cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intentional Fracture of Maximally Dilated Balloon-Expandable Pulmonary Artery Stents Using Ultra-High-Pressure Balloon Angioplasty: A Preliminary Analysis.

Background— Treatment with endovascular stents has become increasingly common for the management of vascular stenosis in congenital heart disease. The use of stents in smaller patients has been tempered by concerns about the potential for stent expansion to accommodate somatic growth. One solution to limited stent diameter is the intentional fracture of maximally dilated stents, which can be accomplished using ultra–high-pressure (UHP) balloons. Methods and Results— This retrospective cohort study compared procedural characteristics and adverse events between a cohort of patients with branch pulmonary artery (PA) stents who underwent stent fracture using UHP balloons and control patients who underwent UHP redilation of previously placed PA stents without stent fracture between 2004 and 2014. Two control patients were selected for every case. Thirty-three PA stents were fractured in 31 patients with a median of 10 years after initial stent placement. The median balloon:waist ratio was 1.17 (1–1.71), and the median inflation pressure was 20 (8–30) atm. There were significant reductions in pressure gradient after angioplasty, with no difference in postangioplasty gradients between cases and controls. There were no major PA complications in the stent fracture group and no difference in the number of adverse events between the 2 groups. Conclusions— In this small series, PA stent fracture using UHP balloon angioplasty was feasible and did not result in major complications although predictors of successful fracture were not identified. Intentional fracture with UHP balloon angioplasty may be considered when treating stents that have become restrictive despite maximal dilation.
Interpretation of Metrical Variables in Multivariate Analysis

Oftentimes statisticians and anthropologists communicate ineffectively, the former speaking mathematical language while the latter speak biological language. Therefore it is possible for the two to misinterpret each other’s goals and methods, occasionally resulting, among some biological users of multivariate analysis, in attraction to theory and statistical formulation rather than to morphological understanding or functional interpretation.
Abstract P6-06-01: Comprehensive analysis of the DNA damage repair and maintenance pathways that regulate TNBC sensitivity to replication stress

Agents that induce replication stress, such as inhibitors of Chk1 or ATR, are advancing in clinical development and are being tested for treatment of various solid tumors, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). While the preclinical data are encouraging, additional studies are needed to predict with precision (i) which patients will most likely benefit from these inhibitors, (ii) the genetic and proteomic contexts in which these inhibitors will provide maximum therapeutic benefit as a single agent, or require additional sensitization via combination with a targeted- or chemotherapeutic agent, and (iii) exactly which targeted/chemotherapeutic agent will provide maximum therapeutic benefit for combination with replication stress inducers. To address these challenges in TNBC, we have attempted to gain a comprehensive understanding of how the DNA damage response pathways regulate TNBC cell survival in response to Chk1 inhibitors, by performing high throughput loss-of-function screens. We have identified genes whose loss induces death of TNBC cells in the presence of (1) CHK1i alone, (2) chemotherapy alone or (3) CHK1i plus chemotherapy. In addition, given the role of TP53 as the most frequently mutated gene in TNBC, we also determined whether distinct vulnerabilities could be identified in TNBC cells that are p53-proficient versus p53-deficient. Thus, we have also identified the top synthetic lethal interactions that are either common to both p53-proficient and p53-deficient TNBC, or unique to p53-deficient TNBC; we are currently performing in vitro studies to validate the identified mechanisms. We anticipate these studies to be applicable to other agents that induce replication stress and cell cycle checkpoint bypass. Ongoing in vivo preclinical studies, which utilize patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) of TNBC to validate these findings are expected to impact patient selection for clinical trials, and also allow us to predict which chemotherapeutic agents will be most effective for combination with different cell-cycle checkpoint inhibitors. Citation Format: Redwood AB, Seth S, Cai S, Piwnica-Worms H. Comprehensive analysis of the DNA damage repair and maintenance pathways that regulate TNBC sensitivity to replication stress [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-06-01.
Effects of tow transit on the efficacy of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Electric Dispersal Barrier System

Abstract In 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers undertook a field study in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Romeoville, Illinois to determine the influence of tow transit on the efficacy of the Electric Dispersal Barrier System (EDBS) in preventing the passage of juvenile fish (total length
Kamala Harris and the interruptions heard around the internet

As the saga of Russian interference into the 2016 US Presidential campaign unfurls, it also generates consequential ancillary narratives. In June 2017, Senator Kamala Harris (D–CA) earned significa...
Tunable phase transition in single-layer TiSe2 via electric field

Abstract Phase transition represents an intriguing physical phenomenon that exists in a number of single-layer transition-metal dichalcogenides. This phenomenon often occurs below a critical temperature and breaks the long-range crystalline order leading to a reconstructed superstructure called the charge-density wave (CDW) structure, which can therefore be recovered by external stimuli such as temperature. Alternatively, we show here that another external stimulation, electric field can also result in the phase transition between the regular and CDW structures of a single-layer transition-metal dichalcogenide. We used single-layer TiSe2 as an example to elucidate the mechanism of the CDW followed by calculations of the electronic structure using a hybrid density functional. We found that applying electric field can tune the phase transition between the 1T and CDW phases of single-layer TiSe2. Our work opens up a route of tuning the phase transition of single-layer materials via electric field.
Towards Personalized Search for Tweets

Powerful search capabilities are fundamentally important for micro-blog-based information systems such as Twitter. While recently there has been some works aimed at enhancing the scalability of micro-blog search, very few existing techniques incorporate personalization into their search and ranking processes. This paper argues that since Twitter is a social network (SN)-based micro-blog system, it is essential to personalize search results taking into account the social relationships among various users. In this paper, we outline a scalable and personalized tweet search framework that takes into account the search parameters, the distances of the follower relationships, and the temporal aspects of the tweets when ranking the search results.
Cartographically reconstructing surveys of community land grants in New Mexico to support historical research and political discourse

AbstractCartographic visualization of past changes in ownership and management of real estate provides a basis for historical research, decision-making, and political discourse. Surveys associated ...
Improved multilineage human hematopoietic reconstitution and function in NSGS mice

Genetic manipulation of NOD/SCID (NS) mice has yielded numerous sub-strains with specific traits useful for the study of human hematopoietic xenografts, each with unique characteristics. Here, we have compared the engraftment and output of umbilical cord blood (UCB) CD34+ cells in four immune-deficient strains: NS, NS with additional IL2RG knockout (NSG), NS with transgenic expression of human myeloid promoting cytokines SCF, GM-CSF, and IL-3 (NSS), and NS with both IL2RG knockout and transgenic cytokine expression (NSGS). Overall engraftment of human hematopoietic cells was highest in the IL2RG knockout strains (NSG and NSGS), while myeloid cell output was notably enhanced in the two strains with transgenic cytokine expression (NSS and NSGS). In further comparisons of NSG and NSGS mice, several additional differences were noted. NSGS mice were found to have a more rapid reconstitution of T cells, improved B cell differentiation, increased levels of NK cells, reduced platelets, and reduced maintenance of primitive CD34+ cells in the bone marrow. NSGS were superior hosts for secondary engraftment and both strains were equally suitable for experiments of graft versus host disease. Increased levels of human cytokines as well as human IgG and IgM were detected in the serum of humanized NSGS mice. Furthermore, immunization of humanized NSGS mice provided evidence of a functional response to repeated antigen exposure, implying a more complete hematopoietic graft was generated in these mice. These results highlight the important role that myeloid cells and myeloid-supportive cytokines play in the formation of a more functional xenograft immune system in humanized mice.
Mammalian Skull Dimensions and the Golden Ratio (Φ).

AbstractThe Golden Ratio (Phi, or Φ = 1.618…) is a potentially unifying quantity of structure and function in nature, as best observed in phyllotactic patterns in plants. For centuries, Φ has been identified in human anatomy, and in recent decades, Φ has been identified in human physiology as well.
Disiloxane-protected 2-deoxyribonolactone as an efficient precursor to 1,2-dideoxy-1-beta-aryl-D-ribofuranoses.

Aryl C-nucleosides are analogues of natural nucleosides where the bases have been replaced with aromatic moieties. Work herein describes the highly stereoselective syntheses of non-hydrogen-bonding carbocyclic derivatives using a disiloxane-protected 2-deoxy-d-ribono-1,4-lactone as a stable and readily accessible starting material. Unlike the bis(TBDMS)-protected congener, this compound enables the use of sterically congested ortho-substituted aryllithium reagents in the initial addition reaction.
The Implications of Food Insecurity at a HBCU (P04-086-19)

Objectives The objectives of the study were: 1) to determine whether there is food insecurity among matriculating students attending a Historically Black College/University (HBCU), 2) to investigate the associations between food security status and the demographic characteristics (gender, classification, housing status) of students, 3) to examine the relationship of food security status to the consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV), 4) to investigate the association of student food security status with overweight/obesity, and 5) to assess fast food consumption among food insecure students.
How to Break a Fever: A Feedback Circuit for Body Temperature Control.

Body temperature control is a critical brain function. In this issue of Neuron, Wang et al. identify a negative feedback circuit in mouse preoptic area of the hypothalamus that regulates body temperature to counter fever.
Sparse-view tomography via displacement function interpolation

Sparse-view tomography has many applications such as in low-dose computed tomography (CT). Using under-sampled data, a perfect image is not expected. The goal of this paper is to obtain a tomographic image that is better than the naive filtered backprojection (FBP) reconstruction that uses linear interpolation to complete the measurements. This paper proposes a method to estimate the un-measured projections by displacement function interpolation. Displacement function estimation is a non-linear procedure and the linear interpolation is performed on the displacement function (instead of, on the sinogram itself). As a result, the estimated measurements are not the linear transformation of the measured data. The proposed method is compared with the linear interpolation methods, and the proposed method shows superior performance.
18 F Sodium Fluoride: Tracer and Technique

The first images of the bones of the skeleton date back to the late 1890s when German physicist Wilhelm Rontgen produced the first plain film by projecting X-rays through his wife’s hand to produce a picture of the hand bones on a photographic plate [1, 2]. We have come a long way since the 1890s.
Pavement alters delivery of sediment and fallout radionuclides to urban streams

Abstract Sediment from urban impervious surfaces has the potential to be an important vector for contaminants, particularly where stormwater culverts and other buried channels draining large impervious areas exit from underground pipes into open channels. To better understand urban sediment sources and their relation to fallout radionuclides, we collected samples of rainfall, urban sediment (pavement sediment, topsoil), streambank sediment, and fluvial sediment (suspended sediment and bed sediment) for 7Be, 210Pbex, and 137Cs analysis. The results indicate that each rainfall event tags pavement sediment with elevated activities of 7Be and 210Pbex such that runoff from impervious surfaces in the buried channel part of the stream network contains the highest activities. Pavement sediment, because it is characteristically a thin veneer, has a small mass to rainwater ratio resulting in a greater tagging of 7Be and 210Pbex activity than does topsoil on a per gram basis. An unmixing model indicated that suspended-sediment samples collected at the culvert outlet from the buried-channel network are from pavement sediment sources (45 ± 25%) with a smaller component of topsoil (22 ± 19%), and a component from streambanks (32 ± 35%) that we infer to be older channel material and subsoil eroded from within the culvert system. Downstream from the culvert, suspended sediment collected from the open-channel parts of the stream had 7Be and 210Pbex activities that were substantially reduced by the contribution of sediment from streambanks (57 ± 15%), with pavement contributions decreasing to 15 (±9%) and topsoil contributing 28 (±7%). The results highlight the utility of 7Be, 210Pbex, and 137Cs as tracers of urban sediment sources, resulting in a unique radionuclide signature for urban watersheds compared to other sediment-source settings.
In Utero Exposure to Bisphenol a Promotes Mammary Tumor Risk in MMTV-Erbb2 Transgenic Mice Through the Induction of ER-erbB2 Crosstalk

Bisphenol A (BPA) is the most common environmental endocrine disrupting chemical. Studies suggest a link between perinatal BPA exposure and increased breast cancer risk, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the effects of in utero BPA exposure on mammary tumorigenesis in MMTV-erbB2 transgenic mice. Pregnant mice were subcutaneously injected with BPA (0, 50, 500 ng/kg and 250 µg/kg BW) daily between gestational days 11–19. Female offspring were examined for mammary tumorigenesis, puberty onset, mammary morphogenesis, and signaling in ER and erbB2 pathways. In utero exposure to low dose BPA (500 ng/kg) induced mammary tumorigenesis, earlier puberty onset, increased terminal end buds, and prolonged estrus phase, which was accompanied by proliferative mammary morphogenesis. CD24/49f-based FACS analysis showed that in utero exposure to 500 ng/kg BPA induced expansion of luminal and basal/myoepithelial cell subpopulations at PND 35. Molecular analysis of mammary tissues at PND 70 showed that in utero exposure to low doses of BPA induced upregulation of ERα, p-ERα, cyclin D1, and c-myc, concurrent activation of erbB2, EGFR, erbB-3, Erk1/2, and Akt, and upregulation of growth factors/ligands. Our results demonstrate that in utero exposure to low dose BPA promotes mammary tumorigenesis in MMTV-erbB2 mice through induction of ER-erbB2 crosstalk and mammary epithelial reprogramming, which advance our understanding of the mechanism associated with in utero exposure to BPA-induced breast cancer risk. The studies also support using MMTV-erbB2 mouse model for relevant studies.
Phase I study of BMS-247550, an epothilone B analog, administered weekly for 3 weeks followed by a one-week break in patients (pts) with advanced malignancies

2915 Background: BMS-247550 is a novel derivative of epothilone B which induces tubulin polymerization and G2/M arrest leading to apoptosis in cancer cells, with preclinical activity in taxane-sensitive and -resistant tumors. Neurotoxicity is common and is dose limiting, generally more pronounced when BMS-247550 is administered on short infusion schedules every 3 weeks (wks). After evaluating a continuous weekly schedule, we introduced a one-week (wk) break in an attempt to reduce fatigue and neurotoxicity. Methods: The primary objective of this phase I study was to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), recommended phase II dose (RD) and pharmacokinetics of BMS-247550 administered on a novel weekly schedule with a one wk break q 4 wks. Since BMS-247550 is formulated with Cremophor®, potential for hypersensitivity reactions does exist. All patients were premedicated with dexamethasone 20 mg PO 6 and 12 hrs before treatment, as well as diphenhydramine 50 mg IV and ranitidine 50 mg IV 30 min prior to infusion. BMS-247550 was administered as a 1-hr infusion on a weekly for 3 wks followed by a one-wk break schedule. Results: 13 pts were enrolled (6 M/ 7 F), median age 61 (range 34 - 73) and tumor types: hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) (6), breast (5), adrenal (1), and small cell lung cancer (1). A total of 43 courses were given, median 3/pt (range 1-9). All pts had received prior chemotherapy, including taxanes in 11 of them; median no. of prior regimens 4 (range 2-9). BMS-247550 doses were: 15 mg/m2 (7 pts / 27 courses), and 20 mg/m2 (6 pts/16 courses). The starting dose had produced minimal toxicity in a previous trial with a continuous weekly schedule at our institution. Infection with grade (G) 3 neutropenia was the DLT in 1 pt at 15 mg/m2, who experienced G3 sensory-motor neuropathy and G3 fatigue after 4 courses and discontinued therapy. There was no toxicity which precluded weekly treatment on-time during course 1. One pt experienced a brief episode of G3 fatigue after course 2 at 20 mg/m2 and 2 pts had G3 hyperglycemia most probably related to steroid therapy. All other drug-related toxicities were mild-moderate (≤ G2) including nausea, anorexia, diarrhea, alopecia, fatigue, myalgias, anemia, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. Cumulative sensory neuropathy was the reason for termination of therapy in 2 out of 6 pts who received > 3 courses. The MTD was proposed as 20 mg/m2. One PR according to PSA criteria was observed in a pt with HRPC. Five pts had SD ≥ 4 months: HRPC (4) and breast (1). Conclusions: Prolonging infusion time of weekly BMS-247550 and introducing treatment breaks is associated with tolerable neurotoxicity. This new schedule is active for patients with taxane-resistant tumors and is easily administered.
An Examination of The Relationship Between A Redesigned School Leadership Preparation Program and Graduates’ Cultural Competence

Culturally competent leaders positively affect school environments which in turn fosters equitable learning. Educational leadership preparation programs bear the responsibility of preparing cultura...
Paternalism in DSD Management: A Real and Present Threat

In 1965, a botched circumcision left Bruce Reimer, a healthy, 8-month old XY male, with a disfigured penis. At the recommendation of Dr. John Money and physicians at Johns Hopkins, the infant was reassigned to female sex and underwent an orchiectomy and vaginoplasty. The family renamed the child “Brenda.” Unaware of her history, Brenda struggled with significant gender identity, psychological, and behavioral issues throughout her childhood and adolescence. When made aware of this history, she transitioned to male gender and assumed the name “David.” After years of psychological distress, David Reimer committed suicide in 2004. Despite the myriad lessons gleaned from this tragic story, medical and surgical management of children with atypical genitalia still remains often misguided, as providers continue to assume paternalistic roles in determining sex assignment and surgical interventions. A fifteen year old XY male with Robinow Syndrome presented for evaluation of hypogonadism and urinary incontinence. At birth, the patient was discovered to have a micropenis and perineal hypospadias and was diagnosed with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. At the recommendation of the medical team, the infant underwent bilateral orchiectomy at eight months of age followed by urethroplasty and vaginoplasty at six years of age. The child was then given a female sex assignment. At twelve years of age, the child felt discordant from the sex of rearing and wished to be identified as male—his natal, genetic sex. He transitioned to male gender and began testosterone injections. He had history of recurrent UTIs and severe incontinence requiring diaper use. He strongly desired neophallus and urethral reconstruction for improved quality of life. The patient endorsed prior depression and desires to self-harm. He had significant concerns regarding his gender presentation and transition. He shared his difficulties in continuing in the same school system with peers who knew him as a female prior to transition and was concerned about peers knowing his medical history. In the years since the famous David Reimer case, the medical system has made tremendous strides in recognizing the need for patient autonomy and shared decision-making in patients with Differences of Sex Development and genital atypia. However, the paternalistic history of this field continues to leave its indelible mark more than 20 years since David Reimer’s case made headlines, as physicians continue to recommend definitive sex assignments and surgical interventions. As with the David Reimer case, the bodily integrity of this XY infant was altered in a permanent fashion with inadequate education of his family and little to no credence given to the autonomy of the child himself. We, as physicians, cannot continue to paternalistically apply John Money’s concept of gender neutrality and rigidly mandate sex assignments and early surgical interventions.
Association between Payer-Class and Patient Satisfaction Scores in an Academic Urology Outpatient Clinic

Introduction:As physician reimbursement models transition from fee-for-service to value-based purchasing, patient satisfaction is becoming an important payment modifier. Studies have shown correlat...
In Situ Analysis of N-Linked Glycans as Potential Biomarkers of Clinical Course in Human Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men worldwide. Despite its prevalence, there is a critical knowledge gap in understanding factors driving disparities in survival among different cohorts of patients with prostate cancer. Identifying molecular features separating disparate populations is an important first step in prostate cancer research that could lead to fundamental hypotheses in prostate biology, predictive biomarker discovery, and personalized therapy. N-linked glycosylation is a cotranslational event during protein folding that modulates a myriad of cellular processes. Recently, aberrant N-linked glycosylation has been reported in prostate cancers. However, the full clinical implications of dysregulated glycosylation in prostate cancer has yet to be explored. Herein, we performed direct on-tissue analysis of N-linked glycans using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) from tissue microarrays of over 100 patient tumors with over 10 years of follow-up metadata. We successfully identified a panel of N-glycans that are unique between benign and prostate tumor tissue. Specifically, high-mannose as well as tri-and tetra-antennary N-glycans were more abundant in tumor tissue and increase proportionally with tumor grade. Further, we expanded our analyses to examine the N-glycan profiles of Black and Appalachian patients and have identified unique glycan signatures that correlate with recurrence in each population. Our study highlights the potential applications of MALDI-MSI for digital pathology and biomarker discovery for prostate cancer. IMPLICATIONS: MALDI-MSI identifies N-glycan perturbations in prostate tumors compared with benign tissue. This method can be utilized to predict prostate cancer recurrence and study prostate cancer disparities.
Seasonal changes in sediment erodibility in a sandy carbonate environment detected from turbidity time series

Abstract Sediment resuspension and sediment erodibility were investigated in Hamelin Pool (Western Australia), which is one of the few modern carbonate settings where stromatolites and ooids are actively forming. For this purpose, the first time series of wave height and water turbidity were recorded at a ~2.5 m deep subtidal location in Hamelin Pool from July 2017 to March 2018. Sediment grain size analyses indicate that this environment is nearly free of mud, so the optical turbidity sensor was able to detect the intra-wave modulation of sand resuspension. This allowed us to use the standard deviation of the turbidity within a burst – as opposed to the mean turbidity – as a proxy for sand resuspension. This approach was further validated by wave tank experiments, which also helped to identify the occurrence of biofouling and discard the affected data. Although the wave regime was similar throughout the year, sand resuspension changed with seasons. Sediment erodibility, defined as the sand resuspension normalized by the bed shear stress, was higher during the Austral winter and spring, and lower in summer and autumn. This decrease in erodibility coincided with an increase in temperature and solar irradiance. These two environmental factors likely modulate the growth of benthic microbes, which in turn affects sediment dynamics. This seasonal modulation of sediment dynamics may influence additional processes, including the delivery of sand grains to stromatolites and the precipitation of aragonite around ooids and in stromatolite laminae.
Quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride: from strain engineering to cavity coupling

Single photon sources (quantum emitters) are a key building block for emerging quantum technologies. Especially attractive for quantum photonic circuitry is the prospect of integrating such sources with conventional photonic structures such as resonators and waveguides. In this talk, we will first present our work on realizing single photon emitters (SPEs) in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), a van der Waals material, via strain engineering. Following this we will discuss the coupling of such SPEs to silicon nitride microdisk resonators and to plasmonic surface lattice resonances. Prospects of realizing electrically driven SPEs using few layer hBN placed in van der Waals heterostructures will also be discussed.
Law School Diversity as a Compelling State Interest: Justice O'Connor's Application of Strict Scrutiny and the Promise of the U.S. Supreme Court's Ruling in Grutter V. Bollinger

Student body diversity in university and law school settings constitutes a compelling state interest under the now infamous Grutter v. Bollinger decision. Obtaining a diverse student body is not a luxury. It is a necessity - a mandate. Educating a diverse , highly-credentialed student body and workforce has never been more important. Challenges to race conscious initiatives have actually highlighted the positive social impact diversity can have on American economic, political and cultural future. In her opinion in Grutter, Justice O'Connor communicates the significance and promise of academic diversity in all academic institutions, from pre-school to law school. This article analyzes Justice O'Connor's opinion and argues that the importance and impact of diversity extends beyond the foyers of academia.
Task level programming and graphical simulation of the Rhino XR3 robot

The authors describe the design and implementation of a two-dimensional graphical representation of the Rhino SCARA model robot. This representation will control and simulate all aspects of the robot. This, along with a menu-driven user interface, will simulate and record all the desired commands of the robot. These stored commands can be executed directly from the simulation package or stored in a disk file to be proposed later by RoboTalk. >
Biological Effects of Acetamide, Formamide, and Their Mono and Dimethyl Derivatives: An Update

(2001). Biological Effects of Acetamide, Formamide, and Their Mono and Dimethyl Derivatives: An Update. Critical Reviews in Toxicology: Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 139-222.
Teaching effectiveness, impression management, and dysfunctional behavior: Student evaluation of teaching control data

Purpose – Student evaluation of teaching (SET) questionnaires are used in many countries, although much current research questions the validity of these surveys. US research indicates that more than 90 percent of academic accounting departments use this performance measurement. This paper aims to focus on the validity of SET data.Design/methodology/approach – A mail survey was sent to a random sample of 1,000 accounting professors employed at four‐year universities and colleges in the USA. A total of 447 responses were returned for a response rate of 44.7 percent. Statistical results of the survey for data are reported.Findings – Instructors engage in impression management when SET data are used for control purposes. Dysfunctional behavior of accounting instructors includes easy grading, inflating grades, course work deflation, and other defensive strategies which result in negative social implications. A significant 53 percent of the accounting instructors knew of other professors who have reduced gradin...
Comparison Between Observed and Simulated Baseball Trajectories (P214)

The manually observed strike zone exit-plane locations of machined-pitched baseballs are compared to the simulated exit-plane locations. Using a five degree-of-freedom pitching machine located 16.764-m (55-ft) from home plate, multiple pitch trajectories were observed and recorded. Exit-plane locations were manually observed by impacting a foam-pad marked with a 7.62-cm (3-inch) grid located at the strike plane. The transient indentation in the foam-pad allowed the observer to record the impact location to within 2.54-cm (1-inch) in the horizontal and vertical. At the exit of the pitching machine, a 500 frame-per-second video camera recorded the first meter of flight for each observed pitch. Two retro-reflective markers were placed on the ball and using author developed software, the ball and marker centroids were determined automatically. Accurate measurements of ball-spin rate, velocity, and pitching machine exit-plane location were found from the centroid data. Using aerodynamic lift and drag data (Always & Hubbard, 2001) and baseball trajectory equation=of-motions (Alaways, 1998) simulated trajectories for each pitch and strike zone exit-plane locations were determined. Comparisons between the observed and simulated exit-plane locations show good correlation and validate existing aerodynamics models. Impact locations and visual inspection of the ball show that the surface roughness of the ball and thus the lift coefficient changes with increased ball usage.
Analysis of a tapered phase array transducer for 3D imaging applications

The tapered phased array (TPA) transducer consists of a linear array of piezoelectric elements which possess a linearly tapered thickness. In the transmit mode, the region of excitation along the elevation dimension of a tapered element is centered around that section having a resonance thickness that corresponds to the center frequency of the applied pulse. Reciprocally, in the receive mode, the frequency spectrum of the detached echoes can be used to obtain information from the elevation dimension of the object being imaged. An analysis of an experimental verification and its implications is presented. It is concluded that a 3D real-time imaging system is possible using the TPA. The frame rate will depend on the scanning speed as well as the computational power of the postprocessors. The scanning process is comparable to that currently used in real-time B-scan imaging systems, although the computational power required is several orders higher. Fortunately, the process can be easily distributed into parallel processing. >
What Characterizes Successful Weight Maintainers

Long-term maintenance of weight loss is certainly not common but it does occur. In any study of 100 patients, a handful maintain their full weight loss 3 to 5 years later, and a significant minority maintain losses of 5 kg or more (Kramer, Jeffery, Forster, & Snell, 1989; Wadden, Sternberg, Letizia, Stunkard, & Foster, 1989). These individuals are usually overlooked, however, in the justifiably gloomy reports of the failures of dieting, and they are hard to characterize because of their few numbers.
Work-Related Spirometric Restriction in Flavoring Manufacturing Workers

Background Flavoring-exposed workers are at risk for occupational lung disease. Methods We examined serial spirometries from corporate medical surveillance of flavoring production workers to assess abnormality compared to the U.S. population; mean decline in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC); and excessive declines in FEV1. Results Of 106 workers, 30 had spirometric restriction, 3 had obstruction, 1 had both, and 13 (of 70, 19%) had excessive declines in FEV1. The adjusted prevalence of restriction was 3.7 times expected. Employees with higher potential for flavorings exposure had 3.0 times and 2.4 times greater average annual declines in FEV1 and FVC respectively, and had 5.8 times higher odds of having excessive FEV1 declines than employees with lower potential for exposure. Conclusion Exposure-related spirometric abnormalities consistent with a restrictive process evolved during employment, suggesting that exposures in flavoring production are associated with a range of pathophysiology. Am. J. Ind. Med. 57:129–137, 2014. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Fuzzy and time-suboptimal control for dual track following and seeking of the magnetic hard disk drive

Track-seeking for a magnetic hard drive is a time optimal control problem where the objective is to move the R/W head from the current track to a specified destination track in minimum time using a bounded control effort. One difficulty is due to the nonlinear saturation and hysterisis behavior of the voice coil actuator. Therefore a dual fuzzy logic controller (FLC) for track seeking and track following is designed and implemented. The controller uses position and velocity to decide on the commanded electrical current. Once the reading head gets within a small distance of the target track, a linear pole placement design is implemented. We compare the performance of this controller with a time-suboptimal design obtained for the linearized version of the dynamics.
Observing a catastrophic thermokarst lake drainage in northern Alaska

The formation and drainage of thermokarst lakes have reshaped ice-rich permafrost lowlands in the Arctic throughout the Holocene. North of Teshekpuk Lake, on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska, thermokarst lakes presently occupy 22.5% of the landscape, and drained thermokarst lake basins occupy 61.8%. Analysis of remotely sensed imagery indicates that nine lakes (>10 ha) have drained in the 1,750 km 2 study area between 1955 and 2014. The most recent lake drainage was observed using in situ data loggers providing information on the duration and magnitude of the event, and a nearby weather station provided information on the environmental conditions preceding the lake drainage. Lake 195 (L195), an 80 ha thermokarst lake with an estimated water volume of ~872,000 m 3 , catastrophically drained on 05 July 2014. Abundant winter snowfall and heavy early summer precipitation resulted in elevated lake water levels that likely promoted bank overtopping, thermo-erosion along an ice-wedge network, and formation of a 9 m wide, 2 m deep, and 70 m long drainage gully. The lake emptied in 36 hours, with 75% of the water volume loss occurring in the first ten hours. The observed peak discharge of the resultant flood was 25 m 3 /s, which is similar to that in northern Alaska river basins whose areas are more than two orders of magnitude larger. Our findings support the catastrophic nature of sudden lake drainage events and the mechanistic hypotheses developed by J. Ross Mackay. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An apparatus for measuring the dynamic stiffness of acoustical materials

A common practice to improve both the impact-noise isolation and the airborne sound transmission of a structural floor is to add a floating floor. It consists of a hard rigid floating slab supported on a resilient layer that dynamically decouples it from the structural slab. The impact-noise isolation of certain types of floating floors have been investigated by Cremer (1952) and Ver (1971). One of the parameters that determines the performance of these floors is the dynamic stiffness of the resilient material used. A draft international standard, ISO/DIS 9052-1, exists that specifies a procedure for measuring the dynamic stiffness of the resilient material. This drift standard allows measurements to be made either with a shaker or an impact hammer. A description of the test methods is presented together with a comparison of the results obtained by both methods
Review of trends in excitation systems and possible future developments

Turbine-generator excitation system practice began to undergo a widespread and radical change in the early 1960s as the availability of high-power semiconductor devices promised significant improvements in both performance and reliability. Since that time, semiconductor technology has progressed steadily and its exploitation has been largely responsible for excitation system development being able to keep pace with that of the generators themselves. The demand for advanced equipment of ever greater power-handling capability has been satisfied with less difficulty than could otherwise have been the case. As to the future, improvements in the dynamic performance of electrohydraulic speed governing systems may lead to a relaxation of demand on excitation systems.
Fate and transport of 1278-TCDD, 1378-TCDD, and 1478-TCDD in soil-water systems

The most toxic dioxin is 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2378-TCDD), and obtaining comprehensive experimental data for this compound is challenging. However, several nontoxic isomers of 2378-TCDD exist, and can provide significant experimental evidence about this highly toxic dioxin. The goal of this study was to obtain experimental evidence for the fate and transport of 2378-TCDD in natural soils using its nontoxic isomers, 1,2,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (1278-TCDD), 1,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (1378-TCDD), and 1,4,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (1478-TCDD). Batch sorption and miscible-displacement experiments, in various soils, were done using [4-(14)C]-radiolabeled TCDDs, while metabolism of these compounds was monitored. The results from the batch experiments indicated a high sorption affinity of all the TCDD isomers to soils and a strong correlation to organic matter (OM) content. 1278-TCDD, 1378-TCDD and 1478-TCDD (TCDDs) were more tightly bound to the soil with high OM than to the soil with low OM; however, it took a longer contact time to approach sorption equilibrium of TCDDs in the soil with high OM. Miscible-displacement breakthrough curves indicated chemical nonequilibrium transport, where there was a rate-limited or kinetic sorption that was likely caused by OM. Combustion analyses of extracted soil from the soil columns showed that most TCDDs were adsorbed in the top 1-5 cm of the column. These column combustion results also showed that sorption was correlated to specific surface and soil depth, which suggested the possibility of colloidal transport.
Infrared radiometrie study of the oxidation of silica-supported Ni

Abstract The temperature changes occurring when silica-supported Ni catalyst was oxidized were measured with an infrared radiometer for a wide range of values of experimental parameters. These were the pellet thickness, the O 2 pressure, the Ni content of the pellet, and the preparation of the pellet. The main part of the reaction was rate-limited by the rate of diffusion of O 2 through the pellet pores, but in the initial stages, while the reaction was confined to a thin shell, the rate was limited by the rate at which O 2 was incorporated into the Ni crystallites. Under the diffusion-controlled conditions, the overall temperature increases of the pellet is quite high, but the temperature variations of localized “hot spots” were small and insignificant.
Enteric‐type adenocarcinoma of the nasal cavity. An electron microscopic and immunocytochemical study

A primary adenocarcinoma of the nasal cavity with light microscopic, electron microscopic, and immunocytochemical features of an enteric-type carcinoma is presented. The carcinoma contained a variety of dense-core granules similar to those seen in enterochromaffin cells of different functional types. Some granules demonstrated an immunoreactivity with serotonin, cholecystokinin, gastrin, somatostatin and leu-enkephalin antibodies. It is suggested that the endocrine cells in the neoplasm belong to the non-neuroectodermal paraneurone system.
Chinese Word Segmentation as LMR Tagging

In this paper we present Chinese word segmentation algorithms based on the so-called LMR tagging. Our LMR taggers are implemented with the Maximum Entropy Markov Model and we then use Transformation-Based Learning to combine the results of the two LMR taggers that scan the input in opposite directions. Our system achieves F-scores of 95.9% and 91.6% on the Academia Sinica corpus and the Hong Kong City University corpus respectively.
Matrix interferences in inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry: some effects of skimmer orifice diameter and ion lens voltages

Abstract A new, home-made instrument for inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to study the influence of Na, K and U salts on ion signals for Y, Co and As. In general, the analyte signals were suppressed in the presence of excess matrix element. When the skimmer orifice was larger than the sampler orifice, the extent of suppression was greatest for the analyte of highest ionization energy (As) and least for the analyte of lowest ionization energy (Y). In this case, the extent of signal suppression induced by the three matrix elements did not differ much despite their substantial difference in mass, in contrast to some other reports. When the skimmer orifice was smaller than the sampler orifice, the analyte signal was suppressed more extensively. The three analytes were suppressed by about the same extent by a given matrix element, and the heavier matrix element (U) induced much more suppression than the lighter ones (e.g. Na). Thus, simply reducing the diameter of the skimmer orifice altered the trends in the interference effects to conform to those generally reported. With the skimmer orifice larger than the sampler orifice, the trends in interference effects could also be changed if the first element of the ion lens was biased at a positive voltage. Addition of U to the solution induced an increase in the kinetic energies of analyte ions (e.g. Co + ) by approximately 1 eV.
Dimerization of the exocyst protein Sec6p and its interaction with the t-SNARE Sec9p.

Vesicles in eukaryotic cells transport cargo between functionally distinct membrane-bound organelles and the plasma membrane for growth and secretion. Trafficking and fusion of vesicles to specific target sites are highly regulated processes that are not well understood at the molecular level. At the plasma membrane, tethering and fusion of secretory vesicles require the exocyst complex. As a step toward elucidation of the molecular architecture and biochemical function(s) of the exocyst complex, we expressed and purified the exocyst subunit Sec6p and demonstrated that it is a predominantly helical protein. Biophysical characterization of purified Sec6p by gel filtration and analytical ultracentrifugation experiments revealed that Sec6p is a dimer. Limited proteolysis defined an independently folded C-terminal domain (residues 300−805) that equilibrated between a dimer and monomer in solution. Removal of residues 300−410 from this construct yielded a well-folded, monomeric domain. These results demonstrat...
Radioimmunoassay for type I procollagen in growth hormone-deficient children before and during treatment with growth hormone.

ABSTRACT: Type I procollagen concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in sera from 14 growth hormone-deficient children before and during 12 months of treatment with human growth hormone. Basal procollagen levels were lower than those of control children and comparable to those of normal adults. With treatment, the mean procollagen level increased into the range of the control children and was significantly greater than the baseline level at 1, 2, 3*, and 12 months (p < 0.01; *p < 0.05). Although there was no significant statistical correlation between the growth velocity during treatment and the serum procollagen level, there was a suggestion that a high basal procollagen may be predictive of a less than optimal response to human growth hormone.
Triple ion beam irradiation facility

Abstract A unique ion irradiation facility consisting of three accelerators is described. The accelerators can be operated concurrently to deliver three ion beams on one target sample as large as 100 mm2 in area. The energy ranges of the ions are 50 to 400 keV, 200 keV to 2.5 MeV and 1.0 to 5.0 MeV, which allows three different ions in the appropriate mass range to be simultaneously implanted to the same depth in a target specimen. Typical depth ranges are 0.1 to 1.0 μm. The X-Y profiles of all three ion beams are measured by a system of miniature Faraday cups. The ion beam energy of the low voltage accelerator can be ramped periodically during the implantation. Three different types of target chambers are in use at this facility. A triple-beam high vacuum chamber can hold nine TEM specimens at controlled temperatures in the range 400–800 °C during an irradiation by the three simultaneous beams. A second high vacuum chamber on the medium voltage accelerator beam line houses a low- and high-temperature translator and a two-axis goniometer for ion channeling measurements. The third chamber on the high energy beam line can be gas-filled for special stressed specimen irradiations. Applications of this facility to surface modification of materials are described.