cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comment on “effect of phosphorus content on the relative proportions of crystalline and amorphous phases in electroless NiP deposits”

In a recent paper, Kumar and Nair [1] presented a quantitative analysis of electroless Ni-P deposits with phosphorus concentrations between 4.35 and 9.10 wt %. They performed X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments on their deposits and analysed the XRD profiles on the basis of a mixture of an amorphous Ni-P phase and fcc nickel. It is the aim of this paper to show that their analysis based only on these two phases is incomplete and incorrect. To show the presence of amorphous Ni-P and fcc nickel Kumar and Nair presented selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns of a crystalline phase and an amorphous phase. While the diffuse halo ring pattern shown in one of their micrographs is typical for an amorphous alloy, the spot pattern shown in the other micrograph was reported to indicate a [1 1 1] orientation of fcc nickel. There is, however, strong evidence .that the diffraction spot pattern shown by Kumar and Nair [1] does not show the [1 1 1] orientation of nickel but the [0 0 1] orientation of a well-known metastable hexagonal Ni3P phase. The diffraction pattern shown by Kumar and Nair [1] consists of strong diffraction spots and two weak Debye-Scherrer rings. The ratio of the spacings of these rings is identical to the ratio of the lattice spacings of the {1 11} and {200} lattice planes of an fcc lattice. If we assign these diffraction rings to nickel and use them to calibrate the micrograph, the d-values of the spot pattern can be determined. The d-values of some spots determined in this way and the corresponding values of the a-axis of a hexagonal crystal are listed in Table I. Within the uncertainty of our measurements, all d-values result in the same lattice parameter. Hexagonal Ni-P phases with nearly the same lattice parameter were found for chemically and electrolytically deposited amorphous Ni-P alloys after heat treatment between 270 and 400°C (a =0.672nm) [2], in crystallized thin (20-50nm) films of amorphous NislPx9 (a = 0.656 nm) [3], in the thin ( < 5 0 n m ) regions of melt-spun NislP19 , and in thin regions (< 50 nm) of a crystallized Ni69Cr14P17 alloy (a = 0.690 nm) [4]. Further evidence that the diffraction pattern shown by Kumar and Nair represents a hexagonal phase is given by a comparison with our own measurements on Ni69Cr14P17 , an alloy of similar composition. Selected area electron diffraction patterns of this material in the amorphous state and in thinned regions after heat treatment to 305 °C are shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, respectively. Both patterns were taken with the same camera length printed at identical magnifications. By tilting of the specimen, the lattice parameters of this crystalline phase were determined to be a = 0.690 nm and c = 1.04 nm [4]. The similarity of these two micrographs with those published by Kumar and Nair for Ni-P alloys is evident and supports our assertion that the electron diffraction pattern in [1] represents that of a hexagonal Ni-P phase together with the
Evaluation of a collagenase generated osteoarthritis biomarker in naturally occurring canine cruciate disease.

Objective— To determine the clinical value of a novel osteoarthritis (OA) biomarker in detecting canine cruciate disease. Study Design— Cross sectional clinical study. Animals— Dogs (n=22) with cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture and 12 control dogs. Methods— Concentrations of collagenase-generated cleavage epitope of type II collagen (Col2-3/4Clong mono, or C2C) in serum, urine, and joint fluid were compared between a group of dogs with CCL rupture and a control group. Correlation of C2C concentrations to the clinical stage of stifle OA was also evaluated. Results— There were no significant differences in C2C concentrations in serum, urine, and joint fluid between groups (P>.05). Subjective scores of lameness, joint effusion, osteophytosis were significantly more severe in the CCL rupture group compared with the control group (P .05). Conclusion— This OA biomarker did not detect pathology associated with CCL rupture. Our results suggest that collagenase-specific degradation of type II collagen in articular cartilage may not be involved in the early stage of naturally occurring canine cruciate disease, and that pathology associated with naturally occurring CCL rupture is different from that of experimental OA model. Clinical Relevance— C2C is not clinically useful in detecting CCL rupture in dogs.
Chern-Simons Solitons, Toda Theories and the Chiral Model

The two-dimensional self-dual Chern-Simons equations are equivalent to the conditions for static, zero-energy solutions of the (2+1)-dimensional gauged nonlinear Schrodinger equation with Chern-Simons matter-gauge dynamics. In this paper we classify all finite chargeSU(N) solutions by first transforming the self-dual Chern-Simons equations into the two-dimensional chiral model (or harmonic map) equations, and then using the Uhlenbeck-Wood classification of harmonic maps into the unitary groups. This construction also leads to a new relationship between theSU(N) Toda andSU(N) chiral model solutions.
Factors affecting the induction of Lambda prophages by millimeter microwaves

Abstract The induction of lambda prophages by millimeter microwaves has been found to be strongly dependent on frequency and dose and on the oxygen tension in the environment of the cells. An increase of a factor up to 105 over non-irradiated cells has been observed.
Laser microprobe analyses of Cl, Br, I, and K in fluid inclusions: Implications for sources of salinity in some ancient hydrothermal fluids

The relative concentrations of Cl, Br, I, and K in fluid inclusions in hydrothermal minerals were measured by laser microprobe noble gas mass spectrometry on irradiated samples containing 10−10 to 10−8 L of fluid. Distinctive halogen signatures indicate contrasting sources of fluid salinity in fluid inclusions from representative “magmatic” (St. Austell), “metamorphic” (Alleghany), and “geothermal” (Creede, Salton Sea) aqueous systems. Br/Cl mol ratios are lowest at Salton Sea (0.27–0.33 × 10−3), where high salinities are largely due to halite dissolution; intermediate at St. Austell (0.85 × 10−3), possibly representative of magmatic volatiles; and highest (near that of seawater) at Creede (1.5–2.1 × 10−3) and Alleghany (1.2–2.4 × 10−3), where dissolved halogens probably were leached from volcanic and (or) nonevaporitic sedimentary rocks. IC1 mol ratios are lowest (near that of seawater) at Creede (1–14 × 10−6), possibly because organisms scavenged I during low temperature recharge; intermediate at Salton Sea (24–26 × 10−6) and St. Austell (81× 10−6); and highest at Alleghany (320–940 × 10−6), probably because the fluids interacted with organic-rich sediments at high temperatures before being trapped. KCl mol ratios indicate disequilibrium with respect to hypothetical feldspathic alkali-Al-silicate mineral buffers at fluid inclusion trapping temperatures at Creede, and large contributions of (Na, K)-bicarbonate to total fluid ionic strength at Alleghany. Significant variations in Cl/Br/I/K ratios among different fluid inclusion types are correlated with previously documented mineralization stages at Creede, and with the apparent oxidation state of dissolved carbon at Alleghany. The new data indicate that Cl/ Br/I ratios in hydrothermal fluid inclusions vary by several orders of magnitude, as they do in modern surface and ground waters. This study demonstrates that halogen signatures of fluid inclusions determined by microanalysis yield important information about sources of fluid salinity and provide excellent definition of fluid reservoirs and tracers of flow and interaction in ancient hydrothermal systems.
The K-shell Auger electron spectrum of gadolinium obtained using neutron capture in a solid state device

Highly doped or alloyed Gd2O3 in HfO2 films form heterojunction diodes with silicon. Single neutron capture events can be identified with a Hf0.85Gd0.15O1.93 to n-type silicon heterojunction. With long pulse integration times and suppression of the smaller pulses, there is agreement between the key pulse height spectral features and those predicted by Monte Carlo simulations. The latter align very well with the decay channels of the Gd following neutron capture, particularly those involving the Gd K-shell Auger electron resonances.
Prediction of elastic moduli of solids with oriented porosity

There have been no simple equations available to predict the effects of arbitrarily shaped voids over the entire range of porosity encountered in real materials. Empirical expressions have been proposed, but they agree neither with appropriate theoretical analyses nor with extensive experimental data. Theoretical predictions have been linear in porosity and thus predict an insufficient reduction. Only a few analyses account for void shapes other than spherical. The present work represents a semi-empirical approach to fill these information deficiences.
Factors Influencing the Selection of Standardized Tests for the Diagnosis of Specific Language Impairment

Purpose Standardized tests are one of the primary assessment tools used by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to diagnose child language impairment. Numerous child language tests are commercially ...
A mechanically simple Foster scanner

This paper describes the design, construction, and testing of a Foster scanner that is much simpler to build than the conventional Foster scanner. The simplifications result from the use of a choke groove and a solid barrier to replace the conventional inter-leaving finger barriers. The choke groove and solid barrier are very simple to construct, give excellent electrical performance, and permit very high scan rates. A scanner has been built and tested at 35 kmc, where the tolerance problems are very severe, and found to perform extremely well over at least a 10 per cent frequency bandwidth.
Murine immune responses and immunization against Polyplax serrata (Anoplura: Polyplacidae).

Mice with restricted grooming capabilities were infested with the solenophagous louse, Polyplax serrata (Burmeister). Louse burdens on Cox/Swiss and C3H/HeSN mice increased for approximately 1 mo, reaching burden/host weight ratios of 1.14 and 1.26 mg/g, respectively, followed by a steady decline. Fifty days after initial ectoparasite contact, both strains were resistant to lice. Resistance was anamnestic, lasting several months with second infestation weights reduced by 98 and 78% on Cox/Swiss and C3H/HeSN, respectively. Furthermore, mice were systemically resistant because infestations on naive body sites of resistant hosts were reduced by 59%. Host resistance was associated with the development of antilouse immune responses. After the first week of a primary infestation, the draining lymph nodes contained cells that proliferated in vitro to louse antigens. Skin responses to louse antigens were also detected: (1) delayed, (2) immediate and delayed, and (3) no significant reactivity on days 19, 34, and 54, respectively. The presence of systemic antilouse responses provided an immunologic basis for immunization against lice. Intradermal injections of soluble louse components reduced primary infestation weights by 62%. Immunized mice had immediate and delayed skin responses containing an inflammatory infiltrate 1 wk following immunization. This study, using the natural host of P. serrata , demonstrates an inducible, anamnestic immune component in louse resistance.
Role of heat shock proteins in oxygen radical–induced gastric apoptosis

Abstract Background The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their resultant oxidative damage is a common pathway for gastric mucosal injury. Developing strategies to protect the gastric epithelium against oxygen free radical damage is of profound pathophysiological interest. We have previously shown caspase-mediated apoptosis as a major cause of ROS-induced cell death in gastric mucosa. Because heat shock proteins (Hsps) confer protection against many cytotoxic agents, this study was undertaken to determine whether modulation of Hsps was protective against oxidative damage. Materials and methods AGS cells (human gastric mucosal cell line) received either no pretreatment, heat shock pretreatment (1 h at 42 ± 1°C), or pretreatment with an Hsp modulating drug (geldanamycin or quercetin). Cells were then exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a representative ROS (1 mM, a physiologically relevant concentration), for 24 h. Caspase-3 activation and Poly ADP Ribose Polymerase (PARP) inactivation, as well as DNA-histone complex formation were used as measures of apoptosis. Inducible Hsps (Hsp70 and Hsp90) were detected using Western blot analysis. Results Results showed heat shock pretreatment induced increased expression of Hsp70 without change in Hsp90. In response to H2O2 exposure alone, there was significant increase in DNA-histone complex formation as well as caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage in gastric epithelium. Heat shock pretreatment resulted in statistically significant prevention in these measures of apoptosis. Geldanamycin increased Hsp70, but elicited cleavage of Hsp90 and subsequently resulted in an increase in H2O2-induced apoptosis. Quercetin decreased Hsp70 and resulted again in increased H2O2-induced apoptosis. Conclusions These findings indicate that heat shock pretreatment protects gastric mucosal cells against H2O2-induced apoptosis and that Hsp70 and Hsp90 may play key roles in this process. These results further suggest that perturbations in Hsp metabolism may induce mucosal injury in response to oxygen free radicals.
Simplified Erection Guidelines for Double I-Girder Systems during Bridge Construction:

In current design specifications, only the individual girder inside the double-girder system is checked for lateral torsional buckling between the intermediate cross frames. However, the overall lateral torsional buckling of double-girder systems may be critical during bridge erection because of the limited lateral bracing present at this stage. Therefore, close attention should be paid to the overall stability of double I-girders during construction, and research was conducted for the simply supported case and the cantilever case under self-weight only. Through extensive finite element analyses, the formulas developed by Yura and colleagues on the overall lateral torsional buckling capacity of double-girder systems were first verified for the simply supported case and modified for the cantilever case. A stability index L/S was developed for estimating the stability of double-girder systems during erection, which equals the ratio between the girder span L and the girder spacing S. Formulas were then deriv...
On testing a set of correlation coefficients for equality: Some asymptotic results

This note considers tests of the hypothesis H that the off-diagonal elements of a correlation matrix are equal. A test statistic T3 proposed by Aitkin, Nelson & Reinfurt (1968) is shown to be asymptotically equivalent, under H, to a member of a certain class of quadratic forms in the sample correlations. The asymptotic null distribution of each member of this class is obtained, the distribution of T3 and of statistics proposed by other authors following as a special case. The asymptotic probability of type-one error for the critical region suggested by Aitkin et al. depends upon an unspecified null parameter in such a way as to make questionable the applicability of the test.
Phosphosilicate glass waveguides for phased-array radar time delay

The design, fabrication, and performance characteristics of passive waveguides and micromechanical switches for use as time delays for phased-array antennas are discussed. The approach considered here is to fabricate the optical waveguides and switches on silicon substrates using VLSI-compatible technology. This approach permits the use of a single off-chip emitter and detector to perform RF-optical and optical-RF conversion for each delay network. It also allows precise lithographic definition of the shorter delay waveguides. Micromechanical waveguide routing switches of two types designed to perform the path selection functions are considered.
Effect of Agar Plate Volume on Accuracy of Culturable Bioaerosol Impactors

Agar plate volume in bioaerosol impactors affects collection efficiency, but it is often overlooked in practice. This study investigated the effect of agar volume (20, 35, and 50 mL) and, consequently, jet-to-plate distance on accuracy of culturable impactors. Laboratory experiments investigated sensitive Escherichia coli and hardy Bacillus atrophaeus bacteria with a BioStage impactor. Outdoors bacterial and fungal sampling assessed effects of varying agar volume in BioStage, Sampl’air Lite, and SAS Super 180 multinozzle impactors relative to a reference BioStage with 35 mL agar. The results demonstrate that agar plate volume affects not only overall collection efficiency, but also species selection and colony masking. Culturable concentrations of E. coli in laboratory were underestimated by 35% when using 20 versus 35 mL agar volume (p < 0.001). However, data indicate selection of healthier bacteria, as E. coli colonies were significantly larger on 50 versus 20 mL agar plates (p < 0.001). For outdoors, l...
Incorporation of 14C-Leucine into Apple Leaf Protein and Its Inhibition by Protein Synthesis Inhibitors during Growth and Senescence

Of the total 14C-leucine taken up by intact apple (Pyrus malus L., Golden Delicious) leaf discs, 44 to 62% is incorporated into protein from June to early October. Of this amount, an average of 35% is released by mild, room temperature acid hydrolysis. Prior to mid-August when leaf protein begins to decline, 15 to 20% of the 14C-leucine incorporated into protein occurs in water-(buffer) soluble protein, of which only 3% is released by mild acid hydrolysis. After mid-August, 40% of the label in protein occurs in soluble protein. The specific radio-activity of the soluble protein increases by 4- to 5-fold after mid-August, while that of total protein increases by less than 2-fold. In presenescent leaves (before the decline of protein in August) 20 micrograms per milliliter cycloheximide inhibits the incorporation of 14C-leucine into protein by 71%, and 20 micrograms per milliliter chloramphenicol inhibits it by 30%. In senescing leaves, cycloheximide inhibits 14C-leucine by 85% or more, while chloramphenicol inhibits it by less than 15%. Coincident to the initial decline of leaf protein, chloramphenicol greatly loses its ability to inhibit the incorporation of 14C-leucine into apple leaf protein. At all leaf ages, chloramphenicol increases the loss of chlorophyll from apple leaf discs. The effect of cycloheximide on leaf disc senescence changes with leaf age: in early season samples, it increases the loss of chlorophyll; in mid-season samples, it has no effect; and in late season samples, it retards the loss of chlorophyll.
Polychaete assemblage as surrogate for prey availability in assessing southeastern Bering Sea flatfish habitat

Abstract The flatfish yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera), northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra), and Alaska plaice (Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus) in the southeastern Bering Sea prey mainly on infauna. Spatial correspondence between their stomach contents and infauna assemblages across habitat types was examined to identify indices of prey availability for flatfish habitat characterization and quality assessment. Benthic samples and flatfish stomachs were collected in 2009 near the Alaska Peninsula in the southeastern Bering Sea. Polychaetes and bivalves were the most dominant infauna groups, each comprising 35–60% by weight in each infauna sample. These two were also the only prey groups that frequently averaged > 50% of stomach content by weight. Bivalves dominated the infauna biomass on the relatively sandy inner shelf (0–50 m depth). The muddier middle shelf (50–100 m) had the highest infauna biomass, which was dominated by polychaetes. Diet compositions of the flatfish varied spatially in correspondence with the infauna assemblage. Polychaetes were prevalent in all flatfish diets on the middle shelf, even yellowfin sole whose typical primary prey are amphipods and bivalves. Polychaete-rich habitats are potentially prime for flatfish as polychaetes are readily utilized where available and generally have high nutritional value. Flatfish did not select for specific polychaete taxa, so an index of habitat quality could be based on the biomass of aggregate polychaetes or on dominant polychaete families of the region. Under normal environmental conditions, the three flatfish have slightly-offset spatial distributions, enabling each to utilize different infauna assemblages across the shelf. However, during cold phases in the Bering Sea ecosystem, as when this study was conducted, a cold pool of
Further studies on the glucose inhibition of β-1,3-glucanohydrolase increase during gut differentiation of sand dollar larvae

Abstract β-1,3-Glucanase activity in sand dollar larvae appears at 22 hr of development. The presence of glucose, the major product of this enzyme, in the ambient seawater depresses β-glucanase activity 3-fold. This glucose depression occurs only if glucose is present during the time of increase in β-glucanase activity. Maximum depression occurs at 10 mM glucose; the effect is not mimicked by l -glucose or methyl glucose analogs. The glucose effect is reversible up to 32 hr of development, but not thereafter. Studies on sea urchin larvae show that β-glucanase activity follows a similar pattern of increase in these embryos, but is not affected by exogenous glucose. The site of action of glucose may be at the synthesis of β-glucanase mRNA. If larvae are incubated in glucose for 6 hr and actinomycin D is substituted for glucose, no increased β-glucanase activity occurs. However, if larvae are incubated in cycloheximide and actinomycin D is substituted for cycloheximide, increased β-glucanase activity is observed. Thus glucose may be acting directly on transcription or it may be affecting the turnover of β-glucanase mRNA.
Our Bodies, Ourselves Revisited: Male Body Image and Psychological Well-Being

Given increasing objectification of the male body and rising steroid and supplement use among young men, it is imperative to explore associations between body image, masculine norms, and psychological well-being. This study examines correlations between these constructs in 101 male college students. Results revealed significant associations between participants’ physical self-evaluations and two aspects of psychological well-being. Appearance evaluation accounted for approximately 20 percent of variance in participants’ psychological self-acceptance. Body image correlated positively with perceived environmental mastery and with the masculine norm of dominance. A negative correlation was observed between childhood victimization and body image. Participants who considered themselves overweight reported lower self-acceptance than participants who considered themselves to be underweight. Results support the hypothesis that body image has become a significant predictor of psychological well-being in young men.
Performance of two clinical decision rules for knee radiography

We designed a prospective observational study to attempt to validate two recently described clinical decision rules for knee radiography. Consecutive patients aged > or = 15 yr with acute knee injuries occurring less than 1 wk prior to presentation were included for study. Patients with distracting conditions, open knee injuries, or previous surgery were excluded. Each patient was assessed for 7 historical and 15 physical examination criteria that were recorded on a standardized data collection instrument. Radiographs were ordered at the discretion of the attending physician and were read by two board-certified radiologists. When radiographs were not ordered, structured telephone follow-up was performed after 3 wk. The main outcome parameter was the presence or absence of a clinically significant fracture. There were 351 patients in the study; 26 (7%) had knee fractures. Fractures were significantly associated with an increased prevalence for two of the three criteria in the rule derived by Bauer: inability to weight bear immediately or in the emergency department (ED; 76.9% of patients with a fracture vs. 29.8% of patients without a fracture) and effusion (53.8% vs. 28.9%, respectively). Ecchymosis was not significantly associated with fracture (19.2% with fracture vs. 9% with no fracture). Use of the Bauer rule would have led to a radiographic evaluation of 22 of the 26 patients with knee fractures (sensitivity = 84.6%, specificity = 48.9%). Fractures were associated with a significantly increased prevalence for three of the five criteria in the decision rule proposed by Stiell: isolated patella tenderness (30.8% with fracture vs. 14.5% with no fracture), inability to flex the knee to 90 degrees (42.3% vs. 19.7%, respectively), and inability to weight bear immediately and in the ED (57.7% vs. 18.8%, respectively). Age > or = 55 yr (23.1% vs. 12.0%, respectively) and fibula head tenderness (11.5% vs. 5.5%, respectively) were not significantly associated with fracture. Use of the Stiell rule would have led to radiographic evaluation of 22 of the 26 patients with knee fractures (sensitivity = 84.6%, specificity = 49.8%). We conclude that neither clinical decision rule is 100% sensitive. Further refinement will be necessary to identify all patients with knee fractures.
Dynamical modelling of concentration―age―discharge in watersheds

There is now a wide literature on the use of tracer age and transit time distributions to diagnose transport in environmental systems. Theories have been proposed using idealized tracer age modelling for ocean ventilation, atmospheric circulation, soil, stream and groundwater flow. Most approaches assume a steady flow regime and stationarity in the concentration (tracer) distribution function for age, although recent work shows that this is not a necessary assumption. In this paper, dynamic model for flow, concentration, and age in volume-averaged and a spatially distributed watershed system are derived in terms of the moments of the underlying distribution function for tracer age, time, and position. Several theoretical and practical issues are presented: (1) The low-order moments of the age distribution function are sufficient to construct a dynamical system for the mean age and concentration under steady or transient flow conditions. (2) Solutions to the coupled system of equations for flow, concentration and age show that ‘age’ of solutes stored within the watershed or leaving the watershed is a dynamic process which depends on flow variations as well as the solute or tracer dynamics. (3) Intermittency of wetting and drying cycles leads to an apparent increase in the tracer age in proportional to the duration of the ‘dry’ phase. (4) The question of how mobile/immobile flow may affect the age of solutes is examined by including a low permeable, passive store that relaxes the well-mixed assumption. (5). A spatially distributed advective and dispersive transport solution for age evolution over a simple 1-D hillslope is developed to demonstrate the age theory for a distributed source of water and tracer, and the solution is shown to have very similar input–output behaviour when compared to the volume-average model for comparable parameters. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reflection in interaction

A decision delay can translate into significant financial and business losses. One way to accelerate the decision process is through improved communication among the stakeholders engaged in the project. Capturing, transferring, managing, and reusing data, information, and knowledge in the context it is generated can lead to higher productivity, effective communication, reduced number of requests for clarification, and a shorter time-to-market cycle. We formalized the concept of reflection in interaction during communicative events among multiple project stakeholders. This concept extends Donald Schon’s theory of reflection in action of a single practitioner. We model the observed reflection in interaction with a prototype system called TalkingPaperTM. It is a ubiquitous client-server collaborative environment that facilitates knowledge capture, sharing, and reuse during synchronous and asynchronous communicative events. TalkingPaperTM bridges the paper and digital worlds. It transforms the analog verbal discours, annotated paper corporate documents, and the paper and pencil sketches into indexed and synchronized digital content that is published on and streamed on-demand from a TalkingPaperTM web server. The TalkingPaperTM sessions can be accessed by all stakeholders for rapid knowledge sharing and decision-making.
Experimental comparison of the ultrasonically-activated scalpel to electrosurgery and laser surgery for laparoscopic use

SummaryEnergy sources used in laparoscopic surgery are associated with thermal damage to tissues. In this study, we sought to compare the safety and efficacy of the ultrasonically-activated scalpel to electrosurgery and laser surgery in laparoscopic applications using an animal model (cholecystectomy). Variables examined were gall bladder perforation, bile spillage, smoke generation, operative time, tissue injury, bleeding, liver function tests and post-operative adhesion formation following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Female pigs were randomized to one of three groups: laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed using electrosurgery (ES), laser surgery (LS), or ultrasonically-activated scalpel (UAS). At the termination of the procedure, the animals were either recovered for 7, 14, or 28 days or immediately euthanized with an intracardiac injection of saturated potassium chloride solution for necropsy (0 day). There was no difference in mean operative time between UAS, ES or LS. LS required greater smoke eva...
Measurement of Phospholipase D Activity

Abstract Phosphodiesteric cleavage of phosphatidylcholine by members of a growing family of phospholipases D produces choline and phosphatidic acid. These enzymes can also catalyse a transphosphatidylation reaction in which the aliphatic chain of a primary alcohol is transferred to the phosphatidyl moiety of the phosphatidic acid product. PLD enzymes are found in a variety of organisms including bacteria, yeast, plants, and vertebrates. In mammalian systems, biochemical and cell biological approaches have identified phosphatidic acid as a mediator (or progenitor of mediators) that play important roles in the transduction of extracellular signals. Phosphatidic acid or its metabolites may be regulators of key cellular processes such as the control of intracellular protein trafficking, secretion, and alterations in cell morphology and motility. This review discusses methods for the determination of PLD activity both in vitro and in intact cells.
Isolines as a new tool to assess the energy costs of the production and distribution of multiple sources of seafood

Abstract Consumer-based ocean conservation efforts focus attention on seafood that is produced in an “eco-friendly” manner. However, many species can be produced either in aquaculture operations or harvested within wild capture fisheries, and each mode of production differs in their environmental impacts as well as their energy requirements. Complicating the assessment of eco-friendly seafood is the fact that seafood is a global commodity, the suppliers of which utilize a variety of methods to distribute the product from producer to consumer (e.g. ship, truck, airplane). Like the modes of production, these various modes of distribution differ in their energy intensity. This analysis assesses the overall energy requirements of production and distribution (EP&D) of seafood to evaluate how the energy costs of distribution influence the total energy cost of seafood produced by different methods. This paper develops the concept of energy isolines as a tool to assess EP&D. Isolines are a graphical method to succinctly integrate multiple distance assessments so that the best sourcing option can be determined. The isolines are then used to assess how the energy cost of distribution functions as a component of the overall energy cost, and how this influences the EP&D of a product originating from two different sources with inherently different energy costs of production. Using scallops and salmon as examples, this analysis has revealed that an “eco-friendly” seafood commodity (one produced with less energy) produced far from its destination market could have a higher total EP&D compared to a local, less “eco-friendly” product (that takes more energy to produce). Finally, this paper evaluates strategies to minimize the overall EP&D of seafood. Overall, further work on energy audits of seafood focused the need to maintain a global perspective to determine seafood with the lowest overall energy cost of production and distribution.
Factitious and fraudulent fever

The task of elucidating the etiology of fever of undertermined origin remains a major undertaking. Factitious fever is uncommonly considered of major importance in the differential diagnosis of fever of undetermined origin although it is a readily identifiable, syndrome and one that is easily excluded one it has been considered. Early identification may reduce the necessity for prlonged, expensive and potentially hazardous hospitalizations for such patients. A retrospective study identified 2.2 per cent (11 of 506) of all patients whose fever on their charts was coded as fever of undetermined origin as having factitious fever. These patients either created factitious fever by manipulation of the thermometer or fraudulent fever by self-induced means. A review of the literature yielded an additional 70 cases in which fever was either the sole factitious sign or part of a larger, more complex factitious illness. Patients were typically young, female and often associated with the medical profession. Patients with factitious fever differ from those with the stereotyped Munchausen's syndrome and may be difficult to recognize. Signs leading to the recognition of this syndrome are emphasized. Since the nature of the psychiatric illness may vary from patient to patient, early discovery may facilitate psychiatric intervention as such patients may be more amenable to therapy.
Electron spectroscopy of foil-excited chlorine beams☆

Abstract We report on a recent spectroscopic study of autoionization electrons emitted by fast, foil-excited chlorine ion beams. The observed electrons originated in the decay of certain core-excited metastable autoionizing states in lithium-like and sodium-like chlorine. Such states are metastable since they are forbidden to autoionize via the strong Coulomb interaction but decay instead via second-order magnetic interactions (or in some cases, radiatively). Chlorine beams from the Oak Ridge tandem accelerator were passed through thin carbon foils (≈ 15 μg/cm2) which served both to strip and excite the ions. Electrons emitted in the decay of autoionizing states thus formed were energy analyzed after the foil by a cylindrical mirror analyzer, the position of which could be varied with respect to the foil to facilitate time-of-flight lifetime studies. Beam energies were chosen to maximize the production of the lithium-like (Cl14+) and sodium-like (Cl6+) charge states. The results of a measurement of the energy and the lifetime of the (1s2s2p) 4 P 5 2 state of Cl14+ will be presented. A spectrum of autoionization electrons from Cl6+ will also be shown, but firm identification of many of the states of this system is at present difficult due to the almost complete lack of theoretical calculations of the energies and lifetimes of such states.
Modeling of power spectral density of modified von Karman atmospheric phase turbulence and acousto-optic chaos using scattered intensity profiles over discrete time intervals

In recent research, propagation of plane electromagnetic (EM) waves through a turbulent medium with modified von Karman phase characteristics was modeled and numerically simulated using transverse planar apertures representing narrow phase turbulence along the propagation path. The case for extended turbulence was also studied by repeating the planar phase screens multiple times over the propagation path and incorporating diffractive effects via a split-step algorithm. The goal of the research reported here is to examine two random phenomena: (a) atmospheric turbulence due to von Karman-type phase fluctuations, and (b) chaos generated in an acousto-optic (A-O) Bragg cell under hybrid feedback. The latter problem has been thoroughly examined for its nonlinear dynamics and applications in secure communications. However, the statistical characteristics (such as the power spectral density (PSD)) of the chaos have not been estimated in recent work. To that end, treating the chaos phenomena as a random process, the time waveforms of the chaos intensity and their spectra are numerically evaluated over a (large) number of time iterations. These spectra are then averaged to derive the equivalent PSD of the A-O chaos. For the turbulence problem, an optical beam passing through an input pinhole is propagated through a random phase screen (placed at different locations) to a desired distance (typically near-field) under different levels of turbulence strength. The resulting spatial intensity profile is then averaged and the process repeated over a (large) number of pre-specified time intervals. From this data, once again, the turbulence PSD is calculated via the Fourier spectra of the average intensity snapshots. The results for the two systems are compared.
Magnetohydrodynamic flow in a rectangular duct with perfectly conducting electrodes

Grenzschichtverfahren werden benutzt, um das Problem der magnetohydrodynamischen Stromung einer leitenden Flussigkeit durch einen unendlichen rechteckigen Kanal bei grosser Hartmannzahl zu losen fur den Fall, dass die Wande, die parallel zum angelegten Magnetfeld sind, perfekt leiten, wahrend die anderen beiden Wande Isolatoren sind. Das Problem ist als Integralgleichung fur die Stromdichte an der Elektrode formuliert. Diese Gleichung besitzt als Losung eine einfache, geschlossene Form.
Mathematics in the Integrated Science Program at Northwestern University

(1978). Mathematics in the Integrated Science Program at Northwestern University. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 85, No. 5, pp. 380-383.
Generating Scale-Invariant Perturbations from Rapidly-Evolving Equation of State

Recently, we introduced an ekpyrotic model based on a single, canonical scalar field that generates nearly scale-invariant curvature fluctuations through a purely ``adiabatic mechanism'' in which the background evolution is a dynamical attractor. Despite the starkly different physical mechanism for generating fluctuations, the two-point function is identical to inflation. In this paper, we further explore this concept, focusing in particular on issues of non-Gaussianity and quantum corrections. We find that the degeneracy with inflation is broken at three-point level: for the simplest case of an exponential potential, the three-point amplitude is strongly scale dependent, resulting in a breakdown of perturbation theory on small scales. However, we show that the perturbative breakdown can be circumvented---and all issues raised in Linde et al. (arXiv:0912.0944) can be addressed---by altering the potential such that power is suppressed on small scales. The resulting range of nearly scale-invariant, Gaussian modes can be as much as 12 e-folds, enough to span the scales probed by microwave background and large-scale structure observations. On smaller scales, the spectrum is not scale invariant but is observationally acceptable.
Performance analysis of buffer coherency policies in a multisystem data sharing environment

Six buffer coherency policies for a multisystem transaction processing environment are compared. These policies differ in their basic approaches on how and when the invalidated pages are identified or if the updated pages are propagated to the buffers of the remote nodes. They can be classified as detection, notification (of invalid pages), and (update) propagation oriented approaches. The policies trade off CPU overhead of coherency messages with buffer hit probability in different ways, resulting in a tradeoff of response time and maximum throughput. The main contribution is to develop analytical models to predict buffer hit probabilities under various buffer coherency policies assuming the LRU replacement policy and the independent reference model (IRM). The buffer models are validated using simulation models and show excellent agreement. Integrated analytic models capturing buffer hit probability and CPU overhead are developed to predict the overall response times under these coherency policies. The difference in buffer hit probabilities amongst various policies are found to be very sensitive to the skewness of the data access. >
To Be Or Not To Be [Happy]: The Role of Employee Well-Being

The article presents a research brief of a study being conducted on the theory of employee well-being. It references a study by E. Diener et al published in a 2006 issue of “American Psychologist.” The study supposes that the misunderstanding of the nature of well-being can be traced to the hedonic treadmill model. The article addresses John Stuart Mill's utilitarianism and greatest happiness principle. The results of the research prompted the researchers to propose several modifications to the model, including the happiness or well-being set point. Other modifications are addressed.
The Evolution of Doctoral Social Work Education

Doctoral education in social work is evolving as a major enterprise in American higher education, with more than 80 programs now in place. Committed to providing stewards of the profession, these PhD and DSW programs also are a major impetus for research and are the primary faculty pipeline for the 735 CSWE-accredited professional social work education programs in the country. Past achievements, current challenges, and present trends are discussed here, along with the principal issues facing doctoral programs in the decade ahead.
Left ventricular support systems for high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions: how can we improve outcomes for rare procedures?

High-risk percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) are becoming more prevalent as the ability to perform complex coronary interventions continues to improve. Patients for whom high-risk interventions are considered generally have severe diffuse coronary artery disease, a single last patent conduit, or significant left main disease with large territories of myocardial ischemia. In addition, these patients also typically have reduced left ventricular function (ejection fraction <25%–35%) with comorbidities that make them high risk for standard coronary artery bypass grafting. Thus, PCI is increasingly used as a viable alternative for coronary revascularization, but it too is associated with a high degree of morbidity and mortality. Article see p 207 Coronary ischemia can transiently worsen during PCI through repeated balloon inflations, stent manipulations, and contrast injections that result in a negative inotropic effect.1 In patients with left ventricular dysfunction and large territories of ischemia who have little reserve, this can lead to reductions in blood pressure that make it hard to complete the revascularization. Hemodynamic support during the conduct of the PCI, such as that provided by intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) counterpulsation or Impella, may therefore maintain perfusion pressure throughout the procedure to reduce the risk associated with these complex interventions. Kahn and colleagues reported the first use of intra-aortic balloon pumps to support high-risk PCI in 1990 among 28 patients with severe LV dysfunction undergoing PCI for 3-vessel or left main coronary artery disease.2 This study established that IABP support in this setting was safe and allowed the PCI to be completed without untoward risk. IABP use for this indication has continued to grow since that time and now is one of the more common reasons for IABP use in the cardiac catheterization laboratory, reflective of the growing number of high-risk PCIs being performed by interventional cardiologists.3 In an analysis …
Trading With a Stock Chart Heuristic

The efficient market hypothesis (EMH) is a cornerstone of financial economics. The EMH asserts that security prices fully reflect all available information and that the stock market prices securities at their fair values. Therefore, investors cannot consistently ldquobeat the marketrdquo because stocks reside in perpetual equilibrium, making research efforts futile. This flies in the face of the conventional nonacademic wisdom that astute analysts can beat the market using technical or fundamental stock analysis. The purpose of this research is to partially assess whether technical analysts, who predict future stock prices by analyzing past stock prices, can consistently achieve a trading return that outperforms the stock market average return. This is tested using knowlege engineering experimentation with one price history pattern - the ldquobull flag stock chartrdquo - which signals technical analysts of a future stock market price increase. A recognizer for the stock chart pattern is built using a template-matching technique from pattern recognition. The recognizer and associated trading rules are then tested by simulating trading on over 35 years of daily closing price data for the New York stock exchange composite index. The experiment is then replicated using the horizontal rotation or mirror image pattern of the ldquobull flagrdquo (or ldquobear flagrdquo stock chart) that signals a future stock market decrease. Results are systematic, statistically significant, and fail to confirm the null hypothesis based on a corollary to the EMH: that profit realized from trading determined by this heuristic method is no better than what would be realized from trading decisions based on random choice.
Online Homework Managers and Intelligent Tutoring Systems: A Study of Their Impact on Student Learning in the Introductory Financial Accounting Classroom

ABSTRACT: The online homework manager (OHM) and the intelligent tutoring system (ITS) are two supplemental teaching tools available for accounting educators' use in the introductory financial accounting course. While research related to these systems is limited, prior studies find a tenuous performance advantage related to their use. To advance the literature in this area, this paper evaluates the performance benefit related to an OHM and an ITS, each employed independently as an additional study aid during the first course unit in one of two sections of the introductory financial accounting course. A third section used paper-and-pencil only and served as a control group. Results of tests on several performance measures did not identify a learning advantage associated with either the OHM or the ITS. Nor was a learning advantage identified when this study's results were compared to exam results from 14 previous semesters. Implications for accounting educators and future research directions are discussed.
Alternate splice-site utilization in the gene for the catalytic subunit of the DNA-activated protein kinase, DNA-PKcs.

Abstract Analysis of polyA-selected RNAs and cDNA clones from several human cell lines revealed the presence of a 93-bp exon in the PI kinase homology region of DNA-PK cs that was not present in the cDNA sequence derived from HeLa cell cDNA clones. RT-PCR showed that most DNA-PK cs , mRNAs in human cells have this exon. Thus, the nascent DNA-PK cs , polypeptide is composed of 4127 aa and has a predicted mol. wt. of 469 021 (470 kDa).