cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical Features of Myositis: Lung Manifestations

The lung is a frequent and critical, extra-muscular target in autoimmune myositis. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the most common manifestation and can present with variable severity from mild, asymptomatic changes on a CT scan to severe, rapidly progressive disease resulting in respiratory failure and death. Other pulmonary manifestations include diaphragmatic weakness, pulmonary arterial hypertension, venous thromboembolism, pneumomediastinum, and pulmonary infection. Lung involvement commonly presents with symptoms of cough and/or shortness of breath. The evaluation of lung disease in myositis should include a careful history and physical examination, a review of medications, pulmonary function testing, as well as chest CT imaging. The nature of the treatment will follow the etiology of the lung insult. Because of the high morbidity and mortality associated with lung involvement, early recognition, evaluation, and treatment are critical to improve patient outcomes.
Increasing Allergy-Related Emergency Department Visits in the United States, 2007 to 2015.

Background Allergic reactions, angioedema, and anaphylaxis are commonly treated in the emergency department (ED). Contemporary evidence suggests that these conditions may be increasing in the United States. Objective To evaluate the contemporary epidemiology and trends of ED visits for allergic reactions, angioedema, and anaphylaxis in the United States from 2007 to 2015. Methods Using de-identified data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2007 to 2015, we identified cases of acute allergic reactions, angioedema, and anaphylaxis through International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification codes and conducted a retrospective analysis of rates and trends of these allergy-related ED visits. Results There was a 14% overall increase in allergy-related ED visits between 2007 and 2015. Approximately 10 million ED visits in this time frame were associated with allergy-related conditions accounting for 0.85% (95% CI, 0.79-0.90) of all ED visits in the United States. Almost 3% of allergy-related ED visits were coded as anaphylaxis of which 46.1% (95% CI, 27.5-64.6) received epinephrine. Patients younger than 10 years had a higher relative risk (1.3; 95% CI, 1.0-1.6; P = .027) of allergy-related ED visits per 1000 ED visits than patients 65 years and older, and women also had a higher relative risk (1.4; 95% CI, 1.2-1.5; P Conclusions Allergy-related ED visits increased 14% from 2007 to 2015, with the highest relative risk occurring in patients younger than 10 years. These data provide further evidence of increasing allergic conditions in the United States.
Systemic iron overload exacerbates osteoarthritis in the strain 13 guinea pig

Summary Objective Iron is emerging as a key player in aging-associated diseases due to its propensity for driving free radical formation. Studies examining the role of iron in the pathogenesis of primary osteoarthritis (OA) are limited. Our objective was to establish a direct relationship between excess iron and OA by administering iron dextran to a guinea pig strain with decreased propensity for developing this disease. Design Twenty, 12-week-old Strain 13 guinea pigs received either iron dextran or dextran control intraperitoneally once weekly for 4 weeks; termination occurred at 16 weeks of age. Iron levels were determined systemically (serum and liver) and within diarthrodial joints [femoral head articular cartilage and infrapatellar fat pads (IFPs) of knee joints]. One knee was collected to score structural changes associated with OA via microcomputed tomography (microCT) and histology using published grading schemes. Articular cartilage and IFPs were harvested from contralateral knees for gene expression analyses. Results Iron overload was confirmed systemically via increased serum iron and liver iron concentration. Articular cartilage and IFPs in the iron dextran group also had higher levels of iron. Excess iron worsened knee OA using both microCT and histologic scoring systems. Gene analyses revealed that exogenous iron altered the expression of iron trafficking proteins, select cytokines, and structural components of cartilage. Conclusion These results demonstrate that systemic iron overload caused cellular iron accumulation in the knee joint. This excess iron is associated with increased expression of local inflammatory mediators and early onset and progression of knee joint OA in Strain 13 animals.
Burnout and Teacher–Child Interactions: The Moderating Influence of SEL Interventions in Head Start Classrooms

Research Findings: The present study explored the extent to which teachers’ participation in professional development focused on children’s social-emotional learning moderated the relation between ...
David Bayley: a personal reminiscence

I have known David Bayley personally for a long time and followed his career over the years. David’s reputation and status in the profession rests, I think, on four basic achievements. One was his ...
Education for autonomy, and for care: a comment on Asha Bhandary’s Freedom to Care

In this paper I examine and elaborate on Asha Bhandary’s conception of autonomy, and take up the question of what education for autonomy, thus understood, might require. I argue that educating for ...
Predictors of distant metastases in sinonasal and skull base cancer patients treated with surgery

Abstract Objectives Sinonasal and skull base tumors comprise a heterogeneous group of malignancies with a significant rate of distant recurrence (DR). The aim of this study was to analyze tumor and host factors, including pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), that predict DR in these patients. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed sinonasal tumors and/or tumors involving the skull base treated with surgery between 1973 and 2015 (n = 473). We stratified NLR using the top 5 percentile as cutoff. Factors predictive of outcome were determined by Cox proportional hazards model. Results Most tumors were primary (81%) and 67% had skull base resection. The most common site was the nasal cavity (37%) and the most common histology was squamous cell carcinoma (34%). Most patients presented with advanced primary tumor stage (pT3/T4; 80%) and most had no regional neck disease (pNx/N0; 93%). A total of 104 patients developed DR. The 5-year overall and disease-specific survival for patients who developed DR were 36.4% and 35.8%, compared to 69.0% and 74.9% for patients who did not. Patients with DR had a higher percentage of NLR-high patients compared patients without DR (11% vs 3%, p = .006). In a multivariable analysis, melanoma histology (HR = 5.469, 95% CI 3.171–9.433), pT3/T4 (HR = 2.686, 95% CI 1.150–6.275), pN+ (HR = 6.864, 95% CI 3.450–13.653), and NLR-high (HR = 3.489, 95% CI 1.593–7.639) were independent predictors of DR. Conclusion Melanoma histology, pT, pN, and high NLR predict DR, suggesting that both tumor and host factors need to be considered. NLR may act as a surrogate marker of the hosts immune system.
Open and Endoscopic Approaches to the Infratemporal Fossa

Abstract The infratemporal fossa is a complex space that both contains and is closely associated with vital neurovascular structures. As such, surgical access of the infratemporal fossa presents a definitive challenge requiring complete understanding of ventral skull base anatomy and expertise with both open craniofacial and endoscopic techniques. Anterior and lateral approaches to the infratemporal fossa vary greatly and may be individualized to each case in order to optimize visualization and instrumentation. Significant progress has been made in the development of surgical techniques for treatment of tumors involving the infratemporal fossa, including expanded endonasal approaches. Endoscopic, minimally invasive, and open approaches each provide distinct advantages and disadvantages. In the present article, we will review indications and limitations of the varied methodology for approaching the infratemporal fossa.
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE WORKSHOPS

ABSTRACT In 1987, Cal Poly Pomona instituted a mathematics workshop program for science and engineering students from under-represented minority groups, adapted from the Professional Development Program at UC Berkeley. Workshops are now offered in association with a variety of science and engineering courses. The two components that differentiate this program from its predecessors are the use of undergraduates as workshop facilitators, and the high level of faculty involvement. The result of both is a smooth chain of command from the directors down to the students where each level acts as role-models for the one below. A description is given of the duties and benefits for students and faculty involved in the program.
Chemical atomism and the evolution of chemical theory in the nineteenth century

The development of chemical theory in the nineteenth century has been relatively little studied, compared with other sciences and other periods; much remains still to be explored. One notable example is chemical atomism, and its adjuncts such as valence and structure theory. Nonexistent at the beginning of the century, a generation or two later these ideas had moved to the very center of the science, which they still inhabit. The chemical atomic theory embodies outstanding examples of paper tools that provide not only explanatory and expository functions for what is already accepted as known, but also heuristic guidance in the further construction of a science. It may be of interest, therefore, to attempt an analysis of what some recent studies have revealed about this subject, along with indications of where further historical efforts may yield additional rewards.
Robert Jackson's Opinion on the Destroyer Deal and the Question of Presidential Prerogative

Recent years have seen a revival in interest in the work of Robert Jackson – Franklin Roosevelt's Attorney General and later Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Jackson's account of Executive power in his concurring opinion in the Steel Seizure Case is widely celebrated. But that opinion needs to be read against the backdrop of his earlier work as Attorney General and his judicial opinions in other leading war powers cases, including his notable dissent in Korematsu. Starting with a close analysis of Attorney General Jackson's controversial 1940 opinion in the "destroyer deal" case – which was written at the point at which Hitler seemed poised to defeat Britain – this essay investigates whether and how far Jackson accepted some form of Presidential "prerogative" to act, even unconstitutionally, in the face of critical emergencies threatening the life of the nation.
The control of avian cephalic neural crest cytodifferentiation: I. Skeletal and connective tissues

The neural crest is the embryonic source of many skeletal and connective tissues associated with the visceral arches of vertebrate embryos. By transplanting quail premigratory neural crest cells, which contain a distinctive nuclear marker [Le Douarin, N. M. (1971). Ann. Embryol. Morphol. 4, 125–135], orthotopically into various preotic regions of the chick, it has been shown that all cartilages and bones and most connective tissues of the facial and oral regions are of crest cell origin. These derivatives include the frontal, prefrontal, nasal, maxilla, premaxilla, parasphenoid, palatine, pterygoid, and squamosal bones, in addition to lower jaw skeletal elements. Most connective tissues found in the facial and periprosencephalic regions are of crest origin, including the corneal endothelium, stromal cells, and leptomeningeal tissues. To examine whether crest cells were restricted to specific developmental pathways, quail crest cells from one part of the head were grafted in the place of a different population of chick crest cells. In all cases these host embryos were identical to controls, indicating that cytodifferentiation, growth, and histogenesis of crest-derived tissues are directed by environmental influences encountered by migrating crest cells after they leave their origin.
Cold neutron study on the diffuse scattering and phonon excitations in the relaxor Pb ( Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 ) O 3

Cold neutron scattering experiments have been performed to explore the energy, temperature, and wave-vector dependence of the diffuse scattering and the transverse acoustic (TA) phonons in the relaxor $\mathrm{Pb}({\mathrm{Mg}}_{1∕3}{\mathrm{Nb}}_{2∕3}){\mathrm{O}}_{3}$. We have observed a weak diffuse scattering cross section above the Burns temperature ${T}_{d}\ensuremath{\sim}600\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. This cross section, which is most likely caused by chemical short-range order, persists down to $100\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$, and coexists with the much stronger diffuse scattering that is attributed to the polar nanoregions. A systematic study of the TA phonon around (1, 1, 0) has also been carried out. The phonon is well defined for small wave-vectors $\mathbf{q}$, but broadens markedly around $\mathbf{q}=(0.1,\ensuremath{-}0.1,0)$.
Low temperature plasma near a tokamak reactor limiter

Analytic and two-dimensional computational solution for the plasma parameters near a toroidally symmetric limiter are illustrated for the projected parameters of a tokamak fusion core experiment (TFCX). The temperature near the limiter plate is below 20 eV, except when the density 10 cm inside the limiter contact is 8 x 10/sup 13/ cm-/sup 3/ or less and the thermal diffusivity in the edge region is 2 x 10/sup 4/ cm/sup 2//S or less. Extrapolation of recent experimental data suggests that neither of these conditions is likely to be met near ignition in TFCX, so as a low plasma temperature near the limiter should be considered a likely possibility.
Induced-gate thermal noise in high electron mobility transistors

Abstract The induced-gate thermal noise in high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) is evaluated by a very general schematic and the minimum noise figure Fmin−1 due to thermal noise is calculated over a wide frequency range. The results are applied to the conductance g(V) per unit length proposed by Delagebeaudeuf and Linh, and the effects of hot electrons in very short channels are indicated. The measurements of Fmin by Delagebeaudeuf and Linh can be explained by taking the hot electrons effect into account. The possibility that a somewhat different expression for g(V) may be needed is left open and is easily incorporated in the general schematic of the discussion.
How does cognitive behavior therapy for irritable bowel syndrome work? A mediational analysis of a randomized clinical trial.

Background & Aims: Although multiple clinical trials support the efficacy of psychological treatments for reducing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms, the mechanisms responsible for symptomatic improvement are unknown. One hypothesis is that psychological treatments work by alleviating comorbid psychological distress implicated in the worsening of bowel symptoms and quality of life. An alternative hypothesis assumes that changes in distress are not strictly a cause but a consequence of IBS that will decrease with symptomatic improvement. Methods: We evaluated these 2 hypotheses by applying structural equation modeling (SEM) to the data set of a large number (n = 147) of Rome II diagnosed participants randomized to CBT, psychoeducation, or wait list. Per Rome guidelines, the primary end point was global improvement of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms measured 2 weeks after a 10-week regimen. Secondary end points were distress and quality of life (QOL). Results: SEM analyses lend support to a model in which CBT is associated with improvements in IBS symptoms, but that therapeutic gains do not depend on changes in patients' overall level of psychological distress. Symptom severity, but not clinical status (pain catastrophizing, predominant bowel habits, symptom duration, abuse, diagnosable psychiatric disorder) or relevant sociodemographic variables (eg, gender, age), moderated treatment outcome. Conclusion: CBT has a direct effect on global IBS symptom improvement independent of its effects on distress. Improvement in IBS symptoms is associated with improvements in the QOL, which may lower distress. Symptom improvements are not moderated by variables reflecting the mental well-being of IBS patients.
Mothers’ and Fathers’ Autonomy-Relevant Parenting: Longitudinal Links with Adolescents’ Externalizing and Internalizing Behavior

The goal of this study was to advance the understanding of separate and joint effects of mothers’ and fathers’ autonomy-relevant parenting during early and middle adolescence. In a sample of 518 families, adolescents (49 % female; 83 % European American, 16 % African American, 1 % other ethnic groups) reported on their mothers’ and fathers’ psychological control and knowledge about adolescents’ whereabouts, friends, and activities at ages 13 and 16. Mothers and adolescents reported on adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing behaviors at ages 12, 14, 15, and 17. Adolescents perceived their mothers as using more psychological control and having more knowledge than their fathers, but there was moderate concordance between adolescents’ perceptions of their mothers and fathers. More parental psychological control predicted increases in boys’ and girls’ internalizing problems and girls’ externalizing problems. More parental knowledge predicted decreases in boys’ externalizing and internalizing problems. The perceived levels of behavior of mothers and fathers did not interact with one another in predicting adolescent adjustment. The results generalize across early and late adolescence and across mothers’ and adolescents’ reports of behavior problems. Autonomy-relevant mothering and fathering predict changes in behavior problems during early and late adolescence, but only autonomy-relevant fathering accounts for unique variance in adolescent behavior problems.
Time, temperature, and mechanical fatigue dependence on underfill adhesion

The observations of the present study show that underfill properties can vary greatly after the initial cure and that these changes can have a significant effect on adhesion. Temperature studies illustrate that underfill adhesion is a strong function of temperature near its glass transition temperature and reveal the importance of adhesion tests at the temperature extremes of the operating conditions and/or reliability thermal cycling tests. Subcritical crack growth results demonstrate that subcritical strain energy release rates do not necessarily scale with critical strain energy release rates. These results are used to create a new adhesion screening methodology that more closely mimics the time, temperature, and mechanical fatigue conditions that an underfilled 1 st level package will typically experience.
Mass, Class, and the Reviewer

How influential is the reviewer? The theater critic continues to be credited most often with the crucial role of kingmaker or executioner in the world of legitimate theater. On the whole, however, many observers are inclined to discount the reviewer's influence altogether. Because critical ratings and audience ratings fail to jibe, one comes to deemphasize the impact which advertising and other mass media promotion usually have on public selections. This minimization, in turn, expresses an approach which views the customer as being in the focal position within a network of mass and personal communication. Accordingly one studies how information and evaluations reach audiences. In terms of this frame of reference-
Thermal stresses in a solid weakened by an external circular crack

Thermal stress and displacement fields in elastic solid weakened by crack outside of circular region, noting plastic zone size and energy dissipation
Implementation of integrated wireless health monitoring network

Efficient wireless-networked health monitoring re-quires integrated operation of multiple platforms. In-body medical sensors can network using low-range personal area communication standards, such as Zig-bee/802.15.4. The data collection and distribution back-haul requires long-range, high-data rate technolo-gies (WiFi), and finally a mobile communication inter-face is essential for anywhere anytime alarming about emergencies. Enabling seamless information dissemi-nation across these heterogeneous wireless platforms is crucial for efficient remote health monitoring.In this paper, we implement a laboratory prototype of wireless healthcare network using off-the-shelf wire-less technologies. We detail the hardware components used and, in contrast with several existing works, we develop software-interfaces for integrated operation of a complete wireless tele-health system.
Optimization of furrow irrigation schedules, designs and net return to water

Abstract A seasonal furrow irrigation model consisting of irrigation scheduling and kinematic-wave-based hydraulic submodels was modified to incorporate an economic optimization submodel. The model used a systematic simulation technique to optimize furrow irrigation schedules and designs assuming 80% irrigation adequacy at cutoff time. The irrigation schedules and designs were optimized for the homogeneous and heterogeneous infiltration under the mean and observed ETo (grass reference crop ET) conditions. The optimal management allowable depletion (MAD) level changed with the variation in ETo condition, and with the consideration of spatial and temporal (seasonal) variability in infiltration characteristics. Irrigation design changed with both infiltration conditions and MAD level. Infiltration variability did not influence the bean yield. However, the return to water decreased when spatial variability in infiltration conditions was considered. Using mean ETo resulted in slightly higher yield and net return to water as compared to using observed ETo. A small variation in daily mean ETo values with respect to daily observed ETo values caused a change in both irrigation schedules and designs. Therefore, mean ETo cannot be used to forecast irrigation schedules and designs at the beginning of crop season. The net return to water increased (1.7 to 3.6%), and the seasonal inflow, losses, and bean yield decreased in the case of variable interval scheduling (holding MAD constant) as compared to the fixed interval scheduling (MAD varies).
SR-IOV: Performance Benefits for Virtualized Interconnects

The demand for virtualization within high-performance computing is rapidly growing as new communities, driven by both new application stacks and new computing modalities, continue to grow and expand. While virtualization has traditionally come with significant penalties in I/O performance that have precluded its use in mainstream large-scale computing environments, new standards such as Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) are emerging that promise to diminish the performance gap and make high-performance virtualization possible.To this end, we have evaluated SR-IOV in the context of both virtualized InfiniBand and virtualized 10 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) using micro-benchmarks and real-world applications. We compare the performance of these interconnects on non-virtualized environments, Amazon's SR-IOV-enabled C3 instances, and our own SR-IOV-enabled InfiniBand cluster and show that SR-IOV significantly reduces the performance losses caused by virtualization. InfiniBand demonstrates less than 2% loss of bandwidth and less than 10% increase in latency when virtualized with SR-IOV. Ethernet also benefits, although less dramatically, when SR-IOV is enabled on Amazon's cloud.
The Church in the World: Shifting Notions of Ecclesial Identity among North American Mennonites

: At mid-century, Harold S. Bender's “The Anabaptist Vision” provided a definition of sixteenth-century Anabaptist tradition that clarified the self-understanding of its contemporary Mennonite heirs and by which their faithfulness to the tradition might be judged. Critics of the vision, such as J. Lawrence Burkholder, sought reformulations of the vision's central tension between separation from and integration into “the world,” calling for greater social responsibility and for a recognition that the ambiguities of human existence extend to the church, of necessity qualifying its lived expressions of radical discipleship.
Improving systematic reviews for clinicians: a journal editor's view

Summary Evidence-based medicine implies that randomised controlled trials, meta-analyses and systematic reviews will be used by clinicians to determine the most appropriate therapy for patients. Cochrane reviews are the prototype of systematic reviews, but they are not optimally utilised by physicians in the United States. This may be related to lack of access, unfamiliarity with the format, and the perception that they are impractical for actual patient care. An opportunity exists to criticise and improve systematic reviews, and changes are suggested to make them more user-friendly.
Comparison of Alewife Young-of-the-Year and Adult Respiration and Swimming Speed Bioenergetics Model Parameters: Implications of Extrapolation

Abstract Parameters derived from laboratory experiments that separately measured the routine metabolic rates (respiration) and swimming speeds of young-of-the-year (age-0) alewives Alosa pseudoharengus were compared with values published for a bioenergetics model for adults. Respiration rates of age-0 alewives were significantly influenced by water temperature and scaled isometrically with weight (range, 0.0001–1 g). Swimming speed was strongly related to fish weight and, unlike for adult alewives, water temperature significantly influenced the swimming speeds of age-0 fish. Temperature coefficients, along with the slopes for the weight dependence of age-0 alewife respiration rates and swimming speeds, significantly differed by 51–709% from published parameters for adults. Using adult parameters, the standard respiration rates at 15–25°C of age-0 alewives weighing less than 0.02 g were overestimated by 7–88% and the swimming speeds for fish weighing less than 1.0 g were overestimated by 130–4,270%. Applic...
Trauma: the impact of repeat imaging.

BACKGROUND: Patients referred to trauma centers often undergo an extensive diagnostic work-up before transfer. The purpose of our study was to quantify and examine the effects of repeat imaging in this population. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 410 patient transfers was performed. Repeat imaging was conducted at the discretion of the accepting surgeon for multiple reasons. Two groups were compared, those who did and those who did not require repeat imaging. RESULTS: Overall, 53% of referrals received repeat imaging, at an average cost of $2,985 per patient. This group was older (42 vs 37 y; P < .05), more severely injured (injury severity score, 12 vs 9; P < .05), and experienced longer delays before transfer (244 vs 192 min; P < .05). By using logistic regression analysis, injury severity score was found to be an independent predictor of the need for repeat imaging (P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: Severely injured trauma patients often receive films that ultimately require duplication, resulting in transfer delay, unnecessary morbidity, and increased resource use. Targeted education and development of centralized radiology systems could alleviate some of the burden of unnecessary imaging.
FERTILE OBSESSION: Validity After Poststructuralism

[P]ost-modernism involves the development of new rhetorics of science, new stories of knowledge ‘after truth’‥. The postmodern world is without guarantees, without ‘method’‥. All we can do is invent. We must construct and exemplify the rhetorics of the future … through … endless stories. Like this one. Tomlinson (1989), pp.44,57.
Production of singlet oxygen and superoxide radicals by psoralens and their biological significance

Abstract We have investigated a series of linear and angular furocoumarins, capable of forming either the monofunctional adducts (single strand) or bifunctional adducts (interstrand cross-links) with DNA with a view to examine the relationship of their skin photosensitizing potency, their ability to produce singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) or superoxide radicals (O 2 • or HO 2 • ), and their carcinogenic activity. The significance of photochemical interactions of psoralens and DNA is well known in skin photosensitization and skin carcinogenesis. Our data suggest that both monofunctional and bifunctional psoralens produce 1 O 2 and O 2 • , and these reactive forms of oxygen may contribute to the development of skin cancer and membranedamaging effects of these furocoumarins.
Transition from curative efforts to purely palliative care for neonates: does physiology matter?

OBJECTIVE:To isolate the threshold point in which the goal of care for an infant with life-limiting conditions transitions from curative efforts to purely palliative care.DESIGN:Descriptive Web-based survey of 285 neonatal physicians and nurses who had participated in care of dying infants.METHOD:Re
Recovery of polaritonic stop-band in pressed polycrystalline CaF 2 powder

We have demonstrated recovery of polaritonic stop-band in pressed polycrystalline CaF 2 powder. Due to small sizes of CaF 2 particles, we have observed evidence of severe damping of polaritonic waves at particle surfaces.
Constraints on the equation of state for neutron stars implied by PSR1957 + 20

The primary uncertainty in understanding the structure of neutron stars is our lack of knowledge of the equation of state of condensed matter above nuclear density (3 x 1014 g cm−3). The most rapidly rotating neutron stars, the millisecond pulsars, may offer a way to probe the equation of state in this region. The periods of the two fastest known pulsars, PSR1937 + 214 and the recently discovered1 PSR1957 + 20, are within 3% of each other, and are shorter than the period of any other known pulsars by about a factor of two. This observation substantially strengthens the argument that the fastest pulsars should rotate at the limiting frequency for stable neutron stars2,3 We show here that if the two fastest pulsars are rotating at or near their limiting frequencies, and if their masses are at least 1.4 M⊙, then the equation of state of neutron star matter must be quite stiff.
Binary wavefront optimization using a genetic algorithm

We demonstrate the use of a genetic algorithm with binary amplitude modulation of light through turbid media. We apply this method to binary amplitude modulation with a digital micromirror device. We achieve the theoretical maximum enhancement of 64 with 384 segments, and an enhancement of 320 with 6144 segments.
A Two-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis of The Arc’s Self-Determination Scale With Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders or Learning Disabilities

Given the emphasis on promoting self-determination in the field of special education and the corresponding use of scales to measure self-determination in research and practice, it is important to e...
The Formation and Stability of Adsorbed Formyl as a Possible Intermediate in Fischer-Tropsch Chemistry on Ruthenium.

Density functional theory has been used to study the formation and stabilization of the chemisorbed formyl species, HCO, on the Ru(001) surface. It has been found that the η1-HCO species attached to a Ru atom by a single Ru−C bond is unstable, and that it will convert to more strongly bound η2- and η3-HCO surface species. These more highly coordinated species decompose readily to produce H(a) and CO(a) via low activation energy reactions, indicating that the observation of HCO(a) species in any bonding mode at temperatures above 90 K is unlikely. Additionally, we found that abstraction of H from HCO(a) upon atomic H bombardment is another low-barrier reaction mechanism leading to the formation of adsorbed CO and desorption of an H2 molecule. Using a stepped Ru(109) surface, containing atomic steps periodically located every 22 A along the Ru(001) surface, we have bombarded chemisorbed CO with atomic H at T < 170 K in an attempt to produce and spectroscopically observe adsorbed HCO species by infrared refl...
Planetons: An example of large amplitude solitary waves

The term ‘‘solitary wave'’ is usually used to denote a steadily propagating permanent form solution of a nonlinear wave equation, with the permanency arising from a balance between steepening and d...
A NMR technique for the analysis of pore structure: Determination of continuous pore size distributions

NMR measurements of the spin—lattice relaxation decay time for a fluid in a porous solid have been previously demonstrated as a significant tool for pore size/structure analysis. The analysis requires the solution of a Fredholm integral equation of the first kind to extract the desired T1, and therefore, pore size distribution from the relaxation measurements. Earlier work successfully used a nonnegative least-squares (NNLS) technique to solve this problem. However, for stability to be achieved with that approach, the problem must be significantly overconstrained (i.e., more relaxation measurements than pore size distribution points) which limits resolution. In addition, broad distributions are represented as several narrow peaks. In this work, the method of regularization is applied to extracting continuous pore volume distributions from relaxation measurements. The validity of the approach used to calculate the optimum value of the regularization smoothing parameter given an expected noise level and the data is demonstrated using “data sets” generated from known T1 distributions. Varying levels of random noise are added to these data sets and the T1 distribution is calculated for comparison to the starting distribution. For error levels in the range of 0.001 to 0.01, agreement between the starting and the calculated distributions is good. The method has also been applied to relaxation data obtained for water in several controlled pore glasses and “random packing of sphere” solids. Agreement to NMR/regularization and mercury porosimetry-derived pore size distributions was excellent with the only deviations being the result of porosimetry measuring pore neck size and NMR measuring the true pore volume to surface area ratio.
Nitrogen retention in a floodplain backwater of the upper Mississippi River (USA)

Backwaters connected to large rivers retain nitrate and may play an important role in reducing downstream loading to coastal marine environments. A summer nitrogen (N) inflow-outflow budget was examined for a flow-regulated backwater of the upper Mississippi River in conjunction with laboratory estimates of sediment ammonium and nitrate fluxes, organic N mineralization, nitrification, and denitrification to provide further insight into N retention processes. External N loading was overwhelmingly dominated by nitrate and 54% of the input was retained (137 mg m−2 day−1). Ammonium and dissolved organic N were exported from the backwater (14 and 9 mg m−2 day−1, respectively). Nitrate influx to sediment increased as a function of increasing initial nitrate concentration in the overlying water. Rates were greater under anoxic versus oxic conditions. Ammonium effluxes from sediment were 26.7 and 50.6 mg m−2 day−1 under oxic and anoxic conditions, respectively. Since anoxia inhibited nitrification, the difference between ammonium anoxic–oxic fluxes approximated a nitrification rate of 29.1 mg m−2 day−1. Organic N mineralization was 64 mg m−2 day−1. Denitrification, estimated from regression relationships between oxic nitrate influx versus initial nitrate concentration and a summer lakewide mean nitrate concentration of 1.27 mg l−1, was 94 mg m−2 day−1. Denitrification was equivalent to only 57% of the retained nitrate, suggesting that another portion was assimilated by biota. The high sediment organic N mineralization and ammonium efflux rate coupled with the occurrence of ammonium export from the system suggested a possible link between biotic assimilation of nitrate, mineralization, and export.
In vitro studies of dissociated cells from newborn mouse dorsal root ganglia.

Abstract Dorsal root ganglia were dissected from newborn mice and dissociated with yields of about 6,000 neurons, and approximately equal numbers of non-neuronal cells, per ganglion. Dispersed cell cultures of these mouse ganglionic dissociates revealed that attachment, fiber growth and prolonged survival of their neurons were markedly dependent on the availability of exogenous nerve growth factor (NGF) in the culture medium. In contrast, the undissociated ganglia had failed to exhibit a fiberoutgrowth response in the classical NGF bioassay. Attachment and fiber production abilities of the dissociated neurons were also greatly enhanced by the addition of non-neuronal cells obtained from the same ganglionic source and this non-neuronal supplementation could substitute — at least for a limited time — for the otherwise required NGF. Neurons and dispersed non-neurons of the ganglionic dissociate attached to collagen with different time courses and could, thus, be separated from each other: the neuronal fraction, however, was not pure as many of the neurons remained studded with satellite cells through the dissociation and fractionation steps. Preliminary experiments suggested that neuronal attachment and fiber production would not occur in the cultures of a purified neuronal fraction, even in the presence of NGF, unless non-neuronal elements were resupplied to them.
NMR evidence for a base triple in the HIV-2 TAR C-G·C+ mutant-argininamide complex

Formation of a specific complex between the HIV Tat protein and the small RNA element TAR is critical for activation of viral transcription. A model complex for this interaction composed of HIV-2 TAR and the amide derivative of arginine has been developed to study how Tat and TAR interact specifically. We have previously determined a high resolution NMR structure of the HIV-2 TAR-argininamide complex. The argininamide guanidium group hydrogen bonds to the major groove face of G26 and is stacked between U23 and A22, forming an arginine sandwich. This structure also provided evidence for formation of a U38-A27.U38 base triple, as U23 is positioned in the major groove within hydrogen bonding distance to A27. However, the expected U23 imino proton was not observed, preventing unambiguous identification of the base triple. Previous work on an isomorphic C38-G27.C23+ base triple mutant of the three base bulge HIV-1 TAR-argininamide complex demonstrated that the base triple is required for specific argininamide binding. Here we investigate the same C38-G27.C23+ base triple mutant in the context of two base bulge HIV-2 TAR. The improved NMR spectral properties of HIV-2 TAR allowed observation of the C23 amino and imino protons for the first time, providing direct evidence that a hydrogen bonding interaction is occurring. The NOEs observed correspond to those observed in the high resolution structure of the HIV-2 TAR-argininamide complex, confirming that a base triple is an important feature of the TAR-argininamide interaction.
Precocious signs of new physics: Are we eight now?

Although the CKM-paradigm seems to work to an accuracy of about 15–20%, we emphasize that there are by now several indications that suggest the need for a beyond the Standard Model CP-odd phase. The value of sin 2β measured via the goldplated (tree) mode, B → ψKs is smaller than the value deduced by using improved lattice matrix elements. The value of sin 2β measured via ‘penguin-dominated’ (loop) decays tends to be even smaller still. There is also a rather large difference between the direct CP asymmetries in \( \bar B^0 \) → K−π+ and B− → K−π0 that is rather difficult to understand. More recently, CDF and D0 are finding about a 2σ signal in CP asymmetry in the corresponding gold-plated mode Bs → ψϕ. If true, this would be consistent with the indications of new CP-phase in penguin b → s transitions seen at B-factories. After describing these possible signs of trouble for the SM-CKM paradigm, we give a brief discussion of some of the BSM scenarios that could be the underlying cause of these deviations. In particular, we find that the data are quite suggestive of a fourth family with m′t in the range of 400–600 GeV as perhaps the simplest BSM candidate which ‘naturally’ explains the data.
The serial cultivation of human diploid cell strains.

Abstract The isolation and characterization of 25 strains of human diploid fibroblasts derived from fetuses are described. Routine tissue culture techniques were employed. Other than maintenance of the diploid karyotype, ten other criteria serve to distinguish these strains from heteroploid cell lines. These include retention of sex chromatin, histotypical differentiation, inadaptability to suspended culture, non-malignant characteristics in vivo , finite limit of cultivation, similar virus spectrum to primary tissue, similar cell morphology to primary tissue, increased acid production compared to cell lines, retention of Coxsackie A9 receptor substance, and ease with which strains can be developed. Survival of cell strains at − 70 °C with retention of all characteristics insures an almost unlimited supply of any strain regardless of the fact that they degenerate after about 50 subcultivations and one year in culture. A consideration of the cause of the eventual degeneration of these strains leads to the hypothesis that non-cumulative external factors are excluded and that the phenomenon is attributable to intrinsic factors which are expressed as senescence at the cellular level. With these characteristics and their extremely broad virus spectrum, the use of diploid human cell strains for human virus vaccine production is suggested. In view of these observations a number of terms used by cell culturists are redefined.
Transition-state structures for N-glycoside hydrolysis of AMP by acid and by AMP nucleosidase in the presence and absence of allosteric activator

The mechanism of acid and enzymatic hydrolysis of the N-glycosidic bond of AMP has been investigated by fitting experimentally observed kinetic isotope effects [Parkin, D. W., & Schramm, V. L. (1987) Biochemistry (preceding paper in this issue)] to calculated kinetic isotope effects for proposed transition-state structures. The sensitivity of the transition-state calculations was tested by "arying the transition-state structure and comparing changes in the calculated kinetic isotope effects with the experimental values of the isotope effect measurements. The kinetic isotope effects for the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of AMP are best explained by a transition state with considerable oxycarbonium character in the ribose ring, significant bonding remaining to the departing adenine ring, participation of a water nucleophile, and protonation of the adenine ring. A transition-state structure without preassociation of the water nucleophile cannot be eliminated by the data. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the N-glycosidic bond of AMP by AMP nucleosidase from Azotobacter vinelandii was analyzed in the absence and presence of MgATP, the allosteric activator that increases Vmax approximately 200-fold. The transition states for enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis that best explain the kinetic isotope effects involve early SN1 transition states with significant bond order in the glycosidic bond and protonation of the adenine base. The enzyme enforces participation of an enzyme-bound water molecule, which has weak bonding to C1' in the transition state. Activation of AMP nucleosidase by MgATP causes the bond order of the glycosidic bond in the transition state to increase significantly. Hyperconjugation in the ribosyl group is altered by enzymatic stabilization of the oxycarbonium ion. This change is consistent with the interaction of an amino acid on the enzyme. Together, these changes stabilize a carboxonium-like transition-state complex that occurs earlier in the reaction pathway than in the absence of allosteric activator. In addition to the allosteric changes that alter transition-state structure, the presence of other inductive effects that are unobserved by kinetic isotope measurements is also likely to increase the catalytic rate.
Modeling Multicomponent Ion Exchange Equilibrium Utilizing Hydrous Crystalline Silicotitanates by a Multiple Interactive Ion Exchange Site Model

An equilibrium multicomponent ion exchange model is presented for the ion exchange of group I metals by TAM-5, a hydrous crystalline silicotitanate. On the basis of the data from ion exchange and structure studies, the solid phase is represented as Na3X instead of the usual form of NaX. By using this solid phase representation, the solid can be considered as an ideal phase. A set of model ion exchange reactions is proposed for ion exchange between H+, Na+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+. The equilibrium constants for these reactions were estimated from experiments with simple ion exchange systems. Bromley's model for activity coefficients of electrolytic solutions was used to account for liquid phase nonideality. Bromley's model parameters for CsOH at high ionic strength and for NO2- and Al(OH)4- were estimated in order to apply the model for complex waste simulants. The equilibrium compositions and distribution coefficients of counterions were calculated for complex simulants typical of DOE wastes by solving the equil...
Synthesis of benzocyclobutenes from reactions of α,ω-diynes catalyzed by niobium(V) and tantalum(V) halides

Abstract Niobium pentachloride catalyzes the trimerization of short-chain, α,ω-diynes to bicyclic aromatic derivatives. Thus, 1,5-hexadiyne trimerizes to 1,2-bis(benzocyclobutenyl)ethane, 1,6-heptadiyne gives 1,3-bis(benzocyclopentenyl) propane, and 1,7-octadiyne yields 1,4-bis(benzocyclohexenyl) butane. Benzocyclobutenes were produced in reactions of 1,5-hexadiyne with several substituted alkynes, such as phenylacetylene, trimethylsilylacetylene and 5-chloro-1-pentyne. In these cases, the functional group is located on the benzene ring at the 2-position. The use of a cocatalyst such as tetraphenyltin increases the yield and selectivity in certain cases.
Strontium Contamination in Mineral Analyses

Significant amounts of strontium contamination occur in analyses of minerals by standard procedures using laboratory glassware. The contamination is much higher than that obtained in blank runs and is associated with the presence of some mineral samples. The contamination can be eliminated by using only teflon and platinum ware during chemical treatment.
Cryoinsult parameter effects on the histologically apparent volume of experimentally induced osteonecrotic lesions.

Investigation of femoral head osteonecrosis would benefit from an animal model whose natural history includes progression to bony collapse of a segmental necrotic lesion. The bipedal emu holds attraction for systematic organ-level study of collapse mechanopathology. One established method of experimentally inducing segmental lesions is liquid nitrogen cryoinsult. Four cryoinsult parameters – hold temperature, freeze duration, freeze/thaw repetition, and thaw duration - were investigated to determine their individual and combined effects on resulting necrotic lesion morphology. 3D distributions of histologically-apparent osteocyte necrosis from 24 emus receiving varying cryoinsults were used to develop univariate and multivariate linear regression models relating resulting necrotic lesion morphology to particular cryoinsult input parameters. These models were then applied to predict lesion size in four additional emus receiving differing input cryoinsults. The best multivariate regression model predicted lesion volumes that were accurate to better than 8% of overall emu femoral head volume. The hold temperature during cryoinsult was by far the most influential cryoinsult input parameter. The utility of this information is to enhance the consistency and predictability of cryoinsult-induced segmental lesion size for the purposes of systematic laboratory studies at the whole-organ level.