cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Independent predictors of mortality in adolescents ascertained for conduct disorder and substance use problems, their siblings and community controls

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Adolescents with conduct and substance use problems are at increased risk for premature mortality, but the extent to which these risk factors reflect family- or individual-level differences and account for shared or unique variance is unknown. This study examined common and independent contributions to mortality hazard in adolescents ascertained for conduct disorder (CD) and substance use disorder (SUD), their siblings and community controls, hypothesizing that individual differences in CD and SUD severity would explain unique variation in mortality risk beyond that due to clinical/control status and demographic factors. DESIGN: Mortality analysis in a prospective study (Genetics of Antisocial Drug Dependence Study) that began in 1993. Multi-site sample recruited in San Diego, California and Denver, Colorado, USA. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1463 clinical probands were recruited through the juvenile correctional system, court-mandated substance abuse treatment programs and correctional schools, along with 1399 of their siblings, and 904 controls. MEASUREMENTS: Mortality and cause-of-death were assessed via National Death Index search (released October, 2017). FINDINGS: There were 104 deaths documented among 3766 (1168 female) adolescents and young adults (average age 16.79 years at assessment, 32.69 years at death/censoring). Mortality hazard for clinical probands and their siblings was 4.99 times greater than that of controls (95% confidence interval = 2.40-10.40; P < 0.001). After accounting for demographic characteristics, site, clinical status, familial dependence and shared contributions of CD and SUD, CD independently predicted mortality hazard, whereas SUD severity did not. CONCLUSIONS: In the United States, youth with conduct and substance use disorders and their siblings face far greater risk of premature death than demographically similar community controls. In contrast to substance use disorder severity, conduct disorder is a robust predictor of unique variance in all-cause mortality hazard beyond other risk factors.
Growing up with the Bilingual Education Act: One Educator's Journey.

On January 2, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Bilingual Education Act. In doing so, he said: The bill contains a special provision establishing bilingual education programs fo...
UHPLC-MS/MS quantitation of porphyroxine in opium and application of porphyroxine-acetylated products as signature markers for heroin

Porphyroxine, a trace alkaloid in opium, was identified in the early 1800s and isolated/characterized in the 1960s. Recently, two significant porphyroxine-related byproducts found in the acidic and neutral extracts of illicit heroin were characterized by this laboratory as the N-acetyl-O14 -desmethyl-epi-porphyroxine (B) and N,O8 -diacetyl-O14 -desmethyl-epi-porphyroxine (C). The prevalence of the B and C compounds has been consistent in the following order of abundance for the thousands of authentic heroin samples analyzed: Southwest Asia (SWA) > South America (SA) > Southeast Asia (SEA) > Mexico (MEX). In this research, a rapid and efficient ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was developed to determine the content of porphyroxine and five primary alkaloids (morphine, codeine, thebaine, noscapine, and papaverine) in opium after extraction with methanol/water (50/50). The method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, recovery, and precision for porphyroxine. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) for porphyroxine was 2.5 ng/mL. The developed method was successfully applied to a total of 114 authentic opium samples from the major poppy-growing regions. The amount of porphyroxine was determined at the level of part per thousand (‰) and the relative concentrations to morphine were in the range of 1x10-4 and 1x10-2 with an order of SWA > SEA, SA > MEX for its average abundance, which is consistent with the order of the average abundance of its acetylated products (B, C) in illicit heroin. This study reveals the significance of porphyroxine and its acylated compounds in classifying heroin and opium samples to major geographical regions of production.
Predicting disruptive instabilities in controlled fusion plasmas through deep learning

Nuclear fusion power delivered by magnetic-confinement tokamak reactors holds the promise of sustainable and clean energy1. The avoidance of large-scale plasma instabilities called disruptions within these reactors2,3 is one of the most pressing challenges4,5, because disruptions can halt power production and damage key components. Disruptions are particularly harmful for large burning-plasma systems such as the multibillion-dollar International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project6 currently under construction, which aims to be the first reactor that produces more power from fusion than is injected to heat the plasma. Here we present a method based on deep learning for forecasting disruptions. Our method extends considerably the capabilities of previous strategies such as first-principles-based5 and classical machine-learning7–11 approaches. In particular, it delivers reliable predictions for machines other than the one on which it was trained—a crucial requirement for future large reactors that cannot afford training disruptions. Our approach takes advantage of high-dimensional training data to boost predictive performance while also engaging supercomputing resources at the largest scale to improve accuracy and speed. Trained on experimental data from the largest tokamaks in the United States (DIII-D12) and the world (Joint European Torus, JET13), our method can also be applied to specific tasks such as prediction with long warning times: this opens up the possibility of moving from passive disruption prediction to active reactor control and optimization. These initial results illustrate the potential for deep learning to accelerate progress in fusion-energy science and, more generally, in the understanding and prediction of complex physical systems. Using data from plasma-based tokamak nuclear reactors in the US and Europe, a machine-learning approach based on deep neural networks is taught to forecast disruptions, even those in machines on which the algorithm was not trained.
Cultural Scientists and Philosophers Can Meet in Methodology

The letters exchanged by Alfred Schutz and Talcott Parsons show how they failed to communicate. Nevertheless, “methodology” is equivalent to Wissenschaftslehre or theory of science for Schutz, there is a place for it in science as well as in philosophy, and both interlocutors recognized it and could have conversed in the connection, but, again, did not.
A comparative analysis of ventral hernia repair with a porcine hepatic-derived matrix and porcine dermal matrix

PURPOSE: Complex abdominal wall hernia repairs present unique challenges for patients and surgeons, often requiring mesh placement. Biologic materials may be utilized in repairs with high risk for postoperative complications. Porcine dermal meshes (PDM) are among the most commonly utilized biologic grafts. Porcine hepatic biologic mesh (PHM) was developed due to its unique characteristics. This study investigates outcomes following acute ventral hernia repair with a porcine-derived hepatic biologic mesh (Miromesh®) and porcine dermis (Strattice™) in a porcine animal model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty Yucatan pigs underwent hernia creation followed by immediate retrorectus ventral hernia repair and were survived for 1 (n = 4), 2 (n = 6), 6 (n = 5), or 12 (n = 5) months. Animals underwent excision of the anterior abdominal wall and immediate repair with both PDM and PHM positioned in the retrorectus space with 3 cm between grafts. Animals were survived and evaluated for tensiometric strength, histology, and protein analyses. RESULTS: Twenty animals underwent successful hernia creation and repair. Tensiometric strength was similar between repair groups at 1 (63.8 vs. 67.0 N, NS) and 2 months (80.0 vs. 76.1 N, NS), whereas at 6 (72.2 vs. 44.9 N, P= 0.01) and 12 months (66.7 vs. 46.3, P= 0.004), repair strength was greater in PHM. Histological evaluation demonstrated greater inflammation and fibrosis at 12 months in the PHM repairs. Collagen 1 deposition was greater in PHM at 1 (P = 0.1) and 2 (P = 0.015) months. There was no difference in collagen 3 deposition between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Ventral hernia repair with a porcine hepatic mesh results in greater repair strength than repair with porcine dermal grafts.
Decentralized Control Strategies for Unmanned Aircraft System Pursuit and Evasion

Pursuit and evasion game related tasks are one application area envisioned for future multi- vehicle Unmanned Aircraft systems (UAs). Pursuit and evasion games relate to tasks such as search and rescue operations, surveillance, and search and capture missions. They include two sub-tasks of finding evaders and then capturing them. Because there are two sub-tasks, there are different roles that each pursuer must take on during the game. This paper examines the amount of communication required to determine what role each UAs pursuer should take to achieve a quick location and capture of the evader. Results demonstrate that more robust internal control strategies offset role communication when the communications become limited.
Dysplastic hip anatomy alters muscle moment arm lengths, lines of action, and contributions to joint reaction forces during gait.

Abstract Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is characterized by abnormal bony anatomy, which causes detrimental hip joint loading and leads to secondary osteoarthritis. Hip joint loading depends, in part, on muscle-induced joint reaction forces (JRFs), and therefore, is influenced by hip muscle moment arm lengths (MALs) and lines of action (LoAs). The current study used subject-specific musculoskeletal models and in-vivo motion analysis to quantify the effects of DDH bony anatomy on dynamic muscle MALs, LoAs, and their contributions to JRF peaks during early (~17%) and late-stance (~52%) of gait. Compared to healthy hips (N = 15, 16–39 y/o), the abductor muscles in patients with untreated DDH (N = 15, 16–39 y/o) had smaller abduction MALs (e.g. anterior gluteus medius, 35.3 vs. 41.6 mm in early stance, 45.4 vs. 52.6 mm late stance, p ≤ 0.01) and more medially-directed LoAs. Abduction-adduction and rotation MALs also differed for major hip flexors such as rectus femoris and iliacus. The altered MALs in DDH corresponded to higher hip abductor forces, medial JRFs (1.26 vs. 0.87 × BW early stance, p = 0.03), and resultant JRFs (5.71 vs. 4.97 × BW late stance, p = 0.05). DDH anatomy not only affected hip muscle force generation in the primary plane of function, but also their out-of-plane mechanics, which collectively elevated JRFs. Overall, hip muscle MALs and their contributions to JRFs were significantly altered by DDH bony anatomy. Therefore, to better understand the mechanisms of joint degeneration and improve the efficacy of treatments for DDH, the dynamic anatomy-force relationships and multi-planar functions of the whole hip musculature must be collectively considered.
Metabolomic insights into the mode of action of natural products in the treatment of liver disease

The human population is burdened by morbidity and mortality from liver diseases that largely arise due to hepatitis virus infection, alcohol abuse, obesity, and diabetes. Despite 2 million global deaths per annum from liver disease, the number of drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of these disorders is sparse. Eastern medicine embodies a millennia long tradition in the use of natural product remedies for liver disease, which has attracted the interest of western medical practitioners and patients alike. Questions remain regarding the safety, efficacy, and quality of such natural products in a western medical context. Of particular concern is whether or not the mechanism of action of the product is known and, if the remedy has multiple natural constituents, how these interact at a biochemical, physiological, and clinical level. In this Commentary, we have examined the potential of metabolomics to help answer these queries, illustrated by investigations of yin chen hao tang, silymarin, and xiaozhang tie. In all cases, unique understandings of the mechanism of action of these natural products was obtained through metabolomic investigations in animal models, cell culture systems, and in clinical studies. Such mechanistic insights help assure the safety and efficacy of these natural product therapies.
Methylation extends the reach of liquid biopsy in cancer detection.

Measuring the methylation status of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in plasma holds great potential for the early, noninvasive detection of cancer. Two recent papers published in Nature Medicine showcase the successful application of cfDNA methylation-based cancer detection to two highly challenging scenarios.
Review of Malinowski & Tufi (2020): Reterritorializing Linguistic Landscapes: Questioning Boundaries and Opening Spaces

This article reviews Reterritorializing Linguistic Landscapes: Questioning Boundaries and Opening Spaces 978 1 3500 7796 6978 1 3500 7798 0£ 117.00
Relationship Between Pain Management Modality and Return Rates for Lower Back Pain in the Emergency Department.

Abstract Background Emerging evidence suggests that opioid use for patients with acute low back pain does not improve functional outcomes and contributes to long-term opioid use. Little is known about the impact of opioid administration in the emergency department (ED) for patients with low back pain. Objectives This study compares 30-day return rates after administration of various pain management modalities for emergency department (ED) patients with low back pain. Methods We conducted a retrospective multicenter observational study of patients in the ED who were diagnosed with low back pain and discharged home in 21 EDs between November 2018 and April 2020. Patients were categorized based on the pain management they received in the ED and compared with the reference group of patients receiving only nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acetaminophen, or a combination of the two. The proportions of ED return visits within 30 d for each medication category was calculated and associations between analgesia categories and proportions of return visits were assessed using logistic regression models to obtain odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Patients with low back pain who received any opioid, intravenous opioid, or intramuscular opioid had significantly increased proportions of a return visit within 30 d (32% [OR 1.78 {95% CI 1.21-2.64}]; 33% [OR 1.83 {95% CI 1.18-2.86}]; and 39% [OR 2.38 {95% CI 1.35-4.12}], respectively) when compared with patients who received nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (19%), acetaminophen (20%), or a combination of the two (8%). Conclusions Patients receiving opioids were more likely to return to the ED within 30 d than those receiving received nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or acetaminophen. This suggests that the use of opioids for low back pain in the ED may not be an effective strategy, and there may be an opportunity to appropriately treat more of these patients with nonopioid medications.
Impact and management of Campylobacter in human medicine--US perspective.

Abstract Viruses, enteric bacteria and parasites can all produce similar syndromes of acute enteritis, although the pathophysiology and molecular pathogenesis may vary widely. The severity of acute enteritis' varies greatly, and only a small fraction of cases undergo medical evaluation. There are over 200 000 000 episodes of acute enteritis annually in the USA, of which approximately 75 000 000 are foodborne. Fewer than 20% of estimated cases have a known etiology. Nearly half of the more than 4 000 000 cases of known foodborne bacterial enteritis are attributed to Campylobacter infections. The FoodNet active population-based surveillance system has demonstrated geographic variation in the incidence of Campylobacter infection, and generally declining incidence since 1996. Campylobacter jejuni infections vary in severity and duration. Antimicrobial therapy, especially if administered early, may hasten clinical resolution by 2–3 days. Therapy is generally restricted to individuals with moderate-to-severe disease and high-risk individuals (underlying immunodeficiency, chronic illness,,extremes of age, etc.). Approximately 10–15 % of C. jejuni isolates are fluoroquinolone resistant, although most strains are macrolide susceptible. Several acute intra-abdominal as well as extraintestinal complications can occur following C. jejuni enteritis, although bacteremia and metastatic infection are rare, except in high-risk patients. Post-infectious syndromes include post-dysenteric bowel dysfunction, the less frequent but more severe reactive arthritis (1%), and Guillain-Barre syndrome (0.1%). The recent demonstration that antibiotic administration for Escherichia coli 015TH7 hemorrhagic enteritis increases the risk of hemolyticuremic syndrome 5–10-fold forces reconsideration of empirical broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy for acute hemorrhagic enteritis, and supports narrow-spectrum erythromycin therapy for acute enteritis.
Can You Hear Me Now? Attorney Perceptions of Interpretation, Technology, and Power in Immigration Court:

The Executive Office for Immigration Review houses America's trial-level immigration courts, which adjudicate hundreds of thousands of cases annually, many resulting in deportations. Most proceedin...
Univariate and multivariate models for evaluating long-term changes in neurobiological development, maturity and aging.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the univariate and multivariate models for evaluating long-term changes in neurobiological development, maturity and aging. Studies of development are restricted from conception to sexual maturity and of aging to the progressive decline after reproductive maturity. Multicellular organisms have life cycles which can be subdivided after conception into development, maturity and senescence. Although these three stages represent only different aspects of a life cycle, there has been a separation of these stages, particularly for species with long life spans. Development has been defined in terms of cellular differentiation, growth and increasing functional capacity because of maturation. Maturity has generally been associated with reproductive capacity. Decreases in modifiability of behavior and the brain from development to maturity and senescence have been attributed to greater chemical and morphological “plasticity” of the brain prior to its adult organization. Results from a multidisciplinary study are presented in which stress effects on behavior, brain and neuroendocrine chemistry and morphology are examined during maturity and senescence in C57BL/I 0 mice.
A fast incremental algorithm for maintaining dispatchability of partially controllable plans

Autonomous systems operating in real-world environments must be able to plan, schedule, and execute missions while robustly adapting to uncertainty and disturbances. Previous work on dispatchable execution increases the efficiency of plan execution under uncertainty by introducing a temporal plan dispatcher that schedules events dynamically in response to disturbances, and a compiler that reduces a plan to a dispatchable form that enables real-time scheduling. However, this work does not address the situation where response requires modifying the plan in real-time. In these situations, after the autonomous system replans, compilation to dispatchable form must occur in near real-time. The key contribution of this paper is a fast Incremental Dynamic Control algorithm (IDC) for maintaining the dispatchability of a partially controllable plan, in response to incremental plan modifications by an online planner. IDC is developed as a set of incremental update rules that exploit the structure of the plan in order to efficiently propagate the effects of constraint loosening and tightening throughout the plan. IDC exhibits an order of magnitude improvement in compile time over the state of the art non-incremental algorithm applied to randomly generated problems. Its practicality is demonstrated on plans for coordinating rovers within the authors' hardware test-bed.
Title to Property, Title to Marriage: The Social Foundation of Adverse Possession and Common Law Marriage

This Article will show that adverse possession and common law marriage are related legal doctrines in that they share a common social foundation, a core component of human social ordering, which legal philosopher Lon Fuller called the “language of interaction.” Basically, the language of interaction includes shared norms that tell people how to behave and the likely behavior they may expect from others in various social contexts. This Article will show how adverse possession and marriage-like cohabitation generate expectations that there is ownership or a marriage. At some point, these expectations eventually may lead to legally binding conclusions that the parties are owners or spouses, even without any showing of reliance on them.After showing how adverse possession and common law marriage function to make more reliable expectations of ownership or marriage based on persons acting like owners or those in a marriage, this Article then considers whether adverse possession or common law marriage doctrine should be modified, abolished, or extended.
Aerobic fitness and upper extremity strength in patients aged 11 to 21 years with spinal cord dysfunction as compared to ideal weight and overweight controls.

Objective: To determine whether the aerobic fitness, upper extremity strength, and body composition in groups of adolescents with mobility impairment due to thoracic and upper lumbar spinal cord in...
A Guide to Expert Systems

This is a comprehensive introduction to expert systems designed specifically for the reader without a computer science background. Carefully written and illustrated, it covers working systems in commercial use, applications for which they are most suitable and guidelines for building a system. Technical managers, professionals, and researchers who are considering the implementation or application of expert systems will find this book to be an authoritative, but accessible guide to the state-of the-art. 0201083132B04062001
Improvement of surface smoothness of vapor-deposited polyimide coatings using a plastic mesh container as bounce pan

The surface of vapor-deposited polyimide (PI) coating onto a mechanically agitated mandrel has always been rougher than the NIF standard. The roughness has been attributed to various sources, including defects and contamination on substrate mandrels, abraded damage from mechanical agitation, or off-stoichiometric compositions. At near-stoichiometric deposition conditions, the surface roughness is primarily due to damages from collisions. Using a plastic mesh container with a suitable opening size and synchronized gentle tapping, we have greatly improved the surface quality of 1 mm diameter 4-5 μm thick polyimide shells. The plastic mesh improves the surface quality by limiting shell movements and reducing the impact force and number of collisions between the shells during coating. The surface smoothness of the as-deposited polyamic acid coating meets the NIF surface smoothness standard. Appropriate pressure and heat profiles are used to remove the mandrel and convert the thin polyamic acid coating into polyimide and preserve the surface smoothness. The AFM spheremaps, patch scans and WYKO optical interferometer measurement showed a root-mean-square smoothness ranging 3-5 nm.
A new likelihood ratio metric for the psychomotor vigilance test and its sensitivity to sleep loss

The Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) is a widely used assay of behavioural alertness sensitive to the effects of sleep loss and circadian misalignment. However, there is currently no accepted PVT composite outcome metric that captures response slowing, attentional lapses and compensatory premature reactions observed typically in sleep-deprived subjects. We developed a novel likelihood ratio metric (LRM) based on relative frequency distributions in 50 categories of reaction times (RT) and false starts in alert and sleep-deprived subjects (acute total sleep deprivation: n = 31 subjects). The LRM had the largest effect size both in a 33-h total sleep deprivation protocol [1.96; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.61-2.44; followed by response speed 1/RT, effect size 1.93, 95% CI: 1.55-2.65] and in a chronic partial sleep restriction protocol (1.22; 95% CI: 0.96-1.59; followed by response speed 1/RT, effect size 1.21, 95% CI: 0.94-1.59; 5 nights at 4 h sleep per night; n = 43 subjects). LRM scores correlated highly with response speed (R(2 ) = 0.986), and less well with five other common PVT outcome metrics (R(2 ) = 0.111-0.886). In conclusion, the new LRM is a sensitive PVT outcome metric with high statistical power that takes subtle sleep loss-related changes in the distribution of reaction times (including false starts) into account, is not prone to outliers, does not require baseline data and can be calculated and interpreted easily. Congruence between LRM and PVT response speed and their similar effect size rankings support the use of response speed as the primary, most sensitive and most parsimonious standard PVT outcome metric for determining neurobehavioural deficits from sleep loss.
Silicon nitride-on-silicon bar resonator using internal electrostatic transduction

This paper demonstrates an electrostatic transducer for lateral-mode bar resonators in which a high dielectric constant (high-K) thin film is sandwiched between polysilicon electrodes and the top surface of the resonator. This internal electrostatic transducer has several advantages over both air-gap electrostatic and piezoelectric transduction, including lower motional impedance (R/sub x/), compatibility with advanced scaled CMOS device technology, and extended dynamic range. The resonators are fabricated on 4 /spl mu/m thick heavily-doped SOI wafers with 200 nm thick silicon nitride film as the dielectric transducer. Using this configuration, we have demonstrated a 121 MHz silicon nitride-on-silicon lateral-mode bar resonator with a quality factor (Q) of 2,100 in air and motional impedance of 9 k/spl Omega/.
Aripiprazole-induced parkinsonism

Dopamine receptor antagonism is associated not only with antipsychotic action, but also with the generation of extrapyramidal side-effects of antipsychotic medications. Positron emission tomography studies reveal that an approximate 60–70% blockade of the D2 receptors is required for typical antipsy
Correlation of cellular ultrastructure before freezing, while frozen, and after thawing in assessing freeze-thaw-induced injury.

Summary An approach to the electron microscopic evaluation of the cryobiology of freeze-thaw-induced injury and its prevention is presented. It is based upon comparison of the ultrastructure of cells before freezing, after thawing, and in the frozen state, for correlation with parallel studies on functional integrity. The feasibility and value of the approach are discussed and illustrated both with isolated cells in suspension and with aggregated cells in tissue. Its wider use is suggested in the evaluation and possible explanation of mechanisms of freeze-thaw-induced injury and its prevention, with emphasis on the site and characteristics of ice formed in various cell types.
Modeling Individual Damped Linear Oscillator Processes with Differential Equations: Using Surrogate Data Analysis to Estimate the Smoothing Parameter.

Among the many methods available for modeling intraindividual time series, differential equation modeling has several advantages that make it promising for applications to psychological data. One interesting differential equation model is that of the damped linear oscillator (DLO), which can be used to model variables that have a tendency to fluctuate around some typical, or equilibrium, value. Methods available for fitting the damped linear oscillator model using differential equation modeling can yield biased parameter estimates when applied to univariate time series. The degree of this bias depends on a smoothing–like parameter, which balances the need for increasing smoothing to minimize error variance but not smoothing so much as to obscure change of interest. This article explores a technique that uses surrogate data analysis to select such a parameter, thereby producing approximately unbiased parameter estimates. Furthermore the smoothing parameter, which is usually researcher-selected, is produced...
Expanding the research agenda for instructional communication: Raising some unasked questions

During a time when the disciplines of education and communication have been waging lively and far‐reaching debates about models of instruction, theories of communication, and methods of inquiry, the sub‐discipline of instructional communication has remained insulated from these discussions. As a result, the research has not fully addressed many of the most compelling practical and theoretical questions about communication in education. Six questions are identified that have been insufficiently explored by instructional communication researchers. The analysis reveals that the limited approach to inquiry has had the effect of privileging existing social and political arrangements. Alternative perspectives, largely informed by critical approaches to pedagogy, suggest a rich research agenda for instructional communication scholars.
Effect of Median Frequency Levels upon the Roughness of Jittered Stimuli

This study investigated the relationship between median frequency levels and roughness perception for jittered stimuli. Five median frequency levels were combined with four jitter excursions to for...
Impact-induced fracture in a quasi-isotropic laminate

A systematic study of impact-induced fracture in a quasi-isotropic laminated composite is carried out. The main focus of the study is to understand damage initiation when a laminate is subjected to the impact of a foreign object. The total incipient damage of a laminate subjected to impact at higher than threshold velocity is also presented. The incipient damage is restricted to small growth from the initiation of the damage. The experimentally collected data are interpreted using a two-dimensional plane-strain finite-element analysis. The qualitative comparison suggests that the skew cracks in the proximal layers are primarily due to transverse shear stress. Skew cracks in the middle layers are also due to transverse shear stress. Vertical cracks in the distal layer are due to flexural stress transverse to the fiber orientation of the layer.
An introduction to dietary/supplemental omega-3 fatty acids for general health and prevention: Part II

The correction of a subtle nutritional deficiency that may reduce the risk of a future chronic disease is indeed a challenge. However, some specific examples in the past, such as the addition of folic acid to prevent neural tube defects and calcium and vitamin D to prevent osteoporosis, should provide some encouragement that some conditions can be prevented with the appropriate addition of a deficient compound. One of the most intriguing current and future impacts on public health may come from a higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids, such as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The omega-3 fatty acids continue to accumulate research that suggests that they may prevent a variety of diverse chronic diseases and potentially some acute clinical scenarios. In the first part of this article, the potential for these compounds to prevent certain cardiovascular conditions are discussed. In the second part, the potential for an impact in arthritis, numerous areas of cancer research, depression, maternal and child health, neurologic diseases, osteoporosis, and other medical disciplines are also briefly covered. The future appears bright for these agents, but specifically which conditions, who qualifies, testing, frequency, adequate sources, future trials, and numerous other questions need to be addressed and answered before the potential impact can catch up to the recent hype.
Architectural analysis of photovoltaic systems subjected to partial shading with a simple DC-DC step-up converter

The output voltage of parallel connected solar cells is very low to drive the load connected across its terminals even though they are efficient in delivering the peak output power even under extreme partial shading conditions. A basic dc-dc boost converter circuit is used in this paper to evaluate the performance of a parallel architecture in comparison with series and series-parallel architectures. SPICE simulations are used to analyze the architectures and identify the best configuration in terms of power conversion efficiency under different partial shading scenarios as well as in normal operation.
Effect of Grain Size and Distribution on Permeability and Mechanical Behavior of Acrylamide Grouted Sand

In order to investigate the effects of grain size and distribution of sand on the mechanical properties and permeability of grouted sands, several gradations of sands were grouted using acrylamide chemical grout and tested. The influence of sand density, fines content [particle size <0.075 mm (0.0029 in.)], curing condition and time, and grout dilution were investigated. Groutability of sand with various fines content was investigated using injection pressure up to 138 kPa (20 psi), equivalent to injection hydraulic gradient of 155. From the groutability study a relationship between grouting pressure and fines content have been developed. Grouted sand specimens were cured in moist, submerged in water and dry (air cured) conditions for 3, 7, and 28 days and tested. The stress-strain relationships were developed to characterize effect of curing condition and curing time on the mechanical behavior of acrylamide grouted sands. The grout was diluted with water up to 50% and its effect on grouted sand mechanical properties and permeability behavior was studied. Permeability of grouted sands was measured using constant head permeability tests over a period of 120 days. Based on the test results, relationship between unconfined compressive strength and permeability of acrylamide-grouted sand was investigated. Particle size distribution and fines content influenced the strength, modulus and stress-strain relationship but had minimal effect on the failure strain and permeability of grouted sand. Grouted sand strength varied from 290 kPa (42 psi) to 820 kPa (119 psi). The behavior of acrylamide grouted sand was analyzed based on the test variables and quantified using simple mathematical relationships.
Theoretical comparisons of individual success between phenotypically pure and mixed generalist predator populations

Abstract We investigated by individual-based simulations the role of individual variation in spider predatory foraging strategies on prey captures and spider fecundity. We created 18 generalist intraspecific spider phenotypes by crossing 3 levels of aggressiveness with 6 strategies of prey species selection. These phenotypes were tested in 1 and 4 patches in a fixed area habitat and with 2 and 5 prey species. In a first group of simulations, spiders of all phenotypes competed for prey in a mixed-phenotype and stochastic environment. Prey selection strategy had a highly significant effect on predator success. Aggressiveness had no direct effect. Individual variation within phenotypes was high. Habitat fragmentation caused the decline of prey numbers and, thus, prey captures and spider fecundity. Increased prey richness enhanced spider fecundity. The phenotype that achieved the highest fecundity and captured the most prey exhibited high aggressiveness while specializing on the prey type which was statistically predicted to be numerically prominent in the next time interval. The phenotype that did the least well in the system was not aggressive and specialized on a randomly chosen prey type per time interval. In the second set of simulations, we completed separate trial runs of the “best” and “worst” phenotypes for spider populations composed of a single phenotype. Here, the aggressive and statistical strategy captured less prey and was less fecund than the non-aggressive, random phenotype. Thus, predation results from pure phenotype populations do not apply to mixed-phenotype ones.
Predicting emotional responses to potentially traumatic events from pre-exposure waking cortisol levels: a longitudinal study of police and firefighters

There is a large literature demonstrating that individuals who have experienced traumatic events have alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. However, the existing literature does not address the extent to which these alterations represent pre-existing risk factors for developing psychopathology upon exposure to a significant stressor. In the current study, we examined the relationship between waking salivary cortisol level and physiological, personality, and psychological measures in 60 firefighters and police trainees during training, and then again after exposure to a highly stressful, potentially traumatic event (PTE). Waking cortisol was negatively associated with neuroticism, but positively associated with physiological reactivity to loud tones and fear conditioning when assessed during training. Longitudinally, there were significant negative correlations between pre-PTE waking cortisol and post-PTE negative mood and anxiety symptoms, but a positive correlation (trend) between pre-PTE waking cortisol and post-PTE physiological reactivity during recollection of the PTE. Thus, waking cortisol level may serve to predict divergent types of emotional sequelae following PTEs.
Ion charge state distributions of pulsed vacuum arcs-interpretation of their temporal development

Ion charge states of vacuum arcs are enhanced at the beginning of each arc pulse. The ion charge states drop with time and become steady-state after about 100 /spl mu/s, with some dependence on the cathode material. A reduction of ion charge states has been observed at the end of each are pulse. In this note it is shown that the charge-state-dependent ion drift velocity in the plasma expansion zone contributes to the effect measured by the time-of-flight method, although it is not solely responsible for it. A quantitative evaluation as well as literature data of other measuring methods prove the physical significance of the effects observed.
Making All Children Winners: Confronting Social Justice Issues to Redeem America's Soul.

Purpose – “If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound with mine, then come, let's work together”. These words of Lill Watson, an indigenous activist, frame the context for this article. The purpose of this research was to examine the historical evolution of “grassroots movement leadership” model and its incarnation in the present time. A corollary purpose focused on how this model can transform urban schools by focusing on “movement” efforts of one large urban school district that espouses the values of this form of leadership. As part of a larger reform effort, the district engaged students, parents, teachers, school leaders and communities in becoming equal partners in urban school reform in an effort to co‐create schools and communities that might lead all of us toward liberation and learning.Design/methodology/approach – Theory and practice come together through the lens of three researchers who operate from a similar philosophical sta...
The Synthesis of Chiral Hmpa Analogues

Abstract In connection with our interest in alkoxide accelerated C–-C bond cleavage/rearrangements1 we were intrigued by the solvent trispyrollidinophos-phoramide (TPPA) 1.2 This commercially available3 material is more polar than HMPA. The well known activation of enolate and carbanion reactions by HMPA4 and the current interest5 in asymmetric catalysis suggested that chiral TPPA analogues might offer a convenient entry into a new series of chiral ligands for potential asymmetric organometallic reactions. Chiral phosphoramides of this type possess the distinct advantage over chiral crown ethers6 of ease of synthesis. They suffer from the same disadvantage: the chiral environment surrounds the cation, whereas the asymmetry of reaction intermediates usually involves the anion.
The Sheep Erythrocyte Receptor and Both α and β Chains of the Human T‐Lymphocyte Antigen Receptor Bind the Mitogenic Lectin (Phytohaemagglutinin) from Phaseolus vulgaris

We have studied the interaction of mitogenic lectins such as phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A) with both surface molecules which, by the use of monoclonal antibodies, are known to trigger T-cell mitogenesis. Monoclonal antibodies recognizing the T-lymphocyte receptor for antigen (Ti) and/or its associated structure, CD3, activate T cells. More recently, a second pathway of activation has been described which involves the sheep erythrocyte binding glycoprotein CD2, a surface molecule distinct from Ti-CD3. Lysates from surface-iodinated T-leukaemia cell lines were treated with lectin and affinity purified anti-lectin antibodies coupled to protein A-Sepharose. We have shown that eluates from Con A/anti-Con A or PHA/anti-PHA immunoprecipitates contained Ti, since a rabbit anti-T alpha serum, which recognizes the native and denatured forms of the constant region of the alpha chain, immunoprecipitated Ti from these eluates. Furthermore, Ti immunoprecipitated by anti-T alpha serum from lysates of surface iodinated E+ lymphocytes was binding to PHA after elution from the immunoprecipitate. When the purified Ti molecule was reduced and alkylated, allowing the permanent dissociation of its alpha and beta subunits, PHA interacted with both chains, whereas anti-T alpha serum immunoprecipitated the alpha chain only. Altogether, these results demonstrate that PHA interacts with both chains of the T cell receptor for antigen on human peripheral T lymphocytes. With the HPB-ALL tumour line, a similar approach showed that both alpha and beta chains of Ti bind to Con A and Ulex europaeus 1 but not Helix pomatia. Affinity chromatography on immobilized lectins and immunoprecipitation with lectin/anti-lectin antibodies were employed to test whether CD2 binds to PHA and Con A. The results show that CD2 from human peripheral T lymphocytes binds both lectins but with a lower affinity for PHA than Con A.
A generalization of the Auslander–Buchsbaum formula

Let R be a local ring, and let M and N be nonzero nitely generated R-modules. In this paper we demonstrate the equality
Outpatient surgery performed in an ambulatory surgery center versus a hospital: comparison of perioperative time intervals

Abstract Background In 2005, the authors' ambulatory surgery center (ASC) was closed, and the breast operations performed there were integrated into the hospital. This change allowed a comparison of perioperative time intervals for patients undergoing these procedures at an outpatient facility versus a hospital. Methods The records of 92 patients who underwent breast operations at the ASC between January 2004 and December 2005 were compared with those of 92 patients who underwent outpatient breast operations at the hospital starting January 2006. Anesthetic techniques, recovery room events, and perioperative time intervals were analyzed. Results Age and recovery room times were similar. Complications were negligible at both facilities. The preoperative, operating room entry to incision, and total facility time intervals significantly increased when breast cases were moved back to the hospital setting. Conclusions These data demonstrate significantly shorter perioperative time intervals at the ASC. Incorporating time-saving practices from the outpatient setting could contribute to greater hospital productivity.
Positron Emission Tomographic Scans in Lymphoma: Convention and Controversy

The use of sensitive and specific imaging techniques for accurate initial staging and evaluation of response to therapy in patients with lymphoma is essential for their optimal management. Fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) integrated with computed tomography (CT) has emerged as a powerful imaging tool and is being routinely used in staging, response evaluation, and posttreatment surveillance in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma. PET/CT is currently widely used in clinical practice, but the established clinical benefit is currently restricted to the posttreatment evaluation of Hodgkin lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and follicular lymphoma. Although used in other histologic subtypes and in other clinical situations including response assessment, its impact on patient outcome remains to be demonstrated. We performed a literature search of PubMed from 1999 to 2011 using the following keywords: PET scan, FDG-PET, PET/CT, lymphoma. This review addresses the challenges and controversies in the use of PET/CT scans in the management of patients with lymphoma.
NMR STUDY OF THE METABOLIC 15N ISOTOPIC ENRICHMENT OF CYANOPHYCIN SYNTHESIZED BY THE CYANOBACTERIUM SYNECHOCYSTIS SP. STRAIN PCC 6308

1H, 13C and 15N nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been used to characterize cyanophycin, a multi-l-arginyl-poly-[l-aspartic acid] polypeptide from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6308. 1H, 13C and 15N chemical shifts and 1JHN and 1JCN coupling constants were measured in isolated 15N-labeled cyanophycin, and showed chemical shift values and J-couplings consistent with the reported polypeptide structure. 15N enrichment levels were determined from the extent of 1H-15N J-coupling in 1H NMR spectra of cyanophycin. Similar experiments using 13C-15N coupling in 13C NMR spectra were not useful in determining enrichment levels.