cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Professionalism and the Art of Patient-Centric Thyroidology

The observations of these medical luminaries occurred at a time when the science of medicine was relatively embryonic. Drs. Osler and Mayo surely could not have foreseen the rapid march of medical science that occurred in the latter half of the twentieth century. They understood however that if patients were to fully benefit from advancing knowledge, both the art and science must together be applied. The discipline of endocrinology has been in the forefront of advancing scientific knowledge resulting in modern clinical endocrine practice being firmly established on a sound scientific footing. The discipline of thyroidology has progressed in tandem resulting in new insights into the genetic and biological basis of disease and in the widespread availability of highly reliable and precise laboratory tests and imaging procedures. The natural history of many thyroid disorders has been defined, and the development and publication of evidence-based practice guidelines have equipped clinicians everywhere with the tools and knowledge that promote good practice and better clinical outcomes.
Roughly Equivalent Lipids in a Middle-Aged Obese Man at Risk for Coronary Disease

A 57-year-old, divorced, optical products salesman presents for endocrine consultation seeking treatment for morbid obesity. He is currently on no medication. He did, however, have a high coronary calcium score at a screening clinic and is concerned about both his cholesterol and whether he is at risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). Family history showed that his father died at age 65 of a myocardial infarction. His mother is alive and well. He has one sister who is under treatment for hyperlipidemia, but her exact diagnosis is unknown. He also has a brother who has no known hyperlipidemia. His past medical history was negative for significant illness, except as stated above. The social history showed that the patient was married and has one son, but the lipid status of his 18-year-old son is unknown. The review of systems was virtually asymptomatic except for shortness of breath on exertion. His examination showed: height 5’6”, weight 279 pounds, body mass index (BMI) 45, blood pressure 130/80, pulse 80 and regular. Except for the morbid obesity, the physical exam was essentially within normal limits. There were no
A paradigm for human chronic osteomyelitis

The inoculation of Staphylococcus aureus into the tibial marrow cavity of rabbits following tibial fracture and rod insertion, as well as into the rodded tibia without fracture, results in chronic staphylococcal osteomyelitis in a high percentage of the animals. Staphylococci were easily recovered from the tibial marrow cavity for as long as eighteen months after onset of the infection. This model closely resembles the human disease in which chronic osteomyelitis develops as a complication of internal fixation devices, and provides a reliable method for evaluating various specific approaches to the treatment of this difficult problem in management.
Magnetotransport study of (Sb1−xBix)2Te3 thin films on mica substrate for ideal topological insulator

We deposited high quality (Sb1−xBix)2Te3 on mica substrate by molecular beam epitaxy and investigated their magnetotransport properties. It is found that the average surface roughness of thin films is lower than 2 nm. Moreover, a local maxima on the sheet resistance is obtained with x = 0.043, indicating a minimization of bulk conductivity at this composition. For (Sb0.957Bi0.043)2Te3, weak antilocalization with coefficient of -0.43 is observed, confirming the existence of 2D surface states. Moreover Shubnikov-de Hass oscillation behavior occurs under high magnetic field. The 2D carrier density is then determined as 0.81 × 1016 m−2, which is lower than that of most TIs reported previously, indicating that (Sb0.957Bi0.043)2Te3 is close to ideal TI composition of which the Dirac point and Fermi surface cross within the bulk bandgap. Our results thus demonstrate the best estimated composition for ideal TI is close to (Sb0.957Bi0.043)2Te3 and will be helpful for designing TI-based devices.
Development and Preliminary Validation of a 50th Percentile Pedestrian Finite Element Model

Pedestrians represent one of the most vulnerable road users and comprise nearly 22% of the road crash related fatalities in the world. Therefore, protection of pedestrians in the car-to-pedestrian collisions (CPC) has recently generated increased attention with regulations which involve three subsystem tests for adult pedestrian protection (leg, thigh and head impact tests). The development of a finite element (FE) pedestrian model could be a better alternative that characterizes the whole-body response of vehicle–pedestrian interactions and assesses the pedestrian injuries. The main goal of this study was to develop and to preliminarily validate a FE model corresponding to a 50th male pedestrian in standing posture. The FE model mesh and defined material properties are based on the Global Human Body Modeling (GHBMC) 50th percentile male occupant model. The lower limb-pelvis and lumbar spine regions of the human model were preliminarily validated against the post mortem human surrogate (PMHS) test data recorded in four-point lateral knee bending tests, pelvic impact tests, and lumbar spine bending tests. Then, pedestrian-to-vehicle impact simulations were performed using the whole pedestrian model and the results were compared to corresponding pedestrian PMHS tests. Overall, the preliminary simulation results showed that lower leg response is close to the upper boundaries of PMHS corridors. The pedestrian kinematics predicted by the model was also in the overall range of test data obtained with PMHS with various anthropometries. In addition, the model shows capability to predict the most common injuries observed in pedestrian accidents. Generally, the validated pedestrian model may be used by safety researchers in the design of front ends of new vehicles in order to increase pedestrian protection.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Assessment of the Vehicle Level Impact for a SOFC Integrated With the Power and Thermal Management System of an Air Vehicle

The demand for electrical power onboard aerospace vehicles continues to grow at an accelerating pace. Accompanied with the electrical power is the increase in thermal demands for removing the low quality waste heat from the electrical components and advanced electronics. The increase in thermal demands onboard an aircraft dramatically impact the capability and performance of the air vehicle due to the low coefficients of performance (COP) of aerospace refrigeration systems. The low COP means the system requires a significant amount of work to lift the thermal waste from the aircraft subsystems. This leads to significant demands on the propulsion system and the power and thermal management systems creating a cycle of diminishing returns, which leads to inefficiency and limited capability of future air vehicles. Alternative components and configurations have the potential to increase the efficiency of the power and thermal management system reducing the overall negative impact on air vehicles’ efficiency and capabilities. A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) integrated with the power and thermal management system has been investigated. The vehicle level impact of this novel configuration has been assessed along with the dynamic behavior of the SOFC when integrated into these systems. The results provide insight into the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed system.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
NATURAL HISTORY OF CERVICAL ARTERY FIBROMUSCULAR DYSPLASIA AND ASSOCIATED NEUROVASCULAR EVENTS

Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is a non-atherosclerotic, non-inflammatory arteriopathy that most often affects the carotid and renal arteries. In the US Registry for FMD an aneurysm was identified in 21.7% and dissection in 25.7% of patients before or at FMD diagnosis. Occurrence of vascular events
Linking Customer Service Orientation to Competitive Performance: Does the Marketing Concept Really Work?

The operation of all business enterprises is guided by some overriding, decision-making philosophy. In today’s market a "customer orientation" philosophy has been widely adopted. This philosophy can be operationalized as the marketing concept. However, the marketing concept’s link to actual business performance has received little empirical verification. This study compares 188 manufucturing firms grouped by level of customer service orientation. The results of a mailed questionnaire show that firms reporting a high level of customer service outperform low level service firms on ten of twelve measures of operational and financial performance. These findings empirically demonstrate a positive linkage between a customer-service-driven market orientation and superior performance in business operations.
Relationship Between Intermittent Separation and Vortex Structure in a Three-Dimensional Shock/Boundary-Layer Interaction

The relationship between the three-dimensional vortex structures and flow-separation zones generated by a shock wave/boundary-layer interaction within a low-aspect-ratio duct was studied using stereoscopic particle imaging velocimetry measurements. In this configuration, the interaction of the incident shock with all walls was important in controlling the flowfield; the three interactions coupled to produce a strongly distorted flowfield. Conditional sampling was used to construct the local probability of reverse flow maps, and thus quantify the distribution of regions of intermittent separation on both bottom-walls and side-walls. The latter regions were found to be significantly larger and more likely to separate than the former. Thus, it was concluded that the sidewall and corner flow interactions dominate in this configuration. A triple decomposition of motion was used to construct a three-dimensional representation of the vortex features generated by the interaction. The results indicated that the fl...
RoboMirror: Simulating a mirror with a robotic camera

Simulated mirror display systems (SMDs) provide augmented rendering of mirror images. Many SMDs use multiple static cameras to create viewpoint-dependent rendering. Unfortunately, the quality of the rendering around the face of the viewer is typically poor due to visual distortion from warping and camera view misalignment. We propose the RoboMirror SMD to provide high-quality mirror rendering of the frontal face by using a robotic camera to track the viewer's head. An inclined one-way mirror allows the viewer's face to be captured by the robotic camera, and reflects the output from a projector to the viewer. Novel mirror calibration and depth-based image warping are proposed to produce an accurate mirror rendering of all objects based on the perspective of the viewer. To compensate for the blockage of light by the oneway mirror, a channel-equalization based contrast enhancement scheme is proposed that outperforms other image enhancement schemes for this system.
Multiple-vs Non-or Single-Imputation Based Fuzzy Clustering for Incomplete Longitudinal Behavioral Intervention Data

Disentangling patients' behavioral variations is acritical step for better understanding an intervention's effects onindividual outcomes. Missing data commonly exist in longitudinalbehavioral intervention studies. Multiple imputation (MI) hasbeen well studied for missing data analyses in the statistical field, however, has not yet been scrutinized for clustering or unsupervisedlearning, which are important techniques for explainingthe heterogeneity of treatment effects. Built upon previous workon MI fuzzy clustering, this paper theoretically, empirically andnumerically demonstrate how MI-based approach can reducethe uncertainty of clustering accuracy in comparison to nonandsingle-imputation based clustering approach. This paper advancesour understanding of the utility and strength of multipleimputation(MI) based fuzzy clustering approach to processingincomplete longitudinal behavioral intervention data.
An Elementary Algorithm for Autonomous Air Terminal Merging and Interval Management

A central element of air traffic management is the safe merging and spacing of aircraft during the terminal area flight phase. This paper derives and examines an algorithm for the merging and interval managing problem for Standard Terminal Arrival Routes. It describes a factor analysis for performance based on the distribution of arrivals, the operating period of the terminal, and the topology of the arrival routes; then presents results from a performance analysis and from a safety analysis for a realistic topology based on typical routes for a runway at Phoenix International Airport. The heart of the safety analysis is a statistical derivation on how to conduct a safety analysis for a local simulation when the safety requirement is given for the entire airspace.
Strengthening by Stiffening: Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Configuration Effects on Behavior of Shear-Deficient Steel Beams

AbstractRestoring the capacity of deficient structural members to meet original design requirements or new higher demands is common. For that purpose, research efforts to use composite materials in...
Index of Suspicion in the Nursery

A 3-week-old white male infant presents to the emergency department for evaluation of extensive facial dermatitis. He was born by vaginal delivery at 39 weeks’ gestation to a 27-year-old primigravid woman who had an uncomplicated pregnancy. The maternal prenatal screening results were negative. Apgar scores were 9 at 1, 5, and 10 minutes, and no blisters were noted either at birth or in the immediate perinatal period. His birthweight was 3.6 kg. He is being fed standard cow milk formula and has good weight gain. Three days ago, he developed perioral redness, which has progressed to involve the entire face. He had been fussy since the onset of the rash but has remained active, has been feeding well, and has had normal urination and stooling. He has had no fevers or other symptoms and is not taking any medications. There is no family history of blistering or other dermatologic disease, and the infant has had no sick contacts. On physical examination, the infant's weight, height, and head circumference are at the 50th percentile. His temperature is 101.3°F (38.5°C), pulse is 120 beats/min, respiratory rate is 30 breaths/min, and blood pressure is 90/40 mm Hg. Skin examination reveals diffuse erythema, desquamation, fissuring and honey crusting in the perioral and cheek areas (Fig. 1). Fine desquamation also is apparent in the flexural areas, namely, the axillae (Fig. 2), groin, and gluteal cleft (Fig. 3). He has several intact flaccid bullae on the hands (Fig. 4). He has conjunctival mucus discharge without conjunctival injection but no intraoral lesions. His cardiac, respiratory, abdominal, genitourinary, and neurologic examination results are normal. Figure 1. Fissuring and honey crusting in the perioral and cheek areas. Figure 2. Desquamation in the axilla. Figure 3. Desquamation in the gluteal cleft. Figure 4. Erythema and flaccid bullae on the hands and fingers. Results of laboratory tests include hemoglobin …
“All the System is Simply a Soap Bubble”: Legal Help-Seeking for Domestic Violence Among Women in Kyrgyzstan

This paper examines limitations in how law enforcement and public health systems respond to domestic violence in Kyrgyzstan. Findings from interviews with domestic violence victims show that these women are subject to ineffectual practices and negative attitudes that tend to minimize domestic abuse and disempower victims. The findings reveal several problematic issues: inconsistencies in the implementation of the law, impunity for abusers because of both personal attitudes and social affinities between the police and abusers, ineffective enforcement of protective orders, and superficial processing of domestic violence cases by the legal system. Additional barriers to help-seeking include a lack of institutional support and guidelines for offering mental health services for victims as well as a scarcity of housing, childcare, and employment opportunities for women seeking to break the cycle of abuse. The findings underscore the need for society-wide changes in attitudes toward domestic violence, stricter mechanisms for enforcing the law, and mandatory training for service providers to facilitate the provision of more accessible and affirmative support to victims.
Modeling inductance and quality factor of integrated spiral inductors on low-loss substrates up to 5 GHz

We present an inductor model that takes into account current density variation in all three dimensions of the trace conductor, particularly targeted for high performance passives on low-loss substrates. By generating multivariate polynomial surrogate models of the model parameters, accurate prediction of inductance and quality factor up to 5 GHz is achieved when loss is dominated by metal losses and conductor current density is highly non-uniform in all dimensions. Compared to full-wave simulation, model-predicted inductance is within 12% error and predicted quality factor within 13% error for 96–98% of geometries. The model predicts frequency-dependent inductance and quality factor in the order of 100 ms.
Structure of an ancient respiratory system

Summary Hydrogen gas-evolving membrane-bound hydrogenase (MBH) and quinone-reducing complex I are homologous respiratory complexes with a common ancestor, but a structural basis for their evolutionary relationship is lacking. Here, we report the cryo-EM structure of a 14-subunit MBH from the hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus. MBH contains a membrane-anchored hydrogenase module that is highly similar structurally to the quinone-binding Q-module of complex I while its membrane-embedded ion-translocation module can be divided into a H+- and a Na+-translocating unit. The H+-translocating unit is rotated 180° in-membrane with respect to its counterpart in complex I, leading to distinctive architectures for the two respiratory systems despite their largely conserved proton-pumping mechanisms. The Na+-translocating unit, absent in complex I, resembles that found in the Mrp H+/Na+ antiporter and enables hydrogen gas evolution by MBH to establish a Na+ gradient for ATP synthesis near 100°C. MBH also provides insights into Mrp structure and evolution of MBH-based respiratory enzymes.
Histoplasma meets Crohn’s disease: a rare case of new-onset ascites

A 53-year-old man with Crohn’s disease treated with adalimumab was hospitalised with abdominal pain, fatigue, fever and chills. CT scan of the abdomen showed chronic thickening of the terminal ileum and cecum and new-onset ascites. Further studies revealed weakly positive urine and serum histoplasma antigen. Laparoscopy revealed metastatic caking of the omentum and abdominal wall; peritoneal biopsy demonstrated organisms morphologically consistent with Histoplasma capsulatum. No dissemination outside of the peritoneal cavity was evident. The patient completed 2 weeks of liposomal amphotericin B followed by oral itraconazole for 1 year. Adalimumab therapy was held for 10 weeks, then restarted. Presenting symptoms resolved following initiation of antifungal therapy. Follow-up MRI of his abdomen demonstrated resolution of ascites. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of histoplasmosis presenting as peritonitis in a patient with Crohn’s disease receiving antitumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) therapy. Many clinicians are aware that patients receiving anti-TNF-α therapy are at increased risk for histoplasmosis, but may fail to consider the diagnosis in the absence of lung involvement.
Surviving loss and remaking the world: Reflections on the singular universal in a West African setting

As an ethnographer, I am obliged to reflect on the philosophical implications of my work to the same extent that I assume that any productive engagement with the human condition necessarily involve...
RNA element discovery from germ cell to blastocyst

Recent studies have shown that tissue-specific transcriptomes contain multiple types of RNAs that are transcribed from intronic and intergenic sequences. The current study presents a tool for the discovery of transcribed, unannotated sequence elements from RNA-seq libraries. This RNA Element (RE) discovery algorithm (REDa) was applied to a spectrum of tissues and cells representing germline, embryonic, and somatic tissues and examined as a function of differentiation through the first set of cell divisions of human development. This highlighted extensive transcription throughout the genome, yielding previously unidentified human spermatogenic RNAs. Both exonic and novel X-chromosome REs were subject to robust meiotic sex chromosome inactivation, although an extensive de-repression occurred in the post-meiotic stages of spermatogenesis. Surprisingly, 2.4% of the 10,395 X chromosome exonic REs were present in mature sperm. Transcribed genomic repetitive sequences, including simple centromeric repeats, HERVE and HSAT1, were also shown to be associated with RE expression during spermatogenesis. These results suggest that pervasive intergenic repetitive sequence expression during human spermatogenesis may play a role in regulating chromatin dynamics. Repetitive REs switching repeat classes during differentiation upon fertilization and embryonic genome activation was evident.
Analysis of the Patient Preference for Engagement Tool

Aims It is crucial to assess patients’ individualized preferences for their engagement in healthcare to better inform the planning and delivery of precision healthcare. Unfortunately, engagement efforts are often not tailored to individual patient situations, leading to patient frustrations and poor patient-centered care. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the newly-constructed 27-item Patient Preference for Engagement Tool (PPET). Methods The sample consisted of 311 adult patients aged 18-101, who were hospitalized on 8 medical, surgical, and oncology units within a 516 bed academic Magnet®-designated hospital in the Midwestern United States. Psychometric validation was conducted by calculating content validity indices (CVIs), conducting exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and calculating Cronbach's alpha reliability estimates. Results Following exploratory factor analysis, a six-factor solution was accepted and confirmed with CFA (RMSEA = 0.057, gammahat = 0.941, CFI = 0.828). Reliability of scores on the total scale and subscales were high: Cronbach's alpha ranged from .72 - .92. All items had a CVI of 0.8 or higher. Age, number of chronic illnesses, self-rated health status, and education level were not significant predictors of subscale or total scale scores, emphasizing that patient preferences for engagement should not be assumed based on personal and illness factors. Conclusions Preliminary analysis demonstrates acceptable reliability and construct validity of the PPET. Future research must be done to reduce the items on the tool to create a clinically-useful tool to precisely determine patients’ individual preferences for engagement in their healthcare, leading to more personalized strategies within precision healthcare.
Visual and semiquantitative analysis of 82Rb uptake in malignant tumors on PET/CT: first systematic analysis

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to analyze the uptake of rubidium in malignant tumors.Participants and methodsSixteen malignant lesions were included. Two radiologists compared each lesion to four references (subcutaneous fat, lung, mediastinal blood pool, and liver) at rest and stress and
Reaction of reissert anion with aldimines: A new approach to the imidazo[5,1‐α]isoquinoline ring system

The carbanion derived from N-alkoxycarbonyl Reissert compound readily undergoes addition-cyclization reaction with aldimines to give imidazo[5,1-a]isoquinolines. A detailed study of this new ring annelation chemistry is described.
Abstract 2991: Targeting glutamine metabolism leads to terminal differentiation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

The ability of All Trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA) to induce terminal differentiation in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) has revolutionized treatment for this deadly subset of AML. Unfortunately, identifying targets that induce differentiation in non-APL cases of AML has met with limited success. Our lab has been interested in the role of glutamine metabolism in cellular differentiation programs. As such, we have investigated the degree to which glutamine contributes to the maintenance of an undifferentiated state in AML. Herein, we report that in vitro incubation with the glutamine blocking agent, 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON) robustly induces differentiation in the human AML cell line, U937. DON treatment induces phenotypic and molecular changes indicative of differentiation, including increased granularity and vacuolization, and upregulation of differentiation markers CD11b and CD14. The differentiation of these cells was confirmed by their highly abrogated growth in methylcellulose-based colony-forming assays. Differentiated AML cells were not exposed to DON during colony-forming assays, suggesting an irreversible change in cellular differentiation triggered by short-term pretreatment. We have demonstrated that DON-induced cellular differentiation is active in other AML cell lines as well. Importantly, the differentiating effect of DON can be abrogated by the addition of a cell permeable form of α-ketoglutarate (αKG), dimethyl-2-ketoglutarate (DMK). αKG is a key metabolite in glutamine metabolism and is also a critical cofactor for a range of demethylase enzymes involved in epigenetic remodeling. Indeed, we have noted a robust increase in histone methylation marks, such as H3K27Me3, during DON-induced differentiation. Further, we have observed a dramatic increase in the transcription of critical transcription factors (CEBPA, FLT3, MYB, SOX4) twenty-four hours after DON treatment, a time point immediately preceding observed phenotypic differentiation changes. In light of these findings, experiments are currently underway to use DON differentiation therapy as a means of treating mouse models of AML. Taken as a whole, these data support the use of glutamine blockade as a novel differentiating therapy in AML. Given the remarkable curative potential of differentiation therapy and the poor survival rates of adults with AML (particularly older patients), our findings represent a particularly novel approach to treating this deadly disease. Citation Format: Robert Leone, Im-Meng Sun, Roshan Chikarmane, Radhika Viswanathan, Sanjeda Patwari, Matthew Arwood, Gabriel Ghiaur, Jonathan Powell. Targeting glutamine metabolism leads to terminal differentiation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2991.
Transmission costs and the value of wind generation for the CREZ project

Abstract This paper analyzes the recent expansion of transmission lines in Texas, essentially completed in 2013 at a cost of approximately $7 billion. This project was intended to improve access to areas with high wind generation potential and the resulting increase in wind generation reduced fuel costs and emissions from the displaced fossil fuel generators. I find that the value of the resulting emissions reduction from additional wind generation is approximately twice that of the fuel savings. Additionally, when incorporating the value of reduced emissions, increased generation from already existing wind turbines alone could offset about half of the annualized cost of this transmission expansion while using only 2% of the new transmission capacity. Incorporating the value of emissions reductions could make extending transmission lines to access high quality wind resources more viable, especially if production from already-existing wind turbines in the area are being non-trivially curtailed, as was true in this case.
Resolving combined influences of inflow and evaporation on western Greenland lake water isotopes to inform paleoclimate inferences

Stable isotopes of oxygen (δ18O) and hydrogen (δ2H) in precipitation are widely employed tracers of the global hydrologic cycle, and are frequently inferred from lake-water-derived proxies in sediments of high-latitude lakes. Lake-water isotope proxies archive precipitation δ18O and δ2H values, modulated by lake hydrological processes, which may be functionally classified into processes that affect source water isotope values (i.e. inflow δ18O and δ2H) and catchment-integrated evaporation. Respectively, these controls form the basis of interpretations of precipitation isotope and effective precipitation signals from lake-water isotope proxy records. Conventionally, a single control on lake water isotope variability is assumed for a given record. Yet sensitivity to these controls depends on regional hydroclimate and local hydrology, which may change through time. We quantified the relative impacts of variations in inflow δ18O and evaporative 18O enrichment on lake water δ18O in response to spatially variable aridity, using measurements of lake water δ2H and δ18O from 140 western Greenland lakes located between the Labrador Sea and western Greenland Ice Sheet margin. We calculated source water δ18O of lake waters (δI) using a recently developed Bayesian method and quantified evaporation-to-inflow ratios (E/I) using a modified Craig-Gordon model. δI varied by 11.1‰ across the study region, superimposed by evaporative 18O enrichment of up to 20.0‰ and E/I ranging from nearly no evaporative loss (E/I 1). Lakes can be broadly classified as predominantly sensitive to inflow or evaporation, corresponding to their location along the aridity gradient, and there are significant trends in both δI and E/I across the study area. Substantial local variability in δI and E/I suggests catchment hydrology determines the sensitivity of δI and E/I to changes in aridity, and implies that hydrological end-member lakes within a small region may provide complementary records of seasonal precipitation isotope values and ice-free-season evaporation. Deconvolving modern controls on lake water isotope values provides essential support for quantitative and seasonal paleoclimate inferences from paleolimnological isotope data, which will improve constraints on the long-term variability of the Arctic hydrologic cycle.
Music Consumption Decisions with Non-Durable Streaming Options

Consumers are increasingly purchasing non-durable music products, consumed through a streaming bundle delivered via a subscription model. In this paper we examine how individual preferences influence a consumer's music format decision. We analyze consumption differences between durable retail music products and non-durable streaming music subscription bundles. A user's preferred format depend on the intensity of their music interests, scope of interests, and how quickly a song's utility depreciates. Our empirical analysis shows that streaming consumers have greater depreciation rates than the traditional distribution of terrestrial radio, and that digital sales decline at a slower rate than does the usage of the streaming version. Our theory model and empirical evidence suggest that consumers prefer a non-durable subscription over a durable purchase of information goods when they have higher depreciation rates or a greater scope of music interests. Using simulation, we identify the ideal consumption format for consumers based on their individual listening preferences.
Designing Advanced In Situ Electrode/Electrolyte Interphases for Wide Temperature Operation of 4.5 V Li||LiCoO2 Batteries

High-energy-density batteries with a LiCoO2 (LCO) cathode are of significant importance to the energy-storage market, especially for portable electronics. However, their development is greatly limited by the inferior performance under high voltages and challenging temperatures. Here, highly stable lithium (Li) metal batteries with LCO cathode, through the design of in situ formed, stable electrode/electrolyte interphases on both the Li anode and the LCO cathode, with an advanced electrolyte, are reported. The LCO cathode can deliver a high specific capacity of ≈190 mAh g-1 and show greatly improved cell performances under a high charge voltage of 4.5 V (even up to 4.55 V) and a wide temperature range from -30 to 55 °C. This work points out a promising approach for developing Li||LCO batteries for practical applications. This approach can also be used to improve the high-voltage performance of other batteries in a broad temperature range.
Review of Solid Mechanics; Vector Fields

Mechanics is where it all starts. Rooted in mathematics, it provides a solid underpinning for subsequent engineering solutions. Rather than providing a classical introductory “Mechanics of Materials” approach, we have opted for the more concise and powerful continuum mechanics based one. Far from exhaustive, this chapter limits itself to the fundamental concepts.
VeRoViz: A Vehicle Routing Visualization Toolkit

VeRoViz is an open-source vehicle routing visualization package, consisting of both Python and web-based components. It was developed to streamline the workflow for vehicle routing researchers by simplifying and automating many of the tedious tasks associated with generating realistic test problems. VeRoViz also provides new functionality to produce customizable visualizations of complex vehicle routing problems. These visualization tools -- including Gantt charts, static maps, and dynamic 3D videos -- assist researchers in validating models and communicating results. Additionally, a comprehensive collection of utility functions within VeRoViz provide researchers with useful tools to assess features of their problems. This paper provides an overview of VeRoViz and highlights the flexibility and ease-of-use of the toolkit.
Early pregnancy exposure to metals and maternal depressive symptom trajectories in Project Viva

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Exposure to neurotoxicant metals, hypothesized to alter dopaminergic function, have not been sufficiently explored as a risk factor for maternal depression. We evaluated the ext...
The physiological role of the lymphoid system: IX. The stimulatory effect of the Fab fragment of the leucokinin molecule (a leucophilic γ-globulin) on the phagocytic activity of the polymorphonuclear leucocyte

Abstract Leucokinin, a component of the leucophilic γ-globulin, stimulates the phagocytic activity of the neutrophilic polymorphonuclear leucocyte. The Fab portion of this molecule is responsible for this effect. The Fc fragment is inactive. Similarly, the Fab and the Fc fragments of the remaining nonleucophilic fractions of γ-globulin are also inactive. Papain digests of phosphocellulose fractions I and IV of γ-globulin show markedly different chromatographic patterns on DEAE Sephadex A-50. This applies to both man and dog.
Membrane-Anchored Forms of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Binding Protein Do Not Mediate Cellular Responses to LPS Independently of CD14

Inflammatory responses of myeloid cells to LPS are mediated through CD14, a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored receptor that binds LPS. Since CD14 does not traverse the plasma membrane and alternatively anchored forms of CD14 still enable LPS-induced cellular activation, the precise role of CD14 in mediating these responses remains unknown. To address this, we created a transmembrane and a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored form of LPS-binding protein (LBP), a component of serum that binds and transfers LPS to other molecules. Stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) fibroblast and U373 astrocytoma cell lines expressing membrane-anchored LBP (mLBP), as well as separate CHO and U373 cell lines expressing membrane CD14 (mCD14), were subsequently generated. Under serum-free conditions, CHO and U373 cells expressing mCD14 responded to as little as 0.1 ng/ml of LPS, as measured by NF-κB activation as well as ICAM and IL-6 production. Conversely, the vector control and mLBP-expressing cell lines did not respond under serum-free conditions even in the presence of more than 100 ng/ml of LPS. All the cell lines exhibited responses to less than 1 ng/ml of LPS in the presence of the soluble form of CD14, demonstrating that they are still capable of LPS-induced activation. Taken together, these results demonstrate that mLBP, a protein that brings LPS to the cell surface, does not mediate cellular responses to LPS independently of CD14. These findings suggest that CD14 performs a more specific role in mediating responses to LPS than that of simply bringing LPS to the cell surface.
Bacillus coli endocarditis; review of the literature with report of a case.

Abstract The literature pertaining to Bacillus coli endocarditis is reviewed, summarized, and evaluated. An additional case is reported. The clinical manifestations of Bacillus coli endocarditis are those of an acute bacterial endocarditis. The vegetation produced on the heart valve is a proliferative rather than an ulcerative lesion. In this respect it resembles the lesion usually found in subacute bacterial endocarditis. It is significant that Bacillus coli endocarditis usually occurs as a postoperative complication rather than as a primary disease process. It is suggested that the coliform bacillus may attack a normal valve. The probable pathogenesis of the lesion in the present case is discussed and the clinical and pathologic findings are correlated.
DEVELOPMENT OF CELL SPECIFIC EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR (EGF) BINDING IN FETAL RAT LUNG

EGF regulates fetal lung type II cell differentiation by advancing the developmental window under which fibroblast-type II cell communications occur. EGF acts by binding to its specific receptor, but the ontogeny of EGF receptor binding by specific lung cells is unknown. We hypothesized that EGF binding would exhibit developmental changes in the fetal lung fibroblast but not the type II cell, consistent with the primary role of the fibroblast in directing development of alveolar cells, and that these changes would occur earlier in the female fetal lung fibroblast, consistent with the earlier effect of EGF on female fibroblast-type II cell interactions. Day 17, 18, and 19 (term - 22 days) sex-specific fetal rat lung fibroblasts and type II cells were grown to confluence. Specific EGF binding was measured using 0.40 ng/ml 125I EGF and a 500 fold excess of unlabelled EGF. Specific binding in day 17 female fibroblasts was twice that of day 17 male fibroblasts (102 ± 11 vs. 51 ± 10 cpm/nmol DNA; mean ± SEM, n-3). Specific binding doubled on day 18, maintaining the female-male difference. On day 19 binding levels were similar (females: 248 ± 69; males: 233 ± 78 cpm/nmol DNA, mean ± SEM, n=4). In contrast, specific binding in type II cells remained approximately 50 cpm/nmol DNA at all days, with no sex-specific differences. We conclude that cell-specific and sex-specific changes in EGF binding appear in the fetal lung at a developmental stage critical for type II cell differentiation. This is consistent with the effect that EGF has on the fibroblast in advancing fibroblast-type II cell communications.
How to Unify Knowledge

: The central question of general scholarship is whether all of knowledge is intrinsically consilient, that is, whether it can be united by a continuous skein of cause-and-effect explanation and across levels of increasingly complex organization. The answer lies in the recognition that the traditional line separating the great branches of learning (natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities) is not a barrier or even a line, but rather a broad domain of poorly explored material phenomena now being cooperatively entered from all sides. The key to bridge-building is the discovery and analysis of human nature, which consists of the epigenetic rules—the hereditary regularities in mental development. Their study is now well under way, at the biological, social science, and humanities levels. Examples of epigenetic rules include the origin of color vocabularies, incest avoidance, optimum arousal in artistic design, and response to the natural environment. The convergence of the great branches of learning is mostly an empirical process, light on formal logic and theory in its initial stages. The value of the consilience program is that at long last we appear to have acquired the means either to establish the intrinsic truth of the fundamental unity of knowledge, or to discard it. I will argue the likelihood of its existence and early establishment.
Fire Hotel Safety Procedures And Special Guests

With increasing numbers of special travelers, the hospitality industry needs to examine the adequacy of safety and emergency procedures for these individuals. The present study reports a preliminary investigation which examined safety and the disabled traveler in 176 hotels/motels nationwide. The purposes of the investigation were to identify current emergency and safety practices, to determine the extent to which procedures exist for special guests and to identify current and needed staff training in working with disabled guests.
Broadcast/Multicast over Myrinet Using NIC-Assisted Multidestination Messages

Broadcasting and multicasting are common operations in parallel and distributed programs. Some modern Network Interface Cards (NICs) have programmable processors which can be used to provide support for these operations. However these processors are 5-15 times slower than the host processor. In this paper we propose a design and an implementation of a multi-send primitive to support efficient broadcast/multicast that requires minimal assistance from the NIC. Our scheme is designed with the idea that as much processing as possible should be done by the host processor. This gives us more flexibility with, for example, creating multicast trees which would be optimal for a particular message size, or choosing a multicast tree dynamically based on requirements of bandwidth versus latency for a particular message. We have designed a multi-send primitive and implemented it as an addition to Fast-Messages (FM) 2.1 running over a Myrinet network. The proposed scheme does less processing at the NIC. The impact of adding such NIC-assisted multicast operation to a run-time system is also very small, less than 500ns for non-multi-send packets. To fully utilize the benefits of this primitive, we propose a method for constructing an optimal multicast tree using the new primitive. We have evaluated this scheme and obtained a speedup factor of up to 1.85 for multicasting 16K messages with 16 nodes.
Enterprise architecture: definition, content, and utility

Although the concept of an enterprise architecture (EA) has not been well defined and agreed upon, EAs are being developed to support information system development and enterprise reengineering. Most EAs differ in content and nature, and most are incomplete because they represent only data and process aspects of the enterprise. This paper defines an EA. Basic EA concepts are presented. The purpose and utility of an EA and its place in the information system environment are discussed. To facilitate understanding, a generic EA is provided. Through the generic model, each major component of an EA is defined and the component's purpose and use are presented. The generic EA described here will be used to develop enterprise-specific EAs. This paper emphasizes linkages between the EA and information systems development by depicting the information systems viewpoint. To delineate how an EA is useful in the information technology (IT) world, this paper shows how an EA relates to both an information systems architecture (ISA) and an information architecture (IA). >
A GIS-Integrated Intelligent System for Optimization of Asset Management for Maintenance of Roads and Bridges

Geographic information systems (GIS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques were used to develop an intelligent asset management system to optimize road and bridge maintenance. In a transportation context, asset management is defined as a cost-effective process to construct, operate, and maintain physical capital. This requires analytical tools to assist the allocation of resources, including personnel, equipment, materials, and supplies. One such tool, artificial intelligence (AI), is the creation of computer programs that use humanlike reasoning concepts to implement and/or improve a process or task. This paper presents "heuristic" or "experience" based AI methodologies to optimize transportation asset management procedures. Specifically, we outline and illustrate a GIS-based intelligent asset management system using the case study of snow removal for winter road and bridge maintenance in Iowa, USA. The system uses ArcView GIS to access and manage road and bridge data, and ART*Enterprise, an AI shell, for the user interface.
The association between frontal-striatal connectivity and sensorimotor control in cocaine users.

Abstract Background In addition to cognitive and emotional processing dysfunction, chronic cocaine users are also impaired at simple sensorimotor tasks. Many diseases characterized by compulsive movements, repetitive actions, impaired attention and planning are associated with dysfunction in frontal–striatal circuits. The aim of this study was to determine whether cocaine users had impaired frontal–striatal connectivity during a simple movement task and whether this was associated with sensorimotor impairment. Methods Functional MRI data were collected from 14 non-treatment seeking cocaine users and 15 healthy controls as they performed a finger-tapping task. Functional coupling was quantified by correlating the timecourses of each pair of anatomically connected regions of interest. Behavioral performance was correlated with all functional coupling coefficients. Results In controls there was a significant relationship between the primary motor cortex and the supplementary motor area (SMA), as well as the SMA and the dorsal striatum during ongoing movement. Cocaine users exhibited weaker fronto-striatal coupling than controls, while the cortical–cortical coupling was intact. Coupling strength between the SMA and the caudate was negatively correlated with reaction time in the users. Conclusions The observation that cocaine users have impaired cortical–striatal connectivity during simple motor performance, suggests that these individuals may have a fundamental deficit in information processing that influences more complex cognitive processes.
Proteomic and Biomarker Studies and Neurological Complications of Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease

Biomarker analysis and proteomic discovery in pediatric sickle cell disease has the potential to lead to important discoveries and improve care. The aim of this review article is to describe proteomic and biomarker articles involving neurological and developmental complications in this population. A systematic review was conducted to identify relevant research publications. Articles were selected for children under the age of 21 years with the most common subtypes of sickle cell disease. Included articles focused on growth factors (platelet-derived growth factor), intra and extracellular brain proteins (glial fibrillary acidic protein, brain-derived neurotrophic factor), and inflammatory and coagulation markers (interleukin-1β, l-selectin, thrombospondin-1, erythrocyte, and platelet-derived microparticles). Positive findings include increases in plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor and platelet-derived growth factor with elevated transcranial Dopplers velocities, increases in platelet-derived growth factor isoform AA with overt stroke, and increases in glial fibrillary acidic protein with acute brain injury. These promising potential neuro-biomarkers provide insight into pathophysiologic processes and clinical events, but their clinical utility is yet to be established. Additional proteomics research is needed, including broad-based proteomic discovery of plasma constituents and blood cell proteins, as well as urine and cerebrospinal fluid components, before, during and after neurological and developmental complications.