cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Suess effect: 13Carbon-14Carbon interrelations

Abstract The Suess Effect is a term which has come to signify the decrease in 14C in atmospheric CO2 owing to admixture of CO2 produced by the combustion of fossil fuels. This term is here extended, as a concept, to the shifts in isotopic ratio of both 13C and 14C in any reservoir of the carbon cycle owing to anthropogenic activities. To explain this generalized Suess Effect a four reservoir global model of the natural carbon cycle is developed in which isotopic fractionation and radioactive decay are fully taken into account. The model includes the cases in which the deep ocean is treated either as a single undifferentiated box model reservoir or is vertically differentiated with eddy diffusion governing the transport of carbon. Also, the governing equations are expressed with sufficient generality to apply simultaneously to both rare isotopes. In so far as possible, the model is expressed without approximation of the isotopic processes even though this leads to non-linear differential equations to describe the rates of change of rare isotopic carbon within carbon reservoirs. Linear approximations also developed and solved using the method of Laplace transforms. The sensitivity of the predicted Suess Effects to uncertainties in the assigned values of the model parameters is investigated in detail, including estimates of some of the effects of linearizing the governing equations. The approximation of Stuiver, in which the atmospheric Suess Effect is assumed to be 0.018 times the corresponding effect for 14C, is examined in detail and shown to arise when both isotopic fractionation and radioactive decay are left out of the model. This approximation, although correct as to order of magnitude, is found to be too imprecise to be recommended in modeling studies. As found in previous work, the predicted atmospheric Suess Effect for 13C for a given airborne fraction of industrial CO2 is of similar magnitude whether the land biosphere has been a net source or sink of carbon during recent times. On the other hand, the corresponding effect for a surface ocean water is considerably smaller than otherwise if the land biosphere has been a source of CO2 instead of a sink. The model is thus useful in indicating the need to consider isotopes in several reservoirs simultaneously. Although the emphasis is on formulating models rather than surveying and interpreting data, observational data are summarized and compared with model predictions. The oceanic data are seen to be too meager as yet to help settle the question of biospheric response to man's activities.
An Inertially-Actuated Passive Dynamic Step Climbing Wheeled Robot

For their inherent stability and simplicity, wheeled robots are very common in robotics applications — but a major drawback of wheeled robots is their inability to navigate over large obstacles or steps without assistance. Active systems that have been designed for use on wheeled robots to lift the robot over a step — such as USU’s T3 and Virginia Tech’s IMPASS — are effective, but are limited due to the size, cost, and power required for the additional actuators. A novel, inertially actuated, passive dynamic system, excited by the motion of the robot, is introduced to allow a wheeled robot to “pop a wheelie” on each axle and hop over a step. The system investigated here is a sliding mass-spring that shifts forward and backward based on the acceleration of the base robot. By coordinating the acceleration and deceleration of the robot, the front wheels can lift over a step and the rear wheels can be pulled up afterward — both actions being a product of inertial actuation. Key advantages of this system are that the design is simple, cost-effective, and can be adjusted and retrofit to a different wheeled robot in the future with little effort. This paper presents the development of a novel inertially actuated, passive dynamic step climbing wheeled robot. Derivations of the dynamic model of the inertially actuated system are given and a computer simulation and experiments of an implementation of this sliding mass system are presented, followed by conclusions with possibilities for future work.© 2009 ASME
Thermal expansion modular femoral head extractor for revision total hip arthroplasty.

Abstract Removal of a prosthetic modular femoral head is sometimes desirable during revision hip arthroplasty. A femoral head extractor was designed to heat and expand the prosthetic femoral head, apply a gentle distraction load, and remove the femoral head without injury to the femoral neck, taper, or bone—prosthesis interface. The device was used clinically in six hip revision cases. In five hips with cobalt—chrome heads and titanium alloy tapers, femoral heads were removed successfully; femoral fixation was maintained and femoral components were not visibly damaged. In the sixth case, the female portion of the taper junction was contained in a long femoral head sleeve. Heating the ball did not adequately expand the sleeve to allow easy ball removal.
Potential biological markers in individuals at high risk for developing alcoholism.

N THE PAST two decades a plethora of scientific I evidence has been accumulated to support the notion that alcoholism is a familial disorder with the presence of genetic factors. It is now well established that sons of alcoholic fathers are approximately four times more likely to develop alcoholism compared to the male offspring of nonalcoholics.’ Indeed, the evidence supporting the contribution of genetic factors in alcoholism is sufficiently compelling to warrant a search for markers of the genetic influence. It should be noted that the antecedent factors or predisposition toward alcoholism might well be assessed with the use of various strategies. It may be possible to study genetic factors by comparing abstinent alcoholics to control subjects or by comparing abstinent alcoholics with a positive family history to abstinent alcoholics with a negative family history of alcoholism. While this particular strategy may yield interesting findings, the interpretation of the data may be confounded by significant differences in drinking history, differential age of onset of alcohol abuse, as well as numerous other clinical variables such as number and severity of withdrawal episodes, alcohol-related medical complications, etc. A strategy typically used in the study of genetically determined disorders is the use of large family pedigrees. This powerful approach enables the investigator to study large families with alcoholism, and compare them to control families where alcoholism is absent. This particular strategy is most compelling if one studies genetically determined diseases such as Huntington’s disease where the phenotypic expression is easily characterized and specific phenotypic markers are readily available. This ap proach is indeed most powerful to examine the pattern of inheritance. However this method is most difficult to implement without the availability of valid and reliable biological or behavioral markers. In the last few years investigators concerned with the potential role of genetic factors in alcoholism have used the high risk paradigm. Comparing the sons of alcoholic fathers and nonalcoholic fathers is a useful approach for examining potential biologid or behavioral factors associated with a predisposition for alcoholism. This particular strategy has been utilized in biological as well as behavioral investigations, and has already yielded promising data fiom various studies. EEG
New methodology to measure the dynamics of ocular wave front aberrations during small amplitude changes of accommodation.

We present a methodology to measure the systematic changes of aberrations induced by small changes in amplitude of accommodation. We use a method similar the one used in electrophysiology, where a periodic stimulus is presented to the eye and many periods (epochs) of the stimulus are averaged. Using this technique we have measured changes in higher order aberrations from 0.006μm to 0.02μm and correlated them with amplitude changes of accommodation as small as 0.14D. These small changes would have been undetectable without epoch averaging. The correlation coefficients of Zernike terms with defocus were calculated, demonstrating higher values of correlation for epoch averaging. The accurate monitoring of defocus at the start of the accommodation response has shown some interesting trends that may be related with the mechanisms behind accommodation.
Organizing Integral Equation for Complex Structure for Object Oriented Programming

With rapid advances in computational electromagnetics, numerous new models, formulations, and algorithms are constantly emerging. As a result, the algorithms in this area become increasingly complex. Often time, codes are rewritten to incorporate complex ideas, and it can be a wasteful and repetitive process. Integral equation solvers are in general more complex compared to differential equation solvers. Hence, in order to arrive at a maintainable, sophisticated integral equation solver code, object oriented programming (OOP) paradigm has to be adopted. The EIGER project was one such effort to develop more maintainable integral equation solver codes for electromagnetics. We propose here another view of OOP for integral equation solvers, emphasizing on the operator aspect of them. Hence, we could enjoy the advantages of a typical OOP code: reusability, flexibility, reliability, maintainability, extendibility, and readability. This code can model complex structures by the method of moments with fast multiple algorithm (FMA) as the accelerator
Visualizing the future of information visualization

“Information visualization” is a special category of user-interface design. Tables, forms, charts, maps, and diagrams also have to solve how best to use metaphors, mental models, navigation, interaction, and appearance to make themselves usable, useful, and appealing—the catechism for good user experience.
Whirling as a clinical test in childhood schizophrenia

Summary “Whirling” is a postural test in which the head is turned and the body follows the rotation of the head. It has been claimed that a positive response in a child over the age of 6 indicates mental disease, particularly childhood schizophrenia. In an attempt to evaluate this test, over 700 normal and schizophrenic children were tested. The incidence of whirling in both groups was found to be so high that the test could not be used in establishing a psychiatric diagnosis. The use of the test as evidence in support of the maturational lag theory of childhood schizophrenia is discussed.
TRADE SIZES AND THEORIES OF THE BID‐ASK SPREAD

Relations between trade-size characteristics and the bid-ask spread are developed to distinguish among major theories of the spread. These trade-size characteristics are determinants of the spread for NASDAQ/NMS stocks. They explain much of the cross-sectional variation in the spread commonly associated with volume, volatility, and share price. Evidence shows that order-processing costs are dominant relative to inventory effects for low-price, small-capitalization, and low-volume stocks, but that the opposite is true for high-price, large-capitalization, and high-volume stocks. Inventory effects are more important relative to asymmetric information costs when stock price or capitalization is lower.
Parity and use-effectiveness with the contraceptive sponge

The results of a randomized United States study indicated that the Today contraceptive sponge was less effective than the diaphragm (1-year cumulative life-table rate of 17.4 versus 12.9 pregnancies per 100 women, p = 0.01). However, this overall comparison is misleading. Using univariate and multivariate analyses to account forthe effects of user characteristics we found parity to be the most important single determinant of effectiveness for users of the sponge, but parity was unimportant as a risk factor for pregnancy among diaphragm users. For nulliparous women the sponge was as effective as a physicianprescribed barrier method (13.9 for sponge, 12.8 for diaphragm, p = 0.45); however, parous women using the sponge were twice as likely to become pregnant (28.3 for sponge, 13.4 for diaphragm, p = 0.001). The effect of parity among sponge users is consistent with the results of international studies of the contraceptive sponge.
Multiple Imputation for Longitudinal Data Under a Bayesian Multilevel Model

In this article, I establish a connection between Bayesian random-coefficient pattern-mixture models that were described by Demirtas (2005), and the idea of converting binary and ordinal longitudinal outcomes to multivariate normal outcomes in a sensible way so that re-conversion to the original scale yields the original specified marginal expectations and correlations after performing multiple imputation (Demirtas and Hedeker, 2007, 2008a). I also illustrate the use of these methods via a real data set from schizophrenia research.
Computerized planimetry versus clinical assessment for the measurement of cervical ectopia

Abstract Objective: As part of a study to assess the role of cervical ectopia in the acquisition of cervical infections, we determined the reliability of cervical ectopia measurements made by computer planimetry and by clinical (visual) assessment. Study Design: We conducted pelvic examinations of 1004 women seeking contraceptive services at two health centers in Baltimore. After application of acetic acid, clinicians estimated the relative area of ectopia by visual inspection and took cervical photographs. Two independent raters measured the absolute and relative areas of ectopia from the digitized images by means of an analytic software program. Agreement levels between raters, between multiple readings by the same rater, and between the two measurement methods were quantified by means of the intraclass correlation coefficient and weighted κ. Results: Intrarater agreement was excellent for computer planimetry measurements of the absolute (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.97) and relative (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.89) areas of ectopia. Interrater agreement was also high for computer planimetry measurements of the absolute (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.83) and relative (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.85) areas of ectopia. Agreement levels were moderate between clinician assessment and computer planimetry measurements of the relative area of ectopia (κ = 0.48), but agreement was better when clinical assessment was limited to observations by a single, experienced clinician. Conclusion: Measurement of cervical ectopia by computer planimetry was highly reliable and appears appropriate for assessment of the role of ectopia in the acquisition of cervical infections. Clinical assessment of cervical ectopia may be used when computer planimetry is not available. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001;184:1170-6.)
Improving the Performance of FLN by Using Similarity Measures and Evolutionary Algorithms

In this work, we show that the underlying inclusion measure used by fuzzy lattice neurocomputing classifiers can be extended to various similarity and distance measures often used in cluster analysis. We show that for some similarity measures, we can modify the measure to weigh the contribution of each attribute found in the data set. Furthermore, we show that evolutionary algorithms such as genetic algorithms, tabu search, particle swarm optimization, and differential evolution can be used to weigh the importance of each attribute and that this weighting can provide additional improvements over simply using the similarity measure. We provide evidence that these new techniques provide significant improvements by applying them to the Cleveland heart data.
Lipid profiles in adolescent Filipinos: relation to birth weight and maternal energy status during pregnancy.

Background: The finding that persons with low birth weight have a higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk than do persons with higher birth weight remains poorly understood. Objective: We tested the hypothesis that maternal arm fat area (MAFA) in the third trimester of pregnancy and birth weight of offspring are inversely related to the offspring’s risk of CVD. Design: In a 1-y birth cohort study (1983‐1984), 296 male and 307 female offspring were followed up (1998‐1999) to measure their lipid profiles. Participants came from randomly selected communities of Cebu, Philippines. Results: MAFA (log cm 2 ) was positively associated (� ) with HDL cholesterol (0.12 log mg/dL; P < 0.01) and inversely associated with total cholesterol (� 10.0 mg/dL; P < 0.10), LDL cholesterol (� 13.1 mg/dL; P < 0.01), and the ratios of total to HDL cholesterol and LDL to HDL cholesterol (both P < 0.001) in males. These relations were independent of birth weight, present adiposity, energy and fat intakes, maturity, and income. Birth weight ≤ 2.6 kg was associated with elevated LDL cholesterol (9.9 mg/dL; P < 0.01) and an elevated ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol (0.22; P < 0.10) only in males. In females, MAFA related positively to total (15.5 mg/dL; P < 0.05) and LDL (11.9 mg/dL; P < 0.05) cholesterol. Conclusions: In this Filipino population, mothers with low energy status during pregnancy gave birth to male offspring who had a high CVD risk in adolescence, as indicated by lipid profiles. The findings in females are less consistent with the fetal origins hypothesis and suggest sex differences in the relation between fetal nutrition and postnatal lipid metabolism. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77:960‐6.
POLYNOMIAL TIME PARSING OF COMBINATORY CATEGORIAL GRAMMARS

In this paper we present a polynomial time parsing algorithm for Combinatory Categorial Grammar. The recognition phase extends the CKY algorithm for CFG. The process of generating a representation of the parse trees has two phases. Initially, a shared forest is build that encodes the set of all derivation trees for the input string. This shared forest is then pruned to remove all spurious ambiguity.
SELF-ORGANIZATION OF LIVING SYSTEMS: A FORMAL MODEL OF AUTOPOIESIS

ABSTRACT A formalization, computerization and extension of the original Varela-Maturana-Uribe model of autopoiesis is presented. Autopoietic systems are driven by sets of simple “rules” which guide the behavior of components in a given milieu. These rules are capable of producing systemic structures that are far more complex than we could ever achieve by a direct arrangement of components, i.e., by a method of systems analysis and design. The study of autopoietic systems indicates that the traditional emphasis on internal qualities of system's components has been misplaced. It is the organization of components, rather than the components themselves (or their structural manifestations), that provides the necessary and sufficient conditions of autopoiesis and thus of life itself. The dynamic autonomy of autopoietic systems contrasts significantly with the non-autonomous, allopoietic mechanistic systems.
THE EVOLUTION OF QUANTITATIVE MARINE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT 1985–2010

Abstract This paper reviews the changes in quantitative marine fisheries management between 1985 and 2010. The two primary areas where quantitative methods have been employed are in the assessment of stock size and exploitation rates, and in the design and evaluation of harvest strategies. In 1985, some areas had well established assessment programs in place, and the assessment methods have been relatively stable over the 25 years in question. In other places, the evolution of methods has been much more dramatic, and where there were either no assessments performed or early virtual population analysis (VPA) was done using mainly catch-at-age data, complex statistical models using maximum likelihood or Bayesian statistics are now common. Harvest strategies have generally evolved even more. In 1985, most harvest strategies were based on fixed exploitation rates from yield-per-recruit analyses. By 2010, most agencies had adopted harvest strategies that specifically reduced exploitation rates as abundance dropped below the biomass that will produce maximum sustainable yield. Simulation testing of these harvest strategies has become an integral part of their design, often using the uncertainty from the assessments to bound the robustness trials for the harvest strategy. Two major areas of new quantitative methods are (i) spatially explicit models that can be used for marine spatial planning, and (ii) in ecosystem models to evaluate ecosystem wide impacts of fishing.
Evidence of prior exposure to human bocavirus as determined by a retrospective serological study of 404 serum samples from adults in the United States.

Recently, molecular screening for pathogenic agents has identified a partial genome of a novel parvovirus, called human bocavirus (HBoV). The presence of this newly described parvovirus correlated with upper and lower respiratory tract infections in children. Lower respiratory tract infections are a leading cause of hospital admission in children, and the etiological agent has not been identified in up to 39% of these cases. Using baculovirus expression vectors (BEVs) and an insect cell system, we produced virus-like particles (VLPs) of HBoV. The engineered BEVs express the HBoV capsid proteins stoichiometrically from a single open reading frame. Three capsid proteins assemble into the VLP rather than two proteins predicted from the HBoV genome sequence. The denatured capsid proteins VP1, VP2, and VP3 resolve on silver-stained sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels as three bands with apparent molecular masses of 72 kDa, 68 kDa, and 62 kDa, respectively. VP2 apparently initiates at a GCT codon (alanine) 273 nucleotides downstream from the VP1 start site and 114 nucleotides upstream from the VP3 initiation site. We characterized the stable capsids using physical, biochemical, and serological techniques. We found that the density of the VLP is 1.32 g/cm3 and is consistent with an icosahedral symmetry with approximately a 25-nm diameter. Rabbit antiserum against the capsid of HBoV, which did not cross-react with adeno-associated virus type 2, was used to develop enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for anti-HBoV antibodies in human serum. Using ELISA, we tested 404 human serum samples and established a range of antibody titers in a large U.S. adult population sample.
Lending a Helping Hand: Linguistic Input and Sign Language Acquisition in Deaf Children.

This study examined the effects of adult “recasting” in sign language on the acquisition of specific syntactic-semantic structures by six deaf children between 9 and 76 months who were primarily at the one-sign utterance stage of development. In “recast” replies in conversation, the child's utterance is redisplayed in an altered sentence structure that still refers to the central meanings of the first sentence. Syntactic-semantic structures targeted for input intervention by teachers and parents using recasts included subject–verb relations, attribution, negation, subject–verb–object relations, conjunction, and conditionality. Recasting triggered the acquisition of new syntactic-semantic structures in American Sign Language and English which were evident in the spontaneous production of previously non-used sign utterances.
Ordered metal nanostructure self-assembly using metal–organic frameworks as templates

We demonstrate that nanoporous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) loaded with silver can serve as templates for ordered nanostructures comprising either silver nanoparticles or nanowires. Exposure to an electron beam breaks down the template, leading to rapid silver coalescence. The geometric and chemical structure of the MOF, as well as the extent of metal loading, determine whether nanoparticles or nanowires are formed and define their size and orientation. Nanowires with diameters as small as 4 nm and aspect ratios >125 can be formed, overcoming the limitations of existing templating methods. This method is relatively simple, compatible with many materials, and proceeds by a distinct template-directed growth mechanism. Since MOFs offer an unprecedented level of synthetic flexibility, combined with highly uniform porosity as a result of their crystalline structure, this approach opens a promising new route for synthesis of self-assembled, ordered nanostructures.
Cardiac arrest with residual blindness after overdose of Tessalon® (benzonatate) perles.

Abstract Background: The extent to which benzonatate (Tessalon®), a structurally similar agent to other local anesthetics including tetracaine and procaine, poses a risk to the public is not fully appreciated as it is still one of the most widely prescribed antitussives available. Objectives: To report a case of cardiac arrest with residual blindness after Tessalon® overdose, review its clinical manifestations, toxicology and management considerations, and describe the need for rational prescribing. Case Report: A 17-year-old woman with no previous medical history presented to the Emergency Department (ED) status post cardiac arrest. One to two hours prior, the patient had ingested at least 10 200-mg Tessalon® capsules as part of a suicide attempt. The patient was sedated, intubated, and given magnesium as prophylaxis against recurrent dysrhythmias. Emergent gastric lavage was performed and well tolerated. A 24-h hypothermia protocol with 6-h cooling period was initiated. Toxicological studies, chest radiograph, and a computed tomography scan of the head were all unremarkable. The patient was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for further work-up and supportive care. The patient was extubated and able to follow some commands 1 week post-admission. The patient developed blindness and experienced generalized confabulations, which did not resolve. Conclusion: Ingestion of Tessalon®, a seemingly innocuous and widely prescribed antitussive, may pose a risk to patients due to its potential for the rapid development of life-threatening adverse events and limited treatment options in the overdose setting. Rational prescribing and patient education is needed.
Aldosterone stimulates proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts by activating Ki-RasA and MAPK1/2 signaling

Aldosterone plays a pathological role in cardiac fibrosis by directly affecting cardiac fibroblasts. Understanding of the cellular mechanisms of aldosterone action in cardiac fibroblasts, however, is rudimentary. One possibility is that aldosterone promotes proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts by activating specific cellular signaling cascades. The current study tests whether aldosterone stimulates proliferation of isolated adult rat cardiac myofibroblasts (RCF) by activating Kirsten Ras (Ki-RasA) and its effector, the MAPK1/2 cascade. Aldosterone (10 nM) significantly increased RCF proliferation. This action was sensitive to the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonist spironolactone. Expression of MR in RCF and the whole rat heart was confirmed by immunoblotting. Aldosterone significantly increased absolute and active (GTP bound) Ki-RasA levels in RCF. Aldosterone, in addition, significantly increased phospho-c-Raf and phospho-MAPK1/2. The effects of aldosterone on Ki-RasA and phospho-c-Raf proteins were inhibited by spironolactone but not RU-486, suggesting that aldosterone acts via MR. Inhibitors of MEK1/2 and c-Raf prevented aldosterone-induced activation of MAPK1/2 and proliferation. These results show that aldosterone directly increases RCF proliferation through MR-dependent activation of Ki-RasA and its effector, the MAPK1/2 cascade. Activation of cardiac fibroblasts through such a cascade may play a role in the pathological actions exerted by aldosterone on the heart.
SETI@home, BOINC, and Volunteer Distributed Computing

Volunteer computing, also known as public-resource computing, is a form of distributed computing that relies on members of the public donating the processing power, Internet connection, and storage capabilities of their home computers. Projects that utilize this mode of distributed computation can potentially access millions of Internet-attached central processing units (CPUs) that provide PFLOPS (thousands of trillions of floating-point operations per second) of processing power. In addition, these projects can access the talents of the volunteers themselves. Projects span a wide variety of domains including astronomy, biochemistry, climatology, physics, and mathematics. This review provides an introduction to volunteer computing and some of the difficulties involved in its implementation. I describe the dominant infrastructure for volunteer computing in some depth and provide descriptions of a small number of projects as an illustration of the variety of projects that can be undertaken.
MRI-determined regional brain iron concentrations in early- and late-onset restless legs syndrome.

Abstract Objective Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and autopsy studies have suggested that brain iron may be reduced in restless legs syndrome (RLS). Further analysis of the data also suggests that diminished brain iron may selectively be for early-onset RLS. This study was designed to replicate and extend our previous findings, specifically with regard to early-onset RLS. In this study our primary hypothesis was that substantia nigra (SN) iron index would be decreased in early-onset RLS compared to controls. Methods The iron concentration or ‘iron index' in 10 brain regions was determined using MRI in 39 controls and in 22 early-onset and 19 late-onset RLS subjects. The Johns Hopkins RLS severity (JHRLSS) scale was used to define disease severity. Results The mean iron index from the SN was significantly lower in the early-onset RLS compared to controls ( t =2.5, P =0.016), while late-onset RLS and controls did not differ. There was a significant negative Spearman rank correlation between SN iron index and JHRLSS scale for the control-early-onset-RLS cohort (ρ=−0.32, P =0.016). Conclusions The current MRI results in combination with previous autopsy data support the role of low brain iron in the SN in at least those with early-onset RLS symptoms.
Patients' use of health-teaching materials at three readability levels

The extent to which patients use and learn from drug literature written at three different readability levels was examined. A two-way analysis of variance showed an interaction effect on knowledge score between the readability level of the leaflet and the amount of schooling subjects reported: persons with higher education learned most from the hardest pamphlet and persons with the least formal education learned the most from the easiest pamphlet. A similar interaction was found in testing the likelihood that patients had read the leaflet. The results suggest that persons with little formal education would benefit from teaching materials with a readability level considerably lower than even many "easy-to-read" health-teaching materials available today.
Distributed state estimation based on the supercalibrator concept - laboratory implementation

The supercalibrator concept was introduced based on a statistical estimation process that fits the GPS- synchronized measurements and all other available standard data into a three-phase, breaker-oriented, instrumentation inclusive model. In this approach, the asymmetries, unbalances and the instrumentation errors are taken into account in the state estimation procedure.The laboratory setup considered in this paper is the scaled down model of a three substation power system.
Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease: The Relevance of Histopathologic and Radiographic Pattern

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a frequent extraarticular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). While the nonspecific interstitial pneumonia pattern predominates in most forms of connective tissue-associated ILD, studies in patients with RA-associated ILD (RA-ILD) suggest that the usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern is more common in this patient population. High-resolution CT (HRCT) scans appear accurate in identifying UIP pattern in many patients with RA-ILD. Although the data are limited, UIP pattern appears to predict worse survival in RA-ILD patients. Larger, prospective, multicenter studies are needed to confirm this finding. We propose that the evaluation of patients with RA-ILD should focus on identifying those with UIP pattern on HRCT scans, as these patients are likely to carry a worse prognosis. In patients in whom the underlying pattern cannot be determined by HRCT scanning, surgical lung biopsy should be considered.
Serum ferritin is elevated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.

AbstractOur objective was to measure serum ferritin levels, which reflect iron metabolism, in ALS patients versus healthy and disease controls, and determine whether serum ferritin levels correlate with survival. We retrospectively analyzed data from 138 ALS patients, 152 healthy controls, and 82 disease controls. Gender, age, site of onset, and dates of symptom onset and death were recorded. Survival was defined as the time from symptom onset to death. Serum ferritin levels were measured using immunoassay. ANOVA and Pearson's correlation were used to compare ferritin levels between groups and test the association between ferritin levels and age and survival. Ferritin levels were categorized into high and low groups, and Kaplan-Meier analysis performed. Results showed that gender proportions differed between ALS patients versus healthy and disease controls, and gender affected serum ferritin levels. Ferritin comparisons were stratified for gender. In both males and females, ferritin levels were higher in ...
Respiration and Feeding in Copepods

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on respiration and feeding in copepods. Copepods are small, rarely exceeding 10 mm in length and form the bulk of most zooplankton hauls. They are found in both fresh and salt water, near the coasts and in the open ocean, and floating near the surface or crawling in the seashore sand. The chapter discusses various factors influencing respiration, including crowding, time after capture, season, size, light, temperature, salinity, pressure, oxygen content of the water, and feeding. Most pelagic copepods are neither purely herbivorous nor purely carnivorous but can change from one mode of feeding to the other. Thus, the mainly herbivorous, Calanus hyperboreus choose Artemia nauplii from a mixture of Artemia and smaller diatoms, and the mainly carnivorous, Anomalocera patersoni is occasionally found with a few diatom cells in the gut. The difference between carnivorous and herbivorous forms is not confined to their food but extends to the structure of their limbs, their larval development, and their oxygen consumption. Of the three main groups of copepods––namely, calanoida, cyclopoida, and parasitic, the chapter focuses only with the feeding mechanisms of calanoida and the cyclopoida.
The Economics of Zoonotic Diseases: An Application to Avian Flu

This chapter reviews the economics of Avian Influenza and other zoonotic diseases and describes how externalities and market failures lead to suboptimal provision of disease prevention and control. It develops a prototype model of farm behavior that merges epidemiology and economics to provide a framework for analyzing how private incentives lead to a divergence between farmer optimization and social-welfare maximization. Conditions for optimal policy intervention are derived in an application to Avian Influenza and the distribution of economic benefits is derived. Policies for disease prevention and control are considered in the context of the economic model.
CHAPTER 5 – Viscosity and Consistency

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on viscosity and consistency. Unfortunately, the distinction between solid and fluid is not sharp and clear. The tendency of a fluid to flow easily or with difficulty has been a subject of great practical and intellectual importance to mankind for centuries. Laminar flow is streamline flow in a fluid. Turbulent flow is fluid flow in which the velocity varies erratically in magnitude and direction. The chapter highlights the difference between laminar flow and turbulent flow and also presents the factors affecting viscosity. There is usually an inverse relationship between viscosity and temperature and a direct nonlinear relationship between the concentration of a solute and viscosity at constant temperature. The chapter focuses on the severe problems associated with attempts to describe a non-Newtonian fluid by means of a one-point measurement. Under certain conditions it is possible to use a one-point measurement as a quality control technique for non-Newtonian fluids. In some highly standardized systems the change in viscous properties during processing moves in a reproducible manner along a predetermined path. A one-point measurement may satisfactorily determine the endpoint in such a system.
Application of the Discrimination Model of Supervision for Residency Education

The advantages of a biopsychosocial emphasis in family medicine have been established. Such an emphasis requires behavioral science specialists who are prepared to instruct and supervise resident physicians regarding non-medical aspects of their treatment of patients. Most behavioral science faculty hail from one of the mental health professions and may not have received clinical supervision training in how to apply their knowledge and skills in a medical setting. The discrimination model of clinical supervision is widely used in psychology and counseling and is described here. A detailed explanation of how it can be applied to residency education is offered and examples are supplied, thus offering assistance to behavioral science faculty in their cross-disciplinary pursuits.
The intracellular localization in the rat adrenal of enzymes which degrade 3'-Phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate.

SummaryThe degradation of phos-phoadenosinephosphosulfate in a cell free preparation of the rat adrenal is inhibited by inorganic phosphate. The enzymes responsible for this degradation are found to be localized in the lysosomes of this organ.
Method for assessing combat survivability for aircraft with wing damage

In the combat environment, wing damage is of particular concern since the wing is the main component to generate lift which affects survivability or safety. Previous research has been mainly concen...
World Bioclimatic Zonation

Attempts to regionalize world climates began in the early 1800s, based partly on natural landscapes. The first attempts were empirical, but better understanding of global atmospheric circulation led eventually to ‘genetic’ approaches, based on the mechanisms that generate different climate types. It was recognized early that climatic zones follow mainly from temperature, at least in lowlands, but the duration of wet and dry seasons also characterizes many climate types quite distinctly. This paper expands the familiar genetic climate classification of Walter to provide a simple, globally consistent, more complete classification that also recognizes subtypes and transitions explicitly, and facilitates understanding of world soil and vegetation types. This genetic approach is preferable to empirical systems, such as Koppen, because it: has fewer main types recognizes types tied more directly to dynamic mechanisms that cause different climate types has a more general and flexible set of subtype descriptors unifies some climatic concepts better matches natural vegetation and landscapes better, and is more flexible under changing global climatic conditions than are empirical limits.
Ryan White Care Act

The Ryan White CARE Act, formally known as the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, was first passed by the US Congress in 1990 to provide funding for the provision of HIV/AIDS-related services. The legislation was named after Ryan White, a child with hemophilia who was diagnosed with AIDS at the age of 13. White and his mother fought for the right to attend school. Congress has reauthorized the legislation four times since its initial passage, in 1996, 2000, 2006, and 2009. The legislation is now known as the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.
Clinical signs, diagnosis, and prevention of bovine leptospirosis

Bovine leptospirosis is an important cause of reproductive failure and zoonotic disease throughout the world. The disease is difficult to diagnose because of a lack of pathognomonic clinical signs and because of the inefficiency of diagnostic tests for this organism. Vaccination is the most common method chosen to prevent bovine leptospirosis. In this paper the clinical signs, diagnosis, and prevention of bovine leptospirosis are reviewed. Recent developments in the area of diagnostic test and new data regarding the efficacy of vaccination are discussed.
“If You Need Help, They are Always There for us”: Education for Refugees in an International High School in NYC

This qualitative study examines how an “international” high school in New York City responds to the needs of refugee students. It asks: What are the specific academic needs of secondary-level refugee students? How does one school meet their needs, and what challenges are encountered? To complement one-on-one semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, this qualitative study also entailed a participatory visual methodology through which students were provided digital or disposable cameras and asked to take photographs of the people, places and/or things that contributed to their schooling experiences. The exercise and resulting images provided students and researchers with a creative way to shape the project and address emerging issues. The findings document key school-based factors that contribute to academic inclusion of refugee and asylee students, including: educator support, care and encouragement; linguistic support from teachers; learner-centered pedagogical approaches; and flexible and responsive curricular approaches and assessment strategies. Refugees are generally grouped with other immigrants, with insufficient attention to their unique experiences and needs and thus inadequate services for refugee children. The findings from this study will help to remedy this gap and yield important insights regarding how to improve schooling for vulnerable populations in urban settings.
Natural killer-92 cells maintain cytotoxic activity after long-term cryopreservation in novel DMSO-free media

Natural killer (NK) cells are a critical part of the innate immune system, and have emerged as attractive targets for immunotherapies for various malignancies. Alongside the need for expansion of NK cells to reach clinically useful numbers, a critical component in the availability of NK cells for allogeneic therapy is cryopreservation. While a continuously-growing cell line such as NK-92 can avoid issues associated with isolating, activating, expanding, and manufacturing large numbers of peripheral blood-derived NKs, cryopreservation of these cells has not made much progress. NK cells are highly sensitive to freezing and thawing, while the use of DMSO during cryopreservation raises serious safety concerns. In this work, we evaluated a number of cryoprotectants that do not contain DMSO for their capacity to cryopreserve NK-92 cells over long-term while retaining their cytotoxic activity and viability, with the aim of identifying potential replacements to DMSO for safe clinical use of these cells.
Experimental study of oscillating plates in viscous fluids: Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the flow physics and hydrodynamic forces

In this paper, we present a comprehensive experimental study on harmonic oscillations of a submerged rigid plate in a quiescent, incompressible, Newtonian, viscous fluid. The fluid-structure interaction problem is analyzed from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives via a detailed particle image velocimetry (PIV) experimental campaign conducted over a broad range of oscillation frequency and amplitude parameters. Our primary goal is to identify the effect of the oscillation characteristics on the mechanisms of fluid-structure interaction and on the dynamics of vortex shedding and convection and to elucidate the behavior of hydrodynamic forces on the oscillating structure. Towards this goal, we study the flow in terms of qualitative aspects of its pathlines, vortex shedding, and symmetry breaking phenomena and identify distinct hydrodynamic regimes in the vicinity of the oscillating structure. Based on these experimental observations, we produce a novel phase diagram detailing the occurrence of dis...
Policy Development in Physical Education … The Last Best Chance?

ABSTRACTIn this article, I provide a brief historical perspective on how state-level policy was an integral part of the rise of school physical education in the first half of the twentieth century, as well as the evolution of sport pedagogy as a subdiscipline within the field of kinesiology. The role and importance of policy in changing behavior are presented using reductions in tobacco use and improvements in automobile safety as examples. “Impact” of best available research evidence is presented as a multilayered concept, from surface level impact at the personal level to “deep impact” that would be reflected in improved professional practice. The influence of the changing landscapes in K-12 and higher education present both external and internal barriers that, coupled with a lack of awareness (or neglect?) of the role and impact of policy, have hamstrung any appreciable progress in professional practice. In the final section, I argue that unless kinesiology becomes proactive in advocacy toward state-le...
Maternal-fetal transfer of immunoglobulins.

Objective The goal of this review is to summarize the current knowledge about the transfer of immunoglobulins from the mother to the fetus. Data obtained experimentally and clinically will be discussed, and intervention trials and options will be examined. Data source References are limited to the English language and to human data. Sources include computerized databases and bibliographies of recent articles and books. Results Electronmicroscopic studies have unveiled the passage route of IgG through the placenta. The placental in vitro perfusion system has become a valuable experimental model, with a crucial role in the preclinical evaluation of trials to manipulate the maternal-fetal passage of immunoglobulins. Conclusions Immunoglobulins are transferred through the placenta in an active, selective and affinity-restricted process, which is Fc-gamma receptor mediated and intracellular. Much work is still required to improve our ability to control the rate and the efficiency of this process, but the results of pioneering attempts have been encouraging.