cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adenoma detection rate is not influenced by full-day blocks, time, or modified queue position.

Background Recent studies have shown the adenoma detection rate (ADR) to decrease from endoscopist fatigue. Objective Our primary objective was to evaluate the afternoon ADR in half-day versus full-day blocks. Secondary objectives were to determine whether time or complexity of prior procedures (modified queue position) influence ADR. Design Retrospective chart review on consecutive colonoscopies. Setting Tertiary-care teaching hospital. Patients This study involved all patients in our database who were over age 45 and who underwent screening and surveillance colonoscopies. Main Outcome Measurement ADR. Results A total of 3085 patients were included in the study, with an overall 31% ADR. Of these procedures, 2148 (70%) were done in the morning, and 937 (30%) were done in the afternoon (512 full-day block, 425 half-day block). By multivariate analysis, there was no difference in ADR between full-day blocks compared with afternoon-only blocks (35% vs 32%; odds ratio [OR] 1.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8-1.5; P = .2). For all afternoon colonoscopies, no decrease in ADR was noted with increasing queue position ( P = .9) or time ( P = .3). In addition, no difference was found comparing ADR between all afternoon colonoscopies versus morning colonoscopies (33% vs 30%; OR 1.1; CI, 1.0-1.3; P = .1). No difference was found for advanced adenomas and number of adenomas between either afternoon-only blocks versus afternoon colonoscopy in full-day blocks or morning versus all afternoon cases. Limitations Retrospective study; not all withdrawal times were recorded; trainees performed some of the procedures. Conclusion Our data show that colonoscopy can be performed in full-day blocks and 30-minute slots without compromising ADR.
Mechanism of burning of fully-developed compartment fires

Abstract It has been widely believed that in ventilation-controlled building fires a shortage of air limits the rate of burning. This concept is critically examined and proved untenable. Other possible mechanisms by which the flow rate of air into a compartment may control the rate of burning (pyrolysis) of cellulosic fuel are examined and a plausible model presented. It is suggested that oxidation of surface char is the link by which the rate of pyrolysis is related to the rate of entry of air. The proposed model provides conclusions compatible with present knowledge of both ventilation-controlled and fuel-surface-controlled fires. It is emphasized, in conclusion, that the model is probably not applicable to compartments in which the fuel consists predominantly of non-charring plastics.
Modeling Energy Recovery Using Thermoelectric Conversion Integrated with an Organic Rankine Bottoming Cycle

Engine and industrial waste heat are sources of high-grade thermal energy that can potentially be utilized. This paper describes a model system that employs thermoelectric conversion as a topping cycle integrated with an organic Rankine bottoming cycle. The model has many parameters that define combined system quantities such as overall output power and conversion efficiency. The model can identify the optimal performance points for both the thermoelectric and organic Rankine bottoming cycle. Key analysis results are presented showing the impact of critical design parameters on power output and system performance.
Combined Constraints on Holographic Bosonic Technicolor

We consider a model of strong electroweak symmetry breaking in which the expectation value of an additional, possibly composite, scalar field is responsible for the generation of fermion masses. The dynamics of the strongly coupled sector is defined and studied via its holographic dual, and does not correspond to a simple, scaled-up version of QCD. We consider the bounds from perturbative unitarity, the S parameter, and the mass of the Higgs-like scalar. We show that the combination of these constraints leaves a relatively limited region of parameter space viable, and suggests the qualitative features of the model that might be probed at the LHC.
Cholinesterase and sodium transport by frog muscle.

IN a variety of tissues (frog skin1, red cells2, Chironomus anal papillae3, and Eriocheir gills3) the active transport of sodium is blocked by inhibitors of cholinesterase. This communication concerns the role of cholinesterase in the sodium pump of the sartorius muscle of the frog, Rana pipiens. Sodium transport is readily demonstrated by placing the muscle in a Ringer's solution in which one-half of the sodium chloride has been replaced by sucrose4. Though the concentration of sodium in this sodium-deficient Ringer's still exceeds that within the muscle fibre, the muscle responds by actively transporting sodium ions into the external medium, so that after 30 min. the sodium content of the muscle, measured by flame photometry, has markedly decreased.
Metabolome response to glucose in the β-cell line INS-1 832/13

Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) from pancreatic β-cells is triggered by metabolism of the sugar to increase ATP/ADP ratio that blocks the KATP channel leading to membrane depolarization and insulin exocytosis. Other metabolic pathways believed to augment insulin secretion have yet to be fully elucidated. To study metabolic changes during GSIS, liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry was used to determine levels of 87 metabolites temporally following a change in glucose from 3 to 10 mm glucose and in response to increasing concentrations of glucose in the INS-1 832/13 β-cell line. U-[13C]Glucose was used to probe flux in specific metabolic pathways. Results include a rapid increase in ATP/ADP, anaplerotic tricarboxylic acid cycle flux, and increases in the malonyl CoA pathway, support prevailing theories of GSIS. Novel findings include that aspartate used for anaplerosis does not derive from the glucose fuel added to stimulate insulin secretion, glucose flux into glycerol-3-phosphate, and esterification of long chain CoAs resulting in rapid consumption of long chain CoAs and de novo generation of phosphatidic acid and diacylglycerol. Further, novel metabolites with potential roles in GSIS such as 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide (ZMP), GDP-mannose, and farnesyl pyrophosphate were found to be rapidly altered following glucose exposure.
Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 H-NOX Regulation of a Histidine Kinase by Nitric Oxide

Nitric oxide (NO) signaling in animals controls processes such as smooth muscle relaxation and neurotransmission by activation of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC). Prokaryotic homologues of the sGC heme domain, called H-NOX domains, have been identified and are generally found in a predicted operon in conjunction with a histidine kinase. Here, we show that an H-NOX protein (SO2144) from Shewanella oneidensis directly interacts with the sensor histidine kinase (SO2145), binds NO in a 5-coordinate complex similar to mammalian sGC, and in that form inhibits the activity of a histidine kinase (SO2145). We also describe the first account of NO formation by S. oneidensis under anaerobic growth conditions derived from nitrate and nitrite. These observations suggest that the S. oneidensis H-NOX and histidine kinase pair function as part of a novel two-component signaling pathway that is responsive to NO formation from higher nitrogen oxides used as electron acceptors when oxygen is low and thereby functioning as a...
Parent-Child Conversation of More-Liked and Less-Liked Children

Four more-liked boys and four less-liked boys (M age = 58.13 months) were videotaped as they interacted separately in semi-structured activities with their own mother and father, the mother and father of a more-liked boy, and the mother and father of a less-liked boy. Parents of less-liked boys had more intensive interactions that were more controlling, directive, and intrusive than parents of more-liked boys. Parents of more-liked boys had extensive interactive patterns that made them better able to extend praise and encouragement to children not their own. Similarly, more-liked children seemed more sensitive than less-liked children to situational factors that occurred during interactions with parents not their own and were therefore better able to adjust their behavior to the expectations of the situation.
Curbing Corruption, Financial Development and Income Inequality

In recent years, many of the Commonwealth countries have experienced a reduction in income inequalities due to the development of financial markets and intermediaries. At the same time, widespread corruption among public officials, civil servants, or politicians from these countries have been well documented. A key public policy question is whether the return to financial sector development at the level of massive corruption, exacerbate income inequality, offsetting the benefits of financial development. Using a panel data of 30 Commonwealth countries over the period of 1995–2008, it is found that the high rates of corruption in the Commonwealth countries are crowding out the return to financial development. The return to financial development on income inequality, at the level of higher corruption, are positive for all countries and significantly larger for the low- and middle-income countries compared to high-income countries, which suggest that the complementary nature of policies that simultaneously r...
Semicanonical bases for Schur algebras

Abstract The Schur algebras are realized in the ring of constructible functions on the generalized Steinberg varieties attached to the n-step flag varieties. The semicanonical bases for Schur algebras are defined and shown to behave in the simplest possible way under the transfer maps. Such a property of the semicanonical basis is conjectured in Lusztig (2002) [L6, 5.5] .
Psychological effects of a suicide prevention unit on adolescents' levels of stress, anxiety and hopelessness: Implications for counselling psychologists

Abstract This study examined the effects of a senior high school suicide prevention unit on students' levels of stress, anxiety, and hopelessness. An experimental group that received instruction in suicide prevention, and that demonstrated special needs, i.e. low social support, high stress, high anxiety, and/or high degrees of hopelessness, was compared with an experimental group that did not demonstrate special needs, and with two control groups that received no instruction, one with, and one without, special needs. Results indicated that both the experimental group with special needs and the experimental group without special needs showed significant increases in factual knowledge; the experimental group with special needs showed significant change on psychological variables, while the control group with special needs did not. No significant differential changes were noted between the experimental group with special needs and the control group with special needs. Implications for counselling psychologi...
Control of ventilation in androgenized hypogonadal male rats

We have previously shown that subcutaneous administration of aspartic acid (a dicarboxylic acidic amino acid) at a dose of 580 mg/kg causes long lasting depression of ventilation in adult intact and postpubertally castrated male rats, but not in intact female rats. The purpose of the present study was to determine if hypogonadism induced by perinatal administration of testosterone propionate (TP) will alter ventilation, oxygen consumption, and the ventilatory response to aspartic acid and to hypercapnia in adult males. TP treatment resulted in adult males who had lower body, prostate, heart, and testes weights than those of control male rats. Ventilation in air and oxygen consumption were comparable between the two groups as was the ventilatory response to aspartic acid. In contrast, TP-treated rats exhibited a significantly decreased ventilatory response to hypercapnia due predominantly to lower tidal volumes compared to control animals. Aspartic acid treatment did not affect oxygen consumption in either group. Thus, TP treatment results in the development of adult male rats who, although hypogonadal, retain a male-like ventilatory response to aspartic acid, but whose response to hypercapnia is more like that of hypogonadal men and rats.
Convergence analysis of a CM array for CDMA systems

The incorporation of directional sensitivity, provided by so-called adaptive antennas is useful in suppressing interfering signals that arise from spatially distinct mobile sources. The problem is that in a cellular radio environment where multipath exists, the standard adaptive antenna using reference signals may not properly lock on the desired signal. This is because the signal correlation matrix processed by the antenna may then be close to singular and standard algorithms fail. Also, most standard algorithms need to cooperate with the receiver for the spatial discrimination of signals. A smart antenna utilizing a blind algorithm is of interest since the antenna may not need to get any feedback from a receiver for the adjustment of weight coefficient for spatial processing and can stand alone to be plugged into any kind of receiver structure.
The IntegratedEthicsTM Staff Survey: A Tool to Evaluate and Improve Ethical Practices in Health Care

Background: To improve ethics quality in health care, health care organizations need a way to characterize whether ethical practices throughout the organization are consistent with accepted ethics standards, norms, and expectations for the organization and its staff. We developed the IntegratedEthics™ Staff Survey (IESS) to fill this need. Methods: The IESS was developed and validated through a rigorous multiyear process. This process included reviews of the bioethics and health care literature to develop conceptual maps of common ethical issues in health care; focus groups and interviews with institutional stakeholders to identify key ethical concerns; cognitive testing, pilot testing, and field testing to ensure that questions were understandable and useful; and item reduction and modification to reduce respondent burden. Results: The IESS addresses staff perceptions of ethical practices in nine domains: everyday workplace, business and management, government service, patient privacy and confidentiality...
Lyme myocarditis presenting as fascicular tachycardia with underlying complete heart block.

Lyme Myocarditis with Fascicular Tachycardia. A case of Lyme myocarditis manifest as a fascicular tachycardia is presented. Subtle findings of heart block hi the presence of preserved ventricular function led to the correct diagnosis in this otherwise healthy patient. Treatment with ceftriaxone resolved both abnormalities.
The interaction of force and repetition on musculoskeletal and neural tissue responses and sensorimotor behavior in a rat model of work-related musculoskeletal disorders

We examined the relationship of musculoskeletal risk factors underlying force and repetition on tissue responses in an operant rat model of repetitive reaching and pulling, and if force x repetition interactions were present, indicative of a fatigue failure process. We examined exposure-dependent changes in biochemical, morphological and sensorimotor responses occurring with repeated performance of a handle-pulling task for 12 weeks at one of four repetition and force levels: 1) low repetition with low force, 2) high repetition with low force, 3) low repetition with high force, and 4) high repetition with high force (HRHF). Rats underwent initial training for 4–6 weeks, and then performed one of the tasks for 12 weeks, 2 hours/day, 3 days/week. Reflexive grip strength and sensitivity to touch were assayed as functional outcomes. Flexor digitorum muscles and tendons, forelimb bones, and serum were assayed using ELISA for indicators of inflammation, tissue stress and repair, and bone turnover. Histomorphometry was used to assay macrophage infiltration of tissues, spinal cord substance P changes, and tissue adaptative or degradative changes. MicroCT was used to assay bones for changes in bone quality. Several force x repetition interactions were observed for: muscle IL-1alpha and bone IL-1beta; serum TNFalpha, IL-1alpha, and IL-1beta; muscle HSP72, a tissue stress and repair protein; histomorphological evidence of tendon and cartilage degradation; serum biomarkers of bone degradation (CTXI) and bone formation (osteocalcin); and morphological evidence of bone adaptation versus resorption. In most cases, performance of the HRHF task induced the greatest tissue degenerative changes, while performance of moderate level tasks induced bone adaptation and a suggestion of muscle adaptation. Both high force tasks induced median nerve macrophage infiltration, spinal cord sensitization (increased substance P), grip strength declines and forepaw mechanical allodynia by task week 12. Although not consistent in all tissues, we found several significant interactions between the critical musculoskeletal risk factors of force and repetition, consistent with a fatigue failure process in musculoskeletal tissues. Prolonged performance of HRHF tasks exhibited significantly increased risk for musculoskeletal disorders, while performance of moderate level tasks exhibited adaptation to task demands.
The use of factorial modeling to determine the dietary requirements for essential elements in fishes

Abstract A factorial model is used to examine the relationship between the net requirement for an essential element in fish (the amount required for growth and replacement of endogenous loss) and the dietary concentration necessary to meet that requirement. Factors that affect the dietary requirement (C), when stated as a concentration in the diet, are: the bioavailability of the element (A), feed intake (F), the amount of the element taken up from the water (U), the requirement for new tissue synthesis (G) and the amount of endogenous loss (E). The model contains factors that can be empirically quantified but the relationships among these factors are determined deductively according to the equation C = [(G + E − U)/A]/F. Examples, using both real and hypothetical data, demonstrate how quantification of these factors and their incorporation into a factorial model will allow broader application of the currently available, empirically derived requirements.
Effect of acid soil chemical properties on nodulation and competition of Rhizobium trifolii

Abstract Soils in the Appalachian region are acidic and many have chemical properties which may inhibit the initiation of clover‐Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii symbiosis. The influence of soil properties on nodulation by, and competition between, an introduced strain (162X95) and a naturalized strain (WV22) of Rhizobium trifolii were studied in limed and unlimed portions of 10 subsoil horizons. Rhizobial strains were inoculated alone or in a 1:1 mixture in liquid form on germinating subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.). Nodulation by both strains was inhibited in soils with a combination of toxic properties: pH (1:1 H2O) 4.37 to 4.46, Ca saturation 1.1 to 9.2 %, and Al saturation 54.2 to 82.6 %. In the competition experiment strain 162X95 was detected in nodules by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a monoclonal antibody. Soil and soil solution chemical properties which were correlated with percent nodule occupancy by strain 162X95 were soil pH (1:1 H2O), soil solution pH,...
Fluorine-induced chemiluminescence detection of phosphine, alkyl phosphines and monophosphinate esters

Phosphine, alkylated phosphines and monophosphinate esters are detected with high sensitivity in capillary gas chromatography (GC) by their chemiluminescent reactions with molecular fluorine. Detection limits are estimated to be 1.3 pg, 0.5 pg, 8 pg, and 17 pg for phosphine, trimethyl phosphine, trimethyl phosphinate ester, and triethyl phosphine, respectively. As found earlier with alkylated sulfur, selenium and tellurium compounds, the detector exhibits a linear response. For triethyl phosphine, a linear range of greater than three orders of magnitude was demonstrated. Emission spectra were obtained for the trimethyl phosphine and triethyl phosphine systems. Chemiluminescence emitters include electronically excited HCF, vibrationally excited HF, and an unknown species in the trimethyl phosphine system. Banded emission from vibrationally excited HF and a broad continuum were observed for both trimethyl phosphine and triethyl phosphine; however, HCF emission was observed only for TMP. Under the conditions employed, the principal emitter is HCF for trimethyl phosphine and HF and the unknown emitter for triethyl phosphine. This detector may have important applications in investigations of the biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus.
From Instability and Time Dependence on the Microscale to Stability and Time Independence on the Macroscale

The quasistatic inelastic deformation of ductile structural metals observed on the macroscale reflects a diversity of dynamic inelastic effects on the microscale. The generation, motion, and immobilization of dislocations are primary among them, but a host of other activities such as the opening and growth of cracks and voids, also may contribute. Dynamic activity on the microscale is strongly time-dependent on the time scales of importance to the microscopic processes. Also, the atomic configurations of single dislocations and groups of dislocations are highly unstable over a significant portion of each path of rapid motion. Nevertheless, engineers continue to design structures and machines with a reasonable factor of safety against failure on the basis of conventional plasticity theory with its assumption of both time-independence and stability (normality and convexity). This discussion of the validity of these simplifying assumptions for macroscopic constitutive relations despite instability and time-dependence on the atomic- and micro-scale expands upon a recent paper with Ming Li.
On Coresets for $k$-Median and $k$-Means Clustering in Metric and Euclidean Spaces and Their Applications

We present new approximation algorithms for the $k$-median and $k$-means clustering problems. To this end, we obtain small coresets for $k$-median and $k$-means clustering in general metric spaces and in Euclidean spaces. In $\mathbb{R}^d$, these coresets are of size with polynomial dependency on the dimension $d$. This leads to $(1+\varepsilon)$-approximation algorithms to the optimal $k$-median and $k$-means clustering in $\mathbb{R}^d$, with running time $O(ndk+2^{(k/\varepsilon)^{O(1)}}d^2\log^{k+2}n)$, where $n$ is the number of points. This improves over previous results. We use those coresets to maintain a $(1+\varepsilon)$-approximate $k$-median and $k$-means clustering of a stream of points in $\mathbb{R}^d$, using $O(d^2k^2\varepsilon^{-2}\log^8n)$ space. These are the first streaming algorithms, for those problems, that have space complexity with polynomial dependency on the dimension.
Pre-discharge defibrillation testing: clinically important or obsolete?

This editorial refers to ‘Pre-hospital discharge testing after implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation: A measure of safety or out of date? A retrospective analysis of 975 patients’ by M. Guenther et al. , on page 217 One of the most controversial and hotly debated topics in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) management is the role of defibrillation testing. As with most areas of clinical controversy, the lack of controlled studies to guide the decision process is largely responsible for the ongoing differences in opinion. In the early period of ICD use, defibrillation testing was mandatory given the frequency of shocks, high defibrillation thresholds (DFTs) with monophasic waveforms and the relatively unsophisticated sensing algorithms for the detection of ventricular fibrillation (VF). An inadequate defibrillation safety margin was associated with worse outcomes.1 In the primary prevention era this mandate is less clear. Most patients will not have an appropriate discharge over the first 3–5 years of follow-up2 and defibrillation systems have improved significantly so that failed shocks are now infrequent events. The use of …
Scholastic Antecedents of Immigrant Students: Schooling in a Mexican Immigrant‐Sending Community

Existing shortcomings in the immigrant education literature include a neglect of the formal dimensions of schooling, preimmigration education, and Mexican students. An ethnographic case study based on a cultural-ecological conceptual framework was designed to examine these issues from a transnational perspective. This article presents findings from the project's initial phase—a study of primary (grades 1–6) schooling in an immigrant-sending community in Mexico, including a description of the national curriculum, which was observed to be of high quality, “radical” from a U.S. perspective, and internationally oriented. The modal instructional characteristics observed were teacher direction, verbal interactivity, and group orientation. These distinct patterns of schooling observed in this case are discussed in terms of their implications for immigrant education in the United States, as well as for our continuing efforts to understand the complexity of immigrant and ethnic minority education.
Robust optimal granulometric bandpass filters

A granulometric bandpass filter (GBF) passes certain size bands in a binary image. There exists an analytic formulation for the optimization of GBFs in terms of the granulometric size density of a random set. This size density plays the role of the power spectral density for optimization of linear filters. An optimal filter depends on the parameters governing the distribution of the random set. In practice, the filter will be applied in statistical conditions that do not exactly match those for which it has been designed. Hence the robustness question: to what extent does filter performance degrade as conditions vary from those under which it has been designed? This paper considers GBF robustness. It examines three issues: minimax robust filters, Bayesian robust filters, and global filters. A minimax robust filter is one whose worst performance over all states of nature is best among the optimal filters over all states. Minimax robustness does not take into account the probability mass of the states of nature. Bayesian robustness analysis takes state mass into account and is focused on mean robustness, which is the expected error increase owing to applying a filter designed for a specific state over all possible states. We would like to find maximally robust states. Finally, we consider global filters. A global filter is designed according to some mean condition of the states and is applied across all states. Here, we hope for a uniformly most robust global filter, which means that its expected error increase across all states is less than the mean robustness for any state-specific filter. At least we would like a global filter whose expected increase is close to that for a maximally robust state.
Characterization of circulating CD4+ CD8+ lymphocytes in healthy individuals prompted by identification of a blood donor with a markedly elevated level of CD4+ CD8+ lymphocytes.

During flow cytometric analysis of lymphocytes from healthy donors, we identified a donor (donor A) with 22% CD4+ CD8+ cells (versus values of 90% CD4dim CD8bright. Donor A CD4dim CD8bright cells exhibited proportional decreases in CD25 and CD62-L expression and increases in CD11b and CD54 expression compared with those of control CD4dim CD8bright cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Skin cancer detection based on NIR image analysis

Skin cancer is a disease in which malignant cells are found in the outer layer of the skin. The optical properties of tissues have been studied and used for clinical or biomedical applications in recent years. Multispectral image data of tissues provides the information of the absorption and scattering of the tissues. The optical diagnosis can provide a safe and lower cost health care than regular method based on biopsy. A preliminary study of a proposed statistical model is present using the multispectral images of experimental models.
Pneumococcal Infections in Children after Transplantation

Bacterial infections in recipients of bone marrow and solid-organ transplants remain a major cause of morbidity and death. The cases of 42 children who had undergone transplantation and developed an infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae were retrospectively reviewed. Thirty-four patients had 1 episode of infection, whereas 7 had 2 episodes and 1 had 3 episodes of infection. Solid-organ recipients were more likely to have recurrent invasive disease (P<.02). A total of 31 (74%) of 42 patients were on immunosuppressive therapy, and 74% had been on antimicrobial therapy within 30 days before diagnosis of S. pneumoniae infection. Only 33% of eligible patients had received a pneumococcal vaccine. Twenty-six percent of isolates recovered were not susceptible to penicillin, and 18% were not susceptible to ceftriaxone. Two patients experienced infection-related deaths; one of these had a penicillin-nonsusceptible isolate. The antimicrobial susceptibilities and outcome of infections with S. pneumoniae in patients who have undergone transplantation are similar to those in the general pediatric population.
Alterations of Arterial Physiology in Osteopontin-Null Mice

Objective— In this study, we characterized the effects of an osteopontin (OPN)-null mutation in normal arterial function and remodeling in a murine model. Methods and Results— OPN-null mutant mice were compared with wild-type mice before and after carotid artery ligation. Before ligation, OPN-null mice had increased heart rate, lower blood pressure, and increased circulating lymphocytes compared with wild-type mice. OPN-null vessels also demonstrated greater compliance accompanied by a loosely organized collagen network. After carotid artery ligation, significant differences were also found in the remodeling response of OPN-null animals. At 4 days after ligation, leukocyte adhesion/invasion was diminished by 10-fold in OPN-null mice compared with wild-type mice. At 14 days after ligation, the ligated arteries of OPN-null mice had smaller neointimal lesions but greater constrictive remodeling compared with wild-type mice, resulting in similar lumen areas. Continued remodeling resulted in a similar morphological phenotype in both groups at 28 days. Conclusions— These data show that endogenous OPN regulates normal vascular physiology and contributes to the vascular remodeling response by regulating vascular compliance and the inflammatory response.
Transient diffusion and reaction in solids immersed in poorly-stirred fluids—I Mathematical developments

Abstract Closed-form, mathematical solutions are presented for the problems of transient, multi-dimensional diffusion in spheres, short cylinders and rectangular prisms suddenly immersed in moderately-stirred fluids of limited volume. The results allow for the effects of first-order chemical reaction within the solid bodies, and are extended to include arbitrary source and sink terms in both phases. Potential applications of the results include the descriptions of calorimetry experiments, packed bed reactor performance, quenching operations, and processing of canned foodstuffs.
Techno-economic analysis of autotrophic microalgae for fuel production

Abstract It is well-established that microalgal-derived biofuels have the potential to make a significant contribution to the US fuel market, due to several unique characteristics inherent to algae. Namely, autotrophic microalgae are capable of achieving very high efficiencies in converting solar energy into biomass and oil relative to terrestrial oilseed crops, while at the same time exhibiting great flexibility in the quality of land and water required for algal cultivation. These characteristics allow for the possibility to produce appreciable amounts of algal biofuels relative to today’s petroleum fuel market, while greatly mitigating “food-versus-fuel” concerns. However, there is a wide lack of public agreement on the near-term economic viability of algal biofuels, due to uncertainties and speculation on process scale-up associated with the nascent stage of the algal biofuel industry. The present study aims to establish baseline economics for two microalgae pathways, by performing a comprehensive analysis using a set of assumptions for what can plausibly be achieved within a five-year timeframe. Specific pathways include autotrophic production via both open pond and closed tubular photobioreactor (PBR) systems. The production scales were set at 10 million gallons per year of raw algal oil, subsequently upgraded to a “green diesel” blend stock via hydrotreating. Rigorous mass balances were performed using Aspen Plus simulation software, and associated costs were evaluated on a unit-level basis. Upon completing the base case scenarios, the cost of lipid production to achieve a 10% return was determined to be $8.52/gal for open ponds and $18.10/gal for PBRs. Hydrotreating to produce a diesel blend stock added onto this marginally, bringing the totals to $9.84/gal and $20.53/gal of diesel, for the respective cases. These costs have potential for significant improvement in the future if better microalgal strains can be identified that would be capable of sustaining high growth rates at high lipid content. Given that it is difficult to maximize both of these parameters simultaneously, it was determined that the near-term research should focus on maximizing lipid content as it offers more substantial cost reduction potential relative to an improved algae growth rate. Additional economic sensitivity studies were established to identify other important cost drivers, and a resource assessment comparison was made to evaluate parameters such as water and CO 2 requirements.
E-018 Intracranial stenting of a persistent primitive hypoglossal artery in a patient presenting with acute bilateral posterior circulation infarcts

Purpose We discuss the endovascular technique used in treating a critical stenosis of a persistent hypoglossal artery with angioplasty and stenting, as well as the anatomy of this rare variant using CT, MRA, biplanar and 3D DSA, and DynaCT. Case Report A 63-year-old Hispanic male presented to the E.R. with a chief complaint of blurred vision and dizziness for 2 days. Past medical history was significant for hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Imaging Findings CT and MRI showed multiple areas of acute ischemia involving both occipital lobes and the right cerebellar hemisphere. The CT also showed an enlarged right hypoglossal canal. MRA and DSA revealed an anomalous vessel, arising extracranially from the cervical segment of the internal carotid artery, entering the intracranial compartment through the hypoglossal canal and supplying the basilar artery. The distal portion of this vessel, just below the basilar junction, had a critical stenosis. This critical stenosis was treated endovascularly with angioplasty and stenting, using a 3×15 mm Gateway balloon and a 4×15 mm Wingspan stent. Summary A persistent hypoglossal artery is one of four primitive embryologic connections between the internal carotid artery and the vertebrobasilar circulation. Atherosclerotic disease of the common or the proximal internal carotid artery, or of the hypoglossal artery itself, may present with symptoms of vertebrobasilar insufficiency, or lead to infarction in the posterior circulation. To our knowledge, this represents the first case report of intracranial stenting through a persistent hypoglossal artery. The technical aspects of the endovascular treatment are addressed. We also discuss the anatomy of the persistent hypoglossal artery, using CT, MRI, MRA, biplanar and 3D DSA, and Dyna CT correlation.
Cardiovascular actions of cannabinoids and their generation during shock

Marijuana is a widely abused recreational drug well known for its psychoactive properties. Cannabinoids, the active ingredients of marijuana, elicit their neurobehavioral effects by interacting with the CB1 cannabinoid receptor subtype, expressed primarily in the brain but also present in some peripheral tissues. A second receptor subtype, the CB2 receptor, is expressed on cells of the immune system and is thought to be responsible for the immunosuppressant effects of cannabinoids. Recently, endogenous lipidlike substances have been identified, including arachidonyl ethanolamide (anandamide) and 2-arachidonyl glyceride, that bind to cannabinoid receptors and mimic many of the neurobehavioral effects of plant-derived cannabinoids. Both plant-derived cannabinoids and the endogenous ligands have been shown to elicit hypotension and bradycardia via activation of peripherally located CB1 receptors. Possible underlying mechanisms include presynaptic CB1 receptor mediated inhibition of norepinephrine release from peripheral sympathetic nerve terminals, and/or direct vasodilation via activation of vascular cannabinoid receptors. The latter may also be the target of endocannabinoids of vascular endothelial origin. Recent studies indicate that a peripheral endogenous cannabinoid system in circulating macrophages and platelets is activated in hemorrhagic and septic shock and may contribute to the hypotension associated with these conditions via activation of vascular cannabinoid receptors. The potential role of this mechanism in human shock conditions is under investigation.
Domain Wall Assisted Magnetic Recording

In this work we will show that the ultimate potential of the composite/exchange spring media is realized if the interfacial domain wall fits inside soft and hard layers. We will analyze the potential of the "domain wall assisted magnetic recording" (DWAMR) using numerical micromagnetics, as well as analytical formulas derived for exchange spring magnets.
Dark-matter electric and magnetic dipole moments

We consider the consequences of a neutral dark-matter particle with a nonzero electric and/or magnetic dipole moment. Theoretical constraints, as well as constraints from direct searches, precision tests of the standard-model, the cosmic microwave background and matter power spectra, and cosmic gamma rays, are included. We find that a relatively light particle with mass between an MeV and a few GeV and an electric or magnetic dipole as large as ~3 x 10 to the -16 e cm (roughly 1.6 x 10 to the -5 μB) satisfies all experimental and observational bounds. Some of the remaining parameter space may be probed with forthcoming more sensitive direct searches and with the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope.
Segmenting the Mature Market: 10 Years Later

A review of the literature on senior travelers revealed no studies that investigated how the senior market has changed over time. Nor did the search reveal any replications of previous studies. While this is not surprising, it is somewhat disappointing, especially given that measuring how attitudes change over time can be very enlightening. The study presented in this article adds to the prior literature on the mature market by examining how the mature market has changed over a 10-year period. While the study does not track the same people over a 10-year period (obviously, this would have been the ideal situation), it does replicate a study that was undertaken in 1986 (published in 1989).
Integration of Climate and Weather Information for Improving 15-Day-Ahead Accumulated Precipitation Forecasts

Skillful medium-range weather forecasts are critical for water resources planning and management. This study aims to improve 15-day-ahead accumulated precipitation forecasts by combining biweekly weather and disaggregatedclimateforecasts.Acombinationschemeisdevelopedtocombinereforecastsfromanumerical weather model and disaggregated climate forecasts from ECHAM4.5 for developing 15-day-ahead precipitation forecasts. Evaluation of the skill of the weather‐climate information (WCI)-based biweekly forecasts under leave-five-out cross validation shows that WCI-based forecasts perform better than reforecastsin manygridpointsoverthecontinentalUnitedStates.Correlationbetweenrankprobabilityskill score (RPSS) and disaggregated ECHAM4.5 forecast errors reveals that the lower the error in the disaggregated forecasts, the better the performance of WCI forecasts. Weights analysis from the combination scheme also shows that the biweekly WCI forecasts perform better by assigning higher weights to the better-performing candidate forecasts (reforecasts or disaggregated ECHAM4.5 forecasts). Particularly, WCI forecasts perform better during the summer months during which reforecasts have limited skill. Even though the disaggregated climateforecastsdonotperformwellovermanygridpoints,theprimaryreasonWCI-basedforecastsperform better than the reforecasts is due to the reduction in the overconfidence of the reforecasts. Since the disaggregated climate forecasts are better dispersed than the reforecasts, combining them with reforecasts results in reduced uncertainty in predicting the 15-day-ahead accumulated precipitation.
Estimation of Surface Heat Flux

Abstract The authors reconsider the problem of estimating the sensible heat transfer at the earth's surface from direct measurements of turbulent fluxes in the atmospheric boundary layer. For simplicity, only horizontally homogeneous conditions are considered for a thin atmospheric layer containing no liquid water, adjacent to the earth's ground surface. Applying the first law of thermodynamics to the thin interfacial layer, an expression is obtained for thermal conduction at the surface in terms of the traditionally defined sensible heat flux by turbulence and a set of correction terms including the so-called moisture correction term. A scale analysis is presented to suggest that the magnitudes of the miscellaneous correction terms are usually negligible. Previous literature on estimation of the sensible heat flux is critically reviewed in light of the new result.
Anti-N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis Presenting With Features of Kleine-Levin Syndrome and Demyelination.

Received September 14, 2015; revised November 5, 2015; accepted November 5, 2015. From Department of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, Duke University, Durham, NC (JF, XP); Department of Neurology, Duke University, Durham, NC (CL, GB); Department of Neuroradiology, Duke University, Durham, NC (PGK). Send correspondence and reprint requests to Jacob Feigal, M.D., Departments of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, Duke University Hospital, 2301 Erwin Rd, Durham, NC 27707; e-mail: jacob.feigal@duke.edu & 2016TheAcademy of PsychosomaticMedicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction
Biological significance of manganese in mammalian systems.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses biological significance of manganese in mammalian systems. For manganese in mammalian systems, more information is now available on the sites of action and interaction at the molecular and cellular levels, due to an explosion of new findings within the past decade. Although, this has produced more viable hypotheses, manganese exhibits such a multiplicity and complexity of action that no single, unifying concept or model is likely to emerge. First, it is important to distinguish conceptually between ‘manganese activated (or inhibited)’ and ‘manganese containing’ enzyme systems—the latter being in the minority, with arginase and manganese superoxide dismutase being the best known examples. Manganese-activated systems are the general rule, typically having tight, rapidly reversible, manganese-specific sites involved with either catalytic or regulatory function. The limited number of redox enzymes reported to involve Mn(II) or Mn(III) directly in catalysis include catalase, a peroxidase, a hydroxylase, and manganese superoxide dismutase, all of which utilize one-electron redox reactions.
Biomass Gasification in a Pilot-Scale Gasifier

A study of the gasification of corn kernels has been performed on an experimental, pilot-scale (50–100 lbs/hour) gasification unit. Analysis was made on the performance of the gasifier in terms of producer gas generation and composition, char production and process mass balance. In these experiments corn kernels was used so that the shapes and sized of the materials did not influence the results. Experiments were conducted with varying temperature of fuel bed. For each experimental condition, the permanent gas composition was measured continuously by gas chromatography (GC). Tar was collected according to CEN Standard. Bio-char were weighted for mass balance. The results from the study indicate that there were differences between various operational parameters in terms of producer gas concentration and char percentage.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Radio Adaptations of Robin Hood's Legend During the Golden Age of Radio

During radio's reign on the airwaves, classics and legends were sources for radio plays written for a wide audience. Scriptwriters realized radio's cultural importance and culled classics for material that pushed their conception of “high” culture but still satisfied a wide audience. Radio plays were adapted from William Shakespeare's plays, Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, and Robin Hood's legend. This study covers radio adaptations of Robin Hood broadcast between the 1930s and 1970s: Popeye (1939); Buster Brown (1948); Family Theater (1949); the children's theater program Let's Pretend (1954), Escape (1952), Gunsmoke (1955); and Crisis (1975).
Wrinkled bilayer graphene with wafer scale mechanical strain

Wafer-scale strained bilayer graphene is demonstrated by employing a silicon nitride (Si3N4) stressor layer. Different magnitudes of compressive stress up to 840 MPa were engineered by adjusting the Si3N4 deposition recipes, and different strain conditions were analyzed using Raman spectroscopy. The strained graphene displayed significant G peak shifts and G peak splitting with 16.2 cm−1 and 23.0 cm−1 of the G band and two-dimensional band shift, which corresponds to 0.26% of strain. Raman mapping of large regions of the graphene films found that the largest shifts/splitting occurred near the bilayer regions of the graphene films. The significance of our approach lies in the fact that it can be performed in a conventional microfabrication process, i.e., the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system, and thus easily implemented for large scale production.