cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
INCIDENCE OF FEEDING INTOLERANCE IN VERY-LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS

The relationship between initial modes of nutritional support and later feeding intolerance was examined. Infants with birth-weights (BW), ≤1,500 gms, were randomly assigned to Gr. I, continuous nasogastric feeding (CNG) and Gr. II, parenteral nutrition (PN). Gr. I continued to have CNG regardless of their clinical conditions except feeding intolerance. Gr. II was supported by PN [3.6±0.9(M±SEM) days] until clinical condition became stable and CNG started. Frequency of feeding intolerance in the first 30 days of life is shown below: Feeding intolerance in these infants, then, was examined by BW and duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) as shown below: Results of this study suggests that 1) a short duration of initial PN does not prevent a later development of feeding intolerance and 2) feeding complications are significantly higher in infants with a prolonged mechanical ventilation.
The novel antimicrobial peptide β3-defensin is produced by the amnion: A possible role of the fetal membranes in innate immunity of the amniotic cavity

Background Innate immunity evolved to eliminate microorganisms before, or after their entry into the tissues, but before enough antigen is available to activate an adaptive, immune response. Innate immunity is so successful that the majority of encountered microbes are neutralized. The β-defensins are antimicrobial peptides produced by skin and mucosal surfaces and are an integral part of the innate immune system. The ability of the amnion cells, which are epithelial derivatives, to produce antimicrobial β-defensins has not been explored. Objective This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that amnion cells synthesize β-defensins under either basal or stimulated conditions. Methods Amnion epithelial FL cells (ATCC CCL 62) were cultured in Ham's F12 and Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium plus 10% fetal calf serum until confluence, then replated into 24-well plates at 1.5 million cells per well. Cells from triplicate wells were harvested after 1, 3, 6, and 24 hours of exposure to microbial wall components (lipopolysaccharide [LPS]: 1 μg/mL or peptidoglycan [PG]: 10 μg/mL). Reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed with the use of human-specific primers for β1, β2, β3, and β4 defensins to compare basal messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of defensins and in response to treatment. β-actin was used for standardization. Protein expression was investigated by immunofluorescence of the cells in culture, and by immunohistochemistry in paraffin sections of human fetal membranes from pregnancies with or without histologic chorioamnionitis. Results Amnion FL cells expressed mRNA for all known β-defensins with β3-defensin mRNA levels significantly higher compared with others ( P P =.019) and PG (1-way ANOVA, P =.011). Immunofluorescence confirmed that β3-defensin protein was present in cultured amnion cells, and upregulated in response to PG and LPS in distinct cells. Similarly, in tissue sections of human fetal membranes amnion epithelium was intensely positive for β3-defensin protein by immunohistochemistry. Conspicuous β3-defensin staining was also detected in the chorio-decidua. Conclusion Amnion cells have the ability to produce β-defensins. The β3-defensin appears to be the predominant epithelial defensin expressed. Its induction by microbial mimics suggests that the amniotic epithelium may play a role in the innate immunity of the amniotic cavity.
Use of modern control theory in military command and control

This paper discusses the use of modern control theoretic approaches in military command and control. The military enterprise is a highly dynamic and nonlinear environment. The desire on the part of military commanders to operate at faster operational tempos while still maintaining a stable and robust system, naturally leads to the consideration of a control theoretic approach to providing decision aids. I will present a brief history of the science of command and control of military forces and discuss how modern control theory might be applied to air operations.
Paleobiogeographic relationships of Andean angiosperms of Cretaceous to Pliocene age

Abstract A review of the geological data suggests that mountains existed in western South America since the late Cretaceous. These data combined with a review of the earliest occurrences of angiosperm fossils indicate that the floral elements centered in the South Andes lived there during the late Cretaceous, while elements centered in the North Andes existed there by the mid-Tertiary. Examinations of reports elsewhere in South America and in surrounding continents show that each Andean fossil flora is mostly composed of Andean- or Amazonian-centered taxa. In addition, the South Andean fossil flora also shares many taxa with the Antarctica-Australia paleoflora, while the fossils from the North Andes are also found in Meso- and North America. In combination, these geological and fossil data suggest that the mountain-centered floras have had a long history.
Space Qualification of W-band Devices for the CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar

The 94 GHz cloud profiling radar (CPR) instrument is on board the CloudSat spacecraft, launched in April, 2006. The radio frequency electronics subsystem (RFES) for this instrument consists of an up-converter, a receiver, and a transmitter calibrator assembly, which include W-band diodes (noise, Schottky and detector diodes) and MMIC amplifiers (LNA and MPA). W-band devices, in general, are not on the NASA parts selection list, and for most of them, CloudSat is their first use in a space application. Therefore, customized screening and qualification tests were developed for these devices, in order to insure high reliability to meet the 2 year CloudSat mission design life. High amplitude stability is also required for the noise source and transmitter power detector diodes, in order to provide accurate calibration of the overall cloud radar. The test approach and results are presented here
Salisbury Museum and General Pitt-Rivers’s Wessex Collection, 1975–2014

After the death of General Pitt-Rivers’s grandson, Captain George Pitt-Rivers, in 1966, the collections housed at the Pitt-Rivers Museum, Farnham, were closed to the public and threatened with being dispersed. In this article I discuss the transfer of the Pitt-Rivers Collection to Salisbury Museum and its later history there, including current plans to redisplay parts of it in a new Wessex Gallery.
Non-Linear Dynamic Pulse Response of Plates and Cylindrical Panels

The dynamic response of plates and cylindrical panels with various curvatures under external lateral pressure pulse was studied. Nonlinearities due to large deflections were included and the dynamic response was analyzed using a finite element code. Effects of shell curvatures, pulse durations and load intensities were investigated. The observed dynamic behavior included also non-linear shell buckling due to the compressive stresses under the external pressure on the cylindrical panels. The results, when compared to the linear response, show the effects of the increased load intensity and the resulting non-linear behavior on the response to various pulse durations. Also, the differences between the static and the dynamic behaviors for similar load intensities were studied. Non-dimensional processing of the results, including in the large deflection range, highlights the effects of high load intensities on the structural stiffness and in turn on the changing characteristics of the response under a given pulse duration.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Penguin egg‐white and polar fish blood‐serum proteins

The development of, and findings in, a long-term research program on penguin proteins and polar fish blood proteins are described. Two of the egg-white proteins from the Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) have unique properties: a glycoprotein named penalbumin that is a major constituent with some characteristics similar to ovalbumin, and an ovomucoid with strong inhibitory capacity for subtilisin as well as for bovine trypsin and alpha-chymotrypsin. The antifreeze glycoproteins from Antarctic fish (Trematomus borchgrevinki and Dissostichus mawsoni) and an Arctic fish (Boreogadus saida) appear to function noncolligatively by lowering the freezing temperature without affecting the melting point. Current evidence indicates that the antifreeze glycoprotein functions at the ice-solution interface, either on the ice surface or in a transition layer between the solution and the ice.
MRI of osteoarthritis: the challenges of definition and quantification.

The ability of MRI to visualize the joint as a “whole organ” and to directly and three-dimensionally assess cartilage morphology and composition has given it a crucial role in discovering the natural history of osteoarthritis (OA). Morphological analysis can be semiquantitative or quantitative. Compositional analysis such as delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage and T2 mapping allows quantitative evaluation of tissue ultrastructure and can detect premorphological changes of cartilage and other tissues. Contrast-enhanced MRI can accurately assess the true extent of synovial inflammation. Most MRI-based studies so far have focused on knee OA, but with the availability of new semiquantitative scoring systems for hand and hip OA, studies of these joints have begun to appear. Because of the technical complexity of MRI and ever increasing number of new and sophisticated imaging sequences and protocols, the specific MRI technique in any OA study needs to be carefully tailored to the aims of the study.
Parametric Representation of the Equation of State Near A Critical Point

A parametric representation of the usual thermodynamic variables in the neighborhood of a critical point is proposed in terms of new variables $r$ and $\ensuremath{\theta}$. The representation is chosen so that the "scaling-law" behavior is entirely contained in the $r$ dependence, the $\ensuremath{\theta}$ dependence being free of critical singularities. Preliminary calculations show that the $\ensuremath{\theta}$ dependence may be chosen to have a rather simple form both in a ferromagnet and in fluids.
Effect of simulated hail damage on yield and quality of potatoes

A three-year study was conducted to determine the effects on Red Pontiac potatoes of simulated hail damage applied at three stages of growth.
INFLUENCE OF PROCESSING VARIABLES ON FLAVOR STABILITY OF PEAR PURÉE

Whole Bartlett pears at the optimum stage of ripeness were processed into puree using an enclosed system which facilitated the inactivation of enzymes, the separation of skins, seeds and fibers, and the capturing of pear volatiles which would be lost in conventional open systems. When added back, the captured essence significantly enhanced the flavor of the puree. Purees containing 50% inherent essence add back were more acceptable than purees which contained 0 or 100%. Using whole pears in a bulk system yielded 77% more pear puree than the system in which pears were peeled and cored before processing. Flavor differences between canned purees prepared in open and closed systems were readily detectable. More flavor and better color were observed in purees canned without than with sucrose. Little flavor difference was observed between purees processed by aseptic and hot-filling methods. No significant flavor losses occurred in the canned purees during the first year of storage.
The Risorgimento as international experience

Maurizio Isabella (2009) Risorgimento in Exile: Italian Emigres and the Liberal International in the Post-Napoleonic Era (Oxford University Press), ISBN 0199570671, ISBN-13 9780199570676, 296 pp., ...
The Mechanism of Bacillus anthracis Intracellular Germination Requires Multiple and Highly Diverse Genetic Loci

In an effort to better understand the mechanisms by which Bacillus anthracis establishes disease, experiments were undertaken to identify the genes essential for intracellular germination. Eighteen diverse genetic loci were identified via an enrichment protocol using a transposon-mutated library of B. anthracis spores, which was screened for mutants delayed in intracellular germination. Fourteen transposon mutants were identified in genes not previously associated with B. anthracis germination and included disruption of factors involved in membrane transport, transcriptional regulation, and intracellular signaling. Four mutants contained transposon insertions in gerHA, gerHB, gerHC, and pagA, respectively, each of which has been previously associated with germination or survival of B. anthracis within macrophages. Strain MIGD101 (named for macrophage intracellular germination defective 101) was of particular interest, since this mutant contained a transposon insertion in an intergenic region between BAs2807 and BAs2808, and was the most highly represented mutant in the enrichment. Analysis of B. anthracis MIGD101 by confocal microscopy and differential heat sensitivity following macrophage infection revealed ungerminated spores within the cell. Moreover, B. anthracis MIGD101 was attenuated in cell killing relative to the parent strain. Further experimental analysis found that B. anthracis MIGD101 was defective in five known B. anthracis germination pathways, supporting a mechanism wherein the intergenic region between BAs2807 and BAs2808 has a global affect on germination of this pathogen. Collectively, these findings provide insight into the mechanisms supporting B. anthracis germination within host cells.
DNA damage in mammalian cells by non-thermal atmospheric pressure microsecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge plasma is not mediated via lipid peroxidation

Non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma (DBD) is being widely developed for various applications ranging from wound healing to cancer therapy. It is very important that we understand how non-thermal DBD plasma interacts with mammalian cells.
MoOx as an Efficient and Stable Back Contact Buffer for Thin Film CdTe Solar Cells

A low-resistance back contact for n-CdS/p-CdTe solar cells has been developed, which utilizes a thermally evaporated MoOx thin film as the buffer layer between the p-CdTe and the back electrode. The low-resistance behavior of back contact is attributed to the high work function of MoOx, which reportedly is as high as 6.8 eV, and thus adequately matches that of p-CdTe. With MoOx as the buffer, a variety of common metals, even those with a low work function such as Al, have been found to be useful as the electrode in forming the back contact. Other advantages of the MoOx buffer include dry application by vacuum deposition, and thus it is particularly suitable for the fabrication of ultra-thin CdTe solar cells without introducing additional shorting defects. Surface cleaning of CdTe films prior to MoOx deposition has also been studied. The cell stability has been evaluated through thermal annealing tests. Thermal degradation has been explained in terms of oxidation of the metal electrodes. CdTe cells with high efficiency and good stability have been demonstrated with MoOx as the back contact buffer and Ni as the electrode.
Brain macrophages and microglia respond differently to lesions of the developing and adult visual system

Traumatic injury in the brain usually results in rapid degeneration of neuronal elements and a response by peripherally derived macrophages (brain macrophages, BMOs) and resident microglia. One intriguing result of lesions performed in the developing brain as compared to lesions of the mature brain is the faster resolution of the cellular debris and the absence of significant scarring. The purpose of this study was to examine the response of BMOs to induced cell death distant to the lesion site and to investigate possible differences in the responding phagocytic populations (BMOs versus microglia) following lesions in neonates and adults. Ablation of the visual cortex at birth results in very rapid retrograde degeneration and removal of neurons of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) within a few days. Lesions to the visual cortex of adult rats also induce neurons within the dLGN to die, but these cells do so over a much more protracted time course. Utilizing differences in morphology and immunocytochemical staining with the monoclonal antibodies ED1 and OX-42 to distinguish between BMOs and microglia, we found that in the developing CNS, BMOs are signalled rapidly and specifically to the location of induced cell death. Microglia are not involved in this response. As might be expected, the temporal response in the adult is much more protracted. In contrast to the developing brain, microglia and not macrophages are the predominant responding cell class after the adult lesion. The data suggest that these are distinct populations of phagocytic cells that respond to brain damage during development and in the adult, which may be critical in modulating the resolution and growth response after injury.
Is the apparent U-shape of well-being over the life course a result of inappropriate use of control variables? A commentary on Blanchflower and Oswald (66: 8, 2008, 1733-1749).

Abstract In their article in this journal “Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle?” Blanchflower and Oswald (Blanchflower, D.G., & Oswald, A.J. (2008). Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle? Social Science & Medicine, 66, 1733–1749) report the results of an ambitious cross-national study of age and well-being and conclude that in most societies studied the well-being of adults tends to be high in young adulthood and old age and lowest around age 40. I argue that the appearance of this U-shaped curve of well-being is the result of the use of inappropriate and questionable control variables. The most clearly inappropriate control variable is marital status, the control of which to a large extent accounts for the U-shaped curve. Most researchers who have studied the relationship between being married and being happy believe that happiness affects marital status (happier people are more likely to marry and stay married), and of course a variable that is affected by the dependent variable should not be included as a control variable in a simple recursive model. Such control variables as income and education are suspect because the relationship between them and well-being is likely to be partially spurious, and such variables as race and whether or not persons lived with both parents at age 16 should not be controlled, because they cannot affect or be affected by age. Finally, year of survey should not be controlled because of the age-period-cohort conundrum, which makes including age, period, and cohort all as predictor variables in a regression inappropriate (and impossible if the three variables are measured precisely and comparably). The only clearly appropriate control variable is birth cohort, and when only it is controlled, the regression data become estimates of how the well-being of persons has actually changed as they have gone through the life course. I argue that such estimates are much more useful than the counterfactual abstractions provided by Blanchflower and Oswald (Blanchflower, D.G., & Oswald, A.J. (2008). Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle? Social Science & Medicine, 66, 1733–1749), and I conclude that those authors (or someone else) could make a very important contribution by redoing their analyses with birth cohort as the only control variable. I do that with the American happiness data and find that the results do not come close to the U-shaped pattern.
Employee Families and Organizations as Mutually Enacted Environments A Sensemaking Approach to Work—Life Interrelationships

Work—life research tends to privilege the organization—employee relationship, with the family's role largely relegated to providing emotional and material support to the employee and adapting to organizational requirements. Systems oriented research, however, points toward a larger role for the family, including mediating the employee's relationship with the organization as well as direct organizational interactions. This study uses Weick's model of organizational sensemaking to examine, through the analysis of employee and family interview accounts, how a global high-tech organization and its employees' families enact one another as environments. Three dynamics of mutual enactments— two cooperative and one competitive—were identified, along with implications for work—life integration research and practice, for more traditionally programmatic work—life accommodations, and for families' management of their relationships to employing organizations.
The effect of water storage on the bending properties of esthetic, fiber-reinforced composite orthodontic archwires

ABSTRACT Objective: To study the effect of water storage on the bending properties of fiber-reinforced composite archwires and compare it to nickel-titanium (NiTi), stainless steel (SS), and beta-titanium archwires. Materials and Methods: Align A, B, and C and TorQ A and B composite wires from BioMers Products, 0.014-, 0.016, and 0.018-inch, and 0.019 × 0.025-inch NiTi, 0.016-inch SS, and 0.019 × 0.025-inch beta-titanium archwires were tested (n = 10/type/size/condition). A 20-mm segment was cut from each end of the archwire; one end was then stored in water at 37°C for 30 days, while the other was stored dry. The segments were tested using three-point bending to a maximum deflection of 3.1 mm with force monitored during loading (activation) and unloading (deactivation). Statistical analysis was completed via two-way analysis of variance with wire and condition (dry and water-stored) as factors. Results: In terms of stiffness and force delivery during activation, in general: beta-titanium was > TorQ B >...
Molecular genetic description of the cryptic wheat-Aegilops geniculata introgression carrying rust resistance genes Lr57 and Yr40 using wheat ESTs and synteny with rice

The cryptic wheat–alien translocation T5DL·5DS-5MgS(0.95), with leaf rust and stripe rust resistance genes Lr57 and Yr40 transferred from Aegilops geniculata (UgMg) into common wheat, was further a...
The Discursive Dynamics of Disclosure and Avoidance: Evidence from a Study of Infertility

Recent research and theorizing about privacy management suggests a need to consider discursive dynamics and interpretations of meaning in conversations involving disclosure, topic avoidance, secret-keeping, and other privacy management processes. In the following study, I drew on a specific set of theoretical assumptions as the basis for an investigation of privacy management in the context of infertility. Based on in-depth interviews with 23 women coping with infertility, results reveal the varied ways that private topics arose in conversations (e.g., discloser initiated conversations, responses to requests for information), the diverse ways that women concealed or revealed their struggles with infertility, and the multiple dilemmas they faced in managing private information about their fertility problem. I discuss the results in light of the extant literature on managing private information about sensitive issues and suggest that scholars must continue to focus on conversational dynamics to understand f...
Prezi Presentational Software as an Educational Tool for Analyzing Pathology Slides: Promoting a Learner Centered Environment Through Technology to Increase Student Satisfaction

Objective: To test Prezi online presentational software as a learning tool for students enrolled in a physiopathology laboratory class. Methods: A Prezi presentation was created and used in place of a virtual microscopy scanning digital pathology slide during a laboratory session attended by a total of 179 students. Review of the normal anatomical features and architecture of a tissue was followed by an annotated tour covering important aspects of its pathologic characteristics. This was also accompanied by comparisons of normal with abnormal tissue to facilitate student learning and comprehension. Student feedback was gathered for 3 successive trimesters using a survey to assess student satisfaction with use of the Prezi presentation as an effective teaching strategy in a physiopathology laboratory class. Results: Students reported that they preferred the Prezi presentation compared with the digital pathology scanning slide technology. Students overwhelmingly expressed the desire to shift to the Prezi format from the virtual scanning microscope as the type of instructional technology used in class. Conclusion: Based on student feedback, Prezi is an effective teaching tool. The overall success of this exercise and the positive student feedback warrant further development of additional Prezi presentations for continued use in physiopathology laboratory classes.
Reconstructing a finite length sequence from several of its correlation lags

In this paper we present an algorithm which answers the following question: Given a finite number of correlation lags, what is the shortest length sequence which could have produced these correlations? This question is equivalent to asking for the minimum order moving average (all-zero) model which can match a given set of correlations. The algorithm applies to both the case of uniform correlations and missing lag correlations. The algorithm involves quadratic programming coupled with a new representation of the boundary of correlations derived from finite sequences in terms of the spectral decomposition of a certain class of banded Toeplitz matrices.
A possible case of Churg-Strauss syndrome in a 9-year-old child.

Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS), also known as allergic granulomatous angiitis, is a systemic necrotizing vasculitis of the small and medium vessels. It typically occurs in conjunction with a history of asthma, eosinophilia, pulmonary infiltrates, and vasculitis, but cases without asthma have also been reported (1-2). CSS has rarely been reported in pediatric patients. Here, we report a nine-year-old boy with a possible diagnosis of CSS who presented with prominent pulmonary involvement accompanied by eosinophilia, rash, abdominal pain, and hepatomegaly but without anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA). The present case indicates that physicians should consider CSS when eosinophilia is noted in bronchoalveolar lavage, serum, or a tissue specimen. The clinical features and treatment for childhood CSS are reviewed.
Mass spectrometry data processing using zero-crossing lines in multi-scale of Gaussian derivative wavelet

Motivation: Peaks are the key information in mass spectrometry (MS) which has been increasingly used to discover diseases-related proteomic patterns. Peak detection is an essential step for MS-based proteomic data analysis. Recently, several peak detection algorithms have been proposed. However, in these algorithms, there are three major deficiencies: (i) because the noise is often removed, the true signal could also be removed; (ii) baseline removal step may get rid of true peaks and create new false peaks; (iii) in peak quantification step, a threshold of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is usually used to remove false peaks; however, noise estimations in SNR calculation are often inaccurate in either time or wavelet domain. In this article, we propose new algorithms to solve these problems. First, we use bivariate shrinkage estimator in stationary wavelet domain to avoid removing true peaks in denoising step. Second, without baseline removal, zero-crossing lines in multi-scale of derivative Gaussian wavelets are investigated with mixture of Gaussian to estimate discriminative parameters of peaks. Third, in quantification step, the frequency, SD, height and rank of peaks are used to detect both high and small energy peaks with robustness to noise. Results: We propose a novel Gaussian Derivative Wavelet (GDWavelet) method to more accurately detect true peaks with a lower false discovery rate than existing methods. The proposed GDWavelet method has been performed on the real Surface-Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-Of-Flight (SELDI-TOF) spectrum with known polypeptide positions and on two synthetic data with Gaussian and real noise. All experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms other commonly used methods. The standard receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves are used to evaluate the experimental results. Availability: http://ranger.uta.edu/~heng/MS/GDWavelet.html or http://www.naaan.org/nhanguyen/archive.htm Contact: heng@uta.edu
Dysregulated Energy Expenditure in HIV-Infected Patients: A Mechanistic Review

Metabolic abnormalities are common in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and range from protein catabolism to lipodystrophy and dyslipidemia associated with the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy. One abnormality is increased resting energy expenditure, which even occurs in clinically stable HIV-infected patients. Increased resting energy expenditure may aggravate the tendency towards weight loss and wasting, which are independent predictors of mortality. Despite much investigation, the factors associated with altered resting energy expenditure remain unclear; viral load, CD4 cell count, use of antiretroviral drugs, body composition, hormones, and proinflammatory cytokines have been imputed. Mechanisms that could explain increased resting energy expenditure include the HIV accessory protein viral protein R, antiretroviral drugs that affect mitochondrial function, and futile cycling within adipocytes. Other components of energy expenditure are also important to overall energy balance and may also be affected. Identifying unifying mechanisms will be an important step to finding effective treatments for HIV-related alterations in energy expenditure and to reversing metabolic risks in patients with HIV infection.
Minimum entropy restoration of star field images

In this correspondence, we present an algorithm for restoration of star field images by incorporating both the minimum mean square error and the maximum varimax criteria. It is assumed that the point spread function of the distortion system can be well approximated by a Gaussian function. Simulated annealing (SA) is used to implement the optimization procedure. Simulation results for both Gaussian and square point spread functions with heavy additive independent white Gaussian noise are provided. Visual evaluation of the results indicate that the proposed algorithm performs better than the noncausal Wiener filtering method.
Mechanism of Interaction Between Polyols and Aluminum Hydroxide Gel

IR spectroscopy and changes in the rate of acid neutralization were used to study the interaction between various polyols and aluminum hydroxide. Hydrogen bonding is responsible for this interaction, although structural requirements limit the polyols that interact with aluminum hydroxide. Mannitol and sorbitol, both linear polyols, interacted with sulfate-containing aluminum hydroxide gel and aluminum hydroxycarbonate gel, while inositol, a cyclic polyol, did not interact The adsorbed polyol has the favorable effect of inhibiting the polymerization reaction that occurs on aging and the negative effect of reducing the rate of acid neutralization. Thus, the specific polyol and concentration must be carefully selected to maximize the desired effect of stabilizing the gel structure. The presence of mannitol in the reaction medium during precipitation did not significantly enhance gel structure stability, probably because the mannitol was desorbed during the washing process as a consequence of the weak adsorption forces.
Using Agents to Model the Kill Chain of the Ballistic Missile Defense System

Deterministic models have long been used to model the individual effectiveness of elements of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). Agent-based models (ABMs) emphasize the specification of the individual components comprising a system and demonstrate higher order system properties through the interactions of those components. ABMs are particularly suited to (1) complex systems where it is easier to understand or observe the individual components rather than the dynamics that govern their interactions and (2) systems where empirical data is insufficient to provide statistical representations. New missions and capabilities desired by national leadership call for increased interaction between the BMDS elements and their subsystems. New capabilities and mission threads include launch on remote and engage on remote capabilities as well as a robust missile defense system capable of defending against threat raids, debris, and decoys. These new capabilities and mission threads may require modifications to kill chains and command and control constructs as well as improved coordination and performance. These capabilities must be realized through modifications to programs of record and integration across elements of the system that have their own independent programmatic momentum. A robust missile defense system must be achieved through a construct of layered defenses. Change in capabilities requires analysis of the complex interdependencies between Standard Missile (SM-3), SPY, and BMDS elements such as PATRIOT, Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System, etc. Synergy among the systems (termed ‘‘elements’’) is required to meet the new challenges, which can be accomplished through systems of systems engineering. Definition and testing of the interactions between the systems are crucial to provide situational awareness via analysis of data transfer between the elements. ABMs are a tool that allows qualitative evaluation of these interactions of the complex BMDS. This paper presents an investigation of agent-based modeling as a method to explore the system interrelationships and evaluate the indeterminacy of the BMDS kill chain.
Behold, the Gatekeeper Cometh

The insidious intrusions of arbitrary restrictive patterns of health care delivev that limit direct access of patients to specialist care were once largely confined in this country to voluntary health maintenance organization-independent practice association (HMO-IPA) systems and the military service. In 1981, 87% of surveyed HMOs and IPAs restricted patient access to specialist care to some extent. Such limitation is now becoming more widespread through the creation of primary-care networks, case management, and experimental programs under Medicaid. Limitation of direct access to specialists will impact substantially on the practice patterns and quality of dermatologic care, because primary care physicians and physician extenders who will control the referral system often will attempt to treat skin conditions even though they frequently misdiagnose the condition. Further, as is often the case, referrals to specialists often will be limited to one visit only, with no opportunity for the specialist to establish a satisfying doctor-patient relationship or to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. The following is an analysis of this phenomenon and an assessment of what has been accomplished or remains to be done to combat this trend.
Anthropometry, Genetics and Racial History

ferent branches of anthropology, but stem from the evaluation of both assets and liabilities in the relevant data. The major asset of the cultural historian is that the past record of a culture is a residue of innumerable individual acts of learning. This behavior has enough cohesion and continuity so that he can often identify stylistic or linguistic complexes over considerable space and time. His major liabilities are usually gaps in historical sequences, scarcity or unreliability of the evidence, or poor control of chronology. These problems also bedevil the physical anthropologist in historical studies, but he has additional difficulties which have seldom been fully presented to anthropologists at large. As we shall see, most of these special perplexities are related to human genetics. Of course, no scholar has reconstructed the somatic evolution of a sizable human sample in complete isolation from cultural evidence. But when the cultural historian performs the reciprocal task of testing his reconstructions of the past against somatological data, he may profit from an examination of the methods used in physical anthropology, its theoretical foundations, and its effectiveness as an historical instrument. Since man procreates by sexual reproduction and transmits most of his physical characteristics by Mendelian heredity, the historical interpreta-ion of somatic data must rest on genetic grounds wherever possible. Some of the requisite genetic theory is discussed here. Nowadays, we rely only in part on traditional anthropometry in the reconstruction of racial history. This system of somatic measurements still encompasses anatomical features whose heredity is poorly understood. Instead, most of the literature is engrossed in traits whose genetic basis is at least partly established, such as blood groups, abnormal varieties of hemoglobin, the "taster" phenomenon, and mid-phalangeal hair. When such hereditary traits are translated into allelic or chromosomal frequencies, one can produce a world-wide picture of the genetic diversity of mankind. The most inclusive-effort in this field so far is the work of Mourant
Pediatric and Adolescent Sledding-Related Injuries Treated in US Emergency Departments in 1997-2007

Objectives: The objectives were to examine comprehensively the patterns and to estimate the rates of sledding-related injuries among children and adolescents treated in US emergency departments between 1997 and 2007. Methods: Through the use of the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database, cases of sledding-related injuries were selected by using diagnosis codes for sleds. Sample weights were used to calculate national estimates. US Census Bureau data were used to calculate injury rates per 100 000 individuals Language: en
Learning skin distribution using a sparse map

We present a new skin modeling technique based on SNoW (sparse network of Winnows) for accurate and robust skin region detection. A skin distribution map (SDM) representing the sparse network is trained with skin pixels to learn their distribution in a color space. We then train the SDM with non-skin pixels to unlearn the distribution of the non-skin pixels, which overlap with the skin pixels in the color space. This skin model can be used for skin detection on any color space. We have found the accuracy of skin detection using SDM to be slightly better than that using the skin probability map (SPM) method. The main advantage of using the SDM method over the SPM method is that the complexity, memory requirements and time for skin detection are reduced significantly.
TRPC6 channel as an emerging determinant of the podocyte injury susceptibility in kidney diseases

Podocytes (terminally differentiated epithelial cells of the glomeruli) play a key role in the maintenance of glomerular structure and permeability and in the incipiency of various renal abnormalities. Injury to podocytes is considered a major contributor to the development of kidney disease as their loss causes proteinuria and progressive glomerulosclerosis. The physiological function of podocytes is critically dependent on proper intracellular calcium handling; excessive calcium influx in these cells may result in the effacement of foot processes, apoptosis, and subsequent glomeruli damage. One of the key proteins responsible for calcium flux in the podocytes is transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily C, member 6 (TRPC6); a gain-of-function mutation in TRPC6 has been associated with the onset of the familial forms of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). Recent data also revealed a critical role of this channel in the onset of diabetic nephropathy. Therefore, major efforts of the research community have been recently dedicated to unraveling the TRPC6-dependent effects in the initiation of podocyte injury. This mini-review focuses on the TRPC6 channel in podocytes and colligates recent data in an attempt to shed some light on the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of TRPC6-mediated glomeruli damage and its potential role as a therapeutic target for the treatment of chronic kidney diseases.
Computer vision assisted measurement of the displacements of a bimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam

A computer vision assisted displacement measurement technique is proposed in this study. A sharp micro-marker is used as the marker of the bimorph piezoelectric actuator (PZT-5H). The micrometer actuation of the PZT-5H is monitored by a high resolution stereomicroscope. The micro-marker actuation is recorded as the driving voltage increases. Post image processing of the captures are conducted by MATLAB. The extracted vertex pixel values of the micro-marker from the captures are used to represent the PZT-5H actuation. The driving voltages are varied from 0 to 190 V which induce maximum displacements of 300 μm (1029 pixels). The proposed system can resolve a minimum displacement of 248 nm (1 pixel). Voltage to displacement linearity and repeatability are investigated. The PZT-5H chip has good linearity with driving voltages between 10 and 90 V. Future applications of this measurement technique are discussed.
Calcium Homeostasis and Acidocalcisomes in Trypanosoma cruzi

Calcium ion (Ca2+) is an important second messenger in Trypanosoma cruzi and is essential for invasion of host cells by this parasite. A number of transporters and channels in the plasma membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria regulate cytosolic calcium concentration. Additionally, the T. cruzi genome contains a wide variety of signaling and regulatory proteins that bind calcium as well as many putative calcium-binding proteins that await further characterization. In T. cruzi, acidic organelles known as acidocalcisomes are the primary reservoir of intracellular calcium and mediate polyphosphate metabolism, osmoregulation, and calcium and pH homeostasis.
Abstract 17017: Lifestyle Readiness to Change is a Predictor of Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation

Background: The utility of the transtheoretical model (Stages of Change, SOC) in assessing behavioral changes is well demonstrated, but remains largely untested in Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) popul...
Alveolitis induced by influenza virus.

Previous studies of influenza virus infections have focused on the acute pathologic manifestations associated with the virus pneumonia; however, there is evidence suggestive of persistent pathologi...
DOUBLE FOURIER SERIES ANALYSIS OF COCKPIT AND DOLINE KARST NEAR BROWNS TOWN, JAMAICA

Double Fourier series models of two doline and two cockpit landscapes in northern Jamaica, each 2 × 2 km in area, explained 92% and 90%, and 73% and 58% of the variance in the topographic data. The ten most significant waves accounted for 74% and 76%, and 61% and 58% of the variance in each model. The greater importance of frequency pairs of longer wavelength in the doline karst models suggests that there are fewer horizontally and vertically persistent bedrock fractures controlling topographic development in the doline areas than in the cockpit terrains—a fact confirmed by fracture-trace mapping. Frequency pair orientations and powers indicate that north-west- and northeast-trending fractures exert a major influence on topographic development in the cockpit terrains and that east-trending fractures are relatively more important in the doline areas. Further studies are needed to determine if Fourier models of the doline, cockpit, and tower karst styles differ in a consistent fashion and to find out to wha...
On the Foreign Policy Beliefs of the American People: A Critique and Some Evidence

A reconceptualization of Holsti and Rosenau's three-headed eagle is proposed which locates the categories of Americans' foreign policy beliefs they posit along two empirically derived attitude dimensions described as cooperative and militant internationalism. The reconceptualization incorporates differences between unilateralist and multilateralist preferences, argued by Holsti and Rosenau to presage a fourth head on the eagle. Drawing on the quadrennial foreign policy surveys sponsored by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, the hypothesized emergence of unilateralist and multilateralist preferences is probed empirically, and comparisons across time and between elites and masses are made based on the typology of Americans' foreign policy beliefs derived from the two internationalism dimensions, as described by the labels accommodationists, hardliners, internationalists, and isolationists.
Synopsis of Selected Energy Markets and Structures

Although it is more than ten years old at the time of this writing, Eydeland and Wolyniec (2003, hereafter denoted by EW) remains unparalleled in its presentation of both practical and theoretical techniques for commodity modeling, as well as its coverage of the core structured products in energy markets.1 We will defer much discussion of the specifics of these markets to EW, as our focus here is on modeling techniques. However, it will still be useful to highlight some central features of energy markets, to provide the proper context for the subsequent analysis.2
Photo-Current and TEM Imaging Characterization of Light-Gated Ion Pump Proteins in Lipid Membranes

We report our study on TEM imaging, and photocurrent characterization of two photosynthetic proteins, Bacteriorhodopsin (BR), and Halorhodopsin (HR), which act as light-gated ion pumps. Bacteriorhodopsin acts as a proton (H+) pump, and Halorhodopsin as a chloride ion (Cl-) pump. Both proteins are reconstituted in nano-bilayer membranes supported by Teflon and silicon-based substrates. When a beam of green or blue light shines on the membranes, it induces ion (H+ or Cl-) transport, which is measurable as a photocurrent. We measure how the photocurrent generated by BR and HR changes as a function of their concentration in the membranes and cross-membrane potential. Furthermore, we take TEM images of the membranes with BR and HR reconstituted, to characterize the structure and the density of the proteins in the lipid membranes. The relationship between these structures and the generated photocurrent will also be discussed.
Defining and operationalizing theory

Summary Over the last 50 years, the organizational sciences have gone from being largely atheoretical to relying heavily on theory. For various reasons, our approach to theory building has strayed from the principles of scientific acceptability. In this paper, I explore the problems with our approach to theory, the systemic causes of these problems, and the changes that are needed to get us back on track. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Section 10: On the Coexistence of Vibrations with Other Sorts of Motions

Vibratory motions can coexist with all other types of motion (Par. 1) in an infinite number of different modes, which was demonstrated by Daniel Bernoulli and L. Euler in vols. XV and XIX of Nov. Comment. Acad. Petrop. and established through experimentation. These coexistences of different motions take place in all sounding bodies, without exception. It is possible, for example, to produce the sound of a string stretched over a piece of wood, or that of a blade, a tuning fork, a bell, etc., and while the vibrations continue, to imprint upon this sounding body a motion of rotation around its axis, and at the same time a progressive motion by throwing it. All these movements could happen at the same time, without one being prevented by the other; but the absolute motion of each point would be very complex.
Engagement in Information Search

This chapter examines user engagement in interactive information search systems, drawing upon research in information retrieval, information behavior, and human-computer interaction. The authors describe small-scale, laboratory-based studies and large-scale, online search studies to illuminate the factors of systems (e.g., architecture), users (e.g. individual differences), and tasks (e.g. degree of complexity) that impact engagement outcomes. Throughout this chapter, the range of self-report, behavioral, and physiological methods that inform information search engagement research, along with their benefits and limitations are discussed. The authors argue that engagement is central to search success but that studying search engagement is challenging due to the number of factors that impact information search. Mixed methods approaches that combine subjective and objective measures can equip researchers to meet these challenges.