cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Activated Carbon from Macadamia Nut Shell by Air Oxidation in Boiling Water

A high-yield activated carbon is produced from macadamia nut shell charcoal by (i) carbonization of the charcoal at 1173 K, (ii) air oxidation of the carbonized charcoal in boiling water (AOBW) at 503−553 K, and (iii) activation (a second carbonization) of the oxygenated carbon. In step ii, air is bubbled through a sparger to maintain a relatively high concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water, and the boiling water serves to control the temperature of the carbon during its gasification by the dissolved oxygen. Carbon dioxide is observed to be the only gaseous product of the oxidation chemistry. The oxidation results and the properties of the activated carbons from AOBW are similar to those obtained by controlled atmospheric air oxidation. However, the rate of CO2 formation is observed to increase with time to a plateau for AOBW, whereas the gasification rate decreases with time for atmospheric air oxidation. Multiple cycles, involving AOBW followed by activation, efficiently increase the specific su...
Simulations of Free Electron Laser

The generation of coherent electromagnetic radiation by the interaction of a relativistic electron beam with a static helical magnetic field is investigated using one-and two-dimensional relativistic electromagnetic plasma simulation codes. In the one-dimensional simulations, we observed the coupling between the negative energy beam mode and the positive energy electromagnetic wave. Substantial growth rate (?i ~ 0.1 ?pe) of the unstable electromagnetic wave has been observed and efficiency of radiation production is found to be between 25-30% depending on various parameters. In the two-dimensional simulations, we observed a decrease in the growth rate, but increased efficiency due to the decrease in the phase velocity of the unstable electrostatic wave. In addition, we also observed waves propagating at an angle with respect to the electron beam. Consequently, the beam is bunched in the radial as well as the axial directions. These waves are believed to be generated by another instability which saturates at relatively low level.
Development and performance of a 129-GHz dynamic nuclear polarizer in an ultra-wide bore superconducting magnet

Objective We sought to build a dynamic nuclear polarization system for operation at 4.6 T (129 GHz) and evaluate its efficiency in terms of 13C polarization levels using free radicals that span a range of ESR linewidths.
High-Energy Behavior in Quantum Field Theory

An attack is made on the problem of determining the asymptotic behavior at high energies and momenta of the Green's functions of quantum field theory, using new mathematical methods from the theory of real variables. We define a class ${A}_{n}$ of functions of $n$ real variables, whose asymptotic behavior may be specified in a certain manner by means of certain "asymptotic coefficients." The Feynman integrands of perturbation theory (with energies taken imaginary) belong to such classes. We then prove that if certain conditions on the asymptotic coefficients are satisfied then an integral over $k$ of the variables converges, and belongs to the class ${A}_{n\ensuremath{-}k}$ with new asymptotic coefficients simply related to the old ones. When applied to perturbation theory this theorem validates the renormalization procedure of Dyson and Salam, proving that the renormalized integrals actually do always converge, and provides a simple rule for calculating the asymptotic behavior of any Green's function to any order of perturbation theory.
Chemotherapy induces regression of brain metastases in breast carcinoma

This study improves treatment options and ultimately survival by using systemic chemotherapy in brain metastases from breast carcinoma, since most of these patients have disseminated disease and a dismal prognosis when treated by conventional brain irradiation alone. One hundred consecutive patients with symptomatic brain metastases documented by radionuclide and/or computerized tomography scan were treated with systemic chemotherapy. Fifty of 100 patients demonstrated an objective response of brain metastases which was similar for extracranial metastases. There were 10 complete responders (CR), 40 partial responders (PR), 9 stable, and 41 nonresponders. Median duration of remission was 10+ months for CR and 7 months for PR (range, 2-72 months). Primary chemotherapy of brain metastases yielded responses in 27 of 52 patients (52%) treated with Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide) (C), 5-fluorouracil (F) and prednisone (P); 19 of 35 (54%) receiving CFP-methotrexate (M) and vincristine (V); 3 of 7 (43%) treated with MVP, and 1 of 6 (17%) receiving Cytoxan plus Adriamycin (doxorubicin) (CA). Thirteen of 35 patients (37%) who subsequently had relapse of brain metastases were retreated successfully with secondary chemotherapy. The median survival for CR and PR was 39.5 months and 10.5 months, respectively, in contrast with nonresponder patients who had a median survival of 1.5 months. Thirty-one percent of all treated patients survived more than 12 months. These findings suggest that the chemotherapeutic agents used penetrate the blood-brain barrier inducing regression of brain metastases. This approach offers a significant benefit by simultaneously controlling extracranial disease, improving the response and prolonging survival.
High quality interlayer dielectric for 4H–SiC DMOSFETs

In this work useful weight percentages of boron and phosphorus in boro-phospho-silicate-glass (BPSG) interlayer dielectric (ILD) films to getter mobile ions effectively in 4H–SiC DMOSFET structures are developed, considering the limitations, such as the required low glass flow temperature, and the possible hygroscopic nature of the films and formation of crystalline BPO4 particles, which may occur for high B and P weight percentages. The B and P weight percentage viscous flow temperature contours and empirical inequalities representing the above-mentioned limitations are developed and discussed. Results of this work are useful for both silicon and compound semiconductor device technologies.
Combining graphics and windowing standards in the XGKS system

In the past few years we have seen the acceptance of standards for both two and three dimensional computer graphics. Also during this time, the workstation community has converged on a common windowing system. This paper discusses the problems encountered in implementing graphics standards such as GKS and PHIGS PLUS within the X Window System environment.
Band-shaped and whorled microcystic dystrophy of the corneal epithelium

Abstract Objective To report the clinical, histopathologic, and electron microscopic features of band-shaped and whorled microcystic corneal epithelial dystrophy. Design Two interventional case reports. Participants Two patients, two eyes. Intervention The involved area of corneal epithelium was scraped from each cornea. Results Histopathologic examination showed microscopic vacuoles in the epithelial cytoplasm in both cases. Electron microscopic examination revealed mainly empty cytoplasmic vacuoles with scant nonspecific osmophilic material. The process recurred clinically in one patient. Changes in corneal topography are documented in one patient. Conclusion Clinical findings and pathologic studies seem nearly identical to those in the original report. No pattern of systemic disorder or medication use was found. The cause of this condition remains unknown.
Role of staggerer gene in determining cell number in cerebellar cortex. I. Granule cell death is an indirect consequence of staggerer gene action

Mouse chimeras were made by aggregating two embryos at the 8-cell stage of development. These experimental mosaic animals are useful in assessing whether the effect of a mutant gene in a given cell type is direct (intrinsic) or indirect (extrinsic). The results reported are an analysis of the involvement of the staggerer gene in the phenotype of granule cell death observed in staggerer mutant mice. The ichthyosis mutation has been used as an independent cell marker. This mutation produces no known neurological defects but does cause a characteristic clumping of heterochromatin, especially in small cells. Analysis of two staggerer in equilibrium ichthyosis chimeras leads to the conclusion that staggerer granule cells, that would have died in the mutant, are rescued in the mosaic cerebella. The death of granule cells in the homozygous staggerer mutant is thus an indirect, epigenetic consequence of direct gene action in other cells. The implications and limitations of this conclusion are discussed.
Quantitative Changes in G Proteins Do Not Mediate Ethanol‐Induced Downregulation of Adenylyl Cyclase in Mouse Cerebral Cortex

Our prior work, and the work of others, demonstrated that chronic administration of ethanol to cells in culture or to mice resulted in decreased responsiveness of adenylyl cyclasse (EC4.6.1.1) to a number of stimulatory agents. In this study, we substantiated the ethanol-induced changes in cerebral cortical adenylyl cyclase activity in alcohol-tolerant and alcohol-dependent mice, and we examined whether chronic ethanol treatment of mice altered the quantity of heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins (G proteins) in cerebral cortex and other mouse brain areas. Amounts of various G protein subunits-including the α subunits of G S (G S α), G i α 1-3 , G o α, and β subunits-were examined by Western blot analysis. There was no change in quantity of these G protein subunits in cerebral cortex, hippocampus, or cerebellum of ethanol-fed mice; compared with controls. In striatum of ethanol-fed mice, small increases in G i α 1 and G o α were observed, but these changes could not explain the ethanol-induced desensitization of adenylyl cyclase in brain areas such as the cerebral cortex. Forskolin acxtivation of cerebral cortical adenylyl cyclase activity showed two components of activation, with high and low affinity for forskolin. Ethanol treatment caused a decrease in the efficacy of forskolin for both components, whereas the EC of forskolin for each component did not change. Adenylyl cyclasse activity measured in the presence of manganese was also diminished in cortical membranes of ethanol treatment does not cause quantitative changes in G proteins which correlated with ethanol-induced changes in G proteins which correlate with ethanol-induced changes in cortical adenylyl cyclase activity. The ethanol-induced reduction in adenylyl cyclase activity could be observed using agents (forskolin and manganese) that directly activate the catalytic unit of this enzyme. Thus, our results suggest that chronic ethanol treatment may alter the activity of the catalytic unit of adenylyl cyclase
A Phototrophic Gliding Filamentous Bacterium of Hot Springs, Chloroflexus Aurantiacus, Gen. And Sp. Nov

Chloroflexus aurantiacus, gen. and sp. n., is a filamentous phototrophic bacterium of hot springs. On an agar surface, holotype strain J-10-fl glides at 0.01–0.04 μm/sec. The filaments are 0.6–0.7 μm in width and indeterminate in length. Pigments include bacteriochlorophyll c and bacteriochlorophyll a (identified by spectrophotometry) in addition to β and γ-carotene and glycosides of the latter. Chlorobium vesicles are present. Photoheterotrophic growth occurs under anaerobic conditions. Aerobic chemoheterotrophic growth also occurs in darkness or light. Bacteriochlorophyll syntheses cease under aerobic conditions but some types of carotenoids continue to be made. The filament coloration is orange under all except anaerobic conditions in low light intensity where it is dull green. The pH optimum is near 8, the temperature optimum between 52° and 60°C. The DNA base composition for strain J-10-fl is 54.9 ± 1.0 moles % guanine + cytosine. Chloroflexus is unique in that there have been no previous reports of filamentous or gliding phototrophic bacteria. The combinations of bacteriochlorophylls a and c and the presence of chlorobium vesicles in a photoheterotroph and in an organism capable of aerobic growth are also unique. This metabolically versatile organism extends the taxonomic and phylogenetic limits of the “green line” of phototrophic bacteria.
Acquisition of pelvic examination skills: Evaluation of student feelings about a surrogate patient program

Two hundred and eight second-year students were matched with respect to gender, age, academic standing, minority status, and prior pelvic examination experience. After didactic instruction, individuals from each matched pair were randomly assigned to alternate training modalities—a plastic pelvic model (Gynny) and surrogate patients (Gynecology Teaching Associates, GTAs)—for pelvic examination instruction. A sample of 52 study- and 54 control-group students were then evaluated while they examined women with normal or deviant (hysterectomy/ pregnancy) pelvic anatomy. Communication and manual skills were evaluated on the basis of specially designed instruments in which the components of a ‘good’ pelvic examination were identified and described. Immediately after the objective evaluation, each student was interviewed to determine his/her subjective feelings about the training experience. The subjective data obtained in this way indicated that students evaluated the GTA modality significantly more favorably t...
A non-local closure model for vertical mixing in the convective boundary layer

Abstract A simple non-local closure model for vertical mixing in Convective Boundary Layers (CBL) has been developed specifically for application in regional or mesoscale atmospheric chemistry models. The model, named the Asymmetrical Convective Model (ACM), is based on the concept that vertical transport within the CBL is inherently asymmetrical. Upward transport by buoyant plumes originating in the surface layer is simulated by mixing from the lowest model layer directly to all other layers in the CBL. Downward transport, however, proceeds only to the next layer in order to emulate gradual compensatory subsidence. The ACM is similar to the model developed by Blackadar (1978, 4th Symp. on Atmospheric Turbulence, Diffusion and Air Quality, pp. 443–447, Reno, Am. Meteorol. Soc.) but differs in its treatment of downward transport. The realism of the ACM is tested through comparisons to large-eddy simulations of several idealized test cases. These tests show that while the ACM shares the Blackadar model's ability to simulate rapid transport upward from the surface layer to all levels in the CBL, it is clearly superior in its treatment of material emitted from elevated sources either within or above the CBL. The ACM is also tested in the context of the Regional Acid Deposition Model (RADM) both to determine sensitivity to different CBL mixing schemes and to compare to vertically resolved aircraft measurements. These tests demonstrate quicker upward transport of ground-level emissions by the ACM as compared to the eddy diffusion scheme currently used in RADM. The ACM also affects ozone photochemistry in the boundary layer resulting in lower ozone concentrations in areas of high NOx emissions.
“Fire in the Sistine Chapel”: How Wisconsin Responded to Chronic Wasting Disease

The discovery of CWD in the Wisconsin deer herd in February 2002 was treated by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as if it was a fire. Rapid action led to abandoning stakeholder concerns while human dimensions expertise and research was largely ignored and opportunities to learn from innovations were missed. After two years, neither the biological nor the social goals of the program have been achieved. Hunters killed fewer rather than more deer, deer densities in the eradication zone remained high, and efforts to end recreational feeding failed. Deer hunting license sales dropped by over 90,000. Revenues to the agency declined and other programs suffered as money was reallocated to fight CWD. Hunters were hardest hit, losing about 60 million in recreational benefits or a 20% decline in the annual surplus value of deer hunting in the state. This article examines the Wisconsin response to CWD to help better understand why the human and biological goals were not met.
Responsible Environmental Action: Its Role and Status In Environmental Education and Environmental Quality

This century will be one of continued global population growth, technological advancement, and subsequent burdens on the natural world from consumer demands. A citizenry capable of understanding the complexity of environmental issues and actively participating in their resolutions is vital. The ultimate goal of environmental educators should be to facilitate the creation of this active citizenry. The means by which educators achieve this goal are equally important. Student autonomy in issue investigations and action planning should supplant coercive, advocacy programs if a new generation of critical thinkers is to solve new environmental problems and maintain or improve environmental quality on both the local and global scales. To date, nearly all evaluations of environmental education (EE) have focused on educational outcomes. Evaluations of impacts to environmental quality linked to actions resulting from EE efforts will be necessary if this discipline is to remain relevant in a world facing a century o...
Herpes simplex virus genital infection of the female guinea pig as a model for the evaluation of an experimental vaccine

Substantial protection against herpes simplex type 2 (HSV 2) infection of the female guinea pig genital tract was provided by immunization with an experimental HSV 2 vaccine prepared from the plasma membranes of infected MRC-5 cells. Protection was evaluated in terms of the modification of histopathological lesions and clinical signs and in changes in viral replication and serological responses in vaccinated and control animals.
The patient with heart disease and the cardiovascular physician and surgeon: 1958-1983.

Abstract The patient with heart disease and the physician providing cardiovascular health care have experienced dramatic change since the American College of Cardiology first published its journal 25 years ago. During the decade before 1958, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery emerged as specialties. Surgery by closed techniques flourished and open heart surgery began. Since 1958, spectacular progress has occurred. Closed chest massage and defibrillation, electronic monitoring, advances in electrophysiology and a new pharmacology have changed cardiology. The coronary care unit has evolved into a comprehensive coronary care system. Pacemakers, myocardial revascularization and open heart surgery have become commonplace and percutaneous angioplasty an option. As custodians of cardiology's historic advances, the cardiologist and cardiovascular surgeon are cast in a role of decision maker and problem solver. Today's diagnostic and therapeutic cardiology, used appropriately, has great potential for good-used inappropriately, for great harm. The patient has the right to expect the physician to act objectively and appropriately in dealing with problems that may threaten his or her livelihood or life. The physician who does less is an unworthy heir to cardiology's great legacy of 1983.
Indication for surgery, the revised cardiac risk index, and 1-year mortality.

Background Patients who undergo vascular surgery are at increased risk of perioperative cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI) is a validated and widely used bedside tool for estimating the risk of a perioperative major adverse myocardial event. We hypothesized that inclusion of the indication for surgery would add independent and prognostic information to the RCRI in predicting all-cause 30-day and 1-year mortality in open infrainguinal vascular surgical procedures. Methods This was a retrospective study of 603 patients who underwent open infrainguinal bypass vascular surgery between January 2002 and January 2008 at a tertiary care medical center. RCRI and indication for surgery were determined. The primary outcomes of interest were all-cause 30-day mortality (which included all in-hospital mortality, regardless of time) and all-cause 1-year mortality. Results Overall 30-day mortality was 32 (5.3%). Independent risk factors for early death were RCRI score, being of age ≥80 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification = 4, and emergency surgery. Overall 1-year mortality, including early deaths, was 114 (18.9%). Indication for surgery, RCRI score, age, American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification = 4, female sex, and emergency surgery were all independent predictors of 1-year mortality. Conclusions The RCRI score was associated with both 30-day and 1-year mortality in patients undergoing lower extremity bypass surgery. Indication for surgery was predictive of 1-year mortality but not of 30-day mortality.
PREVENTING TUBERCULOSIS WITH BACILLUS CALMETTE-GUERIN VACCINE: A META-ANALYSIS OF THE LITERATURE

This article reviews a previously published meta-analysis of 1264 titles or abstracts and 70 selected studies for evaluation of the efficacy of bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine in preventing tuberculosis. Following review, data from 26 studies were included in the analysis. These 26 studies reveal that vaccination with BCG significantly reduces the risk of tuberculosis by an average of 50%. This level of protection persists across a number of subgroups defined by age at vaccination and study design. Vaccination with BCG was significantly associated with a reduction in the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis and extrapulmonary disease. In general, the results of this meta-analysis lend weight and confidence to arguments favoring the use of BCG vaccine.
Lower extremity vascular injuries: increased mortality for minorities and the uninsured?

Background There is increasing evidence to suggest that racial disparities exist in outcomes for trauma. Minorities and the uninsured have been found to have higher mortality rates for blunt and penetrating trauma. However, mechanisms for these disparities are incompletely understood. Limiting the inquiry to a homogenous group, those with lower extremity vascular injuries (LEVIs), may clarify these disparities. Methods The National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB; version 7.0, American College of Surgeons) was used for this study. LEVIs were identified using codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Stata software (version 11; StataCorp, LP, College Station, TX). Results Records were reviewed for 4,928 LEVI patients. The mechanism of injury was blunt in 2,452 (49.8%), penetrating in 2,452 (49.8%), and unknown in 24 cases (0.5%). Mortality was similar by mechanism (7.6% overall). Regression analysis using mechanism as a covariate revealed a significantly worse mortality for people of color (POC; odds ratio [OR], 1.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–2.02; P = .03) and the uninsured (UN; OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.15–2.23; P = .006). However, when separate analyses were performed stratifying by mechanism, no significant mortality disparities were found for blunt trauma (POC OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.85–1.96; P = .23; UN OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 0.78–2.22; P = .29), but disparities remained for penetrating trauma (POC OR, 1.81; 95% CI, 0.93–3.57; P = .08; UN OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.18–2.94; P = .009). Conclusion For patients with LEVI, mortality disparities based on race or insurance status were only observed for penetrating trauma. It is possible that injury heterogeneity or patient cohort differences may partly explain mortality disparities that have been observed between racial and socioeconomic groups.
FAST-Net Optical Interconnection Module Design and Development

It is widely recognized that future multiprocessor computer architectural concepts must overcome the limitations of traditional metallic buses and backplanes to achieve high overall performance. Problematic interprocessor communications bottlenecks can be found in a broad range of significant applications - from large telecom/datacom switches to multiprocessor signal and image processing applications.
Phenylketonuria: a new method for the simultaneous determination of plasma phenylalanine and tyrosine

This quantitative spectrophotometric method is based on the conversion of phenylalanine and tyrosine by phenylalanine ammonia-lyase to trans-cinnamic acid and trans-coumaric acid, respectively. Neither deproteinization nor prior incubation of the sample is required, and the entire procedure can be performed in 20 minutes. The method is sensitive to 1-micromolar concentrations of the two compounds, and only 20 microliters of plasma or serum is required to determine both phenylalanine and tyrosine simultaneously. These amino acids were determined between molar ratios (phenylalanine to tyrosine) of 0.1 to 40 in the serum or plasma of healthy individuals and plasma of phenylketonuric patients.
Altered rat hepatic drug metabolism after implantation of a pituitary mammotropic tumor (MtT), Walker carcinosarcoma or adenocarcinoma and after removal of the MtT.

The liver metabolism of hexobarbital and aminopyrine was studied at various times after implantation and removal of the Furth pituitary mammotropic tumor (MtT). A decrease in liver metabolism of these 2 compounds was noted 12 days after implantation of the MtT, and this decrease was maximum after 20 days of MtT growth. No decrease in hepatic microsomal protein was observed. Enlargement of adrenals, kidneys, liver and a decrease in testicular weight were noted in MtT-bearing animals. No relationship between organ weight changes and the reduction in liver metabolism was observed. Removal of the MtT produced a gradual return in liver drug metabolic enzyme activity to control levels by 16 days. The weight of liver, kidneys, adrenals and testes also returned to normal levels in animals without the MtT, and no relationship between changes in drug metabolism and organ weight was noted. Implantation of 2 tumors of nonpituitary origin, the Hilf adenocarcinoma R3230AC and the Walker carcinosarcoma 256, revealed a d...
Characteristics of the electrode-solution interface under faradaic and non-faradaic conditions as observed by internal reflection spectroscopy

Summary Changes in the optical absorbance in the visible spectral region as observed by internal reflection spectroscopy with transparent electrodes have been studied as a function of potential. For non-faradaic conditions this change is related to the electric charge and can be partially explained, both in wavelength and amplitude-dependence, by the variation of the optical constants as related to the free electron model. The absorbance change as a function of time during potential step has been theoretically and experimentally examined. The effect of a homogeneous chemical reaction involving the optically monitored species formed electrochemically on the absorbance versus time curve is discussed quantitatively for the catalytic case.
A Charge-Injection-Based Active-Decoupling Technique for Inductive-Supply-Noise Suppression

We demonstrate an active circuit to detect and suppress excessive supply-voltage undershoots and overshoots caused by large current transients or by excitation of supply resonance. A nominal-voltage active supply, VDDA, is used to inject extra charge into the power grid during excessive undershoots. The use of a nominal-voltage VDDA eliminates the need for any high-voltage supplies and enables use of decaps and transistors with nominal oxide thickness. Furthermore, this method has the advantage that the active decap bank, Calpha, behaves as a passive decap when the supply voltage is within safety margins.
Distributing the Costs of Environmental, Health, and Safety Protection: The Feasability Principle, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Regulatory Reform

This article offers a normative theory justifying the feasability principle found in many environmental statutes. It then uses this theory to shine light on the regulatory reform debate. The feasability principle precludes widespread plant shutdowns while maximizing the stringency of regulation that does not have this outcome. The feasability principle provides meaningful guidance regarding both maximum and minimum stringency and a reasonable democratically chosen response to distributional concerns. Pollution's tendency to concentrate severe harms upon randomly selected pollution victims justifies the stringency of this approach. Normally, cost concerns cannot justify failure to protect people from death, illness, and ecological destruction. But the principle's constraints apply in the one situation where some initial restraint might be justified, when regulation threatens to produce widespread shutdowns that concentrate significant harms on individuals. Widely distributed costs, the type that obtain when plant closures are not likely, have de minimus impacts that cannot justify allowing death, serious illness, and ecological destruction to continue unabated. Leading advocates of regulatory cost-benefit analysis (CBA) agree that distribution of costs and benefits matters to regulation. But they see the alternative to CBA as regulation without any analysis or meaningful guiding principles. The feasability principle, however, relies upon rational analysis, offers more meaningful guidance than CBA, and has the capacity to advance CBA supporters' goals better than CBA does, and at much less cost. Advocates of CBA have distorted the debate about regulatory reform by portraying it as a debate about whether or not cost receives consideration. Analysis of the feasability principle shows that consideration of cost has always pervaded the regulatory system. Much of the debate should concern how we address costs, not only whether agencies should consider cost. This debate will profit from a clear picture of the feasability principle.
The image of Genghis Khan and ethnic identities in Post-Soviet Russia

The recent rise of Asia as a global geopolitical center has led to renewed interest in Asian history, not just by Asians but by Europeans as well. Genghis Khan is one of those figures who attracts attention, and several movies on him have recently been created. One of them was made in Russia and has led to broad public response. These responses have made it possible to gauge the views of the Russian public on the role of Russia in the global community and the relationship between Russians and ethnic minorities of the Russian Federation.
A Split-Decoding Message Passing Algorithm for Low Density Parity Check Decoders

A Split decoding algorithm is proposed which divides each row of the parity check matrix into two or multiple nearly-independent simplified partitions. The proposed method significantly reduces the wire interconnect and decoder complexity and therefore results in fast, small, and high energy efficiency circuits. Three full-parallel decoder chips for a (2,048, 1,723) LDPC code compliant with the 10GBASE-T standard using MinSum normalized, MinSum Split-2, and MinSum Split-4 methods are designed in 65 nm, seven metal layer CMOS. The Split-4 decoder occupies 6.1 mm2, operates at 146 MHz, delivers 19.9 Gbps throughput, with 15 decoding iterations. At 0.79 V, it operates at 47 MHz, delivers 6.4 Gbps and dissipates 226 mW. Compared to MinSum normalized, the Split-4 decoder chip is 3.3 times smaller, has a clock rate and throughput 2.5 times higher, is 2.5 times more energy efficient, and has an error performance degradation of 0.55 dB with 15 iterations.
Lymphocyte‐Mediated Cytotoxicity

1 Cytotoxic Lymphocytes 2 CTLs and NK Cell Morphology and Function 3 Killing 4 Composition of Cytolytic Granules of CTLs and NK Cells 5 Killer Cell Self-Protection 6 Target Cell Death 7 Role of Perforin in the Induction of CTL Activation 8 Perforin Function in Homeostasis 9 Homeostatic Function of Fas and Fas-L 10 Genetic Defects of Cytotoxicity 11 Perforin Deficiency and Defects in Cytotoxicity in Humans 12 Granzyme Deficiencies 13 DPP1 Deficiency (Cathepsin C) 14 Cytotoxicity and Anti-Tumor Defense Keywords: lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity; cytotoxic lymphocytes; CTLs and NK cell morphology and function; composition of cytolytic granules of CTLs and NK cells; killer cell self-protection; target cell death and cytotoxicity genetic defects; perforin function in homeostasis; cytotoxicity and anti-tumor defense
Incidence and Clinical Significance of Frontal Sinus or Orbital Entry during Pterional (Frontotemporal) Craniotomy

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Frontal sinus entry, orbital entry, or both may occur during pterional craniotomy for microsurgical clipping of aneurysms. We sought to determine the incidence and clinical significance of these findings on postoperative CT scans. METHODS: Eighty-two postoperative CT scans of the head obtained from 81 patients (64 women, 17 men; age range, 25–80 years) were retrospectively reviewed over a 1-year period. These scans were reviewed independently by two blinded neuroradiologists for the presence and degree of orbit and frontal sinus entry that may have occurred during craniotomy. Clinical charts, operative notes, and discussions with the patients9 neurosurgeons were reviewed to determine the clinical management and significance of these findings. RESULTS: Of the total 82 craniotomies reviewed, 77 (94%) had been performed via the pterional approach (43 right, 34 left). Twenty-three (30%) of these 77 studies revealed some evidence of penetration into the orbit or frontal sinus (orbit=65.2% [15/23]; frontal sinus=30.4% [7/23]; both=4.4% [1/23]). Only five of 16 patients with radiographic orbital penetration had evidence of involvement of intraorbital contents (ie, thickened lateral rectus, fat herniation, intraorbital air). Chart review revealed no complication or change in management. Of the seven patients with frontal sinus entry, three had mucosal exenteration and packing with antibiotic-coated gelfoam. No delayed complications (ie, persistent fever, mucocele, cerebrospinal fluid leak, air leak, or meningitis) were identified (follow-up period, 18–29 months). CONCLUSION: Frontal sinus or orbital entry is not uncommon after pterional craniotomy, but the incidence of immediate complications is rare.
Putting Children First: How Low-Wage Working Mothers Manage Child Care, by Ajay Chaudry

Putting Children First: How Low-Wage Working Mothers Manage Child Care. Ajay Chaudry. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 2004. 341 pp. ISBN 0-87154-171-8. $39.95 (hardback). In Putting Children First, which is based on 3 years of fieldwork with 42 low-income mother-child pairs in New York City, Ajay Chaudry shows how low-income working mothers are actually forced to put children second. The topic is urgent because after the welfare reform of 1996, low-income mothers of young children are expected to work, and their work rates have risen rapidly. Chaudry selected study participants like the mothers affected by welfare reform. Most of the mothers he followed had received cash welfare assistance at some time, and during his fieldwork, most received assistance such as food stamps, public housing, and child-care subsidies. The mothers were all less-skilled workers, earned $9.27/hour on average, and held an average of 3.4 different jobs in the 4 years studied. Most worked full time. Chaudry's investigation of child-care types, mothers' preferences, and causes of instability in care is an important contribution to understanding the influence of low-income mothers' employment in young children's lives and the conditions of low-wage working women's mothering. Chaudry's research focused on care arrangements and reasons for changes, which he documented for each child from birth to age 4. The findings are scary. The children were in nonmatemal care for an average of 10 hours a day. Yet, they did not get the high-quality, stable care that children need for intellectual development and emotional security. Instead, mothers scrambled to keep their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in complex, fluctuating patchworks of low-cost care arrangements in order to accommodate mothers' long and frequently changing work schedules. In his sample, Chaudry identifies 215 separate "spells" of primary (nonmaternal) child care, an average of 5.12 spells per child in the first 4 years of life. More than one third (38%) of the care spells lasted between 0 and 3 months; fewer than one in five spells lasted longer than 12 months. Most mothers also used secondary care, such as hiring someone to bring a child from day care to home. The volatility in child care, Chaudry finds, was largely because of factors that pushed children out of particular arrangements. For example, 32% of exits occurred because care was too expensive or a mother feared for her child's well-being; alterations in family, housing, health, or work situations accounted for another 32% of exits. Less than one third of exits (28%) were voluntary moves to a mother's preferred option, such as a higher quality or age-appropriate arrangement. …
A Case Study in Proactive Development: David Cobb, Harvard University's Curator of Maps

Harvard University has long been synonymous in the United States and throughout the world as being the creme de la creme in the university world, the pinnacle in whatever it sets out to produce. As...
ELECTRIC FIELD MODELING FOR ELECTROSTATIC POWDER COATING OF A CONTINUOUS FIBER BUNDLE

Abstract The application of electrostatic powder coating technology to the processing of thermoplastic composites is discussed. An electrostatic powder spray gun is used to deposit polymer powder on a continuously moving glass fiber bundle. The glass fiber bundle is locally spread in the region of powder deposition to expose the filaments. A three-dimensional finite element model is presented for predicting the electric field strength due to the applied corona electrode. The model provides the spatial variation of the electric field vector for the specific spray process geometry. Corona voltage, corona electrode height, fiber bundle spreading, and space charge density were varied in the model to predict their effect on the electric field strength. The finite element results display the “wrap-around” effect of the electric field to the bottom surface of the fibers. Experimental results substantiate the electric field distribution along the length of the glass fiber bundle.
Longitudinal Relationships between Subjective Fatigue, Cognitive Function, and Everyday Functioning in Old Age

Background The present study examined the prospective relationships between subjective fatigue, cognitive function, and everyday functioning.
Reinvestment in Government-Funded Research: A Great Way to Share

On December 8, 1989, Claude Lenfant, then Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) sent a memo to his Division Directors instructing them to inform contractors and grantees about the Institute’s data sharing policy. He wrote, “It is the policy of the NHLBI to make available detailed data from collaborative clinical trials, epidemiological studies, and other large-scale studies … with adequate protection of the confidentiality and privacy of research subjects.”1 Dr Lenfant wanted assurance that the federal government’s investments in research would achieve maximal potential by enabling researchers who were not direct beneficiaries of those investments to analyze shared data and in turn to share their findings, through publication, with the community. Indeed, one of us (MSL), as an early-career investigator, took advantage of NHLBI’s policy of sharing to publish independent analyses based on data generated by an NHLBI-funded investigation.2 And the importance of sharing has been recently reaffirmed as a critically important measure of the value of biomedical research.3 Article see p 100 Since 1989, we have come a long way. At the end of the punched card era, the NHLBI Framingham Heart Study converted massive tabulations of collected variables into 38 monographs that were made freely available for outside researchers, many lacking computing resources.4 As technology advanced, punched cards moved …
Melt chain dimensions of polylactide

Melt chain dimensions of two polylactide samples were measured using small-angle neutron scattering. Three polylactides were synthesized: a deuterated polylactide containing 26% R-stereocenters (d-PLA-26), a hydrogenous polylactide with an R-content similar to the deuterated polylactide (PLA-28), and a hydrogenous polylactide that contained no R-stereocenters (PLA-0). The hydrogenous polylactides were each solution blended with the d-PLA-26 at a volume fraction of 0.2 for the deuterated polymer, and the melt chain dimensions of these polymers were determined. Small-angle neutron scattering experiments were performed at 30 °C for the d-PLA-26/PLA-28 blend and at 200 °C for both the d-PLA-26/PLA-28 and d-PLA-26/PLA-0 blends. Using three analysis methods, the average values for the statistical segment lengths, based on a C6 repeat unit, were found to be 10.0 ± 0.2 A for the PLA-28 at 30 °C, 8.9 ± 0.2 A for the PLA-28 at 200 °C, and 9.9 ± 0.4 A for the PLA-0 at 200 °C.
Biology and Therapeutic Potential of the Interleukin-4/Interleukin-13 Signaling Pathway in Asthma

The future management of patients with allergic asthma is poised to change in the coming one to two decades. This prediction is based on fundamental new insights into the pathogenesis of disease, gained through the study of both humans and experimental models of asthma. These studies have revealed that allergic asthma is an immune-mediated disease which, despite the redundancy characteristic of all immune responses, may be induced through a single dominant signaling cascade called the interleukin (IL)-4/IL-13 signaling pathway. In addition to the cytokine IL-4, this pathway includes IL-13, the cytokine receptor subunit IL-4 receptor α (IL-4Rα), Janus-associated tyrosine kinases and the transcription factor, signal transducer and activator of transcription 6. The IL-4 signaling pathway controls the most important cellular developmental (afferent) events that underlie asthma. These include T helper (Th) type 2 cell activation, B cell activation and immunoglobulin (Ig) E secretion, mast cell development, and effector (efferent) events related exclusively to immune effects on the lung such as goblet cell metaplasia and airway hyperresponsiveness. Any of the IL-4 signaling molecules are potentially amenable to pharmacological intervention, but a detailed understanding of the entire pathway is required to appreciate their actual potential for drug development. For example, neutralization strategies that target only IL-4 are unlikely to succeed because they leave IL-13 free to continue the signaling cascade. In contrast, neutralization of IL-4Rα may represent a more feasible strategy, as it should prevent signaling by both IL-4 and IL-13. The therapeutic potential of targeting intracytoplasmic tyrosine kinases has already been achieved with the use of small molecules, suggesting that this approach may be realistically adopted for the treatment of asthma. However, well designed asthma clinical trials are warranted to determine with certainty, the efficacy of therapies based on IL-4/IL-13 blockade.
Measuring factors affecting implementation of health innovations: a systematic review of structural, organizational, provider, patient, and innovation level measures

Two of the current methodological barriers to implementation science efforts are the lack of agreement regarding constructs hypothesized to affect implementation success and identifiable measures of these constructs. In order to address these gaps, the main goals of this paper were to identify a multi-level framework that captures the predominant factors that impact implementation outcomes, conduct a systematic review of available measures assessing constructs subsumed within these primary factors, and determine the criterion validity of these measures in the search articles. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify articles reporting the use or development of measures designed to assess constructs that predict the implementation of evidence-based health innovations. Articles published through 12 August 2012 were identified through MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and the journal Implementation Science. We then utilized a modified five-factor framework in order to code whether each measure contained items that assess constructs representing structural, organizational, provider, patient, and innovation level factors. Further, we coded the criterion validity of each measure within the search articles obtained. Our review identified 62 measures. Results indicate that organization, provider, and innovation-level constructs have the greatest number of measures available for use, whereas structural and patient-level constructs have the least. Additionally, relatively few measures demonstrated criterion validity, or reliable association with an implementation outcome (e.g., fidelity). In light of these findings, our discussion centers on strategies that researchers can utilize in order to identify, adapt, and improve extant measures for use in their own implementation research. In total, our literature review and resulting measures compendium increases the capacity of researchers to conceptualize and measure implementation-related constructs in their ongoing and future research.
Crystallographic Evidence for Cα–H···O=C Hydrogen Bonds in a Collagen Triple Helix

The crystal structure of the collagen triple-helical peptide (Pro-Hyp-Gly)4- Pro-Hyp-Ala-(Pro-Hyp-Gly)5shows evidence for the existence of interchain contacts between α-carbon hydrogens from Gly and Hyp residues, and carbonyl groups from Gly and Pro residues on neighboring chains. The geometrical disposition of these contacts makes it reasonable to describe them as Cα–H···O=C hydrogen bonds. Two repetitive patterns can be identified, and one of them is identical to a similar type of interaction reported recently for β-sheets in globular proteins, which suggests a more universal character for C–H···O hydrogen bonds in building protein secondary structure elements. They are presumably much weaker in energy than the interchain N–H···O=C hydrogen bonds responsible for the alignment of the three chains in the collagen triple helix, and therefore their contribution will be a small but cooperative decrease on the total interchain hydrogen bonding energy.
Contesting Beirut's Frontiers

On May 7, 2008, armed militias took to the streets of Beirut, Lebanon, in the worst sectarian fighting the city had seen since the end of the Lebanese civil war (19751990). This paper argues that critical to the understanding of the contestations of post-civil war Beirut are the ways in which the production of mundane geographies (such as housing, roads, and industrial zones) by religious-political organizations have transformed Beirut’s peripheral spaces into frontiers of conflict. These geographies are produced within planned and imagined geographies of local and regional wars that are “yet to come.” Based on ethnographic and archival research, this paper maps the transformation of what used to be a peripheral area into a religiously-contested frontier zone, where spatial contestation has become less about war maneuvering and more about the production of a spatial order of political difference through land markets, building and infrastructure construction, and urban regulations and zoning. The study provides insights into how the geographies of the civil war, economic post-war restructuring, resistance to Israel’s incursions, the regional rise of Hezbollah’s military power, the post-war crisis of war militias such as the PSP, along with the skyrocketing prohibitive costs of land and housing in municipal Beirut have been articulated in new robust, shifting divide lines that configure the urban politics of Beirut’s peripheries. I illustrate how the practice of urban planning in Beirut involve innovative techniques to continuously “balance” a spatiality of political difference in order to keep a war at bay while simultaneously allowing for urban growth and development profit. [Religious-political organizations, urban planning, war yet to come, Beirut].