cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Colorectal Cancer in Pregnancy

The prevalence of colorectal carcinoma during pregnancy is low but is associated with significant fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. This chapter characterizes diagnostic features, evaluation techniques, and therapeutic strategies for patients who present with colorectal cancer during pregnancy. Pregnant patients frequently present with advanced stage of disease secondary to delayed diagnosis, which results in poor prognosis. An in-depth understanding of the current diagnostic armamentarium can improve diagnostic potential while limiting possible risk to the fetus. In addition, this chapter offers surgical techniques germane to pelvic operations in the presence of a gravid uterus and explores the current pharmacological options available to these patients. The combination of a life-threatening illness during pregnancy and the unfavorable prognosis of colorectal cancer raise many ethical, psychological, and emotional concerns in the therapeutic decision-making process. A holistic approach with a multidisciplinary team consisting of the obstetrician, surgeon, oncologist, maternal-fetal medicine specialist, and social worker should be employed in the management of these patients.
Ideology or Evidence? Examining the Population-Level Impact of US Government Funding to Prevent Adolescent Pregnancy.

Although there are limitations to research on the population-level effects of health policy, such research is an essential endeavor and one that the authors have engaged thoughtfully, including adjusting for major covariates that are associated with adolescent births. The Fox et al. study adds to the scientific literature demonstrating that AOUM is a policy that may have deleterious effects on young people. It also supports considerable previous research showing that providing sex education to adolescents can effectively address the sexual behaviors that lead to adolescent pregnancy. These findings, added to the growing literature about the problematic effects of AOUM, suggest that US government policy and funding should heed the scientific evidence, continue to support the implementation of evidence-based approaches, and shift away from AOUM programming that may actually be causing harm.
Home on the Digital Range: Ranchers' Web Access and Use

Abstract Access to the Internet continues to grow in rural areas, ensuring ranchers will have increasing opportunities to use the Web to find information about management practices that may provide them ecological and financial benefits. Although past studies have examined the role of the Internet in informing daily decision making by agricultural producers, no studies have focused specifically on the use of the Internet by ranchers in the western United States. This study uses a mixed-methods approach (a survey and semistructured interviews) to assess the extent and patterns of ranchers’ Internet use in Colorado and Wyoming, identify barriers to greater use, and establish a typology of Web use behavior by ranchers. Our findings indicate that Internet use is widespread and that age, education, and risk tolerance predict the extent to which a rancher will rely on the Internet for day-to-day ranch management. A cluster analysis delineated four distinct types of Web usage among ranchers: uninfluenced, focused on sales and herd management, moderately influenced, and an Internet-reliant type. Outreach personnel can use this classification to determine the potential utility of digital outreach tools for their programming on the basis of their target audience and outreach topics.
Extent of Coronary Disease in Patients with Atypical Chest Pain; Are Psychological Variables Helpful?

At coronary arteriography, a large proportion of patients (10–30%) have normal or minimal coronary artery disease1. These trends continue despite the highly technical approaches to the diagnosis of coronary artery disease2. Previous studies have demonstrated that a disproportionate number, although not all, of these patients have psychologic or social disturbance3,4. However, psychopathology is not always useful to separate patients without coronary disease from those with coronary disease because a significant proportion of patients with atypical pain have coronary disease without psychological or social disturbance. Conversely, typical anginal patients with moderate to severe coronary disease can have increased psychosocial disturbance.
On the latitudinal variation of the semiannual oscillation in received solar radiation and temperature

Abstract This paper characterizes the semiannual oscillation (SAO) in the received solar radiation (RSR) as a function of latitude for Earth, as a paradigm of a planet with an inclined rotational axis, and studies atmospheric implications. The latitude variations of the RSR SAO amplitude and phase are complex yet systematic. To investigate atmospheric response to the SAO in received solar radiation, we focus on Earth, examining monthly average surface temperature data over a wide latitude range. The latitude variation of surface temperature SAO amplitude and phase show marked similarity to those of the RSR - possible evidence of a residual RSR footprint in the atmospheric temperature and conflicting with current empirical representations of zonal temperature SAO phase and amplitude. For RSR and surface temperature as functions of latitude: (1) properties of SAO are independent of orbital eccentricity, which contributes only a constant global component to local annual oscillation (AO); (2) SAO peaks near equinox at lower latitudes and near solstices at higher latitudes, transitioning in phase over 40° − 60° latitude; and (3) SAO strengths (amplitude relative to local AO amplitude) of RSR and surface temperature are largest near the poles and equator. Also discussed is the presence of SAO in the global average surface temperature while SAO is negligible in the global average RSR. The approximate altitude independence of latitude variations in RSR SAO and the similarity of local surface temperature SAO suggest investigation of a simplified working hypothesis of similar behavior of observed local temperature SAO at higher altitude.
The DOE E3SM Coupled Model Version 1: Description and Results at High Resolution

Author(s): Caldwell, PM; Mametjanov, A; Tang, Q; Van Roekel, LP; Golaz, JC; Lin, W; Bader, DC; Keen, ND; Feng, Y; Jacob, R; Maltrud, ME; Roberts, AF; Taylor, MA; Veneziani, M; Wang, H; Wolfe, JD; Balaguru, K; Cameron-Smith, P; Dong, L; Klein, SA; Leung, LR; Li, HY; Li, Q; Liu, X; Neale, RB; Pinheiro, M; Qian, Y; Ullrich, PA; Xie, S; Yang, Y; Zhang, Y; Zhang, K; Zhou, T | Abstract: This study provides an overview of the coupled high-resolution Version 1 of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SMv1) and documents the characteristics of a 50-year-long high-resolution control simulation with time-invariant 1950 forcings following the HighResMIP protocol. In terms of global root-mean-squared error metrics, this high-resolution simulation is generally superior to results from the low-resolution configuration of E3SMv1 (due to resolution, tuning changes, and possibly initialization procedure) and compares favorably to models in the CMIP5 ensemble. Ocean and sea ice simulation is particularly improved, due to better resolution of bathymetry, the ability to capture more variability and extremes in winds and currents, and the ability to resolve mesoscale ocean eddies. The largest improvement in this regard is an ice-free Labrador Sea, which is a major problem at low resolution. Interestingly, several features found to improve with resolution in previous studies are insensitive to resolution or even degrade in E3SMv1. Most notable in this regard are warm bias and associated stratocumulus deficiency in eastern subtropical oceans and lack of improvement in El Nino. Another major finding of this study is that resolution increase had negligible impact on climate sensitivity (measured by net feedback determined through uniform +4K prescribed sea surface temperature increase) and aerosol sensitivity. Cloud response to resolution increase consisted of very minor decrease at all levels. Large-scale patterns of precipitation bias were also relatively unaffected by grid spacing.
The Laboratory Network

It is important to have a consistent physical network for all of the protocols examined in this text for three reasons
Incorporation of a nucleoside analog maps genome repair sites in post-mitotic human neurons

Neurons are the longest-living cells in our bodies, becoming post-mitotic in early development upon terminal differentiation. Their lack of DNA replication makes them reliant on DNA repair mechanisms to maintain genome fidelity. These repair mechanisms decline with age, potentially giving rise to genomic dysfunction that may influence cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. Despite this challenge, our knowledge of how genome instability emerges and what mechanisms neurons and other long-lived cells may have evolved to protect their genome integrity over the human life span is limited. Using a targeted sequencing approach, we demonstrate that neurons consolidate much of their DNA repair efforts into well-defined hotspots that protect genes that are essential for their identity and function. Our findings provide a basis to understand genome integrity as it relates to aging and disease in the nervous system.
An Energy-Efficient and High Throughput in-Memory Computing Bit-Cell With Excellent Robustness Under Process Variations for Binary Neural Network

In-memory computing (IMC) is a promising approach for energy cost reduction due to data movement between memory and processor for running data-intensive deep learning applications on the computing systems. Together with Binary Neural Network (BNN), IMC provides a viable solution for running deep neural networks at the edge devices with stringent memory and energy constraints. In this paper, we propose a novel 10T bit-cell with a back-end-of-line (BEOL) metal-oxide-metal (MOM) capacitor laid on pitch for in-memory computing. Our IMC bit-cell, when arranged in a memory array, performs binary convolution (XNOR followed by Bit-count operations) and binary activation generation operations. We show, when binary layers of BNN are mapped into our IMC arrays for MNIST digit classification, 98.75% accuracy with energy efficiency of 2193 TOPS/W and throughput of 22857 GOPS can be obtained. We determine the memory array size considering the word-line and bit-line nonidealities and show how these impact classification accuracy. We analyze the impact of process variations on classification accuracy and show how word-line pulse tunability provided by our design can be used to improve the robustness of classification under process variations.
Involvement and Brand Engagement Outcomes in Facebook Brand Posts: A Gender Twist: An Abstract

Over several decades, marketing researchers have worked to understand the nature of brand and consumer relationships (Aaker 1997; Fournier 1998). As Hollebeek (2014) notes, consumer “involvement” or “level of interest and personal relevance with a brand” plays a role in fostering brand communities, relationships, and brand loyalty in interactive or online environments. Using a conceptual framework based on the FCB grid and consumer involvement, the present research works to link salient brand/product characteristics to social media engagement using field data and a laboratory experiment.
Comparison of health record vitals and continuously acquired vitals data identifies key differences in clinical impression

Abstract This study aimed to investigate how intermittent ICU data documented by nursing in the electronic medical record (EMR) corresponds to that obtained from continuous data acquisition (CDA) and the differences in perception by medical providers. Both descriptive statistics and impact on decision-making were compared. We performed a secondary analysis of de-identified physiologic data collected as part of a study exploring the impact of dexmedetomidine adjunctive sedation on ICP and primary sedation dose (C3PO study). Data was in two sets, one derived from nurse charting in the health record, the other was continuous digital acquisition. We compared the number and timing of clinical events within each dataset that were outside the clinical treatment goals for that parameter. We also made graphs of concurrent 3-h periods from the two datasets and surveyed providers about their impressions and the need for intervention based on the visual review of the trends. Data consisted of 74,143 measures of ICP compiled from 40 neurocritically ill patients. We found no significant difference in overall means. The CDA dataset captured significantly more ICP elevation events defined as ICP >20 mmHg. Survey of ICU providers revealed that CDA data segments were perceived as “less controlled” and were more likely to be considered as “not meeting goals” for the vital parameter. We conclude that there are no significant differences in mean ICP measures between EMR and CDA vitals data, however, EMR data underreported the number of ICP elevation events and may not represent the overall patient exposure to out of goal vitals measures. We conclude that potentially significant differences exist between EMR and CDA data for ICU patients and that further consideration of this is needed in ICU trial design and as more machine learning and surveillance algorithms are developed for patient monitoring and predictions of deterioration.
Evaluation tool for assessing the influence of structural health monitoring on decision-maker risk preferences:

Different rationally behaving individuals can make different decisions even under same conditions. Concept of risk preference is one way of describing this discrepancy. Risk preference refers to th...
Oil Price Fluctuations and Current Accounts in Oil-Importing Countries: The Role of Financial Development

Recent empirical studies provide evidence that financial deepness or the lack thereof plays a significant role in the oil price-current account nexus for oil-exporting countries. While oil price fluctuations are known to negatively impact the current account positions of net oil-importing countries, their experience in relation to the level of financial development remains largely unaddressed in the literature. Relying on panel smooth transition regressions, this paper examines whether heterogeneous levels of financial development matter in explaining the sensitivity of current account to oil price fluctuations for a panel of 46 net oil-importing countries. The results show that the negative effect of oil price fluctuations on current accounts is non-linear and crucially depends on the degree of financial development of oil-importing countries. Specifically, oil price fluctuations exert a weaker impact on the current account position of more financially developed countries, this influence intensifies for less financially developed countries.
Disaggregating the Vegetables, Fruits and Nuts Sector to the Tariff Line in the GTAP-HS Framework

Computable general equilibrium (CGE) models provide valuable insights into economy-wide and aggregate sectoral impacts of trade policies. However, when it comes to the assessment of specific interventions, the level of aggregation in these models is often deemed too coarse to inform negotiations. For example, in the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) Data Base, all vegetables, fruits and nuts – over hundred individual commodities – are represented under one sector. Analysis at the tariff line level is typically provided by partial equilibrium (PE) models, which cannot, however, capture economy-wide effects. In this paper, we contribute to the development of the GTAP-HS framework, which comprises disaggregated values of output, trade flows and domestic absorption with supporting model components nested within the standard GTAP GE model. We construct the GTAP-HS database with GTAP vegetables, fruits and nuts sector disaggregated into 79 commodities. We apply this modelling framework to the assessment of the ongoing trade frictions between the United States and its trading partners. We find that there are significant advantages to using this nested approach to trade policy analysis, including possibilities of the trade policies assessment at the tariff line, representation of the commodity-specific substitution and avoidance of the ‘false competition’ critique.
How Movements Shape the Perception of Time.

In order to keep up with a changing environment, mobile organisms must be capable of deciding both where and when to move. This precision necessitates a strong sense of time, as otherwise we would fail in many of our movement goals. Yet, despite this intrinsic link, only recently have researchers begun to understand how these two features interact. Primarily, two effects have been observed: movements can bias time estimates, but they can also make them more precise. Here we review this literature and propose that both effects can be explained by a Bayesian cue combination framework, in which movement itself affords the most precise representation of time, which can influence perception in either feedforward or active sensing modes.
Reticle floorplanning with guaranteed yield for multi-project wafers

With the dramatic increase in mask costs, multi-project wafers have became an attractive choice for low-volume chip fabrication. By using the same set of masks to fabricate a number of different chips, the mask-set cost is amortized among different chip providers, leading to significant cost reduction especially for chip prototyping. In this paper, we present a new algorithm for reticle floorplanning with wafer yield guarantees. The previous approach of Kahng et al. considers optimizing both the reticle area and the wafer yield, leading to suboptimal solutions with no yield bounds. By contrast, we consider the yield as a constraint and optimize the area accordingly. We characterize yield constraints and provide a mechanism through which yield can be incorporated into an optimal-area packer. The incorporation of yield constraints prunes large parts of the search space of the optimal-area packer, leading to runtime-efficient optimal-area floorplans with guaranteed yields. Empirical results demonstrate that our approach dominates previous results, i.e., we give floorplans that consume less area and have higher die yields. For the 10 benchmarks, we achieve a yield improvement of 14% with an area reduction of 2%.
Obesity-related hospitalization costs to the U.S. Navy, 1993 to 1998.

The objective of this work was to estimate the cost to the U.S. Navy for obesity-related hospital admissions by examining (1) inpatient utilization associated with obesity; (2) the rank order, probability, and total facility costs of obesity-related diagnosis-related groups (DRGs); and (3) expected inpatient expenses. The frequency and probability of inpatient events in the Navy's active duty population were derived from the Department of Defense's Retrospective Case Mix Analysis System. Medicare-based facility costs per DRG were estimated. These measures were combined in a decision-analytic model. Expected facility costs per obesity-related admission for active duty Navy personnel increased by age group from $3,328 for 18 to 24 year olds to $5,746 for 45 to 64 year olds. The annual avoidable inpatient cost for the Navy was estimated to be $5,842,627 for the top 10 obesity-related DRGs. Improvements to the Navy Physical Readiness Program and other interventions that may reduce obesity, obesity-related health care use, and the public economic burden should be pursued.
Aminoglycosides: Molecular Insights on the Recognition of RNA and Aminoglycoside Mimics:

RNA is increasingly recognized for its significant functions in biological systems and has recently become an important molecular target for therapeutics development. Aminoglycosides, a large class of clinically significant antibiotics, exert their biological functions by binding to prokaryotic ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and interfering with protein translation, resulting in bacterial cell death. They are also known to bind to viral mRNAs such as HIV-1 RRE and TAR. Consequently, aminoglycosides are accepted as the single most important model in understanding the principles that govern small molecule-RNA recognition, which is essential for the development of novel antibacterial, antiviral or even anti-oncogenic agents. This review outlines the chemical structures and mechanisms of molecular recognition and antibacterial activity of aminoglycosides and various aminoglycoside mimics that have recently been devised to improve biological efficacy, binding affinity and selectivity, or to circumvent bacterial resistance.
Attitude heading reference system with rotation-aiding visual landmarks

In this paper we present a novel vision-aided attitude heading reference system for micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) and other mobile platforms, which does not rely on known landmark locations or full 3D map estimation as is common in the literature. Inertial sensors which are commonly found on MAVs suffer from additive biases and noise, and yaw error will grow without bounds. The bearing-only measurements, which we call vistas, aid the vehicle's heading estimate and allow for long-term operation while correcting for sensor drift. Our method is experimentally validated on a commercially available low-cost quadrotor MAV.
Fly-ash-based controlled low-strength material (CLSM) used for critical microtunneling applications

A controlled low-strength material (CLSM) has been successfully used in two microtunneling applications. This CLSM, developed at the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES), is a mixture of ASTM Class C fly ash, ASTM Type I portland cement, bentonite, and water. The CLSM was first used during the microtunneling field trials at WES to stabilize a tunnel excavation while retracting the microtunneling machine through unstable, flooded, running sand. The void left by the retracted tunnel machine was filled with the CLSM to provide continuous support to the excavation and avoid settlement of the ground surface. Based on the success of the WES tests, the CLSM was used on a second microtunneling project in Newark, California. The CLSM was used to stabilize the soil surrounding the sheet-piled shaft that would be used to launch a microtunnel boring machine. The use of this fly-ash-based CLSM greatly improved the stability of the soils and safety of the shaft during the launch. The use of the CLSM also provided cost savings in excess of $100,000 on the Newark project.
A Communitarian Critique of the Warfare State: Implications for the Twenty-First-Century University:

This article contends that the relatively recent academic movement known as communitarianism can serve as a policy guide that could work catalytically on American cultural development of the sort that would loosen the tight military-industrial connection and in so doing aid the dismantling of the ‘warfare state.’ After chronicling the development of our current cultural circumstances, the authors demonstrate the possible contributions of communitarianism to a culture that raises community welfare among its list of policy priorities. They further argue that the deployment of community-oriented policy will require universities that engage students relative to the merits of communitarian theory.
The Endangered Clinical Teacher-Scholar: A Promising Update from One Dental School

Clinical dental faculty members' lack of scholarly activity not only impacts their ability to be promoted and retained in their institutions but limits the contributions they could make to clinical discovery. Contributing factors to this situation include the lack of purposeful mentoring and the widespread faculty shortages, which increase faculty workloads. One way to address this challenge is to develop and implement formal mentoring programs, endorsed by the dental school's administration, that use reward structures in which novice clinical faculty members are teamed with faculty members experienced in scholarly activity. The Clinical Research Scholars Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine has been in existence since 2008. Preliminary data from this program suggest that this has been a successful plan for increasing the scholarly activity of the clinical teacher-scholar. Although not without limitations, this program may serve as a model for other schools to consider as they encourage their own clinical faculty members to undertake research initiatives. Similar programs at dental schools across the country can enhance discovery, research, and treatment by expanding the number of researchers who are addressing the public's oral and systemic health needs.
Immunosuppressive Actions of 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3: Preferential Inhibition of Th1 Functions

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2-D3] is known to be an immunosuppressive hormone. This review primarily deals with in vitro and in vivo effects of 1,25-(OH)2-D3 and analogue, 1,25-dihydroxy-16ene-vitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2-16ene-D3], on T helper subsets type 1 (Th1) or type 2 (Th2) that have distinctive functional characteristics in humans. Th1 secrete interferon (IFN-gamma), interleukin (IL-2) and induce B cells to produce immunoglobulin IgG2a while Th2 secrete IL-4, IL-10 and induce the production of IgG1 and IgE by B cells. The sterol inhibits the secretion of IL-12, a cytokine produced by monocytes and B cells, which leads to the activation and differentiation of Th1. In addition, 1,25-(OH)2-D3 directly inhibits IFN-gamma secretion by Th1 clones while it has little effect on IL-4 secretion by Th2 clones. The analogue, 1,25-(OH)2-16ene-D3, is 100-fold more potent than 1,25-(OH)2-D3 in inhibiting IFN-gamma secretion but also has little effect on IL-4 secretion. In mice, when given in vivo, the sterol prevents the induction of spontaneous and induced autoimmune diseases and inhibits Th1 induce IgG2a responses. These actions of the vitamin D3 compounds suggest that it may have potential therapeutic applications in Th1-mediated clinical situations such as autoimmunity and transplantation.
Using Spatial Semantic and Pragmatic Fields to Interpret Natural Language Pick-and-Place Instructions for a Mobile Service Robot

We present a methodology for enabling mobile service robots to follow natural language instructions for object pick-and-place tasks from non-expert users, with and without user-specified constraints, and with a particular focus on spatial language understanding. Our approach is capable of addressing both the semantic and pragmatic properties of object movement-oriented natural language instructions, and in particular, proposes a novel computational field representation for the incorporation of spatial pragmatic constraints in mobile manipulation task planning. The design and implementation details of our methodology are also presented, including the grammar utilized and our procedure for pruning multiple candidate parses based on context. The paper concludes with an evaluation of our approach implemented on a simulated mobile robot operating in both 2D and 3D home environments.
Frequency selectable induction heating targets

This paper examines a scheme for developing frequency selectable induction heating targets for stimulating temperature sensitive polymer actuators. "Frequency selectable" implies that each target has a frequency at which it heats preferentially compared to other remaining targets. Single-turn conductors whose critical dimensions are small compared to their associated skin depth (over the frequency range of interest) are examined. One way to achieve selectivity with frequency is by designing each target to have the same self-inductance, while forcing the resistance of each target to differ from the previous one by a specified factor, /spl alpha/. In this way, a target driven at its R/L break-point frequency, will heat by at least a factor of (/spl alpha//sup 2/ + 1)/(2/spl alpha/) more than the remaining targets.
Climatic Fluctuations and Forecasting of Streamflow in the Lower Colorado River Basin1

Water-resource managers need to forecast streamflow in the Lower Colorado River Basin to plan for water-resource projects and to operate reservoirs for water supply. Statistical forecasts of streamflow based on historical records of streamflow can be useful, but statistical assumptions, such as stationarity of flows, need to be evaluated. This study evaluated the relation between climatic fluctuations and stationarity and developed regression equations to forecast streamflow by using climatic fluctuations as explanatory variables. Climatic fluctuations were represented by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). Historical streamflow within the 25- to 30-year positive or negative phases of AMO or PDO was generally stationary. Monotonic trends in annual mean flows were tested at the 21 sites evaluated in this study; 76% of the sites had no significant trends within phases of AMO and 86% of the sites had no significant trends within phases of PDO. As climatic phases shifted in signs, however, many sites had nonstationary flows; 67% of the sites had significant changes in annual mean flow as AMO shifted in signs. The regression equations developed in this study to forecast streamflow incorporate these shifts in climate and streamflow, thus that source of nonstationarity is accounted for. The R 2 value of regression equations that forecast individual years of annual flow for the central part of the study area ranged from 0.28 to 0.49 and averaged 0.39. AMO was the most significant variable, and a combination of indices from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans explained much more variation in flows than only the Pacific Ocean indices. The average R 2 value for equations with PDO and SOI was 0.15.
P300 and probability: comparison of oddball and single-stimulus paradigms.

Abstract The P300 event-related brain potential (ERP) was elicited with auditory stimuli in two different tasks. The oddball paradigm presented both target and standard stimuli; the single-stimulus paradigm presented a target but no standard tone stimulus, with the inter-target interval the same as that for the oddball condition. Target stimulus probability was manipulated in the oddball task in different conditions (0.10, 0.30, 0.50, 0.70, 0.90). The single-stimulus paradigm employed the same procedures such that the inter-target interval was identical as that for the oddball condition across changes in probability. P300 amplitude and latency were similar for both the oddball and single-stimulus procedures across probability levels. Correlations between the P300 values from each task mimicked those from test–retest comparisons for the oddball paradigm. The findings suggest that P300 from the single-stimulus paradigm responds to target stimulus probability in the same fashion as the traditional oddball. The implications of the single-stimulus technique are discussed in terms of applied contexts that require very simple ERP task conditions. © 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.
Gas chromatographic head-space assay of formic acid as methyl formate in biologic fluids: potential application to methanol poisoning

Abstract A rapid, sensitive gas chromatographic head-space method was developed for assay of biologic fluids for formic acid by its conversion to methyl formate. The flame ionization detector employed was sensitive to about 0.5 mg/liter formic acid and linear to at least 1000 mg/liter. The coefficient of variation was 6% or less from 5 to 1000 mg/liter. The method has potential application to methanol poisoning.
Polishing of beryllium capsules to meet NIF specifications

Beryllium (Be) and copper (Cu) doped Be capsules are being developed for ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). One approach uses bonding of machined Be parts while a second relies on sputter coating of Be onto a mandrel. Both approaches will require polishing in order to achieve the surface finish specifications required for ignition on NIF. This article describes a mechanical polishing process we have developed which achieves the needed surface finish for a Be NIF capsule. Characterization of the polished Be sphere is accomplished by a combination ofAFM spheremapping, x-radiography and optical techniques.
The Relationships among Sex-Role Orientation, Cognitive Complexity, and Tolerance for Ambiguity.

Two hundred and four female and eighty-seven male college students completed the Schroder and Streufert measure of cognitive complexity, Budner's Intolerance for Ambiguity Scale, and Bem's Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). It was hypothesized that subjects classified as androgynous and as cross-sexed would be more cognitively complex and more tolerant of ambiguity than sex-typed or undifferentiated subjects; and cognitive complexity and intolerance for ambiguity would be negatively correlated. The data indicated that male and female androgynous and cross-sexed subjects were more tolerant of ambiguity than sex-typed subjects and cognitively more complex than undifferentiated subjects. Cross-sexed subjects were more cognitively complex than sex-typed subjects. Cognitive complexity and intolerance for ambiguity were negatively correlated. The BSRI had differential power to predict cognitive complexity depending upon sex of subject.
The new local government of Germany

German municipal governmnt still in a state of transtion—much depnds on local officials' use of powers delegrated to them.
Evaluation of current clinical trial methodology in analgesimetry based on experts' opinions and analysis of several analgesic studies.

There is general agreement that the controlled clinical trial is the best method for analgesic evaluation. Current practice in clinical analgesimetry, however, varies considerably with regard to design, measurement of pain, and statistical analysis. We attempted to assess the degree of this diversity by a questionnaire survey of a sample of investigators who are currently conducting clinical pain studies. To examine how various statistical methods perform in practice, we reanalyzed data from four of our published analgesic studies using a number of standard methods. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1983) 34, 277–283; doi:10.1038/clpt.1983.168
Functions of the spermathecal muscle of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis☆☆☆

Abstract In female boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis, spermathecal filling was not affected by severing the spermathecal muscles. Females whose spermathecal muscles were severed 2 to 4 weeks after mating laid infertile eggs and resumed virginal ovipositional behaviour indicating the importance of this muscle in supplying sperm for egg fertilization. The presence of normal active sperm within the spermatheca in no way influenced ovipositional behaviour. In females whose spermathecal muscles had been severed, 22 per cent sperm displacement occurred after a second mating compared with 66 per cent for normal females. The physical displacement of sperm was thus largely dependent on a functional spermathecal muscle.
Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Tolerability After Single and Multiple Oral Doses of Varenicline in Elderly Smokers

Varenicline is a novel selective alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine partial agonist developed for smoking cessation. This study investigated the single- and multiple-dose pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of varenicline in elderly (> or = 65 years) smokers. Twenty-four elderly smokers with normal renal function for their age (estimated creatinine clearance > or = 70 mL/min) received varenicline 1 mg once daily (n = 8) or placebo (n = 4) for 7 days, or 1 mg twice daily (n = 8) or placebo (n = 4) for 6 days with a single dose on day 7 in a double-blind, parallel group and placebo-controlled design. There was no evidence of concentration- or time-dependent changes in varenicline pharmacokinetics upon repeat dosing. Once- and twice-daily dosing was associated with an approximate 2-fold and 3-fold increase, respectively, in systemic exposure to varenicline. Varenicline was well tolerated; all adverse events reported were mild to moderate in intensity. Thus, no dose adjustment is necessary based on age alone.
An Ada deadlock testing algorithm based on control and communication flow graphs

Some deadlock testing strategies have been proposed. They statically analyze the structure of concurrent programs, specifically of Ada, without requiring program execution. They are Static Concurrency Analysis, Task Interaction Graph Analysis and Ada Petri Net Analysis. The primary problem with all these strategies is that their worst-case complexity in both computation time and memory space is exponential. Besides, all these strategies are not powerful enough to analyze all of Ada's programming features. The algorithm defined in this thesis, on the other hand, is a new approach for deadlock testing, which is proposed to be less complex in time and space, and is powerful enough to identify most kinds of deadlocks. The algorithm detects an Ada program's deadlocks by analyzing the program's control and communication flow graph. A control and communication flow graph is a two-dimensional graph which displays control flows within each task and communication between any two tasks. The algorithm is even enhanced by facilitating regression testing. It is based on the philosophy of partial reanalysis, instead of complete reanalysis, as changes are made to the code that affect program structure and parallel behavior. This becomes especially important as programs becomes larger and analysis costs become more expensive. The space complexity of the algorithm is as small as $O(n)$ in terms of the number of tasking related statements. On the other hand, the space complexity of other algorithms is exponential. The time complexity of the algorithm defined in this thesis is $O(n)$ for inconsistency deadlocks and $O((2n)(2\sp{n}))$ for circular deadlocks. The other algorithms are exponential for both inconsistency and circular deadlocks. With mechanism of regression testing, the time complexity is even reduced as to analyzing only the part that is altered or affected by a program modification. In addition to less complexity, the algorithm is powerful enough to detect most Ada deadlocks. Since a C&C flow graph is closer to its original code, the algorithm also provides more intuitive information to the programmers/testers.
Isolation of cellulose from the cyst wall of a soil amoeba.

Abstract This paper describes the isolation and identification of a cyst-wall component of a soil amoeba, Acanthamoeba sp. The component is identified as cellulose on the basis of its chemical and physical properties. Cytochemical evidence for “masking” of the cellulose in vivo is presented and the significance of this masking effect is discussed.
Crystal structure of CD1a in complex with a sulfatide self antigen at a resolution of 2.15 A.

CD1 antigens bind a variety of self and foreign lipid and glycolipid antigens for presentation to CD1-restricted T cell receptors (TCRs). Here we report the crystal structure of human CD1a in complex with a sulfatide self antigen at a resolution of 2.15 A. The lipid adopts an S-shaped conformation, with the sphingosine chain completely buried in the A′ pocket and the fatty acid chain emerging from the interface of the A′ pocket into the more exposed F′ pocket. The headgroup is anchored in the A′-F′ junction and protrudes into the F′ pocket for TCR recognition. Because the A′ pocket is narrow with a fixed terminus, it can act as a molecular 'ruler' to select alkyl chains of a particular length.
Delegation: getting it right to lead successfully.

Leaders need to lead. They can’t do everything themselves and they can’t effectively (or successfully) micromanage a large number of people within a large organization. Failure can occur with either too much or too little delegation. This chapter will focus on how to find the middle way.
Rutherford back scattering surface analysis of nuclear waste glasses after one year burial in STRIPA

Abstract Two simulated nuclear waste glasses, ABS-41 and ABS-39, with glass/glass, glass/bentonite, and glass/Pb burial interface configurations are examined by Rutherford Back Scattering (RBS) after a 1 year burial in deep granite boreholes (STRIPA mines, Sweden) at constant temperatures of 10 °C and 90 °C. RBS data analyses confirm the formation of a thin, silica-rich, reaction layer at the glass surface resulting from Na and B depletion due to ion-exchange between the glass and the surrounding media. Multiple valence cations concentrate within the silica-rich layer, with the exception of U, which is depleted from the surface region. Increases in burial temperature accelerate the extent of glass surface reactions as does wet, compacted bentonite at the interface. Pb interfaces precipitate Pb salts and (x)PbO-(y)SiO 2 reaction products at the glass surface.
Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) Task Force Spring 1992 Meeting

The Spring 1992 Meeting of the Coalition Task Force took place on 24–25 March 1992 in Washington, DC. Over 350 individuals from over 200 institutions and organizations attended. A total of 159 institutions and organizations now belong to the Coalition Task Force, and 87% of them were represented at this Meeting. Ten institutions and organizations attended this meeting as new members of the Task Force and seven individuals travelled from outside North America to attend.
Reproduction in a patient with trisomy 8 mosaicism: Case report and literature review

We describe a patient with trisomy 8 mosaicism followed through a sixth pregnancy and discuss issues in phenotypic and genotypic variability, the risk for neoplasia, and reproductive risks.
Phonation interval modification and speech performance quality during fluency-inducing conditions by adults who stutter

Purpose To relate changes in four variables previously defined as characteristic of normally fluent speech to changes in phonatory behavior during oral reading by persons who stutter (PWS) and normally fluent controls under multiple fluency-inducing (FI) conditions.
50 Years Ago in CORR: Suppurative Arthritis of the Hip Joint in Infants Benjamin E. Obletz, MD CORR 1962;22:17–33

Prior to early detection of infections, widespread use of antibiotics, and vaccinations against Haemophilus influenzae in industrialized countries, hematogenously spread suppurative arthritis of the hip in infants was common. It remains a common and frequently devastating complication in the developing world, particularly if it is diagnosed late [2, 3]. In 1962, Obletz commented in a CORR article, “Despite widespread use of antibiotics, this disease is seen all too frequently, and usually it results in severe and permanent crippling” [4]. He reported 26 patients, whom were followed 3 to 15 years (one patient was lost to followup). Only two of the 25 followed patients healed without radiographic deformities, and 12 of the 15 patients had substantial destruction of the head and/or neck of the femurs. Antibiotics, Obletz remarked, controlled the septicemia but not the infection within the hip. He concluded, “It is felt that early evacuation of pus from the infected hip joint, preferably by surgical drainage, will protect the cartilaginous femoral head from destruction.” He did mention the possibility of repeated aspirations, rather than open surgery, but did not comment on the relative merits of such treatment.
The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull: Lightning and plume charge structure

Six Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) stations were deployed in April 2010 around Eyjafjallajokull volcano in southern Iceland. Single-station LMA observations were made during the first explosive period (14–18 April), and three-dimensional LMA observations were made during the second explosive period (5–22 May). The single-station observations revealed that continuous RF electrical activity caused by high rates of small vent discharges occurred during the first explosive period, but not the second, indicating that the strength of vent charging varied between the first and second explosive periods. During the second explosive period, very little lightning was detected between 5 and 10 May, while moderate rates of lightning were detected between 11 and 21 May, signaling that another change occurred on 11 May that affected plume electrification. The data do not make clear if it was changing eruptive activity or changing meteorological activity that resulted in the sudden onset of lightning. The plume charge structure during the second explosive period was inferred from the three-dimensional lightning data, showing that the dominant charge structure varied between a positive monopole and a negative-over-positive dipole. The predominance of a low-altitude region of positive charge and the observation that electrical activity was concentrated near the vent indicate that net positive vent charging was dominating the electrification.
Clinical Use of Stentless Aortic Valves With Standard and Minimally Invasive Surgical Techniques

The stentless porcine aortic valve prostheses have the potential to provide superior hemodynamic function and durability. Our institution was a trial site for the investigational device exemption (IDE) for 2 of the 3 stentless valve bioprostheses and has clinical experience in all 3 valves that are soon to be available. From July 1996 to January 2001, we have implanted 213 porcine stentless valves: the Toronto SPV (159), the Freestyle (20), and the Prima Plus (34) (current IDE). Fifty-five percent of these patients had concomitant coronary artery bypass graft procedures, 44% had isolated aortic valve replacements, and 3 patients required aortic valve and mitral valve procedures. Fifty-nine percent of the patients were men, 9% of procedures were reoperations, and 22% of patients were in New York Heart Association classification III or IV preoperatively. Extubation occurred within 5 hours for 52% of patients, median cardiothoracic intensive care unit length of stay was 1 day, and postoperative length of stay was 6 days. Reoperations for bleeding occurred in 5.3% of patients (0 in the past 12 months), atrial fibrillation in 28.2%, and permanent neurologic deficit in 1.9%. No patients required valve-related reoperations or had either sepsis or sternal infections. Operative mortality was 1.4%. We have also analyzed a subset of patients who had minimally invasive aortic valve replacement versus the standard approach and found no important differences in mortality (none), postoperative complications, cardiopulmonary bypass, or cross-clamp times. There was a trend towards earlier ambulation, less atrial fibrillation (15.8% v 24.1%), and earlier hospital discharge (5.6 days v 7.2 days). We conclude that excellent results were obtained with all 3 stentless aortic valve bioprostheses. Hospital events should be predictably low in elderly patients and those requiring concomitant procedures. Stentless aortic valve bioprostheses can be incorporated into regular cardiac surgical practice with the techniques described.
Interleukin-1α released from HSV-1-infected keratinocytes acts as a functional alarmin in the skin

Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) is a human pathogen that utilizes several strategies to circumvent the host immune response. An immune evasion mechanism employed by HSV-1 is retention of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the intracellular space, which blocks the pro-inflammatory activity of IL-1β. Here we report that HSV-1-infected keratinocytes actively release the also pro-inflammatory IL-1α, preserving the ability of infected cells to signal danger to the surrounding tissue. The extracellular release of IL-1α is independent of inflammatory caspases. In vivo recruitment of leukocytes to early HSV-1 microinfection sites within the epidermis is dependent upon IL-1 signalling. Following cutaneous HSV-1 infection, mice unable to signal via extracellular IL-1α exhibit an increased mortality rate associated with viral dissemination. We conclude that IL-1α acts as an alarmin essential for leukocyte recruitment and protective immunity against HSV-1. This function may have evolved to counteract an immune evasion mechanism deployed by HSV-1.