cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design, Modeling, and Control of a Coaxially Aligned Steerable (COAST) Guidewire Robot

Manual navigation of a guidewire is the first step in endovascular interventions. However, this procedure is time consuming with uncertain results due to tortuous vascular anatomy. This letter introduces the design of a novel COaxially Aligned STeerable (COAST) guidewire robot that is 0.40 mm in diameter demonstrating variable curvature and independently controlled bending length of the distal end. The COAST design involves three coaxially aligned tubes with a single tendon running centrally through the length of robot. The outer tubes are made from micromachined nitinol allowing for tendon-driven bending of the robot at various segments of the robot, thereby enabling variable bending curvatures, while an inner stainless steel tube controls the bending length of the robot. By varying relative positions of the tubes and the tendon by insertion and retraction in the entire assembly, various joint lengths and curvatures can be achieved, which enables a follow-the-leader motion. We model the kinematics, statics, as well as the coupling within tubes of the COAST robot and develop a simple controller to control the distal tip of the robot. Finally, we experimentally demonstrate the ability of COAST guidewire to accurately navigate through phantom anatomical bifurcations and tortuous anatomy.
Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccination Among Health System Personnel.

INTRODUCTION: One-third of the general public will not accept Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination but factors influencing vaccine acceptance among health care personnel (HCP) are not known. We investigated barriers and facilitators to vaccine acceptance within 3 months of regulatory approval (primary outcome) among adult employees and students at a tertiary-care, academic medical center. METHODS: We used a cross-sectional survey design with multivariable logistic regression. Covariates included age, gender, educational attainment, self-reported health status, concern about COVID-19, direct patient interaction, and prior influenza immunization. RESULTS: Of 18,250 eligible persons, 3,347 participated. Two in 5 (40.5%) HCP intend to delay (n = 1020; 30.6%) or forgo (n = 331; 9.9%) vaccination. Male sex (adjusted OR [aOR], 2.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.00-2.95; P < .001), prior influenza vaccination (aOR, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.75-3.18; P < .001), increased concern about COVID-19 (aOR, 2.40; 95% CI, 2.07-2.79; P < .001), and postgraduate education (aOR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.21-1.65; P < .001) - but not age, direct patient interaction, or self-reported overall health - were associated with vaccine acceptance in multivariable analysis. Barriers to vaccination included concerns about long-term side effects (n = 1197, 57.1%), safety (n = 1152, 55.0%), efficacy (n = 777, 37.1%), risk-to-benefit ratio (n = 650, 31.0%), and cost (n = 255, 12.2%).Subgroup analysis of Black respondents indicates greater hesitancy to accept vaccination (only 24.8% within 3 months; aOR 0.13; 95% CI, 0.08-0.21; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Many HCP intend to delay or refuse COVID-19 vaccination. Policymakers should impartially address concerns about safety, efficacy, side effects, risk-to-benefit ratio, and cost. Further research with minority subgroups is urgently needed.
Tort Law Implications of Compelled Physician Speech

Abortion-specific informed consent laws in many states compel physicians to communicate state-mandated information that is arguably inaccurate, immaterial, and inconsistent with their professional obligations. These laws face ongoing First Amendment challenges as violations of the constitutional right against compelled speech. This Article argues that laws compelling physician speech also pose significant problems that should concern scholars of tort law. State laws that impose tort liability on physicians who refuse to communicate a state-mandated message often do so by deviating from foundational principles of tort law. Not only do they change the substantive disclosure duties of physicians under informed consent law, but many modify or even reject the procedural requirements for tort liability. Most significantly, these laws relieve prospective plaintiffs of the burden of proving two fundamental elements of negligence - causation in fact and proximate causation. Thus, when states compel physician speech for political reasons, their actions challenge not only constitutional principles, but tort principles as well.
Disassortative Age-Mixing Does Not Explain Differences in HIV Prevalence between Young White and Black MSM: Findings from Four Studies.

Objective Age disassortativity is one hypothesis for HIV disparities between Black and White MSM. We examined differences in age mixing by race and the effect of partner age difference on the association between race and HIV status. Design We used data from four studies of MSM. Participants reported information about recent sexual partners, including age, race, and sexual behavior. Two studies were online with a US sample and two focused on MSM in Atlanta. Methods We computed concordance correlation coefficients (CCCs) by race across strata of partner type, participant HIV status, condom use, and number of partners. We used Wilcoxon rank-sum tests to compare Black and White MSM on partner age differences across five age groups. Finally, we used logistic regression models using race, age, and partner age difference to determine the odds ratio of HIV-positive serostatus. Results Of 48 CCC comparisons, Black MSM were more age-disassortative than White MSM in only two. Furthermore, of 20 comparisons of median partner age, Black and White MSM differed in two age groups. One indicated larger age gaps among the Black MSM (18-19). Prevalent HIV infection was associated with race and age. Including partner age difference in the model resulted in a 2% change in the relative odds of infection among Black MSM. Conclusions Partner age disassortativity and partner age differences do not differ by race. Partner age difference offers little predictive value in understanding prevalent HIV infection among Black and White MSM, including diagnosis of HIV-positive status among self-reported HIV-negative individuals.
ORIGINS OF ALTRUISM DIVERSITY II: RUNAWAY COEVOLUTION OF ALTRUISTIC STRATEGIES VIA “RECIPROCAL NICHE CONSTRUCTION”

Understanding the evolution of altruism requires knowledge of both its constraints and its drivers. Here we show that, paradoxically, ecological constraints on altruism may ultimately be its strongest driver. We construct a two-trait, co-evolutionary adaptive dynamics model of social evolution in a genetically structured population with local resource competition. The intensity of local resource competition, which influences the direction and strength of social selection and which is typically treated as a static parameter, is here allowed to be an evolvable trait. Evolution of survival/fecundity altruism, which requires weak local competition, increases local competition as it evolves, creating negative environmental feedback that ultimately inhibits its further evolutionary advance. Alternatively, evolution of resource-based altruism, which requires strong local competition, weakens local competition as it evolves, also ultimately causing its own evolution to stall. When evolving independently, these altruistic strategies are intrinsically self-limiting. However, the co-existence of these two altruism types transforms the negative eco-evolutionary feedback generated by each strategy on itself into positive feedback on the other, allowing the presence of one trait to drive the evolution of the other. We call this feedback conversion “reciprocal niche construction”. In the absence of constraints, this process leads to runaway co-evolution of altruism types. We discuss applications to the origins and evolution of eusociality, division of labor, the inordinate ecological success of eusocial species, and the interaction between technology and demography in human evolution. Our theory suggests that the evolution of extreme sociality may often be an autocatalytic process.
Anti-tumor activity of motesanib in a medullary thyroid cancer model.

Background: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is frequently associated with mutations in the tyrosine kinase Ret and with increased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2). Motesanib is an investigational, orally administered small molecule antagonist of VEGFR1, 2, and 3; platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR); Kit; and possibly Ret. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of motesanib on wild-type and mutant Ret activity in vitro and on tumor xenograft growth in a mouse model of MTC. Methods/Results: In cellular phosphorylation assays, motesanib inhibited the activity of wild-type Ret (IC50=66 nM), while it had limited activity against mutant Ret C634W (IC50=1100 nM) or Ret M918T (IC50>2500 nM). In vivo, motesanib significantly inhibited the growth of TT tumor cell xenografts (expressing Ret C634W) and significantly reduced tumor blood vessel area and tumor cell proliferation, compared with control. Treatment with motesanib resulted in substantial inhibition of Ret tyrosine phosphorylation in TT xenografts and, at comparable doses, in equivalent inhibition of VEGFR2 phosphorylation in both TT xenografts and in mouse lung tissue. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that motesanib inhibited thyroid tumor xenograft growth predominantly through inhibition of angiogenesis and possibly via a direct inhibition of VEGFR2 and Ret expressed on tumor cells. These data suggest that targeting angiogenesis pathways and specifically the VEGF pathway may represent a novel therapeutic approach in the treatment of MTC.
Development of Emittance Analysis Software for Ion Beam Characterization

Transverse beam emittance is a crucial property of charged particle beams that describes their angular and spatial spread. It is a fi gure of merit frequently used to determine the quality of ion beams, the compatibility of an ion beam with a given beam transport system, and the ability to suppress neighboring isotopes at on-line mass separator facilities. Generally a high quality beam is characterized by a small emittance. In order to determine and improve the quality of ion beams used at the Holifi eld Radioactive Ion beam Facility (HRIBF) for nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics research, the emittances of the ion beams are measured at the off-line Ion Source Test Facilities. In this project, emittance analysis software was developed to perform various data processing tasks for noise reduction, to evaluate root-mean-square emittance, Twiss parameters, and area emittance of different beam fractions. The software also provides 2D and 3D graphical views of the emittance data, beam profi les, emittance contours, and RMS. Noise exclusion is essential for accurate determination of beam emittance values. A Self-Consistent, Unbiased Elliptical Exclusion (SCUBEEx) method is employed. Numerical data analysis techniques such as interpolation and nonlinear fi tting are also incorporated into the software. Themore » software will provide a simplifi ed, fast tool for comprehensive emittance analysis. The main functions of the software package have been completed. In preliminary tests with experimental emittance data, the analysis results using the software were shown to be accurate.« less
Mice Deficient in Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18) Are Less Susceptible to Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

Background and Purpose —Macrophage-1 antigen (Mac-1) (CD11b/CD18), a leukocyte β2 integrin, facilitates neutrophil adhesion, transendothelial migration, phagocytosis, and respiratory burst, all of which may mediate reperfusion-induced injury to ischemic brain tissue in conditions such as stroke. To determine the role of Mac-1 during ischemia and reperfusion in the brain, we analyzed the effect of transient focal cerebral ischemia in mice genetically engineered with a specific deficiency in Mac-1. Methods —Transient focal ischemia/reperfusion was induced by occluding the left middle cerebral artery for 3 hours followed by a 21-hour reperfusion period in Mac-1–deficient (n=12) and wild-type (n=11) mice. Regional cerebral blood flow was determined with a laser-Doppler flowmeter. Brain sections were stained with 2% 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride to determine the infarct volume. Neutrophil accumulation was determined by staining the brain sections with dichloroacetate esterase to identify neutrophils. Results —Compared with the wild-type cohort, Mac-1–deficient mice had a 26% reduction in infarction volume ( P <0.05). This was associated with a 50%, but statistically insignificant, reduction in the number of extravasated neutrophils in the infarcted areas of the brains in the mutant mice. There were no differences in regional cerebral blood flow between the 2 groups. Conclusions —Mac-1 deficiency reduces neutrophil infiltration and cerebral cell death after transient focal cerebral ischemia. This finding may be related to a reduction in neutrophil extravasation in Mac-1–deficient mice.
A Clean (Dollar) Bill of Health: Understanding Parental Socioeconomic Disparities in Child Health as Functions of Timing, Transitions and Exposure

Franklin W. Goza, Advisor This dissertation uses 1979-2006 National Longitudinal Study of Youth data to explore three specific ways that parental socioeconomic status influences child health. First, I establish how timing matters in understanding how parental SES affects child. Results indicate that during formative years of child development, income is important for child health since it creates material conditions to ensure healthy development. However, as the child ages, the knowledge accrued by the parents through formal education becomes salient, as it ensures parents are supervising their child’s nutrition and maintaining good exercise/activity habits. In short, the SES-child health relationship is conditioned on the measure of SES employed. Second, I establish how socioeconomic transitions matter in understanding how parental SES affects child health. Results indicate that mother’s employment and instability in father’s work increased their child’s BMI. Maternal employment could be associated with a decreased parenting role in the monitoring of exercise and foods. Father’s work transitions contribute to increases in both mother’s and child’s BMI. Thus, stability in father’s employment is greatly beneficial for child health. Parental employment also decreased the odds of a child being functionally limited (limitation of daily activities due to chronic conditions). In this case, higher SES translates to monitoring of warning signs of being limited. In addition, parental employment means that their child will have health insurance coverage that enables them to see physicians who could assess warning signs of functional limitations. Third, I establish how exposure to different socioeconomic conditions before birth can shape child health. Results indicate socioeconomic selectivity does impact child health. Mothers whose mothers graduated high school are more likely to complete high school, but mothers iii whose mothers graduated college are less likely to complete college. Based on this intergenerational educational selectivity, I found that positive caretaking (e.g., breastfeeding) is associated with lower child BMIs while negative maternal characteristics (e.g., mothers with high BMIs) are associated with higher child BMIs. Thus, educational selectivity affects child health through values passed onto the child and the lifestyle in which the child is raised. In short, maternal education is directly tied to parenting, which relates to child health.
Species richness of eruciform larvae associated with native and alien plants in the southeastern United States

With continued suburban expansion in the southeastern United States, it is increasingly important to understand urbanization and its impacts on sustainability and natural ecosystems. Expansion of suburbia is often coupled with replacement of native plants with alien ornamental plants such as crepe myrtle, Bradford pear, and Japanese maple. The purpose of this project was to conduct an analysis of existing larval Lepidoptera and Symphyta hostplant records in the southeastern United States, comparing their species richness on common native and alien woody plants. We found that, in most cases, native plants have the capability of supporting more species of eruciform larvae compared to aliens. Alien congener plant species (those in the same genus as native species) supported more species of larvae than alien, non-congeners. Of the larvae that feed on alien plants, most of them are generalist species. However, most of the specialist species feeding on alien plants use congeners of native plants, providing evidence of a spillover, or false spillover effect. The results of this study are concordant with that which is predicted by the enemy release hypothesis, stating that alien plants are more successful in their non-native ranges due to reduced herbivore attack. With a reduction in primary consumer diversity, secondary consumers such as migratory birds and parasitoid wasps may also be impacted. These results highlight the need for further research in this area.
TIPP—The First Ten Years

The following is an addendum to the Commentary entitled "TIPP—The First 10 Years," written by Joel L. Bass that appeared in the February 1995 issue of Pediatrics on page 274: In addition to sponsoring the 1988 revision of TIPP, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation also provided an educational grant for the 1994 TIPP revision.
nan0sphere: location-driven fiction for groups of users

We developed a locative fiction application called nan0sphere and deployed it on the UCLA campus. This application presents an interactive narrative to users working in a group as they move around the campus. Based on each user's current location, previously visited locations, actions taken, and on the similar attributes of other users in the same group, the story will develop in different ways. Group members are encouraged by the story to move independently, with their individual actions and progress affecting the narrative and the overall group experience. Eight different locations on campus are involved in this story. Groups consist of four participants, and the complete story unfolds through the actions of all four group members. The supporting system could be used to create other similar types of locative literature, possibly augmented with multimedia, for other purposes and in other locations. We will discuss benefits and challenges of group interactions in locative fiction, infrastructure required to support such applications, issues of determining user locations, and our experiences using the application.
Can we identify patients at high risk of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection

Although most patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) can be managed effectively with discontinuation of prescribed antibiotics and additional treatment with oral metronidazole or vancomycin, up to 25% experience disease recurrence, usually within 30 days of treatment. Failure to mount a systemic anti-toxin antibody response differentiates patients with CDI and recurrent CDI from symptomless carriers of toxinogenic C. difficile. The immunological senescence that accompanies ageing may lead to impaired immune responses to C. difficile and contribute to the significant association between advancing age and increased risk of CDI recurrence. Inadequate immunity may also explain why previous episodes of recurrence constitute a significant risk factor for further CDI recurrences. Other risk factors for recurrent CDI include concurrent use of antibiotics for non-C. difficile infections (which perpetuate the loss of colonization resistance), proton-pump inhibitors, and other gastric acid anti-secretory medications, prolonged hospitalization, and severe underlying illness (as reflected by a high Horn index score). Prominent risk factors have been examined to develop and validate a clinical prediction tool for recurrent CDI, with three factors (age >65 years, severe underlying disease (by the Horn index score), and continued use of antibiotics for non-CDI infections) being highly predictive of CDI recurrence. Such simple clinical prediction rules have the potential to identify patients at high risk of recurrent CDI, and can alert the treating physician to the need for prompt recognition, confirmatory diagnosis and treatment with regimens ideally designed to mitigate the risk of subsequent recurrences.
Modifiability of the serial position curve in immediate recall

Forty Ss were tested for immediate recall of a supra-span list, subdivided by temporal and spatial cues, under conditions requiring recalls of all items and selected portions of items. An overall bow-shaped serial position curve obtained from total recalls revealed a mild intralist bowing pattern consonant with induced sublists, but further indicated pronounced S variability in list and sublist anchoring effects. While data indicated cues were effective in promoting list division into prescribed sublists, no support was found for an interaction effect between facilitated recall of sublist units and use of sublist anchor points when Ss retrieved entire lists.
Quantitative studies on the accumulation of tetracycline in tumors.

Quantitative Studien an Karzinomsarkomen von Ratten haben gezeigt, dass lebendes Krebsgewebe Tetracyclin nicht starker anreichert als normales Gewebe.
Middle Pliocene climatic change in the western Mediterranean from faunal and oxygen isotopic trends

The pelagic sedimentary sequences recovered by the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) from the Mediterranean are important because of their proximity to the classical shallow-water Neogene marine-type sections in Europe and because they may help correlations between the type sections and marine sequences outside the Mediterranean basin. We have studied the middle Pliocene (2.7–3.6 Myr ago) histories of surface-water temperature and oxygen isotopic composition at DSDP Site 132 in the Tyrrhenian Sea and here we compare these with another approach to estimating palaeotemperatures1 based on the transfer function technique2. The record clearly shows a climatic cooling commencing between 3.2 and 3.0 Myr ago. An oxygen isotopic curve derived from the planktonic foraminiferan Globigerinoides ruber significantly correlates with a palaeotemperature record estimated from a transfer function palaeotemperature equation on planktonic foraminiferal data. Transfer functions may therefore be of value in interpreting palaeoclimatic history in sequences at least as old as the middle Pliocene.
The Evolving Role of Cardiac Troponin in the Evaluation of Cardiac Disorders

Due to their tissue specificity and ease of detection, the cardiac troponins (cTn) have emerged as the most important and most utilized biomarkers for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The recent achievement of greater sensitivity by cTn assay systems, however, has resulted in the detection of cTn in a wide array of medical conditions, highlighting myocardial cellular necrosis as a feature in several, seemingly unrelated medical conditions, yet complicating the interpretation of a positive test. Since elevated cTn levels are associated with worse clinical outcomes and, thereby, influence medical decisions, careful consideration should be given to the method by which these biomarkers are measured, the patient population on which the test is being applied, and applicable thresholds based on particular clinical conditions. The objective of this review is to trace the clinical evolution of the cTn biomarker from a test for AMI to a general marker of myocardial cellular necrosis with clinically important prognostic information.
Effects of ion beam irradiation on self-trapped defects in single-crystal Lu2SiO5

Ion irradiation effects on emission bands related to self-trapped defects in Czochralski-grown Lu2SiO5 (LSO) crystals has been investigated. Irradiation was carried out using 53 keV He+ and 40 keV H+ beams with doses of 1 and 2×1016 atoms/cm2, respectively, at room temperature. Post-irradiation radioluminescence measurements were carried out in the 5–300 K temperature range using Mo-target X-ray excitation. Two emission bands were observed at 256 and 315 nm and assigned to self-trapped excitons (STE) and self-trapped holes (STH), respectively. The intensity of the bands was determined by the ballistic damage induced by irradiation, and no effects due to the chemical nature of implanted species were observed. Thermal-quenching activation energies of these defects as a function of irradiation conditions were extracted by applying the Mott–Seitz two-level model. Each band presents strikingly different behavior following irradiation; activation energy of the STH increases two-fold whereas the STE decreases three-fold. The results indicate a major role of surface effects on the radioluminescence of LSO. For comparative purposes, irradiated Lu2O3 was also investigated.
Brainstem‐evoked responses of guinea pigs exposed to high noise levels in utero

Pregnant guinea pigs were exposed to loom room noise at 115 dB A for 7.5 hr/day for various periods during the last one-third of pregnancy. When the hearing of their offspring was tested by auditory brain stem-evoked response techniques at 6-dB intervals, peak IV latencies of exposed pups were found to be significantly longer than those of otherwise similar control pups. The latency differences corresponded to a 5-dB increase in stimulus at medium stimulus levels and 10–12 dB near threshold. The results indicate that it is possible for noise-induced hearing loss to occur in utero in mammals whose auditory maturation process is complete, or nearly so, before birth.
Investment and government intervention in credit markets when there is asymmetric information

Abstract This paper models private firm investment choices and government credit policy in an entrepreneurial firm financial market wherein firm owners have better information about the quality of their return distributions than do external financiers. The analysis shows that, despite the absence of an informational advantage, the government can often increase social welfare by offering subsidized debt contracts. However, the paper also finds that some common credit subsidy policies, including loan guarantees and government backing of targeted lending institutions, yield constrained inefficient outcomes in general.
Cardiac malformations in the velocardiofacial syndrome.

Abstract A similar pattern of congenital anomalies found in 27 children, 9 male and 18 female, aged 2 weeks to 17 years, allows the conclusion that they represent a newly recognized malformation syndrome. All patients had velopharyngeal insufficiency, a submucous or overt cleft of the secondary palate and learning disabilities. A similar facies, characterized by a long vertical face, a large fleshy nose with broad nasal bridge, flattened malar region, narrow palpebral fissures and deep overbite with retruded mandible, was usually present. Other noncardiac anomalies also occurred frequently. Twenty-three (85 percent) had congenital cardiovascular malformations whose occurrence as single or combined lesions far exceeded the expected incidence in children with congenital heart disease. A ventricular septal defect was present in 15, tetralogy of Fallot in 5. Prolapse of the right aortic cusp was present in two patients with a ventricular septal defect, and aortic valve disease with insufficiency in one patient with tetralogy. The aortic arch was right-sided in 12 patients, in conjunction with a ventricular septal defect in 5, in association with tetralogy of Fallot in 4 and in the absence of associated cardiac disease in 3. The right aortic arch descended on the right in 10 patients; in 2 with a ventricular septal defect it crossed retroesophageally to descend on the left, and in one of these it presented as the “third aortic arch syndrome.” Aberrant origin of the left subclavian artery was present in five patients with a right aortic arch. A patent ductus arteriosus had caused congestive heart failure in infancy in one patient with a small ventricular septal defect; three others with a ventricular defect had additional clinically minor anomalies. Two children were brother and sister. Their mother and the mothers of two other children showed evidence of the same syndrome, suggesting the possibility of autosomal dominant or X chromosome-linked dominant transmission.
ADENOSINE DEAMINASE INHIBITION PREVENTS FREE RADICAL-MEDIATED INJURY IN THE POSTISCHEMIC HEART

In the presence of its substrates hypoxanthine and xanthine, xanthine oxidase generates oxygen free radicals that cause postischemic injury. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the burst of xanthine oxidase-mediated free radical generation in the reperfused heart is triggered by a large increase in substrate formation, which occurs secondary to the degradation of adenine nucleotides during ischemia. It is not known, however, whether blocking this substrate formation is sufficient to prevent radical generation and functional injury. Therefore, studies were performed in isolated rat hearts in which xanthine oxidase substrate formation was blocked with the adenosine deaminase inhibitor erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (EHNA), and measurements of contractile function and free radical generation were performed. Chromatographic measurements of the intracellular adenine nucleotide pool showed that preischemic administration of EHNA blocked postischemic hypoxanthine, xanthine, and inosine formation. Electron paramagnetic resonance spin trapping measurements of free radical generation showed that inhibition of adenosine deaminase with EHNA blocked free radical generation and that it also increased the recovery of contractile function by more than 2-fold. Exogenous infusion of hypoxanthine and xanthine totally reversed the protective effects of EHNA. These results demonstrate that blockade of xanthine oxidase substrate formation by adenosine deaminase inhibition can prevent free radical generation and contractile dysfunction in the postischemic heart.
Chemisorption of ethane on W(111)

Ethane is chemisorbed on W(111) with a sticking probability of ≅0.003. The carbon Auger spectrum at saturation coverage exhibits a two-peak structure similar to that for graphite, while the LEED (low energy electron diffraction) pattern is almost identical to that obtained for an atomically clean surface. Heating the surface to ≅773 K causes desorption of hydrogen and changes the carbon Auger spectrum to a three-peak structure similar to that for tungsten carbide. After annealing, the LEED pattern is affected in different ways depending on the precise conditions, but it may in certain circumstances almost disappear. Exposure to ethylene produces a similar sequence of events. A large kinetic isotope effect is observed with the ratio of the sticking probabilities [S(C2H6)/S(C2D6), W(111), T = 300 K] being ≅3. A similar ratio is measured for tungsten at T = 2500 K. These data suggest that chemisorption is dissociative in nature, probably involving the reaction C2H6 C2H5* + H → subsequent steps. Heating of the surface completely dissociates the adsorbed gas, leaving adsorbed carbon and gas phase hydrogen. In analogy with previous work on methane, we believe the large isotope effect suggests that the initial dissociation reaction is dominated by the tunneling of a hydrogen atom through a potential barrier. The implications of this conclusion for other saturated molecules will be discussed.
Least absolute deviation estimation for general autoregressive moving average time-series models

We study least absolute deviation (LAD) estimation for general autoregressive moving average time-series models that may be noncausal, noninvertible or both. For ARMA models with Gaussian noise, causality and invertibility are assumed for the parameterization to be identifiable. The assumptions, however, are not required for models with non-Gaussian noise, and hence are removed in our study. We derive a functional limit theorem for random processes based on an LAD objective function, and establish the consistency and asymptotic normality of the LAD estimator. The performance of the estimator is evaluated via simulation and compared with the asymptotic theory. Application to real data is also provided.
Characterization of Asphalt Cements Modified with Crumb Rubber from Discarded Tires

Blends with up to 20 percent ground vulcanized rubber (both crumb and 200-mesh powder particles) from recycled tires were prepared with asphalt cements of various grades (AC-5 to AC-30) and evaluated using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Blends produced from powdered rubber particles exhibited Newtonian behavior at high temperatures. Similar behavior was not observed with crumb rubber blends. The mechanical properties of asphalt-rubber blends depend on the concentration of rubber additives, the particle sizes, and the chemical composition of the asphalt. The dynamic mechanical characteristics of all blends are discussed in terms of G*sin δ and G''; comparative data are presented according to the Strategic Highway Research Program binder specifications. Pressure aging vessel (PAV) tests of the asphalt-rubber blends revealed a significant difference between crumb rubber and powdered rubber additives. Simple blends of crumb rubber with asphalts ranging in grade from AC-5 to AC-30 exhibited phase separatio...
Intensive Nutrition in Acute Lung Injury A Clinical Trial (INTACT)

Background: Despite extensive use of enteral (EN) and parenteral nutrition (PN) in intensive care unit (ICU) populations for 4 decades, evidence to support their efficacy is extremely limited. Methods: A prospective randomized trial was conducted evaluate the impact on outcomes of intensive medical nutrition therapy (IMNT; provision of >75% of estimated energy and protein needs per day via EN and adequate oral diet) from diagnosis of acute lung injury (ALI) to hospital discharge compared with standard nutrition support care (SNSC; standard EN and ad lib feeding). The primary outcome was infections; secondary outcomes included number of days on mechanical ventilation, in the ICU, and in the hospital and mortality. Results: Overall, 78 patients (40 IMNT and 38 SNSC) were recruited. No significant differences between groups for age, body mass index, disease severity, white blood cell count, glucose, C-reactive protein, energy or protein needs occurred. The IMNT group received significantly higher percentage ...
Building Global Supplier Networks: A Supplier Portfolio Entry Model

– The purpose of this article is to address critical issues on how a global enterprise establishes an effective supply network. The example of a Japanese firm operating in China illustrates a supplier portfolio entry model that has not previously been examined in the literature., – This paper proposes a research model based on theories of resource dependency and supplier networks. The model shows how profit optimization is achieved through a series of decisions that build an effective supplier network., – The concept of portfolio management is useful in optimizing profits through a supplier network., – This research is based on a single case in one country, so it has limited validity. Further studies are also needed to examine more complex cases in multiple countries., – The leading enterprise (e.g. original equipment manufacturer) may effectively build its global network by strategically applying the key features of the supplier portfolio model., – Practitioners and academics may gain new insights into how a global enterprise was able to build an effective supplier network in China.
Disparities and access to healthy food in the United States: A review of food deserts literature

Increasingly, studies are focusing on the role the local food environment plays in residents' ability to purchase affordable, healthy and nutritious foods. In a food desert, an area devoid of a supermarket, access to healthy food is limited. We conducted a systematic review of studies that focused on food access and food desert research in the United States. The 31 studies identified utilized 9 measures to assess food access. Results from these studies can be summarized primarily into four major statements. Findings from other countries offer insight into ways, in which future research, policy development and program implementation in the U.S. may continue to be explored.
Reduction of Diffracted Light for Astrometry Near the Sun

New requirements are placed upon the method of reducing the light diffracted by the telescope objective when astrometric measurements are made near the sun. The technique of Lyot greatly reduces the diffracted light, but since the aperture stop in this technique is not rigidly fixed to the objective, sizeable variations in coma and distortion are introduced when the stop moves with respect to the optic axis of the objective.If, however, instead of the Lyot system, an apodized objective is used to reduce the diffracted light, the aperature stop becomes rigidly fixed to the objective thereby overcoming the above difficulty. It is shown that for an objective apodized with a square aperture the diffracted light is reduced by four orders of magnitude below that for a circular aperture for one-half the azimuthal field and for distances greater than 400 sec from the solar limb.A general expression for the diffracted intensity from a circular aperture for points exterior to a disk image is obtained, and its leading terms are examined.
Bobwhite Weight Gains on Different Light-Dark Cycles

ABSTRACT IN A study and review of variations in wild bird weights, Baldwin and Kendeigh (1938) observed that adult birds weigh more in winter than in summer, and showed a negative correlation between the normal daily light period and body weight. Lamoreux (1943) was perhaps the first to make clear distinction between the effects of temperature and light upon the weight of birds subjected to different periods of daily light while other environmental conditions remained uniform. White Leghorn cockerels on 9 hours or less of light daily made significantly greater gains than those on 12 hours of light or more. In later experiments, it has been established that chicks gain better when on short light periods or low intensities than when on relatively long light periods or high intensities (Barott and Pringle, 1951; Clegg and Sanford, 1951; Moreng et al., 1956). Since Lamoreux stated that body weight gains in fowls are . . .
Ovarian hyperthecosis in the adolescent patient.

The endocrine findings in two adolescents with hyperthecosis are compared to those in a patient with an androgenic ovarian tumor. In patients with hyperthecosis, luteinizing hormone values were elevated or in the upper normal range, and plasma testosterone and androstenedione values remained elevated, but after administration of human chorionic gonadotropin, they increased further in only one patient. Baseline 17-ketosteroid values were normal, suppressed with dexamethasone, and stimulated to baseline levels following HCG. The patient with a lipoid cell ovarian tumor had low baseline LH levels, and elevated testosterone, androstenedione, and 17-ketosteroid values. Dexamethasone produced little change in urinary or plasma values, but the 17-ketosteroids increased markedly after administration of HCG. The finding of low serum LH values in patients with hirsutism and elevated androgen secretion should alert the clinician to the possibility of a tumor.
Daily efficiency of flat-plate solar air collectors for grain drying

Etablissement de correlations fonctionnelles pour le calcul du rendement journalier de collecteurs solaires plans a air a couvercle unique a partir de leurs parametres de construction. Application a des collecteurs representant a 18 combinaisons des parametres geometriques
Radioimmunoassay of a glucose-containing tetrasaccharide using a monoclonal antibody☆

Abstract Monoclonal antibodies were produced in BALB/cJ mice against a urinary glucose-containing tetrasaccharide (Glc)4 coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). The immune response was studied using 7 different strains of mice and 11 different immunization protocols. From 6 fusions using the Sp2/0 myeloma cell line 2 hybrids were obtained producing antibodies (subtype IgG2b and IgG3, respectively) that were capable of binding reduced (Glc)4. Specificity studies showed that one of these antibodies (61.1) was useful for radioimmunoassay of (Glc)4.
On-line damage identification of nonlinear structures

An early detection of structural damage is an important goal of any structural health monitoring system. In particular, the ability to detect damages on-line, based on vibration data measured from sensors, will ensure the reliability and safety of the structures. Innovative data analysis techniques for the on-line damage detection of structures have received considerable attentions recently. The problem is quite challenging, in particular when the structure is nonlinear. In this paper, we proposed a new data analysis method, referred to as the sequential nonlinear least square estimation (SNLSE), for the on-line identification of nonlinear structural parameters. This new approach has significant advantages over the extended Kalman filter (EKF) approach in terms of the stability and convergence of the solution as well as the computational efforts involved. Further, an adaptive tracking technique recently proposed has been implemented in the proposed SNLSE to identify on-line the time-varying system parameters of nonlinear structures. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed approach has been demonstrated using a nonlinear elastic structure and nonlinear hysteretic structures. Simulation results indicate that the proposed approach is capable of tracking on-line the changes of structural parameters leading to the identification of structural damages.
Metal-metal epitaxy on germanium near room temperatures: Ni(100)/Cu(100)/Ge(100)

Abstract (100) Cu films have been deposited on (100) Ge using electron-beam evaporation without intentional heating of the substrates, similar to the work using (100) Si substrates. Further deposition of Ni on the (100) Cu retains the (100) growth of Ni also, thus allowing metal-metal epitaxy on germanium. The thermal stability of the (100) Ni/Cu/Ge(100) is studied, and compared with that of the (100) Ni/Cu/Si(100). The Cu-Ge reaction starts around 150 °C, lower than the Cu-Si one. The Ni-Ge reaction is observed between 200 and 250 ° C, also at temperatures lower than that of Ni-Si. The Cu (100) lattice is found to rotate by 45 ° around its (001) axis relative to the Ge (100) plane. This is shown to be needed for such an epitaxial growth to occur, similar to that observed for the (100) Cu/Si structure. The possible fabrication of both the metallic and device structures on a GaAs substrate is discussed, using the Ge layer epitaxially grown on GaAs for the metal growth.
EFFECTS OF TASK STRUCTURE ON SERIAL-ORDER-LEARNING TASK

A serial-learning task composed of eight trigrams scaled by proximity analysis was given to two groups. The same items were used for both groups, but the order was different. The trigrams were in a random order for one group while the other group had their list structured according to radex theory. The structured list produced faster learning with fewer errors than the random order.
The Effect of Stabilizers on the Catalytic Activity and Stability of Pd Colloidal Nanoparticles in the Suzuki Reactions in Aqueous Solution

Transition metal nanoparticles used in catalysis in solution are stabilized by capping the surfaces that are supposed to be used for catalysis. Determining how these two properties, that is, the catalytic activity and stability of nanoparticles, change as different capping materials are used is the aim of this work. Pd nanoparticles prepared by the reduction of metal salts in the presence of three different stabilizershydroxyl-terminated poly(amido-amine) (PAMAM) dendrimers (Gn-OH, where Gn represents the nth generation), block copolymer polystyrene-b-poly(sodium acrylate) and poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP)are used as catalysts in the Suzuki reactions in an aqueous medium to investigate the effects of these stabilizers on the metallic nanoparticle catalytic activity and stability. The stability of the Pd nanoparticles is measured by the tendency of the nanoparticles to give Pd black powder after the catalytic reaction. The Suzuki reaction is a good “acid test” for examining the stability of these nanop...
Pisoliths of Fairview Valley Formation, San Bernardino County, California: ABSTRACT

The metamorphosed Fairview Valley Formation (Permian-Triassic?) crops out beneath the Sidewinder Volcanics in the Mojave block, southern California. Abundant spherical grains occurring in its upper portions are questionably known as ooliths. However, results of field and mineralogical analyses lead to the conclusion that the majority of the grains are not ooliths but pisoliths originally formed in a sandy vadose zone. Their accretionary growth process began around siliceous nuclei in a similar manner to that of pisolith growth in caliche soil. Most of them commonly occur fused together or form unusual fitted polygonal structure. Locally, the grains crop out as conspicuous graded, inverse graded, and lensoid or wavy beds. These are commonly separated by thin laminae composed of finely crystalline aggregates originally deposited as carbonate mud. This bedding suggests periodic accumulation under uniform, quiet-water conditions. No cross-beds or fossils were found in these deposits. The average grain size of 466 pisoliths measured in the field ranges from 0.2 to 0.5 cm in diameter. The average size decreases vertically toward the upper (north) stratigraphic zones, which implies that either the pisoliths in the source area became smaller in size with time or they were brought from farther away. The bulk of the pisoliths is interpreted as having been carried a short distance from the source area by running water, and redeposited from waning currents similar to turbidity flows. The site of deposition was probably a nearby broad barred lagoon in proximity to a shallow marine environment, which would allow dolomitization to take place after burial of sediments. The matrix of rock samples analyzed both by X-ray diffraction and staining contains iron-free calcite, tremolite, and forsterite. Prior to metamorphism, the matrix was possibly composed primarily of dolomite; presently, the pisoliths are formed mainly by diopside, iron-free calcite, wollastonite, dolomite, forsterite, and periclase. The calcite content in most pisoliths, especially the larger ones, seems to increase outward from the core. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1696------------
Clinical genetics of multiple endocrine neoplasias, Carney complex and related syndromes.

The list of multiple endocrine neoplasias (MENs) that have been molecularly elucidated is growing with the most recent addition of Carney complex. MEN type 1 (MEN 1), which affects primarily the pituitary, pancreas, and parathyroid glands, is caused by mutations in the menin gene. MEN type 2 (MEN 2) syndromes, MEN 2A and MEN 2B that affect mainly the thyroid and parathyroid glands and the adrenal medulla, and familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC), are caused by mutations in the RET oncogene. Finally, Carney complex, which affects the adrenal cortex, the pituitary and thyroid glands, and the gonads, is caused by mutations in the gene that codes for regulatory subunit type 1A of protein kinase A (PKA) (PRKAR1A) in at least half of the known patients. Molecular defects have also been identified in syndromes related to the MENs, like Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) (the STK11/LKB1 gene), and Cowden (CD; the PTEN gene) and von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHLD; the VHL gene). Although recognition of these syndromes at a young age generally improves prognosis, the need for molecular testing in the diagnostic evaluation of the MENs is less clear. This review presents the newest information on the clinical and molecular genetics of the MENs (MEN 1, MEN 2, and Carney complex), including recommendations for genetic screening, and discusses briefly the related syndromes PJS, CD and VHLD.