cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An experimental and numerical modeling study of tribocharging in pharmaceutical granular mixtures

Abstract Most pharmaceutical powders are dielectric materials that often accumulate charge during manufacturing process. In this study, triboelectrification of binary mixtures of drug and excipient has been investigated. Powder samples for charge measurement were mixed using a V-blender and dispensed directly into a Faraday cup. The mixtures at intermediate concentration exhibited significant charge mitigation. These unanticipated trends previously reported have been explored using process modeling approaches. Additionally, in silico computations have been performed to estimate the work function of the all contact materials. DEM simulations suggest that the drug particles (Ibuprofen) charge positively whereas the excipient (MCC) charges negatively when particle-particle collisions become substantial. This charge transfer is suspected to actually enhance electrostatic interaction between the drug and excipient and decrease the overall charge transfer between particle and wall.
Sarcoma and carcinosarcoma of the bladder in adults.

AbstractSarcomas of the bladder occur rarely in adults. As a result, the natural history of these unusual tumors and the best methods of treatment are uncertain. We reviewed our experience with 13 patients presenting between 1970 and 1980 (5 had leiomyosarcoma, 5 had carcinosarcoma and 3 had rhabdomyosarcoma). Gross hematuria nearly always was the presenting symptom. Patients treated by partial cystectomy fared poorly, while 7 treated by radical cystectomy and supravesical urinary diversion had an excellent prognosis: 6 (86 per cent) have been free of disease for more than 1 year, including 4 who have survived more than 45 months without evidence of recurrence or metastasis.
Systematic Generation of Anisotropic Coarse-Grained Lennard-Jones Potentials and Their Application to Ordered Soft Matter

We have developed an approach to coarse-grained (CG) modeling of the van der Waals (vdW) type of interactions among molecules by representing groups of atoms within those molecules in terms of ellipsoids (rather than spheres). Our approach systematically translates an arbitrary underlying all-atom (AA) representation of a molecular system to a multisite ellipsoidal potential within the family of Gay–Berne type potentials. As the method enables arbitrary levels of coarse-graining, or even multiple levels of coarse-graining within a single simulation, we describe the method as a Level of Detail (LoD) model. The LoD model, as integrated into our group’s Metropolis Monte Carlo computational package, is also capable of reducing the complexity of the molecular electrostatics by means of a multipole expansion of charges obtained from an AA force field (or directly from electronic structure calculations) of the charges within each ellipsoid. Electronic polarizability may additionally be included. The present CG r...
Possibility for photorefractive effects in organic electrooptic crystals

Many electrooptic materials exhibit the photorefractive effect in which nonuniform illumination produces a spatial variation of refractive index by the following general mechanism: (1) the incident illumination produces a nonuniform space charge by the processes of photoionization, transport, and trapping; (2) the trapped charge leads to a nonuniform internal electric field by Poisson’s equation, and finally (3) the varying electric field produces a modulation of the refractive index through the linear electrooptic effect.
The Faustian Aspects of Prosperity, Depression, and War

The business groups are the most intelligently class conscious elements in American Society…. Wealth and talent are at their command. They are inspired by an irrepressible enthusiasm and a dogmatic self-righteousness. Can anyone doubt but that as the decades of the twentieth century pass by, their influence in the molding of policies will continue to be powerfully exerted? … But such influences should be given weight only in so far as they are in line with the dictates of wise statesmanship, taking into consideration the interests of the whole nation. Benjamin H. Williams, Economic Foreign Policy of the United States (1929) Acting on its unprecedented economic position in the world after World War I, the United States expanded internationally in ways that ultimately altered its former commitment to some of its nineteenth-century diplomatic principles. For example, instead of supporting traditional neutrality (as it had at the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914), American leaders no longer defended the rights of neutral nations or honored their claims to freedom of the seas as their predecessors had before the nation became a major naval and economic power. In a word, the United States began to act as England had when it ruled the oceans and world finance. The Republicans in charge of the White House in the 1920s also began to modify the country's original concept of political isolationism.
Effective Big Data Visualization

In the last several years, big data analytics has found an increasing role in our everyday lives. Data visualization has long been accepted as an integral part of data analytics. However, data visualization systems are not equipped to handle the complexities typically found in big data. Our work examines effective ways of visualizing big data, while also realizing that most visualization processes are interactive. During an interactive visualization session, an analyst issues several visualization requests, each of which builds on prior visualizations. In our approach, we integrate a distributed data processing system that can effectively process big data with a visualization system that can provide effective interactive visualization but for smaller amounts of data. The analyst's current request is used to infer contextual information about the analyst such as their expertise and tolerance for delay. This information is used to carefully determine additional data that can be sent to the visualization system for decreasing the response time for future requests, thus providing a better experience for the analyst and increasing their productivity.
The relationship between emergency department volume and patient complexity.

Abstract Introduction Forecasting emergency department (ED) visits is a well-studied topic. The importance of understanding the complexity of patients along with the days and times of varying patient volumes is critical for planning medical and ancillary staffing. Though multiple studies stratify their results based on severity of disease, severity was determined by triage status. The goal of this study was to utilize a novel method to evaluate the correlation between daily emergency department patient complexity, based on Current Procedure Terminology (CPT) code, and day of the week. Methods This was a retrospective study of subjects presenting to the ED between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2015. We identified the correlation between subjects with each CPT code who were evaluated on a specific day of the week and evaluated the day before, the day of and the day after a legal holiday. Results During the study period 312,550 (48%) male and 336,348 (52%) female subjects were identified. No correlation between daily ED patient complexity, based on CPT code, and day of the week (p = 0.75) or any legal holidays were identified. Individual significant differences were noted among day of the week and particular CPT code as well as legal holiday and particular CPT code with no appreciable trend or pattern. Conclusions There was no correlation between daily ED patient complexity based on CPT code and day of the week or daily ED patient acuity and legal holiday. In light of these data, emergency department staffing and resource allocation patterns may need to be revisited.
On localizing Futaki–Morita integrals at isolated degenerate zeros

Abstract We study the localization of Futaki–Morita integrals at isolated degenerate zeros by giving a streamlined exposition in the spirit of Bott and implementing the localization procedure for a holomorphic vector field on C P n with a maximally degenerate zero. This yields an essentially unique formula for these Futaki–Morita integral invariants without using a summation over multiple points.
The Effect of the Conventional and Modified Subsoilers on the Soil Water Infiltration in Clay Soil During Sun Flower Crop Growth Stages (Helianthus annus L.)

A filed experiment has been conducted at college of agriculture research station, Garmit Ali , Basrah university in ( 2014 ) . The soil texture is clay . Three plow types are used namely modifiled subsoiler , conventional subsoiler and moldboard plow . The first two plows (subsoilers) are used at operating depths of 30 , 40 and 50 cm . The moldboard plow is used at operating depth of 25 cm . These plow types are used to study their effect on the soil water infiltration of the soil in after crop harvesting. The crop used in the experiments is sun flower ( Helianthus annus L.) . The following abbrivations are used for the modified and conventional subsoilers operating depths 30 , 40 , and 50 cm , which are they S1D1 , S1D2 , and S1D3 and S2D1 , S2D2 and S2D3 respectively . For the moldboard plow depth of 25 cm MT is used and no tillage treatment (NT) . The control treatment is given (con.) . The filed is divided into three equal area blocks . Each block is divided into nine experimental units . The experimental parameters are randomly distributed on experimental units . The crop seeds are planted on 4/4/2014 . The irrigation is added according to the difficiency in the water level of water evaporation basin . The addition of water is 100% of the measured evaporation value with another 20% as leaching requirement . The crop harvesting date is 4/7/2014 .The results showed :That plowing operation reduced Acumulative infiltration and infilteration rate are higher in the plowed soil compared with unplowed soil (NT) . At the end of season growth S1D3 recorded the highest equmilative and mean infiltration while the lowest values are recorded to MT . The rest of treatments gave medium results.
The Nature of Competition: In Defense of Descriptive Accuracy

AbstractIn this brief essay, I defend my original analysis of competition and respond to a number of recent criticisms. In this process, I extend my analysis by showing the cogency and value of the...
Protein Disulfide Isomerases as potential therapeutic targets for Influenza A and B Viruses

Seasonal flu as well as potential pandemic flu outbreaks continuously underscores the importance of the preventive and therapeutic measures against influenza viruses. During screening of natural and synthetic small molecules against influenza A and B virus, we identified juniferdin as a highly effective inhibitor against both viruses in cells. Since juniferdin is known to inhibit protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs), multiple PDI inhibitors were tested against these viruses. Among PDI inhibitors, 16F16, PACMA31, isoquercetin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate or nitazoxanide significantly reduced the replication of influenza A and B viruses in MDCK and A549 cells. Furthermore, siRNAs specific to three PDI family members (PDI1, PDIA3 or PDIA4) also significantly reduced the replication of influenza A and B viruses in cells. These results suggest that PDIs may serve as excellent targets for the development of new anti-influenza drugs.
Dehumanization in Modern Medicine and Science

Modern medicine and science share propensities to objectify and dehumanize the person. The concept of the person has been a neglected area of scholarship in medicine. This neglect is related to emphasis on third-person perspective methodologies that dominate the social sciences and medicine. A more adequate comprehension of personhood requires holistic and non-reductive approaches to science that integrate first-person and second-person perspectives of the person along with third-person perspectives. Resistance to a paradigm shift in science, which would integrate qualitative and quantitative methodologies, can be understood as defensive attempts to maintain the existential dogmatism wedded to scientism and technization as the dominant discourse of medicine, psychiatry, and psychology. This defensiveness can, itself, be understood as a worldview defense that provides protection against anxiety linked to mortality concerns.
Encounters With Health-Care Providers and Advance Directive Completion by Older Adults.

Background:The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) requires hospitals, home health agencies, nursing homes, and hospice providers to offer new patients information about advance directives. There...
The effect of laser focus shift on microstructural variation of Inconel 718 produced by selective laser melting

Abstract Selective laser melting is gaining interest in the aerospace industry as a candidate for manufacturing flight hardware. With increasing popularity comes the need for rigorous qualification standards and a thorough understanding of how processing parameters can affect part quality. One such parameter is the laser focal shift, which moves the building plane relative to the focal plane of the laser. Changing the focal shift alters the power density while keeping the laser parameters constant, a novel method for tailoring the microstructures of parts made by SLM. In this study, samples were manufactured at different focal positions and their microstructures were characterized. Samples built at the focal plane had a finer microstructure than samples built away from it, a result of higher power density and a smaller spot size. Furthermore, samples in the heat-treated condition produced at the shifted locations exhibited coarser grains aligned parallel to the build direction, while those at the focal plane had a finer and more equiaxed microstructure. Differences originating from the as-built condition that remain through post processing may influence the final mechanical performance of SLM parts. Utilizing the focus shift to produce these changes presents a unique opportunity for microstructural tailoring and improved mechanical performance.
The loud crowd: using vocal responses to understand the emotional experiences of spectators.

Much research has been conducted on the relationship between emotions and the sport experience, but most research in this field has used survey data, which has proven to have many limiting factors when attempting to measure emotions. Rather than relying on surveys, the present study uses a more direct measure of consumer emotion: sound. By measuring the variations in sound levels among sport attendees, the present study provides an exploratory study of sport fan emotions through behavioral indicators of emotional experiences rather than cognitive recall. Our results indicate that the strongest vocal responses were consistently in response to surprising plays, not necessarily plays most beneficial to the home team. These results from increase our understanding of the emotional experience of sport attendees and provide insight into how to expand and maximize the emotional responses of sport spectators to create a stronger connection between team and consumer. Subscribe to JASM
Evolution of Autocorrelation in Detonation Interaction with Homogeneous, Isotropic Turbulence

Detonation-turbulence interaction (DTI) differs from shock-turbulence interaction (STI) due to exothermicity, and the presence of a detonation lengthscale, intrinsic fluctuations of the unstable detonation front and a self-excited unstable region which supports intrinsic time scales. Downstream of the wavefront, a global instability exists due to self-excited acoustic coupling. Linear analysis found selective wave amplification that depends on both the turbulence lengthscale and the half-reaction distance [4]. A subsequent DNS found that the preshock perturbations strongly affect the postshock statistics [3]. This paper examines the evolution of the autocorrelation of the longitudinal velocity fluctuations for STI and DTI, some of which have been presented in [3]. Local homogeneity and isotropy are assumed.
Problems and Advances in the Dosimetry of Radionuclide Targeted Therapy

One of the goals of conventional external beam radiotherapy is to construct treatment plans for which the dose distribution across the tumor is uniform. This can be achieved with tumor dose heterogeneities of less than 15%. Therefore the concepts of dose response and tumor control probability (TCP) in external beam therapy are clearly defined and unambiguous. However, the treatment of many disease sites in radiation therapy result in high doses to partial volumes of normal tissue structures. For example, in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, the location of the pancreas results in the unavoidable delivery of high doses to the kidneys and spinal cord. The radiation tolerance of the spinal cord is well known. It behaves according to a serial model of radiation damage, which means that a dose in excess of 50 Gy to any region of the spinal cord can produce transverse radiation myelitis. However, the response of kidney is according to a parallel model, i.e., the kidney consists of a large number of repeat units, nephrons, a certain fraction of which must be destroyed before loss of kidney function is observed. The objective of a treatment plan for pancreatic cancer is to manipulate the beam directions and weights, so as to minimize the volume of kidney receiving high dose irradiation in order to reduce the risk of kidney complication, consistent with the prescribed dose to the target volume, and a dose of 003C;45 Gy anywhere to the spinal cord.
The Next Phase of Human Gene-Therapy Oversight

The Next Phase of Human Gene-Therapy Oversight As gene therapy continues to change, so must the federal framework set up to oversee it. As new biotechnologies continue to emerge, the NIH and the FDA are proposing reductions in duplicative oversight and changes to the role of the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee.
Monitoring Treatment of Wilson Disease

Treatment of Wilson disease (WD) with medical therapy and degrees of dietary restriction of copper intake is lifelong, but adjustments of treatments and determining their effectiveness require appropriate monitoring. There are two categories of treatment monitoring, monitoring for effectiveness and monitoring for safety. Monitoring requires assessing for changes in health status, including physical exam, blood and urine testing, and imaging. The frequency of monitoring may change according to the clinical status, type of therapy, and phase of treatment. Special attention is given to symptoms related to liver disease, neurologic findings, the appearance of KF rings, psychiatric findings, and quality of life. In addition, monitoring for adherence to treatment links to monitoring for effectiveness as adherence is critical to achieving best patient outcomes. Copper status should be monitored regularly, as some patients may be overtreated, resulting to overlapping symptomatology due to copper excess.
Case 2: Epigastric Pain in a 14-year-old Boy.

1. Kathryn Elizabeth Kaye Berlin, DO* 2. Michael Weisgerber, MD* 3. Elizabeth Loconto, DO† 1. *Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 2. †Mercy Health System, Janesville, WI A 14-year-old boy with a medical history significant for mild intermittent asthma presents to the emergency department with 5 days of epigastric pain, chest pain, poor oral intake, and subjective fevers. On initial presentation he is diagnosed as having viral gastritis and is sent home from the emergency department with an antiemetic drug and instructions for supportive care. However, his symptoms worsen and he is referred back to the emergency department by his primary care physician, ultimately resulting in his admission. The patient is afebrile on presentation, with age-appropriate vital signs. Physical examination findings are normal except for discomfort with deep palpation of his epigastric region. Results of initial evaluation (including abdominal radiography, blood cell count, electrolyte levels, liver function testing, lipase levels, and urinalysis) are within normal limits. Therefore, the initial concern is for a combination of gastritis and constipation: he is treated symptomatically without improvement. As symptoms persist, he is unable to tolerate any oral intake due to pain and eventually requires placement of a nasogastric tube to maintain proper nutrition. He notes that his most prominent pain localizes to the substernal region. In addition, he begins complaining of odynophagia. A thorough review of the patient’s history …
Highly efficient expression of circular RNA aptamers in cells using autocatalytic transcripts

RNA aptamers and RNA aptamer-based devices can be genetically encoded and expressed in cells to probe and manipulate cellular function. However, their usefulness in the mammalian cell is limited by low expression and rapid degradation. Here we describe the Tornado (Twister-optimized RNA for durable overexpression) expression system for achieving rapid RNA circularization, resulting in RNA aptamers with high stability and expression levels. Tornado-expressed transcripts contain an RNA of interest flanked by Twister ribozymes. The ribozymes rapidly undergo autocatalytic cleavage, leaving termini that are ligated by the ubiquitous endogenous RNA ligase RtcB. Using this approach, protein-binding aptamers that otherwise have minimal effects in cells become potent inhibitors of cellular signaling. Additionally, an RNA-based fluorescent metabolite biosensor for S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) that is expressed at low levels when expressed as a linear RNA achieves levels sufficient for detection of intracellular SAM dynamics when expressed as a circular RNA. The Tornado expression system thus markedly enhances the utility of RNA-based approaches in the mammalian cell.
Solvent desorption gas chromatography for determination of allyl chloride in workplace atmosphere

Objective To establish a method for determination of allyl chloride in the workplace atmosphere by solvent desorption-capillary column gas chromatography. Methods Allyl chloride in the atmosphere was adsorbed by activated charcoal tubes and desorbed using dichloromethane, and was then separated by capillary column gas chromatography and determined by flame ionization detector. Results The concentration of allyl chloride showed a good linear relationship within the range of 0∼200 µg/ml. The linear regression equation was y = 1.27x-0.22 with the correlation coefficient r being 0.999 8. The limit of detection was 0.20 µg /mL. If 7.5 L of air was sampled, the minimum detectable concentration was 0.03 mg/m³. The intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSD) of repetitive measurement at the high, middle, and low concentration levels were 2.7%∼4.8%. The average sampling efficiency was 100%. The overall desorption efficiency was 94.4%. The breakthrough volume was over 0.59 mg (100 mg activated charcoal). Conclusion The method applies to the determination of allyl chloride in the workplace atmosphere.
Nuclear Data Covariance Analysis in Radiation-Transport Simulations Utilizing SCALE Sampler and the IRDFF Nuclear Data Library

This article describes the nuclear data covariance analysis of an experimental design for a neutron energy-tuning assembly (ETA) created to shape a 14-MeV neutron point source to an objective spectrum. Underlying nuclear data uncertainties play a large role in the radiation transport and reaction rates for the range of responses to be expected from an experiment. The methodology leveraged the Standardized Computer Analysis for Licensing Evaluation (SCALE) Sampler module to determine the uncertainty in the neutron transport. The reaction uncertainty was perturbed with the International Reactor Dosimetry and Fusion File v.1.05 uncertainty, correlation matrix, and reaction cross section through multivariate normal distribution sampling to provide a final response metric. The resultant neutron fluence uncertainty for the ETA ranged from 2.7% to 6.2% in the energy range from 1.28 keV to 14.1 MeV, which contains 99.99% of the neutron fluence. The integrated uncertainties, including statistical and systematic nuclear data uncertainties, for the reaction products analyzed were 2.33% to 4.84% for most reactions, but 55Mn(n, $\gamma $ ), a less well-characterized reaction occurring in an energy domain with high flux uncertainty, was 19.7%. The mean of the reaction distributions was within 1.1% of the unperturbed nuclear data simulation. The experiment is planned for late 2019, where the predicted results will be compared against the experimental outcomes. The methodology presented can be utilized with alternate nuclear libraries in SCALE to develop uncertainty bounds and neutron flux spectra for many radiation-transport problems.
Molecular chemisorption of N2 on IrO2(110)

We investigated adsorption of N2 on stoichiometric and O-rich IrO2(110) surfaces using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. TPD shows that N2 desorbs predominantly from the stoichiometric-IrO2(110) surface in a well-defined peak at 270 K for N2 coverages below about 0.5 ML and that a shoulder centered near 235 K develops in the N2 TPD traces as the coverage approaches saturation, indicating that adsorbed N2 molecules destabilize at high N2 coverages. Experiments of N2 adsorption onto O-rich IrO2(110) surfaces provide evidence that N2 adsorbs exclusively on the coordinatively unsaturated Ir atoms (Ircus) of the surface and that pre-adsorbed O-atoms (“on-top” oxygen) stabilize adsorbed N2 molecules, causing the main N2 TPD peak to shift toward higher temperature with increasing oxygen coverages. Consistent with prior results, our DFT calculations predict that an N2 molecule preferentially adsorbs into an upright configuration on an Ircus atom of the IrO2(110) surface and achieves a binding energy of about 100 kJ/mol. The computed binding energy agrees well with our experimental estimate of ∼90 kJ/mol for low N2 coverages on stoichiometric IrO2(110). The DFT calculations also quantitatively reproduce the observed stabilization of N2 by co-adsorption on-top O-atoms and predict the destabilization of N2 on IrO2(110) as the N2 adlayer becomes crowded at high coverages.
Letter from Book Review Editor

Dear JAMLS readership,It has been an honor and pleasure to serve as book review editor for this leading journal for the last five years. In particular, it has been remarkable to see the field of ar...
Estimating the potential pool of uncontrolled DCD donors in the United States.

Organs from uncontrolled DCD donors (uDCDs) have expanded donation in Europe since the 1980s, but are seldom used in the United States. Cited barriers include lack of knowledge about the potential donor pool, lack of robust outcomes data, lack of standard donor eligibility criteria and preservation methods, and logistical and ethical challenges. To determine whether it would be appropriate to invest in addressing these barriers and building this practice, we sought to enumerate the potential pool of uDCD donors. Using data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, the largest all-payer emergency department (ED) database, between 2013 and 2016, we identified patients who had refractory cardiac arrest in the ED. We excluded patients with contraindications to both deceased donation (including infection, malignancy, cardiopulmonary disease) and uDCD (including hemorrhage, major polytrauma, burns, and poisoning). We identified 9828 (range: 9454-10 202) potential uDCDs/y; average age was 32 years, and all were free of major comorbidity. Of these, 91.1% had traumatic deaths, with major causes including nonhead blunt injuries (43.2%) and head injuries (40.1%). In the current era, uDCD donors represent a significant potential source of unused organs. Efforts to address barriers to uDCD in the United States should be encouraged.
Multi-agent coalition formation for distributed area coverage

In the multi-robot area coverage problem, a group of mobile robots have to cover an initially unknown environment using a sensor or coverage tool attached to each robot. Multi-robot area coverage is encountered in many applications of multi-robot systems including unmanned search and rescue, aerial reconnaissance, robotic demining, automatic lawn mowing, and inspection of engineering structures. We envisage that multi-robot coverage can be performed efficiently if robots are coordinated to form small teams while covering the environment. In this paper, we use a technique from coalitional game theory called a weighted voting game that allows each robot to dynamically identify other team members and form teams so that the efficiency of the area coverage operation is improved. We propose and evaluate a novel technique of computing the weights of a weighted voting game based on each robot's coverage capability and finding the best minimal winning coalition(BMWC). Also we designed a greedy method and a heuristic method to find BMWC in O(n log n) time and O(n2) time respectively. We tested these two algorithm with our base line method.
Effect of working forest conservation easements on surrounding property values

Abstract The hedonic pricing method was applied to examine the effect of working forest conservation easements (WFCEs) on the value of surrounding land parcels in state of Georgia. Data were collected on attributes of WFCEs in 62 counties and 46,580 property sales occurring from 2001 to 2018. Results suggested that one size did not fill all and that the type of property (agricultural, commercial or residential) near a WFCE played a large role in determining potential price effects of land cover types and other attributes. Additionally, an increase in the age of the nearest WFCE had a negative price effect on surrounding properties. This research could be used in strategic management decisions to maximize both conservation and economic outcomes.
Transfer Learning for Detecting Covid-19 Cases Using Chest X-Ray Images

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis that have already infected more than 3.5 million people and caused more than 250 thousand deaths around the globe. That is why it is critical to develop a more efficient way to detect and treat this illness. This paper utilizes transfer learning techniques to detect normal, COVID-19, and viral pneumonia cases from Chest X-Ray images. Four pre-trained models on ImageNet were chosen as the base model, which are ResNet50, VGG19, DenseNet121, and InceptionV3. The performance metrics of each fine-tuned model are overall similar. With an average recall, precision, f1-score, and accuracy of 97.42%, 97.42%, 97.23%, 98.3% respectively.
Height, weight, and cardiovascular effects of stimulants on children with brain tumors.

Introduction Children with brain tumors may develop inattention, slow processing, and hypersomnia. Stimulant medications improve these problems, but their effect on growth, heart rate, and blood pressure (BP) are inadequately explored. Procedure We retrospectively studied children with brain tumors treated at our institution that had data available for 1 year pre and 2 years on stimulant treatment. Tumor location, gender, radiation treatment (RT), age at RT, drug type, and hormone therapy were variables of interest. Results We identified 65 children (35 males) that fulfilled eligibility criteria. Focal RT was utilized in 58; 11 additionally had whole brain RT; and seven received no RT. Thirty were treated for hypersomnia and inattention, eight for hypersomnia alone, and rest for inattention. Modafinil was the first drug in 18 (27.7%), and methylphenidate in the others. Forty-seven (72.3%), 45 (69.2%), and 49 (75.4%) were on thyroxine, cortisone, and growth hormones, respectively. There was no difference in pre- and post-stimulant body mass index (BMI), heart rate, and BP. There was also no difference between modafinil and methylphenidate groups. Rate of height acquisition slowed on stimulants (P = .0096). Thyroxine treatment correlated with increase in BMI after stimulants (P = .04). Younger age (P = .0003) and higher prestimulant BMI (P = .0063) correlated with increased heart rate on stimulants, while higher age at RT (P =.016) correlated with elevated systolic BP on stimulants. No associations were found with height acquisition and diastolic BP. Conclusion Stimulants are well tolerated by children with brain tumors that are appropriately managed for endocrine deficiencies, but may reduce the trajectory of height attainment.
Pulsed Radiofrequency Ablation: An Alternative Treatment Modality for Radiation-Induced Brachial Plexopathy.

Radiation therapy is used as a form of treatment for various neoplastic diseases. There are many potential adverse effects of this therapy, including radiation-induced neurotoxicity. Radiation-induced brachial plexopathy (RIBP) may occur due to the fibrosis of neural and perineural soft tissues, leading to ischemic damage of the axons and Schwann cells. The dose of radiation exceeds 55 Gy in many patients who develop symptoms [1]. Current incidence in the United States is 1-2%, and RIBP is most commonly seen in patients who have undergone treatment for breast cancer, lung cancer, or lymphoma [1-3]. Common symptoms include numbness, paresthesia, dysesthesia, and occasional numbness of the arm. Pain is present in the shoulder and proximal arm and is typically mild to moderate in severity. Diagnosis is often made based on clinical presentation and evaluation of imaging to rule out concurrent malignant etiologies of the brachial plexus. Current recommended treatment includes physical therapy and medical management with anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, and selective serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.
Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of Staphylococcus aureus Associated with Periprosthetic Joint Infection under in Vivo and in Vitro Conditions.

Transcriptomic analysis can provide insight as to how Staphylococcus aureus adapts to the environmental niche of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), a challenging clinical infection. Here, in vivo RNA expression of eight S. aureus PJIs was compared with expression of the corresponding isolates in planktonic culture using a total RNA-sequencing approach. Expression varied among isolates, with a common trend showing increased expression of several ica-independent biofilm formation genes, including sdr, fnb, ebpS, and aaa; genes encoding enzymes and toxins, including coa, nuc, hlb, and hlgA/B/C; and genes facilitating acquisition of iron via the iron-binding molecule siderophore B (snb) and heme consumption protein (isd) pathways in PJI. Several antimicrobial resistance determinants were detected; although their presence correlated with phenotypic susceptibility of the associated isolates, no difference in expression between in vivo and in vitro conditions was identified.
System Requirements for a Portable Cell Based Sensor

The use of cell based biosensors outside of the laboratory has been limited due to many issues including preparation of the sample, maintenance of the biological environment, incorporation of the appropriate sensors, and integration of the electronics for data collection and analysis. This paper describes these system issues and briefly presents current efforts to address packaging, fluidics, and data interpretation. These include the development of an integrated silicon-PDMS cell cartridge system that provides reliable electrical and fluidic interconnect and a regulated cell environment, the development of low power and low overhead sensors and electronics, and the necessary fluidic sample preparation.
There's Enough Space for Everyone

Only a few fortunate people have the opportunity to go into space and experience the wonders of our universe first-hand. But thanks to social media and virtual worlds, many unique opportunities exist for us to learn, explore and experience what s out there from wherever we are. NASA and Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are making this even easier to do. From blogs to Twitter messages, from Facebook pages to Flickr Photo sites, NASA is leveraging social media to share never-before-seen footage and inside information on spaceflight, scientific discoveries and other space activities. Over the last year, Marshall has reached more than half-a-million viewers through its high-profile, real-time blogs. Through its Watching a Launch blog, visitors were invited to take the "virtual" rides of their lives as they received a first-hand account of seeing a powerful shuttle launch - up close and personal. Through the Shuttle Ferry Flight blog, they got to experience the Shuttle Atlantis journey home to Kennedy Space Center as it rode "piggyback" on a modified Boeing 747 airplane. This year, Marshall s Flickr photo galleries have been visited over 700,000 times, Ares rocket videos have been viewed on iTunes, YouTube, TeacherTube and NASA Web sites more than 1.2 million times, and Marshall s Facebook Page has over 2,800 "friends" who regularly follow NASA. Social media tools have been a powerful way to reach and inspire the public, but NASA has also used these tools effectively to promote education and outreach. From events such as the Great Moonbuggy Race to the Student Launch Initiative, Marshall has used social networks to interest, excite and engage students. This presentation shares some of NASA s experiences on what has worked . . . and what hasn't . . . and seeks to spread the message that through social media "there's enough space for everyone."
All low order H ∞ controllers with covariance upper bound

This paper obtains a parametrization of the set of all stabilizing controllers of order equal to or less than the plant, which yield a specified H∞ norm bound to the closed loop transfer matrix. A Lyapunov based approach to H∞ control problems yields a parametrization in terms of the Lyapunov matrix which carries many system properties such as H2 performance, covariance bounds, system entropy at infinity, etc. Since the freedom in the parametrization is explicit in arbitrary matrices of fixed dimensions, the advantage over the existing Q-parametrization is the finiteness of the design parameter space. It is shown that low order H∞ suboptimal controllers can be designed by solving two Riccati equations which are uncoupled in one direction. Perspectives on the new parametrization are discussed considering the simple full order controller case. A numerical example of robust control design with an H2 performance criterion is presented for a benchmark problem.
Toxicity and metabolism of pyrrolizidine alkaloids

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are found mainly in plants of three families: boraginaceae, Compositae and Leguminosae. In North America, PA poisoning of livestock is caused primarily by consumption of Senecio and Crotalaria spp. The PA of Senecio spp. cause irreversible hepatic damage; toxicity signs are a consequence of impaired liver function. Crotalaria intoxication leads to pulmonary damage as a primary effect; hepatic effects are less prominent. Large species differences exist in susceptibility to PA toxicosis. Small herbivores such as sheep, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs and other herbivorous laboratory animals are highly resistant to PA toxicity, associated with a low rate of hepatic production of reactive metabolites (pyrroles) and(or) a high rate of activity of detoxifying enzymes. Diester PA common to Heliotropium and Echium spp. are metabolized in the ovine rumen to 1-methyl metabolites, whereas the macrocyclic ester PA of Senecio spp. are not. Exposure to PA results in high concentrations of liver Cu, reduced liver Zn, and abnormal Fe metabolism with hematopoiesis markedly impaired. Pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicity alters vitamin A metabolism in rats, depressing plasma and liver levels of vitamin A. Synthetic antioxidants in the diet confer protective activity in laboratory animals (e.g., rats, mice) against PA toxicoses. The PA and their metabolites are secreted in the milk of lactating animals, but this probably does not represent a significant human health hazard.
The role of GM-CSF in dendritic cell development in vivo (HEM3P.284)

We have earlier demonstrated that CD11b+CD11c+ dendritic cells (DCs) derived ex vivo from bone marrow precursors with GM-CSF (GM-BMDCs) can selectively expand natural Foxp3+ regulatory T-cells (Tregs) in a contact dependent manner through OX40L/Jagged-1 co-signaling. However, an ‘in vivo’ counterpart of these GM-BMDCs is not known. In contrast BMDCs derived ex vivo using FLT3L (FL-BMDCs) are considered to be phenotypical and functional equivalents of physiological steady-state DCs. In addition, mice lacking GM-CSF or its receptor do not show a severe defect in DC development while FLt3L deficiency severely affects the physiological development of all types of DCs. To determine the role of GM-CSF in DC-development in vivo, we treated Flt3L deficient mice with GM-CSF and found no evidence of CD11c+ DC development. In contrast, we saw near complete reconstitution of DCs in these mice with Flt3L treatment. Surprisingly, we could successfully generate CD11c+ GM-BMDCs from bone marrow precursors isolated from these Flt3L deficient mice. Interestingly, these GM-BMDCs also express surface markers associated with precursor cells, macrophages and granulocytes. To address these various contradictions, we propose that G-BMDCs generated ex vivo represent a myeloid precursor population rather than fully differentiated DCs. These ‘precursors’ require other cytokines for their terminal differentiation; thus, Flt3L is critical for their differentiation into steady-state DCs.
Influence of Sn grain size and orientation on the thermomechanical response and reliability of Pb-free solder joints

The size and orientation of Sn grains in Pb-free, near eutectic SAC solder joints were examined. A clear dependence of the thermomechanical response of these solder joints on Sn grain orientation was observed. Solder balls with Sn grains of particular orientation (a-axis perpendicular to the substrate) were observed to fail before neighboring balls with different orientations. This results from the fact that the coefficient of thermal expansion of Sn along the a-axis is half the value along the c-axis; joints observed to be damaged had maximum mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion between solder and substrate at the joint interface, as well as tensile stress modes during the hot part of the cycle.
Strong radiative heating due to the mixing state of black carbon in atmospheric aerosols

Aerosols affect the Earth's temperature and climate by altering the radiative properties of the atmosphere. A large positive component of this radiative forcing from aerosols is due to black carbon--soot--that is released from the burning of fossil fuel and biomass, and, to a lesser extent, natural fires, but the exact forcing is affected by how black carbon is mixed with other aerosol constituents. From studies of aerosol radiative forcing, it is known that black carbon can exist in one of several possible mixing states; distinct from other aerosol particles (externally mixed) or incorporated within them (internally mixed), or a black-carbon core could be surrounded by a well mixed shell. But so far it has been assumed that aerosols exist predominantly as an external mixture. Here I simulate the evolution of the chemical composition of aerosols, finding that the mixing state and direct forcing of the black-carbon component approach those of an internal mixture, largely due to coagulation and growth of aerosol particles. This finding implies a higher positive forcing from black carbon than previously thought, suggesting that the warming effect from black carbon may nearly balance the net cooling effect of other anthropogenic aerosol constituents. The magnitude of the direct radiative forcing from black carbon itself exceeds that due to CH4, suggesting that black carbon may be the second most important component of global warming after CO2 in terms of direct forcing.
A Unique Jahn–Teller Mechanism of all the Symmetry Breakings in Molecular Systems and Condensed Matter

Abstract An attempt is made to present all the symmetry breakings (SB) in molecular systems and condensed matter from a unique point of view as controlled by the electronic structure, degeneracy and pseudodegeneracy, via the Jahn–Teller (JT) vibronic coupling effects [JT, Renner–Teller (RT), and pseudo Jahn–Teller (PJT) effects]. For chemically bonded systems in high-symmetry configurations and transition states of chemical reactions, as proved earlier, the JT effects are the only possible source of spontaneous distortion, which is the necessary condition of SB. It is shown that the JT (and related RT and PJT) effects are directly applicable to chemically nonbonded systems: formation of molecules from atoms (chemical bonding), as well as intermolecular interaction, can be regarded as particular cases of JT effects. This closes the gap in considering all the SB in molecular systems as triggered by JT effects. It stimulated also a general (extended and more rigorous) formulation of the JT theorem to include all the vibronic coupling effects and recent achievements in the JT effect theory. Added to the JT origin of structural phase transitions and liquid–solid transition, considered earlier, and gas–liquid transition shown to be in principle of the same JT origin, the results above lead us to a general conclusion that spontaneous SB in molecular systems and condensed matter are always associated with degeneracy or pseudodegeneracy and realized via JT vibronic coupling effects. Together with the concept of SB in particle physics as associated with degeneracy, we can speculate about a general picture of consecutive transformations of matter via similar in nature degeneracy-based SB, beginning with the Big Bang .
Development of encapsulated lithium hydride thermal energy storage

A packed-bed thermal storage (TES) unit using encapsulated LiH spheres has been proposed as a means of reducing the mass and size of space-based heat rejection systems in applications with pulsed power needs. Assessment of the concept indicated that mass and area savings are possible for applications having power generation periods as long as 1600 s. The major area of technical uncertainty is associated with shell stresses during heating, when the melting (and expanding) LiH at the shell surface is trapped between the encapsulating shell and the solid LiH core. A series of feasibility tests demonstrated that the LiH cracks during cooldown and that the LiH uses these paths to communicate with the central void during charging. The feasibility of the concept was proved conclusively in a reliability demonstration test series, when the 50 mm diameter encapsulated LiH test article completed 50 thermal cycles (twice the application lifetime). The work completed to date indicates that the proposed TES system has merit for pulses space power systems and that the encapsulated-LiH concept is feasible. >
Controlling Non-Minimum Phase Nonlinear Systems - The Inverted Pendulum on a Cart Example

Control design for minimum phase nonlinear systems has been well developed in the literature via the input-output linearization method developed in [Isi89] and elsewhere. Since a minimum phase system has stable internal dynamics, one may only need to design a control for the linear subsystem after performing input-output linearization for such a system. This paper addresses the design of controls for non-minimum phase nonlinear systems that result in stable output regulation or tracking with acceptable closed-loop performance. The approach is based on the decomposition of a system into an input-output subsystem and an internal dynamics. The developed results are applied to the classical inverted pendulum on a cart example. Simulation and experimental results are reported.