cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The chemical character of fluids forming diagenetic illite in the Southern Appalachian Basin

Diagenetic illite (mixed layer illite-smectite, I-S) from Ordovician and Devonian potassium bentonite (K-bentonite) and shales was studied in the proximal southern Appalachian Basin (Alabama through Virginia) to understand in more detail the timing of illite formation as well as attempt to describe the chemistry of the fluids that formed illite during the Alleghanian Orogeny through combined K/Rb and oxygen isotope analyses. The clay fraction of the K-bentonites is composed predominantly of illite-smectite (I-S) and chlorite. Most I-S exhibited Kalkberg order (IISI) with >85% illite layers. The K-Ar dates of I-S from Ordovician K-bentonites and Devonian K-bentonites mostly range from 260-310 Ma and indicate I-S formed during the Alleghanian Orogeny. Internally concordant dates and similar percentages of illite layers of I-S are measured from several samples collected within a thick (1 m) Ordovician K-bentonite at Fort Payne, Alabama. The oxygen isotopic values (δ 1 8 O) of I-S range from 18-23‰ SMOW.At lowest levels of thermal maturity and burial, as seen by conodont alteration index values (CAI) of 1.5-2.0, the range in δ 1 8 O values of water in equilibrium with I-S is 2.5-3.5‰. At higher thermal maturity (CAI = 2.5-4.5), the δ 1 8 O of water in equilibrium with I-S is from 4.5 to 12‰. The δ 1 8 O analyses are mostly consistent with I-S having formed in the presence of orogenic (i.e., saline) waters. The mean K/Rb of the Appalachian illites from this study is 325 (N = 20). This mean K/Rb is also consistent with the formation of diagenetic I-S in the presence of a saline fluids having higher K activities than meteoric waters. The combined data indicate these diagenetic illites in K-bentonites formed from saline/orogenic waters during the Alleghanian Orogeny along the Valley and Ridge Province in the southern Appalachian Basin. Although the data rule out formation of diagenetic illite in the presence of meteoric water or long-term reaction with connate formation waters, the combined data cannot distinguish the source and the mechanism (tectonic push or flush from tectonic highlands) for the movement of saline fluids in the Appalachian Basin.
Taking the Internet to the Next Physical Level

Our physical universe has been transformed by computing's ubiquity. The authors describe the challenges and delights we'll find in a future enabled by the Internet of Things.
INTERMITTENT PTH AND MECHANICAL LOADING INCREASE THE QUALITY, QUANTITY AND MECHANICAL INTEGRITY OF A POROUS TITANIUM IMPLANT-BONE INTERFACE

Summary Statement The modulation of both quantity and quality of peri-implant bone with either PTH or loading may be viable options to improve implant fixation and patient outcomes. A strong bone-implant interface is essential for successful joint replacement surgery. This study investigated the differences in bone surrounding and within a porous titanium implant after single or combined treatment with two anabolic bone therapies: intermittent parathyroid hormone (teriparatide) and mechanical loading. Porous titanium implants were inserted bilaterally on the distal lateral femurs of rabbits. The right implant was loaded daily (1 MPa, 50 cycles/day) while the left implant was not. Rabbits received daily PTH injections (20 ug/kg) or saline vehicle. Periprosthetic cancellous bone 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mm below the implant surface, bone at the 0.25 mm bone-implant interface and total bone within each implant were examined using tissue-level analyses (quantitative backscattered electron microscopy), cellular analyses (immunohistochemistry staining of osteoblasts with procollagen-1 and TRAP staining of osteoclasts), and shear testing (implant-bone interface). Statistical significance was determined using GEE models (p Both PTH and loading enhanced the mechanical integrity of the implant-bone; shear strength increased 34% and 60%, respectively. Although combined treatment was not synergistic, both PTH and loading individually enhanced the amount and mineralization density of bone at the implant interface and immediately below the interface, thereby increasing the mechanical strength of the metal-bone interface. This research suggests that modulation of both quantity and quality of peri-implant bone may be viable options to improve implant fixation and patient outcomes.
Passive seismic monitoring of the enhanced oil recovery at Delhi Field, Louisiana

An enhanced oil recovery project (EOR) is currently underway at Delhi Field, Louisiana. CO2 is being injected to improve the field production results as part of tertiary recovery. While the EOR project is being executed, geophysical monitoring is being conducted. The primary monitoring technique is time-lapse seismic; four surveys have been collected over the study area still CO2 injection began in November 2009. As an experimental test, a downhole array was placed in an abandoned well to attempt to monitor CO2 injection. The array passively recorded for a period from January 2010 to July 2010. The results were analyzed to determine if passive seismic can be used to monitor CO2 injection by attempting to detect and locate microseismic events. This type of passive survey has potential applications not just for enhanced oil recovery but also for monitoring carbon sequestration and storage.
Radio-frequency ablation in cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Current surgical treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) include radio-frequency ablation (RFA), resection, and orthotropic liver transplant (OLT). RFA is particularly attractive in these high-risk patients because surgery is associated with high mortality and there is a relative scarcity of organs available for those in need of transplants. This study was performed to evaluate the management of cirrhotic patients with HCC undergoing RFA at a single Western institution. A retrospective study from March 1999 to June 2002 was performed to evaluate the clinicopathologic and treatment-related variables in cirrhotic patients with HCC. Forty-nine lesions in 26 patients with HCC and cirrhosis underwent RFA. Data was analyzed for safety and overall survival as the main endpoints. The mean age was 60.4 ± 11 years, 19 patients were male, 5 had hepatitis B virus, and 19 had hepatitis C virus. The Child classification was 26 per cent, 39 per cent, and 35 per cent for A, B, and C; the number of lesions was 1 in 62 per cent, 2 in 23 per cent, and more than 2 in 15 per cent. The approach was laparoscopic in 58 per cent, percutaneous in 15 per cent, and open in 27 per cent. There were no mortalities and only 1 complication. Average hospital stay was 2.7 ± 2 days. Subsequent to RFA, 9 patients underwent an OLT within a median of 4.1 months. The median follow-up of the whole group was 13 months and the disease-free survival 9.3 months. Tumor recurrence was identified in 3 previously ablated lesions, nonablated liver in 11, and as pulmonary metastases in 3. Overall survival (p = 0.03) was prolonged for those treated with RFA + OLT over RFA alone. We conclude that RFA is a safe ablative technique in high-risk cirrhotic patients with HCC. This technique may provide a bridge to OLT; however, it remains to be proven whether it prolongs survival in those who do not undergo OLT.
Dissipativity with Dynamic Supply Rates

In this chapter we define a generalized notion of dissipativity that incorporates more information about a dynamical system than the standard form in Chap. 1. This is achieved by augmenting the system model with a linear system that serves as a virtual filter for the inputs and outputs. This dynamic extension is subsequently related to the frequency domain notion of integral quadratic constraints in Chap. 9. Here we derive stability and performance tests that extend those in earlier chapters to interconnections where the subsystems are dissipative with respect to the generalized definition. We present a similar generalization of the notion of equilibrium-independent dissipativity from Chap. 3, and extend the ADMM algorithm from Chap. 6 to search over supply rates that depend on filtered inputs and outputs.
Arthroscopic-Assisted Management of Acute Scaphoid Fractures

The patient was a 29-year-old male laborer status after a high-speed motor cycle injury. He presented to the emergency room with severe pain and swelling to his left wrist. He related that he was thrown off his motorcycle landing on his outstretched hyperextended wrist. Physical examination in the emergency room demonstrated a markedly deformed wrist with a moderate amount of swelling. He complained of paresthesias over the median nerve. Radiographs obtained in the emergency room revealed a displaced trans-scaphoid perilunate fracture dislocation of the left wrist. At that point, under Bier block, a closed reduction was performed reducing the wrist.
Is the Asian Miracle a Myth

We saw in the last chapter that the theoretical project outlined by Lucas takes the fact of a ‘miracle’ as a given. Therefore, the interpretation of growth as a miracle is seen as the empirical problem that requires a theoretical explanation. We have also discussed extensively the particular explanation advanced by Lucas.
Postnatal Chick Choroids Exhibit Increased Retinaldehyde Dehydrogenase Activity During Recovery From Form Deprivation Induced Myopia.

Purpose Increases in retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (RALDH2) transcript in the chick choroid suggest that RALDH2 may be responsible for increases observed in all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) synthesis during recovery from myopic defocus. The purpose of the present study was to examine RALDH2 protein expression, RALDH activity, and distribution of RALDH2 cells in control and recovering chick ocular tissues. Methods Myopia was induced in White Leghorn chicks for 10 days, followed by up to 15 days of unrestricted vision (recovery). Expression of RALDH isoforms in chick ocular tissues was evaluated by Western blot. Catalytic activity of RALDH was measured in choroidal cytosol fractions using an in vitro atRA synthesis assay together with HPLC quantification of synthesized atRA. Distribution of RALDH2 cells throughout the choroid was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results RALDH2 was expressed predominately in the chick choroid (P < 0.001) and increased after 24 hours and 4 days of recovery (76%, 74%, and 165%, respectively; P < 0.05). Activity of RALDH was detected solely in the choroid and was elevated at 3 and 7 days of recovery compared to controls (70% and 48%, respectively; P < 0.05). The number of RALDH2 immunopositive cells in recovering choroids was increased at 24 hours and 4 to 15 days of recovery (P < 0.05) and were concentrated toward the RPE side compared to controls. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that RALDH2 is the major RALDH isoform in the chick choroid and is responsible for the increased RALDH activity seen during recovery.
Factors affecting the rise of treatment of resistant bacteria in skin and soft tissue infections in the United States: 1993–2012*

AbstractBackground: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) prevalence has been steadily increasing for the past 40 years. The increase in such infections has contributed to a change in the treatment patterns of the patient. This study aimed to detail the factors determining prescription practices associated with MRSA-related skin and soft tissue infections.Methods: The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) was searched for data from 1993 to 2012 regarding the factors associated with resistant vs. non-resistant-antibiotic prescription.Results: Of all physician visits, 34.0% received resistant-antibiotic therapy and 66.0% received non-resistant-antibiotic therapy. Prescription of antibiotic-resistant therapy increased over the time period studied (Odds ratio (OR) = 1.07; 95% CI 1.05, 1.09; p < .0001). Logistic regression controlling for age, sex, race, region, metropolitan statistical area (MSA), infection type, physician specialty, number of med...
Improving Student-Athlete Academic Success: Evaluation of Learning Support Tools Utilized by Academic Advisors for Athletics

In higher education today academic support staffs are presented with a toolbox from which they must determine how to best support the academic goals of the student-athlete (Comeaux, E., & Harrison,...
Hot-pressed polymer nanofiber supported graphene membrane for high-performance nanofiltration.

Graphene oxide (GO) sheets can be readily surface-overlaid on hot-pressed electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber membrane to form a continuous and crack-free layer; upon thermal reduction at 150 °C for 12 h, the resulting reduced GO (rGO) layer can reject ~90% MgSO4 with high water flux (due to the size exclusion mechanism), making the prepared PAN-rGO membranes promising nanofiltration media for water purification. It is important to note that no delamination of GO/rGO sheet layers has been observed throughout this study. We highlight that a simple processing method (i.e., hot pressing) is critical for the successful preparation of 2D materials (e.g., GO/rGO) based membranes/media. It is envisioned that the reported study can benefit many groups working on various membrane applications of 2D materials; in other words, the hot-pressed electrospun nanofiber membranes could be generally utilized as an innovative type of platform to support various 2D sheets for different separation applications such as highly efficient and cost-effective removal of dissolved components (e.g., organic molecules) and even (hydrated) ions from water.
Chapter 8 – Estimation

We learn how to use sample data to estimate a population mean, a population variance, and a population proportion. We discuss point estimates, which are single-value estimates of the parameter. The standard error of these estimates is considered. We also consider interval estimates that contain the parameter with specified degrees of confidence.
Transplantation of the Prepuce to Facilitate Hypospadias Repair in Monozygotic Twins

AbstractWe report a case of free transplantation of the prepuce derived from a monozygotic twin to aid in the reconstruction of penoscrotal hypospadias in his brother. Although monozygotic twins discordant for hypospadias are seen rarely the possibility of preserving and transplanting the prepuce of the unaffected sibling should be considered to facilitate reconstruction of the phallus with hypospadias.
Brand-Building Pedagogy: Professional Self-Branding for Career Advancement in Kinesiology.

ABSTRACTTeaching a student how to get a job is just as important as teaching them how to do that job. This article identifies practical resources geared towards building self-awareness regarding st...
Longitudinal Outcomes of Epicardial and Endocardial Pacemaker Leads in the Adult Fontan Patient

Placement of an epicardial pacemaker system is often preferred over an endocardial system in patients who have undergone a Fontan operation, but data are limited on how these two systems perform over time in patients with Fontan palliation. We performed a retrospective review of adults with Fontan palliation who had pacemaker implantation and interrogation data at Mayo Clinic from 1994 to 2014. Lead parameters, pacing mode, and polarity were collected at the earliest device interrogation report. Clinic notes and device interrogation reports were reviewed at implantation, 6 months, and yearly after implantation to determine impedance, capture threshold (CT), and energy threshold (ET). There were 87 patients with 168 leads in the study cohort. The mean follow-up time was 7.7 years (6 months–19 years). There were 143 epicardial leads (57 atrial and 86 ventricular) and 25 endocardial leads (20 atrial and 5 ventricular). There was no difference in the baseline lead parameters between epicardial and endocardial leads for impedance (610 ± 259 versus 583 ± 156 Ω, p = 0.93), CT (2.0 ± 1.3 versus 1.8 ± 1.3 V, p = 0.28), or ET (7.1 ± 12.5 versus 6.8 ± 18.1 µJ, p = 0.29). Compared to endocardial leads, ventricular epicardial leads were associated with temporal decrease in impedance and increase in ET. Regarding clinical outcomes, epicardial leads had higher rates of failure but similar generator longevity in comparison to endocardial leads. Ventricular epicardial leads were associated with temporal decrease in impedance and increase in ET. Epicardial leads had a higher rate of failure but similar generator longevity compared to endocardial leads.
Marriage Equality? First, Justify Marriage (If You Can)

With recent positive developments in Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa, and New York, mixed success in California, and setbacks in Arizona and Florida, the marriage equality movement remains in the center of political, legal, and social debate in the United States. Proponents have argued that granting the right to marry to same-sex couples is compelled as a matter of simple fairness and equality, while opponents have continued to make a host of related - but unconvincing - arguments about the intrinsic meaning of marriage and how this will be lost or compromised if marriage equality takes hold. But below this turbulent surface, courts called upon to solve real problems confronting same-sex couples have expressly or impliedly recognized that a much deeper problem exists: the vast and often unexamined privileging of marriage over other forms of family and other kinds of relationships. Legal scholars, too, have questioned marriage - sometimes by focusing on the privileges that attach to it, but sometimes more broadly, by questioning the status itself. These unavoidable questions reveal that the controversy over same-sex marriage is but the most visible part of a much larger set of issues about equality and social justice. What public health and policy goals are we trying to further with laws recognizing and subsidizing marriage? How do the signals sent by privileging marriage advance or compromise those goals? Is there a continued justification for marriage, and, if so, ought we consider changing its prerogatives in ways that will further the public good? What might those ways be, and how will (or could) we know whether we have succeeded? This brief Article raises and explores these questions, and asks whether and to what extent the current privileging of marriage is (or is not) justified.
Inelastic Electron Tunneling Spectroscopy (IETS) — Past and Future

An outline of the history of inelastic tunneling must begin with the experiments of IVAN GIAEVER with superconducting metals which established the physical reality of the metal-insulator-metal tunneling method. Early attempts to observe electrode band structure effects at higher voltages were not successful but led to the discovery of inelastic tunneling spectroscopy of organic molecules, oxides, and electrode phonons. The study of a variety of organic species has been an active area of experimentation. Observations of electronic transitions, plasmons quantum light emission are of current interest. Possible future developments will be discussed.
The karst collaborative workspace for analyzing and annotating scientific datasets

Scientific fields of study such as astrobiology, nanotechnology, and cave and karst science involve the study of images and associated biological, physiochemical, and geological data. In order to ensure interdisciplinary analysis, it is important to make these kinds of datasets available for analysis and curation by the scientific community. The goal of this project is to design and develop an online workspace that enables scientists to collaboratively view, analyze, and annotate such datasets. The prototype contains scanning electron micrographs of karst and cave samples. The target users are the interdisciplinary community of scientists who study karst samples to learn more about critical biological and geological processes and the microbial communities often found in karst terrain. The prototype can inform the design and development of collaborative workspaces in other interdisciplinary fields.
SATELLITE-BASED MICROWAVE RETRIEVALS OF TEMPERATURE AND THERMAL WINDS: EFFECTS OF CHANNEL SELECTION AND A PRIORI MEAN ON RETRIEVAL ACCURACY

Temperatures and thermal winds are derived by using three channels from the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) aboard Tiros-N for a frontal system over the United States on April 6, 1979. The MSU retrievals are compared with radiosonde measurements and simulations of the MSU and a five-channel sounder using radiosonde computed brightness temperatures. Increasing the number of channels significantly improves the retrieval accuracy, although specific features such as boundary-layer inversions and middle tropospheric changes in lapse rate appear to be averaged out by either three-or five-channel instruments. There is, however, less vertical smoothing in the five-channel case, as shown by the larger, more accurate thermal winds derived in the frontal band compared with the MSU results. It also appears that the temperature retrieval errors at a particular pressure level are strongly dependent on the local differences in curvature between the true temperature and the a priori mean profile, and is not substantially effected by the absolute difference between these two temperatures. These error characteristics are shown to be in agreement with a general relationship between retrieval error and the departure of the true sounding from the a priori mean.
TitaniQ deformed: Experimental deformation of out-of-equilibrium quartz porphyroclasts

Abstract The role of deformation on the equilibration of Ti concentrations in quartz was investigated by running experiments on out-of-equilibrium quartz crystals embedded as porphyroclasts within quartz aggregates. Quartz crystals were first grown from a hydrostatic fluid to set the initial Ti content; crystals grown at temperatures above (925 °C) and below (875 °C) the deformation temperature (900 °C) contain Ti contents ∼60 ppm higher or lower than the equilibrium solubility. These out-of-equilibrium quartz crystals were then deformed as porphyroclasts by embedding them in a matrix composed of either dry or wet quartz to induce two end-member deformation regimes, high-stress or low-stress, respectively. In high-stress experiments, quartz porphyroclasts contain deformation bands and undulose extinction, with some grains showing evidence for grain boundary bulging (BLG) recrystallization. In low-stress experiments, some grains deformed to high strains with minimal evidence for dynamic recrystallization, resulting in ribbon grains, whereas others recrystallized by dislocation creep processes, showing microstructural evidence for subgrain rotation (SGR) and grain boundary migration (GBM) recrystallization. By comparing quartz microstructures with patterns of Ti re-distribution in variably deformed and recrystallized porphyroclasts, we find that grains deformed to high strain with minimal recrystallization show little to no evidence for re-equilibration, whereas grains that recrystallized via grain boundary processes have equilibrated Ti contents that reflect the pressure-temperature conditions of deformation.
The Etymology of English Hog

In the company of such familiar fundamental terms as boy, dog, pig, and frog, the Oxford English Dictionary lists the animal name hog as of unknown origin. Lightly edited, the quite full etymologic...
Natural Killer Cells in Cancer Immunotherapy

Natural killer (NK) cells have evolved to complement T and B cells in host defense against pathogens and cancer. They recognize infected cells and tumors using a sophisticated array of activating, ...
Generating and Framing Content: Strategic Multi-Platform Content Marketing in Academic Libraries

This column is adapted from a presentation given at the 2018 Library Marketing and Communications Conference. In it, we describe our marketing team’s approach to developing sustainable marketing pr...
Abstract 2495: Glucosamine enhances TRAIL-induces apoptosis in DU145 and Hela cancer cell lines

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has attracted wide attention and extensive research because of selective apoptosis of tumor cells but not of normal cells. However, the clinical trials using TRAIL alone were disappointed due to the resistance of cancer cells to the TRAIL-treatment. Several resistant mechanisms, such as low expression of death receptors, and overexpression of cFLIP, BCL-2 antiapoptotic family members and XIAP were proposed. Tunicamycin was reported to enhance the expression of death receptor 5 through the activation of CHOP. Similar to tunicamycin, glucosamine is known to increase the expression of CHOP by inducing ER stress. We thus investigated whether glucosamine could increase the expression of death receptor 5 to overcome TRAIL-resistance. We found that glucosamine treatment of DU145 cells did not increase the expression of death receptor 5 on the cell surface, even though the overall expression was increased. However, glucosamine significantly increased TRAIL-induced apoptosis in DU145 and Hela cells. Our investigation revealed that glucosamine sensitized cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis through both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathways, as evidenced by the cleavage of both caspase 9 and caspase 8. Our data further showed that the combination of TRAIL with glucosamine suppressed the expression of cFLIP, BCL-2 and XIAP, translocated BAK to the mitochondrial outer membrane, and released cytochrome C and SMAC from mitochondrial. Interestingly, in addition to the activation of apoptotic pathways, TRAIL-mediated inflammatory responses were attenuated by glucosamine treatment. Pretreatment of glucosamine reduced the TRAIL-induced nuclear NF-kB level and the expression of IL-6 and IL-8. Together, these results demonstrated that the combination treatment, TRAIL with glucosamine, may provide a promising novel strategy for treating different human cancers by overcoming TRAIL-resistance and inhibiting TRAIL-induced inflammation. Citation Format: Chao Sun, Viktor Chesnokov, Keiichi Itakura. Glucosamine enhances TRAIL-induces apoptosis in DU145 and Hela cancer cell lines [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2495.
The role of stigma and trauma in hepatitis C virus treatment in veterans: applying the common-sense model.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), a blood borne pathogen capable of causing severe liver disease, disproportionately affects veterans in the United States. While there are antiviral medications to treat HCV, stigma and trauma in this population may lead to avoidance of care. Those veterans who do undergo treatment have certain illness representations about HCV and its treatment. They undergo treatment even while facing stigma and trauma. The Common-Sense Model may be useful in elucidating how such representations, when matched to an appropriate illness prototype, may inform an action plan of how to respond to HCV. An exploration of the illness representations among veterans with HCV, and the effects of stigma and trauma on these representations, may help to explain how they exercise the choice to undergo treatment and may inform interventions to encourage treatment in veterans who have yet to do so.
Chapter 3 – Protein Crystals

Publisher Summary X-ray crystallography is used to examine a sample that is in the crystalline state. Crystals of many proteins and other biomoleculars have been obtained and analyzed in the X-ray beam. A few macromolecular crystals are discussed in the chapter through various figures. It gives evidence that solution and crystal structures are similar and outlines the process of growing protein crystals. From basic procedure, growing derivate crystals, to finding optimal conditions for crystal growth, the chapter discusses it all. In addition, it presents tests to judge crystal quality. The process of mounting crystals for data collection is discussed too. The chapter concludes by summarizing a few benefits of crystallography. It offers better diffraction, reduction of radiation damage to the crystal, reduction of X-ray scattering from water, possibility of safe storage, transport, and reuse of crystals.
Parathyroid Hormone as a Uremic Toxin

In chronic kidney disease (CKD) uremia is an elevation of retained toxic metabolic by-products and other compounds in the body related to reduced renal function and ultimately can result in multi-organ dysfunction. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) should be considered one of the uremic toxins associated with progressive CKD. In addition to having multiple effects on mineral metabolism associated with CKD, PTH has multiple systemic effects including myopathy, neurologic abnormalities, anemia, pruritus, and cardiomyopathy. These disorders results in significant morbidity and mortality if left untreated. Thus, clinical practice guidelines recommend frequent measurement of PTH in order to determine trends and implement appropriate treatments.
Parent concerns: Differentiating developmental diagnoses in young children

Abstract Background Screening guidelines recommend listening closely to parent concerns to aid in the identification of children with disabilities, since parent concerns may be predictive of an eventual child diagnosis. Methods We performed a secondary analysis to examine the extent to which specific parent concerns differentiated six diagnostic categories (i.e., ASD, ASD + ADHD, Disruptive Impulse-Control and Conduct Disorder, developmental delays, and speech and language disorders) among 503 children 36−72 months of age. Data was drawn for a large diagnostic center in the Midwest. Results We performed multinomial logistic regression with parent concerns differentiating six diagnostic categories. Results indicated that parent concerns preceding a diagnostic evaluation significantly differ among children with various diagnoses. Conclusion Parent concerns often aligned with core diagnostic criteria; regardless of a parent’s knowledge of diagnostic criteria, their observations of child behavior are exceptionally insightful.
Full-orbit simulations of fast-ion charge-exchange losses induced by neutral particles outside the last-closed flux surface

The interaction between neutrals outside tokamak plasmas and fast ions that are generated by neutral beam injection and pass outside the plasma is studied. It is shown that at beam energies (up to ~100~keV) fast-ion losses are significant, up to 20% in the studied case, because of charge exchange reactions between the neutrals and the fast ions. About half of the fast ions that neutralize outside the plasma get lost to the wall while the other half re-enter the plasma and ionize again, often on better confined orbits which is visible as an enhanced beam power deposition in the plasma core (rho ~< 0.7). As a result, the the plasma performance as measured from the beam-thermal neutrons is hardly changed despite the significant fast-ion losses toward the plasma edge.
How the Nonhuman World Influences Homeowner Yard Management in the American Residential Macrosystem

Although the yard is a hybrid social and material landscape, much social science research emphasizes the socio-cultural factors and has mostly neglected the potentially important influence of plants, animals, and the nonliving material world on homeowners’ decision-making. Using interviews across six metropolitan areas in the United States, we investigated the ways residential yards’ nonhuman context is perceived to influence homeowners’ relationships with and planning for their yards. We found that nonhuman dynamics establish boundaries of yard-related decision-making, and that homeowners described their relations with the nonhuman context of the yard as cooperative, oppositional, and negotiable. We call for social science in urban spaces to be more explicitly informed by a consideration of nonhuman agency, and offer an ethical reflection of who or what is considered to have a right to cohabitate in homeowners’ yards.
Neutron transmission imaging with a portable D-T neutron generator

Fast neutrons accessible from 14-MeV D-T neutron generators have higher transmission through high-Z materials compared to radiography X-rays due to a more uniform attenuation as a function of material Z. These neutrons can therefore image low-Z materials even when shielded by high-Z materials. The constraints in portable fast-neutron digital imaging systems include limited neutron output, limited light produced by neutron imaging scintillators, and lower resolution images due to large source spot size and required scintillator thickness. In addition, digital panel dark-noise counts can be 100x higher than the image signal, and variations across the panel can also be comparable to this signal. We will discuss recent efforts to develop a portable neutron-radiography system, including improved neutron scintillator, mitigation of digital panel noise, and new portable D-T neutron generators. We will also present MCNP efforts to model the system, including neutron scattering effects.
Stories to Live By

An injury prevention research program supported by funding from the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) resulted in the development, evaluation, and dissemination of approximately 70 narrative-based simulation exercises for mining industry workers in the United States (Catalog of training products, 1993). More than 400,000 copies of the mining exercises have been used in the United States, and additional copies are used in four other countries (Cole, 1993; Cole et al., 1993). Additional funding from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the Office of Surface Mining, the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, and NIOSH produced interactive-narrative exercises for firefighters, mine reclamation inspectors, hazardous-waste workers, health care providers, and farm family adult and youth workers.
94 GHz FMCW radar for low visibility aircraft landing system

The authors describe a 94 GHz bistatic FMCW (frequency-modulation continuous-wave) radar under development for an aircraft landing system. Using a narrow vertical fan beam antenna, the system scans the runaway rapidly in azimuth, processes the radar returns, and obtains a realistic real-time runway image with sufficient information and resolution to enable a pilot to operate in and out of the airport in conditions with visibility as low as zero, without dependence on today's auto-land systems. This system may use an airport's glide slope indicator to approach the landing area. The range performance requirements of the landing system are illustrated. >
Using Behavioral Experiments to Expand Our Horizons and Deepen Our Understanding of Logistics and Supply Chain Decision Making

As logistics and supply chain managers face increasingly complex challenges, there is a critical need to better understand the nuances of decision making in today’s global business environment. However, the systematic effect of behavioral biases and cognitive limits on managerial judgment and decision making in our discipline has not received much attention to date. Behavioral experiments represent a potentially valuable and currently underutilized approach for gaining insight into logistics and supply chain decision making that is commonly characterized by departures from rational thought. This article challenges logistics and supply chain researchers to consider the opportunities and realities associated with using behavioral experiments in pursuit of knowledge in this area.
Use of Autoassociative Neural Networks for Signal Validation

Recently, the use of Autoassociative Neural Networks (AANNs) to perform on-line calibration monitoring of process sensors has been shown to not only be feasible, but practical as well. This paper summarizes the results of applying AANNs to instrument surveillance and calibration monitoring at Florida Power Corporation’s Crystal River #3 Nuclear Power Plant and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory High Flux Isotope Reactor. In both cases sensor drifts are detectable at a nominal level of 0.5% instrument’s full scale range. This paper will discuss the selection of a five layer neural network architecture, a robust training paradigm, the input selection criteria, and a retuning algorithm.
Studies of NbC-WC solid solution-graphite composites

WC as densification aid for NbC-C composites, examining fabrication temperature, mechanical properties, solid solution composition, etc
Essential role of IL-17 in renal damage associated with autoimmune glomerulonephritis (CCR6P.279)

Autoimmune Glomerulonephritis results in significant mortality and morbidity in numerous auto-inflammatory kidney diseases. The chronic inflammatory state is considered to be a driving force for AGN. In recent years the IL-23/Th17 axis appears to contribute to the pathogenesis of human and experimental AGN. However, the role of IL-17 receptor signaling in renal pathology associated with AGN is poorly defined. Here, using a murine model of accelerated experimental autoimmune glomerulonephritis, we showed that IL-17RA signaling is critical for the development of renal pathology and inflammatory changes in the kidney. Consequently, mice deficient in IL-17RA signaling exhibited diminished renal inflammation and infiltration of the innate effector cells in the kidney, correlating with the reduced expression of IL-17 responsive genes. IL-17 enhanced the production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines from tubular epithelial cells, which are implicated in the recruitment of innate effector cells in the kidney. Finally, neutralization of IL-17A ameliorated renal pathology in wild type mice following aEAGN induction. These results clearly demonstrated that IL-17RA signaling significantly contributes to renal tissue injury in AGN and suggest that blocking IL-17RA may be a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of proliferative and crescentic glomerulonephritis.
Androgen Up-Regulates Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Expression and Binding Affinity in PC3 Cell Lines Expressing the Human Androgen Receptor

Androgens are required for the optimal growth and development of both the normal prostate and steroid-sensitive prostate cancer. PC3 prostate cancer cell lines stably expressing the human androgen receptor (AR) and possessing an androgen-sensitive phenotype (PC3-hAR) were used to examine the role of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in androgen-stimulated prostate cancer cell growth. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) independently induced the growth of PC3-hAR cells. Moreover, EGF and DHT in combination exerted a synergistic effect on PC3-hAR cell growth. DHT-exposed PC3-hAR cells expressed a greater than 2-fold increase in EGFR mRNA and 50% more EGFR protein than controls. Time course radioligand-binding assays confirmed these findings by showing an elevation in EGF binding in the DHT-exposed PC3-hAR cells. In addition, radioligand competition-binding studies revealed a 2-fold increase in EGFR-EGF binding affinity in the PC3-hAR cells after DHT treatment. However, no enhancement of transforming growth factor α or EGF expression was detected because DHT did not affect the levels of these cytokines in the PC3-hAR cell lysate or conditioned media. Our observations suggest that DHT increases both EGFR number and receptor-ligand affinity in androgen-sensitive prostate cancer cells and that these effects correlate with increased EGF binding and an enhanced mitogenic response to EGF.
Catalog of viking mission data

This catalog announces the present/expected availability of scientific data acquired by the Viking missions and contains descriptions of the Viking spacecraft, experiments, and data sets. An index is included listing the team leaders and team members for the experiments. Information on NSSDC facilities and ordering procedures, and a list of acronyms and abbreviations are included in the appendices.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Human Disease and Evolution: Phylogenies and Genealogies

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are common genetic variants within a population. Several SNPs have been implicated directly in human diseases, but their biggest promise lies in their potential as genetic markers for discovering genetic factors in a wide variety of human diseases and other traits. There are two methods for modeling the processes by which population genetic variation has evolved: genealogy, the actual family tree in which genetic variants arose and were inherited from parents to children and phylogeny, a compressed history of how these genetic variants accumulated in lineages of successive copies of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences. Genealogies and phylogenies are two ways to view the same evolutionary process, and each has specific applications to the discovery of genetic factors in human disease, especially relevant in the genomic era. Keywords: population genetics; polymorphism; disease; evolution; phylogenetics
Steroid-induced pancreatitis: Does it really exist?

The observation that corticosteroids induce or are associated with acute pancreatitis in humans has been emphasized over the past 25 yr (l-20). Two recent reviews of drug-induced pancreatitis (21,22), as well as current textbooks (23,24), cite the evidence that implicates steroids as a cause of pancreatitis. Overlooked, however, in these reviews are many case reports (25-35) and experimental data (33,3639) that suggest exactly the opposite, i.e., corticosteroids may be of benefit in the treatment of severe acute pancreatitis. In this review, we present a critical evaluation of the literature that implicates corticosteroids as a cause of pancreatitis. Our analysis casts doubt on the etiologic association between steroids and pancreatitis and, in fact, suggests that corticosteroids may indeed be useful in the treatment of acute pancreatitis.
School size, student achievement, and the "power rating" of poverty: Substantive finding or statistical artifact?

The proportion of variance in student achievement that is explained by student SES—“poverty’s power rating,” as some call it—tends to be lower among smaller schools than among larger schools. Smaller schools, many claim, are able to somehow disrupt the seemingly axiomatic association between SES and student achievement. Using eighth-grade data for 216 public schools in Maine, I explored the hypothesis that this in part is a statistical artifact of the greater volatility (lower reliability) of school-aggregated student achievement in smaller schools. This hypothesis received no support when reading achievement served as the dependent variable. In contrast, the hypothesis was supported when the dependent variable was mathematics achievement. For reasons considered in the discussion, however, I ultimately concluded that the latter results are insufficient to affirm the statisticalartifact hypothesis here as well. Implications for subsequent research are discussed.
A revised simplex algorithm for the absolute deviation curve fitting problem

(1979). A revised simplex algorithm for the absolute deviation curve fitting problem. Communications in Statistics - Simulation and Computation: Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 175-190.
Amorphization of complex ceramics by heavy-particle irradiations

“Complex” ceramics, for the purpose of this paper, include materials that are generally strongly bonded (mixed ionic and covalent), refractory and frequently good insulators. They are distinguished from simple, compact ceramics (e.g., MgO and UO2) by structural features which include: 1.) open network structures, best characterized by a consideration of the shape, size and connectivity of coordination polyhedra; 2.) generally, complex compositions which characteristically lead to multiple cation sites and lower symmetry; 3.) directional bonding; 4.) bond-type variations, from bond-to-bond, within the structure. The heavy particle irradiations not only include ion-beam irradiations, but also recoil-nucleus damage resulting from a-decay events from constituent actinides. The latter effects are responsible for the radiation-induced transformation to the metamict state in minerals. The responses of these materials to irradiation are complex, as energy may be dissipated ballistically by transfer of kinetic energy from an incident projectile or radiolytically by conversion of radiation-induced electronic excitations into atomic motion. This results in isolated Frenkel defect pairs, defect aggregates, isolated collision cascades or bulk amorphization; all may occur concurrently. Thus, the amorphization process is heterogeneous. Only recently have there been systematic studies of heavy particle irradiations of “complex” ceramics on a wide variety of structure-types and compositions as a function of dose and temperature. In this paper, we review the conditions for amorphization for the tetragonal orthosilicate, zircon [ZrSiO4]; the hexagonal orthosilicate/phosphate apatite structure-type [X10(ZO4)6(F,Cl,O)2]; the isometric pyrochlores [A1-2B2O6(O,OH,F)o-1pH2O] and its monoclinic derivative zirconolite [CaZrTi2O7]; the olivine (derivative -hcp) structure types, α-VIA2IVBO4, and spinet (ccp,) γ-VIA2IVBO4.
Measuring the cosmic ray muon-induced fast neutron spectrum by (n,p) isotope production reactions in underground detectors

While cosmic ray muons themselves are relatively easy to veto in underground detectors, their interactions with nuclei create more insidious backgrounds via (i) the decays of long-lived isotopes produced by muon-induced spallation reactions inside the detector (ii) spallation reactions initiated by fast muon-induced neutrons entering from outside the detector, and (iii) nuclear recoils initiated by fast muon-induced neutrons entering from outside the detector. These backgrounds, which are difficult to veto or shield against; are very important for solar, reactor, dark matter, and other underground experiments, especially as increased sensitivity is pursued. We used FLUKA to calculate the production rates and spectra of all prominent secondaries produced by cosmic ray muons, in particular focusing on secondary neutrons, because of their importance. Since the neutron spectrum is steeply falling, the total neutron production rate is sensitive to just the relatively soft neutrons and not the fast-neutron component. We show that the neutron spectrum in the range {approx}10-100 MeV can instead be probed by the (n,p)-induced isotope production rates {sup 12}C(n,p){sup 12}B and {sup 16}O(n,p){sup 16}N in oil- and water-based detectors. The result for {sup 12}B is in good agreement with the recent KamLAND measurement. Besides testing the calculation of muon secondaries, thesemore » results are also of practical importance, since {sup 12}B (T{sub 1/2}=20.2 ms, Q=13.4 MeV) and {sup 16}N (T{sub 1/2}=7.13 s, Q=10.4 MeV) are among the dominant spallation backgrounds in these detectors.« less