cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
T Cells of the γδ T-Cell Receptor Lineage Play an Important Role in the Postburn Wound Healing Process

Although gammadelta T cells have been implicated in various aspects of the dermal wound healing process, their role in postburn wound healing processes has not been investigated. To study this, we subjected mice deficient in gammadelta T cells (ie, T-cell receptor delta gene [delta TCR]) and wild-type (WT; C57BL6J) mice to burn injury (25% TBSA) or sham treatment; skin samples were isolated 3 days later. Marked inflammation of the injury site was observed in WT mice but was markedly reduced in delta TCR mice. Postinjury fibroblast growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor granulocyte-colony stimulating factor levels, and nitrite/nitrate were elevated in skin samples from injured WT mice, whereas skin tissue levels of these growth factors and inflammatory mediators was significantly atteunuated in delta TCRmice. In conclusion, these findings support the concept that gammadelta T cells are important to postburn wound healing via the production of growth factors and, potentially, regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase activation.
Thiazolidinedione use is associated with better survival in hemodialysis patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes

Cardiovascular mortality is especially high among dialysis patients with diabetes, as is morbidity due to protein energy wasting. Given that both of these factors may be decreased by thiazolidinedione treatment, we studied the effect of thiazolidinedione use on survival among chronic dialysis patients in a national cohort of 5290 incident dialysis patients with diabetes. Thiazolidinedione use was assessed according to prescription data, and the analyses were stratified based on insulin use due to observed interaction. In the primary analysis, thiazolidinedione treatment was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality among insulin-free but not insulin-requiring subjects, with adjusted hazards ratios of 0.53 (0.31–0.89) and 0.82 (0.46–1.47) respectively. Sensitivity analyses found the findings to be robust with respect to confounding by indication, severity of the diabetes, potential reverse causality, and time varying exposure patterns. The mechanism of this decline in all-cause mortality will need to be examined after these studies are confirmed.
Toward Scalable Trustworthy Computing Using the Human-Physiology-Immunity Metaphor

The cybersecurity landscape consists of an ad hoc patchwork of solutions. Optimal cybersecurity is difficult for various reasons: complexity, immense data and processing requirements, resource-agnostic cloud computing, practical time-space-energy constraints, inherent flaws in "Maginot Line" defenses, and the growing number and sophistication of cyberattacks. This article defines the high-priority problems and examines the potential solution space. In that space, achieving scalable trustworthy computing and communications is possible through real-time knowledge-based decisions about cyber trust. This vision is based on the human-physiology-immunity metaphor and the human brain's ability to extract knowledge from data and information. The article outlines future steps toward scalable trustworthy systems requiring a long-term commitment to solve the well-known challenges.
Template assisted synthesis of silica-coated molecular crystal nanorods: From hydrophobic to hydrophilic nanorods

We report a method for the preparation of silica-coated molecular crystal nanorods. A sol-gel method was used to make silica nanotubes inside anodized alumina templates. The nanotubes were then loaded with 9-anthracene carboxylic acid (9-AC) and solvent annealed to produce silica-coated organic nanorods. The core-shell structure was confirmed using electron microscopy, and the highly crystalline organic core was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The silica-coated 9-AC rods had much improved dispersal properties in aqueous solution, and were also able to undergo reversible bending under UV illumination, as observed previously for uncoated 9-AC rods. This work demonstrates that it is possible to make surface-coated molecular crystal nanorods that retain their useful functionalities.
Cognition as a part of computational creativity

Computational creativity and cognitive computing are distinct fields that have developed in a parallel fashion. In this paper, we examine the relationship between the two, concluding that the two fields overlap in one precise way: the evaluation or assessment of artifacts with respect to creativity. Furthermore, we discuss a particular instance of computational creativity, culinary recipe design, and how cognitive informatics and cognitive computation enter into the domain.
Unreliability of photographic Emulsions on Glass for Recording Distances and a Method of Minimizing this Defect

Superficial motions of double coated emulsions were investigated by Schlesinger's ink dot method. Also the positions of developed images with respect to corresponding latent images were studied for singly coated plates. Apparently there are stresses in undeveloped gelatin emulsions that can be relieved before plates are used for photographic purposes by soaking them in water followed by dehydration in alcohol, thus greatly enhancing their reliability for recording distances. This process we have termed normalizing. The maximum observed change in a distance between images, in their latent and developed states on a singly coated plate was 9\ensuremath{\mu} without normalizing and 2.2\ensuremath{\mu} with normalizing. The average change was likewise reduced to about one quarter. The advantage of normalizing is emphasized by the results reported in another paper.
The Visible and the Vision

What did Merleau-Ponty have in view when he said, with painters, that it is not I that see the trees and the landscapes, but it is the trees and the landscapes that look at me?
Learning to detect incidents from noisily labeled data

Many deployed traffic incident detection systems use algorithms that require significant manual tuning. We seek machine learning incident detection solutions that reduce the need for manual adjustments by taking advantage of massive databases of traffic sensor measurements. We first examine which traffic flow features are most useful for the incident detection task. Then we show that a supervised learner based on the SVM model outperforms a fixed detection model used by state-of-the-art traffic incident detectors. However, the performance of a supervised learner suffers from temporal noise in the data labels due to imperfections of the incident logging procedure. Correcting these misaligned incident times in the training data achieves further improvements in detection performance. We propose a label realignment model based on a dynamic Bayesian network to re-estimate the correct position (time) of the incident in the data. Training on the automatically realigned data then consistently leads to improved detection performance in the low false positive region.
Determination of the Metabolizable Energy and Feeding Value of a Lignin Sulfonate Pellet Binder

Abstract THE increased use of pelleted feeds has prompted feed manufacturers to become vitally interested in efficiency of pelleting and pellet durability. To increase the durability of pellets, manufacturers have used various types of pellet binders, methods of conditioning, and different sizes of dies. Collodial binders, molasses, and fats have been used for many years and their effect on pellet durability and pelleting efficiency has been reported (Young and Pfost, 1962; Blakely et al., 1955). Most recently lignin pellet binders have been used to increase pellet durability (Pfost, 1962, 1964). The material used as a binder may or may not add nutritive value to the diet. Molasses and fats serve as sources of energy in the diet. Camp (1959) reported that soft phosphate may be used as a pellet binder and to supply part of the phosphorus requirements in poultry rations. The bentonite type of binders would supply little nutritive value. . . .
Optimal Control of Wind Energy Systems: Towards a Global Approach (Munteanu, I. et al.; 2008) [Bookshelf]

This book is organized into eight chapters and three appendices. The first three chapters introduce wind energy and discuss modeling of both the wind and wind turbines, while the next three chapters discuss basic and advanced controllers for wind turbines. The last two chapters outline experimental systems for validating control algorithms and give some general conclusions. The appendices provide the wind turbine parameters considered in particular case studies, give an overview of the main ideas behind three advanced control methodologies, and present some photos and diagrams of experimental evaluation testbeds. This book provides a reasonably good overview of wind energy systems for control engineers, but being a monograph, it is not comprehensive enough to be the sole source of information for control researchers wanting to move into the wind energy area.
Assimilation and Contrast Effects in the 1972 Election

Longitudinal data from the 1972 election study of the Survey Research Center were analyzed to examine for possible displacement effects (assimi-lation and contrast) in estimations of the candidates'positions on 14 issues. Pervasive assimilation of one's preferred candidate occurred, and this appeared to be stronger than the contrast of one's nonpreferred candidate. The latter was deemed unreliable for Nixon voters placing McGovern and marginally reliable for McGovern voters placing Nixon. Displacement effects tended to be slightly larger before than after the election. Among the McGovern voters, those expecting him to win showed a greater change in displacement effects than those not expecting him to win. Among the Nixon supporters, the Republicans showed greater assimilation than the Demo-crats or Independents. Assimilation appeared to be directly associated with ambiguity while contrast tended to be inversely associated with ambiguity. People placing a preferred candidate tended to show less variance th...
Planning for the Future: An Investigation of Work-Bound Rural Youth

The purpose of this study was to explore the postsecondary educational and occupational expectations of workbound rural youth. Three groups of work-bound youth were identified (work-bound, work-bound with future educational plans, and work-bound but unsure/undecided about postsecondary education), and each group was compared to college-bound rural youth using results from a recent national investigation of the educational and occupational aspirations of rural youth. Results indicated that the majority of rural youth in this study planned to continue their education after high school (56%), followed by 34% who planned to work and further their education. Results of logistic regression analysis indicated that family characteristics and students’ schooling experiences were the strongest predictors of work-bound status. Work-bound youth were more likely to report greater family economic hardship, lower parental expectations for completing college, and more negative schooling experiences than college-bound rural youth.
Sutural complexity in artificially deformed human (Homo sapiens) crania

The pattern of complexity of cranial sutures is highly variable both among and within species. Intentional cranial vault deformation in human populations provides a controlled natural experiment by which we were able to quantify aspects of sutural complexity and examine the relationship between sutural patterns and mechanical loading. Measures of sutural complexity (interdigitation, number, and size of sutural bones) were quantified from digitized tracings of 13 sutures and compared among three groups of crania (n = 70) from pre-European contact Peru. These groups represent sample populations deformed in (1) anteroposterior (AP) and (2) circumferential (C) directions and (3) an undeformed population. Intergroup comparisons show few differences in degree or asymmetry of sutural interdigitation. In the few comparisons which show differences, the C group is always more interdigitated than the other two while the AP group has more sutural bones. The sutures surrounding the temporal bone (sphenotemporal, occipitotemporal, and temporoparietal) most frequently show significant differences among groups. These differences are related to the more extreme binding of C type deformation and are consistent with hypothesized increases in tension at coronally oriented sutures in this group. The larger number of sutural bones in the AP group is consistent with the general broadening of the cranium in this group and with experimental evidence indicating the development of ossicles in areas of tension. We suggest that so few changes in sutural complexity occurred either because the magnitude of the growth vectors, unlike their direction, is not substantially altered or because mechanisms other than sutural growth modification are responsible for producing the altered vault shapes. In addition, the presence of fontanelles in the infant skulls during binding and the static nature of the binding may have contributed to the similarity in complexity among groups. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A practical strategy for testing pair-wise coverage of network interfaces

Distributed systems consist of a number of network elements that interact with each other. As the number of network elements and interchangeable components for each network element increases, the trade-off that the system tester faces is the thoroughness of test configuration coverage vs. limited resources of time and expense that are available. An approach to resolving this trade-off is to determine a set of test configurations that test each pair-wise combination of network components. This goal gives a well-defined level of test coverage, with a reduced number of system configurations. To select such a set of test configurations, we show how to apply the method of orthogonal Latin squares, from the design of balanced statistical experiments. Since the theoretical treatment assumes constraints that may not be satisfied in practice, we then show how to adapt this approach to realistic application constraints.
Spectrum of the intensity of modulated noisy light after propagation in dispersive fiber

The spectral density of the optical intensity which results after modulated noisy light is propagated in dispersive single-mode fiber is investigated theoretically and experimentally. An exact general result is obtained for the case of lowest-order-only group velocity dispersion and is applied to light from a 1550-nm distributed-feedback semiconductor laser which is large-signal phase modulated and then propagated through 50 km of standard single-mode fiber. Experimental results demonstrate the effect of dispersion on the intensity spectrum (and thus, on lightwave system characteristics such as modulation response, relative intensity noise, carrier-to-noise ratio, and harmonic distortion) in this situation and provide confirmation of the theoretical results.
Spectroradiometric Sun Photometry

Abstract This paper presents a method for calculating atmospheric transmittance from direct-beam solar spectral irradiance measurements under cloudless skies by treating spectral irradiance as a multichannel sun photometer. Computing the ratio of the measured spectral irradiance to the extraterrestrial spectral irradiance at the top of the atmosphere produces the atmospheric transmittance as a function of wavelength. Individual band absorber amounts and scattering parameters, based on the LOWTRAN 7 atmospheric transmittance model, are then extracted from the transmittance using iterative fitting over wavelength regions where only a few species are active. Using these parameters to extrapolate the entire terrestrial solar spectrum, the wavelength-integrated spectral irradiance is shown to be within 2% of the total irradiance measured with an absolute cavity radiometer. Instrumentation and procedures that have been used with the method at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory since 1987 are described, al...
Penetration depths inferred from interferometric volume decorrelation observed over the Greenland Ice Sheet

Radar interferometry provides a novel way to study the subsurface of glaciers: interferometric correlation. Since the two complex images that comprise the interferogram have slightly different incidence angles at each point on the ground, a decorrelating phase noise, with statistics related to the scattering medium, is present in the interferogram. The amount of "surface" decorrelation is increased by volume scatter. The larger the vertical extent of the scatterers contributing to the radar echo, the greater the decorrelation will be. By modeling this effect, the authors can estimate radio wave penetration depths within the upper layers of the glacier or ice sheet. Observations of the Greenland Ice Sheet using ERS data yield penetration depths (one-way, 1/e point for power) that range from 12 to 35 m. Due to the contribution of volume scatter, the critical interferometer baseline is decreased, and the authors find for the Greenland data, the baseline must be restricted to be less than 300 m. The authors also compare penetration depths measured within the dry snow zone with those found in the percolation zone and coastal areas. They find that as expected, the rocky coastal areas evidence minimal penetration. Interestingly, the penetration depths that the authors measure in the percolation zone, /spl sim/23 m, indicate a large degree of volume scatter, which is contrary to earlier results that found the scattering in the percolation zone dominated by structures in the first few meters. This discrepancy may be due to unmodeled scattering behavior, or the radar return may indeed include significant contributions from scatterers far beneath the surface.
Transfection of molecular beacons in microchannels under flow and no-flow conditions

In this work, transfection of molecular beacons in traditional cell culture dishes and microfluidic cell culture systems with or without flows were comparatively studied by both computational and experimental methods. The comparison between static microfluidic systems and cell culture dishes reveals that the transfection of molecular beacons is controlled by both diffusion and reaction. The study on the microfluidic system with a range of fluid shear stresses and mass transfer rates implies that under high levels of shear stress the disruption of the binding between transfection reagent/molecular beacon complexes and cell membrane is dominant over the enhanced mass transfer.
The Role of Selegiline in the Treatment of Negative Symptoms Associated with Schizophrenia

Objective:To evaluate the role of selegiline in the treatment of negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia.Data Sources:MEDLINE (1966–January 2007) and PsychINFO (1967–January 2007) were searched, using the terms schizophrenia, negative symptoms, and selegiline. A bibliographic search was conducted, as well.Study Selection and Data Extraction:All English-language articles identified from the search were evaluated. All primary literature was included in the review.Data Synthesis:Based on its dopamine-enhancing property, selegiline has been studied as augmentation to antipsychotic therapy for the treatment of negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia. The efficacy of low-dose oral selegiline for the treatment of negative symptoms has been evaluated in 1 case report, 2 open-label trials, and 2 controlled trials. The case report and both open-label trials report improvement of negative symptoms associated with low-dose oral selegiline. In 1 of the controlled trials, selegiline showed no difference...
Opportunistic Networks: Challenges in Specializing the P2P Paradigm

We introduce the notion of opportunistic networks or oppnets, some of which can be considered a subclass of the peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Initially, a relatively small seed oppnet is deployed, which grows into a bigger expanded oppnet. Oppnet growth starts with detecting diverse systems existing in its relative vicinity. Systems with best evaluations are invited by an oppnet to become its helpers. The oppnet leverages vast collective capabilities and resources of its helpers, employing them to execute diverse tasks in support of its goals. Though oppnet characteristics make them a natural fit for emergency response applications, we expect that they will prove beneficial in many other application areas. We discuss challenges in the development and use of the oppnet technology. Oppnets that use P2P interactions can be viewed as a specialization of the more general paradigm of P2P networks. To the best of our knowledge, we were the first to define and are now the first to investigate oppnets.
Cosolvent-enhanced Desorption and Transport of Heavy Metals and Organic Contaminants in Soils during Electrokinetic Remediation

Numerous sites are contaminated with both heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the technologies to treat such mixed contaminants are very limited. Electrokinetic remediation has the potential to remediate mixed contaminants in soils, including low permeability soils; however, the efficiency of this technology depends on the extracting solution employed. Previous studies on electrokinetic remediation have focused on the removal of heavy metals and organic compounds when they exist individually in clayey soils. In the present study, the feasibility of using cosolvents to enhance the electrokinetic removal of PAHs from clayey soils in the presence of heavy metals is investigated. A series of laboratory electrokinetic experiments was conducted using kaolin soil spiked with phenanthrene and nickel at concentrations of 500 mg/kg each to simulate typical field mixed contamination. Experiments were performed using n-butylamine (cosolvent) at concentrations of 10 and 20% and deionized water, each mixed with 0.01 M NaOH solution and circulated at the anode to maintain alkaline conditions. A periodic voltage gradient of 2 VDC/cm in cycles of 5 days on and 2 days off was applied in all the tests. During the initial stages when the soil pH was low, nickel existed as a cation and electromigrated towards the cathode. However, as the soil pH increased due to hydroxyl ions generated at the cathode and also flushing of high pH n-butylamine solution from the anode, nickel precipitated with no further migration. Phenanthrene was found migrating towards the cathode in proportion to the concentration of n-butylamine. The extent of phenanthrene removal was found to depend on both the electroosmotic flow and the concentration of n-butylamine, but the presence of nickel did not influence the transport and removal of phenanthrene.
Theoretical analysis of multispectral image segmentation criteria

Markov random field (MRF) image segmentation algorithms have been extensively studied, and have gained wide acceptance. However, almost all of the work on them has been experimental. This provides a good understanding of the performance of existing algorithms, but not a unified explanation of the significance of each component. To address this issue, we present a theoretical analysis of several MRF image segmentation criteria. Standard methods of signal detection and estimation are used in the theoretical analysis, which quantitatively predicts the performance at realistic noise levels. The analysis is decoupled into the problems of false alarm rate, parameter selection (Neyman-Pearson and receiver operating characteristics), detection threshold, expected a priori boundary roughness, and supervision. Only the performance inherent to a criterion, with perfect global optimization, is considered. The analysis indicates that boundary and region penalties are very useful, while distinct-mean penalties are of questionable merit. Region penalties are far more important for multispectral segmentation than for greyscale. This observation also holds for Gauss-Markov random fields, and for many separable within-class PDFs. To validate the analysis, we present optimization algorithms for several criteria. Theoretical and experimental results agree fairly well.
Conducting Case-Control and Cohort Studies in Older Adults

Special challenges are involved when conducting primary case–control, cohort and related observational studies in older adults. While the challenges are not unique, there are a host of features that dominate such studies, including the recruitment of older adults into research studies, the ethical hurdles of approaching and gaining consent from participants who may have cognitive impairment, the presence of multi-morbidity, difficulties in data collection such as obtaining interviews from primary and proxy respondents, complexity in interpreting clinical and research biomarkers, different approaches to prevention and treatment in usual clinical care, and altered and complex clinical outcomes. Each of these hurdles, and others, require special design and analytic features when conducting observational research in older adults. Fortunately, some solutions and approaches are available.
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: Clinical Applications

Localized in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a noninvasive technique providing neurochemical information from a selected volume-of-interest (VOI) [1, 2]. Hardware requirements for MRS are the same as for standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), although substantially different type of information can be gained by using specific software for data acquisition (pulse sequence) and data processing. High-resolution MRS has been routinely used for several decades in chemistry and biochemistry (under the acronym NMR, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) to elucidate the structure of biologically important chemical compounds in solutions. The new technology introduced by MRI, specifically, the magnetic field gradients, enabled spatial encoding and spatially selective excitation, which provided basic methodological tools for localized in vivo MRS. In general, MRS can be applied for any nuclei with nonzero magnetic moment (spin), but biological and medical applications are mostly limited to 1H, 13C, 19F, and 31P isotopes. MRS of hydrogen nuclei (protons, 1H) is the most common clinical application.
Long-Term Results of Total Hip Arthroplasty With Shortening Subtrochanteric Osteotomy in Crowe IV Developmental Dysplasia.

Abstract Background Numerous series have documented short-term successes with cementless total hip arthroplasty (THA) and subtrochanteric shortening osteotomy for Crowe IV developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). However, data are lacking regarding long-term implant fixation and patient function. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the 10-year results of cementless THA with simultaneous subtrochanteric shortening osteotomy for Crowe IV DDH. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 28 consecutive primaries cementless THAs performed in 24 patients with Crowe IV DDH between 1992 and 2005. Evaluation was performed through Harris Hip Scores, physical examination, and radiographic analysis. Results At mean follow-up 10 years, 5 hips were revised, and 3 patients had died leaving 20 hips for clinical analysis. Harris Hip Score was significantly improved compared to preoperative values (43 vs 87 P Conclusions In the longest series to date, cementless THA combined with a subtrochanteric femoral shortening osteotomy in patients with a high hip dislocation secondary to dysplasia was associated with high rates of successful implant fixation and stable clinical improvement.
The Politics of Language in Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of an American Slave

In the Narrative of the Life of an American Slave, Frederick Douglass recounts his rise from a black slave to an abolitionist leader. Douglass's eloquent book gives testimony to the cruelty that he and other slaves suffered. Not only is Douglass's writing eloquent and moving, it is also carefully planned and sophisticated. One can see that while addressing the evils of slavery, Douglass also addresses the universal issues of powerlessness resulting from the "social appropriation of discourse" (as Foucault terms it). Douglass demonstrates the very relevant problem of exclusion and enslavement of marginal people(s) by a dominant system that privileges and cultivates certain discourses and values. The use of language as a power tool in slave society marginalizes and enslaves people who are outside of or prevented from learning the dominant language. This all amounts to the politics of language, a subtext revealed in Douglass's rhetorical use of silence. Thus far, leading critics such as Henry Gates, Robert Stepto, Melvin Dixon, and William Andrews, have provided groundwork research and criticism on Douglass. In general, the slave narrative as a genre and the characterization of Douglass emerge as the primary topics of discussion. Criticism focuses on theme and content. Given this primary criticism, one can go one step further into a rhetorical analysis that gives the Narrative an even greater dimension as a complex rhetorical piece. Robert O'Meally does provide a focused rhetorical analysis of the text by discussing binary terms and oppositions used in the text to highlight racial tension between blacks and whites. Nonetheless, the Narrative's "content"-the issue of slavery and Douglass's experience- has overshadowed the form. The form or style of Douglass's writing has largely been overlooked. Through rhetorical form, the book becomes an even more universal slave narrative-it conveys the larger conditions of discourse, dominance, and power, or the politics of language. A rhetorical analysis of the text reveals how Douglass manages to surpass the stereotyped expectations of black slave narra
Baseline Flowsheet Model for IGCC with Carbon Capture

Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) processes have the potential for high thermal efficiency with a low energy penalty for carbon capture. Many researchers have proposed various innovations to improve upon the efficiency of the IGCC process. However, the analysis methods of most publications are generally not transparent and these published results are exceedingly difficult to reproduce. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) report [Cost and Performance Baseline for Fossil Energy Plants: Bituminous Coal and Natural Gas to Electricity Final Report; U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, NETL, DOE/NETL-2010/1397, 2010] is widely used as a reference by researchers and by industry. To enable researchers to have a consistent and transparent framework for analyzing IGCC flowsheets and potential innovations, a baseline model derived from the NETL report is described herein and the corresponding flowsheet model and its full documentation are available online from this journal for...
FDA tobacco product regulations: a powerful tool for tobacco control.

Lawrence R. Deyton, MSPH, MDa The 2009 passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act launched the most far-reaching public health intervention in a generation.1 For the first time ever, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is fully authorized to use its regulatory authority to combat the nation's leading cause of preventable death: tobacco. However, FDA regulation is not only a powerful new tool to reduce tobacco-related disease and death, it also poses new opportunities and challenges to public health practitioners at every level of government, academia, research, and advocacy. It is difficult to overstate the human and economic cost of tobacco use in the
Scientific Results from the Explorer Satellites

A brief history is given of Explorer satellite launchings together with a description of payload instrumentation. A summary is presented of results of experiments made in the following areas:
Concept of Time-Averaged Total Clearance and Mean Residence Time in Michaelis-Menten Elimination Systems

In contrast to first-order elimination systems, time-averaged clearance (Dose/AUC0→∞) in Michaelis-Menten elimination systems is considered to be meaningless since the instantaneous clearance [Vmax/(Km + Cp)] in such systems changes as a function of time and concentration. The mean residence time is also not considered to be meaningful in Michaelis-Menten systems since it is normally calculated using the first-order assumption for the area under the first moment curve. However, computer simulations demonstrate the applicability of the time-averaged total clearance to multiple- compartment model systems with Michaelis-Menten elimination. Such simulations show that useful Michaelis-Menten parameters and mean residence times can be obtained from plasma concentration-time data.
Visits to urologists and radiation oncologists prior to treatment decision making for clinically localized prostate cancer (LCaP)

6506 Background: The two primary therapies for LCaP are delivered by different types of physicians, urologists and radiation oncologists. We evaluated how visits to various specialists relate to tr...
Aural classification of impulsive sounds

A human listening test is designed to elucidate human perceptions of impulsive sonar sounds. Eleven subjects listen to sound pairs and rate their dissimilarity on a numerical scale. Each subject also verbally describes each sound. The resulting dissimilarity matrices are analyzed to determine measurement repeatability. Data from a subset of subjects is analyzed using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). The geometric display of the data shows distinct clusters of sounds. Aural inspection of this representation shows that the axes do not appear to represent consistent sound qualities across all clusters. Modeling perception with contrast features as opposed to MDS is presented. Future analysis using this method is outlined and discussed.
Optimal Control of Camera Mounted Robots in Order to Maximize Information

We consider the problem of optimal control of two sensory robots with on board cameras from the viewpoint of maximizing the accuracy of imaging of a set of moving targets. Both calibrated and uncalibrated camera systems are considered, and a performance index in the form of the integral of the error covariance of the reconstructed images, is suggested. In the uncalibrated case image reconstruction is only possible only up to the orbits of the projective linear group, and in this case we treat the covariance as a two tensor on the projective space. We also discuss the case of three dimensional camera motion under the Lising's constraints, and show how to extend planar results to this case.
A Trajectory Mapping Technique for the Visualization and Analysis of Three-Dimensional Flow in Supercell Storms

AbstractA visualization technique that allows simultaneous spatial analysis of complex flow behavior from thousands of Lagrangian trajectories is presented and tested using a high temporal and spatial resolution cloud model. The utility of the trajectory mapping technique is illustrated by showing that the source height of the air trajectories is a good proxy to the model-derived equivalent potential temperature. Moreover, the history of the forcing of vertical momentum is related to instantaneous vertical motion patterns shown to be elucidated in the trajectory mapping framework. The robustness of the trajectory mapping method was evaluated by integrating tendency terms and comparing Lagrangian-derived quantities to instantaneous values in the model. The original trajectory maps were also compared to those where the original fields have been filtered and/or the available data frequency are limited to the spatial and temporal scales typical of research radar datasets. The trajectory mapping method was app...
Probiotics Use in Infectious Disease (Respiratory, Diarrhea, and Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea)

Abstract This chapter covers the use of probiotics in acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and diarrheal diseases, such as acute gastroenteritis (AGE), antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD), and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). URTI: Probiotics were found superior to placebo in reducing the number of participants experiencing URTI episodes, their mean duration, antibiotic use, and school absences. AGE: Metaanalyses on a large body of clinical trials showed conclusive evidence of probiotics efficacy in improving diarrhea . Lactobacillus GG and Saccharomyces boulardii had the highest evidence of efficacy, reducing diarrheal duration by about 1 day. AAD: Randomized clinical trials and metaanalyses have concluded that in general probiotics (especially Lactobacillus GG, S. boulardii ) were effective in reducing the risk of AAD, and also of Clostridium difficile -associated diarrhea. NEC prevention: Clinical trials, mostly from Asia and Europe, have proven various probiotic preparations effective. Recent metaanalyses and position papers concurred that probiotics reduced the risk of NEC and related mortality.
Inundation, Vegetation, and Sediment Effects on Litter Decomposition in Pacific Coast Tidal Marshes

The cycling and sequestration of carbon are important ecosystem functions of estuarine wetlands that may be affected by climate change. We conducted experiments across a latitudinal and climate gradient of tidal marshes in the northeast Pacific to evaluate the effects of climate- and vegetation-related factors on litter decomposition. We manipulated tidal exposure and litter type in experimental mesocosms at two sites and used variation across marsh landscapes at seven sites to test for relationships between decomposition and marsh elevation, soil temperature, vegetation composition, litter quality, and sediment organic content. A greater than tenfold increase in manipulated tidal inundation resulted in small increases in decomposition of roots and rhizomes of two species, but no significant change in decay rates of shoots of three other species. In contrast, across the latitudinal gradient, decomposition rates of Salicornia pacifica litter were greater in high marsh than in low marsh. Rates were not correlated with sediment temperature or organic content, but were associated with plant assemblage structure including above-ground cover, species composition, and species richness. Decomposition rates also varied by litter type; at two sites in the Pacific Northwest, the grasses Deschampsia cespitosa and Distichlis spicata decomposed more slowly than the forb S. pacifica. Our data suggest that elevation gradients and vegetation structure in tidal marshes both affect rates of litter decay, potentially leading to complex spatial patterns in sediment carbon dynamics. Climate change may thus have direct effects on rates of decomposition through increased inundation from sea-level rise and indirect effects through changing plant community composition.
An assessment of the introduction of healthcare assistants into primary healthcare

Although healthcare assistants have been deployed in secondary healthcare for a number of years, their use in primary healthcare is quite recent. A nurse practitioner reviews the practical difficul...
Predicting concept drift via dynamic Naïve Bayes

Concept drifts occur when the relationship between streaming input and target response changes. Consequently, prediction models need to be updated to maintain prediction accuracy. This paper explores the idea of extending the Naive Bayes method to predict the time a predictive model must be changed due to the concept drift. Our dynamic Naive Bayes method maintains a simple data structure to efficiently predict when to update a predictive model to reflect the substantial changes in data distribution. Simulation results show that our method can significantly reduce the frequency of model updates while maintaining high prediction quality when compared to the traditional approaches where predictive models must be rebuilt periodically.
Compact Neutron Generator for BNCT

Neutron sources are commonly used in research, industry, and clinical applications. Many of these are in sealed radiological sources used in petroleum engineering (e.g., well logging for oil exploration), in medicine (cancer treatment, pacemakers, and diagnostics), in homes (smoke detectors), and to make electricity (in radiothermal generators that generate power in remote areas ranging from lighthouses to outer space). For example, Cf-252 and Am-Be are used to provide multi-MeV neutrons for activation analysis and well logging. Radioactive sources can be portable or fixed, and most are quite small, ranging from tiny brachytherapy needles or seeds (implanted for localized cancer treatment) to thimble-sized plugs sealed within secure capsules for industrial gauges.
5 – Gender Differences in Neurologic Conditions of Children

This chapter presents some of the differences between the brains of boys and girls in terms of early brain growth, normal development, and in some specific neurologic conditions. Boys and girls have distinctly different brains, which is apparent right from birth, in terms of, for example, the brain size. Men have more neurons in the cerebral cortex while women have more neuropil, which contain the processes that promote cell communication. The cerebral cortex is responsible for voluntary movements, sensory perception, memory, language, reasoning, and learning. Research has shown that women are more prone to dementing illnesses than men. Although a man and a woman might lose the same number of neurons, the woman's functional loss may be greater because the lost cells are more densely connected to other neurons. By most measures of cognitive and sensory development, young girls are slightly more advanced. Vision, hearing, memory, and smell are all more acute in female than in male infants. Female infants are also somewhat more attuned socially than their male counterparts, and they usually lead boys in terms of their fine motor and language skills. However, by age 3, boys generally catch up on those aspects. The chapter discusses the gender predilection of several neurologic conditions, including epilepsy, migraine, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Tourette's syndrome (TS), childhood-onset schizophrenia, neuronal migration disorders, and fragile X syndrome.
A single electron transistor charge sensor in strong rf fields

We measure the charge sensitivity, Se, of a single electron transistor (SET) in the presence of strong (Vrf ∼ e/Cg) spurious radio frequency (rf) signals at frequencies up to 50 MHz, where Cg is the gate capacitance. Although Se appears to degrade when exposed to Vrf, we find that broadening of conduction peaks is largely due to the measurement technique and show that Se is maintained even with strong Vrf present. We show cancellation of a known Vrf signal at 1 MHz, demonstrating that a stable bias point in the presence of rf signals is possible.
RANCM: a new ranking scheme for assigning confidence levels to metabolite assignments in NMR-based metabolomics studies

The Metabolomics Standards Initiative has recommended four categories for metabolite assignments in NMR-based metabolic profiling studies. The “putatively annotated compound” category is most commonly reported by metabolomics investigators. However, there is significant ambiguity in reliability of “putatively annotated compound” assignments, which can range from low confidence made on minimal corroborating data to high confidence made on substantial corroborating data. To introduce a new ranking system, Rank and AssigN Confidence to Metabolites (RANCM), to assign confidence levels to “putatively annotated compound” assignments in NMR-based metabolic profiling studies. The ranking system was constructed with three confidence levels ranging from Rank 1 for the lowest confidence assignment level to Rank 3 for the highest confidence assignment level. A decision tree was constructed to guide rank selection for each metabolite assignment. Examples are provided from experimental data demonstrating how to use the decision tree to make confidence level assignments to “putatively annotated compounds” in each of the three rank levels. A standard Excel sheet template is provided to facilitate decision-making, documentation and submission to data repositories. RANCM is intended to reduce the ambiguity in “putatively annotated compound” assignments, to facilitate effective communication of the degree of confidence in “putatively annotated compound” assignments, and to make it easier for non-experts to evaluate the significance and reliability of NMR-based metabonomics studies. The system is straightforward to implement, based on the most common datasets collected in NMR-based metabolic profiling studies, and can be used with equal rigor and significance with any set of NMR datasets.
Torque application helps to diagnose incomplete syndesmotic injuries using weight-bearing computed tomography images

Accurate identification of distal tibio-fibular syndesmotic injuries is essential to limit potential deleterious post-traumatic effects. To date, conventional radiographs, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have shown limited utilization. This cadaver study evaluates the utility of weight-bearing CT scans on the assessment of incomplete and more complete syndesmotic injuries. Ten male cadavers (tibial plateau to toe-tip) were included. Weight-bearing CTs were taken under four test conditions, with and without torque on the tibia (corresponding to external rotation of the foot and ankle). First, intact ankles (native) underwent imaging. Second, the anterior–inferior tibio-fibular ligament (AITFL) was transected (condition 1). Then, the deltoid ligament (condition 2) was transected, followed by the interosseous membrane (IOM, condition 3). Finally, the posterior–inferior tibio-fibular ligament (PITFL) was transected (condition 4). The medial clear space (MCS), the tibio-fibular clear space (TFCS), and the tibio-fibular overlap (TFO) were assessed on digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs), and on axial CT images. The TFO differentiated isolated AITFL transection from native ankles when torque was applied. Also under torque conditions, the MCS was a useful predictor of an additional deltoid ligament transection, whereas the TFCS identified cadavers in which the PITFL was also transected. Torque application helps to diagnose incomplete syndesmotic injuries when using weight-bearing CT. The TFO may be useful for identifying incomplete syndesmotic injuries, whereas the MCS and TFCS predict more complete injuries.
Relay-Aided Massive MIMO NOMA Downlink

A relay-aided multi-user massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) downlink transmission is proposed to support simultaneous massive access for cell-edge user nodes in the same time-frequency-spatial resource block. These spatially-distributed user nodes are grouped into clusters based on their spatial directional information and long-term fading statistics. Each cluster is allocated with an orthogonal pilot sequence, while the user nodes within a cluster share the same pilot. The achievable downlink rates of this relay-aided massive MIMO NOMA are derived, and thereby, the cumulative impact of channel estimation errors, imperfect successive interference cancellation and intra-cluster pilot contamination is investigated. The achievable sum rates and the number of simultaneously served users by the proposed massive MIMO NOMA relaying are compared with the orthogonal multiple access counterpart. Consequently, the trade-offs among the sum rate gains, number of users and implementation/computational complexity are discussed, and thereby, useful insights for practically-viable system-design are obtained.