cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Absence of a plateau in length–tension relationship of rabbit papillary muscle when internal shortening is prevented

IN the length–tension relationship of the isolated papillary muscle there is a region in which increased muscle length is associated with an increased force of contraction. Several problems make it difficult to determine the physiological basis for this relationship. Thick and thin filament lengths and sarcomere lengths have not been determined with the same accuracy in heart muscle as in skeletal, though there is evidence that these lengths are nearly the same in both muscles1–3. Papillary muscle cannot normally be tetanised or made to contract at low temperatures, and there is reason to believe that it is not fully activated by a single stimulus in the usual bathing medium4,5. In at least some papillary muscles there is considerable internal shortening during a twitch contraction6,7. Such length changes during contraction could change the amount of force developed by affecting the amount of thick and thin filament overlap and by producing shortening deactivation8,9. We have developed a photoelectronic servo apparatus similar to that developed by Gordon et al. (see refs 10 and 11 for details of operation) for use with papillary muscles to hold constant the length of a segment of preparation during contraction.
MRSA nasal colonization burden and risk of MRSA infection

Background Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization burden has been identified as a risk factor for infection. This study evaluates methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) nasal burden, as defined by the cycle threshold (C t ) and risk of subsequent infection. Methods In a retrospective cohort study, United States veterans were classified into 3 MRSA nasal colonization groups: noncarriers, low burden (C t > 24 cycles), and high burden (C t ≤ 24 cycles). MRSA infections were identified prospectively, and clinical information was obtained by chart review. Multivariate logistic regression assessed the association of MRSA nasal burden and risk of MRSA infection. Results During 4-years of follow-up, 4.3% of noncarriers, 18.5% of low burden, and 17.2% of high burden developed a MRSA infection. In multivariate analysis, MRSA nasal colonization was a risk factor for MRSA infection ( P = .008) with low burden (risk ratio [RR], 3.62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.47–8.93) and high burden (RR, 2.71; 95% CI: 0.95–7.72) associated with subsequent MRSA infection when compared with noncarriers. When compared with low burden, high burden nasal carriers were not at increased risk of infection (RR, 0.75; 95% CI 0.36–1.55). Conclusion MRSA nasal colonization was a risk factor for MRSA infection. High nasal burden of MRSA did not increase the risk of infection.
Experimental spectra for 12 GeV/ c K + p → pK + φ and pK + ω

We present experimental distributions for the reactions K+p → pK+φ, φ → K−K+ and K+p → pK+ω, ω → π−π+π0 at 12 GeV/c. The data were obtained from a 35 events/μb exposure of the SLAC 82-inch HBC. The cross sections for these reactions are (11 ± 1) μb and (47 ± 3) μb. We observe Kφ, Kω, and pω low-mass enhancements with no evidence for narrow structure. The momentum-transfer and angular-decay spectra of these systems are presented.
Application of Developmental Counseling and Therapy to Turkish College Students

Abstract Developmental Counseling and Therapy (DCT) is a new integrative approach to understand individuals and how to address their counseling needs. Clients construct their worldviews and actions based on their previously built thoughts, behaviors, and feelings by person-environment interactions ( Ivey & Goncalvez, 1988 ). Drawing more attention in the last couple of years ( Aricioglu, 2008 , Karairmak and Korkut, 2009 ), DCT also is relatively new in Turkish counseling practices and research. The developing and promising Turkish counseling profession needs introduction and adaptation of new counseling theories and practices. Therefore, this paper aims at discussing application of DCT and its components to Turkish counseling practices.
The management of software engineering: part iv: software development practices

Software engineering may be defined as the systematic design and development of software products and the management of the software process. Software engineering has as one of its primary objectives the production of programs that meet specifications, and are demonstrably accurate, produced on time, and within budget. This paper in five parts discusses the principles and practices used by the IBM Federal Systems Division for the design, development, and management of software. Part IV, on software engineering development practices, discusses a methodology for translating designs into software products. The subject is treated under two main headings, code management and integration engineering. These are rigorous methods for building the parts and integrating them into the whole software product that meets the design specifications.
Deuterium Quadrupole-Coupling and Chemical-Shielding Tensors in the Model Dipeptide Glycylglycine Monohydrochloride Monohydrate

The electric field gradient (EFG) and chemical-shift (CS) tensors for the amide, carboxylic acid, and amino deuteron sites in glycylglycine monohydrochloride monohydrate were measured. For each site, the EFG tensors are found to lie nearly along the deuteron bond. The magnitudes of the quadrupole-coupling constants agree well with previous empirical relationships to hydrogen-bond lengths. A new relationship is presented which correlates hydrogen-bonding geometries and EFG asymmetry parameters for N-D··· (hydrogen-bond acceptor) systems that suggests the importance of intermolecular geometry in determining these parameters. The measured amino and amide CS tensors are found to agree well with the few examples in the literature and agree qualitatively with those determined from ab initio calculations. The carboxylic acid deuteron CS tensor agrees well with empirical relationships to hydrogen-bond distance.
Pituitary necrosis and vasospasm following removal of craniopharyngioma

Abstract We report a case of vasospasm complicating delayed pituitary necrosis after craniopharyngioma resection in an 18-year old female. This is the first reported case that utilizes aggressive blood pressure management, fluid optimization, and rheologic doses of mannitol to successfully treat severe symptomatic vasospasm.
Finite-state coding of individual sequences

It is shown that as window width goes to infinity the sliding-window form of the Lempel-Ziv algorithm compresses an individual sequence as well as block-to-variable finite-state coding. Examples are given showing that this can be better than the compression achievable by block-to-block finite-state codes with vanishing probability of error, and that a version of LZ with unbounded memory can do better.
“And I look down and he is gone”: Narrating autism, elopement and wandering in Los Angeles

'Wandering' and 'elopement' have been identified as common in autism, affecting half of all diagnosed children ages four to ten, yet families rarely receive advice from practitioners even after the fact. Family perspectives have been missing from the literature as well as from public health and policy debates on how and when to respond to this problem. The problem of 'wandering' and 'elopement' reveals a complex intersection of larger issues encountered by families of children with autism. To consider these issues, this article examines 'wandering' and 'elopement' from the perspectives of African American mothers of children with autism, an underrepresented group in autism research. We consider how the mothers experience these behaviors and the response to these behaviors by professionals, such as service coordinators and law enforcement personnel working within various jurisdictions that become involved with the problem. We analyze the mothers' narratives about 'wandering' and 'elopement' drawn from ethnographic interviews that were collected between October 1, 2009 and August 31, 2012. These interviews were part of a larger project on disparities in autism diagnosis and services that followed a cohort of 25 four to ten-year old children. Drawing on narrative, phenomenological and interpretive traditions, we trace the mothers' developing understandings of 'wandering' and 'elopement' over time, and show how these understandings become elaborated and transformed. This article provides a nuanced, moment-to-moment and longitudinal picture of the mothers' experiences of 'wandering' and 'elopement' that enriches the cross-sectional view of large-scale surveys about the problem and contributes unique insights at the family and community levels. Implications for professional awareness, clinical practice and service provision are also suggested.
Voter Turnout in Presidential Democracies

Numerous studies indicate that political institutions play an important role in explaining variation in voter turnout across countries. The nuances of institutions unique to presidential elections have been largely overlooked, however, despite the different incentives they offer for voters to participate in elections. This article examines the effect that four presidential institutions had on voter turnout in presidential elections between 1974 and 2004—the timing of elections (whether concurrent or nonconcurrent), the power of the presidency, presidential electoral rules (plurality or majority runoff), and reelection rules. To isolate the effect of presidential institutions, this study controls for other likely influences on turnout, including the economic environment and the wider political context. It finds that (a) runoff elections dampen turnout whereas incumbency spurs it and (b) more powerful presidencies and elections, when held concurrently with legislative elections, have little effect on voter ...
Inhibition of Ovulation by Synthetic Samples of the Tetrapeptide Originally Isolated from Hamster Embryos

The tetrapeptide,H-thr-pro-axg-lys’OH,has been synthesized in 5 laboratories. The natural tetrapeptide,extracted from hamster embryos, prevents maturation of Graafian folliclesand the subsequent appearance of postovulatory structures when administered daily during 1 estrous cycle prior to the anticipated ovulation. The synthetic compounds, injected s.c., were tested for the same biological effectin both hamsters and rats.Only the compound prepared by Drs. R. W. Roeske and K. U. Prasad (Indiana) and that prepared by CalBioChem were biologically effective. The Roeske and Prasad sample was administered orally to hamsters and was effective. The basis for the presence or absence of biological activity in the 5 samples tested was correlated with the apparent proportion of active tetrapeptide per sample using isolation of components on Sephadex G-1O as the main technique.
Is the gender citation gap in international relations driven by elite papers

This paper reanalyses data from a recent widely-discussed study reporting that female-authored papers published in top international relations journals received fewer citations than equivalent male-authored papers. The reanalysis indicated that the gender citation gap is largely limited to elite papers, defined either as papers in the right tail of the citation distribution or as papers published in the most familiar journals. Results suggest that the original study’s recommendation to consider the gender citation gap in promotion and review requires more data and a better understanding of the factors that influence whether a paper enters the discipline’s elite.
Statistical model for strange particle and isobar production in proton-antiproton annihilation.

The statistical model is applied to the process P+""P---7K+K+mr with the resonances, K*, w, and p included as intermediate states. The energy range 0.50 to 2.00 Bev (ji kinetic energy in the laboratory) is considered and results are presented for various combinations of assumptions for the volume parameters, tJ,. In particular, it is seen that the case when !2,=!2p=!J,.=4P:/3(h/m,.c)3 and !JK*=!JK is not inconsistent with the presently available ex· perimental data for this process. Included in the results are the average pion multiplicity, frequency of isobar production and charged prong distributions, all as a function of energy.
Enterprise knowledge management

Many enterprises downsize to adapt to more competitive environments, but unless they have captured the knowledge of their employees, downsizing can result in a loss of critical information. Similarly, as employees leave, organizations are likely to lose access to large quantities of critical knowledge. As companies expand internationally, geographic barriers can affect knowledge exchange and prevent easy access to information. These and other forces are pushing enterprises to explore better methods for knowledge management. Enterprise knowledge management entails formally managing knowledge resources, typically by using advanced information technology. KM is formal in that knowledge is classified and categorized according to a prespecified, but evolving, ontology into structured and semistructured data and knowledge bases. The overriding purpose of enterprise KM is to make knowledge accessible and reusable to the enterprise. The business world is becoming so concerned about knowledge management that, according to one report, over 40 percent of the Fortune 1000 now have a chief knowledge officer, a senior-level executive responsible for creating an infrastructure and cultural environment for knowledge sharing. This article surveys some components of this young field.
Scattering of transverse-electric electromagnetic waves with a finite nonlinear film

Exact analytical results for the scattering of a plane transverse-electric electromagnetic wave with a nonlinear thin film is derived. Optical bistable and multistable behaviors in the reflectivity as a function of the input intensity are found.
T cell receptor-dependent cell death of T cell hybridomas mediated by the CD30 cytoplasmic domain in association with tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factors

CD30 is a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily and a surface marker for Hodgkin's disease. Normal activated T cells and several virally transformed T or B cell lines also show CD30 expression. The interaction of CD30 with its ligand induces cell death or proliferation, depending on the cell type. In this report we characterize the signals mediated by the intracellular domain of CD30 and show that, in combination with signal(s) transduced by the T cell receptor, the multimerization of CD30 cytoplasmic domain induces Fas(CD95)-independent cell death in T cell hybridomas. Deletion analysis shows that the COOH-terminal 66 amino acids of CD30 are required to induce cell death. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we have identified that the same region of CD30 interacts with tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor (TRAF)1 and TRAF2. These results indicate that TRAF1 and/or TRAF2 play an important role in cell death in addition to their previously identified roles in cell proliferation.
Choline requirement of hatchery-produced juvenile white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

Abstract An 8-week growth experiment was conducted to determine the dietary protein requirement of hatchery-produced juvenile white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus). Twenty-five-week-old sturgeon with an initial body weight of 145.2±0.2 g (mean±SE, n=24) were fed 1.5% of their body weight per day one of the eight purified diets which contained from 20.0 to 52.7% crude protein. Protein of these diets was supplied with graded amounts of a protein mixture (casein:wheat gluten:egg white, 62:30:8). Percent body weight increase (%BWI), feed gain ratio, protein efficiency ratio, and productive protein value were significantly (P
The Tpr protein: linking structure and function in the nuclear interior?

As the organelle housing the genome, the nucleus plays a fundamental role in the operation of the cell. A large number of essential and complex functions occur there, including DNA packaging and replication, RNA transcription, RNA processing, and mRNA transport. The number and complexity of these tasks has long led to suggestions of internal nuclear structures that organize and facilitate these functions (e.g., see Comings 1968). During the past several years, considerable new evidence has accumulated for nuclear functions occurring in discrete spatial domains (for a review, see Strouboulis and Wolffe 1996).
Efficient color histogram indexing

In image retrieval based on color, the weighted distance between color histograms of two images, represented as a quadratic form, may be defined as a match measure. However, this distance measure is computationally expensive (naively O(N/sup 2/) and at best O(N) in the number N of histogram bins) and it operates on high dimensional features (O(N)). We propose the use of low-dimensional, simple to compute distance measures between the color distributions, and show that these are lower bounds on the histogram distance measure. Results on color histogram matching in large image databases show that pre-filtering with the simpler distance measures leads to significantly less time complexity because the quadratic histogram distance is now computed on a smaller set of images. The low-dimensional distance measure can also be used for indexing into the database. >
Real-time energy management of a stand-alone hybrid wind-microturbine energy system using particle swarm optimization

Energy sustainability of hybrid energy systems is essentially a multi-objective, multi-constraint problem, where the energy system requires the capability to make rapid and robust decisions regarding the dispatch of electrical power produced by generation assets. This process of control for energy system components is known as energy management. In this paper, the application of particle swarm optimization (PSO), which is a biologically-inspired direct search method, to find real-time optimal energy management solutions for a stand-alone hybrid windâ€“microturbine energy system is presented. Results demonstrate that the proposed PSO-based energy management algorithm can solve an extensive solution space while incorporating many objectives such as: minimizing the cost of generated electricity, maximizing microturbine operational efficiency, and reducing environmental emissions. Actual wind and end-use load data were used for simulation studies and the well-established sequential quadratic programming (SQP) optimization technique was used to validate the results obtained from PSO. Promising simulation results indicate the suitability of PSO for real-time energy management of hybrid energy systems.
A symbolic algorithm for computing recursion operators of nonlinear partial differential equations

A recursion operator is an integro-differential operator which maps a generalized symmetry of a nonlinear partial differential equation (PDE) to a new symmetry. Therefore, the existence of a recursion operator guarantees that the PDE has infinitely many higher-order symmetries, which is a key feature of complete integrability. Completely integrable nonlinear PDEs have a bi-Hamiltonian structure and a Lax pair; they can also be solved with the inverse scattering transform and admit soliton solutions of any order. A straightforward method for the symbolic computation of polynomial recursion operators of nonlinear PDEs in (1+1) dimensions is presented. Based on conserved densities and generalized symmetries, a candidate recursion operator is built from a linear combination of scaling invariant terms with undetermined coefficients. The candidate recursion operator is substituted into its defining equation and the resulting linear system for the undetermined coefficients is solved. The method is algorithmic and is implemented in Mathematica. The resulting symbolic package PDERecursionOperator.m can be used to test the complete integrability of polynomial PDEs that can be written as nonlinear evolution equations. With PDERecursionOperator.m, recursion operators were obtained for several well-known nonlinear PDEs from mathematical physics and soliton theory.
Prevention of Superficial Wound Separation with Subcutaneous Retention Sutures

The objective of this prospective study was to determine the efficacy of subcutaneous retention sutures in the prevention of superficial wound separation in obese women undergoing gynecologic surgery. From 1985 to 1990, 80 women with subcutaneous tissue of 5 cm or greater undergoing laparotomy were randomly assigned to either standard wound closure (37 patients) or closure including subcutaneous retention sutures (43 patients). We examined the relationship of the following factors to the development of superficial wound dehiscence: malnutrition (total protein 180 min), intraoperative spillage of enteral contents, and subcutaneous retention sutures. In a univariate analysis, malnutrition (P = 0.02), the use of heparin (P = 0.03), and the absence of retention sutures (P = 0.02) were associated with an increased risk of separation. In a multivariate analysis, malnutrition (P = 0.02), low-dose heparin (P = 0.03), and the absence of retention sutures (P = 0.04) retained their independent association with superficial wound separation. This study suggests that the use of subcutaneous retention sutures reduces the incidence of superficial wound separation in obese women undergoing gynecologic surgery.
Carbon cluster formation during thermal decomposition of octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine and 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene high explosives from ReaxFF reactive molecular dynamics simulations.

We report molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the first-principles-based ReaxFF reactive force field to study the thermal decomposition of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) at various densities and temperatures. TATB is known to produce a large amount (15−30%) of high-molecular-weight carbon clusters, whereas detonation of nitramines such as HMX and RDX (1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine) generate predominantly low-molecular-weight products. In agreement with experimental observation, these simulations predict that TATB decomposition quickly (by 30 ps) initiates the formation of large carbonaceous clusters (more than 4000 amu, or 15−30% of the total system mass), and HMX decomposition leads almost exclusively to small-molecule products. We find that HMX decomposes readily on this time scale at lower temperatures, for which the decomposition rate of TATB is about an order of magnitude slower. Analyzing the ReaxFF MD results leads to the detailed atomistic structure of this carbon-rich phase of TATB and allows characterization of the kinetics and chemistry related to this phase and their dependence on system density and temperature. The carbon-rich phase formed from TATB contains mainly polyaromatic rings with large oxygen content, leading to graphitic regions. We use these results to describe the initial reaction steps of thermal decomposition of HMX and TATB in terms of the rates for forming primary and secondary products, allowing comparison to experimentally derived models. These studies show that MD using the ReaxFF reactive force field provides detailed atomistic information that explains such macroscopic observations as the dramatic difference in carbon cluster formation between TATB and HMX. This shows that ReaxFF MD captures the fundamental differences in the mechanisms of such systems and illustrates how the ReaxFF may be applied to model complex chemical phenomena in energetic materials. The studies here illustrate this for modestly sized systems and modest periods; however, ReaxFF calculations of reactive processes have already been reported on systems with 106 atoms. Thus, with suitable computational facilities, one can study the atomistic level chemical processes in complex systems under extreme conditions.
Antimalarial Synergy of Cysteine and Aspartic Protease Inhibitors

It has been proposed that the Plasmodium falciparum cysteine protease falcipain and aspartic proteases plasmepsin I and plasmepsin II act cooperatively to hydrolyze hemoglobin as a source of amino acids for erythrocytic parasites. Inhibitors of each of these proteases have potent antimalarial effects. We have now evaluated the antimalarial effects of combinations of cysteine and aspartic protease inhibitors. When incubated with cultured P. falciparum parasites, cysteine and aspartic protease inhibitors exhibited synergistic effects in blocking parasite metabolism and development. The inhibitors also demonstrated apparent synergistic inhibition of plasmodial hemoglobin degradation both in culture and in a murine malaria model. When evaluated for the treatment of murine malaria, a combination of cysteine and aspartic protease inhibitors was much more effective than higher concentrations of either compound used alone. These results support a model whereby plasmodial cysteine and aspartic proteases participate in the degradation of hemoglobin, and they suggest that combination antimalarial therapy with inhibitors of the two classes of proteases is worthy of further study.
The basics of pharmacogenomics: Review the basics of genomics and available tests

Pharmacogenomics, which is the study of genes that determine drug behavior, is a field which has seen an increase in research and discoveries which impact the diagnosis and treatment of various disease states. This article reviews the basic concepts of pharmacogenomics and the genomic tests which are currently available.
Evidence suggesting the regulation of a coagulation factor levels in rabbits by a transferable plasma agent

New Zealand white rabbits were given 30 ml of goat serum intravenously. This procedure resulted in an immediate decrease in platelet count, fibrinogen, and levels of coagulation factors II, V, VII, and X, due to consumption coagulopathy. These factors returned toward baseline levels approximately 12 hr after the injection. Plasma from rabbits who had received goat serum 48 hr previously (donor rabbits) was injected into recipient rabbits. This procedure resulted in a slight rise in the level of coagulation factor II (range, 20%-30%) and a significant rise in factors V (35%-75%), VII (35%-235%), and X (35%-75%) in the recipients. When plasma from control donor rabbits who had not received goat serum was injected into recipients, there was no change in these coagulation factors. It is postulated that the reduction in coagulation factor levels in donor rabbits induces a “coagulopoietin” for each factor or one “coagulopoietin” for all factors which stimulates increased synthesis and/or release of these factors in recipient rabbits.
Agribusiness and value chain management students' attitude towards entrepreneurship in Haramaya University, Ethiopia: promises or practices of modularisation?

Despite the implementation of modularised approach of teaching in the undergraduate agribusiness and value chain management (ABVM), formerly named agribusiness management (ABM), programme in Haramaya University, how it influenced students' entrepreneurship attitude remained unstudied. This study intended to assess ABVM and ABM students' attitude towards entrepreneurship role. The study was conducted in the second semester of the 2012/2013 academic year. A structured questionnaire and availability sampling techniques were used to select a total of 128 students. The Guttmann's three-point scale was used to identify the attitude of students. Results revealed that 93.7% of them perceived entrepreneurship role positively. Students with entrepreneur(s) family have statistically significant access to ICT. ABVM students found to have a positive and significant perception towards employability and income generation role of entrepreneurship. Hence, the promises not the practice of modularised teaching highly influenced the attitude of students. Focus is needed on practical aspects of modularisation.
Infrastructural action in Vietnam: Inverting the techno-politics of hacking in the global South

This article introduces the concept of infrastructural action and argues that it serves as a useful analytical tool to understand hacking in the global South. Infrastructural action consists of the delicate ways in which people establish socio-technical connections when located along the margins of global modernity. In Vietnam, hacking is situated within the illicit circulations of global commodities. These circulations form pervasive infrastructures for clandestine importation of “hand-carried” goods into the country. Embedded within these circulations, hacking consists of a strategy for breaking into global techno-culture rather than breaking out of socio-technical limitations. By contextualizing hacking within the larger dilemmas of distance within global integration, this notion of infrastructural action serves as a critique of the techno-political ethos of transgression typical of hacking discourses in the global North.
The Battle for the Rule of Law: The Case of the Western Balkans and the EU

Since the successful integration of the Central and Eastern European states into the European Union in the early to late 90’s, the EU wanted to try to replicate the same success in the poorer South Eastern (Balkans) states. However the long standing ethnic disputes, wide-spread corruption, little history with democracy, weak civil societies and the failure of the integration of Bulgaria and Romania, have created many barriers for the policy’s achievement. I aim to explore why the European Union’s enlargement policy integration in Western Balkans has not been nearly as successful in the Central and Eastern European states. At the heart of the enlargement policy is the establishment of democratic institution of rule of law. I will argue that the countries of the Western Balkans that have better infrastructure, cooperation with political elites and clear political incentives have the greatest rule of law acceptance. By looking at four Western Balkans states, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, this paper will determine and access the various rule of law institutions, such as protection of minorities, the independence and efficiency of the judicial system, the fight against organized crime, the weakening of corruption, the acceptance of international laws and norms, the control of private violence, and impunity. With a combination of new data provided by the Watchdog organizations like Freedom House, European Commission reports, and various scholars’ works, I will provide a complete picture on why the enlargement policy has been half-heartedly implemented.
Petroleum oils as mosquito larvicides and pupicides. I. Correlation of physicochemical properties with biological activity.

The literature on the direct effects of petroleum oil, such as toxicity and suffocation, is reviewed. Laboratory evaluations were made against the southern house mosquito, Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus Say. Aromatic and paraffin content, boiling range, and viscosity of petroleum oils affected parricidal and suicidal activity indirectly by influencing the rate at which area covered by oil film was reduced by evaporation of paraffin oils or contraction of aromatic oils into lenses or globules. The rate of reduction of the area covered as film aged was shown to he correlated with the rate of reduction of parricidal and suicidal activity. The same effect was achieved by initially ally treating only a small portion of the surface. Frames were used to divide the surface into 2 sections and only 1 section, representing 50 or 75% of the total surface area, was treated.
1 / f Noise in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon

Measurements of co-planar current fluctuations in n-type doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) find that the spectral density of the noise accurately obeys a 1/f frequency dependence over the frequency range of 1 Hz to 1 kHz for temperatures ranging from room temperature to 450K. The noise displays a power law dependence on the d.c. curent passing through the sample, with a temperature dependent power law exponent. In addition, the resistance of the a-Si:H as a function of time displays switching phenomena; a surprising result given the effective volume ( ∼10 -6 cm 3 ) of the sample.
Perfecting breast-cancer treatment--incremental gains and musculoskeletal pains.

A fundamental feature of adjuvant therapy (treatment of apparently disease-free people to reduce the risk of recurrence) is that many are treated to benefit a few. The options for the adjuvant treatment of hormone-sensitive breast cancer have expanded in recent years. On the basis of meta-analyses of individual-patient data in studies dating back to 1985, tamoxifen has remained the standard of care in breast cancer. Tamoxifen reduces the annual rates of breast-cancer recurrence by almost half and mortality by one third. In absolute terms, this translates to 11.8 fewer recurrences and 9.2 fewer deaths per 100 women at 15 years. . . .
The Road to Hell is Paved with 'Particular Intentions' Reviewing Marrianne Wesson, a Death at Crooked Creek: The Case of the Cowboy, the Cigarmaker, and the Love Letter (NYU Press 2013)

If the proposition that all law is history needs proof, then Marianne Wesson’s A Death at Crooked Creek stands in evidence. Wesson weaves an attractive narrative fabric out of a legal record, historical context, and imagined scenes and dialogue.
Latte: a language, compiler, and runtime for elegant and efficient deep neural networks

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have undergone a surge in popularity with consistent advances in the state of the art for tasks including image recognition, natural language processing, and speech recognition. The computationally expensive nature of these networks has led to the proliferation of implementations that sacrifice abstraction for high performance. In this paper, we present Latte, a domain-specific language for DNNs that provides a natural abstraction for specifying new layers without sacrificing performance. Users of Latte express DNNs as ensembles of neurons with connections between them. The Latte compiler synthesizes a program based on the user specification, applies a suite of domain-specific and general optimizations, and emits efficient machine code for heterogeneous architectures. Latte also includes a communication runtime for distributed memory data-parallelism. Using networks described using Latte, we demonstrate 3-6x speedup over Caffe (C++/MKL) on the three state-of-the-art ImageNet models executing on an Intel Xeon E5-2699 v3 x86 CPU.
The use of magnesium sulfate as the primary tocolytic agent to prevent premature delivery

The efficacy of magnesium sulfate was evaluated as the primary tocolytic agent in the management of patients at risk for premature delivery. One hundred ninety-two patients determined to be 36 weeks' gestation or less were treated. One hundred seven patients (55.7%) received an additional oral beta-mimetic agent once labor was arrested. One hundred nineteen patients had intact membranes and 73 patients had ruptured membranes. Delay of delivery of 48 hours or longer was achieved in 70.6% of the patients with intact membranes and 60.2% of patients with ruptured membranes. Intervening obstetric complications, maternal morbidity, and neonatal septic and respiratory morbidity were increased in patients with ruptured membranes compared to patients with intact membranes. Magnesium sulfate is considered to be effective tocolytic agent having minimal adverse effects in managing patients at risk for premature delivery. Its use in patients with ruptured membranes, as with any tocolytic agent, remains controversial.
Improving Binding Affinity and Selectivity of Computationally Designed Ligand-Binding Proteins Using Experiments

The ability to de novo design proteins that can bind small molecules has wide implications for synthetic biology and medicine. Combining computational protein design with the high-throughput screening of mutagenic libraries of computationally designed proteins is emerging as a general approach for creating binding proteins with programmable binding modes, affinities, and selectivities. The computational step enables the creation of a binding site in a protein that otherwise does not (measurably) bind the intended ligand, and targeted mutagenic screening allows for validation and refinement of the computational model as well as provides orders-of-magnitude increases in the binding affinity. Deep sequencing of mutagenic libraries can provide insights into the mutagenic binding landscape and enable further affinity improvements. Moreover, in such a combined computational-experimental approach where the binding mode is preprogrammed and iteratively refined, selectivity can be achieved (and modulated) by the placement of specified amino acid side chain groups around the ligand in defined orientations. Here, we describe the experimental aspects of a combined computational-experimental approach for designing-using the software suite Rosetta-proteins that bind a small molecule of choice and engineering, using fluorescence-activated cell sorting and high-throughput yeast surface display, high affinity and ligand selectivity. We illustrated the utility of this approach by performing the design of a selective digoxigenin (DIG)-binding protein that, after affinity maturation, binds DIG with picomolar affinity and high selectivity over structurally related steroids.
The Presence of Oxygen in Wound Healing

Oxygen must be tightly governed in all phases of wound healing to produce viable granulation tissue. This idea of tight regulation has yet to be disputed; however, the role of oxygen at the cellular and molecular levels still is not fully understood as it pertains to its place in healing wounds. In an attempt to better understand the dynamics of oxygen on living tissue and its potential role as a therapy in wound healing, a substantial literature review of the role of oxygen in wound healing was performed and the following key points were extrapolated: 1) During energy metabolism, oxygen is needed for mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase as it produces high-energy phosphates that are needed for many cellular functions, 2) oxygen is also involved in the hydroxylation of proline and lysine into procollagen, which leads to collagen maturation, 3) in angiogenesis, hypoxia is required to start the process of wound healing, but it has been shown that if oxygen is administered it can accelerate and sustain vessel growth, 4) the antimicrobial action of oxygen occurs when nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-linked oxygenase acts as a catalyst for the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), a superoxide ion which kills bacteria, and 5) the level of evidence is moderate for the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for diabetic foot ulcers, crush injuries, and soft-tissue infections. The authors hypothesized that HBOT would be beneficial to arterial insufficiency wounds and other ailments, but at this time further study is needed before HBOT would be indicated.
Mechanisms of Gonadal Steroid Actions on Behavior

In all known species of vertebrates, gonadal steroid hormones are powerful regulators of reproductive behavior. In laboratory studies, there is substantial evidence that the behavioral effects of gonadal steroids occur exclusively through actions on the brain. The ablation of particular regions of the rat hypothalamus will eliminate the facilitation of feminine sexual behavior by estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P), whereas the direct application of picogram quantities of E2 and P to the same regions is sufficient to stimulate sexual behavior.
A Philosophical Overview

Earlier philosophers who analyzed the role of fundamental theories in physics generally assigned linguistic analysis a preliminary role. Quine and Sellars each developed methodologies for proceeding from an ordinary language framework to a final unifying framework based on anticipations of the structure ultimate theories should have. The assumption was that only the final framework supplies the true ontology. Reactions against their syntactic conception of theories led to a semantic conception of theories. The emphasis on individual theories led to interpretation through models with no role for linguistic analysis. However, linguistic considerations are indispensable when one analyzes the normal functioning of experimental and theoretical physics. Ordinary language implicitly contains various inference-supporting structures that were gradually modified in the protracted development of the language of physics. Here we consider two such structures, categorization and the metaphorical extension of terms to new contexts. We also draw on Davidson’s semantics.
The Role of Industry Effects in Simultaneous Reversal and Momentum Patterns in One-Month Stock Returns

ABSTRACTWhen stocks are ranked by returns in one month, the portfolio of loser stocks tends to outperform the portfolio of winner stocks in the subsequent month. Yet industry portfolios tend to display momentum. We develop a model of information diffusion among agents with constrained information processing ability that reconciles these well-documented phenomena. We test whether this model or the overreaction hypothesis is consistent with the data. Additionally, a trading strategy based on the model outperforms strategies based on overreaction and on industry momentum. The strategy produces abnormal returns while controlling for market–risk and the size, book value, January, momentum, and liquidity effects.
The effect of regadenoson on the integrity of the human blood-brain barrier, a pilot study.

Regadenoson is an FDA approved adenosine receptor agonist which increases blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability in rodents. Regadenoson is used clinically for pharmacologic cardiac stress testing using SPECT or CT imaging agents that do not cross an intact BBB. This study was conducted to determine if standard doses of regadenoson transiently disrupt the human BBB allowing higher concentrations of systemically administered imaging agents to enter the brain. Patients without known intracranial disease undergoing clinically indicated pharmacologic cardiac stress tests were eligible for this study. They received regadenoson (0.4 mg) followed by brain imaging with either 99mTc-sestamibi for SPECT or visipaque for CT imaging. Pre- and post-regadenoson penetration of imaging agents into brain were quantified [SPECT: radioactive counts, CT: Hounsfield units (HU)] and compared using a matched-pairs t-test. Twelve patients (33% male, median 60 yo) were accrued: 7 SPECT and 5 CT. No significant differences were noted in pre- and post-regadenoson values using mean radionuclide counts (726 vs. 757) or HU (29 vs. 30). While animal studies have demonstrated that regadenoson transiently increases the permeability of the BBB to dextran and temozolomide, we were unable to document changes in the penetration of contrast agents in humans with intact BBB using the FDA approved doses of regadenoson for cardiac evaluation. Further studies are needed exploring alternate regadenoson dosing, schedules, and studies in patients with brain tumors; as transiently disrupting the BBB to improve drug entry into the brain is critical to improving the care of patients with CNS malignancies.
Anterior Approach for Ankle Arthrodesis

End-stage ankle arthritis may be treated successfully with either an ankle arthrodesis or arthroplasty. Both surgical interventions have demonstrated success with regard to pain relief and function. Ankle arthrodesis is indicated for patients with recalcitrant ankle pain despite appropriate nonoperative intervention. Patients who have a history of posttraumatic arthritis from a high-energy injury, soft-tissue compromise, limited range of motion, or deformity may be superior candidates for arthrodesis. The surgical technique can be undertaken with either an open or an arthroscopic approach. An open anterior approach with an anatomic precontoured locking plate is ideal for patients with deformity and/or bone loss. Additionally, the use of a precontoured plate assists with achieving a neutral alignment in both the coronal and the sagittal plane, which is critical to the long-term success of the procedure. No hardware, however, substitutes for appropriate surgical technique, which is the focus of this video article. The procedure includes the following steps:An anterior extensile incision is made immediately lateral to the anterior tibial tendon, extending to the level of the talonavicular joint.Dissection is taken with care to avoid the superficial peroneal nerve in the distal aspect of the incision. The extensor retinaculum is incised either longitudinally or in a z-shaped fashion to facilitate closure.Deep dissection may be taken through the sheath of the anterior tibial tendon, which substantially decreases the risk of injury to the deep neurovascular bundle. Alternatively, dissection may be taken through the extensor hallucis longus (EHL) to avoid violation of the anterior tibial tendon sheath. The neurovascular bundle is directly posterior to the EHL at the level of the ankle joint.The ankle joint is exposed, with the removal of tibial and talar osteophytes.The joint surfaces are prepared.The precontoured ankle arthrodesis plate, which is used to improve alignment, is positioned and placed.Compression is achieved using the "Achilles tension band technique," which furthers compression through the ankle.An additional transarticular screw is placed. The expected outcome of the procedure, based on recent clinical outcomes, is osseous union, and the rate of union has been reported to range from 91% to 96%. Improvement in function and pain relief are associated with a successful arthrodesis. Despite a slow deterioration of functional outcomes and radiographic progression of arthritis, clinical improvement with a high rate of patient satisfaction has been noted at a mean of 9 years postoperatively.
Screening for Vascular Pathology: Current Guidelines and Recommendations

Vascular disease is a major public health burden. Screening has the ability to offer timely initiation of preventative therapies and intervention to reduce the risk of future cardiovascular events. We summarize the screening guidelines for abdominal aortic aneurysm, carotid stenosis, and peripheral artery disease in this chapter.