cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Management and Outcomes of ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in US Renal Transplant Recipients.

Importance Renal transplantation is associated with reduction in the risk for myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with chronic kidney disease requiring long-term dialysis (stage 5D CKD). Whether outcomes of MI differ among renal transplant recipients vs patients with stage 5D CKD or those without CKD has not been well examined. Objectives To compare in-hospital reperfusion rates and outcomes of ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) in renal transplant recipients vs the stage 5D CKD group or the non-CKD group. Design, Setting, and Participants The National Inpatient Sample database was queried to identify patients 18 years or older who were hospitalized with the principal diagnosis of STEMI. All hospitalizations for STEMI in the United States from January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2013, were included. Codes from International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification , were used to identify patients in the non-CKD, stage 5D CKD, or prior renal transplant groups. Data were analyzed from March to May 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures In-hospital mortality. Results From 2003 to 2013, 2 319 002 patients in the non-CKD group (34.7% women; 65.3% men; mean [SD] age, 64.2 [14.4] years), 30 072 patients in the stage 5D CKD group (45.0% women; 55.0% men; mean [SD] age, 66.9 [12.5] years), and 2980 patients in the renal transplant group (27.3% women; 72.7% men; mean [SD] age, 57.5 [11.1] years) were identified who were hospitalized with STEMI. Of these, 68.9% of the patients in the non-CKD group, 39.5% in the stage 5D CKD group, and 65.2% in the renal transplant group received in-hospital reperfusion for STEMI. The renal transplant group was more likely to receive reperfusion compared with the stage 5D CKD group (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.83; 95% CI, 1.67-2.01; P P P P = .08). Among renal transplant recipients with STEMI, the use of reperfusion increased from 53.7% in the 2003-2004 interval to 81.4% in the 2011-2013 interval (AOR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.25-1.43; P P = .27 for trend). Conclusions and Relevance In-hospital mortality rates in renal transplant recipients with STEMI are more favorable compared with those of patients with stage 5D CKD and approach those of the general population with STEMI.
Compressed ultrafast photography: Redefining the limit of passive ultrafast imaging

A new computational optical imaging method used with a streak camera has enabled two-dimensional ultrafast photography of non-repetitive events at 100 billion frames per second.
North Sea War 1914–1919

The title of this book is somewhat misleading because readers, expecting perhaps another account of the clashes of the British and German battle fleets or a far-ranging analysis of how naval and ai...
Primary Bone Tumors in Children

Imaging of pediatric bone tumors begins with radiography. Radiographs serve to confirm the presence of a tumor, to identify the site (bone, location within bone), to characterize (aggressive vs. non-aggressive), to formulate a differential diagnosis and to guide further imaging work up. Clinical presentation and radiographic characteristics will determine the need for further imaging. The differential diagnosis of a bone tumor can be narrowed, often to a single diagnosis, by answering a few simple questions.
Acquisition of Lever Pressing by Rats with and without Magazine Training

Four groups of five rats each were given the opportunity to acquire lever pressing without direct experimenter assistance. Subjects in Groups 1 and 2 were first given prior magazine training with the levers retracted and the next day were presented with one or two levers, respectively. Each lever press produced a food pellet. Subjects in Groups 3 and 4 were exposed directly to one or two levers, respectively, without prior magazine training. Three of five rats in Groups 1, 3 and 4 and all rats in Group 2 acquired lever pressing within a single hour session.
Condition-based maintenance under performance-based contracting

Develop a CBM model under the novel performance-based contracting approach.Determine the optimal CBM policies given a performance-based contract.Allow CBM to be imperfect.Consider unit-specific random effects.Provide indicators for choosing the adequate policies according to different system characteristics. In this paper, a new cost optimization model has been developed and demonstrated to determine cost-effective maintenance plans specifically for performance-based contracting. Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) has become more critical in many industries as the global economy continues to be more service-based. Traditionally, the MRO services are performed under material-based contracts. A new support contracting approach, referred to as performance-based contracts, has emerged and received much attention in recent years. In this paper, we examine the impact of the performance-based contracts on maintenance decisions for repairable systems. We consider a stochastic degradation process that has substantial unit-specific heterogeneity. Periodic inspection/repair is implemented during field operations. Rewards for maintenance service providers are directly dependent on the average availability, and the goal of the maintenance providers is to maximize profit rates. Two benchmark models are developed for comparison purposes, namely cost-minimization and availability-maximization. Numerical examples and sensitivity analysis are provided to examine the effectiveness of the adopted profit-centric approach.
Knowledge Representations and Inference Techniques for Medical Question Answering

Answering medical questions related to complex medical cases, as required in modern Clinical Decision Support (CDS) systems, imposes (1) access to vast medical knowledge and (2) sophisticated inference techniques. In this article, we examine the representation and role of combining medical knowledge automatically derived from (a) clinical practice and (b) research findings for inferring answers to medical questions. Knowledge from medical practice was distilled from a vast Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, while research knowledge was processed from biomedical articles available in PubMed Central. The knowledge automatically acquired from the EMR system took into account the clinical picture and therapy recognized from each medical record to generate a probabilistic Markov network denoted as a Clinical Picture and Therapy Graph (CPTG). Moreover, we represented the background of medical questions available from the description of each complex medical case as a medical knowledge sketch. We considered three possible representations of medical knowledge sketches that were used by four different probabilistic inference methods to pinpoint the answers from the CPTG. In addition, several answer-informed relevance models were developed to provide a ranked list of biomedical articles containing the answers. Evaluations on the TREC-CDS data show which of the medical knowledge representations and inference methods perform optimally. The experiments indicate an improvement of biomedical article ranking by 49% over state-of-the-art results.
Demo abstract: MExR: Mobile edge resource management for mixed reality applications

Mixed reality (MR) applications not only require low-latency and high-capacity networks to deliver sensor generated data and virtual holograms, but also demand high-performance computing capability to process data and prepare virtual holograms. Mobile edge computing emerges as a promising networking solution for mixed reality applications. In this demo, we design the MExR system which is a mobile edge resource management platform for mixed reality applications. In this platform, we design and implement the MExR algorithm that manages the traffic load in mobile edge networks and computing workload in edge and cloud servers. We emulate LTE and software-defined network (SDN) in NS-3, manage network performance with the Ryu SDN controller, and design a workload balancing algorithm based on the HAProxy. We develop a real-time MR application using Microsoft hololens and demonstrate the impact of the mobile edge resource management on the MR application. The MExR emulation platform allows the evaluation of various edge networking and computing resource management algorithms for mixed reality applications.
Occupational Injuries of Aquaculture Workers: Washington State

Objective: To characterize occupational injuries of aquaculture workers in Washington State.Methods: We reviewed accepted Washington State workers’ compensation claims from January 1, 2006 to Decem...
Magnetic susceptibility increases as diamagnetic molecules breakdown: Myelin digestion during multiple sclerosis lesion formation contributes to increase on QSM

Background The pathological processes in the first weeks of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesion formation include myelin digestion that breaks chemical bonds in myelin lipid layers. This can increase lesion magnetic susceptibility, which is a potentially useful biomarker in MS patient management, but not yet investigated. Purpose To understand and quantify the effects of myelin digestion on quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) of MS lesions. Study type Histological and QSM analyses on in vitro models of myelin breakdown and MS lesion formation in vivo. Population/specimens Acutely demyelinating white matter lesions from MS autopsy tissue were stained with the lipid dye oil red O. Myelin basic protein (MBP), a major membrane protein of myelin, was digested with trypsin. Purified human myelin was denatured with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). QSM was performed on phantoms containing digestion products and untreated controls. In vivo QSM was performed on five MS patients with newly enhancing lesions, and then repeated within 2 weeks. Field strength/sequence 3D T 2 * -weighted spoiled multiecho gradient echo scans performed at 3T. Assessment Region of interest analyses were performed by a biochemist and a neuroradiologist to determine susceptibility changes on in vitro and in vivo QSM images. Statistical tests Not applicable. Results MBP degradation by trypsin increased the QSM measurement by an average of 112 ± 37 ppb, in excellent agreement with a theoretical estimate of 111 ppb. Degradation of human myelin by SDS increased the QSM measurement by 23 ppb. As MS lesions changed from gadolinium enhancing to nonenhancing over an average of 15.8 ± 3.7 days, their susceptibility increased by an average of 7.5 ± 6.3 ppb. Data conclusion Myelin digestion in the early stages of MS lesion formation contributes to an increase in tissue susceptibility, detectable by QSM, as a lesion evolves from gadolinium enhancing to nonenhancing. Level of evidence 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1281-1287.
Brownian Stochastic Integration

In § 2.2 we used Ito’s idea to construct a coupling of the measures \(\mu _{t, n}\) in ( 1.2.12). As most readers will have realized, our treatment would have been less cumbersome if we had a notion of integration that allowed me to replace the prescription in ( 2.2.1) by $$\begin{aligned} X_n(t,\mathbf {x})=\mathbf {x}+\int _0^t\sigma \bigl (X_n(\lfloor \tau \rfloor _n,\mathbf {x})\bigr )\, dw(\tau )+\int _0^tb\bigl (X_n(\lfloor \tau \rfloor _n,\mathbf {x})\bigr )\, d\tau \end{aligned}$$ and allowed me to show that such an expression converges to an expression like $$\begin{aligned} X(t,\mathbf {x})=\mathbf {x}+\int _0^t\sigma \bigl (X(\tau ,\mathbf {x})\bigr )\, dw(\tau )+\int _0^tb\bigl (X(\tau ,\mathbf {x})\bigr )\, d\tau . \end{aligned}$$
ANALYSIS OF DIVERSITY: A UNIFIED APPROACH

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a general measure of diversity (variability) applicable to both quantitative and qualitative data and the extension of the concept of analysis of variance to the more general analysis of diversity. It is noted that such an approach to the analysis of one-way classified categorical data (equivalent to two-dimensional contingency table), called CATANOVA, was developed by Light and Margolin using the Gini-Simpson index of diversity for a multinomial population. Further contributions in this direction have been made recently by Anderson and Landis. The chapter provides a general framework for extending the analysis of the above authors using a general diversity measure to more complex situations where the data are classified by levels of two or more factors.
Simple Problems in One Dimension

Now that the postulates have been stated and explained, it is all over but for the applications. We begin with the simplest class of problems----concerning a single particle in one dimension. Although these one-dimensional problems are somewhat artificial, they contain most of the features of three-dimensional quantum mechanics but little of its complexity. One problem we will not discuss in this chapter is that of the harmonic oscillator. This problem is so important that a separate chapter has been devoted to its study.
An Ensemble Perspective of Aging-Related Hypoandrogenemia in Men

Aging is associated with changes in pituitary testicular function in men which are partly explained by changes in the testis and by comorbidities, body weight, nutrition, and the presence of diabetes mellitus. The 0.8–1.3% annual fall in nonSHBG bound “bioavailable” testosterone levels results in a reduction of 30–50% by the sixth to eighth decades of life. Low testosterone concentrations are associated with relative sarcopenia, osteopenia, visceral fat accumulation, reduced sexual function, detectable cognitive impairment, and variable depression of mood. Accordingly, the mechanisms driving the progressive decline in androgens are important to understand. To this end, we highlight age-associated alterations in three dominant sites of physiological control; viz., the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and testis. The cognate signals are gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone, which jointly determine androgen availability via feedback and feedforward adaptations. According to this emergent notion, no single gland acts in isolation to maintain homeostasis. We underscore an integrative concept by highlighting how aging-related testosterone depletion is an ensemble outcome of deterioration of interlinked control.
Closed-Loop Control of Sheet Metal Forming Processes

The process of forming metal sheets involves large plastic deformation of the workpiece material. The outcome of these processes, therefore, are highly dependent upon the yield point and flow stress characteristics of the material. To overcome the problems associated with uncertain and highly variable forming properties, a control strategy is presented that is based on closing the loop around the forming process and workpiece rather than just the processing machine. In this way the variations in material properties and the uncertainty of die-sheet interface forces can be overcome on a part by part basis. The details of such a process are discussed briefly in the context of conventional NC control and in detail for sheet metal forming. Examples of closed-loop control are presented for brake forming, roll bending and general die forming. Specific experimental results for these cases illustrate that part control of sheet metal forming is quite feasible, and promises to improve the ultimate utility of such processes by reducing setup time, and by improving the part consistency.
Enhanced Machine Learning Classification Accuracy for Scaffolding Safety Using Increased Features

AbstractDespite regular safety inspections and safety planning, numerous fatal accidents related to scaffold take place at construction sites. Current practices relying on human inspection are not ...
Why James Buchanan Kept Frank Knight’s Picture on His Wall Despite Fundamental Disagreements on Economics, Ethics, and Politics

Despite affection for his former teacher, James M. Buchanan’s work ran counter to that of Frank H. Knight. Knight disagreed with Buchanan’s methodological, economic, ethical, and political assumptions. He rejected methodological individualism, the underlying methodological commitment of Buchanan’s research program. While Knight remained within the standard constrained maximization framework of neoclassical economics, Buchanan adopted a catallactic perspective. Ethically, Knight argued that all ethical judgments must remain open to debate, and also rejected the de gustibus non est disputandum assumption that went hand-in-hand among economists with methodological individualism. And philosophically, Knight’s theory of democratic politics was centered on “democracy as discussion” rather than choice, contract, and constitution. Why, then, did Buchanan return again and again to Knight’s work? After a survey of his published criticisms of Knight, the conclusion emerges that engagement with Knight pushed Buchanan toward a more open-ended political economy.
Membrane renewal after dibucaine deciliation of Tetrahymena. Freeze-fracture technique, cilia, membrane structure.

Abstract Axenic late log phase cultures of Tetrahymena pyriformis DN-B3 are deciliated by treatment with dibucaine. Deciliation occurs first at the anterior end of the cell and then progresses posteriorly. Concomitantly, all mature mucocysts are induced to discharge by the drug. The exact point of scission of each cilium is found to be a very localized region, between two specialized membrane arrays: the ciliary necklace and the ciliary patches, situated at the base of the cilium. Isolated cilia retain the patches, while the necklaces remain with the deciliated bodies. The cell membrane seals over the stubs. The new ciliary membrane then grows out above the necklace without the patches, which do not generally appear for several hours. Membrane renewal is therefore asynchronous, with bulk growth preceding the formation of specialized intramembrane particle arrays. During regrowth, the cilia also first return at the anterior end of the cell. This suggests that underlying gradients, perhaps related to Ca2+, are significant in the deciliation process.
More than the Vote: The Nineteenth Amendment as Proxy for Gender Equality

The original idea behind the Nineteenth Amendment was never just about the vote. Instead, the first women's rights movement 175 years ago, like the modern movement for the Equal Rights Amendment, sought comprehensive equality for women in all avenues of life. The constitutional text for women’s full equality and emancipation has changed over the centuries; first embodied in the grant of the vote as a proxy for structural change, and now incorporated into the demand for “equal rights.” Yet women have been consistent over time in understanding the radical idea that systems of governance, family, industry, and church need dismantling and reconstructing in order to support women’s equality and emancipation. This paper first details the origins of women’s political demand for the vote as part of a comprehensive social reform. It then discusses the four strands of the comprehensive early women’s rights agenda for gender equality focused on the political state, domestic family, economic industry, and religious church. Finally, it connects the suffrage activism with demands for an equal rights amendment to realize the full civil rights of equality envisioned by and for women. This long view of women’s rights shows that the movement was not solely about suffrage, but that the vote stood as a shorthand for a complete revolution of the interlocking systems supporting women’s oppression and denying women equal rights. The legal history illustrates that “women’s rights” has always been a multiple issue, multiple systems platform, even as certain issues like suffrage or abortion have been isolated in the dominant public discourse, often driven there by opponents of gender equality. Appreciating the context and constitutional history of the Nineteenth Amendment supports a more robust understanding of constitutional guarantees of gender equality today, supporting interpretations of “equal protection” under the Fourteenth Amendment to encompass the full array of public and private rights.
Multiscale composite model of fiber-reinforced tissues with direct representation of sub-tissue properties

In many fiber-reinforced tissues, collagen fibers are embedded within a glycosaminoglycan-rich extrafibrillar matrix. Knowledge of the structure-function relationship between the sub-tissue properties and bulk tissue mechanics is important for understanding tissue failure mechanics and developing biological repair strategies. Difficulties in directly measuring sub-tissue properties led to a growing interest in employing finite element modeling approaches. However, most models are homogeneous and are therefore not sufficient for investigating multiscale tissue mechanics, such as stress distributions between sub-tissue structures. To address this limitation, we developed a structure-based model informed by the native annulus fibrosus structure, where fibers and the matrix were described as distinct materials occupying separate volumes. A multiscale framework was applied such that the model was calibrated at the sub-tissue scale using single-lamellar uniaxial mechanical test data, while validated at the bulk scale by predicting tissue multiaxial mechanics for uniaxial tension, biaxial tension, and simple shear (13 cases). Structure-based model validation results were compared to experimental observations and homogeneous models. While homogeneous models only accurately predicted bulk tissue mechanics for one case, structure-based models accurately predicted bulk tissue mechanics for 12 of 13 cases, demonstrating accuracy and robustness. Additionally, six of eight structure-based model parameters were directly linked to tissue physical properties, further broadening its future applicability. In conclusion, the structure-based model provides a powerful multiscale modeling approach for simultaneously investigating the structure-function relationship at the sub-tissue and bulk tissue scale, which is important for studying multiscale tissue mechanics with degeneration, disease, or injury.
Sociedad civil e integración centroamericana

Resena de la obra de: SANTOS CARRILLO, F. (2013) Sociedad civil e integracion centroamericana, El Salvador, Fundacion ETEA para el desarrollo y la cooperacion, 363 pp.
RAMBleed: Reading Bits in Memory Without Accessing Them

The Rowhammer bug is a reliability issue in DRAM cells that can enable an unprivileged adversary to flip the values of bits in neighboring rows on the memory module. Previous work has exploited this for various types of fault attacks across security boundaries, where the attacker flips inaccessible bits, often resulting in privilege escalation. It is widely assumed however, that bit flips within the adversary’s own private memory have no security implications, as the attacker can already modify its private memory via regular write operations.We demonstrate that this assumption is incorrect, by employing Rowhammer as a read side channel. More specifically, we show how an unprivileged attacker can exploit the data dependence between Rowhammer induced bit flips and the bits in nearby rows to deduce these bits, including values belonging to other processes and the kernel. Thus, the primary contribution of this work is to show that Rowhammer is a threat to not only integrity, but to confidentiality as well.Furthermore, in contrast to Rowhammer write side channels, which require persistent bit flips, our read channel succeeds even when ECC memory detects and corrects every bit flip. Thus, we demonstrate the first security implication of successfully-corrected bit flips, which were previously considered benign.To demonstrate the implications of this read side channel, we present an end-to-end attack on OpenSSH 7.9 that extracts an RSA-2048 key from the root level SSH daemon. To accomplish this, we develop novel techniques for massaging memory from user space into an exploitable state, and use the DRAM rowbuffer timing side channel to locate physically contiguous memory necessary for double-sided Rowhammering. Unlike previous Rowhammer attacks, our attack does not require the use of huge pages, and it works on Ubuntu Linux under its default configuration settings.
The Ventricular Premature Complex

In this chapter the author discusses the historical aspects, prevalence, clinical presentation of the ventricular premature complex (VPC) including VPC-related cardiomyopathy, as well as the types and origin of VPCs, and the treatment of benign and malignant forms of VPCs.
Heterogeneous SISCAP Microring Modulator for High-Speed Optical Communication

We present a semiconductor-insulator-semiconductor capacitor (SISCAP) microring modulator in the O-band suitable for integration with lasers and photodetectors on the heterogeneous silicon platform. We show data modulation up to 28 Gb/s without any pre or post cursor intersymbol interference (ISI) cancellation.
Regional Perfusion of Antimicrobials as a Complementary Treatment for Soft Tissue, Bone, or Joint Infections in Sheep, Goats, and Camelids

Commonality exists between infections of soft tissue, bone, and joints because they involve bacterial infection of important structures, and considerable effort on the part of the veterinary practitioner may be necessary for successful treatment. Our discussion will focus on treatment methodologies, with emphasis on regional perfusion, which may be of value effecting a cure. The methods are applicable to small ruminants and camelids, although success may not require using all methods of treatment.
Substance Use Disorders

Man’s interest in taking intoxicants to induce pleasurable feelings goes back thousands of years, but with the possible exception of alcohol, drug abuse did not constitute a significant health problem for most western countries prior to World War II. Since the 1950’s, however, the situation has dramatically changed. The “liberalization” of social attitudes and advertising campaigns by manufacturers exhorting the public to take vitamins, aspirin, sleep aids and other chemicals to “feel good” or reduce tension has resulted in a generation which looks to medication to solve many of their life problems. These, plus other social factors, have lead to unprecedented drug experimentation and usage among teenagers and young adults. Drug and alcohol dependency now constitutes a major health problem because the chemical intoxicants so widely used often cause serious psychological, social and physical problems.
THE IMPACT OF A PUBLIC OPTION IN THE U.S. HEALTH INSURANCE MARKET

We develop a game-theoretical framework to examine the implications of the introduction of a nonprofit “public option” in the U.S. health insurance market. In this model, heterogeneous consumers have to choose between two competing insurance plans. One plan is offered by a profit-maximizing private insurer; the other by social-welfare-maximizing public option. In equilibrium, the distinct objectives of the two insurers induce adverse selection in consumer choice: the public option covers the less healthy consumers, yielding the more profitable segment of market to the private insurer. However, our empirical results suggest that both insurers will capture significant parts of the health insurance market. (JEL I11, L10, L21, L32)
The Alliance of Animal Models in Biomedical Investigations

Animal experiments have led to the development of new knowledge and discoveries ranging from the development of vaccines, antibodies, antibiotics, immunosuppressives, and organ transplantation to the development of minimally invasive surgeries and diagnostic methods. There are multiple animal models described in the literature and classified accordingly based on how the model has been characterized and how they are adoptable to study certain diseases. These include spontaneous models of disease that naturally express disease which may be analogous to a human disease. The experimental models may include those in which the disease or a certain phenotype of a disease is induced experimentally through manipulating the environment, diet, or by introducing chemicals or immunological agents resulting in physiological or pathological changes that mimic a human disease. Genetically-engineered models of disease through the modification or a mutation of DNA in the germline cells that becomes heritable is at the fore front of research today. They serve the purpose of identifying the molecular and genetic pathways of many diseases. None of these models are ideal models, but they may represent a phenotype that has the potential to reveal the pathological, molecular and genetic mechanisms for a particular disease. An important consideration in minimizing the use of animal models is to search for alternate models that could be replaced by in vitro methods or computer simulations that can reliably predict the same endpoints. Society is constantly demanding minimal use of animals in research. Scientists have accepted this challenge by implementing less painful procedures. They are considering the use of lower organisms and they are validating the use of in vitro methodologies and computer simulations. Despite many successes, even today many diseases lack validated animal models thereby hampering translational progress. It is anticipated that many new animal models will be developed as we gain better understanding into human diseases.
Radiolaria: The History of a Brief Invasion

Radiolaria occur in only three of the CHAIN 61 collection of sediment cores from the Red Sea: 126P, 127P, and 128P. These three cores were collected from the Atlantis II Deep and contain a total of 56 species of Radiolaria. The radiolarian sequences in these cores are believed to be synchronous, and the assemblage represents a restricted faunule derived from the Indian Ocean. The radiolarian episode began approximately 12,000 years ago and ended about 9,000 years ago. Sphalerite is associated with a portion of the radiolarian sediments of 127P and 128P.
Masculinization and Defeminization in Altricial and Precocial Mammals: Comparative Aspects of Steroid Hormone Action

Publisher Summary This chapter provides evidence that this distinction may have heuristic value in understanding the nature of steroidal influences on masculinization and defeminization. Across both types of mammals, defeminization was found to utilize estrogenic metabolites of androgens. However, the evidence of this requirement was stronger in altricial than precocial species. Unambiguous evidence of defeminization by nonaromatizable androgens was found only in the precocial rhesus monkey. The role of aromatization in masculinization was less clear, with little evidence in any species that mounting potential differentiated under either androgenic or estrogenic influence. When all aspects of male sexual and social behavior were considered, altricial species relied more on aromatization for masculinization than precocial species. No evidence was found in human males that the actions of estrogenic compounds were necessary for normal male sexual differentiation. These apparent differences between altricial and precocial species in the hormonal actions producing masculinization and defeminization might be an artifact of which species have become favored laboratory subjects.
Job Insecurity isn't Always Efficient

Workers value job security. If at least some workers value it enough, then it is efficient for at least some firms to adopt policies in which they commit (implicitly or explicitly) not to dismiss employees except for “just-cause,” as opposed to policies in which employers are free to dismiss employees “at-will.” In this paper, we develop a simple model in which the equilibrium distribution of workers be-tween just-cause firms and at-will firms is not generally efficient: there can be inefficiently many workers in just-cause firms or inefficiently few. If there are inefficiently few, then a tax or even a ban on at-will firms can be welfare-improving.
The cuticle of Caenorhabditis elegans. II. Stage-specific changes in ultrastructure and protein composition during postembryonic development.

Abstract The cuticle of the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a proteinaceous extracellular structure that is replaced at each of four postembryonic molts by the underlying hypodermis. The cuticles of the adult and three juvenile stages (L1, Dauer larva, L4) have been compared ultrastructurally and biochemically. Each cuticle has an annulated surface and comprises two main layers, an inner basal layer and an outer cortical layer. The adult cuticle has an additional clear layer which separates the basal and cortical layers and is traversed by regularly arranged columns of electron-dense material. The fine structure of the cortical layer is similar in cuticles from different stages while that of the basal layer is stage specific. Purified cuticles were obtained by sonication and treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and their component proteins solubilized with a sulfhydryl reducing agent. The degree of cuticle solubility is stage specific and the insoluble structures for each cuticle were localized by electron microscopy. Analysis of 35 S-labeled soluble cuticle proteins by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis yields unique banding patterns for each stage. Most proteins are of high molecular weight (100–200 K) and are restricted to particular stages. Sixteen of the nineteen major proteins characterized are specifically degraded by bacterial collagenase. The results indicate that the different molts are not reiterative, but require the integration of both unique and shared gene functions. The potential use of stage-specific cuticle differences to identify and characterize regulatory genes controlling cuticle-type switching during development is discussed.
Design of a nuclear isotope heat source assembly for a spaceborne mini-Brayton power module.

Results of a study to develop a feasible design definition of a heat source assembly (HSA) for use in nominal 500-, 1200-, or 2000-W(e) mini-Brayton spacecraft power systems. The HSA is a modular design which is used either as a single unit to provide thermal energy to the 500-W(e) mini-Brayton power module or in parallel with one or two additional HSAs for the 1200- or 2000-W(e) power module systems. Principal components consist of a multihundred watt RTG isotope heat source, a heat source heat exchanger which transfers the thermal energy from the heat source to the mini-Brayton power conversion system, an auxiliary cooling system which provides requisite cooling during nonoperation of the power conversion module and an emergency cooling system which precludes accidental release of isotope fuel in the event of system failure.
Distribution of two rotation-resistant corn pests in eastern Iowa and effects of soybean varieties on biology of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera

20 Introduction 20 Methods 25 Results 30 Discussion 33 Acknowledgments 38 Reference Cited 39 CHAPTER 3. EFFECT OF SOYBEAN VARIETIES ON WESTERN CORN ROOTWORM SURVIVAL AND FECUNDITY 60 Abstract 60 Introduction 60 Methods 64 Results 67 Discussion 69 Acknowledgments 73 Reference Cited 7360 Introduction 60 Methods 64 Results 67 Discussion 69 Acknowledgments 73 Reference Cited 73 CHAPTER 4. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 85
Distribution of pleural effusion in congestive heart failure: what is atypical?

OBJECTIVES This study was performed to determine the distribution of pleural effusion between the right and left hemithorax in patients with uncomplicated congestive heart failure, and to determine whether left-sided pleural effusion actually constitutes an atypical distribution in congestive heart failure. METHODS The study group consisted of 120 consecutive patients with both clinical and radiographic evidence of uncomplicated congestive heart failure, and whose chest radiographs at the time of presentation also showed evidence of pleural effusion. The presence or absence of pleural effusion in the right and left hemithorax was recorded for each case, as was the size of each pleural effusion, and the distribution of pleural effusion in these 120 patients was entered into a 2 x 2 table and analyzed by chi2 analysis. RESULTS There were 207 total pleural effusions, with 105 on the right and 102 on the left. Isolated right-sided pleural effusions occurred in 18 patients, there were bilateral pleural effusions larger on the right than the left in 25, there were bilateral pleural effusions of roughly equal size on each side in 36, there were bilateral pleural effusions larger on the left side than the right in 26, and there were isolated left-sided pleural effusions in 15. The difference was not statistically significant (chi2 = 0.316; P < or = 1.0). CONCLUSIONS Left-sided pleural effusion is not an atypical finding in congestive heart failure and is not, in and of itself, an indication for further clinical or imaging evaluation.
Convection in Enceladus' ice shell: Conditions for initiation

[1] Observations of Enceladus by the Cassini spacecraft indicate that this tiny Saturnian moon is geologically active, with plumes of water vapor and ice particles erupting from its southern polar region. This activity suggests that tidal dissipation has become spatially localized, perhaps due to a compositional, rheological, and/or thermal anomaly in its ice shell. Here we examine the role that solid-state convection may have played in Enceladus' prolific activity by creating a suitable rheological and thermal anomaly. We find convection can only initiate in the pure water ice I shell of a differentiated Enceladus if the ice grain size is less than 0.3 mm, which is quite small, but may be realistic if non-water-ice impurities (and/or tidal stresses) keep grains from growing. This grain-size restriction becomes more severe for lower basal ice temperatures, which implies that any ammonia present has not become strongly concentrated in a thin basal ocean (while convection occurs). For a maximally thick pure ice shell and underlying ocean, convective heat flows are ∼7–11 mW m−2 for ice grain sizes of 0.1–0.3 mm, compared with the ∼100 mW m−2 measured for Enceladus' south polar terrain from Cassini CIRS observations. Thus whereas solid-state convection may be a prerequisite for Enceladus' geological activity, the observed heat flow requires strong tidal dissipation within the convecting region, and possibly, that convection reaches the surface.
METHOD FOR THE SELECTION OF BACTERIA THAT SYNTHESIZE URONIC ACID-CONTAINING POLYSACCHARIDES

Markovitz, Alvin (University of Chicago, Chicago). Method for the selection of bacteria that synthesize uronic acid-containing polysaccharides. J. Bacteriol. 82:436–441. 1961.—A method has been devised for selecting bacteria that synthesize uronic acid-containing polysaccharides from soil samples. The method depends on the addition of high concentrations of SO4= to a liquid enrichment medium.
Progesterone receptor-estrogen receptor crosstalk: a novel insight

Copy number loss of the PGR gene and decreased expression of progesterone receptor (PR) may account for worse clinical outcomes in some individuals with estrogen receptor α (ERα)-positive breast cancer. A recent report shows that PR activation inhibits estrogen-driven breast tumor growth by altering ERα chromatin binding and transcriptional activity.
Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian FEA Method to Predict Wavy Pattern and Weldability Window During Magnetic Pulsed Welding

Finite element simulations of high strain rate forming processes have received significant attention over the last decade. For instance, in Magnetic Pulsed Welding (MPW), extremely high plastic strain regions develop. Thus, a traditional pure Lagrangian analysis is not able to accurately model the process due to excessive element distortion near the contact zone. In this study, the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) method is used to simulate a MPW process while retaining a high-quality mesh. Also the ALE method was able to numerically predict the necessary process parameters to achieve a wavy pattern region for two Al6061-T6 plates impacted during the MPW process. The captured wavy pattern region in this study can be used as a first estimation of parameters necessary to achieve a successful MPW component and thus reduce trial and error experimental investigations.© 2015 ASME
The Uighur Riots in China: What do Facebook groups say?

In July 2009, China witnessed its worst ethnic clashes in decades, excluding those in Tibet, when protests by Uighurs in Urumqi, capital of the western Xinjiang province, turned violent after police intervention. The protest started after two Uighur workers in the southern district of Guangdong had been killed as a result of racial violence. Soon afterwards, individuals belonging to the majority Han ethnicity, who represent about 92% of the Chinese population, but only 40% of the population of Xinjiang, attacked Uighur targets and individuals. The death toll rose to at least 150 individuals, although the racial breakdown of the deceased is still not quite clear. The government moved quickly to round up suspects and threatened to execute those directly involved in the violent incidents. Hundreds of Uighurs were detained by police.
Pressure and temperature dependence of the nuclear quadrupole coupling constant of 23Na in single crystal sodium nitrate

Abstract NMR of 23 Na in single crystal sodium nitrate has been observed in the temperature interval from 25 to 295°C. The nuclear quadrupole coupling constant ν Q was measured as a function of temperature at atmospheric pressure and as a function of hydrostatic pressure at eleven fixed temperatures. ( ∂ν Q / ∂P )| 1 atm is negative at 25°C, but decreases in magnitude with increasing temperature and is zero at 205°C, and takes on increasingly larger positive values at higher temperatures. At the lambda transition (276°C) this slope abruptly drops to a much smaller value. The unusual negative value of ( ∂ν Q / ∂P ) at low temperatures is attributed to the anisotropic compressibility of NaNO 3 and the consequence that this has on the contribution to the electric field gradient that is produced by the six nearest neighbor oxygens. A strong temperature dependence of ν Q above 150°C is associated with the phase transformation and is viewed as a consequence of increasing dynamic disorder involving hindered reorientation of nitrate groups.
Racially Diverse Congregations: Organizational Identity and the Accommodation of Differences

Racial integration in religious congregations is a topic of keen interest to researchers and religious leaders. Although not common, there are congregations that successfully reach across cultural lines to attract adherents. Prior studies tend to dichotomize congregations into categories of multiracial and nonmultiracial and, thereby, miss a wider range of racial variation. Using nationally representative congregational data, this article paints a more representative picture of racial diversity in U.S. congregations and puts forward a theory of congregational identity to account for why some congregations succeed at accommodating multiple racial groups in a society where religious life remains overwhelmingly segregated. The analysis capitalizes on a numeric scale of diversity, which measures the evenness of racial group representation in a congregation. While the external environment creates opportunity for racial diversification in congregations, findings demonstrate racially diverse leadership, charismatic worship, and small groups as internal congregational features also relevant to diversity.
Determination of methylcyclopentadienylmanganese tricarbonyl (MMT) in gasoline and environmental samples by gas chromatography with helium microwave plasma atomic emission detection

A highly sensitive and specific method is described for the determination of methyl-cyclopentadienylmanganese tricarbonyl (MMT) in gasoline and environmental samples by gas chromatography-plasma atomic emission detection (GC-AED). The procedure is simple, rapid and free from interferences. The absolute limit of detection is 0.5 fg of MMT (0.5 x 10 -15 g) expressed as Mn. The precision for replicate injections (n=5) of an MMT solution (10 pg Mn) was 2.8% relative standard deviation (RSD). Applications of the method to analysis of gasoline (petrol), and preliminary results of the analyses of environmental samples such as air and roadside dirt, are given.
Substitutions of glutamate 110 and 111 in the middle helix 4 of human apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) by alanine affect the structure and in vitro functions of apoA-I and induce severe hypertriglyceridemia in apoA-I-deficient mice.

Hypertriglyceridemia is a common pathological condition in humans of mostly unknown etiology. Here we report induction of dyslipidemia characterized by severe hypertriglyceridemia as a result of point mutations in human apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I). Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer in apoA-I-deficient (apoA-I-/-) mice showed that mice expressing an apoA-I[E110A/E111A] mutant had comparable hepatic mRNA levels with WT controls but greatly increased plasma triglyceride and elevated plasma cholesterol levels. In addition, they had decreased apoE and apoCII levels and increased apoB48 levels in very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)/intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL). Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) analysis of plasma showed that most of cholesterol and approximately 15% of the mutant apoA-I were distributed in the VLDL and IDL regions and all the triglycerides in the VLDL region. Hypertriglyceridemia was corrected by coinfection of mice with recombinant adenoviruses expressing the mutant apoA-I an...
Polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) congeners in striped bass (Morone saxatilis) from marine and estuarine waters of New York State determined by capillary gas chromatography.

Edible filets of striped-bass samples (60) from the Hudson River estuary, the Atlantic shore of Long Island, and Long Island Sound were analyzed by high-resolution glass-capillary gas chromatography for 74 polychlorobi-phenyl (PCB) compounds. The fish, a non-random subset of a larger sample, contained the following concentrations of total PCB residue (mean±the standard error of the mean). The corresponding mean values for the entire survey (N = 717) are given in parentheses: eastern Long Island Sound 1.8±0.4 (1.91±0.1) mg/kg; western Long Island Sound, 1.9±0.2 (2.51±0.1) mg/kg; eastern Atlantic shore, 3.0±0.5 (2.45±0.2) mg/kg; western Atlantic shore, 7.5±1.9 (3.04±0.2) mg/kg; Hudson River, 15±3 (6.19±0.4) mg/kg. All the samples contained PCB residues derived from Aroclors 1242, 1016, 1254, and 1260 but none of the residue present came from Aroclor 1221 as evidenced by the complete absence of 4-chlorobiphenyl from the fish. Fish from the Hudson River and the majority from the Atlantic shore of Long Island contained 2,2′- and 2,6-dichlorobiphenyls indicating recent exposure to Hudson River PCBs. On this basis, there was evidence that a subpopulation of fish was not exposed to the Hudson River PCB source. The detailed PCB congener make-up of the typical residue found in these fish differs from that found in the majority of human food-stuff in that it contains a proportionately large amount of mono-through tetra-chlorinated PCB. The mean concentration of the more toxicologically suspect congeners which are not readily degraded by mammals and birds (those with two 4-substituents) comprise less than 1 ppm in Long Island Sound fish.