cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rhythm and the Characteristic Pronunciation of a Language

The rhythm is certainly one of the most fundamental characteristics of the pronunciation of a language, and is often most difficult for a foreigner to acquire. The play of the word accents, the rhythmic grouping of the phrases, the differences in the length of the syllables are all difficult, and all important for a good “accent.” And it is not the case that one can first master the “elements” of the pronunciation, the “sounds” and then set them in the rhythm.It is easy to see that the rhythm has a vital influence on the details of pronunciation; the word accent often determines the function of the consonant as arresting or releasing and also determines the syllable in which the consonant shall function; the rhythm at high speed determines the slurring or the full pronunciation of syllables. In the end the rhythm guides the phonetice changes which every languageis undergoing.
Upward Bound to a PhD in Chemistry

“Mom! I am the only kid in high school who knows what an NMR is!” My career path to a PhD in chemistry included raising a son—as a single parent. Once I made the decision to go back to college and to earn a degree, I realized that a career and a family life were hard to balance, but it could be done. I wanted a better life for my family and realized that this included getting a college education. This path to a PhD in chemistry started in a small way in high school though I must admit that I did not like high school chemistry. I can say that I embraced a career in chemistry after working with some amazing mentors who helped me navigate undergraduate and graduate school as a student and as a single mom (Fig. 1).
Evaluating duration of response to treatment in systemic lupus erythematosus clinical trials.

Objective To evaluate response duration and identify predictors of transitioning into and out of the response state in patients with SLE receiving standard of care (SoC) in 52-week clinical trials. Methods A multistate model (MSM) allowing for bidirectional transitions between response and non-response states was fit to data on 759 patients with SLE with active disease randomised to SoC. The probability of being in response at 52 weeks, average duration of response (sojourn time) and mean total time in response for SLE Responder Index (SRI-4, SRI-5, SRI-6) and BILAG-based Composite Lupus Assessment (BICLA) were estimated. Predictors of attainment and loss of SRI-5 response were also assessed. Results The MSM estimated probability of being in response at 52 weeks ranged from 42% (SRI-6) to 61% (SRI-4). Mean duration of response ranged from 20.4 weeks (BICLA) to 31.5 weeks (SRI-4). Mean total time in response was 16.4–24.8 weeks. Baseline characteristics predictive of shorter SRI-5 response duration were African descent (p=0.005), longer history of disease (p=0.03), higher anti-dsDNA antibody titres (p=0.039), lower lymphocyte count (p=0.008) and lower haemoglobin (p=0.006). Younger age (p Conclusion Factors associated with disease severity were more predictive of shorter response duration than of 52-week response status. Analysing landmark response rates and response duration using MSM may be a more powerful way to distinguish effective investigational treatments from background SoC, although this remains to be evaluated in future trials.
Accelerating the Global Arrays ComEx Runtime Using Multiple Progress Ranks

Partitioned Global Address Space (PGAS) models are a part of system software that is being designed to support communication runtimes for exascale applications. MPI has been shown to be a viable option to develop a scalable PGAS communication subsystem and has the advantages of its standardization and higher performance. We used MPI two-sided semantics with a combination of automatic and user defined splitting of MPI communicators to achieve asynchronous progress. Our implementation can make use of multiple asynchronous progress ranks (PR) per node that can be mapped to the computing architecture of a node in a distributed cluster. We are able to show significant speed up of over 2.0X and scaling of a communication bound computational chemistry application distributed over 1024 nodes of state-of-the-art HPC clusters. Our results show that while running a communication bound application workload on a certain number of cluster nodes, an optimum number of ranks dedicated for communication can be found to achieve asynchronous communication progress and obtain highest performance.
Descriptors for Itch Related to Chronic Wounds.

Introduction Wound-related itch can be a source of great discomfort for patients with chronic wounds. Although itch is common among patients with chronic wounds, it is an understudied phenomenon. A greater understanding of itch is needed in order for clinicians to more effectively manage it. Objective The purpose of this study is to identify descriptors for wound-related itch based on patient responses. Methods Data from structured interviews of patients with chronic wounds were analyzed. Those patients who described wound-related itch were asked to rate how much various descriptors matched their itch on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 4 (to a great extent). Analysis included descriptive statistics and principal components factor analysis. Results Fifty-six of 199 (28%) patients with wound-related itch rated descriptors, and 5 categories of descriptors were identified. A concise set of 15 descriptors of itch related to chronic wounds was defined from this. Conclusions This list of descriptors for wound-related itch can be tested further for clinical use and for research purposes when wound-related itch is being explored.
Gait Evaluation for Patients with Cerebral Palsy

Children with the diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP) often demonstrate abnormal and inefficient gait pattern that cause increased energy demands when walking. Because a person’s self-selected gait pattern and walking speed are the individual’s most efficient, gait analysis is an important part of clinical evaluation. Gait analysis is performed by visual observation or by using specialized equipment. A three-dimensional gait analysis is a complete and systematic evaluation of walking. Instrumented gait analysis includes the simultaneous measurement of dynamic joint motions (kinematics), joint forces (kinetics), and muscle activity (electromyography), coupled with a passive examination of tone, range of motion, and muscle strength/control of the lower extremities. Instrumented gait analysis, using a three-dimensional motion capture system, is considered the standard of care for developing appropriate treatment plan for ambulatory children diagnosed with CP. This chapter reviews the principles of gait analysis (observational and instrumented) with the focus on children and adolescents with the diagnosis of CP. Discussion will include methodology for collecting and interpreting electromyography, kinematic, and kinetic data. Additionally, examples of observation and instrumented gait analyses data are presented to assist new clinicians providing care related to walking for children with the diagnosis of CP.
Quotatives in English and Spanish among bilinguals

This study analyzes the use of quotatives in recorded conversations in English and Spanish between nine pairs of young Spanish-English bilingual friends from Southern Arizona. A total of 1,304 tokens of quotatives from eighteen hours of recorded conversations (nine hours in each language) were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively according to content of the quote, tense, grammatical person, sex, and language dominance. The English quotative system of these young bilinguals was saturated with be like (78.68%, 620/788) while the preferred quotative in Spanish was decir (to say) (50%, 259/518), mirroring results of previous studies in both languages (Cameron, 1998; Holguin-Mendoza, 2015; Tagliamonte and D'Arcy, 2007). The remaining forms of quotatives in both languages were unpacked into eight distinct categories in English and ten different categories in Spanish. While both be like in English and decir 'to say' in Spanish favored introducing reported speech, the more innovative strategies of direct quotation in both languages appear to favor introducing internal monologue. Language contact in the speech of the bilingual participants does not radically influence the use of quotatives in both languages since only a few tokens of decir in English (0.38% 3/788) and be like in Spanish (5.21%, 27/518) were documented.
Resilient Machine Learning (rML) Ensemble Against Adversarial Machine Learning Attacks

Machine Learning (ML) algorithms have been widely used in many critical applications, including Dynamic Data Driven Applications Systems (DDDAS) applications, automated financial trading applications, autonomous vehicles, and intrusion detection systems for the decision-making process of users or automated systems. However, malicious adversaries have strong interests in manipulation the operations of machine learning algorithms to achieve their objectives in gaining financially, injecting injury or disasters. Adversaries against ML can be classified based on their capabilities and goals into two types: Adversary who has full knowledge of the ML models and parameters (white-box scenario) and one that does not have any knowledge and use guessing techniques to figure out the ML model and its parameters (black-box scenario). In both scenarios, the adversaries will attempt to maliciously manipulate model either during training or testing. Defending against these attacks can be successful by following three methods: 1) making the ML model robust to adversary, 2) validating and verifying input, or 3) changing ML architecture. In this paper, we present a resilient machine learning (rML) ensemble against adversarial attacks by dynamically changing the ML architecture and the ML models to be used such that the adversaries have no knowledge about the current ML model being used and consequently stop their attempt to manipulate the ML operations at testing phase. We evaluate the effectiveness of our rML ensemble using the benchmarking, zero-query dataset “DAmageNet” that contains both clean and adversarial image samples. We use three main neural networks in our ensemble that includes VGG16, ResNet-50, and ResNet-101. The experimental results show that our rML can tolerate the adversarial samples and achieve high classification accuracy with small execution time degradation.
Relationship satisfaction and sleep problems among college students: Serial indirect effects via relationship mindfulness and negative emotional symptoms.

This study examined relationship mindfulness and negative emotional symptoms as serial mediators between relationship satisfaction and sleep problems. Participants: Participants were 242 college st...
Spice Use among Adolescents in the United States: A National Profile of Synthetic Cannabinoid Users

To provide an updated profile of school-aged synthetic cannabinoid users in the U.S. by examining the factors associated with synthetic cannabinoid (SC) use. Data from the 2015 and 2017 Youth Risk ...
Hemoglobin fractionation by Sebia Capillarys 2 Flex Piercing System as primary method for evaluation of hemoglobinopathies.

Abstract Background Hemoglobin fractionation by capillary zone electrophoresis (CE) is becoming a popular method for the identification of hemoglobin variants that can cause hemoglobinopathies. The goal of this study was to compare the performance of capillary electrophoresis using Sebia Capillarys 2 Flex Piercing system (CE-S) with high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) using Primus Ultra2 Resolution Variants System (HPLC-P) as a primary method in hemoglobinopathy work-up. Methods A total of 306 blood specimens submitted for evaluation of hemoglobinopathies were studied using HPLC-P and CE-S. Results The reference ranges for Hb A, A2 and F agreed well between methods. All common variants containing Hb S and Hb C were detected by both methods. Quantification of Hb A2 with HPLC-P required a correction in the presence of Hb S, while quantification of Hb A2 was slightly overestimated by CE-S in the presence of Hb C. Of 41 samples containing other variants, 2 were not identified by HPLC-P and 3 were not identified by CE-S. Conclusion CE-S provides comparable information to that obtained by HPLC-P and it is a reliable primary method for the evaluation of hemoglobin variants.
Mast Cells: A New Frontier for Cancer Immunotherapy

Mast cells are unique tissue-resident immune cells of the myeloid lineage that have long been implicated in the pathogenesis of allergic and autoimmune disorders. More recently, mast cells have been recognized as key orchestrators of anti-tumor immunity, modulators of the cancer stroma, and have also been implicated in cancer cell intrinsic properties. As such, mast cells are an underrecognized but very promising target for cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss the role of mast cells in shaping cancer and its microenvironment, the interaction between mast cells and cancer therapies, and strategies to target mast cells to improve cancer outcomes. Specifically, we address (1) decreasing cell numbers through c-KIT inhibition, (2) modulating mast cell activation and phenotype (through mast cell stabilizers, FceR1 signaling pathway activators/inhibitors, antibodies targeting inhibitory receptors and ligands, toll like receptor agonists), and (3) altering secreted mast cell mediators and their downstream effects. Finally, we discuss the importance of translational research using patient samples to advance the field of mast cell targeting to optimally improve patient outcomes. As we aim to expand the successes of existing cancer immunotherapies, focused clinical and translational studies targeting mast cells in different cancer contexts are now warranted.
The impact of a faculty development program, the Leadership in Academic Medicine Program (LAMP), on self-efficacy, academic promotion and institutional retention.

Academic medical centers invest considerably in faculty development efforts to support the career success and promotion of their faculty, and to minimize faculty attrition. This study evaluated the impact of a faculty development program called the Leadership in Academic Medicine Program (LAMP) on participants’ (1) self-ratings of efficacy, (2) promotion in academic rank, and (3) institutional retention. Participants from the 2013–2020 LAMP cohorts were surveyed pre and post program to assess their level of agreement with statements that spanned domains of self-awareness, self-efficacy, satisfaction with work and work environment. Pre and post responses were compared using McNemar’s tests. Changes in scores across gender were compared using Wilcoxon Rank Sum/Mann-Whitney tests. LAMP participants were matched to nonparticipant controls by gender, rank, department, and time of hire to compare promotions in academic rank and departures from the organization. Kaplan Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine differences. There were significant improvements in almost all self-ratings on program surveys (p < 0.05). Greatest improvements were seen in “understand the promotions process” (36% vs. 94%), “comfortable negotiating” (35% vs. 74%), and “time management” (55% vs. 92%). There were no statistically significant differences in improvements by gender, however women faculty rated themselves lower on all pre-program items compared to men. There was significant difference found in time-to-next promotion (p = 0.003) between LAMP participants and controls. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that LAMP faculty achieved next promotion more often and faster than controls. Cox-proportional-hazards analyses found that LAMP faculty were 61% more likely to be promoted than controls (hazard ratio [HR] 1.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16–2.23, p-value = 0.004). There was significant difference found in time-to-departure (p < 0.0001) with LAMP faculty retained more often and for longer periods. LAMP faculty were 77% less likely to leave compared to controls (HR 0.23, 95% CI 0.16–0.34, p < 0.0001). LAMP is an effective faculty development program as measured subjectively by participant self-ratings and objectively through comparative improvements in academic promotions and institutional retention.
Development of dual arv-825 and nintedanib-loaded pegylated nano-liposomes for synergistic efficacy in vemurafnib-resistant melanoma

A novel treatment strategy by co-targeting c-Myc and tumor stroma was explored in vemurafenib-resistant melanoma. BRD4 proteolysis targeting chimera (ARV-825) and nintedanib co-loaded PEGylated nanoliposomes (ARNIPL) were developed to incorporate a synergistic cytotoxic ratio. Both the molecules have extremely poor aqueous solubility. A modified hydration method with citric acid was used to improve the loading of both the molecules in liposomes. ARNIPL with mean particle size 111.1 ± 6.55 nm exhibited more than 90% encapsulation efficiency for both the drugs and was found to be physically stable for a month at 4 °C. Both the molecules and ARNIPL showed significantly higher cytotoxicity, apoptosis and down-regulation of target proteins BRD4 and c-Myc in vemurafenib-resistant cell line (A375R). Vasculogenic mimicry and clonogenic potential of A375R were significantly inhibited by ARNIPL. Tumor growth inhibition in 3D spheroids with reduction of TGF-β1 was observed with ARNIPL treatment. Therefore, ARNIPL could be a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of vemurafenib-resistant melanoma.
Durability of plasma sprayed Thermal Barrier Coatings with controlled properties part II: Effects of geometrical curvature

Abstract The present investigation elucidates the effects of substrate curvature on the durability of Air Plasma Sprayed (APS) Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs). Traditionally, planar disk specimens are utilized in Furnace Cycle Testing (FCT). In most cases, delamination is initiated at the disk's free edge and then propagates along the TBC-bond coat interface. However, in turbine components (e.g., blades/vanes), they lack significant free edges and the coatings are deposited on non-flat surfaces of varying radii of curvature. These geometrical discrepancies imply significant differences in the stress states as compared to planar disk specimens. Therefore, the part geometry inevitably affects the TBC failure mechanisms in the turbine system, and consequently influences TBC durability. Nevertheless, these effects have not been fully explored in the past, despite the anecdotal knowledge which suggests the leading edge of turbine blades to be one of the most common failure/spallation locations. In this study, representative TBC systems were deposited onto superalloy disks with flat substrate and rods with curved substrate. The experimental results from FCT suggest TBC durability on rods is significantly lower than when sprayed on disks. Furthermore, the durability of TBCs on rods appears to increase with higher porosity, which is contradictory to reported trends for TBCs on disks. In addition, the effects of various bond coats are not consistent with those observed in disks. To clarify the underlying effects of curved geometries, detailed stress analyses were performed. They revealed a state of thermal stresses which is unique to curved geometries. It was found that TBC on rods experience tensile radial stresses as well as tensile hoop stresses during the cooling. These stresses result in a complex interplay in failure processes in rods, which explains the different observed trends in the durability from those obtained with disks.
Staying Connected: Using Quality Improvement to Bridge the Communication Gap Between Pediatric Hospitalists and Primary Care Providers.

Communication is a complex phenomenon that is woven into virtually every aspect of medicine. It occurs at all hours of the day between various care team members (eg, between physicians, between nurses, between physicians and patients, etc) and in multiple settings and scenarios, making a universal approach or even standardization seemingly impossible. Yet, research has revealed that effective communication improves patient outcomes and decreases medical errors and/or adverse events.1 In contrast, poor communication may generate unintended adverse events, medical errors, and/or provider and patient dissatisfaction and is often cited as a root cause of sentinel events.2,3 With the advance of pediatric hospital medicine as a subspecialty, the divide between inpatient and outpatient care has grown, adding a new layer of complexity and leaving a critical communication gap between hospitalists and primary care providers (PCPs) ripe for intervention.4–10 In recognition of the importance of communication and the existing gaps in discharge communication, this month’s issue of Hospital Pediatrics features a series of admirable quality improvement (QI) studies.11–13 In these articles, researchers tackle the vital yet multifaceted and often challenging topic of communication between inpatient and outpatient providers surrounding patient discharge. Clark et al11 aimed to increase documentation of 2-way communication between hospitalists and PCPs for patients determined to be “high-risk” discharges. Of the average weekly high-risk discharges, their team was able to improve this 2-way communication, from a baseline of 7% to a peak of 39%, but met challenges reaching their goal of 60%. Any documented discharge communication attempts also increased but, similarly, remained below their goal. Interestingly, authors noted that the hospitalist dissatisfaction rate increased throughout the study in follow-up surveys; they attributed this to disagreement with high-risk criteria and discontent with the new communication expectation. In another QI report, …
Central and Peripheral Clock Control of Circadian Feeding Rhythms

Many behaviors exhibit ~24-h oscillations under control of an endogenous circadian timing system that tracks time of day via a molecular circadian clock. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, ...
Echocardiography-Based Hemodynamic Monitoring Use on Inpatients Listed for Heart Transplantation Under 2018 Allocation Policy in United States.

ABSTRACT Background One notable change to the 2018 United Network for Organ Sharing listing criteria was to allow for the use of noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring for inpatients listed as status 3 for heart transplantation. We wanted to explore the feasibility of performing daily focused echocardiograms in place of invasive monitoring in this population. Methods On retrospective chart review of inpatients listed for transplantation at our institution, 8 patients in the invasive monitoring group listed as status 1A (October 2016 to October 2018) and 9 patients in the echocardiographic group listed as status 3 (October 2018 to February 2020) were identified. Results There were no significant differences between the 2 cohorts in the average measured/estimated right atrial, pulmonary artery systolic, and wedge pressures, although the echo cohort had lower cardiac index (P = .001). There were 2 patients with positive blood cultures treated with Swan exchange in Swan cohort and a total of 14 Swan exchanges. There were no infections in the noninvasive group. Conclusion We present our experience with the use of noninvasive daily hemodynamic assessment using focused echocardiograms to manage patients undergoing heart transplantation listing as status 3 under the new United Network for Organ Sharing allocation system. This approach appears safe and feasible; however, it requires validation in larger cohorts.
Structure-Function Correlations of Colon and Distal Nephron

Intestinal epithelia and epithelia lining the nephron have a special attraction for membrane physiologists because of prominent structure-function correlations, unique segmental differentiation, and highly specialized functional differences between individual cell types within segments. This review aims to compare the similarities and differences in structure-function characteristics of epithelia in the colon and collecting duct system in the mammal. Our intent is to provide support for the proposition that the terminal segments of intestine and nephron, involved in the final regulation of electrolyte composition of fecal water and urine, employ anatomical structures and transport mechanisms for the regulation of transepithelial movement of electrolytes that are basically similar. Differences in structure and the incorporation of specialized cells are best explained by the unique roles played by intestine and kidney in the absorbance of nutrients as a source of energy and in overall regulation of water and electrolyte homeostasis, respectively. Details of molecular mechanisms that subserve ion transport will only be listed to the extent that they serve our aim, since they are comprehensively reviewed in other parts of this volume and elsewhere.
Hydraulic Design of Slotted Spillways Buckets

Slotted roller bucket for use as submerged energy dissipator is developed from hydraulic model tests and is compared with solid-type bucket; charts are presented for hydraulic design of slotted bucket for various combinations of discharge, height of fall, and tail water range; bucket is shown to be particularly suited to installations where tail water is too deep for hydraulic jump.
Laser-Doppler Velocimetry and Flow Visualization of 3-D Flows

The laminar flow over a prolate spheroid was investigated via flow visualization and Laser-Doppler Velocimetry. Experiments were conducted in a water tunnel and the flow was visualized with dyes. The measurement of three-dimensional boundary layers required a special design of the laser optics. Attention was focused in the neighborhood of three-dimensional separation.
Information sharing in a distributed enterprise: Impact on supply chain performance and decision-making

In this paper we discuss a spatial decomposition approach for enterprise modeling, highlighting the need for information exchange between distributed enterprise units to solve an enterprise optimization problem. This approach shows potential for significant solution speedup in enterprise optimization in particular as the problem size increases. We motivate our ideas using a multisite scheduling problem and present a distributed computing framework for enterprise modeling, simulation and optimization.
Preparing School Age Children for Adoption

This paper presents the results of an exploratory study that examined the preparation of children for adoption from the perspective of 55 adoptive parents and 26 caseworkers. Results indicate littl...
Stereoselectivity in nucleophilic addition to unsaturated ligands bound to molybdenum: Allylic alkylation of cyclohexanone

Abstract The stereochemistry and regiochemistry of nucleophilic addition to olefinic, allylic, or diene moieties can be controlled in reactions of molybdenum complexes. The synthesis of a wide range of α-allylic cyclohexanones is feasible using (η5-cyclopentadienyl)Mo(CO)(NO)(allyl) cations. The stereoselective preparation of (RS,SR)-2-(1-methyl-2-butenyl)cyclohexanone from the reaction of 1-pyrrolidino-1-cyclohexene with [CpMo(CO)(NO)(η3-1,3-dimethylallyl)]BF4 illustrates the methodology.
Cardiac stem cell therapy: Have we put too much hype in which cell type to use?

Injection of various stem cells has been tested with the hopes of improving cardiac function after a myocardial infarction (MI). However, there is continued controversy as to which cell type is best for repair. Due to technical differences in cell isolation, processing, delivery, and cardiac functional assessment by various investigators, it has been difficult to directly compare the results of different cells. Using same techniques to evaluate the efficacy of different cell types, we have separately delivered bone marrow cells (BMCs), cardiospheres (CSs), CS-derived Sca-1+/CD45− cells, human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, and BMC extract into infarcted murine myocardium and found that all of these treatments reduce infarct size and improve cardiac function post-MI similarly without one regimen being superior to another. The beneficial effects appear to be via paracrine influences. Different progenitors lead to improved cardiac function post-MI, but it is premature to hype any specific cell type at this time.
Multivariate exponential families and the Taguchi loss function

Taguchi uses a loss function concept to quantify quality as loss due to functional variation. When there is one variable under study a quadratic loss function is used. When the system under consideration is defined by p-variables which may or may not be correlated a more general loss function should be defined. We use information theory to define a multivariate loss function based on a divergence measure between two probability distributions that belong to the multivariate exponential family. The two distributions are the ideal or factory distribution that our data should follow and the other is the real distribution of the multivariate data. This divergence measure uses the concept of the Kullback-Leibler information number.
Determining the lower limit of human vision using a single-photon source

We discuss the use of a source of single photons to investigate possible single-photon vision in humans.
The synthesis and chelation properties of the oximes of certain pyridinyl- and diazinylmethyl ketones

Two series of oximes derived from pyridinyl and diazinylmethyl ketones have been prepared and tested with regard to their metal-chelation properties.
Adjuvant Radiotherapy for Synchronous Bilateral Testicular Seminoma: A Case Report and a Review of the Pertinent Literature

Few cases of synchronous bilateral stage I seminomas have been reported in the world literature. We present a case of bilateral synchronous testicular seminoma, the current literature on the management of stage I seminoma, and the implications for radiotherapy. A forty-year-old man presented with synchronous bilateral classical seminomas, both stage IA. After undergoing bilateral inguinal orchiectomy, he received adjuvant external beam radiotherapy, with a standard paraaortic field. After 18 months of followup, he remains well, without evidence of recurrence. Bilateral germ cell tumors (BGCTs) are reported consistently at a low rate. Bilateral radical inguinal orchiectomy is standard of care, yet some groups have proposed an organ preservation approach. Of the reported cases of bilateral stage I synchronous GCT, with concordant seminoma histology, most of them were treated with bilateral orchiectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy. Although morbidity associated with radiotherapy directed at the abdomen is not negligible, adjuvant paraaortic radiotherapy remains safe and well-tolerated treatment regime. Bilateral synchronous stage I seminoma of the testes is rare. Organ preservation remains investigational. Chemotherapy is probably a reasonable option. We propose that patients with bilateral stage I synchronous GCT, with concordant seminoma histology, should be managed with bilateral orchiectomy, followed by paraaortic radiotherapy.
Theory of 1f noise in electrolytic resistors and in concentration cells

Abstract It is shown that the 1 f noise in electrolytic resistors and in the open-circuit voltage of electrolytic concentration cells, both observed by Hooge and Gaal, can also be explained by properly chosen density fluctuations. The explanation requires that the positive and negative ion fluctuations are partially correlated and that clusters of positive and negative ions are absorbed at and released from the walls.
Establishment of the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort Colorectal Tissue Repository

Background: To better understand colorectal cancer etiology and prognosis, archived surgical tissues were collected from Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II) Nutrition Cohort participants who were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Herein, the methodology for this collection is described to help inform other efforts to collect tissues. Methods: The main components to accruing tissue were: (i) obtaining consent from participants or next-of-kin; (ii) contacting hospitals to request materials; and (iii) pathology review and laboratory processing. Results: In CPS-II, we identified 3,643 participants diagnosed with colorectal cancer between 1992/1993 and 2009. Of these, tissue could not be sought from cases verified through state cancer registry linkage ( N = 1,622), because of insufficient information on tissue location. We sought tissue from the 2,021 cases verified using medical records, and received tissue from 882. When hospitals were contacted within 10 years of diagnosis, we received 87% of tissue materials; beyond that 10-year mark, we received 32%. Compared with the 2,761 colorectal cancer cases without tissue, the 882 cases with tissue were more likely to be alive, diagnosed more recently during follow-up, and had less-advanced staged disease. Cases with and without tissues were similar with respect to age at diagnosis, smoking, body mass index, physical activity, and other epidemiologic factors. Conclusions: Some of the most important elements in forming a tissue repository included having the cases' hospital contact and surgical accession information as well as contacting patients/next-of-kin and hospitals within 10 years of surgery. Impact: This tissue repository will serve as an important resource for colorectal cancer studies. See all the articles in this [ CEBP Focus ][1] section, “Biomarkers, Biospecimens, and New Technologies in Molecular Epidemiology.” Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(12); 2694–702. ©2014 AACR . [1]: http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/23/12.toc#CEBPFocus
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency in a Child with a Healthy Adenosine Deaminase Deficient Mother

Summary: We investigated adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficient severe-combined immunodeficiency (SCID) in an 8-month-old child with ADA deficient mother. The ADA deficiency in the child was unusual in that the thymic histology was normal. In addition, the thymocytes formed E-rosettes with sheep erythrocytes and were stimulated by T-cell mitogens. ADA activity could not be detected in the child's thymocytes.
Cleavage of organopolysilanes by lithium aluminum hydride. Intermediate(organosilyl)aluminum compounds

Abstract The reductive cleavage of siliconsilicon bonds in phenyl-substituted organopolysilanes by lithium aluminum hydride has been shown to occur in refluxing tetrahydrofuran. The reaction of hexaphenyldisilane was studied in greater detail, and the results show that the cleavage produces intermediate(organosilyl)aluminum compounds. The formation of the latter from reactions of triphenylsilyllithium with some aluminum compounds was also investigated.
Accelerating Pairwise Computations on Cell Processors

Direct computation of all pairwise distances or interactions is a fundamental problem that arises in many application areas including particle or atomistic simulations, fluid dynamics, computational electromagnetics, materials science, genomics and systems biology, and clustering and data mining. In this paper, we present methods for performing such pairwise computations efficiently in parallel on Cell processors. This problem is particularly challenging on the Cell processor due to the small sized Local Stores of the Synergistic Processing Elements, the main computational cores of the processor. We present techniques for different variants of this problem including those with large number of entities or when the dimensionality of the information per entity is large. We demonstrate our methods in the context of multiple applications drawn from fluid dynamics, materials science and systems biology, and present detailed experimental results. Our software library is an open source and can be readily used by application scientists to accelerate pairwise computations using Cell accelerators.
A semi-analytic theory for the motion of a lunar satellite

Lunar satellite motion semianalytic solution, considering perturbative effects due to gravitational fields, solar radiation pressure and libration
Concurrent engineering: The manufacturing philosophy for the 90's

Abstract Concurrent Engineering (CE) has recently been recognized as a more integrated approach to develope high quality products and bringing them to highly competitive global market at lower price and in significantly less time. In the past few years, an increasing effort has been made to understand and implement the principles of CE. However, there has been insufficient attempt to document these principles systematically. This paper examines the subject of CE and the ongoing studies which emphasize its various functions. A summary is presented and the projection of possible future research is discussed.
DNA oxidation induced by cyclooxygenase-2.

The inducible form of cyclooxygenase, COX-2, has been shown to be overexpressed in various types of tumors, including colon and prostate cancer. Several studies indicate that COX-2 inhibition can be beneficial for the prevention of these types of cancer. Since COX-2 reactions involve production of reactive oxygen radicals that can potentially damage biological macromolecules, we explored the possibility that DNA and/or nucleosides can be oxidized during cyclooxygenase reactions. When DNA or nucleosides were incubated with COX-2 and arachidonic acid, a significant increase in the amount of 8-oxo-2‘-deoxyguanosine was observed. This increase was enzyme-dependent and could be prevented by COX-2 inhibitors as well as by antioxidants. These data indicate that peroxyl radicals or other oxidized species formed during conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin G2 might be responsible for the observed oxidation. These results suggest also that overexpression of COX-2 in inflammatory diseases places an additio...
Suspended sand transport in surf zones

[1] Three tests were conducted in a wave flume to investigate time-averaged suspended sediment transport processes under irregular breaking waves on equilibrium beaches consisting of fine sand. Free surface elevations were measured at ten locations for each test. Velocities and concentrations were measured in the vicinity of the bottom at 94 elevations along 17 vertical lines. The relations among the three turbulent velocity variances are found to be similar to those for the boundary layer flow. The vertical variation of the mean velocity, which causes offshore transport, is fitted by a parabolic profile fairly well. The vertical variation of the mean concentration is fitted by the exponential and power-form distributions equally well. The ratio between the concentration standard deviation σC and the mean varies little vertically. The correlation coefficient γUC between the horizontal velocity and concentration, which results in onshore transport, is of the order of 0.1 and decreases upward linearly. The offshore and onshore transport rates of suspended sediment are estimated and expressed in terms of the suspended sediment volume per unit area. A time-averaged numerical model is developed to predict as well as the mean and standard deviation of the free surface elevation and horizontal velocity. The bottom slope effect on the wave energy dissipation rate DB due to wave breaking is included in the model. The computation can be made well above the still water shoreline with no numerical difficulty. Reflected waves from the shoreline are estimated from the wave energy flux remaining at the shoreline. The numerical model is in agreement with the statistical data except that the undertow current is difficult to predict accurately. The measured turbulent velocities are found to be more related to the turbulent velocity estimated from the energy dissipation rate Df due to bottom friction. The suspended sediment volume expressed in terms of DB and Df can be predicted only within a factor of about 2. The roller effect represented by the roller volume flux does not necessarily improve the agreement for the three tests.
A New Method of Edge Correction for Estimating the Nearest Neighbor Distribution. Revised.

Analysis of data in the form of a set of points irregularly distributed within a region of space usually involves the study of some property of the distribution of inter-event distances. One such function is G, the distribution of the distance from an event to its nearest neighbor. In practice, point processes are commonly observed through a bounded window, thus making edge effects an important component in the estimation of G. Several estimators have been proposed, all dealing with the edge effect problem in different ways. This paper proposes a new alternative for estimating the nearest neighbor distribution and compares it to other estimators. The result is an estimator with relatively small mean squared error for a wide variety of stationary processes.
MARINER V: PLASMA AND MAGNETIC FIELDS OBSERVED NEAR VENUS.

Abrupt changes in the amplitude of the magnetic fluctuations, in the field strength, and in the plasma properties, were observed with Mariner V near Venus. They provide clear evidence for the presence of a bow shock around the planet, similar to, but much smaller than, that observed at Earth. The observations appear consistent with an interaction of the solar wind with the ionosphere of Venus. No planetary field could be detected, but a steady radial field and very low plasma density were found 10,000 to 20,000 kilometers behind Venus and 8,000 to 12,000 kilometers from the Sun-Venus line. These observations may be interpreted as relating to an expansion wave tending to fill the cavity produced by Venus in the solar wind. The upper limit to the magnetic dipole moment of Venus is estimated to be within a factor of 2 of 10^(-3) items that of Earth.
The Proprotein Convertase KPC-1/Furin Controls Branching and Self-avoidance of Sensory Dendrites in Caenorhabditis elegans

Animals sample their environment through sensory neurons with often elaborately branched endings named dendritic arbors. In a genetic screen for genes involved in the development of the highly arborized somatosensory PVD neuron in C. elegans, we have identified mutations in kpc-1, which encodes the homolog of the proprotein convertase furin. We show that kpc-1/furin is necessary to promote the formation of higher order dendritic branches in PVD and to ensure self-avoidance of sister branches, but is likely not required during maintenance of dendritic arbors. A reporter for kpc-1/furin is expressed in neurons (including PVD) and kpc-1/furin can function cell-autonomously in PVD neurons to control patterning of dendritic arbors. Moreover, we show that kpc-1/furin also regulates the development of other neurons in all major neuronal classes in C. elegans, including aspects of branching and extension of neurites as well as cell positioning. Our data suggest that these developmental functions require proteolytic activity of KPC-1/furin. Recently, the skin-derived MNR-1/menorin and the neural cell adhesion molecule SAX-7/L1CAM have been shown to act as a tripartite complex with the leucine rich transmembrane receptor DMA-1 on PVD mechanosensory to orchestrate the patterning of dendritic branches. Genetic analyses show that kpc-1/furin functions in a pathway with MNR-1/menorin, SAX-7/L1CAM and DMA-1 to control dendritic branch formation and extension of PVD neurons. We propose that KPC-1/furin acts in concert with the ‘menorin’ pathway to control branching and growth of somatosensory dendrites in PVD.
Pilot Evaluation of a Media Literacy Program for Tobacco Prevention Targeting Early Adolescents Shows Mixed Results

Abstract Purpose. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the impact of media literacy for tobacco prevention for youth delivered through a community site. Design. A randomized pretest-posttest evaluation design with matched-contact treatment and control conditions. Setting. The pilot study was delivered through the YMCA in a lower-income suburban and rural area of Southwest Virginia, a region long tied, both economically and culturally, to the tobacco industry. Subjects. Children ages 8 to 14 (76% white, 58% female) participated in the study (n = 38). Intervention. The intervention was an antismoking media literacy program (five 1-hour lessons) compared with a matched-contact creative writing control program. Measures. General media literacy, three domains of tobacco-specific media literacy (“authors and audiences,” “messages and meanings,” and “representation and reality”), tobacco attitudes, and future expectations were assessed. Analysis. Multiple regression modeling assessed the impact of the i...
Envisioning ecological engineering education: An international survey of the educational and professional community

Abstract Nearly half a century ago, H.T. Odum envisioned a sustainable approach to systems design where human intervention would be supplementary to nature. He referred to this concept as ecological engineering and suggested that practitioners should receive an education beyond the rigors of engineering. To understand natural processes needed to design, develop, and restore natural systems successfully, Odum suggested ecological engineers should have an expanded knowledge of environmental systems and ecology. Furthermore, he recommended broadening educational exposure to social science and liberal arts. The field of ecological engineering has blossomed in the years since Odum expressed his vision, but universities have not adopted his suggested curriculum, and undergraduate engineering students have generally seen a reduction in social science and liberal arts courses. This paper compares Odum's vision with the surveyed visions of an international group of ecological engineers, who assessed the value and characteristics of an ecological engineering undergraduate education. The respondents’ perspectives vary with their location, education, and profession; however, most participants in this survey share Odum's vision, and are dissatisfied with existing curricula. Participants outside of the United States were more confident that something approaching Odum's vision for a program in ecological engineering could be delivered at the undergraduate level.
How communication changes when we cannot mime the world: Experimental evidence for the effect of iconicity on combinatoriality

Abstract Communication systems are exposed to two different pressures: a pressure for transmission efficiency, such that messages are simple to produce and perceive, and a pressure for referential efficiency, such that messages are easy to understand with their intended meaning. A solution to the first pressure is combinatoriality — the recombination of a few basic meaningless forms to express an infinite number of meanings. A solution to the second is iconicity — the use of forms that resemble what they refer to. These two solutions appear to be incompatible with each other, as iconic forms are ill-suited for use as meaningless combinatorial units. Furthermore, in the early stages of a communication system, when basic referential forms are in the process of being established, the pressure for referential efficiency is likely to be particularly strong, which may lead it to trump the pressure for transmission efficiency. This means that, where iconicity is available as a strategy, it is likely to impede the emergence of combinatoriality. Although this hypothesis seems consistent with some observations of natural language, it was unclear until recently how it could be soundly tested. This has changed thanks to the development of a line of research, known as Experimental Semiotics, in which participants construct novel communication systems in the laboratory using an unfamiliar medium. We conducted an Experimental Semiotic study in which we manipulated the opportunity for iconicity by varying the kind of referents to be communicated, while keeping the communication medium constant. We then measured the combinatoriality and transmission efficiency of the communication systems. We found that, where iconicity was available, it provided scaffolding for the construction of communication systems and was overwhelmingly adopted. Where it was not available, however, the resulting communication systems were more combinatorial and their forms more efficient to produce. This study enriches our understanding of the fundamental design principles of human communication and contributes tools to enrich it further.