cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Real-time optical monitoring of GaxIn1 − xP and GaP heteroepitaxy on Si under pulsed chemical beam conditions

Abstract In this paper we describe the combined application of p-polarized reflectance spectroscopy (PRS), reflectance difference spectroscopy (RDS), and laser light scattering (LLS) to investigate the growth of Ga x In 1 − x P Gap on Si by pulsed chemical beam epitaxy (PCBE) with tertiarybutylphosphine, triethylgallium, and trimethylindium precursors. The pulsed supply of chemical precursors causes a periodic alteration of the surface composition, which is observed as corresponding periodicity (fine structure) in the RD and PRS signals, confirming the high sensitivity of both methods to surface chemistry during the entire growth process. This fine structure is modeled under conditions where the surface chemistry periodically alternates between a four-layer stack (ambient/surface layer/film/substrate) and a three layer stack (ambient/film/substrate) description with a corresponding alteration in the optical response of the PRS and RD signals. RD spectra are used to estimate the surface reconstruction of the layers. LLS provides information about the surface topography and thus the evolution of surface roughness, which is especially important during nucleation.
A case of juvenile lipidosis: electron microscopic, histochemical and biochemical studies.

Electron microscopic, histochemical and biochemical studies of a case of juvenile lipidosis have been presented. The neuronal inclusions were mostly unit membranebound with fingerprint-like patterns. Membrano-vesicular bodies were also found in the neuronal perikarya, but “typical” granular lipofuscin bodies were not seen. Cortical astrocytes contained a similar type of inclusion but the inclusions in the astrocytes in the white matter were quite different. The localization of acid phosphatase activity in all types of inclusions suggests their possible lysosomal nature. Biochemical analysis failed to pin-point any specific abnormalities.
Preprocessor adapts cardiovascular signals to a minicomputer.

A laboratory-developed analog signal processor, driven by a conventional polygraph recorder and associated signal conditioning devices, provides automatic heart beat-by-heart beat preprocessing of various cardiovascular functions for input to a laboratory-type minicomputer. The technique of preprocessing individual functions, integrated with the minicomputer system which includes an A/D converter and teletype as input-output peripherals, provides a low-cost data acquisition and reduction system for the on-line computation and analysis of cardiovascular functions in experimental research applications. Such preprocessing more efficiently uses the minicomputer's memory to handle large amounts of information since the digitized data is in the form of one data sample, per function, per heart beat. Preprocessing analog data provides a low density data format and simplified software programs that are ideally suited for the utilization of a minicomputer in this on-line application.
Door and window image-based measurement using a mobile device

We present a system for door and window image-based measurement using an Android mobile device. In this system a user takes an image of a door or window that needs to be measured and using interaction measures specific dimensions of the object. The existing object is removed from the image and a 3D model of a replacement is rendered onto the image. The visualization provides a 3D model with which the user can interact. When tested on a mobile Android platform with an 8MP camera we obtain an average measurement error of roughly 0.5%. This error rate is stable across a range of view angles, distances from the object, and image resolutions. The main advantages of our mobile device application for image measurement include measuring objects for which physical access is not readily available, documenting in a precise manner the locations in the scene where the measurements were taken, and visualizing a new object with custom selections inside the original view.
Analgesia and sedation in the critically ill

Objective: To summarize the challenges to recognizing pain in critically ill patients, the rationale for treatment even in the absence of signs of pain, and the therapeutic options available in the intensive care environment. Etiology: Pain is one of many stressors challenging the critically ill patient, and may in turn be multifactorial in nature. Common causes include local and systemic inflammation, injuries, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, immobilization, and thrombosis. Diagnosis: Critically ill animals with pain may not demonstrate overt behavioral or physiologic signs of distress. Therefore, pain must be assumed to be present for animals whose condition puts them at risk. Therapy: Currently available analgesic and sedative drugs and methods of delivery are described. Several useful analgesics and sedatives may be co-administered as fluid additives to provide continuous therapy. Prognosis: There is growing evidence that the neuroendocrine stress response to severe injury or illness may become sufficiently intense to contribute to morbidity and mortality. Many therapeutic analgesic and sedation options provide good control of pain and stress, and in some circumstances this may improve the outcome of critical illness.
Mags and Abs: Media Consumption and Bodily Concerns in Men

Media messages directed toward men increasingly promote the hypermuscular male body, an ideal impossible for most men to achieve. In this study we investigated the association between media consumption and bodily concerns in a sample of 89 college men. Reading male-directed magazines was associated with concerns about muscularity and general fitness, beauty product use, and dietary supplement use to build muscle. Low self-esteem was linked to weight concerns. Men's media exposure was also associated with their standards for women's bodies: the more male-directed magazines a man read and the more movies he saw, the more he valued thinness in women.
Reduced Hippocampal Functional Connectivity in Alzheimer Disease

Objective To determine if functional connectivity of the hippocampus is reduced in patients with Alzheimer disease. Design Functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate coherence in the magnetic resonance signal between the hippocampus and all other regions of the brain. Participants Eight patients with probable Alzheimer disease and 8 healthy volunteers. Results Control subjects showed hippocampal functional connectivity with diffuse cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar sites, while patients demonstrated markedly reduced functional connectivity, including an absence of connectivity with the frontal lobes. Conclusion These findings suggest a functional disconnection between the hippocampus and other brain regions in patients with Alzheimer disease.
Annual cycle of gaseous sulfur emissions from a New England Spartina alterniflora marsh

Abstract A flow-through chamber was used to measure the net gaseous sulfur fluxes (emission minus uptake) to the atmosphere from an area of Spartina alterniflora in a New England salt marsh. The fluxes of hydrogen sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, carbon disulfide and dimethyl disulfide were measured monthly over a year to obtain the annual emission estimates. Peak releases of the various sulfur gases did not occur simultaneously but were measured from July through to October depending on the individual sulfur species. The total annual emission was estimated to be 5.8 g S m−2 y−1, with dimethyl sulfide (49% of the total) and hydrogen sulfide (35% of the total) the major components emitted. The emissions of the other sulfur gases were nearly 10-fold lower.
Deactivation of HF(v =1) by F, O, and H atoms

Abstract The laser induced fluorescence method has been used to measure the rate of deactivation of HF(η = 1) by F, O, and H atoms at 300°K. The rate for F-atoms was found to be kF-HF = (0.9 ± 0.2) × 104 sec−1 torr−1, for O-atoms kO-HF = (1.0 ± 0.2) × 105 sec−1 tort−1, and for H-atoms, an upper limit to the rate was found to be kH-HF
Using a Logic Model to Plan and Evaluate a Community Intervention Program: A Case Study:

This case study uses a logic model to plan and evaluate an intervention project targeted to high-risk, middle-school, African-American youth for drug and crime prevention. Project WISE-UP is a comprehensive and innovative program designed to reduce the risk of using drugs and alcohol and becoming involved in criminal activities for thirty-seven high-risk middle-school students in Florida. The project comprises a continuum of integrated, interactive activities which were dominant components of the students' environment, community, school, peer group, and family. The WISE-UP educational module consists of five sub-modules: crime prevention, drug education, leisure education, life skills building (decision making, problem solving, and conflict resolution), and a tutorial program. The logic model is used to provide explanation, justifications for selecting various programmatic components and evaluation measures. It consists of five components: assumptions, program activities, immediate outcomes/evaluative act...
An outcome study of Missouri's CSTAR alcohol and drug abuse programs

The Comprehensive Substance Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation (CSTAR) program is described, and a study of its services is presented. The CSTAR program is a community program with wrap-around services and intensive case management. Eleven domains typically affected by substance abuse were measured, plus satisfaction with treatment services. A retrospective study of 280 clients at 10 facilities was done, and results analyzed separately by General Programs. Women with Children programs, and Adolescent programs. A small sample of clients who were early in their treatment was re-interviewed 90 days later. Data were also examined according to length of stay in the program. Results were consistently positive, and increased with length of time in the program.
Trazodone and Ejaculatory Inhibition

Sexual adverse effects are common with psychotropics. Rational polypharmacy may confound etiology. This case report describes development of ejaculatory inhibition in a male patient with co-morbid psychiatric diagnoses treated with fluoxetine, divalproex sodium, lamotrigine, trazodone, and clonazepam. Detailed psychotropic history with time-line of adverse effect onset implicated trazodone. Within 48 hours of trazodone discontinuation, ejaculatory inhibition was resolved. Clinicians should be aware that trazodone may cause ejaculatory inhibition, understand that determination of sexual adverse effects necessitates directed and periodic questioning as these symptoms may increase in severity over time, and appreciate that religious patients may find discussing this issue difficult.
John Hutchinson's mysterious machine revisited.

John Hutchinson, a surgeon, recognized that the volume of air that can be exhaled from fully inflated lungs is a powerful indicator of longevity. He invented the spirometer to measure what he called the vital capacity, ie, the capacity to live. Much later, the concept of the timed vital capacity, which became known as the FEV1, was added. Together, these two numbers, vital capacity and FEV1, are useful in identifying patients at risk of many diseases, including COPD, lung cancer, heart attack, stroke, and all-cause mortality. This article cites some of the rich history of the development of spirometry, and explores some of the barriers to the widespread application of simple spirometry in the offices of primary care physicians.
Computer studies of interactions of particles with differing masses

In this paper a new type of modeling of physical phenomena is developed for systems of particles of differing masses. Initial value problems must be solved by means of modern, high speed digital computation. Of basic importance is a natural, self-reorganization property of any particle system so modeled. Extensive computer examples are given.
Theory of self-contact in Kirchhoff rods with applications to supercoiling of knotted and unknotted DNA plasmids.

There are circumstances under which it is useful to model a molecule of duplex DNA as a homogeneous, inextensible, intrinsically straight, impenetrable elastic rod of circular cross–section obeying the theory of Kirchhoff. For such rods recent research has yielded exact analytical solutions of Kirchhoff9sequations of mechanical equilibrium with the effects of impenetrability taken into account, and criteria have been derived for determining whether an equilibrium configuration is stable in the sense that it gives a strict local minimum to the elastic energy. This paper contains a summary of published results on equilibrium configurations for the case in which a rod has been pre–twisted and closed to form a knot–free ring. Emphasis is placed on the way the writhe Wr of the ring, the number of its discrete points of self–contact, and the presence or absence of lines of contact, depend on the excess link, Δ Lk , which is a measure of the amount the rod was twisted before its ends were joined. Bifurcation diagrams are presented and a summary is given of the properties of the primary, secondary and tertiary branches that arise by successive bifurcations from the ‘trivial branch’ comprised of configurations for which the axial curve is a circle. New results are presented in the theory of equilibrium configurations of closed rods with the topology of torus knots. It is remarked that examples of equilibrium configurations of closed rods of one knot type can be obtained from examples of other knot types using methods previously employed to calculate isolas of equilibrium configurations of knot–free rings. Bifurcation diagrams are shown for supercoiled (2,3) torus knots (trefoil knots). It is observed that for sufficiently large and sufficiently small Δ Lk the minimum elastic energy configuration of a trefoil knot contains plectonemic loops with straight contact lines, although the configuration that minimizes the elastic energy of a general (2, q ) torus knot over the entire range of Δ Lk has self–contact along a closed curve. As the ratio of the diameter of the rod to its length approaches zero, that contact curve becomes a circle, and there is an open interval of values of Δ Lk for which stable equilibrium configurations with such circular contact curves exist. Examples of minimum energy configurations are presented for both torus knots and catenates formed by linking two unknots.
Long-term follow-up after surgical repair of ostium primum atrial septal defect in adults

Abstract Objectives. We sought to determine the long-term survival rates and defect-related morbidity of adult patients who undergo surgical repair of an ostium primum atrial septal defect. Background. The natural history of patients undergoing such surgical repair in adulthood remains unclear. Methods. We followed up 33 patients who underwent surgical correction of an ostium primum atrial septal defect at our institution at a mean age of 42 years (range 20 to 73); 12 of these patients were >50 years old at the time of operation. Four patients had moderate preoperative exercise incapacity (New York Heart Association functional class >11) and six had atrial fibrillation. Nine and four patients, respectively, had a preoperative mean pulmonary artery pressure >25 mm Hg or pulmonary vascular resistance >4 Wood U. Autologous pericardium was used to patch the defect in 30 patients (91%). Mitral valvuloplasty, consisting of cleft repair (n=10), and mitral valve replacement (n = 2) were performed selectively. Results. There were no operative deaths. At a mean follow-up interval of 5.3 years (range 1 to 18.2), all 28 surviving patients are free of exercise limitation (functional class 1). Late postoperative deaths occurred in five patients (15%) and were related to myocardial infarction, stroke, hepatic failure, renal failure or sepsis. Reoperation within the 1st postoperative year was required in two patients (6%) because of a residual ostium primum defect in one and severe mitral regurgitation in the other. The presence of advanced age at operation, symptoms, atrial arrhythmias, mitral regurgitation or moderately increased pulmonary vascular resistance did not predict late postoperative mortality, complications or functional capacity. Conclusions. An ostium primum defect can be repaired in adult patients with the expectation of excellent long-term results, independent of age at operation and preoperative mitral valve function and despite the presence of atrial fibrillation or moderately elevated pulmonary vascular resistance.
LEAPER: A lightweight reliable and faithful data packet relaying framework for VANETs

In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), it is vital to ensure reliable and faithful data packet relaying over multiple hops, which is critical to many VANET applications. In this paper, a novel Adaptive Role Playing (ARP) strategy is proposed to enable VANET nodes in each hop to countermeasure the malfunctions and misbehaviors of individual nodes. A lightweight reliable faithful data packet relaying framework (LEAPER) is proposed to implement the ARP strategy in each hop, so that each hop can reliably relay the authentic data packet to the next hop. Hop by hop, LEAPER ensures reliable and faithful data packet relaying from the source to the destination. In each hop the required security strength is configurable, making LEAPER flexible and adaptive to various application scenarios. Theoretical analysis and simulation studies show that LEAPER outperforms existing schemes in ensuring reliable and faithful data packet relaying.
Intensity-modulated x-ray (IMXT) versus proton (IMPT) therapy for theragnostic hypoxia-based dose painting.

In this work the abilities of intensity-modulated x-ray therapy (IMXT) and intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) to deliver boosts based on theragnostic imaging were assessed. Theragnostic imaging is the use of functional or molecular imaging data for prescribing radiation dose distributions. Distal gradient tracking, an IMPT method designed for the delivery of non-uniform dose distributions, was assessed. Dose prescriptions for a hypoxic region in a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patient were designed to either uniformly boost the region or redistribute the dose based on positron emission tomography (PET) images of the 61Cu(II)-diacetyl-bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) (61Cu-ATSM) hypoxia surrogate. Treatment plans for the prescriptions were created for four different delivery methods: IMXT delivered with step-and-shoot and with helical tomotherapy, and IMPT delivered with spot scanning and distal gradient tracking. IMXT and IMPT delivered comparable dose distributions within the boost region for both uniform and redistributed theragnostic boosts. Normal tissue integral dose was lower by a factor of up to 3 for IMPT relative to the IMXT. For all delivery methods, the mean dose to the nearby organs at risk changed by less than 2 Gy for redistributed versus uniform boosts. The distal gradient tracking method resulted in comparable plans to the spot scanning method while reducing the number of proton beam spots by a factor of over 3.
Securing insurance reimbursements with RFID technologies

As RFID enhances many realms of the functional world including: retail, pharmaceutical, aerospace, and defense, it is beginning to show great promise in healthcare. Insurance companies constantly battle fraud among health care providers and new technologies need to be adopted to ensure a lean service-to-reimbursement relationship. This paper will investigate the current state of RFID in health care and demonstrate possible solutions pertaining to not only asset tracking and medication with RFID, but patient tracking and billing reimbursements exchange between insurance companies and practitioners. Fraudulent or not, billing errors among practitioners has continued to be on the rise creating an opportunity for RFID to better structure and secure the health care patient flow.
Exit Interviews with Departed Child Welfare Workers: Preliminary Findings

A total of 69 departed public child welfare workers responded to a telephone interview asking why they left their positions and what might have made them stay. Their open-ended responses were then coded into domains and subcategories and also converted into quantitative data for descriptive analysis. The model developed describes the effect of child welfare work (mentioned by 26.1% of respondents) and working conditions (supervision, 28.9%, agency climate, 31.8%, agency behavior, 57.9%, workload, 47.8%) having an impact on the self (noted by 72.4% of respondents) which then resulted in departure. Factors that workers said would have made them stay included changes in the child welfare work, 17.4%, supervision, 24.6%, agency climate, 26.1%, agency behavior, 43.5%, manageable workload, 52.1%, and impact on the self, 24.6%.
The 1951 Improvement in the Danish Balance of Payments

T HE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS of Denmark was in a precarious position in 1950. In October it was apparent that the year's deficit on goods and services account would exceed DKr 800 million; and it seemed that the deficit for 1951 would be even greater, in view of the sharp increase in the prices of raw materials and other imports, for which domestic demand was likely to be inelastic. The Government, with the agreement of the major opposition parties, embarked in November 1950 upon a general program of anti-inflationary fiscal measures in order to cope with the worsening international payments situation. The program included additional taxation on consumption and incomes and forced savings which required graduated contributions estimated to amount in all to DKr 140 million. The Danish National Bank had raised its discount rate to 5 per cent in November, after having already raised it from 312 to 4? per cent in July; and the commercial banks also had raised their interest rates.
The network effects of recommending social connections

Social networking sites have begun to be used in the enterprise as a method of connecting employees. Recommender systems may be used to recommend social contacts in order to increase user engagement, encourage collaboration and facilitate expertise discovery. This paper evaluates the effects of four recommendation algorithms on the network as a whole and the social structure. We demonstrate that depending on the basis of the recommendation algorithm the effects on the network vary greatly and their potential impact should be understood. It is hoped this research can be used as guidance for future recommendation algorithms.
Anchor subperiosteal forehead lift: from open to endoscopic.

Anchor Subperiosteal Forehead Lift: From Open to Endoscopic Oscar Ramirez; Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
UK agriculture in the wider economy: The importance of net SAM linkage effects

The paper investigates the linkages between UK agriculture and the wider economy using a modified version of a SAM Leontief model. Through multiplier decomposition, the nature and significance of the 'net SAM linkage effects' of agriculture (effects excluded from an input-output analysis of the economy) are examined. The empirical results suggest that the net SAM linkage effects of the agricultural and food accounts are relatively small. However, they illustrate differences between agricultural commodities which derive from not only the structure of production, but also the distribution of factor incomes and the pattern of consumer demand in the economy. Further, the SAM linkage effects are found to be significant in determining the magnitude of benefits that leak from the farm sector to the wider economy. Copyright 1995 by Oxford University Press.
Spatial responses to predators vary with prey escape mode

Prey often avoid their predators but may, under certain conditions, remain in or even shift to space where predators are relatively abundant when threatened. Here, we review studies of habitat choices by multiple, sympatric prey species at risk from a shared predator to show that the defensive decision to avoid or select predator-rich space is contingent on prey escape behaviour. We suggest that prey species with escape tactics offering little chance of survival following an encounter should seek predator scarcity, whereas those with tactics whose post-encounter effectiveness is spatially correlated with predator abundance should be most likely to match the distribution of their predators. Furthermore, we argue that the nature of the defensive spatial response of a prey species with a particular escape tactic also depends on the hunting approach used by its predator and the setting of the predator–prey interaction (i.e. landscape features). Accordingly, an integrated approach that accounts for prey escape behaviour and the context provided by predator hunting mode and landscape features should lead to a better understanding of antipredator spatial shifts and improve our ability to anticipate the consequences of changes in predator numbers for prey distributions and ecosystem dynamics. We conclude by encouraging further exploration of contingency in antipredator behaviour and the possibility that generalist predators might indirectly influence prey resources and community properties via diverse pathways that are mediated by spatial shifts of prey species with different escape tactics.
Environmentally Based Assessment Practices: Viable Alternatives to Standardized Assessment for Assessing Emergent Literacy Skills in Young Children.

Ecological validity is an important construct in the assessment of young children. The argument is made that using environmentally based assessment practices as well as understanding the child's ecology will help assure that assessments are carried out in an ecologically valid manner. The discussion focuses on play-based assessment, curriculum-based assessment, and dynamic assessment. Each of these approaches is based on authentic procedures and is typically carried out in the child's natural environment. In addition, there is a discussion of how specific environments can be delineated as well as stressing the importance of developing operational definitions of specific skills in the natural environment.
Background Consistency in Overlapping Images

We present an algorithm for achieving background consistency in overlapping images. The algorithm consists of two main steps. First, the images are interpolated to a common grid. Second, the cumulative pixel-by-pixel difference between the overlapping areas of all pairs of images is minimized with respect to the unknown constant offsets of the input images. The images are corrected by adding the computed offsets. Optionally, detection and masking of bright objects in the images can be performed prior to minimization. This option is especially useful for images with a high density of cosmic-ray hits. We use simulated data to optimize the algorithm in order to achieve a trade-off between the speed of execution and the quality of the background matching. We also show several examples of the application of this algorithm to real Spitzer data. The algorithm has been implemented and successfully used by the Spitzer image processing package MOPEX (Makovoz & Khan) and deployed by the Spitzer automated pipeline.
Taxing agriculture: Instruments and incidence

Abstract This paper analyzes the ways in which individual instruments of tax/subsidy policy involving agriculture affect income distribution, production and trade in developing countries. It highlights the interactions among policy instruments in effecting income transfers among government, farmers and nonagricultural sectors. These interactions and indirect effects become intelligible only when the multiplicity and characteristic forms of government interventions in international trade and the domestic economy are explicitly recognized. In developing countries, terms-of-trade taxes on agriculture cannot be easily replaced. Hence, attempts to remove trade “distortions” with hypothetically nondistorting taxes can be counterproductive.
Application of recent results in functional analysis to the problem of water tables

Abstract The traditional viewpoint in hydrology and soil physics purports that water tables appearing in porous media described by Darcy's law and the extended Darcy's law are not singular surfaces. Several particular solutions in which singularities occur are presented as counter-examples to the traditional viewpoint and as evidence supporting the new theory that water tables are generally singular surfaces.
Reducing False Positives of Small Bowel Segmentation on CT Scans by Localizing Colon Regions

Automated small bowel segmentation is essential for computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) of small bowel pathology, such as tumor detection and pre-operative planning. We previously proposed a method to segment the small bowel using the mesenteric vasculature as a roadmap. The method performed well on small bowel segmentation but produced many false positives, most of which were located on the colon. To improve the accuracy of small bowel segmentation, we propose a semi-automated method with minimum interaction to distinguish the colon from the small bowel. The method utilizes anatomic knowledge about the mesenteric vasculature and a statistical method of colon detection. First, anatomic labeling of the mesenteric arteries is used to identify the arteries supplying the colon. Second, a statistical detector is created by combining two colon probability maps. One probability map is of the colon location and is generated from colon centerlines generated from CT colonography (CTC) data. Another probability map is of 3D colon texture using Haralick features and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers. The two probability maps are combined to localize colon regions, i.e., voxels having high probabilities on both maps were labeled as colon. Third, colon regions identified by anatomical labeling and the statistical detector are removed from the original results of small bowel segmentation. The method was evaluated on 11 abdominal CT scans of patients suspected of having carcinoid tumors. The reference standard consisted of manually-labeled small bowel segmentation. The method reduced the voxel-based false positive rate of small bowel segmentation from 19.7%±3.9% to 5.9%±2.3%, with two-tailed P-value < 0.0001.
Mg2+ uptake by synthetic tobermorite and xonotlite

Abstract Synthetic crystalline calcium silicate hydrates Ca 5 Si 6 O 16 (OH) 2 ·4H 2 O and Ca 6 Si 6 O 17 (OH) 2 which are identical to the silicate minerals 11A tobermorite and xonotlite respectively show Mg 2+ uptake in aqueous solutions. When placed in solutions initially of 100–1000 ppm in Mg 2+ , 11A tobermorite takes up a maximum of 3.5 wt% of Mg after equilibration for 15 days at 25°C whereas the uptake level in xonotlite is as high as 3.7% after equilibration for 7 days. However, Mg 2+ uptake by both the phases did not reach an equilibrium. The studies of magnesium uptake appear to be useful in delineating the mechanisms of ion exchange in calcium silicate minerals. The uptake appears to be a combined effect of reversible ion exchange on broken bonds and outer planar surfaces and irreversible reaction of Mg 2+ with the calcium silicates which led to Ca release. These mechanisms were corroborated by the morphological and chemical studies of the exchanged products, Mg x Ca 5−x Si 6 O 16 (OH) 2 ·nH 2 O and Mg x Ca 6−x Si 6 O 17 (OH) 2 using a transmission electron microscope (TEM) with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS).
Long-term thermomechanical and thermohydrological factors controlling the optimal design of a nuclear waste repository

Surface uplift and buoyancy flow are two of the major long-term, far-field perturbations to the geologic formations around a nuclear waste repository. The allowable surface uplift has been accepted in the literature as a criterion limiting the repository waste loading density. It has also been recognized in generic modeling studies that the buoyancy distortion of the ambient groundwater flow around a repository is a major mechanism for radionuclide transport. However, the buoyancy considerations have yet to be quantified for the purpose of optimal design of a radioactive waste repository. We suggest the possibility of using the buoyancy gradient when compared with the ambient regional (horizontal) gradient as a measurable thermohydrologic factor that controls the design of waste loading. This study indicates that the buoyancy gradient could in some cases become the main controlling factor. To decrease the buoyancy effects, much lower values of waste loading density should be considered in the design of the waste repository.
Exploring Visual Perception and Children's Interpretations of Picture Books

Abstract Visual perception is an ability to process and organize visual information; it plays a role in identifying and classifying information. Many physiological and psychological factors can have an impact on the depth of visual perception in terms of categorization and interpretation of meaning. Picture books tell stories to children with a combination of texts and images. Children's interaction with picture books shows relationships with visual perception; visual perception has an impact on children's categorization and narratives and illustrations of picture books are works of art that can provide sources for children to appreciate art and enhance their visual perception. Three to five-year-old children are characterized by a reliance on their perception because they see what appears to them. At public libraries, schools, and homes children often read picture books for learning and recreation. Thirty-one three- to five-year-old children from one public library, one preschool, and home schools were recruited to interpret images of two picture books in short interviews. Factors that contributed to their interpretation were explored through surveys, content analysis, and case studies.
Influence of salinity on petroleum accommodation by dispersants

Abstract The effect of receiving water salinity on the effectiveness of two oil dispersants, Corexits ® 9527 and 9500, was investigated using a recently implemented modified version of the Swirling Flask efficacy test. The dispersants were tested with ten different oils, representing a wide range of physical–chemical properties. Test salinities ranged from 0 to 35 ppt, with temperature held constant at 15°C. Results showed Corexit 9500 to be generally more effective on most of the dispersible oils at most salinities, but performance of both products was significantly affected by salinity. Both dispersants performed best at salinities above 25 ppt, with Corexit 9500 maintaining its effectiveness over a fairly wide range of salinities. Correlations between dispersant effectiveness and various oil physical/chemical properties were highly variable.
Quantum gravity: Physics from geometry

Two recent developments suggest how familiar properties of gravity and matter may emerge from the quantum geometry that underlies loop quantum gravity.
Toxicity studies in endrin-susceptible and resistant strains of pine mice☆

Abstract Oral LD50 studies were conducted in strains of endrin-susceptible and resistant pine mice live-trapped in different apple orchards. The degree of resistance to endrin decreased in the orchard once endrin application as a control measure was terminated. Endrin-resistant mice showed a 2-fold degree of cross-resistance to dieldrin and an absence of cross-resistance to the organophosphate Gophacide and to the indirect anticoagulant chlorophacinone. Both Gophacide and chlorophacinone were more lethal to the endrin-resistant mice. Endrin toxicity studies in offspring indicated the resistance is heritable in first generation progeny.
Reasoning Boolean operation based modeling for heterogeneous objects

Abstract A reasoning Boolean operation based CAD modeling approach applied to construct heterogeneous material objects is presented. This reasoning Boolean operation consists of a merging operation and an extracting operation, and it is executed according to the material-dominant information defined in the designed heterogeneous object database. In addition to the material-dominant Boolean union, subtraction, and intersection, a new Boolean complex_union operation is defined and introduced to the set of the reasoning Boolean operation. The Boolean complex_union ‘assembles’ the results of the material-dominant Boolean intersection and subtraction to form a new modeling assembly for the heterogeneous object. Due to the CAD-based nature, the thus formed heterogeneous model can be readily implemented with advanced CAD/CAE/CAM software for integrated design, analysis, and simulation. An example of such an application, its hierarchy of the model database, and the major steps of the model construction are described.
Conservative management of delayed suprapubic abscess after laparoscopic Burch colposuspension using nonabsorbable polypropylene mesh

Abstract To our knowledge, abscess formation after laparoscopic Burch colposuspension using permanent surgical mesh has not been previously reported. In our patient a suprapubic abscess was identified 4 weeks after the procedure in which polypropylene mesh was used. Conservative management involving drainage under computerized tomographic guidance and antibiotic therapy resulted in complete resolution without necessitating removal of the mesh.
Restructuring within GE to Facilitate Strategic Change: A Self‐design Process Approach

Exonomic and competitive pressures have largely caused leaner and more responsive organisations to become the primary objectives of organisational designers over the past decade. Most of these initiatives, though, have been aimed at senior management levels and have yielded mixed results. Self‐design is a strategic restructuring alternative that can potentially overcome many of the liabilities of traditional design approaches and help engender employee commitment to today′s flatter, more decentralised organisation. Though there are many prescriptions evolving from conceptualisations of the self‐designing organisation, there are very few successful examples of self‐design in practice, especially as a strategic change management tool. This case study is intended to help fill this void and intertwine theory with the practice of self‐design.
Directional coupler optical switch constructed from field-induced waveguides

A novel directional-coupler optical switch based on the concept of the field-induced guide is demonstrated for the first time. The device exhibits a good switching characteristic between two output ends with a crosstalk of −10 dB at a 1.15 μm wavelength for a device with an 800 μm coupling length.
Genetic factors in primary hypertension and coronary artery disease. A reappraisal.

Abstract There is evidence of familial concentration in primary hypertension, but it is not known to what extent genetic factors are responsible. Data on genetic factors in coronary artery disease are meager, and interpretations are speculative. There is need for studies in which genetic and other factors are studied together. Study of the family characteristics of relatives of patients and controls can provide information on the interaction of genetic and environmental factors and offer suggestions for the interception of causes and the prevention of these diseases.
Non-MSE wavelet-based data compression for emitter location

The location of an emitter is estimated by intercepting its signal and sharing the data among several platforms to measure the time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) and the frequency-difference-of-arrival (FDOA). Doing this in a timely fashion requires effective data compression. A common compression approach is to use a rate-distortion criterion where distortion is taken to be the mean-square error (MSE) between the original and compressed versions of the signal. However, in this paper we show that this MSE-only approach is inappropriate for TDOA/FDOA estimation and then define a more appropriate, non-MSE distortion measure. This measure is based on the fact that in addition to the dependence on MSE, the TDOA accuracy also depends inversely on the signal's RMS (or Gabor) bandwidth and the FDOA accuracy also depends inversely on the signal's RMS (or Gabor) duration. We discuss how the wavelet transform is a natural choice to exploit this non-MSE criterion. These ideas are shown to be natural generalizations of our previously presented results showing how to determine the correct balance between quantization and decimation. We develop a MSE-based wavelet method and then incorporate the non-MSE error criterion. Simulations show the wavelet method provides significant compression ratios with negligible accuracy reduction. We also make comparisons to methods that don't exploit time-frequency structure and see that the wavelet methods far out-perform them.
Replication bypass of the trans-4-Hydroxynonenal-derived (6S,8R,11S)-1,N(2)-deoxyguanosine DNA adduct by the sulfolobus solfataricus DNA polymerase IV.

trans-4-Hydroxynonenal (HNE) is the major peroxidation product of ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in vivo. Michael addition of the N2-amino group of dGuo to HNE followed by ring closure of N1 onto the aldehyde results in four diastereomeric 1,N2-dGuo (1,N2-HNE-dGuo) adducts. The (6S,8R,11S)-HNE-1,N2-dGuo adduct was incorporated into the 18-mer templates 5′-d(TCATXGAATCCTTCCCCC)-3′ and d(TCACXGAATCCTTCCCCC)-3′, where X = (6S,8R,11S)-HNE-1,N2-dGuo adduct. These differed in the identity of the template 5′-neighbor base, which was either Thy or Cyt, respectively. Each of these templates was annealed with either a 13-mer primer 5′-d(GGGGGAAGGATTC)-3′ or a 14-mer primer 5′-d(GGGGGAAGGATTCC)-3′. The addition of dNTPs to the 13-mer primer allowed analysis of dNTP insertion opposite to the (6S,8R,11S)-HNE-1,N2-dGuo adduct, whereas the 14-mer primer allowed analysis of dNTP extension past a primed (6S,8R,11S)-HNE-1,N2-dGuo:dCyd pair. The Sulfolobus solfataricus P2 DNA polymerase IV (Dpo4) belongs to the Y-family of...
Methyl 3‐(Dimethylamino)propionate

[3853-06-3] C6H13NO2 (MW 131.20) InChI = 1S/C6H13NO2/c1-7(2)5-4-6(8)9-3/h4-5H2,1-3H3 InChIKey = VSFJOMFYABROHQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N (masked acrylate synthetic equivalent; for preparation of α-methylene esters, acids, and lactones2) Physical Data: bp 56 °C/15 mmHg. Solubility: sol all common solvents. Form Supplied in: colorless liquid. Analysis of Reagent Purity: 1H and 13C NMR; GC. Preparative Method: reaction of Methyl Acrylate with dimethylamine in ether at 0–25 °C.3 Purification: distillation at reduced pressure. Handling, Storage, and Precautions: routine laboratory techniques; exhibits typical tendency of amines to undergo slow oxidation in the air. Use in a fume hood.
Exploring semantic roles of Web interface components

The adaptability of Web interfaces in response to changes in the interaction context, display environments (e.g., mobile screens) and user's personal preferences is becoming increasingly desirable due to the pervasive use of Web information. One of the major challenges in Web interface adaptation is to discover the semantic structure underlying a Web interface. This paper presents a robust and formal approach to recovering interface semantics using a graph grammar approach. Due to its distinct characteristics of spatial specification in the abstract syntax, the Spatial Graph Grammar (SGG) is used to perform semantic grouping and interpretation of segmented screen objects. We use the well-established image processing technology to recognize atomic interface objects in an interface image. The output is a spatial graph, which records significant spatial relations among recognized objects. Based on the spatial graph, the SGG parser recovers the hierarchical relations among interface objects and thus provides semantic interpretation suitable for adaptation.
Lactococcus lactis Metabolism and Gene Expression during Growth on Plant Tissues

Lactic acid bacteria have been isolated from living, harvested, and fermented plant materials; however, the adaptations these bacteria possess for growth on plant tissues are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated plant habitat-specific traits of Lactococcus lactis during growth in an Arabidopsis thaliana leaf tissue lysate (ATL). L. lactis KF147, a strain originally isolated from plants, exhibited a higher growth rate and reached 7.9-fold-greater cell densities during growth in ATL than the dairy-associated strain L. lactis IL1403. Transcriptome profiling (RNA-seq) of KF147 identified 853 induced and 264 repressed genes during growth in ATL compared to that in GM17 laboratory culture medium. Genes induced in ATL included those involved in the arginine deiminase pathway and a total of 140 carbohydrate transport and metabolism genes, many of which are involved in xylose, arabinose, cellobiose, and hemicellulose metabolism. The induction of those genes corresponded with L. lactis KF147 nutrient consumption and production of metabolic end products in ATL as measured by gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF/MS) untargeted metabolomic profiling. To assess the importance of specific plant-inducible genes for L. lactis growth in ATL, xylose metabolism was targeted for gene knockout mutagenesis. Wild-type L. lactis strain KF147 but not an xylA deletion mutant was able to grow using xylose as the sole carbon source. However, both strains grew to similarly high levels in ATL, indicating redundancy in L. lactis carbohydrate metabolism on plant tissues. These findings show that certain strains of L. lactis are well adapted for growth on plants and possess specific traits relevant for plant-based food, fuel, and feed fermentations.
Surfactant Templated Mesoporous Hybrid Thin Films

Hybrid magnetic composites made up of calibrated maghemite nanoparticles well dispersed in an epoxide resin were obtained by polymerization of the resin inside stable organosols of maghemite. The sol stability was ensured by ligand adsorption onto the particle surface. Studies of phenylphosphonic acid adsorption are presented. They show a strong interaction between PPA ions and hydroxyl groups of particle surface and through bridging ≡Fe 2 O 2 POΦ species. Infrared and Mossbauer spectroscopies as well as quasi- elastic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the materials.
ENDOPYELOTOMY FAILURE IS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-beta

AbstractPurpose: Approximately 15% of patients with ureteropelvic junction obstruction have endopyelotomy failure and require an additional surgical procedure to remove the obstruction. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), a cytokine which stimulates mesenchymal cell proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition, increases in the renal pelvis in response to obstruction. However, TGF-beta also is implicated in smooth muscle regeneration and wound healing. To understand the pathophysiology of ureteropelvic junction obstruction and determine why endopyelotomy fails in some obstructed ureteropelvic junctions, TGF-beta expression in obstructed and normal ureteropelvic junction segments was compared.Materials and Methods: Immunohistochemical staining using a rabbit polyclonal anti-TGF-beta was performed on deparafinfized 4 micro m. sections of paraffin blocked ureteropelvic junction segments. Human obstructed ureteropelvic junction segments were removed during primary pyeloplasties (11) and secondary...