cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Delamination of organic coating on carbon steel studied by scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy

Corrosion-induced delamination of an epoxy coating on the AISI/SAE 1045 carbon steel was studied under a humid atmospheric condition (temperature of 25 °C, 1 standard atmospheric pressure, relative humidity of 90%) by the technique of scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM). Surface-polished 1045 samples were first cold-coated with the epoxy and then subject to the atmospheric corrosion under the specified condition. At predetermined time intervals, surface Volta potential differences of the samples were measured using the SKPFM over the dry surface of epoxy coating. The map of Volta potential differences demonstrated high contrasts among three characteristic zones: intact steel-epoxy interface, delaminated interface, and interface with active corrosion, which was then linked to the actual corrosion potential of the steel (measured using a potentiostat with respect to a saturated calomel electrode) based on a rigorous calibration procedure. It was found that the SKPFM was able to provide direct and nondestructive detection of early active corrosion and coating delamination on steels at a submicroscopic resolution, which outperformed the conventional electrochemical techniques for the same purposes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Actin filament severing by cofilin is more important for assembly than constriction of the cytokinetic contractile ring

We created two new mutants of fission yeast cofilin to investigate why cytokinesis in many organisms depends on this small actin-binding protein. These mutant cofilins bound actin monomers normally, but bound and severed ADP-actin filaments much slower than wild-type cofilin. Cells depending on mutant cofilins condensed nodes, precursors of the contractile ring, into clumps rather than rings. Starting from clumped nodes, mutant cells slowly assembled rings from diverse intermediate structures including spiral strands containing actin filaments and other contractile ring proteins. This process in mutant cells depended on α-actinin. These slowly assembled contractile rings constricted at a normal rate but with more variability, indicating ring constriction is not very sensitive to defects in severing by cofilin. Computer simulations of the search-capture-pull and release model of contractile ring formation predicted that nodes clump when the release step is slow, so cofilin severing of actin filament connections between nodes likely contributes to the release step.
Read-Shockley Boundaries in Thin Films

When a grain boundary is terminated by a free surface, its behavior may be significantly different than for the same boundary either in an infinite bicrystal, or terminated by triple junctions. In this paper we describe some phenomena related to the free-surface interactions of interfacial dislocations, in thin films. We show that surface relaxation stresses can exert a powerful destabilizing influence upon the dislocation structure of many grain boundaries, and that they can only be made stable if a large lattice friction stress, or other pinning force, resists the motion of the dislocations. Finally, we will show that the only intrinsically stable grain boundary in a thin film is a tilt boundary with its rotation axis parallel to the normal of the film.
Experimental Infections with Mycobacterium intracellulare

Information on the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium intracellulare disease is necessary to facilitate the finding of effective drugs. As a first step, development of a suitable small-animal model is needed. Examination of several strains of mice and M. intracellulare led us to conclude that the Swiss Webster strain of mice and the 8330 and 571-8 strains of M. intracellular were most useful. Since the use of normal mice resulted only in a chronic type of disease lasting many months, immune suppression by means of trypan blue, silica, or a combination of cyclophosphamide and cortisol was attempted in order to generate an acute infection. Higher numbers of bacilli were recovered from organs in the immune-suppressed animals as compared with the controls, more so in the lungs than in the spleen, although no acute type of disease process resulted.
Biomechanics of cardiovascular development.

▪ Abstract It long has been known that mechanical forces play a role in the development of the cardiovascular system, but only recently have biomechanical engineers begun to explore this field. This paper reviews some of this work. First, an overview of the relevant biology is discussed. Next, a mechanical theory is presented that can be used to model developmental processes. The theory includes the effects of finite volumetric growth and active contractile forces. Finally, applications of this and other theories to problems of cardiovascular development are discussed, and some future directions are suggested. The intent is to stimulate further interest among engineers in this important area of research.
The structure of halonium ions in superacidic solutions

Isotopic perturbation of equilibrium was applied to 1,2-bridged halonium ions to determine whether they exist as single symmetric structures or as a rapid equilibrium of asymmetric structures. The observed deuterium isotope shifts are qualitatively and quantita- tively consistent with the presence of intrinsic and equilibrium isotope shifts. The presence of equilibrium shifts suggests that these ions exist as a rapid equilibrium of asymmetric struc- tures. Though the asymmetric structures were initially ascribed to β-halocarbenium ions, subsequent computational data suggest that 1,2-bridged halonium ions react with sulfur diox- ide (SO 2 ), the experimental solvent. Our current hypothesis is that the equilibrium isotope shifts result from rapid labile addition of SO 2 to the halonium ions. Other hypotheses have been invoked to explain the results and are considered in the context of the available data.
Review of research on low-profile vortex generators to control boundary-layer separation

An in-depth review of boundary-layer flow-separation control by a passive method using low-profile vortex generators is presented. The generators are defined as those with a device height between 10% and 50% of the boundary layer thickness. Key results are presented for several research efforts, all of which were performed within the past decade and a half where the majority of these works emphasize experimentation with some recent efforts on numerical simulations. Topics of discussion consist of both basic fluid dynamics and applied aerodynamics research. The fluid dynamics research includes comparative studies on separation control effectiveness as well as device-induced vortex characterization and correlation. The comparative studies cover the controlling of low-speed separated flows in adverse pressure gradient and supersonic shock-induced separation. The aerodynamics research includes several applications for aircraft performance enhancement and covers a wide range of speeds. Significant performance improvements are achieved through increased lift and/or reduced drag for various airfoils-low-Reynolds number, high-lift, and transonic-as well as highly swept wings. Performance enhancements for non-airfoil applications include aircraft interior noise reduction, inlet flow distortion alleviation inside compact ducts, and a more efficient overwing fairing. The low-profile vortex generators are best for being applied to applications where flow-separation locations are relatively fixed and the generators can be placed reasonably close upstream of the separation. Using the approach of minimal near-wall proturbances through substantially reduced device height, these devices can produce streamwise vortices just strong enough to overcome the separation without unnecessarily persisting within the boundary layer once the flow-control objective is achieved. Practical advantages of low-profile vortex generators, such as their inherent simplicity and low device drag, are demonstrated to be critically important for many applications as well.
Method of Stimulus Presentation and Apparent Body Position under Lateral Body Tilt

Eighty Ss, 40 male and 40 female, indicated by means of a luminescent rod the location of their longitudinal body axis (apparent body position) under body tilt ranging from 90° left (counterclockwise), through upright, to 90° right (clockwise). The luminescent rod was presented by two psychophysical methods: (a) the method of limits and (b) the method of constant stimuli. Deviations of apparent from objective body position showed significant differences between the two methods. The results were interpreted in terms of an organismic theory of perception, utilizing the notion of a dynamic body schema as spatial reference system which was subject to modifications due to the method of stimulus presentation.
Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls, and Other Brazen Performers of the American 1920s. By Angela J. Latham. Hanover, NH, and London: Wesleyan University Press, 2000; pp. 224. Illustrations, notes, and bibliography. $19.95 paperback.

As women emerged from the constraints of whalebone corsets, trailing skirts, and woolen knickers into skirts that skimmed their ankles or even knees, socioeconomic and political forces were massing against this new physical freedom. The questions Posing a Threat asks are how did women test their newborn freedom through fashionable clothing choices — primarily bathing costumes — and what were the lasting consequences of these experiments? “Flappers” and chorus girls were the principle targets of self-proclaimed moralists and socially prominent spokesmen in the twenties. The emergence of the working-class woman and her fashion decisions created an amalgam of conflicting social, economic, and moral attitudes, and forced negotiations with the hegemonic dictators of acceptable female behavior.
Diagnosis as approximate belief state enumeration for probabilistic concurrent constraint automata

As autonomous spacecraft and other robotic systems grow increasingly complex, there is a pressing need for capabilities that more accurately monitor and diagnose system state while maintaining reactivity. Mode estimation addresses this problem by reasoning over declarative models of the physical plant, represented as a factored variant of Hidden Markov Models (HMMs), called Probabilistic Concurrent Constraint Automata (PCCA). Previous mode estimation approaches track a set of most likely PCCA state trajectories, enumerating them in order of trajectory probability. Although Best-First Trajectory Enumeration (BFTE) is efficient, ignoring the additional trajectories that lead to the same state can significantly underestimate the true state probability and result in misdiagnosis. This paper introduces an innovative belief approximation technique, called Best-First Belief State Enumeration (BFBSE), that addresses this limitation by computing estimate probabilities directly from the HMM belief state update equations. Theoretical and empirical results show that BFBSE significantly increases estimator accuracy, uses less memory, and requires less computation time when enumerating a moderate number of estimates for the approximate belief state of subsystem sized models.
A Hypermutable Insert in an Immunoglobulin Transgene Contains Hotspots of Somatic Mutation and Sequences Predicting Highly Stable Structures in the RNA Transcript

Immunoglobulin (Ig) genes expressed in mature B lymphocytes can undergo somatic hypermutation upon cell interaction with antigen and T cells. The mutation mechanism had previously been shown to depend upon transcription initiation, suggesting that a mutator factor was loaded on an RNA polymerase initiating at the promoter and causing mutations during elongation (Peters, A., and U. Storb. 1996. Immunity. 4:57–65). To further elucidate this process we have created an artificial substrate consisting of alternating EcoRV and PvuII restriction enzyme sites (EPS) located within the variable (V) region of an Ig transgene. This substrate can easily be assayed for the presence of mutations in DNA from transgenic lymphocytes by amplifying the EPS insert and determining by restriction enzyme digestion whether any of the restriction sites have been altered. Surprisingly, the EPS insert was mutated many times more frequently than the flanking Ig sequences. In addition there were striking differences in mutability of the different nucleotides within the restriction sites. The data favor a model of somatic hypermutation where the fine specificity of the mutations is determined by nucleotide sequence preferences of a mutator factor, and where the general site of mutagenesis is determined by the pausing of the RNA polymerase due to secondary structures within the nascent RNA.
Simultaneous Detection of Mycobacterium leprae and Its Susceptibility to Dapsone Using DNA Heteroduplex Analysis

Currently recommended control measures for treating leprosy with multidrug therapy should control the spread of drug-resistant strains; however, dapsone (DDS) resistance continues to be reported. Comprehensive estimates of drug-resistant leprosy are difficult to obtain due to the cumbersome nature of the conventional drug susceptibility testing method using mouse footpad inoculation, which requires at least 6 months to obtain results. Recently, it has been determined that DDS-resistant strains contain missense mutations in codon 53 or 55 of the folP1 gene of Mycobacterium leprae, and definitive evidence linking these mutations with DDS resistance in M. leprae has been obtained. Based on these mutations, a heteroduplex DDS M. leprae (HD-DDS-ML) assay was developed for the simultaneous detection of M. leprae and of its susceptibility to DDS. The assay relies on the PCR amplification of an M. leprae-specific 231-bp fragment of folP1 containing codons 53 and 55. The PCR products are allowed to anneal to a universal heteroduplex generator, and the separation of the resultant DNA duplexes is accomplished by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. M. leprae was detected in crude cell lysates of skin biopsy specimen homogenates from eight leprosy patients and from M. leprae-infected mouse or armadillo tissues infected with 14 separate strains using the HD-DDS-ML assay. The assay was specific for M. leprae in a comparison with results obtained from 14 species of mycobacteria other than M. leprae and four bacterial species known to colonize human skin. The HD-DDS-ML assay detected as few as 100 M. leprae organisms present in homogenates of human skin and demonstrated a 93% correlation with DDS susceptibility as determined by both DNA sequencing of folP1 and mouse footpad susceptibility testing. The HD-DDS-ML assay provides a new tool for the simultaneous detection of M. leprae and of its susceptibility to DDS from a single specimen. The assay should prove useful for drug resistance surveillance in leprosy control programs when combined with similar molecular tests developed for other drug resistance markers.
Ten New Species in The Genus Fusigonalia from South America (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Cicadellini)

Ten species are added to the leafhopper genus Fusigonalia Young. Six species are from Colombia, including F. lobata, F. chelata, F. clavata, F. spinata, F. delta, and F. bispinata, and four are from Peru, including F. plecta, F. ortha, F. aspra, and F. heppneri. Also included is a description of the female of F. caucaensis Young.
Evolution and thermodynamics: The new paradigm

This paper introduces the new evolutionary paradigm born of the synthesis of Darwinism and thermodynamics. It also introduces this volume, whose theme is the integration of life and social process with physical law. The sense of this expansion is as follows: Darwinism has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, from several fields. These range from statistical mechanics to developmental biology. In this paper, I will discuss the direction the revision of the Darwinian program is taking through thermodynamics, which is the science of irreversible process and self-organization. My objective is to show the coherence of life with the rest of nature. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Development of a Cultural Economy: Foundational Questions and Future Direction

At the center of all Don Lavoie search interests was his passion for understanding how social learning takes placehow society can achieve a level of intelligence and coordination that far surpasses the intelligence and abilities of any individual or group of individuals within society. In keeping with FA Hayek, Lavoie believed that cultural processes are central to questions regarding social learning. Lavoie has helped to launch a field of inquiry that I call here cultural economy. By describing Lavoie contributions to this research, this paper seeks toarticulate the foundational questions the field of cultural economy ought to be asking, as well as articulate the potential advantages pursuing such an alternative approach holds for the economics discipline. After sketching out the scope of this emerging field of inquiry I suggest specific areas of research to which scholars interested in the field of cultural economy might turn their attention.
Morbidity of Pelvic Lymphadenectomy and Radical Prostatectomy for Prostati Cancer

Radical retroperitoneal pelvic lymphadenectomy is associated with rather minimal morbidity but, when combined with radical prostatectomy, the morbidity is increased. The only complication that seemed to be solely owing to the lymphadenectomy was lymphocele formation, which occurred in 10 per cent of the patients. This rate is below that reported in the gynecologic-oncology literature.
Parametric study of the QFN mounted PCB- Cu layer thickness effect on the stress induced during drop testing

In past studies [1], it was established that board level reliability of the packages depends mainly upon the design of the package and the soldering technology used for mounting the components. There are many methods [2] to test the reliability, such as temperature cycling test, bend test, power cycling, etc. which have been studied and practiced. We need to consider the failure rate and failure mechanism both, to understand how specific loading conditions affect the failure of an assembly. In this study, PCB's with variable layer thicknesses and QFN package mountings are subjected to drop test. The packages are custom made with probable high density end application. It has been observed previously that the failure initiates at the solder joints in the form of cracks. Also, the solder joints fail at two particular regions [6]. Hence, the drop test simulation is carried out using ANSYS workbench with detailing of the solder joints. The forcing function is dependent on the acceleration of the drop and not on the height of the drop for this particular study. The stress resulting due to impact is analyzed and the possible impact life prediction models are suggested based on it. The results give the idea about stress concentration and the amount of deflection of the board. To understand the effect of variable thickness of the board layers on the reliability of the package, the thickness of individual layers is varied. As the core of the PCB needs to be constant in terms of material and composition, the thickness of only the outermost layers is altered. Each assembly with different thickness of the PCB layers was tested and analyzed for failure. The study gives an insight on the reliability of the QFN packages under impact loading and ways to improve the reliability of the solder joints.
Leptin and Hormones: Energy Homeostasis

Leptin, a 167 amino acid adipokine, plays a major role in human energy homeostasis. Its actions are mediated through binding to leptin receptor and activating JAK-STAT3 signal transduction pathway. It is expressed mainly in adipocytes, and its circulating levels reflect the body's energy stores in adipose tissue. Recombinant methionyl human leptin has been FDA approved for patients with generalized non-HIV lipodystrophy and for compassionate use in subjects with congenital leptin deficiency. The purpose of this review is to outline the role of leptin in energy homeostasis, as well as its interaction with other hormones.
Cross-Tool Semantics for Protocol Security Goals

Formal protocol analysis tools provide objective evidence that a protocol under standardization meets security goals, as well as counterexamples to goals it does not meet (“attacks”). Different tools are however based on different execution semantics and adversary models. If different tools are applied to alternative protocols under standardization, can formal evidence offer a yardstick to compare the results?
In-well time-of-travel approach to evaluate optimal purge duration during low-flow sampling of monitoring wells

A common assumption with groundwater sampling is that low (<0.5 L/min) pumping rates during well purging and sampling captures primarily lateral flow from the formation through the well-screened interval at a depth coincident with the pump intake. However, if the intake is adjacent to a low hydraulic conductivity part of the screened formation, this scenario will induce vertical groundwater flow to the pump intake from parts of the screened interval with high hydraulic conductivity. Because less formation water will initially be captured during pumping, a substantial volume of water already in the well (preexisting screen water or screen storage) will be captured during this initial time until inflow from the high hydraulic conductivity part of the screened formation can travel vertically in the well to the pump intake. Therefore, the length of the time needed for adequate purging prior to sample collection (called optimal purge duration) is controlled by the in-well, vertical travel times. A preliminary, simple analytical model was used to provide information on the relation between purge duration and capture of formation water for different gross levels of heterogeneity (contrast between low and high hydraulic conductivity layers). The model was then used to compare these time–volume relations to purge data (pumping rates and drawdown) collected at several representative monitoring wells from multiple sites. Results showed that computation of time-dependent capture of formation water (as opposed to capture of preexisting screen water), which were based on vertical travel times in the well, compares favorably with the time required to achieve field parameter stabilization. If field parameter stabilization is an indicator of arrival time of formation water, which has been postulated, then in-well, vertical flow may be an important factor at wells where low-flow sampling is the sample method of choice.
Government Hacking to Light the Dark Web: What Risks to International Relations and International Law?

This essay is a response to Ahmed Ghappour's article, "Searching Places Unknown: Law Enforcement Jurisdiction on the Dark Web." Professor Ghappour argues that United States government use of malicious computer code (known as NITs) to investigate criminal cases on the dark web poses a threat to international relations and international law. In Ghappour's view, those threats justify a new regulatory framework to fill the regulatory vacuum that currently leaves the use of NITs to rank-and-file agents. This response challenges Ghappour’s framework in three ways. First, it questions whether there are real international relations difficulties with the use of NITs to investigate Tor users engaged in criminal activities. Second, it questions whether government use of NITs to investigate crimes on the dark web violates international law. Third, it argues that the use of NITs on the dark web does not occur in a regulatory vacuum. We agree with Ghappour that government use of NITs raises significant technical, legal, and policy challenges. At the same time, we are unpersuaded that the threat to international relations caused by use of NITs to investigate criminal cases on the dark web is among them.
Fresh Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation: Is Graft Storage Time Associated With Clinical Outcomes and Graft Survivorship?

Background:Regulatory concerns and the popularity of fresh osteochondral allograft (OCA) transplantation have led to a need for prolonged viable storage of osteochondral grafts. Tissue culture medi...
Predicting Postsecondary Education and Employment Outcomes Using Results From the Transition Assessment and Goal Generator

We conducted an exploratory study to investigate the relation between nonacademic behavior constructs measured by the Transition Assessment and Goal Generator (TAGG) and postsecondary education and...
OPA1 and cardiolipin team up for mitochondrial fusion

Fusion between the inner membranes of two mitochondria requires the GTPase optic atrophy 1 (OPA1), but the molecular mechanism is poorly understood. A study now shows that fusion of two liposomes can be performed by OPA1 tethered to just one liposome, through an interaction with the phospholipid cardiolipin on the opposing liposome.
Globalization and Biology; The Role of Coevolution in the Process of Global Change

If we think of globalization as a process that has been under way for at least ten millennia, we can see the importance of biological forces in the process. The interconnectedness of biology and globalization is best captured by the concept of coevolution. By means of coevolution, a number of global life systems have emerged that incorporate human beings, a small number of plant and animal species domesticated for food and other purposes, and a rather larger set of microbial species. These latter have entered human populations as companions of our food supply (for example, influenza and smallpox) or as a consequence of other human activities that were part of globalization, such as war, trade, and long distance migration (for example, the bubonic plague and AIDS). The coevolution paradigm helps us predict the future development of epidemics, but in the case of the AIDS pandemic, now entering its third decade, the future is still unclear.
FROPOFOL PREVENTS DISEASE PROGRESSION IN HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY

Increased contractility by the myofilaments themselves is recognized as a crucial factor in the pathogenesis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). In this study, we test the hypothesis that fropofol (a propofol derivative with no anesthetic activity), is a direct myofilament depressing agent that
Teachers’ and Math Coaches’ Understanding of Basic Mathematical Ideas

This chapter presents findings on teachers’ and mathematics coaches’ understanding of two mathematical topics: subtraction with regrouping and multi-digit multiplication. These two standard topics in elementary mathematics involve an understanding of the concept of place value. The two topics are purposely chosen because they provide us with a glimpse of respondents’ understanding of a basic mathematical concept (i.e., place value) and its application in two elementary mathematical topics. Newton’s analysis shows that as simple as these two mathematical topics may seem to be, the depth of understanding that is required in order to teach effectively (or teach well) is not as simple as we may think and teachers and mathematics coaches do not necessarily have the depth of content understanding of these two foundational mathematical topics.
Cost analysis of an improved Z-source-based power processing system for photo-voltaic applications

The increasing attention to the man-made cli­mate change has initiated an extensive effort on the possible solutions of controlling its pace. Replacing the carbon-heavy fossil fuels with cleaner energy resources provides an amenable solution in subdue. However, the cost of utilizing the most environment-friendly resources, such as solar power systems has been generally high. In particular, the low-voltage output of solar panels and fuel-cells require high voltage gain dc-dc converters in order to boost the output voltage to the levels that meet the inverters' required voltage. Z-source converters provide a highly efficient solution to reduce the cost of high step-up applications. It also offers numerous advantages, such as high voltage gain, clamped switch voltage, isolation of energy source from the load and positive polarity for output voltage. This paper analyzes the cost reduction advantages of a non-isolated z-source-based dc-dc converter in a photovoltaic application. In particular, we focus on a proposed high step-up converter and analyze its key advantages in a comparison with the previous solutions. Moreover, we discuss with a data-analytic approach on the possible impacts of this solution on the increased utilization of solar power systems in residential applications.
Design of Composite Structures Using Knowledge-Based and Case Based Reasoning

A method of using knowledge based and case based reasoning to assist designers during conceptual design tasks of composite structures was proposed. The cooperative use of heuristics, procedural knowledge, and previous similar design cases suggests a potential reduction in design cycle time and ultimately product lead time. The hypothesis of this work is that the design process of composite structures can be improved by using Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) and Knowledge-Based (KB) reasoning in the early design stages. The technique of using knowledge-based and case-based reasoning facilitates the gathering of disparate information into one location that is easily and readily available. The method suggests that the inclusion of downstream life-cycle issues into the conceptual design phase reduces potential of defective, and sub-optimal composite structures. Three industry experts were interviewed extensively. The experts provided design rules, previous design cases, and test problems. A Knowledge Based Reasoning system was developed using the CLIPS (C Language Interpretive Procedural System) environment and a Case Based Reasoning System was developed using the Design Memory Utility For Sharing Experiences (MUSE) xviii environment. A Design Characteristic State (DCS) was used to document the design specifications, constraints, and problem areas using attribute-value pair relationships. The DCS provided consistent design information between the knowledge base and case base. Results indicated that the use of knowledge based and case based reasoning provided a robust design environment for composite structures. The knowledge base provided design guidance from well defined rules and procedural knowledge. The case base provided suggestions on design and manufacturing techniques based on previous similar designs and warnings of potential problems and pitfalls. The case base complemented the knowledge base and extended the problem solving capability beyond the existence of limited well defined rules. The findings indicated that the technique is most effective when used as a design aid and not as a tool to totally automate the composites design process. Other areas of application and implications for future research are discussed.
In vitro and in vivo assessment of the viability of dog marrow after storage.

thesis in vitro has been used as an index of the ability of marrow cells to proliferate, since an increase in DNA is a prerequisite for cell division. In the studies on stored samples of dog marrow reported here, the relationship between DNA synthesis in vitro and cell viability in vivo was explored. The in vivo test used has been the ability of stored autologous marrow to induce survival in lethally irradiated dogs.
Carcinoid tumors of the thymus and Cushing's syndrome: Clinicopathologic features and current best evidence regarding the cell of origin of these unusual neoplasms.

Abstract It is uncertain whether thymic neuroendocrine tumors (NET) associated with Cushing's syndrome (CS) produce corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) and whether the thymus contains ACTH and/or CRH cells that could originate NET. The clinicopathologic features of 5 typical (TC) and 6 atypical carcinoids (ATC), 10 additional non-neoplastic thymi, 6 adrenal glands with bilateral nodular hyperplasia and 8 adrenal cortical adenomas were reviewed. Representative slides were immunostained for ACTH and CRH. Four (36.4%) of the 11 patients had CS. The incidence of Masaoka stage IV was higher (p The thymus contains CRH and ACTH immunoreactive cells that are probably the origin of thymic NET. Neoplasms associated with CS exhibit strong immunoreactivity for both hormones, suggesting that CRH probably plays a role in the pathogenesis of CS. As adrenals with bilateral nodular hyperplasia exhibit diffuse CRH immunoreactivity and adrenal cortical adenomas either lack this finding or show few immunoreactive cells, this marker may be useful to distinguish these lesions.
The Effect of Hearing Impairments on Wage Earnings: Evidence from a Copula‐Based Spline Selection Model

This paper investigates the effect of hearing impairments on annual wage earnings. A standard Heckman‐style selection model suggests that hearing impairments reduce earnings by approximately 14 per cent, with no evidence of selection bias. The paper then relaxes the assumption of bivariate normality using a copula specification, and the paper allows for potentially nonlinear links between nonbinary covariates and earnings using smooth spline functions. By incorporating those two deviations, not only does the model appear to provide a better fit to the data, but hearing impairments appear to reduce earnings by 19 per cent, an effect 36 per cent larger than what is suggested by the standard selection setup. The model also uncovers evidence of statistically significant selection bias.
In Vivo Confocal Microscopy Demonstrates Increased Immune Cell Densities in Corneal Graft Rejection Correlating With Signs and Symptoms.

Purpose Diagnosis of graft rejection is based on patient symptoms and on clinical signs detected by slit-lamp biomicroscopy. This study investigated whether laser in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) can aid in the diagnosis of corneal graft rejection by detecting cellular corneal changes that take place after transplantation. Design Prospective case-control study. Subjects Thirty-eight eyes of 38 patients with penetrating keratoplasty (15 eyes with corneal graft rejection, 23 eyes without rejection) and 9 age-matched normal controls. Methods Laser IVCM was performed in the corneal grafts centrally. The density of immune cells (IC) was assessed for epithelial, sub-epithelial, stromal, and endothelial layers by 2 masked observers. IC density was compared among different groups and correlated to clinical signs and symptoms of corneal graft rejection. Main Outcome Measurements Outcome measurement was the IC density in the corneal layers and its associations with the presence of clinical signs and symptoms of corneal graft rejection. Results The IC density was significantly different between rejected and non-rejected grafts (P = 0.004) and different from that of normal controls (P = 0.001). Among corneal layers, IC density was significantly higher in rejected grafts than in non-rejected grafts in only the sub-basal (611.54 ± 573.74 vs. 340.61 ± 268.60 cells/mm2, respectively; P = 0.049) and endothelial layers (250.62 ± 267.13 vs. 103.47 ± 81.91 cells/mm2, respectively; P = 0.001). Patients with decreased best corrected visual acuity, Khodadoust line, and anterior chamber cells demonstrated a significant increase in total IC density (P Conclusions Patients with corneal graft rejection demonstrate a significant increase in corneal immune cells, particularly, in the sub-basal and endothelial layers compared to patients with non-rejected grafts and controls. Although symptoms associated with endothelial rejection demonstrate a general increase in IC, pain, irritation, and light sensitivity are associated with increased IC in the sub-basal layer. Assessment of patients with corneal graft rejection by IVCM may serve as an adjunctive tool in the diagnosis and management of corneal graft rejection.
A method for single molecule tracking using a conventional single-focus confocal setup

One way to achieve spatial resolution using fluorescence imaging—and track single molecules—is to use wide-field illumination and collect measurements over multiple sensors (camera pixels). Here we propose another way that uses confocal measurements and a single sensor. Traditionally, confocal microscopy has been used to achieve high temporal resolution at the expense of spatial resolution. This is because it utilizes very few, and commonly just one, sensors to collect data. Yet confocal data encode spatial information. Here we show that non-uniformities in the shape of the confocal excitation volume can be exploited to achieve spatial resolution. To achieve this, we formulate a specialized hidden Markov model and adapt a forward filtering-backward sampling Markov chain Monte Carlo scheme to efficiently handle molecular motion within a symmetric confocal volume characteristically used in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Our method can be used for single confocal volume applications or incorporated into larger computational schemes for specialized, multi-confocal volume, optical setups.
Simulink-based programs for power system dynamic analysis

This paper introduces Simulink-based programs developed for dynamic analysis of electrical power systems. The program can be used for research studies or as a teaching tool. With the program, time-domain simulation, modal analysis, participation factor analysis and visualization, frequency response analysis, and design of conventional and intelligent controllers can be obtained. A special case of constant impedance load is also studied. IEEE 9-bus, IEEE 68-bus, Texas 2007-bus 282-machine, and the 25,000-bus northeastern US test systems are employed in this paper. The synchronous machines are assumed to be equipped with exciter, turbine, and stabilizer. Static var compensator is added using conventional and adaptive neuro-fuzzy controllers. Different types of disturbances are applied to the systems including generator-side and network-side disturbances. The program is free of algebraic loops that may increase the errors and slow down the simulation. All blocks and signals in the Simulink model are in vector form that can be used to simulate a power system of any size.
Mechanism of cholestasis. 5. Bile acids in normal rat livers and in those after bile duct ligation.

The concentrations and qualitative distribution of bile acids in rat livers were determined before, and 3 and 10 days after, bile duct ligation, using a method modified to detect ursodeoxycholic acid and β-muricholic acid. After bile duct ligation the secondary bile acids, deoxycholic and hyodeoxycholic acid disappeared, and the concentration of trihydroxylated bile acids was 4 to 5 times normal. Before ligation, cholic acid was the major bile acid. After ligation, β-muricholic acid became the major one by increasing 30-fold. The concentrations of dihydroxylated bile acids almost doubled. Ursodeoxycholic acid normally present only in trace amounts represented one-fourth of the dihydroxylated bile acids after bile duct ligation. The total concentration of the dihydroxylated bile acids approached the level at which competitive inhibition of the cytochrome P-450-dependent microsomal biotransformation system was observed in vitro. This explains the demonstrated disturbance in drug metabolism in obstructive jaundice in rats. A concentration of dihydroxylated bile acids causing detergent action was not reached, which is why feathery degeneration is hardly ever seen in the rat. The lack of detergent action can be explained by a protective mechanism in the rat in the form of accentuation of normally little used alternate pathways, providing relatively inert ursodeoxycholic acid and β-muricholic acid.
The First Serbian Female Writer: From the History of Nineteenth-Century Women’s Literature

At the end of the nineteenth century the Romantic image of Eustahija Arsic (1776–1843) was introduced to the Serbian national pantheon as the first Serbian woman writer and philosopher of the modern age. This image was based first and foremost on her book “Useful Thoughts on the Four Seasons” which appeared in Budim in 1816 under that author’s name. In the second half of the twentieth century several scholarly studies and a biography were devoted to Arsic. More recently this image has attracted the attention of scholars of women’s literature in South Slavic countries. These scholars note that her “Thoughts”, while influenced by Western pre-romantic (sentimentalist) literature, illuminate a wide range of fields, including philosophy, ethics, history, natural science, anatomy, physics, and religion, while at the same time they introduce the genre of the “feminist essay” into Serbian literature. The poems that are included in “Thoughts” appear in anthologies of Serbian literature as original poems by Arsic. The present essay shows that the ideas about the originality, European erudition, cosmopolitanism, personal tone, philosophical gifts and poetic talent are highly exaggerated, and that the image of this author is a cultural construct that was created at a certain stage of the formation of Serbian national literature and was reconceived at a later time. The essay establishes that Arsic’s “Useful Thoughts” is a compilation of essays, tracts, and poetry that appeared in Russian journals from the late 1780s to the early 1810s. These works (including some by Nikolai Karamzin) were transferred into her book with minor orthographic and grammatical changes (e.g. masculine noun endings are changed to feminine ones) and without any indication of the source. The work of the compiler of “Thoughts” consisted solely in taking the sentimental texts of Russian male authors and attributing them to a pious female author. The essay does not simply give the direct sources of this “Slavono-Russian” book of “the first Serbian woman writer” and describe the process of adaptation of the “foreign” as a stage of the national and literary self-affirmation of the “younger” Slavic culture, but it also offers material for a more general (philological and literary-critical) study of the “Slavono-Russian” period in the history of Serbian literature in particular and “pan-Slavic” pre-romanticism more generally. The case of Arsic is likewise interesting for a comparative analysis of the formation of national literary “pantheons” and for a gender history of Russian and other Slavic literatures. DOI: 10.31168/2305-6754.2019.8.1.11
Permanency and well-being outcomes for maltreated infants: Pilot results from an infant-toddler court team.

Abstract Background Evaluations of infant-toddler court teams suggest improvements related to permanency, service provision, and parenting. However, findings regarding permanency are limited in that they do not capture children who remain in care for long periods. Less is known about how court teams impact child development. Objective The first two objectives are to describe baseline development for a small group of infants and toddlers participating in a pilot court team project and to explore changes in their development and behavior. The third objective is to describe permanency outcomes. Participants and setting Infants and toddlers (n = 25) under court jurisdiction for substantiated maltreatment and their parents participated in pre-and posttest evaluation of a pilot court team project. All dyads were referred to a parenting intervention, Infant Mental Health Home Visiting. Infant development was assessed using the Bayley-III and behavior was assessed in the Crowell parent-child interaction task. Court records were reviewed for permanency outcomes. Results Thirty-five percent of children had a developmental delay at program entry and showed significant improvements in expressive language development (p Conclusions These preliminary findings add to the limited literature on the potential impact that infant-toddler court teams can have on permanency and well-being.
Multi-modality MRI arbitrary transformation using unified generative adversarial networks

We propose a deep learning-based method to perform arbitrary image-to-image translations among four types of MRI scans, including T1-weighted, T1c (T1-weighted with contrast enhancement), Flair and T2-weighted. The goal is to rapidly generate different contrast weighted images which provide comprehensive diagnostic information. The proposed method employs a unified generative adversarial network (unified GAN) which translates any randomly selected MRI scan to the rest scan types. Compared to traditional GAN which takes only images as input, the proposed unified GAN takes both the original image and target domain label as input. The proposed method was evaluated using 50 patients’ brain datasets with well-aligned multi-types of MRI scans. Normalized mean absolute error (NMAE) and peak signal-tonoise ratio (PSNR) were used to quantify the synthesis accuracy of the proposed method. With T2 scan as input, the average NMAE was 0.018±0.003, 0.014±0.002, and 0.022±0.005 for T1, T1c and Flair MRI scans, respectively. The average PSNR was 30.1±3.7 dB, 36.3±3.5 dB, and 30.4±4.7 dB for T1, T1c and Flair MRI scans, respectively. Image quality of the synthesized MRI scans are comparable to original MRI scans.
Clinical and Nonclinical Implications of Misplaced Nasogastric Tubes: Tools for Implementation of Standardized Best Practices

The consequences of misplaced nasogastric tubes extend far beyond the clinical setting and have implications for the hospital’s reputation and economic stability. A systematic approach for nasogastric tube insertion and verification is necessary in order to prevent misplaced nasogastric tubes which are, indeed, “never events.” The Actionable Patient Safety Solutions (APSS) from the Patient Safety Movement Foundation outline best practices for implementation of nasogastric tube placement protocols in hospitals to ensure consistency across the organization and preserve patient safety at the forefront of all clinical endeavors.
Laparoscopic Management of a Late-Presenting, Unruptured Interstitial Ectopic Pregnancy

Study Objective Interstitial pregnancies are located outside the uterine cavity in the muscular layer of the uterus and account for up to 4% of ectopic pregnancies. Mortality rate from this form of ectopic pregnancy is as high as 2.5% due to the risk of uterine rupture and hemorrhage. Late-presenting interstitial pregnancies are particularly worrisome. The objective of this video is to demonstrate the stepwise resection of a late-presenting, unruptured interstitial ectopic pregnancy by laparoscopic approach. Design Narrated step-by-step video demonstration of laparoscopic resection of a late-presenting, unruptured interstitial ectopic pregnancy. Setting Tertiary care academic medical center. Patients or Participants A 34-year-old G4P3003 presented to the emergency department with nausea and vomiting. Initial ultrasound in the emergency department showed a pregnancy at 12 w 2 d by last menstrual period consistent with ultrasound. It was initially misdiagnosed as an intrauterine pregnancy. Formal ultrasound in our Maternal-Fetal Medicine division showed a crown-rump length of 5.1 cm, and the gestational sac was surrounded by abnormal, cystic-appearing placenta. MRI confirmed an interstitial location and showed a gestational sac measuring 7.9 × 7.7 × 6.9 cm with a crown-rump length of 6.1 cm. Interventions Laparoscopic resection of an unruptured ectopic pregnancy involving the uterine cornua and fallopian tube. Measurements and Main Results The patient did well and was discharged on postoperative day 1. Quantitative beta-hCG was trended to zero in the outpatient setting. Conclusion This case illustrates that interstitial ectopic pregnancy can be safely managed laparoscopically even into the late first trimester and provides an alternative to both laparotomy as a surgical approach and hysterectomy as management, especially when future fertility is desired. This case is unique in that prior reports have demonstrated a fertility-sparing approach being feasible at a much earlier gestational age.