cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Did protein kinase regulatory mechanisms evolve through elaboration of a simple structural component

Statistical analysis of the functional constraints acting on eukaryotic protein kinases (EPKs) and on distantly related kinases suggests that EPK regulatory mechanisms evolved around an ancient structural component whose most distinctive features include the HxD-motif adjoining the catalytic loop, the F-helix, an F-helix aspartate, and the DFG-motif adjoined to the activation loop. The HxD-histidine constitutes a convergence point for signal integration, as conserved interactions link it to key catalytic residues, to the F-helix aspartate, and to both ends of the DFG-motif. These and other conserved features appear to be associated with DFG conformational changes and with coordinated movements possibly associated with phosphate transfer and ADP release. The EPKs have acquired structural features that link this core component to likely substrate-interacting regions at either end of the F-helix (most notably involving an F-helix tryptophan) and to three regions undergoing conformational changes upon kinase activation: the activation segment, the C-helix, and the nucleotide-binding pocket.
AAEE Minimonograph #25: Single‐fiber electromyography in myasthenia gravis

Single-fiber electromyography (SFEMG) demonstrates abnormal jitter in virtually all (99%) patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). One muscle, the extensor digitorum communis, is abnormal in most patients with this disease, but to obtain the maximum diagnostic sensitivity, it may be necessary to examine other muscles, especially ones that are more involved clinically. There is no one muscle that will be more abnormal in every patient with MG. The muscle(s) to be tested must be selected based on the distribution of weakness in the individual patient. Abnormal jitter is also seen in diseases of nerve and muscle; these diseases must be excluded by other electrophysiologic and clinical examinations before diagnosing MG. If neuronal or myopathic disease is present, increased jitter does not indicate that MG is also present. However, if jitter is normal in a muscle with definite weakness, the weakness is not due to MG. When abnormal neuromuscular transmission has been demonstrated by repetitive nerve stimulation, the finding of abnormal jitter does not add to the diagnosis, though it may be useful in providing baseline values for comparison with the results of subsequent studies. SFEMG is most valuable clinically in the patient with suspected MG in whom other tests of neuromuscular transmission and antiacetylcholine receptor antibody titers are normal. Serial measurements of jitter can be useful in following the course of disease and in assessing the effect of treatment, but the results from these studies must always be interpreted in light of the overall clinical picture.
The Use of Microbial Membranes to Achieve Anaerobiosis

The cytoplasmic membranes of many aerobic and facultative bacteria contain enzymes that catalyze the reduction of dissolved oxygen to water. Preparations of small particles derived from such membranes can be filter sterilized without loss of the oxygen-reducing enzymes. These particle preparations can be used to produce anaerobic conditions in a variety of biological environments. They have been shown to stimulate the growth of many anaerobic bacteria and can also be used to stabilize oxygen-sensitive chemical reagents. The particle preparations are stable for long periods of time. They are functional over a pH range and temperature range frequently encountered in biological systems. Various techniques for using the particles are presented. The advantages and limitations of this new approach to achieving oxygen-free conditions are discussed.
The in vivo metabolites of [14C] progesterone in bovine muscle and adipose tissue

Abstract Muscle and adipose tissue were obtained from steers and dairy cows following subcutaneous administration of [ 14 C] progesterone. Following extraction, purification and separation by column, thin layer and gas-liquid chromatography, various radioactive residues from these tissues were identified by their Chromatographic mobility, crystallization to constant specific activity and mass spectra. Progesterone constituted 54% of free radioactivity extracted from muscle and 69 and 73% of radioactivity in the free and conjugated portions of extracts, respectively, from fat. Metabolites identified were: 5α-pregnane-3,20-dione, 9%, 0%, 0%, 20β-hydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one, 8%, 11%, 3%; 3α-hydroxy-5β-pregnan-20-one, 13%, 2%, 2%; 3α-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one, 3%, 3%, 6%; 20α-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-3-one, 0%, 2%, 3%; of radioactivity in muscle (free) and fat (free and conjugated fractions), respectively. Tentatively identified in fat extracts by chromatographic mobility were: 20α-hydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one, 1%, 1% and 3β-hydroxy-5β-pregnan-20-one, 0%, 2% of radioactivity in free and conjugated fractions, respectively. The average concentration of steroid in these animals due solely to treatment, calculated from the specific activity of the [ 14 C] progesterone administered, was 3.4 and 18.1 ng/g in muscle and subcutaneous fat, respectively.
Police Professionalism and Role Conflict: A Comparison of Rural and Urban Departments

This study examines the impact offive dimensions of police professionalism on role conflict. Estimates from stepwise multiple regressions demonstrate that the various professionalism dimensions differentially affect role conflict. The results further indicate that role conflict may be reduced through the professionalization of the police, but the influence of professionalism is conditioned by department size.
Recognizing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in the Nursery

The problem of recognizing fetal alcohol syndrome in the nursery, especially when the possibility of FAS has not been anticipated, is addressed. A nursing care plan is presented.
Patients With Recently Diagnosed Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy Benefit From Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators

OBJECTIVES This study sought to determine whether the time from diagnosis to randomization was related to outcome in a clinical trial of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) insertion in nonischemic cardiomyopathy. BACKGROUND Whether the duration of nonischemic cardiomyopathy is related to arrhythmic risk and the possible benefit of ICD insertion is unknown. METHODS The Defibrillators in Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy Treatment Evaluation (DEFINITE) trial randomized 458 patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy and a left ventricular ejection fraction <36% to receive standard medical therapy with or without an ICD. Patients were randomized regardless of the duration of known cardiomyopathy as long as a reversible cause of left ventricular dysfunction was not present. Patients were divided into recently and remotely diagnosed nonischemic cardiomyopathy groups based on the time from diagnosis of cardiomyopathy to randomization. To categorize patients, cut points of three and nine months were used. RESULTS Patients with recently diagnosed cardiomyopathy who received an ICD had better survival than those treated with standard therapy at both cut points. This difference in survival was significant at three months (p < 0.05) and was borderline significant at nine months (p = 0.058). Patients with remotely diagnosed cardiomyopathy did not have a significant survival benefit with ICD insertion, but there were no significant differences between ICD benefit in the recent and remote diagnosis groups (p = 0.17 and 0.25). CONCLUSIONS Patients who have a recent cardiomyopathy diagnosis do not have any less ICD benefit than those with a remote diagnosis. Thus, ICD therapy should be considered in such patients as soon as they are identified as long as a reversible cause of left ventricular dysfunction is excluded.
FAST RELIABLE PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE DERMATOLOGIST

Color photography using a 35 mm single lens reflex camera is a useful tool for both academic and practicing dermatologists. With an electronic flash and a macro lens, the production of high quality photographs requires only a few seconds. Equipment and techniques effective in office photography are surveyed and evaluated.
Local maximum likelihood multiuser detection for CDMA communications

The optimum multiuser detector achieves global maximum likelihood and has a complexity growing exponentially with the number of users. We propose the local maximum likelihood (LML) multiuser detectors with an arbitrary neighborhood size. As the neighborhood size is one, two, etc., up to the total number of users, the computational complexity of the LML detector is linear quadratic, etc., up to exponential in the total number of users. Every LML detector is associated with a local minimum error probability defined with the corresponding neighborhood size. A family of local-maximum-likelihood likelihood-ascent-search (LMLAS) detectors is proposed, each of which is shown to be an LML detector. An LMLAS detector monotonically increases likelihood step by step, and thus converges to an LML point in a finite number of search steps with probability one. Following any detector, an LMLAS detector can reduce the error probability of the initial detector to a local minimum or not change it when the initial detector is an LML detector with the same or larger neighborhood size with probability one.
Overview of computational testbed for evaluating electro-optical/infrared sensor systems

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) developed a near-surface computational testbed (CTB) for modeling geo-environments. This modeling capability is used to predict and improve the performance of current and future-force sensor systems for surface and near-surface threat detection for a wide range of geoenvironments. The CTB is a suite of integrated models and tools used to approximately replicate geo-physical processes such as radiometry, meteorology, moisture transport, and thermal transport that influence the resultant signatures of both natural and man-made materials, as perceived by the sensors. The CTB is designed within a High Performance Computing (HPC) framework to accommodate the size and complexity of the virtual environments required for analyzing and quantifying sensor performance. Specifically, as a rule-of-thumb, the size of the scene should encompass an area that is at a minimum, the size of the spatial coverage of the sensor. This HPC capability allows the CTB to replicate geophysical processes and subsurface heterogeneity with high levels of realism and to provide new insight into identifying the geophysical processes and environmental factors that significantly affect the signatures sensed by multispectral imaging, near-infrared, mid-wave infrared, long-wave infrared, and ground penetrating radar sensors. Additionally, this effort is helping to quantify the performance and optimal time-of-use for sensors to detect threats within highly heterogeneous geo-environments by reducing false alarms from automated target recognition algorithms.
Diagnosis of laterally spreading tumors (LST) in the rectum and selection of treatment: characteristics of each of the subclassifications of LST in the rectum.

Background In recent years, endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has often been used for the treatment of laterally spreading tumors (LST) of the rectum. The present study was carried out with the aim of clarifying the characteristics of each of the subtypes of LST in the rectum that are often treated by ESD. Patients and Methods This study involved 141 rectal LST that were initially treated at our hospital between March 2005 and December 2010 and whose endoscopic images and histopathological specimens could be re-examined. The LST were divided into LST-G-H (homogeneous type), LST-G-MIX (nodular mixed type), LST-NG-F (flat type) and LST-NG-PD (pseudo-depressed type) type lesions, and tumor diameter and depth of invasion of each of these tumor types were investigated. Results Regarding the depth of invasion, the proportion of submucosa-massive (SM-m) lesions was high in the LST-NG-PDtumors, even among tumors measuring <20 mm in diameter; both the rate of cancer and proportion of SM-m lesions were significantly higher in the LST-NG-PD tumors than in the LST-NG-F tumors (P < 0.05). In both LST-NG-MIX and LST-NG-PD tumors, the proportion of SM-m lesions was significantly higher in the lower rectum than in the upper rectum (P < 0.05). Conclusion For LST of the rectum (particularly of the lower rectum), it is necessary to carefully select the treatment considering LST subclass and tumor diameter from the standpoint of the presence of malignancy, quality of life, and prognosis of patients.
Georgia Health – Go Local: Using Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Promote a Statewide Consumer Health Website

The National Library of Medicine ended its support of the Go Local program in 2010 due to declining usage, but in many ways Georgia's project was a success. From its beginning, Georgia Health – Go Local was a model of successful collaboration among a variety of partners and institutions throughout the state. The high usage statistics for the Go Local website and the support garnered by the project exemplify the positive nature of the collaborations that made the project possible.
Resveratrol attenuates TNF-α-induced activation of coronary arterial endothelial cells: role of NF-κB inhibition

Epidemiological studies suggest that Mediterranean diets rich in resveratrol are associated with reduced risk of coronary artery disease. However, the mechanisms by which resveratrol exerts its car...
The role of initial monitoring of routine biochemical nutritional markers in critically ill children.

Aims: The objectives of this study were to determine whether abnormal values of routine laboratory parameters at admission predict outcome and changes in anthropometric parameters in critically ill children during intensive care unit (ICU) stay and to discuss the clinical implications of abnormalities. Study design: This is a prospective descriptive study in a tertiary multidisciplinary pediatric ICU. Serum urea, albumin, triglycerides and magnesium were measured in samples obtained from 105 children (age, 7 days-16 years) within the first 24 h after their admission. The prevalences of abnormalities in these parameters as well as their possible association with outcome (length of stay, days on mechanical ventilation) and changes in nutritional status (changes in S.D. scores for weight, mid upper arm circumference and calf circumference) between admission and discharge were assessed. Results: Prevalences of hypomagnesemia, hypertriglyceridemia, uremia and hypoalbuminemia were 20%, 25%, 30% and 52%, respectively, with no significant associations between the different disorders. Except for uremia, no significant association was found between abnormalities in biochemical parameters and changes in S.D. scores of anthropometric measurements. Children with uremia showed larger declines in S.D. scores for weight and arm circumference between admission and discharge than children without uremia did. Children with hypertriglyceridemia had longer ventilator dependence (P<.01) and length of stay (P<.001) than children with normal triglyceride levels upon admission had. Conclusions: Abnormalities in routine nutritional laboratory parameters were frequently noted in critically ill children at admission. Detection of abnormalities was not predictive of changes in anthropometric parameters during ICU admission but can be important in individualizing nutritional support.
Prediction of human observer performance in a 2-alternative forced choice low-contrast detection task using channelized Hotelling observer: Impact of radiation dose and reconstruction algorithms

Purpose: Efficient optimization of CT protocols demands a quantitative approach to predicting human observer performance on specific tasks at various scan and reconstruction settings. The goal of this work was to investigate how well a channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) can predict human observer performance on 2-alternative forced choice (2AFC) lesion-detection tasks at various dose levels and two different reconstruction algorithms: a filtered-backprojection (FBP) and an iterative reconstruction (IR) method. Methods: A 35 × 26 cm2 torso-shaped phantom filled with water was used to simulate an average-sized patient. Three rods with different diameters (small: 3 mm; medium: 5 mm; large: 9 mm) were placed in the center region of the phantom to simulate small, medium, and large lesions. The contrast relative to background was −15 HU at 120 kV. The phantom was scanned 100 times using automatic exposure control each at 60, 120, 240, 360, and 480 quality reference mAs on a 128-slice scanner. After removing the three rods, the water phantom was again scanned 100 times to provide signal-absent background images at the exact same locations. By extracting regions of interest around the three rods and on the signal-absent images, the authors generated 21 2AFC studies. Each 2AFC study had 100 trials, with each trial consisting of a signal-present image and a signal-absent image side-by-side in randomized order. In total, 2100 trials were presented to both the model and human observers. Four medical physicists acted as human observers. For the model observer, the authors used a CHO with Gabor channels, which involves six channel passbands, five orientations, and two phases, leading to a total of 60 channels. The performance predicted by the CHO was compared with that obtained by four medical physicists at each 2AFC study. Results: The human and model observers were highly correlated at each dose level for each lesion size for both FBP and IR. The Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients were 0.986 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.958–0.996] for FBP and 0.985 (95% CI: 0.863–0.998) for IR. Bland-Altman plots showed excellent agreement for all dose levels and lesions sizes with a mean absolute difference of 1.0% ± 1.1% for FBP and 2.1% ± 3.3% for IR. Conclusions: Human observer performance on a 2AFC lesion detection task in CT with a uniform background can be accurately predicted by a CHO model observer at different radiation dose levels and for both FBP and IR methods.
The Fantastic Stories of Könchok Paldrön and Her Enlightened Children: The Literary Impact of a Strong Female Voice in Blazing Splendor

During the twelfth century, innovative developments in Tibetan Buddhist spiritual biography helped provide new narrative license to describe the lives and practices of revered saints with a level of detail and sophistication that far surpassed the preceding minimalist approach to biography. This article draws attention to several of the key literary techniques employed by authors to compose spiritual biographies. By comparing two recently published works of this genre, Brilliant Moon: The Autobiography of Dilgo Khyentse (2008) and Blazing Splendor: The Memoirs of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (2005), I argue that the latter text’s persistent breaks from established literary precedence are reflective of Konchok Paldron’s influence on her grandson, Tulku Urgyen. In addition, I argue that these breaks provide scholars with novel information pertaining to the family dynamic that exists between saints who have been recognized, as children, as reincarnations of enlightened masters ( tulkus ) , the mothers who gave birth to them, and the religious institutions that raised them.
“We Will Be Right with You”: Managing Customer Expectations with Vague Promises and Cheap Talk

Delay announcements informing customers about anticipated service delays are prevalent in service-oriented systems. How delay announcements can influence customers in service systems is a complex problem that depends on both the dynamics of the underlying queueing system and on the customers' strategic behavior. We examine this problem of information communication by considering a model in which both the firm and the customers act strategically: the firm in choosing its delay announcement while anticipating customer response, and the customers in interpreting these announcements and in making the decision about when to join the system and when to balk. We characterize the equilibrium language that emerges between the service provider and her customers. The analysis of the emerging equilibria provides new and interesting insights into customer-firm information sharing. We show that even though the information provided to customers is nonverifiable, it improves the profits of the firm and the expected utility of the customers. The robustness of the results is illustrated via various extensions of the model. In particular, studying models with incomplete information on the system parameters allows us also to highlight the role of information provision in managing customer expectations regarding the congestion in the system. Further, the information could be as simple as “high congestion”/“low congestion” announcements, or it could be as detailed as the true state of the system. We also show that firms may choose to shade some of the truth by using intentional vagueness to lure customers.
Production of multiparticle final states by coherent excitation of projectiles in nuclear targets

The production of multiparticle final states on nuclear targets via multiple coherent excitation of the projectile is developed. By coherent excitation we mean that class of production models including fragmentation models or diffractive excitation models. It is found that both the rapidity distribution of secondaries in inclusive reactions and the multiplicities can be calculated, and new features of the excitation models are revealed. The calculable quantities are found to depend only weakly on the atomic number of the target; in particular, the single-particle distribution in the target fragmentation region grows roughly as ${A}^{\frac{1}{4}}$. An amusing possibility of boosting effective beam energy for resonance production by using nuclear targets emerges.
An analysis of the CTHA's resonance currents and the resulting radiation shapes

The contrawound toroidal helical antenna (CTHA), a novel low-profile antenna, is a bifilar antenna with four terminal connections. The two filaments of the antenna can be thought of as a two-wire transmission line whose resonances are determined by the boundary conditions present at the ends of the line. The CTHA is then approximated by a circular array of vertical loops for certain resonance modes. This structural approximation is used in an analytical approach to estimate the general shape of the radiation pattern of the CTHA for these cases. The analytical results are compared with simulation. Relatively good agreement was found, validating the structural approximation for rough pattern estimations.
Performance Modeling of Multi-Rate HDR and its Effect on TCP Throughput

An interesting feature of the 3G cellular networks is their ability to support multiple data rates. Though the performance of TCP over wireless networks has been well studied, there is still no clear understanding on the expected throughput of TCP over multi-rate cellular systems. In this work, we consider a multi-rate system like High Data Rate (HDR) and represent the state space using a Markov chain. We calculate the state transition probabilities assuming transitions are possible between adjacent states only. We calculate the expected data rate conditioned to the initial state both analytically and through simulations. We use an M/G/l queuing model to capture the delay and TCP throughput for each of the initial states. We also illustrate how TCP throughput is affected by parameters like velocity, bit error rate, window size, TCP loss rate, and the underlying radio link protocol.
Dynamic generation of follow up question menus: facilitating interactive natural language dialogues

Most complex systems provide some form of help facilities. However, typically, such help facilities do not allow users to ask follow up questions or request further elaborations when they are not satisfied with the systems' initial offering. One approach to alleviating this problem is to present the user with a menu of possible follow up questions at every point. Limiting follow up information requests to choices in a menu has many advantages, but there are also a number of issues that must be dealt with in designing such a system. To dynamically generate useful embedded menus, the system must be able to, among other things, determine the context of the request, represent and reason about the explanations presented to the user, and limit the number of choices presented in the menu. This paper discusses such issues in the context of a patient education system that generates a natural language description in which the text is directly manipulable - clicking on portions of the text causes the system to generate menus that can be used to request elaborations and further information.
Still Walking, Still Brave: Mapping Gender, Race, and Power in U.S. Western History

This essay highlights several interdisciplinary works about gender, race, and power in U.S. western history that utilize analytic tools generated by women9s studies and women9s history and considers how these recent works are charting new pathways for future research about U.S. western women9s history. The theory of intersectionality, articulated by black women9s studies, has been particularly useful in addressing the complexity of how gender, race, and power have informed women9s lives in the U.S. West. However, several of the scholars producing this exciting work do not identify or locate their work as U.S. western women9s history. One reason may be the existence of an "American western history imaginary," an ideological construct that currently dominates the field and scholarship. The essay addresses what is at stake in challenging this imaginary for U.S. western women9s history.
Optimal sliding guidance algorithm for Mars powered descent phase

Abstract Landing on large planetary bodies (e.g. Mars) with pinpoint accuracy presents a set of new challenges that must be addressed. One such challenge is the development of new guidance algorithms that exhibit a higher degree of robustness and flexibility. In this paper, the Zero-Effort-Miss/Zero-Effort-Velocity (ZEM/ZEV) optimal sliding guidance (OSG) scheme is applied to the Mars powered descent phase. This guidance algorithm has been specifically designed to combine techniques from both optimal and sliding control theories to generate an acceleration command based purely on the current estimated spacecraft state and desired final target state. Consequently, OSG yields closed-loop trajectories that do not need a reference trajectory. The guidance algorithm has its roots in the generalized ZEM/ZEV feedback guidance and its mathematical equations are naturally derived by defining a non-linear sliding surface as a function of the terms Zero-Effort-Miss and Zero-Effort-Velocity. With the addition of the sliding mode and using Lyapunov theory for non-autonomous systems, one can formally prove that the developed OSG law is globally finite-time stable to unknown but bounded perturbations. Here, the focus is on comparing the generalized ZEM/ZEV feedback guidance with the OSG law to explicitly demonstrate the benefits of the sliding mode augmentation. Results show that the sliding guidance provides a more robust solution in off-nominal scenarios while providing similar fuel consumption when compared to the non-sliding guidance command. Further, a Monte Carlo analysis is performed to examine the performance of the OSG law under perturbed conditions.
Teaching as Activism: BJ at 60

Birthday anniversaries are occasions for celebrating the lives we have been given and, if we are old enough, reflecting on what we have done with them. Some members of the academic community in Nigeria and abroad may remember and join the family, friends, students and other well-wishers of Professor Biodun Jeyifo, popularly known as BJ, as they celebrate with him his 60 years of existence on earth.
Predictors Of Treatment Failure After Radiofrequency Ablation For Intramucosal Adenocarcinoma in Barrett Esophagus: A Multi-institutional Retrospective Cohort Study.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA), with or without endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), is a safe, effective, and durable treatment option for Barrett esophagus (BE)–associated dysplasia (DYS), but few studies have identified predictors of treatment failure in BE-associated intramucosal adenocarcinoma (I
Rehabilitation strategies for wrist sensorimotor control impairment: From theory to practice.

Abstract This clinical review discusses the organization, neuroanatomy, assessment, clinical relevance, and rehabilitation of sensorimotor (SM) control impairment after wrist trauma. The wrist SM control system encompasses complex SM pathways that control normal wrist active range of motion and mediate wrist joint neuromuscular stability for maintaining joint function. Among various known assessment methods of wrist SM control impairment, the active wrist joint position sense test is determined to be a clinically meaningful and responsive measure for wrist SM control impairment after wrist fracture. Wrist trauma may involve significant soft tissue injury (ie, skin, ligament, muscle), which could disrupt the generation and transmission of adequate proprioceptive input from wrist mechanoreceptors, thus leading to significant joint SM impairment. Various clinical examples of wrist trauma (eg, distal radius fracture, scapholunate joint injury) along with known prognostic factors (eg, pain) that may influence wrist SM control impairment recovery are discussed to illustrate this point. This article proposes promising rehabilitation strategies toward restoring wrist joint conscious and unconscious SM control impairments, integrating current research evidence with clinical practice. These strategies require more rigorous evaluation in clinical trials. Level of evidence 5.
TRALI: hit by CRP.

In this issue of Blood, Kapur et al identify the acute-phase protein C-reactive protein (CRP), a general biomarker for infection and inflammation, as a potent mediator of antibody-dependent transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI). This study provides a novel and direct link between inflammation and TRALI, opening doors for possible new approaches in targeting TRALI.1
An Automatic Identification Method for Coherent Generator Groups Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process Model

In view of the existing subjective and one-sidedness problems in the process of coherence identification for dynamic equivalence, the influences of various factors on the coherence of generators are taken into account. By drawing on the experience of analytic hierarchy process( AHP) for reference, a practical AHP model is developed. Key factors, such as swing curves, electrical distances and generator parameters, are combined to change the process of coherence identification from single dicision-making to multiattribute decision-making. Through the comparison between the coherence matrixes of the standard systems with known coherence and the similarity matrixes of various factors, the AHP judgment matrix is determined, while the weight of each factor is determined objectively. The distributed clustering method is used to obtain the final similarity matrix, then the coherent generator clustering is completed. Simulation results of the IEEE 118-bus 54-unit system and Western Inner Mongolia power grid show that the method proposed is effective and practical.
Plasma lens focusing and plasma channel transport for heavy ion fusion

Abstract The capabilities of adiabatic, current-carrying plasma lenses for the final focus problem in heavy-ion-beam-driven inertial confinement fusion are explored and compared with the performance of non-adiabatic plasma lenses, and with that of conventional quadrupole lenses. A final focus system for a fusion reactor is proposed, consisting of a conventional quadrupole lens to prefocus the driver beams to the entrance aperture of the adiabatic lens, the plasma lens itself, and a high current discharge channel inside the chamber to transport the focused beam to the fusion pellet. Two experiments are described that address the issues of adiabatic focusing, and of transport channel generation and stability for ion beam transport. The test of the adiabatic focusing principle shows a 26-fold current density increase of a 1.5 MeV potassium ion beam during operation of the lens. The lens consist of a discharge of length 300 mm, filled with helium gas at a pressure of 1 Torr and is pulsed with a current between 5 and 15 kA. The investigations of discharge channels for ion beam transport show that preionization of the discharge channels with a UV laser can be an efficient way to direct and stabilize the discharge.
Na+ and H+ transport in human jejunal brush-border membrane vesicles.

We have examined pH gradient-driven Na+ uptake and Na+-driven H+ transport in brush-border membrane vesicles prepared from jejunal tissue obtained from organ donors by measuring the influx of 22Na and the fluorescence quenching of acridine orange (AO). Vesicle preparation by either Ca2+ or Mg2+ precipitation showed no difference in 22Na uptake or AO fluorescence quenching and dissipation. An outward H+ gradient [intravesicular pH (pHi) 5.5; extravesicular pH (pHo) 7.5] induced a Na+ uptake “overshoot” of threefold over equilibrium, whereas the absence of an H+ gradient (at either pH 5.5 or 7.5) did not produce an overshoot. Voltage clamping by Ki+ = Ko+ plus valinomycin reduced the overshoot by 50%. The initial rate of pH-driven Na+ uptake in voltage-clamped vesicles was related to [Nao+] (Km = 29 mM and Vmax = 9.5 nmol.mg protein-1.3 s-1). Amiloride inhibited this uptake in voltage-clamped vesicles (Ki = 99 microM). Dissipation of AO fluorescence quench in vesicles with a preformed internal acid gradient...
Spatial structure of communities on dead pen shells (Atrina rigida) in sea grass beds

Delimiting communities in marine habitats is difficult because co-occurring species often have different life histories and the life stages experience the environment at different spatial scales. The habitat of a particular community is embedded within a larger habitat or ecosystem with many species shared between the focal community and the larger system. Pen shells (Atrina rigida) are large bivalves that, once the mollusk dies, provide shelter for motile species and hard substrate for settling larval invertebrates and egg-laying fishes. In St. Joseph’s Bay, Florida (29°45′N, 85°15′W), pen shells are the most abundant source of hard substrate, especially inside sea grass (Thalassia testudinum) beds, where they reach densities of 0.1–4.0 m−2. This study, which was conducted from May to August 2005, measured the overlap in species densities between dead pen shells and the surrounding sea grass communities at eight sites to determine the discreteness of the pen shell communities. Of the 70-epibenthic taxa recorded, 66% were found on the pen shells but not in the surrounding sea grass habitat. Community structure, which varied among shells within sites and among the eight sites, could be related to sea grass characteristics such as blade density and length either directly (e.g., inhabitants of pen shells directly benefit from the surrounding sea grass) or indirectly (e.g., pen shells and sea grass both benefit from similar factors such as current and nutrients). Pen shells were randomly distributed at several spatial scales within the 15 × 15 m sites as were many motile species. Two exceptions were the shrimp, Palaemon floridanus and the amphipod, Dulichella appendiculata, whose distributions were clumped. Most of the sessile species had clumped distributions, tending to be very abundant when they were present. These pen shell communities provide an opportunity for experimental studies of factors affecting species diversity on small, discrete, naturally occurring habitats.
Vertical Phase Segregation Induced by Dipolar Interactions in Planar Polymer Brushes

We present a generalized theory for studying structural properties of a planar dipolar polymer brush immersed in a polar solvent. We show that an explicit treatment of the dipolar interactions yields a macroscopic concentration dependent effective “chi” (the Flory–Huggins-like interaction) parameter. Furthermore, it is shown that the concentration dependent chi parameter promotes phase segregation in polymer solutions and brushes so that the polymer-poor phase consists of a finite/nonzero polymer concentration. Such a destabilization of the homogeneous phase by the dipolar interactions appears as vertical phase segregation in a planar polymer brush. In a vertically phase segregated polymer brush, the polymer-rich phase near the grafting surface coexists with the polymer-poor phase at the other end. Predictions of the theory are directly compared with prior reported experimental results for dipolar polymers in polar solvents. Excellent agreements with the experimental results are found, hinting that the di...
Is the party system affected by booms and busts? Not very much

The literature on party system fragmentation emphasizes how political institutions and social cleavages shape the long-term development of the party system, but short-term swings in economic performance could change the level of electoral fragmentation by affecting the concentration of the vote in the executive. Time series data from presidential elections in 59 countries and from district-level legislative election contests in 22 countries show that a growing economy is negatively associated with the effective number of parties winning votes: a strong economy leads to a slight reduction in fragmentation as the ruling party consolidates its rule while a weak economy tends to disperse votes among alternatives to it. But the effect of economic performance relative to political institutions and the incumbency advantage is at the margins. The modest size of this effect should remind scholars of the limits of the economy as an overall driver of voter choice. Keywords: Economic Voting, Party System Fragmentation, Duverger’s Hypothesis.
Hydropneumothorax Due to Esophageal Rupture.

Abstract Background A brief review of the historical aspects of esophageal rupture is presented along with a case and current recommendations for diagnostic evaluation and treatment. Case Report A 97-year-old woman complained of acute dyspnea without prior vomiting. Chest x-ray study showed a large right pneumothorax with associated effusion. A thoracostomy tube was placed with return of > 1 L turbid fluid with polymicrobial culture and elevated pleural fluid amylase level. Chest computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated overt leakage of oral contrast into the right pleural space. She was treated with ongoing pleural evacuation, antibiotics, antifungals, and total parenteral nutrition. The patient and family declined surgical resection as well as endoscopic stent placement. In 1724, Boerhaave described spontaneous rupture of the esophagus postmortem; Boerhaave syndrome remains the name for complete disruption of the esophageal wall in the absence of pre-existing pathology typically occurring after vomiting. It most commonly occurs in the distal left posterolateral thoracic esophagus. Contrast esophagram is considered the “gold standard” for diagnosing esophageal rupture although CT esophagography also shows good diagnostic performance. Treatment includes nil per os status, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and drainage of the pleural space. Surgical repair of the esophageal perforation should be done early if the patient is deemed a good candidate, and esophageal stenting is also an option. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Esophageal perforation should be suspected in patients with new pleural effusion, often with overt pneumothorax, that is polymicrobial with elevated amylase.
Adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: an international survey of transfusion and anticoagulation techniques.

Background and objectives Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a method of life support for either isolated cardiac failure or respiratory failure, with or without cardiac failure. When used for hemodynamic support, the ECMO circuit presents a non-endothelialized, artificial surface to blood inciting an inflammatory response which activates haemostatic pathways. Anticoagulation may complicate a pre-existing coagulopathy and/or inadequate surgical hemostasis of varying severity. There is no standardized method to achieve and monitor anticoagulation or guide transfusion therapy during ECMO. We tested the hypothesis that institutions across the world conduct similar management of anticoagulation and transfusion during adult ECMO support. Methods This is a descriptive, self-reporting cross-sectional survey of anticoagulation and transfusion practice for patients age 18 or older on ECMO. This 38 multiple-choice question survey was sent to 166 institutions, internationally, utilizing adult ECMO. About 32·4% (54) of institutions responded. Responses were anonymously collected. Descriptive analyses were calculated. Results Our findings indicate there appears to be a significant practice variation among institutions regarding anticoagulation and transfusion during adult ECMO support. Discussion The lack of standard practices among institutions may reflect a paucity of data regarding optimal anticoagulation and transfusion for patients requiring ECMO. Standardized protocols for anticoagulation and transfusion may help increase quality of care for and reduce morbidity, mortality and cost to patients and healthcare centres. Further study is required for standardized, high quality care.
Piecewise parabolic method for simulating one-dimensional shear shock wave propagation in tissue-mimicking phantoms

The recent discovery of shear shock wave generation and propagation in the porcine brain suggests that this new shock phenomenology may be responsible for a broad range of traumatic injuries. Blast-induced head movement can indirectly lead to shear wave generation in the brain, which could be a primary mechanism for injury. Shear shock waves amplify the local acceleration deep in the brain by up to a factor of 8.5, which may tear and damage neurons. Currently, there are numerical methods that can model compressional shock waves, such as comparatively well-studied blast waves, but there are no numerical full-wave solvers that can simulate nonlinear shear shock waves in soft solids. Unlike simplified representations, e.g., retarded time, full-wave representations describe fundamental physical behavior such as reflection and heterogeneities. Here we present a piecewise parabolic method-based solver for one-dimensional linearly polarized nonlinear shear wave in a homogeneous medium and with empirical frequency-dependent attenuation. This method has the advantage of being higher order and more directly extendable to multiple dimensions and heterogeneous media. The proposed numerical scheme is validated analytically and experimentally and compared to other shock capturing methods. A Riemann step-shock problem is used to characterize the numerical dissipation. This dissipation is then tuned to be negligible with respect to the physical attenuation by choosing an appropriate grid spacing. The numerical results are compared to ultrasound-based experiments that measure planar polarized shear shock wave propagation in a tissue-mimicking gelatin phantom. Good agreement is found between numerical results and experiment across a 40 mm propagation distance. We anticipate that the proposed method will be a starting point for the development of a two- and three-dimensional full-wave code for the propagation of nonlinear shear waves in heterogeneous media.
Science Anxiety as a Function of Gender and Experience

This study examined the influence of gender and various background factors on science anxiety. Students (50 women, 37 men) took the Science Anxiety Scale (Mallow, 1994), provided information about high school and college academic accomplishments, described gender-role stereotyping in the home, and evaluated their science teachers and science experiences. Most participants were Caucasian and from an upper-middle class background. Women were not uniformly more science anxious and had a relatively similar science background to men, although they had higher science grades in high school and did report less stringent sex-role socialization in the home. However, students with high science anxiety took fewer science courses in college, had lower SAT-Q scores, and reported that their high school science teachers were not helpful. The findings regarding gender- and anxiety-linked differences are discussed in terms of women's and men's differential interpretations of their abilities, the influence of parental gender typing on pursuit of science, and the gender-appropriateness of studying science.
Probing promoting effects of alkali cations on the reduction of CO at the aqueous electrolyte/copper interface.

The catalytic selectivity and reactivity of an electrocatalytic interface can profoundly depend on the identity of the supporting electrolyte's cation. In the case of CO2 reduction on copper electrodes, these cation effects have been utilized to suppress undesired hydrogen evolution and to promote the formation of C2 reduction products. However, to more effectively steer the catalytic selectivity of the electrolyte/copper interface by cations, it is crucial to reveal the various physical mechanisms by which cations impact the catalytic properties of this prototypical interface for CO2 reduction. Herein, we employ surface-sensitive infrared spectroscopy to probe how alkali cations (Li+, K+, and Cs+) control the coverage of CO, a key intermediate in CO2 reduction, on a polycrystalline copper electrode. We find that surface-adsorbed CO experiences an increasingly larger interfacial electric field with increasing cation size. The reduction of CO is further promoted by the two larger cations, leading to a significant drop of the CO coverage at high cathodic potential around −1 V vs. RHE. Our results demonstrate for the first time that the coverage of CO on the electrode is very sensitive to the identity of the cation. Since the relative coverage of CO and hydrogen on the copper surface affects the catalytic rates of CO2 reduction and hydrogen evolution, our results represent an essential step towards a better understanding of how cation effects control the product distribution.