cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ablation zone visualization enhancement by periodic contrast-enhancement computed tomography during microwave ablation.

Purpose Intra-procedural contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) has been proposed to monitor the growth of thermal ablations. The primary challenge with multiple CT acquisitions is reducing radiation dose while maintaining sufficient image quality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of applying local highly constrained backprojection reconstruction (HYPR-LR) on periodic CECT images acquired with low-dose protocols, and to determine whether the ablations visible on CT were commensurate to gross pathology. Methods Low-dose (CTDIvol≤1.49mGy), temporal CECT volumes were acquired during microwave ablation on normal porcine liver. HYPR processing was performed on each volume after image registration. Ablation signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were collected to evaluate the degree of enhancement of image quality and ablation zone visualization. Ablation zones were manually segmented on HYPR and non-HYPR images and compared spatially using Dice's coefficient. The dimensions of ablation zones were also compared to gross pathology by correlation and dimensional differences. Results The SNR and CNR of ablation zones were increased after HYPR processing. The manually segmented ablation zone was highly similar to gross pathology with a Dice coefficient of 0.81 ± 0.03, while the low-dose CECT had a smaller Dice coefficient of 0.72 ± 0.05. Both HYPR and low-dose CECT had high correlation to gross pathology (0.99 and 0.94, respectively), but the variance of measurements were lower after HYPR processing compared to unprocessed images. The relative difference in area, length of long axis, and length of short axis for HYPR image were 13.1 ± 5.6%, 9.7 ± 4.2%, and 15.2 ± 2.8%, which were lower than those for low-dose CECT at 37.5 ± 6.0%, 17.7 ± 2.8%, and 28.9 ± 5.4%. Conclusion HYPR processing applied to periodic CECT images can enhance ablation zone visualization. HYPR processing may potentially enable CECT in real-time ablation monitoring under strict regulation of radiation dose.
Age Stratification and Sample Entropy Analysis Enhance the Limits of Stability Tests for Older Adults

The objective of this study was to determine if a foam testing condition and/or nonlinear analysis methods can be used to identify differences between age stratified subgroups of older adults when conducting the Limits of Stability assessment. Ninety older adults participated in this study. A force plate was used to record center of pressure data during Limits of Stability testing on a firm and foam surface. Participants were grouped into age-stratified subgroups: young-old (60–69 years), middle-old (70–79 years), and old-old (80+ years). Anterior-posterior (A/P) and medial-lateral (M/L) sway ranges and sample entropy values were calculated. The young-old group had significantly larger A/P and M/L sway ranges than the old-old group on both surfaces. A/P sample entropy increased significantly with age. M/L sample entropy increased significantly with age between the young-old and old-old and the middle-old and old-old groups. Sample entropy values between surfaces significantly differed for all groups. Thes...
Uses of Mobile Device Digital Photography of Dermatologic Conditions in Primary Care

Background: PhotoExam is a mobile app that incorporates digital photographs into the electronic health record (EHR) using iPhone operating system (iOS, Apple Inc)–based mobile devices. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe usage patterns of PhotoExam in primary care and to assess clinician-level factors that influence the use of the PhotoExam app for teledermatology (TD) purposes. Methods: Retrospective record review of primary care patients who had one or more photos taken with the PhotoExam app between February 16, 2015 to February 29, 2016 were reviewed for 30-day outcomes for rates of dermatology consult request, mode of dermatology consultation (curbside phone consult, eConsult, and in-person consult), specialty and training level of clinician using the app, performance of skin biopsy, and final pathological diagnosis (benign vs malignant). Results: During the study period, there were 1139 photo sessions on 1059 unique patients. Of the 1139 sessions, 395 (34.68%) sessions documented dermatologist input in the EHR via dermatology curbside consultation, eConsult, and in-person dermatology consult. Clinicians utilized curbside phone consults preferentially over eConsults for TD. By clinician type, nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) were more likely to utilize the PhotoExam for TD as compared with physicians. By specialty type, pediatric clinicians were more likely to utilize the PhotoExam for TD as compared with family medicine and internal medicine clinicians. A total of 108 (9.5%) photo sessions had a biopsy performed of the photographed site. Of these, 46 biopsies (42.6%) were performed by a primary care clinician, and 27 (25.0%) biopsies were interpreted as a malignancy. Of the 27 biopsies that revealed malignant findings, 6 (22%) had a TD consultation before biopsy, and 10 (37%) of these biopsies were obtained by primary care clinicians. Conclusions: Clinicians primarily used the PhotoExam for non-TD purposes. Nurse practitioners and PAs utilized the app for TD purposes more than physicians. Primary care clinicians requested curbside dermatology consults more frequently than dermatology eConsults.
A Life-Course Developmental Analysis of the Cycle of Violence

Research on the cycle of violence has consistently indicated a link between maltreatment and subsequent offending. Less attention has been given to whether the timing or type of maltreatment affects later delinquent behavior. This study investigates these issues. The timing of maltreatment is coded as occurring during childhood only (i.e., ages 0–11), adolescence only (i.e., ages 12–18), and persistent maltreatment (experienced in both childhood and adolescence). Analyses also examine if the impact on self-reported delinquency and arrest at age 18 varies according to the type of maltreatment (neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse) based on official records from child protective services agencies. This study relied on secondary analysis of prospective data from 890 to 898 participants in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Results from logit and negative binomial regression models indicate statistically significant relationships between adolescent only and persistent maltreatment and delinquency and arrest, and these relationships varied according to the type of maltreatment assessed. No significant relationships were found between any type of maltreatment experienced in childhood only and any of the outcomes. These findings suggest that adolescent maltreatment is more strongly related to delinquent behavior than childhood only maltreatment, which means that some justice system-involved youth will likely be coping with recent exposure to trauma. Services should be integrated into juvenile justice diversion and treatment programs to address these traumatic experiences. The results also suggest that future research continue to assess how the cycle of violence may vary according to the timing and type of maltreatment experienced by victims.
Eight critical factors in creating and implementing a successful simulation program.

Article-at-a-Glance Background Recognizing the need to minimize human error and adverse events, clinicians, researchers, administrators, and educators have strived to enhance clinicians' knowledge, skills, and attitudes through training. Given the risks inherent in learning new skills or advancing underdeveloped skills on actual patients, simulation-based training (SBT) has become an invaluable tool across the medical education spectrum. The large simulation, training, and learning literature was used to provide a synthesized yet innovative and "memorable" heuristic of the important facets of simulation program creation and implementation, as represented by eight critical "S" factors—science, staff, supplies, space, support, systems, success, and sustainability. These critical factors advance earlier work that primarily focused on the science of SBT success, to also include more practical, perhaps even seemingly obvious but significantly challenging components of SBT, such as resources, space, and supplies. Systems One of the eight critical factors—systems—refers to the need to match fidelity requirements to training needs and ensure that technological infrastructure is in place. The type of learning objectives that the training is intended to address should determine these requirements. For example, some simulators emphasize physical fidelity to enable clinicians to practice technical and nontechnical skills in a safe environment that mirrors real-world conditions. Such simulators are most appropriate when trainees are learning how to use specific equipment or conduct specific procedures. Conclusion The eight factors—science, staff, supplies, space, support, systems, success, and sustainability—represent a synthesis of the most critical elements necessary for successful simulation programs. The order of the factors does not represent a deliberate prioritization or sequence, and the factors' relative importance may change as the program evolves.
Modified Atmosphere Packaging of Meat, Poultry and Fish

Modified atmosphere packaging of meat, poultry, and fish Kay Cooksey, Clemson University, USA Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) of meat poultry and fish has remained one of the best methods to increase shelf life and allow distribution of a consistent and cost-effective product to retail. Gas mixtures, materials, and machinery have not changed much in recent years; thus, innovation has focused on providing better color and appearance as well as quality improvement using combination treatments including irradiation, argon, ozone, and active packaging techniques. Changes in MAP for red meat have addressed consumer response and industry reaction to the use of CO to maintain the red color of meat. Consumers prefer a bright red color but are confused by the technology involved and become less willing to purchase products that involve technology that has the appearance of deception. Combination treatments and processes have varying degrees of benefits, but in all cases cost must be weighed against the benefits. Of the active packaging techniques studied, antimicrobial methods have attracted the most interest in terms of research for poultry and fish products. Antimicrobial treatments have shown promise for MAP meat products but face challenges relative to commercializing methods developed on a small laboratory scale.
The French Gardener Overseas

There are two principal reasons for giving time and space to the detailed instructions drawn up by Andre Thouin for the gardener who accompanied La Perouse, which would serve again to guide the gardener with Entrecasteaux. The gardener was officially and socially subordinate to the botanist on board, the one a savant, the other a skillful workman, albeit a well-trained horticulturalist. Yet, he was also indispensable to the botanist for the management of live plant materials that were wanted for scientific observation in Europe; and he had the additional, humanitarian responsibility for what Alan Frost has called the antipodean exchange, the transmission of useful plants between Europe and the exotic world.
VIRUS-2 for the Harlan J. Smith telescope of the McDonald Observatory

The VIRUS2 Instrument is the next generation replicated integral field spectrograph for the 2.7m Harlan J. Smith Telescope at the McDonald Observatory. The instrument extends the technological advances from VIRUS and HET LRS-2 instruments to offer higher spectral resolution of R<2000 over a broader wavelength coverage from 370nm to 1000nm and a larger sky area of 2 arcmin diameter in a single shot with spatial sampling of 2.6 arcsec. The instrument also utilizes fiber integral field units (IFUs) coupled with micro-focal reducers to offer nearly 100% fill-factor on sky. VIRUS2 is the successor of the Mitchell Spectrograph (aka. VIRUS-P) on the HJST. T ere is also a potential for its scientific use on the Giant Magellan Telescope as an early phase instrument.
Gap formation in planetesimal discs via divergently migrating planets

While many observed debris disks are thought to have gaps suggestive of the presence of planets, direct imaging surveys do not find many high mass planets in these systems. We investigate if divergent migration is a viable mechanism for forming gaps in young debris disks with planets of low enough mass to currently elude detection. We perform numerical integrations of planet pairs embedded in planetesimal disks to assess the conditions for which divergent, planetesimal-driven migration occurs and gaps form within the disk. Gap widths and the migration rate of planets within a pair depend on both disk mass and the degree to which the planets share disk material. We find that planet pairs with planets more massive than Neptune can produce gaps with widths similar to their orbit distance within 10 Myr at orbit separations probed by direct imaging campaigns. Pairs of migrating super-Earths likely cannot form observable gaps on the same time and distance scales, however. Inferring the responsible planet masses from these gaps while neglecting migration could overestimate the mass of planets by more than an order of magnitude.
QuQn map: Qualitative-Quantitative mapping of scientific papers

Mathematical Expressions (ME) and words are carefully bonded in technical writing to characterize physical concepts and their interactions quantitatively, and qualitatively. This paper proposes the Qualitative-Quantitative (QuQn) map as an abstraction of scientific papers to depict the dependency among MEs and their most related adjacent words. QuQn map aims to offer a succinct representation of the reasoning logic flow in a paper. Various filters can be applied to a QuQn map to reduce redundant/indirect links, control the display of problem settings (simple ME variables with declaration), and prune nodes with specific topological properties such as the largest connected subgraph. We developed a visualization tool prototype to support interactive browsing of the technical contents at different granularities of detail.
Relative Quantitation of Polymerized Actin in Suspension Cells by Flow Cytometry

The amount of polymerized actin within a cell can vary widely due to natural processes and/or experimentally induced perturbations. We routinely use this protocol to measure relative polymerized actin content between cell populations by staining cells in suspension with fluorescent phalloidin, then measuring total cell fluorescence using flow cytometry. Although developed for human cells, we have easily adapted this method for use with diverse eukaryotic cell types.
Accelerating Inference In Long Short-Term Memory Neural Networks

Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) is a powerful neural network algorithm that has been shown to provide state-of-the-art performance in various sequence learning tasks, including natural language processing, video classification, and speech recognition. Once an LSTM model has been trained on a dataset, the utility it provides comes from its ability to then infer information from completely new data. Due to the large complexity of LSTM models, the inference stage of LSTM can require significant computing power and memory resources in order to keep up with a real-time workload. Many approaches have been taken to accelerate inference, from offloading computations to GPUs or other specialized hardware, to reducing the number of computations and memory footprint required by compressing model parameters. This work takes a two-pronged approach to accelerating LSTM inference. First, a model compression scheme called binarization is identified to both reduce the storage size of model parameters and to simplify computations. This technique is applied to training LSTM for two separate sequence learning tasks, and it is shown to provide prediction performance comparable to the uncompressed model counterparts. Then, a digital processor architecture, called Binary Recurrent Unit (BRU), is proposed to accelerate inference for binarized LSTM models. Specifically targeted for FPGA implementation, this accelerator takes advantage of binary model weights and on-chip memory resources in order to parallelize LSTM inference computations. The BRU architecture is implemented and tested on a Xilinx Z7020 device clocked at 200 MHz. Inference computation time for BRU is evaluated against the performance of CPU and GPU inference implementations. BRU is shown to outperform CPU and GPU by as much as 39 times and 3.8 times, respectively.
Abstract P394: Health Literacy Within a Diverse Community-Based Cohort: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Introduction: In 2018 the American Heart Association released a Scientific Statement on the importance of health literacy to cardiovascular disease (CVD) primary and secondary prevention. Health li...
Antiserum to mouse pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells (CFU-S): evidence for a role of complement in the inactivation of CFU-S in diffusion chambers.

Anti-mouse brain serum raised in rabbits (RAMBS) is known to contain activity against mouse pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells (CFU-S). To further elucidate the nature of the inactivation of CFU-S by RAMBS we treated mouse bone marrow cells with RAMBS alone, or with RAMBS plus complement (C), and observed the effects on the growth of CFU-S in diffusion chambers four days after implantation into the peritoneal cavities of mice. The chambers seeded with marrow cells that were treated with RAMBS + C contained less than 20 % of the number of CFU-S contained in their control chambers; but the chambers seeded with marrow cells that were treated with RAMBS alone contained about 70% as many CFU-S as did their control chambers. This difference in cell growth strongly suggests that the addition of C to RAMBS potentiates the antiserum's suppressive effect on CFU-S growth in diffusion chambers, even though cells incubated with RAMBS alone demonstrate the same amount of CFU-S inactivation as that demonstrated by cells incubated with RAMBS + C when assayed immediately after incubation by the capacity to form surface spleen nodules in lethally irradiated mice. It is postulated that the C-mediated effect may be effected by granulocytes and/or macrophages in the diffusion chambers which are capable of phagocytosing IgG and C3-opsonized CFU-S. These findings might be extended to other systems, such as the long-term in vitro culture.
Risk Factors and Disease Correlates

Currie et al. studied the incidence of solid tumors in 62,809 patients taking various diabetes medications. They concluded that patients on insulin or insulin secretagogues were more likely to develop solid cancers than those taking metformin, and that metformin use alone was associated with a lower risk of cancer of the pancreas or colon [2]. This was consistent with the findings of Li et al., who conducted a case–control study of 973 patients with pancreatic cancer and 863 controls. They concluded: “Metformin use was associated with reduced risk, and insulin or insulin secretagogue use was associated with increased risk of pancreatic cancer in diabetic patients” [3].
Daratumumab in Patients with Multiple Myeloma and Renal Impairment - Real-World Data from a Single-Center Institution

Background: Renal impairment is a frequent complication of multiple myeloma (MM) associated with poor prognosis and decreased overall survival; and can complicate drug dosing, limit treatment options and lead to a higher incidence of adverse events. Daratumumab is an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody indicated for the treatment of patients with MM which does not require dose modification in the setting of renal impairment. Real-world data regarding its efficacy in patients with renal impairment and the rate of renal response are lacking. Methods: We performed a retrospective, single-center analysis of patients with relapsed/refractory MM treated with daratumumab as monotherapy or in combination with novel agents. Patients were grouped by renal function as calculated by their eGFR using the MDRD equation: =60 mL/min/1.73m2. Renal response was defined as an eGFR >= 60 in two consecutive visits for patients with baseline renal impairment. Results: We identified 91 patients who started treatment with daratumumab between 2015-06-11 and 2018-08-16. The median age was 69 years old (range 40-93) and 25% were over the age of 75; 49 patients (54%) were female. Six patients (9%) were Hispanic, 16 (20%) were African American and 57 (71%) were Caucasian. High-risk cytogenetics were present in 58% of patients; defined as the presence of a complex karyotype, 1q gain, t(4;14), t(14;16), t(14;20) or del17p. Patients underwent a median of 5 prior lines of therapy (range 1-13), 45% had received an autologous stem cell transplant, 91% had been exposed to an immunomodulatory agent, 96% to a proteasome inhibitor, and 89% to both. Upon initial treatment, 53 patients (58%) had an eGFR >=60 mL/min/1.73m2, while 27 (30%) and 11 (12%) patients had an eGFR of 30-59 and Discussion: The results of this analysis provide comparable efficacy - independent of the degree of baseline renal impairment - to the results seen in clinical trials of combination therapy with daratumumab. Furthermore, the high renal response rate (29%) seen, as compared to the one in the subgroup analysis of ENDEAVOR (15%), highlights the utility of daratumumab in reversing renal end-organ damage in patients with relapsed/refractory MM without an increase in adverse events compared to patients with preserved renal function. These results suggest that daratumumab may be able to abrogate the adverse prognostic factor that impaired baseline renal function portends. A limitation of this study is its retrospective nature, the confounding effect of concurrent myeloma therapy and the small number of patients included with renal impairment. Download : Download high-res image (153KB) Download : Download full-size image Table . Disclosures Coleman: Merck: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Speakers Bureau; Kite Pharmaceuticals: Equity Ownership; Gilead, Bayer, Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Niesvizky: Takeda, Amgen, BMS, Janssen, Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding. Rossi: Janssen, Celgene, Amgen: Consultancy; BMS: Research Funding.
Vanquishing false idols, then and now

In the early 17th century, the English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon envisioned a bold, multiphase program to accumulate knowledge of the natural world. A critical part of this plan was Novum Organum, which celebrates its 400th anniversary this year. In this work, Bacon attempted to undo the centuries-old dominance of Aristotelian forms of inquiry, encouraging readers to instead apply inductive reasoning to carefully curated observations of the natural world.
Extent of Fermi-surface reconstruction in the high-temperature superconductor HgBa2CuO4+δ.

High magnetic fields have revealed a surprisingly small Fermi surface in underdoped cuprates, possibly resulting from Fermi-surface reconstruction due to an order parameter that breaks translational symmetry of the crystal lattice. A crucial issue concerns the doping extent of such a state and its relationship to the principal pseudogap and superconducting phases. We employ pulsed magnetic-field measurements on the cuprate H g B a 2 Cu O 4 + δ to identify signatures of Fermi-surface reconstruction from a sign change of the Hall effect and a peak in the temperature-dependent planar resistivity. We trace the termination of Fermi-surface reconstruction to two hole concentrations where the superconducting upper critical fields are found to be enhanced. One of these points is associated with the pseudogap endpoint near optimal doping. These results connect the Fermi-surface reconstruction to both superconductivity and the pseudogap phenomena.
Analytical solutions of cavitation instability in a compressible hyperelastic solid

Abstract Cavitation in soft solids has been intensively studied in the past. In previous works, soft solids are often assumed to be incompressible in the modeling. However, in practice, many soft solids are compressible. In this article, we try to find analytical solutions of cavity expansion in a slightly compressible hyperelastic solid. In the formulation, we adopt one commonly used compressible neo-Hookean hyperelastic model for the material. To obtain the analytical solutions, we regard the bulk modulus much larger than the shear modulus of the solid, define the ratio between the shear modulus and the Lame’s first parameter as a small dimensionless parameter, and then apply the regular perturbation method. Using the analytical solutions, we also elaborate on the effects of the material compressibility on the cavitation. The analytical solutions obtained in the article have further been compared with the exact numerical solutions.
Bob's Baloney

This case examines the financial performance of Bob's Baloney, a leader in the ultrapremium bologna market. While the business appears to be doing well with respect to most of its stakeholders, its largest equity investor has recently expressed strong dissatisfaction with the company's financial performance. Students are invited to examine the financial statements and ratios associated with the business to understand the source of the underperformance and to provide recommendations for business policy changes. Excerpt UVA-F-1942 Mar. 18, 2020 Bob's Baloney Upon entering the executive conference room in early 2021, Amanda Spangler had to pinch herself to be sure that she was really in an executive meeting at headquarters. After completing an MBA degree, Spangler had landed her dream job as a lead manager at one of the premier brands in the American food industry, Bob's Baloney (Bob's). Spangler's first months on the job had been all that she had hoped. She had wrestled with important business decisions, experienced the genius of some favorite foody legends, witnessed the drama of marketing a true premium brand, and even hobnobbed with several celebrities. It had been truly amazing. But her biggest surprise was what was going on right then in the conference room. It was clear that things were not well at Bob's. The Company . . .
Death at sea: passenger and crew mortality on cruise ships.

Introduction: This study reports the global occurrence of passenger and crew mortality on cruise ships. To date, no comprehensive study of passenger and crew mortality has been published. Methods: All data on passenger and crew mortality between 2000 and 2019 were obtained from 78 ocean and river cruise lines registered globally and analyzed by their age, gender, nationality, cruise line, and recorded cause of death. Results: There were 623 reported deaths. Out of all deaths, 89% were passenger deaths and 11% were crew deaths. United States residents accounted for 61% of passenger deaths and crew from India (18%) and the Philippines (17%) recorded the highest crew deaths. Falls overboard or onto lower decks (23%), suicide, murder, and a terror attack (19%), unspecified natural causes (18%), and cardiac incidents (16%) were the primary causes of passenger deaths. Suicide and murder (29%) and falls overboard or from height (24%) were the primary cause of crew member deaths. The most passenger deaths occurred on Carnival Cruise Lines (29%), Royal Caribbean Cruises (12%), and Norwegian Cruise Line (10%). The highest crew member deaths occurred on Carnival Cruise Line (19%) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (19%). Conclusion: Falls overboard or onto lower decks, cardiac incidents, and suicides are the leading cause of passenger deaths. Suicide and murder and falls are the leading cause of death for crew members. Travel health advisories targeting US citizen passengers and crew members from India and the Philippines are warranted. The addition of mental health care to ship infirmaries is also suggested.
An R&D approach to the development of long Nb/sub 3/Sn accelerator magnets using the key and bladder technology

Building accelerator quality magnets using Nb/sub 3/Sn for next generation facilities is the challenge of the next decade. The Superconducting Magnet Group at LBNL has developed an innovative support structure for high field magnets. The structure is based on an aluminum shell over iron yokes using hydraulic bladders and locking keys for applying the pre-stress. At cool down the pre-stress is almost doubled due to the differences of thermal contraction. This new structure allows precise control of the pre-stress with minimal spring back and conductor over-stress. At present the support structure has been used with prototype magnets up to one meter in length. In this paper, the design of a 4-meter long, 11 Tesla, wind-and-react racetrack dipole will be presented as a possible step toward the fabrication of long Nb/sub 3/Sn accelerator magnets.
The Fates of Challengers in U.S. House Elections: The Role of Extended Party Networks in Supporting Candidates and Shaping Electoral Outcomes

Extended party network (EPN) theory characterizes political parties in the United States as dynamic networks of interest groups that collaboratively support favored candidates for office. Electoral predictions derived from EPN theory have yet to be tested on a large sample of races. We operationalize EPNs in the context of organized interest contributions to U.S. House campaigns. We deduce that support by a partisan community of interests signals the ideological credibility and appeal of a candidate. EPN integration overcomes voter ambiguity surrounding challengers� ideological preferences, and resources provided by these coordinating interest groups promote a consistent message about the candidate. Using data from the 1994�2010 cycles, we apply network analysis to detect EPN support of challengers and find that EPN integration substantially improves the electoral prospects of challengers. The effect of EPN integration is distinct from that of campaign resources. The findings provide support for EPN theory, as applied to congressional elections.
Physical Processes and Applications of the Monte Carlo Radiative Energy Deposition (MRED) Code

MRED is a Python-language scriptable computer application that simulates radiation transport. It is the computational engine for the on-line tool CREME-MC. MRED is based on c++ code from Geant4 with additional Fortran components to simulate electron transport and nuclear reactions with high precision. We provide a detailed description of the structure of MRED and the implementation of the simulation of physical processes used to simulate radiation effects in electronic devices and circuits. Extensive discussion and references are provided that illustrate the validation of models used to implement specific simulations of relevant physical processes. Several applications of MRED are summarized that demonstrate its ability to predict and describe basic physical phenomena associated with irradiation of electronic circuits and devices. These include effects from single particle radiation (including both direct ionization and indirect ionization effects), dose enhancement effects, and displacement damage effects. MRED simulations have also helped to identify new single event upset mechanisms not previously observed by experiment, but since confirmed, including upsets due to muons and energetic electrons.
Laser-induced fluorescence modulation techniques for velocity measurements in gas flows

Broadband fluorescence of iodine, excited at 514.5 nm by a single-mode argon-ion laser tuned to the quasi-linear part of an absorption line, was used to detect the Doppler shift and hence the velocity of iodine molecules seeded in a nitrogen jet flow. The slope of the absorption line profile was measured directly using a frequency shift introduced by acoustooptic modulators (AOMs). A velocity of 36 m/s was measured in a jet of N2 at 60 Torr in 2 ms with an accuracy of 11%. To reduce experimental noise, the laser beams were switched at 125 KHz and signal-tuned amplification was used.
Unified Theories of Cognition and the Role of Soar

I start this paper by focusing on unified theories of human cognition —what they are and what their general status is in the current scene of cognitive science. Then I consider an exemplar of a unified theory of cognition, namely, the Soar theory and system, which has been developed by my colleagues and myself over almost a decade. I will provide some historical context for Soar and then treat the Soar theory of cognition in somewhat greater detail, selecting several specific topics that should help to appreciate the nature of unified theories of cognition. At the end I will raise a number of general issues that apply concretely to Soar, but in fact apply in analogous form to any candidate unified theory of cognition. As will become apparent, the considerations stated here flow largely from my 1987 William James Lectures on Unified Theories of Cognition (Newell, 1990), but several new issues and results are incorporated.
Storytelling for Young Children in a Multicultural World.

Early childhood educators are challenged to introduce children to the world of their future, a world that is and will increasingly become multicultural and multiracial. Storytelling is a powerful tool to promote an understanding of self and others. Readers are informed of the selection criteria for identifying stories to tell to young children from the colorful tapestry of Asian American, African American, Hispanic, and Native American heritages. Key questions to ask and answer in selecting culturally sensitive stories are also discussed, including the elements of character development, prejudice reduction, authority and authorship, and language. A storyteller's sampler of selected stories for preschool and primary-age students is included in the annotated bibliography. Reference sources for educators on storytelling techniques and strengthening understanding of multicultural perspectives are also described.
Incisor crown bending strength correlates with diet and incisor curvature in anthropoid primates.

Anthropoid incisors are large relative to the postcanine dentition and function in the preprocessing of food items. Previous analyses of anthropoid incisor allometry and shape demonstrate that incisor morphology is correlated with preferred foods and that more frugivorous anthropoids have larger and more curved incisors. Although the relationship between incisal crown curvature and preferred foods has been well documented in extant and fossil anthropoids, the functional significance of curvature variation has yet to be conclusively established. Given that an increase in crown curvature will increase maximum linear crown dimensions, and bending resistance is a function of linear crown dimensions, it is hypothesized that incisor crown curvature functons to increase incisor crown resistance to bending forces. This study uses beam theory to calculate the mesiodistal and labiolingual bending strengths of the maxillary and mandibular incisors of hominoid and platyrrhine taxa with differing diets and variable degrees of incisal curvature. Results indicate that bending strength correlates with incisal curvature and that frugivores have elevated incisor bending resistance relative to folivores. Maxillary central incisor bending strengths further discriminate platyrrhine and hominoid hard- and soft-object frugivores suggesting this crown is subjected to elevated occlusal loading relative to other incisors. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that incisor crown curvature functions to increase incisor crown resistance to bending forces but does not preclude the possibility that incisor bending strength is a composite function of multiple dentognathic variables including, but not limited to, incisor crown curvature. Anat Rec, 298:463–478, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effective benchmarking of innovation adoptions: A theoretical framework for e‐procurement technologies

Purpose – Recent rapid pace in the introduction of innovations has made adopting new technologies, such as those used for electronic procurement, a routine practice. But successful technology adoption depends on a multitude of factors, including those related to the adopter, to the technology, to the provider and the network within which they operate. Without careful consideration of these factors, effectiveness of benchmarking of technology adoptions may be remiss of predictable outcomes. The paper aims to aid in understanding when and how benchmarking applies to technology adoptions by introducing a new conceptual framework.Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines facets of established theories of innovation adoption to develop a new broad‐based framework. It then applies the framework to develop propositions on the adoption of two distinct types of e‐procurement technologies (EPT), namely electronic data interchange and online auctions.Findings – Three prominent adoption theories that explain i...
Dicarboxylic acids generated by thermal alteration of kerogen and humic acids.

Significant amounts (up to 2 percent of organic geopolymers) of low-molecular-weight (LMW) dicarboxylic acids (C2-C10) have been detected during thermal alteration (270 C, 2 h) of kerogens and humic acids isolated from young or ancient lithified sediments. Their distribution is characterized by the predominance of oxalic acid followed by succinic, fumaric, and methylsuccinic acids. These acids are probably released by the breakdown of macromolecular structures, which have incorporated biogenic organic compounds, including diacids, during early digenesis in sediments. Because of their reactivity, LMW diacids may play geochemically important roles under natural conditions.
Generation and Detection of Multiply-Charged Peptides and Proteins by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Electrospray Ionization (MALDESI) Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry

We report the coupling of a hybrid ionization source, matrix-assisted laser desorption electrospray ionization (MALDESI), to a Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS). The details of the source design and initial data are presented. Analysis of peptides and proteins ranging from 1 to 8.6 kDa resulted in high resolving power single-acquisition FT-ICR mass spectra with average charge-states highly correlated to those obtained by nanoESI, thus, providing strong evidence that the ESI process dictates the observed charge-state distribution. Importantly, unlike the recently introduced electrospray assisted laser desorption ionization (ELDI) source reported by Shiea and coworkers [1, 2], the data we have obtained to date rely on the use of an organic acid matrix. The results presented herein provide insight into the charging mechanism of this emerging ionization approach, while also expanding the utility of FT-ICR MS for top-down protein and complex mixture analysis.
Methamphetamine self-administration produces attentional set-shifting deficits and alters prefrontal cortical neurophysiology in rats

Background Chronic methamphetamine abusers exhibit deficits in tasks requiring intact prefrontal cortex function, and prefrontal cortex dysfunction has been implicated in the loss of control over drug use. This study used a combination of behavioral and electrophysiologic assessments in rats with a history of long access methamphetamine self-administration to determine methamphetamine-induced changes in prefrontal cortex–dependent attentional set-shifting performance, drug-seeking, and prefrontal cortex neuronal activity. Methods Male Long–Evans rats self-administered methamphetamine (.02 mg/infusion, intravenous) or received yoked saline infusions for 6 hours a day for 14 days. Cognitive flexibility was assessed using an attentional set-shifting task before 2 weeks of self-administration and 1 day after self-administration. Animals then underwent 11 days of abstinence, followed by three subsequent tests for context-induced drug seeking. Finally, animals were anesthetized, and single-unit in vivo extracellular recordings were performed in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Results Methamphetamine-experienced rats showed escalated drug intake and context-induced drug-seeking following abstinence. During the extradimensional set-shift component, meth-experienced rats showed selective impairments that were identical to deficits produced by excitotoxic lesions of the prefrontal cortex. Rats with a history of chronic methamphetamine intake also exhibited higher basal firing frequency and a significantly greater proportion of burst-firing cells in the prefrontal cortex compared with yoked-saline controls. Conclusions Prefrontal cortex–specific alterations in neuronal function may play a key role in methamphetamine-induced attentional deficits and drug-seeking. These data support the possibility that targeting prefrontal cortex pathology may improve treatment outcome in methamphetamine addiction.
Microinjection of Lucifer yellow CH into sea urchin eggs and embryos

Eggs and embryos of Arbacia punctulata were microinjected with the fluorescent dye, Lucifer yellow CH, using a simple pressure injection system. When injected into eggs that were subsequently fertilized, the dye was distributed throughout all cells of the developing embryo. If one cell of a two-cell embryo was injected, dye did not diffuse into the uninjected blastomere. During subsequent development, all progeny of the injected cell contained dye resulting in an embryo that was half-fluorescent. Blue light irradiation of a two-cell embryo, one cell of which had been injected with Lucifer yellow, caused the injected blastomere to stop further divisions while the uninjected blastomere developed normally and was free of dye. These results indicate that the first two blastomeres of Arbacia embryos are not electrically coupled, nor up to the time of hatching, is there any coupling between cells in one half of the first cleavage plane and cells in the other half.
SQUID-Detected Microtesla MRI in the presence of Metal

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed at fields of 1 T and above, the presence of a metal insert can distort the image because of susceptibility differences within the sample and modification of the radiofrequency fields by screening currents. Furthermore, it is not feasible to perform nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy or acquire a magnetic resonance image if the sample is enclosed in a metal container. Both problems can be overcome by substantially lowering the NMR frequency. Using a microtesla imaging system operating at 2.8 kHz, with a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) as the signal detector, we have obtained distortion-free images of a phantom containing a titanium bar and three-dimensional images of an object enclosed in an aluminum can; in both cases high-field images are inaccessible.
A CAT reporter construct containing 277bp GNAT2 promoter and 214bp IRBP enhancer is specifically expressed by cone photoreceptor cells in transgenic mice

Purpose. The α-subunit of human cone transducin plays an important role in interacting with visual pigment and activating the cGMP-dependent phosphodiesterase (cGMP-PDE). The human GNAT2 gene (cone transducin α-subunit) has been cloned and characterized by Fong et al.10 In this report, we describe the use of transgenic mice to characterize the tissue specificity of the GNAT2 promoter.Methods. A chimeric reporter gene construct which consists of a 277 bp 5′-flanking fragment of the GNAT2 gene at 5′ end of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene and a 214 bp enhancer region from the human interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) gene at the 3′ end of the CAT gene was used to generate transgenic mice. Transgenic mice were identified by Southern blot hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis using tail DNA from experimental animals. Immunostaining was used to study the developmental expression of CAT and the endogenous GNAT2 gene.Results. Analysis of four transgenic mouse l...
The utility of radiological imaging in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract Background & Aims: This prospective study evaluates the role of radiological modalities in establishing the diagnosis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Methods: Consecutive patients with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were enrolled (2000–2001). Patients with other liver diseases and significant alcohol consumption (>20 g/day) were excluded. Clinicodemographic data were gathered at the time of liver biopsy. Each biopsy specimen was assessed by a hepatopathologist. Each patient underwent a limited abdominal ultrasonography (US), computerized tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Films were interpreted by a radiologist who used a predetermined radiological protocol. Each radiological study was reread by the same radiologist and a second radiologist. Results: Patients with NASH had greater aspartate aminotransferase levels ( P = 0.03), greater ferritin levels ( P = 0.05), more hepatocyte ballooning ( P P = 0.002). None of the radiological features distinguished between NASH and other types of NAFLD. No radiological modality detected the presence of hepatocyte ballooning, Mallory's hyaline, or fibrosis, which are important features in the diagnosis of NASH. The presence of >33% fat on liver biopsy was optimal for detecting steatosis on radiological imaging. Conclusions: Differences between NASH and nonprogressive NAFLD were not apparent with any radiological modality. Of the pathologic features important for establishing the diagnosis of NASH, only the severity of steatosis was reflected in these radiological modalities. Good intraobserver agreement was evident for each modality (US, CT, and MRI) that was superior to interobserver agreement. GASTROENTEROLOGY 2002;123:745-750
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Is Associated with Specific Proteins in the Cytoplasm and Membranes of Escherichia coli

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is well-known as a high molecular weight homopolymer of R-3-hydroxybutyrate which accumulates in storage granules within the cytosols of certain bacteria. Escherichia coli does not amass these granules; however, small amounts of low molecular weight PHB (
Computed tomographic evaluation of the thoracic prevertebral and paravertebral spaces

The thoracic prevertebral and paravertebral spaces are defined by the vertebrae and fascial planes. Many important structures lie within these spaces, for example, the intercostal arteries, descending aorta, the azygos and hemiazygos veins, sympathetic nerve trunk, thoracic duct, and lymph nodes. Computed tomography has been notably successful in evaluating the mediastinum and specifically the prevertebral and paravertebral spaces. Computed tomography of the normal anatomy and some examples of pathology involving these specific areas are presented. Computed tomography is strongly indicated to evaluate pathology in this area.
METMYOGLOBIN REDUCTION IN BEEF SYSTEMS AS AFFECTED BY AEROBIC, ANAEROBIC AND CARBON MONOXIDE‐CONTAINING ENVIRONMENTS

Metmyoglobin (Mb+) reduction was studied in ground beef, beef slurries and extracts held in air, nitrogen or CO-air mixtures. Significant Mb+ reduction occurred in aerobic extracts but not in ground beef or slurries in the presence of ferricyanide. A nonenzymatic electron trans. fer was demonstrated in extracts under these conditions. At normal meat pH (5.6), carbon monoxide (CO) accelerated Mb+ reduction, even in the presence of air, with the rate of reduction dependent upon CO concentration. Neither the addition of catalase nor compounds that inhibit the electron transport chain markedly affected Mb+ reduction under a CO atmosphere while arsenate addition slightly accelerated the reaction. The use of ferricyanide as the pigment oxidant increased the Mb+ reduction rate in aerobic extracts and in all systems under CO, but was not necessary to observe reduction under CO. Possible mechanisms for the CO-enhanced reduction of Mb+ are explored.