cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surgical treatment of talar body fractures.

BACKGROUND: Fractures of the body of the talus are uncommon and poorly described. The purposes of the present study were to characterize these fractures, to describe one treatment approach, and to evaluate the clinical, radiographic, and functional outcomes of operative treatment. METHODS: Fifty-six patients with fifty-seven talar body fractures who had been treated operatively during a sixty-seven-month period at a level-1 trauma center were identified with use of a database. Twenty-three patients had a concomitant talar neck fracture. Eleven of the fifty-seven fractures were open. All patients underwent open reduction and internal fixation. Complications, secondary procedures, and the ability to return to work were evaluated at a minimum of one year. The radiographic presence of osteonecrosis and posttraumatic arthritis was ascertained. Foot Function Index and Musculoskeletal Function Assessment questionnaires were completed. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients were evaluated after an average duration of follow-up of thirty-three months. Early complications occurred in eight patients. Ten of the twenty-six patients who had a complete set of radiographs had development of osteonecrosis of the talar body. Five of these ten patients experienced collapse of the talar dome at a mean of 10.2 months after surgery. All patients with a history of both an open fracture and osteonecrosis experienced collapse. Seventeen of twenty-six patients had posttraumatic arthritis of the tibiotalar joint, and nine of twenty-six had posttraumatic arthritis of the subtalar joint. Fractures of both the talar body and neck led to development of advanced arthritis more frequently than did fractures of the talar body only (p = 0.04). All patients with open fractures had end-stage posttraumatic arthritis (p = 0.053). Twenty-three (88%) of twenty-six patients had radiographic evidence of osteonecrosis and/or posttraumatic arthritis. Worse outcomes were noted in association with comminuted and open fractures. Osteonecrosis and posttraumatic arthritis adversely affected outcome scores. CONCLUSIONS: Open reduction and internal fixation of talar body fractures may restore congruity of the adjacent joints. However, early complica-tions are not infrequent, and most patients have development of radiographic evidence of osteonecrosis and/or posttraumatic arthritis. Associated talar neck fractures and open fractures more commonly result in osteonecrosis or advanced arthritis. Worse functional outcomes are seen in association with advanced posttraumatic arthritis and osteonecrosis that progresses to collapse. It is important to counsel patients regarding these devastating injuries and their poor prognosis and potential complications.
the cattle of money and the cattle of girls among the Nuer, 1930–83

Sudanese Nuer draw a marked distinction between “the money of work,” you lad, and money acquired through the sale of cattle, you or “the money of cattle.” This dichotomy is balanced by a similar distinction between two sorts of cattle: purchased cattle, youni or “the cattle of money,” and cattle received as bride-wealth, nyet or “the cattle of girls.” Together these four wealth categories, along with several subsidiary ones, play a prominent role in determining relations of autonomy and dependence among the Nuer. This article traces the emergence of these categories over the last half century and analyzes their centrality. [culture and political economy, commoditization, exchange, money, cattle, the Nuer]
Developing Project and Program Managers: A Blended Learning Approach

In today's competitive business environment the need for successful projects has never been more apparent. With the requirements for quicker time to market, lean operations, global expansion, and virtual teams, the skills necessary to plan and execute projects are increasingly more important. This paper summarizes a project manager skill development program using a blended learning approach. The described program addresses required skills, methodology, and integration into the organization's culture. The target audience for the curriculum are project managers, program managers, and engineering managers. The program covers a number of disciplines required for successful project management. The format of the program's blended learning approach is reviewed along with the success and learning to date
Gender-Based Analysis of Hamstring and Quadriceps Muscle Activation During Jump Landings and Cutting

This study evaluated gender differences in the magnitude and timing of hamstring and quadriceps activation during activities that are believed to cause anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Twelve men (age = 21.0 +/- 1.2 years; body mass = 81.61 +/- 13.3 kg; and jump height = 57.61 +/- 10.15 cm) and 12 women (age = 19.91 +/- 0.9 years; body mass = 64.36 +/- 6.14 kg; and jump height = 43.28 +/- 7.5) performed 3 repetitions each of the drop jump (jump) normalized to the subject's vertical jump height, and a sprint and cut at a 45-degree angle (cut). Electromyography (EMG) was used to quantify rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), lateral hamstring (LH), and medial hamstrings (MH) activation, timing, activation ratios, and timing ratios before and after foot contact for the jump and cut and normalized to each subject's hamstring and quadriceps maximum voluntary isometric contraction. Data were analyzed using an analysis of variance with results demonstrating that during the postcontact phase of the cut, men demonstrated greater LH and MH activation than women. In the precontact phase of the jump, men showed earlier activation of the VL and VM, than women. Women produced longer RF and VM muscle bursts during the postcontact phase of the cut. Additionally, men showed a trend toward higher hamstring to quadriceps activation ratio than women for the postcontact phase of the cut. This study provides evidence that men are LH dominant during the postcontact phase of the cut compared with women, whereas women sustain RF activation longer than men during this phase. Men activate quadriceps muscles earlier than women in the precontact phase of the jump. Training interventions may offer the potential for increasing the rate and magnitude of hamstring muscle activation. These outcomes should be evaluated using EMG during movements that are similar to those that cause ACL injuries to determine if gender differences in muscle activation can be reduced.
Low-temperature calorimetry — quo vadis?

Experimental progress in adiabatic, cryogenic calorimetry is tersely reviewed and contrasted with other techniques for heat capacity determinations in this temperature region—including DSC. Trends and prognostications of important developmente including scaling down sample size and use of adjuvant thermometry.
Serotonin has early, cilia-independent roles in Xenopus left-right patterning

SUMMARY Consistent left-right (LR) patterning of the heart and viscera is a crucial part of normal embryogenesis. Because errors of laterality form a common class of birth defects, it is important to understand the molecular mechanisms and stage at which LR asymmetry is initiated. Frog embryos are a system uniquely suited to analysis of the mechanisms involved in orientation of the LR axis because of the many genetic and pharmacological tools available for use and the fate-map and accessibility of early blastomeres. Two major models exist for the origin of LR asymmetry and both implicate pre-nervous serotonergic signaling. In the first, the charged serotonin molecule is instructive for LR patterning; it is redistributed asymmetrically along the LR axis and signals intracellularly on the right side at cleavage stages. A second model suggests that serotonin is a permissive factor required to specify the dorsal region of the embryo containing chiral cilia that generate asymmetric fluid flow during neurulation, a much later process. We performed theory-neutral experiments designed to distinguish between these models. The results uniformly support a role for serotonin in the cleavage-stage embryo, long before the appearance of cilia, in ventral right blastomeres that do not contribute to the
An objective method for determining principal time scales of coherent eddy structures using orthonormal wavelets

A new, parameter-free method, based on orthonormal wavelet expansions is proposed for calculating the principal time scale of coherent structures in atmospheric surface layer measurements. These organized events play an important role in the exchange of heat, mass, and momentum between the land and the atmosphere. This global technique decomposes the energy contribution at each scale into organized and random eddy motion. The method is demonstrated on vertical wind velocity measurements above bare and vegetated surfaces. It is found to give nearly identical results to a local thresholding approach developed for signal de-noising that assigns the wavelet coefficients to organized and random motion. The effect of applying anti- and/or near-symmetrical wavelet basis functions is also investigated.
Doctoral and nondoctoral practicing school psychologists : Are there differences?

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe differences between doctoral and nondoctoral practicing school psychologists. Participants selected for the study were school psychologists who were full-time practitioners in a school setting. The sample was randomly selected from the 1992 National Association of School Psychologists Membership Database. Four hundred forty persons were selected to serve as a sample of the NASP membership, and 359 responded to the survey. Of those that responded, 232 were full-time practitioners employed in the schools and formed the sample used in the data analysis. Overall, doctoral and nondoctoral school psychologists were very much alike in terms of age, gender, and years of experience. Doctoral level school psychologists were more likely to be employed in urban areas. Both groups spend a similar amount of time participating in seven different job activities. Doctoral and nondoctoral level practitioners working in schools maintain high levels of job satisfaction and the majority intend to remain in their current position and the profession for the next five years. Higher salaries and an increased likelihood of having a private practice outside of school are the major differences between doctoral and nondoctoral school psychologists practicing in the schools. Future evolution of the role of school psychologists may allow for the increased use of the advanced skills obtained by doctoral level school psychologists. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Localization and Turnover of Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Bisphosphate in Caveolin-enriched Membrane Domains

Caveolae are small, plasma membrane invaginations that have been implicated in cell signaling. In A431 cells, approximately half of the total cellular phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns 4,5-P2) was found to be localized in low density, Triton-insoluble membrane domains enriched in caveolin. Treatment of cells with either epidermal growth factor or bradykinin for 5 min at 37°C resulted in approximately a 50% decrease in this caveolar PtdIns 4,5-P2 with no change in the levels of plasma membrane PtdIns 4,5-P2. These data suggest that the PtdIns 4,5-P2 present in cells is largely compartmentalized and that the caveolar PtdIns 4,5-P2 is subject to hydrolysis by hormone-stimulated phospholipase C. As growth factor receptors, seven transmembrane domain receptors, heterotrimeric G proteins, and the inositol trisphosphate receptor have all been shown to be enriched in caveolae, these findings suggest that both the generation and response to inositol trisphosphate is highly compartmentalized within the cell.
Psychopharmacologic Control of Aggression and Violence in Children and Adolescents

Aggression in children and adolescents is commonly displayed in the community and is even more commonly seen in clinical settings. As symptoms of an underlying disorder, aggressive behaviors should be comprehensively evaluated, and developmental, medical, and substance-use disorders should be identified and treated. This article reviews the most common psychiatric conditions associated with aggression and suggests appropriate psychopharmacologic interventions. Tables with recommended agents for each psychiatric disorder, as well as dosing ranges for each agent, are included.
Protein Homeostasis and Aging: Taking Care of Proteins From the Cradle to the Grave

All cells count on precise mechanisms that regulate protein homeostasis to maintain a stable and functional proteome. Alterations in these fine-tuned mechanisms underlie the pathogenesis of severe human diseases including, among others, common neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. A progressive deterioration in the ability of cells to preserve the stability of their proteome occurs with age, even in the absence of disease, and it likely contributes to different aspects of “normal” aging. A group of experts in different aspects of the biology of aging met recently to discuss the implications of altered protein homeostasis in aging, the current gaps in our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for proteome maintenance, and future opportunities for discovery in this area. We summarize here some of the key topics and main outcomes of the discussions.
EFFECTS OF NUCLEON NUCLEON INTERACTIONS ON SCATTERING OF NEUTRINOS IN NEUTRON MATTER

We calculate neutrino mean free paths from neutrino-neutron scattering in neutron matter. We formulate the problem such that the correlation effects of the neutron system can be taken into account in terms of Landau parameters. It is shown that the neutrinos are scattered not only by single-pair excitations (in the density and spin-density channels) but also by the collective mode of the system (spin-zero sound). We find that for degenerate neutrinos the effects of nucleon-nucleon interactions reduce the neutrino scattering rate by a factor 2-3, where the contribution from the collective mode is negligible because its temperature dependence is different from that of the single-pair excitations.
Chromatic aberration of eyepieces in early telescopes

Summary The twofold objective of this study is (1) to identify and give a brief review of the historical development of the various designs of early (pre-1850) telescope eyepieces, and (2) to determine by measurements and calculations the axial and lateral chromatic aberrations of a number of extant eyepieces from that period in order to provide basic data on which to judge the relative quality of different eyepiece forms. Eight distinct types of eyepieces containing one to five lens elements are discussed and illustrated. The second objective was addressed by measuring the focal lengths of the individual lens elements and the lens spacings in each eyepiece. The data were processed by a ray-tracing program that yields the chromatic aberration (CA) and focal length of each of the eyepieces. Twenty-one telescopes from that period were studied in this way. Similar calculations were also made using data available in the literature on several additional historic telescopes. The conclusions drawn from the data ...
BamTools: a C++ API and toolkit for analyzing and managing BAM files.

Motivation: Analysis of genomic sequencing data requires efficient, easy-to-use access to alignment results and flexible data management tools (e.g. filtering, merging, sorting, etc.). However, the enormous amount of data produced by current sequencing technologies is typically stored in compressed, binary formats that are not easily handled by the text-based parsers commonly used in bioinformatics research. Results: We introduce a software suite for programmers and end users that facilitates research analysis and data management using BAM files. BamTools provides both the first C++ API publicly available for BAM file support as well as a command-line toolkit. Availability: BamTools was written in C++, and is supported on Linux, Mac OSX and MS Windows. Source code and documentation are freely available at http://github.org/pezmaster31/bamtools. Contact: ude.cb@edtenrab
COORDINATION OF MONETARY AND FISCAL POLICY IN A MONETARY UNION: POLICY ISSUES AND ANALYTICAL MODELS

The European Monetary Union raises new and interesting questions about the coordination of monetary and fiscal policy. In this lecture, I discuss some of these questions and the answers that a new class of models—new neoclassical synthesis (NNS) models—is currently giving to them. I will argue that the new questions expose some weaknesses in current NNS modeling; in particular, the models do not seem to explain the positive correlation between national inflation and growth differentials that has been observed in the European data. I also review some recent work that has been done on policy coordination within a currency union.
Diet, signal transduction and carcinogenesis.

The defects in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation that manifest themselves as cancer result from multiple defective genes and their products, which are involved in the processes of cellular signaling, regulation of gene expression and control of the cell through its replication cycle. Each of these molecular defects represents a new target for development of novel therapeutic agents and prophylactic interventions. Evidence suggests that such therapeutic agents will show great efficacy for cells made cancerous by the single targeted defect. However, poor anticancer effiacy for clinically presenting cancer may occur as a result of the multiple molecular lesions. A combined-agent approach seems likely to be more successful, but this will require diagnosis of each tumor in substantially greater detail, down to the molecular level. When such molecular diagnosis becomes generally feasible, it should be possible to use combinations of highly specific agents at very low doses for therapy and ultimately for prevention of tumor metastasis. Chemoprevention in general may be achieved more easily than therapy with mechanism-based interventions, as certain individual lesions, in theory, may be rate limiting for carcinogenesis but may not be a significant contributor to the neoplastic phenotype by the time the tumor presents in the clinic
Dividing Coastal Waters

In the last decade, the extension of fishing jurisdictions and the expansion of off-shore drilling have given rise to many new maritime disputes between neighboring countries seeking to delimit exclusive economic zones. Because the record of negotiated boundary treaties has been augmented case by case, there has been only partial progress in articulating general principles that should govern the maritime property right assignment. This article treats the task of fixing maritime boundaries as a problem of “fair” division. We present a trio of axioms requiring that the division should respond in natural ways to coastal changes and should be based solely on distances sea to shore. It is shown that the imposition of these conditions limits the division method to the minimum distance rule under point-by-point division or to “minimum distance”shares under an aggregate division.
Distinguishing between Exogenous and Endogenous Intent-to-Transfer Students

In this article, we distinguish between 2 types of students who intend to transfer and graduate from another institution. During the fall of 2006, 507 first-semester students attending a state university completed a survey. Seventy-six percent of the students indicated that they planned on graduating from the University (intent-to-persist), 16% indicated that the intended to transfer and that this intention emerged following enrollment at the University (endogenous intent-to-transfer), and 8% indicated that they entered the University with the intent to transfer (exogenous intent-to-transfer). Exogenous intent-to-transfer students were significantly (p < .05) higher than endogenous intent-to-transfer students on academic integration, social integration, and institutional commitment. The 2 types of intent-to-transfer students differed in their economic, social, and quality of academic program reasons for enrolling at and transferring from the University. Implications for retention of making the distinction...
Modulation of heparan sulfate biosynthesis by sodium butyrate in recombinant CHO cells

Sodium butyrate, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, has been used to improve transgene expression in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The current study explores the impact of butyrate treatment on heparan sulfate (HS) biosynthesis and structural composition in a recombinant CHO-S cell line expressing enzymes in the heparin (HP)/(HS) biosynthetic pathway (Dual-10 stably expressing NDST2 and HS3st1). Flow cytometric analysis showed that antithrombin binding was increased in Dual-10 cells and basic fibroblast growth factor binding was decreased in response to sodium butyrate treatment. The results were in agreement with the AMAC-LCMS (2-aminoacridine-tagged HS/HP analysis by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry) data that showed that there was an increase in heparan sulfate tri-sulfated disaccharides and a decrease in N-sulfated disaccharides in the butyrate-treated cells. However, we could not detect any changes in the chondroitin sulfate pathway in Dual-10 cells treated with butyrate. The current study is the first to report the effect of butyrate on glycosaminoglycan profiles.
Radical Resection For Periampullary Carcinomas: Results in 53 Patients

• Radical pancreaticoduodenectomy for periampullary cancer was performed in 53 patients over a 22-year period. All tumors were adenocarcinomas: 35 patients had adenocarcinoma involving the head of the pancreas, nine, the Vater ampulla, seven, the distal common bile duct, and two, the duodenum. There were nine hospital deaths (17%). The postoperative course was classified as uneventful in 33 patients (62%). Thirty of the 39 patients who left the hospital died later, with evidence of recurrent carcinoma. The actuarial survival rate for the 53 patients was 51% ± 6.9% at one year, 12% ± 4.6% at five years, and 7% ± 3.9% at ten years. Patients surviving 3.5 or more years appeared to have a decrease in their cancer mortality. We discuss actuarial survival rates, according to the location of the tumor. This experience suggests that radical pancreaticoduodenectomy is indicated to remove small, localized periampullary carcinomas in patients who are otherwise in good health. ( Arch Surg 112:245-249, 1977)
Reusability library framework (RLF)

Abstract : This document provides an overview for the R-increment enhancements to the Reusability Library Framework (RLF) software. This software was developed in its original form under the STARS Foundations program (contract number N00014-88-C-2052, administered by the Naval Research Laboratory). This delivery includes modifications to the RLF software in several key areas which are briefly described below. Additional information can be found in README files within the various subdirectories that comprise this delivery. In particular, these README files contain information necessary to install the software for evaluation purposes. The user manuals for each of the major subsystems included in this delivery remain in their original STARS Foundations form. (JS)
Social robots: beyond tools to partners

This work presents our efforts towards building sociable autonomous robots that can work in collaboration with people. In teamwork, it is critical that a robot partner be able to infer and understand the human's goals and intentions in order to anticipate the person's needs and offer appropriate assistance in a timely manner. We present our framework for human-robot collaboration based on joint intention theory, and our initial efforts to develop a simulation-theoretic approach for anticipating the human partner's goals to proactively offer help. These abilities would enable many new and exciting applications for robots that require them to play a long-term, supportive, and helpful role in people's daily lives.
Improving dry etch control for contact plugs in advanced DRAM manufacturing

In advanced DRAM manufacturing, the process scaling to increase memory cell density creates a difficult challenge for conventional optical or SEM metrology tools to characterize wafer surface profiles after plasma etching. Dry plasma etch processes are used to form critical contact plugs within a stacked capacitor DRAM cell, two of which will be discussed in this article. One contact plug connects a buried digit line to an active area in array, while another contact plug connects a capacitor container to an active area through the first plug. In both cases, the etched surface structure features a complex three-dimensional (3D) topography with a minimum space at ~50nm (see Figure 1). Etch profiles are directly related to the DRAM yield and must be monitored inline. Scanning probe based atomic force microscopy (AFM) is particularly beneficial for this type of dimension measurements. This article presents the methodology and recent results of applying AFM as inline metrology for contact etch control at 70nm node and below. AFM is an advanced, high-resolution 3D imaging tool. It provides nondestructive and direct in-die measurements of the active circuit region on product wafers at the contact etch steps and other critical process layers. Calculated automatically from AFM images, the dry etch depth is used as inline metrology for process control and is a critical metric for process optimization.
Toward Signaling-Driven Biomarkers Immune to Normal Tissue Contamination.

The goal of this study was to discover a minimally invasive pathway-specific biomarker that is immune to normal cell mRNA contamination for diagnosing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Using Elsevier’s MedScan natural language processing component of the Pathway Studio software and the TRANSFAC database, we produced a curated set of genes regulated by the signaling networks driving the development of HNSCC. The network and its gene targets provided prior probabilities for gene expression, which guided our CoGAPS matrix factorization algorithm to isolate patterns related to HNSCC signaling activity from a microarray-based study. Using patterns that distinguished normal from tumor samples, we identified a reduced set of genes to analyze with Top Scoring Pair in order to produce a potential biomarker for HNSCC. Our proposed biomarker comprises targets of the transcription factor (TF) HIF1A and the FOXO family of TFs coupled with genes that show remarkable stability across all normal tissues. Based on validation with novel data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), measured by RNAseq, and bootstrap sampling, the biomarker for normal vs. tumor has an accuracy of 0.77, a Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.54, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.82.
Inhibition of v-Abl transformation by p53 and p19ARF.

Tumorigenesis is a multistep process that involves the activation of oncogenes and the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. The transforming activity of the v-Abl oncogene of Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV) in immortal cell lines has been well studied, while the effects of v-Abl in primary fibroblasts are less clear. Here we show that v-Abl causes cell cycle arrest in primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and elevated levels of both p53 and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21Cip. p53−/− or p19ARF−/− MEFs were resistant to v-Abl-induced cell cycle arrest. Although wild-type MEFs were resistant to v-Abl transforming activity, p53−/− or p19ARF−/− MEFs were susceptible. The results indicate that loss of p19ARF and p53 function plays an important role during the transformation of primary cells by v-Abl. We suggest that although v-Abl is a potent oncogene, its full potential transforming activity cannot be realized until the ARF-, and p53-dependent growth inhibitory pathway is disabled. We also show that p53 is not the mediator of v-Abl toxicity in immortal fibroblasts and does not determine the susceptibility of immortal fibroblasts to v-Abl transformation.
Generation of human Fab libraries for phage display.

This protocol describes the generation of human antibody libraries in Fab format from 2.5 × 10(7) human peripheral blood or bone marrow mononuclear cells for their subsequent selection by phage display. Although it can be applied to the mining of both human naive and immune antibody repertoires, the procedure is primarily intended for the generation of fully human monoclonal antibodies from patients with endogenous antibody responses of interest and limited availability of clinical specimens.
Simple Dynamic Models

This chapter discusses simple dynamic models. A body is considered having a constant mass m that is concentrated at a point and whose motion is restricted to a single line. The body accelerates under the influence of a force. Otherwise, it is either at rest or in motion at a uniform velocity. In the case of horizontal mass–spring system, the viscous effect of air resistance is less important than table top roughness. When the body is displaced from rest and let go, it adheres to the surface and there is no movement unless the restoring force is large enough. The importance of the stability is that in a number of cases it allows one to deduce the wandering of the orbits in the long term without having to solve the equations themselves. The principle used to derive differential equation models states that the rate at which a substance increases or decreases within some closed environment must be solely because of the rate at which matter enters from the outside minus the rate at which it leaves.
Compromise and Negation of the Comic Sublime

No dramatic work after Major Barbara is quite so committed to the logic of marching to the plains of heaven and discoursing thereupon. But the comic sublime continued to compel Shaw’s imagination through the compromise structures of 1906–12, the powerful negation of its logic represented by Pygmalion and those extraordinary baffled apocalypses, Heartbreak House and Back to Methuselah. The best work of the raggedy 1906–12 period is, in fact, the most artificial — the contrived dilemma of The Doctor’s Dilemma, the fable of Androcles and the Lion, the frame device of Fanny’s First Play. The freer forms, particularly Getting Married and Misalliance, are less successful, though they are, as the artifices are not, serious preparations for the later and greater Heartbreak House. Getting Married, moreover, introduces the third version of the comic sublime (though it was adumbrated in the role of Caesar), the lonely standing on the heights in search of the shadowy embrace that promises to complete, to totalise, the ego.
On Assessing Multivariate Normality

SUMMARY We discuss procedures for assessing multivariate normality based on properties of radii and angles of the multivariate normal distribution, and suggest that different procedures may be efficiently combined in order to achieve omnibus tests. The assumption of population multivariate normality underlies many multivariate data analytic procedures. Unfortunately, however, there are relatively few formal methods available for assess- ing the validity of this underlying assumption. Gnanadesikan (1977, Section 5.4.2) and Cox and Small (1978) have extensively reviewed various formal and informal procedures proposed for testing the multinormality hypothesis, and it is not our purpose to survey the procedures anew. Rather, we suggest in this note that different characteristics of multivariate normality can be examined with different procedures, which may thereafter be combined to obtain omnibus tests for the multinormality hypothesis.
Comparison of Methods for Isolation of Listeria from Raw Milk.

Methods used to isolate Listeria spp. from raw milk were compared during a 13-month period (April 1989-April 1990). Raw milk was obtained bimonthly from 12 dairy farms during this time period. Three enrichments were compared: Listeria enrichment broth (LEB); University of Vermont medium (UVM), followed by a secondary enrichment with Fraser broth; and LPALCAMY. Four selective plating media, including Listeria selective agar-Oxford formulation; Modified McBride Listeria agar (MMLA); Lithium chloride-phenylethanol-moxalactam (LPM) agar; and L-PALCAM agar, were compared. L-PALCAMY enrichment broth enhanced isolation of L. monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. The greatest numbers of positive Listeria samples were obtained on Oxford and PALCAM agars, while the poorest isolation was obtained using the combination of LEB with MMLA. L. monocytogenes was found to be present in 3.0% (9/300) of the samples analyzed. The incidence of Listeria spp. was 28.0%; Listeria innocua , 26.7%; and Listeria welshimeri , 1.7%. Listeria ivanovii was not isolated. The incidence of Listeria was highest during the warmer months of April-July, while the lowest incidences occurred in December and February. Somatic cell counts (SCC) and standard plate counts (SPC) were determined by the cooperative that supplied the raw milk. In general, a producer's milk with high SPC corresponded to a high incidence of Listeria spp., while low SPC corresponded to a low incidence. A particular producer's milk with the highest incidence of Listeria spp. also had the highest SCC.
Deriving Association between Learning Behavior and Programming Skills

Data mining is the process of discovering patterns from large amount of data stored in student database. It predicts the facts from the dataset and interpreted as useful information to the society. The learning behavior of the student and programming skill are dissimilar in a classroom and programming lab. Data mining techniques are used to find association between the Learning behavior and programming skills using students’ dataset. Clustering is used to determine the similarity in the students’ dataset based on the nature of the learning behavior and programming skills. Each cluster reveals the identity based on its learning behavior of the student. Likewise the programming skill is categorized based on descriptive modeling. Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) technique classifies the learning behavior of students and their programming skills based on learning by example. The task is to determine the association between learning behavior and programming skills through descriptive and predictive modeling using mapping or function. It reveals that there is a positive correlation between student learning behavior and programming skills. This analysis could help the staff members to provide right training to the students for their improvement of programming skill.
NASA/ESTO investments in remote sensing technologies (Conference Presentation)

For more then 18 years NASA Earth Science Technology Office has been investing in remote sensing technologies. During this period ESTO has invested in more then 900 tasks. These tasks are managed under multiple programs like Instrument Incubator Program (IIP), Advanced Component Technology (ACT), Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST), In-Space Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVEST), Sustainable Land Imaging – Technology (SLI-T) and others. This covers the whole spectrum of technologies from component to full up satellite in space and software. Over the years many of these technologies have been infused into space missions like Aquarius, SMAP, CYGNSS, SWOT, TEMPO and others. Over the years ESTO is actively investing in Infrared sensor technologies for space applications. Recent investments have been for SLI-T and InVEST program. On these tasks technology development is from simple Bolometers to Advanced Photonic waveguide based spectrometers. Some of the details on these missions and technologies will be presented.
Traumatic glaucoma due to paintball injuries: A case series

Abstract Purpose To study the management and outcomes of patients with paintball injuries resulting in traumatic glaucoma. Methods A retrospective review was performed, identifying four patients with a confirmed diagnosis of traumatic glaucoma secondary to paintball sports. Results Four male patients with paintball gun injuries presented with a mean follow-up time of 51 months after the date of injury. The mean age was 23.5 ± 18.6 years. Three patients presented with blunt trauma, while one patient had a ruptured globe. Presenting visual acuity (VA) was hand motions in three of the patients and no light perception in the fourth patient. All patients were diagnosed with traumatic glaucoma and treated with glaucoma medications during their follow-up. Two patients received tube shunts to control intraocular pressures (IOPs). At the time of most recent follow-up, three patients had elevated IOPs and were not on any medications. VA at the last follow-up was 20/400 or worse. Conclusions Traumatic glaucoma can be managed with surgical and medical interventions, while VA usually does not return to baseline levels prior to the injury. Prognostic predictors can be used to guide treatment and identify patients who should be closely followed. Because the presentation and onset is widely variable, follow-up and screening is crucial even years after the injury.
Side-specific characterization of aortic valve endothelial cell adhesion molecules under cyclic strain.

Background and aim of the study Aortic valve ectopic calcification occurs exclusively on the fibrosa surface. This may be due to the distinct mechanical environments on either side of the valve, or to the existence of unique, side-specific endothelial sub-phenotypes. The study aim was to determine if side-specific endothelial cells (ECs) would differentially express cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion molecules in response to elevated levels of equibiaxial tensile strain. Methods Side-specific porcine aortic valve ECs were isolated and strained at 10% or 20% using a Flexcell 4000T for 24 h, and compared to static controls. The quantity and pattern of distribution of adhesion proteins was then assessed using ELISA and fluorescence microscopy, respectively. The adhesion proteins of interest were platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1), beta1-integrin, VE-cadherin, and vinculin. Results Overall, ventricular ECs were more reactive to changes in cyclic strain, with significant increases in VE-cadherin and vinculin at 20% strain. However, the expression of beta1-integrin was significantly increased at 20% strain in fibrosa ECs. Expression of PECAM-1 was not significantly changed at all strain levels for both sub-populations of ECs. Conclusion Endothelial cells isolated from the fibrosa and ventricularis surfaces of porcine aortic valves showed significantly different expression profiles of cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion molecules under elevated tensile strain. These differences in response to cyclic strain suggest that different endothelial sub-phenotypes exist on the fibrosa and ventricularis surfaces of the aortic valve.
Alignment of DNA Mass-Spectral Profiles Using Network Flows

Mass spectrometry (MS) of DNA fragments generated by base-specific cleavage of PCR products emerges as a cost-effective and robust alternative to DNA sequencing. MS has been successfully applied to SNP discovery using reference sequences, genotyping and detection of viral transmissions. Although MS is yet to be adapted for reconstruction of genetic composition of complex intra-host viral populations on the scale comparable to the next-generation DNA sequencing technologies, the MS profiles are rich sources of data reflecting the structure of viral populations and completely suitable for accurate assessment of genetic relatedness among viral strains. However, owing to a data structure, which is significantly different from sequences, application of MS profiles to genetic analyses remains a challenging task. Here, we develop a novel approach to aligning DNA MS profiles and assessment of genetic relatedness among DNA species using spectral alignments (MSA). MSA was formulated and solved as a network flow problem. It enables an accurate comparison of MS profiles and provides a direct evaluation of genetic distances between DNA molecules without invoking sequences. MSA may serve as accurately as sequence alignments to facilitate phylogenetic analysis and, as such, has numerous applications in basic research, clinical and public health settings.
Trends in Pediatric Traumatic Upper Extremity Amputations

Background: Traumatic upper extremity amputation in a child can be a life-altering injury, yet little is known about the epidemiology or health care costs of these injuries. In this study, using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Kids' Inpatient Database (KID), we assess these trends to learn about the risk factors and health care costs of these injuries. Methods: Using the HCUP KID from 1997 to 2012, patients aged 20 years old or younger with upper extremity traumatic amputations were identified. National estimates of incidence, demographics, costs, hospital factors, patient factors, and mechanisms of injury were assessed. Results: Between 1997 and 2012, 6130 cases of traumatic upper extremity amputation occurred in children. This resulted in a $166 million cost to the health care system. Males are 3.4 times more likely to be affected by amputation than females. The most common age group to suffer amputation is in older children, aged 15 to 19 years old. The frequency of amputation has declined 41% from 1997 to 2012. The overwhelming majority of amputations (92.54%) involved digits. Conclusions: Pediatric traumatic amputations of the upper extremity are a significant contribution to health care spending. Interventions and educational campaigns can be targeted based on national trends to prevent these costly injuries.
Suppression of Vapor Explosions by Dilute Aqueous Polymer Solutions

The nuclear industry is a potential setting for steam explosion accidents; in this context, they are commonly referred to as fuel/coolant interactions (FCIs). Loss-of-coolant accidents that could lead to FCIs are considered to be unlikely. Nevertheless, FCIs are regarded as a potential hazard that contributes to the overall risk. One possibility for reducing FCI risk is to identify suitable additives for the emergency coolant water that prevent steam explosions or make them less violent. Results are presented from laboratory experiments that examined the ability of dilute aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), a soluble drag-reducing polymer, to suppress spontaneous vapor explosions of molten tin. Experiments with pure water were carried out to provide a reference of comparison for the polymer solutions. The peak pressures measured in the most dilute PEO solutions spanned a much wider range than those for water, and pressure many times larger than any recorded in pure water were recorded-up to 240kPa. When the solution viscosity ratio was 1.25 or larger, however, spontaneous explosions were markedly suppressed; above [eta][sub r] = 2.00, they were entirely eliminated.
The Impact of Technology on Assessing Social Skills

The social skill of persons with disabilities has been found to influence employment, schooling, friendships, community involvement, and overall quality of life. However, the ability of researchers...
Kinetics and thermodynamics of activation of pretreatment with guanosine 5'-[beta, gamma-imido]triphosphate of smooth-muscle adenylate cyclase.

Catalytic subunits (C) of uterine smooth-muscle adenylate cyclase were activated (C*) by incubating the enzyme with the GTP analogue guanosine 5'-[betagamma-imido]triphosphate (p[NH]ppG), followed by treatment with GTP and washing at 2 degrees C. Activation (C-->C*) proceeded in a time- and temperature-dependent manner as disclosed by subsequent assay of the pretreated particles at 37 degrees C. The properties of the activated subunits were a function of the pretreatment temperature and not those of the enzyme assay performed at 37 degrees C. Over the range 6-24 degrees C, activation by pretreatment with p[NH]ppG followed simple Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and increase in temperature increased the concentration of catalytic subunits in the C* state and decreased K(m) for the guanosine nucleotide. Characterization of the temperature-dependent effects of pretreatment with p[NH]ppG suggested that activation of the catalytic subunit at the temperature in situ (37 degrees C) was moderately endergonic (DeltaH(0) approximately 8kJ.mol(-1)) and accompanied by an increase in entropy (DeltaS(0) approximately 146J.mol(-1).K(-1)). The beta-adrenergic catecholamine receptor, reflected by isoproterenol's effect on activation by pretreatment with p[NH]ppG, increased the concentration of catalytic subunits in the C* state but had an insignificant (P>0.05) effect on the K(m) at every temperature. This result suggested that formation of the receptor-hormone complex produced an increase in the first-order rate constant without an appreciable effect on the actual catalytic-subunit activation step. The primary function of the beta-adrenergic catecholamine receptor under these conditions appeared to be regulation of the concentration of activation sites available for binding of p[NH]ppG.
Bijective Disjointness Preserving Operators

A linear operator T: X → Y between vector lattices is said to be disjointness preserving if T sends disjoint elements in X to disjoint elements in Y. Let T: X → Y be a bijective disjointness preserving operator, and so the inverse operator T -1 exists. In this paper we discuss the most recent results regarding the following problem: when is T -1 disjointness preserving? Apart from presenting several counterexamples to this problem we also formulate many sufficient conditions for the affirmative answer to it.
Of Secrets and Spies: Strengthening the Public's Right to Know About the CIA

The impetus behind the Intelligence Reform Act was to prevent another terrorist attack on American soil. The statute completely overhauled the United States intelligence apparatus, largely by amending the National Security Act of 1947, which created the CIA and established the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) as its head. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that by renovating the fifty-seven-year-old National Security Act to create a modern intelligence infrastructure, Congress has also paved the way for a new intelligence-information paradigm. For the last two decades, near-blanket CIA secrecy has gone largely unchecked, principally because of the Court's ruling in CIA v. Sims.The authors believe that Sims was wrongly decided in 1985, but this article asserts that, right or wrong, Sims is no longer controlling precedent when viewed in light of the Intelligence Reform Act. This Article asserts that the CIA's ability to deny FOIA requests should be sharply circumscribed in accordance with a new information paradigm of maximum dissemination as established in the Act. Part I discusses the FOIA, its statutory exemptions and its legislative history. Part II examines the Sims decision and argues that the Court's ruling contravened Congress's intent to require the fullest disclosure possible under the FOIA. Part III summarizes the changes established by the Intelligence Reform Act and examines the legislative history of the Act to clarify the plain meaning of its text. This Article concludes that the Intelligence Reform Act offers a new intelligence information policy that recognizes that carte blanche CIA secrecy has been outmoded and acknowledges that this nation has experienced a profound shift in terms of what the public has come to expect to know about what their government is doing in their name.
A Study on Firms with Negative Book Value of Equity

This paper studies the puzzling negative book equity phenomenon among US public firms. Our evidence suggests that negative book equity firms exhibit heterogeneous characteristics. We show that a great portion of these firms, while operating at excessive capital structure with leverage ratio over 100%, are financially and operationally healthy. These healthy negative book equity firms increase their debt primarily motived by a need for funds to fulfill investment demand. We also find that the off‐balance sheet intangible assets and quality of intangible assets play an important role in determining the true debt capacity of these firms.