cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prophylactic gastrectomy for hereditary diffuse gastric cancer syndrome.

Background Germline mutations in the E-cadherin gene, CDH1, were recently identified in families with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. The efficacy of endoscopic surveillance by current methods is largely ineffective because most tumors spread diffusely. There has been little evidence that prophylactic gastrectomy should be performed in patients with the genetic mutation, and few data are available on the outcomes of operations in patients with the CDH1 mutation undergoing prophylactic gastrectomy. We report the outcomes of patients with the CDH1 mutation who have undergone prophylactic gastrectomy in the year 2003 to 2004. Study design After genetic counseling and informed consent, two patients underwent total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction. Demographic information, pedigree analysis, preoperative screening results, operative course, and postoperative data, including complications, were collected and reviewed for each patient. Results Pathologic examination of the stomach revealed no evidence of in situ or invasive carcinoma. There were no operative complications. Both patients reported diarrhea and moderate weight loss. There were no other postoperative complications. Conclusions Prophylactic gastrectomy can be performed safely, without mortality or severe morbidity, in patients with CDH1 mutations, and should be curative in this population of patients.
Admittance Spectroscopy Characterization of Deep Electronic States in Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells

Deep electronic states (DES) in the absorber layer of polycrystalline thin film CdTe solar cells are believed to limit their energy conversion efficiency. These DES can cause Shockley-Read-Hall recombination that degrades performance, but they can also enhance performance by contributing to the space charge density in the depletion region. Admittance spectroscopy has been applied to detect and characterize several DES on CdTe solar cells obtained from multiple sources that had post-deposition treatments with and without Cu and CdCl 2. Current density voltage data taken over a range of temperatures suggests that the cadmium vacancy and related chlorine complex defect might play a role in the improved Jsc observed with CdCl2 treated cells. Selected aspects of the relationships between these DES, cell processing, and cell performance are discussed
Do instructional warnings reduce false recognition

After previously encoding lists of related words (e.g. bed, rest, awake, etc.) associated with one critical word (e.g. sleep), participants frequently falsely recognize critical words as having been previously presented. Past research indicates that warning participants of this memory illusion can reduce false recognition of critical words. However, the memory processes responsible for this reduction are not known. We investigated whether the increase in critical-word memory performance reflects changes that are specific to the processing of critical words, or alternatively, changes that are applied generally to processing in all conditions. Different participants were warned (in two different ways) or not warned before encoding, and recognition sensitivity for critical words, related words and unrelated words was tested. The warnings increased memory performance equally across all conditions, not just for critical words. These results help to more effectively conceptualize false recognition and reductions in false recognition in this paradigm. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Weyl’s Construction

In this lecture we introduce and study an important collection of functors generalizing the symmetric powers and exterior powers. These are defined simply in terms of the Young symmetrizers\({c_\lambda }\)introduced in §4: given a representationVof an arbitrary groupG, we consider the dth tensor power ofV, on which bothGand the symmetric group ondletters act. We then take the image of the action of\({c_\lambda }\)on\({V^{ \otimes d}}\); this is again a representation ofG, denoted\({\mathbb{S}_\lambda }\left( V \right)\)This gives us a way of generating new representations, whose main application will be to Lie groups: for example, we will generate all representations of\(S{L_n}\mathbb{C}\)by applying these to the standard representation\({\mathbb{C}^n}\)of \(S{{L}_{n}}\mathbb{C} \). While it may be easiest to read this material while the definitions of the Young symmetrizers are still fresh in the mind, the construction will not be used again until §15, so that this lecture can be deferred until then.
Technological advances in MRI measurement of brain perfusion

Measurement of brain perfusion using arterial spin labeling (ASL) or dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) based MRI has many potential important clinical applications. However, the clinical application of perfusion MRI has been limited by a number of factors, including a relatively poor spatial resolution, limited volume coverage, and low signalto-noise ratio (SNR). It is difficult to improve any of these aspects because both ASL and DSC methods require rapid image acquisition. In this report, recent methodological developments are discussed that alleviate some of these limitations and make perfusion MRI more suitable for clinical application. In particular, the availability of high magnetic field strength systems, increased gradient performance, the use of RF coil arrays and parallel imaging, and increasing pulse sequence efficiency allow for increased image acquisition speed and improved SNR. The use of parallel imaging facilitates the trade-off of SNR for increases in spatial resolution. As a demonstration, we obtained DSC and ASL perfusion images at 3.0 T and 7.0 T with multichannel RF coils and parallel imaging, which allowed us to obtain high-quality images with in-plane voxel sizes of 1.5 1.5 mm 2 .
Editorial: Psychiatric pharmacy manifesto

The time has come for psychiatric pharmacy to set in writing and publicly declare our principles, beliefs, and intentions with this psychiatric pharmacy manifesto. The word manifesto comes from the Latin word manifestum, which means clear or conspicuous. For some, the word manifesto carries a negative connotation since it has more recently been associated with revolution or violent social change. But used to its true purpose, it is where we can speak our mind, and publicly and clearly declare our intentions and beliefs to those within and outside our profession.
Reflex Effects of Cephalic Hypoxia, Hypercapnia, and Ischemia Upon Ventricular Contractility

The effects of brief periods of cephalic hypoxia, hypercapnia, and ischemia upon the contractility of the normally oxygenated ventricular myocardium were studied in an innervated, isovolumetric, canine left ventricle preparation. The majority of responses to cephalic hypoxia were of two types in preparations with vagi and carotid sinus nerves still intact. (a) More frequently, peak left ventricular pressure changed in biphasic fashion, consisting of an initial depression of contractility followed by subsequent augmentation. (b) Less frequently, a monophasic enhancement of contractility appeared. After transection of either the vagi or the carotid sinus nerves, a monophasic facilitation of contractility was usually evoked by cephalic hypoxia. From these data, it was concluded that two opposing influences act simultaneously upon the ventricular myocardium during cephalic hypoxia in preparations with intact vagi and carotid sinus nerves. Central nervous system hypoxia enhances myocardial contractility; its effect is mediated principally via sympathetic pathways. Hypoxia at the level of the carotid chemoreceptors depresses contractility reflexly; the efferent limb of this reflex is mediated chiefly via the vagi. At any moment in time, the effect upon ventricular contractility is the result of these opposing influences. Cephalic hypercapnia produced effects similar to those of hypoxia. Cephalic ischemia always evoked a marked, positive inotropic effect upon the ventricles.
TWO-DIMENSIONAL LATTICE OF SUPERBOATS COMPOSED OF SILICON-CENTERED TETRAHEDRA

Four benzenecarboxylic acid groups attached to silicon, (4-CO2HC6H4)4Si, form an infinite two-dimensional pleated sheet in the solid state composed of cyclic units of 78 heavy atoms in the shape of a large boat-like structure held together by six complementary hydrogen-bonded units. Only three carboxylic acid groups per molecule are incorporated into the superboat. The material was crystallized from acetic acid. As a result, one molecule of acetic acid is bound to the fourth carboxylic acid group, preventing the structure from attaining a diamondoid lattice. Sixfold repetition of interpenetrating lattices restricts porosity. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Elusive Authenticity: The Quest for the Authentic Indian in German Public Culture

The German fascination with the American Indian is legion, enduring, and much more than a current, post-modern enchantment with ‘the primitive.’ Indeed, the special and continuing relationship between Germans and Indians is well known, and in recent years it has received considerable scholarly attention. One striking aspect of this relationship is the seemingly endless effort by scholars, museum curators, pedagogues, and dilettantes of all fashions to control the discourse on ‘Indianness’ in Germany by denouncing popular cliches and attempting to replace them with new versions of ‘the authentic Indian.’ Their ongoing efforts to harness concepts of authenticity while policing this discourse are hardly surprising; indeed they have become predictable. But the lack of self-reflection with which most people participate in this process is remarkable. Few laymen or scholars seem to notice that they are the latest participants in a repetitive process that has been going on in German-speaking lands for close to 200 years, and even fewer seem to notice the ironic turn it has recently taken.
Multimedia based on object models: some whys and hows

In this paper I describe some of the design issues and research questions associated with objectbased video coding algorithms, as well as the new applications made possible. I propose a hardware and software strategy to cope with the computational demands (stream-based computing combined with automatic resource management) and also briefly introduce object-based audio representations that are linked to the video representations.
Performance of recovery algorithms for centralized database management systems

Abstract Database recovery is responsible for preserving the database consistency after a failure of any kind (transaction, system or media). Relevant information solely for recovery is saved in a log during normal transaction processing. To recover from a failure, basically two operations: undo and redo are applied with the help of the log on the last consistent state of the database. These two operations can be combined in four different ways to define four different types of recovery algorithms: “undo-redo,” “no undo-redo,” “undo-no redo” and “no undo-no redo.” Each of these algorithms manages log and updates to the database differently, which affect the overall performance and the availability of the database. To our knowledge, not much work has been done on the performance of recovery algorithms. There are only six reports available and these works have concentrated their studies on only a few algorithms. They have mainly used a queuing approach, which we believe is not adequate for a detailed performance study. In this paper we investigate the relative performance of these four algorithms through simulation. The purpose of conducting this study is first, to verify the findings of earlier works, and second, to obtain a detailed comparison of the behavior of all recovery algorithms. Our simulation studies show that in most cases, undo-redo and no undo-redo deliver similar but better recovery performance than undo-no redo and no undo-no redo. We observe that the recovery times increase with multiprogramming level, but generally decrease as the number of checkpoints increases. The undo-no redo algorithm results in a greater number of transaction rollbacks, which creates a larger transaction log, and thus longer recovery times. Its performance increases against undo-redo and no undo-redo as input/output performance improves. Slow input/output performance is also attributed to be the cause of the no undo-no redo algorithm's poor recovery performance.
Vitamin D levels and liver histological alterations in children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective: To investigate the association between plasma vitamin D (VD) levels and histological liver damage in children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Subjects and methods: In this cross-sectional study, carried out in a tertiary care center for obesity, 73 consecutive overweight and obese children with persistently elevated serum aminotransferase levels and diffusely hyperechogenic liver on ultrasonography were selected for liver biopsy. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fibrosis were histologically diagnosed using NAFLD Clinical Research Network (CRN) criteria. The plasma levels of 25-OH-VD were measured by HPLC. Bone mineral density (BMD) of lumbar spine was evaluated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between 25-OH-VD levels and the predictors of interest after correction for age, gender, waist circumference, BMI, and other potential confounders. Results: The children (64% males) were aged 8-18 years, and their median BMI was 2.45 SDS. Both parathyroid hormone levels and BMD were within the normal range. All cases of fibrosis were detected in children with NASH. On multivariable linear regression with correction for age, gender, and BMI, 25-OH-VD levels were found to be 9 (95% CI 12-6) ng/ml lower in children with NASH than in those without NASH (P < 0.001) and 9 (12-6) ng/ml lower in children with stage 1 fibrosis than in those with stage 0 fibrosis and 9 (13-6) ng/ml lower in children with stage 2 than in those with stage 0 fibrosis (P < 0.001 for both). Conclusion: VD levels are inversely associated with NASH and fibrosis in children with NAFLD.
Clinical Strategies for the Management of Acute Mastoiditis in the Pediatric Population

Although the incidence of acute mastoiditis has been substantially reduced since the introduction of antibiotic therapy, mastoiditis complications are still commonly seen in the pediatric population. Many of these cases require lengthy hospitalizations and extensive medical and surgical interventions. Accordingly, a safe, effective, and resourceful diagnostic and therapeutic plan must be executed for the workup and treatment of each patient suspected of having acute mastoiditis. With thorough clinical evaluations, early diagnosis, and close follow-up, a large proportion of children with severe acute otitis media or early stage mastoiditis can be managed in the primary care setting without immediate surgical specialty involvement. This review presents an overview of the anatomical and pathophysiological considerations in acute mastoiditis and offers pediatricians a practical, evidence-based algorithm for the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to this disease.
Reading and Analyzing Ethnographies through Literature Circles: A Praxis Model for Encouraging Multicultural Educators.

This study explores the process of implementing literature circles using ethnographies as the texts to better prepare teachers for multicultural/ multilingual teaching contexts. Data collected by the course instructor and two of the participants, using a Critical Teacher Action Research (CTAR) methodology, indicate that participants think critically, connect to the texts and others, and identify ways to enhance school practice based on the funds of knowledge described in the ethnographic works when participating in literature circles. The author provides the process of implementing literature circles in teacher education courses and provides an action plan for further practice.
Curitiba (Myrtaceae): A new genus from the Planalto of southern Brazil

In the course of monographic work in Myrtaceae it has become evident thatEugenia prismatica cannot be accommodated within any existing genus in the family. Therefore, a new genus,Curitiba, is described to contain it and the new combinationCuritiba prismatica is made.Curitiba is diagnosed by a combination of 4-angled hypanthia and fruits, ovules radiating from a central protruding placenta, and seed coats with wavy rows of papillae. A key is provided to distinguishCuritiba from the Caribbean and Mesoamerican genusMosiera, where the species also had been placed before this transfer, and from other 4-merous genera in Brazil of subtribe Myrtinae. In the Atlantic Forest of Brazil where the family Myrtaceae is one of the most species rich and ecologically important plant families, the discovery ofCuritiba reveals a unique evolutionary lineage, highlights the endemism present in the Atlantic Forest, and underscores, the urgent need for conservation of this rapidly disappearing and highly endangered biome.
Four-point monitoring of photoconductance for laser remote sensing

We present a new detector for measuring changes in optical irradiance in the presence of speckle or interference which provides robust voltage signals in discrete or array geometries
Analysis of Localization Accuracy in Wireless Networks in Presence of Uncertain Beacon Positions

The problem of location estimation and its accuracy in wireless networks with fixed beacons has been studied extensively. However, the problem becomes more challenging when the beacons are non-stationary, or when the location of the beacons is not precisely known. In this paper, we analyze the effect of the uncertain beacon positions on the localization error. First we examine the performance of the conventional localization techniques. Subsequently, we study the effectiveness of a novel technique, which utilizes the topological diversity provided by the various combinations of beacon nodes. Results from our modeling effort show that this approach helps reduce the errors caused by imperfect knowledge of beacon positions. The results also indicate that the use of this approach improves the robustness of location estimation as compared to existing methods.
Traditional gathering of native hula plants in alien-invaded Hawaiian forests: adaptive practices, impacts on alien invasive species and conservation implications

Traditional resource management (TRM) systems in tropical forests can provide insights on sustainable resource use, but despite the growing prevalence of degraded tropical forest habitats, few studies have assessed the relationships between TRM and conservation in these environments. In Hawaii, the traditional gathering of native wild plants used for hula (chants and dance) and lei (garlands) is carried out in forests increasingly dominated by alien invasive species. Ethnographic methods and exploratory experimental harvests were employed to examine: gathering of hula plants in the past and present, ecological impacts of contemporary gathering practices of three important native hula species in alien-dominated forests, and relationships between traditional practices and past and modern conservation. Past gathering traditions included practices to increase and conserve hula plant populations. Harvest of Microlepia strigosa fern fronds significantly decreased M. strigosa cover over the short term. Cover of alien species significantly increased after frond-harvest of Sphenomeris chinensis. Regeneration of the fruit-harvested shrub, Melicope anisata, was significantly negatively correlated with the level of understorey invasive species. These results suggest that in Hawai‘i’s alien-dominated forests, gathering of some species may increase spread of alien invasive species or exacerbate regeneration problems caused by invasive species. However, some expert cultural practitioners have adapted traditional practices to ensure hula plant conservation by incorporating weeding of alien invasive species into their protocols. The re-strengthening and adaptation of traditional Hawaiian knowledge and social institutions to the modern context can provide opportunities to improve conservation of Hawai‘i’s culturally-important native plants and their habitats.
Low-Frequency Variability in a Baroclinic β Channel with Land–Sea Contrast

Atmospheric low-frequency variability (LFV) is studied in a two-layer quasigeostrophic model. The model geometry is a periodic b channel with flat bottom and zonally inhomogeneous thermal forcing. As a result of the idealized land‐sea contrast, the model produces a zonally modulated climatological jet with realistic amplitude. The model’s LFV is equivalent barotropic; principal component analysis reveals that it consists of (i) dominant stationary patterns with red-noise-like temporal behavior and (ii) propagating waves with periods of 37 and 50 days superimposed on the former. The vorticity forcing due to synoptic eddies is dominated by self-interaction of high-pass filtered model fields. Applying a phase-randomized, stochastic analog of this forcing to a version of the full model in which fast baroclinic instability and, therefore, synoptic eddies are suppressed, produces a climatology and LFV that are very similar to those in the full model. Synoptic eddies are solely represented in the simplified model version by means of stochastic forcing that is independent of the low-frequency flow. It follows that, while fast synoptic eddies are modulated in the full model by the LFV, this modulation is fairly passive: anomalous generation of the synoptic eddies in the course of the full system’s low-frequency evolution, the so-called synoptic-eddy feedback, is not essential in selecting the system’s low-frequency modes; the main role of synoptic eddies is to supply energy to these modes. Further analysis indicates that the LFV in this thermally driven model originates from the barotropic mode’s dynamics. The baroclinic mode passively follows, to first order, the low-frequency changes in the barotropic mode. The latter changes are due to stochastically excited, weakly damped linear eigenmodes of the barotropicmode equation. Two distinct stationary eigenmodes, as well as two pairs of propagating modes with periods of 27 and 36 days, respectively, dominate the low-frequency behavior. The leading empirical orthogonal functions in this model are associated with these six particular eigenmodes. The latter are not well separated, however, from the other eigenmodes in terms of damping time scale, and it is the barotropic nonlinearity that selects the six dynamically important modes over the others. Interactions between these six modes also result in the occurrence of probability density maxima in two-dimensional subspaces of the model’s phase space.
Block Copolymer Nanocomposites with High Refractive Index Contrast for One-Step Photonics

Photonic crystals (PhCs) prepared using the self-assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) offer the potential for simple and rapid device fabrication but typically suffer from low refractive index contrast (Δn ≤ 0.1) between the phase-segregated domains. Here, we report the simple fabrication of BCP-based photonic nanocomposites with large differences in refractive index (Δn > 0.27). Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) nanoparticles coated with gallic acid are used to tune the optical constants of the target domains of self-assembled (polynorbornene-graft-poly(tert-butyl acrylate))-block-(polynorbornene-graft-poly(ethylene oxide)) (PtBA-b-PEO) brush block copolymers (BBCPs). Strong hydrogen-bonding interactions between the ligands on ZrO2 and PEO brushes of the BBCPs enable selective incorporation and high loading of up to 70 wt % (42 vol %) of the ZrO2 nanoparticles within the PEO domain, resulting in a significant increase of refractive index from 1.45 to up to 1.70. Consequently, greatly enhanced reflection at approxima...
Topologies: The Popular Music Survey Course and the Posthumanities

As part of a roundtable exploration of pedagogical practices in popular music survey courses, this essay considers the possibility of structuring a survey course in a topological rather than chronological fashion. Unlike chronology, which is linear and teleological, topology loops, twists, and doubles back on itself in surprising ways. Topological engagement with popular music intersects with practices of posthuman critical theory, encouraging students to hear popular musicians collaborating and sounding together across multiple times and spaces. This essay argues that employing a topological framework at once speaks to the everyday material experiences of twenty-first century students and also seeks to fashion a more ethical, sustainable future for those students.
Device therapy: Saving lives with appropriate ICD therapy in elderly patients.

Sudden cardiac death in elderly patients with recent myocardial infarction and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction can be substantially reduced using implantable cardioverter–defibrillators (ICDs) in appropriately selected, high-risk cardiac patients. Increased use of ICD therapy among eligible elderly patients will save lives.
Improving the Expected Quality of Experience in Cloud-Enabled Wireless Access Networks

Wireless data traffic, especially video traffic, has been growing at a rapid pace. Innovative network architectures and protocols are needed to improve the efficiency of data delivery. The trend toward integrating advanced information technologies and communications technologies is creating unprecedented opportunities in the design of infrastructure for network-centric services. The rapid growth in cloud computing and middle box deployment is an outcome of such integration. A similar level of success can be expected if this paradigm is adopted by access networks. This paper presents a computation-capable and programmable wireless access network architecture to enable more efficient and robust content delivery. It incorporates in-network processing, caching, and communications under a unified software defined networking platform. To address the multiple resource management challenges that arise in exploiting such integration, we propose a framework to optimize the expected quality of experience of multiple video streams, subject to wireless transmission capacity and in-network computation power constraints. The evaluation results demonstrate the benefits of in-network processing and resource optimization for video content delivery.
Neutron-capture cross-section measurements of Xe 136 between 0.4 and 14.8 MeV

Fast-neutron-capture cross-section data on $^{136}\mathrm{Xe}$ have been measured with the activation method between 0.4 and 14.8 MeV. The cross section was found to be of the order of 1 mb at the eleven energies investigated. This result is important to interpret potential neutron-induced backgrounds in the enriched xenon observatory and KamLAND-Zen neutrinoless double-$\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay searches that use xenon as both source and detector. A high-pressure sphere filled with $^{136}\mathrm{Xe}$ was irradiated with monoenergetic neutrons produced by the reactions ${}^{3}$H($p,n$)${}^{3}$He, ${}^{2}$H($d,n$)${}^{3}$He, and ${}^{3}$H($d,n$)${}^{4}$He. Indium and gold monitor foils were irradiated simultaneously with the $^{136}\mathrm{Xe}$ to determine the incident neutron flux. The activities of the reaction products were measured with high-resolution $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray spectroscopy. The present results are compared to predictions from ENDF/B-VII.1 and TENDL-2012.
The good, the bad, and the ugly of medication coverage: Is altering a diagnosis to ensure medication coverage ethical?

Recently, a patient presented to the dermatology clinic suffering from disabling, recurrent palmoplantar vesicles and pustules. Biopsy demonstrated nondiagnostic histologic findings without unequivocal evidence for psoriasis. The localized rash was recalcitrant to a host of standard therapies. An anti-tumor necrosis factor biologic was considered, and experience suggested that this expensive medication would only be approved for coverage if a diagnosis was submitted for a Food and Drug Administration–approved indication as psoriasis. All health-care providers face similar dilemmas in caring for their own patients. To whom is the physician’s primary responsibility when what is best for the patient may not align with the realities of our health-care system? Should a physician alter or exaggerate a medical diagnosis to obtain insurance coverage for a needed medication? What are the ethical implications of this action? If the physician’s fiduciary duty to the patient had no limits, there would be multiple potential consequences including compromise of the health-care provider’s integrity and relationships with patients, other providers, and third-party payers as well as the risk to an individual patient’s health and creation of injustices within the health-care system.
Environmental and occupational particulate matter exposures and ectopic heart beats in welders

Objectives Links between arrhythmias and particulate matter exposures have been found among sensitive populations. We examined the relationship between personal particulate matter ≤2.5 µm aerodynamic diameter (PM 2.5 ) exposures and ectopy in a panel study of healthy welders. Methods Simultaneous ambulatory ECG and personal PM 2.5 exposure monitoring with DustTrak Aerosol Monitor was performed on 72 males during work and non-work periods for 5–90 h (median 40 h). ECGs were summarised hourly for supraventricular ectopy (SVE) and ventricular ectopy (VE). PM 2.5 exposures both work and non-work periods were averaged hourly with lags from 0 to 7 h. Generalised linear mixed-effects models with a random participant intercept were used to examine the relationship between PM 2.5 exposure and the odds of SVE or VE. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess whether relationships differed by work period and among current smokers. Results Participants had a mean (SD) age of 38 (11) years and were monitored over 2993 person-hours. The number of hourly ectopic events was highly skewed with mean (SD) of 14 (69) VE and 1 (4) SVE. We found marginally significant increases in VE with PM 2.5 exposures in the sixth and seventh hour lags, yet no association with SVE. For every 100 μg/m 3 increase in sixth hour lagged PM 2.5 , the adjusted OR (95% CI) for VE was 1.03 (1.00 to 1.05). Results persisted in work or non-work exposure periods and non-smokers had increased odds of VE associated with PM 2.5 as compared with smokers. Conclusions A small increase in the odds of VE with short-term PM 2.5 exposure was observed among relatively healthy men with environmental and occupational exposures.
Morphology control of bi-component polymer nanofibers produced by gas jet process

Abstract This study investigates morphology control of polymer nanofibers produced from solutions of two immiscible polymers in mutually miscible solvents by gas jet fiber (GJF) method. The morphology is controlled by selecting the solvents with a range of vapor pressure and solubility parameter to govern respectively the evaporation rates and the polymer-solvent affinity. Bi-component nanofibers with core–shell, bi-lobal, and interpenetrating network (IPN) morphology are produced by evaporation-induced phase separation of the polymers during spinning of homogeneous solutions of hydrophobic polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) and hydrophilic polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) in two mutually miscible solvents. The tendency of phase-separation is inferred from the values of polymer-solvent mixture affinity. The results indicate that solvent pairs with closely matched vapor pressure yield IPN morphology, while solvents with large differences in vapor pressure produce core–shell morphology. Bi-lobal morphology is produced for solvent pairs with moderate differences in vapor pressure. In each case, nanofibers of smaller diameter are obtained when solvent pairs of lower vapor pressure are used.
Design of High-speed Data Acquisition Device Based on DSP

In order to satisfy the high speed and high accuracy request of the X-ray angle sorter,high-speed data acquisition system based on the DSP has been developed which includes X-ray diffraction signal recuperation module,high-speed data sampling and process module and high-speed USB communication module. Signal recuperation module amplifying and filtering the X-ray diffraction signal,the DSP board carrying out high-speed data acquisition and processing for the analog signal,acquisition the signal of photoelectric encode,and transmitting the collected data to the host computer through USB interface. The system application software design is also analyzed in detailed. Furthermore,in order to get the high precision,The separated the FIR algorithm has been embedded to the DSP procedure for filtering data. The experimental results show the feasibility of the designed method.
An empirical analysis of the impact of agricultural technology on food comprehensive production capacity in China

After three decades of economic reform and opening up, food production in China has made a historic breakthrough on continuous growth for ten years. However, the potential growth for China's food industry is not optimistic, due to resource constraints in labor, soil, and water and rapid speed of industrialization and urbanization. To overcome these constraints, developing agricultural technology is the only way to improve the food production continuously. Despite some disturbance, biochemical and mechanical technology provides a feasible path to achieve sustainable development on food production under current deteriorating resources endowment. Within these two types of technology, biochemical technology plays a more significant role on food production, and should be considered as the primary investment in agricultural technology as well as the main direction of agricultural technological progress in the coming years. Especially, agricultural biotechnology as the representative of technological innovation and application will lead to a new revolution of China's grain industry.
Technology preparation for preservice teachers: do they feel prepared for 21st century classrooms?

Teachers new to the profession must bring with them the skills needed to integrate technology into their work. Recent studies found preservice programs not providing adequate technology experiences to prepare their students for teaching in 21st Century classrooms. Perceptions on graduates’ preparation to use technology in their own teaching were surveyed. Findings indicate that students who felt prepared, had more experience in methods classes and during student teaching. Respondents indicated a need for experiences with integration strategies, use of application tools and knowledge of a wide range of instructional software. Findings of this nature can assist schools of education as they incorporate technology into existing preservice programs.
The Anatomical or Functional Borderline Left Ventricle and Strategies for Staged Rehabilitation

The concept of the “borderline left heart” was introduced following the experience with fetal catheter interventions that aimed to change the natural history of critical aortic stenosis in the fetus. Early attempts to rescue the severely obstructed left ventricle during mid-gestation by transuterine, balloon aortic valvotomy yielded encouraging results in some, with progressive recovery of left ventricle (LV) contractile function in the fetus and associated continued growth of the LV cavity as gestation progressed [1, 2]. However, in about 60 % of these patients, LV growth was inadequate, and at birth, the LV was deemed incapable of supporting the systemic circulation. The constellation of anatomic features varied from that seen in young infants with Shone’s syndrome with mitral and aortic valve stenosis and coarctation to that of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. These features included mitral valve stenosis and hypoplasia, aortic valve stenosis, and varying degrees of endocardial fibroelastosis. The latter appeared to develop in utero and we theorized that its presence restricted LV growth in utero and postnatally.
To die or to kill? An analysis of suicide attack lethality

ABSTRACTThose who study terrorism are familiar with the claim that suicide attacks are the most lethal form of terrorism today. Suicide attacks kill more people on average than non-suicide attacks, thereby justifying why terrorist organizations use this costly method of attack and explaining in part why suicide tactics have proliferated. However, extant empirical support for this claim is largely insufficient, focusing only on macro-level analysis of lethality data. Using data from the Global Terrorism Database, this study examines variation in lethality among suicide and non-suicide attacks based on geographic location, attack type, and target/victim type. It also introduces a new metric—the lethality ratio—to measure costs and benefits of attacks in terms of lives lost. It finds that, although suicide tactics are generally more lethal than non-suicide tactics, they also come at greater costs to the organization. This analysis also finds behavior that is inconsistent with the premise that terrorist group...
Basal body temperature as a biomarker of healthy aging.

Scattered evidence indicates that a lower basal body temperature may be associated with prolonged health span, yet few studies have directly evaluated this relationship. We examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between early morning oral temperature (95.0-98.6 °F) and usual gait speed, endurance walk performance, fatigability, and grip strength in 762 non-frail men (52 %) and women aged 65-89 years participating in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Since excessive adiposity (body mass index ≥35 kg/m2 or waist-to-height ratio ≥0.62) may alter temperature set point, associations were also examined within adiposity strata. Overall, controlling for age, race, sex, height, exercise, and adiposity, lower temperature was associated with faster gait speed, less time to walk 400 m quickly, and lower perceived exertion following 5-min of walking at 0.67 m/s (all p ≤ 0.02). In the non-adipose (N = 662), these associations were more robust (all p ≤ 0.006). Direction of association was reversed in the adipose (N = 100), but none attained significance (all p > 0.22). Over 2.2 years, basal temperature was not associated with functional change in the overall population or non-adipose. Among the adipose, lower baseline temperature was associated with greater decline in endurance walking performance (p = 0.006). In longitudinal analyses predicting future functional performance, low temperature in the non-adipose was associated with faster gait speed (p = 0.021) and less time to walk 400 m quickly (p = 0.003), whereas in the adipose, lower temperature was associated with slower gait speed (p = 0.05) and more time to walk 400 m (p = 0.008). In older adults, lower basal body temperature appears to be associated with healthy aging in the absence of excessive adiposity.
Computer Graphics for Defense Applications

National security continues to push many advancements in our field, and this CGaA special issue explores the implementation of computer graphics for defense applications. The work addressed in this set of special issue articles has largely been funded by the US Army and Navy. Understanding the direction of military-related computer graphics research can provide insight into future civilian uses as well as provide a path to novel ideas.
Suicide Deaths With Opioid Poisoning in the United States: 1999–2014

Objectives. To describe trends in suicides with opioid poisoning noted as a contributing cause of death.Methods. Using National Vital Statistics data (1999–2014), we calculated age-adjusted rates of suicide with opioid poisoning (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes T40.0–T40.4) per 100 000 population per year and annual percentage change (APC) in rates. We used Joinpoint regression to examine trends in suicide rates and proportion of suicides involving opioids.Results. The annual age-adjusted death rate from suicide with opioid poisoning as a contributing cause of death increased from 0.3 per 100 000 in 1999 to 0.7 per 100 000 in 2009 (APC = 8.1%; P < .001), and remained at 0.6 to 0.7 per 100 000 through 2014. The percentage of all suicides with opioid poisoning listed as a contributing cause of death increased from 2.2% in 1999 to 4.4% in 2010 (P < .001). Rates were similar for men and women, higher among Whites than non-Whites, higher in the West, and highest for individuals a...
Hypothesis testing for regional quantiles

Abstract We consider the problem of testing significance of predictors in quantile regression, where the sample size n and the number of predictors are allowed to increase together. Unlike the quantile regression analysis for the τ th quantile at a given τ ∈ ( 0 , 1 ) , we aim to detect any covariate that is significant for the conditional quantiles at any level of interest in a given region, τ ∈ Δ . We use B-splines to approximate the quantile functions as τ varies and consider the composite quantile regression to estimate the parameters. The proposed score-type test admits normal approximations even in the presence of high dimensional variables. Through numerical examples, we demonstrate that the proposed test can provide higher power than existing tests designed for single quantile levels.
Effects of peptide YY on dog and rat pancreatic secretion in vivo and in vitro

The action of peptide YY (PYY) on exocrine pancreatic secretion in dogs and rats was compared in in vivo and in vitro studies. PYY infused i.v. in the physiological dose range (125–1000 pmol/kg­h) reduced in a dose-dependent manner the pancreatic protein response to caerulein and suppressed basal and meat feeding or duodenal oleate-induced pancreatic secretion in conscious dogs. Both meat feeding and duodenal oleate caused significant elevation of plasma PYY levels and these showed several-fold increase during infusion of exogenous PYY (500 pmol/kg­h) inducing significant inhibition of the postprandial or oleate-stimulated pancreatic secretion. PYY in a dose range of 2.5–40 nmol/kg.­h also inhibited the response to caerulein in conscious rats but failed to prevent the increment in the postprandial protein secretion in this species. PYY added in various concentrations (10−11–10−6 M) to the incubation medium of the isolated dog and rat pancreatic acini failed to affect basal or caerulein- and urecholine-stimulated amylase release. This study shows that PYY is an effective inhibitor of the pancreatic secretion in vivo but not in vitro suggesting that the inhibition is mediated by an indirect mechanism.
Eddy-Current Effect on Torque of Permanent-Magnet Stepping Motors

Abstract The high-speed performance of permanent-magnet and other forms or stepping motors is limited by a number of factors, one of which is eddy-currents. This study of the effect of eddy-currents has shown that: (1) the theoretically derived torque characteristics are substantially in agreement with experimental data; and (2) eddy-currents have three major effects on torque characteristics, viz., a downward biasing of the torque versus power angle curve, a reduction in its amplitude, and a displacement in the lagging direction.
Human Evolution as a Theoretical Model for an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis

Humans have occupied a paradoxical position within the history of evolutionary studies. On one end, humans have been central to both the academic motivation of the field and the public tensions surrounding evolution. Simultaneously, humans have been cast aside as a poor model organism for understanding the processes that underlie evolutionary theory. As a result, anthropologists who work within an evolutionary context, often chided as being two decades behind mainstream biology, have come to occupy a unique position with respect to the understanding of how evolution operates on humans. Incorporating theoretical developments from a diverse set of related evolutionary fields, biological anthropologists have begun to gather empirical data on the unique evolutionary processes that have shaped our own evolutionary path. Some of the important components that have emerged in human evolutionary studies—biocultural feedback systems, culturally mediated niche construction, and technological ratchet effects—have shed new light not only on how human evolution has proceeded but also on the range of capabilities of evolution more broadly. While not rejecting traditional neo-Darwinian theory and the importance of genetic inheritance, these new developments have highlighted the tremendous complexity afforded by the cumulative action of both selective and neutral evolutionary forces across a range of inheritance modes. Rather than a poor evolutionary model, many of these evolutionary processes are best, or perhaps only, observable in humans. The traits which have structured critical transitions in our hominin past—encephalization, expanded childhood development, and generative language—open up new windows into thinking about an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis.
The Evolution of Drug Initiation: From Social Networks to Public Markets

This paper seeks to integrate two competing notions of what drives initiation into illicit drug use, the so-called “snowball model” of sellers recruiting new customers and the “social contagion” model of current users recruiting friends into drug use. The model hypothesizes that both occur, but in distinct phases of the drug epidemic. The data are insufficient to validate the model, but inasmuch as it is valid the principal policy conclusion is that interventions that reduce the “snowball effect” in Phase I may substantially reduce consumption in Phase II and overall.
Role and Regulation of PAR-1 in Melanoma Progression

To determine treatment strategies and predict the clinical outcome of patients with melanoma it is important to understand the etiology of this disease. Recently, there has been some insight into the molecular basis of melanoma, including identification of a few of the regulatory factors and genes involved in this disease. For instance, the transcription factor, activator protein (AP)-2α, plays a tumor suppressor- like role in melanoma progression by regulating genes involved in tumor growth and metastasis. Previously, we have shown that the progression of human melanoma to the metastatic phenotype is associated with loss of AP-2 expression and deregulation of target genes, such as MUC18/MCAM, c-KIT, and MMP-2. This chapter focuses on the expression of the thrombin receptor (protease-activated receptor [PAR]-1 ) in human melanoma and its regulation by AP-2 and specificity protein (Sp)-1. We demonstrate that the metastatic potential of human melanoma cells correlates with overexpression of PAR-1. We also provide evidence that an inverse correlation exists between the expression of AP-2 and the expression of PAR-1 in human melanoma cells. The regulatory region of the PAR-1 gene contains multiple AP-2 consensus elements overlapping multiple Sp1 consensus elements. Our analysis of the highly overlapping AP-2 and Sp1 binding elements (complex 1, bp -365 to -329) within the regulatory region demonstrates that AP-2 and Sp1 bind to this region in a mutually exclusive manner to promote repression or activation, respectively. We propose that loss of AP-2 results in increased expression of the thrombin receptor, which subsequently contributes to the metastatic phenotype of melanoma by upregulating the expression of adhesion molecules, proteases, and angiogenic molecules.