cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dietary resistant starch type 4-derived butyrate attenuates nuclear factor-kappa-B1 through modulation of histone H3 trimethylation at lysine 27

Indigestible resistant starches (RS) are substrates for gut-microbial metabolism and have been shown to attenuate intestinal inflammation but the supporting evidence is inconsistent and lacks mechanistic explanation. We have recently reported dietary RS type 4 (RS4) induced improvements in immunometabolic functions in humans and a concomitant increase in butyrogenic gut-bacteria. Since inflammation is a key component in metabolic diseases, here we investigated the effects of RS4-derived butyrate on the epigenetic repression of pro-inflammatory genes in vivo and in vitro. RS4-fed mice, compared to the control-diet group, had higher cecal butyrate and increased tri-methylation of lysine 27 on histone 3 (H3K27me3) in the promoter of nuclear factor-kappa-B1 (NFκB1) in the colon tissue. The H3K27me3-enrichment inversely correlated with the concentration dependent down-regulation of NFκB1 in sodium butyrate treated human colon epithelial cells. Two additional inflammatory genes were attenuated by sodium butyrate, but were not linked with H3K27me3 changes. This exploratory study presents a new opportunity for studying underlying H3K27me3 and other methylation modifying mechanisms linked to RS4 biological activity.
Plague and tularemia.

Plague and tularemia are diseases caused by gram-negative bacteria Yersinia pestis and Francisella tularensis, respectively. Transmission occurs mainly through vectors, affecting humans and other mammals, causing fever and lymphadenopathy. These infectious diseases present very similar clinical and epidemiological characteristics; therefore, it is appropriate to study them jointly. On the other hand, there also are important differences as to their clinical and epidemiological aspects, as well as their etiologic agents. Among the reservoirs common to both microorganisms, rodents are worthy of mention, as well as lagomorphs and wild and domestic carnivores. The primary mode of plague transmission is through the bite of infected fleas, while transmission of tularemia is caused through the bite of several hematophagous arthropods. These diseases can be found throughout the world: the plague persists in natural foci in countries Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, while tularemia is restricted to countries in the northern hemisphere. Treatment for both diseases consists of similar antimicrobials, where streptomycin and gentamicin are the drugs of choice. Without prompt treatment, these diseases can cause serious illness and even death. Bacterial culture and inoculation of animals infected with plague and tularemia should be carried out in a biosafety level 3 (BSL3) laboratory. Both diseases are categorized as international public health emergencies, given their ability to cause significant impact on public health and their potential for rapid international spread.
Fiduciary Provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

skeletal principles that necessitate future regulations and court interpretations to specific rules of prohibited and mandatory conduct. Most fiduciary provisions are not clearly illuminated or organized in the legislation but must be extracted by cutting and pasting; their full import and impact will only be realized with the passage of time. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE FIDUCIARY PROVISIONS The private pension system is of relatively recent origin in the United States. It is in large part attributable to the change in our society from a rural agrarian to a highly industrialized urban one. In an industrial society, the laborer sells his services in return for wages, and when he is no longer able to sell those services he is forced to live off the wages previously earned and saved. It was thus only natural for laborers to be concerned with deferring some of their current * Member, New Orleans Bar. 1. P.L. 93-406 (September 2, 1974) [hereinafter cited as ERISA]. For a complete legislative history, see CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE, LiBRARY OF CONGRESS, HD 7100, 74-183 Ed. (1974). LOUISIANA LAW REVIEW wages to their retirement years. The inability of a substantial portion of the American workers to provide for their own retirement through savings and the inadequacy of the amounts saved and the consequences flowing from this result was one of the prime reasons for the federal government's injecting itself into the retirement picture. In 1935, Congress enacted the Federal Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program, which has been expanded both in coverage and in benefits in subsequent years. 2 Though the federal government had entered into the retirement picture through the enactment of a federal retirement system, 3 it had, before the enactment of ERISA, exercised relatively little control over private pension systems. The growth in private pension plans in the United States has been tremendous. In 1950, it was estimated that 9.8 million workers were covered by some form of private pension plan.4 In 1960, the figure had increased to over 21 million, and by 1969, over 29 million workers were covered.5 It was estimated that in 1974 over 30 million workers, almost one-half of the private non-farm working force, were covered by some form of private pension plan.6 The phenomenal rate of expansion in coverage was also matched by the accumulation of pension assets. In 1974, it was estimated that assets in excess of 372 billion dollars were held as reserve in various pension plans.7 These assets constituted the largest unregulated source of capital in the United States. In view of these factors, it was only a matter of time before encompassing federal regulatory legislation was enacted in the private pension area. On March 28, 1962, President John F. Kennedy established a blue-ribbon federal cabinet-level committee to review 2. 49 Stat. 620; 42 U.S.C. § 301 (1970).
Evaluating the Effectiveness, Efficiency and Safety of Telemedicine for Urological Care in the Male Prisoner Population.

Abstract Introduction We reviewed the safety and effectiveness of our hospital’s urological telemedicine program that has been used for the Iowa prisoner population for more than a decade. Methods A retrospective review was performed of telemedicine visits of male prisoners from 2007 to 2014. The effectiveness of these visits was assessed by 1) concordance of telemedicine and in-person diagnoses, 2) compliance with radiologic and medication orders, and 3) in-person visits saved with telemedicine. Safety was assessed by analyzing the number of patients for whom an emergency department visit was required after the telemedicine visit, and missed or delayed cases of malignancy. Estimates were then made of the number of cases that could safely be managed with telemedicine alone. Results The most common diagnosis was voiding dysfunction (24%), followed by genitourinary pain (23%). Diagnoses were concordant in 90% of patients, compliance was high (radiology 91%, medications 89%) and in-person visits were estimated to be saved in 80% to 94%. No men required emergency department visits after telemedicine visits and no cases of malignancy were missed in the population that returned for an in-person visit. We estimated that more than 50% of urological complaints in this cohort could have been managed with telemedicine alone. Conclusions Telemedicine was shown to be a safe and effective method of providing general urological care that obviated the initial in-person visits for nearly 90% of patients. It is likely that telemedicine could safely replace in-person visits for many urological conditions, especially for younger men and those for whom access to specialized care may be limited.
Large margin Boltzmann machines

Boltzmann Machines are a powerful class of undirected graphical models. Originally proposed as artificial neural networks, they can be regarded as a type of Markov Random Field in which the connection weights between nodes are symmetric and learned from data. They are also closely related to recent models such as Markov logic networks and Conditional Random Fields. A major challenge for Boltzmann machines (as well as other graphical models) is speeding up learning for large-scale problems. The heart of the problem lies in efficiently and effectively approximating the partition function. In this paper, we propose a new efficient learning algorithm for Boltzmann machines that allows them to be applied to problems with large numbers of random variables. We introduce a new large-margin variational approximation to the partition function that allows Boltzmann machines to be trained using a support vector machine (SVM) style learning algorithm. For discriminative learning tasks, these large margin Boltzmann machines provide an alternative approach to structural SVMs. We show that these machines have low sample complexity and derive a generalization bound. Our results demonstrate that on multilabel classification problems, large margin Boltzmann machines achieve orders of magnitude faster performance than structural SVMs and also outperform structural SVMs on problems with large numbers of labels.
Reply to comments regarding “The Carrageenan Controversy”

Carrageenan has been used in the laboratory for decades because it reliably causes inflammation. Coincident with its use in the laboratory, carrageenan has been used in an ever-increasing list of processed foods, as well as in infant formula, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, toothpaste, room air deodorizers, and other products. The biological reactivity of carrageenan makes it a useful substance to improve the texture and solubility of ingredients in processed foods. Individuals may consume several grams of carrageenan on a daily basis. However, the potential contribution of carrageenan exposure to chronic human diseases, due to its activation of immune responses and its potent inflammatory properties, must be recognized.
Nonlinear Surface Reactance of a Superconductor Strip

The nonlinear reactive response of a thin superconductor strip at microwave frequencies is analyzed in terms of two mechanisms intrinsic to a superconductor: the response of the condensate state in the presence of an electromagnetic transversal field and the Lorentz-force effect. These are qualitatively and quantitatively distinct mechanisms. The former is a quantum effect, at work at the strip midsection where the current density is approximately constant, while the latter is a classical effect associated with the large current gradients at the strip edges. The lowest nonlinear term in the penetration depth is calculated for both mechanisms in the static limit and for an s-wave superconductor. The result associated with the condensate state response mechanism compares well with recent high-quality YBCO-film data, particularly at elevated temperatures. On the other hand the Lorentz force nonlinearity mechanism yields a negligible contribution for a wide thin film. We conclude with a brief discussion of this work in perspective to related work.
Ethnography with Love and Duende: The Promise of Ethnography in a Democratic Society (On Receiving The CAE 2016 George and Louise Spindler Award)

This article is a slightly edited version of my invited award talk, delivered just days after the presidential election, when I received the George and Louise Spindler Award at the annual business meeting of the Council on Anthropology and Education, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 2016. In those first days after the election we were all stunned and trying to understand what the new Trump era would mean and how we as educational anthropologists would go forward with our continued efforts to conduct research that contributed to a more democratic and just society. Grave concerns, renewed determination, and an abundance of emotion were prominent in shaping my remarks that night.
Information Hiding by Digital Watermarking

Digital information and data are transmitted more often over the Internet now than ever. Free-access digital multimedia communication unfortunately provides virtually unprecedented opportunities to pirate copyrighted material. Therefore, the idea of using a digital watermark to detect and trace copyright violations has stimulated significant interests among engineers, scientists, lawyers, artists and publishers. In this chapter, we present robust high-capacity digital watermarking techniques based on genetic algorithm (GA) and chaotic map. A GA-based technique is presented to correct the rounding errors. The fundamental is to adopt a fitness function for choosing the best chromosome which determines the conversion rule of real numbers into integers during the cosine transformation. We develop a block-based chaotic map, which outperforms the traditional one by breaking local spatial similarity, to increase the amount of significant coefficients in the transformed image. We demonstrate the superiority of the proposed scheme in terms of better embedding capacity and lower message error rate. Furthermore, we show the proposed algorithm works well under some image-processing distortions, such as the JPEG compression, Gaussian noise, and low-pass filter.
Basic Concepts Underlying Simulation

This chapter has been written to introduce the topic of discrete-event simulation. To comprehend the material presented in this chapter, some background in the theory of probability is needed. Alternatively, the reader should read Chapter 3). The two major topics covered in this chapter are random number generation and simulation modeling of random systems.
A Critical Examination of Key Assumptions Underlying Diversity and Social Justice Courses in Social Work

ABSTRACTThis article examines underlying assumptions of Master of Social Work diversity and social justice courses as sites that embody social work’s dual projects of social justice and professiona...
Reactivation tuberculosis presenting with unilateral axillary lymphadenopathy.

Abstract Unilateral axillary lymphadenopathy has various benign and malignant etiologies. Although benign causes are more common, it is important to exclude malignant causes, including metastasis from primary breast carcinoma. Benign etiologies include reactive adenopathy, granulomatous disease, and collagen vascular disease. We present a case of unilateral right axillary lymphadenopathy in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. The pathologic diagnosis of granulomatous lymphadenitis and interval discovery of patient's history of latent tuberculosis led to a second biopsy for special mycobacterial staining and cultures with a final diagnosis of reactivation tuberculosis. The extrapulmonary manifestation of reactivation tuberculosis with tuberculous lymphadenitis is uncommon and particularly rare in the axillary lymph nodes.
Delayed Diagnosis of Tandem Spinal Stenosis: A Retrospective Institutional Review

ABSTRACT Background: Tandem spinal stenosis (TSS) is defined as simultaneous spinal stenosis in the cervical, thoracic, and/or lumbar regions and may present with both upper and lower motor neuron symptoms, neurogenic claudication, and gait disturbance. Current literature has focused mainly on the prevalence of TSS and treatment methods, while the incidence of delayed TSS diagnosis is not well defined. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of delayed TSS diagnosis at our institution and describe the clinical characteristics commonly observed in their particular presentation. Methods: Following institutional review board approval, an institutional billing database review was performed for patients who underwent a spinal decompression procedure between 2006 and 2016. Thirty-three patients who underwent decompression on 2 separate spinal regions within 1 year were included for review. Patients with delayed diagnosis of TSS following the first surgery were differentiated from those with preoperative diagnosis of TSS. Results: TSS requiring surgical decompression occurred in 33 patients, with the incidence being 2.06% in this cohort. Fifteen patients received a delayed diagnosis after the first surgical decompression (45%) and were found to have a longer interval between decompressions (7.6 ± 2.1 months versus 4.01 ± 3 months, P = .0004). Patients undergoing lumbar decompression as the initial procedure were more likely to have a delayed diagnosis of TSS (8 versus 2 patients, P = .0200). The most common presentation of delayed TSS was pain and myelopathic symptoms that persisted after decompressive surgery. Conclusion: TSS should remain within the differential diagnosis for patients at initial presentation of spinal stenosis. In addition, suspicion of TSS should be heightened if preoperative symptoms fail to expectedly improve following decompression even if overt myelopathic signs are not present. Level of Evidence: 4
Idiopathic stroke after syndromic and neuromuscular scoliosis surgery: a case report and literature review

Children with syndromic and neuromuscular scoliosis undergoing corrective surgery experience higher complication rates than those with idiopathic scoliosis. A rare but devastating complication is stroke, which occurs in 0.57% of operations for neuromuscular scoliosis but accounts for 7.6% of deaths. Comorbidities associated with non-idiopathic scoliosis that increase risk of stroke include hypercoagulability, cardiac dysfunction, and contractures, which interfere with positioning and risk vascular compromise. Syndromic and neuromuscular diseases may predispose patients to intraoperative dural tears, either primarily (e.g., dural ectasia) or secondarily, in particular due to severity of deformity. We present the case of a perioperative, idiopathic stroke in a 15-year-old boy with scoliosis in the setting of neurofibromatosis type I, reviewing possible causes as well as strategies for preoperative assessment and postoperative monitoring.
Linear momentum and angular momentum transfer in the reactions of 16O with 154Sm.

From coincidence measurements between projectile-like fragments or heavy residues and their associated ..gamma.. rays, the angular momentum transfers for a variety of incomplete fusion reactions of 180 and 310 MeV /sup 16/O with /sup 154/Sm have been derived. At the higher energy, the correlation between angular momentum transfer and linear momentum transfer has been obtained over the entire range of linear momentum transfer. A comparison of the data with calculations of both the sum-rule and geometric overlap models indicates that each makes reasonable predictions of the observed trend even though the assumptions of the models are quite different, and very different initial partial waves are predicted to contribute to particular reaction channels. This results primarily from prescriptions relating fractional mass transfer to fractional angular momentum transfer. The reconstruction of the initial partial wave distributions from correlated measurements of linear momentum and angular momentum transfers is addressed. Comparisons are also made with more recent model calculations which focus on nucleon-nucleon scattering as the mechanism of momentum transfer.
Analysis of Classification Techniques for Intrusion Detection

In the field of machine learning, many supervised and unsupervised methods have been developed to develop an effective and efficient Intrusion Detection System (IDS). However, a comprehensive comparative analysis of different intrusion/anomaly detection methods on standard datasets is required. In this work, a standard dataset NSL-KDD is used for comparative analysis of six popular classifiers. The normal and anomalous records have been identified using following classification techniques: Decision Tree, Naive Bayes, Ada Boost, MLP, Random Forest and Liner SVM. Implementation is done using Python based scikit-learn library. Results yielded are evaluated and compared on the basis of standard performance evaluation measures like accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, confusion matrix and AUROC curve. The highest percentage accuracies have been achieved by MLP model, i.e., 100% and Decision Tree Model i.e., 98%. Moreover, the comparative analysis of the data mining techniques applied in last five years on two standard and publicly available datasets ISCX-IDS2012 and UNSW-NB15 has also presented in this paper.
Directed Zagreb Indices

Zagreb indices for undirected graphs were introduced nearly 50 years ago. Their original development was related to uses in chemistry, but over time mathematicians have also found them to be an interesting topic of study. We define and introduce Zagreb indices for directed graphs, give results that parallel many of the conjectures and theorems that exist for the original Zagreb indices, and produce results specific to the directed graph case.
Elliptic flow and nearly perfect fluidity in dilute Fermi gases

In this contribution we summarize recent progress in understanding the shear viscosity of strongly correlated dilute Fermi gases. We discuss predictions from kinetic theory, and show how these predictions can be tested using recent experimental data on elliptic flow. We find agreement between theory and experiments in the high temperature regime $T\gg T_F$, where $T_F$ is the the temperature where quantum degeneracy effects become important. In the low temperature regime, $T\sim T_F$, the strongest constraints on the shear viscosity come from experimental studies of the damping of collective modes. These experiments indicate that $\eta/s\lsim 0.5\hbar/k_B$, where $\eta$ is the shear viscosity and $s$ is the entropy density.
Chaplain-Physician Interactions From the Chaplain's Perspective: A Mixed Method Analysis.

Background:The value of healthcare chaplains to patient care is increasingly recognized. However, physicians’ understandings of the role of pastoral care have been reported to be poor, which have r...
Male factor infertility and placental pathology in singleton live births conceived with in vitro fertilization

We sought to determine whether pregnancies conceived in those with male factor infertility have unique placental pathology profiles compared to those undergoing infertility treatments for other indications. This was a retrospective cohort study of placental pathology from 464 live births conceived from autologous fresh IVF cycles at an academic fertility center from 2004 to 2017. Placental pathology was compared between live births arising from patients with male factor infertility alone and those with another infertility diagnosis. Placental outcomes were compared with parametric or non-parametric tests; logistic regression was performed to account for potential confounders. Compared to cycles performed for a non-male factor diagnosis, male factor infertility cycles had a higher mean paternal age (38.2 years vs. 36.5 years, p < 0.001), a higher female mean BMI (24.3 vs. 23.3 kg/m2, p = 0.01), and a lower day 3 follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level (6.8 vs. 7.3 IU/mL, p = 0.02). The mean numbers of embryos transferred, and day of transfer were similar between groups, and more cycles used ICSI in the male factor infertility group (90.6% vs. 22.5%, p < 0.001). Placental pathology in our adjusted model was similar between the male factor and non-male factor groups. In our unadjusted subgroup analysis, cycles for male factor using ICSI appeared to lead to more small placentas by weight compared to cycles performed with conventional insemination (45.8% < 10th percentile vs. 18.8%, p = 0.04). Male factor infertility is not associated with significantly different placental pathology compared to other infertility diagnoses.
Ion Transport Across Amphibian Lung

The simple architecture of the amphibian lung makes it possible to study the movement of substances across a barrier with permeability and bioelectric properties that are dominated by the alveolar epithelium. When mounted as a planar sheet between identical Ringer solutions the excised lung of the bullfrog exhibited a transmural electrical potential difference of nearly 20 mV (pleural surface positive) and a resistance of about 700 omega cm2. Unidirectional fluxes of 36Cl, Br-, I-, and SCN- across the short-circuited lung were asymmetrical. The net 36Cl- flow from pleura to lumen matched the short-circuit current after 1.5 h of voltage clamping, followed the kinetics of a saturable process, and was reduced by inhibitors of oxidative metabolism. These results suggest that halide and certain pseudohalide anions are secreted by the frog alveolar epithelium. Fluxes of Na+, K+, Ca+, HCO3-, TcO4-, SO42-, p-aminohippurate, gluconate, dinitrophenolate and water were compatible with passive diffusion of the probe molecules across the barrier. Measurements of lung oxygen consumption, ion fluxes and bioelectric properties have helped to pinpoint possible sites and modes of action of airborne agents, such as heavy metals, sulphates and nitrates, that may damage the mammalian pulmonary barrier.
How Elected Judges Respond to the Racial Composition of their Constituencies

We take advantage of the variation in the judicial selection system - some judges are appointed, while others are elected - to address how the racial composition of a district affects sentencing. We find that appointed and elected judges act differently, suggesting that bias in the way that the laws are written cannot explain the entire difference in sentencing between blacks and whites. We find that blacks are more likely to be incarcerated, and receive longer sentences, but this effect diminishes as the percentage of the population that is black rises for a black defendant facing an elected judge. A one standard deviation increase in blacks' share of county population is enough to obliterate the difference in sentence length.
Checking the Correctness of Architectural Transformation Steps via Proof-Carrying Architectures

The end product of architecting is an architectural hierarchy, a collection of architectural descriptions linked by mappings that interpret the more abstract descriptions in the more concrete descriptions. Formalized transformational approaches to architecture refinement and abstraction have been proposed. One argument in favor of formalization is that it can result in architectural implementations that are guaranteed to be correct, relative to the abstract descriptions. If these are correct with respect to one another, conclusions obtained by reasoning from an abstract architectural description will also apply to the implemented architecture. But this correctness guarantee is achieved by requiring that the implementer use only verified transformations, i.e., ones that have been proven to produce correct results when applied. This paper explores an approach that allows the implementer to use transformations that have not been proven to be generally correct, without voiding the correctness guarantee. Checking means determining that application of the transformation produces the desired result. It allows the use of transformations that have not been generally verified, even ones that are known to sometimes produce incorrect results, by showing that they work in the particular case.
Efficient Algorithms for Computing Fractal Dimensions

Our purpose is to describe a new class of methods for computing the “capacity dimension” and related quantities for point-sets. The techniques presented here build on existing work which has been described in the literature. The novelty of our methods lies first in the approach taken to the definition of computation of dimension (namely, via Monte Carlo calculation of the volume of an e-cover of the point-set), and second in the use of data structures which result in extremely efficient codes for vector computers such as the Cyber 205 (the computation is reduced to the sorting and searching of one-dimensional arrays so that a calculation employing one million points requires less than 2 minutes).
Ultrafast All-Optical TDM Networks

Summary form only given, as follows. Optical time-division-multiplexed (TDM) systems, operating at single stream data rates of 100 Gbit/s, are of great interest because they can support low-delay bandwidth on demand service to high-end users. A number of key technologies must come together to realize high performance TDM networks. High-speed optical sources, all-optical switches, buffers and rate converters are all required. In this talk, we give an overview of architecture for ultra-high-speed TDM networks and describe recent key technology developments.
Communicating Unknown Words in Machine Translation

A new approach to handle unknown words in machine translation is presented. The basic idea is to find definitions for the unknown words on the source language side and translate those definitions instead. Only monolingual resources are required, which generally offer a broader coverage than bilingual resources and are available for a large number of languages. In order to use this in a machine translation system definitions are extracted automatically from online dictionaries and encyclopedias. The translated definition is then inserted and clearly marked in the original hypothesis. This is shown to lead to significant improvements in (subjective) translation quality.
Neurotrophins Induce Neuregulin Release through Protein Kinase Cδ Activation

Proper, graded communication between different cell types is essential for normal development and function. In the nervous system, heart, and for some cancer cells, part of this communication requires signaling by soluble and membrane-bound factors produced by the NRG1 gene. We have previously shown that glial-derived neurotrophic factors activate a rapid, localized release of soluble neuregulin from neuronal axons that can, in turn promote proper axoglial development (Esper, R. M., and Loeb, J. A. (2004) J. Neurosci. 24, 6218–6227). Here we elucidate the mechanism of this localized, regulated release by implicating the delta isoform of protein kinase C (PKC). Blocking the PKC delta isoform with either rottlerin, a selective antagonist, or small interference RNA blocks the regulated release of neuregulin from both transfected cells and primary neuronal cultures. PKC activation also leads to the rapid phosphorylation of the pro-NRG1 cytoplasmic tail on serine residues adjacent to the membrane-spanning segment, that, when mutated markedly reduce the rate of NRG1 activity release. These findings implicate this specific PKC isoform as an important factor for the cleavage and neurotrophin-regulated release of soluble NRG1 forms that have important effects in nervous system development and disease.
Applications of Damped Least-Squares Methods to Resolved-Rate and Resolved-Acceleration Control of Manipulators

Commande basee sur l'acceleration ou le rapport des articulations d'un manipulateur donnant une erreur minimale de positionnement selon la methode des moindres carres
The photo‐oxidation of polypropylene: Some effects of molecular order

Abstract : Fractional crystallization was used to separate a commercial, predominantly isotactic, unstabilized polypropylene into fractions of relatively low and relatively high atacticity, but of similar molecular weight. IR spectroscopy was used to follow the photo-oxidations of films formed from these fractions during irradiation in air with light of wavelengths greater than 3000 A. The major oxidation products included hydrogen-bonded hydroperoxides and carbonyl compounds. Films of constant tacticity, but varying morphology were prepared by quenching from the melt. No distinct correlation was found between sample photostability and morphology, as indicated by film density. Films of low atactic content were found to undergo faster photo-oxidation than films of high atactic content, irradiated under identical conditions. This effect is believed to be due to the occurrence of a stereo-dependnt step (or steps) in the oxidative chain, and not due to differences in sampling morphology. The possible nature of the stereo-dependent steps is considered in terms of well-established oxidative chain processes. The effects of polypropylene polymorphism on oxygen permeability are briefly considered. (Author)
Communications intelligence and the battle for convoy OG 71, 15–23 August 1941

In 1941, the British instituted a comprehensive system of convoys in the Atlantic. One of the first convoys, OG 71, while sailing between Britain and Gibraltar, was shadowed by German aircraft and attacked by U‐boats. In the ensuing August battle, while no U‐boats were sunk, the British lost, out of a convoy consisting of 22 vessels, two escorts and eight merchant ships. The German victory was not complete owing to the inability of the German aircraft and U‐boats to cooperate successfully as well as the failure of the U‐boats to fight the battle effectively and aggressively. The British also made many mistakes during the defence of Convoy OG 71. The surface escorts made many errors of tactics; as for the British aircraft, owing to an inability to cooperate with the surface forces, they became almost totally ineffective. One bright spot for the British during the battle, however, was communications intelligence. The battle saw the first use of high frequency direction finders and on several occasions skill...
Spacecraft-level verification of the Van Allen Probes' RF communication system

This paper presents the verification process, lessons learned, and selected test results of the radio frequency (RF) communication system of the Van Allen Probes, formerly known as the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP). The Van Allen Probes mission is investigating the doughnut-shaped regions of space known as the Van Allen radiation belts where the Sun interacts with charged particles trapped in Earth's magnetic field. Understanding this dynamic area that surrounds our planet is important to improving our ability to design spacecraft and missions for reliability and astronaut safety. The Van Allen Probes mission features two nearly identical spacecraft designed, built, and operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The RF communication system features the JHU/APL Frontier Radio. The Frontier Radio is a software-defined radio (SDR) designed for spaceborne communications, navigation, radio science, and sensor applications. This mission marks the first spaceflight usage of the Frontier Radio. RF ground support equipment (RF GSE) was developed using a ground station receiver similar to what will be used in flight and whose capabilities provided clarity into RF system performance that was previously not obtained until compatibility testing with the ground segments. The Van Allen Probes underwent EMC, acoustic, vibration, and thermal vacuum testing at the environmental test facilities at APL. During this time the RF communication system was rigorously tested to ensure optimal performance, including system-level testing down to threshold power levels. Compatibility tests were performed with the JHU/APL Satellite Communication Facility (SCF), the Universal Space Network (USN), and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Successful completion of this program as described in this paper validated the design of the system and demonstrated that it will be able to meet all of the Van Allen Probes's communications requirements with its intended ground segments.
The Text of the De Virginitate of Athanasius

The edition of the “De Virginitate” of Athanasius by Eduard von der Goltz (Texte und Untersuchungen xxix, 1905) is one of the most important contributions made in modern times to the knowledge of the text of Athanasius, because of its full discussion of the variant readings of the manuscripts. The work, however, was handicapped by incomplete knowledge of the Patmos MS. (P), which von der Goltz regarded as the best, and by almost complete ignorance of the two Vatopedi MSS. quoted by him under the symbols W 1 and W 2 , but in the present article designated A and K, since that nomenclature was adopted in the first article on their contents in the Journal of Theological Studies , vol. v, 1903, pp. 108 ff. A visit to Athos and Patmos in 1925 has made it possible to build a little further on von der Goltz's foundation, and to correct some of the errors inevitable to the conditions under which he worked. We shall here give: (I) A fuller account of P. (II) A list of corrections to be made in von der Goltz's collation of P. (III) A collation, with von der Goltz's edition, of the text of the two Vatopedi MSS. A and K, and of a third MS. in the same library, which we call Q. (IV) Some discussion of the general problem of the text of the “De Virginitate.”
Correlated information, mechanism design and informational rents

Abstract Cremer and McLean (Econometrica 56 (1988) 1247–1258) obtain a sufficient and necessary condition for full surplus extraction in Bayesian–Nash equilibrium—the rank condition, which McAfee and Reny (Econometrica 60(2) (1992) 395–421) later generalize for continuous type spaces. This paper shows that, if the principal does not know how noisy is the agent's signal—or equivalently, when signals available to an agent can be ranked by Blackwell's informativeness and, an agent's informativeness is independent of others’ information, the rank condition fails to hold. Conversely, when rank condition fails and informational rents are left to an agent, the model can be interpreted as if, the principal were uncertain about the informativeness of the agent's signal.
Designing a Problem-Based Learning Environment for ESL Students in Business Communication:

As the population of students speaking English as a second language increases, our business communication courses have required changes in both content and pedagogical approach. We have taught writing, speaking, and lis teningfrom a problem-solving perspective for many years and now find its emphasis on critical thinking poses different challenges for the ESL students in our courses. Consequently, we have designed a problem-based course struc ture for an upper-level business communication course that allows both ESL and native English-speaking students the opportunity to improve communica tion abilities in cross-cultural work groups.
Perceived Stress Levels Among HIV/AIDS-Infected Mothers: The Role of Over-the-Counter Products

The purpose of this study was to identify correlates of perceived stress levels among 49 HIV/AIDS-infected mothers enrolled in a social services agency that provides HIV/AIDS support services in North Carolina. The author found in an Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis that the CD4 t-cell count, receipt of advice or support from church pastor, annual household income, and employed were all negatively related to seropositive mothers' perceived stress scores. Conversely, the need to have borrowed money from family members or friends to help pay for over-the-counter products like nutritional drinks, vitamins, or minerals was found to be positively related to these scores. The accessibility of these over-the-counter products could not only help to lower seropositive mothers' perceived stress levels but also potentially improve the functioning of their body's immune system. Implications for the Medicaid Program's prescription drug policy that excludes these over-the-counter products and prescription dru...
TilePic: a file format for tiled hierarchical data

TilePic is a method for storing tiled data of arbitrary t ype in a hierarchical, indexed format for fast retrieval. It is useful for storing moderately large, static, spatial datasets in a manner that is suitable for panning and zooming over the data, especially in distributed applications. Because different data types may be stored in the same object, TilePic can support semantic zooming as well. It has proven suitable for a wide variety of applications involving the networked access and presentation of images, geographic data, and text. The TilePic format and its supporting tools are unencumbered, and available to all.
Transcochlear repair of persistent cerebrospinal fluid leaks.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the utility of a modified transcochlear obliteration of the petrous apex in repair of persistent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks. A review of temporal bone computed tomography (CT) scans and histological preparations for potential air cells leading to such leaks is also presented. Study Design: Retrospective case review in an academic tertiary referral center. Methods: Patients for inclusion in this study had previously undergone either a suboccipital or translabyrinthine removal of an intracranial tumor with subsequent transmastoid and middle ear obliteration of air cell tracts to stop a CSF leak. Ninety CT scans and 178 temporal bones were reviewed and assessed for peritubal and petrous apex pneumatization. Results: Four patients had initial obliteration of the orifice of the eustachian tube and middle ear that failed to prevent leakage of CSF. The leak was ultimately controlled by a transcochlear petrous apicectomy. From The Ohio State University temporal bone collection, 178 specimens were available for examination. Peritubal pneumatization was found in 42% of the bones examined. The CT scans showed unilateral petrous apex pneumatization in 30% of the specimens and bilateral pneumatization in 11%. Conclusions: Continuity of air cell tracts from the petrous apex surrounding the internal auditory canal to the medial eustachian tube can provide a path for CSF rhinorrhea that is difficult to stop by conventional means. A modified transcochlear approach successfully terminated persistent leaks in four such patients.
A RIP Tide in Neuronal Signal Transduction

The generation of nuclear signaling proteins by regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) is a new paradigm of signal transduction. Mammalian proteins that are processed by RIP include SREBP-1, Notch-1, amyloid precursor protein (APP), and ErbB-4. Intramembranous γ-secretase cleavage of APP plays a central role in Alzheimer's disease by generating the amyloid β protein. An intriguing possibility is that the cognate C-terminal fragment generated by γ-secretase cleavage could also play a role through the regulation of nuclear signaling events. Thus, RIP may contribute to both brain development and degeneration and may provide unexpected diversity to the signaling repertoire of a cell.
Adsorption of Hexane at the Water/Vapor Interface

The interaction of hydrocarbon chains at aqueous interfaces is a major factor in defining the interfacial structures of monolayers and membranes formed by surfactants. The intermolecular pair poten...
Correlation of changes in capillary supply and epithelial dimensions in the hyperplastic buccal mucosa of zinc‐deficient rats

Lengths of capillaries and epithelial dimensions were measured on tracings of sections of buccal mucosa stained for the alkaline phosphatase from rats on a zinc-deficient diet. The diet-deficient animals showed the following increases over controls; length of capillaries X 2.67; thickness of cell layer, X1.47; thickness of keratin layer. X2.82; basal layer length: surface length ratio, X1.41. Lengthening of the basal layer and the capillaries showed high positive correlations with thickening of the basal layer cell layer. Lengthening of the capillaries exceeded the lengthening of the basal layer cell layer amd the thickening of the epithelium but fell short of the increased anabolic performance of the epithelium as quantitated in previous investigations.
High-performance dichroic beam splitters for deuterium fluoride chemical lasers.

The optical performance of dichroic beam splitters developed for deuterium fluoride (DF) laser applications as shared-aperture components is presented. These components simultaneously provide high reflectance/transmittance in the 3.8-microm DF laser output band and high transmittance/reflectance in the long-wave-length 8-14--m band. Optical evaluation of the reflecting dichroic yields absorption and transmission losses of 50% in the 8-14-microm region.
Hemangiomas of the brachial plexus: a case series.

OBJECTIVE: Hemangiomas of the brachial plexus are very rare, and there has not been a collection of multiple cases published in the literature to date. Extraneural brachial plexus hemangiomas typically present with similar signs and symptoms as nerve sheath tumors, including pain, paresthesia, and occasionally weakness, in addition to nonspecific imaging findings, making their diagnosis difficult. Exploratory surgery can lead to significant bleeding and nerve injury when a hemangioma or an associated aneurysm is encountered intraoperatively. We present 5 cases of extraneural hemangiomas causing brachial plexopathy, including pre-, intra-, and postoperative decision making, with an emphasis on diagnostic and management issues as well as outcomes. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of 5 patients who underwent surgery at a university teaching hospital between 1995 and 2007 for exploration of brachial plexus lesions that were confirmed to be hemangiomas at pathological examination. RESULTS: All 5 patients presented with findings on history, physical examination, imaging, and electromyography suggesting a diagnosis of nerve sheath tumor. Two patients had biopsies (1 needle, 1 open), both of which were nondiagnostic. Three patients underwent digital subtraction angiography with successful preoperative embolization. Each patient had a complete or a radical subtotal tumor resection, and all were intact neurologically after surgical resection. Pathological evaluation identified 3 venous hemangiomas, 1 hemangioma with arteriovenous malformation features, and 1 Masson hemangioma associated with a large aneurysm. CONCLUSION: Extraneural hemangiomas of the brachial plexus are very rare, but a high index of suspicion and appropriate preoperative evaluation, including angiography with the option for embolization, can result in decreased intraoperative hemorrhage and better patient outcomes.
PHASE RELATION IN NUCLEAR SCATTERING

Abstract The striking observation that the maxima of elastic scattering of such particles as alphas of fairly heavy nuclei coincide with the minima of inelastic scattering (with no parity change) is explained in as elementary a way as possible in terms of the simple superposition of waves, without dependence on special functions. Some qualitative features of the relation between this “Fraunhofer” treatment and a better approximation are discussed.