cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
E-014 Risk factors associated with major ischemic or hemorrhagic complications following pipeline embolization of cerebral aneurysms: a pooled analysis

Introduction/Purpose Pipeline embolization devices (PEDs) are increasingly used in treatment of cerebral aneurysms. Yet, risk factors associated with major ischemic or hemorrhagic complications after PED treatment are not well-established. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate risk factors associated with major intracranial complications following PED treatment. We also aimed to examine whether platelet function testing is associated with lower risk of these complications. Materials and methods We searched PubMed database to identify reports on the treatment of cerebral aneurysms using PEDs between 2009 and 2017, with data available on major ischemic/hemorrhagic complications, or platelet function testing before intervention. Random-effect models were used to pool data on determinants of ischemic or hemorrhagic complications across studies. Results A total of 14 studies were included in this analysis, including 2388 patients with available data on platelet function testing. The mean follow-up interval was 6.4 months. Variables associated with higher odds of ischemic or hemorrhagic complications included male sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–3.17), hypertension (2.54, 1.44–4.49) and concurrent aneurysm treatment (4.08, 1.63–10.18). Anterior location and size Conclusion In this pooled analysis, we reported the main factors associated with major intracranial complications in patients undergoing PED placement. Platelet function testing was not associated with decreased major complications in these patients. Future prospective studies are required to identify subgroups with highest risk of major complications after treatment with PEDs. Disclosures H. Saber: None. P. Chamiraju: None. S. Narayanan: None.
Synthesis and stabilization of small Pt nanoparticles on TiO2 partially masked by SiO2

Abstract Controlling metal nanoparticle size and preserving metal dispersion at elevated temperature remain key challenges in designing new supported metal catalysts. Many methods have been proposed to stabilize metal nanoparticles for catalysis, but the use of specialized equipment or metal precursors can limit the application of these methods for scalable production. Here, we demonstrate a synthesis strategy to improve the dispersion and thermal stability of Pt nanoparticles on an oxide support. A thin SiO2 coat ( 45% by CO chemisorption even after prolonged heating at 500 °C, whereas Pt nanoparticles on unmodified TiO2 are less dispersed (∼33%) and their dispersion falls further upon prolonged heating. Ethylene hydrogenation demonstrates that the Pt nanoparticles on modified TiO2 preserve the catalytic activities of Pt on unmodified TiO2. The use of wet chemistry-based oxide modification and wetness impregnation makes this strategy a scalable and generalizable synthesis method to prepare other supported metal nanoparticles for catalysis applications.
“Our” Candidate Obama: Barack Obama in the Brazilian Elections

This chapter examines the “obamization” of Brazilian politics; that is, how out of the mainstream political scene Afro-Brazilian candidates sought to appropriate Obama’s campaign artifacts, hoping to reproduce the U.S. president’s success in the polls. In this sense, while Obama underplayed the issue of race in his 2008 political campaign, Brazilian black candidates emphasized their “blackness.” Chapter 4 also analyzes “Obama-mania” in the Brazilian elections; in other words, how Brazilian non-white and white politicians emulated Obama’s transnational message of “hope, change, and progress.”
Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Winter Survival, Feeding Activity, and Reproduction Rates Based on Episodic Cold Shock and Winter Temperature Regimes.

Globally distributed nonnative insects thrive by having a generalist diet and persisting across large latitudinal gradients. Halyomorpha halys (Stal) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a cold-tolerant invasive species that enters reproductive diapause in temperate North American and European climates. While it can survive the acute effects of subzero (°C) temperatures, it is poorly understood how exposure to infrequent cold temperatures affects postdiapause survival and behavior. We studied the impacts of episodic cold shock at temperatures of -6 to -2 (°C) at the onset of H. halys diapause, followed by an extended overwintering period. These conditions simulated three distinct climates, with above-freezing, near-freezing, and below-freezing daily low temperatures, to explore a range of possible effects on H. halys. We measured mortality regularly and evaluated postdiapause feeding damage and fecundity in each treatment. Postdiapause survival rates ranged from 40 to 50% in all treatments, except for -6°C. At this temperature, fewer than 25% H. halys survived. Feeding damage was greatest in the warmest simulated climate. The highest number of egg masses was laid under subfreezing episodic cold shock conditions. The controlled diapause simulations suggest that brief exposure to cold temperatures as low as -4°C does not have immediate or long-term effects on H. halys mortality. Exposure to cold temperatures may, however, increase postdiapause fecundity. These data provide insight into the impacts of cold exposure on postdiapause survival, reproduction, and feeding and can help predict H. halys-related crop risk based on preceding winter conditions.
Wild Chimpanzees: Social Behavior of an Endangered Species

As our closest primate relatives, chimpanzees offer tantalizing clues about the behavior of early human ancestors. This book provides a rich and detailed portrait of chimpanzee social life in the wild, synthesizing hundreds of thousands of hours of research at seven long-term field sites. Why are the social lives of males and females so different? Why do groups of males sometimes seek out and kill neighboring individuals? Do chimpanzees cooperate when they hunt monkeys? Is their vocal behaviour like human speech? Are there different chimpanzee 'cultures'? Addressing these questions and more, Adam Arcadi presents a fascinating introduction to the chimpanzee social universe and the challenges we face in trying to save this species from extinction. With extensive notes organized by field site and an appendix describing field methods, this book is indispensable for students, researchers, and anyone else interested in the remarkable and complex world of these intelligent apes.
Enfermedad, belleza y mirada masculina en Vapor (2004) de Julieta García González

Mi estudio analiza la forma en que la autora mexicana, Julieta Garcia Gonzalez, por medio de su obra Vapor (2004), realiza una critica de la sociedad que rechaza la gordura y la ve como una enfermedad. Asimismo, su protagonista, Gracia, invierte los conceptos de salud y enfermedad al desatar reacciones patologicas en los personajes que entran en contacto con ella. Esto pone en tela de juicio, no solo los conceptos de salud y belleza, sino tambien la jerarquia dominante que, inicialmente, posiciona a Gracia como un objeto observado por quienes le rodean y la convierte en un sujeto autonomo capaz de gozar de su propio cuerpo.
Hemophilia as a Model Disease for Gene Therapy of Genetic Disorders

Gene therapy offers the potential for cure of hemophilia, a sex-linked genetic bleeding disorder caused by deficiency of either coagulation factor VIII or coagulation factor IX. The features of hemophilia that make it a leading candidate for gene therapy include the fact that the factor VIII and factor IX genes have been identified and cloned, therapeutic benefit would result from achieving expression at plasma levels as low as 1% of normal, and a wide variety of gene transfer vectors and cell target types could be useful. The challenge is to obtain long-term gene expression at levels sufficient to prevent spontaneous bleeding, while avoiding unwanted toxicity or immune responses to the expressed clotting factor.
Parricides: Characteristics of offenders and victims, legal factors, and treatment issues

Parricides account for about 2% of all homicides. Perpetrators are typically White middle-class males without a history of prior criminal convictions. Most parricides involve single-victim, single-offender situations, with firearms more likely to be used against fathers than mothers. The popular literature as well as much of the professional literature have presented youths who killed a parent as prosocial individuals who feared for their lives. Adults who killed a parent have typically been presented as suffering from a severe mental disorder. These two scenarios describe many parricides. However, major mental disorders among youthful parricidal offenders, conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder as well as other psychiatric comorbidities also occur in a significant proportion of parricides. Youthful and adult offenders experience different legal outcomes and receive mental health services in differing contexts. We review offender and victim characteristics, as well as legal and treatment issues, and outline needs for future research.
Nanoparticles and phage display selected peptides for imaging and therapy of cancer.

Molecular imaging probes are a special class of pharmaceuticals that target specific biochemical signatures associated with disease and allow for noninvasive imaging on the molecular level. Because changes in biochemistry occur before diseases reach an advanced stage, molecular imaging probes make it possible to locate and stage disease, track the effectiveness of drugs, treat disease, monitor response, and select patients to allow for more personalized diagnosis and treatment of disease. Targeting agents radiolabeled with positron emitters are of interest due to their ability to quantitatively measure biodistribution and receptor expression to allow for optimal dose determinations. 68Ga is a positron emitter, which allows for quantitative imaging through positron emission chromatography (PET). The availability of 68Ga from a generator and its ability to form stable complexes with a variety of chelates hold promise for expanding PET utilization to facilities unable to afford their own cyclotron. Nanoparticles conjugated with various proteins and peptides derived from phage display that can be selectively targeted are being developed and evaluated for guided imaging and therapy. Herein we highlight some initial efforts in combining the enhanced selectivity of nanoparticles and peptides with 68Ga for use as molecular imaging probes.
Endocavitary Radiation Therapy

Endocavitary therapy is a localized deposition of high-dose radiation to early stage, moderately to well-differentiated rectal carcinomas. Case selection is critical because of the physical limitations of the equipment and superficial nature of the radiation in highly selected patients. Side effects are few, and the most common is a self-limiting proctitis. The rate of tumor control is excellent and is equivalent to other conservative treatment measures.
Fake news identification: a comparison of parts-of-speech and N-grams with neural networks

The rise of the internet has enabled fake news to reach larger audiences more quickly. As more people turn to social media for news, the accuracy of information on these platforms is especially important. To help enable classification of the accuracy news articles at scale, machine learning models have been developed and trained to recognize fake articles. Previous linguistic work suggests part-of-speech and N-gram frequencies are often different between fake and real articles. To compare how these frequencies relate to the accuracy of the article, a dataset of 260 news articles, 130 fake and 130 real, was collected for training neural network classifiers. The first model relies solely on part-of-speech frequencies within the body of the text and consistently achieved 82% accuracy. As the proportion of the dataset used for training grew smaller, accuracy decreased, as expected. The true negative rate, however, remained high. Thus, some aspect of the fake articles was readily identifiable, even when the classifier was trained on a limited number of examples. The second model relies on the most commonly occurring N-gram frequencies. The neural nets were trained on N-grams of different length. Interestingly, the accuracy was near 61% for each N-gram size. This suggests some of the same information may be ascertainable across N-grams of different sizes.
Small Bowel Obstruction

Small bowel obstructions are a frequent subject of surgical consultations from the emergency room. Their evaluation and treatment are described in this chapter. The role of the early Gastrografin challenge is also detailed. The decision as to whether a patient would benefit from an operation or not is best made early in the patient’s course. A protocolized approach to the management of this disease results in both shortest hospital stays and best outcomes for these patients.
Lengthening of the Humerus Using a Motorized Lengthening Nail: A Retrospective Comparative Series.

BACKGROUND Lengthening of the humerus has traditionally been accomplished by the use of external fixation. Intramedullary motorized lengthening nails are now frequently used for lower limb lengthening, and this technology is slowly being adopted for use in the humerus. METHODS A retrospective, single-surgeon experience of pediatric humeral lengthenings was performed. The time period surveyed included use of external fixation (EF) for lengthening, and the use of a motorized nail (MN) for lengthening. The primary outcome measures were lengthening magnitude achieved, duration of lengthening, frequency and type of complications encountered, or further procedures required, during each lengthening. RESULTS From 1999 to 2018, 13 humeral lengthenings were performed in 9 patients. Six lengthenings were performed using the MN technique and 7 using the EF technique. The average absolute lengthening achieved was 8.5±1.3 cm in the EF group and 6.6±2.3 cm in the MN group. The duration of lengthening averaged 114 days in the MN group and 103 days in the EF group. The average duration of EF time was 215 days. Two patients underwent an initial EF lengthening of a humerus and then underwent a second lengthening using the MN technique. Two of 6 (33%) MN lengthenings and 3 of 7 (43%) EF lengthenings experienced complications during treatment. Two patients in the MN group underwent planned reversal and redeployment of their motorized nails to attain the planned lengthening magnitude. CONCLUSIONS Humeral lengthening using motorized intramedullary nails is a safe technique that mitigates some of the complications of EF including pin site infection. It is well tolerated by patients. For lengthenings of a large magnitude, reversal and reuse of MN can be considered.
Toward Scalable Manufacturing of Carbon Nanotube Coated Conductors

Here, we report our understanding of carbon nanotube (CNT) solution coating and wire drawing processes toward fabricating high conductivity coated conductors from millimeters long CNTs. The approac...
Chapter 13 – Medical Intuition

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the phenomenon of intuition highlighting its applications in the field of psychotherapy. Intuition not only shows its potential validity and utility, but also outlines some possible mechanisms of action and suggests some ways that can be used to enhance an individual's latent abilities. The chapter discusses about the three major modes for accessing these forms of information: awareness of subtle internal cues, direct perception of a patient's inner being, and access to transpersonal sources of information. Intuition–as opposed to some of the more mechanistic complementary and alternative medicine therapies like acupuncture or biofeedback– is a process that depends in large part on the subjective functioning of the physician him or herself, so an understanding of the phenomenon requires a discussion of personal and subjective experiences. Many of such experiences are discussed and illustrate the viability of intuition. The chapter also discussed several ways in which intuition can be directly applied in the common clinical setting of an office-based psychotherapy practice along with countertransference-based intuition and low-tech tools and techniques.
Three-Dimensional Analysis of Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Nasal Deformity.

Objective:This cross-sectional study utilizes 3-dimensional analysis to assess nasal morphology in patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) compared to controls across the timeline of cl...
An agent-based simulation of occupancy schedule in office buildings

Abstract Occupant behavior is one of the most influential parameters affecting buildings' energy consumption. However, simplifying this parameter in building performance simulation tools can result in discrepancies between actual buildings and simulations. Because occupant behavior differs from individual to individual, the energy performance of a building is significantly related to its occupants. The present study proposes a novel agent-based occupancy simulation model to accurately simulate stochastic occupancy schedules in a real-time scenario. Instead of using sensory or time-use data, it considers occupancy parameters, including occupants' presence, location, and interaction with the building. The main contribution of this study is the proposal of a scalable simulation-based tool for predicting occupancy schedules in office buildings that does not require historical occupancy data. The developed framework is then implemented in an example that determines the stochastic occupancy schedule of an office building. The performance of lighting occupancy sensors is also modeled as an application of the simulated occupancy schedule. The results indicate that installing occupancy sensors in the office building reduced lighting energy consumption by 24–33%. It also appeared that lighting occupancy sensors may be more beneficial in buildings with fewer occupants. The proposed model can be used by researchers and practitioners to better understand the elements of the occupancy schedules in office buildings, as well as to analyze the impact of occupants on buildings’ spaces and energy systems.
The Phenomenology of the CP odd scalar in two doublet models

We examine the phenomenology of the CP-odd scalar A0 of two-Higgs-doublet models. We explore the parameter space determined by triviality bounds and identify the regions where the A0 can be detected at the LHC in each of the following modes: the inclusive two-photon decay mode, the l±γγX mode from ttA0 production and the A0 → Zh channel with the subsequent decay of the CP-even scalar h to two photons. We find that, while the l±γγX mode is of limited usefulness, the other two modes can give viable signals in fairly large, and complementary, regions of parameter space.
The origins of Ethiopia's primary health care expansion: The politics of state building and health system strengthening.

Ethiopia’s expansion of primary health care over the past 15 years has been hailed as a model in sub-Saharan Africa. A leader closely associated with the programme, Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, is now Director-General of the World Health Organization, and the global movement for expansion of primary health care often cites Ethiopia as a model. Starting in 2004, over 30 000 Health Extension Workers were trained and deployed in Ethiopia and over 2500 health centres and 15 000 village-level health posts were constructed. Ethiopia’s reforms are widely attributed to strong leadership and ‘political will’, but underlying factors that enabled adoption of these policies and implementation at scale are rarely analysed. This article uses a political economy lens to identify factors that enabled Ethiopia to surmount the challenges that have caused the failure of similar primary health programmes in other developing countries. The decision to focus on primary health care was rooted in the ruling party’s political strategy of prioritizing rural interests, which had enabled them to govern territory successfully as an insurgency. This wartime rural governance strategy included a primary healthcare programme, providing a model for the later national programme. After taking power, the ruling party created a centralized coalition of regional parties and prioritized extending state and party structures into rural areas. After a party split in 2001, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi consolidated power and implemented a ‘developmental state’ strategy. In the health sector, this included appointment of a series of dynamic Ministers of Health and the mobilization of significant resources for primary health care from donors. The ruling party’s ideology also emphasized mass participation in development activities, which became a central feature of health programmes. Attempts to translate this model to different circumstances should consider the distinctive features of the Ethiopian case, including both the benefits and costs of these strategies.
Normal or reactive minor cell populations in bone marrow and peripheral blood mimic minimal residual leukemia by flow cytometry.

Background Measurable residual disease (MRD) is a strong independent poor prognostic factor for acute leukemia. Multiparameter flow cytometry (FCM) is a commonly used MRD detection method. However, FCM MRD detection is not well standardized, and the interpretation is subjective. There are normal/reactive minor cell populations in bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB), which could be confused with MRD. Methods The FCM data of 231 BM and 44 PB pediatric samples performed in a recent 15-month period were retrospectively reviewed. These samples were from 56 B-lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) patients, 11 T-lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) patients, 28 acute myeloid leukemia (AML)/myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients, 44 cytopenia/leukocytosis patients, and five patients with mycosis fungoides. Results There were over 10 normal or reactive minor cell populations identified with certain phenotypes mimicking MRD of acute leukemia. These mimickers included CD19+ NK cells, CD22+ basophils, CD22+ dendritic cells (DCs), and plasma cells for B-ALL MRD; CD4/8 double-negative T cells, CD4/8 double-positive T cells, cytoplasmic CD3+ NK cells, CD2- T cells, CD7- T cells, CD5- gamma delta T cells, CD56+ NKT cells for T-ALL MRD; CD33+ NK cells, CD117+ NK cells, basophils, plasmacytoid DCs, non-classical monocytes, CD56+ and/or CD61+ monocytes for AML MRD. Conclusions These data confirm the presence of a variety of normal/reactive minor cell populations that could mimic MRD of acute leukemia by FCM. Recognizing these MRD mimickers is important for correct FCM MRD interpretation.
Multiplexed virtual fluorescence labeling from multi-contrast microscopy by deep learning

Standard immunofluorescence (IF) staining is labor-intensive, time-consuming and suffers from inflexibility and poor multiplicity. To overcome these limitations, we proposed a deep learning (DL) approach for virtual IF staining with high multiplicity and specificity from label-free reflectance microscopy. Our results show that DL-enabled label-free IF microscopy can predict characteristic subcellular features during different cell cycles and reveal cellular phenotypes with high accuracy.
Direct Prediction of Phonon Density of States With Euclidean Neural Networks

Machine learning has demonstrated great power in materials design, discovery, and property prediction. However, despite the success of machine learning in predicting discrete properties, challenges remain for continuous property prediction. The challenge is aggravated in crystalline solids due to crystallographic symmetry considerations and data scarcity. Here, the direct prediction of phonon density-of-states (DOS) is demonstrated using only atomic species and positions as input. Euclidean neural networks are applied, which by construction are equivariant to 3D rotations, translations, and inversion and thereby capture full crystal symmetry, and achieve high-quality prediction using a small training set of ≈103 examples with over 64 atom types. The predictive model reproduces key features of experimental data and even generalizes to materials with unseen elements, and is naturally suited to efficiently predict alloy systems without additional computational cost. The potential of the network is demonstrated by predicting a broad number of high phononic specific heat capacity materials. The work indicates an efficient approach to explore materials' phonon structure, and can further enable rapid screening for high-performance thermal storage materials and phonon-mediated superconductors.
Beta-Barium Borate-on-Insulator Waveguide Design for Coherent Deep-Ultraviolet Light Generation

We present a rib waveguide design in beta-barium borate-on-insulator platform for coherent deep-ultraviolet generation down to a wavelength of 230 nm via nonlinear frequency conversion.
Introduction to Global Navigation Satellite System

This viewgraph presentation reviews the fundamentals of satellite navigation, and specifically how GPS works. It presents an overview and status of Global Positioning System, for both the current GPS, and plans to modernize it in the future. There is also a overview and status of other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), specifically GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS. There is also a review of Satellite based time transfer techniques. The topic is of interest to the Time and Frequency Community, because the Global Positioning system has become the primary system for distributing Time and frequency globally, and because it allows users to synchronize clocks and calibrate and control oscillators in any location that has a GPS antenna.
Selection of Optimal Axis Configurations in a Robot Path

A method is presented to minimize execution time for a robot task consisting of motions between a series of end effector locations. Many robots can usually reach a given end effector cartesian location and orientation in several different axis configurations. Robot computer controllers, such as for the PUMA 560 using VAL-II, often choose a configuration for the motion destination similar to the configuration of the starting location in order to avoid potentially unsafe configuration changes during the motion. Shorter motion times are often possible if configuration changes are allowed during the motion. In this work, a dynamic programming method is used to determine a configuration sequence that gives the minimum task time. A simple motion model is used to predict the individual motion times between locations. It is shown that for the PUMA 560 robot the method results in approximately 4 to 20 percent shorter path execution times than are produced by the native robot controller.
The missense mutation in Abcg5 gene in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) segregates with phytosterolemia but not hypertension

Sitosterolemia is a recessively inherited disorder in humans that is associated with premature atherosclerotic disease. Mutations in ABCG5 or ABCG8, comprising the sitosterolemia locus, STSL, are now known to cause this disease. Three in-bred strains of rats, WKY, SHR and SHRSP, are known to be sitosterolemic, hypertensive and they carry a missense 'mutation' in a conserved residue of Abcg5, Gly583Cys. Since these rat strains are also know to carry mutations at other genetic loci and the extent of phytosterolemia is only moderate, it is important to verify that the mutations in Abcg5 are causative for phytosterolemia and whether they contribute to hypertension. To investigate whether the missense change in Abcg5 is responsible for the sitosterolemia we performed a segregation analysis in 103 F2 rats from a SHR × SD cross. Additionally, we measured tail-cuff blood pressure and measured intestinal lipid transport to identify possible mechanisms whereby this mutation causes sitosterolemia. Segregation analysis showed that the inheritance of the Gly583Cys mutation Abcg5 segregated with elevated plant sterols and this pattern was recessive, proving that this genetic change is responsible for the sitosterolemia in these rat strains. Tail-cuff monitoring of blood pressure in conscious animals showed no significant differences between wild-type, heterozygous and homozygous mutant F2 rats, suggesting that this alteration may not be a significant determinant of hypertension in these rats on a chow diet. This study shows that the previously identified Gly583Cys change in Abcg5 in three hypertension-susceptible rats is responsible for the sitosterolemia, but may not be a major determinant of blood pressure in these rats.
Biochemical characterization of GSK461364: A novel, potent, and selective inhibitor of Polo-like kinase-1 (Plk1)

3257 Polo-like kinases are evolutionarily conserved ser/thr kinases that play critical roles in regulating mitosis in diverse organisms from yeast to mammalian cells. In human cells, Polo-like kinase-1 (Plk1) has been implicated in a variety of different processes, including mitotic entry, spindle formation and cytokinesis. Overexpression of Plk1 is strongly associated with cancer and correlates with poor prognosis in some tumor types, and it is therefore a target of chemotherapeutic intervention. We have identified GSK461364 as a novel thiophene amide inhibitor of Plk1 which has excellent potency against a variety of tumor cell lines, is efficacious in PD models, and shows in vivo tumor inhibition in animal models. In order to interrogate the affinity and kinetics of this inhibitor, we developed and characterized a catalytic activity assay for full length Plk1 by formation of a complex with a polobox domain binding phospho-peptide. Under these assay conditions, GSK461364 was found to be a potent, ATP-competitive inhibitor of full length Plk1 enzyme with a Ki of 2.2 ± 0.6 nM. When evaluated against full-length Plk2 and Plk3, the inhibitor exhibited approximately 400-fold greater potency for Plk1. When tested against a panel of 48 additional kinases, it was at least 100-fold selective for Plk1. GSK461364 was also found to form a rapidly reversible complex with Plk1. Our data suggest that the excellent cellular activity and in vivo efficacy demonstrated by this compound is a result of the potent and selective inhibition of Plk1, and support the advancement of GSK461364 as a novel Plk1 inhibitor for the treatment of cancer.
Ferroelectric-relaxor behavior of Ba(Ti0.7Zr0.3)O3 ceramics

Ferroelectric-relaxor behavior of Ba(Ti0.7Zr0.3)O3 ceramics is studied in the temperature range from 150 to 450 K. A broad dielectric peak with a high-dielectric maximum exhibits frequency dispersion. The dielectric relaxation rate follows the Vogel–Fulcher relation with E=0.21 eV and TVF=199.6 K. The polarization hysteresis loops were observed with a remnant polarization of 10 μC/cm2 at 175 K. The high-dielectric constant and high-polarization properties are expected to find practical applications at low temperatures.
Miniaturized UWB Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna for a mechatronic breast cancer imaging system

Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) can be fused with microwave Nearfield Radar Imaging (NRI) in order to improve breast cancer detection. This paper presents the design of a new miniaturized ultra-wideband Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna (AVA), which can be used in such a hybrid DBT/NRI mechatronic imaging device. The antenna is miniaturized by using a coupling media and a substrate that have a high effective dielectric constant. Preliminary results show that the designed antenna has a return loss above 9 dB in a 2.5 GHz frequency band.
Use of DNA probes from the 5' flanking region of the HLA-B gene to examine polymorphism at the HLA-B locus.

Abstract Two DNA probes isolated from the region 5′ to the HLA-B gene are described. One of these, pCH6, detects a TaqI polymorphism which is correlated with serological alleles of HLA-B. Both probes are used to show a high level of DNA sequence homology between the 5′ flanking region of HLA-B and HLA-C.
Development of fluxes for lead-free solders containing zinc

New lead-free solders based on the Sn-Zn eutectic (92 wt. pct Sn - 8 wt. pct Zn) are promising candidates to replace near-eutectic tin-lead solders because these solders are less expensive than alternatives such as Sn-Ag eutectic base solders and the melting point of the tin-zinc eutectic (198 C) is much closer to melting point of commonly used tin-lead eutectic (183 C) than the melting point of the Sn-Ag eutectic (221 C). Solders based on the Sn-Zn eutectic have been shown to have excellent mechanical properties. However, the Zn-bearing solders oxidize easily during soldering and for this and perhaps other reasons the contact angle on copper for Sn-Zn solders is rather high when utilized with fluxes used for Sn-Pb solders. Tin chloride containing fluxes give satisfactory wetting of Sn-Zn eutectic solders on Cu but tin chloride is corrosive and, therefore, unacceptable as a flux for electronic applications. Development of a non-corrosive flux that gives satisfactory wetting of copper surfaces by tin-zinc eutectic solders is thus needed. At the present time tin or tin-lead solders are used for pre-tinning. This procedure adds to the production cost. Also Sn-Pb coatings are unacceptable for a lead-free soldering system. As this paper demonstrates, amore » tin containing organic compound that decomposes at soldering temperatures to produce metallic tin on surfaces to be soldered can be added to the flux to improve wetting of Sn-Zn eutectic solder on Cu. It may also be used for general pretinning purposes done before soldering.« less
Design and validation of methods searching for risk factors in genotype case-control studies.

Accessibility of high-throughput genotyping technology allows genome-wide association studies for common complex diseases. This paper addresses two challenges commonly facing such studies: (i) searching an enormous amount of possible gene interactions and (ii) finding reproducible associations. These challenges have been traditionally addressed in statistics while here we apply computational approaches—optimization and cross-validation. A complex risk factor is modeled as a subset of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with specified alleles and the optimization formulation asks for the one with the maximum odds ratio. To measure and compare ability of search methods to find reproducible risk factors, we propose to apply a cross-validation scheme usually used for prediction validation. We have applied and cross-validated known search methods with proposed enhancements on real case-control studies for several diseases (Crohn's disease, autoimmune disorder, tick-borne encephalitis, lung cancer, and rheum...
Solidification microstructure and temperature field during direct chill casting of Al-16Si alloy

By properly controlling casting parameters such as pouring temperature, casting velocity and water flux, direct chill (DC) casting can be employed to produce refined microstructure in the hypereutectic Al-Si alloys without chemical modification. This refined microstructure is characterized of fine primary Si particles, fully developed dendritic Al halos and fine coupled eutectics. In this work, in situ measurements of temperature field in the mould during DC casting of Al-16Si alloy at casting velocity of 2.17 mm/s, 3.5 mm/s and 4.34 mm/s at a pouring temperature of 800°C were performed. The results show that the primary Si phase nucleated at considerable undercooling (about 27°C to 38°C) and the growth temperature of dendritic Al halos was 7°C to 8°C below the equilibrium eutectic temperature. In the center regions of the DC cast billet, halos are fully developed because the Gl/R value is low.
Flow and Particle Deposition in Asymmetric Human Airways

Transport and deposition of particles in human upper thoracic airways is important to understand their toxicology and the effect of exposure to environmental particulate matter as well as in the design of inhalation drug delivery devices. In the past, limited studies have employed 3-D asymmetric models to study the airflow through human lung, although tracheobronchial branching is generally asymmetric. Also limited work has been devoted to the study of particle deposition in upper airways where turbulence is important to particle depositions. It is also known that the asymmetry of the airways has a profound effect on the airflow fields and particle transport and deposition. The present study is concerned with providing a more accurate computational model for lung deposition. A realistic 3-D asymmetric bifurcation representation of human upper tracheobronchial tree has been developed to simulate the airflow field characterizing the inspiratory flow conditions using a turbulence Reynolds stress transport model. A Lagrangian particle trajectory analysis was also used for analyzing particle transport and deposition patterns in the upper tracheobronchial tree.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Two-electron escape near threshold: A classical process?

For electron impact ionization of hydrogen the S matrix is determined by calculating Feynman's path integral semiclassically. The total ionization probability is in excellent agreement with the experiment. At a critical excess energy of 3.3 eV the differential cross section for the energy sharing between the continuum electrons undergoes a qualitative change which limits the range of the threshold behavior. The Wannier threshold law is confirmed, but only in the limt of vanishing excess energy.
Interpolation et approximation optimales et “spline functions”

Nous definissons ces notions au no 1. Nous tnoncons au no 2 et dkmontrons au no 3 des rksuitats abstraits Ctablissant l’existence, l’unicite et la construcrion de la solution des probkmes de I’interpolation optimale et de l’approximation optimales des formes lineaires continues dans le cas des espaces prehilbertiens. Pour des semi-normes convenables, nous retrouvons au no 4 comme corollaires que les solutions du probleme de l’interpolation optimale des fonctions d’une variable sont des “spline functions” polynomiales ou gtneralides, introduites et etudiees par de nombreux auteurs, au lieu de verifier que des “spline functions” convenablement deiinies a priori sont solution de ce probleme. Par dual&, on en d6duit la meilleure approximation de certaines formules de quadrature, en montrant que le critbre de Sard est un cas particulier d’un probIeme de minimisation d’une semi-norme duale convenablement definie. Nous ttudierons au no 5 les examples d’interpolation optimale des foncCons de plusieurs variables. Les resultats semblent nouveaux. Nous construirons dans un prochain travail les operateurs d’interpolation optimale dans les espaces de Banach.
Customer Behavior As a Markov Process

Simple Markov processes appear to provide a fruitful conceptual basis for study of customer populations in the face of marketing activity. The purpose of this paper is to summarize characteristics and some implications and applications of the Markov model. Characteristic behavior of the model is compared with published data, and areas for further analytical and experimental effort are indicated.
Precautionary saving and subjective earnings variance

Abstract In this paper, I examine a model of precautionary saving and I show that the fact that people may insure against income risk makes it difficult to evaluate the extent of precautionary accumulation by simply looking at the relationship between wealth and earnings variance. I also argue that occupations may represent a bad proxy for income risk.
The development of a predictive method for the estimation of flux through polydimethylsiloxane membranes: I. Identification of critical variables for a series of substituted benzenes

Abstract The steady-state flux of 31 monosubstituted benzene derivatives was determined through polydimethylsiloxane membranes using isopropyl alcohol as the solvent. These diffusants constituted a diverse group of compounds possessing a wide range of hydrophobic, steric and electronic characteristics. Various parameters representing these physico-chemical properties were employed to develop an empirical model capable of relating the flux to these characteristics of the substituent on the benzene ring. Molecular volume and hydrophobicity greatly influenced the flux, while electronic properties of the substituent had a relatively small, but significant, effect on the flux. Higher diffusion rates were observed for compounds possessing lipophilic, exiguous, electron-donating substituents. Molar refractivity was the best descriptor of molecular volume while cyclohexane-water fragmental constants were better predictors of hydrophobicity.
Overriding the Jehovah's Witness Patient's Refusal of Blood: A Reply to Cahana, Weibel, and Hurst

This article is a response to a survey on moral reasoning among Swiss health professionals that appeared in a recent issue of this journal. The authors of that survey inquired whether or not their respondents would give a blood transfusion to a Jehovah's Witness patient who clearly refused it. A substantial number of the respondents answered that they would override the patient's refusal and give the transfusion. The present article examines the two ethical rationales that were offered to explain the overriding respondents' answers and argues that neither one is ethically acceptable. It concludes with an account of the phenomenon of "motivated reasoning" that, so it is argued, better explains why the overriders would refuse to honor the Jehovah's Witness patient's transfusion refusal.
The Biphasic Effect of Amrinone on Tension Development in Newborn Mammalian Myocardium

ABSTRACT: The effect of the bipyridine compound, amrinone, on tension generation in neonatal and adult myocardium was studied over the concentration range 30-500 μg/mL. Increasing concentrations of amrinone caused a monotonic increase in twitch tension and the rate of tension development in adult papillary muscles. In contrast, lower concentrations of amrinone (30 and 100 μg/mL) caused a decrease in twitch tension and dP/dt in newborn papillary muscles, whereas 500 μg/mL amrinone caused a significant increase in both parameters in the younger age group. Lactic acid, used to dissolve amrinone, was shown to have no effect on tension development. Half relaxation time was decreased in adult preparations at all concentrations of amrinone. In comparison, the decrease in half relaxation time produced by amrinone in the newborn was significant only at a concentration of 500 μg/mL. Action potential duration in the newborn was significantly shortened by 30 μg/mL amrinone. In voltage clamp experiments, 30 Mg/mL amrinone was shown to have no effect on tension accompanying two second voltage clamp steps to the plateau potential in newborn myocardium. Developed tension at 400 ms into the clamp step, final tension, and the ratio of early peak tension to final tension were all unchanged by the low concentration of amrinone. In contrast, 500 μg/mL amrinone in the newborn increased tension at 400 ms and final tension but had no effect on the ratio of early peak tension to final tension. These results suggest that the negative inotropic effect of lower concentrations of amrinone on neonatal myocardium is the result of changes in action potential configuration and not a true alteration in basic mechanisms of intracellular Ca2+ regulation. Further, the positive inotropic effect of higher concentrations of amrinone appears to result from enhancement of transmembrane Ca2+ influx as well as augmentation of Ca2+ sequestration and rerelease by the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
Interaction of [d-Trp6, Des-Gly10] LHRH Ethylamide and Hydroxy Propyl β-Cyclodextrin (HPβCD): Thermodynamics of Interaction and Protection from Degradation by α-Chymotrypsin

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanisms and thermodynamics of the interaction between hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) and [d-Trp 6, des-Gly 10] LHRH ethylamide (deslorelin), a peptide drug. Methods: We used UV and Fluorescence spectroscopy to study the interaction of HPβCD and deslorelin. Circular dichroism was used to study the conformational changes induced in deslorelin upon interaction with HPβCD. The thermodynamics of the interaction of deslorelin and HPβCD was studied using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). We also determined the effect of HPβCD on the degradation of deslorelin by α-chymotrypsin. Results: UV and fluorescence spectroscopy indicated that HPβCD induced a change in polarity of the environment surrounding the chromophores of deslorelin. Wavelength selective fluorescence indicated an increase in the fluorescence polarization of deslorelin with an increase in excitation wavelength in the presence of HPβCD suggesting that tryptophan is present in a med...
Modeling of Ullage Collapse Within Rocket Propellant Tanks at Reduced Gravity

Orbital maneuvers of upper-stage rockets may generate propellant slosh waves and propellant breakup into droplets within the oxidizer and fuel tanks. When many droplets are created, increased propellant evaporation may occur and lead to a significant reduction in ullage gas temperature and pressure, known as ullage collapse. This work presents a new method that uses a numerical tool to predict the droplet distribution created during a maneuver, and subsequently uses an analytical model to calculate the droplet evaporation and consequent change in tank temperature and pressure. This new hybrid method uses less computational time than a detailed computational fluid dynamics model and is capable of providing mission planners with an improved tool to assess the impact of propellant evaporation on the requirements of additional helium mass for tank repressurization. The new method is applied to predict evaporation and the consequent ullage collapse in an upper-stage propellant tank undergoing simulated orbital...
Solution of adsorption problems with steep concentration gradients and nonlinear isotherms

This work was motivated by the need to describe the adsorption of cadmium ions from aqueous solutions. The model for the adsorption process includes differential balances for both the fixed bed and the organo-ceramic pellets in the bed. For the highly nonlinear isotherm and the physical parameters of this system, there are steep concentration profiles within the pellets. Accurate solutions were obtained using the method of lines (MOL). There is good agreement between the numerical results and the experimental breakthrough curve when the adsorption is assumed to be controlled by a film/pore diffusion mechanism.
MS3 eliminates ratio distortion in isobaric multiplexed quantitative proteomics

Quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics is highly versatile but not easily multiplexed. Isobaric labeling strategies allow mass spectrometry-based multiplexed proteome quantification; however, ratio distortion owing to protein quantification interference is a common effect. We present a two-proteome model (mixture of human and yeast proteins) in a sixplex isobaric labeling system to fully document the interference effect, and we report that applying triple-stage mass spectrometry (MS3) almost completely eliminates interference.
Infinite-basis calculations of binding energies for the hydrogen bonded and stacked tetramers of formic acid and formamide and their use for validation of hybrid DFT and ab initio methods.

Benchmark stabilization energies for planar H-bonded and stacked structures of formic acid tetramers and formamide tetramers were determined as the sum of the infinite basis set limit of MP2 energies and a CCSD(T) correction term evaluated with the 6-31G*(0.25) basis set. The infinite basis (IB) set limit of MP2 energies was determined by two-point extrapolation using the aug-cc-pVXZ basis sets for X = D and T and separate extrapolation of the Hartree−Fock and correlation energies with new IB parameters for augmented basis sets determined here. Final stabilization energies (kcal/mol) for the tetramer studied are in the range of 4.6∼6.7 kcal/mol and they were used as reference data to test 14 density functionals. Among the tested DFT methods, PWB6K gives the best performance with an average error equal to only 30% of the average binding energy. In contrast, the popular B3LYP functional has an average error of 85%. We recommend the PWB6K method for exploring the potential energy surfaces of organic complexe...