cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
TWO NEUSTONIC FUNGI

SUMMARY Two chytridiaceous fungi were found in the neuston of a Florida lake. Both parasitized living pine pollen grains dropped in the water. Phlyctochytrium macrosporum was characterized by having apophysate sporangia bearing one or more hemispherical protrusions, empty at maturity, and a small number of large (10-15 am in diam) zoospores. Sporophlyctidium neustonicuni forms in its epibiotic or stalked sporangia, spherical aplanospores which after discharge produce long straight setae, one of which makes contact with a pollen grain and enters it. The attached aplanospore then enlarges into a sporangium. Resting spores were also found but their germination was not seen. No sexuality appeared to be present. In the course of a study of the fungi attacking living pollen, primarily of pine, which falls into lakes, ponds, wet ditches, etc., in great abundance in northern Florida during the phenomenal "pollen showers" of spring, two very interesting and apparently hitherto undescribed fungi were encountered. Both were found in the neuston of Newnan's Lake, Alachua County near Gainesville following pollen showers which started about 4 March, 1977. They were particularly abundant on pine pollen captured by foam, although they were also found in the conspicuous sulfur-colored windrows along lee shores. The first of these was an epibiotic monocentric undoubted chytrid which appeared to be a species of Polyphlyctis Karling (1967). It differed so strikingly, however, from P. unispina Karling, which that author equates, I believe incorrectly, with the fungus termed Phlyctochytrium unispinum Paterson (1956), that there can be little doubt of its distinctiveness from Karling's fungus and it is put at least for the moment in the inclusive genus Phlyctochytriumn. Karling's fungus I have found in abundance here and elsewhere and will report on it in another paper. Two morphological features are outstanding in the Newnan's Lake fungus: first, the presence on the sporangium of one or more somewhat thick-walled, large, hoop-like (in optical section) outgrowths seemingly devoid of contents (FIGS. 5-9); and secondly, the formation of a few (usually 12 or less) very large (10-15 tm in diam), posteriorly uni
Transgranular Slits in Aluminum Interconnects Caused by Thermal Stress and Electric Current

An aluminum interconnect can fail by a transgranular slit. We show how a rounded void collapses to such a slit, as atoms diffuse on the void surface, driven by electric current, thermal stress, and surface energy. We use a variational principle to simulate the shape evolution, and identify the critical conditions to trigger the shape instability.
System of Systems Optimization by Pseudo-Hierarchical Multistage Model

This paper describes a multilevel, multistage approach to system of systems design optimization where system design is linked with system allocation along the multistage decision making horizon. The approach is composed of two parts: pseudo-hierarchical formulation (i.e., how to model the stages of multiple, separate decision making processes), and multistage coordination (i.e., how eciently the proposed model would perform). The pseudohierarchical formulation integrates multilevel optimization and multistage programming to capture level-by-level and stage-by-stage system design optimization. The multistage coordination is based on Lagrangian relaxation utilizing the partial duality theorem. Alternating direction method is incorporated as an ecient means to solve this inherently large-scale optimization problem. An airline example validates the methodology where an airline plans to introduce multiple new aircraft to capture dynamically changing demand of the customers. The proposed methodology is validated against the all-in-one approach and the sequential approach.
Pharmacology of modalities of treatment.

"Diagnosing congestive heart failure and establishing the etiology are necessary first steps. Perhaps more critical, however, are assessing the severity of heart failure, prognosticating, and initiating pharmacotherapy."
Epilepsy neurosurgery in children.

Abstract Because epilepsy in children can lead to untoward developmental consequences, the key notion is that children with therapy-resistant epilepsy should be diagnosed early and referred to a pediatric epilepsy center so that they may receive a comprehensive evaluation by an interdisciplinary team experienced in treating this disorder. The diagnosis of therapy-resistant epilepsy should be entertained after the child has failed two antiepileptic drugs. Of all children diagnosed with treatment-resistant epilepsy, up to 33% may be eligible for surgical treatment. Within the spectrum of therapy-resistant epilepsy, children with structural anomalies on neuroimaging are the best candidates for curative surgical therapy by resecting the epileptogenic region. Palliative procedures, such as vagal nerve stimulation and corpus callosotomy, are reserved for patients with severe refractory seizures who are not candidates for curative surgery. Importantly, early surgical intervention in children with treatment-resistant epilepsy can lead to better seizure-free outcomes, improved developmental indices, and enhanced quality of life.
Integrating Research Activities, Practice Changes, and Monitoring and Evaluation: A Model for Academic Health Centers

A study undertaken by the Joint Commission in 1986 proposed that some research activities at academic health centers (AHCs) be used to fulfill monitoring and evaluation requirements. This paper presents a framework for such use of research activities. To fulfill the monitoring and evaluation standards, AHCs and their medical staff departments must conduct planned and systematic quality assurance activities, and research and subsequent practice changes must be documented. In addition, particular research activities should correspond to the ten steps of the Joint Commission model of the monitoring and evaluation process. It is critical that research result in specific actions to improve care, along with follow-up monitoring and, when necessary, follow-up action.
A belief tracking challenge task for spoken dialog systems

Belief tracking is a promising technique for adding robustness to spoken dialog systems, but current research is fractured across different teams, techniques, and domains. This paper amplifies past informal discussions (Raux, 2011) to call for a belief tracking challenge task, based on the Spoken dialog challenge corpus (Black et al., 2011). Benefits, limitations, evaluation design issues, and next steps are presented.
Traumatic brain injury causes retention of long introns in metabolic genes via regulation of intronic Histone 3 lysine 36 methylation levels in the sub-acute phase of injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause persistent pathological alteration of neurons. This may lead to cognitive dysfunctions, depression, and even increased susceptibility to life threatening diseases, such as epilepsy and Alzheimer’s Disease. To investigate the underlying genetic and molecular basis of TBI, Wasserman and colleagues developed an inexpensive and reproducible model for simulating TBI in Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit Fly). Using a modified version of this high impact trauma (HIT) device, we subjected w1118 fruit flies to mild closed head trauma. To determine the transcriptomic changes that contribute to survival post TBI, we collected fly heads from the survivors at 2 time points; 4 hours and 24 hours’ post-trauma. Mild TBI had limited impact on the steady state RNA levels but showed large perturbations in alternative splicing (AS) 24 hours’ post-trauma. Classification of these AS changes showed selective retention (RI) of long introns (>81bps), with a mean size of ~3000bps. Some of these RI genes also showed a significant reduction in transcript abundance and were specifically enriched in genes involved in mitochondrial metabolism. The RI are enriched in ACACACA motifs known to bind to Smooth (SM), an hnRNPL class of splicing factor. Mutating SM (sm4/Df) resulted in reversal of RI observed 24 hours’ post-trauma, and in some cases, elimination of basal levels of RI in long introns. This observation suggests that SM is critical regulator of RI and that this process is enhanced by TBI. Interestingly, chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by deep sequencing (ChIP-seq) for histone 3 lysine 36 trimethylation (H3K36me3) revealed increased levels of this histone modification in retained introns post-trauma. Consistent with this observation, mutations in lysine specific demethylase 4A (KDM4A), which de-methylate H3K36me3, increased RI in many of the same long introns affected by TBI. Additionally, higher H3K36me3 levels are observed around intronic SM-binding motifs post-trauma, suggesting interaction between H3K36me3 and SM binding to intronic splicing suppressor sites might be responsible for increasing RI of metabolic genes as a novel mechanism to improve survival after TBI.
Customer Co-design of Computer Mouse for Mass Customization without Causing Mass Confusion

By considering the customer as a partner in value creation, co-design, as a customer-supplier collaborative design endeavor, is becoming more common to integrate users into design and production processes as a promising strategy for companies to react to the growing individualization of demand. The computer mouse, a critical human-machine interface device, still has very little choice in terms of end user customization even though mouse designs have branched away from a single design to multiple designs, types, and sizes. This paper proposes a co-design method for engineered products that can be parameterized and illustrates the application of the method for the customization of computer mice. An interactive co-design tool was developed that allows customers to customize the size and shape of a mouse to suit their needs. The tool also provides interfaces to manufacturing for 3-axis tool path generation and for additive manufacturing. Examples are presented to demonstrate the tool’s capabilities.
Paleolimnological evidence of the consequences of recent increased dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in lakes of the northeastern USA

As a result of reductions in sulfate deposition and changing climate, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations have increased in many lakes situated in forests of northeastern North America and northern Europe since the 1990s. Although this increase is well documented, the associated ecological implications remain unclear. In particular, DOC strongly influences the vertical temperature structure of lakes, with increasing DOC often leading to a shallower epilimnion. We investigated the effect of increased DOC concentrations on lake thermal structure using fossil diatom records from six remote Maine lakes. Sedimentary diatom profiles from three pairs of small (<0.5 km2) lakes were compared, with each pair containing one lake with a documented significant increase in DOC and the other experiencing no change in DOC since the early 1990s. Lake thermal structure was inferred from changes in the relative abundance of Discostella stelligera and Aulacoseira species, two diatom taxa that are associated with changes in thermal stratification. The three lakes without increasing DOC showed no change in diatom-inferred mixing depth over the past few decades. Of the lakes with documented increases in DOC, two showed the highest turnover in diatom community structure over time. Profiles from both of these lakes also indicated directional change in diatom-inferred mixing depth over the past 20 years, but the direction of change differed. This study demonstrates that recent increases in DOC have the potential to alter the physical and biological structure of lakes, but that these responses may differ across lakes.
Cellular Therapies for Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is an X-linked inherited rare disease caused by mutations of the WAS gene and affecting various subsets of the hematopoietic system. Affected patients experience severe bleedings, autoimmunity, immunodeficiency, and an increased risk of hematopoietic malignancies. Since several decades, patients with WAS have been treated successfully using allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation – this procedure may however be associated with significant morbidity as well as mortality, in particular in case of HLA-disparity. Hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy has been developed as an alternative, but oncogene activation secondary to insertional mutagenesis can lead to oncogenesis. More recent therapeutic approaches include the use of self-inactivating lentiviral vectors, promising a better safety-to-risk ratio. Therapeutic efficacy and safety are currently being assessed. New methods of genomic engineering employing zinc finger nucleases, TALENs, and CRISPR-Cas as tools may offer new perspectives to site-specific genomic repair of disease-causing mutations.
Tuning underwater adhesion with cation–π interactions

Cation-π interactions drive the self-assembly and cohesion of many biological molecules, including the adhesion proteins of several marine organisms. Although the origin of cation-π bonds in isolated pairs has been extensively studied, the energetics of cation-π-driven self-assembly in molecular films remains uncharted. Here we use nanoscale force measurements in combination with solid-state NMR spectroscopy to show that the cohesive properties of simple aromatic- and lysine-rich peptides rival those of the strong reversible intermolecular cohesion exhibited by adhesion proteins of marine mussel. In particular, we show that peptides incorporating the amino acid phenylalanine, a functional group that is conspicuously sparing in the sequences of mussel proteins, exhibit reversible adhesion interactions significantly exceeding that of analogous mussel-mimetic peptides. More broadly, we demonstrate that interfacial confinement fundamentally alters the energetics of cation-π-mediated assembly: an insight that should prove relevant for diverse areas, which range from rationalizing biological assembly to engineering peptide-based biomaterials.
A Legal Examination of Revenge Pornography and Cyber-Harassment

This paper examines the current state of statutes in the United States as they relate to cyber-harassment in the context of “revenge porn”. Revenge porn refers to websites which cater to those wishing to exploit, harass, or otherwise antagonize their ex partners using pornographic images and videos which were obtained during their relationships. The paper provides examples and illustrations as well as a summary of current statutes in the United States. The paper additionally explores some of the various legal remedies available to victims of revenge pornography.
Influence of Curing on the Properties of Geopolymer Mortar Made with Low Molarity Sodium Hydroxide

In recent years, researchers have focused on finding an alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) to reduce carbon footprint. One such alternative is identified to be geopolymer which often consists of fly ash, sodium silicate, and sodium or potassium hydroxide (NaOH or KOH). Although measured strength is suitable for infrastructure application, the high molarity of NaOH creates the hazardous working environment. Therefore, the focus of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using low molarity (4 M) sodium hydroxide in geopolymer mortar. The conventional compressive and tensile strength tests along with nondestructive (free–free resonant column) tests were performed to identify the influence of curing regime on the gain in strength and moduli of low molarity geopolymer. The strength and moduli evaluation suggested that geopolymer of sufficient strength can be produced using low molar NaOH. The strength and moduli increased with increase in curing temperature or curing time or both. However, extended curing at higher temperature inversely influenced strength and moduli. More research is needed to optimize curing regime and identify long-term durability of geopolymer produced with low molar NaOH.
Application of ionic liquids in the preparation of extraction chromatographic materials for metal ion separations: Progress and prospects

ABSTRACTOver the last two decades, extraction chromatography, a form of liquid chromatography employing as the stationary phase any of a variety of extractants in an appropriate organic solvent sorbed on a solid support, has emerged as an important tool for a number of analytical- and preparative-scale metal ion separations. Recent studies in which ionic liquids (ILs) have been evaluated as replacements for the molecular solvents normally used in liquid–liquid extraction suggest that an improvement in the performance of extraction chromatographic materials might be effected by the use of an IL as the basis for the stationary phase. In this report, approaches to the preparation of new sorbents incorporating ILs are described and the performance of the resultant materials in various metal ion separations is reviewed. In addition, promising areas for future work are identified.
BEYOND REALITY: Head-Mounted Displays for Mobile Systems Researchers

Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) have finally reached the point where they can comfortably and affordably transport people to virtual worlds or transform their physical reality by feeding timely information straight to their eyes. However, the technology behind HMDs is still not fully mature. There are plenty of open challenges in wireless networking, cloud computing, security, and privacy, as well as opportunities to create novel applications.
Bioregeneration of Chabazite During Nitrification of Centrate from Anaerobically Digested Livestock Waste: Experimental and Modeling Studies

Nitrification of high total ammonia nitrogen-strength wastewaters is challenging due to free ammonia (FA) inhibition of nitrification. FA inhibition can potentially be alleviated by temporarily adsorbing ammonium (NH4+) to natural zeolite, such as chabazite, followed by direct zeolite bioregeneration via nitrification. In this research, the effectiveness of chabazite addition for reducing nitrification inhibition during treatment of centrate from anaerobic digestion of swine waste was quantified. A mathematical model was developed that accounts for ion exchange of NH4+ and sodium at the chabazite surface, surface diffusion of adsorbed NH4+ within the chabazite grains, sequential nitrification of aqueous NH4+ to nitrite and nitrate, and inhibition of nitritation and nitratation rates by NH4+. The model was calibrated using results of abiotic ion exchange and nitrification studies. Subsequently, nitrification tests were carried out with synthetic wastewater with a NH4+-N concentration of 1000 mg L–1, with a...
Integrated conversion of 1-butanol to 1,3-butadiene

Renewed interest in production of 1,3-butadiene from non-petroleum sources has motivated research into novel production routes. In this study, we investigated an integrated process comprising 1-butanol dehydration over a γ-Al2O3 catalyst to produce a mixture of linear butenes, coupled with a downstream K-doped Cr2O3/Al2O3 catalyst to convert the butenes into butadiene. Linear butene yields greater than 90% are achievable at 360 °C in the dehydration step, and single-pass 1,3-butadiene yields greater than 40% are achieved from 1-butene in a N2 atmosphere in the dehydrogenation step. In the integrated process, 1,3-butadiene yields are 10–15%. In all cases, linear C4 selectivity is greater than 90%, suggesting that 1,3-butadiene yields could be significantly improved in a recycle reactor. Doping the Cr2O3 catalyst with different metals to promote H2 consumption in a CO2 atmosphere did not have a large effect on catalyst performance compared to an undoped Cr2O3 catalyst, although doping with K in an N2-diluted atmosphere and with Ni in a CO2-enriched atmosphere showed slight improvement. In contrast, doping with K and Ca in a CO2-enriched atmosphere showed slightly decreased performance. Similarly, employing a CO2-enriched atmosphere in general did not improve 1,3-butadiene yield or selectivity compared to reactions performed in N2. Overall, this study suggests that an integrated dehydration/dehydrogenation process to convert 1-butanol into 1,3-butadiene could be feasible with further catalyst and process development.
Maternal leukocyte metabolism in fetal malnutrition.

About 15 percent of successful pregnancies yield low-birth-weight babies (less than 2500 g). It is estimated that the low birth weight in about one-third to one-half of these infants is not due to prematurity, but is the result of fetal malnutrition (FM).1 An indeterminate number of surviving fetally malnourished babies have permanent physical, neurologic, intelligence or learning defects. In addition, about one-third of fetal deaths has been ascribed to fetal malnutrition. It has been suggested that maternal malnutrition may represent a teratogenic insult during the embryonic life of some infants.
The American Psychiatric Association Insanity Rule—A Metaphysical Subtlety

The acquittal of John W. Hinckley, Jr., by reason of insanity in June, 1982, although it aroused a public outcry against the exculpatory insanity rule and provoked widespread criticism of the psychiatric profession, did not further the drive for abolition of the insanity defense. On the contrary, the Hinckley verdict served as a stimulus for organizations and individuals that favored retention of the defense to graft the concept onto state and federal laws more firmly than ever before.
Nonneoplastic Parathyroid Diseases

The parathyroid glands are involved in regulating serum calcium concentrations and bone metabolism by the secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Low concentrations of serum calcium are sensed by a calcium-sensing receptor (CASR) on the surface of parathyroid cells and result in stimulation of PTH secretion, while high serum calcium concentrations inhibit PTH secretion. The parathyroid glands are derived from the endodermal third and fourth branchial pouches. The normal parathyroid glands each measures 4–6 mm in length and weighs 20–40 mg. Generally, a parathyroid gland greater than 50–60 mg is considered abnormal.
System Design of GP Computers

This chapter discusses the factors affecting the elements of system designs of a general purpose type of digital computer. In the design of a general purpose type of digital computer, one of the first decisions to be made relates to the choice of arithmetic, logical, and information transfer operations to be built into the machine, that is, made available to the user as a single instruction. An important consideration is the expected frequency of use of an operation in problems to be solved by the computer. Subsequently, in the early stages of planning a computer, a number of important decisions must be made upon which the eventual design will largely depend. Four important basic considerations are (1) number and type of instructions to be included in the machine's repertory; (2) size and type of main store; (3) format of words for representing instructions and data; and (4) nature of the control unit.
A quantitative field study of paternal care in Ozark hellbenders, North America’s giant salamanders

Paternal care is relatively uncommon in tetrapods but appears to be the rule in the large aquatic salamanders of the primitive family Cryptobranchidae (North America: hellbenders, genus Cryptobranchus; Asia: giant salamanders, genus Andrias). For the Ozark hellbender, C. alleganiensis bishopi, a federally endangered subspecies, anecdotal observations of paternal care have been reported, but no quantitative assessments have been made. We quantified behavior of a guarding male hellbender from video footage collected over 6 weeks in 2008 from a naturally occurring nest. We quantified behavior of the guarding male to help develop hypotheses about costs and benefits of paternal care. Overall, there were high frequencies of tail fanning of the eggs and rocking behaviors (rhythmic, lateral back-and-forth movements of the body), which increase aeration of the nest. The male rarely left the nest unguarded and spent over half of the recorded time at the nest exposed at the nest entrance. Potential egg predators observed included centrarchid, cyprinid, ictalurid, and percid fishes, with centrarchids being the most common and exhibiting the most interest in the nest. The frequency of foraging by the male was low (n = 8 strikes at identifiable prey), with a 37% success rate. The male was observed to consume seven of his eggs. Our data represent the first systematic analysis of paternal care of Ozark hellbenders and elucidate some of the costs (low foraging success, potential energetic costs of tail fanning and rocking) and benefits (aeration of eggs, protection from egg predators) of paternal care.
Client-Centered Skill Sets: What Small IMC Agencies Need from College Graduates

The authors, whose students find work primarily in small organizations, sought to understand what preparation these employers expect from recent graduates seeking IMC jobs. The authors invited mana...
Anomalous Cooling-Rate-Dependent Charge Transport in Electrolyte-Gated Rubrene Crystals

Although electrolyte gating has been demonstrated to enable control of electronic phase transitions in many materials, long sought-after gate-induced insulator-metal transitions in organic semiconductors remain elusive. To better understand limiting factors in this regard, here we report detailed wide-range resistance-temperature ( R- T) measurements at multiple gate voltages on ionic-liquid-gated rubrene single crystals. Focusing on the previously observed high-bias regime where conductance anomalously decreases with increasing bias magnitude, we uncover two surprising (and related) features. First, distinctly cooling-rate-dependent transport is detected for the first time. Second, power law R- T is observed over a significant T window, which is highly unusual in an insulator. These features are discussed in terms of electronic disorder at the rubrene/ionic liquid interface influenced by (i) cooling-rate-dependent structural order in the ionic liquid and (ii) the intriguing possibility of a gate-induced glassy short-range charge-ordered state in rubrene. These results expose new physics at the gated rubrene surface, pointing to exciting new directions in the field.
Accidental dural puncture during labor analgesia and obstetric outcomes in nulliparous women.

Abstract Background The effect of accidental dural puncture during labor epidural analgesia on obstetric outcomes remains unexplored. In this retrospective cohort study, we tested the hypothesis that accidental dural puncture is associated with prolonged second stage of labor. Methods Anesthetic and obstetric data from nulliparous parturients who suffered an accidental dural puncture at term labor (n=89) during the years 2006–2012 were compared with randomly selected parturients with uncomplicated epidural analgesia (n=232). The primary outcome was the proportion of parturients with prolonged second stage of labor: secondary outcomes were the proportion of instrumented and cesarean deliveries. Statistical analysis included student t-test for continuous variables, chi-square test for binary variables, and logistic regressions for associations between accidental dural puncture and outcomes. Results Demographic and obstetric characteristics of parturients were comparable except for a non-significant increase in prolonged second stage of labor in the accidental dural puncture group (27% vs. 17%, P=0.06). After adjusting for known potential confounders, multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed a significant association between accidental dural puncture and prolonged second stage of labor (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] 1.99, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.82; P=0.037). This was not accompanied by an increase in instrumented (aRR 0.57, 95% CI 0.27 to 1.21; P=0.15) or cesarean delivery (aRR 1.83, 95% CI 0.89 to 3.77; P=0.10). Conclusion Accidental dural puncture during labor analgesia was associated with prolonged second stage of labor in nulliparous parturients. Prospective studies are needed to assess the relationship between the quality of neuraxial block after accidental dural puncture and obstetric outcomes.
18 Customer Service Behavior

This chapter describes influences on customer service behavior and how traditional industrial/organizational (I-O) psychology topics (i.e., selection, motivation, training) might be approached if the goal is enhancing customer service behavior. The discussion of each topic is from a contingency perspective, in that key attributes of services (intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability, perishability and the nature of customer contact) influence how one can promote positive customer service behavior. After discussing what is known about customer service behavior in relation to each topic focus, we provide a table to illustrate how a contingency perspective might drive future research. Keywords: customer service behavior; emotional labor; contingency perspective; service quality
Adherence to Long-Term Follow-Up of Patients with Life-Threatening, Inhaled Synthetic Cannabinoids-Associated Coagulopathy in Chicago.

A large-scale outbreak of life-threatening, inhaled synthetic cannabinoids (Spice/K2)-associated coagulopathy with bleeding complications was recently reported in Illinois. The causative agents were brodifacoum, difenacoum, and bromadiolone, potent, long-acting, 4-hydroxycoumarin anticoagulant rodenticides (LAAR) that were mixed with Spice/K2 products procured and then inhaled by the victims. We report on 3 poisoned patients who reside in underserved, socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods of Chicago that were admitted and treated successfully at two inner-city, tertiary care hospitals in Chicago. The patients were discharged from the hospitals on daily long-term high-dose oral vitamin K1 (VK1), provided free of charge. However, 2 patients were lost to follow-up prior to safe discontinuation of oral VK1 therapy. The third patient was treated and followed successfully for 7 months when VK1 was discontinued. We conclude that prolonged oral VK1 therapy and follow-up of acute, life-threatening LAAR poisoning are variable and present challenges to healthcare providers. Appropriate practice guidelines to improve patient access and adherence to daily high-dose oral VK1 therapy and follow-up should be developed and implemented.
Diego Rivera, The History of Medicine in Mexico: Peopled Demand for Better Health, mural in 1953 still current.

Although public health and social medicine have a long history in Latin America going back to Colonial times, their relevance has ebbed and flowed as a result of the development of a variety of social and political movements. The Mexican Revolution accelerated implementation of public health policies in Mexico and resulted in the creation of the Mexican Institute of Social Security to serve the health and social security needs of the country’s population. Construction of the Hospital La Raza and its embellishment by the mural paintings of Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros corresponded to the heyday of public health ideas in Mexico. This is clearly reflected in Rivera’s mural painting from 1953, The History of Medicine in Mexico: People’s Demand for Better Health . The left side of the painting, representing the history of modern medicine in Mexico, exemplifies the tensions between individuals and social groups demanding the fruits of modern medicine and public health, and entrenched bureaucracy and private interests resisting their demands. Rivera’s artistry illustrates this tension by depicting urban social groups and a family with a pregnant mother and children requesting medical attention on one side of the main panel, facing condescending physicians, bureaucrats and upper society gentlemen and ladies on the other side. The importance of social movements to the development of public health policies illustrated by Rivera in 1953 continues to be relevant in Latin America today where increasing millions still lack the benefits of health care and social security.
An Energy-Synchronous Direct Antenna Modulation Method for Phase Shift Keying

A novel scheme for transmitting broadband phase shift keyed signals from electrically small antennas using energy-synchronous direct antenna modulation is described. We outline fundamental operating principles of the method and experimentally compare its performance to that of a conventional band-limited transmit antenna with the same electrical size and radiation efficiency. Transmitted waveforms are analyzed in the time domain both at RF and baseband. Results show significant increases in signal quality, suggesting a larger effective transmit bandwidth and greater potential throughput when the proposed direct antenna modulation scheme is used.
Have Health Reforms in Brazil Reduced Inequities in Access to Cancer Screenings for Women

We measured asset-based and education-based inequity in utilization of 2 cancer screening tests, Pap tests and mammograms, using nationally representative surveys conducted in 2003, 2008, and 2013. Utilization of Pap tests (ages 25-59 years) and mammograms (ages 50-69 years) increased over time. Asset-based and education-based inequities declined significantly for both screening tests, particularly among women who reported a doctor visit in the previous year. This decline coincided with increases in the coverage of primary health care in Brazil. However, barriers persisted; in 2013, college-educated women were still 2.27 times more likely to have a mammogram than those who were illiterate.
Counting Syllables, Shaping Poems: Reflections

One of my mental habits is to try to find connections between disparate facts, events, and preferences and a consequence of this habit is that I find more and more links between two of my favorite subjects, poetry and mathematics. My career was in mathematics (a professor at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania) but I have also been able, after my children were grown, to find time for reading and writing and sharing poetry. In retirement, I’ve investigated a variety of math-poetry linkages, including the French group OULIPO, a group of mathematicians and poets who engaged in and invented some new math-and-literature connections. My growing desire to share what I’d been learning led me to begin, in 2010, a blog, “Intersections – Poetry with Mathematics,” which continues to this day (with more than a thousand postings).
Effects of perceptual abilities and lexical knowledge on the phonetic categorization of second language speech

This study examined how phonetic categorization in a second language (L2) is jointly affected by perceptual abilities and lexical knowledge. Adult L1 Mandarin Chinese and L1 English-L2 Mandarin learners performed a phonetic categorization task. The stimuli varied the F0 contour along a continuum resulting in four different tonal word/nonword end point combinations. Both L1 and L2 listeners categorized more ambiguous tokens as words than nonwords, thus demonstrating a lexical bias in their behavior, i.e., the Ganong effect. Non-phonetic, linguistic information can thus modify L2 phonetic categorization of lexical tones. This effect, however, can be constrained by the listener's pitch perception abilities.
Worry at work: How organizational culture influences anxiety

Organizational culture profoundly influences how employees think and behave. Established research suggests that the content, intensity, consensus, and fit of cultural norms act as a social control ...
Erythema dyschromicum perstans and vitiligo

We report an East Indian man with simultaneous lesions of erythema dyschromicum perstans and vitiligo. This report is only the second to present these two pigmentary disorders occurring in the same patient. Although the exact cause of both disorders is unknown, a pathogenetic role for cytotoxic T-cell responses has been hypothesized in each condition.
MABLE: a framework for learning from natural instruction

The Modular Architecture for Bootstrapped Learning Experiments (MABLE) is a system that is being developed to allow humans to teach computers in the most natural manner possible: by using combinations of descriptions, demonstrations, and feedback. MABLE is a highly modular, well-engineered, and extendable system that provides generalized services, such as control, knowledge representation, and execution management. MABLE works by accepting instruction from a teacher and forms concrete learning tasks that are fed to state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms. To make the learning tractable, specialized heuristics, in the form of learning strategies, are used to derive bias from the instruction. The output of the learning is then incorporated into the system's background knowledge to be used in performing tasks or as the basis for simplifying the process of learning difficult concepts. Although still in development, MABLE has already demonstrated the ability to learn four different types of knowledge (definitions, rules, functions, and procedures) from three different modes of student/teacher interaction on two separate, qualitatively different domains. MABLE presents a unique opportunity for machine learning researchers to easily plug in and test algorithms in the context of instructible computing. In the near future, MABLE will be freely available as an open source project.
Dynamics in Parabolic Equations — An Example

For a parabolic equation, results are given about the orbits which connect equilibrium points. The approach is based on the theory of dynamical systems and the maximum principle.
The Effect of the Space Environment on Spacecraft Technologies

The operational environment imposes design constraints on any system, whether it is a ground, air, or space system. This chapter will examine the effect of the space environment upon spacecraft systems. In particular, we will examine the various interactions that spacecraft systems may be susceptible to, and will discuss the mitigation techniques that spacecraft designers must take to ensure successful on orbit operation. These environmental interactions are categorized as: vacuum environment effects – solar ultraviolet radiation damage; molecular contamination; and particulate contamination; neutral environment effects – aerodynamic drag and erosion of surface materials by atomic oxygen; plasma environment effects – spacecraft charging, which may in turn give rise to arc discharging (e.g., electrostatic discharge or dielectric breakdown) or biasing of electrical instruments; radiation environment effects – total dose effects such as solar array power loss, and single event effects such as corruption of data in memory devices, and micrometeoroid/orbital debris effects – hypervelocity impact damage, such as erosion of surface materials and possibly penetration of/damage to underlying subsystems. Keywords: space environment effects; contamination; atomic oxygen; aerodynamic drag; spacecraft charging; electrostatic discharge; radiation belt; galactic cosmic ray; solar particle event; coronal mass ejection; total dose effect; single event effect; micrometeoroid; orbital debris; hypervelocity impact damage
Teaching Supply and Demand in an Institutional Framework

In this article we show how teaching the fundamentals of supply, demand and the market equilibrium can be enhanced by including lessons from transition countries, in which markets did not exist less than two decades ago and the market institutions are still being built. We draw upon the experience of transition economies to show how sensitive the functioning of markets is to the quality of institutions like private property, property rights enforcement, competitive environment and social safety net. We suggest that selected aspects of transition should be incorporated right at the beginning of a microeconomics course, where they add value and fit well with main thrust of the supply, demand and market equilibrium topic. We use anecdotal evidence accompanied by simple diagrams to illustrate the institutional background of a market economy. The result is a ready-to-use set of tools instructors can use to enhance their lectures.
Neonatal Outcome after Active Perinatal Management of the Very Premature Infant between 23 and 27 Weeks Gestation

OBJECTIVE To record the effect of aggressive perinatal management on neonatal outcome in the very premature infant. METHODS A retrospective chart review of 114 infants born between 23 and 27 weeks' gestation, managed by one perinatal transport service at one hospital between July 1989 and December 1993. Fetuses > 23 weeks' gestation were considered viable and were managed with tocolytics, antibiotics, and surfactant at the discretion of the treating physician. Morbidity and mortality rates in the first 6 months, including stillbirths were analyzed. A major neurologic condition was defined as ultrasonographic evidence of grade 3 or 4 intraventricular hemorrhage or periventricular leukomalacia. RESULTS Both neonatal mortality rate and the incidence of stillbirths decreased with advancing gestational age. Of 24 infants born at 23 weeks' gestation, 33% were stillborn and 13% were alive at 6 months. This survival rate improved to 48% for infants delivered at 24 weeks' gestation, and to 68%, 75%, and 71% for those delivered at 25, 26, and 27 weeks' gestation, respectively. The percentage of infants who survived without a major neurologic condition increased with advancing gestational age at delivery from 13% at 23 weeks' gestation to 40% at 24 weeks, 48% at 25 weeks, 70% at 26 weeks, and 71% at 27 weeks. The incidence of retinitis of prematurity, respiratory complications, and days spent in the hospital decreased with greater gestational age. CONCLUSIONS An active plan of management for all gestations of > 23.9 weeks seems appropriate.
Adenylate cyclase responses in rat brain after unilateral postnatal X-irradiation.

Abstract When unilateral x-irradiation was directed to the area of the posterior cerebral cortex overlying the hippocampus of the neonatal rat, histologic damage was observed in the hippocampus (previous observations), pia-arachnoid (cellular proliferation), and retina (two layers of bipolar cells and damage to visual receptor area and diminished number of ganglion cells). Light microscopy did not reveal any remarkable cellular alterations in parenchymal or capillary tissue of the posterior cerebrum. The most prominent deficits in norepinephrine sensitivity of adenylate cyclase occurred in the pia-arachnoid > hippocampus > posterior cerebrum. The associated capillaries were unchanged and in the retina the enzyme displayed an enhanced sensitivity to dopamine.
Comparative logical and physical modeling in two OODBMSs

An application developer's perspective is used to compare modeling and storage in two Object-Oriented Database Management Systems (OODBMSs): ODE (Object Database and Environment) and ObjectStore. Although both systems are based on the object-oriented language C++, differences exist in their OODBMS designs. Comparing the differences between these two systems provides insight into other possible designs or combinations of features that could be possible in an OODBMS. As part of this discussion, internal translations of OODBMS schemas to physical storage are shown. Such knowledge enables an application developer to create appropriate logical and physical database designs and provides a basis for understanding OODBMS software. Features compared in this paper are physical and logical clustering, iterators, sets, joins, inverse pointers, and queries. To facilitate the discussion, a simple Geographic Information System (GIS) schema is presented.
Political instability and savings in less developed countries: Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa

A four‐equation model is used to investigate the effects of political instability (PI) on the savings rate in Sub‐Saharan Africa. Utilising a comprehensive measure of PI, we find that political instability has a deleterious effect on the savings rate both directly and indirectly through a reduction in investment and economic growth. The negative effects of PI on savings rate occurs contemporaneously as well as with a lag. We also find that economic growth has a stabilising effect on the political system and that not accounting for these effects through a simultaneous equations model results in biased coefficient estimates. These relationships are robust with respect to model specification. The implication of our results is that ‘economic factors’ alone cannot explain the development process in Less Developed Countries.
Analysis of volatile aromatic compounds in gasoline‐contaminated ground water samples by static headspace sampling and high speed gas chromatography

A 15 second, high speed, gas chromatographic determination has been performed on the volatile aromatic compounds in gasoline-contaminated ground water following manual, static headspace sampling. Retention time reproducibility of the seven peaks studied ranged from 0.25 to 0.67 per cent (average relative standard deviation). Excellent linear correlations were obtained for plots of either peak height or peak area against the concentration of the compounds. Comparison was made between the results obtained from the analysis of three replicate samples of gasoline-contaminated ground water by the high speed GC, by two field-portable GCs, and by a laboratorybased GC. It is worthy of note that all the high speed GC analyses required for this study were accomplished in one day.
Finite-size scaling in layered systems with surface ordering

Motivated by recent experiments on liquid-crystal films, we study finite-size scaling of a layered system in the presence of surface ordering. We find that there is an important length scale Ξs, characterizing the decay of surface order into the bulk. The usual finite-size scaling is generalized by including n/Ξs as an additional scaling variable, with n the number of layers. The bulk transition temperature is governed by a new scaling function Fs(n/Ξs), which decreases with n for n Ξs. Qualitative trends agree well with the experiments.
The influence of muscle contractile activity versus neural factors on morphologic properties of innervated cultured human muscle

In contrast to aneurally cultured human muscle, which is immature in regard to its morphologic phenotype and only rarely and weakly contracts spontaneously, innervated cultured human muscle fibres have: (1) nearly continuous, d-tubocurarine-inhibitable contractions; (2) well-developed cross-striations, basal lamina, t-tubules, and postsynaptic folds of the neuromuscular junctions; (3) the majority of their nuclei peripheralized; and (4) acetylcholinesterase-positive sites present only at the neuromuscular junctions. To see whether the expression of the muscle morphologic phenotype is induced only by neural factors generated from the spinal cord explants or also by their frequent contractile activity, we paralyzed innervated cultured human muscle fibres with 2 μm tetrodotoxin for four weeks, either from the first day of muscle contractions or following four weeks of muscle contractions. In both experimental designs, by light microscopy tetradotoxin paralysis abolished cross-striations and caused prominent internalization of muscle nuclei; however, it did not influence the intensity of acetylcholinesterase staining at the neuromuscular junctions. By electron microscopy, there was no difference between paralyzed and contracting muscle fibres in development of t-tubules, basal lamina and postsynaptic folds. Our study demonstrates that in human muscle contractile activity: (1) regulates peripheral migration of nuclei and development of cross-striations; and (2) does not influence development of the neuromuscular junction, basal lamina, and t-tubules, which are mainly regulated by neural influences. This culture model may be useful for studying detailed mechanisms of human muscle fibre development and structural abnormalities in human neuromuscular diseases.