cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Deconvolution of seismic traces using homomorphic analysis and matching pursuit

We introduce a two-stage procedure to separate signals that were formed through convolution. A convolution may be represented as = The goal of deconvolution is to extract and from information recorded of For oil exploration applications, w is a seismic pressure wavelet, is the observed seismic response, and is the reflectivity of the earth. We first transform the seismic trace from a convolution domain to an additive domain (cepstral domain) via homomorphic analysis. Given the bandpass nature of the seismic trace, a constructive deconvolution procedure is applied so the signal can be properly transformed into the cepstral domain. We then perform a frequency-time (FT) decomposition to identify the characteristics of each signals so they can be properly separated through a linear lifter. Both signals can then be inverted, resulting in the separation of w(.) and T(.). Decomposition into the FT domain is performed using the matching pursuit algorithm in which reflectivity impulses and slowly-varying components are clearly recognized. The combination of homomorphic analysis, the constructive procedure and frequency-time decomposition offer novel opportunities for separating signals that are either formed through convolution or addition. We present examples that illustrate the procedure.
Stretch-Dependent Sub-Cellular Ca2+ Signaling in Atrial Myocytes

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a multifactorial disease whose underlying mechanisms are still incompletely understood. Atrial myocytes undergo similar stretch during diastolic filling as ventricular myocytes and acute atrial stretch can induce AF. Our group recently identified a novel mechanism linking cellular stretch to the tuning of Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in ventricular myocytes (Prosser et al. Science 201;333:1440-5). This mechanism, “X-ROS signaling”, depends on NOX2 (NADPH oxidase) to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which oxidizes the local RyR2 Ca2+ release channels of the SR and increases their Ca2+ sensitivity. Stretch mediates X-ROS signaling through microtubules, which interact with NOX2 located in transverse tubules and the surface sarcolemmal membranes.Interestingly, in atrial myocytes from AF patients both increased ROS levels and arrhythmogenic Ca2+ signaling instability are present. We evaluated the effect of acute and repeated stretch on sub-cellular Ca2+ sparks in murine atrial myocytes (C57/B6) with instrumentation (WPI, Sarasota, FL) and methods of Prosser et al. (2011). Ca2+ sparks were recorded before and after acute and repeated stretch (8% of cell length). Here, we report an increase in stretch-dependent Ca2+ spark frequency in single murine atrial myocytes. Thus, stretch-dependent Ca2+ release mechanisms are also operative in atrial myocytes and likely to play a role in Ca2+ dependent arrhythmias like AF. Our ongoing work will interrogate the components of the X-ROS pathway to determine the relative contribution of this pathway in atrial myocytes.
A rat model of Peyronie's disease associated with a decrease in erectile activity and an increase in inducible nitric oxide synthase protein expression

Purpose: Our objective was to assess erectile function in saline-injected, transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1)-injected, and surgical injury rats after six weeks and to determine the role of nitric oxide in this rat model of Peyronie’s disease.Materials and Methods: Fifty-four adult male CD rats were divided into three groups: 1) saline-injected (0.1 ml.) into the tunica albuginea; 2) TGF-β1 (0.5 μg.) injected into the tunica albuginea; and 3) surgical injury to the tunica albuginea. All groups underwent electrical stimulation of the cavernosal nerve and pharmacological stimulation with acetylcholine, an endothelium-dependent vasodilator, after six weeks. In a separate group of animals, aminoguanidine (5 mg./kg. i.v.), a specific iNOS inhibitor, was administered and cavernosal nerve stimulation was performed. Cavernosal tissue was homogenized and constitutive and inducible NOS enzyme activity were measured by L-arginine to L-citrulline conversion in the presence and absence of calcium after 2 days,...
Home Nodes, Criminogenic Places, and Parolee Failure: Testing an Environmental Model of Offender Risk

This article examines whether potentially criminogenic places (including bars, liquor stores, restaurants, public transport hubs, drug markets, and more), located within a 1,240-feet radius of parolees’ residences (the home “node”), predict their rearrest or revocation. Taking these features into account, in addition to individual traits and behaviors, might pave the way for more accurate risk assessment that could help make supervision sensitive to place-based risks. However, multivariate survival analysis of 1,632 parolees released to Newark during July 2007 to June 2009 found little evidence that these factors increased the risk of failure. Successful operationalization of environmental risk will probably need to incorporate more detailed measures of parolees’ routine activities, including the settings and paths they frequent beyond their home environment.
Transition from epitaxial to nonepitaxial ordered monolayers in pyrolyzed 8CB studied by STM

To design long-lived liquid crystal devices, it is important to understand how liquid crystal properties change as the material degrades. The liquid crystal 4'-octyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (8CB) is known to form well-ordered, epitaxial monolayers on graphite. We have found that adding two oxidation products (to mimic the effects of air oxidation or pyrolysis) changes the surface ordering of 8CB, causing it to form monolayers on graphite which possess good short-range order but only moderate long-range order, indicating the existence of many nonepitaxial domains. Although the unit cell dimensions of domains within these monolayers are identical to the unit cell dimensions of one of the oxidation products, both pure oxidation products were found to form epitaxial monolayers on graphite, as did all binary mixtures of these materials. Thus the loss of epitaxy seen in the 8CB mixtures is a consequence of interactions between all three components (8CB and two oxidation products). The observed behavior of these 8CB mixtures is consistent with segregation of two components at domain walls separating domains of the pure third component.
Spatiotemporal Analysis Developed for Functional Diffuse Optical Imaging and Its Clinical Applications

A spatiotemporal analysis method is developed for diffuse optical Imaging of brain functions. The approach is applied to the data measured from children with cerebral palsy and from normal adults during repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Estimation of daily changes in the severity of bronchial asthma

S PART of a larger study on asthma,* attempts have been made to improve methods of assessing the screrity of the disease as it waxes and wanes over a period of time. Severity may be measured or estimated in a number of ways : (1) by the intensity and number of musical e (2) by tests of pulmonary function ; (3) by the amount of medicat,ion the patient requires; and (4) by the intensity of symptoms as reported by the patient. Examination of the chest gives some indication of severity, but we have not found this to be reliable, even though the presence of asthma may be detected so very readily by this means. The auscultatory signs of asthma, which are difficult to express quantitatively anyway, are increased when there is increased ventilation for any reason and they are iikewise decreased when the minute volume falls. Furthermore, in the course of giving various drugs for the relief of asthma, we have observed on occasion with the patient at rest, an intensification of the auscultatory signs, even though there was subjective relief and evidence of improvement as judged by an increase in the vital capacit,y. The administration of bronchodilator drugs (isopropylarterenol, aminophylline) may bring about an increase in ventilation,l but it is not clear whether or not this explains the intensification of physical signs just referred to. Tests of pulmonary function not only reveal abnormalities, but also yield data which may be expressed quantitatively in numerical terms. To be sure, many of these tests are cumbersome and cannot be done at frequent intervals. Among the simpler procedures, the timed vital capacity appears to be satisfactor?, 3 and demands little of t.he patient in the way of time, effort, and cooperation. Even this can be done only once or twice weekly in most patients an d, as the intensity of asthma tends to fluctuate from day to day, such measurcments may uot be representative of the intervening periods. If a patient takes medication only for the relief or control of symptoms as they arise, the amount of medication taken will provide an index of the iutensit,y and frequency of asthmatic manifestations. However, the amount of medication taken may be influenced by factors other than the intensity of symptoms. Estimation of severity based on the patient’s answers to questions asked at intervals of days or weeks has been unsatisfactory for our purpose, depend
Technical Note-Construction of Difficult Linearly Constrained Concave Minimization Problems

Given a polytope and an arbitrary subset of its vertices, we show how to construct a differentiable concave function that assumes any arbitrary value within a specified e-tolerance at each vertex of the subset, with each vertex in the subset a strong local constrained minimum. We also show how this construction method can be used to generate test problems for linearly constrained concave minimization algorithms.
Investigation of supersonic phenomena in a two- phase liquid-gas tunnel

Homogeneous two-phase flows of dispersed liquid and gas having gas-to-liquid volume ratios around 1:1 exhibit the characteristics of a continuum flow with a greatly reduced sound propagational velocity that approaches 66 ft/sec at atmospheric pressure, and that is reduced further in value as the square root of the pressure. Flows of such mixtures at velocities in excess of the local velocity of sound can produce shock phenomena similar to that experienced in supersonic gaseous media. A supersonic two-phase tunnel was designed and built with such versatility and precision that normal and oblique shock structures can be photographed and analyzed in the absence of boundary-layer interference. The applicability of the isothermal continuum theory to such flows is confirmed empirically for volume ratios near 1:1, and the theory is mathematically extended for both normal and oblique shocks over a wide range of volume ratios centered about the 1:1 value. Auxiliary flow devices were constructed for the measurement of such difficult flow parameters as the relative phase velocity, local void ratio, coefficient of friction, and stagnation pressure. A general change in the flow model matrix was found at volume ratios approaching 1:1. Pressure gradients and relative phase velocities were correlated with the proposed flow models with generally good agreement. The coefficient of friction measured for supersonic flow was found to be a simple function of the local void ratio. Stagnation pressures measured for a wide range of flow conditions approximate an isentropic relation for a substantial part of the lower velocity spectrum. At higher velocities, the stagnation pressure closely approaches the normal shock plus isentropic slowdown theory. Considerable photographic information pertaining to shock structure and phase movement is obtained over the spectrum of flow conditions with Mach numbers ranging from 2 to 20.
Biomarker-based trials in neuro-oncology

Treatment of brain tumors is increasingly informed by biomarkers. One use is to appropriately group tumors with similar genetic/genomic characteristics and to design trials separately for the individual groups. The biomarker's use is to predict patient response so that the most effective treatment can be selected for patients based on their tumor characteristics. Trial designs that recruit unselected patients are poorly suited for identifying treatments effective only in subsets of patients given the relatively small numbers of patients available for trials. Investigators are beginning to use different designs that better account for tumor heterogeneity. In this article, an overview of the role of biomarkers in brain tumor trials is presented in the context of existing clinical trials as well as trials that may be launched within the next several years.
Outcomes in patients visiting hospital emergency departments in the United States because of periodontal conditions

Background: The chances of presenting to hospital emergency departments (EDs) are significantly higher in individuals who ignore regular dental care and in those with medical conditions. Little is known about nationwide estimates of hospital-based ED visits caused by periodontal conditions in the United States. The objective of this study is to determine the incidence of ED visits caused by periodontal conditions that occurred in a 2006 nationwide sample and to identify the risk factors for hospitalization during the ED visits.Methods: The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) for 2006 was used for this study. Patients who visited the ED with a primary diagnosis of acute gingivitis, chronic gingivitis, gingival recession, aggressive or acute periodontitis, chronic periodontitis, periodontosis, accretions, other specified periodontal disease, or unspecified gingival and periodontal disease were selected for this study. Estimates were projected to the national levels using the discharge weights. The...
An overview of security issues in streaming video

The article describes some of the security issues in streaming video over the Internet. If high quality video sequences are to be delivered to computers and digital television systems over the Internet in our "digital future", this material must be protected.
Precise positioning with wireless sensor nodes: Monitoring natural hazards in all terrains

Prediction, assessment, and mitigation of surface-affecting natural hazard processes such as landslides, avalanches, earthquakes, and floods call upon geoscientists to rapidly deploy instruments and accurately characterize these earth processes, often with little lead time and under dangerous working conditions. Affected areas may have heavy tree canopies, or high atmospheric dust loads (volcanic eruptions), precluding the use of traditional location techniques like Global Positioning System (GPS). The proliferation of inexpensive radio systems provides a technology that has the potential to redefine the approach to rapid characterization of hazardous earth processes. The research effort described in this paper developed and demonstrated an inexpensive, cooperative radar-like technology for precise distance measurement between intelligent radio nodes.
Optoelectronic Signatures of Biomolecules Including Hybrid Nanostructure-DNA Ensembles

Biological macromolecules such as DNA, proteins, and polysaccharides often display unique absorptive signatures in the THz region, useful in their identification and imaging through Raman and Fourier transform transmission spectroscopy. The optoelectronic properties of nanostructure-DNA complexes immobilized on transparent, semi-rigid substrates such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) have been studied. By chemically modifying the PMMA substrates with amine terminal groups and using suitable linking agents, amine terminated DNA can be localized on these substrates. THz Fourier transform transmission spectroscopy was used to detect low-frequency vibrational modes (10-25 cm-1) within single- and double-stranded DNA molecules immobilized on PMMA attached to TiO2 nanoparticles. Additionally, DNA strands end terminated with TiO2 nanoparticles are used in this study to cleave the DNA at guanine (G) rich sites due to trapping of photo-induced charge carriers from the TiO2 at these sites. Theoretical modeling of charge transport through DNA via polaron transport is discussed in detail. By examining the vibrational modes of DNA, as well as the transport of charge in DNA this study underlies potential applications involving DNA micro-arrays, DNA-based sensors, and DNA-based THz devices.
A Resource-Based Theory of Strategic Alliances

The resource-based view of the firm has not been systematically applied to strategic alliances. By examining the role of firm resources in strategic alliances, we attempt, in this paper, to put forward a general resource-based theory of strategic alliances, synthesizing the various findings in the literature on alliances from a resource-based view. The proposed theory covers four major aspects of strategic alliances: rationale, formation, structural preferences, and performance. The resource-based view suggests that the rationale for alliances is the value-creation potential of firm resources that are pooled together. We note that certain resource characteristics, such as imperfect mobility, imitability, and substitutability, promise accentuated value-creation, and thus facilitate alliance formation. We discuss how the resource profiles of partner firms would determine their structural preferences in terms of four major categories of alliances: equity joint ventures, minority equity alliances, bilateral c...
On a Random Instance of a ‘Stable Roommates’ Problem: Likely Behavior of the Proposal Algorithm

In a set of even cardinality n, each member ranks all the others in order of preference. A stable matching is a partition of the set into n/2 pairs, with the property that no two unpaired members both prefer each other to their partners under matching. It is known that for some problem instances no stable matching exists. In 1985, Irving found an O(n2) two-phase algorithm that would determine, for any instance, whether a stable matching exists, and if so, would find such a matching. Recently, Tan proved that Irving's algorithm, with a modified second phase, always finds a stable cyclic partition of the members set, which is a stable matching when each cycle has length two. In this paper we study a likely behavior of the algorithm under the assumption that an instance of the ranking system is chosen uniformly at random. We prove that the likely number of basic steps, i.e. the individual proposals in the first phase and the rotation eliminations, involving subsets of members in the second phase, is O(n log n), and that the likely size of a rotation is O((n log n)1/2). We establish a ‘hyperbola law’ analogous to our past result on stable marriages. It states that at every step of the second phase, the product of the rank of proposers and the rank of proposal holders is asymptotic, in probability, to n3. We show that every stable cyclic partition is likely to be almost a stable matching, in the sense that at most O((n log n)1/2) members can be involved in the cycles of length three or more.
Distributive Politics with Primaries

We develop a model of electoral competition in which two parties compete for votes amongst three groups of voters. Each party first internally selects one of two candidates to run in a general election. Candidates within a party share a fixed ideological platform and can promise a distribution of a unit of public spending across groups. Without primary elections, the selection process is random. With primary elections, an ideologically friendly subset of the voters strategically chooses the candidate. In the basic model, primary elections cause politicians to cater to extreme groups rather than a moderate group with many “swing voters.” The amount promised to extreme groups is decreasing in the ideological polarization of those groups, while each party's probability of victory is increasing in the size and extremity of its favored group. We also find that an incumbency advantage reduces the amount promised to extremists, and therefore benefits moderates.
Performance of Prototype Segmented CdZnTe Arrays

The Burst and All Sky Imaging Survey (BASIS) is a proposed mission to provide ≈3 arc second locations of approximately 90 Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) per year. The BASIS coded aperture imaging system requires a segmented detector plane able to detect the interaction position of (10–150 keV) photons to less than 100 μm. To develop prototype detector arrays with such fine position resolution we have fabricated many 15 mm × 15 mm × 2 mm 100 μm pitch CdZnTe strip detectors. We have assembled these fine pitch CdZnTe strip detectors into prototype 2 × 2 and 6 × 6 element arrays read out by ASIC electronics. The assembly and electronics readout of the 6 × 6 flight prototype array will be discussed, and preliminary data illustrating the uniformity and efficiency of the array will be presented.
Dynamics of excited-state absorbers: an analytical approach

Summary form only given. Passive optical limiters are used to protect human eyes or sensitive optical elements from laser damage. Excited-state absorption (ESA) evoked transitions from one excited state to a higher one is a prerequisite for efficient optical limiting. Numerous parameters of the system as well as laser pulse characteristics make it difficult to determine optimum conditions for efficient operation. Thus, analytical results would considerably simplify the optimization problem. However, the dynamical system for ESA does not permit a straightforward analytical solution except for the case of rectangular input pulses that only approximately model realistic laser pulses. This contribution presents a consistent analytical approach for ESA applicable for nano- and picosecond pulses of arbitrary shape.
Flow analysis for verifying properties of concurrent software systems

This article describes FLAVERS, a finite-state verification approach that analyzes whether concurrent systems satisfy user-defined, behavioral properties. FLAVERS automatically creates a compact, event-based model of the system that supports efficient dataflow analysis. FLAVERS achieves this efficiency at the cost of precision. Analysts, however, can improve the precision of analysis results by selectively and judiciously incorporating additional semantic information into an analysis.We report on an empirical study of the performance of the FLAVERS/Ada toolset applied to a collection of multitasking Ada systems. This study indicates that sufficient precision for proving system properties can usually be achieved and that the cost for such analysis typically grows as a low-order polynomial in the size of the system.
The Dermal Papilla: An Instructive Niche for Epithelial Stem and Progenitor Cells in Development and Regeneration of the Hair Follicle

The dermal papilla (DP) of the hair follicle is both a chemical and physical niche for epithelial progenitor cells that regenerate the cycling portion of the hair follicle and generate the hair shaft. Here, we review experiments that revealed the importance of the DP in regulating the characteristics of the hair shaft and frequency of hair follicle regeneration. More recent work showed that the size of this niche is dynamic and actively regulated and reduction in DP cell number per follicle is sufficient to cause hair thinning and loss. The formation of the DP during follicle neogenesis provides a context to contemplate the mechanisms that maintain DP size and the potential to exploit these processes for hair preservation or restoration.
Tele-Manufacturing: rapid prototyping on the Internet

Discusses how a research and development project called the Tele-Manufacturing Facility is creating an automated rapid prototyping capability on the Internet. We are doing the necessary research and development to make the capability viable for engineers and scientists to use over long distances. Our view of the engineering concept design-production process is given. This model clearly shows the iterative nature of the design process. >
Impact on family of survivors of congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair : a pilot study

Abstract Background/Purpose We hypothesized that long-term impact on the family of survivors of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) would vary based on the child's current clinical problems and clinical severity, family income, insurance, and out-of-pocket expenses. Methods Parents of a retrospective cohort of 53 CDH survivors who underwent repair at Children's Hospital Boston in Massachusetts from 1991 through 1999 completed the Impact on Family Scale (IFS), the Child Health Ratings Inventories General Health Module Parent Report, a rating of their child's clinical severity, an inventory of current clinical problems, and family demographics. Statistical tests of the primary outcome, the IFS total score, were performed. Results Survivors of CDH had a median age of 8 years. Most families had private insurance (78%) and annual income levels higher than the federal poverty level (96%). The IFS total score was correlated with child's clinical severity ( r = 0.71, P P = .01), families with public insurance ( P = .01), and those with out-of-pocket expenses of at least $500 ( P = .002). Regression analysis identified the independent effect of clinical severity on family impact ( P Conclusion Family impact is profound and long-standing at a median of 8 years after surgery for a subset of CDH survivors with more severe conditions and current clinical problems.
Exploiting multiuser diversity for medium access control in wireless networks

Multiuser diversity refers to a type of diversity present across different users in a fading environment. This diversity can be exploited by scheduling transmissions so that users transmit when their channel conditions are favorable. Using such an approach leads to a system capacity that increases with the number of users. However, such scheduling requires centralized control. In this paper, we consider a decentralized medium access control (MAC) protocol, where each user only has knowledge of its own channel gain. We consider a variation of the ALOHA protocol, channel-aware ALOHA; using this protocol we show that users can still exploit multiuser diversity gains. First we consider a backlogged model, where each user always has packets to send. In this case we show that the total system throughput increases at the same rate as in a system with a centralized scheduler. Asymptotically, the fraction of throughput lost due to the random access protocol is shown to be 1/e. We also consider a splitting algorithm, where the splitting sequence depends on the users' channel gains; this algorithm is shown to approach the throughput of an optimal centralized scheme. Next we consider a system with an infinite user population and random arrivals. In this case, it is proved that a variation of channel-aware ALOHA is stable for any total arrival rate in a memoryless channel, given that users can estimate the backlog. Extensions for channels with memory are also discussed.
Personality-rich believable agents that use language

We are studying how to create believable agents that perform actions and use natural language in interactive, animated, real-time worlds. Believable agents are autonomous agents that have specific, rich personalities like characters in movies and animation. We have extended Hap, the behavior-based architecture used by the Oz group to construct non-linguistic believable agents, to support natural language text generation. These extensions allow us to tightly integrate text generation with other aspects of the agent, including action, perception, inference and emotion. We describe our approach, and show how it leads to agents with properties we believe important for believability, such as: using language and action together to accomplish communication goals; using perception to help make linguistic choices; varying generated text according to emotional state; varying generated text to express the specific personality; and issuing the text in real-time with pauses, restarts and other breakdownsvisible. Besides being useful in constructing believable agents, we feel these extensions may interest researchers seeking to generate language in other action architectures.
Using Accrual Accounting Life Cycle Assessment as an Indicator of Urban Sustainability

Over the past few decades, a growing number of qualitative and quantitative methods such as echo-labels and urban metabolism have been developed for environmental assessment of urban areas. Each of these methods has its advantages; however none of them provides a solid framework which integrates life cycle thinking with multi-criteria and site-specific environmental assessment of an urban area. Recently, a few Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) practitioners have attempted to apply this robust methodology to urban areas to rectify the shortcomings of existing methods. However methodological issues such as definition of life cycle and functional unit of cities as well as selection of appropriate system boundary hinder the application of LCA-based methods. This paper proposes using a well-known financial tool called accrual accounting along with life cycle impact assessment to provide a new framework for monitoring and evaluating environmental implications of urban areas. While keeping remarkable capabilities of LCA, the proposed method overcomes methodological problems and improves functionality of LCA-based assessment of urban environment.
The fallacy of the willing victim

Following the lead of Walter Burkert, scholars have believed that the ancient Greeks required that sacrificial animals assent to being killed, or at least appear to assent. The literary evidence for this view, however, is weak, being confined mostly to dramatic scholia and Pythagorean sources, and ample visual evidence suggests an alternate view: the Greeks required that sacrificial animals make some display of vitality that would show that they were fit to present to a god. The Greek practice of inspecting sacrificial animals supports this alternate view.
A sampling technique for diagnostic fault simulation

The quality of diagnostic test sets (DTS) are determined using diagnostic fault simulation (DFS). We propose a novel approximation algorithm, called "EC/IC Sampling", for DFS. It samples the set of equivalence classes (EC)/indistinguishable classes (IC). An approach to sample ECs/ICs implicitly, without explicitly enumerating the set of ECs/ICs, is presented. Experimental evaluation of the proposed technique show it to be very effective.
The Limit of Regeneration

It is shown that, at the limit of regeneration, the relative magnitude of received signal in the plate circuit to that impressed on the grid is inversely proportional to the latter. This inverse signal strength law is explained in terms of the characteristics of the tube. Two methods of determining the effective resistance of a regenerative system are outlined. Practical suggestions are offered for the design of regenerative systems.
Understanding Organizational Change: A Comparative Study of Multifaceted Interventions:

This article reports the results of a 21/2-year action research project designed to investigate the differential impacts of sociotechnical system, job redesign and survey feedback interventions on ...
Ethical convergence, divergence or communitas? An examination of public relations and journalism codes of ethics

Abstract In a fully functioning society, citizens need information about economic, social, and political issues. The news media perform this function. Citizens also need to engage in relationships with all sorts of economic, social, and political organizations. Public relations helps to create, maintain and change these relationships. Journalism and public relations are the foundation of a fully functioning society. This article explores the extent to which journalism and public relations professionals share foundational values. We compare the codes of ethics from 33 countries (66 public relations and journalist associations) looking for both convergence and divergence in ethical values. Our findings suggest that the two professions share core values such as professionalism, expertise and moral standards. The codes agree on the individual qualities that encourage professionals to act ethically. The codes diverge, however, on each profession's view of its role in society. Journalists continue to emphasize duty to the public in their codes of ethics whereas many public relations codes focus on duty to the client or organization. Yet, this study found an evolving set of ethical codes in public relations that brings public relations and journalists closer together acknowledging their communitas roles in a fully functioning society
The Management of the Symptomatic Patient With a Metal-on-Metal Hip Prosthesis

Metal-on-metal (MoM) hip implants have gained popularity due to their greater stability and reduction in implant failure compare to metal-on-polyethylene prostheses. However, as well as carrying general risks of hip implantation, risks specifically associated with MoM implants have been well documented in recent years. Conditions such as pseudotumours or aseptic lymphocyte-dominated vasculitis-associated lesions are specific to MoM hip implants. In this review we discuss the typical patient presentation, the investigations that should be performed, the typical findings on various imaging modalities, and the treatment options of symptomatic patients with MoM hip arthroplasties.
AIG1 and ADTRP are atypical integral membrane hydrolases that degrade bioactive FAHFAs

Enzyme classes may contain outlier members that share mechanistic, but not sequence or structural, relatedness with more common representatives. The functional annotation of such exceptional proteins can be challenging. Here, we use activity-based profiling to discover that the poorly characterized multipass transmembrane proteins AIG1 and ADTRP are atypical hydrolytic enzymes that depend on conserved threonine and histidine residues for catalysis. Both AIG1 and ADTRP hydrolyze bioactive fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFAs) but not other major classes of lipids. We identify multiple cell-active, covalent inhibitors of AIG1 and show that these agents block FAHFA hydrolysis in mammalian cells. These results indicate that AIG1 and ADTRP are founding members of an evolutionarily conserved class of transmembrane threonine hydrolases involved in bioactive lipid metabolism. More generally, our findings demonstrate how chemical proteomics can excavate potential cases of convergent or parallel protein evolution that defy conventional sequence- and structure-based predictions.
The Evolution of Community Health Planning

Abstract Much has been written about health planning. While only a total of 20 a:rticles on health planning appeared in journals during 1950–53, 188 articles were published from 1962–65. The striking increase in interest about health planning reflects a national movement toward the establishment of health planning agencies across the country. Because of the increased concern about health planning, pharmacists are obligated to become familiar with planning agencies.
Ultrasound on evaluation of levator hiatus situation in female patients with stress urinary incontinence

Objective To explore the value of pelvic floor image reconstruction technology with translabial and three-dimensional ultrasound on evaluation of the situation of levator hiatus and levator ani in female patients with stress urinary incontinence(SUI).Methods Fourty patients who were clinical diagnosised as SUI(case gruop)and at the same time of fourty patients with benign disease of gynaecology(control group)were enrolled.All subjects were checked in three states(resting,Valsalva,levator ani muscle maximum contraction state)in the levator hiatus minimum plane with translabial and three-dimensional ultrasound.The volume date and the image reconstruction of the pelvic floor were obtained to measure anteroposterior diameter of levator hiatus(LH-M),transverse diameter of levator hiatus(LH-N),area of levator hiatus(LH-S),perimeter of levator hiatus(LH-L)and the thickness of levator ani muscle(T),and the difference between two groups were analyzed statistically.Results Under resting,Valsalva,levator ani muscle maximum contraction state,LH-M,LH-S,LH-L of levator hiatus in case group were larger than those in control group.There were significantly differences of LH-M and LH-S between the two groups(all P0.05),while there was no difference of LH-N(all P0.05).At levator ani muscle maximum contraction state,there was no difference of LH-L(P0.05),while there were significantly different at rest and Valsalva state(all P0.05).At rest,there was no difference of levator ani T between the two groups(both P0.05),while the differences of right levator ani T were statistically significant between the two groups at Valsalva and levator ani muscle maximum contraction state(both P0.05).Conclusion Three-dimensional image reconstruction of pelvic floor technique can be used for evaluation of the situation of levator hiatus and levator ani in female patients with SUI.
Breast reconstruction: a comprehensive approach.

The concept of musculocutaneous units has recently provided the ability to move large composite skin muscle units such as the latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap for esthetic breast reconstruction after surgery for cancer. Augmentation and reduction mammoplasty and mastopexy are also discussed.
Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Thymus: Analysis of Factors Affecting Survival in 254 Patients

Background Neuroendocrine tumors of the thymus (NETT) constitute less than 5% of all anterior mediastinal masses but are aggressive and lead to poor overall survival. This study was designed to evaluate factors that influence the prognosis of patients with NETT and the role of surgical intervention in survival. Methods We analyzed the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer database to identify patients with NETT. We performed univariate and multivariate analyses to identify prognostic factors among demographic, tumor, and treatment variables. Results In 254 patients identified with NETT, the median overall survival time was 73 months, with a 5-year survival rate of 56%. Patients who underwent surgical therapy had a significantly longer median survival time than did those who did not undergo surgical therapy (109 months vs 46 months, p Conclusions Our study found that surgical resection, Masaoka-Koga stage, and tumor size are significant prognostic factors in patients with NETT. Complete surgical resection continues, rightfully, to be the mainstay in the treatment of this rare disease.
Beyond LCOE: A simplified framework for assessing the full cost of electricity

Abstract By combining results from systematic mapping and expert-opinion surveys a framework can be created for moving towards a ‘full cost of electricity’ model incorporating various economic and environmental externalities to inform energy policy decision-making. Though a variety of sources in academic publications and the grey literature quantify different factors in the full cost of electricity, very few studies have taken a comprehensive look at comparing the full costs of different generation sources.
Process development for the direct solvent extraction of nickel and cobalt from nitrate solution: aluminum, cobalt, and nickel separation using Cyanex 272

A direct solvent extraction (DSX) process for purifying nickel and cobalt from the nitric acid leach solution of nickel laterite ores was conceived and experimentally probed. The proposed process consists of two solvent extraction (SX) steps but with only one extractant — bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)phosphinic acid (Cyanex® 272) — used in both steps. The first extraction step involved the removal of aluminum and zinc, whereas the second extraction step involved the separation of cobalt along with manganese from nickel. The experimental results showed essentially quantitative removal of aluminum (>97%) and zinc (>99%) in a single extraction stage using 20vol% Cyanex 272 at pH 2.1. Some cobalt (32%) and manganese (55%) were co-extracted but were easily scrubbed out completely from the loaded organic phase using dilute sulfuric acid at pH ≤ 1.38. Cobalt and manganese in the first extraction raffinate were extracted completely in four extraction stages at staggered pH values of 4.0, 4.4, 4.5, and 4.0 in the first, second, third, and fourth stages, respectively, using also 20vol% Cyanex 272. A small amount of nickel (up to 6.6%) was co-extracted but was easily scrubbed out completely with dilute sulfuric acid at pH 2.0. A flow diagram showing the input and output conditions and the metals separated under the deduced optimum conditions is presented.
Economic impact of Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast tourism on the regional economy

Abstract The coastal economy is highly sensitive to natural and human disasters and changes in economic conditions. This study analyzes the local and regional economic impacts of Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast visitor spending in 2013, aiming to provide guidance on future regional planning and management. IMPLAN input-output models were constructed which capture the connections among the Gulf Coast region and the two states' economies. Economic impacts of visitor spending were calculated with the IMPLAN software. An internet survey of tourists was conducted by Survey Sampling International (SSI) to a nationally representative population. Overall, 2891 individuals responded, for a response rate of 26.2%. Based on the survey data, it was estimated that approximately 16.4 million travelers visited Alabama and Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2013 and the average per visitor spending was $730.11. In total, visitor spending yielded $17.6 billion in sales revenue, $9.4 billion in value added, $5.9 billion in labor income, and about 200,000 full and part-time jobs in the five coastal counties. Comparatively, the leakage of the visitor spending out of the regional economy is small. Coastal tourism also contributed to the economy of inland areas of the two states. But the spillover effect on inland areas and feedback effects on coastal counties were not large. This analysis examined how tourism industry impacted other working waterfront industries as well as the rest of the regional economy. Findings help decision makers look beyond the direct impacts generated by the Gulf Coast tourist spending and contribute to sustainable community planning and management.
Evaluating the effects of under loaded and overloaded warm ups on subsequent swing velocity.

Miller, RM, Heishman, AD, Freitas, EDS, and Bemben, MG. Evaluating the effects of underloaded and overloaded warm-ups on subsequent swing velocity. J Strength Cond Res 34(4): 1071-1077, 2020-Several attempts to identify the optimal on-deck procedure to enhance swing velocity in baseball have been made. However, inconsistent findings continue to constitute much of the body of literature. In addition, the emergence of athlete monitoring in sport has led to the exploration of more sport-specific tasks to potentially identify athlete fatigue and readiness to perform. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to examine 3 different bat weight warm-up protocols on subsequent swing velocity and to examine the reliability of swing velocity measurements to allude to its potential a sport-specific athlete monitoring metric. Thirty-two recreational male baseball players 20.3 ± 2.0 years, 179.6 ± 7.1 cm and 89.6 ± 11.1 kg completed the study. Subjects completed 3 testing visits that included warming up with a control bat ([CB] 32 in., 29 oz), plastic bat ([PB] 31 in., 6.4 oz), or heavy bat ([HB] 32 in., 57 oz). Testing visits began with 3 CB swing trials followed by 3 intervention bat trials, then concluded with 3 additional CB swings. Swing velocity was assessed using visual 3D technology. Analyses of variance indicate that after the PB (26.6 ± 2.0 m·s) and CB interventions (26.2 ± 1.7 m·s) significantly faster (p < 0.001) swing velocities were generated when compared with the traditional HB intervention (24.1 ± 2.2 m·s). When assessed for reliability, the average ICC was 0.681 and Cronbach's alpha was 0.95, indicating exceptional reliability. Congruent to previous research, these data bolster the notion that warming up with a HB can hinder swing velocity. However, in contrast to previous research these data suggest that using a PB can increase swing velocity significantly. Furthermore, visual 3D can be designated as an exceptionally reliable device to measure swing velocity.
Trade and sustainability: the impact of the International Tropical Timber Agreements on exports

Environmental sustainability standards are often portrayed as a hindrance to trade and growth. A set of novel international environmental agreements (IEAs), the International Tropical Timber Agreements (ITTAs), seeks to promote both. The ITTAs encourage international trade for member nations while requiring sustainable timber practices. This paper uses the ITTAs as a case study to examine whether IEAs can lead to environmental cooperation at the same time as increasing trade. Membership in both the 1983 and 1994 ITTAs is examined for an effect on timber exports. The analysis is conducted using panel data for 165 countries between 1970 and 2011 while controlling for year fixed effects, country fixed effects and country-specific trend terms. Estimated ITTA effects vary by ITTA year, timber category and country type. Logs exports fell for both tropical and non-tropical country members, but these decreases were offset by increases in other timber category exports. Tropical country members increased plywood exports, while non-tropical country ITTA members increased exports of sawn wood and veneer sheets. Total exports of targeted timber were unaffected in non-tropical member countries, while the 1983 ITTA increased total exports for tropical countries. These results together suggest that the sustainability clauses entailed in ITTAs have not decreased total timber exports from member countries, but have shifted exports across timber categories.
Imaging Lung Cancer by Using Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer MRI With Retrospective Respiration Gating

Performing chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in lung tissue is difficult because of motion artifacts. We, therefore, developed a CEST MRI acquisition and analysis method that performs retrospective respiration gating. Our method used an acquisition scheme with a short 200-millisecond saturation pulse that can accommodate the timing of the breathing cycle, and with saturation applied at frequencies in 0.03-ppm intervals. The Fourier transform of each image was used to calculate the difference in phase angle between adjacent pixels in the longitudinal direction of the respiratory motion. Additional digital filtering techniques were used to evaluate the breathing cycle, which was used to construct CEST spectra from images during quiescent periods. Results from CEST MRI with and without respiration gating analysis were used to evaluate the asymmetry of the magnetization transfer ratio (MTRasym), a measure of CEST, for an egg white phantom that underwent cyclic motion, in the liver of healthy patients, as well as liver and tumor tissues of patients diagnosed with lung cancer. Retrospective respiration gating analysis produced more precise measurements in all cases with significant motion compared with nongated analysis methods. Finally, a preliminary clinical study with the same respiration-gated CEST MRI method showed a large increase in MTRasym after radiation therapy, a small increase or decrease in MTRasym after chemotherapy, and mixed results with combined chemoradiation therapy. Therefore, our retrospective respiration-gated method can improve CEST MRI evaluations of tumors and organs that are affected by respiratory motion.