cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Formation of Super-Hydrophobic Surface by Accumulating Pollution on RTV Silicone Rubber Coating Surface

The Super-hydrophobic surface can be obtained easily by pollution accumulation on room temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber coating surface. The photos taken by digital camera show that the amount of pollution on the RTV coating surface was increased with time, and after one year, the RTV coating surface nearly could hardly be seen. The water state contact angle (CA) measurement, which was investigated by the static contact angle instrument, reveals that the CA value of RTV coating surface is increased with increasing the pollution accumulation, and in suitable amount of pollution accumulation, the super-hydrophobic surface (water contact angle of 152o and roll-off angle smaller than 5 o) was obtained. The scanning electric microscope (SEM) of RTV coating with different pollution accumulation was investigated. It shows that the continuous micro-nanobinary structure can be formed with enough dust particles on the RTV surface. The mechanism of the effect of pollution accumulation on the wetting property was analyzed, the migration of hydrophobic molecular in RTV coating onto the pollution surface and the formation of micro-nanobinary structure on the RTV coating surface have synergistic effect on the super-hydrophobic surface formation caused by the pollution accumulation.
On the propagation of relativistic electron beams in finite-radius magnetized plasma columns

Presents a theoretical investigation of the electric and magnetic fields associated with a relativistic electron beam propagating in a finite-radius, magnetized plasma column enclosed by a larger conducting vacuum chamber. The results indicate electro-magnetic fields which can be significantly larger than in the case of beam propagation through an infinite plasma. Significant beam distortion and reflection may result when the beam density, nb, approaches the density of the plasma, n0, or when the beam length becomes excessive. It is suggested that the finite rise time of the beam energy may lead to a significant enhancement of these fields even when nb<<n0.
Evolutionary Robot Navigation Using Fuzzy Terrain Conditions

Optimal motion planning is critical for the successful operation of an autonomous mobile robot. Many proposed approaches use either fuzzy logic or genetic algorithms (GAs), however, most approaches offer only path planning or only trajectory planning, but not both. In addition, few approaches attempt to address the impact of varying terrain conditions on the optimal path. This paper presents a fuzzy-genetic approach that provides both path and trajectory planning, and has the advantage of considering diverse terrain conditions when determining the optimal path. The terrain conditions are modeled using fuzzy linguistic variables to allow for the imprecision and uncertainty of the terrain data. Although a number of methods have been proposed using GAs, few are appropriate for a dynamic environment or provide response in real-time. The method proposed in this paper is robust, allowing the robot to adapt to dynamic conditions in the environment.
Endovascular Retrieval of an Intraaortic Greenfield Vena Cava Filter

Aberrant placement of vena cava filters has been documented. Only one case of intraaortic deployment, in which the filter was left at the aortic bifurcation with no adverse effects over a 4-year follow-up period, has been reported. We describe the endovascular retrieval of an intraaortic Greenfield filter using a snare and large sheath to protect the aortic intima from injury during removal of the device.
Casimir energy and brane stability

Abstract We investigate the role of Casimir energy as a mechanism for brane stability in five-dimensional models with the fifth dimension compactified on an S 1 / Z 2 orbifold, which includes the Randall–Sundrum two brane model (RS1). We employ a ζ -function regularization technique utilizing the Schwinger proper time method and the Jacobi theta function identity to calculate the one-loop effective potential. We show that the combination of the Casimir energies of a scalar Higgs field, the three generations of Standard Model fermions and one additional massive non-SM scalar in the bulk produces a non-trivial minimum of the potential. In particular, we consider a scalar field with a coupling in the bulk to a Lorentz violating vector particle localized to the compactified dimension. Such a scalar may provide a natural means of fine tuning needed for stabilization of the brane separation. Finally, we briefly review the possibility that Casimir energy plays a role in generating the currently observed epoch of cosmological inflation by examining a simple five-dimensional anisotropic metric.
Ectopic expression of Fas Ligand on cardiomyocytes renders cardiac allografts resistant to CD4+ T-cell mediated rejection

Fas Ligand limits inflammatory injury and permits allograft survival by inducing apoptosis of Fas-bearing lymphocytes. Previous studies have shown that the CD4(+) T-cell is both sufficient and required for murine cardiac allograft rejection. Here, utilizing a transgenic mouse that over-expresses Fas Ligand specifically on cardiomyocytes as heart donors, we sought to determine if Fas Ligand on graft parenchymal cells could resist CD4(+) T-cell mediated rejection. When transplanted into fully immunocompetent BALB/c recipients Fas Ligand transgenic hearts were acutely rejected. However, when transplanted into CD4(+) T-cell reconstituted BALB/c-rag(-/-) recipients, Fas Ligand hearts demonstrated long-term survival. These results indicate that Fas Ligand over-expression on cardiomyocytes can indeed resist CD4(+) T-cell mediated cardiac rejection and suggests contact dependence between Fas Ligand expressing graft parenchymal cells and the effector CD4(+) T-cells.
Coherence resonance in models of an excitable neuron with noise in both the fast and slow dynamics

Abstract We demonstrate the existence of noise-induced regularity (coherence resonance) in both a discrete-time model and a continuous-time model of an excitable neuron. In particular, we show that the effects of noise added to the fast and slow dynamics of the models are significantly different. A Fokker–Planck analysis gives a quantitative explanation of the effects.
The effect of carbaryl (Sevin) on reproduction of the rat and the gerbil

Abstract The pesticide carbaryl (Sevin) was fed at dietary levels of 0, 2000, 5000, or 10,000 ppm to Osborne-Mendel rats for 3 generations. At 10,000 ppm, fertility was impaired and no litters were produced for the second mating of the second generation. Marked effects from birth to day 4 were manifested, as seen in the survival index. Dose-related decreases were observed in the averages of litter size, number of liveborn progeny, number of survivors to day 4, and number weaned. In a comparative study, 3 generations of gerbils were fed carbaryl at dietary levels of 0, 2000, 4000, 6000, and 10,000 ppm. No litters were produced for the second mating of the third generation at 10,000 ppm. Gerbils appeared to be more sensitive to carbaryl than rats since significant decreases were found consistently at low dietary levels, but the effects were not so clearly dose-related. As in rats, the survival of liveborn to day 4 was markedly decreased.
Three Types of Skills for Effective Forensic Psychological Assessments

This article examines three types of skills required for effective assessments in the forensic arena. Forensic psychology is the application of scientific psychology to the resolution of legal conflicts. The first skill is knowledge of the legal issues to be addressed. Examples of such issues are criminal responsibility, legal competencies, and linking mental states to legal issues in question. The second set of skills comprises those skills often required by the demands of the legal system—specifically, gathering complete information about the case at hand, striving for neutrality, reconstructing the past, and predicting the future. The last set of skills includes practical ones required during the process of litigation—that is, supporting the retaining attorney’s overall strategy, addressing the testimony to the appropriate audience, and deferring to the prerogative of the fact finder.
A Nation Once Again? The Dislocations and Displacements of Irish National Memory

When boyhood's fire was in my blood, I read of ancient freemen, For Greece and Rome who bravely stood, Three Hundred men and Three men. And then I prayed I might yet see Our fetters rent in twain,...
Nineteenth Century Origins of the Social Studies Movement: Understanding the Continuity between Older and Contemporary Civic and U.S. History Textbooks

Abstract The current debate on social studies textbooks — as reflected in the writings of FitzGerald, Weisberger arid Roselle — center around the alleged dullness, vacuity and intellectual sterility of social studies texts. The debate is hardly new. However, when one compares U.S. history and civics texts of the last century with those written in the last twenty years, and attempts to relate both to the writings of social studies educators, the debate vanishes into irrelevance. It would appear that the social studies founding fathers modeled many of their major ideas after the assumptions of 19th century positivist social science. One can trace this relationship in the famous 1916 Social Studies Committee report. Writers of this report (1) related social studies to a conception of citizenship, (2) perceived the data of social science as shedding light on natural laws, (3) assumed that social scientist would select the “social problems” that students ought to study, (4) believed that use of social science ...
Fine-needle aspiration cytology of Schiller-Duval bodies of yolk-sac tumor.

The objective of this study was to find the cytological equivalent of Schiller-Duval bodies seen in histology in order to employ the findings as a diagnostic clue for yolk-sac tumor (YST) in aspiration biopsy. A YST, aspirated from the retroperitoneal lymph node of a 29-yr-old Asian man with testicular complex mature teratoma, contained numerous Schiller-Duval bodies on cell block sections. In the corresponding smears, a network of tumor cell-coated, anastomosing, thin-walled, rigid hematopoietic channels with dramatic changes in diameter was observed, in agreement with the diagram based on the reconstruction of 48 serial plastic sections done by Kazancigil et al. (Am J Cancer 1940;40:199–212). In addition, some of the hematopoietic channels folded over several times like a long, narrow balloon pinched at its joints, i.e., “balloon animal”-like. Many segments of the allantoic viteline vascular network, fractured by smearing, exhibited three- or four-way branchings, bulbous protrusions, and cauliflower-like branchings of widely variable diameter. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2000;23:228–232. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The impact of plant biotechnology on food allergy

Concerns about food allergy and its societal growth are intertwined with the growing advances in plant biotechnology. The knowledge of plant genes and protein structures provides the key foundation to understanding biochemical processes that produce food allergy. Biotechnology offers the prospect of producing low-allergen or allergen null plants that could mitigate the allergic response. Modified low-IgE binding variants of allergens could be used as a vaccine to build immunotolerance in sensitive individuals. The potential to introduce new allergens into the food supply by biotechnology products is a regulatory concern.
Quantitative analysis of creatinine in urine by metalized nanostructured parylene

A highly accurate, real-time multisensor agent monitor for biomarker detection is required for early detection of kidney diseases. Urine creatinine level can provide useful information on the status of the kidney. We prepare nanostructured surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates without template or lithography, which provides controllable, well-organized nanostructures on the surface, for the quantitative analysis of creatinine concentration in urine. We present our work on sensitivity of the SERS substrate to urine samples collected from diabetic patients and healthy persons. We report the preparation of a new type of SERS substrate, which provides fast (<10 s), highly sensitive (creatinine concentration <0.5 microg/mL) and reproducible (<5% variation) detection of urine. Our method to analyze the creatinine level in urine is in good agreement with the enzymatic method.
SU‐E‐J‐91: Patient‐Specific Virtual Radiation Oncology: Predicting and Quantifying Treatment Response in Individual Glioblastoma Patients

Purpose: To quantify and predict response to radiation therapy in vivo prior to treatment on a patient‐specific basis using mathematical modeling.Methods: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are highly invasive primary braintumors that diffusely invade the surrounding normal appearing tissue and yields short life expectancies despite aggressive treatment. The differential motility of glioma cells throughout the brain characterize tumor invasion. We present and apply a patient‐specific, mathematical model for glioma growth that quantifies response to radiation therapy (RT) in vivo in the 3D anatomy of the human brain. The mathematical model uses net rates of proliferation and migration of tumorcells to characterize the tumor's growth and invasion along with the linear‐quadratic model for response to radiation therapy. Results: Patient individualized simulations of tumor growth and radiation response are performed in 9 GBM patients validating a predictive relationship between the net rate of proliferation rate and radiosensitivity. The simulations accurately predict the imageabletumor post‐treatment within 2.4 mm. Because the patient‐specific net proliferation rate of the tumor is calculated prior to treatment, this result provides quantitative predictions of radiosensitivity on a patient‐by‐patient basis. Conclusions: This work presents the first mathematical model to quantify patient‐specific radiosensitivity based on in vivo data. Our results indicate that, using our model, clinicians will be able to identify the degree to which any given glioma patient will respond to radiation therapy prior to treatment. That is, a virtual in silico tumor with the same growth kinetics as a particular patient combined with the complex anatomy of the brain can predict treatment response in individual patients in vivo. This work marks a paradigm shift in the quantification of treatment response and provides a basis for individualizing radiation treatment according to both the dynamics of each tumor but also their diffuse extent.
Reference sera with graded levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol

Abstract A two-step procedure for the separation of low density lipoprotein (LDL)-rich fractions and high density lipoprotein (HDL)-rich fractions from human serum is presented. The isolated precipitates are combined separately with small volumes of human serum in order to stabilize the lipoproteins. Calculated volumes of concentrates are added to human serum or to delipidated human serum [I], so that reference sera with graded levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) can be prepared. These reference sera resemble human serum in appearance, composition and fractionation by ultracentrifugation. Our evaluations of the materials described in this communication have shown them to be suitable for HDLC determinations, using the precipitation procedure with heparin-manganese chloride. Properties of these reference materials are discussed.
A case study of national culture and offshoring services

Purpose – Prior surveys have shown that national culture is a leading cause of problems in offshoring services. The research question posed in this paper centers on how and through what specific decisions national culture affects operational implementation in offshore facilities.Design/methodology/approach – A particular US service process offshored to Barbados and the Dominican Republic is studied. Ethnographic worker observations are combined with archival sources and executive interviews.Findings – A culture clash caused a number of operational dilemmas for a major US airline offshoring the same processes to two Caribbean nations. The offshoring was a success at one site, a failure at another. But, even at the successful site, un‐intuitive operational adaptations had to be made to accommodate cultural differences. Specifically, detailed here are decisions or results seen on country selection, location selection within a country, quality program implementation, and shift work that had strong cultural in...
Recent advances in genetic analyses of hyperthermophilic Archaea and Bacteria

Hyperthermophilic Archaea and Bacteria are an extraordinarily important class of organisms for which genetic tools remain to be developed. Unique technological obstacles to this goal are posed by the thermophilic and, in some cases, strictly anaerobic nature of these organisms. However, recent advances in the cultivation of hyperthermophiles, in the discovery of genetic elements for vector development, and in the construction of genetic markers point toward the achievement of this goal in the near future. Transformation protocols have already been reported for Sulfolobus and Pyrococcus, and plasmid-mediated conjugation was recently found in Sulfolobus. Plasmids are available for Sulfolobus, Pyrococcus, and the bacterial hyperthermophile Thermotoga, and these provide the bases for vector construction in these hosts. A Desulfurococcus mobile intron may provide a novel means to introduce genes into a variety of archaeal hosts. With full genome sequences of several hyperthermophiles available soon, genetic tools will allow full exploitation of this information to study these organisms in depth and to utilize their unique properties in biotechnological applications.
The Phenomenology of Despair

In this paper, I investigate the experience of hope by focusing on experiences that seem to rival hope, namely, disappointment, desperation, panic, hopelessness, and despair. I explore these issues phenomenologically by examining five kinds of experiences that counter hope (or in some instances, seem to do so): first, by noting the cases in which hope simply is not operative, then by treating the significance of both desperation and pessimism, next by examining the experience of hopelessness, and finally, by treating the experience of despair. Here despair is shown to constitute the most profound challenge to hope among these experiences and to be foundational for the others, even though it is disclosed ultimately as founded in hope.
Effects of fluorocitrate on renal ammoniagenesis and glutamine metabolism in the intact dog kidney

Effects of fluorocitrate on renal ammoniagenesis and glutamine metabolism in the intact dog kidney. Renal glutamine metabolism was studied in vivo following infusions of fluorocitrate into chronically acidotic and alkalotic dogs. Coincident with a dramatic rise in renal cortical citrate concentrations, there was a significant fall in tissue glutamate in both acid-base states. This was accompanied by a significant increase in total renal ammonia production. Glutamine metabolism and ammoniagenesis in alkalotic dogs receiving fluorocitrate simulated that achieved in acidotic dogs. The simultaneous administration of α-ketoglutarate and fluorocitrate significantly diminished the fall in tissue glutamate and the rise in ammoniagenesis induced by fluorocitrate alone. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that ammonia production from glutamine is enhanced secondary to increased glutamate deamination. We postulate that this chain of events may be the consequence of impaired α-ketoglutarate production from citrate. Effets du fluorocitrate sur l'ammoniogenese renale et le metabolisme de la glutamine dans le rein de chien. Le metabolisme renal de la glutamine a ete etudie in vivo apres perfusion de fluorocitrate a des chiens en acidose et en alcalose. En meme temps qu'une augmentation considerable des concentrations corticales de citrate il a ete observe une diminution significative du contenu tissulaire en glutamate dans les deux etats acido-basiques etudies. Cela a ete accompagne d'une augmentation significative de la production renale totale d'ammoniaque. Le metabolisme de la glutamine et l'ammoniogenese chez des chiens en alcalose recevant du fluorocitrate est semblable a celui des chiens en acidose. L'administration simultanee d'alpha-cetoglutarate et de fluorocitrate diminue significativement la chute du glutamate tissulaire et l'augmentation de l'ammoniogenese determinees par le fluorocitrate seul. Ces resultats sont compatibles avec l'hypothese selon laquelle la production d'ammoniaque a partir de la glutamine est accrue secondairement a l'augmentation de la deamination de la glutamine. Nous postulons que cette sequence d'evenements peut etre la consequence d'une alteration de la production d'alpha-cetoglutarate a partir du citrate.
The role of postoperative furosemide therapy in the treatment of pleural effusion following kyphosis/scoliosis surgery.

Purpose Retrospective analysis of data to determine if the use of postoperative furosemide therapy decreases the incidence of thoracocentesis in children and adolescents undergoing kyphosis or scoliosis surgery. One of the potential complications seen in patients undergoing scoliosis or kyphosis surgery is the development of a clinically symptomatic postoperative pleural effusion requiring thoracocentesis, which is an invasive procedure that is associated with discomfort to the patient and a minimal risk of an iatrogenic pneumothorax.
Refined Structure of Sindbis Virus Core Protein and Comparison with Other Chymotrypsin-like Serine Proteinase Structures

Crystal forms 2 and 3 of Sindbis virus core protein have been refined to 2.8 A and 3.0 A resolution, respectively. The three independent molecular copies in the two crystal forms are essentially identical, except for regions where the molecules are involved in different crystal packing interactions. The overall polypeptide backbone fold of Sindbis virus core protein is similar to other chymotrypsin-like serine proteinase structures despite a lack of significant sequence homology. Detailed analysis revealed differences in the catalytic triad and the substrate binding pockets between the Sindbis virus core protein and the other serine proteinases. The catalytic aspartic acid residue (Asp163) and residue Asp214 (corresponding to Asp194 in chymotrypsin) are partially exposed to solvent in Sindbis virus core protein. Chymotrypsin Ser214, hydrogen bonded to the catalytic aspartic acid residue in all other serine proteinase structures, is changed to Leu231 in Sindbis virus core protein. Deletions in the loop regions on the surface of the protein account for the smaller size of the ordered part of Sindbis virus core protein (151 residues) as compared to chymotrypsin (236 residues), and permits the cis autocatalytic cleavage of the polyprotein to produce the viral capsid protein.
ENTERAL FORMULA FEEDING CAUSES ENDOTOXINEMIA AND INCREASES INTESTINAL MUCOSAL PERMEABILITY IN THE NEONATAL RAT. • 717

ENTERAL FORMULA FEEDING CAUSES ENDOTOXINEMIA AND INCREASES INTESTINAL MUCOSAL PERMEABILITY IN THE NEONATAL RAT. • 717
A 3 A 20 MHz BiCMOS/DMOS power operational amplifier: a structural design approach

Design of a power op-amp using a structural design methodology is presented. The BiCMOS/DMOS op-amp features rail-to-rail output, 3 A maximum output current, adjustable current limit without delay, a class AB input stage with a 50 V//spl mu/s slew rate, and 100 dB open-loop gain with a 2 /spl Omega/ load. It consumes 50 mA from a single 7-16 V supply.
An Extended Generator and Schrödinger Equations

The generator of a Borel right processis extended so that it maps functions to smooth measures. This extension may be defined either probabilistically using martingales or analytically in terms of certain kernels on the state space of the process. Then the associated Schrodinger equation with a (signed) measure serving as potential may be interpreted as an equation between measures. In this context general existence and uniqueness theorems for solutions are established. These are then specialized to obtain more concrete results in special situations.
Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration for Diagnosis of Recurrent Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer

Diagnosis of recurrent lung cancer by various imaging studies is often difficult because a recurrent tumor can resemble scar tissue or postoperative changes. This article reports how an endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration was used to obtain a tissue diagnosis of locoregional lung cancer recurrence, which changed the management of the patients.
The Biological Implausibility of the Nature–Nurture Dichotomy and What It Means for the Study of Infancy

Since the time of the Greeks, philosophers and scientists have wondered about the origins of structure and function. Plato proposed that the origins of structure and function lie in the organism's nature whereas Aristotle proposed that they lie in its nurture. This nature/nurture dichotomy and the emphasis on the origins question has had a powerful effect on our thinking about development right into modern times. Despite this, empirical findings from various branches of developmental science have made a compelling case that the nature/nurture dichotomy is biologically implausible and, thus, that a search for developmental origins must be replaced by research into developmental processes. This change in focus recognizes that development is an immensely complex, dynamic, embedded, interdependent, and probabilistic process and, therefore, renders simplistic questions such as whether a particular behavioral capacity is innate or acquired scientifically uninteresting.
Effect of therapeutic plasma exchange on coagulation parameters in patients on warfarin

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) without plasma replacement results in coagulation factor removal. Warfarin decreases the activity of vitamin K dependent coagulation factors. The combined effect of TPE and warfarin on the coagulation system has not been studied. A prospective, observational study was conducted in patients undergoing TPE while on warfarin. One plasma volume TPEs were performed on the COBE Spectra Apheresis System (Terumo BCT, Lakewood, CO) with 5% albumin. International normalized ratio (INR), fibrinogen, and factor II activity were obtained pre and post procedure. Eight patients underwent 121 TPEs that met study criteria with pre and post data. The average pre values were INR 2.09 ± 0.58, fibrinogen 263 ± 76 mg/dl, and factor II 29 ± 16% and the average post values were INR 4.12 ± 1.44, fibrinogen 105 ± 31 mg/dl, and factor II 13 ± 7%. The pre-INR was ≥2.00 for 55% of TPEs. The pre value (Y0) predicts the post value (Y) by the following equations Y = −0.54 + 2.21Y0, Y =12.10 + 0.35Y0, and Y =1.83 + 0.39Y0 for INR, fibrinogen, and factor II respectively. In conclusion, pre procedure laboratory values can predict the post laboratory values for patients on warfarin receiving single plasma volume TPE with albumin replacement. The post-INR is approximately twice the pre-INR. At normal and mildly elevated pre-INR, the effect of TPE on the INR is less marked. A single plasma volume TPE decreases the plasma level by ∼65% for fibrinogen and 60% for factor II. J. Clin. Apheresis 29:75–82, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Volcanic-plutonic links, plutons as magma chambers and crust-mantle interaction: a lithospheric scale view of magma systems

The northern Colorado River extensional corridor (NCREC, USA) provides an excellent record of coeval volcanic and mid- to upper-crustal (<13 km) plutonic suites. The NCREC is a 50–100-km-wide zone that records late Tertiary lithospheric extension, volcanism, continental sedimentation and plutonism. Compilation of published studies of NCREC magmatic rocks permits an assessment of volcanic–plutonic links, magma sources and magmatic processes. The volcanic sections provide an excellent record of magma compositions (basalt, trachyandesite, trachyte and rhyolite) which span a 9-million-year period in the Miocene age (20–11 Ma).Contemporaneous Miocene plutons span a similar compositional range (gabbro, diorite, quartz monzonite and granite) and were emplaced during a 4·5-million-year interval from 17 to 12·5 Ma. Geochemical and isotopic compositions and compositional trends allow direct correlation between plutonic and volcanic suites across the entire compositional range. Petrogenetic models demonstrate that intermediate magmas formed by a combination of magma mixing and fractional crystallisation involving mantle-derived mafic with crustal-derived felsic end-member magmas. Plutons exhibit a variety of features which suggest magma chamber processes, including (1) mafic cumulate sequences, (2) felsic cumulate sequences, and (3) magma mingling and advanced stages of magma mixing. Thus, the NCREC plutonic-volcanic record provides a link between magmatic processes recorded in pluton magma chambers and magmatic products in the form of extrusive igneous rocks. The NCREC plutons represent upper crustal magma chambers which connected volcanic eruptive centres to deeper-level magma chambers, and ultimately, to zones of mantle and crustal mel
Cytomorphology of gastric and duodenal epithelium and reactivity to B72.3: A baseline for comparison to pancreatic lesions aspirated by EUS-FNAB

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNAB) has become a widely used method of pre-operatively evaluating pancreatic masses. This technique introduces gastrointestinal contamination into the specimen, which poses a diagnostic pitfall. The cytomorphologic features of these contaminants have not been fully characterized. The current study was designed to systematically document the cytomorphology of gastric and duodenal epithelium on fixed and air-dried smears, as well as ThinPrep (TP) preparations, and to assess the reactivity of the epithelial cells to the tumor marker B72.3 so as to establish a baseline for future comparative studies with EUS-FNAB of the pancreas. Air-dried and fixed smears and TP specimens were obtained using a cytobrush from gastric (GM) and duodenal (DM) mucosa from 14 Whipple specimens. Cytologic features of cell architecture, cellular features and smear background were analysed. Immunocytochemical staining with B72.3 was performed in 10/14 cases. Mucin was present in all preparations except one case from the duodenum. It was consistently present as isolated thick to thin clumps but never as diffuse 'colloid-type' mucin; it was most prominent on air-dried smears, and most abundant from the GM. Epithelial cells were admixed with mucin, but degenerated cells and inflammation were not present within the mucin. Mucin on TP appeared as fragmented wisps of pale blue staining material. Background inflammation and debris were not significant findings. The epithelial cells were arranged in large and small monolayered sheets. Smaller groups were more common from GM on smears and more abundant on TP than smears. Luminal edges (DM>GM) were a prominent feature, with a brush border noted in DM. The nuclei of GM and DM were round, evenly spaced and without atypia, and dense, non-vacuolated cytoplasm was the rule, with the exception of goblet cells and occasional gastric foveolar cells noted in one case. In both GM and DM, B72.3 stained goblet cells with a strong, coarsely granular pattern and stained epithelial cells focally in a finely granular, punctate, perinuclear distribution; mucin also stained strongly in all cases. These baseline characteristics provide a template for assessing mucin and epithelial GM and DM contamination on pancreatic EUS-FNAB specimens.
Lead Toxicity in Chicks: Interactions With Dietary Methionine and Choline

Two factorial experiments were conducted to study the effects of dietary methionine and choline on lead toxicity in chicks. Dietary variables were 0.3 or 0.63% (experiment 1) or 0.23 or 0.75% methionine (experiment 2); 0 or 1000 ppm lead (as Pb acetate X 3H2O); and 1130 or 3300 mg/kg (experiment 1) or 396 or 1266 mg/kg choline (experiment 2). In both experiments, lead depressed growth while methionine stimulated growth. Growth depression by lead was less with methionine-adequate than with methionine-inadequate diets. There were no differences in growth with the choline-marginal or choline-excess diets. In experiment 2, the methionine x lead interaction for growth was observed with choline-adequate but not with choline-inadequate diets. Lead-induced depression of growth was exacerbated by added choline when methionine-inadequate diets were fed. With methionine-adequate diets, choline level had no effect on the lead-induced depression of growth. Hepatic nonprotein sulfhydryl (NPSH) concentrations were increased by both supplemental methionine and lead with no interaction. Choline levels had no effect on NPSH. Dietary methionine significantly lowered Pb concentration of kidney and muscle but not of bone, liver or blood. Choline had no effect on organ Pb concentrations. Methionine, either dietary or in the dosing solution, had no effect on in situ intestinal absorption or 203PbCl2. These results suggest that lead lowers the chick's choline requirement and that the methyl moiety of methionine does not participate directly in lead detoxication. The amelioration of Pb toxicity by methionine appears to be related to increased excretion of Pb.
Optimal composition of intravenous lipids

The provision of energy from a lipid source is an essential component of any parenteral nutrition (PN) therapeutic regimen in the appropriate clinical setting. All available sources of intravenous lipid emulsions have a low osmolarity but they strongly differ in their immunologic effects and their effects on oxidative stress, liver injury and mitochondrial function. The ω−9/ω−6 lipid emulsion with its relative immuneneutrality and also the newer fish oil admixtures are lipid emulsions that can be used in most critically ill and non-critically ill patients. Despite extensive research and encouraging progress in the availability of such lipid emulsions, there is still need for a lipid emulsions that could be advantageous in patients with real hyperinflammation.
Quantitative assessment of an agent-based simulation on a time warp executive

We recently introduced SASSY, the design for a hybrid simulator that provides an agent-based API atop a PDES kernel (Hybinette et al. 2006). Our hypothesis is that a design like SASSY offers the advantages of an agent-based paradigm for the application developer, but also provides the performance advantages of a PDES kernel. Since the time of our initial publication, most aspects of SASSY?s design have been implemented, and we are now assessing our hypotheses e.g., (He and Hybinette 2008). In this paper we investigate performance advantages for a simple agent-based application on SASSY. In most cases, agent-based simulation environments are configured using a time-step approach, where the simulation proceeds in discrete steps. In this paper we evaluate the performance of a simple application running in a traditional time-step simulation, and also its performance when running on SASSY with PDES support.
On the nature of hereditary cataract in strain 13/N guinea pigs.

PURPOSE. Congenital nuclear cataracts in strain 13/N guinea pigs are caused by a single splice-site mutation in the zeta-crystallin gene. Very little is known of the physical factors involved in lens opacification of this system. The aim of this study is to elucidate the biophysical processes causing the nuclear turbidity. METHODS. Normal, homozygous and heterozygous mutant guinea pig lenses were studied. Polarized light scattering measurements were performed on thin sections of lenses as a function of scattering angle. Scattering intensities were collected in two modes, I" and I+. The total water content of lenses was determined by thermogravimetric analysis. The nonfreezable (bound) water content was obtained by differential scanning calorimetry. The morphology of lenses was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS. Normal lenses scatter 5- to 10-fold less light than cataractous lenses at wide angles in both modes. The intensity ratios of the two modes imply that most of the scattering come...
Organizing Interests and Coalitions in the Politics of Market Reform in Latin America

A recent wave of deep empirical research provides a solid basis for a comparative reassessment of the role of coalitions in the politics of market reform in Latin America in the 1990s. This research confirms earlier findings that interest groups and distributional coalitions were not major protagonists in either antireform or proreform coalitions. The new research goes further empirically into analyzing the origins of interests, especially business interests, and finds them to be much more ambiguous and dynamic than assumed in earlier studies. Consequently, other factors, especially organizations and the evolving macroeconomic context, were stronger influences on preferences regarding reform. Given the relative weakness of interest group coalitions, the article provides a typology and preliminary analysis of other kinds of coalitions—electoral, legislative, and policy—that have become more central to reform politics. These other types of coalitions still require further theoretical elaboration and empirical investigation in order to determine how they can best be deployed to illuminate reform politics.
On Properties Preserved by Contraction of Concurrent Systems

We propose a definition of representation map between concurrent systems called a contraction, which is intended to capture the notion of a safe simulation of an abstract by a concrete system. We give several examples and investigate some specific behavioral properties (such as nontermination) which might be preserved by contractions or their inverses. In the second part of the paper, we use model theory to study the decidability properties of the set of sentences preserved by contractions.
Anticipatory‐Conjectural Policy Problems: A Case Study of the Avian Influenza

Rarely, if ever, is the American policymaking process described as being a proactive one wherein policymakers strive to stave off or prepare for problems that have yet to have any substantive impact on a given population. Such problems, or “anticipatory-conjectural policy problems,” are marked by acute uncertainty and thus demand a reconsideration of many of our fundamental assumptions about the nature of public policymaking. Using the H5N1 strain of avian influenza as a case study, the following work seeks to expand Thomas Birkland's concept of focusing events to encompass anticipatory-conjectural policy problems. In addition, I will explore the unique agenda setting dynamics of these problems, paying particularly close attention to their definitional characteristics.
The Efficacy of Standardized Patient Feedback in Clinical Teaching: A Mixed Methods Analysis

Introduction. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of oral feedback from standardized patients on medical students’ overall perceptions of an educational exercise. We chose a mixed-methods approach to better understand the following research questions: Does satisfaction with the standardized patient exercise differ among those students who receive oral feedback and those who do not? What is the quality of oral feedback provided by standardized patients? Procedures. In order to address the first question, a basic randomized design comparing treatment (or those receiving SP feedback) to control (those not receiving SP feedback) was conducted. To address the second question, students in the treatment group were surveyed about their impressions of the quality of the feedback provided to them by their SP. One hundred and thirty six first year medical students were divided into treatment and control groups and interviewed one standardized patient during a single 20-minute encounter. Standardized patients were trained to simulate one of two outpatient cases and provide feedback using standard training materials. Both treatment and control groups completed a rating scale and questionnaire regarding their satisfaction with the encounter and students in the treatment group responded to additional questions regarding the quality of the SP feedback. Results. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed significant differences among control and treatment groups on the seven combined dependent variables, Wilks’ ?=.890, F(7, 127)=2.25, p<.034, ?2=.110. Students reported that the quality of SP feedback was very strong and additional qualitative analysis revealed further evidence to support the efficacy of providing oral SP feedback in a formative pre-clinical educational activity. KW: Feedback; Patient Simulation; Teaching Methods; Techniques: Educational; Simulated Patient; Standardized Patient
Exact Geodesics and Shortest Paths on Polyhedral Surfaces

We present two algorithms for computing distances along convex and non-convex polyhedral surfaces. The first algorithm computes exact minimal-geodesic distances and the second algorithm combines these distances to compute exact shortest-path distances along the surface. Both algorithms have been extended to compute the exact minimal-geodesic paths and shortest paths. These algorithms have been implemented and validated on surfaces for which the correct solutions are known, in order to verify the accuracy and to measure the run-time performance, which is cubic or less for each algorithm. The exact-distance computations carried out by these algorithms are feasible for large-scale surfaces containing tens of thousands of vertices, and are a necessary component of near-isometric surface flattening methods that accurately transform curved manifolds into flat representations.
Computation of delay defect and delay fault probabilities using a statistical timing simulator

Using a formal modeling of the signal interactions, a statistical timing simulator capable of detecting delay faults and computing delay defect distributions has been built. This tool produces the delay fault statistics which must be used by delay fault ATPG (automatic test pattern generation) tools if they are to model process-induced delay failures realistically. The most obvious application for this tool is the computation of the probability of failure due to parametric delay faults. For this application, a Monte Carlo experiment was performed with a single nominal simulation followed by many timing reevaluations. >
Dependence of guided resonances on the structural parameters of terahertz photonic crystal slabs

Using terahertz spectroscopy, we measure the normal-incidence transmission coefficient of photonic crystals consisting of a periodic lattice of air holes in a silicon slab. Sharp resonant features are observed in the transmission spectra due to coupling of the leaky photonic crystal modes, called guided resonances, to the continuum of free-space modes. The resonances show considerable sensitivity to the structural parameters of the slab, including the slab thickness. By varying each crystal parameter systematically, we study the dependence of the resonances on the geometry of the photonic crystal slabs. Even small changes in a parameter such as the slab thickness, for example, can lead to dramatic changes in the optical spectrum. We also compare the transmission spectrum of a photonic crystal slab with a hexagonal lattice to that of a slab with a square lattice. In most cases, the experimental results match very well with numerical simulations based on the finite element method.
Viewing control structures as patterns of passing messages

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to discuss some organizational aspects of programs using the actor model of computation. In this paper we present an approach to modelling intelligence in terms of a society of communicating knowledge-based problem-solving experts. In turn each of the experts can be viewed as a society that can be further decomposed in the same way until the primitive actors of the system are reached. We are investigating the nature of the communication mechanisms needed for effective problem-solving by a society of experts and the conventions of civilized discourse that make this possible. In this way we hope eventually to develop a framework adequate for the discussion of the central issues of problem-solving involving parallel versus serial processing and centralization versus decentralization of control and information storage. This paper demonstrates how actor message passing can be used to understand control structures as patterns of passing messages in serial processing. This paper is a pre-requisite for successors which treat issues of parallelism and communication within the framework established here. The ability to analyze or synthesize any kind of control structure as a pattern of passing messages among the members of a society provides an important tool for understanding control structures. Ultimately, we hope to be able to characterize various control structures in common use by societies in terms of patterns of passing messages. This paper makes a small step in this direction by showing how to characterize familiar control structures such as iteration and recursion in these terms.
Membranous glomerulonephritis associated with testicular seminoma.

. Proteinuria, often nephrotic in range, is a recognized paraneoplastic syndrome of solid tumours, with membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) the most common histopathological lesion seen on renal biopsy. A 56-year-old male was found to have proteinuria on routine medical examination. History, physical and serological evaluation failed to reveal an aetiology and subsequent renal biopsy showed MGN, presumed to be idiopathic. Prednisone therapy was begun but this proteinuria did not resolve (> 1 g 24 h−1). Eleven months later the patient discovered a testicular mass which was found to be a stage I seminoma upon excision and metastatic evaluation. His proteinuria rapidly normalized after orchectomy and regional lymph node radiotherapy. This is the first known case of MGN associated with testicular seminoma.
Some Aspects of the Algebraic Theory of Quadratic Forms

This article, based on the lectures at the Arizona Winter School on “Quadratic forms”, gives a quick introduction to the algebraic theory of quadratic forms. It discusses some invariants associated to quadratic forms like the Pythagoras number and the u-invariant and touches on some recent progress on these topics.
Art and Meaning: ARTiculation© as a Modality in Processing Forgiveness and Peace Consciousness

Although theoretical and empirical works in peace psychology and forgiveness proliferate, a serious examination of art in the context of processing peace meaning and forgiveness has not been as evident. Critical information, such as art’s co-evolution with human consciousness, its psychological function as a meaning system that is unique in centering on processes of realization and change essential to accomplishing peace, and its potential role in forming a consciousness of peace and in processing forgiveness and healing, has largely been ignored. But the potential contribution of art to peace is great.
Life Journey Profile: Mark Goldweitz

Examine the life journey of an HBS 1969 alum, and his perspective on success, in his own words.
Object capture with a camera-mobile robot system

This article describes a mobile robot/camera system that is both simple and inexpensive enough for an undergraduate engineering student to construct. It provides an excellent first introduction to hands-on robotics, enabling the capture of small objects with the robot. It is scalable and can lead the interested student further into many diverse areas of robotics research. This system was carefully designed and arranged components so that the system can work with straightforward algorithms, off-the-shelf hardware, and minimal programming. Creating a working robot system not only introduces the beginning roboticist to many interesting problems in robotics but also creates a testbed to begin exploring them.