cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Numerical modeling of pollutant emissions in practical combustion systems using detailed chemical kinetics

Pollutant emissions from combustion systems are a major area of concern with today’s energy needs. Numerical simulations have helped with the design of clean and efficient combustion strategies over the years. However, with the emergence of new fuels and combustion modes, it is necessary to improve the computational models. In this research, improved NOx and soot models are developed which uses detailed chemical kinetics in order to simulate the combustion phenomenon. These models are coupled with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to predict the NOx and soot emissions in practical combustion systems. In the first part of the dissertation, a reduced chemical reaction mechanism is developed for modeling the combustion of biomass-derived gas (i.e., producer gas or synthesis gas). The mechanism reduction is performed on a well-validated comprehensive mechanism that was designed to simulate the combustion of natural gas constituents and NOx emissions. The reaction mechanism also includes species and reactions related to the combustion of ammonia, which is an important component in the producer gas. Combustion experiments of a pilot-scale burner are simulated using the developed mechanism, and the model is able to predict the NOx emission levels resulting from different feedstocks under a wide range of operating conditions. Detailed analyses of the simulation results are performed in order to determine the NOx generating regions in the flame and reaction pathways leading to formation and destruction of NOx. Further, new burner designs are evaluated using the model in order to select the best design for reduced NOx emissions.
"I'm a Stand-up Comic in a Dress:" Charles Pierce

For about forty years Charles Pierce (1926-1999) entertained audiences across the United States and abroad. Pierce, wo preferred the term "male actress" eschewed the moniker of drag queen or female impersonator. However, Pierce's persona was clearly defined by sartorial choice and the imitation of female silver screen legends. Pierce performed in night clubs, cabaret, concert halls, television, and in feature films. His use of costume combined with exaggerated mannerisms brought to life characters such as Tallulah Bankhead, Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, and Carol Channing among many others. Pierce's unique brand of comedy appealed to diverse audiences despite exaggerated camp characterization and a queered double entendre heavy commentary. His use of costume to create his ladies evolved over his career from working in a tuxedo with a box of props, to a more realistic illusion achieved via costume and makeup.
Fundamental Principles of Variational Analysis

This chapter is devoted to the exposition and developments of the fundamental principles of variational analysis, which play a crucial role in resolving many issues of variational theory and applications by employing optimization ideas and techniques.
Flexible organic electronic devices on metal foil substrates for lighting, photovoltaic, and other applications

Flexible electronics are gaining interest and viability. This chapter traces a path to current state-of-the-art flexible devices. It examines key substrate issues and the suitability of metal foil properties, including temperature and process ruggedness and inherent low-moisture permeation rates, to diverse applications including displays and lighting. Electronic devices fabricated on metal foils, including organic light-emitting diodes, thin-film transistors, and photovoltaic devices, are reviewed and an outlook on the industry is provided.
Phase noise analysis for mmwave massive MIMO: a design framework for scaling via tiled architectures

We consider a tiled architecture for scaling a millimeter wave (mmWave) massive MIMO uplink to support a large number of simultaneous users, targeting per-user data rates of multi-Gbps. Our goal in this paper is to evaluate the impact of phase noise, which is widely considered to be a significant bottleneck at high carrier frequencies and large bandwidths, on MIMO performance. Our analysis provides a cross-layer design framework which can be employed by hardware designers to determine allowable masks for the phase noise power spectral density for different circuit components. For typical settings, we conclude that scaling up to a large number of antenna elements by increasing the number of tiles (each tile supporting a fixed number of antenna elements) is attractive in two ways: (1) for a fixed number of users, reducing the load factor (ratio of number of users to number of antennas) improves performance with phase noise, and (2) the independent phase noise generated at each tile gets averaged across tiles. We illustrate our numerical results for a nominal 140 GHz system with per-user data rates of 10 Gbps.
A Moron’s Footnote to Controlling the Human Brain

The universe came into the present state because of the interactions they have undergone and are still undergoing, viz., attraction, repulsion, annihilation, and decay. The particles responsible for all these events are quarks and leptons.
Improving Drug Exposure Knowledge During Lactation: Quality Improvement Initiative in Low-Income Women

Objectives: To improve maternal knowledge on medication and substance usage during lactation through prenatal breastfeeding education and assess breastfeeding rates at 2–4 and 6–8 weeks postpartum....
Assessment of Agreement Between Human Ratings and Lexicon-Based Sentiment Ratings of Open-Ended Responses on a Behavioral Rating Scale:

To date, there is a paucity of research conducting natural language processing (NLP) on the open-ended responses of behavior rating scales. Using three NLP lexicons for sentiment analysis of the op...
Over-the-Air Implementation of NOMA: New Experiments and Future Directions

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is widely recognized to increase the number of users and enhance the spectral efficiency in fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks and beyond. NOMA is still in the theoretical analysis and simulation phases and fewer experimental works are reported to date. In this paper, we design and implement NOMA in software-defined radio, and evaluate its performance. This includes the real-time realization of the key components of NOMA, i.e., superposition and successive interference cancellation. The main novelty of this paper is to introduce constructing superimposed signals with varying symbol rates to enlarge the achievable rate region of the experimented NOMA. By applying varying symbol rates, the set of possible transmission rate pairs enlarges and we can reach higher data rates compared to existing modulation and coding schemes (MCS). We also propose an algorithm to efficiently find the rate pairs. Simulations and experiments demonstrate that NOMA with a varying symbol rate not only can reach higher data rates than orthogonal schemes such as time division multiple access, but it can also outperform existing MCS-based methods which have a fixed symbol rate. The experiments also show that there is a noticeable gap between NOMA in theory and practice. In addition to the new NOMA experiments, we review the state-of-the-art in experimental NOMA. We also discuss several directions for future experiments that can help bridge the gap between theory and practice and bring NOMA to practical communication systems.
Epidemiology and Short‐Term Outcomes of Injured Medicare Patients

Objectives: To describe characteristics and short-term outcomes of Medicare patients hospitalized after injuries in 1999. Design: Analysis of national population-based case series. Setting: Hospitalized Medicare patients. Participants: All fee-for-service Medicare patients aged 65 and older admitted for the first time in 1999 with principal injury diagnoses (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes 800–904, 910–929, 940–957, 959). Measurements: Incidence rates, stratified by anatomic location (hip, other extremity, spine, head, chest, other), sex, and age group (65–74, 75–84, ≥85). For each category, Charlson comorbidity scores, Abbreviated Injury Scores, hospital length of stay, discharge disposition, hospital mortality, 30-day mortality, and readmissions within 30 days of discharge. Results: A total of 439,605 persons were admitted at least once (crude rate 1,654/100,000). Rates of hospitalization increased with age and were generally higher in women (except head injuries). Comorbidities were more common in men. Hip fractures constituted 46.6% of cases and other extremity injuries another 30.7%. Hospital mortality (3.7% overall) increased with age, was greater in men, and was highest in patients with head injuries. The proportion discharged to skilled nursing facilities (43.8% overall, range 10.0–61.9% by age/sex/anatomic category) also increased with age, was higher in women, and was highest in patients with hip fractures. Slightly more than one-tenth (12.3%) of patients were readmitted within 30 days. Thirty-day mortality was 2.0 times hospital mortality (range 1.2–3.4 by category). Conclusion: Most injuries resulting in hospitalization for the Medicare population involve the extremities, but other injuries have higher mortality. Many injured patients are not discharged home but receive additional institutional care. Thirty-day survival is much lower than observed hospital survival. Further studies of injuries using Medicare data are warranted.
Mathematical modeling of the human immune response to vaccination (VIR1P.969)

With major advances in experimental techniques to track antigen-specific immune responses many basic questions on the kinetics of virus-specific immunity in humans remain unanswered. To gain insights into kinetics of T and B cell responses in human volunteers we combine mathematical models and experimental data from recent studies employing vaccines against yellow fever and smallpox. We found that the peak of the yellow fever-specific CD8 T cell response is determined by the rate of T cell proliferation and not by the precursor frequency of antigen-specific cells as has been suggested in several studies in mice. We also found that the rise in the virus-specific T cell numbers accurately explains clearance of yellow fever virus in the blood. Our additional mathematical model describes well the kinetics of virus-specific plasma cell and antibody response to vaccinia virus in vaccinated individuals. The model suggests that to explain the data either the rate of antibody production by plasma cells has to increase with time since immunization, or production of the majority of antibodies comes from cells located in tissues and not in the blood. Taken together, our analysis provides novel insights into mechanisms by which live vaccines induce highly efficient immunity to viral infections.
Properties of the Subantarctic Front and Polar Front from the skewness of sea level anomaly

The region of the Southern Ocean that encompasses the Subantarctic Front (SAF) to the north and the Polar Front (PF) to the south contains most of the transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Here skewness of sea level anomaly (SLA) from 1992 to 2013 is coupled with a meandering Gaussian jetw model to estimate the mean position, meridional width, and the percent variance that each front contributes to total SLA variability. The SAF and PF have comparable widths (85 km) in the circumpolar average, but their widths differ significantly in the East Pacific Basin (85 and 60 km, respectively). Interannual variability in the positions of the SAF and PF are also estimated using annual subsets of the SLA data from 1993 to 2012. The PF position has enhanced variability near strong topographic features such as the Kerguelen Plateau, the Campbell Plateau east of New Zealand, and downstream of Drake Passage. Neither the SAF nor the PF showed a robust meridional trend over the 20 year period. The Southern Annular Mode was significantly correlated with basin-averaged SAF and PF positions in the East Pacific and with the PF south of Australia. A correlation between the PF and the basin-scale wind stress curl anomaly was also found in the western extratropical Pacific but not in other basins.
Geo-spatial active visual surveillance on wireless networks

This paper reviews some of the history of automated visual surveillance, from the second and third generation VMD days of the early 1990s, to the current state of the art. It discusses the inherent limitations that resulted in a nearly negligible "increase" in performance throughout the 1990s and still exist in commercially available systems. Then we review an approach that overcomes these limitations-active visual surveillance with geo-spatial rules. Active visual surveillance uses data from computer controlled Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) units combined with state of the art video detection and tracking to provide active assessment of potential targets in a cost effective manner. This active assessment allows an increase in the number of pixels on target and provides a secondary viewpoint for data fusion, while still allowing coverage of a very large surveillance area. This active approach and multi-sensor fusion, not a new concept, was developed as part of the DARPA Video Surveillance and Monitoring (VSAM) program in the late 90's. While we have continued to expand upon it since that time, there has been no commercial video surveillance, before Guardian Solutions, that provided these important abilities. The core ideas in this paper address limitations of the original VSAM designs, briefly introducing our enhancements including geo-spatial rules for wide area multi-sensor fusion, and key design issues to allow us to support wireless networks.
Towards a Spatial-Temporal Processing Model

This paper discusses architecture for creating systems that need to express complex models of real world entities, especially those that exist in hierarchical and composite structures. These models need to be persisted, typically in a database system. The models also have a strong orthogonal requirement to support representation and reasoning over time.
Ventricular Ectopy following Successful Cryoablation for Wolff–Parkinson–White Syndrome in the Right Posterior Septum: A Case Report

We report a case of new onset ventricular ectopy following cryothermal ablation of a right posterior septal accessory pathway. To our knowledge, this is the first report of secondary arrhythmias from cryothermal ablation of atrial arrhythmias.
Enteroviruses in Humans

Enteroviruses are significant ribonucleic acid (RNA) viral pathogens of humans with a worldwide distribution. Humans are the only known hosts for the enteroviruses. Their major route of infection is that of the faecal–oral route. In temperate climates enteroviral infection occurs primarily in the summer and early fall. Infants represent the majority of cases. Enteroviral infection results in viremia and prolonged gastrointestinal shedding of the virus. Enteroviral syndromes involve almost every organ system. Although the majority of infections are asymptomatic or result in a self-limited infection, fatalities do occur. Especially in neonates or individuals with B-cell immunodeficiencies. Advances in technology are providing improved understanding of their taxonomy, epidemiology and means of detection. Key Concepts: Enteroviruses have RNA genomes. The 5′NTR of the enteroviruses contain areas of conserved nucleotide identity. Originally five species were described within the genus: polioviruses, the group A and B coxsackievirus, the echoviruses and the numbered enteroviruses. Using modern molecular virologic methods the species have been redefined and novel members of the genus have been identified. Enteroviruses have a worldwide distribution and exhibit strong seasonality. The coding sequence of VP1 is used for the detailed analysis of enteroviruses. Humans are the sole reservoir for the enteroviruses. Infections by enteroviruses are significantly higher in infants. Faecal–oral transmission is the major mode of transmission of the enteroviruses. Infection results in prolonged shedding of the enteroviruses. Understanding the pathophysiology of the enteroviruses is based on the study of prototypic members of the genus: the polioviruses. The major determinant of susceptibility to the enteroviruses is the presence of the receptor required for viral attachment. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has replaced tissue culture and mouse inoculation for detection of the enteroviruses. RT-PCR is more sensitive and faster for the detection of the enteroviruses than tissue culture or mouse inoculation. RT-PCR diagnosis of enteroviral infections can significantly impact on patient care. Management of enteroviral infections is supportive in nature. Keywords: enteroviruses; epidemiology; diagnosis; treatment; pleconaril
Comparing the Effects of Victimization, Witnessed Violence, Hearing about Violence, and Violent Behavior on Young Adults:

This study compares the effects of: (1) violent victimization, (2) witnessing violence, (3) hearing about violence, and (4) violent behavior on depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) ...
Low-cycle fatigue in Spinodal Cu-10wt.%Ni-6wt.%Sn

Abstract The low cycle fatigue behaviour of Cu-10wt.%Ni-6wt.%Sn was investigated. Specimens strengthened by spinodal decomposition were found to harden cyclically for the first few per cent of fatigue life and then to soften until failure, whereas as-quenched specimens with a homogeneous composition hardened throughout the fatigue life. The 200 X-ray side bands decreased in intensity as the number of cycles increased. The X-ray data and transmission electron microscopy studies of the deformation indicate that cyclic softening in the decomposed alloy results from localized demodulation of the compoition waves by dislocation motion.
Mouse serum as an environment for the growth of Trypanosoma lewisi

Abstract Trypanosoma lewisi grows abundantly in the rat, but little or not at all in other rodents. The mouse is especially refractory. In vitro studies revealed no immediate lytic phenomenon in mouse serum, although trypanosomes were more stable over longer periods in rat serum. Early divisions were not inhibited in mouse serum as measured by the technique developed by D'Alesandro (1962) . In dialysis bags implanted in the mouse peritoneum, trypanosomes in mouse serum showed only slight multiplication at the best. However, when implanted in diffusion chambers, the trypanosomes grew well, although somewhat irregularly. Trypanosomes were carried through seven once-weekly transfers in mice while enclosed in such chambers. It was possible to hyperimmunize mice against trypanosomes, so that growth in the chambers was inhibited. Furthermore exogenous rat serum injected into the peritoneum produced a great stimulus to growth, while mouse serum showed no further effect. A number of nonrodent sera (human, monkey, dog, cow, newborn calf, horse, and chicken) and “nonspecific” substances (egg albumin, trypticase soy broth, a copolypeptide of glutamic acid and lysine, polyvinyl pyrollidone, dextran, and zymosan) generally failed to demonstrate growth stimulation of T. lewisi in the mouse. Human and monkey sera, however, constituted exceptions. Mouse serum injected into gerbils and rats increased the level of parasitemia. The ability of T. lewisi to grow in mouse serum in the protected environment of the diffusion chamber implies that a total deficiency of nutrients does not occur in the refractory host. If one then assumes only a quantitative nutritional basis for the differences in the growth of T. lewisi in various rodents, a problem arises in explaining the action of mouse serum on increasing parasitemias in the rat and gerbil. Therefore, aspects of both nutrition and defense are probably altered by the heterologous sera supplements.
Study of interfacial reactions between tin and copper by differential scanning calorimetry

The interfacial reactions at the solder joints of interest in microelectronic structures have been extensively investigated in order to control the soldering process and thereby to provide strong and reliable solder joints. These reactions comprise the dissolution of a base metal into a molten solder, the concomitant growth of intermetallics in the liquid state, and the growth of intermetallics in the solid state. Various experimental techniques employed include conventional cross-sectional metallography, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, x-ray diffraction and others. In this study, the interfacial reaction between tin and copper has been investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry which provides a simple means to study such reactions and complements information obtained from other techniques. The experimental results have been applied to understand the interfacial reactions in two important examples: one for a soldering process with copper metallization, and another for a high conductivity, Pb-free, electrically conducting adhesive which contains tin-coated copper powder as conducting filler particles.
Existential underpinnings of approach and avoidance of the physical body

In addition to enjoying pleasurable bodily activities, people appear threatened by the physical aspects of the body; they experience anxiety and inhibitions surrounding sex, eating, bodily appearance and functions. Based on terror management theory, we posit that people are dually motivated to approach the life-affirming properties of the physical body, and to avoid the physical or animalistic aspects of the body because of their association with death. This paper summarizes a substantial body of research, consisting of over twenty empirical studies, that identify personality and situational variables that interact with mortality concerns, moderating approach and avoidance attitudes and behaviors with respect to the physical body. We suggest that this dynamic motivation can go far in explaining the often observed ambivalence toward the body.
Probing nonequilibrium dynamics with white-light femtosecond pulses

Abstract Femtosecond pulsed lasers have become an invaluable tool for examining ultrafast nonequilibrium dynamics. With pulsewidths of a few hundred femtoseconds (fs) to less than 10 fs, these lasers can clearly provide unprecedented temporal resolution. By amplifying ultrashort laser pulses to sufficient levels of energy per pulse, it is possible to exploit the nonlinear optical properties of certain materials to generate extremely broadband pulses. These pulses retain the time structure of the incident pulse, but contain a spectral bandwidth extending from the infrared to as far as the ultraviolet. By generating white-light pulses, it becomes possible to probe ultrafast nonlinear processes over a large range of energies. In this paper, the process of generating white-light ultrashort pulses will be presented, along with a discussion of different probing techniques and procedures necessary for modeling the transient optical data. Finally, results from pump–probe measurements using a white-light probe on indium phosphide (InP) films will be presented as a demonstration of this technique.
Adenosine-theophylline interactions on the lipolytic response to beta-adrenergic agonists in porcine adipose tissue

1. Many beta-adrenergic agonists did not stimulate porcine adipose tissue slice lipolysis unless theophylline, an antagonist of the adenosine receptor was added to the incubation medium. 2. In contrast to previous results, theophylline itself was an effective lipolytic agonist in tissue from many pigs. 3. Lipolysis was partially inhibited by adenosine or phenylisopropyl adenosine. Lipolysis was marginally stimulated by adenosine deaminase or 8-phenyltheophylline. 4. The data suggest that the mechanism of theophylline stimulation of lipolysis was only partially through antagonism of the adenosine receptor.
Method for calculating the effect of a rigid enzyme on the dynamics of a large DNA helix.

The Green-function technique is used to study the interbase H-bond stretch of poly(dA)-poly(dT) and poly(dT-dA)-poly(dT-dA) when an effective enzyme is attached to the helices, where A is adenine and T is thymine. Three different two-atom attachment points are studied. The response is an enhanced interbase H-bond stretch amplitude when the effective enzyme is attached to the helix in poly(dT-dA)-poly(dT-dA). Then a 28-atom attachment to the helix is studied. This corresponds to an enzyme in contact with a 70-base-pair stretch of the helix. A large response is again found for the alternating polymer. This may relate to the fact that biological promoter sites often contain alternating TA sequences. The interbase H-bond stretch is studied as this motion is closely related to the helix transition to the open state involved in a number of biological processes.
Thought-Focused Attention and Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms: An Evaluation of Cognitive Self-Consciousness in a Nonclinical Sample

Cognitive self-consciousness (CSC), the tendency to focus attention on and be aware of one's thoughts, has differentiated individuals with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) from individuals with other anxiety disorders and from normal controls. A self-report measure of CSC was administered to a nonclinical sample (N = 323) and the relationship to OCD symptoms and intrusive thought appraisals was evaluated. Evaluation of the CSC measure indicated that the scale was internally consistent and unifactorial. CSC predicted OCD symptoms after controlling for trait anxiety and intrusive thought appraisals, ΔR 2 =.07, p < .001. Analyses revealed that CSC and intrusive thought appraisals were largely independent predictors of OCD symptoms. Metacognitive processes such as CSC appear distinguishable from intrusive thought appraisals. CSC may play an important role in the development or maintenance of OCD, and clinical implications are discussed.
Nearly horizon skimming orbits of Kerr black holes

An unusual set of orbits about extreme Kerr black holes resides at the Boyer-Lindquist radius $r=M,$ the coordinate of the hole's event horizon. These ``horizon skimming'' orbits have the property that their angular momentum ${L}_{z}$ increases with inclination angle, opposite to the familiar behavior one encounters at larger radius. In this paper, I show that this behavior is characteristic of a larger family of orbits, the ``nearly horizon skimming'' (NHS) orbits. NHS orbits exist in the very strong field of any black hole with spin $a\ensuremath{\gtrsim}0.952412M.$ Their unusual behavior is due to the locking of particle motion near the event horizon to the hole's spin, and is therefore a signature of the Kerr metric's extreme strong field. An observational hallmark of NHS orbits is that a small body spiraling into a Kerr black hole due to gravitational-wave emission will be driven into orbits of progressively smaller inclination angle, toward the equator. This is in contrast with the ``normal'' behavior. For circular orbits, the change in inclination is very small, and unlikely to be of observational importance. I argue that the change in inclination may be considerably larger when one considers the evolution of inclined eccentric orbits. If this proves correct, then the gravitational waves produced by evolution through the NHS regime may constitute a very interesting and important probe of the strong-field nature of rotating black holes.
Impact of language barrier on acute care medical professionals is dependent upon role.

Communication with patients is essential to providing quality medical care. The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of language barriers on health care professionals. It is hypothesized that these language barriers are commonly perceived by health care professionals and they are a source of workplace stress in acute care environments. We designed and distributed a survey tool of staff experiences and attitudes regarding the English–Spanish language barrier among patients in an acute care surgical environment of a tertiary medical center. Responses were anonymous, stratified by professional role and comparisons made using paired t tests. Sixty-one nurses and 36 physicians responded to the survey. Overall, 95% of nurses reported that the language barrier was an impediment to quality care, whereas 88% of physicians responded similarly ( P = .0004). More nurses than physicians report experiencing stress (97% vs. 78%) and the degree of stress appears to be greater for nurses ( P
Lymphocytes in Agammaglobulinemia: In Vitro Response to a Specific Antigen

Extract: Peripheral blood leukocytes from eleven normal individuals and five boys with Bruton-type agammaglobulinemia were cultured in vitro with Candida albicans antigen. The lymphocyte response in vitro was measured by morphologic transformation into blast cells and by incorporation of tritiated thymidine into DNA. Delayed hypersensitivity was measured by the standard skin test, and circulating antibody titers were estimated by agglutination of heat-killed Candida.
Development of Lucilia coeruleiviridis (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in New Jersey, USA

Summary Blow fly development is frequently used to help determine a time of colonization, which can be used to infer a minimum postmortem interval (mPMI) in death investigations. Fifty larvae of the blow fly Lucilia coeruleiviridis were studied at 25 °C, 14:10 h L:D and ∼60–70% RH. Daily observations were made, and total development times were determined. To our knowledge, this is the first study to record development times for this species.
3801 Complete disruption of main pancreatic duct: short and long term results of endoscopic management.

Historically, surgical management has been the definitive treatment in pts with CPDD.We report short and long term results of ERx in this group of pts. Pts and Methods: From 4/94-10/99 153 pts (91 men, 62 women; mean age 51 yrs, range 9-89) were found to have a pancreatic duct leak at ERP. 37 pts had a CPDD. Indications for ERP were: pseudocyst (n=14), pancreatic ascites (n=6), unresolving pancreatitis (n=11), pancreaticocutaneous fistula (n=6). CT findings were: pseudocyst (n=14), ascites (n=6), disconnected tail (n= 3), pancreatic edema/necrosis (n=9). Five pts were sent directly to surgery. Thirty-two pts underwent 84 sessions of ERx which included endoscopic sphincterotomy, pancreatic duct stricture dilation if needed, and stent or nasopancreatic catheter placement. Pts with an associated accessible pseudocyst had endoscopic drainage by transpapillary stenting (n=6), cystogastrostomy (n=3), cystoduodenostomy (n=1), or combined procedures (n=1). Long-term follow-up was obtained by CT, ERP, clinical evaluation, and phone calls. Results: Twenty pts initially sealed their leaks at a mean duration of 1.6 month (range 0.2-4.5). Twelve pts required surgery after failed ERx. Pts with an initial sealed leak were evaluated at follow-up ERP with or without CT scan and categorized into 1) Successful upstream duct (UD) reconnection (SUR) and 2) Duct obstruction (DO) at prior leak site. Results of a 30-month follow-up are shown on table. Pts were asymptomatic (n=9), had recurrent pancreatitis (n=3), chronic pain (n=2), recurrent fistula (n=2), or were unable to be contacted (n=4). Summary: CPDD closure rate was 63% (20/32); 10% had a confirmed recurrent duct leak (fistula) 2) 25% continue to have pancreatic symptoms. Conclusion: ERx appears to be an acceptable alternative to surgery for a subset of pts with CPDD. Long-term results of pts with SUR are excellent. In pts with DO, the undrained segment may remain asymptomatic, become atrophic, or be associated with recurrent pancreatitis or recurrent fistulization. Better methods are needed to select the subset of pts with CPDD who will respond to ERx.
Performance analysis of blind channel estimation for precoded multiuser systems

Precoder has been shown to be able to provide source diversity and design flexibility. In this paper we employ precoding techniques for block transmission based on a multirate filterbank structure. To accommodate multiuser communication with variable data rates, different precoders with corresponding coefficients and up/down sampling rates are used. However, due to unknown multipath distortion, different interferences may exist in the received data, such as multiuser interference, intersymbol interference and interblock interference. To estimate channel parameters for a desired user, we employ all structured signature waveforms associated with different symbols of that user and apply subspace techniques. Therefore better performance of channel estimator can be achieved than the conventional subspace method based only on the signature of the current symbol. The delay for that user can also be jointly estimated. Channel identifiability conditions and asymptotic channel estimation error are investigated in detail. Numerical examples are provided to justify the proposed method.
Sensitization in visceral pain and hyperalgesia

Abstract Humans experience both visceral pain and visceral hyperalgesia. Animal and clinical studies have documented differences in the anatomy and physiology of visceral sensory circuits as compared with somatic sensory pathways, providing mechanisms to explain some of the unique characteristics of visceral pain. Evidence further suggests that both peripheral and central sensitization increase visceral sensitivity, leading to the increased perception of pain—visceral hyperalgesia. A more thorough understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the processing of visceral stimuli will improve our ability to treat individuals suffering from acute and chronic visceral pain and hyperalgesia.
Global Sea-Surface Temperature Distribution Determined From an Environmental Satellite

Abstract A composite histogram method is used to objectively derive sea-surface temperature distribution from satellite radiation measurements for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Comparisons with conventional observations yield root-mean-square differences of 2°–3°K. Some of the differences can be accounted for by factors such as the coherent noise introduced by the onboard tape recorder, insufficient atmospheric attenuation corrections, and basic differences between the two types of temperature measurements.
The effects of nest environment on calcium mobilization by leatherback turtle embryos (Dermochelys coriacea) during development

We investigated the effect of sand moisture content and sand temperature on developmental success and the mobilization of calcium during development using laboratory incubated eggs (n=251) collected from leatherbacks nesting at Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas, Costa Rica. Calcium concentrations of egg components [eggshell, yolk plus albumen (Y+A) and embryo] changed significantly through incubation for both viable and undeveloped eggs. In developed eggs, eggshell calcium content decreased 42.9% by day 60 of incubation. The Y+A calcium decreased by 20.8% until the last quarter of incubation, and then increased to 0.99% above initial Y+A calcium concentrations just prior to hatching. In undeveloped eggs, eggshell calcium content decreased by 25.7%, with the rate of decrease slowing significantly beyond day 30 of incubation. In contrast, Y+A calcium increased steadily through the 60-day incubation period. Embryos incorporated a higher proportion of calcium when incubated at a lower sand moisture content (5% H(2)O>12% H(2)O) and at lower sand temperatures (28.5 degrees C, 29.5 degrees C>31.0 degrees C). The total wet mass of freshly oviposited eggs was negatively correlated with calcium concentration per gram of eggshell (r=-0.569; P<0.001). Thus, each yolked egg, regardless of initial wet mass, had an average of 1.23 g (+/-0.43 g) of calcium per egg (Mean egg mass: 76.24+/-1.21 g). Both developmental success (24.1%) and hatching success (7.4%) of laboratory-incubated eggs were dependent to a greater extent on temperature than on moisture, with an increase in mortality as sand temperature increased. For natural nests on Playa Grande, developmental success (37.4%) and hatching success (19.8%) were similar in magnitude to the results obtained from the laboratory. The recent ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) event and increased tidal activity may be responsible for the high embryonic mortality measured during the 1997-1998 nesting season.
Invasive fungal and bacterial infections of the temporal bone.

Objectives/Hypothesis Objectives were to highlight the importance of surgical therapy in treating invasive polymicrobial infections of the temporal bone, to discuss the importance of antifungal therapy, and to review the differential diagnosis of ear canal granulomatous disorders. Study Design Retrospective case review at a tertiary care medical center. Methods A retrospective chart review of all patients diagnosed with invasive polymicrobial temporal bone infections was performed. Four patients were identified. All patients required surgical therapy for definitive management. All patients were followed for at least 1 year or until death. Results Three of four patients had invasive fungi as pathogens. One patient had an occult squamous cell carcinoma. At the time of writing, one patient was free of disease, two were dead of disease, and one was alive with disease. Conclusion Invasive polymicrobial temporal bone infections can occur in immunocompromised patients and can possibly harbor an occult malignancy. Surgical debridement may be necessary to arrive at a correct diagnosis. Modified radical mastoidectomy with parenteral antibiotic therapy and other adjunctive measures may be necessary for disease resolution.
Accurate double zeta basis sets which are constrained to allow rapid integral evaluation

Abstract Constraints are applied to three diffuse s and p functions of (9s5p) basis sets. When contracted to double zeta, they are shown to be more accurate than a double zeta basis set constructed from a (7s3p) primitive set. The constraints are predicted to allow more rapid evaluation of the integrals, making these basis sets ideal for larger systems. A comparison between various double zeta contractions for standard (9s5p) basis sets is also given.
Prenatal Nutrition and Birth Outcomes

The complex relationship between maternal nutritional and birth outcomes emphasizes the need for consistent and thorough assessments of women's diet throughout pregnancy and individualized nutritional education to promote positive birth outcomes. The purpose of this article is to examine the influence of prenatal nutrition on birth outcomes, describe research on the effects of macro- and micronutrients on birth outcomes, and discuss strategies for monitoring diet and implementing nutrition education during pregnancy.
Erythrocyte dysplasia in peripheral blood smears from 5 thrombocytopenic dogs treated with vincristine sulfate

Secondary dyserythropoiesis has been associated with vincristine administration in dogs. Evaluation of bone marrow aspirates for the presence of morphologic abnormalities in the erythroid lineage aids in the diagnosis. However, morphologic features of circulating erythroid precursors in these cases have not been described previously. The purpose of this report was to describe the cytologic features of dyserythropoiesis in peripheral blood and also bone marrow smears in a case series of dogs with immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (IMT) treated with vincristine sulfate. Nineteen dogs receiving vincristine for treatment of IMT were identified by retrospectively searching a computerized medical record system. There were 5 dogs that had dysplastic erythroid precursors in peripheral blood smears within 7 days of vincristine treatment. Two of those 5 dogs also had evidence for erythrodysplasia in modified Wright's-stained bone marrow smears obtained postvincristine administration. Morphologic changes included bizarre or inappropriate mitotic figures, abnormal nuclear configurations (fragmentation, elongation, indentation, and binucleation), atypical nuclear remnants (Howell-Jolly bodies), or nuclear and cytoplasmic asynchrony within the erythroid precursors. A brief review of the literature with discussion of the etiologies for dyserythropoiesis is provided. The dyserythropoiesis was clinically insignificant in all 5 cases and resolved. However, pathologists and clinicians should be aware of these potential findings to prevent misdiagnosis of other conditions.
A low temperature Raman cell for use with the Cary model 81 laser instrument

Abstract A simple low temperature cell for the measurement of Raman spectra of solids and condensed vapours down to −135°C is described. The cell is designed for use with a Cary 81 Raman spectrometer using laser excitation. Spectra of diphosphine and phosphorus pentachloride are shown to illustrate the performance of the cell.
The chemistry of lava-seawater interactions II: the elemental signature

Abstract The flow of lava into the ocean at the shoreline of Kilauea Volcano during the ongoing Pu’u O’o eruption has allowed a detailed study of the geochemical interaction between lava and seawater. This paper focuses on the chemistry of the major and minor elements in the fluids that resulted from this interaction. The elemental enrichments in these fluids are dominated by three processes: (1) evaporation of water from seawater, which creates solutions enriched in the major elements found in seawater, (2) congruent dissolution of the basalt glass matrix, which is limited by the solubility of some of the elements in seawater, and (3) removal of volatile phases from the lava on contact with seawater. Using a simple model of volatile emanation (using published emanation coefficients) and congruent dissolution, we are able to explain the concentrations observed for the majority of elements in precipitation from the steam plume at the shoreline lava entry and in water allowed to interact with molten lava in controlled experiments. Fe, Al, Ti, and some of the rare earth elements (REEs) in precipitation samples from the steam plume at the lava entry were > 10,000-times enriched over their ambient seawater concentrations, suggesting that these elements may be useful for identifying submarine eruptions. The flux of elements from the Kilauea ocean lava entry is greater than that from a typical midocean ridge hydrothermal vent field for Al, Cd, Co, and the REEs, whereas the opposite is true for the remainder of the elements studied.
English in the Estonian Multicultural Society

There have been a number of recent publications that have stated that the expansion of the English language is a product of colonialism and political power. In the following paper the writer argues that the spread of English is not closely associated to a discourse of linguistic imperialism and bases this thesis on a case-study carried out in Tartu, a university town in post-Communist Estonia. The results show that the Estonians have on the whole accepted English as the language of communication and technology, as a reaction against the fifty-year imposition of Russian language and culture. In particular, the research analyses the attitude of three generations of Estonians towards the spread of English in their country. The findings demonstrate that all three groups are aware of the presence of English and they welcome it as a kind of lingua franca, as a means of communication with the world they are trying to integrate with. In particular, young Estonian learners, already bilingual and, like other Scandinavians, using English for communication purposes, are prepared to exploit other foreign languages in order to preserve their own culture and language from extinction.
The p -Rank of the Incidence Matrix of Intersecting Linear Subspaces

Let V be a vector space of dimension n+1 over a field of pt elements. A d-dimensional subspace and an e-dimensional subspace are considered to be incident if their intersection is not the zero subspace. The rank of these incidence matrices, modulo p, are computed for all n, d, e and t. This result generalizes the well-known formula of Hamada for the incidence matrices between points and subspaces of given dimensions in a finite projective space. A generating function for these ranks as t varies, keeping n, d and e fixed, is also given. In the special case where the dimensions are complementary, i.e., d+een+ 1, our formula improves previous upper bounds on the size of partial m-systems (as defined by Shult and Thas).
Mycoplasma genitalium Infection Is Associated with Microscopic Signs of Cervical Inflammation in Liquid Cytology Specimens

Cervicitis is a common clinical finding often attributed to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), but no etiologic agent is identified in the majority of cases. In this study, we comparatively assessed inflammation among the common infectious etiologies of cervicitis and assessed the potential value of liquid cytology specimens for predicting STIs. Among 473 Louisiana women at low risk for acquiring STIs, the prevalences of Mycoplasma genitalium, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis in liquid-based cytology specimens were 1.5, 2.1, 0.6, and 4.4%, respectively. N. gonorrhoeae and human papillomavirus 18 (HPV18) infections were significantly more common among subjects infected with M. genitalium. Using direct microscopy, we observed significant increases in leukocyte infiltrates among subjects with monoinfections with M. genitalium or C. trachomatis compared to women with no detectable STIs. Inflammation was highest among subjects with M. genitalium. Using a threshold of ≥ 2 leukocytes per epithelial cell per high-powered field, the positive predictive values for M. genitalium, C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae, and T. vaginalis were 100, 70, 67, and 20%, respectively. Several novel M. genitalium genotypes were identified, all of which were predicted to be susceptible to macrolide antibiotics, suggesting that different strains may circulate among low-risk women and that macrolide resistance is substantially lower than in high-risk populations. This study highlights the capacity of M. genitalium to elicit cervical inflammation and, considering the strong epidemiologic associations between M. genitalium and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), provides a potential mechanism for acquisition and shedding of HIV via chronic leukocyte recruitment to the cervical mucosa.
Effects of repetitive daily acute stress on pituitary LH and prolactin release during exposure to the same stressor or a second novel stress

The present study was carried out to examine the effect of repetitive acute stress on pituitary secretion of prolactin (PRL) and luteinizing hormone (LH) during subsequent exposure to the same stimulus or to a second, novel stress. Intact adult male rats were subjected to either a single or 10 daily acute episodes of a psychological stress, transfer to a novel environment, or a physical stressor, restraint. A single acute exposure to either stress caused a temporary but significant increase in circulating concentrations of LH and PRL, and repetitive daily exposure to these stressors resulted in the habituation of stress-stimulated release of both hormones by the 10th consecutive day. When rats previously exposed to daily novel environment stress were subjected to a single episode of restraint stress, they showed an attenuation of both the LH and PRL secretory responses to this type of stress, compared to rats exposed to only one episode of restraint. These results indicate that repeated daily exposure to specific acute stress stimuli can result in the eventual habituation of both the LH and PRL hormonal responses to stress. At least with regard to the paired stressors examined in this study, adaptation to one type of acute stress stimulation may result in altered hormonal responsiveness to a second, unfamiliar stressor.
On the Uniformity of Stresses in Some Adhesive Deformation Specimens

Abstract The stress distributions within napkin-ring, cone-and-plate and stiff-adherend specimens were determined under shear, bond-normal and thermal loadings using linear elastic finite element analysis. Modifications to adherend edges were also considered in order to improve uniformity. The stiff-adherend specimen showed the most promise for use as a specimen for determining the deformation behavior of adhesives in-situ. A stiff-adherend specimen having rounded adherends provided the most uniform stress state, free from any stress concentrations, a result that was qualitatively confirmed in experiments.