cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Appearance and quantification of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in female sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) during their spawning migration

The incidence and amount of infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) virus was determined in 10 organs and body fluids from each of 100 female sockeye salmon(Oncorhynchus nerka) before, during, and after their spawning migration into freshwater. Virus was found in high concentrations only in fish sampled during and after spawning. Infection rates increased from nil to 100 percent within 2 weeks. In spawning fish, incidences of IHN virus were high in all organs and fluids except brain and serum, and the highest concentrations were in the pyloric caeca and lower gut. Immediately before spawning, IHN virus was found most frequently in the gills, less frequently in the pyloric caeca and spleen, and rarely in other organs.
Evidence for an anomaly in the thermal conductivity of a magnetic system at the ordering temperature

Abstract Indirect evidence is presented for an anomalous increase in the thermal conductivity of magnetic systems in the vicinity of the ordering temperature. The evidence comes from studies of ultrasonic attenuation.
Quark-hadron phase transition in protoneutron stars.

We investigate the role of trapped neutrinos on the composition of protoneutron stars with quark-hadron phase transitions. Trapped neutrinos shift the transition to higher baryon densities and also reduce the extent of a mixed phase in comparison to neutrino-free matter. Thus, a mixed phase of baryons and quarks is more likely to occur after a neutrino diffusion time scale of several seconds. In contrast with stars containing only nucleons and leptons, stars with quarks have larger maximum masses when neutrinos are trapped than for neutrino-free stars. Hence, black hole formation is likely delayed for the neutrino diffusion time scale when quarks are present.
Real-Time Control Of Manipulators

The Adaptive Model Following Control (AMFC) method is used in the design of a manipulator controller to take care of variations in payload and spatial configuration and some of the effects of unmodeled dynamics. The paper addresses the real-time implementation of the adaptive controller of PUMA 560 manipulator. The experimental results have shown that the manipulator closely follows the behavior of the reference model regardless of the load it is carrying.© (1988) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Xylitol Sugar and Acute Otitis Media

In this month's Pediatrics 1 and in an article published previously in the British Medical Journal ,2Uhari and associates of Finland have suggested that xylitol sugar is effective in preventing acute otitis media. The studies tackle the difficult issue of determining the effect of a targeted prevention on the incidence of a disease as complex and multifactorial in its etiology as acute otitis media. The key finding is that xylitol, given as a gum to older children and as a syrup to younger children, decreased the incidence of acute otitis media and the use of antibiotics by approximately one third in both studies. The criteria for the randomization, blinding of observers, and diagnosis of otitis media can be quibbled with but are unlikely to invalidate this impressive and consistent finding in both studies. This is very good news at a time when antibiotic use and consequent antibiotic resistance are increasing rapidly.3 At this point, one should ask, “What is xylitol, what was the rationale for trying xylitol in Finland, and why might it work?” Xylitol is a 5 carbon sugar alcohol …
Airflow patterns in a human nasal model

• Nasal airflow patterns were studied by using xenon 133 gas to image the course taken by air as it flowed through a plastic model of the human nasal cavity. The model was produced from the head of a human cadaver, and was anatomically correct. A needle catheter was used to infuse the radioactive xenon into a continuous flow of room air maintained through the model by a variable vacuum source connected to the nasopharynx. The radioactive gas was infused at one of five release sites in the nostril, and the distribution of the radioactivity was imaged in the sagittal plane with a scintillation camera. The data were organized to show the activity in six contiguous regions of the midnose. For each catheter, release site activity patterns were determined for three flow rates. The results of this experiment showed that both catheter position and flow rate had significant and reproducible effects on the distribution of radioactivity within the model. ( Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1987;113:169-172)
Maidens, fillies and the death of Medusa on a seventh-century pithos

A well-known relief pithos in the Louvre (CA 795) shows Perseus confronting a Gorgon whose human torso terminates in the body of a horse. Her equine features have proven difficult to explain, and earlier discussions of the scene have appealed to lost narratives, seventh-century artistic conventions and broad symbolic associations between Gorgons and horses. Focusing on her combination of equine and maidenly characteristics, this article interprets Medusa's unusual form with reference to a series of ancient Greek metaphors connecting maidens, horses and Gorgons. It argues that recognizing the metaphorical logic of the image allows us to understand Medusa's form as a sympathetic comment upon her death, which has parallels in the sacrifices of maidens in Greek art and literature.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Elementary School Children in Rhode Island: Associated Psychosocial Factors and Medications Used

This study was undertaken to explore psychosocial factors associated with referral for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) evaluation or ADHD diagnosis among elementary school children in Rhode Island, as well as to examine the extent of drug therapy among this population. A survey was distributed to parents/guardians of 2,800 3rd- to 5th-grade public school students in 4 Rhode Island school districts. The average age of the children was 9.0 +/- 1.0 years with 52% girls. Approximately 12% of the students had been referred for ADHD evaluation (RFE). Of these, 52% (6% of all children in the survey) were receiving psychoactive prescription medications daily. While the male:female ratio in the non-RFE group was almost 1:1, there were more boys than girls in the RFE group (male/female ratio of 3:1, p < 0.0001) and in the medicated group (male/female ratio 4:1, p < 0.0001). RFE children and medicated children were older than classroom peers (p < 0.0001), and had a greater degree of school misconduct (p < 0.0001). RFE children and medicated children were significantly less likely to have parents who completed college (p < 0.05), were significantly more likely to have stepparents (p < 0.05), and to be only children (p < 0.05) when compared with their peers. Amphetamine was the most commonly prescribed drug (used by 54% of the medicated children) followed by methylphenidate (43%). Nearly 18% of the medicated children were receiving 1 to 3 additional psychoactive prescription medications on a daily basis. In conclusion, RFE children and children medicated for ADHD were more likely to have a stepparent, have no siblings, and have parents that had not completed college. Amphetamine rather than methylphenidate accounted for the majority of medications used in this study, and simultaneous use of multiple psychoactive medications was reported in 18% of the medicated children.
Opinión del personal de salud sobre el patrón de lactancia en el área rural de México

This paper surveys the health care personnel's knowledge and opinion about the physiology of the mother milk production and the issues that occur when it is stopped at an earlier moment. From an inquire carried out in 1984 on 155 doctors and nurses and 48 midwives that render their services to the rural population of Mexico, it was found that the majority of the health care personnel recognized breast feeding as the best nurture for the child. Nevertheless, this personnel is against having a long breast feeding period. More than half of the doctors and nurses commented that the breast feeding period must be stopped when the child has diarrhea, which is contrary to the international health agencies opinion. The majorily of the health care personnel recommends the introduction of complementary food to children under three months old and suggests a quick stop of the breast-feeding period. From theee data it is shown that the health care personnel has little knowledge about the breast feeding role as an element that increases the period of amenorrhea and its value as a natural contraceptive. The relation between breast-feeding and amenorrha and infertility is inaccurate, that is why it is concluded that it is necessary to have training for the health care personnel in some physiological aspects of breast-feeding that are of prime importance. If the health care personnel has a better knowledge about breast-feeding, these influencing agents to decrease the incidence and value of breast-feeding will turn into strong promoters of such a healthy practice
What does airport baggage screening have to do with cervical cancer screening

At the most obvious level, baggage screening and cervical cancer screening are both visual search tasks in which an observer searches for targets in visual displays containing distracting items. This talk will introduce you to some of the basic principles that have been uncovered in many laboratories over the last thirty years and more. More than this, however, baggage screening and cervical cancer screening share several other properties. They are both socially important, difficult tasks where ‘miss’ errors may be a matter of life and death. Of most relevance to this talk, they are both tasks involving search for rare items – what we will call low ‘target prevalence’. We have examined the effect of target prevalence on the likelihood that targets will be missed in a variety of visual search tasks including simulations of baggage screening. Miss error rates are much higher at low prevalence (targets present on 1%–2% of trials) than at high prevalence (targets present on 50% of trials). In several experiments, we have shown that this prevalence effect is very robust. It can be replicated with different types of stimuli from oriented lines to x-ray images of luggage. I will describe a couple of ways to reduce or eliminate this effect. Finally, I will demonstrate that, even if a search task is easy, you can readily miss something that is happening right in front of your eyes.
A lexicon reduction strategy in the context of handwritten medical forms

Traditional handwriting recognition algorithms rely heavily on small lexicons and clean word images. Unfortunately, emergency medical documents do not satisfy either of these conditions. This is a significant road-block that is hampering efforts to rapidly convert valuable offline healthcare handwriting data into digital content that can be efficiently mined for information. This paper describes a strategy whereby given an image representing a noisy handwritten word from a medical document, and a large lexicon consisting of English, medical and pharmacological words, symbols, abbreviations and acronyms, significantly reduces the size of the lexicon while keeping the unknown desired entry within the lexicon. The approach combines geometric interpretations of the word image along with contextual inference of concepts to reduce lexicons for word recognition. The data extracted can then be efficiently and securely disseminated for epidemiological and outbreak detection/analysis. Experimental results on NY State PCR forms are reported.
DIPIVEFRIN: CURRENT CONCEPTS

Pro-drugs are agents that require biotransformation prior to exhibiting pharmacologic activity. Dipivefrin (dipivalyl epinephrine or DPE) is an epinephrine pro-drug produced by the addition of two pivalic acid groups to the parent compound. This creates a more lipophilic molecule which penetrates the cornea more readily than epinephrine. Enzymes in ocular tissues convert dipivefrin into its active form, epinephrine. In concentrations approximately one-tenth that of epinephrine, topically applied dipivefrin therefore produces: (1) similar intra-ocular concentrations of epinephrine; (2) similar reductions in intra-ocular pressure (IOP); (3) similar degrees of mydriasis; and (4) fewer extraocular and systemic side effects. For reasons that are discussed, dipivefrin should probably not be used in conjunction with anticholinesterases. Dipivefrin offers the same risk of cystoid macular oedema as does epinephrine. Dipivefrin is a safe, effective, and well-tolerated alternative to epinephrine in the treatment of elevated IOP. It is particularly useful for patients who cannot tolerate epinephrine.
Kneser's theorem for differential equations in Banach spaces

We consider the Cauchy problem x (t) = f (t,x (t)), x (O) = xO defined in a nonreflexive Banach space and with the vector field f: T × X → X being weakly uniformly continuous. Using a compactness hypothesis that involves the weak measure of noncompactness, we prove that the solution set of the above Cauchy problem is nonempty, connected and compact in .
Longitudinal Twin Study of Borderline Personality Disorder Traits and Substance Use in Adolescence: Developmental Change, Reciprocal Effects, and Genetic and Environmental Influences

Although the comorbidity between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and substance abuse is well established, there are few longitudinal studies that have examined its developmental origins or whether the comorbidity is due to common genetic or environmental risk factors. To fill this gap, we used a large sample of female adolescent twins (N = 1,280) to examine the developmental course, reciprocal influences, and the genetic and environmental factors underlying the co-occurrence of BPD traits and substance use from age 14 to 18. Rank-order stability was moderate to high for both BPD traits (r = .58) and substance use (r = .51), whereas mean levels of substance use increased substantially from age 14 to 18 (d = 0.77) and BPD traits showed a small decline (d = -0.21). BPD traits and substance use exhibited concurrent and prospective associations; however, the longitudinal associations dropped to nonsignificance after accounting for the temporal stability of each trait. Twin analyses revealed that shared environmental factors accounted for the association between BPD traits and substance use at age 14, but genetic factors accounted for the association at age 18. These results indicate that, at least in adolescence, the comorbidity between BPD traits and substance use is a consequence of common risk factors rather than due to one being a casual antecedent of the other.
Infrared spectroscopy of V2+(H2O) complexes

Abstract Doubly charged vanadium–water complexes are produced by laser vaporization in a pulsed supersonic expansion. Size-selected ions are studied with infrared photodissociation spectroscopy in the O–H stretch region using argon complex predissociation. Density functional theory calculations provide structures and vibrational spectra of these ions. The O–H stretches of V 2+ (H 2 O) appear at lower frequencies than those of the free water molecule or V + (H 2 O). The symmetric stretch is more intense than the asymmetric stretch in both V + (H 2 O) and V 2+ (H 2 O) complexes. Spectra of V 2+ (H 2 O)Ar n ( n = 2–7) show that the coordination of the V 2+ is filled with six ligands, i.e. one water and five argon atoms.
Hoffmann pelvic stabilization for injuries to the hand and wrist

Summary We have used the pelvic Hoffmann technique successfully on two patients requiring flap coverage and have had no difficulty with its management nor complications with the pelvic pin fixation. We feel that this type of fixation provides significant advantages for the treatment of hand and forearm injuries requiring flap coverage for avulsing injuries to the hand and wrist.
Qualitative analysis of volatile organic compounds on biochar.

Qualitative identification of sorbed volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on biochar was conducted by headspace thermal desorption coupled to capillary gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry. VOCs may have a mechanistic role influencing plant and microbial responses to biochar amendments, since VOCs can directly inhibit/stimulate microbial and plant processes. Over 70 biochars encompassing a variety of parent feedstocks and manufacturing processes were evaluated and were observed to possess diverse sorbed VOC composition. There were over 140 individual chemical compounds thermally desorbed from some biochars, with hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and fast pyrolysis biochars typically possessing the greatest number of sorbed volatiles. In contrast, gasification, thermal or chemical processed biochars, soil kiln mound, and open pit biochars possessed low to non-detectable levels of VOCs. Slow pyrolysis biochars were highly variable in terms of their sorbed VOC content. There were no clear feedstock dependencies to the sorbed VOC composition, suggesting a stronger linkage with biochar production conditions coupled to post-production handling and processing. Lower pyrolytic temperatures (6350 C) produced biochars with sorbed VOCs consisting of short carbon chain aldehydes, furans and ketones; elevated temperature biochars (>350 C) typically were dominated by sorbed aromatic compounds and longer carbon chain hydrocarbons. The presence of oxygen during pyrolysis also reduced sorbed VOCs. These compositional results suggest that sorbed VOCs are highly variable and that their chemical dissimilarity could play a role in the wide variety of plant and soil microbial responses to biochar soil amendment noted in the literature. This variability in VOC composition may argue for VOC characterization before land application to predict possible agroecosystem effects.
Lipid abnormalities in tissues of the KKAy mouse: effects of pioglitazone on malonyl-CoA and diacylglycerol

Insulin resistance is present in liver and muscle of subjects with type 2 diabetes and obesity. Recent studies suggest that such insulin resistance could be related to abnormalities in lipid-mediated signal transduction; however, the nature of these abnormalities is unclear. To examine this question further, tissue levels of diacylglycerol (DAG), malonyl-CoA, and triglyceride (TG) were determined in liver and soleus muscle of obese insulin-resistant KKAy mice and lean C57 BL control mice. In addition, the effects of treatment with pioglitazone, an antidiabetic agent that acts by increasing insulin sensitivity in muscle, liver, and other tissues, were assessed. The KKAy mice were hyperglycemic (407 vs. 138 mg/dl), hypertriglyceridemic (337 vs. 109 mg/dl), hyperinsulinemic (631 vs. 15 mU/ml), and weighed more (42 vs. 35 g) than the control mice. They also had 1.5- to 2.0-fold higher levels of malonyl-CoA in both liver and muscle, higher DAG (twofold) and TG (1.3-fold) levels in muscle, and higher TG (threefold), but not DAG, levels. Treatment of the KKAy mice with pioglitazone for 4 days decreased plasma glucose, TGs, and insulin by approximately 50% and restored hepatic and muscle malonyl-CoA levels to control values. In contrast, pioglitazone increased hepatic and muscle DAG levels two- or threefold. It has no effect on muscle or hepatic TG content, and it slightly increased hepatic TGs in the control group. The results indicate that abnormalities in tissue lipids occur in both liver and muscle of the KKAy mouse and that they are differentially altered when insulin sensitivity is enhanced by treatment with pioglitazone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Surface subgroups of Coxeter and Artin groups

We prove that any Coxeter group that is not virtually free contains a surface group. In particular if the Coxeter group is word hyperbolicand not virtually free this establishes the existenc e of a hyperbolicsurfac e group, and answers in the a7rmative a question of Gromov in this setting. We also discuss when Artin groups contain hyperbolic surface groups. c
Genetic Diagnosis of Beckwith Wiedemann Syndrome using Methylation Specific PCR-RFLP Method

Results: The 12 BWS patients had normal karyotypes. Abnormal methylation patterns in the BWSIC2 (LIT1) region were identified in seven patients (58.3%) using the MS-PCR RFLP method. Conclusions: The MS-PCR RFLP method is a simple, economical genetic test. It detected genetic abnormalities in 50-60% of BWS patients, suggesting that it can be used as a screening test. A more precise method is required, however, to enhance the detection rate of genetic abnormalities, especially in BWSIC1 region.
Timing of steps and reasons for delays in obtaining abortions in the United States.

Abstract Objective We studied the steps in the process of obtaining abortions and women's reported delays in order to help understand difficulties in accessing abortion services. Methods In 2004, a structured survey was completed by 1209 abortion patients at 11 large providers, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 38 women at four sites. Results The median time from the last menstrual period to suspecting pregnancy was 33 days; the median time from suspecting pregnancy to confirming the pregnancy was 4 days; the median time from confirming the pregnancy to deciding to have an abortion was 0 day; the median time from deciding to have an abortion to first attempting to obtain abortion services was 2 days; and the median time from first attempting to obtain abortion services to obtaining the abortion was 7 days. Minors took a week longer to suspect pregnancy than adults did. Fifty-eight percent of women reported that they would have liked to have had the abortion earlier. The most common reasons for delay were that it took a long time to make arrangements (59%), to decide (39%) and to find out about the pregnancy (36%). Poor women were about twice as likely to be delayed by difficulties in making arrangements. Conclusions Financial limitations and lack of knowledge about pregnancy may make it more difficult for some women to obtain early abortion.
A new scalable and efficient packet scheduling method in high-speed packet switch networks

While weighted fair queueing (WFQ) and many other fair scheduling methods can provide guaranteed worst case delay bounds, they are not scalable to a large number of connections due to per-flow queuing. This paper presents a new packet scheduling method-round-robin priority queuing (RRPQ). RRPQ guarantees a per-session-based delay bound without per-flow queuing. It also avoids many other implementation complexities in fair queuing scheduling. The scalability and low implementation cost of RRPQ make it a practical solution in providing guaranteed delay bounds in high-speed networks.
Targeted high and low speech frequency bands to right and left ears respectively improve task performance and perceived sociability in dyadic conversations.

Past research shows that the lower nonverbal frequencies of the human voice, beneath .5 kHz, transmit an acoustic signal promoting social convergence and status accommodation between human interlocutors. We conducted a laboratory experiment and a validation study to explore the possible communications benefits of targeting the low-frequency band to the left ears of human participants and the high-frequency band to the right ears. We compare this “Enhanced” condition with two other conditions: a “Confounded” condition, in which the low-frequency band was targeted to participants’ right ears and the higher-frequency band to their left ears; and a Control condition, in which the entire unaltered frequency band was targeted to both ears. For the duration of their interaction, experiment participants engaged in dyadic conversations while attempting to complete a task via an audio-visual communication system. Our results show that both the speed and accuracy of task completion were significantly improved in the...
A cadmium hydroxide complex of a N3S-donor ligand containing two hydrogen bond donors: synthesis, characterization, and CO2 reactivity.

Treatment of the ebnpa (N-2-(ethylthio)ethyl-N,N-bis((6-neopentylamino-2-pyridyl)methyl)amine) ligand with a molar equivalent amount of Cd(ClO4)2·5H2O in CH3CN followed by the addition of [Me4N]OH·5H2O yielded the cadmium hydroxide complex [(ebnpaCd)2(µ-OH)2](ClO4)2 (1). Complex 1 has a binuclear cation in the solid-state with secondary hydrogen-bonding and CH/π interactions involving the ebnpa ligand. In acetonitrile, 1 forms a binuclear/mononuclear equilibrium mixture. The formation of a mononuclear species has been confirmed by conductance measurements of 1 at low concentrations. Variable temperature studies of the binuclear/mononuclear equilibrium provided the standard enthalpy and entropy associated with the formation of the monomer as ΔH° = +31(2) kJ mol−1 and ΔS° = +108(8) J mol−1 K−1, respectively. Enhanced secondary hydrogen-bonding interactions involving the terminal Cd–OH moiety may help to stabilize the mononuclear complex. Treatment of 1 with CO2 in acetonitrile results in the formation of a binuclear cadmium carbonate complex, [(ebnpaCd)2(µ-CO3)](ClO4)2 (2).
Understanding Community Benefits Agreements

This article provides practitioners with a current review of developing legal and policy issues surrounding the growing use of community benefits agreements (CBAs). In addition to case studies describing CBAs across the country, the article offers practitioners a checklist of legal issues related to CBAs from contract law, to municipal law, constitutional law and alternative dispute resolution.
Microvascular decompression for hemifacial spasm secondary to vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia: Surgical strategies, technical nuances and clinical outcomes

Hemifacial spasm (HFS) due to direct compression of the facial nerve by a dolichoectatic vertebrobasilar artery is rare. Vessels are often non-compliant and tethered by critical brainstem perforators. We set out to determine surgical strategies and outcomes for this challenging disease. All patients undergoing surgery for HFS secondary to vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia were reviewed. Hospital records, clinic notes and radiographic imaging were collected for outcome measures. Seventeen patients (eight males, nine females) were identified. Sixteen patients (94%) were treated with Teflon pledgets (DuPont, Wilmington, DE, USA) and one (6%) patient had a vascular sling placed around a severely diseased vertebral artery. All patients had significant reduction in symptoms and 82% of patients had complete resolution of symptoms (average follow-up: 41.4 months). One patient suffered persistent facial nerve paresis and swallowing difficulty. Two other patients suffered a 1 point decrease in the House-Brackmann facial nerve grading scale. Four patients (23%) required re-operation (infection, cerebrospinal fluid leak, and two patients with delayed recurrence of HFS). Of the latter, one patient required repositioning of a Teflon pledget and another patient underwent a sling decompression. There were no perioperative strokes or death. Excellent relief of symptoms with acceptable preoperative morbidity can be achieved using Teflon pledgets alone in most cases. In recalcitrant cases, sling transposition can be used to further augment the decompression. Careful attention must be paid to prevent vascular kinking and preserve brainstem perforators.
Oral reading in the school literacy curriculum

The report of the U.S. National Reading Panel identified oral reading as a method for developing reading skills and improving achievement. The authors explore the role of oral reading in instructional practice, primarily among young children who struggle in reading. They examine current research and theory in oral reading, and comment on implications for classroom practice.
Earth-abundant inorganic electrocatalysts and their nanostructures for energy conversion applications

Electrocatalysis plays a key role in the energy conversion processes central to several renewable energy technologies that have been developed to lessen our reliance on fossil fuels. However, the best electrocatalysts for these processes—which include the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and the redox reactions that enable regenerative liquid-junction photoelectrochemical solar cells—often contain scarce and expensive noble metals, substantially limiting the potential for these technologies to compete with fossil fuels. The considerable challenge is to develop robust electrocatalysts composed exclusively of low-cost, earth-abundant elements that exhibit activity comparable to that of the noble metals. In this review, we summarize recent progress in the development of such high-performance earth-abundant inorganic electrocatalysts (and nanostructures thereof), classifying these materials based on their elemental constituents. We then detail the most critical obstacles facing earth-abundant inorganic electrocatalysts and discuss various strategies for further improving their performance. Lastly, we offer our perspectives on the current directions of earth-abundant inorganic electrocatalyst development and suggest pathways toward achieving performance competitive with their noble metal-containing counterparts.
A characterization of optimal two-phase multifunctional composite designs

We study the problem of optimal design of a two-phase composite material to maximize the sum of thermal and electrical conductivity. We obtain a characterization of an
Characterization of Calcium Titanate–Magnesium Titanate Eutectic by Scanning Microwave Microscopy

Microstructure and dielectric properties in a CaTiO 3 (CT)-MgTiO 3 (MT) diffusion couple were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and near-field scanning microwave microscopy (SMM). Complex microstructures containing Mg 2 TiO 4 (M2T) and MgTi 2 O 5 (MT2) phases as well as eutectic structures of CT-MT and MT2-CT developed during cooling from the melt. Variations in the local dielectric properties observed in SMM images are correlated with the microstructures characterized by SEM/EDS. The SMM characterization clearly distinguished low-dielectric-constant MT and high-dielectric-constant CT phases. The M2T, MT, and MT2 phases have similar dielectric properties, and were more difficult to distinguish in the SMM. The phase development during melting and solidification, and SMM imaging limitations are discussed.
System user involvement in sustainable urban transport decision-making

Conventional transportation planning is an exercise in data manipulation. The process requires large amounts of good quantitative data and analytic capabilities. Meanwhile urban transport has economic, environmental and social dimensions that cannot be easily quantified. This paper discusses a multi-criteria decision-making framework that is being developed to make transportation planning more sustainable by incorporating economic and non-quantifiable environmental and social dimensions into the decision-making process. Data for the study was collected from Accra, Ghana, and the framework integrates inputs from both system users and providers, to reflect how candidate projects meet a set of local sustainability measures. The result from the integration is a set of numbers termed Localized Sustainability Score (LSS). These scores are modeled using the Analytic Hierarchy Process to produce a relative ranking of the projects, and this can serve as a decision support for project screening and prioritization. The case study results showed that the framework adequately represented local needs and priorities. The LSS determined for some selected projects maintained the original relative rankings that were already derived using conventional methods, but with less resources.
Beyond the active site: the impact of the outer coordination sphere on electrocatalysts for hydrogen production and oxidation.

ConspectusRedox active metalloenzymes play a major role in energy transformation reactions in biological systems. Examples include formate dehydrogenases, nitrogenases, CO dehydrogenase, and hydrogenases. Many of these reactions are also of interest to humans as potential energy storage or utilization reactions for photoelectrochemical, electrolytic, and fuel cell applications. These metalloenzymes consist of redox active metal centers where substrates are activated and undergo transformation to products accompanied by electron and proton transfer to or from the substrate. These active sites are typically buried deep within a protein matrix of the enzyme with channels for proton transport, electron transport, and substrate/product transport between the active site and the surface of the protein. In addition, there are amino acid residues that lie in close proximity to the active site that are thought to play important roles in regulating and enhancing enzyme activity. Directly studying the outer coordinat...
The Effect of Air and Ground Surface Temperature on Boll Weevil Winter Survival

Results of ecological studies of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, conducted at Tallulah, La., through 1958, were summarized by Gaines (1959). He showed that boll weevils hibernating in Spanish moss, Tillandsia usneoides L., were killed when the air temperature dropped to 20° F or lower. He also showed that survival in nature, as indicated by field population counts on cotton in the spring, could be more closely correlated with hibernation and survival records obtained from surface ground trash than from those obtained from Spanish moss. His observations indicated that minimum air temperatures did not appreciably influence survival in ground trash.
Surface-mediated formation of Pu(IV) nanoparticles at the muscovite-electrolyte interface.

The formation of Pu(IV)-oxo-nanoparticles from Pu(III) solutions by a surface-enhanced redox/polymerization reaction at the muscovite (001) basal plane is reported, with a continuous increase in plutonium coverage observed in situ over several hours. The sorbed Pu extends >70 A from the surface with a maximum concentration at 10.5 A and a total coverage of >9 Pu atoms per unit cell area of muscovite (0.77 μg Pu/cm2) (determined independently by in situ resonant anomalous X-ray reflectivity and by ex-situ alpha-spectrometry). The presence of discrete nanoparticles is confirmed by high resolution atomic force microscopy. We propose that the formation of these Pu(IV) nanoparticles from an otherwise stable Pu(III) solution can be explained by the combination of a highly concentrated interfacial Pu-ion species, the Pu(III)–Pu(IV) redox equilibrium, and the strong proclivity of tetravalent Pu to hydrolyze and form polymeric species. These results are the first direct observation of such behavior of plutonium on...
20-HETE and CYP4A2 ω-hydroxylase contribute to the elevated blood pressure in hyperandrogenemic female rats.

In male rats, androgen supplements increase 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) via cytochrome P-450 (CYP)4A ω-hydroxylase and cause an increase in blood pressure (BP). In the present study, ...
Basement Membrane Thickening and the Mystery of Diabetes

That hypertrophy of the vascular basement membrane is associated with diabetes is clearly established; its incidence rises with the duration and severity of the disease. Nonetheless, when data are corrected for age distribution and artifactual errors in measurement are eliminated, it becomes probable that BMT is secondary to carbohydrate intolerance and is not the primary lesion that has so long been sought.
Hepadnaviruses and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Members of the hepadnavirus family share properties of virion structure, genome structure and replication, epidemiologic behavior, and pathogenic effects. Persistent infections with hepatitis B virus (HBV) in man, woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) in Marmota monax, ground squirrel hepatitis virus (GSHV) in Spermophilus beecheyi, and duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) in domestic ducks of China are associated with development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Epidemiological evidence implicating hepadnavirus infection in HCC includes the observation that the geographic distributions of HBV infection and HCC are similar, that the incidence of HCC is much higher in hepadnavirus-infected than uninfected hosts, and that viral DNA sequences are integrated in the cellular DNA of most (e.g., 80 to 90%), but not all, hepadnavirus-associated HCC. Cirrhosis further increases the risk of HCC in HBV-infected humans. The precise role of hepadnaviruses in development of most HCC is unclear, although the finding of viral integrations within or near protooncogenes in a few cases suggests the possibility that these integrations may play a direct role in these HCC. However, in the great majority of HCC, viral integrations are in different cellular DNA sites in different HCC, integrations are not within domains of known protooncogenes, and integrations are not found in some 10 to 15% hepadnavirus-associated HCC, suggesting that persisting viral sequences are not directly involved in the development of these HCC as viral sequences are for tumors caused by viruses with oncogenes or viruses that act by a "promoter-insertion" mechanism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Localized electrochemical characterization of organic coatings: A brief review

Abstract Local electrochemical techniques such as scanning electrochemical microscopy, scanning vibrating electrode technique, local electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, scanning Kelvin probe technique, and scanning ion-selective electrode technique have gained significant attention in organic coating research. These techniques have enhanced our understanding of the fundamental processes of corrosion at defects and underneath coatings. Each of these techniques employ unique measurement strategy to provide important local information about coatings, their protective properties, defects, and failure mechanisms. In this brief review, the basic principles of these techniques and the nature of information that has been extracted from these techniques to study organic coatings are discussed.
A free parking trial to increase visitation and improve extremely low birth weight infant outcomes

A free parking trial to increase visitation and improve extremely low birth weight infant outcomes
Reply to Janoschek et al.: The excited δ-phase of plutonium.

In a recent PNAS paper (1) we explain the anomalous temperature dependence of the elasticity in δ-plutonium (δ-Pu) in terms of a first-principles model that includes multiple energy configurations attributed to spin fluctuations. Our model (1) captures the highly unusual behavior of decreasing elastic moduli with increasing temperature at constant volume. This is a falsifiable test that any model must pass but none, other than the one we present (1), has. This test is a difficult one, as usually the smaller volume state required to keep volume constant is elastically stiffer, contrary to measurements. Our theory yields a modest decrease by about … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: migliori{at}lanl.gov. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Single Crystal Flexible Electronics Enabled by 3D Spalling

Flexible and stretchable electronics are becoming increasingly important in many emerging applications. Due to the outstanding electrical properties of single crystal semiconductors, there is great interest in releasing single crystal thin films and fabricating flexible electronics with these conventionally rigid materials. In this study the authors report a universal single crystal layer release process, called “3D spalling,” extending beyond prior art. In contrast to the conventional way of removing blanket layers from their substrates, the new process reported here enables 3D control over the shape and thickness of the removed regions, allowing direct formation of arbitrarily shaped structures of released film and locally specified thickness for each region. As an exemplary demonstration, silicon flexible tactile sensors are fabricated with sensitivities comparable to those of high performance sensors on rigid substrates. Finite element modeling indicates that the size and thickness of the selectively released features can be tuned over a wide range.
The risk benefit ratio of glucocorticoids in SLE: have things changed over the past 40 years?

Purpose of review Glucocorticoids have been the mainstay of treatment in systemic lupus erythematosus for more than half a century. Despite advancements in knowledge concerning the pathophysiology of systemic lupus, the genomic/non-genomic actions of glucocorticoids, and the use of novel therapeutic agents in SLE, the burden of toxicity from glucocorticoid use remains unchanged. Recent findings SLE patients receiving long-term prednisone therapy are at significant risk of morbidity due to permanent organ damage, and prednisone daily dosages above 6 mg have been shown to increase the risk of future organ damage by 50%. Glucocorticoid use carries a higher risk of opportunistic infections, iatrogenic osteoporosis, and avascular necrosis, an increase in risk of cardiovascular events, cataracts, and glaucoma, as well as psychiatric adverse effects like psychosis and manic episodes. There are limited data regarding the relative efficacy of the different glucocorticoid formulations or dosing regimens. Summary The use and dosing of glucocorticoids in SLE remains more art than science, although our knowledge regarding their complex genomic and non-genomic effects, as well as the resultant adverse effects, has greatly expanded over the past half a century.
Healthcare Disparities in Outcomes of a Metropolitan Congenital Heart Surgery Center: The Effect of Clinical and Socioeconomic Factors.

The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical factors on congenital heart surgery outcomes. This retrospective cohort study included 234 congenital heart surgery patients from 2011 through 2015, in a racially/ethnically diverse metropolitan children’s hospital. Outcomes included length of stay (LOS), age at first echocardiogram, length of mechanical ventilation, and incidence of complications. Compared to others, black children underwent their first echocardiogram at a later age (median 23 versus 2 days, p = 0.014) and were more likely to be diagnosed with congenital heart disease in the emergency room (p = 0.026). Hispanic children were more likely to have major non-cardiac congenital anomalies (p = 0.045). Increased LOS during elective admissions was associated with higher surgical complexity (STAT category 4 and 5 Estimate 3.905 days, p = 0.001), compared to STAT category 1, and number of complications (Estimate = 2.306 days per complication, p < 0.001). Increased LOS in non-elective admissions was associated with the number of complex chronic conditions (Estimate = 15.446 days, p = 0.045) and the number of complications (Estimate = 11.591 days per complication, p < 0.001). However, in multivariate analysis, race and ethnicity was not associated with increased LOS or age at first echocardiogram. In this diverse setting, race/ethnicity was not associated with increased LOS, age at first echocardiogram, length of ventilation, or complications. Surgical complexity, chronic conditions, and complications were associated with increased LOS. We discuss some interventions to reduce disparities in congenital heart surgery outcomes.
Modeling phase diagrams as stochastic processes with application in vehicular traffic flow

Abstract Motivated by the similarity between the fundamental diagram of vehicular traffic and the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution of ideal gases, this paper proposed a methodology to model the fundamental diagram as a stochastic process which also applies to other real-world systems with similar nature. A concrete example is provided to illustrate the application of the methodology where the fundamental diagram of vehicular traffic is modeled as a stochastic process to capture the scattering effect in flow–density relationship. A verification study was conducted on the model using empirical data and the statistical analysis shows that the overall quality of the fitted stochastic process is acceptable. Related existing efforts are referenced to the proposed stochastic fundamental diagram where their similarities and differences are elaborated. Further discussion is carried out on the significance of the stochastic fundamental diagram as well as the proposed methodology with an additional real-world example to illustrate its applications.
Trends in Opioid Utilization Before and After Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Abstract Background Opioids are a mainstay in perioperative pain management among patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, patterns in opioid use before and after TKA have not been well-studied. The objectives of this study are to characterize prescribing trends preoperatively and postoperatively and identify risk factors for chronic postoperative opioid use. Methods A review of the prescription-tracking database of a large private payer from 2007 to 2013 was performed using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision and Current Procedural Terminology codes. Chronic opioid use was defined as opioid prescriptions over 6 contiguous months postoperatively. Results We identified 66,950 patients who underwent TKA with minimum 2-year follow-up and medication codes. Of those taking opioids preoperatively (n = 36,668), 34.8% became chronic users postoperatively compared to only 5.0% of the opioid-naive cohort (n = 30,282). Major risk factors for chronic postoperative opioid use included preoperative opioid use (relative risk [RR] 3.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.59-3.93), female gender (RR 1.23, 95% CI 1.20-1.25), and younger age (≤44 vs ≥60: RR 1.41, 95% CI 1.32-1.49; 45-59 vs ≥60: RR 1.42, 95% CI 1.40-1.46). From 2007 to 2013, there was a significant linear increase in opioid use preoperatively (odds ratio [OR] 1.04, 95% CI 1.03-1.05, P Conclusion The greatest risk factors for chronic postoperative opioid use were preoperative use, younger age, female gender, greater length of stay, and worse health status. Although the use of opioids continues to grow significantly preoperatively and postoperatively, chronic opioid use post-TKA has remained clinically unchanged.
Selective Isomerization of Terminal Alkenes to (Z)-2-Alkenes Catalyzed by an Air-Stable Molybdenum(0) Complex

Positional and stereochemical selectivity in the isomerization of terminal alkenes to internal alkenes is observed using the cis-Mo(CO)4(PPh3)2 precatalyst. A p-toluenesulfonic acid (TsOH) cocatalyst is essential for catalyst activity. Various functionalized terminal alkenes have been converted to the corresponding 2-alkenes, generally favoring the Z isomer with selectivity as high as 8:1 Z:E at high conversion. Interrogation of the catalyst initiation mechanism by 31P NMR reveals that cis-Mo(CO)4(PPh3)2 reacts with TsOH at elevated temperatures to yield a phosphine-ligated Mo hydride (MoH) species. Catalysis may proceed via 2,1-insertion of a terminal alkene into a MoH group and stereoselective β-hydride elimination to yield the (Z)-2-alkene.