cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Membrane-Binding Antibodies in Patients with Graves' Disease and Other Autoimmune Diseases*

Abnormally high levels of activity (BA) of immunoglobulins (Igs) to membranes containing TSH receptors were observed in patients with Graves' disease. The assay to detect such BA used guinea pig fat as the membrane source. [125I]Protein A was used to develop the binding antibodies (in serum or IgG). The assay was able to detect specific BA in microgram quantities or less of IgG in about 50% of the sera of patients with Graves' disease. The presence or amount of serum BA did not correlate consistently with either the presence in serum of TSH binding inhibitory Ig or the clinical estimate of thyrotoxicity in Graves' disease. High levels of BA were frequently found in sera of patients with other autoimmune diseases, such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, mixed connective tissue disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus. However, BA found in the latter disorders frequently was positive not only when using fat cell membranes but also when using liver kidney, or skeletal muscle membranes. The assay may detect a heterogeneous population of Igs binding specifically to membranes and may reflect a general state of autoimmunity.
Link-quality aware ad hoc on-demand distance vector routing protocol

Current ad hoc wireless routing protocols typically select the route with the shortest-path or minimum hop count to the destination. However, routes chosen according to such criteria tend to include longer hop-length links with possibly bad signal quality. It is expected that the routing protocol can be improved by eliminating the usage of routes with bad links. In this work, we modify the ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) routing protocol to avoid routing through bad quality links. We also integrate the "hand-off" concept into our protocol to prevent link breakages during route maintenance. The herein reported OPNET simulation results seem very promising and they show that our protocol introduces a much lower routing overhead while still providing equal or better performance than the original AODV protocol in terms of throughput and delay.
Asymmetric pictet-spengler synthesis of tetrahydroisoquinolines. An enantioselective synthesis of (−)-laudanosine.

Abstract A chiral auxiliary mediated Pictet-Spengler reaction was utilized in a synthesis of the tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid, (-)-laudanosine.
VPI Off-Campus Program

Once upon a time, an inspiring "A" set out for the generous land of wisdom. All were amazed to see movement equal effort. But oh, the trip was not easy, for there were languages to learn, prejudices to adjust, bridges to build, falls to take and smiles to make. Being A, creature, the faults were many and strange, for somehow it was the doing, not the talking; the trying, not the telling, that always held truth. Friends were usually interested spectators. As A grew the laws of science and then hibernation eventually took over, as you cannot take more than give. (Enter term: sabbatical, known to this audience and humble narrator as a timely condition.) A rests to continue be continuing. One might understand the morals (care to) lie with those who concern their lives with the guidence of inspiring "A"s seeking a journey such as this and needing the freedom the opportunity and the responsibilityto put all their energy into their experience into their energy into their experience into their energy into their
Effect of indomethacin on ultraviolet radiation-induced recurrent herpes simplex virus disease in guinea-pigs

Exposure to u.v. radiation increases the local level of prostaglandins which may play a role in u.v. radiation-induced herpes simplex virus (HSV) recurrences. We used the guinea-pig model of u.v. radiation-induced recurrent genital HSV-2 disease for examining the effects of indomethacin, a prostaglandin inhibitor, on u.v.-induced recurrences. In the first experiment, performed 100 days after HSV-2 inoculation, treatment with indomethacin for 5 days begun 24 h before u.v.-irradiation decreased the proportion of animals developing HSV disease recurrences from 11/13 (84.6%) to 2/13 (15.4%) (P < 0.001). In the second experiment, performed 135 days after HSV-2 inoculation, treatment with indomethacin for 5 days begun 24 h before u.v.-irradiation decreased the number of animals developing recurrences from 12/21 (57.1%) to 5/21 (23.8%) (P < 0.05). Five days of indomethacin treatment begun 4 h after u.v.-irradiation, however, did not reduce the percentage of animals developing disease recurrences but did decrease the mean number of days with recurrent lesions in animals that developed recurrences. Our data suggest that indomethacin may modify u.v. radiation-induced recurrent lesions by decreasing viral reactivation when given before u.v. radiation exposure or by reducing prostaglandin-induced immunosuppression when given before or after exposure. Future studies are needed for evaluating indomethacin prophylaxis for recurrent HSV disease when prolonged u.v. radiation exposure is anticipated.
Achieving accuracy in transistor and thyristor modeling

There has been a great deal of progress both in the area of device modeling and in quantifying many of the physical Phenomena operating in silicon. However, there are questions concerning the consistency of the various models and there are uncertainties regarding the formulations af many of the important physical phenomena. In this paper the consistency between the present "exact" theory and three other models will be examined in the context of analyzing a diode, transistor, and thyristor. In addition, the available experimental and theoretical data on band gap narrowing (BGN) will be studied including recent data from an electron beam probing experiment (EBIC). The latter allows a model for BGN to be formulated based solely on experimental data ar concentrations up to 1020cm-3. New data will also be presented which establish a basis for the dependency of Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) lifetime on impurity concentrations as well as showing that Auger recombination may operate through defect centers rather than being band to band. The literature will be reviewed and formulations for carrier degeneracy, impurity deionization, carrier-carrier scattering, and the temperature dependence of the carrier mobilities will also be studied.
A Cross-Layer Design for Decentralized Detection in Tree Sensor Networks

The design of wireless sensor networks for detection applications is a challenging task. On one hand, classical work on decentralized detection does not consider practical wireless sensor networks. On the other hand, practical sensor network design approaches that treat the signal processing and communication aspects of the sensor network separately result in sub optimal detection performance because network resources are not allocated efficiently. In this work, we attempt to cross the gap between theoretical decentralized detection work and practical sensor network implementations. We consider a cross-layer approach, where the quality of information, channel state information, and residual energy information are included in the design process of tree-topology sensor networks. The design objective is to specify which sensors should contribute to a given detection task, and to calculate the relevant communication parameters. We compare two design schemes: (1) direct transmission, where raw data are transmitted to the fusion center without compression, and (2) in-network processing, where data is quantized before transmission. For both schemes, we design the optimal transmission control policy that coordinates the communication between sensor nodes and the fusion center. We show the performance improvement for the proposed design schemes over the classical decoupled and maximum throughput design approaches.
Self-coherence, coping, and mood in women following hysterectomy.

Disturbances in mood such as anxiety and depression are a problem for some women following a hysterectomy for benign or malignant conditions. Mood disturbances following hysterectomy may be related to the impact of a benign or malignant condition, variations in the way women cope, differences in personal developmental resources such as self-coherence, or a combination of these factors. Self-coherence, the ability to integrate present experience with past experience, current motivations and goals, and to find meaning in the present experience, was thought to promote adaptive coping. A cross-sectional ex-post-facto design was used to study self-coherence, coping, and mood in a convenience sample of 141 hysterectomy patients with benign (n = 107) or malignant (n = 34) conditions. The Self-Coherence Survey (SCS) (Budd, 1987), the Coping Response Scale (Moos, Cronkite, Billings amp; Finney, 1987) and the Profile of Mood States (McNair, Lorr amp; Droppleman, 1981) were administered three to five days after surgery. Principal components factor analysis was used to analyze the factor structure of the SCS, and three factors (coherence, wholism, and introspection) were confirmed. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine predictors of six mood states and total mood disturbance. Most women who participated in this study did not experience significant disturbances in mood immediately following hysterectomy. The findings revealed that higher coherence, behavioral coping, and being previously but not currently married contributed to less disturbance in mood; the use of avoidant and cognitive coping, having a hysterectomy for cancer and greater perceived severity contributed to greater disturbance in mood. Between 19% and 50% of the variation in each of the six mood states and total mood disturbance was accounted for by these variables. There were no differences on any of the self-coherence or coping scores between subjects who had a hysterectomy for cancer and those whose conditions were benign. Coherence was significantly inversely correlated with the use of avoidant coping. Wholism and introspection were positively correlated with the use of behavioral and cognitive coping.
Comparison of Experimental and Computational Ship Air Wakes for YP Class Patrol Craft

This paper provides current results of a multi-year research project that involves the systematic investigation of ship air wakes using an instrumented United States Naval Academy (USNA) YP (Patrol Craft, Training). The objective is to validate and improve Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools that will be useful in determining ship air wake impact on naval rotary wing vehicles. This project is funded by the Office of Naval Research and includes extensive coordination with Naval Air Systems Command. Currently, ship launch and recovery wind limits and envelopes for helicopters are primarily determined through at-sea in situ flight testing that is expensive and frequently difficult to schedule and complete. The time consuming and potentially risky flight testing is required, in part, because computational tools are not mature enough to adequately predict air flow and wake data in the lee of a ship with a complex superstructure. The top-side configuration of USNA YPs is similar to that of a destroyer or cruiser, and their size (length of 108 ft and above waterline height of 24 ft) allows for collection of air wake data with a Reynolds number that is the same order of magnitude as that of modern naval warships, an important consideration in aerodynamic modeling. A dedicated YP has been modified to add a flight deck and hangar-like structure to produce an air wake similar to that on a modern destroyer. Three-axis acoustic anemometers, fog generators and an inertial measurement unit have been installed. Repeated testing on the modified YP is being conducted in the Chesapeake Bay, which allows for the collection of data over a wide range of wind conditions. Additionally, a 4% scale model of the modified YP has been constructed and tested in the 42×60×120 inch USNA wind tunnel. Comparison of YP in situ data with similar data from wind tunnel testing and CFD simulations shows reasonable agreement for a headwind condition and for a relative wind 15° off the starboard bow. Analysis of in situ data and wind tunnel data for a 30° relative wind also show reasonable agreement, though with a greater deviation than in the 15° relative wind condition. Furthermore, analysis indicates that CFD simulations require modeling the velocity profile in the atmospheric boundary layer to improve simulation accuracy.
Infinite Flow Stability

In Chap. 3, we showed that regardless of the structure and any assumption on a random chain we have \(i{\leftrightarrow} _Wj\subseteq \Uptheta_{ij}\) for any \(i,j\in [m]\) where \(\Uptheta_{ij}\) is the event that i, j belong to the same connected component of the infinite flow graph of \({\{W(k)\}}.\)
Retinal vasculature segmentation using principal spanning forests

We propose an automated morphology reconstruction method for curvilinear network analysis. The proposed approach first projects samples to the ridge of the intensity image of the curvilinear system. Then, a manifold deviation measure is utilized to approximate the ridge with piecewise linear segments between the projected samples. A nonparametric system workflow based on the kernel interpolation and density estimation is provided for the derivations without any user defined meta-parameter, i.e. hard threshold for segmentation. Lastly, a rigorous sampling strategy using the manifold deviation measure that can be used for robust sparse tree reconstruction is provided. The proposed approaches have been tested on a small set of representative retinal scans. Preliminary qualitative results indicate the effectiveness of the method.
Solid-state NMR study of the anionic conductor Ca-doped Y2Ti2O7

Doping the pyrochlore (Y2Ti2O7) with the Ca2+ has been reported to improve the oxygen ionic conductivity (S. Kramer, M. Spears and H. L. Tuller, Solid State Ionics, 1994, 72, 59–66). 17O and 89Y solid-state NMR has been used in work reported here to probe the local environment of the oxygen and yttrium sites in these materials. Although the conductivity of these materials is only moderate, variable-temperature, one-dimensional 17O NMR experiments and two-dimensional 17O magnetization exchange spectroscopy show that oxygen-ion jumps occur between the oxygen sites nearby titanium. Motion at ambient temperatures involves the O1 and local environments created by the Ca2+ doping; motion does not involve the O2 oxygen site coordinated to four yttrium ions.
The IBM 3495 robotics and vision system

The IBM 3495 Tape Library Dataserver is an automated tape library that consists of one to four IBM 3490 Magnetic Tape Drive Subsystems, a Library Manager computer, a storage enclosure, and a tape cartridge accessor. The accessor incorporates a combination of IBM and OEM robotics and vision systems with application programs and special fixtures that provide automatic teaching and updating for up to 18,000 cell locations in the library. Command queueing allows continuous robotic motion, removing the performance penalty of communications with the Library Manager computer. The application program written for the vision system compensates for label tilt and spatial translation. A neural network with special filters ensures the quality of the labels read.
Ecological correlates of song learning in song sparrows

Most studies of song learning have been conducted in the laboratory, and thus little is known about how song learning is affected by ecological variables in nature. Taking an ecological perspective, we studied song learning and territory establishment in a sedentary population of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). We examined the song repertoires of an entire cohort of males (41 subjects) hatched in 1992 and compared them to those of potential song tutors (adults who were present in the young birds’ first year). We found that a young bird learns songs from multiple tutors who were neighbors in his first year and usually establishes a territory among or near these tutors. The degree to which tutors influenced the repertoires of the young birds varied greatly. Adult males who survived into 1993 tutored more songs than those who did not survive, supporting the hypothesis that a young male’s repertoire is influenced by social interactions with adults continuing beyond the classical sensitive period of the natal summer. The final repertoire of a young bird in most cases was weighted toward one of his tutors with whom he continued to interact, as an immediate neighbor, into his first spring. We found no correlations between potential measures of male quality or vigor and degree of tutor influence.
Effects of surfactants on primisulfuron activity in barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli [L.] Beauv.) and green foxtail (Setaria viridis [L.] Beauv.)

Laboratory and greenhouse studies were conducted to measure the contact angle of primisulfuron droplets with and without surfactants on the leaf surfaces of barnyardgrass and green foxtail, to determine the primisulfuron activity on these weed species, and to examine the spray deposit of primisulfuron with and without surfactants on the leaf surface of green foxtail using scanning electron microscopy. A non-ionic surfactant (NIS) and an organosilicone wetting agent (OWA) were used.The contact angles of 1 mL droplets were measured on the leaf surface using a goniometer. The activity of primisulfuron on barnyardgrass and green foxtail was assessed at 3 weeks after treatment based on visual injury and the fresh weight. The contact angles of the droplets of primisulfuron on the adaxial surface of the barnyardgrass and green foxtail leaves were 152° and 127°, respectively, when applied without surfactant.The addition of either surfactant markedly reduced the contact angle for both weed species, which was lowest when the OWA was added to primisulfuron.The percentage injury of barnyardgrass was very low, even at the higher rate of primisulfuron, regardless of the surfactant. Primisulfuron at 40 gh a -1 controlled 43% of green foxtail without surfactant, which increased to 65% with the NIS and 83% with the OWA. Primisulfuron with a surfactant markedly reduced the fresh weight of green foxtail compared with primisulfuron applied alone, regardless of the primisulfuron rate and surfactant type.The scanning electron micrographs showed a uniform deposit of spray droplets, with close contact of the droplets to the leaf epicuticular surface in green foxtail in the presence of a surfactant compared with no surfactant. The enhanced primisulfuron activity on green foxtail with surfactants was related to the reduced contact angle and uniform deposition of the primisulfuron spray droplets on the leaf surface.
2,2′‐Diphenyl‐[3,3′‐biphenanthrene]‐4,4′‐diol (VAPOL) and 3,3′‐Diphenyl‐[2,2′‐binaphthrene]‐1,1′‐diol (VANOL)

[147702-16-7] C40H26O2, C32H22O2 (MW 538.19, 438.52) InChI = 1S/C40H26O2/c41-39-35-29(21-19-27-15-7-9-17-31(27)35)23-33(25-11-3-1-4-12-25)37(39)38-34(26-13-5-2-6-14-26)24-30-22-20-28-16-8-10-18-32(28)36(30)40(38)42/h1-24,41-42H InChIKey = UFYXKDMLGBKHIC-UHFFFAOYSA-N [147702-14-5] InChI = 1S/C32H22O2/c33-31-25-17-9-7-15-23(25)19-27(21-11-3-1-4-12-21)29(31)30-28(22-13-5-2-6-14-22)20-24-16-8-10-18-26(24)32(30)34/h1-20,33-34H InChIKey = NDTDVKKGYBULHF-UHFFFAOYSA-N (reagent used as a chiral catalyst for asymmetric Diels–Alder, aziridination reaction and for imino-aldol reaction) Alternate Name VAPOL (VAulted PhenanthrOLs), VANOL (VAulted NapthOLs). Physical Data: VAPOL: mp >250 °C; VANOL: mp 231–233 °C. Solubility: soluble in toluene, hexane, benzene, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, and chloroform. Form Supplied in: R and S isomers as white solid. Handling, Storage, and Precautions: solid is air stable while its organic solutions turn yellow upon standing after 1 day. To help prevent oxidation and decomposition, store in a tight-lidded container, preferably under nitrogen at <5 °C.
The ortho : para ratio of H3+ in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas.

In diffuse molecular clouds, the nuclear spin temperature of (approx.30K) is much lower than the cloud kinetic temperature (approx.70K). To understand this temperature discrepancy, we have measured...
Email and Attorney-Client Communications

This article provides suggestions for protecting yourself and attorney-client confidentiality while using e-mail.
Tool support for analyzing mobile app reviews

Mobile app reviews often contain useful user opinions for app developers. However, manual analysis of those reviews is challenging due to their large volume and noisy-nature. This paper introduces MARK, a supporting tool for review analysis of mobile apps. With MARK, an analyst can describe her interests of one or more apps via a set of keywords. MARK then lists the reviews most relevant to those keywords for further analyses. It can also draw the trends over time of the selected keywords, which might help the analyst to detect sudden changes in the related user reviews. To help the analyst describe her interests more effectively, MARK can automatically extract and rank the keywords by their associations with negative reviews, divide a large set of keywords into more cohesive subgroups, or expand a small set into a broader one.
Metal Allergy, Metal Implants and Fracture Healing

The rabbit tibia was used as a model to study the effects of metal sensitivity reactions on the healing of fractures. Animals were injected with nickel chloride in Freund's complete adjuvant to cause sensitivity, and fractures were stabilized with 316L stainless steel intramedullary rods and followed for 16 weeks. A control group received no injections. The response was evaluated biomechanically with torsional testing at sacrifice, radiologically by examining the roentgenograms for evidence of loosening, and histologically. The results demonstrated a slight decrease in strenth, a moderate increase in resorption and a significant decrease in cellularity and new bone formation in the sensitive animals as compared to control. These results are consistent with a reaction of comparatively short duration.
Outcomes of subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation in patients on hemodialysis

Background Subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) provides potential benefits in patients on hemodialysis (HD) by reducing the risk of blood stream infection and preserving vascular access sites. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of S-ICD in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on HD.
The Headscarf Debates: Conflicts of National Belonging

The human need to belong to a community. That is the theme that runs through The Headscarf Debates: Conflicts of National Belonging. Standing out from the multitude of binary examinations of the Muslim headscarf as liberal or authoritarian, liberating or misogynist, this book asks the more important human question: what do the headscarf debates tell us about who we allow into our political community. Acknowledging the agency of Muslim women in the different meanings they attribute to the headscarf – multiple modernities, liberal self-expression, a claim to dignity denied to Muslim immigrant groups, or simply covering up one’s messy hair – the book avoids the common trap of viewing Muslim women through the prism of a mere piece of cloth. Instead, the authors use the so-called “headscarf debates” as an interpretive tool to explore how these debates revisit, reaffirm, and potentially rearticulate the meaning of national belonging in four countries – France, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Germany. The book situates the topic within the contentious, longstanding debates between multi-culturalism and assimilationism gripping Western and Eastern nations experiencing transformative demographic changes. Notably, the discourse is not analyzed through “Muslim versus non-Muslim” actors’ views of the headscarf, but rather how existing discourses are employed by politicians, government officials, and activists of various religious backgrounds to reaffirm, rearticulate, and transform national narratives of belonging.
Novel Therapeutic Strategies in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Chemotherapy cures only a minority of adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In addition, relapsed ALL has a poor outcome with 5-year survival as low as 7 %. Hence, there is a need to develop effective therapies to treat relapsed disease and to combine these agents with chemotherapy to improve outcomes in newly diagnosed patients. ALL cells express several antigens amenable to target therapies including CD19, CD20, CD22, and CD52. Over the last decade, there has been a surge in the development of immune therapies which target these receptors and that have induced robust responses. In this manuscript, we review these novel immune agents in the treatment of B-ALL. As these new therapies mature, the challenge going forward will be to find safe and effective combinations of these agents with chemotherapy and to determine their place in the current treatment schema.
The effects of incest on female adolescent development

Soixante adolescentes victimes d'inceste ont ete «evaluees» et/ou traitees sur une periode de trois ans par: separation d'avec la famille et etablissement de relations interpairs; instauration d'un sentiment de soi positif; developpement de l'epreuve de realite; instauration de relations hetero-sexuelles; developpement de l'image du corps et du sens de la maitrise (de la prise) sur l'environnement
Break of TA’s Second Loop in Differential Protection of Transmission Line with Surge Load

This paper overviewed methods in detecting TA ’ s second loop break, and analyzed the limitations of these methods used in the transmission line with surge load, and then proposed a new method for detection of TA ’ s second loop break. This method can effectively prevent the differential protection equipment from maloperation due to the break of TA ’ s second loop.
Analyzing Power, for the Reactions \(D(\vec t,t)D\) and \(D(\vec t,\alpha )n\) at 10.5 MeV

The experiment we describe here was performed with the newly available polarized triton beam1) at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Van de Graaff accelerator. The measurements were carried out in the “supercube” scattering chamber2). Deuterons, tritons, and alpha particles were detected simultaneously by means of two ΔE-E telescopes. 48 micron ΔE and 1000 micron E detectors were employed. Over the angular range for which the alpha particles did not penetrate the ΔE detectors, the alpha particles were detected in “ΔE singles” mode. Over the remainder of the angular range for alphas, and for all of the deuteron and triton data, ΔE-E coincidences together with software mass identification routines were used. The angular resolution for the measurements was ± 1° (laboratory full width at half maximum). The asymmetries were calculated on-line via the usual geometric mean method. The beam polarization was determined by the quench ratio method, which has been demonstrated to be reliable to an accuracy of ± 0.005 or better for triton beams3).
Inverted Pockels cell electro-optic response to nuclear reactor pulsing

A new method to detect neutron radiation based on an electro-optic Pockels cell is reported. Collimated laser light passes through a radiation-sensitive electro-optic Pockels cell crystal sandwiched between crossed polarizers and onto a light sensitive photodiode. As radiation interacts in the crystal, free charge carriers are generated and perturb the electric field in the crystal, thereby altering the light polarization and causing a change in light intensity passing through the Pockels cell/polarizer system. The device can detect a neutron flux as low as a few neutrons cm−2 s−1 with an upper saturation limit exceeding 1010 neutrons cm−2 s−1. The unique electro-optic system separates the processing electronics from the detecting sensor, thereby allowing for operation in high neutron flux environments‥
Optimal location of optical ground stations to serve LEO spacecraft

Free space optical communications (FSO) are envisioned as a disruptive technology for space communications. Among its advantages, FSO will allow higher throughputs (in the order of tenths of Gbps, which represents an improvement of 10 to 100 times with respect to current RF technology), together with significant reductions in size, weight, and power. However, the main drawback of FSO when compared to RF is the reduced link availability due to outages caused by cloud coverage over the receiving ground stations. Site diversity has already been proven to be an effective mitigation technique against cloud outage for geostationary satellites, but its usefulness in the context of low Earth orbit satellites can be challenged by correlated cloud coverage among all visible ground stations. This consideration, along with trade-offs between minimal cloud probability, minimal latency and proximity to supporting infrastructure should all be taken into account when selecting locations for networks of ground stations. This paper presents a model to optimally determine the location of optical ground stations to serve LEO missions, considering the aforementioned trade-offs. First we describe the atmospheric, latency, and infrastructure models used to evaluate the goodness of a network. Second, we statistically characterize the orbits of the customer missions that the ground network will serve. Finally, we present two case studies: The first one selects the best stations among a group of existing assets (stations in the Near Earth Network, other governmental agencies, and commercial facilities from ground segment operators). The second one determines the optimal locations for the ground stations considering an unconstrained scenario in which facilities can be placed at any point on the Earths surface. For each of these scenarios, we report the availability, latency and cost of ground stations of the Pareto-optimal networks.
Surgery for Thyroid Nodules

Thyroidectomy remains the mainstay of treatment for indeterminate thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer, and thyroid nodules associated with symptoms of compression; it is an appealing option for some patients with functional thyroid nodules associated with hyperthyroidism. For thyroid cancer, the extent of thyroid resection and lymph node management needs to be individualized, taking into consideration risk stratification schema, treatment guidelines, and patient values. Treatment guidelines have been created by the American Thyroid Association to inform clinical decision-making for the surgical management of patients with thyroid nodules in different clinical settings and are referenced throughout the following chapter.
The Effect of Neighborhood Fast Food on Children’s BMI: Evidence from a Sample of Movers

We use a statewide panel dataset and an instrumental variable strategy to identify the effect of neighborhood fast food on the BMI z-scores of Arkansas public schoolchildren. As in earlier studies, we use distance from the child’s residence to the nearest major highway as an instrument for the density of fast-food restaurants. The sample is limited to children who moved at least once during the study period to ensure temporal variation in our instrument. Neighborhood fast food does have significant and positive effects on their BMI z-scores. The effect is disproportionately large for children who are rural, non-minority and female.
Investigation of timing effects in modified composite quadrupolar echo pulse sequences by mean of average Hamiltonian theory

Abstract The utility of the average Hamiltonian theory and its antecedent the Magnus expansion is presented. We assessed the concept of convergence of the Magnus expansion in quadrupolar spectroscopy of spin-1 via the square of the magnitude of the average Hamiltonian. We investigated this approach for two specific modified composite pulse sequences: COM-Im and COM-IVm. It is demonstrated that the size of the square of the magnitude of zero order average Hamiltonian obtained on the appropriated basis is a viable approach to study the convergence of the Magnus expansion. The approach turns to be efficient in studying pulse sequences in general and can be very useful to investigate coherent averaging in the development of high resolution NMR technique in solids. This approach allows comparing theoretically the two modified composite pulse sequences COM-Im and COM-IVm. We also compare theoretically the current modified composite sequences (COM-Im and COM-IVm) to the recently published modified composite pulse sequences (MCOM-I, MCOM-IV, MCOM-I_d, MCOM-IV_d).
High temperature pyrolysis of 2-methyl furan

The dissociation of 2-methyl furan at high temperatures has been studied in a combined experimental and theoretical approach to elucidate the details of this multi-channel unimolecular reaction. Laser schlieren densitometry studies were performed in a diaphragmless shock tube over the range 1600 < T < 2300 K and three pressures 60, 120 and 240 Torr. The theoretical study identified many reaction paths, most of which are initiated by the formation of carbenes. Of these paths, five account for 99% consumption of 2MF, and three account for 95% consumption. Simulations of the experimental results with a model that incorporated the theoretical predictions of reaction paths failed to reproduce the experimental data. This was resolved by increasing the rate of loss of an H-atom from the methyl group in 2-methyl furan by a factor of 2-4. The resulting model provides good simulations of the complete set of experimental data. The branching fractions for the three key reactions are both temperature and pressure dependent.
Latitudinal Gradients in Avian Species Diversity and the Role of Long-Distance Migration

Understanding geographic patterns of variation in the species composition of natural communities, as well as increasing species diversity from temperate latitudes to the tropics in particular, remains one of the great challenges to ecology. The extreme diversity of plant and animal species in some tropical habitats, compared to those of the temperate zone, have inspired evolutionary biologists since Darwin and Wallace (Wallace, 1878; Dobzhansky, 1950; Mayr, 1969; MacArthur, 1969). Biologists have responded to the challenge of biogeographic patterns with explanatory schemes on a variety of spatial and temporal scales: evolutionary (including geographical patterns of adaptive radiation), biogeographical (including regional history), and ecological (factors operating locally within a generation). Explanations on these different levels are generally complimentary (reviews in Fischer, 1960; Pianka, 1966; MacArthur, 1972), but the theoretical foundation for these schemes, especially concerning the roles of species interactions and regional patterns of speciation, is still being developed (Prance, 1982; Cody, 1985; Cox, 1985; Diamond and Case, 1986; Kikkawa and Anderson, 1986). To some degree, altitudinal diversity gradients have mirrored latitudinal ones and have been explained in similar ways (Terborgh, 1971,1977,1985; Able and Noon, 1976).
Interdisciplinary tool for optimizing agricultural production and erosion : a conceptual model

What are the areas in a catchment where soil conservation practices can be most effectively implemented? To be able to answer that question, erosion rates and farm profitability from different land uses need to be optimized according to physical economic and social constraints, which differ for the interest groups in and outside a catchment. The Interdisciplinary Tool for Optimizing Productivity and Erosion (ITOPE), a conceptual model at this point, offers the opportunity for hydrologists, economists and anthropologists to integrate their knowledge about the erosion problem. It optimizes farm profitability and soil loss and quantifies the economic impact of soil conservation measures for subcatchments, given physical, social and economic constraints, by linking a hydrologic model, a multiple criteria optimization model and an expert system. It should serve as a tool for regional planners, which ensures that social and economic boundary conditions for each of the interest groups in a watershed are considered. It should also serve as a negotiation tool for groups inside and outside the watershed, to allocate the costs and benefits of soil conservation. The development of the conceptual model has led to the observation of interdisciplinary methodological opportunities.
Income-Contingent Repayment as Public Policy

The rising cost of higher education is one of the most vexing public policy challenges facing the United States and many other nations. At the same time, expanding access to higher education and promoting completion of degrees and related credentials of value is critical given the relationship between educational attainment and a host of individual and public returns on investment. Governments around the world struggle with the conundrum of how to expand educational access in a time of economic challenge and austerity measures designed to shrink national outlays in response to reduced tax revenues. These challenges have accelerated a two-decade global trend of shifting an increasing percentage of educational costs from governments to individual students and their families.
l-glycero-Tetrulose (l-Erythrulose) 1-Phosphate

Publisher Summary L-glyceo-tetrulose 1-phosphate (L-erythrulose 1-phosphate) is formed by the aldolase-catalyzed condensation of 1,3-dihydroxypropanone (dihydroxyacetone) 1-phosphate with formaldehyde. It is also an intermediate in the metabolism of erythritol. The chapter describes a synthesis that provides the stable dimethylacetal of L-erythrulose 1-phosphate, which can be converted to the free ketose by acid hydrolysis. For preparation, a suspension of 55 g (0.3 mole) of L-mannitol in 200 ml of dry pyridine is added from a dropping funnel a total of about 90 ml (0.75 mole) of redistilled benzoyl chloride during a period of about 30 min with mechanical stirring. The temperature increases during the reaction, and the solution of L-mannitol is complete before pyridine hydrochloride precipitates. The solidified insoluble product—a mixture of dibenzoyl and tribenzoylmannitol—is removed by filtration, ground in a mortar with water, filtered again, washed free of pyridine, and air-dried.
OSA: Epidemiology and Pathogenesis

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by upper airway collapse during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is defined as impairment of airway flow in addition to the presence of excessive daytime sleepiness or other symptoms. OSAS is present in 4 % of middle-aged men and 2 % of middle-aged women. Risk factors for the development of OSA include male gender, increased age, obesity, and a positive family history. Several factors contribute to the pathogenesis of OSA including airway anatomy, airway size, pharyngeal collapsibility, upper airway dilator muscle activity, ventilator control stability, and rostral fluid shifts during sleep. Currently, there is no standardized public health screening program for OSAS. Therefore, it is estimated that the majority of patients remain undiagnosed. Simple screening tools are available that can be effectively utilized in the primary care setting to select patients that are at high risk for OSA.
The Legacy of Tamoxifen

Tamoxifen, the first targeted therapy to treat breast cancer, has dramatically changed medicine. Study of the pharmacology of tamoxifen created a successful adjuvant treatment strategy to save lives, created the first chemopreventive to prevent any cancer in humans, and was the pioneering selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) that resulted in the new drug group, the SERMs. New agents such as lasofoxifene and bazedoxifene show promise in the range of beneficial effects they demonstrate in clinical trial to treat multiple diseases in women. Additionally, new agents and approaches with conjugated equine estrogen are being explored to prevent hot flashes, thereby enhancing the likelihood that compliance with SERMs improves.
Faith and Freedom: Contexts, Choices, and Crises in Religious Commitments

It is sometimes thought that individual religious faith should be firmly fixed in the traditions of the past. That once it is established in someone’s life, it should remain steadfast and unchanging throughout personal, cultural, or any other changes. This book subverts that idea by showing how it is actually ongoing inquiry, examination, and indeed change, requiring similarly ongoing acts of informed and responsible freedom, that will produce a dynamic and meaningful faith. Contending that religious faith should readily encompass deliberate and ongoing acts of personal freedom, the text outlines various ways in which these dual aspects are more ally than enemy. It also demonstrates how the ongoing free choices that are required for genuine faith are not absolute, but are in fact contextualized and conditioned by genetic makeup, environmental conditioning, and present character traits produced in part by a person’s past choices. Despite this caveat, personal freedom is presented as genuine and real, with a vitally important role to play in a person’s religiosity. The book concludes with some observations of this process in practice in the author’s own journey from a Christian theist worldview to that of a religious naturalist. This is a fascinating treatise on the role of personal freedom in religious faith. It will, therefore, be of significant interest to scholars of religion, theology, philosophy of religion and religious naturalism.
A Nonlinear Behavioral Modeling Approach for Voltage-controlled Oscillators Using Augmented Neural Networks

This paper describes a method to model the nonlinear time-domain steady-state behavior of voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) using augmented neural networks. In the proposed method, a feed forward neural network (FFNN) with a periodic unit is used to capture the periodicity of the oscillatory output waveform. Inside the periodic unit, a second FFNN is used to map the control voltage to the instantaneous frequency. As opposed to the state space model which is based on a system of differential equations, the output of the oscillator is generated explicitly using the neural network presented in this paper. The model is trained using the data obtained from the simulation of transistor-level circuit models. The fidelity and speed-up of the model is demonstrated by an example of a transistor-level VCO. The proposed model is compatible with Verilog-A.
Fusing Bird’s Eye View LIDAR Point Cloud and Front View Camera Image for 3D Object Detection

We propose a new method for fusing LIDAR point cloud and camera-captured images in deep convolutional neural networks (CNN). The proposed method constructs a new layer called sparse non-homogeneous pooling layer to transform features between bird’s eye view and front view. The sparse point cloud is used to construct the mapping between the two views. The pooling layer allows efficient fusion of the multi-view features at any stage of the network. This is favorable for 3D object detection using camera-LIDAR fusion for autonomous driving. A corresponding one-stage detector is designed and tested on the KITTI bird’s eye view object detection dataset, which produces 3D bounding boxes from the bird’s eye view map. The fusion method shows significant improvement on both speed and accuracy of the pedestrian detection over other fusion-based object detection networks.
On Bounded ∑11 Polynomial Induction

We characterize the bounded first order consequences of theory in U 2 1 terms of a limited use of exponentiation, we construct a simulation of U 2 1 by the quantified propositional calculus, and we prove that U 2 1 is not conservative over IΔ0 and that it is stronger than a conservative Δ 1 1,b -extension of S 2. As corollaries we obtain that U 2 1 is not conservative over TNC and that ∑ j b -consequences of U 1 2 are finitely axiomatizable (j ≥ 2). We also show that Ů 2 1 plus a version of ∏ 1 1,b -SEP is conservative over U 2 1 (BD) w.r.t. bounded formulas.
Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone: A Valuable Teaching Experience for Medical Students

Most mission statements for medical schools and hospitals proclaim their intent to “serve the underserved populations.”
Deformable abdominal phantom for the validation of real-time image guidance and deformable dose accumulation.

PURPOSE End-to-end testing with quality assurance (QA) phantoms for deformable dose accumulation and real-time image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) has recently been recommended by American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Groups 132 and 76. The goal of this work was to develop a deformable abdominal phantom containing a deformable three-dimensional dosimeter that could provide robust testing of these systems. METHODS The deformable abdominal phantom was fabricated from polyvinyl chloride plastisol and phantom motion was simulated with a programmable motion stage and plunger. A deformable normoxic polyacrylamide gel (nPAG) dosimeter was incorporated into the phantom apparatus to represent a liver tumor. Dosimeter data were acquired using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Static measurements were compared to planned dose distributions. Static and dynamic deformations were used to simulate inter- and intrafractional motion in the phantom and measurements were compared to baseline measurements. RESULTS The statically irradiated dosimeters matched the planned dose distribution with an average γ pass rates of 97.0 ± 0.5% and 97.5 ± 0.2% for 3%/5 mm and 5%/5 mm criteria, respectively. Static deformations caused measured dose distribution shifts toward the phantom plunger. During the dynamic deformation experiment, the dosimeter that utilized beam gating showed an improvement in the γ pass rate compared to the dosimeter that did not. CONCLUSIONS A deformable abdominal phantom apparatus which incorporates a deformable nPAG dosimeter was developed to test real-time IGRT systems and deformable dose accumulation algorithms. This apparatus was used to benchmark simple static irradiations in which it was found that measurements match well to the planned distributions. Deformable dose accumulation could be tested by directly measuring the shifts and blurring of the target dose due to interfractional organ deformation and motion. Dosimetric improvements were achieved from the motion management during intrafractional motion.
Effect of FexCayCO3 and CaCO3 Scales on the CO2 Corrosion of Mild Steel

Calcium ions are usually present at high concentrations in brines produced with oil and gas. Such brines are typically saturated with respect to CaCO3. Consequently, precipitation of CaCO3 as scale...
Can gut microbiota of men who have sex with men influence HIV transmission

Gaining a complete understanding of transmission risk factors will assist in efforts to reduce new HIV infections, especially within the disproportionally affected population of men who have sex wi...