cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Outcomes Following Artificial Sphincter Implantation After Prior Unsuccessful Male Sling

Purpose: Despite the proven success and durability of the artificial urinary sphincter many patients elect an AdVance® sling as the initial treatment of male stress incontinence. We determined whether sling placement would change the outcome of an ensuing artificial urinary sphincter.Materials and Methods: A total of 29 patients with stress urinary incontinence after failed sling placement were treated with an AMS 800® artificial urinary sphincter between January 2006 and May 2011. A control group of 136 men with a primary artificial urinary sphincter was used for comparison. Preoperative and postoperative evaluation included demographic variables, voiding diary, 24-hour pad weight, urodynamic characteristics, operative time, estimated blood loss, complication rate, followup and cuff selection.Results: There was no statistical difference in urodynamic characteristics, operative variables or the complication rate. Pad use was reported as less than 1 pad daily in 96% of patients (28 of 29) with a secondary ...
Distribution and weights of various cell types in the rat stomach.

A line sampling method was used to determine the relative volumes of various cell types in the mucosa of the body of the rat stomach. The technique was simple to perform, reproducible and independent of many variables inherent in previous cell counting techniques. Weights of the various cell types were calculated from stomach weights, relative mucosal volumes and cell concentrations in the mucosa. In the five animals studied, gastric body mucosa average 40% of the stomach weight and 1.8 gm per kg of rat. Parietal cells averaged 40% of the gastric body mucosa weight and 0.7 gm per kg of rat. There was no significant variation in parietal cell concentration throughout the gastric body mucosa of the rat. Chief cells averaged 18% of the gastric body mucosa and 0.3 gm per kg of rat. Up to three-fold variations in chief cell concentration occurred with highest concentrations near the greater curvature and in proximal areas of the body mucosa. Mucous surface cells, mucous neck cells, and connective tissue made up 22, 9, and 7% of the body mucosa respectively and showed only minor varitions in concentration.
Effects of cerebral ischemia on neuronal hemoglobin

This study examined whether neuronal hemoglobin (Hb) is present in rats. It then examined whether cerebral ischemia or ischemic preconditioning (IPC) affects neuronal Hb levels in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to either 15 mins of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) with 24 h of reperfusion, an IPC stimulus, or 24 h of permanent MCAO (pMCAO), or IPC followed 3 days later by 24 h of pMCAO. In vitro, primary cultured neurons were exposed to 2 h of oxygen—glucose deprivation (OGD) with 22 h of reoxygenation. Results showed that Hb is widely expressed in rat cerebral neurons but not astrocytes. Hemoglobin expression was significantly upregulated in the ipsilateral caudate and the cortical core of the middle cerebral artery territory after IPC. Hemoglobin levels also increased more in the penumbral cortex and the contralateral hemisphere 24 h after pMCAO, but expressions in the ipsilateral caudate and the cortical core area were decreased. Ischemic preconditi...
Haemodynamic changes during the peri-extubation period using bioreactance flow monitoring

Here we present a prospective, observational study examining the effect of extubation on cardiac index, measured by bioreactance (Nicom Cheetah), in critically ill patients with or without a history of left ventricular impairment [1]. A number of simple interventions are known to improve the process of weaning patients from mechanical ventilation. Despite this progress, the pathophysiology underlying failure to wean remains incompletely understood. In particular, the role of cardiac ventricular dysfunction may be underestimated [2].
Latino adolescents’ mental health: Exploring the interrelations among discrimination, ethnic identity, cultural orientation, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms

Guided by a risk and resilience framework, the current study used cross-sectional data to examine the degree to which Latino adolescents' (N=274; M age=16.3; 47.1% female) self-esteem, ethnic identity, and cultural orientations mediated or moderated the relation between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms. Utilizing a multiple group comparison approach, path analyses indicated that higher levels of ethnic identity exploration and resolution significantly predicted higher levels of self-esteem for both boys and girls. Furthermore, self-esteem partially mediated the relation between perceived discrimination and adolescents' depressive symptoms. Additional analyses revealed that boys' cultural orientations moderated the relation between perceived discrimination and both self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Taken together, findings indicated that various aspects of the self (i.e. self-esteem, ethnic identity, cultural orientations) can protect and/or enhance the risks associated with discrimination.
Selective loss of microvascular endothelial function in human hypercholesterolemia.

BACKGROUNDEndothelial dysfunction is increasingly recognized as an early and important feature of vascular disease. Endothelium-dependent vasodilation is impaired in humans with hypercholesterolemia, although it is unknown whether this defect is selective for some pathways of nitric oxide production or indicates a more generalized abnormality of endothelial function. The aim of this study was to further elucidate the nature of endothelial dysfunction in human hypercholesterolemia by comparing vascular responses of agonists that use different signal transduction pathways to activate production of nitric oxide.METHODS AND RESULTSForearm flow was measured in 12 hypercholesterolemic patients (total cholesterol, 286 +/- 35 mg/dL [mean +/- SD]) aged 50 +/- 11 years and in 12 healthy subjects (total cholesterol, 173 +/- 27 mg/dL) aged 48 +/- 7 years using strain-gauge plethysmography and brachial artery drug infusions. The endothelium-dependent vasodilators used were acetylcholine (7.5, 15, and 30 micrograms/min...
Energy Saving Transformation of Drying Technology for Potato Granules Whole Meal

This paper deals with the technological transformation of the processes of the pulse flow drying system from the point of saving the energy, which can largely reduce the production cost and enhance the competitiveness of products. The authors transformed the secondary separation recovery process into primary separation recovery process, i. e., improved the gas-solid separation part technology of drying system, aiming at the high energy consumption characteristics of potato granules whole meal drying system. Compared to the original process, the improved process can not only use to increase the product output, but also has obvious effect on energy saving. The improved process of low investment and high energy saving has a significant promotional value.
BIOZON: a hub of heterogeneous biological data

Biological entities are strongly related and mutually dependent on each other. Therefore, there is a growing need to corroborate and integrate data from different resources and aspects of biological systems in order to analyze them effectively. Biozon is a unified biological database that integrates heterogeneous data types such as proteins, structures, domain families, protein-protein interactions and cellular pathways, and establishes the relationships between them. All data are integrated on to a single graph schema centered around the non-redundant set of biological objects that are shared by each source. This integration results in a highly connected graph structure that provides a more complete picture of the known context of a given object that cannot be determined from any one source. Currently, Biozon integrates roughly 2 million protein sequences, 42 million DNA or RNA sequences, 32 000 protein structures, 150 000 interactions and more from sources such as GenBank, UniProt, Protein Data Bank (PDB) and BIND. Biozon augments source data with locally derived data such as 5 billion pairwise protein alignments and 8 million structural alignments. The user may form complex cross-type queries on the graph structure, add similarity relations to form fuzzy queries and rank the results based on analysis of the edge structure similar to Google PageRank, online at Biozon.org.
Structure and Properties of the Cholesteric Blue Phases

A study of Bragg reflections in both blue phases (BPI, BPII) of two mixtures of chiral and nonchiral biphenyls indicates both phases probably have the same translational symmetry and are either body-centered or simple cubic. The temperature dependence of several Bragg reflections indicates that the BPI-BPII transition may be either continuous or discontinuous and that, given the bcc lattice, the lattice parameter is commensurate with the pitch. These results are discussed relative to existing theories.
Fabrication of ultra-short gate MESFETs and BlochFETS by electron beam lithography

Abstract We have used electron beam lithography in single level PMMA to investigate both ultra-submicron gate MESFETs and a novel quantum device called a BlochFET. From d.c. transconductance (gm) measurements of MESFETs with gate lengths from 35 to 65 nm, our data indicate a rise in gm below 50 nm which we attribute to the onset of velocity overshoot. The BlochFETs and HEMTs whose gates are replaced by a lateral surface superlattice grid structure. These grids are composed of 40 nm lines on 170 nm pitch. We have observed negative differential conductance which may be due to Bloch oscillation effects at low temperatures and believe this to be the first such observation yet reported.
A generalized model of sequential decisionmaking under risk

Abstract We present and analyze a generalization of the standard decision analysis model of sequential decisionmaking under risk. The decision tree is assumed given and all probabilities are assumed to be known precisely. Utility values are assumed to be affine in an imprecisely known parameter. The affine form is sufficiently general to allow importance weights or the utility values themselves to be represented by the imprecise parameter. Parameter imprecision is described by set inclusion. A relation on all available alternatives is assumed given for each decision node. The intent of each (not necessarily complete) relation is to model the decisionmaker's directly expressed preferences among the available alternatives at the associated decision node. A numerical procedure is developed to determine the set of all strategies that may be optimal and the corresponding set of all possible parameter values. An example illustrates the procedure.
Protonation of β-Cyanoenamines: NMR Spectroscopic and Calculational Studies of Ketenimine Amidinium Ion Formation

NMR spectroscopy and quantum mechanical calculations have been used to investigate the protonation of β-cyanoenamines. One-dimensional variable-temperature spectroscopy, two-dimensional exchange spectroscopy (2D EXSY), and density functional calculations provide convincing evidence that the favored site of protonation in 1,1-bis(dimethylamino)-2-cyano-2-p-X-phenyl-substituted ethylenes (X = NO2, CF3, Br, F, or CH3) is the nitrogen of the cyano group. This results in the formation of a ketenimine amidinium ion in solution. When X is less electron withdrawing than −NO2, an equilibrium mixture is formed consisting of 60−93% CN-protonated enamine with the remainder protonated at the β-carbon. Calculational results also support predominantly CN-protonation in these systems. Both experimental and calculational results show no evidence of protonation at the amino nitrogen.
Palladium(II) complexes of anthraquinone-based As–O–As type and Se–O–Se type bipodands. Synthesis, X-ray crystallography and catalytic properties

Abstract The reaction of the Ph2As− anion with 1,8-bis(2-bromoethoxy)anthracene-9,10-dione in 2:1 ratio generates 1,8-bis(2-diphenylarsinoethoxy)anthracene-9,10-dione (L1). L1 and 1,8-bis(2-phenylselenoethoxy)anthraquinone (L2) reacted with bis(benzonitrile)palladium(II) chloride in 1:1 ratio yielding Pd(L1)Cl2 (1) and Pd(L2)Cl2 (2). X-ray structures of 1 and 2 revealed that L1 and L2 chelate with Pd(II) and form a convex square planar geometry. The catalytic properties of both Pd(II) complexes in the Heck reaction was investigated, and the results show that compound 2 acts as a better catalyst than 1. The redox behavior of L1, 1 and 2 versus Ag/AgCl are also explored.
Texas Snowbirds: seasonal migrants to the Rio Grande Valley.

This article compares the results of a 1985 survey of elderly seasonal migrants to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas with those of 5 earlier studies to provide a more comprehensive profile of such migrants than is currently available. The comparison reveals a high degree of similarity between Winter Texans and seasonal migrants in previous studies in terms of age race marital status number of children retirement status and state of origin. There is a strong tendency for migrants to return to the same area and park year after year. Across all the studies the overwhelming explanation for having chosen a seasonal migratory life style was the desire to escape severe snowbelt winters. "Instant comradeship" is a feature of life in the parks. All parks except for very small ones have recreational halls with television and pool tables swimming pools and shuffle board courts. The most frequently identified health problem among the 1985 survey respondents was hypertension followed by arthritis and heart problems. Snowbirds are predominatly retired Anglo couples in their middle to late 60s. They return to the same Sunbelt areas and park year after year. Although the size of the seasonal flow is not precisely known its magnitude will likely increase as the number of elderly persons in the population increases.
The Influence of Subcultures on Planned Change in a Community College

This qualitative case study focusing on a collegewide change initiative was conducted to provide community college leaders with a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the role of subcultures in planned change. Research indicates that institutional culture is a primary factor in the success of change programs; however, little research has been conducted on the influence of organizational subcultures on planned change in community colleges. The results of this study indicate that subcultural groups differently experience, respond to, and influence planned change in a community college, leading to strategies for more effective planned change programs.
Achievable rates in cognitive radio channels

Cognitive radio promises a low-cost, highly flexible alternative to the classic single-frequency band, single-protocol wireless device. By sensing and adapting to its environment, such a device is able to fill voids in the wireless spectrum and can dramatically increase spectral efficiency. In this paper, the cognitive radio channel is defined as a two-sender, two-receiver interference channel in which sender 2 obtains the encoded message sender 1 plans to transmit. We consider two cases: in the genie-aided cognitive radio channel, sender 2 is noncausally presented the data to be transmitted by sender 1 while in the causal cognitive radio channel, the data is obtained causally. The cognitive radio at sender 2 may then choose to transmit simultaneously over the same channel, as opposed to waiting for an idle channel as is traditional for a cognitive radio. Our main result is the development of an achievable region which combines Gel'fand-Pinkser coding with an achievable region construction for the interference channel. In the additive Gaussian noise case, this resembles dirty-paper coding, a technique used in the computation of the capacity of the Gaussian multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) broadcast channel. Numerical evaluation of the region in the Gaussian noise case is performed, and compared to an inner bound, the interference channel, and an outer bound, a modified Gaussian MIMO broadcast channel. Results are also extended to the case in which the message is causally obtained.
Interaction of Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR) with Estrogen Receptor (ER) α and Activator Protein 1 (AP1) in Dexamethasone-mediated Interference of ERα Activity

The role of glucocorticoids in the inhibition of estrogen (17-β-estradiol (E2))-regulated estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer cell proliferation is well established. We and others have seen that synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (Dex) antagonizes E2-stimulated endogenous ERα target gene expression. However, how glucocorticoids negatively regulate the ERα signaling pathway is still poorly understood. ChIP studies using ERα- and glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-positive MCF-7 cells revealed that GR occupies several ERα-binding regions (EBRs) in cells treated with E2 and Dex simultaneously. Interestingly, there was little or no GR loading to these regions when cells were treated with E2 or Dex alone. The E2+Dex-dependent GR recruitment is associated with the displacement of ERα and steroid receptor coactivator-3 from the target EBRs leading to the repression of ERα-mediated transcriptional activation. The recruitment of GR to EBRs requires assistance from ERα and FOXA1 and is facilitated by AP1 binding within the EBRs. The GR binding to EBRs is mediated via direct protein-protein interaction between the GR DNA-binding domain and ERα. Limited mutational analyses indicate that arginine 488 located within the C-terminal zinc finger domain of the GR DNA-binding domain plays a critical role in stabilizing this interaction. Together, the results of this study unravel a novel mechanism involved in glucocorticoid inhibition of ERα transcriptional activity and E2-mediated cell proliferation and thus establish a foundation for future exploitation of the GR signaling pathway in the treatment of ER-positive breast cancer.
New results in the theory of a plane-mirror interferometer*

We investigate the properties of a common type of two-beam interferometer in which the recombined beams are focused onto a detector and in which the optical system acting on the separated beams is composed of plane mirrors. For an arbitrarily complicated system of plane mirrors the behavior may be analyzed in terms of the four parameters path difference, angle of tilt, lateral shear, and angle of rotary shear. Fourier spectrometers vary only path difference, while shearing interferometers vary only lateral shear. We show that from measurements of the detected interference as a function of both lateral shear and path difference one may compute the optical transfer function of the output optics as a function of both optical and spatial frequency.
Humans Differ from Other Hominids in Lacking an Activating NK Cell Receptor That Recognizes the C1 Epitope of MHC Class I

Modulation of human NK cell function by killer cell Ig-like receptors (KIR) and MHC class I is dominated by the bipartite interactions of inhibitory lineage III KIR with the C1 and C2 epitopes of HLA-C. In comparison, the ligand specificities and functional contributions of the activating lineage III KIR remain poorly understood. Using a robust, sensitive assay of KIR binding and a representative panel of 95 HLA class I targets, we show that KIR2DS1 binds C2 with ~50% the avidity of KIR2DL1, whereas KIR2DS2, KIR2DS3, and KIR2DS5 have no detectable avidity for C1, C2, or any other HLA class I epitope. In contrast, the chimpanzee has activating C1- and C2-specific lineage III KIR with strong avidity, comparable to those of their paired inhibitory receptors. One variant of chimpanzee Pt–KIR3DS2, the activating C2-specific receptor, has the same avidity for C2 as does inhibitory Pt–KIR3DL4, and a second variant has ~73% the avidity. Chimpanzee Pt–KIR3DS6, the activating C1-specific receptor, has avidity for C1 that is ~70% that of inhibitory Pt–KIR2DL6. In both humans and chimpanzees we observe an evolutionary trend toward reducing the avidity of the activating C1- and C2-specific receptors through selective acquisition of attenuating substitutions. However, the extent of attenuation has been extreme in humans, as exemplified by KIR2DS2, an activating C1-specific receptor that has lost all detectable avidity for HLA class I. Supporting such elimination of activating C1-specific receptors as a uniquely human phenomenon is the presence of a high-avidity activating C1-specific receptor (Gg–KIR2DSa) in gorilla.
‘Loca’ or ‘Libertadora’?: Manuela Sáenz in the Eyes of History and Historians, 1900–c.1990

This article traces the historiography of the romantic yet poorly understood mistress, friend and political ally of Simon Bolivar: Manuela Saenz Aizpuru de Thorne (1797–1856). It highlights two opposing schools of interpretation on Saenz: the ‘bad girl’ and ‘heroine’ schools. Nationalism and the cult of Bolivar (especially among Venezuelan and Ecuadorean authors), have combined with the later influence of revolutionary socialist and feminist ideas to ensure the predominance of the latter and, thus, of an heroic-mythic view of Saenz. Yet scholars' efforts to recover the historical woman have challenged this view and, above all, paved the way for a more nuanced, gender-conscious understanding of Saenz's role and significance.
Diffraction by surface-relief gratings with conic cross-sectional grating shapes

Diffraction of plane waves by dielectric surface-relief gratings with conic (elliptic, hyperbolic, parabolic) cross-sectional grating shapes is analyzed, using a simple transmittance theory. Integral expressions for the complex amplitudes of the diffracted waves are given for these structures. The calculated results indicate new types of diffraction behavior compared with corresponding results for the commonly studied grating shapes (sinusoidal, rectangular, triangular). In particular, these structures are shown to exhibit a large number of diffracted waves with similar intensities. It is also shown that a bandpasslike behavior (a variable number of fairly even-intensity orders with reasonably sharp cutoff) is obtainable.
The Turnip, the New Husbandry, and the English Agricultural Revolution

Introduction, 375. — The traditional view, 377. — The modern view, 380. — The new husbandry, 385. — Labor requirements, 392. — Conclusion, 394.
SOME THESES ON SECULARISM

Secularism is both a doctrine and a set of practices that correspond to it and exceed it. The practices help to compose us. But most “secularists” overlook the role of the practices themselves, thereby supporting a shallow pluralism. This, in turn, left them unprepared, in the States, for the emergence of a new “evangelical-neoliberal machine” in the 1980s that has operated in both private and public domains. What is needed today is the formation of a deep, multidimensional pluralism that cuts through the old secular formations and supplants the new machine. It is difficult to forge such a new machine, but suffering will be severe if we fail because of the persistent pressures at work in late modernity to “minoritize” the world along several dimensions. Some ways to press in this direction are explored. [secularism, politics, pluralism]
Do extenuating circumstances influence African American women's attitudes toward suicide?

African American women commit suicide less than other U.S. women and men, perhaps partly due to strong, anti-suicide attitudes. To see if suicide attitudes might be softened by extenuating circumstances such as terminal illness, 192 African American and European American women imagined themselves in one of four extenuating circumstances, then completed measures of suicide acceptability and religiosity. Both ethnic groups reported a greater likelihood of suicide when imagining depression, regardless of religiosity. Religiosity, but not extenuating circumstances, corresponded with negative attitudes toward suicide and physician assisted suicide. These African American and European American young women remained steadfastly against suicide, regardless of circumstance.
Water-Conditioning Tank to Control Supersaturation and Temperature

Abstract An inexpensive system to control temperature and supersaturation of gases in supply water for fish-culture facilities is described. The system has been used for small delivery systems, as well as for a 1,000-gal water-conditioning system supplying 11.9 gal/min to a test apparatus.
THE FEEDING OF CALANUS HELGOLANDICUS ON SYNCHRONOUSLY GROWING POPULATIONS OF THE MARINE DIATOM DITYLUM BRIGHTWELLII1

The filtering rates of Calanus helgolandicus were measured on synchronously growing populations of the diatom Ditylum brightwellii, by following changes in cell numbers and also by measuring the ingestion of 14C labeled cells at selected intervals during 2-day periods. The growth of the diatoms was adjusted to be one cell division per day by selecting appropriate photoperiods and light intensities. When the alga was synchronized, cell division took place in the dark. Filtering rates were calculated separately for animals grazing on single cells and on “paired” daughter cells (before separation after division). The volume of paired cells was 1.5 times that of the singles. There was no significant difference in the filtering of single cells in the light or dark part of the cycle. Filtering on paired cells was significantly higher in the dark or at those times when high percentages of pairs were present. Between 0 and 20% pairs, the animals filtered at a constant rate of 50 ml copepod−1 day−1. Above 40% pairs, there was a maximum filtering rate of approximately 170 ml copepod−1 day−1. Between 20–40% pairs, the filtering rate increased proportionally to the percentage of pairs, and ingestion of paired cells increased exponentially in relation to their concentration. It is suggested that C. helgolandicus actively hunted and selected the paired cells and passively filtered the singles. In addition, the data support the idea that there is no innate diurnal feeding rhythm in these copepods.
Smoothing noisy data with spline functions

Smoothing splines are well known to provide nice curves which smooth discrete, noisy data. We obtain a practical, effective method for estimating the optimum amount of smoothing from the data. Derivatives can be estimated from the data by differentiating the resulting (nearly) optimally smoothed spline. We consider the modely i (t i )+? i ,i=1, 2, ...,n,t i?[0, 1], whereg?W 2 (m) ={f:f,f?, ...,f (m?1) abs. cont.,f (m)??2[0,1]}, and the {? i } are random errors withE? i =0,E? i ? j =?2? ij . The error variance ?2 may be unknown. As an estimate ofg we take the solutiong n, ? to the problem: Findf?W 2 (m) to minimize $$\frac{1}{n}\sum\limits_{j = 1}^n {(f(t_j ) - y_j )^2 + \lambda \int\limits_0^1 {(f^{(m)} (u))^2 du} }$$ . The functiong n, ? is a smoothing polynomial spline of degree 2m?1. The parameter ? controls the tradeoff between the "roughness" of the solution, as measured by $$\int\limits_0^1 {[f^{(m)} (u)]^2 du}$$ , and the infidelity to the data as measured by $$\frac{1}{n}\sum\limits_{j = 1}^n {(f(t_j ) - y_j )^2 }$$ , and so governs the average square errorR(?; g)=R(?) defined by $$R(\lambda ) = \frac{1}{n}\sum\limits_{j = 1}^n {(g_{n,\lambda } (t_j ) - g(t_j ))^2 }$$ . We provide an estimate $$\hat \lambda$$ , called the generalized cross-validation estimate, for the minimizer ofR(?). The estimate $$\hat \lambda$$ is the minimizer ofV(?) defined by $$V(\lambda ) = \frac{1}{n}\parallel (I - A(\lambda ))y\parallel ^2 /\left[ {\frac{1}{n}{\text{Trace(}}I - A(\lambda ))} \right]^2$$ , wherey=(y 1, ...,y n)t andA(?) is then×n matrix satisfying(g n, ? (t 1), ...,g n, ? (t n))t=A (?) y. We prove that there exist a sequence of minimizers $$\tilde \lambda = \tilde \lambda (n)$$ ofEV(?), such that as the (regular) mesh{t i} i=1 n becomes finer, $$\mathop {\lim }\limits_{n \to \infty } ER(\tilde \lambda )/\mathop {\min }\limits_\lambda ER(\lambda ) \downarrow 1$$ . A Monte Carlo experiment with several smoothg's was tried withm=2,n=50 and several values of ?2, and typical values of $$R(\hat \lambda )/\mathop {\min }\limits_\lambda R(\lambda )$$ were found to be in the range 1.01---1.4. The derivativeg? ofg can be estimated by $$g'_{n,\hat \lambda } (t)$$ . In the Monte Carlo examples tried, the minimizer of $$R_D (\lambda ) = \frac{1}{n}\sum\limits_{j = 1}^n {(g'_{n,\lambda } (t_j ) - } g'(t_j ))$$ tended to be close to the minimizer ofR(?), so that $$\hat \lambda$$ was also a good value of the smoothing parameter for estimating the derivative.
The limitations of doxa Agency and subjectivity from an archaeological point of view

In recent years, archaeological discussions of agency have relied quite heavily upon Pierre Bourdieu’s rendering of doxa in discriminating between those phenomena resulting from habit and those from active intention. However, doxa presents considerable problems for archaeological analyses as it rests upon a troubling theory of history and fails to assist in promulgating an archaeological account of subjectivity. This article presents an explicitly archaeological critique of Bourdieu’s doxa, utilizing a decorated silver-plated goblet from the Middle Bronze Age site of Karashamb, Armenia, to explore future directions in the theorization of subjectivity.
Generalized Least Energy of Separation for Desalination and Other Chemical Separation Processes

Increasing global demand for fresh water is driving the development and implementation of a wide variety of seawater desalination technologies driven by different combinations of heat, work, and chemical energy. This paper develops a consistent basis for comparing the energy consumption of such technologies using Second Law efficiency. The Second Law efficiency for a chemical separation process is defined in terms of the useful exergy output, which is the minimum least work of separation required to extract a unit of product from a feed stream of a given composition. For a desalination process, this is the minimum least work of separation for producing one kilogram of product water from feed of a given salinity. While definitions in terms of work and heat input have been proposed before, this work generalizes the Second Law efficiency to allow for systems that operate on a combination of energy inputs, including fuel. The generalized equation is then evaluated through a parametric study considering work input, heat inputs at various temperatures, and various chemical fuel inputs. Further, since most modern, large-scale desalination plants operate in cogeneration schemes, a methodology for correctly evaluating Second Law efficiency for the desalination plant based on primary energy inputs is demonstrated. It is shown that, from a strictly energetic point of view and based on currently available technology, cogeneration using electricity to power a reverse osmosis system is energetically superior to thermal systems such as multiple effect distillation and multistage flash distillation, despite the very low grade heat input normally applied in those systems.
How frequent is normal pressure hydrocephalus

1. Between 1965 and 1988, more than 900 postmortem examinations were performed in a psychiatric VA hospital. The clinical history of patients who were diagnosed with NPH and had a shunt placed did not result in any clinically significant improvement. Of course, the source of this material is biased because not all of these individuals had NPH but did have one of the neurodegenerative dementias. 2. Between 1976 and 1998, in the Ohio State University Cognitive Disorders Clinic, we examined and followed more than 1000 patients. The clinical evaluation required, in the initial years, admission to the Clinical Research Unit for 6 to 8 days so as to administer all the tests. The procedures were later streamlined to outpatient visits only. We diagnosed 2 patients with NPH and referred them for shunt placement. The results in both cases were spectacular. They both presented initially with the pathognomonic triad, and their cognitive impairment was by today’s criteria a little more than mild cognitive impairment, with gait disturbance and incontinence being the initial and dominant symptoms. We have evaluated numerous patients for possible NPH, but did not recommend surgical intervention. The accuracy of our diagnoses in Cognitive Disorders Clinic was verified by postmortem examination with detailed brain studies, and between 1976 and 1984 we had 85% necropsies on deceased patients. The postmortem examinations confirmed that the only errors were in the types of neurodegenerative dementias diagnosed and none of the patients had NPH. 3. In the Columbus Alzheimer Care Center, a 100-bed dementiadedicated facility, between 1991 and 2011 we had more than 1100 admissions. Nine individuals previously had ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement,whichhadneithera significant nora lasting effect. The diagnosis of Alzheimer disease or any other neurodegenerative dementia is a devastating event, both for the patient and the family. The spectacular results in accurately diagnosed neurodegenerative dementia are a powerful incentive for the patient and family to hope for NPH. The frequency in our material was 0.2%. We need long-term follow-up on the 11,500 patients who are diagnosed with NPH annually.Short-termfollow-up wouldbe misleading because even a sham surgical procedure can produce a strong placebo effect. Therefore, the 5% frequency of NPH may be a dangerous overestimate, because it reinforces the desire to treat. The emotional aspect of the relationship among patients, their families, and the treating physicians should not be overlooked because the desire to help and hope against
Differential Gene Expression from Two Transcriptional Units in the cag Pathogenicity Island of Helicobacter pylori

Infection with Helicobacter pylori strains containing the cag Pathogenicity Island (cag PAI) is strongly correlated with the development of severe gastric disease, including gastric and duodenal ulceration, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, and gastric carcinoma. Although in vitro studies have demonstrated that the expression of genes within the cag PAI leads to the activation of a strong host inflammatory response, the functions of most cag gene products and how they work in concert to promote an immunological response are unknown. We developed a transcriptional reporter that utilizes urease activity and in which nine putative regulatory sequences from the cag PAI were fused to the H. pylori ureB gene. These fusions were introduced in single copies onto the H. pylori chromosome without disruption of the cag PAI. Our analysis indicated that while each regulatory region confers a reproducible amount of promoter activity under laboratory conditions, they differ widely in levels of expression. Transcription initiating upstream of cag15 and upstream of cag21 is induced when the respective fusion strains are cocultured with an epithelial cell monolayer. Results of mouse colonization experiments with an H. pylori strain carrying the cag15-ureB fusion suggested that this putative regulatory region appears to be induced in vivo, demonstrating the importance of the urease reporter as a significant development toward identifying in vivo-induced gene expression in H. pylori.
Evolutionary spectral analysis and the generalized Gabor expansion

We present a connection between the discrete Gabor expansion and the evolutionary spectral theory. Including a scale parameter in the Gabor expansion, we obtain a new representation for deterministic signals that is analogous to the Wold-Cramer decomposition for non-stationary processes. The energy distribution resulting from the expansion is easily calculated from the Gabor coefficients. By choosing Gaussian windows and appropriate scales, the expansion can represent narrow-band and wide-band signals, as well as their combination. As an application, we consider the masking of signals in the time-frequency space and provide an approximate implementation using the new Gabor expansion. Examples illustrating the time-frequency analysis and the masking are given.
Light propagation in graded-index optical fibers

An accurate numerical method is described for solving the Helmholtz equation for a general class of optical fibers. The method yields detailed information about the spatial and angular properties of the propagating beam as well as the modal propagation constants for the fiber. The method is applied to a practical graded-index fiber under the assumptions of both coherent and incoherent illumination. A spectral analysis of the calculated field shows that leaky modes are lost and steady-state propagating conditions are established over a propagation distance of a fraction of a meter.
Content-Based Retransmission for 3-D Wavelet Video Streaming Over Lossy Networks

In video streaming, time-varying packet loss rate leads both degradation and inconsistency to video quality. In this paper, we propose a novel content-based retransmission scheme to address the above two problems in 3-D wavelet video streaming. The fundamental idea is to consider the contents of the packets and the traffic of the Internet simultaneously to optimize the quality of service (QoS). In the encoding stage, the content information is generated and stored, based on which an intelligent hybrid decision system is designed to perform a two-step optimization in transmission. First, the scheme for retransmitting the lost packets is designed to minimize the distortion of each group of video frames (GOF). Secondly, the bandwidth used for transmitting each GOF is dynamically allocated according to the changing traffic conditions such that the quality of video is consistent. The goal is to enable the streaming system to deliver the best possible visual quality of video under the same channel conditions. Simulation results show that our proposed approach can improve the video quality (more than 2 dB) as well as reduce the quality variation significantly
High Frequency of Serious Infections in Patients with Panhypopituitarism: A Case-Control Study

We reviewed the records of 65 patients with panhypopituitarism (PHP) for the frequency and types of infections requiring hospitalization, and documented serious infections in 13 of 65 patients with PHP. The increased frequency of serious infectious diseases in patients with PHP is likely to contribute to increased age-specific mortality.
A reusable distributed arithmetic architecture for FIR filtering

This paper presents a new hardware efficient distributed arithmetic (DA) architecture for high order (> 1024) digital filters. The new architecture is termed reusable distributed arithmetic (RDA). The proposed architecture has a linear dependence of memory size on filter length versus the exponential dependence found in lookup table (LUT)-based designs by removing the LUT and generating the required combinations online. In addition, the proposed RDA architecture reuses the computation blocks much like the way multipliers are reused in multiplier-based architectures to reduce hardware complexity. The proposed RDA design is compared against a multiplier-based (MM) design to illustrate the area dependency of both designs on filter length. FPGA synthesis results confirm that the RDA design is capable of much higher order filters (2048 tap) than the MM design (512 tap) while at the same time having similar equivalent gate counts and throughput.
Radiographic abnormalities in asbestos insulators: effects of duration from onset of exposure and smoking. Relationships of dyspnea with parenchymal and pleural fibrosis.

Chest radiographs and spirometry were evaluated in 2,907 active and retired asbestos insulators; most (86.8%) had greater than or equal to 30 years from onset of asbestos exposure. Testing was performed in 19 cities in the United States during 1981-1983. Complete demographic, smoking, clinical, and radiologic data were obtained for 2,790 workers. This is the largest single group of insulators that has been studied. Five hundred forty-eight (19.7%) had never smoked cigarettes, 942 (33.9%) were current cigarette smokers, and 1,300 (46.6%) were ex-smokers. Only 439 (15.7%) workers had no radiographic evidence of asbestos-related disease (normal chest X-ray); 668 (23.9%) had pleural fibrosis only, 325 (11.6%) had parenchymal fibrosis alone, and 1,358 (48.7%) had both parenchymal and pleural fibrosis. The prevalence of radiographic parenchymal changes increased significantly (p less than .001) from 38.6% (DURONSET less than 30 years) to 70% (greater than or equal to 40 years). For pleural changes the comparative prevalences were 55% and 82%. Those with no history of cigarette smoking were more likely to have normal films than those with a history of smoking (19.2% versus 14.4% for current smokers and 15.2% among ex-smokers), and were less likely to have parenchymal fibrosis (44.5% versus 69.7% for current smokers and 60.2% of ex-smokers). Dyspnea, MRC grade 3 and higher, was more prevalent when pleural fibrosis was associated with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis (at all profusion levels of small opacities) than when pleural fibrosis was absent. Logistic regression analysis of factors contributing to such dyspnea showed that the presence of combined parenchymal and pleural abnormalities was a significant explanatory variable, in addition to age, smoking, and body mass (Quetelet index); the presence of parenchymal changes only or of pleural changes only, as factors contributing to dyspnea, did not reach the level of statistical significance in the regression analysis. The results of these examinations show that pleural fibrosis is a frequent finding in asbestos-exposed groups with long-term follow-up and that its functional significance is not negligible. The contribution of cigarette smoking to prevalence and severity of interstitial fibrosis is an additional reason for smoking cessation among asbestos-exposed individuals.
Trends in the surgical management of diverticulitis

Sigmoid diverticulitis is an increasingly common Western disease associated with a high morbidity and cost of treatment. Improvement in the understanding of the disease process, along with advances in the diagnosis and medical management has led to recent changes in treatment recommendations. The natural history of diverticulitis is more benign than previously thought, and current trends favor more conservative, less invasive management. Despite current recommendations of more restrictive indications for surgery, practice trends indicate an increase in elective operations being performed for the treatment of diverticulitis. Due to diversity in disease presentation, in many cases, optimal surgical treatment of acute diverticulitis remains unclear with regard to patient selection, timing, and technical approach in both elective and urgent settings. As a result, data is limited to mostly retrospective and non-randomized studies. This review addresses the current treatment recommendations for surgical management of diverticulitis, highlighting technical aspects and patterns of care.
Safety and early outcomes using a corticosteroid-avoidance immunosuppression protocol in pediatric heart transplant recipients

Background Long-term oral corticosteroids have been a mainstay of maintenance immunosuppression in pediatric heart transplantation. In this study, we report early clinical outcomes in a cohort of pediatric heart transplant recipients managed using a steroid-avoidance protocol. Methods Of the 70 patients who underwent heart transplantation during the study period, 55 eligible recipients, including 49 non-sensitized and 6 sensitized (all 55 with negative crossmatch) patients, entered a steroid-avoidance immunosuppression protocol consisting of thymoglobin induction followed by a 2-drug, tacrolimus-based, corticosteroid-free regimen. The primary outcome variable was freedom from moderate rejection (International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation [ISHLT] Grade 2R/3A or antibody-mediated rejection). Results The median age at transplant was 7.1 years (range 2 weeks to 22 years) and median follow-up was 19 months (range 2 to 46 months). Fifty patients survived to discharge after transplantation. Of these patients, 2 (4%) were discharged on steroids and 8 (16%) started on maintenance steroids at follow-up. Rejection was diagnosed in 8 patients (Grade 2R cellular rejection in 3 and antibody-mediated rejection in 5). Freedom from rejection was 92% at 6 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 80% to 97%) and 87% at 1 year (CI 73% to 94%). Post-transplant survival was 91% at 6 months (CI 79% to 96%) and 88% at 12 and 24 months (CI 75% to 95%). There was 1 death due to rejection (antibody-mediated) 8 months after transplantation. Conclusions An immunosuppression protocol consisting of induction followed by corticosteroid avoidance appears to achieve acceptable rejection rates during the first year post-transplant in pediatric heart transplant recipients.
Review of Spiermann, Ole. International Legal Argument in the Permanent Court of International Justice: The Rise of the International Judiciary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005)

In International Legal Argument in the Permanent Court of International Justice: The Rise of the International Judiciary, Ole Spiermann reassesses the jurisprudence of the first permanent court of international law and, in the process, articulates a theory on International Legal Argument. The book is the adaptation of Spiermann’s doctoral dissertation for the University of Cambridge written under Professor James Crawford, also the series editor (Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law). The book consists of 8 chapters (538 pages) four of which are dedicated to international legal history and four concerned with the rhetoric of international law. Spiermann begins with the foundation of the Permanent Court of International Justice (“PCIJ”) and, in the following three chapters, introduces his theory on international legal argument. Chapters V – VII test this thesis on the jurisprudence of the PCIJ. In the final chapter, the author discusses the legacy of the Permanent Court of International Justice as the first to institutionalize the international legal argument.
Exploring Summer Medical Care Within the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Setting: A Perspective From the Athletic Trainer

Context: Over the last few decades, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has made changes related to the increase in sanctioned team activities during summer athletics. These change...
Reaction of the epiphysis to partial surgical resection.

1. For the dangerous period between the time of injury and definitive treatment, and while being moved about during definitive treatment, the patient should be recumbent, at all times, on a firm stretcher or bed. An adjustable traction neck brace should be worn during these times, applied in the long axis of the spine in the neutral position. 2. Skull traction is the best proved means of protecting the cord during definitive treatment of cervical-spine injuries. 3. Skull traction will accomplish reduction and maintain it in a high proportion of injuries. It is comfortable and greatly facilitates nursing care. 4. Complete reduction is ideal; satisfactory reductions may include those in which there is less than 0.3 centimeter of decrease in the anteroposterior diameter of the vertebral canal. Open reduction was accomplished in seven patients, in six of whom skull traction had failed. 5. internal fixation and surgical fusion provide reliable stabilization of the injured vertebrae. They appear to protect the cord against attrition in patients with a vertebral-canal diameter of less than normal. 6. The treatment of cervical-spine injuries is highly specialized; technical errors in treatment may be fatal. A trained autd experienced operating team is essential.
Multiple Criteria Effects in a Mail Survey Experiment

A factorial mail survey experiment was used to investigate response rate, response quality, and response bias effects related to the use of three response inducement techniques. The results suggest...