cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A mixed-clock issue queue design for globally asynchronous, locally synchronous processor cores

Ever shrinking device sizes and innovative micro-architectural and circuit design techniques have made it possible to have multi-million transistor systems running at multi-Gigahertz speeds. However, such a tremendous computational capability comes at a high price in terms of power consumption and design effort in distributing a global clock signal across the chip. One of the most promising strategies that addresses these issues is the globally asynchronous, locally synchronous (GALS) design style where multiple domains are governed by different, locally generated clocks. Due to its inherent complexity, a possible driver application for such a design style is the case of superscalar, out-of-order processors. While micro-architectural evaluations for GALS microprocessors have been made available recently, no concrete implementations have been analyzed in a detailed way. In this paper we propose a mixed-clock issue queue design for high-end, out-of-order superscalar processors, able to sustain different clock rates and speeds for the incoming and out going traffic. We compare and contrast our implementation with existing synchronous versions of issue queues used stand-alone or in conjunction with mixed-clock FIFOs for inter-domain synchronization.
Perception of robot passability with direct line of sight and teleoperation.

Objective: To examine participants’ abilities to judge the passability of robots through apertures in direct-line-of-sight (DLS) and teleoperation (TO) conditions, two experiments were conducted. Background: Past work has demonstrated that operators find it difficult to perceive aspects of remote environments during TO. For example, urban search-and-rescue operators have experienced difficulty judging whether a robot could pass through openings or over obstacles. Although previous research has discussed perceptual difficulties in TO, the differences between DLS and TO have not been quantified. Method: In the first experiment, participants judged the smallest passable aperture widths for three robot sizes for both DLS and TO conditions. In the second experiment, aperture widths were judged for three camera heights and two robot distances during TO. Results: In the DLS condition, participants produced similar judgments for the three robot sizes using dimensionless measurements. In the TO condition, participants’ judgments were more variable and they judged smaller apertures as passable. Conclusion: Overall, participants judged apertures that were too small for the robot to pass as passable. This tendency was more pronounced in four instances: as robot size increased, during TO, when the camera was at its lowest height, and as distance between the robot and the aperture increased. Application: Judgments of passability help to quantify differences in perception between DLS and TO. These results will be useful in the design of training regimes for TO tasks. Increasing operator understanding of performance differences under varying conditions will lead them to be more accurate when making critical decisions in remote environments.
Left ventricular remodeling subsequent to reperfused myocardial infarction: evaluation of a rat model using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: This study characterized the time course of ventricular remodeling subsequent to reperfused myocardial infarction (MI) in a rat model using cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.Methods and Results: Short axis cine MR imaging was used to measure left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular volumes in Lewis rats at baseline, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 weeks post-MI. Ventricular pressure and myocardial mass were evaluated at the 10 week time point.Results: Measurements of LVEF showed a significant decrease in cardiac function immediately after MI with no significant changes over the remainder of the time course. Measurements of left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) showed significant increases over the first 4 weeks after MI with no significant changes over the remainder of the time course. Statistical analysis of the MR measurements of LVESV yielded a repeatability standard error of 3.3%, an inter-observer standard error of 3.3%, and an intra-observer standard error of 1.6%.C...
Interobserver reliability of radial head fracture classification: two-dimensional compared with three-dimensional CT.

Background: The Broberg and Morrey modification of the Mason classification of radial head fractures has substantial interobserver variation. This study used a large web-based collaborative of experienced orthopaedic surgeons to test the hypothesis that three-dimensional reconstructions of computed tomography (CT) scans improve the interobserver reliability of the classification of radial head fractures according to the Broberg and Morrey modification of the Mason classification. Methods: Eighty-five orthopaedic surgeons evaluated twelve radial head fractures. They were randomly assigned to review either radiographs and two-dimensional CTscansorradiographsand three-dimensionalCT imagestodeterminethe fracture classification, fracture characteristics, and treatment recommendations. The kappa multirater measure (k) was calculated to estimate agreement between observers. Results: Three-dimensional CT had moderate agreement and two-dimensional CT had fair agreement among observers fortheBrobergandMorreymodificationof theMasonclassification,adifferencethatwassignificant.Observersassessed seven fracture characteristics, including fracture line, comminution, articular surface involvement, articular step or gap of ‡2 mm, central impaction, recognition of more than three fracture fragments, and fracture fragments too small to repair. There was a significant difference in kappa values between three-dimensional CT and two-dimensional CT for fracture fragments too small to repair, recognition of three fracture fragments, and central impaction. The difference between the other four fracture characteristics was not significant. Among treatment recommendations, there was fair agreement for both three-dimensional CT and two-dimensional CT. Conclusions: Althoughthree-dimensionalCTledtosomesmallbutsignificantdecreasesininterobservervariation,thereis still considerable disagreement regarding classification and characterization of radial head fractures. Three-dimensional CT may be insufficient to optimize interobserver agreement.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy: What is the price of conversion?

Background Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the gold standard procedure for gallbladder removal. Conversion to an open procedure is sometimes deemed necessary, especially in complex cases in which a prolonged laparoscopic operative time is anticipated. A prolonged LC case is thought to be associated with increased complications and cost and therefore generally discouraged. The purpose of this study was to test this assumption, and compare outcomes and cost of converted and prolonged LC cases. Methods By using institutional National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and financial databases, we retrospectively reviewed and compared prolonged laparoscopic cases (Long-LC) with converted (CONV) procedures. Surgical times, length of stay (LOS), 30-day complications, operative room, and total hospital charges were compared between the 2 groups. Results A total of 101 Long-LC and 66 CONV cases met our inclusion criteria. Long-LC cases were 19 minutes longer than CONV cases (123 vs 104 min; P .05). When Poisson regression was used, we found that LOS was significantly shorter in the Long-LC compared with CONV group (1 day vs 4 days; P Conclusion Conversion is associated with a 3-day increase in LOS. Long-LC cases have greater operative room charges, but overall hospital charges were 26% less than CONV cases. Our data suggest that decision making regarding conversion should focus on safety and not time considerations.
Sedimentary Carbon, Sulfur, and Iron Relationships in Modern and Ancient Diagenetic Environments of the Eel River Basin (U.S.A.)

ABSTRACT Depositional and diagenetic controls on the distributions of carbon, sulfur, and iron (C-S-Fe) in modern sediments and upper Pleistocene mudrocks of the Eel River Basin (ERB), northern California continental margin, were investigated using a combination of geochemical, radioisotopic, and sedimentological methods. A mass balance based on down-core profiles of porewater and solid-phase constituents and diagenetic modeling suggests that only 12-30% of the pyrite-S produced via SO4-2 reduction during burial is retained in modern shelf and upper slope deposits of the ERB. Bioturbational reoxidation of initially reduced S is inferred to be the major control on S preservation, on the basis of an observed inverse relationship between pyrite-S retention and biological mixing intensity, estimated from profiles of excess 234Th. Importantly, these findings argue that massive depositional episodes on the shelf following floods of the Eel River have a negligible long-term impact on bioturbating macrofauna and the potential to affect geochemical properties of the sediments. Down-core profiles of reactive Fe3+ and Py-Fe(II) for the modern deposits suggest that highly reactive Fe phases are sulfidized well within 500-2000 years of burial, thereby limiting later pyritization, which could occur through sulfidation of less reactive phases. This result explains the low ( 0.4) degree of pyritization (DOP) values exhibited by both modern and ancient deposits of the ERB and lends support to the notion that pyritization in aerobic continental-margin sediments is largely associated with highly reactive detrital Fe oxides. Comparable mean C/S weight ratios for modern sediments (5.4 ± 3.3, 1) and mudrocks (6.9 ± 4.5) of the ERB suggest that the upper Pleistocene strata reflect a geochemical environment analogous to that of the modern margin. Specifically, the C-S-Fe signatures shared by the modern and ancient deposits are a consequence of similar detrital Fe mineralogies, initial organic-matter content (Corg 1%) and composition (C/N = 13 to 17, 13Corg = -22 to -25o/oo), burial rate, and importantly, bioturbation intensity. The findings of this study have important implications for the use of C-S-Fe signatures as indicators of diagenetic processes in dynamic, continental-margin environments.
MICROEMULSION FORMATION WITH ALKYL VINYLIDENE SULFONATES

ABSTRACT The partitioning characteristics, microemulsion formation, tolerance to variation in chemical composition, and interfacial tensions have been investigated for a series of orancned hydrophobe tail vinylioene sulfonates containing 16,18,20 anu Zk carbon atoms, Tne microemulsions produced were. found to be tolerant to variations in system composition and, under some conditions, required no alcohol cosolvent for their formation; however, the observed solubilization parameters are low and interfacial tensions measured against the excess phases are relatively high. These observations are consistent with earlier stucies.
WILLIAM JAMES: “PESSIMISM OF THE INTELLECT, OPTIMISM OF THE WILL”

William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature, centenary edition, foreword Micky James, intro. Eugene Taylor and Jeremy Carrette (Routledge, 2002)Charles Taylor, Varieties of Religion Today: William James Revisited (Harvard University Press, 2002)William James and a Science of Religions, ed. Wayne Proudfoot (Columbia University Press, 2004)William James has a secure reputation as a pioneer psychologist and as a founding father of the philosophy of pragmatism. In his own time, however, he was best known and most popular among the laity for “The Will to Believe” (1895) and for The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature (1902), which were defenses erected on behalf of religion in an increasingly secular world. Religious liberals treated the Bible as one human document among others and Christian faith as one tradition among many, but they “sought to salvage what they could of traditional belief, piety, and ethic.” James was part of this movement that took science, empiricism, and modern philosophy as a point of departure, but his contribution to it was distinctive, original, and (in his own idiom) unusually “tough-minded.”
Effects of presynaptic and postsynaptic resource redistribution in Hebbian weight adaptation

Abstract The Hebbian hypothesis of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity has gained much support from experimental studies of long-term potentiation and depression. Such studies have also uncovered complex patterns of competition among the synapses. Such effects may be due to the neuron redistributing its limited synaptic resources as synaptic strengths change. In computational models this strategy is commonly known as normalized Hebbian learning. However, not much consideration is usually given to whether the weights are normalized over the presynaptic or the postsynaptic sites of the neuron. Our results show that the different loci of normalization can result in drastic differences in the model's behavior, suggesting that future experiments should investigate presynaptic factors of redistribution as well as the more widely studied postsynaptic factors.
Analysis of Railgun Barrel Material

The effect of the number of shots on multiple-launch railgun barrel material performance under significantly high current conditions was studied. Material analysis was conducted on rail samples from four sets of experiments involving increasing number of shots. Cross sections of samples from two locations in the copper rail were examined using a variety of metallographic techniques. During each shot a thin film of molten aluminum from the armature deposited on the rail surface. The deposit became thicker and multilayered with increasing number of shots and was thicker in the bottom half of the vertically oriented rails than in the top half. Preferential removal of material occurred along both rail edges, which resulted in the formation of grooves over the length of the rails. Grooves were deeper near the top edge of the rails compared to the bottom edge. A proposed mechanism for grooving is dissolution of the rail material into molten aluminum flowing toward the rail interior due to aerodynamic drag and over the rail edge due to surface tension effects, assisted by extremely high rail edge temperatures. Asymmetry in the armature-rail gap due to magnetic interactions with the support structure may be the cause of asymmetry in deposit thickness and groove depth
BENDING PRIORITIES: A STUDY IN POLICY FRAMING. STATE OF MICHIGAN'S BROWNFIELD INITIATIVE

This paper explores the political process by which the state of Michigan successfully crafted and implemented such a brownfield initiative. Although the primary focus here is on the experience of a single state, the lessons to be learned from this case have national and international implications because Michigan is a leader in brownfield programs. The paper begins with a review of the general policy context in which state brownfield policy is made. Particular attention is given to the widespread dissatisfaction of a variety of stakeholders with long dominant federal programs in the area of environmental cleanups. The second section outlines a number of fundamental legislative and administrative changes that have been implemented in Michigan environmental policy over the past decade. Section three reviews the broad literature on issue framing and considers how it might help identify the specific mechanisms by which the innovative brownfield program was adopted. The final section provides an informal test of elements of the issue-framing model by exploring in some detail the convergence of public opinion with key elements of the innovative policy, and whether there was any significant shift in public opinion over time.
Comparison of simulation-based and hands-on teaching methodologies on students' learning in an engineering technology program

The use of simulation-based labs has been gaining currency in the domains of engineering and technology programs. How effective is simulation-based teaching methodology in comparison to traditional hands-on activity based labs? To answer this question a study was conducted to explore the impact of the use of computer simulation design methods on students’ learning for circuit construction in an undergraduate technical course. This paper presents the findings of the research study, which tested the hypothesis by investigating three key questions: 1) Does the use of simulation improve students’ learning outcomes? 2) How do faculty members perceive the use and effectiveness of simulation in the delivery of technical course content? 3) How do students perceive the instructional design features embedded in the simulation program such as exploration and scaffolding support in learning new concepts? The paper also discusses the other aspects of findings, which reveal that simulation by itself is not very effective in promoting student learning. Simulation becomes effective when it is followed by hands-on activity. Furthermore, the paper presents recommendations for improving student learning, viz a viz simulation-based and hands-on labs.
Can Women Reign

Born in 1542, the Catholic heiress to the Scottish throne lost her father very early. She was brought up at the French court by her mother’s relatives, the powerful Guises, was married to the heir to the throne of France when she was 16 and soon became Queen of France. Widowed two years later, she returned to Scotland at the age of 19 after her mother’s death and “thoroughly enjoyed the business of ruling.”1 At 23, she married one of her English cousins; and when he made himself unpopular enough to be murdered, in 1567, she married his powerful murderer. She was defeated on the battlefield by the rebellious nobility led by her half-brother, was taken prisoner, escaped, was defeated again, sought protection in England with her cousin Elizabeth who, however, had her taken prisoner and tried in 1568, and nineteen years later, in 1587, decapitated. Elizabeth’s reasons were that several coups had been attempted on Mary’s behalf, and the threat her presence posed to the Queen’s rule whose legitimacy was being denied by the Catholic world. In an act of cowardice, Elizabeth later accused her staff of being responsible for this monstrous transgression, the first in a series of regicides leading up to the beheading of Louis XVI in 1792.
Characterization of bio-oils from the fast pyrolysis of white oak and sweetgum

AbstractConversion of lignocellulosic biomass into bio-oil through fast pyrolysis process is considered one of the promising routes to supplement conventional fossil oil. Future bio-refineries require production large amounts of bio-oil from several biomass types. Characterization of the produced bio-oils is important to determine their suitability as bio-refinery feedstock. In this study, bio-oils were produced from white oak and sweetgum woods in an auger reactor at 450°C. The yields of char, liquid, and gas were calculated. The physical characterization of bio-oils was performed based on the investigation of different properties, such as pH, density, viscosity, water content, acid value, and molecular weight distribution of bio-oil components. The chemical compositions of the bio-oils were also investigated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infra-red analyses. The physicochemical properties of the produced bio-oils were comparable to those obtained from similar woody biomass...
North America: Sociocultural Aspects

For five centuries, peoples from Europe and Africa and those native to the continent have interacted in North America within a series of shifting spatial and political arrangements, and dramatic demographic reversals. Documentations by anthropologists of these peoples and their lifeways and interactions began in the 1850s, commencing with studies of native African-Americans, and later European immigrant and North American-born whites. The 1930s–1940s saw major expansion of this ethnographic work in diverse urban and rural communities, and was followed after World War II by studies focused on corporate-led national integration of regional differences, and rising suburbanization. With a revival and then continuing growth in North American fieldwork after 1960, populations, venues, and topics of research have multiplied, marked by increased attention to ethnicity, gender, power, religion, and rights and representations.
A Composable Deadlock-Free Approach to Object-Based Isolation

A widely used principle in the design of concurrent programs is isolation – the property that a task can operate on shared data without interference from other tasks. In this paper, we introduce a new approach to object-based isolation that is guaranteed to be deadlock-free, while still retaining the rollback benefits of transactions. Further, our approach differentiates between read and write accesses in its concurrency control mechanisms. Finally, since the generality of our approach precludes the use of static ordering for deadlock avoidance, our runtime ensures deadlock-freedom by detecting and resolving deadlocks at runtime automatically, without involving the programmer.
Spatial and Temporal Changes in the Broiler Chicken Cecal and Fecal Microbiomes and Correlations of Bacterial Taxa with Cytokine Gene Expression.

To better understand the ecology of the poultry gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome and its interactions with the host, we compared GI bacterial communities by sample type (fecal or cecal), time (1, 3, and 6 weeks post-hatch), and experimental pen (1, 2, 3, or 4), and measured cecal mRNA transcription of the cytokines IL18, IL1β, and IL6, IL10, and TGF-β4. The microbiome was characterized by sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons, and cytokine gene expression was measured by a panel of quantitative-PCR assays targeting mRNAs. Significant differences were observed in the microbiome by GI location (fecal versus cecal) and bird age as determined by permutational MANOVA and UniFrac phylogenetic hypothesis tests. At 1 wk post-hatch, bacterial genera significantly over-represented in fecal versus cecal samples included Gallibacterium and Lactobacillus, while the genus Bacteroides was significantly more abundant in the cecum. By 6 wk post-hatch, Clostridium and Caloramator (also a Clostridiales) sequence types had increased significantly in the cecum and Lactobacillus remained over-represented in fecal samples. In the ceca, the relative abundance of sequences classified as Clostridium increased by ca. 10-fold each sampling period from 0.1% at 1 wk, to 1% at 3 wk, and 18% at 6 wk. Increasing community complexity through time were observed in increased taxonomic richness and diversity. IL18 and IL1β significantly (p<0.05, pairwise t-tests) increased to maximum mean expression levels 1.5 fold greater at wk 3 than wk 1, while IL6 significantly decreased to 0.8-fold and 0.5-fold expression at 3 wk and 6 wk post-hatch respectively relative to wk 1. Transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokines was generally negatively correlated with the relative abundance of various members of the phylum Firmicutes and positively correlated with Proteobacteria. Correlations of the microbiome with specific cytokine mRNA transcription highlights the importance of the GI microbiome for bird health and productivity and may be a successful high-throughput strategy to identify bacterial taxa with specific immune-modulatory properties.
Comments: The Tactics of Jungle Warfare: Clarification

The article presents a correction to the article “The Tactics of Jungle Warfare,” from the December 1963 issue.
Molecular surface structural changes of plasticized PVC materials after plasma treatment.

In this research, a variety of analytical techniques including sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG), coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) have been employed to investigate the surface and bulk structures of phthalate plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) at the molecular level. Two types of phthalate molecules with different chain lengths, diethyl phthalate (DEP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), mixed with PVC in various weight ratios were examined to verify their different surface and bulk behaviors. The effects of oxygen and argon plasma treatment on PVC/DBP and PVC/DEP hybrid films were investigated on both the surface and bulk of films using SFG and CARS to evaluate the different plasticizer migration processes. Without plasma treatment, SFG results indicated that more plasticizers segregate to the surface at higher plasticizer bulk concentrations. SFG studies also demonstrated the presence of phthalates on the surface even at very ...
USING A GENETIC ALGORITHM TO OPTIMIZE A DUAL MODE STORABLE PROPELLANT SPACECRAFT

In May of 2000, Marshall Space Flight Center and Johnson Space Center initiated a system-level trade study intent upon downselecting a baseline system architecture for the International Space Station (ISS) Propulsion Module (PM). The PM was expected to provide 50% of the on-orbit propulsion capability, augmenting that which the Russian propulsion elements will provide. In the trade study, various storable system architectures were considered (monopropellant, bipropellant, various tank numbers and sizes, etc.). The architecture of interest to this paper was a dual mode module - one characterized by thrusters that can operate in either monopropellant or bipropellant mode. Two primary comparisons made during the design study were the total number of Shuttle flights and the minimum ground-processing turnaround time needed to provide the required reboost and attitude control total impulse. In this particular analysis, a genetic algorithm was used to vary a number of independent variables to seek the optimum dual mode spacecraft. That module was then compared to a simple monopropellant module, and a higher performance bipropellant module. Results of the analysis show that, when considering only Shuttle flight rate and turnaround time, the dual mode module required fewer flights and allowed for a longer minimum turnaround than the monopropellant module. In contrast, the dual mode module required more flights and had a shorter minimum turnaround time when compared to the bipropellant module. However, other advantages make the dual mode a practical and an attractive alternative, because the Agency could choose to initially deploy a module with a monopropellant architecture that is scarred for future migration to a true dual mode architecture. This would serve to help meet the required aggressive PM production schedule by initially developing a simpler module, but would also eliminate the higher flight rate of a pure monopropellant module.
Successful Müller muscle-conjunctiva resection in patients with Boston keratoprosthesis type I.

Purpose To present a case series of patients with Boston keratoprosthesis type I (KPro) who have had successful ptosis repair with Muller muscle-conjunctiva resection (MMCR). Methods Patients with KPros managed with MMCR for ptosis were identified. Records were examined to obtain preoperative and postoperative visual acuity, KPro viability, and eyelid measurements including margin-to-reflex distance 1 (MRD1), levator function, and lagophthalmos. Results Seven eyes of 6 patients with KPros and ptosis treated with MMCR were identified. Four eyes underwent a lower lid tarsal strip procedure concurrently with the MMCR to minimize the risk of exposure to the graft postoperatively. The average time between KPro surgery and ptosis surgery was 29.1 months (range, 4-79 months). Preoperatively, the average MRD1 was -2.4 mm and the average levator function was 11.3 mm. Postoperatively, all eyelids were elevated and the average MRD1 was 0.9 mm. One eye had 0.5 mm of lagophthalmos noted whereas all other eyes had no lagophthalmos. The average follow-up time was 25.9 months (range, 13-41 months). All 7 eyes maintained a viable KPro without any compromise to the conjunctiva or donor corneal tissue. Conclusions This retrospective case series describes 7 eyes with KPros that underwent successful MMCR without compromise to the integrity of the KPro. Because these patients are at high risk for potential complications, we recommend careful patient selection, a goal of undercorrection, and consideration of supplemental procedures to the lower eyelids to minimize complications to the KPro.
A Characterization of Completely Multiplicative Arithmetic Functions

(1974). A Characterization of Completely Multiplicative Arithmetic Functions. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 81, No. 9, pp. 993-995.
Jail Staff Members’ Views on Jailed Women’s Mental Health, Trauma, Offending, Rehabilitation, and Reentry:

Since the 1970s, both women’s incarceration and research on incarcerated women have expanded. This qualitative study is unique in reporting perspectives of 37 jail staff members (e.g., supervisors, line staff, and mental and physical health care providers), from four regions of the United States. Interviews explored staff perceptions of women’s pathways to jail and their individual, structural, and reentry needs and challenges, including frequent experiences of interpersonal violence and struggles with mental health. Staff perceptions were consistent with the existing literature. Most of the staff were at least partially sympathetic to and aware of the women’s difficult and varied lives and challenges.
The long-term prognosis of children with giant coronary artery aneurysms caused by Kawasaki disease

Objective To analyze the long-term prognosis of Kawasaki disease(KD) with GCAA.Methods From May 2001 to May 2006,inpatients diagnosed as KD with coronary arterial lesion(CAL) in Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre were enrolled into the study,who were divided into coronary arterial dilation(CAD) group,small or medium coronary artery aneurysm(CAA) group and GCAA group.The follow-up started from discharge after acute stage and ended in May,2009.They were followed up at the end of the 6th month,the 1st year,the 2nd year,and the 3rd year after discharge by echocardiography(Echo);The patients whose CA didn′t return to normal by Echo or whose EKG presented suspectable myocardial ischemia in 3 months after acute stage were underwent ATP stress Echo and coronary angiography.The patients died were taken autopsy and pathological examinations.Results Fifteen patients with GCAA were enrolled into GCAA group.The average age was(2.7±2.6) years(3 months-10 years).One hundred sixty patients with CAD and 59 patients with small or medium CAA were enrolled into control group.①At the 3 years follow-up time point,in GCAA group 2/15 cases(13.3%) showed normal coronary artery by Echo,which was significantly different from CAD group and small or medium CAA group(P0.001);1/15 case(6.7%) showed dilation,10/15 cases(66.7%) prestened CAA,including 3 cases with GCAA and 3 cases with stenosis or oclussion in CA.②The rate of abnormalities of wall motion in GCAA group by ATP stress Echo was significantly different from that in CAD group(χ2=12.3,P0.001),but no difference was found from that in small or medium CAA group(χ2=0.4,P0.05).Parametric test showed that the rate of abnormalities of wall motion in GCAA group was higher(Z=-4.2,P0.001).③In GCAA group,6/15 cases were underwent coronary angiography.Four out of 6 cases(66.7%) still presented CAA,1/6 case was regressed to CAD.Five out of 6 cases were found stenosis and(or) occlusions,including 1 case with coronary recanalization after occlusion and 1 case with branch vessels.④2 cases died in GCAA group.Autopsy findings: LCA and RCA were markedly and continuously beaded dilated;The aneurysms contained dark red thrombus,which almost occluded the entire lumen,and mural thickening was also noted.Pathological findings:inflammatory cell infiltration was shown and intimal was thickening.Conclusions The long-term prognosis of children with GCAA caused by KD is poor.The CAL will last for a long time or even causing death.The GCAA will develop to stenosis and occlusions which may lead to ischemic heart disease in late stage.It is useful to apply the Echo combined with ATP stress Echo and coronary angiography in the long-term follow-up of KD with GCAA.
Face Recognition Algorithm Based on MBC and POEM Feature

Due to the representation difficulty of a face image by a single type feature used in face recognition,a MBC feature and POEMfeature-based face recognition scheme was proposed.Firstly,MBC and POEMcoding patterns were extracted from normalized face images. Secondly,feature vector of every block was generated by dividing the MBC and POEMcoding patterns into blocks. Finally,the classification capacity of features was enhanced by using weighted piecewise LDA algorithm. Recognition and verification test were carried out using the proposed algorithm on Dup1,Dup2,Fb and Fc,respectively,which were the four subsets of FERET. The recognition rates were 93. 77%,90. 60%,99. 58%,and 99. 49%,respectively,and the verification rates( false accepted rate is 0. 1%) were 95. 70%,92. 31%,99. 75%,and 100%,respectively. All these results indicated the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Acid gas removal from syngas in IGCC plants

Abstract In this chapter, a number of traditional as well as novel technologies for acid gas removal from synthesis gas are discussed. For the traditional technologies, physical-, chemical-, and hybrid-solvent-based technologies are discussed. A number of novel technologies are under development, mainly with the goal of reducing the cost of CO 2 capture. Some of these novel technologies are still at the lab-scale, while others are being evaluated at pilot-scale or higher. These technologies include various warm gas cleanup technologies such as those based on solid sorbents as well as those based on membrane technologies where the synergistic sorption-enhanced water-gas shift reaction is a valuable option for CO 2 capture cases. Other novel approaches under investigation are cryogenic, chemical looping, and gas hydrate technologies. Further research will help to realize the full potential of these novel technologies.
Assessing upper-extremity motion: An innovative method to quantify functional capacity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background Assessment of functional capacity is important in directing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care (e.g., rehabilitation and discharge readiness), and in predicting outcomes (e.g., exacerbation, hospitalization, and mortality). The 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) test for functional capacity assessment, may be time-consuming and burdensome.
Rainbow spanning trees in complete graphs colored by one‐factorizations

Brualdi and Hollingsworth conjectured that, for even n, in a proper edge coloring of Kn using precisely n−1 colors, the edge set can be partitioned into n/2 spanning trees which are rainbow (and hence, precisely one edge from each color class is in each spanning tree). They proved that there always are two edge disjoint rainbow spanning trees. Krussel, Marshall, and Verrall improved this to three edge disjoint rainbow spanning trees. Recently, Carraher, Hartke and the author proved a theorem improving this to enlogn rainbow spanning trees, even when more general edge colorings of Kn are considered. In this article, we show that if Kn is properly edge colored with n−1 colors, a positive fraction of the edges can be covered by edge disjoint rainbow spanning trees.
Abstract P191: Impact on Short- and Long-Term Mortality of Invasive Versus Conservative Strategy in Non–ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes: A Meta-analysis

Background: Early invasive strategy is recommended for patients presenting with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTEACS). However, evidence for long-term benefit is lacking. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of invasive vs. conservative (selective invasive) strategy on short- and long-term outcomes in patients with NSTEACS. Methods: We searched MEDLINE for randomized clinical trials comparing invasive vs. conservative approach in patients with NSTEACS. Pooled relative risk (RR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using fixed and random effects models. Results: 8 trials including 10,359 subjects (5,177 invasive and 5,182 conservative) were included. Based on the random effects model, invasive strategy was not associated with a significant reduction in 30-day, 6-month, 1-year and 5-year mortality compared to conservative treatment (2.2% vs. 2.0%, RR=0.96, 95% CI 0.54-1.69, p=0.88; 2.7% vs. 3.2%, RR=0.81, 95% CI 0.54-1.22, p=0.32; 4.4% vs. 4.4%, RR=0.93, 95% CI 0.63-1.36, p=0.70 and 10.6% vs. 11.5%, RR=0.92, 95% CI 0.77-1.11, p=0.40, respectively). Non-fatal myocardial infarction was significantly reduced with invasive approach at 6 months (RR=0.76, 95% CI 0.61-0.95, p=0.018), but not at later follow-up. Conclusions: Early invasive strategy does not lead to improved outcomes compared to conservative approach in patients with NSTEACS and its routine use cannot be justified at present. More studies are warranted to address this issue.
Novel Mechanism Behind the Immunopathogenesis of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: "Neutrophil Anergy"

For over 3 decades, investigators have studied the pathogenesis of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and recurrent VVC (RVVC) through clinical studies and animal models. While there was considerable consensus that susceptibility was not associated with any apparent deficiencies in adaptive immunity, protective immune mechanisms and the role of innate immunity remained elusive. It was not until an innovative live-challenge design was conducted in women that a fuller understanding of the natural history of infection/disease was achieved. These studies revealed that symptomatic infection is associated with recruitment of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) into the vaginal lumen. Subsequent studies in the established mouse model demonstrated that infiltrating PMNs were incapable of reducing the fungal burden, which supported the hypothesis that VVC/RVVC was an immunopathology, whereby Candida and the host response drive symptomatic disease. Further studies in mice revealed the requirement for C. albicans hyphae and identified pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and proinflammatory mediators responsible for the PMN response, all of which are critical pieces of the immunopathogenesis. However, a mechanism explaining PMN dysfunction at the vaginal mucosa remained an enigma. Ultimately, by employing mouse strains resistant or susceptible to chronic VVC, it was determined that heparan sulfate (HS) in the vaginal environment of susceptible mice serves as a competitive ligand for Mac-1 on PMNs, which effectively renders the PMNs incapable of binding to Candida to initiate killing. Hence, the outcome of symptomatic VVC/RVVC is postulated to be dependent on a PMN-mediated immunopathogenic response involving HS that effectively places the neutrophils in a state of functional anergy.
Related Services for Children with Special Needs

The enactment of the Education of All Handicapped Children’s Act of 1975, better known as PL 94-142, ushered in a new era in public education. As with recent reauthorization (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004; IDEIA 2004), schools must ensure that students with disabilities receive “free, appropriate, public education” in the “least restrictive environment.” The IDEIA, further, requires school boards to provide related, or supportive, services to students with disabilities when children need such services to assist them in benefiting from their school programs. The only limit on what could be a related service is that medical services are exempted unless they are specifically for diagnostic or evaluative purposes. The IDEIA amendments also made it very clear that the term does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted or the replacement of such a device. In this article, we have attempted to guide related service providers, school administrators, parents, and interested individuals with ways to better understand the meaning, scope, or application of related services to students who need them.
Experimental Investigation of Mixing in Aperiodic Heterogeneous Porous Media: Comparison with Stochastic Transport Theory

An electrochemical technique was used to measure concentration distributions in an aperiodic heterogeneous model for comparison with a stochastic transport theory. Four identical columns, each filled with a homogeneous distribution of glass beads, were threaded together to create a single model with aperiodic heterogeneity. The layers in the model were arranged in different ways providing 24 realizations of the permeability distribution. Comparisons between experimental moment data and moments of simulated mean concentration distributions showed that the model was not able to accurately predict experimentally observed mixing behavior.
Effects of Burn Temperature on Ash Nutrient Forms and Availability from Cattail (Typha domingensis) and Sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) in the Florida Everglades

Plant ash derived from fire plays an important role in nutrient balance and cycling in ecosystems. Factors that determine the composition and availability of ash nutrients include fire intensity (burn temperature and duration), plant species, habitat nutrient enrichment, and leaf type (live or dead leaf). We used laboratory simulation methods to evaluate temperature effects on nutrient composition and metals in the residual ash of sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) and cattail (Typha domingensis), particularly on post-fire phosphorus (P) availability in plant ash. Live and dead leaf samples were collected from Water Conservation Area 2A in the northern Everglades along a soil P gradient, where prescribed fire may be used to accelerate recovery of this unique ecosystem. Significant decreases in total carbon and total nitrogen were detected with increasing fire temperature. Organic matter combustion was nearly complete at temperatures > or = 450 degrees C. HCl-extractable P (average, 50% of total P in the ash) and NH(4)Cl-extractable P (average, 33% of total P in the ash) were the predominant P fractions for laboratory-burned ash. Although a low-intensity fire could induce an elevation of P availability, an intense fire generally resulted in decreased water-soluble P. Significant differences in nutrient compositions were observed between species, habitat nutrient status, and leaf types. More labile inorganic P remained in sawgrass ash than in cattail ash; hence, sawgrass ash has a greater potential to release available P than cattail. Fire intensity affected plant ash nutrient composition, particularly P availability, and the effects varied with plant species and leaf type. Therefore, it is important to consider fire intensity and vegetation community when using a prescribed fire for ecosystem management.
The Complex Relationship Between Erectile Dysfunction and Hypogonadism in Diabetes Mellitus

As the prevalence of diabetes mellitus grows worldwide, it is increasingly important to understand the commonly comorbid urologic conditions, hypogonadism and erectile dysfunction, in the setting of the diabetic man. The relationship between the diabetes, hypogonadism, and erectile dysfunction is complex with significant interplay among the disease processes and potential for unique management of the triad. The purpose of this review is to provide an update on the intertwined nature of these diseases in diabetics with special consideration for pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. There is a wide range of pathophysiologic mechanisms central to hypogonadism and erectile dysfunction in diabetes mellitus which continue to be identified and better elucidated; nevertheless, metabolic syndrome, composed of insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity, appears to be the common thread between both. An increasing body of evidence suggests that low testosterone is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and worsened overall survival in diabetic men with potential that testosterone therapy may reduce these risks. The treatment of either erectile dysfunction or hypogonadism in diabetic men may also improve the other condition; some evidence suggests that testosterone therapy in hypogonadal diabetics may improve erectile function while daily vardenafil, in addition to improving erectile function, appears to restore hypogonadal diabetics’ testosterone to the eugonadal range. Metabolic syndrome appears to be the central connection between the increasingly common clinical picture of diabetic men with erectile dysfunction and hypogonadism. The overlapping pathophysiology of these conditions results in unique management considerations.
Colonic mucosal inflammatory cells in children and adolescents with lactase deficiency

Abstract Introduction and objectives Many of the symptoms of patients with lactose intolerance are due to fermentation of undigested lactose in the colonic lumen, which may also lead to inflammatory cell changes in the colonic mucosa. The objective of our project was to understand the histopathological changes involving infiltration of eosinophils and mast cells in the colonic mucosa of children with lactase deficiency (LD). Methods In this retrospective study we studied colonic mucosa of children and adolescents with LD to determine if any pathological changes or inflammatory cell changes were present. Pathology reports and Hematoxylin and eosin stained slides were reviewed. Tryptase immunohistochemistry was performed for mast cell assessment. Result There were 30 subjects in the study who had a LD and 15 presented with diarrhea and 15 without diarrhea. The colonic mucosa of 35.5 % of the subjects revealed increased mucosal eosinophils. There was no increase of mast cells or lymphocytic colitis in any of the subjects. Excepting for the increased eosinophils in a subset of the subjects, all had a normal appearance of the colonic mucosa. Conclusion Colonic mucosa of children and adolescents with LD has a normal histological appearance in majority of the patients. However, 35 % of the patients could demonstrate elevated eosinophils. In primary LD without any comorbidity there is no increase of mast cells and lymphocytic cells in the colonic mucosa.
Grid-Coupled Dynamic Response of Battery-Driven Voltage Source Converters

With the increasing interest in converter-fed is-landed microgrids, particularly for resilience, it is becoming more critical to understand the dynamical behavior of these systems. This paper takes a holistic view of grid-forming converters and considers control approaches for both modeling and regulating the DC-link voltage when the DC-source is a battery energy storage system. We are specifically interested in understanding the performance of these controllers, subject to large load changes, for decreasing values of the DC-side capacitance. We consider a fourth, second, and zero-order model of the battery; and establish that the zero-order model captures the dynamics of interest for the timescales of the examined disturbances. Additionally, we adapt a grid search for optimizing the controller parameters of the DC/DC controller and show how the inclusion of AC-side measurements into the DC/DC controller can improve its dynamic performance by predicting the evolution of the DC-side dynamics. This improvement in performance allows for a reduction in transient voltage deviations across the DC-link capacitor and, consequently, potentially reducing the risk of premature failure.