cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Non-Natural Cultural Universals Exist

Significant linguistic universals exist and significant musical universals exist. Both are cultural universals. Significance via irreducibility to noncultural biological phenomena rests in the centrality of knowledge-acquisition for each activity. Cultural universals are unreducible (non-natural) when part of the required knowledge remains non-innate. Surprises result from applying current neo-essentialism (Kripke)—e.g., words are like natural kinds and have essential properties only empirically discoverable (including meanings!); melodies also have essential empirical properties (Happy Birthday’s dominant beginning and tonic end); and the locus of contingency is shifted to the decisions and actions of cultural participants.
PhaMers identifies novel bacteriophage sequences from thermophilic hot springs

Metagenomic sequencing approaches have become popular for the purpose of dissecting environmental microbial diversity, leading to the characterization of novel microbial lineages. In addition of bacterial and fungal genomes, metagenomic analysis can also reveal genomes of viruses that infect microbial cells. Because of their small genome size and limited knowledge of phage diversity, discovering novel phage sequences from metagenomic data is often challenging. Here we describe PhaMers (Phage k-Mers), a phage identification tool that uses supervised learning to classify metagenomic contigs as phage or non-phage on the basis of tetranucleotide frequencies, a technique that does not depend on existing gene annotations. PhaMers compares the tetranucleotide frequencies of metagenomic contigs to phage and bacteria references from online databases, resulting in assignments of lower level phage taxonomy based on sequence similarity. Using PhaMers, we identified 103 novel phage sequences from hot spring samples of Yellowstone National Park based on data generated from a microfluidic-based mini-metagenomic approach. We analyzed assembled contigs over 5 kbp in length using PhaMers and compared the results with those generated by VirSorter, a publicly available phage identification and annotation package. We analyzed the performance of phage genome prediction and taxonomic classification using PhaMers, and presented putative hosts and taxa for some of the novel phage sequences. Finally, mini-metagenomic occurrence profiles of phage and prokaryotic genomes were used to verify putative hosts.
A Short History of Mental Health Rhetoric Research (MHRR)

This commentary traces, groups, and characterizes the significant body of work done in rhetoric and writing studies on mental health(care) issues from when such work first began to appear in print in the mid-1980s up until July 2017 when the article was completed and submitted to RHM for publication in its inaugural issue.
Drug Testing and Adherence Monitoring in Substance Abuse Patients

A Russian proverb was espoused by former president Ronald Regan in the 1980s in negotiations with the Soviet leadership, “Trust, but verify.” This same concept has been adopted by many physicians working with patients on chronic opioid therapy. Physicians that prescribe chronic opioid therapy have an ethical and legal responsibility to monitor for treatment adherence. One way to enhance the trust between the prescribing physician and the patient is to implement a comprehensive adherence-monitoring program.
Identification of Prebiotic Compounds and the Contamination Problem

The chairman for the evening is supposed to be Cyril Ponnamperuma, but he won’t be here until tomorrow morning. I’m the discussion initiator so I’ll take on both tasks.
The Trouble With Searle's Biological Naturalism

John Searle's The Rediscovery of the Min is a sustained attempt to locate the mind and the mental firmly in the realm of the physical. “Consciousness”,claims Searle, “is just an ordinary biological feature of the world ... ” More specifically,“[t]he mental state of consciousness is just an ordinary biological, that is, physical featureof the brain”. Searle is adamant: “Consciousness, to repeat, is a natural biological phenomenon“. The purpose of this paper is to establish the claim that Searle's version of biologicalnaturalism, articulated in Rediscovery and defended elsewhere, is an incoherent theory of themind. I attempt to make good on this claim by showing (i) that Searle's biologicalnaturalism is committed to four claims which are individually plausible but not possiblefor Searle to hold simultaneously, (ii) that Searle's biological naturalism is, despiteSearle's protests to the contrary, a form of dualism, and therefore (iii) that Searle'sbiological naturalism is enmeshed in the same philosophical tradition from whichSearle claims to be departing, and finally (iv) that Searle's commitment to the jointnotions of nonreductivism and causal closure of the physical domain creates a problemhis theory of the mind lacks the resources to solve plausibly.
Pedro Geoffroy Rivas, la poetización de la ciencia

No abstract available.Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No. 86, 2002: 223-251
What's Race Got to Do With It? Racial Socialization's Contribution to Black Adolescent Coping.

While youth generally experience stressors from developmental milestones, Black youth also face racialized stressors. Racial socialization has been found to help Black youth cope with racialized stressors, but research has yet to show its contribution to coping beyond general socialization practices. This study examines how racial socialization contributes beyond that of general coping socialization to coping behaviors. Fifty-eight third-eighth-grade (Mage = 11.3, SD = 1.54) youth reported general coping socialization and racial socialization practices and coping behaviors. Results indicate that for engagement coping, racial socialization messages contributed significantly to parent-provided engaged socialization strategies. Implications are considered for the ways in which Black youth experience stress and require culturally specific practices for successful coping with frequently encountered stressors.
Neuromorphic computing with memristors: devices and architectures (Conference Presentation)

The future acceleration of many computational workloads is expected to depend on novel architectures, circuits, and devices. We describe an effort utilizing the analog and non-volatile nature of memristor crossbar arrays to accelerate matrix operations, which underpin many applications in image and signal processing, neural networks, and scientific computations. Significant performance gains and energy reductions over purely digital systems are forecasted based on our work. We describe our studies in the understanding of tantalum oxide-based memristors, integration with CMOS circuits, fine programming control over memristors, compact SPICE models of the device dynamics, and experimental implementations of matrix-heavy operations, including machine learning. We also describe applications that take advantage of the neuron-like behavior in memristor devices, in addition to the above synapse-like functions. This work begins with investigations of niobium oxide-based systems, and interesting dynamics observed based on positive feedback coupling to the electronic transport. These devices are utilized in the construction of a computing system to solve optimization problems such as the traveling salesmen problem.
The role of polo‐like kinase 3 in the response of BRAF‐mutant cells to targeted anticancer therapies

The activation of oncogenic mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade via mutations in BRAF is often observed in human melanomas. Targeted inhibitors of BRAF (BRAFi), alone or as a part of a combination therapy, offer a significant benefit to such patients. Unfortunately, some cases are initially nonresponsive to these drugs, while others become refractory in the course of treatment, underscoring the need to understand and mitigate the underlying resistance mechanisms. We report that interference with polo-like kinase 3 (PLK3) reduces the tolerance of BRAF-mutant melanoma cells to BRAFi, while increased PLK3 expression has the opposite effect. Accordingly, PLK3 expression correlates with tolerance to BRAFi in a panel of BRAF-mutant cell lines and is elevated in a subset of recurring BRAFi-resistant melanomas. In PLK3-expressing cells, R406, a kinase inhibitor whose targets include PLK3, recapitulates the sensitizing effects of genetic PLK3 inhibitors. The findings support a role for PLK3 as a predictor of BRAFi efficacy and suggest suppression of PLK3 as a way to improve the efficacy of targeted therapy.
Viscoelastoplastic Damage with Maximum Rate of Dissipation-Based Growth Criterion and Tri-Component Lie Rate Decomposition

Maximization of the rate of dissipation is applied to develop a viscoelastoplastic damaging material model with anisotropic properties and finite deformation. The thermodynamic framework suggests a new damage activation criterion based on the sum of stress and an energy release rate based on a damage-based strain measure. The framework combines the usually disjointed ideas of effective stress and damage strain kinematics to track the dimensional changes attributed to damage while retaining the physical link to load-bearing area reduction. Potential applications include large volume change oxidation of SiC CMC composites, high temperature creep and relaxation influences on damage processes in reinforced polymers and ceramics, and opening/closing of cracks via natural elastic behavior as opposed to treatments based on loading criteria.
Radiographic Parameters in Predicting Outcome of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Treated with YTTRIUM-90 Microsphere Radioembolization (SIRT)

ABSTRACT Background The predictive role of radiographic parameters in HCC pts undergoing transarterial hepatic selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT) is not fully characterized. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine whether radiographic parameters at baseline and/or radiographic changes following SIRT predict outcome in HCC pts treated with Yttrium-90 glass microsphere radioembolization. Methods Baseline and post-SIRT CT images (median of 6 weeks) were analyzed. Various features such as tumor size; attenuation; margins; enhancement; and amount of tumor necrosis were examined. Selected radiographic parameters were evaluated & correlated with PFS & OS. Objective response was assessed by RECIST 1.1 and Morphology, Attenuation, Size, and Structure (MASS) criteria (favorable (FR) vs. non favorable). Differences were analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and Fisher's Exact Test. Kaplan-Meier methods were used to estimate survival curves. Cox regression was used in uni- and multi- variable survival analyses Results Twenty-four pts (79% M; median age 63 y) received a median radiation dose of 1.965 GBq. On post-SIRT CT, 65% of tumors had decreased longest diameter (median decrease 8%, p = 0.27); 64% had decreased attenuation (median decrease 18 HU, p = 0.067), and 45% demonstrated increased tumor necrosis (p Conclusions In pts with HCC, pre-treatment tumor margins and shunt fraction may be developed as biomarkers to identify pts who are unlikely to benefit from SIRT. In addition, response evaluation by MASS criteria may provide better and earlier determination of lack of benefit from SIRT and the need for further therapy. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Radiation-induced undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma of the breast.

Breast sarcoma is a rare form of malignancy that arises from connective tissue within the breast, comprising less than 5% of all sarcomas. They develop as primary tumours or as secondary following radiation therapy. Diagnosis can be challenging as breast sarcomas are often asymptomatic and resemble benign breast tissue changes. Radiation-induced breast sarcomas present in various forms with an average latency period of 10–20 years following initial radiation therapy. Angiosarcomas are the most common form, while other types such as undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas remain rare. Here, we report a case of radiation-induced undifferentiated pleomorphic breast sarcoma in a 75-year-old woman that developed nearly 20 years following breast conserving surgery and radiation for invasive ductal carcinoma. The patient initially noticed a mass in 2017 on self-examination. The mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy at the time showed a benign 2.2 cm nodular fasciitis without malignancy. The mass grew rapidly in the next 6 months to 5.6 cm and repeat biopsy diagnosed undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. The mass abutted the pectoralis muscle but staging workup ruled out distant metastasis and the patient underwent wide local resection of the mass with clear margins. The patient subsequently underwent further postoperative radiation due to insufficient posterior margin width on wide local excision, as chest wall resection would have been required for a wider posterior margin. Prognosis for postradiation sarcomas is generally poor with 27%–36% 5-year survival, with surgical resection as the main line of treatment. The patient currently remains disease-free after 15 months of surveillance.
Specific Heat of Solid He 3

The thermal capacity of solid He/sup 3/ was measured. Data were obtained for 7-17 volunmes in the alpha phase and for 10-17 volumes in the beta phase. Techniques used weren checked by measuring the solid He/sup 4/ thermal capacity at 12 different volumes. A low-temperature anomaly for both He/sup 3/ and He/sup 4/ (or for the calorimeter used) was found. Data are represented graphically. (L.N.N.)
Automatic Contact Tracing for Outbreak Detection Using Hospital Electronic Medical Record Data

Contact tracing is a well-known tool for public health professionals to trace and isolate contacts of known infectious persons. During a pandemic contact tracing is critical to ending an outbreak, but the volume of cases makes tracing difficult without adequate staffing tools. Hospitals equipped with electronic medical records can utilize these databases to automatically link cases into possible transmission chains and surface potential new outbreaks. While this automatic contact tracing does not have the richness of contact tracing interviews, it does provide a way for health systems to highlight potential super-spreader events and support their local health departments. Additionally, these data provide insight into how a given infection is spreading locally. These insights can be used to inform policy at the local level.
Performance and income over feed costs when feeding alfalfa or grass hays and corn or wheat grains to high-producing dairy cows

ABSTRACT Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the production performance, nutrient digestibility, and income over feed cost (IOFC) of high-producing dairy cows consuming diets containing alfalfa or grass hays with either corn or wheat grain. Materials and Methods Twenty-four Holstein cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 diets in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments (hay and grain types) and 21-d periods. Diets were formulated using a least-cost approach. To determine revenues from milk produced, the amount of ECM (kg·d−1) was multiplied by $0.303·kg−1 (i.e., class III milk price; US Federal Milk Marketing Order 5). The cost of the ration provided by the formulation software ($·cow−1·d−1) was divided by the predicted DMI (kg·cow−1·d−1) to obtain the cost of feed ($·kg−1), which was then multiplied by DMI (kg·cow−1·d−1) to provide the actual daily feed cost ($·cow−1·d−1). Results and Discussion Cows consuming diets containing alfalfa hay consumed more DM than cows consuming diets with grass hay (27.1 vs. 24.4 kg·d−1). Cows consuming diets containing alfalfa hay produced more milk than cows consuming diets containing grass hay (47.5 vs. 44.7 kg·d−1). Milk from cows consuming diets containing grass hay had greater fat concentrations than milk from cows consuming diets containing alfalfa hay (4.22 vs. 3.89%). Using hay prices of $418 and $154∙t−1, respectively, for alfalfa and grass hays, diets containing grass hay resulted in greater IOFC than diets containing alfalfa hay ($8.39·d−1 vs. $7.68·d−1, respectively). Implications and Applications Results of this study showed that IOFC can be supported when feeding grass hay using a least-cost ration formulation approach.
Novel Participatory Methodologies for Identifying Motivations of Minority Women to Participate in a Breast Cancer Clinical Trial

Background: The Komen Tissue Bank (KTB), a biorepository that stores healthy breast tissue for use as controls in breast cancer (BC) research, has a notable deficiency in tissue donations from racial and ethnic minority women. Though studies have documented similar disparities in many clinical trials, the reasons why minority women agree or decline to participate in clinical trials remain largely unknown. This study used two novel participatory communication methodologies with minimal researcher intervention to explore potential motivations for minority women (Latinas, Asian Americans, and Black women) to donate breast tissue to the KTB. Methods: Two novel methodologies rooted in Grounded Practical Theory and Grounded Theory were used to study the attitudes of non-donors toward tissue donation and the reasons donors chose to donate tissue to the KTB, respectively. The non-donors (Latinas, n=14; Asian Americans, n=17) participated in interactive focus groups, and donors (Black, n=20) participated in open-ended interviews, all of which were then transcribed and coded to identify common motivations for donating breast tissue. Results: The interactive methodology of both the focus groups and interviews yielded rich data that may not have arisen in a traditional question-driven format. Though the manifestation differed between minority groups, three common factors influencing the decision to donate breast tissue were present in all groups: altruistic tendencies, cultural norms, and personal connection to BC. Non-donors also expressed their need for more information before making the decision to donate. Conclusion and Potential Impact: Common factors that influence the decision to donate tissue were identified using these two novel interactive methodologies, though the expression differed between minority groups. The information gleaned from this study will inform future communication efforts by the KTB and other clinical trial researchers, with the ultimate goal of distributing targeted recruitment materials to increase the representation of minority women in clinical trials.
Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Alkylation of Heteroaryl Imines

A Ni-catalyzed reductive cross-coupling of heteroaryl imines with C(sp3) electrophiles for the preparation of heterobenzylic amines is reported. This umpolung-type alkylation proceeds under mild conditions, avoids the pre-generation of organometallic reagents, and ex-hibits good functional group tolerance. Mechanistic studies are consistent with the imine substrate acting as a redox-active ligand upon coordination to a low-valent nickel center. The resulting Ni-bis(2-imino)heterocycle complexes can engage in alkylation reactions with a variety of C(sp3) electrophiles, giving the heterobenzylic amine products in good yields.
Evaluating public organization performance under extreme weather events: Does organizational adaptive capacity matter?

Abstract The study examines the impacts of extreme weather events on public organization performance. In response to the growing call for adaptive capacity development amid a worsening climate, it pays particular attention to the effects of organizational adaptive capacity. Three components of an organization's adaptive capacity are investigated: formal institutions, organizational slack and contracting out (inverse of capacity). We focus on organizations' technical efficiency as a key performance indicator. Using a sample of 108 bus transit system in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest from 2008 to 2017, the analysis applies the Battese and Coelli (1995) specification for stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) with panel data. A general model is estimated to incorporate the heterogeneity in both the level and efficiency of output. The results confirm the efficacy of organizational adaptive capacity to enhance efficiency amid extreme weather. Specifically, higher levels of organizational slack or lower levels of contracting out can boost technical efficiency under extreme weather. Formal institutions, while temporarily compromising technical efficiency, holds potential for salient efficiency gains in the long run. The conclusion ends with a discussion on the theoretical and practical implications of this study.
What should patients do if they miss a dose of medication? A theoretical approach

Medication adherence is a major problem for patients with chronic diseases that require long term pharmacotherapy. Many unanswered questions surround adherence, including how adherence rates translate into treatment efficacy and how missed doses of medication should be handled. To address these questions, we formulate and analyze a mathematical model of the drug concentration in a patient with imperfect adherence. We find exact formulas for drug concentration statistics, including the mean, the coefficient of variation, and the deviation from perfect adherence. We determine how adherence rates translate into drug concentrations, and how this depends on the drug half-life, the dosing interval, and how missed doses are handled. While clinical recommendations require extensive validation and should depend on drug and patient specifics, as a general principle our theory suggests that nonadherence is best mitigated by taking double doses following missed doses if the drug has a long half-life. This conclusion contradicts some existing recommendations that cite long drug half-lives as the reason to avoid a double dose after a missed dose. Furthermore, we show that a patient who takes double doses after missed doses can have at most only slightly more drug in their body than a perfectly adherent patient if the drug half-life is long. We also investigate other ways of handling missed doses, including taking an extra fractional dose following a missed dose. We discuss our results in the context of hypothyroid patients taking levothyroxine.
The imaging diagnosis of cholecystitis in the adult ED: a comparative multi-reader, multivariable analysis of CT and US image features.

PURPOSE The purposes of this study are (1) to utilize multivariable logistic regression in order to evaluate which image feature combination is most predictive in the diagnosis of cholecystitis for computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) in adult ED patients and (2) to use these results to compare the accuracy of CT and US. METHODS For RUQ pain patients undergoing US and CT at the same visit, multiple image features were evaluated independently by 2 radiologists blinded to additional data. Inter-reader variability was measured with the Kappa statistic. Sonographic Murphy's sign (SMS) information was obtained from original reports. Multivariable logistic regression was utilized to develop optimal predictive models for each modality. For US, models with/without SMS were compared to establish its relative value. RESULTS 446 patients met inclusion criteria. For CT, the combination of cholelithiasis, short-axis gallbladder diameter > 3 cm, pericholecystic fluid or inflammation, and mural thickening > 3 mm provided the optimal model for both readers. For US, the optimal model included cholelithiasis, short-axis diameter > 3 cm, mural heterogeneity/striation, and sludge/debris for both readers. Kappa = 0.79-0.96 for included image features. For both readers, CT and US models had equivalent diagnostic performances; the SMS did not contribute significantly to US models. CONCLUSION For a diagnosis of cholecystitis in the ED, (1) the optimal image feature combination for CT is cholelithiasis, short-axis diameter > 3 cm, pericholecystic fluid or inflammation, mural thickening > 3 mm; and cholelithiasis, short-axis diameter > 3 cm, mural heterogeneity/striation, sludge/debris for US; (2) CT and US have equivalent diagnostic performance; (3) inter-reader reliability is substantial to excellent for utilized image features; (4) the SMS does not affect US model accuracy.
Relative Prognostic Significance of Positron Emission Tomography Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Markers in Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Rubidium-82 positron emission tomography myocardial perfusion imaging provides measurements of perfusion, myocardial blood flow and reserve (MBFR), and changes in left ventricular eject...
A Method for Investigating Access to Diaper Changing Stations in Restaurants.

Parents and caretakers of young children need diaper changing stations (DCSs) to fully utilize public and commercial spaces, but few studies measure their availability. We developed a method for assessing the availability of DCSs in restaurant restrooms through phone interviews and validated the results using in-person visits. This study tested a phone interview methodology for investigating availability within restaurants, and the extent to which DCSs were accessible to both male and female caregivers. In May of 2019, phone interviews were conducted to survey the employees of 60 Philadelphia restaurants with a public restroom available to patrons to determine whether they had unisex or gendered restrooms, a DCS, and accessibility to a DCS for both male and female caregivers. Each interview was followed by an in-person audit. During phone interviews, 10 (16.7%) restaurants reported having and 50 (83.3%) reported not having DCSs. In-person audits confirmed 59 of 60 (98.3%) phone interview responses about the presence of DCSs (Cohen's kappa: 0.94) and 55 of 60 (91.7%) reports of restroom types (Cohen's kappa: 0.83). In this study, the phone interview methodology accurately identified the presence of DCSs in restaurants. This methodology can be used to identify disparities and to advocate for policy changes to improve access to DCSs for all who need them.
Time-course of vascular dysfunction of brachial artery after transradial access for coronary angiography.

Background Prior studies have demonstrated endothelial and smooth muscle brachial artery dysfunction after transradial cardiac catheterization for diagnostic coronary angiography. The duration of this vascular dysfunction is unknown. Objective To determine the time-course of endothelial and smooth muscle cell dysfunction in the upstream brachial artery after transradial cardiac catheterization. Methods We studied 22 consecutive patients with suspected coronary artery disease (age 64.4 ± 7.7 years) undergoing diagnostic transradial cardiac catheterization. Using high-resolution vascular ultrasound, we measured ipsilateral brachial artery diameter changes during reactive hyperemia (endothelium-dependent dilatation) and administration of sublingual nitroglycerin (endothelium-independent dilatation). The measurements were taken at baseline (before cardiac catheterization), 6 h, 24 h, 1 week, and 1 month postprocedure. The contralateral brachial artery served as a control. Results Ipsilateral brachial artery diameter during endothelium-dependent dilatation decreased significantly compared with the contralateral diameters at 6 h and 24 h after transradial cardiac catheterization (3.22 vs. 4.11 and 3.29 vs. 4.11, respectively, P < 0.001). The administration of nitroglycerin did not affect this difference. At 1 week and 1 month postprocedure there was no significant difference in diameter of the ipsilateral versus the contralateral brachial artery. As expected the contralateral brachial artery showed no significant changes in diameter. Conclusion Our results showed that transradial cardiac catheterization causes transient vascular endothelial and smooth muscle dysfunction of the ipsilateral brachial artery, which resolves within 1 week postprocedure. These findings strongly suggest the absence of systemic vascular dysfunction after transradial catheterization both immediately postprocedure as well as 1 week postprocedure. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Influence of environmental factors on antagonism of fungi by bacteria in soil: nutrient levels.

The addition of 0.25, 0.5, or 1.0% glucose to a soil (K) amended with either 6% kaolinite (K6K) or montmorillonite (K6M) or the adjustment of the C/N ratio of the soils from 23/1 to 10/1 with NH4NO3 eliminated the inhibition of Aspergillus niger by Serratia marcescens, regardless of whether the fungus and bacterium were inoculated into the same or separate sites in the soils. The adjustment of the C/N ratio to 15/1 or of the C/P ratio from 1,000/1 to 100/1 with KH2PO4 did not eliminate the antagonism. However, with the higher glucose and NH4NO3 amendments, S. marcescens died out in the K and K6K (but not in the K6M) soils, apparently due to reductions in pH that resulted from the increased metabolism induced by added nutrients. In soils amended with CaCO3, S. marcescens did not die out, but the inhibition of A. niger by S. marcescens or Agrobacterium radiobacter was eliminated or reduced by the addition of glucose, but not of NH4NO3, and was influenced by the clay mineralogy and pH of the soils. When NH4NO3 was added to the soils adjusted with CaCO3 to pH values above 6.0, growth of A. niger was inhibited, regardless of whether bacteria were present or not, as a result of the volatilization of NH3. Bacillus cereus and another species of Bacillus did not inhibit A. niger under any of the environmental conditions. There was a direct correlation between the degree of inhibition and the rate of glucose utilization by the various bacteria, indicating that the antagonism of A. niger by some bacteria in soil was the result primarily of a competition for carbon and that this competition was influenced by other environmental factors, such as pH and clay mineralogy.
Galactic Triggering of Periodic Comet Showers and Mass Extinctions on Earth

Geological and astronomical studies can be synthesized to provide a hypothesis connecting the history of life on Earth with the dynamics of the Galaxy. Impacts of comets and asteroids on the Earth are believed to be capable of causing severe environmental effects and mass extinction of life. The size-frequency distribution of earth-crossing objects is in general agreement with the hypothesis that collisions with large bodies (mostly comets) ≳ 5 km in diameter could explain the record of ~ 25 extinction episodes in the last 545 Ma. The five major mass extinctions could be related to impacts of the largest comets ( ≳ 10 km in diameter). Several of these extinction events have thus far been correlated or tentatively correlated with concurrent impact ejecta layers and/or large impact craters, suggesting times of increased flux of impactors. Smaller comet and asteroid impacts might be responsible for lesser global and sub-global faunal and floral turnover events.
Gain-adaptive vector quantization for medium-rate speech coding

A class of adaptive vector quantizers (VQs) that can dynamically adjust the 'gain' of codevectors according to the input signal level is introduced. The encoder uses a gain estimator to determine a suitable normalization of each input vector prior to VQ coding. The normalized vectors have reduced dynamic range and can then be more efficiently coded. At the receiver, the VQ decoder output is multiplied by the estimated gain. Both forward and backward adaptation are considered and several different gain estimators are compared and evaluated. An approach to optimizing the design of gain estimators is introduced. Some of the more obvious techniques for achieving gain adaptation are substantially less effective than the use of optimized gain estimators. A novel design technique that is needed to generate the appropriate gain-normalized codebook for the vector quantizer is introduced. Experimental results show that a significant gain in segmental SNR can be obtained over nonadaptive VQ with a negligible increase in complexity.
Advising Experiences and Needs of Online, Cohort, and Classroom Adult Graduate Learners.

Although a majority of graduate students fall under the definition of adult learners (over age 24 years), many traditional institutions do not offer advising specific to them, nor do they recognize...
Maximally Disjoint Solutions of the Set Covering Problem

This paper is concerned with finding two solutions of a set covering problem that have a minimum number of variables in common. We show that this problem is NP-complete, even in the case where we are only interested in completely disjoint solutions. We describe three heuristic methods based on the standard greedy algorithm for set covering problems. Two of these algorithms find the solutions sequentially, while the third finds them simultaneously. A local search method for reducing the overlap of the two given solutions is then described. This method involves the solution of a reduced set covering problem. Finally, extensive computational tests are given demonstrating the nature of these algorithms. These tests are carried out both on randomly generated problems and on problems found in the literature.
Image-guided radiation therapy in lymphoma management

Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) is a process of incorporating imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Positron emission tomography (PET), and ultrasound (US) during radiation therapy (RT) to improve treatment accuracy. It allows real-time or near real-time visualization of anatomical information to ensure that the target is in its position as planned. In addition, changes in tumor volume and location due to organ motion during treatment can be also compensated. IGRT has been gaining popularity and acceptance rapidly in RT over the past 10 years, and many published data have been reported on prostate, bladder, head and neck, and gastrointestinal cancers. However, the role of IGRT in lymphoma management is not well defined as there are only very limited published data currently available. The scope of this paper is to review the current use of IGRT in the management of lymphoma. The technical and clinical aspects of IGRT, lymphoma imaging studies, the current role of IGRT in lymphoma management and future directions will be discussed.
Microstructural evolution during epitaxial growth of Ag on vicinal InP(100) surfaces

The initial stages of epitaxial growth of Ag on InP(100) have been studied using in situ and ex situ electron microscopy. Vicinal InP substrates were cleaned by heating to about 400 °C in ultrahigh vacuum. Silver was deposited at substrate temperatures between 350 and 500 °C. The microstructural evolution was monitored for coverage between 0.5 and 8 monolayers using in situ high spatial resolution secondary electron microscopy and ex situ plan‐view transmission electron microscopy (TEM). At sub‐monolayer coverage, uniform, faceted islands of Ag are formed with edges aligned along InP 〈110〉 directions. Continued deposition leads to growth of preexisting islands followed by coalescence. During coalescence, a reduction in the island height, an increase in island‐substrate interfacial area, and a disappearance of faceting are observed. At high coverage, during high temperature (450 °C) growth, the formation of faceted pits are observed. For higher temperatures (500 °C) and at low coverage, islands transform f...
Winners and Losers in Health Insurance: Access and Type of Coverage for Women in Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Partnerships

Using data from the American Community Survey, 2009 (N = 580,754), we compared rates of health insurance coverage and types of coverage used between women in same-sex and opposite-sex partnerships. This large, national dataset also allowed us to investigate regional variation in insurance coverage for women in same-sex partnerships by comparing “gay-tolerant” states versus other states. Multivariate analyses revealed that women in same-sex partnerships consistently had lower rates of health insurance coverage than married women in opposite-sex partnerships, but always more than unmarried women in opposite-sex partnerships. We also found that state-level variation in gay tolerance did not contribute to the access or type of coverage used by women in same-sex partnerships.
Pathogenesis of E. coli hemolytic uremic syndrome

An Emerging Infectious Disease It is estimated that E. coli 0157:H7 is responsible for tens of thousands of cases of disease per year in the U.S. (3). This pathogen is the cause of diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) throughout temperate regions of the world, including Canada, northern Europe, Japan, South Africa, and South America. Consumption of E. coli-contaminated food, especially undercooked ground meat, is the primary cause of this disease, although the organism has also been transmitted in water, unpasteurized milk, and cider, all presumably contaminated with bovine feces (2,3). E. coli 0157:H7 resides as a non-pathogen within a bovine reservoir. In addition, person-to-person transmission of E. coli 0157:H7 is a well-documented occurrence in households and day-care centers. It is believed that E. coli 0157X7 may have first appeared in the environment when E. coli 055:H7, an infrequent cause of infant mild diarrhea, acquired some new features including the phageencoded Shiga-like toxins (10).
The transcendental Risch differential equation

We present a new rational algorithm for solving Risch differential equations in towers oftranscendental elementary extensions. In contrast to a recent algorithm of Davenport we do not require a progressive reduction of the denominators involved, but use weak normality to obtain a formula for the denominator of a possible solution. Implementation timings show this approach to be faster than a Hermite-like reduction.
Broadband gas isolator for high-power CO 2 lasers

The design and evaluation of an efficient multicomponent, nonlinear gas isolator are described. Such an SF6-based isolator has been used successfully to suppress parastic oscillations in a large-aperture CO2 laser system.
Chemical changes in carbon Nanotube-Nickel/Nickel Oxide Core/Shell nanoparticle heterostructures treated at high temperatures

Heterostructures composed of carbon nanotube (CNT) coated with Ni/NiO core/shell nanoparticles (denoted as CNC heterostructures) were synthesized in a wet-chemistry and single-step synthesis route involving direct nucleation of nanoparticles on CNT surface. Two different aspects of CNC heterostructures were studied here. First, it was observed that the nanoparticle coatings were more uniform on the as-produced and non-purified CNTs compared to purified (or acid treated) CNTs. These heterostructures were characterized using electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Second, thermal stability of CNC heterostructures was studied by annealing them in N{sub 2}-rich (O{sub 2}-lean) environment between 125 and 750 deg. C for 1 h. A detailed X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy analysis was performed to evaluate the effects of annealing temperatures on chemical composition, phases, and stability of the heterostructures. It was observed that the CNTs present in the heterostructures completely decomposed and core Ni nanoparticle oxidized significantly between 600 and 750 deg. C. - Research Highlights: {yields} Heterostructures composed of CNTs coated with Ni/NiO core/shell nanoparticles. {yields} Poor nanoparticle coverage on purified CNT surface compared to non-purified CNTs. {yields} CNTs in heterostructures decompose between 600 and 750 deg. C in N{sub 2}-rich atmosphere. {yields} Metallic species in heterostructuresmore » were oxidized at higher temperatures.« less
Theoretical calculations of pressure broadening coefficients for H2O perturbed by Hydrogen or helium gas

Halfwidths were calculated for H2O with H2 as a broadening gas and were estimated for He as the broadening species. The calculations used the model of Robert and Bonamy with parabolic trajectories and all relevant terms in the interaction potential. The calculations investigated the dependence of the halfwidth on the order of the atom-atom expansion, the rotational states, and the temperature in the range 200 to 400K. Finally, calculations were performed for many transitions of interest in the 5 micrometer window region of the spectrum. The resulting data will be supplied to Dr. R. Freedman for extracting accurate water mixing ratios from the analysis of the thermal channels for the Net Flux experiment on the Galileo probe.
Reappraisal of endoscopic sphincterotomy for post-traumatic neurogenic bladder: a prospective study.

AbstractPurpose: We assessed the results of endoscopic sphincterotomy in patients with detrusorsphincter dyssynergia secondary to spinal cord injury.Materials and Methods: A prospective study was done of 92 patients with a mean followup of 20.6 months.Results: The morbidity rate was 10.9 percent. Results demonstrated objective (assessed by the decrease in voiding pressure) and subjective (expressed by the patient) improvement in quality of micturition in 83.7 percent and 73 percent of the cases, respectively. Subjective autonomic dysreflexia resolved in 93.2 percent of the cases.Conclusions: Sphincterotomy is a useful and effective therapeutic method for neurogenic bladder when all available pharmacological treatments and clean intermittent catheterization have failed.
Radiation enhancement by biochemical modulation and 5-fluorouracil

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of biochemical modulation by N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartate (PALA), 6-methylmercaptopurine riboside (MMPR), and 6-aminonicotinamide (6AN), (PALA + MMPR + 6AN is referred to as PMA) on tumor radiosensitivity, and evaluate the efficacy of the addition of 5-FU to the PMA + XRT regimen for enhancement of tumor response to radiation without exceeding normal tissue tolerance. Methods and Materials: A first generation transplant of the CD8FI spontaneous murine tumor was studied. 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to determine the interval between chemotherapy and radiation based on energy depletion. PMA was administered three times with fractionated XRT (15 Gy x 3 = 45 Gy) on days 1, 10, or 11, and 21. The addition of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) at maximum tolerated doses was evaluated and intergroup comparisons were made for tumor growth delay, local control, and disproportionate normal tissue damage. Results: The combination of 5-FU + XRT induced a tumor doubling time of 75.4 days (67.4-84.4) (p 123.2 days (109.4-138.7), (p 170.8 days (150.7-193.7) (p = 0.0002 compared to PMA + XRT). The doubling time for the PMA + XRT cohort and the PMA + 5-FU + XRT cohorts are underestimates since some of the tumor bearing mice continue to have a complete regression (CR). The CR rate (measured on day 250) for the PMA + 5-FU + XRT cohort was 31.7% compared to 0% for 5-FU + XRT and 10% for PMA + XRT (p < 0.05). Mortality and local effects induced by radiation in the PMA + XRT group were comparable to the toxicity for the PMA + 5-FU + XRT group indicating that the addition of 5-FU at 75 mg/kg to PMA + XRT was tolerated and induced both greater CR and tumor doubling times than XRT alone, 5-FU (150 mg/kg) + XRT, or PMA + XRT. Conclusions: PMA is superior to 5-FU as a radiosensitizer in the schedule studied. The combination of PMA + 5-FU further enhanced XRT without exceeding normal tissue tolerance.
The PC strip detector: towards a large scale gas microstrip counter

Abstract A novel type of radiation detector based on the gas microstrip technique has been built and tested. The new devices are produced with standard printed circuit board technology and are therefore more robust, much less expensive, and can be fabricated in larger sizes than with the original technique. Anode spacings as small as 660 μm have been tested and successfully operated at gains over 103.
Unusually Long Lifetime of Excited Charge-Transfer State of All-Inorganic Binuclear TiOMnII Unit Anchored on Silica Nanopore Surface

The lifetime and back electron transfer kinetics of an all-inorganic, oxo-bridged heterobinuclear TiIVOMnII group covalently anchored on a silica nanopore surface was investigated by transient optical absorption spectroscopy. Mesoporous silica particles of type SBA-15 loaded with TiOMn sites (1 wt %) were suspended in an index matching liquid for performing spectroscopy in transmission mode. Upon excitation of the TiIVOMnII → TiIIIOMnIII metal-to-metal charge-transfer transition (MMCT) by a visible laser pulse of 8 ns duration, a transient bleach was observed whose intensity versus pump wavelength dependence agreed with the MMCT absorption profile. The decay kinetics is well described by a superposition of first-order rates with a mean time constant of 1.8 ± 0.3 μs (room temperature). The dispersion of γ = 2 ± 0.2 (Albery model) is attributed to variations in the local silica coordination environment reflecting the disordered, amorphous nature of the silica nanopore surface. The result constitutes the fir...
Dental erosion due to wine consumption.

ABSTRACT Background Dental erosions can result from numerous causes, but extrinsic dietary factors are the most common. Because of wine's acidity, it may have a deleterious effect on teeth. Its use must be considered during an evaluation of erosive dental changes. Case Description The author examined a 56-year-old woman because her referring dentist had noted extensive erosive loss of tooth structure, mainly enamel. The author eliminated the usual causes of dental erosion. It was only after a detailed history was obtained and dietary investigation was undertaken that the author determined that the amount, manner and timing of the patient's wine drinking was the cause of the problem. Clinical Implications Dentists should be aware that wine could be a cause of dental erosion. Early recognition negates progressive dental damage with its need for extensive dental restoration. Furthermore, because patients with wine-incited dental erosions consume large volumes of wine with its significant alcohol content, medical referral by the dentist for a liver assessment is indicated.
Restorative effects of spermine on oxidative phosphorylation and respiration in heat-aged mitochondria.

Abstract Samples of fresh rat liver mitochondria were heat-aged in 37°C isotonic sucrose sufficiently to cause approximately a 30% reduction in the ADP:O ratio when using beta-hydroxybutyric acid as substrate. Subsequent polarographic assays showed spermine concentrations between 0.0157 and 0.250 mM to cause a striking linear restoration of the ADP:O ratio. Spermine also improves both the respiratory rate during the conversion of ADP to ATP and the respiratory control ratio of heat-aged mitochondria. The effects of spermine on the respiratory rate after ADP to ATP conversion vary depending on the spermine concentration. Spermine has no significant effects on mitochondrial respiration prior to addition of ADP.
A State–Time Formulation for Dynamic Systems Simulation Using Massively Parallel Computing Resources

A novel state–time (ST) formulation for the simulation and analysis of the dynamic behavior of complex multibody systems is presented. The method proposes a computationally fast algorithm which is better able to fully exploit anticipated future immensely parallel computing resources (e.g. pecta flop machines and beyond) than existing multibody algorithms. The intent of the algorithm is to yield significantly reduced simulation turnaround time in situations where massively parallel (>106 processors) computing resources are available to it. It is shown that as a consequence of such a ST discretization scheme, the system of governing equations yields a set of loosely coupled nonlinear algebraic equations which is at most quadratic in the ST variables, with significant linear components. As such, it is well-suited in structure for nonlinear algebraic equations solvers. The linear-quadratic (LQ) structure of these equations further permits the use of a special solution scheme, which is expected to yield superior performance relative to more traditional Newton–Raphson type schemes when applied to large general systems.