cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Time Trends in Patient Characteristics and In-Hospital Adverse Events for Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty in the United States: 2010-2017

Background Perioperative care for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has improved over time. We present an analysis of inpatient safety after TKA. Methods 14,057 primary TKAs captured by the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System between 2010 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. We calculated changes in demographics, comorbidities, and adverse events (AEs) over time. Risk factors for AEs were also assessed. Results Between 2010 and 2017, there was an increased prevalence of obesity (35.1% to 57.6%), tobacco smoking (12.5% to 17.8%), and renal disease (5.2% to 8.9%). There were reductions in coronary artery disease (17.3% to 13.4%) and chronic warfarin use (6.7% to 3.1%). Inpatient AEs decreased from 4.9% to 2.5%, (P < .01), primarily driven by reductions in anticoagulant-associated AEs, including major bleeding and hematomas (from 2.8% to 1.0%, P < .001), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (1.1% to 0.2%, P < .001), pressure ulcers (0.8% to 0.2%, P < .001), and venous thromboembolism (0.3% to 0.1%, P = .04). The adjusted annual decline in the risk of developing any in-hospital AE was 14% (95% confidence interval [CI] 10%-17%). Factors associated with developing an AE were advanced age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.01), male sex (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.02-1.44), coronary artery disease (OR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.07-1.70), heart failure (OR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.20-2.41), and renal disease (OR = 1.71, 95% CI 1.23-2.37). Conclusions Despite increasing prevalence of obesity, tobacco smoking, and renal disease, inpatient AEs after primary TKA have decreased over the past several years. This improvement is despite the increasing complexity of the inpatient TKA population over time.
Communication strategies to facilitate emergency preparedness for Generation Z and college food pantries: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: There is a paucity of research on college food pantry operations, especially in relation to emergency preparedness and disaster relief. However, there are multiple research studies confirming the efficacy of using social media to communicate with younger adults, especially Generation Z (Gen Z). Methods: This study examines a college food pantry’s social media posts and pantry utilization in a midsize, public university in Texas, prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Collegiate food insecurity was analyzed through the lens of the socioecological model. Social media data during the spring 2019 semester were compared using a two-way ANOVA prior to and following the origination of the COVID-19 pandemic within the state, and pantry utilization over the spring 2019 and fall 2020 semesters was evaluated using a t-test. Results: There were significantly more likes per post on Instagram than other social media outlets, and there were significantly more impressions per post on Twitter as opposed to Facebook, with a trend toward more impressions per posts, after COVID-19. There was no significant difference in food pantry utilization between the fall and spring semester aside from a spike after return following the spring recess, confirmed as Grubb’s outlier. Application of the socioecological model emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and multitiered interventions during an emergency, including the use of social media. Conclusion: This information can help collegiate organizations reach more students through targeted posting on select social media platforms used by their students. Interdisciplinary, inclusive approaches are recommended to reduce food insecurity for Gen Z students.
Mikrobielle Werkstoffzerstörung – Simulation, Schadensfälle und Gegenmaßnahmen: Metallische Werkstoffe – Überblick

Mikrobiologisch induzierte Schaden an metallischen Werkstoffen werden in zahlreichen Prozessen und Anlagen beobachtet. Schaden treten nicht selten unter Betriebsbedingungen auf, bei denen eine mikrobiologische Aktivitat kaum vermutet wird. fur die mikrobiologisch induzierte Korrosion sind insbesondere sulfatreduzierende, schwefeloxidierende sowie verschiedene saurebildende Bakterien verantwortlich. Die beschriebenen Korrosionsschaden stammen vorwiegend aus den Bereichen Energieerzeugung und industrielle Abwasserbehandlung. Die verhaltnismasig ausfuhrliche Beschreibung der vorgenommenen Abklarungen sollen zeigen, das derartige Schaden mit relativ einfachen Untersuchungsmethoden aufgeklart werden konnen, unter der Voraussetzung, das die Mikrobiologie als potentielle Schadensursache von vornherein mitberucksichtigt wird. Gegenmasnahmen – an Stelle oder in Erganzung zu den Bioziden – werden erortert. Microbial deterioration of materials – simulation, case histories and countermeasures: Metallic materials Overview Microbially induced deterioration of construction metals has been encountered in many industrial processes and installations. Corrosion failures of technical equipment often occur under operational conditions which do not appear to be conducive to microbial growth. Although, many different types of microorganisms can be implicated in corrosion processes, most widespread and distinctive is the corrosion resulting from the activities of the sulfate-reducing bacteria, further sulfur-oxidizing and various acid-producing bacteria. This paper deals mainly with case histories which occurred in energy producing installations and industrial waste-water treatment plants. An attempt was made to describe in detail the investigations which had hen performed in order to elucidate the cause of corrosion failures. Relatively simple diagnostic procedures can be helpful in explaining such cases; the condition is that microbial activity is included in considerations concerning potential contributors to the failure mechanism. Discussion of remedial measures includes methods based on the use of biocides as well as alternative procedures.
Standardized problem list generation, utilizing the Mayo canonical vocabulary embedded within the Unified Medical Language System.

Abstract VOCABULARY: The Mayo problem list vocabulary is a clinically derived lexicon created from the entries made to the Mayo Clinic's Master Sheet Index and the problem list entries made to the Impression/ Report/Plan section of the Clinical Notes System over the last three years. The vocabulary was reduced by eliminating repetition including lexical variants, spelling errors, and qualifiers (Administrative or Operational terms). Qualifiers are re-coordinated with other terms, at run-time, which greatly increased the number of input strings which our system is capable of recognizing. IMPLEMENTATION: The Problem Manager is implemented using standard windows tools in a Windows NT environment. The interface is designed using Object Pascal. HTTP calls are passed over the World Wide Web to a UNIX based vocabulary server. The server returns a document, which is read into Object Pascal structures, parsed, filtered and displayed. STUDY: This paper reports the results of a recent Usability Trial focused on assessing the viability of this mechanism for standardized problem entry. Eight clinicians engaged in eleven scenarios and responded as to their satisfaction with the systems performance. These responses were observed, videotaped and tabulated. Clinicians in this study were able to find acceptable diagnoses in 91.1% of the scenarios. The response time was acceptable in 92.5% of the scenarios. The presentation of related terms was stated to be useful in at least one scenario by seven of the eight participants. All clinicians wanted to make use of shortcuts which would minimize the amount of typing necessary to encode the concept they were searching for (e.g. Abbreviations, Word Completion). CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians are willing to choose a canonical term from a suggested list (as opposed to their own wording). Clinicians want an "intelligent" system, which would suggest terms within a category (e.g. Types of "Migraine"). They are able to make functional use of our system, in its current state of development. Finally, all clinicians appreciate the value of encoding their problems in a standardized vocabulary, toward improved research, education and practice.
P-channel Tunneling Field Effect Transistor (TFET): Sub-10nm technology enablement by GaSb-InAs with doped source underlap

This work proposes sub-10nm p-TFET showing sub-60 mv/dec SS for several orders of current. An 8-T SRAM cell evaluation indicates that TFETs can perform like FinFETs near-threshold voltages while consuming 100x lower standby power.
Vocalizations convey sex, seasonal phenotype, and aggression in a seasonal mammal.

Abstract Seasonal variation in social behavior is often accompanied by seasonal variation in communication. In mammals, how seasonal environmental cues influence aggressive vocalizations remains underexplored. Photoperiod is the primary cue coordinating seasonal responses in most temperate zone animals, including Siberian hamsters ( Phodopus sungorus ), a species that undergoes reproductive inhibition and increased aggression in winter. During same-sex aggressive encounters, hamsters emit both broadband calls (BBCs) and ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) that indicate aggression and the vocalizer's sex, respectively; however, it is not known whether these rodents adjust specific elements of their vocal repertoire to reflect their photoperiod-induced seasonal phenotypes. To address this, we recorded vocalizations emitted during dyadic interactions between male or female pairs of hamsters housed in long or short photoperiods and measured serum testosterone levels. USV emission rate remained stable across photoperiods, but proportional use of USV subtypes varied in novel ways: ‘jump’ USVs were sensitive to seasonal phenotype, but not the vocalizer's sex, whereas ‘plain’ USVs were sensitive only to the sex of the vocalizer. BBC emission rate varied with seasonal phenotype; short-day non-reproductive hamsters produced more BBCs and demonstrated increased aggression compared with reproductive hamsters. Testosterone, however, was not related to vocalization rates. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that changes in the vocal repertoire of Siberian hamsters reflect sex, aggression, and seasonal phenotype, suggesting that both BBCs and USVs are important signals used during same-sex social encounters.
The relationship between pregnancy and oxidative stress markers on patients undergoing ovarian stimulations

Purpose We investigated the activities and relevance of a validated panel of antioxidant enzymes, cytokines, specific lipid peroxidation end products and six fatty acids by correlational analyses with peak E2 levels and pregnancy outcome after ovarian stimulation for IVF or IUI.
Transitional local politics: tradition in local government elections in Aba, Nigeria: Keta, Ghana

The now nearly unanimous acceptance of the importance of the study of local politics in understanding the processes of political development, modernization, and change in Africa poses a challenge to contemporary Africanists which is at once both perplexing and stimulating. A central focus of this study is on the fusing of the old and new at the local level and the concomitant necessity of analyzing the nature and impact of the surviving residue from traditional societies on the roles and institutions of more recent constitutional government. One of the most perplexing aspects of this challenge is the plethora of tools, models, vocabularies, and methodologies with which we have to work. In attempting to construct a useful and informative, not to mention reasonably accurate, research model, one often finds that his initial inquiry into which framework to use is the most formidible task. One writer has likened this effort to that of knights errant seeking the Holy Grail. Some have ridden astride digital computers, armed with factor analysis programs; others have searched the Parsonian woods, crashing through the undergrowth of nomenclature and trudging through the moss of abstraction; still others have scanned political landscapes from the towering heights of historical analysis. That so many discoveries have been announced suggests that the true discovery remains to be made (Uphoff 1970 P. 1).
Language Production Abilities of Children Whose Stuttering Persisted or Recovered

This study evaluated the language production capabilities of 32 young children whose stuttering followed divergent paths: one group whose stuttering persisted, one group who stuttered relatively br...
Measurements of amino acid transport in internally dialyzed giant axons.

It is shown that the axoplasmic composition of acidic and neutral amino acids can be controlled effectively by the method of internal dialysis. Direct assay for specific binding and measurement of diffusion coefficients in axoplasm show that there is no significant binding or compartmentalization of amino acids. The dependence of amino acid efflux on substrate concentration can be measured under well-defined, true steady-state conditions. The taurine efflux-concentration relation in theMyxicola giant axon conforms to a second-order Hill equation. This fact is consistent with either a cooperative process or a mechanism in which membrane translocation is not the rate-controlling step. The effluxes of taurine and glycine from squid axon are an order of magnitude smaller than inMyxicola. The efflux-concentration relations are essentially linear up to 200mm substrate concentration. This result may be produced by specific transporters which have very high asymmetry, or by simple diffusive leak in the absence of specific transporters.
Temperature-Programmed Reaction and Desorption of the Sensor Elements of a WO3 ∕ YSZ ∕ Pt Potentiometric Sensor

Temperature-programmed reaction (TPR) and desorption (TPD) were performed to determine the reaction and adsorption characteristics of NO x , CO, O 2 , CO 2 , and their mixtures on the sensor elements of a W03/yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ)/Pt potentiometric sensor. The results are discussed, focusing on how sensor performance is influenced by catalytic and adsorptive behavior of the electrode materials. The NO 2 sensor response is most likely given by a dissymmetry of the NO 2 decomposition activity between the WO 3 and Pt electrode. No significant adsorption of NO 2 and its related molecules is observed during the TPD of NO 2 and NO 2 -containing gas mixtures. Enhanced NO response by coexisting CO agrees with the increased NO adsorption by the addition of CO, indicating that the NO response is related to gas adsorption behavior.
The effects of prostaglandins and arachidonic acid on the electroretinogram: Evidence for functional cyclooxygenase activity in the retina

The effects of intravitreally injected prostaglandins (PGs) and arachidonic acid (AA) on the electrical activity of the retina were studied by monitoring the electroretinogram (ERG) of rabbits. In normal rabbits, intravitreal injection of PGE, PGE2 or AA caused a gradual depression of b-wave amplitude as measured either in low (2 lux) or normal (300 lux) background illumination: up to 15% depression was observed within 1 hr and no recovery was noted during 4 hr of monitoring. The depression of the b-wave amplitude after the intravitreal injection of AA and PGs was similar in time course. Bromcresol green, an inhibitor of PG transport, significantly potentiated the effects of low doses of PGE1 and PGE2 and, to a lesser extent, that of AA. Indomethacin, a known inhibitor of cyclooxygenase activity, prevented the AA-induced, but not the PG-induced depression of the b-wave amplitude. It is concluded that PGs can have a direct effect on the retina and that this region of the eye contains sufficient cyclooxygen...
Searching for an auditory description of vowel categories.

This paper examines three auditory hypotheses concerning the location of category boundaries among vowel sounds. The first hypothesis claims that category boundaries tend to occur in a region corresponding to a 3-Bark separation between adjacent spectral peaks. According to the second hypothesis, vowel category boundaries are determined by the combined effects of the Bark distances between adjacent spectral peaks but that the weight of each of these effects is inversely related to the individual sizes of the Bark distances. In a series of perceptual experiments, each of these hypotheses was found to account for some category boundaries in American English but not others. The third hypothesis, which has received preliminary support from studies in our laboratory and elsewhere, claims that listeners partition the vowel space of individual talkers along lines corresponding to relatively simple linear functions of formant values when scaled in auditorily motivated units of frequency such as Bark.
Carbohydrate storage enhances seedling shade and stress tolerance in a neotropical forest

Summary 1 To survive in forest understoreys, seedlings must depend on carbohydrate reserves when they experience negative carbon balance imposed by occasional light reduction and tissue loss to herbivores and diseases. We present the first experimental evidence in support of this hypothesis, using seven woody neotropical species. 2 We transplanted seedlings that had recently expanded their first photosynthetic cotyledon or leaf to the forest understorey (1% of full sun) and quantified initial biomass and total non-structural carbohydrate (TNC) in stems, roots and storage cotyledons. We then randomly assigned seedlings to control and two stress treatments: light reduction (0.08% of full sun for 8 weeks) and complete defoliation. 3 First-year survival of control seedlings, a comparative measure of shade tolerance, differed widely among species. The two stress treatments reduced survival and relative growth rates (RGR) of all species. Shade-tolerant species were little impacted by the stress treatments, whereas the two least shade-tolerant species experienced 100% mortality. 4 In all treatments, 8-week and first-year survival was positively correlated with initial TNC pool size in stems and roots. By contrast, survival was generally not correlated with initial TNC concentration in any organ, TNC pools in cotyledons, seed mass or seedling biomass. 5 TNC in stems and roots, but not in cotyledons, decreased in response to light reduction and defoliation over 8 weeks. Leaf area recovery of defoliated seedlings was positively correlated with initial TNC pools in stems and roots. 6 First-year survival in each treatment was negatively correlated with 0–8 week RGR of control seedlings, suggesting higher stress tolerance of species with inherently slow growth rates in shade. RGR of control seedlings from 0 to 8 weeks was negatively correlated with initial TNC pools, but not concentrations, in stems and roots. After 8 weeks, RGR was positive for all species, without clear relationships with survival or TNC. 7 We conclude that carbohydrate storage in stems and roots enhances long-term survival in shade by enabling seedlings to cope with periods of biotic and abiotic stress. Carbohydrate storage is a key functional trait that can explain species differences in growth and survival that lead to species coexistence through niche assembly processes and life-history trade-offs.
On planar and dismantlable lattices

Abstract It is shown that any finite, rank-connected, dismantlable lattice is lexicographically shellable (hence Cohen–Macaulay). A ranked, interval-connected lattice is shown to be rank-connected, but a rank-connected lattice need not be interval-connected. An example of a planar, rank-connected lattice that is not admissible is given.
Social science: Poked to vote.

A Facebook message sent out during the 2010 US congressional elections influenced the voting behaviour of millions of people. The experiment illustrates the power of digital social networks to spread behavioural change. See Letter p.295 Online social networks are everywhere. They must be influencing the way society is developing, but hard evidence is scarce. For instance, the relative effectiveness of online friendships and face-to-face friendships as drivers of social change is not known. In what may be the largest experiment ever conducted with human subjects, James Fowler and colleagues randomly assigned messages to 61 million Facebook users on Election Day in the United States in 2010, and tracked their behaviour both online and offline, using publicly available records. The results show that the messages influenced the political communication, information-seeking and voting behaviour of millions of people. Social messages had more impact than informational messages and 'weak ties' were much less likely than 'strong ties' to spread behaviour via the social network. Thus online mobilization works primarily through strong-tie networks that may exist offline but have an online representation.
Resolution of bilateral moyamoya associated collateral vessel aneurysms: Rationale for endovascular versus surgical intervention

BACKGROUND Management of aneurysms associated with deep collateral vessels in moyamoya disease is challenging both from an endovascular and a surgical standpoint. Difficulties with access or localization, and compromise of the collateral circulation with subsequent ischemia are the primary concerns, making direct obliteration potentially unfeasible or risky. Alternatively, superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery bypass is another potential strategy for resolution of these aneurysms. CASE DESCRIPTION Presented are the findings and management for a patient with moyamoya disease and bilateral deep collateral vessel aneurysms, successfully treated with endovascular obliteration following a right-sided hemorrhage and subsequently with bypass for an unruptured but growing contralateral aneurysm. CONCLUSIONS A rationale and approach to management is outlined, as derived from review of the current literature and the illustrative case with bilateral collateral vessel aneurysms.
The isolation and properties of multiple forms of folate binding protein in cultured KB cells

The folate binding proteins (FBPs) of KB cells which were cultured in normal (N) and folate-deficient (D) medium have been characterized. The 200,000 g supernate of lysed cells contained two FBPs which could be separated by DEAE-Bio-Gel A chromatography, indicating that they differ in ionic charge although they could not be separated by gel filtration through Sephadex G-100 (apparent Mr approximately 40,000). Two species of FBP, a major form of apparent Mr approximately 160,000 and a minor form of apparent Mr approximately 40,000, were identified by gel filtration through Sephadex G-150 in the membrane component of the cells after solubilization with Triton X-100. An additional FBP was isolated and purified by affinity chromatography from the medium in which these cells were cultured. By gel filtration and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the apparent Mr of this FBP was approximately 44,000. The association constants for pteroylglutamic acid of the FBPs in the 200,000 g cell lysate supernate, culture medium, and Triton-solubilized membrane were similar and the relative affinity of folate analogs for the FBP, vis-a-vis pteroylglutamic acid, was similar for all species. An antiserum raised to the purified FBP from the culture medium precipitated the FBPs in the 200,000 g cell lysate supernate, Triton-solubilized membrane, and culture medium, indicating antigenic homology among these FBPs. There was no unsaturated FBP in the 200,000 g cell lysate supernate or medium when KB cells were cultured in N medium. However, when cells were cultured in D medium, the unsaturated FBP of the 200,000 g cell supernate and culture medium was substantial (9.2 and 14.1 pmol/mg protein, respectively). Unsaturated FBP was detected in the membrane of normal cells but this also increased when these cells were cultured in D medium (4.5 to 756 pmol/mg protein), indicating that the FBPs of these cellular compartments are normally saturated by folate. After 16 weeks of culture in D medium, the total folate binding capacity of the membrane-associated FBP was twofold greater than that of normal KB cells, indicating the induction of FBP.
The neurobiology of memory changes in normal aging

Cognitive alterations occur over the lifespan of every species studied and have been quantified carefully in humans, other primates and rodents. Correspondingly, changes in hippocampal function have been associated with a number of observed memory impairments across species. It appears that humans, alone, show Alzheimer's disease-like cognitive and neural pathology spontaneously. Thus, a comparison of normal age-related changes in cognition in other animals can help disambiguate the boundary between normal and pathological states of aging in humans. Another important contribution made from studying aging in non-human species is the ability to examine, in more detail, the basic neural mechanisms that may be responsible for brain aging in these species. So far, most of the functional neurobiological studies have been conducted in the aged rat. We propose that the link between rodent and human work can be made much stronger by combining neurophysiological and behavioral investigation of normal aging in the non-human primate.
On the use of pressure broadening data to assess the accuracy of CO–He interaction potentials

Carbon monoxide and He scattering calculations have been performed using the electron gas and SCF‐CI potentials. The cross sections from the SCF‐CI potential are marginally in better agreement with experiment than those from the electron gas potential.
Energy efficient spectrum sensing for state estimation over a wireless channel

The performance of remote estimation over wireless channel is strongly affected by sensor data losses due to interference. Although the impact of interference can be alleviated by performing spectrum sensing and then transmitting only when the channel is clear, the introduction of spectrum sensing also incurs extra energy expenditure. In this paper, we investigate the problem of energy efficient spectrum sensing for state estimation of a general linear dynamic system, and formulate an optimization problem which minimizes the total sensor energy consumption while guaranteeing a desired level of estimation performance. The optimal solution is evaluated through both analytical and simulation results.
The current status of minimal residual disease assessment in myeloma

By most definitions of cure, myeloma remains an incurable disease. ‘Functional cure’ denoting long-term disease control has been described in the context of intense therapies, and it is quite likely that a small fraction of these patients have a complete eradication of the myeloma clone with no more than average risk of myeloma recurring (‘real cure’).1, 2, 3 However, we have been hampered by the lack of a sensitive way to determine the presence of residual tumor cells as has been possible with chronic myelogenous leukemia, where the universal presence of Bcr-Abl translocation provides the ability to detect extremely small numbers of tumor cells.4 For the longest time, the need for a sensitive method to determine small amounts of residual tumor was not perceived, primarily because of the inability to achieve even the currently defined deepest remission state (complete response, CR) in any substantial number of patients with available treatments. However, with newer treatment approaches, we can achieve CR in a large majority of patients, including a significant proportion with stringent CR representing lack of clonal plasma cells in the marrow by immunophenotyping.5, 6, 7 Despite this level of response, studies have shown that the vast majority of patients have residual tumor cells that can be detected with a variety of sensitive techniques.8, 9, 10, 11 This in turn brings up three important questions: (a) what are the implications of obtaining a minimal residual disease (MRD) negative status in myeloma, (b) what is the ideal method for universal use in determining MRD status, and (c) how do the results of this test impact treatment approaches?
Epistatic effects of ACE I/D and AGT gene variants on left ventricular mass in hypertensive patients: the HyperGEN study

Epistatic effects of ACE I/D and AGT gene variants on left ventricular mass in hypertensive patients: the HyperGEN study
Conformational effects in β-diiminate ligated magnesium and zinc amides. Solution dynamics and lactide polymerization

Abstract The preparation of the compounds LMg(N i Pr 2 )(THF) ( 1 ); and LZnN i Pr 2 ( 2 ), are reported for L=the bulky β-diiminate ligand, CH(CMeN-2- t BuC 6 H 4 ) 2 . In solution compound 2 is shown to exist as a mixture of syn - and anti -rotamers that do not interconvert significantly. Compound 1 readily and reversibly dissociates THF in benzene-d 6 or toluene-d 8 from a site where THF is syn to the t Bu group of L. Both 1 and 2 are catalyst precursors for the ring-opening polymerization of lactides and it is shown that the syn -conformer of 2 reacts much faster than the anti . Polymerization of rac -lactide employing 2 in benzene or CH 2 Cl 2 or 1 in THF yield approximately 90% heterotactic PLA ( isi + sis ). These results are compared with related work by Coates [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 123 (2001) 3229]; and us [J. Chem. Soc., Dalton Trans. (2001) 222] and us employing the symmetric β-diiminate ligand CH(CMeN-2,6- i Pr 2 C 6 H 3 ) 2 .
Editorial [Change of Editor-in-Cheif]

As of January 1, 2004, Samir M. El-Ghazaly will be retiring as the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters (MWCL). This responsibility will be turned over to Prof. Ruediger Vahldieck. The Administrative Committee (AdCom) of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society voted unanimously to select him for this job during its June 2003 meeting. Prof. Vahldieck brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to MWCL. He has been active in microwave teaching and research for more than 20 years, and is indeed more than qualified for this crucial assignment. The last three years in the life of MWCL have brought several changes. These are briefly reviewed.
Electron Microscopy of Gold Soldered Joints

Electron photomicrographs were taken to examine and compare the structure of the properly heated soldered joints with that of the overheated joints. No diffusion of the solder was observed in the former group and considerable diffusion took place in the latter group. Pronounced oxide formation, micro-porosity, and alloying with the parent alloy were observed in the overheated joints.
A comprehensive community approach to adolescent drug abuse prevention: effects on cardiovascular disease risk behaviors.

This paper reports the effects of a multi-community drug prevention trial on the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana in early adolescents and their parents, effects on parent prevention practices, and the relationship of family health behaviors to adolescent cigarette and alcohol use. Annual self-report surveys were administered to a population-based sample of 6/7th grade students from all schools in a 15 community area (n = 5008). Students were also administered an expired air (CO) measure of cigarette smoking to increase the accuracy of self-reported smoking and drug use. A sub-sample of parents were also surveyed at one year follow-up (n = 620). Logistic regression analyses of student data indicated that program groups were increasing in monthly drug use prevalence rates at an average of half the rates of control groups at one year follow-up (3.4 vs 14.5% for cigarette use, 4.2 vs 9.6% for alcohol use (<1 drink), 3.5 vs 7.6% for marijuana use); effects were similar for weekly use rates, and have ...
Utilization of Transglutaminase to Increase the Level of Barley and Soy Flour Incorporation in Wheat Flour Breads

: This study investigated the possibility of incorporating barley or soy flour into wheat flour using transglutaminase (TG)-catalyzed cross-linking, without deterioration in bread quality. A Farinograph and texture analyzer were used to examine mixing properties and extensibility of doughs, respectively. Addition of increasing levels of barley/soy flour (with and without TG) increased Farinograph water absorption in the soft and hard wheat cultivars studied. Dough resistance increased and extensibility decreased with TG treatment. TG showed great promise in processing of bread supplemented with barley flour, even at a very low level (0.25%, wt/ wt), but did not notably improve the quality of soy flour-supplemented breads.
Immunotherapy for nonsmall-cell lung cancer

Systemic chemotherapy for nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has reached a plateau in effectiveness for several years and certainly biological therapy (approved antiangiogenic agents and tyrosine kinase inhibitors) has slightly improved survival; however, the mortality of NSCLC is very high and survival of metastatic disease is less than 2 years. Therefore, new approaches are required to improve current outcomes. Active-specific immunotherapy is an area of oncology that is rapidly expanding and delivering promising results such as asymptomatic prostate cancer with the use of sipuleucel-T. In the field of lung cancer, there are multiple vaccines focused on creating specific antitumor activity in NSCLC. Whole-cell vaccines like belagenpumatucel-L and antigen-specific vaccines like L-BLP25, TG4010, EGF vaccine and MAGE-A3 vaccines are undergoing phase III clinical trials after having demonstrated encouraging results in previous phase II trials with minimum toxicity. Hopefully, positive results will be revealed in the next few years, giving our lung cancer patients a new and more personalized therapy with better quality of life. The short review is indented to give an overview of the current data in the main studies of active immunotherapy for NSCLC.
Does the unconscious undermine phenomenology

According to Paul Ricoeur, the Freudian unconscious invalidates the ability of Husserlian phenomenology to explicate human psychology. The stumbling block is said to be the mechanism of repression, which can not only obviate conscious access to certain ideas and motives but also distort consciousness itself. The whole enterprise of phenomenology would seem to be at stake. But we must carefully distinguish being a conscious object from being a conscious process. By means of ‘micro‐phenomenology’, the reflective analysis of focal dynamics, I shall try to reconstruct the so‐called unconscious as certain conscious processes we are unable to reflect on as conscious objects. This reconstruction utilizes two motivational principles of attention, motive attraction and motive repulsion, which affect the manner in which attention addresses its object. The principles explain how reflective consciousness can be so repelled by certain directly conscious events that it withdraws with subliminal rapidity, leaving those ...
Fashion opinion leadership among working and non‐working women

The purpose of this study was to examine fashion opinion leadership among working and non-working women. Data were collected by mail survey from 630 working and non-working women in the USA. Employment orientation (i.e. viewing work as either a job or a career) and satisfaction with career apparel were investigated among working women to determine whether there are differences in these dimensions between fashion leaders and fashion followers. Results contradict earlier studies by indicating that fashion opinion leadership among working and non-working women is independent of education and income. Fashion opinion leadership among working women is independent of occupational level. Whether one works in a managerial position or a service position, or one considers work to be a job or a career, has no significant effect on fashion opinion leadership. Fashion opinion leaders among working women demonstrated greater satisfaction with career apparel and were younger than their fashion follower counterparts. Fashion leadership, regardless of work status, was found to be a strong determinant of apparel satisfaction for all women. The results suggest that the effect of being a fashion opinion leader may be greater when considering apparel that is more salient to the wearer.
Enhanced Mixture Analysis of Poly(ethylene glycol) Using High-Field Asymmetric Waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry Combined with Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry

The combination of high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) makes possible lower detection limits, increased sensitivity, and increased dynamic range in the analysis of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) samples of low molecular weight. The signal gain obtained using FAIMS depends on ion identity, with a range between 1.8× and 14× obtained for various molecular ions of PEG 600. A 1.7-fold reduction in noise is obtained using FAIMS due to the elimination of chemical noise. The improved detection performance is predominantly due to a reduction in adverse Coulomb effects as a result of ions being selectively introduced into the mass spectrometer. The high ion transmission obtained using FAIMS combined with the high sensitivity of FTICR-MS detection make possible separation of multiple gas-phase conformers of PEG molecular cations that have low abundance (less than 0.2% relative abundance) and that have not been detec...
Building a national underground railroad network to freedom

Many cultural anthropologists have studied networks and how people reinterpret and attach symbols to these networks, pulling symbols from a grab-bag of collectively significant events and personages. As an ethnographer working for a new National Park Service program, I find myself involved in creating "networks" and affecting construction of "meanings," rather than studying the process as an outside observer. In the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, created by Congress, my colleagues and I affect and effect relationships between groups previously unfamiliar with one another or previously not considered to fit under one umbrella. It would it be putting on blinders to analyze "transformations of popular concepts of the Underground Railroad" without considering the National Park Service and other cultural resource managers' role in public education, historic preservation, and use of memory in exhibits and publications.
Sensitivity of the Contact Chemoreceptors of the Blowfly to Vapors

Abstract Contact chemoreceptors on the mouthparts and legs of the blowfly Phormia regina that normally respond to aqueous solutions of sapid substances also respond to compounds in the gaseous state. Effective vapors include organic and inorganic acids and various unrelated nonpolar compounds. In general, the acids stimulate the salt receptor. Some nonpolar compounds stimulate the salt receptor while others inhibit it. Others stimulate the water, sugar, or “fifth” receptor. Differential action cannot be attributed to pH or solubility. Not all compounds that are irritating to mammalian mucous membranes or amphibian skin stimulate the contact chemoreceptors of the fly. Sensitivity to these vapors is a phenomenon analogous to the common chemical sense of vertebrates.
Penetration of soil dust through woven and nonwoven fabrics.

Abstract Several types of fabrics were laboratory‐tested for their effectiveness in worker protection to pesticide‐laden dust encountered in the agricultural environment. Of the applied <100 mesh dust, penetrations through knitted jersey and woven fabrics were greater than 87% and less than 5.8%, respectively. Treatment of woven fabrics with fluorocarbon polymers curtailed penetration by greater than 60%. Nonwoven fabrics allowed less than 0.5% dust penetration. Parathion mixed with 100‐mesh sieved dust resulted in increasing “ppm”; levels with decreasing particle size; extent of parathion conversion to paraoxon was independent of particle size for the sandy loam dust used.
Development of a machine troubleshooting expert system via fuzzy multiattribute decision-making approach

Abstract Most current machine fault diagnosis systems emphasize on the correctness of the hypothesized result; however, in time-constrained situations, the efficiency of the diagnostic process becomes more important and should not be overlooked. This paper presents an Integrated Machine Troubleshooting Expert System (IMTES) that enhances the efficiency of the diagnostic process, improves the completeness and consistency of the knowledge base, and assists users in developing and maintaining their diagnostic systems. IMTES consists of five modules: a diagnostic tree module establishes the hierarchical structure regarding the function or connectivity of the diagnostic system, a fuzzy multiattribute decision-making module determines the most efficient diagnostic process and creates a “meta knowledge base” to control the diagnosis process, a knowledge base module captures the human expertise and deep knowledge to diagnose the possible machine fault, an inference engine module controls the diagnosis process and deals with the uncertainty from the user input and knowledge base itself, and a learning module uses the failure-driven learning method to train the knowledge base from the past actual cases. The system has been successfully implemented on MS-Windows environment, and it is written in MS Visual BASIC. To validate the system performance, IMTES is compared to EXACT, an expert system for automobile air-compressor troubleshooting, using 50 sample cases. The result shows that IMTES can reduce the number of queries by 20.7%.
Quotational Mixing of Use and Mention

Quotation is employed in mentioning linguistic items, with varying degrees of specificity depending upon context, occasionally in the service of multiple purposes. It is also often employed in cases where the mentioned items are simultaneously being used in their ordinary roles. I argue that, despite appearances to the contrary, the recently proposed formal disambiguation approach to quotation fails to account for this quotational mixing of use and mention, and that given the ubiquity of the mixing in question the demonstrative theory, in its ability to accommodate such cases, fares better than its rivals. I also show that the phenomenon in question extends far beyond the paradigmatic cases of mixed quotation, where grammatical form forces us to recognize the mixing of use and mention, to cases where even whole sentences are being simultaneously used and mentioned. email : simchen@fas.harvard.edu
Fusion and inference from multiple data sources in a commensurate space

Given objects measured under multiple conditions—for example, indoor lighting versus outdoor lighting for face recognition, multiple language translation for document matching, etc.—the challenging task is to perform data fusion and utilize all the available information for inferential purposes. We consider two exploitation tasks: (i) how to determine whether a set of feature vectors represent a single object measured under different conditions; and (ii) how to create a classifier based on training data from one condition in order to classify objects measured under other conditions. The key to both problems is to transform data from multiple conditions into one commensurate space, where the (transformed) feature vectors are comparable and would be treated as if they were collected under the same condition. Toward this end, we studied Procrustes analysis and developed a new approach, which uses the interpoint dissimilarities for each condition. We impute the dissimilarities between measurements of different conditions to create one omnibus dissimilarity matrix, which is then embedded into Euclidean space. We illustrate our methodology on English and French documents collected from Wikipedia, demonstrating superior performance compared to that obtained via standard Procrustes transformation. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining 5: 187–193, 2012 © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Managing the quality of CPC traffic

We show how an online advertising network can use filtering, predictive pricing and revenue sharing together to manage the quality of cost-per-click (CPC) traffic. Our results suggest that predictive pricing alone can and should be used instead of filtering to manage organic traffic quality, whereas either method can be used to deter click inflation.
Analysis of the Physician Variable in Pain Management

Background. The role of physician variability in pain management is unknown. Objective. To assess the role of physician variability in the management of pain and provide quantitative data regarding the status of pain management in Michigan. Design. A multi-item mail survey was used to determine the physician's perceived knowledge of pain management modalities, goals, satisfaction, and confidence with pain treatment. Participants. The focus of this report was a group of 368 licensed Michigan physicians who provide clinical care. Results. Overall, 30% of the study group reported no formal education in pain management, although younger physicians reported more education (correlation coefficient = −0.252, P < .001). The physicians reported greater confidence in their knowledge of meperidine than other Schedule II opioids (P < .001 ). In regards to the opinion that prescribing strong opioids would attract a medical review, the physician responses ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The median score for this scale was 4, accounting for 46% of the responses. The study group expressed less satisfaction with their treatment of chronic pain as well as lower goals for relief (mean: 3.8; 95% confidence interval: 3.7–3.9). Conclusions. Lower expectations for relief and less satisfaction in its management may contribute to the undertreatment of chronic pain. Perceptions of regulatory scrutiny may contribute to suboptimal pain management. These preliminary data highlight physician variability in pain decision making while providing insights into educational needs.
Escherichia coli DNA topoisomerase I mutants: Increased supercoiling is corrected by mutations near gyrase genes

Abstract Bacterial chromosomes and plasmid (pBR322) DNA from topoisomerase I-defective Escherichia coli strains have been characterized with respect to superhelical density. The topoisomerase I defect results in increased negative superhelical density of both the bacterial chromosome and pBR322. Thus topoisomerase I is involved in determining the level of supercoiling in bacteria. Three of the topoisomerase I-defective strains we studied carry secondary mutations that decrease superhelical density; these additional mutations are closely linked to the gyrB locus in two of the strains and to the gyrA locus in the third strain.
A dedicated phosphopantetheinyl transferase for the fredericamycin polyketide synthase from Streptomyces griseus

Polyketide synthases cannot be functional unless their apo-acyl carrier proteins (apo-ACPs) are post-translationally modified by covalent attachment of the 4'-phosphopantetheine group to the highly conserved serine residue, and this reaction is catalyzed by phosphopantetheinyl transferases (PPTases). Cloning and sequence analysis of the 33-kb fredericamycin (FDM) biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces griseus revealed fdmW, whose deduced gene product showed significant sequence homology to known PPTases. Biochemical characterization of FdmW in vitro confirmed that it is a PPTase. Inactivation of fdmW resulted in approximately 93% reduction of FDM production, and complementation of the fdmW::aac (3)IV mutant by expressing fdmW in trans restored FDM production to a level comparable with that of the wild-type strain. Although FdmW can phosphopantetheinylate various ACPs, it prefers its cognate substrate, the FdmH ACP, with a K(m) of 5.8 microM and a k(cat)/K(m) of 8.1 microM(-1) x min(-1), to heterologous ACPs, such as the TcmM ACP with a K(m) of 1.0 x 10(2) microM and a k(cat) /K(m) of 0.6 microM(-1) x min(-1). These findings suggest that FdmW is specific for FDM biosynthesis. FdmW therefore represents the first holo-ACP synthase-type PPTase identified from an aromatic polyketide biosynthetic gene cluster.