cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DLVO theory applied to TiO2 pigments and other materials in latex paints

Understanding how a paint formulation translates into comparative numbers of particles, how the spacing between particles compares to their size and what controls their stabilization mechanisms improves efficient formulation design. The application of Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey and Overbeek (DLVO) theory of the electrostatic stabilization of colloids is reviewed by calculating the inter-particle potentials for typical titanium dioxide pigment particles in a conventional aqueous paint formulation. The calculations show that composition and structural details of the particles need to be input, in order for DLVO theory to model the stability of the pigment particles. It is necessary to include the extent of the surface treatment on the pigment particles, the ionic strength of the continuous phase and the thickness of any adsorbed layer of dispersant polymer as well as knowing the zeta-potential of the particles under the prevailing conditions. Ionic strength determines the range of DLVO forces, so the conductivity of various salt solutions was determined in order that ionic strength could be measured from simple determinations of paint conductivity. Other calculations compare the likely stability of an extender and a typical latex to that of the pigment particles in both DLVO calculations and in calculations of settling rates. The spacing between particles in a random dispersion is estimated from their particle sizes, their concentrations and the characteristic packing fraction assigned to the dispersion.
Looking to the Internet for models of governance

If code is law then standards bodies are governments. This flawed but powerful metaphor suggests the need to examine more closely those standards bodies that are defining standards for the Internet. In this paper we examine the International Telecommunications Union, the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association, the Internet Engineering Task Force, and the World Wide Web Consortium. We compare the organizations on the basis of participation, transparency, authority, openness, security and interoperability. We conclude that the IETF and the W3C are becoming increasingly similar. We also conclude that the classical distinction between standards and implementations is decreasingly useful as standards are embodies in code -- itself a form of speech or documentation. Recent Internet standards bodies have flourished in part by discarding or modifying the implementation/standards distinction. We illustrate that no single model is superior on all dimensions. The IETF is not effectively scaling, struggling with its explosive growth with the creation of thousands of working groups. The IETF coordinating body, the Internet Society, addressed growth by reorganization that removed democratic oversight. The W3C, initially the most closed, is becoming responsive to criticism and now includes open code participants. The IEEE SA and ITU have institutional controls appropriate for hardware but too constraining for code. Each organization has much to learn from the others.
Chloride-liberal fluids and intracellular acidosis

To the Editor: The recently published trial by Yunos et al.1 evaluated different resuscitation strategies in the intensive care unit, and found decreased acute kidney injury and renal replacement therapy in the group given less chloride (chloride-restrictive vs. chloride-liberal group). The authors offer several possible explanations for their findings, including the effects of chloride on tubuloglomerular feedback. However, they do not consider the importance of intracellular acidosis resulting from administration of fluids with supraphysiological chloride concentrations.
KI polyomavirus detected in respiratory tract specimens from patients in St. Louis, Missouri

Background: Studies have reported the presence of KI polyomavirus (KIPyV) and WU polyomavirus (WUPyV) in respiratory secretions of young patients. So far, evidence has not supported a link between infections with either virus and respiratory tract disease; however, there has not been a large comparison of KIPyV-infected patients to age-matched patient groups. Methods: A retrospective study comparing clinical aspects of KIPyV-positive patients with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-positive, WUPyV-positive, and respiratory-virus negative patients. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction, 2599 respiratory samples from patients ranging from I day to 88 years of age were tested for KIPyV. Electronic medical records were reviewed for 65 cases, for a comparison group consisting of 195 patients negative for common respiratory viruses, and for 56 WUPyV-positive patients drawn from the same population. Twelve patients testing positive for KIPyV as the sole pathogen were matched to 36 RSV-positive patients and clinical features of both groups were compared. Results: Seventy-two (2.8%) respiratory samples were positive for KIPyV. Another virus was detected in 71 % of the KIPyV-positive samples. Analysis showed no statistically significant differences in clinical manifestations between KIPyV-positive patients and patients negative for common respiratory viruses, however, clinical characteristics of KIPyV-positive patients were less severe than those of patients positive for RSV. KIPyVpositive patients ≥3 years of age were usually immunocompromised in contrast to the younger children with KIPyV. Conclusions: This study did not demonstrate a link between KIPyV infection and symptomatic respiratory disease. Patients positive for KIPyV exhibited less severe clinical symptoms than patients positive for RSV.
Uncovering the Real Work Behind Policy Development

Clinical ethicists should appreciate that there must be a greater quality focus within their profession, especially in an area such as ethics policy work with its lasting influence on patients and ...
Understanding Propagation Error and Its Effect on Collective Classification

Recent empirical evaluation has shown that the performance of collective classification models can vary based on the amount of class label information available for use during inference. In this paper, we further demonstrate that the relative performance of statistical relational models learned with different estimation methods changes as the availability of test set labels increases. We reason about the cause of this phenomenon from an information-theoretic perspective and this points to a previously unidentified consideration in the development of relational learning algorithms. In particular, we characterize the high propagation error of collective inference models that are estimated with maximum pseudolikelihood estimation (MPLE), and show how this affects performance across the spectrum of label availability when compared to MLE, which has low propagation error. Our formal study leads to a quantitative characterization that can be used to predict the confidence of local propagation for MPLE models. We use this to propose a mixture model that can learn the best trade-off between high and low propagation models. Empirical evaluation on synthetic and real-world data show that our proposed method achieves comparable, or superior, results to both MPLE and low propagation models across the full spectrum of label availability.
Average arterial input function for quantitative dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of neck nodal metastases.

The present study determines the feasibility of generating an average arterial input function (Avg-AIF) from a limited population of patients with neck nodal metastases to be used for pharmacokinetic modeling of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) data in clinical trials of larger populations. Twenty patients (mean age 50 years [range 27–77 years]) with neck nodal metastases underwent pretreatment DCE-MRI studies with a temporal resolution of 3.75 to 7.5 sec on a 1.5T clinical MRI scanner. Eleven individual AIFs (Ind-AIFs) met the criteria of expected enhancement pattern and were used to generate Avg-AIF. Tofts model was used to calculate pharmacokinetic DCE-MRI parameters. Bland-Altman plots and paired Student t-tests were used to describe significant differences between the pharmacokinetic parameters obtained from individual and average AIFs. Ind-AIFs obtained from eleven patients were used to calculate the Avg-AIF. No overall significant difference (bias) was observed for the transfer constant (Ktrans) measured with Ind-AIFs compared to Avg-AIF (p = 0.20 for region-of-interest (ROI) analysis and p = 0.18 for histogram median analysis). Similarly, no overall significant difference was observed for interstitial fluid space volume fraction (ve) measured with Ind-AIFs compared to Avg-AIF (p = 0.48 for ROI analysis and p = 0.93 for histogram median analysis). However, the Bland-Altman plot suggests that as Ktrans increases, the Ind-AIF estimates tend to become proportionally higher than the Avg-AIF estimates. We found no statistically significant overall bias in Ktrans or ve estimates derived from Avg-AIF, generated from a limited population, as compared with Ind-AIFs. However, further study is needed to determine whether calibration is needed across the range of Ktrans. The Avg-AIF obtained from a limited population may be used for pharmacokinetic modeling of DCE-MRI data in larger population studies with neck nodal metastases. Further validation of the Avg-AIF approach with a larger population and in multiple regions is desirable.
Hypoxic Preconditioning Requires the Apoptosis Protein CED-4 in C. elegans

Hypoxic preconditioning (HP) is a rapid and reversible proadaptive response to mild hypoxic exposure with such a response protecting cells from subsequent hypoxic or ischemic insult. HP mechanisms are of great interest because of their therapeutic potential and insight into metabolic adaptation and cell death. HP has been widely demonstrated in the vertebrate subphylum but not in invertebrates. Here, we report that the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has a potent HP mechanism that protects the organism as well as its neurons and myocytes from hypoxic injury. The time course of C. elegans HP was consistent with vertebrate-delayed HP, appearing 16 hr after preconditioning and lasting at least 36 hr. The apoptosis pathway has been proposed as either a trigger or target of HP. Testing of mutations in the canonical C. elegans apoptosis pathway showed that in general, genes in this pathway are not required for HP. However, loss-of-function mutations in ced-4, which encodes an Apaf-1 homolog, completely blocked HP. RNAi silencing of ced-4 in adult animals immediately preceding preconditioning blocked HP, indicating that CED-4 is required in adults during or after preconditioning. CED-4/Apaf-1 is essential for HP in C. elegans and acts through a mechanism independent of the classical apoptosis pathway.
Kinetic and equilibrium characterization of interactions between glycopeptide antibiotics and sodium car☐ymethyl starch

Abstract The binding of two glycopeptide antibiotics, vancomycin and ramoplanin, to sodium car☐ymethyl starch (NaCMS) has been studied. An ultrafiltration technique was employed with spectrophotometric detection to measure unbound drug fractions. Both drugs exhibited reversible, saturable, Langmuir-type binding over limited ranges of concentration and pH. Binding was studied at 22, 37 and 50°C to yield binding constants, the number of sites and appropriate thermodynamic parameters, using a generalized Scatchard model. Binding data were analyzed using least-squares nonlinear regression. Results suggest electrostatic attraction as the predominant mechanism for vancomycin and ramoplanin binding to NaCMS. Binding is exothermic for both drugs and appears to be enthalpy-driven for vancomycin. The binding of ramoplanin, however, is favored by enthalpy and entropy contributions. By contrast, these drugs exhibit strikingly different entropy changes upon binding to NaCMS. These results are interpreted in light of solution conformation data for both drugs. Controlled kinetic studies were also conducted to measure the rates of these interactions to determine possible therapeutic implications.
Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions of Polyaniline with Substituted Benzenediazonium Ions: A Facile Method for Controlling the Surface Chemistry of Conducting Polymers

The surface chemistry of polyaniline films is controlled via the nucleophilic reaction of amines within the polymer with substituted benzenediazonium ions. The nucleophilic reaction is shown to be diffusion-limited regardless of the substituent on the benzenediazonium ion. Chemical modification results in a layered structure within the film where the thickness of the modified region can be controlled over a range of a few nanometers to over half a micron depending on the time scale of modification.
Negative Ions for Emerging Interdisciplinary Applications

In many applications related to ion beam‐materials interactions negative ions are particularly desirable due to its merit to yield a very low surface charge‐up voltage, ∼ a few volts, for both electrically isolated surfaces and insulators. Some important applications pertaining to ion beam‐material interactions include surface analysis by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), voltage‐contrast microscopy for semiconductor device inspection, materials processing, and ion beam lithography. These applications primarily require vacuum environments. On the other hand, a distinct area of activities constitutes formation of ions and ion transport in ambient environmental conditions, i.e., at atmospheric pressures. In this context, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is an important analytical device that uses negative ions and operates at ambient conditions. IMS is widely used in both physical and biological sciences including monitoring environmental conditions, security screening and disease detection. This artic...
Epidemiology and Genetics of Calcific Aortic Valve Disease

Calcific aortic valve disease is a common condition in the elderly and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Although biologically plausible roles in disease pathogenesis have been proposed for both lipoproteins and the renin-angiotensin system, no properly controlled, randomized trials have demonstrated that any pharmacologic therapy slows development of the disease. This review defines the stages of calcific aortic valve disease; discusses the role of nonechocardiographic techniques, such as cardiac computed tomography, that may allow identification and study of earlier-stage disease; reviews associated epidemiologic factors; and summarizes recent studies of "novel" risk factors, such as metabolic syndrome and inflammatory biomarkers. Finally, the role of genetics in this disease is receiving greater attention, and recent studies are reviewed that examine genetic polymorphisms and identify single-gene defects associated with this disease. Together these latter sets of studies emphasize that unique "nonatherosclerotic" factors can influence calcific aortic valve disease development, suggesting the possibility of novel therapeutic strategies for this condition.
Investigation of Fiber Wear in a Woven Composite Using Atomic Force Microscopy

A number of cartilage replacement materials have been suggested including woven materials because of their similar mechanical properties compared to natural tissue [1]. However, the wear performance of woven materials has not been optimized, nor systematically analyzed to date. This paper focuses upon fiber-fiber interactions within a three-dimensional woven material using an atomic force microscope (AFM) to directly simulate abrasive wear events.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Demanding men, desiring women and social collapse in the films of Evgenii Bauer, 1913–17

AbstractThe pre-Revolutionary film director Evgenii Bauer was an auteur, and the thematic conventions that can be identified in his films reveal the extent to which he helped to structure the cultural ethos during years that Tsarist Russia was severely destabilized by fighting the Great War. Bauer specialized in psychosexual dramas, and in this article I subject seven of his major films to Lacanian analysis in order to reveal how he explored the tension between sexual and social relations during these years of disarray and defeat. Bauer filmed his movies as he plotted them, using cinematography to underscore the plotlines that prevented his characters from seeing eye to eye. Remarkable for their murderous violence, Bauer's films evidence a profound pessimism about the war being fought.
Way -finding as the perception of information over time

This article explores the possibility that way-finding involves the perception of environmental information over time. Drawing on the work of J. J. Gibson, it is hypothesized that the information specifying a route is an invariant sequence of transitions that connect successive vistas. This information is revealed over time as the perceiver follows a route through the environment. Two experiments were conducted in order to examine this hypothesis. In the first study subjects viewed either a complete film of a walk along a route, an edited version of the film containing only the transitions at the turns, or an edited version containing only the vistas between turns. Consistent with the hypothesis, the transitions information proved to be somewhat more reliable than the vistas information with respect to both way-finding performance and confidence ratings for turn decisions. A second study was designed specifically to assess subjects' sensitivity to the sequence or order of transitions in a route. After viewing the complete film of a walk along a route, subjects observed a series of edited films in which the order of transitions was varied. Similarity ratings of the edited films in relation to the complete film revealed that subjects did extract the particular sequence of transitions presented in the complete film. In combination, these studies provide support for the overall research hypothesis. These findings and this theoretical framework are discussed in relation to the standard constructivist approach to way-finding.
Levodopa responsiveness in disorders with parkinsonism: A review of the literature

A literature review was conducted to investigate whether or not levodopa (LD) responsiveness (LR) is a useful criterion in the diagnosis of parkinsonian disorders. Although LR does appear to differ among the parkinsonian disorders, there is considerable confusion in the literature. While most patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have a sustained benefit from LD, a small minority of patients with documented PD do not respond. The literature suggests that the LR rate is higher for multiple system atrophy (MSA), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and corticobasal degeneration (CBD) than based on published diagnostic criteria. Magnitude and duration of response to LD and tolerability (time course, type and distribution of dyskinesias, mental effects and motor worsening) may be useful features in distinguishing PD, MSA, PSP, and CBD. Efforts should be directed toward better defining LR when used for diagnostic purposes and in scientific publications.
Regeneration and tolerance factor modulates the effect of adenosine triphosphate–induced interleukin 1β secretion in human macrophages

These studies characterize a molecule known as regeneration and tolerance factor (RTF), which controls inflammation by regulating interleukin 1β (IL-1β) secretion. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the interaction of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) with the P2X7 purinoceptor induces the secretion of IL-1β and initiates the inflammatory response. In these experiments, that the addition of ATP to macrophages was found to induce P2X7 activation and secretion of IL-1β. This secretion is enhanced with anti-RTF antibody in combination with exogenous ATP (p< 0.005). RTF is also revealed to be able to influence surface ATPase activity and, increase PI incorporation, which is an indicator of P2X7 activation. We demonstrate that RTF has a role in controlling IL-1β secretion by regulating P2X7 activity.
A revised orbital ephemeris for HAT-P-9b

Abstract We present here three transit observations of HAT-P-9b taken on 14 February 2010 and 05 April 2010 UT from the University of Arizona’s 1.55 m Kuiper telescope on Mt. Bigelow. Our two light curves were obtained in the Arizona-I filter for all our observations, and underwent the same reduction process. Both transits occurred approximately 24 min earlier than expected from the ephemeris of Shporer et al. (2009) . However, due to the large time span between our observed transits and those of Shporer et al. (2009) , a 6.5 s shift downwards in orbital period from the value of Shporer et al. (2009) is sufficient to explain all available transit data. We find a new period of 3.922814 ± 0.000002 days for HAT-P-9b, an order of magnitude more precise than previous measurements, with no evidence for significant nonlinearities in the transit period.
A summary of 19th and early 20th Century researchers of glacial Lake Agassiz, North America: from Noah's Flood to Upham's bathtub and beyond

During the last North American deglaciation, meltwater collected along the margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in proglacial lakes, the largest of these being glacial Lake Agassiz, which existed for over five thousand years starting ~13,950 cal. years B.P. Lake Agassiz was first described in 1823 by mineralogist William H. Keating of the Long Expedition at a time when diluvianism was often used to explain ancient lakes. Subsequent researchers also recognized the existence of an ancient lake, but the first connections of this lake to a possible glacial source came in 1873. Starting in 1879, Warren Upham spent the next fifteen years researching and publishing on Lake Agassiz, eventually publishing his seminal work, the U.S. Geological Survey's Monograph 25 The Glacial Lake Agassiz. Some of Upham's interpretations were later challenged by William A. Johnston, who favored a more complex lake history.
Cryopreservation and long-term culture of transformed murine corneal endothelial cells

Purpose To characterize the morphology and gene expression of transformed murine corneal endothelial cells.
Intensity-based image registration for 3D spatial compounding using a freehand 3D ultrasound system

3D spatial compounding involves the combination of two or more 3D ultrasound (US) data sets, acquired under different insonation angles and windows, to form a higher quality 3D US data set. An important requirement for this method to succeed is the accurate registration between the US images used to form the final compounded image. We have developed a new automatic method for rigid and deformable registration of 3D US data sets, acquired using a freehand 3D US system. Deformation is provided by using a 3D thin-plate spline (TPS). Our method is fundamentally different from the previous ones in that the acquired scattered US 2D slices are registered and compounded directly into the 3D US volume. Our approach has several benefits over the traditional registration and spatial compounding methods: (i) we only peform one 3D US reconstruction, for the first acquired data set, therefore we save the computation time required to reconstruct subsequent acquired scans, (ii) for our registration we use (except for the first scan) the acquired high-resolution 2D US images rather than the 3D US reconstruction data which are of lower quality due to the interpolation and potential subsampling associated with 3D reconstruction, and (iii) the scans performed after the first one are not required to follow the typical 3D US scanning protocol, where a large number of dense slices have to be acquired; slices can be acquired in any fashion in areas where compounding is desired. We show that by taking advantage of the similar information contained in adjacent acquired 2D US slices, we can reduce the computation time of linear and nonlinear registrations by a factor of more than 7:1, without compromising registration accuracy. Furthermore, we implemented an adaptive approximation to the 3D TPS with local bilinear transformations allowing additional reduction of the nonlinear registration computation time by a factor of approximately 3.5. Our results are based on a commercially available tissue-mimicking abdominal phantom and in-vivo muscle data.
Toxicity and fate of pentachlorophenol in anaerobic acidogenic systems

Abstract Toxic effects of organic pollutants and their fate in anaerobic acidogenic systems have not been studied extensively despite the potential of acidogenic treatment to be an efficient and economical pretreatment process. The objective of this paper was to study the toxicity and fate of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in an acidogenic, glucose-degrading anaerobic enrichment system. Chemostat cultures (1.5-day SRT) were acclimated to 21–59 μ M (6–17 mg/l) PCP for 159–261 days. Up to 121 μ M (35 mg/l) PCP allowed greater than 99.5% influent glucose removal in chemostats, but serum bottle experiments showed that these PCP concentrations partially inhibited glucose degradation. In contrast to the control, the test chemostats with PCP showed formation of lactate and ethanol with lower acetate concentrations. Hydrogen-utilizing methanogens were inhibited by 21–121 μ M (6–35 mg/l) PCP. No biodegradation of PCP was observed even in acclimated cultures. Even with significant removal of PCP in both and serum bottles, chlorophenol intermediates were not found, and batch experiments showed that such chlorophenol intermediates, if formed, would have undergone little degradation. Extraction of PCP in serum bottles showed sorption to biomass was the dominant mechanism for PCP removal in acidogenic cultures. Hence, contrary to expectations, the usefulness of anaerobic acidogenic cultures for degradation of PCP could not be substantiated. Further research on factors stimulating PCP degradation by nonmethanogenic anaerobes is necessary.
Choosing the Points of Entry: Strategic Framing and the Problem of Hyperincarceration

This article is intended to contribute to a radical transformation of the criminal justice system in the United States by placing efforts to build a strategic reframing of the issues in the context of the institutions, actors, and interests that have been tied to particular ways of making sense of the problem of hyperincarceration. After examining key moments in the history of this problem, the article explores the role that strategic framing plays in the development and implementation of transformative social policies. Following an assessment of the problems and potentials inherent in the development of a research-based communications strategy, the article concludes with the identification of the major challenges that will have to be engaged.
The collective control of perceptions: constructing order from conflict

This article offers a new perspective on sociological theory, based on psychological insights from Perceptual Control Theory. After describing this cybernetic model of goal-directed behavior and reviewing its empirical support, I present results from computer simulations applying the model to the social interactions of elementary control agents. My key finding is that agents controlling their own perceptions of a single environmental variable can stabilize it even when their intentions conflict. The concluding section discusses implications of this model of collective control processes for the sources of order, conflict, continuity, and change in social life.
Rounding effects of quenched randomness on first-order phase transitions

Frozen-in disorder in an otherwise homogeneous system, is modeled by interaction terms with random coefficients, given by independent random variables with a translation-invariant distribution. For such systems, it is proven that ind=2 dimensions there can be no first-order phase transition associated with discontinuities in the thermal average of a quantity coupled to the randomized parameter. Discontinuities which would amount to a continuous symmetry breaking, in systems which are (stochastically) invariant under the action of a continuous subgroup ofO(N), are suppressed by the randomness in dimensionsd≦4. Specific implications are found in the Random-Field Ising Model, for which we conclude that ind=2 dimensions at all (β,h) the Gibbs state is unique for almost all field configurations, and in the Random-Bond Potts Model where the general phenomenon is manifested in the vanishing of the latent heat at the transition point. The results are explained by the argument of Imry and Ma [1]. The proofs involve the analysis of fluctuations of free energy differences, which are shown (using martingale techniques) to be Gaussian on the suitable scale.
Global Transitions or Proteins Explored by a Multiscale Hybrid Methodology: Application to Dopamine Transporter

Efficient and accurate mapping of transition pathways is a challenging problem in allosteric proteins. We propose here a new methodology which facilitates the sampling of the conformational space by recruiting all modes of motions naturally encoded by the protein architecture, while evaluating the atomic interactions and energetics via full-atomic molecular dynamics (MD) simulation protocol. The basic approach is to deform the structure collectively along the modes of motion predicted by the anisotropic network model (ANM), similar to our adaptive ANM procedure,1 but with major difference of considering the complete pool of all accessible modes using a Monte Carlo/Metropolis algorithm. Once a low-resolution intermediate structure is constructed it is set as the target for all atom-simulations analogous to our folding study2. The new method takes advantage of the speed of low-resolution approach while maintaining the accuracy of MD. After benchmarking the methodology with adenylate kinase we examined the transition mechanism of dopamine transporter (DAT) between its inward- and outward-facing states. An intermediate state occluded to both the extra- and intracellular regions is identified. The transition from intermediate-to-outward state involves a global bending of the N-terminal half of the transmembrane helix TM10, which drives the disruption of the salt bridge R85-D476 on TM1b and TM10, which, in turn, prompts the opening of the external gate. The intermediate-to-inward transition is facilitated by the rotation of TM4 and TM9 relative to the rest of the protein, and a redistribution of interactions between the N-terminal segment and TM8.1. Yang Z, Majek P, Bahar I. Allosteric transitions of supramolecular systems explored by network models: application to chaperonin GroEL. PLoS Comput Biol 2009;5(4):e1000360.2. Arkun Y, Gur M. Combining optimal control theory and molecular dynamics for protein folding. PLoS One 2012;7(1):e29628.
A UTD for the Radiation by Sources near Thin Planar Metamaterial Structures with a Discontinuity

The development of asymptotic high-frequency, uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UTD) solutions, which will identify and quantify all the pertinent ray mechanisms for predicting, in a relatively simple closed form, the high frequency radiation characteristics of practical, planar, metamaterial (MTM) antenna structures is presented in this paper. In particular, the present analytical UTD development can, in a physically appealing manner, characterize the diffraction of incident ray fields, and especially the launching and diffraction of backward surface waves (BSWs), respectively, from the ends (or the truncation) of finite size MTM slabs, with or without a perfect electric conductor (PEC) or ground plane backing. The ansatz for the proposed solution is based on the Wiener-Hopf (W-H) solution to a problem of the plane wave diffraction by a two part impedance surface. The present solutions are simpler to use because they do not contain the complicated split functions of the W-H solutions nor the complex Maliuzhinets functions. The present solutions recover the proper local plane wave Fresnel reflection and transmission coefficients and surface wave constants for the MTM. Besides being asymptotic solutions of the wave equation, the present UTD solutions, which are developed via a partially heuristic spectral synthesis approach, satisfy reciprocity, PEC boundary conditions, and the Karp-Karal lemma which dictates that the first order UTD space waves vanish on the material interface.
Increase in Near-Final Height in Short Non-Growth Hormone Deficient Children Treated with Growth Hormone

The Genentech Study Group has treated patients with severe short stature (height <-2 SD score (SDS) not due to classically defined GH deficiency with up to seven years of GH treatment (0.3mg/kg/wk). Of the initial 121 patients, 33 have achieved near final height, with bone age (BA) ≥16 years for boys and ≥14 years for girls. At this bone age greater than 98% of adult height has been achieved. The mean difference between the first available pretreatment predicted adult height (PAH) and the PAH at near final height (Δ PAH) was 4.0cm for the boys and 8.1cm for the girls. We compared these changes in PAH achieved with GH treatment of these short non-GH deficient patients with the changes seen in 33 untreated normal children from the Fels Longitudinal Growth Study whose height was below -1 SDS for age, and to 19 historical controls followed in our clinics whose height was below -2 SDS for age at presentations who were not treated with GH. The differences in Δ PAH achieved by the GH treated patients compared to the -1 SDS controls were 5.7cm for boys and 4.5cm for girls. When compared to the <-2 SDS controls the differences in PAH were 8.2cm for boys and 7.7cm for girls. We conclude that GH treatment of patients with marked short stature does result in an increase in their mean final height. However, these patients did not achieve their mean mid-parental target height.
Low-Risk Lifestyle, Coronary Calcium, Cardiovascular Events, and Mortality: Results From MESA

Unhealthy lifestyle habits are a major contributor to coronary artery disease. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the associations of smoking, weight maintenance, physical activity, and diet with coronary calcium, cardiovascular events, and mortality. US participants who were 44–84 years of age (n= 6,229) were followed in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis from 2000 to 2010. A lifestyle score ranging from 0 to 4 was created using diet, exercise, body mass index, and smoking status. Coronary calcium was measured at baseline and a mean of 3.1 (standard deviation, 1.3) years later to assess calcium progression. Participants who experienced coronary events or died were followed for a median of 7.6 (standard deviation, 1.5) years. Participants with lifestyle scores of 1, 2, 3, and 4 were found to have mean adjusted annual calcium progressions that were 3.5 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.0, 7.0), 4.2 (95% CI: 0.6, 7.9), 6.8 (95% CI: 2.0, 11.5), and 11.1 (95% CI: 2.2, 20.1) points per year slower, respectively, relative to the reference group (P= 0.003). Unadjusted hazard ratios for death by lifestyle score were as follows: for a score of 1, the hazard ratio was 0.79 (95% CI: 0.61, 1.03); for a score of 2, the hazard ratio was 0.61 (95% CI: 0.46, 0.81); for a score of 3, the hazard ratio was 0.49 (95% CI: 0.32, 0.75); and for a score of 4, the hazard ratio was 0.19 (95% CI: 0.05, 0.75) (P < 0.001 by log-rank test). In conclusion, a combination of regular exercise, healthy diet, smoking avoidance, and weight maintenance was associated with lower coronary calcium incidence, slower calcium progression, and lower all-cause mortality over 7.6 years. coronary artery disease; CT and MRI; diet; epidemiology; exercise; primary prevention; risk factors; weight reduction
Population dynamics of Plasmodium sporogony.

Malaria transmission relies on the sporogonic development of Plasmodium parasites within insect vectors. Sporogony is a complex process that involves several morphologically distinct life-stages and can be described in terms of population dynamics: changes in the abundance and distribution of successive life-stages throughout development. Recent publications on the population dynamics of sporogony are reviewed, with special attention to the differences and similarities among the parasite–vector systems examined thus far. Understanding the population dynamics of malaria parasites within their natural vectors will lead to a better understanding of how malaria parasites survive and are maintained within mosquitoes.
Bioengineered heparins and heparan sulfates

Heparin and heparan sulfates are closely related linear anionic polysaccharides, called glycosaminoglycans, which exhibit a number of important biological and pharmacological activities. These polysaccharides, having complex structures and polydispersity, are biosynthesized in the Golgi of animal cells. While heparan sulfate is a widely distributed membrane and extracellular glycosaminoglycan, heparin is found primarily intracellularly in the granules of mast cells. While heparin has historically received most of the scientific attention for its anticoagulant activity, interest has steadily grown in the multi-faceted role heparan sulfate plays in normal and pathophysiology. The chemical synthesis of these glycosaminoglycans is largely precluded by their structural complexity. Today, we depend on livestock animal tissues for the isolation and the annual commercial production of hundred ton quantities of heparin used in the manufacture of anticoagulant drugs and medical device coatings. The variability of animal-sourced heparin and heparan sulfates, their inherent impurities, the limited availability of source tissues, the poor control of these source materials and their manufacturing processes, suggest a need for new approaches for their production. Over the past decade there have been major efforts in the biotechnological production of these glycosaminoglycans, driven by both therapeutic applications and as probes to study their natural functions. This review focuses on the complex biology of these glycosaminoglycans in human health and disease, and the use of recombinant technology in the chemoenzymatic synthesis and metabolic engineering of heparin and heparan sulfates.
The feasibility and utility of the aid to cardiac triage intervention to improve nurses' cardiac triage decisions.

Background Despite the benefits of prompt treatment of myocardial infarction, gender disparities exist in emergency department (ED) nurses' cardiac triage decisions. Objective To determine the feasibility and utility of the aid to cardiac triage (ACT) intervention designed to improve ED nurses' cardiac triage decisions for women with myocardial infarction. Methods A prospective, exploratory design was used. To determine feasibility, we evaluated the 1-hour time allocated for the intervention and ED nurses' participation rates. Twenty-three participants completed a utility questionnaire at the completion of the 1-hour intervention, and 18 participants completed the questionnaire 3 months post-intervention. Results The ACT intervention was delivered within 30 to 40 minutes, allowing 20 minutes for questions and discussion. ED nurses viewed the ACT intervention as a useful, helpful, and practical tool for improving their cardiac triage decisions at both intervention completion and 3 months later. Conclusion The evaluation supports the feasibility and utility of the ACT intervention.
Leveraging the crowds to disrupt phishing

Preventative anti-phishing approaches are not always effective. As there seem to be always users who ignore warnings, use old anti-phishing software, or rely on obsolete blacklists of phishing sites, phishers continue to find new victims who surrender their credentials to phishing sites. We thus take an aggressive anti-phishing approach, a research direction rarely explored. We study how we may disrupt phishing operations by injecting to phishing sites many fake credentials-also called honey tokens-that are indistinguishable from real credentials, allowing institutions under attack to detect and track phishing activities when honey tokens are used. We address the limitations from our early work, Humboldt 1.0, which automatically submits fake credentials but can fail if phishers take smart countermeasures. Based on a new architecture, Humboldt 2.0, we study how we may leverage human users to submit honey tokens successfully, while being resilient to various malicious countermeasures to our system. We further analyze its effectiveness and evaluate its cost using the Amazon Mechanical Turk service, showing that Humboldt 2.0 can successfully complement Humboldt 1.0.
Climate-radial growth relationships of northern latitudinal range margin longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Mill.) in the Atlantic coastal plain of southeastern Virginia.

Climate and longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Mill.) radial growth relationships have been documented within its southern and western distribution. However, knowledge of this relationship is lacking along its northern latitudinal range margin (NLRM). Based on the principles of ecological amplitude, limiting factors, and studies of coniferous species in eastern temperate forests of the U.S., we hypothesized that the radial growth of longleaf pine in mixed pine-hardwood forests is responding to winter temperatures in southeastern Virginia. Two longleaf pine chronologies were developed to determine the relationship between radial growth and monthly temperature, precipitation, and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) via response function analysis (RFA). Results at the 0.05 level yielded significant response function coefficients with a positive response to current winter temperature and precipitation and a negative response to prior August PDSI. In studies of climate and longleaf pine radial growth in other parts of its range, winter temperature and precipitation have not shared a significant positive association with radial growth. Instead current spring and summer precipitation usually share this positive association. These findings add more evidence to an emerging pattern suggesting that winter temperatures contribute to limiting the radial growth of temperate conifers at northern range margins in the Northern Hemisphere.
Three-dimensional Finite Element Buckling Analysis of Debonded Sandwich Panels

A three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis has been conducted to examine the local buckling behavior of foam-cored composite sandwich panels containing a face-core debond. The influences of core stiffness and debond size and shape are examined. The core stiffness was found to have a profound influence on the local buckling load, especially for low modulus cores and smaller debonds. Panels with square debonds buckled at lower loads than those with circular debonds of the same dimension, and buckling loads for both circular and square debonds decreased with increased debond size. The results of the analysis were compared to local buckling loads determined experimentally. Reasonable agreement was found between the predicted and experimentally measured local buckling loads for both circular and square debonds.
Large-Scale Dynamic Terrain in Three-Dimensional Construction Process Visualizations

Visualization can be of significant value in improving the verification, validation, and communication of discrete-event simulation models of construction operations, which in turn can make the models more credible and thus useful in operations planning. The presented work extends the state-of-the-art of visualizing simulation models of construction operations in three-dimensions. The writers present efficient methods and a tool, ViTerra, that can be used to automatically generate photorealistic, digital, three-dimensional (3D) terrain computer-aided design databases to represent construction job sites in animations of simulated construction processes. The work capitalizes on the availability of detailed topographical and aerial imagery data that are readily available in digital format from several government and private organizations. In addition to automated terrain generation techniques, the presented work implements animation methods to describe the evolution of virtual jobsites by depicting deformations to the visualized terrains in response to common construction operations such as earthmoving and trenching. The writers' first contribution alleviates the need to manually create 3D terrain models for use in animations as has been the case hitherto. The writers' second contribution (1) enhances realism in animations of several common construction operations; and (2) allows the visualization of several other construction processes that were hitherto impossible to animate accurately in 3D.
Length-Tension Relationship of Smooth Muscle of the Hog Carotid Artery

The length-tension relationships for arterial smooth muscle were determined using vascular strips teased from the media of hog carotid arteries. Histological examination revealed that the strips were (1) free of adventitia and (2) composed of smooth muscle cells oriented parallel to the long axis of the strips. Measurements from electron micrographs indicated that 60% of the cross-sectional area consisted of smooth muscle. At L 0 (the optimal length for tension development) the total cross-sectional area of the strips varied from 0.3 to 0.8 mm 2 . Potassium-induced depolarization was the most effective stimulus for force development. Norepinephrine and electric field stimulation elicited responses which were 70% and 30%, respectively, of that produced by potassium-induced depolarization. At L 0 the intrinsic load-bearing capacity (P 0 ) of the contractile system was 2.22 x 10 6 dynes/cm 2 . Tension development fell off gradually at lengths shorter than L 0 and more rapidly at lengths greater than L 0 . Passive length-tension curves were determined after quick releases from higher to lower lengths to avoid complications arising from tone. Passive tension was negligible at lengths below 0.9 L 0 . At L 0 the passive tension was 10% of P 0 .
Symbol-error rate analysis of Fischer's bit-loading algorithm

We obtain an analytical result for the symbol-error rate of a wireless orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing system employing Fischer's bit-loading algorithm. First we assume that the subchannel coefficients are statistically independent, then we extend the results to the case with dependent subchannel coefficients. Throughout the analysis, we assume that the number of subchannels is large, and that subchannels have Rayleigh-distributed coefficients. The comparison of analytical and simulated results shows that the approximation error is small, especially at low noise and high bit rate.
C-reactive protein gene polymorphisms and the risk of venous thromboembolism: a haplotype-based analysis.

Summary. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a risk predictor for future athero-thrombotic events, and its plasma concentration has a heritable component. CRP has also been suggested to play a role in the pathophysiology of venous thromboembolism. To date, no genetic–epidemiological data are available on the relation of CRP gene variants with the risk of venous thromboembolism. The present study was carried out to investigate the possible association of two previously characterized (an exonic 1059GC, and an intronic TA) CRP gene polymorphisms in a prospective, matched case–control sample from the Physicians Health Study. Allele, genotype, and haplotype distributions were similar between 130 cases and 130 matched controls. Genotype distributions were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Further investigation using a haplotype-based matched logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age, smoking, randomized treatment group (likelihood ratio test: = 0.19, P = 0.91) or with further controlling for body mass index, hypertension, and diabetes (likelihood ratio test: = 0.66, P = 0.72) yielded similar null findings. In conclusion, we found no evidence for an association between the CRP polymorphisms/haplotypes tested and the risk of venous thromboembolism.