cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Operative Endoscopy in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic relapsing disease with a long-term course that is usually progressive and most patients with CD undergo intestinal surgery during their lifetime. Endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) is an alternative to surgery. Many factors are involved in determining endoscopic dilation outcomes. The length of the strictures was found to be a determinant of the outcome of balloon dilation in the previously published systematic review, where stricture length of >4 cm was associated with a poor outcome. Catheters used for gastrointestinal strictures dilation are: an over-the-wire balloon catheter and a through-the-scope balloon catheter. Through-the-scope balloon catheters tend to be selected for almost EBD procedures because of their simplicity and safety.
Insurance, Managed Care, and System Integration

Approximately two-thirds of all health care expenditures are paid for by insurance. In contrast, purchases of other goods and services involve only a buyer and a seller, with no intermediate payor. As the intermediate payor, the insuring organization is the fulcrum around which the health care industry turns. In this chapter I review the reasons why insurance is so pervasive in the health care sector and why insurance for health care expenditures is usually different than insurance for other goods and services. The effects of insurance on prices and health services delivered are shown. The focus of this chapter is on the structure, behavior, and performance of insuring organizations and their effects on competition in the health insurance market. I analyze system integration and close the chapter with an examination of the status of the uninsured in the United States.
Patient Freedom and Competence in Health Care

If the new ethos of medical ethics is clear about and unreservedly committed to anything, it is to the proposition that competent patients must be allowed to retain their right to manage their own affairs within health care, and the legal and moral doctrine of informed consent simply seeks to protect and enshrine this right. Given this almost absolute provision (certain exceptions such as the emergency treatment of suicides have been generally seen as permissible within the rule), one might well wonder what confusion (or incipient paternalism) has generated our volume’s focus, ‘when are competent patients incompetent?’.
Rational Herbal and Complementary Interventions for Prevention and Treatment of Urological Disorders in Men

Almost all major and minor urologic conditions are impacted positively and negatively by certain lifestyle changes and dietary supplements. Some of these complementary interventions have potential positive impacts independently or in combination with conventional therapy, others have no activity, and some could negatively impact treatment and overall health. Few specialties have arguably invested more finances and energy and effort in determining whether certain lifestyle changes and dietary supplements impact a variety of medical conditions compared to urology. Therefore, a rapid review of potentially efficacious and nonefficacious complementary medicine interventions is needed. It should be of interest to the clinician that the heart healthiest complementary medicine recommendations have generally served as the safest and most potentially effective interventions in urology from BPH, chronic nonbacterial prostatitis, interstitial cystitis, multiple urologic cancers, male infertility, male and female sexual dysfunction, kidney stones, Peyronie’s disease, and urinary tract infections (UTIs).
The Correspondence Between Lift-and-Project Cuts and Simple Disjunctive Cuts

From the fact that the constraint set (6.3) of (CGLP)j defines the convex hull of P ∩{x : xj ∈{0, 1}}, and that convPI, the integer hull, can be derived by imposing the disjunctions xj ≤ 0 ∨ xj ≥ 1 sequentially, it follows that any valid cut for a mixed 0-1 program can be represented as a lift-and-project cut.
Protection of Islanded Microgrid Fed by Inverters

As microgrids evolve and proliferate, with sharp increase in renewable-fed distributed generation, islanded operation of microgrids that are fed entirely by inverter-interfaced renewables has become an imminent reality. Commercially available grid-forming inverters have made it technically possible to form a stable microgrid island with other inverters following in a coordinated controlled operation. For reliable operation of islands, inverters participating in such islands may need to stay connected during faulted conditions until the fault is isolated. Though ample literature exists on protection of microgrids, protection of islands entirely fed by inverters has not been addressed well. This paper develops a simplified, yet accurate model for an inverter-interfaced distributed energy resource, and uses it to explore operation and protection issues in islanded microgrids that arise due to the control and design of commercial inverters.
New Leader of North Korea: Comparative Coverage of Kim Jong Un by U.S., Chinese, and Japanese Newspapers

Comparative analysis on coverage of North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong Un in the New York Times, the China Daily, and the Japan Times, based on communication theories of framing, press nationalism, and propaganda, identifies that each newspaper’s government interests and foreign policies exert important impacts on the construction of coverage of Kim who was viewed as a notorious or friendly leader.
Throughout the United States, pediatric patients undergoing ambulatory surgery enter the operating room and are discharged earlier in the day than are adults

Abstract Background Previously it was shown that greater minutes that pediatric surgical cases start later than scheduled were associated with more parents’ complaints regarding anesthesiologists’ care. Cases starting later in the day have less reliable start times. Thus, starting pediatric cases earlier in the surgical day would result in less tardiness of starts and fewer complaints. The objective of the current study was to evaluate start times and the corresponding durations of workdays nationally for outpatient surgery. Methods The current cohort study used the United States’ National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), which includes outpatient surgery performed at hospitals and unaffiliated freestanding surgery centers. The data were limited to surgical cases with an anesthetic administered by an anesthesiologist and/or nurse anesthetist. Patients were considered pediatric if age ≤14 years. Results Pediatric cases started on average at 09:34, 57 (SE 11) minutes earlier than for adults (P Conclusions These national data can be as representative of policies in place regarding the sequencing of pediatric patients’ OR start times when adult and pediatric patients are scheduled in the same ORs.
Atomic Layer Deposition Josephson Junctions for Cryogenic Circuit Applications

Superconducting-insulating-superconducting trilayers have been produced for Josephson Junction fabrication by thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes. The trilayers are composed of alternating layers of Ti0.4N0.6/Al2O3/Ti0.4N0.6, deposited at 450 °C, in a thermal ALD reactor on Al2O3-coated silicon. The conformal nature of the ALD process provides excellent step coverage of superconducting and insulating films. The film thickness of a single ALD cycle, being one mono-layer, allows us to precisely control the tunnel-barrier insulator thickness by counting the number of ALD cycles during the insulator deposition step. Tunnel junctions with critical current approximately 500 A/cm2 are reported. Fabrication of Josephson Junctions and progress toward development of a single-element ALD superconducting quantum interference device are discussed.
Splitting vs lumping: Does the phenotype matter anymore?

When we delineated the clinical phenotypes of mitochondrially inherited diseases associated with ragged-red fibers on muscle biopsy in the 1980s, my chairman insisted on defining distinct clinical phenotypes so that in the future, gene finding experiments could be undertaken.1 We described a distinct clinical entity and named it mitochondrial encephalopathy and lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). I was a resident writing my second manuscript and found that there were a lot of overlap syndromes. I was not allowed to expand on the concept of indistinct phenotypes. It might muddy the waters and, at a time of new clinical descriptions, might be confusing.
Urban Tree Canopy Effects on Water Quality via Inputs to the Urban Ground Surface

Urban trees have diverse effects on hydrologic processes, influencing water quality within and downstream of the city. Urban trees, which include street trees, trees on private property, and those in urban forests, parks, and arboreta, intercept and modify precipitation before it reaches the ground. Urban canopies alter precipitation chemistry through interaction with atmospheric components such as ions and particles, uptake and leaching, and within-canopy production of materials. Due to numerous sources of nutrients and pollutants in urban areas, trees often act to concentrate chemical inputs to the urban ground surface, though this effect varies depending on such factors as urban form and tree species. Ultimately, the effect of the urban tree canopy on the urban hydrologic cycle is a complex topic with intertwined socio-ecological causes and effects. While the scientific community has been exploring this topic for the last 40 years, there is still much work to be done to describe the effects of the urban tree canopy on urban water quality and to use this understanding to maximize urban tree canopy benefits.
Increased focal internal carotid artery angulation in patients with posterior communicating artery aneurysms

Background Aneurysms at the posterior communicating artery (PCOM) origin represent the most common location on the internal carotid artery (ICA), and are associated with greater recurrence following endovascular treatment. We evaluate the association between ICA angulation in three-dimensional (3D) space and PCOM aneurysmal development, using high-resolution 3D rotational angiography (3DRA) studies. Methods 3DRA datasets were evaluated in 70 patients with PCOM aneurysms, 31 non-aneurysmal contralateral, and 86 healthy controls (187 total). The local angle formed by upstream and downstream ICA segments at the PCOM origin, αICA@PCOM, was measured using 3DRA multiplanar reconstruction. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed on parametric and patient-based models. Results αICA@PCOM was significantly larger in aneurysm-bearing ICA segments (68.14±11.91°) compared with non-aneurysmal contralateral (57.17±10.76°, p Conclusion ICA angulation at PCOM origin is significantly higher in vessels harboring PCOM aneurysms compared with contralateral and healthy ICAs. This sharper bend in the ICA leads to high focal pressure at the aneurysm neck, low focal WSS and high proximal WSSG. These findings underline the importance of morphological ICA variations and the likelihood of PCOM aneurysm, an association which can inform clinical decisions and may serve in predictive analytics.
Proteomic Profiling of Fast Neutron-Induced Soybean Mutant Unveiled Pathways Associated with Increased Seed Protein Content.

Mutagenesis through fast neutrons (FN) radiation of soybean resulted in a mutant with a 15% increase in seed protein content. A comparative genomic hybridizations (CGHs) analyses confirmed that the mutant is lacking 24 genes located at chromosomes 5 and 10. A tandem mass tag (TMT) based proteomic profiling of the wild type and the FN mutant revealed 3,502 proteins, of which 206 proteins exhibited increased abundance and 214 proteins showed decreased abundance. Among the abundant proteins, basic 7S globulin increased four-fold, followed by vacuolar-sorting receptor, and protein transporters. The differentially expressed proteins were mapped on the Global Metabolic Pathways. There was an enrichment of 29 ribosomal proteins, 16 endoplasmic reticular proteins, and several proteins in export metabolic pathways were observed. The deletion of the sequence-specific DNA binding transcription factor along with 23 other genes, may have altered the negative regulation of protein syntheses processes, resulting in an increase in the overall protein content of the mutant seed. This mutant is a valuable resource for researchers to understand the metabolic pathways that may affect an increase in seed protein content. (The mass spectrometry data files were submitted to massive.ucsd.edu # MassIVE MSV000084228).
Controller Synthesis for Infinitesimally Shape-Similar Formations

The interplay between network topology and the interaction modalities of a multi-robot team fundamentally impact the types of formations that can be achieved. To explore the trade-offs between network structure and the sensing and communication capabilities of individual robots, this paper applies controller synthesis to formation control of infinitesimally shape-similar frameworks, for which maintaining the relative angles between robots ensures invariance of the framework to translation, rotation, and uniform scaling. Beginning with the development of a controller for the sole purpose of maintaining the formation, the controller-synthesis approach is introduced as a mechanism for incorporating user- designated objectives while ensuring that the formation is maintained. Both centralized and decentralized formulations of the synthesized controller are presented, the resulting sensing and communication requirements are discussed, and the method is demonstrated on a team of differential-drive robots.
Will COVID-19 Highlight How Multinationals Really Conduct Business?

This short piece was prepared for a Tax Notes Federal Global Roundtable on “Displaced Employees and COVID-19: The New Tax Obligations”. It points out that the continued success of many U.S.-headquartered MNEs to continue their supply chains and their conduct of internet-based businesses despite the lock-downs and significantly decrease business travel during the COVID-19 pandemic is evidence that significant profits reported by foreign group members due to profit-shifting structures are really earned through business activities conducted partly or wholly within the U.S. This short piece notes: “Why have MNEs been able to so easily, relatively speaking, maintain and even expand their businesses? In short, modern communication and management tools have allowed their centralized managements and operating personnel, many of them being within the United States, to manage, direct, and conduct their worldwide businesses with little or no interruption.” The success of these MNEs during these adverse times should cause the IRS to consider whether unintended partnerships have been created and whether the effectively connected income rules should be applied to directly tax shifted profits.
An Anycast Service with Cognitive DTN Routing

The use of anycast routing in challenged networks, which include space networks, can help to alleviate the performance impact of the intermittent network connectivity and large communication delays that characterize such operational environments. With the anycast service, each data bundle can be delivered to any member of the anycast group and by establishing an adequate routing mechanism, bundles can be directed toward the member offering the lowest end-to-end delivery time. This possibility is explored in this study through a design extension to the Cognitive Space Gateway (CSG) approach to DTN routing. The advantage of the proposed method is that it adaptively determines the path for each bundle considering the estimated network congestion, which allows dynamically deciding the (near) optimal member as the destination node. The process allows for low bundle response times and high throughput. Testbed experiments are reported which confirm the performance advantages of the proposed method over unicast routing.
Development and Functionality of an Internet-Based, Self-Managed Parent Training Program.

Purpose This research note evaluated a self-managed, Internet intervention (i.e., Success With Stories) designed to facilitate parental reading practices and beliefs. Method Twelve reviewers were c...
Microhabitat use by pre‐spawning Pacific lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus in a large, regulated river differs by year, river segment, and availability

Decreasing river flows and increasing water temperatures during the summer have been associated with holding behavior by pre-spawning Pacific lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus in the mainstem Willamette River (Oregon, USA). However, it is unclear if microhabitat use (≤ 2 m) by these lamprey is associated with particular habitat structure(s) or thermal refuge. We implanted radio tags into lamprey (n = 425) and conducted boat surveys to track individuals and document their microhabitat use in the mainstem Willamette River. 58 % of the lamprey were detected, representing 460 detections of 247 individuals across two years (2009 and 2010). Lamprey distributed significantly further upstream, and more were found in the main channel during a high flow year (2010) in comparison with a low flow year (2009). More lamprey held in the main channel across all river segments in 2010 than in 2009. Main channel habitats were significantly deeper than other microhabitats. Lamprey migrating into the upper river segment tended to use microhabitats other than the main channel. These other microhabitats included rock revetments and boulders/bedrock. Rock revetments were more prevalent in the middle – upper river segments, and a greater percentage of lamprey were associated with this microhabitat in these segments. The further upstream the lamprey migrated, the cooler, shallower, and faster water they encountered. One lamprey was associated with coolwater refuge (15.5 oC) in an alcove to the mainstem river (18.1 oC). We conclude that microhabitat use by pre-spawning Pacific lamprey differs by year (river flow), river segment, and availability in a large, regulated river.
Canine leishmaniasis in Northern California—A case report

A 3-year-old dog was referred to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of the University of California-Davis for further evaluation of episodes of epistaxis of 1-year duration and peripheral lymphadenopathy. The patient had a history of atopic dermatitis with no travel history outside of California. Hyperglobulinemia with a polyclonal gammopathy was noted on serum protein electrophoresis. Microscopic evaluation of a bone marrow aspirate sample revealed many free and intra-cellular amastigotes of Leishmania sp. that was further confirmed by qPCR as L infantum. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first reported case of canine leishmaniasis in the state of California. The patient is believed to have been vertically infected from the dam who is from Serbia and remained subclinical until presentation. Because the clinical progression of leishmaniasis is variable, it is important that precautions be discussed with owners acquiring puppies with dams from endemic regions of leishmaniasis to prevent zoonotic exposure in states where competent vectors are present.
Impact of Medical Scribe Experiences on Subsequent Medical Student Learning

Many US pre-health professional students prepare for applying to medical training by transcribing clinician-patient encounters. Scant literature of the effects of scribing experiences before starting medical training exists. We conducted a study to investigate student perspectives about medical scribing’s educational impact on clinical skill development. Using a mixed-methods approach, medical and physician assistant students were surveyed and interviewed about clinical experiences and confidence before entering medical training, and the impact of scribing on clinical skills learning. Thematic analysis revealed salient themes in participants’ perspectives on the scribing experience. A total of 214 (33%) of the 658 students completed the survey; 66 (31%) had scribing experience. Scribes were more confident (p ≤ 0.001) in clinical note writing and history taking than non-scribes. Thematic analysis revealed perceptions that scribing impacted clinical note writing, medical knowledge, communication, and healthcare environment functioning. Findings suggest that the scribing experience affects confidence and perceived skills, particularly clinical note writing. Future research could explore the impact on clinical skill development through comparative performance-based assessment. Measuring the impact of scribing before entry to medical/physician assistant school on clinical skill development could provide directives for best approaches to clinical skills education in health professionals training.
Comparative stability of assay results of enterococci measured by culture and qPCR over time in bathing beach waters.

Abstract The diurnal presence of the culturable bacterial indicators of fecal contamination in the water environment has been shown to be highly variable over time due to natural die-off and injury from effects of sunlight and other environmental stressors. Molecular analytes of a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method for measuring fecal contamination degrade considerably slower than the alternative of culturable fecal indicator bacteria. The rapid qPCR method holds the promise of more timely notification decisions with respect to postings or closure being made on the basis of microbial water quality samples collected earlier on the same day. In the case of culture-based methods requiring a 24 h or longer incubation period , decisions must be based on samples collected no sooner than the previous day. To examine the effect of this lag in assay results, temporal stability of a molecular Enterococci target analyte with that of traditional culture-based cells is compared using data from USEPA studies conducted between 2003 and 2007 on seven freshwater and marine beaches that were impacted by publicly-owned treatment works. Generally, levels of the molecular indicator were more consistent throughout the day between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm. The difference in temporal consistency is even more pronounced when the 24-h lag in culture-based results is taken into account.
Agricultural and Field Robotics: An Introduction

Pushed by the critical needs for addressing insufficient field labor availability and rapidly increasing labor costs in agriculture and other field operations and pulled by the successes and realized benefits of adopting robotic technologies in other industrial applications, robotized agricultural and field operations have been envisioned (and adopted to some extent) to either replace or assist human workers performing laborious and/or dangerous tasks. Technically, agricultural or field robots have three basic abilities of (i) perceiving operational situations, (ii) making intelligent operational decisions, and (iii) implementing the operations automatically. This chapter provides an overview of the fundamental technologies for agricultural and field robots, as well as some specific challenges and opportunities agricultural and field robotics are facing.
How Can We Understand Genocide

Trying to understand why genocide occurs is crucial to a full understanding of the crime and hopefully its prevention. There is no single reason why genocide might occur; there are many reasons and many possible explanations for it. This chapter looks at the different academic explanations for genocide from a variety of disciplines. Ideally, after exploring the myriad theories one can look for common factors among the disciplines that might help explain how we understand genocide.
Critical Issues in Content Repurposing for Small Devices

This is a chapter in the Encyclopedia of Multimedia Technology and Networking, ed. M. Pagani, Hershey, PA: The Idea Group, 2005.
Conjugative and Mobilizable Transposons

Conjugative transposons—integrated elements that excise themselves from the chromosome of the donor bacterium, transfer themselves by conjugation to another bacterium, and integrate into the chromosome of the recipient cell—are the focus of this chapter. The chapter also briefly covers smaller integrated elements called mobilizable transposons. Mobilizable transposons are triggered to excise by conjugative transposons, which also mobilize them to a recipient cell. The study of such elements is revealing novel mechanisms of excision, integration, and transfer. The lack of a large database of information on conjugative and mobilizable transposons has led to two problems. One is the lack of a full range of "sequence signatures" that would reveal the presence of a conjugative transposon in a genome sequence. Second, it is now clear that there is a considerable amount of diversity in this group of elements, diversity that has led to some uncertainty as to how to define the category "conjugative transposon". Mobilizable transposons (MTns) are smaller integrated elements that transfer with the assistance of a CTn. To date, the most extensively studied conjugative transposons are the Bacteroides conjugative transposon, CTnDOT, and the gram-positive conjugative transposon, Tn916. Excision and transfer of CTnDOT and Tn916 are regulated by tetracycline, but the mechanisms of regulation are different. CTn-like integrated, self-transmissible elements have been found in many different types of bacteria. MTns, like CTns, have a circular intermediate but rely on a CTn for transfer functions. A summary of the features of the integrated elements is covered in the chapter.
Concurrent engineering: information acquisition between high technology marketeers and R & D engineers in new product development

The informational interface between marketing and research and development engineers in high technology companies is empirically assessed to identify the underlying dimensions facilitating communication. Working in tandem with an industry partner, a multi–phased approach allowed both the specific observation of this phenomenon in the field, and comparison and contrast with the results of a survey research approach of organizations across the United States. Results from each phase correspond in providing the identification of relevant informational dimensions.
On Microscopic Irreversibility and Non-deterministic Chaos: Resolving the Conflict between Determinism and Free Will

This article attempts to resolve the age-old conflict of determinism and free will. The problem is approached from two directions: biological information processing and physical determinism at the ontological and the epistemological levels. It is shown that biological information processing is neither absolutely deterministic nor completely random. It is shown that Laplace’s determinism can neither be proved nor disproved and is, therefore, an epistemological choice. It is further shown that a) Boltzmann’s statistical mechanics is irreconcilable with Newtonian mechanics, contrary to Boltzmann’s own claim, b) microscopic reversibility cannot possibly give rise to macroscopic irreversibility, c) Zermelo’s recurrence paradox and Loschmidt’s velocity-reversal paradox are valid arguments against Boltzmann’s claim, and d) in breaking the tie with Newtonian mechanics, Boltzmann was actually the hero that had freed us from the bondage of absolute physical determinism. Last but not least, it is impossible to design a scientific experiment to test the existence or non-existence of free will because of the impossibility to maintain the required homogeneity of human test samples. However, individuals who believe in the existence of free will have a more consistent worldview than non-believers. If free will does not exist, it is futile and meaningless to attempt to convince others that free will does not exist.
Issues and Strategies for Aggregate Supply Response Estimation for Policy Analyses

We demonstrate the use of the small-sample econometrics principles and strategies to come up with reliable yield and acreage models for policy analyses. We focus on demonstrating the importance of proper representation of systematic and random components of the model for improving forecasting precision along with more reliable confidence intervals for the forecasts. A probability distribution function modeling approach. which has been shown to provide more reliable confidence intervals for the dependent variable forecasts than the standard models that assume error term normality, is used to estimate cotton supply re­ sponse in the Southeastern United States.
Multi-agent systems in mobile ad hoc networks

A number of technologies are evolving that will help formulate more adaptive and robust network architectures intended to operate in dynamic, mobile environments. One technology area, mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) enables self-organizing, multi-hop heterogeneous network routing services and organization. Such technology is important in future DoD networking, especially in the forward edge of the battlespace where self-organizing, robust networking is needed. A second technology area, multi-agent systems (MAS) can enable autonomous, team-based problem solving under varying environmental conditions. Previous work done in MAS has assumed relatively benign wired network behavior and inter-agent communications characteristics that may not be well supported in MANET environments. In addition, the resource costs associated with performing inter-agent communications have a more profound impact in a mobile wireless environment. The combined operation of these technology areas, including cross-layer design considerations, has largely been unexplored to date. This paper describes ongoing research to improve the ability of these technologies to work in concert. An outline of various design and system architecture issues is first presented. We then describe models, agent systems, MANET protocols, and additional components that are being applied in our research. We present an analysis method to measure agent effectiveness and early evaluations of working prototypes within MANET environments. We conclude by outlining some open issues and areas of further work
The development of citizenship.

The Critical Importance of Civic Engagement History of Research on Civic Engagement Conceptualizing and Defining Civic Engagement The Multifaceted Nature of Civic Engagement Social and Human Capital The Civic Status of Today's Youth The Development of Civic Engagement The Socialization into Citizenship Programs Designed to Promote Civic Engagement Individual Differences in the Socialization into Citizenship Conclusions: A Conceptualization of Civic Engagement Keywords: community service; socialization into citizenship; civic engagement; social capital; human capital; civic status; political citizenship; active citizenship; prosocial behavior; tolerance; moral cognition; civics education
What is grammar like? A usage-based constructionist perspective

This paper is intended to elucidate some implications of usage-based linguistic theory for statistical and computational models of language acquisition, focusing on morphology and morphophonology. I discuss the need for grammar (a.k.a. abstraction), the contents of individual grammars (a potentially infinite number of constructions, paradigmatic mappings and predictive relationships between phonological units), the computational characteristics of constructions (complex non-crossover interactions among partially redundant features), resolution of competition among constructions (probability matching), and the need for multimodel inference in modeling internal grammars underlying the linguistic performance of a community.
Variational sensitivity analysis: theory and application

The theory underlying the variational sensitivity formalism is reviewed. Some general characteristics of uncertainties in fast reactor parameters as a function of nuclear data uncertainties are discussed. Numerical studies based on the variational sensitivity theory and the statistical theory are reviewed.
Mapping of coal quality using stochastic simulation and isometric logratio transformation with an application to a Texas lignite

Abstract Coal is a chemically complex commodity that often contains most of the natural elements in the periodic table. Coal constituents are conventionally grouped into four components (proximate analysis): fixed carbon, ash, inherent moisture, and volatile matter. These four parts, customarily measured as weight losses and expressed as percentages, share all properties and statistical challenges of compositional data. Consequently, adequate modeling should be done in terms of a logratio transformation, a requirement that is commonly overlooked by modelers. The transformation of choice is the isometric logratio transformation because of its geometrical and statistical advantages. The modeling is done through a series of realizations prepared by applying sequential simulation for the purpose of displaying the parts in maps incorporating uncertainty. The approach makes realistic assumptions and the results honor the data and basic considerations, such as percentages between 0 and 100, all four parts adding to 100% at any location in the study area, and a style of spatial fluctuation in the realizations equal to that of the data. The realizations are used to prepare different results, including probability distributions across a deposit, E-type maps displaying average properties, and probability maps summarizing joint fluctuations of several parts. Application of these maps to a lignite bed clearly delineates the deposit boundary, reveals a channel cutting across, and shows that the most favorable coal quality is to the north and deteriorates toward the southeast.
Effectiveness of Transarterial Embolization of Hepatocellular Carcinoma as a Bridge to Transplantation.

Abstract Purpose To assess the effectiveness of bland transarterial embolization of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as a "bridge" to transplantation. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, 117 patients with HCC that met Milan criteria underwent bland embolization as their initial and sole therapy for treatment of HCC (88 men and 29 women; mean age, 60.4 y; range, 35–88 y). Subsequent postembolization contrast-enhanced computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging studies were reviewed to determine whether Milan criteria were met in an intent-to-transplant analysis. Freedom from progression beyond Milan criteria and survival were calculated by Kaplan–Meier technique. Predictors of progression and survival were also assessed. Results After embolization, 87% and 78% of patients' disease still met Milan criteria at 6 and 12 months, respectively. The median time until disease progression beyond Milan criteria was 22.6 months (95% confidence interval, 16.2–29 mo). α-Fetoprotein levels, number of lesions, United Network for Organ Sharing stage, Model for End-stage Liver Disease score, and cirrhosis etiology did not correlate significantly with stability within Milan criteria. A total of 34 patients (29%) underwent eventual liver transplantation at a median of 3.3 months (range, 0.5–20.9 mo). Liver transplantation was a significant independent predictor of longer survival (6.9 y vs 2.6 y; P Conclusions Bland transarterial embolization as a bridging strategy to maintain HCC within Milan criteria was successful in 78% of patients at 1 year, which compares favorably with other locoregional embolotherapies.
Through the Wire: Black British People and the Riot

This text explores some of the ways in which press photographs have visualized key episodes of rioting involving Black people in the English cities of London and Birmingham. These range from the Notting Hill riots of 1958 through the riots that took place in Birmingham, Brixton, and Tottenham in 1985. This text considers four wire photographs from the Baltimore Sun ’s historical photo archive. Wire photos differed from traditional photographic prints insofar as the wire print resulted from breakthrough technology that allowed a photographic image to be scanned, transmitted over “the wire” (telegraph, phone, satellite networks), and printed at the receiving location. Opening here with a press photograph of a group of Black youth overturning a large police van during the course of the Brixton riots of 1981, I argue that all of the photographs discussed shed light on the multiple challenges endured by generations of Black people in Britain, even as they have endured pronounced episodes of violence, at the hands of individuals as well as the state. Considering the image of the lone petrol bomber participating in the Lozells, Birmingham, riots of 1985, I further examine the media-generated pathology of the Black bomber, forced to take his place alongside existing pernicious notions of the Black mugger and Black rapist.
Effective Thermal Conductivity and Thermal Contact Conductance of Graphite Fiber Composites

The transverse and longitudinal effective thermal conductivity and contact conductance of discontinuous and misoriented graphite fiber-reinforced composites has been studied over a range of temperatures (20-200°C) and pressures (172-1720 kPa). Three different fiber types (DKE X, DKA X, and K22XX) and three fiber volume fractions (55, 65, and 75%) in a cyanate ester matrix were studied. The addition of fibers to the matrix resulted in an increase in effective thermal conductivity, but appears to level off at fiber volume fractions of 65%. Furthermore, the effective thermal conductivity in the longitudinal direction was significantly greater than in the transverse direction and was more dependent on temperature. These data were used to develop an equation relating the thermal contact conductance to the harmonic mean thermal conductivity of the fiber and matrix material, fiber volume fraction, sample thickness, and microhardness
JSWhiz: Static analysis for JavaScript memory leaks

JavaScript is the dominant language for implementing dynamic web pages in browsers. Even though it is standardized, many browsers implement language and browser bindings in different and incompatible ways. As a result, a plethora of web development frameworks were developed to hide cross-browser issues and to ease development of large web applications. An unwelcome side-effect of these frameworks is that they can introduce memory leaks, despite the fact that JavaScript is garbage collected. Memory bloat is a major issue for web applications, as it affects user perceived latency and may even prevent large web applications from running on devices with limited resources. In this paper we present JSWhiz, an extension to the open-source Closure JavaScript compiler. Based on experiences analyzing memory leaks in Gmail, JSWhiz detects five identified common problem patterns. JSWhiz found a total of 89 memory leaks across Google's Gmail, Docs, Spread-sheets, Books, and Closure itself. It contributed significantly in a recent effort to reduce Gmail memory footprint, which resulted in bloat reduction of 75% at the 99th percentile, and by roughly 50% at the median.
Noble gases in the unique chondrite, Kakangari

The Kakangari chondrite has a cosmic-ray exposure age of 5.4 m.y. and a K-Ar age near 4 g.y. Its high cosmogenic 3He/21Ne ratio of 7.5 indicates a small preatmospheric mass. The He and Ne are largely of solar-wind origin, presumably implanted during exposure in the regolith of its parent body. The heavy gases Ar, Kr, Xe are largely of planetary origin. Taken together, the low 129Xe/132Xe (1.07), low 36Ar/132Xe (225), and high 132Xe content (45 × 10−10 cc STP/g) are more similar to the values for unequilibrated ordinary chondrites or even C1, C2 chondrites than to enstatite chondrites, and suggest that Kakangari has the same gas-bearing mineral assemblage as the former, in spite of its high degree of reduction (Fa4.9).
Imaging through scattering media with an achromatic interferometer

A concept of an interferometric imaging technique with an achromatic grating interferometer is presented. Experimental results through a simulated scattering medium have shown that the contrast of images obtained with the proposed interferometric technique is clearly improved over that obtained with a conventional imaging arrangement.
Occurrence of petaloid stamens in wild carrot (Daucus carota) from Sweden

Sterile petal-like stamens, reported by others in North American wild carrot, are here reported and illustrated from a wild carrot accession from Sweden. Although the North American material has been utilized already in carrot breeding, a more fundamental study of stamen petaloidy in botanical research dealing with flower differentiation is urged.
The National Shawmut Bank Consolidation of 1898

On the eve of the merger mania at the turn of the century, the reversal of the first two words in the name of the Shawmut National Bank made it the successor in a consolidation of ten national banks in Boston. Many of the characteristics of this consolidation are exceptions to common generalizations about corporations and control; mergers and motivations.
A Mutually π-Facial Selective Cyclopropanation of Chiral Enamides Using Dirhodium(II) Carbenoids

A mutually π-facial selective cyclopropanation of chiral enamides using dirhodium(II) carbenoids is described here. This work illustrates the influence of enamide substituents on stereoselectivity and reveals insights into this cyclopropanation.
The suppression of opposed-jet methane-air flames by methyl bromide

Abstract An opposed-jet diffusion flame burner was used in conjunction with an emission infrared spectrometer to study the effects of the addition of methyl bromide on the combustion of methane with air. An optical system permitted incremental scanning of a laminar diffusion flame formed between two horizontally opposed burner tubes. The image of the flat flame was focused on an auxiliary slit of the spectrometer by optical mirrors and scanned by moving the slit passed the image. For a methane-air flame with an overall stoichiometric ratio, o, of 0.86, the spectra for the 3700-2400 cm −1 region (H 2 O, OH, CO 2 , CH 3 , and HCHO bands), and 2400 to 2000 cm −1 (CO and CO 2 bands) were compared with the spectra obtained when methyl bromide was added to the air-side of the burner. Supplementary measurements were made on methane-air and methaneoxygennitrogen flames with o values in the range of 0.74–2.0. In some cases, the methane was diluted with nitrogen, and the methyl bromide was added to either the fuel or the air side of the burner. Enhancement of the CH 3 HCHO band intensity at 3000 cm −1 , narrowing of the main reaction zone, and an increase in total emission of the recorded spectral regions were observed when methyl bromide was added to the flame. These results support those of cited experimental investigations and kinetic mechanisms for inhibition of methane combustion by methyl bromide.
Novel organelle-targeting signals in viral proteins.

Peroxisomes are vital cellular organelles controllingimportant metabolic functions like hydrogen peroxidedegradation, fatty acid metabolism, gluconeogenesis,toxin degradation, etc. (Flatmark et al., 1988; van denBosch et al., 1992; Masters, 1997; Lopez-Huertas etal., 2000). Certain human metabolic disorders such asZellweger syndrome, neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy,infantile Refsum disease and rhizomelic chondrodysplasiapunctata are associated with the peroxisomal defect inprotein import and/or biogenesis (Gould and Valle, 2000).Intracellular transport of proteins into peroxisomes de-pends on either type 1 peroxisomal targeting signal (PTS1)or, type 2 (PTS 2). Type 1 signal sequence is a tripeptidemotif present in the carboxy terminal of the protein(consensus sequence [STAGQCN]-[KRH]-[LIVMAFY];Gould et al., 1987, 1989; Swinkels et al., 1991; Olivieret al., 2000). Whereas, PTS2 constitutes a combina-tion of nine amino acid bipartite sequences (consensus[RKS]-[ILVH]-x(5)-[QH]-[LAE]) in the N-terminal halfof the protein (Gould et al., 1989; Swinkels et al., 1991;Terlecky et al., 1996). Receptors for PTS1 and PTS2 havebeen identiﬁed as PEX5 and PEX7 respectively (Terleckyet al., 1996; Lametschwandtner et al., 1998; Subramani,1998). The ﬁrst report of PTS was in the ﬁreﬂy luciferasegene more than a decade ago (Gould et al., 1987, 1989).Following its discovery, except for viruses, virtually alleukaryotes, parasites and fungi have been identiﬁed tohave PTS-containing proteins and demonstrated to targetsuch proteins to the organelle (Fung and Clayton, 1991;Aitchison et al., 1992; Subramani, 1998). Recently weidentiﬁed the presence of a functional and conserved PTS1in one of the rotaviral proteins (VP4) which prompted usto look into other viral protein sequences available in thedatabase for potential PTS1 and PTS2 motifs.
The Forbidden Transition ν 2 in the Infrared Spectrum of Methane

A preliminary discussion is given concerning the measurements on the forbidden transition ν2 in the infrared spectrum of methane, first observed by Coblentz. This band becomes active in the infrared through Coriolis interaction with the frequency ν4. Although no detailed discussion of the structure of this band can be given before the theory has been studied in detail, many of its characteristics can be accounted for. Finally, with the aid of the value of ν2*, the corresponding frequency in the infrared spectrum of CD4, an estimate of the normal frequency ω2 can be made.
Nanomanufacturing: Challenges and opportunities from design to fabrication

The National Science Foundation (NSF) provided approximately $27 million in Fiscal Year 2008 for fundamental research and education in nanomanufacturing in the United States, mostly to colleges and universities, with some support provided to small businesses. The core Nanomanufacturing Program emphasizes scale-up of nanotechnology to increase the production rate, reliability, robustness, yield, and efficiency of manufacturing processes and reduce the cost of nanotechnology products and services. Nanomanufacturing capitalizes on the special material properties and processing capabilities at the nanoscale, promotes integration of nanostructures to functional micro devices and meso/macroscale architectures and systems, and addresses interfacing issues across dimensional scales. The program promotes multi-functionality across all energetic domains, including mechanical, thermal, fluidic, chemical, biochemical, electromagnetic, optical etc. The focus incorporates a systems approach, encompassing nanoscale materials and structures, fabrication and integration processes, production equipment and characterization instrumentation, theory, modeling, simulation and control tools, biomimetic design and integration of multiscale functional systems. Since it is expected that all research efforts will be conducted in the context of eventual industrial application, the program encourages approaches to the scale-up of nanotechnology for high rate production, reliability, robustness, high yield and low cost, and promotes integration of nanostructures to functional micro devices and meso/macroscale systems. Special emphases are on the environmental, health, and societal aspects of nanotechnology and nanomanufacturing.