cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimation of time and frequency selective channels in OFDM systems: a Kalman filter structure

A Kalman-filter based channel estimator of OFDM systems in a time-frequency-selective fading environment is studied. Based on an AR model of the dynamic channel, a vector Kalman filter of dimension equal to the number of subcarriers can be used to track the channel. It is proposed that a scalar Kalman filter be employed for each subcarrier to estimate the channel gain. The channel estimate is further refined with an MMSE combiner. This two-step structure, with the per-subchannel Kalman estimator explores the time-domain correlation of each subchannel, and with the MMSE combiner explores the frequency-domain correlations between the subchannels, offering a performance comparable to the much more complicated vector Kalman estimator.
History, Organization and the Changing Culture of Care: A Historical Analysis of the Frontier Nursing Service

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the organizational shift at the Frontier Nursing Service from all female, nurse run and community-people focused to the corporate-consumer focus adopted everywhere else and the accompanying work environment issues this shift brought to the organization. Background: Though it is not possible to isolate a single causative factor nursing’s history of cyclic ‘shortages’ as the problem is complex and interrelated, and there is no simple description in the available literature, there is agreement that the problem is having a negative impact on the current nursing practice environment, the retention of nurses, the profession’s ability to recruit nurses, and that the problem is global in scope and heading for crisis if not abated. Methods: Historical analysis of the Frontier Nursing Service located in Eastern Appalachia of the United States and oral history analysis of former Frontier and non-Frontier nurses was conducted using a culture theory framework. Data were collected from 2003-2007, and literature on the Frontier Nursing Service as well as local, world, medical, nursing, sociological and political history was reviewed from 1900s- 1970s. Findings: Findings defy conventional dissatisfaction causes while the Service was nurse-run, decentralized and interference-free. In the 1960s the organization moved to the corporate/business model of health care delivery being used elsewhere. Non-Frontier nurses in practice today mirrored the dissatisfaction experienced by former Frontier Nurses within this organizational culture after 1960 reflecting how deeply imbedded within health care institutions the prevailing culture has become. Conclusion: The empowerment inherent within an international professional community created by nurse leaders, who value and perpetuate their “professional identity” within institutional cultures, can advance the discipline’s ability to push for sustained positive change within these environments.
Physiologic Specialization of Puccinia triticina on Wheat in the United States in 2005

Collections of Puccinia triticina were obtained from rust-infected wheat leaves by cooperators throughout the United States and from surveys of wheat fields and nurseries in the Great Plains, Ohio River Valley, southeast, California, and Washington State, in order to determine the virulence of the wheat leaf rust population in 2005. Single uredinial isolates (797 in total) were derived from the collections and tested for virulence phenotype on lines of Thatcher wheat that are near-isogenic for leaf rust resistance genes Lr1, Lr2a, Lr2c, Lr3a, Lr9, Lr16, Lr24, Lr26, Lr3ka, Lr11, Lr17a, Lr30, LrB, Lr10, Lr14a, Lr18, Lr21, Lr28, and winter wheat lines with genes Lr41 and Lr42. In the United States in 2005, 72 virulence phenotypes of P. triticina were found. Virulence phenotype TDBGH, selected by virulence to resistance gene Lr24, was the most common phenotype in the United States, and was found throughout the Great Plains region. Virulence phenotype MCDSB with virulence to Lr17a and Lr26 was the second most common phenotype and was found widely in the wheat growing regions of the United States. Virulence phenotype MFPSC, which has virulence to Lr17a, Lr24, and Lr26, was the third most common phenotype, and was found in the Ohio Valley region, the Great Plains, and California. The highly diverse population of P. triticina in the United States will continue to present a challenge for the development of wheat cultivars with effective durable resistance to leaf rust.
Energy and Performance Evaluation of an FPGA-Based SoC Platform with AES and PRESENT Coprocessors

Hardware implementations of block ciphers have been intensively evaluated for years. The hardware profile, including the performance, area and power of a block cipher, only considers the block cipher as a standalone component, and does not consider it as a coprocessor in a system design. In this paper we consider system integration of AES and PRESENT crypto coprocessors, and analyze the system profile in a co-simulation environment and then on an actual FPGA-based SoC platform. Energy, performance and implementation results for both the AES- and PRESENT-based systems are presented. Our research emphasizes the need to consider energy efficiency and performance at system-level when evaluating a block cipher for real embedded systems. Simulation results reveal that the hardware/software interfaces, as the communication bottleneck, have major impact on the system performance. Experimental results further demonstrate that the PRESENT, a power-efficient light-weight block cipher with lower security level, becomes less energy-efficient than AES when system-integration overhead is included.
Comparison of high-resolution endoluminal sonography to video endoscopy in the detection and evaluation of esophageal varices

High-resolution endoluminal sonography (HRES) was used to image and measure esophageal varices in control subjects and patients with portal hypertension and compared with endoscopic findings. Nine control patients and 68 patients with known cirrhosis or noncirrhotic portal hypertension underwent videotaped HRES and videotaped esophagoscopy (EGD). Two blinded investigators reviewed the videotapes to determine the presence and size of the largest esophageal varix in each patient. The largest varix by HRES was measured with the esophagus at rest at a point where the varix appeared most circular. The largest varix seen on EGD was graded on a 5-point scale. All nine of the control patients were correctly identified by both EGD and HRES as grade I (no varices). Eight of the 10 patients with no varices seen on EGD had varices identified by HRES. The interobserver correlation for HRES was r = .88 and for EGD was r = .79. The correlation between EGD and HRES was r = .50. High resolution endoluminal sonography allows quantitative measurement of variceal size, is a more sensitive and reproducible imaging modality than esophagoscopy for the detection and sizing of esophageal varices. There is poor correlation between monographic measurement and endoscopic grading of esophageal varices. Assessment of esophageal variceal presence and the measurement of variceal size by high resolution endoluminal sonography is an accurate, reproducible method of determining the size of esophageal varices.
KETAMINE-XYLAZINE ANESTHESIA IN RED-TAILED HAWKS WITH ANTAGONISM BY YOHIMBINE

Five red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) were anesthetized at weekly intervals with intravenous ketamine hydrochloride (KET, 4.4 mg/kg) and xylazine hydrochloride (XYL, 2.2 mg/kg). Twenty min after anesthesia, yohimbine hydrochloride (YOH, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20 and 0.40 mg/kg) or a control was administered. All doses of YOH significantly reduced the head-up times (F = 20.84, df = 1,24, P < 0.0001) and the standing times (F = 12.30, df = 1.24, P < 0.0001), compared to the control group. The heart and respiratory rates following YOH (all doses) were significantly greater (P < 0.01) than the anesthetized rates, but were comparable to the rates observed in restrained, unanesthetized hawks. Yohimbine did not appear to have any significant effect on body temperature. Based upon administration of 4.4 mg/kg KET and 2.2 mg/kg XYL, a dose of 0.10 mg/kg YOH was recommended to achieve antagonism without causing profound cardiovascular or respiratory changes.
A timing-constrained simultaneous global routing algorithm

Proposed in this paper is a new approach for VLSI interconnect global routing that can optimize both congestion and delay, which are often competing objectives. The authors' approach provides a general framework that may use any single-net routing algorithm and any delay model in global routing. It is based on the observation that there are several routing topology flexibilities that can be exploited for congestion reduction under timing constraints. These flexibilities are expressed through the concepts of a soft edge and a slideable Steiner node. Starting with an initial solution where timing-driven routing is performed on each net without regard to congestion constraints, this algorithm hierarchically bisects a routing region and assigns soft edges to the cell boundaries along the bisector line. The assignment is achieved through a network flow formulation so that the amount of timing slack used to reduce congestions; is adaptive to the congestion distributions. Finally, a timing-constrained rip-up-and-reroute process is performed to alleviate the residual congestions. Experimental results on benchmark circuits are quite promising and the run time is between 0.02 s and 0.15 s per two-pin net.
Queueing analysis of explicit policy assignment push-out buffer sharing schemes for ATM networks

The proposed implementation of two QOS bearer services in ATM networks has generated considerable work on the analysis of implicit policy assignment space priority control buffer access schemes. Recently, there have been more interest directed towards explicit policy assignment space priority schemes because of their increased efficiency and flexibility over implicit assignment schemes. The paper considers an explicit policy assignment space priority control scheme employing the push-out buffer access mechanism. Cell loss probabilities are derived for a traffic model consisting of two service classes. Each service class consists of bursty traffic generated by a multiple number of three-state discrete-time Markov sources. The effect of cell loss probabilities on traffic load and burstiness characteristics, as well as buffer size, is examined. The authors have previously analyzed the performance of an explicit policy assignment partial buffer sharing scheme for the same traffic model. Performance comparisons between the push-out and partial buffer sharing schemes are also made in the present paper. >
Behavioral biology of trace fossils

The potential of the ichnofossil record for exploring the evolution of behavior has never been fully realized. Some of this is due to the nature of the trace fossil record itself. Equally responsible is the separation of ichnology from the relevant areas of modern behavioral biology. The two disciplines have virtually no concepts, methods, or literature in common. The study of animal behavior and its evolution is thus bereft of the rich data and insights of ichnologists.One potential pathway forward is for ichnologists to adopt and adapt the movement ecology paradigm proposed several years ago by Ran Nathan and colleagues. This approach views movement as resulting from interactions of the organism's internal state, its movement abilities, and its sensory capabilities with each other and with the external environment. These interactions produce a movement path. The adoption of this paradigm would place trace fossil studies in a far wider common context for the study of movement, while providing the dimension of the evolution of movement behavior in deep time to neontological studies.A second component of this integration would be for paleontologists to develop a taphonomy of behavior that places in a phylogenetic context the range of possible behaviors that organisms can carry out and assesses the potential of each of these behaviors in leaving a diagnostic trace. Parallel to other taphonomic concepts, this approach assesses the preservation potential of particular behaviors; behavioral fidelity is the extent to which trace fossils preserve these original behavioral signals.
Derivation of boltzmann-type kinetic equation for an impure anisotropic superconductor☆

Abstract Khalatinikov's kinetic equation for an anisotropic superconductor is derived via a Green's function technique, for a case in which the electrons in a weak-coupling an-isotropic superconductor are scattered by non-magnetic impurities. This derivation is valid in weak-impurity limit (Δ ⪢ Γ), and when external perturbations are slowly-varying in space-time.
Genetics of HIV-1 Infection: Chemokine Receptor Ccr5 Polymorphism and Its Consequences

The chemokine receptor gene, CCR5, has become a central theme in studies of host genetic effects on HIV-1 pathogenesis ever since the discovery that the CCR5 molecule serves as a major cell surface co-receptor for the virus. A growing number of genetic variants within the coding and 5' regulatory region of CCR5 have been identified, several of which have functional consequences for HIV-1 pathogenesis. Here we review the CCR5 literature describing CCR5 polymorphism and the functional ramifications that several of these variants have on HIV-1 infection and progression to AIDS. The multiplicity of CCR5 genetic effects on HIV-1 disease underscores the critical importance of this gene in controlling AIDS pathogenesis and provides the logic for develop-ment of therapeutic strategies that target the interaction of HIV-1 envelope and CCR5 in HIV-1 associated disease.
Bootstrap learning of foundational representations

To be autonomous, intelligent robots must learn the foundations of commonsense knowledge from their own sensorimotor experience in the world. We describe four recent research results that contribute to a theory of how a robot learning agent can bootstrap from the ‘blooming buzzing confusion’ of the pixel level to a higher level ontology including distinctive states, places, objects, and actions. This is not a single learning problem, but a lattice of related learning tasks, each providing prerequisites for tasks to come later. Starting with completely uninterpreted sense and motor vectors, as well as an unknown environment, we show how a learning agent can separate the sense vector into modalities, learn the structure of individual modalities, learn natural primitives for the motor system, identify reliable relations between primitive actions and created sensory features, and can define useful control laws for homing and path-following. Building on this framework, we show how an agent can use self-organiz...
The market experience: Utility and happiness

I have suggested two maximands for the market: human development and happiness. Our discussion up to this point has focused more on the conditions of human development (specified as cognitive complexity, personal control, and self esteem) than on happiness, although inevitably hedonic states have entered the analysis. It could not be otherwise. Even though the two goods are separate, the discussion of each implies acknowledgment of the other. When they conflict, that conflict must be noted and the usual alternative basis for support, ethics, must be shown to be supportive. When they are congruent, the hedonic rewards of developmental processes are important incentives for engaging in those processes. It is for these reasons that there have been many references to hedonic moods in the interpretations of the market experience. Thus, the development of cognitive complexity by the market was placed in the context of joy and sorrow as well as such emotions as pity, guilt, or anger. The hopes and fears stimulated by money symbols are freighted with hedonic implications; insecurity obviously influences happiness as well as the thinking processes noted; one protects one's sense of personal control and self-esteem because one feels unhappy at their loss; we do not object to unemployment solely because of the waste of human resources but also because it makes people miserable; the inability of a system of exchange to comprehend intrinsic motivations is a defect because it deprives people of important pleasures; the frequent failure of money to promote happiness is itself a failure whether or not it also distorts market choices. Over the long journey to this point we have inevitably touched on happiness, the subject of Part VII.
Pore Pressure and Stress around Dipping Structures

We employ laws of poro-elastoplasticity (Modified Cam Clay) to predict the stresses and pore pressures around inclined hydrocarbon reservoirs (e.g., dipping structures). We show that at the crest, the localized flow field increases the horizontal and vertical stresses above the lithostatic value; therefore, very high least principal stresses, even greater than the overburden value, are possible around the shallower end of dipping structures. At the deeper end of such structures, the local flow field loads the surrounding sediments, leading to elastoplastic strains and notable increase in porosity. We show that both the vertical and the horizontal total stresses decrease locally near the base. Traditional basin modeling approaches assume a horizontal-to-vertical stress ratio and so they cannot fully capture the stress changes around dipping structures. We illustrate that poromechanical analyses are essential to predict changes in pore pressure and the associated stress changes, especially in the vertical direction. The poromechanical results can significantly increase confidence in the trap integrity of inclined hydrocarbon reservoirs and provide a more reliable evaluation of borehole stability.
A System Dynamics Model for Modern AirLand Battle

The Lanchester Model has been widely used to explain the main features of the battle. However, its application to actual cases seems to be limited. The purpose of this study is to attempt to extend the Lanchester Model with the System Dynamics approach in order to better suit the real modern AirLand Battle case. To demonstrate how the AirLand Battle System Dynamics model works and how it provides easier ways to account for variables, normally present in real combat situations, three common tactical scenarios are employed for simulation. The results indicate that the developed model can fully describe AirLand Battle and reflect the synergy that results from the interaction of strategies and force redeployment. The proposed model, in addition, allows users to easily adjust settings when simulating different scenarios.
Sulfur tolerant metal doped Fe/Ce catalysts for high temperature WGS reaction at low steam to CO ratios – XPS and Mössbauer spectroscopic study

Abstract High temperature water gas shift reaction (WGS) at low steam to CO ratios has been investigated over Fe 2.4 Ce 0.3 M 0.3 O 4 (M = Cr, Co, Zr, Hf, and Mo) type of spinels in the temperature region of 400–550 °C and in the presence of sulfur. Remarkably, both Cr- and Co-doped Fe/Ce catalysts show excellent activity at steam to CO ratio as low as 1.5. Other dopants namely Zr, Hf and Mo have little or no effect on the WGS activity of Fe/Ce. All the catalysts exhibit excellent stability in the presence of sulfur. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements reveal the formation of hematitic phase in as-prepared catalysts and magnetite phase in activated and spent catalysts. After the water gas shift reaction, we observe a decrease in the cell parameter of the magnetite lattice for the spent Fe/Ce and Co-, Zr-, Hf-, and Mo-doped Fe/Ce catalysts compared to the activated catalysts. For Cr-doped Fe/Ce catalyst, no change in the lattice parameter was observed after the WGS reaction at a steam/CO ratio = 1.5 and in the presence of sulfur. Temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) measurements suggest that the addition of Zr and Hf to the Fe/Ce lowers the reduction temperature of surface ceria. X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectra show that both Cr and Co inhibit the carbonate formation in the magnetite during the activation as well as the WGS reaction, whereas Zr, Hf, and Mo can inhibit the formation of carbonate in the magnetite during the activation but not during the WGS reaction. Mossbauer spectral analysis shows that both Cr and Co occupy the octahedral sites of the magnetite during the activation of the catalysts and exhibit higher WGS activity. On the other hand, Zr, Hf, and Mo have little or no effect on the structure and catalytic properties of magnetite either during the activation or during the WGS reaction.
Announcement of the 1994 C. Everett Koop Awards for outstanding health care programs.

The coveted C. Everett Koop Awards were given to nine demonstrably efficient and effective health care programs which have reduced demand for expensive medical services by helping people stay healthy. This has made it possible to cut costs by as much as five dollars for every dollar spent in one program and realize savings up to 46.9% per employee in another, while actually raising standards of care. The winners, in alphabetical order, were Aetna Life & Casualty, L.L. Bean, Champion International, Dow Chemical, Integrated Health Sciences, Park Nicollet Medical Foundation, Quaker Oats, Steelcase, and Union Pacific. These organizations received the Tiffany crystal awards from Dr. Koop, the universally respected former U.S. Snrgeon General and Honorary Chairman of The Health Project, at the 8th Annual Disability Management Conference sponsored by the Washington Business Group on Health (WBGH). Dr. Koop stated in part:
THE DUET CODE OF THE FEMALE BLACK-BELLIED WREN

Abstract In many duet-singing songbirds, paired birds combine their song types nonrandomly to form duet songs. Several different behavioral mechanisms could generate nonrandom song type associations in duets. I tested female Black-bellied Wrens (Thryothorus fasciatoventris) for one such mechanism: adherence to a set of rules linking female response songs to male stimulus songs. I call this set of rules a “duet code.” Duets of free-living Black-bellied Wrens were recorded in 2001 and 2002. In 2003 I returned to the same territories and played the male song types from the recorded duets. Females answered male song stimuli as if duetting with the playback speaker. Although the known repertoires of females averaged 8.4 song types, each female sang only a single song type in response to each male song type. Random answering could not account for this pattern, supporting the hypothesis that females abide by duet codes. Females that were still paired with their mates from 2001–2002 answered 100% of their mate's ...
Probabilistic Estimate of Robot End-Effector’s Position Error Due to Process Noise

The expected position of the end effector attached to a robot often needs to be controlled so that it will remain on the planned trajectory [1]. But due to process noise and measurement errors, the end effector will be driven off the expected (nominal) position. Control systems can be designed to guide the robot back to the correct trajectory. However, in order to predict the perturbed state of the end effector, probabilistic characteristics of the disturbing noises must be taken into consideration. Wu [2] has considered the random kinematic errors of the robot joint variables and derived the mathematical expressions for describing the position error of the end effector, He assumed that the errors of the joint variables are independent of each other, and employed a linear model for estimating the perturbed state derived from a Taylor’s series expansion.
A demonstration of multi-bunch operation in the LCLS

The Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC is a hard Xray FEL which was designed for single electron bunch operation. Although most user experiments are not interested in multiple bunches from an S-band linac due to their short (ns) separation, there are some advantages with multi-bunch operation. Starting with two bunches where the delayed light of one bunch is used to seed the light of a second bunch, to many more bunches to increase the likelihood of rare target collisions, multibunch operation would open more options for the LCLS. In the past the SLAC Linac has operated with a few dedicated bunches for the SLC (Stanford Linear Collider), and up to 1400 bunches for some fixed target experiments, so a few bunches for the LCLS seems possible even with the original single bunch design. This paper will describe how the current RF implementation supports multi-bunch operation. Initial experimental tests with two bunches are presented.
First Fossil Alligator from the Late Eocene of Nebraska and the Late Paleogene Record of Alligators in the Great Plains

Abstract Fragmentary fossils have been tentatively attributed to Alligator from the Eocene of Wyoming, North Dakota, Saskatchewan, and Utah. The earliest definitive temporal and geographic range of Alligator has been limited to the late Eocene and early Oligocene Chadron and Brule Formations of the White River Badlands in South Dakota, represented by fossils of Alligator prenasalis. New fossils from the Chadron Formation in northwestern Nebraska expand the definitive geographic range of Alligator during the late Eocene. Results from a cladistic analysis of 28 alligatoroid species using 181 morphological characters support the identification of the new specimens as representing the most basally divergent taxon within Alligator, suggesting that they likely represent A. prenasalis; however, a lack of diagnostic features in the Nebraska specimens prevents a definitive assignment to this species. Limited occurrence data may indicate that Alligator experienced a reduction in biogeographic range following global...
An Economic Perspective on the Information Content of Magazine Advertisements

Numerous researchers have examined the information content of advertising. Most studies indicate that product category profoundly affects information content. This paper builds on previous research by applying Nelson's search-experience classification of product categories to examine the impact of product type on the information content of magazine advertisements. The results support Nelson's framework, but primarily for price, quality and availability information cues. The most surprising result is the high information content for experience durable goods.
Universals in Law School Education

Can one identify universals among the world's panoply of law schools and approaches to legal education? This paper concludes that a law school is an educational enterprise; its function is to prepare people skilled in the knowledge and application of a fundamental form of social ordering. However, different societies have different social orderings and so this universal will be realized differently from one society to another. In developing this claim, the Article emphasizes that the relationship between legal education and university education is distinctive. Two consequences follow. First, inquiry about universals in law school and legal education cannot be detached from inquiry about universals in university education. Second, law schools are relatively young institutions. Universities, by contrast, have had centuries to adapt to an enormous range of contexts. This diversity is one reason for the success and influence of the institution of university. The history of universities should be a guide. Evolution and diversification in law schools is inevitable and can further strengthen their societal influence. The question then becomes how to take advantage of this potential for diversification and manage the inevitable course of progress in legal education.
A New Species of Veromessor from the Nevada Test Site and Notes on Related Species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Four species of Veromessor are known from the Nevada test site, namely pergandei Emery, lariversi M. R. Smith, lobognathus (Andrews), and smithi , n. sp. The new species is described from all three castes, the sexual castes of lariversi and lobognathus are described, the four species are keyed, and essential features of the workers and males are figured.
Staurophlebia Auca, a New Dragonfly from Ecuador (Odonata: Aeshnidae)

The species of Staurophlebia discussed in this article is very distinct from the two well described species, reticulata Burmeister and gigantula Martin and is probably distinct from the two species described by Navas, bosqi Navas and platyura Navas. It was collected by William Clarke-Macintyre on the Rio Jatun Yacu, Prov. Oriente, Ecuador. At first we hesitated to describe it because of the incompleteness of the two descriptions by Navas. If Father Navas' types survive the present Spanish revolution this species may prove to be a synonym of one or both of Navas' species. On the basis of Navas' illustrations it is new.
Congenital X-Linked Autophagic Vacuolar Myopathy

A Chinese-American family with a severe X-linked congenital autophagic vacuolar myopathy (AVM) affecting 7 boys is reported from the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, and Utano National Hospital, Kyoto, Japan; and Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Improved nonlinear energy harvester with matched magnetic orientation

In this paper, we report an improved novel nonlinear energy harvester with optimized magnetic force. The piezoelectric beam is subject to magnetic force between tip magnet and external ferroic plate. The shape curve of the ferroic plate is designed to optimize the magnetic force in order to make the proposed nonlinear energy harvester have large well distance but small well depth, which offers a high energy orbit and thus large-amplitude motion for the harvester under small excitation level. The magnetic force-deflection curve is obtained experimentally and the potential curve is calculated to verify the well distance and depth. The experiment results show that the excitation level to maintain the large-amplitude motion and perturbation level to trigger the large-amplitude motion increase with the potential well distance and the well depth. With the optimal distance and depth, the maximal output power and output bandwidth of the nonlinear energy harvester increase significantly. Our study gives important guidance for the design of nonlinear energy harvester with certain input excitation level.
Assessment of Cardiac Effects of Protein Kinase a and Protein Kinase C Inhibitors on Myofilament-Based Contractile Activation in Failing Human Myocardium

The importance of calcium-dependent signaling in the heart has been appreciated for decades. Several reports indicated that tension development by cardiac myofibrils is more sensitive to calcium in failing relative to non-failing (NF) human hearts. It has been found that a phosphorylation event is primarily at the basis of frequency dependent modulation of myofilament calcium sensitivitywhich was potentially related to serine-theronine kinases. In this study, we analyzed the extent to which the kinase-based myofilament dysfunction contributes to human heart failure. Here, we focused on analysis of specific kinases, which have the potential to target TnI, MLC-2, and MyBP-C as well as the kinases that involved in regulation of phosphorylation of other myofilament proteins. Left ventricular trabeculae from failing and non-failing human hearts were isolated and mounted in a setup constructed on the stage of a Nikon-inverted fluorescent microscope. Then the following series of experiments (pathway, inhibitor, dose): PKC, GF109230, 0.5 μM; PKA, H-89, 0.5 μM; and their vehicle DMSO (0.1%) were tested. So far, our results show that by using protein kinase C inhibitor (GF109230), the diastolic force was significantly reduced at 1 Hz but not at 3 Hz.
A synopsis of the American Academy of Pediatrics' practice parameter on the management of minor closed head injury in children.

1. John B. Coombs, MD* 2. Robert L. Davis, MD, MPH† 1. 2. *Chair of the Subcommittee on Management of Minor Head Injury for the American Academy of Pediatrics/American Academy of Family Physicians. Department of Pediatrics and Family Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Wash. 3. 4. †Consultant to the Subcommittee on Management of Minor Head Injury for the American Academy of Pediatrics/American Academy of Family Physicians. Department of Pediatrics and Family Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Wash. This article provides a summary of the practice parameter on closed head injury. The reader is urged to refer to the original document for a more thorough presentation.(1) Your next appointment is a “work in” of a 3-year-old child who sustained an apparently isolated head injury 2 hours ago while playing on the slide at a local playground. The child has been in your practice since birth and, other than treatment for two ear infections, has been healthy and has had no apparent underlying diseases. The injury was observed by his mother, a particularly fastidious, caring person, who indicates that after a period of 30 to 60 seconds, during which the child appeared lethargic, quiet, and poorly responsive to her, he cried and appeared somewhat fearful, finally responding to her questions appropriately and asking for a drink of water. On the way to the office, he vomited in the car, but has remained attentive and alert. You are concerned about the brief loss of consciousness that is suggested by the history. Your examination reveals a lump on the scalp, no laceration, and no evidence of other apparent injury beyond the head. Results of a careful neurologic examination are unremarkable, including mental status for age and funduscopic examination. You reassure the mother and retire to the hallway to contemplate your next step. In the United States, head trauma in children is common and a frequent reason for visits to the doctor’s office. Over the past 2 decades, more than 300,000 children have visited the doctor annually for a recent head injury, and nearly one third of these visits have ended with the child being hospitalized.(2),(3) For a seemingly simple, straightforward problem, surveys reveal significant variations in care for minor, closed head injury, as suggested by findings …
Research on the Low-Velocity Impact Performance of Aluminum Foam Sandwich Panels

The low-velocity impact tests on the aluminum foam sandwiches(AFS) with a metallic bonding and adhesive bonding between face sheets and foam core were carried out.The mechanical response and failure mode of two kinds of AFS was studied.The results showed that the two kinds of AFS have the ability of energy absorption,but the buffer time of AFS with a metallic bonding between face sheets and foam core is longer than that of the adhesive structure.With the increase of load,the yield load and platform load of the AFS with a metallic bonding between face sheets and foam core increase and the buffer time reduces,showing an obvious strain rate effect during the test.The failure modes of the AFS with a metallic bonding between face sheets and foam core are core shear,core compaction and panel bending deformation.
Alveolar Epithelial Cell–Derived Prostaglandin E2 Serves as a Request Signal for Macrophage Secretion of Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 during Innate Inflammation

Preservation of gas exchange mandates that the pulmonary alveolar surface restrain unnecessarily harmful inflammatory responses to the many challenges to which it is exposed. These responses reflect the cross-talk between alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) and resident alveolar macrophages (AMs). We recently determined that AMs can secrete suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins within microparticles. Uptake of these SOCS-containing vesicles by epithelial cells inhibits cytokine-induced STAT activation. However, the ability of epithelial cells to direct AM release of SOCS-containing vesicles in response to inflammatory insults has not been studied. In this study, we report that SOCS3 protein was elevated in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of both virus- and bacteria-infected mice, as well as in an in vivo LPS model of acute inflammation. In vitro studies revealed that AEC-conditioned medium (AEC-CM) enhanced AM SOCS3 secretion above basal levels. Increased amounts of PGE2 were present in AEC-CM after LPS challenge, and both pharmacologic inhibition of PGE2 synthesis in AECs and neutralization of PGE2 in AEC-CM implicated this prostanoid as the major AEC-derived factor mediating enhanced AM SOCS3 secretion. Moreover, pharmacologic blockade of PGE2 synthesis or genetic deletion of a PGE2 synthase similarly attenuated the increase in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid SOCS3 noted in lungs of mice challenged with LPS in vivo. These results demonstrate a novel tunable form of cross-talk in which AECs use PGE2 as a signal to request SOCS3 from AMs to dampen their endogenous inflammatory responses during infection.
Establishment of a microbiological profile for an air-chilling poultry operation in the United States.

The microbiological profile of an air-chilling poultry process was investigated from the farm through the processing plant. Within a 1-year period, nine broiler flocks from four different farm sources were studied. Numbers of total aerobes, coliforms, psychrotrophic organisms, E. coli Biotype I (generic E. coli), Salmonella spp., and Campylobacter spp. were determined for multiple sampling sites on the farm as well as in the processing plant. Farm samples were collected the day before the chickens were slaughtered at the plant. The same flock was sampled at the plant on the day of slaughter. Sites located before evisceration (BE), after evisceration (AE), and after chilling (AC) were sampled. Results indicated a positive correlation between contamination of ceca with Salmonella on the farm and the presence Salmonella in carcass samples from the plant for all three types of sampling sites. The in-plant trend for total aerobes, coliforms, and generic E. coli revealed a significant decrease from counts obtai...
Examination of patient flow in a rural health center in Malawi

Background Malawi, like many low-income countries, is facing a severe health worker shortage. A potential stop-gap solution to this crisis is improving the efficiency of health center operations. Given the lack of research on center efficiency in rural health centers in Malawi, we conducted a study to identify deficiencies in center organization and barriers to patient flow.
Comparison of real-time PCR and ELISA-based methods for the detection of beef and pork in processed meat products

Abstract Two commonly used methodologies for species detection within processed meat products are real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a DNA-based method, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), a protein-based method. In this study, a real-time PCR assay was compared to a commercial ELISA kit based on sensitivity, specificity, agreement among duplicate samples, cost, time, and ease of use. Fifteen reference samples containing known percentages (0.1–99.9%, w/w) of pork and beef were analyzed in duplicate using both methods. Thirty commercial products, including sausages, pet treats, and canned meats, were also tested in duplicate with each method. Reference sample analysis showed real-time PCR was able to detect pork in duplicate samples at 0.10% and beef at 0.50% in the binary mixtures. ELISA detected pork in duplicate samples at 10.0% and beef at 1.00% in the binary mixtures. When the results of reference and commercial samples were combined, real-time PCR demonstrated the greatest agreement among duplicate samples, at 96.7%, compared to 95.6% agreement for ELISA. The real-time PCR assay used in this study was found to be less expensive, while ELISA was less time-consuming and easier to perform. Both methods were successful at identifying species in ground meats, sausage, and deli meat samples; however, pet treats and canned meats proved more challenging. Overall, it was determined that the real-time PCR assay was optimal for species identification in processed meat products when a low detection limit is required; however, the ELISA kit may be advantageous in other situations due to its ease of use.
An Investigation of American Medical Tourists’ Posttravel Experience

AbstractMedical tourism has gained intense momentum within the past two decades, and more Americans than ever before are seeking medical care from international alternatives. Although there has been extensive study regarding the pretravel motivations for medical tourism, there is a distinct gap of empirical research when it comes to travelers’ overall perception of their posttravel medical tourism experience. This study focuses on measuring the relationship between medical tourists’ push and pull factors on the overall perceived quality of their medical tourism experience. This study surveyed U.S. medical tourists who have sought medical care outside of the United States. The research investigated respondents’ perception of the destination location, medical tourism experience, and overall perceived quality.
Implementations of a Hash Function Based Secret Sharing Scheme

Secret sharing scheme creates an effective method to safeguard a secret by dividing it among several participants. By using cryptographic hash functions and the herding hashes technique, Chum and Zhang proposed a simple and efficient secret sharing scheme. In this article, we implement such scheme by several examples, namely, a general (t, n) threshold scheme, a one-weighted (t, n) threshold scheme, a multisecret scheme, a verifiable (t, n) threshold scheme, and a proactive scheme. We conduct a performance comparison study and find that the hash-based threshold scheme setup is two times, and secret recovery is six times faster than Shamir threshold scheme.
Adherence with physical activity monitoring wearable devices in a community-based population: observations from the Washington, D.C., Cardiovascular Health and Needs Assessment

Wearable mobile health (mHealth) technologies offer approaches for targeting physical activity (PA) in resource-limited, community-based interventions. We sought to explore user characteristics of PA tracking, wearable technology among a community-based population within a health and needs assessment. In 2014–2015, we conducted the Washington, D.C., Cardiovascular Health and Needs Assessment in predominantly African-American churches among communities with higher obesity rates and lower household incomes. Participants received a mHealth PA monitor and wirelessly uploaded PA data weekly to church data collection hubs. Participants (n = 99) were 59 ± 12 years, 79% female, and 99% African-American, with a mean body mass index of 33 ± 7 kg/m2. Eighty-one percent of participants uploaded PA data to the hub and were termed “PA device users.” Though PA device users were more likely to report lower household incomes, no differences existed between device users and non-users for device ownership or technology fluency. Findings suggest that mHealth systems with a wearable device and data collection hub may feasibly target PA in resource-limited communities.
Planetary science: Earth's building blocks

Earth grew by the accretion of meteoritic material. High-precision isotopic data reveal how the composition of this material changed over time, forcing revision of models of our planet's formation. See Letters p.521 & p.525 The bodies that formed the Earth have isotopic natures that have so far remained unclear. Here Nicolas Dauphas shows that elements with differing affinities for metal can be used to decipher the isotopic nature of the Earth's accreting material through time. He finds that the mantle signatures of lithophile, moderately siderophile and highly siderophile elements record different stages of the Earth's accretion, yet all the examined elements point to material that is isotopically most similar to enstatite meteorites. The author concludes that enstatite meteorites and the Earth were formed from the same isotopic reservoir but diverged in their chemical evolution as a result of subsequent fractionation by nebular and planetary processes. Mario Fischer-Godde and Thorsten Kleine show that all chondrites, including carbonaceous chondrites, have ruthenium isotopic compositions that are distinct from that of the Earth's mantle. The ruthenium isotope anomalies increase in the order of enstatite to ordinary to carbonaceous chondrites, demonstrating that material formed at greater heliocentric distance has larger ruthenium isotope anomalies. The authors conclude that the 'late veneer' of material accreted to the Earth following the Moon-forming impact must not have originated in the outer Solar System, and that the late veneer was not the primary source of volatiles and water on the Earth.
Novel method for synthesis of electrocatalyst via catalytic graphitization of ordered mesoporous carbon for PEMFC application

In this work, high-surface area graphitized ordered mesoporous carbon (M-mOMC, M = Fe, Co, Ni) materials were synthesized using M-SBA-15 template for PEM fuel cell electrocatalysts support. These m...
Enhancing formal specification and verification of e-commerce protocol

Lots of work have been attempted to enhance the SET protocol performance special attention is on E-payment phase. This paper thoroughly analyzes recent works on payment phase; it has been found that this subject requires considerable enhancements, since there are areas, which require further study such as: E-payment phase in SET protocol. E-payment phase is vast and complex phase it has long series of steps. The behavior of environment is assumed by the phase and is restricted to the rules built by their proposed protocol. This paper will follow Ph-Spi calculus for formalizing and analyzing enhanced payment phase of SET protocol by reducing the number of transactions with many additional operators. A new agent controller will be formally modeled, which we can rely upon to make automated decisions during interaction with a dynamic protocol environment. So, this agent controller is used to terminate the transaction process in any case of fraud or attack. This paper is conjunction between our previous works of E-payment phase in SET protocol and other works in Ph-Spi calculus in purpose of analyzing and proving the main security properties: authentication and privacy to evaluate the efficiency of the enhanced security of electronic payment phase for SET protocol (E-SET) using Ph-Spi calculus.
An Atypical Association of Hepatitis C Infection With Extranodal Marginal Zone Lymphoma

Marginal zone lymphomas (MZLs) are an uncommon form of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs). They can be further classified into three specific groups depending on the tissue involved: extranodal MZL or mucosa-associated lymphatic tissue (MALT) lymphoma, splenic MZL and nodal MZL. MALT lymphoma is among the most common malignant lymphomas of the ocular adnexa as seen with this case. Infectious agents play a decisive role in the development of these ocular adnexal lymphomas. Chlamydia psittaci , HSV1, HSV2, ADV8 and ADV19 are usually linked with these lymphomas. We present a rare case of extranodal MZL of the ocular adnexa with nodal and bone marrow involvement likely due to hepatitis C infection. Hepatitis C infection has been associated with diffuse large cell lymphoma, small lymphocytic lymphoma, splenic and nodal MZL, but to the best of our knowledge, there are very few documented cases of extranodal MZL of the ocular adnexa with hepatitis C infection. The paucity of evidence of this association makes our case rare and also offers a different therapeutic outcome with treatment of hepatitis C infection in conjunction with the traditional chemotherapy. Clin Infect Immun. 2017;2(2-3):40-42 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/cii68e
Evolutionary Approaches in Archaeology

Current evolutionary approaches in archaeology must be distinguished from approaches based on cultural evolution, which were popular during the 1960s and 1970s heyday of the ‘New Archaeology.’ In the modern view, the same historical processes that generate diversity in the biological world also generate the material record of human existence. This Darwinian view of the archaeological record has inspired at least five different theoretical and methodological schools within Anglo-American archaeology: (a) evolutionary archaeology; (b) evolutionary ecology; (c) dual inheritance theory; (d) evolutionary psychology; and (e) memetic or cultural virus theory approaches.