cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abdominal Lymphoma Presenting as Terminal Ileitis: A Case Report.

Abstract Background Most pediatric patients with lymphoma do not have classic symptoms of fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Lymphoma can present as vague symptoms and may mimic common pediatric abdominal emergencies. In this case report, we present a child who presented with abdominal pain and who was initially misdiagnosed as having a surgical emergency. Case Report An 11-year-old previously healthy male was referred to the pediatric emergency department after he presented to an outside hospital with 3 days of right lower quadrant pain and 1 episode of diarrhea. The initial concern was appendicitis. He had a computed tomography scan of the abdomen and pelvis that showed thickening of the bowel wall, peritoneal thickening, and a right pleural effusion. His laboratory assessments were only notable for a mildly elevated lactate dehydrogenase level of 506 units/L. He had a colonoscopy, and biopsy specimens obtained from the terminal ileum and cecum were negative. He developed worsening symptoms, and subsequently underwent laparoscopic biopsy procedures of the omentum and terminal ileum, which were consistent with Burkitt lymphoma. Why Should An Emergency Physician be Aware of This? We discuss the important oncologic findings of pediatric lymphoma, including oncologic emergencies and important laboratory and imaging tests that providers should consider while in the emergency department. This case highlights how pediatric lymphoma can mimic common pediatric pathologies providers often encounter in the emergency department.
Slug-to-churn vertical two-phase flow regime transition study using an interface tracking approach

Abstract Direct numerical simulation (DNS) coupled with an interface tracking method (ITM) is used to demonstrate the applicability of DNS to the study of vertical two-phase flow regime transition. The study focuses on the slug flow to churn-turbulent regime transition. PHASTA, a finite element based flow solver which utilizes the level set method for interface tracking, has been used to perform the presented simulations. A domain size study has been conducted in order to find pipe dimensions that match the natural wavelength of the periodic slug flow. A mesh resolution study has been completed. The results show that using DNS to simulate the slug-to-churn transition is within the capabilities of the code as the simulations agree well with experimental data and empirical knowledge. The simulations were analyzed to find flow features such as the velocity profile in the wake of a Taylor bubble and the bubble interface shape evolution during breakdown. An understanding of such features could help identify the driving physics behind the transition phenomenon.
Uncovering changes in proteomic signature of rat pelvic floor muscles in pregnancy.

Background Structural and functional changes of the rat pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy, specifically, sarcomerogenesis, increase in extracellular matrix content, and higher passive tension at larger strains protect the integral muscle components against birth injury. The mechanisms underlying these antepartum alterations are unknown. Quantitative proteomics is an unbiased method of identifying protein expression changes in differentially conditioned samples. Therefore, proteomics analysis provides an opportunity to identify molecular mechanisms underlying antepartum muscle plasticity. Objective To elucidate putative mechanisms accountable for pregnancy-induced adaptations of the pelvic floor muscles, and to identify other novel antepartum alterations of the pelvic floor muscles. Materials and Methods Pelvic floor muscles, comprised of coccygeus, iliocaudalis, and pubocaudalis, and nonpelvic limb muscle, tibialis anterior, were harvested from 3-month-old nonpregnant and late-pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats. After tissue homogenization, trypsin-digested peptides were analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectroscopy using nano-spray ionization. Peptide identification and label free relative quantification analysis were carried out using Peaks Studio 8.5 software (Bioinformatics Solutions Inc., Waterloo, ON, Canada). Proteomics data were visualized using the Qlucore Omics Explorer (New York, NY). Differentially expressed peptides were identified using the multi-group differential expression function, with q-value cutoff set at Results Unsupervised clustering of the data showed clear separation between samples from nonpregnant and pregnant animals along principal component 1 and between pelvic and nonpelvic muscles along principal component 2. Four major gene clusters were identified segregating proteomic signatures of muscles examined in nonpregnant vs pregnant states: (1) proteins increased in the pelvic floor muscles only; (2) proteins increased in the pelvic floor muscles and tibialis anterior; (3) proteins decreased in the pelvic floor muscles and tibialis anterior; and (4) proteins decreased in the pelvic floor muscles alone. Cluster 1 included proteins involved in cell cycle progression and differentiation. Cluster 2 contained proteins that participate in mitochondrial metabolism. Cluster 3 included proteins involved in transcription, signal transduction, and phosphorylation. Cluster 4 comprised proteins involved in calcium-mediated regulation of muscle contraction via the troponin tropomyosin complex. Conclusion Pelvic floor muscles gain a distinct proteomic signature in pregnancy, which provides a mechanistic foundation for the antepartum physiological alterations acquired by these muscles. Variability in genes encoding these proteins may alter plasticity of the pelvic floor muscles and therefore the extent of the protective pregnancy-induced adaptations. Furthermore, pelvic floor muscles’ proteome is divergent from that of the nonpelvic skeletal muscles.
Rapid Recovery After Total Joint Arthroplasty Using General Anesthesia.

Abstract Background Multiple papers have purported the superiority of spinal anesthesia used in total joint arthroplasty (TJA). However, there is a paucity of data available for modern general anesthesia (GA) regimens used at high-volume joint replacement centers. Methods We retrospectively reviewed a series of 1527 consecutive primary TJAs (644 total hip arthroplasties and 883 total knee arthroplasties) performed over a 3-year span at a single institution that uses a contemporary GA protocol and report on the length of stay, early recovery rates, perioperative complications, and readmissions. Results From the elective TJAs performed using a modern GA protocol, 96.3% (n = 1471) of patients discharged on postoperative day 1, and 97.2% (n = 1482) of subjects were able to participate with physical therapy on the day of surgery. Only 6 patients (0.4%) required an intensive care unit stay postoperatively. The 90-day readmission rate over this time was 2.4% (n = 36), while the reoperation rate was 1.3% (n = 20). Discussion Neuraxial anesthesia for TJA is commonly preferred in high-volume institutions utilizing contemporary enhanced recovery pathways. Our data support the notion that the utilization of modern GA techniques that limit narcotics and certain inhalants can be successfully used in short-stay primary total joint arthroplasty. Level of Evidence IV– Case series.
Effects of Kinetics and Optical Attenuation on the Completeness, Uniformity, and Dynamics of Monomer Conversion in Free-Radical Photopolymerizations

For free-radical photopolymerizations with a photobleaching initiator in an initially uniform layer illuminated from one direction, we incorporate nonuniform photoinitiation into a simple kinetic model to show how the degree of monomer conversion varies spatially and temporally with the incident light intensity (I0), the absorption coefficient (αA) and initial concentration (CA,0) of the photoinitiator, and the propagation (kp) and termination (kt) rate constants (taken to be independent of the degree of conversion). We show that the spatiotemporal variation of monomer conversion depends on two dimensionless parameters: the initial absorbance γ = αACA,0L, where L is the layer thickness, and β = kp[fCA,0/(φαAI0kt)]1/2, where φ is the quantum yield of photoinitiator consumption, and 0 ≤ f ≤ 2 is the number of primary radicals produced for each photoinitiator molecule consumed. For each value of γ, there is a minimum value of β beyond which a specified layer-averaged extent of monomer conversion is assured....
Inflammation Injury and Selected Disease Processes Causing Aortic Root and Aortic Valvular Inflammation

Marfan syndrome is an autosomal dominant disease. Its most common cardiovascular manifestation is ascending aortic aneurysm formation that can lead to acute type A aortic dissection, aortic rupture, or aortic regurgitation. Relapsing polychondritis, a rare disorder of unknown etiology, is characterized by inflammation and destruction of various cartilaginous structures, which can cause systemic vasculitis of the medium or large arteries, aortic regurgitation, and other cardiovascular complications. Seronegative spondyloarthritis comprises several diseases with common joint, ocular, and cardiovascular manifestations, including aortic regurgitation and atrioventricular or bundle branch conduction defects. Systemic lupus erythematosus, a multisystem autoimmune disease, causes inflammatory lesions in many organs; serious cardiac complications include pericarditis (sometimes with aortic or mitral valvular involvement), myocarditis, premature atherosclerosis, and spontaneous coronary artery thrombosis. Another autoimmune disorder, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, can cause thrombocytopenia but can also promote intravascular clotting, potentially resulting in spontaneous venous or arterial thrombosis. Takayasu’s arteritis may also have an autoimmune cause and manifests as intimal and adventitial thickening that narrows of the lumen of affected vessels—most often the aorta and its major branches—over a period of months to years. Giant cell arteritis usually involves medium-sized arteries; it can cause tender and swollen temporal arteries and a markedly elevated sedimentation rate. Affected persons are at risk of losing their vision if the disorder is not recognized and treated promptly with steroids. Syphilis in its tertiary phase can manifest as syphilitic aortitis; the classic clinical findings are a large, saccular ascending aortic aneurysm (with or without aortic regurgitation) and coronary ostial stenosis.
Abstract P3033: Sodium Induced Dopamine D1 Receptor (D1R) Plasma Membrane Recruitment Involves Protein Phosphatase 2a (PP2A) and Aminopeptidase N (APN)

The cooperative relationship between the dopamine type 1 receptor (D1R) and the angiotensin type 2 receptor (AT2R) signaling pathway in renal proximal tubule cells (RPTCs) is known as a significant...
Comparing in person and internet methods to recruit low-SES populations for tobacco control policy research.

Abstract Tobacco use and the associated consequences are much more prevalent among low-SES populations in the U.S. However, tobacco-based research often does not include these harder-to-reach populations. This paper compares the effectiveness and drawbacks of three methods of recruiting low-SES adult smokers in the Northeast. From a 5-year, [funding blinded] grant about impacts of graphic warning labels on tobacco products, three separate means of recruiting low-SES adult smokers emerged: 1) in person in the field with a mobile lab vehicle, 2) in person in the field with tablet computers, and 3) online via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). We compared each of these methods in terms of the resulting participant demographics and the “pros” and “cons” of each approach including quality control, logistics, cost, and engagement. Field-based methods (with a mobile lab or in person with a tablet) yielded a greater proportion of disadvantaged participants who could be biochemically verified as current smokers—45% of the field-based sample had an annual income of
How endogenous risk preferences and sample selection affect analysis of firm survival

The roles of selection and endogeneity in measured risk preferences are illustrated using the correlation between risk attitudes and firm survival. Selection bias occurs when risk attitudes are elicited only from current entrepreneurs so that the risk attitudes of unsuccessful entrepreneurs are excluded from the analysis. Risk attitudes measured after agents enter entrepreneurship will endogenously reflect business success. Data on entrepreneurs from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics shows that when risk attitudes are measured subject to selection and endogeneity, mixed or even positive correlations between risk acceptance and the probability of firm exit occur. However, firm exits fall monotonically with willingness to accept risk when risk preference measures are not subject to selection or endogeneity related to business success.
Some Analytic Results for Kimura Diffusion Operators

In this note, we prove several analytical results about generalized Kimura diffusion operators, L, defined on compact manifolds with corners, P. It is shown that the $\mathcal C^{0}(P)$-graph closure of L acting on $\mathcal C^{2}(P)$ always has a compact resolvent. In the 1d-case, where P = [0,1], we also establish a gradient estimate $\|\partial _{x} f\|_{\mathcal C^{0}([0,1])}\leq C\| L f\|_{\mathcal C^{0}([0,1])},$ provided that L has strictly positive weights at ∂[0,1] = {0,1}. This in turn leads to a precise characterization of the domain of the $\mathcal C^{0}$-graph closure in this case.
CHAPTER 15 – Immunoglobulin Assembly

Publisher Summary This chapter presents discusses how immunoglobulins are assembled. Immunoglobulins or antibodies are the chief protein products of the immune system. Immunoglobulin is synthesized by ribosomes associated with the endoplasmic reticulum and then localized between its membranes. The plasma cell, or the stimulated B cell, is the source of antibodies found in the serum. The cytoarchitecture of plasma cells reveals the essential organelles characteristic of cells that synthesize and secrete protein. The endoplasmic reticulum is particularly abundant, and the Golgi apparatus is well developed. Although information is only beginning to emerge, presumably the genetic constitution coded in the DNA of plasma cells dictates the precise structural features of the immunoglobulins that they produce. Any alterations in the genes leads to faulty plasma cell development and cytoarchitecture that is reflected later in the synthesis of abnormal immunoglobulins.
Free delivery care and supply-side incentives in Nepal’s poorest districts: the effect on prenatal care and neonatal tetanus vaccinations

In July 2005, Nepal introduced the ‘Safe Delivery Incentive Programme’, which included free delivery care and supply-side incentives for women in the poorest districts. Using a difference-in-differ...
Influences of Stress on Interactions with Decision Support

People regularly interact with automation to make decisions. Research shows that reliance on recommendations can depend on user trust in the decision support system (DSS), the source of information...
A lineage tree-based hidden Markov model to quantify cellular heterogeneity and plasticity

Cell plasticity, or the ability of cells within a population to reversibly alter their phenotype, is an important feature of tissue homeostasis during processes such as wound healing and cancer. Plasticity operates alongside other sources of cell-to-cell heterogeneity such as genetic mutations and variation in signaling. Ultimately these processes prevent most cancer therapies from being curative. The predominant methods of quantifying tumor-drug response operate on snapshot population-level measurements and therefore lack evolutionary dynamics, which are particularly critical for dynamic processes such as plasticity. Here we apply a tree-based adaptation of a hidden Markov model (tHMM) that employs single cell lineages as input to learn the characteristic patterns of single cell heterogeneity and state transitions in an unsupervised fashion. This model enables single cell classification based on the phenotype of individual cells and their relatives for improved specificity in pinpointing the structure and dynamics of variability in drug response. Integrating this model with a modular interface for defining observed phenotypes allows the model to easily be adapted to any phenotype measured in single cells. To benchmark our model, we paired cell fate with either cell lifetimes or individual cell cycle phase lengths (G1 and S/G2) as our observed phenotypes on synthetic data and demonstrated that the model successfully classifies cells within experimentally tractable dataset sizes. As an application, we analyzed experimental measurements of cell fate and phase duration in cancer cell populations treated with chemotherapies to determine the number of distinct subpopulations. In total, this tHMM framework allows for the flexible classification of single cell heterogeneity across lineages.
Clinical Evaluation in Prelicensure Baccalaureate Nursing Programs: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

AIM The aim of the study was to understand and describe how clinical nurse educators evaluate prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students in clinical practicums. BACKGROUND Clinical evaluation is used to determine nursing students' competency. There is no consensus about how competency is defined, which may lead to inconsistent clinical evaluation of students. METHOD Clinical nurse educators who evaluate baccalaureate nursing students in clinical practicums participated in semistructured interviews via a web-conferencing platform. RESULTS Three categories emerged from the data: decision-making about practicum grades, making final determinations of clinical competency, and clinical nurse educator training in the clinical evaluation process. Five subcategories emerged: determinants in process, relevance of time, issues with practices, deeming students competent, and relevance of course structure. CONCLUSION Implications for nursing education are offered related to the need for standardization in clinical evaluation.
Risk of Refractive Prediction Error After Cataract Surgery in Patients with Thyroid Eye Disease.

Purpose To investigate the risk of unexpected refractive prediction error after cataract surgery in patients with thyroid eye disease (TED) at the University of Colorado. Patients and methods A retrospective observational study was performed using records of patients who underwent cataract surgery (2014 to 2018) who were included in a Cataract Surgery Outcomes database. Any patient with documentation of thyroid eye disease (TED) in the medical record was classified as TED. Post-operative refraction error greater than or equal to ±1.0 diopter from the target refraction was the main outcome of this study. Eyes with history of refractive surgery, ocular trauma, retinal detachment, non-Graves' disease thyroid conditions or Graves' disease without TED, and eyes without refractive error at follow-up were excluded. Results A total of 5716 eyes from 3692 patients who underwent cataract surgery were analyzed. Sixty-five eyes of thirty-nine patients (1.1%) had TED. Former and/or current cigarette use was associated with having TED (p = 0.0504). Patients with TED had a statistically significant shorter axial length as compared to eyes without TED (p = 0.0257). Three hundred and forty-nine eyes (6.1%), including 9 eyes (13.8%) in patients with TED, had refractive prediction error greater than ±1.0 diopter following surgery (univariate OR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.1-5.7, p = 0.0274). After multivariate analysis controlling for race, tobacco use, combined surgery, and axial length, TED was associated with an increased risk of our primary outcome, refractive prediction error greater than ±1.0 diopter (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.0-5.7, p = 0.0506). Conclusion Patients with TED are at increased risk for refractive prediction error following cataract surgery. Discussion with patients regarding their risk and possible need for glasses following surgery is important for setting realistic patient expectations.
Metallization of TiO2(110) with Gold and Lithium

Gold and lithium have been deposited on clean, stoichiometric TiO2(110) to study the evolution of the electronic structure of the surface. For thermally deposited gold, X-ray and ultraviolet photoe...
An Interoperability Test Bed for Distributed Healthcare Applications

Standards provide the foundation for ensuring interoperability, but if they are not implemented correctly or consistently their value is diminished leading to problematic installations and higher costs. Conformance and Interoperability testing is essential for ensuring standards are implementable and implemented correctly; however, limited budgets often preclude adequate attention to this testing during the product development life cycle. Automated testing can help on both fronts. We propose an Internet-based interoperability test bed that extends a testing infrastructure and conformance testing framework. The operational aspects of the architecture are presented against the backdrop of distributed health information technology applications and a representative case study. Although the concepts and methods are applied to the healthcare domain, they have broad applicability.
Mo(bile) money, mo(bile) problems: analysis of branchless banking applications in the developing world

Mobile money, also known as branchless banking, brings much-needed financial services to the unbanked in the developing world. Leveraging ubiquitous cellular networks, these services are now being deployed as smart phone apps, providing an electronic payment infrastructure where alternatives such as credit cards generally do not exist. Although widely marketed as a more secure option to cash, these applications are often not subject to the traditional regulations applied in the financial sector, leaving doubt as to the veracity of such claims. In this paper, we evaluate these claims and perform the first in-depth measurement analysis of branchless banking applications. We first perform an automated analysis of all 46 known Android mobile money apps across the 246 known mobile money providers and demonstrate that automated analysis fails to provide reliable insights. We subsequently perform comprehensive manual teardown of the registration, login, and transaction procedures of a diverse 15% of these apps. We uncover pervasive and systemic vulnerabilities spanning botched certification validation, do-it-yourself cryptography, and myriad other forms of information leakage that allow an attacker to impersonate legitimate users, modify transactions in flight, and steal financial records. These findings confirm that the majority of these apps fail to provide the protections needed by financial services. Finally, through inspection of providers' terms of service, we also discover that liability for these problems unfairly rests on the shoulders of the customer, threatening to erode trust in branchless banking and hinder efforts for global financial inclusion.
Inhibition of Muscle Pyruvate Kinase by Creatine Phosphate

Abstract At neutral pH, concentrations of creatine phosphate comparable to those found in skeletal muscle and heart are highly inhibitory toward rabbit skeletal muscle pyruvate kinase. Creatine phosphate appears to be competitive with phosphoenolpyruvate with a Ki of 2.0 mm. That it is not a simple competition, however, is indicated by the following evidence. The inhibition is increased in the presence of high concentrations of ADP. ATP, a known inhibitor of pyruvate kinase, acts synergistically with creatine phosphate; that is, in the presence of both ATP and creatine phosphate the inhibition is much greater than the sum of the actions of the inhibitors separately. No synergism is seen between ATP and the inhibitory substrate analogue, 2-phosphoglyceric acid. The characteristics of the creatine phosphate effect are quite distinct from the inhibition noted previously with phenylalanine. Phenylalanine inhibition is maximal above pH 8.0 whereas creatine phosphate is more potent at neutral pH. Alanine, which reverses phenylalanine inhibition, has no effect on creatine phosphate inhibition. Phenylalanine does not inhibit the Mn2+-activated enzyme whereas creatine phosphate inhibition is more potent in the presence of manganous ion. Rabbit erythrocyte pyruvate kinase is only slightly inhibited by creatine phosphate. In the presence of the activator, fructose 1,6-diphosphate, the inhibition is much more pronounced. The results are discussed in relation to the regulation of muscle glycolysis and it is suggested that falling creatine phosphate levels may be one of the primary factors contributing to the increase in glycolytic flux that accompanies muscle contraction.
Experimental Conformation of the Basic Principles of Length-only Discrimination

We previously introduced the length-only discrimination (LOD) method for generate and search models of DNA computing. Here we report experimental confirmation of the validity of the basic operations of LOD method. We created a test graph consisting of four nodes and three edges, in which multiple paths are possible. Experimental results indicate that primitive operations required to implement LOD method work efficiently. We conclude that further work is needed to test the efficiency and practicality of applying LOD methodology to larger graphs.
Efficient algorithms for simplifying flow networks

Computing flows in a network is a fundamental graph theory problem with numerous applications. In this paper, we present two algorithms for simplifying a flow network G=(V,E), i.e., detecting and removing from G all edges (and vertices) that have no impact on any source-to-sink flow in G. Such network simplification can reduce the size of the network and hence the amount of computation performed by maximum flow algorithms. For the undirected network case, we present the first linear time algorithm. For the directed network case, we present an O(|E|*(|V|+|E|)) time algorithm, an improvement over the previous best O(|V|+|E|2 log |V|) time solution. Both of our algorithms are quite simple.
INDIFFERENCE VALUATION OF MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES IN THE PRESENCE OF PREPAYMENT RISK

We present a utility-based methodology for the valuation and the risk management of mortgage-backed securities subject to totally unpredictable prepayment risk. Incompleteness stems from its embedded prepayment option which affects the security's cash flow pattern. The prepayment time is constructed via deterministic or stochastic hazard rate. The relevant indifference price consists of a linear term, corresponding to the remaining outstanding balance, and a nonlinear one that incorporates the investor's risk aversion and the interest payments generated by the mortgage contract. The indifference valuation approach is also extended to the case of homogeneous mortgage pools.
Knowledge-Based Systems Application to Reduce Risk in Software Requirements

The development of complex large scale software systems begins with the elicitation and explication of requirements definitions between users and software systems engineers. Errors at this phase may account for 35 to 75 percent of the errors that will occur in software development. The development of requirements is probably flawed through failure in the processes of critical thinking on the part of the user and the design team. This leads to volatility in requirements in the form of imprecision, multiplicity, and conflict in quality goals. There exists a substantial need to provide a means for verification and validation (V&V) of requirements, particularly those factors that relate system characteristics to functionality factors. Risk related to these factors must be resolved if the error rate is to be reduced. Functionality goals have been classified and relationships established, a conflict matrix has been prepared, and a rule-set to apply the inference model has been constructed. The results of this work, on development of a knowledge-based system to resolve questions of risk in software requirements, show that substantial improvement in risk reduction is feasible by application of a rule-based system to reduce requirements volatility.
Dimensions of distress tolerance and the moderating effects on mindfulness-based stress reduction

ABSTRACTBackground and Objectives: This study examined the relationship between distress tolerance and psychosocial changes among individuals participating in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). The objective of the analysis was to discern whether individuals with lower distress tolerance measured before MBSR showed larger reductions in perceived stress following MBSR. Design and Methods: Data were collected from a sample of convenience (n = 372) using a quasi-experimental design. Participants completed self-report measures immediately prior to course enrollment and following course completion. Results: Perceived stress, distress tolerance, and mood states showed favorable changes from pre- to post-MBSR in the current study. Baseline distress tolerance significantly moderated reductions on perceived stress, supporting the primary hypothesis that individuals with lower baseline distress tolerance evidenced a greater decline in perceived stress following MBSR. For a one-unit increase on the self-repo...
Pointing Out Frequent Phrasal Verbs: A Corpus-Based Analysis

This study attempts to shed new light on one of the most notoriously challenging aspects of English language instruction—the English phrasal verbs. The highest frequency phrasal verb constructions in the 100-million-word British National Corpus are identified and analyzed. The findings indicate that a small subset of 20 lexical verbs combines with eight adverbial particles (160 combinations) to account for more than one half of the 518,923 phrasal verb occurrences identified in the megacorpus. A more specific analysis indicates that only 25 phrasal verbs account for nearly one third of all phrasal-verb occurrences in the British National Corpus, and 100 phrasal verbs account for more than one half of all such items. Subsequent semantic analyses show that these 100 high-frequency phrasal verb forms have potentially 559 variant-meaning senses. The authors discuss how learners, teachers, and materials developers might utilize the findings of the study to improve instruction of phrasal verbs in English language education.
Transmission Losses and Economy Loading by the Use of Admittance Constants

In order to operate a power system at optimum economy, the production costs and transmission losses must be coordinated. A straightforward derivation of the co-ordination conditions is given. A widely adopted method of finding transmission penalty factors used so-called "B-constants." These constants are not easily modified to consider changes in the transmission system or deviation from "base-case" system conditions. By starting with the equilibrium equation of a power system written in terms of admittance constants, a concise expression for the total losses of a power transmission system which does not neglect shunt paths to neutral or the effect of off-nominal turns ratios is developed. Following this same approach, an easily modified, approximate expression for the penalty factor is formed. Any errors incurred by using this approximate penalty factor are small when compared with the inaccuracy of the original data on production costs. Several test cases on hypothetical systems are given. The generation schedules for economic dispatch, using approximate penalty factors, compare quite favorably in actual hourly costs with the costs of schedules obtained by exact penalty factors.
Influence of progressive tumor growth on glutamine metabolism in skeletal muscle and kidney.

ObjectiveThe effects of progressive malignant growth on glutamine metabolism in skeletal muscle and in kidney were investigated.Summary Background DataFast-growing tumors consume considerable quantities of glutamine and lead to a decrease in circulating glutamine concentrations.MethodsExperiments we
Feedback systems and multiple time-scales

A study is conducted of feedback design for systems with multiple time-scale structure uncovering an intrinsic time-scale structure for a state feedback system with full state output. From this a multiple time-scale asymptotic observer and a system with state feedback via a two time-scale asymptotic observer is considered. Finally more general results for a restricted class of systems are obtained.
640 Gb/s all-optical logic functions in a PPLN waveguide

We demonstrate 640 Gb/s all-optical A and B, and A and B logic functions using pump depletion in a PPLN waveguide. Bit error rate measurements show the effectiveness of the scheme, with a penalty of < 2 dB.
Sex in a material world: why the study of sexual reproduction and sex-specific traits should become more nutritionally-explicit

Recent advances in nutritional ecology, particularly arising from Ecological Stoichiometry and the Geometric Framework for nutrition, have resulted in greater theoretical coherence and increasingly incisive empirical methodologies that in combination allow for the consideration of nutrient-related processes at many levels of biological complexity. However, these advances have not been consistently integrated into the study of sexual differences in reproductive investment, despite contemporary emphasis on the material costs associated with sexually selected traits (e.g. condition-dependence of exaggerated ornaments). Nutritional ecology suggests that material costs related to sex-specific reproductive traits should be linked to quantifiable underlying differences in the relationship between individuals of each sex and their foods. Here, we argue that applying nutritionally-explicit thought to the study of sexual reproduction should both deepen current understanding of sex-specific phenomena and broaden the tractable frontiers of sexual selection research. In support of this general argument, we examine the causes and consequences of sex-specific nutritional differences, from food selection and nutrient processing to sex-specific reproductive traits. At each level of biological organization, we highlight how a nutritionally-explicit perspective may provide new insights and help to identify new directions. Based on predictions derived at the individual level, we then consider how sex-specific nutrient limitation might influence population growth, and thus potentially broader patterns of life history evolution, using a simple population dynamics model. We conclude by highlighting new avenues of research that may be more accessible from this integrative perspective.
Electro-enzymatic synthesis of lactate using electron transfer chain biomimetic membranes

Abstract The biosynthesis of lactate from pyruvate has been used as a model system to demonstrate the applicability of electro-enzymatic membranes as electron transfer chain biomimetics. A key feature is the in situ regeneration of the coenzyme NAD(H). This electro-enzymatic reaction utilizes an immobilized enzyme system (lipoamide dehydrogenase (LipDH) and methyl viologen as a mediator) within porous graphite cathodes, encapsulated by a cation exchange membrane (Nafion ® 124, Dupont). The cathodic electrolyte contains the reaction mixture (pyruvate/lactate and co-products), the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and the co-enzyme NADH/NAD + system. Lactate yields up to 70% have been obtained when the reactor system was operated in a semi-batch (i.e. recirculation) mode for 24 h, as compared to only 50% when operated for 200 h in simple batch mode. The multipass, dynamic input operating scheme permitted optimization studies to be conducted on system parameters. These include concentrations of all components in the free solution, flow rates, and electrode configuration, i.e. its composition and transport characteristics. By varying system hydrodynamics in these membrane reactor systems, operating regimes that determine the controlling mechanism for process synthesis, i.e. transport versus reaction limitations, are readily identified. Procedures for developing operational maps are thus established.
Synergistic Effects of abiE or abiF from pNP40 When Cloned in Combination with abiD from pBF61

Two fragments conferring partial phage resistance were located on plasmid pNP40 from Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis biovar diacetylactis DRC3 and cloned. A 2.3-kb PstI fragment from pNP40 containing abiF conferred partial phage resistance to prolate-headed phage c2, and a 4.8-kb PstI fragment of pNP40 containing abiE conferred partial phage resistance to small isometric-headed phage sk1. When each of the two fragments was cloned individually into a plasmid containing the abortive phage infection gene abiD from L. lactis ssp. lactis KR5, phage resistance was enhanced. When cloned with abiD, the 2.3-kb PstI fragment enhanced the resistance against prolate-headed phages, as was indicated by a 400-fold decrease in the efficiency of plating compared with that of abiD alone. When the 4.8-kb PstI fragment of pNP40 was cloned with abiD, resistance to small isometric-headed phages was enhanced, as was indicated by a greater than 50-fold decrease in efficiency of plating compared with that of abiD alone. The 4.8-kb PstI fragment of pNP40 cloned with abiD showed a large decrease (500- to 1000-fold) in efficiency of plating against prolate-headed phages, even though the 4.8-kb PstI fragment of pNP40 by itself conferred no resistance to the prolate-headed phages.
Intracellular septate desmosome-like structures in a human acoustic Schwannoma in vitro.

The finding of intracellular septate desmosome-like structures in a human acoustic Schwannoma maintained in an organ culture system is detailed. These structures differ in their cellular location from the intercellular septate junctional complexes which have been described in invertebrates and in a few vertebrate tissues. They also differ from the inter- and intramitochondrial septate structures which have occasionally been reported, in that they are not related to mitochondria but rather to the cell plasma membrane. Intracellular septate complexes of this type have not previously been described.
Identification of low-Ca2+- and high-Ca2+-requiring neutral proteases in rat retina

Abstract Two low-Ca 2+ -requiring proteases (calpain I) and one high-Ca 2+ -requiring protease (calpain II) have been separated from the cytosol of rat retina by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. Calpain I was half-maximally activated at 3 μ m free Ca 2+ and fully activated at 10 μ m free Ca 2+ . Half-maximal activation of calpain II was at 0·4 m m free Ca 2+ while full activation was observed at 0·8 m m free Ca 2+ . Calpain activity has also been demonstrated in sealed rod outer segments. The soluble fraction of the rod outer segments contained 89% of the enzyme activity. The possible role of calpain in retina is discussed.
Predicting the Detectability of Thin Gaseous Plumes in Hyperspectral Images Using Basis Vectors

This paper describes a new method for predicting the detectability of thin gaseous plumes in hyperspectral images. The novelty of this method is the use of basis vectors for each of the spectral channels of a collection instrument to calculate noise-equivalent concentration-pathlengths instead of matching scene pixels to absorbance spectra of gases in a library. This method provides insight into regions of the spectrum where gas detection will be relatively easier or harder, as influenced by ground emissivity, temperature contrast, and the atmosphere. Our results show that data collection planning could be influenced by information about when potential plumes are likely to be over background segments that are most conducive to detection.
The Ohio Cancer Information Service: technology transfer on clinical trials and other measures of cancer control.

Abstract We examined trends in caller queries on tobacco, mammography, Pap tests, and clinical trials to the NCI‐sponsored Cancer Information Service (CIS) of Ohio via its toll free telephone number (1 ‐800‐4‐CANCER) during 1986‐1991. Calls on NCI‐approved clinical trials and treatment protocols tripled during the study period (from 6% in 1986 to 20% in 1991, p < 0.01) primarily due to counselor‐initiated (proactive) recommendations and actions. Calls on breast cancer showed a significant increase whereas calls on respiratory system cancers showed a decline over the time period. There was also a dramatic increase in calls on mammography, reflecting the impact of national and local promotion of breast screening. Queries on tobacco use and Pap tests declined, perhaps due to a perceived saturation effect of public education on these two topics. Our results support the use of CIS as a technology transfer system.
The emergence of dominant political party systems in unrecognized states

In this paper, we address the question of why in some de facto states something like “dominant party” politics has emerged, whereas in others there at least appears some form of real political competition. We empirically assess some of the commonly cited factors that affect the character of politics within de facto states (the wealth of the entity, the militarization of society, the level of ethnic homogeneity, and political institutional features). Using Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), a method developed specifically to deal with the “small N problem” in empirical inquiry, we apply this framework to 13 post-secessionist unrecognized states.
The role of extreme iteroparity and risk avoidance in the evolution of mating systems

How much should a female be willing to risk in any one reproductive event? Highly iteroparous females will be risk averse and very conservative in their behaviour. Such females will be expected to avoid mortality risks and seek assurance that any current reproductive activity is safe. By way of minimizing risk, these same females will not engage in mate assessment or mate searching to the same degree as less iteroparous species, if these activities involve increased risk of mortality. Using a field experiment in a highly iteroparous species (the bluehead wrasse, Thalassoma bifasciatum), it is shown that females in this species are indeed relatively risk averse. More importantly, the experiment also shows that individuals vary in their risk aversion depending on local population size, in a manner predicted from life-history theory. Then it is reviewed how several important aspects of the mating system in this species are best interpreted as results of conservative, risk-averse female behaviour. Finally, these ideas are generalized to suggest how basic aspects of the mating system might differ between species with many reproductive events over the lifetime (e.g. many tropical reef fishes) v. species with few reproductive opportunities (e.g. many temperate freshwater and marine fishes).
A Fuzzy Discrete Event Systems Approach to Selecting Second-Round Combination Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV/AIDS Patients

We have recently pioneered the development of an innovative general-purpose decision-making and optimization technology, called fuzzy discrete event systems (FDES). In the previous papers, we reported results of applying FDES to selecting optimal first-round regimens for HIV/AIDS patients. In the present paper, we describe our further effort to apply the FDES framework to the second-round treatment, which is more challenging primarily due to drug resistance that occurs during the first-round treatment. We focused on five currently popular second-round regimens and 16 different treatment objectives. Two clinical AIDS experts on our team independently rated the five regimens as first-choice to fifth-choice regimen for each objective and their selections were used as golden standard. We used a genetic algorithm to optimize 20 parameters of our system named AIDS-FDES so that its regimen choices best matched those of the experts individually (i.e., through two different parameters sets). Our preliminary results showed that for the first-choice regimens, the exact agreements between AIDS-FDES and expert A and expert B were 87.5% and 100%, respectively, whereas the mean agreement rate for the five regimens was 77.5% and 80.1%, respectively. For all the five regimens, the agreement within one preference level (i.e., one physician's second choice is another physician's first or third choice), which was an overall agreement measure, for experts A and B was 92.5% and 96.3%, respectively. We also optimized and used just one parameter set to match AIDS-FDES to both the experts simultaneously. The agreement within one preference level for expert A was 90% and 86.3% for expert B. In order to adjust for any agreement likely to occur simply by chance, a weighted Cohen's Kappa was used. The results for the expert's combined selections relative to AIDS-FDES demonstrated that the specialists agreed with the treatment selection made by the computer system with a weighted Cohen's Kappa of 0.78 (95% confidence interval is [0.69, 0.87]), which indicates that the expert's combined agreement with the system's choices (beyond that expected by chance) was importantly improved over that of either expert's agreement with each other
Addressing vulnerability to cascading failure against intelligent adversaries in power networks

The blackout of August 14, 2003, showed that electric power grids are vulnerable to cascading failure. Since then, numerous methods of vulnerability analysis have been developed to help the owners and operators of power networks and other infrastructure systems protect them against possible catastrophic events (including attacks by intelligent adversaries). With cascading failures, even small attacks can have a large impact. Cascading failures have historically been considered a major unsolved problem for complex networks such as electricity systems, but recent developments in probabilistic analysis of cascading failure are making it possible to take cascading failures into account in methods of vulnerability assessment. In particular, our game-theoretic model can be used to analyze how an intelligent adversary might seek to take advantage of a network’s vulnerability to cascading failure. Specifically, our model provides a tool to simulate power flows within the network, and analyze how attackers can use their knowledge of cascading failure. Our model can also be used to compare the effectiveness of different types of investments to make systems more resilient, including both hardening components and also making the system less vulnerable to cascading failure (e.g., by increasing the capacities of transmission lines, or adding new lines).
A select-channel approach to power-efficient OFDM transmission

A novel approach involving selective channel signaling is proposed to achieve significant reductions in power requirements in OFDM. It is shown that by using only a subset of the available channels, savings in power can be achieved without sacrificing channel capacity.
The evolution of nitrocellulose as a material for bioassays

The need to improve health outcomes in the developing world and to moderate healthcare costs in developed countries has resulted in an increased interest in sophisticated, inexpensive, and instrument-free point-of-care diagnostics using porous materials. One major segment of the paper-based diagnostics effort is focused on developing high-performance point-of-care tests using porous nitrocellulose membranes. This review provides a perspective on the nature, history, and future of nitrocellulose-based assays. Beginning as a protein blotting substrate, porous nitrocellulose membranes have grown to be the most commonly used lateral flow substrate and are the primary membranes used in two-dimensional paper networks for user-friendly multistep assays. In addition to the historical context, we examine assay development considerations, such as the physics of flow in porous media, reagent deposition and storage, and detection methods.