cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differential Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Numerous diseases can present with symptoms similar to IBD. In case of acute-onset diarrhea, infectious or allergic diseases and acute appendicitis should be ruled out before considering the diagnosis of IBD. Chronic or recurrent intestinal symptoms are more suggestive of IBD. Infection, celiac disease, or food allergy should all be entertained in the differential diagnosis in this situation. Neoplasm and vasculitic disorders are more rarely involved. Disorders of the immune system should be sought after, especially in cases of early-onset (<6 years) symptoms, as numerous monogenic disorders are currently being discovered with specific therapeutic options available. Less classic presentations of IBD can be encountered, leading to consideration of other diagnoses such as tumors or tuberculosis in cases of an abdominal mass, peptic disease in cases of isolated esophagogastroduodenal involvement, immunodeficiency syndromes, or trauma in cases of isolated perianal/perineal disease.
Economic Methods of Analysis

Most of the underlying theories of facility location and land use models are basically economic concepts, and many of their input/output variables are economic measures. To understand these relationships better, a general knowledge of economic concepts and methodology is helpful. We recognize that theories have been offered by economists to explain the growth and distribution of industrial activities in an area. It is insightful to summarize their experiences—particularly the theories used in regional and interregional economics. This includes such concepts as economic-base theory (or export service theory) of gravitational interaction and theory of interregional flow. Through such a review, one sharpens the focus on the validity and limitations of these analysis methodologies.
Szlam’s Lemma: Mutant Offspring of a Euclidean Ramsey Problem from 1973, with Numerous Applications

If you treasure semantic precision, you might name the volcano that erupted (figuratively speaking!) in 1973: Coloring Problems in Geometrically Defined Hypergraphs.
Keys to the Increased Use of Host Plant Resistance in Integrated Pest Management

Abstract Host-plant resistance as a management tactic involves both the exploitation of intraspecific variation in genetically based plant resistance to breed crop varieties that support lower populations of herbivores or that better tolerate injury by herbivores and the integration of said varieties with other management tactics such as insecticide applications and biological control. There are several barriers to the increased development and use of resistant cultivars in IPM. Many of these barriers arise from the complex genetic and phenotypic nature of plant resistance. In addition, insufficient attention has been given to the integration of plant resistance with other IPM tactics, and to quantifying the benefits of plant resistance in multi-tactic IPM programs. Three keys to overcoming these barriers are described: increased understanding of the causal bases of plant resistance, increased application of modern genetic tools, and a more quantitative approach to implementing host-plant resistance.
What Explains the Asset Growth Effect in Stock Returns

We consider the expanding evidence for a negative correlation between firm asset growth and subsequent stock returns with respect to two rational explanations: compensation for risk and costly arbitrage. We observe that the growth rate in total assets is the dominant asset growth rate variable in explaining the cross-section of stock returns. We show that a factor sensitivity to systematic asset growth does not generate a significant risk premium beyond the simple firm growth effect. We find that firm idiosyncratic volatility, which we use as a measure of the cost of holding a position in the stock per unit of time, explains substantial variation in the asset growth effect in the cross section of returns. Furthermore, time series patterns in alphas and factor loadings related to asset growth are associated with high idiosyncratic risk. Our findings highlight the magnitude of the impact of costly arbitrage on stock returns.
Common citation analysis and technology overlap factor: an empirical investigation of litigated patents using network analysis

Companies incur huge costs in filing and defending patent lawsuits. A part of the problem arises from the fact that companies do not have a comprehensive understanding of the patents that they have cited and the patents that have cited their patents. By empirically analyzing the forward and backward citations of a set of litigated patents in the smart phone industry, we provide a method for profiling patents and identifying citation patterns. Our results show that while some patents share common forward and backward citations, others do not share any backward citations but share a lot of forward citations. We hypothesize that this maybe an indication of the convergence of different types of technologies. We also propose a new metric - Technology Overlap Factor - that can help in identifying convergence. In doing so, we provide a preliminary framework for further investigation and for building a patent analysis software system.
The Optimal Trade Size Choice of Informed Short Sellers

Research (Diamond and Verrecchia, 1987, and Boehmer, Jones, and Zhang, 2008) finds that short sellers are informed about the true value of stocks as current short selling predicts future returns. We test which short-sale sizes contain the most information. While studies (Diether, Lee, and Werner, 2007) document that short sellers follow periods of positive past returns, we find that short sellers generally use larger sizes after periods of higher returns both at the intradaily and daily levels. Further, we show that larger short sales are better able to predict negative returns than smaller short sales, indicating that informed short sellers do not attempt to disguise their information in smaller trades (stealth trade) and instead prefer using larger trade sizes.
On Radial Solutions of Quasilinear Boundary Value Problems

In this paper we establish the existence of positive radial solutions for a class of quasilinear elliptic boundary problems. Both the positone and nonpositone cases are considered.
Exertional Rhabdomyolysis in a Long-Distance Migrant

Abstract Background Exertional rhabdomyolysis is a common condition with potentially life-threatening consequences; early recognition can prevent severe downstream complications. Some migrants and undocumented immigrants who have travelled to the United States have encountered extreme heat or other austere conditions during their journey, many of which have involved long stretches of travel on foot. These factors can combine to put these migrants at risk for rhabdomyolysis. Hospitals near the border of Mexico and the United States commonly encounter patients with adverse medical complications related to the process of border crossing. Case Report We report a patient with exertional rhabdomyolysis complicated by acute kidney injury who presented to a hospital located thousands of miles from the United States–Mexico border. Why Should an Emergency Physician be Aware of This? Undocumented immigrants frequently disperse to disparate metropolitan areas after crossing the border, and therefore medical providers should remain vigilant for the medical complications of this dangerous journey.
Robust optimal control using conditional risk mappings in infinite horizon

Abstract We use one-step conditional risk mappings to formulate a risk averse version of a total cost problem on a controlled Markov process in discrete time infinite horizon. The nonnegative one step costs are assumed to be lower semi-continuous but not necessarily bounded. We derive the conditions for the existence of the optimal strategies and solve the problem explicitly by giving the robust dynamic programming equations under very mild conditions. We further give an ϵ -optimal approximation to the solution and illustrate our algorithm in two examples of optimal investment and LQ regulator problems.
A Data-Driven Approach for Direct Assessment and Analysis of Traffic Tunnel Resilience

The resilience of tunnels can have a significant impact on the efficiency of the entire transportation network. The ability to accurately assess the resilience of tunnels is important for tunnel owners and stakeholders when they evaluate the cost-benefit of the investment made and the monetary value of future maintenance and upgrade activities. In this paper, a simple and direct measurement of tunnel functionality was proposed with the focus on the usage of the tunnel. An ideal data collection framework for tunnels was proposed to support the calculation of tunnel functionality, as well as additional data-driven analysis that seeks a correlation between tunnel design and operation parameters with its resilience. As an illustrative example, tunnel operational data for large tunnels in Colorado were summarized and compared with the proposed framework to demonstrate the gap between existing data collection status and the ideal condition.
SDiff(S 2 ) and the orbit method

The group of area preserving diffeomorphisms of the two sphere, SDiff(S2), is one of the simplest examples of an infinite dimensional Lie group. It plays a key role in incompressible hydrodynamics and it recently appeared in general relativity as a subgroup of two closely related, newly defined symmetry groups. We investigate its representation theory using the method of coadjoint orbits. We describe the Casimir functions and the Cartan algebra. Then we evaluate the trace of a simple SDiff(S2) operator using the Atiyah-Bott fixed point formula. The trace is divergent but we show that it has well-defined truncations related to the structure of SDiff(S2). Finally, we relate our results back to the recent appearances of SDiff(S2) in black hole physics.The group of area preserving diffeomorphisms of the two sphere, SDiff(S2), is one of the simplest examples of an infinite dimensional Lie group. It plays a key role in incompressible hydrodynamics and it recently appeared in general relativity as a subgroup of two closely related, newly defined symmetry groups. We investigate its representation theory using the method of coadjoint orbits. We describe the Casimir functions and the Cartan algebra. Then we evaluate the trace of a simple SDiff(S2) operator using the Atiyah-Bott fixed point formula. The trace is divergent but we show that it has well-defined truncations related to the structure of SDiff(S2). Finally, we relate our results back to the recent appearances of SDiff(S2) in black hole physics.
Severe Primary Graft Dysfunction: Impact of the New UNOS Heart Allocation System

Purpose Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is a leading cause of early morbidity and mortality following heart transplantation (HTx). The purpose of this study was to determine the mortality risk and incidence of PGD pre- and post-implementation of the new UNOS heart allocation policy. Methods A total of 426 consecutive adult patients underwent HTx from 1/2010 to 5/2019. Recipients of combined organ transplants were excluded. Definition of severe PGD was based on the 2014 ISHLT consensus statement which includes dependence on mechanical circulatory support, excluding requirement for intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP). The primary outcome was the incidence of PGD and overall 1-year survival. Results The cohort studied was predominantly male (70.8%), with a mean age of 53.4±12.8 years; 31.6% were supported with a left ventricular assist device as a bridge to HTx, and 38.4% were blood type O. There were 17 (4.0%) cases of severe PGD, all of which required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. Baseline characteristics pre-HTx were similar in those with and without PGD (Figure 1). There was no difference in the incidence of severe PGD following the introduction of the new allocation policy in October 18, 2018 (5.9 vs. 4.5%, p=0.70), but there was a significant increase in the use of post-transplant IABP (23.5 vs. 9.1%, p=0.009). There was no correlation between RADIAL score and incidence of severe PGD (p=0.41). Severe PGD was associated with reduced 30-day survival (97.6% [95% CI: 95.5-98.8] vs. 68.7% [40.5-85.6], p Conclusion Incidence of severe PGD has not increased in the contemporary era with the new UNOS heart allocation policy. PGD is associated with poor 1-year survival and is not predicted by the RADIAL score, which underscores the need for a new risk prediction model.
Chapter 3.11 – A strain-energy based failure criterion for non-linear analysis of composite laminates subjected to biaxial loading*

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the nonlinear responses of a lamina under uniaxial longitudinal tension and compression, transverse tension and compression and shear loadings, which are used to predict the stress/strain response, failure onset, and progression in composite laminates subjected to in-plane biaxial loading. A piecewise cubic spline interpolation scheme is used to represent the basic material properties along the lamina material axes. A laminated plate theory that includes an iterative incremental constitutive law to account for the nonlinear behavior of the laminae is combined with a strain–energy based failure criterion for orthotropic materials. Unloading of the failed laminae and a subsequent failure progression of the laminae are included in the model. Results for failure onset and progression are presented for a wide variety of unidirectional and symmetric laminates under biaxial loading. The combined stress and strain state failure criterion based on strain energies of a nonlinear orthotropic material proposed by Sandhu is used. For an orthotropic material, the strain energies under uniaxial tension (or compression), transverse tension (or compression), and shear are all independent parameters. Sandhu's strain energy based failure theory, in conjunction with an incremental constitutive law, has shown good comparison with experimental investigations carried out on tubular specimens made of glass/epoxy and graphite/epoxy.
Scaling Techno-Optimistic Visions

Techno-optimism, or the enduring belief that technology use and production are promising for humanity, is bound up in past and ongoing ideals of modernity, progress, and “development.” As a particular form of hope and aspiration, techno-optimism is harnessed for nation-building and economic development projects that invest in the promise of scaling. This article demonstrates that this enduring techno-optimism requires various forms of entrepreneurial labor, and that the promise of scaling and technological progress together form a contemporary technique of governance.
Cryogenic Dynamic Logic

Cloud computing is increasing the demand for large scale, energy efficient, and fast computing systems. One circuit technique satisfying these goals is dynamic logic. Furthermore, since portability is not required for cloud computing centers, these systems can support cryogenic operation. Cryogenic dynamic circuits eliminate the seminal issue of these circuits, loss of logic state due to leakage currents. The operation of dynamic CMOS circuits operating at cryogenic temperatures is discussed in this paper. For a 160 nm MOSFET technology, dynamic logic at room temperature can operate as low as 180 kHz. The same circuit in a cryogenic temperature can operate at DC. The state in a dynamic logic circuit operating at cryogenic temperatures is shown to remain indefinitely. This property makes low frequency testing of dynamic logic more feasible, supporting the development of complex VLSI circuits targeting high frequency applications such as cloud computing.
Differential responses to child communicative behavior of parents of toddlers with ASD

Background and aimsThe quality of parent verbal input—diverse vocabulary that is well-matched to the child’s developmental level within interactions that are responsive to their interests—has been ...
Determination of Vascular Access Stenosis Location and Severity by Multi-domain Analysis of Blood Sounds

An arteriovenous vascular access is used to provide hemodialysis to people suffering from acute or chronic kidney disease. Monitoring of vascular access is essential to reduce the risk of sudden clotting caused by vascular stenosis, to maintain patency of the access, and to avoid hospitalization or central catheter placement. Current imaging technologies are costly and unsuitable for widespread monitoring of vascular access, and they cannot detect rapidly progressing access dysfunction. Point-of-care detection can identify patients for imaging and enable surgical treatment planning, but early detection requires objective tools and signal processing techniques for classifying condition severity. In this chapter, we review the signal processing required in the analog circuit domain and digital domain to analyze blood sounds (bruits) using phonoangiography. A flexible polymer microphone array was used to transduce bruits, which were filtered and amplified by a transimpedance amplifier. The required bandwidth and dynamic range for the amplifier were determined by analyzing the signal properties of bruits recorded from a vascular phantom. After digital conversion, temporospectral-based features were calculated from continuous wavelet transform. Spatial domain features were also calculated from time domain and spectral domain differences between adjacent array recording sites. Finally, we demonstrate that multiple feature domains can be used in three essential tasks: (1) stenosis localization, (2) degree of stenosis classification, and (3) degree of stenosis estimation. Binary thresholding of spectral shift allowed localization within 1 cm of the actual stenosis location. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of classifying degree of stenosis into ordinal classes (mild, moderate, severe) and the use exponential Gaussian process regression to estimate degree of stenosis directly from acoustic recordings.
Ecological Citizenship, Time, and Corruption: Aldo Leopold's Biotic Republicanism

Civic republicanism was prominent in the United States during the Revolutionary and Founding eras (1763-1824), but lost influence to liberalism (Bailyn 1992, Wood a1969, Pocock 1975, 1989, McCoy 1980, Banning, 1978). Echoes of republicanism persisted in the labor, Civil Rights, and community organizing movements (Sandel 1996). However, there is another chapter in US republicanism that political theorists are only now considering: the role of environmentalism in carrying on key republican concerns and values.
Sociology of Energy

Sociologists have long investigated the roots, meanings, and consequences of modernity and socio-technical change, yet energy remains an underdeveloped area of inquiry. This is not for lack of trying—scholars have repeatedly called for the development of a formal sociology of energy. Nor is this due to a lack of importance. Indeed, our current period is deeply shaped by conflicts over the nature, type, and scale of energy production; questions regarding democratic access to affordable energy; and the considerable potential socio-ecological outcomes of dependence upon finite natural resources. The lack of a coherent sociology of energy is paradoxical, given energy’s central role in our lives. While many energy-related threads weave through the environmental sociology literature, they do not yet tie together. In this chapter, we begin to bring together the various ways that social scientists have applied a sociological lens to studies of energy systems. Throughout, we pay particular attention to analyses focusing on issues of power and inequality. In so doing, we endeavor to present a more unified and theoretically consistent overview of the sociology of energy. To that end, we do the following: examine research on extraction’s sociological dynamics, especially aspects of power and structural, environmental inequity; interrogate these dynamics first through the sociological literatures on energy boomtowns and natural resource dependence, focusing on structural inequities; and assess scholarship on these three empirical domains described above, by focusing on specific energy systems and highlighting issues of inequality within three of the most significant sources of energy in the modern industrial era—coal, (unconventional) oil and gas, and nuclear power—along with sites of energy production, such as refineries and power plants. Subsequently, we address EJ issues that have emerged in the context of renewable energy development. The chapter concludes with some ways sociology of energy can progress and more systematically examine the sociological dynamics of extraction, energy production, and access.
Differential Morbidity in Preterm Small versus Appropriate for Gestational Age: Perhaps Unverifiable.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine the morbidity of preterm small for gestational age (SGA) infants compared with appropriate for GA (AGA). STUDY DESIGN This is a secondary analysis of the randomized trial evaluating magnesium sulfate for the prevention of cerebral palsy (CP). We compared outcomes of preterm (< 37 weeks) nonanomalous infants who were SGA (birth weight < 10% for GA) versus AGA (birth weight 10-89% for GA). We compared (1) the parent trial primary outcome, a composite of stillbirth, infant death by 1 year of age, or moderate to severe CP at 2 years of age and (2) composite neonatal morbidity (CNM). RESULTS Of the 1,948 infants who met inclusion criteria, 95% were AGA and 5% were SGA. The primary outcome was similar (10 and 15%, p = 0.08), as was the CNM (24 and 25%, p = 0.89). Sample size calculations indicate that detection of a one-third higher rate of CNM among SGA compared with AGA infants requires more than 93,900 preterm births; for a one-third difference in moderate to severe CP, more than 1.4 million infants. CONCLUSION Owing to the prohibitive sample size required, ascertaining a difference in sequela between preterm SGA and AGA infants is possibly unverifiable.
From the desk of the IFA president

Abstract Potential members of the International Fluency Association (IFA) were polled regarding their fluency interests and perceived priorities for the organization during the year it was founded (in 1990). Results from 201 respondents indicated that a need for the IFA existed among researchers, clinicians, and representatives of self-help organizations for people who stutter. Improving the quality of treatment for those who stutter was considered the highest priority by all three groups. Researchers were of the opinion that the Journal of Fluency Disorders should be of higher quality than it had been in the past, and clinicians were most interested in reviews of new and relevant materials.
Age-associated changes in DNA repair and mutation rates

Publisher Summary Human populations typically display a range of inherent sensitivities to radiation and chemical carcinogens. Given a common carcinogenic insult, some individuals develop associated neoplasms, some may develop only an associated pre-neoplastic lesion, while others remain clinically free from all related effects of the exposure. Within specific cancer populations, age of onset, extent, and severity of neoplasia often vary among patients. Such variability in host response, in part, may be due to inherent differences among individuals to monitor and repair damaged sites induced in their genetic material by exogenous and endogenous genotoxic agents. In most cases, mutations at specific loci appear to provide the necessary signal, releasing these genes from a cryptic or quiescent state, eventuating in cancer formation. The linkage between persistent DNA damage and oncogene activity suggests that such long-lived DNA damage is a reflection of the diminished involvement of DNA repair or surveillance activities in tumorigenesis. A human model supporting such assumptions exists with the rare, cancer-prone inherited disorder xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). The life spans of organisms have been compared with the overall efficiencies of their DNA repair systems. Several human diseases with DNA repair deficiencies are associated with accelerated aging.
Introduction of restriction enzyme recognition sequences by silent mutation.

This unit describes silent mutations and provides tables of translation sequences for silent mutagenesis based on six- and eight-base restriction enzymes.
Detector response restoration for high resolution positron emission tomography

A mathematical method was studied to model the detector response of high-spatial-resolution positron emission tomography systems consisting of close-packed small crystals, and to restore the resolution deteriorated due to crystal penetration and/or nonuniform sampling across the field of view (FOV). The simulated detector system has 600 bismuth germanate crystals of 3.14 mm width and 3 cm length packed on a single ring of 60 cm diameter. The space between crystals was filled up with lead (i.e., septa). Each crystal was in coincidence with 200 opposite crystals so that the FOV had a radius of 30 cm. The detector response was modeled based on the attenuating properties of the crystals and the septa, and the geometry of the detector system. The modeled detector response function was used to restore the projections from the sinogram of the ring detector system. The projections had a uniform sampling of 1.57 mm across the FOV and had the crystal penetration and/or the nonuniform sampling compensated. A chest phantom with a few small circular cold objects ( approximately=4 mm diameter) located at the center and near the periphery of the FOV was computer-generated and used to test the restoration. The reconstructed images from the restored projections demonstrated resolution improvement off the FOV center, while preserving the resolution near the center. >
Energy, Environment & Sustainable Development

This article is based on three major premises. The first is that the greatest international environmental challenge of the 21st Century is the manner and extent to which increasing global energy demand can be met within the framework of sustainable development (SD).1 This idea underscores the fact that energy constitutes a primary life force in both developed and developing countries. The peoples of the world rely on cheap and accessible energy for transportation on land, air and water, using millions of cars, buses, trains, planes and ships. In addition, energy is essential for domestic and commercial heating and cooling in many parts of the world, as well as for agriculture, manufacturing, mining, information technology, and a variety of service industries. Furthermore, men and women the world over use a plethora of energy dependent personal devices and instruments from flashlights and laptops to telephones and watches. Two important corollaries to this premise emphasize the pressing need for more and better quality energy especially in the developing world. First, 1.6 billion people, or one quarter of the world’s population, preponderantly located in developing countries, do not have access to electricity.2 The right of these
New economic models for the federal depository system—why is it so hard to get the question answered?

L'A. s'interroge sur les nouveaux modeles economiques possibles pour la diffusion de l'information gouvernementale electronique aux Etats-Unis et la poursuite des programmes de depots et de vente du GPO (Government Printing Office). Trois directions sont envisageables : la numerisation des collections, la redefinition du service public gouvernemental et l'offre d'organisation, de metadonnees et d'autres structures bibliographiques pour le materiel numerique. Il faut revoir le systeme actuel de selection et de localisation des bibliotheques de depot.
Scheduling flexible flow lines with sequence dependent setup times

Abstract This paper examines scheduling in flexible flow lines with sequence-dependent setup times to minimize makespan. This type of manufacturing environment is found in industries such as printed circuit board and automobile manufacture. An integer program that incorporates these aspects of the problem is formulated and discussed. Because of the difficulty in solving the IP directly, several heuristics are developed, based on greedy methods, flow line methods, the Insertion Heuristic for the Traveling Salesman Problem and the Random Keys Genetic Algorithm. Problem data is generated in order to evaluate the heuristics. The characteristics are chosen to reflect those used by previous researchers. A lower bound has been created in order to evaluate the heuristics, and is itself evaluated. An application of the Random Keys Genetic Algorithm is found to be very effective for the problems examined. Conclusions are then drawn and areas for future research are identified.
Shewanella putrefaciens infective endocarditis

Shewanella putrefaciens rarely causes infection in humans. In the last few decades a growing number of cases have been described. The following report outlines the case of a 40-year-old immunocompetent white man with S. putrefaciens infective endocarditis. This is the first known case of infective endocarditis due to an apparently monomicrobial S. putrefaciens infection, and the second known case of S. putrefaciens-related infective endocarditis worldwide.
Myalglas, Non-Restorative Sleep, and Fatigue in Patients Infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Objective: To survey consecutive patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] for subjective rheumatic complaints.Methods: Fifty-three consecutive HIV positive patients were surveyed for arthralgias, myalgias, non-restorative sleep, and fatigue. Patients with positive questionnaires were examined and charts of all 53 reviewed. High risk, HIV negative individuals served as questionnaire controls.Results: Myalgias, non-restorative sleep, and fatigue were reported by almost half of the patients. Human immunodeficiency virus risk group, HIV classification, cluster determinant-4 counts, hematocrit, antiretroviral medications, and exercise level were not contributory factors. A current or past psychiatric diagnosis was associated with non-restorative sleep. Fibromyalgia occurred in 8% and inflammatory rheumatic diseases in 6%.Conclusions: Myalgias, non-restorative sleep, and fatigue are common complaints in HIV infected individuals. There were no obvious contributory factors identified beyond t...
Design and performance evaluation of communication algorithms in multihop wireless networks with multiple channels

We propose and evaluate the performance of communication algorithms for the NP-hard transmission time minimisation problem on multihop wireless networks modelled by directed graphs with multiple channels. We derive a lower bound for the minimum transmission time so that our heuristic solutions can be compared with optimal schedules. We present one randomised routing algorithm and nine heuristic transmission scheduling algorithms and demonstrate by extensive simulations on random multihop wireless networks that all these transmission scheduling algorithms have average-case performance reasonably close to that of optimal schedules. Furthermore, we show that the performance of our algorithms for undirected networks is significantly better than the pipelined breadth-first search tree algorithm by exploiting more transmission concurrency. We indicate that our transmission scheduling algorithms can be easily adapted to solve the related NP-hard throughput maximisation problem and present and compare their average-case performance by extensive simulations on random multihop wireless networks. We also demonstrate simulation data on the impact of the transmission power on transmission schedule length.
Tidal salt marsh sediment in California, USA. Part 1: Occurrence and sources of organic contaminants

Abstract Surface sediment samples (0–5 cm) from five tidal marshes along the coast of California, USA were analyzed for organic pollutants to investigate their relationship to land use, current distribution within marshes, and possible sources. Among the study areas, Stege Marsh, located in San Francisco Bay, was the most contaminated. Compared to San Francisco Bay, Stege Marsh had much higher levels of organic contaminants such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), DDTs, and chlordanes. At reference marshes (Tom’s Point and Walker Creek in Tomales Bay), organic contaminants in sediments were very low. While PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) were found at all of the study areas (22–13 600 ng g−1), measurable concentrations of PCBs were found only in the sediments from Stege Marsh (80–9940 ng g−1). Combustion related (pyrogenic) high molecular weight PAHs were dominant in sediments from Stege and Carpinteria Marshes, while in sediments from Tom’s Point and Walker Creek petroleum related (petrogenic) low molecular weight PAHs and alkyl-substituted PAHs were much more abundant than pyrogenic PAHs. PCB congener patterns in all of the Stege Marsh samples were the same and revealed that Aroclor 1248 was a predominant source. In all marshes, the sum of DDE and DDD accounted for more than 90% of total DDTs, indicating that DDT has degraded significantly. The ratios of p,p′-DDE to p,p′-DDD in sediments from Stege Marsh provide evidence of possible previous use of technical DDD. Chlordane ratios indicated that chlordanes have degraded slightly. Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (280–32 000 ng g−1) was the most abundant phthalate. The data indicates that Stege Marsh may be a source of contaminants that continue to be discharged into San Francisco Bay.
Promoción de la investigación en anestesiología pediátrica

Resumen En los ultimos 2 anos ha habido un interes creciente por promover la investigacion como parte integral de la practica academica en anestesiologia en Colombia. El Simposio Colombiano de Investigacion en Anestesiologia, organizado por la Sociedad Colombiana de Anestesiologia y Reanimacion y la Sociedad Antioquena de Anestesiologia, formulo y publico guias para promover este esfuerzo. Infortunadamente y a pesar de estos esfuerzos, la investigacion en anestesia pediatrica aun es muy escasa. En este articulo de opinion discutimos por que y como promover la investigacion en anestesia pediatrica en Colombia.
The Effect of the Polish Insurrection of 1863 on Amnerican Civil War Diplomacy

(1965). The Effect of the Polish Insurrection of 1863 on Amnerican Civil War Diplomacy. The Historian: Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 560-577.
Disruption of maternal behavior in rats with lesions of the septal area.

Abstract Rats given septal lesions prior to mating did not build nests or nurse their pups. During retrieving tests they carried pups about the cage repeatedly and dropped them in scattered locations. Virgin rats induced to be maternal by housing with foster pups showed similar, but less marked, behavioral deficits. Rats administered septal lesions after parturition became hyperresponsive, ceased all maternal behaviors, and cannibalized their pups. The results indicated that the aberrant maternal behaviors shown by rats with septal lesions did not result from alterations in hormonal status. It was concluded that the lesions disrupted the typical pattern or sequence of maternal activities and that the deficits were probably related to an enhancement of response perseveration.
Differential Response: What to Make of the Existing Research? A Response to Hughes et al.

This article is a response to "Issues in Differential Response", a review of the current evidence pertaining to differential response (DR) programs in child protective services (CPS). In my view, the Hughes, Rycus, Saunders-Adams, Hughes, and Hughes article suffers from several weaknesses. First, DR programs are critiqued as if they were a manualized intervention rather than a policy orientation, resulting in unhelpful conclusions. Second, the strength of existing evidence pertaining to child safety in DR is framed in an overly negative way. Finally, I attempt to place our understanding of DR in a broader perspective reflecting the continuing evolution of CPS and policies. Language: en
Scatter (and other) plots for visualizing user profiling data and network traffic

The scatterplot continues to be one of the most useful tools for visualizing numeric data, however what we typically encounter in Computer Security is categorical and/or textual in nature, and how to convert it into a form where scatterplots apply is not always obvious. We outline some simple ideas for doing this and illustrate with two "real data" case studies: User Profiling and Network Traffic. In both cases the results can be quite surprising.
Integrative recombination in bacteriophage lambda: analysis of recombinant DNA.

Abstract The genotypes of intracellular phage DNA molecules have been determined by transfection of the DNA and genetic analysis of the resulting mature phage. This method has been used to investigate several factors affecting the formation of recombinant DNA by the site-specific λ integration system. It has been shown that: (1) all gene products needed for integrative recombination can be supplied in trans ; none needs to be made by the recombining DNA molecule. (2) These gene products are functionally stable at 31 °C but are rapidly inactivated at higher temperatures. (3) Interference with genetic expression of the parental DNA by inhibitors or phage repressor alters the kinetics of recombination by causing an early appearance of integrative recombinant DNA. Several possible explanations for this phenomenon are discussed. (4) Integrative recombination is strongly inhibited by cyanide or dinitrophenol. (5) xis gene product has an apparent inhibitory effect on integrative recombination in cells treated with inhibitors of transcription and translation.
A phoswich array for relativistic heavy ion collisions

Abstract A phoswich array consisting of 42 ΔE − E scintillator telescopes is described. The array was used for the measurement of charged pions, protons, deuterons and tritons produced near target rapidity in relativistic collisions of 14.6 A GeV/ c 28 Si nuclei with targets ranging in mass from aluminum to gold. The present paper describes the array, its operation and performance, its response to protons, deuterons and tritons, and the means by which the detector has been calibrated. Intrinsic energy resolutions on the order of 2–3% have been obtained.
Effects of melatonin on pulmonary and coronary vessels are exerted through perivascular nerves

The effects of melatonin on porcine pulmonary and coronary vessels have been studied. Vessels were isolated from normal pigs, placed in a tissue bath, and precontracted with 30 mM KCl. The biophysical responses to cumulative doses of melatonin were then assessed. In the pulmonary artery, melatonin caused a dose-dependent relaxation which was blocked by vasoactive intestinal peptide antagonists or prior 6-hydroxydopamine treatment of the vessels. In the coronary artery, melatonin caused the reverse, a dose-dependent contraction which was blocked by the alpha antagonist prazosin or prior 6-hydroxydopamine treatment. These experiments indicate that melatonin has different mechanisms of action in the coronary and pulmonary circulation, although both seem to depend on the integrity of perivascular 6-hydroxydopamine sensitive nerves. Such differing mechanisms may provide insight into pathophysiological events in the lungs (such as nocturnal asthma) and heart (early morning coronary infarction).
Development and stability analysis of the inverse Lax−Wendroff boundary treatment for central compact schemes

In this paper, we generalize the so-called inverse Lax−Wendroff boundary treatment [S. Tan and C.-W. Shu, J. Comput. Phys. 229 (2010) 8144–8166] for the inflow boundary of a linear hyperbolic problem discretized by the recently introduced central compact schemes [X. Liu, S. Zhang, H. Zhang and C.-W. Shu, J. Comput. Phys. 248 (2013) 235–256]. The outflow boundary is treated by the classical extrapolation and a stability analysis for the resulting scheme is provided. To ensure the stability of the considered schemes provided with the chosen boundaries, the G-K-S theory [B. Gustafsson, H.-O. Kreiss and A. Sundstrom, Math. Comput. 26 (1972) 649–686] is used, first in the semidiscrete case then in the fully discrete case with the third-order TVD Runge−Kutta time discretization. Afterwards, due to the high algebraic complexity of the G-K-S theory, the stability is analyzed by visualizing the eigenspectrum of the discretized operators. We show in this paper that the results obtained with these two different approaches are perfectly consistent. We also illustrate the high accuracy of the presented schemes on simple test problems.
Asymptotic stability and asymptotic solutions of second-order differential equations

Abstract We improve, simplify, and extend on quasi-linear case some results on asymptotical stability of ordinary second-order differential equations with complex-valued coefficients obtained in our previous paper [G.R. Hovhannisyan, Asymptotic stability for second-order differential equations with complex coefficients, Electron. J. Differential Equations 2004 (85) (2004) 1–20]. To prove asymptotic stability of second-order differential equations, we establish stability estimates using integral representations of solutions via asymptotic solutions and error estimates. Several examples are discussed.
Novel carbon fiber-carbon filament structures

Abstract In an attempt to address the problems associated with delamination and fiber pull-out in carbon-fiber reinforced composites, we have used a novel concept which involves the generation of vapor-grown carbon microfibers (carbon filaments) on the sides of parent carbon fibers (this step being accomplished by the use of a suitable catalyst). The mixed structures are produced by impregnation of the parent fiber with selected copper-nickel catalyst precursors, which are subsequently treated in an ethylene-hydrogen environment at 600°C. The function of the catalyst is to produce carbon filaments possessing well-defined structural characteristics that can form interlocking networks with adjacent carbon fiber-filament structures. In this paper we report on fundamental studies for the development of a process to produce these unique preforms.
3′–5′ tRNAHis guanylyltransferase in bacteria

The identity of the histidine specific transfer RNA (tRNAHis) is largely determined by a unique guanosine residue at position −1. In eukaryotes and archaea, the tRNAHis guanylyltransferase (Thg1) catalyzes 3′–5′ addition of G to the 5′-terminus of tRNAHis. Here, we show that Thg1 also occurs in bacteria. We demonstrate in vitro Thg1 activity for recombinant enzymes from the two bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis and Myxococcus xanthus and provide a closer investigation of several archaeal Thg1. The reaction mechanism of prokaryotic Thg1 differs from eukaryotic enzymes, as it does not require ATP. Complementation of a yeast thg1 knockout strain with bacterial Thg1 verified in vivo activity and suggests a relaxed recognition of the discriminator base in bacteria.
Cortical blindness and Anton syndrome in a patient with obstetric hemorrhage.

Abstract Background: Cortical blindness is characterized by loss of vision in the presence of intact anterior visual pathways. Anton syndrome, a form of anosognosia, is a rare complication of cortical blindness involving compromise of the visual association centers, with resulting patient denial of blindness. Both syndromes have been associated with computed tomography findings of localized cortical ischemia. In most cases, both the clinical and radiologic features are reversible. Case: A woman with hemorrhage from an incomplete abortion at 21 weeks experienced cortical blindness and visual anosognosia. Conclusion: Cortical blindness and anosognosia are unusual manifestations of severe hemorrhage but should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient with atypical visual symptoms.
F Plasmid Conjugative DNA Transfer THE TraI HELICASE ACTIVITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR DNA STRAND TRANSFER

The product of the Escherichia coli F plasmid traI gene is required for DNA transfer via bacterial conjugation. This bifunctional protein catalyzes the unwinding of duplex DNA and is a sequence-specific DNA transesterase. The latter activity provides the site- and strand-specific nick required to initiate DNA transfer. To address the role of the TraI helicase activity in conjugative DNA transfer traI mutants were constructed and their function in DNA transfer was evaluated using genetic and biochemical methods. A traI deletion/insertion mutant was transfer-defective as expected. A traIC-terminal deletion that removed the helicase-associated motifs was also transfer-defective despite the fact that the region oftraI encoding the transesterase activity was intact. Biochemical studies demonstrated that the N-terminal domain was sufficient to catalyze oriT-dependent transesterase activity. Thus, a functional transesterase was not sufficient to support DNA transfer. Finally, a point mutant, TraI-K998M, that lacked detectable helicase activity was characterized. This protein catalyzed oriT-dependent transesterase activity in vitro and in vivo but failed to complement a traI deletion strain in conjugative DNA transfer assays. Thus, both the transesterase and helicase activities of TraI are essential for DNA strand transfer.
Systemic gadolinium toxicity in patients with renal insufficiency and renal failure: retrospective analysis of an initial experience

Objective To study the possible deleterious systemic effects of gadolinium in patients with impaired renal function. Design We retrospectively analyzed the routine laboratory data and clinical course of patients who had undergone a gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination of the brain and spine and had evidence of impaired glomerular filtration. Material and Methods Between October 1988 and October 1992, 15,830 patients underwent gadolinium-enhanced MRI at our institution, 151 of whom had a serum creatinine value of more than 2 mg/dL. The clinical records of these 151 patients were thoroughly examined for the period from 3 days before to 30 days after the gadolinium-enhanced MRI examination. All data were analyzed in an attempt to detect any adverse events that could be related to free gadolinium as a result of dissociation from the chelating agent due to prolonged elimination times (that is, increased serum creatinine concentrations). In addition, we calculated the 90-day mortality rate for both the study group and a matched control population of 80 patients who had undergone MRI of the brain and spine before gadolinium was available. Results The overall incidence of adverse events in the study group was 3.6%. No event was severe or life threatening—nausea and rash occurred in two patients each, and seizure and headache occurred in one patient each. These findings were not significantly different from those in previous studies performed in populations with normal elimination times. Moreover, no significant difference was noted in the 90-day mortality rate (14.6% of the study group) in comparison with that in the control group (13.8%). Conclusion On the basis of this initial retrospective analysis, we were unable to detect any clinical deleterious effects of administration of gadolinium for MRI examination in patients with impaired renal function. Further investigation with prospective studies is needed to confirm these initial retrospective findings.