cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimating the Learning Curve of a Novel Medical Device: Bipolar Sealer Use in Unilateral Total Knee Arthroplasties.

Abstract Background The use of cost-effectiveness analysis for medical devices has proven to be challenging because of the existence of the learning effects in the device-operator interactions. The need for the relevant analytical framework for assessing the economic value of such technologies has been recognized. Objectives To present a modified difference-in-differences (DID) cost-effectiveness methodology that facilitates visualization of a new health technology's learning curve. Methods Using the Premier Perspective database (Premier Inc., Charlotte, NC), we examined the impact of physicians adopting a bipolar sealer (BPS) to control blood loss in primary unilateral total knee arthroplasties on hospital lengths of stay and total hospitalization costs when compared with two control groups. In our DID approach, we substituted month-from-adoption for the calendar-month-of-adoption in both graphical representations and ordinary least-squares regression results to estimate the effect of the BPS. Results The results clearly demonstrated a learning curve associated with the adoption of the BPS technology. Although the reductions in length of stay were immediate, the first postadoption year costs increased by $1335 (extrahospital controls) to $1565 (within-hospital controls). Importantly, and also consistent with a learning curve hypothesis, these initial higher costs were offset by subsequent cost savings in the second and third years postadoption. Conclusions The presented modified DID approach is a suitable and versatile analytical tool for economic evaluation of a slowly diffusing medical device or health technology. It provides a better understanding of the potential learning effects associated with relevant interventions.
Psychological Aspects: Diagnosis and Management

Chest pain is a common presenting complaint that raises the possibility of serious medical pathology and often precipitates comprehensive medical evaluations and referrals. Since it is associated with coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction, it is perhaps understandable that chest pain is one of the most anxiety-provoking medical complaints for patients and their families. Approximately one-half of patients who undergo cardiac evaluations do not show evidence of cardiac dysfunction underlying their pain [1]. The syndrome of non-CAD chest pain is characterized by recurrent chest pain in the absence of identifiable cardiac etiology and is often accompanied by emotional distress (i.e., anxiety, depression), functional impairment, and is associated with reduced quality of life. In this chapter, we describe non-CAD chest pain from a psychological perspective and highlight the complex biopsychosocial nature of this condition. The prevalence of psychopathology within this population is high, and this chapter reviews psychological factors that may accompany and exacerbate the experience of chest pain for some patients. Following this is a description of the clinical aspects of psychological diagnosis with this population, including differential diagnosis. We conclude with a review and analysis of the evidence-based intervention efforts conducted with these patients, particularly cognitive-behavioral approaches.
Development, Implementation and Assessment of a Comprehensive Strategic Plan in a School of Pharmacy

Objective. To develop, implement and assess a strategic plan and its process within a school of pharmacy. Methods. The process for developing the strategic plan included five phases: designing and scanning by a planning committee; divergent thinking with input from key internal and external stakeholders who shared their vision for the school; convergent planning in which faculty members helped to prioritize the clusters, goals, and metrics that had been identified; refining ideas into strategies; and assessment, during which metrics were aligned with assessment plans and data were collected and analyzed. Results. The completed strategic plan had five broad strategies, 20 specific goals, and 90 associated metrics. The plan was implemented with engagement by all major stakeholders in the program. Reallocation of existing resources and generation of new resources were key in making progress. The assessment, which was conducted three years after implementation of the strategic plan, found that each strategy had affected the school's mission to provide an exemplary educational experience for students and to advance the institution. Conclusion. The strategic plan provided direction and focus to meet the challenges of continuing to advance the school. The keys for success in strategic planning are having a well-defined process, involving all faculty members and other key stakeholders, implementing the plan, and routinely assessing progress in meeting the strategic goals.
Stress, Health, and the Relaxation Response

The relaxation response is believed to be an integrated hypothalamic response which results in generalized decreased sympathetic nervous system activity (11). This response, termed the “trophotropic response,” was first described by Hess in the cat (24). Electrical stimulation of hypothalamic areas results in hypo- or adynamia of skeletal musculature, decreased blood pressure, decreased respiratory rate, and pupil constriction. Hess states, “Let us repeat at this point that we are actually dealing with a protective mechanism against overstress belonging to the trophotropic-endophylactic system and promoting restorative processes. We emphasize that these adynamic effects are opposed to ergotropic reactions which are oriented toward increased oxidative metabolism and utilization of energy” (24). The “ergotropic” reactions of Hess correspond to the “emergency reaction” first described by Cannon, popularly referred to as the fight or flight response and also called the “defense reaction” by others (1, 25).
Light Scattering Theory: a Progress Report

Having reached an age when egoism overwhelmes common sense, I have decided to survey the general direction of recent research on light scattering by particles rather than to lecture on some of my research. And so I must warn at the outset that the subject in hand is mainly bibliographic, and to a lesser extent historical and philosophical. It should establish my credentials as an elder if not as a statesman.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement: design, clinical application, and future challenges.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a new technology that recently has been shown to improve survival and quality of life in patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who are not surgical candidates [1]. The development and design of transcatheter valves has been ongoing for the past 20 years, and TAVR has now been approved by the FDA as a treatment for aortic stenosis in patients who are not surgical candidates. In the United States, there are currently two transcatheter valves available: the Edwards Sapien Valve and the Medtronic CoreValve. While similar in some design elements, they also have characteristic differences that affect both the mechanism of delivery as well as performance in patients. This review aims to take a closer look at the development of this new technology, review the published clinical results, and look toward the future of transcatheter valve therapeutics and the challenges therein.
Factor IX deficiency and bleeding in a patient with Sheehan's syndrome.

Factor IX deficiency was associated with a hemorrhagic disorder in a woman who previously had experienced postpartum hypotension resulting in Sheehan’s syndrome. There was no family history of Christmas disease, and other known causes of factor IX deficiency were excluded. Plasma levels of factor IX were partially corrected by therapy with thyroid hormones and completely restored to normal by the administration of cortisone. The response of factor IX to plasma infusion resembled the response of factor VIII in patients with von Willebrand’s disease who receive plasma. Normal hemostasis and levels of factor IX have been maintained by the administration of physiologic dosages of thyroid and adrenal hormones. Blood coagulation was studied in several other patients with pituitary or thyroid dysfunction. All were normal, indicating that this patient represents an unusual example of the effects of an endocrine dysfunction on a single blood coagulation factor.
MESON-EXCHANGE CONTRIBUTIONS TO 3H BETA DECAY AND 3H, 3He MAGNETIC MOMENTS

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the calculations of the one-pion-exchange correction to the triton β-decay matrix element using the Cheng phenomenological model and the method of Chemtob and Rho, which is based directly on low energy theorems. The 3H, 3He wave functions are obtained from a direct solution of the Faddeev equations in which the nucleon–nucleon interaction is given by the Reid soft-core potential. The two-body one-pion-exchange contributions to the isovector magnetic moment μV, calculated by Chemtob and Rho, account for most of the discrepancy between the experimental 3H, 3He magnetic moments and single-particle values. The two-body one-pion-exchange correction to the triton beta-decay amplitude is conventionally expressed in terms of the enhancement factor δ. The chapter illustrates graphs for the two-body contributions.
Detection of extracellular vesicles in the mouse vaginal fluid: Their delivery of sperm proteins that stimulate capacitation and modulate fertility.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) were isolated by ultracentrifugation of vaginal luminal fluid (VLF) from superovulated mice and identified for the first time using transmission electron microscopy. Characterized by size and biochemical markers (CD9 and HSC70), EVs were shown to be both microvesicular and exosomal and were dubbed as "Vaginosomes" (VGS). Vaginal cross-sections were analyzed to visualize EVs in situ: EVs were present in the lumen and also embedded between squamous epithelial and keratinized cells, consistent with their endogenous origin. Western blots detected Plasma membrane Ca2+ -ATPase 1 (PMCA1) and tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in the VGS cargo and also in uterosomes. Flow cytometry revealed that following coincubation of caudal sperm and VLF for 30 min, the frequencies of cells with the highest Sperm adhesion molecule 1 (SPAM1), PMCA1/4, and PMCA1 levels increased 16.4-, 8.2-, and 27-fold, respectively; compared with control coincubated in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Under identical conditions, sperm tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins were elevated ~3.3-fold, after VLF coincubation. Progesterone-induced acrosome reaction (AR) rates were significantly (p < 0.001) elevated in sperm coincubated with VGS for 10-30 min, compared with PBS. Sperm artificially deposited in the vaginas of superovulated females for these periods also showed significant (p < 0.01) increases in AR rates, compared with PBS. Thus in vitro and in vivo, sperm acquire from the vaginal environment factors that induce capacitation, explaining recent findings for their acrosomal status in the isthmus. Overall, VGS appear to deliver higher levels of proteins involved in preventing premature capacitation and AR than those promoting them. Our findings which have implications for humans open the possibility of new approaches to infertility treatment with exosome therapeutics.
School District Leadership Stability: The Relationship between the Stability of a Board of Education and the Superintendent.

Board of education membership changes that are numerous or frequent appear to cause some level of disruption to the educational process in a school district. A board of education that is changing c...
Some Cancer Chemotherapy (CH) Agents May Be Associated With Tooth Agenesis, Though CH Dose, Age of CH Exposure, and Dental Development at the Time of Treatment May Be Critical Determinants.

Article Title and Bibliographic Information Adverse effects of chemotherapy on the teeth and surrounding tissues of children with cancer: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Busenhart DM, Erb J, Rigakos G, Eliades T, Papageorgiou SN. Oral Oncol 2018;83: 64-72. Source of Funding None. Type of Study/Design Systematic review with meta-analysis of data.
Pathogenic LRRK2 R1441C mutation is associated with striatal alterations

LRRK2 mutations are associated with both familial and sporadic forms of Parkinsons disease (PD). Convergent evidence suggests that LRRK2 plays critical roles in regulating striatal function. Here, by using knock-in mouse lines that express the two most common LRRK2 pathogenic mutations (G2019S and R1441C) we investigated how pathogenic LRRK2 mutations altered striatal physiology. We found that R1441C mice displayed a reduced nigrostriatal dopamine release and hypoexcitability in indirect-pathway striatal projection neurons. These alterations were associated with impaired striatal-dependent motor learning in the R1441C knock-in mice. In contrast, no detectable alterations were observed in the G2019S knock-in mice. In summary, our data argue that the impact of individual LRRK2 mutations cannot be simply generalized. Our findings have far-reaching implications for devising treatment strategies for PD patients.
Surface potential of a rotating duplex consisting of two conjoined spheres

Abstract Many small Solar System bodies have bilobate shapes which may be approximated as “duplexes” consisting of two spheres. Duplexes may be “detached”, “tangent”, “cohering”, or “enveloping”, depending on whether the two spheres are separate, just touching, overlapping, or one inside the other, respectively. Thus cohering and enveloping duplexes are inherently inhomogeneous. This paper treats all four types of duplex, but mainly concerns cohering duplexes, where the two spheres overlap in a lens-shaped imbricated “crush zone”. This paper analytically derives the effective potential on the surface of a rotating duplex, and uses it to locate its equilibria, and to classify them as maxima, minima, or saddle points. The results reveal that duplexes have surprisingly complicated patterns of surface equilibria. Depending on the rotation rate, up to 14 surface equilibria may exist; those in the neck are particularly interesting. As a case study, this analysis is applied to Kuiper Belt Object (486958) Arrokoth (also known as 2014 MU69). For comparison with the main text, Appendix A discusses homogeneous cohering duplexes. All cohering duplexes possess concavities with reduced exposure to impacts and insolation; Appendix B derives and plots some relevant properties of these concavities, and demonstrates how some concavities may actually be warmer than the rest of the body because of radiative heat trapping. Finally, Appendix C derives the surface gravity, potential, and equilibria of a “biplex”: a special case of an enveloping duplex when the smaller sphere represents a void or density deficit inside the larger sphere.
Analysis of Hand Surgery Questions on Orthopedic In-training Examination From 2014 to 2019:

Background:The orthopedic in-training examination (OITE) continues to evolve over time. It is important for orthopedic residents and residency programs to have an up-to-date understanding of the co...
Chitra: A 2nd-Generation Persian Teacher in a Spanish/English Dual Language Class

Chitra’s testimonio illustrates another layer of translingualism, transnationalism, and translanguaging. Although multilingual, because Spanish is not one of her primary languages, she was often seen as monolingual through her elementary, secondary, and even university schooling experiences. Her literacies and languaging illustrate how rich practices might go unnoticed by even the most astute educators and researchers if one is not purposeful to view literacies and languaging through critical lenses. Her testimonio will illustrate how her family and Zoroastrain community literacies nurtured her translanguaging abilities across multiple languages, how her subaltern literacies have emerged into resistance literacies, and lastly, how she uniquely leverages her academic literacies to shed light on the hidden cultural and linguistic literacies of others.
Piezo1 calcium flickers localize to hotspots of cellular traction forces

Piezo channels transduce mechanical stimuli into electrical and chemical signals to powerfully influence development, homeostasis, and regeneration. Due to their location in the plasma membrane, they are positioned to transduce both external forces and internal forces generated by cells. While much is known about how Piezo1 responds to external forces, its response to cell-generated forces that are vital for cellular and organismal physiology is poorly understood. Here we show that Ca2+ flickers generated by endogenous Piezo1 in human neural stem cells and in fibroblasts are stimulated by actomyosin-based traction forces. Further, although Piezo1 channels diffuse readily in the plasma membrane and are widely distributed across the cell, flicker activity is enriched in spatially constrained regions at force-producing adhesions. We propose that Piezo1 Ca2+ flickers allow spatial segregation of mechanotransduction events, and that Piezo1 diffusion allows channel molecules to efficiently respond to transient and localized mechanical stimuli throughout the cell surface.
Breathing for Two.

Breathing for Two A 29-year-old pregnant woman (gravida 5, para 3) with undifferentiated connective tissue disease presented at 26 weeks 3 days of gestation with cough and shortness of breath. Two ...
Influence of landscape management practices on urban greenhouse gas budgets.

With a lack of United States federal policy to address climate change, cities, the private sector, and universities have shouldered much of the work to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions. This study aims to determine how landcover characteristics influence the amount of carbon (C) sequestered and respired via biological processes, evaluating the role of land management on the overall C budget of an urban university. Boston University published a comprehensive Climate Action Plan in 2017 with the goal of achieving C neutrality by 2040. In this study, we digitized and discretized each of Boston University’s three urban campuses into landcover types, with C sequestration and respiration rates measured and scaled to provide a University-wide estimate of biogenic C fluxes within the broader context of total University emissions. Each of Boston University’s three highly urban campuses were net sources of biogenic C to the atmosphere. While trees were estimated to sequester 0.6 ± 0.2 kg C m−2 canopy cover year−1, mulch and lawn areas in 2018 emitted C at rates of 1.7 ± 0.4 kg C m−2 year−1 and 1.4 ± 0.4 kg C m−2 year−1, respectively. C uptake by tree canopy cover, which can spatially overlap lawn and mulched landcovers, was not large enough to offset biogenic emissions. The proportion of biogenic emissions to Scope 1 anthropogenic emissions on each campus varied from 0.5% to 2%, and depended primarily on the total anthropogenic emissions on each campus. Our study quantifies the role of urban landcover in local C budgets, offering insights on how landscaping management strategies—such as decreasing mulch application rates and expanding tree canopy extent—can assist universities in minimizing biogenic C emissions and even potentially creating a small biogenic C sink. Although biogenic C fluxes represent a small fraction of overall anthropogenic emissions on urban university campuses, these biogenic fluxes are under active management by the university and should be included in climate action plans.
JUE Insight: How do cities change when we work from home?

Abstract How would the shape of our cities change if there were a permanent increase in working from home? We study this question using a quantitative model of the Los Angeles metropolitan area featuring local agglomeration externalities and endogenous traffic congestion. We find three important effects: (1) Jobs move to the core of the city, while residents move to the periphery. (2) Traffic congestion eases and travel times drop. (3) Average real estate prices fall, with declines in core locations and increases in the periphery. Workers who are able to switch to telecommuting enjoy large welfare gains by saving commute time and moving to more affordable neighborhoods. Workers who continue to work on-site enjoy modest welfare gains due to lower commute times, improved access to jobs, and the fall in average real estate prices.
Theory of index-one nonlinear complementarity systems

Abstract Generalized differentiation index-one nonlinear complementarity systems (NCSs) are mathematically regularized in this article. Strong regularity of solutions is shown to imply generalized differentiation index one holding, a concept from nonsmooth differential-algebraic equations (DAEs) theory. Well-posedness of NCSs is established, including continuation and maximal continuation of strongly-regular solutions. It is demonstrated that strongly-regular NCS solutions are lexicographically smooth (in the sense of Nesterov) with respect to parameters, implying Lipschitzian parametric dependence of solutions. These results are accomplished by relating strong regularity to complete coherent orientation from the theory of piecewise continuously differentiable functions, and an extended nonsmooth implicit function theorem useful for analyzing NCSs. The findings in this article lay the foundation for computationally-relevant sensitivity analysis theory and dynamic optimization methods for practical problems modeled using NCSs. Along the way, theory of semi-explicit DAEs with piecewise continuously differentiable right-hand side functions, which encompass a number of frameworks, is formalized.
Aripiprazole and lactation failure: The importance of shared decision making. A case report

Bipolar disorder is a chronic and severe psychiatric illness affecting many patients during their childbearing years. Bipolar disorder is often managed with aripiprazole, a generally well tolerated second-generation antipsychotic medication. Published data regarding its safety profile are reassuring and aripiprazole is prescribed during pregnancy, postpartum and during lactation. Pregnancy and the postpartum period represent times of increased vulnerability for patients with bipolar disorder, especially those who are untreated, highlighting the need for medical management. However, aripiprazole may interfere with human milk production. Currently, there is limited evidence to understand lactation failure in patients who take aripiprazole. This case reinforces the need for shared decision making regarding the potential impact on lactation when aripiprazole is being considered for the pregnant patient with bipolar disorder.
Is sustainable development bad for global biodiversity conservation

Non-technical summary Global biodiversity is in dramatic decline. The general public appears to equate sustainable development with biodiversity conservation and environmental protection, whereas the international policy discourse treats sustainable development as little more than traditional economic development. This gap between public perception of what sustainable development entails and its translation into formal policy goals is an important barrier to mobilizing the public and critical financial support for meeting global biodiversity conservation objectives. This contribution argues that the goal of nature and biodiversity conservation must be much more clearly distinguished from the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) than is currently the case. Technical summary The term ‘sustainable development’ has become widely used since it was popularized through the 1992 Rio UN Conference on Environment and Development. The UN SDGs adopted in 2015 further reinforce the normative centrality of the concept. Yet, the extent to which sustainable development covers nature and biodiversity conservation depends on how it is defined. A better understanding of how the public in different countries assesses the value of local and global biodiversity is crucial for building support for financing the vision to live ‘in harmony with nature by 2050’ currently under negotiation in the Convention on Biodiversity. This review essay discusses four distinct definitions of sustainable development, and considers how these different conceptualizations are used by political actors to serve particular interests. It then describes how this discourse has unfolded in international agreements related to sustainable development and biodiversity. The analysis shows that the prevalent economic cost–benefit approach used to value ecosystem services to make a case for conservation cannot resolve trade-off decisions between short-term economic and long-term societal interests. What is needed is a broad discourse about the ethical and cultural dimensions of biodiversity as a global heritage at the highest political level. Social media abstract The goal of global biodiversity conservation must be more clearly distinguished from the 2015 SDGs economic objectives.
Breaching the Barrier

Transporter proteins are integral membrane proteins that selectively mediate the passage of molecules across the otherwise impermeable barrier imposed by the phospholipid bilayer that surrounds all cells and organelles. The identification of more than 360 families of transporters through biochemical and genomic analyses highlights the importance of transport processes to cells. Among the most fascinating transporters are those that act as molecular pumps, translocating their substrates across membranes against a concentration gradient; this thermodynamically unfavorable process is powered by coupling to a second, energetically favorable process such as ATP hydrolysis or the movement of a second solute down a transmembrane concentration gradient.
Investigating “The Way” for Toyota suppliers

Purpose – Toyota's management system, more formally known as the Toyota production system (TPS) is one of the most benchmarked business improvement strategies in modern industry. While many companies try to emulate Toyota's success using a variety of different approaches, most practitioners are not aware how Toyota replicates TPS at suppliers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the in‐house capabilities that are transferred from Toyota to suppliers as a way to more deeply understand how TPS can evolve.Design/methodology/approach – This work studies Toyota's supplier development practices by evaluating organizational documents using latent semantic analysis (LSA). LSA is a theory and method for extracting and representing the contextual‐usage and meaning of words and phrases by statistical computation applied to text. LSA is based on singular value decomposition (SVD), which is a mathematical matrix decomposition technique using factor analysis.Findings – This work shows that Toyota targets proces...
Empirical determination of 6.8 GHz atmospheric propagation extinction coefficients during strong convective rain events

At RF/microwave frequencies below 10 GHz, the atmosphere is considered transparent except for cases of extreme rain events. Moreover, scattering effects from rain drops are generally negligible, and the calculations of extinction coefficients are primarily liquid water absorption. In convective rain events (thunderstorms), larger rain drop sizes would affect both, absorption and scattering coefficients found in rain extinction propagation models. Since 2010, the Central Florida Remote Sensing Laboratory has been conducting field measurements to empirically derive extinction coefficients in strong convective thunderstorms with a zenith pointing radiometer operating at 6.8 GHz. Experimentally, blackbody noise emission from rain (brightness temperature, T b ) is measured simultaneously with rain rate (mm/hr) using surface gauges and the surface rain drop size distribution from a disdrometer. This paper is a theoretical treatment of the signal processing procedures used to derive rain extinction coefficients. Rain gauges, disdrometer and microwave radiometer possess different sampling time events and to align the spatial/temporal domain with the dynamics of a thunderstorm will prove to be challenging. This paper presents several candidate signal analysis approaches through a radiative transfer model (RTM) by incorporating both, rain drop scattering and absorption. The rain gauge and disdrometer measurements are used as inputs into the RTM, to calculate an instantaneous downwelling radiance time series. The radiometer's measured Tbs and RTM theoretical Tbs time series are compared as the rain extinction coefficients are iteratively estimated in a Maximum Likelihood Estimation procedure with statistics to yield a solution. A simulated rain event is illustrated and analyzed.
Cardiovascular risk factors following orthotopic liver transplantation: predisposing factors, incidence and management.

Background: Liver transplantation is the standard of care for acute and chronic causes of end-stage liver disease. Advances in medical therapy and surgical techniques have led to improvement of patient and graft survival rates following orthotopic liver transplantation. However, the prevalence of post-transplant cardiovascular complications has been rising with increased life expectancy after liver transplantation. Aims: To determine the incidences, risk factors, and treatment for hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes, and obesity in the post-liver transplantation population. Methods: We performed a review of relevant studies available on the PubMed database that provided information on the incidence, risk factors and treatment for cardiovascular complications that develop in the post-liver transplantation population. Results: Current immunosuppressive agents have improved patient and graft survival rates. However, long-term exposure to these agents has been associated with development of systemic and metabolic complications including hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes mellitus and obesity. Cardiovascular disease remains one of the most common causes of death in liver transplant patients with functional grafts. Conclusions: Liver transplant recipients have a higher risk of cardiovascular complications compared with the nontransplant population. Post-transplant cardiac risk stratification and aggressive treatment of cardiovascular complications, including modification of risk factors and tailoring of immunosuppressive regimen, is imperative to prevent serious complications.
Mesoscale eddies and Trichodesmium spp. distributions in the southwestern North Atlantic

Correlations of Trichodesmium colony abundance with the eddy field emerged in two segments of Video Plankton Recorder observations made in the southwestern North Atlantic during fall 2010 and spring 2011. In fall 2010, local maxima in abundance were observed in cyclones. We hypothesized surface Ekman transport convergence as a mechanism for trapping buoyant colonies in cyclones. Idealized models supported the potential of this process to influence the distribution of buoyant colonies over time scales of several months. In spring 2011, the highest vertically integrated colony abundances were observed in anticyclones. These peaks in abundance correlated with anomalously fresh water, suggesting riverine input as a driver of the relationship. These contrasting results in cyclones and anticyclones highlight distinct mechanisms by which mesoscale eddies can influence the abundance and distribution of Trichodesmium populations of the southwestern North Atlantic.
The time-dependent weighted average instantaneous frequency

It is often claimed that instantaneous frequency, taken as the derivative of the phase of the signal, is 'appropriate' or 'meaningful' only for monocomponent signals, and that for multicomponent signals a weighted average of the individual instantaneous frequencies should be used. That is fine as a definition, but generally difficult to do in practice because there is no systematic and general method for determining the components of a signal (i.e., the individual amplitudes and phases), which is itself a challenging problem. We show that spectrograms can give this exact result for many signals, obtained via the conditional mean frequency of the spectrogram, and give the conditions on the window for that to be the case. Using this approach, one does not need to know the individual instantaneous amplitudes and phases of the components to obtain the weighted average instantaneous frequency of the signal.
Electronic spectrum of 4, 4′-bis-dimethylamino fuchsone and related triphenylmethane dyes

Abstract The electronic absorption and emission spectra of 4,4′-bis-dimethylamino fuchsone (BDF) and of crystal violet (CV) have been studied using a variety of solvents and experimental conditions. Analysis of the relative polarizations of the bands leads to the conclusion that for BDF the two long wavelength transitions have erossed over relative to the ordering found in the malachite green series of dyes. These results are discussed from the point of view of the low-energy structures. The absorption intensities are calculated on this basis and the values obtained are found to be in reasonable agreement with experiment. Evidence is cited for the existence of CV in nonpolar solvents as an ion pair.
Thermal analysis of the 3CaO · Al2O3-CaSO4 · 2H2O-CaCO3-H2O system

Abstract Hydration products formed at different periods in mixtures containing C3A with either or both CaSO4 · 2H2O (0, 12.5, 25%) and CaCO3 (0, 12.5, 25%) were followed by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry. Depending on the length of hydration, different products were formed. Calcium carbonate retards or suppresses formation of the cubic aluminate hydrate in the hydration of C3 A, but it accelerates the formation of ettringite and its conversion to the monosulfoaluminate phase in the hydration of C3 A + gypsum.
Evaluation Of Activated Charcoal-Sodium Sulfate Combination For Inhibition Of Acetaminophen Absorption And Repletion Of Inorganic Sulfate

AbstractActivated charcoal is an effective inhibitor of acetaminophen absorption while sodium sulfate can prevent the depletion of endogenous inorganic sulfate associated with the formation of acetaminophen sulfate. Administration of activated charcoal plus sodium sulfate soon after acetaminophen overdose may reduce acetaminophen absorption and facilitate the elimination of absorbed acetaminophen by providing sufficient sulfate ion for rapid sulfation of the drug. This investigation was designed to determine if sodium sulfate modifies the inhibitory effect of activated charcoal on acetaminophen absorption or if activated charcoal affects the absorption of sodium sulfate. Eight normal adults received, on separate occasions, 1 g acetaminophen, 1 g acetaminophen and 18 g sodium sulfate (decahydrate), 1 g acetaminophen with 10 g activated charcoal, and 1 g acetaminophen with 10 g activated charcoal and 18 g sodium sulfate, in random order. Urine was collected for 48 hours and assayed for acetaminophen and its...
The WHOI Jetyak: An autonomous surface vehicle for oceanographic research in shallow or dangerous waters

This paper illustrates the components, capabilities, and some characteristic applications of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Jetyak — a small autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) designed for the collection of oceanographic data from shallow or dangerous waters. The Jetyak is the result of custom modifications to a Mokai jet-powered kayak, including an A-frame and sea chest for installation of instrumentation, servo-driven controls and an Ardupilot autopilot for autonomous operation, an onboard computer for instrument control and data logging, and radios for wireless operation and communications. With these modifications, the Jetyak's cost of replacement is less than $15,000 (excluding the cost of instrumentation payload). The paper addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the Jetyak relative to piloted small boats and jetskis, autonomous underwater vehicles, and existing ASVs. Preliminary data are included from some shallow-water and dangerous Jetyak field campaigns in order to illustrate applications to which the Jetyak is well or uniquely suited.
Turbulent MHD flow of a radiating gas

Abstract The high temperatures and gaseous products of combustion of hydrocarbon fuels in proposed large scale magnetohydrodynamic generators have resulted in a need to develop accurate models for prediction of gas temperature profiles and wall heat fluxes. At the high temperatures and large sizes, radiative heat transfer in the combustion gases may be a significant energy transport mechanism. Results are presented for gas temperature profiles for fully developed turbulent magnetohydrodynamic flow of a radiating gray gas between infinite parallel plates with a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the plates. Emphasis is placed on examination of temperature profiles and Nusselt numbers for various values of Hartmann and Reynolds numbers, gas optical thickness, and conduction to radiation parameter.
Radio-iodine counting in unanesthetized mice

Unanesthetized mice have been immobilized in special holding devices so that direct counting of I131 taken up by the thyroid could be accomplished by means of a well collimated scintillation counter. The method was tested by recounting the radiation from the thyroids which were surgically removed en bloc with trachea immediately following the counting of the I131-containing thyroids in the intact animals. Extirpated thyroid recounts were begun within 5 min of the end of the in vivo counts in every case. The 6 mm collimation aperture excluded nearly all counts originating in the salivary glands or other non-thyroidal tissue. Seventy-three Swiss albino (Rockland All Purpose) male mice were used. Counts were performed within 2–7 hr after injection of 2 μc of I131. The per cent uptakes were calculated against counts from standards prepared from aliquots of the injected I131 solution. The mean of the uptakes in the intact mice was 11 per cent ± 3·7 and the corresponding mean of the extirpated thyroids was 12 per cent ± 4.6. The difference is statistically insignificant, and therefore the method appears to be very accurate. This high accuracy is attributed to the close correspondence in area between the frontal projection of the thyroid and the cross-section of the collimator aperture when the animal is placed very close to the collimator.
In vivo studies with ICI 154,129, a putative delta receptor antagonist.

Abstract We studied the in vivo pharmacology of ICI 154, 129, a new antagonist that is claimed to show selectivity for delta opiate receptors. At s.c. doses of 30 and 100 mg/kg, ICI 154, 129 had no marked effect on the gastrointestinal transit of a charcoal meal in mice. In this test, ICI 154, 129 reversed the inhibitory action of metkephamid (a proposed delta receptor agonist) but not that of levorphanol. ICI 154,129 was proconvulsant in the mouse picrotoxin potentiation test; the dose-response curve had a low ceiling and was biphasic. Naloxone (1 mg/kg, s.c.) enhanced the proconvulsant action of ICI 154, 129 (40 mg/kg, s.c.) by an unknown mechanism.
Pale, soft, and exudative meat in turkeys treated with succinylcholine

Abstract Rapid post-mortem metabolism concomitant with the early onset of rigor mortis can lead to the development of pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) meat. However, a reliable, nonlethal method for induction of this syndrome for the ante-mortem identification of abnormal turkeys has not been identified. The present study was conducted to evaluate the potential use of succinylcholine for inducing PSE meat in susceptible turkeys. Four-week-old Nicholas toms were either uninjected (controls) (n = 44) or injected with succinylcholine and butorphanol (n = 76) in combination. Post-mortem tissue samples were taken from the Pectoralis at 15 min, 2 h, and 4 h, for pH and R-value (the ratio of inosine to adenosine) determination. L*values were evaluated at 4 and 24 h post-mortem and drip loss and cook loss were determined. Means for pH, R-value, L*value, drip loss, and cook loss did not differ due to injection treatment. When Pectoralis were grouped as normal (L* 53), pale fillets had lower pH and higher R-values than normal birds by 15 min post-mortem. Decreased water-holding properties were evident as drip loss and cook loss were increased in the pale group. The observed frequency of pale birds was 21.6% in the population, and the occurrence of pale birds was highest in the butorphanol-treated group. These findings suggest that although butorphanol did not affect overall treatment means for the test parameters, more turkeys in the treated group exhibited PSE meat.
Lateral Cyclic Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Columns Retrofitted with Shape Memory Spirals and FRP Wraps

This experimental work focuses on enhancing the lateral cyclic behavior of RC columns by using an innovative active-confinement technique. The thermally triggered recovery stress of prestrained shape memory alloy (SMA) spirals is used to apply the active-confinement pressure. Four 1/3-scale RC columns, three of which are retrofitted with different schemes, are tested under quasi-static lateral cyclic loading. The plastic hinge region of the first retrofitted column is actively confined using the new SMA spirals, whereas for the second column, traditional passive confinement is applied by using a glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP)/epoxy jacket. The third column is retrofitted by using a hybrid confinement approach, which is applied by using SMA spirals and GFRP jacket simultaneously at the plastic hinge zone. The confinement pressure of the three retrofitted columns is designed to be the same. The results show a significant increase in the flexural ductility capacity and energy dissipation capability of...
Immediate and Deferred Imitation in Fourteen- and Twenty-Four-Month-Old Infants.

MELTZOFF, ANDREW N. Immediate and Deferred Imitation in Fourteenand Twenty-Four-MonthOld Infants. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1985, 56, 62-72. A laboratory procedure is developed that can be used to assess imitation in the second year of life. The procedure uses a blind scoring technique and incorporates control conditions to distinguish infant imitation from spontaneous production of the target behavior. The procedure is used in 2 experiments evaluating the imitation of a simple action with a novel toy. The experiments assess both immediate and deferred imitation in each of 2 age groups, 14-month-olds and 2-year-olds. The deferred imitation task involved a 24-hour delay between the modeling and response periods. There was strong evidence that 2-year-old infants could perform both the immediate and deferred imitation tasks, which was expected. The results also showed that 14-month-olds could succeed in both tasks. The discussion considers the implications of the deferred imitation results in light of current data and theorizing concerning representational capacities and long-term memory in infancy.
A physics motivation and detector design for a 1036 B factory

Abstract The physics opportunities at an asymmetric B Factory operating at the unprecedented luminosity of 10 36 cm −2 s −1 are unique and attractive. The accelerator appears to be practical. The challenges of performing a sensitive experiment in this environment can be met by either a newly designed experiment or an upgrade of a detector such as BABAR or Belle.
Monthly temperature, salinity, and transport variability of the Bering Strait through flow

[1] The Bering Strait through flow is important for the Chukchi Sea and the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. A realistic assessment of through flow properties is also necessary for validation and boundary conditions of high-resolution ocean models. From 14 years of moored measurements, we construct a monthly climatology of temperature, salinity and transport. The strong seasonality in all properties (∼31.9 to 33 psu, ∼−1.8 to 2.3°C and ∼0.4 to 1.2 Sv) dominates the Chukchi Sea hydrography and implies significant seasonal variability in the equilibrium depth and ventilation properties of Pacific waters in the Arctic Ocean. Interannual variability is large in temperature and salinity. Although missing some significant events, an empirical linear fit to a local (model) wind yields a reasonable reconstruction of the water velocity, and we use the coefficients of this fit to estimate the magnitude of the Pacific-Arctic pressure-head forcing of the Bering Strait through flow.
Treatment of esophageal leaks, fistulae, and perforations with temporary stents: evaluation of efficacy, adverse events, and factors associated with successful outcomes

Background Factors associated with successful endoscopic therapy with temporary stents for esophageal leaks, fistulae, and perforations (L/F/P) are not well known. Objectives To evaluate the safety, efficacy, and outcomes of esophageal stenting in these patients and identify factors associated with successful closure. Design Retrospective. Setting Academic tertiary referral center. Patients All patients with attempted stent placement for esophageal L/F/P between January 2003 and May 2012. Intervention Esophageal stent placement and removal. Main Outcome Measurements Factors predictive of therapeutic success defined as complete closure after index stent removal (primary closure) or after further endoscopic stenting (secondary closure). Results Sixty-seven patients with 132 attempted stents for esophageal L/F/P were considered; 13 patients were excluded. Among the remaining 54 patients, 117 stents were placed for leaks (29 patients; 64 stents), fistulae (15 patients; 36 stents), and perforations (10 patients; 17 stents). Procedural technical success was achieved in all patients (100%). Primary closure was successful in 40 patients (74%) and secondary closure in an additional 5 (83% overall). On short-term ( P = .003), and a smaller luminal opening size ( P = .002). Limitations Retrospective, single-center study. Conclusions Temporary stents are safe and effective in treating esophageal L/F/P. Defect opening size and time from diagnosis to stent placement appear to be candidate predictors for successful closure.