cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Excise Taxes, Tax Incidence, and the Flight to Quality: Evidence from Scanner Data

Because excise taxes are independent of product price, rate hikes are predicted to lower the relative cost of high-priced goods, encouraging a shift toward their purchase. Using scanner data on cigarette sales from twenty-nine states over a six-year period, we examine whether tax hikes encourage a flight to quality. Results demonstrate that a one-cent hike in taxes increases retail prices of name-brand and generic cigarettes by exactly one cent. We find no tax-induced substitution toward name brands but a large substitution away from carton to pack sales, suggesting that tax hikes encourage within-product changes in purchase but little between-product substitution.
Quadratic forms in complex Gaussian matrices and performance analysis of MIMO systems with co-channel interference

We derive new results dealing with the distribution of the largest eigenvalue of certain quadratic forms in complex Gaussian matrices. These results are useful for the performance analysis of optimized multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) systems subject to co-channel interference.
Synthesis of silicon microwire

Silicon microwires have been synthesized by the Taylor microwire process. In this process, silicon is melted inside a glass tube by a local heating source and fine microwire is then drawn out by mechanical pulling. The silicon microwire is encapsulated in a silica glass coating. Flexible 10–25-μm diameter polycrystalline silicon microwires were synthesized by this method in continuous lengths up to 460 mm.
Explaining the relationship between size and foreign policy activity: A test of three perspectives

This article attempts to assess the relative explanatory power of three theoretical perspectives on foreign policy—one that emphasizes national attributes, one that emphasizes goals, and one that emphasizes international communication structures‐for explaining the strong correlation between national size and level of foreign policy activity. Physical controls are placed on the CREON data to eliminate variation due to different contexts of prior behavior for events. Then path analysis is used to estimate the strength of the causal association between bureaucratic capabilities and activity of national role conceptions on four types of foreign policy activity. Results strongly support the position of the national attributes perspective that the government's capacity to act is the crucial determinant of the level of activity. The activity of national role conceptions has a meaningful impact only on one type of activity, third party responses.
Killer serials: did electronic journals really destroy the university press?

Given the rapidly changing economics of scholarly communication in the digital age, the importance of accurate, specific data on the resource flows within this realm has become increasingly important. Both the producers and the collectors of scholarly information require accurate information in order to nimbly navigate their changing roles in advancing the progress of knowledge. Two key actors in this area are university presses and academic libraries, which both hold keystone roles in scholarly communications, as disseminators and conservators of scholarship, respectively. This paper describes an exploratory study examining one contentious aspect of the relationship between these two actors: trends in purchases of university press books by academic libraries. It does so in order to provide an empirical basis for evaluating frequent claims by publishers that declines in libraries' monographic purchasing over the past three decades can be held primarily responsible for the declining economic fortunes of university presses over the same period. The results of this analysis indicate that this relationship is not clear-cut, for at least two reasons: first, to the extent that purchasing reductions have occurred, they have occurred much more recently than prior accounts have suggested, and second, purchasing trends vary significantly between different libraries and between different sizes of university press.
Precision material engineering — An equipment point of view

Novel materials and specialty processes are expanding rapidly. Low power high performance devices 3D transistor, packaging and memory drove the demands. Innovation in new manufacturing methods/hardware and new chemistries are required to meet the challenges. Several examples in the past such as Cu metallization evolution and interface cleaning illustrate the efforts how the equipment vendor overcame the more demanding requirements by introducing more hardware control knobs (such as power, RF frequency, B field distribution, temperature zoning), introducing new chemicals (fine control chemical reaction pathway), new physical/chemistry methods (alternative energy form and source) and tempering with new elements. A proper implementation of advanced capabilities heavily depends on the applications. Better understanding of device integration and close working relationship with customers and suppliers can allow more targeted optimization with less iteration time.
Stresses during thermoset cure

Production problems attributed to excessive stresses generated during the cure of epoxies led us to develop a formalism to predict these stresses. In our first studies, we developed a fundamental understanding of the complex evolution of viscoelasticity as the cure progresses. We then incorporated these results into a proper tensorial constitutive equation that was integrated into our finite element codes and validated using more complicated geometries, thermal histories, and strain profiles. The formalism was then applied to the original production problem to determine cure schedules that would minimize stress generation during cure. During the pursuit of these activities, several interesting and puzzling phenomena were discovered that have stimulated further investigation.
Detection of High Impedance Fault in Power Distribution Systems Using Mathematical Morphology

A high impedance fault (HIF) is characterized by a small, nonlinear, random, unstable, and widely varying fault current in a power distribution system. HIFs draw very low fault currents, and hence are not always effectively cleared by conventional overcurrent relays. Various schemes are proposed to detect such faults. This paper presents a method to detect HIFs using a tool based on mathematical morphology (MM). The method is implemented alongside the conventional overcurrent relay at the substation to improve the performance of this relay in detecting HIFs. It is rigorously tested on standard test systems using PSCAD/EMTDC® to generate test waveforms, and Matlab® to implement the method. Simulation results show that the proposed method is fast, secure, and dependable.
Efficiency of T4 Gene 60 Translational Bypassing

Ribosomes translating bacteriophage T4 gene 60 mRNA bypass 50 noncoding nucleotides from a takeoff site at codon 46 to a landing site just upstream of codon 47. A key signal for efficient bypassing is contained within the nascent peptide synthesized prior to takeoff. Here we show that this signal is insensitive to the addition of coding information at its N terminus. In addition, analysis of amino-terminal fusions, which allow detection of all major products synthesized from the gene 60 mRNA, show that 50% of ribosomes bypass the coding gap while the rest either terminate at a UAG stop codon immediately following codon 46 or fail to resume coding. Bypassing efficiency estimates significantly lower than 50% were obtained with enzymatic reporter systems that relied on comparing test constructs to constructs with a precise excision of the gap (gap deletion). Further analysis showed that these estimates are distorted by differences between test and gap deletion functional mRNA levels. An internal translation initiation site at Met12 of gene 60 (which eliminates part of the essential nascent peptide) also distorts these estimates. Together, these results support an efficiency estimate of ;50%, less than previously reported. This estimate suggests that bypassing efficiency is determined by the competition between reading signals and release factors and gives new insight into the kinetics of bypassing signal action.
Network topology determination using least absolute value state estimation

In energy control centers, the estimates of the power system state can often be affected by errors in the assumptions made about the topology of the power network. This paper introduces a technique that avoids making incorrect assumptions about power network status by estimating the status of suspect lines as a part of the state estimation process. This is done by introducing additional variables and measurements in the conventional state estimation problem. The success of the method relies on properties of the least absolute value (LAV) estimator (an estimator that minimizes the l/sub 1/ norm of the measurement residuals). The performance of the method is demonstrated on standard test systems. >
Detection of subsurface damage: studies in sapphire

A variety of nondestructive characterization techniques has been used to detect and measure subsurface damage in single- crystal sapphire to develop methods suitable to inspect high performance optics for sub-surface damage. These techniques include polarized light microscopy, x-ray diffraction topography, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. TEM examination shows that for ground surfaces damage can extend up to 6 - 7 micrometers into the bulk and includes cracks, twins and dislocations, while under polished surfaces only dislocations are seen. X-ray diffraction topography can image defects such as long-range strain, dislocations, residual surface scratches (not visible optically) and low-angle grain boundaries (lineage). Polarized light is also sensitive to strain and provides a relatively easy method for detecting defects such as cracks and lineage. Of all of the techniques Raman spectroscopy offers the best potential for quantifying strain in terms of stress.
African American Patients' Perspectives on Medical Decision Making

Background The medical literature offers little information about how older African Americans view the medical decision-making process. We sought to describe the perspectives of older African American patients in a primary care clinic as they consider a medical decision. Methods We interviewed 25 African American patients older than 50 years who had discussed flexible sigmoidoscopy with their primary care provider. Interviews were analyzed using qualitative methods. Results Patients listed concerns about cancer and health, risks and benefits, their own understanding of the test, and the recommendation of the provider as the most important factors in their decision. Most patients wanted information about medical tests and procedures to increase their understanding and to provide reassurance rather than to guide decision making. Most patients explained that they wanted the provider to make medical decisions because of his or her training and experience. Despite this, many expressed a sense of ownership or control over one's own body. Patients thought trust was built by a health care provider's honesty, patience, kindness, interest, and continuity of care. Conclusions Although traditional models of informed consent have emphasized providing patients with information to guide autonomous decision making, patients may want this information for other reasons. Fully informing patients about their medical condition increases understanding and provides reassurance. Because many of these patients want their provider to participate in making medical decisions, he or she should not only provide information but should also provide guidance to the patient.
Separation of 2,3,3′,4′,6‐pentachlorobiphenyl (IUPAC 110) from 3,3′,4,4′‐tetrachlorobiphenyl (IUPAC 77) using high‐performance liquid chromatography

A double forward-reverse (DFR) flow high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique was developed for the separation of coplanar chlorobiphenyl (CB) congener 77 and nonplanar CB congener 110. The DFR separated these two congeners into different HPLC fractions; each fraction was analyzed using gas chromatography-electron capture detection. The method was successfully applied in the analysis of Aroclor mixtures and fish samples.
A reference based analysis framework for analyzing system call traces

Reference based analysis (RBA) is a novel data mining tool for exploring a test data set with respect to a reference data set. The power of RBA lies in it ability to transform any complex data type, such as symbolic sequences and multi-variate categorical data instances, into a multivariate continuous representation. The transformed representation not only allows visualization of the complex data, which cannot be otherwise visualized in its original form, but also allows enhanced anomaly detection in the transformed feature space. We demonstrate the application of the RBA framework in analyzing system call traces and show how the transformation results in improved intrusion detection performance over state of art data mining based intrusion detection methods developed for system call traces.
Some Notes on the Epidemiological and Ecological Models

In medicine and public health during the second half of the nineteenth century, the development of powerful new concepts on specific agents of disease and immunity led to a narrowing of the focus of study. For many investigators of the early era of microbiology, the physical environment became all important in the search for the specific agents that caused specific diseases; the proliferation of eponyms was symptomatic of this feverish search. The environment tended to be seen as a source, or a wehicle, of specific agents rather than as a shaping force with many interacting elements.
Psychometricians’ Beliefs About Learning:

The author contends that disputes within the measurement community about what constitutes legitimate test preparation and whether “teaching to the test” is good or bad for student learning can be explained by differences in measurement specialists beliefs about learning. Qualitative analysis of interview data from a nationally representative sample of 50 district testing directors revealed that approximately half of the measurement specialists operate from implicit learning theories that advocate, first, close alignment of tests with curriculum and, second, judicious teaching of tested content. Historical quotations are used to show that these beliefs, associated with criterion-referenced testing, derive from behaviorist learning theory, which requires sequential mastery of constituent skills and explicit testing of each learning step. The sequential, facts-before-thinking model of learning is contradicted, however, by a substantial body of evidence from cognitive psychology. Implicit beliefs should be ma...
Effect of an anterior wall motion abnormality on the results of single-plane and biplane left ventriculography.

Abstract Although the biplane area-length method would be optimal for all left ventriculograms, 2 contrast injections are needed in laboratories with singleplane imaging equipment. The purpose of this study was to develop practical guidelines to identify the need for biplane left ventriculography in laboratories with single-plane equipment. From a retrospective analysis of 91 consecutive biplane ventriculograms (group 1), guidelines were identified that predicted when the ejection fraction calculated by the biplane method would differ significantly from the single-plane value. These guidelines were derived from information immediately available to the operator in the laboratory at the time of the procedure. Patients in group 1 were divided into 3 subgroups: biplane exceeding single-plane ejection fraction by ≥0.05 (n = 20); singleplane exceeding biplane ejection fraction by ≥0.05 (n = 14); and ejection fractions within ±0.04 by the 2 methods (n = 57). By multivariate analysis, the only predictor of a higher ejection fraction calculated by the biplane method was an anterior wall motion abnormality. This finding was tested prospectively in a separate group of 60 patients (group 2). Left ventriculograms in group 2 patients were stratified before analysis by the presence or absence of an anterior wall motion abnormality. In patients with anterior wall motion abnormalities, the biplane ejection fraction was greater than the single-plane value by 0.05 ±0.04 (range −0.03 to +0.15). In contrast, this difference in patients without anterior wall motion abnormalities was −0.01 ± 0.04 (range −0.09 to +0.06; p
ONTOGENIC TRACKS AND EVOLUTIONARY VESTIGES IN MORPHOSPACE

Strombid shells were used to exemplify how to construct ontogenic tracks and evolutionary vestiges in morphological space (morphospace). Parameters in a mathematical model of shell form were used to construct morphospaces. Ontogenic information was mapped into these morphospaces to form ‘tracks’ Ontogenic tracks showed that the predominant trend of morphological evolution of strombid species consisted of an increase of vertical dimensions of whorls (apertures). Integrating information extracted from cladograms with ontogenic tracks in morphospace, ‘evolutionary vestiges’ were determined and used to infer and reconstruct ancestral shell forms.
Hydrogen motion in oxides: from insulators to bronzes

Abstract The understanding of the diffusion of hydrogen is critical to a number of technologies, such as electrochromics, fuel cells and sensors, as well as in the study of corrosion/embrittlement phenomena. The motion of hydrogen species is reviewed here by comparing three different systems. First, the mobility of the counter-ions in the insulating naturally occurring silicates, exemplified by vermiculite, where single crystals are available, is described. Such materials have been suggested as the electrolyte for batteries and fuel cells. Second, a series of semiconducting transition metal oxides, predominantly of tungsten and molybdenum are considered. Finally, diffusion of protons in the metallic conducting tungsten bronzes is considered. In no case is ionic mobility very rapid unless a solvent such as water is present.
Claudins and the kidney

Claudins are tight junction membrane proteins that regulate paracellular permeability of renal epithelia to small ions, solutes, and water. Claudins interact within the cell membrane and between neighboring cells to form tight junction strands and constitute both the paracellular barrier and the pore. The first extracellular domain of claudins is thought to be the pore-lining domain and contains the determinants of charge selectivity. Multiple claudins are expressed in different nephron segments; such differential expression likely determines the permeability properties of each segment. Recent evidence has identified claudin-2 as constituting the cation-reabsorptive pathway in the proximal tubule; claudin-14, -16, and -19 as forming a complex that regulates calcium transport in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle; and claudin-4, -7, and -8 as determinants of collecting duct chloride permeability. Mutations in claudin-16 and -19 cause familial hypercalciuric hypomagnesemia with nephrocalcinosis. The roles of other claudins in kidney diseases remain to be fully elucidated.
Cortisone inhibition of tumor angiogenesis measured by a quantitative colorimetric assay in mice.

A simple and quantitative angiogenesis assay was developed. Using this assay, the angiostatic effect of cortisone acetate (CA) on three murine tumors was studied. Tumor cells were inoculated i.d. into the syngeneic or heterogeneic hosts (day 0) and the degree of angiogenesis was quantitated on day 3 by measuring the tumor vascular volumes using an Evan’s blue perfusion technique. CA treatment (250 mg/kg for 3 days) significantly suppressed tumor angiogenesis; however, the degree of angiostatic effect was influenced by the tumor types and by the mouse strain used. MBT-2 bladder cancer angiogenesis was suppressed by 77%–80% of controls in C3H/HeN and C57Bl/6 mice, whereas MBT-2 angiogenesis in BALB/c mice was significantly less suppressed by CA (65% inhibition) as compared with values obtained for C3H mice. B16 melanoma or Line-1 lung-cell carcinoma-induced angiogenesis was suppressed by 57%–66% in their syngeneic or heterogeneic hosts. The combined administration of CA and heparin (Sigma; 1,000 units/ml in drinking water) did not influence the outcomes. The data suggest that host factor(s) and tumor factor(s) influenced the expression of CA angiostatic activity. This colorimetric assay enabled a quantitative estimation of the degree of angiogenesis in mammalian animals.
Improving low load combustion, stability, and emissions in pilot-ignited natural gas engines:

AbstractStringent environmental policies and the ever-increasing demand for energy have triggered interest in novel combustion technologies that use alternative fuels as energy sources. Of these, pilot-ignited natural gas engines that employ small diesel pilots (∼1-5 per cent on an energy basis) to compression ignite a premixed natural gas-air mixture have received considerable attention. This paper discusses the effect of intake charge temperature and pilot injected quantity on the onset of ignition (ΔIGN) and combustion (ΔCOM) in a pilot-ignited natural gas engine with specific focus on early diesel pilot injection [begining of injection (BOI) at about 60° before top dead centre (BTDC)] for low-load operation. Both ΔIGN and ΔCOM had a strong influence on performance and emissions at 60° BTDC. At advanced BOI for both half and quarter-load operation, the best performance and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions could be obtained by optimally advancing ΔIGN relative to TDC and minimizing the cyclic variability in t...
Management of Effusive and Constrictive Pericardial Heart Disease

Case study: A 69-year-old white male was referred for transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) two days after urgent coronary artery bypass grafting. In the first 24 postoperative hours, pleural and pericardial drainage was nearly 3 L, during which time the blood pressure was supported with inotropic agents. The next day, chest tube drainage was minimal, a transthoracic echocardiogram was unremarkable, and the patient was extubated. Shortly thereafter, the patient became hypotensive and dyspneic. TEE revealed a large loculated effusion with linear adhesions and thrombus that compressed both atria, as well as a large pleural effusion. There was marked respiratory variation in Doppler velocities across the tricuspid and mitral valves. At thoracotomy, 1 L of blood was removed from the pericardial space, bleeding at the site of aortic cannulation was sutured, and the patient made an uneventful recovery. Treatment of effusive and constrictive pericardial disease is often simple and gratifying, but frustration and unforeseen challenges await the unwary clinician. The symptoms and signs of pericardial disease, at times unmistakable (as in the patient described above), may be overshadowed by extracardiac manifestations of a systemic disorder; at other times, they are insidious and conceal their true nature. Pericardial constriction mimics hepatic cirrhosis and myocardial failure and may be virtually indistinguishable from restrictive cardiomyopathy. Another important problem is the lack of placebo-controlled trials from which appropriate therapy may be selected and of guidelines that assist in important clinical decisions; as a result, the practitioner must rely heavily on clinical judgment. Finally, therapeutic options in most cases are limited to antiinflammatory agents, drainage of pericardial fluid, and pericardiectomy. However, despite general agreement on how these measures should be applied in patients with either very mild or severe disease, there is little consensus on the management of the large number of cases encountered with clinical manifestations between …
Persistent Palmar Plaques—Another Possible Cutaneous Sign of Mercury Poisoning

Mercury poisoning is becoming a health concern due to the extensive pollution of water and fish and the increasing consumption of fish in the human diet. Mercury is extremely toxic to the body, especially the central nervous system, but diagnosis is difficult due to the lack of specific signs. We report four patients with persistent palmar plaques that correlated with blood mercury levels and cleared upon the elimination of mercury from the body.
Rostro-caudal variations in neuronal size reflect the topography of cellular phenotypes in the rat superior cervical sympathetic ganglion

The mammalian superior cervical ganglion (SCG) contains a complex mixture of neuronal phenotypes that selectively innervate different peripheral targets. The present study examined the rostro-caudal topography of sympathetic phenotypes in the rat SCG by analyzing the relation between cell position, size, and the expression of immunoreactivity for neuropeptide Y (NPY), calretinin, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). We observed that 64% of SCG neurons expressed NPY and had an average diameter of approximately 24 microm throughout the ganglion. Previous studies indicate that most of these cells are vasoconstrictor in function. By contrast, the size of NPY-negative neurons varied from approximately 25 microm in the rostral ganglion near the internal carotid nerve to approximately 30 microm in the caudal ganglion between the external carotid nerve and cervical sympathetic trunk. Many of the large NPY-negative neurons in the caudal ganglion were surrounded by dense axonal baskets that were immunoreactive for calretinin and therefore are likely to be secretomotor neurons projecting to salivary glands. Consistent with earlier reports, the rostral ganglion contained low numbers of presumptive pupillomotor neurons, based on their expression of NPY and contact with fibers containing CGRP. The present results indicate that neuronal size may provide a useful aid to cellular identification, especially in the caudal ganglion, and they provide further evidence of a topographic organization within the mammalian SCG.
Duration of intrathecal morphine effect in children with idiopathic scoliosis undergoing posterior spinal fusion.

Objective: Intrathecal (IT) morphine improves pain control and decreases opioid requirements in children following thoracic and abdominal surgery. However, studies in children report variable durations of analgesia following IT morphine. The purpose of this study is to describe the duration of analgesia in children undergoing surgical correction of idiopathic scoliosis. Design: Retrospective chart review. Setting: Pediatric hospital within a tertiary care academic medical center. Participants: Forty-four pediatric patients with idiopathic scoliosis who received IT morphine following posterior spinal fusion (PSF). Main outcome measure(s): Mean opioid exposure 0-12 hours and 13-24 hours post-IT morphine. Results: Mean opioid exposure was significantly increased during the 13-24-hour compared to the 0-12-hour time period (23.0 ± 12.5 mg parenteral morphine vs 15.9 ± 1.7 mg; p = 0.0006). The only factors significantly associated with morphine exposure during the 0-12-hour period included the median pain score (0-12 hours) (odds ratio [OR], 1.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.033-3.80; p = 0.046) and total acetaminophen dose (OR, 0.003; 95% CI, 0.0008-0.005; p = 0.011). Conclusions: These data indicate that patients experienced improved analgesia for at least 12 hours following IT morphine. Increased use of adjuvant analgesics such as acetaminophen may reduce opioid requirements following PSF procedures. More studies are needed to investigate the combination of adjuvants and IT morphine to reduce postoperative pain in this population.
The Academic Dental Careers Fellowship Program: a pilot program to introduce dental students to academia.

The Academic Dental Careers Fellowship Program (ADCFP) was established in 2006 by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) and the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) with the financial support of the ADA Foundation to encourage dental students to consider careers in dental education and to provide participating fellows with insights into academic life. The ADA Foundation provided funding during the 2006–07 academic year for eleven dental student fellows, who were paired with faculty mentors at their respective schools. Fellows and mentors attended a two-day retreat in the summer of 2006, and over the course of the subsequent year in dental school, the fellows with guidance from their mentors participated in preclinical laboratory, classroom, small-group, and clinical teaching experiences; designed and implemented a research project; developed a philosophy of education; completed career reflection essays; assembled a portfolio to represent their ADCFP activities and projects; conducted a series of interviews with faculty designed to expose students to roles, issues, and career paths in academic dentistry; and presented a synopsis of their experiences at the ADEA Annual Session in New Orleans in March 2007. The fellows and mentors completed midyear and end-of-year evaluations of the ADCFP in which feedback and recommendations were collected by telephone interviews and questionnaires. Fellows reported positive experiences and an increased interest in and understanding of academic careers. Mentors also evaluated the ADCFP positively and reported enhancements in their mentoring skills. This article describes the goals and format of the ADCFP, summarizes program evaluation data elicited from the fellows and mentors, and proposes recommendations for future fellowship classes.
Children’s Lived Spaces in Suburban Taiwan During the 1960s

This study aims to portray children’s lived spaces in rural Taiwan during the 1960s. Taiwan started to develop into a prosperous and industrialized country with a stronger and dynamic economy during the 1960s while it maintained an authoritarian, single-party government. Today, Taiwan has transformed into a country that is not only economically developed, but also socially Westernized. The lived spaces of children in suburban Taiwan have gone through a drastic change during the last 50 years. This study attempts to provide descriptions of children’s lived space during the 1960s as a different way that space could be lived in comparison to the present westernized space and gives insights into an Other kind of the lived space of society today. I interviewed two native Taiwanese adults who were about 10 years old during the 1960s. I asked them to draw a picture of their childhood home and to describe their everyday experience in that space. Both participants described a childhood home similar to a traditional san-ho-yuan architecture that has an open space in the center of a three-wing building. The architecture of children’s lived spaces in rural Taiwan during the 60s invites intimate familial encounters, engagements with nature and domestic animals, and communal activities for children. With the narratives of the participants, attention was drawn to how children are living in the present day Taiwanese architecture where they are provided with a separate and distinct lived space that does not allow for close and intimate encounters with adults, other children, and nature. The concluding remark underlies the challenges of forming a sense of identity in the given lived space that children face today.
Complications of Pelvic Lymphadenectomy and Interstitial Irradiation of A2 Tumors

The topic of treatment of complications that occur after interstitial therapy for stage A2 adenocarcinoma of the prostate is somewhat unique. While a number of series have studied complications after radiation therapy based on field size, dose delivered, dose fractions, and anatomic and physiologic characteristics of the host, rarely have they categorized complications of therapy based on pretreatment clinical stage. This I seek to do here on the basis of my experience with interstitial implantation with the 125I isotope in 126 patients at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia (USA). Complications after interstitial therapy are divided into a) acute, those that occur within the first 3 months, and b) chronic, those that persist beyond 3 months or occur at some interval greater than 3 months after therapy.
Discussion of “21st century screening experiments: What, why, and how” (Vining)

Definitive screening designs (DSDs) are a very interesting, academic advance in the design of experiments to support second-order response surface models. Their construction is extremely clever and...
Importance of governance with human resources information systems

Information Security Governance is a foundational element that contributes to an organization's success and is foundational in the strategic business objectives. This paper examines the importance of the evolution of Human Resources Information Systems in the direction of an organization's Information Security Governance strategic plan.
Treatment of truck wash water using electrocoagulation

AbstractThe scarcity of fresh water resources and the need for additional water supplies are critical in many regions of the world. Treatment of wastewater and its reuse can partially resolve this issue. Due to the increase in use and number of heavy duty vehicles for transportation purpose the wastewater generated from truck wash has been escalated during last several decades. Our results show that electrocoagulation (EC) can be an effective technique to treat truck wash water (TWW), and this treated TWW is reusable. Effects of different combination of electrodes, such as Fe–Fe, Al–Fe, and Al–Al, operating time, current density (CD), and pH inside the EC reactor were studied to optimize treatment conditions for lowering chemical oxygen demand (COD), and concentrations of some selected toxic metal ions in TWW. The best removal efficiency of 79% for COD was obtained by Fe–Fe combination after 8 min of operating time and at 2 mA/cm2 of CD. Iron, zinc, and lead concentrations were reduced below EPA maximum c...
Temperature Dependence of H Permeation through Pd and Pd Alloy Membranes

H permeabilities (normalized fluxes), have been measured through Pd and some Pd alloy membranes at a series of constant upstream H2 pressures with the downstream pressure being ∼0 in the temperature range from 393 to 573 K. From these data, activation energies for H permeation, EP, have been determined. Conditions of constant upstream pH2 are of most interest since most determinations of EP in the literature have employed this boundary condition. Permeabilities have also been measured at a series of constant upstream H concentrations with the downstream concentration being ∼0 and, under these conditions, the slopes of the Arrhenius plots give activation energies equivalent to those for H diffusion. It is shown here that under constant upstream pH2 conditions, nonideality of the H leads to nonlinear Arrhenius plots of P for Pd and especially for some Pd alloy membranes where the H2 solubilities are significant even at moderate pH2. For example, the permeabilities of a Pd0.77Ag0.23 alloy membrane and a Pd0....
Ported Shroud Effects on the Unstable Dynamic Characteristics of a Radial Compressor

The general trend in diesel engines is to downsize the engine by use of turbochargers that operate at higher pressure ratios. Unfortunately, increasing the rotational speed of compressors tends to decrease their range of operation due to the development of instabilities at higher minimum mass flow rate. In order to limit the occurrence of stall and eventually surge, passive control methods such as port shrouded compressors have been developed. This type of device has been proven to extend the surge margin by use of inlet recirculation but the actual characterization of functioning remains not well understood. The scope of this research is to study the effective operational range for a turbocharger with port shrouded compressor typically used in diesel engines. In order to better understand the relationship between inlet recirculation and instability control, full dynamic survey of the compressor is being performed. Measurements at the inlet of the compressor, inside the diffuser and surrounding the volute are obtained simultaneously to track down the incipience of stall. This enables to follow the pressure distribution in every section of the compressor and highlight pressure variations within the housing. By comparing the results for the same compressor tested with and without recirculation capability, focus is given on the effectiveness of the casing treatment. This yielded a better understanding of the working mechanism associated with the application of a ported shroud as an effective way of surge margin extension.
Stabilizing blood with 3-deazaadenosine interferes in the Abbott FPIA assay for plasma homocyst(e)ine.

The importance of preserving sample integrity during transport to the laboratory cannot be over-emphasized. This is particularly relevant where new analytes are being investigated as potential markers of illness or susceptibility to future illness, and where controversy exists over the clinical utility of such measurements. Plasma homocyst(e)ine is one such analyte, which is currently being investigated as an independent risk factor for the development of oxidative damage to the vascular endothelium. Homocyst(e)ine is liberated from red cells ex vivo in unpreserved whole blood, raising the plasma concentration by some 10% per hour at room temperature, due to continued production from S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) by the action of the enzyme SAH hydrolase. Homocyst(e)ine is stable in separated plasma for up to 4 days at room temperature, but attempts have been made to enhance its stability in whole blood for ease of transportation.' One approach used specially prepared sample collection tubes (EDTA/Nonidet P40/citric acid) to promote immediate haemolysis.' This necessarily requires re-evaluation of population reference ranges because of the lower red cell homocyst(e)ine concentration (lysate:plasma ratio approximately 0,6), and problems also arise in interpretation of results from samples with abnormal haematocrits. Most authors encountered problems with sodium fluoride anticoagulant/preservative due to altered cellular fluid distribution. Two recent reports successfully used additives during collection to stabilize whole blood without haemolysis. Commercially prepared acid citrate tubes were found to maintain plasma homocyst(e)ine concentra-
A microhematocrit method and its evaluation.

Iii experiments with small animals and hematologic examination of children, the need often exists for a hematocrit method requiring amounts of blood much smaller than those needed for the usual AVintrobe tube. The procedure described here requires minute amounts of blood such as may be obtained from the fingertip, heel, ear or tail. AVhile the necessary apparatus (a heavy-walled capillary pipet sealed with a thermolabile plastic material) entails no novel idea, a description of the technic and its evaluation as compared with the AVintrobe tube is deemed worthy of note. A large literature exists on microhematocrit methods, but comparison of results with those obtained with the established AVintrobe tube is insufficient. Microhematocrit apparatus with a fine capillary tube and with a permanent seal at one end, in the manner of the AVintrobe tube, avoids leakage but poses the problem of easy placement of the blood into the small bore. Some workers have attempted to meet this problem by employing a special tube with a cup at the open end -; this type of tube is expensive and difficult to clean. Capillary tubing open at both ends overcomes these drawbacks but presents the problem of adequate sealing of one end after the sample is drawn up. Solutions to this problem have included metal clips, rubber bands with a reinforcement of tire patch material or wax, and a plastic material.
Characterization of Polymer Structure Using Real-Time X-ray Scattering

X-ray scattering is a powerful analytical tool for the non-destructive evaluation of crystallizable polymers and blends. Our group has been using real-time x-ray scattering to study thermal properties and microstructure development in semicrystalline polymers1–4. Here we describe our research on thermal expansion studies of poly(butylene terephthalate)1, PBT, using x-ray scattering for non-destructive property evaluation. X-ray scattering experiments were conducted at the Brookhaven National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS).
Ultra-thin body SOI MOSFET for deep-sub-tenth micron era

A 40nm-gate-length ultra-thin body (UTB) nMOSFET is demonstrated. A self-aligned thin body SOI device has previously been proposed for suppressing the short channel effect. UTB structure can eliminate the punchthrough path between source and drain and provide a more evolutionary alternative to the double-gate MOSFET for deep-sub-tenth micron technology. The advantage of using UTB is illustrated through device simulation (with the aid of Silvaco ATLAS) using simple doping profiles for the body and S/D (simple Gaussian).
Quarks and gluons get real

Physicists are notoriously proud of their theories, often using terms such as elegance and beauty to describe them. There is therefore nothing more frustrating to a theorist than having a beautiful theory with equations that are too difficult to solve! One theory that fits this description is quantum chromodynamics, the fundamental theory of the strong interaction that governs quarks.
Antiphospholipid Antibodies and Atherosclerosis

Abstract Insights about the impact of infections and autoimmunity on lipid metabolism and vascular homeostasis has illuminated the role of autoantibodies and inflammation in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The finding of premature arterial disease in patients with chronic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus supports this model. Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), a chronic, autoimmune-linked coagulation disorder, is only sporadically life-threatening, but, with a strong association to antibodies that target intravascular structures, and increasing awareness of an inflammatory component to the disease, APS seems a likely candidate to increase risk for atherosclerosis over time. Although this disease has been redefined several times in order to limit the spectrum of criteria and facilitate clinical research, a wider spectrum of vascular abnormalities exist in the APS population than are accounted for in these criteria. This updated review will continue to explore all data relevant to APS and atherosclerosis, including consideration of some autoantibodies and other signs of immune activation that are closely related to, if not contained strictly within, the currently accepted definition of APS.
A Progress Report on The Piers Plowman Electronic Archive

This article discusses the early history, current publications, and future directions of the The Piers Plowman Electronic Archive (PPEA). It begins with account of the project's origins in computer assisted analysis of Middle English alliterative meter in the mid-1980s and describes some of the technical challenges facing early digital editing projects. It then discusses the project's current and forthcoming documentary editions of Piers Plowman manuscripts and its early work on the B archetype, concentrating on the challenges posed by this heterogeneous tradition.The first appendix describes a list of new manuscript sigils used by the PPEA to avoid problems caused by the traditional, ad hoc, system.The second appendix describes features of the new Elwood browser, which will be used for forthcoming volumes in the PPEA.
Improved localization, spectral quality, and repeatability with advanced MRS methodology in the clinical setting.

Purpose To investigate the utility of an advanced magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) protocol in the clinical setting, and to compare the localization accuracy, spectral quality, and quantification repeatability between this advanced and the conventional vendor-provided MRS protocol on a clinical 3T platform. Methods Proton spectra were measured from the posterior cingulate cortices in 30 healthy elderly subjects by clinical MR technologists using a vendor-provided (point resolved spectroscopy with advanced 3D gradient-echo B0 shimming) and an advanced (semi-LASER with FAST(EST)MAP shimming) protocol, in random order. Spectra were quantified with LCModel using standard pipelines for the clinical and research settings, respectively. Results The advanced protocol outperformed the vendor-provided protocol in localization accuracy (chemical-shift-displacement error: 2.0%/ppm, semi-LASER versus 11.6%/ppm, point resolved spectroscopy), spectral quality (water linewidth: 6.1 ± 1.8 Hz, FAST(EST)MAP versus 10.5 ± 3.7 Hz, 3D gradient echo; P < 7e-6; residual water: 0.08 ± 0.12%, VAPOR versus 0.45 ± 0.50%, WET; P < 2e-5) and within-session repeatability of metabolite concentrations, particularly of low signal-to-noise ratio data with two to eight averages (test-retest coefficients of variance of metabolite concentrations, P < 0.01). Concentrations of J-coupled metabolites such as γ-aminobutyric acid and glutamate were biased when using the default pipeline with simulated macromolecules. Conclusions The quality of MRS data can be improved using advanced acquisition and analysis protocols on standard 3T hardware in the clinical setting, which can facilitate robust applications in central nervous system diseases. Magn Reson Med, 2017. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
Time motion analysis of nursing work in ICU, telemetry and medical-surgical units.

Aim This study examined nurses’ work, comparing nursing interventions and locations across three units in a United States hospital using Omaha System standardized terminology as the organizing framework. Background The differences in nurses’ acute-care work across unit types are not well understood. Prior investigators have used time–motion methodologies; few have compared differences across units, nor used standardized terminology. Methods Nurse-observers recorded locations and interventions of nurses on three acute-care units using hand-held devices and web-based TimeCaT™ software. Nursing interventions were mapped to Omaha System terms. Unit-differences were analysed. Results Nurses changed locations approximately every 2 min, and averaged approximately one intervention/minute. Unit differences were found in both the interventions performed and the locations. Most interventions were case-management related, demonstrating the nurses’ patient management/coordination role. Conclusions Unit differences in nursing interventions and location were found among three unit types. Omaha System terminology, as well as the observational method used, were found to be feasible and practical. Implications for Nursing Management Nursing work varies by unit, yet managers have not been armed with empirical data with which to make more informed decisions about nurses’ work priorities, clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, staff satisfaction and cost. The results from this study will help them to do so.
Recollections of Heinz von Foerster, a Rhetorical Genius

On a cold day between Christmas and New Year 1961, in search of a place to study, I met Heinz in his office at the Biological Computer Laboratory. I knew of him through a network of designers who, like me, were interested in issues that conventional curricula did not address. Heinz greeted me, a total stranger, with the enthusiasm usually reserved for an old friend. To my surprise, he knew of the place where I had came from (the Ulm School of Design, an avant-garde institution now extinct but reproduced everywhere much as cybernetics is now), and he suggested that I come to the University of Illinois to study with W. Ross Ashby. This short encounter enrolled me into cybernetics and defined my intellectual focus for years to come. Disciplines Communication This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/asc_papers/284 Cybernetics And Human Knowing. Vol. 10, nos. 3-4, pp. 195-196 Recollections of Heinz von Foerster, a rhetorical genius1