cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
H2O-Cloud: A Resource and Quality of Service-Aware Task Scheduling Framework for Warehouse-Scale Data Centers -- A Hierarchical Hybrid DRL (Deep Reinforcement Learning) based Approach

Cloud computing has attracted both end-users and Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) in recent years. Improving resource utilization rate (RUtR), such as CPU and memory usages on servers, while maintaining Quality-of-Service (QoS) is one key challenge faced by CSPs with warehouse-scale data centers. Prior works proposed various algorithms to reduce energy cost or to improve RUtR, which either lack the fine-grained task scheduling capabilities, or fail to take a comprehensive system model into consideration. This article presents H2O-Cloud, a Hierarchical and Hybrid Online task scheduling framework for warehouse-scale CSPs, to improve resource usage effectiveness while maintaining QoS. H2O-Cloud is highly scalable and considers comprehensive information such as various workload scenarios, cloud platform configurations, user request information and dynamic pricing model. The hierarchy and hybridity of the framework, combined with its deep reinforcement learning (DRL) engines, enable H2O-Cloud to efficiently start on-the-go scheduling and learning in an unpredictable environment without pre-training. Our experiments confirm the high efficiency of the proposed H2O-Cloud when compared to baseline approaches, in terms of energy and cost while maintaining QoS. Compared with a state-of-the-art DRL-based algorithm, H2O-Cloud achieves up to 201.17% energy cost efficiency improvement, 47.88% energy efficiency improvement and 551.76% reward rate improvement.
Caste Differences in Hypertension Among Women in India: Diminishing Health Returns to Socioeconomic Status for Lower Caste Groups.

The caste system is a relatively rigid system of social hierarchy in India. The caste membership defines one’s access to resources and life opportunities. A growing body of research suggests that lower caste groups have an excess burden of morbidity and mortality in India. However, it is not clear as to what extent caste differences in health are conditioned by socioeconomic status (SES) indicators. This study examined the caste differences in hypertension and tested whether caste differences in hypertension are conditioned by education and household wealth in a representative sample of women in India. This study used data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015–2016, India. The analysis is based on a nationally representative sample of 648,064 adult women aged 15–49 years. We used logistic regression to examine whether the association between caste and hypertension varied by education and wealth index using interactions and controlling for potential confounders. The regression models suggest that scheduled tribes and non-caste members have the highest odds of hypertension compared with privileged upper caste members. Interaction models indicate complex intersections of caste, education, and wealth index. The predicted probabilities derived from these interaction models suggest that while SES indicators are inversely associated with the odds of hypertension, the inverse patterning was significantly weaker in other backward classes and more protective in non-caste members compared with upper caste. Additionally, caste difference in predictive risk of hypertension tends to diverge at the lower levels of SES and become narrower at the higher levels of SES. These findings provide evidence of differential returns to SES and have implications for understanding the causes of SES patterning in health among disadvantaged caste groups in India.
Dynamics of Green Building Regulation: A Grounded Theory Study of Industry Practice Change

This research project studied the perceptions of climate-focused regulation and business practices to derive a grounded theory about the way change propagates through companies in the building construction industry. Qualitative data was gathered from interviews with real estate executives in two major metropolitan areas. After the multi-pass coding of this data, a casual mapping analysis led to a grounded theory about the way green building regulation impacts the fragmented business ecosystem of real estate development, design, and construction in urban areas. The findings of this research suggest the ways that regulation impacts marketplace demand and motivates professionals to adopt competencies and practices to become more competitive in the market for services.
Non-fiction Virtual Reality Stories of Emigration: Points of Viewing and Creating for the Classroom

Chris Milk, in his 2015 TedTalk on Virtual Reality, called VR “the ultimate empathy machine.” The claim is that “immersive storytelling” will give participants a deeper experience. The hope is that the immersion will encourage a visceral reaction to respond, in many cases to an injustice, or at the very least, to learn more about an issue that seems distant to one’s immediate life. Others argue that claims for teaching empathy are overblown and/or irresponsible. This chapter explores explicit teaching of points of view and VR creation for diverse urban classrooms where students already have life knowledge on a common VR topic: emigration. Interviews, classroom trials, and evaluations of documentary VR are used to suggest meaningful investigations and applications by teachers and students.
Imperial Debris: Reflections on the Lisbon Cityscape in Contemporary Portuguese Fiction

This essay focuses on the literary image of contemporary Lisbon. Through an analysis of the anthology Lisbon Tales and Trails (2017) and Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida’s Luanda, Lisboa, Paraiso (2018), I examine how Lisbon’s representation on a global stage exposes the complexities and ambiguities of a metropolitan area deeply connected to the legacies of empire. Moving through fictional texts from the city center to the suburban periphery, I offer a focused reflection on Lisbon’s postcolonial/post-imperial ethnoscape.
Down the Rabbit Hole: The Madness of State Film Incentives as a 'Solution' to Runaway Production

This article is a "sequel" to my first law review article on runaway productions called "Through the Looking Glass": Runaway Productions and "Hollywood Economics," published in The University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor and Employment Law in August 2007. Since 2007, there has been a race to the bottom as virtually every state has enacted significant, if not detrimentally generous, tax incentives to lure film and television production. The efficacy of these incentives is evaluated at length, with particular attention paid to the origin and implementation of tax incentives in California, Massachusetts and Louisiana - states with colorful backgrounds on this issue. The paper suggests that the current "solution" to the runaway production problem (competing state incentives) is counter-productive to the point of becoming the problem and calls for the enactment of a single national tax incentive for the entire nation to better compete with foreign production locales like Canada.
Insights into the mismatch discrimination mechanism of Y-family DNA polymerase Dpo4

Nucleobases within DNA are attacked by reactive oxygen species to produce 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine (oxoG) and 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoadenine (oxoA) as major oxidative lesions. The high mutagenicity of oxoG is attributed to the lesion's ability to adopt syn-oxoG:anti-dA with Watson-Crick-like geometry. Recent studies have revealed that Sulfolobus solfataricus P2 DNA polymerase IV (Dpo4) inserts nucleotide opposite oxoA in an error-prone manner and accommodates syn-oxoA:anti-dGTP with Watson-Crick-like geometry, highlighting a promutagenic nature of oxoA. To gain further insights into the bypass of oxoA by Dpo4, we have conducted kinetic and structural studies of Dpo4 extending oxoA:dT and oxoA:dG by incorporating dATP opposite templating dT. The extension past oxoA:dG was ∼5-fold less efficient than that past oxoA:dT. Structural studies revealed that Dpo4 accommodated dT:dATP base pair past anti-oxoA:dT with little structural distortion. In the Dpo4-oxoA:dG extension structure, oxoA was in an anti conformation and did not form hydrogen bonds with the primer terminus base. Unexpectedely, the dG opposite oxoA exited the primer terminus site and resided in an extrahelical site, where it engaged in minor groove contacts to the two immediate upstream bases. The extrahelical dG conformation appears to be induced by the stabilization of anti-oxoA conformation via bifurcated hydrogen bonds with Arg332. This unprecedented structure suggests that Dpo4 may use Arg332 to sense 8-oxopurines at the primer terminus site and slow the extension from the mismatch by promoting anti conformation of 8-oxopurines.
Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of tunneling in quantum solids at very low temperatures.

Abstract A review is given of recent NMR experiments at ultra-low temperatures that explore properties of quantum fluids and solids in regimes where unusual dynamics characterizes the low temperature behavior. It is shown how careful analysis of the NMR spin–spin and spin–lattice relaxation rates and spectral properties can determine fundamental thermodynamic features that are otherwise difficult to observe using standard thermodynamic methods. The review focuses on the observation of the diffusion of vacancies and isotopic impurities in solid hydrogen and solid helium by quantum tunneling at low temperatures.
Evaluation of performance of reused HIVCHEK 1 + 2 test blocks which have shown negative result: a reliable method for rural hospital?

The performance of the reusing of test membranes which have been used previously for negative tests for the detection of antibody to HIV (HIVCHEK 1+2 of Ortho Diagnostic Systems Paris France) was evaluated under field conditions. The sensitivity and specificity of the reusing strategy compared with a HIV determination obtained by using new HIVCHECK 1+2 tests were 89.1% and 100% respectively. The positive predictive value was 100% and the negative predictive value was 91.5%. The authors conclude that the reduction in sensitivity of the reusing strategy in comparison with the use of new tests makes this strategy ethically unacceptable for the detection of HIV infection in blood donors. On the other hand the reusing strategy could be very useful for diagnostic purposes and for epidemiological HIV surveillance in resource-poor countries. (authors)
Accurate characterization and understanding of interface trap density trends between atomic layer deposited dielectrics and AlGaN/GaN with bonding constraint theory

Many dielectrics have been proposed for the gate stack or passivation of AlGaN/GaN based metal oxide semiconductor heterojunction field effect transistors, to reduce gate leakage and current collapse, both for power and RF applications. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is preferred for dielectric deposition as it provides uniform, conformal, and high quality films with precise monolayer control of film thickness. Identification of the optimum ALD dielectric for the gate stack or passivation requires a critical investigation of traps created at the dielectric/AlGaN interface. In this work, a pulsed-IV traps characterization method has been used for accurate characterization of interface traps with a variety of ALD dielectrics. High-k dielectrics (HfO2, HfAlO, and Al2O3) are found to host a high density of interface traps with AlGaN. In contrast, ALD SiO2 shows the lowest interface trap density (<2 × 1012 cm−2) after annealing above 600 °C in N2 for 60 s. The trend in observed trap densities is subsequently ex...
The shape of the history of science profession, 2038: a prospective retrospective.

ABSTRACTPresented as a retrospective speech by the president of the History of Science Society in 2038, this essay imagines a future for the profession of the history of science in the United States. Acknowledging that self-described historians of science do not fully control the subject, it considers the place of the history of science in a future university landscape in which interdisciplinary “studies” have supplanted disciplines as the fundamental organizing structure. It then situates this academic scene within a broader professional landscape in which nonuniversity institutions play an expanded role in bringing the history of science directly to the public. Here the essay focuses on an imagined Science Heritage Center that blends commitments to innovative scholarly research, public history techniques of experiential learning, and updated technologies of virtual reality. It further suggests an unexpected direction for developing a collaborative “citizen history of science.”
Emission Spectrum of N 2 O

IN the course of a study of the luminescence of gases irradiated by X-rays (to be published), some unknown bands were observed from nitrous oxide. All the other gases studied emit well-known band systems, usually of the parent gas or its ion. Gases at pressures between 1 and 700 mm. were irradiated with soft X-rays (45 kV. peak) from a beryllium-window tube, and the spectra photographed or scanned with a photomultiplier through a Hilger D.96 f 2 quartz spectrograph. The emission from nitrous oxide consisted of the unknown bands at about 3680, 3540 and 3380 A. and the nitric oxide β system (the bands in the ν′ = 0 progression between ν″ = 3 and 13 were observed). The latter system has been observed previously as fluorescence from nitrous oxide irradiated with vacuum ultra-violet light1. The two sets of bands differ in their dependence on pressure; the β bands suffer little collisional deactivation at high pressures whereas the new bands are strongly ‘quenched’, but they must be much more strongly excited since the intensities are roughly comparable at 600 mm. Since carbon dioxide excited by X-rays emits CO2+ bands (2∑u − 2Πg, ref. 2, and 2Πu − 2Πg, ref. 3) and these show a similar pressure dependence, the new bands are tentatively ascribed to N2O+. Emission by nitrous oxide (N2O) itself is unlikely from a consideration of its excited states4.
Application of remotely sensed land-use information to improve estimates of streamflow characteristics, volume 8

The author has identified the following significant results. Land use data derived from high altitude photography and satellite imagery were studied for 49 basins in Delaware, and eastern Maryland and Virginia. Applying multiple regression techniques to a network of gaging stations monitoring runoff from 39 of the basins, demonstrated that land use data from high altitude photography provided an effective means of significantly improving estimates of stream flow. Forty stream flow characteristic equations for incorporating remotely sensed land use information, were compared with a control set of equations using map derived land cover. Significant improvement was detected in six equations where level 1 data was added and in five equations where level 2 information was utilized. Only four equations were improved significantly using land use data derived from LANDSAT imagery. Significant losses in accuracy due to the use of remotely sensed land use information were detected only in estimates of flood peaks. Losses in accuracy for flood peaks were probably due to land cover changes associated with temporal differences among the primary land use data sources.
The Civic-Minded Instructional Designers (CMID) framework: Educating instructional designers with community-based service-learning approaches

This dissertation examines the issue of academic preparation of future professional instructional designers in the context of higher academic institutions. It is presented in nontraditional dissertation format as approved by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Iowa State University. The dissertation is comprised of three publishable journal articles that would represent Chapters 2, 3 and 4 of a more traditional dissertation, along with introduction and conclusion chapters. The dissertation argues that current approaches to educate instructional designers are career-centered and technically-oriented, resulting in production of an elite group of instructional designers designers whose services become exclusively available only to selective clients and therefore disregarding the majority of others. The first study is therefore focused on understanding the concept of civic professionalism in Instructional Design and Technology (IDT). A novel framework based on synthesis of literature is proposed to educate civic-minded instructional designers. Using this proposed Civic-Minded Instructional Designers (CMID) framework to design an instructional experience, the second ethnographic study investigates just how a group of three IDT students enacted their civic-minded agencies and discusses the challenges they faced in their roles as consultants to three non-profit organizations. Data were gathered through participantobservation techniques and complemented with participants’ interviews, analyses of their works, and a researcher’s reflective journal. Findings reveal that students enacted their civicminded activity by addressing community members’ needs, giving voices to their community partners, addressing issue of projects’ sustainability, being sensitive to community partners’ perspectives while diplomatically voicing professional opinions, and acknowledging their
Model Eliciting Activities: Fostering 21st Century Learners

Real world mathematical modeling activities can develop needed and valuable 21st century skills. The knowledge and skills to become adept at mathematical modeling need to develop over time and students in the elementary grades should have experiences with mathematical modeling. For this to occur elementary teachers need to have positive experiences themselves with mathematical modeling. This paper describes how a four-part 21st century skills framework—innovate, synthesize, adapt, and communicate—was integrated with a mathematical modeling activity that one class of pre-service elementary teachers completed. The pre-service elementary teachers were able to generate a variety of ideas, communicate effectively, and work towards successful solutions by using their resources and prior knowledge.
A Verification Strategy for Timing-Constrained Systems

Verification of many properties can be done without regard to the speed of the components of a finite-state system. However, some of the properties can be verified only under certain timing constraints. We propose a new verification strategy for timing constrained finite-state systems. The strategy can avoid the state space explosion problem for a class of systems. A model of such systems, called timed L-process, compatible with the strategy, is also developed.
Error-correcting codes on the towers of Hanoi graphs

Abstract A perfect one-error-correcting code on a graph is a subset of the vertices so that no two vertices in the subset are adjacent and each vertex not in the subset is adjacent to exactly one vertex in the subset. We show that the Towers of Hanoi puzzle defines an infinite family of graphs, and that each such graph supports a perfect one-error-correcting code. We show that these codes are essentially unique. Our characterization of the codewords as those ternary strings with an even number of 1's and an even number of 2's, makes generation and decoding computationally easy. In particular, decoding can be carried out by a two-pass finite state machine. We also show that determining if a graph can support a perfect one-error-correcting code is an NP-complete problem.
Ellipse-offset approach and inclined zig-zag method for multi-axis roughing of ruled surface pockets

This paper presents a new method for 5-axis rough cutting of ruled surface pockets. An inclined zig-zag method is proposed for rough cutting the core material region, and an ellipse-offset method is developed for semi-roughing the residual material regions of ruled surface pockets. The ellipse-offset method is developed to calculate the non-constant offset curves for 5-axis tool path planning of rough cutting. Different from the traditional 21/2D machining method, the developed ellipse-offset method allows the cutter to change its tool orientation and to get as close to the part surface as possible in roughing. The proposed method allows the manufacturing engineers to use 5-axis machining to rough cut the parts to near-finish shape for finishing. Computer implementation and illustrative examples are presented in this paper.
Beyond Cataloging the Library of Babel

In this issue of Chemistry & Biology , Landwehr et al. [1] characterize a diverse set of chimeric cytochrome P450s acting on a diverse set of substrates. Statistical analysis of the activity profiles allows the substrates to be grouped such that one substrate can be used as a surrogate for others.
Conditional Sampling in a Transitional Boundary Layer Under High Freestream Turbulence Conditions

Conditional sampling has been performed on data from a transitional boundary layer subject to high (initially 9%) freestream turbulence and strong (K=(v/U 2 ∞)(dU∞/dx) as high as 9×10 -6 ) acceleration. Methods for separating the turbulent and nonturbulent zone data based on the instantaneous streamwise velocity and the turbulent shear stress were tested and found to agree. Mean velocity profiles were clearly different in the turbulent and nonturbulent zones, and skin friction coefficients were as much as 70% higher in the turbulent zone. The streamwise fluctuating velocity, in contrast, was only about 10% higher in the turbulent zone. Turbulent shear stress differed by an order of magnitude, and eddy viscosity was three to four times higher in the turbulent zone. Eddy transport in the nonturbulent zone was still significant, however, and the nonturbulent zone did not behave like a laminar boundary layer. Within each of the two zones there was considerable self-similarity from the beginning to the end of transition. This may prove useful for future modeling efforts
Acetaldehyde and Accelerated Storage of Wine: A New Rapid Method for Analysis

A method was developed for rapid analysis of total acetaldehyde in wine. The method converts acetaldehyde acetals and bisulfite addition products to free acetaldehyde. These conversions were achieved through a series of 1 min acid, base, and iodine treatments followed by a 10 min equilibration period. Acetaldehyde was quantified by gas chromatographic headspace analysis and the method was found to be precise to ± 1 ppm standard deviation. An accelerated shelf life procedure using this method was developed by promoting oxidation by agitation at oxygen saturation. The resulting procedure was 4 to 15 times faster than previous studies.
Children's Conversational Competence with Their Parents.

This study examined preschool children's ability to follow Grice's maxims of conversation while conversing with their parents, as well as parents’ reactions to the children's violations of the maxims. Eighteen children from each of three age groups (2‐, 3‐, and 4‐year‐olds) were observed on three occasions: while interacting with their mothers, with their fathers, and with both parents. Results indicate that children's violations decreased with age. These results are discussed in terms of the younger children's inability to use their knowledge of the maxims to mediate their discourse production. In the dyadic contexts, fathers more than mothers, assumed a directive role in response to children's violations. In the triadic context there were no between‐parent differences regarding reactions to children's violations. Contextual results are discussed in terms of interactional theory wherein parents assume different interactional roles in different contexts.
Environments for security assessment and enhancement

Abstract Increased requirements for reliability and utilization of existing power systems create a need for a large library of tools to aid operating personnel in solving their tasks. To take advantage of the expanding number of tools, the user-interface must provide the power that the user needs to control their execution and examine their input and the results produced. In order to get adequate response times and effectively control the complex tasks involved, a distributed problem-solving approach seems appropriate. The paper reports the implementation of an expert system for security assessment (CQR) in a distributed problem solving environment (FORS). CQR, initially an integrated program of expert system and numeric procedures, was split up into smaller independent modules written in C and OPS83, called tools, integrated in FORS. FORS supports distributed processing and has an icon-based interface that makes it relatively easy to manipulate data and tools. A compact description of FORS and CQR is followed by a report on the experience gained from the implementation. Shortcomings and suggested extensions to CQR and FORS are discussed in connection with an evaluation of the distributed CQR version. By combining the added functionality offered by expert systems with a distributed problem-solving environment, security assessment techniques transcending those presently used become feasible. Some suggestions are made as to what type of techniques these might be, and it is argued that such aids are sure to have an impact on the way dispatchers and planners will perform security assessment in the future.
Reaction of Thiols with 7-Methylbenzopentathiepin

Polysulfides typically react readily with thiols, thus, reactions of endogenous cellular thiols with the polysulfide linkage in naturally-occuring pentathiepin cytotoxins are likely to be an important aspect of their biological chemistry. Here, it is reported that the reaction of thiols with the pentathiepin ring system initially produces a complex mixture of polysulfides that further decomposes in the presence of excess thiol to yield the corresponding 1,2-benzenedithiol with concomitant production of H(2)S and dimerized thiol. In this reaction, a single molecule of the pentathiepin consumes approximately six equivalents of thiol. The reaction of thiols with the pentathiepin ring system is faster than the analogous reaction involving typical di- and trisulfides.
The U.S. naval Research Laboratory and the TORPEDO Ultra project

Summary The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) library provides its users in four geographic locations with digital library services including over five hundred electronic journals. The InfoWeb information system and gateway serves as a single point of access to these services. InfoWeb includes the TORPEDO Ultra digital library initiative, the library's Web-based SIRSI Unicorn catalog, a locally mounted We b of Science: Science Citation Index Expanded database, and Contents-toGo, a custom-developed current awareness and document delivery service. TORPEDO Ultra provides institutional researchers with a unified way to search all of the library's digital collections, whether these materials originate from a commercial publisher, such as Elsevier; an association publisher, such as the American Physical Society; or a government publisher, such as NRL. TORPEDO Ultra also provides an infrastructure that enables databases that have traditionally served as pointers to documents to now deliver that content direct...
A Science Literacy of Love and Rage: Identifying Science Inscription in Lives of Resistance

This article examines three examples of critical science literacy; that is, writing using technical and scientific information to help achieve radical visions of social justice. The three examples include street medics; that is, medical workers who organize to support demonstrators in protests against corporate globalization, militarization, detention of immigrants, and corporate politics; writings by the sick as they link corporate interest with health care; and human research subjects who have organized to challenge traditional approaches to bioethics. The article explores the differences in the writings of these exemplars but also underscores how in each case, scientific literacy means unwriting and rewriting taken-for-granted assumptions about nature and science.
Evaluation of the Long-Term Impact of a University High School Summer Science Program on Students' Interest and Perceived Abilities in Science

Many biomedical research universities have established outreach programs for precollege students and teachers and partnerships with local school districts to help meet the challenges of science education reform. Science outreach programs held in university research facilities can make science more exciting and innovative for high school students and can offer them much more insight into the nature of science and laboratory research than is available in most high school science courses. This paper describes a long-term follow-up study of high school students enrolled in the Summer Science Academy program at the University of Rochester to investigate the program's impact on students' perceived abilities in higher level science courses, on participation in extracurricular science programs, as well as the program's impact on student interest in pursuing a career in science. Students' exposure during SSA to advanced laboratory techniques and their participation in authentic science investigations provided them with a very positive hands-on experience. Students who attended the program indicated that it provided a positive influence on their performance in advanced science courses, as well as their decision to participate in other science programs and their desire to pursue a career in science.
Optical Coherence Tomography for live imaging of mammalian development

Understanding the nature and mechanism of congenital defects of the different organ systems in humans has heavily relied on the analysis of the corresponding mutant phenotypes in rodent models. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has recently emerged as a powerful tool to study early embryonic development. This non-invasive optical methodology does not require labeling and allows visualization of embryonic tissues with single cell resolution. Here, we will discuss how OCT can be applied for structural imaging of early mouse and rat embryos in static culture, cardiodynamic and blood flow analysis, and in utero embryonic imaging at later stages of gestation, demonstrating how OCT can be used to assess structural and functional birth defects in mammalian models.
Locative Inversion and Temporal Aspect Marker –guo in Mandarin

This paper is to examine the relationship between locative inversion and temporal aspect markers –guo in Mandarin. Guo cannot be ignored or easily be considered the same as the perfective marker –le without thinking its experiential features, and such feature can prove the syntactic function of preposed locative phrase.
Why Are Physicians Not Prescribing Diuretics More Frequently in the Management of Hypertension

Diuretics have again been recommended by the Sixth Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC VI) as one of the first-choice medications in the management of hypertension. This recommendation is based on the results of numerous randomized, diuretic-based, long-term controlled clinical trials that have demonstrated a reduction in both cerebrovascular and cardiovascular morbidity. Despite this and other national recommendations, the use of diuretics has steadily decreased over the past 15 years. Reasons include heavy promotion of other medications and the perception that diuretics produce adverse metabolic effects and do not reduce coronary heart disease events. Data, however, indicate that (1) changes in glucose and cholesterol metabolism are minor, especially with the smaller doses now being used; (2) cardiovascular morbidity and mortality have been reduced in hypertensive patients, even in those with hyperlipidemia or diabetes, when diuretics are used; and (3) concerns about hypokalemia-induced arrhythmias have been overstated. While special indications exist for other medications in the treatment of hypertension, for example, use of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (usually in addition to a diuretic) for a patient with heart failure or diabetic nephropathy, most patients, including those with hyperlipidemia or glucose intolerance, can be effectively treated with a diuretic as initial therapy or as part of a combination regimen. Diuretics should be used more not less frequently; use of diuretics would reduce the number of resistant hypertensive patients.
Perioperative considerations for children undergoing bone anchored hearing device surgery: an observational study

The objective of the study was to identify important factors in the perioperative management of children undergoing bone anchored hearing device (BAHD) surgery in a paediatric tertiary centre. We also aim to compare current practice and identify any changes in practice with the previous study carried out in the same paediatric tertiary centre in 2000. Children undergoing BAHD surgery between January 2008 and January 2011 were identified on a departmental database. A retrospective case note review was performed and compared with data collected prior to 2000. In the study period, 194 children were identified to have had BAHD surgery. 134 case notes were available for analysis and of these children, 353 anaesthetics were identified. 45.5 % of the children had a recognised syndrome or dysmorphism and 17 % had a congenital cardiac anomaly. 16 % of the children were classified as a grade 3 or 4 laryngoscopy, but 83.3 % were managed with a laryngeal mask. 11.9 % of the children had an intraoperative complication and 4.8 % a postoperative complication. 88.4 % of children were managed as day cases. Compared with the previous study in 2000, there was a smaller proportion of syndromic or dysmorphic children and a larger proportion of children were managed with a laryngeal mask. As BAHD surgery has become more common and as its indications have expanded, the perioperative management has evolved. The proportion of children with congenital heart disease has remained constant, but there has been a marked reduction in the number of children with syndromes involving the head and neck. We have found that even in complex craniofacial cases, the laryngeal mask is increasingly being used with good results. However, advanced paediatric airway experience was still required in a small number of cases, heightening the awareness that specialised paediatric support services are necessary for a comprehensive BAHD programme.
Derivation of an Embedded Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test Performance Validity Indicator

This study derived an embedded performance validity indicator for the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) using an archival dataset. Participants aged 20 to 65 (N = 167) who reported traumatic brain injury and completed at least two performance validity tests were included. The group who passed all performance validity measures (n = 68) demonstrated higher scores on all AVLT trials than the group who failed two or more validity indicators (n = 62). Bayesian model averaging was used to identify the optimal combination of AVLT variables for group discrimination; Total Learning and Recognition raw scores were selected. Logistic regression using these variables showed excellent discrimination with an area under the curve of. 85. The resulting AVLT performance validity index demonstrated sensitivity of. 55 with specificity of. 91. Further study of this index is warranted and cross-validation is recommended prior to clinical use.
Cocaine increases dopamine uptake and cell surface expression of dopamine transporters

In HEK 293 cells expressing the human dopamine transporter (DAT), a 10-min incubation with 10 microM cocaine followed by extensive washing resulted in a 30% increase in [3H]dopamine (DA) uptake as well as an increase in cell surface DAT in biotinylation experiments. Consistent with this novel regulation, [3H]DA uptake into synaptosomes prepared from the nucleus accumbens of rats sacrificed 30 min after a single cocaine injection (30 mg/kg) was significantly increased compared to controls (56% increase in V(max), no change in K(m)). In addition, DA clearance in the striatum of anesthetized rats was increased after local application of a low (3 pmol) but not high (65 pmol) dose of cocaine, presumably as a result of mobilization of DAT to the cell surface. Cocaine-induced increases in cell surface expression of DAT and associated changes in DA clearance represent a novel mechanism that may play a role in its addictive properties.
Changes in Green River oil-shale paraffins with depth

The concentration of normal and isoprenoid paraffins in the bitumens of the Green River oil-shale of the Piceance Creek Basin changes with depth. Bitumens were extracted by benzene from an oil-shale core which extended through 900 ft of the Green River Formation. The amount of bitumen and the total paraffinic content of the bitumen increased with depth. The n-paraffins isolated ranged from about C12 to C33 compounds. The isoprenoid compounds isolated were 2,6,10,14-tetramethylhexadecane; 2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane; 2,6,10-trimethylpentadecane; 2,6,10-trimethyltridecane; and 2,6,10-trimethyldodecane. In the C25 to C33 range, the carbon preference index (C.P.I.), which is the ratio of odd- to even-carbon-numbered n-paraffins, decreased from 3.6 to 1.2 with depth. The amount of C20 isoprenoid compound decreased with depth, whereas the C15, C16, C18 and C19 isoprenoid compounds tended to increase with depth. The observed changes in the paraffin concentrations may have been due to differences in environmental conditions resulting in differences in the degradation of source material by oxidative-cleavage and reduction processes. The change in C.P.I, was apparently not due to progressive degradation of long-chain structures but rather to addition of even-carbon-numbered chains from other sources. The n-paraffin precursors were probably fatty acids and kerogen esters; the precursor of the isoprenoid paraffins was probably the phytol group of the chlorophyll molecule.
A new analytical approach to the characterisation of macro-epibenthic habitats: linking species to the environment

A challenge for marine ecologists is to explain distinct and recurrent patterns in the distribution of marine faunas by developing new methods that identify and link environmental processes responsible for these patterns. Methods that describe and predict the distribution of benthic faunas using single factors such as sediment type or water depth are generally inadequate, particularly when applied on a broad scale. When a combination of factors such as near-bed tidal velocity, surface seawater temperature and salinity are evaluated in conjunction with sediment type and depth, however, they more clearly characterise benthic habitats. Using principal component analysis (PCA) patterns in the distribution and abundance of different echinoderm and crustacean species were shown to be predictable and characterised by a suite of physical factors. Characterising benthic habitats using factors from the environment provided a potential mechanism for predicting patterns in their spatial distribution. A new analytical method for characterising a species habitat was constructed using a combination of PCA and a generalised additive model. The method is able to predict the habitat preferences of individual species based on their association with physical factors characterising their habitat. These preferences were then used to describe the probability of a species occurring across a range of different habitats, which is referred to as the habitat-envelope. This method enables one species habitat range to be compared directly to another. The strong correlation between species patchiness and its habitat-envelope was used to develop an index to identify species that are potentially more sensitive to habitat change. Distinct patterns in the habitat preferences of echinoderms were generally stronger than those identified for crustaceans. Thus, crustaceans were found more likely to exploit a wider range of habitats than echinoderms, suggesting that they may be less sensitive to habitat change.
Whole blood neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin predicts acute kidney injury in burn patients

Abstract Background Early detection of acute kidney injury (AKI) in severely burn-injured patients can help alter treatment to prevent progression to acute failure and reduce the need for renal replacement therapy. We hypothesized that whole blood neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin (NGAL) will be increased in severely burn-injured patients who develop AKI during acute resuscitation. Materials and methods We performed a prospective observation study of adult burn patients with a 20% total body surface area (TBSA) burned or greater burn injury. Two-hour serial measurements of NGAL, serum creatinine (Cr), and hourly urine output (UO) were collected for 48 h after admission. Our primary goal was to correlate the risk of AKI in the first week after burn injury with serial NGAL levels in the first 48 h after admission. Our secondary goal was to determine if NGAL was an earlier independent predictor of AKI compared with Cr and UO. Results We enrolled 30 adult (age ≥ 18 y) burn patients with the mean ± standard deviation age of 40.9 ± 15.4 and mean TBSA of 46.4 ± 22.4. Fourteen patients developed AKI within the first 7 d after burn injury. There were no differences in age, TBSA, fluid administration, mean arterial pressure, UO, and Cr between AKI and no-AKI patients. NGAL was significantly increased as early as 4 h after injury (182.67 ± 83.3 versus 107.37 ± 46.15) in the AKI group. Controlling for age, TBSA, and inhalation injury, NGAL was a predictor of AKI at 4 h after injury (odds ratio, 1.02) and remained predictive of AKI for the period of more than the first 24 h after admission. UO and Cr were not predictive of AKI in the first 24 h after admission. Conclusions Whole blood NGAL is markedly increased in burn patients who develop AKI in the first week after injury. In addition, NGAL is an early independent predictor of AKI during acute resuscitation for severe burn injury. UO and Cr are not predictive of AKI during this time period.
The plug and patch: a new technique for repair of corporal perforation during placement of penile prostheses.

Purpose:: Proximal corporal perforation is an uncommon intraoperative complication during placement of a penile prosthetic device. Unrecognized corporal perforation can result in migration or malfunction of the prosthesis. A windsock repair using a nonabsorbable mesh plug has been described. We describe a new technique called the plug and patch to treat this complication.Materials and Methods:: From July 1994 to May 1999, 175 patients underwent placement of a penile prosthesis at our institution. Of the patients 8 (4.5%) had proximal corporal perforation. Each perforation was repaired using our plug and patch technique. A 5 × 7 cm. polyglycolic acid patch was folded on itself and passed into the area of the corporal perforation to act as a plug. A solitary absorbable suture was placed affixing the tail of the patch to the corpora. The corpus was subsequently re-dilated and remeasured, and the prosthesis was placed as usual.Results:: All 8 patients were satisfied with the penile prosthesis. There were no i...
Convective instability in the presence of a catalytic chemical reaction: Part II. Oscillatory instability

This is an extension of earlier work in which a linear analysis of hydrodynamic stability was applied to a fluid mixture contained between two horizontal planes. One species diffuses to the lower plane where it is destroyed by a rapid exothermic or endothermic catalytic reaction. In the present work, Galerkin's method has been used to study the importance of oscillatory instability in a system with the more dense species concentrated near the top plane. Results show that, for cases likely to be of physical interest, oscillatory instabilities are not expected.
553 LONGITUDINAL CHANGES IN MILK COMPOSITION OF MOTHERS DELIVERING PRETERM AND SMALL-FOR-GESTATIONAL AGE INFANTS

The concentrations of protein nitrogen (PN), non-PN (NPN), energy (Cal), fat (F), sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), and zinc (Zn) were determined in human milk from mothers giving birth to infants classified as preterm appropriate-for-gestational age (PAGA, n=5); preterm small-for-gestational age (PSGA, n=4); term AGA (TAGA, n=5); and term SGA (TSGA, n=6). Samples were collected under controlled conditions at 2 week intervals for 12 weeks postpartum. PN concentrations did not differ significantly except between PSGA and TSGA. Overall PN means were 206 and 157 mg%, respectively. No other differences in nutrient concentration were observed between the 4 groups. Concentrations of PN, NPN, Na, P, and Zn decreased over time. The concentration of Mg increased slightly. The content of F, Cal, and Ca did not change. These data indicate that the concentrations of some potentially limiting nutrients do not differ in milk from mothers delivering tell and preterm infants.
Management of nonsyndromic craniosynostosis.

In 1851, Virchow was credited as the first to use the term ‘‘craniosynostosis’’ in describing a disorder characterized by an abnormal shape of the skull. He noted that synostosis in the skull restricted growth perpendicular to the direction of the suture and promoted compensatory overgrowth parallel to it. In its basic form, craniosynostosis represents premature suture fusion. It occurs in approximately 1 per 1000 live births in the United States. Two main forms of craniosynostosis exist. The primary form of craniosynostosis, that form amendable to surgical correction, is a result of premature suture fusion. The secondary type of craniosynostosis, that form not amendable to surgical correction, produces an abnormal head shape as a result of an underlying brain abnormality. Craniosynostosis also may be classified as nonsyndromic or syndromic. Most forms of craniosynostosis are isolated and not associated with any other conditions and are therefore nonsyndromic. Syndromic craniosynostosis is covered in another article elsewhere in this issue. The pathogenesis of craniosynostosis is complex and probably multifactorial. Moss theorized that abnormal tensile forces are transmitted to the dura from an anomalous cranial base through key ligamentous attachments, which leads to craniosynostosis such as seen in Apert and Crouzon syndromes. This hypothesis fails to explain the coexistence of craniosynostosis in patients with a normal cranial base configuration. The cause of craniosynostosis may be postulated to be the result of either primary suture abnormalities, sufficient extremes of forces that overcome the underlying expansive forces of the brain, or inadequate intrinsic growth forces of the brain. Cranial vault growth achieves approximately 80% of the adult size at birth and definitive size by 2.5 to 3 years of age. The existence of the six major sutural regions allows for head expansion and transvaginal head deformation. It is often helpful to recall that posterior fontanelle closure (3–6 months) generally proceeds anterior fontanelle closure (9–12 months). Functional considerations The major functional problems associated with craniosynostosis are intracranial hypertension, visual impairment, limitation of brain growth, and neuropsychiatric disorders. In general, the functional problems increase as the number of sutures involved increases. These functional abnormalities are gradual in their development, difficult to detect, and often irreversible in nature.