cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The future of X-ray holography

Abstract X-ray holography is a promising technique for high resolution study of biological, microelectronics and materials science specimens. It offers absorption and phase contrast, it is amenable to flash sources, and it is capable of three-dimensional imaging when coupled with tomography. Soft X-rays are suited to microscopy of thin organic specimens and wet biological objects such as subcellular organelles. Major advances in X-ray sources, optics, and detectors have made possible Gabor and Fourier transform holography with 50 to 60-nm transverse resolution using 350–600 eV photons; 100-nm depth resolution by holographic tomography has recently been demonstrated. X-ray holography at higher energies (1–4 keV) may be feasible soon using third-generation synchrotron sources. These methods might profitably be used to investigate denser objects than are accessible to soft X-rays, for example defects in microcircuits and adsorbates in zeolites. The future is likely to see progress in X-ray holography over an increasing range of photon energies, with elemental and chemical specificity, and with three-dimensional resolution below one micron.
Optimal batch size and raw material ordering policy for a production system with a fixed-interval, lumpy demand delivery system

Abstract The paper develops an ordering policy for raw materials, to meet the demands of a production facility which supplies a fixed quantity of finished products to outside buyers, at a fixed interval of time. In this model, an optimal multi-order policy for procurement of raw materials for a single manufacturing batch is developed to minimize the total cost. An integer approximation is adopted to refine the optimal solution. A worst-case scenario is also analyzed to demonstrate the effect of the setup costs on the total cost of the inventory system.
The virtuous cycle of discovery and creation of entrepreneurial opportunities

Researchers have debated whether entrepreneurial opportunities are discovered or created. However, they have often overlooked the importance of the contextual variables that stimulate, shape, and define the entrepreneurial act. This article focuses on entrepreneurial activities within technology-based established companies and shows how and why certain contexts are more conducive for discovery, while others promote the discovery and creation of opportunities. The article suggests a virtuous and dynamic cycle where discovery enriches creation which, in turn, fosters the discovery of new opportunities. The focus on the context and key features of entrepreneurial search contributes to the behavioral theory of and the debate on the origins of opportunities. Copyright © 2008 Strategic Management Society.
Ear advantage in dichotic listening after correction for early congenital hearing loss

Twelve patients who had undergone surgical correction for either unilateral or bilateral congenital hearing loss were given a postoperative dichotic listening test for consonant vowel-consonant (CVC) words. Four normal hearing control subjects were also tested. Patients were first given a test of subjective loudness, and the level of presentation of stimuli in the atretic ear was adjusted accordingly. In the dichotic condition all controls exhibited a right ear advantage, and all unilateral atresia patients showed an ear advantage favouring the non-atretic ear. Patients with bilateral atresia essentially exhibited no ear advantage. Patients had the same error rate as controls in the dichotic condition, which suggests that ear advantage was not due to increased errors in the atretic ear. For patients there was a significant relationship between ear advantage and both preoperative interaural asymmetry in hearing loss and age at operation. Results suggest that a sensitive and critical period for development of the ear is complete by 5 years of age. Results also suggest some limited ability to adjust to permanent change in stimulation levels until, but not after, puberty.
Morale and Job Satisfaction Among Nurses: What Can Hospitals Do?

In an attempt to account for morale and job satisfaction among 314 nurses, this study investigated the influence of work-related and interpersonal variables. Morale on the unit was directly related to supervisor support, co-worker relationships, and work recognition. Personal morale was accounted for by recognition, physical environment, the job itself, and pay. Job satisfaction was predicted by personal morale, work commitment, job clarity, work pressure, and innovation. Suggestions for improving nurse morale and job satisfaction are made.
Surgical site infection: is it time to change our expectations?

Reducing surgical site infection (SSI) is a vexingproblemwith yetunidentified solutions. In this issueof JAMASurgery, Lawson and colleagues1 clearly frame the economic and societal impact of postoperative SSI after colectomy, a common and high-incident operation. As many as 1 in 4 colectomies, they report, result in a postoperative SSI. The occurrencemay further increase hospital cost by increasing length of stay. Given the current health care environment, with increasing attentiontocostandquality, thisanalysis isbothrelevantandtimely. In the study,Lawsonandcolleaguespointout thatour current approach to measuring and reducing postoperative infections may be misguided. Surgical site infection has traditionally been considered a single entity and the approach to reduction singularly focusedonadherence toSurgical Care ImprovementProgram (SCIP) measures.2 Lawson and colleagues suggest that ifdeep/organ-space infectionsareadistinct clinical entity from superficial SSI, we may be missing key opportunities for interventionby lumpingandanalyzing themtogether. Thework bespeaksa frustrationwiththe lackofassociationbetweenSCIP measure adherence andSSI reduction in colorectal surgery.3,4 WhileSCIPmeasures continue tobeadvancedas themainstay of reducing SSI, the current analysis effectively challenges theone-size-fits-all approachbydisaggregating theoutcome of interest. Using hierarchical modeling with robust clinical risk adjustment, Lawson et al show that the risk factors for deep and organ-space infections differ significantly fromthoseof superficial SSI, and thesedifferences arenotdue to clustering of select patients (ie, high risk) within specific types of hospital settings. The more precise definition of SSI could change our approach to reducing SSI; however, solutions were beyond the scope of the study. As a result, we are left with the yet unanswered question about how to remediate the problem beyond adherence to SCIP. Short of a largescalepublic health campaign to address smoking, obesity, and comorbid disease, the findings do not expose a practical way forward. Perhaps themost important implication for thiswork is the potential to inform the National Surgical Quality Improvement Programrisk adjustmentmodels,which areused topredict the expected SSI rates and compare institutional performance. More precise outcomes coupled with thoughtful risk adjustmentmodelswill help reset the expectations for SSI after colectomy. The findingsmay even serve to inform the design of pay-for-performance programs embedded in the upcomingAffordableCareAct.5,6 Until then, theworkof Lawson andcolleagues should guide the informedconsent process for patients undergoing colectomy and help surgeons challenge hospital administrators to endorse quality improvement efforts that are evidence based, rationally targeted, and, hopefully, more effective.
Spatio-temporal dynamics of microcantilevers tapping on samples observed under an atomic force microscope integrated with a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer: applications to proper orthogonal decomposition and model reduction

As the use of microsystems has become more widespread, the need for reduced order models that accurately and efficiently predict their dynamic behavior has also grown. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) has proven to be a beneficial model-reduction tool in structural dynamics; however, its use in the development of reduced order models of microsystems from experimental data has not received much attention. In this paper, we combine a scanning laser vibrometer with a fully functional atomic force microscope (AFM) to measure the vibration field of AFM microcantilevers tapping on stiff and soft samples. Both stiff and soft AFM microcantilevers with internal resonance are studied. This represents a wide class of vibrating microsystems with spatially confined nonlinearity at the sharp probe tip arising from short and long range surface forces. We apply POD to the measured vibration field of AFM cantilevers and show that a small number of experimentally extracted proper orthogonal modes (POMs) can accurately represent the nonlinear microcantilever dynamics under a variety of conditions. Moreover only one or two sets of POMs are needed to represent the dynamics under a wide range of operating conditions including in the attractive and repulsive regimes of oscillation.
Dynamic Capabilities and Base of the Pyramid Business Strategies.

Numerous scholars have observed that the relationship between poverty and violent conflict is endogenous. As a result, the area of Peace Through Commerce argues as one of its central tenets that the institution of business may be able to contribute to sustainable peace by creating economic development where poverty is a critical issue. While this argument may be valid, it leaves the question open – what is the business case for engaging in poverty alleviation business strategies? Strategic Management scholars are addressing this question, arguing the general proposition that poverty is not only experienced by the people, but also impacts businesses operating in environments where the phenomenon is pervasive. By addressing poverty, businesses can help themselves. Yet, organizational theory justifying this proposition is still emerging, consisting of only a few studies that generally suggest that these strategies can help firms develop competitive advantage through the lens of the resource-based view. This article extends the theoretical application of the resource-based view, suggesting that conditions of poverty directly suppress the value of organizational resources and capabilities that are or could be contributed by people affected by it. In addition, it characterizes poverty alleviation strategic capabilities as dynamic capabilities. Finally, it describes a framework of “base of the pyramid dynamic capabilities” that could guide both future discourse in the area and deductive-disconfirmatory research examining the efficacy of these strategies.
Police Administration and Progressive Reform: Theodore Roosevelt as Police Commissioner of New York

Introduction The Progressives and the Police The Taming of the Tiger Teddy Comes to Town Reform on Mulberry Street Applied Efficiency: The Professional Model Enforced Morality: The Legalistic Style Conclusion Bibliography Index
Resilient industrial control system (RICS): Concepts, formulation, metrics, and insights

To monitor and control industrial machinery and processes, industrial control systems play an important role in daily life. Resilient control is a new topic of control technologies which studies how to maintain acceptable level of operation or service in face of undesirable incidents. This emerging technology, applied to industrial control systems, can provide a certain degree of protection for critical infrastructure, such as electric power generation, transmission and distribution, oil and gas production, water treatment. This paper proposes a 3-layer system model and resilience curve, discusses the concept and presents definition, properties and some insights of resilient industrial control systems. The metrics to estimate resilience quantitatively is disclosed. The general approaches to build, operate and improve a resilience industrial control system are proposed as well. Cyber attack resilient power grid automation system is discussed to illustrate the proposed approaches.
Discovery of Sodium R-(+)-4-{2-[5-(2-Fluoro-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-(2-fluoro-6-[trifluoromethyl]benzyl)-4-methyl-2,6-dioxo-3,6-dihydro-2H-pyrimidin-1-yl]-1-phenylethylamino}butyrate (Elagolix), a Potent and Orally Available Nonpeptide Antagonist of the Human Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor

The discovery of novel uracil phenylethylamines bearing a butyric acid as potent human gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor (hGnRH-R) antagonists is described. A major focus of this optimization was to improve the CYP3A4 inhibition liability of these uracils while maintaining their GnRH-R potency. R-4-{2-[5-(2-fluoro-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-(2-fluoro-6-[trifluoromethyl]benzyl)-4-methyl-2,6-dioxo-3,6-dihydro-2H-pyrimidin-1-yl]-1-phenylethylamino}butyric acid sodium salt, 10b (elagolix), was identified as a potent and selective hGnRH-R antagonist. Oral administration of 10b suppressed luteinizing hormone in castrated macaques. These efforts led to the identification of 10b as a clinical compound for the treatment of endometriosis.
Taenia crassiceps: serum and surface immunoglobulins in metacestode infections of mice.

Abstract Serum levels of IgM, IgA, IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3 were measured weekly for 8 weeks by radial immunodiffusion in pooled sera from female BALB/c and BDF1 mice with primary and secondary Taenia crassiceps infections and age-matched normal control mice of each strain. Although increases in levels of all immunoglobulin classes occurred during primary and secondary infections in both strains of mice, the only consistent changes common to both strains of mice were higher levels of IgG1 and IgG3 in early weeks of secondary infections as compared to primary infections, and high levels of IgG1 late in primary infections. High levels of IgG3 occurred late in primary infections in BDF1 mice but not in BALB/c mice. It was not possible to correlate increased levels of any one immunoglobulin class either with cytotoxic activity of early immune serum or with the onset of the cellular encapsulation response in secondary infections. IgM, IgA, IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3 could be demonstrated on the surface of washed fixed larvae from long-term infected donor mice by the indirect fluorescent antibody method. Living T. crassiceps larvae were capable of shedding fluorescent label within 1 hr at room temperature, but not at 4 C after staining with either rabbit anti-T. crassiceps serum or rabbit anti-mouse immunoglobulin serum and fluorescein-conjugated goat anti-rabbit globulin.
Perceived Uncontrollability and Unpredictability, Self-Regulation, and Sexual Revictimization:

This article reviews the descriptive literature on sexual revictimization and the evidence for the theoretical models that have been formulated to explain this phenomenon. Also, a speculative accou...
An analysis of the american rheumatism association criteria for rheumatoid arthritis

When a community-derived population of 840 rheumatoid arthritis patients was used to test the American Rheumatism Association's 11 diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis, these criteria divided patients into 3 reasonably distinct classifications (probable, definite, and classic). The severity of disease increased in direct proportion to the number of positive criteria. Three criteria involve invasive procedures that are rarely performed; they are unnecessary for effective use of the other 8 criteria. Although 256 possible combinations of these 8 criteria exist, the criteria function principally to classify patients into only 7 major clinical syndromes, each of which corresponds to a major clinical presentation. By identifying the logical interrelationships between criteria in this report, we have confirmed their applicability and provided insight into the manner by which criteria classify patients.
Naming as Natural Process and Historical Narrative in Buffon’s Histoire naturelle, 1749–55

This essay examines the philosophical and methodological implications of naming natural objects during the Enlightenment, in particular, the effect that different methods of nomenclature had upon scientific language. To frame this issue, I begin with the analysis of works by two famous philosophers of Enlightenment thought, Michel Foucault and Ernst Cassirer, as well as the work of the eighteenth-century botanist, Carolus Linnaeus. The questions about how to identify and order nature raised by these writers provide a structure for the central topic of this paper, the comte de Buffon’s use of nomenclature in his definition of species in the Histoire naturelle. Here, a species is not determined by the visible characteristics that differentiate it from others, but by how the naturalist perceives its relationship to the past and its activity through time. The resulting names embody the historical process through which they were designated, both by natural time and by the natural historian, Buffon.
Phylogenetic Relationships and the Evolution of BMP4 in Triggerfishes and Filefishes (Balistoidea)

The triggerfishes (family Balistidae) and filefishes (family Monacanthidae) comprise a charismatic superfamily (Balistoidea) within the diverse order Tetraodontiformes. This group of largely marine fishes occupies an impressive ecological range across the world's oceans, and is well known for its locomotor and feeding diversity, unusual body shapes, small genome size, and ecological and economic importance. In order to investigate the evolutionary history of these important fish families, we used multiple phylogenetic methods to analyze molecular data from 86 species spanning the extant biodiversity of Balistidae and Monacanthidae. In addition to three gene regions that have been used extensively in phylogenetic analyses, we include sequence data for two mitochondrial regions, two nuclear markers, and the growth factor gene bmp4, which is involved with cranial development. Phylogenetic analyses strongly support the monophyly of the superfamily Balistoidea, the sister-family relationship of Balistidae and Monacanthidae, as well as three triggerfish and four filefish clades that are well resolved. A new classification for the Balistidae is proposed based on phylogenetic groups. Bayesian topology, as well as the timing of major cladogenesis events, is largely congruent with previous hypotheses of balistid phylogeny. However, we present a novel topology for major clades in the filefish family that illustrate the genera Aluterus and Stephanolepis are more closely related than previously posited. Molecular rates suggest a Miocene and Oligocene origin for the families Balistidae and Monacanthidae, respectively, and significant divergence of species in both families within the past 5 million years. A second key finding of this study is that, relative to the other protein-coding gene regions in our DNA supermatrix, bmp4 shows a rapid accumulation of both synonymous and non-synonymous substitutions, especially within the family Monacanthidae. Overall substitution patterns in bmp4 support the hypothesis of stabilizing selection during the evolutionary history of regulatory genes, with a small number of isolated examples of accelerated non-synonymous changes detected in our phylogeny.
Dynamic Interplay of Flow and Collagen Stabilizes Primary Hepatocytes Culture in a Microfluidic Platform

The creation of stable flow cultures of hepatocytes is highly desirable for the development of platforms for drug toxicity screening, bio-artificial liver support devices, and models for investigating liver physiology and pathophysiology. Given that hepatocytes cultured using the collagen overlay or in ‘sandwich’ configuration maintain a wide range of differentiated functions, we describe a simple method for adapting this culture configuration within a microfluidic device. The device design consists of a porous membrane sandwiched between two layers of PDMS resulting in a two-chambered device. In the bottom chamber, hepatocytes are cultured in the collagen sandwich configuration, while the top chamber is accessible for flow. We demonstrate that hepatocytes cultured under flow exhibit higher albumin and urea secretions and induce cytochrome P450 1A1 activity in comparison to static cultures. Furthermore, over two weeks, hepatocytes cultured under flow show a well-connected cellular network with bile canaliculi formation, whereas static cultures show formation of gaps in the cellular network that progressively increase over time. Although enhanced functional response of hepatocytes cultured under flow has been observed in multiple prior studies, the exact mechanism for this flow induced effect remains unknown. In our work, we identified that hepatocytes secrete a higher level of collagen in the flow cultures; inhibiting collagen secretion within the flow cultures reduced albumin secretion and restored the appearance of gaps in the cellular network similar to the static cultures. These results demonstrate the importance of the increased collagen secretion by hepatocytes cultured under flow as a mechanism to maintain a well-connected cellular network and a differentiated function.
Impulse C vs. VHDL for Accelerating Tomographic Reconstruction

While traditional methods of designing FPGA applications have relied on schematics or HDL, much interest has been shown in C-to-FPGA tool flows that allow users to design FPGA hardware in C. We evaluate a C-to-FPGA tool flow (Impulse C) by analyzing the performance of three independent implementations of the Computed tomography (CT) filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm developed using C, Impulse C, and VHDL respectively. In the process, we compare the design process of Impulse C versus HDL, and discuss the benefits and challenges of using Impulse C. In addition, we explore the benefits of tightly-coupled FPGA acceleration offered by the XtremeData XD1000. The results of this paper demonstrate that Impulse C designs can achieve over 61x improvement over multi-threaded software (8 threads), and close to the same performance as VHDL, while significantly reducing the design effort, and that tightly-coupled FPGA coprocessors like the XD1000 effectively overcomes the traditional communication bottleneck between CPU and FPGA.
High Read Stability and Low Leakage Cache Memory Cell

Data in conventional six transistor (6T) static random access memory (SRAM) cells are vulnerable to noise due to the direct access to the data storage nodes through the bit lines during a read operation. A new nine transistor (9T) SRAM cell is proposed in this paper for simultaneously enhancing read stability and reducing leakage power consumption. The proposed 9T SRAM cell isolates the data from the bit lines during a read operation. The read static-noise-margin (SNM) of the proposed circuit is enhanced by 2times as compared to a standard 6T SRAM cell in a 65 nm CMOS technology. Furthermore, leakage power consumption of the new 9T SRAM cell is reduced by 22.9% as compared to the 6T SRAM cell. The read stability enhancement and leakage power reduction provided by the new circuit technique are also verified under process parameter variations.
Striking a Balance: Effective Use of Facebook in an Academic Library

As one of the fastest growing social networking sites, Facebook presents librarians with a prime opportunity to engage academic library patrons. A survey of 136 users at Western Michigan University (WMU) measured the effectiveness of Facebook as a marketing, reference, and instruction tool. It also measured user comfort and satisfaction with a library's presence on Facebook. The majority of respondents found Facebook to be a useful and engaging medium to learn about library resources and services. The results of this study indicate that an effective library Facebook page must maintain a balance between providing pertinent and useful information and preserving patron privacy. In a second study also included in this article, data from a survey of 14 peer institutions of Western Michigan University positions WMU's local survey within the context of their peer's use of Facebook. The survey of peer institutions concludes that most libraries use Facebook for marketing and outreach purposes.
Pharmacodynamic optimization of β-lactams in the patient care setting

In order to eradicate an infecting organism, it is necessary to achieve or maintain concentrations of an antibiotic in vivo that exceed the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for the organism. Duration of exposure, or time above MIC, was recognized as being important for β-lactam antibiotics more than 60 years ago. Continuous infusion regimens are associated with higher clinical response rates, improvement in surrogate markers of outcome, and lower cost of therapy compared with intermittent infusion regimens, because the MIC can be exceeded for an entire dosing interval. However, for carbapenem antibiotics, it appears that the MIC must only be exceeded for 40% of the dosing interval for bactericidal activity in vivo. Therefore, a promising strategy to optimize carbapenem use is to administer the same dose at the same frequency of administration but to extend the infusion time. Extended infusion regimens take full advantage of a drug's exposure potential within the context of in vivo potency without altering the dose or dosing schedule and with no increase in toxicity or cost. Administering higher doses by extended infusion allows one to manage organisms with high MICs. Optimizing the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of an antibiotic allows one to 'make good drugs better'.
Reforming the undergraduate experience

This chapter examines common objectives in some of the major initiatives in higher education. It highlights the role of librarians and libraries in higher education reform.
Source-optimized irregular repeat accumulate codes with inherent unequal error protection capabilities and their application to scalable image transmission

The common practice for achieving unequal error protection (UEP) in scalable multimedia communication systems is to design rate-compatible punctured channel codes before computing the UEP rate assignments. This paper proposes a new approach to designing powerful irregular repeat accumulate (IRA) codes that are optimized for the multimedia source and to exploiting the inherent irregularity in IRA codes for UEP. Using the end-to-end distortion due to the first error bit in channel decoding as the cost function, which is readily given by the operational distortion-rate function of embedded source codes, we incorporate this cost function into the channel code design process via density evolution and obtain IRA codes that minimize the average cost function instead of the usual probability of error. Because the resulting IRA codes have inherent UEP capabilities due to irregularity, the new IRA code design effectively integrates channel code optimization and UEP rate assignments, resulting in source-optimized channel coding or joint source-channel coding. We simulate our source-optimized IRA codes for transporting SPIHT-coded images over a binary symmetric channel with crossover probability p. When p=0.03 and the channel code length is long (e.g., with one codeword for the whole 512/spl times/512 image), we are able to operate at only 9.38% away from the channel capacity with code length 132380 bits, achieving the best published results in terms of average peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR). Compared to conventional IRA code design (that minimizes the probability of error) with the same code rate, the performance gain in average PSNR from using our proposed source-optimized IRA code design is 0.8759 dB when p=0.1 and the code length is 12800 bits. As predicted by Shannon's separation principle, we observe that this performance gain diminishes as the code length increases.
Activation of HIV-1 expression and replication by cGMP dependent protein kinase type 1-β (PKG1β)

The effect of cGMP (cyclic GMP) dependent protein kinase 1-β (PKG1-β) and cGMP analogues on transcriptional activity and replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) was investigated. Transfection of PKG1β expression plasmid increased expression from an HIV-1 LTR-reporter as well as from an infectious HIV-1 molecular clone, pNL4-3. Treatment of HIV-1 AD8-infected monocyte derived macrophages (MDMs) with cGMP agonists and cGMP antagonists caused respectively increased and decreased virus replication. These findings provide evidence that cGMP and PKG serve to regulate HIV-1 infection in human cells.
Correspondence of results from hepatocyte studies with in vivo response.

Isolated hepatocyte systems are being examined in our laboratory for a number of applications, including alternatives to animal test ing. This report summarizes findings from studies with chlorinated aliphatics, acetaminophen, nitrotoluenes, and cyanide and its anti dotes that relate to in vivo toxicity and validation of these systems for cytotoxicity screening.
EpiSpec: A formal specification language for parameterized agent-based models against epidemiological ground truth

Building complex computational models of the spread of epidemics is a problem that has seen renewed interest in recent years. Such models are being used for understanding real-time disease evolution prediction and are also proving useful in the prevention, monitoring and control of contagious diseases. There is a pressing need to ensure reliability of epidemiological models since they are widely used in safety-critical applications. In this paper, we present a new spatio-temporal specification language, EpiSpec, for describing detailed properties of agent-based computational epidemiological models. We describe the formal syntax of EpiSpec and demonstrate its use by describing various spatio-temporal properties related to disease evolution, and propose the use of statistical model checking as an algorithmic technique for verification and validation of large computational epidemiological models.
Unexpected Findings on Point-of-Care Superficial Ultrasound Imaging Before Incision and Drainage

Cutaneous abscesses are typically incised and drained on the basis of clinical assessment. In most cases this procedure is a safe practice. We report 6 cases in which point-of-care ultrasound interrogation of obvious abscesses revealed potential serious complications with planned incision and drainage. Management was altered in 5 of 6 cases, and potential vascular disasters were avoided. In 1 case, the ultrasound results were ignored, and incision and drainage was completed, confirming the suspected abscess was indeed a solid mass later diagnosed as a carcinoma. In this case series, point-of-care ultrasound interrogation provided rapid assessment and discovery of potentially catastrophic anatomic relationships, avoiding serious complications.
Portable tetracycline analyzer based on LED-excitation europium-sensitized luminescence

Abstract Described in detail here is the design of a portable tetracycline (TC) analyzer based on europium-sensitized luminescence (ESL). The instrument operation and data processing are controlled by a laptop computer running a custom LabVIEW program. A 385-nm light emitting diode (LED) is used in pulse mode as excitation source. Compared to a conventional xenon flashlamp, an LED has a narrow emission bandwidth, weak residual radiation, and orders-of-magnitude-lower cost, weight, and power consumption. The time-resolved luminescence (TRL) signal is detected by a gated photomultiplier tube (PMT), and normalized by monitoring the energy of individual LED pulses with a photodiode (PD). Over three orders of magnitude (0.1–100 ppb TC), the TRL signal maintains linear dependence on TC concentration; beyond 100 ppb filter effects becomes obvious. A 0.060-ppb limit of detection (LOD) is achieved with a typical ∼5% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.). The background noise corresponds to ∼0.05 ppb. At 16 pounds, the analyzer is readily deployable for field analysis.
Geographic Protocol Information and Capacity Deficit in Mobile Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

Overheads incurred by network protocols diminish the capacity available for relaying useful data in a dynamic communications network. Discovering lower bounds on the amount of protocol overhead incurred is important for the development of efficient network protocols and for characterizing the effective capacity available for network users. This paper presents an information-theoretic framework for characterizing the minimum protocol overheads incurred for maintaining location information in a network with mobile nodes. Specifically, the minimum overhead problem is formulated as a rate-distortion problem. The formulation may be applied to networks with arbitrary traffic arrival and location service schemes. Lower bounds are derived for the minimum overheads incurred for maintaining the location of the nodes and consistent neighborhood information in terms of node mobility and packet arrival processes. This leads to a characterization of the deficit caused by the protocol overheads on the overall transport capacity.
On OFDMA Resource Allocation and Wavelength Assignment in OFDMA-Based WDM Radio-Over-Fiber Picocellular Networks

This paper addresses the orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) resource allocation and wavelength assignment problems in wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) radio-over-fiber picocellular networks with OFDMA as the wireless modulation and access scheme. We consider the case that the number of WDM wavelengths is limited in which one wavelength is shared among multiple picocells. The set of picocells sharing the same wavelength is referred to as a nanocell in this paper. Since picocells in the same nanocell cannot be allocated with OFDMA resource block (RB) of the same frequency at a time, the intra-nanocell interference is eliminated. However, picocells in different nanocells may be allocated with OFDMA RBs of the same frequency at a time, thus posing interference to each other. To minimize the inter-nanocell interference, OFDMA RBs of the same frequency are assigned to picocells which pose the least interference to each other. However, this may result in some picocells being allocated with a large number of OFDMA RBs, leading to the limited power share received by each OFDMA RB because of the power constraint of the picocell. To minimize the inter-nanocell interference with consideration of the power constraints of picocells, we recast the OFDMA resource allocation and wavelength assignment problems into graph problems, and then propose corresponding solutions.
Product Form Variability in the Mechanical Behavior of Type 304 Stainless Steel at Room Temperature and 593°C (1100°F)

Data are presented that describe the variability of 15 products of a reference heat of Type 304 stainless steel tested in the laboratory reannealed condition. Included in the data are chemistry, hardness, grain size, yield strength at room temperature, tensile curves at 593°C (1100°F), and creep-rupture curves to 1000 h at 593°C (1100°F). The standard deviation, representing the variation in the yield strength of the 15 products about the average, is near ′7.7 MPa at room temperature and ′6.3 MPa at 593°C (1100°F). The 1000-h rupture strength varies by 3.8 percent from the average and the stress to produce a minimum creep rate of 0.01 percent/h by 3.0 percent. Variation of strength in the primary creep range is also examined. The strength for a standard product, 25-mm plate, for which a large data base exists, is compared to the behavior of the other products, and it is observed that the 25-mm plate is fairly representative of the product average. Reasons for variability are examined, and it is thought that carbon content, nitrogen content, grain size, temperature control, and extensometer performance contribute to variability, and the extent depends on the type of test.
Apoptosis in Alzheimer’s Disease

It is a common premise that the irreversible loss of brain function in AD is due to the disruption of synapses and the loss of neurons that make those synapses. Accordingly, identification of the mechanisms causing circuit disruption and neuronal loss is critical to understanding and interrupting the progression of AD pathology.
Demographics and Cronartium appalachianum Rust Disease Assessments in Three Tennessee Populations of Buckleya distichophylla (Nutt.) Torr. (Santalaceae)

ABSTRACT A demographic census and disease assessment was conducted in 2007 and 2015 in three Tennessee populations of the dioecious shrub, Buckleya distichophylla (Santalaceae). Population sizes were relatively stable over time and plant heights and numbers of stems per clump were similar among populations. Seedlings were present in all populations, where they represented 14–19% of individuals. Two populations had an equal male:female sex ratio, but a third population was male-biased. Nonflowering individuals comprised 33–41% of individuals in a population. The majority of plants in all populations had high vigor. Spatial analyses revealed clusters of seedlings in two populations and a cluster of low-vigor plants in one population. Cronartium appalachianum, a rust fungus dependent upon Pinus virginiana and B. distichophylla as primary and alternate hosts, respectively, was present in all populations with prevalences on B. distichophylla of 19–29%, but there was no spatial clustering of disease in populat...
Recent Advances in Electrically Pumped Ge Lasers

Electrically pumped Ge lasers, integrated on a CMOS platform, are promising candidates as integrated light sources for on-chip photonic systems. The wide gain spectrum from 1520 nm to 1700 nm makes the Ge lasers ideal light sources for WDM applications. There are two main challenges for efficient electrically pumped Ge lasers, high n-type doping concentration and low-loss coupling from Ge waveguides to Si waveguides. The high n-type doping is necessary to overcome the indirect bandgap of Ge and reach gains comparable to other compound semiconductor lasers. We will show that an in-situ delta doping process will yield active Phosphorous concentrations of about 5 × 1019 cm-3. The first demonstrated lasers were made from Ge waveguides and did not couple light to Si waveguides, commonly used for on-chip photonic systems. Due to the large refractive index difference between Ge (4.0) and Si (3.5) low loss coupling from a Ge waveguide to a Si waveguide is challenging but a requirement for efficient Ge lasers. We will discuss the different device designs to provide low loss coupling for low threshold lasing.
Research and Practice of the Interactive-Teaching Method Applied in the Course of the International Business Practice

Interactive teaching method tallies with the teaching characteristics of international business practice. Adopting interactive method, we can change the one-way communication in class into multidirectional-intercourse. Using this method, we can not only mobilize the enthusiasm of the students to involve themselves into the teaching process, but also develop students' ability to study independently, to explore and innovate. We can also strengthen the awareness of team work and give students of different levels equal opportunities to develop.
Improving outcomes in PTLD.

In this issue of ONCOLOGY, Jacobson and LaCasce present a complete review of the risk factors, prognosis, and treatment of post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) following hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) and solid organ transplant (SOT). They aptly describe the continued relatively high rate of PTLD in transplant recipients; approximately 2% to 3% of all SOT subjects will ultimately develop this potentially fatal disorder, a rate that is more than 30 times higher than that in the general population.[1] Furthermore, lymphoproliferative diseases represent approximately 20% of all malignancies in SOT subjects, compared with ~5% in the general population.[2,3]
Spontaneous Rupture of the Renal Collecting System During Pregnancy: Successful Management with a Temporary Ureteral Catheter

AbstractSpontaneous rupture of the kidney or collecting system during pregnancy is an unusual condition. We report the sixteenth such case and, to our knowledge, the first case managed successfully with temporary insertion of a ureteral catheter. Based on our experience in this case, we recommend a modified approach to therapy for this condition.
Clinicopathologic evaluation of cytopenic patients with isolated trisomy 8: a detailed comparison between idiopathic cytopenia of unknown significance and low-grade myelodysplastic syndrome

The significance of an isolated trisomy 8 (+8) in the diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is not well established. It is common in MDS, but is not considered as an MDS-defining abnormality in the absence of morphologic dysplasia. We evaluated two groups of patients with isolated +8 and either low-grade MDS (LG-MDS) or idiopathic cytopenia of undetermined significance (ICUS). At presentation, ICUS patients had a lower platelet count (85.0 vs 163.5 × 109 cells/L; p = 0.02), while MDS patients had more frequent incidence of isolated anemia (64% vs 0%, p = 0.007). A subset (36%) of ICUS patients progressed to MDS or AML. These patients presented with more severe neutropenia (0.9 vs 3.1 × 103/μL, p = 0.01) and a trend toward a higher proportion (>50%) of +8 metaphases compared to those that did not progress (p = 0.05). Thus, ICUS patients with isolated +8 may progress to MDS and AML and deserve close clinical follow-up.
A THEORY OF IRREGULAR WAR II

Informers, they ought to be hanged. It is no sin to kill them. Quoted in Ranajit Guha, Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India You can't tell who's who. First Lieutenant Quinn Eddy, U.S. Army, Afghanistan, 2001 This chapter lays out the first part of a theory of irregular war as the foundation on which to build a theory of civil war violence. I begin by discussing the relation between irregular war and geographical space and I derive key implications for the nature of sovereignty in civil war. I then turn to the thorny issue of popular support, where I distinguish between attitudinal support (preferences) and behavioral support (actions). I argue in favor of a framework that makes no assumptions about the underlying preferences of the vast majority of the population and only minimal assumptions about behavioral support, in which complex, ambiguous, and shifting behavior by the majority is assumed, along with strong commitment by a small minority. I conclude with a discussion of the institutional context within which interactions between political actors and civilians take place. SOVEREIGNTY IN CIVIL WAR Analytically, the distinct character of irregular war is marked by the lack of front lines. A veteran of the campaigns against the American Indians remarked that “the front is all around, and the rear is nowhere” (in Paludan 1981:40); this feature was captured by a rhyme sung by German soldiers stationed in the occupied Soviet Union: Russians ahead Russians behind And in between Shooting (Cooper 1979:92) However, rather than being nonexistent, the boundaries separating two (or more) sides in an irregular war are blurred and fluid.
Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori Infection and Assessment of Eradication

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative, microaerophilic spiral bacterium which is recognized as the primary cause of chronic gastritis in humans. Untreated H. pylori infection precedes and is required for the development of most cases of gastric and duodenal ulcers (1, 2). Further, H. pylori infection substantially increases the risk of development of gastric cancer in some populations. Following the discovery and identification of H. pylori as a significant human pathogen, it is now recognized as probably the most common bacterial infection of humankind, infecting approximately 50% of the world's population. Specific antibiotics combined with proton pump inhibitors are now routinely used to treat and eliminate previously chronic gastroduodenal diseases. For their novel work in helping us to understand the critical role played by H. pylori in peptic ulcer disease, Robin Warren and Barry Marshall were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2005.
“The music never stopped”: naming businesses as a method for remembering the Grateful Dead

Memorialization on the cultural landscape is a common method of celebrating the legacy of an event or person significant to the history of geographical location. The Grateful Dead is a band that co...
Abstract 3700: Incidence trends of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer among US women in relation to changing patterns of menopausal hormone therapy

Background: Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) increases risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer. Following the Women9s Health Initiative (WHI) report in 2002 linking MHT to increased breast cancer risk, both MHT use and breast cancer rates declined sharply in the US. Subsequently, we reported an accelerated decline in ovarian cancer rates after 2002 using age-period-cohort (APC) modeling to estimate period changes independent of age and birth cohort effects. Given links between MHT and risks for breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer, we compared changes in rates of these tumors following the WHI announcement in 2002 by applying a comparative APC modeling approach. Methods: Using the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) database (1995-2010), we created three analytic files for women ages 50 to 84 years (surrogate for menopause): breast (ICD-0-3 codes C500-509; n = 1,597,409), endometrial (C540-549, C559; 340,498), and ovarian (C569; 174,755) cancers. We applied standard (SEER*STAT, joinpoint regression) and APC models to estimate cancer incidence rate changes pre- (1995-2002) and post- (2003-2010) WHI report, to assess temporal changes associated with the decline in MHT prescriptions. Results: Although age-standardized breast cancer incidence was heterogeneous before and after WHI-report, APC models demonstrated a decline in rates after 2002. Age-standardized endometrial cancer rates declined 0.82%/year (95% CI: -1.44 to -0.19%/year) pre-WHI, after which the rates increased 1.03%/year (95% CI: 0.59 to 1.47%/year). APC models confirmed the increase for endometrial cancer post-WHI. Age-standardized ovarian cancer incidence declined 1.02%/year (95% CI: -1.55 to -0.48%/year) pre-WHI, after which the rates declined 2.36%/year (95% CI: -3.00 to -1.70%/year). APC models showed an accelerated decline in ovarian cancer incidence post-WHI. Conclusion: Following a marked reduction in MHT use circa 2002, incidence rate trends changed somewhat differently for breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer. Specifically, rising breast cancer rates fell, decreasing endometrial cancer rates increased, and decreasing ovarian cancer rates fell more rapidly. Further analysis by age, race and histological subtype may provide insights into complex etiological differences between these hormone-related tumors. Citation Format: Hannah P. Yang, William F. Anderson, Britton Trabert, Philip S. Rosenberg, Gretchen L. Gierach, Clara Bodelon, Nicolas Wentzensen, Kathleen A. Cronin, Mark E. Sherman. Incidence trends of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer among US women in relation to changing patterns of menopausal hormone therapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3700. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3700
The role of tumor-derived exosomes in epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT).

Exosomes are membrane-bound small vesicles (30–150 nm) produced by all cell types and present in all body fluids (1). They are a part of the intercellular communication system that is evolutionarily conserved and operates in bacteria as well as all multicellular organisms (2). Tumor cells produce and release masses of exosomes into the extracellular space. These exosomes carry information in the form of molecular signals and/or genetic materials (mRNA, miRNA, DNA) from the parent tumor cell to locally- or distantly-located recipient cells. Exosome-mediated transfer of information results in re-programming of the recipient cell genome and proteome and ultimately leads to the acquisition of new cellular functions (3).