cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Block Covariance Overlap Method and Convergence in Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Molecular dynamics (MD) is a powerful tool for understanding the fluctuations of biomolecular systems. It is, however, subject to statistical errors in its sampling of the underlying distribution of states. One must understand these errors in order to draw meaningful conclusions from the simulation. This is becoming ever more critical as MD simulations of even larger systems are attempted. We present here a new method for determining the extent of convergence that relies on measures of the fluctuation space sampled by the simulation without any a priori knowledge of states or partitioning of the configuration space. This method reveals long correlation times, even for simple systems, and suggests caution when interpreting macromolecular simulations. We also compare this method with previous efforts to characterize the sampling of MD simulation.
Ionic permeability of synthetic vesicles

Abstract The permeability of vesicles of the synthetic surfactant sodium 4-(1′-heptylnonyl)benzenesulfonate changes when the crown ether ionophore dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 is added to the vesicle wall. The permeabilities of both potassium and sodium increase, with the potassium increase being much larger. The increase is not the result of defects introduced by the crown ether. Two structural models are proposed to account for the observed selective transport. The addition of crown ether also results in an increase in the concentration of small nonvesicular aggregates present in equilibrium with the surfactant vesicles, but does not change the vesicle size.
Of Theory, Aesthetics, and Politics: Configuring the Messianic in Early Twentieth-Century Europe

This essay examines the messianic desire that impacted the cultural products of German-speaking Europe so strongly during the 1910s and 1920s. It then problematizes that desire by arguing that a famous 1930s debate, ostensibly about the political aesthetic of those previous decades, actually had as its central nerve the configurations of the messianic seen there. In juxtaposing two fundamentally disparate ways of the thinking the messianic (in contemporary theory as well as in the art and literature of a distinct period), I aim to interrogate the dialectical and aporetic structures inherent in messianism, as well as the consequences of secular co-optations of Jewish and Christian models.
Crying Wolf: Scientific False Alarms and Defensive Journalism in Coverage of “Doomsday Asteroids”

News coverage of “doomsday” asteroids and comets offers a telling insight into tensions surrounding the reportage of many modern risks. This study of press coverage in the U.S. and Britain discusses differing concepts of uncertainty held by journalists and scientists, and explores the defensive maneuvers that failure of prediction prompts in both communities—strategies that have a significant effect on the news of global threats consumed on both sides of the Atlantic.
Capillary operators--II.

This work continues with an examination of capillary exchange models as operators, namely the operatorsO k andK αk relating extravascular and intravascular concentration to input for the Krogh cylinder model of a single capillary, a model basic to many organ models. Fundamental algebraic and analytic properties are presented: the operators belong to a commutative Banach algebra; an addition theorem holdsK αk +K βk =K α+β,k ; the operatorK αk has an inverse;K -1 , (as an operator on LebesgueL p space or on the locally integrable functions); partial derivatives are given forK αk [f](t) andO k [f](t) (sensitivity functions); and inequalities are established for the derivatives. Dominance relations between model curves are inferred. Error bound formulas are presented forK andO as bounds on ‖K αk f-K βl f‖ p and ‖O k f-O l f‖ p for allL p . Consequent limitations on relative errors are shown. The implications for operators on a finite time interval are deduced.
Optical diagnostics for the pulsed laser deposition of YBa2Cu3O7-x superconducting wires

One of the critical elements in the manufacture of long lengths of high temperature superconducting wires is the development of deposition diagnostics correlated with the quality of deposited material for process control. Fast imagery, emission spectroscopy, and time-of-flight spectroscopy of the very energetic plumes resulting from the pulsed laser deposition of YBa2Cu3O7-x have been recorded for a wide range of deposition conditions at four military, DoE, and industrial facilities. Several optical signatures that are strongly correlated with the deposited critical currents have been identified with strong potential for process control. In addition, the partioning of energy among translation, electronic and ro-vibrational degrees of freedom as a function of laser fluence, chamber pressure, and position in the plume have been characterized.
Urine leakage in persons with spinal cord injury and using long-term Foley catheters: a simple solution.

Urine leakage in persons with spinal cord injury and using long-term Foley catheters: a simple solution
Frequency-resolved measurement of fast intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR) in the O–H stretch of gas-phase ethanol

Abstract The frequency-resolved, molecular-beam spectrum of the O–H stretch of ethanol near 3678 cm−1 has been measured at 10 MHz resolution using an electric-resonance optothermal spectrometer (EROS). A portion of the R branch of the predominantly a-type O–H stretch for the more stable trans conformer has been rotationally assigned using a high-sensitivity infrared-microwave double-resonance technique. The spectrum shows extensive near-resonant perturbations that characterize the intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR) process. Single rovibrational transitions of the O–H stretch normal mode are found to be fractionated into more than 60 transitions due to the coupling of the O–H stretch to the background of nearby vibrational states. The overall width of the collection of molecular eigenstates coming from a single zeroth-order rovibrational state in the vibrationally excited state gives a 25 ps lifetime for energy redistribution from the O–H stretch in trans-ethanol. This lifetime is in reasonable agreement with previous time-resolved measurements of the O–H stretch lifetime of 70 ps for ethanol in CCl4. Comparison of the two measurement techniques is discussed.
Mitogen stimulation of lymphocytes in CBA mice exposed to lead and cadmium

CBA mice were exposed to lead acetate or cadmium chloride in drinking water for 10 weeks. Selected groups of these animals were also injected with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) during exposure to the metals. The ability of mitogens concanavalin A (Con A) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as well as purified protein derivative (PPD) to induce proliferation of splenic lymphocytes was assessed. In general, lead tended to inhibit lymphocyte proliferation by LPS and PPD while cadmium potentiated blastogenesis by these mitogens. The two larger doses of cadmium, 30 and 300 ppm, resulted in intense proliferation which was significant (P < 0.05) for the non-BCG, 300-ppm cadmium group. However, 3 ppm cadmium reduced the lymphocyte response to LPS and PPD which was significant (P < 0.05) for the non-BCG-injected mice. Lead and cadmium did not significantly affect the response of lymphocyte proliferation by Con A. Group variation and interpretation of data are discussed.
Nonlinear dynamic buckling of spherical caps with initial imperfections

Abstract A finite difference method is developed for the large deformation elastic-plastic dynamic buckling analysis of axisymmetric spherical caps with initial imperfections. The problem formulation is based on governing differential equations of motion, treating the plastic deformation as an effective plastic load. Both perfectly plastic and strain hardening behavior are implemented in the program. Strain hardening is incorporated through use of the Prager-Ziegler kinematic hardening rule, so that the Bauschinger effect is accounted for. The solution for the large deformation elastic-plastic dynamic response of a spherical cap is compared very favorably with other findings. Two spherical cap models are selected to study the title problem. Results obtained indicate that both plastic yielding and initial imperfection play significant roles in reducing the load carrying capacity of these shell structures. Both increase their influence as the thickness to radius ratio and the imperfection magnitude increase, respectively. It is also found that dynamic effect has the influence of lowering load carrying capacity of perfect spherical caps; however, its influence on imperfect spherical caps depends on the magnitude of initial imperfections.
Writing and publishing important scientific articles: A reviewer's perspective

Abstract The article discusses various complex and interrelated quality issues mediating reviewers' expectations and standards. Authors must meet or exceed reviewers' and editors' expectations of providing convincing arguments and support of the importance and relevancy of the research topic and questions, evidence of scientific rigorousness, and meaningful and usefulness of the findings making substantial and/or incremental contributions to the scientific body of marketing knowledge. Marketing scholars struggling to publish their research in high-quality marketing journals will definitely benefit from the insights in this article.
Endovascular Imaging: A Surgeon's View

Endovascular imaging has undergone rapid development this decade. This paper represents a vascular surgeon's personal views of this new technology. This paper will focus primarily on vascular endoscopy and endovascular ultrasonography, the two fields that will probably have the most clinical applications. Spectra analysis, which is still in its infancy stages will not be discussed.
Thioether ligation in Co(III) complexes with carboxamido nitrogens as donors: implications on the coordination structure of the cobalt site in nitrile hydratase

Abstract In order to determine the role of the sulfur donors around the Co(III) site of the enzyme nitrile hydratase, we have synthesized a designed ligand PyPSMeH2 (Hs are dissociable carboxamide hydrogens) with carboxamido nitrogens and thioether sulfur donors. Although Co(III) complexes with bound thioether groups have previously been synthesized with other ligands, attempts to synthesize such a species with PyPSMe2− have failed. The only complex isolated is the bis complex (Et4N)[Co(PyPSMe)2] (1) in which the potentially pentadentate PyPSMe2− ligand acts as tridentate and all four thioether sulfurs remain as pendant groups. In 1, one of the four carboxamido groups is O-bonded. Methylation of the analogous (Et4N)[Co2(PyPS)2] with iodomethane affords (Et4N)[Co2(PyPS(SMe))2] (2), the only Co(III) complex with weakly bound thioether groups. The dimeric complex 2 contains two bridging thiolato sulfurs and each Co(III) center has one bound thioether sulfur in its coordination sphere. These two terminal thioether groups of 2 are replaced easily by other ligands like pyridine. Reaction of CN− with 2 affords the dicyano complex (Et4N)2[Co(PyPS(SMe)(CN)2] (3) with pendant thioether group. Collectively, these results indicate that Co(III) centers with coordinated carboxamido nitrogen(s) exhibit very low affinity toward thioether sulfur.
Calcium acetate as a sorbent precursor for the removal of carbon dioxide from gas streams at high temperature

Abstract The feasibility of a process for the high-temperature, high-pressure separation of CO2 from coal-derived gas streams based upon the noncatalytic gas-solid reaction CaO(s)+CO2(g) ⇆ CaCO3(S) is being investigated. Earlier studies have shown that complete carbonation cannot be achieved and that sorbent performance deteriorates as the number of calcination-carbonation cycles increases, problems which are attributed to the variation of the pore structure of the sorbent in the oxide and carbonate forms. Hydrated calcium acetate has been found to be superior to calcium carbonate as a sorbent precursor. Calcium acetate decomposes in a step-wise fashion beginning with the loss of water of hydration, followed by acetate decomposition to CaCO3, and finally calcination to CaO. The more open structure of the resultant CaO permits complete carbonation to occur and improves multicycle durability. Further increases in durability, but with a reduced CO2 capacity, appear possible using dolomite or calcium magnesium acetate precursors. Kinetic results obtained from a high-pressure electrobalance reactor comparing the behavior of sorbent precursors and examining the effect of reaction temperature, pressure, and gas composition as well as structural property data are presented.
DOES GROWTH HORMONE CAUSE RELAPSE OF BRAIN TUMOURS

Tumour relapse rates in 14 patients with medulloblastoma, 8 with glioma, 2 with ependymoma, 6 with leukaemia, and 1 with T-cell lymphoma who received growth hormone (GH) treatment for growth failure secondary to cranial irradiation were compared with rates among patients treated with radical radiotherapy for the same types of tumour. Five relapses (in 5 patients) occurred (1 optic nerve glioma, 2 medulloblastomas, and 2 ependymomas), three during and two after completion of GH treatment. Patients with medulloblastoma and ependymoma who relapsed were older at tumour diagnosis, underweight at the start of GH therapy, and entered puberty later than similar relapse-free patients. The late relapse rate of medulloblastoma and glioma was unaltered by GH therapy. Ependymoma carries a poor prognosis, and of the 4 late survivors, the 2 who received GH relapsed. No leukaemic relapse has been associated with GH treatment. The findings indicate that GH therapy does not increase the relapse rate of medulloblastoma, glioma, and leukaemia.
Formation and Redox Reactivity of Osmium(II) Thionitrosyl Complexes.

Reaction between [OsVI(tpm)(Cl)2(N)](PF6) (tpm = tris(1-pyrazolyl)methane) (1) or OsVI(Tp)(Cl)2(N) (Tp = hydrotris(1-pyrazolyl)borate anion) (2) and CS2 + N3- in acetone gives the corresponding thionitrosyl complexes, -SCN, and N2. There is an extensive reactivity chemistry of the thionitrosyl group in [OsII(tpm)(Cl)2(NS)](PF6) (3b). Reaction between 3b and PPh3 occurs with S-atom transfer to give [OsIV(tpm)(Cl)2(NPPh3)]+ and SPPh3. 3b undergoes chemical or electrochemical reduction to give the corresponding OsII ammine complex and H2S. O-atom transfer from ONMe3 to 3b occurs to give OsIII(tpm)(Cl)2(NSO). Competitive NO+/NS+ exchange and S2- transfer occur in the reaction between [OsII(tpm)(Cl)2(NS)](BF4) (3c) and NO+ to give a mixture of [OsVI(tpm)(Cl)2(N)]+ and [OsII(tpm)(Cl)2(NO)]+.
Fabrication of nested elliptical KB mirrors using profile coating for synchrotron radiation X-ray focusing

Abstract This paper describes fabrication methods used to demonstrate the advantages of nested or Montel optics for micro/nanofocusing of synchrotron X-ray beams. A standard Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) mirror system uses two separated elliptical mirrors at glancing angles to the X-ray beam and sequentially arranged at 90° to each other to focus X-rays successively in the vertical and horizontal directions. A nested KB mirror system has the two mirrors positioned perpendicular and side-by-side to each other. Compared to a standard KB mirror system, Montel optics can focus a larger divergence and the mirrors can have a shorter focal length. As a result, nested mirrors can be fabricated with improved demagnification factor and ultimately smaller focal spot, than with a standard KB arrangement. The nested system is also more compact with an increased working distance, and is more stable, with reduced complexity of mirror stages. However, although Montel optics is commercially available for laboratory X-ray sources, due to technical difficulties they have not been used to microfocus synchrotron radiation X-rays, where ultra-precise mirror surfaces are essential. The main challenge in adapting nested optics for synchrotron microfocusing is to fabricate mirrors with a precise elliptical surface profile at the very edge where the two mirrors meet and where X-rays scatter. For example, in our application to achieve a sub-micron focus with high efficiency, a surface figure root-mean-square (rms) error on the order of 1 nm is required in the useable area along the X-ray footprint with a ∼0.1 mm-diameter cross section. In this paper we describe promising ways to fabricate precise nested KB mirrors using our profile coating technique and inexpensive flat Si substrates.
Economic rationalization of fisheries: The problem of conflicting national interests on Georges Bank

Abstract As world food supplies become tighter, the potential value of the Northwest Atlantic fisheries will steadily increase. The wasteful and exploitative practices of the past must therefore be brought to an end and optimal management practices instituted. Optimal management practices will not, however, be easy to institute. It may be both difficult and extremely costly to attempt to manage the biomass through some information system and control mechanism.
Evolution of Electron Phase-Space Holes in a 2D Magnetized Plasma

The nonlinear stage of the two-stream instability in a 2D magnetized plasma produces electron phase-space tubes, the counterpart of phase-space holes in a 1D plasma. These tubes align primarily perpendicular to the magnetic field ${\mathbf{B}}_{0}$ and have self-consistent bipolar electric fields parallel to ${\mathbf{B}}_{0}$. Such bipolar electric fields have recently been observed in four different regions of the Earth's space plasma environment. Massively parallel 2D kinetic simulations show the dynamics of tube formation, evolution, and breakup, accompanied by the generation of electrostatic whistler waves. We focus on the breakup of the tubes and describe a new numerical study of tube stability.
Gauge-invariant calculation of the magnetic properties of the hydrogen molecule

Components of the magnetic shielding and dipole magnetizability tensors of the hydrogen molecule are calculated in a gauge-invariant manner. The orbital approximation is employed using the LCAO form of Coulson and a five term SCF orbital of Kolos and Roothaan which is near the Hartree-Fock limit. Accurate values of the shielding are obtained when the standard 1/r 3 integral factor is reduced to a 1/r dependence by an appropriate transformation. In the orbital approximation our gauge-invariant method will give values that approach those obtained by the Hartree-Fock perturbation method, if the induced current is nearly perpendicular to the magnetic field when this field is perpendicular to the molecule's axis. An earlier calculation showed j · B = 0 to be an excellent approximation for the magnetizability. Additional support for this approximation is found in the agreement of our results with those of Sadlej and Raynes [1978, Molec. Phys., 35, 101]. The induced current density in our method automatically sa...
Resolution enhancement for an OCT system applied to multiple-layer information extraction

Optical coherent tomography (OCT) is a newly developed optical imaging technology that permits high-resolution cross-sectional imaging of an object. Most of the OCT imaging systems is developed for the biomedical applications, such as diagnostics of ophthalmology, dermatology, dentistry and cardiology. The technique behind these applications is the point scanning of laser beam penetrating into an object to obtain the internal features of the object. In this paper, we study a full-field OCT imaging system for acquiring information from a multi-layer information chip. This new system can be used in document security, identification and industrial inspection. Differing from the biology related samples, the information chip consists of a number of thin layers with information coded on their surfaces. The surfaces of the layers are flat and specular with moderate reflectance. The information on one layer is retrieved through demodulating interference image of that layer. To obtain the tomography image of all the layers, the images in each layer are acquired and separated. The axial resolution of the system, usually defined by coherent length of light source, determines how close the separation of the two vicinal layers can be resolved. In this paper we explore a new approach to enhance the axial resolution of the OCT system. The method is based on a three-step phase shift algorithm to solve the tomography images from fused interference patterns. Theoretic study and simulation indicate that the method improves the system resolution and quality of retrieved tomography images for the multilayer information chip. Experiment results are also given in support of the proposed method.
Molecular Mechanosensors and Focal Adhesion Mechanotransduction

Cellular response to mechanical stimulation is mediated by both biochemical mechanisms via changes in gene expression and by biophysical mechanisms via mechanically induced changes in specific molecules’ structure and function. These mechanically responsive molecules can be described as the cell’s mechanosensors and can function to initiate processes such as focal adhesion formation. A series of molecular dynamics investigations explore the mechanosensor function of key molecules involved in focal adhesion formation and cytoskeletal dynamics.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Comprehensive meta-analysis on drug-eluting stents versus bare-metal stents during extended follow-up.

Abstract Background Several observational reports have documented both increased and decreased cardiac mortality or Q-wave myocardial infarction with drug-eluting stents compared with bare-metal stents. Methods We sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of drug-eluting stents compared with bare-metal stents early after intervention ( 1 year) among a broad population of patients, using a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Results We identified 28 trials with a total of 10,727 patients and a mean follow-up of 29.6 months. For early outcomes ( P =.47), non-Q-wave myocardial infarction was 3.3% versus 4.4% (RR 0.78 [95% CI, 0.61-1.00]; P =.055), target lesion revascularization was 5.8% versus 18.4% (RR 0.28 [95% CI, 0.21-0.38]; P P =.47). For late outcomes (>1 year), all-cause mortality for drug-eluting stents versus bare-metal stents was 5.9% versus 5.7% (RR 1.03 [95% CI, 0.83-1.28]; P =.79), target lesion revascularization was 4.0% versus 3.3% (RR 1.22 [95% CI, 0.92-1.60]; P =.16), non-Q-wave myocardial infarction was 1.6% versus 1.2% (RR 1.36 [95% CI, 0.74-2.53]; P =.32) and stent thrombosis was 0.7% versus 0.1% (RR 4.57 [95% CI, 1.54-13.57]; P =.006). Conclusions There was no excess mortality with drug-eluting stents. Within 1 year, drug-eluting stents appear to be safe and efficacious with possibly decreased non-Q-wave myocardial infarction compared with bare-metal stents. After 1 year, drug-eluting stents still have similar mortality, despite increased stent thrombosis. The reduction in target lesion revascularization with drug-eluting stents mainly happens within 1 year, but is sustained thereafter.
TU-D-T-617-03: Assessment of a Prostate Treatment Plan Using Directional Brachytherapy Sources

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of using newly developed directional sources in a prostate brachytherapytreatment plan. Method and Materials: Directional sources contain a radiation shield in part of its interior that reduces significantly the intensity of radiation emitted in the shielded direction. They have a similar dose distribution as non‐directional sources on the unshielded side. We use an adjoint region of interest based optimization system to generate a plan for 0.546 U non‐directional 125 I sources to deliver a prescribed dose (Dp) of 145 Gy to the prostate and then manually replace some sources with the same strength of directional sources. The orientation and position of the directional sources have been selected to maximize V100 (percent of prostate receiving 145 Gy and higher), minimize R90Gy (percent of rectum receiving 90 Gy and higher) and minimize V125 and eliminate V150 for the central prostate regions including urethra (percent of volume receiving 125% of Dp (181 Gy) and 150% of Dp (217 Gy), respectively). Results: V100 of the prostate target region increases from 97.5% to 98.9%, the central prostate region including urethra, receives the full uniform prescribed dose, V125 drops from 61.7% to 49.2% and the V150 of 2.24% is eliminated. There is a large reduction in R90 Gy from 53.7% to 20.6% for the anterior retal wall, which significantly reduces the probability of rectal morbidity. All treatment plan indicators are improved with use of directional sources.Conclusion: Directional sources can allow the conflicting goals of increasing prostate target V100, decreasing R90Gy, decreasing V125 and eliminating V150 of the central prostate regions including urethra to be independently optimized, yielding a better treatment to the prostate with less rectal and urethral morbidity.
Effect of parturition time on the response to neonatal androgen in female rats.

SummaryFemale rats were cesarean delivered on days 22, 23 and 24 of gestation and treated with 100 μg testosterone propionate on various neonatal days. Certain mothers were administered progesterone prior to delivery of the offspring. Prematurely delivered rats had a longer critical period for androgenization than animals delivered on day 24 indicating that the responsiveness of the hypothalamus to androgens is age dependent. Although early testosterone treatment of the prematurely delivered rat resulted in a failure of vaginal opening, androgen treatment on subsequent days (5–10) advanced the timing of vaginal opening, while progesterone administration to the mother prevented this effect.
On the optimal placement of underwater sensors in a tree shaped multi-hop hierarchical network

We analyze the optimal location of underwater acoustic sensor nodes, with respect to the capacity of the wireless links between the nodes, in a multi-hop hierarchical tree structure based on the information each node has to transfer between underwater levels. A novel algorithm is proposed to calculate the optimal distances between sensor nodes for the proposed hierarchical network. Numerical results for different channel conditions; such as an ideal channel, an imperfect channel with a certain BER, and a channel with interference, are provided. In addition, our algorithm is used to obtain the optimal frequency for each level in the tree shaped network for the above-mentioned conditions.
Fatigue crack growth by crack tip cyclic plastic deformation: the unzipping model

A fatigue crack may propagate by the mechanism of crack tip cyclic plastic deformation, by the mechanism of fracture of brittle particles and embrittled grain boundaries, or, often, by a combination of both.
Evolution of the Cranial Computed Tomography Scan in Child Abuse.

Abstract Computed tomography (CT) scans obtained at the time of clinical presentation have occasionally been reported to be normal in children with history and findings of significant abusive head injury. We have retrospectively observed abnormalities in “normal” scans of some similar children. We have also seen abnormalities develop on serial scanning. To determine how frequently these situations occur, we reviewed charts of 34 children with a final diagnosis of child abuse who also had cranial CT scans performed. Their CT scans were retrospectively reviewed by a pediatric radiologist. Eleven ( 11 34 ) CT scans had initially been interpreted as normal. Four ( 4 11 ) of these had been reinterpreted during the hospitalization as abnormal, affecting medical (1) and legal (3) outcome. Repeat scanning in three of the remaining seven resulted in surgical drainage of a subdural effusion (1) and affected legal outcome (2). Four of the seven initial scans felt normal throughout the hospitalizations were judged abnormal on retrospective review. This evaluation was confirmed in the two rescanned. Initial CT interpretation most often failed to appreciate changes in parenchymal density and small amounts of falcine or cortical subdural blood. Subsequent scans also showed evolving effusions and infarcts. Changes were noted in 1 1 2 to 5 days. The CT scan frequently shows subtle changes in the immediate posttrauma period. If the child does not recover promptly, subsequent scans frequently result in significant changes in clinical and legal management.
Measures to Reduce Radiation in a Modern Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory

Background—X-ray use in the catheterization laboratory is guided by the principle of as low as reasonably achievable. In accordance with this principle, we reduced the default fluoroscopic frame rate from 10 to 7.5 frames/s and increased the emphasis on the use of low-dose acquisition starting January 1, 2013. We aimed to study the impact of these measures on the total air kerma during diagnostic catheterization (DC) and percutaneous interventions (PCI). Methods and Results—Propensity matching based on age, sex, body surface area, total fluoroscopy time, and total acquisition time was used to select matched patients for 2012 and 2013, further stratified by DC or PCI. The total air kerma was subsequently compared between 2012 and 2013, separately for DC and PCI. Median total air kerma during DC in 2013 was 625 mGy, which was significantly lower than the corresponding values in 2012 (median, 798 mGy; P<0.001). Similarly, median total air kerma during PCI in 2013 was 1675 mGy, which was significantly less th...
Carcinoma of the Breast in a Pacemaker Pocket—Simple Recurrence or Oncotaxis?

An 89-year-old female developed recurrent carcinoma of the breast in a pacemaker generator pocket. This is the fourth reported case of the occurrence of tumor in relation to a pacemaker and serves as a stimulus to review possible cause and effect relationships.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Payback for Lightweighted Vehicles Using Aluminum and High-Strength Steel

Summary In this article we consider interactions between life cycle emissions and materials flows associated with lightweighting (LW) automobiles. Both aluminum and high-strength steel (HSS) lightweighting are considered, with LW ranging from 6% to 23% on the basis of literature references and input from industry experts. We compare the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with producing lightweight vehicles with the saved emissions during vehicle use. This yields a calculation of how many years of vehicle use are required to offset the added GHG emissions from the production stage. Payback periods for HSS are shorter than for aluminum. Nevertheless, achieving significant LW with HSS comparable to aluminum-intensive vehicles requires not only material substitution but also the achievement of secondary LW by downsizing of other vehicle components in addition to the vehicle structure. GHG savings for aluminum LW varies strongly with location where the aluminum is produced and whether secondary aluminum can be utilized instead of primary. HSS is less sensitive to these parameters. In principle, payback times for vehicles lightweighted with aluminum can be shortened by closed-loop recycling of wrought aluminum (i.e., use of secondary wrought aluminum). Over a 15-year time horizon, however, it is unlikely that this could significantly reduce emissions from the automotive industry, given the challenges involved with enabling a closed-loop aluminum infrastructure without downcycling automotive body structures.
Team players and collective performance: How agreeableness affects team performance over time.

Previous research on teams has found that agreeableness is one of the strongest personality predictors of team performance, yet one of the weakest personality predictors of individual-level job per...
In-Situ Characterization of Stress Development in Gelatin Film During Controlled Drying

Drying of gelatin films was studied by an in-situ cantilever beam method combined with spectroscopic ellipsometry, enabling measurement of the stress development, film shrinkage and compositional change during the drying process. Experiments are carried out under different drying conditions (such as drying extent variation, drying rate variation). The film experiences stress relaxation that indicates visco-elastic relaxation or plastic deformation happened during drying process. Plastic deformation is verified by carefully reversing the drying process, however, the plastic deformation accompanied by visco-elastic relaxation complicates the case of finding the value of the yield stress.
Characterization of spatial intrafield gate CD variability, its impact on circuit performance, and spatial mask-level correction

The authors present a comprehensive characterization method applied to the study of the state-of-the-art 18-/spl mu/m CMOS process. Statistical characterization of gate CD reveals a large spatial intrafield component, strongly dependent on the local layout patterns. The authors describe the statistical analysis of this data and demonstrate the need for such comprehensive characterization. They describe the experimental setup of the novel measurement-based characterization approach that is capable of capturing all the relevant CD variation patterns necessary for accurate circuit modeling and statistical design for increased performance and yield. Characterization is based upon an inexpensive electrically based measurement technique. A rigorous statistical analysis of the impact of intrafield variability on circuit performance is undertaken. They show that intrafield CD variation has a significant detrimental effect on the overall circuit performance that may be as high as 25%. Moreover, they demonstrate that the spatial component of gate CD variability, rather than the proximity-dependent component, is predominantly responsible for speed degradation. In order to reduce the degradation of circuit performance and yield, the authors propose a mask-level spatial gate CD correction algorithm to reduce the intrafield and overall variability and provide an analytical model to evaluate the effectiveness of correction for variance reduction. They believe that potentially significant benefits can be achieved through implementation of this compensation technique in the production environment.
Task-evoked fMRI changes in attention networks are associated with preclinical Alzheimer's disease biomarkers.

Abstract There is a growing emphasis on examining preclinical levels of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)–related pathology in the absence of cognitive impairment. Previous work examining biomarkers has focused almost exclusively on memory, although there is mounting evidence that attention also declines early in disease progression. In the current experiment, 2 attentional control tasks were used to examine alterations in task-evoked functional magnetic resonance imaging data related to biomarkers of AD pathology. Seventy-one cognitively normal individuals (females = 44, mean age = 63.5 years) performed 2 attention-demanding cognitive tasks in a design that modeled both trial- and task-level functional magnetic resonance imaging changes. Biomarkers included amyloid β42, tau, and phosphorylated tau measured from cerebrospinal fluid and positron emission tomography measures of amyloid deposition. Both tasks elicited widespread patterns of activation and deactivation associated with large task-level manipulations of attention. Importantly, results from both tasks indicated that higher levels of tau and phosphorylated tau pathologies were associated with block-level overactivations of attentional control areas. This suggests early alteration in attentional control with rising levels of AD pathology.
CHESS: a comprehensive tool for CDFG extraction and synthesis of low power designs from VHDL

In this paper, a new tool CHESS, is designed and developed for control and data-flow graph (CDFG) extraction and the high level synthesis of low power designs from behavioral level VHDL descriptions. The tool optimizes latency, area and power during the different phases of synthesis and provides several solutions to evaluate the trade-offs during design. Unlike the case of DFGs, not much work has been reported in the literature for low power synthesis of CDFGs. The tool consists of three individual modules: (i) CDFG extraction, (ii) scheduling and allocation of the CDFG, and (iii) binding, which are integrated to form a comprehensive high-level synthesis system. The first module for CDFG extraction includes a new algorithm in which compiler-level transformations are applied, followed by a series of behavioral-preserving transformations on the given VHDL description. The CDFG is fed to the scheduling module for resource optimization under the given set of time constraints. The scheduling algorithm is an improvement over the tabu search based algorithm described in (Amellal and Kaminska, 1994) in terms of execution time. The improvement is achieved by pre-identification of mutually exclusive operations in the CDFG extraction phase, which, otherwise, is normally done during scheduling. The third and the final module of the proposed tool implements a new binding algorithm based on a game-theoretic formulation. The problem of binding is formulated as a noncooperative finite normal game, and Nash equilibrium function is applied to achieve a power-optimized binding solution. Experimental results for several high-level synthesis benchmarks are presented which establish the efficacy of the proposed synthesis tool.
Negotiation arithmetic: adding and subtracting issues and parties

Students of international negotiations often examine strategic interactions among a given set of parties dealing with a specified group of issues. The issues and parties themselves are often choice variables whose ultimate configuration can have decisive effects on a bargain's outcome. Using a variety of international cases, I investigate the properties of several classes of moves that are intended to alter the issues and parties of an original negotiation. A unified approach to the analysis of such situations suggests numerous distinct means by which the “addition” or “subtraction” of issues can yield one-sided gains to the use of power; can yield joint gains that create or enhance a zone of possible agreement; and can reduce or destroy a zone of possible agreement. The effects of adding or subtracting parties are similarly analyzed. However, unintended complexity, unforeseen interrelationships, organizational considerations, transactions costs, and informational requirements may alter the analysis of such moves.
ECL—Electrochemical luminescence

Electrochemical luminescence (ECL) is the process where species generated at electrodes undergo electron transfer reactions to form excited states that emit light. Application of a voltage to an electrode in the presence of an organic or inorganic luminophore, such as diphenylanthracene (DPA) or Ru(bpy)32+ (where bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine), results in light emission. By employing ECL-active species as labels on biological molecules, ECL has found application in commercial instruments to detect many clinically relevant analytes (e.g., immunoassays and DNA probes) at sub-picomolar concentrations. The principles, ECL emitting systems and applications are outlined in this review with a focus on discoveries made in the past few years.
Trends in U.S. Adult Chronic Disease Mortality, 1960–1999: Age, Period, and Cohort Variations

In this paper, I examine temporal changes in U.S. adult mortality by chronic disease cause of death and by sex over a 40-year period in the second half of the twentieth century. I apply age-period-cohort (APC) analyses that combine conventional approaches and a new method of model estimation to simultaneously account for age, period, and cohort variations in mortality rates for four leading causes of deaths, including heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and breast cancer. The results show that large reductions in mortality since the late 1960s continued well into the late 1990s and that these reductions were predominately contributed by cohort effects. Cohort effects are found to differ by specific causes of death examined, but they generally show substantial survival improvements. Implications of these results are discussed with regard to demographic theories of mortality reductions, differential cohort accumulation of health capital and lifetime exposures to socioeconomic and behavioral risk factors, and period changes in diagnostic techniques and medical treatment.
The use of hydrogen peroxide to enhance the efficacy of doxorubicin hydrochloride in a murine bladder tumor cell line.

Purpose: We determined whether the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin hydrochloride would be enhanced by adding hydrogen peroxide as a source of oxygen free radicals.Materials and Methods: Mouse bladder tumor cells (MBT-2) were grown in RPMI 1640 medium and treated with various concentrations of doxorubicin hydrochloride for 2 hours. Protein content was assayed as a measure of cell growth. A similar set of experiments was done with cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide only and combined doxorubicin and hydrogen peroxide. Protein content was again assayed as a measure of cell growth. Cells were also assayed for glutathione peroxidase and malonyl dialdehyde, a product of lipid peroxidation, to determine the mechanism of cell damage. Furthermore, MBT-2 cells were incubated with 100 M. α-tocopherol, a free radical scavenger, before exposure to hydrogen peroxide to determine whether the effects of hydrogen peroxide could be reversed.Results: We observed a dose dependent inhibition of MBT-2 cell growth after exposure to ...
Betting on weight loss … and losing: personal gambles as commitment mechanisms

Professional bookmakers rarely accept bets from individuals who directly control the outcome of the bet. We analyse a unique exception to this rule and a potential policy innovation in the battle against obesity: a weight loss betting market. If obese individuals have time-inconsistent preferences then commitment mechanisms, such as personal gambles, should help them restrain their short-term impulses and lose weight. Correspondence with the bettors confirms that this is their primary motivation. However, it appears that the bettors in our sample are not particularly skilled at choosing effective commitment mechanisms. Despite payoffs of as high as $7350, approximately 80% of people who spend money to bet on their own behaviour end up losing their bets. Empirical analysis of the betting market yields further insights. Males are treated very differently compared to females: being male is considered equivalent to having an extra 6 months to lose the same amount of weight. Movements in the market price also ...
Impulsivity in mania

Impulsivity, a breakdown in the balance between initiation and screening of action that leads to reactions to stimuli without adequate reflection or regard for consequences, is a core feature of bipolar disorder and is prominent in manic episodes. Catecholaminergic function is related to impulsivity and mania. Manic individuals have abnormal dopaminergic reactions to reward and abnormal responses in the ventral prefrontal cortex that are consistent with impulsive behavior. Impulsivity in mania is pervasive, encompassing deficits in attention and behavioral inhibition. Impulsivity is increased with severe course of illness (eg, frequent episodes, substance use disorders, and suicide attempts). In mixed states, mania-associated impulsivity combines with depressive symptoms to increase the risk of suicide. Clinical management of impulsivity in mania involves addressing interpersonal distortions inherent in mania; reducing overstimulation; alertness to medical-, trauma-, or substance-related problems; and prompt pharmacologic treatment. Manic episodes must be viewed in the context of the life course of bipolar disorder.
Biospectra Analysis: Model Proteome Characterizations for Linking Molecular Structure and Biological Response

Establishing quantitative relationships between molecular structure and broad biological effects has been a long-standing goal in drug discovery. Evaluation of the capacity of molecules to modulate protein functions is a prerequisite for understanding the relationship between molecular structure and in vivo biological response. A particular challenge in these investigations is to derive quantitative measurements of a molecule’s functional activity pattern across different proteins. Herein we describe an operationally simple probabilistic structure-activity relationship (SAR) approach, termed biospectra analysis, for identifying agonist and antagonist effect profiles of medicinal agents by using pattern similarity between biological activity spectra (biospectra) of molecules as the determinant. Accordingly, in vitro binding data (percent inhibition values of molecules determined at single high drug concentration in a battery of assays representing a cross section of the proteome) are useful for identifying functional effect profile similarity between medicinal agents. To illustrate this finding, the relationship between biospectra similarity of 24 molecules, identified by hierarchical clustering of a 1567 molecule dataset as being most closely aligned with the neurotransmitter dopamine, and their agonist or antagonist properties was probed. Distinguishing the results described in this study from those obtained with affinity-based methods, the observed association between biospectra and biological response profile similarity remains intact even upon removal of putative drug targets from the dataset (four dopaminergic [D1/D2/D3/D4] and two adrenergic [R1 and R2] receptors). These findings indicate that biospectra analysis provides an unbiased new tool for forecasting structure-response relationships and for translating broad biological effect information into chemical structure design.
Quantifying TiO 2 Abundance of Lunar Soils: Partial Least Squares and Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis for Determining Causal Effect

Partial least squares (PLS) regression was applied to the Lunar Soil Characterization Consortium (LSCC) dataset for spectral estimation of TiO2. The LSCC dataset was split into a number of subsets including the low-Ti, high-Ti, total mare soils, total highland, Apollo 16, and Apollo 14 soils to investigate the effects of interfering minerals and nonlinearity on the PLS performance. The PLS weight loading vectors were analyzed through stepwise multiple regression analysis (SMRA) to identify mineral species driving and interfering the PLS performance. PLS exhibits high performance for esti- mating TiO2 for the LSCC low-Ti and high-Ti mare samples and both groups analyzed together. The results suggest that while the dominant TiO2-bearing minerals are few, additional PLS factors are re- quired to compensate the effects on the important PLS factors of minerals that are not highly corrected to TiO2, to accommodate nonlinear relationships between reflectance and TiO2, and to correct incon- sistent mineral-TiO2 correlations between the high-Ti and low-Ti mare samples. Analysis of the LSCC highland soil samples indicates that the Apollo 16 soils are responsible for the large errors of TiO2 es- timates when the soils are modeled with other subgroups. For the LSCC Apollo 16 samples, the domi- nant spectral effects of plagioclase over other dark minerals are primarily responsible for large errors of estimated TiO2. For the Apollo 14 soils, more accurate estimation for TiO2 is attributed to the posi- tive correlation between a major TiO2-bearing component and TiO2, explaining why the Apollo 14 soils