cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multicenter Comparison of the VITEK 2 Antifungal Susceptibility Test with the CLSI Broth Microdilution Reference Method for Testing Amphotericin B, Flucytosine, and Voriconazole against Candida spp.

A fully automated commercial antifungal susceptibility test system (VITEK 2; bioMerieux, Inc., Hazelwood, MO) was compared in three different laboratories with the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (formerly the NCCLS) reference broth microdilution method (BMD) by testing 2 quality control strains, 10 reproducibility strains, and 426 isolates of Candida spp. against amphotericin B, flucytosine, and voriconazole. Reference BMD MIC endpoints were established after 24 and 48 h of incubation. VITEK 2 system MIC endpoints were determined spectrophotometrically after 9.1 to 27.1 h of incubation (mean, 12 to 14 h). Excellent essential agreement (within 2 dilutions) between the VITEK 2 system and the 24- and 48-h BMD MICs was observed for all three antifungal agents: amphotericin B, 99.1% and 97%, respectively; flucytosine, 99.1% and 98.8%, respectively; and voriconazole, 96.7% and 96%, respectively. Both intra- and interlaboratory agreements were >98% for all three drugs. The overall categorical agreements between the VITEK 2 system and BMD for flucytosine and voriconazole were 98.1 to 98.6% at the 24-h BMD time point and 96.9 to 97.4% at the 48-h BMD time point. The VITEK 2 system reliably detected flucytosine and voriconazole resistance among Candida spp. and demonstrated excellent quantitative and qualitative agreement with the reference BMD method.
Water Balance of a Stock-Watering Pond in the Flint Hills of Kansas

Small ponds are often the main source of drinking water for grazing livestock. The hydrology of these ponds must be understood so impoundments can be located, designed, and managed to avoid water shortages during dry weather. A study was conducted to measure the water balance of a stock-watering pond in the Flint Hills region of east-central Kansas from June 2005 to October 2006. The 0.35-ha pond supplied water to 250-kg yearling steers in a 65-ha pasture of native tallgrass prairie. Evaporation, depth change, and cattle consumption were measured continuously using meteorological sensors, depth recorders, and water meters. Seepage, transpiration, and inflow were measured periodically or modeled. Evaporation was also predicted from weather data using forms of the Penman and Priestley-Taylor models. Evaporation accounted for 64% of the total water loss annually, while seepage, cattle consumption, and transpiration accounted for 31%, 3%, and 2%, respectively. The greatest water loss was observed in July, with total monthly losses over 358 mm and peak daily losses sometimes exceeding 18 mm ? d 21 . Cattle consumption averaged 30 L ? day 21 ? animal 21 with peak usage of 46 L ? day 21 ? animal 21 . On average, the Priestley-Taylor and Penman evaporation models estimated monthly evaporation to 3% and 5%, respectively. Thus, evaporation, the main form of loss, can be predicted with simple models using data from weather station networks. Inflows from runoff proved difficult to predict and were highly dependent on antecedent soil water content. Results showed that losses from ponds can be measured or predicted with reasonable accuracy. These data could be incorporated into catchment-scale hydrology models to provide site-specific designs for stock-watering ponds and livestock-watering strategies.
A distributed swarm intelligence based algorithm for a cooperative multi-robot construction task

A collective construction task require a multi-robot system to search for randomly distributed building blocks and push those blocks to some predefined locations. To address this problem, a bio-inspired swarm intelligence based algorithm is proposed for a distributed multi-robot system to combine explorative searching and dynamic task allocation together for collective construction. Basically, a virtual pheromone trail based method is proposed as the message passing mechanism among the robots, where robots make distributed movement decisions through local interactions. Since blocks may need multiple robots to work together, dynamic task allocation among robots is necessary. A modified Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method is proposed to balance the exploration and exploitation, which helps to allocate reasonable robots to different target blocks. The simulation results in multi-robot construction task demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed method.
Pharmacokinetics of antibiotics in shallow and deep compartments

This paper reviews the influence of the type of capillary bed, type of compartment, and the presence of active transport systems, on the pharmacokinetics of antimicrobial agents in tissues and fluids of the body. In the absence of active transport or local degradation, the mean concentration or 'area under the curve' of free (unbound) drug in ordinary extravascular sites over the dosing interval at equilibrium is equal to that in the serum. Because the latter is easily measured, there should be no need to measure tissue concentrations except in unusual circumstances. Among the factors that will alter the relationship described above are active transport, pH partition, and bulk flow. Antibiotics such as the macrolides, lincosamines and quinolones may accumulate in high concentrations in cells containing lysosomes. There is some evidence that the intracellular sites may serve as a reservoir from which these drugs may later be released into tissue fluids, a phenomenon not taken into account in the relationships described above. Although knowledge of the in-vitro activity and local concentrations of antibiotics is of use in predicting therapeutic activity, many factors which are difficult to quantify in a given instance make precise correlations impossible. The inability of antibiotics alone to sterilize abscesses is probably not due to a problem in antibiotic penetration but to insusceptibility of the organisms and inefficacy of the phagocytes in an abscess. Similar processes operate to reduce the efficacy of antibiotics when treatment is delayed.
Intrusion Detection Techniques in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

In this article, we present our research work in intrusion detection over wireless ad hoc network. We summarize the current intrusion detection techniques into three categories. Then we investigate detection of wormhole attack in wireless ad hoc networks. A novel end-to-end wormhole detection method is proposed.
RELATION BETWEEN UNCOMBINED QUARTZ AND THERMAL EXPANSION OF CERAMIC BODIES

The percentage by volume of uncombined quartz in each of fifteen commercial shale and fireclay bodies was determined by the intercept method by means of a petrographic microscope and a Wentworth screw-micrometer. The thermal expansion of the same bodies fired commercially was determined from atmospheric temperature to 1000°C by measurement of the expansion as indicated by a 1/l0,000-inch Ames dial when the 9-inch specimen was heated in an electric resistance furnace. Photomicrographs of two bodies are given, showing the grain size and distribution of the quartz; expansion curves are also given, showing high cristobalite expansion for the body containing a low percentage of uncombined quartz, and low cristobalite expansion for the body containing a high percentage of uncombined quartz. Cristobalite began to form by dissociation of the clay minerals at about cone 5 (approximately 1200°C). For bodies fired from cones 5 to 7, the expansion at 260°C, indicating the presence or absence of cristobalite, was inversely proportional to the percentage of uncombined quartz in the body. The expansion from 565 to 620°C was directly proportional to the percentage of uncombined quartz in the body.
Commentary: Cornfield, Epidemiology and Causality

Throughout the 1950s, attacks on the accumulating evidence for a causal link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer frequently centred on the role of confounding variables that might explain the apparent association between the putative agent, cigarette smoke, and lung cancer. Because of the lack of control for omitted variables, there was a strong belief by many in the scientific community that evidence from observational studies was of less value than evidence generated by experiments. In two classic, but now mostly forgotten papers, Jerome Cornfield 1,2 responded to these attacks ‘by providing a concise, explicit and lucid philosophic basis for the validity of information obtained from nonexperimental studies’. 3 Cornfield wrote:
The Role of Benign Esophageal Obstruction in the Development of Carcinoma of the Esophagus

Carcinoma of the esophagus is known to occur occasionally at the site of chronic benign esophageal obstruction. Although this is generally considered to be an uncom­ mon complication and of little importance in the etiology of esophageal carcinoma, we have found numerous references to it in the literature, and we believe it represents an important clinical problem in the manage­ ment of patients with various forms of benign esophageal obstruction. The present study is an investigation of this problem undertaken from two aspects: (1) a survey of the records of this hospital over a 1O-year period to establish the fre­ quency of this association, and comparison of this figure with representative series re­ ported elsewhere in the literature; and (2) a detailed study of 13 patients in whom carcinoma developed upon chronic benign esophageal obstruction, in an attempt to clarify the clinical picture of this complica­ tion, to suggest possible methods of early diagnosis, and to discuss the prognosis and management of esophageal carcinoma sec­ ondary to benign obstructing lesions. During the 1O-year period, 1947 to 1956, inclusive, 1026 patients with esophageal disease were admitted to the Massachusetts General Hospital or the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. The diagnoses were as follows: carcinoma, 554 cases; achalasia, 180; peptic stenosis, 151; lye stricture, 58; esophagospasm, 35; web, 19; congenital, 18;
Six Models for the Internet & Politics

Many agree that digital technologies are transforming politics. They disagree, however, about the significance and character of that transformation. Many of the pioneers of understanding the distinctive dynamics of new digital media platforms — social media and collaborative production — are quite optimistic about the potential for the Internet to dramatically increase the quality of democratic governance. On the other hand, some political scientists who have examined actual patterns of political activity and expression on digital platforms come away skeptical that digital platforms will bring equality or inclusion to democratic politics. We bring these two opposed perspectives in this article by developing six models of how digital technologies might affect democratic politics: the empowered public sphere, displacement of traditional organizations by new digitally self-organized groups, digitally direct democracy, truth-based advocacy, constituent mobilization, and crowd sourced social monitoring. Reasoning from the character of political incentives and institutional constraints, we argue that the first three revolutionary and transformative models are less likely to occur than the second three models that describe incremental contributions of technology to politics.
Approximate solution for the scattering of an E-polarized wave from a concentrically loaded slit cylinder

An approximate solution to the problem of scattering from a concentrically loaded slit cylinder has been derived. For simplicity a perfectly conductive loading is considered, but extension to an impedance loading through the application of an impedance boundary condition is straightforward. The cylinder is an infinite one made of a perfect conductor with an infinite axial slot, and the loading is also an infinite coaxial cylinder. The incident wave is E-polarized with respect to the axis of the cylinders, and the angle of incidence is arbitrary. A modal expansion approach has been adopted, but an approximate expression for the field in the slot has been proposed. Thus, the dual infinite series has been avoided. This approximate expression is similar to the one used in static case. Based on this approximation, the scattered field outside the cylinder, the field penetrated into the cavity, and the bistatic cross section have been evaluated. >
The management of non-traumatic headache in a university hospital emergency room.

SYNOPSIS One hundred twenty-four consecutive records of adults presenting to a univerity hospital emergency room between February 1-May 31, 1978 with the chief complaint of non-traumatic headache were analyzed. Although the vast majority of these patients had benign problems, the charts revealed poor documentation of a data base sufficient to evaluate this complaint. Further, relatively few unreferred patients received followup care in the hospital's ambulatory care center. Although corroborating previous work on the benign nature of this problem as seen in emergency room settings, this study additionally documents major deficiencies in the use of an emergency room as a setting in which to manage this problem.
Ebola vaccination: if not now, when?

The ongoing epidemic in West Africa is the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded and is rapidly crossing borders. The authors of this commentary discuss viable Ebola vaccine candidates and believe t...
The Meaning of “Now” Moments of Engagement in Yoga for Persons With Alzheimer’s Disease

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the meaning of a multisensory chair yoga program for persons with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) living in three assisted living community homes. Twenty-six individuals (ages 69 to 98), 19 females and 7 males, participated in a ten week chair yoga program, twice a week for 30-55 minutes. Narrative progress notes, audio-visual images, and emails with caregiver and family feedback were analyzed by using grounded theory. From the findings a core category, ‘Personalized “Now” Moments of Engagement,’ was generated with three overarching sub-categories: (a) characteristics and stages of AD, (b) multisensory design and yoga class format, and (c) expressing connection through actions. In addition, ‘meaningful discovery by family and caregivers’ noted perception changes about the residents and increasing joy. Study findings tend to support Validation Therapy (VT) concepts. Findings may facilitate a re-evaluation of the current theories and models of treatment for persons with AD and offer recreation therapists a conceptual framework to facilitate engagements with them, their families, and caregivers.
Consistently Bounding Parameter Values with One Instrument and Two Endogenous Explanatory Variables: With an Application to the Effect of Fast-Food Availability on Obesity

The current paper considers a linear regression framework with two endogenous regressors, but only one instrument that is correlated with both. I demonstrate that under reasonable conditions, these different sources of endogeneity act in opposing directions and hence IV regression can generate economically meaningful bounds. The method is then used to bound the effect of fast-food availability on weight outcomes when the proposed instrument is the number of interstate exits in the county of residence. No economically meaningful relationship is found, suggesting that how other firms respond to the presence of interstates does not affect parameter estimates.
Lipid Structure and Control of Membrane Ordered Domain Formation And Size by Lipid Composition and Asymmetry in Vitro and in Vivo

We have studied the properties and formation of ordered lipid domains (“lipid rafts”) in model membrane vesicles and cells. For example, recent FRET studies on vesicles with sphingomyelin/phospholipid/cholesterol mixtures found that mammalian lipids have structures and compositions favoring “ultrananodomain” formation, i.e. formation of very small nanodomains 5 nm or less in size. To study domain formation in more biologically-relevant vesicles, we developed methods to prepare vesicles with an asymmetric lipid distributions using cyclodextrin-catalzyed lipid exchange. Recent studies in asymmetric giant vesicles containing raft domains large enough to see with microscopy revealed interleaflet coupling to sphingomyelin- and cholesterol-rich outer leaflet domains induces ordered domains in the portion of the DOPC and cholesterol containing inner leaflets with which they are in contact. Analogous studies using smaller asymmetric vesicles and FRET-based detection may reveal whether nanodomains can form and exhibit coupling between inner and outer leaflets ordered domains. Methods to prepare a wider range of asymmetric membrane compositions and make more facile asymmetry measurements are being developed. In addition, cyclodextrin-catalyzed lipid exchange is being extended to studies of membrane domain structure and function in living cells. Substituting for cholesterol shows the subset of sterols having the ability to support the formation of lipid rafts are necessary and sufficient for them to support membrane domain formation in Borrelia burgdorferi, a bacteriumcontaining fatty acyl cholesterol glycosides.Interestingly,we find fatty acyl cholesterol glycosides are able to form ordered membrane domains without sphingolipids. Studies with cyclodextrin-catalyzed sterol exchange in mammalian cells show that sterols having an ability to promote the formation of ordered membrane domains are necessary and sufficient for them to support both clathrin-dependent and independent endocytosis provided they also contain a 3-beta OH. Efforts to carry out similar experiments with phospholipid and sphingolipid exchange are underway.
Desynchronization and resynchronization of networked second order finite and infinite dimensional systems

This work considers the synchronization of interconnected second order infinite dimensional systems. An output feedback based synchronization controller is designed in order to enhance a measure of synchronization amongst the infinite dimensional systems and when using the aggregate form of the networked systems, the choice of the optimal gains in the synchronization controllers reduces to the optimization of an associated quadratic index. A desynchronization action which takes the form of severing a link between any two connected systems is interpreted as a benign action which results in a delayed synchronization or convergence of the synchronization measure to a nonzero value. When the desynchronization action takes the form of sign reversal of a link between two connected systems, it is interpreted as a malicious adversarial action and which results in destabilization of the networked systems with an unbounded synchronization measure. The desynchronization action is viewed as a fault occurring in the networked system and an adaptive scheme is thus used to monitor these interconnected systems in order to detect the presence of the desynchronization action. In order to maintain the synchronization of the interconnected systems, an adaptive fault accommodating scheme is proposed which takes the form of control reconfiguration and which ensures the resynchronization of the interconnected systems. Both finite and infinite second order systems are considered and a numerical example with four interconnected cable PDEs is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the desynchronization monitoring scheme and the subsequent resynchronization policy.
The nursing role in the delivery of genetic services

As diseases of genetic origin increase their impact on society's health, the demand for genetic services will become greater. Involvement of professionals from a variety of disciplines is important if these service needs are to be met. Research has implications for care of patients with real or potential genetic concerns and many of these fall within the realm of nursing practice. A model for the involvement of nursing in the delivery of genetic services is presented. The nursing role in the genetic clinic, in the hospital, and within the community is explored.
Legal Realism and the Burden of Symbolism: The Correspondence of Thurman Arnold

What do the lawyer and economist do upon discovering that the king has no clothes? Economics and law are existential disciplines. Both confront directly the reality of radical indeterminacy: human society is an artifact, subject to revision, reformed (deliberatively and non-deliberatively) through the processes of living and interacting. The future in indeterminate because it is in part created through the very effort to comprehend and control it. What, then, does the law-economics scholar do upon ascertaining the social awareness — including both economic study and the practice of law in all its ramifications — largely deals with symbols which, while socially functional, lack substance?
Surface-Controlled Orientational Transitions in Elastically Strained Films of Liquid Crystal That Are Triggered by Vapors of Toluene.

We report the fabrication of chemically patterned microwells that enable the rapid and facile preparation (by spin coating and patterned dewetting) of thin films of liquid crystals (LCs) that have precise thicknesses (0.7–30 μm), are supported on chemically defined substrates, and have free upper surfaces. We use these microwells to prepare elastically strained nematic LC films supported on silica glass, gold, or polystyrene substrates and thereby characterize the response of the strained LC films to vapors of toluene. We report that low concentrations of toluene vapor (<500 ppm) can partition into the LC to lower the anchoring energy of the LC on these substrates, thus allowing the elastic energy of the strained LC film to drive the LC films through an orientational transition. The central role of the toluene-induced change in surface anchoring energy is supported by additional experiments in which the response of the nematic LC to changes in film thickness and substrate identity are quantified. A simple...
Testing the conductive function of radial nerve in children with surface electrode

Objective To explore the reliability of recording nerve conduction with surface electrode along radial nerve in children and to investigate the norms and the maturation of radial conduction in children aged 0-14 years Methods (1) We conducted a comparative study in 40 children with different ages on radial nerve for the reliability of recording radial motor nerve conduction with surface electrode and also needle electrodes. (2) Maturation pace and norms of motor and sensory conduction along radial nerve were recorded by surface electrode on the basis of data from 128 children 0-14 years old. (3) A preliminary evaluation was done on clinical application for the norms Results (1) A clear pattern of (compound muscle action potential, CMAP) was equally recorded by surface and needle electrodes in all the tested children regardless their age Both the value of MCVs and latencies were highly consistent ( r = 0 95 and 0 84, respectively). (2) With surface recording, CMAPs were well presented in all age groups including neonate F waves could be obtained in all subjects when recording electrode was moved to the proximity of upper extremity However it was hard to record a sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) of radial nerve in infant younger than 6 months of age, but the incidence of SNAPs were increased to 50% in subjects less than 3 years of age and still less than 90% in older children. (3) A series of norms of radial nerve conduction tested with surface electrode in children, including MCV, SCV, distal latencies, amplitudes and duration of CMAPs and SNAPs were obtained MCV level reached two third of that of young adults at birth[(36 7±6 8) m/s], there was no significant difference between the levels of MCV in 3 year age group[(56 0 ±6 7 )m/s] and in the older age groups As MCVs, a similar maturational pace for SCV was demonstrated It would be the important period for the maturation of nerve conduction along radial nerve in children under 3 years of age; (4) Diagnosis of radial nerve injury in 22 patients were well identified after a study of nerve conduction with surface electrode as compared to the norms from our data, and their pathological patterns were indicated Conclusion Motor nerve conduction of radial nerve could be satisfactorily recorded with surface electrode as compared to needle electrode in children at any age This could be the highest advantage to promote its clinical use in pediatric population due to its non invasive procedure However, a definitive diagnosis for the disorders of radial sensory nerve conduction can be made only with an additional study with needle electrode when a SNP is not obtainable with surface electrode
Leaching behaviour of municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash mixed with Hot-Mix Asphalt and Portland cement concrete used as road construction materials

One of the beneficial utilisations of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash (BA) is in the area of road construction sector: for example, the partial replacement of fresh aggregate in Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA) and Portland cement concrete (PCC). However, the potential leaching of toxic elements (e.g. alkaline elements and heavy metals) from the BA mixed with milled HMA and crushed PCC is still a concern when used as 2nd-cycle recycled materials. This paper presents and discusses the chemical characteristics and leaching behaviour of MSWI BA when used in both HMA and PCC. Chemical analysis of MSWI BA was conducted by using petrographic analysis tools. The leaching characteristics of major alkaline and trace elements from the milled HMA and crushed PCC containing varied amounts of BA were investigated by Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP) batch testing. The release of most alkaline and heavy metals (except Mg and Si from HMA and Ca from PCC) is reduced when mixed with the HMA and P...
Periodic Scan-In States to Reduce the Input Test Data Volume for Partially Functional Broadside Tests

This article describes a procedure for test data compression targeting functional and partially functional broadside tests. The scan-in state of such a test is either a reachable state or has a known Hamming distance from a reachable state. Reachable states are fully specified, while the popular LFSR-based test data compression methods require the use of incompletely specified test cubes. The test data compression approach considered in this article is based on the use of periodic scan-in states. Such states require the storage of a period that can be significantly shorter than a scan-in state, thus providing test data compression. The procedure computes a set of periods that is sufficient for detecting all the detectable target faults. Considering the scan-in states that the periods produce, the procedure ranks the periods based on the distances of the scan-in states from reachable states, and the lengths of the periods. Functional and partially functional broadside tests are generated preferring shorter periods with smaller Hamming distances. The results are compared with those of an LFSR-based approach.
Intensive Mutational Analysis of G Protein-Coupled Receptors in Yeast

Expression of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in yeast makes possible a genetic procedure for determining the range of amino-acid substitutions that are compatible with function in particular receptor regions. The regions of interest are targeted for intensive random mutagenesis, providing multiple amino-acid substitutions per allele. Genetic screening of the mutagenized receptors in yeast allows the identification of rare functional alleles, which can then be recovered, sequenced, and further characterized. Procedures for random oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis, creation, and screening of mutational libraries in yeast, as well as quantitative assay of receptor function, are described.
Inhibition of the Synthesis of Thymine Nucleotides by Azaserine

The synthesis of purine nucleotides de novo in sarcoma 180 ascites cells propagated in mice was essentially completely inhibited for a prolonged period of time by azaserine ( O -diazoacetyl-L-serine); this metabolic blockade resulted in a 60% decrease in the amount of adenine nucleotides in time cells. Concurrently, in the antibiotic-treated cells, the incorporation of thymidine-3H, formate-14C and deoxycytidine-3H into the thymine of DNA was markedly depressed, while the utilization of orotic acid-14C and leucine-14C for the formation of RNA and proteins, respectively, was unaffected. Azaserine did not decrease the rate of incorporation of adenine-14C into the purine nucleotides of DNA and RNA, suggesting that the polymerization processes per se were not altered by the drug. The inhibition of the incorporation of labeled precursors into the thymine of DNA in azaserine-treated cells was accounted for by a pronounced depression in the levels of thymidine kinase (ATP:thymidine 5'-phosphotransferase, EC [2.7.1.21][1]) and thymidine monophosphate kinase (ATP:thymidine monophosphate phosphotransferase, EC [2.7.4.9][1]). The availability to the cells of a supply of preformed adenine restored both the azaserinedepleted pool of adenine nucleotides and the activities of the thymine nucleotide-synthesizing enzymes; in this capacity, hypoxanthine was only slightly effective, while guanosine and azapurines were ineffective in reversing the azaserine-induced metabolic lesions. The results suggested a possible role for adenine nucleotides in regulating the activities of thymidine kinase and thymidine monophosphate kinase in intact cells. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This investigation was supported by USPHS Research Giant CA-02817 from the National Cancer Institute. The authors wish to thank Mrs. Theresa Cheng, Miss Florence C. Dunmore, Miss Sheila J. Feld, and Miss Andrea F. Gorske for excellent technical assistance. [1]: pending:yes
Developing Software for Nursing Education

ABSTRACT With support from a Division of Nursing Grant (DHHS Grant # D10 NU27075), more than 20 computer-assisted-instruction (CAI) programs and an information retrieval system were developed for basic and continuing nursing education. Authors and programmers worked as a team, which sometimes included an instructional designer. The first step was review of existing programs to familiarize authors with the capabilities of computers and to plan how the computer could be used best with the chosen topic. Next, the author developed the content in outline form and then in text plus graphics form, consulting with programmers about types of interaction, graphics, color or animation which could be used. At this point, the editorial associate entered the text into our PRIME word processing system and produced hardcopies for review by the author, programmer, instructional designer and an evaluator. The text was edited based on these reviews, and the actual coding, using a pseudo-BASIC language began. After coding, the programs were downloaded to microcomputers where machine-specific routines such as graphics were added. Following extensive on-site evaluation, programs were field-tested. Feedback from these evaluations was considered in making refinements of the programs. Various strategies were used in the programs, but all contain objectives, help options (user directions), menus, tutorials, and self-tests, A Level III videodisc, “Lamaze: The Nurse's Role” was produced. It consist of five sections, each containing a preview, objectives, a tutorial, test questions and a summary. Except for a few slides, all of the filming was done locally. Eight births including a Ceasarean birth were videotaped. A system, “An Annotated Bibliography: Computers in Nursing, 1979-1984”, which uses Zylndex for rapid searches, displays and printouts of its 477 entries, was also produced. Updates for the cuurent bibliograpgy and modifications to these programs for other applications are easy to make. Additional annotated bibliographies can be created, using the same format to produce an ASCII file. All products will be demonstrated.
US State-Level Legislative Responses to the Ebola Outbreak, 2014-2015.

Objective We sought to systematically identify and analyze state-level legislative responses to Ebola from April 2014 through June 2015. Methods Using standardized search terms, we searched the LexisNexis State Capital database to identify bills or resolutions that explicitly mentioned Ebola or viral hemorrhagic fever in all 50 US states and Washington, DC, from April 2014 through June 2015. Information was abstracted from relevant bills or resolutions by using an electronic data collection form. Abstracted information was analyzed to identify themes and patterns. Results Our search processes returned 273 bills and resolutions; 17 met our inclusion criterion. These 17 bills and resolutions were introduced in 11 states. The primary goals of these materials concerned the following: protecting or acknowledging public health and health care workers (n=4), revising the definition of “communicable disease” (n=3), financial considerations (n=5), establishing a task force (n=2), and updating or creating facilities (n=3). Six bills were enacted and 4 resolutions were adopted. Conclusion Approximately 20% of the states introduced bills or resolutions concerning the Ebola outbreak. These bills and resolutions highlight important practice considerations, including protections for those who assist in treating Ebola and revision of laws in the face of emerging infectious disease threats. Policy-makers and emergency planners would benefit from incorporating lessons learned from states’ Ebola responses into their preparedness activities. ( Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness . 2016;10:649–653)
Physically Based Signal Processing Concepts for Guided Waves

General Concepts Interesting processing concepts are discussed quite often in guided wave studies. In guided wave analysis, it is often useful to think on a frequency basis rather than to employ more common time domain thinking. As a result, Fourier transform analysis is commonplace. An analytic envelope for a Hilbert transform is also useful. The short time Fourier transform (STFFT) can also provide significant insight into the studies of guided wave response functions encountered in different situations. Physical insight into a resulting image of a spectrogram and its relationship to a group velocity dispersion curve along with the wavelet transform and its ability to see when certain frequency packets arrives as a function of time, as well as its relationship to a group velocity dispersion curve. On the other hand, the 2-D Fourier transform (2DFFT) relates to portions of a phase velocity dispersion curve. Quite often, the partial images generated by these transform techniques can provide us with an indication of damage in a structure by shifting and other indicators. This appendix gives an overview of some of these transform techniques that can also be used as a basis for extracting features that provide insight into important characteristics of guided waves. In particular, they provide data for constructing portions of the relevant dispersion curves, identifying the modes that are actually propagating, and providing a physical explanation of certain aspects of ultrasonic guided wave propagation.
Adenosine upregulates VEGF expression in cultured myocardial vascular smooth muscle cells.

We tested whether adenosine has differential effects on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, and whether A1 or A2 receptors (A1R; A2R) mediate...
Stand-alone anterior lumbar interbody fusion: indications, techniques, surgical outcomes and complications

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) is a well-established technique to achieve lumbar spine fusion with various indications including degenerative disk disease, spondylolisthesis, recurrent disk herniation, adjacent level disease, pseudoarthrosis, as well as being used as part of the overall strategy to restore sagittal balance. ALIF can be an extremely useful tool in any spine surgeon’s armamentarium. However, like any surgical procedure, proper patient selection is key to success. A solid understanding of the biomechanics, careful surgical planning, along with clear knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of stand-alone ALIF will ensure optimal clinical outcome. Stand-alone ALIF may be a suitable surgical option in carefully selected patients that can provide good clinical results and adequate fusion rates without the need for posterior instrumentation.Areas covered: A brief overview of the indications, techniques, biomechanics, surgical outcome and complications of stand...
SEUS: A Wearable Multi-Channel Acoustic Headset Platform to Improve Pedestrian Safety: Demo Abstract

With the prevalence of smartphones, pedestrians and joggers today often walk or run while listening to music. Since they are deprived of their auditory senses that would have provided important cues to dangers, they are at a much greater risk of being hit by cars or other vehicles. In this demonstration we present SEUS, a wearable system aimed at Sense Enhancement for Urban Safety. SEUS uses a three-stage architecture, consisting of headset mounted audio sensors, an embedded front-end for signal processing and feature extraction, and machine learning based classification on a smartphone, to provide early danger detection for pedestrians in real-time.
A Stapled BIM BH3 Helix Overcomes the MCL-1-Mediated Apoptotic Blockade of Refractory Hematologic Cancers

MCL-1 is an anti-apoptotic member of the BCL-2 family of proteins and has emerged as a major resistance factor in hematologic cancer. Pharmacologic targeting of anti-apoptotic proteins is an effective strategy for reactivating apoptosis in cancers that evade cell death by neutralizing pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family proteins. Anti-apoptotic proteins contain a hydrophobic groove of differing specificity that binds and sequesters the critical BH3 the BH3-only members such as BID and BIM that transmit signals of cellular stress to that oligomerize upon activation to permeabilize the outer mitochondrial membrane. Small molecules such as ABT-737 that selectively inhibit the anti-apoptotic proteins BCL-2 and BCL-XL induce apoptosis of tumors that are especially dependent upon this subset of survival proteins. However, the compounds are rendered ineffective by cellular expression of alternate anti-apoptotic proteins such as MCL-1, which lie outside their range of binding specificity. We previously developed Stabilized Alpha Helices of BCL-2 domains (SAHBs) that are structurally stable, protease-resistant, and cell-permeable compounds capable of targeting BCL-2 family proteins in situ with high affinity. By inserting a hydrocarbon staple into the BH3 domain of pro-apoptotic BIM, we have generated a broad spectrum BCL-2 family targeting agent that binds all anti-apoptotic proteins with nanomolar affinity and also directly triggers the activation of pro-apoptotic BAX. Here we report that BIM SAHB, but not a point mutant control, induces dosedependent apoptosis of ABT-737-resistant acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and multiple myeloma cell lines. Importantly, we demonstrate by co-immunoprecipitation that BIM SAHB broadly targets BCL-2 family proteins in these MCL-1-expressing hematologic cancers. Thus, by exploiting the native binding spectrum of BIM BH3 for both anti- and pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family members, we demonstrate the therapeutic potential of BIM SAHB in overcoming MCL-1-mediated resistance in hematologic cancers.
A comparison of two types of ankle supports in men with haemophilia and unilateral ankle pain from arthropathy.

Introduction Adults with haemophilia frequently have a painful and disordered gait due to ankle arthropathy. Aim The aim of this study was to determine if pain and gait parameters were affected by the use of different types of ankle bracing. Methods We investigated the gait patterns of 17 men with severe haemophilia without bracing, using a fracture boot (FB) and a carbon fibre floor reaction ankle foot orthosis (CF-AFO). Pain relief was determined in each condition. Gait parameters were measured by means of an electronic, pressure sensitive mat. Results Both brace types relieved pain. Use of a FB altered gait parameters that are associated with movement of the involved and the uninvolved limb during the gait cycle, whereas the use of a CF-AFO did not affect the gait cycle. Conclusion This study suggests that pain relief from both types of braces is identical but use of a CF-AFO does not alter gait patterns.
Field of a large circular loop antenna around a conducting sphere

The electromagnetic field of a circular loop antenna of radius a, carrying a nonuniform current I(ϕ), in the presence of a conducting sphere of radius b<a located symmetrically is considered. The current distribution on the thin-wire circular loop driven by a delta-function generator is determined by a Fourier series expansion in terms of tesseral harmonics. Eigenfunction series solutions for the field are assumed in different regions. The unknown coefficients are computed by enforcing boundary conditions at the interfaces of these different regions. Field components are obtained analytically in closed form and field patterns are plotted for various cases.
Design and Implementation of Attack-Resilient Cyberphysical Systems: With a Focus on Attack-Resilient State Estimators

Recent years have witnessed a significant increase in the number of securityrelated incidents in control systems. These include high-profile attacks in a wide range of application domains, from attacks on critical infrastructure, as in the case of the Maroochy Water breach [1], and industrial systems (such as the StuxNet virus attack on an industrial supervisory control and data acquisition system [2], [3] and the German Steel Mill cyberattack [4], [5]), to attacks on modern vehicles [6]-[8]. Even high-assurance military systems were shown to be vulnerable to attacks, as illustrated in the highly publicized downing of the RQ-170 Sentinel U.S. drone [9]-[11]. These incidents have greatly raised awareness of the need for security in cyberphysical systems (CPSs), which feature tight coupling of computation and communication substrates with sensing and actuation components. However, the complexity and heterogeneity of this next generation of safety-critical, networked, and embedded control systems have challenged the existing design methods in which security is usually consider as an afterthought.
Molecular Exchange in Ordered Diblock Copolymer Micelles

Molecular exchange kinetics of diblock copolymers forming spherical micelles packed on a body-centered cubic (bcc) lattice were investigated using time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (TR-SANS). Ordered arrays of polystyrene spheres were prepared by mixing 15 vol % poly(styrene-b-ethylene-alt-propylene) (PS−PEP) in squalane, a highly selective solvent for the PEP block. Two pairs of diblock copolymers were examined, characterized by two different PS core block molecular weights (⟨MPS⟩ = 26500 and 42800). Each pair contained two nearly identical diblock copolymers, one with a deuterated PS block (dPS−PEP) and the other with a protonated PS block (hPS−PEP). Protonated and deuterated squalane were blended to achieve a contrast-matched condition with uniformly mixed dPS and hPS (50/50 by volume) core chains. Beginning with a statistically random array of pure dPS and hPS cores distributed on the bcc lattice, molecular exchange was monitored at multiple temperatures by TR-SANS. Exchange of deuterated a...
The Arrhenius Law versus the Vogel Law

In the study of relaxation phenomena in glassy materials, we derive a relaxation law based on a defect diffusion model. Either exponential or stretched exponential relaxation can occur depending on the defect transport properties. Within our model, the manner in which the defect concentration changes with temperature determines the manner in which a characteristic time scale diverges. Either Arrhenius or Vogel-like behavior can be obtained. In the former case the time scale is infinite only at zero temperature, while for a Vogel type law the time scale will diverge at a finite temperature.
The Discontinuous Tradition of Sentencing Discretion: Koon's Failure to Recognize the Reshaping of Judicial Discretion Under the Guidelines

Can a judge exercise discretion and follow the law? Some think it impossible, seeing discretion as the opposite of law. Others have harmonized the two ideas, viewing discretion as the exercise of judgment according to and within the bounds of the law. Those who decry judicial discretion urge legislatures to enact more specific laws and leave less room for the vice of inconsistent results. Those who defend discretion would channel it to achieve the virtue of individualized justice. The tension between individualization and uniformity in the law is often unnecessarily heightened by an inadequate analysis of judicial discretion. The exercise of judicial discretion in federal criminal sentencing exemplifies the problems arising from those inadequate analyses. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 ("SRA") dramatically altered federal criminal sentencing for the express purpose of controlling judicial discretion. Judges were once free to impose any sentence from probation to the statutory maximum and were not subject to appellate review regarding the length of that sentence. However, they are now bound by the Sentencing Guidelines 7 and subject to appellate review of the sentences they impose. Despite this dramatic change, or perhaps because of it, the Supreme Court has used the breadth and uncertainty of the concept of discretion to paper over the fundamental reallocation of sentencing power in an effort to buttress the limited authority judges retain to individualize sentences.
Mechanisms of Cancer Invasion and Metastasis

The spread of cancer cells from a primary site to a distant organ is called metastasis. It is one of the most intriguing phases in the pathogenesis of the disease; indeed, cancer metastasis is responsible for most therapeutic failures, as patients succumb to the multiple tumor growths. It would seem that, short of the complete prevention of cancer, the most urgent goal of oncologists should be the arrest and/or prevention of such tumor spread. In this regard, it is remarkable that current theories of the mechanisms responsible for cancer metastasis are fragmented and controversial. The following discussion is not intended to be totally inclusive or an exhaustive review of the literature. The prime intent is to summarize and consolidate early findings, hypotheses, and suggestions, and to describe some recent experiments. It is hoped that this presentation will promote further collaborative efforts to clarify and elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the pathogenesis of metastasis.
A General Method for Coupling Macro and Micro Phenomena During the Solidification of an Alloy

At the macroscopic scale(~ 1m) the thermodynamic state of an alloy casting can be described by the solution of appropriate transport equations. Typically the variables in these equations describe the “mixture” behavior in a Representative Elemental Volume of the two-phase dendritic mushy region. A complete specification of the mixture variables requires a description of the processes occurring at the microscopic scale (~ 100μm) in particular the redistribution of solute in the arm spaces of the dendrites (microsegregation). This paper introduces a general approach for coupling macro and micro scale calculations in an alloy solidification model. A key part of this development is the use of thermodynamic calculation packages.