cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Four-Week Reflective Writing Program in the Psychiatry Clerkship: Testing Effects on Reflective Capacity

Reflective capacity is the ability to review and reconstruct the importance, emotional impact, and outcomes of an experience to give it added meaning and context. In medicine, greater reflective capacity is associated with greater empathy and diagnostic accuracy. This project implemented a four-week reflective writing curriculum for third-year medical students during their psychiatric clerkship. A single class of medical students participated in a pilot reflective writing program during their four-week Psychiatry Care Block. Students were provided with weekly writing prompts, and the reflective capacity of their writing assignments was assessed using the REFLECT rubric. Medical students who participated in the reflective writing course demonstrated a significant increase in Wald Rubric reflective writing scores across the four-week clerkship. These results suggest a short, four-week reflective writing curriculum can enhance reflective capacity in a class of third-year medical students.
Predicting treatment course and outcome using a promotion and prevention framework in a community sample of arthritis sufferers

Objective The present study examined the proposition that patients need to focus on something beyond simply "getting better". In a sample of arthritis sufferers, we distinguished individuals by the goals that motivated them - moving toward aspirational goals and maximizing gains (promotion focus) rather than obligations and minimizing losses (prevention focus) - and how these motivational styles influenced treatment. Methods Patients (N=254) participated in a randomized controlled trial of resistance training and self-management, providing 6 time points of data over 2 years. Promotion and prevention focus at baseline were used to predict the course (compliance and changes in coping self-efficacy) and outcome (changes in physical functioning) of treatment. Results Arthritis sufferers with strong promotion orientations showed significant improvements in physical functioning (a direct positive impact on physical health); there were no significant associations with treatment compliance and coping self-efficacy. Arthritis sufferers with strong prevention orientations complied less with the treatment and showed little change in coping self-efficacy during treatment, which, in turn, predicted worse physical functioning over time (a pernicious, indirect influence on treatment outcome). Conclusion A focus on positive approach-oriented goals may improve overall treatment response, whereas a focus on negative avoidance-oriented goals may degrade treatment response through reduced compliance and self-efficacy.
Early Cancer Detection Behaviors among Black Males

Background and Objective It is believed that the differentials in the chances of surviving cancer diagnoses may be due to barriers that limit access to timely, appropriate, and high-quality medical care. Understanding the motivation for early cancer detection behavior among Black males may begin to diminish the prevalence of having an imminent and aggressive cancer diagnosis among this gendered population. To add to this understanding, this study examined perceptions, beliefs, and engagement in early detection cancer behavior in a sample of Black males 23-63 years of age. Materials and Methods Participants (N=312) responded to survey items assessing knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions of cancer, early cancer detection behavior, illness attitude, masculinity, attachment style, and demographic characteristics via a Qualtrics link published on Amazon MTurk. Using hierarchical regression models, associations were estimated between demographic variables, social (illness attitude, identity), behavioral (masculinity, attachment) variables, and early cancer detection behavior. Results Data showed age (β = -.28, p<.01), education (β = -.180, p<.01), illness attitude (β = .24, p<.01), masculinity (β = -.22, p<.01), and avoidant (β = .31, p<.01) and anxious (β = -.14, p<.01) attachment being associated with early cancer detection behavior among Black males. Conclusion Understanding the motivation for early cancer detection behaviors may begin to address the use of mechanisms, by which to ensure a timely diagnosis, of preventable cancers, among this adult population. Our findings should be useful for researchers seeking to understand why people resist beneficial health information, and for practitioners who aim to create interventions that may reduce such resistance.
Efficacy of mini VIDAS for the detection of Campylobacter spp. from retail broiler meat enriched in Bolton broth, with or without the supplementation of blood.

The goals of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of the mini VIDAS automated immunoassay chemistry system to detect Campylobacter spp. from retail broiler meat enriched in Bolton broth supplemented with lysed blood (B+B) or without blood (B–B), and to detect positive samples at 24 versus 48 h after enrichment. Retail broiler meat was enriched and tested for Campylobacter spp. with the mini VIDAS and with an agar plate. Isolates were speciated with a multiplex PCR and typed with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to evaluate relatedness of isolates collected from subsamples enriched in B+B or B–B. The number of Campylobacter-positive samples by mini VIDAS was similar (P > 0.05) to the results found with traditional plating media for naturally contaminated broiler meat, regardless of whether the comparison was made between B+B and B–B, or among different meat products (breast, tenders, and thighs). More positive samples were found at 48 h of enrichment than at 24 h of enrichment (P < 0.05). A Camp...
Nutrient Stoichiometry in Aquatic Ecosystems

Because some individual organisms maintain a constant or approximately constant body nutrient content, ecological interactions can be studied using mass–balance principles of stoichiometry. Animals are more homeostatic in their chemical content than autotrophs such as algae, and macroelements including nitrogen and phosphorus are more closely regulated than microelements. Phosphorus is a key element in understanding trophic interactions and growth rates in planktonic and benthic ecosystems. Phosphorus content in animals relates to both body size and phylogeny. Evolutionary pressures on element content include selection for boniness in fish and selection for high levels of RNA in rapidly growing microbes and invertebrates. Some herbivores have reduced growth when carbon:phosphorus ratios in their food are high. Similarly, the rates and ratios of nutrients recycled by consumers vary stoichiometrically with food and consumer chemistry. At the ecosystem level, relative availability of light vs. nutrients regulates C:P stoichiometry and therefore ecosystem functioning.
Overview of the Molecular Genetics and Molecular Chemotherapy of GBM

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains refractory to conventional treatment approaches, including radiotherapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. Molecular neurooncology has now begun to clarify the transformed phenotype of GBM and identify oncogenic pathways that might be amenable to small molecule and antibody “targeted” therapy. Growth factor signaling pathways are often upregulated in these tumors and contribute to oncogenesis through autocrine and paracrine mechanisms. Excessive growth factor receptor stimulation can also lead to overactivity of the downstream Ras signaling pathway. Other internal signal transduction pathways that may become dysregulated during transformation of GBM include Raf, MEK, PI3K, Akt, and mTOR. In addition, overactivity of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and other effectors leads to neoplastic angiogenesis. “Targeted” therapy against the growth factor signaling and Ras pathways include tyrosine kinase inhibitors (e.g., imatinib, erlotinib) and farnesyltransferase inhibitors (e.g., tipifarnib). Molecular therapeutic small molecules specific to Raf, PI3K, and mTOR include sorafenib, LY294002, and CCI-779, respectively. “Targeted” antiangiogenesis approaches include monoclonal antibodies to VEGF (e.g., bevacizumab) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (e.g., vatalanib, sunitinib). Further development of “targeted” therapies designed to modulate the activity of these pathways, and evaluation of these new agents in clinical trials will be needed to improve survival and quality of life for patients with GBM.
On the Coexistence of LTE-LAA in the Unlicensed Band: Modeling and Performance Analysis

Long term evolution (LTE) technology leveraging the unlicensed band is anticipated to provide a solution for the challenges stemming from the rapid growth of mobile wireless services, the scarcity of available licensed spectrum, and the expected significant increase in mobile data traffic. Ensuring fair operation in terms of spectrum sharing with current unlicensed spectrum incumbents is a key concern relative to the success and viability of Unlicensed LTE (U-LTE). This paper addresses the problem of modeling and evaluating the coexistence of LTE license-assisted-access in the unlicensed band. The paper presents a novel analytical model using Markov chain to accurately model the LAA listen-before-talk scheme, as specified in the final technical specification 36.213 of 3GPP release 13 and 14. Furthermore, model validation is demonstrated through numerical and simulation results comparison. Model performance evaluation is examined and contrasted with IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function. Finally, a comprehensive coexistence performance analysis is conducted for both homogeneous and heterogeneous network scenarios and coexistence results are presented and discussed herein.
Progress in the Field of Micro-Electrocorticography

Since the 1940s electrocorticography (ECoG) devices and, more recently, in the last decade, micro-electrocorticography (µECoG) cortical electrode arrays were used for a wide set of experimental and clinical applications, such as epilepsy localization and brain–computer interface (BCI) technologies. Miniaturized implantable µECoG devices have the advantage of providing greater-density neural signal acquisition and stimulation capabilities in a minimally invasive fashion. An increased spatial resolution of the µECoG array will be useful for greater specificity diagnosis and treatment of neuronal diseases and the advancement of basic neuroscience and BCI research. In this review, recent achievements of ECoG and µECoG are discussed. The electrode configurations and varying material choices used to design µECoG arrays are discussed, including advantages and disadvantages of µECoG technology compared to electroencephalography (EEG), ECoG, and intracortical electrode arrays. Electrode materials that are the primary focus include platinum, iridium oxide, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), indium tin oxide (ITO), and graphene. We discuss the biological immune response to µECoG devices compared to other electrode array types, the role of µECoG in clinical pathology, and brain–computer interface technology. The information presented in this review will be helpful to understand the current status, organize available knowledge, and guide future clinical and research applications of µECoG technologies.
Strongly Coupled Phenazine-Porphyrin Dyads: Light-Harvesting Molecular Assemblies with Broad Absorption Coverage.

The development of light-harvesting architectures with broad absorption coverage in the visible region continues to be an important research area in the field of artificial photosynthesis. Here, we introduce a new class of ethynyl-linked panchromatic dyads composed of dibenzophenazines coupled ortho and meta to tetrapyrroles with an anchoring group that can be grafted onto metal oxide surfaces. Quantum chemical calculations and photophysical measurements of the synthesized materials reveal that both of the dibenzophenazine dyads absorb broadly from 300 to 636 nm and exhibit absorption bands different from those of the constituent chromophore units. Moreover, the different points of attachment of dibenzophenazines to tetrapyrroles give different absorption profiles which computations suggest result from differences in the planarity of the two dyads. Applicability of the dyads in artificial photosynthesis systems was assessed by their incorporation and characterization of their performance in dye-sensitized...
Manipulating Narrative Salience in Interactive Stories Using Indexter's Pairwise Event Salience Hypothesis

The salience of a narrative event is defined as the ease with which an audience member can recall that past event. This paper describes a series of experiments investigating the use of salience as a predictor of player behavior in interactive narrative scenarios. We utilize Indexter, a plan-based model of narrative for reasoning about salience. Indexter defines a mapping of five event indices identified by cognitive science research onto narrative planning event structures. The indices—protagonist, time, space, causality, and intentionality—correspond to the “who, when, where, how, and why” of a narrative event, and represent dimensions by which events can be linked in short-term memory. We first evaluate Indexter's claim that it can effectively model the salience of past events in a player's mind. Next, we demonstrate that salience can be used to predict players’ choices for endings in an interactive story, and finally, we demonstrate that the same technique can be applied to influence players to choose certain endings.
Recombination of Methyl Radicals. 2. Global Fits of the Rate Coefficient

The temperature- and pressure-dependent behavior of the cross section for optical absorption by the methyl radical is carefully considered, so we may define a criterion for selecting and correcting...
Changes in Microbiota Profiles After Prolonged Frozen Storage of Stool Suspensions.

Introduction: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is recommended as safe and effective treatment for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections. Freezing the FMT preparation simplifies the process, allowing a single stool sample to be used for multiple receivers and over an extended period of time. We aimed to assess the effect of long-term frozen storage on bacterial taxonomic profiles of a stool suspension prepared for FMT. Methods: DNA was extracted from a stool suspension before freezing and sequentially during the 18-month storage period at −80°C. Two different protocols were used for DNA extraction. The first relied on a classical mechanical and chemical cell disruption to extract both intra- and extracellular DNA; the second included specific pre-treatments aimed at removing free DNA and DNA from human and damaged bacterial cells. Taxonomic profiling of bacterial communities was performed by sequencing of V3–V4 16S rRNA gene amplicons. Results: Microbiota profiles obtained by whole DNA extraction procedure remained relatively stable during frozen storage. When DNA extraction procedure included specific pre-treatments, microbiota similarity between fresh and frozen samples progressively decreased with longer frozen storage times; notably, the abundance of Bacteroidetes decreased in a storage duration-dependent manner. The abundance of Firmicutes, the main butyrate producers in the colon, were not much affected by frozen storage for up to 1 year. Conclusion: Our data show that metataxonomic analysis of frozen stool suspensions subjected to specific pre-treatments prior to DNA extractions might provide an interesting indication of bacterial resistance to stress conditions and thus of chances of survival in FMT recipients.
Epigenetic Mechanisms Underlying HIV-Infection Induced Susceptibility of CD4+ T Cells to Enhanced Activation-Induced FasL Expression and Cell Death.

Background Chronic immune activation and CD4 T cell depletion are significant pathogenic features of HIV infection. Expression of Fas ligand (FasL), a key mediator of activation-induced cell death in T cells, is elevated in people living with HIV-1 infection (PLWH). However, the epigenetic mechanisms underlying the enhanced induction of FasL expression in CD4 T lymphocytes in PLWH are not completely elucidated. Hence, the current work examined the effect of HIV infection on FasL promoter-associated histone modifications and transcriptional regulation in CD4 T lymphocytes in PLWH. Method Flow cytometric analysis was performed to examine the Fas-FasL expression on total CD4 T cells and naive/memory CD4 T cell subsets. Epigenetic FasL promoter histone modifications were investigated by chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis using freshly isolated total CD4 T lymphocytes from HIV-1 infected and noninfected individuals. Results All naive/memory CD4 T cell subsets from PLWH showed markedly greater frequency of FasL expression. Notably, examination of functional outcome of FasL/Fas co-expression demonstrated the preferential susceptibility of Tcm and Tem subsets to activation-induced apoptosis. Importantly, these CD4 T cells collectively demonstrated a distinct FasL promoter histone profile involving a coordinated cross-talk between histone H3 modifications leading to enhanced FasL gene expression. Specifically, levels of transcriptionally permissive histone H3K4-trimethylation (H3K4Me3) and histone H3K9-acetylation (H3K9Ac) were increased, with a concomitant decrease in the repressive H3K9-trimethylation (H3K9Me3). Conclusion The present work demonstrates that epigenetic mechanisms involving promoter-histone modifications regulate transcriptional competence and FasL expression in CD4 T cells from PLWH and render them susceptible to activation-induced cell death.
Adolescent Criminal Justice Involvement, Educational Attainment, and Genetic Inheritance: Testing an Integrative Model Using the Add Health Data

This study integrates developmental and life-course criminology with advances in socio-genomics to investigate the complex relationships among criminal justice (CJ) involvement (e.g., arrest, conviction, and incarceration), educational attainment, and genetic inheritance. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we conduct an analysis based on a whole-genome polygenic score for educational attainment. We find that participants with lower polygenic scores for educational attainment were significantly more likely to report CJ involvement during adolescence. We then show that the association between the education polygenic score and adolescent CJ involvement risk may be attributed to gene-environment correlation mechanisms that operate via both individual factors (e.g., psychopathic personality traits and delinquency) and social factors (e.g., family characteristics and school experiences). Finally, we find evidence that adolescent CJ involvement mediates the association between the education polygenic score and male participants’ actual educational attainment. Results also indicate that the influence of CJ involvement on education was partially confounded by genetic factors. Findings in this paper not only enrich existing criminological theories on the causes and consequences of CJ involvement in the life-course process but also help to improve causal inference in the study of the impact of CJ involvement on later-in-life outcomes.
Readability Analysis of Patient-Accessible Information Regarding Ambulatory Surgical Center Procedures.

ABSTRACT Background As spine surgery in the ambulatory setting becomes more frequent, patients should comprehend the difference from traditional hospital-based, outpatient settings. Limited research exists on the readability of online articles surrounding spine surgery in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC). In this study, we intend to evaluate the readability of online articles pertaining to spine surgery in the outpatient and ambulatory surgical settings. Methods Three search engines were queried, and the first 100 articles pertaining to each outpatient spine surgery search term were collected. Advertisements, videos, and peer-reviewed scientific articles were excluded. Articles were categorized by publishing source as follows: hospital or institution, general medical Websites, private practice, or surgery center. Flesch-Kincaid (FK) grade level, Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) score, word count, sentences per paragraph, words per sentence, and characters per word were evaluated for each article. Student9s t tests compared readability metrics between groups based on setting and procedure region. Results A total of 342 articles was analyzed; 279 articles were outpatient hospital related, and 63 ASC related. Flesch-Kincaid grade levels or FRE scores were not significantly different between outpatient hospital and ambulatory center. Comparison of ASC to outpatient articles from a hospital or institution source significantly differed in FRE score (40.7 versus 32.4) and FK grade level (12.3 versus 13.9; all P Conclusions Hospital, private practice, and medical journalists should be aware of significant differences in readability of patient-accessible ASC articles. These articles may be more difficult to read than outpatient hospital articles, and production of more reading-level-appropriate online literature is required. Level of Evidence 3 Clinical Relevance There is a significant difference in the readability of patient-accessible ASC articles.
A Study on False Information Injection Attack on Dynamic State Estimation in Multi-Sensor Systems

In this paper, the impact of false information injection is investigated for linear dynamic systems with multiple sensors. It is assumed that the system is unsuspecting the existence of false information and the adversary is trying to maximize the negative effect of the false information on Kalman filter's estimation performance. The false information attack under different conditions is mathematically characterized. For the adversary, many closed-form results for the optimal attack strategies that maximize Kalman filter's estimation error are theoretically derived. It is shown that by choosing the optimal correlation coefficients among the bias noises and allocating power optimally among sensors, the adversary could significantly increase Kalman filter's estimation errors. To be concrete, a target tracking system is used as an example in the paper. From the adversary's point of view, the best attack strategies are obtained under different scenarios, including a single-sensor system with both position and velocity measurements, and a multi-sensor system with position and velocity measurements. Under a constraint on the total power of the injected bias noises, the optimal solutions are solved from two perspectives: trace and determinant. Numerical results are also provided in order to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed attack strategies.
Assessment of variation in care and outcomes for pediatric appendicitis at children's and non-children's hospitals.

Abstract Background Variation in care may indicate an opportunity for quality improvement and to decrease waste. Variation in appendicitis practice, resource use, and costs have not been well studied at non-children's hospitals (NCHs) where most children undergo care. The purpose of this study was to quantify variation in care for perforated pediatric appendicitis within and between children's hospitals (CHs) and NCH. Methods Using the 2012 Kids' Inpatient Database, 11,216 children with perforated appendicitis were identified. Comparisons between CH and NCH were made in regard to operative approach (open versus laparoscopic), central line (CL) and total parenteral nutrition (PN) use, complication rates, length of stay (LOS), and total costs. Results NCHs cared for 8051 patients (72%) with perforated appendicitis. CHs were more likely to perform a laparoscopy compared to NCHs (odds ratio (OR) 10.2, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 5.7–18.2), and to utilize CL or PN than NCHs (CL OR 2.4 (95% CI 1.5–3.8), PN OR 2.6 (95% CI 1.4–4.9)). Composite complication rates were lower at CH (OR 0.5 (95% CI 0.4–0.6)). While LOS was not different between CH and NCH in the fully adjusted model, costs were higher at CH (OR 6.8 (95% CI 3.9–12.2)). Low and high outliers could be identified for each variable and outcome of interest with no consistent performance regardless of CH or NCH status. Conclusions Variation in operative approach, resource use, complications, LOS, and costs exist in the management of pediatric perforated appendicitis with greatest variation observed at NCH. Future quality improvement efforts should be tailored for implementation at both CH and high-volume NCH.
Before They Even Start: Hope and Incoming 1Ls

Newly-accepted law school 1Ls often express interest in how they should spend the summer before starting their fall courses in order to be best prepared for success in their first semester. This desire to have a "leg up" on law school success leads those of us teaching first-year courses to think more deeply about what constitutes a "good preparation" for the unique experiences that new law students will face, and what skills are really necessary to increase their possibilities of success, especially in the first semester.Over the past few years, I have compiled a list of activities which I have periodically recommended piecemeal to students at all levels who ask me for advice on how to improve their writing skills during the first year of law studies or prior to that first year. The current version of the complete list contains twenty-two suggestions. For the purpose of this presentation, however, I have elected to discuss, with a few exceptions, only those suggestions focusing on preparation for legal reasoning or - especially - writing, explaining not only how each activity might assist in preparing for the first year of law school, but also how students following a specific suggestion might also increase law professors' hope for a good semester and a strong new generation of attorneys.
Educating Students with Disabilities in the Least Restrictive Environment: A Slippery Slope for Educators.

States that historically, students with disabilities in the public schools in the USA were subjected to discrimination in the form of segregation from non‐disabled students. Also reports that much of this discrimination has subsided in recent years owing to successful advocacy by parents and community organizations before the Congress of the United States and both the federal and state judiciary. Reveals that national legislation was created so as to protect the education rights of such students and the courts have provided tests for their integration into school systems. Notes that, currently, there is some concern that this advocacy has gone too far and that court decisions authorizing “full inclusion” misinterpret the full extent of the law. Examines the scope of education for disabled children and provides a legal analysis of the educational placement of students with disabilities in the “least restrictive environment”.
Mission centric reliability analysis of C4ISR architectures using Petri Nets

This paper introduces an approach to deal with the requirement analysis related challenges posed by the increasing demand of interoperability and joint system use. Taking reliability as the analysis measure, the study adopts the Scenario-Based Reliability Analysis (SBRA) technique used for component-based software applications to analyze the reliability of a mix-match of military components over a set of missions. Mission scenarios represented in the form of Sequence Diagrams (SDs) are transformed into their Petri Net equivalents and then combined under a High Level Petri model, which is run to collect statistics for constructing a Component Dependence Graph (CDG). Later, an algorithm is applied to the CDG to investigate the sensitivity of mission specific reliabilities to changes in the reliabilities of components, and communication links.
Evaluation of RFID and Wi-Fi technologies for RTLS applications in healthcare centers

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis about Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) technologies for the Real-time Location System (RTLS) applications in healthcare centers/hospitals. Focus is on the 5 criteria and 9 sub criteria for choosing a RTLS and the research about the features of RFID and Wi-Fi technologies is done. Firstly, these criteria are used for the evaluation purpose based on literature review; secondly, the RFID and Wi-Fi technologies are compared by listing out the facts, pros and cons, according to the problems found out during the investigation about the technologies and the result of interviews with the IT experts in healthcare centers/hospitals, nurses, vendors and engineers of RTLS. Finally, an information retrieval guideline for the RTLS solution selection is given out and demonstrated with RFID and Wi-Fi technologies.
Incentive games for neuro-fuzzy control

Introduces a two-level modular neuro-fuzzy network based on incentive games where the modules are organized as autonomous local optimizers in a leader-follower game hierarchy. Incentive-reaction pairs are used as a measure for the capacity and responsiveness assessment of each follower module. Learning within the follower modules is performed in a traditional error-based manner (e.g. backpropagation). The allocation of targets and incentives to each follower module, on the other hand, is independent of connection weights; incentive games are used for that purpose. Two important advantages of the new architecture are its physically significant follower module outputs and the context-based enhancement it makes to backpropagation.
Intramedullary leg lengthening with a motorized nail.

Background and purpose In the last decade, intramedullary limb lengthening has become a viable alternative to traditional external systems. We retrospectively analyzed the use of an intramedullary motorized nail (Fitbone) in a consecutive series of 32 patients. Patients and methods During the period September 2006 to December 2008, 32 consecutive patients with a median age of 17 (IQR: 15–19) years were treated with a fully implantable, motorized intramedullary lengthening device (Fitbone). The median leg length discrepancy was 35 (IQR: 30–44) mm at the femur (n = 21) and 28 (IQR: 25–30) mm at the tibia (n = 11). Results Leg lengthening was successful in 30 of 32 cases, with no residual relevant discrepancy (± 5 mm). No intraoperative complications were observed. The consolidation index was significantly different (p = 0.04) between femoral lengthening (mean 35 days/cm) and tibial lengthening (mean 48 days/cm) but did not depend on age older/younger than 16 or previous operations at the affected site. 3 pr...
Exergy analysis of rocket systems

Exergy is defined as the useful work available from a system in a specified environment. Exergy analysis allows for comparison between different system designs, and allows for comparison of subsystem efficiencies within system designs. This paper explores the relationship between the fundamental rocket equation and an exergy balance equation. A previously derived exergy equation related to rocket systems is investigated, and a higher fidelity analysis is derived. The exergy assessments will enable informed, value-based decision making when comparing alternative rocket system designs, and will allow the most efficient configuration among candidate configurations to be determined.
Early gestation chorionic villi-derived stromal cells for fetal tissue engineering.

AIM: To investigate the potential for early gestation placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (PMSCs) for fetal tissue engineering. METHODS: PMSCs were isolated from early gestation chorionic villus tissue by explant culture. Chorionic villus sampling (CVS)-size tissue samples (mean = 35.93 mg) were used to test the feasibility of obtaining large cell numbers from CVS within a clinically relevant timeframe. We characterized PMSCs isolated from 6 donor placentas by flow cytometry immunophenotyping, multipotency assays, and through immunofluorescent staining. Protein secretion from PMSCs was examined using two cytokine array assays capable of probing for over 70 factors in total. Delivery vehicle compatibility of PMSCs was determined using three common scaffold systems: fibrin glue, collagen hydrogel, and biodegradable nanofibrous scaffolds made from a combination of polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). Viral transduction of PMSCs was performed using a Luciferase-GFP-containing lentiviral vector and efficiency of transduction was tested by fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry analysis. RESULTS: We determined that an average of 2.09 × 106 (SD ± 8.59 × 105) PMSCs could be obtained from CVS-size tissue samples within 30 d (mean = 27 d, SD ± 2.28), indicating that therapeutic numbers of cells can be rapidly expanded from very limited masses of tissue. Immunophenotyping by flow cytometry demonstrated that PMSCs were positive for MSC markers CD105, CD90, CD73, CD44, and CD29, and were negative for hematopoietic and endothelial markers CD45, CD34, and CD31. PMSCs displayed trilineage differentiation capability, and were found to express developmental transcription factors Sox10 and Sox17 as well as neural-related structural proteins NFM, Nestin, and S100β. Cytokine arrays revealed a robust and extensive profile of PMSC-secreted cytokines and growth factors, and detected 34 factors with spot density values exceeding 103. Detected factors had widely diverse functions that include modulation of angiogenesis and immune response, cell chemotaxis, cell proliferation, blood vessel maturation and homeostasis, modulation of insulin-like growth factor activity, neuroprotection, extracellular matrix degradation and even blood coagulation. Importantly, PMSCs were also determined to be compatible with both biological and synthetic material-based delivery vehicles such as collagen and fibrin hydrogels, and biodegradable nanofiber scaffolds made from a combination of PLA and PLGA. Finally, we demonstrated that PMSCs can be efficiently transduced (> 95%) with a Luciferase-GFP-containing lentiviral vector for future in vivo cell tracking after transplantation. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that PMSCs represent a unique source of cells that can be effectively utilized for in utero cell therapy and tissue engineering.
The Eye-Stalk Hormone and Rate of Heart Beat in Crustaceans.

During a study of the color changes of the prawn Hippolyte varians, Gamble and Keeble (1900) observed that the pale or nocturnal phase was accompanied by a higher rate of heart beat (about 240 beats per minute) than the dark or day phase (150 beats per minute). They believed that these changes in rate of heart beat, color and other variable phenomena which remained in phase with day and night, even when animals were maintained under constant external conditions, were controlled by the nervous system. Since the independent discovery by Perkins (1928) and Koller (1928) of the eye-stalk hormone in crustaceans the results of numerous investigations indicate that the pigment changes of the body and eyes of crustaceans are probably all controlled directly by a hormone or hormones. The question of the number of hormones has not yet been answered. The source of the active principle from the eye-stalk has recently been discussed in some detail by Hanstrom (1937), and the chromatophorotropic substance has been shown by Abramowitz (1937) and others to resemble intermedin in many of its properties. In the group Natantia, to which shrimps and prawns belong, the concentration of the red and yellow pigments has been shown to be due to the presence in the blood of what we may continue to call the eye-stalk hormone. The dispersal of these pigments has been shown to occur when the hormone is absent from the blood or perhaps below a threshold concentration. This suggests that the high rate of heart beat of Hippolyte, which accompanies the pale phase, may be due to the same hormone that affects the pigment cells, and that a lowering of the rate is due to a decrease in the amount of hormone in the blood. In order to test this theory an experiment was performed using the crayfish, Cambarus virilis, as a test animal since a supply of Hippolyte was not available. The eye-stalk hormone is known to be non-specific for crustaceans, hence it may be obtained from one species and tested on another. This makes it possible to use as a source of supply almost any readily available stalk-eyed crustacean. Extracts of eyes and eye-stalks of Palaemonetes vulgaris were prepared by crushi-ng them in cold blooded Ringer's fluid (20 eyes per cc.). Extracts of eyes anld eye-stalks of Catmbarus bartoni (10 eyes per cc., because of larger size) were prepared in a similar mannler. Muscle tissue of crayfish in an amount roughly equivalent to the volume of the eyes was extracted to use as a control. The macerated eyes and muscle tissue were
Short Note: An efficient solver for the equations of resistive MHD with spatially-varying resistivity

We regularize the variable coefficient Helmholtz equations arising from implicit time discretizations for resistive MHD, in a way that leads to a symmetric positive-definite system uniformly in the time step. Standard centered-difference discretizations in space of the resulting PDE leads to a method that is second-order accurate, and that can be used with multigrid iteration to obtain efficient solvers.
Moisture effects on the thermal and creep performance of carbon fiber/epoxy composites for structural pipeline repair

Carbon fiber/epoxy matrix composites were tested in flexural creep after having been exposed to water for over 18 months. Flexural testing was performed in a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer and time temperature superposition was used to generate master curves by manual and constant activation energy approaches. In addition to the time–temperature superposition, an analysis of activation energy based on frequency dependent Tg was performed. Immersion lowered the activation energy when compared to a non-immersed sample, but immersion between 11 and 18 months did not change the activation energy by a statistically significant amount. An immersed tensile creep test was also performed to compare with the time–temperature superposition (TTS) results. Comparison between the TTS predictions and the tensile creep predictions indicate that the TTS may be highly conservative. For a high-crimp composite in a wet environment, a maximum loading of 16% UTS was required for a 50 year design life from TTS predictions. A tensile creep test indicated that 65% UTS would be conservative for a 50 year lifespan.
A ghost in a snowstorm [computer graphics]

There is a storm cloud growing on the horizon of the digital convergence between computer graphics and television/graphic arts. Computer graphics and image processing assume that pixel values are linearly related to light intensity. A typical video or paint image, however, encodes intensity nonlinearly. Most image manipulation software does not take this into account and just does arithmetic on the pixel values as though they were linearly related to light intensity. This is obviously wrong. The question is, how wrong, and for what pixel values is the problem worst and best? The author presents a review of the basic concepts.
A 1-12 GeV/c Beam Transport for Transverse or Longitudinally Polarized Protons

A two-stage beam transport for polarized protons has been constructed and operated at the Argonne ZGS. The first stage delivers vertically polarized protons (N-type) to an elastic scattering polarimeter consisting of a 10 cm long LH2 target and two moveable sets of forward and recoil scintillation counters. The unscattered protons transported through the beam's second stage are focused onto the polarized proton target PPT-III; this target utilizes a 2.5 T "R and A" magnet to produce target polarizations in the horizontal plane, either in the beam direction (L-type) or transverse to it (S-type). The second stage of the beam is equipped with a combination of superconducting solenoids and dipole magnets; thus the beam polarization can also be rotated to point in the L or S direction. The entire system has been operated successfully over the momentum range 1.0 - 11.75 GeV/c with NS, LS, SS, and LL beam-target spin directions.
Thermal modeling of secondary lithium batteries for electric vehicle/hybrid electric vehicle applications

Abstract A major obstacle to the development of commercially successful electric vehicles (EV) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) is the lack of a suitably sized battery. Lithium ion batteries are viewed as the solution if only they could be “scaled-up safely”, i.e. if thermal management problems could be overcome so the batteries could be designed and manufactured in much larger sizes than the commercially available near-2-Ah cells. Here, we review a novel thermal management system using phase-change material (PCM). A prototype of this PCM-based system is presently being manufactured. A PCM-based system has never been tested before with lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries and battery packs, although its mode of operation is exceptionally well suited for the cell chemistry of the most common commercially available Li-ion batteries. The thermal management system described here is intended specifically for EV/HEV applications. It has a high potential for providing effective thermal management without introducing moving components. Thereby, the performance of EV/HEV batteries may be improved without complicating the system design and incurring major additional cost, as is the case with “active” cooling systems requiring air or liquid circulation.
Generation of ultralow phase noise microwaves with an Er:fiber-based optical frequency divider

Absolute phase noise &#60; −100 dBc/Hz at 1 Hz offset from a 10 GHz carrier is demonstrated by using an Er:fiber frequency comb to frequency-divide a narrow linewidth CW laser.
Sequence homology of the LFA-1 and Mac-1 leukocyte adhesion glycoproteins and unexpected relation to leukocyte interferon

Cell-surface adherence reactions are fundamental to the biology of lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes. The lymphocyte function-associated 1 (LFA-1) and macrophage 1 (Mac-1) glycoproteins mediate differing types of adhesion reactions on these cells. LFA-1 participates in T-lymphocyte and natural killer-cell adhesion to target cells, whereas the Mac-1 antigen is identical to the complement receptor type 3, which mediates adhesion of monocytes and granulocytes to C3bi-sensitized particles. Deficiency of these proteins, in a heritable disease, results in multiple adhesion-related leukocyte defects. LFA-1 and Mac-1 resemble one another in overall structure, having alpha-subunits of relative molecular mass (Mr) 180,000 and 170,000, respectively, which are non-covalently associated with beta-subunits of Mr 95,000 in alpha 1 beta 1 complexes. Peptide mapping and immunological cross-reactivity have shown that the beta-subunits are highly related if not identical, but have revealed no similarities between the alpha-subunits. Nonetheless, the shared beta-subunit suggested that LFA-1 and Mac-1 might be members of a protein family containing diversified but evolutionarily related alpha-subunits. Therefore, we examine here the structure of the alpha-subunits by N-terminal amino-acid sequencing. Sequence homology shows that the alpha-subunits are members of a novel leukocyte adhesion protein family, and suggests that their evolution occurred by gene duplication. A search for similarities to previously sequenced proteins reveals a further unexpected homology between LFA-1 and leukocyte (alpha) interferons.
Childhood sexual abuse and sexual risk behavior among men and women attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic.

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with a wide range of negative outcomes. This study investigated the relation between CSA and sexual risk behavior in 827 patients recruited from an STD clinic. Overall, CSA was reported by 53% of women and 49% of men, and was associated with greater sexual risk behavior, including more sexual partners, unprotected sex, and sex trading. Alcohol use for men, and drug use for women, mediated the relation between CSA and the number of partners in the past three months; intimate partner violence mediated the relation between CSA and the number of episodes of unprotected sex in the past three months for women. These results document the prevalence of CSA among patients seeking care for an STD, and can be used to tailor sexual risk-reduction programs for individuals who were sexually abused.
Traveling waves from the arclength parameterization: Vortex sheets with surface tension

We study traveling waves for the vortex sheet with surface tension. We use the anglearclength description of the interface rather than Cartesian coordinates, and we utilize an arclength parameterization as well. In this setting, we make a new formulation of the traveling wave ansatz. For this problem, it should be possible for traveling waves to overturn, and notably, our formulation does allow for waves with multi-valued height. We prove that there exist traveling vortex sheets with surface tension bifurcating from equilibrium. We compute these waves by means of a quasi-Newton iteration in Fourier space; we find continua of traveling waves bifurcating from equilibrium and extending to include overturning waves, for a variety of values of the mean vortex sheet strength.
The Hoàng-Reed Conjecture for δ + =3

The Hoang-Reed Conjecture states that a digraph with minimum out-degree d contains d dicycles C"1,C"2,...,C"d such that C"k intersects @?"i"<"kC"i on at most one vertex, for each k. It was made as a more structural approach to the Caccetta-Haggkvist Conjecture. We introduce the concept of a nearest separator and use it to prove a stronger version of the Hoang-Reed Conjecture for the @d^+=2 case. With these two tools we go on to prove the @d^+=3 case.
Interest rate caps and implicit collusion: the case of payday lending

Payday loans are very expensive forms of credit, and states that permit payday lending typically impose ceilings on loan prices. We test whether and how such constraints influence the pricing behaviour of payday lenders, using data on 35,098 payday loans originated in Colorado between 2000 and 2006. We find that loan prices moved upward toward the legislated price ceiling over time, a pattern that is consistent with implicit collusion facilitated by a pricing focal point. This phenomenon is accompanied by a reduction in competitive rivalry: as average prices approach the ceiling over time, statistical evidence consistent with classical price competition fades, and is replaced by evidence consistent with a variety of strategic pricing.