cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electrophotographic Laser Copier Printer Scanner

Electrophotographic technology allows for the simple incorporation of document scanning. This function is accomplished by monitoring the specular reflection of the toned image on the copier's photoconductor drum. Documents can be scanned at a rate and resolution comparable to normal electrophotographic printers. Scanning in this way takes advantage of the panchromatic response of the photoconductor, avoids the color-blindness issue of lasers, and prevents exposure of the user to laser radiation. Our experiments show that the principle source of noise in the scanned signal is due to an interference effect in the photoconductor and a detailed description of this effect will be presented.
Protection of breast-fed infants against Campylobacter diarrhea by antibodies in human milk.

To investigate the role of breast-feeding in preventing diarrhea caused by Campylobacter jejuni , we followed 98 Mexican children prospectively for 2 years beginning at their birth. Attack rates of diarrhea in children less than 6 months of age who were not fed human milk were 2.3 times greater than those in children of the same age who were fed human milk. Breast-fed children remained free of diarrhea for a longer time than non-breast-fed children ( p C. jejuni for non-breast-fed infants was significantly greater ( p C. jejuni were high in colostrum, decreased during the first month of breast-feeding, and generally persisted throughout lactation. Human milk consumed by children in whom Campylobacter diarrhea developed did not contain secretory IgA antibodies to the glycine acid-extractable common antigen of Campylobacter . This study shows an association between Campylobacter antibodies in human milk and prevention of diarrhea caused by Campylobacter .
An Analysis of the Differences between True-Mean-Square and Average-Magnitude-Squared Detector Circuits for Use in Campbelling Neutron Monitoring Systems

A mathematical analysis and some numerical results are presented that indicate how the ratio of the outputs from a true-mean-square and an average-magnitude-squared linear type detector in a Campbelling neutron monitoring system vary over a wide range of neutron fluxes or pulse rates for a given system output signal shape. Two types of system output pulse shapes have been considered. One type is of the form v = V?-?t corresponding to a single differentiated output pulse. The other shape has the form v = C1?-?t + C2-?1t + C3?-?2t corresponding to a double differentiated and single integrated output pulse. C1, C2, and C3 are constants depending upon the system characteristics. For the single differentiated pulse shape, the analysis verifies that the output signal ratio begins to deviate from the constant value 0.637 when the input pulse rate decreases below the single low cut-off frequency, ?, of the system. As for the double differentiated, single integrated pulse shape, all three time constants influence the results. For the specific case where the integrating time constant, 1/?2, is much smaller than either differentiating time constant, 1/? or 1/?1, and these last two time constants are made equal, the output signal ratio also deviates from the constant value of 0.637 when the input pulse rate decreases below the low cut-off frequencies. Some measurements of the two types of output signals, |v?|2 and v2, obtained from actual Campbelling systems, show excellent agreement with the numerical results for both types of pulse shape considered.
X‐Ray and thermal studies of nylon 5,7

Abstract : The unit cell and probable space group of Nylon 5,7 has been determined. The unit cell is monoclinic with the dimensions a = 0.483 nm, b = 0.935 nm, c = 1.662 nm and gamma = 58.9. The space group is probably P sub b which is non-centrosymmetric. Rolled, annealed samples show three dimensional orientation. The melting point peak of a rapidly cooled sample is about 213 C when it is heated at 20 C/min. Slow cooling, less than 1 deg/min generates a higher melting species, Tm = 228 C. Crystallinities are in the normal nylon range, up to 50% for a slow-cooled sample. (Author)
External hyphal production of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in pasture and tallgrass prairie communities.

External hyphae of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi were quantified over a growing season in a reconstructed tallgrass prairie and an ungrazed cool-season pasture. In both sites, hyphal lengths increased throughout the growing season. Peak external hyphal lengths were 111 m cm−3 of soil in the prairie and 81 m cm−3 of soil in the pasture. These hyphal lengths calculate to external hyphal dry weights of 457 μg cm−3 and 339 μg cm−3 of soil for prairie and pasture communities, respectively. The relationships among external hyphal length, root characteristics, soil P and soil moisture were also determined. Measures of gross root morphology [e.g., specific root length (SRL) and root mass] have a strong association with external hyphal length. Over the course of the study, both grassland communities experienced a major drought event in late spring. During this period a reduction in SRL occurred in both the pasture and prairie without a measured reduction in external hyphal length. Recovery for both the pasture and prairie occurred not by increasing SRL, but rather by increasing external hyphal length. This study suggests that growth is coordinated between VAM hyphae and root morphology, which in turn, are constrained by plant community composition and soil nutrient and moisture conditions.
1283 ROLE OF EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR IN THE PHENOTYPIC EXPRESSION OF LEPRECHAUNISM

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a polypeptide hormone important in growth and differentiation of multiple cell types. It has a wide range of biological activities including precocious eruption of teeth, gut mucosa hyperplasia, and proliferation of epidermal cells in mice. Despite multiple known biological functions and presence in several body fluids, no disease state has been identified in which there is either a deficiency or excess of EGF. Leprechaunism (L) has many of the characteristics expected in EGF hypersecretion, i.e., severe acanthosis nigricans, hirsutism, pachyderma, precocious breast development and hypertrophy of gut and genitals. We have measured urinary EGF excretion in an 8-year-old patient with L over several years and found a mean concentration to be 151.9±50.4μg/gm cr. In comparison we have measured urinary EGF concentrations in normal children and children with various disease states. EGF excretion was linear with creatinine excretion and not influenced by age. The mean EGF excretion is 26.7±4.3μg/gm cr in control children as compared to 29.6±1.1 and 39.8±1.6μg/gm cr in normal adult males and females respectively. Blood EGF levels in our patient were increased above normal. Measurement of other gut hormones were normal. We conclude that many of the phenotypic manifestations of L are secondary to excessive EGF, thus providing a disease for this well characterized but otherwise orphan hormone.
Implementing and evaluating a sustainable early child development program in Limpopo, South Africa: A pilot study

asked to report on expansion of partnership opportunities through GEMx. Outcomes & Evaluation: Based on their responses to open-ended questions, the participating partner schools indicated that the GEMx application system could be useful in promoting transparency because schools can promote the exchange opportunities they provide. Two schools formed new partnerships during the initial phase of GEMx. While virtual meetings could be used for information sharing, face-toface meetings were thought to increase familiarity and promote engagement that would provide the basis for formation of virtual relationships. Some representatives of partner schools recognized the need for additional effort on the part of their schools and stated that dedicated staffing and time were needed to support these efforts. GEMx regional meetings are planned to foster a sense of community that can support virtual team formation and foster multi-institutional collaboration. Going Forward: Global virtual partnerships may not work without the integration of face-to-face meetings establishing an atmosphere of trust in order for global virtual partners to collaborate. The identification of common needs and goals of partner schools by a facilit Funding: No funding listed. Abstract #: 02ETC055
The Social Poetics of the Red River Jig in Alberta and Beyond : Meaningful Heritage and Emerging Performance

The Red River Jig is a fiddle tune and a dance form that have particular resonance for First Nations and Metis peoples in Northern and Western Canada. Here I follow the dance form’s practice across diverse settings in time and space. This article is a part of a larger project in which I am analyzing the nexus of Metis identity, performance, and heritage; using Michael Herzfeld’s concept of “social poetics” (2005) to gauge the Red River Jig not only as a representative form of Metis heritage, but as a performative form that emerges in social interaction. Here I first chronicle its performance through time and then describe its form and manners of learning this form in contemporary contexts in Alberta and Western Canada more generally. Finally, I examine the Red River Jig, or aspects of the Red River Jig, emerging in other dance forms as well as other performative circumstances beyond the categorical boundaries of music and dance to consider the social poetics of the Red River Jig within greater spheres of practice.
Brutality Under Cover of Ambiguity Activating, Perpetuating, and Deactivating Covert Retributivism

Five studies tested four hypotheses on the drivers of punitive judgments. Study 1 showed that people imposed covertly retributivist physical punishments on extreme norm violators when they could plausibly deny that is what they were doing (attributional ambiguity). Studies 2 and 3 showed that covert retributivism could be suppressed by subtle accountability manipulations that cue people to the possibility that they might be under scrutiny. Studies 4 and 5 showed how covert retributivism can become self-sustaining by biasing the lessons people learn from experience. Covert retributivists did not scale back punitiveness in response to feedback that the justice system makes false-conviction errors but they did ramp up punitiveness in response to feedback that the system makes false-acquittal errors. Taken together, the results underscore the paradoxical nature of covert retributivism: It is easily activated by plausible deniability and persistent in the face of false-conviction feedback but also easily deact...
Clinical Trials of Novel and Targeted Therapies: Endpoints, Trial Design, and Analysis

With the growth in knowledge of tumorigenesis, the development of agents to combat cancer has evolved from examining the ability of a compound to destroy more tumor cells than healthy cells without...
Anomalous enrichments of iron monosulfide in euxinic marine sediments and the role of H 2 S in iron sulfide transformations; examples from Effingham Inlet, Orca Basin, and the Black Sea

It is well documented that sedimentary pyrite formation proceeds through an iron monosulfide (FeS) precursor. Laboratory studies have tradition- ally indicated that intermediate S species such as elemental sulfur (S 0 ) or polysul- fides (Sx 2 ) are responsible for the transformation of FeS to pyrite (FeS2). Recent experimental work, however, has suggested that H2S may also be responsible for the transformation. The present study extrapolates reaction pathways respon- sible for pyrite formation in the laboratory to two fundamentally different modern anoxic marine systems. We hypothesize that on decadal timescales, H2S (or HS) is responsible for transformations of FeS into FeS2 in natural systems where intermediate S species are isolated from FeS production. The possibility of prolonged coexistence of high levels of H2S and FeS, however, challenges recent experimental predictions of extremely rapid transformations (that is, timescales of hours or less) of FeS to FeS2 via the H2S pathway. Sediments of Effingham Inlet (a fjord on Vancouver Island) and the Orca Basin (an intraslope brine pool in the northern Gulf of Mexico) are both charac- terized by atypically high concentrations of FeS but contrasting levels of H2S and FeS2 production. In both systems, FeS formation is spatially decoupled from intermediate S species as a consequence of either rapid deposition/burial or extreme water-column stratification. Within settings that promote this separa- tion, H2S may be the principal species responsible for pyrite formation. FeS to FeS2 transformations are favored by the high concentrations of H2S in sediments of Effingham Inlet. Additional results from the margin of the anoxic Black Sea corroborate the Effingham model for iron sulfide transformation. H2S concentrations are controlled by the amount of bacterial sulfate reduc- tion and the availability of reactive Fe. H2S concentrations will be buffered to low levels via the production of FeS in systems with appreciable amounts of reactive Fe and therefore be unavailable to transform FeS to FeS2. Under conditions where H2S is the only species available for FeS to FeS2 transformations, some degree of Fe limitation may promote pyrite formation by allowing H2 St o accumulate in the pore waters. Ultimately, this balance between H2S production and reactive Fe availability may strongly influence the amount of pyrite formed in anoxic systems.
Preferential concentration and relative velocity statistics of inertial particles in Navier-Stokes turbulence with and without filtering

The radial distribution function (RDF, a statistical measure of preferential concentration), and the relative velocity measured along the line-of-centres of two particles are the key statistical inputs to the collision kernel for finite-inertia particles suspended in a turbulent flow Sundaram & Collins (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 335, 1997, p. 75). In this paper, we investigate the behaviour of these two-particle statistics using direct numerical simulation (DNS) of homogeneous isotropic turbulence. While it is known that the RDF for particles of any Stokes number (St) decreases with separation distance Sundaram & Collins (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 335, 1997, p. 75), Reade & Collins (Phys. Fluids, vol. 12, 2000, p. 2530), Salazar et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 600, 2008, p. 245), we observe that the peak in the RDF versus St curve shifts to higher St as we increase the separation distance. Here, St is defined as the ratio of the particle's viscous relaxation time to the Kolmogorov time-scale of the flow. Furthermore, as found in a previous study Wang, Wexler, & Zhou (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 415, 2000, p. 117), the variance of the radial relative velocity (wr) is found to increase monotonically with increasing separation distance and increasing Stokes number; however, we show for the first time that the parameteric variation of the skewness of wr with St and r/η is qualitatively similar to that of the RDF, and points to a connection between the two. We then apply low-pass filters (using three different filter scales) on the DNS velocity field in wavenumber space in order to produce ‘perfect’ large-eddy simulation (LES) velocity fields without any errors associated with subgrid-scale modelling. We present visual evidence of the effect of sharp-spectral filtering on the flow structure and the particle field. We calculate the particle statistics in the filtered velocity field and find that the RDF decreases with filtering at low St and increases with filtering at high St, similar to Fede & Simonin (Phys. Fluids, vol. 18, 2006, p. 045103). We also find that the variation of the RDF with St shifts towards higher St with filtering at all separation distances. The variance of wr is found to decrease with filtering for all St and separation distances, but the skewness of wr shows a non-monotonic response to filtering that is qualitatively similar to the RDF. We consider the variation of the RDF and moments of wr with filter scale and find that they are approximately linear in the inertial range. We demonstrate that a simple model consisting of a redefinition of the St based on the time-scale of the filtered velocity field cannot recover the unfiltered statistics. Our findings provide insight on the effect of subgrid-scale eddies on the RDF and wr, and establish the requirements of a LES model for inertial particles that can correctly predict clustering and collisional behaviour.
Sexual Orientation and Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids in US Adolescent Boys

OBJECTIVES: We compared the lifetime prevalence of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) misuse among sexual minority versus heterosexual US adolescent boys, and secondarily, sought to explore possible intermediate variables that may explain prevalence differences. METHODS: Participants were 17 250 adolescent boys taken from a pooled data set of the 14 jurisdictions from the 2005 and 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys that assessed sexual orientation. Data were analyzed for overall prevalence of AAS misuse and possible intermediary risk factors. RESULTS: Sexual minority adolescent boys were at an increased odds of 5.8 (95% confidence interval 4.1–8.2) to report a lifetime prevalence of AAS (21% vs 4%) compared with their heterosexual counterparts, P CONCLUSIONS: This is the first known study to test and find substantial health disparities in the prevalence of AAS misuse as a function of sexual orientation. Prevention and intervention efforts are needed for sexual minority adolescent boys.
The molecular basis of corneal transparency

The cornea consists primarily of three layers: an outer layer containing an epithelium, a middle stromal layer consisting of a collagen-rich extracellular matrix (ECM) interspersed with keratocytes and an inner layer of endothelial cells. The stroma consists of dense, regularly packed collagen fibrils arranged as orthogonal layers or lamellae. The corneal stroma is unique in having a homogeneous distribution of small diameter 25-30 nm fibrils that are regularly packed within lamellae and this arrangement minimizes light scattering permitting transparency. The ECM of the corneal stroma consists primarily of collagen type I with lesser amounts of collagen type V and four proteoglycans: three with keratan sulfate chains; lumican, keratocan, osteoglycin and one with a chondroitin sulfate chain; decorin. It is the core proteins of these proteoglycans and collagen type V that regulate the growth of collagen fibrils. The overall size of the proteoglycans are small enough to fit in the spaces between the collagen fibrils and regulate their spacing. The stroma is formed during development by neural crest cells that migrate into the space between the corneal epithelium and corneal endothelium and become keratoblasts. The keratoblasts proliferate and synthesize high levels of hyaluronan to form an embryonic corneal stroma ECM. The keratoblasts differentiate into keratocytes which synthesize high levels of collagens and keratan sulfate proteoglycans that replace the hyaluronan/water-rich ECM with the densely packed collagen fibril-type ECM seen in transparent adult corneas. When an incisional wound through the epithelium into stroma occurs the keratocytes become hypercellular myofibroblasts. These can later become wound fibroblasts, which provides continued transparency or become myofibroblasts that produce a disorganized ECM resulting in corneal opacity. The growth factors IGF-I/II are likely responsible for the formation of the well organized ECM associated with transparency produced by keratocytes during development and by the wound fibroblast during repair. In contrast, TGF-beta would cause the formation of the myofibroblast that produces corneal scaring. Thus, the growth factor mediated synthesis of several different collagen types and the core proteins of several different leucine-rich type proteoglycans as well as posttranslational modifications of the collagens and the proteoglycans are required to produce collagen fibrils with the size and spacing needed for corneal stromal transparency.
"The Man of these Infinite Possibilities": Max Ernst’s Cinematic Collages

On more than one occasion in his critical writings of the 1920’s, surrealist leader Andre Breton compared Max Ernst’s collages to cinema. In his first essay on the artist in 1921, Breton aligned Ernst’s collages with cinematic special effects such as slow and accelerated motion, and spoke of the illusionistic ‘transformation from within’ that characterized Ernst’s constructed scenes. For Breton, Ernst’s collages employing found commercial, scientific and journalistic images approximated the naturalistic movement of film, and thereby contributed to the radical obsolescence of traditional two-dimensional media such as painting and drawing, which remained frozen in stillness. Thus, Ernst’s images were provocative witnesses to the way in which modern technology fundamentally altered the perspectivally-ordered picture plane. But at the same time that Ernst’s collages rendered painting obsolete, they likewise depended upon fragments of outmoded popular culture themselves. For Breton, Ernst was a magician, “the man of these infinite possibilities,” comparable to cinematic prestidigators like turn-of-the-century filmmaker Georges Melies. By drawing on the influence of recently outmoded popular culture such as early trick films, Ernst provides a crucial early example of the post-war fixation on counter-temporalities and anti-production. At once technologically advanced and culturally archeological, Ernst’s collages cannily defy strict categorization as “Modernist.”
Open versus laparoscopic simultaneous bilateral adrenalectomy.

Objectives To compare our experience with synchronous bilateral adrenalectomy using laparoscopic and open techniques. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy has become the reference standard for management of benign unilateral adrenal pathologic findings. Methods This was a nonrandomized retrospective chart review of 12 known patients who underwent simultaneous bilateral adrenalectomy, comparing five laparoscopic and seven open procedures. One urologic surgeon performed all laparoscopic cases, and one general surgeon performed all open procedures. Results All patients had Cushing’s disease or syndrome. The average patient age was 47.4 years (range 24 to 71) and 42.4 years (range 19 to 70), with an average body mass index of 38.2 kg/m2 and 36.0 kg/m2 for the laparoscopic and open groups, respectively. The operating time was on average 60 minutes longer for the laparoscopic group. No open conversions were necessary. The median blood loss (100 versus 500 mL, P <0.01) and hematocrit drop (8.5% versus 12.6%, P = 0.05) were lower for the laparoscopic group. The transfusion rates and hospital stay trended lower in the laparoscopic group (20% versus 57% and 3 versus 8.5 days, respectively). Specimen weights for both the right and left glands trended larger for the laparoscopic group. The complication rates were similar between groups at 60% for the laparoscopic versus 71% for the open groups. Conclusions Simultaneous laparoscopic bilateral adrenalectomy is safe and effective. Compared with the open approach, it resulted in decreased blood loss, lower transfusion rate, and a trend toward a shorter hospital stay, although the operating time was longer. The laparoscopic approach should be the treatment of choice for bilateral adrenalectomy.
Infiltration of PCE in a system containing spatial wettability variations

A two-dimensional infiltration experiment was conducted to investigate and quantify the effect of spatial wettability variations on DNAPL migration and entrapment in saturated sands. Experimental observations of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) infiltration showed that organic-wet sand lenses acted as very effective capillary barriers, retaining PCE and inhibiting its downward migration. A multiphase numerical simulator was used to model this sand box experiment. The simulator incorporates wettability-modified van Genuchten and Brooks-Corey capillary pressure/saturation relationships as well as Burdine and Mualem relative permeability relationships. PCE mass distributions, estimated by image analysis of digital photographs taken during the infiltration event, were compared to simulation results. Although both relative permeability models were qualitatively able to predict the PCE retention in the organic-wet layers, simulations with the Mualem model failed to capture the observed rate of PCE migration. A traditional multiphase simulator, incorporating water-wet capillary retention relations, failed to predict both PCE pathways and retention behavior. This study illustrates the potential influence of subsurface wettability variations on DNAPL migration and entrapment and supports the use of modified capillary relations in conjunction with the Burdine model in multiphase flow simulators.
Surface structure of (112¯0) Al2O3 single crystals after high temperature annealing

The surface structure of a-plane (1 1 20 ) Al2O3 single crystals with a inclined direction was studied as a function of annealing temperature using atomic force microscopy. The samples had a large increase in step height and terrace width with increasing annealing temperature. For the samples annealed at 1500 C and 1600 C the step edge structure became significantly faceted. The facets consisted of (0 0 0 1) and (10 12) planes as a result of these two planes being the ones with the lowest surface energies in Al2O3. In addition, the surface morphology displayed the formation of ridges 0.3 nm high and � 20 nm wide at 1600 C which originate from a tendency of the surface to form a (4 � 1) reconstruction with the sharp step edges acting as reconstruction nucleation sites.
Geomagnetic Navigation and Magnetic Maps in Sea Turtles

: Sea turtles can extract two types of navigational information from Earth's magnetic field: (1) directional or compass information; and, (2) positional or map information useful in assessing geographic location. Within the latter category, turtles perceive at least two geomagnetic elements: the intensity of Earth's field and its inclination. Both vary across the globe so that different oceanic regions are typically marked by different magnetic fields. For hatchling loggerhead turtles undertaking their first transoceanic migration, regional magnetic fields function as open-sea navigational markers, eliciting changes in swimming direction at crucial points in the migratory route. Older sea turtles use magnetic information in a classical navigational map, allowing them to assess position relative to specific geographic destinations. Although the magnetic maps of sea turtles lack the high resolution of human global positioning systems, they may provide an interesting conceptual design for low-resolution positioning systems that can function independently of GPS.
Estimating glucose metabolism using glucose analogs and two tracer kinetic models in isolated rabbit heart

The purpose of this investigation was to 1) evaluate the relative accuracy of the Sokoloff and Patlak tracer kinetic models in estimating glucose metabolic rate (GMR) in the presence and absence of...
The practice of industrial logic design

Many academic researchers have been working on the problem of how to improve industrial logic design. The problem that many are trying to solve is the perceived inefficiency of the current methods, which use primitive, low-level design languages, practically no logic reuse, and are very time consuming. To solve these problems researchers have focused on methods which can be verified against a known specification language, or which can be automatically generated from a specification. This work has generally been done with a minimal understanding of what the current logic design methods actually are. In this work, we present the results of an observational study of the current methods of creating control logic. We find that the current specifications are generally informal and loosely defined, and that the typical logic designer is responsible for determining the details of system behavior, anticipating potential problems, and coordinating with other designers. This is a larger range of activities than generally addressed by logic design schemes focused on verification or automatic logic generation.
RV instantaneous intraventricular diastolic pressure and velocity distributions in normal and volume overload awake dog disease models

Intraventricular diastolic right ventricular (RV) flow field dynamics were studied by functional imaging using three-dimensional (3D) real-time echocardiography with sonomicrometry and computationa...
The role of preoperative transarterial embolization in spinal tumors. A large single-center experience

Abstract Background context Patients with spinal tumors are often referred for preoperative angiography and embolization before surgical resection to minimize intraoperative bleeding. Purpose The purpose of the present study was to investigate the angiographic appearance of a variety of spinal tumors, assess the safety and efficacy of preoperative embolization in relation to the amount of intraoperative blood loss, and correlate intraoperative tumor histology with the degree of gadolinium enhancement on spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and tumor vascularity visualized during angiography. Study design/setting Retrospective and single-institution cohort study. Patient sample One hundred four patients with spinal tumors referred for preoperative embolization. Outcome measures Effectiveness of preoperative embolization in relation to intraoperative blood loss and number of transfused packed red blood cell units in perioperative period (72 hours). Methods From 2000 to 2009, 104 patients with spinal tumors underwent 114 spinal angiographies with the intent to embolize feeder vessels before surgery. The effectiveness of embolization was compared with the documented intraoperative blood loss. Angiographic tumor vascularity was graded from 0 (avascular) to 3 (highly vascular). Ninety-four patients had a pre– and post–gadolinium-enhanced MRI of the spine before transarterial embolization. Magnetic resonance imaging vascular enhancement was classified as Grade 3 (avid contrast enhancement), Grade 2 (moderate), or Grade 1 (mild). Results Transarterial tumor embolization was angiographically complete in 63 (66%) and partial in 33 procedures (34%). In 18 cases, the target was not deemed suitable for embolization. A limited statistical analysis did not reveal a statistical difference in documented intraoperative blood loss between patients with complete versus partial embolization for the entire cohort or when stratified into renal cell carcinoma (RCC; p=.64), multiple myeloma (p=.28), malignant (p=.17) and benign tumor groups (p=.26). There were no clinical complications associated with embolization. There was poor correlation between MRI enhancement and angiographic vascularity. Conclusions Preoperative embolization was angiographically effective in most cases. Avid gadolinium enhancement (Grade 3) on MRI was not predictive of hypervascularity on angiography. Furthermore, hypervascularity was not restricted to classically vascular tumors, such as RCC, as it was noted in some patients with breast and prostate cancer. However, with the available numbers, the quality of preoperative embolization did not significantly affect intraoperative blood loss. A future prospective randomized controlled study may be warranted to better characterize the benefits of preoperative embolization for spinal tumors.
Sleeping Coordination for Comprehensive Sensing Using Isotonic Regression and Domatic Partitions

We address the problem of energy efficient sensing by adaptively coordinating the sleep schedules of sensor nodes while guaranteeing that values of sleeping nodes can be recovered from the awake nodes within a user’s specified error bound. Our approach has two phases. First, development of models for predicting measurement of one sensor using data from other sensors. Second, creation of the maximal number of subgroups of disjoint nodes, each of whose data is sufficient to recover the measurements of the entire sensor network. For prediction of the sensor measurements, we introduce a new optimal non-parametric polynomial time isotonic regression. Utilizing the prediction models, the sleeping coordination problem is abstracted to a domatic number problem and is optimally solved using an ILP solver. To capture evolving dynamics of the instrumented environment, we monitor the prediction errors occasionally to trigger adaptation of the models and domatic partitions as needed. Experimental evaluations on traces of a medium size network with temperature and humidity sensors indicate that the method can extend the lifetime of the network by a factor of 4 or higher even for a strict error target.
Nonholonomic stability aspects of piecewise holonomic systems

Abstract We consider mechanical systems with intermittent contact that are smooth and holonomic except at the instants of transition. Overall such systems can be nonholonomic in that the accessible configuration space can have larger dimension than the instantaneous motions allowed by the constraints. The known examples of such mechanical systems are also dissipative. By virtue of their nonholonomy and of their dissipation such systems are not Hamiltonian. Thus there is no reason to expect them to adhere to the Hamiltonian property that exponential stability of steady motions is impossible. Since nonholonomy and energy dissipation are simultaneously present in these systems, it is usually not clear whether their sometimes-observed exponential stability should be attributed solely to dissipation, to nonholonomy, or to both. However, it is shown here on the basis of one simple example, that the observed exponential stability of such systems can follow solely from the nonholonomic nature of intermittent contact and not from dissipation. In particular, it is shown that a discrete sister model of the Chaplygin sleigh, a rigid body on the plane constrained by one skate, inherits the stability eigenvalues of the smooth system even as the dissipation tends to zero. Thus it seems that discrete nonholonomy can contribute to exponential stability of mechanical systems.
Effect of comonomer concentration and functionality on photopolymerization rates, mechanical properties and heterogeneity of the polymer

Polymerization rate, glass transition temperature, storage modulus, molecular weight between crosslinks and heterogeneity of the final polymer product were studied as a function of the crosslinking agent concentration for several multifunctional methacrylates. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of crosslinking monomer structure and concentration on the rates of polymerization and mechanical properties of the polymer. A series of copolymers with equal concentrations of crosslinking double bonds was prepared using a monomethacrylate plus a di- or trimethacrylate. The trimethacrylate systems had higher glass transition temperatures, larger storage moduli, and smaller molecular weights between crosslinks than the comparable dimethacrylate systems. However, the heterogeneity of the trimethacrylate systems was found to be much more extensive. Additionally, the maximum rate of polymerization was found to increases with increasing crosslinking agent when octyl methacrylate was used as the monomethacrylate, but passed through a maximum when 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate was used. The relative rates of polymerization between the trimethacrylate and dimethacrylate systems also depended on the monomethacrylate employed and the concentration of the crosslinking agent.
A Review of Antibiotic Use in Pregnancy

During pregnancy, untreated sexually transmitted or urinary tract infections are associated with significant morbidity, including low birth weight, preterm birth, and spontaneous abortion. Approximately one in four women will be prescribed an antibiotic during pregnancy, accounting for nearly 80% of prescription medications in pregnant women. Antibiotic exposures during pregnancy have been associated with both short-term (e.g., congenital abnormalities) and long-term effects (e.g., changes in gut microbiome, asthma, atopic dermatitis) in the newborn. However, it is estimated that only 10% of medications have sufficient data related to safe and effective use in pregnancy. Antibiotics such as beta-lactams, vancomycin, nitrofurantoin, metronidazole, clindamycin, and fosfomycin are generally considered safe and effective in pregnancy. Fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines are generally avoided in pregnancy. Physiologic changes in pregnancy lead to an increase in glomerular filtration rate, increase in total body volume, and enhanced cardiac output. These changes may lead to pharmacokinetic alterations in antibiotics that require dose adjustment or careful monitoring and assessment.
Effects of Host Plant Phenology on Oviposition Preference of Crocidolomia pavonana (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Abstract Field studies have demonstrated mixed success in trap cropping to manage Crocidolomia pavonana (=binotalis) [F.], a major pest of cruciferous crops in Asia. A possible explanation for this is an influence of host plant phenology on oviposition preference. We tested this in simultaneous two-choice oviposition bioassays under laboratory conditions. In cylindrical cardboard experimental arenas, with 5-cm2 leaf windows, individual C. pavonana females were offered eight sequential phenological stages of cabbage (Brassica oleracea L., Capitata group, cultivar Gloria) with a constant stage of preflowering Indian mustard (Brassica juncea, variety rugosa, cultivar Green Wave). Results showed a significant effect of cabbage developmental stage on oviposition preference. We continued with two-choice bioassays, using whole leaves, in screen cage experimental arenas. Females were offered the three most preferred phenological stages of cabbage and differing stages of four potential trap crop alternatives: pref...
The Myth About Planarity of Olefinic Carbon Atoms: an Ab Initio Study

The planar arrangement around C=C double bonds has been almost axiomatic for several decades in organic chemistry. However, in recent years pyramidal distortion at an sp2-carbon atom was given serious attention, both experimentally and computationally (for references see a recent paper by Mastryukov and Boggs [1]). The most highly pyramidalized olefin yet known is still cubene, first predicted computationally [2] and soon after isolated by Eaton and Maggini [3].
Secondary Forms of Hypertension in Children and Adolescents

Secondary forms of hypertension are more common in children than in adolescents. After careful clinical evaluation, most causes of secondary hypertension in children are readily identifiable. The causes for secondary hypertension are noted in this chapter and discussed in depth elsewhere in this text. Although adolescents have a higher incidence of elevated BP compared to young children, teens more often have primary rather than secondary hypertension. In this chapter, we also discuss the clinical challenge of trying to identify a secondary cause for hypertension in a child or adolescent when none is obvious. Improved methods for predicting secondary hypertension in asymptomatic children that could help direct the most cost-effective work-up are needed and would also reduce the likelihood of missing a treatable cause of hypertension.
Vile Crime or Inalienable Right: Defining Incitement to Genocide

This article is the first to propose a test for defining incitement to genocide and, especially, for distinguishing it from hate speech. As courts have decided the world's first cases on incitement to genocide in the last decade, they have sometimes diverged alarmingly, as when a Canadian federal court described a speech as an oration on "elections, courage, and love" and then the Canadian Supreme Court identified it as incitement to genocide.Without a reliable distinction, a mere racist could be convicted of a crime tantamount to genocide, and speech might be unduly and dangerously restricted. Incitement to genocide demands keen attention for another reason, also: it is a precursor to genocide, and may be a prerequisite for it. Political leaders in Nazi Germany, Rwanda, and other pre-genocidal societies prepared civilian populations to condone genocide, by using certain techniques to make mass killing seem first acceptable, and then necessary. This article describes those techniques, and includes them in a new six-prong model for incitement to genocide. The article also proposes a key distinction between incitement to genocide and hate speech: that anyone can commit hate speech, but a speaker must have influence or authority over the audience, to be able to commit incitement to genocide. Such authority need not be de jure, as demonstrated by the case of the Rwandan pop star Simon Bikindi, whose songs were played incessantly during the 1994 genocide, and who is now a defendant at the Rwanda war crimes tribunal.
The 2014–2015 warming anomaly in the Southern California Current System observed by underwater gliders

Large-scale patterns of positive temperature anomalies persisted throughout the surface waters of the North Pacific Ocean during 2014–2015. In the Southern California Current System, measurements by our sustained network of underwater gliders reveal the coastal effects of the recent warming. Regional upper ocean temperature anomalies were greatest since the initiation of the glider network in 2006. Additional observed physical anomalies included a depressed thermocline, high stratification, and freshening; induced biological consequences included changes in the vertical distribution of chlorophyll fluorescence. Contemporaneous surface heat flux and wind strength perturbations suggest that local anomalous atmospheric forcing caused the unusual oceanic conditions.
Egg Froth Distribution and Deposition by Enchenopa binotata (Homoptera: Membracidae

There have been various reports on the distribution of adult membracids upon their host plants. Funkhouser (1917) observed that membracids generally prefer younger plants; the tree-inhabiting species are most likely to be found on saplings, or, if on older trees, on the youngest twigs. Most forms stay close to the ground, and even those species that live on trees of considerable size are usually on branches not over 20 ft from the ground. Dennis (1964) studied 21 species of membracids and found them distributed throughout the tree. He also observed that they have a decided preference for the smaller branches and leaves of the tree. There are no data on the distribution of egg masses.
Regulation of epithelial sodium channels in urokinase plasminogen activator deficiency

Epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) govern transepithelial salt and fluid homeostasis. ENaC contributes to polarization, apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transformation, etc. Fibrinolytic proteases play a crucial role in virtually all of these processes and are elaborated by the airway epithelium. We hypothesized that urokinase-like plasminogen activator (uPA) regulates ENaC function in airway epithelial cells and tested that possibility in primary murine tracheal epithelial cells (MTE). Both basal and cAMP-activated Na+ flow through ENaC were significantly reduced in monolayers of uPA-deficient cells. The reduction in ENaC activity was further confirmed in basolateral membrane-permeabilized cells. A decrease in the Na+-K+-ATPase activity in the basolateral membrane could contribute to the attenuation of ENaC function in intact monolayer cells. Dysfunctional fluid resolution was seen in uPA-disrupted cells. Administration of uPA and plasmin partially restores ENaC activity and fluid reabsorption by MTEs. ERK1/2, but not Akt, phosphorylation was observed in the cells and lungs of uPA-deficient mice. On the other hand, cleavage of γ ENaC is significantly depressed in the lungs of uPA knockout mice vs. those of wild-type controls. Expression of caspase 8, however, did not differ between wild-type and uPA−/− mice. In addition, uPA deficiency did not alter transepithelial resistance. Taken together, the mechanisms for the regulation of ENaC by uPA in MTEs include augmentation of Na+-K+-ATPase, proteolysis, and restriction of ERK1/2 phosphorylation. We demonstrate for the first time that ENaC may serve as a downstream signaling target by which uPA controls the biophysical profiles of airway fluid and epithelial function.
Guide to Immunization against Mumps

The virus of mumps (Myxovirus parotitidis) was isolated in 1934 by Johnson and Goodpasture from 4 of 6 specimens of saliva from patients with epidemic parotitis. Secretions were inoculated into the parotid glands of monkeys (Macaca rhesus), and acute nonsuppurative parotitis resulted. The etiologic agent could be extracted from infected glands, was filterable, and produced similar disease when reinoculated into other susceptible monkeys. Subsequently, it was determined that the virus could be cultivated in the amniotic and allantoic cavities as well as in the yolk sac of embryonated eggs. It may be propagated in vitro in several tissue cultures. The virus belongs to the myxovirus group and has a tight helical inner core (RNA) enclosed in an outer shell covered by small projections (lipids and protein). It agglutinates red blood cells of fowl, man, and other species. Hemadsorption has been demonstrated in tissue culture. Pathogenicity is attenuated by passage in embryonated eggs or in cell cultures derived from chick embryos. These achievements allowed the development of accurate assays of the immune response in infected persons by complement fixation (CF), inhibition of hemagglutination (HI), and neutralization tests. In turn, these advances permitted the development of a killed vaccine from formalinized allantoic fluids and recently the development of an attenuated vaccine derived from tissue cultures.
INFECTION OF SUCKLING COTTONTAIL RABBITS WITH SHOPE'S FIBROMA VIRUS.

SummaryIntradermal injection of 320 domestic rabbit infectious doses of Shope's fibroma virus caused mortality in cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) infected at 6 days of age or younger. Cottontails infected at 14 days of age or younger developed immense primary tumors at the site of inoculation. Fatal cases were observed to have foci of tumor cells in the kidneys and occasionally in the liver and spleen. The virus could be isolated from fatally infected animals from kidney, spleen, liver, lung, brain, and tumor tissues. The same dose of virus given by the same route to domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) of the same ages produced a more acute, more rapidly fatal and much less proliferative disease. The possible ecological significance of these observations is discussed and contrasted with effects of the closely related myxoma virus.I am grateful to Mr. Orrin Rongstad for help in procurement of cottontail rabbits. The counsel of Drs. G. M. ZuRhein and S H. McNutt in the histopathological aspe...
Modification of magnetic anisotropy through 3 d − 4 f coupling in La 0.75 Pr 0.25 Co 2 P 2

Magnetic behavior of La${}_{0.75}$Pr${}_{0.25}$Co${}_{2}$P${}_{2}$ was investigated by a combination of magnetic measurements, magneto-optical imaging, neutron diffraction, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy, including x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. The material crystallizes in the ThCr${}_{2}$Si${}_{2}$ structure type and exhibits three consecutive magnetic phase transitions. At 167 K, the Co magnetic moments order ferromagnetically in the $ab$ plane of the tetragonal crystal structure. At 66 K, a ferromagnetic ordering of Pr(4$f$) moments parallel to the $c$ axis causes a rotation of the Co(3$d$) moments towards the $c$ axis in the direction opposite to the Pr moments, thus forming a noncollinear ferrimagnetically ordered structure and switching the direction of the total magnetization from the $ab$ plane to the $c$ axis. The third magnetic transition observed at 35 K is likely associated with the establishment of the collinear ferrimagnetic order along the $c$ axis.