. Here we report our experience with sc anti-d for pediatric immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). A total of 12 children with a median age of 11.2 years had been treated by sc anti-d. They received a median of 2 sc anti-d applications (range 1–31) with a dosage of 250–375 IE/kg body weight. Only in one out of a total of 102 single applications, a minimal and self-limited side effect (chills) had been observed. The mean platelet count was almost doubled after sc anti-d (p < 0.0001). After a median follow-up of 11.4 months, all patients are alive without major bleeding and stay well. We conclude that sc anti-d is not only an efficient means of treating ITP in children but is also a safe and convenient one.
Endogenous Acidification of Central Inhibitory Synapses

In the brain, extracellular pH is rigidly maintained to ensure proper CNS function. To assess pH fluctuation at central synapses, we recorded miniature GABA inhibitory post-synaptic currents (mIPSCs) from cultured cerebellar granule cells under varying pH and proton buffering conditions. We found an inverse relationship between extracellular pH and mIPSC amplitude and charge transfer, resulting in over a 100% increase in size of events recorded at pH6.8 vs. pH8.0. Acidification also slowed the kinetics of rise time and fast component of decay, while speeding the slow decay component. We find that lowering the pH buffering capacity of the extracellular solution from 24 to 3mM HEPES at pH7.4, results in a similar enhancement of mIPSC size, mimicking changes in kinetics induced by acidification. The effects of diminished buffering capacity on mIPSC were negated by lowering extracellular pH to 6.8. To probe these effects with physiological buffers, we measured mIPSCs using 24mM of bicarbonate and compared them with those recorded in 24mM bicarbonate supplemented with 10mM HEPES . We found that physiological concentrations of bicarbonate produced mIPSCs that were similar in size and kinetics to those found with 3mM HEPES and were similarly altered with addition of HEPES, confirming the physiological relevance of our findings. To determine the possible contribution of Na+/H+ exchanger to synaptic acidification we inhibited the exchanger with amiloride (20μM), and in a parallel set of experiments replaced extracellular sodium with lithium. Both of these treatments caused changes in mIPSCs that mirrored increased buffering capacity, and the effects were negated by acidification to pH6.8 or by increasing HEPES buffering capacity to 24mM. We conclude that GABAergic synaptic pH in vivo may be quite labile and subject to rapid and pronounced acidification from the Na+/H+ exchanger with the net effect of enhancing synaptic transmission.