cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Theoretical analysis of microtubules dynamics using a physical-chemical description of hydrolysis.

Microtubules are cytoskeleton multifilament pro- teins that support many fundamental biological processes such as cell division, cellular transport, and motility. They can be viewed as dynamic polymers that function in nonequilibrium conditions stimulated by hydrolysis of GTP (guanosine triphosphate) molecules bound to their monomers. We present a theoretical description of microtubule dynamics based on discrete-state stochastic models that explicitly takes into account all relevant biochemical transitions. In contrast to previous theoretical analysis, a more realistic physical−chemical description of GTP hydrolysis is presented, in which the hydrolysis rate at a given monomer depends on the chemical composition of the neighboring monomers. This dependence naturally leads to a cooperativity in the hydrolysis. It is found that this cooperativity significantly influences all dynamic properties of microtubules. It is suggested that the dynamic instability in cytoskeleton proteins might be observed only for weak cooperativity, while the strong cooperativity in hydrolysis suppresses the dynamic instability. The presented microscopic analysis is compared with existing phenomenological descriptions of hydrolysis processes. Our analytical calculations, supported by computer Monte Carlo simulations, are also compared with available experimental observations.
Automated, Simultaneous Microdetermination of Calcium and Magnesium by Atomic Absorption

A procedure is described for the simultaneous, automatic determination of serum calcium and magnesium with the AutoAnalyzer, and a dual-channel, double-beam atomic absorption spectrophotometer, the IL Model 153. Advantages over existing procedures include a high rate of analysis (90 samples or 180 tests per hour) and low sample consumption (a total of 30 µl for both determinations). We have compared the new procedure with a manual one in which the Perkin-Elmer Model 303 atomic absorption spectrophotometer is used.
Microstrip antenna analysis using fast FDTD methods: a comparison of Prony and ARMA techniques

Fast FDTD methods are utilized to analyze microstrip antennas in this paper. The procedures of Prony method and the auto-regressive moving-average (ARMA) estimator are briefly outlined and their results are compared to direct FDTD simulation results. Significant improvement on computational efficiency has been observed. It is also noticed that the ARMA estimator can achieve improved results with a lower estimation order than the Prony method.
Megalin-Mediated Endocytosis of Vitamin D Binding Protein Correlates with 25-Hydroxycholecalciferol Actions in Human Mammary Cells

The major circulating form of vitamin D is 25-hydroxycholecalciferol [25(OH)D3], which is delivered to target tissues in complex with the serum vitamin D binding protein (DBP). We recently observed that mammary cells can metabolize 25(OH)D3 to 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol [1,25(OH)(2)D3], the vitamin D receptor (VDR) ligand, and the objective of our study was to elucidate the mechanisms by which the 25(OH)D3-DBP complex is internalized by mammary cells prior to metabolism. Using fluorescent microscopy and temperature-shift techniques, we found that T-47D breast cancer cells rapidly internalize DBP via endocytosis, which is blunted by receptor-associated protein, a specific inhibitor of megalin-mediated endocytosis. Endocytosis of DBP was associated with activation of VDR by 25(OH)D3 but not 1,25(OH)(2)D3 (as measured by induction of the VDR target gene, CYP24). We also found that megalin and its endocytic partner, cubilin, are coexpressed in normal murine mammary tissue, in nontransformed human mammary epithelial cell lines, and in some established human breast cancer cell lines. To our knowledge, our studies are the first to demonstrate that mammary-derived cells express megalin and cubilin, which contribute to the endocytic uptake of 25(OH)D3-DBP and activation of the VDR pathway.
Quantum dot-based HIV capture and imaging in a microfluidic channel.

Globally, over 33.2 million people who mostly live in developing countries with limited access to the appropriate medical care suffer from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We developed an on-chip HIV capture and imaging method using quantum dots (Qdots) from fingerprick volume (10 μl) of unprocessed HIV-infected patient whole blood in anti-gp120 antibody-immobilized microfluidic chip. Two-color Qdots (Qdot525 and Qdot655 streptavidin conjugates) were used to identify the captured HIV by simultaneous labeling the envelope gp120 glycoprotein and its high-mannose glycans. This dual-stain imaging technique using Qdots provides a new and effective tool for accurate identification of HIV particles from patient whole blood without any pre-processing. This on-chip HIV capture and imaging platform creates new avenues for point-of-care diagnostics and monitoring applications of infectious diseases.
Heteroepitaxial Growth of Calcium Silicate Hydrate on Calcium Germanate Hydrate

The hydration of tricalcium silicate at 25 o C was accelerated by seeding with 5 wt% tricalcium germanate. Based on heat evolution, seeding resulted in the elimination of the induction period. However, the shape of the hydration peak remained the same. Because tricalcium germanate hydrates first, the microstructure of the calcium silicate hydrate which subsequently forms is influenced by the calcium germanate hydrate morphology. Calcium silicate hydrate formed in the presence of calcium germanate hydrate exhibits the morphology typical of the latter. Acceleration of hydration and morphological variation indicate heteroepitaxial growth
The Influence of Research on Criminal Justice Policy Making

Criminal justice policy making is a vertical and horizontal political dynamic. The criminal justice researcher who understands the decision-making process within state criminal justice policy-making agencies can influence decisions by providing research to meet policy makers’ needs. This paper provides a schematic view on the criminal justice decision-making process and discusses how researchers can make their work relevant within it. Criminal justice policy research seeks to provide assessment and analysis of crime and provide strategies for its reduction. The pages of criminal justice and criminology journals, reviews, and books are replete with research and policy analysis. One issue that has received less attention, however, is how criminal justice policy planning agencies use criminal justice research in program development and policy making. To receive federal funding, each state maintains a criminal justice policy planning agency. State and local law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, corrections, and non-profit organizations receive funds through these criminal justice planning agencies to support criminal justice initiatives. Criminal justice researchers can make their work more relevant to criminal justice policy makers by understanding the politics, power, and policy dynamics that govern how these agencies operate. Criminal Justice Planning: Values Matter Criminal justice policy and planning are moral-based entities. By this I mean that they operate in an arena that deals with moral questions of right and wrong, what constitutes justice or injustice, as well as the application of individual responsibility, culpability, and blame. The presence of these moral attributes separates the field of criminal justice and Arthur H. Garrison is the director and principal consultant for Garrison Consultants, LLC. He has more than 12 years experience in criminal justice policy making at the state and municipal levels. He has written more than 30 program evaluations, policy reports, and white papers and has published more than 20 articles in various peer reviewed criminal justice journals and law reviews.
O(4) AND FORWARD PRODUCTION PROCESSES AT HIGH ENERGIES.

A method is sketched for writing down invariant amplitudes which give the leading contributions of families of Regge trajectories of definite O(4) class (at zero momentum transfer). The method is illustrated by the case $\ensuremath{\pi}+N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\rho}+N$, where it leads to definite predictions (in spite of unequal masses) for the leading term in each helicity amplitude.
Packet filtering to defend flooding-based DDoS attacks [Internet denial-of-service attacks]

Our proposed scheme seeks to defend flooding distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks in the Internet. An easy, yet very disruptive, way to cause unfairness to the legitimate users is to deplete the network bandwidth by sending high rate unresponsive flows from multiple sources. The network congestion created by such malicious flows causes most legitimate packets to be dropped at routers without reaching their destinations. Congestion control in IP networks is typically done at each router through queue management, and the network is entirely dependent on the end hosts to react to congestion. However, when the network is under attacks which use packet floods, existing queue management algorithms reveal significant shortcomings in protecting legitimate flows. In this paper, we propose a novel scheme for congestion control in IP networks to defend against DDoS attacks. Our approach is a time-window based filtering mechanism, processed before a queue management policy is applied. Setting the window size properly, and dropping packets reaching into the next window, can catch the non-responsive nature of misbehaving flows. The performance of our proposed scheme is demonstrated through extensive simulations with the NS2 simulator, using a set of simulated traffic generated based on IP traces reported in http://www.nlnar.org.
Java interfaces in CS 1 textbooks

Java's interface construct allows for a clear distinction between subtype polymorphism based on a shared interface and code reuse based on class extension or inheritance. Design Patterns argues that in an object-oriented setting, programming should be done to an interface, not to an implementation, that class inheritance is a mechanism for code reuse rather than for subtyping and polymorphism, and that even composition should be favored over class inheritance. We conclude from this that interface should be introduced prior to and given more focus than classes and class inheritance. We survey 27 textbooks from major publishers to show that very few available texts teach Java this way. We propose an alternative ordering of material that will promote the principles mentioned above.
Nonlinear distortion correction of diffusion MR images improves quantitative DTI measurements in glioblastoma

The purpose of this study was to use a retrospective nonlinear distortion correction technique and evaluate the changes in DTI metrics in areas of interest in and around GBM tumors. A total of 24 histologically confirmed GBM patients with pre-operative 20-direction DTI scans were examined. Variability in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) in normal tissue before and after distortion correction were examined. Changes in mean, median and variance of ADC and FA in contrast enhancing and T2/FLAIR ROIs were also examined with and without distortion correction. Results suggest the intra-subject SDs of ADC and FA decreased in normal tissue after the application of distortion correction (P < 0.0001). FA mean and median values decreased after distortion correction in both T1+C and T2 ROIs (P < 0.017), while ADC mean and median values did not significantly change except for the median ADC in T1+C ROIs (P = 0.0054). The intra-subject SD of ADC and FA values in tumor ROIs changed significantly with distortion correction, and Bland–Altman analysis indicated that the bias and the SD of the bias of these intra-subject SDs were larger than those of the mean and median terms. Additionally, the means of the two curves of a double Gaussian fit to the histogram of ADC values from T1+C ROIs, ADCL (mean of lower Gaussian) as well as ADCH (mean of the higher Gaussian) were found to change significantly with distortion correction (P = 0.0045 for ADCL and P = 0.0370 for ADCH). Nonlinear distortion correction better aligns neuro-anatomical structures between DTI and anatomical scans, and significantly alters the measurement of values within tumor ROIs for GBM patients.
The X Chromosome, Dosage Compensation, and X Inactivation

The X chromosome is of medium size, making up 5.3% of the haploid karyotype. It is submetacentric, with a centromere index of 0.38 and a distinctive banding pattern (Fig. 17.1). In females, one X chromosome is condensed throughout interphase and is frequently visible in epithelial cells as a Barr body, or X heterochromatin. It is visible as a drumstick-shaped extrusion in 1–5% of polymorphonuclear white blood cells (Fig. 18.1a). The Barr body consists of a loop-shaped X chromosome in which the two telomeres lie close together at the nuclear membrane (Walker et al., 1991). Barr bodies can be scored in cells scraped from the mouth (buccal smears; Fig. 18.1b,c) or vagina, in cultured fibroblasts (Fig. 18.ld,e,f), or in follicle cells attached to a plucked hair. In normal females, a Barr body is visible in only 20–50% of buccal cells, in 30–80% of fibroblasts, and in over 90% of cells in amniotic membranes. In every individual (male or female) with two or more X chromosomes, the maximum number of Barr bodies is one less than the number of X chromosomes. That is, one X remains euchromatic and the additional ones are heterochromatic. The heterochromatic X chromosomes replicate later in S than the euchromatic X, as demonstrated over 35 years ago by autoradiography (Chapter 3). The allocyclic, or out-of-step, behavior of the inactive X chromosome expresses itself in other ways, some described in Chapter 3. In both prophase and metaphase, the inactive X is often more condensed, and thus shorter, than the active X.
A theory of branches as goals and virtual teams

A common method of managing the complexity of both technical and organizational relationships in a large software project is to use branches within the source code management system to partition the work into teams and tasks. We claim that the files modified on a branch are changed together in a cohesive way to accomplish some task such as adding a feature, fixing a related set of bugs, or implementing a subsystem, which we collectively refer to as the goal of the branch. Further, the developers that work on a branch represent a virtual team. In this paper, we develop a theory of the relationship between goals and virtual teams on different branches. Due to expertise, ownership, and awareness concerns, we expect that if two branches have similar goals, they will also have similar virtual teams or be at risk for communication and coordination breakdowns with the accompanying negative effects. In contrast, we do not expect the converse to always be true. In the first step towards an actionable result, we have evaluated this theory empirically on two releases of the Windows operating system and found support in both.
Intelligent Data Thinning Algorithms for Satellite Imagery

This paper presents a study on intelligent data thinning for satellite data. In particular, the focus is on the thinning of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) profiles. A direct thinning method is first applied to a synthetic data set in order to identify optimal data selection strategies. Experiments on synthetic data suggest that a thinned data set should combine homogeneous samples, and high gradient and variance of gradient samples for optimal performance. This result leads to the modification of our previously developed Density Adjustment Data Thinning algorithm (DADT). The modified DADT (mDADT) algorithm is used to thin the AIRS profiles. Experiments are conducted to compare the thinning performances of mDADT with two simple thinning algorithms. Experiment results show that mDADT algorithm performs better than the two simple thinning algorithms, especially over the regions of significant atmospheric features.
Effect of starvation and food intake on sympathetic activity

These studies have examined the effect of fasting and nutrient loads on sympathetic firing rate in three groups of rats that develop widely divergent degrees of obesity when eating a high-fat diet. Starvation of Sprague-Dawley rats for 24 or 48 h was associated with a decrease in basal sympathetic activity of nearly 25% in the first 24 h and of slightly greater than 30% in 48 h. This decline in sympathetic activity paralleled the loss of body weight and reduction in adipose tissue mass. After starvation for 48 h, Osborne-Mendel rats, which readily develop obesity when eating a high-fat diet, showed a greater decrease in basal sympathetic activity than did the diet-resistant S 5B/P1 rats. A single liquid 36-kcal intragastric meal was associated with an acute 30% increase in sympathetic firing rate in the overnight-fasted Sprague-Dawley rats. The values 3 h after the meal had returned halfway to normal, and by 6 h they were more than 85% of the way to normal. An intravenous injection of glucose produced a greater rise in sympathetic activity in diet-resistant S 5B/P1 rats than in the diet-sensitive Osborne-Mendel rats. These data are consistent with the hypotheses that sympathetic activity is positively related to nutrient status, that it varies between strains of rats, and that it can be acutely increased by an intragastric meal or by intravenous glucose.
Mode Identification for Subdwarf B Stars Using Period Spacings in Kepler Data

During the Kepler spacecraft’s first year of operation, its short cadence observations were obtained in a survey mode where targets received one month of nearly continuous observations. Forty eight subdwarf B stars were observed of which 14 were found to be pulsators, 13 having predominantly long (g mode) periods. We applied asymptotic relations to the g-mode pulsations and discovered evenly spaced in period sequences for l = 1 and 2 modes in all of the stars. We were able to associate 222 of 317 measured periods with l = 1 and 2 modes which should provide tight constraints on pulsation models. We use the period spacings to compare with theoretical masses of these stars.
Neutron-deficient isotopes Ge 64 and Ge 65

The ${\ensuremath{\beta}}^{+}$ decays of $^{65}\mathrm{Ge}$ and the new isotope $^{64}\mathrm{Ge}$ have been studied by $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray spectrometry with chemically separated sources. Measured half-lives are 30.0 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 1.2 sec for $^{65}\mathrm{Ge}$ and 63.7 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 2.5 sec for $^{64}\mathrm{Ge}$. The decay-scheme studies have been supplemented by investigation of the $^{64}\mathrm{Zn}(p,n\ensuremath{\gamma})^{64}\mathrm{Ga}$ and $^{64}\mathrm{Zn}(^{3}\mathrm{He},t)^{64}\mathrm{Ga}$ reactions, and the mass excess of $^{64}\mathrm{Ga}$ was found to be -58.819 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 0.008 MeV. Excitation functions for the ($^{3}\mathrm{He},2n$), ($^{3}\mathrm{He},3n$) and ($^{3}\mathrm{He},p2n$) reactions induced on $^{64}\mathrm{Zn}$ are presented for comparison with other work. The question of the role of $^{64}\mathrm{Ge}$ in nucleosynthesis is considered.[RADIOACTIVITY $^{64,65}\mathrm{Ge}[\mathrm{by} ^{64}\mathrm{Zn}(^{3}\mathrm{He},xn)]$; measured ${T}_{\frac{1}{2}}$, ${E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$, ${I}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$; deduced ${I}_{\ensuremath{\beta}}$, $log\mathrm{ft}$. $^{64,\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}65}\mathrm{Ga}$, deduced levels, $J$, $\ensuremath{\pi}$; Ge(Li) detector. NUCLEAR REACTIONS $^{64}\mathrm{Zn}(p,n\ensuremath{\gamma})$, $E=7.8\ensuremath{-}9.5$ MeV; measured ${E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$. $^{64}\mathrm{Ga}$ deduced levels. $^{64}\mathrm{Zn}(^{3}\mathrm{He},t)$, $E=37.6$ MeV, measured $Q$, $^{64}\mathrm{Ga}$ levels; magnetic spectrograph. $^{64}\mathrm{Zn}\ensuremath{-}(^{3}\mathrm{He},2n)$, $\ensuremath{-}(^{3}\mathrm{He},3n)$, $\ensuremath{-}(^{3}\mathrm{He},p2n)$, $E=20\ensuremath{-}70$ MeV, measured $\ensuremath{\sigma}(E)$.]
Structural relaxation in amorphous Fe40Ni40P14 B6 studied by energy dispersive X-ray diffraction

The atomic structure and the structural relaxation of amorphous Fe40Ni40P14B6 alloy were studied using the energy dispersive X-ray diffraction method. It was demonstrated that the structure of the amorphous alloy can be determined self-consistently with high accuracy by this method. The results indicated that the structural relaxation is a highly collective process involving many atoms, and can be described in terms of the redistribution and transformation of the structural defects.
Some exact solutions in the design of technically orthotropic axisymmetric plates

The equations governing the problem of minimum reinforcement of technically orthotropic axisymmetric plates have been integrated for some simple cases. The exact solutions are compared with the previously known approximate solutions. It is shown that, at least in the cases investigated, the latter predict with great accuracy the required total minimum reinforcement, but not its distribution in the radial and tangential directions or in the inner and outer regions of the plate.
Surface organic monolayers control the hygroscopic growth of submicrometer particles at high relative humidity.

Although many organic molecules commonly found in the atmosphere are known to be surface-active in macroscopic aqueous solutions, the impact of surface partitioning of organic molecules to a microscopic aqueous droplet interface remains unclear. Here we measure the droplet size formed, at a relative humidity (∼99.9%) just below saturation, on submicrometer particles containing an ammonium sulfate core and an organic layer of a model compound of varying thickness. The 12 model organic compounds are a series of dicarboxylic acids (C3 to C10), cis-pinonic, oleic, lauric, and myristic acids, which represent a broad range in solubility from miscible (malonic acid) to insoluble. The variation in droplet size with increasing organic aerosol fraction cannot be explained by assuming the organic material is dissolved in the bulk droplet. Instead, the wet droplet diameters exhibit a complex and nonlinear dependence on organic aerosol volume fraction, leading to hygroscopic growth that is in some cases smaller and in others larger than that predicted by bulk solubility alone. For palmitic and stearic acid, small droplets at or below the detection limit of the instrument are observed, indicating significant kinetic limitations for water uptake, which are consistent with mass accommodation coefficients on the order of 10(-4). A model based on the two-dimensional van der Waals equation of state is used to explain the complex droplet growth with organic aerosol fraction and dry diameter. The model suggests that mono- and dicarboxylic acids with limited water solubility partition to the droplet surface and reduce surface tension only after a two-dimensional condensed monolayer is formed. Two relatively soluble compounds, malonic and glutaric acid, also appear to form surface phases, which increase hygroscopicity. There is a clear alternation in the threshold for droplet growth observed for odd and even carbon number diacids, which is explained in the model by differences in the excluded molecular areas of even (∼40 A(2)/molecule) and odd (∼20 A(2)/molecule) diacids. These differences are consistent with the odd diacids arranged at the droplet interface in "end-to-end" configurations with only one acid group in contact with the aqueous phase, which is in contrast to even carbon numbered diacids forming "folded" films with both acid groups in contact with the bulk phase. Organic matter produced by the ozonolysis of α-pinene forms surface films that exhibit similar behavior and become thinner with oxidation, allowing for greater water uptake. These results reveal a new and complex relationship between the composition of an organic aerosol and its hygroscopicity, suggesting that organic surface films might strongly influence cloud droplet formation as well as the multiphase chemistry of organic aerosols.
Assessing the Variation of Formal Military Alliances

Many critical questions involving the causes and consequences of formal military alliances are related to differences between various alliances in terms of the scope of the formal obligations, the ...
Technical Research About Application of Intelligent Hydropower Plant Based on IEC 61850

Under smart power grid flourishing,intelligent hydropower plant will be an inevitable trend,and IEC 61850 will be its cornerstone.This paper analyzes the application of intelligent hydropower plant about IEC 61850 related technologies,which included that introduction of IEC 61850-7-410 and SCL configuration,and then emphatical analyses of the object-oriented modeling technology,modeling combined with special logic nodes of hydropower plant.Finally,example simulation test is satisfied based on MMS communication protocols.
Hot Dry Rock Reservoir Engineering

The development of geothermal energy has been limited historically to the use of natural hot water and steam contained in what are referred to as hydrothermal geothermal reservoirs. However, as indicated by Roland Home elsewhere in these proceedings, probably less than 5% of the energy in a hydrothermal reservoir is contained in the extractable fluid. What about the 95% remaining?
Flexible Learning of Optimal Strategies

Abstract This paper presents an agent-based computer simulation of equilibrium in some games that do not have dominant strategy equilibria. The agents learn optimal strategies via a flexible learning algorithm somewhat based on simulated annealing. As in the dominant-strategy cases, agents adapt flexibly but imperfectly to changing population learning, partly through fluctuations in the resist.
Lifting kernel-based sprite codec

The International Standards Organization (ISO) has proposed a family of standards for compression of image and video sequences, including the JPEG, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2. The latest MPEG-4 standard has many new dimensions to coding and manipulation of visual content. A video sequence usually contains a background object and many foreground objects. Portions of this background may not be visible in certain frames due to the occlusion of the foreground objects or camera motion. MPEG-4 introduces the novel concepts of Video Object Planes (VOPs) and Sprites. A VOP is a visual representation of real world objects with shapes that need not be rectangular. Sprite is a large image composed of pixels belonging to a video object visible throughout a video segment. Since a sprite contains all parts of the background that were at least visible once, it can be used for direct reconstruction of the background Video Object Plane (VOP). Sprite reconstruction is dependent on the mode in which it is transmitted. In the Static sprite mode, the entire sprite is decoded as an Intra VOP before decoding the individual VOPs. Since sprites consist of the information needed to display multiple frames of a video sequence, they are typically much larger than a single frame of video. Therefore a static sprite can be considered as a large static image. In this paper, a novel solution to address the problem of spatial scalability has been proposed, where the sprite is encoded in Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT). A lifting kernel method of DWT implementation has been used for encoding and decoding sprites. Modifying the existing lifting scheme while maintaining it to be shape adaptive results in a reduced complexity. The proposed scheme has the advantages of (1) avoiding the need for any extensions to image or tile border pixels and is hence superior to the DCT based low latency scheme (used in the current MPEG-4 verification model), (2) mapping the in place computed wavelet coefficients into a zero tree structure without actually rearranging them, thereby saving allocation of additional memory. The proposed solutions provide efficient implementation of the sprite coder making possible a VLSI realization with a reduced real estate.
Random Vibration of Hysteretic Systems

An approximation procedure is used to compute probability densities for the response variables of a hysteretic system under Gaussian white noise excitations. The excitations can be both additive and multiplicative. Accuracy of the procedure is substantiated by comparison with simulation results.
Erythropoietin-induced cytoprotection in intestinal epithelial cells is linked to system Xc .

Necrotizing enterocolitis is a common but serious complication among premature babies. Currently, there are limited treatment options. These include intensive supportive care and surgical intervention. In this study, we hypothesize that erythropoietin (Epo) could be protective against cell necrosis by increasing the levels of glutathione. This can be regulated by increasing the activity of system xC-. This was demonstrated using intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6) as a model system. S4-CPG and sulfasalazine pharmacologically inhibit xCT, which induced cell death. Our data showed a dose dependent decrease in cell viability when treated with both inhibitors. In addition, the IEC-6 cells displayed a dose dependent increase when treated with Epo. In conclusion, Epo can be protective against cell death and ultimately be considered as a treatment option for intestinal epithelial cell death.
Bariatric bypasses contribute to loss of bone mineral density but reduce axial back pain in morbidly obese patients considering spine surgery.

BACKGROUND Many spine surgeons recommend stringent weight loss, including bariatric bypass procedures, prior to "elective" spine surgery (should not be for axial back pain alone) in morbidly obese patients (defined by a body mass index (BMI) of >40 mg/kg2 or >35 mg/kg2 with two or more major comorbidities) to reduce their greater risk for major perioperative complications. Although bypasses typically lead to marked weight reduction and even reduced axial back pain, they also promote unrecognized and often insufficiently treated vitamin D deficiency and loss of bone mineral density. METHODS Morbidly obese patients who are under consideration for "elective" spine operations (other than for back pain alone) are often told to lose weight. Some choose to undergo bariatric bypass procedures, but are unaware of the potential risks/complications of these procedures. RESULTS Within the first 2 years following most bariatric bypass procedures, patients experience not only marked loss of weight and muscle mass, but also significant vitamin D deficiency and loss of bone mineral density, increasing their susceptibility to fractures. Nevertheless, some patients also experience a sufficient reduction of axial back pain to avoid spinal surgery. CONCLUSIONS Morbidly obese patients under consideration for "elective" spine surgery may undergo bariatric bypass procedures that lead to a significant reduction of vitamin D levels and loss of bone mineral density. However, potential benefits may include a sufficient reduction of axial back pain to avoid surgery in a select subset of patients altogether.
Interfacial Tension Minima in Two-Phase Micellar Systems

For single and mixed nonionic surfactants, the Gibbs adsorption isotherm and Gibbs-Duhem equations reveal two possible causes of tension minima in dilute systems: (1) sign change in interfacial excess inventory of a surfactant, and (2) a maximum in chemical potential of a surfactant with respect to its total inventory. Whether either occurs depends on details of solution, adsorption, partitioning and association behavior as linked by the requirement of mass conservation. Specific cases are examined using the Bury-Hartley limit of multiple association equilibria, and also, for mixed surfactants, the more approximate phase-separation limit. A single surfactant in two phases, as in one, can ordinarily have no maximum in chemical potential. With two surfactans, mixed micelles must form in at least one phase to cause a maximum in any of the cases studied.
Network Analysis of Gene Expression

Studies have pointed out that the expression of genes are highly regulated, which result in a cascade of distinct patterns of coexpression forming a network. Identifying and understanding such patterns is crucial in deciphering molecular mechanisms that underlie the pathophysiology of diseases. With the advance of high throughput assay of messenger RNA (mRNA) and high performance computing, reconstructing such network from molecular data such as gene expression is now possible. This chapter discusses an overview of methods of constructing such networks, practical considerations, and an example.
Case 12: A Case of Myasthenia Gravis

Today you are assigned to anesthetize a 52-year-old man with myasthenia gravis (MG) for a coiling of his cerebral aneurysm. Myasthenia gravis was diagnosed 9 months ago. The cerebral aneurysm is an incidental finding. You meet the patient in the preoperative holding area. He weighs 68 kg and is 5 ft 9 in. tall. He tells you that, a week ago, his neurologist increased his pyridostigmine dose. He thinks he is less weak now than he was a week ago. But he is not sure when questioned. He has no ptosis and/or diplopia. You do not detect any speech or swallowing difficulties. You review the lung functions test which was taken 3 weeks ago. The tests were done on the old medication dosing. All the values are as expected reduced, but they are acceptable to you. He is otherwise healthy. When you asked him to cough, you conclude he has a rather weak cough. The case is scheduled for 3 h.
Effect of the environment and alloy composition on the electrochemical behavior of Ni-Cr-Mo Alloys

Alloy 22 (UNS N06022) is the candidate material for the corrosion resistant, outer barrier of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste containers. One of the potential corrosion degradation modes of the container is uniform or passive corrosion. Therefore it is of importance to understand the stability of the oxide film, which will control the passive corrosion rate of Alloy 22. Many variables such as temperature, composition and pH of the electrolyte, applied potential, and microstructure and composition of the base metal would determine the thickness and composition of the oxide film. The purpose of this research work was to use electrochemical and surface analysis techniques to explore the influence of solution pH and applied potential on the characteristics of the oxide film formed on Alloy 22 and two experimental alloys containing differing amounts of chromium (Cr) and molybdenum (Mo). Results confirm that bulk metal composition is fundamental to the passive behavior and potential breakdown of the studied alloys. In these preliminary results, welded and non-welded Alloy 22 did not show differences in their anodic behavior.
Reflecting Uncertainty about Economic Theory when Estimating Consumer Demand

Economic theory provides a great deal of information about demand models. Specifically, theory can dictate many relationships that expenditure and price elasticities should fulfill. Unfortunately, analysts cannot be certain whether these relationships will hold exactly. Many analysts perform hypothesis tests to determine if the theory is correct. If the theory is accepted then the relationships are assumed to hold exactly, but if the theory is rejected they are ignored. In this paper we outline a hierarchical Bayesian formulation that allows us to consider the theoretical restrictions as holding stochastically or approximately. Our estimates are shrunk towards those implied by economic theory. This technique can incorporate information that a theory is approximately right, even when exact hypothesis tests would reject the theory and ignore all information from it. We illustrate our model with an application of this data to a store-level system of demand equations using supermarket scanner data.
Bibliography of Infrared Spectrophotometry and Raman Spectra

The references given in this bibliography are, principally, to the theoretical considerations, principles, methodology, and instrumentation of infrared spectrophotometry and Raman spectra. References to specific applications are included wherein new techniques are given or the application may be of general interest. Numerous references to bibliographies giving specific applications are to be found in this compilation.
Theoretical foundations of the CUSUM

This chapter gives the technical underpinnings of the rest of the book. It may be used as a reference as necessary, and skipped without loss of continuity.
BEAM DRIVEN BUMPY TORUS REACTOR

Dr. J.T. WOO has been asked to give a contribution on “Beam Driven Bumpy Torus Reactor”. This contribution can be summarized as follows:
Astrocytic Tumors of the Spinal Cord

Primary spinal cord tumors are rare and account for 2–4% of all adult central nervous system tumors. Astrocytomas comprise approximately 6–8% of all spinal cord tumors. Tumor histology and grade are the most significant prognostic factors of primary spinal cord astrocytomas affecting overall survival.
Numerical Studies of Novel Inwardly Off-Center Shearing Jet-Stirred Reactor

A novel inwardly off-center shearing jet-stirred reactor is proposed and examined computationally. The inwardly off-center shearing jet-stirred reactor is compared with two traditional jet-stirred ...
Advanced Age Is a Risk Factor for Complications Following Abdominal Panniculectomy.

Widespread adoption of bariatric surgery in the treatment of obesity has led to greater numbers of patients seeking panniculectomy, including aged patients, who represent a rapidly growing proportion of the U.S population. Although the quality of life and functional benefits of abdominal panniculectomy have been established, its safety in patients 65 years and older has not been evaluated. The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvements (ACS-NSQIP) database was used to identify patients undergoing panniculectomy between 2010 and 2015. Age 65 years and older was the risk factor of interest, and primary outcomes included 30-day wound complications, overall complications, reoperation, readmission, and mortality. Multivariate regression was performed to control for confounders. Review of the database identified 7030 patients who underwent abdominal panniculectomy. When stratified by age, 6455 (91.8%) of patients were younger than 65, and 575 (8.2%) were 65 or older. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that age over 65 was a significant independent risk factor for wound complications (OR = 1.81; 95% CI 1.35–2.42; p < 0.001) and all complications (OR = 1.46; 95% CI 1.15–1.87; p = 0.002). BMI, smoking, diabetes, and partial or total dependence were also identified as significant independent risk factors for wound and all complications. Our analysis demonstrates that advanced age is an independent risk factor for wound and overall complications following abdominal panniculectomy. These results highlight the importance of preoperative evaluation and optimization of modifiable preoperative risk factors as well as close postoperative follow-up for safe outcomes in patients 65 and older.
Do Vaccines Cause Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

Vaccines currently routinely recommended to the general population in the U.S. have not been shown to cause complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
Framing the Syrian Refugee Crisis: A Comparative Analysis of Arabic and English News Sources

The mass exodus of millions of Syrians from their country due to worsening war conditions has become a serious global humanitarian crisis. As the number of displaced refugees rises, so does the number of those living in inhuman conditions. This content analysis examines how popular news discourses shape the geopolitics of the Syrian refugee crisis. We use framing theory to explore the main frames that emerged in a comparison of 10 Arabic news sources with seven English news sources in their coverage of the crisis. Based on a systematic random sample, 278 Arabic news stories and 210 English news stories were selected for further analysis. Qualitative data analysis software was used to code and analyze the content of news stories at the article and sentence levels. Four main frames emerged from the analysis: border, institutional, victim, and war frames. Although the border frame was popular across all news sources, English sources were more likely than Arabic sources to use the victim frame and less likely to use the war frame. Implications as well as directions for future research are discussed.
Evaluating and accelerating high-fidelity error injection for HPC

we address two important concerns for the analysis of the behavior of applications in the presence of hardware errors: (1) when is it important to model how hardware faults lead to erroneous values (instruction-level errors) with high fidelity, as opposed to using simple bit-flipping models, and (2) how to enable fast high-fidelity error injection campaigns, in particular when error detectors are employed. We present and verify a new nested Monte Carlo methodology for evaluating high-fidelity gate-level fault models and error-detector coverage, which is orders of magnitude faster than current approaches. We use that methodology to demonstrate that, without detectors, simple error models suffice for evaluating errors in 9 HPC benchmarks.
Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 2017.

There were 106 articles published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (JCMR) in 2017, including 92 original research papers, 3 reviews, 9 technical notes, and 1 Position paper, 1 erratum and 1 correction. The volume was similar to 2016 despite an increase in manuscript submissions to 405 and thus reflects a slight decrease in the acceptance rate to 26.7%. The quality of the submissions continues to be high. The 2017 JCMR Impact Factor (which is published in June 2018) was minimally lower at 5.46 (vs. 5.71 for 2016; as published in June 2017), which is the second highest impact factor ever recorded for JCMR. The 2017 impact factor means that an average, each JCMR paper that were published in 2015 and 2016 was cited 5.46 times in 2017. In accordance with Open-Access publishing of Biomed Central, the JCMR articles are published on-line in continuus fashion and in the chronologic order of acceptance, with no collating of the articles into sections or special thematic issues. For this reason, over the years, the Editors have felt that it is useful to annually summarize the publications into broad areas of interest or theme, so that readers can view areas of interest in a single article in relation to each other and other contemporary JCMR articles. In this publication, the manuscripts are presented in broad themes and set in context with related literature and previously published JCMR papers to guide continuity of thought within the journal. In addition, I have elected to use this format to convey information regarding the editorial process to the readership. I hope that you find the open-access system increases wider reading and citation of your papers, and that you will continue to send your very best, high quality manuscripts to JCMR for consideration. I thank our very dedicated Associate Editors, Guest Editors, and Reviewers for their efforts to ensure that the review process occurs in a timely and responsible manner and that the JCMR continues to be recognized as the forefront journal of our field. And finally, I thank you for entrusting me with the editorship of the JCMR as I begin my 3rd year as your editor-in-chief. It has been a tremendous learning experience for me and the opportunity to review manuscripts that reflect the best in our field remains a great joy and highlight of my week!
Helicobacter infection and phospholipase A2 enzymes: effect of Helicobacter felis-infection on the expression and activity of sPLA2 enzymes in mouse stomach.

The murine gastric mucosa possesses very high secretory type phospholipase A2 activity. Northern and Western blots indicated that the pancreatic‐type, sPLA2‐IB represents the predominant form of sPLA2 enzymes present in the gastric mucosa. Both sPLA2‐IB mRNA and protein in the gastric mucosa exceeded levels found in the pancreas, and in contrast to the pancreatic enzyme it was present primarily in the active state. The sPLA2‐IB gene is not expressed in the murine small intestine and colon. Infection by the gastritis-inducing bacteria, Helicobacter felis (H. felis) dramatically and time dependently decreased the PLA2 activity in the glandular stomach of the mouse strain, C57BL/6, sensitive to the organism, which appeared to be related to a decrease in the percentage of sPLA2‐IB present in the active form. This bacterial-induced reduction in PLA2 activity was not observed in BALB/c mice that fail to develop gastritis in response to H. felis infection. C57BL/6 mice do not, while BALB/c mice express, the PLA2‐II enzyme. The H. felis‐induced reduction in sPLA2‐IB activity may weaken the gastric barrier by reducing the local concentration of arachidonic and linoleic acid, liberated from membrane phospholipids, the major precursors of ‘cytoprotective’ prostaglandins. Data presented here suggest that both sPLA2‐IB and sPLA2‐II enzymes may contribute to the gastric response to Helicobacter infection.
Surveillance and Management of Troponin Elevation after Vascular Surgery

Background Postopertive troponin elevation may occur without typical or atypical cardiac symptoms and is associated with an increased 30-day morbidity and mortality. The objective of the study was to implement a quality improvement initiative of postoperative troponin surveillance algorithm aimed at intensifying medical management after vascular surgery. Methods We conducted a single-center study of postoperative troponin surveillance after vascular surgery (n = 201) at a tertiary care, academic medical center from January to December 2016. Troponin surveillance was performed on postoperative days 1–3 after carotid endarterectomy, endovascular aortic repair, infrainguinal bypass, open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, peripheral vascular intervention, and suprainguinal bypass, regardless of cardiac symptoms. Patients with troponin I elevation (>0.034 ng/mL) were managed with a treatment algorithm which included single or dual antiplatelet (AP) agent, high-intensity statin therapy, smoking cessation consultation, and outpatient cardiology consultation and stress testing. Patients with troponin elevation ≥1.0 ng/mL received inpatient cardiology consultation. We assessed adherence to the protocol for intensification of best medical therapy defined as high-dose statin therapy, increase in AP therapy, and smoking cessation consultation according to the established algorithm. Results Troponin elevation was recorded in 17% (34/201) of patients and was associated with cardiac symptoms in 8 patients (24%), while 26 (76%) patients had an asymptomatic abnormal troponin on postoperative surveillance. One patient was excluded due to death immediately after SUPRA, resulting in 200 patients. Troponin elevation ≥1.0 ng/mL occurred in 11 asymptomatic patients (5.5%). Any intensification of medical therapy was instituted in 76% of patients with elevated troponin and included high-intensity statin therapy (58%), increase in AP therapy (18%), and smoking cessation consultation (66%). Once an elevated troponin level was recognized, 52% of our patients received cardiology consultation with an increased likelihood (100%) in patients with troponin ≥1 ng/mL (P 0.034–1.0 (n = 23) versus ≥1.0 ng/mL (n = 10); statin therapy (P = 1.0), AP (P = 0.34), and smoking cessation (P = 1.0). One-year mortality was higher in patients with postoperative troponin elevation than those with normal postoperative troponin levels (12% vs. 2.4%; P = 0.03). Conclusions Routine postoperative troponin surveillance results in intensification of statin therapy in patients with asymptomatic troponin elevation. Further study is needed to determine if this approach reduces long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
School Psychologists in Continuity Clinic

Background: Up to 20% of youth experience a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder but 70% do not receive mental health (MH) services. An interprofessional, intersystem approach involving service delivery across settings that includes the medical, MH, and educational professions has been proposed to increase access and collaboration across systems (schools and primary care). Training efforts are imperative to support these collaborative efforts. Objective: To …