cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ancestral Reconstruction of Gene Blocks using an Event-Based Method

Motivation: A fundamental attribute of life is complex systems: systems made of parts that together perform functions that a single component, or most subsets containing individual components,cannot. Examples of molecular complexity include protein structures such as the F1Fo-ATPase, the ribosome, or the flagellar motor. Each one of these structures requires most or all of its components to function properly. Given the ubiquity of complex systems in the biosphere, understanding the evolution of complexity is central to biology. At the molecular level, operons are a classic example of a complex system. An operon's genes are co-transcribed under the control of a single promoter to a polycistronic mRNA molecule. The operon's gene products often form molecular complexes or metabolic pathways. With the large number of complete bacterial genomes available, we now have the opportunity to examine the evolution of operons and identify possible intermediate states. Results: In this work, we used a maximum parsimony algorithm to reconstruct the ancestors of operons, and show a simple vertical evolution model of how operons may evolve from the individual component genes. We offer the software as the Reconstruction of Ancestral Genomes Using Events or ROAGUE. Availability and implementation: The software is available at https://github.com/nguyenngochuy91/Ancestral-Blocks-Reconstruction
Endoscopic band ligation in the treatment of gastric antral vascular ectasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background and study aims While argon plasma coagulation (APC) is the first-line treatment for gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE), endoscopic band ligation (EBL) has shown promising results. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of EBL for the treatment of GAVE. Methods Individualized search strategies were developed in accordance with PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines through September 1, 2020. Measured outcomes included endoscopic success (defined as GAVE eradication/improvement), change in hemoglobin, transfusion dependency, number of treatment sessions, adverse events, rebleeding, and bleeding-associated mortality. Outcomes were compared among studies evaluating EBL versus APC. Results Eleven studies (n = 393; 59.39 % female; mean age 58.65 ± 8.85 years) were included. Endoscopic success was achieved in 87.84 % [(95 % CI, 80.25 to 92.78); I2 = 11.96 %] with a mean number of 2.50 ± 0.49 treatment sessions and average of 12.40 ± 3.82 bands applied. For 8 studies comparing EBL (n = 143) versus APC (n = 174), there was no difference in baseline patient characteristics. However, endoscopic success was significantly higher for EBL [OR 6.04 (95 % CI 1.97 to 18.56; P = 0.002], requiring fewer treatment sessions (2.56 ± 0.81 versus 3.78 ± 1.17; P 0.050). Conclusions EBL appears to be safe and effective for treatment of GAVE, with improved outcomes when compared to APC.
Analysis of customer sentiment on product features after the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) based on online reviews

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease not only caused many deaths worldwide but also severely affected the development of the global economy, such as supply chain disruptions, plummeted demand, unemployment, etc. These social changes have led to changes in customers' purchasing patterns. Therefore, it is more important than ever for manufacturers to quickly identify and respond to changing customer purchasing patterns and requirements. However, few studies have been done on dynamic changes in customer preferences for product features following COVID-19 spread. This study aims to investigate the dynamic change of customer sentiment on product features following COVID-19 through sentiment analysis based on online reviews. The proposed methodology consists of two main processes: feature extraction and sentiment analysis. After finding a specific feature of the product through feature extraction, the words used to mention the feature in the review were analyzed for sentiment analysis of customers. To demonstrate the methodology, a case study is conducted using new and refurbished smartphone reviews to investigate the dynamic changes in customer sentiment during COVID-19. © ICED 2021.All right reserved.
On the Minimum Induced Drag of Wings -or- Thinking Outside the Box

Of all the types of drag, induced drag is associated with the creation and generation of lift over wings. Induced drag is directly driven by the span load that the aircraft is flying at. The tools by which to calculate and predict induced drag we use were created by Ludwig Prandtl in 1903. Within a decade after Prandtl created a tool for calculating induced drag, Prandtl and his students had optimized the problem to solve the minimum induced drag for a wing of a given span, formalized and written about in 1920. This solution is quoted in textbooks extensively today. Prandtl did not stop with this first solution, and came to a dramatically different solution in 1932. Subsequent development of this 1932 solution solves several aeronautics design difficulties simultaneously, including maximum performance, minimum structure, minimum drag loss due to control input, and solution to adverse yaw without a vertical tail. This presentation lists that solution by Prandtl, and the refinements by Horten, Jones, Kline, Viswanathan, and Whitcomb.
Effect of underwater lighting on observations of density and behavior of rockfish during camera surveys

Abstract Unbiased visual observations of fish are increasingly important for a number of management issues, such as non-extractive abundance estimates and fish-habitat associations. We tested the effect of three types of underwater lighting on observable rockfish density and behavior using an underwater stereo camera. Higher densities of small rockfish were observed on deployments conducted with strobed red lights (where rockfish are less spectrally sensitive) than with either strobed white light or constant white light. The difference between strobed red lights and constant white light was statistically significant. For three larger species of rockfish there was no significant effect of lighting on fish density. Rockfish behavioral responses measured by the range-dependent height off the seafloor were also lowest for the red strobe light deployments, although not significantly different than for white strobe light. Rockfish height above the seafloor decreased as the drop camera approached in all treatments for both small and large rockfish. Small rockfish exhibited stronger responses to light treatments both in terms of density and observed height off the seafloor, while large rockfish were less sensitive to any of the light treatments. The implications of this study are that white lights decrease the observed density of small rockfish during underwater surveys, and the degree to which lighting regimes overlap the spectral sensitivities of target fishes can determine fish reactions.
Hierarchical Specified Unit Disk Graphs (Extended Abstract)

We characterize the complexity of several basic optimization problems for unit disk graphs specified hierarchically as in [LW87a, Le88, LW92]. Both PSPACE-hardness results and polynomial time approximations are presented for most of the problems considered. These problems include minimum vertex coloring, maximum independent set, minimum clique cover, minimum dominating set and minimum independent dominating set.
Zbrowse: an interactive GWAS results browser

The growing number of genotyped populations, the advent of high-throughput phenotyping techniques and the development of GWAS analysis software has rapidly accelerated the number of GWAS experimental results. Candidate gene discovery from these results files is often tedious, involving many manual steps searching for genes in windows around a significant SNP. This problem rapidly becomes more complex when an analyst wishes to compare multiple GWAS studies for pleiotropic or environment specific effects. To this end, we have developed a fast and intuitive interactive browser for the viewing of GWAS results with a focus on an ability to compare results across multiple traits or experiments. The software can easily be run on a desktop computer with software that bioinformaticians are likely already familiar with. Additionally, the software can be hosted or embedded on a server for easy access by anyone with a modern web browser. Subjects Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Visual Analytics
Low Loss (13 dB/km) Air Core Photonic Band-Gap Fibre

We report the fabrication of a hollow core photonic band-gap fibre with a loss less than 30 dB/km over a 125 nm transmission window. The 100-meter length of fibre has a minimum loss of 13 dB/km at 1500 nm. This result represents an improvement of nearly two orders of magnitude in the reported attenuation of air-core fibres
Studies in char gasification—IV: Multi-stage char gasifier

Abstract A detailed analysis of a gasifier with two and three stages is made. It is shown that a multi-stage gasifier is superior to a single stage gasifier from the point of view of net carbon conversion as well as methane mole fraction in the product gases.
Vector mesons and the tensor current divergence principle

A model of quarks interacting with phenomenological vector mesons is proposed. Using the vanishing of the renormalization constants as a compositeness criterion for these mesons, we derive a relation which substitutes the old hypothesis of the partial conservation of the tensor current (PCTC) and resolves all its difficulties. We call it the tensor current divergence principle (TCDP) since it relates the divergence of the tensor generator ofU12 with the difference between the vector current and the weighted source of vector mesons. Exact universality of the vector-meson «electric» form factors atq2=0 is predicted. Very interesting relations are obtained for the «magnetic» form factors. Good agreement with experiment is obtained for the case where data are available. We achieve then a consistent physical interpretation for the only operator ofU12, its tensor current generator, still lacking a physical meaning.
On Synthesizing Partially Decentralized Controllers

Quite often, in the control of physical systems, structural constraints are placed on the feedback controller. Issues of complexity, computation, ease of implementation and physical dimensions play a role in the decision to select structurally constrained controllers. This paper examines controllers which are constrained by the amount of information sharing occurring in the feedback channels. A fully decentralized controller is characterized by no sharing of information among the feedback channels. Three other types of partially decentralized controllers are characterized by the way in which the feedback channels locally share information between adjacent channels. It is shown in this paper via left and right unimodular transformations, that from the set of stabilizing decentralized controllers associated with a transformed plant operator a set of stabilizing partially decentralized controllers can be recovered. This serves to identify a potentially useful methodology for the synthesis of partially decentralized controllers by formulating the problem within a framework which can take advantage of the stable factors approach to the parameterization of the set of all stabilizing fully decentralized controllers.
The Future of Social-Health Psychology: Prospects and Predictions

Social-health psychology has made substantial contributions to health psychology and is poised to make many more in the future. Some new developments will come from empirical progress in theoretical and empirical social psychology that can elucidate the psychological mechanisms whereby social variables affect health. Others will come from technological advances, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, that will uncover mechanisms that underlie effects of stress, coping, persuasive communications, and other factors on health. Progress will also come from social psychologists’ increasing comfort with biological processes and measures, including genetics and neuroendocrine mechanisms. As such, social-health psychology will not only continue to enrich both health psychology and social psychology, but increasingly be able to speak to intervention possibilities. Moreover, by virtue of its emphasis on psychobiological mechanisms, social-health psychology leads the way for an expanding role of social psychology in the integrative science of the future.
Theorizing Human Resource Management and the Firm’s Demand for HRM Practices

Drawing on the economics and industrial relations literatures, this paper argues that the conventional conceptualization and theorization of human resource management, and the attendant empirical literature on the HRM-firm performance relationship, are likely to suffer from significant problems of mis-specification and limited domain. A new theoretical framework is advanced that generalizes the HRM concept, models the linkage between HRM practices and firm performance (the "black box"), generates an HRM input demand function and demand curve, and demonstrates how these analytic tools can explain major features of the distribution of HRM practices among firms and over time.
Repatriation in the United States: The Current State of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

R epatriation in the United States today is synonymous with the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Although repatriations of Native American ancestral remains and cultural objects certainly occurred—and continue to occur—outside of the purview of NAGPRA, this law remains the centerpiece of repatriation activities in the United States. NAGPRA is important human-rights legislation, designed first and foremost to address the historical inequities created by a legacy of past collecting practices; the continual disregard for Native religious beliefs and burial practices; and a clear contradiction between how the graves of white Americans and graves of Native Americans have been treated. NAGPRA attempts to address these inequities by giving Native American communities greater control over the remains of their ancestors and cultural objects, and the law has provided some measure of success in this regard. But in the nearly
Bateson's cybernetics: the basis of MRI brief therapy: prologue

– To provide direct access to original documents relevant to the emergence of applied constructivist and cybernetic epistemology in the behavioral sciences., – This paper employs hermeneutic analysis, – Direct evidence of the cybernetic, interactional theory articulated by Gregory Bateson provides the theoretical foundation for the problem formation, problem resolution model set forth by research associates at the Brief Therapy Center of the Mental Research Institute., – This is a rare, never previously published address by a principal founder of communication/interactional theory
Regional Hydrogeochemical Patterns in Ground Water of Northwestern Ohio and Their Relation to Mississippi Valley–Type Mineral Occurrences

ABSTRACT Deering, M.F., Mohr, E.T., Sypniewski, B.F. and Carlson, E.H., 1983. Regional hydrogeochemical patterns in ground water of northwestern Ohio and their relation to Mississippi Valley-type mineral occurrences. In: G.R. Parslow (Editor), Geochemical Exploration 1982. J. Geochem. Explor., 19: 225–241. A cluster of minor Mississippi Valley-type deposits occurs in northwestern Ohio. The district, which forms a northeasterly trending belt that cuts across the Findlay Arch, extends from the Indiana border to the Lake Erie Islands. The minerals of the deposits — chiefly celestite, fluorite and sphalerite with lesser amounts of barite and galena — show variation in both geographic and stratigraphic distribution. Dolomites of Middle Silurian to Middle Devonian age, which are the host rocks, also form an important aquifer system. The deposits are of interest because they might be indicators of economic mineralization at depth. Through a reconnaissance study, one-hundred ground-water samples from shallow wells (less than 50 m deep) were collected across an area of approximately 19 000 km2. Recharge takes place in the southern part of the area while ground-water flow is northward towards Lake Erie. The majority of the samples are high in sulfate with the source being evaporites within the carbonate sequence. The remainder of the water samples are rich in bicarbonate. Trend surface maps for the major constituents indicate that the ground-water chemistry for the region is established chiefly by the lithology and the flow system. Trend surface maps for F−, Sr and Ba reflect the geographic distribution of the minerals in the deposits. Correlations are weakened, however, due to the influence of geochemical barriers such as SO42- on Ba and Sr, and Ca on F−. The map for Pb follows the trends of the major constituents instead of the mineralization. In a detailed study across northwestern Sandusky County, which lies near the center of the district, 46 samples were collected in an area of 78 km2. Trend surface maps for Ca, Mg, SO42- and total dissolved solids reflect the chemistry of the bedrock and display concentrations that increase along the local flow path. Maps for F−, Sr and Ba correlate with mineralization in the vicinity, the first of these displaying a local trend and the last two correlating with regional trends.
Reactivation of tuberculosis is associated with a shift from type 1 to type 2 cytokines.

The pattern of cytokines produced by T cells from mice with latent tuberculosis and during reactivation of tuberculosis was determined. A type 1 cytokine pattern was observed in T cells isolated from the lung of mice with latent disease. Reactivation of mycobacterial growth, by activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, resulted in a shift from a type 1 to a type 2 cytokine pattern in both CD4 and CD8 T cells. Classification of the T cells based on their differential expression of CD45 and CD44 showed that the phenotypically different populations of CD4 and CD8 cells exhibited a type 1 cytokine pattern at latency and that reactivation of latent tuberculosis was associated with a shift in cytokines produced by these populations to a type 2 cytokine response. Control of mycobacterial growth resulted in a return to the type 1 cytokine pattern found during latent disease.
Depressive Symptoms Related to Infertility and Infertility Treatments

This article reviews depressive symptoms in women as they relate to infertility and infertility treatments. Common causes of infertility in women are discussed and the literature on depressive symptoms before and during various infertility treatments is presented. Recommendations are made from a psychiatric perspective regarding how to manage depressive symptoms in women in the context of infertility.
Exploring Secular Spiritual Capital: An Engagement in Religious and Secular Dialogue for a Common Future?

This article introduces the concept of secular spiritual capital (SSC) as a contribution to new theory and praxis, which the authors believe has potential to serve as an important tool in the increasingly sensitive yet robust task of public theology; namely mapping and negotiating increasingly complex and contested public spaces between religion and secularity. The article starts with the furore caused by a public lecture given by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury in which he argued for allowing aspects of Sharia law to function within the UK's secularized legal frameworks. The article then develops the concept of SSC by synthesizing existing ideas located within sociology, anthropology and practical theology. It refers to recent praxis in key public policy/civil society areas; such as planning, social care and community cohesion, which stress the importance of partnership and dialogue between religious and secular sectors for the sake of the common good. The article concludes that SSC helps create a ‘thicker’ public discourse based on virtues and ethics, as well as rights.
Heart-rate responses to snakes among behaviorally avoidant and nonavoidant college students

The study assessed the extent to which heart-rate responsivity in the presence of a snake is correlated with behavioral avoidance of a snake. College students described, by a commonly used method, as either snake-avoidant or nonavoidant were exposed to a snake and to a neutral stimulus while their heart rates were monitored. Those Ss who were not behaviorally avoidant responded to the snake and to the neutral stimulus in essentially the same way. Those who were behaviorally avoidant showed less heart-rate responsivity to the neutral stimulus than to the snake. However, this difference was marginal and of insufficient magnitude to argue that snake-avoidant volunteer Ss are meaningful surrogates for clinically phobic patients. The results indict the value of dozens of previous experiments.
Histogenesis of the goldfish retina

The order of production of retinal cells was studied in embryos of the goldfish, Carassius auratus, using 3H-thymidine autoradiography. Cell division ceases first in the neuroepithelium at the fundus of the eye between embryonic stages 19 and 20 and gradually becomes restricted to the retinal margin by stage 24. In the fundus the cells whose nuclei will reside in the inner layer of the retina stop dividing earlier than the cells whose nuclei will reside in the outer retinal layers. Thus the ganglion cells in the fundus of the retina are produced first and the receptors and horizontal cells last.
FLOWERING LOCUS C EXPRESSOR Family Proteins Regulate FLOWERING LOCUS C Expression in Both Winter-Annual and Rapid-Cycling Arabidopsis

Many naturally occurring Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) are very late flowering, unless flowering is promoted by a prolonged period of cold (e.g. winter) known as vernalization. In these winter-annual strains, flowering prior to winter is blocked by the synergistic interaction of FRIGIDA (FRI) and FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). FLC acts as a strong floral inhibitor, and FRI is required for high levels of FLC expression. Vernalization, in turn, leads to an epigenetic down-regulation of FLC expression. Most rapid-cycling Arabidopsis carry loss-of-function mutations in FRI, leading to low levels of FLC and rapid flowering in the absence of vernalization. Recent work has shown that FRI acts as a scaffolding protein for the assembly of a FRI complex (FRI-C) that includes both general transcription and chromatin-modifying factors, as well as FRI-specific components such as FRI-LIKE1, FRI ESSENTIAL1 (FES1), SUPPRESSOR OF FRI4 (SUF4), and FLC EXPRESSOR (FLX). Here, we show that FLX-LIKE4 (FLX4) is a novel component of the FRI-C and is essential for the activation of FLC by FRI. Both FLX and FLX4 contain leucine zipper domains that facilitate interaction with FRI. In addition, FLX and FLX4 interact with each other and show synergistic transcription activation activity. Interestingly, we show that FLX, FLX4, FES1, and SUF4 are required for basal levels of FLC expression in the absence of FRI. Thus, components of the FRI-C play a role in the regulation of FLC expression in both FRI-containing winter annuals, as well as fri-null rapid-cycling strains.
Graduate teaching assistant training in speech communication and noncommunication departments: A national survey

This paper presents the results of a survey assessing the state‐of‐the‐art of Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) training. Respondents were department chairs/heads from 270 noncommunication and 69 speech communication departments that routinely hire GTAs to teach courses. Results indicate that speech communication departments are leading the way in the proportion of departments that train but not in the breadth or scope of that training.
Insulin improves survival but does not maintain function of cultured chick wing bud apical ectodermal ridge.

Previously we demonstrated that high levels of insulin (5 μg/ml) permit the survival of isolated chick apical ectodermal ridge in culture (Boutin and Fallon, Dev. Biol., 104:111–116, 1984). Here we address whether lower levels of insulin or insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) can also improve the survival of cultured apical ectodermal ridge and whether ridge function is maintained along with ridge survival. Neither IGF I nor IGF II (100 ng/ml) decreased ridge cell death; however, cell death was significantly decreased with 50 ng/ml insulin. No further improvement was obtained in the presence of both IGF I and insulin. These data suggest that insulin improved the survival of the isolated apical ectodermal ridge by binding its own receptor. To test for the maintenance of function, stage 20 ridges were cultured for 0, 6, 12, 18, or 24 hr with or without insulin (5 μg/ml or 5 ng/ml) and used to make recombinant limbs. Isolated ridges cultured for 12 hr or more produced fewer outgrowths and these were rarely distally complete. The medium in which the ridges had been cultured did not influence ridge activity, despite the major differences in cell survival. Recombinants made with ridges cultured with limb mesoderm for 18 hr did not yield outgrowths as often as those with freshly isolated ridges, but most of the limbs that did form were distally complete. These results suggest that the decline in function of cultured, isolated apical ectodermal ridge was not due merely to ridge cell death but rather, at least in part, to its separation from limb mesoderm. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Cue exposure and relapse prevention in the treatment of addictive behaviors

Cue exposure techniques have been increasingly applied in the treatment of addictive behaviors. The role of cue exposure in a comprehensive approach to relapse prevention is considered from several theoretical perspectives. Issues discussed include the optimal definition of both cue and response variables in cue exposure, the relation between exposure to drug-taking cues and elicitation of outcome expectancies, and the combination of extinction-based cue exposure methods and skill training in relapse prevention programs. Whether cue exposure effects are mediated by extinction of appetitive craving responses and/or by the modification of efficacy and outcome expectancies is discussed.
An organometallic route to (±)-3-p-toluenesulfinyl-2-pyrone

Abstract 3-Bromo-2-pyrone reacts with dimethylcopperlithium and then with p -tolyl p -toluenethiosulfonate to form 3- p -toluenethio-2-pyrone. Organocopper species are likely intermediates in this reaction. Oxidation of the sulfide produces (±)-3- p -toluenesulfinyl-2-pyrone. The overall process involves an important and useful umpolung, a reversal of reactivity at C(3) of the pyrone ring from an electrophilic center to a nucleophilic center.
Dynamic Origin-Destination Demand Estimation Using Turning Movement Counts:

A dynamic origin-destination (O-D) demand estimation model is presented that uses turning movement counts as observations. Based on an iterative bilevel estimation framework, the upper-level problem is to minimize a weighted objective function of the deviation between simulated link flows and real-time link counts and the deviation between estimated time-dependent demand and an a priori historical O-D table, where the weighting value is determined by an interactive approach to obtain the best compromise solution. A case study was performed on the US-29 network in Maryland to compare the estimated tables of this approach with the one obtained from the traditional method, which uses only approach link volume counts. The application illustrates considerable benefits of using turning movements instead of approach volumes in matching observed counts.
The time course of changes in open field activity following bilateral entorhinal lesions in rats and cats

The open field behavior of Sprague-Dawley rats and mongrel cats was tested daily prior to and following bilateral entorhinal cortical lesions. The subjects were tested postoperatively from Days 2 to 17 and the time course of behavioral changes following the lesions was assessed. Total activity and decline (habituation) in activity across successive minutes of each test session were recorded as the measures of open field behavior. Rats with bilateral entorhinal cortex lesions exhibited a dramatic increase in total activity which peaked on Day 4, paralleled by a slower habituation of activity within single test sessions. The increased total activity and slower habituation across minutes were most pronounced during the early postlesion interval, exhibiting some return toward control levels with time, but never attaining control values. To determine whether the return toward control levels was time dependent or a result of the repeated testing design, other groups of rats with bilateral EC lesions were tested beginning 10 and 14 days postlesion. These rats exhibited lower levels of total activity and a more rapid habituation across minutes than was observed in the group tested between 2 and 8 days postlesion. Thus, the return toward control levels was time dependent and not a result of the repeated testing. Cats with bilateral entorhinal cortex lesions also exhibited an increase in total activity and a slower habituation in successive minutes of a test session. Again, both effects were most pronounced during early postoperative intervals, approaching but not attaining control levels with time. The nature and time course of these changes were virtually identical in the two species. The similarities in the nature and time course of the behavioral changes in the rat and the cat are discussed with regard to the possible relationship between reactive changes in the brain and the time-dependent behavioral changes.
Method for constructing isomerization reactions

A method is formulated for enumerating and constructing isomerization reactions of molecules exhibiting large amplitude nonrigid motions. This method not only enumerates the isomers of nonrigid molecules and the corresponding rigid molecules but also the symmetry species spanned by the equivalent structures whose representative is an isomer. Consequently, using the method of correlating the symmetry species of a group to the symmetry species of its subgroup the splitting patterns of isomers of nonrigid molecule to those of rigid molecule are obtained. This provides an elegant method for both enumerating and constructing reaction graphs. The method is illustrated with examples.
CLINICAL AND ANGIOGRAPHIC OUTCOME AFTER ENDOVASCULAR MANAGEMENT OF GIANT INTRACRANIAL ANEURYSMS

OBJECTIVE: Giant (25 mm) intr acranial aneurysms (IA) have an extremely poor natural history and continue to confound modern techniques for management. Currently, there is a dearth of large series examining endovascular treatment of giant IAs only. METHODS: We reviewed long-term clinical and radiological outcome from a series of 39 consecuti ve giant IAs treated with endovascular repair in 38 patients at 2 tertiary referral centers. Data were evaluated in 3 ways: on a per-treatment session basis for each aneurysm, at 30 days after each patient’s final treatment, and at the last known follow-up examination. RESULTS: Ten (26%) aneurysms were ruptured. At the last angiographic follow-up examination (21.5 22.9 months), 95% or higher and 100% occlusion r ates were documented in 64 and 36% of aneurysms, respectively, with parent vessel preservation maintained in 74%. Stents were required in 25 aneurysms. Twenty percent of treatment sessions resulted in permanent morbidity, and death within 30 days occurred after 8% of treatment sessions. On average, 1.9 1.1 sessions were required to treat each aneurysm, with a resulting cumulative per-patient mortality of 16% and morbidity of 32%. At the last known clinical follow-up examination (mean, 24.8 24.8 months), 24 (63%) patients had Glasgow Outcome Scale scores of 4 or 5 (“good” or “excellent”), 10 patients had worsened neurological function from baseline (26% morbidity), and 11 had died (29% mortality). CONCLUSION: We present what is to our knowledge the largest series to date evaluating outcome after consecuti ve giant IAs treated with endovascular repair. Giant IAs carry a high risk for surgical or endovascular intervention. We hope critical and honest evaluation of treatment results will ensure continued improvement in patient care.
A survey of health care and child protective services provider knowledge regarding the toe tourniquet syndrome.

Recent efforts to increase public awareness of child abuse may result in an increased number of inappropriate reports of suspected child abuse. The authors believe that digital hair strangulation should be included among the conditions that may be confused with child abuse. Digital hair strangulation (toe tourniquet syndrome) occurs primarily in infants and is characterized by a constricting band of foreign material that becomes tightly wrapped around a digit or digits (most often the toes). The consensus in the medical literature is that this condition is not the result of intentional injury. As no reference to the toe tourniquet syndrome exists in the child abuse literature, it was hypothesized that child welfare workers would be more likely than physicians and public health nurses to misinterpret this condition as resulting from intentional injury. A survey was conducted to test this hypothesis. Professionals from the fields of medicine, nursing, and child welfare were provided with a history and photographic findings of a child with a typical case of the toe tourniquet syndrome. Participants were surveyed regarding their interpretation of the described injuries. More than 50% of all respondents indicated that they would report this case as suspected abuse. Child welfare workers responded that the injuries were suggestive of abuse (83%), significantly more often than public health nurses did (45%), (chi 2 = 4.55, p = .03).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Optical Rotation of Polarized Light by Chemical Compounds

This paper is a survey of the application of plane polarized light to the determination of the configuration of asymmetric organic compounds. The concept of asymmetric structures is discussed and the methods of separation of optical isomers have been indicated. Spectropolarimeters for the determination of rotatory dispersion curves are described and examples of normal and anomalous rotatory dispersion curves are given.
The Challenge of 1992 Europe

When the single market of Europe 1992 is in place, the EC will rank next to the U. S. in purchasing power and will represent one of the two largest markets in the world. With the realization of the proposed monetary union, the parallel will become even more striking.
Carbon fibers from mixtures of AR and supercritically extracted mesophases

Abstract Mixtures of two mesophase pitches derived from different raw material sources were investigated for producing high-performance carbon fibers. In particular, a high-melting, supercritically extracted (SCE) mesophase that was hard to spin but produced fibers with excellent properties was combined with AR mesophase, a relatively low-melting material. Mixtures of the SCE and AR mesophases ranging from 25 to 75% SCE were melt-spun into fiber form. The addition of 25% AR to the SCE mesophase dramatically improved its spinnability to the point that fiber yields were similar to those obtained for 100% AR. Surprisingly, fibers produced from the mesophase mixtures all stabilized more rapidly than those produced from either of the pure mesophases, with the fastest weight gain being obtained for the 25% SCE–75% AR mixture. DRIFTS was used to follow the stabilization reactions and confirmed these results. In general, final fiber properties of the mesophase mixtures were also superior to those of the pure mesophases. For example, significant improvements in both the thermal conductivity and Young’s modulus of AR mesophase were obtained with the addition of 25% SCE mesophase.
Suppression of nicotinic synaptic transmission by adenosine in myenteric ganglia of the guinea-pig gastric antrum.

Abstract Conventional intracellular recording techniques were used to investigate actions of adenosine on nicotinic cholinergic transmission in myenteric neurons of the gastric antrum. Adenosine or the more potent derivatives, 5′-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (NECA), 5′-N-cyclopropylcarboxamidoadenosine, 1-deaza-2-chloro-N6-cyclopentyladenosine or N6-cyclopentyladenosine reversibly and dose dependently inhibited the fast excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fast EPSPs) in 60% of the gastric neurons. Neither adenosine nor NECA affected excitatory responses to the nicotinic agonist 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenyl-piperazinium iodine. The EC50 concentration for inhibition of the fast excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) by adenosine was 55 μM NECA was a more potent inhibitor than adenosine. The specific adenosine receptor antagonists 1,3-dipropyl-8-p-sulfophenyl xanthine or 1,3-dipropyl-8-(cyclopentyl) xanthine blocked the inhibitory effects of adenosine or NECA. Fast EPSPs were enhanced by superfusion of the antagonists alone, suggestive of ongoing inhibition of nicotinic transmission by endogenous adenosine. The antagonists had no effect on resting membrane properties, excitability or antidromic action potentials. In neurons with suppression of fast EPSPs, adenosine did not suppress all cholinergic inputs to the same neuron. The results suggest that adenosine inhibits nicotinic transmission by interacting with presynaptic P1 adenosine receptors located at cholinergic release sites.
Seasonal Variation in Chemical Composition of Forage Brassicas. I. Mineral Concentrations and Uptake

Total mineral uptake in summer-grown species was significantly greater for Ca, Mg, K, Cu, Fe, and Mn relative to uptake of these minerals in autumn-grown species. Although species or seasonal effects, or species × season interaction effects were significant for particular minerals, concentrations of Ca, Mg, P, K, N, and Fe were adequate or well above recommended levels for ruminants. Micromineral supplementation, however, may be needed for ruminants consuming Brassica grown on soils with low micromineral availabilities
Autoimmune reactions in rats with Plasmodium berghei infection

Abstract An agglutinin for trypsinized autologous and homologous erythrocytes was demonstrated in rats with Plasmodium berghei infection. This agglutinin did not agglutinate nontrypsinized rat erythrocytes. The agglutinin was a cold type since it was eluted from erythrocytes of P. berghei infected rats at 37 °C. The antibody was susceptible to reductive cleavage by mercaptoethanol.
Geographic Information System-Based Evaluation of Geotechnical Borehole Log Quality

Although standard procedures and methods are available for many aspects of geotechnical site characterization, the quality of the results of such activities can be highly variable because of a variety of factors, including limitations resulting from the test procedures. For initial projects, the nature of these limitations as well as their likely consequences can be reasonably accommodated; however, subsequent use of the same data in a later study may not have the benefit of this project-specific insight, particularly if the data have been archived in a digital database. Consequently, a technique for quantifying data quality is necessary. A geographical information system (GIS)-based methodology has been developed to allow for the evaluation of borehole log quality as a function of its intended use. The methodology uses a flexible hierarchical model to provide a quantitative measure of quality. The quality of the discrete boreholes distributed across a site can then be analyzed spatially within a GIS to p...
Projectile-energy dependence and line shape of ArL Auger spectra from argon bombarded silicon

Abstract Ar:L Auger electron spectra from argon bombarded silicon have been investigated at projectile energies between 4 and 30 keV. The results indicate that excitation of argon is mostly due to argon-silicon collisions, in particular below 10 keV. Ar:L and Si:L 2 excitation have been found to be closely related. The prominent Auger line at 212 eV is attributed to deexcitation of argon atoms slowing down in silicon. The line width increases with increasing projectile energy (Doppler broadening).
Texture-based methods for analyzing elementary visual substances

Abstract Human vision is generally assumed to embody a limited number of low-level, spatially parallel image transformations. These transformations define the basic properties vision can sense. Because texture discrimination tasks require rapid, spatially parallel processing, they are ideally suited to investigate these basic transformations. Here it is shown how to use paired comparison texture tasks to functionally analyze such transformations. Tasks are considered in which the observer is presented with two patches of texture, A and B , tiled with micropatterns drawn from a set Ω , and is asked to judge which is greater, M ( A ) or M ( B ), for some specific texture property M (e.g., M ( A ) might be the intensity variance of patch A ). Performance is modeled by supposing that the observer approximates M ( A ) and M ( B ) by noisy, subjective quantities, M ( A ) and M ( B ), synthesized from the basic transformations resident in human vision. Psychophysical methods are provided for determining the differential impact on M of the various micropatterns in Ω . Specifically, an occurrence in patch A (similarly for patch B ) of a given micropattern ω ∈ Ω is assumed to contribute an independent, additive random variable X ω to M ( A ). The mean m ( ω ) of X ω gives the average impact on M ( A ) of an occurrence of ω . It is assumed that the observer judges M ( A )> M ( B ) on a given trial if M ( A )− M ( B )+ Y >0, for Y a normal random variable with mean zero and unspecified variance. Simple, efficient techniques are provided for accurately estimating the shape of the function m : Ω → R , which defines the impacts of different micropatterns on M -judgments. These methods yield results that are invariant with respect to all unmeasured model parameters. MATLAB code is supplied for data analysis.
An improved generalized moments estimator for a spatial moving average error model

Abstract Following Arnold and Wied (2010) , we suggest an improved generalized moments estimator for the spatial moving average error model which takes explicitly into account that the moment conditions are based on OLS residuals rather than the true disturbances.
High-speed accurate CMOS comparator

A high-speed CMOS comparator for A/D convertors is discussed. The circuit has high resolution (better than 5 mV) in combination with high speed (clock frequencies up to 50 MHz). The advantage of the proposed structure is that no clock feedthrough is injected to the input, only one switch in a symmetrical structure is used and the effect of any current biasing on the comparator speed has been reduced.
Comparison of selected methods used to analyze bipolar disorder

Susceptibility genes on chromosome 18, and a parent-of-origin effect, have been suggested for bipolar disorder. We analyzed BP data sets provided by the National Institutes of Mental Health and Johns Hopkins University to the Genetic Analysis Workshop 10. Numerous statistical methods were applied to detect association, linkage, and parent-of-origin effects, under alternative diagnostic models. The methods were subsequently compared. Our results suggest that the evidence of linkage of BP to chromosome 18 markers tends to increase, often substantially, as the classification of "affected" individuals broadens. Additionally, a parent-of-origin effect was detected in some of the families.
Inequality is not Injustice

The American sciologist John Rawls of Harvard has influenced academic discussion by his argument that justice requires equality as a primary purpose of governent policy. The British philosopher Antony Flew, formerly of the University of Reading and currently teaching at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, questions Rawls reasoning. He affirms that equality is not justice, a truth seen and expounded by the classical philosophers, but neglected by egalitarians.
Pilomatrixoma of the Head and Neck in Children

Abstract Objective: Pilomatrixomas are benign skin neoplasms of hair follicle origin. They are one of the most common superficial masses of the head and neck excised in children. Although the entity has been well studied in the literature, few studies have been undertaken to evaluate the clinical characteristics of head and neck pilomatrixomas specifically in children. The purpose of this study was to review the clinical characteristics and management of children presenting with pilomatrixomas of the head and neck at a large tertiary care pediatric hospital. Study Design: A retrospective chart review was performed of all patients with histologically confirmed pilomatrixoma of the head and neck excised during a 6-year period (1992-1997) at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Results: Ninety-one cases of pilomatrixoma were confirmed in 86 patients. The age range was 5 months to 17 years. The median age at time of excision was 6.0 years. The most common sites of occurrence were the cheek (36%), neck (20%), periorbital region (14%), and scalp (9%). The male to female ratio was 1:1.5. Multiple lesions were found in 8.2% of patients. Surgical excision was curative in all cases. Conclusion: Pilomatrixoma is a cutaneous neoplasm that is one of most common causes of superficial head and neck masses in children. Although the presurgical diagnosis may be difficult in some cases, pilomatrixoma must be kept in the differential of superficial head and neck masses in children. Surgical excision is almost always curative. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2001;125:510-5.)
A thick-thin approximation for radiative transfer.

First- and second-order formulations of a thick-thin approximate technique for application to the solution of energy transport when nongray radiation is important are presented. The virtue of the technique is that it eliminates the cumbersome integral terms which usually appear. It is shown that the temperature distributions calculated with the technique agree well with the results of more rigorous calculations if a proper value of the critical optical depth, which separates the thick and thin regions of the spectrum, is used. The proper value of the critical optical depth is less than one and may be less than 0.5. It is also shown that the jump boundary conditions which are frequently employed with the Rosseland, or diffusion, approximation should incorporate the Planck mean absorption coefficient for a nongray gas. This is in contradiction to suggestions appearing in the literature.
Comparison of multilevel DC-DC converter topologies

Multilevel DC-DC converter systems are used to transform low level DC voltages to larger DC voltages. Different topologies of multilevel DC-DC power converters such as cascaded model, one-to-many model and general multilevel DC-DC converter modules are studied and compared. These topologies are compared in terms of the number of discrete steps of output voltage levels, number of switching elements, and the ease of converting between different voltage levels.