cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Critical Analysis of Patient-reported Complaints and Complications After Urethroplasty for Bulbar Urethral Stricture Disease

Objective To evaluate the full spectrum of postoperative complications and patient-reported complaints after urethroplasty for bulbar urethral stricture disease. Materials and Methods We performed a retrospective review of our institutional database for all patients who underwent urethroplasty from January 1, 2002 to December 1, 2012. We recorded all postoperative complications and patient-reported complaints and grouped them by the Clavien-Dindo classification of surgical complications and into the following categories: perioperative, infectious, anatomic, sexual dysfunction, and voiding related. The Fisher exact test was used to calculate statistical differences among repair types and etiology. Results Three hundred twenty-five men underwent urethroplasty by 2 surgeons (G.D.W. and A.C.P.) during the period reviewed. Two hundred ninety-two of 325 men (90%) had sufficient follow-up data available. One hundred eleven of 292 men (38%) reported a total of 146 postoperative complications or complaints. Forty-seven of 111 men (42%) were classified as having a perioperative complication, 17 of 111 (15.3%) as infectious, 8 of 111 (7.2%) as anatomic, 29 of 111 (26.1%) as sexual dysfunction, and 32 of 111 (28.8%) as voiding related. The majority of complications were classified as Clavien grade I (87 of 146, 60%). Forty-seven of 146 men (32%) were classified as having Clavien grade II, 9 of 146 (6%) as grade III, and 3 of 146 (2%) as grade IV. There were no grade V complications. Patients with iatrogenic etiology had a higher rate of infectious-related complications when compared with idiopathic or traumatic (17.5% vs 3.7%, 4.8%, respectively; P = .008). Conclusion Urethroplasty continues to have excellent outcomes with acceptable complication rates, the majority of which are self-reported complaints about voiding, scrotal and/or perineal neuralgia, and sexual dysfunction and appear to have minimal long-term sequelae.
Optical Parametric Chirped-Pulse Amplification in Periodically-Poled KTiOPO4 at 1053 nm

Generation of high peak power [1] and high focal intensity from Nd:glass short-pulse lasers is receiving much attention, particularly in large laser facilities where fast ignition [2] may be used for high-gain inertial confinement fusion. Optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) [3] has been recently studied as an alternative techology for the front end of a short-pulse Nd:glass laser. This is the result of superior characteristics of OPCPA when it is used for broadband amplification at wavelengths near 1 µm. It offers increased bandwidth over amplification in Nd:glass, while its gain is several orders of magnitude higher than that of Ti:sapphire at 1 µm, eliminating the need for regenerative amplification. Additionally, OPCPA exhibits high prepulse contrast as a result of cavityless amplification, which is of great importance for high-fidelity target experiments. Other favorable characteristics of OPCPA include high peak power scalability through large-aperture potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals [4] and potential high average power scalability due to negligible thermal deposition.
Finite element simulations of shear localization in plate impact

Abstract S hear band development in a tungsten heavy alloy (WHA) during pressure-shear plate impact is analysed numerically. The alloy has a microstructure of hard tungsten grains embedded in a soft alloy matrix. A two-dimensional, plane strain model of the alloy microstructure is used in the computations. For this model microstructure a fully coupled thermo-mechanical initial boundary value problem is formulated and solved, accounting for finite deformations, inertia, heat conduction, thermal softening, strain hardening and strain-rate hardening. Calculations are carried out for distributions of uniform grains and for micro-structures obtained from digitized micrographs of the actual alloy. The effects of variations in grain volume fraction and grain size are considered. Experiments and the numerical calculations show that the two phase alloy is more susceptible to shear banding than either of the constituent phases. While the onset of shear localization depends on the grain distribution and volume fraction, the shear band width is found to be set by heat conduction and is insensitive to the grain volume fraction and the grain morphology, The shear band width obtained from the calculations is in good agreement with what is observed in the experiments. Furthermore, the computed shapes of the deformed tungsten grains inside the band resemble closely the observed shapes of the deformed grains in the experiments.
An improved experimental technique for determining dynamic surface tension of water and surfactant solutions

Abstract Oscillating jets issuing from elliptical orifices have been widely used as a method for determining the dynamic surface tension of pure liquids and surfactant solutions. However, such variables as jet diameter and wave length have been measured by complicated optical and photographic methods. A technique is presented for direct measurement of these data on the jet using a coordinate cathetometer. The jet stream was vertical and issued from an elliptical diaphragm orifice made of 2 mil Mylar film. The orifice was made nonwetting by carefully coating it with paraffin. This jet was found to give values of dynamic surface tension for water which were independent of exposure time and jet flow rate and which agreed closely with equilibrium values. For the surfactant solutions studies, values of dynamic surface tension were also found to be independent of any jet flow rate used. Four surfactants were used in the investigation: dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride, hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride, dodecyl sodium sulfate, and hexadecyl sodium sulfate.
Embedded-explicit emergent literacy intervention I: Background and description of approach.

This article, the first of a two-part series, provides background information and a general description of an emergent literacy intervention model for at-risk preschoolers and kindergartners. The e...
The impact of cooling on cell temperature and the practical solar concentration limits for photovoltaics

The solar concentration limit for densely packed, high-concentrated photovoltaic (HCPV) cells was analyzed for a novel two-phase cooling design. Eight working fluids were examined in the two-phase cooling analysis: R134a, R11, R113, R114, R123, R141b, water, and ammonia. In addition, the study investigated the concentration limit for mass flow rates ranging from 10−3 to 1 kg s−1. Results from this analysis showed that the limits neared 2000 suns for the six organic fluids examined, whereas for water and ammonia, the practical concentration limit reached about 4000 and 6000 suns, respectively. It was concluded that water and ammonia exhibited greater limits of concentration because they possess greater values of sensible and latent heats compared with the organic fluids examined. The results using this two-phase cooling design were then compared with computational and experimental reference data from other HCPV studies conducted that used cooling mechanisms, such as impinging jets, liquid immersion, and microchannel cooling. Together, the data was compiled and compared with a simplified, one-dimensional, theoretical model using a generic, hypothetical cooling mechanism for densely packed HCPV cells. The general, practical solar concentration limit was predicted to be approximately 10 000 effective suns for a cooling device with a heat transfer coefficient on the order of 106 W m−2 K−1. At this limit, it was determined that the cells' conductive resistance, rather than the external cooling mechanism, becomes the controlling factor for heat removal. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Adducts of organogermanium and organotin chlorides with triphenylphosphine oxide and hexamethylphosphoramide

Abstract The acidities of several organogermanium and organotin chlorides toward the Lewis base hexamethylphosphoramide ([(CH 3 ) 2 N] 3 PO, HMPA) were determined by monitoring the 31 P chemical shifts of the base in equimolar mixtures with the acids. Similar calorimetric studies were made on the acidities of organogermanium chlorides toward triphenylphosphine oxide (TPPO). Previously reported calorimetric and NMR data for organotin chloride adduct formation with TPPO were used to show that HMPA is a stronger base than TPPO. Both NMR and calorimetric methods do not detect the formation of adducts by organogermanium compounds with the bases TPPO, HMPA, and DMSO.
A comparison of commercial enzymes for the aqueous enzymatic extraction of corn oil from corn germ

An aqueous enzymatic method was developed to extract corn oil from corn germ. The basic steps in the method involved "churning" the corn germ with various en- zymes and buffer for 4 h at 50°C, and an additional 16 h at 65°C, followed by centrifugation and removal of the oil layer from the surface. No hexane or other organic solvents are used in this process. By using oven-dried corn germ samples (6 g) from a commercial corn wet mill, corn oil yields of about 80% were achieved using three different commercial cellulases. A fourfold scale-up of the method (to 24 g of germ) resulted in oil yields of about 90%. Nine other commercial enzymes were evaluated and resulted in significant but lower oil yields. In the absence of enzymes, oil yields of 27 to 37% were achieved. The chemical compositions of hexane-extracted vs. aqueous enzy- matic-extracted corn oils were very similar. Paper no. J10906 in JAOCS 81, 1071-1075 (November 2004).
Application of Cognitive Radio Technology to Legacy Military Waveforms in a JTRS (Joint Tactical Radio System) Radio

There is a significant development of Cognitive Radio (CR) technology taking place under the DARPA Next Generation (XG) Communication program based on spectral sensing, adaptive waveform operation, machine readable spectral policy and policy reasoning engines. This paper describes how machine readable policy and reasoning technology from the XG program can also be used to benefit the operation of legacy waveforms on a multi-waveform programmable radio. In general a multi-waveform radio will possess the ability to generate transmissions which are not permitted everywhere the radio might be used. It then becomes the burden of the radio operator to be aware of their location, the operating rules for that location and using the radio appropriately. Machine readable policy and policy reasoning engines when combined with GPS based location awareness provides the opportunity to prevent a programmable radio from using prohibited waveforms in restricted regions without direct operator intervention. This paper describes a prototype waveform policy reasoning system that was developed on a Software Communication Architecture (SCA) platform and presents several examples of the utility of this capability to a radio system which operates in various policy regions. This capability is very beneficial to ensure network connectivity for an aircraft radio which traverses numerous radio policy regions during a mission but also offers utility in ground based and littoral scenarios as well.
16 PF CORRELATES OF SENSATION-SEEKING

Summary.-A group of 64 undergraduates (39 women, 25 men) was given Zuckerman's Sensation-Seeking Scale and Cattell's 16 PF. High sensation-seekers were characterized by grearer dominance, surgency, adventurousness, suspicion, and bohemian unconcernedness and by less shrewdness and self-sentiment control than low sensation-seekers. This pattern was more pronounced for women than men. The relationship of chis constellation to psychopathy was discussed. The Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS) was developed by Zuckerman, Kolin, Price, and Zoob ( 1964) as a measure of individual differences in the need for stimulus variability. Since its development, the SSS has been shown to correlate positively with the MMPI. F, Pd, Ma, and Im scales and negatively with the MMPI K, L, and R scales (Zuckerman & Link, 1968; Blackburn, 1969). It has been recently suggested by Blackburn (1969) that the SSS might be a measure of psychopathic personality traits and a measure of psychotic symptomatology. The SSS, however, has also been shown to correlate positively with measures that are essentially independent of pathology, such as field independence (Zuckerman, et al., 1964; Zuckerman 81 Link, 1968), extraversion (Farley S: Farley, 1967), and the n autonomy, n change, and n exhibitionism scales of both the Edwards PPS and the Zuckerman Adjective Checklist (Zuckerman & Link, 1968). Negative correlations obtained for the SSS and measures of n affiliation, n orderliness, n nurmrance, and n deference (Zuckerman & Link, 1968). The present study investigated the source trait correlates of the SSS as measured by Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor Test (16 PF; Cattell & Eber, 1967). The 16 PF was chosen because it has been repeatedly shown to sample n broad spectrum of traits in both the pathological and nonpachological domains (Hundleby & Connor, 1968; Catcell & Bolton, 1969). It was predicted that while the SSS would correlate with those 16 PF traits which discriminate between psychopaths and non-psychopaths, it would also correlate with nonpathological traits which discriminate between Ss who prefer active, chaotic, and ueative modes of behavior and Ss who prefer more subdued and ordered modes. Sixty-four undergraduates (39 women, 25 men) who were enrolled in introductory psychology courses at Nassau Community College were given the 22-item male-female form of the SSS (Zuckerman, et al., 1964) and Form A of the 1967 edition of the 16 PF (Cattell & Eber, 1967). All Ss anonymously answered both questionnaires. Table 1 presents the product-moment correlations of the SSS with 16 PF variables for women, for men, and for the combined group. Although the men's data did not yield the significant correlations noted for women, the pattern of correlations for the two sets of data were similar, suggesting that larger samples might provide more meaningful patterns of correlates. The factor pattern Ef, G-, Lf, Mf, QR- of the high SSS scorers is also
Changes in Returning Home in the United States, 1925–1985

Returning home in young adulthood has increasedfrom a rare to a common occurrence. We examine the effects of historical events, such as World War II, and longer-term changes in the attractiveness of the parentalfeathered nest, family structure, the growth. of second-rate jobs, and convergence by gender and ethnicity. We show that these factors affected leaving home but had little effect on the likelihood of returning home. Instead, changes in returning home are linked to changes in leaving home: the declining age at leaving home and increases in leaving home before marriage. The route that increased returning home most is "independence," because it has grown as a route out and it has shown the most rapid increase in likelihood of a return of any route.
Hückel spectrum for large carbon fullerenes and tubes

Abstract Very large carbon fullerenes and tubes have almost everywhere the structure of a planar hexagonal lattice. The spectrum of such a Huckel Hamiltonian is obtained in closed form in the present paper, for the case where single and double bonds have the same Huckel couplings. For the case where single and double bonds have different Huckel couplings, the problem is treated for some specific bond arrangements.
More Than Just Talk: The Use of Racial Dialogues to Combat Racism

ABSTRACT This article describes the use of structured, public conversations about race and racism, known as racial dialogues, as a means of responding to racism. The importance of understanding racial identity development and the dynamics of intergroup conflict when conducting racial dialogues is considered. Different models of racial dialogues are reviewed. The authors sponsored a racial dialogue at a school of social work that was tape-recorded and transcribed. Participants completed questionnaires. An analysis of the dialogue is presented and recommendations about the future use of racial dialogues are offered.
Contagious Disturbance, Ecological Memory, and the Emergence of Landscape Pattern

Landscapes are strongly shaped by the degree of interaction between pattern and process. This paper examines how ecological memory, the degree to which an ecological process is shaped by its past modifications of a landscape, influences landscape dynamics. I use a simulation model to examine how ecological memory shapes the landscape dynamics produced by the interaction of vegetative regrowth and fire. The model illustrated that increased ecological memory increased the strength and spatial extent of landscape pattern. The extent of these changes depended upon the relative rates of vegetative recovery and fire initiation. When ecological memory is strong, landscape pattern is persistent; pattern tends to be maintained rather than destroyed by fire. The generality of the simulation model suggests that these results may also apply to disturbance processes other than fire. The existence of ecological memory in ecosystems may allow processes to produce ecological pattern that can entrain other ecosystem variables. The methods presented in this paper to analyze pattern in model ecosystems could be used to detect such pattern in actual ecosystems.
Psychological aspects and hospitalization for pain crises in youth with sickle-cell disease

Sickle-cell disease is a genetic disorder characterized by severe pain episodes or “vaso-occlusive crises” that may require hospitalization. This study examined the associations among emotion regulation, somatization, positive and negative affect, and hospitalizations for pain crises in youth with sickle-cell disease. Multivariate analyses indicated that emotional suppression and somatization were significantly associated with more frequent hospitalizations for pain crises in the previous year after controlling for sickle-cell disease type and pain. These results suggest that efforts to reduce emotional suppression and somatization may assist in decreasing the frequency of hospitalizations for pain crises among youth with sickle-cell disease.
Audit Quality and the Trade-Off between Accretive Stock Repurchases and Accrual-Based Earnings Management

ABSTRACT: We examine whether audit quality affects the trade-off between accrual-based and real earnings management. We hypothesize that firms motivated to manage earnings per share (EPS) to meet or beat consensus analysts' forecasts are more likely to engage in accretive stock repurchases (a form of real earnings management) when their ability to manage earnings through accruals is constrained by high audit quality. We find that firms with high audit quality are more likely to use accretive stock repurchases and less likely to use accrual-based earnings management to meet or beat consensus analysts' forecasts. Our results are robust to various controls for endogeneity concerns.
Perigraft air, fever, and leukocytosis after endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms

Background: The postimplantation syndrome of fever and leukocytosis after endovascular repair of infrarenal aortic aneurysms has not been previously characterized and its etiology is not known. Methods: We studied the first 12 patients who underwent successful endovascular repair of infrarenal aortic aneurysms with Dacron-covered stent-grafts, as part of an ongoing phase II clinical trial. Sepsis syndrome evaluations (physical examination, urinalysis, chest radiograph, urine cultures, and blood cultures) were performed for all patients with postoperative temperature (T) greater than 101.4°F. Computed tomography scans of the abdomen were performed, as part of the clinical protocol, on postoperative days 2 and 30. Results: Fever (T >101.4°F) was seen in 8 of 12 (67%) patients (P <05). An additional 2 of 12 (17%) patients had low-grade fevers (100.3°F, 100.6°F). Only 2 of 12 (17%) patients remained afebrile postoperatively. Leukocytosis with counts over 11,000 white blood cells (WBC) /dL was observed in 7 of 12 (58%) patients (P <05). Sepsis evaluations failed to identify any source of infection in 11 of 12 (97%) patients. Computed tomograhy scan evidence of perigraft air was noted in 8 of 12 (67%) patients. All patients were afebrile, had normal white blood cell counts, and were discharged within 1 week postoperatively. There has been no evidence of graft infection after 1 to 6 months of follow-up. Conclusions: Fever and leukocytosis after stent-graft repair of aortic aneurysms does not represent evidence of systemic or graft infection and is not clearly related to nonspecific causes of postoperative fever and leukocytosis. Moreover, the finding of early postoperative perigraft air is not necessarily an indication of graft infection even when concurrently present with fever and leukocytosis.
Eddy current coil interaction with a right-angled conductive wedge

The time-harmonic electromagnetic field in an electrically conductive right-angled wedge due to an inductive excitation by circular coil in air has been calculated. Using a formulation in Cartesian coordinates, the problem domain is truncated in a dimension whose axis is normal to a wedge face, and an approximate series solution found using elementary functions satisfying Maxwell’s equations in the quasi-static limit. The coil impedance variation with position and frequency is calculated and compared with measurements made on a coil near the edge of a large aluminium block which approximates the effect of a conductive quarter-space. The comparison between theory and experiment shows very close agreement.
Treatment of acute inguinal hemorrhage from metastatic penile carcinoma using an endovascular stent graft.

A 49-year-old Hispanic man presented 9 years after circumcision for invasive SCCA with distal shaft recurrence and underwent partial penectomy (well differentiated SCCA, pT1, negative margins). Inguinal nodes were radiographically and palpably benign. After 17 months of surveillance bilaterally palpable inguinal lymphadenopathy developed, and staged radical inguinal lymphadenectomies were planned. Pelvic nodes were not enlarged on imaging. After right radical inguinal lymphadenectomy in September 2001 (well differentiated SCCA, negative margins) the patient was lost to followup and did not undergo the contralateral procedure. The patient presented with a large left groin mass and left lower extremity deep venous thrombosis in August 2002. Computerized tomography (CT) demonstrated tumor involving the pubis that appeared unresectable (fig. 1, a). Palliative chemotherapy and radiotherapy were planned. He refused vena caval filter placement and received anticoagulative therapy with warfarin. Nine days later the patient presented in hypovolemic shock with a left groin hemorrhage. Arteriography revealed extrinsic left femoral artery compression and a pseudoaneurysm (fig. 2, a). An 8 30 mm polyethylene terephthalate covered stent was placed to exclude this segment, resulting in arterial patency without pseudoaneurysm filling (fig. 2, b and c). He stabilized without further bleeding. Postoperative CT showed a 7.5 6 cm mass encasing the left femoral vessels, left external iliac lymphadenopathy and a well positioned ESG (fig. 1, b). Warfarin was stopped, a vena caval filter was placed, and pelvic radiotherapy (5,960 cGy) and chemotherapy (2 cycles of 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin) were administered. The patient presented with an exsanginating groin hemorrhage 4 months later and, refusing further intervention, died despite maximal resuscitative efforts.
1.5 T in vivo 31P NMR spectroscopy of the human liver using a sectorial resonator.

A novel resonator for receiving 31P NMR signals at 1.5 T, which because of its topology has been named a “sectorial resonator,” exhibits good radio frequency coupling to the adult human liver. Minimal contamination from nonliver tissue (i. e., muscle) was achieved by the use of depth selective pulses and also because the geometry results in cancellation of signals arising from tissues that are close to the two openings of the structure. © 1986 Academic Press, Inc.
Small bisimulations for reasoning about higher-order imperative programs

We introduce a new notion of bisimulation for showing contextual equivalence of expressions in an untyped lambda-calculus with an explicit store, and in which all expressed values, including higher-order values, are storable. Our notion of bisimulation leads to smaller and more tractable relations than does the method of Sumii and Pierce [31]. In particular, our method allows one to write down a bisimulation relation directly in cases where [31] requires an inductive specification, and where the principle of local invariants [22] is inapplicable. Our method can also express examples with higher-order functions, in contrast with the most widely known previous methods [4, 22, 32] which are limited in their ability to deal with such examples. The bisimulation conditions are derived by manually extracting proof obligations from a hypothetical direct proof of contextual equivalence.
A normal form for energy shaping: application to the Furuta pendulum

We derive a nonlinear control law for stabilization of the Furuta pendulum system with the pendulum in the upright position and the rotating rigid link at rest at the origin. The control law is derived by first applying feedback that makes the Furuta pendulum look like a planar pendulum on a cart plus a gyroscopic force. The planar pendulum on a cart is an example of a class of mechanical systems which can be stabilized in full state space using the method of controlled Lagrangians. We consider this class of systems as our normal form and for the case of the Furuta pendulum, we add to the first transforming feedback law, the energy-shaping control law for the planar pendulum system. The resulting system looks like a mechanical system plus feedback-controlled dissipation and an external force that is quadratic in velocity. Using energy as the Lyapunov function we prove local exponential stability and demonstrate a large region of attraction.
Long time existence for a slightly perturbed vortex sheet

Consider a flat two-dimensional vortex sheet perturbed initially by a small analytic disturbance. By a formal perturbation analysis, Moore derived an approximate differential equation for the evolution of the vortex sheet. We present a simplified derivation of Moore's approximate equation and analyze errors in the approximation. The result is used to prove existence of smooth solutions for long time. If the initial perturbation is of size ϵ and is analytic in a strip |m γ| < ρ, existence of a smooth solution of Birkhoff's equation is shown for time t < k2p, if ϵ is sufficiently small, with κ 1 as ϵ 0. For the particular case of sinusoidal data of wave length π and amplitude e, Moore's analysis and independent numerical results show singularity development at time tc = |log ϵ| + O(log|log ϵ|. Our results prove existence for t < κ|log ϵ|, if ϵ is sufficiently small, with k κ 1 as ϵ 0. Thus our existence results are nearly optimal.
Neurognostics Question: A German Neurophysiologist and Researcher of Human Reflexes

He was born in the former German city of Dorpat (now in Latvia) on July 1, 1884, where his father, Freidrich, practiced internal medicine. His father moved the family to Leipzig, Germany, to his jo...
Multiplexed detection of nucleic acids in a combinatorial screening chip

Multiplexed diagnostic testing has the potential to dramatically improve the quality of healthcare. Simultaneous measurement of health indicators and/or disease markers reduces turnaround time and analysis cost and speeds up the decision making process for diagnosis and treatment. At present, however, most diagnostic tests only provide information on a single indicator or marker. Development of efficient diagnostic tests capable of parallel screening of infectious disease markers could significantly advance clinical and diagnostic testing in both developed and developing parts of the world. Here, we report the multiplexed detection of nucleic acids as disease markers within discrete wells of a microfluidic chip using molecular beacons and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM). Using a 4 × 4 array of 200 pL wells, we screened for the presence of four target single stranded oligonucleotides encoding for conserved regions of the genomes of four common viruses: human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), human papillomavirus (HPV), Hepatitis A (Hep A) and Hepatitis B (Hep B). Target oligonucleotides are accurately detected and discriminated against alternative oligonucleotides with different sequences. This combinatorial chip represents a versatile platform for the development of clinical diagnostic tests for simultaneous screening, detection and monitoring of a wide range of biological markers of disease and health using minimal sample size.
A pharmacokinetic model for estimating exposure of Americans to dioxin-like compounds in the past, present, and future.

Abstract Empirical evidence suggests that exposure of Americans to dioxin-like compounds was low during the early decades of the 20th century, then increased during the 1940s and 1950s, reaching a peak in the 1960s and 1970s, and progressively decreased to lower levels in the 1980s and 1990s. Such evidence includes dioxin analysis of carbon-dated sediment cores of lakes and rivers, preserved meat samples from different decades of the 20th century, and limited body burden measurements of dioxin-like compounds. Pinsky and Lorber (1998) summarized studies measuring 2,3,7,8-TCDD in blood and adipose tissue, and found a range of 10–20 pg/g (ppt) lipid during the 1970s, and 2–10 ppt lipid during the 1980s. This study reviews body burdens of dioxin toxic equivalents, TEQs, to find a range from approximately 50 to 80 ppt lipid during the 1970s, 30–50 ppt lipid during the 1980s, and 10–20 ppt lipid during the 1990s (TEQs comprised of the 17 dioxin and furan congeners only). Pinsky and Lorber (1998) investigated historical exposure trends for 2,3,7,8-TCDD by using a single-compartment, first-order pharmacokinetic model. The current study extends this prior effort by modeling dioxin TEQs instead of the single compound, 2,3,7,8-TCDD. TEQs are modeled as though they were a single compound, in contrast to an approach where the individual dioxin and furan congeners are modeled separately. It was found that body burdens of TEQs during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s could be modeled by assuming a historical dose which began the century at low levels of approximately 0.5 pg TEQ/kg/day, rose during the middle decades of the 20th century to over 6 pg TEQ/kg/day, and declined to current levels of approximately 0.5 pg TEQ/kg/day. Trends in individual and population body burdens of TEQs are also investigated using this PK modeling framework. A key uncertainty of this effort — assuming that TEQs behave as though they were a single compound — is discussed and analyzed.
AML/V : An Industrial Machine Vision Programming System

The use of robots rather than human workers to perform industrial tasks has a number of disadvantages. One is that parts and tools must be presented to the robot at ac curate positions and orientations. Another is that robots cannot do implicit in-process inspection the way people do. These two disadvantages can be reduced through the use of machine vision to determine the position, orienta tion, and even identity of parts and tools in the workspace and to look for qualitative and quantitative defects. This paper describes AML/V, an experimental hardware and software extension of an existing robot programming sys tem, intended for industrial machine vision programming.
A scalable virtual circuit routing scheme for ATM networks

We present a scalable VC routing protocol based on the viewserver hierarchy. Each viewserver maintains a partial view of the network. By querying these viewservers, a source obtains a merged view that contains a path to the destination. The source then sends a setup request packet over this path to reserve resources. We use simulation to compare our protocol to a simple approach that maintains a full view of the network. In addition to the savings in storage, our protocol performs as well or better in terms of the VC carried load and blocking probability over a wide range of real-time workload.
21.2% wall-plug efficiency green laser based on an electrically pumped VECSEL through intracavity second harmonic generation

We have achieved a 21.2% wall-plug efficiency green laser at 532 nm based on an electrically pumped vertical externalcavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL) through intracavity second harmonic generation. The continuous-wave green output power was 3.34 W. The VECSEL gain device is cooled by using a thermoelectric cooler, which can greatly benefit packaging. Both power and efficiency can be further scaled up by optimizing external-cavity design and improving the performance of VECSEL gain device.
Phase space engineering for neurodynamic target identification

The authors propose and describe a new concept in automated radar target identification from a single look (coherent broadband echo) based on neural net models. They view a neural net as a multidimensional nonlinear dynamic system capable of exhibiting powerful collective computational and signal processing functions that are fully and therefore best described by their phase-space behavior in terms of terminal, periodic, or strange attractors and associated basins of attraction. They suggest that a central issue in understanding and applying neural nets today is finding ways for imparting to a net distinct phase-space behavior that gives rise to desired functions. This phase-space engineering approach represents a totally new paradigm in signal processing that originates from known universal features of biological information processing in the nervous system. The authors present initial results illustrating one possible method for applying the phase-space engineering concept to the long-standing problem of recognizing airborne targets from a single look. >
Protein Kinase Cβ Isoform Inhibitors A New Treatment for Diabetic Cardiovascular Diseases

The center of the pandemic of diabetes is the life-threatening cardiovascular complications that can be categorized into macrovasculopathy, microvasculopathy, and diabetic cardiomyopathy. Macrovasculopathy affects large vessels and manifests as atherosclerosis and the subsequent coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, and cerebrovascular disease. Atherosclerosis and its related complications are responsible for most of the mortality in diabetic patients.1 Indeed, diabetes has been firmly established as an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis. This risk seems to precede the onset of type 2 diabetes but begins with hyperglycemia in patients with type 1 diabetes.2 Multiple factors in diabetes—including insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, elevated free fatty acid, and hypertension—increase the risk. Many clinical surveys, such as the Framingham Study, have shown that the incidence of carotid artery disease is increased 2- to 4-fold in patients with diabetes or insulin resistance. When intima-media thickness is used as the indicator for the severity of atherosclerosis, both type 13,4 diabetes and type 25 diabetes are associated with more advanced atherosclerosis when compared with age- and sex-matched controls. This association could also be related to hyperglycemia because intensive euglycemic control has been shown to reduce the progression of intima-media thickness in the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications study, which involves 1229 patients.6 These clinical data suggest that hyperglycemia itself, in addition to the aforementioned established risk factors such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, insulin resistance, and oxidative stress, might have an independent role in the acceleration of atherosclerosis. See p 91 Diabetes or insulin resistance clearly alters the biology of the multiple cellular components that participate in atherosclerosis, including endothelial cells, monocytes/macrophages, lymphocytes, and vascular smooth muscle cells. In endothelial cells, both the expression and the activity of the endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase are decreased, leading to the reduction of antiatherogenic nitric oxide (NO) …
Addendum: From Analysis to Prediction

ed from a time perspective. Primarily I am concerned in directing his consideration to the long-run disappointing results even for himself as a participant in the economy if short-run gains are pursued too assiduously or risk of short-run loss abhorred too strongly. The business manager cannot dispose of this issue by presenting his books showing a slender margin of profit under conditions of low utilization of capacity, high market promotion cost, and traditional depreciation and depression reserves. My whole analysis constitutes a challenge to those who maintain the necessity of piling up profits against anticipated depression, or maintaining high rates of capital formation inside the corporation, and asserting the necessity of high rates of profit as a means of assuring requisite rates of savings on the part of the public. Evidence drawn from conditions of substantial unemployment and inhibited investment is not significant or reliable as to what would happen under conditions of confident or unrestrained operation. Economists are pretty generally agreed, on theoretical grounds, as to the possibility of fairly sustained general equilibrium on a plane of incompletely used resources. My analysis implies dissent from the "mature economy" argument of some theorists that this impasse can be broken only-or best-by a policy and practice of public spending, but it challenges directly the defeatist view among businessmen that they cannot break it by practicable practices of private enterprise. I argue for the venturing of capital under a strategy of "calculated risks" that is patently safer for business as a whole than is protective witholding. Professor Nicholls' belief that I may have exaggerated "the potentially general 'responsiveness of market demand' to low-price (high real income) policies," will quite possibly find some support among both economic theorists and statistical technicians. In this part of my analysis-which centers in Chapter VII-I have challenged the pertinence and credibility of co-efficients of elasticity of demand as derived from the correlation techniques currently in use. In lieu of that apparatus, I set up a concept of organic responsiveness-for which no equally impressive apparatus is proposed, nor is it, I assume, possible to devise. Economists who question the possibility of demonstrating general expansibility characteristically handicap the attaining of a useful answer by putting the question in the conventional formulation of 769 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.138 on Tue, 14 Jun 2016 07:19:47 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Building a successful trauma practice in academics.

Summary: Building a successful trauma practice in the academic medicine sector requires planning, contemplation, and continuous reevaluation. Although there are no rigid formulas, there are some common sense approaches that can help you start along the path toward a successful academic trauma career. This article outlines a blueprint that I have found helpful in establishing my academic practice. There are 4 major areas of emphasis that we will discuss: (1) the importance of a definable career path and goals; (2) developing a small understanding of the business aspects of medicine and trauma; (3) the value of developing a niche within the practice of trauma; and (4) The importance of developing complementary orthopaedic skills outside the realm of conventional trauma. Occasionally, the third and fourth areas may overlap.
Sexuality of an Edible Mushroom, Pleurotus Sajor-Caju

(1977). Sexuality of an Edible Mushroom, Pleurotus Sajor-Caju. Mycologia: Vol. 69, No. 1, pp. 203-205.
Memorialization in Academe A Preliminary Investigation of the Content Patterns and Author Motivations in CRTNET Memorials

This study examines the extent to which the Memorial Attribute Model accounts for the memorials posted on the Communication Research and Theory Network (CRTNET). Results show that the model’s strength is its emphasis on the surrogacy function of memorials and the role that relationships between author and deceased play in illuminating the memorial content, length and author motivations. Colleagues are the most prolific authors of CRTNET memorials while ‘colleague and friend’ was the most frequent combination of author–deceased relationships indicated in the memorials. However, the model falls short of recognizing the prominence of expressing admiration and gratitude for the deceased above expression of grief, addressing unfinished business and treating the deceased as a social presence.
Turning the Tide on Poverty: Community climate in economically distressed rural communities

Qualitative research analysis uncovered themes across the multiple rural, economically distressed communities that participated in the Turning the Tide on Poverty project. Community climate, referr...
Epidemiology of hepatitis C in Jinchang city

Objective:To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of hepatitis C in Jinchang city during 2006~2013 year and provide scientific evidence for the prevention and control of hepatitis C.Methods: Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on the case of hepatitis C during 2006~2013 year. Results:2242 hepatitis C cases were reported in Jinchang city during 2006~2013 year in which the annual average incidence of hepatitis C was 59.83/100 000,cases were dist rilbuted to every month,and no peaks was observed.Incidence in Jinchuan district was higher than Yongchang county,and cases were rise with age in which the ratio between male and female was1.25∶1. Conclusion:The key groups of the prevention and control hepatitis C are workers, farmers, retirees, housework and unemployments.
154 OUTCOME AFTER RELAPSE AMONG CHILDREN WITH STANDARD RISK ALL TREATED ON THE CHILDREN'S CANCER GROUP-1952 STUDY

Purpose We examined post relapse outcomes for children initially treated on CCG-1952 and compared stem cell transplant (SCT) with chemotherapy (CT) as salvage treatment in second remission (CR2). Methods Between 5-96 and 1-00, 2176 eligible patients with standard risk (SR)-ALL (WBC ≤ 50,000/mcl; age ≥ 1, ≤ 10 years) were enrolled on CCG-1952, 321 of whom experienced a relapse. We evaluated outcomes after bone marrow (BM) [138] extramedullary (EM) relapse and isolated EM (iEM: CNS, testicular, or ocular) relapse using Kaplan-Meier life table analysis and compared event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) after SCT with outcomes after CT using the log rank test. Results Among the relapses, 196 are BM ± EM relapses (61%) and 125 are iEM relapses (39%). The median (range) from first remission to BM relapse, iCNS relapse, and itesticular relapse is 34.1 (2 to 79) month (mo.), 19.6 (1 to 70) mo., and 39.2 (4 to 74) mo., respectively. The 3-year EFS and OS after relapse for all patients are 41% and 53%. Three-year EFS and OS after BM ± EM relapse are 32% and 40%, and after iEM relapse, are 55% and 71%. Patients with early BM relapse (CR1 ≤ 36 months) or early iEM relapse (CR1 ≤ 18 months) are 2.3 times (p=0.002) and 2.8 times (p=0.01) more likely to suffer a subsequent adverse event than patients with later relapse by Cox regression analysis after adjustment for age, pre-relapse treatment, day 7/14 BM status, and type of treatment in CR2. The 3-year OS for early and late relapses are 31% vs 59% (p=0.001) for BM relapse and 50% vs 87% (p=0.01) for iEM relapse. We compared 73 SCT and 215 CT patients, excluding 33 patients with adverse events prior to the median time to SCT (130 days, range 56 to 1148 days). The cohorts are similar with respect to age (p=0.57), duration of CR1 (p=0.96), and initial Day 14 BM status (p=0.69). Thus far, no difference between SCT and CT is apparent among all BM relapse patients (OS, p=0.45; EFS p=0.70), among patients with early BM relapse (OS, p=0.95; EFS p=0.66), or among patients with iEM relapse (OS, p=0.44, EFS, p=0.96). Among patients with later BM relapse, a trend favors CT (OS, p=0.08, EFS, p= 0.14). Conclusion Duration of CR1 remains the most significant predictor of outcome after either BM or iEM relapse. Prognosis after early BM relapse remains poor and is not improved with SCT in this SR-ALL cohort.
Advances in the management of ITP in children and adults.

PI We used to refer to this disease as idiopathic thrombocytic purpura, but now that we have a better understanding of the disease, we know that the pathogenesis involves the immune system. This advance came about through clinical and laboratory research linked to the introduction of intravenous human derived immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrate as an immunomodulatory treatment for ITP and other disorders related to the immune system. Therefore, the I of ITP came to stand for immune instead of idiopathic. We have also moved away from using the word purpura because the majority of patients do not exhibit hemorrhages in the skin caused by bleeding. Therefore, the preferred terminology has changed from idiopathic thrombocytic purpura to immune thrombocytopenia. Another change in terminology came about from a 2006 expert workshop on ITP in Switzerland, where we looked at follow-up data from the Intercontinental Cooperative ITP Study Group (ICIS) registry 1 of 2031 children with newly diagnosed ITP. The patients were prospectively followed over 12 months. We found that between 6 and 12 months after diagnosis, 25% of children recovered from their ITP (Figure 1). Therefore, we proposed changing the definition of chronic ITP from disease lasting 6 months or more to that lasting 12 months or more, as discussed in a 2006 article in Pediatric Blood Cancer. One of the ICIS participating members, Dr Francesco Rodeghiero, took the initiative for a new nomenclature and built an international working group. The results of this working group were published in the journal Blood in 2009. In short, acute ITP is a retrospective term. We now say newly diagnosed ITP within the first 3 months, persistent ITP when recovery occurs during months 3 to 12, and chronic ITP when ITP lasts for more than 12 months.
CD14+ hla-DR-/Lo Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Express Immunosuppressive B7-H Family Members and Are Depleted Following Taxane-Based Chemotherapy in Melanoma.

Abstract Abstract 464 Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are important, albeit incompletely characterized, immune regulatory cells which suppress host anti-tumor immunity in malignancies like melanoma. We sought to address 3 outstanding questions in the present study: i) does tumor burden drive the expansion of MDSC; ii) do MDSC express immunosuppressive B7-H family members,;iii) are MDSC depleted following chemotherapy administration. As MDSC expand in response to tumor-derived factors, including those elevated in melanoma patients, we hypothesized that the frequency of MDSC present in the peripheral blood of melanoma patients may be dependent on tumor stage. Therefore, PBMC were obtained from both normal donors and melanoma patients with all stages of disease (stage I, n=10; stage II, n=10; stage III, n=10; stage IV, n=47). A discreet population of CD14+HLA-DR-/lo MDSC was appreciated in samples obtained from melanoma patients, but was largely absent in normal donors. Approximately 0.5% of PBMC were CD14+HLA-DR-/lo in normal donors. In contrast, the frequency of these cells progressively increased with tumor stage in melanoma. While a two-fold increase in CD14+HLA-DR-/lo MDSC was observed in stage I patients, this difference did not reach statistical significance. In contrast, a significant increase in CD14+HLA-DR-/lo MDSC was observed in patients with stage II-IV disease (2.2% Stage II, p Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Testing Inflation: Predictions and Observations

We have seen how cosmic inflation can create an enormous universe from a tiny seed, while solving many problems that plagued pre-inflation models.