cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Limitations to the power output and efficiency of mid-Infrared quantum cascade lasers imposed by transport

We use a density-matrix framework to evaluate the wallplug efficiency of mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers. We assess the limitations to maximum current and internal efficiency, imposed by injection coupling and current leakage, respectively.
Esophageal Migration During Left Atrial Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

Because of the risk of atrio-esophageal fistula, a 38-year-old man with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation was asked to swallow barium contrast (barium sulfate esophageal cream 60% with water, EZ-EM Canada) before undergoing a left atrial catheter ablation with an electroanatomic mapping system (CARTO, Biosense Webster) to identify the location of the esophagus in relation to the posterior left atrium (Figure 1A). The location of the esophagus was tagged on the electroanatomic map at sites where …
Dysfunctional health service conflict: causes and accelerants

This article examines the causes and accelerants of dysfunctional health service conflict and how it emerges from the health system's core hierarchical structures, specialized roles, participant psychodynamics, culture, and values. This article sets out to answer whether health care conflict is more widespread and intense than in other settings and if it is, why? To this end, health care power, gender, and educational status gaps are examined with an eye to how they undermine open communication, teamwork, and collaborative forms of conflict and spark a range of dysfunctions, including a pervasive culture of fear; the deny-and-defend lawsuit response; widespread patterns of hierarchical, generational, and lateral bullying; overly avoidant conflict styles among non-elite groups; and a range of other behaviors that lead to numerous human resource problems, including burnout, higher staff turnover, increased errors, poor employee citizenship behavior, patient dissatisfaction, increased patient complaints, and lawsuits. Bad patient outcomes include decreased compliance and increased morbidity and mortality. Health care managers must understand the root causes of these problems to treat them at the source and implement solutions that avoid negative conflict spirals that undermine organizational morale and efficiency. Language: en
Magnetite authigenesis and diagenetic paleotemperatures across the northern Appalachian basin

The concentration of magnetite in the Lower and Middle Devonian Helderberg and Onondaga carbonate formations varies in a distinct pattern along an east-west profile across New York State. Magnetite concentrations are uniformly low in the western half of the profile, increase sharply eastward to a peak value near Syracuse, and decrease farther east. The pattern strongly resembles previously reported variations in the extent of clay mineral diagenesis that reflect differences in paleotemperatures along the profile. Previous paleomagnetic studies have documented that the magnetite carries a well- defined magnetization of Pennsylvanian-Permian age, and magnetite authigenesis is therefore no younger than late Paleozoic. We attribute the correlation between high magnetite concentration and high illite content to temperature-dependent diagenesis triggered by orogenic fluids. The large proportion of secondary magnetite indicates that over most of the area, the mechanism of late Paleozoic remagnetization was principally chemical. Thermal effects played a less direct role in the remagnetization of the strata by controlling the extent of the chemical processes that resulted in overprinting of the original remanence.
Replication of lactic dehydrogenase virus and Sindbis virus in mouse peritoneal macrophages. Induction of interferon and phenotypic mixing.

Abstract Mouse peritoneal macrophages stimulated by thioglycollate can proliferate in culture for over 2 wk. Sindbis virus replicates in these cells, but not in the initial exudate culture. Lactic dehydrogenase virus (LDV) also produces higher yields in the exponentially growing cells. Proliferating macrophages infected with LDV induce a factor that inhibits the replication of Sindbis virus. The factor was identified as interferon by its species specificity and its acid stability. Macrophages that have been in culture for only 24 hr do not produce interferon. Replication of Sindbis virus in LDV-infected macrophages leads to phenotypic mixing between the two virions. We have detected both pure pseudotypes—virions containing the RNA of Sindbis virus and the envelope of LDV—and particles containing the envelope proteins of both virions. Our results demonstrate that the restricted host range of LDV is not due to the inability of the virus to adsorb to cells other than macrophages.
Alley receives Horton Award

Richard B. Alley was awarded the Hydrology section's Horton Award on December 16, 1996, at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco. The Horton Award recognizes a single outstanding contribution to the science of hydrology made during the preceding 5 years.
The Schur aggregation and solving ill conditioned linear systems: the convergence theorem

This paper provides methods for solving ill conditioned linear systems Ax = b using the Schur aggregation approach. The Schur aggregation is the process of transforming a linear system Ax = b using the Sherman–Morrison–Woodbury formula A −1 = (C − UV H )−1 = C −1 + C −1 U(I r −V H C −1 U)−1 V H C −1. For the ill conditioned linear system Ax = b, it is well known that its accurate solution x = A −1 b can be computed readily if the linear system is well conditioned but the computation requires special care if the system is ill conditioned. In this paper, we essentially reduce the computation of x = A −1 b to the computation of the Schur aggregate S = I r −V H C −1 U. We also discuss the additive preconditioning A → C = A + UV H for preconditioner UV H of a smaller rank r. The aim of this paper is to provide and prove the theorem of convergence of the sum X k = W o + ... + W k where CW k = U k to W = C −1 U.
Successful treatment of unstable angina in malignant carcinoid syndrome using the long-acting somatostatin analogue SMS 201-995 (Sandostatin).

S erotonin was first identified in a carcinoid tumor in 1953 [1]. Although angina pectoris is not considered a clinical manifestation of the carcinoid syndrome, the vasoconstrictive activity of serotonin was postulated by O'Connor [2] as early as 1912. Serotonin has been shown to cause contraction in isolated coronary arteries [3,4] and is capable of initiating and sustaining cyclic flow reductions in the coronary circulation [5]. ' Unstable angina pectoris has been defined as anginal pain that increases in frequency and occurs with progressively less effort, eventually even at rest [5]. We have been following a patient with long-standing metastatic carcinoid tumor and carcinoid syndrome in whom unstable angina developed without demonstrable coronary artery pathology on coronary angiography, without demonstrable valvular pathology on echocardiography, and without significant response to standard medical anti-anginal treatment. This article reports a significant and prolonged response of both her carcinoid syndrome and her unstable angina to the long-acting somatostatin analogue SMS 201-995 (Sandostatin).
Adolescents' Participation in Service Activities and Its Impact on Academic, Behavioral, and Civic Outcomes

The National Household Education Survey, a nationally representative data set (N=4,306 high school students and one parent of each), was analyzed to describe characteristics of adolescents, the nature of their service activities, and academic, behavioral and civic outcomes associated with service (voluntary compared to school-required and by type of service). Participation in any service is associated with positive outcomes whether service is voluntary or required. Adolescents who worked directly with individuals in need had better academic adjustment; those who worked for organizations had better civic outcomes than adolescents who performed other types of service. Findings are discussed in terms of their significance for adolescent development, educational policy, and the use of large national data sets to examine service participation.
An analysis of speaker role inhabitance in narratives of personal experience

Abstract This article presents a framework for analyzing speaker role inhabitance in narratives of personal experience. Building on Labov's idea of evaluation, conversation analytic insights into narrative, Goffman's notion of footing, and Bakhtin's idea of voicing, I describe three role perspectives which speakers orchestrate in the performance of a narrative of personal experience: those of author, interlocutor, and character. I apply this framework to two tellings of the same event by the same speaker — one in which the speaker performs the story more from the perspective of a performed character, the other in which the speaker performs the story more from a current interlocutory position. I then demonstrate that this tripartite role distinction is salient for listeners, who described one of the tellings as revealing more about the speaker at the time of the original event, and the other telling as revealing more about the speaker at the time of the telling. Finally, I suggest how these role distinctions can be quantified, in order to describe the loading of each of the three roles within a narrative.
Single-molecule study reveals a complex E. coli RNA polymerase.

where the dynamics of single enzymes can be investigated. A single-molecule study of the transcription process by Davenport et al. in Carlos Bustamante’s lab [4] was recently published in Science. This study will be reviewed here and will be used to reflect on the progress of studying the dynamics of individual RNAP molecules. Single-molecule experiments were on the fringe just a few years ago and many researches doubted whether they could provide useful data that could be incorporated into and compared with the existing body of knowledge. Proponents argued that single-molecule experiments provide additional information that may be averaged out in or inaccessible to bulk experiments. Doubters contended, however, that for this new information to be meaningful, it is crucial that it be compared with bulk experiments. In other words, averaging of data obtained on single molecules must match the results of bulk experiments. Davenport and coworkers [4] accomplish both ; they obtain novel and exciting insights into transcription by single-molecule experiments, and they compare the single-molecule results to data obtained from traditional bulk experiments.
Behavioral consequences of song learning: Discrimination of song types by male white-crowned sparrows

Abstract The functional significance of learned population differences in male song in the white-crowned sparrow was explored in natural populations using playback tests. Laboratory results have shown that learning of the population-specific song seems to take place in early life and is strongly dependent upon the nature of the auditory experience at that time. However, the varied results of recent studies make it difficult to reach a confident conclusion about the ecological functions of song learning. The present research took advantage of naturally occurring variation in the differences between songs of adjacent populations to determine a function relating degree of difference in song to intensity of territorial singing elicited. Applying a typological evaluation of syllable structure to the four segments of the song allowed a crude quantitative ranking of the differences between local songs and playback stimuli. These results, together with those of other studies, suggest a unimodal aggressive response function of males to songs of other males. A maximum response to songs slightly different from the local song environment suggests that male exclusion based upon acquired song components may contribute to the maintenance of discrete and stable song dialects.
Geochemistry of glacial sediments in the area of the Bend massive sulfide deposit, north-central Wisconsin

Abstract Geochemical exploration in northern Wisconsin has been problematic because of thick glacial overburden and complex stratigraphic record of glacial history. To assess till geochemical exploration in an area of thick glacial cover and complex stratigraphy samples of glacial materials were collected from cores from five rotasonic boreholes near a known massive sulfide deposit, the Bend deposit in north-central Wisconsin. Diamond drilling in the Bend area has defined a long, thin zone of mineralization at least partly intersected at the bedrock surface beneath 30–40 m of unconsolidated glacial sediments. The bedrock surface has remnant regolith and saprolite resulting from pre-Pleistocene weathering. Massive sulfide and mineralized rock collected from diamond drill core from the deposit contain high (10s to 10,000s ppm) concentrations of Ag, As, Au, Bi, Cu, Hg, Se, Te, and Tl. Geochemical properties of the glacial stratigraphic units helped clarify the sequence and source areas of several glacial ice advances preserved in the section. At least two till sheets are recognized. Over the zone of mineralization, saprolite and preglacial alluvial and lacustrine samples are preserved on the bedrock surface in a paleoriver valley. The overlying till sheet is a gray, silty carbonate till with a source hundreds of kilometers to the northwest of the study area. This gray till is overlain by red, sandy till with a source to the north in Proterozoic rocks of the Lake Superior area. The complex glacial stratigraphy confounds down-ice geochemical till exploration. The presence of remnant saprolite, preglacial sediment, and far-traveled carbonate till minimized glacial erosion of mineralized material. As a result, little evidence of down-ice glacial dispersion of lithologic or mineralogic indicators of Bend massive sulfide mineralization was found in the samples from the rotasonic cores. This study points out the importance of determining glacial stratigraphy and history, and identifying favorable lithologies required for geochemical exploration. Drift prospecting in Wisconsin and other areas near the outer limits of the Pleistocene ice sheets may not be unsuccessful, in part, because of complex stratigraphic sequences of multiple glaciations where deposition dominates over erosion.
Tigers of the Snow and Other Virtual Sherpas: An Ethnography of Himalayan Encounters,

Sherpas are portrayed by Westerners as heroic montain guides, or "tigers of the snow", as Buddhist adepts, and as a people in touch with intimate ways of life that seem no longer available in the Western world. This text explores how attempts to characterize an "authentic" Sherpa are complicated by Western fascination with Sherpas and by the Sherpas' desires to live up to Western portrayals of them. Noting that diplomatic aides at world summit meetings go by the name "Sherpa", as do a van built for rough terrain and a software product from Silicon Valley, the author examines the "authenticating" effects of this mobile signifier on a community of Himalayan Sherpas who live at the base of Mount Everest and its "deauthenticating" effects on anthropological representation. This book is aimed not only at anthropologists concerned with ethnographic portrayals of "otherness", but also at those working in cultural studies who are concerned with ethnographically grounded analyses of representations. Throughout, the author illustrates how one might undertake an ethnography of transnationally produced subjects by using the notion of "virtual" identities. In a manner informed by both Buddhism
Fire severity and seed source influence lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta var. murrayana ) regeneration in the southern cascades, Lassen volcanic National Park, California

Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine, (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) regenerates quickly after high severity fire because seeds from serotinous cones are released immediately post-fire. Sierra lodgepole pine (P. contorta var. murrayana) forests burn with variable intensity resulting in different levels of severity and because this variety of lodgepole pine does not have serotinous cones, little is known about what factors influence post-fire regeneration. This study quantifies tree regeneration in a low, moderate, and high severity burn patch in a Sierra lodgepole forest 24 years after fire. Regeneration was measured in ten plots in each severity type. In each plot, we quantified pre- and post-fire forest structure (basal area, density), counted and aged tree seedlings and saplings of all species, and measured distance to the nearest seed bearing tree. There was no difference in the density of seedlings and saplings among severity classes. Distance and direction to the nearest seed bearing lodgepole pine were the best predictors of lodgepole seedling and sapling density in high severity plots. In contrast to Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine, regeneration of Sierra lodgepole pine appears to rely on in-seeding from surviving trees in low or moderate severity burn patches or live trees next to high severity burn patches. Our data demonstrate that Sierra lodgepole pine follows stand development pathways hypothesized for non-serotinous stands of Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine.
Flight from Unfairness: Effects of Perceived Injustice on Emotional Exhaustion and Employee Withdrawal

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine emotional mechanisms by which perceived injustice is translated into forms of employee withdrawal. Based on person–environment fit theory, we develop arguments predicting mediation between perceived justice and withdrawal by an emotional suffering syndrome and emotional exhaustion.
Isolation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to recombinant bovine interleukin-1 β

Abstract We describe the preparation of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) directed against recombinant bovine interleukin-1 β (rBoIL-1 β). These anti-IL-1 β Mabs were designated SA10, SA12, SA13, SA15, and SA22, and were characterized on the basis of their epitope specificity and cross-reactivity with homologous and heterologous cytokines in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and immunoblot analyses. Additionally, the ability of these Mabs to neutralize IL-1 β was tested in thymocyte costimulation assays. The ELISA titers of all Mabs ranged from 9.4×106 to 1×107. Data indicate that Mabs SA10, SA12, SA15, and SA22 neutralized both bovine macrophage-derived IL-1 (1:4) and rBoIL-1 β (1 ng ml−1). All the Mabs against rBoIL-1 β (SA10, SA12, SA13, SA15, SA22) were specific and did not cross-react with other cytokines tested, except recombinant human IL-1 β (rHuIL-1 β). This finding suggests that these Mabs recognize epitopes common to human and bovine IL-1 molecules. Competition experiments suggested that Mab SA22 recognized a different epitope and Mabs SA10, SA12, SA13, and SA15 recognized the same epitope on the rBoIL-1 β molecule. These observations suggest that these Mabs could be useful reagents for developing immunoassays to measure bovine IL-1 β from biological fluids and to study the immunoregulatory role of IL-1 in the bovine immune system.
Green strength enhancement in BIIR/Olefin copolymer compounds

Improved green strength of halobutyl at elevated temperatures was obtained via blending with semicrystalline polymers. For such improvement, a judicious selection of olefin copolymers, such as ethylene–propylene, ethylene–butene, or ethylene–octene copolymers, as blend components has to be made. Green strength enhancement was found to increase with increasing compatibility between bromobutyl (BIIR) and the olefin copolymer. Increased compatibility may be estimated by chain dimension similarity in a dilute solution between polyisobutylene and the olefin copolymer. For the most compatible olefin copolymer examined, a propylene elastomer, a phase percolation threshold was found at 0.13 volume fraction of the copolymer. This threshold value is lower than the theoretical limit of 0.156 for spherical phase domains. Based on the morphological examination by tapping phase AFM, it was found that this propylene elastomer crystallizes around the carbon black filler agglomerates to form nonspherical and high-aspect-ratio dispersed phases. Its phase anisotropy may contribute to its lower phase percolation threshold in BIIR compounds. Model innerliner compounds of BIIR containing 10–20 phr of such a propylene elastomer in place of natural rubber were shown to have excellent room-temperature and improved elevated-temperature green strengths, good aging resistance, and excellent impermeability without significant increases in relaxation time. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 4447–4459, 2006
Evaluation of past experience with fast neutron teletherapy and its implications for future applications.

Abstract A review has been given of past experience with fast neutron teletherapy and the development of fast neutron therapy sources. The first clinical applications of fast neutrons, initiated by Stone and Larkin at Berkeley, from 1939–1944, have been reexamined. The re-evaluation confirmed the interpretation arrived at earlier by investigators at Hammersmith Hospital that the patients had been over-exposed. Details of four cases of the Stone-Larkin series are presented to illustrate the narrow reserve tolerance present in radiotherapy and to indicate the necessity of proceeding with extreme care in determining neutron treatment schemes. The second part of the review deals with the production of adequate beams for fast neutron teletherapy. In view of the limited penetration of 14 MeV neutrons, large source to skin distances have to be employed, which require a total yield of 4 × 1012 neutrons/sec produced by the D–T reaction. The characteristics of various types of D–T neutron generators are discussed in view of source strength and target life-time problems. These two primary problems might be solved by using a mixed deuterium-tritium beam and a bare copper drive-in target. The developments of this machine are described. Although the required neutron yield has not been demonstrated up to the present, the operation experience on this type of machine seems promising.
Word-internal /t,d/ deletion in spontaneous speech: Modeling the effects of extra-linguistic, lexical, and phonological factors

The deletion of word-internal alveolar stops in spontaneous English speech is a variation phenomenon that has not previously been investigated. This study quantifies internal deletion statistically using a range of linguistic and extra-linguistic variables, and interprets the results within a model of speech production. Effects were found for speech rate and fluency, word form and word predictability, prominence, and aspects of the local phonological context. Results of the study are compared to results from the numerous studies of word-final alveolar stop deletion, internal deletion in laboratory speech, and also to another internal alveolar stop process, flapping. Our findings suggest that word-internal alveolar stop deletion is not a unitary phenomenon, but two different processes that arise at different points during speech production. In syllable codas, deletion results from cluster simplification to achieve gestural economy and is introduced during segment planning. In syllable onsets, deletion is one outcome of gradient lenition that results from gestural reduction during articulation.
Preparing arrays of large atomically flat regions on single crystal substrates

We report a simple and general procedure to create arrays of atomically flat terraces on single crystal surfaces. Facets of three-dimensional (3D) metal islands formed after hetero-epitaxial growth are often flat and, through annealing or growth at elevated temperature, the formation of rather large (micron-scale) atomically flat-top facets can be promoted. We find that the step-free nature of top facets on such islands can be transferred to the substrate surface through room-temperature ion-sputter etching, followed by an annealing step. We use low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) for in situ monitoring of the process steps while fabricating arrays of step-free surface regions on W(110), Ru(0001), Cu(100), and Fe(100) single crystals.
Dose dependency and wound healing aspects of the use of tissue plasminogen activator in the prevention of intra-abdominal adhesions

Intra-abdominal adhesions have been shown to result from the impairment of peritoneal fibrinolysis by inhibitors present in ischemic tissue. A reproducible model for the formation of intra-abdominal adhesions was utilized for the evaluation of the effectiveness of intraperitoneal applications of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) in adhesion prevention. Concentrations of rtPA required to overcome the inhibition of fibrinolysis in this model were estimated by titration of that amount of rtPA required to lyse blood clot in the presence of a measured amount of ischemic tissue. Adhesions were graded, and the hydroxyproline content of the abdominal wounds was analyzed. The effect of intraperitoneal administration of rtPA on adhesion formation was strongly dose related. Levels of rtPA of 0.01 mg/mL showed no effect (p Concomitantly, wound hydroxyproline content was significantly reduced (p=0.004). Prior investigations have shown a strong correlation between wound bursting strength and hydroxyproline content. The results of this study indicated that the levels of rtPA required to alter or prevent intra-abdominal adhesion formation also produce a significant impairment of the early phase of wound healing as measured by the wound content of hydroxyproline.
Estimation and simulation of nonhomogeneous Poisson processes having multiple periodicities

We develop and evaluate procedures for estimating and simulating nonhomogeneous Poisson processes (NHPPs) having an exponential rate function, where the exponent may include a polynomial component or some trigonometric components or both. Maximum likelihood estimates of the unknown continuous parameters of the rate function are obtained numerically, and the degree of the polynomial rate component is determined by a likelihood ratio test. The experimental performance evaluation for this estimation procedure involves applying the procedure to 100 independent replications of nine selected point processes that possess up to four trigonometric rate components together with a polynomial rate component whose degree ranges from zero to three. On each replication of each process, the fitting procedure is applied to estimate the parameters of the process; and then the corresponding estimates of the rate and mean value functions are computed over the observation interval. Evaluation of the fitting procedure is based on plotted tolerance bands for the rate and mean value functions together with summary statistics for the maximum and average absolute estimation errors in these functions over the observation interval. The experimental results provide substantial evidence of the numerical stability and usefulness of the fitting procedure in simulation applications.
Historic Preservation and Residential Property Values: An Analysis of Texas Cities:

Summary. Designation of historic districts is increasingly used as a tool to revive or halt the deterioration of central-city neighbourhoods. While historic designation is generally thought to have a positive impact on property values, evidence on this issue is mixed. One limitation of previous research is that it typically focuses on historic neighbourhoods in one city and thus bases its conclusions on a very limited sample. This study expands upon previous work by examining the effects of designation on property values across a larger set of cities. The study employs hedonic regression models to estimate housing prices in historic districts and comparable neighbourhoods in nine Texas cities. Results suggest that, in most cases, historic designation is associated with higher property values.
This is not a catalog: Philip Glass's works online

One of the paradoxes of the World Wide Web is that while we frequently find ourselves navigating to online media, we rarely use online media to help us with this navigation. Consider, for example, the conventions of (legally) browsing for music on the Web. Four years ago, composer Philip Glass approached us at IBM Research to develop an online catalog of his works. We had a talented intern working with us that summer and he developed a quick prototype by combining two visualization techniques: scatter plots and zooming.
Analyzing discussion scene contents in instructional videos

This paper describes our current effort on analyzing the contents of discussion scenes in instructional videos based on a clustering technique. Specifically, given a discussion scene pre-detected from an education or training video, we first apply a mode-based clustering approach to group all speech segments into an optimal number of clusters where each cluster contains speech from one speaker; we then analyze the discussion patterns in the scene, and subsequently classify it into either a 2-speaker or multi-speaker discussion. Encouraging classification results have been achieved on 122 discussion scenes detected from five IBM MicroMBA videos. Moreover, we have also observed fairly good performance on the speaker clustering scheme, which demonstrates the superiority of the proposed clustering approach. Undoubtedly, the discussion scene information output from this analysis scheme would facilitate the content browsing, searching and understanding of instructional videos.
Spiders on Apple in Wisconsin and Their Abundance in a Natural and Two Artificial Environments

An investigation into the abundance of spiders in a three-acre apple orchard of northeastern Wisconsin was conducted in a natural and two artificial environments (captan and DDT) from 1959 through 1961. Six families, 17 genera and 24 species were recorded, with 15 species of hunting spiders and 9 species of cobweb forms present. Most abundant were Paraphidippus marginatus (Walck.), Philodromus cespiticolis (Walk.), Philodromus sp., Araniella displicata (Hentz) and an unidentified species of Salticidae. Comparisons are made with reports from the northeastern United States and Canada. Highest numbers were in the fungicide environment which was attributed to the more abundant and lush foliage there. Extremely low counts were obtained from the insecticide environment. Captan was deemed highly recommendable for increasing the total number of predacious spiders in an apple orchard.
An Explanatory Model of Collaborative Online Travel Planning by Millennials

This paper investigates how online travel can benefit from serving Millennials with collaboration support. We test whether the decision support of online shopping in pairs, connected by screen sharing technology, contributes to a greater intent to purchase vacation travel. We conducted a field experiment with 150 subjects. A Partial Least Squares analysis of Collaboration, Ease of Use, Trust, and Perceived Effectiveness combined to explain Intent to Purchase with 42.5% variance explained. The results shed light on the value proposition for offering collaboration support to Millennials. Future research will extend the results to other populations, task domains and devices.
Effects of salinity fluctuation on the hemolymph composition of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus

The hemolymph of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus was hyperosmotic during 20-10-20‰ S and 30-10-30‰ S diurnal cycles. The hemolymph became isosmotic at 26‰ S and hyposmotic at 28‰ S in the 10-30-10‰ S diurnal cycle. Hemolymph Na+ was hyperionic to seawater throughout all cycles. Hemolymph Cl- was hyperionic below 24‰ S and either isionic or hypoionic from 24 to 30‰ S. Hemolymph K+ concentrations were hyperionic below 26‰ S and either isionic or hypoionic from 26 to 30‰ S. Hemolymph Mg++ values were hypoionic over the experimental salinity range (10 to 30‰). Hemolymph ninhydrin-positive substances (NPS) levels were directly related to ambient salinity.
Microscopic theory of a dense Fermi liquid at low temperatures: II. Spin and density fluctuations

Abstract The theory of a dense low-temperature Fermi liquid which was developed in an earlier paper is applied to the study of spin and density fluctuations. Under certain conditions, the grand potential takes on a particularly simple form, which contains terms characteristic of spin and density fluctuations as well as terms of the type usually obtained in the Landau theory. A simple model calculation indicates that the approximations made in obtaining the grand potential are probably justified for a system similar to liquid 3He. All quantities appearing in the theory are directly calculable from the microscopic properties of constituent particles in the liquid.
Composite importance measures for multi-state systems with multi-state components

This paper presents & evaluates composite importance measures (CIM) for multi-state systems with multi-state components (MSMC). Importance measures are important tools to evaluate & rank the impact of individual components within a system. For multi-state systems, previously developed measures do not meet all user needs. The major focus of the study is to distinguish between two types of importance measures which can be used for evaluating the criticality of components in MSMC with respect to multi-state system reliability. This paper presents Type 1 importance measures that are involved in measuring how a specific component affects multi-state system reliability. A Monte Carlo (MC) simulation methodology for estimating the reliability of a MSMC is used for computing the proposed CIM metrics. Previous approaches (Type 2) have focused on investigating how a particular component state or set of states affects multi-state system reliability. For some systems, it is not clear how to prioritize system component importance, collectively considering all of its states, using the previously developed importance measures. That detracts from those measures. Experimental results show that the proposed CIM can be used as an effective tool to assess component criticality for MSMC. Examples are used to illustrate & compare the proposed CIM with previous multi-state importance measures.
What Role Should Propositions Have in the Theory of Meaning? Review Essay: Scott Soames. What is meaning?

What is Meaning? addresses “an unsolved problem at the heart of our conception of what meaning is, and what we want from a theory of meaning” (p. 2). The problem is whether propositions, as they are traditionally conceived, can play the roles intended for them in theories of language and mind. In approaches to the theory of meaning that trace their lineage back to Frege, propositions are structured sentence meanings, construed as abstract objects. They intrinsically represent states of affairs and are the timeless bearers of truth-values. In virtue of this they are to be able to play their various roles in our theories of thought and meaning. They are the referents of names (‘Logicism’, ‘The Banach-Tarski Paradox’) and demonstratives (‘That’s true/false’, ‘That’s surprising!’), the values of variables of quantification (‘Of all the mathematical conjectures proven in the 20th century perhaps the most famous was Fermat’s Last Theorem’), and the objects of belief and other attitudes (‘Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast’). Soames says that they are “needed to state the goals of semantic theory, and to relate semantics to the interpretation of speakers” (p. 3). But what are propositions? Any theory of propositions must answer two questions. First, if we traffic in them, how are we able we “entertain” or “grasp” them? Second, what enables them to represent and so to be the bearers of truth conditions? The traditional answer was that we grasped by them by a special intellectual faculty and that propositions are (a) intrinsically representational and (b) that from which everything else inherits their representational properties. What is Meaning? argues that nothing can satisfy the second of these conditions in particular, and sketches a positive account of the nature of propositions which aims to answer both questions, namely, that propositions are certain structured cognitive events types. A compact and densely argued 129 pages, What is Meaning? divides into seven chapters. The first introductory chapter sketches the project. The second argues Philosophia (2012) 40:885–901 DOI 10.1007/s11406-012-9368-3
Evaluation of the use of an interactive, online resource for competency-based curriculum development

Purpose To evaluate pediatric educators’ use of and satisfaction with the Academic Pediatric Association’s Educational Guidelines for Pediatric Residency. Method The authors used customized programming to document all registered users and downloaded files from the Guidelines Web site for a 30-month period after site completion. An online survey of volunteer users was conducted. Results
Ureterosigmoidostomy: Is it a Viable Procedure in the Age of Continent Urinary Diversion and Bladder Substitution?

AbstractBetween January 1977 and June 1985, 63 patients requiring supravesical diversion underwent ureterosigmoidostomy with an antireflux technique. Of the patients 49 had bladder cancer and 14 had other conditions. Two patients died in the postoperative period. Postoperatively, all patients were instructed to empty the rectum frequently, and received bicarbonate and potassium supplementation.Median followup was 41 months (range 3 to 70). Renal function remained stable in 92 percent of the patients. Radiographic deterioration occurred in 23 percent of the renal units, which was severe in 7 percent. These results indicate that the short and intermediate followup results with ureterosigmoidostomy are comparable to those of an ileal conduit. The method has the added advantage of being a form of continent diversion. We believe that ureterosigmoidostomy remains a viable and convenient alternative in select patients with bladder cancer who are not suitable for other forms of continent diversion or bladder subs...
Dementia in hippocampal sclerosis resembles frontotemporal dementia more than Alzheimer disease

Objective: To characterize the clinical course of pathologically diagnosed hippocampal sclerosis dementia (HSD). Background: Dementia associated with HSD is incompletely characterized. Previous studies suggest similarities to both Alzheimer disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Methods: Case-control analysis of the clinical course of patients with HSD, FTD, and AD from a neuropathology autopsy series conducted by a university hospital. Case histories were reviewed. Cumulative prevalence of behavioral, cognitive, psychiatric, and language symptoms were compared between groups, as was time of symptom onset. Clinical diagnostic criteria for FTD and AD were applied to case histories. Sensitivity and specificity of clinical FTD diagnostic criteria (Report of the Work Group on FTD and Pick’s disease) were computed. Results: Cumulative prevalence of symptoms in HSD was most similar to that of FTD and differed from AD. Behavioral abnormalities such as decreased grooming and inappropriate behavior were more prevalent in HSD and FTD than AD. Hyperorality, inappropriate behavior, and decreased interest had earlier onset in HSD and FTD. Cognitive symptoms of disorientation, dyscalculia, apraxia, and agnosia were more prevalent in AD, as were psychiatric symptoms of hallucinations, delusions, and aggression. Most HSD patients met diagnostic criteria for FTD. Criteria sensitivity was 64.0% and specificity was 73.7%. Conclusions: FTD is a clinical syndrome associated with heterogeneous neuropathology. The clinical course of HSD is more similar to that of FTD than AD. These findings, together with the neuropathologic data presented in the accompanying article, support expanding the scope of FTD (Pick complex) to include HSD.
Circuit dynamics and coding strategies in rodent somatosensory cortex.

Previous experimental studies of both cortical barrel and thalamic barreloid neuron responses in rodent somatosensory cortex have indicated an active role for barrel circuitry in processing thalami...
Induction Therapy in Renal Transplantation: Why? What Agent? What Dose? We May Never Know

Induction therapy, defined simply as the short-term use of an immunosuppressive agent, has become commonplace in kidney transplantation. Historically, induction therapy had been considered necessary to prevent acute rejection and typically included the use of high doses of corticosteroids and/or
Incorporation of Chromium in Sputtered Copper Films and Its Removal During Wet Chemical Etching

In modern computing equipment, semiconductor devices are normally mounted on a substrate that acts as an interface between the circuit card or board and the silicon chip. The circuitry deposited on such substrates combined with pins through holes in the substrate material allow communication between I/O sites on a device and the card or board. In some cases the circuitry is generated by screening on a paste that, when fired, will produce lines of a conductive glass. In other cases, the metallurgy is vacuum-deposited using either evaporation or sputtering and is made of metallic components. One such metallic system consists of chromium and copper, deposited to give a Cr/Cu/Cr/ceramic film structure [1]. These layers are deposited on the substrate and circuitry formed by photolithography followed by wet chemical etching.
Incorporating spike-rate adaptation into a rate code in mathematical and biological neurons.

For a slowly varying stimulus, the simplest relationship between a neuron's input and output is a rate code, in which the spike rate is a unique function of the stimulus at that instant. In the cas...
Result Analysis on Determination of Phthalate Acid Esters in Foods and Plastic Food Packaging Materials by HPLC-MS/MS

[Objective]To investigate the contamination of five kinds of Phthalate Acid Esters(PAEs)in foods and food packaging materials,analyze the results.[Methods]485 food samples and 102 food packaging material samples were collected randomly from various super-markets and stores by statistical method.After classifying with types and packaging methods,the samples determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometric method(HPLC-MS/MS),and the results were analyzed statistically.[Results]PAEs were detected in 485 food samples universally,detection rate was 53.2% with content range of 0.01～13 960 mg/kg.The content order of five kinds of PAEs in foods was DEHPDBPDEPDOPDMP.The PAEs level of foods using plastic packaging materials was higher than that using no-plastic packaging materials.Spearman correlation analysis demonstrated that there was positive correlation on contents of DBP,DOP and DEHP between foods and packaging materials,the correlation coefficient of DBP and DEHP was 0.989,and the correlation relationship of DMP and DEP was not significant(P0.05).The PAEs level in fat-rich foods was high.[Conclusion]The contamination of PAEs in foods comes from food packaging materials mainly.High temperature and high lipid will increase dissolution of PAEs from food packaging materials.The results show the contamination of PAEs in food is serious,and related departments should paid attention on it.
Till Sheets on the Ross Sea Continental Shelf, Antarctica

Ross Sea is a broad embayment, approximately 1500 km wide and 900 km long, on the Antarctic coast (Fig. 1). Water depths range from less than 300 m to greater than 1200 m and average in excess of 500 m. Bathymetry is dominated by a series of roughly northeast-southwest ridges and troughs. The continental shelf is foredeepened; the inner shelf is deeper than the outer shelf due to a combination of enhanced glacial scour and isostatic loading. Repeated expansion of the East and West Antarctic ice sheets is interpreted to have modified the continental shelf. The records of the most recent glacial expansions are preserved in the surficial features and sedimentary deposits of the Ross Sea floor.
Evaluation of Environmental Cytotoxic Drug Contamination in a Clinical Setting.

ABSTRACT The use of cytotoxic drugs to treat neoplastic conditions is increasing in veterinary practices. Many agents have the potential to be genotoxic and evidence of exposure to cytotoxic drugs has been found in healthcare workers handling these pharmaceuticals. To date, limited contamination evaluations have been performed in veterinary practices. Evaluation for carboplatin contamination was performed at a veterinary teaching hospital involving twelve areas in the dispensary and treatment room. Detectable levels of platinum were found on the surface of the biological safety cabinet where drugs are transferred from vial to administration device. Results indicate contamination did occur and care must be taken during all phases of cytotoxic drug preparation and administration; precautionary procedures must be in place to limit the spread of surface contamination and personnel exposure.
Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhance Extramedullary Engraftment and Proliferation of Human AML Blasts in NOD-SCID Mice.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Inoculation of human normal or leukemic myeloblasts into sublethaly irradiated NOD/SCID mice often results in persistent low-level engraftment ( METHODS: Human leukemic myeloblasts were obtained from the marrow or peripheral blood of 14 newly diagnosed pediatric patients under an IRB-approved collection and banking protocol. MSC were obtained from sterile filters following processing of human marrow from healthy donors or from the NIH-funded MSC bank at Tulane University. 6-to-12 week old NOD-SCID mice were injected IV with 5x106 AML blasts via the retro-orbital sinus (N=38), subcutaneously in 0.5mL Matrigel (N=18), or subcutaneously with 5x105 MSC in 0.5mL of Matrigel (N=14). Mice were euthanized when evidence of tumor burden was present. Peripheral blood, bone marrow, spleen, and subcutaneous nodules were obtained for flow immunophenotyping, FISH, and histopathology. Percent engraftment was determined by flow cytometry for human CD33-APC and mouse H2Kd-PE. RESULTS: Median time from injection to necropsy was 12.5 weeks. 18% died of spontaneous murine thymomas. No animals died of progressive human AML if myeloblasts were injected IV or subcutaneously with Matrigel, and all had 98% CD33+ by flow cytometry, with mean estimated recovery of 1.3x108 human myeloblasts per mouse tumor (mean 36-fold expansion, range 4 to 52-fold). For cases in which the AML and MSC were derived from subjects of disparate gender, the origin of the cells (leukemic donor vs. MSC donor) was validated by FISH for human X/Y chromosomes. Histopathology of the resulting mass revealed the central development of a stromal chondroid matrix similar to trabecular bone. Marrow, spleen, and blood for all these animals contained CONCLUSIONS: Here we describe an effective method for expanding immature human leukemic myeloblasts in the NOD/SCID mouse. These findings suggest that less mature myeloblasts require human MSC for survival and proliferation and appear to lack significant homing to or expansion in mouse marrow even in the presence of a significant ectopic tumor burden. This is a useful technique for expanding human AML cells for research, may be a model for more broad-based patient-oriented testing of chemotherapeutic and biologic therapies for AML, and represents a novel animal model for studying the stromal interactions and growth requirements of malignant and non-malignant myeloid precursors.