cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clearing Unexploded Ordnance: Bayesian Methodology for Assessing Success

The Department of Defense has many Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) that are slated for transfer for public use. Some sites have unexploded ordnance (UXO) that must be cleared prior to any land transfers. Sites are characterized using geophysical sensing devices and locations are identified where possible UXO may be located. In practice, based on the analysis of the geophysical surveys, a dig list of N suspect locations is created for a site that is possibly contaminated with UXO. The suspect locations on the dig list are often assigned into K bins ranging from ``most likely to contain UXO" to ``least likely to be UXO" based on signal discrimination techniques and expert judgment. Usually all dig list locations are sampled to determine if UXO is present before the site is determined to be free of UXO. While this method is 100% certain to insure no UXO remains in the locations identified by the signal discrimination and expert judgment, it is very costly. This paper proposes a statistical Bayesian methodology that may result in digging less than 100% of the suspect locations to reach a pre-defined tolerable risk, where risk is defined in terms of a low probability that any UXO remains in the unsampled dig list locations. Two important features of a Bayesian approach are that it can account for uncertainties in model parameters and that it can handle data that becomes available in stages. The results from each stage of data can be used to direct the subsequent digs.
Neuromuscular and Psychoactive Treatments for Chronic Prostatitis

Once the traditional first-line therapies for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS) consisting of antibiotics, alpha-blockers, and anti-inflammatory medications fail, there are several other treatments to consider. One of the findings in men with CP/CPPS is alterations in the nervous system that are found in other chronic pain syndromes and result in hyperexcitability of the central nervous system and neuropathic pain. Medications used to treat such pain include tricyclic and nontricyclic antidepressants and anticonvulsants. These men are also found to have increased tone in the muscles of the pelvic floor and external urethral sphincter. Medications used to treat this spasticity include those used in back pain with spasm, such as cyclobenzaprine and Tizanidine. Medications such as montelukast, which is used to treat interstitial cystitis, may also be useful in men with CP/CPPS. Finally, surgical procedures such as bladder neck incision or interStim implantation may also have a role in the treatment of these patients.
Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship

Breast surgical oncology has become an increasingly popular career choice in recent years. As the medical management has become more complex and technology has advanced over the last two decades, breast surgery has become a specialized practice. It is customary nowadays for patients to prefer fellowship-trained breast surgeons whose primary practice is treating patients with breast disease. Given its popularity and a limited number of fellowship spots each year, it is important to know what the process entails prior to starting your endeavors.
Morbihan Disease Treatment: Two Case Reports and a Systematic Literature Review.

Purpose To assess the effectiveness of treatments for Morbihan disease. Methods Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, a systematic review of the literature was performed on April 1, 2018, using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Excerpta Medica dataBASE with terms used to describe Morbihan disease, including "Morbihan Disease," "Morbihan Syndrome," "lymphedema rosacea," and "lymphedematous rosacea". Case reports or case series were included if they fulfilled the following criteria: published in English, peer-reviewed, and reported Morbihan disease. Results A total of 89 patients-87 patients from 49 articles and 2 cases from the authors' institution-were included in the final analysis. The median age of patients was 51 years (range: 14-79), and 66 of 89 (74%) patients were men. Male gender correlated with lack of complete response to treatment (odds ratio: 0.25; 95% confidence interval: 0.06-0.97; p = 0.02), while presence of papules or pustules correlated with complete response to treatment (odds ratio: 4.07; 95% confidence interval: 1.04-17.68; p = 0.03). Longer antibiotic duration correlated with response to treatment (p = 0.03), favoring complete over partial response (p = 0.02). Mean antibiotic duration in patients who responded was 4.43 months (standard deviation: 3.49), with complete responders requiring 6.50 months (standard deviation: 4.57). Oral corticosteroids, isotretinoins, and combination therapies did not correlate with treatment response. Conclusions The presence of papules and pustules correlates with a complete response to treatment, while male gender correlates with a partial response. Patients may benefit from 4- to 6-month duration of tetracycline-based antibiotics. Prospective studies are needed to assess the impact of antibiotic and isotretinoin dose and duration on treatment response.
Comparative analysis of the effect of internet use on democracy development: a case of Asian political structures

This study addresses the relationships among internet use, public demand for democracy (PDD), and democracy development using four East Asian nations based on social cognitive theory (SCT). Specifically, the present study compares how the internet use influences democracy development directly and via public demand for democracy in both developing democracy such as Thailand, Malaysia, China, and comparatively developed democracy such as South Korea. Data for the study comes from Asian barometer surveys. Our results indicate that internet use strongly influences public demand for democracy in all four nations and democracy development is positively influenced by public demand for democracy in all the nations studied. We also find out that the effects of demographics on democracy development (and on internet use) are different in each of the four nations. The results are explained and implications provided.
Utilization of renal mass biopsy in patients with localized renal cell carcinoma: A population-based study utilizing the National Cancer Database.

662Background: Recent guidelines suggest an increasing role for renal mass biopsy (RMB) in the management of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) prior to ablative therapy and in patients in whom active surv...
A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled, Cross Over Study Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Timolol Ophthalmic Solution as an Acute Treatment of Migraine.

Introduction. Daily oral beta-adrenoreceptor antagonist has been shown to be effective in preventing migraine headaches. Timolol 0.5% ophthalmic solution is a non-selective beta-adrenoreceptor antago- nist, where the primary use is for glaucoma. There have been case reports that timolol is effective in aborting or improving an acute migraine headache. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy (decrease of ≥ 50% in pain scale at 120 minutes) of timolol 0.5% ophthalmic solution compared to placebo in acute treatment of migraine headache. Methods.We performed a randomized, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled, study. Study entry criteria required subjects to have one to eight migraine episodes per month. The primary outcome was comparison of the change in a visual analog pain scale (VAS) at 120 minutes after taking the study medication. Study subjects were given a pain scale with a range of 1 (no pain) to 10 (most severe pain) to complete after onset of migraine but before administration of study drops and 120 minutes after administration of study drops. Improve- ment was defined as a ≥ 50% decrease in pain scale. Results. Nineteen subjects completed the study and were used for analysis. The primary outcome changes in pain scale, 120 minutes after dose, showed a similar decrease for placebo and drug with a slightly wider 95% CI for placebo. Six subjects in each arm experi- enced a ≥ 50% decrease in pain scale. Conclusion. These results support that timolol 0.5% ophthalmic solution is not an efficacious treatment for acute migraine headache.
Collaborative Top Distribution Identifications with Limited Interaction

We consider the following problem in this paper: given a set of $n$ distributions, find the top-$m$ ones with the largest means. This problem is also called {\em top-$m$ arm identifications} in the literature of reinforcement learning, and has numerous applications. We study the problem in the collaborative learning model where we have multiple agents who can draw samples from the $n$ distributions in parallel. Our goal is to characterize the tradeoffs between the running time of learning process and the number of rounds of interaction between agents, which is very expensive in various scenarios. We give optimal time-round tradeoffs, as well as demonstrate complexity separations between top-$1$ arm identification and top-$m$ arm identifications for general $m$ and between fixed-time and fixed-confidence variants. As a byproduct, we also give an algorithm for selecting the distribution with the $m$-th largest mean in the collaborative learning model.
Changes of bile duct pathology in children with biliary atresia after Kasai portoenterstomy

Objective To explore the changes of intrahepatic bile duct structure in children with biliary atresia (BA) after Kasai portoenterstomy (KP) and analyze the relationship with cholangioitis so as to provide therapeutic rationales for cholangioitis.Methods Liver specimens after KP were collected intraoperatively in 8 (6 males,2 females) patients with liver transplantation between January 2013 and June 2013.The clinical data of patients included:occurring time of jaundice was 3-20 days and operative duration within 44-85 days,frequency of cholangioitis 1-6 times or persistent status,The interval time between Kasai operation and liver transplantation were 6-66 months.Also liver biopsy specimens were collected intraoperatively in 8 patients as controls.Hematoxylin & eosin (HE) and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining were employed for detecting the portal area with regards to interlobular bile duct diameter,lumen number; hyperplasia degree of interlobular bile duct,interlobular bile thrombi; inflammatory cell infiltration; bile duct plate malformation; proportion of bile duct proliferation and hyperplasia of fibrous tissue to analyze the relationship with cholangioitis.Results Control group:bile duct hyperplasia was severe (n =4) and mild (n =4); bile duct diameter ＜30μm; mild hyperplasia of bile duct epithelium,bile duct reaction was more severe; the ratio of bile duct hyperplasia and fiber proliferation ＜ 1/4; inflammatory cell infiltration was severe.Experimental group:bile duct hyperplasia was severe (n =6) and mild (n =2) ; bile duct diameter ＞100 μm (n =1) and ＜30 μm (n =7) ; bile duct epithelial hyperplasia and bile duct reaction were severe; percentage of bile duct hyperplasia and fiber hyperplasia between 1/2-3/4; inflammation cell infiltration was severe (n =2) and mild (n =6).For BA children operated earlier,the frequency of cholangioitis were less,bile duct hyperplasia was relatively mild,interlobular bile duct diameter was larger,liver transplant time delayed,their liver specimens after KP showed severe fibrosis and bile duct proliferation.While inflammatory cell infiltration and bile thrombi were milder.Conclusions Among BA children after KP,intrahepatic bile duct changes including hyperplasia of periportal bile duct,bile duct proliferation and fibrous tissue hyperplasia and open bile duct diameter may impact on the frequency of cholangioitis.Early Kasai operation is recommended to reduce bile duct injury and prolong autologous liver survival time. Key words: Biliary atresia; Cholangioitis; Liver transplantation
Beam Alignment and User Scheduling in mmWave Networks under Mobility.

In this paper, we study beam alignment in a millimeter wave (mmWave) network with multiple users, and consider an optimal transmission scheduling algorithm. The problem is posed as an infinite horizon average cost constrained Markov decision process (CMDP) with the goal of minimizing the average beam alignment overhead subject to the average rate constraint on each user. By using a structural result derived from the Lagrangian formulation of the CMDP, we show that the optimal policy should keep scheduling the users that are scheduled in the previous time slot unless an abrupt change in the beam direction happens. Using this result, the complexity of the problem decreases to polynomial in the number of users. We also provide a heuristic deterministic algorithm that achieves (1+ ϵ) approximation of the optimal solution, with smaller ϵ at the cost of longer transmission interval of each user.
A Pre-synchronization Strategy for Grid-forming Virtual Oscillator Controlled Inverters

Voltage controlled inverters in ac systems are susceptible to damage if the controller is not properly initialized before startup. Since currents are not controlled explicitly, the voltage reference of the controller must be closely aligned with the point of common coupling voltage to prevent large current transients when power delivery begins. In this paper, we are focused on a particular control strategy called virtual oscillator control and propose a pre-synchronization method that guarantees graceful addition of units into an existing ac system. The proposed method is generalized and can be used to add oscillator-controlled inverters to a stiff grid or an islanded microgrid with other inverters. An equivalent circuit model of the pre-synchronization control is derived along with its dynamical properties, design guidelines are given, and experimental results are shown for a 1.5kW inverter.
Indian Tribes, Civil Rights, and Federal Courts

A citizen’s civil rights include protections against certain actions by three different governments – federal, state, and tribal. If the federal or a state government violates your civil rights, you can seek a remedy in federal court, including injunctive or declaratory judgment and damages. But the Supreme Court decided in Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez that that – other than habeas corpus relief – you cannot challenge a civil rights violation by an Indian tribe in federal court. The decision has resulted in a significant amount of controversy and proposals that Congress explicitly grant such jurisdiction. This article reviews the Supreme Court’s decision and evaluates whether Congress should overturn the decision in Martinez. General considerations concerning whether access to federal courts is desirable include questions about the relative capabilities of other courts, invasion of the autonomy of subordinate sovereign governments, and the deterrence effect of federal jurisdiction. However, the article concludes that these considerations illuminate the issue but do not clearly resolve it. Finally, the article addresses whether the problem of civil rights violations by Indian tribes is serious. How frequent and severe must civil rights violations become before federal jurisdiction is warranted? A relevant comparison is to Congress’s decision to grant federal jurisdiction over civil rights violations by state governments. That comparison supports a conclusion that the answer given by Martinez should not be overturned. Based on the available evidence, violations by tribal officials are relatively infrequent. While the problem of civil rights violations by state governments was serious enough to outweigh concerns associated with federal jurisdiction over subordinate sovereigns, the problem of civil rights violations by tribal governments is not.
Navigating the Dark Morass: A First-Year Student’s Guide to the Library

This article provides a basic introduction to legal research, particularly the way different sources are evaluated based on their authoritativeness for analyzing a given problem. Students will learn how to categorize different types of authority and resources to better decide which to pursue.
The US Geological Survey ground failure product: Near-real-time estimates of earthquake-triggered landslides and liquefaction:

Since late 2018, the US Geological Survey (USGS) ground failure (GF) earthquake product has provided publicly available spatial estimates of earthquake-triggered landslide and liquefaction hazards,...
Evaluating the “Darkness” of Melanin Materials.

We developed a mathematical process to quantify the apparent darkness of solutions containing melanin-like materials. The visible portion of their UV-Vis spectra is model using an exponential equation. Linear regression analysis provides the constants that define this exponential equation. Using these constants, the exponential equation is integrated between 400nm to 900nm to obtain the area-under-the-curve (AUC) of the visible portion of the UV-Vis spectra. This process was applied to data collected from various melanin-like materials discussed in earlier reports. By comparing the AUC values of different samples one can readily compare the “darkness” of melanins and evaluate the impact varying reaction conditions may have on this physical property. We revisited the results of earlier reports and discuss additional points related to the UV-protective properties attributed to melanins.
Epidemiology of Group B Coxsackieviruses

The Coxsackie B viruses (CVB) are members of the genus Enterovirus and share many properties with other members of this group. There are several excellent reviews covering the basic epidemiology and clinical characteristics of enteroviruses and their infections1–4; this material is not repeated in detail, except as it relates to recent studies. Most of the conclusions concerning enteroviruses in general are directly applicable to CVB, including seasonality; geographic, age, and sex distribution; incidence and prevalence; transmission; and most clinical syndromes.
Intermediate Lipoproteins, Atherosclerosis, and Gofman

To the Editor: I was keenly disappointed that Dr Hodis and his coworkers ( Circulation . 1997;95:2022–2026) failed to refer to Gofman and his work on the relationship between the intermediate lipoproteins (SF 12 to 20) and atherosclerosis. This failure is especially egregious because Gofman’s work and Hodis and his coworkers’ work were both …
New kid on the pretransplant block: IgG recognizing apoptotic cells.

As sensitive and specific solid-phase assays for detecting donor-specific antibodies (DSA) become widely adopted and the histological diagnosis of antibody-mediated rejection clarified, the link between DSA and increased acute as well as chronic antibody-mediated rejection and graft loss has become increasingly evident (1). Most DSA investigations have focused on antibodies directed against polymorphic HLA Classes I and II; however, DSA recognizing minor histocompatibility molecules, such as MICA and MICB, or non-HLA antigens have also been reported to be associated with poor graft outcome. Gao et al (2) report on the presence of antibodies with specificity for apoptotic cells (AC) in the pretransplant serum, and the correlation between higher titers of pretransplant anti-AC IgG with increased graft loss. Interestingly, the anti-AC IgG was restricted almost exclusively to the IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses that have the most potent complement activating and FcgR-binding properties. These findings suggest that anti-AC IgG may need to be considered when assessing the risk of graft loss.
Now or later? Attentional processing and intertemporal choice.

The tendency to discount future prospects in lieu of smaller immediate outcomes is known as temporal discounting. The current work used eye-tracking methodology to examine attentional processing to different elements of choice during an intertemporal decision task. Our findings reveal that those who tend to prefer the immediate option demonstrate attentional biases that were predictive of choice. When losses were at stake, selective attention biases also predicted unique variance in self-report measures of risk taking, impulsivity, and self-control beyond what was accounted for by a discounting parameter (k), a typical method for summarizing intertemporal choice data. Overall, our findings suggest that eye-tracking measures of selective attention may allow for a better theoretical understanding of the mechanisms and processes involved in intertemporal choice. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Funding Liquidity Risk: From Measurement to Management

The financial crisis at the end of last decade has called for a comprehensive liquidity risk management framework. The challenge not only lies in finding appropriate liquidity risk measures but more importantly how to apply these measures to implement a risk based liquidity management. A core component in such a framework includes proper risk measures for liquidity risk, the methodology for defining stressed liquidity outflows, the strategy of a constructing an effective liquidity inventory, and the associated management of such a dedicated liquidity hedging portfolio. Of course, firms would like to hold the minimum cost liquidity hedging portfolio that still suffices for hedging stressed outflows. Another core component is the methodology for allocating liquidity risk onto the consuming assets and liabilities and the associated pricing to distribute the correct incentives in raising the firm’s liquidity. This is a necessary step to integrate the liquidity risk management into the profitability aspect of the banking operation. Liquidity risk management is therefore beyond purely prudential purpose.
The Effect of BAPCPA on Credit Card Industry Profits and Prices

The U.S. Bankruptcy code changed dramatically with the passage of The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act Of 2005. This act increased the costs and decreased the benefits of bankruptcy to consumers. Supporters of the law claimed that it would benefit consumers as well as creditors, because reducing the losses faced by creditors would lower the cost of credit to consumers. Critics of the law depicted it as special interest legislation designed to profit credit card companies at the expense of consumers. This study tests whether the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform: (1) reduced the number of bankruptcies; (2) reduced credit card company losses; (3) lowered the cost to consumers of credit card debt; and (4) increased credit card company profits. The data suggests that although bankruptcies and credit card company losses decreased, and credit card companies achieved record profits, the cost to consumers of credit card debt actually increased. In other words the 2005 bankruptcy reforms profited credit card companies at consumers' expense.
Canine inflamed nonepitheliotropic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: a diagnostic conundrum.

Background – Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in dogs is a heterogeneous disease complex, which consists of nonepitheliotropic (NE) and epitheliotropic forms. These lymphomas are readily recognized by the presence of dominant populations of cytologically atypical lymphocytes. Objective – The objective of this study was to introduce the key features of inflamed NE-CTCL, which is easily confused with reactive, inflammatory histiocytic disease. Animals – Twenty-four dogs (mean age 7.5 years) presented with inflamed NE-CTCL. Lesions presented as nodules, plaques or masses. An initial diagnosis of cutaneous reactive histiocytosis (11 dogs) or histiocytic neoplasia (three dogs) was made by primary pathologists. Methods – Lesions were assessed by histology and immunohistochemistry to detect canine leukocyte antigens. Lesional genomic DNA was extracted and gene rearrangement analysis of the T-cell receptor γ locus was assessed. Results – The cutaneous lesions consisted of pleocellular infiltration of the dermis with variable extension into the subcutis. The lesions often surrounded vessels and adnexae. Epitheliotropism was minimal or lacking. Small lymphocytes, plasma cells and intermediate to large, cytologically atypical lymphocytes were scattered between prominent histiocytic infiltrates. Atypical lymphocytes often had marked variation in the intensity of CD3 expression. Molecular clonality analysis of the T-cell receptor γ locus revealed clonal expansion of T cells in 22 of 23 dogs tested. Conclusion – The recognition of inflamed NE-CTCL and its differentiation from cutaneous reactive histiocytosis depends on careful assessment of lymphocyte morphology and immunostaining patterns. Confirmation of the diagnosis is best accomplished by T-cell antigen receptor gene rearrangement analysis.
Frustration influences impact of history and disciplinary attitudes on physical discipline decision making.

Although intergenerational patterns of punitive physical punishment garner considerable research attention, the mechanisms by which historical, cognitive, and contextual factors interplay to influence disciplinary responding remains poorly understood. Disciplinary attitudes have been shown to mediate the association between disciplinary history and disciplinary responding. The present study investigated whether frustration influences these mediation effects. Half of a sample of 330 undergraduates was randomly assigned to frustration induction. Structural equation modeling confirmed that, for participants in the frustration condition, the relation between disciplinary history and physical discipline decision-making was fully mediated by attitudes approving physical discipline. In contrast, for respondents in the no-frustration condition, the pathway from disciplinary history to discipline decision-making was only partially mediated by attitudes. Under conditions of frustration, attitudes may become a more central means by which personal disciplinary history is associated with disciplinary decision-making. Aggr. Behav. 9999:XX-XX, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Language: en
Nanoscale Densification Creep in Polymer-Derived Silicon Carbonitrides at 1350°C

The measurement of axial and radial strains during uniaxial compression creep of SiCN shows the deformation to be entirely volumetric (as opposed to shear). Phenomenologically, the densification strain rate shows a good fit to an exponential stress dependence. This result is explained by the large volume of the diffusing molecular units in the oligomeric amorphous structure of SiCN, which causes the driving force to become nonlinear in stress. The size of the diffusing unit is estimated to be 1.2 nm.
Nonspecific inhibition of precursor uptake by alkyl-substituted purines and prednisolone.

Abstract Of 43 compounds, encompassing a wide variety of biological activities, only the same six (9-cyclopentyladenine, 9-benzyladenine,9-n-butyladenine, 6-benzylthiopurine, 9-cyclopentyl-6-mercaptopurine, and prednisolone), at concentrations less than 10 times the toxic amounts, inhibited precursor incorporation into lipids, glycoproteins, and DNA of logarithmically-growing adenocarcinoma 755 and leukemia LI 210 cells in culture. For adenocarcinoma 755 cells, each of the six agents, added subsequent to choline, had little effect on the incorporation of choline into lipids, an indication that their action was on uptake of the precursor rather than on a bio-synthetic step. Direct measurements of choline and thymidine uptake into cells of both types showed that each of the six agents apparently blocked choline incorporation into lipids and thymidine incorporation into nucleic acids by inhibiting uptake of the precursors.
MS2 bacteriophage as a delivery vessel of porphyrins for photodynamic therapy

Challenges associated with photodynamic therapy (PDT) include the packaging and site-specific delivery of therapeutic agents to the tissue of interest. Nanoscale encapsulation of PDT agents inside targeted virus capsids is a novel concept for packaging and site-specific targeting. The icosahedral MS2 bacteriophage is one potential candidate for such a packaging-system. MS2 has a porous capsid with an exterior diameter of ~28 nm where the pores allow small molecules access to the capsid interior. Furthermore, MS2 presents suitable residues on the exterior capsid for conjugation of targeting ligands. Initial work by the present investigators has successfully demonstrated RNA-based self-packaging of a heterocyclic PDT agent (meso-tetrakis(para-N-trimethylanilinium)porphine, TMAP) into the MS2 capsid. Packaging photoactive compounds in confined spaces could result in energy transfer between the molecules upon photoactivation, which could in turn reduce the production of radical oxygen species (ROS). ROS are key components in photodynamic therapy, and a reduced production could negatively impact the efficacy of PDT treatment. Here, findings are presented from an investigation of ROS generation of TMAP encapsulated within the MS2 capsid compared to free TMAP in solution. Monitoring of ROS production upon photoactivation via a specific singlet oxygen assay revealed the impact on ROS generation between packaged porphyrins as compared to free porphyrin in an aqueous solution. Follow on work will study the ability of MS2-packaged porphyrins to generate ROS in vitro and subsequent cytotoxic effects on cells in culture.
Comment on "Effects of acculturation on the MMPI-2 scores of Asian American students".

Tsai and Pike (2000) are to be commended for their novel approach to examining cultural differences in Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) profiles. Their hypothesis that acculturation would moderate these differences is logically sound, and is likely to produce a line of informative research.
Net Energy and CO2 Emissions Analysis of Using MRF Residue as Solid Recovered Fuel at Coal Fired Power Plants

According to the waste management hierarchy published by the U.S. EPA, waste reduction and reuse are the most preferred modes of waste management, followed by recycling, energy recovery and lastly disposal. As many communities in the U.S. work towards sustainable waste management practices, recycling tends to be a cost-effective and common solution for handling municipal solid waste. With the introduction of single-stream recycling and automated materials recovery facilities (MRFs), where commingled recyclables are sorted into various commodity streams for sale to recycling facilities, recycling rates have steadily climbed in recent years. Despite increasing total recycling rates, contamination and diminishing returns for higher recovery ratios causes MRFs to landfill 5–25% of the incoming recycling stream as residue. This residue stream is composed primarily of plastics and fiber, both of which have high energy content that could be recovered instead of buried in a landfill. Plastics in particular are reported to have heat contents similar to fossil fuels, making energy recovery a viable end-of-life pathway. Sorting, shredding and densifying the residue stream to form solid recovered fuel (SRF) pellets for use as an alternative fuel yields energy recovery, displaced fossil fuels and landfill avoidance, moving more disposed refuse up the waste management hierarchy. Previous studies have shown that plastic, paper, and plastic-paper mixes are well suited for conversion to SRF and combustion for energy production. However, these studies focused on relatively homogenous and predictable material streams. MRF residue is not homogenous and has only a moderate degree of predictability, and thus poses several technical challenges for conversion to SRF and for straightforward energy and emissions analysis.This research seeks to understand the energetic and environmental tradeoffs associated with converting MRF residue into SRF for co-firing in pulverized coal power plants. A technical analysis is presented that compares a residue-to-SRF scenario to a residue-to-landfill scenario to estimate non-obvious energy and emissions tradeoffs associated with this alternative end-of-life scenario for MRF residue. Sensitivity to key assumptions was analyzed by considering facility proximity, landfill gas capture efficiency, conversion ratio of residue to SRF and the mass of residue used.The results of this study indicate that the use of MRF residue derived SRF in coal fired steam-electricity power plants realizes meaningful reductions of emissions, primary energy consumption, coal use and landfill deposition.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Staged laryngotracheoplasty in adult laryngotracheal stenosis: predictors of long-term decannulation.

Importance This study reviews a single center’s experience of performing staged laryngotracheoplasty (LTP) for the treatment of laryngotracheal stenosis with the ultimate goal of attaining long-term airway patency without restenosis. Objective To identify staged LTP as an efficacious surgical treatment option for laryngotracheal stenosis. Design, Setting, and Participants From January 2000 to January 2012, patients at a tertiary care academic institution presenting with diagnoses of laryngeal or laryngotracheal stenosis were retrospectively identified. Medical records from adult patients were inspected, and patient demographics, clinical data, and clinical outcomes were recorded. All patients undergoing staged LTP were initially included. Patients with history of head and neck malignant neoplasm were excluded. Interventions Staged LTP. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was long-term decannulation, defined as decannulation for duration of at least 6 months. Results Sixty-one patients were included in this study. The mean (SD) patient age was 47.1 (16.7) at the time of first-stage LTP and had a mean (range) follow-up of 5.32 (0.5-17.3) years from the first-stage reconstruction. Etiology of stenosis included prolonged intubation in 27 patients (44%), autoimmune disease in 9 (15%), idiopathic causes in 11 (18%), blunt laryngeal trauma in 10 (16%), and other causes in 4 (7%). Forty-nine patients (80%) were successfully decannulated, while to date 12 (20%) remain tracheostomy or tympanostomy tube dependent. Univariate analyses showed no significant association between decannulation and age ( P = .35), sex ( P = .52), history of intubation ( P = .22), surgeon ( P = .20), etiology of stenosis ( P = .91), or length of stenosis ( P = .31). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a significant inverse relationship between grade of stenosis and probability of decannulation ( P = .01). Conclusions and Relevance Staged LTP is an option for the reconstruction laryngotracheal stenosis. Our experience shows excellent decannulation rates in the selected patients with stenosis, many of whom have failed treatment with other surgical modalities.
A Note on the Estimation of the Mean Value from a Lognormal Distribution

The mean from a lognormal distribution often is fundamental to evaluating exposure to toxic materials in the workplace. Two methods for estimating this mean value are discussed: the direct mean or moment estimate and the maximum likelihood estimate. It is argued that the maximum likelihood estimate is superior for large samples of data (as expected by statistical theory) but is inferior to the direct mean for small sample sizes. Since sampling in the workplace usually involves small numbers of observations, this result has important implications for industrial hygienists.
Equations of state in exploration

Calculations using equations of state to predict the phase behavior and composition of hydrocarbon species are finding use as an exploration technique. Equations of state give insight into the chemical changes induced in a hydrocarbon mixture by changes in pressure and temperature. Equation of state calculations can be used to estimate the effects of alteration during migration, reservoir filling, and production. Production effects explored include reservoir depressurization and pumping-induced fractionation. Other reservoir management techniques discussed include volume prediction, fluid fingerprinting, and oil quality estimations. Migration effects addressed include gas washing and evaporative fractionation.
A letter from the editor.

The Journal of Biomedical Optics started in January 1996, with the goal of becoming the leading journal in the biomedical applications of optics technology.
The true value of the TRUE test for allergic contact dermatitis

The development of the thin layer rapid use epicutaneous (TRUE) Test is a history of cooperation between scientists from academia and industry covering several disciplines: medicine, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, and statistics. The TRUE Test is today a patch test system with documented stability and allergen content. Allergens are incorporated in a dried-in-gel vehicle, which is coated onto a polyester backing to form a patch. Applied to the skin, the allergens are released when the gel becomes moisturized by transepidermal water. This may seem to be a simple technique, but its development required laborious research and solutions to stability and dosage problems. The test has been clinically standardized with serial dilution tests on sensitized patients and validated in comparative multicenter tests. The test is a significant step towards higher reliability of patch testing. Fifteen years of experience and critical investigations are discussed in this article, as are possible improvements such as expansion of the test with new allergens.
Anti-oxidant effects of estrogen reduce [Ca2+]i during metabolic inhibition.

We previously reported that 17β-estradiol (βE2) inhibits the rise in [Ca2+]i and [Na+]i during metabolic inhibition (MI) in mouse cardiomyocytes, but the mechanism has not yet been clarified. Estrogen has been reported to have anti-oxidant properties. We, therefore, have investigated whether interaction with the estrogen receptor (ER) is involved, or whether estrogen reduces free-radical-induced impairment of Na+-K+ ATPase in cardiac myocytes, and whether this effect reduces [Ca2+]i rise. Male mouse ventricular myocytes were studied. Flow cytometry was used with fluo-3 for [Ca2+]i measurement. Dead cells were excluded from analysis by propidium iodide fluorescence. βE2 reduced the increase in [Ca2+]i during MI even in the presence of the ER blocker tamoxifen. A similar effect on [Ca2+]i was produced by its non-estrogenic isomer, βE2-estradiol. Other hormones (estrone and estriol) with a phenolic structure also inhibited Ca2+ overload during MI, but testosterone without the structure did not. The βE2 effect was attenuated by inhibition of Na+-Ca2+ exchanger (KB-R7943) or Na+-K+ ATPase (low K+ or ouabain), but not by block of L-type Ca2+ channel (nifedipine). Tiron (4,5-dihydroxy-1,3-benzenedisulfonic acid), a superoxide scavenger, decreased the rise in [Ca2+]i and abolished the βE2 effect during MI. We conclude that the acute cardioprotective effect of estrogen during MI may be mediated by an ER-independent anti-oxidant action, which results in improved function of Na+-K+ ATPase.
Sieve-regularized image reconstruction algorithm with pose search in transmission tomography

We have developed a model for transmission tomography that views the detected data as being Poisson-distributed photon counts. From this model, we derive an alternating minimization (AM) algorithm for the purpose of image reconstruction. This algorithm, which seeks to minimize an objective function (the I-divergence between the measured data and the estimated data), is particularly useful when high-density objects are present in soft tissue and standard image reconstruction algorithms fail. The approach incorporates inequality constraints on the pixel values and seeks to exploit known information about the high-density objects or other priors on the data. Because of the ill-posed nature of this problem, however, the noise and streaking artifacts in the images are not completely mitigated, even under the most ideal conditions, and some form of regularization is required. We describe a sieve-based approach, which constrains the image estimate to reside in a subset of the image space in which all images have been smoothed with a Gaussian kernel. The kernel is spatially varying and does not smooth across known boundaries in the image. Preliminary results show effective reduction of the noise and streak artifacts, but indicate that more work is needed to suppress edge overshoots.
Factors Affecting the Creation of a New Ecology in a Boys-Only Physical Education Class at a Military School

Abstract This study describes the changes which occurred in the instructional ecology of a boys' physical education class with a change of teacher. Moreover, it examines the critical incidences which promoted and inhibited that teacher's attempts to change the accountability system of the class from one of attendance and minimal participation to one of performance quality. Twenty-two eighth and ninth grade boys participated in a 6-week program of physical activity with the researcher as the new teacher. Through an action research methodology, using the teacher's reflective accounts of lessons together with formal and informal interviews with the students, it was determined that three factors were critical in the change process: the students' previous history with the subject, the nature of the set tasks, and the emotional climate of the class.
Genetic Algorithm Applied to the Eigenvalue Equalization Filtered-x LMS Algorithm (EE-FXLMS)

The FXLMS algorithm, used extensively in active noise control (ANC), exhibits frequency-dependent convergence behavior. This leads to degraded performance for time-varying tonal noise and noise with multiple stationary tones. Previous work by the authors proposed the eigenvalue equalization filtered-x least mean squares (EE-FXLMS) algorithm. For that algorithm, magnitude coefficients of the secondary path transfer function are modified to decrease variation in the eigenvalues of the filtered-x autocorrelation matrix, while preserving the phase, giving faster convergence and increasing overall attenuation. This paper revisits the EE-FXLMS algorithm, using a genetic algorithm to find magnitude coefficients that give the least variation in eigenvalues. This method overcomes some of the problems with implementing the EE-FXLMS algorithm arising from finite resolution of sampled systems. Experimental control results using the original secondary path model, and a modified secondary path model for both the previous implementation of EE-FXLMS and the genetic algorithm implementation are compared.
Shallow flaws under biaxial loading conditions. Part I : The effect of specimen size on fracture toughness values obtained from large-scale cruciform specimens

A technology to determine shallow-flaw fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels is being developed. This technology is for application to the safety assessment of RPVs containing postulated shallow-surface flaws. It has been shown that relaxation of crack-tip constraint causes shallow-flaw fracture toughness of RPV material to have a higher mean value than that for deep flaws in the lower transition temperature region. Cruciform beam specimens developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) introduce far-field, out-of-plane biaxial stress components in the test section that approximates the nonlinear stresses resulting from pressurized-thermal-shock (PTS) loading of an RPV. The biaxial stress component has been shown to increase stress triaxiality (constraint) at the crack tip, and thereby reduce the shallow-flaw fracture toughness enhancement. The cruciform specimen permits controlled application of biaxial loading ratios, resulting in controlled variation of crack-tip constraint. An extensive matrix of intermediate-scale cruciform specimens with a uniform depth surface flaw was previously tested and demonstrated a continued decrease in shallow-flaw fracture toughness with increasing biaxial loading. This paper describes the test results for a series of large-scale cruciform specimens with a uniform depth surface flaw. These specimens were all of the same size with the same depth flaw and were tested at the same temperature and biaxial load ratio (1:1). The configuration is the same as the previous set of intermediate-scale tests, but has been scaled upward in size by 150 percent. These tests demonstrated the effect of biaxial loading and specimen size on shallow-flaw fracture toughness in the lower transition temperature region for RPV materials. For specimens tested under full biaxial (1:1) loading at test temperatures in the range of 23°F (-5°C) to 34°F (1°C), toughness was reduced by approximately 15 percent for a 150-percent increase in specimen size. This decrease was slightly greater than the predicted reduction for this increase in specimen size. The size corrections for 1/2T C(T) specimens did not predict the experimentally determined mean toughness values for larger size shallow-flaw specimens tested under biaxial (1:1) loading in the lower transition temperature region.
Mobile gas sensor and source detector

The goal of the project is to develop a program for the navigation of a miniature mobile robot Khepera II (www.k-team.com) towards a gas source. The project would involve programming of existing hardware using any of the following platforms: C, C++, MATLAB, or LabVIEW. Existing hardware to be utilized include the Khepera II robot and a connected gas-sensing module. The robot will be programmed to utilize the gas-sensing module to detect the relative position of a gas source and navigate towards the source.
Adenosine Triphosphate and Adenosine Increase the Pulmonary Blood Flow to Postnatal Levels in Fetal Lambs

ABSTRACT: We investigated the hypothesis that purine nucleotides may mediate the pulmonary vasodilation that occurs at bulb in fetal lambs. We studied nine fetal lambs 3 d after placement of intravascular catheters, a flow transducer around the left pulmonary artery, and an inflatable vascular occluder around the ductus arteriosus. The pressure-flow relationship of left lung during a brief occlusion of the ductus arteriosus was studied as an index of pulmonary vascular resistance. We investigated the pulmonary vascular effects of adenosine, ATP, or saline (control) in doses of 0.01–2.50 μmol/kg/min infused into the right atrial line, and measured blood adenosine and ATP levels in samples from the pulmonary artery and left atrium. We also investigated the mechanism of pulmonary vascular effects of adenosine and ATP. Adenosine and ATP caused significant decreases in pulmonary vascular resistance and increases in pulmonary blood flow in doses of 0.08–2.5 μmol/kg/min. The pulmonary blood flow increased to levels seen in postnatal lambs at doses of 1.2 and 2.5 μmol/kg/min of adenosine and ATP. The baseline blood adenosine and ATP levels in fetus were 8 and 70% of levels in postnatal lambs. ATP concentrations increased to postnatal levels and adenosine levels increased to 20% of postnatal levels at infusion rates of 1.2 and 23 μmol/ kg/rain. The pulmonary vasodilation caused by adenosine and ATP was attenuated by 8-phenyltheophylline and ci-bacron blue, respectively, but not by indomethacin. We conclude that adenosine and ATP are pulmonary vasodilators and increase the fetal pulmonary flow to postnatal levels in doses that increase their blood concentrations to ≤ postnatal levels. The effects of adenosine and ATP are mediated by stimulation of P1 and P2 pnrinergk receptors and are independent of prostacyclin synthesis. Purine nucleotides may be important mediators of pulmonary vasodilation that occurs in the perinatal Iamb.