cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A novel deep learning scheme for morphology-based classification of mycobacterial infection in unstained macrophages

Objective: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is an airborne, contagious bacterial pathogen that causes widespread infections in humans. Using Mycobacterium marinum (Mm), a surrogate model organism for Mtb research, the present study develops a deep learning-based scheme that can classify the Mm-infected and uninfected macrophages in tissue culture solely based on morphological changes. Methods: A novel weak- and semi-supervised learning method is developed to detect and extract the cells, firstly. Then, transfer learning and fine-tuning from the CNN is built to classify the infected and uninfected cells. Results: The performance is evaluated by accuracy (ACC), sensitivity (SENS) and specificity (SPEC) with 10-fold cross-validation. It demonstrates that the scheme can classify the infected cells accurately and efficiently at the early infection stage. At 2 hour post infection (hpi), we achieve the ACC of 0.923+/-0.005, SENS of 0.938+/-0.020, and SPEC of 0.905+/-0.019, indicating that the scheme has detected significant morphological differences between the infected and uninfected macrophages, although these differences are hardly visible to naked eyes. Interestingly, the ACC at 12 and 24 hpi are 0.749+/-0.010 and 0.824+/-0.009, respectively, suggesting that the infection-induced morphological changes are dynamic throughout the infection. Finally, deconvolution with guided propagation maps the key morphological features contributing to the classification. Significance: This proof-of-concept study provides a novel venue to investigate bacterial pathogenesis in a macroscopic level and has a great promise in diagnosis of bacterial infections.
Preserving fertility in female patients with hematological malignancies: the key points.

Oncofertility is a new interdisciplinary field at the intersection of oncology and reproductive medicine that expands fertility options for young cancer patients through several fertility preservat...
Getting started on the tenure track: challenges and strategies for success.

AbstractTenure-track positions at institutions of higher education are often highly coveted because they offer job stability, academic freedom, and higher pay. Despite this allure, the academic car...
Characteristics of Health-related Text Messages Preferred by Medically Underserved African-American Patients with Diabetes.

Introduction Text messaging (TM) is increasingly used by the U.S. medical practices and healthcare delivery systems, but little is known about preferences of medically underserved minority patients for TM supporting improved self-care decisions. We sought to determine the characteristics of text messages and TM programs preferred by African-American patients with diabetes in medically underserved areas. Methods This convergent mixed methods study employed a self-administered survey and focus group interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected simultaneously, analyzed separately, and merged to provide a holistic view of the TM characteristics patients preferred. Participants (N = 36) were recruited from a medically underserved area in Memphis, Tennessee. Focus group data were uploaded into the NVivo qualitative data analysis software program, and main themes were identified. Standard frequencies were calculated for survey responses. Results Participants ranged in the age of 22-74 years (M = 54.1; SD = 14.6) were predominantly female (77.8%), African-Americans (88.9%), and had at least a high school education (91.7%). A majority used mobile phones for sending (69.4%) and receiving (72.2%) text messages. Participants wanted to receive daily (44.4%) or weekly (47.2%) text messages from their healthcare provider (61.1%), or a motivational message program (33.3%). They preferred actionable messages with a positive tone and wanted options to customize message type, content, and frequency according to their preferences, goals, and needs. Discussion Medically underserved African-American diabetes patients want customized text messages that are practical, actionable, encouraging, and from their doctor. Healthcare providers seeking to develop patient-centered TM programs for medically underserved minority patients should personalize and tailor messages according to patient preferences, health goals, and self-care needs.
Correction to: Spatial DIC Errors due to Pattern-Induced Bias and Grey Level Discretization

The original article has been corrected to include labels on Figs. 4 and 9 and corrections made to the Eqs. (3), (4) and (8).
Lower Columbia College Mathematics Learning Center.

IDEALLY, teaching mathematics in volves identifying the skill level of the individual pupil and then designing a pro gram to carry him as far as he desires to advance. Unfortunately this arrangement is not economically feasible under the present traditional quarter or semester system in college, for this involves a teach ing load of no more than ten students per instructor at any one time. Consequently, college administrators have found it most economical to schedule various-sized groups of students to one instructor. Traditionally, these students have been taught with the lecture-discus sion method, and even though much learn ing does take place with this mode of teaching, it is not ideal for teaching mathematics to the individual for the following reasons: 1. The instructor does not have control over each student's learning. 2. It is impersonal. 3. The slower student becomes discour aged because of the pace. 4. The faster student is held back. 5. The lecture method does not allow for true remedial work.
Female Gender is a Predictor of Lower Iliac Vein Stenting Patency Rates.

Background Iliac venous stenting (IVS) for thrombotic and nonthrombotic venous disease is increasingly used as evidence of the safety, efficacy and durability of these interventions increases. Female gender has been implicated as a predictor of failure in arterial endovascular interventions. We hypothesize that female gender could be predictive of patency rates of iliac vein stenting. Methods Consecutive patients who underwent IVS for thrombotic or nonthrombotic venous disease at our institution from 2007 until 2019 were identified and divided into groups based on gender. Operative notes, venograms, and the electronic health record were then queried to obtain operative details, co-morbid conditions, postoperative outcomes and stent patency. Study outcome was long term patency rate. The data was analyzed using chi-square, logistic regression, and Kaplan-Meier analysis as appropriate. Results A total of 200 consecutive patients (231 limbs) were identified in our retrospective analysis, with a mean age of 48.8 ± 17.3, and BMI of 31.6 ± 8.6. Of those, 119 (59.5%) patients, (131 [56.8%] limbs) were female. Comparisons between the gender groups revealed no difference in age, BMI, or preoperative comorbidities. There was no difference in type of venous disease between male (85% thrombotic, 15% nonthrombotic) and female (84% thrombotic, 16% nonthrombotic), P= 0.830. The male cohort was more likely to present with leg ulceration (17% vs. 4.6%, P = 0.002), and the female cohort was more likely to present with leg edema (98.5% vs. 93.0%, P= 0.03). The male cohort had a higher rate of caval (48% vs. 33.6%, P= 0.027) and infrainguinal stent extension. (11% vs. 6.9%, P= 0.02). Females had a higher rate of left sided stenting (80.9% vs. 66/0%, P= 0.010). There was no difference in the median stent diameter used between the cohorts. Primary patency at 5 years was significantly higher for the male cohort (94.1% vs. 74.4%, P= 0.01) On adjusted multivariable cox regression female gender was a predictor of loss of primary patency within 5 years (HR, 4.04; P= 0.007). Conclusions In this single center retrospective analysis of IVS, male patients were found to have better primary stent patency compared to female.
Desisting from Crime: In-Prison Behaviour and Cognition as Predictors of Post-Release Success

To test the possibility that in-prison behaviour and cognition provide information useful in predicting future desistance from crime, two in-prison variables and nine pre-prison and demographic con...
On Nonequilibrium Physics and String Theory

In this paper, we review the relation between string theory and nonequilibrium physics based on our previously published work. First, we explain why a theory of quantum gravity and nonequilibrium statistical physics should be related in the first place. Then, we present the necessary background from the recent research in nonequilibrium physics. The review discusses the relationship of string theory and aging phenomena, as well as the connection between AdS/CFT correspondence and the Jarzynski identity. We also discuss the emergent symmetries in fully developed turbulence and the corresponding nonequilibrium stationary states. Finally, we outline a larger picture regarding the relationship between nonperturbative quantum gravity and nonequilibrium statistical physics. This relationship can be understood as a natural generalization of the well-known Wilsonian relation between local quantum field theory and equilibrium statistical physics of critical phenomena. According to this picture, the AdS/CFT duality is just an example of a more general connection between nonperturbative quantum gravity and nonequilibrium physics. In the appendix of this review, we discuss a new kind of complementarity between thermodynamics and statistical physics which should be important in the context of black hole complementarity.
Correlation of Hounsfield Unit Measurements on Computed Tomography of the Shoulder With Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry Scans and Fracture Risk Assessment Tool Scores: A Potential for Opportunistic Screening.

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of bone mineral density (BMD) abnormalities involves dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), but few patients complete this after a fragility fracture. The assessment of BMD using Hounsfield unit (HU) measurements from computed tomography (CT) scans has been correlated with DXA results in previous studies. We aimed to evaluate the correlation between shoulder CT HU and DXA scores. METHODS Billing databases of 3 academic institutions were queried for patients who underwent both DXA and CT scan of the upper extremity within 1 year of each other. DXA T-scores for spine, hip, and femoral neck were recorded. BMD status was defined based on composite T-scores, using the lowest T-score in the spine, hip, or proximal femur. CT scans were measured for HU over 4 slices, recorded to create a bone column, then averaged. The patients' risks of major osteoporosis-related fracture and hip fracture were calculated using the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool. RESULTS In total, 300 patients were included. A positive correlation was found between composite T-scores and HU for glenoid and proximal humerus (0.36; 0.17). The proximal humerus HU was significantly associated with the BMD T-score for the hip (P = 0.01); the glenoid HU was significantly associated with BMD T-scores for the hip, spine, and femoral neck (P = 0.002; P = 0.001; P = 0.002). A 10-year risk of hip fracture >3% was associated with lower proximal humerus HU. CONCLUSIONS Our study is the first to discover significant correlations between HU at the glenoid and proximal humerus and risk factors as established by the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool scoring system. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Diagnostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Investigating the Geometry and Mechanical Properties of Human Round Window Membranes Using Micro-Fringe Projection.

HYPOTHESIS The geometry and the mechanical property of the round window membrane (RWM) have a fundamental impact on the function of cochlea. BACKGROUND Understanding the mechanical behavior of RWM is important for cochlear surgery and design for the cochlear implant. Although the anatomy of RWM has been widely studied and described in the literature, argument remains regarding the true shape of RWM. The mechanical properties of RWM are also scarcely reported due to the difficulty of the measurement of the small size RWM. METHODS In this paper, micro-fringe projection was used to reconstruct the 3-dimensional geometries of 14 RWMs. Mechanical properties of the RWMs were subsequently measured using finite element (FE) model and an inverse method. The three-dimensional surface topographies and the curvatures of the two major directions reconstructed from the micro-fringe projection both demonstrated wide variations among samples. RESULTS The diameters of the RWMs vary from 1.65 to 2.2 mm and the curvatures vary from -0.97 to 3.76 mm-1. The nonlinear elasticity parameters in the Ogden model for each sample was measured and the average effective Young's modulus is approximately 1.98 MPa. CONCLUSION The geometries and mechanical properties of the human RWM measured in the work could potentially be applied to surgery design and on modeling analysis for the cochlea.
Bi-directional prediction for end-to-end optimized video compression

This paper presents and studies an end-to-end Artificial Neural Network (ANN)-based compression framework leveraging bi-directional prediction. Like traditional hybrid codecs in Random Access configuration, this codec processes video sequences divided in Groups Of Pictures (GOPs) in which each frame can be encoded in Intra or Inter mode. Inter frames, can be bi-predicted, i.e. using past and future previously decoded frames, the selection of the reference frame for prediction are signaled within the bitstream, allowing for efficient hierarchical GOP temporal networks. In particular, we study the benefits of optimizing the compression of the motion information prediction residuals using dedicated auto-encoder models in which the layers are conditioned based on the GOP structure. The network is trained fully end-to-end from scratch. The increase of compression efficiency shows the promises of implementing conditional convolution for bi-directional inter coding.
Patient decision aid for trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC) versus planned repeat cesarean delivery: a quasi-experimental pre-post study.

To assess the impact of a web-based decision aid on patient-centered decision making outcomes among women considering a trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC) versus planned repeat cesarean delivery. The Birth Decision Aid Study (B-READY) was a quasi-experimental pre-post study of two sequential cohorts. From June 18, 2018 to July 31, 2019, 50 women were enrolled in routine care, followed by 50 women who were enrolled in the decision aid group. Inclusion criteria were singleton pregnancies between 19/0 to 36/6 weeks, ≤2 prior cesareans, and no contraindications to TOLAC. The decision aid group viewed the online Healthwise® “Pregnancy: Birth Options After Cesarean” program. Both groups received the same birth options counseling and completed the same online assessment. Primary patient-centered outcomes were knowledge about birth options and shared decision making at online assessment, and informed, patient-centered decision making about her preferred mode of delivery at delivery admission. Among 100 women participated in this study (50 per group), the mean gestational age at enrollment was 31 weeks, and 71% or 63/89 women who consented to delivery data abstraction had a cesarean delivery. Women in the patient decision aid group gained more knowledge (defined as score ≥ 75%) about birth options compared to those in the routine care group (72% vs. 32%; adjusted odds ratio, AOR: 6.15 [95% CI: 2.34 to 16.14]), and were more likely to make an informed, patient-centered decision (60% vs. 26%; AOR: 3.30 [95% CI: 1.20 to 9.04]. Women in both groups reported similar involvement in shared decision making, as well as satisfaction and values. More than 90% of decision aid users reported it was a useful tool and would recommend it to other TOLAC-eligible women. A web-based birth options patient-centered decision aid for TOLAC eligible women can be integrated into prenatal Telehealth and may improve the quality of decision making about mode of delivery. The study was registered with ClinincalTrials.gov and the ID# was NCT04053413 . Registered 12 August 2019 – Retrospectively registered.
Single-cell technologies to dissect heterogenous immune cell therapy products

Abstract Single-cell tools have dramatically transformed the life sciences; concurrently, autologous and allogeneic immune cell therapies have recently entered the clinic. Here, we discuss methods, applications, and considerations for single-cell technologies in the context of immune cell manufacturing. Molecular heterogeneity can be profiled at the level of the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, and antigen receptor repertoire in isolation or tandem through multiomic approaches. Such data provides a detailed characterization of heterogeneity within cell products and can be linked to potency readouts and clinical data, with the ultimate goal of identifying critical quality attributes to predict patient outcomes. Non-destructive approaches hold promise for monitoring cell state and analyzing the impacts of genetic modifications within engineered products. Destructive omics approaches could be combined with non-destructive technologies to predict therapeutic potency. These technologies are poised to redefine cell manufacturing toward rapid, cost-effective, and high-throughput methods to detect and respond to dynamic cell states.
Signal Processing and the Jacobi Group

The recent concern with advancing our understanding of both analog and digital signal processing has lead to two approaches which have been in competition for several years. One approach, the “window Fourier transform” , has the advantage of being amenable to theoretical analysis to the extent that we now understand its workings quite well. In fact we have a full description of its shortcomings too, largely evident in the ill conditioning of the inverse transform. The newer approach, “wavelets”, seems, at least experimentally, to avoid the conditioning difficulties of its predecessor. It suffers, however, from a less well developed theoretical basis, and furthermore has no easily describable inverse transform, so that one relies heavily on numerical techniques if one chooses this path. This paper introduces a new method which, combining the sampling techniques of both of its predecessors, promises someday to offer the advantages of both, as well as an added advantage of generalizability discussed in the conclusion of this paper.
Senior Female International Managers: Why So Few?

Part 1 Introduction: the role of women in management international human resource management European human resource management rationale for the study research focus of the study the interview pool the sample. Part 2 Barriers to women in management: cultural, legislative, educational, work-family, corporate, and attitudinal barriers mentoring, tokenism and networking sexual harassment career development additional barriers for female international managers. Part 3 Working at senior management level - empirical evidence: breaking the glass ceiling mentors tokenism and lack of female role models networking male/female/individual style of management career planning. Part 4 Challenges for female international managers - further evidence: the trailing spouse international career versus relationship and childbearing conflicts characteristics of an international manager the international transfer cycle do female managers want international careers? the impact of gender on female managers' international careers. Part 5 A model and propositions for the female international managerial career move: a model of the senior female international career move recommendations for practice agenda for further research.
Role of magnetism in superconductivity of BaF e 2 A s 2 : Study of 5 d Au-doped crystals

We investigate properties of $\mathrm{BaF}{\mathrm{e}}_{2}\mathrm{A}{\mathrm{s}}_{2}$ (122) single crystals upon gold doping, which is the transition metal with the highest atomic weight. The Au substitution into the FeAs-planes of 122 crystal structure (Au-122) is only possible up to a small amount of $\ensuremath{\sim}3%$. We find that $5d$ is more effective in reducing magnetism in 122 than its counter $3d$ Cu, and this relates to superconductivity. We provide evidence of short-range magnetic fluctuations and local lattice inhomogeneities that may prevent strong percolative superconductivity in $\mathrm{Ba}{(\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{A}{\mathrm{u}}_{x})}_{2}\mathrm{A}{\mathrm{s}}_{2}$.
Reinforcement learning, efficient coding, and the statistics of natural tasks

The application of ideas from computational reinforcement learning has recently enabled dramatic advances in behavioral and neuroscientific research. For the most part, these advances have involved insights concerning the algorithms underlying learning and decision making. In the present article, we call attention to the equally important but relatively neglected question of how problems in learning and decision making are internally represented. To articulate the significance of representation for reinforcement learning we draw on the concept of efficient coding, as developed in perception research. The resulting perspective exposes a range of novel goals for behavioral and neuroscientific research, highlighting in particular the need for research into the statistical structure of naturalistic tasks.
Boolean Satisfiability: Creating Solvers Optimized for Specific Problem Instances

Publisher Summary The Boolean satisfiability problem is well-known in computer science. Given a Boolean formula, the goal is to find an assignment to the variables so that the formula evaluates to true or 1, or to prove that such an assignment does not exist. It has many applications, including theorem proving, automatic test pattern generation, and formal verification. Boolean satisfiability (SAT) is a classic NP-complete problem with a broad range of applications. There are many projects that use reconfigurable computing to solve it. This chapter presents a review of the subject with emphasis on a particular approach that employs a backtrack search algorithm and generates solver hardware according to the problem instance. This approach uses the reconfigurability and fine-grained parallelism provided by field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). This chapter introduces the SAT formulation and applications. It describes the algorithms to solve the SAT problem and describes in detail two SAT solvers that use reconfigurable computing. Many projects have designed Boolean satisfiability solvers with reconfigurable computing. These projects demonstrate the performance potential of these solvers through fine-grained custom hardware and massively parallel processing. Significant progress has been made in software algorithms as well, and recently, reconfigurable computing solutions have not kept up in incorporating these innovations. This is partly because the tools for reconfigurable computing are not yet mature.
Effect of matrix cracking on the overall thermal conductivity of fibre-reinforced composites

The longitudinal thermal conductivity of a unidirectional fibre-reinforced composite containing an array of equally spaced transverse matrix cracks is calculated. The cracked composite is modelled by a cylindrical cell which accounts for altered heat transfer across the matrix cracks as well as through debonded portions of the fibre—matrix interface. Heat transfer mechanisms across the cracks and dedonded interfaces considered are contact, gaseous conduction, and radiation, and the relative importance of these mechanisms is discussed. Approximate closed form solutions to the cell model for the overall thermal conductivity are obtained using an approach reminiscent of the shear lag analysis of stiffness loss due to matrix cracking and debonding. Selected numerical results from a finite-element analysis of the cell model are presented to complement the analytical solutions. Both matrix cracking and interfacial debonding have the potential for significantly reducing the longitudinal thermal conductivity.
One Person's Thoughts on the Future of Occupational Science

In its 16 years of existence, occupational science has achieved noteworthy success. However, to continue to thrive, the discipline must remain responsive to the changing times and environment. This paper assesses the current health of occupational science based on the plight of other academic disciplines such as sociology and geography whose futre is presently threatened. The intellectual vitality of occupational science is strong, yet the discipline must continue to solidify its interdisciplinary commitment, increase the number of publications, and expand its research scope. Beyond this, strategic planning to keep occupational science alive and well in the future will require nurturing the symbiotic relationship between the discipline and the occupational therapy profession. To the extent that occupational therapy thrives, occupational science must be better positioned, with the resource base and links to practice it needs to flourish. Finally, viewing occupational science as a kind of living organism wh...
Abstract 2639: Development of immunocytotoxic RNA therapeutics for human melanoma

Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) are a pivotal component of anti-infectious immunity, and selective induction of PRR-mediated apoptosis in cancer cells represents a novel therapeutic strategy. Retinoic acid inducible gene-I (RIG-I) is a cytoplasmic PRR that recognizes virus-associated molecular patterns, such as uncapped 5′triphosphate (5′ppp) RNA. RIG-I activation triggers innate immune response and apoptosis in infected cells, resulting in the inhibition of viral spread. Interestingly, certain cancer cells are highly sensitive to RIG-I-mediated apoptosis, and treatment with RIG-I-stimulating RNAs can selectively kill cancer cells and facilitate the induction of anti-cancer immunity. Therefore, RIG-I-stimulating RNAs may prove valuable as immunostimulatory and anti-cancer agents. Because RNAs are extremely sensitive to serum nucleases, modified RNAs have been employed to increase the stability of RNA-based therapeutics. Such modifications, however, often abrogate the immunostimulatory activity of RNAs, which hinders their development as immunostimulatory agents. Herein, we demonstrate that short single-stranded RNAs (ssRNAs) (23-93 nucleotides) with 5′ppp and stem-loop structure(s) are a potent stimulus for type I interferon (IFN) production and apoptosis of human melanoma and prostate cancer cells. 2′fluoro (2′F) modification of these 5′ppp ssRNAs not only improves serum stability, but also enhances the ability of the RNAs to induce IFNβ production and apoptosis of human cancer cells, compared to their unmodified counterparts, while 2′ O-methyl modification abrogates the anti-cancer and IFN-inducing activities of 5′ppp ssRNAs. These 5′ppp 2′F ssRNAs elicit RIG-I- and mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein-mediated IFN production and cytotoxic effects. This study suggests that such modified RNAs may represent a novel and effective anti-cancer therapeutic. Citation Format: Jaewoo Lee, Youngju Lee, Bruce A. Sullenger. Development of immunocytotoxic RNA therapeutics for human melanoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2639. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2639
Structural inhomogeneities in crystals of YBa 2 Cu 3 0 7-δ

Structural inhomogeneities in crystals of YBa2Cu3O7-(delta ) are characterized using high resolution x-ray diffraction. Rocking curves and a high resolution specular radial scan show features indicating that the crystals are not truly 'single'. The high resolution radial scan of a crystal that had a superconducting transition width of only one-half Kelvin, as determined by ac susceptibility, and appeared to be free of gross defects, when examined with conventional x-ray diffraction techniques, shows a distribution in the c-axis lattice parameter. These results suggest that crystals with sharp transitions should be carefully examined for the presence of structural anomalies which might influence the superconductive properties.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The development and validation of a scale measuring attitudes toward statistics

This study describes the development and validation of a new instrument entitled Attitudes Toward Statistics (ATS) to be used in the measurement of attitude change in introductory statistics students. Two ATS subscales are identified: Attitude Toward Course and Attitude Toward the Field, respectively. These subscales were demonstrated to have both high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. It is further shown that each ATS subscale provides distinctly different information about the attitudes of introductory statistics students.
Density Functional Theory for Studies of Multiple States of Inhomogeneous Fluids at Solid Surfaces and in Pores

Two new versions of the density functional theory (DFT), which correspond to the canonical ensemble and the Gibbs ensemble respectively, are applied to study multiple equilibrium states and associated hysteresis on examples of capillary condensation of argon in nanopores of MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieves and Kr adsorption on carbon. The canonical ensemble DFT (CEDFT) allows us to trace not only the stable and the metastable states along the hysteresis loop, but also the unstable states inside the hysteresis loop. The Gibbs ensemble DFT (GEDFT) allows us to determine precisely the points of equilibrium phase transitions in confined fluids.
Theory of Polymer Adsorption and Colloid Stabilization in Supercritical Fluids. 2. Copolymer and End-Grafted Stabilizers

The interaction of two planar surfaces coated with polymeric steric stabilizers is described as a function of polymer conformation with lattice-fluid self-consistent field theory. For block copolymer stabilizers, as the solvent density and thus solvent quality are lowered, expansion of the stabilizer block due to excluded volume interactions associated with an increase in adsorption competes with collapse due to a loss in stabilizer solubility. In contrast, grafted chains only collapse as solvent density is lowered. The effects of changing anchor and stabilizer solubility, block lengths, and anchor adsorption energy are explored. For two surfaces coated with either adsorbed copolymer or grafted stabilizers, free energies of interaction are calculated and used to identify the critical flocculation density (CFD). The CFD occurs very close to the upper critical solution density (UCSD) for the same molecular weight stabilizer tail in bulk solution. This correspondence between a surface property (CFD) and a bu...
Thermodynamic Characterization of Polypeptide Complex Coacervation

The interactions between a series of oppositely charged polypeptide pairs are probed using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) in combination with turbidity measurements and optical microscopy. Polypeptide complex coacervation is described as a sequence of two distinct binding steps using an empirical extension of a simple ITC binding model. The first step consists of the formation of soluble complexes from oppositely charged polypeptides (ion pairing), which in turn aggregate into insoluble interpolymer complexes in the second step (complex coacervation). Polypeptides have identical backbones and differ only in their charged side groups, making them attractive model systems for this work. The poly(l-ornithine hydrobromide) (PO)/poly(l-glutamic acid sodium salt) (PGlu) system is used to examine the effects of parameters such as the salt concentration, pH, temperature, degree of polymerization, and total polymer concentration on the thermodynamic characteristics of complexation. Complex coacervation in all probed systems is found to be endothermic, essentially an entropy-driven processes. Increasing the screening effect of the salt on the polyelectrolyte charges diminishes their propensity to interact, leading to a decrease in the observed energy change and coacervate quantity. The pH plays an important role in complex formation through its effect on the degree of ionization of the functional groups. Plotting the change in enthalpy with temperature allows the calculation of the heat capacity change (ΔC(p)) for the PO/PGlu interactions. Finally, ITC revealed that complex coacervation is promoted when higher total polymer concentrations or polypeptide chain lengths are used.
Elective hand surgery in the breast cancer patient with prior ipsilateral axillary dissection.

Background: We wished to determine if complications after elective hand surgery were greater in women with previous mastectomy and axillary dissection than in those without.
TH‐E‐220‐01: Applications of Proton Radiography to Image Guided Proton Therapy ‐ A Monte Carlo Study Involving the Most Likely Path Algorithm

Purpose: To optimize, through Monte Carlo simulation, a protonimagingsystem in localization of lungtumor motion and in quantification of proton range variations for image‐guidedproton therapy. Methods: The protonimagingsystem modeled consists of position detectors and a range telescope. The Monte Carlo N‐Particle eXtended (MCNPX) code with a particle‐tracking feature was used to evaluate imagingsystem performance in visualizing and quantifying proton radiological pathlength variations during respiration. Various proton path approximation algorithms were evaluated to improve the image quality and the optimal Most Likely Path (MLP) algorithm was selected. Tumor trajectories from protonradiographs were computed to image the real‐time respiratory phases and to provide feedback for gated treatment. The dosimetric gain of image‐guided gating treatment was quantified by calculating the equivalent uniform dose (EUD) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of organs at risk (OARs). Results: Image quality of protonradiograph with spatial resolution of ∼ 1.1 mm and range resolution of < 1 mm was achieved by applying the optimal MLP algorithm. Protonradiographs of two patient cases were reconstructed to determine tumor trajectories and radiological pathlength variations. The extracted tumor trajectories were within 1 mm of ground truth as determined from 4DCT. Utilizing tumor tracking, the margin was reduced for gated therapy. The dosimetric analysis shows that with image guidance, the EUD of OARs reduced by as much as 11 % and corresponding NTCP of organs at risk (OARs) reduced up to 16.5%. In our exploratory cases, we see potential gains from using protonradiography for lungcancer treatments. Conclusions: Simulation of protonradiograph suggests that protonimagingsystem can detecttumor motion and provide useful feedback information for gated treatment. The protonimagingsystem is potentially clinical useful for every‐day image‐guidedproton therapy to achieve better clinical outcome.
Integral and Separable Stimulus Structure in Iconic Memory: A Replication and Extension of Burns (1987)

Sperling's partial/whole-report methodology (Sperling, 1960) was employed with dimensions from integral and separable stimuli as selection cues. The redundancy of the stimulus combinations presented was varied in correlated, control, and orthogonal conditions, and selective readout performance was measured. In this way, the effects of the noncued dimension on selective readout of the cued dimension could be characterized for integral and separable stimuli. Results support and extend the findings recently presented by Burns and indicate that stimulus structure (e.g., integral, separable) is an important factor in determining the feature integration or feature segregation of dimensional combinations in selective readout from iconic memory.
Army Vehicle Primer Properties During Wet-Dry Cycling

Abstract The standard QUV/Prohesion accelerated testing method simulates weathering conditions by exposing coatings to alternating wet and dry conditions. The degradation of the coatings is influen...
Pole shifting for matrices over real algebras

Abstract Pole shifting of multivariable control system dot x = Ax + Bu over finite dimensional real algebras is studied. The main results are expressed in terms of the minimal polynomial of A + BF , where F is a feedback.
Extremely cold positrons for antihydrogen production

The storage of extremely cold (4 K) antiprotons in a Penning trap is an important step toward the creation and study of cold antihydrogen. The other required ingredient, the largest possible number of comparably cold positrons, is still lacking. These would be recombined in a high vacuum with the trapped antiprotons, already stored at a pressure below 5×10−17 Torr, thereby avoiding annihilation of the antihydrogen atoms before they can be used in high accuracy measurements or in controlled collision experiments. In an exploratory experiment, positrons from a 18 mCi22Na source follow fringing field lines of a 6 T superconducting solenoid through tiny apertures in the electrodes of a Penning trap to strike a tungsten (reflection) moderator. The positron beam is chopped mechanically and a lock-in directly detects a positron current of 2.5×106e+/s on the moderator. The use of a moderator, unlike an earlier experiment in which < 100 positrons were confined in vacuum, should greatly increase the number of positrons trapped in high vacuum.
Trapping of wide range mass-to-charge ions and dependence on matrix amount in internal source MALDI-FTMS

Internal ionization source MALDI-FTMS shows clear variation of number average molecular weight (Mn) for an equimolar mixture of four PEG polymers (PEG 2000, PEG 4000, PEG 6000, PEG 8000) when the 2,5-dihydroxy benzoic acid (DHB) matrix to PEG ratio is varied or the laser power is changed. As the matrix to analyte ratio is increased, the analyte signal of higher molecular mass ions increases and the signal of lower mass ions decreases. Laser power dependence studies show a similar trend. Possible explanations for these observations are discussed.
An Improved Network Model for Determining the Effective Thermal Conductivity of Particulate Thermal Interface Materials

Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) are particulate composite materials widely used in the microelectronics industry to reduce the thermal resistance between the device and heat sink. Predictive modeling using fundamental physical principles is critical to developing new TIMs since it can be used to quantify the effect of particle volume fraction and arrangements on the effective thermal conductivity. The existing analytical descriptions of thermal transport in particulate systems do not accurately account for the effect of inter-particle interactions, especially in the intermediate volume fractions of 30%–80%. An efficient Random Network Model (RNM) that captures the near-percolation transport in these particle-filled systems, taking into account the inter-particle interactions and random size distributions, was previously developed by the authors. The RNM is computationally efficient compared to full field simulations and was demonstrated to match to within 5% of the full field simulations and to within 15% of the experimentally measured values. The RNM approach uses a cylindrical region to approximate the thermal transport within the filler particles and to capture the inter-particle interactions. This approximation is less accurate when the polydispersivity of the particulate system increases. In the present paper, a novel semi-spherical approximation to the conductance of the fillers is presented as an alternative to the cylindrical region approximation used earlier. The new semi-spherical model is compared to the cylindrical model in two and three dimensions. In two dimensions, the semi-spherical model and the cylindrical model were compared with Finite Element Model (FEM) results. The comparison showed that the temperature distribution of the semi-spherical model matched more closely to the FEM model than the temperature distribution of the cylinder model when the radius ratio of the two particles increases. In three dimension microstructures, the semi-spherical model and the cylindrical model were compared under various volume fractions. The comparison showed that thermal conductivities of the semi-spherical model were always higher than thermal conductivities of the cylindrical model and were in better agreement with existing experimental data for particulate TIMs at 58% volume loading.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Framing What We See: The Role of Ornament in Structuring Louis Sullivan's Design Logic:

This paper presents an informal shape grammar that describes Louis Sullivan's system for ornamentation. The goal of the grammar is to serve as an analytical tool to describe Sullivan's existing designs, but also to generate new designs founded in the same logic. Towards this end, the grammar, which is organized into seven groups of rules, is used to generate several of Sullivan's compositions, as well as new designs by the author, as a vehicle both to explore the particular parameters of Sullivan's most intricate work, and to speculate about how Sullivan's system could be implemented in, and impacted by, contemporary technologies.
Comparative contractile actions of different kinins on human umbilical arteries and veins.

Abstract The present experiments demonstrate that three naturally occurring kinin polypeptides, namely bradykinin (BK), lysyl-bradykinin (Lys-BK) and methionyl-lysyl-bradykinin (Met-Lys-BK), induce potent contractile responses on isolated longitudinally and helically cut human umbilical arteries and veins (HUAV). An extrapolation of these in vitro contractile concentrations to the in vivo situation suggests that threshold concentrations for BK and Lys-BK would be in the range of maternal plasma levels, while umbilical cord plasma concentrations found at birth could be within a range whereby all three kinins could induce potent (25–60% maximal responses) contractions. These findings support previous suggestions that kinins may play a physiologic role in control of umbilical cord blood flow and effecting closure of the umbilical vessels at birth. The addition of a lysine moiety (in e.g. Lys-BK) or methionine and lysine moieties (in e.g. Met-Lys-BK) to BK not only can decrease the affinity of the resultant peptides for the kinin receptor in HUAV but the instrinsic activity as well. Although specific kinin receptors appear to exist in HUAV, the data suggest that heterogeneity of the kinin receptors, which subserve contraction, exist within the circularly and longitudinally arranged vascular smooth muscle cells.
Intestinal Motor Effects of a Unique Analgesic Agent

Abstract The effects of 2,3,5,6,11,11b-hexahydro-11,11b-dimethyl-14-indolizino(8,7,b)indole hydrochloride on intestinal motility were investigated. The indole derivative altered contractile activity in each preparation studied. Intestinal contractions in situ in anesthetized dogs were stimulated, but variable mild stimulatory or inhibitory effects occurred in cats and monkeys. Spontaneous contractions of monkey intestine were inhibited in vitro . Dose-related increases in motility were produced in dog intestine in vitro , although the experimental compound was considerably less potent than morphine as an intestinal stimulant. The stimulatory effects of the indole derivative in dog intestine were antagonized by atropine and by cyproheptadine. Indolazinoindole also inhibited propulsion of a test meal in mice in vivo .
Prehospital Evaluation and Management of Violent or Agitated Children

Emergency medical services personnel often encounter violent or agitated patients. Maintaining control of the situation and protecting the safety of the patient, providers, and bystanders may require the use of some form of physical restraint or sedation. This article presents information on the assessment and management of violent or agitated children and adolescents in the prehospital setting, including recommendations on the use of physical and chemical restraint.
On 2-local isometries on continuous vector-valued function spaces

Article history: Received 24 July 2008 Available online 24 December 2008 Submitted by J.D.M. Wright A (not necessarily linear) mapping Φ from a Banach space X to a Banach space Y is said to be a 2-local isometry if for any pair x, y of elements of X ,t here is as urjective linear isometry T : X → Y such that Tx = Φx and Ty = Φ y. We show that under certain conditions on locally compact Hausdorff spaces Q , K and a Banach space E ,e very 2-local isometry on C0(Q , E) to C0(K , E) is linear and surjective. We also show that every 2-local isometry on � p is linear and surjective for 1 p < ∞, p �= 2, but this fails for the Hilbert space � 2 .
The use of scenarios in corporate planning—eight case histories

Abstract In response to an increasingly turbulent environment, many firms are attempting to develop means to assess proposed strategies in the light of plausible alternative futures. Probably the most widely adopted technique for this purpose is multiple scenario analysis (MSA). The extent of MSA adoption among corporations varies considerably depending upon respective planning experience and top management's involvement and interest in MSA itself. The gamut of MSA adoption is examined among eight representative large U.S. corporations. It is clear that, while corporate interest is high, current formal scenario generating methodology is too complex or academic for practical corporate use. Instead, planners are using their own informal approaches to scenario generation.
New fabrication technique for random-hole optical fibers

A new type of optical fiber waveguide utilizing random holes in the cladding region has recently been fabricated. These random hole optical fibers (RHOFs) rely on holes that are random in both size and spatial location to confine light to the central core region. In this paper, a new technique to fabricate the holes in the cladding region will be presented. The holes are formed in-situ during the fiber drawing process. The new technique reported in this paper utilizes a material, which oxidizes to form a very large amount of “bubbles” at the temperature of the fiber draw. During the fiber drawing process, these bubbles are then drawn out into small diameter tubes within the fiber. By controlling the fabrication conditions, the amount, size, and spatial location of the porosity within the fiber can be controlled. The technique of fabrication and optical as well as SEM micrographs of the resulting structures will be discussed.
Development and experimentation with synthetic visible speech

We have implemented software for development of synthetic visual speech and perceptual experimentation on a UNIX workstation. We describe recent improvements in the speech synthesis and the capabilities of the development system. We also show how a typical experiment is programmed and describe our solutions for real-time experimental control under the UNIX operating system.
Organizing Rebellion: Rethinking High-Risk Mobilization and Social Networks in War

Research on violent mobilization broadly emphasizes who joins rebellions and why, but neglects to explain the timing or nature of participation. Support and logistical apparatuses play critical roles in sustaining armed conflict, but scholars have not explained role differentiation within militant organizations or accounted for the structures, processes, and practices that produce discrete categories of fighters, soldiers, and staff. Extant theories consequently conflate mobilization and participation in rebel organizations with frontline combat. This article argues that, to understand wartime mobilization and organizational resilience, scholars must situate militants in their organizational and social context. By tracing the emergence and evolution of female-dominated clandestine supply, financial, and information networks in 1980s Lebanon, it demonstrates that mobilization pathways and organizational subdivisions emerge from the systematic overlap between formal militant hierarchies and quotidian social networks. In doing so, this article elucidates the nuanced relationship between social structure, militant organizations, and sustained rebellion.