cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Arbitrary Power-Division Branch-Line Hybrids for High-Performance, Wideband, and Selective Harmonic Suppressions From $2f_{0}$

A branch-line hybrid (BH) topology is suggested, consisting of four equal lengths of transmission-line sections (TLs) with two different characteristic impedances and four identical L-sections with each a TL and an open stub. The topology can provide three distinct properties; lower characteristic impedances of TLs, longer electrical paths for the scattering parameters, and additional transmission zeros, enabling high performance of harmonic suppressions from $2f_{0}$ , where $f_{0}$ is a design frequency, wideband and selective harmonic suppressions. A compact equivalent circuit of a TL is suggested for harmonic suppression BH which can be applied for all possible power-division ratios. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, two prototypes for the power-division ratios of 0 and 6 dB are tested and measured. The measured frequency responses are in a good agreement with the predicted ones, given fabrication errors.
Access America, Reengineering through Information Technology

Le site Web officiel (Access America) du gouvernement federal americain a ete readapte et modernise afin de cadrer plus particulierement avec les nouvelles technologies de l'information. Pour cela, des directives et des recommendations ont ete donnees afin d'ameliorer le contenu de ce site.
Fatty acid composition in mammary adipose tissue measured by Gradient-echo Spectroscopic MRI and its association with breast cancers.

Abstract Purpose To assess the association of fatty acid levels in mammary adipose tissue of postmenopausal women with the presence of breast cancer using the Gradient-echo Spectroscopic Imaging (GSI). Materials and methods Unilateral GSI was performed at 3 T in 61 postmenopausal women undergoing breast MRI exams. The study included 19 women with breast cancer, 23 women with benign/high risk lesions, and 19 women with a history of cancer. Voxel-wise spectral analysis of fatty acids was conducted to measure relative portions of monounsaturated (MUFA), polyunsaturated (PUFA), and saturated fatty acids (SFA) in each voxel. The voxels within mammary adipose tissue were automatically selected and their median fatty acid fractions were used for quantitative analysis. Statistical analyses were performed using χ2 test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey-Kramer multiple comparison tests, and linear regression. Results Postmenopausal women with malignancies had significantly higher SFA (0.336 ± 0.038) in mammary adipose tissue compared to those with benign disease (0.283 ± 0.046, p = 0.0008) and to those with a history of breast cancer (0.287 ± 0.050, p = 0.0038). Postmenopausal women with malignant lesions had significantly lower MUFA (0.352 ± 0.041) compared to those with benign disease (0.401 ± 0.043, p = 0.0032) and with history of breast cancer (0.388 ± 0.055, p = 0.0484). The history of cancer group had a significant correlation (r = 0.60, p = 0.006) between SFA and BMI, and the cancer group had a significant correlation (r = 0.57, p = 0.010) between PUFA and BMI. Conclusions Fatty acid composition of mammary adipose tissue, particularly higher SFA and lower MUFA, may be associated with breast cancer. The GSI method utilizes an automated voxel-based analysis to measure fatty acid composition, and may be used to assess the role of mammary adipose tissue in cancer development and progress.
Sanctuary, Civil Disobedience, and Jewish Law

Throughout the nation, houses of worship have declared themselves to be “sanctuaries” for refugees and asylum-seekers fleeing not only repression in their native countries but also Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Hundreds of synagogues have joined in this effort, but its basis in Jewish law remains obscure and under-developed. In this Essay, I present a halachic (Jewish legal) analysis arguing that synagogues must sometimes offer sanctuary but not always. More specifically, I argue: 1) the synagogue is obligated to conceal the asylum-seeker’s presence from immigration authorities, whether by hiding her in its building, renting an apartment for her, or providing her with funds to hide from ICE: 2) if returning her to her home country creates a reasonable probability of death, torture, or severe injury; unless 3) doing so creates a reasonable probability of death, torture, or severe injury to members of the congregation itself. I conclude that members of a congregation must take these steps even under the threat of imprisonment or financial sanctions. This is severe. It is, however, what Torah demands.
Characterizing the tolerance of phage therapy candidate OMKO1 to environmental stress

Antibiotic resistant bacterial pathogens are increasingly prevalent, driving the need for alternative approaches to chemical antibiotics when treating infections. One such approach is bacteriophage therapy: the use of bacteria-specific viruses that lyse (kill) their host cells. However, while the effect of environmental conditions (e.g. elevated temperature) on antibiotic efficacy is well-studied, the generalized effects of environmental stressors on the potency of phage therapy candidates are seldom studied. Therapeutic phage OMKO1 infects and kills the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, while selecting for the evolution of antibiotic re-sensitivity in the target bacterial population. Here, we used phage OMKO1 as a model to test how a therapeutic virus degrades in different environments, and whether exposure to an environmental stressor affects subsequent growth ability on host bacteria. We observed that OMKO1 particles were highly tolerant to different saline concentrations, but rapidly deactivated at elevated temperatures and under high concentrations of urea. We also found that exposure to elevated temperature reduced the growth ability of surviving OMKO1 particles, suggesting a temperature-induced phenotypic shift. Our findings demonstrate that OMKO1 is highly tolerant to a range of conditions that could be experienced in and outside the human body, while also showing the need for careful characterization of therapeutic phages to ensure that environmental exposure does not compromise their expected potency, dosing, and pharmacokinetics.
Comparison of SpO2/FIO2 Ratio to PaO2/FIO2 Ratio in Pediatric Patients as a Tool to Determine Respiratory Distress Syndrome Severity and Extubation Readiness

Background: PaO2/FIO2 (P/F) ratio has been used as an effective means to assess both oxygenation status and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) severity among pediatric patients as first noted in 1994 with Berlin criteria for RDS classification. However, P/F ratio requires an arterial blood gas in order to complete this calculation requiring sample collection by an invasive method to measure PaO2. With the emergence of noninvasive methods to measure oxygenation (ie, pulse oximetry) and a decrease in amount of arterial blood gasses drawn when compared to 20 years ago, this study was conducted to assess using SpO2/FIO2 ratio (S/F) as an option measure of oxygenation status to assess RDS severity and extubation readiness. However, definitive S/F ratio criteria has not been established for RDS severity category as is seen with P/F ratio and Berlin criteria. Methods: 718 pediatric arterial blood gas samples from 32 PICU patients ranging in age from infant to 17 years of age were reviewed in this IRB approved study and P/F ratio was calculated for each sample. The average blood sample per patient was approximately 22 samples (n = 22.44) with a range of 1 to 59 samples per patient. Only collected SpO2 and SaO2 data values that were within ± 3% of each other from the electronic health record were used. All calculated values were entered into a spreadsheet and separated into RDS categories according to Berlin Criteria. Samples with PEEP were separated into 2 groups of PEEP Results: S/F ratio showed the strongest positive relationship to P/F ratio when P/F ratio is Conclusions: S/F ratio may be used as an effective measure of oxygenation in moderate to severe RDS categories. However, clinicians should exercise caution due to overlap across RDS categories. Since S/F ratio overlap is high in mild RDS to normal categories, it may not be an ideal assessment tool for assessing extubation readiness.
National Institutes of Health R01 Grant Funding Is Associated With Enhanced Research Productivity and Career Advancement Among Academic Cardiothoracic Surgeons.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding has declined among cardiothoracic surgeons. R01 grants are a well-known mechanism to support high-impact research, and we sought to clarify the association between NIH funding and academic achievement. We hypothesized that cardiothoracic surgeons who acquired R01 funding exhibit greater research output and faster career advancement. All cardiothoracic surgeons (n = 992) working at accredited United States cardiothoracic surgery training hospitals in 2018 were included. Institutional webpages, Scopus, and Grantome were utilized to collect publicly-available data regarding each surgeon's training and career history, research publications, and NIH funding. Seventy-eight (7.9%) surgeons obtained R01 funding as a principal investigator while 914 (92.1%) did not. R01-funded surgeons started their attending careers earlier (1998 vs 2005, P
Deep Reinforcement Learning for Conservation Decisions.

Can machine learning help us make better decisions about a changing planet? In this paper, we illustrate and discuss the potential of a promising corner of machine learning known as _reinforcement learning_ (RL) to help tackle the most challenging conservation decision problems. RL is uniquely well suited to conservation and global change challenges for three reasons: (1) RL explicitly focuses on designing an agent who _interacts_ with an environment which is dynamic and uncertain, (2) RL approaches do not require massive amounts of data, (3) RL approaches would utilize rather than replace existing models, simulations, and the knowledge they contain. We provide a conceptual and technical introduction to RL and its relevance to ecological and conservation challenges, including examples of a problem in setting fisheries quotas and in managing ecological tipping points. Four appendices with annotated code provide a tangible introduction to researchers looking to adopt, evaluate, or extend these approaches.
Automated multiclass tissue segmentation of clinical brain MRIs with lesions.

Delineation and quantification of normal and abnormal brain tissues on Magnetic Resonance Images is fundamental to the diagnosis and longitudinal assessment of neurological diseases. Here we sought to develop a convolutional neural network for automated multiclass tissue segmentation of brain MRIs that was robust at typical clinical resolutions and in the presence of a variety of lesions. We trained a 3D U-Net for full brain multiclass tissue segmentation from a prior atlas-based segmentation method on an internal dataset that consisted of 558 clinical T1-weighted brain MRIs (453/52/53; training/validation/test) of patients with one of 50 different diagnostic entities (n = 362) or with a normal brain MRI (n = 196). We then used transfer learning to refine our model on an external dataset that consisted of 7 patients with hand-labeled tissue types. We evaluated the tissue-wise and intra-lesion performance with different loss functions and spatial prior information in the validation set and applied the best performing model to the internal and external test sets. The network achieved an average overall Dice score of 0.87 and volume similarity of 0.97 in the internal test set. Further, the network achieved a median intra-lesion tissue segmentation accuracy of 0.85 inside lesions within white matter and 0.61 inside lesions within gray matter. After transfer learning, the network achieved an average overall Dice score of 0.77 and volume similarity of 0.96 in the external dataset compared to human raters. The network had equivalent or better performance than the original atlas-based method on which it was trained across all metrics and produced segmentations in a hundredth of the time. We anticipate that this pipeline will be a useful tool for clinical decision support and quantitative analysis of clinical brain MRIs in the presence of lesions.
The Year in Basic Thyroid Cancer Research.

Background Every year, the American Thyroid Association (ATA) Annual Meeting opening session features presentations covering the most recent advances in the three major areas of thyroidology: basic, clinical, and surgical. As the ATA did not have an annual meeting in 2020, because of the COVID19 pandemic, the 2021 meeting opened with a special "Two Years in Thyroidology" session. Methods A PubMed electronic search was conducted to identify original basic science research studies on thyroid cancer published between October 2019 and September 2021. Methodologically rigorous studies that were deemed most likely to influence the field of basic science research in thyroid cancer were grouped into three thematic units: Genetics and Genomics, Molecular Biology and Signaling, and Preclinical and Translational Science. Four publications for each category were chosen for discussion. Results Selected studies covered topics ranging from the genetics of thyroid cancer predisposition to the genomics of ATC evolution, from novel molecular pathways involved in thyroid cancer pathogenesis to potentially game-changing imaging and therapeutic innovations. Conclusions The past two years, in the face of unique COVID19 pandemic-associated hurdles, have witnessed a large number of important developments in basic and translational thyroid cancer research. These studies not only have shed novel light on a number of longstanding scientific questions, but have also highlighted the major challenges and open questions that still remain to be addressed in the coming years.
Adenosine Triphosphate and Synchronous Mitosis in Physarum polycephalum

Synchronous mitoses occur in Physarum polycephalum in the absence of cell division. Nucleoside and nucleotide profiles were prepared from synchronously growing P. polycephalum at intervals throughout the growth cycle. Comparison of these profiles demonstrates that the pool of adenosine triphosphate decreases from a high level at prophase to a minimum through mitosis and increases again in the postmitotic period. These events appear to coincide with changes in the pools of adenosine diphosphate and adenosine but not with that of adenosine monophosphate. This observed decrease in the pool of adenosine triphosphate during mitosis was confirmed by direct enzymatic assay. These results presumably reflect the energy demands of the cell during mitosis.
Galactic Abundance Patterns via Peimbert Types I & II Planetary Nebulae

Planetary Nebulae (PNe) abundance patterns have long been used to note signatures of nuclear processing and to trace the distribution of metals throughout galaxies. We present abundance gradients and heavy element ratios based upon newly acquired spectrophotometry of a sample of >120 Galactic PNe. This new data set is extracted from spectra that extend from 3600 - 9600 A, allowing the use of [S III] features at 9069 and 9532 A. Since a significant portion of S in PNe resides in S+2 and higher ionization stages, including these strong features should improve the extrapolation from observed ion abundances to total element abundance. S is believed to be precluded from enhancement and depletion across the range of PNe progenitor masses, making it an alternate metallicity tracer to the canonical oxygen. If S can be reliably determined in PNe, its stability in intermediate mass stars makes it a valuable tool to probe the natal conditions as well as the evolution of PNe progenitors. This is a continuation of our Type II PNe work, the impetus being to compile a relatively large set of line strengths and abundances with internally consistent observation, reduction, measurement, and abundance determination, minimizing systematic effects that come from compiling various data sets. This research is supported by the AAS Small Research Grants program, the Franklin & Marshall Committee on Grants, and NSF grant AST- 0307118.
Software and hardware engineering: Motorola M68HC11

Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Introduction to the M68HC11 Hardware Chapter 3. Motorola AS11 Assembler Chapter 4. The M68HC11 Instruction Set Chapter 5. Buffalo Monitor and Debugger Chapter 6. AS11 Programs for the M68HC11 Chapter 7. M68HC11 Parallel I/O Chapter 8. M68HC11 Interrupts Chapter 9. M68HC11 Memories Chapter 10. M68HC11 Timer Chapter 12. M68HC11 Serial I/O Chapter 13. Advanced M68HC11 Hardware Chapter 14. The Motorola M68HC11EVB Evaluation Board Appendix A: M68HC11 Resources Appendix B: M58HC11 Family Answers to Chapter Problems Index
Reading the Body: Representations and Remains in the Archaeological Record

Reading the Body: Representations and Remains in the Archaeological Record. Alison E. Rautman. ed. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000. 283 pp.
Positive Control of Enzyme Synthesis by Gene C in the l-Arabinose System

Englesberg, Ellis (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.), Joseph Irr, Joseph Power, and Nancy Lee. Positive control of enzyme synthesis by gene C in the l-arabinose system. J. Bacteriol 90:946–957. 1965.—The l-arabinose gene complex consists of genes D, A, B, and C, linked in that order between the markers thr and leu, and an unlinked gene E. Genes D, A, B, and E are the structural genes for three inducible enzymes and permease, respectively. Gene C, with two mutant alleles, C− and Cc, is the regulatory gene exhibiting positive and negative control. C− mutants are deficient and Cc mutants are constitutive for all three enzymes and permease. Complementation analysis, employing sexual merozygotes (A−C+ × A+C−), with six different C− mutants, demonstrates that C− is recessive to C+ (positive control). A total of 61 Cc mutants, isolated as clones resistant to d-fucose inhibition, are linked to the leu ara region of the chromosome, and the 22 Cc mutants that were analyzed in detail mapped within the C gene among the C− mutant sites. Cc mutants produce various but coordinate levels of the two enzymes measured, and permease. Complementation analysis (A−Cc × A+C−, A−Cc × A+C+) shows that Cc is dominant to C− (positive control) and recessive to C+ (negative control). Deletion mutants that extend into the C gene are l-arabinose permease-negative, thus supporting the positive regulatory role of the C gene. The name “activator gene” is proposed for genes of the C type to accentuate their positive role in gene expression. A working model consistent with these results is presented.
Physiological fatigue limit of combined manual materials handling tasks

The present study is aimed at determining Physiological Fatigue Limit (PFL) values for Combined Manual Materials Handling (CMMH) tasks while handling Maximum Acceptable Weight of Lift (MAWL), and to compare the PFL of handling MAWL and PFL values expressed as percentages of treadmill aerobic capacity and values expressed as percentages of CMMH aerobic capacity. Results of the study show that PFL values of CMMH tasks, on the average, are approximately 25% of treadmill aerobic capacity and 35% of CMMH aerobic capacity. This difference is statistically significant. It is suggested that the PFL figures used for designing manual materials handling jobs should be based on physiological data collected using real or simulated manual materials handling tasks rather than standard tasks of treadmill, etc.
Temperature dependent threshold behavior of depletion mode MOSFETs. Characterization and simulation

Abstract During the study of depletion mode MOSFET behavior at low temperatures, unusual changes in the threshold characteristics of the devices were observed. First, the effectiveness of the donor implantation in producing a negative threshold voltage shift was significantly reduced. At the same time the substrate sensitivity was found to be substantially reduced. A third observation was the existence of an unusual structure in the subthreshold region of the device at low temperatures. Computer simulation is used to explore these observations and to demonstrate that they are caused by impurity freezeout as temperature is reduced. The computer simulation program, usable over the temperature range 50–350 K, is discussed, and a threshold definition suitable for numerical analysis of devices with arbitrary channel structures is developed.
The C. elegans histone deacetylase HDA-1 is required for cell migration and axon pathfinding

Histone proteins play integral roles in chromatin structure and function. Histones are subject to several types of posttranslational modifications, including acetylation, which can produce transcriptional activation. The converse, histone deacetylation, is mediated by histone deacetylases (HDACs) and often is associated with transcriptional silencing. We identified a new mutation, cw2, in the Caenorhabditis elegans hda-1 gene, which encodes a histone deacetylase. Previous studies showed that a mutation in hda-1, e1795, or reduction of hda-1 RNA by RNAi causes defective vulval and gonadal development leading to sterility. The hda-1(cw2) mutation causes defective vulval development and reduced fertility, like hda-1(e1795), albeit with reduced severity. Unlike the previously reported hda-1 mutation, hda-1(cw2) mutants are viable as homozygotes, although many die as embryos or larvae, and are severely uncoordinated. Strikingly, in hda-1(cw2) mutants, axon pathfinding is defective; specific axons often appear to wander randomly or migrate in the wrong direction. In addition, the long range migrations of three neuron types and fasciculation of the ventral nerve cord are defective. Together, our studies define a new role for HDA-1 in nervous system development, and provide the first evidence for HDAC function in regulating neuronal axon guidance.
Turbulent dispersion in a non-homogeneous field

Dispersion of fluid particles in non-homogeneous turbulence was studied for fully developed flow in a channel. A point source at a distance of 40 wall units from the wall is considered. Data obtained by carrying out experiments in a direct numerical simulation (DNS) are used to test a stochastic model which utilized a modified Langevin equation. All of the parameters, with the exception of the time scales, are obtained from Eulerian statistics. Good agreement is obtained by making simple assumptions about the spatial variation of the time scales.
A constrained regression technique for cocomo calibration

Building cost estimation models is often considered a search problem in which the solver should return an optimal solution satisfying an objective function. This solution also needs to meet certain constraints. For example, a solution for the estimates coefficients of COCOMO models must be non-negative. In this research, we introduce a constrained regression technique that uses objective functions and constraints to estimate the coefficients of the COCOMO models. To access the performance of the proposed technique, we run a cross-validation procedure and compare the prediction accuracy from different approaches such as least squares, stepwise, Lasso, and Ridge regression. Our result suggests that the regression model that minimizes the sum of relative errors and imposes non-negative coefficients is a favorable technique for calibrating the COCOMO model parameters.
Smart Rehabilitation Devices: Part II – Adaptive Motion Control:

This article presents a study of adaptive motion control of smart versatile rehabilitation devices using MR fluids. The device provides both isometric and isokinetic strength training and is reconfigurable for several human joints. Adaptive controls are developed to regulate resistance force based on the prescription of the therapist. Special consideration has been given to the human–machine interaction in the adaptive control that can modify the behavior of the device to account for strength gains or muscle fatigue of the human subject.
Variability of the location of the tibial tubercle affects the rotational alignment of the tibial component in kinematically aligned total knee arthroplasty

Purpose Our experience with computer plans of kinematically aligned total knee arthroplasty showed that the anteroposterior (AP) axis of the tibial component when viewed in an axial plane did not consistently intersect either the medial border or the medial 1/3 of the tibial tubercle. The purposes were (1) to determine the variability in the mediolateral location of the tibial tubercle with respect to the medial tibia on the magnetic resonance image (MRI) of the knee and (2) to determine whether the AP axis of the kinematically aligned tibial component intersects either the medial border or the medial 1/3 of the tibial tubercle. Methods One hundred and fifteen knees in 111 consecutive subjects treated with total knee arthroplasty were studied. The mediolateral location of the tibial tubercle was measured from a magnetic resonance image (MRI) of the knee. The distances between the AP axis of the tibial component and the medial border of the tibial tubercle and between the AP axis and the medial 1/3 of the tibial tubercle were measured from a computer plan of the reconstructed knee. Results On the MRI, the medial border of the tibial tubercle varied 15 mm from the medial border of the tibia. On the computer plan, the AP axis of the tibial component in an axial view of the tibia did not intersect either the medial border (p \ 0.0001) or the medial 1/3 of the tibial tubercle (p \ 0.0001). In 70 and 86 % of knees, the mediolateral distance of the AP axis of the tibial component was 2 mm or greater from the medial border of the tibial tubercle and the medial 1/3 of the tibial tubercle, respectively, which causes a clinically meaningful error in rotation of 5 or more. Conclusions Because the mediolateral location of the tibial tubercle varies, the medial border and medial 1/3 of the tibial tubercle are not reliable landmarks when the goal is to kinematically align the rotation of the tibial component on the tibia. Level of evidence IV.
In the mood to buy: Differences in the mood states experienced by compulsive buyers and other consumers

One area of consumption disorders receiving a great deal of attention lately is compulsive buying. Researchers have begun moving from descriptive studies of this phenomenon to attempts to explain some of its causal mechanisms. One possible explanation is that such behavior may serve as a way of self-medicating depression and negative affect for compulsive buyers. This study examines reported mood states prior to and during shopping for 24 compulsive buyers and a matched comparison group. The findings indicated that relative to the comparison group, the compulsive buyers reported feeling most of the mood states more frequently prior to going shopping, especially the more negative moods. Compulsive buyers also more frequently experienced extreme moods (both positive and negative), while shopping than did the comparison group. When within-subject differences were examined for preshopping and shopping moods, compulsive buyers were more likely to move from negative to positive moods, whereas the opposite was true for the comparison group. The findings suggest that compulsive buyers may be using buying behavior to manage undesirable mood states. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
π-Stacking, C-H/π, and halogen bonding interactions in bromobenzene and mixed bromobenzene-benzene clusters.

Noncovalent interactions play an important role in many chemical and biochemical processes. Building upon our recent study of the homoclusters of chlorobenzene, where π–π stacking and CH/π interactions were identified as the most important binding motifs, in this work we present a study of bromobenzene (PhBr) and mixed bromobenzene–benzene clusters. Electronic spectra in the region of the PhBr monomer S0–S1 (ππ*) transition were obtained using resonant two-photon ionization (R2PI) methods combined with time-of-flight mass analysis. As previously found for related systems, the PhBr cluster spectra show a broad feature whose center is red-shifted from the monomer absorption, and electronic structure calculations indicate the presence of multiple isomers and Franck–Condon activity in low-frequency intermolecular modes. Calculations at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVDZ level find in total eight minimum energy structures for the PhBr dimer: four π-stacked structures differing in the relative orientation of the Br atoms (...
The Amazing Tail of NGC 2146

NGC 2146 is a disturbed looking SbII pec galaxy, distance 14.5 Mpc. Optically we see a nucleus, two spiral arms and a prominent dust lane almost crossing the nucleus. Apart from being a strong radio continuum source, IRAS data now show that it is a very strong infrared source, suggesting a recent burst of star formation. The galaxy was observed in 1981 with the WSRT in the 21-cm line of HI. The spectral resolution was 32 km/s and the map shown here has been convolved to a 1′ beam.
The Psychology of Voluntary Employee Turnover

Most research on voluntary turnover has focused on dissatisfaction-induced and rational decisionmaking processes, with some attention paid to external market influences. This focus leaves unexplained a large portion of the variance in why people choose to quit a job. Recently, however, researchers are considering the alternative ways that the turnover process is enacted, as well as what businesses can do to prevent turnover.
Chromatographic investigation of the oxygen exchange reaction between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide

The theory of perturbation chromatography and isotopic tracers has been applied to the investigation of the oxygen exchange reaction between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the presence of a copper-zinc oxide catalyst at 205°C and atmospheric pressure. By analyzing the retention times of carbon-14 monoxide and carbon-14 dioxide tracers in six binary carbon monoxide/carbon dioxide carrier gas streams, it has been possible to shed light on the mechanism of the exchange reaction. Two types of carbon monoxide adsorption and two types of carbon dioxide adsorption were identified. Based on a numerical simulation of the experimental data, it has been concluded that the exchange reaction proceeds via the dissociative adsorption of carbon dioxide. Furthermore, the surface oxygen species formed during the dissociative adsorption of carbon dioxide appears to be the active site for the exchange reaction.
Boar presence reduces fighting in mixed slaughter-weight pigs

Abstract Mixing pigs prior to slaughter results in skin blemishes and loss of meat quality. Two hundred pigs each weighing 104 kg were used in two trials. They were crosses of Hampshire, Duroc and Yorkshire which had been fed to slaughter weight on ad libitum concentrate rations. Groups of 50 head of barrows and gilts from five different feeding pens were mixed in a shipping pen prior to transport. Half the animals were mixed with sexually mature boars, and the other half were controls. Boar presence greatly reduced both the incidence and the intensity of fighting. Pigs from the boar groups had reduced skin blemishes. These results indicate that boars may be used as a simple method to reduce fighting.
Fatty acid profiles, meat quality, and sensory attributes of organic versus conventional dairy beef steers

Abstract Meat from Holstein and crossbred organic and conventional dairy steers were evaluated and compared for fatty acid profiles, meat quality, sensory attributes, and consumer acceptance. Bull calves (n=49) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 replicated groups: conventional (CONV), organic (ORG, pasture + concentrate), or grass-fed organic (GRS) and were born at the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center (Morris, MN) between March and May 2011. The CONV steers (n=16) were fed a diet that contained 80% concentrate and 20% forage, and ORG steers (n=16) were fed a diet of organic corn, organic corn silage, and organic protein supplement. Furthermore, ORG steers consumed at least 30% of diet dry matter of high-quality organic pasture during the grazing season. The GRS steers (n=17) consumed 100% forage from pasture during the grazing season and high-quality hay or hay silage during the nongrazing season. The ORG steers had fat that was greater in oleic acid (C18:1) than the GRS and CONV steers (47.1, 36.1, and 39.9%, respectively). The GRS steers (21.9%) were lower for monounsaturated fat than the ORG (42.1%) and CONV (40.4%) steers. Furthermore, the GRS steers tended to have greater n-3 fat and had lower n-6 fat than the ORG and CONV steers. Consequently, the GRS (1.4%) steers had a lower n-6-to-n-3 fat ratio than the ORG (12.9%) and CONV (10.0%) steers. The GRS (2.6kg) steers had steaks that were not different for Warner-Bratzler shear force than ORG (2.3kg) steaks; however, the GRS steaks tended to have greater shear force than the CONV (2.0kg) steaks. The 3 steer group had steaks that were not different for color brightness (L*; 0=black and 100=white) and yellowness/blueness (b*; positive values=yellow and negative values=blue) values; however, the GRS (10.5) steaks had lower redness/greenness (a*; positive values=red and negative values=green) values than CONV (14.5) steaks. For sensory attributes (0- to 120-point scale), no differences were observed for ORG (71.3) and CONV (69.2) steers for overall consumer liking of the beef; however, the GRS (56.3) steers had the lowest overall liking among beef consumers. The ORG (73.3) steers had greater flavor liking than the GRS (56.8) and CONV (69.2) steers. Conversely, the GRS (6.3) steers had the highest scores for off-flavor (0- to 20-point scale) compared with the ORG (3.9) and CONV (4.1) steers. The results of the current study suggest that a potential market may exist for organic grass-fed dairy steers in the United States, but quality and consistency of the beef needs to be improved.
The Clinical Use of Antilymphocyte Globulin

THE production of heterologous antiserum to lymphocytes is not new.1 In 1898 Metchnikoff showed that guinea-pig antiserum prepared against rabbit or rat lymphoid cells agglutinated and killed the p...
THE EFFECT OF ONION JUICE ON THE GROWTH RESPONSE TO AUXIN

After the report of Lucas and Hamner (9), that the juice of onions had an effect in promoting the activity of 2,4-D, it became of interest to identify the factor responsible for this increased activity. Lucas and Hamner used 1,000 p.p.m. of the sodium salt of 2,4-D dissolved in aqueous extracts of Michigan Sweet Spanish Onions and measured the effect by the increase in weight of a Red Kidney Bean leaf over that of the leaf opposite to it, when 0.05 ml. of the mixture was applied to the petiole. They found an optimum effect when the onion juice was diluted to 1: 20 or 1: 30 and was either neutral or acid. If diluted to 1: 50 or if it was made alkaline, the activating effect of the onion juice was lost. Lucas and Hamner stated that the effect was to make a given dose of the 2,4-D salt as effective as higher doses of the salt, or equal to that of the same quantity of the acid or its esters.
Preoperative dosing of low-molecular-weight heparin in hepatopancreatobiliary surgery.

Abstract Background Venous thromboembolism is a common cause of morbidity. Guidelines recommend perioperative thromboprophylaxis, but clinicians remain cautious of bleeding after major oncologic resections. Methods Retrospective analysis of a single institution's prospective hepatopancreatobiliary database was performed for patients undergoing surgery between January 2010 and February 2013. A total of 223 patients received postoperative thromboprophylaxis and 93 patients were dosed with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) preoperatively. Results Two hundred twenty-three patients were analyzed; 50.6% underwent pancreatic and 49.3% underwent liver resection. There were no differences in previous venous thromboembolism (3.8% vs 3.3%; P = .56) or preoperative venous thromboembolism scores (5.74 vs 5.67; P = .82). Estimated blood loss (537 mL vs 592 mL; P = .54), transfusions (25.4% vs 30.4%; P = .25), and complications (52.3% vs 43.5%; P = .12) were equivalent. Incidence of thromboembolic events was lower (6.1% vs 1.1%; P = .05); however, bleeding requiring intervention was increased in the preoperative LMWH group (10.9% vs 3.1%; P = .026). Conclusions Caution must be exercised when using LMWH, as bleeding remains a concern for oncologic hepatopancreatobiliary surgery.
Sources of feedback: A preliminary investigation

Abstract Five sources of feedback (the formal organization, supervisor, co-workers, the task, one's own self) were investigated for their “informativeness” as providers of information about what the job requirements are (referent) and the extent to which they were met (feedback). Findings indicate that there is a greater reliance on intrinsic sources (sources psychologically “closer” to the individual) than on more external sources for feedback information, this reliance being reduced for referent information. These findings are discussed in terms of job description items which indicate that various characteristics of the external sources are associated with a reduced reliance on intrinsic sources. Implications for future research and organizational life are discussed.
Bispectra and phase of non-Gaussian linear processes

The phase of the transfer function of linear processes which cannot be identified in the Gaussian case can be almost fully resolved in the non-Gaussian case. Estimates have been proposed in the past. A nonparametric estimate of the phase with better asymptotic convergence properties as a function of sample size is studied here. The asymptotic behavior of the bias and variance of the estimate is examined. In particular the variance of the phase estimate is shown to be asymptotically independent of the frequency (if the frequency is not zero). Related problems are of interest in deconvolution, transfer function estimation, as well as in the resolution of astronomical images (perturbed by atmospheric turbulence) obtained by earth based telescopes.
Update in HIV-associated lymphoma.

Purpose of review Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is associated with an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin disease. This review summarizes developments within the past 18 months. Recent findings Investigators continue to demonstrate that many standard therapies similar to those used in the non-HIV- infected population may be used in the HAART era for patients infected with HIV. Biologic differences do exist, however, and not all treatments and outcomes are directly translatable. Some treatments, such as rituximab in combination with CHOP, may have unforeseen toxicity. Nonetheless, high-dose therapy does appear feasible and may offer curative therapy for those with refractory and relapsed disease. Summary HIV-infected persons appear to benefit from most, but not all standard treatments for lymphoma.
Communication---Value conflicts between professional and social responsibility

The AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility is undertaking a range of activities directed towards resolving value conflicts between individual scientists or engineers and the society in which they work. The Committee is reviewing individual cases involving allegations of infringement of scientific freedom in the United States and foreign countries, and is also developing materials which address the broader patterns of value conflicts in the areas of professional and social responsibilities, the boundaries of scientific freedom, and science education.
Row tunnel effects on growth, yield and fruit quality of bell pepper

Abstract The effects of various row tunnels and their removal times on growth, yields and fruit quality of bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) were studied at Urbana, Illinois (U.S.A.). Tunnel treatments consisted of wire hoops supporting clear slitted polyethylene, white slitted polyethylene, spun-bonded polypropylene and a control of no cover. Removal times were 22, 32 and 52 days after transplanting. Temperature extremes were recorded and accumulated heat units were calculated. The highest temperatures and most total heat units accumulated were found under the clear slitted polyethylene and spun-bonded polypropylene tunnels. These two materials were equally effective in increasing plant growth and early yield, but total yield was higher under the spun-bonded polypropylene. All tunnels resulted in increased production of 3- and 4-lobed fruits, while reducing 2-lobed fruit. Increased plant growth, fruit yield and improved quality of bell pepper fruit were partially attributed to increased air temperatures and more total heat units under the tunnels.
Glucose /Oxygen Sensor

Oxygen concentration has been measured using fluorescence quenching in solid polymer hosts. The feasibility of generalizing these oxygen transducers to a wider class of chemical sensors through coupling to other chemistries is proposed. An example of such coupling is given in a glucose/oxygen transducer. The glucose transducer is produced by entrapping an enzyme, glucose oxidase, in' the composite matrix of a hydrophilic oxygen transducer. Glucose oxidase catalyzes a reaction between glucose and oxygen, thereby lowering the local oxygen concentration. This transducer yields a glucose modified optical oxygen signal. The specific focus of this research is the development of a theoretical model that describes the coupling of glucose concentration to relative fluorescence intensity, the experimental measurement of the key parameters in this model, and the evaluation of the sensitivity of the variation in relative fluorescence intensity with changes in glucose concentration. The experimental parameters include the diffusivity of oxygen in PHEMA (1.36 x 10-7 cm2/s), the solubility ofoglucose in PHEMA (0.24 g in PHEMA/g in buffer), and the diffusivity of glucose in PHEMA (8.25 x 10-8 cm2/s). When these experimental parameters are incorporated, the model developed predicts critical design requirements of the transducer.
Complications of Diagnostic Arteriography Performed by a Vascular Surgeon in a Recent Series of 558 Patients

This article analyzes the complication rates of diagnostic arteriographies performed by a single vascular surgeon and compares them to those previously published by interventional radiologists. Five hundred fifty-eight consecutive patients who underwent diagnostic arteriographies were analyzed. A modification of one study's criteria was used to compile perioperative complications. The technical success rate was 99%. These included 345 aortoiliofemoral arteriograms with runoff, 64 aortoiliofemoral arteriograms for abdominal aortic aneurysms, 83 aortoiliofemoral arteriograms with contralateral selective iliacs, 35 aortoiliofemoral arteriograms with carotids, and 27 aortoiliofemoral arteriograms with selective visceral/renal. Femoral artery puncture was used in 93%, and left brachial artery in 7%. The mean amount of contrast was 97 cc and the mean operative time was 25 minutes. The overall complication rate was 3.8% (1.3% major), which was comparable to what was published previously (1.9% and 2.9%) but superior to what we published previously as performed by our radiologists (7%, p or= 30 minutes), and smoking were associated with an increase in overall complications. It was determined that diagnostic arteriography can be done safely by experienced vascular surgeons with low complication rates that compare favorably with what was published by interventional radiologists.
Deflections of isotropic thin-walled half toroidal sections in pure shear

Abstract The approximate deflection field for well-posed problems on an isotropic thin-walled half toroidal section in pure shear is determined by simple calculation for large tori. The loading, which need not be axially symmetric, is applied to the outer equator and the deflection component perpendicular to the toroidal section at the inner equator is assumed to be zero. If bending strain energy is neglected, energy methods yield simple Euler equations for the deflections. These are solved by writing them in terms of the tranctions, applying the pure shear assumption, and writing the deflection perpendicular to the surface in a special form which approximately satisfies the boundary conditions. For the computed deflections, it is verified that the bending strain energy is negligible if the wall is thin enough. Deflection curves depending on aspect ratio are provided for a special case of uniaxial symmetric loading of a complete half toroidal surface in pure shear.
Role of NO in modulating neuronal activity in superficial dorsal horn of spinal cord during exercise pressor reflex

Static contraction of hindlimb skeletal muscle in cats induces a reflex pressor response. The superficial dorsal horn of the spinal cord is the major site of the first synapse of this reflex. In th...
Commodification and consciousness: An initial study

Critical theory has focused on the theme of the commodification of leisure. Leisure is defined as a market-mediated instrument of control that binds workers to an alienated production process. The evidence offered by proponents of the critique is mostly indirect and often mixed. In an exploratory study, interviews with 44 adults examine the relationship of consumption and purchasing things to favourite activities, travel, and ‘good times’ as well as shopping as leisure. In general, consumption is found to be instrumental to activity engagement and social dimensions for most leisure. Privatization is proposed as an alternative model for contemporary leisure styles.
Bending Curvature of Particulate Composites Undergoing Uniform Linear Heat Flow

For particulate composites undergoing linear heat flow, a general expression for the relative curvature in the inclusions, relative to the radius of curvature in the matrix alone in the absence of inclusions, has been developed in terms of the ratios between the values of thermal and elastic constants of the matrix and the dispersed phase material (i.e., inclusion). Cases where the property ratios may have some specific values or extreme values, giving some particular results, have been identified and discussed. Results presented with the help of plots covering a wide range of ratios of the constituents’ properties are expected to be helpful in assessing the behavior of particulate composites under steady-state heat flow condition.
Strongly Z-dependent Auger and photoelectron diffraction in MgO(001)

Abstract We have measured angular distributions of Mg KL 2,3 L 2,3 Auger and O 1s core-level photoemission intensities at high angular resolution for MgO(001). We find substantial differences in the two types of scans over many regions of k space, despite the very similar local structure of Mg and O in the rocksalt lattice. These diffraction scans are quantitatively predicted by spherical-wave, single-scattering theory, assuming an s wave for the Mg KL 2,3 L 2,3 Auger transition. The differences that are observed between Mg KL 2,3 L 2,3 Auger and O 1s diffraction scans are shown to be due purely to differences in the elastic scattering phase shifts for Mg and O atoms in the solid.
A coding approach for detection of tampering in write-once optical disks

We present coding methods for protecting against tampering of write-once optical disks, which turns them into a secure digital medium for applications where critical information must be stored in a way that prevents or allows detection of an attempt at falsification. Our method involves adding a small amount of redundancy to a modulated sector of data. This extra redundancy is not used for normal operation, but can be used for determining, say, as a testimony in court, that a disk has not been tampered with.