cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
O ato médico como interação simbólica

Introducao Este relato de caso convida a reflexao do ato medico como encontro social. A abordagem deste objeto empirico baseia-se na teoria interacionista simbolica e na teoria da etica. Do interacionismo simbolico sao adotados os conceitos de papel social, plateia, ordem da interacao e responsabilidade pessoal. Da teoria da etica sao adotadas a etica deontologica, virtualista e procedimental. Este caso evidencia que o sucesso clinico pode dever-se a eficacia do processo interativo simbolico desenvolvido no encontro medico-doente. Descricao do caso Adolescente do sexo feminino recorreu ao Servico de Urgencia (SU), acompanhada pela sua mae, por episodio de lipotimia. Nos ultimos dois meses, teria tido quatro episodios semelhantes, tendo ja recorrido ao SU pelo mesmo motivo. O exame objetivo e o estudo complementar revelaram-se normais. No decorrer da consulta, a adolescente transmitiu sinais de ansiedade, a qual parecia desajustada ao contexto clinico, indiciando causa nao revelada. Solicitou-se a mae que saisse do consultorio e, a sos com a adolescente, questionou-se se estava com algum problema na sua vida, sublinhado a importância da verdade na relacao medico-doente. Apos alguma hesitacao, desabafou que tinha namorado, relacao que a mae desconhecia, com o qual tinha relacoes sexuais desprotegidas. Referiu estar em amenorreia desde ha dois meses, o que muito a preocupava devido a possibilidade de estar gravida. Realizou-se teste de gravidez, cujo resultado foi negativo e recomendou-se que revelasse a mae aquela relacao afetiva. No final da consulta, foi reforcada a importância das relacoes sexualmente protegidas e contactou-se a sua Medica de Familia que agendou consulta de planeamento familiar. Comentario Este caso clinico reconhece a importância do interacionismo simbolico no sucesso do ato medico. Explora os papeis sociais desempenhados pelos intervenientes do encontro clinico e reconhece a importância da leitura de signos nao verbais em contexto de ambiguidade e de incerteza por omissao de informacao pelo doente.
Epicardial Unipolar Lead Loss of Ventricular Capture during Radiofrequency Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation.

Introduction. Abnormal pacemaker behavior can occur during radiofrequency ablation. The behaviors are varied and include loss of capture. The mechanisms in this context have not been well described in the literature. We describe a case of epicardial unipolar lead loss of ventricular capture during pulmonary vein isolation. Case History. A 48-year-old man with an epicardial dual chamber pacemaker and persistent atrial fibrillation presented for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of his abnormal rhythm. During RFA, intermittent loss of ventricular capture was witnessed. Review of the device settings prior to and after the procedure showed an increase in ventricular threshold after the procedure. Loss of capture was shown to be dependent on location and RF energy delivered. It was independent of QTc and independent of local cellular changes that would increase threshold. Conclusion We hypothesize the mechanism of loss of ventricular capture in this patient with an epicardial pacemaker with unipolar leads is related to intermittent shunt of voltage from the pulse generator to the grounding pad rather than the unipolar lead.
Characterization of the ALSEP Process at Equilibrium: Speciation and Stoichiometry of the Extracted Complex

We have determined the identity of the complexes extracted into the ALSEP process solvent from solutions of nitric acid. The ALSEP process is a new solvent extraction separation designed to separat...
Residential Proximity to Oil and Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in California: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 2006-2015 Births.

Background: Studies suggest associations between oil and gas development (OGD) and adverse birth outcomes, but few epidemiological studies of oil wells or inactive wells exist, and none in Californ...
Renal Cell Tumors: Molecular Findings Reshaping Clinico-pathological Practice.

Over the past 20 years, the number of subtypes of renal epithelial cell neoplasia has grown. This growth has resulted from detailed histological and immunohistochemical characterization of these tumors and their correlation with clinical outcomes. Distinctive molecular phenotypes have validated the unique nature of many of these tumors. This growth of unique renal neoplasms has continued after the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumours. A consequence is that both the pathologists who diagnose the tumors and the clinicians who care for these patients are confronted with a bewildering array of renal cell carcinoma variants. Many of these variants have important clinical features, i.e. familial or syndromic associations, genomics alterations that can be targeted with systemic therapy, and benignancy of tumors previously classified as carcinomas. Our goal in the review is to provide a practical guide to help recognize these variants, based on small and distinct sets of histological features and limited numbers of immunohistochemical stains, supplemented, as necessary, with molecular features.
Análisis de la bioseguridad frente la pandemia covid-19 y el impacto psicológico en profesionales de enfermería

La pandemia COVID-19, ha cambiado radicalmente, la actividad de los profesionales de salud que se han visto en la obligacion de enfrentar situaciones de elevada complejidad y estres, por extensas jornadas de atencion y falta de equipos de proteccion individual, constituyendose un riesgo ocupacional, por la eminente exposicion al virus; generando un reto en los mecanismos de adaptacion y regulacion emocional, para mantener una optima salud mental. Sin embargo, el bienestar psicologico de estos profesionales se ha visto severamente afectado, por la elevada tension asistencial y algunas necesidades que salieron a flote sobre todo en temas de bioseguridad y capacitacion continua, asi como en algunos casos la baja calidad de insumos, que no generaba la seguridad suficiente, durante la atencion a pacientes COVID-19. Asociado a esta realidad, hay que considerar que la falta de estos elementos, como su uso prolongado, a su vez genera “en cascada” una serie de problemas que multiplican las fuentes de estres y exacerban los efectos daninos para la salud mental del personal de enfermeria, los cuales han experimentado varios niveles de ansiedad, insomnio y depresion que en algunos casos condujo al suicidio. Proteger al gremio de trabajadores del sector salud, es la medida mas trascendental para abordar la pandemia actual. Las intervenciones que de manera especial, promuevan el bienestar psicologico, deben implementarse de inmediato, las mujeres, las enfermeras y todos los trabajadores de primera linea requieren atencion especial para mitigar de alguna manera el fuerte impacto que estan experimentando.
The U.S. slave ship Ascension in the Río de la Plata: slave routes and circuits of silver in the late eighteenth-century Atlantic and beyond

From 1777 to 1812, slave ships carried nearly 70,000 captives to the Rio de la Plata; however, the main slave routes leading to Buenos Aires and Montevideo did not depart from Africa. The traffic d...
False Negative Rates in Benign Thyroid Nodule Diagnosis: Machine Learning for Detecting Malignancy.

Abstract Background Thyroid nodules are common; up to 67% of adults will show nodules on high-quality ultrasound, and 95% of these nodules are benign. FNA cytology is a crucial step in determining the risk of malignancy, and a false negative diagnosis at this stage delays cancer treatment. The purpose of this study is to develop a predictive model using machine learning which can identify false negative FNA results based on less-invasive clinical data. Materials and methods We conducted a retrospective medical record review at one academic and one community center. Inclusion criteria were thyroid nodules evaluated by ultrasound and FNA with a Bethesda II (benign) result or malignancy detected on pathology or FNA. Linear, non–linear, and ensemble models were generated with scikit-learn using 10-fold cross validation with repetition and compared with AUROC. The classification task was the prediction of malignancy using information acquired from less-invasive ultrasound and FNA. Results A total of 604 subjects met inclusion criteria; 38 were diagnosed with malignancy. Of all algorithms tested, a Random Forest method achieved the best AUROC (0.64) in separating benign and malignant nodules, though the improvement over other tested algorithms was not statistically significant. Conclusions A Random Forest model performed better than random chance using readily available data obtained via standard evaluation of thyroid nodules. The diagnostic probability threshold of this model can be varied to minimize false positives at the cost of increasing the number of false negatives. Future studies will prospectively evaluate the model's performance.
A Systematic Review of Research on Rural College Access Since 2000

Aligning with the NREA's "college and career readiness" research priority, this article presents a systematic literature review of 134 publications regarding the state of rural college access and choice research between the years 2000 and 2020. We use Perna's (2006) college choice model to guide our comprehensive summary of current themes as well as remaining challenges and opportunities. We find that publications generally failed to articulate the rural context in sufficient detail, that studies in the Appalachian region were overrepresented, and that a majority of publications focused on the roles of rural habitus or K-12 and community context in shaping college aspirations and enrollment for rural students. Future research should prioritize rural regions outside of Appalachia, rural youth of Color, rural forms of capital, and how higher education and social, economic, and political contexts impact rural college access and choice.
Le Corbusier Sketchbooks

(1982). Le Corbusier Sketchbooks. Journal of Architectural Education: Vol. 35, Open Issue, pp. 32-33.
The anthropology of transcultural storytelling: 'Oui mon commandant!' and Amadou Hampâté Bâ's ethnographic didacticism

This article examines the relationship between literary virtuosity and ethnographic exposition in Oui mon commandant! , the second volume of memoirs by Malian writer and anthropologist Amadou Hampâte Bâ. In this memoir, Hampâte Bâ recounts his early career as a colonial civil servant before beginning professional training in anthropology. He offers an in-depth ethnographic look at the political universe of French colonial bureaucracy while inserting carefully honed stories and vignettes designed to instruct non-African readers about “traditional” African cultures and about everyday life under colonial rule. I call this narrative strategy “ethnographic didacticism” and argue that it allows Hampâte Bâ to connect his prowess as a storyteller to a broader anthropological knowledge project while reimagining the African autobiography as a cross-disciplinary palimpsest. Further, I suggest that Oui mon commandant! ’s ethnographic didacticism provokes us to reimagine anthropology and cosmopolitanism as narratives of modernity with African genealogies.
Interfaces and Devices

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the major research areas in interfaces as they relate to modern-day electronics. Interfaces present an exceedingly complex and rich set of phenomena. Application of modern analysis tools on well-characterized samples is providing a basic understanding of many of the fundamental problems in the field. This basic understanding is the keystone to a whole new set of electronic devices of the future that will include novel high-speed and optoelectronic devices based on III–V semiconductors, superlattice sources and detectors, and more complicated device structures involving silicon. The key point is that the entire understanding of interfaces is dependent on the empirical understanding of these structures. In the future, advances are going to depend substantially on developing a better understanding of these microstructures as interfaces dominate devices at ultra large-scale integration dimensions. This activity will be driven by the need to go to ever smaller and more controlled devices to satisfy the demands of a society that is hooked on high technology. High-speed devices, new optoelectronics, and a continued decrease in the cost per electronic function are all dependent on developments in this field.
Expression, purification, and characterization of recombinant Escherichia coli pyridoxine 5'-phosphate oxidase.

Abstract A previously cloned pdxH gene from Escherichia coli coding for pyridoxine 5′-phosphate oxidase was transferred to a pET22b vector and expressed in E. coli HMS174(DE3) cells. The soluble overexpressed enzyme was rapidly purified in high yield using two chromatography columns with an overall purification of about 2.8-fold. The purified enzyme contained tightly bound FMN. The enzyme exhibited the same spectral properties and similar kinetic constants to those previously reported by G. Zhao and M. E.Winkler ( J. Bacteriol. 177, 883, 1995), but differed from the properties reported by other investigators. A rapid procedure was developed for preparing apoPNP Ox in high yield. Both the holo- and apoenzymes were homodimers. The molar absorbtivity coefficient for the protein was determined for the fully active apoPNP Ox from is amino acid composition. Using this value and the spectral properties of the bound FMN it was shown by three different methods that the dimeric enzyme contains two molecules of bound FMN per dimer and not one FMN as previously reported.
Deconstructing Duff and Phelps

Asked to take stock of Judge Posner's contribution to the law of business, one immediately thinks about his contribution to the recon ceptualization of antitrust and the development of law and economics. Asked to write about his most famous corporate law case, one faces a more difficult task. While Posner undoubtedly has written many learned and ingenious corporate law opinions, his only canonical opin ion is his dissent from Judge Easterbrook's majority opinion in Jordan v Duff and Phelps, Inc.1 Duff and Phelps considers whether a closely held firm must dis close to an employee-shareholder inchoate merger negotiations be fore buying shares from that shareholder, pursuant to an agreement that required the shareholder to sell back shares at a set price upon leaving the firm. The majority wanted to decide this case on simple grounds by employing a close-corporation exception to the general rule for publicly traded firms that no disclosure is required until the deal is basically done, because premature disclosure might destroy the deal or even prevent it from happening in the first place. The court concluded that disclosure yields less potential mischief in closely held firms, and that this militates in favor of earlier disclosure. To get here, however, Posner's dissent cleverly forces the majority to find a duty to disclose running from the firm to its employee-shareholder, which leads the court to address issues of employment-at-will and implied duties of good faith and fair dealing, and how they interact with fed eral securities laws. The result is an opinion that fundamentally alters corporate law for the worse. The legal combat between the two judges, which the third mem ber of the panel calls "lucid," "cogent," and "ingenious,"2 provides not
Violating R-Parity at the B-factory

Supersymmetry without R-parity contains new tree-level contributions to B-decays. A brief summary is provided of the current experimental bounds on those tree-level contributions which are relevant to B physics. Signals to look for are outlined in the context of CP violation and rare decays. For the first time, the signature of general R-parity violating models is described. B-factory experiments will provide an opportunity to look for this signal.
Studies on the progression and regression of coronary and peripheral atherosclerosis in the cynomolgus monkey. I. Effects of dipyridamole and aspirin.

Abstract The morphological and biochemical changes in the arteries of the cynomolgus monkey were investigated during the induction and regression of atherosclerosis. During the feeding of an atherogenic diet containing 2% cholesterol and 10% butter for 5 months, the animals developed fibro-fatty plaques which involved the coronary and peripheral arteries and caused significant luminal narrowing of these vessels. The induced aortic lesions contained increased amounts of free and esterified cholesterol, collagen, elastin, and calcium. These changes were associated with an elevation of plasma cholesterol and an increased net influx of plasma cholesterol and LDL into the aorta. Dipyridamole (10 mg/kg) and aspirin (50 mg/kg) had no effect on the arterial uptake of plasma LDL and cholesterol and did not protect against atherosclerosis in any of the vessels examined. During the regression period (low cholesterol diet) of 12 months duration, the induced lesions became more fibrotic and calcified while the cellularity and lipid content of the same lesions decreased. As a result of these changes there were no significant decreases in the atherosclerotic narrowing of the coronary and peripheral vessels. The net influx of plasma LDL and cholesterol into the aorta returned to normal during the regression period. This finding together with the slow rate of aortic cholesterol equilibration suggests that the retention of cholesterol in the regressed aortic lesions is due to a defect in cholesterol transport rather than to an abnormality in intimal permeability. The addition of dipyridamole and aspirin to the regression diet did not alter the course of the atherosclerosis.
Law enforcement accreditation - A national comparison of accredited vs. nonaccredited agencies

Abstract Since the implementation of the Commission on Accreditation for Law-Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) in the early 1980s, numerous works have been dedicated to the discussion of police accreditation. Unfortunately, most of those works have been merely discussion of accreditation or empirical evaluations of officers' perceptions on the accreditation process. This study provides a comparison of specific agency characteristics between accredited and nonaccredited law-enforcement agencies. The research approach used in this study involved the use of secondary data in a cross-sectional design. Data were collected from the Law-Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 1993: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers (LEMAS) and CALEA's April 1998 list of accredited agencies. Results identified five variables which were significantly different in accredited vs. nonaccredited agencies. Those variables were field training hours, minimum educational requirements for starting officers, policy for drug-testing-sworn police applicants, the operation of a special drug unit, and the operation of a special child-abuse unit.
Current-Algebra Calculation of the Decay Processes ϕ → K + K ¯ , K A → K + ω , and K A → K + ϱ

The new technique of Schnitzer and Weinberg for treating hard-pion processes is applied to the calculation of processes involving $K$ mesons. Each decay formula obtained in this approach is a function of the ratio $\frac{{F}_{K}}{{F}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}}$ and a free parameter. By fitting the experimental data on the decay widths, it is found that the ranges of the parameters entering in the present calculation agree with the range of parameter found by Schnitzer and Weinberg. It is also found that the value of $\frac{{F}_{K}}{{F}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}}$ lies in the range of 1.10 to 1.15.
Vitamin D3 induced alteration of microvillar membrane lipid composition

The lipid composition of microvillar membranes prepared from vitamin D3-treated and vitamin D3-deficient chick intestine has been investigated. Vitamin treatment results in an increase in the proportion of phospholipid in this target membrane as well as an alteration in the fatty acid composition of both membrane phospholipids and cholesterol esters. An increase in the weight percentage of several classes of phospholipid long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids results from vitamin treatment. The primary effect of vitamin treatment on cholesterol ester fatty acids appears to be in shorter chain species.
The contribution of self-reinforcement training and behavioral assignments to the efficacy of self-control therapy for depression

Four conditions were compared in a study attempting to assess the contribution of self-reinforcement training and behavioral assignments to the efficacy of a behavioral self-control program previously shown to be effective in alleviating moderate depression. Conditions were (1) self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and self reinforcement training (principles and assignments); (2) self-monitoring and self-evaluation training (principles and assignments); (3) didactic training of principles as in condition 1 without behavioral assignments; and (4) a control treatment—problemoriented, psychodynamic group psychotherapy. Forty-nine volunteer female subjects from the community were screened on Beck Depression Inventory and Research Diagnostic Criteria for unipolar, nonpsychotic depression. Two groups were conducted for each of the three structured self-control treatment conditions. One psychotherapy group was conducted. All groups met weekly for 12 weeks. Results based on the 39 participants who completed treatment indicated that all four conditions were equally effective in producing improvements on self-report and clinician measures of symptoms and severity of depression. All four treatments were equally effective in maintaining improvement at 3-month follow-up. Results are discussed in terms of the problem of identifying core components of effective therapy programs and of assessing them in future outcome studies.
Production/distribution system design with inventory considerations

This study addresses the design of a three-stage production/distribution system where the first stage includes the set of established retailers and the second and third stages include the sets of potential distribution centers (DCs) and potential capacitated suppliers, respectively. In this problem, in addition to the fixed location/operating costs associated with locating DCs and suppliers, we consider the coordinated inventory replenishment decisions at the located DCs and retailers along with the appropriate inventory costs explicitly. In particular, we account for the replenishment and holding costs at the retailers and selected DCs, and the fixed plus distance-based transportation costs between the selected plants and their assigned DCs, and between the selected DCs and their respective retailers, explicitly. The resulting formulation is a challenging mixed-integer nonlinear programming model for which we propose efficient heuristic solution approaches. Our computational results demonstrate the performance of the heuristic approaches as well as the value of integrated decision-making by verifying that significant cost savings are realizable when the inventory decisions and costs are incorporated in the production distribution system design. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 59: 172–195, 2012
Negative transcriptional regulation of PHO81 expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The PH081 gene product functions as an inhibitor of the cyclin-cyclin-dependent kinase pair, Pho80-Pho85, and is required for derepression of acid phosphatase-encoding gene (PH05) expression. PH081 is the only known regulator of this system whose transcriptional expression is regulated by the level of inorganic phosphate. This effect is mediated by the gene products of the PH04 and PH02 (BAS2, GRF10) genes which act as transcription factors. Fine structural analysis of the PH081 promoter region has revealed the existence of a negative regulatory sequence (NRS). That is, removal of this element causes an approx. 4-fold increase in PH081 expression. The NRS functions in either orientation, but only when located downstream from activation sequences. Interestingly, this element shows significant homology to a sequence present in the promoter of the PH08 gene, encoding a phosphate-repressible alkaline phosphatase. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) using whole-cell extracts and a NRS-containing DNA fragment detects a protein which specifically binds to this element.
GE-17ALTERATION OF THE p53 PATHWAY AND ANCESTRAL PROGENITORS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH TUMOR RECURRENCE IN GLIOBLASTOMA

To evaluate evolutionary patterns of GBM recurrence, we analyzed whole genome sequencing (WGS) and multi-sector exome sequencing data from pairs of primary and posttreatment GBM. WGS on ten primary-recurrent pairs detected a median number of 12,214 mutations which we utilized to uncover clonal structures, by analyzing the distribution of mutation cellular frequencies (the fraction of tumor cells harboring a mutation). On average, 41 % of the mutations were shared by primary and recurrence. The majority of shared mutations were clonal in both primary and recurrence, but we also observed many clonal mutations that were uniquely detected in either the primary or the recurrence. This raises the intriguing possibility that major tumor clones in the primary tumor and disease relapse both evolved from a shared ancestral tumor cell population. At least one subclone was identified in the majority of WGS samples, and we observed groups of mutations that were at low cancer cell fractions in both primary and recurrence, suggesting that both subclones evolved from the same ancestral tumor cells separate from the major clone ancestral cells. To address the possibility that the lack of overlap between subsequent tumors was due to intratumoral heterogeneity, we analyzed exome sequencing from a second tumor sector of seven primary and six recurrent tumors. We found that the majority of "second biopsy" mutations were not conserved between time points, suggesting that intratumoral heterogeneity did not explain the large number of mutations uniquely detected in primary and recurrence. The limited overlap of mutations in primary and recurrence provides evidence for ancestral tumor cell populations that could not be eradicated by therapy, while offspring cell populations contained unique mutations, were selectively killed by treatment and could therefore no longer be detected after disease relapse. This study has provided new insights into patterns and dynamics of tumor evolution.
The Stoics on Property and Politics

A.A. Long has recently argued that the Stoics pioneered two key notions of liberal political and economic thought: first, that every human individual per se is the rightful owner of at least one thing—his own person; and second, that human nature inclines us to acquire private property and to interact with one another in structured societies as property owners. For Long, these two claims are importantly connected, moreover, since it was by extending their particular conception of self-ownership to the external world that the Stoics arrived at a distinctive conception of private property and its importance for self-identity. Of course, one can take conceptions of rights of persons and rights to property as one’s starting points and arrive at a wide variety of political structures and systems, not all of them particularly liberal; but against the background of their philosophical predecessors, the Stoics’ adoption of these two notions would signal a striking shift of focus away from general communal interests to those of individuals in a manner typically espoused by liberal theorists. It might also, as John Cooper has pointed out in a different context, force us to redraw an important line of demarcation commonly thought to divide ancient from modern political theories. In Hegel’s influential formulation, for instance, ancient political theorists hold a conception of the state and its relations to its members that is “antagonistic to the modern principle in which the particular will of the individual, as absolute, is made the starting point.”
A Further Reexamination of the Vigilance Hypothesis with the Use of Random Shapes as Stimuli

Summary The study reported in this paper presents some additional questions concerning Miller and Bieri's vigilance hypothesis. By using randomly generated shapes rather than people as stimuli, it was felt that a replication of previous findings would bring into question the assumption that person perception is necessarily the underlying process being investigated in previous research. Since disliked shapes were perceived more complexly than liked ones (replicating a phenomenon found when persons are used as stimuli), the generality of the vigilance hypothesis was questioned. These results, then, were viewed as supporting the alternative justification hypothesis.
Systems dominated by cooperative processes, with applications to laser threshold and radiative instabilities

Abstract A condition for which cooperative processes can be dominate purely random processes is established, and a threshold relation obtained. It is shown that for this condition the system under consideration behaves in a manner markedly different from its normal behaviour. In particular, for photon processes the occurrence of anomalously large emissions of correlated, and in some instances coherent, radiation emitted from very hot, high-density systems is predicted. These emissions have been observed in several plasma experiments. For a gas laser, the laser threshold behavior as a function of the gas density is predicted and is found to agree well with experiment.
Using Poetry and Photography as Qualitative Data: A Study of a Psychiatric Hospital in China

The uses of photography and poetry in qualitative research are explored in this article. Selected findings of a photographic exploration of the first psychiatric hospital in China and poems written in response to these images are presented. The authors contextualize these findings with a discussion of the use of the arts in qualitative research, the history of poetry and photography as tools of social inquiry, and an exploration of poetic and photographic studies of mental illness. An in-depth discussion of the complex ethical dilemmas that this research presents is also provided.
Soil Consistence and Structure as Predictors of Water Retention

It is impractical to measure water retention for large-scale hydrologic, agronomic, and ecological applications or at the design stages of many projects; therefore, water retention estimates are often used. Field soil descriptions routinely include structure and consistence characterization. The objective of this work was to use the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) database to evaluate the potential for structural and consistence properties to serve as predictors of soil hydraulics properties. Total of =2140 samples were found that had (i) values of water contents at -33 kPa and -1500 kPa, (ii) structure characterized with grade, size, and shape, (iii) consistence characterized with dry and moist consistency, stickiness, and plasticity, and (iv) textural class determined in the field and from lab textural analysis. Because structural and consistence parameters were represented by categories rather than numbers, regression trees were used for recursive partitioning of the data sets into groups to decrease overall variability measured as the sum of squared errors within groups. Plasticity class, grade class, and dry consistency class were leading predictors of water retention at both -33 kPa and -1500 kPa matric potentials. The accuracy of estimates from structural and consistence parameters was lower than from textural classes. Using soil structural and consistence parameters along with textural classes provided a small, although significant improvement in accuracy of water retention estimates as compared with estimation from texture alone. Soil structural and consistence parameters can serve as predictors of soil water retention because those parameters reflect soil basic properties that affect soil hydraulic properties.
Prostate-specific antigen and screening for prostate cancer

This article discusses prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and screening for prostate cancer. Topics explored include the history of PSA testing, the biology of PSA, clinical uses of PSA testing, improving the accuracy of PSA testing, and controversies in prostate cancer screening.
ENGINEERING CONTROLLABLE ANISOTROPY IN ELECTROSPUN BIODEGRADABLE NANOFIBROUS SCAFFOLDS FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL TISSUE ENGINEERING

Many musculoskeletal tissues exhibit significant anisotropic mechanical properties reflective of a highly oriented underlying extracellular matrix. For tissue engineering, recreating this organization of the native tissue remains a challenge. To address this issue, this study explored the fabrication of biodegradable nanofibrous scaffolds composed of aligned fibers via electrospinning onto a rotating target, and characterized their mechanical anisotropy as a function of the production parameters. The characterization showed that nanofiber organization was dependent on the rotation speed of the target; randomly oriented fibers (33% fiber alignment) were produced on a stationary shaft, whereas highly oriented fibers (94% fiber alignment) were produced when rotation speed was increased to 9.3m/s. Non-aligned scaffolds had an isotropic tensile modulus of 2.1+/-0.4MPa, compared to highly anisotropic scaffolds whose modulus was 11.6+/-3.1MPa in the presumed fiber direction, suggesting that fiber alignment has a profound effect on the mechanical properties of scaffolds. Mechanical anisotropy was most pronounced at higher rotation speeds, with a greater than 33-fold enhancement of the Young's modulus in the fiber direction compared to perpendicular to the fiber direction when the rotation speed reached 8m/s. In cell culture, both the organization of actin filaments of human mesenchymal stem cells and the cellular alignment of meniscal fibroblasts were dictated by the prevailing nanofiber orientation. This study demonstrates that controllable and anisotropic mechanical properties of nanofibrous scaffolds can be achieved by dictating nanofiber organization through intelligent scaffold design.
An analytical expression for the three-dimensional response of a point scatterer for circular synthetic aperture radar

Three-dimensional (3-D) spotlight-mode synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of point scatterers provide insight into the achievable effectiveness of exploitation algorithms given a variety of operating parameters such as elevation angle, azimuth or synthetic aperture extent, and frequency bandwidth. Circular SAR, using 360 degrees of azimuth, offers the benefit of persistent surveillance and the potential for 3-D image reconstruction improvement compared with limited aperture SAR due in part to the increase in favorable viewing angles of unknown objects. The response of a point scatter at the origin, or center of the imaging scene, is known and has been quantified for circular SAR in prior literature by a closed-form solution. The behavior of a point scatterer radially displaced from the origin has been previously characterized for circular SAR through implementation of backprojection image reconstructions. Here, we derive a closed-form expression for the response of an arbitrarily located point scatterer given a circular flight path. In addition, the behavior of the response of an off-center point target is compared to that of a point scatterer at the origin. Symmetries within the 3-D point spread functions (PSFs), or impulse response functions (IPRs), are also noted to provide knowledge of the minimum subset of SAR images required to fully characterize the response of a particular point scatterer. Understanding of simple scattering behavior can provide insight into the response of more complex targets, given that complicated targets may sometimes be modeled as an arrangement of geometrically simple scattering objects.
Solar Water Oxidation by Composite Catalyst/α-Fe2O3 Photoanodes

Electrodeposition of an amorphous cobalt catalyst layer over a high-surface-area α-Fe2O3 photoanode causes a more than 350 mV cathodic shift in the onset potential for photoelectrochemical water oxidation using this anode and simulated solar irradiation. The catalyst layer is shown to deposit conformally onto the mesostructured α-Fe2O3, leading to a large contact area at the interface between the two halves of the composite photoanode. Photoelectrochemical measurements show that the photocurrent generated from this composite photoanode still derives from α-Fe2O3 excitation but is now accessible at an external bias several hundred millivolts below what is typically required for α-Fe2O3 photoanodes alone, indicating a reduced external bias would be needed to drive overall water splitting. These results demonstrate modification of this prototypical photoanode material with a conformal layer of a competent electrocatalyst to separate the tasks of photon absorption and redox catalysis, a strategy that may have...
Conformation dependence of electronic structures of poly(ethylene oxide)

The electronic structure of pure poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) for four different polymeric chain conformations has been studied by Hartree-Fock (HF) and density functional theory (DFT) through the analysis of their valence band photoelectron spectroscopy (VB-PES), X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). It is shown that the valence band of PEO presents specific conformation dependence, which can be used as a fingerprint of the polymeric structures. The calculated spectra have been compared with experimental results for PEO powder.
Physico-mechanical behavior of self-cementing class C fly ash–clay mixtures

Abstract Self-cementing class C fly ashes are being increasingly used for soil stabilization of road bases and in other civil constructions. Because of their self-cementing capability in the presence of water, they can be used for clay subgrade improvement as cement surrogates, or as road subgrade material. However, for efficient and economic utilization of self-cementing class C fly ash, the physico-mechanical characteristics of these ashes must be determined extensively. This paper focuses upon the laboratory evaluation of the (1) stabilization characteristics of clay soils blended with self-cementing class C fly ash, and (2) residual self-cementation capabilities of ponded class C fly ash. Testing carried out by the authors and other researchers have indicated that curing time, curing condition, clay mineralogy, amount of fly ash and swelling potential in the soil-fly ash mix are the important variables that control stabilization characteristics. In this paper, the stabilization characteristics were evaluated in terms of the gain in the uniaxial compressive strength and stiffness, and swelling potential. To examine these effects, 12 set of mixtures of ideal clay soils with known percentages of kaolinite and montmorillonite, self-cementing class C fly ash and appropriate amount of water were compacted and cured. In the mixed samples, amount of montmorillonite varied from 0, 2, 4 and 6%, and the amount of self-cementing class C fly ash varied from 5, 10 and 20%. To investigate the effect of curing condition, three curing environments were used. For swelling test, the cured samples were inundated and allowed to swell at the seating pressure of about 2 kPa applied by the weight of the top porous stone and load plate using the one dimensional oedometer apparatus. In addition to the stabilization characteristics of clay soils-fly ash blend, the residual self-cementation capabilities of ponded class C fly ash were also investigated in terms of unconfined compression and CBR tests performed at 7 and 14 days of curing. Results obtained from these test were encouraging and compared favorably with the typical subgrade materials.
Hemodynamic and Body Composition Changes Following Bilateral Nephrectomy in Chronic Renal Failure

Six patients with severe chronic renal failure and hypertension were evaluated before and again 1 and 4 months following bilateral nephrectomy while being maintained with regular hemodialysis. Hemodynamic function and body composition were measured by isotope dilution with each study. The mean femoral artery blood pressure (B.P.) of 142 mm Hg fell to 136 mm Hg (P, ns) at 1 month and to 120 mm Hg at 4 months (P < 0.005). This was mainly reflected in a drop in mean diastolic pressure of 13 mm Hg at 4 months (P<0.025). Total peripheral resistance tended to decrease, whereas, cardiac index was unchanged. Four months after nephrectomy, however, ability to raise both cardiac output and mean B.P. with standardized exercise had increased (P<0.005). Changes in exchangeable Na+, K+, extracellular fluid, and total body water did not correlate with the change in B.P. Plasma volume showed a slight tendency to fall with the decrease in mean B.P. after nephrectomy despite constant body weight (P<0.1). It is concluded th...
Electron‐ion Coulomb scattering and the electron Landau damping of Alfvén waves in the solar wind

[1] All Alfven waves in the solar wind have parallel electric fields, which enable Landau damping. The Alfven waves' Landau resonate with very low energy electrons; low-energy electrons are easily trapped in the Alfven waves, and at low energies electron-ion Coulomb scattering is very rapid. Analytic fluid theory and numerical solutions to the linear Vlasov equation are used to determine the properties of Alfven waves (and kinetic Alfven waves) in the solar wind. Electrostatic potentials associated with the waves' parallel electric fields are found to be relatively large. Owing to the large potentials, electrons over a broad range of velocities interact with the wave to produce Landau damping. Because of this broad range, linear Vlasov theory is invalid and the Landau-damping rates computed via linear Vlasov theory may not be accurate. Electron velocity diffusion owed to electron-ion Coulomb scattering is analyzed. Electron diffusion times in the Alfven wave Landau resonance are calculated and are found to be faster than wave periods and much faster than Landau-damping time scales. Coulomb collisions should prevent the electron distribution function from evolving away from a Maxwellian form, and thereby Coulomb collisions act to maintain Landau damping (although at a rate different than that given by linear Vlasov theory). Some complications of this Landau-damping picture arise from the interplanetary electric field competing with the Alfven wave parallel electric fields and from ion beams near the Landau resonance.
Responses to Enhanced Wildlife Advisories in a Simulated Environment

Animal-vehicle collisions are a growing concern as vehicle miles traveled and human encroachment into wildlife habitat increase throughout the United States. Transportation agencies may consider driver-based measures to reduce these collisions as an alternative or an adjunct to measures such as fencing and wildlife passages. Driver responses to enhanced wildlife advisories in a simulated environment were examined in the interest of reducing animal-vehicle collisions. Eighty-one participants were divided by age and gender into four groups, each exposed to a different wildlife advisory sign treatment: a standard sign with the text "NEXT 20 MILES," a standard sign with flashing beacon with the text "NEXT 20 MILES," a variable message sign (VMS) with the text "ANIMAL CROSSING NEXT 20 MILES BE ALERT," or a combination of a VMS with the text "ANIMAL CROSSING NEXT 20 MILES BE ALERT," coming first, and a standard sign with flashing beacon with the text "NEXT 20 MILES" located approximately 6 mi after the VMS. Results indicate that with all enhanced sign treatments, speeds decreased and the onset of braking distance (i.e., reaction time) increased. The standard sign with flashing beacon caused a statistically significant speed reduction over that of the standard sign. The combination of VMS and a standard sign with flashing beacon was "positively identified" most often, resulted in the fewest collisions, and provided the greatest statistically significant onset of braking distance.
Regional changes in cns levels of the s-100 and 14-3-2 proteins during development and aging of the mouse.

The levels of the S-100 and 14-3-2 proteins were determined in a number of regions of mouse brain at intervals from 1 day to 30 months of age. Both S-100 and 14-3-2 were found in measurable amounts as early as the first day of postnatal age but did not begin to accumulate rapidly in the forebrain, brain stem and cerebellum of the mouse brain until some time between the 7th and 14th days. From days 14 to 28 the levels of S-100 and 14-3-2 in each region continued to increase rapidly with the exception of the forebrain where the rate of accumulation of S-100 appeared to lag considerably behind that in the other regions. The proteins continued to accumulate at a rapid rate until approximately 6 months of age. From 6 to 30 months of age, the levels of 14-3-2 remained relatively stable in cerebellum, hippocampus and hypothalamus and appeared to decrease slightly in striatum and cerebral cortex. In the case of S-100, the level of the protein increased in all regions of brain from 6 to 30 months but the increase was most pronounced in the hippocampus, hypothalamus and striatum. The principal conclusion derived from this study is that the biochemical development and aging of the central nervous system are regionally selective processes.
On the formation of an intermediate in the adenine phosphoribosyltransferase reaction

Summary Highly purified rat liver adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (EC 2.4. 2.7) exhibits an “initial burst” reaction in the presence of either PP-ribose-P or Mg-ADP indicating that the purified enzyme contains a bound phosphoribosyl group. The initial burst reaction was studied separately by inhibiting the overall reaction between PP-ribose-P and adenine with low incubation temperatures or EDTA. The results are consistent with a mechanism involving the intramolecular transfer of a phosphoribosyl group as the rate determining step.
Transient nucleation and bubble growth in immiscible liquid composites induced by counterdiffusion of gases

Abstract Supersaturation, homogeneous nucleation, and subsequent bubble growth and motion in immiscible liquid layers induced by counterdiffusion of gases at different temperatures are studied analytically. The range of the critical embryo size to initiate transient nucleation is determined between spontaneous and infinitely-slow nucleation. In addition, the ranges of bubble departure size and terminal rising velocity are evaluated together with the degree of superheat required for heat transfer to be the controlling mechanism. Numerical results are obtained for two special cases: (i) a composite with negligible surface resistances to heat and mass transfer, and (ii) a composite with one side insulated. The mechanics of microexplosion of emulsions is explained.
Thoracoscopic internal mammary artery harvest for MICABG using the Harmonic Scalpel.

Background. Thoracoscopic internal mammary artery (IMA) harvest is technically demanding, particularly on the left side. We have devised a Harmonic Scalpel (Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Cincinnati, OH) technique to facilitate this procedure, and describe our clinical experience here. Methods. The Harmonic Scalpel functions with ultrasonic energy, producing less smoke and lower heat than regular electrocautery. A total of 27 (22 left and 5 right) pedicles of the IMA in 23 patients were harvested from the upper margin of the first rib or higher to the lower margin of the fifth rib thoracoscopically using the Harmonic Scalpel with a hook blade. Results. In each case, the IMA harvest was completed thoracoscopically with only the Harmonic Scalpel, decreasing instrument transfers. Each vascular branch was coagulated without charring and was transected with excellent hemostasis. Smokeless views were provided. In the first 17 harvests, Doppler studies 3 months after the procedures demonstrated patent IMAs to the coronary circulation. Conclusions. The Harmonic Scalpel facilitates thoracoscopic IMA harvest and is expected to minimize hyperthermic damage of the IMA.