cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of iron in the production of hemolysin byListeria monocytogenes

The in vitro production of hemolysin byListeria monocytogenes, a facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen, was examined as a function of medium iron. There was an inverse relationship between iron and hemolysin production: Hemolysis increased as medium iron concentration decreased. This study offers the first evidence that the in vitro production of hemolysin byListeria monocytogenes is under the control of external iron in growth medium.
Analysis of Illegally Distributed Anabolic Steroid Products by Liquid Chromatography with Identity Confirmation by Mass Spectrometry or Infrared Spectrophotometry

Anabolic steroid products found in the illegal market are primarily oil-based injectables or tablets and often do not contain the ingredients declared on the label. An analytical scheme based on a reverse-phase liquid chromatographic (LC) system for screening, tentative identification, and quantitation is presented. Methanolic sample extracts are chromatographed on an octadecyl column using 2 mobile phases (methanol and (75 + 25) methanol-water) and tracked at 3 wavelengths (240, 210, and 280 nm) or with a photodiode array UV detector. Retention time ratios (RR) relative to testosterone and UV data are used for tentative identification. The same LC system serves as a cleanup and isolation step for identity confirmation by direct insertion probe mass spectrometry (MS) or Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR). Recoveries range from 96.2 to 100.2% for 11 different steroids extracted from sesame oil. LC RR values for over 40 steroids, analytical results for typical products, and MS and FTIR spectra for selected compounds are presented.
Mouse Skin Carcinogenesis: Application to the Analysis of Complex Mixtures

Current information suggests that chemical carcinogenesis is a multistage process; in this regard, one of the best studied models is the two-stage carcinogenesis system in mouse skin. Skin tumors can be induced by the sequential application of a subthreshold dose of a carcinogen (initiation phase) followed by repetitive treatments with a noncarcinogenic tumor promoter (promotion phase). The initiation phase requires only a single application of either a direct or indirect carcinogen at a subthreshold dose and is essentially irreversible. The promotion phase is brought about by repetitive treatments after initiation and is initially reversible but later irreversible. The mouse skin system can be used not only to determine the tumor-initiating and tumor-promoting activities of a compound: if the agent is given repeatedly by itself, one can also determine If it is a complete carcinogen (i.e., if it has both tumor-initiating and tumor-promoting activities).
Physical and Social Impairment in Persons With Repetitive Behavior Disorders

In this chapter we reviewed a variety of harmful medical and non medical problems associated with tic disorders, trichotillomania, and other RBDs. We also attempted to explain the potential etiology of the concerns, and discussed possible strategies for their clinical management. Although this chapter summarized the extant research on these topics, it is clear that the lines of investigation are either in their early stages or have yet to inaugurated. For example, the epidemiology of secondary non medical problems is incomplete across disorders and research on the cause of these problems is incomplete for some disorders (e.g., tic disorders) and missing entirely for others (e.g., nail biting). The empirical literature on psychological and/or behavioral treatments for the harmful effects of RBDs is also quite limited. Although we describe or propose a sample of interventions to address at least some problems associated with RBDs, few of these have been scientifically evaluated in that context. There are examples of other important research agendas scattered throughout this chapter. It is our ardent hope that research on the sequelae of RBDs will expand sufficiently to achieve a goal of paramount importance for those afflicted, elimination or substantial reduction in related harm.
Conceptions of relationships in children with depressive and aggressive symptoms : Social-cognitive distortion or reality?

This research tested skill-deficit and cognitive-distortion models of depression and aggression in 615 fifth- and sixth-grade children. Children completed a measure of their generalized conceptions of relationships in the peer domain and their level of depressive symptoms. Teachers completed measures of social competence, social status, and aggression. As anticipated, children with higher levels of depressive symptoms, either alone or in combination with aggression, demonstrated more negative conceptions of both self and peers than did nonsymptomatic children. Conceptions of relationships did not differentiate between aggressive and nonsymptomatic children. Children with depressive symptoms and children with aggressive symptoms displayed unique profiles of social competence deficits and problematic status in the peer group. Analysis of the accuracy of children's conceptions of relationships revealed support for both skill-deficit and cognitive-distortion models. Consistent with a skill-deficit model, children with depressive and depressive-aggressive symptoms were sensitive to actual differences in their social status. In contrast, aggressive children showed an insensitivity to social cues. Consistent with a cognitive-distortion model, children with depressive and depressive-aggressive symptoms had more negative conceptions than would be expected given their social status, whereas aggressive-unpopular children demonstrated a self-enhancement bias. These findings indicate the importance of integrated cognitive-interpersonal models of depression and aggression that incorporate multiple pathways among social-cognitive, interpersonal, and emotional functioning.
Comparison of Geriatric Trauma Outcomes When Admitted to a Medical or Surgical Service After a Fall.

Abstract Background Blunt trauma in the geriatric population is fraught with poor outcomes, with injury severity and comorbidities impacting morbidity and mortality. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 2172 patients aged ≥65 y who fell, requiring hospital admission between January 2012 and December 2016. There were 403 patients in the surgical arm (SA) and 1769 patients in the medical arm (MA). Ground-level falls were the only mechanism of injury included. We excluded all ICU admissions and deaths within 24 h. Results There were 5 deaths (1.24%) in the SA and 16 deaths (0.90%) in the MA (P = 0.57). The mean trauma injury severity score survival probability prediction in the SA was 96.9% versus 97.1% in the MA. MA patients had more comorbidities overall than SA patients. There was no difference in mortality between the SA and MA groups in multiple logistic regression models that accounted for trauma injury severity scores (TRISS) and comorbidities. Unadjusted hospital length of stay was 1 d shorter (median; 95% CI −1.4 to −0.6) in the SA and 0.5 d shorter (median; 95% CI −0.8 to −0.1) when adjusted for TRISS and comorbidities using multiple quantile regression. Finally, patients in the SA were 2.1 (95% CI 1.7 to 2.6) times more likely to be discharged home compared with patients in the MA, and this remained significant (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.5 to 2.5) with simultaneous adjustment for TRISS and comorbidities using multiple logistic regression. Conclusions Geriatric blunt trauma patients admitted to surgical services after mechanical falls have no difference in survival, a shorter median length of stay, and increased likelihood of being discharged home compared with patients admitted to medical services.
The Feasibility of Project CHASE: A Facebook-Delivered, Parent-Mediated Physical Activity Intervention for Children with Autism

To effectively combat high levels of inactivity among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), scalable and sustainable methods of intervention are required. The purpose of this study was to e...
A sensitive HPLC-FLD method combined with multivariate analysis for the determination of amino acids in L-citrulline rich vegetables

Abstract The proposed analytical method reports the separation and quantification of 21 amino acids including l -citrulline from fresh vegetables and commercial juices using a C8 column. Optimal separation conditions for amino acids analysis were obtained with 20 mM sodium acetate (solvent A) and water with organic modifier acetonitrile and methanol (solvent B; 18/50/32 V/V). The ideal pH and column temperature were found to be 5.40 and 35 °C, respectively. The LOD and LOQ values were obtained in the range of 0.02–0.19 ng/mL and 0.04–0.39 ng/mL for all amino acids respectively. Relative standard deviations (RSD) of intraday and interday analysis were found to be l -citrulline content was highest in fresh watermelon juice (716.57 ± 24.80 μg/mL) and commercial watermelon lime juice (826.48 ± 34.48 μg/mL). The optimized analytical method is rapid, sensitive, accurate and reproducible for analysis of free amino acids including l -citrulline from different vegetable juices and other food products. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to separate OPA derivatives of amino acids using C8 column from watermelon, cucumber, zucchini squash, yellow squash, calabaza squash, and celery in a HPLC-FLD system.
Teaching Tomorrow's Teachers: An Innovative Model of Clinician-Educator Development for Fellows-in-Training

Although the word “doctor” derives from the Latin “to teach,” most physicians do so without any formal educational instruction or experience. Indeed, few training programs provide structured opportunities to cultivate the skills necessary for physician learners to become successful medical
Suppressing the noise in SST retrieved from satellite infrared measurements by smoothing the differential terms in regression equations

Multichannel regression algorithms are widely used in retrievals of sea surface temperature (SST) from infrared brightness temperatures (BTs) observed from satellites. The SST equations typically include terms dependent on the difference between BTs observed in spectral bands with different atmospheric absorption. Such terms do account for variations in the variable atmospheric attenuation, but may introduce additional noise in the retrieved SST due to amplification of the radiometric noise. Some processing systems (e.g., the EUMETSAT OSI-SAF) incorporate noise suppression algorithms, based on spatial smoothing of the differential terms in the SST equations. A similar algorithm is being tested for the potential use in the NOAA Advanced Clear-Sky Processor for Oceans (ACSPO). The ACSPO smoothing algorithm aims to preserve natural variations in SST field, while minimizing distortions in the original SST imagery, at a minimal processing time. This presentation describes the ACSPO smoothing algorithm and results of its evaluation with the SST imagery, and with the in situ matchups for NOAA and Metop AVHRRs, Terra and Aqua MODISs, and SNPP/JPSS VIIRS.
Investigation of the thermal and neutron irradiation response of BAM-11 bulk metallic glass

Abstract Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5 (BAM-11) bulk metallic glass was irradiated by neutrons to a fluence of 1.4 × 1020 n/cm2 (E > 0.1 MeV) (0.1 displacements per atom, dpa) at a temperature of ∼70 °C and then analyzed using multiple mechanical property and structural characterization techniques. Nanoindentation hardness measurements revealed that irradiation led to softening and a reduced Young's modulus in the alloy while annealing at 300–325 °C caused an increase in the hardness and modulus. Neutron diffraction results indicated that primary knock-on events caused rejuvenation (structural disordering) while annealing resulted in structural relaxation. Furthermore, it was found that annealing after irradiation reversed the disordering effects caused by the irradiation. The increased disordering in the alloy during irradiation is thought to be attributed to the enhanced free volume content caused by the neutron collision cascades in the matrix. Indeed, immersion density measurements revealed that irradiation led to a decrease in the density of the alloy. This decrease in the macroscopic density was linked to an increase in the structural disorder of the alloy while an increase in the density corresponded to an increasing degree of order. Additionally, synchrotron X-ray diffraction related the structural relaxation of the alloy to a loss of ductility, which is in agreement with the literature. Overall, an increase in the structural disorder in the sample is linked to a softening of the alloy and to a higher concentration of soft-zone defects in the glass.
TCT-21 Incidence and Clinical Outcomes of Stroke in Patients With Percutaneous Mechanical Circulatory Support Devices: Insights From a Large National Database

Percutaneous mechanical circulatory support (pMCS), such as intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), percutaneous ventricular assist device (PVAD) (Impella or Tandem Heart), or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), have emerged as an important tool in recent years for stabilizing patients with ST-
Artificial Photosynthesis at Efficiencies Greatly Exceeding That of Natural Photosynthesis.

ConspectusSunlight is an abundant energy source for a sustainable society. Indeed, photosynthetic organisms harness solar radiation to build the world around us by synthesizing energy-rich compound...
Postvaccination graft dysfunction/aplastic anemia relapse with massive clonal expansion of autologous CD8+ lymphocytes.

Acquired aplastic anemia is a T-cell–mediated autoimmune bone marrow aplasia, without a known etiologic trigger. Clonal expansion of CD8+ effector T lymphocytes can occur following vaccination and accompany graft dysfunction or aplastic anemia relapse.
Comparing the Timeliness of Treatment in Younger vs. Older Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction: A Multi-Center Cohort Study.

Abstract Background ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) predominantly affects older adults. Lower incidence among younger patients may challenge diagnosis. Objectives We hypothesize that among patients ≤ 50 years old, emergent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for STEMI is delayed when compared with patients aged > 50 years. Methods This 3-year, 10-center retrospective cohort study included emergency department (ED) STEMI patients ≥ 18 years of age treated with emergent PCI. We excluded patients with an electrocardiogram (ECG) completed prior to ED arrival or a nondiagnostic initial ECG. Our primary outcome was door-to-balloon (D2B) time. We compared characteristics and outcomes among younger vs. older STEMI patients, and among age subgroups. Results There were 576 ED STEMI PCI patients, of whom 100 were ≤ 50 years old and 476 were > 50 years old. Median age was 44 years in the younger cohort (interquartile range [IQR] 41–47) vs. 62 years (IQR 57–70) among older patients. Median D2B time for the younger cohort was 76.5 min (IQR 67.5–102.5) vs. 81.0 min (IQR 65.0–105.5) in the older cohort (p = 0.91). This outcome did not change when ages 40 or 45 years were used to demarcate younger vs. older. The younger cohort had a higher prevalence of nonwhite races (38% vs. 21%; p 80 years; 45/576) had 5.51 and 2.2 greater odds of delays. Conclusion We found no statistically significant difference in D2B times between patients ≤ 50 years old and those > 50 years old. Nonwhite patients and those who smoke were disproportionately represented within the younger population. The very young and very old had higher odds of D2B times > 90 min.
Cigarette Smokers Versus Cannabis Smokers Versus Co-users of Cigarettes and Cannabis: A Pilot Study Examining Exposure to Toxicants.

Introduction Studies suggest tobacco and cannabis co-users may experience greater toxicant exposure than exclusive cigarette (ET) smokers. No study has systematically tested differences in toxicant exposure among co-users, exclusive cannabis (ECa) smokers, and ET smokers. Methods Adult daily cigarette smokers and/or weekly cannabis smokers completed two laboratory visits. Co-users (n=19) tested positive for urinary 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ 9-tetrahydrocannnabinol (THCCOOH), self-reported cannabis use ≥1x/week, and smoked ≥5 cigarettes per day (CPD). ET smokers (n=18) denied past month cannabis use, tested negative for urinary THCCOOH and smoked ≥5 CPD. ECa smokers (n=16) tested positive for urinary THCCOOH, self-reported cannabis use ≥1x/week, and denied past month tobacco use (NicAlert Results Co-users and ET smokers had higher levels of exhaled carbon monoxide, total nicotine equivalents, metabolites of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNAL), and all four measured mercapturic acids (measures of volatile organic compounds) than ECa smokers (ps .05). Discussion Co-users and ET smokers demonstrated comparable levels of biomarkers of exposure to harmful constituents despite smoking similar amounts of tobacco. ECa smokers demonstrated lower levels of toxicant exposure for most biomarkers.
The Role of Country Governance in Firm Responses to Economic Protectionism

Many countries have recently enacted investment-related national security screening laws and regulations (“national security screening laws” for short) that protect domestic firms from foreign owne...
The use of local vancomycin powder in degenerative spine surgery

Wound infection after spine surgery is a debilitating complication. Local placement of vancomycin powder into the surgical wounds prior to closing of the fascia has been introduced as a method to reduce deep infection rates. The infection rates of all the patients who were treated with intra-operative local vancomycin between June 2012 and June 2013 were compared to all cases that were not treated with vancomycin between January 2009 and December 2010. Patients for both groups were operated by four senior, fellowship-trained spine surgeons with a combined experience of 55 years of practice at a referral orthopedic center. Patients’ charts and microbiology reports were reviewed. 1224 cases were performed with the use of vancomycin. The average age was 56.3 years (SD −13.2; NS). The male to female ratio was 1:1.12 (NS). 2253 cases were performed without the use of vancomycin. The average patient age was 57.1 years (SD 14.5). The male to female ratio was 1:1.14. There were 30 cases of deep infections needing a surgical irrigation and debridement without vancomycin versus 5 when vancomycin was used (P = 0.04). Infections in patients treated with vancomycin were not vancomycin-resistant bacteria. In conclusion, the use of vancomycin reduces the rate of deep wound infections and irrigation and debridement procedures after spine surgery in a referral center among surgeons with a high surgical volume.
Chapter 6 Differential contribution of frontal and medial temporal lobes to memory: Evidence from focal lesions and normal aging

Abstract In recent years the study of memory has become very much an interdisciplinary enterprise in which cognitive psychology and neuropsychology have been the principal participants. This collaboration has yielded a wealth of information concerning the brain-behavior relations involved in normal human memory. This chapter provides an overview of the empirical and theoretical developments that have emerged from the study of focal lesion patients and the normal elderly. The chapter focuses on the roles played in memory by two broad areas of brain-the medial temporal lobe regions and prefrontal cortex- and attempts to show how these areas make distinct but complementary contributions to human memory.
Transcriptional and maturational effects of manganese and iron on the biosynthesis of manganese-superoxide dismutase in Escherichia coli.

Anaerobically grown Escherichia coli contain an enzymatically active iron superoxide dismutase (Fe2-FeSOD) and an inactive iron-substituted manganese superoxide dismutase (Fe2-MnSOD). The anaerobic electron sink, nitrate plus paraquat, enhanced biosynthesis of the MnSOD polypeptide, with accumulation of inactive Fe2-MnSOD. The oxidant, diamide, in contrast, allowed anaerobic production of the active forms of MnSOD, i.e. Mn2-MnSOD and Mn/Fe-MnSOD. Nutritional supplementation with Mn(II) favored occupancy of the MnSOD active site with manganese and allowed anaerobic accumulation of Mn2-MnSOD in the absence of diamide. Enrichment of the anaerobic growth medium with Fe(II) both suppressed biosynthesis of the MnSOD polypeptide and inhibited formation of the active manganese-containing forms. A tac-sodA operon fusion was used to examine the effects of chelating agents and metals on maturation of nascent MnSOD, independent from the transcriptional effects these agents impose. Isopropyl-1-thio-beta-D-galactopyranoside (IPTG) elicited anaerobic biosynthesis of MnSOD, which accumulated as the inactive Fe2-MnSOD. Diamide, with IPTG, allowed formation of active Mn/Fe-MnSOD while 1,10-phenanthroline with IPTG resulted in accumulation of Mn2-MnSOD. These results suggest that iron participates in the redox-sensitive control of the formation of active MnSOD at two levels, i.e. that of transcription as well as that of maturation. During maturation of the nascent MnSOD polypeptide, iron and manganese compete for the metal-binding site; anaerobic conditions favor iron-binding, whereas oxidants, such as dioxygen or diamide, favor binding of manganese.
A smart bi-directional telemetry unit for retinal prosthetic device

This paper describes a smart bi-directional telemetry unit for an implantable retinal prosthetic device. The system is designed to deliver 250 mW to the intra-ocular unit via an inductive link and provide wireless communication capability. A novel dual frequency carrier approach is used to optimize the power link for maximum transfer efficiency and the forward telemetry for high data rates. The power link uses a smart feedback system via reverse telemetry to compensate for instantaneous changes in power level due to coil misalignment and load variations. The system is optimized to minimize the power losses in the analog front-end of the intraocular unit while ensuring proper device operation. Preliminary results are shown in AMI 1.6 /spl mu/m bulk CMOS process for the reverse telemetry and power feedback system.
Responsiveness to anaphylatoxin C5a delineates hematopoietic lineage of pulmonary dendritic cells (HYP6P.257)

The complement subunit, C5a (anaphylatoxin), can either promote or suppress allergic responses through its effects on pulmonary dendritic cells (DCs). However, DCs are heterogeneous, and responsiveness of specific DC subsets to anaphylatoxins has not been well characterized. Two distinct precursors can give rise to DCs, including fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor 3 (FLT3)-dependent preDCs and FLT3-independent monocytes. The integrins CD11b and CD103 are widely used to identify DC subsets in the lung, but CD11bhi DCs are composed of both preDC-derived conventional DCs (cDCs) and monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs), including Ly-6Chi inflammatory DCs and Ly-6CloCD64hi (also CD14hi) resident moDCs. Microarray analysis of FLT3-dependent CD11bhi cDCs and FLT3-independent CD11bhi moDCs revealed that C5aR/CD88 is highly expressed by moDCs. Flow cytometric analysis confirmed that CD88 is displayed on Ly-6Chi inflammatory DCs and CD64hi resident moDCs, but not on CD103+ and CD64lo cDCs. CD88hi lung DCs were FLT3-independent, and adoptively transferred monocytes differentiated exclusively to CD88hi DCs. Calcium-influx analysis of purified lung DCs upon C5a stimulation confirmed that only Ly-6Chi inflammatory DCs and CD64hi moDCs, but not CD103+ DCs and CD64lo cDCs respond to C5a. Our findings demonstrate that CD88 can reliably distinguish moDC from cDCs, and that only moDCs are directly stimulated by anaphylatoxin C5a.
Supertrees by Flipping

The input to a supertree problem is a collection of phylogenetic trees that intersect pairwise in their leaf sets; the goal is to construct a single tree that retains as much as possible of the information in the input. This task is complicated by inconsistencies due to errors. We consider the case where the source trees are rooted and are represented by the clusters they exhibit. The problem is to find the minimum number of flips needed to resolve all inconsistencies, where each flip moves a taxon into or out of a cluster. We prove that the minimum flip problem is NP-complete, but show that it is fixed-parameter tractable and give an approximation algorithm for a special case.
Rotational Raman lidar for temperature measurements in the troposphere

The use of rotational Raman scattering to measure temperature in the lower troposphere has been investigated. Initial results have shown the value of this technique for temperature measurements from the ground to 10 km using the Applied Research Laboratory/Penn State University LAMP lidar. Comparisons with standard rawinsonde balloons show the rotational Raman technique's accuracy and ability to measure temperature on small spatial and temporal scales. A statistical model of lidar performance. Assuming the use of the doubled wavelength (532 nm) Nd:YAG laser, has been developed to analyze the optimal instrumental configuration for rotational Raman temperature measurements in the mid-latitude troposphere. >
Lysine Deficiency Alters Diet Selection without Depressing Food Intake in Rats

Under states of protein deficiency, the dietary limiting amino acid, rather than protein content, can act as the dietary stimulus to control diet selection. If fact, threonine-deficient rats will alter their diet selection patterns solely on the basis of very small changes (0.009 g/100 g) in the dietary threonine concentration. In these studies, we assessed whether lysine-deficient rats will also alter their diet selection patterns on the basis of small changes in dietary Lys concentration. In all experiments, growing rats were adapted to diets in which the protein fraction (purified amino acids or wheat gluten) was limiting in Lys. They were then given a choice between the adaptation diet (AD) diet and a slightly more deficient diet. Rats that were adapted to a Lys-deficient diet (0.25 g Lys/100 g) selected their AD over diets containing as little as 0.01% less Lys (P < 0.01) within 5 d. To determine how deficient rats must be before they alter their selection patterns, rats were adapted to diets containing various levels of Lys, i.e., 2 levels below the requirement for growth and 2 levels above the requirement for growth, but below the requirement for maximal nitrogen retention. Only rats adapted to diets containing Lys below their requirement for growth selected their AD over a diet containing 0.05% less Lys (P < 0.005). Finally, to determine whether rats will alter their selection to whole protein-based diets, rats were adapted to 25% wheat gluten diets supplemented with 0.03-0.21% Lys. Rats selected the AD over a diet containing as little as 0.09% less supplemental Lys by d 4 of the trial (P < 0.05). We conclude that rats are sensitive to changes as small as 0.01% in dietary Lys concentration, but that sensitivity requires prior adaptation to Lys-deficient diets.
Heat transfer, drag reduction, and fluid characterization for turbulent flow of polymer solutions: recent results and research needs

Abstract Some results of investigations on the heat transfer and friction reduction for viscoelastic polymer solutions flowing in circular tubes are presented. The effects of concentration and mechanical degradation on the drag and heat transfer are discussed. Measurements of heat transfer in the thermal entrance region are also reported and indicate a very long entrance region for asymptotic conditions and a shorter one for the non-asymptotic regime. Both these and fully-developed results suggest a departure from the friction/heat transfer analogies, both at the macroscopic coefficient level and at the turbulent diffusivity level. In particular, our computations showed that the turbulent Prandtl number may reach values of up to 15 for asymptotic drag-reducing solutions. In addition to the presentation of these results, the current understanding in this research area is discussed, with a review of some of the most important recent results and of the current research needs in terms of modeling, correlations, experiments, and fluid characterization.
The System Si3N4-SiO2-Y2O3

Subsolidus phase relations were established in the system Si3N4-SiO2-Y2O3. Four ternary compounds were confirmed, with compositions of Y4Si2O7N2, Y2Si3O3N4, YSiO2N, and Y10(SiO4)6N2. The eutectic in the triangle Si3N4-Y2Si2O7-Y10(SiO4)6N2 melts at 1500°C and that in the triangle Si2N2O-SiO2-Y2Si2O7 at 1550°C. The eutectic temperature of the Si3N4-Y2Si2O7 join was ∼ 1520°C.
Nephrocalcinosis: re-defined in the era of endourology

Nephrocalcinosis generally refers to the presence of calcium salts within renal tissue, but this term is also used radiologically in diagnostic imaging in disease states that also produce renal stones, so that it is not always clear whether it is tissue calcifications or urinary calculi that give rise to the characteristic appearance of the kidney on x-ray or computed tomography (CT). Recent advances in endoscopic imaging now allow the visual distinction between stones and papillary nephrocalcinosis, and intrarenal endoscopy can also verify the complete removal of urinary stones, so that subsequent radiographic appearance can be confidently attributed to nephrocalcinosis. This report shows exemplary cases of primary hyperparathyroidism, type I distal renal tubular acidosis, medullary sponge kidney, and common calcium oxalate stone formation. In the first three cases—all being conditions commonly associated with nephrocalcinosis—it is shown that the majority of calcifications seen by radiograph may actually be stones. In common calcium oxalate stones formers, it is shown that Randall’s plaque can appear as a small calculus on CT scan, even when calyces are known to be completely clear of stones. In the current era with the use of non-contrast CT for the diagnosis of nephrolithiasis, the finding of calcifications in close association with the renal papillae is common. Distinguishing nephrolithiasis from nephrocalcinosis requires direct visual inspection of the papillae and so the diagnosis of nephrocalcinosis is essentially an endoscopic, not radiologic, diagnosis.
Continuous brachial plexus neural blockade in a child with intractable cancer pain

Abstract A 6-year-old boy presented with a large, rapidly growing osteosarcoma of the upper humerus and severe neuropathic arm pain. Despite large doses of morphine (100 μg/kg/hr), which resulted in intermittent somnolence and respiratory depression, his pain was poorly controlled. An interscalene brachial plexus catheter was inserted, and bupivacaine was injected on ten occasions over 5 days, with markedly improved analgesia and decreased opioid requirement. Cancer pain in children can be controlled by opioids in 95 % of cases; however, circumstances such as intractable neuropathic pain may require specific regional anesthetic techniques.
Osler on typhoid fever: differentiating typhoid from typhus and malaria

Early in the history of medicine, physician had a difficult time differentiating acute febrile illnesses without localizing signs. Typhoid fever and malaria share common features, which caused diagnostic problems during the 1800s. Physician even introduced a new term, typho-malaria, a testimony to their diagnostic confusion. Osler, consummate clinician and careful observer, had vast experience with typhoid fever and malaria. He was able to easily discern between the key features of both of these infections. He also relied on fever patterns to clearly differentiate typhoid fever from malaria. Osler is credited for debunking the term typho-malaria. His clinical description of typhoid fever remains unsurpassed. Clinicians still can benefit greatly from reading Osler's clinical description of typhoid fever.
Influences related to time allocation of R & D supervisors

Four basic areas of possible influence have been investigated and found to bear some relationship to an engineering supervisor's allocation of time: the individual himself, in terms of his personal job interests and desires; his perception of his superior's desires in terms of time allocation; a set of role and task requirements manifest in his perception of how he ought to spend his time; and several structural characteristics of the organization. A clearer understanding of how an engineering supervisor allocates his time, in light of these pressures, would seem to be important if progress is to be made toward the more efficient utilization of engineering and scientific personnel.
Revision of the jumping spider genus Sassacus (Araneae, Salticidae, Dendryphantinae) in North America

Abstract The nine species of Sassacus Peckham & Peckham 1895 known from Canada, the United States, and Mexico are described. The genus as defined here includes: Sassacus papenhoei Peckham & Peckham 1895, Sassacus paiutus (Gertsch 1934), Sassacus samalayucae Richman (new species), Sassacus cyaneus (Hentz 1846), Sassacus alboguttatus (F.O. Pickard–Cambridge 1901), Sassacus vitis (Cockerell 1894), Sassacus aztecus Richman (new species), Sassacus barbipes Peckham & Peckham 1888, and Sassacus lirios Richman (new species). Agassa Simon 1901 is synonymized with Sassacus. “Typical” (beetle-like) and more “normal” (spider-like) Sassacus range from Southern British Columbia south into Central America. The Sassacus arcuatus group, which is much more extensive in South America, possibly belongs to its own genus and is not treated beyond one species described here from Mexico.
Simulation and validation of fish thermal DO habitat in north-central US lakes under different climate scenarios

Fish habitat in lakes is strongly constrained by water temperature and available dissolved oxygen (DO). Suitable fish habitat for three fish assemblages (cold-, cool-, and warm-water) in Minnesota (US) lakes was therefore determined from simulated daily water temperature and dissolved oxygen profiles. A total of 27 types of lakes were simulated under past (1961‐1979) and a projected 2CO2 climate scenarios. The projected climate scenario was derived from the output of the Canadian Climate Center General Circulation Model for a doubling of atmospheric CO2. A verified, process-oriented, unsteady and one-dimensional (vertical) year-round lake water quality model (MINLAKE96) was used for the temperature and DO simulations, which were run in a continuous mode over 19 years. Water temperature and DO criteria for survival and good-growth of each fish guild were provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Simulated suitable fish habitats were compared with fish observations in 3002 Minnesota lakes. Winterkill was simulated to occur in shallow eutrophic and mesotrophic lakes under past climate conditions, and predicted to disappear under the projected 2 CO2 climate scenario due to a shortening of the ice cover period. Sensitivity of the simulated winterkill to three DO survival limits was analyzed. A lower DO (less than 0.5 mg:1) limit for winterkill produced better agreement with a fish observation database than higher limits. Dependence of the simulated good-growth habitat areas (GGHA) and volumes (GGHV) on the geometry (surface area and maximum depth) and trophic state of a lake was also examined. Fish habitat parameters were found to depend more strongly on geometry and less on trophic state. Climate change is projected to increase GGHA in seasonaly stratified (medium-depth and deep) lakes on the average by 50 and 115% for cool-water and warm-water fish guilds, respectively. It is also projected that cold-water fish species will have a small percentage loss in weakly stratified (medium-depth) lakes, but a small percentage gain of GGHA in deep, strongly stratified lakes. © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
X-ray imaging as a time-saving, non-invasive technique for diet analysis

Dietary patterns of animals have a long-recognized importance in ecology and evolution, with numerous and diverse applications. While many methods of diet assessment exist, the most common method of direct diet examination for most small vertebrates is stomach-content analysis, using labor-intensive surgical removal of the gut following death. Methods that can reduce the time required to collect diet information without necessarily sacrificing specimens could prove invaluable for a range of applications. We evaluated digital X-ray imaging as a non-invasive method for examination of stomach contents of small fishes. Based on both a feeding experiment and examination of field-collected preserved specimens, we found that digital radiography consistently revealed the presence of moderate- to high-density prey items in the stomach, such as small arthropods. Moreover, X-ray imaging allowed for rapid identification of some particular prey items such as detritus, dipteran larvae, ostracods, hard-shelled molluscs, and small fish. However, this method failed to detect some low-density prey items present in some stomachs, and could not be used for precise taxonomic identifications in most cases. Overall, we found that digital X-ray images can be quickly acquired from anesthetized or preserved animals, permit rapid identification of certain prey items, and facilitate digital data archives. Future studies that employ this method should first “ground-truth” the radiological signatures of prey items observed within a given study using stomach-content analysis, which then permits rapid data collection strictly using X-ray images. This method can provide information useful for determining the inclusion of certain prey items in diets, even quantifying particular taxonomic groups of prey (% occurrence, % by number). Thus our results indicate that for certain study goals, X-ray radiography may provide a time reducing, non-invasive technique for diet analysis of small vertebrates.
Educating Gerontologists for Cultural Proficiency in End-of-life Care Practice

An educational program was developed to train practitioners to provide care for patients and families that are responsive to cultural concerns. The aim was to increase knowledge and improve attitudes toward providing culturally proficient and culturally sensitive care for patients and families facing life-threatening illnesses. The program consisted of six half-day sessions on key areas in end-of-life care practice. The modules integrated and infused content related to ethnically and culturally diverse populations in a comprehensive training format. Evaluation results suggested that the program was successful in increasing participant knowledge and attitudes towards cross-cultural interdisciplinary practice of end-of-life care.
Correlation-based performance analysis for full-system MapReduce optimization

Big Data is changing this world at a surprising speed, and MapReduce plays a critical role in finding insights in Big Data. However, to efficiently extract insights from Big Data, performance optimization of MapReduce applications is a challenging task. To facilitate the full-system optimization of MapReduce applications, we propose a correlation-based performance analysis approach to efficiently identify critical outliers. The basic intuition is that critical outliers are key to the overall performance and they can only be accurately identified by correlating different phases, tasks and resources. Based on the proposed approach, we further implement a correlation-based performance analysis tool, called Sonata. It can efficiently identify critical outliers, and then, recommend optimization suggestions for practitioners based on embedded rules. Since the performance overhead is key to the applicability of a performance tool, we conduct experiments to demonstrate that Sonata is a practical tool with less than 5% overhead and good scalability. To demonstrate the effectiveness of Sonata, we share several cases during the performance tuning of IBM Platform SymphonyTM with the help of Sonata.
Current Treatment Practices for Early Laryngeal Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: Controversy regarding the management of early laryngeal carcinoma persists in the absence of a definitive comparison of treatment modalities. This study examines the basic management practices for early laryngeal cancer among the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery membership with an emphasis on the role of conservation surgery.METHODS: Questionnaires were randomly distributed to 3000 members with 1000 responses. The results were collated and statistically evaluated with multivariable frequency analysis.RESULTS: For operable supraglottic tumors, supraglottic laryngectomy was advocated by 41.6% of those responding. Definitive radiation therapy was suggested by 5.3% of participants and total laryngectomy by 1.4%. Explanation of treatment options with the patient deciding the therapy was selected by 48.3% of responders. For suitable glottic tumors, hemilaryngectomy was recommended by 37.1%, definitive radiation therapy by 8.1%, total laryngectomy by 1.9%, and patient choice by...
Incorporating Line Radiation Effects into Edge Plasma Codes

Strong hydrogen line radiation can significantly affect the ionization and energy balance in high-density, low-temperature edge plasmas. A fully self-consistent one-dimensional simulation code integrating line radiation with edge plasma transport has recently been demonstrated. This code allows us to evaluate the use of approximate treatments of radiation effects that could potentially be incorporated into existing two-dimensional edge plasma codes. For a given approximation, we tabulate effective ionization, recombination and energy loss rates for hydrogen plasmas in a one-dimensional geometry as a function of electron density, temperature and position. The position is a simple parameterization corresponding to optical depth, with the correspondence dependent on plasma properties, including magnetic field. The parameterized values can differ by more than an order of magnitude from the optically thin values. We present one-dimensional edge plasma simulations using the parameterized tables and compare them to self-consistent simulations to investigate the validity of this approach, the effectiveness of the parameterization and the accuracy of the approximations used. We also present results using parameterized tables in a two-dimensional code and discuss the validity of applying them in this manner.
Oceanic heat content variability in the tropical Pacific during the 1982–1983 El Niño

A linear, multimode model forced by observed winds is used to investigate anomolous heat transport and storage during the 1982-1983 El Nino. The study compliments the work of Wyrtki (1985) and of Zebiak and Cane (1987) and contains the ocean dynamics invoked by both these studies to explain heat content anomalies. Model hindcasts are compared with observational evidence derived from the island sea level network. The meridional distribution of heat storage and the components of heat transport are considered. It is found that the mechanisms contributing to heat transport out of bands of latitude symmetric about the equator are isolated and related to the wind anomalies and wave dynamics usually associated with ENSO events. It is noted that although the spatial and temporal distribution of oceanic heat anomalies necessary to initiate an ENSO event can be determined only by studying coupled ocean-atmosphere models, an examination of the oceanic component alone is useful in determining constraints imposed by ocean dynamics.
Phytosterols in tobacco leaves at various stages of physiological maturity

Abstract Leaves of varying maturity from 84-day-old tobacco plants were harvested and analyzed for total sterol and their individual sterol components. The mature leaves had a significant higher sterol content than the immature leaves. Separation into free sterols, steryl esters, steryl glycosides, and acylated steryl glycosides showed that the free sterols accounted for most of the sterol increase, and stimgasterol was principally responsible for this increase.
74 Diversity of scenedesmus from itasca state park, minnesota

The diversity of Scenedesmus and Scenedesmus-like taxa from Itasca State Park, Minnesota was assessed using light microscopy and molecular techniques. Thirty isolates from various ponds and lakes in Itasca State Park were examined. Light microscopy showed many similarities in morphology among isolates, but PCR-RFLP analysis of the ribosomal ITS region from these isolates revealed twenty different types. A previous study from Itasca State Park using only light microscopy found only six taxa of Scenedesmus; however, our results suggest that there is much greater diversity than previously suspected. DNA sequences of the 5.8S ribosomal subunit and the ITS-2 region from our isolates are presently being determined and will be used to assess this diversity in greater detail.
Theory of shock wave propagation during laser ablation

Laser ablation consists of three coupled processes: (i) heat conduction within the solid, (ii) flow through a discontinuity layer (evaporation wave) attached to the solid surface, and (iii) shock wave expansion of the laser induced plume. In this paper, a one-dimensional solution for all three coupled processes is presented. The heat conduction and the evaporation wave are solved numerically. The shock wave expansion of the laser induced plume, however, is solved analytically, to our knowledge, for the first time; analytical solutions for the classic Riemann problem have been employed to solve the transient propagation of the strong shock wave. This model provides a sound theoretical basis for the analysis of the laser ablation process. The temperature, pressure, density, and velocity of the laser induced plume at different laser intensities, back temperatures, back pressures, and ambient gas species are calculated. The effects of the laser intensity, back temperature, back pressure, and ambient gas species are analyzed. The theoretical results provide insight into experimental results available in the literature.
Enhanced shielded-gate trench MOSFETs for high-frequency, high-efficiency computing power supply applications

Shielded-gate trench-MOSFETs yield superior performance compared to conventional gate trench devices by allowing higher doping density in the drift region and providing a `shielding effect' for the gate by placing an intermediate electrode between gate and drain. However, further design optimizations can be done for a shielded-gate trench-MOSFET to improve performance parameters particularly suited for next-generation high-frequency computing power supply applications and they have been outlined in this article. Channel length and threshold voltage optimization, substrate thinning and intrinsic gate resistance reduction (by layout enhancements) have been discussed along with their impact on device footprint reduction. Further, effects of these design optimizations on the power loss and efficiency of a high-frequency switching converter have been demonstrated through experimental characterizations.