cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of left atrial spontaneous echo contrast in sinus rhythm.

Abstract OBJECTIVES In this study we attempt to define the clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of patients with left atrial spontaneous echo contrast (LASEC) in sinus rhythm (NSR). BACKGROUND Left atrial spontaneous echo contrast in atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with increased risk of thromboembolism. Little is known about its significance in NSR. METHODS We reviewed reports of 1,288 transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) studies done with a 5 MHz probe. Patients with swirling LASEC who were in NSR during TEE were analyzed. We compared them with a control group of 45 age matched patients selected to have NSR, left atrium (LA) >4.0 cm but no SEC. RESULTS Spontaneous echo contrast in NSR was noted in 24 patients (2%) and formed our study group. All patients with SEC had enlarged LA, mean 5.6 cm ± 0.6 cm. There was a higher prevalence of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) in patients with SEC when compared with controls with no SEC, 83% versus 56%, p = 0.02. Patients with SEC had larger LA, 5.6 versus 4.9 cm, p CONCLUSIONS Spontaneous echo contrast in NSR occurs in patients with significantly dilated LA and depressed atrial function. Left atrial thrombus is noted in 13% of such patients despite NSR. Spontaneous echo contrast in NSR is associated with a higher prevalence of CVA. Further, SEC is found to be an independent and more powerful correlate of CVA than reduced LAAEV or atrial size. These data indicate that LASEC in NSR is a prothombotic condition.
Effects of a phosphonic acid analog of adenosine triphosphate on actomyosin systems.

Abstract Adenyl-methylenediphosphonate, a new analog of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), has been studied in actomyosin systems. This analog is structurally identical with ATP except for the replacement of the terminal POP linkage by PCH 2 P. It did not replace ATP in causing contraction of glycerinated muscle or a drop in viscosity in actomyosin solutions, and it was not hydrolyzed by a homogenate of glycerinated muscle. A partial inhibition of myofibrillar adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) by the analog was observed in the absence of added MgCl 2 . This inhibition was not relieved by increasing the ATP concentration; however, it was abolished by the addition of MgCl 2 . It was concluded that adenyl-methylenediphosphonate does not interact with the actomyosin sites which react with ATP. It was also concluded that the nature of myofibrillar ATPase is altered by the addition of magnesium ions, and a possible relation between this alteration and the activation of contraction by magnesium ions is suggested.
The Effect of Gold Thioglucose on Feed Consumption in Domestic Fowl

Abstract Five microliters of a solution containing either 0, .5, 1.0, 2.0, or 5.0 mg of gold thioglucose (GTG), dissolved in autoclaved distilled water, was injected into the third ventricle of the brains of 45 nine-week-old chickens. The level of GTG administered was linearly related to mortality but had no influence on either feed consumption or body weight gain through 9 weeks postsurgery. Surviving birds were sacrificed and the brains processed for histological studies. There was no evidence of a selective GTG uptake by ventromedial hypothalamic cells, suggesting an absence of glucoreceptors as demonstrated in some mammals. A species difference in GTG sensitivity has not been ruled out by these data.
Bayesian Approach for Real-Time Probabilistic Contamination Source Identification

AbstractDrinking water distribution system models have been increasingly utilized in the development and implementation of contaminant warning systems. This study proposes a Bayesian approach for probabilistic contamination source identification using a beta-binomial conjugate pair framework to identify contaminant source locations and times and compares the performance of this algorithm to previous work based on a Bayes’ rule approach. The proposed algorithm is capable of directly assigning a probability to a potential source location and updating the probability through the use of a backtracking algorithm and Bayesian statistics. The evaluation of the performance associated with the two algorithms was conducted by a simple comparison, as well as a simulation study in terms of a conservative chemical intrusion event through both a small skeletonized network and a large all-pipe distribution system network. Results from the simple comparison showed that the beta-binomial approach was more responsive to ch...
Oil and water analysis of sunflower seed by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy

The applicability of NIR for oil and moisture analyses of sunflower seed was determined using a NIR spectrocomputer system. The method was compared with the wide-line NMR method for oil analysis and with the A.O.C.S. oven method for moisture analysis. The NIR was calibrated with 120 samples for oil (96 for calibration, 24 for prediction) and 63 samples for moisture (55 for calibration, 8 for prediction). Twenty-two sunflower seed samples were analyzed for oil and moisture by NIR and by methods used by industry. The oil contents of the samples by NMR and NIR were not significantly different. The overall mean oil contents and mean of the standard deviations for the samples were: NMR, 44.2%±0.35% and NIR, 44.34%±0.74%. A significant difference was found between the moisture values obtained by the oven-drying method and NIR. The average standard deviation for moisture by NIR was 0.57% compared with 0.07% for the oven-drying method. The variability of the oil content in one of the commercial seed samples was 1.52% oil as determined by NMR and 2.52% as determined by NIR. The advantages and disadvantages of both methods are discussed.
Ammonia inhibits long-term potentiation via neurosteroid synthesis in hippocampal pyramidal neurons

Neurosteroids are a class of endogenous steroids synthesized in the brain that are believed to be involved in the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders and memory impairment. Ammonia impairs long-term potentiation (LTP), a synaptic model of learning, in the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory acquisition. Although mechanisms underlying ammonia-mediated LTP inhibition are not fully understood, we previously found that the activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) is important. Based on this, we hypothesize that metabolic stressors, including hyperammonemia, promote untimely NMDAR activation and result in neural adaptations that include the synthesis of allopregnanolone (alloP) and other GABA-potentiating neurosteroids that dampen neuronal activity and impair LTP and memory formation. Using an antibody against 5α-reduced neurosteroids, we found that 100 μM ammonia acutely enhanced neurosteroid immunostaining in pyramidal neurons in the CA1 region of rat hippocampal slices. The enhanced staining was blocked by finasteride, a selective inhibitor of 5α-reductase, a key enzyme required for alloP synthesis. Finasteride also overcame LTP inhibition by 100 μM ammonia, as did picrotoxin, an inhibitor of GABA-A receptors. These results indicate that GABA-enhancing neurosteroids, synthesized locally within pyramidal neurons, contribute significantly to ammonia-mediated synaptic dysfunction. These results suggest that the manipulation of neurosteroid synthesis could provide a strategy to improve cognitive function in individuals with hyperammonemia.
Integrating Research on Markets for Space and Capital

This article discusses the importance of recognizing that there are two distinct but interrelated real estate markets: the market for tenant space and the market for investment capital. The use decision is made in the space market whereas the investment decision is made in the capital market. The article points out that past research has tended to focus on a separate analysis of each of these two markets. That is, research historically has focused on understanding how changes in supply and demand affect equilibrium in either the space market or the capital market as if each market was autonomous. A graphical framework is illustrated that can be used to examine the effect of an exogenous shock to market equilibrium from either the market for space or the market for capital.
Evaluation of renal function in perfused rabbit kidneys

Extractions of inulin and para-aminohippurate were measured in perfused rabbit kidneys. These tests, which can be performed with relative rapidity, give an indication of a functional state of perfused kidney. It is suggested that these procedures could be used to determine in vitro “transplantability potential” of donor kidneys.
Evaluating hospital readmission rates in dialysis facilities; adjusting for hospital effects

Motivated by the national evaluation of readmission rates among kidney dialysis facilities in the United States, we evaluate the impact of including discharging hospitals on the estimation of facility-level standardized readmission ratios (SRRs). The estimation of SRRs consists of two steps. First, we model the dependence of readmission events on facilities and patient-level characteristics, with or without an adjustment for discharging hospitals. Second, using results from the models, standardization is achieved by computing the ratio of the number of observed events to the number of expected events assuming a population norm and given the case-mix in that facility. A challenging aspect of our motivating example is that the number of parameters is very large and estimation of high-dimensional parameters is troublesome. To solve this problem, we propose a structured Newton-Raphson algorithm for a logistic fixed effects model and an approximate EM algorithm for the logistic mixed effects model. We consider a re-sampling and simulation technique to obtain p-values for the proposed measures. Finally, our method of identifying outlier facilities involves converting the observed p-values to Z-statistics and using the empirical null distribution, which accounts for overdispersion in the data. The finite-sample properties of proposed measures are examined through simulation studies. The methods developed are applied to national dialysis data. It is our great pleasure to present this paper in honor of Ross Prentice, who has been instrumental in the development of modern methods of modeling and analyzing life history and failure time data, and in the inventive applications of these methods to important national data problem.
Alpha Clusters in a Spherical Nucleus

The probability of occurrence of an alpha cluster in a ${\mathrm{Po}}^{212}$ nucleus is calculated on the basis of the assumption that the alpha cluster is always formed of a pair of equivalent protons and a pair of equivalent neutrons, each pair coupling to zero angular momentum. It is shown that the calculated probability can be incorporated with Winslow's surface-well model to explain the decay rate of ${\mathrm{Po}}^{212}$.
Ethnography, interaction and ordinary trouble

■ With the increased popularity and spread of sociological ethnography, one of the core elements of classic Chicago-style fieldwork — an abiding commitment to examine ongoing social interaction — has sometimes slipped from sight. One fruitful way of increasing sensitivity to and insights into interactional processes is to look at ordinary, small troubles, the often fleeting moments of upset and disruption that arise routinely in many interactions and are often quickly resolved, leading only to small adjustments and changes in life circumstances. By way of example, this article analyzes the ordinary troubles that arise between college roommates, focusing on two distinctive interactional features of these troubles: the obscuring of action components in low-visibility responses, leading to the appearance of passivity or inaction; and the varying and often shifting normative accents that can mark responses to ordinary troubles.
Identification of collective flow by transverse-momentum analysis of emulsion data for Au+AgBr and Xe+AgBr.

Transverse-momentum data are analyzed for the presence of collective flow of nuclear matter in interactions of Au and Xe in nuclear emulsion at energies from 0.5 to 1.2 GeV/nucleon. Evidence of such flow is obtained from 122 interactions involving AgBr in nuclear emulsion by adapting a recently proposed method of transverse-momentum analysis.
Involvement of p38 MAPK in regulation of MMP13 mRNA in chondrocytes in response to surviving stress to endoplasmic reticulum

MMP13 is enriched in mature chondrocytes and considered a prime cause of ECM degradation in the osteoarthritic articular cartilage in temporomandibular joints. We asked whether surviving stress to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) would upregulate transcription of MMP13, and if so, whether a cross-talk would exist between surviving ER stress and p38 MAPK pathways. Using C28/I2 chondrocyte cell line, ER stress was induced by thapsigargin and tunicamycin and upregulation of phosphorylated eIF2α and ATF4 protein was observed. Both thapsigargin and tunicamycin elevated the mRNA level of MMP13 and phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. Thapsigargin-induced MMP13 mRNA upregulation was significantly suppressed by SB203580, while its upregulation by tunicamycin was completely attenuated by SB203580. Those results support that homeostasis of chondrocytes is affected by the surviving ER stress through p38 MAPK pathways, suggesting a potential role of ER stress in joint diseases such as osteoarthritis.
Millimeter-wave spectrum, centrifugal distortion analysis, and energy levels of HNO3

Abstract One hundred and eleven new rotational transitions of HNO 3 have been measured in the millimeter-microwave region. This data set is the basis for a centrifugal distortion analysis and for the calculation of a complete set of energy levels through J = 50. The constants which result from this analysis are (in megahertz): A = 13 011.0287 ± 0.0057, B = 12 099.8611 ± 0.0057, C = 6260.6391 ± 0.0006, Δ J = (14.038 ± 0.026) × 10 −3 , Δ JK = (−20.1780 ± 0.0037) × 10 −3 , Δ K = (7.4153 ± 0.0108) × 10 −3 , δ J = (1.1828 ± 0.00039) × 10 −3 , δ K = (−20.5648 ± 0.0046) × 10 −3 , H J = (−9.84 ± 3.82) × 10 −8 , H JK = (−9.933 ± 0.367) × 10 −8 , H KJ = (1.03 ± 0.12) × 10 −7 , h J = (−9.241 ± 0.127) × 10 −9 , h JK = (−1.398 ± 0.032) × 10 −7 , and h K = (1.135 ± 0.027) × 10 −6 .
Market Segmentation Within Consolidated E-Markets: A Generalized Combinatorial Auction Approach

We analyze an e-market design that allows multiple market segments to be served simultaneously with a single generalized combinatorial auction. The mechanism uses rule-based bids designed to accommodate various kinds of bidders, such as those more sensitive to price or those more restricted in their requirements. We demonstrate experimentally-using agent-based simulation of the actual market for television advertising slots-that the rule-based approach effectively handles the wide range of market segments, while maintaining buyer and seller surplus and efficiently allocating goods.
Development of a software tool to improve performance of packaging operations through short interval scheduling

A manufacturer of precision extruded aluminum parts needed to improve productivity and scheduling in its packaging department. Because of the non-standard, irregular nature of the department's work, this market leader chose short interval scheduling (SIS) as the solution. However, in order for SIS to be effective, the company needed to create labour and material standards for the packaging process. Personnel from the Enterprise Systems Center (ESC) at Lehigh University collaborated with the company and, using a standard methodology for process analysis and change, created those standards. Information derived from the implementation of those standards permitted ESC personnel to develop a decision support tool that could more accurately calculate the cost of the packaging and shipping operation. This tool also provided the information necessary to effectively implement SIS. The theory of SIS is described, along with a brief summary of the pertinent literature. The current system is analysed and the desired performance improvements are identified. The development of the decision support tool, the results achieved through its usage, and final conclusions are reviewed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Myoid cells in the capsule of the adrenal gland and in monolayers derived from cultured adrenal capsules.

Previous studies have demonstrated the presence of myoid cells in monolayers derived from cultured testicular fragments. In order to determine if monolayers of myoid cells can also be produced by other types of tissue cultures, monolayers derived from fragments of mouse adrenal capsules, cultured in McCoys modified 5A medium, were examined for the presence of myoid cells. The cells of the resultant monolayers contained numerous free ribosomes and abundant profiles of granular endoplasmic reticulum, as well as 40–60 A thick filaments and associated dense bodies. In these respects they are identical to myoid cells found in monolayers in testis cultures. Contrary to earlier reports indicating that the adrenal capsule is composed of fibroblasts, this study demonstrates that myoid cells are a major component of the capsule of the rat and mouse adrenal gland.
The Current Evaluation and Treatment of Infantile Spasms Among Members of the Child Neurology Society

The optimal evaluation and treatment of children with infantile spasms is unknown. To aid in the development of a standardized approach to infantile spasms, members of the Child Neurology Society were surveyed to determine common practice. The survey had 222 responders with a responder rate of 18.5%. We found that the diagnostic evaluation and the use of first-line treatments varied among responders. For example, although adrenocorticotropic hormone continues to be the most commonly used first-line treatment for infantile spasms not due to tuberous sclerosis, some clinicians use corticosteroids, vigabatrin, and topiramate as first-line treatments for this group. Seventy percent of our responders reported seeing fewer than 10 new-onset cases of infantile spasms per year. Thus, future clinical trials will require multicenter collaboration. An important first step in such collaboration is to standardize the evaluation and treatment of infantile spasms within and between participating centers.
Plants have SOX: the structure of sulfite oxidase from Arabidopsis thaliana.

Abstract The crystal structure of sulfite oxidase from Arabidopsis thaliana provides a physical picture of a new molybdenum enzyme, the first such from plants and the simplest one yet identified from a eukaryotic source.
What's new in adult reconstructive knee surgery.

The purpose of this review is to summarize studies on various topics in adult knee reconstruction that were published during the year 2010. The keywords “knee” and “arthroplasty” and “prospective” and “randomized” were used to perform a search of the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed database; the search was limited to studies that were published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American Volume) or The Journal of Arthroplasty in 2010. The resulting seventeen studies are included in this review of adult reconstruction of the knee and are included in the complete bibliography at the end of the manuscript. In addition, other studies from 2010 were chosen for their specific relevance to the topics being discussed. Continuing research into the epidemiology and economics of adult hip and knee arthroplasty has improved our understanding of costs, processes of care, and outcomes. Data related to these topics are ever important in a time when standards and mandates of care are being generated by various administrative bodies. As health care protocols and recommended processes of care are generated, there is a clear need to validate decisions that affect entire populations of patients. Bozic et al.1 used the Perspective database to identify 182,146 patients managed with primary hip and knee arthroplasty in order to assess the independent effects of surgeon volume, hospital volume, and process standardization on short-term outcomes. The authors used adherence to antibiotic prophylaxis, the appropriate use of perioperative beta-blockers, and venous thromboembolism prophylaxis as a proxy for care that was provided with process standardization. As expected, both surgeon volume and hospital volume were associated with significant improvements in short-term outcomes, including reduced complication rates, reduced rates of reoperations and readmissions, reduced mortality, and reduced length of hospital stay. In addition, the authors found that process standardization was independently responsible …
Served or Unserved? A Site-Suitability Analysis of Social Services in Atlanta, Georgia Using Geographic Information Systems

Abstract Geographers, planners and public health officials are increasingly interested in working with community partners, organizations, and residents to engage in action oriented research designed to impact positive community change. One growing area of community-based research focuses on geographic examinations of aspects of social service accessibility. In this study, we work with multiple community partners in an urban area to examine the spatial distribution of social service providers. We also identify potential new locations for social service providers that can meet the unmet demands for such services. We utilize a Public Participation GIS framework to create shared community resources and research deliverables for our community partners. The results of our work help local providers, leaders, and community residents to visualize gaps and coverage in social services across urban space; draw attention to additional forces that shape access, i.e. public transportation, walkability, and zoning codes; and confirm the anecdotal evidence of poor accessibility presented by neighborhood leaders and residents. The work has practical and actionable implications for lower income urban communities and methodological implications for the disciplines of geography, public health and planning.
An episodic specificity induction enhances means-end problem solving in young and older adults.

Episodic memory plays an important role not only in remembering past experiences, but also in constructing simulations of future experiences and solving means-end social problems. We recently found that an episodic specificity induction—brief training in recollecting details of past experiences— enhances performance of young and older adults on memory and imagination tasks. Here we tested the hypothesis that this specificity induction would also positively impact a means-end problem-solving task on which age-related changes have been linked to impaired episodic memory. Young and older adults received the specificity induction or a control induction before completing a means-end problem-solving task, as well as memory and imagination tasks. Consistent with previous findings, older adults provided fewer relevant steps on problem solving than did young adults, and their responses also contained fewer internal (i.e., episodic) details across the 3 tasks. There was no difference in the number of other (e.g., irrelevant) steps on problem solving or external (i.e., semantic) details generated on the 3 tasks as a function of age. Critically, the specificity induction increased the number of relevant steps and internal details (but not other steps or external details) that both young and older adults generated in problem solving compared with the control induction, as well as the number of internal details (but not external details) generated for memory and imagination. Our findings support the idea that episodic retrieval processes are involved in means-end problem solving, extend the range of tasks on which a specificity induction targets these processes, and show that the problem-solving performance of older adults can benefit from a specificity induction as much as that of young adults.
Passive elimination of polarization sensitivity of fiber-optic microwave modulators

The polarization sensitivity of a bidirectional fiber-optic modulator is passively eliminated by incorporating the modulator in an orthoconjugate loop mirror or in an in-line fiber loop. We describe and analyze these fiber loop configurations which allow remote interrogation of polarization-sensitive devices with either one or two conventional singlemode fibers. For bulk single-drive modulators, the polarization sensitivity is reduced to /spl plusmn/0.15 dB out to 2 GHz. By utilizing a balanced, dual-drive feed to a bidirectional traveling-wave modulator, residual polarization sensitivity of /spl plusmn/2 dB is demonstrated for ultrawideband operation to 25 GHz and /spl plusmn/0.3 dB for narrowbands. >
Quantitative Economic History: An Interim Evaluation Past Trends and Present Tendencies

Few recent intellectual currents have been so self-consciously controversial as the New Economic History. It has been a rare meeting patronized by historians or economists that has not featured a discussion of the merits and defects of applying theoretical and quantitative constructs to historical problems. This occasion is obviously no exception. Yet milestones must be respected, and on this thirtieth anniversary, a review of the profitability, if not the viability, of the new techniques being applied to economic history seems very much in order.
VideoSense: a contextual video advertising system

This demonstration presents a novel contextual advertising platform for online video service, called VideoSense. Unlike most current video-oriented sites that only display a video ad at the beginning or the end of a video, VideoSense aims to embed more contextually relevant ads at less intrusive positions within the video stream. Given an online video, VideoSense is able to detect a set of candidate ad insertion points based on content analysis, select a list of relevant candidate ads ranked according to textual relevance, and find the best match between insertion points and ads which maximizes the overall multimodal relevance. The effectiveness of VideoSense supporting contextually relevant and less intrusive advertising is validated by the user studies conducted on a variety of online video documents.
Minimal contrast in artificial word associations

The minimal contrast hypothesis was tested with artificial words. In a modified paired-associates task, Ss first learned “semantic” features of artificial words, then gave associations to each word. Associations tended to be words which contrasted with the stimulus on only one feature, thus supporting the minimal contrast hypothesis for artificial words.
Twice Dead: Organ Transplants and the Reinvention of Death

Twice Dead: Organ Transplants and the Reinvention of Death Margaret Lock (Berkeley: University of California Press. 2002)
Designing business machines for disassembly and recycling

Important DFE (design for environment) factors that should be considered in the design of plastic parts for disassembly and recycling are identified and discussed. The discussion includes a review of the materials selection process; design concepts for plastic parts including wall thickness, drafts and radii, bosses, ribs, and inserts; fastening and joining; decorative coatings; conductive materials and platings and coatings; and marking and labeling of parts. The environmentally conscious attributes in a personal computer product presently in the market are also examined. >
Motion tracking modulates capacity allocation of visual working memory.

Previous studies on visual working memory (VWM) have primarily investigated memory for an array presented for a single moment. Here, we examined VWM for two arrays separated by a 1,100-msec interval. We focused on the allocation of VWM capacity to the two arrays as a function of dynamic events inserted between them. During the interval, irrelevant dots moved to form three types of motion: (1) coherent (apparent) motion that connected Arrays 1 and 2, (2) jumpy motion, or (3) coherent motion with two disconnected segments. Results showed that VWM for Array 2’s locations was better than for Array 1’s, especially when the arrays were connected by coherent motion. We suggest that coherent motion between two temporally disparate arrays connects the arrays into a single visual event VWM is then biased toward remembering the more recent state of the event.
Mapping personal functional data to personal genomes

Motivation: The sequencing of personal genomes enabled analysis of variation in transcription factor (TF) binding, chromatin structure and gene expression and indicated how they contribute to phenotypic variation. It is hypothesized that using the reference genome for mapping ChIP-seq or RNA-seq reads may introduce errors, especially at polymorphic genomic regions. Results: We developed a Personal Genome Editor (perEditor) that changes the reference human genome (NCBI36/hg18) into an individual genome, taking into account single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), insertions and deletions, copy number variation, and chromosomal rearrangements. perEditor outputs two alleles (maternal, paternal) of the individual genome that is ready for mapping ChIP-seq and RNA-seq reads, and enabling the analyses of allele specific binding, chromatin structure and gene expression. Availability: perEditor is available at http://biocomp.bioen.uiuc.edu/perEditor. Contact: szhong@illinois.edu
Automated 3D Motion Tracking Using Gabor Filter Bank, Robust Point Matching, and Deformable Models

Tagged magnetic resonance imaging (tagged MRI or tMRI) provides a means of directly and noninvasively displaying the internal motion of the myocardium. Reconstruction of the motion field is needed to quantify important clinical information, e.g., the myocardial strain, and detect regional heart functional loss. In this paper, we present a three-step method for this task. First, we use a Gabor filter bank to detect and locate tag intersections in the image frames, based on local phase analysis. Next, we use an improved version of the robust point matching (RPM) method to sparsely track the motion of the myocardium, by establishing a transformation function and a one-to-one correspondence between grid tag intersections in different image frames. In particular, the RPM helps to minimize the impact on the motion tracking result of (1) through-plane motion and (2) relatively large deformation and/or relatively small tag spacing. In the final step, a meshless deformable model is initialized using the transformation function computed by RPM. The model refines the motion tracking and generates a dense displacement map, by deforming under the influence of image information, and is constrained by the displacement magnitude to retain its geometric structure. The 2D displacement maps in short and long axis image planes can be combined to drive a 3D deformable model, using the moving least square method, constrained by the minimization of the residual error at tag intersections. The method has been tested on a numerical phantom, as well as on in vivo heart data from normal volunteers and heart disease patients. The experimental results show that the new method has a good performance on both synthetic and real data. Furthermore, the method has been used in an initial clinical study to assess the differences in myocardial strain distributions between heart disease (left ventricular hypertrophy) patients and the normal control group. The final results show that the proposed method is capable of separating patients from healthy individuals. In addition, the method detects and makes possible quantification of local abnormalities in the myocardium strain distribution, which is critical for quantitative analysis of patients' clinical conditions. This motion tracking approach can improve the throughput and reliability of quantitative strain analysis of heart disease patients, and has the potential for further clinical applications.
Reduction of energy sweep of the ETA-II beam

The ETA-II electron beam will be used to drive a high power microwave frequency FEL for plasma heating experiments. For maximum FEL output power the beam energy at the entrance to the wiggler should be within +or-1% of the wiggler resonance value. In initial operations the ETA-II beam energy stayed within this range for a maximum time of less than 13 ns. Much of the energy variation was due to the design of the pulsed power feeds to the accelerator induction cells. A new multicable pulsed power feed design was tested in a shortened version of ETA-II where it extended the time during which the beam energy stayed within the +1% limits to greater than 40 ns. These design changes are now being incorporated into the full accelerator. >
Intellectual function in long‐term survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Protective effect of pre‐irradiation methotrexate a childrens cancer study group study

Having demonstrated in a laboratory model that the neurotoxicity of CNS irradiation can be ameliorated with pre-irradiation methotrexate, we retrospectively compared two methods of CNS prophylaxis in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia which differed only in the timing of intrathecal methotrexate and radiotherapy. The results of standard IQ tests conducted 2-11 years after 24 Gy of cranial radiotherapy were obtained in 72 patients, of whom 27 had pre-irradiation methotrexate and 45 did not (control group). The two groups were otherwise comparable. In girls, the full-, performance-, and verbal-scale IQ scores were consistently higher in the pre-irradiation methotrexate group than in the corresponding control group (P less than 0.025). Among girls less than 5 years of age when irradiated, the mean IQ scores were 25-29 points higher after pre-irradiation methotrexate than after the control treatment (P less than 0.0007). These results suggest that pre-irradiation methotrexate may help prevent CNS radiotoxicity in children, and that the benefit is dependent on patient age and gender.
When rhetoric was outlawed in Rome: A translation and commentary of Suetonius's treatise on early Roman rhetoricians

Gains Suetonius Tranquillus, Roman historian and biographer of the first and second centuries A.D., wrote De Rhetoribus,the only Latin treatise concerned directly with pre‐Ciceronian rhetoricians and providing information on the strong opposition to rhetoric, the radical changes in the educational system of Rome, and the influence of otherwise unknown rhetoricians. After placing Suetonius in the rhetorical tradition of the early Roman Empire, a translation of De Rhetoribus and an extensive commentary on the major points are presented. The major significance of Suetonius's De Rhetoribus in the history of rhetoric was its demonstration that transplanted Greek rhetoric survived the dark ages of the early Roman Republic because rhetoric was a source of political power.
Impact of flexible contracts on the performance of both retailer and supplier

Abstract In today’s global environment supply chains should be agile and responsive. Ideally, suppliers would like to know the order quantities with enough lead-time to set up the production process and schedule for delivery. However, retailers cannot predict demand accurately and thus both suppliers and retailers may incur signiﬁcant losses due to under-stocking and/or over-stocking. To attenuate this effect, one of the viable practices is that suppliers impose minimum Order Quantity Commitments (OQC) for regular orders and penalties for reduced orders, while providing retailers with expedited-delivery options at premium costs if needs arise. In this paper, we introduce a methodology to assist in developing inventory management policies to optimize the expected profit. Our model considers a two-period setting where retailers place orders according to pre-sale forecasts but then have the opportunity to update their orders just prior to the season according to the most recent forecasts and the current inventory level. Utilizing the newsvendor model and dynamic programming methods, we obtain the optimal ordering and replenishing policies that maximize the expected proﬁts of retailers. We then analyze the impacts of these flexible terms on the performance of both the retailer and the supplier.
Somatic Embryogenesis in Walnut (Juglans Species)

As one of the world’s most important nut crops, walnuts are produced in amounts exceeding 800 000 metric tons annually and the wood from walnut trees is valued for furniture, veneer, and gunstocks. For these products, walnuts are cultivated in the United States, China, Turkey, France, and many other countries. The English or Persian walnut, Juglans regia, is native to the mountains of central Asia. It is a member of the Juglandaceae which includes black walnuts (J. nigra, J. hindsii, J. major), butternut (J. cinerea), pecans and hickories (Carya spp.), and wingnuts (Pterocarya spp.) (McGranahan and Leslie 1990).
An Experimental Study on the Motion Transmission Error of Planetary Gear Sets

An experimental study on the overall loaded motion transmission error of planetary gear sets is presented in this study. A test rig is designed and procured for the purpose of measuring the input-to-output transmission error of planetary gear sets within a range of input torque. The test matrix includes three distinct phasing conditions (in phase, sequentially phased and counter-phased) of a four-planet gear set as well as two planet tooth profile modifications. Two different power flow conditions with a fixed planet carrier and a fixed ring gear are considered. The transmission error results indicate that the phasing condition of the gear set is the most critical factor resulting in varying levels and numbers of modulation sidebands around the gear mesh orders. Planetary gear sets having in-phase planet meshes exhibit dominant gear mesh harmonic orders with little sideband activity, while sequentially-phased and counter-phased gear sets show an increase in planetary sideband orders associated with the sun, ring and planet gears. In addition, the power flow condition with fixed carrier is shown to have higher root-mean-square amplitudes of transmission error than configuration with a fixed ring gear.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Handbook of Counseling and Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Clients (2nd Edition) by K. J. Bieschke, R. M. Perez, & K. A. DeBord

In 2001, the first edition of this edited volume received the Distinguished Book Award by American Psychological Association's (APA's) Division 44 (Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, G...
An Inequality About Complex Numbers

(1970). An Inequality About Complex Numbers. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 77, No. 2, pp. 180-182.
Mode-specific tunneling in the unimolecular dissociation of cis-HOCO to H + CO2.

We report mode-specific tunneling in the unimolecular dissociation of cis-HOCO to H + CO2 using a recent projection theory that makes use of a tunneling path along the imaginary-frequency normal mode, Qim, of a relevant saddle point. The tunneling probabilities and lifetimes are calculated for the ground vibrational state of cis-HOCO and highly excited overtones and combination bands of the modes that have large projections onto the Qim path. To go beyond the harmonic approximation, which is important for the OH stretch, energies and classical turning points are calculated using the anharmonic one-dimensional (1D) potential in that normal mode and used in the projection theory. The tunneling lifetimes calculated for a number of combination states of the OCO bend and CO stretch are in good accord with those estimated in a previous five degrees-of-freedom quantum wavepacket simulation of the dissociative photodetachment of HOCO–. The present results are also consistent with the interpretation of the tunneli...
Effects of Particle Size on Element Mass Fraction Distribution in Fly Ash of Coal-fired Power Plants

Scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction analysis,electron probe analysis and ion chromatography analysis were carried out to fly ash samples with different particle sizes from coal-fired power plants,so as to study the variation law of element mass fraction with the particle size of fly ash,and to analyze the influence of excess air coefficient on the distribution of element mass fraction.Above results were subsequently compared with the experimental data of a drop tube furnace.Results show that the mass fraction distribution of Na,S,Ca,and Cl changes basically in a negative correlation with the variation of particle size,whereas that of Al,Si,Ka and Fe changes in a positive correlation;the variation law of mass fraction distribution with excess air coefficient is obvious for particle sizes in 25-45μm,which is not obvious for particle sizes greater than 45-75μm;in the range of 200-350 ℃,the heating temperature has no effect on the mass fraction distribution of elements Cl and S in fly ash.
Psychiatric consultation in the general hospital emergency department

This article examines factors related to the emergency setting, patient evaluation, and disposition and treatment that create both opportunities and constraints for the psychiatrist acting as a consultant in the general hospital emergency department
Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury: importance of oxidant/tumor necrosis factor interactions

Previous studies have demonstrated a role for both tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Biologically active TNF was present in liver homogenates in ischemic and nonischemic lobes after 2 h of ischemia but without reperfusion. Using an in situ liver perfusion model, we measured ROI, TNF, and hepatic enzymes in the effluent after 2 h of ischemia. Increased reduction of ferricytochrome C was observed in the hepatic effluent, indicative of the formation of ROI. Treatment of animals with TNF neutralizing antisera significantly reduced both ROI and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Animals treated with superoxide dismutase (SOD), or SOD + catalase (CAT) had greater TNF in the hepatic effluent compared with I/R alone; however, SOD or SOD + CAT did not cause additional release of AST.SOD + CAT plus anti-TNF serum resulted in significant protection compared with SOD + CAT plus control serum. Reperfusion of ischemic liver with 4 mM H2O2 increased both TNF and AST. Optimal protection of hepatocellular injury from reperfusion injury is achieved with a combination of antioxidants and inhibition of TNF.
Psychological Skill Development in Children and Adolescents

Psychological skills and methods that can be applied to working with children and adolescents in sport are examined from a theory-to-practice as well as a practice-to-theory approach. In addition to an emphasis on the reciprocal nature of theory and practice, the philosophy adopted in this paper includes a focus on personal development rather than performance, and a multidisciplinary or integrated sport science approach to understanding children’s experiences in the physical domain. The types of psychological skills discussed are self-perceptions, motivation, positive attitude, coping with stress, and moral development. Psychological methods include environmental influences such as physical practice methods, coach and parent education, communication styles, and modeling; and individual control strategies in the form of goal setting, relaxation, and mental imagery. Numerous anecdotal stories based on the author’s experiences working with children and adolescents are used to support the major philosophical ...
Switch from excitatory to inhibitory actions of ethanol on dopamine levels after chronic exposure: Role of kappa opioid receptors.

Abstract Acute ethanol exposure is known to stimulate the dopamine system; however, chronic exposure has been shown to downregulate the dopamine system. In rodents, chronic intermittent exposure (CIE) to ethanol also increases negative affect during withdrawal, such as, increases in anxiety- and depressive-like behavior. Moreover, CIE exposure results in increased ethanol drinking and preference during withdrawal. Previous literature documents reductions in CIE-induced anxiety-, depressive-like behaviors and ethanol intake in response to kappa opioid receptor (KOR) blockade. KORs are located on presynaptic dopamine terminals in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and inhibit release, an effect which has been linked to negative affective behaviors. Previous reports show an upregulation in KOR function following extended CIE exposure; however it is not clear whether there is a direct link between KOR upregulation and dopamine downregulation during withdrawal from CIE. This study aimed to examine the effects of KOR modulation on dopamine responses to ethanol of behaving mice exposed to air or ethanol vapor in a repeated intermittent pattern. First, we showed that KORs have a greater response to an agonist after moderate CIE compared to air exposed mice using ex vivo fast scan cyclic voltammetry. Second, using in vivo microdialysis, we showed that, in contrast to the expected increase in extracellular levels of dopamine following an acute ethanol challenge in air exposed mice, CIE exposed mice exhibited a robust decrease in dopamine levels. Third, we showed that blockade of KORs reversed the aberrant inhibitory dopamine response to ethanol in CIE exposed mice while not affecting the air exposed mice demonstrating that inhibition of KORs “rescued” dopamine responses in CIE exposed mice. Taken together, these findings indicate that augmentation of dynorphin/KOR system activity drives the reduction in stimulated (electrical and ethanol) dopamine release in the NAc. Thus, blockade of KORs is a promising avenue for developing pharmacotherapies for alcoholism.
Stakeholder involvement in the design of a patient-centered comparative effectiveness trial of the "On the Move" group exercise program in community-dwelling older adults.

Background Group exercise programs for older adults often exclude the timing and coordination of movement. Stakeholder involvement in the research process is strongly encouraged and improves the relevance and adoption of findings. We describe stakeholder involvement in the design of a clinical trial of a group-based exercise program that incorporates timing and coordination of movement into the exercises.
An Efficient Solution to the Mixed Shop Scheduling Problem Using a Modified Genetic Algorithm

Abstract The mixed job shop scheduling problem is one in which some jobs have fixed machine orders and other jobs may be processed in arbitrary orders. In past literature, optimal solutions have been proposed based on adaptations of classical solutions such as by Johnson, Thompson and Giffler among many others, by pseudopolynomial algorithms, by simulation, and by Genetic Algorithms (GA). GA based solutions have been proposed for flexible Job shops. This paper proposes a GA algorithm for the mixed job shop scheduling problem. The paper starts with an analysis of the characteristics of the so-called mixed shop problem. Based on those properties, a modified GA is proposed to minimize the makespan of the mixed shop schedule. In this approach, sample instances used as test data are generated under the constraints of shop scheduling problems. A comparison of our results based on benchmark data indicate that our modified GA provides an efficient solution for the mixed shop scheduling problem.
Application of the Photoredox Coupling of Trifluoroborates and Aryl Bromides to Analog Generation Using Continuous Flow

A method for the coupling of aryl bromides with potassium alkyl trifluoroborates, via nickel/photoredox dual catalysis, has been developed for use in continuous flow. This operationally simple protocol is able to form Csp3–Csp2 bonds with significantly reduced reaction times and a broader substrate scope than when conducted in batch. The utility of this method for rapid analog synthesis has been demonstrated by the synthesis of a small library of alkyl-substituted quinazolines.