cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Describing controlling hardware in VHDL

A description style for synthesizable description of synchronous state machines with asynchronous control is presented. This style uses an implicit clock at an abstraction level convenient for hardware designers. High level behavioral constructs of VHDL including WAIT statements are allowed in this synthesis style. Hardware correspondence for all allowable constructs have been designed and complete examples have been implemented. >
Loss of adipose fatty acid oxidation does not potentiate obesity at thermoneutrality

Ambient temperature affects energy intake and expenditure to maintain homeostasis in a continuously fluctuating environment. Here, mice with an adipose-specific defect in fatty acid oxidation (Cpt2(A-/-)) were subjected to varying temperatures to determine the role of adipose bioenergetics in environmental adaptation and body weight regulation. Microarray analysis of mice acclimatized to thermoneutrality revealed that Cpt2(A-/-) interscapular brown adipose tissue (BAT) failed to induce the expression of thermogenic genes such as Ucp1 and Pgc1α in response to adrenergic stimulation, and increasing ambient temperature exacerbated these defects. Furthermore, thermoneutral housing induced mtDNA stress in Cpt2(A-/-) BAT and ultimately resulted in a loss of interscapular BAT. Although the loss of adipose fatty acid oxidation resulted in clear molecular, cellular, and physiologic deficits in BAT, body weight gain and glucose tolerance were similar in control and Cpt2(A-/-) mice in response to a high-fat diet, even when mice were housed at thermoneutrality.
Liberal Arts is more than ‘Perspective’

I was one of the fish that got away, having begun my studies in the engineering building of a Research 1 university but graduated from a department on the ‘other’ side of campus. After 20 years, an...
Adhesive peptides conjugated PAMAM dendrimer as a coating polymeric material enhancing cell responses

Abstract This present work aims to functionalize poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers with various reported adhesive peptides, including Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), Tyr-Ile-Gly-Ser-Arg (YIGSR), and Ile-Lys-Val-Ala-Val (IKVAV) for enhancing cell responses. The RGD, YIGSR, or IKVAV functionalized PAMAM coated substrate could promote cell adhesion of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) within 1 h after incubation. The neurite differentiation and proliferation of pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells were also significantly enhanced after culturing on the peptide functionalized PAMAM dendrimers for two and four days. This peptide functionalized PAMAM dendrimers are considered as the potential candidates for various tissue engineering applications.
Faking Study of Scores on the Women as Managers Scale

Peters, Terborg, and Taynor's (1974) Women As Managers Scale instrument was tested for susceptibility to faking. Normal and fake-high (anti-feminist) and normal and fake-low (pro-feminist) conditions differed significantly for 57 university student subjects.
Inhibition of spermidine synthase gene expression by transforming growth factor-beta 1 in hepatoma cells

We screened genes responsive to transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta 1) protein in a human hepatoma cell line (Hep3B) using a PCR-mediated differential display technique, in order to investigate the mechanisms involved in TGF-beta-induced growth suppression. We found a gene that was down-regulated by TGF-beta 1 to be completely identical in an approx. 620 bp segment to the gene for the enzyme spermidine synthase, which mediates the conversion of putrescine into spermidine. Both spermidine synthase mRNA expression and its enzyme activity were decreased after TGF-beta 1 treatment of Hep3B cells. The inhibition of spermidine synthase gene expression by TGF-beta 1 protein was also observed in other hepatoma cell lines. The expression of genes for other biosynthetic enzymes in polyamine metabolism (ornithine decarboxylase and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase) was also inhibited to the same extent as for spermidine synthase, while the gene expression of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase, a catabolic enzyme, was relatively resistant to TGF-beta 1. Spermine levels in Hep3B cells were decreased by TGF-beta 1 treatment, although the levels of spermidine and putrescine were unchanged, probably due to compensation by remaining spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase activity. Exogenously added spermidine or spermine, but not putrescine, partially antagonized the growth-inhibitor effects of TGF-beta 1 on Hep3B cells. Our data suggest that down-regulation of gene expression of the enzymes involved in polyamine metabolism, including spermidine synthase, may be associated with the mechanism of TGF-beta-induced growth suppression.
Judging the Quality of Test Items: Item Analysis

An item merely written is not complete. Once an idea for a test item has been conceived and articulated according to the rules for writing good items, the important task of determining its quality remains. If it is flawed, it must be improved or discarded. To accomplish such analysis for items, the writer must employ a precise methodology to systematically uncover information about an item, and then make judgments about it based on that information. In educational and psychological assessment, such judgments revolve around detecting and reducing errors in measurement, which can be in the form of either systematic bias or random error. This chapter explores the concept of measurement error first by explaining it and then by discussing strategies for determining the degree to which it may exist and how the sources for error can be reduced. By alleviating the causes of measurement error, the quality of particular test items correspondingly increases.
Essentials of parathyroid imaging

Parathyroid localization is an essential component in the surgical management of hyperparathyroidism (HPT). Using preoperative imaging improves localization and allows focused single-gland surgery in many cases of sporadic primary HPT. In this article, we describe the most commonly used types of parathyroid imaging and their role in the preoperative imaging of patients with HPT. Ultrasound is an excellent first-line test that provides high-resolution real-time images with minimal cost and time and no radiation exposure. It also allows evaluation of concomitant nodular thyroid disease but is limited by ectopic glands in the chest and is operator dependent. Nuclear imaging is effective in localizing enlarged parathyroid glands, including ectopic mediastinal glands, but is more expensive, is time consuming, involves radiation, may be less sensitive for small adenomas, and gives less anatomical detail unless paired with computed tomography. Parathyroid protocol multiphase scans are sensitive and less operator dependent but require more radiation.
Essentials of Debriefing and Feedback

Debriefing is an essential component of pediatric simulation-based education. It is during debriefing the majority of learning during simulation occurs. Therefore, conducting an effective debriefing is a critical skill for any pediatric simulation educator. In this chapter, a detailed overview of debriefing practice is offered to pediatric simulation educators. This includes a review of the origin and importance of debriefing, an examination of several frameworks for debriefing in healthcare simulation, an in-depth review of several approaches to facilitate the debriefing conversation, and a review of how these frameworks and approaches have been applied to pediatric simulation. Strategies to optimize debriefing in healthcare simulation, including creating supportive learning environments, are reviewed. In addition, unique aspects of pediatric simulation relevant for the debriefing are defined. Optional practices to augment debriefing effectiveness, such as co-debriefing, scripted debriefing, and video-enhanced debriefing, are explored and examined. Finally, the burgeoning topic of assessing the effectiveness of debriefing is explored.
Evaluating night vision disturbances after refractive surgery: Military applications

Night vision disturbances after refractive surgery are a significant problem, especially in the military operational environment. This paper explores testing modalities to ascertain the potential impact of such disturbances.
Approximate solution of random differential equation

Chebyshev method for solving random differential equation is presented. The convergence of the random coefficients of the Chebyshev series is established. Statistical properties of the random coefficients are discussed.
Anti-regime Uprisings and the Emergence of Electoral Authoritarianism

This paper explores the role of threats from below in the emergence of electoral authoritarianism. Mass uprisings for democratic regime change undermine closed authoritarian regimes by making it difficult for autocrats to maintain their regimes through repression and co-optation. Anti-regime uprisings also promote the establishment of electoral authoritarianism by toppling the existing closed regime or by compelling autocrats to offer political reform as a survival strategy. Looking at closed authoritarian regimes from 1961 to 2006, my analysis reveals that anti-regime mass uprisings are significantly associated with transitions to electoral authoritarianism. I also find that nonviolent uprisings are more likely than violent uprisings to result in the establishment of electoral authoritarianism and that the effect of anti-regime uprisings on transitions to electoral authoritarianism is greater when a country is surrounded by more democracies or is ethnically or religiously homogeneous.
High-Z' structures of organic molecules: their diversity and organizing principles.

A list has been compiled of 284 well determined organic structures having more than four crystallographically independent molecules or formula units (i.e. Z' > 4). Another 22 structures were rejected because the space group or unit cell was probably misassigned; the rate for that type of error is then only 7%. The space-group frequencies are unusual; half the structures are in Sohncke groups, partly because the fraction of enantiopure structures of resolvable enantiomers is higher than for lower Z' structures. Careful investigation of the 284 structures has shown that they are very diverse; no simple classification can describe them all. Organizing principles have, however, been recognized for almost all of them. The most common features are simple modulations and hydrogen-bonded aggregates; only 14% of the structures have neither. In 50% of the structures n molecules are related by a pseudotranslation that would be a crystallographic translation but for small molecular displacements and rotations. In 70% of the structures there are aggregates (e.g. n-mers, columns or layers) held together by strong intermolecular interactions; those aggregates usually have approximate local symmetry. Because the n-fold modulations and the n-mers often have n 5 have several features that combine to give the high Z' value. The number of different molecular conformations is usually small, i.e. one or two in 84% of the structures. More exotic packing features, such as ordered faults and alternating layers of different types, are found in ca 30% of the structures. A very few structures are so complex that it is difficult to understand how the crystals could have formed.
The power of humility in sceptical religion: why Ietsism is preferable to J. L. Schellenberg's Ultimism

J. L. Schellenberg's Philosophy of Religion argues for a specific brand of sceptical religion that takes ‘Ultimism’ – the proposition that there is a metaphysically, axiologically, and soteriologically ultimate reality – to be the object to which the sceptical religionist should assent. In this article I shall argue that Ietsism – the proposition that there is merely something transcendental worth committing ourselves to religiously – is a preferable object of assent. This is for two primary reasons. First, Ietsism is far more modest than Ultimism; Ietsism, in fact, is open to the truth of Ultimism, while the converse does not hold. Second, Ietsism can fulfil the same criteria that compel Schellenberg to argue for Ultimism.
The Trade Expansion Act of 1962

1. From the positive side, what is at stake is not a mere trade bargain, but a long overdue adaptation of outworn, narrowly nationalistic policy instruments and institutions to the most obvious requirements of rational policy-making in an interdependent world. 2. From the negative side, the obstacles that have postponed for so long, and at such a disastrous cost, these indispensable adjustments are also political. They can be explained only by the resistance of vested interests, and by the confusion which these have been able to perpetuate in the mind of the public and of Congress between private interests and the national interest.
Scholarship as Testimony: Jerome McGann’s Keynote Address for the 16th Annual Craft Critique Culture Conference, 2016

Jerome McGann's1 talk "Exceptional Measures" was in itself "exceptional" in a number of ways. Delivered in the context of a conference with heavy emphasis on digital humanities and subtitled "The Human Sciences in STEM Worlds," McGann's keynote surprisingly bracketed off both of these fields-DH and modern science-to instead go back to the basics and make a passionate claim for reassessing the values that underlie the humanities as such. While McGann has been deeply engaged with bibliographic scholarship for most of his career, it was the highly focused nature necessitated by DH scholarship that, he claims, led him to realize he "didn't know what books were" in the first place. The abstracting and operationalizing of literary objects into the digital sphere made the co-founder of the University of Virginia's groundbreaking "Research in Patacriticism"2 lab understand that he wanted to pursue a more humble approach to scholarship: instead of datamining, digital editions, and textual mapping, McGann is now interested in "Truth."McGann's conscious embrace of such a transcendental signifier was as much programmatic as polemic. The argument of "Exceptional Measures" was not merely "post theory" but explicitly anti theory-with de Man's deconstruction serving as the prototype of a "misguided" model of scholarship. Describing the literary theory of the latter twentieth century as disclosing a "Cheneyan concept of knowledge" (in allusion to the lies and half-truths that lead to the second Iraq War), McGann pleaded for a renewed separation between "perceived fact" and "opinion"-which, he claimed, are utterly confused in post-structuralism, psychoanalysis, and like concepts. Against theory, McGann proposed a skeptical empiricism. While this notion has a prehistory in Socrates and Plato, the focus of McGann's talk was with the New England transcendentalists-Emerson and Thoreau-and their ongoing legacy in more recent environmental writings (especially Barry Lopez's 1986 Arctic Dreams). McGann's vision of the scientific process (hinted at in his talk's title) is then not so much a (post)modern one-based largely in falsification, not positive proof-but one that understands itself as performing a "pastoral office;" thorough and careful practice dedicated to the accurate report of a historical Truth writ large is its method and end goal. McGann, then, ultimately pleads for slow, historicist scholarship that avoids the "propaganda and confusion" perpetuated by theory. To tell "the truth and nothing but the truth" ought to be the scholar's commitment, according to McGann. While he stops short of adding "so help me God," McGann's claim was then based certainly as much in the long history of scriptural exegesis as it is in the more secular, literary trajectory laid out by "Exceptional Measures. …
Assessing Teacher Usability of Written Expression Curriculum-Based Measurement:

National test data indicate that some students do not perform well in writing, suggesting a need to identify students at risk for poor performance. Research supports Written Expression Curriculum-B...
Religion and Human Rights in Croatia

This work questions the common sense paradigm according to which it is “self-evident” that Catholics are the majority and not a minority in Croatia. The work aims to penetrate into the sphere of contemporary taboos.
The Role of Professional Norms in the Governance of Artificial Intelligence

The development, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems and AI-based technologies are governed by an increasingly complex set of legal, ethical, social, and other types of norms, which surface from various sources and contribute to what might be described as a patchwork of norms. Among this complicated landscape of modes of governance, this chapter zeroes in on the extent to which professional norms — and specifically norms in the development phase as expressed in formal documents such as code of ethics and ethical principles — may serve as a reservoir of norms and accountability mechanisms to include within the existing governance toolbox. It explores the interface between AI and “the profession,” with an emphasis on new institutional arrangements and sources of norms that arise within the profession, such as corporate principles and employee demands. This chapter discusses trends of this fluctuating ecosystem through a suggested analytical framework for thinking about these professional norms of AI development within the broader context of the AI lifecycle, and hypothesizing about the future possibilities of professional norms within discussions of AI governance.
3D silicon photonic-electronic integrated circuits for computing, networking, and imaging applications

We discuss design, fabrication, and integration methods of 3D microsystems consisting of silicon photonic and electronic components integrated in 3D on a silicon substrate. Their unique advantages and functionalities for future computing, networking, and imaging applications will be discussed.
New tools in MolProbity validation: CaBLAM for CryoEM backbone, UnDowser to rethink "waters," and NGL Viewer to recapture online 3D graphics.

The MolProbity web service provides macromolecular model validation to help correct local errors, for the structural biology community worldwide. Here we highlight new validation features, and also describe how we are fighting back against outside developments which compromise that mission. Our new tool called UnDowser analyzes the properties and context of clashing HOH "waters" to diagnose what they might actually represent; a dozen distinct scenarios are illustrated and described. We now treat alternate conformations more thoroughly, and switching to the Neo4j database (graphical rather than relational) enables cleaner, more comprehensive, and much larger reference datasets. A problematic outside change is that refinement software now increasingly restrains traditional validation criteria (geometry, clashes, rotamers, and even Ramachandran) in order to supplement the sparser experimental data at 3-4 A resolutions typical of modern cryoEM. But unfortunately the broad density allows model optimization without fixing underlying problems, which means these structures often score much better on validation than they really are. CaBLAM, our tool designed for evaluating peptide orientations at lower resolutions, was described in the previous Tools issue, and here we demonstrate its effectiveness in diagnosing local errors even when other validation outliers have been artificially removed. Sophisticated hacking of the MolProbity server has required continual monitoring and various security measures short of restricting user access. The deprecation of Java applets now prevents KiNG interactive online display of outliers on the 3D model during a MolProbity run, but that important functionality has now been recaptured with a modified version of the Javascript NGL Viewer.
Glymphatics rapidly clear nanoparticles

The glymphatics system of the brain rapidly clears organic nanoparticles commonly used for brain drug delivery.
Thermally stable ultrafine grained copper induced by CrB/CrB2 microparticles with surface nanofeatures via regular casting

Abstract Ultrafine-grained (UFG)/nanocrystalline materials possess novel properties. Refining as-solidified grains of metals to the ultrafine and even nanometer scale by nanoparticles via slow cooling has been recently discovered. Here, we report that microparticles (CrB and CrB2) with surface nanofeatures can also enable ultrafine/nano grains via slow cooling. CrB/CrB2 microparticles, formed by coalescence of nanoparticles in Cu matrix, display surface nanofeatures, which induce substantial grain refinement and stabilization down to the ultrafine/nano scale. The UFG Cu/CrB and Cu/CrB2 samples exhibit exceptional thermal stability, comparable to UFG Cu induced by nanoparticles, without coarsening after annealing at 600 ℃ for 1 h. The microhardness, strengths, and Young’s moduli of the Cu/CrB and Cu/CrB2 samples are significantly enhanced over pure Cu. This discovery has great potential to advance the mass production UFG/nanocrystalline for widespread applications.
Attributions of accidents to "human error" in news stories: Effects on perceived culpability, perceived preventability, and perceived need for punishment.

Abstract Attributions of the causes of accidents to human error are problematically reductive, yet such attributions persist in media coverage. Few experiments have examined how human error attributions affect people’s perceptions. An experiment compared attributions of accidents to “human error” versus other causes (“mechanical failure,” “technical error,” or “computer error”). Participants (N = 971) from an online sample read one of 50 real news excerpts describing accidents from a broad array of domains (e.g., aviation, automobiles, manufacturing, and infrastructure, among others). Stories kept the same or similar details, with only the causal attribution altered to compare human error to other causes. With human error attributions, participants were in greater agreement with the statement that an individual deserved to be punished for the accident and in less agreement that an organization or company was responsible for the accident. People also perceived past human error accidents to have been more preventable, although ratings of prospective preventability were not significantly different for human error versus other attributions. The idiosyncratic details of particular accidents contributed more variance to perceptions than the causal attribution. The same pattern of results was replicated in a second experiment (N = 1195), and new analyses found no evidence that the relationship between causal attributions and perceptions was moderated by the personal relevance of the news story. Our findings suggested that, when an accident is attributed to human error in media, the public may be less likely to expect examination or mitigation of systemic shortcomings (e.g., in design, organizational practices, etc.) that precipitate accidents.
Utilization of a Standardized Discharge Checklist to Improve the Transition of Care for Patients Receiving Parenteral Nutrition

BACKGROUND Guidelines recommend using discharge checklists to discharge patients receiving parenteral nutrition (PN). Transition-of-care (TOC) tools have not been extensively studied in the PN population. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a standardized PN discharge checklist on TOC for PN patients. METHODS This is an Institutional Review Board-approved, retrospective quasi-experimental study of patients discharged receiving PN between January 1, 2014, and May 31, 2018. The primary end point was the completion of a PN discharge bundle (identification of a responsible provider to monitor PN after discharge, meeting daily caloric requirement of 20-35 kcal/kg/d, cycling PN prior to discharge). Secondary end points included documentation of PN discharge checklist components, hospital length of stay, frequency of 30-day hospital encounters, cause of hospital encounters, and time to readmission. RESULTS Fifty encounters were included in the pregroup and postgroup each (n = 100). There was a significant increase in completion of the TOC bundle in the postgroup (54% vs 76%, P = .035), driven by identification of a responsible provider for outpatient PN management (54% vs 82%, P = .005). Other PN discharge checklist components impacted included the following: case manager had the PN prescription for home infusion (50% vs 80%, P = .003), assessment for home glucometer (40% vs 90%, P < .001), and PN plan-of-care note documentation at discharge (18% vs 82%, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS A standardized PN discharge checklist improved completion of discharge bundle.
Monitoring Diagnostic Safety Risks in Emergency Departments: Protocol for a Machine Learning Study.

Background: Diagnostic decision making, especially in emergency departments, is a highly complex cognitive process that involves uncertainty and susceptibility to errors. A combination of factors, including patient factors (eg, history, behaviors, complexity, and comorbidity), provider-care team factors (eg, cognitive load and information gathering and synthesis), and system factors (eg, health information technology, crowding, shift-based work, and interruptions) may contribute to diagnostic errors. Using electronic triggers to identify records of patients with certain patterns of care, such as escalation of care, has been useful to screen for diagnostic errors. Once errors are identified, sophisticated data analytics and machine learning techniques can be applied to existing electronic health record (EHR) data sets to shed light on potential risk factors influencing diagnostic decision making. Objective: This study aims to identify variables associated with diagnostic errors in emergency departments using large-scale EHR data and machine learning techniques. Methods: This study plans to use trigger algorithms within EHR data repositories to generate a large data set of records that are labeled trigger-positive or trigger-negative, depending on whether they meet certain criteria. Samples from both data sets will be validated using medical record reviews, upon which we expect to find a higher number of diagnostic safety events in the trigger-positive subset. Machine learning will be used to evaluate relationships between certain patient factors, provider-care team factors, and system-level risk factors and diagnostic safety signals in the statistically matched groups of trigger-positive and trigger-negative charts. Results: This federally funded study was approved by the institutional review board of 2 academic medical centers with affiliated community hospitals. Trigger queries are being developed at both organizations, and sample cohorts will be labeled using the triggers. Machine learning techniques such as association rule mining, chi-square automated interaction detection, and classification and regression trees will be used to discover important variables that could be incorporated within future clinical decision support systems to help identify and reduce risks that contribute to diagnostic errors. Conclusions: The use of large EHR data sets and machine learning to investigate risk factors (related to the patient, provider-care team, and system-level) in the diagnostic process may help create future mechanisms for monitoring diagnostic safety.
Epidemiological characteristics and trends of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin lymphadenitis in Shanghai, China from 2010 to 2019

Although the administration of the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is generally safe, lymphadenitis, the most common complication of BCG vaccination, can occur. Here, we describe the epidemiological characteristics and incidence trends of BCG lymphadenitis in Shanghai, China, among a population with a high burden of tuberculosis. A total of 56 cases of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) after BCG vaccination were reported in Shanghai, including 51 cases of BCG lymphadenitis (91.07%), from 2010 to 2019. The general incidence of BCG lymphadenitis was 173 per 1,000,000 doses in Shanghai from 2010 to 2019. A nonsignificant increase of 58.81% per year was observed between 2010 and 2012 (t = 0.93; p = .40), followed by a significant decline of 28.00% per year from 2012 to 2019 (t = -4.27; p < .01). Seven batches of BCG vaccines triggered three or more BCG lymphadenitis cases, for 27 (52.94%) cases in total. We identified two patients with immunodeficiency of chronic granulomatous disease, one of whom died four years later after BCG vaccination and another of whom was still being treated after two transplants. The average total care cost of the 47 recovered cases was 11,336 RMB (range: 2,637-33,861 RMB). Due to the high burden of BCG lymphadenitis, especially in children with immunodeficiency, it is suggested that government departments should strengthen healthcare provider training, assign specific nurses to perform BCG vaccination, monitor vaccinated individuals actively and timely detect abnormal signals so as to reduce the incidence of BCG lymphadenitis.
Association of lung cancer incidence and COVID-19 case fatality with income level in Ohio

110Background: Social determinants of health (SDOH) have an impact of health and quality-of-life. However, most models of clinical disease and risk calculators do not incorporate SDOH. Many disease...
Analytic solutions for Asay foil trajectories with implications for ejecta source models and mass measurements

We consider the trajectory of an Asay foil ejecta diagnostic for scenarios where ejecta are produced at a singly shocked planar surface and fly ballistically through a perfect vacuum to the sensor. We do so by building upon a previously established mathematical framework derived for the analytic study of stationary sensors. First, we derive the momentum conservation equation for the problem, in a form amenable to accelerating sensors, in terms of a generic ejecta source model. The result is an integrodifferential equation of motion for the foil trajectory. This equation yields an easily calculable closed-form implicit solution for the foil trajectory in instant-production scenarios. From there, we derive a boundary condition that particle velocity distributions must satisfy if their associated foil trajectories are to exhibit a smooth initial acceleration, as occurs in some experiments. This condition is identical to one derived previously from a consideration of piezoelectric voltage data obtained in similar experiments. We also compare techniques for inferring accumulated ejecta masses from foil trajectories, first by deriving the exact solution, and then by quantifying the error imposed by a frequently used approximate solution (both subject to the assumption of instantaneous ejecta production). Finally, we examine the common practice of presenting inferred cumulative ejecta masses as a function of implied ejecta velocity, establishing the conditions under which this methodology is most meaningful.
The Two-Dimensional Paper Chromatographic Analysis of Flavonoids

Two-dimensional paper chromatography represents one of the best methods for the rapid separation of mixtures of flavonoids from crude methanol or methanol-water extracts of dried plant material. Furthermore, sufficient quantities of the separated compound for both hydrolytic and ultraviolet spectral analyses often can be isolated from about 30 chromatograms. The present discussion will emphasize the chromatographic techniques routinely employed in this laboratory for the analysis of flavonoids; however, a number of other procedures and variations have been published elsewhere [1, 2]
Strategic Mortgage Default in the Context of a Social Network: An Epidemiological Approach

A serious and imminent threat to a recovery of the global recession comes in the form of a burgeoning financial contagion known as strategic mortgage default. We theorize that the advocacy of strategic default can be likened to a disease, and as such, we employ a methodology from the field of epidemiology to measure how quickly this disease can spread throughout a society. We find that in our current fragile market, advice by influential mavens for underwater homeowners to exercise their put option could result in a flood of strategic defaults causing a contagious downward spiral of residential real estate prices. Asymmetrically, when mavens recommend that homeowners not default, their ability to save a failing market is far more limited.
Monolithically integrated In/sub 0.60/Ga/sub 0.47/As/In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As/InP photoreceivers with submicron devices

The performance characteristics of planar InP-based PIN-MODFET front-end photoreceivers realized by molecular beam epitaxial regrowth are discussed. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the temporal response to photoexcitation for the full circuit is shown to be 60 ps, which translates to a bandwidth of approximately 6.5 GHz. The measured electrical 3-dB frequency response of the circuit with an effective input load resistance of 33 Omega is 15.0 GHz. >
Geography and the burden of care in pediatric cancers

Background Childhood cancers typically require rigorous treatment at specialized centers in urban areas, which can create substantial challenges for families residing in remote communities. We evaluated the impact of residence and travel time on the burden of care for families of childhood cancer patients. Procedure We conducted a cross-sectional, self-administered survey of 354 caregivers of pediatric cancer patients at a children's hospital serving a seven state area. Measures included the impact of cancer treatment on relocation, employment, schooling, and finances. We evaluated these domains by rural/urban residence and travel time (>1 hour and >2 hours) to the hospital in multivariable regression models. Results Of the 29% of caregivers who reported moving residences as their child was diagnosed, 33% reported that the move was due to their child's cancer. Rural and remote (e.g., >1 hour travel time) caregivers missed more days of work during the first month after diagnosis than did urban and local caregivers, however, these differences did not persist over the first 6 months of therapy. One-third of caregivers reported quitting or changing jobs as a direct result of their child being diagnosed with cancer. Rural respondents had greater out-of-pocket travel expenses and reported a significantly greater perceived financial burden. Rural patients missed more school days and were at an increased risk of having to repeat a grade. Conclusions Childhood cancer has an appreciable impact on the lives of patients and caregivers. The burden is greater for those living far from a treatment center. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2014;61:1918–1924. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Geminus and the concept of mean motion in Greco-Latin astronomy

Geminus account of lunar motion in chapter 18 of hisIntroductio astronomiae is, in our view, an important contribution to Greco-Latin astronomy because, in attempting to reconstruct arithmetically (the parameters of) the Moon's motion in longitude, he undermines the task astronomers had hitherto set for themselves. This undermining of a commonly acknowledged view of the purpose of astronomy is articulated in a whole new set of questions concerning the nature and place of both observation and mathematical reasoning in the science of the heavens. Yet, one must not overlook the fact thatGeminus reconstruction also indicates resources for addressing these questions. Of these resources, the most powerful proved to be the idea that irregular motion could be quantified as a systematic departure from a mean motion, and the idea that observational data could be organized and structured by means of genetic arithmetical reconstructions.
PSYCHOTHERAPY WITH ADOLESCENTS: THEME AND VARIATIONS.

Current questions and recent contributions in the area of psychotherapy with adolescents are reviewed. An attempt is made to define subgroups among adolescents according to the applicability of certain psychotherapeutic techniques, and it is aimed at the same time to focus on one principle which is considered central or primary in all these techniques. Clinical examples of the techniques presented are referred to in the literature.
Primary leiomyosarcoma associated with serous cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary

Abstract The 12 primary ovarian leiomyosarcomas found in the literature are summarized. A leiomyosarcoma associated with bilateral serous cystadenocarcinomas of the ovary and an adenocarcinoma of the endometrium is reported. The histogenesis of this unique complex ovarian tumor is discussed.
Corrective feedback, gesture, and mediation in classroom language learning

This article examines the way in which a teacher’s provision of form-focused corrective feedback synchronized with gesture mediated a student’s learning in an ESL reading classroom. Specifically, the focus of the analysis is on the student’s appropriation of the teacher’s gesture as a tool that mediates his own independent functioning. It is argued that while the teacher’s corrective feedback in the verbal channel helped to scaffold the learner’s performance by modeling a correct syntactic structure and highlighting the specific locus of the correction, it was her gesture activity that became available to the student as a psychological tool. The discussion centers on the role of gesture in mediating second language development. Implications for future research and classroom language teaching are also sketched out.
Etiology and Management of Alimentary Tract Ulcers in Pediatric Intestinal Transplantation Patients

Patients who undergo intestinal transplantation encounter several complications in the posttransplant period, one of them being ulcer formation in the alimentary tract. During postoperative endoscopic monitoring of 112 pediatric intestinal transplantation patients at our institution, we identified chronic ulcer formation in 11 patients. There were no common or defining demographic or clinical variables that were found in the patients with ulcers. The ulcers could be located within the allograft or in native tissue. Biopsies were obtained from the ulcer edge and the intervening mucosa as well as an evaluation of possible infectious agents. The most common changes in the ulcers were compatible with Epstein-Barr virus-associated posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD; seven cases), acute rejection (six cases), and less commonly, infectious causes (one case). These changes could occur concomitantly and retrospective analysis after therapy showed that the ulcers could have multiple etiologies. Directed biopsies of ulcer edges often displayed morphological changes compatible with acute rejection of the graft, although some biopsies of the intervening mucosa did not show similar changes. Some patients treated based on the changes within the intervening mucosa responded well and led to resolution of the ulcers. Our findings demonstrate that PTLD and acute rejection are the most common causes of chronic ulcer formation and that biopsy samples should be collected simultaneously from both the ulcer edge and intervening mucosa since pathological changes can vary depending on the underlying cause(s). Infectious agents were rarely present but could be seen superimposed with the underlying cause.
DECOMPOSITION OF NITRIC OXIDE OVER BARIUM OXIDE SUPPORTED ON MAGNESIUM OXIDE. 2. IN SITU RAMAN CHARACTERIZATION OF PHASES PRESENT DURING THE CATALYTIC REACTION

High temperature in situ Raman spectroscopy was used to determine the complex phase behavior during the decomposition of Ba(NO3)2 supported on MgO. The starting material, crystalline Ba(NO3)2, is stable up to 500 °C in a 1% NO in He gas mixture. Above this temperature or at lower NO partial pressures, the crystalline Ba(NO3)2 is transformed into an amorphous intermediate phase II' which contains nitrate and nitrite ions. This phase is gradually converted into phase II” containing nitrate ions, Ba−nitrito complexes, and the first traces of a Ba−nitro species. The next step in the decomposition is the formation of phase III, which consists mainly of Ba−nitro complexes and nitrate ions. Phase III is stable in decreasing NO pressures until its decomposition into defect-rich BaO, phase IV. A hysteresis was observed for the stability range of phase III as a function of decreasing or increasing NO partial pressures. The transformations between phase III and IV are characterized by isosbestic points in the Raman ...
Heat transfer to polymer solutions and melts flowing between parallel plates

Heat transfer to polymer solutions or melts flowing in parallel plate systems is an important aspect of polymer processing as for example in extrusion through a wide slit. The present work solves the equation of energy for pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluids flowing between parallel plates. An exact velocity profile rather than an approximation is used. Equations are derived both for temperature profiles and mean temperatures. The results are shown to correctly represent the physical situation.
Experimental vesicular stomatitis virus infection of swine: Extent of infection and immunological response

Swine, a natural host species for infection by vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), were infected with VSV-New Jersey (VSV-NJ) serotype virus obtained from a recent field isolate. Tissues collected from the infected pigs were examined for the presence of infective virus, for viral antigens, and/or for viral nucleic acid. Infective virus could be recovered from tissues near the site of infection for as long as 6 days after the primary infection with VSV. However, no infective virus was recovered following hypothermia induced 11 weeks after infection, or following a secondary challenge with virus 22 weeks after initial infection. Immunofluorescence tests for viral antigens and nucleic acid hybridization assays failed to detect viral antigens or nucleic acids in tissues from which no infective virus could be recovered. Titers of serum-neutralizing antibody peaked 3-5 weeks after infection and then fell slightly until the secondary infection which caused a rapid anamnestic response. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBM) tested 3, 5, 8 or 18 weeks after primary infection all produced readily detectable antigen-specific proliferative responses when cultured with VSV. Thus, although direct tests failed to demonstrate persistence of virus after infection, the humoral and cellular immune response remained elevated for months. Infective VSV was not required to stimulate the proliferative response since UV-inactivated VSV was immunogenic in these in vitro tests. Following primary infection, antigen-specific proliferative responses could be stimulated by several strains of VSV-NJ, but not by VSV-Indiana (VSV-Ind) serotype virus. Secondary infection had relatively little effect on the proliferative response to VSV-NJ strains, but it did cause the PBM to gain responsiveness to VSV-Ind.
The in vivo incorporation of mannose, retinol and mevalonic acid into phospholipids of hamster liver.

Abstract Hamsters were injected intraperitoneally with [ 14 C]mannose, [ 14 C]retinol and [ 3 H]mevalonic acid. The livers were removed, extracted with chloroform-methanol and the lipids chromatographed on DEAE-cellulose and silicic acid. The hamster liver lipid contained a component which could be labelled with mannose and mevalonic acid. The properties of this compound were in accord with it being dolichyl-mannosyl-phosphate, a possible lipid intermediate required for the biosynthesis of some glycoproteins. [ 14 C]Retinol and [ 14 C] mannose were incorporated into another phospholipid which was labile to mild alkali conditions commonly used for the preparation of dolichyl-mannosyl-phosphate. The retinol labelled compound had similar properties to in vitro prepared mannosyl-retinyl-phosphate.
Uniformly convergent approximate solutions of Fredholm integral equations

Abstract Let (I − K)g = h be an integral equation with a continuous kernel on C = C[0, 1] with the uniform norm. An existing approximation method (cf. [1]) involves the equation (I − Kn)gn = h, where the operator Kn is defined by means of a quadrature formula Qn such that Qn(f) → ∝01 f(t) dt as n → ∞. Then ∥ Knf − Kf∥ → 0 as n → ∞, but ∥K n − K ∥ ↛ 0 unless K = 0. If (I − K)−1 exists, then (I − Kn)−1 exists for n sufficiently large, ∥ g n − g ∥ → 0 as n → ∝, but ∥(I − K n ) −1 − (I − K) − ∥ ↛ 0 unless K = 0. This paper is concerned with a related method which has certain advantages. First, (I − K)g = h is equivalent to an equation of the form (I − Kp)g = u, where p ⩾ 2. We generalize this to (I − KL)g = u, where L has a continuous kernel. The advantage of this form is that ∥ KnL − KL ∥ → 0 as n → ∞. Consider (I − KnL)gn = u. If (I − KL)−1 exists, then (I − KnL)−1 exists for n sufficiently large, ∥ g − gn ∥ → 0 and ∥ (I − KnL)−1 − (I − KL)−1 ∥ → 0 asn → ∞. Error bounds are obtained. Generalizations to mildly discontinuous and weakly singular kernels are indicated. Finally, practical examples of equations (I − KL)g = u are given.
Energy deposition by electron, bremsstrahlung, and 60Co gamma-ray beams in multi-layer media

Abstract This paper presents illustrative applications of the Monte Carlo code ZTRAN, which treats the penetration and diffusion of electrons and photons in targets consisting of multiple layers of different materials. This program, developed for one-dimensional geometry, is applicable to incident electron beams or photon beams, and takes into account all generations of the resulting electron—photon cascade. The Monte Carlo model is the same as that used previously in the ETRAN code for homogeneous media. The output of the program includes information about transmitted and reflected radiation, the spatial distribution of deposited energy and charge, and the energy spectrum of the radiation flux within the target. Results obtained with ZTRAN are presented for energy deposition in multi-layer targets irradiated with electron beams with energies from 0.4 to 60 MeV, by bremsstrahlung beams with end-point energies from 2 to 10 MeV, and by a 60Co gamma-ray beam. Various comparisons indicate good agreement with experimental results.
Field theory of unstable particles

Abstract Using the example of a spinless boson field, the structure of the simplest Green's function is developed to provide a uniform theory of particles, stable and unstable. Some attention is given to the time decay law of unstable particles and it is emphasized that a full account of the relevant physical situation must be contained in its mathematical representation, leading to the conclusion that an essential failure of the exponential decay law marks the limit of applicability of the physical concept of unstable particle. There is a brief discussion of the π and K mesons.
A collaborative management of social commerce deals: Decisions on pricing and commission rate with a capacity consideration

Because social commerce-based deal promotions are such a recent development, it is very challenging for local merchants to make informed decisions in regard to pricing and the number of coupons to sell. This study develops a collaborative decision model based on different perspectives and interests of social intermediaries and social merchants to increase the total profit for them. This study empirically derives a demand function for health service providers and incorporates it into the proposed decision model. The model is extended to capture a lifetime value of discount deals and operationalized with an illustration. A sensitivity analysis provides valuable insights into the dynamics of collaborative deal promotions.
Maximum voluntary closing forces in the upper and lower lips of humans.

Forces generated by facial muscles during speech production have previously been estimated to involve up to 20% of maximum voluntary closing force. The gross nature of this estimate is due, in part...