cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of the Shape of the Foil Corners on the Irradiation Performance of U10Mo Alloy Based Monolithic Mini-Plates

Monolithic plate-type fuel is a fuel form being developed for high performance research and test reactors to minimize the use of enriched material. These fuel elements are comprised of a high density, low enrichment, U-Mo alloy based fuel foil, sandwiched between Zirconium liners and encapsulated in Aluminum cladding. The use of a high density fuel in a foil form presents a number of fabrication and operational concerns, such as: foil centering, flatness of the foil, fuel thickness variation, geometrical tilting, foil corner shape etc. To benchmark this new design, effects of various geometrical and operational variables on irradiation performance have been evaluated. As a part of these series of sensitivity studies, the shape of the foil corners were studied. To understand the effects of the corner shapes of the foil on thermo-mechanical performance of the plates, a behavioral model was developed for a selected plate from RERTR-12 experiments (Plate L1P785). Both fabrication and irradiation processes were simulated. Once the thermo-mechanical behavior the plate is understood for the nominal case, the simulations were repeated for two additional corner shapes to observe the changes in temperature, displacement and stress-strain fields. The results from the fabrication simulations indicated that the foil corners do not alter the post-fabrication stress-strain magnitudes. Furthermore, the irradiation simulations revealed that post-fabrication stresses of the foil would be relieved very quickly in operation. While, foils with chamfered and filleted corners yielded stresses with comparable magnitudes, they are slightly lower in magnitudes, and provided a more favorable mechanical response compared with the foil with sharp corners.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Lower rate of selected congenital heart defects with better maternal diet quality: a population-based study

Objective To evaluate whether better diet quality in mothers is associated with lower risk for major non-syndromic congenital heart defects in their children. Design Multicentre population-based case–control study, the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Setting Ten sites in the USA. Participants Mothers of babies with major non-syndromic congenital heart defects (n=9885) and mothers with unaffected babies (n=9468) with estimated date of delivery from 1997 to 2009. Main outcome measures Adjusted ORs for specific major congenital heart defects by quartiles of maternal diet quality in the year before pregnancy, assessed by the Diet Quality Index for pregnancy (DQI-P) and the Mediterranean Diet Score. Quartile 1 (Q1) reflecting the worst diet quality and Q4 the best diet quality. Results Better diet quality was associated with reduced risk for some conotruncal and atrial septal heart defects. For DQI-P, estimated risks reductions (Q4 vs Q1) for conotruncal defects were 37% for tetralogy of Fallot (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.80) and 24% overall (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.64 to 0.91); and for septal defects, 23% for atrial septal defects (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.94) and 14% overall (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.75 to 1.00). Risk reductions were weaker or minimal for most other major congenital heart defects. Conclusions Better diet quality is associated with a reduced occurrence of some conotruncal and septal heart defects. This finding suggests that a reduction in certain cardiac malformations may be an additional benefit of improved maternal diet quality, reinforcing current preconception care recommendations.
Oral History and Photography

In Oral History and Photography, Alexander Freund and Alistair Thomson have produced a thoughtful, complex, and wide-ranging anthology that enlarges and reframes the possibilities for using photogr...
A Rapid, Reproducible and Sensitive Levator Ani Test for Anabolic Activity.

Summary1. A test for determination of the anabolic potential of steroids using increase in uptake of a C14 labelled non-metabolizable amino acid by the levator ani muscle of the rat is described. 2. This test is considerably more rapid than the 2 standard levator ani weight increment tests. Reproducibility of the method within a given test is quite good as is reproducibility in serial tests with a given steroid. The sensitivity of this test is 5- to 7-fold that of the weight increment test. 3. The reduction in urinary AIB excretion observed even before any nitrogen retention becomes established suggests the possibility of using this reduction as an aditional or alternate indicator of the anabolic activity of steroids. 4. The close agreement in uptake ratios with 5 different steroid esters suggests that the metabolic product ultimately effective in causing the increase in uptake of the labelled compound is the same or that the various steroids have the same effect on the uptake mechanism.
OP0009 CD4+ T-Cell Differentiation by Immune Complexes and Complement

Background Autoimmunity in connective tissue diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with elevated levels of immune complexes (ICs), complement activation and hyperactive T cell responses. ICs activate complement, however role for ICs in modulating T-cell responses has never been explored previously. Objectives To understand the role for ICs and complement in deriving CD4+ T-cell responses i.e. generation of Th1, Th17 and Tfh, CD4+effector populations. Methods Peripheral human naive CD4+ T-cells were treated in vitro with ICs and sublytic C5b-9 in the presence of anti-CD3. The activated cells were cultured under various cytokine milieu required for development of CD4+ effector T-cells. Cells were phenotyped for the expression of effector T-cell markers and associated transcription factors. Flow analysis for IFN-γ, IL17A, IL-21, CXCR5, PD1, ICOS, Bcl6, and T-bet were carried out. Culture soups were analyzed for cytokines by multiplex assays. Up-regulation of FcγRIIIA and T-bet transcripts were analyzed by QT-PCR. Results Naive CD4 cells activated with ICs and C5b-9 costimulation demonstrated the capability to differentiate into a T effector population. When cultured post stimulation in the presence of IL-2, IL-1b and IL-23, they produced IL-17A, IL-17F and IL-22. Post 48 hrs after costimulation with IC and C5b-9, we observed a three fold increase in the expression of IL-21, CXCR5 and PD1, markers of Tfh. We also observed a CD4+FcγRIIIA+ population. This population did not express T-bet, a Th1 transcription factor. The ligation of FcγRIIIA by ICs resulted in receptor internalization in conjunction with IFN-γ production suggesting a new signaling pathway. Conclusions For activation of T-cell primary pep-MHC signal and costimulation from CD28 is required. All regulators of CD4+ T-cells, CD28, ICOS, PD1, CTLA-4 are membrane proteins. We show a first non-membrane bound costimulator that is present at the site of tissue inflammation and tissue damage. ICs and C5b-9 successfully replaced costimulatory requirement for the development of effector Th1, Th17 and Tfh populations. We also show expression of low affinity FcγRIIIA on CD4 cells and these cells upon ligation with ICs produced IFN-γ. Naive CD4+ cells in perivascular spaces of tissues with immune deposits will thus allow localized development of effector CD4+ T-cells such as Th1 and Th17 populations. Both of these cell types are known to particiapte in the development of autoimminty. Disclosure of Interest A. Chauhan Shareholder of: ProGen Biologics LLC, T. Moore: None Declared
Use of perturbation Monte Carlo for Measurement of Optical Properties in an Extended Epithelial Tissue Model

A pMC based inverse solution for the determination of optical properties in an extended epithelial tissue model is experimentally validated.
Epidemiologic research and Web 2.0--the user-driven Web.

The basic information technology for epidemiologic surveillance was once (and often still is) “shoe-leather”—a term that harkens back to the days of John Snow and his predecessors, when data collection was limited by how far an epidemiologist could walk. Since then, the technological tools for data collection have evolved. The gradual adoption of the telephone in the late 19th and early 20th centuries facilitated the use of phones for surveillance purposes. By the 1950s, public health officials were using telephone interviews to conduct outbreak investigations and, in doing so, helped to usher in a new era in survey methodology. Likewise, the advent of the computer age profoundly altered the landscape of population-health research. In the last 30 years, electronic medical records, health insurance claims data, and population-based registers have allowed investigators to conduct research on large samples, and usage of computer data repositories has become accepted practice. More recently, epidemiologists have taken advantage of the Internet as a communications medium to facilitate research. The world is increasingly “wired”: over 1.8 billion persons worldwide use the Internet, and population percentages of Internet users are high for many developed regions. Accordingly, many aspects of research, including recruitment, data collection, and even certain interventions have been implemented through the Internet. But the value of the Internet for epidemiologic research is not simply as a faster method of reaching potential participants or conducting a survey, or as a replacement for the telephone when people are increasingly reluctant to respond to solicitations. Userdriven Internet content—particularly the content produced under the Web 2.0 platform— offers research opportunities for epidemiology that have only begun to be explored.
Aortopulmonary window and aortic isthmic hypoplasia: Operative management in newborn infants

Aortopulmonary window with aortic isthmic hypoplasia is an unusual combination of congenital heart lesions that usually causes severe heart failure, poor systemic perfusion, and death shortly after birth. In 21 previously reported cases, survival beyond infancy was uncommon, yet only one neonate survived operation. This report describes three cases of aortopulmonary window and aortic isthmic hypoplasia and a two-stage operative approach that proved successful in both infants in which it was tried. During the first step the isthmic obstruction is relieved, the ductus is ligated, and the aortopulmonary window is plicated via a left thoracotomy. The second stage consists of definitive closure of the aortopulmonary window using the technique of deep perfusion hypothermia.
Steady Flow of Non-Newtonian Fluids Through Tubes

The stress-rate of deformation relation for an isotropic fluid, in which the stress at any point is assumed to depend only on the velocity gradients at that point, has been considered by Reiner [1]** and by Rivlin [2].
Atomically Precise Colloidal Metal Nanoclusters and Nanoparticles: Fundamentals and Opportunities

Colloidal nanoparticles are being intensely pursued in current nanoscience research. Nanochemists are often frustrated by the well-known fact that no two nanoparticles are the same, which precludes the deep understanding of many fundamental properties of colloidal nanoparticles in which the total structures (core plus surface) must be known. Therefore, controlling nanoparticles with atomic precision and solving their total structures have long been major dreams for nanochemists. Recently, these goals are partially fulfilled in the case of gold nanoparticles, at least in the ultrasmall size regime (1–3 nm in diameter, often called nanoclusters). This review summarizes the major progress in the field, including the principles that permit atomically precise synthesis, new types of atomic structures, and unique physical and chemical properties of atomically precise nanoparticles, as well as exciting opportunities for nanochemists to understand very fundamental science of colloidal nanoparticles (such as the s...
Ruthenium-Catalyzed C–H Arylation of Diverse Aryl Carboxylic Acids with Aryl and Heteroaryl Halides

Ruthenium ligated to tricyclohexylphosphine or di-tert-butylbipyridine catalyzes the arylation of carboxylic acids with diverse aryl halides (iodide, bromide, and triflate; aryl and heteroaryl). In addition, arylations with 2-iodophenol formed benzochromenones, carboxylate was shown to be a stronger donor than an amide, and the arylation of a pyridine carboxylate was demonstrated. Stoichiometric studies demonstrated that the added ligand is required for reaction with the electrophile but not the C–H bond.
Convection Bond Graphs for Thermodynamic Systems

The thermodynamic systems of primary concern here are those having compressible fluid flow. Four different modes of energy propagation apply to flow passing through a port. The energy propagation in the pressure-flow mode is the product of static pressure and the volume flow rate. In the transport of internal energy mode it is the product of internal energy and the mass flow rate. In the transport of kinetic energy mode it is the product of kinetic energy and the mass flow rate. In the heat conduction mode it is the product of entropy and the absolute temperature. It is possible to represent these with four corresponding conventional bonds, but the author is unaware of any such application to any engineering system with significant complexity, particularly one involving phase change of a compressible fluid. The author uses the conventional conduction bond for important heat transfer from the fluid to the surroundings, but ignores the usually trivial heat conduction through the port. He then combines the three other significant modes into a single “convection” bond which has two efforts and one flow. Thus these three modes of energy propagation involve only three bond variables instead of six, resulting in great simplifications for bond graph representations of thermodynamic systems and leading ultimately to a simulation package called THERMOSIM®, which employs a graphical interface called BondGrapher®. It uses a compatible mix of traditional bonds and convection bonds, and introduces a few new bond graph elements. The package treats conventional mechanical, electrical, electromechanical, and hydraulic systems, as well as thermodynamic systems and systems defined by energy statements. This paper focuses on thermodynamic systems, since that is its area of unique capability. A variety of practical examples are given.
CEO Involvement in At-IPO Discretionary Earnings Management in Young Entrepreneurial Firms

Agency theorists attribute discretionary earnings management to the misaligned interests between CEOs (agent) and shareholders (principal). They suggest that CEOs have direct incentives to manipula...
Towards a high-energy sub-cycle 4–12 μm laser

We present an approach for generation, amplification, and compression of 4–12 μm pulses by tailoring the phase matching of ZGP in broadband-pumped dual-chirped optical parametric amplification and by indirect pulse shaping.
Interactive display of 3D medical objects

Interactive display of internal human organs has recently received much attention because of its potential applications. Capabilities for visualization, manipulation and quantitation are the common requirements of most medical applications. For interactive display and manipulation to be feasible, the medium of interaction should effectively communicate 3D information to the user, and the result of a manipulative action by the user should follow immediately after initiating the action. The paper reports on our attempts to answer this challenge in a modest minicomputer environment which is typical of most CT scanner facilities.
Accessible Software Verification with Dafny

Dafny is a formal-verification system that takes a language-based approach. Its programming language includes the necessary specification and proof facilities. The idea is to provide developers with an immersive experience that feels like programming but encourages thinking about program correctness every step of the way.
Association Between Atopic Dermatitis and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in U.S. Children and Adults

MA Strom, AB Fishbein, AS Paller, JI Silverberg. Br J Dermatol. 2016;175(5):920–929 To determine if an association exists between atopic dermatitis and attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (ADD/ADHD) in children and adults and to describe the factors that contribute to such an association. This study analyzed pooled data from 19 US population-based surveys that included 354 416 children and adolescents aged 2–17 years. Cross-sectional data were analyzed from 19 US population-based surveys, each assembled by the National Center for Health …
Meditation effects on physical, psychological, and symptom distress in an outpatient integrative medicine clinic.

e20675 Background: Mind-body practices help cancer patients manage psychological distress and control symptoms such as pain, nausea, and sleep disturbances. However, the effects of a single meditat...
Attitude Change Process toward ERP Systems Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model

This study examines how different types of information processing routes influence a user’s attitude toward an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model. We tested the main effects of content quality (central route) and system credibility (peripheral route) on attitude change and the moderating effects of motivation and IT ability. Using student survey data, we tested the research model empirically. Consistent with previous research, the results reveal that content quality and system credibility are the primary factors affecting individual’s attitude change. Along with this, individuals’ extrinsic motivation positively moderates the relationship between central route and attitude change towards the system, and negatively moderates the one between peripheral route and attitude change. However, we do not observe significant interaction effects of IT ability. This study will explain individuals’ dual processing mechanism in attitude change toward information systems, which has not been extensively studied in an IS education context.
Pharmacokinetic Aspects of Controlled Drug Delivery Systems

It is now possible, in principle, to develop drug delivery systems which release medicinal agents at selected sites in the body at selected constant rates and even at variable rates according to a particular temporal pattern. This capability affords a degree of control which far exceeds that of conventional modes of drug administration. It is timely, therefore, to consider some of the potential advantages of such controlled drug delivery systems, the pharmacokinetic and physiologic principles upon which their release pattern must be based, and the basic information required to design delivery systems for a specific drug and a particular therapeutic or prophylactic purpose.
Hogan, Robert. (1986). Hogan Personality Inventory

(1988). Hogan, Robert. (1986). Hogan Personality Inventory. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development: Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 139-140.
Manual Wheelchair Configuration and Seating Considerations in the Spinal Cord Injury Population

To assess findings of selected articles investigating the effects of wheelchair configuration, back selection, and cushion selection for the active manual wheelchair user with spinal cord injury. Manual wheelchair configuration, cushion selection, and backrest setup have far reaching impacts on the user’s health and functional ability. Pressure ulcers, orthopedic deformities, and upper extremity pain may by avoided with a thoughtfully prescribed manual wheelchair and custom configuration. A properly configured wheelchair may prevent the development of secondary consequences of spinal cord injury, reduce overall medical costs, improve quality of life, and increase participation for manual wheelchair users living with spinal cord injury.
Marital satisfaction and mortality in the United States adult population.

OBJECTIVE The present study examined the association between marital satisfaction and all-cause mortality in a large, representative sample of American adults. Gender was evaluated as a potential moderator of this association. METHOD Ratings of marital satisfaction from married adults <90 years of age (N = 19,246) were extracted from the 1978 - 2010 waves of the General Social Survey and linked to mortality data from the National Death Index. Discrete-time survival analysis was used to evaluate the association between marital satisfaction and mortality. RESULTS After statistically adjusting for demographic variables, the odds of dying for married individuals who described their marriage as very happy or pretty happy were significantly lower than the odds of dying for married individuals who described their marriage as not too happy. The association between marital satisfaction and mortality was not moderated by gender. CONCLUSIONS The significant prospective association between marital satisfaction and mortality suggests that reducing marital dissatisfaction may increase longevity. Further longitudinal research is warranted to (a) replicate the current findings, and (b) evaluate whether increasing marital satisfaction through clinical intervention increases longevity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
¿Desarollo o desesparacíon? Los intentos y las realidades de la migración entre dos países en el Sur

The literature on the motivations and the impacts of remittances sent by international migrants to their families and communities strongly focus on their economic impacts and the flows of money from the global North to the South. The driving factors for remittance sending, closely embedded in motivations for migration, often overlook the conditions in which remittances are not sent, where households do not prosper, and community development does not happen. This ethnographic study uses the case of Nicaraguan migration to Costa Rica to examine the lives of the families of migrants in the context of rural to rural and South to South migration. The paper examines the intentions and realities of South-South migration through the lens of migrants and their families, and illuminates the other side of migration often invisible in the migrant's home communities and the migration and development literature. The paper also shows the disparity in physical, economic, and emotional distance as it illustrates the unique structural challenges of South-South and especially rural to rural migrants. These structural barriers that create an unbridgeable distance between migrants and their families embody the chasm between the intentions and the realities of migration for individuals on both sides of the border. DOI: 10.5377/encuentro.v42i87.245 Encuentro 2010/ Ano XLII, N° 87, 6-25
Sex disparities in salivary malignancies: Does female sex impact oncological outcome?

Abstract Objective Previous population-based studies in salivary gland carcinomas have described a relationship between female sex and superior oncological outcome. Patients and methods Our institutional database of 884 surgically treated patients with salivary gland malignancies from 1985 to 2015 was analyzed for the impact of sex on oncological outcomes. Histologies were classified in three risk groups, low, intermediate and high. Survival outcomes were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method. Hazard ratios for male sex were determined using the Cox proportional hazards model. Results Eight hundred sixty-seven patients were identified; median age was 59 years, and 51% had a minor salivary gland malignancy. Female patients were younger (58 versus 60 years; p = 0.040) and had a lower incidence of high-risk histologies (25% versus 40%, p Conclusion Our study shows that sex has an impact on cancer-specific survival and that female sex favors improved survival.
Microperimetry in Three Inherited Retinal Disorders

Objective: Microperimetry (MP) is used to assess visual sensitivity mediated by the central retina. As such, MP performance is a candidate outcome measure for gene therapy trials. Herein, we review MP results in three inherited retinal disorders for which gene therapy trials have been initiated-choroideremia, Stargardt disease, and X-linked juvenile retinoschisis. Each of these disorders typically presents in childhood and each has distinct effects on the central retina. Outcomes and Results: Our review indicates that microperimetry is feasible in each of these conditions. The MP sensitivity maps vary among conditions consistent with known effects of each of the three conditions. There is, however, within each of the three disorders considerable variability in fixation stability and in the pattern of sensitivity loss. Conclusions: Microperimetry is a valuable tool for monitoring functional aspects of central retina in an individual patient, especially in combination with other modalities such as OCT, autofluorescence, and acuity and thus may contribute to evaluating the efficacy of gene treatments. Variability of the MP parameters raises some cautions in application of MP as an outcome measure in treatment trials that may have small sample sizes. Nonetheless, we suspect that MP will continue to have a rightful place in future gene therapy trials.
Print clarity on digitally printed textiles – a quantitative evaluation

Print clarity of a digitally printed product has great impact on the final esthetic appearance and performance of the printed products. Print clarity on various textile substrates is considered as ...
Gut microbiota in phytopharmacology: A comprehensive overview of concepts, reciprocal interactions, biotransformations and mode of actions

The dynamic and delicate interactions amongst intestinal microbiota, metabolome and metabolism dictates human health and disease. In recent years, our understanding of gut microbial regulation of intestinal immunometabolic and redox homeostasis have evolved mainly out of in vivo studies associated with high-fat feeding induced metabolic diseases. Techniques utilizing fecal transplantation and germ-free mice have been instrumental in reproducibly demonstrating how the gut microbiota affects disease pathogenesis. However, the pillars of modern drug discovery i.e. evidence-based pharmacological studies critically lack focus on intestinal microflora. This is primarily due to targeted in vitro molecular-approaches at cellular-level that largely overlook the etiology of disease pathogenesis from the physiological perspective. Thus, this review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the key notions of intestinal microbiota and dysbiosis, and highlight the microbiota-phytochemical bidirectional interactions that affects bioavailability and bioactivity of parent phytochemicals and their metabolites. Potentially by focusing on the three major aspects of gut microbiota i.e. microbial abundance, diversity, and functions, I will discuss phytochemical-microbiota reciprocal interactions, biotransformation of phytochemicals and plant-derived drugs, and pre-clinical and clinical efficacies of herbal medicine on dysbiosis. Additionally, in relation to phytochemical pharmacology, I will briefly discuss the role of dietary-patterns associated with changes in microbial profiles and review pharmacological study models considering possible microbial effects. This review therefore, emphasize on the timely and critically needed evidence-based phytochemical studies focusing on gut microbiota and will provide newer insights for future pre-clinical and clinical phytopharmacological interventions.
Perceptions and expectations of health-related quality of life among geriatric patients seeking emergency care: a qualitative study

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), encompassing social, emotional, and physical wellbeing is an important clinical outcome of medical care, especially among geriatric patients. It is unclear which domains of HRQoL are most important to geriatric patients and which domains they hope to address when using the Emergency Department (ED). The objective of this study was to understand which aspects of HRQoL are most valued by geriatric patients in the ED and what expectations patients have for addressing or improving HRQoL during an ED visit. This was a qualitative focus group study of geriatric ED patients from an urban, academic ED in the United States with > 16,500 annual geriatric visits. Patients were eligible if they were age > =65 years and discharged from the ED within 45 days of recruitment. Semi-structured pilot interviews and focus groups were conducted several weeks after the ED visit. Participants shared their ED experiences and to discuss their perceptions of the subsequent impact on their quality of life, focusing on the domains of physical, mental, and social health. Latent content and constant comparative methods were used to code focus group transcripts and analyze for emergent themes. Three individuals participated in pilot interviews and 31 participated in six focus groups. Twelve codes across five main themes relating to HRQoL were identified. Patients recalled: (1) A strong desire to regain physical function, and (2) anxiety elicited by the emotional experience of seeking care in the emergency department, due to uncertainty in diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. In addition, patients noted both (3) interpersonal impacts of health on quality of life, primarily mediated primarily by social interaction, and (4) an individual experience of health and quality of life mediated primarily by mental health. Finally, (5) patients questioned if the ED was the right place to attempt to address HRQoL. Patients expressed anxiety around the time of their ED visit related to uncertainty, they desired functional recovery, and identified both interpersonal effects of health on quality of life mediated by social health, and an individual experience of health and quality of life mediated by mental health.
Using Optical Tweezers to Assemble Micro-spheres within Metamaterials that Achieve Engineered Wave Propagation Properties

Here we present a new way to fabricate metamaterials that consist of carefully organized micro-spheres using optical tweezers. Due to the nonlinear stiffness that results at the junction between such micro-spheres, these metamaterials give rise to nonlinear stress-wave propagation properties that enable a variety of applications (e.g., acoustic lenses, sound scramblers, and armor that mitigates impacts by dispersing shock waves). To achieve control of such properties, however, it is necessary that specific micro-spheres of customized sizes and materials can be positioned within lattice tessellations as desired. Such fabrication flexibility can be achieved by automating optical tweezers such that many individual optical traps can be simultaneously and independently controlled to assemble each micro-sphere individually. This paper reviews our group's progress toward automating the assembly of such metamaterials.
Paroxysmal non-epileptic events

OBJECTIVE: This article aims at reviewing one of the most important problems faced by pediatricians in the field of child neurology. The paroxystic non-epileptic events are also a frequent reason for pediatric neurology consultations and admission for diagnostic videoelectroencephalogram monitoring. SOURCES: Literature review on the subject was perform on Medline, data were also collected from the main Pediatric Neurology Textbooks, which were found to be an important and unique source of information on the subject. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: Many of the entities discussed in this paper are very common in the pediatric population such as syncope, breath-holding spells and the movement disorders associated with gastroesophageal reflux. Other syndromes are less frequent such as the paroxysmal dystonias and the Segawa Syndrome (dystonia with diurnal variation). CONCLUSIONS: The basic knowledge of these syndromes is very important since it may avoid unnecessary procedures and the wrongful diagnosis of epilepsy. Patients who are mistakenly diagnosed as epileptics are exposed to anticonvulsant medications, which are probably not going to be effective and may expose them to the risk of side effects.
Transitional-Unconditional Justice? The Case of the Catholic Church of Albania

Is burying the past a way of dealing with the past? Can Albania wage war against memory and against its history without doing justice to both memory and history? Is Albania ready to genuinely reckon with its communist past and deal with the crimes of the communist dictatorship? Is transitional justice still transitioning in Albania? The chapter will explore Albania’s limbo, its incomplete and unfinished plan for dealing with the past, its failure to recognize past human rights abuses, to apologize to the victims and pay reparations. The chapter focuses on the Catholic Church of Albania, a religious minority in the country, which constitutes 10% of the population and how transitional justice applies to this particular religious minority in a Muslim-majority country.
Effect of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) on mortar's thermal conductivity susceptibility to variations of moisture content and ambient temperature

Abstract Temperature and moisture are two factors that affect the thermal conductivity of building materials. Furthermore, the use of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) in cementitious composites reduces their thermal conductivity due to increased porosity. However, this increase in porosity may affect the material's thermal conductivity susceptibility to changes in environmental conditions. No studies were found on the effect of RCA on thermal conductivity's susceptibility to moisture content and ambient temperature variations in cement mortars . To study these effects, a total of 135 thermal conductivity tests were performed on mortars with three levels replacement of natural aggregate by RCA, at different saturation degrees and temperatures within the range of expected service-life values. Compressive and flexural strength, permeable porosity, and bulk density were also evaluated. Remarkably, the use of RCA reduces the thermal conductivity's susceptibility to changes in ambient temperature. Besides, RCA increases the porosity, magnifying the susceptibility of thermal conductivity to moisture variations. These variations should be considered when thermal insulation is used as a factor for the environmental impact assessment of cement mortars. Finally, a combination of response surface method models was used to formulate a prediction equation that accurately estimates (error accessible porosity , saturation degree, and ambient temperature. This research contributes to a deeper understanding and more accurate prediction of RCA's effects on thermal conductivity of cementitious composites as a function of the environmental conditions, which is key to assessing RCA mortars' environmental impact during service life as part of a building component.
Evaluation of Textile Fiber Evidence: A Review

The problem of establishing whether or not a certain fibrous textile is the source of a particular single fiber collected from a crime scene is discussed in this paper. A single evidential fiber present at a crime scene can be associated with four major events. These are fiber transfer, persistence after transfer, evidence collection, and fiber analysis. These events are reviewed by drawing on both published research and general scientific principles.
Climate, Class and Culture: Political Issues as Cultural Signifiers in the US:

Since the 1970s, social scientists have argued that general pro-environmental attitudes have diffused throughout American society, rendering socio-demographics largely irrelevant in predicting supp...
Edge-Preserving Smoothing and Mean-Shift Segmentation of Video Streams

Video streams are ubiquitous in applications such as surveillance, games, and live broadcast. Processing and analyzing these data is challenging because algorithms have to be efficient in order to process the data on the fly. From a theoretical standpoint, video streams have their own specificities --- they mix spatial and temporal dimensions, and compared to standard video sequences, half of the information is missing, i.e. the future is unknown. The theoretical part of our work is motivated by the ubiquitous use of the Gaussian kernel in tools such as bilateral filtering and mean-shift segmentation. We formally derive its equivalent for video streams as well as a dedicated expression of isotropic diffusion. Building upon this theoretical ground, we adapt a number of classical algorithms to video streams: bilateral filtering, mean-shift segmentation, and anisotropic diffusion.
Load redistribution in variable position wheelchairs in people with spinal cord injury.

AbstractBackground/Objective: Tilt and recline variable position seating systems are most commonly used for pressure relief to decrease potential for skin breakdown. This study provides quantitative information on the magnitudes of loading on the seat and back during phases of tilt, recline, and standing. The objective of this study was to show that the amount of force reduction at the seat would differ across these 3 methods within their respective clinical ranges.Participants: Six able-bodied (AB) subjects (2 men, 4 women) with a median age of 25 years, and 10 subjects (8 men, 2 women) with spinal cord injury (SCI) with a median age of 35.5 years.Methods: Subjects sat on a power wheelchair with Tekscan pressure mats placed underneath a foam backrest and cushion. Data were collected at 5 positions for each method. Order of position and method tested were randomized. Linear regressions were used to calculate the relationships of normalized seat and backrest forces to seat and backrest angles for each chai...
Philosophy of the Life Sciences

Biologists and philosophers of science have joined together to explicate some of the more philosophical issues that arise in the life sciences, primarily in evolutionary biology. Keywords: evolution; modern synthesis; reduction; selection; sociobiology
Copyright’s Mercantilist Turn: Do We Need More Copyright or Less?

Over the last twenty years, arguments for broader copyright have taken an increasingly mercantilist turn. Rather than argue for broader copyright in terms of more or better original works, proponents have begun arguing for broader copyright on the basis of revenue and jobs. Consumer copying is theft or piracy, proponents insist, depriving copyright owners of revenue and destroying jobs. In this article, I review these arguments and show that they are empty. While the Internet and digital technology has made widespread consumer copying a reality, broader copyright can be justified only if this copying has interfered with the creation and dissemination of new original works. But it has not. Using a hand-coded data set examining the number of new artists and cover songs in the top fifty of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the first week of each month for the years 1990-2010, I show that while music industry revenue has fallen sharply since Napster opened its virtual doors, output in the music industry, both in terms of quantity and quality, has increased just as sharply. Part of the explanation for this seemingly paradoxical result, is that the digital revolution, while it has made consumer copying trivially easily, has also reduced costs, risks, and barriers to entry in the music industry. Yet, this cannot be a complete explanation. To account for the rest, I offer a theoretical model and a simple explanation for why the incentives for music creation have remained sufficient in the face of widespread consumer copying: Consumers don’t just love music generally; they love their particular favorite artists and their specific favorite songs. While consumers would like to get music for free, they know that they have to support their favorite artists in order to get and to continue getting the music they want. As a result, self-interest tends to ensure that consumers do not free ride too much. While the resulting market is unlikely to be perfect, legislation from Congress is not likely to improve the situation. Just as product markets fail in predictable circumstances, so too do political markets. When, as in the debate over broader copyright, proposed legislation benefits a concentrated interest group, such as copyright owners, at the expense of a dispersed interest group, such as copyright consumers, Congress is systematically likely to get the answer of how much copyright is optimal wrong, and badly wrong at that. In short, we have far more to fear from government intervention in the markets for original works than we do from leaving these markets alone.
Visual Cone Arrestin 4 Contributes to Visual Function and Cone Health.

Arrestins compose a family of four proteins that are essential for desensitization of numerous G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). In mammals, there are two visual arrestins, Arrestin 1 (ARR1, also called S-Antigen or 48 kilo Dalton protein)1–3 and Arrestin 4 (ARR4, also called cone arrestin [CAR], X-arrestin, or ARR3 in the NCBI gene nomenclature).4,5 Previous work clearly demonstrated the functional roles of visual arrestins in mouse models in which these two genes are individually or simultaneously ablated (Arr1−/−, Arr4−/−, or Arr1−/−Arr4−/−).6–9 After opsins have been light-activated, their shutoff begins with multiple phosphorylations by G-protein coupled receptor kinase 1 (Grk1) for rhodopsin,10,11 and depending on the species, either Grk1 or Grk7 for cone opsins.12–16 These phosphorylated opsins are subsequently bound by either ARR1 or ARR4, which are sterically inhibited from further activation of the downstream G-protein, alpha (α) transducin. Arrestin 1 is primarily responsible for the signal shutoff of rhodopsin in rods; in contrast, in murine cones both ARR1 and ARR4 are coexpressed and desensitize short (S-) or middle (M-) wavelength opsins.8 Compared with ARR4, ARR1 has a 50-fold higher concentration in cone photoreceptors and can substitute for ARR4 in the shutoff of S- or M-opsin.8 When measuring the single cone photoreceptor physiological response after a bright light stimulus, experiments demonstrate that mice without expression of both visual arrestins have limited and delayed recovery, underscoring the critical role of the visual arrestins in normal phototransduction shutoff. Recent evidence suggests that ARR4 plays a unique role in other visual functions for which ARR1 cannot substitute and vice versa. Zebrafish retina studies of the ARR4 ortholog, Arr3a, have demonstrated that it plays a vital role in maintaining the normal optokinetic response of zebrafish larvae across temporal frequencies.17 In contrast, ARR1, but not ARR4, was shown to modulate the mouse rod photoreceptor presynaptic exocytotic synaptic function of N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor (NSF) and to contribute to normal light adaptation.7,9 In this study, we further investigated Arr4−/− mice8 to assess the contribution of ARR4 to overall cone visual function. In previous published work, Arr4−/− mice had enhanced photopic ERG amplitudes and abnormal flicker response compared to controls (WT).7 We performed optokinetic tracking (OKT) studies to determine if these abnormal photopic ERG amplitudes corresponded to downstream functional changes in either visual acuity or contrast sensitivity. We also examined the cone photoreceptor morphology of Arr4−/− mice as they age, to determine if the observed abnormal retinal physiology and behavioral defects in younger mice contributed to greater visual deficits or increased cone degeneration over time.
Optical and electrical properties of bandgap shifted 1.55-/spl mu/m laser diodes

Summary form only given. In this paper we report on optical and electrical properties of 1.55-/spl mu/m InGaAsP-InP QW waveguide laser diodes blue-shifted using high-energy ion implantation and rapid thermal annealing. We demonstrate that, after shifting, waveguide losses are not increased and there is no significant change in the electrical properties of electroabsorptive modulators and laser diodes. Thus, this is a very attractive technique for achieving inexpensive and reliable photonic-integrated circuits (PIG).
Right Frontoinsular Cortex and Subcortical Activity to Infant Cry Is Associated with Maternal Mental State Talk.

The study objective was to examine neural correlates of a specific component of human caregiving: maternal mental state talk, reflecting a mother9s proclivity to attribute mental states and intentionality to her infant. Using a potent, ecologically relevant stimulus of infant cry during fMRI, we tested hypotheses that postpartum neural response to the cry of “own” versus a standard “other” infant in the right frontoinsular cortex (RFIC) and subcortical limbic network would be associated with independent observations of maternal mental state talk. The sample comprised 76 urban-living, low socioeconomic mothers (82% African American) and their 4-month-old infants. Before the fMRI scan, mothers were filmed in face-to-face interaction with their infant, and maternal behaviors were coded by trained researchers unaware of all other information about the participants. The results showed higher functional activity in the RFIC to own versus other infant cry at the group level. In addition, RFIC and bilateral subcortical neural activity (e.g., thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, putamen) was associated positively with maternal mental state talk but not with more global aspects of observed caregiving. These findings held when accounting for perceptual and contextual covariates, such as maternal felt distress, urge to help, depression severity, and recognition of own infant cry. Our results highlight the need to focus on specific components of caregiving to advance understanding of the maternal brain. Future work will examine the predictive utility of this neural marker for mother–child function. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The current study advances extant literature examining the neural underpinning of early parenting behavior. The findings highlight the special functional importance of the right frontoinsular cortex–thalamic–limbic network in a mother9s proclivity to engage in mental state talk with her preverbal infant, a circumscribed aspect of maternal caregiving purported to be a prerequisite of sensitive and responsive caregiving. These associations existed specifically for maternal mentalizing behavior and were not evident for more generic aspects of caregiving in this urban sample of 76 postpartum mothers. Finally, the findings were robust even when controlling for potential demographic, perceptual, and contextual confounds, supporting the notion that these regions constitute an innate, specialized maternal mentalizing network.
Beta-Ray Spectrometers

Publisher Summary The use of the beta-ray spectrometer in nuclear disintegration studies consists of the determination of the energies and intensities of beta rays, conversion electrons, and gamma radiation, through the secondary electrons produced in the interaction of this gamma radiation with external radiators. The spectrometers discussed in this chapter may be classified into two groups. In the first group, prismatic spectrometers, the source, the central ray, and the detector lie in a plane essentially perpendicular to the magnetic field. In the second group, lens spectrometers, the source, the central ray of the electron beam, and the detector are essentially axially symmetrical to the magnetic field. The electron beam follows a more or less helical path when in the region of the magnetic field.