cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Bariatric Surgery and Endoscopic Bariatric Therapies on GERD: An Update.

Bariatric surgery and endoluminal bariatric therapies (EBTs) form an increasingly utilized therapeutic approach to treat obese patients but may worsen gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In this updated article, we review the evidence on the effects of bariatric procedures on GERD. Recent evidence implicates sleeve gastrectomy with the highest rates of de novo GERD and Barrett’s esophagus (BE), whereas malabsorptive-restrictive procedures such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and one anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) were shown to have significantly lower reported rates. The intragastric balloon (IGB) has been associated with increased likelihood of GERD, whereas insufficient evidence exists linking endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) to GERD. Gastroesophageal reflux disease may be treated with some bariatric procedures but is often developed de novo as a result of the change in anatomy. Patients set to undergo bariatric surgery may benefit from pre-procedural endoscopy to choose the more suitable therapy. Further studies with objective measurements of GERD post procedure may provide more insight into the effects of bariatric therapies on reflux, especially more novel ones such as ESG.
Journey to Authenticity: Afrikan Psychology as an Act of Social Justice Honoring Afrikan Humanity:

The proper healing of a people is difficult without a correct understanding of those peoples’ experiences and their worldview. This is very true with respect to the healing of the shattered conscio...
Development of an in situ branched GDGT calibration in Lake 578, southern Greenland

Abstract Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are abundant in lake sediments and can potentially be used as proxies for evaluating past environmental conditions. The degree of methylation of brGDGTs has a strong relationship with the ambient temperature, and numerous brGDGT temperature reconstructions have been generated ranging from the tropics to high latitudes and over a variety of timescales. However, this proxy still requires calibration and validation in Arctic settings, which are among the most climatically sensitive regions on Earth. Here, we investigate Lake 578, a dimictic lake located in southern Greenland, and examine brGDGTs in a sediment core, surface sediments, catchment soils, and settling particulate matter (SPM). Our results suggest that sedimentary brGDGTs are mainly produced in the water column, and the SPM MBT′5ME (Methylation of Branched Tetraethers) values are significantly correlated with depth-integrated summer water temperature. Here, we provide the first lake water temperature-brGDGT calibration based on the MBT′5ME index, with an improved root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.52 °C. Like previous studies, we find that watershed soils differ in brGDGT distributions from those of the SPM or lake sediments, and we conclude that most brGDGT production in Lake 578 is occurring in situ. In the sediment core, we observe a significant cooling trend in the uppermost 7 cm, but this result is unrealistic because it conflicts with the instrumental temperature record from this region. This “core-top cooling” is associated with increasing relative abundances of brGDGT-IIa and IIIa, and with decreasing brGDGT-Ia, and we speculate that it may be driven by diagenetic effects or changing microbial communities in the sediment subsurface. The anomalous “core-top cooling” phenomenon, which is noted in numerous other published lacustrine brGDGT records, highlights the need for further studies of brGDGTs in modern and recent lake sediments. Constraining the source organisms of brGDGTs and better understanding the relationship between brGDGTs and environmental factors are essential, prior to their use in paleoclimate reconstructions.
Operationalizing a PPE reprocessing center

The COVID-19 coronavirus has effectively put the world at a crisis capacity strata with PPE requiring healthcare organizations and industries to deploy strategies that are not commensurate with U.S...
Racial Attitudes, Accumulation Mechanisms, and Disparities

Some psychologists aim to secure a role for psychological explanations in understanding contemporary social disparities, a concern that plays out in debates over the relevance of the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Meta-analysts disagree about the predictive validity of the IAT and about the importance of implicit attitudes in explaining racial disparities. Here, I use the IAT to articulate and explore one route to establishing the relevance of psychological attitudes with small effects: an appeal to a process of “accumulation” that aggregates small effects into large harms. After characterizing mechanisms of accumulation and considering some candidate examples, I argue that such mechanisms suggest how a contemporary attitude with small effects could figure in the explanation of large disparities, but they do not vindicate the importance of such an attitude since such mechanisms are typically also determined by competing causes. I close by sketching several strategies for advancing a defense of the relevance of attitudes with small effects.
Global health disparities in vulnerable populations of psychiatric patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic affects psychiatric patients disproportionately compared to the general population. In this narrative review, we examine the impact of the pandemic on significant global health disparities affecting vulnerable populations of psychiatric patients: People of diverse ethnic background and color, children with disabilities, sexual and gender minorities, pregnant women, mature adults, and those patients living in urban and rural communities. The identified disparities cause worsened mental health outcomes placing psychiatric patients at higher risk for depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Those psychiatric patients who are ethnic minorities display barriers to care, including collective trauma and structural racism. Sexual and gender minorities with mental illness face discrimination and limited access to treatment. Pregnant women with psychiatric diagnoses show higher exposure to domestic violence. Children with disabilities face a higher risk of worsening behavior. Mature adults with psychiatric problems show depression due to social isolation. Psychiatric patients who live in urban communities face pollutants and overcrowding compared to those living in rural communities, which face limited access to telehealth services. We suggest that social programs that decrease discrimination, enhance communal resilience, and help overcome systemic barriers of care should be developed to decrease global health disparities in vulnerable population.
Computing and Data Challenges in Climate Change

High Performance Computing has been a critical tool in understanding predicting climate change, and exascale computing combined with advances in mathematical modeling and parallel algorithm will lead to new insights in climate impacts, including the prevalence of hurricanes, droughts, wildfires and more. But the role for HPC in climate science goes well beyond physical modeling to the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies, and the use of high performance data analytics based with both traditional algorithms and machine learning. An explosion of new data sources from satellite imagery and embedded environmental sensors to portable genome sequencers and personal mobile phone data will transform our ability to monitor, infer and manage responses to a changing climate. What is the role of machine learning and HPC in climate change and how do the data-intensive problems change the requirements on hardware, programming support, parallel algorithms, and architecture? I will give an overview of several high performance modeling and analysis problems, their potential impacts on climate change and opportunities for mapping these to exascale architectures.
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) response to “Assessing risk of bias in human environmental epidemiology studies using three tools: different conclusions from different tools”

"Assessing risk of bias in human environmental epidemiology studies using three tools: different conclusions from different tools," a recent publication in this journal, applied the study evaluation approach developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), as well as other approaches, to a set of studies examining polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and neurodevelopment. They concluded that use of the IRIS approach resulted in exclusion of studies, which would lead to hazard conclusions based on an incomplete body of evidence. As scientists in the IRIS program, we support the comparison of approaches to improve systematic review methods for environmental exposures; however, we believe the IRIS approach was misrepresented. In this letter, we demonstrate that the ratings attributed to the IRIS approach were not consistent with our own application of the tool. We also clarify the use of studies rated as "low confidence" and the use of an overall study confidence rating in our systematic reviews. In conclusion, the IRIS study evaluation approach is a transparent method to inform certainty in our evidence synthesis decisions and ensures consistency in the development of IRIS health assessments.
Fine needle aspiration and core needle biopsy of the spleen: A case series illustrating current practices and challenges.

INTRODUCTION Splenic fine needle aspiration (FNA) and core needle biopsies (CNB) are rare specimen types, potentially avoided due to clinical concern for hemorrhagic complications. The safety and utility of splenic FNA, the role of rapid onsite evaluation (ROSE), as well as the diagnostic utility of CNB versus FNA have not been recently reviewed. MATERIALS AND METHODS A 10-year retrospective review was performed of percutaneous image-guided FNA and CNB of the spleen. Clinical indications, outcomes, ROSE findings, and final diagnoses were reviewed and correlated. RESULTS Forty-four specimens from 39 patients were identified. The commonest indication for biopsy was a radiographic mass found during assessment for patient complaint (45%, 20/44), evaluation for malignancy (primary or metastatic) (39%, 17/44), and incidentally (16%, 7/44). Malignant diagnoses were rendered in 10 cases, 80% hematolymphoid and 20% nonhematolymphoid. Thirty-one cases were nonneoplastic and identified as infectious/inflammatory processes 39%, cysts 10%, vascular lesions 13%, benign splenic elements 22%, accessory or atrophic spleen 10%, and extramedullary hematopoiesis 6%. The nondiagnostic rate was 7%. Cases with subsequent splenectomy showed 100% specificity and 86% sensitivity. The concordance of ROSE and final interpretation was 90% within the neoplastic category. Finally, the significant complication rate was 6.8% with no bias to occurrence following FNA or CNB. CONCLUSIONS This series affirms the safety and efficacy of splenic FNA and CNB by complication rates comparable to prior studies and high rate of concordance. The diagnostic accuracy may be further improved by ROSE, and CNB in cases reliant on staining and tissue architecture.
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Child Health.

While definitions vary, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have two fundamental features: their disruption of hormone function and their contribution to disease and disability. The unique vulnerability of children to low-level EDC exposures has eroded the notion that only the dose makes the thing a poison, requiring a paradigm shift in scientific and policy practice. In this review, we discuss the unique vulnerability of children as early as fetal life and provide an overview of epidemiological studies on programming effects of EDCs on neuronal, metabolic, and immune pathways as well as on endocrine, reproductive, and renal systems. Building on this accumulating evidence, we dispel and address existing myths about the health effects of EDCs with examples from child health research. Finally, we provide a list of effective actions to reduce exposure, and subsequent harm that are applicable to individuals, communities, and policy-makers. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Volume 62 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Can We Rely on Changes in HVPG in Patients with Cirrhosis

Portal hypertension is the main initial consequence of cirrhosis and the main driver of decompensation. It follows that pathophysiological and therapeutic research studies have relied on measuring portal pressure. Because the portal vein is located between two capillary beds, the hepatic sinusoids and the splanchnic capillaries, measuring portal pressure directly is difficult. Wedging a catheter (or occluding it with a balloon) in a suprahepatic vein is less invasive and, despite being an indirect method, correlates very well with direct portal pressure measurements in alcoholic- and viral hepatitis-induced cirrhosis (1). Correction of the wedged (or occluded) pressure with an internal zero (the free hepatic vein pressure) gives way to the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) (2).
Carbon nanomaterials and their impact on membrane separation applications

Carbon nanomaterials (e.g. carbon nanotubes, graphene, fullerenes, etc.) have captured the attention of researchers for the past several decades. Given their unique structure and properties, these nanomaterials have been shown to have high versatility in a variety of applications. In recent years many of these nanomaterials have been investigated for separation applications. One specific application where carbon nanomaterials have elicited a high level of interest is their use in membrane technology. Given the desire to develop new technologies for separation applications, such as water purification, advances in membrane technology are a high priority. This perspective focuses on carbon nanomaterials in membrane separations from bench to scale up as well as economic and environmental implications for a variety of applications.
Excision repair in ataxia telangiectasia, Fanconi's anemia, Cockayne syndrome, and Bloom's syndrome after treatment with ultraviolet radiation and N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene

Abstract Excision repair of damage due to ultraviolet radiation, N- acetoxy -2- acetylaminofluorene and a combination of both agents was studied in normal human fibroblasts and various cells from cancer prone patients (ataxia telangiectasia, Fanconi's anemia, Cockayne syndrome and Bloom's syndrome). Three methods giving similar results were used: unscheduled DNA synthesis by radioautography, photolysis of bromodeoxyuridine incorporated into parental DNA during repair, and loss of sites sensitive to an ultraviolet endonuclease. All cell lines were proficient in repair of ultraviolet and acetoxy acetylaminofluorene damage and at saturation doses of both agents repair was additive. We interpret these data as indicating that the rate limiting step in excision repair of ultraviolet and acetoxy acetylaminofluorene is different and that there are different enzyme(s) working on incision of both types of damages.
Perceived discrimination, psychological distress and health

Racism and discrimination can have significant implications for health, through complex biopsychosocial interactions. Latino groups, and particularly Puerto Ricans, are an understudied population in the United States in terms of the prevalence of discrimination and its relevance to health. Participants in our study were 45- to 75-year-old (N = 1122) Puerto Ricans. The measures were perceived discrimination, depressive symptomatology (CES-D), perceived stress (PSS), self-rated health, medical conditions, blood pressure, smoking and drinking behaviours, demographics. Our findings show that 36.9 per cent of participants had at some time experienced discrimination, with men, those with more years of education, currently employed and with higher incomes being more likely to report it. Experiences of discrimination were associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms and perceived stress. When controlling for covariates, perceived discrimination was predictive of the number of medical conditions, of ever having smoked and having been a drinker, and having higher values of diastolic pressure. Depressive symptoms are a mediator of the effect of perceived discrimination on medical conditions, confirmed by the Sobel test: z = 3.57, p < 0.001. Mediating roles of perceived stress, smoking and drinking behaviours were not confirmed. Increased depressive symptoms might be the main pathway through which perceived discrimination is associated with a greater number of medical diagnoses.
Acyclic semidefinite approximations of quadratically constrained quadratic programs

Quadratically constrained quadratic programs (QCQPs) belong to a class of nonconvex optimization problems that are NP-hard in general. Recent results have shown that QCQPs having acyclic graph structure can be solved in polynomial time, provided that their constraints satisfy a certain technical condition. In this paper, we consider complex QCQPs with arbitrary graph structure and investigate the extent to which it is possible to apply structured perturbations on the problem data to yield acyclic QCQPs having optimal solutions satisfying certain approximation guarantees. Specifically, we provide sufficient conditions under which the perturbed QCQP can be solved in polynomial time to yield a feasible solution to the original QCQP and derive an explicit bound on the performance of said solution in the worst case.
Ultraviolet, Visible, and Infrared Spectroscopy of Interstellar Molecules

Absorption line spectroscopy in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared regions can provide important probes of interstellar chemistry. Significant recent developments include the application of optical absorption line techniques to the study of thick molecular clouds and the improvements in infrared detectors that will eventually lead to effective interstellar spectroscopy in the infrared. Demands for basic molecular data will grow in scope and in level of precision.
Fowler Museum, UCLA. Elephant: The Animal and Its Ivory in African Culture and Royal Tombs of Sipán

Education Curriculum Resource Units. Elephant: The Animal and Its Ivory in African Culture. 1992 and Royal Tombs of Sipan. 1993. Education Department. Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles.
Whole-Genome Analysis of Gene Conversion Events

Gene conversion events are often overlooked in analyses of genome evolution. In a conversion event, an interval of DNA sequence (not necessarily containing a gene) overwrites a highly similar sequence. The event creates relationships among genomic intervals that can confound attempts to identify orthologs and to transfer functional annotation between genomes. Here we examine 1,112,202 paralogous pairs of human genomic intervals, and detect conversion events in about 13.5% of them. Properties of the putative gene conversions are analyzed, such as the lengths of the paralogous pairs and the spacing between their sources and targets. Our approach is illustrated using conversion events in the beta-globin gene cluster.
Thermal Conductivity of Surimi?Measurement and Modeling

To measure temperature-dependent thermal conductivity of surimi, a line-source probe system was developed. Effects of test conditions and sample history were investigated. Thermal conductivity of Alaska pollock surimi having 0, 4, 6, 8, and 12% cryoprotectant levels was measured in the range -40 to 30°C. Thermal conductivity of surimi has a relatively weak dependence upon cryoprotectant level when water content of the sample is controlled at 80.3%. From measured data, the Schwartzberg model and its modification were selected for future prediction. Three parameters in the model, Ti, B, and K′f had a linear variation with cryoprotectant concentration.
Utility of endoscopic ultrasound for restaging rectal cancer following neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy.

Utility of Endoscopic Ultrasound for Restaging Rectal Cancer Following Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Therapy
Early Parent—Child Interactions and Early Literacy Development

The relationship between parent—child interactions and early literacy skills for 27 families living in low-income households was examined. Parent—child interactions in “simulated” daily experiences...
Synthesis of pyridine analogs of cumyl chloride‐2‐chloro‐2‐(pyridyl) propanes

Chlorination of the isomeric isopropylpyridines with t-butyl hypochlorite affords the tertiary α-chloroalkylpyridines in good yield.
Patenting Medical and surgical techniques : An ethical-legal analysis

Considerable controversy has recently arisen regarding the patenting of medical and surgical processes in the United States. One such patent, viz. for a "chevron" incision used in ophthalmologic surgery, has especially occasioned heated response including a major, condemnatory ethics policy statement from the American Medical Association as well as federal legislation denying patent protection for most uses of a patented medical or surgical procedure. This article identifies and discusses the major legal, ethical and public policy considerations offered by proponents and opponents of such patents. The existing literature divides up into those who favor such patents essentially without qualification, and those who condemn and wish to outlaw them. We advance a compromise position where administrative and legislative action is called for to provide more specific guidelines regarding the patentability of such processes by the Patent and Trademark Office. Our position, in sum, will be that too much is at stake in this complicated area for either the blanket prohibition, or wholesale, uncritical acceptance, of the patenting of medical and surgical processes or techniques.
CC2D1A, a DM14 and C2 Domain Protein, Activates NF-κB through the Canonical Pathway

CC2D1A is an evolutionarily conserved protein that contains four DM14 domains at the N terminus and a C2 domain at the C terminus. Loss-of-function mutations in CC2D1A have been linked to mental retardation in human, but the biochemical function of this protein is largely unknown. Here, we show that CC2D1A is a potent activator of NF-κB. The activation of NF-κB by CC2D1A requires its C2 domain. CC2D1A activates NF-κB in a manner that depends on the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Ubc13, TNF receptor-associated factor TRAF2, the protein kinase TAK1, and the IκB kinase (IKK) complex. In addition, the deubiquitination enzyme Cylindromatosis (CYLD) negatively regulates the activity of CC2D1A. These results suggest that CC2D1A activates NF-κB through the canonical IKK pathway.
Venous thrombosis and congenital absence of inferior vena cava in a patient with menorrhagia and pelvic pain.

Abstract Background Agenesis of the inferior vena cava (IVC) is an uncommon congenital vascular malformation. We report a case in a teenage female recently started on oral contraception. Case Because of menorrhagia, the patient had begun an oral contraceptive pill (OCP) 1½ months prior to presentation. She initially presented with pelvic and lower back pain, and imaging showed a pelvic deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and an interrupted IVC. Anticoagulation was started, the OCP was discontinued, and a discussion occurred regarding the treatment options for her menorrhagia following her recent diagnosis. Summary and Conclusion The case presented shows the rare occurrence of the congenital absence of an IVC with pelvic thrombosis in a young female with a history of menorrhagia and new onset of pelvic pain. The evaluation of this case report leads to a comprehensive review in the treatment choice for menorrhagia with the preceding history of a thrombotic event.
A Model for the Role of Hyaluronic Acid and Fibrin in the Early Events during the Inflammatory Response and Wound Healing

A model is presented outlining the molecular and cellular events that occur during the early stages of the wound healing process. The underlying theme is that there is a specific binding interaction between fibrin, the major clot protein, and hyaluronic acid (HA), a constituent of the wound extracellular matrix. This binding interaction, which could also be stabilized by other cross-linking components, provides the driving force to organize a three-dimensional HA matrix attached to and interdigitated with the initial fibrin matrix. The HA-fibrin matrix plays a major role in the subsequent tissue reconstruction processes. We suggest that HA and fibrin have both structural and regulatory functions at different times during the wound healing process. The concentration of HA in blood and in the initial clot is very low. This is consistent with the proposed interaction between HA and fibrin(ogen), which could interfere with either fibrinogen activation or fibrin assembly and cross-linking. We propose that an activator (e.g. derived from a plasma precursor, platelets or surrounding cells) is produced during the clotting reaction and then stimulates one or more blood cell types to synthesize and secrete HA into the fibrin matrix of the clot. We predict that HA controls the stability of the matrix by regulating the degradation of fibrin. The new HA-fibrin matrix increases or stabilizes the volume and porosity of the clot and then serves as a physical support, a scaffold through which cells trapped in the clot or cells infiltrating from the peripheral edge of the wound can migrate. The HA-fibrin matrix also actively stimulates or induces cell motility and activates and regulates many functions of blood cells, which are involved in the inflammatory response, including phagocytosis and chemotaxis. The secondary HA-fibrin matrix itself is then modified as cells continue to migrate into the wound, secreting hyaluronidase and plasminogen activator to degrade the HA and fibrin. At the same time these cells secrete collagen and glycosaminoglycans to make a more differentiated matrix. The degradation products derived from both fibrin and HA are, in turn, important regulatory molecules which control cellular functions involved in the inflammatory response and new blood vessel formation in the healing wound. The proposed model generates a number of testable experimental predictions.
Abstract 3343: Preferential dormancy of Oct4-expressing breast cancer-initiating cells in bone marrow: Role for gap junctional intercellular communication

Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL Breast cancer dormancy in the bone marrow is a clinical problem that is supported by cancer resurgence after years of disease-free survival. This study seeks to explain why, despite aggressive treatment with anti-cancer agents, breast cancer cells (BCCs) can survive for later resurgence. The potential role of stem cell biology in malignancy has been supported by evidence of chemotherapy resistance among tumors and the idea that stem cells and tumor cells share common signaling pathways. Initial screening of primary tissues and BCC lines has demonstrated that the pluripotency marker Oct4 is expressed at low frequency. Thus, in this study, we selected Oct4-expressing BCCs in transfectants with GFP reporter vector under the control of the Oct4 5’ regulatory region. Based on Oct4 expression, we have isolated two subsets. The high expressers show self-renewing properties, long doubling times, increased proportion of cells in G0 phase, sphere formation at >97% efficiency, and serial passaging ability in nude mice. Based on these findings, we designate the high Oct4 expressers as breast cancer-initiating cells (BC-ICs). Functionally, the BC-ICs show preference for forming gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) with bone marrow stroma and resist treatment with carboplatin. In summary, the studies provide evidence for the existence of a population of cells within breast cancers that sustains tumor survival and might be the subset of BCCs that adapts dormancy in the bone marrow. These studies are highly significant to subclinical tumor survival and eventual resurgence of breast cancer at metastatic sites. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3343. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3343
The influences of business and decision makers’ characteristics on disaster preparedness—A study on the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake

Disaster preparedness is very important for business continuity, but the determinants of disaster preparedness in business organizations have not been explored much in existing research. Therefore, in this article we undertake to analyze the influences of organizational and decision makers’ characteristics on business disaster preparedness. In 1997, eight years after the Loma Prieta earthquake, the Disaster Research Center at University of Delaware conducted a large-scale mail questionnaire survey in Santa Cruz County, California, which was hard-hit by the 1989 earthquake. A total of 933 completed surveys from business organizations were obtained. Our analysis is based on this historical dataset. The results revealed that larger companies are more likely to engage in disaster preparedness activities, which is consistent with previous studies. Companies in finance, insurance, and real estate sectors tend to prepare more for disasters compared with wholesale and retail trade firms. Disaster experience has a significant and positive impact on business disaster preparedness, and the degree of lifeline loss can be a reasonable indicator of the disaster experiences of business organizations. One interesting finding is that the better a company’s financial condition is, the less it will engage in preparing for disasters. Finally, the risk perception of business owners or decision makers has a statistically significant and consistent positive effect on business disaster preparedness activities.
Self–similar Energy Forms on the Sierpinski Gasket with Twists

By introducing twists into the iterated function system that defines the Sierpinski gasket, we are able to construct a unique regular energy form that satisfies a self–similar identity with any prescribed projective weights. Our construction is explicit (involving finding a root of a 4th order polynomial), and we are able to find explicitly a polynomial identity for the algebraic variety containing the smooth manifold of admissible weights. Without the twists, there are obstructions to existence, and a complete description due to Sabot is quite complicated.
Detection errors on the wordthe: Evidence for the acquisition of reading levels

The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021 The pattern of detection errors on the wordthe made by groups of school children and adults searching four 25-word passages for instances of the target letter t was found to depend on the subjects’ reading ability as well as on the orthographic, syntactic, and semantic con-straints of the search passages. The conditional percentage of errors on the wordthe made by children reading at first-grade level was no different from that expected on the basis of chance for any of the four passages. Disproportionately more errors onthe were made on the prose and scrambled-word passages by children reading at second-grade level and above and by adults, with the difference between the prose and scrambled-word passages being significant only for the most fluent readers. These results are consistent with a multilevel model of reading, and are taken to support the hypothesis that reading-processing skills at various levels are acquired at different rates.
On the Euler genus of a 2-connected graph

Abstract The Euler genus of the surface Σ obtained from the sphere by the addition of k crosscaps and h handles is e ( Σ ) = k + 2 h . For a graph G , the Euler genus e ( G ) of G is the smallest Euler genus among all surfaces in which G embeds. The following additivity theorem is proved. Theorem . Suppose G = H ∪ K , where H and K have exactly the vertices v and w in common. Then e ( G ) = min( e ( H + vw ) + e ( K + vw ), e ( H ) + e ( K ) + 2).
DEBL: a knowledge-based language for specifying and debugging programs

This paper describes a knowledge-based language-DEBL which integrates specification and debugging features for distributed programs. It provides programming language independent facilities which makes it adaptable to different programming environments. The semantics of DEBL is based on a temporal logic system which enhances DEBL with rigorous deduction power. The items in the knowledge-base form a hierarchy in which higher level and more complex logical concepts are constructed from lower and simpler ones.
Human Extinction and Farsighted Universal Surveillance

This paper bridges the dilemma created by intrusive surveillance technologies needed to safeguard people's security, and the potential negative consequences such technologies might have on individual privacy. The author begins with a brief review of the increasing threat to human life posed by emerging technologies, e.g., genetic engineering and nanotechnology. Next, they canvass a potential technological means to mitigate some of this threat, namely, ubiquitous microscopic sensors. The author then notes that a consequence of the deployment of such technology appears to be an erosion of personal privacy on a scale hitherto unimaginable. It is then argued that many details of an individual's private life are actually irrelevant for security purposes, and that it may be possible to develop technology to mask these details in the data gleaned from surveillance devices. Such a development could meet some, perhaps many, of the concerns about privacy. It is also argued that if it is possible to use technology to mask personal information this may actually promote the goal of security, since it is conjectured that the public is likely to be more willing to accept such invasive technology if it is designed to mask such details. Finally, some applications to Society's current uses of surveillance technology are drawn.
Resilience of LTE networks against smart jamming attacks

Commercial LTE networks are being studied for mission-critical applications, such as public safety and smart grid communications. In this paper, LTE networks are shown vulnerable to Denial-of-Service (DOS) and loss of service attacks from smart jammers, who may employ simple narrowband jamming techniques to attack without any need to hack the network or its users. We modeled the utilities of jamming and anti-jamming actions played by the jammer and the network under the framework of single-shot and repeated Bayesian games. In a single-shot game formulation the only Nash Equilibria (NE) are pure strategy equilibria at which network utility is severely compromised. We propose a repeated-game learning and strategy algorithm for the network that outperforms single-shot games by a significant margin. Furthermore, all of our proposed actions and algorithms can be implemented with current technology.
Understanding the causes of the bullwhip effect in a supply chain

Purpose – This study attempts to determine the relative contribution of each of the causes of the bullwhip effect and to identify which causes of the bullwhip effect have relatively significant impacts on the variability of orders in supply chains.Design/methodology/approach – Computer simulation models are developed. A fractional factorial design is used in collecting data from the simulation models. Statistical analyses are conducted to address the research objectives.Findings – When all of the nine possible causes of the bullwhip effect are present in the simulation models, the following six factors are statistically significant: demand forecast updating, order batching, material delays, information delays, purchasing delays and level of echelons. Among these six factors, demand forecast updating, level of echelons, and price variations are the three most significant ones.Research limitations/implications – Simulation models for the beer distribution game are developed to represent supply chains. Diffe...
A NEW CONCEPT FOR THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF CHYMOTRYPSIN : THE ROLE OF THE LOW-BARRIER HYDROGEN BOND

The basicities of the diad H57−D102 at Ne2 in the tetrahedral complexes of chymotrypsin with the peptidyl trifluoromethyl ketones (TFK) N-acetyl-l-Leu-dl-Phe-CF3 and N-acetyl-dl-Phe-CF3 have been studied by 1H-NMR. The protons bridging His 57 and Asp 102 in these complexes are engaged in low-barrier hydrogen bonds (LBHBs). In 1H-NMR spectra at pH 7.0, these protons appear at δ 18.9 and 18.6 ppm, and the pKas of the diads are 12.0 ± 0.2 and 10.8 ± 0.1, respectively. The difference indicates that removal of leucine from the second aminoacyl site S2 of chymotrypsin weakens the LBHB and decreases the basicity of the H57−D102 diad relative to the case in which S2 is occupied by leucine. Consideration of the available structural data on chymotrypsin and other serine proteases, together with the high pKas of the hemiketals formed with TFKs, suggests that LBHB formation in catalysis arises through a substrate-induced conformational transition leading to steric compression between His 57 and Asp 102. Because the N...
The intrinsic strength and fatigue of oxide glasses

Recent studies on the strength of glass fibers suggest that the time is ripe for new, fundamental studies in this area which may significantly advance our understanding of the intrinsic strength of glasses. In order to set the stage, in this paper we define various terms (intrinsic and extrinsic strength and inert and environmental fatigue) and analyze techniques for their measurement. We illustrate and evaluate these parameters by means of literature data on silica and E-glass. In addition we present some preliminary new data on E-glass fibers using 2-point bending. These new data report higher strength than previously reported and some possible reasons for this are given. While these comments deal primarily with the science of strength, a better understanding of these issues may lead to improvements in glass technology and glass products.
Kinetics of Copolymerization of PEG-Containing Multiacrylates with Acrylic Acid

The compositional dependence of the polymerization kinetics of multiacrylate copolymers with acrylic acid (AA) was examined. The multiacrylates considered were di- or triacrylate esters of oligo(et...
The 3-D square well and S-wave resonances☆

Abstract The analytical behavior of the S-wave phase shift associated with a three-dimensional square well is discussed. It is shown that this phase shift can, with proper choice of well parameters, be made to increase through π 2 (modulo π) with increasing energy. However, even though the phase shift may display this behavior typical of a resonance, a numerical example is given which demonstrates that the elastic cross section shows no peak as a consequence of this rise in the phase shift.
An experimental investigation of natural convection wakes above a line heat source

Abstract The natural convection wake arising from a heated horizontal line source in liquids and in air is investigated in detail. The three-dimensional effects for a wire with a length to diameter ratio of 250 is observed in air and water with a schlieren system. The temperature field in the plume above wires with length-diameter ratios of 250 and 1200 in liquid silicone ( Pr = 6·7) is determined using a 20 cm Mach—Zehnder interferometer. Various wire heating rates are used yielding Grashof numbers, based on the vertical distance in the plume, in the range from 4 × 10 3 to 1·7 × 10 6 . Excellent agreement of the temperature distributions with theory are found for the larger length-diameter ratio wire at a Grashof number around 10 5 . A regular natural swaying motion of the plume, observed at a high Grashof number, caused temperature fluctuations across the entire plume width. The applicability of the idea of a virtual line and point source is considered in detail. Discrepancies in the level of the plume centerline temperature distribution in this and in previous experimental work are attributed to three-dimensional effects of the finite diameter, non-infinite length line sources.
Analysing telemetry data with a GIS-based vector structure

Abstract This paper proposes a unique method for plotting field bearing locations, of the kind typically taken by wildlife biologists on free ranging species, directly on a computer-compatible habitat map. We show how to use a GIS data base to identify differential habitat use directly from the polygon formed by each set of bearings. A geometric algorithm is developed to interpret the bearings accurately. The technique avoids the most difficult errors associated with using point locations, namely those due to animal movement, and distance from receiver to transmitter, and is especially useful for habitat preference studies.
Development of a wireless intra-vaginal transducer for monitoring intra-abdominal pressure in women

Pelvic floor disorders (PFD) affect one of every four women in the United States. Elevated intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) during daily activity or strenuous physical activity has been identified as a risk factor in the prevalence of PFD. However, the relationship between IAP and physical activity is poorly understood and oftentimes activity restrictions are prescribed by physicians without clinical evidence linking various activities to elevated IAP. There are currently no pressure transducers capable of monitoring IAP non-invasively out of a clinical environment. To overcome this shortcoming, a novel intra-vaginal pressure transducer (IVT) was developed to continuously monitor IAP. Improvements were made to the first generation IVT by incorporating wireless capability to enhance the device’s mobility while creating a more robust IAP monitoring system. To ensure the changes maintained the functionality of the original device design, comparison testing with standard clinical pressure transducers in both bench top and clinical settings was conducted. The wireless device was found to have high linearity, robust signal transmission, and dynamic response that outperforms the clinical standard rectal transducer and is similar to the original first generation non-wireless design. The wireless IVT presented here is a mobile wireless device capable of measuring, storing and transmitting IAP data during various physical activities.
Detection of Antibiotic-Producing Streptomyces Inhabiting Forest Soils

A modified agar overlay technique was developed for detecting antibiotic production by Streptomyces isolates and compared with two routinely used overlay procedures and the shake flask-disk assay method. Two types of inhibitory patterns could be discerned in the modified overlay method, and one of these was always exhibited by Streptomyces isolates which produced extractable antimicrobial substances. In a preliminary screening of 600 isolates, higher numbers of antibiotic-producing streptomyces were detected with the modified overlay procedure than with the streak or pour overlay method and the shake flask assay. The modified overlay distinguished between antibiotic production and other antagonistic effects. The inhibitory agents extracted after 6 days of culture growth on the modified overlay agar were of a higher concentration and more stable over longer periods of time than those recovered from shake flasks. It was observed that acidoduric streptomyces produced a greater proportion of antibiotics against gram-negative bacteria than did neutrophilic cultures, and this effect was greatest with the isolates from the most acidic soils. The neutrophiles were more active against gram-positive bacteria and, upon antibiotic classification, it appeared that the neutrophilic and acidoduric cultures from various soils produced different antimicrobial compounds.
AGENTS PROMOTING GASTROINTESTINAL ABSORPTION OF INSULIN

SINCE THE INTRODUCTION of insulin into therapeutics periodic attempts have been made to produce insulin products which would be effective by mouth. Something like 16 different agents have been reported to be effective in animals. Very few of these have been effective clinically and none has proved satisfactory for therapeutic use. If success is to be achieved, the factors determining gastrointestinal absorption should be better understood. Recent attempts to produce an oral absorbable insulin indicate that more than inhibition of enzymic destruction of insulin is necessary. The breakdown of some physiological barrier in the intestine, such as selective absorption, in addition to enzymic inhibition, might produce the desired result. Or, some physiological carrier might be found for the insulin. This seemed all the more plausible in view of the known fact that insulin is not destroyed in the liver, because once it gets into the portal circulation it is just as active as when given into the systemic circulat...
Scale Selection for the Analysis of Point-Sampled Curves

An important task in the analysis and reconstruction of curvilinear structures from unorganized 3-D point samples is the estimation of tangent information at each data point. Its main challenges are in (1) the selection of an appropriate scale of analysis to accommodate noise, density variation and sparsity in the data, and in (2) the formulation of a model and associated objective function that correctly expresses their effects. We pose this problem as one of estimating the neighborhood size for which the principal eigenvector of the data scatter matrix is best aligned with the true tangent of the curve, in a probabilistic sense. We analyze the perturbation on the direction of the eigenvector due to finite samples and noise using the expected statistics of the scatter matrix estimators, and employ a simple iterative procedure to choose the optimal neighborhood size. Experiments on synthetic and real data validate the behavior predicted by the model, and show competitive performance and improved stability over leading polynomial-fitting alternatives that require a preset scale.
Not just little adults: a review of 102 paediatric ethics consultations

Aim The American Academy of Pediatrics statement on institutional ethics committees highlights the importance of paediatric ethics consultation. However, little has been published on actual experience with ethics consultation in paediatrics. The objective of this study was to review and describe topics covered by a large retrospective sample of clinical ethics consultations in paediatric medicine. Methods We reviewed ethics consultations involving patients of <18 years of age from January 2005 to July 2013 at one institution. Descriptive statistics of the patient population, the reason for the ethics consultation and the consultant's perceived contribution to the case were generated. Subgroups of patients were compared based on demographic and clinical characteristics using Wilcoxon's rank sum tests, chi-square tests and logistic regression models. Results Most of the 102 eligible consultations originated from intensive care units and were requested by attending physicians. The most frequent topic leading to consultation was end-of-life issues. Both younger age and male sex were associated with consults for end-of-life issues (p < 0.001 and p = 0.010). Conclusion This analysis provides important information describing the type of consults requested in paediatric medicine, which is necessary given the movement towards professionalising clinical ethics consultation. Further empirical research is needed on ethics consultation in paediatrics.