cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Co-morbidity on Life Expectancy Among Men with Localized Prostate Cancer

AbstractPurpose: We evaluated 3 indexes used to assess patient co-morbidities to determine whether they could predict mortality among men with clinically localized prostate cancer.Materials and Methods: We measured the impact of co-morbidity classifications on all cause mortality using a parametric proportional hazards model based on a retrospective cohort analysis.Results: Each index tested is a highly significant predictor of mortality for patients dying of nonprostate cancer related causes after adjusting for age and Gleason score.Conclusions: Each co-morbidity index provides significant, independent predictive information concerning patient mortality beyond that provided by age, Gleason score and clinical stage alone.
Research on Calculation Method of Jumper Conductor in Overhead Power Transmission Line

On basis of considering influence of rigidity, elastic module, unit weight and section area etc conductor parameters on the jumper conductor, establish the mathematic model of the jumper conductor on basis of Cosserat bar theory, operate MATLAL and call VC++ Compiler to complete research and development of the jumper conductor length calculation software. Through test simulation of the jumper conductor and Xiangjiaba -Shanghai ±800kV DC engineering application, calculate sag and design sag with software which have good consistence, reduce high height operation time and reduce waste of jumper conductor, realize the standardized design and construction of the jumper conductor, which has good application prospect.
Spectral flux from low-density photospheres - Low-temperature results

Previous studies of low-density, hydrogen-dominated, quasi-static photospheres (such as those of Type II supernovae) are extended to effective temperatures Te = 4000-6000 K. These temperatures include those at which hydrogen recombines at the densities investigated, corresponding to scale heights Delta R = (1-100) x 10 to the 14th cm. In addition to presenting results for the emergent spectral flux (required to obtain supernova distances via the Baade method), the validity of some assumptions previously made is demonstrated. It is shown that the level populations of hydrogen are governed solely by a balance between photoionization directly to and recombination directly from the continuum.
New Imaging Technologies to Enhance the Molecular Sensitivity of Positron Emission Tomography

Positron emission tomography (PET) is used in the clinic and in vivo small animal research to study certain molecular processes associated with diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and neurological disorders and guide the discovery and development of new treatments. New PET molecular probes and associated small animal imaging assays are under development to target, visualize, and quantify subtle molecular and cellular processes such as protein-protein interactions in signal transduction pathways, cancer cell trafficking, therapeutic stem cells and their progeny, interaction of the immune system and tumor cells, and gene delivery and expression in living animals. These next-generation PET molecular imaging assays require an order of magnitude increase in PET's ability to detect, visualize, and quantify low concentrations of probe interacting with its target, which we will refer to as molecular sensitivity , in order to study the subtle signatures associated with these molecular processes. The molecular sensitivity is determined by a combination of the probe and biological/physiological properties of the subject that determine its specificity for the target, and the performance capabilities of the imaging system that determine how well the resulting signal can be measured. This paper focuses on the second aspect: the challenges of advancing PET technology and some of the new imaging system technologies under investigation to substantially enhance PET's molecular sensitivity. If successful, these novel imaging system technology advances, together with new probe molecules that target specific molecular processes associated with disease, will substantially enhance the molecular sensitivity of PET and thus increase its role in preclinical and clinical research as well as evaluating and managing disease in the clinic.
Using GIS To determine the effects of two common taphonomic biases on vertebrate fossil assemblages

Abstract Paleoecological statistics calculated for fossil assemblages are often influenced by biases that may act at more than one scale. These biases are difficult to detect without an overarching method that can accommodate the spatial attributes of fossil specimens. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to manage, analyze, synthesize, and archive large amounts of paleontological data within a geospatial framework. This study uses GIS to test the impact of variation in sampling area and rate of sediment accumulation on two commonly employed paleoecological statistics—species richness and relative body size. Mammals of the Willwood Formation (early Eocene) from the central part of the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA, serve as a test case. Fossil localities outlined on U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps were digitized and GIS was used to estimate their two-dimensional areas. This metric was compared directly with species richness to test sampling area bias and also was used to calculate the de...
Replacement of Soybean Meal in Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, Diets with Cottonseed Meal and Distiller’s Dried Grains with Solubles

Two pond experiments were conducted to evaluate cottonseed meal (CSM), distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), and supplemental lysine as replacements for soybean meal (SBM) in channel catfish diets. In Experiment 1, fish fed diets in which SBM was totally replaced with CSM gained similar weight as fish fed control diet, but fish fed CSM diet in Experiment 2 had 9.5% lower weight gain than fish fed control diet. In both experiments, feed conversion increased significantly for fish fed CSM diet. There were no consistent trends in body composition of fish fed CSM diet versus control diet. Fish fed the DDGS + SMB diet had higher (Experiment 1) or similar (Experiment 2) weight gain than fish fed control diet. Feed conversion ratio was significantly lower in both experiments for fish fed SBM + DDGS diet than that of fish fed control diet. Body fat tended to be higher in fish fed SBM + DDGS diet compared to fish fed control diet. It appears that about 50% of SBM can be replaced with CSM + lysine in catfish diets without negatively affecting fish performance. Further, DDGS can be used up to at least 30% when the diet is supplemented with lysine.
Convex optimization in wireless CDMA receiver design

The objective of this work is the development of cross-layer network receiver designs for wireless CDMA communications with a special emphasis given to high-dimensional adaptive processing under small sample support (e.g. rapidly-changing environments). In this work, we propose a quadratically-constrained MVDR/MMSE filter in an effort to achieve superior filtering performance under limited sample support adaptations. The quadratically-constrained MVDR/MMSE filter estimator utilizes a parameterized estimate of the input covariance matrix that is given as a convex combination of the sample-average covariance matrix and a scalar multiple of its inverse. Selection methods based on the limited sample support are proposed for both the inverse matrix multiplicative scalar as well as the convex parameter, and they can be applied more generally to other adaptive decision techniques such as selection of the diagonally-loaded MVDR parameter.
An Aggregate Air Traffic Forecasting Model subject to Stochastic Inputs

This paper introduces an aggregate air traffic model that calculates the number of aircraft in each Air Route Traffic Center in the United States at any time iteration. The algorithm has the feature of being able to compute the shortest path of an aircraft using future previsions. Weather perturbations and available resources are two main types of input that have a stochastic nature due to their uncertainties. Too often they result in last minute delays or flight cancellations. Thus when predictions are available, their integrations in the path computation modify the aircraft trajectories accordingly, generating robust flight plans. More importantly, this algorithm handles different aircraft types which fly at different cruising speeds, making the scenarios being tested more realistic. Three simple scenarios were tested to validate this aggregate model. A large scale example using historical traffic data of a typical day in the National Airspace System is also presented. The results in comparison with uncontrolled simulations performed in the Future Automation Concepts Evaluation tool show that the model constitutes a potential Traffic Flow Management strategy. Nomenclature
Knapweed Hay as a Nutritional Supplement for Beef Cows Fed Low-Quality Forage

Advancing our ability to use invasive plants for producing commodities is central to the agricultural industry. Our objective was to evaluate Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens [L.] DC.) as a winter feed supplement for ruminant livestock. In Experiment 1, we utilized three ruminally cannulated steers in a completely randomized design to compare the ruminal degradation characteristics of alfalfa and Russian knapweed. In the second experiment, Russian knapweed and alfalfa were compared as protein supplements using 48 midgestation, beef cows (530 65 kg) offered ad libitum hard fescue (Festuca brevipila Tracey) straw in an 84-d study. Treatments included an unsupplemented control and alfalfa or Russian knapweed provided on an isonitrogenous basis. In Experiment 1, the rate and effective degradability of neutral detergent fiber was greater for alfalfa compared with Russian knapweed (P � 0.02). Ruminal lag time for NDF (period before measurable disappearance began) was greater for knapweed (P¼0.03). Soluble nitrogen, rate of N degradation, rumen degradable N, and effective degradability of N were all greater for alfalfa compared with Russian knapweed (P ,0.01). In Experiment 2, supplementation increased (P ,0.01) cow weight gain and BCS compared to the unsupplemented control with no difference between alfalfa and Russian knapweed (P¼0.47). There was no difference (P¼0.60) in the quantity of straw offered between the unsupplemented cows and supplemented groups, but alfalfa fed cows were offered approximately 11% more (P¼0.03) than Russian knapweed-fed cows. Total DM offered to cows was greater (P ,0.01) for supplemented compared with unsupplemented cows with no difference noted between alfalfa and Russian knapweed (P¼0.79). Russian knapweed is comparable to alfalfa as a protein supplement for beef cows consuming low-quality forage. Using Russian knapweed as a nutritional supplement can help solve two major production problems; managing an invasive weed, and providing a feedstuff that reduces an impediment in livestock production systems.
In vivo trabecular microcracks in human vertebral bone

Human vertebral cancellous bone from white males (N =19), black males (N = 16), white females (N = 12), and black females (N = 17) was examined histologically for the presence, numerical density, and morphology of in vivo microscopic cracking (microdamage). Two patterns of microcracks, linear and cross-hatched, were observed. Linear microcracks were observed in both the central portion and near surfaces of trabeculae. Those inside trabeculae were usually single microcracks approximately 50 pm in length and were found in both cement lines and in interstitial bone matrix. Linear microcracks near the trabecular surface were usually multiple parallel cracks approximately 80 μm in length. Microcracks with a cross-hatched appearance were less prevalent. They were observed primarily in vertically oriented trabeculae and were often surrounded by an area of diffuse staining. Two-way ANOVA revealed no differences in microcrack density (Cr.Dn; #/mm2) between males and females [mean (SD) 5.13 (5.02) vs. 5.41 (6.26), respectively], but whites had significantly higher microcrack density than blacks [7.00 (5.71) vs. 3.63 (4.98), respectively, p < 0.05]. White males had a significantly higher microcrack density than black males [7.60 (5.56) vs. 2.21 (1.78), respectively, p < 0.05]. Although not statistically significant, white females also had higher microcrack density than black females. In contrast to what has been reported in the femur, regression analysis found no statistically significant relationship between microcrack density in the spine and age for any of the four race-gender groups. However, significant power relationships were found between microcrack density and bone area fraction for all groups except for black females. The difference between axial and appendicular bone remodeling rates, and their implications for microdamage accumulation, are discussed.
Bubble Sizes, Breakup, and Coalescence in Deepwater Gas/Oil Plumes

Bubble size distribution (BSD) plays a major role in transport and fate of gas or oil released in deepwater. However, no reliable method is available to estimate gas or oil BSD after a deepwater spill. Breakup and coalescence have been identified as key processes controlling BSDs in turbulent jets. The present work introduces bubble breakup and coalescence processes for deepwater gas or oil spill models. A population balance equation representing bubble volumes is used to model the evolution of bubble sizes caused by breakup and coalescence. Existing theories for bubble breakup and coalescence rates in bubble columns are adopted to deepwater plumes. The advantage of the present model is that the BSD is generated as a result of breakup and coalescence; and therefore, a predefined BSD is no longer necessary for simulations. The comparison of model-computed results with laboratory and field data shows a good agreement. Scenario simulations show that the seed diameter given to start computations affects only for a short distance from the release point. Simulations also show that bubble breakup and coalescence is important only during the early stages of the plume where turbulence is dominant. The importance of accounting for gas bubble breakup and coalescence in estimation of gas dissolution is also demonstrated.
At what layer does mobility belong

Internetworking is a complex problem, traditionally tackled by splitting responsibilities between several layers of protocols arranged in a stack. A shortcoming of the current Internet suite's layers is that the responsibilities of individual layers are somewhat ill defined. The result is that frequently a feature may cause problems for higher layers when it unexpectedly exists lower in the stack, or may be unnecessarily and inefficiently implemented in multiple layers. Mobility is one such feature with no well defined place in classical protocol stacks. If a link layer hands over between two distinctly administered networks, a network layer protocol will likely need to acquire a new address. Similarly, if mobility is implemented at the network layer, such as with mobile IP, transport layer protocols must be prepared to deal with a slew of problems (rapid changes in available capacity and delay, the asymmetry of triangle routes, and security policies, to name a few). Code for higher-level protocols (above transport) is less frequently reused, so higher-layer mobility schemes fail to leverage the large base of TCP sockets code. We discuss the various strengths and weaknesses of implementing mobility at three different layers of the protocol stack, concluding that a transport layer mobility scheme is likely to suit today's mobile Internet users best, and that ideally there should be more communication between layers to avoid conflict and inefficiency.
Fast mode decision and motion estimation for JVT/H.264

The JVT/H.264 video coding standard achieves considerably higher coding efficiency than previous standards. Unfortunately this comes at a cost in considerably increased complexity at the encoder mainly due to motion estimation and mode decision. In this paper, we propose a new scheme to jointly optimize motion estimation and mode decision. Simulation results show that we achieve up to 90% complexity reduction while maintaining coding efficiency.
Satellite derived earth-atmosphere radiation budget during FGGE special observing period-2

Abstract The earth-atmosphere radiation budget data derived from the TIROS-N satellite during FGGE are discussed. Latitudinal averages of the outgoing longwave radiation and albedo values for various zones derived during FGGE period are compared with the four year average (1974–1977) satellite data. The differences in the observed radiation fluxes are attributed partly to various observational times and partly due to circulation changes.
Probabilistic Theories of Time Dependent Failure of Fiber Bundles

This paper summarizes recent advances in modeling the static and time dependent failure of fiber bundles. The fibers are assumed to exhibit statistical variations in tensile strength which may be influenced by the fiber load histories. The bundle load is shared among the surviving fibers at any given time according to a load sharing rule that takes into account statistical variations in the geometric and mechanical properties of the individual fibers. On a force per fiber basis, the static and fatigue strength of a bundle is less than the average strength of the fibers. The strength loss increases with increased variability in fiber strength, time-to-failure and load sharing. The variability in bundle strength however decreases with an increase in the number of fibers in the bundle. The paper gives many strength prediction relationships that will have use in the design of high strength cables and lines.
Adsorbate structure and vibrations on the Bi/Si(001)-(1 × 2) surface

Abstract X-ray standing wave measurements were undertaken to determine the bonding position and vibrational amplitude (normal to the surface plane) of Bi ad-dimers on the Bi-saturated Si(001)-(1 × 2) surface. Using the (004) Bragg reflection, we find that the center of the Bi ad-dimers lies 1.72 A above the bulk-like Si(004) surface atomic plane. Using the (008) Bragg reflection, we find that the room temperature root-mean-square vibrational amplitude of the Bi adatoms normal to the surface plane is 0.13 A. This direct determination of the adsorbate vibrational dynamics verifies earlier assumptions regarding the magnitude of adsorbate surface vibrations on Si surfaces, and suggests that the vibrational amplitude of dimerized group V/Si(001)-(1 × 2) structures is independent of the mass of the adsorbate.
THE DISPLAYS AND SONATIONS OF THE BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD (TROCHILIDAE: ARCHILOCHUS ALEXANDRI)

ABSTRACT. Studies on the sonations (nonvocal communicative sounds) of birds have revealed a wide diversity of mechanisms and functions. We describe the kinematics and sounds of the display dive and shuttle display of the male Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri). Males produced an integrated series of trilled and tonal sounds during their displays. Through a combination of experiments on wild birds, experiments on isolated feathers in the laboratory, and comparisons between high-speed video and audio recordings, we show that the display sounds are sonations produced by feathers. The timing of the trilled sounds during both the shuttle and dive displays corresponded to the wingbeat kinematics, which suggests that they are produced by the wings. These trills were qualitatively similar to the wing trills reported for other species of hummingbirds, but the mechanism of sound production remains unclear. The production of the tonal sounds during the display dive corresponded to tail spreads, and ex...
Nanoscale measurements of the surface photovoltage in Cu(In, Ga)Se 2 , Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 , and Cu 2 ZnSnSe 4 thin films: The role of the surface electronics on the efficiency of solar cells

We report on recent advances in the development of nanoscale measurements of the surface photovoltage (SPV) based on scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and its application to the kesterites Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) and Cu 2 ZnSnSe 4 (CZTSe). One critical aspect of the electronic structure of Cu(In, Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) that has yet to be determined in their related kesterite compounds is the character of the surface electronics. In CIGS, spontaneous deviations in the stoichiometry of the surface cause a depletion (or even a type inversion) region that reinforces the CIGS homojunction. First-principle calculations predict that this inversion region will be more difficult to form in CZTS. In this contribution, the characteristics of the surface space charge region for both CIGS and CZTS(e) are investigated by STM. The implications of the results of these measurements on the future development of CZTS solar cells will be discussed.
Analysis of Improved Urinary Peak Flow Rates After Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy

Abstract Purpose: Longitudinal assessment of prostatic obstruction has historically been assessed with urinary peak flow rates (PFR). In this observational study, we assess the impact of prostate removal on preoperative and postoperative PFRs after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Patients and Methods: A single surgeon (TA) performed RARPs between 2002 and 2007. Men underwent routine preoperative uroflowmetric testing: 550 qualified for analysis with a sufficient voided volume (VV) of 150 mL preoperatively and at least once postoperatively. Continence and self-assessed American Urological Association (AUA) symptom and urinary quality of life (QoL) questionnaires were queried. Uroflows were analyzed preoperatively, short-term (3–15 mos), long-term (>2 y), and by age decades, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) groups, and pathologic weight cohorts. Results: AUA and QoL scores improved from 8.1 and 1.6 at baseline to 4.4 and 1.0 at intermediate-term follow-up, P<0.01. Mean PFRs improved from a b...
The Digital Archive of Buddhist Temple Gazetteers and Named Entity Recognition (NER) in classical Chinese

The identification of names and dates in larger corpora of historical texts is important for both traditional and digitally mediated research; it is part of reading as well as of exploring digital corpora. This paper is an introduction to a number of issues concerning named entity recognition (NER) for classical Chinese. In particular it introduces the “Digital Archive of Buddhist Temple Gazetteers” ( http://buddhistinformatics.ddbc.edu.tw/fosizhi/ ), as a benchmark corpus for NER on classical Chinese and illustrates how marked-up corpora can provide answers to question that could not otherwise be addressed. The “Digital Archive of Buddhist Temple Gazetteers” is an open source and access archive of local histories of Chinese Buddhist sites. Names and dates were encoded with XML/TEI and associated with authority databases. The archive, which contains classical texts in a variety of genres, can serve as testing data for experiments in NER and POS tagging. The data is made available as part of the article. We also show that for classical Chinese even a custom-made person name dictionary, created during the markup of the corpus, cannot in turn be used to parse the same corpus successfully without further intervention.
Effect of Certain Antiprotozoal Drugs on Toxoplasma In Vitro and In Vivo

SummaryIn a search for a chemothera-peutic agent against toxoplasma a large number of drugs of known effectiveness against other protozoa were tested in vitro and in vivo. In the in vitro tests, heparin-ized peritoneal exudate, containing about 10,000 M.L.D. of toxoplasma, was mixed with certain concentrations of the compounds under investigation and after incubation at 37 °C in a water bath for periods of 3, 6, and 24 hr, aliquot portions were injected intraabdominally in mice to test for the survival of the toxoplasma. In this type of test atabrin in a concentration of 1:50,000 yielded a noninfective mixture in less than 3 hr; trypaflavin, rivanol lactate, potassium antimony tartrate, optochin (in concentrations of 1:10,000) and mapharsen (1:20,000) required more than 3 but less than 6 hr, and neosalvarsan (1:20.000), tryparsamide (1:10,000), and quinine HCl (1:10,000) required more than 6 but less than 24 hr to produce the same effect. Stibosan (1:10,000), 4:4′ diamidino stilbene (1:10,000), sulfanilam...
Inverted First-Person Authority

Generally speaking, we can distinguish facts from our ways of knowing about them. On the one hand, there is a property instantiated by an object; on the other, there is our knowledge of this instantiation. The instantiation of the property is one thing; the faculty by means of which we detect it is another. This distinction simply reflects the familiar realist separation between ontology and epistemology: the object of knowledge is not to be conflated with the knowledge itself. Knowledge is a relation al matter, an interaction between an object and a knowing subject; so the idea of a conceptual inseparability between a fact and a given way of knowing about it sounds wrong as a matter of deep principle. The objec tivity of a fact seems to imply that it can always be conceptually distinguished from our means of gaining epistemic access to it. Given this fundamental distinction, we can expect various contin gency theses to present themselves?to the effect that a given range of facts is only contingently known about in a certain way. For example, we know about light by means of the sense of sight and sound by means of the sense of hearing: but can't we conceive of an inversion of these faculties with respect to those properties? Thus light waves might have interacted with our (or some other creature's) senses in such a way as to produce sensa tions of hearing, and similarly for sound and sensations of seeing: we just need to rig the sensory receptors up so that light stimuli are processed in the auditory cortex and sound waves are processed in the visual cortex.1 The objective property is one thing, and our perceptual reaction to it another. Accordingly, the connection between them is metaphysically contingent. Then there is spectrum inversion: here the same subjective sensation might lie behind different discriminatory behavior, and different sensa tions might lie behind the same such behavior. The behavioral evidence is thus inverted with respect to what it is evidence for?the two are only contingently connected. The behavioral evidence for the sensation is not the same as the sensation, so we can conceive of inversions in how the two
Black Buyer Behavior

This article surveys research on black buying behavior and provides information needed to market more effectively to black consumers.
Molecular Dynamics Simulation Studies of the Structure of a Mixed Carbonate/LiPF6 Electrolyte near Graphite Surface as a Function of Electrode Potential

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of an electrolyte comprised of ethylene carbonate (EC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), and LiPF6 salt near the basal face of graphite electrodes have been performed as a function of electrode potential. Upon charging of the electrodes, the less polar DMC molecule is partially replaced in the interfacial electrolyte layer by the more polar EC. At negative potentials, the carbonyl groups from the carbonate molecules are repelled from the surface, while at positive potentials, we find a substantial enrichment of the surface with carbonyl groups. PF6– rapidly accumulates at the positive electrode with increasing potential and vacates the negative electrode with increasing negative potential. In contrast, Li+ concentration in the interfacial layer is found to be only weakly dependent on potential except at very large negative potentials. Hence, both composition of the electrolyte at the electrode surface and solvent environment around Li+ are observed to vary dramatically with th...
Structural Analysis of Protein Denaturation with Alkyl Perfluorinated Sulfonates

The denaturation of three model proteins, bovine serum albumin (BSA), ovalbumin, and lysozyme, with fully fluorinated potassium sulfonate surfactants was studied using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), and circular dichroism (CD). Scattering analysis revealed that protein–surfactant complexes of fluorinated molecules could also organize into pearl-necklace structures. In contrast, fluorinated surfactants with just four carbons in the tail (PFC4S) promoted the formation of much larger aggregates. The changes in secondary structure of the protein–surfactant complexes were also analyzed by CD to determine the relative content of α-helix and β-sheet motifs. The CD spectra suggest that the α-helix content steadily decrease when proteins were denatured with surfactants of smaller tail lengths. Potassium perfluoro-octanesulfonate (PFC8S) was able to form stable complexes with all three of the model proteins, but lysozyme was unstable w...
An extensible simulator for bus- and directory-based cache coherence

One of the most important concepts that must be understood by students of parallel computer architecture is cache coherence. Processors may change the value of shared variables by writing them in their private caches. These changes must be propagated to the far reaches of the system so that writes to each location are seen in the same sequence throughout the system. Of course, this can be achieved by various protocols, depending on the size of the system and the workload. Students can gain an in-depth understanding of these protocols by simulating them. Our approach is to provide students with an abstract simulator, which can be specialized through inheritance in C++ to model many different protocols. The protocols can be divided into bus based and directory based. Either of these can be invalidation or update. Hybrid and adaptive protocols can also be simulated. Among the protocols covered are MSI, MESI, MOESI, Firefly, Dragon, and a simplified SCI protocol. It would be easy to add additional protocols by subclassing appropriate classes.
Transcendental Phenomenology: Overlooked Methodology for Marketing Research

When marketing researchers select their methodology, two main choices are open to them: qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative has long been associated with scientific, empirical research based on statistics and numerical comparisons, considered by some marketing analysts to be objective and empirical. Qualitative methods are favored for “soft” social science and humanities research as a means to explore human opinions and perceptions through first-hand experience. Thus there has been a longstanding problem of pursuing qualitative research that is considered as free from bias and accurate as its quantitative counterpart. One philosopher who set out to imbue qualitative methodology with the same credibility given quantitative was Edmund Husserl, an early 1900s German philosopher. He developed transcendental phenomenology as a methodology that could explore experiences with the same objectivity as quantitative styles via surpassing the preconceptions of the researcher through use of a primordial fugue state called epoche. Although researcher would use qualitative tools such as interviews and questionnaires, inquiries would be formulated and analyzed free from preconceptions and bias, processed via bracketing of the most common responses. Husserl’s writings were hard to decipher and not as readily adapted to research as other qualitative methods, including hermeneutic phenomenology, which includes researcher input. Nevertheless, if used properly, even for such unlikely-seeming research projects as those dealing with marketing, transcendental phenomenology can produce valid and reliable results yielding valuable information for philosophical purists capable of rigor and discipline.
Transcoccygeal 125iodine Prostatic Implantation for Adenocarcinoma

The transcoccygeal approach to the posterior surface of the prostate gland has been used for delivery of therapeutic levels of irradiation with 125iodine in 18 patients with clinical stages B1 and B2 adenocarcinoma without staging pelvic node dissection. The rationale for this approach, the surgical and radiological technique, and the early postoperative results and complications of this versus the retropubic approach with pelvic node dissection are described.
Direct renal interstitial volume expansion causes exaggerated natriuresis in SHR.

In Okamoto spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), elevated arterial blood pressure is not transmitted to the renal interstitium, and therefore pressure natriuretic and diuretic responses are attenu...
Deep Branch of the Radial Nerve Entrapment

Entrapment of the deep branch of the radial nerve (DBRN) leads to one of two distinct clinical syndromes. Posterior interosseous nerve syndrome (PINS) is a well-defined, rare, and fairly painless nerve palsy involving some of the wrist extensors and all of the finger extensors. By contrast, radial tunnel syndrome (RTS) is a painful repetitive stress type of injury without “hard” neurologic symptoms. Most of the focus of this chapter will be on RTS, a more commonly diagnosed but more controversial disorder in musculoskeletal practice.
Diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser Doppler system for optical air data measurements

The remote determination of air data with optical techniques has been conducted by a compact heterodyne system using a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser (1.06 µm). Experience gained with stable solid-state lasers1.was extended to higher power levels, and close to quantum-noise limited operation was achieved. Wind velocity and turbulence measurements were made and calculations were used to extrapolate the system needs for an optical air data system for high performance aircraft at all altitudes.
Do Treaties Enable or Convert

Do states bring international agreements into force when their interests converge or does negotiating and bringing treaties into force cause their preferences to converge? Some scholars assume preferences are fixed and reflect the distribution of power while others argue the distribution of preferences should be a key factor in whether states can identify mutually beneficial outcomes, with greater preference similarity permitting agreements to occur. Finally, still others argue that creating international agreements is a social act that establishes a coherent norm of behavior around which actor’s preferences can then converge. To test these arguments, this paper reports on new, issue-specific measures of preference similarity created from U.N. General Assembly voting data. It then analyzes the relationship between preference similarity and the likelihood of observing major multilateral human rights and nuclear arms control events from 1945-2008. The results show the distribution of overall and issue-specific interests is significantly associated with the likelihood that treaties will be concluded and enter into force, an effect that increases with the risk posed by asymmetric treaty accession and compliance. There is also evidence of the power of treaty events to cause changes in the distribution of interests. In short, this paper finds a complex but causal relationship between the distribution of interests and treaty behavior.
The British Suppression of the Women’s War

Following the counting incident in Oloko on November 25 and the initial rising of local women there, the situation appeared to colonial officials to have returned to relative calm. Captain Hill left Oloko on November 29, feeling confident that he had resolved the problem. Quite to the contrary, however, the confrontation at Oloko only confirmed the women’s suspicions regarding the intentions of British officials and their African male representatives. Thousands of predominantly Igbo and Ibibio women spread the Ogu throughout much of southern Nigeria in the weeks that followed, including large portions of Owerri and the Bende division of Calabar province, much to the dismay and horror of colonial officials. What most of the British took initially for a minor incident quickly became a threat beyond administrators’ means to control or even comprehend. They would continue to misinterpret the women’s movement as a series of anti-taxation riots.
Murine Models of Tuberculosis

Publisher Summary Mice are generally resistant to tuberculosis infection, being able to contain and control the infection in target organs and hence giving rise to a chronic disease state. In the more resistant strains, such as the C57BL/6 mouse, a gradual disorganization of the lung granulomas occurs as the mouse ages, and is accompanied by micronecrosis, cholesterol deposition, and extensive fibrosis. Mice can be productively infected by a variety of routes, including subcutaneous inoculation, intravenously, or by exposure to an aerosol of bacteria. Currently, the most widely used approach to drug screening involves high-dose intravenous inoculation. Potential new drugs for treatment of tuberculosis can be tested in mice in which the capacity to express acquired immunity is intact or has been ablated in some way. In the intact host, the cell-mediated immune response consists of two mechanisms: protective immunity and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH). The purpose of the former is to activate macrophages harboring living bacilli by means of exposure to the cytokine γ-interferon (IFN), and the purpose of the latter is to bring in large numbers of macrophages to form a granuloma, which prevents bacilli from disseminating away from the primary site of bacterial implantation. The simplest way to determine if a drug can inhibit M. tuberculosis is to titrate the drug against bacilli grown in a nutrient broth to determine the concentration of drug at which the culture cannot grow, which is known as minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). A more expensive way to determine drug susceptibility is the use of automated equipment such the BACTEC device, which measures CO2 production by bacterial cultures, and which can provide additional sophisticated analysis of bacterial growth.
P113 Predictive value of C1q donor specific antibody in identifying pathologic features of AMR

Aims Donor-specific antibody (DSA) correlates with antibody-mediated rejection (AMR), transplant glomerulopathy and graft loss. However, the threshold of when to treat DSA remains a clinical challenge, as it is not clear whether earlier intervention in the AMR process will improve the success of persistently reducing DSA and prolonging outcomes. To address the need for enhanced recognition of AMR diagnosis, we evaluated the predictive value of C1q and conventional IgG DSA levels in identifying AMR features on biopsy. Methods We performed a retrospective quality control study of 39 biopsies from 20 patients with stored serum samples near the time of biopsy. Serum was tested for DSA by C1q using One Lambda SA reagents modified with anti-C1q-biotin plus streptavidin-PE and by conventional IgG. Biopsies were reviewed by a renal pathologist and renal transplant nephrologist who were blinded to immunologic data, and pathologic features of AMR were extracted and classified. Fisher Exact Test was used on categorical data to test significance of correlations between DSA tests and AMR features. Positive and Negative predictive values (PPV, NPV), sensitivity and specificity of IgG DSA and C1q DSA were calculated for different MFI cut-offs. Results IgG DSA correlated with positive C4d at MFI over 1300 ( p .003) but had poor PPV because of false positive cases of AMR without C4d. C1q DSA correlated with positive C4d on biopsy with cut-off values at or above 150 MFI ( p .023), with cut-off of 700 MFI ( p .001) performing the best (PPV 88.9%, NPV 93.1%, sensitivity 80%, specificity 96.4%). In contrast, IgG DSA correlated with one or more features of AMR at MFI over 1300 ( p .001, PPV 83.3%, NPV 75%, sensitivity 75%, specificity 83.3%), but C1q DSA did not. Using combined MFI values of the four highest DSAs and MFI cutoffs of either IgG > 4500 or C1q > 600 correlated with and predicted presence of one or more biopsy feature of AMR ( p .001, PPV 90%, NPV 84.2%, sensitivity 85.7%, specificity 88.9%) and identified all cases with C4d staining. Conclusion Incorporating both IgG and C1q DSA results criteria improved predictability of AMR features on biopsy. These may be useful criteria for establishing earlier pathological or clinical diagnosis of AMR and for developing treatment decision algorithms.
Learning in agent-oriented worlds

There is an increasing level of interest in designing and implementing intelligent agents capable of surviving, performing tasks, and adapting to complex and dynamic environments. These agent-oriented worlds can range from autonomous underwater surveillance vehicles to web-based softbots, and present a variety of challenges and opportunities for machine learning. The complexity and variety of these worlds suggests the need for approaches involving learning at multiple levels and integrating more than one learning methodology. A framework for describing such approaches has been developed and will be presented. Examples of the use of this framework to design agents using both symbolic and non-symbolic learning methods will be given, and will serve as the basis of a discussion of interesting open issues.
Twelve tips on writing a discussion case that facilitates teaching and engages learners

The authors share twelve practical tips on writing a case that engages learners in active learning and discussion. They first advise that, during the initial preparation of the case, authors should...
Present and Future Few Nucleon Studies with Cooler Beams at the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility

The advantages of electron cooled stored beams for studies of few nucleon systems are outlined. Some examples from the present IUCF program in Few body studies in Atomic and Nuclear physics are presented. The possibility of extending these techniques into the multi-GeV energy range is discussed.
Lyn Kinase Alters Gab2 Phosphorylation and c-Cbl Protein Levels To Regulate Imatinib Sensitivity and Survival of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Cells.

Abstract The tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) is effective in controlling BCR-ABL expressing leukemias but resistance occurs in some early phase patients while it is more common in advanced disease. Resistance has been generally associated with mutations in the BCR-ABL kinase that effect drug affinity. However patients are also increasingly reported to fail imatinib therapy while retaining wild-type BCR-ABL expression. Our previous studies suggested a role for Lyn, a Src-related kinase, in imatinib resistance. K562 cells selected for imatinib resistance (K562R) overexpress Lyn kinase and its targeted silencing overcomes imatinib resistance and engages apoptosis. Overexpression of Lyn in K562 cells reduces imatinib sensitivity (3-fold) and patients that fail imatinib therapy in the absence of BCR-ABL mutations express a highly activated Lyn kinase that is not suppressed by imatinib. Silencing Lyn expression in patient specimens induces changes in cell survival that are proportional to the level of Lyn protein reduction. To understand the role of Lyn kinase in imatinib resistance and apoptosis we examined proteins associated with this kinase in imatinib resistant cell lines, leukemic cells overexpressing Lyn and specimens derived from imatinib resistant patients. Lyn overexpression blocked complete suppression of BCR-ABL tyrosine phosphorylation by imatinib and affected BCR-ABL signaling adaptors. Although BCR-ABL forms a stable complex with the leukemogenic-critical adaptor protein Gab2 in imatinib sensitive cells, Lyn overexpression resulted in the formation of Lyn:Gab2 complexed in resistant cells. BCR-ABL kinase inhibition failed to reduce tyrosine phosphorylation of Gab2 in these cells while Lyn silencing or kinase inhibition (with dasatinib) completely suppressed Gab2 tyrosine phosphorylation and correlated with the induction of apoptosis. Lyn silencing in K562R cells also lead to a reciprocal increase in the tyrosine phosphorylation and association with a protein of ~120kDa, identified as the E3 ligase, c-Cbl. Lyn overexpression in K562 cells reduced their imatinib sensitivity and reduced c-Cbl protein levels. Kinase inhibitor and co-transfection studies demonstrated that tyrosine phosphorylation of c-Cbl at a critical signaling site (Y774) is primarily controlled by BCR-ABL and deletion or mutation of the c-Cbl RING domain altered its BCR-ABL phosphorylation. These results suggest that c-Cbl complexes are regulated at both the protein and phosphorylation level by Lyn and BCR-ABL kinase activities, respectively. Overexpression and/or activation of Lyn may disrupt the balance and regulation of critical regulators of leukemogenic signaling (Gab2) or protein trafficking and stability (c-Cbl), resulting in increased cell survival and reduced responsiveness to BCR-ABL kinase inhibition. We conclude that Lyn alters the level and function of critical signaling adaptor proteins in CML cells.
An Anthropometrical Study of Some Big Ten Varsity Wrestlers

Abstract Thirty-six varsity wrestlers from four Big Ten schools were given a comprehensive series of tests that evaluate the physique. The study sought to determine what the body types for wrestlers were sustained. On the basis of the data it was indicated that the types for westlers were substantiated. On the basis of the data it was indicated that the body type for the wrestlers studied was far different from the short-legged, bulky muscled, extreme mesomorphic physique considered ideal. The wrestlers tended toward being an ectomorphic-mesomorphic body type, possessing body type characteristics of an agility athlete.
Exploring the differences between pet and non-pet owners: implications for human-animal interaction research and policy.

There is conflicting evidence about whether living with pets results in better mental and physical health outcomes, with the majority of the empirical research evidence being inconclusive due to methodological limitations. We briefly review the research evidence, including the hypothesized mechanisms through which pet ownership may influence health outcomes. This study examines how pet and non-pet owners differ across a variety of socio-demographic and health measures, which has implications for the proper interpretation of a large number of correlational studies that attempt to draw causal attributions. We use a large, population-based survey from California administered in 2003 (n = 42,044) and find that pet owners and non-pet owners differ across many traits, including gender, age, race/ethnicity, living arrangements, and income. We include a discussion about how the factors associated with the selection into the pet ownership group are related to a range of mental and physical health outcomes. Finally, we provide guidance on how to properly model the effects of pet ownership on health to accurately estimate this relationship in the general population.
Hip ultrasonography in clinical practice

The current practice of hip ultrasonography for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is based on more than three decades of experience. During this time, professional medical organizations in the United States have addressed both the clinical practice and imaging aspects of early detection of DDH. Current evidence-based clinical practice recommendations come from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Consensus imaging recommendations come from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the American College of Radiology, Society for Pediatric Radiology and the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound. In this review the author compares and contrasts the current guidelines and offers additional practice tips for those providing comprehensive hip ultrasound services to infants.