cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Kennedy, Johnson, and the Nonaligned World. By Robert B.Rakove. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. 291 pp.

Kennedy, Johnson, and the Nonaligned World. By Robert B. Rakove. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. 291 pp. Fifty-some years after his assassination, John F. Kennedy remains an enigma. Was he the brash and impulsive president who brought the world to the brink of World War III with the Cuban Missile Crisis? Or was he the brave challenger of the American military-industrial complex who would have prevented the Vietnam War? Various studies portray him as a Cold War liberal, or a liberal Cold Warrior, or come up with pithy phrases to summarize the man and his foreign policy. Robert B. Rakove's book jumps into the murky waters of this passionate historiography. Instead of focusing on crises such as the Bay of Pigs, he examines lesser-known aspects of Kennedy's diplomacy (the Indian seizure of Goa, settlement of the Western New Guinea impasse) to illustrate what he refers to as "a foreign policy without an official name that, even so, profoundly shaped the modern history of United States foreign relations" (xxi). Rakove christens this important policy "engagement" and argues that Kennedy himself was its primary intellectual force. Backing away from the John Foster Dulles view of "neutralism" as something that was dangerous and "immoral," Kennedy sought to engage with the leaders of the nonaligned world. Utilizing the famed "Kennedy charm," he often met one on one with important leaders from Asia and Africa and demonstrated an understanding of their reluctance to choose sides in the Cold War. Kennedy also used foreign aid as a crucial tool, not necessarily to pull the nonaligned nations into the American sphere of influence but to ensure that "simply by remaining independent of the communist bloc," such nations would eventually understand the "intrinsic advantage" of closer relations with the West (xxi). With Kennedy's death in 1963, his successor, Lyndon Johnson, abandoned engagement, instead pursuing "an inexorable collision course with the nations and governments his predecessor had done so much to court" (55). Unlike Kennedy, Johnson felt that mollifying strong American allies--who, not coincidentally, were also the strongest colonial powers--was more important than trying to pacify nonaligned leaders whose commitment to the United States seemed tenuous. While Rakove is to be congratulated for producing a tight and readable summary of U.S. policy toward nonaligned nations during the Kennedy--Johnson years, the argument that "engagement" was a real and powerful (if ultimately failed) departure in U. …
Validation of the Newly Developed Graphical Inventory of Ethical Leadership (GIEL) Scale: Implications for Administrator Preparation and Business Leaders.

This quantitative pilot-study empirically tested the factor structure and reliability of the newly developed Graphical Inventory of Ethical Leadership (GIEL) scale, a Likert-style scale for quantifying key concepts related to ethical leadership. Correlations and principal components analyses were performed using pre-existing data as self-reports from a sample including 103 graduate students, within a Scholarship for Teaching and Learning project design, in an administrator preparation program at a private university located in a large southwestern state of the U.S. Face and content validity were demonstrated and empirical analyses revealed a three-factor structure for a unidimensional construct of ethical leadership. Internal reliability was above the pre-determined indices of Cronbach’s alpha > .60 considered acceptable for scales in a pilot study. Potential uses of the GIEL include; as a baseline for setting and monitoring professional development goals, as evidence for recommending certification in administrator preparation programs, and as part of a 360-degree evaluation process.
Approach to the Laboratory, Imaging, and Molecular Work-up for Uveitis

The work-up and diagnosis of uveitic diseases can be a challenge. Evolving nomenclature and classifications as well as a limited understanding of the utility and limitations of diagnostic tests may lead to confusion, unnecessary testing, and inaccurate or delayed diagnosis. In this chapter, we hope to clarify the goals of diagnosis and present a systematic approach for the diagnostic work-up in patients with uveitis. In order to appropriately discuss this work-up, we will briefly review current nomenclature, emphasize the importance of history, present a few important discriminating exam findings, and highlight the utilization of an anatomic classification system. In addition, we will highlight the utility, indications, and complementary role of laboratory, radiographic, and molecular testing. With this review, we hope to remove some of the uncertainty that comes when approaching these often complicated patients.
Surgical and Endovascular Management of Unruptured Arteriovenous Malformations

Abstract Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are clusters of direct connections of arteries to draining veins without intervening capillary bed, which pose an important risk for intracranial hemorrhage and seizures. With increased use of noninvasive imaging in recent times, they are commonly detected incidentally. Contemporary management of unruptured AVMs takes into account the predicted risk for complications and includes observation, surgical resection, endovascular embolization, radiosurgery, or a combination thereof. Recently, the publication of the medical management with or without interventional therapy for unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations (ARUBA) trial in 2014 has resulted in some controversy regarding the management of unruptured AVMs. The focus of this chapter is on surgical and endovascular management of unruptured AVMs in light of ARUBA.
Seasonality of mortality and graft failure among kidney transplant recipients in the US - a retrospective study.

Mortality in the general population and in patients on chronic hemodialysis is significantly higher in winter than summer. It is unknown whether such a seasonal difference exists for mortality or graft failure among kidney transplant recipients. We analyzed United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) data to assess whether the annual distribution of deaths and graft failures differed significantly from expected. There was significant annual variation in both deaths (n = 52 523) and graft failures (n = 50 301; both P < 0.001). The number of observed deaths exceeded the number expected by 8.9% in winter (P < 0.001), whereas the number of deaths was 4.8% lower than expected in summer (P < 0.01). The pattern was strongest for deaths attributable to cardiovascular disease (n = 11 509; 21.9%). Similarly, there was an excess of graft failures in winter (3.6%; P < 0.01) and a deficit in other seasons (all P ≤ 0.02). This pattern was observed for graft failures due to chronic rejection (P < 0.001) and other causes (P < 0.001), but not for acute rejection (P = 0.28) or recurrent disease (P = 0.27). Potential explanations for this variation include changes in physiologic parameters, changes in medication adherence and other behaviors, or changes in insurance coverage or clinical care. Further studies are necessary to identify specific mechanisms.
Cardiovascular Complications of Cancer Therapy: Best Practices in Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management: Part 1.

Abstract Modern cancer therapy has successfully cured many cancers and converted a terminal illness into a chronic disease. Because cancer patients often have coexisting heart diseases, expert advice from cardiologists will improve clinical outcome. In addition, cancer therapy can also cause myocardial damage, induce endothelial dysfunction, and alter cardiac conduction. Thus, it is important for practicing cardiologists to be knowledgeable about the diagnosis, prevention, and management of the cardiovascular complications of cancer therapy. In this first part of a 2-part review, we will review cancer therapy–induced cardiomyopathy and ischemia. This review is based on a MEDLINE search of published data, published clinical guidelines, and best practices in major cancer centers. With the number of cancer survivors expanding quickly, the time has come for cardiologists to work closely with cancer specialists to prevent and treat cancer therapy–induced cardiovascular complications.
A Gate in the Wall of Sound: Embodiment and traditional gatekeeping in music photography

This study examines how gatekeeping aspects of photography, particularly embodied gatekeeping, interact with a subset of photojournalism that faces numerous barriers to access—music photography. Through in-depth interviews with concert photographers in a large metropolitan city, this study expands upon what is known about gatekeeping when it comes to visual media. While much has been studied on photojournalists as a whole, little is known about particular subgroups, such as music photographers. As a part of lifestyle journalism, concert photography contributes to the interaction of popular culture and society, showing us visual evidence of the spectacle of musical performance. Gatekeeping practices are found not only in the managers who issue credentials for access and control where photographers can shoot from but also in the community of photographers themselves. This is extended into embodied gatekeeping in how they jostle for access to space in the pit and enforce the rules with their bodies, such as ...
Limited Reliability of the Spot Urine Protein/Creatinine Ratio in the Longitudinal Evaluation of Patients With Lupus Nephritis.

Introduction Cross-sectional studies document that the spot protein/creatinine ratio (PCR) is often an inaccurate estimate of proteinuria magnitude compared with the 24-hour PCR, which is the gold standard. However, the extent to which the inaccuracy of the spot PCR varies over time and between individuals has not previously been reported. We address these crucial questions using a unique database, an National Institutes of Health trial in which lupus nephritis (LN) patients (N = 103) provided spot PCR testing each month and 24-hour PCR testing every 3 months for up to 15 months after induction therapy. Methods A gold standard proteinuria trend line was constructed for each patient by joining the points that represented the serial 24-hour PCR values of the patient. The spot PCR values of the patient were then plotted in relationship to the 24-hour PCR trend line. Using our previous work, which estimated the 95% confidence intervals for the 24-hour PCR at specific levels, we determined in each patient whether the spot PCR values were “reliable,” “problematic,” or “unreliable.” The sequential spot PCR of the patients deviated widely and often from the 24-hour PCR trend line, to the extent that, if the spot PCR results were used in real time for clinical decision-making, it was likely management errors would occur. Results Spot PCRs were reliable in 41%, problematic in 24%, and unreliable in 35% of patients. Those with unreliable spot PCRs could not be predicted and were more likely to respond poorly to treatment. Conclusion The spot PCR should not be used for management of LN, and perhaps, other glomerulopathies.
Leukemic-phase progression of aleukemic mast cell leukemia.

![Figure][1] A 35-year-old woman who presented with recurrent episodes of flushing, headache, palpitations, and elevated serum tryptase (81.7 ng/mL) was treated with fexofenadine and imatinib and diagnosed with the aleukemic variant of mast cell leukemia (MCL), defined as a high percentage of
The Treatment of Fallot’s Tetralogy

One of the outstanding developments of cardiac surgery is the progressive reduction in age at which total intracardiac repair of the tetralogy of Fallot has become possible. Thus we come near to the ideal of repairing all the symptomatic infants during the first months of life.
Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes in turkey and pork-beef bologna by combinations of sorbate, benzoate, and propionate.

The control of Listeria monocytogenes was evaluated with ready-to-eat uncured turkey and cured pork-beef bologna with combinations of benzoate, propionate, and sorbate. Three treatments of each product type were formulated to include control with no antimycotic agents; a combination of 0.05% sodium benzoate and 0.05% sodium propionate; and a combination of 0.05% sodium benzoate and 0.05% potassium sorbate. Ingredients were mixed, stuffed into fibrous, moisture-impermeable casings, cooked to an internal temperature of 73.9°C, chilled, and sliced. The final product was surface inoculated with L. monocytogenes (4 log CFU per package), vacuum packaged, and stored at 4°C for 13 weeks. The antimycotic addition to the second and third uncured turkey treatments initially slowed the pathogen growth rate compared with the control, but populations of L. monocytogenes increased 5 log or more by 6 weeks. In contrast, the addition of antimycotic combinations in the cured bologna prevented growth of L. monocytogenes dur...
A clustering linear combination approach to jointly analyze multiple phenotypes for GWAS.

Summary There is an increasing interest in joint analysis of multiple phenotypes for genome-wide association studies (GWASs) based on the following reasons. First, cohorts usually collect multiple phenotypes and complex diseases are usually measured by multiple correlated intermediate phenotypes. Second, jointly analyzing multiple phenotypes may increase statistical power for detecting genetic variants associated with complex diseases. Third, there is increasing evidence showing that pleiotropy is a widespread phenomenon in complex diseases. In this paper, we develop a clustering linear combination (CLC) method to jointly analyze multiple phenotypes for GWASs. In the CLC method, we first cluster individual statistics into positively correlated clusters and then, combine the individual statistics linearly within each cluster and combine the between-cluster terms in a quadratic form. CLC is not only robust to different signs of the means of individual statistics, but also reduce the degrees of freedom of the test statistic. We also theoretically prove that if we can cluster the individual statistics correctly, CLC is the most powerful test among all tests with certain quadratic forms. Our simulation results show that CLC is either the most powerful test or has similar power to the most powerful test among the tests we compared, and CLC is much more powerful than other tests when effect sizes align with inferred clusters. We also evaluate the performance of CLC through a real case study. Availability and implementation R code for implementing our method is available at http://www.math.mtu.edu/∼shuzhang/software.html. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A novel low pH fermentation process for the production of acetate and propylene glycol from carbohydrate wastes.

Abstract A novel low pH fermentation process was studied for the conversion of lactose using Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus buchneri under anoxic conditions in single co-culture, and two-stage sequential fermentations. This is aimed at producing acetate and propylene glycol (PG) as environmentally benign substitutes for currently used road and aircraft deicing chemicals. The results indicate that in the case of two-stage fermentation with immobilized L. buchneri in the second stage, lactose degradation rate increased markedly producing acetate and PG concentrations of 12.1 and 10.7 g L−1 at pH 3.8. In the case of coculture fermentation, the acetate and PG concentrations were 8.2 and 6.8 g L−1, respectively. Fermentation of lactose and whey powder was conducted at pH 4.25 using a high cell density culture of L. buchneri. The acetate and PG yields were similar for both substrates at ∼0.3 g/g and ∼0.33 g/g respectively. With a starting lactose concentration of 60 g/L, acetate and PG concentrations of 18 g/L and 21 g/L respectively were obtained. The low pH conversion of wastes to value-added products under anoxic conditions provides substantial operating benefits over neutral pH fermentations that require strict anaerobic conditions for effective operation. Moreover, the low product pH at around 4.0 will provide substantial savings in downstream processing costs due to the much higher extraction efficiency of weak- and moderate- base resins for acetic acid compared to acetate ion.
Intimate Uncertainties: A Mother Returns to Poetic Inquiry

Poetic inquiry offers the opportunity to become intimate with those multiple facets of self that shape our understanding. However, as scholars, even when we engage in creative forms of inquiry, we often find ourselves driven to ignore certain aspects of our identities. To acknowledge the personal within our research is uncomfortable and some have even argued, irrelevant. I believe our stories of the personal are extremely relevant, reflecting a landscape of multiple, fluid, intersecting and often contradictory subjectivities. As scholars, each of us has or will struggle at some point along our journey in relationship to our place within our work of doing research. The struggles may be different, but the discomfort is shared. Across the space of this article I use poetic inquiry to enter into discomfort and uncertainly as I try to make sense of what it means to engage in scholarship as a new mother. Through poetic inquiry my story does not exist in isolation, but instead becomes one of many in the larger dialogue of discomfort, uncertainty, self and possibility across the landscape of doing research and being human.
Imperfect causality

Causal reasoning is important to human reasoning. It plays an essential role in day-today human decision-making. Human understanding of causality is necessarily imprecise, imperfect, and uncertain. Soft computing methods may be able to provide the approximation tools needed. In order to algorithmically consider causes, imprecise causal models are needed. A difficulty is striking a good balance between precise formalism and imprecise reality. Determining causes from available data has been a goal throughout human history. Today, data mining holds the promise of extracting unsuspected information from very large databases. The most common methods build rules. In many ways, the interest in rules is that they offer the promise (or illusion) of causal, or at least, predictive relationships. However, the most common rule form (association rules) only calculates a joint occurrence frequency; they do not express a causal relationship. If causal relationships could be discovered, it would be very useful.
Design Optimization of Frame Preemption in Real-Time Switched Ethernet

Switched Ethernet has been, and will also be increasingly common in current and future real-time and embedded systems. The IEEE 802.1 working group has recently developed standards and technologies, commonly referred to as Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), to enhance switched Ethernet with timeliness and dependability. We address, for the first time, the synthesis problem for the TSN frame preemption standards IEEE 802.3br-2016 and 802.1Qbu-2016 by introducing two new configuration parameters: flow to queue and queue to Express/Preemptable MAC interface assignments. We present an optimization framework to determine these configuration parameters with reliability as the optimization goal. Our proposed framework is shown to outperform commonly used priority-assignment as well as intuitive approaches.
Cerebrovascular Disease: A Neurosurgeon's Perspective

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the pathophysiology and management of ischemic and hemorrhagic cerebrovascular disease. It discusses the relationship of ischemic and hemorrhagic cerebrovascular disease to arteriosclerosis, the selection of patients for surgery, carotid endarterectomy, extracranial-to-intracranial bypass, the acute ischemic event, aneurysms, and arteriovenous malformations. Stroke is the primary neurological disease and the third leading cause of death in the United States. It can be subdivided into ischemic and hemorrhagic varieties, based on the site and type of blood vessel injury. Ischemic strokes follow occlusion or thrombosis of the blood vessel lumen, causing impairment of blood flow beyond this obstruction. Nearly two-thirds of patients with stroke disease will have this variety. In hemorrhagic stroke disease, blood escapes from the blood vessel, causing either a focal clot within the brain substance (intraparenchymal) or a diffuse layering of blood over the surface of the brain (subarachnoid). Most ischemic strokes are affiliated with arteriosclerosis, producing cerebral symptoms by one of several mechanisms.
The Influence of Substance Use on Engagement in Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSI) in Adults

Background: Adults engaging in non-suicidal self-injurious (NSI) behaviors often report the use of substances; however, little research explores the relationship between substance abuse and NSI. Th...
The asymmetric response of the economy to tax changes before and after 1980

Abstract This paper explores the asymmetry in the response of GDP to tax shocks before and after 1980 as first noted in Romer and Romer (2010). I find that there are two main reasons why output responds more strongly to tax shocks before 1980 than after. First, a greater sensitivity of the effect of tax shocks on output to the state of the economy before 1980 explains about half of the difference between periods. Second, before 1980 the effect of tax shocks on households is indirect and lowers total personal income and nondurable goods consumption. After 1980 tax shocks affect personal tax payments directly, causing disposable income and savings to change. This finding affirms Romer and Romer’s hypothesis that households are more likely to consumption smooth. However, I find that households after 1980 consumption smooth in response to a change in their direct tax burden not, as Romer and Romer posit, because they have greater access to financial services.
Selected Configuration Interaction in a Basis of Cluster State Tensor Products.

Selected configuration interaction (SCI) methods are currently enjoying a resurgence due to several recent developments which improve either the overall computational efficiency or the compactness ...
Toxic Clostridioides (formerly Clostridium) difficile colitis: No longer a diarrhea associated infection.

Abstract Background Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is traditionally taught to be an antibiotic associated diarrheal infection. This diagnosis is based on the presence of clinical symptoms (usually defined as more than 3 watery, loose or unformed stool within 24 h) coupled with a diagnostic test. There is now a new presentation of CDI, including progression to toxic megacolon, in patients without diarrhea. Methods We report a case series of 9 surgical patients from a single institution who developed CDI without preceding diarrhea. Result All 9 patients had CDI with positive laboratory testing for C. difficile toxin. They, however, presented with a lack of or minimal bowel movements. Six patients had rapid development of abdominal distention, 1 patient had a single episode of watery stool in 3 days, while the other 2 patients presented with constipation. Seven patients received stool softeners, suppositories and/or enemas for presumed constipation. Four patients had a mild course of infection and were successfully treated medically. The other 5 patients developed toxic megacolon, and eventually required total abdominal colectomy. Out of the 5 patients that required total colectomy, 2 expired. Conclusion CDI must be suspected in patients who rapidly develop abdominal distention, vague abdominal complaints or change in bowel function even in the absence of diarrhea, especially if coupled with multi-system organ failure.
Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 prototype serologic test in hospitalized patients.

Abstract Objectives Humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection has been reported in several patient cohorts with results that vary by method and population studied due to the lack of reliable commercial assays available as the pandemic initially spread. We sought to clinically assess commercial prototype SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgA assays for use in screening for prior infection and convalescent plasma donation. Design and Methods: Prototype SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgA assays from Euroimmun were assessed utilizing remnant specimens. Specificity testing used specimens in their convalescent window for the common coronaviruses and other infectious diseases known to be associated with increased non-specificity in serologic assays. Sensitivity testing utilized serial specimens from molecularly confirmed SARS-CoV-2 critically ill patients to assess seroconversion. Utilizing recombinant spike protein we also developed a competitive confirmation procedure to increase assay specificity. Results We determined specificity to be 97% and 81%, respectively, when indeterminate samples were considered positive and 99% and 86% when indeterminate samples were considered negative. We developed a new confirmation methodology to enhance the specificity of the assays with an anticipated specificity of 98% for IgA. Valuation of hospitalized COVID-19 patients determined median IgA seroconversion to be 8 days and IgG 10 days. Neither level nor timing of antibody response correlated with days on ventilation. End titer measurements indicate that validated improved assays may be capable of semi-quantitative measurement. Conclusions We found these assays to be clinically acceptable for the high prevalence population tested, for instance, for convalescent plasma donation.
Pipes or Prisms? Personal Networks, Network Mechanisms, and Formal Support Receipt In The Wake Of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

Social networks are commonly discussed in reference to processes of disaster recovery but rarely explicitly measured. We employ a mixed-methods approach drawing upon the personal-network data of 26...
Exploring the differences between men's and women's perceptions of gender-based violence in rural Tajikistan: a qualitative study.

Most women living in rural provinces of Tajikistan, specifically Khatlon, experience little to no opportunities for education and economic growth, making them vulnerable to gender-based violence (GBV). Unfortunately due to social norms that are bolstered by a patriarchal society, GBV has become tolerated and even normalized in rural areas. This study looks to investigate the differences in perceptions of violence as it relates to empowerment among men and women in rural Tajikistan. Data collection was done through participatory workshops and semi-structured interviews (SSI) that were led by Extension Home Economists, which lectured on gender, violence, and empowerment. Community Empowerment Drawings is a novel tool that has been used to further gather sensitive information that was not previously discussed. During this process, participant groups were asked to draw their perception of empowered versus disempowered women, later explaining the different characteristics and traits of both. Random participants across both genders were later contacted for a SSI to triangulate the data from the participatory workshops. This qualitative study implemented qualitative content analysis to explore the data inductively. Analysis of the drawings and transcripts from the workshops and SSIs included two researchers coding through an iterative process. Themes were stratified by men’s and women’s perceptions and codebooks were compared to ensure consensus. Men and women from 12 villages participated in the Community Empowerment Drawings within each workshop, with 234 participants total. Results were stratified into two categories which were later broken down into notable themes: education, employment, decision-making, marital status, relationship wellness and respect, violence, mental health, and substance abuse. Major findings illustrated how disempowered women were perceived to have more exposure to men who experience alcohol abuse. This study found that differences in perceptions of empowerment between men and women remain—with men still holding onto the traditional power structure within a household and women challenging gender roles and mobility. Future studies may find engaging communities through drawings will yield more information regarding sensitive topics rather than traditional instruments. More support and advocacy are needed in areas of mental, neurological, and substance abuse disorders throughout rural Tajikistan.
PrivacyMic: Utilizing Inaudible Frequencies for Privacy Preserving Daily Activity Recognition

Sound presents an invaluable signal source that enables computing systems to perform daily activity recognition. However, microphones are optimized for human speech and hearing ranges: capturing private content, such as speech, while omitting useful, inaudible information that can aid in acoustic recognition tasks. We simulated acoustic recognition tasks using sounds from 127 everyday household/workplace objects, finding that inaudible frequencies can act as a substitute for privacy-sensitive frequencies. To take advantage of these inaudible frequencies, we designed a Raspberry Pi-based device that captures inaudible acoustic frequencies with settings that can remove speech or all audible frequencies entirely. We conducted a perception study, where participants “eavesdropped’’ on PrivacyMic’s filtered audio and found that none of our participants could transcribe speech. Finally, PrivacyMic’s real-world activity recognition performance is comparable to our simulated results, with over 95% classification accuracy across all environments, suggesting immediate viability in performing privacy-preserving daily activity recognition.
Credo: So Our Lives Glide On

Psychoanalytic believing is situated in a social frame, promoted through the potential of mental freedom, and found within the therapeutic action of playing.
Cyber-Physical Systems in Future Maintenance

Rapid and correct decision-making in big data environment is one of the most important challenges that companies are facing in today’s business world. But regardless of this significant requirement, lack of smart analytical tools has made several aspects of industry not ready to handle big data. As more intelligence is integrated in industrial products and manufacturing lines, smart algorithms with self-aware, self-predict, and self-configure capabilities can further transform manufacturing equipment, fleet management and production systems to achieve resilient and autonomously optimized productivity and services. This article addresses the application of cyber-physical systems in the future of maintenance strategies.
Emissions from Trucks using Fischer-Tropsch Diesel Fuel

The Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) catalytic conversion process can be used to synthesize diesel fuels from a variety of feedstocks, including coal, natural gas and biomass. Synthetic diesel fuels can have very low sulfur and aromatic content, and excellent autoignition characteristics. Moreover, Fischer-Tropsch diesel fuels may also be economically competitive with California B- diesel fuel if produced in large volumes. overview of Fischer-Tropsch diesel fuel production and engine emissions testing is presented. Previous engine laboratory tests indicate that F-T diesel is a promising alternative fuel because it can be used in unmodified diesel engines, and substantial exhaust emissions reductions can be realized. The authors have performed preliminary tests to assess the real-world performance of F-T diesel fuels in heavy-duty trucks. Seven White-GMC Class 8 trucks equipped with Caterpillar 10.3 liter engines were tested using F-T diesel fuel. Vehicle emissions tests were performed using West Virginia University's unique transportable chassis dynamometer. The trucks were found to perform adequately on neat F-T diesel fuel. Compared to a California diesel fuel baseline, neat F-T diesel fuel emitted about 12% lower oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and 24% lower particulate matter over a five-mile driving cycle.
The influence of adjuvant radiotherapy dose on overall survival in patients with resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND Adjuvant radiotherapy (A-RT) for patients with resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) is controversial. In the current study, the authors aim to determine whether there is an association between overall survival (OS) and A-RT dose. METHODS National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) data were obtained for all patients who received A-RT for resected PAC from 1998 through 2002. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed along with Kaplan-Meier estimates for A-RT levels < 40 grays (Gy), 40 Gy to < 50 Gy, 50 Gy to < 55 Gy, and ≥ 55 Gy. RESULTS A total of 1385 patients met the inclusion criteria. The median age of the patients was 64 years (range, 29 years-87 years). All patients underwent surgical resection and A-RT with or without chemotherapy. A total of 231 patients were diagnosed with stage I disease, 273 were diagnosed with stage II disease, 734 were diagnosed with stage III disease, and 126 were diagnosed with stage IVA disease (according to the fifth edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer); 21 were found to have an unknown stage of disease. The median A-RT dose was 45 Gy (range, 1.63 Gy-69 Gy). The median OS was 21 months (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 19 months-23 months). On multivariate analysis, an A-RT dose < 40 Gy (hazards ratio [HR], 1.30 [95% CI, 1.03-1.66]; P = .031), an A-RT dose of 40 Gy to < 50 Gy (HR, 1.17 [95% CI, 1.00-1.37]; P = .05), and an A-RT dose ≥ 55 Gy (HR, 1.44 [95% CI, 1.08-1.93]; P = .013) predicted worse OS compared with the reference category of 50 Gy to < 55 Gy. CONCLUSIONS A-RT doses of < 40 Gy, 40 Gy to < 50 Gy, and ≥ 55 Gy were found to be associated with an inferior OS. The dose of A-RT delivered appears to influence OS and a prospective study evaluating the addition of optimally delivered A-RT for patients with resected PAC is needed. Cancer 2013;119:2350–2357. © 2013 American Cancer Society.
Defense Against REST-based Web Service Attacks for Enterprise Systems

In recent years, Representational State Transfer or REST-based Web Services have become popular for building Web systems. They have become an integral and critical part of information systems to facilitate and integrate the business processes across the enterprise. However, the simplicity of a REST-based implementation has caused the neglect of its systematic security threat analysis and design. One of the issues of systems built with REST services integration is their susceptibility to JSON input attacks. Such attacks could compromise the integrity of critical data in enterprise business processes. We analyze such a security issue in this paper. Some mechanisms used to secure Web sites and servers, such as encryption via HTTPS, static source code analysis, and input validation, can be integrated to defend against the attack.
Thermoregulatory responses to serotonin (5-HT) receptor stimulation in the rat. Evidence for opposing roles of 5-HT2 and 5-HT1A receptors.

Abstract The effects of serotonergic agonists and antagonists on the body temperatures of rats were investigated. The administration of the serotonin (5-HT) agonist 6-chloro-2(1-piperazinyl)-pyrazine (MK-212) produced a dose-related increase in body temperature. A maximal increase in body temperature of approx. 1.1°C was observed 30min after the administration of 3 mg/kg of MK-212. In contrast, administration of the putative 5-HT 1A agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di- n -propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) resulted in marked, dose-related hypothermic responses. Body temperatures were decreased approx. 3°C 30 min after an injection of 0.3 mg/kg of 8-OH-DPAT. Body temperatures were affected differentially by 5-methoxy- N,N -dimethyltryptamine (5-MeODMT). Large doses (3–10 mg/kg) of 5-MeODMT elicited hyperthermic responses, whereas small doses (0.5–1.0 mg/kg) produced hypothermie responses. Treatment of rats with ketanserin (3 mg/kg) completely prevented the hyperthermic effects of 5-MeODMT, and, in fact, converted a hyperthermic response to 5-MeODMT into a marked hypothermie response. Ketanserin (0.1–1.0 mg/kg) selectively antagonized the hyperthermic response to MK-212 but did not alter the hypothermic effect of 8-OH-DPAT. Mianserin (10 mg/kg) and pirenperone (0.03 mg/kg) also selectively antagonized hyperthermia induced by MK-212. In contrast, pindolol (0.03–0.1 mg/kg) and methiothepin (10 mg/kg) selectively antagonized hypothermia induced by 8-OH-DPAT but did not alter hyperthermia induced by MK-212. Spiperone (0.1–3 mg/kg) and pizotifen (10 mg/kg) attenuated the effects of both 8-OH-DPAT and MK-212. Xylamidine, a peripheral 5-HT antagonist, had no significant effect on hyperthermia induced by MK-212 or hypothermia induced by 8-OH-DPAT. It also was found that treatment of rats with the 5-HT 2 antagonists ketanserin or pirenperone alone resulted in a decrease in body temperature, whereas the administration of pindolol produced an increase in body temperature. On the basis of the present findings, it is concluded that the hyperthermic responses following the administration of MK-212 are mediated by central 5-HT 2 receptors and that the hypothermic responses to 8-OH-DPAT involve the activation of central 5-HT 1A receptors. The differential effects of 5-MeODMT on body temperature suggest that this indoleamine can activate both subtypes of 5-HT receptor.
Motivational Interviewing in the Prevention of Alcohol Abuse

Abstract : Motivational interviewing (MI) is a brief counseling method that has been shown to reduce alcohol abuse and alcohol-related problems. This project focuses on the training of Air Force behavioral health providers in the motivational interviewing method, with behavioral coding to assess the success and cost-effectiveness of the training. In addition, this project will assess the impact of such enhanced training on the overall level of alcohol-related events. Initial human subjects approval has been obtained from all three oversight agencies for this study (UNM, Ft. Detrick and Wilford Hall) and revision of protocol and consent forms to satisfy all three agencies is now in progress. The behavioral coding system that forms the outcome measure for this study has been pilot- tested and coders have been trained to reliability. Systems for managing data and securing confidentiality of the data have been implemented.
Prediction of Fracture Risk in Patients with Osteoporosis: A Brief Review:

Osteoporosis, a well-defined and growing public health problem, is a disease characterized by increased bone turnover and decreased bone mass with associated skeletal fragility, resulting in an increased risk of fracture. It is often unrecognized until the late stages when fragility fractures have occurred. In adults, early recognition of the disease prior to the occurrence of fractures followed by timely and efficient initiation of appropriate treatment can reduce fracture risk. In this article, we review clinical modalities available to effectively predict fracture risk in patients with osteoporosis. Bone mineral density and presence of clinical risk factors may be combined to provide a more comprehensive osteoporotic fracture risk assessment. Use of FRAX may serve as a general guideline for clinical management and deciding a threshold for cost-effective pharmacological intervention. Elevated bone turnover markers are predictive of high fracture risk and can provide additional clinical information as well.
Instability in micromachined electrostatic torsion actuators with full travel range

By studying pull-in behavior, we investigate the stability of single-crystal silicon, rectangular, electrostatic torsion actuators in a variety of ambients and configurations. These structures are designed for full travel range using partial-plate buried electrodes on either oxidized silicon or nitrided glass substrates. We find that the presence of charge in both systems, due at least in part to moisture on insulating surfaces surrounding the buried partial plate, has a large effect on pull-in performance, even in vacuum and flowing dry nitrogen. We are able to minimize this charge effect by using devices fabricated with ground shield electrodes. These improved structures exhibit stable actuation in air without pull-in at a travel range that exceeds 90%. This is among the highest measured stable values reported in the literature.
Knowledge and Perceptions of College Students Regarding the Physician Assistant Profession

Purpose: Physician assistants (PAs) are nationally certified and state-licensed medical professionals who practice medicine on healthcare teams with physicians and other providers. Despite the increasing popularity and utility of the profession, knowledge of the role of PAs remains scarce among many segments of the population. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and perceptions of the PA profession among undergraduate college students, as well as what factors are associated with better knowledge and perception of the profession. Methods: Using a cross-sectional survey, information was gathered regarding knowledge and perception of PAs. A total of 364 students were surveyed from randomly selected undergraduate courses at a Connecticut public university. Results: Knowledge scores were significantly higher (p<0.05) in older students, female students, those with plans to pursue a healthcare career, those majoring in health and human services, and those satisfied with care received from a PA. Significantly better perceptions (p<0.05) of PAs were found in older students, those with plans for a future career in healthcare, those majoring in health and human services, those who received prior care from a PA, and those who were satisfied with prior care from a PA. After a short educational intervention, improvements in perceptions were statistically significant (p<0.001) in the surveyed population. Conclusion: This study identifies areas of needed improvement in knowledge and perception of PAs and also provides impetus for educational and marketing-based interventions to improve knowledge and perception of the PA profession in the college student population.
Regional Enteritis Involving the Duodenum: Report of Three Cases

Summary Three cases of regional enteritis involving the duodenum are reported. In the first case the duodenum alone was involved by two skip areas; in the second case the jejunum was also implicated; in the third patient skip areas in the proximal ileum, terminal ileum, and ascending colon were also noted. Symptoms in the first case were chiefly of obstructive character, and led to a short-circuiting operation. The patient became completely asymptomatic after surgery and remained so for a 2 1/2-year follow-up period. A vagotomy was performed on the second case with symptomatic improvement. The third patient had a resection of the terminal ileum and proximal colon, but later developed recurrence of disease.
On the (relative) unimportance of a balanced budget

This paper explores the reasoning underlying Milton Friedman’s preference for a small, unbalanced budget over a large, balanced one. Because the marginal return from government spending is less than the marginal cost (measured in terms of the amount of income private individuals remain free to spend), government expenditures have more of an adverse impact on the economy in his view than does the method of financing that spending. Using a panel data set comprising the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, we report evidence from the years 1967 through 1992 that growth rates in income per capita tend to be higher in states with smaller public sectors. Moreover, we find that while both deficits and taxes reduce the rate of income growth in a state, the negative impact of government spending is considerably larger at the margin.
Transcription Factor NF-κB Regulates Igλ Light Chain Gene Rearrangement

The tissue- and stage-specific assembly of Ig and TCR genes is mediated by a common V(D)J recombinase complex in precursor lymphocytes. Directed alterations in the accessibility of V, D, and J gene segments target the recombinase to specific Ag receptor loci. Accessibility within a given locus is regulated by the functional interaction of transcription factors with cognate enhancer elements and correlates with the transcriptional activity of unrearranged gene segments. As demonstrated in our prior studies, rearrangement of the Igκ locus is regulated by the inducible transcription factor NF-κB. In contrast to the Igκ locus, known transcriptional control elements in the Igλ locus lack functional NF-κB binding sites. Consistent with this observation, the expression of assembled Igλ genes in mature B cells has been shown to be NF-κB independent. Nonetheless, we now show that specific repression of NF-κB inhibits germline transcription and recombination of Igλ gene segments in precursor B cells. Molecular analyses indicate that the block in NF-κB impairs Igλ rearrangement at the level of recombinase accessibility. In contrast, the activities of known Igλ promoter and enhancer elements are unaffected in the same cellular background. These findings expand the range of NF-κB action in precursor B cells beyond Igκ to include the control of recombinational accessibility at both L chain loci. Moreover, our results strongly suggest the existence of a novel Igλ regulatory element that is either directly or indirectly activated by NF-κB during the early stages of B cell development.
P02-244 Unconditional love and the loss of children

Parental alienation syndrome is a process wherein children are alienated from the non-custodial parent by the custodial parent during, and even after, divorce processes. The poison used by the custodial parent can destroy all family relations among the non-custodial parent and these children. Classically, the eldest child turns away first and, like dominoes, the younger children follow. Years later, these children may argue that unconditional love never existed. It is the duty of the non-custodial parent to work with these children, however painful, such that they may move toward a more truthful and meaningful life. Poetry therapy can be utilized to address both cognitive and emotional aspects to loss, including the loss of children secondary to parental alienation syndrome.
William Dean Reese: A Tribute

Bill was an eclectic person, those who did not know him well would be surprised at the range of his interests and skills. His early years were spent on a dairy farm in Maryland, and as a result he always considered himself a 'farm boy at heart.' A dairy farm is relentlessly demanding, the cows must be milked twice a day, 365 days each year. Moreover, there are the plowing, planting, cultivating, cutting, and harvesting that must be done in season. Bill's early farm experiences were remarkable since the farm did not have a tractor until his