cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differentiation of Pathogenic Bartonella Species by Infrequent Restriction Site PCR

Infrequent restriction site PCR (IRS-PCR) is a recently described DNA fingerprinting technique based on selective amplification of restriction endonuclease-cleaved fragments. Bartonella isolates associated with human disease and related nonhuman isolates were analyzed by IRS-PCR genomic fingerprinting. Preparation of DNA templates began with double digestion using three different restriction endonuclease combinations. Combinations included the frequently cutting endonuclease HhaI in conjunction with an infrequently cutting endonuclease, EagI, SmaI, or XbaI. Digestion was followed by ligation of oligonucleotide adapters designed with ends complementary to the restriction endonuclease sites. Amplification of fragments flanked with an EagI, SmaI, or XbaI site in combination with an HhaI site produced a series of different-sized amplicons resolvable into patterns by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). The pattern complexity was varied by the addition of selective nucleotides to the 3' ends of the EagI-, SmaI-, or XbaI-specific primers. Amplicons were also generated with fluorescently labeled primers and were subsequently resolved and detected by capillary electrophoresis. Analysis by traditional slab PAGE and capillary electrophoresis provided suitable resolution of patterns produced with the enzyme combinations EagI-HhaI and SmaI-HhaI. However, the combination of XbaI-HhaI produced too many fragments for sufficient resolution by traditional PAGE, thus requiring the better resolving properties of capillary electrophoresis. Due to the flexibility in modulating the pattern complexity and electrophoresis methods, these techniques allow for a high level of experimental optimization. The results provide evidence of the discriminatory power, ease of use, and flexibility of the IRS-PCR method as it applies to the identification of human-pathogenic Bartonella species.
Student Self-Concept Scale: Description And Relevance To Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders

The Student Self-Concept Scale (SSCS) is a new measure of self-concept based on self-efficacy theory and subjective task value. A multidimensional measure of self-concept, the SSCS assesses efficacy and outcome expectations across Academic, Social, and Self-Image domains. A unique rating methodology requires students to rate how confident they feel in performing tasks (efficacy expectations), their probable outcomes (outcome expectations), and how important these tasks are for them (subjective task value). The SSCS has been nationally standardized on a sample of 3,586 children in Grades 3 through 12 and there is ample evidence of reliability and validity. A case study illustrating uses of the SSCS is provided.
Fluidic Injection for Noise Reduction of a Supersonic Jet from a practical C-D nozzle

This paper describes a joint study of our efforts to apply noise control techniques to supersonic jets from conical convergent-divergent (C-D) nozzles such as those found on high-performance military aircraft. In this paper we examine the experimental component of our examination of fluidic injection. The LES in this paper is taken from a companion numerical paper submitted separately [19]. Two fluidic injection geometries are applied to a nozzle with an area ratio corresponding to a design Mach number of 1.5. The nozzle is tested at a fully expanded jet Mach number of 1.56 so the jet is slightly overexpanded. One geometry has six pairs of tubes angled 20° toward one another and 36° toward the min jet centerline. The second has twelve tubes angled 60° to the centerline with no pairing and no angle towards neighboring tubes. Both geometries produce noise reduction as a result of symmetry breaking by the hardware. The second configuration shows significant additional acoustic benefits, especially at side angles. With a mass flow of 1.4% of the main jet noise reductions of 2.5 to 4 dB are achieved at different observer angles. These results are compared to chevron results for the same nozzle and the mechanism of action is found to be very similar.
A Bench Top Railgun With Distributed Energy Sources

Experimental results of a distributed energy source railgun are presented. Distributed energy source railguns were first proposed by Marshal in an asynchronous scheme and later by Parker synchronously. Both schemes employ a "traveling excitation wave" to push the projectile along the rail. The primary advantages of such a scheme over the common breech-fed is higher efficiency due to less energy remaining in the rail and lower rail resistive loses. Another advantage is the reduction in the probability of re-strike. However, these advantages are achieved at a cost of higher switching complexity. As a proof of principle experiment, we have constructed a bench-top solid armature railgun with distributed energy sources. Instead of a single, capacitive, breech-fed, energy source, the current is supplied by two storage capacitor banks, placed at different positions along the rail. The switching configuration, which requires a dedicated switch at each capacitor, is realized with sold state switches. The railgun is diagnosed in order to evaluate performance and to appropriately trigger the switches. In addition, experimental results are compared to simulation
Cardiac Imaging: Part 2, Normal, Variant, and Anomalous Configurations of the Coronary Vasculature

OBJECTIVE. Noninvasive imaging of the heart and coronary vasculature using CT and MRI is a new and exciting opportunity for radiologists. The purpose of this pictorial essay is to review normal and variant anatomy of the coronary arteries and of several coronary anomalies that may be clinically significant. The coronary veins and artifacts simulating disease will also be briefly covered. This article will help radiologists learn and review normal coronary anatomy, normal variants, and coronary anomalies and recognize pitfalls, such as coronary veins and artifacts, that may be confusing when first encountered. CONCLUSION. The coronary arteries generally are predictable in their origin, course, and perfusion territories. Standardized reporting systems exist for describing the location of specific lesions, and radiologists who interpret CT and MR coronary images should be aware of and should attempt to integrate these reporting schemes into clinical practice.
9.16 – Family Lives of Lesbians and Gay Men

In 1990, Ninia Baehr went on a blind date with another young woman, Genora Dancel. It was love at first sight. Later that year, they applied for a marriage license in Honolulu, where they were living. They were denied. Joining with a gay couple and another lesbian couple who had been similarly denied, they filed a lawsuit asking the State of Hawaii to grant them amarriage license. (Adapted from Bull & Gallagher, 1996, pp. 197±200)
Characteristic frequency of travelling waves applied for transmission lines fault location estimation

This paper presents an analytical approach for determining the characteristic frequency of transient signals generated from transmission lines faults. Transient signals of travelling waves generated by faults contain very important information about the fault distance. Therefore, the characteristic frequency can be used for transmission lines fault distance estimation. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed equations, five cases are simulated using different values for equivalent impedance of local terminal and maintaining the fault distance at 120 km from the sending-end. Results obtained show a good correlation between measured and calculated characteristic frequency allowing very good accuracy for fault distance estimation.
Radio Acoustic Sounding with a UHF Volume Imaging Radar

Abstract An implementation of a radio acoustic sounding system (RASS) using a UHF volume imaging radar is presented. The volume-imaging ability of the radar permits the study the spatial structure of the RASS echo observing both the diffraction pattern on a receiving antenna array and the beamformed images of the RASS intensity. Fine space and time resolution RASS observations of a developing diurnal boundary layer are considered, where observed structures are consistent with theoretical predictions presented in the RASS literature. The RASS amplitude signature is highly variable in space and time, hindering the estimation of complete instantaneous fields of virtual temperature. However, it is possible to obtain spatial statistics. Structure functions computed explicitly show r2/3 behavior typical of isotropic turbulence and vertical profiles of the structure function parameter show a z−4/3 behavior, although they are significantly larger than expected based on surface measurements.
Fabrication and Use of MicroEnvironment microArrays (MEArrays)

The interactions between cells and their surrounding microenvironment have functional consequences for cellular behaviour. On the single cell level, distinct microenvironments can impose differentiation, migration, and proliferation phenotypes, and on the tissue level the microenvironment processes as complex as morphogenesis and tumorigenesis(1). Not only do the cell and molecular contents of microenvironments impact the cells within, but so do the elasticity(2) and geometry(3) of the tissue. Defined as the sum total of cell-cell, -ECM, and -soluble factor interactions, in addition to physical characteristics, the microenvironment is complex. The phenotypes of cells within a tissue are partially due to their genomic content and partially due to the combinatorial interactions with the microenviroment. A major challenge is to link specific combinations of microenvironmental components with distinctive behaviours. Here, we present the microenvironment microarray (MEArray) platform for cell-based functional screening of interactions with combinatorial microenvironments(4). The method allows for simultaneous control of the molecular composition and the elastic modulus, and combines the use of widely available microarray and micropatterning technologies. MEArray screens require as few as 10,000 cells per array, which facilitates functional studies of rare cell types such as adult progenitor cells. A limitation of the technology is that entire tissue microenvironments cannot be completely recapitulated on MEArrays. However, comparison of responses in the same cell type to numerous related microenvironments, for instance pairwise combinations of ECM proteins that characterize a given tissue, will provide insights into how microenvironmental components elicit tissue-specific functional phenotypes. MEArrays can be printed using a wide variety of recombinant growth factors, cytokines, and purified ECM proteins, and combinations thereof. The platform is limited only by the availability of specific reagents. MEArrays are amenable to time-lapsed analysis, but most often are used for end point analyses of cellular functions that are measureable with fluorescent probes. For instance, DNA synthesis, apoptosis, acquisition of differentiated states, or production of specific gene products are commonly measured. Briefly, the basic flow of an MEArray experiment is to prepare slides coated with printing substrata and to prepare the master plate of proteins that are to be printed. Then the arrays are printed with a microarray robot, cells are allowed to attach, grow in culture, and then are chemically fixed upon reaching the experimental endpoint. Fluorescent or colorimetric assays, imaged with traditional microscopes or microarray scanners, are used to reveal relevant molecular and cellular phenotypes (Figure 1).
Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Young People and Parental Rules Against Smoking at Home and in the Car

Objectives. Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure is an important cause of morbidity in children. We assessed the impact of family rules about smoking in the home and car on SHS exposure prevalence in students in grades six to 12. Methods. We studied never-smoking young people (n1,698) in the random sample cross-sectional South Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey, a 2006 survey of middle and high school students in South Carolina. Results. Overall, 40% of the students reported SHS exposure in either the home or car in the past week; among these, 85% reported exposure in cars. Subsequent analyses focused on students who lived with a smoker (n602). Compared with those whose families prohibited smoking in the home or car, SHS exposure prevalence was 30% (p0.0001) higher for households with smoke-free rules for only one place (home or car) and 36% (p0.0001) higher for households with no rules. Compared with students from households with strict rules, SHS exposure prevalence was 48% greater (p0.0001) among those with only partial rules against smoking in the home or car, and 55% (p0.0001) greater among those from households with no rules. Similarly, compared with students with strict family rules for home and car that were adhered to, SHS exposure prevalence was significantly higher (p0.0001) among students when only one or no rules were followed. Conclusions. Young people from families that made and enforced strong rules against smoking in homes and cars were much less likely to report SHS exposure. Parents would be wise to endorse and enforce strong smoke-free policies for both homes and cars.
Knowledge-guided inference of domain–domain interactions from incomplete protein–protein interaction networks

Motivation: Protein-protein interactions (PPIs), though extremely valuable towards a better understanding of protein functions and cellular processes, do not provide any direct information about the regions/domains within the proteins that mediate the interaction. Most often, it is only a fraction of a protein that directly interacts with its biological partners. Thus, understanding interaction at the domain level is a critical step towards (i) thorough understanding of PPI networks; (ii) precise identification of binding sites; (iii) acquisition of insights into the causes of deleterious mutations at interaction sites; and (iv) most importantly, development of drugs to inhibit pathological protein interactions. In addition, knowledge derived from known domain–domain interactions (DDIs) can be used to understand binding interfaces, which in turn can help discover unknown PPIs. Results: Here, we describe a novel method called K-GIDDI (knowledge-guided inference of DDIs) to narrow down the PPI sites to smaller regions/domains. K-GIDDI constructs an initial DDI network from cross-species PPI networks, and then expands the DDI network by inferring additional DDIs using a divide-and-conquer biclustering algorithm guided by Gene Ontology (GO) information, which identifies partial-complete bipartite sub-networks in the DDI network and makes them complete bipartite sub-networks by adding edges. Our results indicate that K-GIDDI can reliably predict DDIs. Most importantly, K-GIDDI's novel network expansion procedure allows prediction of DDIs that are otherwise not identifiable by methods that rely only on PPI data. Contact: [email protected] Availability: http://www.ittc.ku.edu/~xwchen/domainNetwork/ddinet.html Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Comparing Student Performance and Satisfaction in Face-to-Face and Hybrid Formats for a Finance Course

In a study conducted at a large, public university, the author assessed the impact of course delivery method (face-to-face versus hybrid formats) on student performance and satisfaction. The study was based on the concurrent instruction of a senior-level finance course over two semesters. Student performance was based on the percent of students achieving a grade of A, B or C in the course (as opposed to D, F or W/WF) and the scores on the individual gradable assignments. The study shows no significant difference between hybrid and face-to-face delivery in the mean score of student performance. In addition, there was no significant difference in student satisfaction, which was measured based on the official university student survey. The study demonstrates (in contrast to other studies) that student achievement and satisfaction do not significantly differ with hybrid format delivery of the course. Implications of the study’s findings are discussed.
Grain Boundary Analysis of HT9 Steel after Accelerated Creep Testing

Ferritic/martensitic steels are attractive materials for use as components in nuclear reactors because of their high strength and good swelling resistance. Grain boundary specific phenomena (such as segregation, voiding, cracking, etc) are prevalent in these materials so grain boundary character is of primary importance. Certain types of boundaries are more susceptible to thermal creep damage whereas others tend to resist damage. If more damage resistant boundaries can be introduced into the structures, this will result in steel that is more resistant to the processes of degradation that prevail in high-temperature environments. We have characterized the grain boundary structure in HT9 steel by electron backscatter diffraction to identify boundaries that are resistant to degradation and those that are more susceptible to damage in extreme environments. It is found that intergranular damage is mitigated by a high fraction of low energy boundaries, and certain kinds of grain boundaries are more favored by intergranular cracks.
Resolution independent curve rendering using programmable graphics hardware

We present a method for resolution independent rendering of paths and bounded regions, defined by quadratic and cubic spline curves, that leverages the parallelism of programmable graphics hardware to achieve high performance. A simple implicit equation for a parametric curve is found in a space that can be thought of as an analog to texture space. The image of a curve's Bezier control points are found in this space and assigned to the control points as texture coordinates. When the triangle(s) corresponding to the Bezier curve control hull are rendered, a pixel shader program evaluates the implicit equation for a pixel's interpolated texture coordinates to determine an inside/outside test for the curve. We extend our technique to handle anti-aliasing of boundaries. We also construct a vector image from mosaics of triangulated Bezier control points and show how to deform such images to create resolution independent texture on three dimensional objects.
Automatic Generation of Balletic Motions

As cyber-physical systems become more prevalent, specifications for these systems must be formulated in a more nuanced manner. This paper presents a particular instantiation of such specification by proposing a framework that endows robotic motions with a sense of aesthetic style. Drawing inspiration from classical ballet, poses are cast as discrete states and movements as the transitions between these states. Thus, a given movement style is encoded in the availability of transitions at each state, and the dynamics of a complex physical trajectory are abstracted as a system which moves between these states. Using Linear Temporal Logic (LTL), we are able to further constrain the set of possible sequences through the transition system and thus prevent it from evolving through a sequence of states that is physically impossible or aesthetically undesirable. Our overarching objective is to facilitate subtle degrees of control over systems as such subtleties are required, more and more, to interact in a social and aesthetically driven world.
SIDE: The Summarization Integrated Development Environment

In this type-II demo, we introduce SIDE (the Summarization Integrated Development Environment), an infrastructure that facilitates construction of summaries tailored to the needs of the user. It aims to address the issue that there is no such thing as the perfect summary for all purposes. Rather, the quality of a summary is subjective, task dependent, and possibly specific to a user. The SIDE framework allows users flexibility in determining what they find more useful in a summary, both in terms of structure and content. As an educational tool, it has been successfully user tested by a class of 21 students in a graduate course on Summarization and Personal Information Management.
Development of High-temperature Microsample Testing

Microsample tensile testing has been established as a means of evaluating the room temperature mechanical properties of specimens with gage sections that are tens to hundreds of microns thick and several hundred microns wide. The desire to characterize the mechanical response of materials at elevated temperatures has motivated the development of high-temperature microsample testing that is reported here. The design of specially insulated grips allows the microsamples to be resistively heated using approximately 2 V DC and currents ranging between 2 to 6 A. An optical pyrometer with nominal spot size of 290 μm and 12 μm diameter type K thermocouples was employed to measure and verify the temperature of the microsamples. The ability of the pyrometer to accurately measure temperature on microsamples of different thicknesses and with slightly different emissivities was established over a temperature range from 400°C to 1100°C. The temperature gradient along the length and thickness of the microsample was measured, and the temperature difference measured in the gage section used for strain measurements was found to be less than 6.5°C. Examples of elevated temperature tensile and creep tests are presented.
Confronting a Trinity of Institutional Barriers: Denial, Cover‐Up, and Secrecy

Discourses of government and the nuclear industry erase previous fear and knowledge about the damages and injuries from nuclear weapons that impact indigenous communities. This cover-up enables nuclear states and nuclear industries to promote nuclear energy as a viable response to climate change. Many people, including environmentalists, consider nuclear energy to be the only viable energy source for the future global economy in that it does not contribute to climate change. It is difficult for us to consider the full scope of the risks that accompany decisions to embrace nuclear energy as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, however, because lessons learned about radiation remain secret or silenced.
High intensity and integrated Suns-Voc characterization of high performance kesterite solar cells

Kesterite or Cu2ZnSn(Se,S)4 (CZTSSe) is an emerging earth-abundant thin-film solar cell technology with current world record of 12.6% which is still far behind its cousin, the CuInGaSe technology. We investigated Suns-Voc characteristics of our high performance kesterite solar cells using two setups: (1) Low intensity (1 sun) Suns-Voc system integrated to the standard solar simulator using motorized continuous density filter. (2) High intensity (∼300 suns) Suns-Voc. The CZTSSe high intensity Suns-Voc curves exhibit bending at high intensity, which reveal several Voc limiting mechanisms that could impact the Voc at 1 sun such as: low bulk conductivity (because of low hole density or low mobility), bulk or interface defects including tail states, and a non-ohmic back contact for low carrier density CZTSSe. The latter problem can be detected by high intensity Suns-Voc with different infra red bandpass filters. Some of these limiting factors contribute to an artificially lower Jsc-Voc diode ideality factor compared to that of standard light J-V. The Suns-Voc techniques developed here is also applicable to other thin film solar cell technologies.
A Rationale for the Functional Separation of Qualitative Asset Transformation Services in Banking

This paper explores the link between the asset transformation services provided by a bank and the manner in which these assets are optimally funded. This link arises from the fact that asset transformation is distorted by various forms of moral hazard and the resolution of moral hazard is predicated on the type of liability instrument that is used to fund the bank. The demand deposit contract is unable to resolve both types of moral hazards that are modeled. Partial deposit insurance can increase the efficiency of the demand deposit contract but it too fails to provide a complete attenuation of both forms of moral hazard. Efficiency can be enhanced further by functionally separating the various asset transformation services of the bank, suggesting a variant of the "narrow bank" proposal currently being debated.
Utilizing Videoconferencing Technology to Instruct Remote Non-Traditional Teacher Education Students

The purpose of this study was to determine if non-traditional early childhood college students in 2 satellite locations that were assigned to the same course could benefit from the instruction prov...
Pseudorotational interconversion of the 2A1 and 2B2 states of HCOO

Abstract The lowest potential energy surface for the σ formyloxyl radical (σ-HCOO) is investigated with an equation-of-motion coupled cluster technique and basis sets that contain up to 195 contracted Gaussian functions. The 2 B 2 and 2 A 1 states of symmetric ( C 2v ) σ-HCOO both lie on this surface and can be interconverted adiabatically by transporting the nuclei through nonsymmetric, but planar, intermediate geometries. In accord with previous high-level calculations, the potential energy surface that governs this pseudorotation process is predicted to be extremely flat. While the 2 A 1 state is found to be the highest point on the interconversion pathway when basis sets of modest size are used, this symmetric form is preferentially stabilized by basis set augmentation. Calculations with very large basis sets suggest that both the 2 A 1 and 2 B 2 C 2v structures are local minima on the surface, separated by a barrier of about 500 cm −1 . These results are in qualitative agreement with conclusions reached in a recent electron photodetachment experiment.
Rational Inattention in Games: Experimental Evidence

In this paper, I test the predictions of rational inattention theory using a laboratory experiment where one role in a two-player game faces cognitive costs to process information about a payoff-relevant state. I find that subjects who face these unobservable cognitive costs have state-dependent choices and action-dependent response times that are consistent with being rationally inattentive, which provides evidence that subjects can adjust their cognitive processes in line with strategic incentives. In addition, I find that the estimated marginal costs of attention are similar when directly measured from the actions of players who face attentional costs and when indirectly measured from the actions of players who strategically interact with these players, which suggests that subjects who face unobservable cognitive costs are also treated as if they are rationally inattentive by other players.
Digital holographic microscopy for imaging biophysical changes in cells during migration(Conference Presentation)

It is well known that biochemical changes in cancer cell occur in response to environmental cues and during migration. However, information about changes in the physical properties (e.g., volume, elasticity) of cancer cells during migration and/or in response to physical modulations (confinement and perturbations). We report the use of a near-infrared (NIR) laser microbeam system integrated with a NIR digital holographic microscopy (DHM) to study physical response of cancer cells. The cancer cells were cultured in microfluidic devices and subjected to different physical confinement (controlled by channel geometry), osmolarity changes of extracellular medium and/or laser-induced perturbations. The changes in optical thickness (or phase map) of the cells were monitored with high spatial and temporal resolution during and after the physico-chemical perturbations. A weakly-focused continuous-wave laser microbeam was used to impart radiation pressure on cell membrane and the changes in thickness were monitored using DHM to estimate elasticity. Further, an ultrafast tightly-focused laser microbeam was used to allow extracellular fluid flow into the cell or from the cytoplasm under different osmolarity conditions. Dynamic changes in physical properties of various cells and observed differences in responding to different physical/chemical environment/perturbations will be presented.
edTPA, videotape, and occupational identity: a study of pre-service teachers

AbstractIn conducting this study, I sought to contribute to the scholarly discourse of understanding how North American elementary pre-service teachers experienced evaluation via teacher performance assessments. Through extensive interviews and thematic data analysis, this study generally supported the contention that the process of completing edTPA deepened student teachers’ understanding of their educational experience in a number of domains, which in turn suggested a broader awareness and appreciation of the complexities of learning to teach. Data from a larger study indicated that the identified ‘realms of understanding’ fell into four areas of insight related to education: Understanding Children, Understanding Instructional Strategies, Understanding via Collective Learning, and Understanding Self as Teacher. For the purposes of this paper, the identified area of insight ‘Understanding Self as Teacher’ is explored. These findings lead to several practical ways in which teacher education might be impro...
Defending Political Augustinianism: Brague and Taubes on the “Divine” as a Common Conceptual Space

Augustine holds that each society needs to be oriented to “God and the good.” He invidiously compares the earthly city as receptive to the true God with the earthly city as opposed to the true God, and he resolutely holds that only an earthly city oriented to the true God can be genuinely described as just and legitimate. At first glance this “political Augustinianism” hardly seems very attractive to non-believers or defensible in the eyes of modern secular liberals, and yet in this article I wish to defend it and commend it universally, that is, to promote its benefits and critical insights beyond religious circles. I commend an emphasis on “the divine” (to theion), rather than on God (ho theos), as a bridge to God for believers but also, and more importantly in the West's present liberal pluralist context, as a common halting place where believers and non-believers alike can sense “the beyond” (Augustine's “God and the good”) in their midst. I develop my argument that the “divine,” thus understood, can ...
Clozapine plasma levels and dosing strategies in patients with treatment-refractory schizophrenia

Objective: To determine the effect on clinical response to clozapine of increasing the plasma levels of clozapine and its major metabolite N-desmethylclozapine in 19 patients with schizophrenia who had plasma clozapine levels ≤ 370ng/ml, a level previously determined to identify patients who were unlikely to have an adequate response to clozapine.Method: The dosage of clozapine was increased by 20% in 11 patients and left unaltered in the other eight patients. Clozapine and N-desmethylclozapine plasma levels were measured after six weeks at the higher dose.Results: Nine of the 11 patients in whom clozapine dosage was increased subsequently achieved plasma clozapine levels ≥ 370ng/ml. However, in this group of patients who already had partially responded to clozapine, increasing the dosage of clozapine did not produce additional clinical improvement.Conclusion: Clozapine plasma levels are useful in clinical practice to guide dosage strategies. However, these results suggest that increasing the dosage of clozapine to achieve plasma levels ≥ 370ng/ml is unlikely to produce further improvement in patients who have already achieved a partial response to clozapine at plasma levels ≤ 370ng/ml.
An enhanced approach to reduce test application time through limited shift operations in scan chains

Scan Chains in Design For Testability gained more prominence due to the increase in the complexity of the modern circuits. As the test time increases along with the number of memory elements in the circuit, new and improved methods are needed. Even though scan chains implementation effectively increases observability and controllability, a big portion of the time is wasted while shifting in and shifting out the test patterns through the scan chain. The proposed algorithm improves the test application time by using limited scan operations where the number of shifts is less than the actual length of the scan chain. Contrary to classic methods that do not provide any feedback to the test generator our algorithm uses an iterative procedure to generate suitable test vectors. The proposed algorithm uses modified shift procedures by searching for hard to detect faults and then rearranging test patterns and changing the shift procedures to achieve fault coverage in reduced number of clock cycles.
Azimuthal Correlations of Transverse Energy for Pb on Pb at 158 GeV/Nucleon

Azimuthal correlations have been studied in heavy ion reactions over a wide range of beam energies. At low incident energies up to 100 MeV/nucleon where collective effects like the directed sidewards flow are generally small, azimuthal correlations provide a useful tool to determine the reaction plane event by event [1]. In the energy regime of the BEVALAC (up to 1 GeV/nucleon for heavy ions) particular emission patterns, i.e. azimuthal correlations of nucleons and light nuclei with respect to the reaction plane, have been associated with the so called squeeze out [2] and sidesplash [3] effects. These effects are of particular interest because of their sensitivity to the equation of state at the high baryon density which is build up during the collision process [4]. Angular distributions similar to the squeeze out have been observed for pions at the SIS in Darmstadt [5, 6] as well as from the EOS — collaboration [7]. Recently also the sideward flow was measured for pions and kaons [7, 8]. However, the origin of the signal in the case of produced mesons is thought to be of a different nature than that for the nucleon flow [9, 10].
Temporal Associations Between Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease, 1971 to 2006 (from the Framingham Heart Study)

Smoking has consistently been related to cardiovascular risk. Public health efforts have yielded reduced smoking prevalence and gains in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. We hypothesized that the contribution of tobacco to CVD risk would be attenuated over prospective decades (1971 to 2006) in a community-based cohort. We evaluated 5,041 Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort participants (mean age 36.1 years, 52% women) without prevalent CVD. We collected prospective data on smoking status, relevant CVD risk factors, and incident CVD events across prospective decades. We used multivariable-adjusted, Cox proportional hazard models to measure the effect of smoking on incident CVD over 3 prospective 12-year follow-up periods. Our results demonstrated a consistent twofold increased risk of CVD in men who smoke compared with nonsmokers for each 12-year time period spanning from 1971 to 2006. Women who smoked had a 1.5-fold increased CVD risk. Smoking remains an important risk factor despite substantial improvements in the prevention and treatment of CVD. Significant, contemporary improvements in CVD prevention—such as gains in hypertension and cholesterol treatment—have not attenuated the strong and persistent associations between smoking and CVD observed here. In conclusion, our results highlight the importance of continued public health efforts to address smoking as a modifiable exposure that strongly contributes toward CVD risk.
Geospatial tools effectively estimate nonexceedance probabilities of daily streamflow at ungauged and intermittently gauged locations in Ohio

Abstract Study region The state of Ohio in the United States, a humid, continental climate. Study focus The estimation of nonexceedance probabilities of daily streamflows as an alternative means of establishing the relative magnitudes of streamflows associated with hydrologic and water-quality observations. New hydrological insights for the region Several methods for estimating nonexceedance probabilities of daily mean streamflows are explored, including single-index methodologies (nearest-neighboring index) and geospatial tools (kriging and topological kriging). These methods were evaluated by conducting leave-one-out cross-validations based on analyses of nearly 7 years of daily streamflow data from 79 unregulated streamgages in Ohio and neighboring states. The pooled, ordinary kriging model, with a median Nash–Sutcliffe performance of 0.87, was superior to the single-site index methods, though there was some bias in the tails of the probability distribution. Incorporating network structure through topological kriging did not improve performance. The pooled, ordinary kriging model was applied to 118 locations without systematic streamgaging across Ohio where instantaneous streamflow measurements had been made concurrent with water-quality sampling on at least 3 separate days. Spearman rank correlations between estimated nonexceedance probabilities and measured streamflows were high, with a median value of 0.76. In consideration of application, the degree of regulation in a set of sample sites helped to specify the streamgages required to implement kriging approaches successfully.
Abstract: cache management and load balancing for 5G cloud radio access networks

Cloud Radio Access Networks (CRAN) has been proposed for 5G networks for better flexibility, scalability, and performance. CRAN aims to apply cloud-like architecture on RAN. This paper focuses on cache management and load balance in the software architecture of CRAN, intends to provide fault mitigation and carrier-grade real-time services. First, a new cache management algorithm based on event frequency and QoS level of User Equipment (UE) is proposed, utilizing Exponential Decay scoring function and Analytic Hierarchy Process. Next, load balance (LB) function is added, and five LB algorithms are evaluated. The performance evaluation is based on real-life UE event characteristics and RAN system values provided by Nokia Research. Results show the cache hit rate, delay and network traffic; as well as the queue-length analysis of LB algorithms.
Recurrent lower gastrointestinal bleeding in an 87-year-old woman.

An 87-year-old woman presented to an outside hospital with a complaint of bright red blood per rectum (BRBPR), where her haemoglobin was found to be 4.6 g/dL. An extensive gastrointestinal (GI) work was performed, including oesophagogastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy and a video capsule endoscopy, followed by a superior mesenteric artery (SMA) angiogram which showed no active extravasation. The patient continued to have BRBPR and was transferred to our hospital for further work-up. Her medical history was significant for hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and coronary artery disease. Her surgical history included knee arthroplasty, hernia repair, hysterectomy, cholecystectomy and appendectomy. Physical examination of the abdomen was soft, non-distended and non-tender. On transfer, a CT enterography was obtained and could not identify the source of bleeding but did note some stenosis of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA). A colonoscopy was then performed, which revealed old blood in …
Pediatric Preclinical Testing Program (PPTP) evaluation of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin

4064 Background: Rapamycin is a specific inhibitor of the serine/threonine kinase, mTOR, that controls cap-dependent translation. Inhibition of mTOR may have direct effects on tumor cells or indirect effects through anti-angiogenic mechanisms. Methods: The PPTP includes an in vitro panel (n=27) as well as panels of xenografts (n=61) representing most of the common types of childhood solid tumors and childhood ALL. Rapamycin was tested against the in vitro panel at concentrations from 10 pM to 100 nM and against the in vivo tumor panels at a dose of 5 mg/kg IP daily X 5 (2 days off) for 42 days. Three measures of antitumor activity were used: 1) response criteria modeled after the clinical setting [e.g., partial response (PR), complete response (CR), etc.]; 2) treated to control (T/C) tumor volume at day 21; and 3) a time to event (4X increase in tumor volume) measure based on the median EFS of treated and control lines (intermediate activity required EFS T/C > 2, and high activity additionally required a net reduction in median tumor volume at the end of the experiment). Results: Rapamycin was active against 10 of the 23 cell lines of the PPTP in vitro panel. The median IC50 for the responsive lines was 1.26nM with RAMOS being the most sensitive with an IC50 of 0.39nM. Rapamycin induced significant differences in EFS distribution in 28 of 36 (78%) of solid tumor xenografts and in 5 of 8 (63%) of the ALL xenografts. Using the PPTP time to event measure of efficacy, rapamycin had a high (4) or intermediate (11) level of activity against 15 of 31 evaluable solid tumor xenografts. Among the 8 ALL xenografts, 1 demonstrated high activity and 4 showed intermediate activity. Objective responses were observed in a rhabdoid xenograft (PR), 2 rhabdomyosarcoma xenografts (both PRs), and an osteosarcoma xenograft (maintained CR). A neuroblastoma xenograft achieved stable disease. Among the 8 xenografts in the ALL panel, rapamycin induced a PR in one T-cell ALL and a maintained CR in another T-cell ALL xenograft, with stable disease being observed in 1 B-precursor ALL xenograft. Conclusions: Rapamycin demonstrated in vitro activity against a range of cell lines, with the most sensitive being a Burkitt lymophoma line. Rapamycin demonstrated broad activity against both the solid tumor and ALL panels with tumor growth delay being observed in all the panels. Regressions were observed in the ALL panel and three of the solid tumor panels. Further work is needed to evaluate the activity of rapamycin in combination with standard chemotherapy agents and to evaluate associations between the molecular characteristics of the PPTP’s preclinical models and their responsiveness to rapamycin. (Supported by NCI NO1CM42216)
Speaking together differently to live together differently: The promise of the public dialogue movement

The struggle for mutual respect of difference may be the most paradigmatic form of public conflict in the United States and elsewhere today. In recent years, a movement and broad community of pract...
Reverse Mortgages: A Solution to Elderly Poverty

This paper investigates the scope for alleviating poverty among elderly homeowners in the United States by means of reverse mortgages. A reverse mortgage is a loan secured against the home equity owned by the borrower. The loan does not require monthly repayments. Under most reverse mortgage programs, the elderly borrower is allowed to use the home as her principal residence for as long as she wishes. Utilizing reverse mortgages as a tool for poverty alleviation makes use of the "cash-poor and house-rich" characteristic of elderly homeowners in poverty. We compute monthly payments that can be obtained by elderly homeowners under a reverse mortgage by simulating the tenure plan of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) product which is a reverse mortgage that is insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Data on home value, age of the owner, income, poverty status, and household type were obtained from the National File of the American Housing Survey of 1991. We estimate that 621,820 elderly homeowners in poverty could be raised above the poverty line if they obtained a reverse mortgage under the HECM tenure plan. These households constitute 29 percent of all poor elderly homeowners, and 18 percent of all elderly households in poverty. There appears to be considerable scope for alleviating poverty among elderly homeowners through reverse mortgages. More than half of the elderly households in poverty who own homes worth $60,000 or more can be raised above poverty by means of reverse mortgages. We estimate that the poverty rate of elderly households in occupied units (both renters and owners) can be reduced by three percentage points (from 17 percent to 14 percent) by means of reverse mortgages. We estimate that the poverty rate for elderly persons in the United States in 1991 would have been reduced from 12.4 percent to 10 percent if poor elderly homeowners had obtained reverse mortgages in 1991. Thus, reverse mortgages had the potential to reduce the poverty rate among the elderly by 2.4 percentage points in 1991.
Principles of Medical Imaging in the Diagnosis and Staging of the Cancer Patient

Staging is a critical issue in the evaluation, prognosis, and treatment planning for patients with cancer. Newer imaging techniques play an important role in determining the extent of cancer and the optimal treatment regimen. The recent introduction of PET and PET/CT has been shown to increase the stage of many patients, leading to changes in the treatment plan. Stage migration will lead to improved treatment results, which must be kept in mind when viewing historical data.
Accessing Morphological Information

As seen in the previous chapters, there are basically three kinds of nonphonological information that phonological rules require. They are:
Characterization and Analysis of Wideband Temperature-Dependent Dielectric Properties of Liver Tissue for Next-Generation Minimally Invasive Microwave Tumor Ablation Technology

Microwave ablation (MWA) is a minimally invasive thermal therapy that delivers microwave energy to a malignant tumor via an interstitial antenna. To date, MWA systems have primarily operated at 915 MHz or 2.45 GHz. Knowledge of the temperature-dependent tissue dielectric properties at frequencies above 2.45 GHz is essential for future development of MWA systems that leverage advantageous antenna design and ablation performance characteristics at higher frequencies. This information is also critical for the development of real-time microwave sensing techniques for MWA monitoring. We report measured and modeled wideband (0.5-20 GHz) temperature-dependent (25-93°C) dielectric properties of ex vivo porcine liver tissue during MWA. The temperature-dependent dielectric properties were modeled using two-pole Debye models with temperature-dependent parameters described by third-order polynomials. The results address a gap in present knowledge of properties over both a wide frequency band and wide range of temperatures relevant to MWA.
Mental health and parenting stress in mothers of children with diabetes treated in a patient-centred medical home.

Background Mothers of children with diabetes are at-risk for experiencing parenting stress and diminished mental/emotional health. To the best of our knowledge, no studies to date have examined whether there are differences in these outcomes between mothers whose diabetic child is managed in a patient-centred medical home or not. Objective The objective of the present study was to assess whether there were differences in mental health and parenting stress among mothers whose diabetic child was managed in a patient-centred medical home or not. Methods Two hundred fifty-three mothers of children with diabetes (mean age = 12.50 years; SD = 3.90) from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health were included in this study. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to determine the amount of variance that having a patient-centred medical home contributed to maternal emotional/mental health and parenting stress. Results After controlling for child sex, age, race/ethnicity and family poverty level, patient-centred medical home status was associated with better mental health for mothers and less parenting stress. Effective care coordination was the only subcomponent of the patient-centred medical home that significantly contributed to the variance in mother's mental/emotional health and parenting stress. Conclusions Receiving care in a patient-centred medical home, particularly the care coordination component, may mitigate some of the negative maternal effects of managing a child's diabetes.