cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Combined depressant effects of diltiazem and volatile anesthetics on contractility in isolated ventricular myocardium

Abstract Because the volatile anesthetics depress the entry of calcium (Ca) into myocardial cells and also alter release of intracellular Ca stores, additional pharmacologic blockade of Ca entry could potentially enhance anesthetic-induced depression. The depressant effects of the calcium entry blocker diltiazem combined with the volatile anesthetics halothane, enflurane, or isoflurane were investigated in isolated guinea pig papillary muscle. Muscle contractions were studied in normal Tyrode solution after rest and at stimulation rates of 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 Hz. Anesthetics were studied in the presence of 0.1 and 1 microM diltiazem, which depressed tension to approximately 85 and 55% of control at 2-3 Hz, respectively; depression at the higher concentration was frequency-dependent. Depressant effects of enflurane were determined as previously done for equianesthetic concentrations (approximately 1 and 2 MAC) of halothane and isoflurane. At all stimulation rates, 1.7 and 3.5% enflurane depressed peak tension and dT/dt-max to approximately 73 and 50% of the mean control-recovery value, respectively. After control measurements of contractile characteristics, effects of 0.1 microM diltiazem were determined alone and then with the addition of halothane (0.75 or 1.5%), isoflurane (1.3 or 2.5%), or enflurane (1.7 or 3.5%), respectively. Recovery from anesthetic was then determined in the continued presence of diltiazem. After rest and at rates less than or equal to 0.5 Hz, equianesthetic concentrations of these volatile agents caused similar depression in the presence of diltiazem. At 3 Hz stimulation rate, 1.3% isoflurane caused significantly less contractile depression than did 1.7% enflurane or than 0.75% halothane. At 2-MAC concentrations, differences among the anesthetics were more apparent: 2.5% isoflurane depressed peak tension and dT/dt-max less than did halothane at 1-3 Hz stimulation rates, and depressed dT/dt-max less than 3.5% enflurane at 2-3 Hz. Similar frequency-dependent differences in depression by approximately 2 MAC anesthetics were observed in the presence of 1 microM diltiazem. The patterns of depressant action by the volatile anesthetics were similar to those previously observed in the absence of diltiazem. Furthermore, when the volatile anesthetic depression of contractions was combined with the depression due to diltiazem-induced blockade of Ca entry, the resulting contractile depression did not differ significantly from a prediction that assumed simply additive effects.
Reaction of Formic Acid on Zn-Modified Pd(111)

The decomposition of formic acid on Zn/Pd(111) was studied using Temperature Programmed Desorption and High Resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy. On Pd(111), HCOOH decomposes via both dehydration and dehydrogenation pathways to produce CO, CO2, H2 and H2O. Small amounts of Zn (<0.1 mL) incorporated the Pd(111) surface were found to increase the stability of formate species and alter their decomposition selectivity to favor dehydrogenation, resulting in an increase in CO2 production. This difference in reactivity appears to be caused by relatively long range electronic interactions between surface Pd and Zn atoms and may be important in Pd/ZnO methanol steam reforming catalysts which exhibit high selectivities to CO2 and H2.
Transient scattering by conducting cylinders-TE case

Transient scattering (transverse electric case) by two-dimensional cylinders, both open and closed, is investigated using the marching-on-in-time technique. A simple averaging scheme is also presented to control the late-time oscillations. Numerical results are presented for certain representative geometries and compared with inverse Fourier transform techniques. Good agreement is noted in each case. >
Symmetry and ordinary differential constraints

Abstract The representative generalized symmetries of any ordinary differential equation are described in terms of its invariants. This identifies the evolution equations compatible with a given constraint. The restriction of the flow of a compatible equation to the solution space of the constraint is generated by the corresponding internal symmetry. This reduces the evolution equation to a finite dimensional system of first-order ordinary differential equations. The Euler–Lagrange equation of any conserved density of a given evolution equation yields such a reduction. Other examples include the generalized method of separation of variables, the characterization of separable evolution equations, and the characterization of equations with complete families of wave solutions. A Newton equation is compatible with an ordinary differential constraint if and only if the constraint is affine, with force field symmetry, in which case the equation reduces to a finite-dimensional dynamical system. Newton equations with complete families of characteristic solutions reduce to central force problems on solution spaces of linear constraints.
Mean-variance hedging with oil futures

We analyze mean-variance-optimal dynamic hedging strategies in oil futures for oil producers and consumers. In a model for the oil spot and futures market with Gaussian convenience yield curves and a stochastic market price of risk, we find analytical solutions for the optimal trading strategies. An implementation of our strategies in an out-of-sample test on market data shows that the hedging strategies improve long-term return-risk profiles of both the producer and the consumer.
Variation in neuromuscular activity during prey capture by trophic specialists and generalists (Pisces: Labridae).

Members of the marine teleost family Labridae are among the most abundant and morphologically diverse fish on coral reefs. A quantitative analysis was conducted of the neuromuscular activity patterns
The impact of a child's chronic illness on fathers

The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experience of fathers with a child having a chronic illness. This study used phenomenology as the design and the theoretical framework. Research on fathers with a child having a chronic illness is very limited. Five fathers were interviewed for this study to obtain their perspective. Living with financial strain, limited social life, lack of intimacy, being the primary caregiving parent to another child, and concerns about the future were the overriding themes of this study. Nurse practitioners must offer fathers professional support and encouragement to discuss fears and feelings openly in an effort to assist fathers in adaptation to their child's diagnosis of a chronic illness.
Increasing buffer-locality for multiple index based scans through intelligent placement and index scan speed control

Decision support systems are characterized by large concurrent scan operations. A significant percentage of these scans are executed as index based scans of the data. This is especially true when the data is physically clustered on the index columns using the various clustering schemes employed by database engines. Common database management systems have only limited ability to reuse buffer content across multiple running queries due to their treatment of queries in isolation. Previous attempts to coordinate scans for better buffer reuse were limited to table scans only. Attempts for index based scan sharing were non existent or were less than satisfactory due to drifting between scans. In this paper, we describe a mechanism to keep scans using the same index closer together on scan position during scanning. This is achieved via intelligent placement of index scans at scan start time based on their scan ranges and speeds. This is then augmented by adaptive throttling of scan speeds based on the index scans runtime behavior during scan execution. We discuss the challenges in doing it for index scans in comparison to the more common table scan sharing. We show that this can be done with minimal changes to an existing database management system as demonstrated in our DB2 UDB prototype. Our experiments show significant gains in end-to-end response times and disk I/O for TPC-H workloads.
Biodegradation of TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene) by Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

Extensive biodegradation of TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene) by the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium was observed. At an initial concentration of 1.3 mg/liter, 35.4 +/- 3.6% of the [14C]TNT was degraded to 14CO2 in 18 days. The addition of glucose 12 days after the addition of TNT did not stimulate mineralization, and, after 18 days of incubation with TNT only, about 3.3% of the initial TNT could be recovered. Mineralization of [14C]TNT adsorbed on soil was also examined. Ground corncobs served as the nutrient for slow but sustained degradation of [14C]TNT to 14CO2 such that 6.3 +/- 0.6% of the [14C]TNT initially present was converted to 14CO2 during the 30-day incubation period. Mass balance analysis of liquid cultures and of soil-corncob cultures revealed that polar [14C]TNT metabolites are formed in both systems, and high-performance liquid chromatography analyses revealed that less than 5% of the radioactivity remained as undegraded [14C]TNT following incubation with the fungus in soil or liquid cultures. When the concentration of TNT in cultures (both liquid and soil) was adjusted to contamination levels that might be found in the environment, i.e., 10,000 mg/kg in soil and 100 mg/liter in water, mineralization studies showed that 18.4 +/- 2.9% and 19.6 +/- 3.5% of the initial TNT was converted to 14CO2 in 90 days in soil and liquid cultures, respectively. In both cases (90 days in water at 100 mg/liter and in soil at 10,000 mg/kg) approximately 85% of the TNT was degraded. These results suggest that this fungus may be useful for the decontamination of sites in the environment contaminated with TNT.
A negative cloud‐to‐ground flash showing a number of new and rarely observed features

An unusual natural lightning flash containing two branched negative strokes to ground was recorded at the Lightning Observatory in Gainesville, Florida, on 8 June 2013. The flash was apparently a bolt from the blue, whose first-stroke leader emerged from the side of the cloud at a height of about 3.5 km above ground level. The first leader showed profuse branching and what appears to be corona-like formations with spatial extent of 100 to 200 m (probably an intensified portion of radial corona sheath) at the upper part of the channel. Leader branching process facilitated by two simultaneous space stems was observed. The corresponding step lengths were estimated to be 14 and 15 m. The first-stroke attachment process involved a streamer zone about 50 m in length. One of the second-leader branches appeared to abruptly change its direction at the beginning of return stroke process.
Experimental performance of a compliant scroll expander for an organic Rankine cycle

AbstractA small-scale scroll expander was developed and tested. The expander was based on a compliant scroll compressor having a displacement of ∼6.8 cm3. A test loop was also developed for determining expander performance parameters. The loop employed a compressor to pressurize the working fluid up to 2758 kPa and a heat exchanger to create the expander inlet conditions that would characterize an operating power cycle. The expander was tested with R134a as the working fluid. For power output measurements, a dynamometer was used where torque and rotational rate were measured. An important feature in adapting a scroll compressor to expander duty was the lubrication of the scroll wraps during operation and the lubrication required by the journal bearings within the expander housing. The approach used in this study was to dissolve a compatible oil into the circulating working fluid to lubricate the wraps, while a pump was employed to deliver pressurized oil to the bearings. The pressurized oil supply was als...
Type 2 Secretion Promotes Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli Adherence and Intestinal Colonization

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a noninvasive food-borne pathogen that colonizes the distal ileum and colon. Proteins encoded in the EHEC locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island are known to contribute to this pathogen's adherence to epithelial cells and intestinal colonization. The role of non-LEE-encoded proteins in these processes is not as clear. We found that the Z2053 gene (designated adfO here), a gene located in a cryptic EHEC prophage, exhibits similarity to adherence and/or colonization factor genes found in several other enteric pathogens. An EHEC adfO mutant exhibited marked reductions in adherence to HeLa cells and in the secretion of several proteins into the supernatant. YodA, one of these secreted proteins, was found to be a substrate of the EHEC pO157-encoded type 2 secretion system (T2SS). Both the T2SS and YodA proved to be essential for EHEC adherence to cultured HeLa cell monolayers. Using an infant rabbit model of infection, we found that the adfO mutation did not affect colonization but that the colonization of an etpC (T2SS) mutant was reduced approximately 5-fold. A strain deficient in YodA had a more severe colonization defect; however, this strain also exhibited a growth defect in vitro. Overall, our findings indicate that the pO157-encoded T2SS contributes to EHEC adherence and intestinal colonization and thus show that EHEC pathogenicity depends on type 2 secretion as well as type 3 secretion.
Regulation and Regulatory Processes

Series preface Introduction Part I Regulatory Policy Making: Administrative procedures as instruments of political control, Matthew D. McCubbins, Roger G. Noll and Barry R. Weingast Speed bumps and road blocks: procedural controls and regulatory change, Stuart Schapiro Institutions and environmental performance in seventeen Western democracies, Lyle A. Scruggs The hare and the tortoise revisited: the new politics of consumer and environmental regulation in Europe, David Vogel Part II Regulatory Enforcement: Cooperation, deterrence and the ecology of regulatory enforcement, John T. Scholz Reconsidering styles of regulatory enforcement: patterns in Danish agro-environmental inspection, Peter May and Soeren Winter Regulatory enforcement in a federalist system, John T. Scholz and Feng Heng Wei Part III Responses to Regulation: Testing an unexpected utility model of corporate deterrence, John Braithwaite and Toni Makkai Does regulatory enforcement work? A panel analysis of OSHA enforcement, Wayne B. Gray and John T. Scholz Poles apart: a comparative study of waste management regulation and enforcement in the United States and Japan, Kazumasu Aoki and John W Cioffi Explaining corporate environmental performance: how does regulation matter?, Robert A. Kagan, Neil Gunningham and Dorothy Thornton Part IV New Directions in Regulatory Design: Market-oriented regulation of environmental problems in The Netherlands, Gjalt Huppes and Robert A. Kagan What can we learn from the grand policy experiment? Positive and normative lessons from So2 allownace trading, Robert N. Stavins Management-based regulation: prescribing private management to achieve public goals, Cary Coglianese and David Lazer Performance-based regulation and regulatory regimes: the saga of leaky buildings, Peter J. May Index.
Runtime Support for Multicore Packet Processing Systems

Network processors promise a flexible, programmable packet processing infrastructure for network systems. To make full use of the capabilities of network processors, it is imperative to provide the ability to dynamically adapt to changing traffic patterns in the form of a network processor runtime system. The differences from existing operating systems and the main challenges lie in the multiprocessor nature of NPs, their on-chip resource constraints, and real-time processing requirements. In this article we explore the key design trade-offs that need to be considered when designing a network processor operating system. In particular, we explore the performance impact of application analysis on partitioning, traffic characterization, workload mapping, and runtime adaptation. We present and discuss qualitative and quantitative results in the context of a particular application analysis and mapping framework. The observations and conclusions are generally applicable to any runtime environment for network processors.
Comparison of mycobacteria growth indicator tube with BACTEC 460 for detection and recovery of mycobacteria from clinical specimens.

We compared the Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) system with the BACTEC 460 (B460) and Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) systems for the recovery of mycobacteria (acid-fast bacteria [AFB]) from 1,441 clinical specimens. Excluding 13 isolates of Mycobacterium gordonae, 178 significant AFB isolates were recovered from 113 patients. Isolates (119) of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) accounted for 67% of all isolates, while isolates (30) of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) accounted for 17% of isolates. The MGIT system recovered 98 (82%) MAC and 27 (90%) MTB isolates, while the B460 system recovered 101 (85%) MAC and 28 (93%) MTB isolates and the LJ system recovered 91 (76%) MAC and 25 (83%) MTB isolates. Overall, the MGIT system recovered 152 isolates of AFB (85.4% sensitivity), and the B460 and LJ systems recovered 151 (84.8% sensitivity) and 137 (76.9% sensitivity) AFB isolates, respectively. The recoveries of AFB with combinations of media were as follows: MGIT + LJ, 93.2%; B460 + LJ, 92.1%; and MGIT + B460, 96.6%. Although the sensitivity of MGIT was equivalent to that of B460, MGIT required a longer incubation (median, 11 days) than did B460 (median, 8 days) to become positive (P
Controlling intrathoracic hemorrhage on ECMO: help from Factor VIIa and Virchow:

Objective:Thoracentesis with chest tube placement is often needed to decompress a clinically significant pneumothorax or pleural effusion. The risks of such a procedure may be considered too great ...
Modeling and evaluation of a plug-in hybrid fuel cell shuttle bus

The Center for Electromechanics at The University of Texas at Austin acquired a plug-in hybrid fuel cell bus for demonstration and model development under a program funded through the USDOT-FTA. The purpose of this program was to evaluate the performance and use of the bus while developing a model that could predict overall performance and energy consumption on daily driving routes. A model of the fuel cell bus was developed using PSAT (Powertrain Analysis Toolkit). The model development involved verifying component characteristics and a parametric study of drivetrain efficiencies to relate predicted to measured vehicle energy consumption data from on-road testing. The PSAT model was able to predict net energy consumption to within 5% over varying route profiles and vehicle conditions. Further investigations with advanced energy storage were performed to evaluate the benefits of ultracapacitor assisted batteries by using the correlated PSAT model. Ultracapacitors act as an additional load leveling device in the hybrid vehicle for peak propulsion and braking vehicle loads, thereby reducing stress on the batteries. The model simulation results show that ultracapacitors can increase overall vehicle economy by 2 to 4% and deliver a net increase in battery efficiency of 3 to 4%.
The Devil You (Don't) Know: Interpersonal Ambiguity and Inference Making in Competitive Contexts

Past research has shown the robustness of egocentric anchoring or false consensus effects (e.g., Naylor, Lamberton, and Norton; Ross, Greene, and House) primarily in situations where consumers adopt a cooperative or neutral stance toward one another. However, competition among consumers is a ubiquitous part of Western culture. Across five experiments in competitive contexts (either a dictator game or an online auction), interpersonal ambiguity leads to an inference of dissimilarity, rather than similarity. As a result, consumers compete as aggressively against ambiguous others as they do against dissimilar others. This effect occurs regardless of brand quality, seller reputation, or number of other competitors in the auction. A final study demonstrates that aggressiveness may be directed toward the seller rather than other bidders when sellers are ambiguous or dissimilar. This work therefore offers an important boundary condition for the operation of egocentric tendencies, highlighting the pervasive effect of competitive contexts on consumer behavior.
Genetic cause of autosomal recessive hereditary nephropathy in the English Cocker Spaniel.

Background:Autosomal recessive hereditary nephropathy (ARHN) in the English Cocker Spaniel is caused by a type IV collagen defect, but the underlying mutation is unknown. Animals: One hundred thirty-four English Cocker Spaniels (12 with ARHN, 8 obligate carriers, and 114 others), 3 mixed breed dogs with X-linked hereditary nephropathy (XLHN), and 7 other dogs without hereditary nephropathy were included. Methods: Diagnosis of ARHN was based on transmission electron microscopy and immunostaining of kidney. Quantitative real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to compare COL4A3, COL4A4, and COL4A5 mRNA concentrations in the renal cortex from ARHN-affected English Cocker Spaniels, XLHN-affected dogs, and dogs without hereditary nephropathy. The entire coding region of COL4A4 was sequenced in 2 ARHN-affected dogs, 2 obligate carriers, 2 English Cocker Spaniels of unknown status, and 2 healthy mixed breed dogs. The exon containing the mutation was sequenced for all 134 English Cocker Spaniels. Results: Quantitative real time RT-PCR implicated COL4A4 as the gene harboring the mutation, and sequencing identified a single nucleotide substitution at base 115 as the cause of ARHN in English Cocker Spaniels. This mutation, which causes a premature stop codon in exon 3 of COL4A4, was segregated with clinical status in all affected dogs and obligate carriers. The mutation also was identified in 39 of 114 other English Cocker Spaniels with previously unknown status. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The cause of this disease has been identified, and use of a test for the mutation will permit eradication of ARHN in the English Cocker Spaniel.
An enhanced Change Modes and Effects Analysis (CMEA) tool for measuring product flexibility with applications to consumer products

Contemporary product designers seek to create products that are not only robust for the current marketplace but also flexible for future changes, adaptations, and evolutions. This type of product flexibility is distinctive from mass customization, product architecture of singular products, and product families. The intent is to design products that intrinsically enable future changes even though such changes may not be known or planned in the current product offering. To accommodate product flexibility of this type, research advancements are needed in terms of fundamental design principles and evaluation methods for predicting and improving the flexibility of a product. This paper presents advancements in both areas. We first present the systematic enhancement of a flexibility assessment tool referred to as CMEA, Change Modes and Effects Analysis. CMEA provides the basic ability to assess the flexibility of a product, with analogous features to the well-known Failure Modes and Effects Analysis. Our enhancements extend the method to provide for intuitive and more repeatable measures of flexibility. We then use the enhanced CMEA to investigate a variety of consumer products with the goal of inductively deriving product flexibility principles. Concrete applications are shown for these principles from the domain of power yard tools, such as hedge trimmers, weed trimmers, and leaf blowers. Also, the applications are used to demonstrate the value of the CMEA enhancements.
Frequency-independent-element cross-coupled-secondaries model for multiwinding transformers

For high-frequency transformers with any number of windings, an equivalent circuit is presented that accurately predicts the effects of AC winding resistance and leakage inductance over a wide range of frequencies. This model is suitable for circuit simulation with nonsinusoidal excitation and nonlinear loads. With the addition of circuit elements to account for magnetizing inductance, core loss, and winding capacitance, the model has the potential to bring about significant improvement in the accuracy of simulation results, which could ultimately eliminate some of the costly trial and error in power converter design. >
Rapid oral hydration: A cause of pelvic fluid collections at sonography

In a controlled study, rapid oral hydration was found to result in sonographically visible pelvic fluid collections in six of 12 healthy women volunteers. These pelvic fluid collections were in many ways indistinguishable from those seen in a variety of pelvic diseases. An awareness of this association should result in a further reduction of false-positive diagnoses at pelvic sonography.
Thirty-year follow-up of a patient with leber congenital amaurosis and novel RPE65 mutations

PURPOSE: To present long-term follow-up on a North American patient with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and novel compound heterozygous mutations in the RPE65 gene. DESIGN: Case report. METHODS: RPE65 mutation screening and search for sequence changes using Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism and direct DNA sequencing. Ophthalmic examination and electrophysiologic testing. RESULTS: A 35-year-old female carried two RPE65 mutations: a maternal 961A>T (K303X) nonsense mutation and a paternal 1346A>G (Y431C) missense mutation. She had severe visual deficits and an absence of rod and cone Electroretinogram responses. Visual acuity of 20/60 both eyes and normal color recognition during early childhood declined to 2/200 in the right eye and 1/200 in the left eye at the age of 35. CONCLUSIONS: The RPE65 mutations K303X and Y431C in compound heterozygous form cause progressive visual compromise that starts in childhood and advances to severe visual loss by the fourth decade of life.
Bully Renal Cysts Knock Down Urine-Concentrating Capacity in the Early Rounds

The commonly accepted manifestations of renal insufficiency are usually not recognized in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) until the fourth decade of life ([1][1]). However, many ADPKD patients with GFRs indistinguishable from normal are unable to increase the
Statistics and Intuition for the Classroom.

Summary Examples and case studies are presented of statistical reasoning, thinking and intuition that may arise in perception of randomness and in particular for random walks. The relationship between art and science can be explored through various notions of the statistical concepts of randomness.
Pyroelectric measurements on various kinds of doped TGS single crystals

TGS was grown by a slow cooling technique from several kinds of dopants (10 and 20 mole% alanine, 10% alanine+LiVO/sub 3/, 10% and 20% valine) in doped aqueous solution. The temperature dependent pyroelectric coefficient and spontaneous polarization were measured: to study the variation of transition temperature, p/sub m/ax at T/sub c/, and room temperature pyroelectric coefficient depending on the dopants and to calculate the figure of merit (p/K) with dielectric constant (K) measurement. Furthermore, several pieces were selected to investigated the positional inhomogeneities of the same sample. We could not obtain a high figure of merit (p/K) in the valine doped TGS case because of low temperature dielectric relaxation around -10/spl deg/C, although valine doped TGS has a three times higher pyroelectric coefficient (p=1.671 /spl mu/C/cm/sup 2/ K) at transition temperature (T/sub c/).
Microbiological safety of baked and fried arepas

Arepas (the national bread of Venezuela) are prepared and consumed by a large proportion of the Venezuelan and Latin American population, and their popularity is increasing in numerous ethnic restaurants. Very little is known about the bacterial and fungal composition of baked and fried arepas or about the changes undergone by the microbial floia during their production. Arepas were prepared by adding salt and water to corn flour, mixing and shaping the dough into flat discs (3–4 in. in diameter) and either baked or fried until golden brown. The standard aerobic plate counts in the baked and fried arepas were 3.41 and 3.52 log bacteria/gram, respectively. The fungal counts of both products were 1.0 log fungi/gram. One hundred and thirty‐six bacterial and 65 fungal isolates from the flour, dough, baked and fried arepas were identified. Bacillus and Penicillium were the major aerobic microorganisms present in the final products.
Phenomenological modeling of plasma transport via stochastic filtering

The accuracy of first-principles predictive models for the evolution of plasma profiles is sometimes limited by the lack of understanding of the plasma transport phenomena. It is possible then to develop approximate transport models for the prediction of the plasma dynamics which are consistent with the available diagnostic data. This data-driven approach, usually referred to as phenomenological modeling, arises as an alternative to the more classical theory-driven approach. In this work we propose a stochastic filtering approach based on an extended Kalman filter to provide real-time estimates of poorly known or totally unknown transport coefficients. We first assume that plasma dynamics can be governed by tractable models obtained by first principles. However, the transport parameters are considered unknown and to-be-estimated. These estimates will be based solely on input-output diagnostic data and limited understanding of the transport physics. Numerical methods (e.g., finite differences) can be used to discretize the PDE models both in space and time to obtain finite-dimensional discrete-time state-space representations. The system states and to-be-estimated parameters are then combined into an augmented state vector. The resulting nonlinear state-space model is used for the design of an extended Kalman filter that provides real-time estimations not only of the system states but also of the unknown transport coefficients. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for a benchmark transport model in cylindrical coordinates.
The Feline Genome

The domestic cat has a long history of informing human biology, from early studies of comparative anatomy to the present genetic characterization of many feline genetic disease models. Nearly half of these diseases have homologous counterparts in human. Difficulties studying these defects in humans provide model organisms, like the domestic cat, with a unique opportunity to further inform human hereditary and infectious disease. Here I review the progress in the development of genomic mapping resources, the recent acquisition of a feline 2x genome sequence, and how these tools now equip feline geneticists to identify and characterize genes in cats causing comparable diseases or phenotypes in other species. The availability of such a mapping resource will enable positional cloning approaches and stimulate further development and use of the domestic cat as a model for human disease, while also enhancing the health of the species itself. The cat gene map also provides a useful tool in multispecies comparative genomic analyses to better understand the causes and consequences of chromosome breakage and evolution.
Quantitative analysis of impact measurements using dynamic load cells

Abstract A mathematical model is used to estimate material properties from a short duration transient impact force measured by dropping spheres onto rectangular coupons fixed to a dynamic load cell. The contact stress between the dynamic load cell surface and the projectile are modeled using Hertzian contact mechanics. Due to the short impact time relative to the load cell dynamics, an additional Kelvin–Voigt element is included in the model to account for the finite response time of the piezoelectric crystal. Calculations with and without the Kelvin–Voigt element are compared to experimental data collected from combinations of polymeric spheres and polymeric and metallic surfaces. The results illustrate that the inclusion of the Kelvin–Voigt element qualitatively captures the post impact resonance and non-linear behavior of the load cell signal and quantitatively improves the estimation of the Young's elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio. Mathematically, the additional KV element couples one additional differential equation to the Hertzian spring-dashpot equation. The model can be numerically integrated in seconds using standard numerical techniques allowing for its use as a rapid technique for the estimation of material properties.
Quantum oscillations in Weyl and Dirac semimetal ultrathin films

We show that a Weyl or Dirac semimetal thin film with a strong in-plane magnetic field becomes a two-dimensional Fermi liquid with interesting properties. The Fermi surface in this system is strongly anisotropic, which originates from a combination of chiral bulk channels and Fermi arcs. The area enclosed by the Fermi surface depends strongly on the in-plane magnetic field component parallel to the Weyl/Dirac node splitting, which leads to unusual behavior in quantum oscillations when the magnetic field is tilted out of the plane. We estimate the oscillation frequencies and the regimes where such effects could be seen in ${\mathrm{Cd}}_{3}{\mathrm{As}}_{2}, {\mathrm{Na}}_{3}\mathrm{Bi}$, and TaAs.
Welfare Reform, Personal Narratives and the Media: How Welfare Recipients and Journalists Frame the Welfare Debate

As TANF comes up for reauthorization in 2002, stereotypes of welfare recipients must be challenged so that public animosity can be transformed into public support. This article explores strategies for doing so, drawing on a study describing the stories welfare recipients told about their lives and experiences with welfare in the New York Times and the Washington Post during the 1996 debate over welfare reform. The role of journalists in framing the welfare debate is also explored. Lessons are drawn from the findings on the effectiveness of recipients' personal narratives in changing their public image. Suggestions are made on how to utilize the media to build support for women in need of public assistance.
Current Lunar Soil Research

The great research effort that has been mobilized to attempt solution of lunar exploration problems involving properties of soils and rocks on the Moon is summarized and reviewed. Current (1963) research activity has been examined within the framework of five categories: (1) Exploration and mapping of the lunar surface; (2) lunar soil formation and the general nature of surface materials; (3) simulation of lunar soils; (4) theoretical and experimental determination of lunar soil properties and soil mechanics; and (5) landing and mobility problems, construction problems, and soil stabilization. Several possible lunar soil types have been postulated; however, most research is being carried out on loose, cohesionless, fine-grained materials subjected to the postulated lunar environment of high vacuum and low gravity. The major factor limiting the direct application of the results of these studies to the solution of lunar exploration problems, such as the design of spacecraft landing gear, is the lack of specific data on the nature of lunar soils and surface roughness.
Diagnosis of malignant lymphomas in 2014

The field of hematopathology is ever-changing with important new discoveries of biologic and clinical importance. We continue to learn more about the clinical, morphologic, immunophenotypic and molecular/genetic features of the seemingly innumerable types of malignant lymphomas and their benign mimics. These discoveries have very pragmatic implications affecting our daily practice in terms of what we are expected to know about the entities we are attempting to diagnose, as well as providing new tools for our diagnostic armamentarium. To help deal with these challenges as they relate to the diagnosis of lymphoma, six international hematopathology experts will cover the following topics in this long course: an approach to diagnostic lymph node pathology (JR Cook), small B-cell lymphomas (L Quintanilla-Fend), aggressive B-cell lymphomas (S Pileri), T-cell lymphomas (L de Leval), Hodgkin lymphomas (NL Harris) and lymphoid hyperplasias and their differential diagnosis with lymphomas (JKC Chan). The goal is to provide guidance related to practicing state-of-the-art lymphoma pathology in 2014.
Development of Faith and Religious Understanding in Children

Developmental progression in 30 children's Biblical understandings but uniformly high faith scores across these same ages (3–5 yr., 6–8 yr., and 9–12 yr.) suggest that the promotion of faith in chi...
Facilitating a School-Based Prevention of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children:

The challenges of developing and researching a school-based prevention program using the participatory culture-specific intervention model are described here. We outline the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children that motivated our project and the characteristics of students most at risk (African American girls in middle school). We provide an analysis of the factors that can facilitate creation and implementation of similar prevention programs in schools. These factors include establishing partnerships with community resources, including school insiders, and establishing trust, especially with students placed at risk.
Preparation and Quality Control of Duzhong Pingya Dispersible Tablets

OBJECTIVE:To prepare Duzhong pingya dispersible tablets and establish their quality control.METHODS:The ratios of the excipients were optimized with disintegrating time,dispersible uniformity and compressibility as indexes.The Duzhong pingya dispersible tablets were prepared by trituration,and the content of chlorogenic acid was determined by HPLC.RESULTS:The optimized ratios of the excipients were as follows:manicol 60 g,microcry stalline cellulose 40 g,low-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose 30 g,gum arabic 20 g,crospovidone 4 g,magnesium stearate 2 g,edulcorant 2 g,and plasdone vis quantum.The optimized Duzhong pingya dispersible tablets were brown in color and up to the standard in dispersible uniformity.The linear range of chlorogenic acid was 1.882～18.820 μg(r=0.999 9)and its average recovery rate was 99.2%(RSD=1.63%,n=6).CONCLUSION:The ratios of the excipients were up to the standard required for the preparation technology,and the established quality standard is applicable for the quality control of Duzhong pingya dispersible tablets.
Solution and Realizationof Rocket-borne Pyrotechnics Auto-test

Focused on the defects of traditional pyrotechnics test method,a pyrotechnics auto-test scheme was presented based on analyses of characters and restrictions of pyrotechnics test.The hardware composition and software support were described.At last,the feasibility and security of the auto-test scheme were analyzed.
Abstract P5-08-04: Bioscore: A novel staging system for breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Background: We previously described a novel breast cancer staging system, the CPS+EG score, which incorporates pretreatment clinical stage, post-treatment pathologic stage, estrogen receptor (ER) status and nuclear grade to create an ordinal scale that is predictive of disease-specific survival (DSS) after receipt of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The prior work predated (1997-2005) routine use of trastuzumab for patients with HER2+ disease. The current study was undertaken to update the staging system with a more contemporary cohort of patients to include patients with HER2+ disease receiving trastuzumab. The impact of using 1% as the cutoff for ER-positivity was also assessed. Methods: A cohort of 2377 patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy from 2005-2012 was identified. Clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment regimens and patient outcomes were recorded. Patient scores were computed using two versions of the CPS+EG staging system with ER status categorized as positive if >10% or if >1%. Fits of the Cox proportional hazards (PH) model for the two sets of prognostic scores were compared using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). HER2 status was then added to the model and the likelihood ratio test was used to determine the improvement in fit. Results: Median follow-up time was 4.2 years (range, 0.5 to 11.7). Five year DSS was 89% (95% CI: 87%-90%). This cohort validated our previous finding that the CPS+EG score facilitates more refined categorization into prognostic subgroups than initial clinical or final pathologic stage alone (table). The AIC demonstrated that the CPS+EG model fits were nearly identical for ER status categorized using either cutoff, though the fit was slightly better for the >1% cutoff. There were 591 HER2+ patients included; all of them received trastuzumab-based chemotherapy. The improvement in the fit of the model when HER2 status was added was highly significant (p=0.00005) and incorporation of HER2 into the CPS+EG staging system by adding one additional point for HER2-negative status defined the bioscore (table) which again stratified patients with respect to prognosis. Conclusion: The current study demonstrates a novel bioscore that significantly improves a previously validated prognostic score in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy and allows the staging system to be applied to patients with HER2+ disease. We recommend that biologic markers and response to treatment be incorporated into the forthcoming revision of the AJCC staging system. Citation Format: Mittendorf EA, Vila J, Tucker SL, Chavez-MacGregor M, Smith BD, Symmans WF, Sahin AA, Hortobagyi GN, Hunt KK. Bioscore: A novel staging system for breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-08-04.
Factors related to career retention among dental hygienists.

Purpose The purpose of this research was to investigate the reasons dental hygienists consider leaving or leave dental hygiene and to determine if the reasons vary by employment category. Methods In March 1988, mail questionnaires designed by the author were sent to a nationwide sample of 1,008 dental hygienists who graduated in 1982 and who had been surveyed every six months beginning in their senior year of dental hygiene school. Consideration of leaving dental hygiene was ascertained with an open-ended question. Responses to this question were categorized into five determinants of work change: economic, psychological, sociological, physiological, and environmental. Chi-square analysis was used to ascertain if determinants of work change were associated with employment. Results Responses were received from 812 dental hygienists--an 81% response rate overall and an 83% response rate from subjects with valid addresses. While 82% of the respondents were employed in dental hygiene, 7% were employed outside of dental hygiene, and 12% were not employed. Of the respondents, 57% had considered leaving dental hygiene within six years after graduation. Reasons for considering leaving varied by employment status. Dental hygienists currently employed in dental hygiene stated a wide variety of reasons for considering leaving, but most important were psychological factors. Environmental (family responsibility) factors were most important for unemployed dental hygienists, while economic factors were most important for dental hygienists employed outside dental hygiene. Conclusions Factors identified in this research can be used to help understand, and to design efforts to enhance, career retention. Additional research is needed to determine whether the causative factors for job turnover and career turnover are different or essentially the same.
Protein, fat, and amino acid content and protein quality of selected pre-prepared foods.

Protein quality (Relative Nutritive Value) of entrees selected from a hospital food service line compared favorably with that of casein.
Adeno Associated Viral Vector Delivered RNAi for Gene Therapy of SOD1 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by progressive loss of upper and lower motor neurons. Mutations in superoxide dismutase (SOD1) are a leading cause of ALS, responsible for up to twenty percent of familial cases. Although the exact mechanism by which mutant SOD1 causes disease remains unknown, multiple studies have shown that reduction of the mutant species leads to delayed disease onset and extension of lifespan of animal models. This makes SOD1 an ideal target for gene therapy coupling adeno associated virus vector (AAV) gene delivery with RNAi molecules. In this review we summarize the studies done thus far attempting to decrease SOD1 gene expression, using AAV vectors as delivery tools, and RNAi as therapeutic molecules. Current hurdles to be overcome, such as the need for widespread gene delivery through the entire central nervous system, are discussed. Continued efforts to improve current AAV delivery methods and capsids will accelerate the application of these therapeutics to the clinic.
Impact of Generic and Therapeutic Interchange Incentives on Community Pharmacy

The purpose of this project was to estimate the increase in revenues that the average community pharmacy could expect from generic and therapeutic interchange bonuses provided by PAID Prescriptions, Inc.'s Coordinated Care Network. Data from the published literature and conversations with managed care experts and PAID employees were used to develop estimates for best-guess, worst-case, and best-case scenarios. Estimates were based on data from early 1994. It was estimated that the interchange bonuses would increase the average community pharmacy's revenues by an average $105 per year, a $0.55 increase in the dispensing fee. Best-case and worse-case estimates were $227 and $44 for increases in revenues. These were equivalent to $1.19 and $0.23 increases in the dispensing fee. Even with the most optimistic estimates, the total fee paid by the Coordinated Care Network (the sum of the dispensing fee plus interchange bonuses) is much less than the average pharmacy's cost of dispensing a third party prescription.
Universal and Complete Sets

For any class Γ of sets in Polish spaces and each Polish space Y, let $${\exists ^Y}\Gamma = \left\{ {pro{j_x}\left( B \right):B \in \Gamma \left( {XxY} \right),X\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {Polish} \end{array}} \right\}$$ .
INCREASING EQUIPMENT VINTAGE PREDICTS POOR LABORATORY QUALITY AND DELAY IN ACCREDITATION: AN EVALUATION BY IAC ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY AND NUCLEAR ACCREDITATION STATUS

Background: Investing in up to date equipment might reflect a commitment to quality. Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) accreditation is granted or delayed depending on the fulfilment of several quality metrics. Methods: Data from echo (n=3,079) and nuclear (n=1,835) lab accreditation