cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adding fault-tolerant transaction processing to LINDA

To simplify the difficult task of writing fault-tolerant parallel software, we implemented extensions to the basic functionality of the LINDA or tuple-space programming model. Our approach implements a mechanism of transaction processing to ensure that tuples are properly handled in the event of a node or communications failure. If a process retrieving a tuple fails to complete processing or a tuple posting or retrieval message is lost, the system is automatically rolled back to a previous stable state. Processing failures and lost messages are detected by time-out alarms. Roll-back is accomplished by reposting pertinent tuples. Intermediate tuples produced during partial processing are not committed or made available until a process completes. In the absence of faults, system overhead is low. The fault-tolerance mechanism is implemented at the system level and requires little programmer effort or expertise. Two implementations of the model are discussed, one using a UNIX network of workstations and one using a Transputer network. Data measuring model overhead and some aspects of system performance in the presence of faults is presented for an example system.
Complementary user-centered methodologies for information seeking and use: system's design in the biological information browsing environment (BIBE)

Complementary, socially grounded, user-centered methodologies are being used to design new information systems to support biodiversity informatics. Each of the methods--interviews, focus groups, field observations, immersion, and lab testing--has its own strengths and weaknesses. Methods vary in their ability to reveal the automatic processes of experts (that need to be learned by novices), data richness, and their ability to help interpret complex information needs and processes. When applied in concert, the methods provide a much clearer picture of the use of information while performing a real life information-mediated task. This picture will be used to help inform the design of a new information system, Biological Information Browsing Environment (BIBE). The groups being studied are high school students, teachers, and volunteer adult groups performing biodiversity surveys. In this task the people must identify and record information about many species of flora and fauna. Most of the information tools they use for training and during the survey are designed to facilitate the difficult species identification task.
The impact of spatial variability of land-surface characteristics on land-surface heat fluxes

Abstract The impact of subgrid-scale variability of land characteristics on land-surface energy fluxes simulated in atmospheric models (e.g., GCMs) was investigated with Patchy Land-Atmosphere Interactive Dynamics (PLAID), a land-surface scheme developed by Avissar and Pielke that represents the land surface as a mosaic of patches. Eleven different distributions of the five predominant characteristics of land-surface schemes (i.e., stomatal conductance, soil-surface wetness, leaf area index, surface roughness, and albedo) were considered. A total of 5 580 900 steady-state simulations was produced to thoroughly analyze this impact under a broad range of atmospheric conditions. The authors found that the more skewed the distribution within the range of land-surface characteristics that is related nonlinearly to the energy fluxes, the larger the difference between the energy fluxes calculated with the distribution and the corresponding mean. Among the various distributions considered in the study, the lognor...
College student attitudes about telling lies

Sixty lower division college students (33 female, 27 male) were interviewed individually concerning their attitudes and beliefs about lying. During the interview, which lasted about 40 min on the average, the students were presented with a sheet of paper on which were listed 12 different social categories of people, for example, politicians, medical doctors, children under the age of 6 years, etc. The subjects were asked to estimate, on a 5-point rating scale, the attitude of the categories of people concerning lying. The scales were labeled from “everybody does it” on one end to “it is wrong in all cases” on the other. In addition, the subjects were presented with six open-ended questions asking them about their personal experiences with their parents, teachers, and others concerning the topic of lying. The answers to these six questions are assigned scale values from 1 to 3 by two judges. Kuder-Richardson reliability of .95 was computed for the ratings; .82 was computed for the question data. Comparisons of the various mean scale values were accomplished by using analysis of variance and Scheffe tests.
A novel system to study the impact of epithelial barriers on cellular metabolism.

Medications introduced into the systematic circulation must be transported across biological barriers such as skin, gastrointestinal, or bronchial epithelia, which can alter their kinetic and metabolic profiles. It is, therefore, important to understand diffusion kinetics across barrier membranes when choosing a dosing regime that will elicit the greatest cellular response. An in vitro system that combines membrane transport studies with a downstream cell culture chamber has been developed. The system has been tested with skin and a small intestine model (Caco-2 cell monolayers) as barriers, the peroxovanadium compound [VO(O2)2 1, 10 phenanthroline] bpV(phen), as the test chemical, Hep-G2 (liver) as the test cells, and glucose consumption as the test assay. Peroxovanadium has insulin mimetic properties and has been previously demonstrated to effectively lower blood glucose levels in diabetic rats when administered transdermally. A dose of 10 mM bpV(phen) placed on the skin epidermis with a continuous iontophoretic current of 0.5 mA/cm2 for 4.5 h led to a net 22% increase in glucose consumption by Hep-G2 cells. The same dose of bpV(phen) passively diffusing across a Caco-2 cell monolayer led to an increase in glucose consumption by Hep-G2 cells of 23%. This system is highly versatile and can be used to study many other processes, involving a variety of biological membranes, cell types, chemicals and assays, making it a valuable research tool. © 2000 Biomedical Engineering Society.
Field Placement and Evaluation of Stabilized Dredged Material (SDM) from the New York/New Jersey Harbor

Since the 1997 local ban on ocean dumping of dredged sediments, the States of New York and New Jersey have pursued a policy of environmentally sound solutions to the management of dredged material, including beneficial use of stabilized dredged material (SDM) in transportation applications. A pilot study was initiated in 1998 to evaluate the use of SDM in the construction of highway embankments. Utilizing 80,000 cubic yards of dredged material, two embankments were constructed from SDM on a commercial development area adjacent to the Harbor. Geotechnical properties and handling of SDM were evaluated both during and one year post − construction. This article presents the evaluation of the embankments themselves, including constructability and performance. The results demonstrate that SDM satisfies most of the geotechnical criteria for fill construction, except those for durability, requiring proper coverage and protection similar to that provided for fills constructed on cohesive soils. This same character...
Effects of phencyclidine, MK-801 and 1,3-di(2-tolyl)guanidine on non-dopaminergic midbrain neurons.

Abstract The effects of i.v. administration of the noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonists, phencyclidine and MK-801, and the σ receptor ligand, 1,3-di(2-tolyl)guanidine (DTG), on the firing rates of non-dopaminergic mid brain neurons were evaluated in chloral hydrate-anesthetized rats. Phencyclidine and MK-801 inhibited the activity of putative γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-containing interneurons identified by their response to foot-pinch. DTG did not significantly alter neuronal activity. These results suggest that the reported excitatory effects of non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonists on dopamine neuronal activity are due, in part, to disinhibition secondary to the inhibition of interneuron activity.
Active type-checking and translation

We introduce a statically-typed language extensibility mechanism called active type-checking and translation (AT&T) that aims toward expressiveness, safety and composability. This mechanism allows users to equip type definitions with type-level functions that control the compilation process directly, at points that are relevant to that type's semantics.
c-myc Promoter-binding protein 1 (MBP-1) regulates prostate cancer cell growth by inhibiting MAPK pathway.

Prostate cancer is the most common and invasive type of cancer among American men, and the second leading cause of cancer-elated deaths in the United States. Unfortunately, an effective therapeutic regimen is still lacking for advance stages of the disease. Recently, MEK5 has been shown to overexpress in prostate cancer and is associated with poor survival outcome. MEK5 exists as α- and β-isoforms. MEK5α induces cell proliferation by activating its downstream molecules, whereas MEK5β expression is associated with inhibition of cell growth. We have recently shown that exogenous expression of c-myc promoter-binding protein 1 (MBP-1) induces prostate cancer cell death (Ghosh, A. K., Steele, R., and Ray, R. B. (2005) Cancer Res. 65, 718–721). In this study, we have investigated whether inhibition of MEK5 signaling pathway can modulate prostate cancer cell growth. MBP-1 is a general transcriptional repressor and modulates a number of cellular genes. Therefore, we examined the endogenous expression status of MEK5 in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells upon recombinant adenovirus-mediated introduction of MBP-1. Our results demonstrated that MBP-1 expression reduced the endogenous MEK5α protein level; on the other hand, MEK5β expression was enhanced significantly. Transduction of MBP-1 modulates the downstream signaling molecules of MEK5, such as activation of the cyclin D1 promoter and MEF2C transcriptional activities in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells. MBP-1 expression also modulates MEK5-mediated activation of NF-κB. Further analysis suggested that MBP-1 physically associates with MEK5 and induces proteasome-mediated degradation of the MEK5 protein, which appears to occur independently of ubiquitination. Together, our results suggested a novel role of MBP-1 for suppression of prostate cancer cell growth by regulating the MEK5-mediated signaling pathway.
2,3-Dihydroxy-N-methylbenzamide monohydrate

The title compound, C8H9NO3·H2O, is a monohydrate. The mol­ecules pack in pairs of planes, each pair of planes held together by a two-dimensional hydrogen-bonding network.
Finitely generated cyclic extensions of free groups are residually finite

We establish the result that a finitely generated cyclic extension of a free group is residually finite. This is done, in part, by making use of the fact that a finitely generated module over a principal ideal domain is a direct sum of cyclic modules.
Adaptive fuzzy c-shells clustering and detection of ellipses

Several generalizations of the fuzzy c-shells (FCS) algorithm are presented for characterizing and detecting clusters that are hyperellipsoidal shells. An earlier generalization, the adaptive fuzzy c-shells (AFCS) algorithm, is examined in detail and is found to have global convergence problems when the shapes to be detected are partial. New formulations are considered wherein the norm inducing matrix in the distance metric is unconstrained in contrast to the AFCS algorithm. The resulting algorithm, called the AFCS-U algorithm, performs better for partial shapes. Another formulation based on the second-order quadrics equation is considered. These algorithms can detect ellipses and circles in 2D data. They are compared with the Hough transform (HT)-based methods for ellipse detection. Existing HT-based methods for ellipse detection are evaluated, and a multistage method incorporating the good features of all the methods is used for comparison. Numerical examples of real image data show that the AFCS algorithm requires less memory than the HT-based methods, and it is at least an order of magnitude faster than the HT approach. >
Parenteral Nutrition Utilization Response to Drug Shortages

Even when normalized for the total number of hospital discharges, the use of PN has more than doubled in that time (0.4% vs 0.94% of total discharges) according to HCUPnet NIS database. In mid-2010 widespread PN component shortages began and continue today with multiple macro- and micronutrient additives being unavailable for months to years. The A.S.P.E.N. Clinical Practice Committee, its PN Drug Shortage Subcommittee, and the Public Policy Committee were interested in determining whether the growth in use of PN for hospitalized patients had continued despite these component shortages. Just recently, the HCUP NIS 2011 data became available and upon review it is clear that PN use has decreased. This becomes particularly striking when the 2011 PN use data are normalized for total discharges (see Figure 2).
Expert system for advising electrical engineering students

An expert system is described which can be used to advise electrical engineering students about courses they can take at the beginning of a semester. In response to student-supplied answers to questions regarding the student's identification number, desired credit hours, and course preferences, the system ascertains if the student has satisfied the requisites and recommends a list of courses for the student to take. Some students found the system user-friendly. The explanation feature of the system is especially appealing since it clarifies the university graduation requirements that the students were ignorant of or might have overlooked. It is noted that with minor modifications, the system can be used to advise students in other institutions. >
Reaction Rates for the Partial Dehydration of Glucose to Organic Acids in Solid-Acid, Molecular-Sieving Catalyst Powders

Molecular-sieving catalysts have the potential to promote the production of oxygenated hydrocarbons from glucose. A kinetic model for the partial dehydration of glucose to organic acids by micro- and mesoporous aluminosilicate catalysts was developed. Kinetic parameters were estimated from glucose conversion and product yield versus time data at 150°C for HY-zeolite, aluminum-pillared montmorillonite, MCM-20 and MCM-41 catalyst powders of 0·5 mmol H+ g−1 solid-acid activity. Rate constants for the partial dehydration of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and the rehydration and cleavage of HMF to formic acid and 4-oxopentanoic acid were maximized at catalyst pore diameters of 10–30 A. The final organic acid product yields were low, less than 60% of theoretical for formic acid and 10% of theoretical for 4-oxopentanoic acid, due to significant coke formation. © 1997 SCI.
Electrically pumped hybrid evanescent Si/InGaAsP lasers.

Hybrid Si/III-V, Fabry-Perot evanescent lasers are demonstrated, utilizing InGaAsP as the III-V gain material for the first time to our knowledge. The lasing threshold current of 300-μm-long devices was as low as 24 mA, with a maximal single facet output power of 4.2 mW at 15°C. Longer devices achieved a maximal single facet output power as high as 12.7 mW, a single facet slope efficiency of 8.4%, and a lasing threshold current density of 1 kA/cm^2. Continuous wave laser operation was obtained up to 45°C. The threshold current density, output power, and efficiency obtained improve upon those of previously reported devices having a similar geometry. Facet images indicate that the output light is largely confined to the Si waveguide.
Opioid Pharmacogenetics of Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol addiction is one of the most common and devastating diseases in the world. Given the tremendous heterogeneity of alcohol-addicted individuals, it is unlikely that one medication will help nearly all patients. Thus, there is a clear need to develop predictors of response to existing medications. Naltrexone is a μ-opioid receptor antagonist, which has been approved in the United States for treatment of alcohol addiction since 1994. It has limited efficacy, in part because of noncompliance, but many patients do not respond despite high levels of compliance. There are reports that a missense single nucleotide polymorphism (rs179919 or A118G) in the μ-opioid receptor gene predicts a favorable response to naltrexone if an individual carries a "G" allele. This work will review the evidence for this hypothesis. The data are promising that the "G" allele predisposes to a beneficial naltrexone response among alcohol-addicted persons, but additional research is needed to prove this hypothesis in prospective clinical trials.
Vitamin D–Binding Protein Levels Do Not Influence The Effect of Vitamin D Repletion on Serum PTH and Calcium: Data From a Randomized, Controlled Trial

Context: Vitamin D deficiency, defined by the total serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level, is common and more prevalent among Blacks than whites. Vitamin D–binding protein (DBP) levels vary with race and may modulate “bioavailable” levels of 25(OH)D. Objective: To determine the effect of DBP levels on the functional response to vitamin D. Setting and Design: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of vitamin D repletion for 2 mo, which took place at an outpatient research unit. Participants included 150 vitamin D–deficient (25(OH)D <20 ng/mL) adults. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 or placebo weekly for 8 weeks. This is a post-hoc analysis using DBP, 25(OH)D, PTH, and calcium levels. Results: Blacks had lower total 25(OH)D (12 vs 15 ng/mL, P < .001) and DBP levels (119 vs 234 μg/mL, P < .001) than non-Blacks. DBP levels were similar before and after vitamin D3 or placebo treatment (r = 0.98, P < .001). Baseline total 25(OH)D levels were a significant determ...
Scientific expertise and the culture war: Public opinion and the teaching of evolution in the American states

The teaching of evolution in public schools has been a central element in the nation's “culture wars” since the 1920s and remains a contentious issue today. Content standards for the teaching of biology have been flashpoints for conflict, with well publicized battles occurring in state governments, in federal courts, and in local school districts. We show that a full understanding of evolution politics at the state level must simultaneously account for three important features. First, cultural politics typically includes an important role for public opinion. Second, scientists and their professional organizations have actively sought a monopoly on defining what is and is not science by marginalizing their uncredentialled opponents and by erecting boundaries that buffer science policy from the influence of politics and public opinion. Third, in the American federal system courts rarely settle cultural issues but merely narrow the space within which politics can operate. In accounting for these features, we explain why court victories for science have had only limited impacts and provide a model for understanding other issues—such as sex education, stem cell research, and global warming—in which moral and ideological arguments may conflict with scientific consensus.
Research Ethics Issues in Geriatric Psychiatry

Progress in geriatric psychiatric research may be impeded by lack of attention to collecting evidence relevant to ethical issues. As has been noted for some time, unless proactive work is done to identify, clarify, and remediate ethical challenges (see Table 2 for research directions), deleterious effects on research can result, including research bans, unduly overprotective stances, or inaccurate weighing of risks and benefits of research by review boards. With regard to proxy consent, a number of issues require further study. These include: how state laws address (or fail to address) research involving cognitively impaired individuals and what effects this has on research conduct; how IRBs define and weigh risks and benefits in considering research involving proxy consent; how various stakeholders, including the general public, people with disorders that may impair decision-making capacity, and proxies themselves view proxy consent for research; and to what degree proxies' research decisions reflect what patients themselves would decide. The use of advanced directives as a stand alone method for future consent is fraught with difficulties around adequate informed consent for a particular study; however, future study may clarify if such directives provide surrogates with improved understanding of their relative's overall views of the research enterprise and possibly the types of studies they would be willing to participate in even if they are no longer able to provide their own consent. In depression and suicide research, further work is needed to develop standard procedures for meeting the ethical demands of research while conducting rigorous, crucial research.
Classification of noisy patterns using ARTMAP-based neural networks

In this paper we present a modification of the test phase of ARTMAP-based neural networks that improves the classification performance of the networks when the patterns that are used for classification are extracted from noisy signals. The signals that are considered in this work are textured images, which are a case of 2D signals. Two neural networks from the ARTMAP family are examined, namely the Fuzzy ARTMAP (FAM) neural network and the Hypersphere ARTMAP (HAM) neural network. We compare the original FAM and HAM architectures with the modified ones, which we name FAM-m and HAM-m respectively. We also compare the classification performance of the modified networks, and of the original networks when they are trained with patterns extracted from noisy textures. Finally, we illustrate how combination of features can improve the classification performance for both the noiseless and noisy textures.
Polymorphisms of p21 and p27 jointly contribute to an earlier age at diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

p21 and p27, members of the kinase inhibitor protein (KIP) family, bind to cyclin-CDK complexes to inhibit their catalytic activity and induce cell cycle arrest. The purpose of our study was to identify whether the p21 (C-to-A), and p27 (T-to-G) polymorphisms were associated with age at diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, either independently or jointly. Two hundred and five patients with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer were genotyped for the p21 and p27 polymorphisms. We found patients with the p21 variant genotype (CA/AA) had an earlier age at diagnosis than those with the wild-type genotype (CC) (log-rank, P=0.001; HR=1.89; 95%CI, 1.28-2.78). The p21 and p27 polymorphisms combined had a joint effect on age-associated risk for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer (log-rank, P=0.004; HR=2.91; 95%CI, 1.49-5.67). Our findings suggest that the p21 polymorphism independently and p21 and p27 polymorphisms jointly contribute to a significantly earlier age at diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
The Effects of Statin and Niacin on Plaque Stability, Plaque Regression, Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Patients With Mild to Moderate Coronary Artery Stenosis

Background and Objectives The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a combination of niacin and simvastatin to simvastatin alone, on plaque regression and inflammatory makers.
Comparative transduction efficiencies of human and nonhuman adenoviral vectors in human, murine, bovine, and porcine cells in culture

Clinical usefulness of human Ad serotype 5 (HAd5) based vectors is limited primarily because of preexisting Ad immunity and lack of targeting to specific cell types. Alternative vectors based on less prevalent HAd serotypes as well as nonhuman adenoviruses such as porcine Ad serotype 3 (PAd3) and bovine Ad serotype 3 (BAd3) are being developed to overcome these shortcomings. Using virus neutralization assay, we examined whether preexisting Ad immunity in humans would cross-neutralize PAd3 or BAd3. To further evaluate the potential of PAd3 and BAd3 vectors as gene delivery vehicles, we compared their transduction efficiencies in a panel of human, murine, bovine, and porcine cell lines to those obtained with a HAd5 vector. Transduction by the HAd5 vector in the majority of human cell lines correlated with the expression levels of coxsackievirus-adenovirus receptor (CAR), the primary HAd5 receptor; while transduction by PAd3 and BAd3 vectors was CAR-independent. The results suggest that PAd3 and BAd3 vectors are promising gene delivery vehicles for human gene therapy as well as for recombinant vaccines for human and animal use.
Wavelet-LMS algorithm-based echo cancellers

This paper presents Echo Cancellers based on the Wavelet-LMS Algorithm. The performance of the Least Mean Square Algorithm in Wavelet transform domain is observed and its application in Echo cancellation is analyzed. The Widrow-Hoff Least Mean Square Algorithm is most widely used algorithm for Adaptive filters that function as Echo Cancellers. The present day communication signals are widely non-stationary in nature and some errors crop up when Least Mean Square Algorithm is used for the Echo Cancellers handling such signals. The analysis of non-stationary signals often involves a compromise between how well transitions or discontinuities can be located. The multi-scale or multi-resolution of signal analysis, which is the essence of wavelet transform, makes Wavelets popular in non-stationary signal analysis. In this paper, we present a Wavelet-LMS algorithm wherein the wavelet coefficients of a signal are modified adaptively using the Least Mean Square Algorithm and then reconstructed to give an Echo-free signal. The Echo Canceller based on this Algorithm is found to have a better convergence and a comparatively lesser MSE (Mean Square error).
The changes in fluorescence of acridine orange-stained HeLa cells during ultraviolet illumination.

HeLa cells were stained with a 1/12,000 concentration of acridine orange at pH 7.2 for 3 min and the fluorescence emission was measured quantitatively for effects of ultraviolet illumination with durations including intervals between 5 and 210 min. The total photometric fluorescence intensity increased for the first 30 min, then decreased with illumination time. The initial maximum fluorescence intensity occurred at 525 nm and shifted progressively to shorter wavelengths. Fluorescence intensity above 580 nm decreased with increasing duration of illumination time while that below 580 nm showed an initial increase in intensity followed by a gradual fading.
Stochastic linear control over a communication channel

We examine linear stochastic control systems when there is a communication channel connecting the sensor to the controller. The problem consists of designing the channel encoder and decoder as well as the controller to satisfy some given control objectives. In particular, we examine the role communication has on the classical linear quadratic Gaussian problem. We give conditions under which the classical separation property between estimation and control holds and the certainty equivalent control law is optimal. We then present the sequential rate distortion framework. We present bounds on the achievable performance and show the inherent tradeoffs between control and communication costs. In particular, we show that optimal quadratic cost decomposes into two terms: A full knowledge cost and a sequential rate distortion cost.
Automatic Discovery of Manner Relations and its Applications

This paper presents a method for the automatic discovery of MANNER relations from text. An extended definition of MANNER is proposed, including restrictions on the sorts of concepts that can be part of its domain and range. The connections with other relations and the lexico-syntactic patterns that encode MANNER are analyzed. A new feature set specialized on MANNER detection is depicted and justified. Experimental results show improvement over previous attempts to extract MANNER. Combinations of MANNER with other semantic relations are also discussed.
Regulation of Telomerase in Arabidopsis by BT2, an Apparent Target of TELOMERASE ACTIVATOR1

Telomerase, an enzyme essential for the synthesis and maintenance of telomeric DNA and the long-term stability of the genome, is developmentally regulated in plants. Telomerase activity is abundant in reproductive organs but low or undetectable in vegetative organs. Treatment with exogenous auxin, however, overrides this developmental control and induces telomerase in mature leaves. The Arabidopsis thaliana transcription factor TELOMERASE ACTIVATOR1 (TAC1) potentiates some responses to auxin, including the induction of telomerase activity in leaves. Here, we report that BT2, a protein with BTB, TAZ, and calmodulin binding domains, is an essential component of the TAC1-mediated telomerase activation pathway. Steady state concentration of BT2 mRNA increases in response to TAC1 expression, and TAC1 specifically binds the BT2 promoter both in vitro and in yeast one-hybrid assays. Constitutive expression of BT2 induces telomerase activity in leaves, whereas a null mutation of BT2 blocks TAC1-mediated telomerase induction, indicating that BT2 acts downstream of TAC1 to regulate telomerase activity in mature vegetative organs.
Building sense out of situational complexity: The role of ambivalence in creating functional leadership processes

There is growing consensus among scholars that the organizational environment has become increasingly complex, dynamic, and socially demanding. Leaders and followers navigate through a cognitive pa...
Transoral robotic medial hypopharyngectomy: Surgical technique.

Background Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has been shown to be both feasible and oncologically sound for use in early T classification hypopharyngeal cancers. The purpose of this study was to present our surgical technique for performing a transoral robotic hypopharyngectomy. Methods A 48-year-old man with a T2, N2a, M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx underwent a transoral robotic hypopharyngectomy and a left select neck dissection of levels II to IV. Results The hypopharyngeal tumor was removed en bloc after circumferential cuts were made until the tumor was finally amputated from the apex of the piriform sinus. Negative margins were achieved. A left select neck dissection was performed. The patient was tolerating an oral diet and his tracheostomy tube was decannulated before discharge. Conclusion TORS offers improved manual dexterity and tumor manipulation over conventional transoral approaches to hypopharyngeal cancers. It is both a feasible and effective method for certain early-stage hypopharyngeal cancers. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2015
Lessons from our medical colleagues: proposals to improve orthopaedic surgery graduate medical education.

As the new Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education at the University of Chicago, I have recently reviewed about twenty core special program requirements for residency education sponsored by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. I have noticed some common themes that I think would benefit graduate medical education in orthopaedic surgery if they were incorporated by the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Review Committee. Many of our medical colleagues face educational challenges similar to those of orthopaedic surgery, and they have tried to address them by specific accreditation standards that are written in their respective program requirements for each specialty. Two major areas that should be addressed are strengthening the position of the program director and making the standards for the procedural and clinical curriculum more objective. Some additional changes in accreditation standards to address the interaction of fellows with residents and the minimal number of residents could also improve graduate medical education in orthopaedic surgery. While I was on the Residency Review Committee, we deleted the requirement that the program director be the chairperson. The original intent of this requirement was to emphasize the importance of the position. We deleted this requirement because, at the time, it was not adhered to, we were not enforcing the requirement, and we began to recognize the expanding role of the program director. In retrospect, that requirement inhibited the growth and potential of the position of program director. Currently, as designated by the list-serve of the American Orthopaedic Association, there are still only sixty-seven separately identified program directors for 152 graduate education programs. Furthermore, orthopaedic surgery is one of the only major core residency programs that does not have a specific program directors' organization, nor does it send a representative to the Council of Medical Specialty Societies program directors' organization. In the past …
The Doctrine that Dared Not Speak its Name: Anglo-American Fiduciary Duties in China's 2005 Company Law and Case Law Intimations of Prior Convergence

In 2005 China's amended Company Law explicitly declared corporate fiduciary duties for the first time. While many would understand that declaration as an expression of symbolic formal convergence with, or wholesale transplant from, an alien legal system, research on lower-level China People's Court decisions before 2005 indicates that China's judiciary anticipated these important doctrines as much as a decade before. This set of developments may offer new insights on how corporate law develops in a transitional economy (set in a largely unreconstructed political-legal system) and the ways in which judicial institutions can and must rise to the challenges offered by economic and legal change.
Bipolar Versus Unipolar Temporary Epicardial Ventricular Pacing Leads Use in Congenital Heart Disease: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study.

Background To compare the pacing parameters of unipolar versus bipolar temporary ventricular epicardial pacing leads. Design Prospective Randomized Unblinded Controlled Study. Patients and Methods Fifty patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease who were anticipated to require temporary ventricular pacing leads were recruited preoperatively: 25 patients were randomized to receive unipolar temporary ventricular epicardial pacing leads; the remaining 25 were randomized to receive bipolar temporary ventricular epicardial leads. The baseline characteristics of the groups were similar. The pacing parameters were measured daily for up to first seven postoperative days (PODs) with the day of surgery recorded as POD 0. Results On the day of insertion, the mean pacing and sensing thresholds were similar for both unipolar and bipolar leads. Thresholds progressively deteriorated with each subsequent POD. By POD 4, the mean ± standard deviation pacing threshold of ventricular bipolar lead was 2.87 ± 0.37 mA compared with 5.6 ± 0.85 mA for the unipolar leads (P = 0.005). The decrease in sensing threshold of the unipolar ventricular pacing leads was significantly more than that of bipolar leads (by POD 5, 5.7 ± 2.64 vs 10.33 ± 2.8, P = 0.01). Conclusions Our study shows that the bipolar leads (Medtronic 6495, Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) have superior sensing and pacing thresholds in the ventricular position in patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease when compared to the unipolar leads (Medical Concepts Europe VF608ABB, Medical Concepts Europe Inc., Buffalo, NY, USA).
Consequences of high- x proton size fluctuations in small collision systems at s N N = 200 GeV

Recent measurements of jet production rates at large transverse momentum (${p}_{T}$) in the collisions of small projectiles with large nuclei at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the CERN Large Hadron Collider indicate that they have an unexpected relationship with estimates of the collision centrality. One compelling interpretation of the data is that they capture an ${x}_{p}$-dependent decrease in the average interaction strength of the nucleon in the projectile undergoing a hard scattering. A weakly interacting or ``shrinking'' nucleon in the projectile strikes fewer nucleons in the nucleus, resulting in a particular pattern of centrality-dependent modifications to high-${p}_{T}$ processes. We describe a simple one-parameter geometric implementation of this picture within a modified Monte Carlo Glauber model tuned to $d+\mathrm{Au}$ jet data, and explore two of its major consequences. First, the model predicts a particular projectile-species effect on the centrality dependence at high ${x}_{p}$, opposite to that expected from a final state energy loss effect. Second, we find that some of the large centrality dependence observed for forward dihadron production in $d+\mathrm{Au}$ collisions at RHIC may arise from the physics of the ``shrinking'' projectile nucleon, in addition to impact parameter dependent shadowing or saturation effects at low nuclear $x$. We conclude that analogous measurements in recently collected $p+\mathrm{Au}$ and $^{3}\mathrm{He}+\mathrm{Au}$ collision data at RHIC can provide a unique test of these predictions.
Observation of uniform ligand environments and 31P–197Au coupling in phosphine-terminated Au nanoparticles

Here, we use solution and solid-state 31P NMR to study the ligand environment of water soluble, phosphine-terminated gold nanoparticles. The resulting spectra indicate that particle-bound phosphine ligands occupy an unexpectedly monodisperse ligand environment. This uniformity then facilitates one of the first descriptions of distinct 31P–197Au coupling in colloidal nanoparticles.
Phase Separation and Atomic Ordering in Epitaxial Layers of III-V Compound Semiconductors

MIcrostructural characteristics of phase separated and ordered ternary and quaternary layers of Ill-V compound semiconductors grown by a variety of techniques are highlighted. It is argued that the fine scale contrast modulations seen in a number of layers arise from a two-dimensional, surface spinodal decomposition at the growth temperature. On the other hand, coarse contrast modulations could result from accommodation of asymmetrical strains associated with the twodimensional decomposition. Long range atomic order is observed in a variety of layers grown by different techniques and co-exists with phase separation. In InGaAs and InGaAsP layers, grown on (001) InP substrates, ordering is observed only on the two {111} planes that contain the line of intersection of the {111}in plane with the (001) InP surface. As a result of ordering, periodicity along the direction is doubled. Also, the influence of growth temperatures and growth rates on ordering characteristics in GalnP and (Ga, Al) InP layers is reported.
New approaches to neural circuits in behavior

A fundamental goal of neuroscience is to understand how the brain represents the world. If we consider the neurons of the brain to be one system and the external world to be another system, how do the two systems interact, and by what translational code does the former represent the latter? Recent advances in imaging neural activity, genetically altering specific neural circuits, and genetic tools for the direct manipulation of neural activity are beginning to shed light on this critical question. We review recent advances in these areas that illustrate a path to addressing this fundamental question.
Spectroscopic Observation of Fractal Packing of Oxygen in Variably Modified Glassy Tetrahedral Networks

The spatial distribution of bridging and nonbridging oxygen atoms in silicate glass networks with a wide range of connectivity is studied using (17)O nuclear magnetic resonance spin-lattice relaxation spectroscopy. The results demonstrate a mass fractal spatial distribution of both oxygen species in the network at the nanometer length scale. The fractal dimension increases with increasing relative fraction of these oxygen species and reaches a maximum value of ∼2.6. Such locally fractal character of the structural network is key to the understanding of the apparently anomalous transport, relaxation, and localization properties that are the hallmarks of the glassy state.
History—Consuming Pasts

AbstractI use the idea of consumption to discuss questions of agency and purpose in history. History, as a consumer of pasts, is itself an agent in the interpretive strategies employed in the construction of a historical narrative. History also consumes people as it attempts to impose its homogenizing narrative. In these senses, there is purpose: to give order and meaning to—thus prioritizing—certain pasts over others and to define commonality—especially of the nation or nation-state—and thus marginality. This view brings out the historicity of history: that there is always contestation in representations of the past, and that there is considerable variability in how individuals make such history meaningful to themselves. The latter brings out another notion of consumption—that individuals consume history. Which parts of history people imbibe, however, depend on connections with their experience, their own pasts and histories. In terms of pedagogy, we must be aware that objectivistic history often meets resistance, invites parody, or fosters disbelief. If one goal of teaching history is to foster belief in the nation-state, then a monological narrative might not be the best way to accomplish that goal. (History; Education; Nation)
How is Home, a Performance Autoethnography in Four Parts:

How Is Home,1 a Performance Autoethnography in Four Parts,2 is a contemplative, interpretive, account on the nature of home. It is a multiple-voiced work. The nature of the empiricism used in this ...
How to Think about Natural Kinds

In many scientific domains, the world constrains our taxonomy. We cannot approach phenomena using just any categories and expect to achieve predictive and practical success. Where our choice is strongly constrained, it is tempting to say that our categories correspond to structures in the world. I think it makes sense to use the label ‘natural kind’ to pick out such structures.
Now, where are those matches at the end of this tunnel?

The NHS is punch-drunk, lurching from crisis to crisis and poorly protected against the threat of a final flurry of knockout blows. Resources and funding consistently fail to keep pace with an inexorable increase in clinical demand; an imbalance severely compounded by a funding structure, designed in the 1940s, that patently cannot cope with the exigencies of the second decade of a new millennium. Blurred responsibilities between health and social care have resulted in overwhelmed emergency departments, inappropriate hospital referrals and bed shortages – and the rising tide of ‘black alerts’ should come as no surprise to anyone. Neither should the fact that morale among NHS personnel is now at an all-time low and we are faced with increasingly worrying deficits in staff recruitment and retention. The majority of hospital trusts and virtually all clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England are reported to be in dire financial straits, Simon Steven's 5-Year Forward Plan is now a 3-Year Forward Plan (having shown little sign of progression during the first 2 years of its existence) and the threat of industrial action by junior …
An exact anelastic model for the free-surface relfection of P and S-I waves

Abstract Exact anelastic solutions incorporating inhomogeneous waves are used to model numerically S -I and P waves incident on the free surface of a low-loss anelastic half-space. Anelastic free-surface reflection coefficients are computed for the volumetric strain and displacement components of inhomogeneous wave fields. For the problem of an incident homogeneous S -I wave in Pierre shale, the largest strain and displacement amplitudes for the reflected P wave occur at angles of incidence for which the particle motion for the reflected inhomogeneous P wave is elliptical (minor/major axis = 0.6), the specific absorption ( Q P −1 ) is greater (300 per cent) and the velocity is less (25 per cent) than those for a corresponding homogeneous P wave, the direction of phase propagation is not parallel to the free surface, and the amplitude of the wave shows a significant increase with depth (6 per cent in one wavelength). Energy reflection coefficients computed for this low-loss anelastic model show that energy flow due to interaction of the incident and reflected waves reach maxima (30 per cent of the incident energy) near large but nongrazing angles of incidence. For the problem of an incident homogeneous P wave in Pierre shale, the inhomogeneity of the reflected S wave is shown not to contribute to significant variations in wave field characteristics over those that would be expected for a homogeneous wave.
Comparison of the Alere i and BD Veritor Assays for the Rapid Detection of Influenza A and B Viruses.

Background: The use of point-of care testing (POCT) in patient management decisions is becoming increasingly common. Our goal was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of 2 commercially available rapid POCT devices for influenza viruses A and B: the Alere™ i Instrument (Alere, Scarborough) and the BD Veritor™ System (BD Diagnostics). Methods: Paired nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from patients (18–71 years) presenting with influenza-like symptoms at 3 outpatient clinics. A total of 65 samples were obtained. The Alere i and BD Veritor were performed according to the manufacturers9 instructions. Discordant results were resolved using real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). Results: In a head-to-head comparison involving symptomatic adult patients visiting outpatient clinics during the 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 influenza seasons, the Alere i and BD Veritor had 90.63% agreement in the detection of influenza A virus and a statistically significant observed κ coefficient of 0.754 (P Conclusions: Our data suggest that the Alere i has higher sensitivity and specificity than the BD Veritor in the detection of influenza A virus. Both assays showed equal performance in the detection of influenza B virus.
Climate variability affects the germination strategies exhibited by arid land plants

Spatial and temporal environmental variability can lead to variation in selection pressures across a landscape. Strategies for coping with environmental heterogeneity range from specialized phenotypic responses to a narrow range of conditions to generalist strategies that function under a range of conditions. Here, we ask how mean climate and climate variation at individual sites and across a species' range affect the specialist-generalist spectrum of germination strategies exhibited by 10 arid land forbs. We investigated these relationships using climate data for the western United States, occurrence records from herbaria, and germination trials with field-collected seeds, and predicted that generalist strategies would be most common in species that experience a high degree of climate variation or occur over a wide range of conditions. We used two metrics to describe variation in germination strategies: (a) selectivity (did seeds require specific cues to germinate?) and (b) population-level variation (did populations differ in their responses to germination cues?) in germination displayed by each species. Species exhibited distinct germination strategies, with some species demonstrating as much among-population variation as we observed among species. Modeling efforts suggested that generalist strategies evolve in response to higher spatial variation in actual evapotranspiration at a local scale and in available water in the spring and annual precipitation at a range-wide scale. Describing the conditions that lead to variation in early life-history traits is important for understanding the evolution of diversity in natural systems, as well as the possible responses of individual species to global climate change.