cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prognostic features in infants with obstructive uropathy due to posterior urethral valves

The histories of 22 infants presenting during the first year of life with obstructive uropathy due to posterior urethral valves were analyzed to determine outcome and prognostic features. Mean patient age at the time of the initial surgical intervention was 39 days, and the mean duration of followup inclusive of renal function data was 5.8 years. One patient died (5 per cent) and one had end stage renal disease. The mean preoperative and postoperative serum creatinine concentrations during the initial hospitalization were 3.1 and 1.4 mg. per dl., respectively. Neither value was significantly predictive of the creatinine concentration at final followup. In contrast, the nadir creatinine value during the first year of life correlated significantly with final renal function. Children with nadir creatinine values less than or equal to 0.8 mg. per dl. by 12 months of age maintained creatinine levels less than or equal to 1.1 mg. per dl. at the time of final evaluation, whereas children with higher values during the first year of life were likely to have progressive renal failure. Of 19 final creatinine determinations 6 were normal and 5 exceeded 1.5 mg. per dl. Proteinuria, hypertension, renal biopsy findings, urinary infection, unilateral nephrectomy and type of surgery did not correlate significantly with functional outcome. Followup studies of longer duration are needed to determine the ultimate outcome of these patients, more than half of whom had some degree of renal insufficiency at final evaluation.
Pathologic examination of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer.

Lymphatic mapping with selective sentinel lymphdenectomy allows accurate pathological examination of the nodes most likely to contain macro- or micrometastatic disease for staging and proper adjuvant chemotherapy. This article describes institutional pathology protocol on examination of sentinel lymph nodes including intraoperative touch imprint methodologies and a standard histo-pathology technique.
Proctitis 1 Week after Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer: Implications for Clinical Trial Design.

Background: Proctitis following prostate cancer radiation therapy is a primary determinant of quality of life (QOL). While previous studies have assessed acute rectal morbidity at 1 month after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), little data exist on the prevalence and severity of rectal morbidity within the first week following treatment. This study reports the acute bowel morbidity one week following prostate SBRT. Materials and methods: Between May 2013 and August 2014, 103 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were treated with 35 to 36.25 Gy in five fractions using robotic SBRT delivered on a prospective clinical trial. Bowel toxicity was graded using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0 (CTCAEv.4). Bowel QOL was assessed using EPIC-26 questionnaire bowel domain at baseline, one week, one month, and three months. Time-dependent changes in bowel symptoms were statistically compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Clinically significant change was assessed by the minimally important difference (MID) in EPIC score. This was defined as a change of one-half standard deviation (SD) from the baseline score. Results: One hundred and three patients with a minimum of three months of follow-up were analyzed. The cumulative incidence of acute grade 2 GI toxicity was 23%. There were no acute ≥ grade 3 bowel toxicities. EPIC bowel summary scores maximally declined at 1 week after SBRT (-13.9, p<0.0001) before returning to baseline at three months after SBRT (+0.03, p=0.94). Prior to treatment, 4.9% of men reported that their bowel bother was a moderate to big problem. This increased to 28.4% (p<0.0001) one week after SBRT and returned to baseline at three months after SBRT (0.0%, p=0.66). Only the bowel summary and bowel bother score declines at 1 week met the MID threshold for clinically significant change. Conclusion: The rate and severity of acute proctitis following prostate SBRT peaked at one week after treatment and returned to baseline by 3 months. Toxicity assessment at one week can therefore minimize recall bias and should aid in the design of future clinical trials focused on accurately capturing and minimizing acute morbidity following SBRT.
PERIODIC SOLUTIONS OF SYSTEMS OF ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Publisher Summary The existence or nonexistence of oscillations is of fundamental importance in the design and the evaluation of feedback systems. Mees and Bergen have recently proved some results on existence and nonexistence of periodic solutions of certain autonomous ordinary differential equations. This chapter presents an extension of some of their results to a class of interconnected systems and presents an analysis of feedback systems as the interconnection of simpler subsystems. Each subsystem is analyzed using describing function techniques. The results in the chapter address the most popular uses of describing functions, that is, it presents conditions that ensure that the system cannot sustain a π-symmetric oscillation. The conditions are computable in the sense that certain parameters are obtained for each subsystem by graphical methods. These parameters are combined with parameters that measure the strength of the interconnections to form a test matrix.
Emotional Dysfunction in Psychopathology and Neuropathology: Neural and Genetic Pathways

In this chapter, we review the current state of knowledge about neural and genetic pathways that influence three emotional processes: (1) emotional reactivity, which is generating emotions in response to challenges, threats, and opportunities; (2) emotional regulation, which is adjusting emotional responses to meet personal, interpersonal, and social goals and standards; and (3) emotional affiliation, which is using emotions to create and maintain social connections. Emotional reactivity, regulation, and affiliation are all critical for daily living and maintaining mental and physical health; each is highly vulnerable to disruption in psychopathology and neuropathology. In the final part of the chapter, we consider ways in which tools and concepts derived from modern affective science can help elucidate the relationships among neural circuits, genes, emotional functioning, and pathology and provide insights about etiology, diagnosis, and treatment that can be useful in clinical contexts.
Effect of dopant concentration on visible light driven photocatalytic activity of Sn1−xAgxS2

Tin(IV) sulfide (SnS2), as a mid-band-gap semiconductor shows good potential as an excellent photocatalyst due to its low cost, wide light spectrum response and environment-friendly nature. However, to meet the demands of large-scale water treatment, a SnS2 photocatalyst with a red-shifted band gap, increased surface area and accelerated molecule and ion diffusion is required. Doping is a facile method to manipulate the optical and chemical properties of semiconductor materials simultaneously. In this work, SnS2 photocatalysts with varied Ag doping content are synthesized through a facile one-step hydrothermal method. The product is characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and UV-Vis spectrometry. The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared Sn1−xAgxS2 is studied by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under solar light irradiation. It is found that increasing the Ag dopant concentration can effectively increase the solar light adsorption efficiency of the photocatalyst and accelerate heterogeneous photocatalysis. The optimal concentration of Ag dopant is found to be 5% with the highest rate constant being 1.8251 hour−1. This study demonstrates that an optimal amount of Ag doping can effectively increase the photocatalytic performance of SnS2 and will promote the commercialization of such photocatalysts in the photocatalytic degradation of organic compounds.
Modeling outcomes of violent video game play

While much research on video games has focused on aggressive outcomes, the extant research has not come to consensus on the role of other factors, notably enjoyment, frustration and individual differences amongst players, in mediating the link between violent game play and aggression. This experimental design uses a mental models approach to examine game features (e.g., controller naturalness), player characteristics (e.g., first person shooter experience, sex, degree of competitiveness) and the game play experience (e.g., perceived game realism, immersion, game failure, frustration and enjoyment) to explain aggressive outcomes. Results from a revised path model suggest perceived realism, immersion, and experience with other first person shooters all positively predicted enjoyment while frustration negatively predicted game enjoyment. Frustration and enjoyment both predicted state aggression. The findings of this study support the application of mental models as a theoretical approach to unify thinking about violent games, contextual features of violent games, individual difference variables and differences in player perceptions and game experiences with regards to outcome aggression. Results are discussed in terms of the model matching hypothesis and implications for the comprehensive study of violent game play, including the importance of enjoyment and frustration, are also discussed. Study takes a comprehensive look at effects of violent video game play.Experimental design manipulated controllers for a first person shooter.Path model tested to examine predictors of enjoyment, frustration, aggression.Results indicated support for model matching hypothesis.Experience, competitiveness, and failure were significant predictors in model.
On the application of constant electrode potential simulation techniques in atomistic modelling of electric double layers

This paper presents a brief overview of molecular simulation techniques utilised to simulate the electrode/electrolyte interfaces. We introduce a simple scheme to perform classical molecular dynami...
What to do when there's no fiber: The DARPA 100Gb/s RF backbone program

Intermediate results from a project to deliver 100 Gb/s communication links over ranges of 100 to 200 km in air-to-ground or air-to-air environments are described.
Investigation of Deaths of Chronically Disabled Persons and Institutionalized Persons

The investigation of deaths involving chronically disabled and/or institutionalized persons represents an important challenge to the medicolegal death investigation community. For the purposes of t...
Structure and Performance Analysis of the 7! Robots Generated From an Optimally Fault Tolerant Jacobian

A measure of local fault tolerance for kinematically redundant robots has previously been defined based on the properties of the singular values of the Jacobian matrix. Based on these measures, one can determine a Jacobian that is optimal. Because these measures are solely based on the singular values of the Jacobian, permutation of the columns does not affect the optimality. Therefore, when one generates a kinematic robot design from this optimal Jacobian, there will be 7! robot designs with the same locally optimal fault tolerant property. The work described here shows how to analyze and organize the kinematic structure of these 7! designs in terms of their Denavit and Hartenberg (DH) parameters. Furthermore, global fault tolerant measures are defined in order to evaluate the different designs. It is shown that robot designs that are very similar in terms of DH parameters, e.g., robots generated from Jacobians where the columns are in reverse order, can have very different global properties. Finally, a computationally efficient approach to calculate the global pre- and post-failure dexterity measures is presented and used to identify two Pareto optimal robot designs. The workspaces for these optimal designs are also shown.
‘Negros maniquís de sastre’. Death and Resurrection in Lorca's ‘Martirio de Santa Olalla’

(1992). ‘Negros maniquis de sastre’. Death and Resurrection in Lorca's ‘Martirio de Santa Olalla’. Bulletin of Hispanic Studies: Vol. 69, Hispanic Studies in Honour of Geoffrey Ribbans, pp. 259-265.
Roz Chast: From Whimsy to Transgression

Roz Chast’s distinctive cartoons are readily recognizable to anyone who reads The New Yorker magazine. Her scribbly lines, freakish-looking wild-eyed characters, and her gentle, often wacky, sense of humor mark her work as distinctive and whimsical. Remarkably, the style and presentation of the cartoons do not change appreciably when Chast moves beyond (but never abandons) her most whimsical subjects and perspective, that is, when her humor becomes transgressive. This move happens most dramatically in Roz Chast’s 2014 memoir, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, which chronicles in characteristic cartoon form the aging, declining health and ultimate deaths of her parents. In this chapter, Linda Morris charts the progress of Chast’s earlier forays into what David Remnick characterized as her “dark imaginings,” with an extended examination of her memoir that so often makes us laugh out loud at scenes and situations we know we should be declaring “not funny.” But laugh we do, and we are the richer for the experience and the guilty pleasure it brings.
Printed Arabic Characters Recognition Based on Minimum Distance Classifier Technique

The printed Arabic character recognition are faced numerous challenges due to its character body which are changed depending on its position in any sentence (at beginning or in the middle or in the end of the word). This paper portrays recognition strategies. These strategies depend on new pre-processing processes, extraction the structural and numerical features to build databases for printed alphabetical Arabic characters. The database information that obtained from features extracted was applied in recognition stage. Minimum Distance Classifier technique (MDC) was used to classify and train the classes of characters. The procedure of one character against all characters (OAA) was used in determination the rate of recognition. The suggested approaches have yielded great and encouraging results in terms of accuracy in which the recognition rate reached to 97.28%. These approaches are faster and more efficient than other methods.
On Correcting Thermophysical Property Data for Thermal Expansion Effects

Most researchers do not correct thermophysical property data published in the literature for thermal expansion effects. Even values reported by the National Bureau of Standards for standard reference materials (SRM’s) are not corrected for dimensional changes. Users of the data and, in fact, many researchers assume that corrections have been made or that they are negligible compared to experimental errors. However, the corrections may be several times larger than they are assumed to be because customary thinking concerning dimensional correction is based on the units of the thermophysical properties. The present paper shows that there is not necessarily a one-to-one relation between the expansion correction and the power to which length enters into the property units. In the case of thermal conductivity “λ” for example, the units are often expressed as W cm-1 K-1 and one might think that λcorrected=(1+Δ L/L0)-1 λuncorrected. Actually the correction term may be (1+Δ L/L0)-n where n=0, 1, 2 or 3 depending upon the experimental technique used — or the correction term may even be based on the expansion of a material other than the sample. Similarly the hemispherical total emittance (a dimensionless quantity) may require a (1+Δ L/L0)-2 correction term. Thus the units of the property involved do not necessarily provide a good guide to the correction term.
Kinetics of CH + N2 revisited with multireference methods.

The potential energy surface for the CH + N2 reaction was reexamined with multireference ab initio electronic structure methods employing basis sets up to aug-cc-pvqz. Comparisons with related CCSD(T) calculations were also made. The multireference ab initio calculations indicate significant shortcomings in single reference based methods for two key rate-limiting transition states. Transition state theory calculations incorporating the revised best estimates for the transition state properties provide order of magnitude changes in the predicted rate coefficient in the temperature range of importance to the mechanism for prompt NO formation. At higher temperatures, two distinct pathways make a significant contribution to the kinetics. A key part of the transition state analysis involves a variable reaction coordinate transition state theory treatment for the formation of H + NCN from HNCN. The present predictions for the rate coefficients resolve the discrepancy between prior theory and very recent experim...
Analysis of Nodule-Specific Gene Expression in Ineffective Alfalfa Root Nodules and Callus Cultures Derived from Ineffective Root Nodules

Nodule-specific proteins, commonly termed nodulins, have been detected in soybean (9), pea (1), and alfalfa root nodules (8,11) by means of nodule-specific antisera. Several of the genes encoding soybean nodulins have also been cloned (5). While the identity of some abundant nodulins such as leghemoglobin (Lb), nodule-specific glutamine synthetase (2), and, most recently, a polypeptide of the peribacteroid membrane (7) is known, the role of most of the nodulins in nodule development remains an open question.
Advancing Interpretation of Patient-Reported Outcomes

A patient-reported outcome (PRO) is any report on the status of a patient’s health condition that comes directly from the patient, without interpretation of the patient’s response by a clinician or anyone else. In this chapter methods of PRO interpretation are discussed, under the assumption that a PRO instrument has already evidenced validity and reliability, in order to lend meaning and import to PRO scores. Specifically, we focus on three ways to advance interpretation of PRO scores: anchor-based methods, distribution-based methods, and mediation models. Anchor-based approaches use a criterion measure that is clinically interpretable and appreciably correlated with the targeted PRO measure of interest. Distribution-based approaches use the statistical distribution of the data to gauge the meaning of PRO scores. Mediation models involve a multivariate approach to collectively and simultaneously examine the interrelationship of the PRO measure of interest with other variables. Throughout the chapter, concepts are illuminated with illustrative and real-life examples.
Relationship of mildly increased albuminuria and coronary artery revascularization outcomes in patients with diabetes.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of albuminuria to cardiovascular disease outcomes in diabetic patients undergoing treatment for stable coronary artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS We analyzed data from 2176 participants of the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation in type-2 diabetes (BARI-2D) trial, a randomized clinical trial comparing Percutaneous coronary intervention/Coronary artery bypass grafting (PCI/CABG) to medical therapy for people with diabetes. The population was stratified by baseline spot urine albumin-creatinine ratio (uACR) into normal (uACR <10 mg/g), mildly (uACR ≥10 mg/g < 30 mg/g), moderately (uACR ≥30 mg/g < 300 mg/g) and severely increased (uACR ≥300 mg/g) groups, and outcomes compared between groups. Death, myocardial infarction (MI) and/or stroke were experienced by 489 patients at a mean follow-up of 4.3 ± 1.5 years. Compared with normal uACR, mildly increased uACR was associated with a 1.4 times (P = 0.042) increase in all-cause mortality. Additionally, nonwhites with type-II diabetes and stable coronary artery disease who had mildly increased albuminuria had a Hazard ratio (HR) of 3.3 times (P = 0.028) for cardiovascular death, 3.1 times for (P = 0.002) all-cause mortality, and two times for (P = 0.015) MI during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Mildly increased albuminuria is a significant predictor of all-cause mortality in those with type-II diabetes mellitus and stable coronary artery disease, as well as for cardiovascular events those who are nonwhites.
Effect of Mo capping in sub-100 nm CoFeB-MgO tunnel junctions with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Abstract Co20Fe60B20/MgO/Co20Fe60B20 perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with Mo seed and capping layers were patterned into sub-100 nm diameter devices. The resulting devices were imaged in plan view by scanning electron microscopy and in cross-section by scanning transmission electron microscopy. The tunnel magnetoresistance was ∼125%. The coercivity dropped off below 35 nm, and the stray field increased with decreasing diameter. The voltage controlled magnetic anisotropy effect was observed for all sizes, though it was convoluted with thermal and stray field effects for the smaller diameters.
Political Differences in American Reports of Sexual Harassment and Assault.

Political ideology has been linked to beliefs regarding sexual harassment and assault (SH&A). Using data from the January 2018 Stop Street Sexual Harassment online poll (N = 2,009), this study exam...
The Role of the Male in the Middle-Class Jamaican Family: A Comparative Perspective

Research into the Caribbean family has focussed on the marginality of men in the lower-class black family and has attempted to explain this 'deviation' from the norm. The research reported here dem...
Relationship between ETS Transcription Factor ETV1 and TGF-β-regulated SMAD Proteins in Prostate Cancer.

The ETS transcription factor ETV1 is frequently overexpressed in aggressive prostate cancer, which is one underlying cause of this disease. Accordingly, transgenic mice that prostate-specifically overexpress ETV1 develop prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia. However, progression to the adenocarcinoma stage is stifled in these mice, suggesting that inhibitory pathways possibly preclude ETV1 from exerting its full oncogenic potential. Here we provide evidence that TGF-β/SMAD signaling represents such an inhibitory pathway. First, we discovered that ETV1 forms complexes with SMAD4. Second, SMAD2, SMAD3 and SMAD4 overexpression impaired ETV1’s ability to stimulate gene transcription. Third, TGF-β1 inhibited ETV1-induced invasion by benign RWPE-1 prostate cells. Fourth, increased expression of SMAD3 and SMAD4 was observable in prostates of ETV1 transgenic mice. Conversely, we found that ETV1 may enhance TGF-β signaling in PC3 prostate cancer cells, revealing a different facet of the ETV1/TGF-β interplay. Altogether, these data provide more insights into the regulation and action of ETV1 and additionally suggest that TGF-β/SMAD signaling exerts its tumor suppressive activity, at least in part, by curtailing the oncogenic potential of ETV1 in prostatic lesions.
Congenital Double Elevator Palsy with Sensory Exotropia: A Unique Surgical Management.

Purpose To report a unique surgical approach for congenital double elevator palsy with sensory exotropia. Case report A 7-year-old boy with congenital double elevator palsy and sensory exotropia was managed surgically by Callahan's procedure with recession and resection of the horizontal recti for exotropia without inferior rectus recession, followed by frontalis sling surgery for congenital ptosis. Conclusions Favourable surgical outcome was achieved without any complication.
Quantized Pulse Propagation in Josephson Junction Arrays

We present time-domain electrical measurements and simulations of the quantized voltage pulses that are generated from series-connected Josephson junction (JJ) arrays. The transmission delay of the JJ array can lead to a broadening of the net output pulse, depending on the direction of the output pulse propagation relative to the input bias pulse. To demonstrate this, we compare time-domain measurements of output pulses from radio-frequency Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer (RF-JAWS) circuits fabricated with two different output measurement configurations, so that the backward-propagating and forward-propagating pulses can be measured. Measurements were made on arrays with 1200 and 3600 JJs and show that the net backward-propagating output pulse is broadened by timing delays in the JJ array, whereas the net forward-propagating output pulse is insensitive to delay effects and can theoretically be further scaled to longer JJ array lengths without significant output pulse broadening. These measurements match well with simulations and confirm the expectation that the net output pulses arise from the time-delayed superposition of individual JJ output pulses from the series array of JJs. The measurements and analysis shown here have important implications for the realization of RF-JAWS circuits to be used as quantum-based reference sources for communications metrology.
Comparing dentinal tubule penetration of conventional and ‘HiFlow’ bioceramic sealers with resin‐based sealer: An in vitro study

This study compared the depth and percentage of dentinal tubule penetration for single-cone (SC) and warm vertical (WV) obturation techniques with two different bioceramic sealers (BC Sealer [BCS], BC Sealer HiFlow [BCSHF]) and an epoxy resin-based sealer (2Seal easymiX). Fifty canals were filled with BCS, BCSHF or resin-based sealer (RBS). Teeth in BCS and BCSHF groups were filled with SC or WV techniques, and teeth in the control group (RBS) filled with WV technique only. The roots were sectioned at 3 mm and 6 mm levels from the apex and evaluated with a confocal laser microscope. There was significantly greater depth and percentage of sealer penetration at the 6 mm section compared to 3 mm (P 0.05). In conclusion, dentinal tubule penetration was similar comparing BC Sealer, BC Sealer HiFlow and RBS using SC and WV techniques.
Modeling the Space of Point Landmark Constrained Diffeomorphisms

Surface registration plays a fundamental role in shape analysis and geometric processing. Generally, there are three criteria in evaluating a surface mapping result: diffeomorphism, small distortion, and feature alignment. To fulfill these requirements, this work proposes a novel model of the space of point landmark constrained diffeomorphisms. Based on Teichmuller theory, this mapping space is generated by the Beltrami coefficients, which are infinitesimally Teichmuller equivalent to 0. These Beltrami coefficients are the solutions to a linear equation group. By using this theoretic model, optimal registrations can be achieved by iterative optimization with linear constraints in the diffeomorphism space, such as harmonic maps and Teichmuller maps, which minimize different types of distortion. The theoretical model is rigorous and has practical value. Our experimental results demonstrate the efficiency and efficacy of the proposed method.
AI and the

How might improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology affect trademark doctrine? This Article approaches the question by imagining trademark law in a world in which we can fully outsource our purchasing decisions to AIs that satisfy our preferences better than we can. Leaving aside whether the technology is possible, this thought experiment tells us something about today’s trademark doctrine and how it is responding to changing online technology and culture. A sufficiently sophisticated AI would render trademarks superfluous in many situations. Trademarks function by simplifying information. We use them to stand in for a broad range of (sometimes contradictory) data assembled from a variety of sources. Because human cognition is limited, the ability of trademarks to serve as a shortcut is valuable, but it is a second-best solution. With unlimited time or enhanced capacities, we would be better able to find optimal products without relying on the simple information signals offered by trademarks. As it is, sifting through all the available data is not a wise use of our limited attention. But the hypothetical AI is not similarly limited, and a sufficiently advanced AI “shopper” would exist to analyze the context that trademarks allow us to ignore. The role of trademarks in such a world is more limited—and consequently requires less protection—than what we see today. Though the hypothetical AI does not, and may never, exist, we can see its forerunners in web platforms like Amazon and Facebook. They are already changing trademark doctrine, and they illustrate why trademarks may be less important in the future. Though these technologies raise any number of troubling questions, they are not the sort that trademark law is well-equipped to address.
Teichmüller geodesics that do not have a limit in ℳℱ

In this paper we consider a problem in Teichmuller geometry at infinity. Recall that Teichmuller space Tg of a closed oriented surface of genus g equipped with Teichmuller metric is a complete geodesic metric space. There is a natural way to compactify Tg , by fixing a base point and considering all geodesic rays through that point. However Kerckoff proved that the Teichmuller, or visual, compactification was base point dependent by showing that the action of the mapping class group on Tg does not extend to the boundary. Another natural compactification is due to Thurston, by projective measured foliations PMF , to which the action of the mapping class group does extend.
Salivary Markers of Stress in Grandparents Rearing Grandchildren in Rural Appalachia: The Role of Mental Health, Religiosity, and Social Support

This study examines changes in salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase among grandparents rearing grandchildren in rural Appalachia. Grandparent-caregivers experience greater stress than non- grandpare...
Enabling convergence of the iterated penalty Picard iteration with O(1) penalty parameter for incompressible Navier–Stokes via Anderson acceleration

Abstract This paper considers an enhancement of the classical iterated penalty Picard (IPP) method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations, where we restrict our attention to O ( 1 ) penalty parameter, and Anderson acceleration (AA) is used to significantly improve its convergence properties . After showing the fixed point operator associated with the IPP iteration is Lipschitz continuous and Lipschitz continuously (Frechet) differentiable, we apply a recently developed general theory for AA to conclude that IPP enhanced with AA improves its linear convergence rate by the gain factor associated with the underlying AA optimization problem. Results for several challenging numerical tests are given and show that IPP with penalty parameter 1 and enhanced with AA is a very effective solver.
A wavenumber-domain Kalman filtering approach to one-dimensional phase retrieval

The phase retrieval problem, i.e. computing a function known to have finite spatial support from knowledge of its Fourier magnitude, is considered. By writing the support constraint as a state equation in the Fourier domain (dual to the system used in state-space harmonic retrieval), an extended Kalman filter is used to compute the Fourier magnitudes as observations. The filter is initialized by solving a linear system of equations, followed by a nonlinear set of trigonometric equations. >
Amelogenin–enamelin association in phosphate-buffered saline

The structures and interactions among the macromolecules in the enamel extracellular matrix play vital roles in regulating hydroxyapatite crystal nucleation, growth and maturation. We used dynamic light scattering, circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy to investigate association of amelogenin and the 32-kDa enamelin, at physiological pH 7.4, in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Amelogenin (rP148) self-assembly behavior was altered following addition of the 32-kDa enamelin. Dynamic light scattering revealed a trend of decrease in aggregate size in the solution following the addition of enamelin to amelogenin. A blue-shift and intensity increase of the ellipticity minima of rP148 in the circular dichroism spectra, upon the addition of the 32-kDa enamelin, suggest a direct interaction between the two proteins. In the fluorescence spectra, the maximum emission of rP148 was red-shifted from 335 to 341 nm with a marked intensity increase in the presence of enamelin as a result of complexation of the two proteins. In agreement with DLS data, TEM imaging showed that the 32-kDa enamelin dispersed the amelogenin aggregates into oligomeric particles and stabilizing them. Our study provides novel insights into understanding possible cooperation between enamelin and amelogenin in macromolecular co-assembly and in controlling enamel mineral formation.
Equality and Random Selection of Representatives

Though the connection between equiprobable random selection and equality is facially straightforward, the democratic argument for employing sortition to select political officials is not as clear cut. I address two areas of concern regarding the legitimacy of randomly selecting democratic representatives. First, I respond to the minimalist understanding of democracy qua election by defending via historical and analytic means a democracy that expresses and aspires to equality. Second, I use this prioritization of equality to build on Stone's (2007) and Saunders's (2008) justification of lottery in cases of indeterminacy. To legitimately use lottery for democratic selection, it must be the case that the differences between the candidates are irrelevant to the choice being made. I contend that a democratic understanding of human equality warrants treating some differences between eligible candidates as irrelevant. This is only reasonable to do, however, where circumstances and institutions are arranged to benefit from equiprobable selection while ameliorating the impact of its less attractive effects. I conclude by sketching some examples of potential reforms that would incorporate these lessons, in order to illustrate what an enhanced role for sortition could do for democratic legitimacy. Random selection can both better express a democratic understanding of political equality, and better facilitate progress towards same.
Microaggregation for Categorical Variables: A Median Based Approach

Microaggregation is a masking procedure used for protecting confidential data prior to their public release. This technique, that relies on clustering and aggregation techniques, is solely used for numerical data. In this work we introduce a microaggregation procedure for categorical variables. We describe the new masking method and we analyse the results it obtains according to some indices found in the literature. The method is compared with Top and Bottom Coding, Global recoding, Rank Swapping and PRAM.
Impairment-aware routing in wavelength-routed optical networks

New network-layer technologies such as impairment-aware routing algorithms are emerging to facilitate the design and operation of next-generation optical networks. Motivation, definition, network model, and approaches for impairment-aware routing algorithms are examined for wavelength-routed networks.
Effect of low initial envelope material moisture content on swine tissue degradation in layered livestock mortality composting systems

A 12-week laboratory study was conducted to assess the minimum initial moisture content of compost bulking (envelope) materials necessary to sustain desired heat production and completion of carcass decomposition during emergency composting of swine carcasses. During full-scale field testing of a semi-enclosed emergency composting procedure, first developed and used by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency during an avian influenza outbreak in 2004, the ability of potential emergency compost envelope materials were evaluated on their ability to achieve elevated temperatures (>55 C) necessary to inactivate pathogens and successfully decompose carcasses under a variety of initial moisture conditions, during cool and warm season trials. Two-way ANOVA modeling of results showed that envelope material type and envelope material initial moisture content had a significant effect on internal temperature production, with silage (52.5 C) having the highest predicted internal temperature production. Counter to these findings, envelope material and initial moisture did not have a significant effect on carcass decomposition, and silage (72%) had the lowest predicted carcass decomposition. To corroborate and better understand these unexpected field test results, laboratory tests were carried out using the same envelope materials, under conditions of identical external temperature and a range of initial moisture contents. Results from the laboratory test showed that, when pre-moistened adequately, total oxygen uptake (and heat production potential) in ground cornstalks and similar materials were significantly higher (48 and 51 mg O2 respectively) than for moist silage (11 mg O2). Heat production potential increased significantly when initial moisture was increased from 15 to 35%, and no significant increase was noted when initial moisture content was raised to
Chronic respiratory distress in the premature infant. Wilson-Mikity syndrome

Thirty-four premature infants with Wilson-Mikity syndrome were seen during a 7-year period. Insidious onset of mild respiratory symptoms usually began after the first week of life. These symptoms became increasingly severe and reached maximum intensity from 4 to 8 weeks later. One quarter of the infants died during this stage. In survivors, the respiratory symptoms cleared slowly over the next months and completely disappeared in all but one infant by 2 years of age. The chest radiograph was consistent and distinctive. Diffuse, streaky infiltrate with small cystic areas appeared during the first stage and progressed as the clinical symptoms increased. The second stage was characterized by basilar hyperaeration with residual strands in the upper lobes. These changes slowly cleared as the clinical symptoms disappeared. Eleven lung biopsies were performed, and all 12 infants who died were autopsied. The pathologic picture progressed from an early, immature pattern through areas of hyperinflation and collapse in the first stage, to diffuse overinflation during the second stage. Two infants had pulmonary fibrosis. We consider the most likely pathogenesis of the syndrome to be an abnormal air distribution with a disturbance in ventilation/perfusion ratios secondary to characteristics of the immature lung.
Aligning Conversations: From Seminars to Curricular Reform.

The following pages present an account of practices developed at the University of Dayton, a Catholic university in the Marianist tradition, to help faculty more intentionally integrate liberal learning and business education by focusing on ways the Catholic Intellectual Tradition can shape the context in which this integration takes place. The fi rst section describes a series of seminars, looking particularly at how these seminars have led to a focus on “educating for lives of reasoned action.” The second section sets out several elements, including practical reasoning and Catholic social thought, that faculty agree are fundamental for educating for this focus. Section three summarizes collaborative structures and practices that have been developed to further curricular revision. The fourth section outlines insights that have been gleaned from this work, including an emerging framework for curricular change.
Extreme rainfall and flooding from orographic thunderstorms in the central Appalachians

[1] The central Appalachian region has experienced some of the largest rainfall accumulations in the world at time intervals less than 6 h, including the 18 July 1942 Smethport, Pennsylvania, storm that produced 780 mm in less than 5 h. The envelope curve of central Appalachian flood peaks at “small” drainage areas (less than 1000 km2) is dominated by orographic thunderstorm systems, like the Smethport storm. Orographic thunderstorm systems that have produced catastrophic flooding in the central Appalachians are examined through observational and numerical model analyses using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Analyses suggest that the frequency of catastrophic flooding varies over the central Appalachian region and that small-scale variation may be linked to the role of complex terrain in altering thunderstorm dynamics. Catastrophic flooding along the western margin of the central Appalachians is dominated by four storms that occurred on 18–19 July (1889, 1942, 1977, and 1996), which were associated with warm season extratropical systems and were characterized by rapidly moving storm elements in complex terrain. Along the eastern margin and interior of the central Appalachians, catastrophic flooding is linked to four “terrain-locked” orographic convective systems that occurred 17–18 June 1949, 18–19 August 1969, 27 June 1995, and 11 August 2003. WRF model simulations of the Little River storm (June 1949), Rapidan storm (June 1995), Smethport storm (18 July 1942) and Redbank storm (18–19 July 1996) are used to characterize “ingredients” of catastrophic rainstorms in the central Appalachians.
Microprocessor-based gait analysis system to retrain Trendelenburg gait

A microprocessor-based gait analysis system is described that uses two electromyogram (EMG) amplifiers, two foot switches and an audio feedback device to allow the retraining of one type of improper gait, where the hip abductors (gluteus medius muscles) are weak on one side of the body, causing the opposite hip to drop during the swing phase of gait (Trendelenburg gait). As the abnormality is strictly on one side of the body in most people, the circuitry is minimised, as gait can be analysed by only comparing muscle activity in the affected gluteus medius muscle with that in the unaffected gluteus medius muscle, through the EMG. Two foot contact switches are used to help assess timing of the step cycle. If gait is different on the two sides of the body, an audio cue directs the patient to correct the abnormality by increasing activity on the affected side. The device is tested on five patients. Trendelenburg gait is reduced by an average of 29 degrees through the use of the device. The average stride length at the beginning of the study is 0.32±0.3 m. By the end of the study, the stride length is increased to 0.45±0.2m for the entire group of five subjects. The speed of gait has increased from 1.6±0.4 kmh−1 to 3.1±0.5 kmh−1.
A temperature effect on nondisjunction of the X chromosomes among eggs from agedDrosophila females

The effects of temperature and aging on the frequency of nondisjunction inDrosophila melanogaster eggs were investigated. At 25°C offspring arising from 3–5 day old control females had a nondisjunction frequency (0.943/1000 offspring) very similar to that for females who were 24–26 or 27 days old when eggs were collected (1.044/1000 offspring). When females were aged for the same length of time at 10°C the frequency of nondisjunctional exceptions increased to 3.368 per 1000 offspring. These results indicate that aging the females at 25°C does not increase the nondisjunction rate over that obtained from non-aged females raised at 25°. The increase in nondisjunction frequencies when the females were aged at 10°C reflects an influence of temperature on the meiotic process inDrosophila melanogaster. At the low temperature eggs were also aged since few or no eggs were laid during the aging process. Thus in addition to a temperature effect on nondisjunction rates at 10°C there may also be an age effect.
Minimally invasive flow estimation for a rotary cardiac assist device

An estimator that can estimate the blood flow rate through a rotary-type implantable ventricular assist device without invasive sensors was developed. This estimation algorithm uses the pump current and speed signals to approximate the blood flow rate based on the energy balance between the electric energy generated by the motor and the mechanical energy consumption, including the fluid load and mechanical losses. The corresponding estimator parameters were identified using experimental data in the laboratory. As described herein, the estimator performed well in both the mock circulatory loop experiments simulating different physiological conditions and the animal studies. For clinical applications, the estimated flow can be used to control the pump speed of the implantable device for optimizing the support of the device to the patient's physiological demand. In addition, it can be used to derive an index to monitor the patient's cardiac function continuously, considering the patient's heart might recover when it is offloaded by the device over time.
The effect of pictorial detail and elaboration on children's retention.

Abstract In a visual memory task, two degrees of stimulus detail were compared to test Reese's hypothesis that stimulus detail would facilitate retention of paired associates for young children. Stimuli were presented in an elaborated or nonelaborated fashion so that the effect of detail on retention of both types of materials could be investigated. Four and 5 year-old children were included to assess a reported developmental trend that elaboration facilitates retention for older children but fails to do so for younger children. Both age groups performed equally well, and detail had no effect. Elaboration aided retention significantly. A second study, in which difficulty of the task was increased, yielded equivalent results. The constraints on performance by recall and recognition tasks were discussed.
On the Stability of a Class of Distributed, Sampled-Data Nonlinear Systems

Distributed sampled-data control systems with memoryless nonlinear feedback element, deriving frequency domain stability criterion
Communication Modality Sampling for a Toddler With Angelman Syndrome

Purpose Vocal, gestural, and graphic communication modes were implemented concurrently with a toddler with Angelman syndrome to identify the most efficiently learned communication mode to emphasize in an initial augmentative communication system. Method Symbols representing preferred objects were introduced in vocal, gestural, and graphic communication modes using an alternating treatment single-subject experimental design. Conventionally accepted prompting strategies were used to teach symbols in each communication mode. Because the learner did not vocally imitate, vocal mode intervention focused on increasing vocal frequency as an initial step. Results When graphic and gestural mode performances were compared, the learner most accurately produced requests in graphic mode (percentage of nonoverlapping data = 96). Given the lack of success in prompting vocal productions, a comparison between vocal and the other two communication modes was not made. Conclusion A growing body of evidence suggests that concu...
Successful treatment of varicella zoster virus meningoencephalitis in patients with AIDS : report of four cases and review

Objective: Neurologic complications are common in patients with AIDS. Herpes zoster is a common early manifestation of HIV infection, but there have been few reports of encephalitic complications and nearly all have been postmortem. We report four cases of varicella zoster virus (VZV) meningoencephalitis diagnosed and treated antemortem, and briefly review the relevant literature. Setting: Mount Zion Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA. Patients: Four HIV-positive male patients with antibodies to VZV in their cerebrospinal fluid. Intervention: Treatment with intravenous acyclovir (three cases) and intravenous ganciclovir (one case), which resulted in resolution of all symptoms except blindness in one patient. Conclusion: Antibodies to VZV in the cerebrospinal fluid of HIV-positive individuals may allow early diagnosis and lifesaving treatment of VZV meningoencephalitis.