cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Autoimmune anti-DNA antibodies predict disease severity in COVID-19 patients

Abstract COVID-19 can lead to severe disease and death, however the mechanisms of pathogenesis in these patients remain poorly understood. High levels of autoimmune antibodies have been observed frequently in COVID-19 patients but their specific contribution to disease severity and clinical manifestations remain unknown. We performed a retrospective study of 115 COVID-19 hospitalized patients with different degrees of severity to analyze the generation of autoimmune antibodies to common antigens: a lysate of erythrocytes, the lipid phosphatidylserine (PS) and DNA. High levels of IgG autoantibodies against erythrocyte lysates were observed in a large percentage (up to 41%) of patients. Anti-DNA antibodies determined upon hospital admission correlated strongly with later development of severe disease, showing a positive predictive value of 89.5% and accounting for 22% of total severe cases. Statistical analysis identified strong correlations between anti-DNA antibodies and markers of cell injury, coagulation, neutrophil levels and erythrocyte size. Anti-DNA autoantibodies may play an important role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and could be developed as a predictive biomarker for disease severity and specific clinical manifestations.
Can High Current Density HTS Magnets be Quench Protected Using Methods Used to Protect High Current Density LTS Magnets

In the 1970s the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) was testing high current density magnets where the EJ2 limit was up to two orders of magnitude higher than the quench protection methods of the period would permit at the time. LBL was designing a high current density (J) thin solenoid with a large volume and stored energy (E). The accepted EJ2 limit at the time was ∼1023 J A2 m−4. In order to exceed the EJ2 limit by two orders of magnitude, one had to greatly increase the quench protection voltages (V) and magnet current (I). In 1977, LBL tested four quench protection methods on a 2-meter diameter high current density solenoid with a stored energy of 2 MJ. Three of these quench protection methods worked well, but the fourth didn't appear to work. These methods will be discussed as to whether they can be applied to HTS or MgB2 high current density magnets.
“Unity in Diversity”: Neopluralism, the ESA Model, and the Rise of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs

Most neopluralist studies consider how interest groups form in robust organizational environments, not during developmental periods such as the Progressive Era. In this article, we argue that neopl...
Combined Heart-Liver and Domino Liver Transplantation in Familial Amyloidosis.

BackgroundCombined heart-liver transplantation (CHLT) is the only curative option for patients with concomitant pathology affecting the heart and liver. In some cases, the native livers of familial...
Machine Learning in Process Operational Safety

In the previous chapters, Safeness Index-based MPCs and control Lyapunov-barrier function (CLBF)-based MPCs were developed with theoretical treatments of guaranteed process operational safety for nonlinear systems based on the assumption that an accurate first-principles model is available.
A hybrid expert system that combines technologies to address the problem of military terrain analysis

Abstract Terrain analysis in support of planned military training or combat operations is a task which requires considerable training, skill and experience. Military planners must synthesize knowledge of both their own and their expected adversary's tactics, weapons systems and probable courses of action with descriptions of the physical battlefield area to identify key terrain, those features in the environment which have the greatest potential to influence the outcome of military operations. Terrain analysis is the cornerstone activity during the “intelligence preparation of the battlefield”, an analytic process designed to reduce uncertainty, identify likely enemy courses of action, and help select the most favorable friendly course of action. Automated tools to assist in this process are now being constructed to support a variety of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programs. The tools rely on the combination of several concepts and techniques that have been developed within the artificial intelligence field. These include knowledge representation schemes, spatial reasoning techniques, autonomous agent planning methods, rule-based paradigms, and heuristic search strategies. While no single technique in isolation can fully solve the broad problems of military operations planning, their combination provides a synergy that results in a useful end product.
Compulsory Schooling Legislation and School Attendance in Turn-of-The-Century America: A

Recent research by Joshua Angrist and Alan Krueger has used information on exact dates of birth in the 1960 to 1980 federal censuses to study the impact of compulsory schooling laws on school attendance. This paper modifies their methodology to analyze similar data in the 1900 federal census to measure the impact of turn-of-the-century compulsory schooling laws. Using data on 14-year olds from the 1900 census public use microdata sample we compare attendance rates of children born after January 1, 1900 with those born before, across states with and without compulsory schooling laws. In states that combined school-leaving with child labor laws, we find that compulsion significantly raised attendance rates.
The Case Method and Science

Postscript: This was written as part of the Harvard Business School Leadership and Learning effort, a wide-ranging review and evaluation of the HBS curriculum. After submitting my earlier comments entitled Toughmindedness, Courage, and Change, to the HBS Curriculum Core Design Team, I had occasion to re-read Because Wisdom Can't Be Told, by Charles I. Gragg (1940). This discussion of learning and the role of the case method seems to serve as the basis of many of the ideas at HBS about learning. There is much in it that I agree with wholeheartedly. But there is a glaring omission that may be the source of some strain in our system over what the case method is, or should be. Gragg (1940, p. 3) defines the objective of the business school and case method as follows: The work of a graduate school of business consequently must be aimed at fitting students for administrative positions of importance. The qualities needed by business people in such positions are: the ability to see vividly the potential meanings and relationships of facts, both those facts having to do with persons and those having to do with things; capacity to make sound judgments on the basis of these perceptions; and skill in communicating their judgments to others so as to produce the desired results in the field of action. Business education, then, must be directed to developing in students these qualities of understanding, judgment, and communication leading to action. Gragg leaves out a critical part of what must be a theory of learning in the case or any other method: that is the criteria to be used in deciding what is correct, or in his words the criteria to be used in making sound judgments. I believe the answer to this is scientific method, the process by which we state our theories of cause and effect relationships and by which we test whether they actually describe the way the world behaves. As pointed out in my earlier paper, all purposeful behavior requires the use, either explicitly or implicitly, of theories that define the relation between actions and outcomes. Thus, I conclude there is no other answer to the criteria for use in making sound judgments other than science. This simple addition to the notion of the case method preserves all its motivational and learning advantages, while providing a clear criteria or process that has been tested for centuries for eliminating error. I think about the problem not as what the case method should be, but the problem of trying to discover the most effective ways to provide an environment in which students can learn. By learning, I mean a set of experiences that changes people's actions, gives them knowledge and behavior patterns that enable them to better run their lives (including their businesses), and to continue to learn outside of the classroom. This involves a theory of learning.
Flame Propagation and Growth to Detonation in Multiphase Flows

In this paper, we present a two-phase flow theory for the combustion of gas-permeable, reactive granular materials. In particular, we focus on the fundamental physical-chemical processes associated with the transition from deflagration to detonation in granular explosives and propellants. A numerical strategy, based on the method of fractional steps and flux-corrected transport (FCT), is discussed with the view toward multidimensional computations. Comparison of our results with experimental data for the explosive CP suggests that a thermodynamically consistent theory can describe the acceleration of the flame front in three (of the four) major flow regimes commonly observed; convective burning, compressive deflagration, and detonation.
Acetylcholinesterase activity in fast-twitch skeletal muscle from thyroidectomized rats.

Hypothyroidism is associated with muscle weakness and slowed movements Hormone-deficient muscles do show changes in contractile proteins and sacroplasmic calcium pumps, however effects on the components of the neuromuscular junction are less clear. In this study, we examined cholinesterase activity in adult fast-twitch muscle from hypothyroid and control rats. Male Holtzman rats underwent thyroidectomy and their age-matched euthyroid controls were simultaneously subjected to sham operation. Thirty days post-operative, animals were sacrificed for anterior tibialis muscles harvest. Muscle cholinesterase isoform activity was measured and compared between experimental treatment groups. Butryl-cholinesterase activities and peak I and III acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activities were similar in euthyroid and hypothyroid groups. However, hypothyroid muscles exhibited half the peak II AchE isoform (G4) activity, as compared to control muscles. Hypothyroidism specifically affects AchE isoform expression in rodent fa...
Message to the 21st Century

Since 1955, when I first became involved in the field, there has been much progress in geriatric psychiatry. I would like to add here some general, even philosophic, considerations to this very important discipline; I offer these as a series of messages to keep in mind as we approach the 21st century. While we pursue our specific interests as psychogeriamcians, we must also keep in mind these more general issues and work toward a philosophy of individual and societal aging and longevity, drawing on both Eastern and Western thought.
String processing techniques

The internal organization of string processing systems is discussed. Six techniques for data structures are presented and evaluated on the basis of: (1) creation of strings; (2) examination of strings; and (3) alteration of strings. Speed of operation, storage requirements, effect on paging, and programmer convenience are also considered. One of the techniques, single-word linked blocks, is used in an example demonstrating an implementation of a SNOBOL string processing language on an IBM System/360.
Lynching: American Mob Murder in Global Perspective. By Robert W. Thurston. (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2011. Pp. xiv, 427. $99.95.)

This book joins several recent, excellent additions to our understanding of the history of lynching. Unlike other students of the problem, however, Robert W. Thurston, a historian of Russia, offers...
Exercise-induced ventricular ectopy in children and young adults with complete heart block☆

Abstract Twenty-five children and young adults with complete heart block and 50 normal control subjects were maximally exercised on a treadmill and their electrocardiograms were analyzed for the presence and degree of ventricular ectopy activity. Sixty-eight % (17 of 25) of the heart block patients had significant ventricular ectopy (frequent unifocal ectopy or worse) on exercise compared to 2% (one of 50) of the controls (p = More severe ventricular ectopy was also seen in those patients with QRS prolongation (p =
Potent antagonists of somatostatin: synthesis and biology.

The search for synthetic analogues of somatostatin (SRIF) which exhibit selective affinities for the five known receptor subtypes (sst1-5) has generated a large number of potent agonist analogues. Many of these agonists display good subtype selectivities and affinities for the subtypes 2, 3, and 5, with very few selective for sst1 or sst4. Until the recent report by Bass and co-workers (Mol. Pharmacol. 1996, 50, 709−715; erratum, Mol. Pharmacol. 1997, 51, 170), no true antagonists had been discovered, let alone any displaying differential receptor subtype selectivity. In this present study, we explore the effect of this putative l5,d6 antagonist motif on various series of somatostatin agonist analogues, both linear and cyclic. It was found that many d5,l6 agonists could be converted into competitive antagonists by applying this motif, the most potent of which was H-Nal-cyclo[dCys-Pal-dTrp-Lys-Val-Cys]-Nal-NH2 (32). This antagonist was selective for hsst2 with an affinity of 75 nM and an IC50 of 15.1 nM ag...
Mental Health Care for Youth: Predictors of Use are not always the same as Predictors of Volume.

Abstract This study identifies determinants of adolescents’ propensity to use outpatient mental care as well as factors predicting number of visits after contact with a provider was made. We examined three types of treatment outlets: day treatment program (DTP), mental health clinic (MHC), and private specialty services (PSS). Among youth, 1.6% visited DTP, 2.3% visited MHC, and 11.1% had PSS, with overlaps in services utilization. Results from multivariable logistic regressions indicate that most of the individual characteristics differentiated youth on odds of using MHC and PSS, but not DTP. Health status, alcohol dependence, drug dependence, and problematic conduct behaviors and having Medicaid increased the odds of using all three services. Censored regressions used to model number of visits among service users found that girls consistently used more visits than boys. The results suggest that policies that encourage seeking help to a mental care provider may be in instances different from those aimed at motivating retention in treatment.
Right ventricular systolic pressure by echocardiography as a predictor of pulmonary hypertension in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Summary Rationale Pulmonary hypertension (PH) commonly complicates the course of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). It has a significant impact on outcomes and is, therefore, important to detect. Objectives We sought to characterize the accuracy and performance characteristics of the right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) as estimated by echocardiography (ECHO) alone and in conjunction with physiologic indices in predicting the presence of PH in IPF patients. Methods Cross-sectional study of IPF patients from two large tertiary centers in whom both ECHO and right-heart catheterization (RHC) were available. Measurements and main results There were 110 patients with available ECHOs and RHCs. Estimates of RVSP were reported in 60 of these patients (54.5%) of whom 22 (36.6%) had PH, while 16 of the 50 patients without RVSP estimate (32%) had PH. Twenty-four of 60 (40%) ECHOs accurately reflected the pulmonary arterial systolic pressure as measured by RHC. An optimal RVSP threshold for the screening of PH could not be detected. When assessed in combination with various thresholds of PFT and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) parameters, the performance characteristics of the RVSP were slightly improved. Conclusion The RVSP is not an accurate test for the assessment of PH in IPF patients. Awareness of the various combinations of threshold values for RVSP with and without PFT and 6MWT might nonetheless assist clinicians in risk stratifying IPF patients for the presence of PH.
Taking Aim at Business: What Factors Lead Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations to Target Particular Firms?

Although business and society scholars have sought to demonstrate that corporate social performance (CSP) leads to corporate financial performance (CFP), a complete model of the pathway from CSP to CFP has not been substantiated. One suggestion is that certain indicators of CSP are noticed by stakeholders, who then act in ways that ultimately affect the firm's CFP. The present study focused on the first step in this path: identifying the factors that initially lead a stakeholder group to target a particular firm. Existing theory from the literature on the environmental movement, stakeholder theory, and CSP fostered the development of eight propositions regarding corporate environmental performance. Case studies of five environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) are used to address the propositions. The case studies also supply additional insight into ENGO targeting of particular firms, unrelated to the propositions, thereby facilitating the development of a theoretical model.
A network approach for segmentation in intensity modulated arc therapy

We consider the approximation of a given m × n non-negative real matrix A by a weighted non-negative sum of binary matrices. Such approximation problems arise in intensity modulated arc therapy IMAT, an advanced form of radiotherapy for cancer. In that context, the binary matrices S i represent the ‘open’ positions for the radiation beamlets in a so-called aperture, and the corresponding weights denote the radiation intensity associated with the aperture. The weighted sum of apertures thus represents an approximation typically based on a small number of apertures to the ideal radiation distribution at a given angle given by the matrix A . The determination of an optimal approximation of this type for a limited number of S i ’s is termed a segmentation problem. The approximation problem considered here IMAT is a set of coupled segmentation problems with delivery constraints. The delivery constraints are mechanical and limit both the types of apertures that may be employed as well as the changes that may be made to apertures between successive angles as the radiation delivery equipment moves in sweeps along an arc around the patient. We present an effective heuristic algorithm using network optimization models to solve this IMAT optimization problem.
Associations Between Multiple Types of Stress and Disordered Eating Among Girls and Boys in Middle School

Stress is common during adolescence, yet no known studies have linked particular types of stress (performance, relationship, education, financial, and family) with disordered eating among adolescents in middle school. The present study investigated sex differences in types of stress and how multiple types of stress were associated with girls’ and boys’ body dissatisfaction, dieting behaviors, and bulimic symptoms. We found that girls reported higher levels of stress than boys and that different associations between stress and disordered eating existed for girls and boys. We also examined a path model for both sexes such that stress first led to body dissatisfaction, which then led to dieting and finally bulimic symptoms. Our model was supported for girls with performance, relationship, and family stress driving the process. For boys, all five types of stress were associated with body dissatisfaction, which was linked with dieting; however, the relation between dieting and bulimic symptoms was not significant. Future research and therapy should focus on the unique experiences of each sex in order to gain a better understanding of the processes involved in coping with stress and promoting healthy development.
Logistic Response of Bermudagrass and Bunchgrass Cultivars to Applied Nitrogen

Models provide a quantitative means to evaluate yield response of forage grasses to applied N and water availability. The objective of this analysis was to estimate model parameters (A, b, c) for bermudagrasses and bunchgrasses grown at the same location and during the same time period. The logistic equation was used to relate annual dry matter production to applied N for three bermudagrasses [Cynodon dactylon L., 'Coastal', 'Alicia', and 'Coastcross-1'] and four buncbgrasses [Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees, 'Morpa' and 'Renner' lovegrass; Panicum coloratum L., 'Selection-75' kleingrass, and Cenchrus ciliaris L., 'Strain 18-35' buffelgrass]. Data were from 4 yr ot field experiments at Stephenville, TX. Analysis of variance was used to show that the N coefficients b and c were independent of year and climate for each grass, in agreement with recently published results [...]
Community structure of Trichoptera in a mountain stream: spatial patterns of production and functional organization

SUMMARY. 1. Annual production was estimated for Trichoptera occurring in each of three distinct habitats of a mountain stream: bedrock-outcrops, riffles and pools. Production was greatest on bedrock-outcrops (2608 mg ash-free dry weight m−2), followed by riffles (1038) and pools (950). 2. Annual production in bedrock-outcrops and pools was dominated by single functional groups, with collector-filterers and shredders contributing 73% and 75% of the annual production, respectively. Production in riffles was due primarily to shredders (46%), followed by collector-filterers (27%). 3. Taking account of the amount of stream area occupied by each habitat type, total annual production was estimated at 1336 mg AFDW m−2. 53% of this production was attributable to four taxa: Parapsyche cardis Ross (25%), Pycnopsyche gentilis (MacLachlan) (10%), Neophylax mitchelli Carpenter (9%) and Rhyacophila nigrita Banks (9%). 4. Habitat-weighted production was distributed among functional groups as follows: collector-filterers (41%), shredders (29%), engulfing-predators (15%), scrapers (13%) and collector-gatherers (2%). 5. The distinct taxonomic and functional structures of trichopteran sub-communities were shaped by the distinct physical characteristics of their principal habitats. Bedrock-outcrops were characterized by low roughness and high current and were sites of low deposition or organic matter; thus the predominance of collector-filterers. In contrast, the other habitats of greater roughness (riffles) and/or lower current (pools) were sites of deposition of food (e.g. leaf litter) and greatest shredder production. 6. By distinguishing discrete mesoscale habitats, each with a functionally distinct caddisfly sub-community, we speculate that small mountain streams provided the diverse physical templates essential for the evolution of the major feeding tactics (e.g. scraping, shredding, filter-feeding) of the. Trichoptera.
Postnatal production of supporting cells in the chick cochlea.

Abstract The auditory receptor organ in birds, the basilar papilla, is mitotically active after acoustic overstimulation or pharmological insult and is capable of self-repair. The damaged epithelium is repopulated with new hair cells and supporting cells. The cell production that underlies this regenerative self-repair is believed to be a response evoked by damage in populations of cells that normally become mitotically quiescent even before hatching. In contrast, regeneration in the vertebrate nervous system is often correlated with continued or recent neurogenesis in the tissue concerned. The hypothesis that there may be ongoing postnatal production of cells in the normal avian basilar papilla was investigated. Autoradiographic analysis of tritiated-thymidine-injected animals was used to look for the existence of newly formed cells in the basilar papilla of normal posthatch chickens. Several types of supporting cells, namely, organ supporting cells, border cells and hyaline cells, are produced postnatally in the normal chicken. Typically, they are added interstitially to the apical (distal) half of the basilar papilla.
Synthesis, crystal structure and properties of (1,3-(bis(N-methylimidazolimine)propan-2-ol)Cu(II)•perchlorate

Abstract The synthesis, crystal structure and physical properties of a mononuclear Cu(II) complex of 1,3-bis(N-methylimidazolimine)propan-2-ol is described. The complex crystallizes in the triclinic space group P 1 with a = 11.343(5), b = 11.770(4), c = 8.452(2) A, α = 109.71(2)°, β = 91.25(2)°, γ = 98.24(3)°, V = 1048.4 A3 and Z = 2. The structure of the complex is a distorted square pyramid consisting of the N4 basal plane resulting from coordination of the 1,3-bis(N-methylimidazolimine)propan-2-ol ligand and a weak coordinated apical water molecule. The complex displays quasireversible electrochemical behavior in both aqueous and acetonitrile solutions. In addition, the complex has been studied by UV-Vis and EPR spectroscopies.
Public Payments for Environmental Services from Agriculture: Precedents and Possibilities

Agricultural market realities and the agrienvironmental aspirations of developed countries' governments have merged under political economic influences to create myriad programs that pay established agricultural producers for taking environmentally beneficial actions. Arrived at in piecemeal fashion under disparate driving forces, resultant schemes to pay for so-called "environmental services"' from agriculture satisfy neither economic nor bureaucratic efficiency criteria. This article briefly reviews the major characteristics of past and current public agrienvironmental payment programs, outlines problems with these precedents, especially those arising as scientific advancement allows finer designation of multiple environmental services, and proposes future program decision-making possibilities that would better approximate market-like equilibria for public good environmental services from agriculture.
Rod pathways in the retina of the cat

Neurons involved in the transfer of rod signals to the ganglion cells in the retina of the cat have been recorded from and stained with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and their synaptic connections determined by electron microscopy. The single morphological type of rod bipolar cell responds with a sustained hyperpolarization to light and in turn drives at least five morphologically different types of amacrine cells, each of which has a unique response pattern. Two amacrines respond with either a transient (AII) or a sustained (A17) depolarization to light, while three amacrines give transient (A8) or sustained (A6, A13) hyperpolarizations. Circuitry whereby rod signals reach both on-centre and off-centre ganglion cells is discussed.
Class and Politics in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives: The Twenty-First Annual North American Labor History Conference

The twenty-first annual North American Labor History Conference took place in Detroit, Michigan, at Wayne State University on October 21–23, 1999. Within the conference's overarching theme of “Class and Politics in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives,” panels addressed subjects as varied as labor in postwar Japan, masculinity and class formation, the impact of deindustrialization on class consciousness, migration and citizenship, and US labor law in the late eighteenth century.
Sample size formulae for two-stage randomized trials with survival outcomes.

Two-stage randomized trials are growing in importance in developing adaptive treatment strategies, i.e. treatment policies or dynamic treatment regimes. Usually, the first stage involves randomization to one of the several initial treatments. The second stage of treatment begins when an early nonresponse criterion or response criterion is met. In the second-stage, nonresponding subjects are re-randomized among second-stage treatments. Sample size calculations for planning these two-stage randomized trials with failure time outcomes are challenging because the variances of common test statistics depend in a complex manner on the joint distribution of time to the early nonresponse criterion or response criterion and the primary failure time outcome. We produce simple, albeit conservative, sample size formulae by using upper bounds on the variances. The resulting formulae only require the working assumptions needed to size a standard single-stage randomized trial and, in common settings, are only mildly conservative. These sample size formulae are based on either a weighted Kaplan–Meier estimator of survival probabilities at a fixed time-point or a weighted version of the log-rank test.
Hostile work environment.com: increasing participation of underrepresented groups, lessons learned from the dot-com era

Data is presented from three cases studies of three small IT-focused businesses that were created and failed within the context of the Dot-Com era (1996-2001). This era can be characterized as a time in which the IT industry was facing an acute shortage of employees and yet, as the analysis shows, chose to create a culture that hired a gender, racially, ethnically, and culturally homogeneous workforce. From evidence drawn from interviews, observations, self-reported organizational charts and time diaries, I argue that the organizational cultures, created by the owners and managers of these three companies, made it nearly impossible for female employees to be hired trained and retained.. I also claim that once a small number of female employees were hired, the organizational culture made the work environment so hostile, it drove these employees to leave and seek alternative employment. The owners and managers of these three IT companies used the myths that were readily available in the wider American culture of the time to construct an organizational culture that would motivate and manipulate their employees. This culture may have satisfied the immediate needs of the Dot Com industry but were disastrous for traditional protectionist measures that protected women in the workforce, recruited and retained women in the workforce, and make the IT workplace hospitable to a variety of people, including women. The conclusions that I draw from this case study are that in the case of this business, the Dot-Com Bubble did more to impede entrance to women into the IT workforce than to facilitate it.
Middle Jurassic terrane accretion along the western edge of the Intermontane superterrane, southwestern British Columbia

Two small lower Mesozoic terranes, the Bridge River and Cadwallader, lie along the southwestern margin of the Intermontane superterrane and represent fragments of a volcanic arc and marginal basin that bordered North America in the early Mesozoic. During Middle Jurassic time, these terranes were juxtaposed and deformed. This event was synchronous with deformation in northern and central British Columbia, and it probably records accretion of the Cadwallader and Stikine volcanic arcs against Quesnellia during closure of the Bridge River-Cache Creek ocean basin.
Optical-model analysis of elastic deuteron scattering

Abstract An optical-model search code has been used to find complex potentials fitting measured (d, d) cross sections at 11–12 MeV, for targets ranging from Ar to Sn. Excellent fits can be found in most cases. Often several distinctly different potentials yield good fits to the same data. Successful solutions for the same target are compared in terms of their potentials, and in terms of their theoretical scattering cross sections, reaction cross sections and phase shifts. Successful solutions for different targets are compared in these ways, also.
New Technologies in Rectal Cancer Management

There are approximately 40,000 rectal cancers diagnosed each year. Transrectal ultrasound has become a standard in the evaluation and staging of these primary tumors. In addition, between 25-35% of patients undergoing traditional operative procedures will develop local recurrence and these recurrences are difficult to detect. While endorectal ultrasound (ERUS) currently provides the preferred method of staging rectal cancers, it remains user dependent and for those surgeons without the ability to perform ERUS often difficult to interpret still images. Image-guided surgery (IGS) is a field of technologies that use localized or tracked instruments (e.g. probes, endoscopes, or RF ablators) and preoperative images (CT, MRI, US, PET) to actively guide the therapy delivered to a patient. This is accomplished by finding the relationship between the space of the patient and the space of an image (registration). A mathematical formula accomplishes this goal and the results are displayed on a computer with real-time updates. The surgeon visualizes the instrumentation overlaid onto the appropriate tomographic slice. This article presents a review of the status of ERUS and the principles to develop a practical interactive image-guided system for use in endorectal ultrasound. The long term goal of this research plan is to develop a tracked ERUS system that will allow for the reconstruction and display of tomographic slices from ultrasound data and inter exam and inter modality (TRUS to CT, MRI, PET) comparison with TRUS.
Orthogonal polynomials and Padé approximants for reciprocal polynomial weights

Abstract Let Γ be a closed oriented contour on the Riemann sphere. Let E and F be polynomials of degree n + 1 , with zeros respectively on the positive and negative sides of Γ . We compute the [ n / n ] and [ n − 1 / n ] Pade denominators at ∞ to f ( z ) = ∫ Γ 1 z − t d t E ( t ) F ( t ) . As a consequence, we compute the n th orthogonal polynomial for the weight 1 / ( E F ) . In particular, when Γ is the unit circle, this leads to an explicit formula for the Hermitian orthogonal polynomial of degree n for the weight 1 / | F | 2 . This complements the classical Bernstein–Szegő formula for the orthogonal polynomials of degree ≥ n + 1 .
Nepal and Bhutan in 2009: Transition Travails?

Democratic transitions in Nepal and Bhutan ran into challenges in 2009. The integration of Maoist combatants, polarization among political parties, increasing ethnic assertion, and mushrooming armed groups have delayed constitution writing in Nepal and led to political instability. In Bhutan, societal assertion against limited rights and discrimination is increasing.
A review of the classification, diagnosis, and management of autonomic dysfunction syndromes associated with orthostatic intolerance

Syncope, the transient loss of consciousness and postural tone, is one of the oldest of recorded medical problems. Indeed, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, recorded the first description of syncope, and it is from the Greek that we derive the medical term for fainting (syncoptein to cut short). Both a sign and a syndrome, syncope may result from a wide variety of causes. Over the last decade, considerable attention has been focused on one particular cause of syncope, the phenomenon previously called vasovagal syncope. Research into the nature of this disorder has demonstrated that it is only one aspect of a much broader group of disturbances of the autonomic nervous system that may lead to hypotension, orthostatic intolerance, and ultimately syncope. Indeed, recent discoveries have caused us to reevaluate our entire classification of autonomic disorders, and to develop a new system that better reflects our current knowledge. Because it is the cardiologist and the clinical cardiac electrophysiologist who are now frequently called upon to recognize and treat these disorders, this review is designed to acquaint the reader with these conditions, their diagnosis, and management.
The motive for support and the identification of responsive partners

Abstract To obtain support from others, a person must first identify responsive partners. One strategy for doing so is to use indicators of responsive partners. We argue that a person with a strong motive for support should rate all indicators highly useful—the “Elevated Motives Effect.” Study 1 confirmed this hypothesis by correlating participants’ total ratings with existing measures of motive strength. Study 2 applied the Elevated Motives Effect to demonstrate that motive strength (in interaction with knowledge of indicators) predicts performance on a laboratory task in which participants evaluated a person: Superior knowledge led to superior performance only when motive strength was high. Study 3, an experience-sampling study, showed that in everyday life, motivated people more often seek support from others when distressed.
Semiconductor optical amplifier based nonlinear optical loop mirror with feedback: two modes of operation at high switching rates

We describe the operating conditions under which a semiconductor optical amplifier based nonlinear loop mirror with optical feedback can have two stable modes of operation at switching rates faster than the gain recovery rate of the semiconductor optical amplifier. It can act either as an all-optical circulating shift register with inverter or as an all-optical clock divider, depending on the relative timing of the switching pulses.
Gospel Narrative and Critical Theory

Five modes of reading the gospel narratives are organized around the construction, or deconstruction, of meaning: meanings-as-reference in the historical, theological reading; meaning-as-narrative in the literary, formalist interpretation; meaning-as-consciousness according to receptionist aesthetics; meaning-as-system in structuralism; and meaning-as-deferment in postmodernism. The purpose of this critical inventory goes beyond matters of method, for more is involved in these approaches than methodological correctness, let alone purity. Each mode of reading is informed by certain epistemological and theological claims, and different modes of reading are bound up with differing, and often competing, assumptions. In short, each reading constitutes interpretation from a different theoretical perspective. What is offered here is a hermeneutical slice of our recent history of reading the gospel narratives.
Organic−Organometallic Crystal Engineering: Novel Formation of a Honeycomb Supramolecular Architecture of [Re2(μ-OMe)3(CO)6]- Anions Encapsulating a Linear H-Bonded Chain of [DABCO-H]+ Cations

The title salt [Re2(μ-OMe)3(CO)6]-[DABCO-H]+ (1) was prepared as colorless prismatic crystals by the reaction of DABCO with Re(CO)5(OTf) in refluxing methanol solution and was characterized by spectroscopic means including single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. The molecular structure of 1 revealed that a novel honeycomb supramolecular architecture of the anionic organometallic complex created a cavity with an effective diameter of 7.450(3) A that houses a linear H-bonded chain of [DABCO-H]+ in its center. This structure also represents the first example of the use of a linear chain of [DABCO-H]+ species as a countercation for a coordination compound.
High-speed graphene transistors with a self-aligned nanowire gate

Graphene has attracted considerable interest as a potential new electronic material. With its high carrier mobility, graphene is of particular interest for ultrahigh-speed radio-frequency electronics. However, conventional device fabrication processes cannot readily be applied to produce high-speed graphene transistors because they often introduce significant defects into the monolayer of carbon lattices and severely degrade the device performance. Here we report an approach to the fabrication of high-speed graphene transistors with a self-aligned nanowire gate to prevent such degradation. A Co(2)Si-Al(2)O(3) core-shell nanowire is used as the gate, with the source and drain electrodes defined through a self-alignment process and the channel length defined by the nanowire diameter. The physical assembly of the nanowire gate preserves the high carrier mobility in graphene, and the self-alignment process ensures that the edges of the source, drain and gate electrodes are automatically and precisely positioned so that no overlapping or significant gaps exist between these electrodes, thus minimizing access resistance. It therefore allows for transistor performance not previously possible. Graphene transistors with a channel length as low as 140 nm have been fabricated with the highest scaled on-current (3.32 mA μm(-1)) and transconductance (1.27 mS μm(-1)) reported so far. Significantly, on-chip microwave measurements demonstrate that the self-aligned devices have a high intrinsic cut-off (transit) frequency of f(T) = 100-300 GHz, with the extrinsic f(T) (in the range of a few gigahertz) largely limited by parasitic pad capacitance. The reported intrinsic f(T) of the graphene transistors is comparable to that of the very best high-electron-mobility transistors with similar gate lengths.
Evolution of diagnostic and interventional cardiac electrophysiology: a brief historical review

The field of clinical cardiac electrophysiology has evolved dramatically over the last 30 years, beginning with description of the first His bundle recording in 1969. Subsequently, in the early 1970s, more sophisticated diagnostic electrophysiologic techniques were developed to diagnose and guide drug treatment of arrhythmias. These diagnostic techniques were further advanced during the late 1970s and 1980s to electrically map arrhythmias and guide their surgical ablation. Surgical treatments of both supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias proliferated in the 1970s and 1980s, with overall excellent results. However, because of the morbidity and mortality associated with arrhythmia surgery, it was ultimately replaced in the 1990s by radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) for treatment of most forms of supraventricular tachycardia and idiopathic ventricular tachycardia, and by the automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for treatment of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias associated with coronary artery disease and dilated cardiomyopathy. At present, the only arrhythmias that cannot be reliably and safely cured by RFCA are chronic atrial fibrillation and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. For chronic atrial fibrillation, new catheter designs are being developed to create linear ablation lines mimicking the curative MAZE operation. For life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, the ICD has been increasingly utilized as transvenous lead systems and smaller devices have been developed. In the next millennium, new developments that may be expected for treatment of atrial fibrillation and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias include catheter systems for linear RFCA of atrial fibrillation, ICDs for both atrial and ventricular defibrillation, and biventricular pacing ICDs for patients with congestive heart failure.
Acute bleeding and thrombocytopenia after bone marrow transplantation

The relationship between hemorrhage and low platelet count was first established in patients with acute leukemia, and has been widely applied to thrombocytopenic patients, including BMT patients. Yet, the role of thrombocytopenia in bleeding post BMT has not been systematically studied. We evaluated the risk of bleeding and outcome associated with thrombocytopenia in BMT patients who had prophylactic platelet transfusions at a trigger of 20 x 10(9)/l. Thrombocytopenia was investigated in 321 patients with moderate or severe bleeding (BLD), and in a matched comparison group of 287 patients who did not bleed (NBLD). Profound thrombocytopenia ( 20 x 10(9)/l in 66.1% of all episodes. Overall survival in BLD patients was not associated with the severity of thrombocytopenia before bleeding onset. Severity of thrombocytopenia was significantly associated with reduced survival in NBLD patients. We concluded that bleeding post BMT was significantly associated with thrombocytopenia, but the attributable risk of bleeding from profound thrombocytopenia was not large. Thrombocytopenia may be an important clinical sign in NBLD patients, and should be further explored in relation to acute toxicities other than bleeding.
An Empirical Study of MAX-2-SAT Phase Transitions

Abstract The decision version of the maximum satisfiability problem (MAX-SAT) is stated as follows: Given a set S of propositional clauses and an integer g, decide if there exists a truth assignment that falsifies at most g clauses in S, where g is called the allowance for false clauses. We conduct an extensive experiment on over a million of random instances of 2-SAT and identify statistically the relationship between g, n (number of variables) and m (number of clauses). In our experiment, we apply an efficient decision procedure based on the branch-and-bound method. The statistical data of the experiment confirm not only the “scaling window” of MAX-2-SAT discovered by Chayes, Kim and Borgs, but also the recent results of Coppersmith et al. While there is no easy-hard-easy pattern for the complexity of 2-SAT at the phase transition, we show that there is such a pattern for the decision problem of MAX-2-SAT associated with the phase transition. We also identify that the hardest problems are among those with high allowance for false clauses but low number of clauses.
Influence of metformin on glucose intolerance and muscle catabolism following severe burn injury.

Summary Background Data: Hyperglycemia and accelerated muscle catabolism have been shown to adversely affect immune response and survival. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of metformin on glucose kinetics and muscle protein metabolism in severely burned patients and assess any potential benefit of metformin in this clinical setting.
Reconstitution of detergent-solubilized Na,K-ATPase and formation of two-dimensional crystals.

Abstract Very pure, detergent-solubilized Na,K-ATPase from dog or lamb kidneys has been successfully reconstituted at high protein-to-lipid weight ratios. Studies have been conducted to establish the orientation of the Na,K-ATPase molecules in the reconstituted membranes and to assess the functional activity and the conformational state of the reconstituted enzyme. Results indicate that reincorporation of the Na,K-ATPase molecules in the lipid bilayer is unidirectional and that the reconstituted enzyme retains its functional and structural integrity. Two-dimensional crystals have been induced in these preparations by vanadate ions. The arrays, with a dimeric structure in the unit cell, have a morphology similar to that of the crystals that had previously formed in the native membranes. Filtered images show that in projection, the molecule had an asymmetrical mass distribution, which at the resolution of 2.5 nm is identical to that of the earlier crystals. These sheets, although small, represent the first crystals of Na,K-ATPase to be formed by reconstitution. We expect that optimization of the reconstitution and crystallization parameters will lead to larger and better-ordered sheets, suitable for electron crystallography.
Managers and Consulting: A Total Quality Perspective

A total quality approach to management development must understand that managerial reliance on formal authority is no longer a sufficient basis for effectiveness. The primary weapon of competition has become the manager′s ability to gain access to and mobilize the knowledge dispersed in his organization. Total quality means that we recognize that managers are inexorably being driven towards consulting relationships. If managers are to be effective, they must understand the characteristics of the consulting relationship. They must understand its levels and phases, and must master its skills. Highlights the importance of the consulting relationship in a total quality approach to the future development of managers. Presents a model of the consulting relationship and examines several issues which should be considered in a total quality approach to developing a manager′s consulting skills.