cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thermochemistry of (germanium + tellurium): II. Molar enthalpies of dissociation of bonds in GeTe(g), GeTe2(g), and Ge2Te2(g)

Abstract Well established thermochemical values yield the enthalpy of dissociation of GeTe(g):Dm°(GeTe) = (396.7 ± 3.3) kJ·mol−1atT→ 0. The same quantity estimated from spectroscopic measurements is uncertain. The mean enthalpy of dissociation 〈Dm°〉 of the Ge-to-Te bonds in GeTe2(g) is (303 ± 4) kJ·mol−1, andDm°(Te-GeTe) = (210 ± 8) kJ·mol−1. Thus,Dm°(Te-GeTe)/Dm°(GeTe) ≈ 0.5, a relation found earlier for other diatomic and triatomic molecules of the chalcogenides of Group 14. In the cyclic compound Ge2Te2(g), the 〈Dm°〉 of the four Ge-to-Te bonds is (224 ± 3) kJ·mol−1. These values of 〈Dm°〉(GeTe) and 〈Dm°〉 follow the progression expected for nominal triple, double, and single G-to-Te bonds in GeTe(g), GeTe2(g), and Ge2Te2(g), respectively.
Low to Intermediate Dose Atropine Administration During Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography in the Pre-Liver Transplant Population.

Introduction Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) is frequently used to screen for obstructive coronary artery disease in the pre-liver transplant evaluation. Although atropine is a commonly used adjunctive medication, no study has evaluated its side effect profile in patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD). Research question What is the safety of atropine in candidates undergoing pre-liver transplant evaluation when atropine is used in stress testing? Design This multicenter, prospective study enrolled patients over a 6-month period undergoing pre-liver transplant evaluation. Each patient completed a questionnaire assessing anticholinergic-related symptoms within 24 hours of testing and 48 hours following. Comparisons were made among patients receiving any atropine dose versus those who did not and among patients receiving at least 1 mg atropine and those receiving less/none. Results Forty patients were evaluated, and 32 (80%) had adjunctive atropine administered. No differences in clinical characteristics were noted. In comparisons among patients receiving any dose of atropine with those who did not, questionnaire results indicated a higher rate of nausea prior to testing and higher overall symptom severity following testing in patients not receiving atropine. In comparisons among patients receiving less than 1 mg atropine with those receiving at least 1 mg atropine, no difference in pre- or posttesting questionnaire responses was present. No patient in the study required reversal agents or hospitalization within 7 days of testing. Conclusions Atropine, a hepatically metabolized medication, did not predispose patients with ESLD to an increased symptom burden, and clinical outcomes related to DSE were unaffected.
What is the Role of Mechanical Thrombectomy in Childhood Stroke

Abstract Background Like adults, most children have lifelong morbidity after stroke. Revascularization therapies such as intravenous tissue plasminogen activator and mechanical thrombectomy may be options to decrease this morbidity in selected children, although currently there are no evidence-based recommendations to guide treatment. The utility and safety of mechanical thrombectomy in childhood stroke is unknown because of the lack of safety trials, case-controlled trials, and comprehensive retrospective studies. As such, the current rationale for the use of mechanical thrombectomy in childhood is based on extrapolation from adult experience, as well as consensus at individual institutions with many centers deciding care on a case-by-case basis. Nevertheless, the increasing use of recanalization therapies in appropriately selected adults with acute arterial ischemic stroke has led to an increase in consideration and use in childhood, and there are enough case reports and series, as well as experience, to suggest that some children with large vessel occlusion will likely benefit. Methods We reviewed current literature regarding mechanical thrombectomy in childhood. Results There are differences between pediatric and adult stroke which may impact safety, efficacy, and individual decision-making, including patient size, pathophysiology of stroke, deficit, experience, and lack of data regarding natural history of stroke in children. Conclusions Hospitals planning to perform mechanical thrombectomy in children should establish local procedures and guidelines for considering thrombectomy. In our experience, care is best provided through multidisciplinary teams including a pediatric vascular neurologist, neurointerventionalist with pediatric experience, and pediatric neurocritical care.
Clinical Methods of Nervous System Drug Delivery for Tumors

Abstract Glioblastoma is the most common malignant tumor of the central nervous system and is extremely aggressive due to its infiltrative nature. Further complicating treatment of glioblastoma is the blood–brain barrier, which limits the delivery and efficacy of systemically administered chemotherapeutic agents. Drugs can be delivered to the central nervous system via several different approaches, the most common of which are systemic delivery and direct injection/implantation into the tumor or surrounding brain. These therapeutic strategies allow administration of a drug to a specific region of the brain, which increases drug bioavailability and efficiency. This chapter provides an overview of the various methods of drug delivery to target brain tumors, aside from the conventional intravenous and oral chemotherapy administration.
A Favela That Yields Fruit: Community-Based Tour Guides as Brokers in the Political Economy of Cultural Difference:

Reversing decades of fear and neglect as no-go zones for outsiders, Rio de Janeiro’s most iconic favela communities have become tourist attractions offering a glimpse of the purported “other side” ...
Shot Noise in Self-Stabilized Optical Frequency Combs

We stabilized the repetition rate of an optical frequency comb with a fiber-optic interferometer and used the stabilized comb to generate a low-phase-noise 10-GHz signal. We demonstrated that shot noise limited the previously reported phase noise of the device. We mitigated this noise to generate a 10-GHz signal with phase noise of-130 dBc/Hz at an offset of 1 kHz.
Impact of high sodium intake on blood pressure and functional sympatholysis during rhythmic handgrip exercise.

High dietary sodium intake is a risk factor for arterial hypertension; given that the ability to overcome sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction (functional sympatholysis) is attenuated in individuals with hypertension, we investigated the cardiovascular responses to high salt (HS) intake in healthy humans. We hypothesized that a HS intake of 15 g/day for 7 days would attenuate functional sympatholysis and augment the blood pressure response to handgrip exercise (HGE). Thirteen participants (6 males, 7 females) underwent 2 individual days of testing. Beat-by-beat blood pressure and heart rate were recorded throughout the trial on the non-exercising limb. Forearm blood flow was derived from ultrasonography on the brachial artery of the exercising limb. Participants then underwent a flow-mediated dilation (FMD) test. Next, a submaximal HGE was performed for 7 min with lower body negative pressure initiated during minutes 5-7. A single spot urine sample revealed a significant increase in sodium excretion during the HS conditions (p 0.05). In summary, HS intake increases blood pressure without impacting functional sympatholysis or blood pressure responsiveness during HGE. These findings indicate that brachial artery dysfunction precedes an inefficient functional sympatholysis. Novelty Functional sympatholysis was not impacted by 1 week of high sodium intake. High sodium intake augmented the rate pressure product during handgrip exercise in healthy humans.
Automating non-blocking synchronization in concurrent data abstractions

This paper investigates using compiler technology to automatically convert sequential C++ data abstractions, e.g., queues, stacks, maps, and trees, to concurrent lock-free implementations. By automatically tailoring a number of state-of-the-practice synchronization methods to the underlying sequential implementations of different data structures, our automatically synchronized code can attain performance competitive to that of concurrent data structures manually-written by experts and much better performance than heavier-weight support by software transactional memory (STM).
Breaking Down Memory Walls in LSM-based Storage Systems

The log-structured merge-tree (LSM-tree) [16, 18] is widely used in modern NoSQL systems. Different from traditional update-in-place structures, an LSM-tree first buffers all writes in memory, which are subsequently flushed to disk when memory is full. The on-disk components are usually organized into levels of exponentially increasing sizes, where a smaller level is merged into the adjacent larger level when it fills up. To bound the temporary disk space occupied by merges, modern LSM-tree implementations often range partition a disk component into many fixed-size SSTables
Covid-19: the ethics of clinical research in quarantine.

Nicholas G Evans argues that research conducted on people in quarantine can produce important scientific information but poses distinct ethical challenges
Computational framework for smart manufacturing via parametric optimization and control (PAROC)

Abstract As the revolution in the manufacturing industry continues, there is a tendency for the decision-makers to be overwhelmed by the high flux of analytical tools or technologies relevant to manufacturing operations. This occurrence and the pursuit of a lean manufacturing enterprise create the need for computational frameworks that leverages the functionalities of other analytical tools or technologies in the development of unique solutions and also facilitate the development and deployment of efficient operating strategies. A major focus of smart manufacturing is the conversion of manufacturing data to knowledge or manufacturing intelligence. This chapter accentuates the need for analytical techniques in the quest to transform manufacturing data to manufacturing intelligence and also demonstrates how computational frameworks utilize the functionalities of analytical tools to create unique solutions. More precisely, in a case study, we describe how the parametric optimization and control framework leverages analytical techniques such as high-fidelity modeling, system identification, and parametric programming to develop a unique optimal operating strategy for the refueling process of a metal hydride hydrogen storage system.
Decentralization and Feedback Effects

This article discusses the historical most relevant types of decentralization that helped usher in the age of decentralization. Key components of decentralization that are discussed herein include: decentralization of science, technological decentralization, organizational decentralization, market decentralization, governmental decentralization, and societal decentralization. The author discusses the feedback effects that exist between the respective types of decentralization.
LncRNA expression and SDHB mutations in pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas.

Abstract Although pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are usual low-grade neoplasms, the metastatic forms of these lesions are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Recent studies have discovered multiple aberrantly expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancers that may have regulatory roles in tumor pathogenesis and metastasis; however, the roles of some lncRNAs in PPGLs are still unknown. The expression levels of lncRNAs including metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript (MALAT1), prostate cancer antigen 3 (PCA3), and HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) in PPGLs were analyzed by in situ hybridization, using two tissue microarrays (TMAs). The pheochromocytoma (PCC) TMA consisted of normal adrenal medulla (N = 25), non-metastatic PCCs (N = 76) and metastatic PCCs (N = 5) while the paraganglioma (PGL) TMA had 73 non-metastatic PGLs and 5 metastatic PGLs. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on all samples with an anti-SDHB antibody. The correlations between lncRNA expression, loss of SDHB expression and clinical characteristics including tumor progression and disease prognosis were investigated. The expression levels of MALAT1 and PCA3 were significantly elevated (2.5–3.9 folds) in both non-metastatic and metastatic PCCs compared to normal adrenal medulla, although there were no significant differences between the non-metastatic and metastatic neoplasms. In contrast to non-metastatic PGLs, metastatic PGLs had significantly upregulated expression of MALAT1, PCA3, and HOTAIR. SDHB loss was more frequently observed in PGLs (25 of 78), especially in metastatic PGLs (5 of 5), compared to PCCs (2 of 81) and in 0 of 5 metastatic PCCs. Patients with SDHB loss, in contrast to SDHB retained, were younger at diagnosis, had higher rates of tumor recurrence, metastatic disease, and mortality. In addition, PGLs with SDHB loss had significantly increased expression of PCA3 compared to tumors with intact SDHB expression. Our findings suggest that specific lncRNAs may be involved in the SDHx signaling pathways in the tumorigenesis and in the development of PPGL.
A non-foaming proteosurfactant engineered from Ranaspumin-2

Advances in biological surfactant proteins have already yielded a diverse range of benefits from dramatically improved survival rates for premature births to artificial photosynthesis. Presented here is the design, development, and analysis of a novel biosurfactant protein we call Surfactant Resisting Foam formatioN (SRFN). Starting with the Tungara frog's foam forming protein Ranaspumin-2, we have engineered a new surfactant protein with a destabilized hinge region to alter the kinetics and equilibrium of the protein structural transition from aqueous globular form to an extended surfactant structure at the air/water interface. SRFN is capable of approximately the same total surface tension reduction, but with the unique property of forming quickly collapsible foams. The difference in foam formation is attributed to the destabilizing glycine substitutions engineered into the hinge region. Surfactants used specifically to increase wettability, such as those used in agricultural applications would benefit from this new proteosurfactant since foamed liquid has greater wind resistance and decreased dispersal. Indeed, given growing concern of organsilicone surfactant effects on declining bee populations, biological surfactant proteins have several unique advantages over more common amphiphiles in that they can be renewably sourced, are environmentally friendly, degrade readily into non-toxic byproducts, and reduce surface tension without deleterious effects on cell membranes.
Chapter 10 – Twitter: Conversation, Entertainment, and Information, All in One Network!

Publisher Summary This chapter introduces the social media network Twitter and discusses how one can tap into and map parts of the global Twitter conversation. Twitter can be thought of as a conversational microblog. Like bloggers, Twitter users post messages that show up in the streams of all the people who are subscribed to them. Twitter's infrastructure in this way mirrors the functionality of really simple syndication (RSS) feeds. Analyzing Twitter users and conversations is more than tabulating counts and trends—it's about connections and interactions between people. It describes how social network analysis techniques can help to examine Twitter network and how the flow of the global conversation can be tracked. Collecting Twitter data with NodeXL is a simple and straightforward process. Collecting data from Twitter is generally a slow process; therefore, when collecting data from Twitter, one needs to be aware of “rate limits.” Twitter limits the amount of data collected by any one user to 150 “requests” per hour. NodeXL provides several options for speeding up data collections, such as artificially limiting the number of users in the data set. NodeXL helps to extract and analyze many different social networks from Twitter.
Studies of Status Congruence

Publisher Summary This chapter examines the concept of status congruence as it has appeared in both the social, psychological small-group literature and the survey research literature from sociology. Several interpretations of the status congruence effects have been presented, with a general agreement emerging in which status incongruence was conceptualized in terms of a model of conflicting expectations. The chapter highlights several key studies dealing with status congruence. The chapter outlines general model that deals with the two factors of mastery and justice and viewes status congruence as a specific case example of the functioning of these two factors. Several discussions of the factor of justice have been reviewed, suggesting two separable meanings for the concept: one that refers to a notion of justice as equity in which justice prevails when the relative investments and outcomes of a relationship are proportional, And the other that refers to justice as equality and exists when resources are allocated equally to all participants in a relationship rather than on the basis of investments. The chapter discusses the modes of operation of justice and mastery, considering whether they should be conceptualized according to an equilibrium or conflict-balancing model, an alternative, coordination model, or a mixed model.
Cerebrospinal fluid LDH in 287 children, including 53 cases of meningitis of bacterial and non-bacterial etiology.

Cerebrospinal fluid lactic dehydrogenase activity was determined in 287 children. Among these, 87 had no central nervous system disease and were considered to be controls. Mean lactic dehydrogenase activity in 69 controls (excluding newborn infants) was 14 units. In 18 control infants less than 1 week of age, the mean lactic dehydrogenase activity was 50 units. Thirty-two patients with bacterial meningitis had a mean cerebrospinal fluid lactic dehydrogenase of 251 units on the initial examination; 20 patients with aseptic meningoencephalitis had a mean lactic dehydrogenase activity of 23 units. The difference between the lactic dehydrogenase activity in children with bacterial and aseptic meningitis was highly significant (p
Batch Leaching Tests: Colloid Release and PAH Leachability

The Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess leaching potential of contaminants from waste, and to provide a test to classify hazardous waste. It is a batch leaching test where a waste (such as contaminated soil) and an extraction fluid are agitated for a predetermined time. Since TCLP employs an aggressive mixing technique, it is possible that hydrophobic contaminant-laden colloidal fractions may appear as “dissolved” constituents. In this study, TCLP was employed to determine the leachability of PAH contamination from a coal tar contaminated site. Generated colloids and the apparent aqueous concentrations of naphthalene and phenanthrene were measured at various mixing times in the extraction fluid. A mathematical model was developed that predicted the apparent aqueous contaminant concentration in the filtrate. This model accounted for the presence of colloids in the filtrate, and quantified contaminant desorption from colloids....
Chemoradiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal: Comparison of one versus two cycles mitomycin-C.

Abstract Background and purpose Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and mitomycin-C (MMC) is standard treatment for anal cancer. Randomized clinical trials in Europe have used 1 cycle MMC, while North American studies use 2 cycles. We compared treatment outcomes between patients treated with either 1 or 2 cycles of concurrent MMC. Material and methods 217 consecutive patients were treated definitively with chemoradiation from 2004 to 2012 in an integrated health system. Concurrent chemotherapy regimen depended on individual practice, and consisted of 2 cycles 5-FU (1000mg/m 2 /day on days 1–4 and 29–32), along with MMC (10–15mg/m 2 ), given on either day 1 alone ( n =154), or days 1 and 29 ( n =63). Outcomes included progression-free (PFS), cancer-specific (CSS), overall (OS), and colostomy-free survival (CFS), as well as toxicity criteria. Results Median age 60years, 70% female, 52% T3–T4, and 40% node-positive. Median follow-up 26months. At 2years, outcomes were: PFS 80%, CSS 89%, OS 86%, and CFS 88%. There was no difference in PFS (HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.37–1.92), CSS (HR 0.32, 95% CI 0.07–1.42), OS (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.25–1.83), or CFS (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.31–2.67) between the MMC1 and MMC2 groups. Stage and male gender were predictive of worse outcomes. Acute grade ⩾2 toxicities were worse in the MMC2 group. There were 3 treatment-related deaths, all in the MMC2 group. Conclusions This study suggests that MMC1 is efficacious and may be an alternative to MMC2 in patients with anal cancer treated with definitive chemoradiation, with the potential for less acute treatment-related toxicity. Randomized trials comparing these two regimens could be considered.
NFC Application Interface for Smart Phones and Appliances

Near Field Communication (NFC) is an emerging short-range wireless communication protocol based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. This paper demonstrates a design of NFC application interface for NFC-enabled smart phones and appliances. The object of this design is to provide an NFC interface for appliances and devices, simplifying the development of NFC-mobile application. The interface consists of two components. One is NXP PN532 module, which is a highly integrated transceiver module for NFC communication, and the second is the Arduino platform that is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on ATmega328 Microcontroller. Arduino platform uses C++ language which makes the development work faster and easier. Keywords—NFC, Android OS, Arduino, Smart phone, Appliances access control
Romanian Cinematic Nationhood

This article analyses the way the concept of nation is reflected in film using the theory of cinematic nationhood and the method of relational constructivism. More specifically, it looks at how the nation can be legitimised when it occupies a strategic position within the national structure of fantasy and when it is closely associated with the most relevant commonplaces present within the social space. The article further investigates the situation in which the concept of nation loses legitimacy because of a change in the way it is imagined. The research addresses the case of Romania, choosing three films representing three distinct periods and characterised by different forms of political and economic organisation: communism, transition, and post-transition.
Noncommunicating cystic pancreatic lesions (i.e. serous and mucinous cystadenoma + rare lesions).

Mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN) occurs predominantly in women (>95%) with a mean age of approximately 45 years and most commonly is located in the pancreatic body or tail. The mass is lined by mucin-producing columnar epithelium with a fibrous ovarian-type stroma. The epithelial lining can contain various degrees of atypia, ranging from adenoma to invasive carcinoma. The CT and MR appearance is that of at hick walled cystic mass with septa and/or mural nodules. The contour of the mass is smooth, and the wall or septa may contain calcification. Endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration of the cyst fluid to assess CEA level may be helpful in distinguishing MCN from serous cystadenoma. CEA 192 ng/mL favors MCN, with an accuracy of approximately 80% [1]. The overall risk of malignancy in one series was 17.5%, and all malignant tumors were either >4 cm or contained mural nodules [2]. Treatment of MCN is surgical resection, and patients without extracapsular or diffuse intracapsular infiltration have an excellent prognosis [2]. Serous cystadenoma (SCA) also occurs predominantly in women (approximately 75%), but the mean age is older (mid 50s to early 60s). It is lined by glycogen-rich cuboidal epithelium and is considered a benign neoplasm, although rare cases of malignant SCA have been reported. The typical appearance is that of a lobulated mass consisting of numerous tiny cysts which give it a honeycomb appearance. Larger lesions may contain a central stellate scar and calcifications. Oligocystic or macrocystic SCA is an uncommon variant comprised of a small number of larger cysts. Distinction between macrocystic SCA and MCN can be made based on the lobulated contour of SCA, its multiple clustered cyst configuration and homogeneity of each locule on T1 weighted MR images [3]. Surgical resection generally is reserved for symptomatic patients, although some authors recommend periodic imaging to assess the rate of growth, with consideration given to surgical resection of lesions with doubling time of 80%), with a median age 30-38 years [5,6]. It is not a true cystic neoplasm in that the cystic component lacks an epithelial lining. Rather, the cystic component represents necrotic degeneration of the mass, with various amounts of internal blood and debris. SPN appears as a well-circumscribed round or oval thick-walled mass with solid and cystic components, but it can appear completely solid or completely cystic. CT demonstrates calcification in nearly half of SPNs [6]. MR often demonstrates a thick T2 hypointense or enhancing rim and internal blood products. Treatment is surgical resection, and the prognosis is excellent, with metastases developing in <5% of patients [6]. Cystic neuroendocrine neoplasm of the pancreas most commonly occurs in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type I and usually is nonfunctional [7]. It generally appears as a cystic mass with an enhancing rim and may contain septa or a solid component. Treatment usually is surgical resection, although observation may be a viable alternative approach [8].
Support patient search on pathology reports with interactive online learning based data extraction.

Background: Structural reporting enables semantic understanding and prompt retrieval of clinical findings about patients. While synoptic pathology reporting provides templates for data entries, information in pathology reports remains primarily in narrative free text form. Extracting data of interest from narrative pathology reports could significantly improve the representation of the information and enable complex structured queries. However, manual extraction is tedious and error-prone, and automated tools are often constructed with a fixed training dataset and not easily adaptable. Our goal is to extract data from pathology reports to support advanced patient search with a highly adaptable semi-automated data extraction system, which can adjust and self-improve by learning from a user's interaction with minimal human effort. Methods : We have developed an online machine learning based information extraction system called IDEAL-X. With its graphical user interface, the system's data extraction engine automatically annotates values for users to review upon loading each report text. The system analyzes users' corrections regarding these annotations with online machine learning, and incrementally enhances and refines the learning model as reports are processed. The system also takes advantage of customized controlled vocabularies, which can be adaptively refined during the online learning process to further assist the data extraction. As the accuracy of automatic annotation improves overtime, the effort of human annotation is gradually reduced. After all reports are processed, a built-in query engine can be applied to conveniently define queries based on extracted structured data. Results: We have evaluated the system with a dataset of anatomic pathology reports from 50 patients. Extracted data elements include demographical data, diagnosis, genetic marker, and procedure. The system achieves F-1 scores of around 95% for the majority of tests. Conclusions: Extracting data from pathology reports could enable more accurate knowledge to support biomedical research and clinical diagnosis. IDEAL-X provides a bridge that takes advantage of online machine learning based data extraction and the knowledge from human's feedback. By combining iterative online learning and adaptive controlled vocabularies, IDEAL-X can deliver highly adaptive and accurate data extraction to support patient search.
InterleuKin-33 And Interferon-Γ Counter-Regulate Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cell Activation During Immune Perturbation

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) and regulatory T (Treg) cells are systemically induced by helminth infection but also sustain metabolic homeostasis in adipose tissue and contribute to tissue repair during injury. Here we show that interleukin-33 (IL-33) mediates activation of ILC2s and Treg cells in resting adipose tissue, but also after helminth infection or treatment with IL-2. Unexpectedly, ILC2-intrinsic IL-33 activation was required for Treg cell accumulation in vivo and was independent of ILC2 type 2 cytokines but partially dependent on direct co-stimulatory interactions via ICOSL-ICOS. IFN-γ inhibited ILC2 activation and Treg cell accumulation by IL-33 in infected tissue, as well as adipose tissue, where repression increased with aging and high-fat diet-induced obesity. IL-33 and ILC2s are central mediators of type 2 immune responses that promote tissue and metabolic homeostasis, and IFN-γ suppresses this pathway, likely to promote inflammatory responses and divert metabolic resources necessary to protect the host.
Tight closure in F-rational rings

All rings are commutative with unit and modules are unital. With one exception all rings are Noetherian. We consider only rings of positive characteristic p. Section 0 contains background, definitions and terminology.
Convergence of averages of scaled functions of I(1) linear processes

Abstract Econometricians typically make use of functional central limit theorems to prove results for I(1) processes. For example, to establish the limit distributions of unit root tests such as the Phillips–Perron and Dickey–Fuller tests, the functional central limit theorem plays a crucial role. In this paper, it is pointed out that for linear processes, minimal conditions that ensure that only a central limit theorem holds are sufficient for establishing limit distributions of such tests. This eliminates the need to impose the stronger functional central limit theorem conditions and implies convergence of Dickey–Fuller type unit root tests under minimal conditions.
Forensic palynology: Current status of a rarely used technique in the United States of America

The United States of America would seem to be an excellent location for using pollen data in forensic applications. The vegetation within the region is highly diverse ranging from areas of Arctic tundra to some of the most inhospitable deserts anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. The highly varied ecology, great plant diversity, thousands of vegetational microhabitats, and extensive published pollen records for the region provide an ideal setting for these types of analyses. This diversity, often characterized in most locations by unique combinations of pollen types, makes the use of forensic pollen a reliable technique that can often be used to associate individuals with a unique crime scene or geographical region. Nevertheless, forensic pollen studies in the United States of America are currently one of the most highly under utilized techniques available to assist in solving criminal and civil cases. During the past century there has been a very limited attempt to use pollen evidence in either criminal or civil cases, for a variety of reasons, including a lack of available information about the technique, a very limited number of specialists trained to do forensic pollen work, and an almost total absence of academic centers able to train needed specialists or forensic facilities able, or willing, to fund research in this area. Hopefully, this paucity of use will change if certain steps are taken to encourage the routine collection and use of pollen evidence in both criminal and civil cases.
Appropriate technologies for large-scale production of electricity and hydrogen fuel

Appropriate technology for energy supply requires the use of the most effective energy resources and conversion technologies that will also result in the minimum acceptable impact upon the environment. A useful parameter for evaluation of energy resources for large-scale production of electricity and hydrogen fuel is the specific energy of the appropriate energy resources. Available resources for such large-scale applications must come from some mixture of renewable, fossil, and nuclear energy. Analysis is made of the appropriate use of solar energy, chemical combustion fuels, and nuclear energy on the basis of their specific energy. The results show that the most appropriate resources for large-scale production of electricity and hydrogen are low-specific solar photovoltaic and wind turbine energy for large numbers of distributed small-scale applications and high-specific nuclear energy for smaller numbers of large-scale applications.
Signal-detection models as tools for interpreting judgements of recollections

This paper considers how the two-criterion signal-detection model can be used to interpret judgements of recollection from the remember–know paradigm. We propose that, among other uses, the model can be applied to discriminate results that provide strong evidence for the influence of multiple memory processes from results that are merely consistent with the assumption of such influences. The specific logic motivating this approach is that results falsifying the two-criterion signal-detection model provide strong evidence for the influence of multiple-memory processes on judgements of recollection. We believe that focusing theory construction on results that provide strong evidence of multiple memory processes will lead to the construction of coherent, parsimonious models of the relationship between memory processes and consciousness. We review recent papers by Conway and Dewhurst (1995), Hirshman and Lanning (1999), and Conway et al. (2001) to provide examples of the usefulness of using the two-criterion signal-detection model. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Arnica for bruising and swelling

Arnica, also known as mountain daisy, mountain tobacco, and leopard’s bane, is a perennial herb of the family Asteraceae.[1][1],[2][2] The herb, which has orange-yellow daisy-like flower heads, is native to the meadows and mountainous regions of Europe and western North America. Europeans and
Molecular Crystals with Moving Parts: Synthesis, Characterization, and Crystal Packing of Molecular Gyroscopes with Methyl-Substituted Triptycyl Frames

We report a highly convergent synthesis for the preparation of molecular gyroscopes consisting of para-phenylene rotors linked by triple bonds to methyl-substituted triptycenes acting as pivots and encapsulating frames. The desired 1,4-bis[2-(2,3,6,7,12,13-hexamethyl-10-alkyl-9-triptycyl)ethynyl]benzenes were prepared from 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene using Diels−Alder cycloadditions and Pd(0)-catalyzed coupling as the key reactions. The main challenge in the synthesis came about in the preparation of 9-alkynyl-triptycenes by Diels−Alder reaction of benzynes and 9-alkynyl-2,3,6,7-tetramethylanthracenes. These reactions occurred with chemical yields and regioselectivities that were strongly influenced by steric and electronic effects of substituents at C10 of the anthracene core. Anthracenes with methyl, propyl, and phenyl substituents were utilized to complete the synthesis of their corresponding molecular gyroscopes, and their solid-state structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analy...
Effect of End‐point Temperature and Degree of Doneness on Sensory and Instrumental Flavor Profile of Beefsteaks

ABSTRACT: Beef M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum was used to investigate the effects of 6 end-point temperatures on flavor and texture. Steaks cooked to medium temperature were associated with 4-heptanolide, whereas those cooked to higher temperatures were associated with pyrazines and hexanol. These steaks were also associated with flavor attributes, such as roasted, burnt, and beefy. However, consumers did not find differences in flavor liking of steaks (P > 0.05) cooked to 6 end-point temperatures. Although steaks cooked to lower temperatures were liked for their tenderness and juiciness, overall liking scores were not affected by end-point temperature. Thus both flavor and tenderness play an important role in consumer satisfaction.
Oral History as an Approach to State History.

Several years ago, I accepted the charge of the University of North Dakota's Department of History to teach our state history course. Students quickly cast suspicious eyes on me, not only as the successor to an immensely popular professor but also as a nonnative North Dakotan teaching their state history class. Such challenges were augmented by the traditional difficulty of making such a class appear lively and relevant, as well as connected to the larger contours of national and world history. I decided that an oral history assignment could help address those concerns and the dearth of primary sources on North Dakota history. Since then, the oral history assignment has become an effective component of my course. In the first weeks of the course, I provide basic information about interview techniques and ethics. I also urge students to consider potential interviewees who could provide insight into the state's heritage. They may interview subjects alone or in pairs. For example, a student might interview a husband and wife about their experiences on the farm, a mother and daughter about changes in women's lives over the decades, or perhaps brothers whose career paths have significantly diverged. In the following weeks, students select areas of inquiry, develop questions, and discuss their projects with each other and with me. Then they conduct the interviews, and each produces a paper that illustrates a key lesson about North Dakota obtained from the interview. To help students appreciate the value of oral evidence, I assign Waheenee: An Indian Girls Story Told by Herself to Gilbert L. Wilson as the first text of the semester.' Produced from anthropological field notes gathered by Wilson in the early twentieth century, Waheenee presents the reflections of an elderly Hidatsa on her childhood in pre-European contact North Dakota, as well as on the changes wrought in her traditional existence by the arrival of Euro-Americans. In class, we
Utilizing embedded optofluidic sensors for flourescent detection measurements in space and time

Integrated fluorescent waveguide biosensors have had a substantial impact on the field of biodetection. Many types of waveguide sensors have been developed, but most of them rely on evanescent field excitation of fluorophores, whose emission is then detected directly or indirectly. A sensor device which performs detection by measuring the fluorescent light that back-couples into the device was recently demonstrated. The work for this device did not compare the efficiency of their detection method with traditional detection methods, nor did they develop a rigorous theoretical model for understanding the efficiency of the device. Using finite difference time domain simulations and complementary experiments, we develop and verify a model which can predict the performance of the sensor in air and aqueous environments. Additionally, we perform spatiotemporal fluorescence measurements using the waveguide device which allow us to sample the magnitude of the fluorescence along the device at every point in space and time that we recorded.
Age-dependent responses to 2-acetylaminofluorene in BALB/c female mice.

In order to evaluate the influence of age on 2‐acetylaminofluorene (2‐AAF) carcinogenesis, female BALB/c mice were fed diets containing 500 ppm 2‐AAF for 6 mo, starting at 1, 7, or 13 mo of age. Croups of mice were killed immediately, 3 or 6 mo after termination of treatment, or were allowed to complete their life span. Mice corresponding to the age of each sacrifice group of the 2‐AAF‐treated mice and a life‐span group were also included as controls. The study was moved to a different animal room area after 25 wk into the study. Thus, certain treatment groups were replicated to evaluate the impact of the change in environment. Controls and the young 2‐AAF‐treatment group killed at 7 mo of age were replicated twice in the new animal room at 6‐mo intervals. Similarly, controls and the mid‐aged treatment group killed at 13 mo of age were repeated once in the new animal room. This resulted in mice of each age/treatment group being treated simultaneously in the same room and killed as soon as treatment was st...
Comparison of In 1− x Tl x Sb and Hg 1− x Cd x Te as long wavelength infrared materials

Cohesive energies, elastic constants, band structures, and phase diagram are calculated to evaluate the In1−xTlxSb alloy (ITA) as a long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) material compared to Hg1−xCdxTe (MCT). To obtain a 0.1 eV gap at zero temperature, the x value for ITA is estimated to be x=0.083 as compared to x=0.222 for MCT. At this gap, ITA is more robust than MCT because the cohesive energies order as InSb>TlSb>CdTe>HgTe, and ITA has the stronger bonding InSb as the majority component. Although TlSb is found to favor the CsCl structure, ITA is a stable alloy in the zincblende structure for low x values. However, our phase diagram indicates that it is difficult to grow the 0.1 eV gap ITA from the melt, because above the eutectic the liquidus curve is flat, and the solidus drops rapidly. Moreover, the width of the stable concentration range of the zincblende solid phase shrinks at low temperatures due to the presence of the CsCl structure.
The Determination of Young's Modulus for Microtubules Stabilized with Taxol and Analysis of Vibrational Modes

We present here the effects of Taxol, a cancer drug, on the intracellular mechanisms associated with dynamic instability of microtubules. Since Taxol affects the stability of microtubules, the general process of microtubule polymerization and depolymerization will be studied closely throughout this research project. By analyzing the dynamic instability of microtubules, the effects of Taxol on the microtubules can be used to elucidate the complex functioning of Taxol within the cell. The observations and discoveries of the research can have revolutionary effects in the fields of life science and medicine.The short-term goal of this project involves analysis of the thermal fluctuations of a single Taxol-stabilized microtubule. From our measurement of the elastic properties for Taxol-stabilized microtubules we can gain insight on vibrational modes of the microtubules. We propose that the vibrational modes of microtubules will vary based on the Taxol concentration at which they are grown and diluted. Then, by comparing the vibrational modes to the resonant frequency of the Taxol-stabilized microtubules, we will relate the dynamic instability of the microtubules to the change in vibrational mode. Therefore, the ultimate goal of the research is to acquire more knowledge about the function of Taxol in order to discover more effective cancer treatment methods. These findings will elucidate the confounding enigma that plagues humanity (cancer) and will lead to further advancements in cancer therapy research. Based on current findings, the microtubules grown with higher Taxol concentrations have lower Young's Modulus values.
Fruiting of ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes on unburned and prescribed burned hard-pine/hardwood plots after drought-breaking rainfalls on the Allegheny Mountains of southwestern Virginia

A headfire upward along the crest to the peak of a foothill during February 1988 had been prescribed to lower the possibility of a wildfire during the dry season on the Jefferson National Forest. Some surface litter plus annual and perennial stems on one-half of a stand of Pinus pungens/P. rigida had been destroyed. Subsequent development of ectomycorrhizal sporophores of basidiomycetes was recorded regularly within equal areas of burned and unburned portions and within a nearby unburned stand of P. virginiana. Each plot had a few ectomycorrhizal hardwoods, mainly Quercus spp. First fruiting was noted under burned P. pungens 3 weeks after a general rain in mid-July and after 4 weeks under both. By the end of November, when fruiting ceased, 138 separable taxa had been collected of which 95 had been identified. A list of the fungi and data on current and previously reported host associations, occurrence on each of the substrates, times and frequencies of fruiting, periodicity of genera, and variations in weather conditions are presented.
Intimal imaging with ultrasound: what anatomy are we resolving?

Ultrasound measurement of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) has become an established method for evaluating a patient’s risk for cardiovascular disease and is widely used as a factor for deciding appropriate risk-reducing therapy. The underlying concept is not to detect plaques per se but rather to detect changes in the tunica intima (the inner surface of vessels that is normally one to several layers of endothelial cells) and the tunica media (smooth muscle cells and matrix beyond the internal elastic lamina) in a surrogate or representative vessel such as the carotid artery to gain insight into the status of other vessels in the body or total risk for cardiovascular events. Right or wrong, carotid IMT has also been used in clinical trials as a surrogate endpoint for assessing vascular-targeted therapies or for making the case that a certain population is predisposed to atherosclerotic disease. These applications of carotid IMTare based on results from mostly cross-sectional studies in which IMTwas associated with an increased odds ratio for either the presence of coronary artery disease or prior clinical events. Although IMT appears to be an independent predictor of atherosclerotic disease, enthusiasm should be tempered by the reality that the value of a single measurement in a single individual is modest. Most studies have required very large numbers of subjects to show predictive value, and many have used z scores to evaluate how a single IMT value compares with a normal distribution on the basis of age or other clinical characteristics. Prospective trials have not fared much differently, with the strongest predictive value being found when comparing those at each end of the IMT spectrum. In the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio for predicting future cardiovascular events was a rather modest 1.1 (10% increased risk) for every 1 standard deviation increment of IMT. On the other hand, a change in carotid IMT for a single individual seems to have much stronger predictive value, with one study showing that an annual increase of 0.03 mm (30 mm) was associated with a tripling of coronary event rates. These results raise two questions about using a single IMT measurement in an individual: (1) Are we measuring the right parameter? and (2) Are we measuring what we think we are measuring? With regard to the latter, studies comparing carotid IMTwith pathology have demonstrated that ultrasound overestimates the true IMT measured at necropsy by almost 50%. These findings suggest that the parallel echo-dense lines seen during carotid ultrasound imaging may not represent true cell-type boundaries, probably because of resolution issues. How else could we accept the results of trials such as Ezetimibe and Simvastatin in Hypercholesterolemia Enhances Atherosclerosis
Begg-edgewise diagnosis-determined totally individualized orthodontic technique: Introduction to clinical applications

Five cases treated with BEDDTIOT are reported in this article. These cases illustrate the ease and speed of treatment, anchorage control, and versatility of BEDDTIOT. They demonstrate the importance of having an appliance that facilitates both (1) tipping teeth with light forces and (2) full, precise three-dimensional control.