cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pathogenesis of venous thrombosis: a new insight

Venous thrombosis and thrombophlebitis have long been observed to result in painful inflammation around the affected veins. The full extent of the synergistic interaction between thrombosis and the inflammatory response and how this leads to the later sequelae of chronic venous insufficiency is only now beginning to be understood. Venous thrombosis is known directly to elicit an inflammatory response in the thrombus and vein wall. Leukocytes including neutrophils and monocytes roll, adhere, activate and extravasate into the vein wall based on a vein wall cytokine/chemokine gradient producing an inflammatory response. Such a response leads to amplification of thrombus formation through mechanisms such as the elaboration of tissue factor on the surface of monocytes and the release of cathespin G from activated neutrophils (distrupting the endothelial cell barrier), exposing the thrombogenic subendothelial vein wall collagen. Selectins such as P-selectin and the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor appear important in this vein wall response. Inhibition of inflammation before the initiation of the thrombotic event may decrease the detrimental vein wall changes that contribute to vein wall and vein valve damage and thrombus formation.
Chlorination of 1H-pyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridin-4,6(5H,7H)dione (3,7-dideazaxanthine) and its 5-methyl derivative

The chlorination of 1H-pyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridin-4,6(5H, 7H)dione (3,7-dideazaxanthine) (2) and 5-methyl-1H-pyrrolo[3,2-c] pyridin4,6(5H,7H)dione (1 -methyl-3,7-dideazaxanthine) (3) with phenylphosphonic dichloride has yielded 4,6-dichloro-1H-pyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridine (2,6-dichloro-3,7-dideazapurine) (1). A mechanism for the demethylation of the 5-methyl derivative under these conditions is proposed. Ammonolysis of 4,6-dichloro-1H-pyrrolo[3,2-c] pyridine was unsuccessful while catalytic reduction of this dichloro derivative produced 1H-pyrrolo[3,2-c]-pyridine (4).
A general theory of turbulent fragmentation

We develop an analytic framework to understand fragmentation in turbulent, self-gravitating media. In previous work, we showed how some properties of turbulence can be predicted by application of the excursion-set formalism. Here, we generalize this to understand fully time-dependent gravo-turbulent fragmentation and collapse. We show that turbulent systems are always gravitationally unstable in a probabilistic sense. The fragmentation mass spectrum, size–mass–density–linewidth relations of collapsing objects, their correlation functions and clustering, the range of spatial scales over which fragmentation occurs, and the time-dependent rate of collapse/fragmentation (as a function of size/mass) are analytically predictable. We show how these depend on bulk properties of turbulence; fragmentation is promoted at higher Mach numbers and shallower power spectra. We also generalize the model to properly include rotation, complicated gas equations of state, collapsing/expanding backgrounds, magnetic fields, intermittency and non-normal statistics (with inherently correlated fluctuations). This allows us to formally derive how fragmentation is suppressed with ‘stiffer’ equations of state (e.g. higher polytropic index γ) or differently driven turbulence (solenoidal versus compressive). The suppression appears at an ‘effective sonic scale’ where $b\cal {M}(R_{\rm s},\,\rho _{\rm crit}[R_{\rm s}])\approx 1$ , with ρ crit being the (scale-dependent) critical density for fragmentation. Gas becomes stable against collapse below this scale for γ > 4/3; however, fragmentation still occurs on larger scales. We show that the scale-free nature of turbulence and gravity generically drives mass spectra and correlation functions towards universal shapes (observed in a wide variety of astrophysical phenomena), with weak residual dependence on many properties of the media. We find that correlated fluctuations on different scales, non-Gaussian density distributions and intermittency have surprisingly small effects on the fragmentation process. We demonstrate that this is because fragmentation cascades on small scales are generically ‘frozen in’ when large-scale fluctuations push the ‘parent’ region above the collapse threshold; though they collapse, their statistics are only weakly modified by the collapse process. Finally, with thermal or turbulent support, structure develops ‘top-down’ in time via a fragmentation cascade, but we show that significant rotational/angular momentum support reverses the sense of structure formation to ‘bottom-up’ growth via mergers of bound clumps, and introduces a characteristic ‘maximal instability scale’ distinct from the Toomre scale.
On the ferroelectric nature of the cubic-rhombohedral phase transition in Pb1−xGexTe

Abstract Capacitance measurements at various fixed d.c. biases as a function of temperature are presented for junction diodes fabricated from alloys of Pb1−xGex with x=0.03, x=0.45 and x=0.06. Strong capacitance maxima at the temperatures associated with a cubic-rhombohedral phase transition are observed. These peaks are the first reported direct evidence for the ferroelectric nature of the crystalline phase transition in the PbTe based alloys.
Ranking Attack-Prone Components with a Predictive Model

Limited resources preclude software engineers from finding and fixing all vulnerabilities in a software system. An early security risk analysis that ranks software components by probability of being attacked can provide an affordable means to prioritizing fortification efforts to the highest risk components. We created a predictive model using classification and regression trees and the following internal metrics: quantity of Klocwork static analysis warnings, file coupling, and quantity of changed and added lines of code. We validated the model against pre-release security testing failures on a large commercial telecommunications system. The model assigned a probability of attack to each file where upon ranking the probabilities in descending order we found that 72% of the attack-prone files are in the top 10% of the ranked files and 90% in the top 20% of the files.
Interpreting developmental changes in neuroimaging signals

The imaging of developmental changes in brain function is challenging, but great strides have been made in addressing many of the conceptual issues that this work raises. I highlight a set of issues that remain to be addressed in this literature. First, I argue that the appeal to developmental neurobiology is often misplaced, as it focuses on neurodevelopmental processes that are mostly completed by the age at which neuroimaging studies can be performed. Second, I argue that the concept of “normative” development needs to be reexamined, as it reflects fundamental value judgments about brain development that seem inappropriate for scientific investigation. Third, I examine the ways in which developmental changes are often interpreted, arguing that common interpretations, including the concepts of “efficiency” and “focalization” may be less useful than commonly supposed. To put developmental neuroimaging on stronger footing, we need to develop stronger connections between computational and neurobiological accounts of developmental changes. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Synthesis of nanoporous nickel thin films from various precursors

Multiple approaches to fabricate nanoporous nickel (np-Ni) thin films from NiCu, NiAl, NiFe and NiMg precursors are presented. Deposition of precursor films, dealloying and characterization of the nanoporous films by electron microscopy are discussed. All precursor alloys can yield np-Ni. However, dealloying of NiMg precursor films yields the most consistent, open-porosity structure with a ligament size of 7 nm, comparable to that of Raney nickel.
ASSOCIATION OF POSTMEDICATION HYPOCORTISOLISM WITH EARLY FIRST RELAPSE OF IDIOPATHIC NEPHROTIC SYNDROME

A 2-hour adrenocorticotrophic-hormone (A.C.T.H.) test was given to 23 children in their first attack of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome, after treatment with prednisone according to the schedule of the International Study of Kidney Disease in Children. The length of the first remission was correlated with the response to the postmedication A.C.T.H. test. In 11 children this response was subnormal, and 10 of them had the first relapse within a year. Of the 7 children who stayed in remission for more than a year, 6 had normal responses. The treatment scheme should be adjusted to prevent postmedication adrenocortical suppression.
Protection of Bcl-2 by salubrinal

The drug salubrinal has been identified as an inhibitor of phosphatases that act on the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 subunit (eIF2α). The resulting maintenance of protein phosphorylation results in enhanced protection from the adverse effects of initiators of the unfolded protein response. We found that salubrinal can also interact with the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, inhibiting binding of the non-peptidic antagonist HA14-1 and of a porphycene that can catalyze Bcl-2 photodamage. As a result, salubrinal offers protection from the apoptotic and autophagic effects that can result from loss of Bcl-2 function.
Phase Behavior Studies of Two Model Surfactant Systems

Phase behavior studies were carried out for two systems containing pure surfactants but exhibiting behavior similar to that of commercial petroleum sulfonates. One system contained the isomerically pure surfactant sodium-8-phenyl-n-hexadecyl-n-sulfonate (Texas 1). The other contained sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Additional components used in both systems were various pure short-chain alcohols, NaCl brine and n-decane. The middle microemulsion phase was found to be oil continuous close to the upper phase boundary and water continuous close to the lower phase boundary. Both the Texas 1 and SDS systems showed similar behavior in that the middle microemulsion phase was observed over the entire range of surfactant concentrations studied. 26 refs.
The Presence and Formation of 5α-Dihydrotestosterone in Rat Testes in Vivo and in Vitro1

5α—Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) was extracted, separated and identified from testes of mature rats. When teased preparations of testicular tissue, levator ani or thigh muscle were incubated with 3H—testosterone (T) and an NADPH generating system, 3H—DHT could be detected. Teased testicular tissue produced more 3H—DHT from 3H—T than homogenized tissue and the rates of this conversion in teased testicular tissue were the same in incubations carried out at 33 C or at 37 C. Testes of immature rats formed larger quantities of 3H—DHT and other 5a—reduced metabolites of 3H—T than testes of mature animals. FSH tended to stimulate testicular production of 3H-DHT from 3H—T only when administered to the rats prior to removal of the testes. Testes from rats injected with hCG formed less 3H—DHT from 3H—T than testes from control animals. This effect was also observed when hCG was added to the incubation medium. LH (ICSH) did not have an effect on synthesis of DHT from T at the doses tested. When testicular tissue was inc...
Protein kinase C activation stimulates the phosphorylation and internalization of the sst2A somatostatin receptor.

Abstract The sst2A receptor is expressed in the endocrine, gastrointestinal, and neuronal systems as well as in many hormone-sensitive tumors. This receptor is rapidly internalized and phosphorylated in growth hormone-R2 pituitary cells following somatostatin binding (Hipkin, R. W., Friedman, J., Clark, R. B., Eppler, C. M., and Schonbrunn, A. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 13869–13876). The protein kinase C (PKC) activator, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), also stimulates sst2A phosphorylation. Here we examine the mechanisms and consequences of PMA and agonist-induced sst2A phosphorylation. Like somatostatin, both PMA and bombesin increased sst2A receptor phosphorylation within 2 min. The PKC inhibitor GF109203X blocked PMA- and bombesin- stimulated sst2A phosphorylation, whereas stimulation by the somatostatin analog SMS 201–995 was unaffected. Agonist and PMA each stimulated phosphorylation in two receptor domains, the third intracellular loop and the C-terminal tail. Functionally, PMA dramatically increased the internalization of the sst2A receptor-ligand complex. This PMA stimulation was blocked by GF109203X, whereas basal internalization was unaffected. However, neither basal nor PMA-stimulated internalization was altered by pertussis toxin, whereas both were blocked by hypertonic sucrose. Therefore PKC activation and agonist binding stimulate sst2A phosphorylation by distinct mechanisms, and PKC potentiates internalization of the sst2A receptor via clathrin-coated pits. Thus, hormonal stimulation of PKC-coupled receptors may provide a mechanism for regulating the inhibitory actions of somatostatin in target tissue.
High frequency dual-mode thermal-piezoresistive oscillators

This work presents high frequency fully-micromechanical self-sustained oscillators. It has previously been demonstrated that interactions between mechanical strain and thermally generated actuation forces in micromechanical structures through the piezoresistive effect, can result in a positive feedback loop leading to self-sustained oscillation without the need for an electronic amplifier. In our previous work we demonstrated self-sustained oscillation of single-crystalline silicon dual-plate structures with frequencies up to 6.7MHz [1]. This work demonstrates higher frequency thermal-piezoresistive self-sustained oscillators with frequencies up to 36MHz using I3-shaped resonant structures. Due to the highly nonlinear (mixed flexural-extensional) deformation of actuator/piezoresistors in such structures, they can provide two dominant output frequency harmonics. The dominant harmonic can be selected by changing the resonator bias current.
On the Nature of Capital

The knowledge of ways and means is a communal product, 517.—Access to the common stock of technological knowledge is necessary to the production of a livelihood, 524.—With the advance of the industrial arts the possession of material equipment has become a requisite to the effective use of this common stock of knowledge and skill, 527.—Hence the great advantage of owning capital goods, 530; and hence the dominant position of the owner-employer in modern economic life, 535.—Summary conclusion, 541.
Characterization of the one-micron beam profile at the interface between the one-micron laser and the UV generation and transport subsystem

The near field irradiance parameters at the interface between the one micron laser, the UV generation, and transport subsystem will be discussed. The test results obtained from the Beamlet and Nova lasers used to validate the mathematical models will be presented.
Eyebrowse: real-time web activity sharing and visualization

In this paper, we explore the potential for letting users automatically track and selectively publish their web browsing activities in real time on the Web. We developed a system, Eyebrowse, with three goals: first, to provide a means for individuals to better understand how they spend time on the web through visualizations and statistics; secondly, to foster social discovery and awareness through real-time web activity sharing; and finally, to build a large public corpus of web browsing trails using this method. We gathered user impressions of Eyebrowse, including perceived usefulness, feelings of self-exposure, and privacy concerns, for ascertaining ways to improve the system.
Long term testing for dropwise condensation using self-assembled monolayer coatings of n-octadecyl mercaptan

Two different types of hydrophobic coatings have been analyzed experimentally for their ability to promote dropwise condensation (DWC). For any technique used for promoting dropwise condensation, the longevity of the coating is critical if it is to be used in any further applications. Previous studies using self-assembled monolayers of n-octadecyl mercaptan have not reported any information on the ability for promoting DWC beyond 500 h of experimentation. In the current research experiments were carried out using self-assembled monolayers for more than 2600 h of experimentation and it showed good dropwise phenomena. Stearic acid solution (SAM-1) and n-octadecyl mercaptan solution (SAM-2) were used to form an ultra-thin organic hydrophobic film on the surface. An oxide layer was initially formed on the substrate surface before coating the surface with monolayers. The oxide layer formed on the substrate surface tends to improve the bonding between the substrate and the monolayers which eventually improves the longevity of the coating. In general, a SAM system with a long-chain, hydrophobic group is nano-resistant, meaning that such a system forms a protective hydrophobic layer with negligible heat transfer resistance but a much stronger bond. When compared to complete filmwise condensation, the SAM-2 (n-octadecyl mercaptan) coating increased the condensation heat transfer coefficient by a factor of approximately 3 after 100 h of experimentation and by a factor of approximately 1.8 after 2600 h of experimentation for copper alloy surfaces, under vacuum condition (33.86 kPa). Lifetime of maintaining dropwise condensation is greatly dependent on the bonding of SAM coating to the condensing surface, form the experimental investigation it was evident that n-octadecyl mercaptan showed good DWC due to its covalent bonding with the substrate surface when compared to that of stearic acid which is bonded to the substrate surface by hydrogen bonding. Contact angles were measured for all the SAM coated surfaces before and after experimentation, respectively.
Melatonin improves sleep in children with epilepsy: a randomized, double-blind, crossover study

Abstract Objective Insomnia, especially maintenance insomnia, is widely prevalent in epilepsy. Although melatonin is commonly used, limited data address its efficacy. We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study to identify the effects of melatonin on sleep and seizure control in children with epilepsy. Methods Eleven prepubertal, developmentally normal children aged 6–11 years with epilepsy were randomized by a software algorithm to receive placebo or a 9-mg sustained release (SR) melatonin formulation for four weeks, followed by a one-week washout and a four-week crossover condition. The pharmacy performed blinding; patients, parents, and study staff other than a statistician were blinded. The primary outcomes were sleep onset latency and wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO) measured on polysomnography. The secondary outcomes included seizure frequency, epileptiform spike density per hour of sleep on electroencephalogram (EEG), and reaction time (RT) measures on psychomotor vigilance task (PVT). Statistical tests appropriate for crossover designs were used for the analysis. Results Data were analyzed from 10 subjects who completed the study. Melatonin decreased sleep latency (mean difference, MD, of 11.4 min and p = 0.02) and WASO (MD of 22 min and p = 0.04) as compared to placebo. No worsening of spike density or seizure frequency was seen. Additionally, slow-wave sleep duration and rapid eye movement (REM) latency were increased with melatonin and REM sleep duration was decreased. These changes were statistically significant. Worsening of headache was noted in one subject with migraine on melatonin. Conclusion SR melatonin resulted in statistically significant decreases in sleep latency and WASO. No clear effects on seizures were observed, but the study was too small to allow any conclusions to be drawn in this regard.
The effect of smoking on the response to periodontal therapy

Abstract This study evaluated the effect of smoking on the clinical response to non-surgical and surgical periodontal therapy. 74 adult subjects with moderate to advanced periodontitis were treated according to a split-mouth design involving the following treatment modalities: coronal scaling, root planing, modified Widman surgery, and flap with osseous resectional surgery. Clinical parameters assessed included probing depth, probing attachment level, horizontal attachment level in furcation sites, recession, presence of supragingival plaque and bleeding on probing. Data were collected: initially, 4 weeks following phase-I therapy, 10 weeks following phase-II therapy and on a yearly basis during 6 years of maintenance care. Data analysis demonstrated that smokers exhibited significantly less reduction of probing depth and less gain of probing attachment level when compared to non-smokers immediately following active therapy and during each of the 6 years of maintenance (p< 0.05). A greater loss of horizontal attachment level was evident in smokers at each yearly exam during maintenance therapy (p < 0.05). There were no differences between groups in recession changes. In general, these findings were true for the outcomes following all 4 modalities of therapy and were most pronounced in the deepest probing depth category (≥ 7 mm). Statistical analysis showed a tendency for smokers to have slightly more supragingival plaque and bleeding on probing. In summary, smokers responded less favorably than non-smokers to periodontal therapy which included 3-month maintenance follow-up.
Potentiation of phagocytosis of Bacteroides fragilis following incubation with clindamycin

We studied the effect of clindamycin on phagocytosis of Bacteroides fragilis (MIC = 0.05 mg/l). In the in-vitro test system phagocytosis of Bact. fragilis was less than 11% for the first 30 min of incubation. At 60 min, 25-50% of Bact. fragilis were phagocytosed. At 90 min, phagocytosis increased to 60% of the bacterial inoculum and did not increase thereafter. When clindamycin (0.02 mg/l) was incubated with neutrophils for 2 h prior to exposure to bacteria, there was no increase in phagocytosis. When clindamycin (0.02 mg/l) was incubated with bacteria for 2 h before exposure to neutrophils, phagocytosis increased to 23.1 +/- 5.9 (S.D.) per cent at 30 min compared to 1.1 +/- 15.1% (P less than 0.05) for bacteria not exposed to clindamycin. There was no difference in phagocytosis between the two groups at 60 and 90 min. One-fifth the MIC (0.01 mg/l) but not 0.004 mg/l also led to increased phagocytosis at 30 min but not at 60 min if previously incubated with clindamycin. Thus, clindamycin potentiates phagocytosis of Bact. fragilis. It can act directly on bacteria and promote phagocytosis, although the clinical importance of this last mode of action is not currently known.
Chandra Observations of the X-Ray Point Source Population in Centaurus A

We present results from two Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of the X-ray point source population in the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A (NGC 5128). Using a wavelet decomposition detection algorithm, we detect 246 individual point sources above a limiting luminosity of ~2 × 1036 ergs s-1, 82 of which are detected in both data sets where the fields of view overlap. Thirty-eight sources were detected in only one observation but were within the field of view of both pointings, implying considerable variability. We identify eight foreground stars in our observations. We also identify nine of the sources with known globular clusters in Centaurus A. All previously observed ROSAT sources within our field of view are detected. The number of luminous (Lx > 1037 ergs s-1) X-ray binaries per unit optical luminosity in Cen A is roughly consistent with that observed for the M31 bulge. There are approximately 50% more X-ray binaries per unit optical luminosity in Centaurus A than in the whole of M31, however. We find considerably fewer luminous X-ray binaries per unit optical luminosity in Cen A than in two other elliptical galaxies, M84 and NGC 4697, recently observed by Chandra. This result directly confirms the variance in the X-ray binary population with host galaxy optical luminosity previously inferred from spectral analysis of ROSAT and ASCA observations of elliptical galaxies.
A new approach to atomic level characterization of grain boundaries by atom probe tomography

A novel atom probe tomography (APT) method has been developed that enables a full description of the orientation relationship between individual grains to be determined together with estimates of the extents of solute segregation for all elements over the surface of the grain boundary with 1 nm by 1 nm spatial resolution. This approach also enables variations in the solute excess for the elements with the habit plane and curvature of the grain boundary to be evaluated. The method has been applied to a mechanically-alloyed nanostructured ferritic alloy (NFA) after high dose heavy ion irradiation. The innovative high-resolution two-dimensional mapping of the solute segregation across the surface of grain boundaries in the NFA clearly demonstrates that the distributions of chromium and tungsten are not uniform across the grain boundaries, and the distributions correlate with changes in its local curvature and the position of the grain boundary precipitates. These features pin the grain boundary against grain growth and provide the stability for excellent creep properties.
Civil politics in the animal rights conflict: god terms versus casuistry in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Many public debates become polarized, degenerating into a pattern of mutual suspicion and name-calling that preclude communication or compromise. The debate over animal research has typically followed this path. To understand how polarization might be avoided, we examine the factors that helped prevent it in one local controversy: Cambridge, Massachusetts in the late 1980s. These factors include the personal style of the leader of the main animal protection group, the financing for the group, the group's ability to win a symbolic victory in the form of a relatively toothless city ordinance, and, especially, the relative avoidance by both sides of rigid ideological posturing in favor of "casuistic" argumentation about specific cases and policies.
State Science- and Technology-Based Economic Development Policy: History, Trends and Developments, and Future Directions

This article examines the history of state science- and technology-based economic development efforts since the late 1960s, identifying trends and developments, current emphases, and future directions. State programs have gone through three periods of evolution in design and focus; each of these is described. Overall, the legacies of state technology-based economic development since World War II have had considerable impact on the overall practice of state economic development, including changes in the areas of finance, real estate, entrepreneurship, and talent, and in the role of higher education. These legacies are described, and implications for future state directions in state science- and technology-based development are examined.
Fractures of the odontoid process of the axis.

Odontoid fractures were classified into three types, and, in a series of forty-nine fractures, two avulsion, thirty-two body, and fifteen basilar fractures were treated and followed for an average of twenty-two months (range, six months to nineteen years). Body fractures are most prone to non-union and surgery (spine fusion) is commonly required in this group.
Dissociative Chemisorption at Hyperthermal Energies: Benchmark Studies in Group IV Systems

A photolytic source of H atoms is used to probe abstraction and adsorption reactions on the D/Si(100) monodeuteride surface. Surface H and D coverages are determined for H atom exposures, with incident average kinetic energies of 1.0 and 2.8 eV. the D atom depletion probability per incident H atom is 0.3±0.2 for both kinetic energies, and is likely due to abstraction. these results, together with previous studies, indicate that the rates of depletion of surface D and the uptake of H are nominally independent of H atom kinetic energy over the range of about 0.3 to nearly 3 eV.
Provably complete hardware trojan detection using test point insertion

This paper proposes a novel minimal test point insertion methodology that provisions a provably complete detection of hardware Trojans by noninvasive timing characterization. The objective of test point insertion is to break the reconvergent paths so that target routes for Trojan delay testing are specifically observed. We create a satisfiability-based input vector selection for sensitizing and characterizing each single timing path. Evaluations on benchmark circuits demonstrate that the test point-based Trojan detection can cover all circuit locations and can detect Trojans accurately with less than 5% performance overhead.
The construction and operation of a low-cost poultry waste digester.

A simple and low-cost poultry waste digester (PWD) was constructed to treat the waste from 4000 caged laying hens on University Research Unit No. 2 at North Carolina State University. The system was built basically of a plastic lining with insulation, a heating system, a hot-water tank, and other metering equipment. It was operated at 50/sup 0/C and pH 7.5-8.0. The initiation of methane production was achieved using the indigenous microflora in the poultry waste. At an optimal loading rate (7.5 kg volatile solids/m/sup 3/ day), the PWD produced biogas (55% methane) at a rate of 4.0 m/sup 3//m/sup 3/ day. The PWD was biologically stable and able to tolerate temporary overloads and shutdowns. A higher loading rate failed to maintain a high gas production rate and caused drops in methane content and pH value. Under optimal conditions, a positive energy balance was demonstrated with a net surplus of 50.6% of the gross energy. For methane production, the PWD system was proved to be technically feasible. The simple design and inexpensive materials used for this model could significantly reduce the cost of digestion compared to more conventional systems. More studies are needed to determine the durability, the required maintenance ofmore » the system, and the most economical method of biogas and solid residue utilization.« less
Problemas laborales asociados al consumo de alcohol

Los problemas derivados del consumo de alcohol en la poblacion trabajadora son muy importantes. Estudios realizados en numerosos paises demuestran que mas del 70% de los consumidores de drogas y alcohol trabajan. La poblacion mas bebedora es la masculina, de edad comprendida entre los 25 y los 44 anos. La prevalencia del consumo de alcohol en la poblacion trabajadora supera a la de la poblacion general. En Espana, alrededor de un 24% de los trabajadores consume una cantidad de alcohol que es considerada de riesgo potencial para la salud fisica. Desde los servicios de salud laboral se atribuye a las drogas (alcohol) muchos efectos negativos entre los que destaca, el mayor absentismo, incremento de las bajas laborales, mayor accidentabilidad (en nuestro pais, alrededor del 25% de los accidentes laborales tienen como causa basica el alcohol), disminucion del rendimiento y mayor conflictividad (entre el 15-40% de sanciones disciplinarias se relacionan con el consumo de alcohol). Los servicios de Salud Laboral son, junto a la Atencion Primaria, el eje basico para la prevencion de los problemas relacionados con el alcohol. En todas las empresas deberian existir “Programas de Ayuda al Empleado” (PAE), llevados a cabo generalmente, por profesionales externos y coordinados con los servicios medicos de la compania y cuyo objetivo es la pronta identificacion y resolucion de problemas que pueden interferir en la vida personal y/o laboral de los empleados y familiares manteniendo la maxima confidencialidad.
Teaching Parenting Skills

Many types of child therapy provide direct psychological services to the child (e.g., play therapy). These child-directed therapies typically evaluate child outcome based on parent report of child behavior change (e.g., child appears happier, child less angry) or parental satisfaction (i.e., parent believes child getting the help child needs). Parent report, however, is biased in a positive direction for child outcome regardless of the type of therapy/ treatment utilized (Patterson & Narrett, 1990). Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate child therapy based not only on parent report, but also on actual child behavior change. Most current forms of psychotherapy for children, however, do not have empirical support demonstrating actual child behavior outcomes (Patterson & Narrett, 1990).
High-Density GeneChip Oligonucleotide Probe Arrays

High-density DNA probe arrays provide a highly parallel approach to nucleic acid sequence analysis that is transforming gene-based biomedical research. Photolithographic DNA synthesis has enabled the large-scale production of GeneChip probe arrays containing hundreds of thousands of oligonucleotide sequences on a glass “chip” about 1.5 cm2 in size. The manufacturing process integrates solid-phase photochemical oligonucleotide synthesis with lithographic techniques similar to those used in the microelectronics industry. Due to their very high information content, GeneChip probe arrays are finding widespread use in the hybridization-based detection and analysis of mutations and polymorphisms (“genotyping”), and in a wide range of gene expression studies.
Diagnostic Assessment of Adult Hydrocephalus Log compared to standard normal pressure hydrocephalus diagnostic tools

Median age at presentation was 76 (71-80) years old. TUG (p 0.05). LP log improvement was associated with surgical indication OR: 24.5 95%CI (2.4248.12) (p=0.007). Conclusions LP log showed a higher sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy detecting clinical differences in NPH than the current diagnostic approach. Our next step is to conduct a cross-validation analysis of the diagnostic and prognostic accuracy of this new tool.
Group-mean-centering independent variables in multi-level models is dangerous

Group-mean centering of independent variables in multi-level models is widely practiced and widely recommended. For example, in cross-national studies of educational performance, family background is scored as a deviation from the country mean for student’s family background. We argue that this is usually a serious mis-specification, introducing bias and random measurement error with all their attendant vices. We examine five diverse examples of “real world” analyses using large, high quality datasets on topics of broad interest in the social sciences. In all of them, consistent with much (but not all) of the technical literature, group-mean centering substantially distorts results. Moreover the distortions are large, substantively important differences pointing towards seriously incorrect interpretations of important social processes. We therefore recommend that group-mean centering be abandoned.
On the conditional in-control ARL of a CUSUM statistic

Reference samples are frequently used to estimate in-control parameters, which are then used as the true in-control parameters during the monitoring phase of Statistical Process Control SPC applications. The SPC literature has recognized that even small errors in parameter estimates determined from reference samples can have a large impact on the conditional given the values of the estimated parameters in-control average run length. However, there is little quantitative guidance on how large the reference sample should be to minimize this impact. In this paper, under the context of a recently developed Cumulative Sum CUSUM designed to detect translations in exponential distributions, a reference sample size formula for controlling relative error of the conditional in-control average run length is derived. The result in this paper is a stepping stone for reference sample size formulas in more general settings. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Linear conjugate semi-blind multiuser detection based on subspace and LMS

Based on the adaptive least mean square(LMS) implementation of the minimum output energy(MOE) blind multiuser detection(LMS-MOE),a linear conjugate semi-blind multiuser detection algorithm based on subspace tracking and LMS is proposed for multicarrier CDMA(MC-CDMA) uplink.The spreading sequences of all known users within the cell and the information contained in the pseudoautocorrelation matrix of the observables are exploited to improve the performance of the system.To reduce the computational complexity,the modified projection approximation subspace tracking with deflation(PASTd) algorithm is adopted to obtain the signal subspace by avoiding the eigen-decomposition.Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed algorithm.
Evaluation of Risks in Complex Problems

Major investment projects are essential for companies and governments to develop new products and services to maintain the growth of the company or the viability of the government agency. Early in an investment’s life cycle, the identification and evaluation of risk is a critical project management task that will have a direct impact on the future success of the project. In fact, the key to successful project management of high technology projects is the identification, evaluation and management of risks. Unfortunately, decisions have to be made with little information in the front-end decision-making phase of major investment projects. This chapter focuses on the process of developing and assuring the quality of the risk evaluation in the early-stage concept development for major projects. Several qualitative and quantitative risk analysis techniques are surveyed. A complex investment project, a large data centre design and location decision is used to illustrate some of the risk techniques.
Molecular Biomarkers for Patients with Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Validating Assays Predictive of Tumor Response

Tumor-specific markers, developed to select targeted therapies and to assess outcome in clinical trials and clinical practice, remain a significant unmet medical need for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. Currently, assessment of disease progression in these patients relies on the modest association between changes in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and imaging of distant metastases, however limited the specificity of either metric. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are shed into the peripheral circulation from both the primary tumor and metastatic sites. Because they retain the intrinsic properties of the tumor, distinct from extent of disease, they have the same potential prognostic and predictive value of sensitivity to targeted therapies. The development of assays to robustly measure molecular biomarkers for metastatic prostate cancer within CTCs, which can be correlated to tissue markers, is necessary before clinical utility can be tested. Pathologic analysis of individual metastatic sites is limited by the difficulty of obtaining metastatic tissue, the lack of validated assays, the heterogeneity of the disease itself, and the lack of standards for recording and interpreting the results. This vignette focuses on the effort to qualify molecular biomarkers in CTCs from patients with prostate cancer.
Heat flux estimates of power balance on Proto-MPEX with IR imaging

The Prototype Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (Proto-MPEX) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a precursor linear plasma device to the Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX), which will study plasma material interactions (PMIs) for future fusion reactors. This paper will discuss the initial steps performed towards completing a power balance on Proto-MPEX to quantify where energy is lost from the plasma, including the relevant diagnostic package implemented. Machine operating parameters that will improve Proto-MPEX’s performance may be identified, increasing its PMI research capabilities.
Sartre and the Lived Body: Negation, Non-Positional Self-Awareness and Hodological Space

Sartre’s analysis of negation covers a number of complex phenomena and lies at the heart of his ontology. Crucially important, the choice of term is typically Sartrean: dramatic and insightful, but sometimes obscure. Moreover, the difficulty of trying to understand what is meant by ‘negation’ is compounded by the fact that it is closely tied in with what is said about nothingness. In fact, it seems to me that this double-barrelled negativity often gets commentators off on the wrong foot when they try to explain his idea. So, for instance, one writer notes that negation allows us to experience absence in a uniquely human fashion as lack or failure. Indeed, ‘it is because men are capable of being separated from the world that they are capable of having a language. The nature of the for-itself is such that it brings nothingness and hence negation and all that follows from it into the world.’1 Besides making a major assumption about the genesis of language, we are not told what precisely is meant by nothingness and why negation follows from it. In addition, it is never established that negation is, ontologically, first and foremost a manifestation of lack. And even if this were true, what is the precise mechanism that allows consciousness to experience lack as such? This question too is never answered.
Dialectic: Antiquity to the Renaissance

Dialectic properly begins with Zeno, its founder or inventor, who used an indirect form of argument to defend his master Parmenides’ paradoxical thesis of the immobility of the real against the Pythagoreans’ pluralism. Zeno maintained the impossibility of kinesis not by arguing in favour of his theory but by showing its contraries, change and motion, to be absurd or illusory. Such argumentum (or reductio) ad impossibile or ad absurdum was later analysed and otherwise commented upon in various places by Aristotle.1 Stated simply, as Aristotle did in the Prior Analytics, arguments per impossibile ‘infer syllogistically what is false, and prove the original conclusion [one’s own thesis] hypothetically when something impossible results from the assumption of its contradictory’ (41a23–6); or, as a modern logician laconically explains, it is a last resort in argument, consisting ‘in assuming the contradictory of what is to be proved and then looking for trouble’.2 Zeno’s method had an influence on Socrates in his deduction of contrary conclusions from the same hypothesis and in turn upon Plato, whose Parmenides (135d–136c) advises Socrates to practise this kind of argument. It influenced Gorgias’s proofs of philosophical nihilism in both substance and form, Protagoras’s view that contradictory conclusions could be constructed for every question, Euclid’s question-answer method characteristic of his school of dialecticians at Megara, and the antinomian arguments of the Dissoi Logoi, a late fifth-century Sophistic manual of theses with particular arguments pro and contra, to which Aristotle was probably referring, along with others like it now lost, at the conclusion of the Sophistical Elenchi.
Distributed energy storage sizing for microgrid applications

The integration of energy storage system (ESS) provides various benefits to microgrids such as mitigating renewable generation variability, reducing operation cost, and supporting frequency and voltage control. Two main factors that affect the ESS function in microgrids include the size and the number of the installed ESS units. This paper investigates these two factors and develops a new mathematical model to determine the optimal size and number of the integrated ESS units in a microgrid. The proposed model is further used to perform a comparison between aggregated and distributed ESS configurations. The proposed problem is formulated using mixed integer linear programming (MILP) and solved with CPLEX. The viability and effectiveness of the proposed model are validated by numerical simulations.
Rhizobium Sp. 127E15 Mutants which are No Longer Salt Tolerant Form Ineffective or No Nodules on Legumes

Rhizobium sp. 127E15 induces effective nodules on lima bean, cowpea, mung bean, lupine, and partially effective nodules on pole bean. R. sp. 127E15 was mutagenized. Individual colonies were screened for altered ability to nodulate lima bean. Ten mutants were isolated after screening 1,300 colonies. All ten mutants could still nodulate lima bean, cowpea, and pole bean, but the nodules were ineffective. Three of the ten mutants could no longer nodulate lupine, and five could not nodulate mungbean. Biochemical characterizations revealed that eight of the ten mutants could no longer grow in a chemically defined medium with 55 mM α-ketoglutarate, succinate, fumarate, or malate as carbon source. The eight mutants grew as well as the wild-type when the concentration of the organic acids was 20 mM. Further studies showed that the inhibitory effect of high organic acid concentration is due to salinity of the medium. The eight mutants could not grow in 20 mM organic acid if 100 mM KC1 or NaCl was added to the medium. Six of the ten mutants were revertible. When legumes were inoculated with more than a billion cells of a mutant, few pink and acetylene- reducing nodules could be harvested.
Randomized pragmatic trial of nasogastric tube placement in patients with upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding.

The value of nasogastric (NG) tube placement in patients with upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding (UGIB) is unclear. We therefore aimed to determine the usefulness of NG tube placement in patients with UGIB. The study was a single-blind, randomized, prospective, non-inferiority study comparing NG placement (with aspiration and lavage) to no NG placement (control). The primary outcome was the probability that physicians could predict the presence of a high-risk lesion (ie, requiring endoscopic therapy). 140 patients in each arm were included; baseline clinical features were similar in each group. The probability that there would be a high-risk lesion in the control arm was predicted to be 35% compared with 39% in the NG arm (after NG placement)—a probability difference of −4% (95% CI −12% to 3%), which confirmed non-inferiority of the 2 arms (p=0.002). All patients underwent endoscopy and all patients with high-risk lesions had endoscopic therapy. Physicians predicted the specific culprit lesion in 38% (53/140) and 39% (55/140) of patients in the control and NG (after NG placement) groups, respectively. The presence of coffee grounds or red blood in the NG aspirate did not change physician assessments. Pain, nasal bleeding, or failure of NG occurred in 47/140 (34%) patients. There were no differences in rebleeding rates or mortality. In patients with acute UGIB, the ability of physicians to predict culprit bleeding lesions and/or the presence of high-risk lesions was poor. Routine NG placement did not improve physician9s predictive ability, did not affect outcomes, and was complicated in one-third of patients. Trail Registration Number: NCT00689754.
The effect of nano-additive reinforcements on thermoplastic microballoon epoxy syntactic foam mechanical properties:

Syntactic foams comprising glass microballoons have gained considerable attention over the past several years due to mechanical and thermal properties that are advantageous for use as a core material in naval and aerospace applications. Recent advancements in the production of thermoplastic microballoon syntactic foams have allowed for an increase in microballoon volume fraction (up to 0.9 volume fraction), with correspondingly lower densities but reduced mechanical properties. In this work, carbon nanofibers and halloysite nanotubes were incorporated in thermoplastic microballoon-based syntactic foam to enhance the mechanical properties and the relative effects of these two nanoscale reinforcements were compared. X-ray micro-computed tomography was employed to analyze the microstructure of the materials produced, and scanning electron microscopy was used to assess the dispersion of nano-additives within the resin. Compressive strength and modulus enhancements as large as 180% and 250% respectively were a...