cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patterns of Error in Confidential Maintenance Incident Reports

Confidential reports of maintenance incidents are a valuable source of information on maintenance errors and the contexts within which they occur. NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System has been receiving an increasing number of maintenance incident reports since a specialized maintenance reporting form was introduced in 1996. In a series of studies, the database of ASRS maintenance incidents was examined using correspondence analysis, a statistical technique that converts complex data tables into a visual form. The analyses revealed patterns within the ASRS data set that would have otherwise been difficult to detect. The results have implications for a range of purposes including human factors training, the design of procedures, and the identification of improvements in aircraft design.
Use of Polypropyleneimine Tetrahexacontaamine (DAB-Am-64) Dendrimer as a Single-Molecule Template To Produce Mesoporous Silicas

The use of DAB-Am-64 amine dendrimer as a single-molecule template to produce mesoporous cavities in silica sol−gels is reported. The method is meant to afford the synthesis of spheroidal cavities and is likely to enjoy generality, since there are a number of dendritic molecules commercially available today. X-ray diffraction confirms that a coherent distance of ∼25 A is obtained upon calcination, and the modeling of nitrogen adsorption data by a modified Horvath-Kawazoe formalism for spherical cavities reveals that voids of ∼23 A in diameter had been formed.
A Third Way: The Presidential Non-Signing Statement

This Note proposes an alternative approach for a president who wishes to register constitutional concerns about an enrolled bill without vetoing it. Recently, presidents have done so by issuing statements upon signing such bills that purport to “construe” them for consistency with the Constitution. This practice has fueled an intense controversy among commentators, many of whom contend that such signing statements are themselves unconstitutional. However, the recent commentary largely assumes that the President has only the options of signature or veto upon presentment, ignoring the Constitution’s provision for a bill to become law without the President’s signature - what this Note terms a default enactment. This Note submits that the President should consider allowing a default enactment when he has doubts about the constitutionality of minor, non-central provisions of a bill. Here, he may offer a non-signing statement in lieu of the more controversial signing statement. This Note lays out factors to assist a president’s determination of whether he may allow a constitutionally doubtful bill to become law; it also explains how a non-signing statement differs from a signing statement.
Improving the Teaching of Writing across the Curriculum: A Model for Teaching in-Service Secondary Teachers to Write.

Abstract This article provides a conceptual basis for a teacher preparation course designed to improve the writing skills and teaching practices of in-service teachers. To propose this course, we first examined the research on preparing all secondary in-service teachers to use writing well. Research suggests that teachers' histories as writers greatly affect whether they feel confident enough to use writing with their students. Even though many teachers believe in the value of using writing for instructional purposes, they report significant challenges—namely, a lack of professional preparation and time. Given our experiences as graduate faculty members in a large university, we discuss the need for the graduate-level course that we developed. The curricular design is described, and student survey results suggest that the course is effective. Implications for in-service teacher preparation and professional development are presented in light of recent calls for writing reform.
A Surgical Approach to Collect Testicular Fluid from the Extratesticular Rete Testis of the Pony

A surgical technique was developed to collect testicular fluid from the extratesticular rete testis of the pony stallion. A cannula was inserted through an incision in the visceral vaginal tunic following ligation of the efferent ductules. The cannula was sutured in place in the extratesticular rete testis. The other end of the cannula was exteriorized and inserted into a plastic collection receptacle fastened to the scrotum. Testicular fluid was collected for 12 to 36 hours at a rate of 1.07 ± 0.8 ml/hr. Sperm clots in the proximal end of the cannulas were responsible for the cessation of drainage.
Use of haloperidol in PCP-intoxicated individuals

Context. Emergency medical workers often experience violence while performing their job functions. Phencyclidine (PCP)-intoxicated patients are often violent and difficult to control physically. A chemical restraint is frequently needed to assist in protecting both patients and staff from agitated persons. Objective. This study evaluated haloperidol as a chemical restraint in PCP-intoxicated patients. Methods. This is a retrospective case series of all PCP-positive patients who received haloperidol for behavioral control from April 2008 to April 2011 at a single large (944 bed), urban, tertiary-care hospital. All patients receiving haloperidol and having a toxicology screen positive for PCP were identified using an electronic medical record. Identified cases were then manually reviewed by investigators for adverse events. Results. Subjects included 59 adult patients who were acutely agitated requiring chemical restraint or sedation with haloperidol, and who tested positive for PCP. There were 20 females a...
LabBase: managing lab data in a large-scale genome-mapping project

The Whitehead/MIT Center for Genome Research is engaged in several high-throughput genome-mapping projects, including physical mapping of the human genome and genetic-linkage mapping of the mouse genome. The scale and complexity of the laboratory workflows for these projects make a laboratory information system a necessity. For example, the human physical mapping project has performed over 1.2 million experimental steps to date, many of which involve numerous biochemical assays. The result is a physical map containing over 13 thousand sequence-tagged-site markers, with a near-term goal of 15 thousand markers. These markers will likely be used as a starting point for producing a higher resolution map, which in turn will provide the raw material for sequencing the human genome. LabBase is a database management system (DBMS) tailored to the needs of laboratory information systems that support such projects. It is designed to make it easy to keep track of laboratory samples, the experimental steps performed on them, and the results of these experiments. LabBase is functionally specialised because it provides special support for the requirements of managing laboratory data over and above what would be provided by a generic, off-the-shelf DBMS. >
Taking the Temperature of Ecological Systems With Fiber Optics: Fiber Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing for Ecological Characterization; Blue River, Oregon, 10–15 September 2007

Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) is emerging as a powerful tool for hydrological and ecological observation over wide spatial and temporal scales. DTS instillations allow for the precise observation of temperature at each meter of fiber-optic cables, with a precision of up to 0.01°C. The temperature is computed from the light backscattered following an intense laser pulse, and the location of each reading is determined by the arrival time of the pulse back to the central recording station. Because cables can exceed 10,000 meters in length, DTS holds the potential for transformative observation of diverse Earth processes.
Transformational leadership at different phases of the innovation process

Abstract This article presents a conceptual depiction of the importance of transformational leadership at different phases of the innovation process. The two themes of nurturant and persistent leadership are linked with transformational leadership theory. They are then used as a basis for understanding the role of leadership behavior in successful innovations. Research possibilities and potential implications are presented regarding the proposed model.
Effect of Al2O3 fibers on the high-temperature stability of silicone elastomer

Abstract Silicones are widely used for electrical insulation due to their high dielectric strength and thermal stability. However, recent studies revealed insufficient stability of silicone at high temperature for aerospace application. In this study, effect of Al 2 O 3 fibers on thermal stability of silicone was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and isothermal (250 °C) soak test. Both tests indicated an increased thermal stability with increasing fiber-loading. In TGA tests, temperature of degradation onset increased from 330 to 379 °C with a 30 wt% fiber-loading. In soak tests, pure and 30 wt%-filled silicones lost 10% of polymer weight in 700 and 1800 h, respectively. Improved thermal stability was explained by restrained chain mobility caused by interfacial hydrogen bonds, whose effect was then investigated by dehydrating Al 2 O 3 fibers at high temperature in N 2 to partially destroy the bonds. Removal of hydrogen bonds impaired thermal stability, increasing the initial weight-loss rate from 0.025 to 0.036 wt%/hour.
Repression of the DNA-binding inhibitor Id3 by Blimp-1 limits the formation of memory CD8 + T cells

The transcriptional repressor Blimp-1 promotes the differentiation of CD8(+) T cells into short-lived effector cells (SLECs) that express the lectin-like receptor KLRG-1, but how it operates remains poorly defined. Here we show that Blimp-1 bound to and repressed the promoter of the gene encoding the DNA-binding inhibitor Id3 in SLECs. Repression of Id3 by Blimp-1 was dispensable for SLEC development but limited the ability of SLECs to persist as memory cells. Enforced expression of Id3 was sufficient to restore SLEC survival and enhanced recall responses. Id3 function was mediated in part through inhibition of the transcriptional activity of E2A and induction of genes regulating genome stability. Our findings identify the Blimp-1-Id3-E2A axis as a key molecular switch that determines whether effector CD8(+) T cells are programmed to die or enter the memory pool.
Spectrum of heart muscle abnormalities related to alcoholism

To assess the diastolic and systolic performance characteristics of the left ventricle in alcoholism, three patient groups with a history of heavy alcohol consumption were compared with normal subjects. In those with symptoms related to chest pain or palpitations, heart size was normal on x ray. In groups III and IV, dyspnea was associated with varying degrees of cardiomegaly and a high prevalence of absent septal Q on the ECG. Despite substantial differences in physical findings, all three groups exhibited a significant increase in end-diastolic pressure. Group I was distinguished by the fact that end-diastolic volume was not increased but actually somewhat diminished. Groups II and III were characterized by a significant increase in end-diastolic volume and tension. The latter was enhanced to a significantly greater extent in group III and was the most prominent hemodynamic abnormality in this group. A major change in the index of contractility, as well as in the rate of relaxation, occurred in group I. Further moderate depression of these indices was observed in the groups with enhanced diastolic volume. In the patients who had mitral regurgitation a more severe depression of left ventricular function was present in the alcoholic group than in a nonalcoholic control group, and was presumably due to the toxic effects of ethanol on the left ventricle. Thus, in those alcoholic patients who develop cardiac alterations, the earliest abnormality is characterized by diminished left ventricular compliance and a moderate contractility deficit without heart failure. In those who progress, end-diastolic tension is substantially enhanced and further reduction in contractility indices is observed. The potential for reversibility is discussed.
Savina Cuéllar and Bolivia’s New Regionalism:

The social forces that brought Evo Morales to power reshaped the dynamics of politics in Bolivia. Although partly driven by ethnic or socioeconomic differences, regional movements have support beyond a narrow elite base and reflect changes in Bolivia’s political landscape stemming from 1990s political reforms, older historical legacies, and recent political developments. The June 2008 election of Savina Cuellar, an indigenous woman, as prefect of Chuquisaca highlights the complex and evolving nature of political identities. Identities constructed on the basis of regional claims are as important as—and analytically distinct from—identities constructed on the basis of ethnicity or socioeconomic class and challenge our preconceptions of politics in contemporary Bolivia.
The Kestrel TTS text normalization system

This paper describes the Kestrel text normalization system, a component of the Google text-to-speech synthesis (TTS) system. At the core of Kestrel are text-normalization grammars that are compiled into libraries of weighted finite-state transducers (WFSTs). While the use of WFSTs for text normalization is itself not new, Kestrel differs from previous systems in its separation of the initial tokenization and classification phase of analysis from verbalization. Input text is first tokenized and different tokens classified using WFSTs. As part of the classification, detected semiotic classes – expressions such as currency amounts, dates, times, measure phases, are parsed into protocol buffers (https://code.google.com/p/protobuf/). The protocol buffers are then verbalized, with possible reordering of the elements, again using WFSTs. This paper describes the architecture of Kestrel, the protocol buffer representations of semiotic classes, and presents some examples of grammars for various languages. We also discuss applications and deployments of Kestrel as part of the Google TTS system, which runs on both server and client side on multiple devices, and is used daily by millions of people in nineteen languages and counting.
Coding and signal processing for a magneto-optic resonant bias coil overwrite experiment

The resonant bias coil technique requires even-numbered transitions to be written on even-numbered clock cycles, and odd-numbered transitions on odd-numbered clock cycles. This constraint is met by double-spaced run-length-limited (d, k, 2) codes where the number of consecutive zeros is even. Exploiting the polarity of the transitions, a detection window that has double the size of the code bit period is possible. The authors describe a detection circuit that achieves the enlarged detection window, and present a phase detector which is particularly simple to implement. Channel bit-error-rate measurements have been carried out employing a rate 1/3 (2, 8, 2) code. Error rates of 10/sup -8/ were achieved for recording densities up to 33 kb/in. The results demonstrate the expected excellent immunity of the direct overwrite scheme to bloom. >
Serum Lithium Concentration Can Be Used to Assess Dietary Compliance in Adults

With dietary intervention studies, it is important to ensure that subjects adhere to the test diet. Current methods to monitor adherence have substantial limitations. Therefore, a dose-response test curve was constructed to determine whether small differences in serum Li could be detected in response to ingestion of variable Li doses indicative of full or partial dietary compliance. During 3 separate weeks, subjects consumed a test meal that included a single food containing Li citrate daily for 4 d. Doses of 250, 213, or 175 mol Li were used each week to approximate compliance levels of 100, 85, and 70%. On d 4, blood samples were taken before and 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 24 h after ingesting the test meal. Compared with the 100% dose, serum Li was significantly lower at all times after the 70% dose and at most times after the 85% dose. Data were analyzed to determine a cutoff value so that if a subject's serum Li was below that value, they would be declared noncompliant. The probability that a subject was declared to be noncompliant when in fact they were compliant was set to 0.05 (specificity was set to 0.95) and the probability of noncompliance (sensitivity) was estimated. Test performance was best in the 3- to 9-h range, for which 90 -95% of subjects "noncompliant" at the 70% dose were identified. Li can be used as a biomarker to determine dietary compliance. Measuring serum Li 3-9 h after the last dose provides the highest sensitivity and specificity for noncompliance at doses 70%. J. Nutr. 134: 3133-3136, 2004.
Evaluation of an approximate method for incorporating floating docks in harbor wave prediction models

Computer models based on the two-dimensional (2-D) elliptic mild-slope equation are nowadays routinely used in harbor engineering applications. However, structures like floating breakwaters and docks, which are often encountered in the modeling domain, render the problem for locally three-dimensional model and hence are problematic to incorporate in a 2-D model. Tsay and Liu (Applied Ocean Research. 1983. Vol 5(1): 30–37) proposed a highly simplified but approximate approach that does not violate the overall two dimensionality of the problem. The validity of their approach is examined in detail, and it is found that although their approximation provides results with the correct trend, the actual solutions deviate considerably from the theoretical solutions. We have developed correction factors that may be used to produce more reliable results using the framework of Tsay and Liu. Application of the resulting method to a harbor in Alaska shows that docks in the harbor distort the wave field considerably and...
Renal dysfunction and intravascular coagulation with aprotinin and hypothermic circulatory arrest

High-dose aprotinin was used in 20 patients undergoing primary or repeat operations on the thoracic or thoracoabdominal aorta using cardiopulmonary bypass and hypothermic circulatory arrest. The activated clotting times immediately before the establishment of hypothermic circulatory arrest exceeded 700 seconds in all but 1 patient. Three patients (15%) required reoperation for bleeding. Seven patients died during hospitalization, and 5 had postmortem examination. Platelet-fibrin thrombi were present in multiple organs including the coronary arteries of 4 patients with myocardial infarction or failure, the pulmonary arteries of 2 patients, 1 of whom died of acute right ventricular failure, the brains of 2 patients who sustained a stroke, and the kidneys of 4 patients, 3 of whom had development of renal dysfunction. Renal dysfunction occurred in 13 patients (65%), and all were 65 years of age or older. Five of these patients required hemodialysis. Among 20 age-matched patients who had similar operations without aprotinin, there was one hospital death (5%) from myocardial infarction, and renal dysfunction developed in 1 patient (5%), who did not require dialysis. None of these 20 patients required reoperation for bleeding. Although aprotinin has been shown to reduce blood loss in patients having cardiac operations employing cardiopulmonary bypass, this benefit was not attained in this group of patients with thoracic aortic disease in whom hypothermic circulatory arrest was used. Use of aprotinin in elderly patients undergoing these procedures was associated with an increased risk of renal dysfunction and failure, and of myocardial infarction and death.
Statistical Comparison of the Pediatric Versus Adult IKDC Subjective Knee Evaluation Form in Adolescents

Background:The International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Evaluation Form is a patient-reported outcome with adult (1998) and pediatric (2011) versions validated at different ages. Prior longitudinal studies of patients aged 13 to 17 years who tore their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) have used the only available adult IKDC, whereas currently the pediatric IKDC is the accepted form of choice.Purpose/Hypothesis:This study compared the adult and pediatric IKDC forms and tested whether the differences were clinically significant. The hypothesis was that the pediatric and adult IKDC questionnaires would show no clinically significant differences in score when completed by patients aged 13 to 17 years.Study Design:Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2.Methods:A total of 100 participants aged 13 to 17 years with knee injuries were split into 2 groups by use of simple randomization. One group answered the adult IKDC form first and then the pediatric form. The second group answer...
Risky driving - relationship between cellular phone and safety belt use

The main purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between cellular phone and safety belt use. Rates of safety belt use of drivers using and drivers not using handheld cellular phones were compared. All data for safety belt and handheld cellular phone use were collected through direct observation while vehicles were stopped at intersections and freeway exit ramps in Michigan. Data were weighted to be representative of drivers during daylight hours in Michigan. Analyses included statistical comparisons of safety belt use rates and a logistic regression model to determine the effects of handheld cellular phone use on safety belt use. The study found that safety belt use for drivers using a handheld cellular phone was significantly lower than for drivers not using cellular phones. This same significant relationship was found within nearly all demographic categories analyzed. The logistic regression model showed that the odds of a handheld cellular phone user not using a safety belt were 1.77 times...
Pregnancy and nursing in inflammatory bowel disease

The peak age of onset for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) coincides with the peak age for conception and pregnancy. Women with inactive IBD who become pregnant do not have increased complications compared with age-matched controls. Most medications for IBD are safe in pregnancy. The greatest danger to a normal conception and pregnancy is active disease, not the medicine used to treat it. This article outlines fertility in IBD, the effect of IBD on pregnancy, the effect of pregnancy on IBD, and the medical therapy available.
Impact of imperfect OCR on part-of-speech tagging

Part-of-speech (POS) tagging is the foundation of natural language processing (NLP) systems, and thus has been an active area of research for many years. However, one question remains unanswered: How will a POS tagger behave when the input text is not error-free? This issue can be of great importance when the text comes from imperfect sources like optical character recognition (OCR). This paper analyzes the performance of both individual POS taggers and combination systems on imperfect text. Experimental results show that a POS tagger's accuracy decreases linearly with the character error rate and the slope indicates a tagger's sensitivity to input text errors.
Osteomyelitis secondary to an osteoenteric fistula

Osteomyelitis involving the symphysis pubis is a rare complication of pelvic surgery, and differentiation with osteitis pubis may be difficult. Herein we present a case of a patient in whom a disabling public pain developed 4 months after a radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. His pain was unresponsive to medical and antibiotic therapy and subsequently proved to be caused by public osteomyelitis secondary to a small-bowel fistula precipitated by cancer recurrence.
On Video Multicast in Cognitive Radio Networks

We investigate the challenging problem of enabling multicast video service in emerging cognitive radio (CR) networks. We propose a cross-layer optimization approach to multicast video in CR networks. Specifically, we model CR video multicast as an optimization problem, while considering important design factors including scalable video coding, video rate control, spectrum sensing, dynamic spectrum access, modulation, scheduling, retransmission, and primary user protection. The objective is to optimize the overall received video quality as well as achieving proportional fairness among multicast users, while keeping the interference to primary users below a prescribed threshold. Although the problem can be solved using advanced optimization techniques, we propose a sequential fixing algorithm and a greedy algorithm with low complexity and proven optimality gap. Our simulations using MPEG-4 fine grained scalability (FGS) demonstrate the efficacy and superior performance of the proposed approach as compared with an alternative equal allocation scheme.
Designing and Researching Enhancements for Online Learning: A Commentary on Veal, Brantley, and Zulli

This commentary on the recent article, "Developing an Online Geology Course for Preservice and Inservice Teachers: Enhancements for Online Learning" by Veal, Brantley, and Zulli (2004) examines two issues related to the design of online courses. First, the concept of affordances is used to compare face-to-face and online classes for insights into which instructional strategies are likely to be useful in both settings and which are not. Second, design-based research, the methodology employed by Veal et al. in their study, is considered for its potential to guide the investigation of innovations in online classes. As a faculty member teaching graduate classes online, I read Veal, Brantley, and Zulli’s (2004) recent article, “Developing an Online Geology Course for Preservice and Inservice Teachers: Enhancements for Online Learning,” with great interest. In the rush to capitalize on the emerging potentials of new technologies and meet the needs of a new audience – the distance student – instructors often must design their courses in the absence of knowledge about effective techniques for distance education. Information about the challenges faced by other educators and the strategies they used to enhance learning successfully within this new medium is, therefore, needed. Veal et al. described a two-phase study in which they u sed the literature on successful practices in face-to-face classes to identify and then implement 10 enhancements to an online course. They examined the impact of this online course on teachers’ content knowledge, then investigated teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of these enhancements to their own learning and their potential usefulness for their future teaching. There is a strong need for such research. Important differences exist between online and face-to-face classes in terms of the types of instructional strategies and interactions possible, so assuming that strategies effective in one setting would successfully generalize to the other is unwise.
Safe motion planning for mobile agents: A model of reactive planning for multiple mobile agents

The problem of motion planning for multiple mobile agents is studied. Each planning agent independently plans its own action based on its map which contains a limited information about the environment. In an environment where more than one mobile agent interacts, the motions of the robots are uncertain and dynamic. A model for reactive agents is described and simulation results are presented to show their behavior patterns. 18 refs., 2 figs.
RISK OF CANCER IN RENAL-TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS

Abstract Among 6297 individuals reported to a kidney-transplant registry, the risk of developing lymphoma was about 35 times higher than normal and was derived almost entirely from a risk of reticulum-cell sarcoma, which was 350 times greater than expected. The excess lymphoma risk appeared within a year of transplantation, and remained at the same high level for the five or more years of follow-up. Skin and lip cancers occurred up to 4 times more often than expected. Other cancers were 2·5 times more common, in men only, due largely to soft-tissue sarcoma and hepatobiliary carcinoma. This excess risk of other cancers appeared later than that for the lymphomas and became more pronounced as the interval since transplantation increased.
Regulation of a Muscle-specific Transgene by Retinoic Acid

Retinoic acid (RA) has been shown to have variable effects on myogenic differentiation in cell culture. The application of RA on primary cultures of embryonic somites, limb buds, and neonatal limbs inhibited myogenic differentiation in a dose-dependent way as indicated by the repression of: (a) myotube formation, (b) myosin heavy chain protein accumulation, (c) myosin light chain (MLC) 1/3, alpha sk-actin and myogenic factor transcript expression. Expression of retinoic acid receptors (RAR) was also affected by RA treatment, specifically RAR gamma transcripts were induced. To further understand the pleiotropic action of RA on myogenesis, we took advantage of two muscle-specific transgene markers which consisted of CAT reporter genes driven by regulatory elements either from the myosin light chain 1/3 locus (MLC-CAT) or the alpha-skeletal actin gene (alpha sk actin-CAT). RA inhibited MLC-CAT transgene but not alpha sk actin-CAT transgene expression in primary cultures from these mice. Analysis of MLC-CAT expression in transgenic mouse primary cultures and in stably transfected C2C12 cells demonstrated that repression of MLC-CAT activity by RA was dependent upon diffusible factors in chick embryo extract. We hypothesize that during development, the pleiotropic effects of RA on myogenesis do not depend solely on the distribution and concentration of RA itself, but are also influenced by extracellular signals in the embryonic environment.
Measles still has a devastating impact in unvaccinated populations.

Measles has caused millions of deaths since its emergence thousands of years ago, probably as a zoonosis [1]. Deaths from measles are due largely to an increased susceptibility to secondary bacterial and viral infections. This period of increased susceptibility lasts for several weeks to months after the onset of rash [2] and is attributed to a prolonged state of immune suppression. Most deaths associated with measles are due to pneumonia [3]. Although the global mortality from measles is falling [4], a new study in PLoS Medicine found that children in Nigeria, Niger, and Chad still recently faced unacceptably high mortality from measles [5], a largely preventable disease.
1-D discrete time CNN with multiplexed template hardware

While VLSI of CNNs has seen significant progress in two-dimensional signal processing little has been done for one-dimensional applications such as audio signal processing and 1-D filtering. The paper presents a discrete-time programmable cellular neural network suitable for these kind of applications. The proposed VLSI implementation is based on the well-known S/sup 2/I technique that among other properties minimizes clock feedthrough effects. This feature renders an accurate signal processing unit. The system's main building blocks are an analog shift register and a switched current multiplier. Yet, the system architecture is novel by itself. Namely, the number of multipliers has been minimized by sharing the multipliers between the A*y and B*u products during the various phases of the controlling clock. The paper presents detailed simulation results of the system architecture.
Physical, Chemical, Sensory and Microbiological Attributes of Sweet Potato Leather

A “vegetable leather,” possessing a supple, leathery texture, was prepared with sweet potato (SP) and other ingredients. Samples were analyzed at 0, 30, and 60 days storage. Texture, but not flavor or acceptance, was affected by experimental factors. Ingredients had only minor effects on composition. Mean values were: moisture, 5.9%; crude protein, 5.8%; crude fat, 4.9%; ash, 2.7%; crude fiber, 2.2%; and nitrogen-free extract, 84.8%. Dietary fiber was 4.1%. Color of the leather was orange; pH was 4.8; annd caloric content was 17.3 kJ per g. Water activity ranged from 0.48 for leather with SP and apple to 0.58 for leather with SP and without apple. Microbiological counts of samples were low.
Gender Equity Theory and Maternal Mortality and Morbidity in Bangladesh

Gender equity theory is rooted in the pursuit of justice and equality between genders, in health, social, nutrition, economic, and power relationships between males and females. The concept of equality is divided into formal (de jure) equality and substantive (de facto) equality, which is grounded in the law. De jure equality has roots in John Locke’s philosophy of liberal individualism and may provide “gender-neutrality” and “sameness of diagnosis and treatment.” However, it does not take into consideration that discrimination may still occur based upon the substantive or de facto equality notions and does little to address the social and economic disparities among vulnerable populations, which are linked to allocations of resources and power. Substantive equality is result-oriented and identifies and considers circumstances, need and disadvantaged groups. Health equity has been an ongoing goal for several decades within developing countries (Ostlin, Sen, and George, 2004). Although there has been some growth in the social, educational, and health sector regarding gender equity in Bangladesh, there continues to be a large health disparity, particularly with maternal health and particularly among the rural and poor communities (Sidney, 2002). This failure to grow, despite goals, has been linked to poor dissemination of results, lack of follow up policies and programs linked to reducing health care disparities (Ostlin et al, 2004). Often, research in the poorest countries goes unpublished, while the majority of research publications are focused on the developed nations (Horton et al, 2003). The Global Forum for Health Research (2002) and the World Health Organization Report (2004), showed that only 10% of the research funding is spent on 90% of the disease and global burden found in developing nations, such as Bangladesh. This lack of research interest, funding, and focus is, in itself, a form of gender inequity, in light of the reports of the primary health problems in Bangladesh which include poor maternal health care, and one of the highest maternal mortality and morbidity rates (WHO, 2010).
Temporal data representation, normalization, extraction, and reasoning

Multifaceted aspects in time and time-oriented concepts.Comparison of clinical data models in handling time.Ontologies of representation and reasoning about time in the clinical domain.Constructing the timelines for the medical histories of patients.Temporal concept coreference resolution problem. Background and objectiveWe live our lives by the calendar and the clock, but time is also an abstraction, even an illusion. The sense of time can be both domain-specific and complex, and is often left implicit, requiring significant domain knowledge to accurately recognize and harness. In the clinical domain, the momentum gained from recent advances in infrastructure and governance practices has enabled the collection of tremendous amount of data at each moment in time. Electronic health records (EHRs) have paved the way to making these data available for practitioners and researchers. However, temporal data representation, normalization, extraction and reasoning are very important in order to mine such massive data and therefore for constructing the clinical timeline. The objective of this work is to provide an overview of the problem of constructing a timeline at the clinical point of care and to summarize the state-of-the-art in processing temporal information of clinical narratives. MethodsThis review surveys the methods used in three important area: modeling and representing of time, medical NLP methods for extracting time, and methods of time reasoning and processing. The review emphasis on the current existing gap between present methods and the semantic web technologies and catch up with the possible combinations. ResultsThe main findings of this review are revealing the importance of time processing not only in constructing timelines and clinical decision support systems but also as a vital component of EHR data models and operations. ConclusionsExtracting temporal information in clinical narratives is a challenging task. The inclusion of ontologies and semantic web will lead to better assessment of the annotation task and, together with medical NLP techniques, will help resolving granularity and co-reference resolution problems.
Evaluations of Neurologists by Their Patients and Residents Are Inversely Correlated

Objective and Background:We hypothesized that evaluation scores for attending neurologists by patients and residents would parallel one another. Additionally, we hypothesized that provider producti...
52 Gbps PAM4 receiver sensitivity study for 400GBase-LR8 system using directly modulated laser.

Real-time 52 Gbps PAM4 transmission is demonstrated over single mode fiber (SMF) using a directly modulated laser (DML) and a PHY chip. The inner eye optical modulation amplitude (OMA) receiver sensitivities were measured and compared using avalanche photodetector (APD) and PIN photodetector (PD) for the maximum and minimum chromatic dispersions (CDs) of 400GBase-LR8 link. The measured inner eye OMAs were −17.8 dBm and −18.8 dBm for + 10 ps/nm and −58 ps/nm of CDs at the KP4 bit error rate (BER) threshold of 2 × 10−4 using a PIN PD, respectively. The measured inner eye OMA was improved to −21.0 dBm for −58 ps/nm of CD at the KP4 BER threshold using an APD. Negligible OMA penalty (< 0.4 dB) was captured for operating DML at different bias currents of 40 mA and 60 mA using a PIN PD and an APD for both positive and negative CDs at the KP4 BER threshold.
Oxidation of Alternative Jet Fuels and their Surrogate Components

Samples of alternative jet fuels, including a coal-derived jet fuel produced from a hydrotreating process and a natural gas-derived jet fuel produced from a Fischer-Tropsch process, were oxidized in complementary experimental facilities to explore the preignition and autoignition behavior of the fuels. Preignition experiments were conducted in a pressurized flow reactor under lean, dilute conditions in the low and intermediate temperature regimes. Autoignition experiments were conducted in a single cylinder research engine. Results were compared to an average sample of petroleum-derived jet fuel. In both facilities, the order of reactivity in descending order was Fischer-Tropsch, petroleum, and coal. The reactivity differences are attributed to composition differences. Possible surrogates and their components were also tested in the facilities to elucidate how compositional differences affect preignition and autoignition chemistry.
ACTIVE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO ROCKET FAIRING STRUCTURAL VIBRATIONS AND ACOUSTICS

Future launch vehicle payload fairings will be manufactured from advanced lightweight composite materials. The loss of distributed mass causes a significant increase in the internal acoustic environment, causing a severe threat to the payload. Using piezoelectric actuators to control the fairing vibration and the internal acoustic environment has recently been proposed. The control authority of these actuators for this problem has not yet been determined. To help determine the acoustic control authority of piezoelectric actuators mounted on a rocket fairing, the internal acoustic response created by the actuators needs to be determined. The internal acoustic response of a closed simply-supported cylinder actuated by piezoelectric actuators can be conveniently determined by using the Kirchoff-Helmholtz integral and the cylinder's spatial surface velocity. The surface velocity is determined using an impedance model of an actuator bonded to the surface of a cylinder. The structural analysis is compared to an experiment and the results are in agreement. The acoustic formulation is described along with a description of future work. The work presented provides the initial steps required in determining the acoustic authority and feasibility of using piezoelectric actuators on rocket fairings.
Ultrasound Is Superior to Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Detecting Peripheral Nerve Pathology in Mononeuropathies and Brachial Plexopathies (P06.149)

Objective: Compare accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US) in detecting peripheral nerve pathology. Background It is unknown whether MRI or US is superior for detecting peripheral nerve pathology. Design/Methods: We reviewed charts of 141 cases referred for neuromuscular US between 6/2007 and 10/2011 for suspected upper and lower extremity mononeuropathy(ies) or brachial plexopathy, excluding idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar neuropathy at the elbow, and identified cases who underwent MRI of the same limb for the same indication as the US. Imaging results were compared to the gold standard of surgical or, if unavailable, clinical/electrodiagnostic evaluation. Results: We identified 52 cases evaluated with both MRI and US. Focal nerve pathology was established in 46 and excluded in six by surgical (39) or clinical/electrodiagnostic evaluation (13). Diagnoses included peripheral nerve sheath tumors (18), traumatic (10) or idiopathic (8) neuropathy, fibrosis (4), compression by ganglion/synovial cysts (4) or other soft-tissue structures (3), non-nerve soft tissue tumor (3), intraneural granuloma (1) and vasculitis (1). US was more sensitive than MRI (93 vs. 70%) and equally specific (both 83%). Pathology accurately identified on US but not MRI included nerve enlargement (7), peripheral nerve sheath tumor (3), compression by anomalous muscle (1), and a hemangioma identified as non-nerve pathology on US but not MRI. Of these 12 cases with inaccurate MRI but not US, eight (67%) had lesions larger than two centimeters; only two lesions were outside the field of view of the MRI. In three cases classified as accurate for a single lesion on both MRI and US, US identified 11 additional lesions (multifocal neurofibromas, nerve enlargements, and fibrous thickening) not seen on MRI. Conclusions: Ultrasound is more sensitive, has equivalent specificity, and may better identify multifocal lesions than MRI in suspected mononeuropathies and brachial plexopathies. Supported by: This publication was made possible in part by the Washington University Neuromuscular Research Fund and the Grant Number UL1RR024992 from the NIH-National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NCRR or NIH. Disclosure: Dr. Zaidman has nothing to disclose. Dr. Seelig has nothing to disclose.
Role of the paraventricular nucleus in renal excretory responses to acute volume expansion: role of nitric oxide

Acute volume expansion (VE) produces a suppression of renal sympathetic nerve discharge (RSND) resulting in diuresis and natriuresis. Recently, we have demonstrated that the endogenous nitric oxide...
Preservation Paths. A Review of Pathfinders: Documenting the Experience of Early Digital Literature by Dene Grigar and Stuart Moulthrop

A Review of Pathfinders: Documenting the Experience of Early Digital Literature by Dene Grigar and Stuart Moulthrop
Designing a Smart Scarf to Influence Group Members’ Emotions in Ambience: Design Process and User Experience

This paper presents the design rationale of a color-changing and olfactory scarf to affect people’s emotional states in a group environment. The goal of the design is to cheer up depressed individuals or calm down those who are overexcited. Our design uses a heart rate sensor and a skin conductance sensor to detect and recognize emotional information. The scarf will change its color and emit an odor to enhance positive emotions or reduce negative ones. We went through a user-centered design process and discussed different forms of design. Given the wearability and comfort characteristics of scarves, we decided to choose scarves as the solution to regulate emotions.
Factors associated with regional recurrence after lymph node dissection for penile squamous cell carcinoma

Objective To identify factors associated with regional recurrence after lymph node dissection (LND) for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) to determine which patients might benefit from adjuvant therapy. Patients and Methods Men who underwent LND for penile SCC from 1977 to 2014 were identified from an institutional database. Kaplan–Meier curves estimated recurrence-free survival (RFS) calculated from the date of LND. Cox regression models evaluated the association between RFS and patient and tumour characteristics. Results In all, 182 men who underwent LND for penile SCC were identified. The median patient age was 62 years and the median follow-up was 4.2 years. After LND 34 men had regional recurrence, of which 24 developed isolated regional recurrences without distant metastasis. The median RFS was 5.7 months, and the 3-year RFS rate was 70%. On univariate analysis, lymphovascular invasion, clinical and pathological nodal stage, pathological inguinal laterality, pelvic nodal involvement, lymph node density ≥5.2%, ≥3 pathologically involved lymph nodes, and extranodal extension (ENE) were associated with worse RFS (all P < 0.05). On multivariate analysis, clinical N3 disease [adjusted hazard ratio (AHR)] 3.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.68–7.45; P = 0.001), ≥3 pathologically involved lymph nodes (AHR 3.78, 95% CI 2.12–6.65; P < 0.001), and ENE (AHR 3.32, 95% CI 1.93–5.76; P < 0.001) were associated with worse RFS. The 3-year RFS for patients with cN0, cN1, cN2, and cN3 disease was 91.7%, 64.5%, 54.7%, and 38.3%, respectively. For men with ≥3 involved nodes, the 3-year RFS was 17% vs 82.4% in men with <3 involved nodes. The 3-year RFS was 29.7% in men with ENE and 85.7% in men without ENE. Conclusion The presence of clinical N3 disease, ≥3 pathologically involved lymph nodes, and ENE was associated with worse RFS. As regional recurrence portends a dismal prognosis with few salvage options, adjuvant therapies should be developed for men with the aforementioned adverse factors.
RELATIONSHIP OF CORONARY FLOW RESERVE WITH BODY MASS INDEX AND ADVERSE OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITHOUT OVERT ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE: IMPLICATIONS FOR METABOLIC SURGERY ELIGIBILITY

Background: Metabolic surgery (MS) is an effective strategy for weight loss in obese pts, but eligibility depends on body mass index (BMI) or presence of risk factors. Coronary flow reserve (CFR) identifies pts at risk for CV events, even in the absence of risk factors or overt ischemic heart
Conversion and determination of sex in Vitis vinifera L. ( sylvestris )

Sex conversion in the male V. vinifera ( sylvestris ) clone 030-44 could not be attributed to germinal mutation of the major gene for sex. The differences in sex expression among male seedling vines can best be explained on the basis of an undetermined number of minor modifying genes able to shift a very sensitive threshold. The frequency of sex conversion within a given seedling vine was greatly influenced by environmental, both local and seasonal, conditions. The following facts were established in Vitis vinifera L. ( sylvestris ): (1) the male sex is heterogametic and is inherited as a simple Mendelian factor, maleness being completely dominant; (2) homozygous males are as viable as heterozygous males, they are phenotypically alike and can only be identified by breeding tests; (3) pure and hermaphroditic males are genetically alike as far as the major gene for sex is concerned; (4) sex chromosomes are not differentiated, either morphologically or physiologically. A pair of alleles, SuF and Sum, were used to explain the results obtained on selfing the hermaphroditic male clone 030-44. The gene Su F determines maleness and its allele Su m in homozygous condition determines femaleness. The gene Su F is completely dominant over its allele Sum. The genotypes of the homozygous and heterozygous males are Su F Su F and Su F Su m respectively, and that of the female is Su m Su m . The evolution of cultivated V. vinifera hermaphrodites in the light of present results is discussed.