cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adjuvant radiation therapy after axillary lymphadenectomy for metastatic melanoma: toxicity and local control

Background: Certain patients with locally advanced melanoma have a high risk of regional recurrence after surgical excision and lymphadenectomy alone. Growing evidence suggests that radiation therapy may improve local control with acceptable morbidity for patients with melanoma in some sites. There is no information regarding the safety or efficacy of this treatment when applied to the axilla for regional metastasis of cutaneous melanoma.
The effect of an androgen inhibitor on behavior and testicular morphology in the stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus.

The effects of the anti-androgen, cyproterone acetate, on the reproductive behavior and accessory structures were studied. Mature male sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus T.) from winter and spring populations were treated with cyproterone acetate, testosterone propionate, or a gelatin medium. Winter fish were observed for nuptial coloration and nest building. Paraffin sections were made of kidney and testes of winter fish to determine renal tubule modification and stages of spermatogenesis. Spring fish were observed for coloration, nest building and maintenance, aggression, courtship, and parental activity. Results indicate that cyproterone acetate: (i) delayed onset of nest building in winter but not in spring fish, (ii) reduced aggressive and courtship activities, (iii) reduced displacement fanning in the presence of another male but not with a gravid female. There were no effects by testosterone or gelatin on any activities or characteristics, nor any effects by CA on nest maintenance. In the study on winter fish, a reduction both in nuptial coloration and in the later stages of spermatogenesis was seen after CA treatment, however, there was no effect on kidney tubule modification.
Acoustic emission study of microcracking in 123-type ceramic superconductors

Acoustic emission from sintered ceramic YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) superconductor pellets provides a direct measure of microcracking behavior during processing. By detection and statistical analysis of acoustic events, the effects of cooling rates, processing atmosphere, average grain size, additives, and grain alignment on microcracking in YBCO have been studied. The onset temperature and duration of acoustic emission during cooling correlate well with the oxygen partial pressure in the furnace. Rapid changes in oxygen partial pressure at constant temperature produce acoustic emission that is characteristic of microcracking. A reported critical grain size for microcracking in sintered polycrystalline YBCO of about 1 μm has been confirmed. Two superconducting compounds, YSrBaCu3O7−x and LaBaCaCu3O7−x with the 123 structure but with smaller crystallographic anisotropy were also examined. Recommendations are made for minimizing microcracking during processing of superconducting ceramics.
Meniscus Lithography: Evaporation-Induced Self-Organization of Pillar Arrays into Moiré Patterns

We demonstrate a self-organizing system that generates patterns by dynamic feedback: two periodic surfaces collectively structure an intervening liquid sandwiched between them, which then reconfigures the original surface features into moire patterns as it evaporates. Like the conventional moire phenomenon, the patterns are deterministic and tunable by mismatch angle, yet additional behaviors-chirality from achiral starting motifs and preservation of the patterns after the surfaces are separated-emerge uniquely from the feedback process. Patterning menisci based on this principle provides a simple, scalable approach for making a series of complex, long-range-ordered structures.
A comparison of salivary calprotectin levels in subjects with and without oral candidiasis.

Abstract Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare salivary calprotectin levels in subjects with oral candidiasis to the levels in healthy age- and sex-matched control subjects and to investigate the relationship of salivary calprotectin to intensity of oral candidal carriage and infection and to predisposing factors for candidiasis. Study Design: Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we measured calprotectin in unstimulated whole saliva collected from 22 subjects with oral candidiasis and in saliva collected from 22 control subjects. Calprotectin levels in the 2 groups were compared by using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. The relationships between calprotectin levels and Candida counts were assessed by using the Spearman rank correlation test. The nonparametric 1-way analysis of variance test was used to study the relationship between calprotectin levels and presence of non-albicans Candida and individual predisposing factors for candidiasis. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to evaluate the relationship between calprotectin and predisposing factors in subjects grouped by total number of predisposing factors identified. Results: No relationship was found between calprotectin and individual or total number of predisposing factors. Higher calprotectin levels were found in subjects with candidiasis, and calprotectin concentration positively correlated with intensity of candidal infection. Conclusions: These findings suggest that calprotectin production, or release, or both, may be increased in subjects with candidiasis. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2001;92:62-7)
Prognostic assessments of medical therapy and vestibular testing in post-traumatic migraine-associated dizziness patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to characterize our clinical population of patients suffering with post-traumatic migraine-associated dizziness (PTMAD) and determine any associations with medical interventions and vestibular testing metrics to help predict response to treatments. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The electronic medical records of 83 patients presenting to a tertiary referral center who were given a diagnosis of PTMAD and who had been treated were retrospectively reviewed. General characteristics, clinical treatment, pre- and post-vestibular therapy testing metrics, and success and failure outcomes were assessed. Patients were assigned into responder and nonresponder groups related to their headaches and evaluated at two specific time points. Medication failures and vestibular test metrics were compared to identify and predict clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Seventy-two of 82 patients (88%) were analyzed at two time points. Use of verapamil, topiramate, gabapentin, amitryptiline, and valproic acid showed no comparative treatment benefit in responders compared to nonresponders (P = 0.294). Findings associated with successful treatments include response to initial medication (P = 0.001), final dynamic gait index (DGI) scores (P = 0.029), final vertical dynamic visual acuity test (DVAT) scores (up, 0.007; down, 0.006), and both final and change in computerized dynamic posturography-sensory organization test (CDP-SOT) scores (P = 0.001, P = 0.032). The antipsychotic quetiapine was specifically associated with outcome failures (P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Specific prophylactic antimigraine medications were not associated with improved outcomes in PTMAD patients. Initial clinical responses and vestibular test metrics may guide physicians to predict successful outcomes.
Evaluating competitive sorption mechanisms of volatile organic compounds in soils and sediments using polymers and zeolites.

The competitive sorption of trichloroethene (TCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE) was investigated in three natural solids, two polymers, and four zeolites. Competition was observed in natural solids with high contents of recalcitrant organic carbon, in the glassy polymer, and in zeolites with strongly and moderately hydrophobic micropores of large (7.5 × 10 A) and small pore widths (∼5.4 A), respectively. Isotherm results and recalcitrant OC% values for natural solids indicate that the extent of competition between TCE and PCE is related to the amount of hard organic carbon. Gas adsorption results and the variability in C/H values suggest that natural organic matter contains micropores with varying width and polarity. Isotherm results for zeolites indicate that competition between TCE and PCE increases with increasing hydrophobicity and decreasing micropore width. We suggest that competition between volatile organic contaminants in the subsurface is controlled by competition for hydrophobic micropores in har...
Deficiency of the α‐Subunit of the Stimulatory G Protein and Severe Extraskeletal Ossification

Progressive osseous heteroplasia (POH) is a rare disorder characterized by dermal ossification beginning in infancy followed by increasing and extensive bone formation in deep muscle and fascia. We describe two unrelated girls with typical clinical, radiographic, and histological features of POH who also have findings of another uncommon heritable disorder, Albright hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO). One patient has mild brachydactyly but no endocrinopathy, whereas the other manifests brachydactyly, obesity, and target tissue resistance to thyrotropin and parathyroid hormone (PTH). Levels of the α-subunit of the G protein (Gsα) were reduced in erythrocyte membranes from both girls and a nonsense mutation (Q12X) in exon 1 of the GNAS1 gene was identified in genomic DNA from the mildly affected patient. Features of POH and AHO in two individuals suggest that these conditions share a similar molecular basis and pathogenesis and that isolated severe extraskeletal ossification may be another manifestation of Gsα deficiency.
ULTRASONOGRAPHY OF THE NORMAL CANINE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT

The normal sonographic appearance of stomach, small bowel, and colon was determined in normal dogs of small, medium, and large breeds. In all dogs studied, the stomach wall ranged from 3 mm to 5 mm in thickness, and the small and large bowel wall ranged from 2 mm to 3 mm in thickness. Peristalsis was routinely observed in the stomach and small bowel, but not in the colon. Ultrasonic identification of five gastrointestinal wall layers corresponding to the mucosal surface, mucosa, submucosa, muscularis propria, and subserosa/serosa was possible. Specific segments of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract were isolated and scanned in a water bath. In one dog, ultrasonic and histologic findings were compared and confirmed the anatomical identification found with ultrasound. Similarities and differences between the ultrasonic appearance of the GI tract of humans and small animals are discussed.
Transcription of Novel Open Reading Frames of AIDS Retrovirus During Infection of Lymphocytes

The retrovirus frequently isolated from patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has two novel open reading frames previously designated "A" and "B." The "A" region was found to be specifically expressed as polyadenylated RNA's of 5.5 and 5.0 kilobases in infected cells. The "B" region was expressed as 1.8- to 2.0-kilobase RNA species. Additional full-length and spliced messenger RNA's of the env region were also identified.
Contraction of single smooth muscle cells from Bufo marinus stomach.

MANY aspects of vertebrate smooth muscle function cannot be studied adequately in the whole animal or in vitro because the collagen net surrounding individual cells distorts force-time relationships1. Electron microscopy of smooth muscle tissues has provided some data on structural changes during contraction2,3, but the difficulty in obtaining sections in the correct plane and lack of a suitable method for viewing contractile elements in three dimensions has impeded progress. Lowy and Small4, using a weight to stretch guinea-pig taenia coli during fixation and dehydration, observed a ribbon-like arrangement of myosin filaments but could not study contracted cells prepared the same way.
On the phenomenological theory of diffusion

Abstract A phenomenological theory of diffusion is given along the lines of the treatment of De Groot and Mazur1). Simple relations between the diffusion matrices of the various kinds of composition variables are established. In linear approximation all kinds of composition variables obey Fick's second law. The special role of the mean volume velocity is discussed and attention is given to Onsager coefficients and mobilities (friction coefficients).
Tunneling Between Floquet States in Atom Optics Experiments

Dynamical tunneling has been observed in atom optics experiments by two groups, one in Texas and the other at NIST. The oscillations observed in these experiments are due to a few Floquet states that were excited by the initial conditions in the experiment. In this paper we focus on the Texas experiment and discuss the properties of the dominant Floquet states for a range of experimental parameters.
Melting and freezing behavior of ultrafine granular metal films

Abstract The melting and freezing behavior of small connected and isolated Bi particles embedded in a SiO 2 matrix has been studied as a function of the mean particle size. Melting temperatures have been found to be strongly reduced with decreasing particle size, consistent with a r −1 type behavior as predicted by a number of theoretical approaches to the solid-liquid melting transition. When the freezing behavior of these particles was studied large undercoolings were found. In addition, strong fluctuations in the freezing time were observed in isothermal measurements at large undercoolings below the bulk Bi freezing temperature.
Temperature dependence of water dynamics in poly(ethylene oxide)/water solutions from molecular dynamics simulations and quasielastic neutron scattering experiments

The dynamics of water in aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were studied by performing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and quasielastic neutron scattering (QNS). The simulations and experiments were carried out on PEO/water solutions for the composition EO:Ow (ether oxygen:water oxygen) = 1:2.3 in the temperature range from 298 to 410 K. To selectively measure the motion of the water, perdeuterated PEO (d-PEO) was used for the QNS experiments. Intermediate scattering functions derived from the MD simulations were found to be in good agreement with those from QNS experiments. The QNS and MD dynamic structure factors were analyzed using the random jump diffusion (RJD) model, a model frequently applied in analysis of water QNS data, yielding rotational and translational diffusion coefficients for water in the d-PEO/H2O solutions. Analysis of MD results indicates that, although the translational self-diffusion coefficient can be extracted from the RJD fits to the data rather accurately, the r...
Innocent until proven guilty: The representation of wrongfully convicted women

Ni-Mn-Ga is a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy that deforms by twin boundary motion. The magneto-mechanical properties depend strongly on the twin microstructure. A thermomechanical treatment was applied to a Ni-Mn-Ga single crystal with coexisting 10M and 14M martensite structures to create twin boundaries and align the short crystallographic c direction preferentially perpendicular to the surface. The resulting twin structure was characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to obtain the surface relief caused by twinning. Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) was used to find the direction of easy magnetization (which coincides with the crystallographic c direction) of each twin. Among 18 possible twinning histories, ac twinning in 10M martensite was identified as the unique solution. The combination of AFM and MFM after thermomechanical treatment provides a nondestructive characterization of the twin microstructure including the identification of the crystallographic orientation of each twin and of each twin boundary plane.
A multiscale method for disease mapping in spatial epidemiology

The effects of spatial scale in disease mapping are well-recognized, in that the information conveyed by such maps varies with scale. Here we provide an inferential framework, in the context of tract count data, for describing the distribution of relative risk simultaneously across a hierarchy of multiple scales. In particular, we offer a multiscale extension of the canonical standardized mortality ratio (SMR), consisting of Bayesian posterior-based strategies for both estimation and characterization of uncertainty. As a result, a hierarchy of informative disease and confidence maps can be produced, without the need to first try to identify a single appropriate scale of analysis. We explore the behaviour of the proposed methodology in a small simulation study, and we illustrate its usage through an application to data on gastric cancer in Tuscany.
Research, rumour and propaganda: Anne Boleyn in Foxe's ‘Book of Martyrs’*

Recent scholarship has questioned the accuracy of John Foxe's depiction of Anne Boleyn as an evangelical and a patron of reformers. It has even been suggested that Foxe exaggerated or invented the material he presented on the evangelical zeal of Henry VIII's second queen. A thorough examination of Foxe's sources, however, reveals that he based his account of Anne on material ultimately derived from those who knew her or had benefited from her support. It can also be demonstrated that much of Foxe's account of Anne is confirmed by independent sources. Finally, careful comparison of the material on Anne in the different editions of Foxe's work printed during his lifetime, and analysis of their variations, indicates when Foxe acquired his information about Anne. This, in turn, reveals a great deal about the circumstances in which Foxe composed his account and the specific political and polemical purposes which influenced it. Foxe's account of Anne was one-sided and biased but the information he presented on her was, as far as it went, accurate and it should not be discounted in any scholarly assessment of Henry's queen.
Using Low-Resolution Satellite Data to Quantify Terrestrial Carbon in Tropical Areas

Abstract The ability to map and monitor terrestrial carbon is important in tropical regions where land conversion is intense and tropical moist forests store much of Earth's terrestrial carbon. The release of terrestrial carbon in the form of carbon dioxide could alter local, regional, and global weather, and enhance the greenhouse effect. This study analyzed the ability of coarse‐resolution Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) remote sensor data to quantify carbon stored in the Guapore / Itenez River Basin in Bolivia and Brazil. This area was selected because of the amount of land conversion that has occurred there relative to other areas of the Amazon Basin. A supervised vegetation classification map was created with training sites acquired through fieldwork done in the area in summer 1998. Image pixels were classified as tropical moist forest, degraded tropical moist forest, cerrado, grasslands, degraded savanna, or bare ground. Estimated above and below‐ground carbon values of the differen...
Received Signal Parameter Statistics in Random/Uncertain Oceans

A Monte Carlo-based method has been developed to estimate parameter statistics for acoustic signals that have propagation through random and uncertain ocean environments. The method uses physics-based models for relevant environmental parameters and utilizes available environmental measurements. Statistical moments and covariance functions of the environmental parameters are used with the Maximum Entropy (Max-Ent)method to construct parameter probability density functions (pdf's). Random but properly correlated realizations of the environment are constructed from the pdf's. An acoustic propagation code is used to propagate acoustic energy through each realization of the environment in a Monte Carlo simulation. From the ensemble of received signals, signal parameters are estimated and the MaxEnt method used to construct signal parameter pdf's at all ranges and depths of interest. The method is demonstrated using 250 Hz acoustic propagation measurements and comprehensive environmental characterization from a 1996 experiment in the Strait of Gibraltar. This is a particularly complicated region dominated by strong tidal fluctuations and internal waves. Pdf's of rms received pressure calculated from the acoustic measurements are compared with simulated pdfs obtained using the Monte Carlo method. The agreement is generally good and the method appears promising.
Microarchitectural denial of service: insuring microarchitectural fairness

Simultaneous multithreading seeks to improve the aggregate computation bandwidth of a processor core by sharing resources such as functional units, caches, TLB and so on. To date, most research investigating the scheduling of these shared resources has focused on enhancing computational bandwidth. In this paper, we examine scheduling fairness. First, we show that a thread running on an implementation of a SMT processor can suffer from "denial of service" by a malicious thread, slowing down the original thread by a factor of 10-20. Using performance counter hardware, we show that the slowdown occurs because of deliberate misuse of shared resources and design decisions that are necessary for high speed implementation. We then propose and evaluate a number of mechanisms to counter such malicious behavior: some affect the core scheduling algorithm and others simply attempt to identify activity that would affect threads sharing the same processor core. We find that harmful activity based mechanisms outperform core scheduling mechanisms. In addition, we show that they can be designed so that they can differentiate between malicious attacks and legitimate activities that may also make use of the same harmful activities.
How to construct a test bed for RFID antenna measurements

Passive, radio frequency (RF) tags that communicate using modulated backscatter are the subject of increasing research interest because of their potential uses in sensor and radio frequency identification (RFID) applications. Applications of RFID tags include toll collection, inventory management, package tracking, airport luggage security, and many others. The quality of an RF tag system is fundamentally linked to the performance of the RF tag and reader antennas and is affected by many environmental factors. This paper presents a suite of custom microwave devices necessary to measure the performance of RFID system antennas. The test bed allows a wide range of backscatter and conventional one-way link measurements to be performed including RF tag operating range tests, the effect of material attachment and antenna deformation on the performance of the RF tag antenna, signal fading, optimal reader receiver designs, and reader antenna array designs.
Evolving feature extraction algorithms for hyperspectral and fused imagery

Hyperspectral imagery with moderate spatial resolution (/spl sim/30 m) presents an interesting challenge to feature extraction algorithm developers, as both spatial and spectral signatures may be required to identify the feature of interest. We describe a genetic programming software system, called GENIE, which augments the human scientist/analyst by evolving customized spatio-spectral feature extraction pipelines from training data provided via an intuitive, point-and-click interface. We describe recent work exploring geospatial feature extraction from hyperspectral imagery, and from a multi-instrument fused dataset. For hyperspectral imagery, we demonstrate our system on NASA Earth Observer 1 (EO-1) Hyperion imagery, applied to agricultural crop detection. We present an evolved pipeline, and discuss its operation. We also discuss work with multi-spectral imagery (DOE/NNSA Multispectral Thermal Imager) fused with USGS digital elevation model (DEM) data, with the application of detecting mixed conifer forest.
Non-parametric interval estimation for the partial area under the ROC curve

Accurate diagnosis of disease is a critical part of health care. New diagnostic and screening tests must be evaluated based on their abilities to discriminate diseased conditions from non-diseased conditions. For a continuous-scale diagnostic test, a popular summary index of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is the area under the curve (AUC). However, when our focus is on a certain region of false positive rates, we often use the partial AUC instead. In this paper we have derived the asymptotic normal distribution for the non-parametric estimator of the partial AUC with an explicit variance formula. The empirical likelihood (EL) ratio for the partial AUC is defined and it is shown that its limiting distribution is a scaled chi-square distribution. Hybrid bootstrap and EL confidence intervals for the partial AUC are proposed by using the newly developed EL theory. We also conduct extensive simulation studies to compare the relative performance of the proposed intervals and existing intervals for the partial AUC. A real example is used to illustrate the application of the recommended intervals. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 39: 17–33; 2011 © 2011 Statistical Society of Canada L'exactitude d'un diagnostic d'une maladie est une partie critique des soins de sante. Les nouveaux tests diagnostiques et de depistage doivent etre evaluer sur leur capacite de discriminer entre les etats malade/non malade. Pour un test diagnostique a valeur continue, un resume numerique populaire de la courbe caracteristique de fonctionnements du recepteur (ROC) est l'aire sous la courbe (AUC). Cependant, lorsque l'interet porte sur une certaine region des taux de faux positifs, nous utilisons plutot une AUC partielle. Dans cet article, nous demontrons la normalite asymptotique de l'estimateur non parametrique de l'AUC partielle et nous obtenons une formule analytique pour la variance. Le rapport de vraisemblance empirique pour l'AUC partielle est defini et nous montrons que sa distribution asymptotique correspond a une distribution khi deux normee. Nous proposons une methode de reechantillonnage hybride et des intervalles de confiance bases sur la fonction de vraisemblance empirique de l'AUC partielle en utilisant une nouvelle theorie a propos de la fonction de vraisemblance empirique. Des etudes de simulations exhaustives sont faites afin de comparer la performance relative des intervalles de confiance proposes et ceux deja existant pour l'AUC partielle. L'application des intervalles de confiance recommandes est illustree a l'aide de donnees reelles. La revue canadienne de statistique 39: 17–33; 2011 © 2011 Societe statistique du Canada
Feeding Ecology of Arctic‐Nesting Sandpipers During Spring Migration Through the Prairie Pothole Region

We evaluated food habits of 4 species of spring-migrant calidrid sandpipers in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North Dakota. Sandpipers foraged in several wetland classes and fed primarily on aquatic dipterans, mostly larvae, and the midge family Chironomidae was the primary food eaten. Larger sandpiper species foraged in deeper water and took larger larvae than did smaller sandpipers. The diverse wetland habitats that migrant shorebirds use in the PPR suggest a landscape-level approach be applied to wetland conservation efforts. We recommend that managers use livestock grazing and other tools, where applicable, to keep shallow, freshwater wetlands from becoming choked with emergent vegetation limiting chironomid production and preventing shorebird use.
Response to Intervention: Prevention and Remediation, Perhaps. Diagnosis, No

Fletcher and Vaughn (this issue) describe recent changes to federal laws governing special education eligibility for specific learning disabilities focusing on what is commonly known as response to intervention (RTI). We are concerned about what appears to us as a selective review of empirical support for RTI and a consequently overly optimistic view of many practical issues surrounding the implementation of RTI models that neglects the potential negative long-term impact on the range of students with and without a learning disability. These include (1) the lack of a firm evidence base reflected in vagaries and ambiguity of the critical details of the model in practice; (2) the worrisome shortcomings of the RTI process as a means of diagnosis or determination of a disability; (3) the contextual, situation-dependent nature of who is identified; (4) the seeming lack of consideration of bright struggling readers in the RTI process; and (5) the apparent lack of student-based data to guide the most effective choice of approaches to, and specific components of, intervention.
An empirical verification of population assignment methods by marking and parentage data: hatchery and wild steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Forks Creek, Washington, USA.

Assignment tests are increasingly applied in ecology and conservation, although empirical comparisons of methods are still rare or are restricted to few of the available approaches. Furthermore, the performance of assignment tests in cases with low population differentiation, violations of Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and unbalanced sampling designs has not been verified. The release of adult hatchery steelhead to spawn in Forks Creek in 1996 and 1997 provided an opportunity to compare the power of different assignment methods to distinguish their offspring from those of sympatric wild steelhead. We compared standard assignment methods requiring baseline samples (frequency, distance and Bayesian) and clustering approaches with and without baseline information, using six freely available computer programs. Assignments were verified by parentage data obtained for a subset of returning offspring. All methods provided similar assignment success, despite low differentiation between wild and hatchery fish ( F ST = 0.02). Bayesian approaches with baseline data performed best, whereas the results of clustering methods were variable and depended on the samples included in the analysis and the availability of baseline information. Removal of a locus with null alleles and equalizing sample sizes had little effect on assignments. Our results demonstrate the robustness of most assignment tests to low differentiation and violations of assumptions, as well as their utility for ecological studies that require correct classification of different groups.
Efficient Tertiary Amine/Weak Acid Bifunctional Mesoporous Silica Catalysts for Michael Addition Reactions

SBA-15-NMe2-IPA, the silanol groups of which were not passivated by trimethysilyl (SiMe3) groups. Compared with ExtSBA-15-NMe2-Tol, the Ext-SBA-15-NMe2-IPA material (whose the amine groups were grafted in polar-protic solvents), in particular, demonstrated an effective cooperative bifunctional catalysis because of its optimized proportions of tertiary amine groups and a significant number of surface silanol groups that were judiciously left behind on the material with this optimized synthetic strategy. The catalytic activity of this material was found to be significantly higher than that of the corresponding material that was grafted in toluene and that contained less optimized proportions of these two catalytic groups (i.e., amine and silanol groups). The bifunctional catalysts also showed good recyclability upon washing with acetone, which offered an effective way of regenerating the catalyst free from any undesired product/substrate bound on the surface of the catalysts.
A study of the incidence of clinical and immunologic (reaginic) allergy in a group of medical students.

Abstract From September, 1945, to June, 1950, 254 senior medical students of the University of Southern California Medical School provided information on their family and personal histories of allergy and were skin tested. An incidence of 47 per cent of clinical allergy and 56 per cent of immunologic allergy was found. When either clinical or immunologic allergy was present there was an incidence of 61 per cent. The unusually high incidence of allergy is compared with that of other surveys. Of those with positive tests, 25 per cent had never had clinical symptoms of allergy. Thirty-four per cent of the students with a positive hereditary history and positive tests had never had clinical symptoms of allergy. Since the sample studied was made up entirely of medical students, the possibility is suggested that some psychologic factor growing out of personality traits and life history interacting with an immunologically allergic constitution may have influenced both the production of symptoms and the choice of a medical career.
Impaired Renal Function Further Increases Odds of 6-Year Coronary Artery Calcification Progression in Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: The CACTI study

OBJECTIVE To determine whether baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) independently predict coronary artery calcification (CAC) progression, and to determine how eGFR changes over 6 years in adults with type 1 diabetes compared with nondiabetic adults. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The Coronary Artery Calcification in Type 1 Diabetes study participants ( n = 1,066) with complete data for eGFR assessment at baseline and 6 years were included. Three Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equations (serum creatinine, cystatin C, and both) were used to estimate eGFR. The association of baseline ACR and eGFR with CAC progression was analyzed using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS Increasing categorical baseline ACR ( 30 µg/mg) predicted CAC progression in participants with type 1 diabetes (odds ratio [OR], 2.15; 95% CI, 1.50–3.09; 7.19 [3.90–13.26]; and 18.09 [8.48–38.62]), respectively, compared with nondiabetic subjects. Baseline eGFR 2 also predicted CAC progression (OR, 5–7, compared with nondiabetic participants). ORs for CAC progression were higher in women than in men when using the cystatin C–based Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equations. Participants with type 1 diabetes had greater eGFR decreases over 6 years than nondiabetic participants using cystatin C–based equations. CONCLUSIONS Although increasing ACR or decreasing eGFR predicts CAC progression, coronary atherosclerosis progresses faster in people with type 1 diabetes even in the absence of diabetic kidney disease. These findings emphasize the interaction between kidney disease and cardiovascular disease in type 1 diabetes and highlight the public health importance of lowering cardiorenal risk in people with type 1 diabetes.
Pulsed electrical discharge in bubbled water

Electrical discharges in water are used for generating hydrogen peroxide, ozone, hydroxyl and oxygen radicals, and other chemically active species for disinfection and purification of water. The interest in electrical discharges in bubbled water is motivated by the need to reduce the power consumption for igniting the discharge. Understanding the electrical and optical characteristics of the discharge will help guide the design of future purification systems. Here we report results of investigations that focus on the study of pulsed electrical discharges in a single bubble of oxygen or argon in water. The single-bubble system consists of a negative needle electrode inside a gas bubble in water and a disk electrode separated from the needle electrode by 5 –10 mm of water. The bubble is stationary and is subjected to repeated 3 – 15 kV, 1 μs long voltage pulses. At these voltage levels, the discharge process is confined to the bubble with the water serving as a dielectric material covering the disk electrode. During a single voltage pulse multiple ∼100 ns long discharges occur in the bubble. These discharges deposit sufficient amount of charge on the surface of the bubble to generate a reverse-polarity discharge during the voltage shut-off. Experiments with Ar and O2 bubbles show the same optical emission intensity at 309 ± 5 nm (OH emissions). These results indicate that OH radicals are generated by electron-driven processes in water vapor present in all bubbles. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Robust QAM modulation classification algorithm using cyclic cumulants

In this paper we develop an algorithm based on higher-order cyclic cumulants for the automatic recognition of QAM signals. The method is robust to the presence of carrier phase and frequency offsets. Theoretical arguments are verified with simulations performed for 4-QAM and 16-QAM signals.
Completing the Copernican Revolution: The search for other planetary systems

The past few decades have witnessed significant advances in our understanding of how stars form, and there has been an associated increase in our knowledge of conditions and phenomena in the early solar system. These have led to the formulation of a paradigm for the origin of the solar system that is sufficiently complete that its basic elements can be tested directly through observations. A simple, but profound, consequence of the paradigm is that most if not all stars should be accompanied by planetary systems. The accuracy of instruments that can be used in such searches has improved to the point that Jupiter-like companions to a number of nearby stars could be detected. However, the results to date are that no other planetary systems have been detected, and the absence of detection is becoming statistically significant, particularly as it relates to the existence of brown dwarf companions to main-sequence stars.
A simple two‐fiber optical displacement sensor

An optical displacement sensor is described in which only a pair of large‐diameter fibers is used rather than a branched bundle of many small‐diameter fibers. The basic idea of the two‐fiber sensor is that the axes of the fibers are at an angle to one another at the sensor face, rather than parallel as is the case for the many‐fiber configuration. The sensitivity of this two‐fiber sensor is approximately the same as the most sensitive configuration of the many‐fiber sensor.
Potential for control of seedling blight of wheat caused by Fusarium graminearum and related species using the bacterial endophyte Bacillus mojavensis

Abstract Fusarium-infected wheat seed decreases germination, seedling emergence, and causes post emergence seedling death, and can contribute to wheat scab and ear rot of maize, with consequent production of mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol and zearalenone. Current seed treatments have proved ineffective in controlling seedling blight and scab. A patented endophytic bacterial strain, Bacillus mojavensis RRC 101, and several other strains of this species were studied to determine in vitro antagonism to some Fusarium species and to assess the potential of this bacterium to serve as an endophytic biocontrol for seedling blight of wheat produced by species within the F. graminearum complex, as well as other species of Fusarium. Seedling emergence and seed germination were two tests used as indicators of seedling blight. These tests were conducted in growth rooms with two wheat cultivars highly susceptible to scab, Norm and Pioneer 2552, and other cultivars with varying resistance to scab. The results indicat...
Erratum to: Comprehensive evaluation of differential gene expression analysis methods for RNA-seq data.

We previously published a report on the comprehensive evaluation of RNA-seq differential analysis (DE) methods [1] where we compared a number of popular DE tools using a variety of different criteria. Since publication we received valuable feedback and suggestions from the community including from the authors of the algorithms. Here we report on two errors that came to our attention following publication. 1. Soon after publication we were notified about a discrepancy in table 2. The correction was posted as comment to the main article and now included as erratum. In the last row of table 2 called "Runtime for experiments with 3-5 replicates…" the values for edgeR and limmaVoom should be Seconds not Minutes. For completeness, the following table is the runtime performance (in seconds) of six DE analysis methods, comparing the 5 replicates from groups A and B from the SEQC data, as measured on Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 5.4, with 12 dual cores Intel Xeon 3.33GHz, and 100G RAM. 2. Zhou and Robinson performed a follow up analysis to our manuscript where they reanalyzed DE when genes are expressed in one condition (see correspondence to Rapaport et al.). They identified a coding error in the calculation of edgeR signal to noise values due to incorrect normalization of edgeR count values. Library size values were not used to scale gene counts. This coding error was fixed and a corrected version is deposited in the source code repository available at: http://bitbucket.org/soccin/seqc. We redid the analysis for evaluation of genes expressed in only one condition and the main conclusions remain unchanged. The corrected version of Figure 4 in the main manuscript is presented here as Fig. ​Fig.11. Fig. 1 a edgeR correlation between signal-to-noise and –log10(p-values) using the corrected normalization of gene counts. b ROC analysis of curves for detection of DE at signal-to-noise ratio of ≥3. Note that edgeR AUC has improved from 0.788 ... We note that our reanalysis is based on the exact same procedure used in the original publication. However, Zhou and Robinson introduce a different version of this analysis where the ROC analysis is based on a common set of genes. Second, most packages used in our original publication have since been updated and in some cases the algorithms revised substantially. Therefore, it is possible that a similar comparison with the latest versions of the packages may result in different conclusions.
Coronary computed tomography angiography: our time has come, but there are miles to go before we sleep.

In this issue of the Journal , Budoff et al. ([1][1]) publish results from the ACCURACY (Assessment by Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography of Individuals Undergoing Invasive Coronary Angiography) trial comparing noninvasive coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) with invasive
Automatic Generation and Checking of Program Specifications

This thesis introduces the idea of combining automatic generation and checking of program specifications, assesses its efficacy, and suggests directions for future research. Specifications are valuable in many aspects of program development, including design, coding, verification, testing, and maintenance. They also enhance programmers’ understanding of code. Unfortunately, written specifications are usually absent from programs, depriving programmers and automated tools of their benefits. This thesis shows how specifications can be accurately recovered using a two-stage system: propose likely specifications using a dynamic invariant detector, and then confirm the likely specification using a static checker. Their combination overcomes the weaknesses of each: dynamically detected properties can provide goals for static verification, and static verification can confirm properties proposed by a dynamic tool. Experimental results demonstrate that the dynamic component of specification generation is accurate, even with limited test suites. Furthermore, a user study indicates that imprecision during generation is not a hindrance when evaluated with the help of a static checker. We also suggest how to enhance the sensitivity of our system by generating and checking context-sensitive properties. This technical report is a reformatted version of the author’s Masters thesis of the same title, published by MIT in May, 2002. He was advised by Michael Ernst, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Zika Virus and Pregnancy: A Review of the Literature and Clinical Considerations

The latest Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak has reached epidemic proportions as it spreads throughout South and Central America. In November 2015, the Brazilian Ministry of Health reported a 20-fold increase in the number of cases of neonatal microcephaly, which corresponds geographically and temporally to the ZIKV outbreak. Case reports have provided some evidence of a causal link between maternal ZIKV infection, fetal microcephaly, and intracranial calcifications. The sparse data regarding ZIKV in pregnancy come solely from case reports and personal communications, and recommendations for management of ZIKV exposure during pregnancy are rapidly evolving. Our objective is to review and synthesize the current literature regarding ZIKV as it pertains to pregnancy and provide some assistance to clinicians who may have to manage a pregnant patient with potential exposure to ZIKV. We will also explore certain aspects of related viruses in pregnancy in hopes to shed light on this little-known topic.
Formation and tunable disassembly of polyelectrolyte-Cu2+ layer-by-layer complex film.

Layer-by-layer assembly of films containing metal ions was investigated. A complex between various metal ions and branched polyethyleneimine is formed in solution and then assembled into multilayer films with poly(acrylic acid). The metal–ligand complex formation results in brightly colored materials that deposit as thick layers. Cu2+-containing films were chosen as a model for studying the disassembly of these films in response to various stimuli, including pH, salt, and surfactants. The range of pH instability corresponds to the pH range over which pores are formed in the film. We demonstrate controllable disassembly of these materials, which could be used for antifungal or antibacterial applications.
Photoconductivity in Tl6SI4: A Novel Semiconductor for Hard Radiation Detection

The chemical concept of lattice hybridization was applied to identify new chalcohalide compounds as candidates for X-ray and γ-ray detection. Per this approach, compound semiconductor materials with high density and wide band gaps can be produced that can absorb and detect hard radiation. Here, we show that the mixed chalcogenide–halide compound Tl6SI4 is a congruently melting, mechanically robust chalcohalide material with strong photoconductivity response and an impressive room-temperature figure of merit. Tl6SI4 crystallizes in the tetragonal P4/mnc space group, with a = 9.1758(13) A, c = 9.5879(19) A, V = 807.3(2) A3, and a calculated density of 7.265 g·cm–3. The new material requires a more simplified crystal growth compared to the leading system Cd0.9Zn0.1Te, which is the benchmark room-temperature hard radiation detector material. We successfully synthesized Tl6SI4 crystals to produce detector-grade wafers with high resistivity values (∼1010 Ω·cm) and high-resolution detection of X-ray spectra from...
Concentrating Optics with Big Glass Mirrors for Inexpensive CPV Generation

Abstract: Large, inexpensive, back-silvered glass mirrors are widely used at solar thermal generation plants. The electrical output per mirror may be doubled by optical coupling to highly efficient, triple junction photovoltaic cells
Erect Bryozoans Are More Than Baffling: Enhanced Sedimentation Rate by a Living Unilaminate Branched Bryozoan and Possible Implications for Fenestrate Bryozoan Mudmounds

Feeding colonies of the branched cheilostome bryozoan Bugula nertina trap sediment more effectively from sediment-laden water flowing at velocities of a few cmls than do dead colonies, which in turn collect more sediment than bare, smooth substrata. The enhanced sedimentation immediately downstream of live colonies is due apparently to cilia-generated currents. These currents draw water, sediment and organic material, that would otherwise pass by unimpeded, through the colonies and into the stagnant region below and leeward of them. Ancient colonies with organization generally similar to Bugula (such as the Paleozoic fenestrate bryozoans) may also have generated higher sedimentation rates where slightly turbid water passed over them than passive baffling or production offeces or pseudofeces alone would generate. This potentially could have contributed to enigmatic mudmound buildups, such as the Carboniferous Waulsortian mounds, and other muddy facies.