cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Room temperature synthesis of nanoporous silica spheres and their formation mechanism

Abstract We describe a robust process for the synthesis of micrometer-sized nanoporous (mesoporous) silica spheres using disodium trioxosilicate as an economical silica source and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride as the structure directing agent by the self-assembly process in the presence of formamide under alkaline condition at room temperature. The surface area of the spheres is 600 m 2 /g, whereas the pore diameter and pore volume are 3.3 nm, and 0.3 cm 3 /g, respectively. The formation mechanism of the spheres is studied with dynamic light scattering (DLS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. We found that the formation involved two steps. In the first step 20–30 nm size primary particles are formed which then fuse together in the second step to form micron-sized mesoporous spheres.
Geology and Origin of the Florida Keys

The Florida Keys form a crescentic chain of small limestone islands which extend from near Miami to Key West, a distance of about 150 miles. They are made of two main formations of Pleistocene age—the Key Largo Limestone and the Miami Limestone. The former, named and described by Sanford, is an elevated coral reef rock, and the latter, also described by Sanford, is an oolitic limestone in this area. The Key Largo Limestone is the surface rock of the Upper Keys, and the Miami Limestone covers the Lower Keys. A contact found at Big Pine Key shows that the oolitic limestone overlaps the Key Largo, and core borings show that the Key Largo underlies the oolitic cover for the entire area of the Lower Keys. The Key Largo, therefore, extends for the total length of the Keys. A core placed at Dry Tortugas, 70 miles west of Key West, encountered it at 30 feet below sea level. The Key Largo has a maximum thickness of over 200 feet. The fact that the Keys are located about 5 miles from the seaward edge of the Florida coral reef platform creates an interesting problem. They may be (1) remnants of an ancient outer reef similar to that found today bordering the living coral reef tract, or (2) they may have become established as a line of patch reefs in the back reef zone of a pre-existing platform which extended seaward some distance, possibly as far as the present platform. It is believed that the answer to this problem can be found through an understanding of what was happening seaward and leeward of the old reef at the time its corals were flourishing. Consequently, the composition and structure of the reef platform seaward of the Keys and the geologic history of the rocks of the Florida mainland immediately behind the Keys were studied. Information thus obtained plus observations on the composition, especially the coral content, of the Keys themselves have led the authors to believe that the Keys were formed as a line of patch reefs in a back reef area which was bordered on its seaward edge by an outer reef which has since been lowered, chiefly by erosion, and covered by more recent material.
Platelet response as a sentinel marker of toll-like receptor 4 activation in mice.

Effects of in vivo stimulation of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) with LPS were evaluated on murine platelets. A single intravenous LPS injection, in amounts below those stimulating increases in serum TNFα, induced platelet activation and increased platelet clearance and production of reticulated (young and reactive) platelets. These changes did not occur in TLR4 deficient mice. At higher LPS doses, the dependence of the platelet changes on TLR4 was lost, and correlated with serum TNFα in WT mice. Thus, low levels of LPS increase platelet activation and shorten platelet life-span, which could increase the thrombotic and atherosclerotic risk of commensal or pre-clinical infection.
Interval Data Clustering with Applications

Interval data is described by a group of variables, each of which contains a range of continuous values instead of the traditional single continuous or discrete value. Traditional data analysis simply replaces each interval by its representative (e.g., center or mean) and ignores the structure information of intervals. In this paper, we study the problem of clustering interval data using the modified or extended interval data dissimilarity measures. Our contributions are two-fold. First, we discuss various approaches for measuring the dissimilarities/distances between interval data, investigate the relations among them, and present a comprehensive experimental study on clustering interval data. We show that the extended interval data clustering achieves better performance than traditional ones and produces more meaningful and explanatory results. Second, we propose a two-stage approach for clustering interval data by exploiting the relations between the traditional distances and the modified distances. Experimental results show the effectiveness of our approach.
Identifying the bicyclomycin binding domain through biochemical analysis of antibiotic-resistant rho proteins.

Mutations M219K, S266A, and G337S in transcription termination factor Rho have been shown to confer resistance to the antibiotic bicyclomycin (BCM). All three His-tagged mutant Rho proteins exhibited similar Km values for ATP; however, the Vmax values at infinite ATP concentrations were one-fourth to one-third that for the His-tagged wild-type enzyme. BCM inhibition kinetics of poly(C)-dependent ATPase activity for the mutant proteins were non-competitive with respect to ATP (altering catalytic function but not ATP binding) and showed increased Ki values compared with His-tagged wild-type Rho. M219K and G337S exhibited increased ratios of poly(U)/poly(C)-stimulated ATPase activity and lower apparent Km values for ribo(C)10 in the poly(dC).ribo(C)10-dependent ATPase assay compared with His-tagged wild-type Rho. The S266A mutation did not show an increased poly(U)/poly(C) ATPase activity ratio and maintained approximately the same Km for ribo(C)10 in the poly(dC). ribo(C)10-dependent ATPase assay. The kinetic studies indicated that M219K and G337S altered the secondary RNA binding domain in Rho whereas the S266A mutation did not. Transcription termination assays for each mutant showed different patterns of Rho-terminated transcripts. Tyrosine substitution of Ser-266 led to BCM sensitivity intimating that an OH (hydroxyl) moiety at this position is needed for BCM (binding) inhibition. Our results suggest BCM binds to Rho at a site distinct from both the ATP and the primary RNA binding domains but close to the secondary RNA-binding (tracking) site and the ATP hydrolysis pocket.
Physically Based Constitutive Model for Body Centered Cubic Metals with Applications to Iron

A constitutive model is developed in this work to describe the mechanical behavior of body centered cubic metals under a wide range of strain rates and temperatures. The model is based on macromechanical state variables such as stress, strain, and material constants that include threshold and transition temperature as well as micromechanical terms such as mobile dislocation density and burgers vector. The principle of the activation energy and its dependence on temperature, strain rate, and stress is the key point in this proposed model. The model is used to simulate the experimental behavior of pure iron at various temperatures and strain rates in order to obtain the different model parameters. The model shows good capability in capturing the coupling between strain rate and temperature, plastic strain and strain rate, and plastic strain and temperature. The model is used to characterize the hardness of iron at low and high strain rates for a representative strain of 8%.
Investigation of charge transfer with non-argon gaseous species in mixed-gas inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Potential charge-transfer reactions with non-argon gaseous species in a mixed-gas inductively coupled plasma were probed by means of two different experimental methodologies, namely the plasma-related matrix-effect approach and the relative-intensity technique. The foreign gases, introduced one by one into the central channel, were oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, krypton, methane and carbon dioxide at volumetric concentrations of 15%, 10%, 5%, 100%, 3% and 3%, respectively. Both matrix effects and relative intensities showed no change in behavior for emission lines with excitation energies in the vicinity of the ionization potentials of the foreign gases. This pattern suggests that the contribution of charge transfer from the foreign-gas ion is not important to the overall ionization and excitation of the analyte, in the normal analytical zone of the plasma and at the concentration of foreign gases used here.
Recurrent abnormalities of chromosome bands 10q23-25 in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Many nonrandom chromosome abnormalities have been associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). Some of these are nonspecific changes seen in many different histologic subtypes. We describe a series of abnormalities of chromosome bands 10q23–25 seen in 159 consecutive NHL patients with abnormal cytogenetic findings. The proportion of karyotypes with abnormalities of 10q varied from 3% among the immunoblastic lymphomas to 67% in the diffuse large cleaved cell lymphomas. Seventeen (10.7%) had abnormalities of 10q23–25. All but one of these were B-cell tumors. The abnormalities consisted of six deletions and 11 translocations. Sixteen of the 17 patients had the 10q abnormality when cells were first karyotyped. The remaining patient acquired the 10q abnormality in the third of a series of biopsies. In the follicular histologic subtypes [follicular small cleaved cell (FSC), follicular mixed small cleaved and large cell (FM), and follicular large cell noncleaved (FL-NC)], abnormalities of 10q were found in nine patients, all in association with abnormalities of 14q32. Seven of these were associated with the t(14;18)(q32;q21). Overall, 10q23–25 abnormalities were observed in 11.9% (8/67) of low-grade [small lymphocytic (SL), FSC, and FM] lymphoma cases. DNA was available from five patients with abnormalities of 10q and was probed for rearrangements with the HOX11 (TCL3) oncogene probe. As expected, we did not find such rearrangements in these five patients with B-cell tumors. Abnormalities of 10q23–25 have been reported previously in NHL but not at this frequency.
Shared Reality, System Justification, and the Relational Basis of Ideological Beliefs

Although it is tempting to think that one’s political convictions reflect independent and unbiased thinking, research increasingly suggests that ideologies reflect motivational processes. The present paper integrates system justification and shared reality theories to propose that ideologies may function as prepackaged units of interpretation that spread because of basic human motives to understand the world, avoid existential threat, and maintain valued interpersonal relationships. The authors review evidence suggesting that affiliative motives may influence ideological beliefs to align with the progressive or conservative views shared within a given relationship or group. At the same time, such motives may lead disproportionately to the adoption of system-justifying worldviews. Implications for the context dependence of ideological convictions, the role that shared reality may play in group conflicts, and the relational bases of revolutionary change are discussed. Often our need for others is not love at all but only the need to be sustained in our illusions, even as we sustain others in theirs. – Thomas Merton (1979, 23)
Magic-Angle NMR Experiments in Solids

The time dependence of different interaction Hamiltonians of nuclear spins as encountered in NMR experiments where the external field is applied at the "magic angle" in the rotating frame is treated with the average Hamiltonian theory. First- and second-order correction terms of the average Hamiltonian are obtained for symmetric and antisymmetric cycles. New types of pulsed "magic-angle" experiments are treated in detail and experiments are performed to show their capability to resolve chemical shifts in solids. It is shown that such magic-angle methods, employed with applied fields of high duty factor, in principle offer advantages in the high-resolution NMR of solids over resonant multiple-pulse schemes. The problem of observing the nuclear-precession signal during applications of the strong fields is solved by "nesting" an observing cycle of low duty factor into the continuous or quasicontinuous irradiation sequence.
A simulation approach to the problem of tempering in compositional studies of archaeological ceramics

Abstract Simulation methods are used to explore the potential for temper to confound the source attribution of chemically characterized archaeological ceramics. Addition of a given temper to two clay source-related compositional groups draws these groups together in compositional space, eventually fusing them into one group as the two mixtures approach pure temper. Although progressive coalescence of the group centroids eventually causes the groups to overlap, addition of sizeable amounts of temper may be required before any significant overlap occurs and before the stage of unresolvable overlap is reached. The tendency for groups to coalesce as temper is added is greater for more heterogeneous tempers. Overlap between tempered groups also depends on the degree of initial separation between the untempered clays and on the relationship between the composition of the clays and temper.
Effect of Freund's Complete Adjuvant on the Immune Response of Vasectomized Rats

Rats were vasectomized, vasectomized and injected in the epididymis with Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA), or only injected with FCA without vasectomy. All were positive for sperm agglutinins, in contrast to sham-operated or untreated controls. Generally, the highest titers were found in vasectomized or unoperated animals given FCA, indicating that local granuloma formation promotes the production of sperm autoantibody, even in nonvasectomized rats.
SU‐E‐I‐31: CT Metal Artifact Reduction by Constrained Optimization with a Model‐Based Scanning Scheme

Purpose: The streak artifacts caused by metal implants have been recognized as a “missing data” problem that limits various applications of CTimaging, such as target delineation and accurate dose calculation. How to deal with the missing data is essential in metal artifact problems. In this work we want to investigate a method that can minimize the missing information and reconstructimages with significantly reduced metal artifacts. Methods: A penalized‐weighted‐least‐squares method is first used to accurately identify the metal objects in image space. Based on this prior knowledge, a new model‐based scanning scheme is designed by shifting the object center during a CBCT scan to avoid the metal regions and reduce the missing projections. An iterative algorithm based on constrained optimization is then used for the image reconstruction. It minimizes a quadratic edge‐preserving smoothness measure function of the image, subject to the constraint that the estimated projection data is within a specified tolerance of the available metal‐shadow‐excluded projection data, with image non‐negativity enforced. The algorithm is evaluated using a numerical QA phantom (350×350×16, 1 mm3, only central slice considered) with simulated Poissonnoise in the projections. The new scanning scheme is modified over a conventional half‐fan scanning geometry with source‐to‐axis and source‐to‐detector distances of 100 cm and 150 cm, respectively. Total 339 views projection data are simulated over 360° rotation. Results: Studies showed that the constrained optimization with the model‐based scanning data has superior performance compared with analytical FDK reconstruction and other iterative reconstructions. It significantly suppressed metal artifacts in the presence of noise. Profile comparisons and RMSE measurements also suggested that the model‐based scanning scheme can effectively reduce the missing information and yield better images. Conclusions: The proposed algorithm can be used to significantly reduce metal artifacts to produce clinically acceptable image for current on‐board CBCTimage systems.
Forced heat convection in cylindrical channels: some problems involving potential and parabolic velocity distribution

Abstract Analytical solutions are presented for two kinds of problem in the convection of heat by a fluid. The first problem is that of the uniform and constant generation of heat within the fluid; the second is that of temperature equalization when the inlet temperature has one constant value for part of the radius and another value for the rest of the radius. Steady-state solutions are developed for both plug flow and laminar flow; the wall of the tube is assumed to be isothermal.
Biocatalytic Modification of Naturally Occurring Iron Porphyrin

Hematin, a hydroxyferriprotoporphyrin, is the stable, oxidized form of heme. Heme has been reported to be the active catalytic center of naturally occurring peroxidases such as horseradish peroxidase (HRP). While there have been reports on the use of hematin as a catalyst for oxidative polymerization reactions, these reactions could be carried out only at high pH conditions due to limited aqueous solubility of hematin at lower pH conditions. We report here the biocatalytic modification of hematin using a lipase, Novozyme-435. Hematin has been modified by tethering monomethoxy polyethylene glycol (mPEG) chains which provide aqueous solubility over a fairly wide range of pH conditions. This pegylated Hematin (PEG-Hematin) is synthesized via a one-step solventless reaction and the products formed can be isolated with minimal purification. The PEG-Hematin synthesized serves as a robust alternative to HRP for the polymerization of aniline and phenol.
Acceleration sensitivity of micromachined pressure sensors

Pressure sensors serve a variety of automotive applications, some which may experience high levels of acceleration such as tire pressure monitoring. To design pressure sensors for high acceleration environments it is important to understand their sensitivity to acceleration especially if thick encapsulation layers are used to isolate the device from the hostile environment in which they reside. This paper describes a modeling approach to determine their sensitivity to acceleration that is very general and is applicable to different device designs and configurations. It also describes the results of device testing of a capacitive surface micromachined pressure sensor at constant acceleration levels from 500 to 2000 g's.
Crystal structure of the zerovalent niobium complex Nb (η-C6H5Me)2

Abstract The crystal structure of Nb(η-C 6 H 5 Me) 2 ( 1 ), prepared by co-condensation of niobium metal atoms with toluene vapor, has been determined. The toluene rings lie parallel to one another on either side of the niobium metal center ( Nb−C = 2.334(5) A av. ), with methyl groups almost perfectly eclipsed. Crystal data for 1 (at −50 °C): orthorhombic, space group Pbcn , a =13.706(3), b =11.977(2), c =13.753(3) A, V=2257.6 A 3 , D calc =1.631 g cm −3 , Z=8, R=0.0421, R w =0.0612 .
3D printing and neurosurgery--ready for prime time?

3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing) has been in existence since the late 1980s but has seen rapid advancementsmore recently because of decreased cost, computer engineering, and expanding applications. Its growth in the manufacturing industry and consumer market has been explosive because it is now possible to print anything, from guns to clothing, from car parts to designer jewelry. 3D printing has also emerged in the medical field. The complex anatomy of the human body and its individual variances make the use of 3D printing ideally suited to allow surgeons to prepare for highly customized procedures. Currently, the use of 3D printing inmedicine can be categorized into 3 applications: creating models for surgical planning, practicing, and teaching; creating implantable prosthetics; and biologic tissue engineering.
The strengths and weaknesses of ISO 9000 in vocational education

Abstract ISO 9000 is a set of quality standards that assists an organization to identify, correct and prevent errors, and to promote continual improvement. Educational institutions worldwide are implementing ISO 9000 as they face increasing external pressure to maintain accountability for funding. Similar to other countries, in the United States vocational education providers are implementing ISO 9000. Although ISO has been successful in manufacturing and service industries, the application to education is relatively new and not without its problems. This study used focus group methods to investigate ISO 9000 implementation at nine career and technical centers in Pennsylvania. The findings indicated that there are strengths of ISO 9000 in vocational education such as an improvement in leadership. However, a number of weaknesses of ISO 9000 were also reported, e. g. the time-consuming implementation process. The findings are intended to assist career and technical educators during the implementation of ISO...
Comparison of retinal thickness measurements between three-dimensional and radial scans on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

Purpose To compare retinal thickness (RT) measurements between traditional 6 radial line scans and three-dimensional (3D) scans using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Design Prospective, consecutive case series. Methods Twenty eyes of 17 patients with macular diseases and 8 healthy subjects were scanned using 2 different methods (3D scan and 6 radial line scan) using 2 different SD-OCT devices (Topcon OCT-1000 [Topcon Inc, Paramus, New Jersey, USA] and Canon SPOCT [(Canon/Optopol Inc, Depew, New York, USA]) by an experienced OCT operator. In 16 eyes, the data of TD-OCT were also obtained for comparison. The RT in 9 regions based on Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study areas were analyzed and compared. Bland-Altman plots were used to evaluate agreement. Results In the eyes with macular diseases, there was no significant difference in the RT between 3D and 6 radial line scans except the center subfield ( P = .011) on the Topcon OCT-1000, and inner inferior ( P = .031) and outer nasal ( P = .014) areas on the Canon SPOCT. In the healthy subjects, there was no significant difference between the different scans on both SD-OCT devices. The 95% limit of subjects was 3.2 to 30.6 μm and 16.7 to 28.3 μm in the eye with macular diseases on OCT-1000 and SPOCT, respectively, and 6.7 to 13.6 μm and 10.8 to 32.3 μm in healthy subjects on OCT-1000 and SPOCT, respectively. Conclusions Preliminary results suggest the RT obtained by the 2 different scan patterns, 3D scan and 6 radial line scan, did not differ significantly on SD-OCT.
Assessments of community mental health support systems: A key informant approach

This article describes the development of a ‘key informant survey’ to assess the performance of local systems of care for persons with a chronic mental illness. The measure yields ratings of: (1) the extent to which clients experience service delivery problems in 11 community support system elements, (2) overall performance of the community support system, and (3) the performance of local mental health authorities. Following pre-testing, the survey was administered to 699 respondents in nine U.S. cities. Internal consistency coefficients were found to be within acceptable ranges for all of the scales across all nine cities. Analyses comparing mean values for performance ratings showed that the nine sites could be arranged into three groups representing high, medium and low system performance. These findings support observations from site visits conducted over several years and suggest that the survey is a valid instrument for assessing local systems of care.
Unexpected orthogonality of S-benzoxazolyl and S-thiazolinyl glycosides: application to expeditious oligosaccharide assembly

Thorough mechanistic studies of the alkylation pathway for the activation of glycosyl thioimidates have led to the development of the "thioimidate-only orthogonal strategy". Discrimination among S-thiazolinyl (STaz) and S-benzoxazolyl (SBox) anomeric leaving groups was achieved by fine-tuning of the activation conditions. Preferential glycosidation of a certain thioimidate is not simply determined by the strength of activating reagents; instead, the type of activation--direct vs indirect--comes to the fore and plays the key role.
The Economics of Speed – Assessing the performance of High Speed Rail in Intermodal Transportation

Abstract This study is an attempt to explore the benefit and cost of ‘speed’ on the performance of High Speed Rail. The discussion is put in the context of multimodal transportation system. Physical intuition leads us to suspect that operating cost increases nonlinearly with speed. However, the scenario is way more complicated in engineering operation. The revealed result suggests that the nonlinear increase in cost is most significant when operating maximum speed exceeds the 200 kph threshold. It also suggests that the efficiency gain from increased speed has the potential to compensate the increased cost requirement.
Beyond Neurobiological Reductionism Recovering the Intentional and Expressive Body

This paper examines the neurobiological explanatory trend in psychology, including the related and tacit roles of ontological materialism and reductionism. In addition, the role of Cartesian dualis...
Dynorphin-independent spinal cannabinoid antinociception

Spinal antinociception produced by delta 9-tetrahydro-cannabinol (Delta(9)-THC) and other cannabinoid agonists has been suggested to be mediated by the release of dynorphin acting at the kappa opioid receptor. Alternatively, as cannabinoid receptors are distributed appropriately in the pain transmission pathway, cannabinoid agonists might act directly at the spinal level to inhibit nociception, without requiring dynorphin release. Here, these possibilities were explored using mice with a deletion of the gene encoding prodynorphin. Antinociceptive dose-response curves were constructed for spinal Delta(9)-THC and WIN 55,212-2 in prodynorphin knock-out mice and in wild-type littermates. WIN 55,212-2 and Delta(9)-THC were equipotent in the wild-type and prodynorphin knock-out mice. Spinal pretreatment with a kappa opioid receptor antagonist, nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI), did not alter the dose-response curves for either WIN 55,212-2 or Delta(9)-THC in prodynorphin knock-out and wild-type mice. However, the same dose of nor-BNI used blocked U50,488H-induced antinociception in both wild-type and prodynorphin knock-out mice, confirming kappa opioid receptor activity. Pretreatment with SR141716A, a cannabinoid receptor antagonist blocked the antinociceptive actions of both WIN 55,212-2 and Delta(9)-THC. These data support the conclusion that antinociception produced by spinal cannabinoids are likely to be mediated directly through activation of cannabinoid receptors without the requirement for dynorphin release or activation of kappa opioid receptors.
Torrenticole insects of the Himalaya VII a new genus of Blepharoceridae (Diptera)

Abstract Manaliella manaliella, gen. et. sp. nov. (Diptera : Blepharoceridae) collected in the Northwest Himalaya is described, The type specimens are shortly to be deposited in the collection of Z.S.I., Calcutta.
Pancreatic fluid collections prior to intervention: evaluation with MR imaging compared with CT and US.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the ability of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to depict solid debris within pancreatic collections prior to intervention and to help assess drainability, as well as to compare MR findings with those obtained at computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nineteen collections in 18 patients were evaluated with MR imaging, CT, and US prior to drainage. Prospective, blinded interpretations of imaging studies by three independent readers (each interpreted all the images obtained with only one modality) evaluated collection characteristics (debris, consistency, septation, wall thickness, and irregularity) and predicted drainability. Findings were compared with clinical diagnosis and clinical outcome of drainage. RESULTS: MR imaging and CT depicted all collections; US failed to depict two collections. In nine patients with subacute necrotic collections, solid debris was seen in eight (89%) at MR imaging, in two (22%) at CT, and in eight (89%) at US. In seven patien...
Columnar Morphology of Porous Silicon Carbide as a Protein-Permeable Membrane for Biosensors and Other Applications

We present relative recovery data for six proteins diffusing through porous silicon carbide membranes having a hybrid columnar/dendritic morphology. These membranes are promising candidates for implantable biosensors. The results are interpreted using an effective medium model.
Numerical Studies of Gas Jet/Molten Layer Interaction During Laser Cutting

The interaction of the gas jet with the molten layer during reactive-gas assisted laser cutting is investigated. The Navier-Stokes equations in each region are solved with an implicit finite-difference algorithm. The erosion front is modeled as a free surface and its profile is determined from the interaction. Equilibrium oxidation reactions are assumed and the laser is operating in TEM00 mode. Results for laser cutting of 3.175 mm and 6.35 mm thick mild steel with an oxygen jet are presented to illustrate the details of the gas jet/molten layer interaction.
Brand Shifting in Hierarchical Markets: A New Model and Information Equivalency

The brand shifting problem is reviewed. A new allocation of brand shifting volume is shown to be compatible with a posited hierarchical (nested) market structure, unlike previous allocations. Like the Sanddabs model on which it is based, the new allocation, called Sanddabs/Nest, uses purchase tracking information but does not require brand similarity data. The paper shows Sanddabs/Nest is equivalent to a principle of Kullback information. Implications for brand management are detailed.
Baseline troponin in acute coronary syndromes managed invasively.

A i he troponin complex is comprised of three proteins (troponins I, C, and T) on the thin filament of the contractile apparatus of both cardiac and skeletal uscle. Cardiac isoforms of troponins I and T are expressed nly in cardiac myocytes, whereas troponin C is also exressed in skeletal myocytes. Thus, identification of troonins I and T in the peripheral circulation is a sine qua non f myocardial necrosis. Since the background “noise” levels f troponins I or T in the circulation of a healthy person are ear zero (unlike creatine kinase, which is present in detectble levels in healthy people and elevated in the presence of keletal muscle disease or injury), a much lower threshold of roponin release (compared with creatine kinase) can be utiized to define myocardial infarction. Because of these imrovements in both sensitivity and specificity, the American ollege of Cardiology/European Society of Cardiology have edefined acute myocardial infarction based preferentially n serial measurements of troponin (1). One consequence f this change in definition is that a greater proportion of atients with non–ST segment elevation acute coronary yndrome are classified as having non–ST segment elevation yocardial infarction instead of unstable angina (2,3). Troonin is so sensitive for the detection of myocardial injury hat noncoronary processes that cause minor myocardial amage (e.g., perimyocarditis, pulmonary embolus with ight ventricular strain, and severe acute heart failure) also an result in an elevated troponin level and sometimes resent a clinical diagnostic challenge. Troponins also have proven utility as prognostic markrs. In patients who had non–ST segment elevation acute oronary syndrome and who were studied in the Thromolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) IIIB trial, graded levations in troponin I at baseline were strongly and inependently correlated with increasing mortality (4). In he Global Use of Strategies To Open occluded arteries GUSTO) IIa trial, an elevated troponin T level at baseine was an independent predictor of death at 30 days cross the spectrum of acute coronary syndrome (unstale angina, nSTEMI, STEMI) (5).
Autonomous Abortions: The Inhibiting of Women's Autonomy through Legal Ultrasound Requirements

Recently, we have seen various proposed laws that would require that women considering abortions be given ultrasounds along with explanations of these ultrasounds. Proponents of these laws could argue that they are assisting with autonomous abortion choices by providing needed information, especially about the ontological status of the fetus. Arguing against these proposed laws, I first claim that their supporters fail to appreciate how personalized an abortion choice must be. Second, I argue that these laws would provide the pregnant woman no control over when and to what extent emotion is inserted into her deliberation. This unjustly inhibits her autonomy, making these ultrasound laws unjustified.
Large amplitude waves in bounded media I. Reflexion and transmission of large amplitude shockless pulses at an interface

Techniques which can be used to analyse the interaction of large amplitude elastic waves in a bounded medium are described. Although presented in the context of uniaxial stretching deformations in an elastic string or bar, these techniques can be used to analyse the behaviour of any system whose response is described by the nonlinear one-dimensional wave equation. In this first paper the bounded medium is contained between two parallel planes which separate it from other similar media. These are of semi-infinite extent along the axis of propagation which is normal to the interfaces. The paper is in two parts. In the first part the reflexion and transmission of an incident pulse when it arrives at an interface with a semi-infinite medium is described and the ideas of nonlinear impedance, reflexion coefficient and transmission coefficient are introduced. The results are quite general: no special forms for the stress-strain relations of either elastic materials is assumed. The results for a single interface are used to analyse the decay of a pulse as it moves back and forth between two interfaces. This decay occurs because at each contact with the interface energy is radiated across the interface to the surrounding medium. The algorithms obtained have simple graphical interpretations. The general theory is used to discuss the decay of a pulse in a layer of saturated soil which is bounded from above by sea water and from below by rock. This pulse is triggered by a seismic disturbance deep inside the rock. The theory is also used to analyse the decay in the oscillation which occurs in a shock tube when a diaphragm separating air at high pressure from air at atmospheric pressure is ruptured. The bound gas is contained between the closed end of the tube and the contact discontinuity which is generated when the diaphragm bursts. In the second part of the paper a more detailed account is given of what happens when a pulse is partially reflected and partially transmitted at an interface. This is achieved by noting that the responses of many elastic materials can be correlated, both qualitatively and quantitatively, by a family of stress-strain laws for which the governing nonlinear equations for this problem can be solved exactly. These laws are sufficiently general to locally curve fit any prescribed stress-strain law to an error O ([strain]$^{4}$) in some vicinity of the unstrained state. They can also be used to fit the response of a polytropic gas during isentropic flow to within an error of 1% as the density changes by a factor of ten! The reflexion of a large amplitude pulse from rigid and perfectly free interfaces is given special emphasis as is the reflexion from an interface with a Hookean material.
Factors Influencing the Size Structure of Brook Trout and Brown Trout in Southeastern Wyoming Mountain Streams

Abstract We used discriminant models to identify relations among size structures of stocks of brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis and brown trout Salmo trutta and features of their habitats in small mountain streams (2,377–2,975 m above mean sea level) in the Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. Size structure was predicted from position of the study reach in the watershed, from channel gradient, and from composition of the salmonid community. Brook trout were predominantly small in high-elevation, moderate-gradient, forested reaches with allopatric populations; they were larger in mid-elevation, low-gradient, meadow reaches that contained some brown trout. Brown trout were mostly small in mid-elevation, moderate-gradient, forested reaches; however, more large brown trout occurred lower in the watersheds, in meadow or rangeland stream reaches that had low gradients and that supported allopatric populations.
Beam diffraction by a planar grid structure at 93 GHz

Using the transmission-line model approach, the authors attempt to demonstrate that the beam can be steered by building a grid structure without diodes to give a fixed beam shift. A simple transmission-line model is used to convert the zero-order diffracted wave to the first order. This model is useful because it can easily include semiconductor devices with biasing circuits. In the grids considered, diodes were replaced by gaps with different sizes to obtain different capacitances needed to steer a beam at 93 GHz. The results show a successful beam shift of 30 degrees with a loss of 2.5 dB. >
A Formal Model of Learning and Policy Diffusion

We present a model of learning and policy choice across governments. Governments choose policies with known ideological positions but initially unknown valence benefits, possibly learning about those benefits between the model's two periods. There are two variants of the model; in one, governments only learn from their own experiences, whereas in the other they learn from one another's experiments. Based on similarities between these two versions, we illustrate that much accepted scholarly evidence of policy diffusion could simply have arisen through independent actions by governments that only learn from their own experiences. However, differences between the game-theoretic and decision-theoretic models point the way to future empirical tests that discern learning-based policy diffusion from independent policy adoptions.
ATP as a death factor: purinergic signaling in renal epithelial-fibroblast cross talk

peritubular fibroblasts are a major fraction of interstitial cells in the kidney that produce erythropoietin. In an issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology , Ponnusamy and colleagues ([14][1]) have explored the mechanism linking renal tubular epithelial cell death and injury to
Subsidizing 'Patent Roulette'

This essay criticizes university efforts to patent and monetize the fruits of university research. The piece explains that university tech transfer resembles a government-subsidized game of roulette, in which the vast majority of players lose money but continue to play in hopes of hitting an extremely rare jackpot. The result is a system that often hinders, rather than spurs, innovation and the dissemination of new technologies and, thus, raises serious ethical concerns.
Dissonance and Healthy Weight Eating Disorder Prevention Programs: Long-Term Effects from a Randomized Efficacy Trial.

Adolescent girls with body dissatisfaction (N = 481, SD = 1.4) were randomized to a dissonance-based thin-ideal internalization reduction program, healthy weight control program, expressive writing control condition, or assessment-only control condition. Dissonance participants showed significantly greater decreases in thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, negative affect, eating disorder symptoms, and psychosocial impairment and lower risk for eating pathology onset through 2- to 3-year follow-up than did assessment-only controls. Dissonance participants showed greater decreases in thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, and psychosocial impairment than did expressive writing controls. Healthy weight participants showed greater decreases in thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, negative affect, eating disorder symptoms, and psychosocial impairment; less increases in weight; and lower risk for eating pathology and obesity onset through 2- to 3-year follow-up than did assessment-only controls. Healthy weight participants showed greater decreases in thin-ideal internalization and weight than did expressive writing controls. Dissonance participants showed a 60% reduction in risk for eating pathology onset, and healthy weight participants showed a 61% reduction in risk for eating pathology onset and a 55% reduction in risk for obesity onset relative to assessment-only controls through 3-year follow-up, implying that the effects are clinically important and enduring.
Changing representations during search: A comparative study of delta coding

Delta coding is an iterative genetic search strategy that dynamically changes the representation of the search space in an attempt to exploit different problem representations. Delta coding sustains search by reinitializing the population at each iteration of search. This helps to avoid the asymptotic performance typically observed in genetic search as the population becomes more homogeneous. Here, the optimization ability of delta coding is empirically compared against CHC, ESGA, GENITOR, and random mutation hill-climbing (RMHC) on a suite of well-known test functions with and without Gray coding. Issues concerning the effects of Gray coding on these test functions are addressed.
Vulnerability of Urban Homebound Older Adults in Disasters: A Survey of Evacuation Preparedness.

OBJECTIVE: Recent disasters within the United States, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, have highlighted the vulnerability of older adults, and recent litigation has upheld the responsibility of government in assisting the public during mandatory evacuations. Older adults designated as homebound due to their disabilities are at greatest risk of poor outcomes in disasters. This study aimed at assessing the willingness and ability of homebound older adults to evacuate, as well as categorizing their medical needs in the event they are relocated to an emergency shelter. METHODS: Fifty-six homebound older adults and medical decision surrogates from 1 homebound primary care practice in Philadelphia were assessed with a novel structured interview. RESULTS: Respondents reported limitations in both their ability and their willingness to evacuate their neighborhoods. Medical needs of homebound older adults were on par with those of nursing home residents. CONCLUSIONS: Many homebound older adults are unable or unwilling to evacuate in a mandatory evacuation situation, highlighting a need for public assistance. Their complex medical needs will require significant preparation by special needs shelters. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;0:1-6). Language: en
Resolving the frustration of fatigue

Fatigue is a ubiquitous side effect of many cancer therapies. Nevertheless, after treatment is complete, many survivors continue to feel a profound tiredness that affects almost all aspects of life. Even after recovery, patients are often frustrated by their continuing need for extra rest. In this deeply personal, first-person account, a physician relates the various ways that cancer-related fatigue can affect family dynamics, job responsibilities, social interactions, finances, and intimacy. Clinicians can help by searching for treatable medical conditions, but also by taking cancer-related fatigue, and the frustrations it causes, seriously. Patients should be reassured that the fatigue they feel is real, and that by learning personal energy conservation, they should be able to improve their abilities to function, to socialize, to interact with others, and ultimately to adjust to a “new normal” baseline. (CA Cancer J Clin 1999;49:178–189.)
Adolescent development and juvenile justice.

Although justice system policy and practice cannot, and should not, be dictated solely by studies of adolescent development, the ways in which we respond to juvenile offending should be informed by the lessons of developmental science. This review begins with a brief overview of the history, rationale, and workings of the American juvenile justice system. Following this, I summarize findings from studies of brain, cognitive, and psychosocial development in adolescence that have implications for the treatment of juveniles in the justice system. The utility of developmental science in this context is illustrated by the application of these research findings to three fundamental issues in contemporary justice policy: the criminal culpability of adolescents, adolescents’ competence to stand trial, and the impact of punitive sanctions on adolescents’ development and behavior. Taken together, the lessons of developmental science offer strong support for the maintenance of a separate juvenile justice system in which adolescents are judged, tried, and sanctioned in developmentally appropriate ways.
Low-mode coupled bunch feedback channel for PEP-II

Both the HER and LER of PEP-II use broadband longitudinal multi-bunch feedback systems which process all coupled-bunch modes in the machine spanning a 119 MHz bandwidth. Roughly 1 MHz of this bandwidth includes modes driven by impedance related to the RF cavity fundamental. The longitudinal modes within the cavity bandwidth are processed by the all-mode broadband systems, though the correction signal is applied to the beam via a path through the broadband kicker, as well as through a special woofer channel which uses the RF system to apply low-mode correction signals to the beam. As there are two correction paths, with differing group delay and frequency response, yet only one adjustable processing channel, it is difficult to get an optimal low-frequency ("woofer") response if the broadband feedback path is configured to best control HOM driven instabilities. A new low-mode processing channel has been designed to provide an independent means of providing the low-mode correction signal. It is a digital channel, operating at a 10 MHz sampling rate, and incorporating programmable 12 tap FIR control filters. This channel, implemented using EPLD technology, allows more optimal gain and phase adjustment of the woofer control path, with lower group delay allowing higher gain. This extra flexibility and higher gain will be useful in future high-current PEP-II operation. The design of the control channel is illustrated, and a possible control filter with system dynamics is described
Registration of Cortical Anatomical Structures via Robust 3D Point Matching

Inter-subject non-rigid registration of cortical anatomical structures as seen in MR is a challenging problem. The variability of the sulcal and gyral patterns across patients makes the task of registration especially diffcult regardless of whether voxel- or feature-based techniques are used. In this paper, we present an approach to matching sulcal point features interactively extracted by neuroanatomical experts. The robust point matching (RPM) algorithm is used to find the optimal affine transformations for matching sulcal points. A 3D linearly interpolated non-rigid warping is then generated for the original image volume. We present quantitative and visual comparisons between Talairach, mutual information-based volumetric matching and RPM on five subjects' MR images.
In vitro activity of the new oxazolidinone AZD2563 against Enterococci.

The activity of a new oxazolidinone antimicrobial, AZD2563, was assessed against >500 clinical isolates of enterococci representing six species. All isolates, including those resistant to other antibiotic classes, were inhibited by AZD2563 at concentrations ≤2 μg/ml, except for four strains resistant to linezolid. In most cases, AZD2563 was twofold more active than linezolid against enterococci.