cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The pin-striped habit balancing charity and business in Catholic hospitals, 1865-1915.

Background: Nursing literature seldom examines Catholic sisters as entrepreneurs competing in the hospital marketplace, even though they established hospitals throughout the United States in the late 19 t h and early 20 t h centuries. Objectives: This study examines the tension between hospitals as businesses and charities by asking how nursing sisters, who took vows of poverty, could build impressive hospital networks. What links did they forge to make hospital building possible? Method: Historical methodology is used which draws upon primary sources in archives of three women's religious congregations. These include nuns' constitutions and letters, hospital chronicles, journals, minutes of meetings, annual reports, and census records. Secondary sources include nursing, hospital, religious, and economic histories. Results: Catholic sisters' entrepreneurial activities were pragmatic adaptions that reflected their commitment to their nursing and hospital establishments. They raised money and formed alliances not to build personal fortunes but to build religious values. Their entrepreneurship and spirituality worked together. Discussion: Sister-nurses'viewed their actions as doing what was necessary to their mission. A finacially stable hospital, with it's large patient population, enhanced the social and spiritual importance of nun's work. Yet, the broad-based corporate culture of Catholic hospitals still needs further study.
ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC CELL TRANSPLANTATION IN THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC LYMPHOCITIC LEUKEMIA : WHY AND WHEN ?

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common hematologic malignancy in adults with an incidence rate of 4.2 per 100,000 per year. CLL frequently takes an indolent course, with some patients not requiring treatment for years, yet is incurable by currently available chemo- and immuno-therapeutic modalities. Despite high initial response rates, particularly to purine analogues, patients invariably relapse and subsequently develop resistance to therapy. The traditional “watchful waiting” approach to CLL is being challenged by data showing that treatments used early in the disease course impact long-term overall and progression-free survivals . The only curative treatment for CLL currently, is allogeneic hematopoeietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). In contrast to autologous transplant, myeloablative alloHCT for CLL patients generates durable remissions with promising survival plateaus; however, significant transplant related mortality (TRM) is also observed (25-50%) . At present the fact remains that for poor-risk CLL, alloHCT is the only treatment with the potential of providing long-term disease control. Future combinations with emerging low-toxicity therapies may further enhance the curative potential of allogeniec hematopoietic cell transplant. New drugs can also potentially enable refractory patients to attain response as a bridge to more effective stem cell transplantation.
31. Computation tools at the forefront of cryosurgery development

Cryosurgery practices have evolved over the years in close relationship with concurrent technology developments. Well recognized milestones along the path of development are the beginning of commercial production of liquefied gases at the beginning of the 20th century; leading to the widespread of cryosurgery as a medical treatment, the development of the cryostat by Cooper and Lee in the early 1960s; leading to the dramatic development of cryosurgery as an invasive procedure, and advances in medical imaging; leading to the expansion of cryosurgery as a multi-cryoprobe and minimally invasive procedure in the 1990s. The new minimally invasive procedure has presented additional technical challenges associated with visualization of the process, correlating medical imaging with the thermal history, optimizing the geometry and the cooling capability of each cryoprobe, and optimizing the total number of cryoprobes and their layout. Recent developments in computer hardware and computation techniques are now defining the next milestone in the evolution of cryosurgery. The current presentation focuses on recent developments in computation tools for purposes of training, planning, and monitoring of the cryoprocedure. This presentation reviews the key building blocks of computation in the service of cryosurgery, including geometric modeling of the target region, integration of clinical data on the progression of the disease, bioheat transfer simulation techniques, optimization methods for cryosurgery planning, incorporation of real-time temperature data, and integration of the thermal field with medical imaging. Examples are drawn from prostate cryosurgery, which has been extensively studied over the years. In conclusion, this presentation provides a broader view on the role of computation tools in the service of cryosurgery, while discussing directions for future developments.
Avoiding the false peaks in correlation discrimination

Fiducials imprinted on laser beams are used to perform video image based alignment of the 192 laser beams in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In many video images, matched filtering is used to detect the location of these fiducials. Generally, the highest correlation peak is used to determine the position of the fiducials. However, when the signal to-be-detected is very weak compared to the noise, this approach totally breaks down. The highest peaks act as traps for false detection. The active target images used for automatic alignment in the National Ignition Facility are examples of such images. In these images, the fiducials of interest exhibit extremely low intensity and contrast, surrounded by high intensity reflection from metallic objects. Consequently, the highest correlation peaks are caused by these bright objects. In this work, we show how the shape of the correlation is exploited to isolate the valid matches from hundreds of invalid correlation peaks, and therefore identify extremely faint fiducials under very challenging imaging conditions.
Ultrastructural changes in renal proximal tubules after tetraethyllead intoxication

Abstract Tetraethyllead (TEL) has been shown to be both an occupational and an environmental hazard to human health. The present study investigates pathological changes in the kidney as a result of TEL poisoning. Rabbits were injected (ip) with 100–200 mg TEL, and controls were injected with an equal volume of normal saline solution. Animals were sacrificed upon onset of toxic symptoms (hyperirritation, tremor, and convulsion). Animals were perfused with 2.5% glutaraldehyde. Tissue samples from the renal cortex were obtained for electron microscopy. Pathological changes were not remarkable at the light microscopic level; however, electron microscopic examination revealed marked cytological changes in the epithelial cells of the proximal tubules (PT) of animals treated with TEL. Enlargement of apical vacuoles and accumulation of lysosomes and microbodies were promient findings in many PT epithelial cells. Many lysosomes appeared to be atypical in nature, displaying a high degree of pleomorphism in size, shape, and density. Giant lysosomes measuring 8–10 μm in diameter and crystalloid bodies within lysosomes were also observed. Configurational changes (increased convolution, branching, vesiculation, and degranulation) of the rough endoplasmic reticulum leading to the formation of honeycomb-like bodies were also found in many PT epithelial cells. The formation of the honeycomb-like bodies may represent a hyperplastic, hypoactive form of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and denotes a disruption of protein synthesis in these cells by TEL.
Minimizing Cumulative Error in Discourse Context

Cumulative error limits the usefulness of context in applications utilizing contextual information. It is especially a problem in spontaneous speech systems where unexpected input, out-of-domain utterances and missing information are hard to fit into the standard structure of the contextual model. In this paper we discuss how our approaches to recognizing speech acts address the problem of cumulative error. We demonstrate the advantage of the proposed approaches over those that do not address the problem of cumulative error. The experiments are conducted in the context of Enthusiast, a large Spanish-to-English speech-to-speech translation system in the appointment scheduling domain [10, 5, 11].
Loss optimization of coplanar strips for CMOS RFICs

An optimization scheme for minimizing substrate losses in coplanar strips (CPS) transmission line on CMOS grade low resistivity silicon substrate with SU-8 polymer as dielectric interface layer, is presented. It is shown that through careful selection of CPS linewidth, the substrate losses can be sufficiently reduced for a given dielectric layer thickness. For a 100 Ω CPS line with SU-8 polymer as dielectric, the optimized linewidth has been found to be around three times the SU-8 layer thickness. Utilizing this approach, CPS lines with attenuation as low as 0.9 dB/mm at 40GHz has been demonstrated on a 15-µm thick SU-8 layer, which is comparable to the coplanar waveguide (CPW) line losses on similar dielectric thickness as reported in literature. A compact, wideband, and low loss CPW/CPS RF transition has also been presented with the measured RF back-to-back transition loss of less than 0.85 dB till 40 GHz.
Giant Retinal Tear as a Complication of Attempted Removal of Intravitreal Lens Fragments During Cataract Surgery

Purpose To report giant retinal tear and retinal detachment as a complication of attempted removal of intravitreal lens fragments at the time of cataract surgery and to evaluate the anatomic and visual acuity outcomes of pars plana vitrectomy and retinal reattachment surgery. Methods Retrospectively, 10 patients with giant retinal tear, retinal detachment, and intravitreal lens fragments in 10 eyes were reviewed. Results In 10 eyes, retrieval of intravitreal lens fragments using the limbal approach by deep vitrectomy, copious vitreous cavity irrigation, or deep vitreous cavity phacoemulsification had been attempted by the anterior segment surgeon at the time of cataract surgery in each patient. The average interval from cataract surgery to the initial vitreoretinal consultation was 8 days. Each of the 10 eyes had a giant retinal tear involving the inferior retina: in four eyes, of between 90 degrees and 180 degrees; in four, equal to 180 degrees; and in two, of greater than 180 degrees. After pars plana vitrectomy and retinal detachment repair, nine (90%) of 10 eyes had retinal reattachment, but seven patients required more than one operation. One eye had persistent retinal detachment, and one eye had corneal graft failure. Seven (70%) of the 10 eyes had best-corrected final visual acuity of 20/200 or better; three eyes had light-perception, hand-motion, and counting-fingers vision. Conclusions Aggressive attempts at intravitreal lens fragment retrieval from a limbal-based approach should be avoided because these procedures may result in serious retinal complications, such as formation of a giant retinal tear.
Study of ribonucleotide reductase in cells infected with six clinical isolates of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) with mutations in its larger subunit.

Abstract Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) induces a novel ribonucleotide reductase (RR) composed of two subunits (140 and 38 kDa) in infected cells. Other investigators have developed a monoclonal antibody, A6, against the 140-kDa subunit of RR and have found, in about 1 % of the cases, an inability to detect this protein in cells infected with clinical isolates of HSV-2. We therefore investigated whether in such cases the clinical isolates were capable of inducing viral RR activity and whether the lack of detection of the 140-kDa protein by the monoclonal antibody was due to an alteration in the antigenic site of this protein. Six such isolates were examined and were found to induce RR activity, similar to HSV-2 (strain 333) RR, which did not require ATP for CDP reduction. Western blot analyses using A6 failed to detect the protein. However, R1, a polyclonal antibody raised against viral RR was capable of detecting this subunit. In addition, R1 was also capable of neutralizing RR activity induced by all the isolates and HSV-2 (strain 333). In conclusion, the lack of detection of the large subunit of RR was not due to the lack of induction but was due to an alteration in the antigenic site recognized by A6; this alteration did not appear to affect the properties of the induced RR activity.
The Inconsistency of Natural Languages: How We Live with It

I revisit my earlier arguments for the (trivial) inconsistency of natural languages, and take up the objection that no such argument can be established on the basis of surface usage. I respond with the evidential centrality of surface usage: the ways it can and can't be undercut by linguistic science. Then some important ramifications of having an inconsistent natural language are explored: (1) the temptation to engage in illegitimate reductio reasoning, (2) the breakdown of the knowledge idiom (because its facticity isn't comfortable with every sentence being true and false). Restoring the utility of the knowledge idiom motivates regimentation—the consistentist reinterpretation of natural language inferences (as they occur in real time). It's then sketched how to give the semantics of a natural language despite its inconsistency: Necessary and sufficient truth conditions are dropped in favor of necessary truth conditions and sufficient truth conditions.
Experimental Staphylococcus Aureus Infections in Humans

S. aureus infections have been consistently induced in normal human skin by applying large inocula to areas degermed with ethanol and kept moist under an occlusive dressing. The ED 50 was approximately 10 3 /cm 2 . With about 10 6 organisms, cm 2 , an erythematous rash appeared in three days which evolved to an intense papulo-vesicular eruption, by six days. Removal of the dressing was followed by swift death of almost all the organisms followed by immediate resolution of the lesion within a few days. There was a great loss of viable cells in the first hour after application which continued for 24 hours; thereafter, the organisms proliferated to a peak density of about 2 ×10 7 /cm 2 . The resident cocci and diphtheroids began to re-enter the site by about the 3rd day and were completely restored by 6 days. The organisms were confined to the surface and did not proliferate within the living portion of the skin. Histopathologically the lesion was a toxic dermatitis with epidermal necrosis, edema, hemorrhange and thrombosis. This clinical entity may be described as toxic pyoderma.
On moments and tail behavior of v-stable random variables

Abstract In this paper a class of limiting probability distributions of normalized sums of a random number of i.i.d. random variables is considered. The representation of such distributions via stable laws and asymptotic behavior of their moments and tail probabilities are established.
The neurology of proverbs.

Although proverb tests are commonly used in the mental status examination surprisingly little is known about either normal comprehension or the interpretation of proverbial expressions. Current proverbs tests have conceptual and linguistic shortcomings, and few studies have been done to investigate the specific effects of neurological and psychiatric disorders on the interpretation of proverbs. Although frontal lobes have traditionally been impugned in patients who are "concrete", recent studies targeting deficient comprehension of non literal language (e.g. proverbs, idioms, speech formulas, and indirect requests) point to an important role of the right hemisphere (RH). Research describing responses of psychiatrically and neurologically classified groups to tests of proverb and idiom usage is needed to clarify details of aberrant processing of nonliteral meanings. Meanwhile, the proverb test, drawing on diverse cognitive skills, is a nonspecific but sensitive probe of mental status.
Delay and Cycles

When the profitability of investment depends on the general level of economic activity, entrepreneurs have an incentive to delay investments during a recession. Endogenous delay thus prolongs the recovery from a recession and heightens the effect of the boom. This paper describes a dynamic model that exhibits both delay and cycles and develops methods for analysing the role of delay in propogating business cycles. A number of interesting characteristics of the cycle are revealed. First, the effect of delay is asymmetric: it lengthens the recovery but not the downturn. Second, delay can increase the amplitude and typically reduces the frequency of the cycle. Third, it can reduce the average level of activity, but it achieves this effect by prolonging the recession rather than by reducing the amplitude of the cycle. The welfare effects of delay are ambiguous, however.
The model for end-stage liver disease (MELD)

The Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) was initially created to predict survival in patients with complications of portal hypertension undergoing elective placement of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts. The MELD which uses only objective variables was validated subsequently as an accurate predictor of survival among different populations of patients with advanced liver disease. The major use of the MELD score has been in allocation of organs for liver transplantation. However, the MELD score has also been shown to predict survival in patients with cirrhosis who have infections, variceal bleeding, as well as in patients with fulminant hepatic failure and alcoholic hepatitis. MELD may be used in selection of patients for surgery other than liver transplantation and in determining optimal treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who are not candidates for liver transplantation. Despite the many advantages of the MELD score, there are approximately 15%-20% of patients whose survival cannot be accurately predicted by the MELD score. It is possible that the addition of variables that are better determinants of liver and renal function may improve the predictive accuracy of the model. Efforts at further refinement and validation of the MELD score will continue.
Broadband Plasmonic Microlenses Based on Patches of Nanoholes

This paper reports a new type of diffractive microlens based on finite-areas of two-dimensional arrays of circular nanoholes (patches). The plasmonic microlenses can focus single wavelengths of light across the entire visible spectrum as well as broadband white light with little divergence. The focal length is determined primarily by the overall size of the patch and is tolerant to significant changes in patch substructure, including lattice geometry and local order of the circular nanoholes. The optical throughput, however, depends sensitively on the patch substructure and is determined by the wavelengths of surface plasmon resonances. This simple diffractive lens design enables millions of broadband plasmonic microlenses to be fabricated in parallel using soft nanolithographic techniques.
Legal Weapons for the Weak? Democratizing the Force of Words in an Uncivil Society

First Amendment absolutists and proponents of speech regulation are locked in a normative stalemate over the best way to diminish racial “hate speech.” I argue that this stalemate can be overcome by considering a more expansive theory of the “force of words” and the risks the right of free speech entails for individuals. Drawing on a cultural theory of symbolic power, I discuss the merits and limitations of two recent texts which redefine hate speech as discriminatory conduct. As an alternative to this strategy, I develop an analytical framework for describing the social risks the right of free speech entails, and propose juridical and deliberative-democratic remedies that might redistribute and attenuate these risks. Cultural and legal theory can find common ground in the analysis of the undemocratic effects of symbolic power. Such common ground can be achieved if legal theorists consider the force of words as a problem for democracy and if cultural theorists consider the resources provided by democratic institutions and practices for the redistribution of the social risks of speech
Hormones and the lung. I. Thyroid hormones and glucocorticoids in lung development

It has been proposed that thyroid hormones may have a role in the regulation of lung development and the maturation of the surfactant system. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of exogenous thyroxine (T4) on rat lung development and to investigate possible interactions of this hormone with the glucocorticoids, other hormones implicated in the regulation of lung development. A number of different experimental protocols were utilized: T4 was administered to day 17 and 18 rat fetuses from untreated animals as well as from animals which had been adrenalectomized or treated with the 11-β-hydroxylase inhibitor, Metopirone; replacement hydrocortisone was administered to some groups. Sham-operated and untreated animals were included as controls. Animals were sacrificed from days 19-22 (term, day 22-23) of gestation and the fetal lungs were examined. Accelerated lung development was observed in all experimental groups receiving T4. Alveolar epithelial cells were more differentiated in comparison to controls. Glycogen deposits were diminished, cell flattening was more advanced, mitochondria, Golgi complexes and rough endoplasmic reticulum were more prominent, and lamellar bodies, storage sites for pulmonary surfactant, were greatly increased in number. Secretion of lamellar bodies into the alveolar space was also stimulated. The results also indicated that T4 and glucocorticoids act together in the acceleration of lung development. Under conditions of decreased glucocorticoids (Metopirone treatment and adrenalectomy), stimulatory effects of T4 were still evident but less pronounced; hydrocortisone replacement increased the observed stimulation. Maximal acceleration of lung development was observed subsequent to T4 and uncontrolled surgical stress. These results demonstrate that T4 can accelerate rat lung development and that this acceleration is maximal in the presence of glucocorticoids.
Cost-related medication underuse: prevalence among hospitalized managed care patients.

BACKGROUND: The affordability of prescription medications continues to be a major public health issue in the United States. Estimates of cost-related medication underuse come largely from surveys of ambulatory patients. Hospitalized patients may be vulnerable to cost-related underuse and its consequences, but have been subject to little investigation. OBJECTIVE: To determine impact of medication costs in a cohort of hospitalized managed care beneficiaries. METHODS: We surveyed consecutive patients admitted to medical services at an academic medical center. Questions about cost-related underuse were based on validated measures; predictors were assessed with multivariable models. Participants were asked about strategies to improve medication affordability, and were contacted after discharge to determine if they had filled newly prescribed medications. RESULTS: One-hundred thirty (41%) of 316 potentially eligible patients participated; 93 (75%) of these completed postdischarge surveys. Thirty patients (23%) reported cost-related underuse in the year prior to admission. In adjusted analyses, patients of black race were 3.39 times (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05 to 11.02) more likely to report cost-related underuse than non-Hispanic white patients. Virtually all respondents (n = 123; 95%) endorsed at least 1 strategy to make medications more affordable. Few (16%) patients, prescribed medications at discharge, knew how much they would pay at the pharmacy. Almost none had spoken to their inpatient (4%) or outpatient (2%) providers about the cost of newly prescribed drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Cost-related underuse is common among hospitalized patients. Individuals of black race appear to be particularly at risk. Strategies should be developed to address this issue around the time of hospital discharge. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2012. © 2011 Society of Hospital Medicine
Influencing Inhalant Intentions by Changing Socio-Personal Expectations

This study investigates an approach for reducing inhalant initiation among younger adolescents: altering Socio-Personal Expectations (SPEs), a term referring to perceived linkages between behavior and personally relevant social outcomes. The study focuses specifically on SPEs regarding outcomes associated with increased social status and popularity. An anti-inhalant message was embedded within a short anti-bullying education video. Young adolescents (N = 893) were assigned randomly to receive a message focused on the physical or the social harms of inhalant use. The objectives of this study were to test: (1) the malleability of SPEs, (2) SPEs’ predictive validity for future inhalant use, and (3) whether being exposed to a socio-personal threat, rather than a physical threat, led to different variables affecting drug-relevant decision-making processes. Analysis of variance suggested the malleability of SPEs (p < .001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that SPEs were predictive of future inhalant use. SPEs accounted for a significant portion of variance in future intentions over and above demographic variables, prior use, psychosocial variables, and perceived physical harm (R 2 = .26, p < .01). Moreover, being exposed to a social, rather than a physical threat, message resulted in different variables being predictive of future intentions to use inhalants.
Feeding on nectar and honeydew sugars improves survivorship of two nocturnal cursorial spiders

Abstract Sugars from extrafloral nectar and honeydew may be important resources for nocturnal cursorial spiders such as Cheiracanthium inclusum (Hentz) and Hibana futilis (Banks). C. inclusum spiderlings given only water survived an average of 6.1 d. When provided with cotton extrafloral nectar and mealybug honeydew, their survivorship was extended to an average of 52.6 and 37.9 d, respectively (870% and 626% increases). Choice tests demonstrated conclusively that spiders fed on nectar, honeydew and sugar solutions to obtain nutrients, and not simply to obtain moisture. Component sugars of extrafloral nectar (sucrose, glucose and fructose) and honeydews (maltose, melezitose and raffinose) were equally acceptable for feeding by H. futilis, but not for C. inclusum. Maltose was fed on by C. inclusum for significantly shorter periods than the other plant and honeydew sugars. Consumption of each of the individual sugars by H. futilis improved spiderling survival significantly over water, but less for raffinose than for the other sugars. The percent improvement in mean H. futilis survival over water alone varied from 394% for raffinose (mean = 16.6 d) to 1414% for maltose (mean = 56.9 d). The remaining four sugars extended survival greater than 1079%. That spiderlings survived for weeks on diets comprised only of individual sugars indicates that the availability of nectar and honeydew can be of considerable importance to the survivorship of cursorial spiders in the field.
Some entropic aspects of optical diffraction imagery

Abstract The entropy of the point-spread function is introduced as a measure of its effective area. Numerical calculations show that any change in the pupil function induced by wavefront aberrations or by apodization increase the entropy relative to that of an in-focus, aberration-free Airy system. It is shown that `defects' of the entropy in information theory such as dependence on a particular coordinate system are natural consequences of the scaling properties of the optical diffraction integral. The minimum entropy point-spread function has been determined by a variable metric minimization algorithm. It is shown (or at least made plausible) that in-focus, aberration-free Airy system possesses the minimum entropy. Any derivation for this condition leads to increased entropy.
Measurement of fracture toughness of ultra-thin amorphous carbon films

The nanoindentation fracture of ultra thin amorphous carbon films on silicon by a conical indenter was studied, and compared with the nanoindentation fracture of the same films on silicon by a cube corner indenter. It is found that the conical indenter gives an indentation fracture similar to that by the cube corner indenter. The cube corner indenter results in a larger stress concentration leading to fracture of films at lower loads. Based on the analysis of the energy release in cracking, the fracture toughness of the films was calculated. The results show that the conical indenter gives the same fracture toughness values as the cube corner indenter and these calculated values are in good agreement with those measured by conventional methods.
GTD, UTD, UAT and STD: A Historical Revisit

In his landmark paper dated February 1962, Prof. Keller introduced the notion of Keller's cone and stated, “Geometrical optics, the oldest and most widely used theory of light propagation, fails to account for certain optical phenomena called diffraction…”. I had a personal encounter with Keller's cone at a hotel in Florida! In an early morning on October 14, 2007, I witnessed Keller's cone on the door of my hotel room resulting from edge diffraction from a TV stand due to the sun rays coming through an opening of a window curtain. By now we know how to construct the local plane wave behavior of the diffracted field along the diffracted rays by invoking the fact that an edge forms one of the caustics of the diffracted wave front. We also know that the diffracted field is of the order of k−1/2 in comparison to the geometrical optics field which is of the order of k0. In many antenna and scattering problems this added diffracted term enhances the accuracy of the total field immensely. Due to the boundary layer properties of the diffracted ray field, along the incident and shadow boundaries and also caustics the original form of Keller's construction fails. This shortcoming has been overcome through construction of the Uniform Theory of Diffraction (UTD by Kouyoujian and Pathak), Uniform Asymptotic Theory (UAT by Ahluwalia, Beorsma, Lewis, Lee and Deschamps) and the Spectral Theory of Diffraction (STD by Rahmat-Samii and Mittra). An overview and salient features of these theories are revisited in a novel and unified manner.
Advances in rearing cobia Rachycentron canadum larvae in recirculating aquaculture systems: Live prey enrichment and greenwater culture

Cobia Rachycentron canadum is a relatively hardy species which exhibits high rates of growth during the larval and juvenile periods. Currently, this species is considered to be a good candidate for commercial production in recirculating aquaculture systems. However, little information is available regarding the nutritional requirements of cobia larvae in such systems, and this information is required to advance commercial technologies for the successful production of cobia fingerlings. Experiments were conducted to examine the effects of enriching rotifers and Artemia with live algae or commercial preparations on the growth and survival of cobia R. canadum larvae and to evaluate the benefits of adding live algae to the systems. Prey items were enriched with live Isochrysis galbana, live Nannochloris oculata, Algamac 2000, Algamac 2000 supplemented with 10% or 20% Aquagrow arachidonic acid, or Algamac 3050. In addition, larvae fed prey enriched with Algamac 2000 were reared in the presence of live I. galbana (∼ 40,000 cells ml− 1) or N. oculata (∼ 80,000 cells ml− 1). Significant differences in the fatty acid composition of the rotifers and Artemia were found among treatments. Generally, prey enriched with the commercial preparations contained higher levels of highly unsaturated fatty acids than those enriched with live algae. Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and the amount of DHA measured in the whole body tissues of 16-day-old larvae. Larval growth (measured as standard length) and survival of 16-day-old larvae were significantly higher (P < 0.05) when larvae were fed prey enriched with the commercial preparations (14.7–15.2 mm; 12.0–15.6%) compared to N. oculata (11.8 mm; 4.4%). However, when larvae were reared on N. oculata enriched rotifers and subsequently fed Algamac 2000 enriched Artemia there were no significant differences in growth or survival compared to larvae which were fed both rotifers and Artemia enriched with Algamac 2000. This suggests that the enrichment of rotifers may be less important than the enrichment of Artemia. No significant differences in growth or survival were found when larvae were fed prey enriched with live I. galbana (13.5 mm; 8.2%) or commercial preparations (12.4–12.6 mm; 12.9%). However, the presence of live algae (I. galbana or N. oculata) in the rearing tanks significantly improved larval survival to 23.3% and 24.7%, respectively. The results of this study suggest that enriching rotifers and Artemia with live I. galbana or commercial preparations such as Algamac 2000 and 3050 in conjunction with greenwater culture systems improves the growth and survival of cobia larvae in recirculating aquaculture systems.
Thermodynamics of adsorption of organic compounds on the surface of Bruceton coal measured by gas chromatography

Abstract Isosteric heats of adsorption of a variety of organic molecules on Bruceton coal were measured by gas chromatography. The time required for these measurements is much less than that required for adsorption equilibria in static systems and the implications of this are discussed. Both pyridine and methanol show highly specific interactions with this coal surface. For all other solutes examined, the interactions seem to be dominated by dipolar and London forces, hydrogen-bonding and acid-base interactions playing a small role.
Antagonism of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)-induced CYP1A1 gene expression by 6-methyl-1,3,8-trichlorodibenzofuran (MCDF) : mechanistic studies

Abstract Treatment of rat hepatoma H-4-II E cells with 10−9 M 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) resulted in maximal induction of cytochrome P4501A1-dependent ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity. In contrast, 10−6 M 6-methyl-1,3,8-trichlorodibenzofuran (MCDF) was relatively inactive as an inducer. Cotreatment with TCDD (10−9 M) and MCDF (10−8, 10−7, 10−6 M) resulted in a concentration-dependent antagonism of EROD induction. In addition, MCDF caused a concentration-dependent decrease in TCDD-induced CYP1A1 mRNA levels. In a parallel study, MCDF reduced the accumulation of transcriptionally active nuclear [3H]TCDD:Ah receptor complexes. Receptor competition studies with freshly prepared Sprague-Dawley rat cytosol revealed that MCDF competes with [3H]TCDD for Ah receptor binding sites (EC50 ≈ 140 nM). These results suggest that MCDF antagonizes TCDD-mediated induction of CYP1A1 gene expression by competition for the Ah receptor and by decreasing the accumulation of transcriptionally active nuclear Ah receptor complexes.
The geminal structure of the compound N3P3Cl4(NH2)2

Abstract A comparison of the 31P NMR spectra of the compounds N3P3Cl5(NH2) and N3P3Cl4(NH2)2 suggests, but does not prove conclusively, that the NH2 groups are geminally arranged in molecules of the latter. A similar comparison of the spectra of the compounds N3P3Cl5(NPCl3) and N3P3Cl4 (NPCl3)2 indicates clearly that the NPCl3 groups in the latter are geminally arranged and implies strongly a geminal molecular structure for the precursor, N3P3Cl4(NH2)2. The calculated 31P spectrum for geminal N3P3Cl4(NPCl3)2 agrees closely with the observed. A mechanism accounting for geminal substitution in the reaction of ammonia with trimeric phosphonitrilic chloride is proposed. Procedures for preparing and purifying the compounds N3P3Cl5(NH2), N3P3Cl5(NPCl3), and N3P3Cl4(NPCl3)2 are described.
Optical properties of ice clouds: new modeling capabilities and relevant applications

A combination of the invariant imbedding T-matrix (II-TM) method, the improved geometric-optics method (IGOM), and the pseudo-spectral time domain (PSTD) method provides advanced modeling capabilities to simulate the singlescattering properties of ice crystals for the entire size parameter range. The downstream applications of the singlescattering properties simulated from the new modeling capabilities, and, consequently, the bulk radiative properties render significant improvements, particularly, in remote sensing implementations involving ice clouds. Furthermore, the single-scattering properties of individual ice crystals are simulated. In addition, a sensitivity study is performed regarding the application of the single-scattering properties to remote sensing of ice cloud properties based on spaceborne observations.
No Association of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Related Genetic Variants With Colon Cancer

Background Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) are known risk factors for colon cancer. Recent reports from a number of genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with obesity and T2D. Here we tested the hypothesis that these SNPs may also be associated with risk of colon cancer. Methods We genotyped nine SNPs reported in GWAS of obesity and/or T2D, including SNPs in HHEX, KCNJ11, SLC30A8, FTO, CDKN2, CDKAL1, TCF2, and the rs9300039 SNP in an intergenic region, in 561 colon cancer cases and 721 population controls. Results None of these SNPs were statistically significantly associated with colon cancer in our sample. Conclusions Overall, these results suggest that these obesity and T2D genetic susceptibility loci are unlikely to influence the risk of colon cancer.
Onset of nonlinear hopping conduction in R-percolation

Abstract The problem of nonlinear transport in disordered Anderson insulators is addressed. In previous theoretical works, four nonlinear effects have been proposed, and their relative importance is currently not clear. Eliminating two by an appropriate choice of model, the other two, namely the field-induced charge redistribution, and the backward flow on segments of the percolation path, are studied here in detail near the onset of nonlinear behaviour. The model is a reasonable representation of impurity conduction, so results can be compared with experiment. An expansion of the current density to third order in the field has been developed, and used to construct an algorithm for a computer simulation study using percolation theory. Strong fluctuations of conductance existing on a scale less than a correlation length of the current-carrying percolation cluster are accounted for in detail, while the small fluctuations which exist on a larger scale are treated by effective medium theory.
Geo-ethnography: Coupling Geographic Information Analysis Techniques with Ethnographic Methods in Urban Research

Abstract This research article focuses on the coupling of geographic information system (GIS) technologies with ethnographic data, an approach we refer to as geo-ethnography. The data used here were gathered in an ongoing, multi-site study of low-income families and their children. Throughout our work, the goals have been to think creatively about how GIS can be used in welfare research, to stretch the technology, and to revise the methodologies we currently use. We specifically discuss the ways in which the ethnographic data on families and neighbourhoods have been integrated within a GIS and how these two methods, alone and in combination, help situate families’ actions and experiences in time and space and enhance data analysis and interpretation. More specifically, we focus on conceptual and methodological issues we have faced in the process of this integration and on practical strategies for combining qualitative and quantitative research.
Larval Survival and Pupation of the Wireworms Melanotus depress us and Limonius dubitans in Natural Substrates

The survival and pupation rates of late-stage larvae of 2 wireworm species, Melanotus depressus (Melsheimer) and Limonius dubitans LeConte, maintained on one of 4 soil substrates or on soil and germinating wheat were studied. All M. depressus larvae held for 21 mo on soil and germinating wheat underwent 2 or 3 larval ecdyses. Pupation occurred in May and June of the 1st year and March through May of the 2nd year. Dormancy occurred during the winter months. In the absence of germinating wheat, larvae showed a tendency towards retrogressive ecdyses. Although mortality was high, L. dubitans larvae held under the same conditions for a period of ca. 11 mo appeared to show similar biological cycles. Larval ecdyses were observed 2 or 3 times and dormancy occurred during the winter months. No ecdyses were observed from December to February. L. dubitans larvae, unlike those of M. depressus , did not undergo regressive ecdyses and died from starvation within 6 mo.
Primary systemic amyloidosis: a cause of malabsorption syndrome.

Abstract Purpose Although malabsorption syndrome is encountered frequently by general internists and gastroenterologists and is common to various underlying disease processes, primary amyloidosis is often overlooked during medical evaluation. We describe the diagnosis, natural history, and laboratory features of a subgroup of patients with primary amyloidosis who presented predominantly with gastrointestinal symptoms and with evidence of a malabsorption syndrome. Subjects and methods We reviewed all patients diagnosed with amyloidosis and malabsorption syndrome who had been seen at the Mayo Clinic from 1960 through 1998. Nineteen patients with small bowel biopsy results showing primary amyloid and with laboratory evidence of a malabsorption syndrome were studied. Results The most common symptoms were diarrhea or steatorrhea in 95% of patients (n = 18), anorexia in 42% (n = 8), and dizziness in 32% (n = 6). The most common signs included weight loss in all 19 patients, with a median weight loss of 30 pounds (range, 2 to 134 pounds) and hypotension or orthostatic changes in 10 patients (53%). The median time from symptom onset to diagnosis was 7 months. Most patients had evidence of amyloid involvement of other organs. Only 3 patients (16%) were diagnosed correctly upon initial presentation. Serum or urine protein electrophoresis results were positive in 95% of patients (n = 18). Median survival was 11 months from histologic diagnosis. Conclusions Primary systemic amyloidosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of malabsorption syndrome. All patients over 30 years of age with a malabsorption syndrome should have screening serum and urine immunofixation before undergoing a small bowel biopsy.
Optical-Layer Traffic Grooming in Flexible Grid WDM Networks

In this paper, we introduce an electronic traffic grooming (E-Grooming) technique, and propose a novel bit rate and protocol independent optical-layer traffic grooming (O-Grooming) technique for OFDM-based flexible grid WDM networks. We introduce a novel routing, wavelength assignment, subcarrier assignment, and spectrum allocation (RWSSA) problem for the first time. An effective polynomial-time heuristic algorithms is proposed to address the RWSSA problem in OGrooming capable flexible grid networks. The performance of the proposed E-Grooming and O-Grooming techniques are evaluated with transparent flexible grid networks. Simulation results show that traffic grooming in flexible grid networks improve spectral efficiency compared to transparent networks. In addition to bit rate and protocol transparent, the O-Grooming technique is cost and energy efficient compared to the E-Grooming technique while marginally sacrificing the spectral efficiency.
Deregulation and the adaptation of governance structure: the case of the U.S. airline industry

Deregulation provides a natural experiment for examining how governance adapts to structural changes in the business environment. We investigate the evolution of governance structure, characterized by ownership concentration, compensation policy, and board composition, in the U.S. airline industry during a 22-year period surrounding the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. Consistent with theory, we "nd that after deregulation (i) equity ownership is more concentrated, (ii) CEO pay increases, (iii) stock option grants to CEOs increase, and (iv) board size decreases. Airlines’ governance structures gravitate toward the system of governance mechanisms used by unregulated "rms. The adaptation process is gradual, however, suggesting that it is costly to alter organizational capital. We also present evidence on the relation between governance structure and "rm survival. ( 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved. JEL classixcation: G32; G38; J33; L93
Reduction of wind induced motion utilizing a tuned sloshing damper

Serviceability of buildings is affected by excessive acceleration experienced at the top floors in wind storms that may cause discomfort to the occupants. To ensure functional performance of tall buildings it is important to keep the frequency of objectionable motion levels below the discomfort threshold. This paper addresses a new approach that facilitates mitigation of wind induced motion of buildings utilizing tuned sloshing dampers. First, a theoretical background of the fluid sloshing system is given, which is followed by modeling of sloshing fluid and structural systems. An example of a tall building equipped with a tuned sloshing damper is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of such devices in mitigating structural motion. Finally, a brief discussion of the potential for practical applications is presented.
Ab initio Folding Simulation of the Trp-cage Mini-protein Approaches NMR Resolution

Here, we report a 100 ns molecular dynamics simulation of the folding process of a recently designed autonomous-folding mini-protein designated as tc5b with a new AMBER force field parameter set developed based on condensed-phase quantum mechanical calculations and a Generalized Born continuum solvent model. Starting from its fully extended conformation, our simulation has produced a final structure resembling that of NMR native structure to within 1 A main-chain root mean square deviation. Remarkably, the simulated structure stayed in the native state for most part of the simulation after it reached the state. Of greater significance is that our simulation has not only reached the correct main-chain conformation, but also a very high degree of accuracy in side-chain packing conformation. This feat has traditionally been a challenge for ab initio simulation studies. In addition to characterization of the trajectory, comparison of our results to experimental data is also presented. Analysis of the trajectory suggests that the rate-limiting step of folding of this mini-protein is the packing of the Trp side-chain.
Detecting anomalies in cross-classified streams: a Bayesian approach

We consider the problem of detecting anomalies in data that arise as multidimensional arrays with each dimension corresponding to the levels of a categorical variable. In typical data mining applications, the number of cells in such arrays are usually large. Our primary focus is detecting anomalies by comparing information at the current time to historical data. Naive approaches advocated in the process control literature do not work well in this scenario due to the multiple testing problem—performing multiple statistical tests on the same data produce excessive number of false positives. We use an empirical Bayes method which works by fitting a two-component Gaussian mixture to deviations at current time. The approach is scalable to problems that involve monitoring massive number of cells and fast enough to be potentially useful in many streaming scenarios. We show the superiority of the method relative to a naive “per component error rate” procedure through simulation. A novel feature of our technique is the ability to suppress deviations that are merely the consequence of sharp changes in the marginal distributions. This research was motivated by the need to extract critical application information and business intelligence from the daily logs that accompany large-scale spoken dialog systems. We illustrate our method on one such system.