cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of weekend admission on geriatric hip fractures

BACKGROUND The care discrepancy for patients presenting to a hospital on the weekend relative to the work week is well documented. With respect to hip fractures, however, there is no consensus about the presence of a so-called "weekend effect". This study sought to determine the effects, if any, of weekend admission on care of geriatric hip fractures admitted to a large tertiary care hospital. It was hypothesized that geriatric hip fracture patients admitted on a weekend would have longer times to medical optimization and surgery and increased complication and mortality rates relative to those admitted on a weekday. AIM To determine if weekend admission of geriatric hip fractures is associated with poor outcome measures and surgical delay. METHODS A retrospective chart review of operative geriatric hip fractures treated from 2015-2017 at a large tertiary care hospital was conducted. Two cohorts were compared: patients who arrived at the emergency department on a weekend, and those that arrived at the emergency department on a weekday. Primary outcome measures included mortality rate, complication rate, transfusion rate, and length of stay. Secondary outcome measures included time from emergency department arrival to surgery, time from emergency department arrival to medical optimization, and time from medical optimization to surgery. RESULTS There were no statistically significant differences in length of stay (P = 0.2734), transfusion rate (P = 0.9325), or mortality rate (P = 0.3460) between the weekend and weekday cohorts. Complication rate was higher in patients who presented on a weekend compared to patients who presented on a weekday (13.3% vs 8.3%; P = 0.044). Time from emergency department arrival to medical optimization (22.7 h vs 20.0 h; P = 0.0015), time from medical optimization to surgery (13.9 h vs 10.8 h; P = 0.0172), and time from emergency department arrival to surgery (42.7 h vs 32.5 h; P < 0.0001) were all significantly longer in patients who presented to the hospital on a weekend compared to patients who presented to the hospital on a weekday. CONCLUSION This study provided insight into the "weekend effect" for geriatric hip fractures and found that day of presentation has a clinically significant impact on delivered care.
Profiles of home violence and posttraumatic stress symptoms among young adults: Distinguishing between trauma and adversity using latent class analysis.

OBJECTIVE Home violence exposure (HVE) varies by type and frequency of exposure, which can lead to uncertainty when determining what is traumatic and what is not, particularly when assessing posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and disorder (PTSD). The current study examined whether specific types of HVE were associated with specific types of PTSS to help determine what experiences may rise to the level of trauma. METHOD Participants included 988 racially and ethnically diverse college students (74.1% women). Two latent class analyses were performed, examining types of HVE and types of PTSS to determine how classifications of HVE were associated with classifications of PTSS. RESULTS Four classifications of HVE were identified: high exposure (21.7%), vicarious exposure (28.9%), victimization (10.5%), and low exposure (38.9%). Four classifications of PTSS were also identified: high PTSS (20.9%), dysphoric arousal (17.4%), anxious arousal (21.3%), and low PTSS (40.4%). Even when considering other potentially traumatic events, participants with experiences of victimization were 2.55 times more likely than those with low exposure to meet criteria for PTSD. Victimization was uniquely associated with dysphoric arousal as well as all other PTSS. High exposure was associated with high PTSS and anxious arousal, with vicarious exposure associated only with anxious arousal. CONCLUSIONS Findings provide unique evidence for the potentially traumatic effects of victimization in the home. Frequent and cumulative effects of HVE that do not meet DSM criteria for a potentially traumatic event may be associated with elevated PTSS, particularly symptoms of anxious and dysphoric arousal. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Discrimination between human and animal blood by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy

Forensic chemistry is an important area of analytical chemistry. This field has been rapidly growing over the last several decades. Confirmation of the human origins of bloodstains is important in practical forensics. Current serological blood tests are destructive and often provide false positive results. Here, we report on the development of a nondestructive method that could potentially be applied at the scene for differentiation of human and animal blood using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform-infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy and statistical analysis. The following species were used to build statistical models for binary human–animal blood differentiation: cat, dog, rabbit, horse, cow, pig, opossum, and raccoon. Three other species (deer, elk, and ferret) were used for external validation. A partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) was used for classification purposes and showed excellent performance in internal cross-validation (CV). The method was externally validated first using blood samples from new donors of species used in the training data set, and second using donors of new species that were not used to construct the model. Both validations showed excellent results demonstrating potential of the developed approach for nondestructive, rapid, and statistically confident discrimination between human and animal blood for forensic purposes. Statistical models applied to spectroscopic data offer a promising alternative to lab-based assays for forensic analysis. Here human blood is distinguished from that of 11 animal species using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopic data.
Which Political Actors Frame the Immigration Problem? Documenting the Incidence of Source Type and Party Lines in Immigration Stories during U.S. Election Coverage (2006-2014)

This study investigates the framing of immigration by political actors in US election news from 2006 to 2014 and how they present the issue as a problem (for society, for immigrants, no problem fra...
Cell-blocks and hematolymphoid lesions

Cell-blocks are an important component for evaluation for hematolymphoid lesions. They are especially critical for immunocharacterization of the lymphoid population especially when flow cytometry is not available or cannot be performed. In addition, cell-blocks allow various molecular pathology tests including gene rearrangement studies and FISH, proteomics analysis, and microbiology/histochemical special stains. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) for mass lesions, lymphadenopathy, and effusion fluids are common cytopathology specimens which are frequently cell-blocked. The differential diagnosis of enlarged lymph nodes (LNs) and mass lesions is broad and includes reactive processes, granulomatous lesions and malignancies including solid tumor metastases and various types of hematological malignancies, of which lymphoma would be most common. Depending on the patient population, most lymphomas may be diagnosed with immunocharacterization on cell-block or/and flow cytometry in concert with excellent cytomorphology in Diff-Quik stained FNA aspirate smears. However, a proportion of lymphoma cases (up to 12-30%) may still require an excisional LN biopsy to evaluate architectural parameters. Similarly, various effusion fluids suspicious for lymphoma can be immunocharacterized by immunostaining of cell-block sections (or/and by flow cytometry). Availability of quantitatively and qualitatively optimum cell-blocks of specimens to be evaluated for hematolymphoid processes is critical for immunohistochemistry, polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridization (FISH), and gene expression profiling studies.
Was Judah he-Ḥasid the “Author” of Sefer Ḥasidim?

Sefer Ḥasidim (The Book of the Pious) has long served as a crucial source for medieval Jewish historiography. Yet the dual question of who composed the anonymous text and how its varying recensions came into existence has been a contentious one among scholars of medieval Ashkenaz. In particular, opinions have been split on the issue of the book’s authorship. Ever since the 1538 publication of the editio princeps, Judah he-Ḥasid (“the Pious,” d. 1217) has been credited as the work’s singular “author,” but in the intervening years numerous theories of composite authorship have been proposed as well. The present article reassesses notions of “authorship” in medieval Ashkenaz and does so in dialogue with Ivan Marcus’s recent Sefer Ḥasidim and the Ashkenazic Book in Medieval Europe (2018), a work that seeks to deconstruct the reductive category of unitary “books” in medieval Ashkenaz, but which simultaneously reifies Judah’s self-conscious “authorial identity.” In contrast, I argue on methodological and conceptual grounds that “authorship” is a problematic category in medieval Ashkenazic culture and suggest that in the case of Sefer Ḥasidim there are textual reasons to doubt that a single individual (Judah he-Ḥasid or anyone else) was solely responsible for “authoring” the text in its entirety.
Successful Management of Significant Maternal 3 Beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Deficiency

We report a case of successful management of pregnancy in a patient with significant 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD) deficiency. A 25-year-old female presented for interfertility evaluation after failure to conceive for 8 months. The patient began full menses each month at the time of ovulation. Her unique clinical presentation led to the diagnosis of a significant 3beta-HSD deficiency. Treatment for infertility with clomiphene citrate, gonadotropins, dexamethasone and human chorionic gonadotropin trigger was unsuccessful. The patient conceived spontaneously while taking continuous combination oral contraceptive pills. Due to her history of instability and full menses in the luteal phase, oral estrogen and progesterone in oil were administered to support the early pregnancy. The results of elevated 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and ratio of 17 OH-pregnenolone to 17-OHP were consistent with diagnosis of significant 3beta-HSD deficiency. Successful pregnancy was achieved after exogenous hormone supplementation. Fertility in 3beta-HSD deficiency, a rare form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia, has not been extensively studied. Varying phenotype can make the diagnosis challenging. Heightened suspicion in patients with reported bleeding at ovulation or breakthrough bleeding on oral contraceptive pills could aid in the diagnosis. Successful pregnancy in these patients is possible. J Clin Gynecol Obstet. 2021;10(2):51-54 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jcgo730
Portable membrane inlet mass spectrometric detection and analysis of chemical warfare agent simulants at the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground S/K challenge event

Abstract There has been a significant demand for the development and improvement of technology used for the detection and identification of Chemical Warfare Agents (CWAs). Some of the current detection technology being used by the U.S. government includes multipass gas cell coupled Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Lightweight Chemical Detectors (LCD) systems. While these systems possess adequate sensitivity to detect CWAs in general, their analysis times are not considered 'rapid' nor are they able to identify the specific CWA. The U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground's annual S/K Challenge event provides the opportunity to assess the performance and reliability of prospective detection instrumentation being developed by researchers worldwide to optimize their performance. To do so, trial testing of CWA simulants in both indoor and outdoor environments was performed, mimicking past attack scenarios. Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometric (MIMS) technology on a portable system was successful in performing a rapid analysis along with identification of each CWA simulant utilized during the trials. The MIMS system can detect and quantify low-mass permeable compounds with parts-per-trillion limits of detection. This allows for analysis to be achieved within seconds after the initial exposure time, which is significantly faster than the FTIR and LCD systems currently used.
A deep dense residual network with reduced parameters for volumetric brain tissue segmentation from MR images

Abstract Deep convolutional neural networks (DCNN) have proven to be the state-of-the-art methods for brain tissue segmentation; however, their complex architectures, and the large number of parameters make them computationally expensive and difficult to optimize. In this paper, a novel 3D DCNN architecture, which is built upon the U-Net structure, is presented for compact feature representation and efficient parameter reduction in order to segment the brain tissues into white matter, gray matter, and cerebrospinal fluid (Code is available at: https://github.com/basnetr/U-DenseResNet ). The basic idea in the proposed method is to use densely connected convolutional layers and residual skip-connections in order to increase the representation capacity, improve the gradient flow, facilitate easier and better learning, and reduce the number of parameters of the network. The loss functions, cross-entropy, dice similarity, and a combination of the two are used for the training of the proposed network. Experimental results show that the proposed approach provides the best performance on the test dataset of the single-modality IBSR18 dataset containing MR scans of diverse age groups and competitive performance on the multi-modality brain tissue segmentation challenge, iSeg-2017, containing MR scans of infants while reducing, for both the datasets, the parameters ranging from 40% to 98% compared to that of the other deep-learning based architectures. The proposed method significantly reduces the number of parameters of DCNNs while still providing high degree of accuracy. The proposed method can be used for the study of brain structure and development, in detecting a wide range of abnormal tissues, to aid diagnosis, and for guiding surgical procedures.
Observer-based Control Barrier Functions for Safety Critical Systems.

This paper considers the safety-critical control design problem with output measurements. An observer-based safety control framework that integrates the estimation error quantified observer and the control barrier function (CBF) approach is proposed. The function approximation technique is employed to approximate the uncertainties introduced by the state estimation error, and an adaptive CBF approach is proposed to design the safe controller which is obtained by solving a convex quadratic program (QP). Theoretical results for CBFs with a relative degree 1 and a higher relative degree are given individually. The effectiveness of the proposed control approach is demonstrated by two numerical examples.
Rethinking Policies, Procedures, and Practices Surrounding Language Learning and Learners

The summer 2021 issue of GATESOL Journal is replete with research-based insights and strategies for supporting multilingual learners in varied teaching contexts. The five articles in this issue address ways to better equip multilingual learners for success in an increasingly diverse and multicultural society. One common thread throughout the issue is the rethinking of policies, procedures, and practices that surround language learning and learners. As the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is on the rise and the future of K–12 and higher education continues to remain uncertain, we sincerely hope this issue of GATESOL Journal provides our wide conglomerate of readers—from K–12 mainstream and ESOL teachers to researchers and teacher educators in and outside of Georgia institutions of higher learning to state policymakers—ideas they can take back with them to their respective spheres of influence to make a lasting difference in how we do language teaching and learning in Georgia and beyond.
There is No Creativity Without Uncertainty: Dubito Ergo Creo

Abstract This article is an edited version of a Keynote Address provided for the 2021 Creativity Conference hosted by Southern Oregon University. The talk opens with the following question: “What role does our experience with uncertainty play in our creative thoughts and actions?” The remainder of the talk is focused on addressing this question, starting with the assertion that there is no creativity without uncertainty and several other operating assumptions aimed at establishing a basis for this assertion. Next, a model of creativity under uncertainty is introduced. The model outlines how encounters with uncertainty in a particular socio-cultural and historical moment can be experienced as epistemologically and ontologically destabilizing, and thereby, result in a state of genuine doubt. This state of doubt, when perceived as actionable, can open-up a horizon of new possibilities for creative activity. The model further outlines how taking creative action in the face of uncertainty can (temporarily) resolve our state of doubt and re-stabilize our experiences. Implications for inviting uncertainty into educational learning environments are also discussed.
Incorporating patient-centered quality-of-life measures for outcome assessment after Chiari malformation type I decompression in a pediatric population: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE Optimal management of pediatric Chiari malformation type I (CM-I) is much debated, chiefly due to the lack of validated tools for outcome assessment, with very few tools incorporating patient-centered measures of health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Although posterior fossa decompression (PFD) benefits a subset of patients, prediction of its impact across patients is challenging. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the role of patient-centered HRQOL measures in the assessment and prediction of outcomes after PFD. METHODS The authors collected HRQOL data from a cohort of 20 pediatric CM-I patients before and after PFD. The surveys included assessments of selected Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) health domains and were used to generate the PROMIS preference (PROPr) score, which is a measure of HRQOL. PROMIS is a reliable standardized measure of HRQOL domains such as pain, fatigue, depression, and physical function, which are all relevant to CM-I. The authors then compared the PROPr scores with Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale (CCOS) scores derived from time-matched clinical documentation. Finally, the authors used the PROPr scores as an outcome measure to predict postsurgical HRQOL improvement at 1 year on the basis of patient demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and radiological and physical findings. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Kendall's correlation were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS Aggregate analysis revealed improvement of pain severity after PFD (p = 0.007) in anatomical patterns characteristic of CM-I. Most PROMIS domain scores trended toward improvement after surgery, with anxiety and pain interference reaching statistical significance (p < 0.002 and p < 0.03, respectively). PROPr scores also significantly improved after PFD (p < 0.008). Of the baseline patient characteristics, preexisting scoliosis was the most accurate negative predictor of HRQOL improvement after PFD (median -0.095 vs 0.106, p < 0.001). A correlation with modest magnitude (Kendall's tau range 0.19-0.47) was detected between the patient-centered measures and CCOS score. CONCLUSIONS The authors observed moderate improvement of HRQOL, when measured using a modified panel of PROMIS question banks, in this pilot cohort of pediatric CM-I patients after PFD. Further investigations are necessary to validate this tool for children with CM-I and to determine whether these scores correlate with clinical and radiographic findings.
Effects of morphine on histamine release from two cell lines of canine mast cell tumor and on plasma histamine concentrations in dogs with cutaneous mast cell tumor

Objective To determine the effects of morphine on histamine release from 2 canine mast cell tumor (MCT) cell lines and on plasma histamine concentrations in dogs with cutaneous MCTs. Animals 10 dogs with cutaneous MCT and 10 dogs with soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Procedures The study consisted of 2 phases. First, 2 canine MCT cell lines were exposed to 3 pharmacologically relevant morphine concentrations, and histamine concentrations were determined by an ELISA. Second, dogs with MCT or STS received 0.5 mg of morphine/kg, IM, before surgery for tumor excision. Clinical signs, respiratory rate, heart rate, arterial blood pressure, rectal temperature, and plasma histamine concentrations were recorded before and 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes after morphine administration but prior to surgery. Data were compared by use of a 2-way ANOVA with the Sidak multiple comparisons test. Results In the first phase, canine MCT cell lines did not release histamine when exposed to pharmacologically relevant morphine concentrations. In the second phase, no differences were noted for heart rate, arterial blood pressure, and rectal temperature between MCT and STS groups. Plasma histamine concentrations did not significantly differ over time within groups and between groups. Conclusions and clinical relevance No significant changes in histamine concentrations were noted for both in vitro and in vivo study phases, and no hemodynamic changes were noted for the in vivo study phase. These preliminary results suggested that morphine may be used safely in some dogs with MCT.
The Evidence for God: Religious Knowledge Reexamined

Introduction 1. Nontheistic naturalism 2. Fideism and faith 3. Natural theology and God 4. Personifying evidence of God 5. Diversity, evil, and defeat.
The Experimental Basis for Oral Immunisation Against Cholera

For nearly a century cholera immunisation has been given parenterally, with very limited success. Experimental vaccines have varied in antigenic composition, but not in route of administration. Recent studies on immunologic defence of the gut emphasise the role of intraluminal (secretory) antibody in protection against non-invasive pathogens, such as V. cholerae, and permitted detailed comparison of the effectiveness of parenteral or local (oral) immunisation in stimulating protective responses.
Pseudomeningocele after Surgical Fenestration of A Posterior Fossa Arachnoid Cyst

We report a 7-year-old boy with a history of headaches, staring spells and speech delay. His neurological examination showed difficulties with tandem gait but no other cerebellar signs. Head CT showed an incidental mass suggestive of large arachnoid cyst of the posterior fossa. Brain MRI showed a cystic lesion at the inferomedial aspect of the left cerebellar hemisphere that follows CSF on all sequences and measured 5.3 cm transverse × 4.1 cm AP × 3.4 cm craniocaudal also consistent with an arachnoid cyst. The posterior wall of the cyst was then resected to create an opening end of the cyst. The symptoms improved but the procedure was complicated days later with the development of pseudomeningocele, a rare complication in children.
RNA-seq analysis reveals genetic response and tolerance mechanisms to ozone exposure in soybean

Oxidative stress caused by ground level ozone is a contributor to yield loss in a number of important crop plants. Soybean (Glycine max) is considered to be ozone sensitive, and current research into its response to oxidative stress is limited. To better understand the genetic response in soybean to oxidative stress, an RNA-seq analysis of two soybean cultivars was performed comparing an ozone intolerant cultivar (Mandarin-Ottawa) and an ozone resistant cultivar (Fiskeby III) following exposure to ozone. Analysis of the transcriptome data revealed cultivar-specific expression level differences of genes previously implicated in oxidative stress responses, indicating unique cultivar-specific responses. Both Fiskeby III and Mandarin (Ottawa) exhibit an increased expression of oxidative response genes as well as glutathiones, phenylpropanoids, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyases. Mandarin (Ottawa) exhibited more general stress response genes whereas Fiskeby III had heightened expression of metabolic process genes. An examination of the timing of gene responses over the course of ozone exposure identified significantly more differentially expressed genes across all time points in Mandarin (Ottawa) than in Fiskeby III. The timing of expression was also considered to identify genes that may be indicative of a delayed response to ozone stress in Fiskeby III, We found that Mandarin (Ottawa) exhibits an higher level of expression in early time points for oxidative and general stress response genes while Fiskeby III seems to maintain expression of defense and stress response genes. Of particular interest was the expression of wax and cutin biosynthetic genes that we found to be expressed in Mandarin (Ottawa) in all sampled time points, whereas the expression of this pathway is only in the first time point for Fiskeby III. We were able to identify differentially expressed genes that correspond to each of the known or expected categories of genes previously implicated in other species for ozone stress. Our study shows evidence that at least part of the observed ozone tolerance of Fiskeby III may be due to its thicker, denser leaves providing passive resistance thereby limiting the degree of ozone exposure. The observed diminished genetic response is then likely a consequence of this reduced exposure.
One Dimensional Boundaries for DNA Tile Self-Assembly

In this paper we report the design and synthesis of DNA molecules (referred to as DNA tiles) with specific binding interactions that guide self-assembly to make one-dimensional assemblies shaped as lines, V’s and X’s. These DNA tile assemblies have been visualized by atomic force microscopy. The highly-variable distribution of shapes – e.g., the length of the arms of X-shaped assemblies – gives us insight into how the assembly process is occurring. Using stochastic models that simulate addition and dissociation of each type of DNA tile, as well as simplified models that more cleanly examine the generic phenomena, we dissect the contribution of accretion vs aggregation, reversible vs irreversible and seeded vs unseeded assumptions for describing the growth processes. The results suggest strategies for controlling self-assembly to make more uniformly-shaped assemblies.
Comparative Severity of Atherosclerosis in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and New Orleans

The present study is concerned with the comparative severity of aortic atherosclerosis in specimens obtained from 941 necropsies performed in low-income Costa Ricans, Guatemalans, and New Orleans whites. The findings indicate geographic differences in the severity of atherosclerosis after the age of 30 years. The dietary habits, serum cholesterol, and lipoprotein patterns of similar populations are compared with the present pathologic findings.
Complication avoidance in vertebral column spine tumors.

The role of surgery for metastatic spine tumors is palliative with the principal objectives of maintaining or improving neurologic function, providing spinal stability, and achieving local tumor control [1]. Although the focus is on metastatic tumors, the principles discussed in this article are generally applicable to primary tumors. Many patients with metastatic tumors can be irradiated with successful pain and tumor control; however, a few patients require operations. The primary indications for operation are high-grade spinal cord compression with or without myelopathy resulting from radioresistant tumors or spinal instability. Patchell and colleagues [2] reported in a prospective randomized trial that patients who were myelopathic from solid tumors causing epidural compression had improved outcomes with surgery and radiation therapy compared with radiation therapy alone. The surgery and radiation therapy group showed better results in terms of maintenance and recovery of ambulation and survival. The surgical management of a patient with metastatic spine disease necessitates an understanding of the medical risks and comorbidities associated with this disease process; this is especially important because surgical intervention is palliative, and complications must be minimized for surgical benefit to outweigh the risks. This article identifies common complications encountered in the management of metastatic spine disease, emphasizing techniques for avoidance and treatment. Bleeding
Unusual heliospheric energetic ion abundances due to resonant wave-particle processes

Abstract The resonant wave-particle effects which enhance spectacularly the abundance of the 3 He isotope and heavy elements in impulsive solar flares are analyzed. Primordial nucleosynthesis and galactic evolution confines the coronal ratio of the He isotopes, 3 He 4 He , to several times 10 −4 ; this ratio is enhanced during impulsive flares by up to four orders of magnitude due to interaction with electromagnetic ion cyclotron (emic) waves. The heavy elements, which are produced during galactic evolution and which are not fully ionized at coronal temperatures, are also accelerated by emic waves through higher gyroharmonic resonances. The oblique emic waves, which propagate undamped over large distances, are observed on auroral field lines in conjunction with dynamically evolving electron fluxes, and, analogously, are postulated on coronal field lines in conjunction with the X-ray emitting electrons. Quasilinear simulations show that the dynamically evolving electron velocity distribution consisting of a core, halo and beam can enhance the low-frequency modes, while quenching the high-frequency Langmuir waves and preserving some positive slope. This positive slope may drive the low-frequency electromagnetic waves. The acceleration of 3 He by the emic waves and the enrichment of specific elements and charge states, at different coronal conditions, is described.
Electronics Package for Rugged HPGE Detectors

A prototype electronics package of amplifier, ADC, pulser, data-bus interface, bias supply and low voltage supply has been developed to process high resolution data from rugged intrinsic germanium detectors with high reliability in a harsh environment. This sturdy modular package attachable to the dewar of a rugged detector oriented horizontally or downward degrades detector energy resolution at 1332 KeV less than 0.25 KeV.
An improved shadow measurement technique for constraining the morphometry of simple impact craters

The lengths of the shadows cast within simple, bowl-shaped impact craters have been used to constrain their depths on a variety of planetary bodies. This technique, however, only yields the "true" crater depth if the shadow transects the crater center where the floor is deepest. In the past, attempts have been made to circumvent this limitation by choosing only craters where the shadow tip lies very near the crater center; but this approach may introduce serious artifacts that adversely affect the slope of the regressed depth vs. diameter data and its variance. Here we introduce an improved method for deriving depth information from shadow measurements that considers three basic shape variations of simple craters: paraboloidal, conical, and flat-floored. We show that the shape of the cast shadow can be used to constrain crater shape and we derive improved equations for finding the depths of these simple craters.
Reduction of cathode carbon deposit by buffer gas outflow

Abstract The problem of the cathode carbon deposit arising from the carbon vapor developed by conventional arc discharge plasma during fullerene synthesis is addressed. This carbon deposit significantly reduces fullerene productivity, wastes valuable energy and graphite material, and presents a major obstacle in achieving desirable productivity and scalability. A study of the deposit microstructure and its mechanical and physical properties revealed that the deposit is of a three-dimensional fractal structure having a rigid and microporous structure. Analysis reveals that the graphite evaporation rate determines carbon deposit formation, soot content, fullerene yield, and vapor quality, as well as defines the deposit formation. The buffer gas outflow approach utilizes the injection of a buffer gas into the hot plasma zone, provides quick evacuation of the produced carbon vapor away from the plasma zone, allows usage of large currents and bigger electrodes without a significant reduction of fullerene yield, and reduces the carbon deposit by more then 99%. Based on this work, the elimination of the cathode deposit is a major step in the development of efficient, productive and scalable fullerene and nanotube technology.
Low-temperature properties of alkyl esters of tallow and grease

The low-temperature properties of mono-alkyl esters derived from tallow and recycled greases were determined for neat esters and 20% ester blends in No. 2 low-sulfur diesel fuel. Properties studied included cloud point, pour point, cold filter plugging point, low-temperature flow test, crystallization onset temperature, and kinematic viscosity. Compositional properties of the alkyl esters determined included water, residual free fatty acids, and free glycerol content. In general, the secondary alkyl esters of tallow showed significantly improved cold-temperature properties over the normal tallow alkyl ester derivatives. The low-temperature flow test did not show a 1:1 correlation with cloud point as previously observed with methyl soyate and methyl tallowate. For the homologous series methyl to n-butyl tallowate, ethyl tallowate had the best broad-spectrum low-temperature properties, both neat and when blended in diesel fuel. For the greases studied, both the normal and branched alkyl ester derivatives showed improved properties over corresponding tallow esters, especially with neat esters.
The role of cascade energy and temperature in primary defect formation in iron

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been used to investigate the formation of atomic displacement cascades in iron with energies up to 50 keV (corresponding to a primary knock-on atom (PKA) energy of 79 keV) at 100 K, up to 20 keV at 600 K, and up to 10 keV at 900 K. The cascade damage production has been characterized in terms of several parameters: the number of surviving point defects, the fraction and type of surviving point defects found in clusters, and the size distributions of the in-cascade point defect clusters. A sufficient number of simulations have been completed at each condition to evaluate the statistical variation in these primary damage parameters as a function of irradiation temperature and cascade energy. The energy dependence of stable defect formation can be conveniently separated into three regimes with the number of defects in each regime correlated by a simple power law with a characteristic exponent. The primary effects of cascade energy on defect formation at high energies are explained in terms of subcascade formation. Only a modest effect of temperature is observed on defect survival, while irradiation temperature increases lead to a slight increase in the in-cascade interstitial clustering fraction and a decrease in the vacancy clustering fraction. Cascade energy has little effect on the in-cascade clustering fractions above about 5 keV. However, there is a systematic change in the cluster size distribution, with higher energy cascades producing larger clusters. The loosely coupled nature of the in-cascade vacancy clusters persists at higher energies.
Maternal microchimerism in patients with biliary atresia: Implications for allograft tolerance.

Maternal-fetal cellular trafficking during pregnancy results in bidirectional microchimerism with potentially long-term consequences for the mother and her fetus. Exposure of the fetus to maternal cells results in tolerance to non-inherited maternal antigens (NIMA) and may therefore impact transplant outcomes. We investigated the rates of graft failure and retransplantation after parental liver transplantation in pediatric recipients with biliary atresia (BA), a disease with high levels of maternal microchimerism. We observed significantly lower rates of graft failure and retransplantation in BA recipients of maternal livers compared with BA recipients of paternal livers. Importantly, recipients without BA had equivalent transplant outcomes with maternal and paternal organs, suggesting that increased maternal microchimerism in BA patients may be the underlying etiology for tolerance. These results support the concept that prenatal exposure to NIMA may have consequences for living-related organ transplanta...
OAI metadata harvesting workshop

This workshop will bring together people with Open Archives Initiative (OAI) [1] metadata harvesting experience to discuss problems, their solutions, and to identify best practices. The focus will be on near-to medium-term practical issues. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss problems or raise issues that they have encountered and will benefit from the shared experience of the other participants. The workshop will combine and distill the OAI harvesting knowledge and experience of the participants to detail 1) best practices and existing solutions to particular harvesting problems; and 2) unresolved problems and issues with current implementations, the specification, or limitations of version 2.0 the OAI protocol for metadata harvesting (OAI-PMH) [2]. The conclusions of the workshop will be disseminated to the wider OAI community.
Biotin Deficiency May Alter Tibiotarsal Bone Growth and Modeling in Broiler Chicks

Abstract Forty-eight, day-old male broiler chicks (Hubbard × Hubbard strain) were fed purified diets with two levels of biotin (0 and 400 μg/kg) and two levels of linoleate (26.5 and 1.5 g/kg) in a factorially designed experiment to determine the effects of these nutrients on tibiotarsal bone growth and modeling. Chicks fed biotin-deficient diets (0 μg/kg diet) exhibited varus deformities, footpad dermatitis, shortened tibiotarsi, and significantly higher bone densities and percentage bone ash. Anatomically there were two different bone modeling patterns. The mid-diaphyseal cortex was thickest laterally in chicks fed adequate biotin and thickest medially in biotin-deficient chicks. Periosteal bone appositional and bone formation rates, osteoid perimeter, and osteoid area of perimeter were reduced in tibiotarsi of chicks fed diets deficient in biotin compared with effects in chicks fed adequate biotin. Altered bone modeling patterns and quantitative differences in bone histomorphometry suggest a relationship between the effects of biotin on bone growth and the development of varus limb deformities.
New advances in chemistry and materials science with CPMD and parallel computing

Abstract A short overview is presented of the density functional theory and molecular dynamics (DFT–MD) method and of a code (CPMD) based on a plane wave scheme. Its power is shown through the survey of specific applications to diverse frontier areas of chemistry and materials science that make use of parallel computing.
Weekend/weekday differences of ozone, NOx, Co, VOCs, PM10 and the light scatter during ozone season in southern California

Abstract The weekend effect on ozone, a phenomenon with high ozone concentration at weekend, was analyzed using the data measured at 7 photochemical assessment monitoring stations (PAMS), (1) volatile organic compounds (VOCs) monitoring station and (2) routine ambient air quality monitoring stations in southern California during ozone season from 1995 to 2001. Weekend/weekday differences of ozone, ozone precursors and PM10 concentrations and the light scatter, composition and reactivity of VOCs in morning traffic rush time and afternoon peak ozone time were compared. The possible causes for the weekend effect were discussed. The significant weekend effect was observed in southern California except in areas close to beach and far downwind direction from L.A. Downtown. On average, the peak O3 and max 8 h average O3 concentrations at weekend were 20% and 22%, respectively, higher than those on weekday while the concentrations of O3 precursors and PM10 and the light scatter were lower at weekday in southern California. In morning traffic rush time, the average concentrations of NOx, CO, NMOC and PM10 and the light scatter at weekend were about 37%, 18%, 15%, 14% and 9%, respectively, lower than those on weekday. In afternoon peak ozone time, the average concentrations of NOx, CO, NMOC and PM10 and the light scatter at weekend were about 29%, 13%, 24%, 17% and 17%, respectively, lower than those on weekday. The reactivities of VOCs in morning traffic rush time and afternoon peak ozone time at weekend were 17% and 26%, respectively, lower than those on weekday. VOCs sensitivity for ozone formation and a decrease NOx emissions at weekend can well explain the weekend effect in southern California. Less scatter of sunlight due to lower fine particle concentration at weekend results in enhanced ozone formation might be another possible cause for the weekend effect.
Program Planning in Geriatric Psychiatry

The psychosocial rehabilitation model described in this article demonstrates the effectiveness of therapeutic activity disciplines collaborating and working together. Several assessment tools, comm...
Reflected Flexural and Torsional Waves in an Infinite Bar due to an Elastic Support

Formulas are given for the complex amplitude densities of reflected flexural and torsional waves in the infinite bar, due to an elastic support of finite length, in terms of the complex amplitude densities of the incident waves. It is proved that the series obtained by the perturbation method for calculation of the amplitude densities converges provided that the incident waves have frequencies restricted to a fixed finite band and that the coefficients of rigidity of the elastic support are sufficiently small in magnitude. Es werden Formeln fur die komplexen Amplituden, der durch eine elastische Stutze endlicher Lange reflektierten Biegungs- und Torsionswellen in einem unendlichen Balken als Funktion der komplexen Amplitudendichten der Einfallswellen hergeleitet. Es wird sodann bewiesen, das die mit der Storungsrechnung erhaltenen Reihen konvergieren, wenn die Frequenzen der Einfallswellen in einem endlichen Intervall liegen und die Steifheitszahlen der Stutzen klein genug sind.
Locating thematic pinpoints in narrative texts with short phrases: a test study on Don Quixote

Traditional implementations provide only limited assistance for locating the information in narrative texts relevant to a certain point of interest. We are investigating providing a "reading wheel" for such purposes. The first step of the bigger picture, as inspired by the editorial compilation of a textbook's index, is an attempt to locate thematically coherent sentences to a given short phrase. In this paper, we propose a two-step methodology to increase the search performance and examine its effectiveness in a test study. We describe the experimental setup and report on the quantitative evaluation of the techniques involved.
Analysis and simulation of wiseman hypocycloid engine

AbstractThis research studies an alternative to the slider-crank mechanism for internal combustion engines, which was proposed by the Wiseman Technologies Inc. Their design involved replacing the crankshaft with a hypocycloid gear assembly. The unique hypocycloid gear arrangement allowed the piston and connecting rod to move in a straight line creating a perfect sinusoidal motion, without any side loads. In this work, the Wiseman hypocycloid engine was modeled in a commercial engine simulation software and compared to slider-crank engine of the same size. The engine’s performance was studied, while operating on diesel, ethanol, and gasoline fuel. Furthermore, a scaling analysis on the Wiseman engine prototypes was carried out to understand how the performance of the engine is affected by increasing the output power and cylinder displacement. It was found that the existing 30cc Wiseman engine produced about 7% less power at peak speeds than the slider-crank engine of the same size. These results were concu...
Progress towards implementation of new aerosol industrial hygiene standards, with special reference to the aluminium industry

Abstract During recent years, progress has been made towards the establishment of particle size-selective criteria by which industrial aerosol exposure assessment - and, ultimately, standards — may be placed on a firmer health-related basis than previously. Three biologically-relevant fractions have been identified; inhalable (particles inhaled through the nose and/or mouth during breathing), thoracic (the subfraction of inhalable which penetrates into the lung below the larnyx), and respirable (the subfraction of inhalable which penetrates down to the alveolar region) and conventions for these have been agreed. Such conventions take the form of curves which should be regarded as ‘yardsticks’ for sampling instrumentation. In this paper, a summary is given of experiments in the workplaces of several industries in which a new personal sampler for the inhalable fraction is compared alongside the samplers which had been used previously. The results enable assessment of the impact of the implementation of the new standards. Such studies can aid in progress towards implementation of the new standards, including in the aluminium production industry.
Atrial Myxoma Mimicking a Clot in Transit

![Figure][1] [![Graphic][3] ][3][![Graphic][4] ][4] A 41-year-old man with hypertension and hyperlipidemia was referred to a cardiologist for atypical chest pain. He underwent echocardiography, which suggested a left atrial mass. Transesophageal echocardiography was performed,
Molecular Mechanism of Activation of IRE1α Cytosolic Domain by Palmitate

Inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) is an ER (endoplasmic reticulum) transmembrane containing two enzymatic activities, a Ser/Thr protein kinase and an endoribonuclease (RNase) both residing on its cytosolic portion. Upon ER stress, the N-terminal luminal domain of IRE1α becomes dimerized. The dimerization induces the juxtaposition of the kinase domains, which consequently trans-autophosphorylate and activate the RNase activity to initiate splicing of the XBP1 (X-box binding protein 1) mRNA. Activated IRE1α up-regulates several pro-apoptotic genes to contribute to ER stress-induced apoptosis. Recently, we found that palmitate, a saturated fatty acid, activates the kinase and RNase activities in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. However, the molecular mechanism how palmitate regulates the enzymatic activities of IRE1α has not been identified. We first addressed whether palmitate is involved in the direct physical interaction with the IRE1α protein. Using fluorescence polarization (FP)-based binding assay, we confirmed that palmitate binds to the cytosolic domain containing the kinase and nuclease domains, but not the luminal domain of IRE1α. Molecular dynamics simulations with the cytosolic domain of IRE1α suggested several amino acid residues (i.e. R635, R722, R864) potentially interact with the palmitate molecule. Site-specific mutation experiments further confirmed that the residues play an important role on the regulation of IRE1α activities. The computationally-assisted biochemical and biophysical studies provide insights on the molecular mechanisms by which palmitate initiates ER stress through IRE1α as well as possibly on the therapeutic efficacy of kinase inhibitor/activators.