cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Is the current referral trend a threat to the Military Health System? Perioperative outcomes and costs after colorectal surgery in the Military Health System versus civilian facilities.

Abstract Background TRICARE military beneficiaries are increasingly referred for major surgeries to civilian hospitals under “purchased care.” This loss of volume may have a negative impact on the readiness of surgeons working in the “direct-care” setting at military treatment facilities and has important implications under the volume-quality paradigm. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of care source (direct versus purchased) and surgical volume on perioperative outcomes and costs of colorectal surgeries. Methods We examined TRICARE claims and medical records for 18- to 64-year-old patients undergoing major colorectal surgery from 2006 to 2015. We used a retrospective, weighted estimating equations analysis to assess differences in 30-day outcomes (mortality, readmissions, and major or minor complications) and costs (index and total including 30-day postsurgery) for colorectal surgery patients between purchased and direct care. Results We included 20,317 patients, with 24.8% undergoing direct-care surgery. Mean length of stay was 7.6 vs 7.7 days for direct and purchased care, respectively (P = .24). Adjusted 30-day odds between care settings revealed that although hospital readmissions (odds ratio 1.40) were significantly higher in direct care, overall complications (odds ratio 1.05) were similar between the 2 settings. However, mean total costs between direct and purchased care differed ($55,833 vs $30,513, respectively). Within direct care, mean total costs ($50,341; 95% confidence interval $41,509–$59,173) were lower at very high-volume facilities compared to other facilities ($54,869; 95% confidence interval $47,822–$61,916). Conclusion Direct care was associated with higher odds of readmissions, similar overall complications, and higher costs. Contrary to common assumptions regarding volume and quality, higher volume in the direct-care setting was not associated with fewer complications.
Tophaceous gout of the atlantoaxial joint: a case report.

To report the occurrence of tophaceous gout in the cervical spine and to review the literature on spinal gout. This report details the occurrence of a large and clinically significant finding of tophaceous gout in the atlantoaxial joint of the cervical spine in an 82-year-old Caucasian man with a 40-year history of crystal-proven gout and a 3-month history of new-onset progressive myelopathy. The patient's American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) criteria score was 15.0. Spinal gout is more common than previously thought, and it should be considered in patients who present with symptoms of myelopathy. Diagnosis can be made without a tissue sample of the affected joint(s) with tools like the ACR/EULAR criteria and the use of the “diagnostic clinical rule” for determining the likelihood of gout. Early conservative management with neck immobilization and medical management can avoid the need for surgical intervention.
A new spin on detecting leaks: dynamic scintigraphy with focus on contributive value of SPECT/CT

2003 Objectives: This exhibit will familiarize the reader with a range of diverse applications of scintigraphy for evaluation of bodily leaks and collections while demonstrating the added value of SPECT/CT for this purpose. Areas covered will include the lymphatic, urinary, CSF, vascular, and hepatobiliary systems. Methods: This case-based image-rich educational exhibit will demonstrate various applications of a multimodal scintigraphic approach for diagnostic evaluation of bodily leakages with emphasis on dynamic imaging and SPECT/CT, based on the experience of a large academic-based institution. We intend to discuss leaks and collections related to CSF, and genitourinary, lymphatic, vascular, and hepatobiliary systems, among others. Our presentation will especially include emphasis on the seminal contribution of SPECT/CT imaging to correlation and the final diagnosis. Discussion: Numerous physiologic processes employ circulation of wanted or efflux of unwanted materials to appropriate locations within or without the body. Homeostasis is heavily reliant on the appropriate functioning and integrity of these systems and their disruption, as may occur from disease, accident, or iatrogenic injury, can lead to intra- or extra-compartmental leakage and collections, serious complications requiring prompt identification and characterization to inform management. While radiologic contrast- and non-contrast based imaging is instrumental in the evaluation of extravascular and intercompartmental collections, radiologic methods may be limited in evaluating dynamic and physiologic processes in given clinical scenarios. Scintigraphic imaging is a well-established modality for evaluation of leaks and collections. While use of dynamic imaging is indispensable for determination and characterization of many types of leak, anatomic correlation of findings on planar scintigraphy may be insufficient. We will illustrate how use of SPECT/CT can overcome limitations of scintigraphy by overlaying and correlating the functional information, portrayed on scintigraphy, onto an anatomic background, as provided by computed tomography. Conclusions: This educational exhibit is an overview of the contribution of scintigraphy and SPECT/CT in the evaluation of an assortment of collections and leaks throughout the body. While clinical examination and other radiologic modalities may be limited, a multimodal scintigraphic approach, including SPECT/CT, can serve as a critical tool for diagnosis and management guidance. Figure 1
The Birth of The Prophet Muhammad: Devotional Piety in Sunni Islam

1. The Emergence of Mawlid Narratives 2. Gifts and Reciprocity in the Celebration of the Mawlid 3. Emotion, Law and the Celebration of the Mawlid 4. Time and Merit in the Celebration of the Mawlid 5. Mawlids Under Attack
Protective Textile Barrier Systems and Their Comfort

Protective and conventional fabrics are being investigated with emphasis on comfort as well as aerosol and chemical protection efficacy. Broad assault protection is assessed by measuring aerosol barrier efficiency using aerosolized polystyrene latex spheres and by measuring chemical protection using ASTM Standard Test Method for Resistance of Protective Clothing Materials to Penetration by Liquids (F-903) with acetone, methanol and sodium hydroxide solution. Comfort impact is assessed by the permeability index, im, which is the ratio of the thermal to evaporative resistance of the fabric normalized to the same ratio for still air. These data indicate that particulate penetration is a function of fabric structure and particle diameter. They verify the theoretically derived mechanisms by which fabrics trap particles in aerosols: larger particles are trapped by impact with fiber surfaces, while smaller particle penetration is governed by diffusion processes. Results of these tests define a "window of opportunity" where both barrier efficiency and permeability index might be jointly optimized for the benefit of the wearer.
Section 301: The United States' Response to Latin American Trade Barriers Involving Intellectual Property

The new Trade Representative has recently described Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 as one of her favorite "crowbars" with which she hopes to pry open foreign markets. Her immediate predecessor had previously described the Trade Act in a somewhat more menacing fashion as the "H Bomb of Trade Policy." The crowbar metaphor is more familiar to me, although either description reflects the importance attached to this particular trade remedy. Section 301 is the one trade remedy which members of the U.S. Congress most dearly love, and foreigners dearly hate. It has had a substantial amount of notoriety among our trading partners and is decidedly controversial. The discussion that follows is a brief background on Section 301 and a practical and informal description of how it can be used effectively to promote or hurt an exporter's or importer's interests.
Vaginal Fistula Repairs

A vaginal fistula is defined by extra-anatomic communication between the vaginal and an epithelial lined organ. This communication in the vagina may be straight forward with an abnormal connection to and involve the ureters, bladder, urethra, and rectum. A complex vaginal fistula might involve several different abdominal and pelvic organs which emphasize the importance of a complete workup before attempting to repair. A vaginal fistula negatively affects an individual’s quality of life and prompt repair is suitable in most patients that are properly selected. There are many surgical approaches to repair a fistula, the best repair centers on the first procedure being the most effective. However, there is a lack of high quality comparative studies to guide the surgeon. When selecting the initial surgical approach, the surgeon should consider their expertise and experience after a thorough evaluation to determine the etiology and location of the fistula. In this chapter we will focus on the etiology, diagnosis, evaluation, and surgical repair of vesicovaginal, urethrovaginal, and rectovaginal fistula.
Mechanism of binding of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate to vertebrate fatty acid synthetases.

The techniques of fluorescence enhancement and fluorescence polarization were used to study the binding of NADPH and structurally similar pyridine nucleotides to pigeon and rat liver fatty acid synthetases. NADPH, on binding to the enzyme, changes from a closed to an open conformation and the nicotinamide ring becomes associated with hydrophobic groups of the protein. The orientation of NADPH when bound to enzyme is such as to permit the transfer of radiant energy from tryptophan residues of the protein to the nicotinamide moiety of NADPH. The binding affinity of the enzyme for the coenzyme is considerably reduced by removal of the 2'-ribose phosphate (NADH), and by oxidation of the pyridine ring (NADP), but it is only slightly decreased by alteration of substituents on the adenine and pyridine rings (deamino-NADP and acetylpyridine-NADP). Enzyme-bound NADH is not aligned with the enzyme in the same manner as NADPH. The binding of NADPH to enzyme is competitively inhibited by pyridine nucleotide analogues, and at higher concentrations, by the ions of inorganic salts structurally unrelated to NADPH. Hence, electrostatic forces of attraction between charged groups on the coenzyme and the enzyme appear to have an important role in maintaining enzyme-coenzyme association.
Real Time Asymptotic Packing

A random greedy algorithm, somewhat modified, is analyzed by using a real time context and showing that the variables remain close to the solution of a natural differential equation. Given a $(k+1)$-uniform simple hypergraph on $N$ vertices, regular of degree $D$, the algorithm gives a packing of disjoint hyperedges containing all but $O(ND^{-1/k}\ln^cD)$ of the vertices.
Effects of Partial Replacement of Fish Meal Protein by Microalgae on Growth, Feed Intake, and Body Composition of Atlantic Cod

Abstract A feeding trial was conducted with juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua (initial mean weight, 40.7 g) in which a combination of dried Nannochloropsis sp. and Isochrysis sp. replaced fish meal protein in isonitrogenous, isocaloric diets. Three experimental diets (55% protein, 16.5% fat; calculated gross energy = 5,328 kcal/kg) were formulated to replace 0, 15, or 30% of dietary fish meal protein. At the conclusion of the 84-d study, no differences in survival, feed conversion ratios, viscerosomatic indices, and n-3 and n-6 fatty acids in the muscle were found among the treatment groups. Feed intake and growth, which were proportional to the level of algal incorporation, were significantly reduced in the algae-fed fish and were probably due to palatability problems. Feed intake improved in the fish fed the diet with 15% fish meal protein replacement as the study progressed, but hepatosomatic indices indicate that those fed the diet with 30% replacement were approaching starvation. Received July 13, 2...
Price setting in the NBA gambling market: tests of the Levitt model of sportsbook behavior.

Levitt (2004) suggested that sportsbooks do not set prices in the NFL to clear markets, as was commonly assumed, but set prices to maximize profits. This paper uses actual betting data from four sportsbooks to test the Levitt (2004) hypothesis in the NBA. For a sample of the 2004-05 to 2006-07 seasons, it is shown that favorites receive a disproportionate share of NBA pointspread bets. In addition, the percentage of bets the favorite receives increases with each additional point of the pointspread. In the totals market, it is shown that overs receive a much higher percentage of bets compared to unders and the percentage bet on the over increases with each point of the total. Unlike the NFL, however, taking a contrarian position and betting against public sentiment is not found to win more often than implied by efficiency.
Ribonucleic acid synthesis of vesicular stomatitis virus: VI. Correlation of defective particle RNA synthesis with standard RNA replication☆☆☆

Abstract Defective interfering particles of vesicular stomatitis virus inhibit RNA synthesis directed by standard plaque-forming virus when cells are co-infected with defective interfering particles and standard virus. Vesicular stomatitis virus RNA synthesis can be separated into two distinct functions: transcription and replication. To determine whether this inhibition is due to competition for transcriptive or replicative functions, the functions were dissociated from each other either by the use of conditional lethal mutants which are temperature-sensitive in transcription or replication, or by the use of cycloheximide which selectively shuts off replication without affecting transcription. Whenever transcription and replication were dissociated from each other, the synthesis of all the RNA species related to RNA from defective interfering particles of vesicular stomatitis virus correlated with the replicative function only. These results indicate that the synthesis of defective interfering particle-specific RNA is dependent on replicative functions provided by helper standard virus and that the interference with the growth of standard virus by defective interfering particles occurs during RNA replication and not during transcription.
SAIC chart management system

Telecommunication companies are competing more frequently each year for seafloor space near popular landing sites. The increased competition has effectively mandated to each marine survey and cable installation company that survey and installation results must be produced at an ever-increasing rate, allowing the new networks to start transmitting light and earning revenue as fast as possible. Data acquisition, processing and reporting cycles are compressed to meet schedule requirements. SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation), Newport, USA, has answered this demand from the telecom industry by developing the Integrated Cable Management System (ICMS). This paper discusses the SAIC Chart Management System (CMS), a module to the ICMS, which automates the process by which reports and charts are generated for a fiber optic cable or pipeline route survey and installation program.
Lamb-Wave Embedded NDE with Piezoelectric Wafer Active Sensors for Structural Health Monitoring of Thin-Wall Structures

Piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) are inexpensive, non‐intrusive, unobtrusive devices that can be surface‐mounted on existing structures or inserted between the layers of new composite structures. The PWAS can be used in both active and passive modes. PWAS generate and detect Lamb waves and enable the development of embedded NDE concepts. This paper will present two embedded NDE concepts based on the PWAS technology and Lamb waves approach. The first concept utilizes traveling Lamb waves and could be described as embedded ultrasonics. It is shown that embedded PWAS are able to reproduce most of the conventional ultrasonic techniques, such as pitch‐catch, pulse‐echo, and phased array. Several experiments using Lamb waves traveling in thin‐wall structures are presented.
The neural bases of cognitive processes in gambling disorder

Functional imaging is offering powerful new tools to investigate the neurobiology of cognitive functioning in people with and without psychiatric conditions like gambling disorder. Based on similarities between gambling and substance-use disorders in neurocognitive and other domains, gambling disorder has recently been classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edn) (DSM-5) as a behavioral addiction. Despite the advances in understanding, there exist multiple unanswered questions about the pathophysiology underlying gambling disorder and the promise for translating the neurobiological understanding into treatment advances remains largely unrealized. Here we review the neurocognitive underpinnings of gambling disorder with a view to improving prevention, treatment, and policy efforts.
A kinetic model for rapid granular flows of nearly elastic particles including interstitial fluid effects

Abstract Rapid flow of nearly elastic granular materials is considered. The kinetic equation governing the evolution of the first-order distribution function including the fluid drag force is presented. Moments of the kinetic equation are used to establish the basic conservation laws for the mean granular motion. Using a simple model, the particle—fluid interactions are analyzed. The collision operator is approximated by the BGK relaxation model and the Chapman—Enskog iteration scheme is used for solving the kinetic equation. The first-order particulate distribution function is determined and the constitutive equations for the kinetic parts of the particulate stress tensor and fluctuation energy flux vector are formulated. Extension of the model to high concentration flows is considered. Contributions of the collisional transport of momentum and energy to the stress tensor and the energy flux vectors are included. The system of equations governing the mean granular velocity, solid volume fraction and fluctuation energy profiles are obtained. The special case of a simple shear flow is considered. The dependence of the normal and shear stresses on the solid volume fraction and coefficient of restitution are studied and the results are compared with the other models and the experimental data. It is shown that when the turbulent fluctuation of the fluid phase is negligible, the fluid drag reduces the particulate stresses. The results also show a reasonable agreement with the experimental data.
Measurement error correction for the cumulative average model in the survival analysis of nutritional data: application to Nurses' Health Study.

The use of the cumulative average model to investigate the association between disease incidence and repeated measurements of exposures in medical follow-up studies can be dated back to the 1960s (Kahn and Dawber, J Chron Dis 19:611–620, 1966). This model takes advantage of all prior data and thus should provide a statistically more powerful test of disease-exposure associations. Measurement error in covariates is common for medical follow-up studies. Many methods have been proposed to correct for measurement error. To the best of our knowledge, no methods have been proposed yet to correct for measurement error in the cumulative average model. In this article, we propose a regression calibration approach to correct relative risk estimates for measurement error. The approach is illustrated with data from the Nurses’ Health Study relating incident breast cancer between 1980 and 2002 to time-dependent measures of calorie-adjusted saturated fat intake, controlling for total caloric intake, alcohol intake, and baseline age.
RESIDUAL STRESS IN BONE: A PARAMETRIC STUDY

A preliminary study was conducted to evaluate the parametric dependence of the residual stress distributions in bone that result from an abrasive air-jet surface treatment. Specifically, the influence of particle size and shape used in the treatment on the residual stress, propensity of embedding particles and material removal were studied. Rectangular beams of cortical bone were prepared from bovine femurs and treated with aluminum oxide and glass particles with different treatment angles. Residual stresses within the bone were quantified in terms of the radius of curvature of the bone specimens measured before and after the treatments, as well as a function of time to quantify decay in the stress. The sub-surface distribution was also examined using the layer removal technique. Results showed that the particle size and shape could be used to control the amount of material removal and the magnitude of residual stress within the treated surfaces. An increase in size of the glass particles resulted in an increase in the residual stress and a decrease in material removed during the treatment. The magnitude of residual stress ranged from 22 MPa to nearly 44 MPa through modulation of the particle qualities (size and shape). A microscopic examination of the treated surfaces suggests that the residual stresses resulted primarily from near-surface deformation.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Atomic Force Microscopy of Protein Translocation Machinery in Supported Lipid Bilayers

More than 30% of proteins in any organism are transported from the site of synthesis into or through cell membranes to properly localize and function. The general secretory (Sec system) is the major route of export for proteins from the cytosol of Escherichia coli and all eubacteria. The pathway through the membrane - the translocon - is provided by SecYEG, a protein complex that is highly conserved having homologs across the kingdoms of life. SecA is the ATPase of the Sec system and it binds SecYEG to perform translocation. In so doing, SecA makes large surface area contact with the unstructured cytoplasmic loops spanning transmembrane helices 6-7 and 8-9 of SecY. Despite their broad functional significance, measurements of flexible and disordered protein domains remain a significant experimental challenge. Recently, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has emerged as an important complementary tool in biophysics and is well suited for studying membrane proteins in near-native conditions. Here we studied purified SecYEG that was reconstituted into liposomes. After confirming activity, changes in the structure of SecYEG as a function of time were directly visualized. The dynamics observed were significant in magnitude and were attributed to the aforementioned loops of SecY. In addition, we identified a distribution between monomers and dimers of SecYEG as well as a smaller population of higher order oligomers. We have also imaged SecA engaged on SecYEG and related the structural states observed to the activity of the translocase. Currently we are working towards determining the oligomeric state of SecA during active translocation, and further exploring the dependency which we uncovered of the SecYEG oligomeric state on the protein species being transported. Taken together, this work provides a novel and near-native vista of central components of the protein translocation machinery.
A step-size selection strategy for explicit Runge-Kutta methods based on Lyapunov exponent theory

Using a stability result for variable time-step Runge-Kutta methods applied to nonautonomous real linear scalar test problem that decays exponentially fast, a step-size selection algorithm is devised. The step-size selection algorithm is based partly on stability information obtained by estimating the discrete Lyapunov exponent of a Runge-Kutta method applied to a nonautonomous linear scalar problem. The utility of the approach is illustrated in numerical experiments that demonstrate how the new algorithm performs against a standard accuracy based step-size selection strategy.
Risk Profile and Treatment Needs of Women in Jail with Co-Occurring Serious Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders

Recent research has documented the unusually high rates of incarcerated women's serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorders (SUD). Complicating these high rates is the high comorbidity of SMI with SUD and trauma histories. Yet, incarcerated women have significantly less access to treatment and health services while incarcerated than men. We used data from a multi-site, multi-method project funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (2011-2012) to determine the risk profile of women in jail (n = 491) with a current co-occurring SMI (i.e., major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorder) and SUD (i.e., abuse, dependence). The study spanned multiple geographic regions, and structured diagnostic interviews were used to understand better the women that comprised this vulnerable population. One-in-five of the women had a current co-occurring disorder (CCOD). The findings revealed that significantly more women with a CCOD had been exposed to violence and were exposed to drugs at a younger age. Further, about one-third of women with a CCOD had received no treatment from a health care professional in the past year, demonstrating a substantial unmet need. We conclude that investing in mental and behavioral health care in jails is critical to the health and safety of women as well as the communities to which they return.
Efficient synthesis of eudistomin U and evaluation of its cytotoxicity

Eudistomin U is a member of a subclass of naturally occurring indole alkaloids known as β-carbolines. These molecules are reported to have diverse biological activity and high binding affinity to DNA, which make them attractive targets for total synthesis. We describe an efficient, five-step synthesis of eudistomin U by employing two key reactions: a Bischler-Napieralski cyclization and a Suzuki cross coupling. We also describe the cytotoxicity of eudistomin U against various cancer cell lines and human pathogens, in which we observed potent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria.
Pathology of rituximab-induced Kaposi sarcoma flare: role of B-cell depletion

Address: 1Department of Pathology, Baystate Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 2Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA, 3Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, USA and 4Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA * Corresponding author
D-Periodic Collagen-Mimetic Microfibers

Self-assembling peptides have been previously designed that assemble into macroscopic membranes, nanotapes, and filaments through electrostatic interactions. However, the formation of highly ordered collagen-like fibrils, which display D-periodic features, has yet to be achieved. In this report, we describe for the first time a synthetic peptide system that self-assembles into a fibrous structure with well-defined periodicity that can be visualized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Specifically, we designed and synthesized a peptide that utilizes charged amino acids within the ubiquitous Xaa-Yaa-Gly triad sequence to bias the self-assembly into collagen-like homotrimeric helices that are capable of fibrillogenesis with the production of D-periodic microfibers. Potential molecular mechanisms for peptide assembly into triple-helical protomers and their subsequent organization into structurally defined, linear assemblies were explored through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The formation of thermodynamically stable complexes was attributed to the presence of strong electrostatic and hydrogen bond interactions at staggered positions along the linear assembly. This unexpected mimicry of native collagen structure using a relatively simple oligopeptide sequence establishes new opportunities for engineering linear assemblies with highly ordered nano- and microscale periodic features. In turn, the capacity to precisely design periodic elements into an assembly that faithfully reproduces these features over large length scales may facilitate the fabrication of ordered two- and three-dimensional fiber networks containing oriented biologically, chemically, or optically active elements.
Patterns of eating and drinking in socially-isolated rhesus monkeys.

Abstract Three normally-reared and three animals which had been totally-isolated from social contact for the first year of life were tested in a series of experiments to determine the pattern and rate of eating and drinking. The monkeys were nine years old during these experiments and had been subjected to a variety of social and experimental conditions post-isolation. While the social isolates did not differ from the controls in the frequency and scheduling of eating and drinking during a day, they did consume more fluid and food during each meal. The isolates ate approximately 30 per cent more food per day over the course of a six month ad lib feeding period. Nevertheless, after an initial gain, they did not gain significantly more weight than did the controls. There was no evidence for increased motor activity among the isolates.
Controlled and renewable release of phosphorous in soils from mixtures of phosphate rock and NH4-exchanged clinoptilolite

A controlled and renewable release fertilization system is proposed that employs NH4 saturated clinoptilolite to aid in the dissolution of phosphate rock (apatite), and thereby to release soluble N, P, and exchangeable Ca for uptake by plants. The system is based on the principle that exchangers can sequester Ca ions released by the dissolution of apatite, thereby leading to further dissolution of the apatite. Experiments show that the quantity of P released by this method is an order of magnitude more than that released by apatite alone. This system offers an alternative technology to the acidulation of phosphate rock, and may circumvent problems associated with highly soluble fertilizers.
Efficient dual simplex algorithms for the assignment problem

Efficient algorithms based upon Balinski's signature method are described for solving then × n assignment problem. These algorithms are special variants of the dual simplex method and are shown to have computational bounds of O(n3). Variants for solving sparse assignment problems withm arcs that require O(m) space and O(mn + n2 logn) time in the worst case are also presented.
PDF document restoration and optimization during image enhancement

We present a document processing method that addresses some of the practical challenges in image enhancement for digital photo album in PDF documents. With the advent of digital offset presses, consumer photo books are becoming increasingly popular, and most such workflows convert the consumer's photos and layout into PDF documents. In order to produce appealing photo albums from consumer photographs, some form of automatic enhancement is usually required, and this enhancement is often done late in the workflow just before printing, and therefore it is done on the PDF file. If each and every PDF generation tool simply inserted a single complete image each time an image appeared in the document, then the process of opening a PDF document, iterating through the document, extracting, enhancing, and replacing images, and then saving the enhanced document would be relatively easy. Unfortunately, PDF generation tools often violate that assumption in two ways. Firstly, large images are often written as a set of small images in strips or tiles, which visually appear to be a single image. Secondly, an image in a PDF document may be reused in the document on different position and pages; directly enhancing images without the consideration of the reuse model could result in great increase in the document size and poor system performance. Therefore, image reconstruction and document optimization were performed in our PDF photo album enhancement solution.
China's unbalanced sex ratio at birth, millions of excess bachelors and societal implications

Between the 1960s and the 1990s China experienced a rapid fertility reduction, from more than six children per woman in the early 1960s to fewer than two children per woman in the 1990s. Since the 1980s this fertility reduction, one of the most rapid fertility declines in recorded human history, has resulted in significantly more boys being born each year than girls. In this article, we first develop estimates of how many extra boys have already been born in China as of 2010. We then project under two different assumptions how many extra boys will have been born in China by the year of 2020. One contribution of our article is methodological: we show exactly how our numbers of bachelors are generated. A second contribution of our article is substantive: we provide a count of the number of extra males in China for 2010 and two projected counts for 2020; the counts of excess males provided elsewhere are not this current. A third contribution of our article is our discussion of two of the key societal and int...
Proposal QFMX for use of 4-4-4 QMX Matriz in Qyadryokex Ebcidubg if FM Transmission

It is proposed that the previously described QNX matrix [1] be used to provide the information content for quadruplex FM transmission, QFMX. In this proposal, a true, omnidirectional signal 'T appears in the baseband of the composite FM modulating signal, while a directionally encoded stereodifference signal T modulates the normal-phase 38-kHz subcarrier and a conjugately>encoded difference signal T modulates the quadrature-phase 3w-kHz subcarrier. The fourth signal TQ is provided via SSB (single sideband) modulation of a synchronized 57-kHz subcarrier, using the upper sideband. The bandwidth of TQ may be selected at the broadcaster's option to be 3 kHz, if SCA (subsidiary communication authorization) is to be used, or 15 kHz if SCA is not to be used. If used, the SCA signal may occupy the band from 64 kHz to 91 kHz, or some fraction thereof. Suitable pilot signals are provided, at 19 kHz, 57 kHz, and 95 kHz.
The immune response under stress: the role of HSP-derived peptides

Abstract MHC class I molecules bind and present endogenously loaded peptides to immune effector cells, such as natural killer (NK) cells and T cells. Cell stress, including infection and neoplasia, alters the peptides presented to immune effectors by MHC class I. Cell stress additionally results in the induction of heat-shock proteins (HSPs). Based on observations of multiple researchers, we propose that class I presented-peptide epitopes derived from HSPs are a recognition point for innate and adaptive immune responses. HSPs are rich sources of MHC peptides, and the expression of these peptides increases as a result of several cellular stresses, including viral infection. Functionally, several groups have now confirmed the recognition of HSP peptides by cytotoxic T lymphocytes during both viral infection and tumorigenesis. Similarly, NK cells recognize an HSP60-derived peptide presented by HLA-E. These HSP60–HLA-E complexes lead to NK-cell activation, promoting lysis of stressed cells by members of the innate immune response. This peptide-epitope function of HSPs enables these proteins to act as broad sensors of cellular stress to both the innate and adaptive immune response.
HSP70i Accelerates Depigmentation in a Mouse Model of Autoimmune Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease of the skin. Progressive depigmentation accelerates in response to stress. Personal trauma, contact with bleaching phenols, overexposure to UV, and mechanical injury can lead to progressive loss of melanocytes. This study was focused on the role of stress protein heat shock protein (HSP)70 for translating stress into an autoimmune disease to melanocytes. Intracellular HSP70 can act as a cytoprotectant, preventing apoptosis in cells under stress. Isoform HSP70i can be secreted by live cells, and in prior in vitro studies, HSP70 has been shown to activate dendritic cells and elicit an immune response to chaperoned proteins and peptides. Here, the role of HSP70 in precipitating and perpetuating vitiligo was assessed in vivo in a mouse model of autoimmune vitiligo. In this model, depigmentation was introduced by gene gun vaccination with eukaryotic expression plasmids encoding melanocyte differentiation antigens. Inclusion of human and mouse-derived inducible HSP70 in the vaccination protocol significantly increased and accelerated depigmentation in this model, accompanied by the induction of prolonged humoral responses to HSP70. Cytotoxicity toward targets loaded with a K(b)-restricted tyrosinase-related protein 2-derived peptide correlated with depigmentation. The data presented strongly support a role for HSP70i in progressive depigmentation in vivo.
First demonstration of RRAM patterned by block copolymer self-assembly

We report the first metal oxide RRAM device fabricated using diblock copolymer self-assembly lithography patterning. This patterning technique enables us to successfully scale down the memory device to less than 12 nm. The fabricated bi-layer TiOx/HfOx devices show excellent performance: low forming voltages (~2.5 V) and low switching voltages ( 1E7 cycles) and retention property (>4E4 s @125°C). Furthermore, self-assembly patterned single-layer HfOx-based RRAM devices is demonstrated with faster switching speed (~50 ns), multi-level storage (2 bits/cell), longer endurance (>1E9 cycles), half-selected read immunity (~1E9 cycles), good retention (>1E5s @125°C).
Resource conservation through beverage container recycling

Abstract Since the introduction of plastic soft-drink bottles in 1977, the 2 1. container has captured almost the entire U.S. market. The number of PET bottles used in 1981 was 2.4 billion, and could grow to 14 billion by 1990 if the penetration into the 0.5 1. market is as rapid as some experts predict[2]. Consumers value the PET bottle's light weight and unbreakability. However, plastic bottles are made from oil and gas feedstocks which are imported and becoming more expensive. Recycling drastically reduces the oil and gas required to supply these bottles; recycling PET from bottles to other uses could save on the order of six million barrels of oil equivalent per year by 1990. A simple and economic technology is available for performing this recovery, yet only 5% of the bottles used in 1980 were returned. What is missing is an effective inducement for bottle return. The reverse-vending machines that we propose can provide part of that inducement by eliminating the inconvenience that now surrounds the sale of empty bottles to recyclers. These machines would dispense coins in return for empty PET bottles, and could be located in supermarkets or their parking lots. We believe the design, construction, and use of such machines is an opportunity that has been overlooked.
Direct and inverse scattering transforms with arbitrary spectral singularities

In this paper, we find a way to overcome the deficiency by dropping the boundedness requirement for m. In our method, The bounded solutions of (1.1) are only required in a neighborhood of z=∞ (which is the only pole of zJ)
Questions, answers, and knowledge-wh

Various authors have attempted to understand knowledge-wh—or knowledge ascriptions that include an interrogative complement. I present and explain some of the analyses offered so far and argue that each view faces some problems. I then present and explain a new analysis of knowledge-wh that avoids these problems and that offers several other advantages. Finally I raise some problems for invariantism about knowledge-wh and I argue that contextualism about knowledge-wh fits nicely with a very natural understanding of the nature of questions.
MUTATIONS AT TWO CONSERVED ACIDIC AMINO ACIDS IN THE GLYCOPROTEIN OF VESICULAR STOMATITIS VIRUS AFFECT PH-DEPENDENT CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES AND REDUCE THE PH THRESHOLD FOR MEMBRANE FUSION

Abstract Recently, we had shown that amino acid substitutions at residues 124, 127, and 133 either abolished or drastically altered the fusion activity of the glycoprotein (G protein) of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), indicating that this region is important for membrane fusion and may constitute an internal fusion domain. In this report we show that amino acid substitutions at two conserved acidic residues located at the C-terminal end of the putative fusion domain also affect the fusion activity of G protein. Two substitutions, D137-L and E139-L, slightly reduced the pH threshold at which G protein mediates membrane fusion. However, both D137-L and E139-L had fusion activities equivalent to that of wild-type G protein after exposure to a pH of 5.7 or below. To determine if the fusion activity of G protein required an acidic residue in this region both D137 and E139 were replaced with serine. This double substitution also reduced the pH threshold for fusion activity, but the effect appeared to be less severe than that for either of the single substitutions. The mutated G protein cDNAs were also introduced into a VSV minigenome to examine the effect of the substitutions on virus assembly and infectivity. All three mutant G proteins assembled into particles and these virions were infectious despite the altered fusion activities of the mutant G proteins. Although particles containing the mutant proteins were infectious they appeared to be attenuated, suggesting that these two acidic residues, which are conserved in several distantly related rhabdoviruses, play an important role in maintaining virus fitness.
On the measurement of critical micelle concentrations of pure and technical-grade nonionic surfactants

The critical micelle concentrations (CMC) of nine commercial nonionic surfactants (Tween 20, 22, 40, 60, and 80; Triton X-100; Brij 35, 58, and 78) and two pure nonionics [C12(EO)5 and C12(EO)8] were determined by surface tension and dye micellization methods. Commercially available nonionic surfactants (technical grade) usually contain impurities and have a broad molecular weight distribution owing to the degree of ethoxylation. It was shown that the surface tension method (Wilhelmy plate) is very sensitive to the presence of impurities. Much lower CMC values were obtained with the surface tension method than with the dye micellization method (up to 6.5 times for Tween 22). In the presence of highly surfaceactive impurities, the air/liquid interface is already saturated at concentrations well below the true CMC, leading to a wrong interpretation of the break in the curve of surface tension (γ) vs. concentration of nonionic surfactant (log C). The actual onset of micellization happens at higher concentrations, as measured by the dye micellization method. Furthermore, it was shown that when a commercial surfactant sample (Tween 20) is subjected to foam fractionation, thereby removing species with higher surface activity, the sample yields almost the same CMC values as measured by surface tension and dye micellization methods. It was found that for monodisperse pure nonionic surfactants, both CMC determination methods yield the same results. Therefore, this study indicates that precaution should be taken when determining the CMC of commercial nonionic surfactants by the surface tension method, as it indicates the surface concentration of all surface-active species at the surface only, whereas the dye method indicates the presence of micelles in the bulk solution.
NoteCards in the age of the web: practice meets perfect

Frank Halasz's "Reflections on NoteCards: Seven Issues for the Next Generation of Hypermedia Systems" was a remarkably prescient analysis that continues to influence the international hypertext research community. Meanwhile, the Web has offered a basic reality check on the seven issues and has given us, as a community, an opportunity to learn from many and diverse hypertext practitioners. In essence, the Web has brought hypertext out of the realm of research and into the realm of the everyday, the ordinary, the practical. In particular, I would like to introduce three major themes that come from observations of the Web in use: (1) The growing heterogeneity of hypermedia genres, uses, and users; (2) the need to acknowledge the distinct role of hypermedia readers and, more specifically, provide hypermedia readers with tools for personal annotation, re-retrieval, gathering, contextual access from mobile devices, and collaborative reading; and (3) the recurring tension between formal and informal hypertext structures and representations.
Classification of subshifts of finite type

Introduction 120 1. Definitions 122 2. Statement of results 126 3. Markov partitions and maps of 1-sided shifts 128 4. Existence and uniqueness of 1-sided shifts 132 5. Subdivision matrices and the proof of Theorems H and I ... 137 6. Ladder maps and conjugacies ........ 142 7. Shift equivalence = strong shift equivalence ...... 144 8. Proof of Theorem B 148 9. Proof of Theorem C 148 10. Realization theorem 150 11. The examples 151 Bibliography 152
The evolution of the ENERGY STAR® energy performance indicator for benchmarking industrial plant manufacturing energy use

Abstract ENERGY STAR® is a voluntary government/industry partnership that offers information to businesses and consumers on energy-efficient solutions, making it easier to save money and protect the environment for future generations. Introduced in 1992 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this voluntary labeling program was designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products as basic pollution prevention opportunities. The ENERGY STAR label can now be found on appliances, office equipment, lighting, buildings, and more. In 2002, ENERGY STAR was extended beyond its role in identifying energy efficient products to identifying energy-efficient production. The ENERGY STAR industry program focuses on encouraging and enabling sustainable corporate energy management. One of the three information tools EPA developed under ENERGY STAR, which also includes energy management networking and industry specific energy guides, is the energy performance indicator (EPI). The EPI is a statistical benchmarking tool that provides a “birds-eye” view of sector-specific plant-level energy use via a functional relationship between the level of energy use and the level and type of various production activities, material input's quality, and external factors, e.g. climate and material quality. The EPI uses stochastic frontier regression to estimate the lowest observed plant energy use, given these factors. This statistical model also provides a distribution of energy efficiency across the industry, which allows the user to answer the hypothetical but very practical question, “How would my plant compare to everyone else in my industry, if all other plants were similar to mine?” The result is a tool that can be used by corporate and plant energy managers to estimate the energy efficiency of their portfolio of plants. This paper describes the role of the EPI within the context of the overall goals of ENERGY STAR and gives examples of how this information tool was developed and is being used.
The impact of NAFTA on US employment: a preliminary assessment of job gains and losses from expanded trade with Mexico

Assesses the extent to which increased bilateral trade between the USA and Mexico has impacted on the employment situation in the USA since the beginning of 1994. Provides a descriptive summary of bilateral trade flows between the USA and Mexico in recent years. Provides a review of recent research on the topic and gives an account of job losses associated with increased imports from Mexico. Attempts to show how changes in exports targeted for Mexico correspond to job creation in the domestic economy and provides a tentative forecast of the job effects of increased exports to Mexico in recent years.