cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perfluorocarbon compounds: applications in diagnostic imaging

Perfluorocarbon compounds (PFC's), well known in industry and of late as synthetic oxygen carriers, have a wide range of significant applications in diagnostic imaging. Their enhancement effect is detectable by ultrasound and magnetic resonance and if radiopaque, such as perfluoroctylbromide (PFOB), by standard radiography and computed tomography (CT). We have utilized PFOB as a CT contrast agent to enhance the blood pool, and as both a CT and an ultrasound contrast agent to enhance the liver, spleen, abscesses, infarctions, and tumors or any tissue where inflammatory cells can be found. PFC's, except for the echogenic enhancement of the vascular space on their first pass to the lung, do not enhance the blood pool on ultrasound. Otherwise, ultrasound applications are similar to those observed for CT. Fluosol, which was available for human trials, is not radiopaque and therefore served as an ultrasound contrast agent. In a preliminary clinical trial, Fluosol produced tumor enhancement in man at 1.6g/kg allowing the visualization of previously missed lesions and liver and spleen enhancement at 2.4g/kg allowing the visualization of previously missed non-enhancing lesions. Perfluorocarbon toxicity seems to be related to the constituents of the emulsion rather than the perfluorocarbon itself. Improvements in the emulsifier and emulsification technology has yielded stable emulsions at high concentrations and low toxicity.
End-systolic pressure-volume and MVO2-pressure-volume area relations of isolated rat hearts.

We tested the utility of a standard isolated, crystalloid-perfused, isovolumic rat heart preparation for studying ventricular metabolism in terms of the myocardial oxygen consumption-pressure-volum...
Range extension of Neoporus superioris (Balfour-Browne, 1944) (Insecta: Coleoptera) into Wyoming, USA

We report a new state record of Neoporus superioris (Balfour-Browne) from Crook County, Wyoming, USA. This new record represents the most southern extent of N. superioris known.
Coulomb excitation of /sup 113/,/sup 115/In

Eight states in $^{113}\mathrm{In}$ and eight states in $^{115}\mathrm{In}$ were observed to be Coulomb excited with $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-particle and $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ projectiles. Level energies, spins, $B(E2)$ and $B(M1)$ transition probabilities, and mean lives were obtained. The multiplet formed by $\ensuremath{\pi}g_{\frac{9}{2}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\ensuremath{\bigotimes}{2}_{1}^{+}(\mathrm{Sn})$ was found, and the data confirm the coupling strength to be strong. In addition, one extra ${\frac{5}{2}}^{+}$ and one extra ${\frac{9}{2}}^{+}$ level were seen in each nucleus, along with $E3$ Coulomb excitation of the ${\frac{3}{2}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ levels. A firm basis for spin-parity assignments was found for all levels observed with the exception of a 1630.5 keV, ${\frac{9}{2}}^{+}$ level in $^{113}\mathrm{In}$. Three of the states in $^{113}\mathrm{In}$ had not previously been observed in Coulomb excitation.NUCLEAR REACTIONS $^{113,115}\mathrm{In}(\ensuremath{\alpha},{\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\gamma})$ and $^{113,115}\mathrm{In}(^{16}\mathrm{O},^{16}\mathrm{O}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\gamma})$ MeV; $E(^{16}\mathrm{O})=42$ MeV; measured ${E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$, ${I}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$, ${I}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}(\ensuremath{\theta})$, Doppler broadening. $^{113,115}\mathrm{In}$ deduced levels, $J$, $\ensuremath{\pi}$, $B(E2)$, $B(M1)$, ${T}_{\frac{1}{2}}$. Enriched target.
The Clinical Utility of Circulationg Tumor Cells: Analysis of These Cells May Have the Potential to Assist with Screening and Diagnosing Cancer

Clinicians have long sought rapid and accurate methods to screen for and track the progression of cancer. Current technologies include the use of blood tests to screen for certain biomarkers such as PSA level as an indication of prostate cancer (although there are often problems with the sensitivity and specificity of such tests), along with imaging methods such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging (imaging tests however, often require patients to have tumors above a certain size?usually about 1 cm?to yield positive results).
Large-Scale Structures in Implicit Large-Eddy Simulation of Compressible Turbulent Flow

High-fidelity, implicit large-eddy simulations were performed for two supersonic turbulent boundary layers with Mach numbers of 2.3 and 2.9, and momentum thickness Reynolds numbers based on wall viscosity of 2.0 × 10 and 2.5 × 10, respectively. Transition to turbulence was promoted with an artificial body force trip. Four computational meshes were considered for each case. The resolution of the coarsest mesh met the requirements for implicit large-eddy simulation: ∆x < 50, ∆y w < 1, ∆z + < 15, and ∆t < 1, whereas the resolution of the finest mesh approached that required for direct numerical simulation: max(∆x,∆y,∆z) < 10, ∆y w < 1, and ∆t + < 1. The computational results were compared for the same flow state, at a station where the skin friction coefficient and Reynolds number agreed within 10% on all grids. At this station, mean velocity and Reynolds stress agreed within 10% for Grids 2–4, but the calculations on Grid 1 did not appear to produce a fullydeveloped turbulent boundary layer flow. Comparing frequency and wavenumber spectra of mass flux fluctuations at this station, additional mesh resolution revealed additional spectral content, and an extension of the inertial subrange to smaller scales. These results suggest that even the finest mesh remains in the large-eddy simulation regime, rather than direct numerical simulation regime. Nonetheless, good convergence of the turbulence statistics and agreement with experiment permitted detailed examination of the behavior of large-scale structures and of parameters used in turbulence modeling. In particular, the strong Reynolds analogy, the ratios of Reynolds stresses, and the near-wall behavior of the turbulent energy transport were evaluated for the two flows. Further, the effects of wall temperature on the turbulent heat flux were examined, as were correlations characterizing large-scale structures. The results were in general agreement with assumptions employed in turbulence models for compressible flow.
On Modeling the Evolution of Radiation Damage in Silicon Carbide

Experimental charged-particle irradiations and multi-scale computer simulations have been used to investigate the primary damage state and evolution of damage in silicon carbide as functions of temperature and charged-particle mass and energy. Atomistic simulations of energetic C and Si collision cascades, similar to those created by reactor neutrons, indicate that single interstitials, vacancies, antisite defects, and small defect clusters are produced. The point defects are dominated by close Frenkel pairs, and atomistic simulations indicate that the activation energies for recombination of most close pairs range from 0.24 to 0.38 eV, which suggest significant reduction in defect survivability at room temperature. Atomistic simulations have also determined that the activation energies for long-range diffusion of C and Si interstitials are 0.7 and 1.5 eV, respectively. Using these activation energies and ab initio results as input parameters, a kinetic Monte Carlo (MC) simulation model has been developed to study isochronal annealing of defects in SiC between cascade events. The defects are produced by a 10 keV Si cascades in a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation cell, and these defects are then accurately transferred to defect lattice sites in the Monte Carlo model to investigate defect recovery. By transferring defects states back and forth between the MD and MC environments, damage accumulation can be investigated as a function of temperature. Charged particle irradiations are often used to simulate radiation damage from neutrons and radioactive decay; however, at extreme charged-particle fluxes used in irradiation studies to simulate radiation damage in nuclear materials, the ratio of ionization rate to displacement rate can have a significant impact on observed temperature-dependent processes, which can affect both interpretation and model development. At high charged-particle fluxes, the defect recovery rates in SiC increase nearly linearly with the ratio of ionization rate to displacement rate. A fundamental understanding of these ionization effects is needed if charged particle irradiation results are to be used to develop predictive models of damage evolution in nuclear materials, such as SiC, as functions of time, temperature and dose rates.
A Comparison of Mangrove Canopy Height Using Multiple Independent Measurements from Land, Air, and Space

Canopy height is one of the strongest predictors of biomass and carbon in forested ecosystems. Additionally, mangrove ecosystems represent one of the most concentrated carbon reservoirs that are rapidly degrading as a result of deforestation, development, and hydrologic manipulation. Therefore, the accuracy of Canopy Height Models (CHM) over mangrove forest can provide crucial information for monitoring and verification protocols. We compared four CHMs derived from independent remotely sensed imagery and identified potential errors and bias between measurement types. CHMs were derived from three spaceborne datasets; Very-High Resolution (VHR) stereophotogrammetry, TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement, and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (TanDEM-X), and lidar data which was acquired from an airborne platform. Each dataset exhibited different error characteristics that were related to spatial resolution, sensitivities of the sensors, and reference frames. Canopies over 10 m were accurately predicted by all CHMs while the distributions of canopy height were best predicted by the VHR CHM. Depending on the guidelines and strategies needed for monitoring and verification activities, coarse resolution CHMs could be used to track canopy height at regional and global scales with finer resolution imagery used to validate and monitor critical areas undergoing rapid changes.
Community health level of residents and health service needs survey of Huangshan city

Aim Learn about health level and health services demand in Huangshan city in order to provide community residents with effective,convenient,comprehensive,and continuous community health services.Methods By stratified cluster sampling method samples were taken from permanent residents of urban and rural areas of Huangshan city.One to one anonymous inquiry and on-site observation were adopted for data collection.Results In Huangshan city,56 percent of households per capita monthly food consumption was below 150 yuan,42.7 percent and 49.3 percent of households per capita consumption in entertainment and medical care were below 25 yuan.Chronic disease prevalence was 7.4%,and the diseases ranked first were hypertension,diabetes,bronchitis and heart disease.χ2 test found that in chronic disease prevalence gender and age difference existed;68.7 percent of residents actively acquired health care knowledge through television,doctors,newspapers or books.79.6 percent of chronic disease patients were diagnosed below the county level medical units,and 89.9 percent of patients received treatment;due to illness lighter,economic difficulties or no effective measures seven patients didn′t receive treatment among 112 uncomfortable residents.More than half of the residents chose basic-level medical unit for near location,92.6 percent of residents had certain medical security,mainly the new type of rural cooperative medical care system(66.3%),besides medical insurance for urban workers,medical insurance for urban residents,commercial medical insurance.Conclusion Health education helps to improve the health awareness and healthy behavior of residents,and strengthening the management of chronic diseases,and rational allocation of health resources can ensure the continued development of medical insurance system and forme suitable community health service system.
Progress on laboratory diagnostic technology for Bacillus cereus

Bacillus cereu,which are widely distributed in nature,can grow in foods and cause food poisoning.The are two types of food poisoning caused by Bacillus cereu,one is the diarrhea type induced by heat labile enterotoxin,the clinical manifestations include abdominalgia,diarrhea and tenesmus,which is similar to food poisoning caused by Clostridium perfringens,other is the vomiting type induced by heat stable enterotoxin,the clinical manifestations include nausea and vomiting,which is similar to food poisoning caused by Staphylococcus.It is difficult to distinguish these two types in clinic,which need to be confirmed by laboratory test.The isolation,culture and identification of Bacillus cereu need a long time,with complicated operation.In the recent years,the new immunological methods and polymerase chain reaction have high sensitivity and specificity.The author reviews the progress on laboratory diagnostic technology for Bacillus cereus.
Real-time loop closure in 2D LIDAR SLAM

Portable laser range-finders, further referred to as LIDAR, and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) are an efficient method of acquiring as-built floor plans. Generating and visualizing floor plans in real-time helps the operator assess the quality and coverage of capture data. Building a portable capture platform necessitates operating under limited computational resources. We present the approach used in our backpack mapping platform which achieves real-time mapping and loop closure at a 5 cm resolution. To achieve realtime loop closure, we use a branch-and-bound approach for computing scan-to-submap matches as constraints. We provide experimental results and comparisons to other well known approaches which show that, in terms of quality, our approach is competitive with established techniques.
Co-workers with benefits: The influence of commitment uncertainty and status on employee engagement in romantic workplace relationships

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between employee engagement, decisions to be in a relationship with a co-worker, and commitment uncertainty in a sample of adults who identified they were currently working with their romantic partner. Design/methodology/approach – Because workplace romance can be a taboo topic among working adults, we recruited participants anonymously from online social media websites (n=68). The use of non-experimental design limits the ability to draw causal references in relation to the variables of interest. Findings – Participants who reported they were motivated to be in a romantic relationship with a co-worker to increase status also reported lower levels of engagement, even after controlling for other relationship (e.g. relationship adjustment) and workplace variables (e.g. intent to turnover). Practical implications – Romantic relationships within the workplace will most certainly transpire yet the topic remains underexplored in the management liter...
Crime Detection via Crowdsourcing

In this paper we propose a novel yet simple scheme for criminal detection. Rather than tracking the criminal that committed a particular crime, the police will rank the houses suspected to host criminals according to patterns on citizens’ tips. We show that this strategy will provably identify the desired houses under reasonable assumptions. This will aid detectives decide where to focus their efforts. We also give related problems of great interest to the community where the same ideas may be applied with similar results. We complement our theoretical findings with experiments that illustrate the effectiveness of this approach.
Undivided Waters: Spatial and Translational Paradoxes in Emine Sevgi Özdamar’s The Bridge of the Golden Horn

Post-war transnational labour migration constitutes an important point of intersection between Turkish and (western) European histories of labour, capital and culture. Amongst the many authors of Turkish heritage who have addressed the theme is Emine Sevgi Ozdamar, one of the most significant minority voices in Europe. Her Die Brucke vom Goldenen Horn (The Bridge of the Golden Horn, 1998) deals with migration, identity and political resistance during the student movements of 1966–75. As this essay contends, the spaces of transience in the novel (doorways, bridges, railways stations) disarticulate the purported unity of languages and territories (Turkey, Europe, East, West), while also challenging the vagueness of two of the key terms in globalisation studies, ‘translation’ and ‘flow’.
Tool 4: The Average Optimal Retention

A well-known side-effect of bonus-malus systems is the tendency of policyholders to pay small claims themselves and not report them to their carrier, in order to avoid future premium increases. In some countries the existence of this phenomenon, called the hunger for bonus, has been explicitly recognized by regulators. In Germany, for instance, the policy wording specifies that if the insured voluntarily reimburses the carrier for the cost of the claim, the penalty will not be applied. Moreover, if the claim amount does not exceed DM 1,000, the company is legally required to inform the policyholder of his right to reimburse the loss.
International Perspectives on NACC Accreditation

In this paper, I outline what I see as key factors that should be considered when thinking about the international applicability of the accreditation process. I use these factors as the basis of my conclusion that NACC probably needs pay only relatively little additional attention to international differences, beyond what it is already doing to address these issues in the NACC curricular guidelines and other current outreach work.
Mitigation of Geomagnetically Induced Currents Using Corrective Line Switching

This paper considers line switching as a remedial action to mitigate the geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) in large-scale power syste-kazerooni-2753840ms. The algorithm uses linear sensitivity analysis to find the best switching strategy which minimizes the GIC-saturated reactive power loss. Furthermore, the coupling between the ac power flow solution and the GIC flows is modeled and heuristic strategies are designed to maintain the system security measures in terms of both GICs and ac power flow. Finally, the computational complexity of the algorithm is analyzed for large-system implementations. To reduce the complexity, the critical lines are identified through the sensitivity analysis and the calculations are performed only on the reduced system. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through numerical results using a small 20-bus test case as well as large power systems.
Pulmonary Tuberculosis Versus Recurrent Chemotherapy-Induced Pneumonitis: A Clinical Dilemma

Chemotherapy-induced lung toxicity can affect pulmonary parenchyma, pleura, airways, pulmonary vascular system, mediastinum or the neuromuscular system that is responsible for respiration. Chemotherapy-induced pulmonary toxicity is a diagnosis of exclusion. When the patients with malignancies develop pulmonary toxicity such as pneumonitis and distinguishing it from alternative diseases such as infectious, thrombotic, cardiac, malignant or exacerbation of chronic lung conditions can be difficult. Moreover, such patients are often immunosuppressed, physically stressed from the underlying disease and the cancer treatment and hence, more susceptible to usual and unusual or opportunistic infections. We describe a patient with pancreatic cancer who was assumed to develop recurrent chemotherapy-induced pneumonitis to various agents, including irinotecan and docetaxel, but subsequently proved to have reactivation of tuberculosis (TB). With tuberculosis not being uncommon in cancer patients, we now believe that his symptoms could all have been because of an active tuberculosis infection, especially with his latent TB history and pulmonary symptoms. Information about the link between the treatment of solid-organ cancers and TB is very limited. Our case underlines the recognition about this link of chemotherapy and TB as well as remind us of the lack of widely accepted and established standards for both screenings for latent TB and for the treatment of active TB in the patients undergoing systemic treatment. A simple test such as a tuberculin skin test or QuantiFERON-TB Gold test can be used to rule out latent TB before beginning radiotherapy or chemotherapy in these patients. Clinicians must be cognizant of this condition to prevent further morbidity and mortality in these cancer patients and include activated TB in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary toxicity suspected in a patient undergoing chemotherapy with unexplained pulmonary findings.
Intervento sulla crisi dopo disastri naturali (uragani, terremoti, inondazioni)

Il Centro di Ricerca sull’Epidemiologia dei Disastri definisce un disastro come ”una situazione o evento in grado di sopraffare la capacita locale, necessitando di una richiesta di assistenza esterna ad un livello nazionale o internazionale“; questo e il caso di disastri naturali come uragani, tornado, tempeste di ghiaccio e tsunami. Data la natura allargata di questa definizione del disastro, per il fine di questa sezione considereremo i disastri come eventi che mettono i sopravvissuti ad un rischio elevato di provare risposte intense rispetto alla devastazione creata da fattori naturali o umani, tra cui la perdita di vite umane.
Localization of Bone Surfaces from Ultrasound Data Using Local Phase Information and Signal Transmission Maps

Low signal-to-noise ratio, imaging artifacts and bone boundaries appearing several millimeters in thickness have hampered the success of ultrasound (US) guided computer assisted orthopedic surgery procedures. In this paper we propose a robust and accurate bone localization method. The proposed approach is based on the enhancement of bone surfaces using the combination of three different local image phase features. The extracted local phase image features are used as an input to an \(L_{1}\) norm-based contextual regularization method for the enhancement of bone shadow regions. During the final stage the enhanced bone features and shadow region information is combined into a dynamic programming solution for the localization of the bone surface data. Qualitative and quantitative validation was performed on 150 in vivo US scans obtained from seven subjects by scanning femur, knee, distal radius and vertebrae bones. Validation against expert segmentation achieved a mean surface localization error of 0.26 mm a 67% improvement over state of the art.
Band alignment at the CdTe/InSb (001) heterointerface

CdTe/InSb heterojunctions have attracted considerable attention because of its almost perfect lattice match and the presence of nonoctal interface bonding. This heterojunction is a model heterovalent system to describe band offsets. In this research, molecular beam epitaxy was used to deposit a ∼5 nm epitaxial CdTe (001) layer on an InSb (001) surface. Monochromatic x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy were used to characterize the electronic states of clean InSb and CdTe surfaces and CdTe/InSb (001) heterostructures. A room temperature remote hydrogen-plasma process was used to clean the surfaces prior to characterization. The results indicate a valence band offset of 0.89 eV and a type-I (straddling gap) alignment for the CdTe/InSb (001) heterostructure interface. In addition, In-Te bonding was observed at the interface. Downward band bending of the InSb is attributed to excess electrons introduced by nonoctal In-Te interface bonding.
Identifying Improvements in Healthcare Systems Engineering Models for Chronic Care and Precision Medicine Applications

Over 48 million Americans are currently living with a chronic disease. To effectively manage chronic diseases, there is a need for interventions at multiple points in the care process, with integra...
Economics of Technology for Precision Weed Control in Conventional and Organic Systems

Regardless of the crop production system used, weeds must be controlled at or below an economic threshold in order to achieve an acceptable level of profitability. The best method of weed control will depend on a number of factors, including labor, fuel and machinery cost, crop prices, and farmer’s willingness to accept production risks. In this chapter, we discuss economic factors that drive innovation in precision weed control technologies for agriculture and influence producer adoption of those technologies. We present a theoretical framework to help explain the economic incentives or disincentives to adoption of these emerging technologies. We also introduce the concept of externalities – costs or benefits realized by groups other than producers – which, if internalized to farm firms through taxes, subsidies, or restrictions, may influence producer adoption of a specific technology. We conclude with highlighting a number of important farm-level economic impacts of precision weed technology adoption.
Subarachnoid neostigmine potentiation of alpha 2-adrenergic agonist analgesia. Dexmedetomidine versus Clonidine.

Background and Objectives Intraspinally administered alpha2-adrenergic agonists produce analgesia in part by causing spinal acetycholine and nitric oxide (NO) release. Clonidine-induced analgesia is enhanced by subarachnoid neostigmine and inhibited by N-methyl-L-arginine (NMLA), a blocker of NO synthesis. The authors tested whether dexmedetomidine, an alpha2-adrenergic agonist with greater intrinsic efficacy than clonidine, would be similarly affected by neostigmine and NMLA. Methods Drugs were administered subarachnoid to 22 chronically prepared ewes, and antinociception was determined by a noxious mechanical stimulation. Sheep received subarachnoid saline, neostigmine, or NMLA, followed by cumulative doses of clonidine or dexmedetomidine. Neostigmine was injected either 20 or 60 minutes prior to beginning cumulative dosing with the alpha2-adrenergic agonist. Results Both clonidine and dexmedetomidine produced dose-dependent antinociception with similar potency (ED50 was 61 ± 26 μg for clonidine and 65 ± 24 μg dexmedetomidine). Neostigmine pretreatment 20 minutes before dosing potentiated clonidine’s dose response (ED50 was reduced to 6.8 ± 2.3 μg), but had no effect on dexmedetomidine (ED50 27 ± 6.1 μg). Neostigmine pretreatment 60 minutes before dosing potentiated both clonidine (ED50 was reduced to 11.8 ± 5.1 μg) or dexmedetomidine (ED50 was reduced to 10 ± 2.1 μg). The NMLA did not affect antinociception from dexmedetomidine. Conclusions These data are in agreement with previous hemodynamic studies suggesting that neostigmine has a slow onset of action after subarachnoid administration. That clonidine is potentiated more than dexmedetomidine by neostigmine pretreatment at 20 minutes likely may reflect the lower intrinsic efficacy of clonidine. Alternatively, since acetylcholine can cause NO synthesis, lack of effect of NMLA on dexmedetomidine implies that analgesia from this drug is less reliant on acetylcholine-NO mechanisms than clonidine. The large potentiation observed between neostigmine and these alpha2-adrenergic agonists carries important clinical implications.
Audit Risks: Identification and Procedures

Risks of material misstatement at the financial statement level relate pervasively to the financial statements as a whole and potentially affect many assertions. Inherent risk and control risk are related to the company, its environment, and its internal control, and the auditor assesses those risks based on evidence he or she obtains.
Modeling Cognition–Emotion Interactions in Symbolic Agent Architectures: Examples of Research and Applied Models

The past two decades have witnessed a resurgence of interest in emotion research, as well as progress in understanding the circuitry that mediates affective processing in biological agents. Emotion researchers are now recognizing that computational models of emotion provide an important tool for understanding the mechanisms of affective processing. There has also been significant progress in affective computing technologies, including affective virtual agents, social robots and affect-adaptive human-computer interaction in general, including affective gaming and the associated desire to model more affectively realistic and believable agents and robots. This chapter describes a generic methodology for modeling emotions and their effects on cognitive processing. The methodology is based on the assumption that a broad range of both state and trait influences on cognition can be represented in terms of a set of parameters that control processing within the architecture modules. As such, the methodology is suitable both for exploring the nature of the mechanisms mediating cognition-emotion interaction and for developing more affectively realistic and believable agents and robots. An implementation of this generic methodology in a symbolic cognitive-affective architecture is described, focusing on an example of a research model. The chapter concludes with a discussion of open questions and challenges in affective modeling.
Erdheim-Chester Disease presenting with histiocytic colitis and cytokine storm.

Background: Non-Langerhans histiocytosis is a group of inflammatory lymphoproliferative disorders originating from non-clonal expansion of hematopoietic stem cells into cytokine-secreting dendritic cells or macrophages. Erdheim-Chester Disease (ECD) is a rare type of non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis characterized by tissue inflammation and injury caused by macrophage infiltration and histologic findings of foamy histiocytes. Often ECD involves the skeleton, retroperitoneum and the orbits. This is the first report documenting ECD manifesting as segmental colitis and causing cytokine-release syndrome.Case presentation: A 68-year old woman presented with persistent fever without infectious etiology and hematochezia. Endoscopy showed segmental colitis and pathology revealed infiltration of large foamy histiocytes CD3-/CD20-/CD68+/CD163+/S100- consistent with ECD. The patient was empirically treated with steroids but continued to have fever and developed progressive distributive shock.Conclusion: This case report describes the differential diagnosis of infectious and immune-mediated inflammatory and rheumatologic segmental colitis. Non-Langerhans histiocytosis and ECD are rare causes of gastrointestinal inflammation. Prompt diagnosis is imperative for the appropriate treatment to prevent hemodynamic compromise due to distributive shock or gastrointestinal bleeding. Importantly, gastrointestinal ECD might exhibit poor response to steroid treatment and other potential treatments including chemotherapy, and biologic treatments targeting IL-1 and TNF-alpha signaling should be considered.Abbreviations: AFB: acid-fast bacilli; ECD: Erdheim-Chester Disease; IBD: inflammatory bowel disease; PASD: periodic acid-Schiff with diastase; TB: tuberculosis
Reversed urbanism: Inferring urban performance through behavioral patterns in temporal telecom data:

AbstractA fundamental aspect of well performing cities is successful public spaces. For centuries, understanding these places has been limited to sporadic observations and laborious data collection...
Program Definition and Preliminary Results of a Long-Term Evaluation Program of Advanced Composites for Supersonic Cruise Aircraft Applications

Advanced composites will play a key role in the development of the technology required for the design and fabrication of future supersonic vehicles. A program is in progress to determine the time-temperature-stress capabilities of several high-temperature composite materials. Tests included in this study are thermal aging, ambient aging, fatigue, creep, fracture, tensile, and real-time flight-simulation exposure. The program has two parts. The first includes all the material-property determinations and aging and simulation exposures up through 10,000 h. The second continues these tests up to 50,000 cumulative h. The program is currently in the midst of the 10,000-h phase. Some of the results obtained to date and the status of the various tests are discussed.
Racial differences in distribution of fatty acids in prostate cancer and benign prostatic tissues.

It remains controversial whether and which fatty acids are different between prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostatic tissues (BPT) in association with occurrence, progression and racial disparity between African American (AA) and Caucasian American (CA) populations. Total fatty acids (TFA) and free fatty acid (FFA) were determined on fresh frozen prostatic tissues including 26 PCa and 21 BPT from AA and CA patients by Gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS), respectively. In all studied population, TFA in 8 out of 16 individual species, in total and in groups of saturated total fatty acid (STFA), mono-unsaturated total fatty acid (MUTFA), poly-unsaturated total fatty acid (PUTFA) and n-6 TFA were significantly higher in PCa than in BPT; FFA in 4 out of 10 individual species, in total and in groups of MUFFA, PUFFA, n-6 FFA and n-3 FFA were significantly higher in PCa than in BPT. The concentrations of most fatty acid parameters correlated with Gleason’s grade and clinical stage of PCa. As compared with CA men, AA men had higher concentrations of TFA, especially TFA with chains of 14–18 carbons than in BPT, and lower concentrations of TFA in PCa. Increasing in prostatic fatty acids in the form of TFA and FFA correlated to occurrence, progression and racial disparity of PCa.
Absorption of organic compounds by mesoporous silica discoids

Abstract Multiple organic compounds pose a threat to human health. Here we report on the synthesis of a novel nanostructured absorbent, mesoporous colloidal silica particles (pore size of ~3 nm, surface area >1100 m2/g, discoid-shaped and microns in size) that can be an effective sorbent for organic compounds due to their large surface area. The particle surface is hydrophobized through a trimethylchlorosilane treatment, which was controlled on the level of bulk (TGA analysis) and single particles (confocal Raman spectroscopy). We present the results of the study of the sorption of ten organic compounds of various molecular size and polarity. It is found that our particles can absorb some organic compounds from water up to more than 100% by weight. No substantial dependence of the sorption efficiency on the molecular size was found. Despite a complex nanoscale environment, it was found that the sorption efficiency inversely correlates with the polarity of the organic components, which is similar to the classical sorbents. Further, we demonstrate a strong correlation between the presence of hydrophobic groups and the absorbed compound with a submicron resolution by means of confocal Raman microscopy. This knowledge can be used to design new efficient absorbents.
The Fundamental Right to Homeschool: A Historical Response to Professor Bartholet

The fundamental right of parents to homeschool their children is under attack. Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Bartholet recently published an article that proposes to ban homeschooling with a few carefully delineated exceptions. She argues that the ban is necessary to protect children from abusive parents, fulfill children’s right to an education, and guarantee children the right to autonomy and to determine their own futures, among other things. Professor Bartholet’s arguments directly contradict Supreme Court precedent, and more critically, the historical record. While the Supreme Court has never made clear that homeschooling is a fundamental right, the historical record does. Beginning in England and continuing in the colonies and founding generation stands a deeply rooted and unbroken chain of the practice and recognition of the fundamental right and duty of parents to educate their children. Home education was the dominant form of education in England and the colonies and was the exclusive right of parents. Blackstone called the educational duty of parents the “greatest importance of any,” and under the common law third parties could never exercise the educational power over children until the parents voluntarily delegated it to them, and even then they acted “in loco parentis.” The colonies too recognized the fundamental rights of parents to educate their children, and some of them even began enforcing this parental duty by law. Home education continued as the predominant form of education through the founding, and the founders and early jurists, including James Wilson, Joseph Story, St. George Tucker, and James Kent, affirmatively recognized the fundamental right of parents to educate their children. And while many of the states and founders supported some form of public education, they never advocated for or implemented compulsory attendance laws. In fact, Thomas Jefferson expressly rejected the power of the state to force children to attend public school against the wishes of the father, noting that such action would “shock the common feelings and ideas.” Instead, public education for the founders and states was intended to complement the primary right of parents, create an educated citizenry that could protect its own liberty, and serve poor parents, who could not educate their children at home nor afford to hire private tutors, by providing a free option. Accordingly, “history and tradition” confirm that the right of parents to homeschool their children is a fundamental right that should be subject to strict scrutiny review.
Online software using randomization and automated grading to help teach linear programming with Excel and Solver in business courses

This article describes a web-based application that can be used to help teach linear programming (LP) using an active learning approach in business courses such as management science and decision a...
Modeling Highly Random Dynamical Infectious Systems

Random dynamical processes are ubiquitous in all areas of life:- in the arts, in the sciences, in the social sciences and engineering systems etc. The rates of various types of processes in life are subject to random fluctuations leading to variability in the systems. The variabilities give rise to white noise which lead to unpredictability about the processes in the systems. This chapter exhibits compartmental random dynamical models involving stochastic systems of differential equations, Markov processes, and random walk processes etc. to investigate random dynamical processes of infectious systems such as infectious diseases of humans or animals, the spread of rumours in social networks, and the spread of malicious signals on wireless sensory networks etc. A step-to-step approach to identify, and represent the various constituents of random dynamic processes in infectious systems is presented. In particular, a method to derive two independent environmental white noise processes, general nonlinear incidence rates, and multiple random delays in infectious systems is presented. A unique aspect of this chapter is that the ideas, mathematical modeling techniques and analysis, and the examples are delivered through original research on the modeling of vector-borne diseases of human beings or other species. A unique method to investigate the impacts of the strengths of the noises on the overall outcome of the infectious system is presented. Numerical simulation results are presented to validate the results of the chapter.
Reachability Queries with Transfer Decay

A spatiotemporal reachability query identifies whether a physical item (or information, virus etc.) could have been transferred from the source moving object O S to the target moving object O T during a time interval I (either directly, or through a chain of intermediate transfers). Previous work on spatiotemporal reachability queries, assumes the transferred information remains the same. This paper introduces a novel reachability query under the scenario of information decay. Such queries arise when the value of information (virus load etc.) that travels through the chain of intermediate objects decreases with each transfer. To address such queries efficiently over large spatiotemporal datasets, we introduce the RICCdecay algorithm. An experimental evaluation shows the efficiency of the proposed algorithm over previous approaches.
Using Online Blogs To Create Class Community

Location: Dewberry Hall Abstract: Anonymity online (sometimes an unfortunate pitfall of digital learning) can lead to invisibility, exclusion, misunderstanding, and miscommunication. As such, I seek to “humanize” myself as instructor/facilitator and support students in “showing” themselves to each other. The online introductory blog that I require all students to complete at the start of class aides in building community and relationships, which support learning and allows students an opportunity to bring their "whole" selves to learning. For my required introductory blog post, students respond to prompts I provide and, as part of the assignment, comment on two classmates’ posts. They also post photos of themselves. Common ground may start with sharing a love of baking or raising children while a student, but it can blossom into shared dialogue about leadership, our place in the world, and how we relate to each other as a learning community. I also post my responses to these questions, so we can also connect further. This poster describes the activity and presents student work and reactions to the assignment.
Effect of d-Penicillamine on Copper Retention in Patients with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis

As part of a double blind, randomized trial evaluating D-penicillamine in primary biliary cirrhosis, we monitored urinary copper excretion and hepatic copper concentration during the 1st year of therapy in 46 patients with this disease. The retention of copper in primary biliary cirrhosis was confirmed by finding abnormally high levels of standard copper measurements in almost all patients before treatment. The hepatic copper was elevated in 43 of 45 patients, the urinary copper in 42 of 46, and the ceruloplasmin in 46 of 46. Urinary copper excretion correlated with the hepatic copper concentration (r = 0.68, P less than or equal to 0.001). No significant correlation occurred between hepatic copper and ceruloplasmin. Hepatic copper concentrations greater than 400 microng per g of dry weight were found almost exclusively in patients with advanced histological disease (P less than or equal to 0.01). Therapy with D-penicillamine and a low copper diet sustained increased urinary copper excretion for 1 year in almost all patients (P less than or equal to 0.001). Among patients taking placebo, the median hepatic copper concentration increased 13 microng per g of dry weight after 1 year. In contrast, among the patients taking D-penicillamine, the median hepatic copper concentration decreased 99 microng per g of dry weight (P less than or equal to 0.02). Continued observation of this therapeutic trial may help to clarify the relationship of copper retention and liver injury in primary biliary cirrhosis.
Union-Management Relations and School Reform

(1996). Union-Management Relations and School Reform. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 70, No. 2, pp. 67-68.
Referential Communication Skills: Guidelines for Therapy

Referential communication skills involve the ability to provide and understand specific information. Typical skills include giving and following directions, asking questions, and making explanation...
The Problems of Transition, EU Enlargement, and Globalization

This paper examines how far the restructuring process toward a market system has proceeded in Transition Economies since the collapse of Communist regimes more than a decade ago, how ready these economies are for admission into the European Union, and how the globalization of the world economy is affecting them. The paper also presents a model of the restructuring process and of international trade during the restructuring process.
devRS, an autoregulated and essential genetic locus for fruiting body development in Myxococcus xanthus.

Two Tn5 lac insertions into the Myxococcus genome at sites omega 4414 and omega 4473, which are separated by 550 nucleotides, inactivate fruiting body development. Sporulation is decreased 100- to 10,000-fold. At least two genes, devR and devS, are transcribed in this region, probably as an operon. Expression of devR begins by 6 h after starvation has initiated development. On the basis of their nucleotide sequences, devR and devS are expected to encode proteins of 302 and 214 amino acids, respectively. Dev+ function can be restored by a segment of 7.8 kb cloned from the devRS region of wild-type cells. Two experiments show that devR expression is under strong negative autoregulation. beta-Galactosidase is expressed at a higher level from a transcriptional devR::lacZ fusion when the fused operon is in a dev strain than when it is in the dev/dev+ genetic background of a partial diploid. There is more mRNA accumulation from the devRS region in the dev strain than in a rescued dev/dev+ tandem duplication strain. Sporulation rescue is correlated with some degree of negative autoregulation, even though sporulation is not inversely proportional to beta-galactosidase expression from omega 4414. A second level of regulation is suggested by complementation of dev by dev+ in duplication strains. The expression of devRS, measured by sporulation levels, differs 1,000-fold when devRS+ is moved from a distance of 20 kb to 3 Mb from the mutant devRS locus. Expression of devR is also dependent on the cell density at which development is initiated, a third level of regulation. Multiple levels of regulation suggest that devRS is a switch required to activate completion of aggregation and sporulation. Images
Failure mode and effect analysis for photovoltaic systems

Abstract Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is an inductive and conservative system reliability analysis approach, here applied to photovoltaic system. A system is a complex combination of components and sub-components, where technical and disciplinary interfaces apply in their mutual interactions. FMEA processes the individual analysis of each system׳s sub-component with the task to identify the various failure modes affecting each part, along with causes and consequences for the part itself and the entire system. In the proposed analysis the system׳s component and sub-components have been identified from the design of the Northeast Solar Energy Research Center (NSERC) photovoltaic research array located at Brookhaven National Laboratory׳s (BNL). The complete FMEA analysis is presented, along with the applied ranking scales and final results. The approach is discussed in its benefits and limitations, the latter mainly identified in the limited amount of open source information concerning failure probabilities for the photovoltaic system parts.
93 – The Effect of Acetaldehyde on Plasma

This chapter discusses the effect of acetaldehyde on blood plasma. It has a profound effect upon the blood coagulation cascade at biochemical levels, inhibiting the function/activation of fibrinogen, prothrombin, thrombin, Factors X, Xa, VII, thromboplastin (tissue factor), and antithrombin III. It stimulates Factor IX, and increases anti-coagulant activity of heparin, chondroitin sulfates A and C, and dermatan sulfate in a synergistic manner. Synergistic effects are seen with factors IIa and Xa, in association with factor II- and X- deficient plasmas. A greater prolongation of clotting time is noted with Level III plasma, as compared to Level I plasma, suggesting a greater sensitivity of the coagulation factors to interaction with acetaldehyde relative to other blood proteins. Acetaldehyde interaction with clotting factors is decreased in the presence of specific thiols—such as homocysteine and penicillamine, suggesting that a mutual detoxication is occurring on the basis of a stable interaction product between the two. In contrast, cysteine, which prolongs clotting time, exhibits an approximate additive elevation in clotting time in the presence of acetaldehyde, reflecting the occurrence of two simultaneous inactivations and reversible reactivity with acetaldehyde.