cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A novel strategy for synthesis of Al powder comprising of Al nanoflakes via ultrasonication of Al foil.

Abstract Aluminum (Al) nanopowders have potential applications as hydrogen storage medium, energetic materials, pigments, and for production of metal matrix parts via powder metallurgy, to name a few. They are synthesized by methods which are either expensive or result in the product with impurities. A novel methodology based on ultrasonication of commercially available Al foil has been developed for synthesis of Al powders. Al foil was immersed in an organic medium and subjected to ultrasonication in a 160-watt bath ultrasonicator operated at 35 kHz frequency. Morphological, crystal structural, and dimensional characterization of ultrasonicated Al was carried out with the help of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic forces microscopy (AFM) respectively. Characterization results revealed that Al foil was eroded laterally as well as axially, resulting in the formation of micro and nanosized flake-like pure Al powder.
Design of Load Forecast Systems Resilient Against Cyber-Attacks

Load forecast systems play a fundamental role the operation in power systems, because they reduce uncertainties about the system’s future operation. An increasing demand for precise forecasts motivates the design of complex models that use information from different sources, such as smart appliances. However, untrusted sources can introduce vulnerabilities in the system. For example, an adversary may compromise the sensor measurements to induce errors in the forecast. In this work, we assess the vulnerabilities of load forecast systems based on neural networks and propose a defense mechanism to construct resilient forecasters.
Phase II Trial of Trifluridine/Tipiracil in Patients with Advanced, Refractory Biliary Tract Carcinoma.

Lessons learned Trifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) shows promising antitumor activity in heavily pretreated patients with advanced biliary tract carcinoma, including patients with 5-fluorouracil refractory tumors. FTD/TPI has an acceptable safety profile and should be studied further in patients with advanced biliary tract carcinoma after progression on standard first-line therapy. Background Patients with advanced biliary tract carcinoma (BTC) refractory to first-line therapy lack an established second-line option. Trifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) has activity in both fluoropyrimidine-sensitive and -resistant tumors, which led us to conduct a single arm phase II trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of FTD/TPI for patients previously treated for advanced BTC. Methods Patients with advanced BTC previously treated with at least one line of chemotherapy were enrolled and treated with FTD/TPI until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint target was to have at least 6 patients who were progression free and alive at 16 weeks among 25 evaluable patients. Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), overall response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and toxicity. Results Of 27 evaluable patients, 59.3% received at least three prior lines of therapy, and 81.5% had previous exposure to fluoropyrimidine. Eight (32%, 95% confidence interval [CI], 14.9%-53.5%) patients were progression free at 16 weeks in the primary analysis population (n = 25), which met the predefined efficacy criteria. Median PFS and OS were 3.8 (95% CI, 2-5.8 months) and 6.1 (95% CI, 4.4-11.4 months) months, respectively. No objective responses were seen. There were no unexpected safety signals noted. Conclusion FTD/TPI demonstrated promising antitumor activity, with acceptable toxicity, in heavily pretreated patients with advanced BTC.
Wnt signaling determines body axis polarity in regenerating Hydra tissue

Abstract How an animal establishes its body axis is a fundamental question in developmental biology. The freshwater cnidarian Hydra is an attractive model for studying axis formation because it is radially symmetric, with a single oral-aboral axis. It was recently proposed that the orientation of the new body axis in a regenerating Hydra is determined by the oral-aboral orientation of the actin-myosin contractile processes (myonemes) in the parent animal’s outer epithelial layer. However, because the myonemes are not known to possess polarity, it remained unclear how the oral-aboral polarity of the axis would be defined. As Wnt signaling is known to maintain axis polarity in Hydra and bilaterians, we hypothesized that it plays a role in axis specification in excised Hydra tissue pieces. We tested this hypothesis using pharmacological perturbations and novel grafting experiments to set Wnt-derived signals and myoneme orientation perpendicular to each other to determine which controls axis formation. Our results demonstrate that Wnt signaling is the dominant encoder of axis information, in line with its highly conserved role in anterior-posterior patterning.
Caregiver Quality of Life Before and After Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy.

Background Cytoreductive surgery plus intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemotherapy (CRS+HIPEC) is a formidable procedure, often affecting the quality of life (QOL) of the caregiver as well as the patient. We explored the impact of quality of life and depressive symptom burdens of CRS+HIPEC caregivers prospectively. Study design Patient and caregiver dyads were both consented per IRB-approved protocol; CRS ± HIPEC was performed. The impact on QOL and depressive symptom burdens was assessed on patient-caregiver dyads via the Caregiver Quality of Life (CG QOL-C), CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression) instruments; pre-CS+HIPEC (T1), postoperative (T2), 6 (T3), and 12 (T4) months. Results Seventy-seven dyads were approached, with 73 participating. Both caregiver and patient depressive symptom trajectories changed significantly. CES-D means for caregivers were (T1-4): 15.1 (SE [standard error] 1.7), 15.0 (1.4), 10.3 (1.4), 13.1 (2.1), p = 0.0008; for patients were: 10.3 (SE 1.1), 13.7 (1.4), 9.0 (1.2), and 10.3 (1.5), p = 0.0002. Preoperatively, caregivers scored 4.8 points (SD 13.4) (p = 0.026) higher than patients. Patients experienced an increase in depression scores at the postoperative visit. At T3, both groups dropped to less concerning levels; yet caregiver CES-D scores increased again at T4 4.7 points (SD 12.5) higher than the patients, and financial well-being became worse from T1 to T3. Possible, probable, and “cases” of depression were higher for caregivers were at all measured time points. Conclusions Significant numbers of caregivers endured high depressive symptom burdens and financial concerns. Different caregiver-patient trajectories reflect the need for differential timing of supportive interventions. Evaluation of quality of life and impact of CRS+HIPEC procedures must move beyond assessment of only the patient.
Predicting the accuracy of asteroid size estimation with data from the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time

Abstract Recent work has shown that the correlation between SDSS colors and optical albedo can be used to estimate asteroid sizes from optical data alone. We revisit a correlation between SDSS colors and optical albedo for asteroids, with the albedo derived using WISE-based size estimates. Moeyens, Myhrvold & Ivezic (2020) showed that this correlation can be used to estimate asteroid sizes with optical data alone, with a precision of about 17% relative to WISE-based size estimates. We present here several more sophisticated data-driven models for the variation of optical albedo with colors and estimate the contribution of SDSS photometric errors to the albedo and size estimate uncertainties. We use the results of our analysis to predict that LSST data will enable asteroid size precision of about 15% relative to WISE-based size estimates. Compared to the accuracy of WISE-based size estimates of 15%–20%, the implied accuracy of optical size estimates, in the range 21%–25%, is thus only a factor of 1.3 to 1.4 worse. This size estimation accuracy is significantly better than commonly assumed for optical data and is due to accurate and homogeneous multi-band photometry delivered by modern digital sky surveys.
A narrative review of targeted therapy in meningioma, pituitary adenoma, and craniopharyngioma of the skull base

Management of solid tumors involving the skull base are primarily managed with surgery and radiation, though proximity to important vascular and neuroanatomic structures often limit the extent of resection and permissible radiation dose. Meningiomas are the most common primary brain tumor in adults, and although the majority of skull base meningiomas are low-grade, their location in proximity to critical anatomical structures precludes aggressive surgical resection, and larger tumors are often resistant to radiation treatment. In patients with clinically aggressive, unresectable meningiomas, several molecular biomarkers of angiogenesis, as well as genetic mutations (SMO, AKT1, PIK3CA, KLF4, POLR2, SMARCE1, and TRAF7), have been shown to play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of these tumors. Pituitary adenomas are commonly slow growing tumors that are amenable to surgical resection, but tumors with higher Ki67 proliferative indices are associated with an increased risk of relapse and resistance to standard therapies. Chemotherapeutic agents and checkpoint inhibitors have been trialed, albeit with limited success, to treat these aggressive pituitary adenomas. Craniopharyngiomas are categorized as adamantinomatous and papillary subtypes, each with unique molecular mechanisms that drive pathogenesis of these tumors, and have introduced the possibility that targeted therapies may be developed for improved neurologic and endocrinological outcomes. Skull base tumors that exhibit recurrence despite surgical resection and radiation treatment pose a unique challenge, and systemic agents offer a non-invasive option of treating tumors that are refractory to conventional approaches. Recent insights into the molecular aberrations that elucidate the pathophysiology of these difficult-to-treat tumors have provided potential therapeutic targets for drug delivery. In this review, the authors discuss promising therapies and current knowledge gaps needed for the development of effective targeted agents for meningioma, pituitary adenoma, and craniopharyngioma.
Histopathologic and Ultrastructural Findings in Human Myocardium After Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Recalcitrant Ventricular Tachycardia.

Background: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a novel treatment for refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT). While outcomes have been described in small studies, histological findings a...
Consultant assignment and routing problem with priority matching

Abstract The consultant assignment and routing problem is to simultaneously assign consultant supplies to client demands and determine the best traveling routes for consultants. Constraints to be considered include skill requirement, capacity limitation, fixed demand, and a maximum number of travel legs. This paper further takes into consideration priority matching, which restricts that clients can only be assigned to consultants with appropriate priority levels. In order to solve this problem, we present a decomposition algorithm named RMIP and a MIP-based neighborhood search algorithm. In addition, we extend an existing MILP formulation and compare our algorithms with it. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithms are evaluated on a hundred synthetic instances and twelve real-life instances. Computational results show that the modified MILP formulation is only suitable for solving small-scale instances and a part of the medium-scale instances. For large-scale and real-life instances, the proposed two algorithms are significantly superior to the MILP formulation in solution quality and computational time.
Osteopontin mRNA expression by rat mesothelial cells exposed to multi-walled carbon nanotubes as a potential biomarker of chronic neoplastic transformation in vitro

Abstract Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lung pleura primarily associated with inhalation of asbestos fibers. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are engineered nanomaterials that pose a potential risk for mesothelioma due to properties that are similar to asbestos. Inhaled MWCNTs migrate to the pleura in rodents and some types cause mesothelioma. Like asbestos, there is a diversity of MWCNT types. We investigated the neoplastic potential of tangled (tMWCNT) versus rigid (rMWCNT) after chronic exposure using serial passages of rat mesothelial cells in vitro. Normal rat mesothelial (NRM2) cells were exposed to tMWCNTs or rMWCNTs for 45 weeks over 85 passages to determine if exposure resulted in transformation to a neoplastic phenotype. Rat mesothelioma (ME1) cells were used as a positive control. Osteopontin (OPN) mRNA was assayed as a biomarker of transformation by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and transformation was determined by a cell invasion assay. Exposure to rMWCNTs, but not tMWCNTs, resulted in transformation of NRM2 cells into an invasive phenotype that was similar to ME1 cells. Moreover, exposure of NRM2 cells to rMWCNTs increased OPN mRNA that correlated with cellular transformation. These data suggest that OPN is a potential biomarker that should be further investigated to screen the carcinogenicity of MWCNTs in vitro.
New Balance of Payments: Features and Implications

It is shown how the limitations of Historical Statistics and other studies are overcome. Also, the book takes advantage of numerous data sources not in predecessors, including available statistics neglected in the earlier studies, newly published data, and unpublished material to which the author was granted access. The importance of paper-dollar denomination and disaggregation is emphasized. New series developed in the book are described and the implications of the table for economic structure and specific sectors are outlined.
Incremental Value of Live/Real-Time Three-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiography Over the Two-Dimensional Technique in the Identification of Accessory Liver Lobe Presenting as a Right Atrial Mass.

Abstract We describe an adult patient with a large right atrial mass which was found to have the same echotexture as adjacent liver tissue on two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (2DTEE). By using live/real time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (RT-3DTEE), we were able to examine the mass by meticulous virtual cropping and confirm the echotexture was similar to liver tissue throughout its extent. Three-dimensional virtual cropping also redemonstrated in a definitive manner that the mass was in continuity with liver. Thus, in our patient 3DTEE served to increase the confidence level of making a definitive diagnosis of a supernumerary lobe of liver. To the best of our knowledge, the incremental value of 3DTEE over 2DTEE in diagnosing a supernumerary liver lobe has not been reported previously. The mass was surgically resected and the findings confirmed as liver tissue by pathological examination.
The Commerzbank Tower: Analysis of Another Seminal Case

Standing at a height of 300 m, the Commerzbank Tower was also the tallest skyscraper in Germany and held that title for all of Europe from its erection in 1997 until 2005. The structure boasts a full-height atrium, nine four-story sky gardens, a Vierendeel truss structural system, and a double-skin facade. Together these features create a high-quality indoor environment that is less impactful on the environment because of reduced energy consumption and emissions compared to conventional high-rise office buildings. It is still considered the world’s first ecological office tower which contributes to its design added value, which this chapter presents as a second case study.
Are There Transition Costs to Closing a Public-Employee Retirement Plan?

Defined-benefit pension plans for state and local government employees have imposed rising costs and financial risk on government budgets. In response, some policymakers have proposed shifting newly hired public employees into alternate retirement plans, including 401(k)-style defined-contribution accounts. Some critics have argued that closing a pension plan to new entrants would impose transition costs on plan sponsors. When a pension has no new participants, the duration of the plans liabilities shortens. Shorter-term liabilities are generally funded with safer investments, and safer investments have lower expected returns. These lower returns, the argument goes, would force plan sponsors to increase contribution levels. In this study, I show that if a pension plan were closed to new hires, over time the duration of liabilities would shorten, and the portfolio used to fund those liabilities would become more conservative. However, the effects of these transition costs are so small as to be barely perceptible.
Investigating the Effects of Tablet-Based Math Interventions: A Meta-Analysis

There is debate over the effectiveness of using touch-screen tablet technology on overall student learning gains. This article provides a meta-analysis of studies that used tablets for the delivery of math interventions, programs, or apps to increase student math achievement. A total of 20 group design studies with 2,805 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, tablet-based math interventions provided moderate positive effects for student math gains. Significant moderator variables included participant ethnicity, and socio-economic status, selecting a specific app for use, minutes in intervention, dependent variable, and type of control group. Discussion focuses on the need for more rigorous methodology and reporting of participant and design variables in future studies and the implications for researchers and practitioners when using tablets as a delivery method for math interventions.
Ultrafast conformational dynamics of Rydberg-excited N-methyl piperidine.

We have observed the ultrafast conformational dynamics of electronically excited N-methyl piperidine (NMP) using time-resolved Rydberg fingerprint spectroscopy. Optical excitation at various wavelengths ranging from 212 nm to 229 nm leads to the 3s or 3p Rydberg states and induces coherent oscillatory motions with periods of about 700 fs. These coherent motions survive the internal conversion from 3p to 3s but then dephase on a time scale of a few oscillations. Intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution on a picosecond time scale leads to an equilibrium between two conformeric structures that are separated in binding energy by 0.09 eV. Model calculations using the DFT-SIC method are in excellent agreement with the experiments and identify the conformers as the chair and twist structures of NMP. The analysis of the equilibrium parameters at long time delays as a function of excitation wavelength allows for the extraction of thermodynamic parameters for the conformeric transformation. We derive an enthalpy of the chair to the twist reaction in the 3s excited state of 62 meV with an entropy of 19.70 Jmol-1K-1. An activation energy of 276 meV is also obtained with a kinetic model.
CD14 dependence of TLR4 endocytosis and TRIF signaling displays ligand specificity and is dissociable in endotoxin tolerance

Dimerization of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation factor 2 (MD2) heterodimers is critical for both MyD88- and TIR-domain–containing adapter-inducing IFN-β (TRIF)-mediated signaling pathways. Recently, Zanoni et al. [(2011) Cell 147(4):868–880] reported that cluster of differentiation 14 (CD14) is required for LPS-/Escherichia coli- induced TLR4 internalization into endosomes and activation of TRIF-mediated signaling in macrophages. We confirmed their findings with LPS but report here that CD14 is not required for receptor endocytosis and downstream signaling mediated by TLR4/MD2 agonistic antibody (UT12) and synthetic small-molecule TLR4 ligands (1Z105) in murine macrophages. CD14 deficiency completely ablated the LPS-induced TBK1/IRF3 signaling axis that mediates production of IFN-β in murine macrophages without affecting MyD88-mediated signaling, including NF-κB, MAPK activation, and TNF-α and IL-6 production. However, neither the MyD88- nor TRIF-signaling pathways and their associated cytokine profiles were altered in the absence of CD14 in UT12- or 1Z105-treated murine macrophages. Eritoran (E5564), a lipid A antagonist that binds the MD2 “pocket,” completely blocked LPS- and 1Z105-driven, but not UT12-induced, TLR4 dimerization and endocytosis. Furthermore, TLR4 endocytosis is induced in macrophages tolerized by exposure to either LPS or UT12 and is independent of CD14. These data indicate that TLR4 receptor endocytosis and the TRIF-signaling pathway are dissociable and that TLR4 internalization in macrophages can be induced by UT12, 1Z105, and during endotoxin tolerance in the absence of CD14.
Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) larval settlement in North Carolina: environmental forcing, recruit–stock relationships, and numerical modeling

Ecosystem-based fishery management requires an understanding of relationships between fisheries and environmental variability. The purposes of this study were to investigate (1) how environmental forcing drives variability in larval settlement of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus, (2) whether larval settlement data are useful for determining recruit–stock relationships, and (3) whether environmental data can be used to predict settlement. Megalopae settling on passive collectors in the Newport River estuary, NC, were collected nightly from September to November for 13 yr from 1993 to 2009. Observed settlement was compared with winds, tides, and predicted settlement (numerical model derived from environmental data) using cross-correlation analysis. Weather events associated with settlement pulses were also identified. Recruit–stock relationships were developed by comparing observed and predicted settlement indices to lagged NC fishery data. Settlement was positively correlated with winds from the northeast, southeast and south in 12 of 13 yr and with maximum duration nighttime flood tides in all years. Settlement pulses occurred when high pressure systems formed over the southeast USA (58% of pulses) or hurricanes (25%), and nearly all occurred during nighttime flood tides (85%). Significant recruit–stock relationships occurred between observed settlement and fishery landings (r2 = 0.96) and effort (r2 = 0.94) in wet years and catch per unit effort (r2 = 0.98) during dry years. The timing of settlement pulses, but not the magnitude of annual settlement, was successfully predicted using the settlement model. These results suggest that blue crab fisheries in NC are influenced both by larval settlement and post-settlement processes (freshwater inflow).
School Consultants as Agents of Social Justice for Multicultural Children and Families

This article discusses some of the social justice issues that multicultural students and families encounter that are directly relevant to school consultation practice. The issues include culturally fair education, fair expectations of the child from the family and school, fair assessment, evidence-based intervention, and evaluation of responsiveness to intervention for culturally/linguistically diverse (CLD) students. A case study is provided that illustrates how an ecological framework is useful in understanding the challenges multicultural children face and what consultants can do to promote social justice. Consultants are encouraged to (a) diligently increase their own multicultural competency; (b) actively consider the social, economic, environmental, political, and cultural contexts of consultation; (c) be mindful of school-specific social justice issues in consultation practice; (d) promote fair collaboration between the school and CLD families; and (e) advocate for just treatment for CLD children.
Courthouse Iconography and Chayesian Judical Practice

This contribution to a symposium on Judith Resnik and Dennis Curtis’s Representing Justice considers what courthouse imagery and design might be appropriate for “Chayesian” judicial practice. The imagery and design that Resnik and Curtis examine largely connotes traditional litigation - lawsuits that are bi-polar, retrospective, and self-contained. However, judicial practice is increasingly Chayesian - concerned with forward-looking efforts to coordinate multipolar problems with sprawling party structures. Traditional iconography is inadequate to Chayesian practice because it celebrates equilibrium and communicates information about cases one-by-one. By contrast, Chayesian intervention often induces productive disequilibrium and it can only be made transparent through expression that aggregates information across individual claims. I suggest that a promising source of inspiration for an iconography of Chayesian practice would be modern factory design in the style associated with the Toyota Production System. Toyota-style manufacturing has produced a self-conscious and sophisticated set of visual principles designed to express and implement the disequilibrating and aggregating features that the Toyota approach shares with Chayesian judicial practice.
Accomplishments and Challenges in Code Development for Parallel and Multimechanics Simulations

The Methods Development Group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has historically developed and supported software for engineering simulations, with a focus on nonlinear structural mechanics and heat transfer. The quality, quantity and complexity of engineering analyses have continued to increase over time as advances in chip speed and multiprocessing computers have empowered this simulation software. As such, the evolution of simulation software has seen a greater focus on multimechanics and the incorporation of more sophisticated algorithms to improve accuracy, robustness and usability. This paper will give an overview of the latest code technologies developed by the Methods Development group in the areas of large deformation transient analysis and implicit coupled codes. Applications were run on the state of the art hardware available at the national laboratories.
Inositol trisphosphate production in squid photoreceptors. Activation by light, aluminum fluoride, and guanine nucleotides.

Abstract The light-stimulated production of inositol triphosphate (IP3), via hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2), can be demonstrated in an in vitro preparation of isolated distal segments of squid photoreceptors. The retina is labeled with [3H]inositol (Szuts, E. Z., Wood, S. F., Reid, M. S., and Fein, A. (1986) Biochem. J. 240, 929-932), and the rhodopsin-containing distal segments are isolated in artificial cytosol. Within 2 s after a flash, IP3 levels increase 200% (corresponding to an intracellular increase of approximately 5 microM), and the lipid precursor PIP2 decreases by 50%. Inositol bisphosphate (IP2) levels increase later, as a breakdown product of IP3. IP3 response is light-dependent, saturating when 0.5% of the rhodopsin is photoactivated. Guanosine-5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate (GTP gamma S) binding demonstrates that the plasma membrane of most of the photoreceptor distal segments is intact or only transiently permeable. Membrane permeabilization enhances light-activated GTP gamma S binding but abolishes the light-activated IP3 production. Receptor-mediated production of IP3 is believed to be the result of a receptor-G-protein-phospholipase C cascade (i.e. Cockcroft, S., and Gomperts, B. D. (1985) Nature 314, 534-536). To test for G-proteins, we incubated the photoreceptors in AlF4- (an activator of G-proteins) in the dark. IP3 and IP2 were produced with a corresponding decrease in PIP2. Incubation with GTP or GTP gamma S, in hypotonic buffer, which causes transient leakiness, increased dark levels by IP3 by 50%. Addition of GTP in isotonic buffer enhanced the light-induced increase of IP3. These results localize the light-stimulated phospholipase C activity to the distal segments and suggest that a G-protein couples rhodopsin to phospholipase C.
Representation: The Problem for Structuralism

What does it mean to embed the phenomena in an abstract structure? Or to represent them by doing so? The semantic view of theories runs into a severe problem if these notions are construed either naively, in a metaphysical way, or too closely on the pattern of the earlier syntactic view. Constructive empiricism and structural realism will then share those difficulties. The problem will be posed as in Reichenbach’s The Theory of Relativity and A Priori Knowledge, and realist reactions will be examined, but they will be argued to dissolve upon scrutiny.
PATTERNS OF POSTZYGOTIC ISOLATION IN LEPIDOPTERA

I present patterns characterizing the evolution of intrinsic postzygotic isolation in Lepidoptera by analyzing data from the literature on genetic distance, strength of hybrid sterility and inviability, biogeography, and natural hybridization. Using genetic distance as a proxy for time, I investigate the time-course of the evolution of postzygotic isolation and the waiting times to particular hybrid fitness problems. The results show that postzygotic isolation increases gradually as species diverge, but that hybrid sterility evolves faster than hybrid inviability. The overwhelming preponderance of female-specific hybrid problems in Lepidoptera shows that Haldane's rule (the preferential sterility or inviability of the heterogametic sex) is well obeyed. Together the rates and patterns characterizing the accumulation of postzygotic isolation allow several tests of the composite theory of Haldane's rule. Interestingly, comparing these data with those from Drosophila reveals that Haldane's rule for sterility evolves as fast (if not faster) in Lepidoptera. Finally, I show that a substantial fraction of sympatric species hybridizes in nature and that the majority of these suffer some level of hybrid sterility or inviability.
The initial appearance of ossification in staged human embryos

Serial sections of 36 embryos aged six to eight postovulatory weeks (12 to 31 mm C. R. length) were examined. The clavicle and the mandible began to ossify during stage 18, 19, or 20, the clavicle (at least frequently) by means of two centers. The maxilla followed rapidly (stages 19, 20). The premaxilla was in continuity with the maxilla proper, either as a mesenchymal condensation or as an ossific area (stages 20, 21). The next elements to commence ossification were the humerus (stages 21, 22), the radius (stages 21, 23), and the femur, tibia, and ulna (stages 22, 23). By stage 23 the following were also undergoing ossification in at least some cases: interparietal, supra-occipital, anterior process of the malleus, the squamous temporal, palatine, medial pterygoid plate, zygomatic, frontal, vomer, scapula, and distal phalanges of the hand. Cellular invasion was found in the clavicle and in the bone collars of the radius, ulna, and femur at eight postovulatory weeks. The cartilages of the first pharyngeal arches (chondrifying at stages 18, 19) approached the median plane (stage 20) but did not fuse in the embryonic period proper; their cartilaginous tissue underwent localized hypertrophy by stage 23, but endochondral ossification did not occur until the fetal period.
Route to the tritiation of carbon atom-9 of carcinogenic fluorenylhydroxamic acids

The selective tritiation of the methylene carbon atom of the carcinogens, N-fluoren-3-yl-and N-fluoren-1-ylacetohydroxamic acid, has been investigated. The synthesis of N-[9-3H]fluoren-3-ylacetohhydroxamic acid involves hydrogenolysis of 3-aminofluoren-9-one to [9-3]fluoren-3-amine with LiAl3H4-A1C1-. The tritiated amine is oxidized to 3-nitro-[9-3H]fluorene with m-chloroperoxybenzoic and the labeled nitro compound is partially hydrogenated to the 3H-hydroxamic acid with 10% Pd–C catalyst in presence of acetic anhydride and triethylamine or dimethylaniline. N-[9-3H]fluoren-1-ylacetohydroxamic acid may be obtained from 1-aminofluoren-9-one by the same procedure. However, N-[9-3H]fluoren-2-ylacetohydroxamic acid cannot be prepared in this way because reduction of 2-aminofluoren-9-one with LiA1H4-A1C13 does not proceed beyond the alcohol, 2-aminofluoren-9-ol.
Blood will tell (won't it?): A century of molecular discourse in anthropological systematics

Being derived from the hereditary material, molecular genetic data are often assumed to be a source of sounder inferences about evolution than data from other kinds of investigations. This, however, tends to be taken in the absence of a clear knowledge of the evolutionary processes at work, the technical shortcomings, and the manner of deriving the specific conclusions. The history of biological anthropology shows that, from the beginning of the 20th century, grossly naive conclusions have been promoted simply on the basis that they are derived from genetics, without having been fully thought-out. A balanced consideration of the shortcomings as well as the advantages of genetic data are necessary for its proper integration into the advantages of genetic data are necessary for its proper integration into the field. When molecular and morphological data disagree, both must be re-examined carefully, for genetics has been used irresponsibly as a form of scientific validation, both in American society and in American science. Contemporary data bearing on the molecular relationships of the apes are note-worthy for their diversity in quality, and need to be evaluated in the light of molecular and microevolutionary theory.
Serial arrangement of ferrimagnetic nonlinear transmission lines

Nonlinear transmission lines (NLTLs) utilizing ferrimagnetic materials for microwave generation have been realized as a possible solid-state replacement to traditional high power microwave (HPM) sources. The nonlinearities present in the material, along with interaction between pulsed, azimuthal magnetic fields and static, axial-biasing magnetic fields provide microwave (mesoband) generation with peak powers exceeding 30 MW at 2-4 GHz center frequency with 25 kV incident pulse magnitude. Additionally, an incident pulse of several nanoseconds is sharpened to hundreds of picoseconds. This study focuses on a serial arrangement of two NLTLs with 5 ns electrical length separation. Tests with 25 kV incident voltage are performed with varying bias schemes for each NLTL structure. The lines are terminated into a 50 Ω matched load. Measurements taken before and after each NLTL provide insight to the behavior of the traveling pulse. Results regarding peak power, frequency of operation, and system delay are discussed.
The Spacewatch Wide-Area Survey for Bright Centaurs and Trans-Neptunian Objects

We have conducted a large-area search for the brightest members of the trans-Neptunian and Centaur/scattered-disk asteroid populations by reprocessing archival scans from the Spacewatch 0.9 m telescope at Kitt Peak. Our survey encompasses 331 scans taken from 1995 September to 1999 September and has a raw sky coverage of 1483.8 deg2. We discovered five trans-Neptunians and five Centaur/scattered-disk objects using an automated motion detection code. In addition, we serendipitously found four trans-Neptunians and two Centaur/scattered-disk objects that had been previously discovered. This survey is unique in that it involves a method that has a reasonable chance to reacquire its lost objects. In this paper we develop techniques to aid our understanding of our software efficiency and survey procedures. We use this understanding to "convolve" our raw sky coverage with our measured detection efficiency and a model of our scan coverage to estimate what fraction of survey areas can be considered "new." Our large sky coverage extends the cumulative luminosity function of the trans-Neptunians into a region previously constrained only by upper limits, and it allows a power-law fit to be attempted to the Centaur cumulative luminosity function. In objects per square degree brighter than R = 21.5, we find cumulative surface densities of Centaurs to be 0.017 ± 0.011, of trans-Neptunians to be 0.040 ± 0.018, and scattered-disk objects to be 0.007 ± 0.004. We extrapolate these values to estimate the number of each class in the ecliptic brighter than R = 21.5: 100 Centaurs, 400 trans-Neptunians, and 70 scattered-disk objects. Orbit analysis by the Minor Planet Center suggests that three of our five trans-Neptunians are resonators: 1998 VG44 is in the 3 : 2, 1995 SM55 appears to be in the 5 : 3, and 1998 SN165 appears to be in the 7 : 5 resonance.
Tchebycheff approximation of continuous functions by harmonic polynomials on conic sections

Abstract The problem of finding a best Tchebycheff approximation to a given continuous function f , defined on a compact portion of a plane conic section, from the set of harmonic polynomials of degree n or less is studied. It is shown that the Haar condition is fulfilled by such harmonic polynomials. Interesting relationships which exist between this problem and certain classical approximation problems are explored. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the theory.
Gender Differences in Smoking Cessation.

In recent years researchers have paid particularly close attention to factors that might differentially influence smoking cessation outcomes in men and women. The present paper reviews empirical findings on gender differences in smoking cessation with focus on 1) nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), 2) depression and anxiety factors, 3) post-cessation weight gain and body-shape concerns, 4) post-cessation withdrawal, and 5) the importance of social support during smoking cessation. The findings call for research to examine the effects of 1) booster sessions following the discontinuation of NRT, 2) depression-prevention interventions for smokers with a history of depression, 3) strategies to prevent weight gain and reduce concerns about weight gain, 4) initiating treatment early in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, and 5) social support variables in promoting or hindering smoking cessation success.
Trends in pharmacotherapy for neonatal hypotension.

Objective To determine trends in pharmacotherapy for neonatal hypotension in all infants and in extremely low birth weight (ELBW, birth weight 300-1000 g) infants. Study design We queried the Pediatric Health Information System database for all infants ≤28 days with a diagnosis code for hypotension that were discharged between January 2001 and December 2012. Patients were excluded if they had complex congenital heart disease or cardiac surgery, sepsis or meningitis, or had extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. We determined trends in pharmacotherapy for hypotension in all infants and ELBW infants, an especially vulnerable group. Results A total of 8019 hypotensive infants met study criteria. The 2 most prescribed medications were dopamine (65.3%) and dobutamine (19.9%). For 1487 hypotensive ELBW infants, the 2 most prescribed medications were dopamine (83.4%) and hydrocortisone (33%). During the study period, the use of dobutamine decreased, and hydrocortisone and vasopressin use increased for all infants and for ELBW infants. Conclusions Treatment of neonatal hypotension varies widely between institutions and individual practitioners, and pharmacotherapy for neonatal hypotension has changed over the past decade. Although dopamine and dobutamine were the most frequently used agents, their use has declined and the uses of hydrocortisone and vasopressin have increased.
Staggered-magnetization approach to spin-glasses

A method is developed to solve the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick infinite-ranged spin-glass model, considering the staggered magnetizations associated with the eigenvalue spectrum of the random interaction matrix as the spin-glass order parameters. It is shown that the spin-glass ordering is not associated with a macroscopic condensation of eigenstates, but instead each of the $N$ eigenstates acquires, below ${T}_{c}$, nonzero magnetization of $O(1)$.
An exploratory study of cognitive load in diagnosing patient conditions.

Objective. To determine whether the ways in which information is presented to physicians will improve their ability to respond in a timely and accurate manner to acute care needs. The forms of the presentation compared traditional textual, chart and graph representations with equivalent symbolic language representations. To test this objective, our investigation involved two studies of interpreting patient conditions using two forms of information representation. The first assessed the level of cognitive effort (the outcome variable is known as cognitive load), and the second assessed the time and accuracy outcome variables. Participants. Our investigation consisted of two studies, the first study involved 3rd and 4th year medical students, and the second study involved three board certified physicians who worked in an intensive care unit of a metropolitan hospital. Design. The first study utilized an all-within-subject design with repeated measures, where pretests were utilized as control covariate for prior learning and individual differences. The second study utilized a random sampling of records analyzed by two physicians and qualitatively evaluated by board-certified intensivists. Results. The first study indicated that the cognitive load to interpret the symbolic representation was less than those presented in the more traditional textual, chart and graphic form. The second study suggests that experienced physicians may react in a more timely fashion with at least the same accuracy when the symbolic language was used than with traditional charts and graphs. Conclusions. The ways in which information is presented to physicians may affect the quality of acute care, such as in intensive, critical and emergency care units. When information can be presented in symbolic form, it may be cognitively processed more efficiently than when it is presented in the usual textual and chart form, potentially lowering errors in diagnosis and increasing the responsiveness to patient conditions.
Deriving and visualizing the lower bounds of information gain for prefetch systems

While prefetching scheme has been used in different levels of computing, research works have not gone far beyond assuming a Markovian model and exploring localities in various applications. In this paper, we derive two lower bounds of information gain for prefetch systems and approximately visualize them in terms of decision tree learning concept. With the lower bounds of information gain, we can outline the minimum capacity required for a prefetch system to improve performance in respond to the probability model of a data set. By visualizing the analysis of information gain, We also conclude that performing entropy coding on the attributes of a data set and making prefetching decisions based on the encoded attributes can help lowering the requirement of information tracking capacity.
A recognition masking study of consonant processing

The processing of consonants was investigated in a series of experiments using a recognition masking paradigm. Experiment I investigated the effects of target duration, interstimulus interval, forward vs. backward masking, and the phonetic feature composition of the target and mask on accuracy of target identification. Experiment II assessed consonant processing when the target and mask were presented dichotically in order to separate central and peripheral components of consonant masking. Experiment III investigated the effects of mask duration on consonant processing. Substantial masking was found in backward and forward diotic and dichotic conditions. Evidence for target-mask interaction at the level of phonetic features was also found.
Acute IGF-1 deficiency in multiple trauma victims

The circulating levels of IGF-1 in the catabolic flow phase of injury were measured in multiple trauma victims once before nutritional support and again after 4 days of intravenous feeding. The hypermetabolic and highly catabolic state of injury is characterized by a diminished level of IGF-1 along with increased levels of stress hormones. Inverse relationships of adiposity and aging on IGF-1 levels are seen both in injured and uninjured subjects. Feeding could restore the IGF-1 levels in non-obese, young patients but it is delayed in obese or elderly subjects. This diminished responsiveness to feeding of IGF-1 hormone deficiency in obese and elderly subjects should be taken into consideration in their post-trauma treatment and may warrant adjuvant administration in these types of patients.
Mucin-hypersecreting papillary cholangiocarcinoma presenting as abdominal wall abscess : CT and spiral CT cholangiography

We describe CT findings of a case of mucin-hypersecreting papillary cholangiocarcinoma (MHPC), with extrahepatic bile leakage to the rectus abdominis muscle via the ligamentum teres hepatis forming an abdominal wall abscess. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography was unsatisfactory. Spiral three-dimensional CT cholangiography was helpful in assessing the resectability of MHPC by offering anatomic details of the uninvolved biliary tree.
Flowering time: From photoperiodism to florigen

An Arabidopsis blue-light receptor, Cry2, has been found to play a critical role in the photoperiodic control of flowering time; and genes have been identified that may control the production of a transmissible flower-inducing signal, which may turn out to be the long-elusive putative flowering hormone 'florigen'.
The spinL-function on the symplectic groupGSp(6)

In this paper, we will study some essential analytic properties of the “spin”L-function on the symplectic groupGSp (6) (which is associated with the eight-dimensional spin representation of theL-group Gspin (7, ℂ), namely, uniqueness of a bilinear form on an irreducible admissible representation ofGSp (6)×GL(2), local functional equation, and meromorphic continuation, non-vanishing properties at non-archimedean places as well as at archimedean places. Consequently, we will determine the location of the possible poles of the global spinL-function of a generic automorphic cuspidal representation ofGSp(6).
Passive and active bodies in vortex-street wakes

We model the swimming of a finite body in a vortex street using vortex sheets distributed along the body and in a wake emanating from its trailing edge. We determine the magnitudes and distributions of vorticity and pressure loading on the body as functions of the strengths and spacings of the vortices. We then consider the motion of a flexible body clamped at its leading edge in the vortex street as a model for a flag in a vortex street and find alternating bands of thrust and drag for varying wavenumber. We consider a flexible body driven at its leading edge as a model for tail-fin swimming and determine optimal motions with respect to the phase between the body's trailing edge and the vortex street. For short bodies maximizing thrust or efficiency, we find maximum deflections shifted in phase by 90° from oncoming vortices. For long bodies, leading-edge driving should reach maximum amplitude when the vortices are phase-shifted from the trailing edge by 45° (to maximize thrust) and by 135° (to maximize efficiency). Optimal phases for intermediate lengths show smooth transitions between these values. The optimal motion of a body driven along its entire length is similar to that of the model tail fin driven only at its leading edge, but with an additional outward curvature near the leading edge. The similarity between optimal motions forced at the leading edge and all along the body supports the high performance attributed to fin-based motions.
Extension of the Goodman-Lance method of adjoints

The Goodman-Lance method of adjoints for solving two point boundary value problems of systems of non-linear ordinary differential equations is extended to handle the most general boundary conditions and specialized to several important subcases.