cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ladar ATR via probabilistic open set techniques

Target recognition algorithms trained using finite sets of target and confuser data result in classifiers limited by the training set. Algorithms trained under closed set assumptions do not account for the infinite universe of confusers found in practice. In contrast, classification algorithms developed under open set assumptions label inputs not present in the training data as unknown instead of assigning the most likely class. We present an approach to open set recognition that utilizes class posterior estimates to determine probability thresholds for classification. This is accomplished by first training a support vector machine (SVM) in a 1-vs-all configuration on a training dataset containing only target classes. A validation set containing only class data belonging to the training set is used to iteratively determine appropriate posterior probability thresholds for each target class. The testing dataset, which contains targets present in the training data as well as several confuser classes, is first classified by the 1-vs-all SVM. If the estimated posterior for an input falls below the threshold, the target is labeled as unknown. Otherwise, it is labeled with the class resulting from the SVM decision. We apply our method to automatic target recognition (ATR) of ladar range images and compare its performance to current open set and closed set recognition techniques.
Stopping Higher-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome in Its Tracks

Higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a collection of diseases associated with poor outcomes from complications related to bone marrow failure and evolution to acute myeloid leukemia. While most patients receive epigenetic therapies, intensive chemotherapy or allogeneic stem cell transplantation, more tolerable and effective treatments are necessary to realize the goal of stopping this disease in its tracks. Recent efforts, building on decades of research exploring the pathogenesis of this disease, have revealed exciting clues that elucidate critical biological features that drive or contribute to MDS, and may serve as targets for selective and well-tolerated future therapies. Here, we review the current diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic approaches to higher-risk MDS.
Interference Drag Modeling and Experiments for a High-Reynolds-Number Transonic Wing

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) studies show the Strut/Truss Braced Wing (SBW/TBW) concept has the potential to save a significant amount of fuel over conventional designs. For the SBW/TBW concept to achieve these reductions, the interference drag at the wing strut juncture must be small compared to other drag sources. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) studies have indicated that the interference drag is small enough to be manageable. However, the RANS formulation and turbulence models used in these studies have not been validated for high Reynolds number transonic junction flows. This study assesses turbulence models by comparing flow separation characteristics obtained from experiment and CFD. The test model used is a NACA 0012 wing of aspect ratio 2 at Mach number of 0.76 and a Reynolds number of 6 million with varying angle of attack. The CFD study involved an 18.8 million cell structured grid of the wind tunnel test section using the ANSYS Fluent 12.0 solver. The k-ω SST turbulence model was the main turbulence model employed. Experiments were conducted in a high Reynolds number transonic Ludwieg tunnel. The wing was tested at different Mach numbers and inlet conditions to account for some of the experimental variations. Porous walls eliminate shock reflection across the tunnel. Surface oil flow visualization is used to indicate the interference flow patterns. The assessment shows CFD overpredicts separation and therefore interference drag, likely due to deficiencies in the turbulence model. Nomenclature
Experiments with pattern-forming systems

Abstract Six experimental investigations of pattern-formation problems are reviewed. They were chosen so as to illustrate in succession increasingly complex issues involving systems with spatial variation. The first three deal with the influence of noise, or stochastic forces, on non-equilibrium systems. A second set of experiments addresses progressively more complicated deterministic nonlinear issues. The first experiment which is discussed involves the response of a system below its first bifurcation point to external noise. The particular example studied experimentally was electro-convection in a nematic liquid crystal. The noise-induced fluctuations can be understood in terms of a linear theory. The second experiment addresses the question of how stochastic effects manifest themselves in the pattern evolution which will take place when the control parameter of the system is increased above its threshold value. This was investigated for the case of Rayleigh-Benard convection (RBC). It involves a combination of linear and weakly non-linear phenomena. The third topic deals with stochastic effects on a stationary time-periodic process in a pattern-forming system, namely RBC with periodic modulation of the Rayleigh number. The second set of experiments addresses questions for which stochastic effects play a negligible role. This is so when the pattern amplitude is so large and bifurcations are so far away that the perturbations due to noise can be ignored. The first topic in this category is an investigation of the band of stable states that exists above the first bifurcation in Taylor-vortex flow (TVF). The next issue is the selection of particular states out of this band by a spatial variation of the control parameter. It turns out that this selection is determined by the nature of the control-parameter variation, and not by the non-linear state as such. Thus, this experiment failed to provide any evidence for the existence of an extremum principle which might control the pattern-selection process. However, the results could be understood quantitatively in terms of theoretical models involving phase equations, and thus provide a welcome test of this theoretical approach well above the bifurcation where amplitude equations are no longer applicable. The third experiment in this category can be explained in terms of an amplitude equation, but requires complex coefficients. It involves the study of localized states, or pulses, of travelling convection rolls in a binary mixture. These pulses are related to the solitons in dispersive systems, but differ from them because of the dissipation in the hydrodynamic system. The equivalent of these pulses could not exist in a thermodynamic system, where the existence of a free energy would assure the survival of only one phase for a given set of intensive parameter values.
100: Effect of estrogen on metabolic response to growth hormone

Reports by others suggest that estrogen (E) administration blunts the usual metabolic response to growth hormone (GH). We gave GH (5 mg/day × 3), both with and without E (premarin 2.5 mg or ethinyl estradiol .04 mg × 3), to 2 pre-adolescent patients with GH deficiency and diabetes insipidus and to 3 patients with Turner's syndrome. All were fed a constant diet on the metabolic ward and E treatment was omitted for 1 month prior to the test. This research was approved by our Human Experimentation Committee. As judged by urinary excretion of Ca, Mg, P, N, No, K, and OH-prolrne concomitant E administration did not consistently produce a response different from that observed from GH alone. In none of the patients was the hypercalcuria accompanied by a change in serum PTH levels.
Phase II study of carboplatin in recurrent ovarian cancer: severe hematologic toxicity in previously treated patients

Carboplatin (CBDCA) is a second-generation cisplatin analog that has shown activity in early clinical trials. Its spectrum of toxicity is quantitatively and qualitatively different from that of the parent compound. Between November 1984 and September 1986 we conducted a phase II trial of CBDCA in 46 women with epithelial ovarian cancer. All patients had undergone at least one prior chemotherapy regimen; 41 (89%) had previously received cisplatin (mean cumulative dose, 540 mg/m2). The CBDCA dose was based on renal function and was injected i.v. once every 4 weeks. Patients were stratified on the basis of baseline creatinine clearance: those with a baseline creatinine clearance of greater than or equal to 60 ml/min received 400 mg/m2 CBDCA; those with a creatinine clearance between 30 and 60 ml/min received an initial dose calculated according to a previously published formula that corrected for renal insufficiency and projected nadir platelet counts of 75,000/mm3. Of 41 evaluable patients, 6 (15%) had an objective response [2 complete responses (CRs); 4 partial responses (PRs)]; 5 of the 6 responders had previously responded to cisplatin treatment. No responses were observed in 12 patients who had not responded to prior cisplatin therapy. Significant hematologic toxicity was seen. Of 18 patients with a creatinine clearance of greater than or equal to 60 ml/min (dose, 400 mg/m2), 6 had nadir platelet counts of less than 25,000/mm3, 4 with symptomatic bleeding. Of the 21 evaluable patients for whom the dose-modification formula was applied, 10 had nadir platelet counts of less than 75,000/mm3; 5 had counts of less than 50,000/mm3. CBDCA has activity even in patients who have previously undergone extensive cisplatin therapy; however, its toxicity is variable and thrombocytopenia is dose-limiting. We did not confirm the ability of the above-mentioned formula to calculate the CBDCA dose and accurately predict the nadir platelet count for all patients. Other factors, such as prior radiotherapy, may also be important in the dosing of CBDCA in pretreated patients.
Rotational relaxation of molecular hydrogen at moderate temperatures

Using a coupled rotation-vibration-dissociation model the rotational relaxation times for molecular hydrogen as a function of final temperature (500-5000 K), in a hypothetical scenario of sudden compression, are computed. The theoretical model is based on a master equation solver. The bound-bound and bound-free transition rates have been computed using a quasiclassical trajectory method. A review of the available experimental data on the rotational relaxation of hydrogen is presented, with a critical overview of the method of measurements and data reduction, including the sources of errors. These experimental data are then compared with the computed results.
(Z)-9-pentacosene - Contact sex pheromone of the locust borer, Megacyllene robiniae

Male locust borers, Megacyllene robiniae (Forster), responded to females only after contacting them with their antennae, indicating that mate recognition was mediated by a contact sex pheromone. GC-MS analyses of whole-body extracts of males and females determined that the profiles of compounds in the extracts were qualitatively similar, but differed considerably in the ratios of compounds between sexes. Biological activities of reconstructed blends of the most abundant straight-chain (nC23, nC24, nC25, nC26), methyl-branched (3me-C23, 3me-C25), and unsaturated (Z9:C23, Z9:C25, Z9:C27 compounds in extracts from females were assessed in arena bioassays, assessing four distinct steps in the mating behavior sequence of males (orientation, arrestment, body alignment, mounting and attempting to couple the genitalia). Males were unresponsive to freeze-killed, solventwashed females treated with blends of straight-chain and methyl-branched alkanes, but responded strongly to females treated with the blend of alkenes. Further trials determined that the complete sequence of mating behaviors, up to and including coupling the genitalia, was elicited by Z9:C25 alone. Z9:C25 comprised 16.4 ± 1.3% of the total hydrocarbons in whole-body hexane extracts of females and was co-dominant with two other hydrocarbons that were not active. In contrast, in solid phase microextraction (SPME) wipe samples from several areas of the cuticle, Z9:C25 appeared as the single dominant peak, comprising 34.6 − 37.8% of the sampled hydrocarbons. Our data indicate that Z9:C25 is a contact sex pheromone of M. robiniae, being the most abundant hydrocarbon on the surface of the cuticular wax layer of females where it is readily accessible to the antennae of males.
Self-Management of Oxaliplatin-Related Peripheral Neuropathy in Colorectal Cancer Survivors

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate medications that cancer survivors with oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy take to control neuropathic symptom, and to explore self-management techniques used at home to provide temporary relief of painful neuropathy. This was a mixed methods, descriptive, cross-sectional study using self-reported data from colorectal cancer survivors previously treated with oxaliplatin. We analyzed demographic and medication data obtained from participants, along with written comments from an open-ended question regarding methods participants had tried to self-manage symptoms of neuropathy. Results. Twenty-nine percent of the sample reported taking some type of nutritional supplement with potential neuroprotective qualities. Opioids were being taken by 10% of the sample, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory and over-the-counter medications were taken by 15% of participants. Twelve percent of participants were taking antidepressants and 10% were taking anticonvulsants, primarily gabapentin. Recurrent themes for nonpharmacologic treatment included avoiding the cold/keeping warm, keeping moving, massaging or rubbing the affected area, and living with it. Conclusions. Patients treated with oxaliplatin for colorectal cancer utilize a variety of traditional pharmacologic agents and nutritional supplements in an effort to self-manage neuropathic symptoms. Patients also employ a variety of home-based therapies to provide temporary relief of peripheral neuropathy symptoms.
BiHelix: Towards de novo Structure Prediction of an Ensemble of G-Protein Coupled Receptor Conformations

G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) play a critical role in cellular signal transduction pathways and are prominent therapeutic targets. Recently there has been major progress in obtaining experimental structures for a few GPCRs. Each GPCR, however, exhibits multiple conformations that play a role in their function and we have been developing methods aimed at predicting structures for all these conformations. Analysis of available structures shows that these conformations differ in relative helix tilts and rotations. The essential issue is, determining how to orient each of the seven helices about its axis since this determines how it interacts with the other six helices. Considering all possible helix rotations to ensure that no important packings are overlooked, and using rotation angle increments of 30° about the helical axis would still lead to 12^7 or 35 million possible conformations each with optimal residue positions. We show in this paper how to accomplish this. The fundamental idea is to optimize the interactions between each pair of contacting helices while ignoring the other 5 and then to estimate the energies of all 35 million combinations using these pair-wise interactions. This BiHelix approach dramatically reduces the effort to examine the complete set of conformations and correctly identifies the crystal packing for the experimental structures plus other near-native packings we believe may play an important role in activation. This approach also enables a detailed structural analysis of functionally distinct conformations using helix-helix interaction energy landscapes and should be useful for other helical transmembrane proteins as well.
Serum IgM in retinitis pigmentosa: a genetic study.

Because of a published report that serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) was elevated in some cases of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a genetic study was undertaken to determine if a particular pattern of inheritance was associated with elevated IgM. Seventy-five RP patients in 37 families were ascertained and classified by pattern of inheritance into six groups. Serum IgM was quantitated by the radial immunodiffusion technique. Fifty-one controls were also studied. Methods of adjusting the IgM values for sex, age, and race were derived, but only a sex adjustment was used, since no effect of age on IgM was found in this sample, and there were few data on race. There was no significant difference in mean IgM levels between RP patients and controls. The variance of the RP group was slightly greater than that of the controls. One-way analysis of variance of the six genetic categories of RP and controls was performed on the raw data and on the data after log transformation. The F-ratio was not significant, indicating that there was no difference in serum IgM levels among the seven groups. Possible reasons for the discrepancy in results between this study and the previous report are presented.
Product Differentiation, Search Costs, and Competition in the Mutual Fund Industry: A Case Study of S&P 500 Index Funds

We investigate the role that non-portfolio fund differentiation and information/search frictions play in creating two salient features of the mutual fund industry: the large number of funds and the sizeable dispersion in fund fees. In a case study, we find that despite the financial homogeneity of S&P 500 index funds, this sector exhibits the fund proliferation and fee dispersion observed in the broader industry. We show how extra-portfolio mechanisms explain these features. These mechanisms also suggest an explanation for the puzzling late-1990s shift in sector assets to more expensive (and often newly entered) funds: an influx of highinformation-cost novice investors.
Statistical Shape Analysis of Multi-Object Complexes

An important goal of statistical shape analysis is the discrimination between populations of objects, exploring group differences in morphology not explained by standard volumetric analysis. Certain applications additionally require analysis of objects in their embedding context by joint statistical analysis of sets of interrelated objects. In this paper, we present a framework for discriminant analysis of populations of 3-D multi-object sets. In view of the driving medical applications, a skeletal object parametrization of shape is chosen since it naturally encodes thickening, bending and twisting. In a multi-object setting, we not only consider a joint analysis of sets of shapes but also must take into account differences in pose. Statistics on features of medial descriptions and pose parameters, which include rotational frames and distances, uses a Riemannian symmetric space instead of the standard Euclidean metric. Our choice of discriminant method is the distance weighted discriminant (DWD) because of its generalization ability in high dimensional, low sample size settings. Joint analysis of 10 subcortical brain structures in a pediatric autism study demonstrates that multi-object analysis of shape results in a better group discrimination than pose, and that the combination of pose and shape performs better than shape alone. Finally, given a discriminating axis of shape and pose, we can visualize the differences between the populations.
Continuous-wave HF selected-line integral master oscillator power amplifier

Efficient lasing on multiple-selected lines has been recently demonstrated experimentally on a cw hf chemical laser. Multiple-selected-line operation is required to both enhance atmospheric transmission and to ensure high-power extraction efficiency on multiple vibrational hf levels. Seventy-five percent of the multiline power was measured on two selected hf lines using a confocal, unstable cavity with a high-efficiency (97%) intercavity diffraction grating. This measured fraction of the multiline power is consistent with theoretical calculations, which include the effect of rotational nonequilibrium. The two-selected-line hf unstable cavity was not prone to parasitic oscillations. A novel multiple-selected-line integral master oscillator power amplifier (IMOPA) concept was also evaluated. Line selection on two hf lines was demonstrated with the IMOPA, although the hole diameter had to be made sufficiently large to prevent parasitic oscillations within the amplifier. It was concluded from our experiments and theoretical calculations that, although the IMOPA concept was demonstrated at relatively low power (400 W), parasitics may be a problem at much higher values of the single-pass gain.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
GENDER AND SOUTHERN PUNISHMENT AFTER THE CIVIL WAR

Recent scholarship raises two questions about the historical relationship between gender and official responses to criminality. First, to what extent has the formal social control of women changed in the past two centuries? Second, to what extent can changes in the presence of women within the criminal justice system be traced to the same factors that account for the changing presence of men? To address these questions, I focus on women incarcerated for felonies in a southern state (Georgia) between 1870 and 1940. Along with a comparable sample of male offenders, this population forms the basis of a time-series analysis that compares, and seeks to account for, trends in admission rates. The analysis yields little evidence that women disappeared from formal system of punishment. Instead, there were gender similarities in punishment trends and in explanations for those trends. Concluding the paper is a discussion of its implications for further research on gender differences in punishment.
Is There a Fundamental Level

1. Talk about ‘‘the fundamental level of reality’’ pervades contemporary metaphysics. The fundamentalist starts with (a) a hierarchical picture of nature as stratified into levels, adds (b) an assumption that there is a bottom level which is fundamental, and winds up, often enough, with (c) an ontological attitude according to which the entities of the fundamental level are primarily real, while any remaining contingent entities are at best derivative, if real at all. Thus the physicalist claims thatmicrophysical theory (or some future extension thereof) describes the fundamental level of reality on which all else supervenes; theHumean claims that all supervenes on the distribution of local, fundamental qualities in spacetime; the epiphenomenalist claims that all causal powers inhere at the fundamental level; and the atomist claims that there are no macroentities at all but only fundamental entities in various arrangements. I find the hierarchical picture of nature in (a) plausible as reflected in the structure and discoveries of the sciences, and consider the ontological primacy of the fundamental entities in (c) a natural (though not inevitable) conclusion. In any case I will not discuss these issues here. Rather I will discuss the assumption (b) that there exists a fundamental level; first because it is almost entirely neglected; second because, as I will argue, there is no evidence in its favor; and third because the hierarchical picture minus (b) yields a far more palatable metaphysic in which, contra (c), all entities are equally real. NOUS 37:3 (2003) 498–517
Root causes of unsatisfactory performance of large and complex remediation projects: Lessons learned from the united states department of energy environmental management programs

The Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP) was asked by the United States Department of Energy (US DOE) to consider the root causes of remediation projects that fail to entirely achieve their goals and then to offer suggestions to assist the Department. To begin this project, CRESP held several meetings at which the group defined problematic outcomes, the early symptoms of problematic outcomes, and the root causes of failing to meet expectations. The five root causes are complex science, engineering, and technology; ambiguous economics; project management shortcomings; political processes and credibility; and history and organizational culture. This article, while focusing on the US DOE, provides a larger context for many remediation projects that have failed to entirely live up to their sponsors' expectations. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Atomistic Features of the Amorphous-Crystal Interface in Silicon

We simulate the amorphous–crystal interface in silicon using a combination of interatomic potential molecular-dynamics and tight- binding conjugate-gradient relaxation. The samples we create have high quality crystalline and amorphous portions. We develop some localized measures of order to characterize the interface, including a missing neighbor vector and the bond angle deviation. We find that the measures of order interpolate smoothly from a bulk crystal value to a bulk amorphous value across a 7 A thick interface region. The interface structures exhibit a number of interesting features. The crystal planes near the interface are nearly perfect, with a few dimer defects similar to the Si(100) 2×1 reconstruction. Interfaces produced with one constant temperature simulation method are rough, with several layers of atoms forming chains and (111) facets. A different simulation method produces more planar interfaces with only a few chains.
Medical versus surgical treatment of type 2 diabetes: the search for level 1 evidence.

Abstract Data from observational and nonrandomized comparative studies have shown a dramatic effect of bariatric surgery on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), including in nonobese patients. However, a relative paucity of level 1 evidence is available to define the exact role of surgery as a treatment modality for T2DM, especially in less obese subjects. Performing randomized clinical trials in this field, however, poses significant and specific challenges for the study design. We have addressed such challenges in a carefully designed randomized controlled trial comparing glycemic control with optimal medical management versus Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in overweight to mildly obese patients with T2DM mellitus (body mass index 26–35 kg/m 2 ). The present report describes the rationale and design of the Weill Cornell Medical College study. In addition to glycemic endpoints, however, clinical trials should also investigate the effect of surgery on cardiovascular risk or T2DM-specific morbidity. Addressing these endpoints would entail large, randomized clinical trials with prolonged period of observation and ideally a multicenter study design. Such a multisite trial poses substantial logistical and financial challenges, which would predictably delay rather than accelerate progress of research in this field. A consortium of centers performing independent small and medium size randomized clinical trials may provide a more realistic and feasible approach. In this paper, we present an overview of on-going randomized clinical trials in this field and propose a worldwide consortium of randomized controlled trials (WORLDCoRDS) using the Weill Cornell Medical College protocol. The aim of this consortium is to standardize research in T2DM surgery and timely accumulate homogeneous data that can help assess the effects of GI surgery on cardiovascular risk and T2DM-related mortality and morbidity.
Effect of Eimeria acervulina infection in chicks fed excess dietary cobalt and/or manganese.

Two trials were conducted with male Cobb chicks to investigate the interaction between experimental Eimeria acervulina infection and dietary excessesof Co and Mn. Eimeria acervulina infection depressed rate and efficiency of weight gain, increased bone mineral retention and exacerbated Co toxicity. A significant Co X Mn interaction was observed in growth rate and efficiency of gain and in Co and Mn concentration in some tissues as well. This interaction was present both in uninfected chicks and in coccidiosis-infected chicks. Excesses of dietary Co and Mn increased tissue Co and Mn concentrations, respectively. Excess Co also increased Mn accumulation in kidney, bile and the tibia. J. Nutr. 115: 347-351, 1985.
Anthropogenic Changes in Tropospheric Composition Increase Susceptibility of Soybean to Insect Herbivory

Increased concentrations of CO2 and ozone are predicted to lower nutritional quality of leaves for insect herbivores, which may increase herbivory as insects eat more to meet their nutritional demands. To test this prediction, we measured levels of herbivory in soybean grown in ambient air and air enriched with CO2 or O3 using free air gas concentration enrichment (FACE). Under open-air conditions and exposure to the full insect community, elevated [CO2] increased the susceptibility of soybeans to herbivory early in the season, whereas exposure to elevated [O3] seemed to have no effect. In the region of the canopy exposed to high levels of herbivory, the percentage of leaf area removed increased from 5 to >11% at elevated [CO2]. We found no evidence for compensatory feeding at elevated [CO2] where leaf nitrogen content and C:N ratio were unaltered in plants experiencing increased herbivory. However, levels of leaf sugars were increased by 31% at elevated [CO2] and coincided with a significant increase in the density of the invasive species Popillia japonica Newman (Japanese beetle). In two-choice feeding trials, Japanese beetles and Mexican bean beetles (Epilachna varivestis Mulsant.) preferred foliage grown at elevated [CO2] to foliage grown at ambient [CO2]. These data support the hypothesis that the increased level of sugar in leaves grown at elevated [CO2] may act as a phagostimulant for the Japanese beetle. If these results apply more widely to soybean production, the expectation of agricultural yield increases as a result of increasing elevated [CO2] may need to be reevaluated.
Elective laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in patients with tumors >4 cm.

Objectives To assess the perioperative outcomes of elective laparoscopic partial nephrectomy to treat renal tumors in patients with tumor burdens >4 cm compared with those with tumor burdens of ≤4 cm. Methods A retrospective review of medical records was performed for all patients who had undergone laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for renal tumors from January 2000 to March 2005. The preoperative risk factors (ie, sex, age, American Society for Anesthesiologists score), perioperative course (ie, operative time, estimated blood loss, warm ischemia time, intraoperative and postoperative complications, transfusion rate, intraoperative biopsy of surgical margins, length of hospitalization), and pathologic outcomes (ie, tumor stage, type, and grade) were collected and compared between the patients in the 2 cohorts. Results Patients with larger tumors had significantly more complications (37.0% vs 21.8%, P = .039) and a significantly longer hospitalization (4.1 vs 3.0 days, P = .026). For those with malignant tumors >4 cm compared with those with malignant tumors of ≤4 cm, the complication rate was 33.3% and 11.6% ( P = 0.006) and the length of hospitalization was 4.5 and 3.2 days ( P = .055), respectively. No other differences were noted between the 2 groups stratified by tumor size. Conclusions Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy is an oncologically feasible option for tumor burdens >4 cm in the greatest dimension to provide a nephron-sparing option for patients in whom individually selected lesions can be isolated.
Experiments and modeling of the deposition of nano-structured alumina–titania coatings by detonation waves

Abstract Deposition of nano-structured alumina–titania coatings by detonation waves has been studied experimentally. Experiments involved entrainment of conventional (Metco 130) and nano-structured/agglomerated alumina–titania powders with particle size distributions between 10 and 120 μm into the convective flow behind detonation waves. Stoichiometric mixtures of acetylene–oxygen was utilized in these experiments. Small quantities of powder (0.8–1.2 g) were placed in the detonation tube at fixed distances from the deposition location. The variation of the initial powder location along the detonation tube allowed different residence times of particles in the flow before deposition, thus allowing variation of the thermal and kinetic states of the particles prior to deposition. In this article, experimental results are presented in terms of the microstructure of the deposited coatings and coating micro-hardness. The coating characterization was performed as a function of the initial powder location. It was found that the cross-sections of the coatings contained significant regions with feature sizes of several hundred nanometers. Due to the low temperatures and high velocities attained by particles in the detonation process, coating structure is quite different than those obtained in plasma deposition. Results from modeling of particle motion and heat-up suggest that different size powder particles are accelerated and heated-up at different rates in the detonation process. Small particles are more rapidly accelerated and reach higher temperatures as compared to the larger sizes. This leads to upper layers of the coatings having the larger particles that may have very little or no melting versus lower layers of the coating consisting of small particles that undergo significant melting. The un-melted portions containing significant nano-structure from the feedstock material are believed to be mostly responsible for the retained nano-structure. Coating micro-hardness is found to increase with the increasing stand-off distance between the initial powder location and the deposition point. For each sample, higher hardness values were found in the lower layers of the coating consisting of melted regions. Metco 130 detonation coatings exhibited a stronger dependence of micro-hardness on the stand-off distance between the initial powder and the deposition location as compared to the nano-structured powder. Detonation coatings generated from nano-structured powder have consistently 30–60% higher micro-hardness values above those for typical plasma coatings utilizing the same material.
Networked Infomechanical Systems (NIMS): Next Generation Sensor Networks for Environmental Monitoring

Embedded networked sensing systems have been successfully applied to environmental monitoring in a wide range of applications. These first results have demonstrated a potential for advancing fundamental environmental science methods and environmental management capability as well as for providing future methods for safeguarding public health. While substantial progress in sensor network performance has appeared, new challenges have also emerged. Specifically, the inevitable and unpredictable time evolution of environmental phenomena introduces sensing uncertainty and degrades the performance of event detection, environment characterization, and sensor fusion. Many of the physical obstacles encountered by static sensors may be circumvented by a new method, Networked Infomechanical Systems (NIMS). NIMS integrates distributed, embedded sensing and computing systems with infrastructure-supported mobility to enable direct uncertainty characterization, autonomous adjustment of spatiotemporal sampling rate, and active sensor fusion. NIMS actuation is also being applied to advancing sensor network performance through methods based on control of distributed, directional antenna systems. In addition to advances in fundamental research objectives, this presentation will describe the architecture, implementation, and application of NIMS now deployed and continuously operating in the field.
Educating Patients about CKD: The Path to Self-Management and Patient-Centered Care

Patient education is associated with better patient outcomes and supported by international guidelines and organizations, but a range of barriers prevent widespread implementation of comprehensive education for people with progressive kidney disease, especially in the United States. Among United States patients, obstacles to education include the complex nature of kidney disease information, low baseline awareness, limited health literacy and numeracy, limited availability of CKD information, and lack of readiness to learn. For providers, lack of time and clinical confidence combine with competing education priorities and confusion about diagnosing CKD to limit educational efforts. At the system level, lack of provider incentives, limited availability of practical decision support tools, and lack of established interdisciplinary care models inhibit patient education. Despite these barriers, innovative education approaches for people with CKD exist, including self-management support, shared decision making, use of digital media, and engaging families and communities. Education efficiency may be increased by focusing on people with progressive disease, establishing interdisciplinary care management including community health workers, and providing education in group settings. New educational approaches are being developed through research and quality improvement efforts, but challenges to evaluating public awareness and patient education programs inhibit identification of successful strategies for broader implementation. However, growing interest in improving patient-centered outcomes may provide new approaches to effective education of people with CKD.
Genome-Wide Association Study of Arabidopsis thaliana Identifies Determinants of Natural Variation in Seed Oil Composition

The renewable source of highly reduced carbon provided by plant triacylglycerols (TAGs) fills an ever increasing demand for food, biodiesel, and industrial chemicals. Each of these uses requires different compositions of fatty acid proportions in seed oils. Identifying the genes responsible for variation in seed oil composition in nature provides targets for bioengineering fatty acid proportions optimized for various industrial and nutrition goals. Here, we characterized the seed oil composition of 391 world-wide, wild accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana, and performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the 9 major fatty acids in the seed oil and 4 composite measures of the fatty acids. Four to 19 regions of interest were associated with the seed oil composition traits. Thirty-four of the genes in these regions are involved in lipid metabolism or transport, with 14 specific to fatty acid synthesis or breakdown. Eight of the genes encode transcription factors. We have identified genes significantly associated with variation in fatty acid proportions that can be used as a resource across the Brassicaceae. Two-thirds of the regions identified contain candidate genes that have never been implicated in lipid metabolism and represent potential new targets for bioengineering.
Effect of elastic bandage wraps on leg edema in patients before and after liver transplant.

Context—Few studies have evaluated the benefits of short-term use of compression therapy to prevent or minimize edema and/or pain in the legs of acutely ill, hospitalized patients without venous le...
Nightmare Cessation following Alteration of Ophthalmic Administration of a Cholinergic and a Beta-Blocking Agent

OBJECTIVE:To document the termination of nightmares brought about by an alteration in the ophthalmic administration of beta-blocking and cholinergic agents.PATIENT:A 75-year-old man residing in a long-term care facility experienced nightly nightmares of approximately one-year duration.INTERVENTION:Other potential causes for the nightmares were eliminated. The administration of the ophthalmic agents was evaluated and the resident was then instructed to alter administration to include closure of his eyes for one to two minutes after administration.OUTCOME:Following the alteration in administration the nightmares were not present and have not reappeared in the ensuing year.CONCLUSIONS:Ophthalmic application of beta-blocking and cholinergic agents is used for the treatment of glaucoma and has been reported to cause a wide variety of central nervous system effects. Researchers have documented reduced systemic absorption and enhanced ocular retention time with specific modifications in the administration of the...
Variation in reproductive compatibility in Trichogramma and its taxonomic significance (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

One hundred thirty-two cross-breeding experiments among populations of Trichogramma pretiosum Riley, T. deion Pinto and Oatman, and the T. minutum Riley complex are summarized. Results show that extremely complex patterns of reproductive compatibility exist among collections considered conspecific on morphological grounds. These include complete compatibility, varying levels of partial one- and two-way incompatibility, and complete incompatibility. Reproductive relationships appear to be correlated with geographic range in the minutum complex but not in T. pretiosum or T. deion . Reproductive disjunction among laboratory cultures has frequently served as justification for formal species recognition in Trichogramma . The advisability of this practice is discussed, given the considerable intraspecific variation in compatibility.
Quantum Molecular Dynamics of Solid C60

We report the first structure optimization and quantum molecular dynamics simulations for solid C60. The symmetry-unconstrained optimization results in nearly ideal buckminsterfullerene structure. This is due to the closed shell nature of C60 and the weakness of the intermolecular interactions in the solid. The lack of substantial intermolecular interactions allows for rotations at relatively low temperatures and these rotations are observed during simulations. Although the zero temperature structure consists of alternating single and double bonds, this distinction becomes blurred at moderate temperatures. However, computer generated movies show that the cage structure is preserved even at high temperatures, despite vibrational motion with substantial amplitude.
Improving the accuracy of entrance dosimetry measurements for dose modeling

Due in part to measurement positional uncertainties, the entrance region of depth-ionization curves has challenged beam modelers - thus this region is often ignored in beam modeling despite the valuable dosimetric information contained within. In a previous work, for a single ionization chamber (IC), we demonstrated a method to reduce the positional uncertainty by scanning the IC beyond the water surface into the air and using the ionization inflection point to determine the water surface location. This study extends the previously developed surface location method to eleven additional cylindrical IC designs and investigates the functional dependencies of the inflection point. For the ICs studied, the relative in-air response is related to the IC’s wall mass thickness. The inflection point is found to be invariant within measurement resolution (0.5 mm) to changes in beam energy, electron contamination, and field size. Inflection point locations are found to be strongly dependent on IC outer radius, with weaker dependencies on wall thickness and material composition. The inflection point determination technique is useful for accurately determining absolute IC position. Measurements taken with this improved positional accuracy should serve as more accurate inputs to treatment planning system dose calculation algorithms and as more accurate benchmarks for Monte Carlo beam model verification.
Qubit measurement error from coupling with a detuned neighbor in circuit QED

In modern circuit QED architectures, superconducting transmon qubits are measured via the state-dependent phase and amplitude shift of a microwave field leaking from a coupled resonator. Determining this shift requires integrating the field quadratures for a nonzero duration, which can permit unwanted concurrent evolution. Here we investigate such dynamical degradation of the measurement fidelity caused by a detuned neighboring qubit. We find that in realistic parameter regimes, where the qubit ensemble-dephasing rate is slower than the qubit-qubit detuning, the joint qubit-qubit eigenstates are better discriminated by measurement than the bare states. Furthermore, we show that when the resonator leaks much more slowly than the qubit-qubit detuning, the measurement tracks the joint eigenstates nearly adiabatically. However, the measurement process also causes rare quantum jumps between the eigenstates. The rate of these jumps becomes significant if the resonator decay is comparable to or faster than the qubit-qubit detuning, thus significantly degrading the measurement fidelity in a manner reminiscent of energy relaxation processes.
Serological comparison of virulent and avirulent Mycoplasma pneumoniae by monoclonal antibodies.

An avirulent strain (M129-B175) of Mycoplasma pneumoniae is morphologically indistinguishable from its virulent parent strain (M129-B7). Functionally, the avirulent strain has lost its ability to attach to respiratory epithelium and does not produce pneumonia in hamsters. Biochemical analyses by one- or two-dimensional SDS-gel electrophoresis have so far failed to produce evidence that could account for the changes in the avirulent strain. It is possible that proteins of the avirulent strain have been altered by spontaneous mutations to nonfunctional states, events which would not necessarily alter their physical properties, i.e., molecular weight. To examine this possibility, Western blots prepared from proteins of the avirulent strain, separated on SDS-gels, were exposed to a collection of monoclonal antibodies to the virulent strain. Immunoradioautographs showed that two protein bands of the avirulent strain lost their reactivity to the monoclonal antibodies, although overall protein profiles were identical. This preliminary observation suggests that spontaneous mutations that lead to structural changes in protein molecules occurred during the derivation of the avirulent strain.
Status epilepticus in children.

Summary The emergency physician caring for children should have a thorough understanding of all aspects of SE. The morbidity and mortality attributable to this condition can be minimized through rapid recognition of the disorder, a rational therapeutic and diagnostic plan, and recognition and management of typical complications. Promising developments include new drugs, such as the phenytoin prodrug and the use of newer dosing methods and routes of administration for current drugs, such as very high-dose phenobarbital, thiopental barbiturate coma, and continuously infused midazolam.
Fault-tolerant adjustable speed drive systems

In this chapter, fault tolerance in adjustable speed drive (ASD) systems is examined in detail. The chapter begins with a study of important factors affecting the reliability of ASDs. Then this chapter examines various power converter configurations employed in ASD systems and their modifications to enhance fault tolerance.
Arsenic-Induced Activation of the Homeodomain-Interacting Protein Kinase 2 (HIPK2) to cAMP-Response Element Binding Protein (CREB) Axis.

Abstract Cyclic AMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) plays key transcriptional roles in cell metabolism, proliferation, and survival. Ser133 phosphorylation by protein kinase A (PKA) is a well-characterized CREB activation mechanism. Homeodomain-interacting protein kinase (HIPK) 2, a nuclear serine/threonine kinase, activates CREB through Ser271 phosphorylation; however, the regulatory mechanism remains uncharacterized. Transfection of CREB in HEK293 cells together with the kinase demonstrated that HIPK2 phosphorylated CREB at Ser271 but not Ser133; likewise, PKA phosphorylated CREB at Ser133 but not Ser271, suggesting two distinct CREB regulatory mechanisms by HIPK2 and PKA. In vitro kinase assay revealed that HIPK2, and HIPK1 and HIPK3, directly phosphorylated CREB. Cells exposed to 10 μM sodium arsenite increased the stability of HIPK1 and HIPK2 proteins, leading to CREB activation via Ser271 phosphorylation. Phospho-Ser271 CREB showed facilitated interaction with the TFIID subunit coactivator TAF4 assessed by immunoprecipitation. Furthermore, a focused gene array between cells transfected with CREB alone and CREB plus HIPK2 over empty vector-transfected control displayed 14- and 32-fold upregulation of cyclin A1, respectively, while no upregulation was displayed by HIPK2 alone. These results suggest that the HIPK2-phospho-Ser271 CREB axis is a new arsenic-responsive CREB activation mechanism in parallel with the PKA-phospho-Ser133 CREB axis.