cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia: 2012 update on diagnosis, risk stratification, and management.

Disease overview: Polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET) are myeloproliferative neoplasms primarily characterized by erythrocytosis and thrombocytosis, respectively. Other disease features include leukocytosis, splenomegaly, thrombohemorrhagic complications, vasomotor disturbances, pruritus, and a small risk of disease progression into acute myeloid leukemia or myelofibrosis. Diagnosis: Almost all patients with PV harbor a JAK2 mutation. When PV is suspected, the presence of a JAK2 mutation confirms the diagnosis and its absence, combined with normal or increased serum erythropoietin level, excludes the diagnosis. Differential diagnosis of ET had to include chronic myelogenous leukemia and prefibrotic myelofibrosis. A JAK2 mutation is found in approximately 60% of patients with ET. Risk stratification: Current risk stratification in PV and ET is designed to estimate the likelihood of thrombotic complications: high-risk is defined by the presence of age >60 years or presence of thrombosis history; low-risk is defined by the absence of both of these two risk factors. Presence of extreme thrombocytosis (platelet count >1,000 × 109/L) might be associated with acquired von Willebrand syndrome (AvWS) and, therefore, risk of bleeding. Risk factors for shortened survival in both PV and ET include advanced age, leukocytosis, and history of thrombosis. Risk-adapted therapy: Survival is near-normal in ET and reasonably long in PV. The 10-year risk of leukemic/fibrotic transformation is <1%/1% in ET and <3%/10% in PV. In contrast, the risk of thrombosis exceeds 20%. The main goal of therapy is therefore to prevent thrombohemorrhagic complications and this is effectively and safely accomplished by the use of low-dose aspirin (PV and ET), phlebotomy (PV) and hydroxyurea (high risk PV and ET). Treatment with busulfan or interferon-α is usually effective in hydroxyurea failures. Screening for clinically significant AvWS is recommended before administrating aspirin in the presence of extreme thrombocytosis. Am. J. Hematol. 87:285–293, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The removal of chromium(VI) from dilute aqueous solution by activated carbon

The removal of chromium(VI) by activated carbon, filtrasorb 400, is brought by two major interfacial reactions: adsorption and reduction. Chemical factors such as pH and total Cr(VI) that affect the magnitude of Cr(VI) adsorption were investigated. The adsorption of Cr(VI) exhibits a peak value at pH 5–6. The particle size of carbon and the presence of cyanide species do not change the magnitude of chromium removal. The reduced Cr(VI), e.g. Cr(III) is less adsorbable than Cr(VI). The free energy of specific chemical interaction, ΔGchem was computed by the Gouy-Chapman-Stern-Grahame model. The average values of ΔGchem are −5.57 RT and −5.81RT, respectively, for Cr(VI) and CN. These values are significant enough to influence the overall magnitude of Cr(VI) and CN adsorption. Results also indicate that HCrO−4 and Cr2O2−7 are the major Cr(VI) species involved in surface association.
Monte Carlo simulation of aerosol transport in rising gas bubbles undergoing shape deformation

Abstract The transport and removal of particles suspended in gaseous bubbles rising in a stagnant pool are modeled based on a hybrid Eulerian–Monte Carlo method. The bubble hydrodynamics are treated in Eulerian frame, using a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) package that applies the Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) technique for modeling the motion of the gas–liquid interphase, thereby allowing for bubble shape deformation. Equations of motion are numerically solved for a large number of particles in Lagrangian frame, accounting for sedimentation, Brownian, convection, and inertial effects. Particles impacting the bubble surface are assumed to be removed from the bubble. Parametric calculation results are presented for 14.1 and 65.5 mm 3 bubble (equivalent to spheres with 3 and 5 mm diameters, and bubble Reynolds numbers in the 850–2500 range), and indicate that such bubbles are non-spherical, undergo shape change, and support strong and complex internal circulation patterns, all of which influence the pace of removal of particles. The particle removal rates are generally different than the model predictions based on assumed spherical bubbles with Hills vortex-type internal circulation. Model predictions are also compared with available experimental data.
Sediment management at Sandy Hook, NJ: An interaction of science and public policy

Abstract A century of human manipulation of sediment transport and sediment supply at Sandy Hook spit has generated an evolving suite of geomorphological responses and shoreline management approaches at this public coastal resource. Eventually a major erosion problem was created in a portion of the Gateway National Recreation Area knows as the “Critical Zone”, a location immediately downdrift of the end of a lengthy seawall. In the last three decades, the management approach was to apply beach nourishment to replace the eroded volumes. Projects emplacing from 20 000 m 3 to 1.7 million m 3 of sand in the Critical Zone attempted to counter the erosional trend. However, evolving Park policy sought to identify alternatives to the massive emplacements of sand from offshore sources. Starting in 1997, detailed topographical surveys were begun to track sediment budget in the eroding Critical Zone, and subsequently at Gunnison Beach, a site of sediment accumulation. A new management philosophy of smaller scale restoration of sediment supply in the Critical Zone has emerged. At present, the Gunnison Beach area on Sandy Hook is being monitored to determine its potential for sediment backpassing to the Critical Zone as a means to balance its local sediment budget, create a relatively consistent topography, and maintain the recreational resources.
Calculation of Polymer Flow Using Micro-Macro Simulations

A micro-macro simulation algorithm for the calculation of polymeric flow is developed and implemented. The algorithm couples standard finite element techniques to compute velocity and pressure fields with stochastic simulation techniques to compute polymer stress from simulated polymer dynamics. The polymer stress is computed using a microscopic-based rheological model which combines aspects of network and reptation theory with aspects of continuum mechanics. The model dynamics include two Gaussian stochastic processes each of which is destroyed and regenerated according to a survival time randomly generated from the material’s relaxation spectrum. The Eulerian form of the evolution equations for the polymer configurations are spatially discretized using the discontinuous Galerkin method. The algorithm is tested on benchmark contraction domains for a polyisobutylene (PIB) solution. In particular, the flow in the abrupt die entry domain is simulated and the simulation results are compared with experimental data. The results exhibit the correct qualitative behavior of the polymer and agree well with the experimental data.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics of concentrated colloidal dispersions: Hard spheres in weak flows with many-body thermodynamic interactions

Abstract A theory is presented which relates the colloidal interactions to the microstructure of a Brownian suspension under weak shear and then to the bulk stresses via a new technique for renormalizing the thermodynamic contribution. Further derivations of the interparticle stress provide an independent test of the accuracy of requisite closures. The results are very sensitive to the coupling between equilibrium and nonequilibrium distribution functions in the three-body closures; a closure in the spirit of the Percus-Yevick equation provides the most consistent results while superposition predicts aphysical results. Comparison with the available measurements on hard-sphere systems indicates that the Brownian stresses, renormalized into a hydrodynamic function, are responsible for the divergence in the low shear limiting viscosity in dense suspensions. However, pairwise additive hydrodynamics adequately predict neither the high frequency limiting complex viscosity nor the steady shear viscosity in dense suspensions.
Influence of morphology on the transport properties of polystyrene/polybutadiene blends: 2. Modelling results

Abstract Unsteady-state and steady-state models are used to predict the effective diffusion coefficients, D eff , of small molecules in randomly interspersed polystyrene-polybutadiene blends and comparisons are made with experimental values obtained by sorption measurements. It is found that the polybutadiene and polystyrene phases are not topologically equivalent. This fact is responsible for the discrepancies between the experimental values of D eff and the predictions from standard steady-state models. Simulations of sorption experiments based on an unsteady-state model have shown that values of D eff obtained by different methods from the same sorption experiment differ consistently from each other. This supports the hypothesis that the experimentally observed differences between the various values of D eff , for a given blend-permeant pair, can be justified solely on the basis of morphological arguments.
Toward aldehyde and alkane production by removing aldehyde reductase activity in Escherichia coli

Advances in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering have enabled the construction of novel biological routes to valuable chemicals using suitable microbial hosts. Aldehydes serve as chemical feedstocks in the synthesis of rubbers, plastics, and other larger molecules. Microbial production of alkanes is dependent on the formation of a fatty aldehyde intermediate which is converted to an alkane by an aldehyde deformylating oxygenase (ADO). However, microbial hosts such as Escherichia coli are plagued by many highly active endogenous aldehyde reductases (ALRs) that convert aldehydes to alcohols, which greatly complicates strain engineering for aldehyde and alkane production. It has been shown that the endogenous ALR activity outcompetes the ADO enzyme for fatty aldehyde substrate. The large degree of ALR redundancy coupled with an incomplete database of ALRs represents a significant obstacle in engineering E. coli for either aldehyde or alkane production. In this study, we identified 44 ALR candidates encoded in the E. coli genome using bioinformatics tools, and undertook a comprehensive screening by measuring the ability of these enzymes to produce isobutanol. From the pool of 44 candidates, we found five new ALRs using this screening method (YahK, DkgA, GldA, YbbO, and YghA). Combined deletions of all 13 known ALRs resulted in a 90–99% reduction in endogenous ALR activity for a wide range of aldehyde substrates (C2–C12). Elucidation of the ALRs found in E. coli could guide one in reducing competing alcohol formation during alkane or aldehyde production.
Experimental and molecular mechanics and ab initio investigation of activated adsorption and desorption of trichloroethylene in mineral micropores

This research investigated activated adsorption of a hydrophobic organic contaminant (HOC) in mineral micropores using experimental and molecular modeling techniques. Adsorption of trichloroethylene (TCE) on a silica gel adsorbent was measured using a frontal analysis chromatography technique at atmospheric and elevated fluid pressures. Increasing the fluid pressure yielded increased TCE uptake that was not released upon lowering the pressure back to atmospheric conditions. This showed that the increase in pressure was able to rapidly induce the formation of a desorption-resistant fraction that previous investigations have shown requires months to develop at atmospheric pressure. Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) modeling was then used to elucidate the nature of water and TCE behavior within silica micropores. The GCMC modeling showed that molecular scale packing restrictions resulted in pore fluid densities that ranged from 0.28 to 0.78 of those in the bulk solution. The modeling also showed that TCE wa...
A proposed DDT/IDCT chip design using quaternary logic

CMOS quaternary threshold logic circuits are used in the design of the instruction memory and arithmetic sections of a proposed single-chip implementation of a unified discrete cosine transform/inverse discrete cosine transform (DCT/IDCT) architecture. The chip is projected to be capable of real-time processing of 10-MHz video signals. The unified DCT/IDCT architecture is described, and the use of quaternary logic circuits is discussed. A 17.5% area savings has been achieved. >
Statics prediction from cross-correlations in orthogonal directions

Traditional reflection statics programs use model traces built from stacks of nearby traces. Using cross-correlations between nearby prestack traces avoids the problems associated with the model building process. Cross-correlations between trace pairs positioned in orthogonal directions with respect to structure, residual NMO, and the shot and receiver terms allow the full statics problem to be separated into three sets of problems. Crosscorrelations are performed in gathers that are independent of, or orthogonal to, one of three parts of the full problem. These simpler problems may be solved individually with greater ease and perhaps with more accuracy than traditional approaches. Since only one term is being predicted within each subset of the problem, this may be considered a signalprocessing problem rather than a matrix-inversion problem. The cross-correlations of neighboring traces may be supplemented with the creation of cross-correlations between traces that are widely separated. These extra cross-correlations may stabilize the problem. Preliminary results on synthetic data appear promising.
School Psychologists' Perceptions of Their Work: Satisfactions and Dissatisfactions in the United States

Forty school psychologists in two districts of the U.S.A. were interviewed using a structured interview format to obtain their perceptions of satisfactions and dissatisfactions associated with their work. Four areas of satisfaction and five of dissatisfaction were identified. A major finding was that many of the school psychologists did not appear to have had adequate training in coping with the pressures, stress, and dissatisfactions which they were experiencing.
Branch trace compression for snapshot-based simulation

We present a scheme to compress branch trace information for use in snapshot-based microarchitecture simulation. The compressed trace can be used to warm any arbitrary branch predictor's state before detailed microarchitecture simulation of the snapshot. We show that compressed branch traces require less space than snapshots of concrete predictor state. Our branch-predictor based compression (BPC) technique uses a software branch predictor to provide an accurate model of the input branch trace, requiring only mispredictions to be stored in the compressed trace file. The decompressor constructs a matching software branch predictor to help reconstruct the original branch trace from the record of mispredictions. Evaluations using traces from the Journal of ILP branch predictor competition show we achieve compression rates of 0.013-0.72 bits/branch (depending on workload), which is up to 210/spl times/ better than gzip; up to 52/spl times/ better than the best general-purpose compression techniques; and up to 4.4/spl times/ better than recently-published, more general trace compression techniques. Moreover, BPC-compressed traces can be decompressed in less time than corresponding traces compressed with other methods.
Conceptualizing climate change in the context of a climate system: implications for climate and environmental education

Today there is much interest in teaching secondary students about climate change. Much of this effort has focused directly on students’ understanding of climate change. We hypothesize, however, that in order for students to understand climate change they must first understand climate as a system and how changes to this system due to both natural and human influences result in climatic and environmental changes and feedbacks. The purpose of this article is to articulate a climate system framework for teaching about climate change and to stimulate discussion about what secondary students should know and understand about a climate system. We first provide an overview of the research on secondary students’ conceptions of climate and climate change. We then present a climate system framework for teaching about climate and climate change that builds on students’ conceptions and scientific perspectives. We conclude by articulating a draft conceptual progression based on students’ conceptions and our climate syst...
Response to a Review and Update on Developing Literacy in Second-language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth:

The purpose of this article is to respond to a review of the report Developing Literacy in Second-language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth, w...
Pyoderma gangrenosum among patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a descriptive cohort study

BACKGROUND Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a severe extraintestinal manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). OBJECTIVE To better characterize PG features and management among an IBD cohort. METHODS Subjects with PG were identified using a large database at a tertiary center. Patient demographics and clinical characteristics were summarized using descriptive statistics. RESULTS Eighty patients with an episode(s) of PG were identified, yielding an overall prevalence of 1.9%. Overall, 93% of patients with PG had some degree of colonic inflammation. Thirty-one (39%) patients required hospitalization for PG. Underlying bowel disease was active at the time of PG episode(s) in 52 (65%) patients. The PG location was variable, with the lower extremity being the most common. Most patients (71.3%) required multiple therapies to achieve PG healing. CONCLUSIONS We describe one of the largest case series of PG among patients with IBD. The variety of treatment strategies used highlights the lack of clear guidelines in managing this complex group of patients.
Implementation of personal health records by case managers in a VAMC general medicine clinic.

Abstract The study objective was to determine the feasibility of implementation of personal health records (PHRs) by case managers (CMs) in a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) Continuity of Care (COC) Clinic, to ascertain the impact of PHRs on patient access to vital health information, and to assess the effect on provider–patient communication. One hundred and fifty patients and 8 nurse CMs in the general medicine COC Clinic at the Iowa City VAMC participated in a prospective cohort study in which an intervention, implementation of PHRs, was performed in one half of the patients, selected at random by their CMs. All participants responded to questions about their personal possession of documentation of vital health information. Initially, the majority of subjects possessed poor documentation of basic health information. At follow-up, significant differences occurred between the cohort with PHRs and the cohort without in their documentation of immunizations, allergies, medications, and operations.
Deriving a new efficient algorithm for min-period retiming

A new efficient algorithm is derived for the minimal period retiming problem by formal methods. Contrary to all previous algorithms, which used binary search to check feasibilities on a range of candidate periods, the derived algorithm checks the optimality of a current period directly. It is much simpler and more efficient than previous algorithms. Experimental results showed that it is even faster than ASTRA, an efficient heuristic algorithm. Since the derived algorithm is incremental by nature, it also opens the opportunity to be combined with other optimization techniques.
El Niño—The Dynamic Response of the Equatorial Pacific Oceanto Atmospheric Forcing

Abstract El Nino is the occasional appearance of warm water off the coast of Peru; its presence results in catastrophic consequences in the fishing industry. A new theory for the occurrence of El Nino is presented. It isshown that El Nino is not due to a weakening of the southeast trades over the waters off Peru, but that during the two years preceding El Nino, excessively strong southeast trades are present in the central Pacific.These strong southeast trades intensify the subtropical gyre of the South Pacific, strengthen the SouthEquatorial Current, and increase the east-west slope of sea level by building up water in the western equatorial Pacific. As soon as. the wind stress in the central Pacific relaxes, the accumulated water flows eastward,probably in the form of an internal equatorial Kelvin wave. This wave leads to the accumulation of warmwater off Ecuador and Peru and to a depression of the usually shallow thermocline. In total, El Nino is theresult of the response of the equatorial Pacific Ocea...
Mode-of-Action Framework for Evaluating the Relevance of Rodent Forestomach Tumors in Cancer Risk Assessment

Studies have shown that a majority of known human carcinogens also cause cancer in laboratory animals. The converse, however, is not as well established-known animal carcinogens are not equally predictive of human carcinogenicity. A particularly controversial aspect of interspecies extrapolation is application of rodent forestomach tumor data for predicting cancer risk in humans, given that a human counterpart for the rodent forestomach does not exist. Proliferative lesions in the rodent forestomach may result from a combination of factors related to route-specific tissue irritation and/or unnatural dosing regimens and are less likely to be relevant in evaluating human carcinogenic potential, particularly when tumors are exclusive to the forestomach. We review the comparative functional anatomy, physiology, tumor biology, tissue concordance, and historical regulatory practices in the use of forestomach tumors for cancer risk assessment, examining specific chemical examples. We also propose a standardized mode-of-action approach that combines multiple risk characterization criteria, including relevance to human exposure conditions, physiologically based toxicokinetics, genotoxicity, and comparative/mechanistic toxicology. Forestomach tumors associated with chronic irritation of the forestomach epithelium, particularly those induced by repeated oral gavage dosing, should not form the basis for carcinogenic classification or quantitative cancer potency estimates for humans. Genotoxic chemicals and those that cause tumors at multiple sites, at doses at or below the maximum tolerated dose, and in the absence of forestomach irritation, are more likely to be relevant human carcinogens. Cancer risk assessment that utilizes forestomach tumor data should consider relevant human exposures, systemic bioavailability, tissue dosimetry and concordance.
A new oral health elective for medical students at the University of Washington.

Background: Oral health is an important but inadequately addressed area in medical school curricula. Primary care practitioners are in an ideal position to help prevent oral disease but lack the knowledge to do so. Purposes: We developed an oral health elective that targeted 1st- and 2nd-year medical students as part of a previously described oral health initiative and oral health curriculum. Methods: To promote interprofessional collaboration, we utilized medical–dental faculty teams for lectures and hands-on peer instruction by dental students for clinical skills. Results: Evaluations revealed positive shifts in attitudes toward oral health and significant gains in oral health knowledge and self-confidence. Students rated the course highly and advocated for further integration of oral health into required medical curricula. Conclusions: We describe the elective including curriculum development, course evaluation results, and steps for implementing a successful oral health elective into medical education...
Reasoning as deliberative in function but dialogic in structure and origin

Mercier and Sperber (M&S) claim that the main function of reasoning is to generate support for conclusions derived unconsciously. An alternative account holds that reasoning has a deliberative function even though it is an internalized analogue of public discourse. We sketch this alternative and compare it with M&S's in the light of the empirical phenomena they discuss.
The proteome survey of an electricity‐generating organ (Torpedo californica electric organ)

Torpedo californica is a species in class Chondrichthyes. Electric rays have evolved the electric organ, which is similar to the mammalian neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Here, we took a combined cDNA sequencing and proteomic approach to define the molecular constituents of the T. californica electric organ. For soluble proteins, 2-DE was used and 224 protein spots were mapped. Plasma membrane fractions were analyzed using the shotgun approach (LC-MS/MS). A Torpedo cDNA library was constructed and 607 cDNA clones were sequenced. Identification of electric organ proteins was done using cross-species comparisons, and a custom database was constructed from cDNA translations. We unambiguously identified 121 proteins and transcripts, 103 of which were novel additions to the existing databases of Torpedo fish. Fifteen proteins of known function, but not previously associated with either the electroplaque or NMJ, were present at high abundance. These included the heat shock and oxidative stress proteins, annexin V (calelectrin), and plectin 1. Most interesting were the unambiguous matches to 11 human ORFs of unknown function, including four potential RNA splicing proteins, a vacuolar sorting protein, and a tetraspanin containing protein. This analysis identified proteins that may play a role in the higher vertebrate neuromuscular junction or other electrical synapses.
Brain derived vision algorithm on high performance architectures

Even though computing systems have increased the number of transistors, the switching speed, and the number of processors, most programs exhibit limited speedup due to the serial dependencies of existing algorithms. Analysis of intrinsically parallel systems such as brain circuitry have led to the identification of novel architecture designs, and also new algorithms than can exploit the features of modern multiprocessor systems. In this article we describe the details of a brain derived vision (BDV) algorithm that is derived from the anatomical structure, and physiological operating principles of thalamo-cortical brain circuits. We show that many characteristics of the BDV algorithm lend themselves to implementation on IBM CELL architecture, and yield impressive speedups that equal or exceed the performance of specialized solutions such as FPGAs. Mapping this algorithm to the IBM CELL is non-trivial, and we suggest various approaches to deal with parallelism, task granularity, communication, and memory locality. We also show that a cluster of three PS3s (or more) containing IBM CELL processors provides a promising platform for brain derived algorithms, exhibiting speedup of more than 140× over a desktop PC implementation, and thus enabling real-time object recognition for robotic systems.
Traffic dispersion strategies for multimedia streaming

Traditional multimedia streaming techniques usually assume single-path (unicast) data delivery. But when the aggregate traffic between 2 nodes exceeds the bandwidth capacity of single link/path, a feasible solution is to appropriately disperse the aggregate traffic over multiple paths between these 2 nodes. In this paper we propose a set of multi-path streaming models for MPEG video traffic transmission. In addition to the attributes (such as load balancing and security) inherited from conventional data dispersion models, the proposed multimedia dispersion models are designed to achieve high error-free frame rate based on the characteristics of MPEG video structure. Our simulation results show that significant quality improvement can be observed if the proposed streaming models are employed appropriately.
Interactive Discourse: Influence of the Social Context Panel Chair's Introduction

Progress on natural language interfaces can perhaps be stimulated or directed by imagining the ideal natural language system of the future. What features (or even design philosophies) should such a system have in order to become an integral part of our work environments? What scaled-down versions of these features might be possible in the near future in "simple service systems" [2]? These issues can be broken down into the following four questions:
A least‐squares finite element method for incompressible Navier‐Stokes problems

A least-squares finite element method, based on the velocity-pressure-vorticity formulation, is developed for solving steady incompressible Navier-Stokes problems. This method leads to a minimization problem rather than to a saddle-point problem by the classic mixed method, and can thus accommodate equal-order interpolations. This method has no parameter to tune. The associated algebraic system is symmetric, and positive definite. Numerical results for the cavity flow at Reynolds number up to 10,000 and the backward-facing step flow at Reynolds number up to 900 are presented.
Conversion of acetate to CO2, lipids, proteins, and lipoproteins during hemodialysis in humans.

Acetate-1-14C or acetate-2-14C was infused into the venous dialysis line in 17 chronic stable patients over a 4-hr period of standard hemodialysis. Radioactive CO2 in expired air was measured continuously during dialysis and for 20 hr postdialysis. Significantly more acetate-1-14C (56 ± 2%) was recovered as 14CO2 in the expired air than was acetate-2-14C (49 ± 3%). A total of 81% and 71% of the radioactivity was recovered from the expired air and expended dialysate from acetate-1-14C and acetate-2-14C, respectively. Of the remainder, a significant portion was incorporated into plasma lipids and proteins. Incorporation of radioactivity into phospholipids, cholesterol esters, and triglycerides increased during dialysis and continued to increase during the postdialysis period. Free fatty acid radioactivity increased during dialysis but declined afterwards. In the lipoprotein fractions radioactivities remained elevated at 24 hr in the LDL and HDL fractions, but declined in the VLDLs after this time interval.
Strategic Foretelling: Communication-Based Antecedents of a Firm's Propensity to Preannounce

Abstract The authors examine preannouncements as strategic marketing communications aimed at influencing the perceptions and attitudes of industry stakeholders. The growth of the Internet points to the expanded importance of preannouncements. With an investigation of 265 chief executive officers (CEOs) and presidents from manufacturers of new products, the authors examine the effects of three firm-specific factors (first-mover predisposition, firm information interactivity, and competitive equity building) and one environmental construct (industry dynamism) on a firm’s propensity to preannounce its future intended actions. The results indicate that competitive equity building, defined as a firm’s tendency to pursue a high-profile leadership position within its industry, is the main driver of a firm’s propensity to preannounce. Future directions for research include the development of a normative preannouncement framework and investigation of the role of preannouncements within the context of CEO marketing...
Sympathetic Preganglionic Neurons: Electrical Properties and Response to Neurotransmitters

In response to external and internal signals, the sympathetic nervous system executes complex and highly differentiated commands to multiple target organs including the heart and blood vessels. For example, humans as well as animals, when presented with a threatening stimulus, display a series of physiological responses that may include increased cardiac output, pupillary dilation, constriction of cutaneous and splanchnic vasculatures, dilation of skeletal muscle vasculatures, and increased glucose utilization. The completion of this complex, yet organized, task is dependent on the temporal and spatial coordination of hundreds or thousands of synaptic events at different levels of the neuraxis. The efferent portion of the sympathetic nervous system consists of two sets of serially connected neurons: the preganglionic neurons whose cell bodies reside in the thoracolumbar spinal cord and the postganglionic neurons that aggregate in para- or pre-vertebral ganglia and adrenal medulla. Viewed in this context, sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPN) in the spinal cord are the final common site where supraspinal and segmental inputs related to the sympathetic nerve activity are integrated and processed prior to transmission to the peripheral sympathetic ganglia. The frequency and/or pattern of discharges encoded by SPN is an important determinant of spinal sympathetic outflow to the sympathetic ganglia, which is in turn dictated by the intrinsic membrane properties of SPN and interplay between synaptically released transmitters/modulators and circulating neurohumorals. This chapter represents a selective overview of membrane properties and actions of putative transmitters and modulators, which are derived principally from studies conducted on SPN in spinal cord slice preparations.
Mapping myocarditis: still searching for the north star.

And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. —T. S. Eliot [(1)][1] “Inflammation of heart muscle” would seem to be a simple enough definition [(2)][2], yet diagnostic uncertainty in myocarditis persists. Misdiagnosis in self-
Tick-borne infectious agents in nature: Simulated effects of changes in host density on spatial-temporal prevalence of infected ticks

Abstract Ticks (Ixodidae) are important vectors of infectious agents that affect human and animal health, and the spatial-temporal dynamics of tick-host-pathogen-landscape interactions are difficult to understand based on empirical observations alone. We used a spatially explicit simulation model to examine the effects of changes in host density on the prevalence of a hypothetical transstadially transmitted infectious agent in a population of a prototypical three-host tick under ecological conditions representative of the predominantly forested areas of the south-central United States. The model was parameterized such that baseline conditions yielded a landscape-level nymphal infection prevalence (NIP) fluctuating seasonally around a threshold of 0.1 (indicative of pathogen endemicity in some disease systems) roughly paralleling seasonal fluctuations in wildlife host densities, with seasonal highs in late summer and early fall and seasonal lows in winter and spring. In simulated scenarios of both small-sized and medium-sized host reduction, the densities of both uninfected and infected off-host nymphs decreased markedly from year-to-year. The number of habitat patches in which NIP > 0.1, however, increased when small-sized hosts were removed, yet decreased when medium-sized hosts were removed. Simulation of the reduction in density of large-sized hosts resulted in trends similar to those produced by reducing density of small-sized hosts, but trends were less pronounced. Under the conditions simulated, both NIP and off-host nymph densities (DON) were particularly sensitive to changes in the proportion of larvae obtaining their blood meal from medium-sized hosts. Variation in simulated NIP values can be explained by the fact that larval, nymphal, and adult tick loads were distributed differently among the different-sized hosts, each with their distinct range of movement and degree of variation in population size. Simulation results of this hypothetical case study offer insight into the complex landscape-level interactions of a prototypical 3-host tick and suggest that medium-sized hosts could play a key role in sustaining and dispersing a tick-borne infectious agent in nature.
Studies on the Integrated Control of Spider Mites on Apples in Oregon's Hood River Valley

A predaceous mite, Typhlodromus occidentalis Nesbitt (Acarina: Phytoseiidae), was incapable of maintaining population densities of the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, and McDaniel spider mite, T. mcdanieli McGregor, beneath levels that produced foliage injury on apples. T. occidentalis was an effective predator early in the season, but it was unable to maintain itself in sufficient numbers during early summer to prevent strong resurgences of twospotted spider and McDaniel spider mites during –September. By employing selective pesticides in commercial orchards, predatory mites can be maintained and can exert effective late-season control of tetranychid spider mites during August–October. One or more summer applications of selective acaricides which result in a more favorable predator:prey ratio is required to insure effective late-season predation by T. occidentalis. The cyclical nature of the predator:prey relationship may be due to lack of an alternate prey species such as the apple rust mite, Aculus schlechtendali (Nalepa), which is virtually absent in commercial orchards. Attempts to establish the apple rust mite as an alternate prey for T. occidentalis by deleting fungicidal applications for 3 years in 1 orchard were unsuccessful.
Factors controlling the turbidity of submicron emulsions stabilized by food biopolymers and natural surfactant

Abstract There is a market need of emulsion-based beverages to delivery insoluble materials and yet provide desirable appearance (cloudy or transparent). Submicron emulsions (70–450 nm) stabilized by modified starch (MS), whey protein isolate (WPI), and Quillaja saponins (QS) were prepared using microfluidization. Emulsions were characterized by dynamic light scattering, cryogenic scanning electron microscopy, and turbidimeter. Factors influencing the formation and turbidity of prepared emulsions were evaluated. Results showed that mean droplet diameter (MDD) of prepared emulsions decreased with increasing emulsifier concentration, homogenization pressure (41, 96 and 152 MPa), and number of passes (1–6) through a Microfluidizer®. When MDD >100 nm, lipid phase with higher refractive index imparted higher turbidity. WPI and QS interface imparted higher turbidity than MS interface. As MDD decreased to about 100 nm, turbidity was independent of lipid phase and interface composition. Turbidity and MDD showed polynomial correlation with maximum turbidity achieved at MDD of around 500 nm. Turbidity increased linearly with dispersed phase concentration (0.1–1 mg/g) and decreased with increasing refractive index of continuous phase (1.333–1.442). This study provides valuable information for the formulation of emulsion-based beverages with specified turbidity.
Increased Vascular Reactivity in Experimental Hypertension

The responsiveness to norepinephrine of aortic strips from hypertensive rats and from normotensive rats was compared. The strips were set up in a bath of Krebs-Ringer solution, and isometric tension development upon addition of norepinephrine was recorded. The hypertensive strips produced the greatest tension, indicating a greater reactivity to norepinephrine. It was found that the initial tension exerted upon the strip greatly influenced its response, there being an optimal initial tension at which the greatest active response was obtained. These results support the hypothesis that hypertension may be due to an excessive reactivity of vascular smooth muscle.
Response to Selection for Hatchability in Turkeys at Three Altitudes

Eggs from a commerical flock of Small White turkeys established at 76 meters above sea level were used to develop five lines of turkeys. Hatchability of fertile eggs was the only criterion used to establish selected lines at 76, 1524, and 2182 meters. Control lines were maintained at the 76 and 1524-meter locations. The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of the selection program on organ weights, body weight, and packed cell volumes (PCV). For two generations, eggs from one hatch at each of the three elevations were divided into three groups, two of which were exchanged for hatching and rearing. Twenty poults from the five lines at all three locations were sacrificed at 1-day, 2-weeks, and 4-weeks of age. Heart. liver spleen, adrenals, pancreas, lungs, kidneys, and gonads were removed, weighed, and the weight expressed as a percent of body weight. Blood samples were collected and PCV values determined at ages 1-day, 2-weeks, and 4-weeks at the 1524-meter elevation. Selection for hatchability had no adverse effect upon 1-day, 2, and 4-week body weights. Variations in body weight between locations were not due to natural environmental conditions, but rather to variations in management. Selection for hatchability coupled with natural selection resulted in the development of lines of turkeys with higher PCV values than the original control population. Exposure of turkey poults from the five genetic lines developed at an altitude of 2182 meters lead to an increase in relative weights of the heart and adrenal glands compared to birds at the 76 and 1524-meter locations. Exposure at the 2182-meter location also resulted in lighter spleens, pancreata, kidneys, and ovaries compared to birds at the 76 and 1524-meter locations. Selection for hatchability favors larger adrenals, livers, pancreata, kidneys, and lungs, but smaller hearts. Natural selection at higher elevations compounds the situation by favoring smaller adrenals and livers, but larger spleens, pancreata, and kidneys.
Responsiveness of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure for Adults with ABI

Background: As survivors of traumatic brain-injury, stroke, and brain tumors live longer programs beyond traditional rehabilitation models must be developed. Community-based therapy programs have increased and evidence-based methods of addressing client needs and program development are critical for this population. Purpose: Determine the responsiveness/validity of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure in determining occupational priorities for community-based program development for adults with acquired brain injury. Measure convergent validity of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure with the Community Integration Questionnaire and the Wisconsin HSS QOL Inventory. Methods: Demographic, occupational performance/satisfaction, community integration and needs-based quality of life scores for 80 adults were descriptively examined. One-way analysis of variance of participants’ listed occupations was conducted. Correlational analyses explored community integration and quality of life variables associated with occupational performance and satisfaction. Findings: Adults with acquired brain injury in community-based programming have robust occupational priorities. Leisure occupations are significantly more important than self-care and productive occupations (F(2,189)=13.59, p=0.01). Leisure occupations performed with others are significantly more important than quiet or active recreational occupations (F(2,316)=10.29, p=0.001). Convergent validity of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and the Community Integration Questionnaire was weak, and no convergence was found with the Wisconsin HSS QOL Inventory. Implications: The responsiveness of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure in detecting significant differences in occupational priorities of adults with ABI provides therapist with critical valid data to guide both intervention and focused program development at the community level that addresses the unique needs of this population. Higher levels of occupational satisfaction could result in higher community integration and higher quality of life for this population.
Direct transhepatic assessment of hepatic vein pressure and direction of flow using a thin needle in patients with cirrhosis and Budd-Chiari syndrome. An effective alternative to hepatic vein catheterization.

Portal pressure can be accurately measured transhepatically with a Chiba needle. Since 1980, we have used transhepatic hepatic vein pressures as our zero reference for transhepatic portal pressure measurements. To validate the latter technique, we performed hepatic vein catheterization and transhepatic hepatic vein puncture in 11 patients undergoing portal pressure measurement. Transhepatic hepatic vein puncture was simple, providing pressures as reproducible as those obtained by hepatic vein and inferior vena cava catheterization. These pressures were minimally higher than simultaneous free hepatic vein and inferior vena cavdl pressures, possibly reflecting the more proximal location of the small hepatic vein radicles often entered by this technique. Transhepatic hepatic vein puncture is an accurate way to determine hepatic vein pressure and, combined with transhepatic portal vein pressure measurement, completely obviates the need for venous catheterization for portal pressure determination. Transhepatic hepatic vein pressure was also measured in 3 patients with BuddChiari syndrome. In these patients, transhepatic hepatic vein pressure was elevated and equaled or exceeded portal vein pressure. Abnormal venous collaterals were identified in all patients. Transhepatic portal pressure studies are also an appropriate way to evaluate patients suspected of having hepatic outflow obstruction.
Innovation Education in Everywhere

With the development of high education innovation the total class decreases while the teaching content increases and traditional education converses to quality education. All of these make it very important in the university that how to cultivate and improve innovation ability of student. According to the teaching practise in the class of mechanical theory and mechanical design, the writer presents the following teaching innovation ideas and practices them in the teaching, such as innovation in teaching content adoption of the new teaching method and building the innovation environment to cultivate innovation ability of students.;
Forms of nephrotic syndrome more likely to progress to renal impairment

In this article, emphasis is placed on those conditions that appear as the idiopathic nephrotic syndrome but that are more likely to result in progressive renal failure. Four conditions, mem branoproliferative glomerulonephritis (mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis), mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, membranous nephropathy, and focal segmental glomerulocosclerosis, account for 12 to 15 per cent of cases of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome during childhood. The further aim of this article is to focus on recent progress in our understanding of these conditions and to remind readers that little is known regarding the etiology and pathogenesis of each, and that effective, clearly proven forms of treatment for each are not apparent currently.
Scaling effect of interfacial reaction on intermetallic compound formation in Sn/Cu pillar down to 1 μm diameter

Abstract Different diameter Sn/Cu pillars varying from 30 to 1 μm have been made by focus ion beam, and the solid state reaction to form Cu6Sn5 in these pillars has been studied. An increased Cu-Sn reaction rate to form Cu6Sn5 was observed as the pillar diameter decrease from 20 to 1 μm when annealed at 185 and 195 °C. With the shrinking of pillar size, surface diffusion becomes important as compared to grain boundary and lattice diffusion in the Cu-Sn interfacial reaction. Also, surface diffusion induced Kirkendall voids was observed to locate at the peripheral area just above Cu of the Cu-Sn pillars. A simple kinetic model of surface diffusion controlled intermetallic compound growth of Cu6Sn5 is proposed for pillars with diameter below 5 μm. What is essential in the model is that we assume a rapid interstitial diffusion of Cu in Sn, and we are able to calculated surface diffusivity of Cu on Cu6Sn5. At 185 °C, the surface diffusivity is about 3.1 × 10−7 cm2/s and the activation energy is about 0.2 ± 0.1 eV/atom.