cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Separation of anions by ion chromatography–capillary electrophoresis

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) with a water-soluble ion-exchange polymer in the background electrolyte is very efficient for the separation of organic and inorganic anions because the ion-exchange selectivity, as well as differences in electrophoretic mobility, can be used for separating sample ions. Poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDAC) was employed for this purpose. A very stable electroosmotic flow was obtained between pH 2.3 and 8.5 due to the strong adsorption of PDDAC onto the capillary wall. The effect of ion exchange on the migration of sample anions and their separation was controlled by varying the concentration of PDDAC, the concentration and the type of salt used in the CE background electrolyte. Addition of organic solvent (e.g., acetonitrile) could also modify the sample migration and the separation. Baseline separations were obtained for anions with very similar mobilities, such as bromide and iodide, naphthalenesulfonates, and bi- and tricarboxylic acids. Typical separation efficiencies were between 195,000 and 429,000 theoretical plates per meter. Ten replicate separations gave an average RSD of 1.0% for migration times of the sample anions studied. Excellent separations were obtained for a variety of samples, including a separation of 17 inorganic and organic anions in less than 6 min.
Earthquake prediction evaluation standards applied to the VAN Method

Earthquake prediction research must meet certain standards before it can be suitably evaluated for potential application in decision making. For methods that result in a binary (on or off) alarm condition, requirements include (1) a quantitative description of observables that trigger an alarm, (2) a quantitative description, including ranges of time, location, and magnitude, of the predicted earthquakes, (3) documented evidence of all previous alarms, (4) a complete list of predicted earthquakes, (5) a complete list of unpredicted earthquakes. The VAN technique [Varotsos and Lazaridou, 1991; Varotsos et al., 1996] has not yet been stated as a testable hypothesis. It fails criteria (1) and (2) so it is not ready to be evaluated properly. Although telegrams were transmitted in advance of claimed successes, these telegrams did not fully specify the predicted events, and all of the published statistical evaluations involve many subjective ex post facto decisions. Lacking a statistically demonstrated relationship to earthquakes, a candidate prediction technique should satisfy several plausibility criteria, including: (1) a reasonable relationship between the location of the candidate precursor and that of the predicted earthquake, (2) some demonstration that the candidate precursory observations are related to stress, strain, or other quantities related to earthquakes, and (3) the existence of co-seismic as well as pre-seismic variations of the candidate precursor. The VAN technique meets none of these criteria.
Lack of Predictive Value of Letters of Recommendation: An Exercise in Futility

BACKGROUND: Residency programs attempt to select the best residency candidates among applicants to their programs. Criteria commonly used in making the selection include personality, communication skills, medical school grades and performance, United States Medical Licensing Examination scores, Dean’s letters, and letters of recommendation (LORs). AIM: To determine if LORs scored with a previously validated rubric correlate with cognitive and/or clinical competencies during the first year of pediatric training using standardized testing and preceptor evaluation performance measures. METHODS: One hundred and twelve LORs for 35 of the 41 entering residents of the class of 2010 were blindly reviewed by a nurse educator using a validated 7-point Likert-type scoring system previously described by Girzadas, et al (1998). We conducted a previous pilot study demonstrating an inter-rater reliability of 0.7 between a physician rater and this same nurse educator using this validated scoring system. Mean LOR scores for each applicant were calculated. Residents were evaluated during the 2010-2011 academic year by faculty preceptors on each of the resident’s individual rotations using a 7-point Likert-type scoring system. The faculty evaluated the residents on each of the six core competencies. Faculty evaluations for all the competencies were averaged for each individual resident. In-training examination results were used to measure cognitive performance. RESULTS: There was an extremely weak positive correlation (r 1⁄4 0.1) between the average LOR score and the overall preceptor evaluation of clinical performance during residency. There was also an extremely weak negative correlation with cognitive assessment (r 1⁄4 0.09). CONCLUSION: LORs can be time-consuming for faculty towrite and also for residency programs to review. Based on our findings, LORs do not correlate with performance during the first year of training. Consideration should be given to different mechanisms of identification of the strengths and weaknesses of residency candidates prior to post-graduate training that may better predict performance.
Monte Carlo Solution to Find Input Parameters in Systems Design Problems

Most engineering system designs, such as product, process, and service design, involve a framework for arriving at a target value for a set of experiments. This paper considers a stochastic approximation algorithm for estimating the controllable input parameter within a desired accuracy, given a target value for the performance function. Two different problems, what-if and goal-seeking problems, are explained and defined in an auxiliary simulation model, which represents a local response surface model in terms of a polynomial. A method of constructing this polynomial by a single run simulation is explained. An algorithm is given to select the design parameter for the local response surface model. Finally, the mean time to failure (MTTF) of a reliability subsystem is computed and compared with its known analytical MTTF value for validation purposes.
Alkyne Metathesis: Catalysts and Synthetic Applications

There has been rapid progress and growing interest in alkyne metathesis within the past decade. The availability of highly active catalysts as well as their applications in both organic synthesis and polymer chemistry has served to motivate the advancement of this field. In this article, the development of several different metathesis catalysts, including two heterogeneous ones, are reviewed with an emphasis on comparing strengths and weaknesses. In Section 4, the applications of alkyne metathesis to synthesis of natural products, conjugated polymers as well as shape-persistent macrocycles are discussed. In the last section, a comparison of alkyne metathesis to the well established alkene metathesis is given. Developing an alkyne metathesis catalyst with both high reactivity and robustness to air and moisture remains an unsolved problem of this important and useful reaction.
Bulk Behavior of Nanostructured Materials

Bulk nanostructured materials are defined as bulk solids with nanoscale or partly nanoscale microstructures. This category of nanostructured materials has historical roots going back many decades but has a relatively recent focus due to new discoveries of unique properties of some nanoscale materials.
Scale up considerations for sediment microbial fuel cells

Scale-up of sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) is important to generating practical levels of power for undersea devices. Sustained operation of many sensors and communications systems require power in the range of 0.6 mW to 20 W. Small scale SMFC systems evaluated primarily in the laboratory indicate power densities for typical graphite plate anodes on the order of 10–50 mW m−2. However, previous work also suggests that SMFC power production may not scale directly with size. Here, we describe a combination of lab and field studies to evaluate scale up for carbon fabric anodes with a projected surface area ranging from 25 cm2 to 12 m2. The results indicate that power generation scales almost linearly with anode size up to about 1–2 m2 of projected surface area. Our model suggests that anodes larger than this can experience significant reduction in power density, confirming laboratory observations. These results suggest that the majority of losses along the anode surface occur closest to the electronics, where the amount of current passing along an anode is the greatest. A multi-anode approach is discussed for SMFCs, suggesting that scale-up can be achieved using segmented anode arrays.
Is Self-Reflectiveness an Unhealthy Aspect of Private Self-Consciousness?

Abstract A number of researchers (M. Conway & C. Giannopoulos, 1993; P. J. Watson & M. D. Biderman, 1993) have suggested that self-reflectiveness is an unhealthy aspect of private self-consciousness related to psychopathology. However, these studies did not control for the significant correlation that exists between self-reflectiveness and subscale factors of public self-consciousness: style consciousness and appearance consciousness. The purpose of this research was to address these interrelationships by comparing correlational results with those obtained from multiple regression analyses. Participants (N =111) completed the Self-Consciousness Scale (A. Fenigstein, M. F. Scheier, & A. H. Buss, 1975) and the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992). The results suggested that when the effects of style consciousness and appearance consciousness are controlled, the relationship between self-reflectiveness and neuroticism is nonsignificant. Furthermore, multiple regression analyses sugges...
Water Use for Shale-Gas Production in Texas, U.S.

Shale-gas production using hydraulic fracturing of mostly horizontal wells has led to considerable controversy over water-resource and environmental impacts. The study objective was to quantify net water use for shale-gas production using data from Texas, which is the dominant producer of shale gas in the U.S. with a focus on three major plays: the Barnett Shale (∼15 000 wells, mid-2011), Texas-Haynesville Shale (390 wells), and Eagle Ford Shale (1040 wells). Past water use was estimated from well-completion data, and future water use was extrapolated from past water use constrained by shale-gas resources. Cumulative water use in the Barnett totaled 145 Mm3 (2000–mid-2011). Annual water use represents ∼9% of water use in Dallas (population 1.3 million). Water use in younger (2008–mid-2011) plays, although less (6.5 Mm3 Texas-Haynesville, 18 Mm3 Eagle Ford), is increasing rapidly. Water use for shale gas is <1% of statewide water withdrawals; however, local impacts vary with water availability and competin...
Keeping secrets from parents: daily variations among poor, urban adolescents.

Daily variations in secrecy with mothers and fathers were examined in 108 poor, urban, diverse middle adolescents (M = 15.16 years, SD = 0.89). Adolescents completed online diaries over 14 days assessing secrecy from parents about school, personal, and multifaceted activities (e.g., staying out late), and bad behavior. Three-level hierarchical linear models indicated that there were significant daily fluctuations in adolescents' secrecy with mothers and that adolescents kept more secrets from mothers about personal than other activities. Secrecy with mothers also was associated with greater involvement in problem behavior. For both mothers and fathers, secrecy on the current day was associated with greater secrecy on the previous day and with poorer overall relationships (as aggregated across study days) with that parent. Thus, for mothers, secrecy appeared to be associated with both stable factors and daily variations, whereas for fathers, secrecy was associated primarily with stable factors. The results provide a detailed picture of secrecy in diverse adolescents' everyday lives.
Effects of chronic antidepressant drug administration and electroconvulsive shock on activity of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmentum.

Increasing attention is now focused on reduced dopaminergic neurotransmission in the forebrain as participating in depression. The present paper assessed whether effective antidepressant (AD) treatments might counteract, or compensate for, such a change by altering the neuronal activity of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA-DA neurons), the cell bodies of the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system. Eight AD drugs or vehicle were administered to rats for 14 days via subcutaneously-implanted minipumps, at which time single-unit electrophysiological activity of VTA-DA neurons was recorded under anesthesia. Also, animals received a series of five electroconvulsive shocks (ECS) or control procedures, after which VTA-DA activity was measured either three or five days after the last ECS. Results showed that the chronic administration of all AD drugs tested except for the monoamine oxidase inhibitor increased the spontaneous firing rate of VTA-DA neurons, while effects on “burst” firing activity were found to be considerably less notable or consistent. ECS increased both spontaneous firing rate and burst firing of VTA-DA neurons. It is suggested that the effects observed are consistent with reports of increased dopamine release in regions to which VTA neurons project after effective AD treatment. However, it is further suggested that changes in VTA-DA neuronal activity in response to AD treatment should be most appropriately assessed under conditions associated with depression, such as stressful conditions.
MATLAB Parallelization through Scalarization

While the popularity of using high-level programming languages such as MATLAB for scientific and engineering applications continues to grow, its poor performance compared to traditional languages such as Fortran or C continues to impede its deployment in full-scale simulations and data analysis. Additionally, its poor memory performance limits its performance. To ameliorate performance, we have been developing a MATLAB and Octave compiler that improves performance of MATLAB code by performing type inference and using the resulting type information to remove common bottlenecks. We observe that unlike past results, scalarizing array statements, instead of vectorizing scalar statements, is more fruitful when compiling MATLAB to C or C++. Two important situations where such scalarization helps is in expressions containing array subscripts and sequences of related array statements. In both cases, it is possible to generate fused loops and replace array temporaries by scalars, thus reducing the memory bandwidth pressure. Additional array temporaries are obviated in the case of array subscripts. Further, starting with vectorized statements guarantees that the resulting loops can be parallelized, creating opportunities for a mix of thread-level and instruction-level parallelism as well as GPU execution. We have implemented this strategy in a MATLAB compiler that compiles portions of MATLAB to C++ or CUDA C. Evaluation results on a set of benchmarks selected from diverse domains shows speed improvements ranging from 1.5x to almost 17x on an eight-core Intel Core 2 Duo machine.
Ad impression forecasting for sponsored search

A typical problem for a search engine (hosting sponsored search service) is to provide the advertisers with a forecast of the number of impressions his/her ad is likely to obtain for a given bid. Accurate forecasts have high business value, since they enable advertisers to select bids that lead to better returns on their investment. They also play an important role in services such as automatic campaign optimization. Despite its importance the problem has remained relatively unexplored in literature. Existing methods typically overfit to the training data, leading to inconsistent performance. Furthermore, some of the existing methods cannot provide predictions for new ads, i.e., for ads that are not present in the logs. In this paper, we develop a generative model based approach that addresses these drawbacks. We design a Bayes net to capture inter-dependencies between the query traffic features and the competitors in an auction. Furthermore, we account for variability in the volume of query traffic by using a dynamic linear model. Finally, we implement our approach on a production grade MapReduce framework and conduct extensive large scale experiments on substantial volumes of sponsored search data from Bing. Our experimental results demonstrate significant advantages over existing methods as measured using several accuracy/error criteria, improved ability to provide estimates for new ads and more consistent performance with smaller variance in accuracies. Our method can also be adapted to several other related forecasting problems such as predicting average position of ads or the number of clicks under budget constraints.
Postsecondary Education for Individuals With Disabilities: Legal and Practice Considerations

Participation of students with disabilities in postsecondary education has been increasing steadily in the past two decades. Many of these students need reasonable accommodations and other assistance in order to stay enrolled and graduate with a degree. However, recent studies indicate that faculty in higher education have little knowledge about legislative mandates regarding their obligation in serving students with disabilities. When faculty members are ignorant of the legislative mandates pertaining to students with disabilities, accessibility to learning may be compromised. Lack of disability legislative knowledge may also lead to a failure to provide reasonable accommodations and may ultimately result in litigation. This article provides an overview of legislative mandates, examines relevant litigation, and discusses practice considerations regarding the participation of students with disabilities in postsecondary settings.
Growth and Graviresponsiveness of Primary Roots of Zea mays Seedlings Deficient in Abscisic Acid and Gibberellic Acid

The objective of this research was to determine if gibberellic acid (GA) and/or abscisic acid (ABA) are necessary for graviresponsiveness by primary roots of Zea mays. To accomplish this objective we measured the growth and graviresponsiveness of primary roots of seedlings in which the synthesis of ABA and GA was inhibited collectively and individually by genetic and chemical means. Roots of seedlings treated with Fluridone (an inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis) and Ancymidol (an inhibitor of GA biosynthesis) were characterized by slower growth rates but not significantly different gravicultures as compared to untreated controls. Gravicurvatures of primary roots of d-5 mutants (having undetectable levels of GA) and vp-9 mutants (having undectable levels of ABA) were not significantly different from those of wild-type seedlings. Roots of seedlings in which the biosynthesis of ABA and GA was collectively inhibited were characterized by gravicurvatures not significantly different for those of controls. These results (1) indicate that drastic reductions in the amount of ABA and GA in Z. mays seedlings do not significantly alter root graviresponsiveness, (2) suggest that neither ABA nor GA is necessary for root gravicurvature, and (3) indicate that root gravicurvature is not necessarily proportional to root elongation.
Percutaneous Circulatory Support for Biventricular Failure

Biventricular (BiV) failure is associated with a high rate of in-hospital mortality despite advances in therapeutic interventions.1 Multiorgan system dysfunction (MOSD) is a frequent complication of BiV shock and often prohibits surgical ventricular assist device (VAD) placement. Patients with refractory cardiogenic shock may benefit from temporary BiV support to allow for organ recovery and to assess right ventricular (RV) function better with mechanical decompression of the left ventricle (LV).2 We report 2 cases of percutaneous BiV circulatory support with refractory cardiogenic shock. A 67-year-old man with a nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy presented with acutely decompensated heart failure. An echocardiogram showed an LV ejection fraction of 10%, moderately depressed RV function, and moderate tricuspid regurgitation (Movie I in the online-only Data Supplement). Right heart catheterization demonstrated a severely reduced cardiac output, elevated BiV filling pressures, and pulmonary hypertension (Table). The patient eventually developed MOSD refractory to dual inotropes, vasopressors, and a Mega (50 mL) intra-aortic balloon pump (Maquet, Inc). Because of MOSD, the patient was deemed a poor candidate for surgical VAD implantation. An Impella 5.0 axial-flow device was then deployed via the right axillary …
The evolving role of docetaxel in the management of androgen independent prostate cancer.

ABSTRACTPurpose: Androgen independent prostate cancer is an advanced disease with an extremely poor outcome. In view of this fact, a great deal of interest has recently been generated in the potential use of chemotherapeutic agents, particularly docetaxel. We reviewed the evolving role of docetaxel as a chemotherapeutic agent for the management of this disease.Materials and Methods: The main emphasis of this review is discussion of the various clinical trials that have investigated the use of docetaxel alone or combined with other agents for androgen independent prostate cancer.Results: Docetaxel, which acts primarily by inhibiting microtubular depolymerization, in combination with other agents has consistently demonstrated a palliative response, a decrease in serum prostate specific antigen levels by 50% or greater in more than 60% of patients, a decrease in measurable disease and the suggestion of improved survival.Conclusions: Docetaxel based regimens are moderately well tolerated and they have shown p...
Pro: the treatment of the granulomatous response is beneficial in acute sarcoidosis.

Corticosteroids effectively suppress granulomatous inflammation in sarcoidosis. However, the role of corticosteroids remains unsettled nearly sixty years after the first report of their benefits. As in other contentious areas of medicine, we prioritize evidence from controlled clinical trials to guide decision-making. Despite the paucity of randomized, double-blind controlled evidence, the preponderance of data from the available trials is congruent: treatment of acute sarcoidosis is “on-balance” beneficial. To provide focus, I will limit my comments to recent-onset pulmonary sarcoidosis, defined as less than five years since diagnosis.
Mental Health Stereotypes About Gay Men

Three studies were conducted to examine the mental health stereotypes about gay men among college student and therapist trainee samples. Results from Study 1 indicated that (a) college students and therapist trainees endorsed a stereotype of the mental health of gay men that was similar in terms of its content and strength, and (b) the stereotype was consistent with five DSM-IV-TR disorder categories: mood, anxiety, sexual and gender identity, eating, and personality disorders. In Study 2 and 3 we investigated whether homophobia or a tendency to report cultural beliefs could account for the lack of difference between college students and therapist trainees. Results did not support either explanation.
An Analysis of Network Location Problems with Distance Constraints

This paper concerns a class of network location problems with minimum or maximum separation requirements between uncapacitated facilities or between demand points and the facilities, or both. Its purpose is three-fold. First, it is to recognize distance constraints as increasing real life restrictions through various motivating illustrations. Using a new classification scheme, the paper introduces a variety of distance-constrained problems defined in a unified manner. These include a number of new problems. Second, it is to survey existing solution techniques, available only for a few of such constrained problems. Finally, it is to shed some light on yet unstudied problems by exploring possible extensions of some of the known solution techniques or discussing varying degrees of difficulties involved. In particular, the paper presents integer programming formulations of several new problems along with the results of applying linear programming relaxation methods. Although the computational experience is somewhat disappointing for some of these problems, the results provide greater insight into the problems. With the stated purpose, it is hoped that this paper will stimulate future research in this important problem area.
Ordinary and transition regime diffusion in random fiber structures

The problem of bulk, transition and Knudsen regime diffusion in structures of freely overlapping fibers of various orientation distributions was numerically investigated, and the interrelation of the resulting effective diffusivities was examined. Fibers were randomly positioned and oriented in d = 1, 2, or 3 directions. A Monte Carlo simulation scheme was employed to determine the effective diffusivities from the mean-square displacement of random walkers traveling in the interior of the porous structure. The effective diffusivity was found to depend strongly on the orientational distribution of the fibers, porosity of the fibrous structures, and Knudsen number. The tortuosity factor decreased in general with increasing porosity, approaching at the limit of dilute beds the lower bound derived for each direction of diffusion from variational principles. The simulation results agreed well with experimental values of the bulk tortuosity of fibrous beds from the literature. It was also found that the reciprocal additivity or harmonic average effective diffusivity expression (Bosanquet formula), commonly used to estimate transition regime diffusivities from the values at the ordinary and Knudsen diffusion limits, provides an excellent approximation for the effective diffusivity of fibrous beds, except for that parallel to the fibers of a unidirectional structure.
RcUBe: Real-time reconfigurable radio framework with self-optimization capabilities

Existing commercial wireless systems are mostly hardware-based, and rely on closed and inflexible designs and architectures. Moreover, despite recent significant algorithmic developments in cross-layer network adaptation and resource allocation, existing network architectures are unable to incorporate most of these advancements. While software-defined radio (SDR) was envisioned as a new paradigm promising radical runtime adaptation through all layers of the networking protocol stack, the reality of the state-of-the-art in wireless networking practice is far from having fulfilled such promise of fast and intelligent reconfigurability and adaptability. Networking research based on the “software-defined radio” paradigm has suffered almost invariably from the lack of adequate and coherently designed abstractions to (i) define networking protocols and their cross-layer interactions across all layers of the protocol stack; (ii) define decision-making algorithms to control such interactions. To address this need, we introduce RcUBe (Real-time Re-configurable Radio), a novel architectural radio framework based on abstractions that offer real-time reconfigurability and optimization capabilities at the PHY, MAC, and network layers of the protocol stack. Unlike state-of-the-art solutions, RcUBe offers a structured methodology at variable levels of abstraction to accommodate implementations of a wide range of network architectures and protocols and complex decision-making in a modular, platform-independent way. RcUBe provides these features through a design structured into four distinct, but interacting planes, namely decision, control, data, and register plane. The broad capabilities of the proposed framework are demonstrated on a network level software-defined radio setup through a range of experiments where RcUBe is used to implement various reconfigurable functionalities of a wireless system at the PHY, MAC, and network layer.
Placental Vasculogenesis/Angiogenesis

As has been noted in the previous articles, the placenta is a functionally multifaceted organ that, through controlled growth and maturation, enables normal embryofetal development and growth. Provision of these complex functions requires (1) a receptive maternal circulatory system for proper implantation and further adaptations that enable provision of adequate blood flow within the maternal space and (2) a sufficiently arborizing fetal circulation that enables efficient exchange of fetal waste products and carbon dioxide with nutrient rich, oxygenated blood, and its delivery to the developing fetus. The dual circulations are distinct, separated by trophoblast cells of the chorionic villous tree, in order to escape a deleterious immune response, by the mother, to the fetoplacental unit. Tight regulation of angiogenesis is requisite for placental growth and development and is controlled mainly through trophoblastic maturation, angiogenic factors and their receptors, and placental oxygen tension. Abnormalities in any of these components may result in abnormal placental vascular development or inappropriate maternal arterial adaptations and can result in first-trimester pregnancy loss or third-trimester complications such as preeclampsia and fetal intrauterine growth restriction. Discussions of these complications are largely the subjects of subsequent articles in this section.
15 Cognitive Aging: A Summary Overview

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of cognitive aging. It deals with three facets of cognitive aging. One is an attempt to understand underlying cognitive processes, and to discover the ways in which these processes show age-related change, both quantitative and qualitative. A second facet concerns the impact of other traits of the individual on cognitive functioning. These include personality, beliefs, self-evaluation, self-knowledge and conscious awareness of these processes in the monitoring of cognitive activities. The third involves exploration of some possibilities for effective interventions that will permit an improvement of cognitive functioning for older adults, and perhaps at least delay, if not prevent, cognitive decline with aging. The theoretical framework for current research efforts in cognitive aging is a mixture of concepts from revised versions of the modal multistore models and from associative network models.
Accelerator-Based Systems for Plutonium Destruction and Nuclear Waste Transmutation

Accelerator-base systems are described that can eliminate long-lived nuclear materials. The impact of these systems on global issues relating to plutonium minimization and nuclear waste disposal can be significant. An overview of the components that comprise these systems is given, along with discussion of technology development status and needs. A technology development plan is presented with emphasis on first steps that would demonstrate technical performance.
The effects of a goal setting program on the exercise commitment and fitness levels of university students

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects a goal setting program had on exercise commitment and aerobic fitness among university students. Obesity and a lack of sufficient physical activity continue to be a problematic and increasing epidemic in the United States. Some theorists have utilized goal setting as an intervention to increase commitment effectiveness of exercise participants. In the current study, a two-way between-within experimental design was utilized involving two separate physical education activity classes (beginning jogging) at Western Washington University. One of the classes (experimental group) underwent a goal setting program consisting of educational, constructive, and evaluative components aimed to pursue a self-selected aerobic fitness goal while the other class (control group) did not. Components of exercise commitment and aerobic fitness level measurements were taken at the onset and again at the termination of the goal setting implementation. Upon computing 11 separate two-way between-within ANOVAs and effect sizes, the results produced little statistical significances and effects. However, the results of this study revealed several practical trends related to exercise commitment and physical activity. Findings and considerations for future direction are provided in hopes that further research and practical methods regarding goal setting, exercise commitment, and fitness level can be improved upon.
Diet and Health Capital: An American Case Study

This paper begins to model diet's contribution to national stocks of Health Capital as defined in Kenneth Arrow et al.'s (2012) "Sustainability and the Measurement of Wealth" by developing a set of equations that link the diet of a nation’s average citizen to that nation’s per capita welfare over time. The model is applied to the American diet from 2005 to 2009. This research finds that even a small change in diet can have a large impact in whether or not a nation is sustainable over time.
Boom! Manufacturing Memoir for the Popular Market

The key concepts of Boom! (gotta love that audacious exclamation point!) are efficiently embedded in its explosive title. Rak, a professor of English at the University of Alberta, analyses the outp...
Evaluating the Obstetrical Implications of Antenatal Testing for Women with Morbid Obesity: Maternal and Fetal Outcomes of Increased Surveillance

Objectives Despite limited data, antenatal testing has been initiated in many institutions for women with morbid obesity given their increased risk of stillbirth. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate the obstetrical implications of antenatal testing in the morbidly obese population. Study Design We performed a retrospective cohort study of women undergoing antenatal testing from January 2011 through December 2012 who delivered at our institution. The exposed group was women undergoing antenatal testing with morbid obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 40 kg/m(2)). This group was subdivided into two groups: group 1, which included women undergoing testing for morbid obesity alone, and group 2, which included women undergoing testing for morbid obesity with an additional medical comorbidity. The unexposed group (group 3) comprised nonmorbidly obese women (BMI < 35 kg/m(2)) undergoing antenatal testing for similar medical comorbidities. Our primary outcomes were induction of labor and gestational age at delivery. Results A total of 512 women met inclusion criteria. Group 1 had a lower induction rate as compared with groups 2 and 3 (22.2, 32.5, and 37.6%, respectively; p = 0.003). Additionally, women delivered at a later gestational age in group 1 (39.3 weeks [38.4-40.2]) compared with groups 2 (38.5 weeks [36.1-40.3]) or 3 (37.1 weeks [37.0-38.2]), p = 0.04. There were no significant differences in our secondary outcomes including rate of cesarean delivery (p = 0.11) or rate of nonreactive nonstress test (p = 0.4). Conclusions While it remains unknown whether antenatal testing decreases the stillbirth risk in morbidly obese women, this population does not appear to be at increased risk of induction of labor or delivery prior to 39 weeks secondary to testing. Future studies should evaluate neonatal implications and cost-effectiveness of antenatal testing in this group.
MASSIVE HEMOPTYSIS WITH SEVERE MITRAL STENOSIS AND LEFT ATRIAL THROMBUS: DIAGNOSTIC AND MANAGEMENT DILEMMA

Severe mitral stenosis (MS) may acutely worsen with atrial fibrillation at high rates. Bleeding and thrombus occurring together complicates management. A 55 year old male with rheumatic MS presented with atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response and massive hemoptysis. He became
Software Project Comparison: Conventional Development Approach versus Cloud Computing

The corporate world is moving towards cloud computing rapidly in order to reap the potential economic benefits of reduced costs, infrastructure assets, and resources. This paper examines the advantages of cloud computing by comparing it to more conventional software development techniques. Specifically, this paper presents a side-by-side comparison of the effort and resources required to build a software tool using: (1) a conventional development solution using .NET framework with an SQL Server database and (2) a cloud computing vendor service solution using Force.com. This comparison allows us to understand the concept of using cloud computing and to determine where cloud computing is most beneficial to clients from the perspective of ease of development, lower production costs, and lower maintenance costs.
Hydranencephaly: Transillumination May Not Illuminate Diagnosis

Hydranencephaly describes the condition of extensive absence of cerebral tissue that is replaced by a saclike accumulation of fluid. It first may be suspected by neonatal bedside transillumination, which is a screening tool but is not diagnostic. When noted at birth, it is imperative to rapidly distinguish this condition from extensive hydrocephalus, holoprosencephaly, large porencephalic cyst, and other conditions so that those conditions with indications for prompt treatment are identified. An illustrative case of hydranencephaly is presented with discussion of imaging techniques to distinguish between the diagnostic possibilities. Etiologies of the neuropathology of hydranencephaly are discussed. The importance of distinguishing this condition, with an associated poor prognosis, from extensive hydrocephalus, with potential for improved prognosis with early shunting procedures, is emphasized.
TIME-DEPENDENT SOLUTIONS OF THE MILD-SLOPE WAVE EQUATION

Time dependent forms of the mild-slope wave equation are apphed to the propagation of regular and irregular wave trains over variable bathymetry. The model equation of Smith and Sprinks is found to be a robust predictor of irregular waves, if the frequency spread for a single component calculation is not made too large. The model is extended to include forced, low-frequency components, and some preliminary results for bound and free long wave computation are shown.
Modeling uptake of hydrophobic organic contaminants into polyethylene passive samplers.

Single-phase passive samplers are gaining acceptance as a method to measure hydrophobic organic contaminant (HOC) concentration in water. Although the relationship between the HOC concentration in water and passive sampler is linear at equilibrium, mass transfer models are needed for nonequilibrium conditions. We report measurements of organochlorine pesticide diffusion and partition coefficients with respect to polyethylene (PE), and present a Fickian approach to modeling HOC uptake by PE in aqueous systems. The model is an analytic solution to Fick’s second law applied through an aqueous diffusive boundary layer and a polyethylene layer. Comparisons of the model with existing methods indicate agreement at appropriate boundary conditions. Laboratory release experiments on the organochlorine pesticides DDT, DDE, DDD, and chlordane in well-mixed slurries support the model’s applicability to aqueous systems. In general, the advantage of the model is its application in the cases of well-agitated systems, low...
Potential Mechanisms for Microbial Energy Acquisition in Oxic Deep Sea Sediments

ABSTRACT The South Pacific Gyre (SPG) possesses the lowest rates of sedimentation, surface chlorophyll concentration, and primary productivity in the global oceans. As a direct result, deep-sea sediments are thin and contain small amounts of labile organic carbon. It was recently shown that the entire SPG sediment column is oxygenated and may be representative of up to a third of the global marine environment. To understand the microbial processes that contribute to the removal of the labile organic matter at the water-sediment interface, a sediment sample was collected and subjected to metagenomic sequencing and analyses. Analysis of nine partially reconstructed environmental genomes, which represent approximately one-third of the microbial community, revealed that the members of the SPG surface sediment microbial community are phylogenetically distinct from surface/upper-ocean organisms. These genomes represent a wide distribution of novel organisms, including deep-branching Alphaproteobacteria, two novel organisms within the Proteobacteria, and new members of the Nitrospirae, Nitrospinae, and candidate phylum NC10. These genomes contain evidence for microbially mediated metal (iron/manganese) oxidation and carbon fixation linked to nitrification. Additionally, despite hypothesized energy limitation, members of the SPG microbial community had motility and chemotaxis genes and possessed mechanisms for the degradation of high-molecular-weight organic matter. This study contributes to our understanding of the metabolic potential of microorganisms in deep-sea oligotrophic sediments and their impact on local carbon geochemistry. IMPORTANCE This research provides insight into the microbial metabolic potential of organisms inhabiting oxygenated deep-sea marine sediments. Current estimates suggest that these environments account for up to a third of the global marine sediment habitat. Nine novel deep-sea microbial genomes were reconstructed from a metagenomic data set and expand the limited number of environmental genomes from deep-sea sediment environments. This research provides phylogeny-linked insight into critical metabolisms, including carbon fixation associated with nitrification, which is assignable to members of the marine group 1 Thaumarchaeota, Nitrospinae, and Nitrospirae and neutrophilic metal (iron/manganese) oxidation assignable to a novel proteobacterium.
Genotype of wild-type measles viruses circulated in Fengtai district, Beijing in the spring of 2013

Objective To investigate genotype of wild-type measles viruses circulated in Fengtai district in the spring of 2013,and provide basis for measles control and elimination. Methods Measles viruses were isolated from the specimens collected from suspected measles outbreaks and sporadic patients. Fragments of 634 nucleotide acids of the carboxyl end of nucleoprotein gene were amplified using reverse transcription—polymerase chain reaction( RT—PCR) method,and thereafter,the PCR products were directly sequenced and analyzed. Finally the phylogenetic tree was constructed based on 450 nucleotide acids of the carboxyl end of nucleoprotein gene,and the diversity analysis was done with MEGA version. Results A total of 39 wild-type measles viruses were isolated and sequenced. Among which,28 strains were identified as H l genotype,and 11 strains were identified as D8 genotype. Conclusions Major genotypes of wild-type measles viruses circulated in Fengtai district,Beijing in 2013 were Hla genotype. In addition,D8 genotype measles virus was found for the first time in Fengtai district,Beijing.
Periadventitial adipose tissue modulates the effect of PROLI/NO on neointimal hyperplasia.

Abstract Background Periadventitial delivery of nitric oxide (NO) inhibits neointimal hyperplasia; however, the effect of periadventitial adipose tissue on the efficacy of NO at inhibiting neointimal hyperplasia has not been studied. The aim of our study was to assess the effect of NO in the presence and absence of periadventitial adipose tissue. We hypothesized that removal of periadventitial adipose tissue will increase neointimal formation and that NO will be more effective at inhibiting neointimal hyperplasia. Methods The effect of NO on 3T3 fibroblasts, adventitial fibroblast (AF), and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation was assessed by 3H-thymidine incorporation in adipocyte-conditioned or regular media. The rat carotid artery balloon injury model was performed on male Sprague–Dawley rats. Before balloon injury, periadventitial adipose tissue was removed (excised model) or remained intact (intact model). Treatment groups included injury or injury with periadventitial application of PROLI/NO. Adiponectin receptor (AR) levels were assessed via immunofluorescence. Results Adipocyte-conditioned media had an antiproliferative effect on 3T3 and AF and a proproliferative effect on VSMC in vitro. Interestingly, NO was less effective at inhibiting 3T3 and AF proliferation and more effective at inhibiting VSMC proliferation in adipocyte-conditioned media. In vivo, the excised group showed increased neointimal hyperplasia 2 wk after surgery compared with the intact group. NO reduced neointimal hyperplasia to a greater extent in the excised group compared with the intact group. Although NO inhibited or had no impact on AR levels in the intact group, NO increased AR levels in media and adventitia of the excised group. Conclusions These data show that periadventitial adipose tissue plays a role in regulating the arterial injury response and the efficacy of NO treatment in the vasculature.
Magnetic fusion concepts

Introduction The goal of Chapter 13 is to describe the various magnetic configurations currently under investigation as potential fusion reactors. As will become apparent there is a substantial number of concepts to discuss. To succeed, each of these concepts has to successfully overcome the problems not only of MHD equilibrium and stability ( p ), but also of transport (τ E ) and heating ( T ). Even so, it still makes sense to introduce the concepts at this point in the book, immediately following MHD. The reason is that the underlying geometric features that distinguish each concept are primarily determined by MHD behavior. In contrast, transport is a far more difficult issue and significant progress has been made only for the tokamak configuration. With respect to heating, there are several techniques available providing a reasonable number of options. Because of this flexibility, heating can be accommodated in most fusion configurations, and thus is not a dominant driver of the geometry. To motivate the discussion recall that the main objective of MHD is to discover magnetic geometries that are capable of stably confining sufficiently high plasma pressures to be of relevance to a fusion reactor. The leader for many years in terms of overall performance has been the tokamak which will therefore serve as the reference configuration against which all other concepts must be measured.
High-Frequency Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain: Pre-Clinical Overview and Systematic Review of Controlled Trials

Objective. To assess the evidence base for high-frequency spinal cord stimulation (HFSCS). HFSCS has the potential to provide paresthesia-free pain relief for patients with chronic pain, in contrast to conventional spinal cord stimulation, which produces distracting and potentially unpleasant paresthesias. Design. A systematic review following standard methodological guidelines (Prospero #CRD42015029215). Methods. We searched PubMed to March 14, 2016 without language restriction and hand-checked reference lists. Two authors independently performed study selection, bias evaluations, and data extraction. The pre-clinical review selected studies focusing on the mechanism and non-human experience with HFSCS. Clinically, any prospective study of adults using HFSCS (≥ 1000 Hz) was included. Results. Pre-clinical studies have characterized many aspects underlying the mechanism of HFSCS. For the clinical systematic review, eight trials (236 participants randomized or 160 followed prospectively) met inclusion criteria. All trials of HFSCS focused on patients with chronic low back pain with one exception, which included patients with chronic migraine. All but one trial documented funding by industry. Performance bias due to unmasked participants, physicians, and outcome assessors limited the quality of all but one study. Conclusions. Significant growth in the preclinical and clinical evidence base for HFSCS suggests that HFSCS may differ from conventional SCS in mechanism of action and efficacy of treatment, respectively. Addressing current knowledge gaps in clinical evidence will require standardization in trial reporting and leveraging the paresthesia-free characteristic of HFSCS to enable masking in high-quality randomized controlled trials.