cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cancer-directed therapy and potential impact on survivals in nonresected hepatocellular carcinoma: SEER-Medicare population study.

AIM To investigate determinants of receiving cancer-directed therapies and their potential survival impact in nonresected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) Materials & methods: Nonsurgically resected HCC patients between 2000 and 2010 were stratified by American Joint Committee on Cancer staging and the type of therapy. Predictors of receiving therapy were identified and implication on survival was evaluated. RESULTS Out of 9239 patients included, those receiving any therapy demonstrated prolonged overall survival with following median overall survival (months): ablation (30.8), Yttrium-90 (15.6), transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (15.5), Sorafenib (5.6), versus no cancer-directed therapy (3.7; p-values <0.001). Overall, 36% of patients received cancer-directed therapy including 47% with stage I/II. Favorable sociodemographic factors predicted receipt of percutaneous locoregional therapies (p-values <0.05). DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION There appears to be significant disparity in care of nonresected HCC patients with significant underutilization of cancer-directed therapies.
TiQi: a natural language interface for querying software project data

Abstract—Software projects produce large quantities of data such as feature requests, requirements, design artifacts, source code, tests, safety cases, release plans, and bug reports. If leveraged effectively, this data can be used to provide project intelligence that supports diverse software engineering activities such as release planning, impact analysis, and software analytics. However, project stakeholders often lack skills to formulate complex queries needed to retrieve, manipulate, and display the data in meaningful ways. To address these challenges we introduce TiQi, a natural language interface, which allows users to express software-related queries verbally or written in natural language. TiQi is a web-based tool. It visualizes available project data as a prompt to the user, accepts Natural Language (NL) queries, transforms those queries into SQL, and then executes the queries against a centralized or distributed database. Raw data is stored either directly in the database or retrieved dynamically at runtime from case tools and repositories such as Github and Jira. The transformed query is visualized back to the user as SQL and augmented UML, and raw data results are returned. Our tool demo can be found on YouTube at the following link:http://tinyurl.com/TIQIDemo. Keywords-Natural Language Interface, Project Data, Query
Treating Transgender Individuals in Inpatient and Residential Mental Health Settings

Abstract This article describes the need for specific guidelines regarding how to manage inpatient and residential mental health programming with respect to transgender individuals. The article discusses what is known about transgender mental health and how it is related to sociopolitical factors, how inpatient and residential programs can address the impact of sociopolitical factors on transgender individuals and send a welcoming message to prospective consumers, how programs can attend to policies and procedures in ways that create the best milieu for an inpatient or residential unit that provides care for one or more transgender individuals, and how providers and interdisciplinary teams can meet the unique clinical needs of transgender individuals. These guidelines are designed to assist providers in creating a safe environment that affords quality inpatient and residential mental health care to transgender individuals.
Abstract 11921: Risk Stratification for Ventricular Arrhythmia in Patients With Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) via Image-Based Computational Simulations: A Pilot Study

Introduction: Patients with repaired TOF have increased arrhythmia risk due to myocardial fibrosis, scar and right ventricular dilation. Current risk stratification lacks consistent predictive valu...
Core/Combustor-Noise Baseline Measurements for the DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan

Contributions from the combustor to the overall propulsion noise of civilian transport aircraft are starting to become important due to turbofan design trends and advances in mitigation of other noise sources. Future propulsion systems for ultra-efficient commercial air vehicles are projected to be of increasingly higher bypass ratio from larger fans combined with much smaller cores, with ultra-clean burning fuel-flexible combustors. Unless effective noise-eduction strategies are developed, combustor noise is likely to become a prominent contributor to overall airport community noise in the future. The new NASA DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan (DART) is a cost-efficient testbed for the study of core-noise physics and mitigation. This paper describes the recently completed DART core/combustor-noise baseline test in the NASA GRC Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory (AAPL). Acoustic data was simultaneously acquired using the AAPL overhead microphone array in the engine aft quadrant far field, a single midfield microphone, and two semi-infinite-tube unsteady pressure sensors at the core-nozzle exit. Combustor-noise components of measured total-noise signatures were educed using a two-signal source-separation method and are found to occur in the expected frequency range. The acoustic data compares well with results from a limited 2014 feasibility test and will serve as a high-quality baseline for future research using the DART. The research described herein is aligned with the NASA Ultra-Efficient Commercial Transport strategic thrust and is supported by the NASA Advanced Air Vehicle Program, Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, under the Aircraft Noise Reduction Subproject.
The role of uridylyltransferase and PII in the regulation of the synthesis of glutamine synthetase in Escherichia coli.

Publisher Summary Enteric bacteria do not use glutamate dehydrogenase for the incorporation of ammonia into glutamate when ammonia is present in the medium in low concentration but use glutamine synthetase together with a newly discovered enzyme—glutamate synthase. It was earlier known that glutamine synthetase of Escherichia coli existed in more than one form. The unmodified dodecameric enzyme was found to be capable of catalyzing the synthesis of glutamine, but it lost this ability to the degree that a single adenylyl group was attached through a tyrosine residue to each subunit. The fully adenylylated enzyme, carrying 12 adenylyl groups, was found to be unable to catalyze the synthesis of glutamine. An important discovery by Stadtman and coworkers was made almost simultaneously with the discovery of the role of glutamine synthetase in ammonia assimilation. They found that the ability of ATase to adenylylate glutamine synthetase was stimulated by a protein, P II and that the ability of ATase to deadenylylate glutamine synthetase was stimulated by the uridylylated form of P II —P II -UMP. These observations showed that the activity of glutamine synthetase is regulated in response to the intracellular 2-ketoglutarate to glutamine ratio.
Existence and Uniqueness: The Flow Map

In this chapter we describe in detail several general results concerning the initial value problem (IVP): $$\begin{array}{rl}x^\prime & = X(t, x)\\ x(t_0) & = c.\end{array}$$ The main result is the Existence and Uniqueness Theorem, from which many additional results can be derived. Throughout, \(X : B \to \mathbb{R}^n\) is a time-dependent vector field on an open set \(B \subseteq \mathbb{R}^{n+1}\). Various continuity and differentiability conditions will be imposed on X in order to get the results, but at the start we assume, at the bare minimum, that X is continuous on B. For the sake of reference we include the proofs of most of the results, although understanding some of the details requires being comfortable with several basic ideas from functional analysis.
Using Fixed and Portable Half-Duplex Pit Tag Antennas to Evaluate Fish Movement in a Stream Network: A Case Study in the Upper Big Hole River Basin

Passive integrated transponder (PIT) technology is commonly used to evaluate the movement, habitat use, and dynamics of stream fish populations and assemblages. One distinct advantage of this technology is the ability to collect information over the life span of individually identifiable fish using passive monitoring sensors. In the upper Big Hole River basin, we used a combination of fixed and portable half-duplex PIT tag antennas to evaluate salmonid movement and habitat use at multiple spatial and temporal scales. In the summer and autumn of 2009, we used a network of 15 fixed stations and a series of portable antenna surveys to relocate PIT-tagged fish in the mainstem Big Hole River and tributaries within the valley-bottom. We used multiple antenna designs to account for the considerable range in stream size (~ 2-60 m wetted width). We directly evaluated the detection efficiency of our portable antennas in five tributaries and one reach of the mainstem. Overall, we conservatively estimated a 54 percent (n = 6, SD = 0.13) detection efficiency for one-pass surveys, with detection efficiencies varying among fish species and, to a lesser extent, among sites. Detection efficiency estimates for shed tags were consistent among sites and averaged 93 percent (n = 4, SD = 0.10). Challenges, successes, and failures in implementing these antennas will be discussed. Overall, using a combination of fixed and portable antennas proved a useful and efficient approach to evaluating fish movement in this stream network.
Software-Defined Radio for Versatile Low-Power Wireless Sensor Systems

Traditional wireless sensor network architectures are based on low-power microcontrollers and highly integrated short range radio transceiver chips operating in one of the few ISM bands. This combination provides a convenient and proven approach to design and build inexpensive sensor nodes rapidly. However, the black box nature of these radio chips severely limit experimentation and research with novel and innovative technologies in the wireless infrastructure. Our team previously proposed a revolutionary architecture for wireless nodes based on Flash FPGA devices. This paper shows the first results of our work through the implementation and evaluation of a simple baseband FSK modem in the SmartFusion FPGA fabric. We also demonstrate how we could leverage existing software radio projects to use the baseband modem in a wide range of radio frequency bands.
Telford H. Work--a tribute

The major contributions of Telford H. Work to the field of arbovirology and epidemiology of arthropod-transmitted diseases are detailed. The human aspects of his life are mentioned in this memorial address.
Confocal non-line-of-sight imaging

Non-line-of-sight (NLOS) imaging aims at recovering the shape of objects hidden outside the direct line of sight of a camera. In this work, we report on a new approach for acquiring time-resolved measurements that are suitable for NLOS imaging. The system uses a confocalized single-photon detector and pulsed laser. As opposed to previously-proposed NLOS imaging systems, our setup is very similar to LIDAR systems used for autonomous vehicles and it facilitates a closed-form solution of the associated inverse problem, which we derive in this work. This algorithm, dubbed the Light Cone Transform, is three orders of magnitude faster and more memory efficient than existing methods. We demonstrate experimental results for indoor and outdoor scenes captured and reconstructed with the proposed confocal NLOS imaging system.
Economic evaluation for the US of venetoclax (VEN) versus ibrutinib (IBR) versus allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) for patients (pts) with relapsed or refractory (R/R) chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with 17p deletion (del 17p).

7527Background: Prior to targeted agents, HSCT was the primary treatment for R/R CLL del 17p. VEN and IBR have been shown to improve progression free (PFS) and overall survival (OS). We performed a...
Effects of cooling temperatures and low pH on membrane properties and voltage-dependent currents of rat nociceptive-like trigeminal ganglion neurons

Cooling temperatures and low pH have profound effects on somatosensory functions including nociception. The effects not only can be mediated by cooling temperature transducers and proton transducers expressed in subpopulations of somatosensory neurons but may also be mediated by ion channels involving membrane excitability such as voltage-dependent K+ channels in somatosensory neurons. In the present study, we performed the in situ patch-clamp recordings from nociceptive-like trigeminal ganglion neurons in ex vivo trigeminal ganglion preparations of adult rats. We determined effects of cooling temperatures and low pH on membrane properties and voltage-dependent currents in nociceptive-like trigeminal ganglion neurons. Action potential rheobase levels were decreased when nociceptive trigeminal ganglion neurons were cooled from 24°C down to 12°C or when extracellular pH levels were reduced from 7.3 to 6. This indicates that the excitability of nociceptive-like trigeminal ganglion neurons was increased at the cooling temperatures and low pH. The decreases of action potential rheobase levels were accompanied by increases of trigeminal ganglion neuron input resistances at cooling temperatures and low pH, suggesting a possible involvement of background K+ channels. Cooling temperatures and low pH suppressed voltage-activated inward Na+ currents and also voltage-dependent outward K+ currents in nociceptive-like trigeminal ganglion neurons. Voltage-dependent outward K+ currents in nociceptive-like trigeminal ganglion neurons consist of inactivating A-type K+ currents and non-inactivating type K+ currents, and the former were more sensitive to cooling temperatures and low pH. Collectively, suppressing multiple types of K+ channels may be associated with the enhanced excitability of nociceptive trigeminal ganglion neurons by cooling temperatures and low pH.
Enabling User Driven Big Data Application on Remote Computing Resources

Driven by the computing resource requirement, there are increasing demands of migrating data driven analysis from local computing resource to powerful remote resources such as cloud and high performance computing cluster. In addition to various commercial cloud services, there are also rich selections of high performance computing centers in academia providing cyberinfrastructure (CI) offerings. However, access barriers exist in bring those resources to data driven research community at large. To help lower those access barriers and increase the adoption of utilization of remote resources for data driven analysis, we propose a new service model for utilizing remote computing resources, which empower users to deploy and run their big data application as a web application on remote computing resources. There are several key design goals of this model including enabling interactivity, reusability and reproducibility. Compare to the traditional batch-processing model commonly supported by CI resource providers, supporting a web application interface enables interactive analysis capabilities. Users design the application through a configuration file utilizing a set of predefined task templates that are also extensible by users. The application generated from the configuration file is self-contained and can be deployed without alleviated system privilege. Therefore, ad-hoc analysis routines can be described and preserved in a format that can be shared and re-used. Remote resources can also be described and implemented through configuration files to automatically bridge the application with remote resources and facilitate migration with different resources in the future. Consequently, analysis tasks can be preserved through the configuration file for reproducibility. Here we detail our proposed application framework and its preliminary implementations. We demonstrated usage of this framework with a practical use case of aggregating and analyzing live tweets.
Do double-blind studies with informed consent yield externally valid results? An empirical test.

Subjective and physiological effects of caffeine were investigated via a 3×2×3 design that assessed independent and interactive effects of instructions (told caffeine versus told no caffeine versus not told whether beverage contained caffeine), actual beverage content (caffeine versus no caffeine), and time after ingestion (15, 30, and 45 min). Instructions affected altertness at 15 min after ingestion. Caffeine increased alertness at 30 min after ingestion and systolic blood pressure at 30 min and 45 min after ingestion. A highly significant instruction by drug interaction on tension was obtained at all measurement points, indicating an increase in tension only among subjects who knowingly received caffeine. Because people are generally informed of drug content in non-research settings, these data challenge the external validity of typical double-blind studies, in which subjects are informed of the possibility of receiving a placebo as part of the consent procedure.
Nuclear arms race in Asia: Players, stakes and predicates for stability

AbstractNorth Korea’s unpredictable behavior with respect to its nuclear arsenal is only one element of a nuclear arms competition among powers in Asia. Nuclear Asia is a potential cockpit for an outbreak of accidental nuclear war or deliberate nuclear first use, as among regional rivals and adversaries. In addition, a limited nuclear war between regional enemies could ignite intervention by outside powers and intensify, in terms of its potential for horizontal or vertical escalation. Research does not support a definitive relationship between the numbers of nuclear weapons states acting in Asia or in the Pacific and the probability of war, including nuclear war. On the other hand, the availability of nuclear weapons may make more states risk acceptant instead of risk averse in regional conflicts, and overconfident with respect to their skills in managing escalation. That finding is important because states’ abilities to manage escalation may be more important than the sizes of their arsenals.
Surgical approach significantly affects the complication rates associated with total hip arthroplasty

Aims A variety of surgical approaches are used for total hip arthroplasty (THA), all with reported advantages and disadvantages. A number of common complications can occur following THA regardless ...
Use of GPT for stabilization and acceleration of search mechanisms in industrial core computations

Abstract This paper discusses the merits of Generalized Perturbation Theory (GPT) for search mechanisms of relevance to an industrial code’s daily application context. Unavoidably, these search mechanisms are embedded in the code’s 3D whole-core iterative non-linear multi-physics coupled solution processes. Due to this, it is not so trivial to enable acceptable associated computational stability and run time performance. Relevant examples are the search mechanisms aimed at automated determination of specific control insertion depths. The latter are to enable specified target values for the axial power offset or core reactivity. Compared to executing those kinds of searches according to more primitive algorithms (such as the secant method), a co-usage of GPT was confirmed to enable a far better convergence efficiency and thereby also significant CPU run time reductions.
Long-range and local crystal structures of the S r 1 − x C a x Ru O 3 perovskites

The crystal structures of the $\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{r}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{a}}_{x}\mathrm{Ru}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}(0\ensuremath{\le}x\ensuremath{\le}1)$ perovskites are investigated using both long-range and local structural probes. High-resolution synchrotron powder x-ray-diffraction characterization at ambient temperature shows that the materials have orthorhombic long-range crystal structures to high precision, and we support previous work showing that $\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{a}}^{2+}$ substitution for $\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{r}}^{2+}$ primarily changes the tilting of rigid corner-sharing $\mathrm{Ru}{\mathrm{O}}_{6}$ octahedra at their shared oxygen vertices. X-ray pair-distribution function analysis for $\mathrm{SrRu}{\mathrm{O}}_{3},\mathrm{CaRu}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$, and one intermediate composition show them to display monoclinic symmetry at the local level; when averaged over different domain orientations this yields orthorhombic symmetry in the long range, and no long-range or local phase transitions are observed between 80 and 300 K for materials with intermediate compositions. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that the Sr/Ca distribution is random at the nanoscale. We plot magnetic characteristics such as the ferromagnetic $T\text{c}$, Curie-Weiss theta, effective moment, and ambient temperature susceptibility vs the octahedral tilt and unit-cell volume.
Género y ahorro interno en América Latina

(Gender and domestic savings in Latin America) The objective of this paper is to quantify the repercussions from gender inequality on domestic savings and macroeconomic vulnerability in the Latin American countries. Econometric equations are estimated expressing the savings rate in terms of the index of gender discrimination and of several labor market variables. Results indicate that gender inequality exerts a negative impact on domestic savings and on economic vulnerability, and weakens institutions. It is recommended that Latin American countries undertake programs designed to reduce gender inequality. The main limitation of this paper is the reduced number of data points in the sample. Its originality resides in that it is the first study that analyzes the role of gender inequality on domestic savings, macroeconomic vulnerability and institutional strength in the lstin American countries. Its main contribution is the evidence that gender inequality reduces domestic savings and increases economic vulnerability. The paper concludes pointing out the importance that the Latin American countries increase their programs designed to reduce gender inequality.
Some Alexander Hamilton, But Not So Much Hamilton , in the New Supreme Court

This essay is one of thirty-five in the book Hamilton and the Law: Reading Today’s Most Contentious Legal Issues Through the Hit Musical(Cornell University Press, Lisa A. Tucker, ed., Oct. 2020). This essay considers the possibility that Hamilton: An American Musical, the sensation that has captivated so many, plus its soundtrack that plays on in our heads and on our devices, will stir and influence United States Supreme Court justices as they interpret the U.S. Constitution. Our Supreme Court justices have always been interested in the lives and the words of the Founding Fathers. For example, The Federalist essays of 1787-1788, most of them penned by Alexander Hamilton, have been cited in hundreds of Court decisions. So have other Founding-era materials, including many words from James Madison, the so-called Father of the Constitution. But as Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote in the 1952 Steel Seizure Case (Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer), this judicial enterprise often is not illuminating—“a Hamilton may be matched against a Madison”; “Just what our forefathers did envision, or would have envisioned had they foreseen modern conditions, must be divined from materials almost as enigmatic as the dreams Joseph was called upon to interpret for Pharaoh.” When the musical Hamilton opened on Broadway in 2016, Hillary Clinton was on her way to being elected president. It was predictable that she would get to appoint new Supreme Court justices, and that they would be, as she is, inclined to read expansively the Constitution’s provisions defining national government powers. These newcomers would constitute a Supreme Court in the Hamilton era. They would see the musical, hear the songs, be stirred, and perhaps even quote from and cite to Hamilton. U.S. politics took a different path. Yes, many of the justices have seen Hamilton. More liberal, nationalistic, Alexander Hamilton-admiring justices have praised it. More conservative justices have had less to say about it. In Supreme Court decisions through June 2019, there is not much trace of Hamiltonian—forefather or modern musical—influence.
Performance characterization of nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and ion exchange technologies for acetic acid separation

Abstract A major obstacle to widespread implementation of bio-based fuels and chemicals is the lack of efficient and cost-effective separation methods. To purify acetic acid produced by biochemical conversion of biomass via anaerobic digestion, this work employs two commonly used separation technologies: (1) ion-exchange (IX) resin and (2) pressure-driven membranes. This study tested five commercially available strong- and weak-base anion-exchange resins and five commercially available nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. The pH of the feed solution significantly affected adsorption capacity. At pH 6.3, a strong-base IX resin (IRN-78) performed best (95.1% acetate removal). With strong-base IX resins, the Langmuir isotherm model fit well, whereas for weak-base IX resins, the Freundlich isotherm provided a better fit. A pseudo-second-order kinetic model fit well for both IRN-78 and IRA-67. Regarding membrane separation, RO (BW30XFR membrane) achieved the highest rejection (98.6% acetate rejection), whereas an NF membrane (NF*) achieved the best combination of permeate flux (105 L/(h·m2)) and rejection (83.1% acetate rejection). For membrane performance, the experimental data were fit using the solution diffusion model. Increased pH in the feed solution lowered permeate flux but increased acetic acid rejection. When the acetic acid concentration in the feed solution increased, both permeate flux and acetic acid rejection decreased for membrane NF*.
Navigating uncharted waters: Developing a standardized approach for evaluating and implementing biosimilar products at a comprehensive cancer center.

Purpose The processes for formulary implementation and electronic health record (EHR) integration of biosimilar products at a comprehensive cancer center are described. Implications for research protocols are also discussed. Summary The existing literature focuses on practical considerations for formulary addition of biosimilar products, but there is a lack of guidance on how to implement the change, particularly within the EHR. Before building the ordering tools for biosimilars, the clinical and informatics teams should determine the role of biosimilars at the institution, identify drug-specific product characteristics that affect medication build, and characterize implications of future formulary changes or drug shortages. Leveraging an orderable record provides the ability to include logic that maps to multiple products and also allows for future implementation of changes within the medication record rather than requiring "swaps" at the treatment protocol level. The institutional review board should coordinate changes in affected research protocols and consent forms and work with principal investigators to amend protocols when necessary. Pharmacy leaders should develop processes to oversee inventory during the transition period and minimize the risk of errors. Conclusion The development of a standardized approach for evaluating and implementing biosimilar products improves efficiency and collaboration among the various team members responsible for the products' integration into existing workflows, including implications for clinical research. Implementing biosimilars for agents used to treat cancer will pose new challenges and require additional considerations. Partial implementation of biosimilars continues to pose multiple challenges in the provision of patient care.
9.14 – The Geochemistry of Mass Extinction

The course of biological evolution is inextricably linked to that of the environment through an intricate network of feedbacks that span all scales of space and time. Disruptions to the environment have biological consequences, and vice versa. Fossils provide the prima facie evidence for biotic disruptions: catastrophic losses of global biodiversity at various times in the Phanerozoic. However, the forensic evidence for the causes and environmental consequences of these mass extinctions resides primarily in the geochemical composition of sedimentary rocks deposited during the extinction intervals. Thus, advancement in our understanding of mass extinctions requires detailed knowledge obtained from both paleontological and geochemical records. This chapter reviews the state of knowledge concerning the geochemistry of the ‘big five’ extinctions of the Phanerozoic: the Late Ordovician, the Late Devonian, the Permian–Triassic, the Triassic–Jurassic and the Cretaceous–Tertiary.
The Use of Point-of-care Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Pott's Puffy Tumor: A Case Report.

Author(s): Acuna, Josie; Shockey, Daniel; Adhikari, Srikar | Abstract: Introduction: Pott’s puffy tumor (PPT) is a rare clinical disease characterized by forehead swelling from a subperiosteal abscess coupled with frontal bone osteomyelitis. It is often associated with severe complications and poor outcomes if left undiagnosed; thus, rapid recognition is crucial. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) may provide an alternative pathway to diagnosis. It can be performed rapidly at the bedside and assist in early screening of patients, identifying those with high suspicion for PPT and prioritizing imaging and consultation.Case Report: A 59-yghb ar-old-male presented to the emergency department for evaluation of a “lump” on his forehead. He recently had a bifrontal craniotomy to de-bulk a polyp burden in an effort to manage his recurrent sinusitis. To further characterize the mass, a POCUS examination was performed by the treating emergency physician. The examination found a subcutaneous, hypoechoic fluid collection extending superficially along the frontal bone. A discontinuity in the surface of the frontal bone was visualized through which the collection appeared to extend. Given the heightened concern for PPT based on the POCUS examination findings, otolaryngology service was consulted and the patient was admitted for further imaging and treatment.Conclusion: Pott’s puffy tumor is a rare diagnosis that has the potential for life-threatening complications. Timely diagnosis is imperative. Point-of-care ultrasound can easily be used to help identify patients with suspicion for PPT in the acute care setting and influence patient management with regard to obtaining further imaging and plans for early consultation.
Humor, Simplicity, and Experimentation in the Picture Books of Jon Agee

In his twenty-year tenure as a picture book artist, Jon Agee has produced a number of books that greatly vary in appearance. However, while his artistic style changes from book to book, some things remain the same. Readers who pick up any Agee book can expect that it will contain interesting artwork, well worth a close inspection. They can also safely bet that it will be inventive, experimental, and funny. An examination of Agee's picture books Ellsworth, Ludlow Laughs, The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau, Dmitri the Astronaut, and Milo's Hat Trick illuminates Agee's evolution as an artist while demonstrating his metafictive experimentation with artistic conventions, his play with concepts of reality and impossibility, and his abundant talent for simplicity, funniness, and beauty.
Real-time Condition Monitoring of Mechanical Face Seal

Mechanical face seals are the most versatile type of rotating shaft seal. Despite their wide applications in industry, mechanical face seals generally have unpredictable life and their premature and random failure is not uncommon. Seal failure is often characterized by worn faces caused by rubbing contact between the rotor and the stator. In critical applications, such as nuclear reactor cooling pumps or liquid oxygen (LOX) turbopumps seal failure may have severe implications. There is, therefore, a need to detect, monitor and control the unwanted contact between the rotor and stator during seal operation. In this research, methods of detecting contact between the rotor and the stator in real-time have been developed for a FMR noncontacting mechanical face seal test rig. The rotor angular misalignment orbit is introduced for mechanical seal condition monitoring. A monitoring system has been constructed to detect seal contact and monitor the dynamic behavior of mechanical face seal in real-time.
Politics and Facets of Identity: Changing Lenses in Gaston Kaboré's Cinema

In spite of the resurgence of interest in the re-examination of the concept of identity, the shaping of multiple identities can benefit from interdisciplinary scholarly efforts and artistic insights. Based on a diagnostic political reading of cinematic text and an interview with the artist, this article draws some conclusions on the shaping of multiple identities. Following a conceptual scheme of characteristic locations of identity in a postcolonial setting, the study identifies four political forms of identity - the global, the cultural, the ideological/political and the individual. Those different facets are configured through ideological and discourse analyses of three cinematic texts and the declared intentions of Burkinabe filmmaker Gaston Kabore.
Role of communication on the convergence rate of fully distributed DC optimal power flow

In a grid with highly distributed resources, an effective distributed algorithm for solving Optimal Power Flow (OPF) will result in efficient resource allocation across the system. This paper investigates the impact of communication on the performance of a fully distributed DC OPF algorithm, which solves the first order optimality conditions through an iterative process. In this distributed algorithm, at each iteration, every bus exchanges information with its physically connected neighboring buses and updates the local variables by evaluating a simple function. This paper suggests that sharing additional information between buses without physical connections across the system can speed up the convergence of the algorithm. A key aspect is the constrained selection of these additional communication links and the effective integration of this information in the update of the local variables which is the focus of this paper. A proof of concept is given using the IEEE-118 bus test system as a test case.
CLINICAL STUDIES: Experienced Obstetric Nurses’ Decision Making in Fetal Risk Situations

Objective To determine which clinical factors experienced obstetric nurses consider most important in determining fetal risk during the intrapartum period. Design Ten dichotomized variables relevant to participants' clinical decision-making were manipulated in fractional factorial vignettes. Participants were asked to rate the severity of fetal risk on a Likert scale after reading the vignettes. Setting About 87% of the participants worked in institutions with 4,000 or fewer deliveries per year. More than 25% worked in tertiary level facilities, and the remainder were employed in primary or secondary level facilities. Participants Participants ( N =573), randomly selected from a list of nurses certified in "inpatient obstetric nursing" by the National Certification Corporation, were mailed the vignettes. The average number of years of intrapartum nursing experience was 13. Main Outcome Measure Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the weights given to the 10 clinical factors by participants. Results Fetal scalp pH, maternal parity, amniotic fluid color, and long-term variability of the fetal heart rate were the most important predictors of nurses' fetal risk assessments. Conclusions Long-term variability was the most important cardiotocographic factor in nurses' fetal risk assessments and the only cardiotocographic factor of the best 4 predictors of fetal risk. This indicated that participants were realistic about the limitations of electronic fetal monitoring (EFM). JOGNN 29, 480-490; 2000.
Evaluating light rail sketch planning: actual versus predicted station boardings in Phoenix

In recent years, transit planners are increasingly turning to simpler, faster, and more spatially detailed “sketch planning” or “direct demand” models for forecasting rail transit boardings. Planners use these models for preliminary review of corridors and analysis of station-area effects, instead of or prior to four-step regional travel demand models. This paper uses a sketch-planning model based on a multiple regression originally fitted to light-rail ridership data for 268 stations in nine U.S. cities, and applies it predictively to the Phoenix, Arizona light-rail starter line that opened in December, 2008. The independent variables in the regression model include station-specific trip generation and intermodal–access variables as well as system-wide variables measuring network structure, climate, and metropolitan-area factors. Here we compare the predictions we made before and after construction began to pre-construction Valley Metro Rail predictions and to the actual boardings data for the system’s first 6 months of operations. Depending on the assumed number of bus lines at each station, the predicted total weekday ridership ranged from 24,767 to 37,907 compared with the average of 33,698 for the first 6 months, while the correlation of predicted and observed station boardings ranged from r = 0.33 to 0.47. Sports venues, universities, end-of-line stations, and the number of bus lines serving each station appear to account for the major over- and under-predictions at the station level.
An S-string scheme for business-oriented peer-to-peer networks

In this paper we introduce and analyze S-string, a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payment-based mechanism. S-string enhances the functionality of P2P networks by promoting cooperation among peers, rewarding them to participate in sharing objects, and encouraging them to reduce their downtimes. It also imposes tougher punishment procedures on peers when they do not fulfill their obligations to others. S-string supports the role of media entities by taking into consideration their concerns about the distribution of digital media contents or objects in a lawful and profitable manner. We demonstrate the performance results of our proposed mechanism via simulation.
Turbulent, mixing of a scalar quantity in a 2-d mixing layer using matched asymptotic expansions

Abstract In this note analytical solutions for the turbulent mixing of a scalar quantity (mass, temperature, etc.) for a 2-d, free shear flow are developed. Approximate, i.e. thin shear layer self-similar forms for mass, momentum and the scalar quantity are derived, linearized using Goertler’s [ZAMM 22 (1942) 244] perturbation argument and examined. Though successful for the mean velocity field, the regular expansion yields inconsistent solutions for the transport of a scalar. Sources of the non-uniformity are identified and a consistent result is obtained using matched asymptotic expansions. This result explains the success of semi-empirical convective velocity closures used by several researchers for a turbulence length scale equation.
Hepatocellular carcinoma in Asian Americans

Hepataocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the top five common cancers among Asian Americans. The majority of the HCCs in this population are associated causally with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. With the newly available antiviral agents, by eliminating the virus at an early stage of HBV infection, one could attempt to delay or prevent the development of HCC. The primary prevention of HCC would be a hepatitis B vaccine.
Application of electric and acoustic impedance measuring techniques to problems in diathermy

DIATHERMY, or heating of deep tissues, must be accomplished through the absorption of radiant energy in the region to be heated. Conduction methods such as infrared or hot packing fail because of the rapid convection of heat by the flow of blood. Conventionally diathermy has come to be synonymous with high-frequency electromagnetic heating. Recently, however, ultrasonic energy has been introduced to accomplish a somewhat similar clinical purpose.
Renal protective effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition.

Abstract Nephron loss is a common progression of a diverse range of kidney diseases. Recent experimental models of chronic renal disease have suggested that hemodynamic and nonhemodynamic mechanisms play key roles in progressive renal injury. Extensive renal ablation in the rat was followed by development of altered glomerular hemodynamics. Albuminuria and histologic damage leading to focal glomerulosclerosis were preceded by the development of increased glomerular pressures and were prevented by interventions such as severe dietary protein restriction and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor therapy. Both experimental interventions ameliorated glomerular hypertension. It was therefore concluded that these interventions ameliorated injury by glomerular hemodynamic effect. Similar findings were obtained in a rat model of type I diabetes mellitus induced by streptozotocin in which glomerular hemodynamic factors appeared important to the development of progressive renal disease. Recent studies have suggested that nonhemodynamic factors have important roles in the progression of glomerular injury. For example, although the predominant effects of ACE inhibitor therapy appear to be hemodynamically mediated, data are emerging which suggest that these agents may also influence growth/proliferation of glomerular cells. Because hyperplasia/hypertrophy may influence glomerular susceptibility to injury, this may also be a potential mechanism whereby ACE inhibitor therapy influences glomerular damage. In addition, a variety of studies have suggested that hyperlipidemia, which is a frequent accompaniment of glomerular disease, is an important modulator of glomerular injury independent of glomerular hemodynamic effects. Coagulation factors, calcium phosphorus balance, as well as the genetic susceptibility of the glomerulus to injury, all appear to contribute to progressive nephron destruction.
Supersonic ion outflows in the polar magnetosphere via the geomagnetic spectrometer

Observations of 'supersonic' O(+) outflows by DE-1 in the polar magnetosphere are interpreted as a velocity-filter effect resulting from the transport of these low energy ions from a horizontally narrow source associated with the polar cleft topside ionosphere into the polar cap magnetosphere. Under certain simplifying circumstances, it is shown that the 'Mach number' for the flow is essentially a geometrically determined quantity, approximately the ratio of the horizontal distance of the observation location to the source over the horizontal width of the source. A recently developed two-dimensional kinetic model of ion transport in the polar magnetosphere is used to calculate distribution functions and the associated bulk flow parameters, and these calculated quantities are compared with measured flow parameters from DE-1.
Calcium and Phosphorus Requirements of Broiler Chickens

Abstract AFTER more than 35 years of investigation, there is considerable disagreement in the literature as to the levels of calcium and phosphorus required for optimum performance of growing chickens. A review of the more pertinent literature by Lillie et al. (1964) indicates that the range of discordant values is being narrowed to some extent and that the calcium level recommended by the National Research Council is higher than that which many investigators found to be adequate for optimum growth. The majority of the recent investigations (Formica et al., 1961, 1962; Vanderpopuliere, 1961; Waldroup et al. 1962a, b; Simco and Stephenson, 1961; Lillie et al., 1964) have been aimed at refinement of the requirement of the growing chick in the light of current nutritional knowledge. Such was the motive for the experiment reported herein. EXPERIMENTAL A 5×4×2 factorial arrangement was employed in the design of the experiment. The three-factor design included…
The Death of Josiah in Scripture and Tradition: Wrestling with the Problem of Evil?

This study in comparative midrash traces the accounts of the death of Josiah through more than a dozen texts and translations. These include the two Biblical texts, as well as texts from Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Septuagint, Vulgate and early rabbinic writings. The evidence suggests that the later tradents may have been wrestling with the problem of evil that lies at the core of the Biblical accounts of the death of Josiah. As such, the study represents a fascinating look into the ongoing relationship between canon and the communities that looked to it for identity and ethos.
Midterm surgical results of total cavopulmonary connection: clinical advantages of the extracardiac conduit method.

Abstract Objective We evaluated the midterm surgical outcomes of intra-atrial lateral tunnel and extracardiac conduit total cavopulmonary connection to clarify the clinical superiority. Methods Patients (n = 167) underwent total cavopulmonary connection (88 with lateral tunnel and 79 with extracardiac conduit) from November 1991 to March 1999. Survival, incidence of reoperation and late complications, exercise tolerance, hemodynamic variables, and plasma concentration of natriuretic peptide type A were compared. In the lateral tunnel group, time-related change in lateral tunnel size was investigated for its relationship to postoperative arrhythmias. Results The 8-year survival was 93.2% in the lateral tunnel group and 94.9% in the extracardiac conduit group. Seven reoperations were performed in the lateral tunnel group but none in the extracardiac conduit group. Supraventricular arrhythmias developed in 14 patients (15.9%) in the lateral tunnel group and in 4 patients (5.1%) in the extracardiac conduit group ( P = .003). Freedom from cardiac-related events was 72.5% in the lateral tunnel group and 89.8% in the extracardiac conduit group at 8 years ( P = .0098). Hemodynamic variables and exercise tolerance were similar in both groups but plasma natriuretic peptide type A concentration, a parameter of atrial wall tension, was higher in the lateral tunnel group. In the lateral tunnel group, intra-atrial tunnel size increased by 19.4% during the 44.2-month interval and the percent increase in tunnel size was an independent predictor of supraventricular arrhythmias. Conclusions The midterm survival, hemodynamic variables, and exercise tolerance were similar and satisfactory in both lateral tunnel and extracardiac conduit groups; however, the incidence of cardiac-related events was significantly less frequent in the extracardiac conduit group. In the lateral tunnel group, careful observation is required to monitor the relationship of the dilating tendency of the intra-atrial tunnel and the development of late complications.
Hemoglobin: resonance Raman spectra.

Abstract Raman spectra have been recorded for several hemoglobin derivatives in dilute solution. They exhibit a complex set of bands, arising from vibrations of the heme groups. Two of the bands offer promise as structural probes, inasmuch as their intensities correlate inversely with the degree to which the iron atoms are out of plane.