cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Autoimmune thyroid disease in systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's syndrome

Autoimmune thyroid disease is common in patients with either systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or Sjogren's syndrome (SS); however, whether the risk is greater than in well matched controls is not clear. Antinuclear antibodies are found in the sera of patients with autoimmune thyroid disease, but there is no evidence of autoantibodies binding antigens characteristic of SLE or SS. Autoantibodies to thyroid antigens and overt autoimmune thyroid disease are common in patients with SLE or SS. However, in SLE patients there is little or no increased risk of autoimmune thyroid disease compared to an age and sex matched population. Patients with SS are likely to be at increased risk of thyroid disease, but those with autoimmune thyroid disease are not at special risk of SS. This difference can be explained if SS is considered to be an autoimmune epitheliitis that targets polarized epithelia, including the thyroid.
Target Battlefield Value Assessment based on Linguistic EWAA Operators

The determination of striking sequence among the found multiple targets depends on the battlefield value of each target.The target battlefield values are assessed after the assessment scale and calculation of fuzzy linguistic form are defined and the fuzzy linguistic preference information is assembled by way of linguistic EWAA(expansible weighted arithmetic averaging)operators.The assessment conforms to the complexity of the battlefield environment and the vagueness of human thinking and it renders command and decision making faster and more accurate.The example presented proves that the model is effective and the calculation is simple.
Demonstrating a New Valence-Bond Interpretation of Conjugation in Polycyclic Conjugated Hydrocarbons with a Single Kekulé Structure

For polyene molecules with a single classical structure, those with more double bonds and more rings have more Dewar resonance structures. The more Dewar resonance structures a polyene has the more it is conjugated and stable. These generalizations are illustrated by comparing sets of molecules with the same number of fixed double bonds. A step-by-step algorithm for rapidly determining the number of Dewar resonance structures in small typical conjugated polyenes is given. Some new analytical equations for the number of Dewar resonance structures (DS) for series of pyrene-related conjugated polyenes with a single classical structure are also presented. Some general qualitative rules for evaluating relative order of conjugation in polyenes are summarized.
The U.S. Market for Computer Services

This paper reports on the results of a major survey of the U.S. computer services industry which is one of the largest and most important service industry in the nation. The key forces, both economic and technical, which affect the industry are identified. Major marketing opportunities and specific niches are still available as the industry is fragmented. Four major segments exist; data processing; software; professional consultancy; and turnkey systems. While end users’ needs are quite diverse, competitive strategies for creating new customers and forging loyalty bonds with existing ones can be implemented. Extent of interaction with clients, degree of customization, and pricing methods are key variables.
Intravesical Hemostatic Clip Migration After Robotic Prostatectomy: Case Series and Review of the Literature.

Abstract Introduction: The Weck Hem-o-lok™ Ligating clip is a routinely used hemostatic tool in robotic and laparoscopic surgery. It has been the practice in our institution to use such clips for hemostasis of the vascular bundles during robotic prostatectomy. Migration of such clips has been reported in the literature as single case reports. In this study, we present a case series of intravesical Weck clip extrusions presenting as bladder calculi. Such events have led to a change in our practice, and more research is needed to assess the impact of this change. Materials and Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted over the period 2006–2011. Patients included in the study required cystoscopic intervention for removal of encrusted or impacted Weck clips. Primary data points included type of intervention required, time to presentation, and number of presentations. Postoperative anastomotic leak, duration of postoperative hospital stay, and initial operative time were also investigated. Results: O...
Eco-evolutionary dynamics in restored communities and ecosystems

Recent ecological studies have revealed that rapid evolution within populations can have significant impacts on the ecological dynamics of communities and ecosystems. These eco-evolutionary dynamics (EED) are likely to have substantial and quantifiable effects in restored habitats over timescales that are relevant for the conservation and restoration of small populations and threatened communities. Restored habitats may serve as “hotspots” for EED due to mismatches between transplanted genotypes and the restored environment, and novel interactions among lineages that do not share a coevolutionary history, both of which can generate strong selection for rapid evolutionary change that has immediate demographic consequences. Rapid evolution that influences population dynamics and community processes is likely to have particularly large effects during the establishment phase of restoration efforts. Finally, restoration activities and their associated long-term monitoring programs provide outstanding opportunities for using eco-evolutionary experimental approaches. Results from such studies will address questions about the effects of rapid evolutionary change on the ecological dynamics of populations and interacting species, while simultaneously providing critical, but currently overlooked, information for conservation practices.
Cross-National and Longitudinal Variations in the Criminal Regulation of Sex, 1965 to 2005

This paper analyzes cross-national and longitudinal variations in criminal laws regulating sexual activities. We blend historical and sociological institutionalisms to argue that criminal sex laws embody exogenous models, supplied by colonial and imperial powers and evolving world society. To test our ideas, we apply logit-panel and pooled-time-series models to original data from more than 150 countries on four aspects of sex laws, 1965 to 2005: (1) maximum prison terms for rape, (2) ages of sexual consent, (3) the existence of sodomy prohibitions, and (4) gender neutrality in adultery regulations. Our analyses confirm the importance of exogenous factors and show that endogenous factors—including the dominance of Islam and the status of women in society—play lesser roles in explaining formal content differences. In supplementary analyses, we explore counterpoint variations, that is, sexlaw reforms that flout global standards, illustrated here by sodomy-law expansions during the period. We find exogenous imprints even in these cases.
Spatial distribution of organelles in leaf cells and soybean root nodules revealed by focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy

Analysis of cellular ultrastructure has been dominated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), so images collected by this technique have shaped our current understanding of cellular structure. More recently, three-dimensional (3D) analysis of organelle structures has typically been conducted using TEM tomography. However, TEM tomography application is limited by sample thickness. Focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) uses a dual beam system to perform serial sectioning and imaging of a sample. Thus FIB-SEM is an excellent alternative to TEM tomography and serial section TEM tomography. Animal tissue samples have been more intensively investigated by this technique than plant tissues. Here, we show that FIB-SEM can be used to study the 3D ultrastructure of plant tissues in samples previously prepared for TEM via commonly used fixation and embedding protocols. Reconstruction of FIB-SEM sections revealed ultra-structural details of the plant tissues examined. We observed that organelles packed tightly together in Nicotiana benthamiana Domin leaf cells may form membrane contacts. 3D models of soybean nodule cells suggest that the bacteroids in infected cells are contained within one large membrane-bound structure and not the many individual symbiosomes that TEM thin-sections suggest. We consider the implications of these organelle arrangements for intercellular signalling.
Impact of anatomical parameters on optical coherence tomography retinal nerve fiber layer thickness abnormality patterns

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of four anatomical parameters (angle between superior and inferior temporal retinal arteries [inter-artery angle, IAA], optic disc [OD] rotation, retinal curvature, and central retinal vessel trunk entry point location [CRVTL]) on retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) abnormality marks by OCT machines. Methods: Cirrus OCT circumpapillary RNFLT measurements and Humphrey visual fields (HVF 24-2) of 421 patients from a large glaucoma clinic were included. Ellipses were fitted to the OD borders. Ellipse rotation relative to the vertical axis defined OD rotation. CRVTL was manually marked on the horizontal axis of the ellipse on the OCT fundus image. IAA was calculated between manually marked retinal artery locations at the 1.73mm radius around OD. Retinal curvature was determined by the inner limiting membrane on the horizontal B-scan closest to the OD center. For each location on the circumpapillary scanning area, logistic regression was used to determine if each of the four parameters had a significant impact on RNFLT abnormality marks independent of disease severity. The results are presented on spatial maps of the entire scanning area. Results: Variations in IAA significantly influenced abnormality marks on 38.8% of the total scanning area, followed by CRVTL (19.2%) and retinal curvature (18.7%). The effect of OD rotation was negligible (<1%). Conclusions: A natural variation in IAA, retinal curvature, and CRVTL can affect OCT abnormality ratings, which may bias clinical diagnosis. Our spatial maps may help OCT manufacturers to introduce location specific norms to ensure that abnormality marks indicate ocular disease instead of variations in eye anatomy.
A Life in Bacillus subtilis Signal Transduction

This is a tale of how technology drove the discovery of the molecular basis for signal transduction in the initiation of sporulation in Bacillus subtilis and in bacterial two-component systems. It progresses from genetics to cloning and sequencing to biochemistry to structural biology to an understanding of how proteins evolve interaction specificity and to identification of interaction surfaces by statistical physics. This is about how the people in my laboratory accomplished this feat; without them little would have been done.
Posthumanism as Research Methodology: Inquiry in the Anthropocene.

AbstractThe posthuman turn has radically–and rapidly–shifted what is possible in research methodology. In response, my aim in this conceptual paper is to suggest entry points into posthuman educational research methodology. I outline aspects of posthumanism while recognizing its multiplicity: there are many posthumanisms and each offers different twists, turns, and ways of thinking about methodology. In unfolding the potentials thereof, I locate posthumanism within our current epoch, which some scholars have suggested be renamed the Anthropocene to account for the impact of humanity on the planet. Then, I describe how posthumanism situates, processes, and affirms knowledge in interconnected and material contexts. Next, I consider how non-representational research imagines and animates methodologies that think differently. I conclude by discussing a postdisciplinary future for more-than-critical inquiries. Significantly, this article addresses recent advancements in posthuman research and engages with ongo...
Trauma-Informed Professional Development

This chapter proposes plans for professional development within an organizational context that is trauma-informed at all levels from working with clients to caring for workers. This context provides a supportive and educational new-worker experience, opportunities for growth over time, supportive and nurturing supervision and mentoring, a culture in which resilience techniques are embedded in practice, and an opportunity for reflective and meaningful practice. It analyzes theories of professional development, specifically the Dreyfus and Dreyfus model, and extends this model to incorporate trauma-informed care principles in the area of child welfare work. This chapter offers a plan for development from student to seasoned worker that includes a model for transitioning to work in agencies that are inherently stressful and potentially trauma producing. It also includes a discussion of trauma-informed clinical supervision and incorporation of reflective practice into agency work as usual and customary practice. A model for reflection, the DEAL model, is described. The chapter ends with a discussion of resilience in child welfare agencies.
Harnessing Novel Imaging Approaches to Guide HIV Prevention and Cure Discoveries—A National Institutes of Health and Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise 2017 Meeting Report

Advances in imaging technologies have greatly increased our understanding of cellular and molecular interactions in humans and their corresponding animal models of infectious diseases. In the HIV/SIV field, imaging has provided key insights into mucosal viral transmission, local and systemic virus spread, host-virus dynamics, and chronic inflammation/immune activation and the resultant immunopathology. Recent developments in imaging applications are yielding physical, spatial, and temporal measurements to enhance insight into biological functions and disease processes, while retaining important cellular, microenvironmental, organ, and intact organism contextual details. Taking advantage of the latest advancements in imaging technologies may help answer important questions in the HIV field. The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored a meeting on May 8 and 9, 2017 to provide a platform to review state-of-the-art imaging technologies and to foster multidisciplinary collaborations in HIV/AIDS research. The meeting covered applications of imaging in studies of early events and pathogenesis, reservoirs, and cure, as well as in vaccine development. In addition, presentations and discussions of imaging applications from non-HIV biomedical research areas were included. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions at the meeting.
On a time domain boundary integral equation formulation for acoustic scattering by rigid bodies in uniform mean flow.

It has been well-known that under the assumption of a uniform mean flow, the acoustic wave propagation equation can be formulated as a boundary integral equation. However, the constant mean flow assumption, while convenient for formulating the integral equation, does not satisfy the solid wall boundary condition wherever the body surface is not aligned with the assumed uniform flow. A customary boundary condition for rigid surfaces is that the normal acoustic velocity be zero. In this paper, a careful study of the acoustic energy conservation equation is presented that shows such a boundary condition would in fact lead to source or sink points on solid surfaces. An alternative solid wall boundary condition, termed zero energy flux boundary condition, is proposed that conserves the acoustic energy and a time domain boundary integral equation is derived. Furthermore, stabilization of the integral equation by Burton–Miller type reformulation is presented. The stability is studied theoretically as well as numerically by an eigenvalue analysis. Numerical solutions are also presented that demonstrate the stability of the current formulation.
Laboratory assessment of feeding injury and preference of brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys Stål (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), for Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa ‘Hayward’ (Zespri® Green) and Actinidia chinensis var. chinensis ‘Zesy002’ (Zespri® SunGold)

The brown marmorated stinkbug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys Stal (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is native to Asia and is characterised by its polyphagous feeding habits and high hitchhiking potential. In i...
PRIMARY MALIGNANT MELANOMA OF THE ORAL CAVITY; REPORT OF A CASE.

Abstract A case of primary malignant melanoma of the oral cavity has been presented, followed by a brief discussion on its histogenesis.
The generation of human long-term marrow cultures from marrow depleted of Ia (HLA-DR) positive cells

Successful long-term cultures were generated from marrow buffy-coat cells incubated with either of two monoclonal anti-Ia antibodies, 7.2 and HBIOa, and complement. The mean CFU-GM toxicity for 7.2 and HBIOa was 81% and 94%, respectively, of the complement control. Cultures generated from marrows treated with 7.2 and complement produced between 30% and 163% of the CFU-GM (mean, 78.2 +/- 52.4%) and 33% of the BFU-E produced by the complement control cultures. Long-term cultures from marrows treated with the more cytotoxic HBIOa antibody yielded 261% of the CFU-GM present at culture initiation. Our data suggest that the progenitor cells necessary for generation of long-term cultures from human marrow are Ia-negative and may represent less mature stem cells than those measurable by semisolid colony assays. Furthermore, marrow treated with cytotoxic anti-Ia antibodies may be suitable for use in autologous transplantation.
Multiscale investigation of a symbiotic microalgal-integrated fixed film activated sludge (MAIFAS) process for nutrient removal and photo-oxygenation

The Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) process is an advanced biological wastewater treatment process that integrates biofilm carriers within conventional activated sludge to uncouple the sludge retention time for nitrifiers and heterotrophic bacteria. In this study, we incorporated microalgae into the IFAS configuration for photo-oxygenation and evaluated the symbiotic reaction between microalgae and bacteria for both suspended solids and IFAS biofilm media. In a sequencing batch mode, the microalgae-IFAS system removed more than 99% ammonia and 51% phosphorous without the need for mechanical aeration. Biofilm microprofiles revealed localized photo-oxygenation by the algal biofilm and nitrification by nitrifiers on the IFAS media. Genetic sequencing showed that the addition of microalgae to the IFAS system promoted significant changes in the bacterial community structure and altered metabolic activity of several bacterial groups. Overall, this research represents a novel strategy for reducing energy consumption while meeting stringent effluent standards using a hybrid symbiotic microalgae-IFAS technology.
A longitudinal study of the domain-generality of African American students’ causal attributions for academic success.

Students’ causal attributions about the reasons underlying their academic successes are important because of the influence of those attributions on academic motivation. We investigated whether students’ success attributions tend to be similar across academic subjects versus specific to academic domain, and whether domain-generality or specificity changes with development. African American students (N = 565) reported their causal attributions for math, science, and English successes longitudinally from elementary to high school. Structural equation modeling showed that individual differences in students’ tendencies to attribute successes to ability, effort, or their teachers were domain-general, not differing across academic content areas. Results did not differ by sex. The lack of domain-specificity in attributions suggests that when African American students consider what factors influence their school performance, they view academic outcomes as a single achievement domain rather than differentiating among school subjects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)
A Novel Dynamic Ramp Valley Control in a Current-Mode Adaptive On-Time Controller for the On-Chip Buck Converter

This paper proposes a novel dynamic ramp valley control in a current-mode adaptive on-time controller for the on-chip buck converter. It improves the system stability and reduces the output voltage under the load-dump. The proposed novel dynamic ramp valley control uses a sample and hold circuit, a comparator, and a ramp valley control to avoid the generation of an erroneous pulse signal while regulating the output voltage under the load-dump. Finally, a buck converter with 12 to 19 V input voltage range and 1.05 V output voltage with the novel dynamic ramp valley control is implemented in an integrated circuit. Based on the hardware experimental results, the output voltage under the load-dump with and without the proposed dynamic ramp valley control is 156 and 224 mV, respectively. Thus, the output voltage with the proposed dynamic ramp valley control is lower by 68 mV than that without the proposed dynamic ramp valley control, avoiding the potential damage of the output load, moreover, this performance has been verified with the SIMPLIS simulation and hardware experimental results.
Earnings Shortfalls and Strategic Profit Allocations in Segment Reporting

SYNOPSIS I examine whether firms strategically classify earnings components when reporting bad earnings news. Specifically, I examine whether firms reporting small earnings shortfalls allocate prof...
Faster Response Discrete-Time Networks under Update-Rate Limits

The response speed of a network impacts the efficacy of its actions to external stimuli. However, for a given bound on the update rate, the network-response speed is limited by the need to maintain stability. This work increases the network-response speed without having to increase the update rate by using delayed self-reinforcement (DSR), where each agent uses its already available information from the network to strengthen its individual update law. Example simulation results are presented that show more than an order of magnitude improvement in the response speed (quantified using the settling time) with the proposed DSR approach.
Academic tweeting in #ObGyn. Where do we stand?

Objective To describe the scenario of academic tweeting and utilization of Twitter by editorial board members of the leading journal in obstetrics and gynecology. Methods The Twitter presence of an editorial board members of obstetrics and gynecology journal with an impact factor greater than 4 was determined. Details of their Twitter activity, year of graduation from medical school and gender were analyzed. Median SparkScore™, an online influence measure, of journals was compared to the highest impact factor journals in medicine (New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, The British Medical Journal and Journal of the American Medical Association). Results In the six highest impact factor journals in obstetrics and gynecology, 92 of 240 (38.3%) editorial board members had an active Twitter account. The Twitter presence of editorial members of Obstetrics and Gynecology was statistically less when compared to all other journals (P < 0.01). The median number of tweets in the last 24 h and 7 days were 0. Median SparkScore™ for the highest impact factor obstetrics and gynecology journals (24) were lower compared to the highest impact journals in medicine (66) (P = 0.03). Conclusion Editorial board members of the six highest impact factor journals in obstetrics and gynecology are not capitalizing on the dynamic nature of Twitter and its instant convenient access from our smartphones to further academia, when compared to specialties in medicine. There is a need for increased adoption of Twitter among physician leaders in the specialty.
Network Communication Security Program Design Based on Wireless Router

The rapid development of Internet and mobile communication technology has brought great changes to people’s daily production and life. At the same time, more and more users use wireless access to the Internet. In the process of wireless access, wireless router has become an essential and important equipment, and the network security of wireless router is the most important. In view of this, this paper designs a trusted network access verification system based on TCM module. Through experimental verification, it can be seen that the system designed in this paper can realize the trusted access of the router, thus greatly improving the security and credibility of the router.
Smoothened Transduces Hedgehog Signals via Activity-Dependent Sequestration of PKA Catalytic Subunits

ABSTRACT The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway is essential for organ development, homeostasis, and regeneration. Dysfunction of this cascade drives several cancers. To control expression of pathway target genes, the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) Smoothened (SMO) activates glioma-associated (GLI) transcription factors via an unknown mechanism. Here we show that, rather than conforming to traditional GPCR signaling paradigms, SMO activates GLI by binding and sequestering protein kinase A (PKA) catalytic subunits at the membrane. This sequestration, triggered by GPCR kinase 2 (GRK2)-mediated phosphorylation of SMO intracellular domains, prevents PKA from phosphorylating soluble substrates, releasing GLI from PKA-mediated inhibition. Our work provides a mechanism directly linking Hh signal transduction at the membrane to GLI transcription in the nucleus. This process is more fundamentally similar between species than prevailing hypotheses suggest. The mechanism described here may apply broadly to other GPCR- and PKA-containing cascades in diverse areas of biology.
Delay Independent Truncated Predictor Feedback for Discrete-Time Linear Systems

As with a continuous-time linear system, the predictor state feedback law for a discrete-time linear system with input delay is the product of a feedback gain matrix with the predicted state at a future time instant ahead of the current time instant by the amount of the delay, which is the sum of the zero input solution and the zero state solution of the system. The zero state solution for a discrete-time system is a finite summation that involves past input. The zero input solution is the product of the transition matrix and the initial state. The truncated predictor feedback (TPF), which results from discarding the finite summation part of the predictor feedback law, reduces implementation complexity. The delay independent TPF law further discards the delay-dependent transition matrix in the TPF law and is thus robust to unknown delays. It was pointed out in Lin (Commun. Inf. Syst. 7(3), 227–264 (2007)) and Zhou and Lin (IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. I Regular Papers 58(11), 2741–2754 (2011)) that such a delay independent TPF law stabilizes a discrete-time linear system with all its poles at z = 1 or inside the unit circle no matter how large the delay is.
Emperor: a new life of Charles V: by Geoffrey Parker, New Haven, CT, Yale University Press, 2019, xix, 737 pp., $35.00 (hardback), ISBN: 978-0-300-19652-8

Throughout his illustrious career, Geoffrey Parker has analyzed some of the most prominent figures and contentious historiographical questions that exist in the study of early modern Europe. It is ...
Financial considerations toward securing a searle medidata multitest system for the swedish medical center

The primary purpose of this report is to identify the total financial needs of a hospital based Multitest System which describes a systems approach to the methodology employed in the delivery of health care. It is the utilization of computer based, on line, real time, data acquisition program techniques interactive with bio-medical testing instrumentation to produce a patient data record base of primary importance to the physician. The report moves through five major sections concluding with an opinion that The Swedish Medical Center is a candidate for a Searle Medidata Multitest System.
Male infertility and adult polycystic kidney disease – revisited: case report and current literature review

Adult polycystic kidney disease (APKD) is one of the most common inherited disorders affecting one in 800-1000 live births. Extra-renal manifestation of APKD is not uncommon. Cysts involving the male and female reproductive system have been reported. However, fertility is affected only in male subjects. Among cysts involving the reproductive system, seminal vesicle cysts have been reported to be the most common. The effect of seminal vesicle cysts on male fertility has been controversial. Current literature reports that majority of men remain fertile. However, uraemia and its implications on fertility and abnormal semen parameters in men with seminal vesicle cysts must be taken into consideration. We herein present two patients with APKD with contrasting semen parameters and also review the current literature.
Fast SAT-based answer set solver

Recent research shows that SAT (propositional satisfiability) techniques can be employed to build efficient systems to compute answer sets for logic programs. ASSAT and CMODELS are two well-known such systems. They find an answer set from the full models for the completion of the input program, which is (iteratively) augmented with loop formulas. Making use of the fact that, for non-tight programs, during the model generation, a partial assignment may be extensible to a full model but may not grow into any answer set, we propose to add answer set extensibility checking on partial assignments. Furthermore, given a partial assignment, we identify a class of loop formulas that are "active" on the assignment. These "active" formulas can be used to prune the search space. We also provide an efficient method to generate these formulas. These ideas can be implemented with a moderate modification on SAT solvers. We have developed a new answer set solver SAG on top of the SAT solver MCHAFF. Empirical studies on well-known benchmarks show that in most cases it is faster than the state-of-the-art answer set solvers, often by an order of magnitude. In the few cases when it is not the winner, it is close to the top performer, which shows its robustness.
Statistics on views

The quality of execution plans generated by a query optimizer is tied to the accuracy of its cardinality estimation. Errors in estimation lead to poor performance, erratic behavior, and user frustration. Traditionally, the optimizer is restricted to use only statistics on base table columns and derive estimates bottom-up. This approach has shortcomings with dealing with complex queries, and with rich languages such as SQL: Errors grow as estimation is done on top of estimation, and some constructs are simply not handled. In this paper we describe the creation and utilization of statistics on views in SQL Server, which provides the optimizer with statistical information on the result of scalar or relational expressions. It opens a new dimension on the data available for cardinality estimation and enables arbitrary correction. We describe the implementation of this feature in the optimizer architecture, and show its impact on the quality of plans generated through a number of examples.
Polymer oxidation and secondary cage combination of peroxyl radicals

The photo-oxidation of solid polymers at ambient temperatures is shown to be greatly affected by the low mobility of radicals in the solid state. When a radical pair, produced by photo-initiation, escapes the initial polymer cage, the probability of its recombination remains high even after several propagation steps. This phenomenon, known as secondary cage recombination, has a pronounced effect on the kinetics of oxidation and on the mechanism of photostabilisation by radical scavengers. The occurrence of secondary cage recombination is demonstrated for polypropylene photo-oxidation and a kinetic analysis is developed to predict the consequences of this effect.
Music, Art and Metaphysics: Essays in Philosophical Aesthetics

PART ONE: ART AND HISTORY 1. Defining Art Historically 2. Hybrid Art Forms 3. Refining Art Historically PART TWO: METAPHYSICS OF ART 4. What a Musical Work Is 5. Autographic and Allographic Art Revisited 6. Aesthetic Uniqueness 7. Aesthetic Supervenience 8. Titles 9. Artworks and the Future 10. What a Musical Work Is, Again PART THREE: MUSICAL MATTERS 11. The Concept of Music 12. Truth in Music 13. Music and Negative Emotion 14. Hope in The Hebrides 15. Evaluationg Musical Performance 16. Authentic Performance and Performance Means
The Hypervariable Region of Anaplasma marginale Major Surface Protein 2 (MSP2) Contains Multiple Immunodominant CD4+ T Lymphocyte Epitopes That Elicit Variant-Specific Proliferative and IFN-γ Responses in MSP2 Vaccinates

Major surface protein 2 (MSP2) is an immunodominant outer membrane protein of Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma phagocytophilum pathogens that cause bovine anaplasmosis and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, respectively. MSP2 has a central hypervariable region (HVR) flanked by highly conserved amino and carboxyl termini. During A. marginale infection, dynamic and extensive amino acid sequence variation in MSP2 occurs through recombination of msp2 pseudogenes into the msp2 expression site, followed by sequential segmental gene conversions to generate additional variants. We hypothesized that MSP2 variation leads to significant changes in Th cell recognition of epitopes in the HVR. T cell epitopes were mapped using T cells from native MSP2-immunized cattle and overlapping peptides spanning the most abundant of five different MSP2 HVRs in the immunogen. Several epitopes elicited potent effector/memory Th cell proliferative and IFN-γ responses, including those in three discreet blocks of sequence that undergo segmental gene conversion. Th cell clones specific for an epitope in the block 1 region of the predominant MSP2 variant type failed to respond to naturally occurring variants. However, some of these variants were recognized by oligoclonal T cell lines from MSP2 vaccinates, indicating that the variant sequences contain immunogenic CD4+ T cell epitopes. In competition/antagonism assays, the nonstimulatory variants were not inhibitory for CD4+ T cells specific for the agonist peptide. Dynamic amino acid sequence variation in MSP2 results in escape from recognition by some effector/memory MSP2-specific Th cells. Antigenic variation in MSP2 Th cell and B cell epitopes may contribute to immune evasion that allows long-term persistence of A. marginale in the mammalian reservoir.
Perfect space-time codes with minimum and non-minimum delay for any number of antennas

We here introduce explicit constructions of minimum-delay perfect space-time codes for any number n/sub t/ of transmit antennas and any number n/sub t/ of receive antennas. We also proceed to construct non-minimal delay perfect space-time codes for any n/sub t/, n/sub r/ and any block length T /spl ges/ n/sub t/. Perfect space-time codes were first introduced in F. Oggier et al. (2004) for dimensions of 2 /spl times/ 2, 3 /spl times/ 3, 4 /spl times/ 4 and 6 /spl times/ 6, to be the space-time codes that have full rate, full diversity-gain, non-vanishing determinant for increasing spectral efficiency, uniform average transmitted energy per antenna and good shaping of the constellation. The term perfect corresponds to the fact that the code simultaneously satisfies all the above mentioned important criteria. As a result, perfect codes have proven to have extraordinary performance. Finally, we point out that the set of criteria in F. Oggier et al. (2004) of non-vanishing determinant, full diversity, and full rate, is a subset of the more general and more strict set of criteria for optimally in the diversity-multiplexing gain (D-MG) tradeoff [Elias, P. et al., 2004], [Kumar, K.R. et al., 2005], an approach that takes special significance when constructing non-minimal delay perfect codes. Both minimum and non-minimum delay perfect codes are shown to be D-MG optimal.
Defense Packet Switching Networks in the United States

In this paper we review the primary characteristics of the U.S. Department of Defense packet switching networks -- ARPANET, AUTODIN II, and WIN. Special requirements for dedicated defense networks are examined. These include privacy and security, precedence, survivability, availability, and interoperability with other networks. Finally, we discuss some architectural concepts for an all digital integrated voice/data network for defense applications in the 1990’s.
Air Tightness of US Homes: Model Development

Air tightness is an important property of building envelopes. It is a key factor in determining infiltration and related wall-performance properties such as indoor air quality, maintainability and moisture balance. Air leakage in U.S. houses consumes roughly 1/3 of the HVAC energy but provides most of the ventilation used to control IAQ. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been gathering residential air leakage data from many sources and now has a database of more than 100,000 raw measurements. This paper uses that database to develop a model for estimating air leakage as a function of climate, building age, floor area, building height, floor type, energy-efficiency and low-income designations. The model developed can be used to estimate the leakage distribution of populations of houses.
Headline: a year in review: thank you for being part of the academy's success.

When I assumed the office of president for the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), I took up the personal charge to “Get the Job Done.” Now that my term is coming to a close, I would like to review areas in which the organization has moved forward and what remains to be accomplished in the future. Guided by strategic plans developed by the board of directors, the Academy realized several goals this past year. To increase funding sources, the AAPM Foundation was created. I am pleased to say that the Foundation is up and running with the mission of expanding the Academy's vital work with an overarching focus to advocate for patient safety by providing funding support to expand and enhance education and research. The AAPM Foundation's Campaign Executive Committee is comprised of thought leaders who are actively involved in outreach efforts to raise awareness as well as significant funding to support AAPM's continuing medical education and research goals. I encourage you to visit the Foundation's website at http://www.painmed.org/foundation and consider a donation to this significant work. Another goal area includes the Academy's continued efforts to expand its education initiatives, which has been realized in part through the introduction of the Safe Opioid Prescribing …
Persons, Community, and the Image of God in Rawls’s Brief Inquiry

The idea that humans are created in the image of God – imago dei – is an idea that John Rawls deployed in “A Brief Inquiry into the Meaning of Sin and Faith,” his undergraduate senior thesis from 1942, published last year in a well-received volume edited by Thomas Nagel. Usually when talk of the image of God is in the air, emphasis is being put on the individual: the individual human person, created in the image of God, commands a certain respect and must not be used, violated, or desecrated – not even for the sake of the greater good of a community to which he or she belongs or with which he or she is associated. But in Rawls’s dissertation it is community that is said to be created in the image of God; the individual human in his or her own right is not dignified directly under these auspices. The community is dignified with the image of God, but because God Himself is a community, on the theology that Rawls is using: God is “perfect community within Himself,” as Rawls puts it, “being three persons in one as the doctrine of the Trinity states.” In this paper, I criticize the young Rawls’s use of this communal image argument. In their introduction to “Brief Inquiry” Tom Nagel and Joshua Cohen say that Rawls’s communal image argument is compatible with (even congenial to) his later insistence in “A Theory of Justice” on taking individuals seriously (and criticizing theories like utilitarianism which fail to take seriously the distinctions between persons). I argue that Cohen and Nagel are wrong about this. I also argue that if one reflects on what I call “the circumstances of (human) community,” one will see that nothing but confusion follows from any analogy (even an idealizing analogy) between human community and whatever community exists in the “social Trinity.”
The Shape of Things: But Not the Golden Section:

For two-dimensional rectangular objects, a fundamental characteristic is the ratio of height and width. Ratios were calculated for paintings that are both high art and popular art. They show excellent agreement in both the shapes of the distributions and the medians of approximately 1.3. Ratios were calculated for two-dimensional art supplies and other objects. With some exceptions, the representative ratios for many of these objects are also close to 1.3. Two mathematical ratios are suggested. One is 4:3, found in the first Pythagorean triple, the three sides of a right triangle. The other is the plastic number studied by Richard Padovan. Although neither has the status of the golden section, either ratio would be a better candidate for describing the regularity in the proportions of rectangular objects.
Treatment of high renin refractory hypertension in children with minoxidil (a new hypertensive drug not previously used in children)

Hypertension developed in a 10 yr. old girl following a renal transplant with blood pressure (BP) between 160/120 and 200/160, and elevated peripheral vein renin (15.2 to 35.5 ng/ml/hr, normal 0.53 ± 0.4). Before transplantation her kidneys had been removed and no stenosis was evident at the site of the anastomosis by angiography. While hypertensive, she developed cardiomegaly and deterioration of renal function [serum creatinine (Cr) from 0.8 to 2.1 mg2]. BP was uncontrollable with daily dosages of Methyldopa 2.5 gm, Hydralazine 300 mg, Guanethidine 200 mg, Propranolol 100 mg, Furosemide 120 mg, and only transient relief was achieved by Diazoxide (300 to 600 mg/day). A transplant nephrectomy was contemplated. Minoxidil given 2.5 mg/6 hrs orally reduced her BP to normal (130/80) within 12 hrs. Other antihypertensives except Propranolol and Furosemide were discontinued. With normalization of BP the heart size decreased and the renal function improved (Cr 0.9 mg%). Five months later on Minoxidil (10 mg/6 hrs) her BP is 130/90, her transplant function is excellent (Cr 0.8 mg%), but the renins remain elevated (13.9 to 24.5). A side effect of generalized hirsutism has occurred. It is felt that high renin refractory systemic hypertension can be controlled by Minoxidil and offers an alternative to transplant nephrectomy.
The Visual Impairment and Inscrutable Disease of Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson, the acclaimed author of the Dictionary of the English Language, survived childhood scrofula with impaired sight and hearing. The cause of his scrofula has been attributed to bovine tuberculosis, but mycobacterial infection does not satisfactorily account for the peculiar features of Johnson's eye disorder or his hearing loss. The subject of numerous biographies, Johnson may have the most scrutinized medical history of all time. Medical detectives, hampered by the vagueness of 18(th)-century diagnosis, suspect that phlyctenular eye disease related to tuberculosis was the reason for his visual impairment. Pediatric brucellosis can also explain childhood scrofula associated with visual and auditory disabilities, but it may be difficult to reconcile any single diagnosis given the uncertainties surrounding Johnson's medical and ocular histories.
Effect of Needle Puncture Injury on Human Intervertebral Disc Mechanics

Diagnosis, repair and regeneration of the disc often necessitate needle injection to the nucleus pulposus through the annulus. Discography in which a radio opaque material is injected into the nucleus and electrothermal treatment involving inserting a catheter into the disc requires disruption of the annulus through needle puncture. Annulus puncture may also be required during placement of nucleus implants. Needle puncture is also used to inject growth factors, gene and cell therapy for regeneration of the disc. In animal models, disc degeneration is induced over time by needle puncture of the annulus. The severity of the degeneration depends on the magnitude of the annulus needle puncture. One thing that is not clear is how much of the observed changes in the disc biomechanics and biochemical changes are due to nucleus treatment and how much is due to annular disruption through needle puncture. Animal model studies have shown that significant changes in disc mechanics were noticed within 1 week of needle puncture with a large-gauge needle. Another in-vitro animal study showed that biomechanical changes were observed in the disc when the ratio of needle diameter to disc height is greater than 40%. All these studies were focused on the effect of small number of needle diameters and addressed using animal cadaver models. How these needle puncture injury studies on small and large animal models can be extrapolated to human conditions is still not known. Thus there is need to evaluate effect of range of needle puncture diameters in human lumbar disc biomechanics. The purpose of this study is, with the help of a finite element models, quantify the biomechanical effect due to varying size of needle punctures in a human lumbar intervertebral disc.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Structure and subduction processes along the Oregon-Washington margin

Seismic reflection and refraction data off Washington and Oregon are used to determine the style of sediment deformation and to infer the physical properties of accreted sediments on the lower slope. Onshore-offshore seismic refraction data off Washington are used to determine the location of the “trench”, or where the plate bending starts. We find that off Washington the subduction zone is characterized by a “trench” whose physiographic expression is buried under several kilometers of sediments and is tens of kilometers landward of the lower slope, which is accreting seaward as the result of the offscraping of sediments. Seismic reflection data support previous observations that offscraping occurs along seaward and landward dipping thrust faults. Refraction data indicate that a sediment package thrust up along a seaward dipping fault (off Washington) was not measurably changed in velocity with respect to a Cascadia basin section. However a package uplifted by thrusting along a landward dipping fault (off Oregon) did have increased velocity. It is suggested that the increased velocities off Oregon could be the result of erosion and exposure of more deeply buried and compacted sediments, rather than the result of dewatering due to tectonic stress. Off Washington the sensitivity of velocity to porosity and resolution of the seismic method does not preclude dewatering due to tectonic stress, but it does limit the degree of dewatering. In the deeper parts of the lower slope section off Washington and Oregon velocities as high as 3 to 4 km/sec are found. Heat flow data indicate that the temperatures in this high velocity regime are greater than 100°C. It is hypothesized that lithification related to clay diagenesis may be partly responsible for the high velocities, rather than simply compaction. It also appears that the high velocity sediments are subducted while the unlithified low velocity sediments are offscraped.
On the existence of face quality measures

We investigate the existence of quality measures for face recognition. First, we introduce the concept of an oracle for image quality in the context of face recognition. Next we introduce greedy pruned ordering (GPO) as an approximation to an image quality oracle. GPO analysis provides an estimated upper bound for quality measures, given a face recognition algorithm and data set. We then assess the performance of 12 commonly proposed face image quality measures against this standard. In addition, we investigate the potential for learning new quality measures via supervised learning. Finally, we show that GPO analysis is applicable to other biometrics.