cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Resource allocation for periodic applications in a shipboard environment

Providing efficient workload management is an important issue for a large-scale heterogeneous distributed computing environment where a set of periodic applications is executed. The considered distributed system is expected to operate in an environment where the input workload is likely to change unpredictably, possibly invalidating a resource allocation that was based on the initial workload estimate. The tasks consist of multiple application strings, each made up of an ordered sequence of applications. There are quality of service (QoS) constraints that must be satisfied for each string. This work addresses the problem of finding a robust initial allocation of resources to application strings that is able to absorb some level of unknown input workload increase without rescheduling. An allocation feasibility analysis is presented followed by four heuristics for finding a near-optimal allocation of resources. The performance of the proposed heuristics is evaluated and compared using simulation. The proposed heuristics also are compared to a mathematically derived upper bound.
Structural health prediction model for oil well casing

The biggest fear during fracking process is the risk of contamination of water resources, this can happen because of improper, insufficient or low quality cement casing which leads to methane leaks and follows path to aquifer. This soil-structure interaction simulation predicts the potential impact of structural health monitoring on the cement casing structures found in oil well. Nonlinear plane stain analysis using staged techniques is presented. Results including the deflection of cement casing tip, strain, moment and direct stress in the cement casing are affected by live and dead weight around well vicinity. The prediction of internal stresses and strains in cement casing is presented under static conditions. However, the effects of aging, deterioration and extreme seismic loading necessitate the need for advanced structural health monitoring and damage detection sensors.
The behaviour of a gas cavity impacted by a weak or strong shock wave

Two-dimensional simulations of gas cavity responses to both weak shocks (p ≤ 30 MPa) and strong shocks (p ranging from 500 to 2000 MPa) are performed using a finite volume method. An artificial viscosity to capture the shock and a simple, stable, and adaptive mesh generation technique have been developed for the computations. The details of the shock propagation, rarefaction, transmission and bubble wall motions are obtained from the numerical computations. A weak shock is defined in the present context as one that does not cause liquid jet formation upon impact with the bubble. For this case, a large pressure is created within the gas upon collapse due to rapid compression of the gas, ultimately causing the re-expansion of the bubble. The bubble collapse and re-expansion time predicted by this model agree well with spherically symmetric computations. When impacted by strong shock waves, the bubble will collapse and a liquid jet is formed that propagates through the bubble to the opposite bubble wall. Jet speeds as high as 2000 m s -1 are predicted by this model.
The Middle Fossa Approach to Vestibular Schwannomas: The First Ten Years at One Institution

Vestibular schwannomas (acoustic neuromas) are benign, slow-growing tumors of the eight cranial nerve. For patients who undergo surgical management in whom hearing preservation is not an issue, a translabyrinthine approach to these tumors is used. However, when hearing preservation is attempted, the two widely used approaches are the retrosigmoid (RS) approach and the middle fossa (MF) approach. Prior to 1996, our institution used the RS approach for hearing preservation attempts. In an effort to improve our hearing preservation rate, in 1996 we changed to the middle fossa (MF) approach for largely intracanalicular tumors with good hearing.
Glycolic Acid Modulation of Collagen Production in Human Skin Fibroblast Cultures In Vitro

BACKGROUND Glycolic acid has been used extensively for the treatment of photoaging and wrinkles. Suggestions have been made that glycolic acid may have specific dermal effects, although biochemical studies are limited. OBJECTIVE This study's purpose was to examine the effect of glycolic acid on the radioactively labeled collagen production in human skin fibroblasts in culture. METHODS Normal dermal fibroblasts were grown to semi-confluence and incubated in the presence of glycolic acid for 24 hours. Radioactive proline was added to the cultures. Using a specific amino acid assay, the amount of radioactive hydroxyproline was measured and was used as an accurate index of collagen production. RESULTS Results show that glycolic acid caused an elevated collage production in the fibroblasts. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate a specific stimulatory effect by the glycolic acid and could explain some of the positive benefits from the clinical use of glycolic acid.
Efficient type inference for record concatenation and subtyping

Record concatenation, multiple inheritance, and multiple-object cloning are closely related and part of various language designs. For example, in Cardelli's untyped Obliq language, a new object can be constructed from several existing objects by cloning followed by concatenation; an error is given in case of field name conflicts. Type systems for record concatenation have been studied by M. Wand (1991), R. Harper and B. Pierce (1991), D. Remy (1992), and others; and type inference for the combination of record concatenation and subtyping has been studied by M. Sulzmann (1997) and by F. Pottier (2000). In this paper we present the first polynomial-time type inference algorithm for record concatenation, subtyping, and recursive types. Our example language is the Abadi-Cardelli object calculus extended with a concatenation operator The type inference algorithm runs in O(n/sup 5/) time where n is the size of the program. Our algorithm enables efficient type checking of Obliq programs without changing the programs at all.
Analysis of the Structure of Grain Boundaries Normal to the Boundary Plane Using Diffraction Techniques

By recording the intensity of electron scattering along the reciprocal lattice direction normal to the interface plane of a grain boundary, diffraction data is obtained which is sensitive to the boundary structure along this direction. Kinematical calculations of the diffracted intensity profile normal to the interface show that such diffraction data can provide information on the local expansion at the interface and the rigid body translation between the two grains. Electron diffraction data obtained from a variety of different boundaries are presented and analyzed by comparison with intensity profiles calculated for various model boundary structures.
Simulation of adaptive project management analytics

Typically, IT projects are delivered over-budget and behind schedule. In this paper, we explore the effects of common project management practices that contribute to these problems and suggest a better alternative that can utilize resources more effectively. Our alternative approach uses (a) a thorough analysis of risks affecting activities in a project plan (i.e., the root factors leading to cost and time overruns), and (b) an optimization of the resources allocated to each activity in the project plan to maximize the probability of on time and within budget project completion. One key feature of our method is its capability to adapt and learn the risk factors affecting activities during the course of the project, enabling project managers to reallocate resources dynamically to ensure a better outcome given the updated risk profile. We use simulations to test the performance of our optimization algorithm and to gain insights into the benefits of adaptive re-planning.
Efficacy of Ibuprofen and ibuprofen/acetaminophen on postoperative pain in symptomatic patients with a pulpal diagnosis of necrosis.

Introduction: The purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to determine ibuprofen versus ibuprofen/acetaminophen use for postoperative endodontic pain in symptomatic patients with a pulpal diagnosis of necrosis and an associated periapical radiolucency who were experiencing moderate to severe preoperative pain. We also recorded escape medication use. Methods: Seventy-one adult patients presenting foremergencyendodontictreatmentwithasymptomatic maxillary or mandibular tooth with a pulpal diagnosis of necrosis, periapical radiolucent area, and moderate to severe pain participated in this study. The patients were randomly divided into 2 groups by random assignment and numeric coding. An emergency debridement of the tooth was completed with hand and rotary instrumentation. At the end of the appointment, the patients randomly received capsules of either 600 mg ibuprofen or 600 mg ibuprofen combined with 1000 mg acetaminophen (blinded to both operator and patient). Patients also received a 6-day diary to be completed after anesthesia wore off and every morning for 5 days. Patients were asked to record pain, symptoms, and the number of capsules taken. Patients received escape medication (Vicodin) if the study medication did not control their pain. Postoperative data were analyzed by randomization test and step-down Bonferroni method of Holm. Results and Conclusions: There were decreases in pain levels and analgesic use over time for the ibuprofen and ibuprofen/acetaminophen groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups foranalgesicuseorescapemedicationuse.Approximately 20% of patients in both groups required escape medication to control pain. (J Endod 2011;37:1608‐1612)
Vertical distribution of biological and geochemical phosphorus subcycles in two southern Appalachian forest soils

We measured Al, Fe, and P fractions by horizon in two southern Appalachian forest soil profiles, and compared solution PO4−1 removal in chloroform-sterilized and non-sterilized soils, to determine whether biological and geochemical P subcycles were vertically stratified in these soils. Because organic matter can inhibit Al and Fe oxide crystallization, we hypothesized that concentrations of non-crystalline (oxalate-extractable) Al (Al0) and Fe (Fe0), and concomitantly P sorption, would be greatest in near-surface mineral (A) horizons of these soils.
Chemotherapy and cognitive deficits: mechanisms, findings, and potential interventions.

“Chemobrain” is the phenomenon of cognitive decline some patients may experience after chemotherapy. Current research indicates the cognitive domains that may be most impacted by chemotherapeutic agents are visual and verbal memory, attention, and psychomotor functioning. These cognitive deficits can have an effect on a patient's ability to make informed treatment decisions, pursue occupational or academic pursuits, and his or her overall quality of life. The potential mechanisms that cause this disruption remain largely unknown, although contributing factors could be vascular injury and oxidative damage, inflammation, direct injury to neurons, autoimmune responses, chemotherapy-induced anemia, and the presence of the apolipoprotein E e4 (APOE e 4) gene. Interventions to help alleviate the symptoms of chemobrain could include nonpharmacologic treatment such as antioxidants and cognitive-behavioral therapy. In addition, patients may benefit from pharmacologic treatment such as recombinant human erythropoietin and psychostimulant drugs such as methylphenidate. It is important to note that the proposed therapeutics treat the symptoms of chemobrain based on the hypothesized mechanisms. Therefore, a detailed understanding of the mechanisms that cause chemobrain, as well as a comprehension of what specific cognitive domains are impacted, is crucial in developing more specific treatments to improve patients' cognitive functioning and overall quality of life.
Analysis of a Maasai arrow poison

Abstract An arrow poison prepared by traditional methods from Acokanthera schimperi in the Maasai plains of Kenya was shown to contain acolongifloroside K as its major active principle, as well as smaller amounts of ouabain and acovenoside A. The major cardenolide is the first identified “ouabain equivalent” from an East African arrow poison.
Structure-based exploration of the ganglioside GM1 binding sites of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin and cholera toxin for the discovery of receptor antagonists.

Ganglioside GM1 is the natural receptor for cholera toxin (CT) and heat-labile enterotoxin (LT), which are the causative agents of cholera and traveler's diarrhea, respectively. This observation suggests that small molecules interfering with this recognition process may prevent entry of the toxins into intestinal cells, thereby averting their devastating effects. Here, the terminal sugar of ganglioside GM1, galactose, was chosen as a lead in designing such receptor antagonists. Guided by the experimentally determined binding mode of galactose, we selected a “substructure” for searching the Available Chemicals Database, which led to the purchase of 35 galactose derivatives. Initial screening of these compounds in an LT ELISA revealed that 22 of them have a higher affinity for LT than galactose itself. A structurally diverse subset of these galactose derivatives was selected for determination of IC50 values in the LT ELISA and IC50 values in a CT assay, as well as for the determination of Kd's using the int...
Novel Pharmacological Approaches to Manage Interstitial Lung Fibrosis in the Twenty-First Century

Pharmacological agents currently in use to treat interstitial lung fibrosis are either ineffective or too toxic in humans. This review addresses mechanistically based novel approaches that have the potential to minimize the accumulation of collagen in the lung, a hallmark of lung fibrosis. These approaches include maintaining the intracellular levels of NAD(+) and ATP, blocking the biological activities of TGF-beta and integrins, evaluating the effectiveness of PAF-receptor antagonists and NOS inhibitors, and developing a new generation of cysteine pro-drugs with an adequate degree of bioavailability. A critical analysis of each approach as it relates to management of IPF in humans is presented.
Skorohod integration and stochastic calculus beyond the fractional Brownian scale

Abstract We extend the Skorohod integral, allowing integration with respect to Gaussian processes that can be more irregular than any fractional Brownian motion. This is done by restricting the class of test random variables used to define Skorohod integrability. A detailed analysis of the size of this class is given; it is proved to be non-empty even for Gaussian processes which are not continuous on any closed interval. Despite the extreme irregularity of these stochastic integrators, the Skorohod integral is shown to be uniquely defined, and to be useful: an Ito formula is established; it is employed to derive a Tanaka formula for a corresponding local time; linear additive and multiplicative stochastic differential equations are solved; an analysis of existence for the stochastic heat equation is given.
On the effect of porous layers on melting heat transfer in an enclosure

Abstract An experimental study is reported of melting of a pure substance in a vertical rectangular enclosure that is partially occupied by horizontal or vertical layers of a relatively high thermal conductivity porous medium. To enhance heat transfer, the porous layers are located in regions where the melting rates for a pure substance are the lowest. n -Octadecane is used as the phase-change material, and the porous matrix is composed of glass or aluminum beads of various diameters. Natural convection in the liquid and conduction in the solid are present. The temperature distributions in both the fluid and porous regions are measured using thermocouple rakes, and solid-liquid interface positions and shapes are recorded by tracing the interface at specified time intervals. It is found that the differences in the thermophysical properties between the porous layer and the pure fluid layer cause strong variations in heat transfer, melt convection, and the movement and shape of the solid-liquid interface. Although a porous layer may cause a faster movement of the solid-liquid interface, the melting and heat transfer rates are reduced compared to the case without a porous layer. This is attributed to the effects of the low porosity and permeability of the porous media tested, which are not offset by the high thermal conductivity of the media. Considerable care must be exercised in trying to enhance melting heat transfer using high thermal conductivity porous media.
Iterative generation of higher-order nets in polynomial time using linear programming

This paper presents an algorithm for constructing and training a class of higher-order perceptrons for classification problems. The method uses linear programming models to construct and train the net. Its polynomial time complexity is proven and computational results are provided for several well-known problems. In all cases, very small nets were created compared to those reported in other computational studies.
An efficient algorithm for compressed MR imaging using total variation and wavelets

Compressed sensing, an emerging multidisciplinary field involving mathematics, probability, optimization, and signal processing, focuses on reconstructing an unknown signal from a very limited number of samples. Because information such as boundaries of organs is very sparse in most MR images, compressed sensing makes it possible to reconstruct the same MR image from a very limited set of measurements significantly reducing the MRI scan duration. In order to do that however, one has to solve the difficult problem of minimizing nonsmooth functions on large data sets. To handle this, we propose an efficient algorithm that jointly minimizes the lscr1 norm, total variation, and a least squares measure, one of the most powerful models for compressive MR imaging. Our algorithm is based upon an iterative operator-splitting framework. The calculations are accelerated by continuation and takes advantage of fast wavelet and Fourier transforms enabling our code to process MR images from actual real life applications. We show that faithful MR images can be reconstructed from a subset that represents a mere 20 percent of the complete set of measurements.
Common overuse tendon problems: A review and recommendations for treatment.

There is a common misconception that symptomatic tendon injuries are inflammatory; because of this, these injuries often are mislabeled as "tendonitis." Acute inflammatory tendinopathies exist, but most patients seen in primary care will have chronic symptoms suggesting a degenerative condition that should be labeled as "tendinosus" or "tendinopathy. Accurate diagnosis requires physicians to recognize the historical features, anatomy, and useful physical examination maneuvers for these common tendon problems. The natural history is gradually increasing load-related localized pain coinciding with increased activity. The most common overuse tendinopathies involve the rotator cuff, medial and lateral elbow epicondyles, patellar tendon, and Achilles tendon. Examination should include thorough inspection to assess for swelling, asymmetry, and erythema of involved tendons; range-of-motion testing; palpation for tenderness; and exami- nation maneuvers that simulate tendon loading and reproduce pain. Plain radiography, ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging can be helpful if the diagnosis remains unclear. Most patients with overuse tendinopathies (about 80 percent) fully recover within three to six months, and outpatient treatment should consist of relative rest of the affected area, icing, and eccentric strengthening exercises. Although topical and systemic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are effec- tive for acute pain relief, these cannot be recommended in favor of other analgesics. Injected corticosteroids also can relieve pain, but these drugs should be used with caution. Ultrasonography, shock wave therapy, orthotics, massage, and technique modification are treatment options, but few data exist to support their use at this time. Surgery is an effective treatment that should be reserved for patients who have failed conservative therapy. (Am Fam Physician 2005;72:811-8. Copy- right© 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians.)
Presidential Address, 2015—Making a Difference Through Research, Practice, and Policy

It is with great pleasure that I address my fellow members of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). This audience contains mentors, colleagues, existing and emerging leaders at your agencies and universities, self-advocates, and the future leaders of AAIDD. As is often the case when one is asked to give remarks, the immediate thought is: What can I say that is meaningful and helpful to others? So, I’ll begin at the beginning and give some insight into my leadership path. One question students often ask me at the University of Kansas is: How did your career in disability research begin? My career within this field began in general education. I earned a degree in elementary education at the Pennsylvania State University and received teacher certification right around the time that landmark legislation was signed in 1975 providing support for instruction and inclusion of individuals with disabilities in public schools. As special education in the public schools began and evolved into the system of services we have today, I raised a family of three children while taking disability-related classes in reading disorders and cognitive disabilities at universities in New York and Texas. As current special education began with the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, enacted in 1975, and most recently evolved through the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004), so did my perspectives on disability-related services. I also met Michael Wehmeyer, a fellow doctoral student at the University of Texas at Dallas, who is a beacon in the field of disability and self-determination and a mentor to many, including me and our colleague, Karrie Shogren, regarding research and effective practice. Mike also introduced me to AAIDD as a professional home. Following my work in early intervention—birth to age 3 services in family homes and a few years as a researcher at The Arc of the United States—I settled into the role of research professor at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, working primarily to address the gaps in research for individuals with disabilities. Another milestone in policy legislation that spans many of our careers is this year’s 25th anniversary of the Americans With Disability Act (ADA), signed in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush. This momentous anniversary of the original legislation will also help me center my remarks on what has happened in the years since 1990, both within our organization and in the field of disability research, policy, and practice.
A handheld XRF study of Late Horizon metal artifacts: implications for technological choices and political intervention in Copiapó, northern Chile

A sample of 403 Late Horizon (~1400–1530 AD) metal artifacts from Copiapo in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, consisting of at least 14 artifactual categories, were examined by a Niton pXRF analyzer for compositional information. The results revealed patterned use of different alloys in the Copiapo region, including a very strong, region-wide reliance on bronze alloys, with tin being a primary or secondary alloying element. The wide use of a non-local metal (tin) in the Copiapo region is interpreted as the result of the Inca Empire’s political control over indigenous economic productive activities, despite the long distance to the empire’s core area. However, arsenical bronzes featured local artifact typologies in a relatively large quantity during the same period, suggesting that the Incas’ preference for bronzes alloyed with tin should have influenced but not fully changed the indigenous metallurgic traditions. This shows that the Inca state had powerful but not absolute control over metal resources in the Atacama Desert.
Activation of Na+- and Ca2+-dependent Mg2+ extrusion by α1- and β-adrenergic agonists in rat liver cells

The administration of selective α1 (phenylephrine)-, β (isoproterenol)-, or mixed (epinephrine) adrenergic agonists induces a marked Mg2+extrusion from perfused rat livers. In the absence of extrac...
A plaque assay for chick-embryo-lethal-orphan (CELO) virus.

SummaryA procedure was described for plaquing of avian adenovirus (CELO) in chick kidney cells. The media consisted of Eagle's MEM with 2.5% fetal calf serum, 0.22% sodium bicarbonate and 0.04% protamine sulfate, in 1% Bacto agar. Using this medium, monolayers of chick kidney cells could easily be maintained for at least 12 days. Plaques could be counted on the 11th day, after addition of neutral red (0.04%) on the 10th day. An adsorption period of 3 hr at 3 7° gave optimal plaque counts.
Tailored magnetic damping of g-jitter driven buoyant convection during Bridgman growth of semiconductor crystals in space

In the Bridgman process, a single crystal is grown by the directional solidification of an initially molten semiconductor (melt) contained in a cylindrical ampoule. A crystal-growth experiment in an Earth-orbiting vehicle is subjected to residual accelerations (g-jitters) which drive an undesirable oscillatory buoyant convection in the melt. Since many molten semiconductors have electrical conductivities which are comparable to that of mercury, the magnitude of the buoyant convection is dramatically reduced by applying a magnetic field during crystal growth. The magnetic field can be produced by a permanent magnet or by a solenoid around the crystal-growth furnace. We treat the buoyant convection driven by periodic g-jitters whose direction is parallel to the axis of the ampoule. There is a nonuniform magnetic field which is axisymmetric around the ampoule axis. We compare the magnitudes and characteristics of the buoyant convections for various nonuniform magnetic fields to those for a uniform axial magnetic field. Fringing fields with the largest or smallest magnetic flux density at the crystal-melt interlace are considered. (Author)
Sources and effects of nonclassical damping in discrete-distributed dynamical systems

In the study of the vibration of linear systems, the role of damping is one of undisputed and increasing importance. As structures evolve toward lighter and more flexible configurations, they come to rely more upon damping to control vibrations induced by applied load or rapid maneuvering. Consequently, a thorough and correct understanding of the processes involved and of their mathematical analyses becomes essential in the design and testing of such systems. When modal analysis is to be applied to damped mechanical systems it is often important to know whether a system possesses classical normal modes, and if not, what errors are introduced by the assumption that such modes exist. It is particularly difficult to properly handle damping in a system comprised of both continuous and discrete elements, and including both distributed and lumped damping. Such a discretedistributed system is analyzed here in detail, with emphasis on the influence of various damping mechanisms, as well as their interaction. Two examples illustrate the application of the resulting analytical tools.
Notes on the Sexual Cycle of the Pacific Cetacea of the Genera Megaptera and Balaenoptera

Relatively little is known regarding the life history of the larger Cetacea. The data are scattered and very fragmentary. It is not known at what age or size the young whale becomes sexually mature and whether breeding is seasonal or occurs throughout the year. The duration of gestation and lactation are not known and the opinions on these matters, some of which are supported by scattered bits of evidence, differ greatly. It was with the hope of extending the data on some of these questions that the present investigation was undertaken. Through the courtesy of Dr. B. W. Evermann, director of the California Academy of Sciences, and Joseph Mailliard, curator of mammalogy and ornithology, the writer spent the last three weeks of August, 1925, at the shore whaling station of the Californa Sea Products Company at Trinidad, California. Only nine whales were taken during this period, owing to stormy weather and an apparent scarcity of whales in that vicinity. Three male and two female finbacks, Balaenoptera physalus, and three male and one female humpbacks, Megaptera nodosa, constituted the catch. Measurements, based on those of Andrews' were taken of all whales. Samples of the stomach contents and specimens of external and internal parasites were collected for study by specialists, but the particular object of this investigation was to seek evidence regarding the reproductive cycle by an examination of the reproductive system of both sexes. So far as is known to the writer no attempt has been made to solve the sexual cycle of Cetacea by a study of the histological characteristics of the testes and ovaries. The method and results of such studies for the smaller mammals are well known. The territory of the whaling operations from the Trinidad station during the period of this investigation extended over an area having a radius of about seventy-five miles. Animals which were brought to the station for flensing had been dead on an average for ten to twenty hours. Despite this fact, the tissues which were fixed in 10 per cent formol showed a fair state of preservation, and a satisfactory examination was possible.
Synthesis and Characterization of a Stable High-Valent Cobalt Carbene Complex

The formally CoIV carbene Co(OR)2(═CPh2) is formed upon the reaction of diphenyldiazomethane with the cobalt bis(alkoxide) precursor Co(OR)2(THF)2. Structural, spectroscopic, and theoretical studies demonstrate that Co(OR)2(═CPh2) has significant high-valent CoIV═CPh2 character with non-negligible spin density on the carbene moiety.
Study and Application of Key Technologies of Reliability Based on Distributed System

Analyzes how to improve the method of reliability based multi-tie distributed application system.Presents database connection pooling,object pooling,fault model and dynamic load balancing based on briefcase and negative feedback model.Applies DCOM/COM+ middleware in the models,and gives a project instance on the theory.At last provides an effective method for design and development of high reliability application system.
Endoscopic sclerotherapy versus esophageal transection in Child's class C patients with variceal hemorrhage. Comparison with results of portacaval shunt: Preliminary report

Thirteen Child's class C patients with variceal hemorrhage requiring 6 or more units of blood were randomly assigned to groups receiving either flexible endoscopic sclerotherapy using 5% sodium morrhuate or esophageal transection/reanastomosis employing the EEA Auto Suture stapling instrument. One patient with a previous hiatus hernia repair was assigned to the transection group and had a mesocaval shunt. The randomization groups compared favorably with each other and with a retrospective shunt group (20 patients). Although transection patients required significantly less operative time and fewer blood transfusions, the outcome of the transection group was significantly worse than that of the shunt group. The trend in survival likewise favored the shunt group rather than the sclerotherapy group. Although the reported operative mortality rates of transection and sclerotherapy are less than that of portal decompression, the results of this study--the first controlled trial of these procedures--would warrant distinct caution in using either of these new techniques in high-risk patients. Portal decompression may still be the procedure of choice in class C patients with substantial variceal hemorrhage.
Bandwidth-Efficient Modulation Formats for Digital Fiber Transmission Systems

Publisher Summary It is noted that early lightwave systems employed non–return–to–zero (NRZ) modulation. The newer long-haul systems use return–to–zero (RZ) and chirped RZ formats for obtaining better performance. The goal of system designers, essentially, is to increase spectral efficiency by reducing the RF spectrum required to transmit a given bitrate. Theoretical and implementation issues surrounding the application of modulation format other than unipolar NRZ and RZ to fiber-optic communication systems have been examined in the chapter. The modulation formats are illustrated with examples from the literature to elucidate the properties of signal formats in various single and multichannel optical transmission configurations. It is observed that multilevel modulation is capable of significant increases in spectral efficiency in radio systems where noise in signal and power–dependent channel nonlinearities are absent. However, in optical systems where noise in signal is the limiting noise source, multilevel intensity modulation does not have practical application in long-haul systems because of the excessive power required that induces much larger interchannel nonlinearity penalties than binary signaling formats.
Competing Explanations: Epidemiology, Politics, Social Worlds

Adolescent drug use scares adults. The spectres of addiction, psychosis, alienation and rebellion provoke dramatic responses: legislators enact laws and create control agencies; therapists invent treatment and prevention programmes; parents worry and try to protect their children; social scientists conduct studies; and all of these efforts are documented, evaluated and modified. In all of these activities, however, the perspective of the adolescents themselves is neglected. They, too, are concerned about the dangers and are influenced by these controls, but their concerns are of a different sort. They are the ones who choose which drugs, if any, to try, who decide which use patterns to settle on, and who experience the effects of drug use. Our goal in this study is to understand the ways in which drug use is a part of the adolescent social world — the uses, meanings and consequences of drug use as adolescents themselves report them. The data are extensive interviews with 100 12- to 20-year-old residents of a northeastern American city, and observations of their interactions with each other in school and in their neighbourhoods.
Spin injection and detection up to room temperature in Heusler alloy/n-GaAs spin valves

We have measured the spin injection efficiency and spin lifetime in ${\mathrm{Co}}_{2}\mathrm{FeSi}/n$-GaAs lateral nonlocal spin valves from 20 to 300 K. We observe large ($\ensuremath{\sim}40\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{V}$) spin valve signals at room temperature and injector currents of ${10}^{3}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{A}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, facilitated by fabricating spin valve separations smaller than the $1\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ spin diffusion length and applying a forward bias to the detector contact. The spin transport parameters are measured by comparing the injector-detector contact separation dependence of the spin valve signal with a numerical model accounting for spin drift and diffusion. The apparent suppression of the spin injection efficiency at the lowest temperatures reflects a breakdown of the ordinary drift-diffusion model in the regime of large spin accumulation. A theoretical calculation of the D'yakonov-Perel' spin lifetime agrees well with the measured $n$-GaAs spin lifetime over the entire temperature range.
Heroísmo y conciencia racial en la obra de la poeta afrocubana Cristina Ayala

This article examines the poetry of Cuban writer Cristina Ayala emphasizing the political value of her use of a rhetoric of heroism, a discursive device that masks her demands for recognition of women’s rights and those of Afro-Cubans. The analysis of her poetry suggests that the symbolic manipulation of the “hero” and the representation of “colored” women as intellectuals and “heroes” expressed her desire to intervene in the public arena. By positioning herself within a political discourse that reconstructed slavery’s past, she narrated the revolutionary vicissitudes and created a utopian vision of the future for the Afro-Cuban community. Ayala expresses the emergence of a gender and racial consciousness that challenged discrimination. Finally, this article proposes the relevance of her poetry in Latin American studies, Gender studies and Diaspora studies in Latin America.
Ascl2 inhibits myogenesis by antagonizing the transcriptional activity of myogenic regulatory factors.

ABSTRACT Myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs), including Myf5, MyoD (Myod1) and Myog, are muscle-specific transcription factors that orchestrate myogenesis. Although MRFs are essential for myogenic commitment and differentiation, timely repression of their activity is necessary for the self-renewal and maintenance of muscle stem cells (satellite cells). Here, we define Ascl2 as a novel inhibitor of MRFs. During mouse development, Ascl2 is transiently detected in a subpopulation of Pax7+ MyoD+ progenitors (myoblasts) that become Pax7+ MyoD− satellite cells prior to birth, but is not detectable in postnatal satellite cells. Ascl2 knockout in embryonic myoblasts decreases both the number of Pax7+ cells and the proportion of Pax7+ MyoD− cells. Conversely, overexpression of Ascl2 inhibits the proliferation and differentiation of cultured myoblasts and impairs the regeneration of injured muscles. Ascl2 competes with MRFs for binding to E-boxes in the promoters of muscle genes, without activating gene transcription. Ascl2 also forms heterodimers with classical E-proteins to sequester their transcriptional activity on MRF genes. Accordingly, MyoD or Myog expression rescues myogenic differentiation despite Ascl2 overexpression. Ascl2 expression is regulated by Notch signaling, a key governor of satellite cell self-renewal. These data demonstrate that Ascl2 inhibits myogenic differentiation by targeting MRFs and facilitates the generation of postnatal satellite cells.
Biomarker study in patients with resectable AJCC stage IIIc or stage IV (M1a) melanoma treated in a randomized phase II neoadjuvant trial.

9047 Background: Fewer than 30% of patients with resectable stage IIIC or IV (M1a) metastatic melanoma (MetM) who undergo surgical resection will achieve long-term survival. This study was designed...
Disintegration of the “strategic depth” doctrine and Turkey’s troubles in the Middle East

By way of tracing a number of important developments in the last decade, this paper examines Turkey’s foreign policy under the leadership of the Justice and Development Party, with specific emphasis on the “strategic depth” doctrine. More specifically, after providing a very brief overview of Turkey’s foreign policy orientation between 1923 and 2002, the paper first discusses the basic principles of the “strategic depth” doctrine and then analyzes how three main issues – Islamization of Turkish foreign policy, the Arab Spring, and the increasing discrepancy between Turkey’s domestic politics and the image Turkey’s leaders wanted to present to the outside world – led to the disintegration of this doctrine.
Race/ethnicity modifies the association between school prevalence of e-cigarette use and student-level use: Results from the 2014 US National Youth Tobacco Survey

Abstract This study assessed racial/ethnic moderation of the association between school prevalence of lifetime e-cigarette use and students’ use. Using multilevel regression methods and data from the 2014 US National Youth Tobacco Survey, we found attending schools with high rates of e-cigarette use was positively associated with students’ lifetime use of e-cigarettes, especially for white students. A cross-level interaction term indicated a weaker association between non-Hispanic black race and attending high-use schools (odds ratio [OR] =0.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] =0.39, 0.95). Results implicate race/ethnicity as an important effect modifier in the link between school contexts and teenage e-cigarette use.
Analytic model of the γ-surface deviation and influence on the stacking fault width between partial dislocations

Abstract The stacking fault width ( R eq ) between partial dislocations within an FCC crystalline lattice characterizes the onset of numerous plastic flow mechanisms, as well as the relationship between material strength and grain size. Continuum models traditionally consider a complete unit of dislocation slip ( b ) along the 〈 1 1 0 〉 direction distributed between two discrete partial dislocations, each with a fixed partial Burgers vector ( b p ), which bound a stacking fault. Across the stacking fault, the vectorial slip is assumed to be constant, yielding a constant intrinsic stacking fault energy density, γ isf . Here, we demonstrate that the vectorial displacement path taken in accomplishing a complete unit of slip ( b ) deviates from the expected displacement path containing the local minima, γ isf , leading to a correction in the nominally derived stacking fault width. The magnitude of the correction depends on both the net orientation of the dislocation within the lattice, and also the degree of relaxation of each partial Burgers vector along the 〈 1 ¯ 1 2 〉 direction. We derive a simple analytic model for the corrected stacking fault width, explicitly accounting for the deviation, by introducing a variable ξ (0 ξ 1), which governs the magnitude of each partial dislocation component along the 〈 1 ¯ 1 2 〉 direction. Significantly, our model predicts a correction to R eq of ∼ O ( | b | ) for the nominally screw dislocation, and has no noticeable influence on nominally edge dislocations. We apply our model towards computing the stacking fault width of several FCC metals, and demonstrate excellent agreement both with our own numerical data as well as that obtained from ab initio and Molecular Statics (MS) methods within the literature. The results from this study demonstrate that, upon judicious application, discrete linear elastic models are successful in reproducing elastic interactions as computed from higher fidelity models on the spatial scale of metallic dislocation cores.
Frequency Control in Biological Half-Center Oscillators

Rhythmic motor patterns are produced by networks with oscillatory outputs. These networks or central pattern generators underlie behaviours such as respiration, heartbeat, swimming and feeding (Cohen et al., 1988; Jacklet, 1989). We now know that rhythmic output can be generated by non-oscillatory neurons that are connected by reciprocal inhibitory synapses, “half-center oscillators” (e.g., Arshavsky et al., 1993; Calabrese and DeSchutter, 1992; Satterlie, 1985). In this paper we examine frequency control in half-center oscillators.
Brainstem Injury in Pediatric Patients Receiving Posterior Fossa Photon Radiation.

Purpose Brainstem necrosis is a rare, but dreaded complication of radiation therapy; however, data on the incidence of brainstem injury for tumors involving the posterior fossa in photon-treated patient cohorts are still needed. Methods and Materials Clinical characteristics and dosimetric parameters were recorded for 107 pediatric patients who received photon radiation for posterior fossa tumors without brainstem involvement from 2000 to 2016. Patients were excluded if they received a prescription dose Results The most common histologies were medulloblastoma (61.7%) and ependymoma (15.9%), and median age at diagnosis was 8.3 years (range, 0.8-20.7). Sixty-seven patients (62.6%) received craniospinal irradiation (median, 23.4 Gy; range, 18.0-39.6) as a component of their radiation therapy, and 39.3% and 40.2% of patients received an additional involved field or whole posterior fossa boost, respectively. Median prescribed dose was 55.8 Gy (range, 50.4-60.0). Median clinical and imaging follow-up were 4.7 years (range, 0.1-17.5) and 4.2 years (range, 0.1-17.3), respectively. No grade ≥2 toxicities were observed. The incidence of grade 1 brainstem necrosis was 1.9% (2 of 107). These patients were by definition asymptomatic and experienced resolution of imaging abnormality after 5.3 months and 2.1 years, respectively. Conclusions Risk of brainstem necrosis was minimal in this multi-institutional study of pediatric patients treated with photon radiation therapy for tumors involving the posterior fossa with no cases of symptomatic brainstem injury, suggesting that brainstem injury risk is minimal in patients treated with photon therapy.
Standing enhances cognitive control and alters visual search

Postural changes and the maintenance of postural stability have been shown to affect many aspects of cognition. Here we examined the extent to which selective visual attention may differ between standing and seated postures in three tasks: the Stroop color-word task, a task-switching paradigm, and visual search. We found reduced Stroop interference, a reduction in switch costs, and slower search rates in the visual search task when participants stood compared to when they sat while performing the tasks. The results suggest that the postural demands associated with standing enhance cognitive control, revealing broad connections between body posture and cognitive mechanisms.
The Opportunity of CBD — Reforming the Law

The Opportunity of CBD — Reforming the Law Recently, the FDA has taken the position that cannabidiol cannot be legally sold in either supplements or foods. As many manufacturers defy the FDA, this ...
Template-based configuration and execution of decision workflows in design of complex engineered systems

Abstract The research reported in the paper is from a decision-based design perspective wherein the principal role (but not only) role of a designer is to make decisions. Decision workflows are the processes by which the solutions pertaining to the design of complex systems are generated. Decision workflows are core to design processes, in which a set of decisions are connected (or interconnected) to generate shared and desired design outputs. Careful configuration of decision workflows is very important to ensure the generation of designs using available resources. Configuration of decision workflows is a process that requires a designer to use the basic elements to compose feasible workflows and then select an appropriate one for implementation in designing a product or a system. In this paper, we propose a template-based method for the design and execution of decision workflows associated with designing engineered systems. The value of the method is anchored in that it facilitates designers rapidly planning the processes, namely, the decision workflows, for designing products or systems. Moreover, due to the fact that these decision workflows are modeled in a computational manner, designers are able to execute decision workflows to explore the solution space and identify satisficing design solutions in early design stages. A gearbox with connected gears and shafts is a typical complex engineered system that can be partitioned into multiple levels of interacting subsystems. We illustrate the method and the decision workflows using a gear and shaft (within a gearbox) design example.