cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantifying the Effect of Diabetes on Surgical Hand and Forearm Infections.

Purpose Diabetes has long been established as a risk factor for hand and forearm infections. The purpose of this study was to review the effect of glycemic factors on outcomes among diabetic patients with surgical upper-extremity infections. We hypothesized that diabetic inpatients may benefit from stronger peri-infection glycemic control. Methods A prospective cohort study enrolled diabetic and nondiabetic surgical hand and forearm infections over 3 years. Glycemic factors included baseline glycosylated hemoglobin, blood glucose (BG) at presentation, and inpatient BG. Poor baseline control was defined as glycosylated hemoglobin of 9.0% or greater and poor inpatient control as average BG of 180 mg/dL or greater. The main outcome of interest was the need for repeat therapeutic drainage. Multivariable logistic regression quantified the association between diabetic factors and this outcome. Results The study involved 322 patients: 76 diabetic and 246 nondiabetic. Diabetic infections were more likely than nondiabetic infections to result from idiopathic mechanisms, occur in the forearm, and present as osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, and necrotizing fasciitis. Diabetic microbiology was more likely polymicrobial and fungal. After first drainage, diabetic patients were more likely to require repeat drainage and undergo eventual amputation. Among diabetic patients, poor inpatient control was associated with need for repeat drainage. Conclusions Diabetes exacerbates the burden of surgical upper-extremity infections: specifically, more proximal locations, deeper involved anatomy at presentation, broader pathogenic microbiology, increased need for repeat drainage, and higher risk for amputation. Among diabetic patients, poor inpatient glycemic control is associated with increased need for repeat drainage. Type of study/level of evidence Prognostic I.
Richard Bright's observations on diseases of the nervous system due to inflammation.

ABSTRACTThis study examines case reports of brain diseases attributed to inflammation in Richard Bright’s Reports of Medical Cases, Volume II. The rationale for the belief that these cases were due to inflammation is discussed in light of theories of inflammation that were current in Bright’s time. The consequences of these theories for the therapy of brain diseases are evaluated. The value of Bright’s reports lies in the accuracy of the descriptions of a number of brain diseases, featuring descriptions of symptoms or conditions that were novel or not well known in the early nineteenth century. They provided a conception of diseases that constituted “typical condition of many patients,” rather than “disorderly condition of a particular patient.” Many cases are illustrated by remarkable images of pathological specimens.
Communication and Healthcare: Self-Reports of People with Hearing Loss in Primary Care Settings

Objectives: To assess the experiences of people with hearing loss in healthcare environments to characterize miscommunication and unmet needs, and guide recommendations for improving outcomes and access. Methods: Anonymous survey developed by subject-matter experts was posted on a large national hearing-loss consumer and advocacy organization website and email listserv. Data were collected and managed via RedCAP. Results: Responses were received from 1581 individuals. Respondents reported moderate or significant difficulty communicating with all listed providers. Three communication situations emerged as often presenting communication difficulties: hearing one's name when called in the waiting room, hearing when the speaker's back was turned, and hearing when communicating by telephone. Despite 93% of respondents indicating they sometimes or often let providers know about their hearing loss, 29.3% of all respondents still reported that no arrangements were made to improve communication. Conclusions: This study clearly demonstrates the ongoing difficulties faced by individuals with hearing loss, particularly older adults, as they attempt to navigate both providers and situations associated with a typical primary care office visit. Clinical Implications: Inexpensive and efficient changes to improve communication include (1) Improving one-on-one provider communication by facing the individual with good lighting, clear speaking, and not obstructing one's mouth; (2) Environmental changes such as using visual or tactile alerting devices in waiting rooms and adding noise-dampening carpeting and curtains; and (3) Avoiding telephones and conveying health information in writing.
18 FDG-PET/CT for Treatment Planning and Follow-Up

Stereotactic radiosurgery is well-established in the treatment of intracranial lesions, but its use in extracranial lesions is relatively new. Stereotactic radiation delivery technologies such as the CyberKnife ® (Accuray Incorporated, Sunnyvale, CA) are being used with increasing frequency to treat lesions outside the cranium, such as in the spine, thorax, and abdomen; lesions that were not previously amenable to radiosurgical treatment due to inherent motion. The critical role of imaging technologies in radiosurgery, both for planning treatments and assessing their effects, makes an understanding of developments in these technologies imperative for radiosurgery professionals. In this chapter, we review how positron emission tomography (PET) is combined with computed tomography (CT) to enhance disease staging, radiosurgery and radiotherapy planning, and follow-up.
Strengthening Silica Prepared by Sol-Gel Chemistry by Inclusion of a Polyamidoamine Dendrimer

Silica prepared from tetramethyl orthosilicate by an acid-catalyzed sol-gel process is strengthened by inclusion of a generation-zero polyamidoamine (G0-PAMAM) dendrimer in the precursor sol. Evidence is provided by impact test and rupture strength measurements. Impact mean failure energies are 17 and 30 mJ for undoped and doped silica, respectively. The corresponding rupture strengths are 32.9 and 41.6 MPa. Also measured is the Knoop Hardness Number (KHN) for the undoped and PAMAM-doped silica. The KHN values are indistinguishable among the undoped and doped sol-gels and are within 15% of that reported for borosilicate glass. Doping with generation-4 PAMAM does not strength the gels. A model is proposed whereby the G0-PAMAM crosslinks the silica and G4-PAMAM serves as a templating agent that leads to larger colloidal particles. Atomic force microscopy of the surface features of the silica supports the hypothesis.
Amphotericin B and other polyenic antifungal antibiotics.

The polyenic antifungal antibiotics are a large group of related macrolides whose ring contains a rigid planar lipophilic portion and a flexible hydrophilic portion. These inhibit growth of fungi (but not of bacteria) and have significant value in treatment of intestinal or topical monilial infections. Amphotericin B is used systemically for the treatment of acute histoplasmosis and blastomycosis. After the initial demonstration of therapeutic utility, attention became focused on the in vitro biologic action of the polyenes. The critical step was identified as formation of a complex with the membrane sterol of sensitive organisms. The consequences of this binding are being examined using natural and artificial membranes. The surprising feature that has emerged is the wide variation in ultimate physiologic effects produced by the individual polyenes. Investigation of this problem should provide important information on membrane function as well as on the nature of the specific membrane complexes. Finally, and of great interest at the moment, physiologic and pharmacologic effects on sterol and steroid metabolism in animals have been observed. These changes are consistent with available information on the mechanism of the microbial action of the polyenes. The possible practical application of these discoveries is of great interest.
F-Purity, Frobenius Splitting, and Tight Closure

Several applications of the technique of studying when the Frobenius endomorphism from a ring of positive prime characteristic to itself splits are discussed. These include some problems that, historically, motivated the development of the theory. One of these is the theorem that rings of invariants of linearly reductive groups acting on regular rings are Cohen-Macaulay, including normal rings generated by monomials. Another is the characterization of when Stanley-Reisner rings are Cohen-Macaulay. Another is the proof of the existence of finitely generated maximal Cohen-Macaulay modules for graded rings of positive prime characteristic when the normalization has an isolated singularity (or an isolated non-Cohen-Macaulay point), which includes all three-dimensional graded domains of positive characteristic. Applications of the closely related theory of tight closure are also discussed.
Effectiveness of an interprofessional patient safety team-based learning simulation experience on healthcare professional trainees

Although the American Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) mandates formal education in patient safety, there is a lack of standardized educational practice on how to conduct patient safety training. Traditionally, patient safety is taught utilizing instructional strategies that promote passive learning such as self-directed online learning modules or didactic lectures that result in suboptimal learning and satisfaction. During the summer of 2015, 76 trainees consisting of internal medicine interns and senior-level nursing students participated in an interactive patient safety workshop that used a flipped classroom approach integrating team based learning (TBL) and interprofessional simulated application exercises. Workshop trainees demonstrated an increase in knowledge specifically related to patient safety core concepts on the Team Readiness Assurance Test (TRAT) compared to the Individual Readiness Assurance Test (IRAT) (p = 0.001). Completion rates on the simulation application exercises checklists were high except for a few critical action items such as hand-washing, identifying barriers to care, and making efforts to clarify code status with patient. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) subscale scores for Teamwork and Collaboration and Professional Identity were higher on the post-workshop survey compared to the pre-workshop survey, however only the difference in the Positive Professional Identity subscale was statistically significant (p = 0.03). A majority (90%) of the trainees either agreed that the safety concepts they learned would likely improve the quality of care they provide to future patients. This novel approach to safety training expanded teaching outside of the classroom and integrated simulation and engagement in error reduction strategies. Next steps include direct observation of trainees in the clinical setting for team-based competency when it comes to patient safety and recognition of system errors.
Organizing and Shaping a Treatment Toward Change

This case captures several key principles of working with a patient with BPD. The first is to consider the interpersonal context for the symptoms. Symptoms reduce with increased support (though this can lead to regressive treatments), and they increase with transitions and interpersonal stressors. Grounding a treatment in the expectation of functional progress is a key principle, given the troubling data that most patients with BPD improve symptomatically but not functionally. Moreover, such an approach also helps steer clear of complicity with avoidance-based symptom improvement. Families are a key to treatment. They have many of the same concerns and reactions as treaters do, and helping them learn skills to decrease their own reactivity can be extremely helpful. The case also emphasizes practical, here-and-now approaches which are not incompatible with deeper interpretations but which are accessible and help anchor and stabilize the work.
Hydrogen Sulfide Donor GYY4137 Acts Through Endothelial Nitric Oxide to Protect Intestine in Murine Models of Necrotizing Enterocolitis and Intestinal Ischemia.

Abstract Background Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature infants is often a devastating surgical condition with poor outcomes. GYY4137 is a long-acting donor of hydrogen sulfide, a gasotransmitter that is protective against intestinal injury in experimental NEC, likely through protection against injury secondary to ischemia. We hypothesized that administration of GYY4137 would improve mesenteric perfusion, reduce intestinal injury, and reduce inflammatory responses in experimental NEC and ischemia-reperfusion injury, and that these benefits would be mediated through endothelial nitric oxide synthase–dependent pathways. Methods NEC was induced in C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) knockout (eNOSKO) pups via maternal separation, formula feeding, enteral lipopolysaccharide, and intermittent hypoxic and hypothermic stress. Pups received daily intraperitoneal injections of 50 mg/kg GYY4137 or phosphate buffered saline vehicle. In separate groups, adult male WT and eNOSKO mice underwent superior mesenteric artery occlusion for 60 min. Before abdominal closure, 50 mg/kg GYY4137 or phosphate buffered saline vehicle was administered into the peritoneal cavity. Laser doppler imaging was used to assess mesenteric perfusion of pups at baseline and on postnatal day 9, and the adult mice at baseline and 24 h after ischemic insult. After euthanasia, the terminal ileum of each animal was fixed, paraffin embedded, sectioned, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Sections were blindly graded using published injury scores. Intestinal tissue was homogenized and cytokines measured by ELISA. Data were compared using Mann–Whitney U test, and P-values Results After NEC and ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury, GYY4137 improved perfusion in WT mice compared to vehicle, but this effect was lost in the eNOSKO animals. Histologic injury followed a similar pattern with reduced intestinal injury in WT mice treated with GYY4137, and no significant improvement in the eNOSKO group. Cytokine expression after GYY4137 administration was altered by the ablation of eNOS in both NEC and I/R injury groups, with significant differences noted in Interleukin 6 and vascular endothelial growth factor. Conclusions GYY4137, a long-acting donor of hydrogen sulfide, has potential as a therapeutic compound for NEC. It improves mesenteric perfusion and intestinal injury in experimental NEC and intestinal I/R injury, and these benefits appear to be mediated through eNOS-dependent pathways.
Software Intimacies (Social Media and the Unbearability of Death)

This chapter theorizes intimacy and its relationship to death, emphasizing questions that relate to infrastructure and networked connectivity. In focusing on death and social media, this chapter defines intimacy not as a form of closeness or presence, but as something felt through the absence provoked by traces of another—a relation that, by definition, cannot be reciprocal. This understanding of death has long grounded the metaphysics of media, in which recordings and data become indices that substitute for the presence of physical contact with an absent other. Thus, the presence assumed invoked by media—the contact and connectivity promised by infrastructures, storage media, and software—is inevitably tinged by a metaphysics that protects against acknowledging the feeling of absence, of loss, of being alone.
Visualizing language ideologies and verbalizing perceived linguistic boundaries: The case of Mandarin Chinese in contemporary Taiwan

Author(s): Chen, Spencer C | Abstract: As Mandarin gains prominence in the globalizing world, the use of Mandarin not only blurs geopolitical borders, but also the linguistic boundaries drawn between Taiwan and Mainland China. Employing the theoretical framework of language ideologies and the methodological approach of perceptual dialectology, this article investigates how the Taiwanese perform their identities by hand-drawing their perceived linguistic boundaries of Mandarin varieties. The data came from a multi-sited linguistic fieldwork project in Taiwan that engaged with forty-two Taiwanese (age 19-56) on tasks that include drawing dialectological maps of Mandarin and extended ethnographic interviews. The data show that rhoticity has been selectively rationalized and ideologized as boundary of linguistic differentiation between Mandarin varieties across the Taiwan Strait. This article further examines the ways in which the informants, by surpassing the geospatial indexicality of Taiwan Mandarin as a vernacular, rationalize and project the existing stylistic use of Taiwan Mandarin onto their sociopolitical construals, creating a space where Taiwan Mandarin is equivalent to Putonghua in symbolic power. This study demonstrates the ways in which perceived dialectological maps functions as visualized indexical fields that mirror the multiplicity and volatility of participants’ concurrent language ideologies about the complicated relationship between language and the micro- as well as macro-sociopolitical environments they inhabit.
Irish vs. Yankees: a social history of the Boston schools: by James W. Sanders

Irish vs. Yankees, James W. Sanders explains, ‘is intended to be a social history of the conflict over education in Boston between the so-called native Bostonians, whom I have chosen to call the “Y...
Changes in the Quality of the Northern U.S. Hardwood Timber Resource from 2008 to 2017

High quality North American hardwood lumber and veneer is increasingly exported and used worldwide. A large portion of the timber resource utilized in the production of these products is contained within the northern region of the eastern United States. The cubic volume of this resource has increased by 15% since 2000, with most of this increase occurring in trees greater than 43.2 cm diameter at breast height. Although the volume of high-quality timber is likely at its highest level in over 100 years, 60% of the increase in the volume between 2008 and 2017 was in sawtimber-size (27.9 cm and larger) trees of low quality. Region wide, the species group “other white oaks” had the largest increase in high-quality volume. The largest increases in low-quality volume were for the soft maple and “other red oaks” species groups. While the volume of poletimber (12.7 to 27.7 cm) growing stock decreased between 2008 and 2017, the volume of cull poletimber-size trees increased more than 50%. These trends indicate a future decline in timber quality. Research is needed to determine the cause of these declines and how they may be reversed. One question that should be examined is the role of natural mortality and damage versus human disturbance on timber quality.
Impaired Neutrophil Function in 24p3 Null Mice Contributes to Enhanced Susceptibility to Bacterial Infections

Abstract Abstract 833 Lipocalin 24p3 (24p3) is a neutrophil secondary granule protein. 24p3 is also a siderocalin, which binds several bacterial siderophores. It was therefore proposed that synthesis and secretion of 24p3 by stimulated macrophages or release of 24p3 upon neutrophil degranulation sequesters iron-laden siderophores to attenuate bacterial growth. Accordingly, 24p3-deficient mice are susceptible to bacterial pathogens whose siderophores are chelated by 24p3. Specific granule deficiency (SGD) is a rare congenital disorder characterized by complete absence of proteins of secondary granules. Neutrophils from SGD patients lack normal functions and are prone to bacterial infections, but the importance of 24p3 for neutrophil dysfunction in SGD is not known. Here we show that neutrophils of 24p3−/− mice are defective for many neutrophil functions. Specifically, neutrophils in 24p3−/− mice do not extravasate to sites of infection and are defective for chemotaxis. A transcriptome analysis revealed that genes that control cytoskeletal reorganization are selectively suppressed in 24p3−/− neutrophils. Additionally, small regulatory RNAs (miRNAs) that control upstream regulators of cytoskeletal proteins are also increased in 24p3−/− neutrophils. Further, 24p3−/− neutrophils failed to phagocytose bacteria, which may account for the enhanced sensitivity of 24p3−/− mice to both intracellular (Listeria monocytogenes) and extracellular (Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus) pathogens. Interestingly, Listeria does not secrete siderophores and additionally, the siderophore secreted by Candida is not sequestered by 24p3. Therefore, the heightened sensitivity of 24p3−/− mice to these pathogens is not due to sequestration of siderophores to limit the iron availability but as a consequence of impaired neutrophil functions. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Safety Design of a Convolutional Neural Network Accelerator with Error Localization and Correction

Recently neural network accelerators have grown into prominence with significant power and performance efficiency improvements over CPU and GPU. In this paper, we proposed two safety design techniques include Algorithm Based Atomic Error Checking-1 (ABAEC-1) and ABAEC-2 for a Weight Stationary (WS) Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) accelerator focusing on low latency and low overhead error detection and correction with no performance degradation. The proposed design techniques not only detect the errors on-the-fly but also perform error diagnosis to localize the errors to a Processing Element (PE) for on-line fault management and recovery. We applied the design techniques on an industry quality CNN accelerator and demonstrated that we could achieve the required Diagnostic Coverage (DC) goal with minimal area and power overhead for selected configurations. Furthermore, we discussed methods to extend the proposed techniques to other dataflow architecture.
Scintigraphy of the Liver, Spleen, and Biliary Tree

Scintigraphy of the liver and biliary tree has held a position of importance from the earliest days of nuclear medicine until the present. While modalities of ultrasound, CT, and MRI have taken over the role of anatomic imaging from scintigraphy, important functional aspects of liver and biliary tree physiology remain to be addressed primarily through colloid, red blood cell, and hepatobiliary scintigraphy. The current applications will be reviewed in the current chapter.
Assessing Children’s Lead Exposure in an Active Mining Community Using the Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic Model

Lead exposure has been shown to be harmful to humans in various settings and there are no safe levels of blood lead in children. At an Alternative Superfund site in Hayden-Winkelman, Arizona, with an active copper smelter and concentrator, lead exceedances in air and soil have been measured in the past 20 years. In this work, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic (IEUBK) model was used to estimate Hayden-Winkelman children's (age 6 months-7 years) blood lead levels (BLLs) using site-specific lead concentrations measured in indoor and outdoor air, soil, indoor dust, and drinking water. Values used by a state agency's airborne lead risk forecast program were also evaluated to determine whether their forecasting program is useful in protecting children's public health. Using site-specific values in the model, the results demonstrated that lead ingested via indoor dust was the major contributor to children's BLLs. In addition, the output of the IEUBK model overestimated actual BLLs of children sampled in the community. The IEUBK model was particularly sensitive to high indoor dust levels, and these site-specific measures increased modeled BLL values. This finding is of significance as the IEUBK model is used worldwide in communities with industrial contamination. This study confirmed that the chief contributor to lead exposure in children is household dust. Thus, for lead exposure risk reduction, agencies working at Superfund sites should focus efforts on decontaminating outdoor soil and dust and indoor lead decontamination.
Nonlinear Effects of Taxation on Growth

We propose a model consistent with two observations. First, the tax rates adopted by different countries are generally uncorrelated with their growth performance. Second, countries that drastically reduce private incentives to invest severely hurt their growth performance. In our model, the effects of taxation on growth are highly nonlinear. Low tax rates have a very small impact on long-run growth rates. But as tax rates rise, their negative impact on growth rises dramatically. The median voter chooses tax rates that have a small impact on growth prospects, making the relation between tax rates and economic growth difficult to measure empirically.
Efficient Visible to Near-UV Photochemical Upconversion Sensitized by a Long Lifetime Cu(I) MLCT Complex.

The current investigation compares the photochemical upconversion sensitization properties of two long lifetime Cu(I) metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) chromophores to 3 distinct anthryl-based triplet acceptors. The sensitizers [Cu(dsbtmp)2](PF6) (1, dsbtmp = 2,9-di(sec-butyl)-3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-1,10-phenanthroline) and [Cu(dsbp)2](PF6) (2, dsbp = 2,9-di(sec-butyl-1,10-phenanthroline) were selectively excited in the presence of anthracene, 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA), and 9,10-dimethylanthracene (DMA) in degassed dichloromethane solutions. In all instances, triplet energy transfer was observed from selective excitation of the Cu(I) MLCT chromophore to each respective anthryl species. The bimolecular triplet–triplet energy transfer quenching rate constants were extracted from dynamic Stern–Volmer analyses in each case, yielding values below the diffusion limit in dichloromethane. However, the Stern–Volmer quenching constants (KSV’s) were sizable enough (up to ∼2300 M–1 with 1 as a sensitizer) to su...
Software technology insertion: A study of success factors

Managing software development in large organizations has become increasingly difficult due to increasing technical complexity, stricter government standards, a shortage of experienced software engineers, competitive pressure for improved productivity and quality, the need to co-develop hardware and software together, and the rapid changes in both hardware and software technology. The 'software factory' approach to software development minimizes risks while maximizing productivity and quality through standardization, automation, and training. However, in practice, this approach is relatively inflexible when adopting new software technologies. The methods that a large multi-project software engineering organization can use to increase the likelihood of successful software technology insertion (STI), especially in a standardized engineering environment, are described.
Practical aspects of optimal mismatch filtering and adaptive pulse compression for FM waveforms

The sensitivity impact of range straddling in the form of mismatch loss is well known. What is less appreciated, however, is the effect upon dynamic range, particularly for receive filtering that seeks to minimize range sidelobes. For FM-based waveforms, which are readily implementable in a high-power radar system, it is shown that least-squares (LS) mismatched filtering (MMF) realizes a penalty in sidelobe suppression when range straddling occurs. This degradation can be partially compensated through modification of the LS MMF implementation. Alternatively, adaptive pulse compression (APC), appropriately modified for application to FM waveforms, demonstrates robustness to both straddling and eclipsing effects. Simulated and experimentally measured results are provided to demonstrate the efficacy of these filtering approaches.
Protein Turnover in Skeletal Muscle I. PROTEIN CATABOLISM DURING WORK-INDUCED HYPERTROPHY AND GROWTH INDUCED WITH GROWTH HORMONE

Rates of protein catabolism were compared in nongrowing skeletal muscle, in muscles undergoing work-induced hypertrophy, and in muscles growing in response to treatment with pituitary growth hormone. Hypophysectomized rats were injected initially with 3H-leucine, and on subsequent days received unlabeled leucine and a high protein diet to minimize reutilization of the 3H-leucine. Rates of protein degradation were estimated from the loss of radioactive proteins. Rates of protein synthesis were estimated from the amount of dilution of previously labeled proteins with newly synthesized unlabeled material (decrease in specific activity). Two days after injection of 3H-leucine, hypertrophy of the soleus of one limb was induced by sectioning the tendon of the gastrocnemius muscle. During compensatory growth, the soleus retained more of the labeled proteins than its contralateral control muscle. Nevertheless, the specific activity of the proteins decreased. It is concluded that during hypertrophy there is decreased protein catabolism as well as increased synthesis of new proteins. In addition, the degradation of sarcoplasmic (soluble) proteins decreased more markedly than that of myofibrillar proteins, resulting in a relative increase in the sarcoplasmic proteins during compensatory growth. Treatment of the hypophysectomized rats with bovine growth hormone (1 mg per day) was initiated 2 days after injection of 3H-leucine. Ten days later, the content of labeled proteins in the soleus of hormone-treated animals was indistinguishable from that in the smaller muscles of control rats. However, the specific activity of protein from muscles was significantly lower in the hormone-treated rats. These results indicated that unlike work-induced hypertrophy, growth hormone increased protein synthesis in muscle without changing protein degradative rates.
Boundary-Scan Testing

Boundary-Scan testing is aimed primarily at digital logic structures, although Boundary-Scan assets can provide invaluable resources for assisting with mixed digital/analog testing as well. This chapter covers various test approaches utilizing 1149.1.
Blind joint equalization and multiuser detection in dispersive MC-CDMA/MC-DS-CDMA/MT-CDMA channels

The problem of demodulation of multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplex-code division multiple access (OFDM-CDMA) in the presence of both multiple access interference (MAI) and intersymbol interference (ISI) is considered. Three types of OFDM-CDMA are presented: multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA), multicarrier direct sequence code division multiple access (MC-DS-CDMA) and multi-tone code division multiple access (MT-CDMA). The dispersive OFDM-CDMA channel is first cast into a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) signal framework. Then, using a subspace method, it is shown that each user's channel impulse response can be estimated using the knowledge of the user's signature waveform. It is further shown that, using the user's channel impulse response and the identified signal subspace, a blind linear minimum mean square error (MMSE) detector and a blind zero-forcing decorrelator detector can be constructed in closed form. The proposed detectors are attractive for their higher spectral efficiency, which is achieved by the elimination of cyclic prefix and training sequences. Further a comparison of MC-CDMA/MC-DS-CDMA/MT-CDMA with direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) is then presented. The paper's major contribution is the development of the sub-space blind techniques.
Trade Skirmishes and Safeguards: A Theory of the WTO Dispute Settlement

I propose a framework within which to interpret and evaluate the major reforms introduced to the GATT system in its transition to the WTO. In particular, I examine the WTO Agreement on Safeguards that has replaced the GATT escape clause (Article XIX), and the Dispute Settlement Process (DSP) that resembles a court of law under the WTO. Using this framework, I interpret the weakening of the reciprocity principle under the Agreement on Safeguards as an attempt to reduce efficiency-reducing trade skirmishes. The DSP is interpreted as an impartial arbitrator that announces its opinion about the state of the world when a dispute arises among member countries. I demonstrate that the reforms in the GATT escape clause should be bundled with the introduction of the DSP, in order to maintain the incentive-compatibility of trade agreements. The model implies that trade agreements under the WTO lead to fewer trade skirmishes but this effect does not necessarily result in higher payoffs to the governments. The model also implies that the introduction of the WTO court, which has no enforcement power, can in fact improve the self-enforceability of trade agreements.
NASA Standard Communications and Data Handling Subsystem

The paper gives a functional description and discusses hardware implementation for the Communication and Data Handling (CD the stuffed module weighs 270 lbs including 60 lbs of mission unique weight. The hardware is versatile and cost effective, and its modular structure permits repair, refurbishment, and even modification/updating in space
Stabilization of laminar nonpremixed DME/air coflow flames at elevated temperatures and pressures

Abstract The structure and stabilization mechanism of laminar nonpremixed autoignitive DME/air coflow flames was investigated at elevated temperatures and pressures. Computations with detailed chemistry were performed for DME and heated coflow air at 30 atm with uniform inlet velocities (2.4, 3.2, and 8.0 m/s) imposed for both streams. The heat release rate profiles are first examined for each case to demonstrate a multibrachial thermal structure. Species concentrations and temperature were sampled along mixture fraction iso-contours, and Chemical Explosive Mode Analysis (CEMA) was performed to identify the controlling chemistry at representative points. One-dimensional Lagrangian Flamelet Analysis (LFA) was also performed and compared with the two-dimensional computations to elucidate the relative importance of diffusion processes parallel and normal to the mixture fraction gradient. Various coflow temperatures with different inlet velocities are examined to elucidate their influences on the multibrachial structure as well as the stabilization mechanism. NTC (negative temperature coefficient)-affected inhomogeneous autoignition and the coupled effects with premixed flame propagation on stabilization are further studied. It is found that, at high coflow boundary temperatures or low inlet velocities, the classical tribrachial flame structure is achieved, and autoignition contributes less to the stabilization due to reduced heat and radical accumulation. The kinematic balance between the local flow speed and flame propagation speed is the dominant stabilization mechanism. On the contrary, kinetic stabilization is achieved at lower coflow temperatures or higher inlet velocities as autoignition becomes dominant. Due to the transition of the dominant chemical pathways during autoignition, the kinetically stabilized structure is usually multibrachial. The transition of different stabilization mechanisms can be made by changing either the boundary velocity or temperature of the coflow. Based on these results and previous work (Deng et al., 2015) [12], a regime diagram is constructed that identifies the possible stabilization regimes: blow out, kinetically stabilized, autoignition-propagation-coupled stabilized, kinematically stabilized, and burner stabilized.
EXCHANGE RATE MANIPULATION AND CONSTRUCTIVE AMBIGUITY

I consider dynamic models in which investors are heterogeneously informed about both foreign exchange interventions and exchange rate fundamentals and show that transparency sometimes exacerbates misalignment between the exchange rate and fundamentals. Although transparency reveals information about fundamentals, it also increases the precision of the exchange rate as a signal of those fundamentals that remain unknown (the signal-precision effect of transparency). If a central bank announcement reveals little information about fundamentals, then this effect dominates and transparency magnifies misalignment. One implication is that ambiguity can increase the effectiveness of intervention to support a declining currency during times of crisis
Evaluating Professional Learning

This chapter describes the process of evaluating professional learning initiatives in education, especially within the context of accountability. Three basic questions are addressed: (1) What does evaluation mean in this context? (2) What purposes do professional learning evaluations serve? and (3) What are the critical levels of professional learning evaluation? The importance of these evaluation issues is discussed, along with how their clarification can help guide professional learning planning and implementation. Finally the implications of these critical professional learning issues are considered with regard to the current press for accountability in education.
The Epithelium-Connective Tissue Interface During Closure of the Secondary Palate in Rodent Embryos

The palatine process epitheliums of rat and mouse embyros were studied in various stages of fusion to determine the origin of cell death in the fusion line, and the amount of adhesion opposing palatine processes.
Optogenetically evoked gamma oscillations are disturbed by cocaine administration

Drugs of abuse have enormous societal impact by degrading the cognitive abilities, emotional state and social behavior of addicted individuals. Among other events involved in the addiction cycle, the study of a single exposure to cocaine, and the contribution of the effects of that event to the continuous and further use of drugs of abuse are fundamental. Gamma oscillations are thought to be important neural correlates of cognitive processing in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) which include decision making, set shifting and working memory. It follows that cocaine exposure might modulate gamma oscillations, which could result in reduced cognitive ability. Parvalbumin-positive fast-spiking interneurons play an orchestrating role in gamma oscillation induction and it has been shown recently that gamma oscillations can be induced in an anesthetized animal using optogenetic techniques. We use a knock-in mouse model together with optogenetics and in vivo electrophysiology to study the effects of acute cocaine on PFC gamma oscillation as a step toward understanding the cortical changes that may underlie continuous use of stimulants. Our results show that acute cocaine administration increases entrainment of the gamma oscillation to the optogentically induced driving frequency. Our results also suggest that this modulation of gamma oscillations is driven trough activation of DAD1 receptors. The acute cocaine-mediated changes in mPFC may underlie the enhancement of attention and awareness commonly reported by cocaine users and may contribute to the further use and abuse of psychostimulants.
Protective space coatings: a ceramer approach for nanoscale materials

Abstract There is a concerted and focused push to develop protective space coatings for vehicles in low earth and geosynchronous orbit. The space environment is not suitable for organic materials due to atomic oxygen, high energy particles, and deep UV light being able to degrade polymeric organic resins. An inorganic/organic hybrid coating, known as a ceramer, will be fabricated using a polysiloxane binder and nanophase silicon/metal-oxo-clusters derived from sol–gel precursors. The binder of the coating will be a substituted polysiloxane terminated with a cyclohexyl epoxide. The cyclohexyl epoxide will be cured at ambient temperature via a cationic UV curing mechanism. PDSC will also be used to investigate the effects of temperature, UV light intensity, sol–gel precursor concentration, and exposure time have on the rate of polymerization. Nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the synthesis of the polysiloxanes. The rate of polymerization was found to increase as temperature, intensity, sol–gel precursor concentration, and exposure time were increased.
Anthropologie und Blutgruppen

Es wird eine Ubersicht uber den Mechanismus der Rassenbildung gegeben. Es wird geschlossen, das der masgebliche Faktor in der Wirkung der naturlichen Selektion auf spontane Mutationen besteht, so das Gene erhalten und vermehrt werden, die in der besonderen physischen und genetischen Umwelt, in der sich eine isolierte Population befindet, vorteilhaft sind. Folglich ist die Existenz von Rassen zu erwarten, die hinsichtlich der Frequenzen einer Anzahl von Genen verschieden sind. Die Vorteile der Blutgruppenwerte fur eine anthropologische Klassifizierung werden geschildert und es wird eine zusammenfassende Ubersicht uber die hauptsachlichen Blutgruppensysteme gegeben. Eine auf Blutgruppenwerten sich grundende Einteilung der menschlichen Species in 13 Rassen wird aufgestellt. Der Mechanismus des „balanced polymorphism“ wird beschrieben, der moglicherweise bewirkt, das die Genfrequenzen der menschlichen Rassen stabil bleiben.
Pink bollworm (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae): large-scale field trials with a high-rate gossyplure formulation

Tests of PBW-ROPE, a hand-applied gossyplure dispenser manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, for control of the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), were conducted on cotton fields in the Imperial Valley, Calif., and in the Mexicali Valley, Mexico. In the Imperial Valley, 23 fields were treated with one of three systems: conventional insecticides (no pheromone), conventional pheromone dispensers (insecticides as needed), or PBW-ROPE pheromone dispensers (insecticides as needed). In the Mexicali Valley, 30 fields were divided between control with conventional insecticide and control with PBW-ROPE dispensers. PBW-ROPE dispensers were applied at the pin square stage (first flower buds) at a rate of ca. 1,000 dispensers containing 78 g (AI)/ha (release rate of 1.3 g per day per ha at application). Moth populations in all fields were monitored during the season using four Delta traps per field containing 1 mg gossyplure baits. Boll samples were taken weekly or twice weekly from first susceptible boll through September. Significant reductions in insecticide applications of 37 and 42% were obtained in fields in the Imperial Valley treated with PBW-ROPE dispensers compared with fields treated with conventional pheromone dispensers or insecticides, respectively (avg. of 11.4 applications in fields treated with conventional insecticides). Cumulative boll infestations were not significantly different in the three treatments. Trap catches in fields treated with PBW-ROPE dispensers were virtually eliminated through June and July and were reduced 97% in August compared with fields treated with conventional insecticides. The number of insecticide applications in fields in the Mexicali Valley treated with PBW-ROPE were reduced 41% compared with fields treated with conventional insecticides (avg. of 4.9 applications in fields treated with conventional insecticides). Cumulative boll infestations were significantly reduced in August and September in fields treated with PBW-ROPE. Trap catches in August in fields treated with PBW-ROPE were reduced 97% compared with fields treated with conventional insecticides.
Examination of charge transfer in Au/YSZ for high-temperature optical gas sensing

Abstract Au-nanoparticle incorporated oxide thin film materials demonstrate significant promise as functional sensor materials for high temperature optical gas sensing in severe environments relevant for fossil and nuclear based power generation. The Au/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) system has been extensively studied in the literature and serves as a model system for fundamental investigations that seek to better understand the mechanistic origin of the plasmonic gas sensing response. In this work, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques are applied to Au/YSZ films in an attempt to provide further experimental evidence for a proposed sensing mechanism involving a change in free carrier density of Au nanoparticles due to charge transfer.
Vascular Adaptation and Mechanical Homeostasis at Tissue, Cellular, and Sub-cellular Levels

Blood vessels exhibit a remarkable ability to adapt throughout life that depends upon genetic programming and well-orchestrated biochemical processes. Findings over the past four decades demonstrate, however, that the mechanical environment experienced by these vessels similarly plays a critical role in governing their adaptive responses. This article briefly reviews, as illustrative examples, six cases of tissue level growth and remodeling, and then reviews general observations at cell-matrix, cellular, and sub-cellular levels, which collectively point to the existence of a "mechanical homeostasis" across multiple length and time scales that is mediated primarily by endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, and fibroblasts. In particular, responses to altered blood flow, blood pressure, and axial extension, disease processes such as cerebral aneurysms and vasospasm, and diverse experimental manipulations and clinical treatments suggest that arteries seek to maintain constant a preferred (homeostatic) mechanical state. Experiments on isolated microvessels, cell-seeded collagen gels, and adherent cells isolated in culture suggest that vascular cells and sub-cellular structures such as stress fibers and focal adhesions likewise seek to maintain constant a preferred mechanical state. Although much is known about mechanical homeostasis in the vasculature, there remains a pressing need for more quantitative data that will enable the formulation of an integrative mathematical theory that describes and eventually predicts vascular adaptations in response to diverse stimuli. Such a theory promises to deepen our understanding of vascular biology as well as to enable the design of improved clinical interventions and implantable medical devices.
The UnMousePad: the future of touch sensing

Multi-touch input has been an active area of research for over two decades but has always suffered from the absence of an easily available high quality touch input device. For this reason, exciting user interfaces developed in the lab have appeared on CNN, but not on everyone's desk, computer screens, table-tops, walls and floors. What has been needed - and lacking - is a better mousetrap; an inexpensive, flexible and sensitive touch imaging technology.
Expression of Rb, E2F1, cdc2, and D, and B cyclins in developing spinal cord

The spatial and temporal distribution of transcripts for the tumor suppressor gene Rb, transcription factor E2F1, cdc2 kinase, cyclins D1, D2, B1 and B2 during neurogenesis of the spinal cord was determined by in situ hybridization. The Rb and E2F1 transcripts were detectable in proliferating and differentiating cells. By contrast, cdc2, cyclins D1, B1 and B2 are expressed in the ventricular zone where proliferating cells are localized. Cyclin D2 mRNA was detectable only in the marginal zone of the developing neural tube. Electrophoretic mobility shift analyses demonstrated a changing pattern of DNA/protein complexes that bind to E2F binding site. These observations suggest that Rb and E2F1 may be involved in the early stages of neuronal differentiation in addition to the cell cycle regulation.
Chemical characterization of haemoglobin G-St-I.

AMONG the genetic variants of adult human haemoglobin, some thirteen amino-acid substitutions have been described which occur along the primary sequence of the α-polypeptide chain. The most widespread and frequently encountered α-chain variant is the substitution of lysine for asparagine in the 68th residue of haemoglobin A (ref. 1). A structural mutation leading to the substitution of asparagine by lysine in a protein can be the direct result of a single nucleotide base alteration within the triplet code. Here an alteration in triplet AAU or AAC specifying asparagine could result in AAA or AAG which code for lysine2. Haemoglobin variants carrying a substitution of lysine for asparagine in the 68th residue of the polypeptide chain have been described in Negro families living in Philadelphia1, Bristol3, Azuokoli, St. Louis, Washington and Baltimore4, and Knoxville6.