cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Severe Traumatic Hemorrhage on Large Arterial Diameter as Determined by Computed Tomography (CT)

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate changes in the diameters of major arteries in trauma patients at the time of severe intravascular volume depletion. Methods: Patients admitted from January 2008-June 2017 in extremis or in arrest who had an immediate CT scan in the resuscitation period and at least one subsequent CT scan after hemodynamic stabilization and admission to the ICU were included. Diameter in millimeters (mm) of the common carotid, subclavian, common iliac, external iliac, common femoral arteries, and aorta at the following locations were obtained: ascending, proximal descending, and mid- descending thoracic, and supra-celiac, renal and aortic bifurcation. Results: 14 patients (93% male) were included. Mean injury severity score (ISS) was 37±8 and age 36±18 years. 10 patients received a REBOA and 4 patients received a resuscitative thoracotomy (RT) prior to the first CT. A maximum increase of the aorta of 63.6%, and 116.9% in the common carotid, subclavian, common iliac, external iliac, and common femoral arteries was observed. For patients age 18-39 years, increases in diameter were statistically significant (p<0.05) at all locations except the peri-renal aorta and left subclavian. Patients ?40 years had a less robust change, with a significant diameter increase only at the level of the proximal descending aorta (p=0.02). Conclusions: Large arterial diameters in the setting of severe hemorrhage are significantly reduced particularly in younger patients. This has significant implications for emergent placement of endovascular devices such as introducer sheaths, balloon catheters, and stent grafts where determination of arterial diameter is critical.
Brief communication: use of the minimal important difference for a meta-analysis on exercise and anxiety in adults with arthritis.

A recent meta-analysis reported statistically significant improvements in anxiety as a result of exercise in adults with arthritis and other rheumatic diseases (AORD) using the traditional standardized mean difference (SMD) effect size (ES). The objective of this study was to use the more recently developed and clinically relevant minimal important difference (MID) approach to examine this association. Data from a previous meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials representing 926 initially enrolled adults ≥ 18 years of age (539 exercise, 387 control) was used to calculate the ES using the MID approach. Minimal important difference data were derived from previously reported anchor-based values that represented the different instruments used to assess anxiety. Effect sizes were pooled using the inverse heterogeneity (IVhet) model. Overall, exercise resulted in a mean ES reduction in anxiety of − 0.80 (95% CI, − 1.60 to 0.001, p = 0.05; Q = 92.1, p < 0.001, I 2 = 83.7%, 95% CI, 74.9%, 89.5%), suggesting that overall, exercise may benefit an appreciable number of patients. Nonetheless, this effect spanned the range from many patients gaining important benefits to no patients improving. The clinically relevant effects of exercise on anxiety in adults with AORD are varied. However, these results should be interpreted with caution given the absence of anchor-based MID data specific to the instruments and questions used to assess anxiety in adults with AORD. A need exists for future research to establish instrument-specific, anchor-based MID values for questions assessing anxiety in adults with AORD.
Vitamin D and insulin sensitivity

Insulin resistance is characterized by an insufficient response of the body to insulin secretion, and is associated with a cluster of metabolic disorders that are collectively referred to as the insulin resistance syndrome. Features associated with insulin resistance include glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinema, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypertension, among others, and together these increase the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. Evidence from epidemiological, clinical, and tissue- and cell-based studies suggest a role of vitamin D in the prevention of insulin resistance. Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, an indicator of vitamin D status, have been associated with improved glucose homeostasis, and data from clinical intervention studies support that treatment with 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the hormonally active form of vitamin D, may improve insulin sensitivity. Investigations of the mechanisms by which vitamin D improves insulin sensitivity suggest that vitamin D may have direct effects on insulin synthesis and secretion, as well as insulin-sensitizing effects on target tissues. Defining the mechanisms by which vitamin D may improve insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis is critical to understanding how vitamin D may be effective in preventing the development of insulin resistance, and its progression to type 2 diabetes.
Intravascular Electrical Thrombogenesis, A Preliminary Report

Earlier investigators have shown a relation of bio-electrical phenomena and clot formation. Intravascular thrombosis may be effected by applying an electrical current across a vessel (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), presumedly decreasing streaming and zeta potentials with resultant disruption of the repulsion forces of similarly charged blood elements. By positioning transvascular bipolar electrodes in various vascular compartments and applying constant currents of varying time and duration, the properties and potentialities of electrical hrombogenesis are presently being evaluated. Accumulated data at this point permit a small number of conclusions, a few interesting observations, and a great many speculations.
Numerical Solution of Boundary Integral Equation Formulations for Electromagnetic Scattering Problems

Numerical solution procedures for surface integral equations that result from boundary equation formulations for electromagnetic scattering problems are considered in this work. The general solution procedure commonly known as the method of moments is briefly described, and appropriate choices for the basis and testing functions are discussed. Both Galerkin and non-Galerkin solution procedures are considered in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Application of these methods to problems involving electromagnetic radiation and scattering by two- and three-dimensional geometries is discussed, including the use of body of revolution geometry models and models for arbitrarily shaped scatterers. Examples of surface current distributions and scattering patterns for various geometries are presented.
On the Use of a Continuum Manipulator and a Bendable Medical Screw for Minimally Invasive Interventions in Orthopedic Surgery

Accurate placement and stable fixation are the main goals of internal fixation of bone fractures using the traditional medical screws. These goals are necessary to expedite and avoid improper fracture healing due to misalignment of the bone fragments. However, the rigidity of the screw, geometry of the fractured anatomy (e.g., femur and pelvis), and osteoporosis may cause an array of complications. To address these challenges, we propose the use of a continuum manipulator and a bendable medical screw (BMS) to drill curved tunnels and fixate the bone fragments. This novel approach provides the clinicians with a degree of freedom in selecting the drilling entry point as well as the navigation of drill in complex anatomical and osteoporotic bones. This technique can also facilitate the treatment of osteonecrosis and augmentation of the hip to prevent osteoporotic fractures. In this paper: 1) we evaluated the performance of the curved drilling technique on human cadaveric specimens by making several curved tunnels with different curvatures and 2) we also demonstrated the feasibility of internal fixation using the BMS versus a rigid straight screw by performing finite element simulation of fracture fixation in an osteoporotic femur.
Intracortical smoothing of small-voxel fMRI data can provide increased detection power without spatial resolution losses compared to conventional large-voxel fMRI data.

Abstract Continued improvement in MRI acquisition technology has made functional MRI (fMRI) with small isotropic voxel sizes down to 1 mm and below more commonly available. Although many conventional fMRI studies seek to investigate regional patterns of cortical activation for which conventional voxel sizes of 3 mm and larger provide sufficient spatial resolution, smaller voxels can help avoid contamination from adjacent white matter (WM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and thereby increase the specificity of fMRI to signal changes within the gray matter. Unfortunately, temporal signal-to-noise ratio (tSNR), a metric of fMRI sensitivity, is reduced in high-resolution acquisitions, which offsets the benefits of small voxels. Here we introduce a framework that combines small, isotropic fMRI voxels acquired at 7 T field strength with a novel anatomically-informed, surface mesh-navigated spatial smoothing that can provide both higher detection power and higher resolution than conventional voxel sizes. Our smoothing approach uses a family of intracortical surface meshes and allows for kernels of various shapes and sizes, including curved 3D kernels that adapt to and track the cortical folding pattern. Our goal is to restrict smoothing to the cortical gray matter ribbon and avoid noise contamination from CSF and signal dilution from WM via partial volume effects. We found that the intracortical kernel that maximizes tSNR does not maximize percent signal change (ΔS/S), and therefore the kernel configuration that optimizes detection power cannot be determined from tSNR considerations alone. However, several kernel configurations provided a favorable balance between boosting tSNR and ΔS/S, and allowed a 1.1-mm isotropic fMRI acquisition to have higher performance after smoothing (in terms of both detection power and spatial resolution) compared to an unsmoothed 3.0-mm isotropic fMRI acquisition. Overall, the results of this study support the strategy of acquiring voxels smaller than the cortical thickness, even for studies not requiring high spatial resolution, and smoothing them down within the cortical ribbon with a kernel of an appropriate shape to achieve the best performance—thus decoupling the choice of fMRI voxel size from the spatial resolution requirements of the particular study. The improvement of this new intracortical smoothing approach over conventional surface-based smoothing is expected to be modest for conventional resolutions, however the improvement is expected to increase with higher resolutions. This framework can also be applied to anatomically-informed intracortical smoothing of higher-resolution data (e.g. along columns and layers) in studies with prior information about the spatial structure of activation.
Evolving cooperation for the iterated prisoner's dilemma

The Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma (IPD) is an intriguing problem for which the Nash Equilibrium is not globally optimal. Typically treated as a single-objective problem, a player's goal is to maximize their own score. In some work, minimizing the opponent's score has been added as an additional objective. We explore the role of mutual cooperation in IPD player performance. We implement a genetic algorithm in which the population is divided into four multi-objective sub-populations: selfish, communal, cooperative, and selfless, the last three of which use a measure of mutual cooperation as an objective. Game play occurs among all members, without regard to sub-population, while crossover and selection occur only within a sub-population. Testing is against a population of well-known strategies and is single objective, using only self score. We find that players evolved to cooperate perform very well, in some cases dominating the competition. Thus, learning to play nicely with others is a successful strategy for maximizing personal reward.
Data-driven computational analysis of allosteric proteins by exploring protein dynamics, residue coevolution and residue interaction networks

Abstract Background Computational studies of allosteric interactions have witnessed a recent renaissance fueled by the growing interest in modeling of the complex molecular assemblies and biological networks. Allosteric interactions in protein structures allow for molecular communication in signal transduction networks. Methods In this work, we performed a large scale comprehensive and multi-faceted analysis of >300 diverse allosteric proteins and complexes with allosteric modulators. By modeling and exploring coarse-grained dynamics, residue coevolution, and residue interaction networks for allosteric proteins, we have determined unifying molecular signatures shared by allosteric systems. Results The results of this study have suggested that allosteric inhibitors and allosteric activators may differentially affect global dynamics and network organization of protein systems, leading to diverse allosteric mechanisms. By using structural and functional data on protein kinases, we present a detailed case study that that included atomic-level analysis of coevolutionary networks in kinases bound with allosteric inhibitors and activators. Conclusions We have found that coevolutionary networks can form direct communication pathways connecting functional regions and can recapitulate key regulatory sites and interactions responsible for allosteric signaling in the studied protein systems. The results of this computational investigation are compared with the experimental studies and reveal molecular signatures of known regulatory hotspots in protein kinases. General significance This study has shown that allosteric inhibitors and allosteric activators can have a different effect on residue interaction networks and can exploit distinct regulatory mechanisms, which could open up opportunities for probing allostery and new drug combinations with broad range of activities.
The Influence of Authenticity of Online Reviews on Trust Formation among Travelers

Travelers have increasingly used mega review sites as an information source during the decision-making processes. This study focuses on the significant role of the authenticity of online reviews on...
Thyroid Storm: Glands Gone Wild!

Thyroid storm is a life-threatening presentation of hyperthyroidism. Its presentation includes nonspecific signs and symptoms, and its diagnosis is clinical. Providers need to address any precipitating conditions while simultaneously treating thyroid storm. Thyroid storm management requires understanding of underlying pathophysiology. New thyroid hormone synthesis must be inhibited by thionamides before iodine is administered, which may serve as additional substrate for thyroid hormone synthesis. These patients require admission for a critical care unit for further management.
Detecting depressed users in online forums

Depression is the most common mental illness in the U.S., with 6.7% of all adults who have experienced a major depressive episode. Unfortunately, depression extends to teens and young users as well, and researchers observed an increasing rate in the recent years (from 8.7% in 2005 to 11.3% in 2014 in adolescents and from 8.8% to 9.6% in young adults), especially among girls and women. People themselves are a barrier to fight this disease as they tend to hide their symptoms and do not receive treatments. However, protected by anonymity, they share their sentiments on the Web, looking for help. In this paper, we address the problem of detecting depressed users in online forums. We analyze user behavior in the Rea-chOut.com online forum, a platform providing a supportive environment for young people to discuss their everyday issues, including depression. We examine the linguistic style of user posts in combination with network-based features modeling how users connect in the forum. Our results show that network features are strong predictors of depressed users and, by combining them with user post linguistic features, we can achieve an average precision of 0.78 (vs. 0.47 of a random classifier and 0.71 of linguistic features only) and perform better than related work (F1-measure of 0.63 vs. 0.50).
Methodological Basis of Logistic Support of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

This article proposes a unified theory of logistics for the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine based on the existing theories of armament and the logistics of the Armed Forces, and on the general laws and established consistent patterns, trends, principles, forms and methods of the use of the logistics of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The objective function of the logistics system of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is formulated to achieve compliance of the capabilities of this system with the predicted volume of logistics tasks. In order to implement this compliance, it is necessary to ensure the convergence of requirements and capabilities at all levels of logistics management. The assessment of the functioning of the Air Forces logistics system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is proposed on the basis of the stated views on the logistics theory of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by assessing the set of real capabilities of each subsystem that is a part of its structure and system as a whole. At the same time, the assessment of the quality of the logistic support of the military units (formations) of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine should be related to the level of implementation of the potential capabilities of the logistics system when solving problems of each subsystem at the various stages of combat training, unblocking and operational deployment, the preparation and conduct of operations (combat actions), restoration of combat capability of troops (forces).
Institutional congruence for resilience management in interdependent infrastructure systems

Abstract Institutions are important elements in human systems influencing interactions among organizations that contribute to resilience management in interdependent infrastructure systems (IISs). In particular, the existence of institutional congruence among actors across these complex systems is important for the successful operation of such systems. Institutional congruence is the extent to which organizations have similar, agreed upon, or harmonized institutions. Institutional congruence has remained an understudied aspect of the management of resilience in IISs. This paper assesses three significant aspects of resilience management of IISs through the evaluation of organizational institutions: organizations' involvement in hazard mitigation planning and use of hazard mitigation plans; organizations' view regarding the responsibility of hazard mitigations and contributors to hazard; and organizations’ support of policies for hazard risk mitigation. Organizational institutions within a sector and across different sectors that are involved in hazard risk mitigation in the context of the Harris County during Hurricane Harvey were investigated. The impacts of the extent to which organizational institutions were congruent on the cooperative management of resilience and the vulnerability of infrastructures were discussed. Findings show that, although the use of non-structural solutions is supported by most of the organizations, the existing plans did not specifically focus on such solutions. Additionally, the results indicate the existence of congruence across sectors about the importance of responsibility sharing among governments at different levels in mitigating the risk of hazard. Different organizations across sectors have varying perceptions regarding suitable approaches for flood risk mitigation that contribute to the vulnerability of physical infrastructures.
Full resolution PS-OCT assessment of airway smooth muscle in a longitudinal bronchial thermoplasty study (Conference Presentation)

The goal of bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is to reduce the symptoms associated with asthma by ablating the hyper-responsive airway smooth (ASM), but results have been mixed. In this work we present the results of a study in which we imaged canines before and after BT using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) in order to assess the potential of PS-OCT for use in conjunction with the BT procedure. By employing a novel processing technique we demonstrate PS-OCT results obtained at full system resolution, allowing us to accurately measure even vanishingly thin ASM distributions following the BT procedure.
A Multibody Model for Predicting Spatial Distribution of Human Brain Deformation Following Impact Loading.

With an increasing focus on long-term consequences of concussive brain injuries, there is a new emphasis on developing tools that can accurately predict the mechanical response of the brain to impact loading. Although finite element models (FEM) estimate the brain response under dynamic loading, these models are not capable of delivering rapid (∼seconds) estimates of the brain's mechanical response. In this study, we develop a multibody spring-mass-damper model that estimates the regional motion of the brain to rotational accelerations delivered either about one anatomic axis or across three orthogonal axes simultaneously. In total, we estimated the deformation across 120 locations within a 50th percentile human brain. We found the multibody model (MBM) correlated, but did not precisely predict, the computed finite element response (average relative error: 18.4 ± 13.1%). We used machine learning (ML) to combine the prediction from the MBM and the loading kinematics (peak rotational acceleration, peak rotational velocity) and significantly reduced the discrepancy between the MBM and FEM (average relative error: 9.8 ± 7.7%). Using an independent sports injury testing set, we found the hybrid ML model also correlated well with predictions from a FEM (average relative error: 16.4 ± 10.2%). Finally, we used this hybrid MBM-ML approach to predict strains appearing in different locations throughout the brain, with average relative error estimates ranging from 8.6% to 25.2% for complex, multi-axial acceleration loading. Together, these results show a rapid and reasonably accurate method for predicting the mechanical response of the brain for single and multiplanar inputs, and provide a new tool for quickly assessing the consequences of impact loading throughout the brain.
A New SEPIC-Based Step-Up DC-DC Converter With Wide Conversion Ratio for Fuel Cell Vehicles: Analysis and Design

In this article, a new single-ended primary-inductor converter (SEPIC)-based step-up dc–dc converter which integrates discontinuous-current quasi-Z-source (qZS) and switched-capacitor networks is proposed. The proposed converter has a low input current ripple, wide voltage gain range, low voltage stress on the semiconductor devices, and a constant potential difference between the grounds of its input and output ports. These features make the proposed converter an excellent interface between the fuel cell and the dc-link bus inside the electric vehicle. The analysis of the proposed converter for steady-state operations in continuous conduction mode and discontinuous conduction mode are given. Finally, a 3-kW/800-V scaled-down prototype was built using a gallium nitride power switch and silicon carbide diodes to validate the feasibility of the proposed converter and its theoretical analysis.
DERIVATION OF THE SOURCE-FREE MAXWELL AND GRAVITATIONAL RADIATION EQUATIONS BY GROUP THEORETICAL METHODS

We derive source-free Maxwell-like equations in flat space–time for any helicity j by comparing the transformation properties of the 2(2j+1) states that carry the manifestly covariant representations of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group with the transformation properties of the two helicity j states that carry the irreducible representations of this group. The set of constraints so derived involves a pair of curl equations and a pair of divergence equations. These reduce to the free-field Maxwell equations for j = 1 and the analogous equations coupling the gravito-electric and the gravito-magnetic fields for j = 2.
Globetrotter: Unsupervised Multilingual Translation from Visual Alignment

Machine translation in a multi-language scenario requires large-scale parallel corpora for every language pair. Unsupervised translation is challenging because there is no explicit connection between languages, and the existing methods have to rely on topological properties of the language representations. We introduce a framework that leverages visual similarity to align multiple languages, using images as the bridge between them. We estimate the cross-modal alignment between language and images, and use this estimate to guide the learning of cross-lingual representations. Our language representations are trained jointly in one model with a single stage. Experiments with fifty-two languages show that our method outperforms prior work on unsupervised word-level and sentence-level translation using retrieval.
FPGAs in the Network and Novel Communicator Support Accelerate MPI Collectives

MPI collective operations can often be performance killers in HPC applications; we seek to solve this bottleneck by offloading them to reconfigurable hardware within the switch itself, rather than, e.g., the NIC. We have designed a hardware accelerator MPI-FPGA to implement six MPI collectives in the network. Preliminary results show that MPI-FPGA achieves on average 3.9× speedup over conventional clusters in the most likely scenarios. Essential to this work is providing support for sub-communicator collectives. We introduce a novel mechanism that enables the hardware to support a large number of communicators of arbitrary shape, and that is scalable to very large systems. We show how communicator support can be integrated easily into an in-switch hardware accelerator to implement MPI communicators and so enable full offload of MPI collectives. While this mechanism is universally applicable, we implement it in an FPGA cluster; FPGAs provide the ability to couple communication and computation and so are an ideal testbed and have a number of other architectural benefits. MPI-FPGA is fully integrated into MPICH and so transparently usable by MPI annlications.
Fiscal and Monetary Policy in the Presence of Informality and the Incentive to Join a Currency Union

How does economic activity outside of government control-informality-affect the conduct of fiscal and monetary policy? I study this question in a New Keynesian, small open economy model. The model is assumed to feature informality in both goods and labor markets. A non-traded sector produces a non-taxed informal good. The traded sector produces a formal good and is subject to taxation, but it can hire workers using both formal and informal contracts. I show that the presence of informality decreases the optimal tax rate and increases macroeconomic volatility. Moreover, when the country cannot credibly pre-commit to the optimal policy, informality significantly increases the incentive to peg the currency. This result can help explain why many sub-Saharan African countries have plans to either expand existing currency unions or to form new ones.
Effects of a Pandemic and Isolation on Alcohol and Psychoactive Medication Use in a Population of Rehabilitation and Pain Patients

OBJECTIVE: The conjunction of the coronavirus disease lockdown and the use of illicit drugs suggests the potential increase in drug usage and opioid deaths. Because of other studies, we felt the need to examine if the lockdown has caused a change in the drug intake of our population of substance abuse and pain management patients. MATERIALS: Urine drug testing is a strategy to reduce harm to patients in pain management and substance abuse treatment programs. We analyzed trends in the clinical drug testing patterns of urine specimens sent by substance abuse and pain clinics to monitor their patients. These specimens were tested by a national clinical laboratory using LC-MS/MS definitive methods. The time frame of these comparative observations was the past five years, including the time of the pandemic. RESULTS: The only decrease was a 30% reduction in test requests during the second quarter of 2020. Among the patients tested, positivity decreased greatly for the illicit drugs heroin and cocaine but increased for methamphetamine and fentanyl. Use of the antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs remained consistent or declined for some drugs, relative to pre-pandemic patterns. The percent of patients prescribed the opiates morphine and oxycodone decreased, while the use of hydrocodone increased. Positivity for the drug gabapentin increased greatly. The use of alcohol did not increase significantly during the lockdown period. CONCLUSION: In summary, these findings demonstrate relatively consistent drug use, with decreased positivity for high-risk drugs and dangerous drug combinations. We speculate that monitoring of these patients mitigates the possibility of drug misuse and potential overdose and is in concordance with the goals of these monitoring programs.
Discrete Time-Frequency Representations: Gabor Frames

So far we have discussed continuous time-frequency representations only. They are satisfactory for most theoretical aspects of time-frequency analysis, but not always for practical purposes. To understand what is needed, we consider again the inversion formula (3.20) for the STFT.
An analysis of the fluid phase C1q binding assay. The effect of endogenous C1q on the precipitation and detection of an immune complex model.

Abstract We examined the effect of endogenous C1q on the sensitivity of the fluid-phase C1q binding assay (C1qBA) in detecting an immune complex (IC) model, heat-aggregated IgG (HAIgG), at concentrations of 10–10 000 μg/ml sample. Results in normal human serum (NHS) or plasma (NHP) were compared with those in heat-inactivated NHS (NHS/56) in which most endogenous C1q was depleted by heat denaturation. Higher HAIgG concentrations were required in NHP and NHS to produce the same 125 I-C1q precipitation seen in NHS/56. This decreased sensitivity varied from 70% at low HAIgG concentrations to 0% at high concentrations, as predicted for a large pool of endogeneous C1q, in equilibrium with 125 I-Clq, but in excess of that which could bind to all but the highest concentrations of IC model. In serum depleted of functional C1q on an immunoadsorbant of HAIgG, the precipitation of radiolabeled HAIgG under ClqBA conditions was concentration dependent and generated a saturation curve, showing that only a fraction of IC are usually precipitated in this assay. HAIgG precipitation was enhanced 1.4-fold in NHS/56 (8 μg C1q/ml) and three-fold in NHS (67 μg C1q/ml) suggesting that IC size is increased by endogenous C1q. In dual label experiments using 131 I-HAIgG, the precipitation of 125 I-C1q in NHS/56 was directly proportional to IC model precipitation, but markedly discordant in NHP, showing the measurement of IC in heat-inactivated sera superior to that in native serum. A comparison of the C1q: HAIgG ratio in PEG precipitates with that in samples, indicated that equilibrium was established between C1q and IC model. Thus the precipitation of 125 I-C1q in the C1qBA represents (1) the fraction of total C1q bound to IC, and (2) the fraction of IC precipitated by PEG.
MSE Minus CAPE is the True Conserved Variable for an Adiabatically Lifted Parcel

AbstractFor an adiabatic parcel convecting up or down through the atmosphere, it is often assumed that its moist static energy (MSE) is conserved. Here, it is shown that the true conserved variable for this process is MSE minus convective available potential energy (CAPE) calculated as the integral of buoyancy from the parcel’s height to its level of neutral buoyancy and that this variable is conserved even when accounting for full moist thermodynamics and nonhydrostatic pressure forces. In the calculation of a dry convecting parcel, conservation of MSE minus CAPE gives the same answer as conservation of entropy and potential temperature, while the use of MSE alone can generate large errors. For a moist parcel, entropy and equivalent potential temperature give the same answer as MSE minus CAPE only if the parcel ascends in thermodynamic equilibrium. If the parcel ascends with a nonisothermal mixed-phase stage, these methods can give significantly different answers for the parcel buoyancy because MSE minus...
Structure of a fungal form of aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase from Cryptococcus neoformans

Aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (ASADH) functions at a critical junction in the aspartate-biosynthetic pathway and represents a valid target for antimicrobial drug design. This enzyme catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reductive dephosphorylation of β-aspartyl phosphate to produce the key intermediate aspartate semialdehyde. Production of this intermediate represents the first committed step in the biosynthesis of the essential amino acids methionine, isoleucine and threonine in fungi, and also the amino acid lysine in bacteria. The structure of a new fungal form of ASADH from Cryptococcus neoformans has been determined to 2.6 A resolution. The overall structure of CnASADH is similar to those of its bacterial orthologs, but with some critical differences both in biological assembly and in secondary-structural features that can potentially be exploited for the development of species-selective drugs.
An approximate analytical derivation of skin friction and heat transfer in laminar binary boundary layer flow

Abstract This paper presents an approximate analysis of the binary boundary-layer equations under conditions in which the external flow field pressure gradient is not zero, and the flow Mach number is not necessarily small. Expressions for the skin friction and heat-transfer coefficients are derived together with formulae exhibiting the explicit effects of injection. The results are compared with exact numerical solutions for a wide range of flow conditions, and the agreement is very close.
Radiologic findings in anorectal gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is the most prevalent communicable disease in the United States and the incidence of anorectal involvement is high. Anorectal gonorrhea may be clinically elusive making the radiologic findings crucial in suggesting the diagnosis. Edematous rectal mucosa with limited distensibility and small ulcerations are the prominent radiologie findings.
Clinicopathologic Correlations of Renal Biopsies from Essential Hypertensive Patients

The pathologic findings of kidney biopsies in an extensive series of patients undergoing sympathectomy are reported. The findings are correlated with the clinical status, level of hypertension, postoperative course, and length of survival.
Effects of hydrogen bonding on the ring breathing mode of pyridine in pyridine/chloroform and pyridine/bromoform systems

Abstract Hydrogen bonding between pyridine and chloroform as well as pyridine and bromoform is studied using noisy light-based coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (I(2)CARS). A blue-shift in the ring breathing mode of pyridine is observed when a hydrogen bond complex is formed between the nitrogen on pyridine and the hydrogen from the donor molecule. The formation of the hydrogen bond between haloforms and pyridine is very weak and does not result in an independent peak. Nonetheless, data analysis allows for identification of a small blue-shift of the hydrogen bonded complex.
N-trimethylsilyl-ε-caprolactam: a multifunctional reagent for the anionic polymerization of ε-caprolactam

Emploi de ce compose comme precurseur de l'anion e-caprolactame et comme reticulant dans la preparation du polyamide 6
Age-related changes in vitreous mobility as measured by video B scan ultrasound

Many vitreoretinal disorders increase in incidence with age. The vitreous is known to liquefy and separate from the retina in aging patients. Liquefaction and partial vitreous separation alter the biomechanics of the vitreous and change the tractional forces exerted by the vitreous on the retina. These forces may play a role in the development of a variety of vitreoretinal pathologies including retinal tears, cystoid macular edema, and macular holes. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that the biomechanical properties of the vitreous change with aging and can be quantified by analysis of kinetic B scan ultrasound recordings. Kinetic B scan ultrasound recordings were made of the vitreous gel of 38 subjects from ages 18 to 91 during standard eye motions. The recordings were graded for speckle density (hyperreflective areas on ultrasound) and were examined for the presence or absence of posterior vitreous detachment. Tracking of the speckles on a polar grid allowed for the calculation of the angle travelled by the speckle relative to the angle travelled by the eye. The recordings were also analysed for "overshoot time", or the amount of time that the speckles continued to travel after the cessation of eye movement. The vitreous of subjects of age less than 46 years demonstrated significantly less speckle density (P < 0.001), less overshoot time (P < 0.001), and less angle travelled by the speckle relative to the angle travelled by the eye when compared to older subjects (P = 0.006). The presence or absence of PVD as diagnosed by kinetic ultrasound was not a significant predictor for speckle density, overshoot time, or ratio of angular motions. The results indicate that aging affects the biomechanics of the vitreous in ways which can be quantified with kinetic ultrasound analysis using the grading system described above.
SWAN: System for Wearable Audio Navigation

Wearable computers can certainly support audio-only presentation of information; a visual interface need not be present for effective user interaction. A system for wearable audio navigation (SWAN) is being developed to serve as a navigation and orientation aid for persons temporarily or permanently visually impaired. SWAN is a wearable computer consisting of audio-only output and tactile input via a handheld interface. SWAN aids a user in safe pedestrian navigation and includes the ability for the user to author new GIS data relevant to their needs of wayfinding, obstacle avoidance, and situational awareness support. Emphasis is placed on representing pertinent data with non-speech sounds through a process of sonification. SWAN relies on a geographic information system (GIS) infrastructure for supporting geocoding and spatialization of data. Furthermore, SWAN utilizes novel tracking technology.
Trans-regulation of thoracic homeotic selector genes of the Antennapedia and bithorax complexes by the trithorax group genes: absent, small, and homeotic discs 1 and 2

Genes of the trithorax group appear to be required for the maintenance of expression of the homeotic selector genes of the Antennapedia and bithorax complexes. According to genetic criteria, the Drosophila melanogaster genes absent, small, or homeotic discs 1 and 2 (ash1 and ash2) are members of the trithorax group. In this paper we examine the consequences of ash1 and ash2 mutations on the expression of homeotic selector genes in imaginal discs. The results of these experiments demonstrates that both ash1 and ash2 are trans-regulatory elements of homeotic selector gene regulation. Hypomorphic ash1 mutations cause variegated expression of Antennapedia, Sex combs reduced, Ultrabithorax, and engrailed. Complete loss of ash2 activity causes the loss of expression of Sex combs reduced in first leg imaginal discs, loss of expression of Ultrabithorax in third leg discs, and a late-patterned loss of expression of Ultrabithorax within haltere discs, yet has no effect on engrailed or Antennapedia expression. These results suggest that the range and action of trithorax group genes is varied and complex and argue against any model in which all of the products of the trithorax group act together in a single mechanism or complex.
Estimation of Thermal Properties in Epoxy Matrix/Carbon Fiber Composite Materials

Accurate knowledge of the thermal characteristics of composites is impor tant in any nonisothermal environment, and these characteristics are related to the thermal properties of the material. The ...
Parallel implementations of the trace minimization scheme TraceMIN for the sparse symmetric eigenvalue problem

Eigenvalue problems arise in many computational science and engineering applications: in structural mechanics, nanoelectronics, and Google's PageRank link analysis, for example. Often, the large size of these eigenvalue problems requires the development of eigensolvers that scale well on parallel computing platforms. In this paper, we compare the effectiveness and robustness of our eigensolver for the symmetric generalized eigenvalue problem, the trace minimization scheme TraceMIN-developed in the early 1980s-against today's well-known sparse eigensolvers including: the LOBPCG and block Krylov-Schur implementations in Trilinos; ARPACK; and several methods in the PRIMME package such as the Jacobi-Davidson one. In addition, we demonstrate the parallel scalability of two variants of TraceMIN on multicore nodes as well as on large clusters of such nodes. Our results show that TraceMIN is more robust and has higher parallel scalability than the above-mentioned competing eigensolvers.
The sheet of indication: a diagrammatic semantics for Peirce’s EG-alpha

Following the guiding thread of Peirce’s use of diagrammatic syntax in his system of existential graphs (EG), which depends crucially on the role of the Sheet of Assertion, we introduce the notion of Sheet of Indication (SI) as the basis for a general diagrammatic semantics applicable to a wide range of diagrams. We then show how Peirce’s EG-alpha graphs may be understood as instances of SIs and how logically coherent models of the graphs are represented in the SI semantics.
Effects of metoprolol on early infarct expansion after acute myocardial infarction

The effects of metoprolol on early infarct expansion after acute myocardial infarction were studied in rats (n = 54) that underwent either left coronary artery ligation (MI) or sham operation. Immediately after surgery, the rats received either metoprolol (M) by mouth, which had been dissolved in drinking water, for 72 hours supplemented with three intraperitoneal doses over the first 24 hours or no treatment (H2O). Three days after the initial surgery, hemodynamic measurements were made before and after volume loading. The rats were killed, the hearts were removed, and passive pressure-volume curves were obtained. The hearts were then fixed at a constant pressure and analyzed morphometrically. Infarct size was nonsignificantly lower in the metoprolol-treated group compared with the untreated group (38% ± 5% MI-M vs 48% ± 3% MI-H2O, p = 0.10) Compared with infarcted untreated rats, infarcted metoprolol-treated rats had a lower heart rate (322 ± 13 beats/min MI-M vs 452 ± 19 beats/min MI-H2O, p < 0.001), lower left ventricular systolic pressure (63 ± 4 mm Hg MI-M vs 90 ± 6 mm Hg MI-H2O, p = 0.004), and lower +dpdt (1340 ± 169 mm Hg/sec MI-M vs 2872 ± 273 mm Hg/sec MI-H2O, p < 0.001), but left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and cardiac index did not differ between the two groups. Left ventricular weight corrected for body weight was higher in infarcted rats treated with metoprolol compared with infarcted untreated rats (2.76 ± 0.07 gm/kg MI-M vs 2.41 ± 0.09 gm/kg MI-H2O, p < 0.05). The initial slope of the pressure-volume relationship Ki, an index of operative volume stiffness, was lower in infarcted rats treated with metoprolol compared with infarcted untreated rats (p = 0.03). There were, however, no significant differences in the expansion index, thinning ratio, or left ventricular volume between the two infarcted groups. Thus metoprolol therapy begun in the immediate postinfarction period promotes an increase in left ventricular weight and reduces operative volume stiffness but has no significant effect on indexes of early infarct expansion.
Texture: Plus ça change, ..

This paper presents an edge finder for textured images. Using rough constraints on the size of image regions, it estimates the local amount of variation in image values. These estimates are constructed so that they do not rise at boundaries. This enables subsequent smoothing and edge detection to find coarse-scale boundaries to the full available resolution, while ignoring changes within uniformly textured regions. This method extends easily to vector valued images, e.g. 3-color images or texture features. Significant groups of outlier values are also identified, enabling the edge finder to detect cracks separating regions as well as certain changes in texture phase.
A randomized trial of temperature-controlled radiofrequency, continuous positive airway pressure, and placebo for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

OBJECTIVE: The study goal was to determine the effectiveness of (1) multilevel temperature-controlled radiofrequency tissue ablation (TCRFTA) or (2) continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for the treatment of mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, 2-site trial, comparing TCRFTA (n=30) and CPAP (n=30) with sham-placebo (n=30) using intention-to-treat analysis.RESULTS: Compared with pretreatment baseline, TCRFTA improved reaction time, OSAS-specific quality of life (QOL), and subjective sleepiness (all P < 0.05). Compared with sham-placebo, TCRFTA improved QOL, airway volume, apnea index, and respiratory arousal index (all P < 0.05). TCRFTA side effects and complications were mild, temporary, and similar to sham-placebo. CPAP improved QOL and sleepiness compared with baseline and QOL when compared with sham-placebo (all P < 0.05). Significant differences were not seen between TCRFTA and CPAP outcomes.CONCLUSION: T...
Induced hypertension during restoration of flow after temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat: effect on neuronal injury and edema.

Abstract The effect of hypertension instituted during restoration of flow after focal ischemia was studied. After the middle cerebral artery (MCA) of 12 rats was occluded for 2 hours, the ligatures were released and flow was restored for a period of 2 hours. In the control group, mean arterial pressure (MAP) was not manipulated. In the hypertensive group, the MAP was elevated by 25–30 mm Hg immediately after reestablishment of MCA patency. The area of neuronal injury, determined by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium staining, was significantly smaller in the hypertensive group. Specific gravity, determined by microgravimetry, did not differ between groups. The data demonstrate that modest hypertension, when induced during reperfusion after 2 hours of MCA occlusion, reduces neuronal injury and does not exacerbate edema formation.
Citizen Advocate, Meet Richard Oastler

This article outlines the triumphs and tragedy of Richard Oastler, a citizen advocate of the 19th century who earned the title “Factory King.” His story has much in common with those of several well known professional special educators who in the last decade took notebooks and cameras into state-controlled institutions for the retarded in order to loosen the medical administrative model's iron grip on residential services for societally devalued children and adults.
Compensation of Sensors Nonlinearity with Neural Networks

This paper describes a method of linearizing the nonlinear characteristics of many sensors using an embedded neural network. The proposed method allows for complex neural networks with very powerful architectures to be embedded on a very inexpensive 8-bit microcontroller. In order to accomplish this unique training software was developed as well as a cross compiler. The Neuron by Neuron process was as developed in assembly language to allow the fastest and shortest code on the embedded system. The embedded neural network also required an accurate approximation for hyperbolic tangent to be used as the neuron activation function. This process was then demonstrated on a robotic arm kinematics problem.