cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF TRANSURETHRAL ALPROSTADIL IN PATIENTS WITH ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION FOLLOWING RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY

AbstractPurpose: A retrospective analysis of the MUSE* *VIVUS, Inc., Menlo Park, California. clinical trial was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transurethral alprostadil in patients with erectile dysfunction after radical prostatectomy.Materials and Methods: Patients received doses of transurethral alprostadil in the clinic and those for whom a suitable dose was determined were treated at home with active drug or placebo for 3 months. Patients had undergone radical prostatectomy no less than 3 months before study entry.Results: Of the 384 patients in whom radical prostatectomy was identified as a cause of erectile dysfunction 70.3% had an erection believed sufficient for intercourse in the clinic and 57.1% on active medication had sexual intercourse at least once at home. The product of clinic and home success rates (70.3 x 57.1%) was an overall success rate (the likelihood of active treatment to lead to intercourse at home) of 40.1%. The frequency of most adverse effects of radical prost...
Rear landscape on steroids

Some all-spherical designs are presented that are variations of the positive-negative-positive triplet with the stop at the front. Examples include a compact wide angle (60° field of view) near-telecentric lens, as well as super-achromatic, telecentric lenses for the visible to infrared (450-1000nm or 450-2300 nm) and mid-wave and thermal infrared. This design form, loosely thought of as a boosted version of the rear landscape lens, has provided a useful optimization starting point for a variety of designs with different requirements.
N-α-FORMYL-TYROSYL-RELAXIN -A RELIABLE TRACER FORRELAXIN RADIOIMMUNOASSAY

Porcine relaxin has noradio-iodinatable amino acid and must therefore bemodified prior toiodina-tion. Inthis paper a synthesis ofan iodinatable relaxin derivative isdescribed which leads toa fairly uniform product. The nature ofthe modifying group (formyltyrosine) allows for easy andaccurate estimationof the degree ofsubstitution attained aswell as determination ofthe position where substitution has occurred.
Heavy axle study: impact of higher rail car weight limits on short-line railroad bridge structures

The fundamental objective of this study, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Bureau of Rail Freight, Ports, and Waterways, is to establish and implement a methodology to quantify the financial impact of higher gross car weights (GCW) on the infrastructure load carrying capacity of short-line railroads (SLRRs) operating within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The research team developed a stratified random sampling methodology to establish a bridge sample due to the large number of railroad bridges in Pennsylvania. A stratified random sampling plan was developed to ensure that the bridge sample contained bridges of each material type and bridge type expected to significantly influence the strengthening cost estimate. Collecting and creating a complete database of railroad bridges was a large task due to the number of SLRRs and inconsistent record keeping by many SLRRs. There are an estimated 2000 bridges serving Pennsylvania SLRRs of which the eventual study population included 11...
Typograph: Multiscale spatial exploration of text documents

Visualizing large document collections using a spatial layout of terms can enable quick overviews of information. These visual metaphors (e.g., word clouds, tag clouds, etc.) traditionally show a series of terms organized by space-filling algorithms. However, often lacking in these views is the ability to interactively explore the information to gain more detail, and the location and rendering of the terms are often not based on mathematical models that maintain relative distances from other information based on similarity metrics. In this paper, we present Typograph, a multi-scale spatial exploration visualization for large document collections. Based on the term-based visualization methods, Typograh enables multiple levels of detail (terms, phrases, snippets, and full documents) within the single spatialization. Further, the information is placed based on their relative similarity to other information to create the “near = similar” geographic metaphor. This paper discusses the design principles and functionality of Typograph and presents a use case analyzing Wikipedia to demonstrate usage.
Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis

Abstract A longitudinal analysis of panel data from users of a popular online social network site, Facebook, investigated the relationship between intensity of Facebook use, measures of psychological well-being, and bridging social capital. Two surveys conducted a year apart at a large U.S. university, complemented with in-depth interviews with 18 Facebook users, provide the study data. Intensity of Facebook use in year one strongly predicted bridging social capital outcomes in year two, even after controlling for measures of self-esteem and satisfaction with life. These latter psychological variables were also strongly associated with social capital outcomes. Self-esteem served to moderate the relationship between Facebook usage intensity and bridging social capital: those with lower self-esteem gained more from their use of Facebook in terms of bridging social capital than higher self-esteem participants. We suggest that Facebook affordances help reduce barriers that lower self-esteem students might experience in forming the kinds of large, heterogeneous networks that are sources of bridging social capital.
Candy as a scapegoat in the prevention of food aversions in children receiving chemotherapy

The effectiveness of a method for reducing the incidence of chemotherapy-induced learned food aversions was examined. Candy (coconut or rootbeer Lifesavers) was used as a scapegoat and given between the consumption of a meal and the administration of chemotherapy to determine whether this would lead to a greater willingness to consume items in that meal at a future test. This procedure produced evidence that the scapegoat had a significant protective effect: children were twice as likely to eat some portion of their test meal at the time of assessment if they had received the scapegoat at conditioning than when there was no intervention. Thus, the consumption of strongly flavored candies before chemotherapy appears to be a simple and effective way to reduce the impact of chemotherapy on preference for normal menu items.
Probing Carrier Depletions on Grain Boundaries in Polycrystalline Si Thin Films by Scanning Capacitance Microscopy

Grain boundaries (GBs) in polycrystalline Si thin-film solar cells are believed to limit the photovoltaic efficiencies. In this paper, we report on a nanometer-resolution measurement of the carrier depletion at the GBs, using scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM). The SCM images exhibit the following features: (1) Carrier concentrations are lower at locations around the GBs than on center regions of the grains; (2) The depletion width at the GBs varies considerably, between 0 and 100 nm, depending on individual GBs; (3) Intra-grain carrier depletion was also observed at point and line defects; and (4) The faceted features that were observed on the topography of the as-grown film surface appeared on the SCM images even after the film surface was polished flat. The direct measurement of the carrier depletion on the GBs demonstrates that the GBs in Si thin films indeed create charged gap states. The nonuniformity of the carrier depletions suggests that the gap states depend on specific GB structures, which should relate directly to the grain orientations and grain facets adjacent to the GB. The depletion around the intragrain defects indicates that the defects are charged and can be recombination centers, and thus, harmful to device performance. This paper reports the first step of our studies toward understanding the relationships between the electronic and structural properties on specific GBs.
Zearalenone endocrine system catch

This paper deals with the contamination of our environment with thousands of both natural and man-made chemicals which affect the endocrine system of humans and animals. These so-called endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are thought to mimic or block the action of hormones and therefore disrupt sexual development in utero. EDCs are organochlorine pesticides, dioxin compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, alkylpolyethoxylates, plastic additives and phytoestrogens (occurring naturally in foods: isoflavones coumenestans and zearalenone). The structure of zearalenone is similar to the structure of estrogens and it enables binding to the estrogenic receptors. DNA laddering on gel electrophoresis was present 12 h after dosing thus indicating a conclusion that there was apoptosis. Apoptosis is the principal mechanism contributing to germ cell depletion and testicular atrophy following zearalenone exposure.
Phase identification of RF-sputtered SnS thin films using rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction patterns

Tin monosulfide (SnS) is a promising material for a photovoltaic absorber layer. Significant strides have been taken to better understand its material properties. The X-ray diffraction patterns of radio-frequency sputtered SnS thin films are investigated. Samples were deposited under varying total pressure, target power, substrate-to-target distance, and substrate temperature. Rietveld refinement of samples deposited under varying conditions yielded evidence of multiple phases present in SnS thin films. Refinements were completed with one or more tin sulfide phases, showing a dominant herzenbergite SnS phase (Pbnm). Possible secondary phases include orthrhombic (Cmcm) and cubic (Fm3m) crystal structures. Lattice parameters, cell volume, and unit cell density were investigated as a function of deposition conditions. Results indicate that growth mode is related to deposition rate. Early studies of heated stage depositions showed that SnS thin films have added mobility at the substrate.
On the transport of point defects in passive films

Abstract Based on phenomenological equations and atomistic diffusion theory, general equations have been derived for vacancy diffusion in solids. The normally used diffusion equations are found to be special forms of the general equations under the assumption of low vacancy concentration or homogenous vacancy distribution. The general equations should be used to describe diffusion in solids that have high vacancy gradients, such as in barrier passive films. However, in the presence of a high electric field, vacancy gradient effects are considerably muted and the classical Nernst–Planck equations appear to be adequate for describing the transport of vacancies through the barrier layer.
Determination of carbon monoxide in air by dynamic coulometry

Abstract A dynamic coulometric technique was experimentally evaluated using three constant-potential amperometric carbon monoxide sensors that were 0.4, 3.5 and 5.5 years old. The ratios of the measured to the actual carbon monoxide concentrations were usually within ±7% for measurements with one sensor pair. For the other two pairs, a systematic error of about −10% was obtained. This can be attributed to carbon monoxide losses from the same defective sensor used in both pairs. The ratio was not affected by: (1) age of the sensors, (2) ambient temperature (−1°C to 38°C), (3) sensing electrode potentials (0.9–1.4 V vs. RHE), (4) volumetric or linear sample flowrate (0.4–80 ml/min), or (5) carbon monoxide concentration (18–200 ppm). A method is presented for diagnosing reactant losses from one of the sensors. It is based on a comparison of the values obtained by two alternative ways of computing the reactant concentration.
A Flurry of Folding Problems: An Interview with Susan Lindquist

Susan Lindquist and I had been trying to intersect for an interview for about 5 years. Lindquist (Image 1), who is currently on the faculty at MIT's Whitehead Institute, is well-known for her work on protein chaperones and stress responses. Her interests grew out of thesis research in the early 1970s in Matt Meselson's lab, where she developed a strategy to study the heat-shock response in cultured cells of Drosophila, an approach that complemented observations on transcriptional puffs on polytene chromosomes. In the subsequent 20 years at the University of Chicago, Susan continued to pursue the biochemical and cell-biological properties of heat-shock proteins (HSPs), which assist with a host of protein-folding problems. In 1994, she found herself immersed in a mystery of non-Mendelian inheritance when Yury Chernoff called to say that one such protein, Hsp104, controlled the [PSI+] phenotype. This swept her from stress tolerance to prions and then on to problems of protein folding in cancer and neurodegeneration. I was eager to understand Susan's work and gain her perspective on how chaperones and remodeling proteins promote rapid evolutionary change in response to environmental stresses, a neo-Lamarkian view of biology.
Adaptation of a corticosterone ELISA to demonstrate sequence-specific effects of angiotensin II peptides and C-type natriuretic peptide on 1α-hydroxycorticosterone synthesis and steroidogenic mRNAs in the elasmobranch interrenal gland

It is thought that a single corticosteroid, 1α-hydroxycorticosterone (1α-B), is both a glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid in the elasmobranch fishes. We investigated the putative mineralocorticoid role of 1α-B by examining regulation of interrenal 1α-B synthesis by osmoregulatory hormones in the euryhaline stingray Dasyatis sabina. Using synthesized steroid, a commercial enzyme-linked immunoassay was validated for the quantification of 1α-B. In interrenal cultures, the antinatriuretic peptide angiotensin II (ANG II) was potently steroidogenic, whereas C-type natriuretic peptide had no effect on 1α-B titers. However, both peptides significantly decreased abundance of rate-limiting steroidogenic mRNAs (steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, StAR; cholesterol side-chain cleavage, P450scc). We also isolated cDNAs encoding ANG II from three species of elasmobranch, verifying heterogeneity among elasmobranch peptides at the first amino acid position. Potential implications of this heterogeneity were investigated by examining the effects of homologous and heterologous ANG II on interrenal steroid production and steroidogenic mRNAs. Changes at amino acid position three, but not position one, of ANG II significantly affected steroidogenic potency. Conversely, changes at position one, but not position three, significantly affected the potency of ANG II to alter levels of steroidogenic mRNAs. This study is the first to demonstrate regulation of elasmobranch steroidogenic mRNAs by osmoregulatory peptides.
On multi-time-step monolithic coupling algorithms for elastodynamics

We present a way of constructing multi-time-step monolithic coupling methods for elastodynamics. The governing equations for constrained multiple subdomains are written in dual Schur form and the continuity of velocities is enforced at system time levels. The resulting equations will be in the form of differential-algebraic equations. To crystallize the ideas we shall employ Newmark family of time-stepping schemes. The proposed method can handle multiple subdomains, and allows different time-steps as well as different time stepping schemes from the Newmark family in different subdomains. We shall use the energy method to assess the numerical stability, and quantify the influence of perturbations under the proposed coupling method. Two different notions of energy preservation are introduced and employed to assess the performance of the proposed method. Several numerical examples are presented to illustrate the accuracy and stability properties of the proposed method. We shall also compare the proposed multi-time-step coupling method with some other methods available in the literature.
Comment on “A geometric representation of spectral and temporal vowel features: Quantification of vowel overlap in three linguistic varieties” [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 119, 2334–2350 (2006)]

In a recent paper by Wassink [J. Acoust Soc. Am. 119, 2334–2350 (2006)] the spectral overlap assessment metric (SOAM) was proposed for quantifying the degree of acoustic overlap between vowels. The SOAM does not fully take account of probability densities. An alternative metric is proposed which is based on quadratic discriminant analysis and takes account of probability densities in the form of a posteriori probabilities. Unlike the SOAM, the a posteriori probability-based metric allows for a direct comparison of vowel overlaps calculated using different numbers of dimensions, e.g., three dimensions (Fl, F2, and duration) versus two dimensions (Fl and F2).
Refilling of ocular lens capsule with copolymeric hydrogel containing reversible disulfide

Polymer solutions can fill any potential irregular cavity using minimally invasive techniques and thus have potential uses in ophthalmology. We prepared acrylamide hydrogels containing disulfide bonds by free radical polymerization in aqueous ethanol. The hydrogels were liquefied using dithiothreitol to yield water-soluble acrylamide copolymers containing pendant thiol (-SH) groups. The weight average molecular weights of the copolymers ranged from 1.43 x 10(5) to 9.22 x 10(5) daltons by GPC. Ellman's analysis and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the presence of -SH. The aqueous solutions of these purified thiol-containing copolymers were oxidized with 3,3'-dithiodipropionic acid or air to reform the hydrogels. The moduli of the reformed hydrogels ranged from 0.27 to 1.1 kPa depending on concentration and thiol content. Rapid endocapsular gelation yielded optically clear gel within the lens capsular bag. This technique now enables us to validate methods to determine the biomechanics of the lens and its role in accommodation.
Multimetric Fish Indices for Midcontinent (USA) Great Rivers

Abstract We developed fish assemblage–based multimetric indices as indicators of ecological conditions for the lower Missouri, impounded upper Mississippi, unimpounded upper Mississippi, and Ohio rivers. Using data from 475 daytime electrofishing samples, we calculated 81 candidate fish metrics. We screened these metrics for their range and their responsiveness to a multimetric stressor gradient that included water chemistry, human disturbance, and landscape-scale indicators of human disturbance and stress. Each reach-specific great-river fish index (GRFIn) included 8–10 nonredundant metrics scored on a continuous scale from 0 to 10 (10 = good). No metrics were common to all four GRFIns; one metric (the number of minnow species) was common to three GRFIns. We determined the least disturbed conditions from the y-intercepts of the quantile regressions between the GRFIn scores and the corresponding stressor gradients. Ecological condition as indicated by GRFIn score varied among reaches; 44 ± 8% (95% confide...
NONADIABATIC HYPERSONIC BOUNDARY LAYERS WITH NONSIMILAR PRESSURE GRADIENTS

This paper describes a basic study of hypersonic laminar boundary layers when the external inviscid flow differs from a power law by a small perturbation which itself has a power law behavior of a different exponent. Results are given in a univeral non-dimensional form for the skin friction, heat transfer and displacement thickness as functions of both the basic and perturbed :low pressure gradient exponents and the wall temperature ratio. Such results shed valuable light on the accuracy and limitations of the local similarity approximation for engineering analysis of highly-cooled hypersonic aerodynamic
Equity, Fairness and Justice Implications of Land Tenure Formalization in Cameroon

This article examines Cameroon's modern land policy. Initially, it traces the policy's roots to the colonial era. As the only African country that came under the control of three European colonial powers, viz. Germany, Britain and France, Cameroon provides a unique opportunity to understand colonialism's influence on Africa's persistent land problem. This is because the problem is structurally embedded in the historical processes of colonial rule. The heart of the article focuses on the policy's provisions for land tenure formalization, especially the land titling process. Of interest are the implications of this process for questions of equity, fairness and justice as they relate to access to land in the country. It suggests that, contrary to what proponents claim, land tenure formalization is not a panacea enabling capital accumulation for all. The article marshals evidence to show that the land tenure formalization requirements in Cameroon have effectively served to aggravate socioeconomic inequalities in the country. This is especially because the requirements favour societal elites, including bureaucrats, politicians and entrepreneurs. The article concludes that, by making government-issued land titles the unique testament to landownership, the country's indigenous authorities have aggravated the problem of inequitable, unfair and unjust access to land that they inherited from their colonial predecessors.
An interactive graphical approach to module generator development

A design-by-example methodology is applied to a library of highly parameterized design-rule-independent SSI/MSI module generators. This graphical approach is far more intuitive than working procedurally. It reduces the software expertise required to develop generators, and reduces the generator development effort by 50%. In addition, generators can be modified and debugged graphically, greatly reducing the cost of generator maintenance. >
DRAGON: Database Referencing of Array Genes Online.

UNLABELLED "Database Referencing of Array Genes ONline" or "DRAGON" is a web-accessible database that aids in the analysis of differential gene expression data as a biological annotation tool. Users of DRAGON can submit data sets containing large lists of genes and then choose particular characteristics that DRAGON supplies for all genes on the list rapidly and simultaneously. AVAILABILITY The DRAGON database is available for queries on the DRAGON web site www.kennedykrieger.org/pevsnerlab/dragon.htm. CONTACT pevsner@kennedykrieger.org or cbouton@jhmi.edu
Provenance as first class cloud data

Digital provenance is meta-data that describes the ancestry or history of a digital object. Most work on provenance focuses on how provenance increases the value of data to consumers. However, provenance is also valuable to storage providers. For example, provenance can provide hints on access patterns, detect anomalous behavior, and provide enhanced user search capabilities. As the next generation storage providers, cloud vendors are in the unique position to capitalize on this opportunity to incorporate provenance as a fundamental storage system primitive. To date, cloud offerings have not yet done so. We provide motivation for providers to treat provenance as first class data in the cloud and based on our experience with provenance in a local storage system, suggest a set of requirements that make provenance feasible and attractive.
Theoretical analysis of the CEBus with three priorities

A theoretical formulation for the three-priority CSMA/CD protocol of the CEBus has been developed, the PAMA/PR (priority channel assigned multiple access with priority resolution). It employs demand priority channel access, minimum wait time, persistent start of transmission to redress collisions, and contention resolution based on three priorities. A comparison of performance of throughput and delay of theoretical computations to simulation experiments is presented. Overall, close agreement has been found. >
Evaluation of a 486 nm single frequency source using an MgO:PPLN waveguide doubled semiconductor laser

A 972 nm semiconductor butterfly laser is stabilized with a fiber grating to single frequency (600 mW) and doubled in a MgO:PPLN waveguide (90 mW) for evaluation as a simple laser source for precision spectroscopy.
Blood Loss and Massive Transfusion in Patients Undergoing Major Oncological Surgery: What Do We Know?

Patients with solid malignancies who were not candidates for tumor resections in the past are now presenting for extensive oncological resections. Cancer patients are at risk for thromboembolic complications due to an underlying hypercoagulable state; however, some patients may have an increased risk for bleeding due to the effects of chemotherapy, the administration of anticoagulant drugs, tumor-related fibrinolysis, tumor location, tumor vascularity, and extent of disease. A common potential complication of all complex oncological surgeries is massive intra- and postoperative hemorrhage and the subsequent risk for massive blood transfusion. This can be anticipated or unexpected. Several surgical and anesthesia interventions including preoperative tumor embolization, major vessel occlusion, hemodynamic manipulation, and perioperative antifibrinolytic therapy have been used to prevent or control blood loss with varying success. The exact incidence of massive blood transfusion in oncological surgery is largely unknown and/or underreported. The current literature mostly consists of purely descriptive observational studies. Thus, recommendation regarding specific perioperative intervention cannot be made at this point, and more research is warranted.
Genotoxicity of Different Nanocarriers: Possible Modifications for the Delivery of Nucleic Acids

The prevention of cyto- and genotoxicity of nanocarriers is an important task in nanomedicine. In the present investigation, we, at the first time using similar experimental conditions, compared genotoxicity of nanocarriers with different composition, architecture, size, molecular weight and charge. Poly(ethylene glycol) polymers, neutral and cationic liposomes, micelles, poly(amindo amine) and poly(propyleneimine) dendrimers, quantum dots, mesoporous silica, and supermagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles were studied. All nanoparticles were used in non-cytotoxic concentrations. However, even in these concentrations, positively charged cationic liposomes, dendrimers, and SPIO nanoparticles induced genotoxicity leading to the significant formation of micronuclei in cells. Negatively charged and neutral nanocarriers were not genotoxic. A strong positive correlation was found between the number of formed micronuclei and the positive charge of nanocarriers. We proposed modifications of both types of dendrimers and SPIO nanoparticles that substantially decreased their genotoxicity and allowed for an efficient intracellular delivery of nucleic acids.
Changes in muscle strength, muscle fibre size and myofibrillar gene expression after immobilization and retraining in humans

1. Changes in muscle strength, vastus lateralis fibre characteristics and myosin heavy-chain (MyoHC) gene expression were examined in 48 men and women following 3 weeks of knee immobilization and after 12 weeks of retraining with 1866 eccentric, concentric or mixed contractions. 2. Immobilization reduced eccentric, concentric and isometric strength by 47 %. After 2 weeks of spontaneous recovery there still was an average strength deficit of 11 %. With eccentric and mixed compared with concentric retraining the rate of strength recovery was faster and the eccentric and isometric strength gains greater. 3. Immobilization reduced type I, IIa and IIx muscle fibre areas by 13, 10 and 10 %, respectively and after 2 weeks of spontaneous recovery from immobilization these fibres were 5 % smaller than at baseline. Hypertrophy of type I, IIa and IIx fibres relative to baseline was 10, 16 and 16 % after eccentric and 11, 9 and 10 % after mixed training (all P < 0.05), exceeding the 4, 5 and 5 % gains after concentric training. Type IIa and IIx fibre enlargements were greatest after eccentric training. 4. Total RNA/wet muscle weight and ty I, IIa and IIx MyoHC mRNA levels did not change differently after immobilization and retraining. Immobilization downregulated the expression of type I MyoHC mRNA to 0.72-fold of baseline and exercise training upregulated it to 0.95 of baseline. No changes occurred in type IIa MyoHC mRNA. Immobilization and exercise training upregulated type IIx MyoHC mRNA 2.9-fold and 1.2-fold, respectively. For the immobilization segment, type I, IIa and IIx fibre area and type I, IIa and IIx MyoHC mRNA correlated (r = 0.66, r = 0.07 and r = -0.71, respectively). 5. The present data underscore the role muscle lengthening plays in human neuromuscular function and adaptation.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to Mycobacterium abscessus lung infection – a case report

Mycobacterium abscessus ( M. abscessus ) is among the most common rapidly growing mycobacteria causing infections in humans. Skin and soft tissue infections, especially those following trauma or surgery are the most common infections caused by this pathogen. We describe the case of a 22-year old female with cerebral palsy and chronic respiratory insufficiency requiring nocturnal ventilation through a tracheostomy, who was admitted to a hospital with worsening shortness of breath, fever, and ventilator dependence. The patient was diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by bilateral pneumonia due to M. abscessus infection . The patient received prolonged antibiotic treatment and respiratory support which led to clinical recovery and bacteriological cure.
TOC and TOX as indicator parameters for organic contaminants in landfill leachate

The validity of total organic carbon (TOC) or total organic halide (TOX) measurements as surrogate analyses to detect harmful emissions of leachate from landfills is examined. Correlations of analyses from over 1400 random samples obtained between 1984 and 1987 were interpreted. TOC frequently includes high background levels of natural organic materials in the soil and should only be used when reliable measurements of this background exist. TOX provides a qualitative indication of the presence of halogenated pollutants, but is unreliable as a quantitative indicator due to the complexity of leachate chemistry. Neither indicator is capable of detecting small quantities of highly toxic substances.
The national synchrotron light source in the infrared region

Abstract We present a discussion of the utilization of the NSLS in the 1–100 μm infrared spectral region. A comparison is made of the respective brightnesses of the NSLS and of black body sources. The way in which each source may be utilized with a monochromator is discussed and comparative exit slit brightnesses are calculated for selected cases.
A method for segmentation of switching dynamic modes in time series

A method to identify switching dynamics in time series, based on Annealed Competition of Experts algorithm (ACE), has been developed by Kohlmorgen et al. Incorrect selection of embedding dimension and time delay of the signal significantly affect the performance of the ACE method, however. In this paper, we utilize systematic approaches based on mutual information and false nearest neighbor to determine appropriate embedding dimension and time delay. Moreover, we obtained further improvements to the original ACE method by incorporating a deterministic annealing approach as well as phase space closeness measure. Using these improved implementations, we have enhanced the performance of the ACE algorithm in determining the location of the switching of dynamic modes in the time series. The application of the improved ACE method to heart rate data obtained from rats during control and administration of double autonomic blockade conditions indicate that the improved ACE algorithm is able to segment dynamic mode changes with pinpoint accuracy and that its performance is superior to the original ACE algorithm.
Effects of exercise, detraining, starvation, and refeeding on lipogenic capacity of Osborne-Mendel rat

Both starvation and refeeding and exercise and detraining are procedures that result in lowered lipid stores followed by their refilling. Rats subjected to these procedures were evaluated for their ability to produce hepatic biosynthetic reducing equivalents. Five-week-old male Osborne-Mendel rats were exercised on a motorized treadmill for 6 wk (final speed 27 m/min, 60 min/day, 6 day/wk) or kept sedentary. Exercised and sedentary rats were starved for 48 h or fed ad libitum. After treatments, some rats in each group were killed. Remaining exercised animals were detrained or detrained and refed. Remaining sedentary rats were refed. Activities of hepatic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and malic enzyme were evaluated. Plasma glucose, triglyceride, insulin, liver triglyceride, and body composition were determined. Results indicate that changes in lipids stores associated with starvation and refeeding and exercise and detraining are not associated with similar changes in enzyme activity. Starvation resulted in lowered plasma glucose, triglyceride, and insulin. Starvation and all exercise treatments resulted in lowered carcass fat. Exercised rats who were starved for 48 h and then detrained and refed for 72 h had the greatest liver weights and percent liver triglycerides. This was not associated with similar changes in enzyme activity. Increased liver lipid and decreased carcass fat may indicate a redistribution of lipid stores in these animals.
More Realism About Realism: Dean Acheson and the Jurisprudence of Cold War Diplomacy

Of all the American policymakers who helped create the postwar international security order, none loom larger than Dean Acheson. He titled his memoirs in (uncharacteristically) modest terms as "Present at the Creation." But Acheson was more than merely present: as the principal architect of the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO, he established the central pillars of American national security policy for more than a generation. But we know next to nothing about the formative influences on his thought. Acheson seems to appear out of nowhere to enter the State Department in 1941. This omission is particularly acute because Acheson was not a professional international policymaker. When he first entered the State Department, he had never held a single diplomatic position. Like all policymakers, he came to world politics with a set of assumptions, beliefs, values, reflexes and commitments built up over decades; unlike all policymakers, he did so without tempering by specific international experience. This article assesses the formative influences on Acheson's world-view by focusing on his professional background - as a New Deal lawyer immersed in the political and ideological struggles of the 1920's and the Great Depression. Before coming to State, Acheson's professional life was spent not at a diplomatic post but in a law office. Acheson was also a legal theorist, and exemplified of the Legal Realism's critique of Classical Legal Thought. Legal Realists stressed the interconnection of law and politics, and thus the deep connection of law and power. Law did not substitute for power but rather reflected it. Acheson's diplomacy stressed similar themes and thereby rejected Classical premises. It relied heavily on balance-of-power conceptions and remained indifferent, if not hostile, to international legal institutions. Acheson's career, then, suggests that legal Realism and foreign policy Realism are not simply matters of linguistic fortuity. They instead show a deeper way in which realism has been interpreted in the 20th century.
Report of the Geriatrics ― Hospice and Palliative Medicine Work Group: American Geriatrics Society and American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Leadership Collaboration

Although the fields of hospice and palliative medicine and geriatrics have developed from separate origins, they share much in common. They share concerns for optimizing care of older adults with advanced illness. They both seek to address the common problem of care fragmentation for those with chronic illness. Both subspecialties see the patient and their loved ones as a unit requiring thoughtful, integrated care, rather than seeing the patient as a cluster of organ systems and conditions. The fields also share many core principles, including an emphasis on interdisciplinary care and care coordination. As increasing emphasis is placed on the medical home, chronic and advanced illness care, and systems changes to decrease care fragmentation, geriatrics and hospice and palliative medicine stand to benefit by blending efforts and common interests to improve care for patients and their loved ones. In 2009, a collaborative effort was begun involving the leadership of the American Geriatrics Society, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and the John A. Hartford Foundation. The goal of the collaboration was to convene leaders in geriatrics and hospice and palliative medicine to identify areas of potential synergy between the two subspecialties and to design a plan for exploring and developing these areas of common interest. This article describes the progress of the collaborative effort to date.
Compressive Spectral Imaging and Multiscale Reconstruction Methods

In this work we develop a single-shot, dual-disperser spectral imaging system and associated multiscale photon-limited multispectral reconstruction methods that have been designed to exploit the emerging theory of compressive sensing.
Recent Developments in Schlieren and Shadowgraphy

Schlieren and shadowgraph techniques are hundreds of years old, yet several important developments have occurred in the last decade, as summarized in this paper. Progress has been made in using the turbulent eddies of a refractive flow as “particle” tracers for seedless velocimetry. This approach will never supplant standard PIV, but “schlieren PIV” can be useful, for example, in cases where particles cannot be seeded in a turbulent flow under study. Background-oriented schlieren (BOS) has become very popular in just a few years. Given modern image-processing software for PIV or digital image correlation, a digital camera and a proper background, schlieren-like images of all sorts are easy to make without parabolic mirrors or even a knife-edge. “Rainbow schlieren” is the name for a quantitative schlieren instrument that uses color to make density, temperature, or species measurements in steady and unsteady planar or axisymmetric flows. Data acquisition and reduction are highly automated and the range of applications is very broad. Finally, shadowgraphy has not been forgotten: it is the simplest of all the optical flow visualization methods, but is often the best choice for imaging shock waves and turbulence. The addition of a retroreflective screen and a high-speed camera makes direct shadowgraphy a robust tool for the study of large-scale events in harsh environments.
Epistemological boot camp: The politics of science and what every qualitative researcher needs to know to survive in the academy

Doctoral students and faculty members sometimes face unexpected barriers when engaging in qualitative research that can impede career advancement. In part, this can be because qualitative methodolo...
Competence of Peromyscus maniculatus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) as a reservoir host for Borrelia burgdorferi (Spirochaetares: Spirochaetaceae) in the wild.

Although capable of maintaining and transmitting Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmidt, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner, the causative spirochete of Lyme disease, in the laboratory, the specific ability of deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus Le Conte, to support this zoonosis has not been established. Demonstration that P. maniculatus is a competent reservoir host in the wild would indicate that the spread of Lyme disease is not limited to the range of the primary reservoir host, P. leucopus Rafinesque. Isle au Haut, an offshore Maine island upon which the vector tick Ixodes dammini Spielman, Clifford, Piesman & Corwin has become established, supports an isolated population of mice that are exclusively P. maniculatus . We examined the reservoir competence of this species by comparing infection rates of B. burgdorferi among juvenile ticks removed from livetrapped mice on this island with those removed from P. leucopus obtained at a mainland site endemic for Lyme disease. Equivalent rates of infection among engorged larval ticks, survival of infection through the larval-nymphal molt, and the isolation of B. burgdorferi from mice at both sites attest to the reservoir competence of P. maniculatus.
U.S. Army fiber optics programs

A summary of Tri-Service efforts in fiber optics will be presented. These include funding, inter-service cooperative efforts, and status assessments. Army programs will be covered in greater detail. Fiber-optic transmission systems (long haul and local distribution) are covered in detail along with component and special purpose development work.
Improved tolerance of vincristine by glutamic acid. A preliminary report.

In a murine model system, glutamic acid has demonstrated host protective properties during administration of vincristine (VCR). Subsequently, glutamic acid has been evaluated in patients receiving VCR during adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II carcinoma of the breast. The cumulative VCR dosage and toxicities incurred in 16 patients receiving glutamic acid have been compared to those observed in 88 patients who previously received VCR without glutamic acid in the same chemotherapy program. All patients received VCR 1.0 mg/ m2 weekly for 6 weeks with dose modification for neurotoxicity. Treatment patients received glutamic acid 1.5 grams p.o. daily in three divided doses during the induction course. Of the 16 treatment patients, 9 (56%) received 100% ideal dosage of VCR during induction therapy whereas only 24 of 88 (27%) comparison patients attained this dosage level (p < .025). Gastrointestinal and hematologic toxicities were similar in both groups. These preliminary results suggest the need for an expanded trial of this agent during administration of VCR.
DEFORMATION THEORY AND STRESS SENSITIVITY OF TIGHT SANDSTONES RESERVIORS

During exploiting the tight sandstone oil and gas reservoirs, the descent of pore pressure will induce the virtual stress increase, which makes the formation rocks deformation and the porosity permeability descent. The theories and the deformation reasons about the tight sandstone are analysed from rock mechanics point of view in this article. With the virtual stress alteration, the tight sandstone samples porosity and permeability change rule has been studied by the stress sensitivity experiment. The result shows that the porosity volume and the fracture width change are the main issues of the tight sandstone deformation, the deformation types in tight sandstone oil and gas reservoirs are mainly about elastic deformation and elastic-plastic deformation. The interior factors of tight sandstone result in tight sandstone deformation, such as grain's rigidity, contact and cementation relationship between grains, the characters of fracture in tight sandstone, and so on. With the virtual stress increase, the tight sandstone porosity volume and the width of the fracture are compressed, the permeability of the tight sandstone decrease in much extent, which will lead to a serous formation damage.
Describing the Status of Programs for the Gifted: A Call for Action

Using three leveled surveys of school district personnel (elementary, middle, and high school), we collected data on the current status of practices and procedures in gifted education across the nation. Results from 1,566 respondents in separate school districts to questions relating to administration (staffing), identification of gifted students, curriculum and instruction, program delivery models, financing, program evaluation, teacher qualification requirements, and professional development document a national picture of current practice. In addition, we structured data collection procedures to assess the degree to which the NAGC Pre-K–Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards are used to guide programming. The resulting picture of current practices was often a mirror of practices from 20 or more years ago, suggesting a need for a national dialogue focused on reshaping gifted education for the 21st century.
Transfer-free multi-layer graphene as a diffusion barrier.

Graphene is a promising ultra-thin barrier against undesired mass transport, however, the high deposition temperatures or the defect inducing post-deposition transfer processes limit its widespread applicability. Herein we report on the successful blocking of copper (Cu) ion diffusion by large area multi-layer graphene (MLG) membranes deposited directly on silicon oxide (SiO2) via low temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The barrier strength of MLG is compared to evaporated tantalum (Ta) by applying positive bias-temperature stress (BTS) to Cu/barrier/SiO2/Si test structures. After constant BTS of 4 × 106 V cm−1 at 400 K for 50 min, the MLG barrier device exhibits a negligible flat band voltage shift in capacitance–voltage measurements and no discernible current peak in triangular voltage scans, whereas the Ta barrier allows significant Cu ion transport. Highly limited Cu ion diffusion through MLG suggests that lower energy diffusion paths, like grain boundaries and defects of individual graphene layers, do not align in the direction of an applied stress field. In general, the presented low-temperature direct growth MLG membranes can block undesirable diffusion in many applications, and are especially suitable as Cu diffusion barriers in integrated circuit chips, photovoltaic cells and flexible electronic devices.
Dynamics of low speed geared shaft systems mounted on rigid bearings

Abstract Analytical model for the linear vibration analysis of a pair of coupled spur geared shaft system is developed. The model is a hybrid discrete-continuous one in which the gears are modeled as rigid disks mounted on the elastic shafts having transverse as well as torsional flexibilities and supported by rigid bearings. The non-dimensional governing equations along with the natural boundary conditions are developed using the Hamilton’s principle. An extended operator formulation is employed to simplify the system to a compact analytical form and demonstrate that the system is self-adjoint. The natural frequencies and vibration modes are determined by discretizing the system using the assumed modes method, where the critical feature is the use of Lagrange multipliers to enforce the matching boundary conditions at the disk-shaft interfaces. The sensitivities of the natural frequencies to various system parameters are examined and correlated with the modal energy distribution. Response due to the loaded static transmission error at the gear mesh is presented.
Synconvergent exhumation of metamorphic core complexes in the northern North American Cordillera

Continental metamorphic core complexes of the northern North American Cordillera were exhumed during the early Paleogene while the Farallon–North American plate convergence rate remained high. Such convergent boundary conditions can excite localized mid-crustal exhumation in numerical simulations of collisions of softer accreted terranes with a rigid, irregular craton margin. Resulting simulated temperature-time ( T - t ) paths match T - t paths interpreted from observed footwall exposures in several core complexes of the northern North American Cordillera, including variability of maximum temperatures, duration of exhumation, and exhumation velocities among individual complexes.
A molecular rheostat maintains ATP levels to drive a synthetic biochemistry system

An enzymatic rheostat controls ATP levels by regulating flux through two pathways depending on free phosphate levels. Incorporation of this rheostat overcomes ATPase contamination and improves isobutanol production from glucose in a cell-free system.