cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
IMPROVED ASSAY SENSITIVITY FOR SERUM LH AND PSH IN NORMAL CHILDREN AND ADDOLESCENTS

The onset of puberty is associated with an increase in LH and FSH secretion. A 2- to 6- fold increase in gonadotropin levels has been shown using RIA. with monoclonal antibody assays, greater changes in LH secretion have been observed. In order to document changes in gonadotropin secretion during childhood and puberty, serum basal levels or LH and FSH by IFMA (MDD;0.02 IU/L) and by RIA (MDD:1.0 10/L) were measured in normal children and adoloscents (28F, 29M). Serum LH and FSH basal levels (X±SD). In relationship to chronological age (years), sex and pubertal development (P) are shown in the Table. In conclusion: During the first years of life serum LH levels were clearly higher in boys than in girls. However, we observed that serum FSH levels were significantly higher in females than in males after the onset of puberty. These sex differences could be due to the gonadoster, or to sexual differential secretion in the GnRH pulse generator. We found very low serum LH secretion (30- to 70-fold) at the onset of puberty. Serum FSH levels, clearly higher during the prepubertal period, did not change substantially during puberty, suggesting that the intrinsic CNS inhibitory mechanism which acts during childhood may be less effective on FSH than on LH secretion.
Extension and knowledge transfer: adaptive management approaches for timely impact

In recent years, the term ‘adaptive management’ has become integrated in government agriculture and conservation programmes in the United States. Adaptive management is described as ‘a process of developing improved management practices for efficient production and resource conservation by use of participatory learning through continuous systematic assessment’, by the NEERA1002 Coordinating Committee on Adaptive Nutrient Management. Such developments reflect recognition by government agencies of (1) the need for continuous improvement in managing agricultural systems to enhance productivity and environmental protection at farm, state, watershed and federal levels, and (2) the effectiveness of continuous systematic assessment and an outcome-based evaluation in achieving and documenting such progress. Various methods have existed for knowledge development and transfer in the past, some effective, others less successful. The present paper presents and discusses lessons learned from three different adaptive management approaches, implemented at field, whole farm and regional/state levels, which contributed to improvements in field, farm and regional/state balances for nitrogen and phosphorus in New York. These examples show that a combination of governmental regulations and an innovative, outcome-focused adaptive management approach that includes research, extension, and a focus on human dimensions (a people-based approach) will be most effective in obtaining greater sustainability of agriculture in future years.
EFFECTS OF HISTORICAL LAND USE AND FOREST PATCH SIZE ON MYRMECOCHORES AND ANT COMMUNITIES

We studied the effects of patch size and historical land use on woodland ants and myrmecochores (plant species that have their diaspores dispersed by ants) in mesic forests of the southern Appalachian Highlands. Our purpose was to examine a potential mechanism, the presence and diversity of seed-dispersing ants, that might explain the reduced abundance and diversity of myrmecochores in small forest patches with high intensities of past land use. Small patches ( 200 ha) with minimal past land use. Overall, sites with greater myrmecochore species richness and abundance had less diverse ant commu- nities and a lower abundance of ants. However, ant species composition varied with patch size. Large patches with low historical land-use intensity were dominated by one ant species, Aphaenogaster fulva, whereas small patches supported higher numbers of Aphaenogaster rudis and two Camponotus species. The abundances of immature myrmecochores were more strongly related to land-use history, forest patch size, and the abundance of mature conspecifics than to ant variables. An absence of seed-dispersing ants cannot explain the reduced numbers of myrmecochores in small patches with high past land use because seed dispersal by ants still appears to be available in those patches. Land-use legacies or frag- mentation effects may be overriding any advantages offered by the increased diversity and abundance of ants at those sites.
Nation, Space, and Exception: Pakistan's Basic Democracies Experiment

Pakistan’s first military dictatorship launched the Basic Democracies scheme in 1960, after a bloodless coup that dissolved political parties and legislative institutions. Naqvi’s essay considers how the architects of the “BD system” reconceived the Pakistani nation in response to the ends of martial rule, namely, the permanent empowerment of the postcolonial executive. Naqvi theorizes the BD scheme as an extraconstitutional system of governmentality that produced the Pakistani citizen ambivalently—as an authentic yet nontranscendent subject of the nation. He further shows how the Basic Democracies scheme rationalized the state’s negation of wider channels of democratic participation by nationalizing the parochial as an expression of the true “genius” of the Pakistani people. Such attempts to fragment and reassign the experience of national solidarity, he contends, drew inspiration from the racial assumptions of the colonial state in a postcolonial context marked by uncertainty about the form of Muslim national solidarity. Moving between programmatic literature on Basic Democracies and nineteenth-century colonial debates on the reform of local self-government, the essay traces the genealogical and comparative significance of the following question: Can a nation in which democratic participation is confined exclusively to the local level continue to feel and act as a nation?
The Developmental, Physiological, Neural, and Genetical Causes and Consequences of Frequency-Dependent Selection in the Wild

We outline roles of frequency-dependent selection (FDS) in coadaptation and coevolutionary change. Coadaptation and coevolution occur because correlational selection (CS) and correlated evolution couple many traits. CS arises from causal interactions between traits expressed in two or more interactors, which invariably involve different traits (signalers-receivers). Thus, the causes of CS are due to FDS acting on trait interactions. Negative FDS, a rare advantage, is often coupled to positive FDS generating complex dynamics and FD cycles. Neural mechanisms of learning and perception create analogous routes by which traits are reinforced in cognitive and perceptual systems of interactors, substituting for positive FDS. FDS across all levels of biological organization is thus best understood as proximate causes that link interactors and shape genetic correlations within and among interactors on long timescales, or cognitive trait correlations within interactors on short timescales. We find rock-paper-scissors dynamics are common in nature.
Correction: The effect of executive walk rounds on nurse safety climate attitudes: A randomized trial of clinical units [ISRCTN85147255]

Many hospitals are implementing executive walk rounds (EWRs), a widely used but unstudied activity to improve patient safety [1,2]. EWRs vary from hospital to hospital, but in general they consist of visits by hospital executives to patient care areas to discuss patient safety issues with providers. EWRs enlist leadership to break down the significant barriers to discuss human error in healthcare. The executive may ask providers to discuss specific events or general processes that could put patients at risk for harm, they ask for suggestions to improve safety, and verbalize their commitment to improving safety. Discussions are documented and lead to action which is followed by feedback to participants. EWRs help hospitals identify opportunities to improve care processes by utilizing the wisdom of frontline providers, they demonstrate the executives' and the organization's commitment to patient safety, and they may improve provider attitudes about safety-related issues. These attitudes are an important part of what is often called a hospital's safety culture [3].
Expression of human paraoxonase (PON1) during development

Background Paraoxonase (PON1), a HDL-associatedenzyme, protects against toxicity from speciﬁcorganophosphorus compounds and oxidized lipids.Common polymorphisms in the PON1 gene have beenidentiﬁed and characterized in the coding region, 59regulatory region and 39 UTR. The Q192R coding regionpolymorphism determines substrate-dependentdifferences in catalytic efﬁciency of hydrolysis. The2108CT polymorphism in the 59 regulatory region has asigniﬁcant effect on PON1 expression, with the 2108Callele expressing on average twice the level of plasmaPON1 as the 2108T allele. In addition to the effects ofregulatory and coding region polymorphisms on PON1levels and activity, plasma PON1 levels are alsodevelopmentally regulated. Since PON1 levels areimportant in determining resistance to speciﬁcorganophosphorus compounds, the time course ofappearance of PON1 in newborns is of great interest.Results We report here that PON1 levels plateau between6 to 15 months of age, and that variability in the age atwhich PON1 levels plateau is quite variable amongindividuals. In mice and rats, plasma PON1 activity reachesa plateau at 3 weeks of age. In mice that lack endogenousPON1, human transgenes encoding either PON1
Navigating the Security Dilemma: China, Vietnam, and the South China Sea:

Competition and conflict in the South China Sea involves many nations due to its resources and vital sea lanes. However, it is China which increasingly serves as a common denominator of intensifying anxiety for its South China Sea maritime neighbours due to the aggressive scope of its claims to the sea and its islands. Among those states, Vietnam is most affected as it is first in the path of Chinese ambitions – ambitions which authorities fear would give China significant tactical military and economic advantage. For China, there are similar fears over threats to the sea lanes and sea bed resources. Leaders of both states also perceive their diplomatic and martial actions in the sea in historical terms as well. However, enforcement actions taken by either state may lead to a worsening security dilemma in which reactive security strategies could dangerously destabilise relations. This article discusses the motivations and strategies of both states as well as the consequences of such and applies realism, its tenets of defensive and offensive realism, and neoliberalism to examine their security concerns and perceptions. The article further proposes that the most valuable insights can be provided by defensive realism and neoliberalism, which together can encourage security, cooperation and conciliation in order to best promote the improvement of relations.
In Defence of Attitudinal Christianity

In I 968, R. M. Hare gave a series of lectures at the Yale Divinity School, two of which were published subsequently under the title 'The Simple Believer'.1 In those published lectures Hare enlarged upon and defended the view, which he shares with R. B. Braithwaite, that Christian commitment is best understood as being what I will call a particular world-attitude. In brief, Hare described the Christian world-attitude as consisting, first, of the adoption of a set of practical-normative standards, prescriptions as to what we should do and be, for instance, in our various cognitive and moral endeavours. Central to this overall Christian picture of human flourishing, including cognitive flourishing, is the notion of love (agape). The Christian world-attitude, in addition, involves the belief that the efforts that we make to realize these standards are not pointless in the world as it is. This faith, this refusal to doubt in connection with both moral and cognitive endeavours, is naturally expressed in religious terms, perhaps most obviously in terms of trust in the providence of God. I call this attitudinal Christianity in order to under-score Hare's contention that the acceptance of typically Christian prescriptions and ideals and the expression of trust in God's providence are independent of questions as to whether there are or are not any divine facts of the matter. In fact, one of Hare's main defences for his view of Christianity is that what he called 'the transcendental God' is an idle element in religious life in the respect that this object's existence or non-existence makes no difference so far as any observable facts are concerned. Essentially the choices that Hare offered were two. What Christians have to say about God may be taken to be an expression of just such a faithful attitude as described, acceptable as such independently, whether there are or are not any facts of divinity. Or these sayings may be taken as purported assertions of fact, for which there may or may not be divine facts of the matter. The latter course, however, is allegedly disastrous. For, given the idleness of 'the transcendental God', the lack of suitable ties to observable facts, these sayings lack factual significance, they assert no facts. Hare went on to argue
New insights into New World biogeography: An integrated view from the phylogeny of blackbirds, cardinals, sparrows, tanagers, warblers, and allies

ABSTRACT Understanding the biogeographic origins and temporal sequencing of groups within a region or of lineages within an ecosystem can yield important insights into evolutionary dynamics and ecological processes. Fifty years ago, Ernst Mayr generated comprehensive—if limited—inferences about the origins of the New World avifaunas, including the importance of pre-Isthmian dispersal between North and South America. Since then, methodological advances have improved our ability to address many of the same questions, but the phylogenies upon which such analyses should be based have been incompletely sampled or fragmentary. Here, we report a near-species-level phylogeny of the diverse (~832 species) New World clade Emberizoidea—the group that includes the familiar sparrows, cardinals, blackbirds, wood-warblers, tanagers, and their close relatives—to our knowledge the largest essentially complete (≥95%) phylogenetic hypothesis for any group of organisms. Biogeographic analyses based on this tree suggest initi...
Adsorption of Quantum Gases on Curved Surfaces

The statistical mechanical behavior of quantum gases adsorbed on various surfaces is analyzed. The specific surfaces explored are (a) a finite and an infinite plane, (b) a circular and/or square disk, (c) a sphere, (d) a cylinder, and (e) a cone. The approximation is made that the particles are confined to the close vicinity of the specified surface by a holding potential. As expected, quantum size and statistical effects are large at low temperature, while at high temperature the limiting behavior is that of a classical two-dimensional gas on a flat surface. An application to the surface separation of HD or D2 from H2 is discussed.
Fluorometric determination of adenosine nucleotide derivatives as measures of the microfouling, detrital, and sedimentary microbial biomass and physiological status.

Adenosine, adenine, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP), AMP, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, adenosine diphosphate, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were recovered quantitatively from aqueous portions of lipid extracts of microfouling, detrital, and sedimentary microbial communities. These could be detected quantitatively in the picomolar range by forming their 1-N6-etheno derivatives and analyzing by high-pressure liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Lipid extraction and subsequent analysis allowed the simultaneous measurement of the microbial community structure, total microbial biomass with the quantitative recovery of the adenine-containing cellular components, which were protected from enzymatic destruction. This extraction and fluorescent derivatization method showed equivalency with the luciferin-luciferase method for bacterial ATP measurements. Quick-freezing samples in the field with dry ice-acetone preserved the ATP and energy charge (a ratio of adenosine nucleotides) for analysis at remote laboratories. The metabolic lability of ATP in estuarine detrital and microfouling communities, as well as bacterial monocultures of constant biomass, showed ATP to be a precarious measure of biomass under some conditions. Combinations of adenosine and adenine nucleotides gave better correlations with microbial biomass measured as extractable lipid phosphate in the detrital and microfouling microbial communities than did ATP alone. Stresses such as anoxia or filtration are reflected in the rapid accumulation of intracellular adenosine and the excretion of adenosine and AMP into the surrounding milieu. Increases in AMP and adenosine may prove to be more sensitive indicators of metabolic status than the energy charge.
Requirements for resuming translation in chimeric transfer-messenger RNAs of Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Background Trans-translation is catalyzed by ribonucleprotein complexes composed of SmpB protein and transfer-messenger RNA. They release stalled ribosomes from truncated mRNAs and tag defective proteins for proteolytic degradation. Comparative sequence analysis of bacterial tmRNAs provides considerable insights into their secondary structures in which a tRNA-like domain and an mRNA-like region are connected by a variable number of pseudoknots. Progress toward understanding the molecular mechanism of trans-translation is hampered by our limited knowledge about the structure of tmRNA:SmpB complexes.
Post-streptococcal vasculopathy with evolution to Degos' disease

Degos' disease or malignant atrophic papulosis is a rare disseminated occlusive vasculopathy affecting the skin, gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system, and less often other organ systems. The exact etiology of this vasculopathy has not been established. Infections, autoimmune disease and coagulation defects have been proposed as underlying pathogenic mechanisms, but none have been confirmed. Here, we report the clinical, radiological and histopathologic features of Degos' disease in a 41-year-old man following streptococcal throat infection. Prior postulated hypothesis as post-infectious immunologic mechanism may be further supported by this case.
Genetic Analysis of a Duck Circovirus Detected in Commercial Pekin Ducks in New York

The genetic organization of the duck circovirus (DuCV) 33753-52 detected in commercial Pekin duck flocks from Long Island, NY, is described. The nucleotide sequence of virus 33753-52 exhibited high similarity with DuCVs previously detected in Germany and Hungary. It is possible that this DuCV from New York shares the same ancestor with the European counterparts. The virus 33753-52 exhibited genetic features characteristic of other circoviruses, such as the presence of two major open reading frames (rep and cap), two intergenic regions, one stem-loop structure, four intergenic direct repeats, and the conserved motifs for the rolling circle replication and for the dNTP binding domain in the Rep protein. This report is the first report of the presence of DuCV in commercial Pekin duck farms in the United States. The clinical and pathologic significance of DuCV in the duck farms located on Long Island needs to be clarified. DuCv was detected in culled birds, due to low body development, leg deformities, or arthritis. Staphylococcus aureus and Riemerella anatipestifer serotype 4 were isolated from some of the DuCV-positive birds. The apparent low prevalence of the virus suggests that at this time, this infection is not a significant problem for the duck industry in New York. However, the immunosuppressive properties of this virus need to be clarified as well as its role as a predisposing agent for other diseases.
Design of Low-Sidelobe Linear Arrays With High Aperture Efficiency and Interference Nulls

This letter focuses on the design of linear array antennas having distributions with low sidelobes and aperture efficiency constraints on the specified peak amplitude and effective radiated voltage. An adaptive parameter genetic algorithm is used to explore how interference nulls impact antenna performance when low sidelobes and aperture efficiency are also required.
Cattle tick vaccines: many candidate antigens, but will a commercially viable product emerge?

The cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, is arguably the world’s most economically important external parasite of cattle. Sustainable cattle tick control strategies are required to maximise the productivity of cattle in both large production operations and small family farms. Commercially available synthetic acaricides are commonly used in control and eradication programs, but indiscriminate practices in their application have resulted in the rapid evolution of resistance among populations in tropical and subtropical regions where the invasive R. microplus thrives. The need for novel technologies that could be used alone or in combination with commercially available synthetic acaricides is driving a resurgence of cattle tick vaccine discovery research efforts by various groups globally. The aim is to deliver a next-generation vaccine that has an improved efficacy profile over the existing Bm86-based cattle tick vaccine product. We present a short review of these projects and offer our opinion on what constitutes a good target antigen and vaccine, and what might influence the market success of candidate vaccines. The previous experience with Bm86-based vaccines offers perspective on marketing and producer acceptance aspects that a next-generation cattle tick vaccine product must meet for successful commercialisation.
Peritraumatic and Trait Dissociation Differentiate Police Officers with Resilient versus Symptomatic Trajectories of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Research has consistently demonstrated that stress reactions to potentially traumatic events do not represent a unified phenomenon. Instead, individuals tend to cluster into prototypical response patterns over time including chronic symptoms, recovery, and resilience. We examined heterogeneity in a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom course in a sample of 178 active-duty police officers following exposure to a life-threatening event using latent growth mixture modeling (LGMM). This analysis revealed 3 discrete PTSD symptom trajectories: resilient (88%), distressed–improving (10%), and distressed–worsening (2%). We further examined whether trait and peritraumatic dissociation distinguished these symptom trajectories. Findings indicate that trait and peritraumatic dissociation differentiated the resilient from the distressed–improving trajectory (trait, p < .05; peritraumatic, p < .001), but only peritraumatic dissociation differentiated the resilient from the distressed–worsening trajectory (p < .001). It is essential to explore heterogeneity in symptom course and its predictors among active-duty police officers, a repeatedly exposed group. These findings suggest that police officers may be a highly resilient group overall. Furthermore, though there is abundant evidence that dissociation has a positive linear relationship with PTSD symptoms, this study demonstrates that degree of dissociation can distinguish between resilient and symptomatic groups of individuals.
The Unique Simultaneous Occurrence of Granular Cell Tumor, Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor, and Gastric Adenocarcinoma

Granular cell tumors are generally benign oncocytoid lesions of schwannian origin that are often incidental findings in many locations. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors occur in older adults and express the c-Kit protein (CD117). Both of these tumors have been described in association with many other entities; however, they have never been reported to occur jointly. This report is prompted by the simultaneous appearance of 2 granular cell tumors, a gastrointestinal stromal tumor, and a gastric adenocarcinoma in a 65-year-old woman with a history of breast carcinoma and granular cell tumor. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of these tumors occurring simultaneously.
A comparison of nonlinear filtering approaches for Radar target-tracking performances

Nonlinear problem of maneuvering target is a hot and difficult topic in radar target tracking fielding. In this paper, we firstly introduces several mainstream non-linear filtering methods in tracking fielding, then, pay more attention to analyses the uncertainty sampling method, random sampling method and Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms, and with its improving methods by introducing Reversible Jump ratio. we present a comprehensive picture to see the performance by comparing among classical tracking methods combining with RJMCMC method, which include the PF, EKF-PF, UKF-PF techniques from other literature that have seen wide application in Radar target tracking field. Simulations on maneuvering target radar tracking are carried out to validate the performance of the proposed scheme.
Internal node probing of a DRAM with a low-temperature e-beam tester

In order to measure signals on internal nodes of circuits operated at liquid-nitrogen temperature, all electron-beam (e-beam) tester has been modified to cool circuits to this temperature during test. This apparatus has made it possible to measure signals on internal nodes of a high-speed DRAM operated at low temperature. The waveforms, which cannot be measured by other methods, provide the only means of determining the internal operation of the circuit. The instrument is described, and measurements of some critical DRAM signals are presented. In particular, the constancy of the bit-line equalization level, is shown, and observations of the interrelationship between power supply voltage, power bus noise, access time, and temperature are reported. >
Race Disparities in U.S. Nephrology Fellowship Training

Summary Background and objectives Renal disease disproportionately affects African-American patients. Trust has been implicated as an important factor in patient outcomes. Higher levels of trust and better interpersonal care have been reported when race of patient and physician are concordant. The purpose of this analysis was to examine trends in the racial background of U.S. medical school graduates, internal medicine residents, nephrology fellows, and patients with ESRD. Design, setting, participants, & measurements Data for medical school graduates were obtained from the Association of American Medical Colleges and data for internal medicine and nephrology trainees from GME Track. ESRD data were obtained from U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS) annual reports. Results A significant disparity continues to exist between the proportional race makeup of African-American nephrology fellows (3.8%) and ESRD patients (32%). The low numbers of African-American nephrology fellows, and consequently new nephrologists, in light of the increase in ESRD patients has important implications for patient-centered nephrology care. Conclusions Efforts are needed to increase minority recruitment into nephrology training programs, to more closely balance the racial background of trainees and patients in hopes of fostering improved trust between ESRD caregivers and patients, increasing access to care, alleviating ESRD health care disparities, and improving patient care.
A Distributed Prototyping Environment for Human Language Technology

The DARPA Communicator program has fuelled the design and development of impressive human language technology applications. Its distributed framework has offered numerous benefits to the research community, including reduced prototype development time, sharing of components across sites, and provision of a standard evaluation platform. It has also enabled development of client-server applications with complex inter-process communication between modules. However, this latter feature, though beneficial, introduces complexities which reduce overall system robustness to failure. In addition, the ability to handle multiple users and multiple applications from a common interface is not innately supported. In this paper, we describe our enhancements to the original Communicator architecture to address robustness issues and to support a multiple multi-user application capability. These enhancements have been evaluated using a series of experiments and they have shown a 7.2% improvement in the robustness of the system. These enhancements are available in our public domain toolkit.
Summary and Perspectives

Obviously it would be foolish for me to try to summarize all that has been presented at this symposium, especially the important part on the general biology of Amphibia. Therefore, most of my comments will be related to the sessions on amphibian tumors and viruses. Certainly after these two and one half days of exposure to your experimental results, I find that all the elements appear to be present in amphibian hosts to indicate that tumor-virus systems are indeed operative.
More Happiness for Young People and Less for Mature Adults Time Period Differences in Subjective Well-Being in the United States, 1972–2014

Are Americans happier, or less happy, than they used to be? The answer may depend on life stage. We examined indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) in four nationally representative samples of U.S. adolescents (aged 13–18 years, n = 1.27 million) and adults (aged 18–96 years, n = 54,172). Recent adolescents reported greater happiness and life satisfaction than their predecessors, and adults over age 30 were less happy in recent years. Among adults, the previously established positive correlation between age and happiness has dwindled, disappearing by the early 2010s. Mixed-effects analyses primarily demonstrated time period rather than generational effects. The effect of time period on SWB is about d = |.13| in most age groups, about the size of reported links between SWB and objective health, marital status, being a parent, and volunteering.
Exercise: Is More Always Better?

Summary Do greater levels of exercise always promote relatively higher levels of daily energy expenditure and health? Recent studies challenge the traditional assumption that ‘more exercise is better' by suggesting daily energy expenditure and health plateaus are reached beyond which incremental gains are minimal.
Managing cutaneous side effects associated with erlotinib in head and neck cancer (HNC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients (pts)

18538 Background: Erlotinib is an oral epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeted therapy. It is approved for therapy in NSCLC pts after failure of at least one prior chemotherapy regimen, an...
U.S. Trade Policy and Multilateralism - The Challenge of Bilateral Trade Agreements

This paper addresses the role of bilateral free trade agreements in U.S. trade policy and how their increased use has affected the multilateral trade system. It also considers the effects of bilateral trade deals on developing countries in terms of power bargaining and movement toward reciprocal agreements.
The organic phosphorus compounds of wheat bran.

A growing interest has manifested itself within the past two or three years in "phytin" and "phytic acid", and in some of the compounds of the latter. Posternak first isolated this substance from the seeds of the red fir, pumpkin, pea, bean, white and yellow lupine and potato. Patten and Hart obtained the substance from wheat bran, and Hart and Tottingham found it in corn meal, oats and barley. The organic phosphorus materials obtained by alcoholic precipitations of aqueous or dilute acid extracts from these various sources are not identical, but ultimate analyses show a fair degree of similarity. Thus the phosphorus varies between 14 and 17 per cent, and they all contain varying amounts of magnesium, potassium and calcium. There has been prepared also, from the phytin from most of these sources, the free "phytic acid", corresponding to the formula C2H8P2O9, (an-hydro-oxy-methylene-phosphoric acid, Posternak), or C6H24P6O27, (Neuberg, Starkenstein).
Fatigue test of carbon composite laminates mechanically joined with titanium countersunk fasteners

An effort was made to experimentally ascertain the fatigue strength of carbon/epoxy and carbon/PEEK laminates that are mechanically joined by Hi-Lok and Doubolt titanium countersunk fasteners. Samples are tested for fatigue strength on the Material Testing Machine in an LFC test program. The test data were analyzed by statistical methods. Based on the results thus obtained, design guidelines that are both useful and valuable were formulated. (AIAA).
What's New in Adult Reconstructive Knee Surgery.

Nonoperative treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee includes weight loss, low-impact quadriceps-strengthening exercises, oral medications, and intra-articular injections. Runhaar et al. showed that a reduction of >5 kg or >5% of body weight over a 30-month period reduced the risk of radiographic osteoarthritis in middle-aged obese women1. Similarly, Kim et al. observed that obesity negatively correlated with the percentage of muscle mass index and knee extensor strength. The authors concluded that weight loss may be a better approach than increasing muscle mass strength to improve musculoskeletal conditions2. Finally, delayed progression of cartilage degeneration on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical symptoms positively correlated with a >10% body mass index (BMI) reduction over 48 months3. Knee extensor strength is a proxy for overall knee health and function. Resistance exercise training has been shown to be effective in relieving pain, stiffness, and improving function in patients with knee osteoarthritis4. Culvenor et al. determined, via systematic review and meta-analysis, that lower knee extensor strength was associated with an increased risk of both symptomatic and functional deterioration of knee function but was not correlated with tibiofemoral joint-space narrowing5. Even in patients with cardiopulmonary medical comorbidities, a tailored exercise therapy program has also been shown to be safe and efficacious6. Additionally, combination therapies such as periosteal stimulation, manual therapies, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) with a home exercise program can be beneficial in relieving pain and improving function in older patients with advanced osteoarthritis of the knee joint7,8. Oral pain relievers play an important role in the nonoperative treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Da Costa et al. found through network meta-analysis that all preparations of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, irrespective of dosing, improved pain symptoms compared with placebo but also …
A compact planar Rogowski coil current sensor for active current balancing of parallel-connected Silicon Carbide MOSFETs

In this paper, a compact planar current sensor is developed to be used in active current balancing applications for parallel-connected Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFETs. The designed Rogowski coil allows non-intrusive current measurement with low profile, compact size, and high bandwidth. The sensor circuit design extends both lower and higher cutoff frequency of the sensor, and allows a continuous measurement of current waveforms that contain a DC component. The simulated bandwidth of the proposed current sensor is 2.66 Hz-100 MHz. The measured switching waveforms in the experiment are comparable to a 120 MHz commercial current probe.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Mobile Clinical Decision Aid to Improve Access to Kidney Transplantation: iChoose Kidney.

Introduction Kidney transplantation is the preferred treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease, as it substantially increases a patient’s survival and is cost-saving compared to a lifetime of dialysis. However, transplantation is not universally chosen by patients with renal failure, and limited knowledge about the survival benefit of transplantation versus dialysis may play a role. We created a mobile application clinical decision aid called iChoose Kidney to improve access to individualized prognosis information comparing dialysis and transplantation outcomes. Methods We describe the iChoose Kidney study, a randomized controlled trial designed to test the clinical efficacy of a mobile health decision aid among end-stage renal disease patients referred for kidney transplantation at 3 large, diverse transplant centers across the United States. Approximately 450 patients will be randomized to receive either (i) standard of care or “usual” transplantation education, or (ii) standard of care plus iChoose Kidney. Results The primary outcome is change in knowledge about the survival benefit of kidney transplantation versus dialysis from baseline to immediate follow-up; secondary outcomes include change in treatment preferences, improved decisional conflict, and increased access to kidney transplantation. Analyses are also planned to examine effectiveness across subgroups of race, socioeconomic status, health literacy, and health numeracy. Discussion Engaging patients in health care choices can increase patient empowerment and improve knowledge and understanding of treatment choices. If the effectiveness of iChoose Kidney has a greater impact on patients with low health literacy, lower socioeconomic status, and minority race, this decision aid could help reduce disparities in access to kidney transplantation.
Navigation in Spinal Surgery

Intraoperative navigation is used because it improves the accuracy by which screws are placed in the spine. Physicians who approve this technique are divided into two groups, some argue that fluoroscopic is best for its lower costs, whereas other group claims that computer tomography images for navigation decreases radiation exposure for surgeons and improves accuracy. Although “freehand” method is been demonstrated to be quite accurate in experienced hands it is comparable with intraoperative navigation. Throughout this chapter it can be claimed that all methods used today seem to improve precision over traditional “freehand” technique. Intraoperative navigation is needed in cases where accuracy is of great importance, for instance when resecting tumour navigation is used to ensure that the entire tumour is removed or that the resection margins are outside of the tumour. Moreover, navigation allows to perform clearer bony cuts and complete tumour resection since it can be seen the entire tumour area. The advantages such as decrease in radiation exposure and safety during procedures must be weighed against the high costs of purchasing equipment that suits for 3D navigation. Nevertheless, screws perforating the bone can cause trouble, for example if a screw is contacting a major blood vessel or nerve. In these cases navigation may be of clinical benefit. However, no study has yet to be performed that demonstrates a cost benefit for the use of navigation.
Research on impact factor and valuation method of brand strength

The paper analysis the world famous brand value valuation method, and combine with brand management and valuation in present of our country and characteristics, evaluate the brand strength involved the brand value on quantity, analyzing impact factor of brand strength, and on this foundation applied main composition analysis the brand strength, aim at put forword a valuation method for practice.
Pursuing Women’s Interests in Partisan Times: Explaining Gender Differences in Legislative Activity on Health, Education, and Women’s Health Issues

ABSTRACTHow can we explain why gender differences in policy activity emerge on some issues and not others? I use senators’ broad reach as policy generalists to examine the impact of gender on policy entrepreneurship on health care, education, and women’s health. I find that female senators act on gender preferences as members of partisan teams. Because social welfare and women’s rights are seen as owned by the Democratic Party, gender preferences, voter expectations concerning women’s expertise, and party reputations align to encourage Democratic women to advocate for these policies. By contrast, these issues are not central to the reputation of the Republican Party and can alienate core supporters creating a more complex calculus for Republican women.
Interpretation of Auld's Electromechanical Reciprocity Relation via a One-Dimensional Example

The electromechanical reciprocity relation is interpreted through application to a model problem, the reflection and transmission of ultrasound at a thin layer. The results for this simple problem illustrate how the reciprocity formalism allows the effects of transducer efficiency and phase, ultrasonic propagation to and from the flaw, and ultrasonic interaction with the flaw to be systematically included in a description of the total measurement response. The importance of such descriptions in the separation of the measurement system and flaw contributions to laboratory observations is discussed, and a number of examples where this approach has been applied to more complex measurement geometries are cited by reference.
Nucleus Isthmi and Optic Tectum in Frogs

Our laboratory has been investigating the role of nucleus isthmi in tectally mediated visual information processing. We have found that unilateral ablation of n. isthmi results in a contralateral monocular scotoma. Within the scotoma the animal does not respond to visually presented prey or threat stimuli. The size of the scotoma is dependent on the volume of n. isthmi ablated. When the entire nucleus is ablated there is no recovery of function within the scotoma for up to 11 months. Unilateral injection into n. isthmi of the excitatory neurotoxin ibotenic acid results in a temporary loss of responses to visually presented prey in the contralateral monocular field. Normal responses return within 1 to 2 weeks. Bilateral ablation of n. isthmi results in loss of responsiveness to visually presented prey and threat stimuli in the entire visual field. After 4 to 5 weeks there is a return of responsiveness in the binocular field. Nucleus isthmi fibers are the predominant non-retinal extrinsic input to the superficial tectal layers. The contralaterally projecting isthmo-tectal fibers cross in the posterior part of the optic chiasm. When this part is transected, the animal no longer responds to visually presented threat stimuli but responds normally to visually presented prey stimuli. Nucleus isthmi is virtually the only cholinergic input to the tectum. There is evidence from other laboratories that some retino-tectal fibers contain membrane bound acetylcholine receptors. Thus, n. isthmi might directly modify retinal input. Our evidence is compatible with the model of Arbib & House with n. isthmi playing a role in prey localization.
Panfungal Polymerase Chain Reaction for Identification of Fungal Pathogens in Formalin-Fixed Animal Tissues:

Identification of fungal organisms often poses a problem for pathologists because the histomorphology of some fungal organisms is not specific, fresh tissues may not be available, and isolation and identification in culture may take a long time. The purpose of this study was to validate the use of panfungal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify fungal organisms from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded curls were tested from 128 blocks containing canine, feline, equine, and bovine tissues with cutaneous, nasal, pulmonary, and systemic fungal infections, identified by the presence of fungi in histologic sections. Quantitative scoring of histologic sections identified rare (11.9%), occasional (17.5%), moderate (17.5%), or abundant (53.1%) fungal organisms. DNA was isolated from FFPE tissues and PCR was performed targeting the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2) region, a segment of noncoding DNA found in all eukaryotes. Polymerase chain reaction products were sequenced and identified at ≥97% identity match using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool and the NCBI database of ITS sequences. Of the 128 blocks, 117 (91.4%) yielded PCR products and high-quality sequences were derived from 89 (69.5%). Sequence and histologic identifications matched in 79 blocks (61.7%). This assay was capable of providing genus- and species-level identification when histopathology could not and, thus, is a beneficial complementary tool for diagnosis of fungal diseases.
Efficient Perovskite LEDs Featuring Nanometer Sized Crystallites

We report highly efficient perovskite LEDs enabled through the formation of self-assembled, nanometer-sized crystallites. The external quantum efficiency reached 10.4% for CH3NH3PbI3-based LEDs and 9.3% for CH3NH3PbBr3-based LEDs.
Current-voltage relations for electrolytic solutions

A number of electrochemical systems that are of direct interest to the automobile industry — including batteries, sensors, and electrodeposition processes — could be improved if a more detailed knowledge of the charge-transfer reactions taking place at the electrode surface was available. In particular, it is desirable to have an efficient means of determining rate constants from current-voltage relations measured in the laboratory. These constants appear as parameters in boundary conditions for a system of nonlinear PDE’s that describe charge transport in electrolytic solutions. On April 20, 1990 Daniel Baker from General Motors Research Laboratories described the nonlinear system and discussed methods developed jointly with Mark Verbrugge (also from General Motors) for solving this system in order to determine the current distribution on the electrode. He concluded with some open problems.
Using Knowledge-Based Neural Network Process Models for Model-Based Control

Abstract This paper describes the MANNCON (Multivariable Artificial Neural Network Control) system in which knowledge-based artificial neural network models are incorporated into model-based controllers. Designs using Internal Model Control (IMC) and Direct Synthesis Control (DSC) as well as a supervisory ANN-based controller are presented. These methods are applied to the task of controlling a nonisothermal CSTR in which a first-order exothermic reaction is occurring. The nonlinear ANN-based controllers perform much better than their linear counterparts in controlling the process over a wide range of conditions.
Three-dimensional analytical model for exploration of the block cracking phenomenon in asphalt pavements

Block cracking is a common type of distress in asphalt pavements, which can be found in a variety of climatic and geographical locations. The extensive nature of this cracking form often leads to s...
Student Demographics: The Coming Changes and Challenges for Higher Education

The famous quotation “Demography is Destiny” applies to higher education more than ever. This chapter assesses changes in the size and composition of the nation’s college-going population and gives voice to those demographers sounding an alert that these changes do not work to the advantage of our universities. Projections of declining numbers of high school graduates and the resulting increased competition among universities for students are bringing disruptions to student recruitment strategies. This chapter also calls for a stronger focus on and strategies for recruiting more Hispanic students as well as non-traditional, adult students. The complicated world of international student recruitment is assessed with emphasis on the role of US immigration policy. The chapter ends with a call to governors and the National Governors Association to take larger role in making the USA more welcoming to international students.