cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Brønsted Base‐Mediated Regio‐ and Stereoselective trans‐Silaboration of Propargylamides: Access to 1,2‐Vinylborasilanes

A facile method for the preparation of β-boryl-α-silyl aryl acrylamides using phenyllithium, dimethylphenylsilylpinacolborane, and propargylamides is reported. A key feature of this transition metal-free reaction is the Bronsted base deprotonation of aryl secondary propargylamide to produce a Lewis base that activates the B-Si bond, which is followed by a sequential intramolecular α-silylation-trans-β-borylation. The reaction proceeds in complete regio- and stereoselectivity. A wide variety of N- and aryl-substituted propargylamides afford trans-1,2-vinylborasilanes in high yield. The vicinal borasilane products undergo a variety of subsequent chemoselective transformations.
Modeling Corrosion Kinetics of Zirconium Alloys in Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA)

Correctly predicting the mechanical behavior of zirconium fuel cladding during a LOCA transient is critical for nuclear safety analysis as the fuel rod needs to maintain its coolable geometry throughout the LOCA sequence. A physically-based zirconium alloy corrosion model called the Coupled Current Charge Compensation (C4) is developed. The model calculates the coupling of oxygen, electron and hydrogen currents and predicts the oxide, oxygen-stabilized \( \alpha \)-Zr and prior-\( \beta \)-Zr layers kinetics as well as the oxygen concentration profiles during a LOCA scenario. The results obtained during isothermal conditions are compared to experimental data for validation. Future developments of the C4 model include an implementation into the nuclear performance code BISON, which currently does not provide a physical description of the oxygen and hydrogen concentration profiles in the cladding. Thanks to the C4 implementation into BISON, structural integrity of the fuel cladding following a LOCA event can be assessed.
Other Proliferative Disorders of the Skin

Manifestations of mastocytosis and Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) range from relatively benign cutaneous proliferations of mast cells and histiocytes, respectively, to severe, life-threatening multi-organ disease. This chapter will address each condition’s pathogenesis, natural history, clinical features, treatments, and potential complications—essential information for medical professionals caring for children. Both mastocytosis and LCH are rare disorders, and medical professionals must be prepared to appropriately counsel and refer patients to appropriate specialists to prevent serious systemic complications.
Stories of Migration: Passing Through, Crossing Over, and Decolonial Transgressing in Academyland

In this chapter the author draws on Black women’s storytelling/testimony, as well as Anzaldua’s conceptions of borderlands and border-crossing to describe her experiences as a Southern Black woman pedagogue in the academy. Using imaginative and creative form, she explores issues of home and not-belonging. Woven into these explorations is an examination of the multiple locations that shape her pedagogical and curricular practice.
Mean-Field Stabilization of Markov Chain Models for Robotic Swarms: Computational Approaches and Experimental Results

In this letter, we present two computational approaches for synthesizing decentralized density-feedback laws that asymptotically stabilize a strictly positive target equilibrium distribution of a swarm of agents among a set of states. The agents’ states evolve according to a continuous-time Markov chain on a bidirected graph, and the density-feedback laws are designed to prevent the agents from switching between states at equilibrium. First, we use classical linear matrix inequality (LMI)-based tools to synthesize linear feedback laws that (locally) exponentially stabilize the desired equilibrium distribution of the corresponding mean-field model. Since these feedback laws violate positivity constraints on the control inputs, we construct rational feedback laws that respect these constraints and have the same stabilizing properties as the original feedback laws. Next, we present a sum-of-squares (SOS)-based approach to constructing polynomial feedback laws that globally stabilize an equilibrium distribution and also satisfy the positivity constraints. We validate the effectiveness of these control laws through numerical simulations with different agent populations and graph sizes and through multirobot experiments on spatial redistribution among four regions.
The microbiology of infected pancreatic necrosis in the era of minimally invasive therapy

We aimed to determine the microbiology of infected walled-off pancreatic necrosis (WON) in an era of minimally invasive treatment, since current knowledge is based on surgical specimens performed over two decades ago. We retrospectively analyzed a prospectively maintained database of patients who were treated for symptomatic WON using combined endoscopic and percutaneous drainage between 2008 and 2017. Aspirates from WON at initial treatment were evaluated. One hundred eighty-two patients were included with a mean age of 56 of whom 67% were male. Culture results were obtained at a median of 45 days from onset of acute pancreatitis of which 41% were infected. Candida spp. accounted for 27%; yet, multidrug-resistant organisms were found in only five patients. Approximately 64% were transferred to our institution for continuation of care. Of those, 55% were infected, most frequently with Candida spp., Enterococcus spp., and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. Patients seen and admitted initially at our institution had milder forms of pancreatitis, fewer comorbidities, and 85% had symptomatic sterile WON. Empiric antibiotic use successfully predicted infection 70% of the time. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that elderly age, severity of pancreatitis, and prior use of antibiotics were indicators of infection. Necrotic pancreatic tissue remains sterile in the majority of cases treated with minimally invasive therapy, enabling judicious selection of antibiotics. Candida and Enterococcus spp. were common. Patients at highest risk for infection were previously treated with antibiotics and those transferred from outside institutions.
Brief Commentary: Confusing Treatment Guidelines for Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

This commentary was selected for publication from among several submitted in response to a call for readers' perspectives on treatment targets for type 2 diabetes.
Mathematical Modeling of Urea Transport in the Kidney

Mathematical modeling techniques have been useful in providing insights into biological systems, including the kidney. This article considers some of the mathematical models that concern urea transport in the kidney. Modeling simulations have been conducted to investigate, in the context of urea cycling and urine concentration, the effects of hypothetical active urea secretion into pars recta. Simulation results suggest that active urea secretion induces a “urea-selective” improvement in urine concentrating ability. Mathematical models have also been built to study the implications of the highly structured organization of tubules and vessels in the renal medulla on urea sequestration and cycling. The goal of this article is to show how physiological problems can be formulated and studied mathematically, and how such models may provide insights into renal functions.
Hospital-Based Adverse Reaction and Drug Utilization Review in the United States

Based on data from intensive hospital-based adverse drug reaction monitoring, as many as 30% of hospitalized patients may have major or minor adverse drug reactions.1 There are 700,000,000 U.S. exposures to drugs in hospitals each year. One-quarter to one-third of all drug use in the United States is in hospitals, and 30% of new chemical entities approved by the FDA are intended primarily for hospital use. Finally, of the 51,000 adverse drug reactions received by FDA in 1988, only 1,300 were received from hospitals (personal communication from Gerald Faich, M.D., M.P.H., formally of the FDA). As such, considerable scientific information is potentially missing about the adverse effects of drugs used in hospitals. In addition, preventable adverse drug reactions represent a major issue regarding the quality of care in hospitals. For both of these reasons, the evaluation of the use and effects of drugs in hospitals is an important problem, and one which is not being addressed well. This paper will describe the experience of one particular university hospital, as an example of developments in hospital-based pharmacoepidemiology in the U.S. which are ultimately likely to have major impact worldwide.
The Arthropoda: A Phylogenetic Framework

Arthropoda, the best-known member of the clade Ecdysozoa, is a phylum of protostome animals, its closest relatives being Onychophora (velvet worms) and Tardigrada (water bears).
Jurors and Scientific Causation: What Don’t They Know, and What Can Be Done About it?

Past attempts to better equip jurors to comprehend scientific expert testimony have shown little success. This paper describes a new approach to training jurors to be better consumers of such evidence. In addition to assessing how well can jurors differentiate between valid and flawed experimental research when that research is presented through expert testimony in a civil trial, we describe an experiment that tests the efficacy of a new educational intervention designed to enable jurors to more capably evaluate causal scientific research. The intervention, which is brief, not case-specific, and transportable into trials of other causal issues, teaches jurors to understand and identify the three requisites of causal inference: temporal precedence, co-variation, non-spuriousness. Using 182 adult citizens as jurors, in a fairly realistic videotaped mock trial we presented a toxic tort trial in which the defendant’s product is alleged to cause a lung disease. The critical evidence is a study, presented by an expert, which tests that relationship through either a properly designed experiment or one in which one or another of the key elements of causal inference is absent. Consistent with previous researchers’ findings, untrained jurors were unable to distinguish the well designed experiment from any of the defectively designed experiments. However, trained jurors were better able to assess the quality of the research, and these more accurate assessments were reflected in their verdicts.
Setting the Stage for Modern Christianity

Christianity emerged two millennia ago, as the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth developed and codified a set of beliefs, built around Jesus’s life, teachings, death and reported resurrection. Over a period of several centuries, early Christian leaders determined which books and other writings would be included in what would eventually be known as the Roman Catholic Bible. By the end of the fourth century, C. E., the contents of the Roman Catholic Old and New Testaments had been canonized.
Food for Thought: A Randomized Trial of Food Insecurity Screening in the Emergency Department.

Abstract Background Despite the growing interest in screening for food insecurity in the clinical setting, little evidence exists regarding screening formats that maximize disclosure and caregiver comfort. Methods In this randomized trial, we asked English-speaking adult caregivers of pediatric patients in the emergency department at an urban, freestanding children's hospital to complete a validated, 2-question screen for food insecurity. Respondents were assigned via block randomization to complete the survey by either verbal interview or electronic tablet. Caregivers reported the perceived importance of the screening questions, comfort level with screening in the emergency department or in their child's primary care site, and their preferred screening modality. Results Of the 1818 participants, 20.6% screened positive for food insecurity. There was a significantly higher rate of reported food insecurity for those screened by tablet (23.6%) compared to those screened verbally (17.7%) (P = .002). Of those who had a preference of screening modality, 83.2% of all participants and 84.5% of patients reporting food insecurity preferred the tablet-based screen over verbal interview. Overall, more participants reported comfort completing the screen in the emergency department compared to their child's doctor's office; however, comfort in both of these setting was rated highly (86.1% vs 80.2%; P Conclusions Although both verbal interview and tablet-based screening modalities were effective in identifying food insecurity, tablet-based screening had a higher disclosure rate and was the participants’ preferred screening method. There is a high level of comfort with screening regardless of clinical setting; it is possible that an added level of anonymity in the emergency department enhanced participants’ comfort levels.
Stability of antioxidant vitamins in whole human blood during overnight storage at 4°C and frozen storage up to 6 months

Abstract. To determine optimal conditions for blood collection during clinical trials, where sample handling logistics might preclude prompt separation of erythrocytes from plasma, healthy subjects...
Effect of wind turbine nacelle on turbine wake dynamics in large wind farms

Wake meandering, a phenomenon of large-scale lateral oscillation of the wake, has significant effects on the velocity deficit and turbulence intensities in wind turbine wakes. Previous studies of a single turbine (Kang et al., J. Fluid. Mech., vol. 774, 2014, pp. 374–403; Foti et al., Phys. Rev. Fluids, vol. 1 (4), 2016, 044407) have shown that the turbine nacelle induces large-scale coherent structures in the near field that can have a significant effect on wake meandering. However, whether nacelle-induced coherent structures at the turbine scale impact the emergent turbine wake dynamics at the wind farm scale is still an open question of both fundamental and practical significance. We take on this question by carrying out large-eddy simulation of atmospheric turbulent flow over the Horns Rev wind farm using actuator surface parameterisations of the turbines without and with the turbine nacelle taken into account. While the computed mean turbine power output and the mean velocity field away from the nacelle wake are similar for both cases, considerable differences are found in the turbine power fluctuations and turbulence intensities. Furthermore, wake meandering amplitude and area defined by wake meanders, which indicates the turbine wake unsteadiness, are larger for the simulations with the turbine nacelle. The wake influenced area computed from the velocity deficit profiles, which describes the spanwise extent of the turbine wakes, and the spanwise growth rate, on the other hand, are smaller for some rows in the simulation with the nacelle model. Our work shows that incorporating the nacelle model in wind farm scale simulations is critical for accurate predictions of quantities that affect the wind farm levelised cost of energy, such as the dynamics of wake meandering and the dynamic loads on downwind turbines.
Unclassified drug overdose deaths in the opioid crisis: emerging patterns of inequity.

Objective Examine whether individual, geographic, and economic phenotypes predict missing data on specific drug involvement in overdose deaths, manifesting inequities in overdose mortality data, which is a key data source used in measuring the opioid epidemic. Materials and methods We combined national data sources (mortality, demographic, economic, and geographic) from 2014-2016 in a multi-method analysis of missing drug classification in the overdose mortality records (as defined by the use of ICD-10 T50.9 on death certificates). We examined individual disparities in decedent-level multivariate logistic regression models, geographic disparities in spatial analysis (heat maps), and economic disparities in a combination of temporal trend analyses (descriptive statistics) and both decedent- and county-level multivariate logistic regression models. Results Our analyses consistently found higher rates of unclassified overdoses in decedents of female gender, White race, non-Hispanic ethnicity, with college education, aged 30-59 and those from poorer counties. Despite the fact that unclassified drug overdose death rates have reduced over time, gaps persist between the richest and poorest counties. There are also striking geographic differences both across and within states. Discussion Given the essential role of mortality data in measuring the scale of the opioid epidemic, it is important to understand the individual and community inequities underlying the missing data on specific drug involvements. Knowledge of these inequities could enhance our understanding of the opioid crisis and inform data-driven interventions and policies with more equitable resource allocations. Conclusion Multiple individual, geographic, and economic disparities underlie unclassified overdose deaths, with important implications for public health informatics and addressing the opioid crisis.
High-power biofuel cells based on three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotube micro-arrays

Miniaturized enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs) with high cell performance are promising candidates for powering next-generation implantable medical devices. Here, we report a closed-loop theoretical and experimental study on a micro EBFC system based on three-dimensional (3D) carbon micropillar arrays coated with reduced graphene oxide (rGO), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and a biocatalyst composite. The fabrication process of this system combines the top–down carbon microelectromechanical systems (C-MEMS) technique to fabricate the 3D micropillar array platform and bottom–up electrophoretic deposition (EPD) to deposit the reduced rGO/CNTs/enzyme onto the electrode surface. The Michaelis–Menten constant KM of 2.1 mM for glucose oxidase (GOx) on the rGO/CNTs/GOx bioanode was obtained, which is close to the KM for free GOx. Theoretical modelling of the rGO/CNT-based EBFC system via finite element analysis was conducted to predict the cell performance and efficiency. The experimental results from the developed rGO/CNT-based EBFC showed a maximum power density of 196.04 µW cm−2 at 0.61 V, which is approximately twice the maximum power density obtained from the rGO-based EBFC. The experimental power density is noted to be 71.1% of the theoretical value. A two-step process enables the fabrication of miniaturized enzymatic biofuel cells composed of nanomaterials for possible use as power sources in implantable devices. There is growing need for self-powered implanted medical devices. Enzymatic biofuel cells are attractive for this since they rely on bio-compatible and non-toxic materials. However, improvements in power cell density are needed, and agglomeration of nanomaterials on existing devices limits performance. Now, Yin Song and Chunlei Wang from Florida International University report a new process: top–down photolithography creates a high surface area micropillar array, followed by deposition of reduced graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes and enzymes onto the pillars. A maximum power density of 196.04 µW cm−2 at 0.61 V is achieved in the resulting devices, attributed to the combination of nanomaterials and conformal coating of the micropillars.
Who Controls Your Energy? On the (In)Security of Residential Battery Energy Storage Systems

The home Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) industry is on the rise [1]. Newer models are built as Internet-connected devices that offer new service models for customers and manufacturers alike. This approach, as can be observed from emerging Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the last decade, brings new challenges and issues with it. First of all, threats to user privacy and botnet attacks come to mind. More importantly, there are now substantial advances to put flexible BESS in more critical roles in the power grid and let them provide primary balancing power in order to compensate fluctuations [2].However, while the safety properties of such systems are currently being explored by researchers [3], their security is mostly unexplored and unregulated. To explore the state of security of residential BESS, we systematically analyzed commercially available storage systems from ten different manufacturers, who have a combined market share of more than 60 percent in Germany [4]. We show that all of them have security issues and four of them contain severe security flaws. In order to exemplify the deficit in the industry to properly secure Internet connected devices, we present three attacks in detail.
Structures reveal gatekeeping of the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter by MICU1-MICU2.

The mitochondrial calcium uniporter is a Ca2+-gated ion channel complex that controls mitochondrial Ca2+ entry and regulates cell metabolism. MCU and EMRE form the channel while Ca2+-dependent regulation is conferred by MICU1 and MICU2 through an enigmatic process. We present a cryo-EM structure of an MCU-EMRE-MICU1-MICU2 holocomplex comprising MCU and EMRE subunits from the beetle Tribolium castaneum in complex with a human MICU1-MICU2 heterodimer at 3.3 A resolution. With analogy to how neuronal channels are blocked by protein toxins, a uniporter interaction domain on MICU1 binds to a channel receptor site comprising MCU and EMRE subunits to inhibit ion flow under resting Ca2+ conditions. A Ca2+-bound structure of MICU1-MICU2 at 3.1 A resolution indicates how Ca2+-dependent changes enable dynamic response to cytosolic Ca2+ signals.
Pharyngitis and Pharyngeal Space Infections

Pharyngeal infections are very common in patients of all ages. They are typically associated with a sore and swollen throat that makes it difficult for the patient to swallow. They may also be accompanied by fevers, swollen lymph nodes, cough, voice hoarseness, and classic symptoms of an upper respiratory infection such as rhinorrhea. The majority of these infections are benign and run a self-limited course, although they often cause patients significant discomfort. A small but still significant number of cases will be due to a more serious process, such as a deep neck space infection. It is important to recognize the clinical and radiographic differences between these patients and patients with simple pharyngitis and triage them appropriately. Failure to recognize and treat patients with more serious infections can have dire consequences and can lead to increased morbidity and mortality. It is also important to recognize that certain populations of patients will be more susceptible to atypical infections. Specific conditions, particularly those that lead to immunocompromise, should prompt the clinician to expand their differential and consider atypical causes of pharyngeal infections.
Bias Scheme Comparison for a Folding Image-Rejecting Microwave Photonic Link

A previously reported image-rejecting link can be operated in a number of alternate bias states to fold and downconvert several GHz of spectrum to a single intermediate frequency (IF) band while still rejecting image signals from opposite-sense sidebands. We expand the previous findings in this article, analytically and experimentally investigate some of these bias states, and explore their relative merits for different scenarios. While the bias state used in previous work results in the highest overall conversion gain, other states can have slightly better noise performance for the case when the link may not be input noise limited.
Combating the ‘Evils of Civilisation’: Recreational Physical Culture in Pre-Independence Ireland

This chapter examines the early rise of recreational physical culture in Ireland with reference to gymnasiums, sports hall and the outdoors. In doing so, the chapter sketches the growing Irish interest in lifting weights, moving one’s body, watching one’s diet and consuming exercise materials. This is achieved through the use of monographs, images, exercise magazines and consumer products. The chapter includes a historiographical explanation concerning physical culture’s emergence and combines it with primary research on leisure cultures up to 1921.
Quantitative signal properties from standardized MRIs correlate with multiple sclerosis disability.

Objective To enable use of clinical magnetic resonance images (MRIs) to quantify abnormalities in normal appearing (NA) white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) in multiple sclerosis (MS) and to determine associations with MS-related disability. Identification of these abnormalities heretofore has required specialized scans not routinely available in clinical practice. Methods We developed an analytic technique which normalizes image intensities based on an intensity atlas for quantification of WM and GM abnormalities in standardized MRIs obtained with clinical sequences. Gaussian mixture modeling is applied to summarize image intensity distributions from T1-weighted and 3D-FLAIR (T2-weighted) images from 5010 participants enrolled in a multinational database of MS patients which collected imaging, neuroperformance and disability measures. Results Intensity distribution metrics distinguished MS patients from control participants based on normalized non-lesional signal differences. This analysis revealed non-lesional differences between relapsing MS versus progressive MS subtypes. Further, the correlation between our non-lesional measures and disability was approximately three times greater than that between total lesion volume and disability, measured using the patient derived disease steps. Multivariate modeling revealed that measures of extra-lesional tissue integrity and atrophy contribute uniquely, and approximately equally, to the prediction of MS-related disability. Interpretation These results support the notion that non-lesional abnormalities correlate more strongly with MS-related disability than lesion burden and provide new insight into the basis of abnormalities in NA WM. Non-lesional abnormalities distinguish relapsing from progressive MS but do not distinguish between progressive subtypes suggesting a common progressive pathophysiology. Image intensity parameters and existing biomarkers each independently correlate with MS-related disability.
Studying the timing of discrete musical air gestures

Motion-sensing technologies enable musical interfaces where a performer controls sound by moving his or her body "in the air," without touching a physical object. These interfaces work well when the movement and resulting sound are smooth and continuous, but it has proven difficult to design air instruments that trigger discrete sounds with precision that feels natural to performers and allows them to play rhythmically complex music. This article presents a study of "air drumming" gestures. Participants performed drumming-like gestures in time to simple recorded rhythms. These movements were recorded and examined to look for aspects of the movement that correspond to the timing of the sounds. The goal is to understand what we do with our bodies when we gesture in the air to trigger a sound. Two movement features of the hand are studied: Hits are the moment where the hand changes direction at the end of the striking gesture, and acceleration peaks are sharp peaks in magnitude acceleration as the hand decelerates. Hits and acceleration peaks are also detected for the movement of the wrist. It is found that the acceleration peaks are more useful than the hits because they occur earlier and with less variability, and their timing changes less with note speed. It is also shown that timing differences between hand and wrist features can be used to group performers into different movement styles.
Changes in intendedness during pregnancy in a high-risk multiparous population.

Objectives: Our objectives were to determine whether pregnancy intendedness changes as the pregnancy progresses and, if so, in what direction. Methods: Intendedness questions similar to those used in the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth were administered in the second trimester of pregnancy (16–18 weeks) and again in the third trimester (30–32 weeks) to a population of 1223 low-income women who were medically at high risk. Information was also collected on characteristics identified in previous studies as being associated with intendedness. Changes in reported intendedness status were categorized as positive if the woman switched from unwanted to mistimed or intended or from mistimed to intended. Changes were categorized as negative if the woman switched from intended to mistimed or unwanted or from mistimed to unwanted. Results: Among the 436 women who reported an intended pregnancy at midpregnancy, 79.1% still reported the pregnancy as intended in late pregnancy, while 15.9% moved to mistimed and 6.4% to unwanted. Of the 601 women who reported a mistimed pregnancy in midpregnancy, 80.9% still reported it as mistimed in late pregnancy, with 13.9% switching to intended and 5.2% switching to unwanted. Of the 186 women who reported an unwanted pregnancy at midpregnancy, 62.9% remained unwanted, 30.7% switched to mistimed, and 6.4% switched to intended. Conclusions: This study indicates that intendedness is not fixed during pregnancy. Between the first and the second administration of the intendedness questions, 275 (22.5%) of the women changed their responses and the larger percentage (12.5%) changed them in a positive direction. These findings have both policy and clinical implications.
Proinflammatory cytokines induce RANTES and MCP-1 synthesis in human corneal keratocytes but not in corneal epithelial cells. Beta-chemokine synthesis in corneal cells.

Purpose. To determine whether human corneal epithelial cells and keratocytes produce chemokines regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) protein and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) after exposure to the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-la (ILla) and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a). Methods. Pure cultures of human corneal epithelial cells and keratocytes were exposed to increasing concentrations of either human recombinant IL-la or TNF-a. At selected time intervals after exposure, culture supernatants were removed and assayed for RANTES and MCP-1 by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Total RNA was extracted from the cell cultures, and steady state mRNA levels were measured by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Results. Exposure of keratocytes to either IL-la or TNF-a resulted in > 100-fold increases in RANTES protein secretion and > 150-fold increases in MCP-1 protein secretion, as well as in rapid and sustained increases in intracellular levels of their corresponding mRNAs. Exposure of corneal epithelial cells to IL-la and TNF-a did not stimulate MCP-1 secretion nor intracellular levels of MCP-1 mRNA. Epithelial cells also failed to secrete RANTES protein even though the two inducing cytokines did stimulate increased expression of RANTES mRNA. Conclusions. Theses results suggest that RANTES and MCP-1 gene expression in human keratocytes differs markedly from their expression in human corneal epithelial cells and that the stroma of the cornea may be more important than the epithelium in recruitment of mononuclear leukocytes responsible for cell-mediated immunity. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1996; 37:987-996.
Asymptotic Optimality of Certain Multihypothesis Sequential Tests: Non‐i.i.d. Case

It is known that certain combinations of one‐sided sequential probability ratio tests are asymptotically optimal (relative to the expected sample size) for problems involving a finite number of possible distributions when probabilities of errors tend to zero and observations are independent and identically distributed according to one of the underlying distributions. The objective of this paper is to show that two specific constructions of sequential tests asymptotically minimize not only the expected time of observation but also any positive moment of the stopping time distribution under fairly general conditions for a finite number of simple hypotheses. This result appears to be true for general statistical models which include correlated and non‐homogeneous processes observed either in discrete or continuous time. For statistical problems with nuisance parameters, we consider invariant sequential tests and show that the same result is valid for this case. Finally, we apply general results to the solution of several particular problems such as a multi‐sample slippage problem for correlated Gaussian processes and for statistical models with nuisance parameters.
The Liquid Phase Heterogeneous Catalysis of the Ortho-Parahydrogen Conversion at Low Temperatures under Pressure

The ortho-para conversion in liquid hydrogen was investigated for several commercially and laboratory prepared catalysts. The static method was used in these investigations with 25 cc of liquid hydrogen and approximately 33 cc of catalysts being used for each rate determination. The rate of ortho-para conversion was found to be approximately zero order for all these catalysts. For a series of chromic oxide or ferric oxide catalysts on an alumina carrier prepared in this laboratory it was found that the rate of conversion was first order with respect to the concentration of the catalyzing ion on the surface. The rate increase caused by substituting the ferric oxide for chromic oxide was proportional to the squares of the magnetic moments of the Fe+3 and Cr+3 ions. Chromia-alumina catalysts prepared in this laboratory containing 1 percent to 2 percent Cr2O3 were faster than commercial catalysts containing 20 percent to 35 percent Cr2O3.
An Adventure in Software Process Improvement

Software process improvement concepts, applied in an effort to increase productivity and quality in industry, are also needed in the academic environment. By teaching process improvement we can prepare students for the future and simultaneously improve our own understanding and teaching of the software engineering.
Lipid Oxidation, Secondary Reactions, and Water Activity of Foods

Water acts as an antioxidant at very low levels by decreasing the catalytic activity of metal catalysts, by promoting recombination (quenching) of free radicals, and by promoting nonenzymatic browning which causes production of active antioxidants. Hydration of lipid hydroperoxides, or their concentration at lipid-water interfaces, also changes the mechanism of hydroperoxide decomposition and reduces the rate of free-radical formation.
Self-care production experiences in elderly African Americans with hypertension and cognitive difficulty.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore self-care production experiences in older African Americans who, despite some cognitive dysfunction, were able to produce hypertension-related self-care behaviors or blood pressure control successfully. Data sources: Participants were 10 urban, community-dwelling older African Americans, 60-89 years of age, living in a Midwest region of the United States. A semi-structured interview was conducted in participants homes' using Kvale's “conversational discourse” approach. Oral recordings were transcribed and analyzed for themes and codes. Conclusions: Elders' experiences with the production of self-care were characterized by three themes: preparation, monitoring, and evaluation. Self-care production was found to be cognitively challenging consistent with the finding that 60% of the participants had difficulty with a cognitive task requiring complex cognitive skills. This finding may explain why the production of self-care became a social phenomenon in which elders demonstrated resourcefulness in seeking assistance from surrounding support systems. Implications for practice: Nurse practitioners can support better health outcomes in older adults with hypertension by using valid and reliable measures for assessing complex cognitive skills, assessing individuals' progress in self-care production, and identifying individuals' use of social and professional supports to produce self-care.
Modular lattices and abelian categories

Abstract A concept of “abelian lattice” is defined by adding a certain existence axiom to the modular lattice axioms. From an abelian lattice L , a small abelian category A L can be constructed. The construction is based upon identification of specified elements of L as formal graphs of morphisms of A L . The objects of A L correspond to the intervals [ x , y ] for x ⊂ y in L . The subobject and quotient object lattices of [ x , y ] as an object of A L are isomorphic to the interval sublattice [ x , y ] of L . Two objects of A L are isomorphic if and only if the corresponding intervals are projective in L . The construction can be extended to a functor from the category of abelian lattices and lattice homomorphisms to the category of small abelian categories and exact functors. A method of constructing an abelian lattice from an abelian group is displayed. It is proved that a lattice can be embedded in an interval sublattice of an abelian lattice if and only if it can be embedded in the lattice of subgroups of some abelian group.
Spatially significant cluster detection

Abstract Cluster discovery techniques are a fundamental group of exploratory methods designed to identify areas exhibiting elevated levels of disease, risk, danger, etc. Given the intent of cluster detection, spatial structure plays an important role and must be taken into account appropriately if meaningful clusters are to be found. This paper discusses contiguity and the ways in which it is central to local clusters that may be of interest for planners, managers and policy makers. While spatial contiguity is widely considered an important condition of a cluster, most detection approaches employ a priori artificial structure, leading to disingenuous significance and unintended spatial biases that hinders meaningful discovery and interpretation. The basis for significance is reviewed, and methods for maximizing likelihood are detailed. An approach is presented for addressing spatial contiguity explicitly in cluster detection without the use of arbitrarily shaped scan windows. A case study using crime events within a major urban region is presented, with empirical results used to illustrate capabilities for identifying significant and meaningful clusters.
(A) Institutions on the Pacific Side of Canada and the United States: Introduction

In connection with the Oceanographic activities on the Pacific side of Canada and the United States, some account should be taken of the oceanographic program at the fifth Pacific Science Congress which was held under the auspices of the National Research Council of Canada in Victoria and Vancouver, B. C., June 1 to 14, 1933. There are given at this Congress about one hundred and fifty papers dealing with subjects definitely oceanographic or with subjects of significance for oceanographic research. Shortly after my return from the Congress about the end of June I prepared a “Report of oceanography at the Fifth Pacific Science Congress,” had it mimeographed, and distributed it to about two hundred persons. The papers presented at the Congress were classified under six heads: (1) General status of oceanographic research in the Pacific (2) sea-bottom configuration, hydrographic surveying, gravity-determinations, and the structure of the Earth's crust beneath the ocean-basins: (3) marine meteorology dynamical oceanography, and chemistry of sea-water; (4) biology; ( 5 ) fisheries; (6) fisheries technology. One of the communications is the Report of the International Committee on the Oceanography of the Pacific, which gives a comprehensive account of the work done on the oceanography of the Pacific between May 1929 and June 1933. It contains notes on the principal expeditions, plotting sea-surface temperatures, study of sea-bottom configuration, submarine earthquake-epicenters, marine bottom-deposit oceanographic activities according to the different countries, corals and coral reefs of the Pacific, and a catalog of the marine stations of the Pacific. This report in now in type and should be ready for distribution in the very near future. The other papers will also be published in the Proceedings of the Fifth Pacific Science Congress.
Focus on psychometrics the kappa statistic for establishing interrater reliability in the secondary analysis of qualitative clinical data

Analysis of extant clinical records is receiving increased emphasis in nursing investigations. Appropriate use of this approach to patient research requires careful attention to data management, including assessment of reliability. Percent agreement, phi, and Kappa all serve as estimates of interrater reliability in the analysis of data. Kappa has particular merit as a measure of interrater reliability; it also has some peculiar problems in implementation and interpretation. The nature and computation of Kappa and its application in analysis of clinical data are discussed.
Improved visualization of tubes and lines in portable intensive care unit radiographs: a study comparing a new approach to the standard approach

Tube and line interpretation in portable chest radiographs was assessed using a new visualization method. When using the new method, radiologists' interpretation time was reduced by 30% vs. standard modality processing and window and level (23 vs. 33 s). For pulmonary ICU physicians, reading time was essentially unchanged. There was more than a 50% reduction in the use of inferential language in the dictation for both reader groups when using the new method, suggesting greater interpretation confidence.
Adrenal causes of hypertension: Pheochromocytoma and primary aldosteronism

The clinical presentations of the patient with pheochromocytoma—a rare endocrine neoplasm—include adrenal incidentaloma, hypertensive paroxysms, sustained apparent polygenic hypertension, hypertension in pregnancy, and hypertensive crisis induced by anesthesia. Although when undiagnosed a pheochromocytoma can be lethal, it can usually be cured with surgery. Biochemical documentation with measurements of fractionated metanephrines and catecholamines should precede imaging studies. Abdomen and pelvis computed imaging is usually the first imaging test. Careful preoperative pharmacologic preparation is important for a successful surgical outcome. Adrenal pheochromocytomas can usually be removed laparoscopically, whereas, catecholamine-secreting paragangliomas typically require an open approach. All first degree relatives of pheochromocytoma patients should have biochemical testing. In addition, molecular genetic testing for germline mutations should be considered in most patients with adrenal pheochromocytoma and in all patients with paraganglioma. Primary aldosteronism is a relatively common form of secondary hypertension—affecting 5 to 10% of all patients with hypertension. A plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) to plasma renin activity (PRA) ratio should be obtained in patients with hypertension and hypokalemia, resistant hypertension, adrenal incidentaloma and hypertension, onset of hypertension at a young age (e.g., < 20 years of age), severe hypertension (e.g., ≥160 mm Hg systolic or ≥100 mm Hg diastolic), or whenever the clinician is considering other forms of secondary hypertension. The PAC/PRA ratio is a case finding test and a positive result should be confirmed with aldosterone suppression testing with either oral or intravenous sodium loading. The treatment goals for patients with primary aldosteronism are to prevent the morbidity and mortality associated with hypertension, hypokalemia, and cardiovascular damage. Both the subtype of primary aldosteronism and patient preference should dictate the treatment approach.
Matrix relativistic wave equations

The matrix notation of paper I is extended to include first-rank spinors expressed as two-component spin-vectors. Well-known two-component and four-component spinor equations are expressed in this notation. In addition, it is shown how other covariant wave equations can easily be invented. A certain nonlinear equation is found to have only positive-energy solutions for particles and antiparticles.
Noninvasive localization of nuclear factor of activated T cells c1-/- mouse embryos by ultrasound biomicroscopy-Doppler allows genotype-phenotype correlation.

Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM)-Doppler allows study of cardiovascular physiology in the in utero mouse embryo from embryonic day (E)8.25 onward. We determined the accuracy of localization of embryos by transabdominal, noninvasive 40-MHz UBM-Doppler imaging. Nuclear factor of activated T cells c1−/− mice lack semilunar valves, exhibit outflow tract regurgitation, and die in utero. In timed pregnant mice generated from heterozygote crosses, an UBM-derived map of the in situ litter was compared with a definitive laparotomy map, and UBM-Doppler cardiac screen attempted for each embryo. All 109 living and dead (nonresorbed) E10.5 to 17.5 embryos were imaged and accurately localized. All 10 embryos with reversed diastolic aortic flow and 7 of 9 dead embryos genotyped were nuclear factor of activated T cells c1−/−. In 30 embryos followed up serially over 1 to 2 days from E12.5 to E16.5, we again achieved 100% accuracy in localizing at follow-up. Noninvasive localization and UBM-Doppler analysis of in situ mouse embryos can provide accurate genotype–phenotype correlation, along with nontraumatic serial imaging of embryos.
Spatial organization of retinal ganglion cells in turtle, Pseudemys†

Single-unit receptive fields were investigated in retinal-ganglion-cell axons to moving or flashing colored-light spots. All of the cells were sensitive to moving stimuli; about 40% were directionally selective. Retinal-ganglion-cell axons in general had very low spontaneous activities. Most receptive fields had silent surround regions. These cells were usually most sensitive to red light, but when dark-adapted, many cells also showed a high sensitivity to green and blue light. Under conditions of light adaptation, receptive fields to red light were little affected but receptive fields to green and blue lights disappeared. Fields were either circular, oval, or bar-shaped. Adaptation, wavelength, and velocity affected the receptive field organization and response profiles. The mutability and complexity of receptive field organization, the presence of bar-shaped fields and directionally selective cells, and multiple photoreceptor input to ganglion cells are indicative of retinas with particularly high integrative capacities, more so than in many other vertebrates.
Random Change of Vibration Modes in Thermosonic Bonding

Thermosonic bonding is being widely used for wire bonding and tape automated bonding (TAB). It is also being developed for flip-chip assemblies. The bonding process is sensitive to system parameters such as ultrasonic frequency, bonding tool length, and friction. One of the process control challenges is to prevent the random change of vibration modes. The change from an axial to a bending mode excitation may reduce the ultrasonic vibration amplitude at the bonding interface and result in poor bond quality. In this work, we have studied the random mode change effected by tool length, friction, and the frequency window selected for the power generator. In one case, the mode change was not observed when the tool end extended 2.32 cm below the longitudinal axis of the bonding horn. In the other case, however, the resonant frequency switched between 58.4 and 60.0 kHz when the tool moved 0.31 cm downward with all other system parameters held constant. Such a frequency shift resulted in a change of vibration amplitudes between 1.63 and 0.55 μm. Different random mode changes measured were explained by our theoretical models consisting of a modal analysis for the system and a vibration model for the tool. The models generated a guideline to prevent mode change by selecting the right system parameters.