cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Heuristic Wayfinding for Nonmotorized Transport

Heuristic processes are described for finding the shortest path by looking at maps and sketches representing transportation networks drawn true to scale and not to scale. Nine experiments were conducted and the results were compared with those derived from Moore's algorithm. Fifty subjects in each experiment were given a fixed amount of time to find the shortest path. The majority of subjects used two mental processes to demarcate the shortest path. Two of the nine experiments required finding the safest path through a network. All experiments support the general belief that most people are able to choose the shortest or the safest path with some degree of accuracy. The results of these experiments and the interviews with the subjects indicate that good maps and sketches are important for steering people in wayfinding, particularly those using nonmotorized transportation.
Endoscopic Treatment of Major Bleeding From Advanced Gastroduodenal Malignant Lesions

Objective To summarize the results of endoscopic therapy for acute hemorrhage from gastroduodenal malignant lesions. Design The 3-year experience (1989 through 1991) of a specialized gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding team in the endoscopic treatment of acute upper GI bleeding from gastroduodenal malignant tumors was retrospectively reviewed. Material and Methods Of 1,083 consecutive patients with acute major upper GI hemorrhage, 21 (1.9%) were found to have advanced tumors of the stomach and duodenum, 15 of whom received endoscopic therapy. In this study group of 15 patients, the tumors were gastric in 11 and duodenal in 4. Endoscopic treatment consisted of injection of epinephrine, heater probe coagulation, neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser coagulation, or injection of sodium tetradecyl sulfate. Results Initial endoscopic hemostasis was achieved in 10 of the 15 patients (67%); however, bleeding recurred in 8 of 10 (80%), and all 5 in whom endoscopic hemostasis was not achieved continued to bleed. Mean transfusion requirements for the 30 days before and the 30 days after the first endoscopic treatment were 7.6 and 6.4 units of packed erythrocytes, respectively ( P >0.10). Five major procedure-related complications occurred, two of which were fatal. The median duration of survival after the first endoscopic treatment was 39 days (range, 1 to 1,414). Conclusion In patients with major bleeding from advanced gastroduodenal malignant lesions, endoscopic therapy seems to provide limited benefit.
Superconducting thin film transformer design for powering Josephson logic

Superconducting step-up transformers, formed by overlaying primary and secondary lines across a hole in a superconducting groundplane, are the key elements in distributing ac current in parallel to the maximum possible number of Josephson LSI logic chips. Since frequencies approaching 1 GHz are required it was found that two side-by-side transformers with serially connected primaries allowed the maximum current transfer while keeping the electrical length of the primary winding below a quarter wavelength. Inductance calculations predict that for an optimum design the two transformers should share a common hole; that the spacing between secondaries should be three times the distance from the secondary to the edge of the hole; and that the transformer will occupy a minimum area when the hole width is three times the secondary width. The width of the secondary is determined by the critical current characteristics of the windings. Affecting the critical currents of the windings is the close proximity of the groundplane edge in the minimum area geometry. The resulting increase in current density at the edge of the secondary winding is predicted to reduce its critical current by 15%. Measurements of thin film transformers fabricated in the lead alloy metallurgy with a niobium groundplane have verified the predicted inductance and critical current characteristics of the double-transformer structures.
Optimization of Performance and Failure Predictability in Composite Laminates Undergoing Progressive Failure

Increasing robustness of structures with non-linear history dependent behavior requires that their response to be very predictable. Predictability is made difficult by lack of good physical models (e.g. material failure), inaccurate analysis models, and insufficient resolution used in the discretized solutions. In complex structures the problem is compounded because numerous bifurcation events in non-linear response lead to competing failure paths. Introducing small changes to designs parameters or loading in designs having competing failure modes significantly alters the failure paths, reducing predictability. Progressive failure of a composite laminate is a system with many failing components (plies) and multiple failure modes (plies can fail by shear, matrix and/or fiber failure) that exhibits this behavior. This paper demonstrates that deterministic optimization makes predictability poor due the coalescence in failure modes. A deterministic approach is developed to overcome this problem and simultaneously optimize the laminate to maximize energy absorption (performance) and improve failure predictability. The approach is contrasted with traditional reliability-based optimization. The approach developed for eliminating competing failure modes is effective in increasing predictability and robustness, requiring very small computational effort compared to traditional non-deterministic methods used for such problems.
The Association Between Adolescents' Receiver Characteristics and Exposure to the Alcohol Warning Label

The association between receiver characteristics and awareness of, exposure to, memory for, and beliefs about the alcohol warning label were examined. The receiver characteristics studied were sex, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, school grades, religious service attendance, alcohol use, friends’ alcohol use, drinking from the alcohol container, and television viewing. Independent crosssectional samples of 12th-grade students completed a (n 5 6,391) questionnaire before and after the federally mandated warning appeared on alcohol beverage containers. Many of the receiver characteristics were significantly associated with the warning measures. There was not much evidence indicating that receiver characteristics moderated the association between the appearance of the warning and warning awareness, exposure, memory, or beliefs. q 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
An incentive-based distributed mechanism for scheduling divisible loads in tree networks

The underlying assumption of Divisible Load Scheduling (DLS) theory is that the processors composing the network are obedient, i.e., they do not ''cheat'' the scheduling algorithm. This assumption is unrealistic if the processors are owned by autonomous, self-interested organizations that have no a priori motivation for cooperation and they will manipulate the algorithm if it is beneficial to do so. In this paper, we address this issue by designing a distributed mechanism for scheduling divisible loads in tree networks, called DLS-T, which provides incentives to processors for reporting their true processing capacity and executing their assigned load at full processing capacity. We prove that the DLS-T mechanism computes the optimal allocation in an ex post Nash equilibrium. Finally, we simulate and study the mechanism under various network structures and processor parameters.
THE DETERMINATION OF THE LENGTH OF LIFE OF TRANSFUSED BLOOD CORPUSCLES IN MAN

1. It is possible in mixtures of corpuscles of different groups to separate the corpuscles practically quantitatively by treating with a serum that agglutinates the corpuscles of one kind, leaving the others unagglutinated. 2. After a recipient has been transfused with blood of a group other than his own, specimens of his blood treated with a serum that will agglutinate his own corpuscles but not the transfused corpuscles show unagglutinated corpuscles in large numbers. 3. These unagglutinated corpuscles which appear in the recipien's blood after such a transfusion are the transfused corpuscles and their count is a quantitative indicator of the amount of transfused blood still in the recipient's circulation. 4. The life of the transfused corpuscle is long; it has been found to extend for 30 days and more. The beneficial results of transfusion are without doubt not due primarily to a stimulating effect on the bone marrow, but, it is reasonable to assume, to the functioning of the transfused blood corpuscles.
Age Differences in Cortical Activity Associated with Preparation to Respond.

Correlations between the amplitudes and latencies of the slowly developing negative potential called the contingent negative variation (CNV) and performance in two tasks requiring motor response were studied. Time estimation and forewarned reaction time tasks were used with preparatory intervals of 2, 4, and 8 sec duration. Youngyoung, young-old, and old-old groups of females were tested. The hypothesis that deficits in time estimation ability in the elderly might help to account for age differences in performance in reaction time was investigated. Significant age and interval related differences in the correlation between time estimation ability and reaction time performance were found. The findings are discussed in terms of thefr potential significance for developmental research and clinical assessment.
Effort required in eligibility screening for clinical trials.

Determining eligibility for a clinical trial (CT) typically requires a lengthy manual review of data for a single evaluation. The cost associated with eligibility screening is typically not com- pensated through contracts supporting CTs. Methods: We used a real-time tracking system that captures CT evaluations and provides information on evaluation outcomes and time spent on each eligibility screening by research staff. Using these data, we describe the effort and costs of eligibility screening overall and per enrolled patient for cancer CTs. The study sample included all completed eligibility assessment (eval- uation) records for the 18-month study period. We used gener- alized multinomial modeling to predict evaluation outcomes and then used the resulting parameter coefficients to estimate the effort associated with each participant, adjusted for probability of being enrolled. From these data, we calculated cost associated with eligibility screening. Results: We found substantial variation in attributed cost by study type and phase. The cost of eligibility screening ranged by study phase from $129.15 to $336.48 per enrolled patient. The estimated annual cost of screening was more than $90,000. Conclusion: This study provides results based on prospec- tively captured effort to estimate the largely nonreimbursed costs of eligibility screening and suggests that screening can be a significant financial burden to an institution. Centers performing CTs may need to acknowledge the differences in screening costs for different study types when negotiating contracts with funding organizations. Information such as that captured here could support such negotiations to reduce the gap between reimbursed and nonreimbursed costs.
On combining protein sequences and nucleic acid sequences in phylogenetic analysis: the homeobox protein case.

Abstract Amino acid encoding genes contain character state information that may be useful for phylogenetic analysis on at least two levels. The nucleotide sequence and the translated amino acid sequences have both been employed separately as character states for cladistic studies of various taxa, including studies of the genealogy of genes in multigene families. In essence, amino acid sequences and nucleic acid sequences are two different ways of character coding the information in a gene. Silent positions in the nucleotide sequence (first or third positions in codons that can accrue change without changing the identity of the amino acid that the triplet codes for) may accrue change relatively rapidly and become saturated, losing the pattern of historical divergence. On the other hand, non-silent nucleotide alterations and their accompanying amino acid changes may evolve too slowly to reveal relationships among closely related taxa. In general, the dynamics of sequence change in silent and non-silent positions in protein coding genes result in homoplasy and lack of resolution, respectively. We suggest that the combination of nucleic acid and the translated amino acid coded character states into the same data matrix for phylogenetic analysis addresses some of the problems caused by the rapid change of silent nucleotide positions and overall slow rate of change of non-silent nucleotide positions and slowly changing amino acid positions. One major theoretical problem with this approach is the apparent non-independence of the two sources of characters. However, there are at least three possible outcomes when comparing protein coding nucleic acid sequences with their translated amino acids in a phylogenetic context on a codon by codon basis. First, the two character sets for a codon may be entirely congruent with respect to the information they convey about the relationships of a certain set of taxa. Second, one character set may display no information concerning a phylogenetic hypothesis while the other character set may impart information to a hypothesis. These two possibilities are cases of non-independence, however, we argue that congruence in such cases can be thought of as increasing the weight of the particular phylogenetic hypothesis that is supported by those characters. In the third case, the two sources of character information for a particular codon may be entirely incongruent with respect to phylogenetic hypotheses concerning the taxa examined. In this last case the two character sets are independent in that information from neither can predict the character states of the other. Examples of these possibilities are discussed and the general applicability of combining these two sources of information for protein coding genes is presented using sequences from the homeobox region of 46 homeobox genes from Drosophila melanogaster to develop a hypothesis of genealogical relationship of these genes in this large multigene family.
Isolation of the B3 transcription factor of the Xenopus TFIIIA gene

The selective expression of the Xenopus TFIIIA gene in immature oocytes is principally regulated by a single 5'-flanking DNA sequence element, termed element 3 (i.e. E3). We describe the isolation and characterization of a cDNA for a protein present in immature Xenopus ooctyes, termed B3.65, which appears to bind to and activate E3-mediated expression. The approximate molecular weight of the E3 binding protein(s) was determined by ultraviolet light cross-linking analysis. B3.65, a protein of the appropriate molecular weight, was purified biochemically from immature Xenopus ooctye extracts by affinity chromatography. Antiserum to purified B3.65 super-shifted the E3 activator complex. In addition, B3.65 mRNA was found to be highly enriched in immature oocytes. All of these data are consistent with B3.65 either being the E3 activator, or antigenically related to the specific activator required for XenopusTFIIIA gene transcription. B3.65 is a member of the K-homologous (KH) domain family of proteins, with almost absolute identity to Xenopus Vg1 RBP/VERA (97%) and significant similarity to human koc (82%). The koc mRNA is over-expressed in human pancreatic cancer tissues, and B3.65 mRNA was detected in Xenopus pancreas and kidney. Interestingly, KH proteins, like Vg1RBP/VERA, are most commonly associated with RNA metabolism, in their capacity to regulate RNA localization, stability, and translation. Our results suggest that B3.65 is a key regulator of both RNA- and DNA metabolism.
Precise pulse width measurement in write pre-compensation test

Bit density on platters in hard disk drives gets so crowded that the signal stream read out of the magnetic media involves inter-symbol interference. In order to reduce the effect write data timing is tweaked according to specific bit patterns. This "write pre-compensation" is a tiny pulse width modification. Device manufacturers test this functionality by generating a special clock stream whose pulse width is very narrow. Time interval analyzers (TIA) can measure this pulse width precisely. However, the drawback of this is the requirement of a wide analog bandwidth and the need to compensate for a DC signal offset. Compared to a TIA approach, the use of a waveform sampler is shown to be simple, less costly and provides an appropriate capability. This article describes that phase increments of the fundamental frequency component can indicate pulse width increments. A data processing based on fast Fourier transform is described. DC shift has no influence in this method. A measurement instrument does not need a wide analog bandwidth.
Adolescent Bariatric Surgery: “You May Ask Yourself: How Did I Get Here?”

The prevention and treatment of pediatric obesity are public health priorities. Not only do obese youth carry a heightened risk of obesity-related medical comorbidities once only seen as “adult” diseases (e.g., hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, type II diabetes), the psychosocial impact is considerably high (Freedman, Mei, Sriniavasan, Berenson, & Dietz, 2007; Kalra et al., 2008; Modi et al., 2008; Pinhas-Hamiel et al., 1996). Unfortunately, an alarming 6% of today’s teenagers have progressed beyond “mere” obesity (body mass index [BMI] or kg/m2 ≥95th percentile for age and gender) to a level of extreme obesity (BMI ≥99th percentile) (Koebnick et al., 2010). Worse yet, empirically supported pediatric weight loss interventions targeting lifestyle modification, even with adjunctive pharmacologic agents, have insufficient impact for youth with extreme obesity, as typical outcomes reflect a reduction of only 5–10% of their marked excess weight (Berkowitz et al., 2006; Levine, Ringham, Kalarchian, Wisniewski, & Marcus, 2001; O′Brien et al., 2010). Accordingly, the vast majority of teens who are extremely obese today will carry their excess weight and disease burden forward into their adult years. With concern mounting and the known safety and efficacy of bariatric (e.g., weight loss) surgery for adult patients, the beginning of this century marked the emergence of a new and growing literature characterizing the psychosocial health of the subpopulation of adolescents with extreme obesity, those seeking surgical weight loss, and the initial psychosocial outcomes of adolescent bariatric surgery. As a pediatric psychologist, I have been uniquely positioned to focus my academic career on this subpopulation of adolescents with extreme obesity. Was this a well-thought out plan? In part, “yes,” but more importantly, “no.” I say that frequently to trainees or junior faculty who cross my mentoring path, or even in conversations with colleagues when we ask ourselves, aka David Byrne of Talking Heads (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, & Weymouth, 1980), “Well, how did I get here?” I think we all lose sight of how our contributions to the field are not just attributable to our hard work and those we have the pleasure of learning from and working with along the way. There is a heavy dose of “being at the right place at the right time.” That kind of “luck and timing” is something you can not plan for. It just happens. It may not even seem “the right time” when it presents itself. As mentors, we have a hard time preparing trainees and junior faculty for this aspect of career development. But I would imagine any mentor who reads this can share a story or two of how they did not fully plan for all the directions their career has taken them. And then, there is medical progress. Again, something we can expect but not always plan for, which sure makes what we do more interesting.
Deficient resistance to Coccidioides immitis following intravenous vaccination I. Distribution of Spherules After Intravenous and Intramuscular Doses

The distribution of spherules of Coccidioides immitis in mice following intravenous and intramuscular injections was charted. Live spherules, formalin-killed spherule vaccine and tritium labelled, killed, spherule vaccine were used. Radio-labelled spherules were used also to follow the elimination of spherular constituents in the urine and their appearance in serum after vaccination. The investigations were undertaken to ascertain interactions relating to the occurrence of strong immunity in response to intramuscular vaccination and poor immunity in response to intravenous vaccine doses.Intravenous injection strongly favored the early accumulation of vaccine matter in pulmonary tissue. This locus had been shown to be associated with poor protective immunity. Intramuscular vaccination produced primarily local involvement with very minimal and delayed pulmonary involvement. Antigenic material persisted in intramuscular depots and this appeared to be one of the determinants of strong protection. The rate of ...
Pathology of inhalational anthrax infection in the african green monkey.

There is a critical need for an alternative nonhuman primate model for inhalational anthrax infection because of the increasingly limited supply and cost of the current model. This report describes the pathology in 12 African green monkeys (AGMs) that succumbed to inhalational anthrax after exposure to a low dose (presented dose 200-2 3 10 4 colony-forming units (cfu)) or a high dose (presented dose 2 3 10 4 -1 3 10 7 cfu) of Bacillus anthracis (Ames strain) spores. Frequent gross lesions noted in the AGM were hemorrhage and edema in the lung, mediastinum, and mediastinal lymph nodes; pleural and pericardial effusions; meningitis; and gastrointestinal congestion and hemorrhage. Histopathologic findings included necrohemorrhagic lymphadenitis of mediastinal, axillary, inguinal, and mesenteric lymph nodes; mediastinal edema; necrotizing splenitis; meningitis; and congestion, hemorrhage, and edema of the lung, mesentery, mesenteric lymph nodes, gastrointestinal tract, and gonads. Pathologic changes in AGMs were remarkably similar to what has been reported in rhesus macaques and humans that succumbed to inhalational anthrax; thus, AGMs could serve as useful models for inhalation anthrax studies.
Silicon nitride PECVD at low temperature: film properties and plasma analysis

Summary form only given. Recently there has been growing interest in the development of materials and processes at low temperatures compatible with transparent plastics for use in more rugged and flexible flat panel displays. Silicon nitride is a commonly used dielectric in thin film transistors (TFTs), the active switching element for each pixel in a display. We used plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at temperatures <150/spl deg/C with SiH/sub 4/, N/sub 2/ and He to deposit silicon nitride. Process analysis was done using in-situ mass spectroscopy and optical emission spectroscopy. Nitrogen instead of NH/sub 3/ was used to inhibit hydrogen incorporation which has been found to increase as temperature decreases in PECVD materials. Our films had an atomic hydrogen concentration near 20% at 50/spl deg/C vs. 30% in films deposited with NH/sub 3/. He dilution was used to engineer the distribution of hydrogen to obtain equal amounts bonded to Si and N, a physical property that has been associated with good quality films deposited at high temperatures. We found that increasing N/sub 2/:SiH/sub 4/ flow rate ratio from 50 to 150 resulted in a decrease in N atom incorporation relative to Si atoms in the films from N/Si=1.37 to 1.27. To examine the possibility of an increasing Si incorporation causing an apparent decrease in N atom fraction, we obtained the silane consumption fraction from mass spectrometry as a function of N/sub 2//SiH/sub 4/ flow rate ratio. The silane consumption fraction decreased from 97% at N/sub 2/ /SiH/sub 4/=50 to 93% at N/sub 2//SiH/sub 4/=150, which means increased Si incorporation as N/sub 2/ flow is increased is unlikely. Optical emission was used to observe nitrogen excited states, and detailed correlations between emission intensities, gas phase species distribution, and Si/N ratio in the deposited films will be reported.
Cooperative Data Sharing: a layered approach to an architecture-independent Message-Passing Interface

When MPI began to take form as a rather high-level interface with extensive features, it became somewhat less attractive to some benchmarkers and tool builders who required a very efficient low-level portable interface and did not need extensive features targeted toward application development. As a result, the Message Passing Kernel (MPK) project began at NAS. The name changed to the Cooperative Data Sharing (CDS) System when it became clear that the semantics we desired did not require copying (as message-passing does). The document describes the design and implementation of the kernel level of CDS, called CDS1, and some directions we are taking on a higher, MPI-level interface built upon it, called CDS2. The semantics of communication in CDS1 are similar to shared memory in that no copying is required and data sharing and one-sided communication is supported, and similar to message-passing in that regions of contiguous data can be passed from one process to another through queues. A prototype of CDSI has been demonstrated on an SGI Power Challenge Array and a network of Sun workstations running Solaris.
Japan Sea Thermohaline Structure and Circulation. Part I: Climatology

Abstract In this study, the U.S. Navy’s Generalized Digital Environmental Model (GDEM) climatological temperature and salinity data on a 0.5° × 0.5° grid is used to investigate the seasonal variabilities of the Japan/East Sea (JES) thermohaline structure and circulations. The GDEM for the JES was built up on historical (1930–97) 136 509 temperature and 52 572 salinity profiles. A three-dimensional estimate of the absolute geostrophic velocity field was obtained from the GDEM temperature and salinity fields using the P-vector method. The seasonal variabilities of the thermohaline structure and the inverted currents such as the Subpolar Front, the salinity minimum and maximum in the Japan Sea Intermediate Water, and the Tsushima Warm Current and its bifurcation are identified.
Los lectores y sus contextos. Reporte de Investigación Educativa 2010

FRAGMENTO: El libro reporta los resultados de una amplia investigacion de la Universidad Veracruzana, financiada por CONACyT. Hace un cuestionamiento explicito y fundamentado a la idea oficial de que las pruebas estandarizadas tipo PISA, Enlace o Excale son instrumentos adecuados, cientificos, neutros (ideologica y cultural-mente), e incuestionables para evaluar las "competencias" lectoras y matematicas de nuestros alumnos. Segun el discurso oficial, los resultados de estas pruebas (calificaciones numericas) son verdades objetivas y parametros validos para juzgar la calidad de las escuelas, los maestros, la ensenanza y el aprendizaje. Los autores de este libro presentan datos de campo que cuestionan este credo oficial, y nos invitan a dejar de girar alrededor de las pruebas estandarizadas para voltear la mirada a lo que deberia ser el centro de atencion: los lectores y sus contextos. Es desde esta mirada que el libro plantea conclusiones inusuales y hasta hereticas en el contexto mexicano. Por ejemplo: • Los examenes estandarizados tipo PISA o Enlace no son sino "danzas de numeros" que poco nos dicen sobre las capacidades y la diversidad de nuestros alumnos. Bajo el argumento de que era indispensable evaluar para corregir lo que estuviera mal, se han desarrollado pruebas y mas pruebas, como Enlace y Excale, que lo unico que han revelado es la gran verdad que ya sabiamos: "los pobres son menos competentes para leer y resolver problemas... ?alguien no lo sabia?" • La obsesion por evaluar de manera estandarizada parte de un supuesto falso: la incapacidad de los estudiantes para comprender los textos. Obviamente esta afirmacion parte de los resultados de las pruebas, asumiendo que los instrumentos son validos y confiables... pero no es asi. Los autores cuestionan la vision centrada en los alumnos (y sus maestros), pues limita la comprension y termina por hacer responsables de la situacion a dichos actores
Scholarly productivity: a regional study of physical therapy faculty in schools of allied health.

A study of the scholarly activities of physical therapy faculty members in selected schools of allied health was conducted through a mailed questionnaire survey. The analysis of the data provided by the respondents (N = 127; 97.6%) revealed the following: 1) the respondents' primary scholarly activity was authorship of refereed journal articles; 2) a majority of the respondents presented a paper at a professional meeting during the past three years; 3) only a small percentage of the respondents had directed extramurally funded projects; 4) the majority of the respondents indicated that their own academic preparation was the primary factor that encouraged their scholarly pursuits and that heavy teaching and administrative responsibilities were the primary discouraging factors; and 5) the respondents indicated that faculty scholarly activities are, and will continue to be, important considerations in academic promotion decisions. Comparison of the data provided by these respondents with data from the 1983 American Physical Therapy Association physical therapy faculty survey suggests modest gains in scholarly productivity. The implications of these findings are that faculty development programs are warranted and physical therapy administrators and faculty should join forces in finding more effective ways to involve faculty in research activities.
Enhanced photothermal effect of surface oxidized silicon nanocrystals anchored to reduced graphene oxide nanosheets

Abstract We demonstrate the coupling of the photothermal effects of silicon nanocrystals and graphene oxide (GO) dispersed in water. Using laser irradiation (532 nm or 355 nm) of suspended Si nanocrystals in an aqueous solution of GO, the synthesis of surface oxidized Si-reduced GO nanocomposites (SiO x /Si-RGO) is reported. The laser reduction of GO is accompanied by surface oxidation of the Si nanocrystals resulting in the formation of the SiO x /Si-RGO nanocomposites. The SiO x /Si-RGO nanocomposites are proposed as promising materials for photothermal therapy and for the efficient conversion of solar energy into usable heat for a variety of thermal and thermomechanical applications.
Blockade of gonadotrophin release for ovulation in the hen following stimulation with stainless steel electrodes.

SummaryBilateral stimulation with bipolar stainless steel electrodes was applied for 10 minutes in a selected region of the median eminence of the hen, 14 hours before expected normal ovulation of the C1 follicle. In 28 of 52 hens, ovulation was delayed by 3 to 10 hours or more. The delays in ovulation were shown to arise out of delays in or blockade of the release of ovulation-inducing hormone (OIH). The effects of stimulation on delay of OIH release may extend over a period of 12 to 14 hours. Stimulation with platinum electrodes or placement of steel or platinum electrodes without passage of current failed to delay OIH release. The prolonged effects of stimulation with stainless steel electrodes are consistent with the conclusion of Everett and Radford that electrolytically deposited iron may act irritatively long after application of the stimulatory current.
In-vivo oesophageal regeneration in a human being by use of a non-biological scaffold and extracellular matrix

Summary Background Tissue-engineered extracellular matrix populated with autologous pluripotent cells can result in de-novo organogenesis, but the technique is complex, not widely available, and has not yet been used to repair large oesophageal defects in human beings. We aimed to use readily available stents and extracellular matrix to regenerate the oesophagus in vivo in a human being to re-establish swallowing function. Methods In a patient aged 24 years, we endoscopically placed a readily available, fully covered, self-expanding, metal stent (diameter 18 mm, length 120 mm) to bridge a 5 cm full-thickness oesophageal segment destroyed by a mediastinal abscess and leading to direct communication between the hypopharynx and the mediastinum. A commercially available extracellular matrix was used to cover the stent and was sprayed with autologous platelet-rich plasma adhesive gel. The sternocleidomastoid muscle was placed over the matrix. After 4 weeks, stent removal was needed due to stent migration, and was replaced with three stents telescopically aligned to improve anchoring. The stents were removed after 3·5 years and the oesophagus was assessed by endoscopy, biopsy, endoscopic ultrasonography, and high-resolution impedance manometry. Findings After stent removal we saw full-thickness regeneration of the oesophagus with stratified squamous epithelium, a normal five-layer wall, and peristaltic motility with bolus transit. 4 years after stent removal, the patient was eating a normal diet and maintaining a steady weight. Interpretation Maintenance of the structural morphology of the oesophagus with off-the-shelf non-biological scaffold and stimulation of regeneration with commercially available extracellular matrix led to de-novo structural and functional regeneration of the oesophagus. Funding None.
Immobilization of a primary amine-containing drug, adriamycin. Coupling to crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol and mechanistic comparison of hydrolytic stability.

Literature reports have described the covalent coupling of the primary amine-containing anticancer drug, adriamycin, to polymeric supports through the amine group on the drug. These reports also have described drug mechanism studies with the immobilized adriamycin, where the release of the drug would undermine the validity of the conclusions. In the present paper, detailed experimental conditions are given for preparation of nonwater-soluble particles of polyvinyl alcohol by crosslinking water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol with 1,4-benzenedi-carboxaldehyde, and for activation with cyanuric chloride and covalent attachment of adriamycin. The expected stability of this drug-support linkage against hydrolytic cleavage is compared mechanistically to that expected for less stable coupling through a carbamate linkage or for less stable coupling via an azomethine link.
Present Situation and Development Orientation of Sorghum for Sichuan Liquor

Liquor industries take great importance in Sichuan food industries.Liquor made from sorghum exhibits profound culture of Chinese liquor with its color,flavor,taste and characteristics.Sorghum is main material for liquor-making,which is irreplaceable in plant industries.It is of great importance to promote liquor industries in Sichuan province as scientific research investments are strengthened,new products or new technologies are spread and sorghum bases for liquor are set up.
Differing postneonatal mortality rates of Mexican-American infants with United-States-born and Mexico-born mothers in Chicago.

Objectives This study sought to determine the relationship between maternal nativity and the postneonatal mortality rate of urban Mexican-American infants. Design This is a population-based study. Methods Stratified and logistic regression analyses were performed on a data set of 1992-1995 computerized birth-death records of all Mexican-American infants born to Chicago residents with appended 1990 United States Census income and 1995 Chicago Department of Public Health data. Results In Chicago, Mexican-American infants (N = 10,599) of US-born mothers had a postneonatal mortality rate of 3.2/1,000 compared to 2.1/1,000 for infants (40,813) of Mexico-born mothers; relative risk (95% confidence interval) equaled 1.5 (1.0-2.3). The adjusted odds ratio of postneonatal mortality was 1.4 (1.1-1.9) for Mexican-American infants of US-born mothers. The mortality rate due to preventable causes (sudden infant death syndrome, homicides, non-intentional injuries, and infections) for Mexican-American infants of US-born mothers was twice that of infants of Mexico-born mothers; relative risk (95% confidence interval) equaled 2.2 (1.3-3.8); this nativity differential persisted in non-impoverished communities. Conclusion The postneonatal mortality rate of urban Mexican-American infants with US-born mothers exceeds that of infants with Mexico-born mothers. This nativity disparity is attributable to preventable causes.
Primary Hyperparathyroidism With Acute Parathyroid Hormone Intoxication

Early diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism is desirable to minimize complications involving bone, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and pancreas.The danger of procrastination once the diagnosis is established lies in the possible development of visceral complications and the so-called hypercalcemic crisis.In the case reported, renal and gastrointestinal complications due to parathyroid adenoma were present.Prompt surgical treatment may reverse the renal failure in some cases.
Preparation of 2‐Arylethynylselanylacetonitriles from 4‐Aryl‐1,2,3‐selenadiazoles

Base decomposition of 4-(substituted phenyl)-1,2,3-selenadiazoles at room temperature resulted in 2-(substituted phenyl)-ethynylselenolate anions, which were immediately reacted with bromoacetonitrile to give a series of 2-(substituted phenyl)ethynylselanylacetonitriles.
Design of the MCAW compute service for food safety bioinformatics

The techniques of microbe community genome sequencing as applied to environmental samples—metagenomics—offer powerful insight into microbial community structure and ecology that can affect food safety decisions for public health security. In this paper, the design and characteristics of a new informatics service, the Metagenomics Computation and Analytics Workbench (MCAW) , are presented and illustrated with reference to the analysis of metagenomics data. The service is designed to meet the requirements for analyzing metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequence data to assess microbial hazards and food authentication in the supply chain. Moreover, MCAW provides for reliable storage and management of raw genomic sequences and analysis results, high-volume informatics processing, meticulous tracking of data provenance and processing steps, and function-rich visualization of results.
A millimeter-wave sampled-line six-port reflectometer at 300GHz

The six-port reflectometer is believed to be applied in the next generation of network analyzer, especially as working at high frequency in the microwave region. In our work, a six- port circuit is designed to measure the reflection coefficients and phases of some standard loads. The comparison of the six-port measurement to network analyzer and the theoretical result is also done afterward.
Glenohumeral arthritis as a risk factor for proximal humerus nonunion

Abstract Background Proximal humerus fractures are common injuries and nonsurgical treatment has proven to yield good to excellent clinical results. A small percentage of these fractures go on to delayed or nonunion and the incidence and risk factors for this complication are poorly understood. We hypothesize that adjacent joint stiffness of the glenohumeral joint might lead to an increased rate of nonunion for proximal humerus fractures. Methods A search of the entire Medicare database from 2005 to 2011 was performed to identify 38,754 patients who sustained a proximal humerus fracture including 13,802 with co-existing ipsilateral shoulder osteoarthritis (OA) and 24,952 with co-existing diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A cohort of 301,987 patients served as a control. Medical co-morbidities and fracture complications were compared between the cohorts. Results The incidence of delayed union at 3 and 6 months for OA and RA groups were significantly increased compared to control at 0.79% and 1.74%, and 0.67% and 1.86%, respectively (p Conclusions The coexistence of shoulder OA or a diagnosis of RA nearly doubled in the incidence of proximal humerus nonunion. This is the first study investigating this association in the shoulder and should be considered along with traditional nonunion risk factors in the treatment algorithm.
Black Spectral Lives Matter

Review of MILES, Tiya. Tales from the Haunted South: dark tourism and memories of slavery from the Civil-War era . Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2015. 176 p.
Analogs of human genetic skin disease in domesticated animals

Genetic skin diseases encompass a vast, complex, and ever expanding field. Recognition of the features of these diseases is important to ascertain a correct diagnosis, initiate treatment, consider genetic counseling, and refer patients to specialists when the disease may impact other areas. Because genodermatoses may present with a vast array of features, it can be bewildering to memorize them. This manuscript will explain and depict some genetic skin diseases that occur in both humans and domestic animals and offer a connection and memorization aid for physicians. In addition, we will explore how animal diseases serve as a model to uncover the mechanisms of human disease. The genetic skin diseases we will review are pigmentary mosaicism, piebaldism, albinism, Griscelli syndrome, ectodermal dysplasias, Waardenburg syndrome, and mucinosis in both humans and domesticated animals.
Defining the STATus quo in muscle hypertrophy. Focus on "Overload-mediated skeletal muscle hypertrophy is not impaired by loss of myofiber STAT3".

skeletal muscle is required for locomotion, breathing, and postural support; thus maintenance of skeletal muscle mass is necessary to sustain quality of life. With aging and/or diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, muscle atrophy is
Global competitiveness of ASEAN: implications for Canadian businesses

Although there are annual reports on global competitiveness of nations from the World Economic Forum at Geneva, there is little evidence that the information has been analysed to identify trade pos...
Multifocal nitrous oxide cryoballoon ablation with or without EMR for treatment of neoplastic Barrett’s esophagus (with video)

Background and Aims Endoscopic cryotherapy can eradicate neoplastic Barrett's esophagus (BE). A new contact cryoballoon focal ablation system (CbFAS)) freezes esophageal mucosa with nitrous oxide. We studied the safety and efficacy of CbFAS for complete eradication of neoplastic Barrett's esophagus. Methods In a prospective clinical trial, consecutive BE patients with confirmed neoplasia (low-grade dysplasia [LGD], high-grade dysplasia [HGD], and/or intramucosal adenocarcinoma [ImCA]), at least 1 cm of BE, with or without prior ablation, were treated with a dose 10 seconds of spray per site. EMR was performed for nodular lesions. Treatments were repeated every 10 to 12 weeks until complete eradication, with a maximum of 5 treatments. Primary outcomes were complete eradication of all dysplasia (CE-D) and complete eradication of intestinal metaplasia (CE-IM) at 1 year (intention-to-treat analysis). Results Forty-one assessable patients (22 treatment naive, 19 previously ablated) with LGD (n = 13), HGD (n = 23), or ImCA (n = 5) were treated. The median procedure time was 30 minutes. The median number of ablation procedures for CE-IM was 3 (interquartile range, 2-4). Overall 1-year CE-D and CE-IM rates were 95% and 88%, respectively. CE-D rate was significantly lower (67%) in those with ultra-long BE compared with those with Conclusions Multifocal nitrous oxide cryotherapy using CbFAS is a promising, highly effective, and safe endoscopic treatment for primary or rescue therapy of BE-associated neoplasia and IM. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT02534233.)
PANDA: Performance Acceleration through Nonuniform Data Acquisition

We present PANDA, a data acquisition technique for energy-constrained sensor nodes that reduces the energy per operation required to sample and preprocess analog sensor data. PANDA takes advantage of the energy consumption patterns of commodity microcontrollers by sampling input signals in short bursts followed by long periods of inactivity. This approach reduces the overhead of repetitively transitioning the CPU and analog components in and out of low-power sleep states. This nonuniformly-spaced input data is then fed to a nonuniform FFT algorithm that computes the frequency spectrum. We show that the spectrum computed with the nonuniform FFT is very close to the spectrum that would be computed from uniformly sampled data preprocessed with a conventional FFT. The output of the nonuniform FFT can be filtered or postprocessed with conventional frequency domain analysis techniques, and a uniformly resampled output can be constructed with the conventional inverse FFT. We compare the energy consumption patterns of burst-mode sampling to those of conventional uniform sampling in several real sensor nodes. We demonstrate that for reasonably sized input datasets, burst mode sampling and postprocessing consumes more than 17% less energy than conventional uniform sampling, including the additional computations required to compute the nonuniform DFT.
Software Tool For Teaching Fundamentals of Queuing Theory

This paper presents a software tool that can be utilized to teach fundamentals of queuing theory. Arrival and service rates can be constant or from Exponential, Erlang, Hyper-exponential, or a general distribution. Number of servers, system capacity, and calling population size can be varied. The user can also select queue discipline and unit of time. The program computes average server utilization factor, average number of items in the queue, average number of items in the system, average time spent in the queue, average time spent in the system, probability of n items in the system, cost of service, and cost of waiting. The software tool can be utilized for in class exercises and for "what if" type analysis.
Estrogen Receptor—Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 Signaling Crosstalk as Potential Targets of Xenoestrogens

Excessive exposure to endogenous estrogens can lead to adverse health effects including higher risk for diseases such as breast cancer. Many exogenous chemicals have been known to affect the normal physiology of organisms including human beings. Among these are compounds that affect the endocrine system. These compounds, collectively called xenoestrogens, are either synthetic or naturally occurring in plants (phytoestrogens). The cellular effect of xenoestrogens has been studied mostly in the context of nuclear gene regulation. Although there is ample evidence of the important roles of crosstalk between signaling pathways and nuclear–mitochondrial communication in normal and pathophysiology, these have been largely ignored as potential targets for xenoestrogens. However, available evidence points to the importance of analyzing the effect of xenoestrogens from this angle for better understanding of both harmful as well as beneficial health effects of xenoestrogens including phytoestrogens.
HEAD LOSS IN SPIRAL SOLID-LIQUID FLOW IN PIPES

SUMMARY A spiral flow is the resultant of primary and secondary flows; in a regular circular pipe, spiral flow does not exist. There are two methods of generating spiral currents in a closed conduit: (1) installing helical ribs inside regular circular pipes and (2) using noncircular pipes. Characteristics of spiral solid-liquid flows generated by these two methods are studied and compared with those of regular circular pipes. The critical deposit velocity and the head loss at various flow velocities in each pipe are compared and analyzed. The results show that there is a good possibility that square pipes may be used to replace the traditional pipes for the transport of solids.