cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isolated palate ulcer due to mucormycosis

Mucormycosis is a rare but serious fungal infection that rapidly attacks and kills its untreated victims, who are often immunocompromised. It is one of the most fulminant and often fatal mycotic infections known to human beings. Rhinocerebral mucormycosis is the commonest presentation and its extension to the orbit and brain is quite usual but the palatal involvement is a rare and late occurrence. Isolated location of mucormycosis on the palate in an immunocompetent host is an unusual clinical entity. Here we report a case of deep hard palate ulcer due to mucormycosis in a 56-year-old man without any predisposing factor. He was successfully treated with a combination of surgical debridement and systemic liposomal amphotericin B administration for six weeks. By presenting this case report we would like to emphasis that mucormycosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of the hard palate ulcers even in immunocompetent patient.
Shear-induced platelet margination in a microchannel

The lateral migration of platelets in a microchannel is studied numerically where the hydrodynamic interactions between red cells, platelets, and vessel walls are resolved by the Stokes flow boundary integral equations. The simulations provide a clear physical description of the expulsion of the platelets by the velocity fluctuations in the core cellular flow toward the cell-depleted layer near the wall. The lateral migration is shown to be diffusional, and we further demonstrate, in agreement with previous experiments, that the diffusivity scales sublinearly with the shear rate if the relevant capillary number, $\mathrm{Ca}l1$, as a result of its intrinsic dependence on the deformation of red cells.
A Microfabrication Process for Polymer Microchannel With Embedded Vertical Electrodes for Microfluidic Applications

In this paper, we will report the use of SU-8 to make an all polymer microchannel with vertical platinum electrodes, which is fabricated by a multilayer SU-8 coating and electroplating process. The first layer is spun to increase the adhesion of the channel and the substrate, the second layer is the microchannel structure. The third layer is spun on another substrate and then capped onto the second channel layer to make a completely sealed SU-8 Channel. The PDMS substrate we used to spin the third layer on is flexible to enable conformably sealing to the microchannel substrate. A process that makes vertical microelectrodes inside the channels is also developed, which makes it a powerful process to make a complicate microfluidic network.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Genetic diversity and species identification in the endangered white abalone (Haliotis sorenseni)

In 2001, the white abalone Haliotis sorenseni became the first marine invertebrate in United States waters to receive federal protection as an endangered species. Prior to the endangered species listing, 20 abalone were collected as potential broodstock for a captive rearing program. Using DNA from these animals, we have developed genetic markers, including five nuclear microsatellite loci and partial sequences of one nuclear (VERL) and two mitochondrial (COI and CytB) genes, to assess genetic variability in the species, aid in species identification, and potentially track the success of future outplanting of captive-reared animals. All five microsatellite loci were polymorphic and followed expectations of simple Mendelian inheritance in laboratory crosses. Each of the wild-caught adult abalone exhibited a unique composite microsatellite genotype, suggesting that significant genetic variation remains in natural populations. A combination of nuclear and mitochondrial gene sequencing demonstrated that one of the original wild-caught animals was, in fact, not a white abalone, but H. kamtschatkana (possibly subspecies assimilis). Similarly, another animal of uncertain identity accidentally collected by dredging was also shown to be H. kamtschatkana. Inclusion of these two animals as broodstock could have resulted in unintentional hybridizations detrimental to the white abalone recovery program. Molecular genetic identifications will be useful both in preventing broodstock contamination and as markers for future restocking operations.
A simple and rapid method for evaluating the survival of xeroderma pigmentosum lymphoid lines after irradiation with ultraviolet light

A simple, rapid and reproducible test has been developed to measure the viability of cells after irradiation with ultraviolet light (UV). Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoid lines, derived from patients with xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), were irradiated with UV, and the post-UV viability of the lymphoid lines was determined by the trypan blue dye exclusion method. The relative post-UV survival of the patients' lymphoid lines was similar to the relative post-UV survival of the patients' fibroblast strains.
New D=6, N=(1,1) gauged supergravity with supersymmetric (Minkowski)4×S2 vacuum

Abstract We obtain a new gauged D=6, N =(1,1) pure supergravity by a generalised consistent Kaluza–Klein reduction of M-theory on K3×R. The reduction requires a conspiratory gauging of both the Cremmer–Julia type global (rigid) symmetry and the homogeneous rescaling symmetry of the supergravity equations of motion. The gauged supergravity is different from the Romans D=6 gauged supergravity in that the four vector fields in our new theory are all abelian. We show that it admits a supersymmetric (Minkowski)4×S2 vacuum, which can be lifted to D=11 where it becomes the near-horizon geometry of two intersecting M5-branes wrapping on a supersymmetric two-cycle of K3.
Online Community Coastal Fish Observing System

Development of an inexpensive in situ sonar platform is described, using a relatively low-cost acoustic transducer and custom software, that can be deployed throughout the lake or a region of interest, using buoys or fixed moorings. Ultimately, the product of this project will be a system that has many potential applications, including tracking aquatic fauna over large areas, and quantitative and qualitative analysis of aquatic populations. This project builds upon and continues existing work, in which scientists and staff at the Great Lakes WATER Institute have successfully deployed prototype arrays of digital wireless buoys on Lake Michigan over two field seasons in 2006 and 2007.
Differential predation and growth rates of bay scallops within a seagrass habitat

The bay scallop, Argopecten irradians, is a common and commercially important bivalve species residing in shallow marine ecosystems dominated by seagrasses. However, unlike most bivalves, scallops have the ability to move considerable distances within and among habitats. Consequently, their adult distribution may not be set by larval settlement patterns. In St. Joseph Bay, FL, USA, scallops were significantly more abundant at edges of turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) beds (x=0.75 m−2) than in their interior (x=0.375 m−2) or in nearby unvegetated sediments (x=0.00). This difference in habitat use was shown by field experiments to have two important consequences. First, scallops living along edges of T. testudinum beds experience significantly higher predation potential (>20% loss to predation day−1) than scallops living in the interior of grass beds or on open sediment (<5% predation loss day−1). Second, scallops living along the edge of grass beds showed significantly higher growth rates (0.031 mg dry wt. day−1) than individuals living on open sediment (0.012) or in the interior of beds (0.019). Therefore, individual scallops appear to trade off higher predation risk for increased growth rates.
Development of a Diabetes Self-Management Screening Tool for the Acute Care Setting

Abstract Current guidelines recommend a multidisciplinary approach to education with a focus on self-care. Providing education to hospitalized patients is a challenge since it is not an optimal setting. In order to provide cost-effective medical nutrition therapy to hospitalized patients with DM, the dietitian needs an assessment tool to determine appropriate interventions to meet patient needs. A three level screening tool was developed to predict need for education in patients with DM. Data on gender, age, weight, height, diagnosis, admission glucose, diabetic medication, diet order, prior education, self blood-glucose monitoring (SBGM), complications, body mass index (BMI), hemoglobin A1C, home diet, changes in diabetic medication or caregiver, exercise, hypoglycemic events, and knowledge of treatment for sick days or hypoglycemia, were obtained in 87 patients. Significant variables from initial screening (level 1) were: gender, with females more likely to need education than males (p=.04); patients with complicated diet orders such as renal or cardiac compared to simple ADA diets (p=.05) and patients not doing SBGM (p=.0007) or with high admission glucose (p=.03) being more likely to need education. This model had 91.2% sensitivity and 25% specificity. Variables from follow-up (level 2), home diet (p=.0001) and BMI (p =.04) were significant predictors. Recent change in medication and hypoglycemia were not significant. This model had 97.9% sensitivity and 55% specificity. Combination of data from initial screening with follow-up did not improve the model. Significant variables from the assessment (level 3) were poor knowledge of treatment for hypoglycemia or sick days (p=.01 and p=.005 respectively) and inappropriate food selections (p=.02). This model had 90.3% sensitivity and 84% specificity
Threshold Amsler grid testing in maculopathies.

Abstract The Amsler grid is a suprathreshold target and thus may fail to detect relative scotomas. If the grid is viewed through two cross-polarizing filters creating low luminance conditions (threshold Amsler grid testing) the test is far more sensitive. Ten patients with disorders of the macula with normal standard white Amsler grid testing were studied with three other Amsler grid tests. Of the 15 involved eyes, 12 had visual field defects present with threshold Amsler grid testing. Tangent screen examination showed defects in 10 of these 12 eyes. The two red grids used were not as sensitive as the threshold grid. Three eyes had metamorphopsia with the white grid which became the site of a visual field defect with threshold testing. Threshold Amsler grid testing is a rapid and sensitive technique for the evaluation of the central 10° of visual field in patients with maculopathies.
Orbital Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic resonance images of the eye and orbit performed with surface coils at 1.5 tesla showed anatomic details superior to those of conventional third- and fourth-generation computed tomography.
Computer-aided marginal artery detection on computed tomographic colonography

Computed tomographic colonography (CTC) is a minimally invasive technique for colonic polyps and cancer screening. The marginal artery of the colon, also known as the marginal artery of Drummond, is the blood vessel that connects the inferior mesenteric artery with the superior mesenteric artery. The marginal artery runs parallel to the colon for its entire length, providing the blood supply to the colon. Detecting the marginal artery may benefit computer-aided detection (CAD) of colonic polyp. It can be used to identify teniae coli based on their anatomic spatial relationship. It can also serve as an alternative marker for colon localization, in case of colon collapse and inability to directly compute the endoluminal centerline. This paper proposes an automatic method for marginal artery detection on CTC. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work presented for this purpose. Our method includes two stages. The first stage extracts the blood vessels in the abdominal region. The eigenvalue of Hessian matrix is used to detect line-like structures in the images. The second stage is to reduce the false positives in the first step. We used two different masks to exclude the false positive vessel regions. One is a dilated colon mask which is obtained by colon segmentation. The other is an eroded visceral fat mask which is obtained by fat segmentation in the abdominal region. We tested our method on a CTC dataset with 6 cases. Using ratio-of-overlap with manual labeling of the marginal artery as the standard-of-reference, our method yielded true positive, false positive and false negative fractions of 89%, 33%, 11%, respectively.
Concomitant Purification and Characterization of Malate Dehydrogenase, Aspartate Transaminase, Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase and Enolase from Rabbit Liver Cytosol

A procedure was developed for purifying the cytosolic isoforms of malate dehydrogenase, aspartate transaminase, enolase and nucleoside diphosphate kinase from a single preparation of rabbit liver. The procedure includes chromatography on reactive-dye, radial-flow columns, and elution of enzymes from columns by substrates, to obtain high yields in a minimal amount of time. The scheme avoids steps used in previous methods that are either difficult to execute in large-scale preparations, or alter the native forms of the enzymes. Examination of the purified enzymes by SDS-PAGE indicated that nearly homogeneous preparations had been obtained. The native molecular weight, subunit molecular weight, and isoelectric point(s) were determined for each enzyme. Although preparations of nucleoside diphosphate kinase purified from cytosol showed only a single band on SDS-PAGE, isoelectric focusing revealed the presence of multiple isoforms.
EFFECTS OF STARVATION ON THE METABOLISM OF CHLORELLA.

Chlorella has been widely used in studies on photosynthesis with but little attention to possible variations in its metabolic activities. The metabolism of other microorganisms has proved to be quite variable and dependent upon previous history as well as upon prevailing environmental conditions. It has been common practice, for instance, to study resting cells as opposed to actively proliferating cells. Resting cells have been variously obtained by removal of the nitrogen source from the nutrient medium, by washing the cells, or starving the cells of organic nutrients for a period of time. Assimilation of carbon may be much more efficient in resting cells than in growing cells (cf. 10) and for that reason the former have most frequently been used in studies on oxidative assimilation. In Chlorella oxidative assimilation has been studied in resting cell preparations obtained as a result of starvation, i.e., aerobic incubation in the dark in the absence of organic nutrients (6). As a background for the larger problem of assimilation in Chlorella it becomes important to investigate the changes that take place during starvation.
GENES FOR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO VIRUSES

Polio virus is capable of growing within human cells, and not mouse cells, because human cells possess certain genes required by the polio virus for multiplication. Miller et al. have demonstrated that these polio “susceptibility genes” are probably on human chromosome 19, since human-mouse hybrid cells are susceptible to polio only as long as they possess chromosome 19. We have hybridized cells from a patient carrying an X/19 translocation with mouse cells deficient in the X-linked enzyme HGPRT. These hybrids selectively retain that portion of chromosome 19 which is attached to the piece of the X with the HGPRT locus. These hybrids are susceptible to polio virus Types 1, 2 and 3, even though they lack a portion (the distal part of the long arm) of chromosome 19. This is consistent with assignment of the polio susceptibility genes to this chromosome and suggests they may be confined to a limited region of the chromosome. The hybrid cell approach is generally applicable to the analysis of susceptibility genes for viruses of limited host range, some of which are currently under study.
Observer-based techniques in ripple correlation control applied to power electronic systems

Ripple correlation control is a general optimization method for use with power electronic interfaced systems. The method relies on gradient information extracted from the ripple associated with these systems. The variable to be optimized and the variable that the optimization is being performed with respect to, must both be available to the controller. This paper discusses ways of dealing with the difficulties that arise when these signals cannot be measured due to dynamics within the system.
RENAL RESPONSE TO AMMONIUM CHLORIDE IN GLYCOSURIC OSTEOMALACIA

Rebal tubular disorders associated with malacic bone disease have been considered under two major categories. The first, which bears numerous descriptive titles, is thought to result from impaired acid excretion and ammonia synthesis (1). Patients with this disorder (renal hyperchloremic acidosis) manifest an alkaline or slightly acid urine, low serum bicarbonate level, and hyperchloremia. The renal defect, believed to involve the distal portion of the tubule, results in loss of metallic cation, and increased excretion of calcium has been considered particularly significant in the pathogenesis of nephracalcinosis and bone disease. The second type of tubular abnormality (Fanconi or Detoni-Fanconi syndrome) is thought to involve the proximal convoluted tubule, with resultant glycosuria and increased excretion of amino acids, organic acids and phosphorus. The cause of the bone disease in this variety of tubular insufficiency is not clearly established, but may be the result of urinary loss of phosphorus (2, 3).
Multiple-Fault Diagnosis Based On Adaptive Diagnostic Test Pattern Generation

In this paper, we propose two fault-diagnosis methods for improving multiple-fault diagnosis resolution. The first method, based on the principle of single-fault activation and single-output observation, employs a new circuit transformation technique in conjunction with the use of a special type of diagnostic test pattern, named single-observation single-location-at-a-time (SO-SLAT) pattern. Given a list of candidate suspects (which could be stuck-at, transition, bridging, or other faults obtained by any existing diagnosis method), we generate a set of SO-SLAT patterns, each of which attempts to activate only one fault in the list and propagate its effects only to a specific observation point. Observing the responses of the circuit under diagnosis to the SO-SLAT patterns helps more precisely determine whether each fault suspect is a true or false candidate. The method can tolerate most of the timing hazards for a more accurate diagnosis of failures caused by timing faults. The second method generates and applies limited-cycle sequential tests, based on a Boolean satisfiability solver, to identify multiple defective signals which can jointly explain the circuit's faulty behavior. These two methods can be applied independently and/or jointly after any existing state-of-the-art diagnosis process to further improve the diagnosis resolution. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods for diagnosing multiple faults, including timing faults
Bolzano and Kant on the Nature of Logic

Here I revisit Bolzano's criticisms of Kant on the nature of logic. I argue that while Bolzano is correct in taking Kant to conceive of the traditional logic as a science of the activity of thinking rather than the content of thought, he is wrong to charge Kant with a failure to identify and examine this content itself within logic as such. This neglects Kant's own insistence that traditional logic does not exhaust logic as such, since it must be supplemented by a transcendental logic that will in fact study nothing other than thought's content. Once this feature of Kant's views is brought to light, a much deeper accord emerges between the two thinkers than has hitherto been appreciated, on both the nature of the content that is at issue in logic and the sense of logic's generality and formality.
Detection and capacity limits in magnetic media noise

The media noise in magnetic recording is strongly signal dependent. By modeling the medium as a collection of independent magnetic grains, the noise variance can be shown to vary as "1-m/sup 2/", where m is the normalized magnetization. An approximate detection bound is developed for a magnetic recording channel dominated by such media noise. Four different coding techniques are compared: /sup 16///sub 17/(O,k), /sup 2///sub 3/(1,7), /sup 5///sub 6/ MTR, and /sup 8///sub 10/ trellis. It can also be deduced that, for constant areal density, low bit aspect ratios give better effective SNR. Finally, it is shown that in the limit of very sparse grains, the channel capacity approaches 1 bit/grain.
Power, packaging, and multiplexing considerations in an acoustic travel-time current meter

For users of a current meter, ease of operation is very important, second only to its accuracy of flow measurement. Simplicity of deployment is one measure of this ease of operation. A current meter that can be deployed for an extended period of time, that includes power source and logger in a single case, and that is small and lightweight makes deployment and recovery easy. If the current meter can also accommodate ancillary sensors without extra housings the deployment becomes even simpler. Small size is generally compromised by the need for long deployments. In a recent redesign of the Modular Acoustic Velocity Sensor (MAVS), power management has improved battery consumption by a factor of 50. Power switching alone was unable to provide the benefit required. In the new design, the controller (Onset Tattletale 8 microcomputer) is shut down between measurements and the switching regulators are turned off except during the actual analog conditioning and digitization of signals. Multiplexing of acoustic signals reduces circuit board real estate and allows ports for analog and digital signals from some sensors and from conditioning circuits attached to other sensors. This in turn reduces the total size of the measurement suite, easing the handling of the mooring. A deep sea MAVS with temperature sensing array and high resolution pressure sensor has been built for monitoring heat flux in a hydrothermal vent field in a pressure case 95 mm (3.75") in diameter and 430 mm (17") long. It samples for 270 days on 35 WH of internal battery, storing a sample every minute. A single sample takes 45 milliwatt-seconds (mJ) of energy for a total measurement energy budget of 5 WH.
Mutual coupling between broadside printed dipoles embedded in stratified anisotropic dielectrics

The mutual coupling between two broadside printed dipoles in stratified anisotropic dielectrics is evaluated using newly derived spectral domain immittance functions. It is shown that an increase in the permittivity in the layer below the dipoles in the direction of the optical axis can significantly increase the mutual coupling while an increase in the permittivity in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis in the layer above the dipoles could be used to reduce the mutual coupling. The isotropic cases are compared to published literature and commercial software for validation and good agreement is shown.
Retention of Passive Integrated Transponder Tags in Stream-Dwelling Rainbow Trout

Abstract Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags have been widely used as a tool for various monitoring and research needs, but the retention of PIT tags has rarely been tested in resident salmonids. We quantified the short-term (≤1 week), annual (1 year), and long-term (≥1 year) retention rates of PIT tags placed in the peritoneal cavity of small resident rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in 11 study streams and assessed whether fish size and gender affected tag retention. Short-term retention rates were at least 92% and averaged 96% for all streams, but a paired t-test nevertheless indicated that experienced taggers had significantly higher short-term retention rates (mean, 98%) than did inexperienced taggers (mean, 95%). Annual retention rates for PIT tags averaged 81% among all study streams, ranging from a low of 67% to a high of 92%. Annual retention rates were lower for larger rainbow trout than for their smaller counterparts. Long-term tag loss for females was the same as for males for fish smal...
Reformulating the Party Coalitions: The "Christian Democratic" Republicans

Author(s): Petrocik, John R. | Abstract: The party coalitions that emerged from the New Deal realignment were defined by race, nationality and ethnicity, religion, region, and social class. In the last decade, the "religious impulse" has become an increas-ingly important aspect of the party coalitions as Republican and Demo-cratic identifiers have become increasingly distinct in terms of their re-ligiosity and religious practice. The paper traces the increasing impor-tance of religiosity and social class as correlates of party identification and argues that the contemporary GOP has a support base that is highly similar to that of conventional Christian Democratic parties. It further suggests that the pattern of issue politics between the parties today is a result of this new cleavage structure.
Small bowel volvulus in the adult populace of the United States: results from a population-based study

Abstract Background Small bowel volvulus is a rare entity in Western adults. Greater insight into epidemiology and outcomes may be gained from a national database inquiry. Methods The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (1998 to 2010), a 20% stratified sample of United States hospitals, was retrospectively reviewed for small bowel volvulus cases (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition [ICD-9] code 560.2 excluding gastric/colonic procedures) in patients greater than or equal to 18 years old. Results There were 2,065,599 hospitalizations for bowel obstruction (ICD-9 560.x). Of those, there were 20,680 (1.00%) small bowel volvulus cases; 169 were attributable to intestinal malrotation. Most cases presented emergently (89.24%) and operative management was employed more frequently than nonoperative (65.21% vs 34.79%, P P Conclusion As the first population-based epidemiological study of small bowel volvulus, our findings provide a robust representation of this rare cause of small bowel obstruction in American adults.
Low rates of controller medication initiation and outpatient follow-up after emergency department visits for asthma.

Objective To determine what proportion of patients who are seen in an emergency department (ED) for asthma receive inhaled corticosteroids or attend follow-up appointments. Study design This was a retrospective cohort study of 2007-2009 South Carolina Medicaid data. Enrollees aged 2-18 years who had an ED visit for asthma were included. Patients admitted for asthma or with an inhaled corticosteroid claim in the 2 months before the month of the ED visit were excluded. Covariates were sex, race, age, rural residence, and asthma severity. Outcome measures were a prescription for an inhaled corticosteroid filled within the 2 months after the ED visit and attendance at a follow-up appointment within the 2 months after the ED visit. Results A total of 3435 patients were included. Out of the study cohort, 57% were male, 76% were of a minority race/ethnicity, 69% lived in an urban areas, 18% had inhaled corticosteroid use, and 12% completed follow-up. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that patients with severe asthma were more likely to receive an inhaled corticosteroid (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 2.3-3.7) and attend a follow-up appointment (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.5-2.6). Patients aged 2-6 years and those aged >12 years were less likely to attend follow-up (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.56-0.90 and OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.47-0.83, respectively) (all models P Conclusion Children with asthma seen in the ED have low rates of inhaled corticosteroid use and outpatient follow-up. This indicates a need for further interventions to increase the use of inhaled corticosteroids in response to ED visits.
Using PRAM Algorithms on a Uniform-Memory-Access Shared-Memory Architecture

The ability to provide uniform shared-memory access to a significant number of processors in a single SMP node brings us much closer to the ideal PRAM parallel computer. In this paper, we develop new techniques for designing a uniform shared-memory algorithm from a PRAM algorithm and present the results of an extensive experimental study demonstrating that the resulting programs scale nearly linearly across a significant range of processors (from 1 to 64) and across the entire range of instance sizes tested. This linear speedup with the number of processors is, to our knowledge, the first ever attained in practice for intricate combinatorial problems. The example we present in detail here is a graph decomposition algorithm that also requires the computation of a spanning tree; this problem is not only of interest in its own right, but is representative of a large class of irregular combinatorial problems that have simple and efficient sequential implementations and fast PRAM algorithms, but have no known efficient parallel implementations. Our results thus offer promise for bridging the gap between the theory and practice of shared-memory parallel algorithms.
A two-dimensional vortex condensate at high Reynolds number

We investigate solutions of the two-dimensional Navier‐Stokes equation in a square box with stress-free boundary conditions. The flow is steadily forced by the addition of a source sinnx sinny to the vorticity equation; attention is restricted to even n so that the forcing has zero integral. Numerical solutions with nD 2 and 6 show that at high Reynolds numbers the solution is a domain-scale vortex condensate with a strong projection on the gravest mode, sinx siny. The sign of the vortex condensate is selected by a symmetry-breaking instability. We show that the amplitude of the vortex condensate has a finite limit as ! 0. Using a quasilinear approximation we make an analytic prediction of the amplitude of the condensate and show that the amplitude is determined by viscous selection of a particular solution from a family of solutions to the forced two-dimensional Euler equation. This theory indicates that the condensate amplitude will depend sensitively on the form of the dissipation, even in the undamped limit. This prediction is verified by considering the addition of a drag term to the Navier‐Stokes equation and comparing the quasilinear theory with numerical solution.
Multilevel phase-change memory

Phase-change memory (PCM) has emerged in recent years as one among the most attractive technologies for future non-volatile solid-state memory. PCM relies on the reversible phase transition in chalcogenide materials between different states, i.e., amorphous and poly-crystalline, which are characterized by very different electrical properties. Multilevel storage, namely storage of multiple bits in a memory cell, is a key factor for the competitiveness of PCM technology in the nonvolatile memory market. This paper presents experimental characterization of multilevel PCM devices and addresses the feasibility and reliability issues of multilevel storage using adaptive program-and-verify schemes.
Slower Treatment Response in Bipolar Depression Predicted by Lower Pretreatment Thyroid Function

OBJECTIVE: Because treatment of the depressed phase of bipolar disorder is a clinical challenge and hypothyroidism is known to be associated with depression, the authors examined the relationship between pretreatment thyroid values and response to antidepressant treatment. It was hypothesized that subjects with lower thyroid function, even within the normal range, would have a poorer response to initial treatment. METHOD: The subjects were 65 patients in the depressed phase of bipolar I disorder who were enrolled in a larger ongoing study. A panel of thyroid measures, including thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxine, triiodothyronine resin uptake, and free thyroxine index (FTI), were determined before initiation of algorithm-guided treatment. The effect of each thyroid measurement on time to remission was estimated by using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Both lower values of FTI and higher values of TSH were significantly associated with longer times to remission, i.e., slower response...
Desert grassland responses to climate and soil moisture suggest divergent vulnerabilities across the southwestern United States.

Climate change predictions include warming and drying trends, which are expected to be particularly pronounced in the southwestern United States. In this region, grassland dynamics are tightly linked to available moisture, yet it has proven difficult to resolve what aspects of climate drive vegetation change. In part, this is because it is unclear how heterogeneity in soils affects plant responses to climate. Here, we combine climate and soil properties with a mechanistic soil water model to explain temporal fluctuations in perennial grass cover, quantify where and the degree to which incorporating soil water dynamics enhances our ability to understand temporal patterns, and explore the potential consequences of climate change by assessing future trajectories of important climate and soil water variables. Our analyses focused on long-term (20-56 years) perennial grass dynamics across the Colorado Plateau, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Desert regions. Our results suggest that climate variability has negative effects on grass cover, and that precipitation subsidies that extend growing seasons are beneficial. Soil water metrics, including the number of dry days and availability of water from deeper (>30 cm) soil layers, explained additional grass cover variability. While individual climate variables were ranked as more important in explaining grass cover, collectively soil water accounted for 40-60% of the total explained variance. Soil water conditions were more useful for understanding the responses of C3 than C4 grass species. Projections of water balance variables under climate change indicate that conditions that currently support perennial grasses will be less common in the future, and these altered conditions will be more pronounced in the Chihuahuan Desert and Colorado Plateau. We conclude that incorporating multiple aspects of climate and accounting for soil variability can improve our ability to understand patterns, identify areas of vulnerability, and predict the future of desert grasslands.
Tensile Properties of Extruded Zein Sheets and Extrusion Blown Films

Zein-based plastic sheets and films were formed by extrusion through a slit-die or blowing head. Zein was plasticized with oleic acid and formed into a wet moldable mass (resin) to feed the extruders. Both single- and twin-screw extruded sheets showed higher elongation at break, lower tensile strength, and lower Young's Modulus than non-extruded samples. Stress-strain plots for extruded samples showed evidence of plastic behavior. Observed necking of samples under tensile stress was also taken as evidence of plastic behavior. Small differences in tensile strength and elongation at break between single- and twin-screw extruded samples were attributed to the effect of small voids observed by SEM in single-screw extruded samples. Blown film extrusion was affected by feed moisture content and barrel temperatures. Optimal moisture content was determined at 14-15% while temperature at the three extruder zones was maintained at 20-25, 20-25, and 35°C, respectively. Temperature at the blowing head was 45°C. Film samples blown after either single- or twin-screw extrusion showed similar tensile properties to those of slit die extruded samples.
The Principia, Universal Gravitation, and the “Newtonian Style”, in relation to the Newtonian Revolution in Science:

Scholars generally agree that Newton’s Principia marks the climax of the Scientific Revolution.1 This great treatise epitomized the application of mathematics to natural philosophy and set a standard which scientists in such diverse areas as palaeontology and physical chemistry saw as the goal for all developing sciences.2 Yet, to judge from the current literature in intellectual history, the history of philosophy, and even the general history of science, and despite the unanimity on the importance of Newton’s Principia, there is a rather wide-spread lack of precision and a considerable variation from one author to another regarding the nature of the book — its contents, its method, its positive accomplishments, and its failures. Very few scholars today, save for Newtonian specialists, have read the Principia through from cover to cover — a task that demands mathematical skills beyond the range of most historians, plus a background in various aspects of physics and of celestial mechanics.3 Newton himself was aware of the fact that to study carefully every proposition of the first two books of the Principia ‘might be too time-consuming even for readers who are learned in mathematics’, and so he said that he was ‘unwilling to advise anyone to study every one of these propositions’.4
Software Sourcing in the Age of Open: Leveraging the Unknown Workforce by Ågerfalk, Pär J., Fitzgerald, Brian, and Stol, Klaas-Jan

Information technology (IT) developers are constantly looking for new and innovative software development methods to create high-quality systems in shorter cycle times and at reduced costs. Meanwhi...
Nonprofits and Political Activity: Lessons from England and Canada

In the recent debate about nonprofit organizations and political activity, little attention has been paid to what we can learn from the approach of other countries. This piece compares U.S. rules with those of Canada and England, in the context of both their nonprofit rules applicable to political activity and their campaign finance laws. As the piece explains, England and Canada, like the U.S., prohibit direct or indirect campaign intervention by charities. These countries, however, differ from the U.S. and each other in the amount of lobbying and other non-campaign political engagement permitted by charities. England and Canada do not limit noncharitable nonprofits from engaging in any type of political activity under their nonprofit or tax laws. Both countries, however, regulate elections and campaign finance in general more stringently than does the U.S.
Analysis of causes and follow up study for the infants with premature thelarche

Obiective To explore the causes of infants with premature thelarche(PT). Methods A total of 351infants(3months~3years old)with PT,an average age of 1.4years old,from the endorctinology department of Zhengzhou Children's Hospital,were included into the oberserved groups.130 cases,an average age of 1.3years old(3months to 3years old),from the in-patient department of Zhengzhou Children's Hospital,were included into the control groups.All cases were accepted the questionnaire survey and sex hormones test.Cases of the oberserved groups were followed up more than 2years. Results 1)Breast development regressed in 296 cases of the oberserved groups within 1year.The rate of regression was 96.7%.2)The level of estradiol in the oberserved groups was higher than the control groups,especially in the groups of6months~1year old and 1~3years old(P0.05).3)There were no significant differences between oberserved groups and control groups in birth weight,taking progesterone and pesticides exposure during mother pregnancy.While there were significant differences between oberserved groups and control groups in artificial feeding,using whitening skin care products of guardians and living at suburban district of Zhengzhou(P0.05). Conclusions Maybe the major cause of infants with PT is highly sensitive of exogenous estrogen hormones or environmental pollutants base on the genetic susceptibility.A few infants with breast development have organic diseases should be follow-up for a long terms.
Surveillance for influenza A virus in poultry related environments in Jinhua,Zhejiang,2014

Objective To understand distribution of influenza A virus in poultry related environments in Jinhua,assess potential risk of human infection with avian influenza virus,and provide evidence for the for prevention and control of the disease. Methods The survey was conducted in 155 poultry related sites in Jinhua,and 6 types of environmental samples were collected for detection of influenza A virus with real-time PCR. The results were analyzed with SPSS17. 0. Results Influenza A virus was detected in 50. 97% of the 155 poultry related sites. A total of 1445 samples collected from these sites were detected,the positive rate of influenza A virus was 26. 44%. Among four types of poultry related sites,the positive rate in alive poultry markets was 33. 60%,which was higher than that in large scale poultry farms,free range villages and wild migratory bird habitats( P 0. 01). Among six types of environmental samples,the positive rates of poultry's internal organs,polluted water after washing poultry and smears of tools used for poultry processing were higher that those of poultry stool, poultry drinking water and smears of poultry cage surfaces( P 0. 001). Influenza A virus was detected in the samples collected from all the 10 counties( district). The positive rate during winter-spring was higher than that during summer-autumn( χ2= 46. 490,P 0. 01). There was no statistically difference in the positive rate in alive poultry markets between urban area and rural area( χ2= 0. 040,P 0. 01).Conclusion Influenza A virus can be detected in alive poultry markets,in slaughtering process and during winter-spring in Jinhua. The potential risk of human infection with avian influenza virus exists. It is necessary to strengthen the management and supervision of alive poultry markets during winter-spring,such as quarantine,disinfection and market closure,and promote the selling of processed poultry products to reduce the incidence of human infection with avian influenza virus.
Some notes on preventive psychiatry.

An epidemiological approach is described in detail giving main emphasis to the functional state of a whole environmental system. Criteria were established by which communities were judged in terms ...
‘He’s still with these girls’: exploring perceptions of HIV risk among men with behaviourally bisexual male partners

AbstractRecent studies have called for more nuanced research into the relationships between behaviourally bisexual men and their sexual partners. To address this, we conducted a longitudinal qualitative study with self-identifying gay men; participants took part in timeline-based interviews and relationship diaries. We conducted a thematic analysis of verbatim transcripts to understand how relationship motivations, emotions and relationship dynamics influenced perceptions of HIV risk with behaviourally bisexual male partners. Participants described how partnership types (main and casual) and relationship dimensions (exclusivity, commitment, emotional attachment and relationship designation) strongly influenced perceptions of HIV risk and shaped their decisions to choose behaviourally bisexual male sex partners. Results reveal the crucial role relationship dynamics play in the shaping of HIV risk perceptions, sexual decision-making and HIV risk between partners, and provide potential insight on how to mess...
German Jews in Paris: Traversing Modernity

The article traces Central European Jewish visitors of Paris during the Weimar Republic and the 1930s and analyzes the shifting meaning of travel, exile, and the figure of the flaneur. Their travelogues articulated their affection for Paris in the aftermath of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, marking them as border crossers in multiple ways. Writing about modern capitals such as Paris became a way to temporarily belong to them, to reimagine modernity.
The Acquisition of Concepts

Chapter 15 explored the basic properties of ideas or concepts, and Chapter 16 defined what it is to possess them. This chapter looks at how we come to possess concepts. We will identify four sources: observation (abstraction), communication, constructive thought, and abstractive thought. Psychological investigation of concept formation has focused on a process called “concept learning.” Since the process involves the formation and testing of hypotheses containing the concept to be acquired, it cannot be a way of acquiring concepts. This fact has been used to argue that all concepts are innate. But the argument assumes groundlessly that concept learning is the only method by which concepts could possibly be acquired. The proper conclusion to draw is that since concepts are thought-parts rather than beliefs, the acquisition of concepts is not a belief-forming operation. We will explore the possibility that some concept-formation processes, involving observation and abstraction, are basic psychophysical processes. I believe that the concentration on concept-learning experiments can be traced back to the historical confusion between the acquisition of concepts and the learning of word meanings. ACQUISITION We are said to acquire or form a concept when we change from nonpossession to possession. Definition : S acquired (formed) concept C at t iff S possessed C at t but not before . Acquisition coincides with an initial occurrence marking the beginning of a period of possession, during which the concept may or may not reoccur.
A Cross-Industry Machine Learning Framework with Explicit Representations

At Nara Logics, we provide recommendations for ecommerce, supply chain, financial services, travel & hospitality, operations and more for the Global 200. We've learned that for machine intelligence to be accepted, it must interact seamlessly with humans, expose its reasoning to humans, and even incorporate human feedback in real time into its decision making. Just as you take your friends' recommendations more seriously when you can probe their mental model of your likes and dislikes, machine recommendations are more appealing when users understand how they were generated and can provide feedback to those recommendations. These aspects are necessary as commercial interfaces increasingly leverage recommendations alongside statistical analysis.
Vigabatrin vs Carbamazepine in Partial Seizures

The efficacy and tolerability of vigabatrin (VGB) and carbamazepine (CBZ) monotherapy were compared in an open long-term study in newly diagnosed partial seizures in children treated at the Infantile Neuropsychiatric Division of the Regional Pediatric Hospital, Ancona, Italy.
“Core–Shell” Nanostructured Supported Size-Selective Catalysts with High Catalytic Activity

We report the synthesis of a highly active, supported nanostructured metal nanoparticle catalyst with an ultrathin porous shell and gaps between the metal nanoparticles and the shell for size-selective reactions. The size-selectivity of the catalysts could be realized through the porous shell. The gaps were able to reduce catalytic activity loss due to the contact areas between the shell and the catalytic sites. Evaluations of the activity and selectivity of the catalysts were made by catalytic hydrogenation of n-hexene versus cis-cyclooctene. Further verification of the high catalytic activity of the nanostructured catalysts was by oxidation of carbon monoxide.