cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonspecificity of the bronchoconstricting effect of histamine and acetyl-beta-methylcholine in patients with obstructive airway disease

Abstract Several reports comparing the response of normal and atopic individuals to histamine and Mecholyl demonstrated evidence of marked bronchoconstriction among atopic subjects and minimal response in normal persons. To test the specificity of this effect, responses of normal and asthmatic individuals and patients with idiopathic obstructive pulmonary disease to parenteral histamine and Mecholyl challenge were compared. Although asthmatic and normal subjects could be easily differentiated because of the bronchoconstriction produced in the former, the idiopathic obstructive pulmonary disease group also developed significant airway obstruction. This suggests that the bronchoconstricting effect of histamine and Mecholyl cannot be used to differentiate persons with asthma from those with other types of obstructive pulmonary disease and that the bronchoconstricting response may represent a non-specific phenomenon related to many diverse factors.
Difference equations with the Allee effect and the periodic Sigmoid Beverton–Holt equation revisited

In this paper, we investigate the long-term behaviour of solutions of the periodic Sigmoid Beverton–Holt equation where the a n and δ n are p-periodic positive sequences. Under certain conditions, there are shown to exist an asymptotically stable p-periodic state and a p-periodic Allee state with the property that populations smaller than the Allee state are driven to extinction while populations greater than the Allee state approach the stable state, thus accounting for the long-term behaviour of all initial states. This appears to be the first study of the equation with variable δ. The results are discussed with possible interpretations in Population Dynamics with emphasis on fish populations and smooth cordgrass.
A New Approach of Image Similarity Calculation

Due to fast development of information technology and increasing demand for the picture similarity used in clinical diagnosis, quality control of product manufacturing process and identified pictures, a similarity calculation method with fast, effective, correct relative similarity of two pictures is essential. This study proposes a new image similarity computing method, the method is to divide picture into a limited number of grids and then use Hough Transform to do the features capture among grids and calculate the amount of features and express as a image numeric vector format. By the vector pair comparison of two images, we calculate the distance similarity and the angle similarity and get the average of these two similarities as the relative similarity of two images. The research shows that the accuracy of this new algorithm of picture similarity is 80% as dividing picture into 100 grids. When we increase the more quantity of picture dividing grids, we can obtain the higher accuracy.
“Everyone Knows It's a Social Construct”: Contemporary Science and the Nature of Race

Abstract Sociological literature frequently claims that scientists across the disciplinary spectrum have arrived at the common conclusion that race is socially constructed, not biologically anchored. I investigate contemporary scientific thinking about race by interviewing more than 40 biologists and anthropologists at four northeastern universities. Contrary to sociologists' expectations, racial constructionism is revealed to be a minority viewpoint. Moreover, this research shows that the usual “constructionist” versus “essentialist” dichotomy a blunt tool for characterizing the debate about race; a third platform—“antiessentialism”—must be taken into account. Recognizing antiessentialist discourse calls for a reevaluation of prior research that emphasizes socioeconomic status and professional affiliation as influences on interviewees' concepts of race; this project demonstrates that such tectors do little to distinguish essentialist from antiessentialist veiwpoints.
The role of electrostatics in spore liberation by Drechslera turcica.

Leach (7) proposed an electrostatic mechanism to explain the violent liberation of spores by Drechslera turcica (Pass.) Subram. & Jain. As evidence of this mechanism, he reported that spore release was correlated with voltages across lesions of Northern Leaf Blight in maize leaves. He suggested that spores, sporophores, and surrounding surfaces accumulate charges of like sign, creating a repulsive force that breaks a spore from its sporophore and propels the spore into the air. He cited evidence that free spores of certain fungi carry some excess charge, but he did not evaluate the electrostatic forces caused by this charge. In our paper we examine the origin of the voltages found on lesions by Leach, we evaluate the forces caused by electrostatic charges on spores, and we report attempts to free spores by electrostatic force. Leach (7) found voltages across maize leaves of 1 to 80 mV; these voltages varied in polarity, but their magnitudes increased with increasing relative humidity. He used a Keithley model 155 "Null Detector" microvoltmeter, connected to two stainless-steel electrodes touching opposite sides of a leaf sandwiched between them. This arrangement allows only the differential voltage between the electrodes 1213
Self-Identifying Data for Fair Use

Public-use earth science datasets are a useful resource with the unfortunate feature that their provenance is easily disconnected from their content. “Fair-use policies” typically associated with these datasets require appropriate attribution of providers by users, but sound and complete attribution is difficult if provenance information is lost. To address this, we introduce a technique to directly associate provenance information with sensor datasets. Our technique is similar to traditional watermarking but is intended for application to unstructured time-series datasets. Our approach is potentially imperceptible given sufficient margins of error in datasets and is robust to a number of benign but likely transformations including truncation, rounding, bit-flipping, sampling, and reordering. We provide algorithms for both one-bit and blind mark checking and show how our system can be adapted to various data representation types. Our algorithms are probabilistic in nature and are characterized by both combinatorial and empirical analyses. Mark embedding can be applied at any point in the data life cycle, allowing adaptation of our scheme to social or scientific concerns.
Treatment of chronic prostatitis.

Diagnosis and treatment of chronic prostatitis are presently based on unsupported assumptions and a nonvalidated classification scheme. Here, Richard Alexander summarizes research by the Chronic Prostatitis Collaborative Research Network that challenges the assumptions and indicates that ongoing empiric administration of antimicrobial drugs to men with long-standing prostatitis should be abandoned.
Crystal structure of an engrailed homeodomain-DNA complex at 2.8 A resolution: a framework for understanding homeodomain-DNA interactions.

Abstract The crystal structure of a complex containing the engrailed homeodomain and a duplex DNA site has been determined at 2.8 A resolution and refined to a crystallographic R factor of 24.4%. In this complex, two separate regions of the 61 amino acid polypeptide contact a TAAT subsite. An N-terminal arm fits into the minor groove, and the side chains of Arg-3 and Arg-5 make contacts near the 5′ end of this "core consensus" binding site. An α helix fits into the major groove, and the side chains of Ile-47 and Asn-51 contact base pairs near the 3′ end of the TAAT site. This "recognition helix" is part of a structurally conserved helix-turn-helix unit, but these helices are longer than the corresponding helices in the λ repressor, and the relationship between the helix-turn-helix unit and the DNA is significantly different.
Gender-Specific Relationships Between Depressive Symptoms, Marijuana Use, Parental Communication and Risky Sexual Behavior in Adolescence

A large body of research has identified correlates of risky sexual behavior, with depressive symptoms and marijuana use among the most consistent psychosocial predictors of sexual risk. However, substantially less research has examined the relationship between these risk variables and adolescent risky sexual behavior over time as well as the interaction of these individual-level predictors with family-level variables such as parenting factors. Additionally, most studies have been restricted to one index of risky sexual behavior, have not taken into account the complex role of gender, and have not controlled for several of the factors that independently confer risk for risky sexual behavior. Therefore, the current study investigated the association between depressive symptoms and parameters of parenting on marijuana use, number of sexual partners and condom usage measured 9 months later for both boys and girls. Participants were 9th and 10th grade adolescents (N = 1,145; 57.7 % female). We found that depressive symptoms may be a gender-specific risk factor for certain indices of risky sexual behavior. For boys only, marijuana use at Time 2 accounted for the variance in the relationship between depressive symptoms at Time 1 and number of partners at Time 2. Additionally, strictness of family rules at Time 1 was associated with the number of partners with whom girls engaged in sex at Time 2, but only among those with lower levels of depressive symptoms at Time 1. Results from the current investigation speak to the utility of examining the complex, gender-specific pathways to sexual risk in adolescents. Findings suggest that treatment of mental health and substance use problems may have important implications in rates of risky sexual behavior and, conceivably, controlling the high rates of serious individual and public health repercussions.
Volatile compounds of Domiati cheese made from buffaloe's milk with different fat content.

Buffaloe's milk was manufactured to Domiati cheese with different fat content in the cheese milk (1%, 3.5% and 7%). Results obtained during the ripening period revealed that the low fat cheese (Karish) is not able to long period storage, while half cream cheese had a good quality and flavour along the ripening period. The full cream cheese did not exceed the first month of ripening, then it deteriorated. The main components found were acrolein (propenal), heptanal, acetone, butan-2 one, ethanol, butan-2 ol, 2-methylpropan- 1-ol, 3-methyl butan-1-ol, ethyl propionate, propyl propionate, pentane and octane. Methyl mercaptan, methyl thiopropionate, and dimethyl trisulfide together with propyl butyrate, were existed in the samples which are characterized as bad cheese samples. Most of the previous compounds were developed after 1 month of ripening period.
Preparation of [Bu4N]2[W6Cl8F6] and characterization of the clusters [Bu4N]2[W6Cl8X6] (X=F, Cl, Br, I, NCO, NCS, NCSe, or OSO2CF3) by 183W NMR spectroscopy

Abstract The cluster [Bu4N]2[W6Cl8F6] has been prepared from [Bu4N]2[W6Cl8(OSO2CF3)6] (2) and [Bu4N]F·xH2O, and was characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray crystallography and 19F NMR spectroscopy. The 19F NMR chemical shift was found to be solvent dependent, and the 1JWF value was determined to be 69 Hz. The series of clusters [Bu4N]2[W6Cl8X6] (X=F (1), OSO2CF3 (2), Cl (3), Br (4), I (5), NCO (6), NCS (7), NCSe (8)) were characterized by 183W NMR spectroscopy.
SEX DIFFERENCES IN ENCODING STRATEGIES FOR ACTIVE AND PASSIVE WORDS

From the known sex differences in personality functioning it was hypothesized that males would recall more active words (Osgood's Semantic Differential) while females would recall more passive words than males. Two verbal recall techniques, an associative clustering and proactive task, confirmed the latter portion of the preceding hypothesis: on both tasks females recalled more passive words than males (ns = 44 and 60 in two experiments). Apparently a significant cognitive difference exists between the sexes in the organization and storage of passive but not active words.
Oxidation of cholesterol moiety of low density lipoprotein in the presence of human endothelial cells or Cu+2 ions: Identification of major products and their effects

Abstract Oxidation of lipoproteins is believed to play a key role in atherogenesis. In this study, low density lipoproteins (LDL) was subjected to oxidation in the presence of either human umbilical vein endothelial cells or with Cu+2 ions and the major oxides formed were identified. While cholesterol-α-epoxide (C-αEP) was the major product of cholesterol peroxidation in the presence of endothelial cells, cholest-3,5-dien-7-one (CD) predominated in the presence of Cu+2 ion. Both steroids were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. HDL cholesterol was resistant to oxidation. When tested on human skin fibroblasts in culture C-αEP (10 μg/ml) caused marked stimulation of 14C-oleate incorporation into cholesterol esters, while CD stimulated cholesterol esterification only mildly. These studies show that a) C-αEP is the major peroxidation product of LDL cholesterol moiety in the presence of endothelial cells and b) it causes marked stimulation of cholesterol esterification in cells. C-αEP may play a key role in increasing cholesterol esterification noted in atherogenesis.
Vertex packing problem application to the design of electronic testing fixtures

In this paper, we report on the use of combinatorial optimization techniques to design testing fixtures for Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). For testing the functionality of a PCB, nail-like testing devices (probes) on the surface of a testing fixture are brought in contact with prespectified test points (pads) on the surface of the PCB. The two design decisions for the testing fixture are: (a) to select from an available set of pads the ones to test (this determines the location of the probes on the fixture) subject to the restriction that in prespecified subsets of the set of pads (these subsets are referred to as “nets”) and a priori determined number of pads have to be tested (this is referred to as the “net restriction”), and (b) to choose the probe size to be used for testing each pad (only two available sizes: a large (100 mil) and a small (50 mil)) subject to the considerations that larger size probes are more reliable for testing purposes and probes that are assigned to pads in close proximity should not come in physical contact with each other (it creates short circuits and erroneous test result). Thus, the problem the testing engineer faces is to assign the maximum number of 100 mil probes to an appropriately selected set of pads in a way that avoids the creation of short circuits and accounts for the “net restriction”. We develop an efficient algorithm to solve the problem using results from the vertex packing literature, which exploit the special structure of an appropriate geometric graph we can define in this application. The algorithm can handle the large size real problem within 2–3 minutes of real time on a microcomputer.
Clinical Experience and Cognition of a Physical Therapy Procedure

This investigation was designed to determine if clinical experience influences cognition of a physical therapy procedure. We hypothesized that experience in the application of a physical therapy procedure on patients would increase the student's cognition of that procedure. Twenty-two junior students in a physical therapy baccalaureate program were study subjects. A multiple-choice test pertaining to gait training was administered to all subjects as a pretest and posttest. The pretest was given after classroom instruction and laboratory practice in gait training; posttest was administered eight weeks later. During the interim eight weeks, 11 subjects completed 32 hours of clinical experience and 11 subjects had no clinical experience. Analysis of the results of posttest compared with pretest indicated that for these subjects, clinical experience did not increase cognition of gait training.
Adaptive Evolution of Metabolic Pathways in Drosophila

The adaptive significance of enzyme variation has been of central interest in population genetics. Yet, how natural selection operates on enzymes in the larger context of biochemical pathways has not been broadly explored. A basic expectation is that natural selection on metabolic phenotypes will target enzymes that control metabolic flux, but how adaptive variation is distributed among enzymes in metabolic networks is poorly understood. Here, we use population genetic methods to identify enzymes responding to adaptive selection in the pathways of central metabolism in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans. We report polymorphism and divergence data for 17 genes that encode enzymes of 5 metabolic pathways that converge at glucose-6-phosphate (G6P). Deviations from neutral expectations were observed at five loci. Of the 10 genes that encode the enzymes of glycolysis, only aldolase (Ald) deviated from neutrality. The other 4 genes that were inconsistent with neutral evolution (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [G6pd]), phosphoglucomutase [Pgm], trehalose-6-phosphate synthetase [Tps1], and glucose-6phosphatase [G6pase] encode G6P branch point enzymes that catalyze reactions at the entry point to the pentose-phosphate, glycogenic, trehalose synthesis, and gluconeogenic pathways. We reconcile these results with population genetics theory and existing arguments on metabolic regulation and propose that the incidence of adaptive selection in this system is related to the distribution of flux control. The data suggest that adaptive evolution of G6P branch point enzymes may have special significance in metabolic adaptation.
Anticipatory Changes in Regional Cerebral Hemodynamics: A New Role for Dopamine?

Recently, adaptively timed, anticipatory changes in hemodynamic responses, independent of neural activity, were described in primate primary visual cortex. Task-related properties of these responses point to a possible link between regional cerebral microcirculation and dopaminergic signaling. In this report, this link is elaborated on the basis of known physiological data and further experiments are proposed to test the possible role of dopamine in task-dependent, “on-demand” allocation of metabolic resources.
Diabetic Patients’ Medication Underuse, Illness Outcomes, and Beliefs About Antihyperglycemic and Antihypertensive Treatments

Abstract Objective: To determine how patients9 beliefs about antihyperglycemic and antihypertensive medications relate to medication underuse and health status. Research Design and Methods: In diabetes patients from an economically distressed region, we assessed perceived necessity and harmfulness for antihyperglycemics (n=803) and antihypertensives (n=573), past year9s medication underuse, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Results: After correction for multiple analyses, multivariate models indicated that perceived need for antihyperglycemic medication was associated with being younger, prescribed insulin, and prescribed multiple medications. Concern about antihyperglycemics was associated with being younger, African-American, dissatisfied with information received about medication, and of low health literacy. For antihypertensives, perceived necessity was associated with having numerous medical comorbidities and being dissatisfied with medication information; concern was associated with being younger, dissatisfied with information received about medication, and of low health literacy. Up to half of patients underused at least one of the types of medication, many of whom attributed this to cost. For both types of medications, concern was significantly associated with both cost-related and non-cost related underuse, and antihypertensive concern was associated with higher SBP and DBP. Conclusions: Even after adjusting for economic factors, patients who are younger, African-American, or of low health literacy are especially concerned about medication harmfulness, which is in turn associated with medication underuse and higher blood pressure. To enhance adherence and outcomes, interventions should address patients9 underlying concerns about potential adverse treatment effects, and tailor on both cultural factors and health literacy.
Crop residue and Collembola interact to determine the growth of mycorrhizal pea plants

The effects of collembolan grazing on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and plant growth were studied in a controlled experiment utilizing a mix of AM fungi and the dominant collembolan species (Isotoma sp.) indigenous to the experimental soil. Collembolan (+/− Col) effects were examined in the presence and absence of crop residue (+/− Litter) incorporated into the experimental soil. Significant interactions between collembolans and crop residue occurred for mycorrhizal colonization of roots and plant growth. In the absence of crop residue, collembolans reduced root length colonized by AM fungi, total plant dry mass and seed pod yield. However, in the presence of crop residue, collembolans had no effect on root colonization by AM fungi, and increased total plant mass and pod yield. Crop residue increased root colonization by AM fungi, numbers of bacteria and saprophytic fungi (colony forming units), small- ( 5 μm) diameter hyphal lengths in soil, and the final population of collembolans in soil. Collembolans reduced both small- and large-diameter hyphae in soil and the number of saprophytic fungi (colony forming units, p =0.052). Feeding preference experiments conducted in vitro showed that Isotoma sp. preferred to graze on mycorrhizal roots over nonmycorrhizal roots when given no other food choice. However, when crop residue was added as a food choice, Isotoma sp. showed a clear feeding preference for crop residue. We conclude that collembolan grazing on mycorrhizae can be detrimental to plant growth when other fungal food sources are limited, but grazing on mycorrhizal fungi does not occur when ample organic matter and associated saprophytic fungi are present in soils.
The Correlation Between Depression and Headache: The Role Played by Generational Changes in Female Achievement

The relationship between depression and somatic symptoms such as headache has never been explained. Both depression and headache appear to become more prevalent among women than among men only for cohorts that reach adolescence during periods of great change in opportunities for a female's academic achievement. In Studies 1a and 1b, the same pattern was found to apply to the correlation between depression and headache. In Studies 2a and 2b, self-report measures of depression and headache were found to share significant variance only among female adolescents who reported concerns regarding the limited achievements of their mothers. These females may view the roles of adult women as being limited and may experience stress and low self-esteem associated with depressive and somatic symptomatology.
Linear Progamming Models for Water Pollution Control

Two linear programming models are presented for determining the amount of wastewater treatment required to achieve at minimum cost any particular set of stream dissolved oxygen standards within a river basin. Derived from the generalized Streeter-Phelps differential equations used to describe the rates of dissolved oxygen depletion and recovery of streams, these models are adaptable to any river basin configuration. They can be used not only in determining system costs for various quality standards but also for measuring the cost sensitivity to changes in the design stream and wastewater flows and treatment facility location. An example illustrates the use of these models.
THE NORMAL XERORADIOGRAPHIC AND RADIOGRAPHIC ANATOMY OF THE ORANGE-WINGED AMAZON PARROT (AMAZONA AMAZONICA AMAZONICA)

The purpose of the study was to provide a reference for xeroradiographic and conventional radio-graphic anatomy of the orange-winged Amazon parrot (Amazona amazonica amazonica) as a representative of medium-sized psittacine birds that are commonly kept as pets. The head, body, wing, and pelvic limb of a mature bird were radiographed using xeroradiographic and conventional radiographic techniques. Ten xeroradiographs and ten corresponding radiographs were selected, and the xeroradiographs labeled to illustrate the normal radiographic anatomy of these regions. Also included is a short discussion of unique avian anatomic features which are important to clinical evaluation.
Using Tractable and Realistic Churn Models to Analyze Quiescence Behavior of Distributed Protocols

Large-scale distributed systems are subject to churn, i.e., continuous arrival, departure and failure of processes. Analysis of protocols under churn requires one to use churn models that are tractable (easy to apply), realistic (apply to deployment settings), and general (apply to many protocols and properties). In this paper, we propose two new churn models - called train and crowd - that together achieve these goals, for a broad class of stability properties called quiescent properties, and for arbitrary distributed protocols. We show (i) how analysis of protocol quiescence in the train model can be extended to the crowd model, (ii) how to apply the train and crowd model to several distributed membership protocols, (iii) how, even under real churn traces, the train and crowd models are reasonably good at predicting system-wide stability metrics for membership protocols.
Constructing Enterprise Information Network Security Risk Management Mechanism by Using Ontology

As the prosperous development of information technology and Internet, the enterprises change the management of supply chain into modern technology way. Also, the characteristics of information crime has become unremitting confidence , the protection of the invaluable information assets in the supplier chain is facing more rigorous challenges. How can the expensive security mechanism be assessed if it conforms its function and serves the core objectives of the enterprise. The mechanism of this paper is based on the ontology of the Unified Problem-solving Method Development Language. In this paper, the implementation knowledge of the SCM information security risk management is divided into three categories: domain, task, and problem-solving ontologies. The concepts of the knowledge ontology are implemented by a computer tool Protege, and programmed into a detailed knowledge inference rules by using CLIPS, and then used as an inference engine in the JESS expert system to strengthen the SCM information security risk management and enhance the security of the enterprise.
TEMPERATURE RELATIONSHIPS AND SOME OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MICROBIAL FLORA DEVELOPING ON REFRIGERATED BEEF a

SUMMARY Growth curves were obtained for numbers of organisms surviving on beef stored at 0°, 5°, 10°, 15°, 20° and 25° C. These were related to the development of off-odor and slime. It was shown that the initial load of organisms determined the time required for development of slime. The critical value for slime production was found to be 6 × 107 organisms or a log value of 7.8. There was a change in slope for the effect of temperature at 0° C when compared with that of 20° C. Comparison was made of the swab, rinse and cut-section methods of sampling; swab samples were selected as being the most reproducible and most convenient to use. The effect of storage time and temperature on percentages of lipolytic, gelatin liquefying, oxidase producing, chromogenic and fluorescent bacteria was studied. Most of the bacteria on stored meats had lipolytic activity; from one-third to two-thirds of the organisms liquefied gelatin. Oxidase production could not be determined accurately. From 4-20% of the initial population were found to be chromogens but colored colonies were rarely found beyond the fourth day of storage; also, plates stored at temperatures less than 15° C did not yield chromogens. Fluorescent bacteria comprised 10-25% of the flora throughout storage. Microorganisms isolated from refrigerated beef were classified and it was found that at 10° C or lower the bacteria responsible for production of slime were almost without exception pseudomonads. Various species of Pseudomonas were identified. At 15° C or above, there was approximately an equal incidence of organisms of the genus Micrococcus and Pseudomonas. Other bacteria that were recovered from the sliced meat were Achromobacter, Flavobacterium, Microbacterium, Alcaligenes, Aeromonas, Bacillus, Clostridium and Streptococcus. Species of Penicillium were the most commonly encountered molds, more rarely, Cladosporium, Thamnidium, Mucor, Rhizopus, Aspergillus, Alternaria, and Sporotrichum were found.
Synthesis of a Large‐Scale Highly Ordered Porous Carbon Film by Self‐Assembly of Block Copolymers

The synthesis of well-defined porous carbon films involves four steps: (1) monomer-block copolymer film casting, (2) structure refining through solvent annealing, (3) polymerization of the carbon precursor, and (4) carbonization. The resulting films, such as that depicted, have potential as separation membranes, chemical sensors, and catalysts.
Poly(galacturonic acid)-bivalent metal complexes

Complexation or stability constants have been determined for complexes of poly-(galacturonic acid) with Cu, Cd, Zn, and Ni. The stability of complexation decreases as follows: Cu > Cd > Zn > Ni.
A novel system to assist in manual resuscitation and detect spontaneous breathing

An AMBU bag that is equipped with an incentive spirometer allows healthcare professionals to determine when a patient begins to breathe spontaneously. The incentive spirometer on the device clearly indicates when a patient takes a shallow breath (200 – 300 ml) or an average breath (200 – 500 ml). The next iteration of the AMBU bag with an incentive spirometer should utilize a smaller, customized incentive spirometer. This will allow for more accurate readings of tidal volumes, especially smaller volumes such as those of shallow breaths. The face mask of the device should also be redesigned to provide a better seal between the patient's mandible and the outer surface of the mask. This will allow for a more efficient delivery of oxygen to the patient's airway.
Correlation between time and frequency domain measurements for the insulation diagnosis of current transformers

Transformer maintenance has evolved over the past few decades from an item of periodic expenditure to a strategic planning tool in the management of transmission and distribution systems. Some of the newer insulation diagnostic techniques like Polarization and Depolarization Current (PDC) are based on the measurement of dielectric response functions. PDC analysis is an onsite, offline, time-domain technique effective in differentiating the aging effects of paper and oil insulation. In this research work, current transformers (CTs) were subjected to thermally accelerated tests. Diagnostic tests were performed at various aging stages of CTs. The PDC measurements were correlated with Frequency Domain Spectroscopy (FDS) by modeling the current transformer insulation structure as a linear dielectric. The model parameters were evaluated with the use of an iterative non-linear curve fitting program.
Maximum likelihood SNR estimation for non-coherent FSK-based cooperative networks over correlated Rayleigh fading channels

This paper addresses the problem of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimation for a virtual multi-input single-output (MISO) communication system employing non-coherent M-ary frequency shift keying (NCMFSK) modulation scheme. The transmitted signals from L different nodes undergoing correlated Rayleigh fading with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) are combined at a single receiving node via equal gain combining (EGC) scheme. Maximum likelihood (ML) estimation technique is used for deriving the closed-form expressions for data aided (DA) and non-data aided (NDA) estimators. Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) has also been derived to evaluate the performance of the derived estimators. Numerical results have been shown for various parameters such as number of transmitting nodes, modulation order, and varying number of symbols Index Terms —Maximum likelihood SNR estimation, correlated Rayleigh fading, MISO, FSK.
Phase II study of low-dose infusional 5-fluorouracil and paclitaxel (Taxol) given every 2 weeks in metastatic breast cancer.

Twenty-one patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer were treated with paclitaxel (Taxol) as a 1-hour infusion on day 1 only of a 14-day cycle. This treatment was followed by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) via a portable home pump, through a central venous catheter at 350 mg/m 2 per day over 24 hours for a total of 96 hours, on days 1 to 5 and again on days 8 to 12. Based on reported phase I trials in other organ system cancers, the first 5 patients were treated with paclitaxel at 150 mg/m 2 every 2 weeks, but this was associated with excessive toxicity. Subsequent patients received paclitaxel at 135 mg/m 2 . The FACT-B scale was used to assess quality of life for patients on entry of the study and after three cycles. Treatment was well tolerated, with no grade III or IV hematologic toxicities. Grade III nonhematologic toxicities comprised one patient with fatigue, one with mucositis, and one with diarrhea. Grade IV nonhematologic toxicities included 1 hypersensitivity reaction to paclitaxel. Four of the 16 patients (25%) had pump-related problems resulting in disrupted 5-FU dosing in the home setting. The patients had the following responses to the treatment: complete response 0 (0%), partial response 6 (37.5%), stable disease 4 (25%), progression 4 (25%), unassessable 2 (12.5%)-1 anaphylaxis and 1 thrombocytopenia; overall response rate 6 of 16 (0.37; 95% CI, of 0.57). The median duration of survival was 14 months, 95% CI (5.6-18.24). The FACT-B was assessed in 14 patients at baseline and in 8 patients after 3 cycles. Quality of Life improved in 6 patients, no patients remained stable, and worsened in 2 patients. Biweekly paclitaxel with weekly 4-day continuous infusion 5-FU was associated with minimal toxicity but did not meet the target response rate of 60%. This response rate does not justify use of a complex home infusion of 5-FU.
USING ULTRASONIC SENSORS FOR POWDER INJECTION MOLDING

Previous research efforts concentrating on proof-of-principle studies have shown that ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation can be applied to the process monitoring of a powder-injection-molding system. This research has resulted in the successful detection of several injection-molding problems, such as flashing, short shot, sticking, and sink marks. Past techniques, however, have required that the sensors be positioned so that the ultrasonic wave (bulk or guided) directly interacts with the defect. This article reports results from a technique that uses only one sensor for detecting several common injection-molding defects and does not require that the wave interact directly with the defect.
Correction: Electrochemical metallization switching with a platinum group metal in different oxides.

Correction for ‘Electrochemical metallization switching with a platinum group metal in different oxides’ by Zhongrui Wang, et al., Nanoscale, 2016, DOI: 10.1039/c6nr01085g.
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE PL/1

This chapter focuses on the programming language PL/1, which has drawn features from Fortran, Algol, Cobol, and several other languages. Most of the concepts in PL/1 are implementations or extensions of present ideas. On the elementary level, PL/1 is no more difficult to understand than Fortran. The chapter discusses the advanced features of PL/1 and the way in which they are implemented. In PL/1, the compiler automatically produces code to process numbers, arrays, strings of characters, and so on. Some of this code is in-line and some of it simply produces a call to a subroutine. The number of features that can be included in a compiler is limited only by the judgement and the manpower available to the compiler writers. There are many features that can be included, which would only confuse the prospective user. On the other hand, there are many features where external specification is very simple but where implementation is complex. PL/1 users enter the standard Fortran 48 character set or a 60 character set. PL/1 is a more difficult language than Fortran or Algol largely because it allows a much wider range of expression.
Energy efficiency of smart windows made of photonic crystal

Windows are one of the main sources of energy loss in buildings. Many types of smart windows have been developed to reduce energy consumption. However, these windows cannot control visible light an...
Posterior tibial vein approach to catheter-directed thrombolysis for iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis

Abstract Objective Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) remains a significant cause of morbidity in the American population. Catheter-directed thrombolysis for acute iliofemoral DVT is an effective therapy not only to restore venous patency but also to reduce the development of post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS), especially in patients with extensive thrombosis involving the iliac and femoral venous segments. We hypothesized that delivery of thrombolytics through an access site in a vein distal to the segments containing thrombus would provide the greatest short- and long-term therapeutic clinical benefit with similar safety and efficacy. Methods All patients treated at a single institution between 2009 and 2016 undergoing mechanical and chemical thrombolysis for iliofemoral DVT were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into groups by access site, including contralateral and ipsilateral femoral vein, popliteal vein, and posterior tibial vein (PTV). Preoperative demographics, intraoperative data, and postoperative outpatient charts were analyzed. Primary end points included evidence of incompetence after the procedure by duplex ultrasound assessment and development of complications of PTS as defined by the Villalta scale. Results Fifty-eight patients underwent mechanical and chemical thrombolysis, and 51 patients met the inclusion criteria. Thrombolysis access was through PTV (n = 27), popliteal vein (n = 20), or femoral vein (n = 4). More patients were female (55%), and the mean age was 57 years. Forty patients had unilateral DVT, whereas 11 patients had bilateral involvement. After lysis, 44 patients underwent percutaneous venous angioplasty and 11 patients underwent venous stenting in the acute setting. Although not statistically significant, mean operative times were slightly longer in the posterior tibial approach (156.7 minutes vs 130.6 minutes; P = .08), and mean fluoroscopy time was higher in the posterior tibial group (18.1 minutes vs 14.3 minutes; P = .17). Overall 90-day morbidity was 9.8%, and no deaths were recorded. Patency of the deep venous system was similar between the posterior tibial and the popliteal or femoral approach (95% vs 88%; P = .29); 21.6% developed symptoms of PTS. There was no difference for development of PTS between posterior tibial and popliteal or femoral approaches (22% vs 20.8%; P = .52). There was no difference in development of chronic nonocclusive DVT (37% vs 35%; P = .61). Median follow-up was 8.7 months (range, 0.4-58.9 months). Conclusions The PTV approach to catheter-directed thrombolysis is a safe and sensible option for the treatment of iliofemoral and femoropopliteal DVT. A larger cohort will be necessary to demonstrate superiority of tibial vein access in the treatment of iliofemoral DVT with popliteal involvement.
A Systematic Review of Part C Early Identification Studies

Authors conducted a systematic literature review on early identification steps leading at-risk young children to connect with Part C services. Authors classified data collection settings as primary (settings for general population) or specialized (settings for children at risk of developmental delay) and according to the phases of early identification in the study: (a) original population of children aged 0 to 6 years who had received Part C services, (b) screening and/or referral and/or developmental assessment from 0 through age 2 years, and (c) were deemed eligible and/or received Part C services. Authors identified 43 articles including at least two phases of the early identification process. The literature about connecting children to Part C early intervention (EI) is sparse and fragmented; few studies document the full process from community monitoring to service receipt. Results indicate opportunities for development of systems to better track and improve the identification of young children in need of EI.
Abstract B45: Huntsman Cancer Institute Preclinical Research Resource (PRR) Core

Accumulating evidence from recent genomics data has reinforced the view that tumors can display exceptional heterogeneity between patients, between tumors from the same patient and even within a single tumor. These findings, together with decades of clinical experience with varied drug responses, strongly suggest that personalized approaches to assess cancer risk and treatment will be essential to reduce mortality. New experimental models of human tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, and therapeutic response/resistance are critical to improve cancer treatments. Current models often fail to predict the efficacy of drugs in the clinical setting. This disconnect leads to disappointing clinical trial results that do not considerably improve patient survival, to failure of the FDA to approve new therapies, and to the loss of time and money. The ideal cancer model(s) would: 1) replicate the spectrum of tumor pathologies and subtypes, 2) reproduce genetic and epigenetic alterations found in human tumors, 3) grow in the correct developmental and anatomic context, 4) have an appropriate tumor microenvironment and an intact immune system, and 5) exhibit patterns of metastasis observed in patients. Dr. Alana Welm (HCI) has established a collection of patient-derived orthotopic breast xenografts by implanting patient tumor tissue into mice. Significant evidence demonstrates that patient-derived xenografts (PDX) recapitulate the genomic and phenotypic features of their corresponding patient tumors, and that tumor graft growth and metastasis mirrors clinical outcome in the corresponding patients. We believe that PDXs may provide a remarkable opportunity to predict the best therapy regimens for individuals, a concept termed “personalized” or “precision” medicine. The Preclinical Research Resource (PRR) Core will provide high-quality services for basic and translational cancer research, drug discovery and personalized cancer therapy. The mission of the core will be to: generate the most current and sophisticated patient-derived in vivo cancer models; bridge the gap between basic scientists and clinicians to facilitate seamless bench-to-bedside research; and improve pre-clinical drug efficacy evaluation and examine personalized chemotherapy with patient-derived xenografts. Citation Format: Brittni Smith, Oksana Kavetska, Guoying Wang, David Henry Lum{Authors}. Huntsman Cancer Institute Preclinical Research Resource (PRR) Core. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Patient-Derived Cancer Models: Present and Future Applications from Basic Science to the Clinic; Feb 11-14, 2016; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2016;22(16_Suppl):Abstract nr B45.
Current use of factor concentrates in pediatric cardiac anesthesia

Excessive bleeding following pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, both from the effects of hemorrhage and the therapies employed to achieve hemostasis. Neonates and infants are especially at risk because their coagulation systems are immature, surgeries are often complex, and cardiopulmonary bypass technologies are inappropriately matched to patient size and physiology. Consequently, these young children receive substantial amounts of adult-derived blood products to restore adequate hemostasis. Adult and pediatric data demonstrate associations between blood product transfusions and adverse patient outcomes. Thus, efforts to limit bleeding after pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass and minimize allogeneic blood product exposure are warranted. The off-label use of factor concentrates, such as fibrinogen concentrate, recombinant activated factor VII, and prothrombin complex concentrates, is increasing as these hemostatic agents appear to offer several advantages over conventional blood products. However, recognizing that these agents have the potential for both benefit and harm, well-designed studies are needed to enhance our knowledge and to determine the optimal use of these agents. In this review, our primary objective was to examine the evidence regarding the use of factor concentrates to treat bleeding after pediatric CPB and identify where further research is required. PubMed, MEDLINE/OVID, The Cochrane Library and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were systematically searched to identify existing studies.
Abstract 070: AntagomiR-762 Prevents Angiotensin II Induced Aortic Fibrosis and Stiffening

We and others have shown that hypertension (HTN) is associated with a striking deposition of collagen in the vascular adventitia. This causes vascular stiffening, which increases pulse wave velocit...
Plutonium-238 for Biomedical Applications

The successful utilization of 238Pu as a biomedical radioisotopic power source requires that the external radiation of 238Pu be understood quantitatively and kept to a minimum. To achieve these obj...
A Unified Approach to On-Line Network Modeling for Security Analysis

Abstract State estimation is the core of the on-line network security analysis. Other state estimation related problems include network observability analysis, bad data identification, and external network modeling. The objective of our research is to develop a unified methodology for all state estimation related problems. The idea is to develop efficient methods to solve the state estimation related problems by utilizing basically the subroutines already available in state estimation. This paper summarizes our recent progress in the development of a unified approach to on-line network mode ling for security analysis.
Is the U.S. Congress an Insurmountable Obstacle to Any “Far-Sighted Conception of Budgeting”?

In recent years, Congress has recurrently failed to meet its minimum responsibilities in federal budgeting. This article analyzes whether it is possible to repair this problem, using concepts popularized by Allen Schick in his influential article “The Road to PPB.” His article compared the PPB reform effort to the history of budget process reforms that started with the design of the executive budget. It publicized a logical sequence of budget process improvements that started with control and then advanced through management and planning. The article did not substantially address the role of Congress, but eight years after it was published, Congress reasserted its constitutional role in the budget process. Its record of performance since then has ranged from mixed to dysfunctional. The Congress has been criticized for budgetary delays, micromanagement, myopia, procrastination, indiscipline, and an inability to prioritize intelligently. If these faults are set in stone, then an integrated system of budgeting, as described in “The Road to PPB” and related work, is unattainable. On the other hand, if reform of Congressional budgeting is politically feasible, improvements to that system can utilize the unique contributions that a legislature can make to a good system of budgeting.