cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Planar and coaxial high purity germanium radiation detectors

Abstract The successful fabrication of planar (under 1 cm 3 ) and coaxial (up to 5.6 cm 3 ) high purity germanium detectors is reported. The choice of material, processing methods to avoid contamination, and surface handling to allow the operation of the detectors at sufficient bias for excellent resolution are described. Resolutions under 2 keV for 1.33 MeV gamma rays are obtained in the coaxial geometry, with a Fano factor of 0.11 for the whole device. Measurements on the character of the exposed surfaces of the detectors show p-type channels, which can lead to substantial field non-uniformities in the bulk unless sufficient care is exercised in handling so that high bias can be applied.
Linear Electro-Optic Effect in Ferroelectric KTN

The low-frequency linear electro-optic coefficients have been measured in ferroelectric KTN (KTax Nb1−xO3) as a function of temperature. A measurement of the field-induced retardation shows that the half-wave voltage is about one 100th of that for KDP and about one half that for BaTiO3. The half-wave voltage increases from about 20 V at 3°C below the Curie point to approximately 115 V at 40°C below the Curie point. The possibility of tailoring the Curie point by varying the Ta-to-Nb ratio therefore makes KTN attractive for light modulation and deflection.An ac technique was developed to determine the electro-optic coefficient r42. This coefficient is extremely large, showing the expected increase towards the orthorhombic transition temperature but it is not useful for modulation or deflection.
Development of an assay for modulating anti‐acetylcholine receptor autoantibodies using human rhabdomyosarcoma cell line

Three types of autoantibodies against the acetylcholine receptors (AchR) of skeletal muscle are detectable in patients with myasthenia gravis including binding, blocking, and modulating anti-AChR antibodies. Modulating autoantibodies correlate best with the severity of the disease, but are also technically most difficult to measure because the assay generally requires fresh human muscle cells. We have developed an assay for the modulation of anti-AChR antibodies using a rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cell line expressing AchR on the cell surface. By decreasing the FetalClone III serum from 10% to 0.5% in Eagles Minimal Essential Medium (EMEM) we were able to increase the number of AchR on RD cells to meet the need of sensitivity of the assay. The extent of modulation was determined as the percent of AchR internalized in the presence or absence of modulating autoantibodies. Less than 6% modulation was found with the normal serum (n = 42). The CVs of both the intra- and day-to-day precision were less than 20%. When clinical samples (n = 105) were assayed in our laboratory and also at Nichols Institute, a correlation coefficient of 0.816 was obtained. The selection of RD cell line, the success of increasing the expression of the AchR on RD cells and the use of 125I α-bungarotoxin of high specific activity allowed the establishment of an assay which can be used in routine clinical laboratory for the measurement of modulating anti-AChR autoantibodies for the management of patients with myasthenia gravis. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 12:315–319, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Right Ventricular Infundibular |[beta]|-Adrenoceptor Complex in Tetralogy of Fallot Patients

Patients with tetralogy of Fallot may have episodes of paroxysmal hypoxic spells ("tet spells") or could be asymptomatic. In patients who have these episodes, treatment with a beta-adrenoceptor (betaAR) blocking agent can often ameliorate or attenuate the severity of the symptoms. Additionally, excitement, crying, and situations associated with increased sympathetic activity could provoke the occurrence of these hypoxic spells. We hypothesized that altered myocardial betaAR function may contribute to the development of paroxysmal hypoxic spells in the symptomatic tetralogy patient. Surgically excised right ventricular infundibular myocardial specimens from symptomatic (patients with spells) and asymptomatic patients were used to determine total beta1 and beta2 betaAR density and betaAR adenylyl cyclase activity. Symptomatic patients had a significantly greater number of total betaAR. The relative proportion of beta1 and beta2 receptors was comparable in both patient groups. betaAR-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity was found to be more enhanced in the symptomatic patient group. Our results indicate that infundibular betaARs may play a role in the development of paroxysmal hypoxic spells.
Purification and characterization of aldehyde dehydrogenase from human brain.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.3) has been purified from human brain; this constitutes the first purification to homogeneity from the brain of any mammalian species. Of the three isozymes purified two are mitochondrial in origin (Peak I and Peak II) and one is cytoplasmic (Peak III). By comparison of properties, the cytoplasmic Peak III enzyme could be identified as the same as the liver cytoplasmic E1 isozyme (N.J. Greenfield and R. Pietruszko (1977) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 483, 35-45). The Peak I and Peak II enzymes resemble the liver mitochondrial E2 isozyme, but both have properties that differ from those of the liver enzyme. The Peak I enzyme is extremely sensitive to disulfiram while the Peak II enzyme is totally insensitive; liver mitochondrial E2 isozyme is partially sensitive to disulfiram. The specific activity is 0.3 mumol/mg/min for the Peak I and 3.0 mumol/mg/min for the Peak II enzyme; the specific activity of the liver mitochondrial E2 isozyme is 1.6 mumol/min/mg under the same conditions. The Peak I enzyme is also inhibited by acetaldehyde at low concentrations, while the Peak II enzyme and the liver mitochondrial E2 isozyme are not inhibited under the same conditions. The precise relationship of brain Peak I and II enzymes to the liver E2 isozyme is not clear but it cannot be excluded at the present time that the two brain mitochondrial enzymes are brain specific.
Hormone induced spawning of summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus

During their first year in captivity, summer flounder Paralicthys denratus were induced to spawn with gonadotropin releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa) implants, injected carp pituitary extract (CPE) or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) injections. The percentage of fertile eggs was greatest (69%) in CPE-treated females. CPE, but not GnRHa or hCG, was capable of stimulating oocyte growth (increased follicle diameter during vitellogenesis) followed by ovulation. Fish with maximum ovarian follicle diameters between 180 and 435 μm at the initiation of CPE injections produced the greatest percentage of fertile eggs. For most females, fertilization rate was greatest for the first batch of eggs ovulated. The mean fertilization rate for the first spawn of CPE-treated fish was 42% compared with 14% for the second spawn from the same fish. Fish with maximum initial follicle diameters of 585 40 μm that were implanted with GnRHa ovulated the greatest number of eggs, but fertility was low and variable. Approximately 35% of females injected with hCG ovulated a limited number of eggs, but only one hCG-treated female produced fertile eggs. Only a limited number of spermiating males were available for spawning trials. Hormone treatments used on females were ineffective for inducing or maintaining spermiation in male summer flounder.
Accuracy of bead-spring chains in strong flows

We have analyzed the response of bead-spring chain models in strong elongational flow as the amount of polymer represented by a spring is changed. We examined the longest relaxation time of the chains which is used to quantify the strength of the flow in terms of a Weissenberg number. A chain with linear springs can be used to predict the longest relaxation time of the nonlinear chains if the linear spring constant is modified correctly. We used the expansion of the elongational viscosity in the limit of infinite Weissenberg number to investigate the change of the viscosity as the scale of discretization was changed. We showed that the viscosity is less sensitive to the details of the spring force law because the chain is fully extended at very large Weissenberg number. However, the approach to that infinite Weissenberg number response is dependent both on the behavior of the spring force at large force and the behavior at small force. New spring force laws to represent the worm-like chain or the freely jointed chain are correct at both of these limits, while other currently used force laws produce and error. We also investigated the applicability of these expansions to chains including hydrodynamic interactions. Our results suggest that the longest relaxation time may not be the appropriate time scale needed to non-dimensionalize the strain rate in such highly extended states.
Modelling Speculative Prefetching for Hybrid Storage Systems

Parallel storage systems have been highly scalable and widely used in support of data-intensive applications. In future systems with the nature of massive data processing and storing, hybrid storage systems opt for a solution to fulfill a variety of demands such as large storage capacity, high I/O performance and low cost. Hybrid storage systems (HSS) contain both high-end storage components (e.g. solid-state disks and hard disk drives) to guarantee performance, and low-end storage components (e.g. tapes) to reduce cost. In HSS, transferring data back and forth among solid-state disks (SSDs), hard disk drives (HDDs), and tapes plays a critical role in achieving high I/O performance. Prefetching is a promising solution to reduce the latency of data transferring in HSS. However, prefetching in the context of HSS is technically challenging due to an interesting dilemma: aggressive prefetching is required to efficiently reduce I/O latency, whereas overaggressive prefetching may waste I/O bandwidth by transferring useless data from HDDs to SSDs or from tapes to HDDs. To address this problem, we propose a multi-layer prefetching algorithm that can speculatively prefetch data from tapes to HDDs and from HDDs to SSDs. To evaluate our algorithm, we develop an analytical model and the experimental results reveal that our prefetching algorithm improves the performance in hybrid storage systems.
DINUCLEAR MU -SULFIDO COMPLEXES OF MOLYBDENUM WITH (DIMETHYLAMINO)ETHYL-SUBSTITUTED CYCLOPENTADIENYL LIGANDS

The cyclopentadienyl ligand with the (dimethylamino)ethyl substituent has been used in the synthesis of the dinuclear μ-sulfido molybdenum complex (Me2NCH2CH2CpMo(μ-S))2S2CH2, 4, and related derivatives. Complex 4 has been isolated and characterized by spectroscopic methods as well as by an X-ray diffraction study. The structure confirms a bis(μ-sulfido) derivative in which the dimethylamino substitutents of the Cp ligands are directed away from the Mo2S4 core. Protonation of 4 produces the dicationic complex with dimethylammonium substitutents, which is soluble in water and other polar solvents. Reaction of 4 with [CuOTf]2·C6H6 leads to the formation of a copper adduct [(Me2NCH2CH2CpMo(μ-S))2Cu(S2CH2)]OTF, 6a. NMR studies of 6a in CD2Cl2 suggest that the copper ion is stabilized by two sulfido ligands and by weakly coordinated dimethylamino groups.
Response time prediction in object-based, parallel embedded systems

Abstract We present techniques to support the construction of parallel, embedded systems from reusable software components. Specifically, we describe accurate and efficient performance prediction functions for processes and objects that have been assigned to processing elements (PEs) in parallel systems. The functions (1) consider load-balancing, parallelism and deadlines, (2) predict performance on the basis of projected service rates, and (3) treat PEs and communication links in an integrated manner. A quantitative evaluation has demonstrated that the functions perform well.
Association of the human papillomavirus type 11 E1/\E4 protein with cornified cell envelopes derived from infected genital epithelium

Abstract The cornified cell envelope (CCE) is an insoluble matrix of covalently linked proteins assembled in differentiating keratinocytes, providing a barrier against external insults. CCEs derived from HPV 11-infected tissue are fragile compared to those derived from healthy epithelium. To study a possible role for the E1∧E4 protein, HPV 11-infected epithelium was examined for the distribution of this protein and three CCE proteins. CCEs were then purified from genital epithelium, fragmented, washed to remove nonassociated proteins, and analyzed for E1∧E4 protein. In HPV 11-infected tissue, the E1∧E4 protein was detected in the region of the CCE in differentiated keratinocytes. Loricrin and cytokeratin 10 (K10) were absent in E1∧E4-positive cells, and E1∧E4 protein was not detected in cells containing these proteins. E1∧E4 protein was detected in immunoblots as a 10- to 11-kDa doublet in extracts of intact CCEs from infected tissue and in extracts of CCE fragments prepared without using reducing agents. Extraction with reducing agents eliminated E1∧E4 detection, suggesting that disulfide bonding was involved in the association with CCE fragments. In addition, cyanogen bromide degradation experiments, immunofluorescence, and immunoelectron microscopy provided evidence that E1∧E4 protein was associated with CCE fragments by covalent bonds other than disulfide bonds. We conclude that E1∧E4 protein expression is associated with profound alterations in detection of loricrin and K10 in HPV 11-infected genital epithelium. The E1∧E4 protein copurified with CCEs derived from infected epithelium and could be identified in CCE fragments, suggesting a possible role for E1∧E4 in the development of CCE abnormalities.
Phylogeography and Speciation of the Morphologically Variable, Widespread Species Bufo valliceps, Based on Molecular Evidence from mtDNA

The widespread, lowland toad Bufo valliceps has an unusual distribution in North and Middle America that straddles two major biogeographic areas; previous morphological studies of this species suggested the existence of two species. We used mitochondrial DNA sequences to examine the phylogeography of this species and discovered the existence of two distinct clades. We recognize these as two species: B. valliceps and B. nebulifer. These molecular data support morphological data from previous studies. Our results show low levels of molecular variation in a morphologically uniform temperate species (B. nebulifer) and high levels of molecular variation in a morphologically variable tropical species (B. valliceps), providing an example of molecules matching morphology. Two biogeographic hypotheses are tested to explain the current distribution of these species, based on a calibrated rate of evolution and the percent sequence divergence between the two species. A more recent Pleistocene dispersal event, followed by vicariance associated with rising sea level, is rejected in favor of an earlier Miocene-Pliocene vicariant hypothesis associated with the formation of the Trans-Mexican Neovolcanic Belt.
Peptide stimulation of Streptococcus faecium, a test organism for pyridoxal and pyridoxamine.

Abstract Streptococcus faecium φ51, a test organism preferred for microbiological assay of pyridoxal and pyridoxamine because of its relative insensitivity to alanine interference (1, 3, 4), has been shown to grow without vitamin B 6 in media supplemented with d -alanine, l -alanine, synthetic alanine peptides, or enzymic casein hydrolyzate. Since a 10 hr hydrolyzate of human blood can be shown to be rich in alanine peptides and to contain small amounts of free alanine, our findings suggest an explanation for the spurious high values obtained with S. faecium in estimation of the vitamin B 6 content of human blood (1, 2). When the basal medium was supplemented with vitamin B 6 -free enzymic casein hydrolyzate and dl -alanine in an attempt to suppress the growth-stimulating effect of peptides and alanine in samples, a requirement of S. faecium for vitamin B 6 could no longer be demonstrated.
First-pass extraction fraction of iodine-123 labeled perfusion tracers in living primate brain.

Abstract The cerebral extraction and retention of three radioiodinated SPECT perfusion tracers were measured using residue detection in a baboon. A permeability-surface area product PS ′ with special relevance to SPECT was calculated from the retention of tracer in the brain after 10 min. PS ′ differs from the traditional PS value, which is calculated from the tracer clearance curve at 2 min. The PS ′ values ranged from 50 to 95 mL/min/100 g, decreased in the order [ 123 I]IMP > [ 123 I]iodoperidol ≈ [ 123 I]HIPDM, and did not differ for specific activities of 10 MBq/mmol to 74 TBq/mmol. These radioiodinated compounds exhibited extraction characteristics superior to those of [ 99m Tc]HMPAO but underestimated cerebral blood flow when flows were above 20–30 mL/min/100 g, underscoring the need for development of a more ideal SPECT perfusion tracer.
Illite polytype distribution as an inorganic indicator of thermal maturity in the Smackover Formation of the Manila Embayment, southwest Alabama

Abstract Illite polytype distribution is compared to pyrolysis Tmax values in the Smackover Formation in the Manila Embayment, southwest Alabama to determine its potential as an indicator of thermal maturity. The percent 2M illite polytype (2M/1M + 2M) increases from 20 to 80% over the formation temperature interval 100–165°C and as Tmax values increase from 432 to 461°C. Illite polytype distribution is considered a good qualitative indicator of thermal maturity in the Smackover Formation of the study area. The correlation between the percentage of 2M illite and temperature and thermal maturity in the Smackover Formation is believed to be primarily the result of the diagenetic transition from the 1M to the 2M polytype. Depositional effects are manifested in four samples as anomalously high 2M polytype percentages. This variation is interpreted to be the result of locally high concentrations of detrital 2M muscovite. Because original sediment composition and illite chemistry may vary significantly both locally and regionally, illite polytype distribution is a useful thermal maturity indicator only within a particular basin, and when calibrated with other thermal maturity indicators.
Sodium Transport and Specific Antiserum

THE cytotoxic effects of tissue specific antibodies have been studied in vivo under conditions of auto-immunity (induced or idiopathic) and in vitro using cells in tissue culture1. Although much is known about the histochemical and morphological changes induced by specific antibodies, very little is known of the effect of specific antibodies on the active transport mechanisms of the cell membrane. We have used the urinary bladder of the toad (Bufo marinus) to test the effect of antibodies on the active transport of sodium.
Asymmetric Microlens Design with Tilted Elements for Removal of Ghost Images and Stray Light

Fabrication of microlens elements by grayscale lithography enables the patterning of non-rotationally symmetric surfaces. Asymmetric surfaces may be used to correct aberrations introduced when lenses are intentionally tilted to remove ghost reflections.
Neuropsychological Sequelae in a Series of Patients with End-Stage Cystic Fibrosis: Lung Transplant Evaluation

There has been a relative absence of studies that examine the neuropsychological profiles of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis. Data are presented here for 18 individuals with end-stage cystic fibrosis who were also potential candidates for lung transplantation. Neuropsychological test results indicated a diversity of memory and executive control deficits, the most frequent of which were immediate and delayed free recall and retrieval impairments on a memory measure involving noncontextual verbal material. The majority of this sample of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis also exhibited clinically significant elevations on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-2/MMPI-A), which are suggestive of heightened levels of psychological distress (e.g., depressive symptomatology) and multiple somatic complaints. These findings are discussed in light of factors associated with end-stage cystic fibrosis. Implications for clinical practice and future research are also provided.
The expanding role of air pollution in cardiovascular disease: does air pollution contribute to risk of deep vein thrombosis?

Scientific efforts to understand the health effects of air pollution and public policy efforts to control air pollution have a fascinating history. The early “killer smog” episodes in Meuse Valley, Belgium (1930), Donora, Pa (1948), and London, UK (1952) provided stark evidence of deleterious respiratory and cardiovascular health effects of severe air pollution exposure. This evidence motivated early public policy efforts to improve air quality. In the United States, Britain, and elsewhere, legislative, regulatory, and related efforts to control air pollution were initiated. Ambient air quality standards and guidelines were established. Severe air pollution episodes were largely mitigated, and concern about adverse air pollution-related health effects abated. Nearly all air pollution researchers agreed that air pollution at very high concentrations posed serious health hazards. By the late 1970s and through the 1980s, however, it was argued by many that air pollution, at levels then common to the United States and Britain, was no longer a significant threat and that the potential health effects of air pollution could not be disentangled from effects from other factors.1 Article see p 3118 In the mid-1990s, concerns about the health effects of air pollution were rekindled by several new epidemiological studies that reported health effects at unexpectedly low levels of exposure. These studies were highly controversial,2 but they prompted a reevaluation of relevant air quality standards and guidelines and a dramatic increase in health-related air pollution research. Much of the research has been focused on respiratory disease, but there is substantial and growing evidence that exposure to air pollution contributes to various cardiovascular diseases.3–5 Epidemiologically, the clinical cardiovascular health end points most compellingly linked to air pollution exposure include cardiovascular mortality, cardiovascular hospitalizations, and ischemic heart disease events. …
Effects of irradiation geometry on treatment plan optimization with linac‐based radiosurgery

A comparison was made of different treatment plans to determine the effect on the three‐dimensional dose distributions of varying the allowed parameters in linac‐based stereotactic radiosurgery with circular collimators; these parameters are arc position, length, and weighting, and collimator diameter. For the class of eccentrically shaped target volumes that are not so irregular as to require several separate isocenters, it was found that superior dose distributions could be achieved by varying arc length, arc position, arc weighting, and collimator diameter. An analysis of the results achieved with an automated planning program indicates that, in general, the variables of arc position and arc length are of greater importance than collimator size or beam weighting. However, there are cases where varying these latter two parameters does result in markedly better dose distributions. A deeper investigation into the effects of multiple collimators on the dose distribution in the area of steepest gradient demonstrated that multiple collimator sizes do not significantly degrade the dose falloff, which is in fact mostly determined by the effects of intersecting arcs.
Modeling of a gyro-stabilized helicopter camera system using artificial neural networks

On-board gimbal systems for camera stabilization in helicopters are typically based on linear models. Such models, however, are inaccurate due to system nonlinearities and complexities. As an alternative approach, artificial neural networks can provide a more accurate model of the gimbal system based on their non-linear mapping and generalization capabilities. This paper investigates the applications of artificial neural networks to model the inertial characteristics (on the azimuth axis) of the inner gimbal in a gyro-stabilized multi-gimbal system. The neural network is trained with time-domain data obtained from gyro rate sensors of an actual camera system. The network performance is evaluated and compared with measurement data and a traditional model. Computer simulation results show the neural network model fits well with the measurement data and significantly outperforms the traditional model.
Two-dimensional heterogeneous model for a reticulated-foam photocatalytic reactor

A 2-D heterogeneous convection reaction model for a gas–solid lamp-in-tube annular photocatalytic reactor is presented. The catalyst (TiO2) is supported on a reticulated-foam monolithic structure placed in the annular space between the UV lamp and the reactor wall. Mass balances for individual species are coupled through the reaction-rate expression that appears in the boundary condition at the fluid–solid interface in heterogeneous catalytic reactor models. The heterogeneous reaction rate is modeled using semiempirical Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) kinetics with adsorption constants for various species. The local volumetric rate of energy absorption (LVREA) term in the rate expression was computed using a 3-D polychromatic radiation-field model. The overall system of nonlinear partial differential equations was solved using a combination of the Crank-Nicolson method and the globally convergent Newton-Raphson method. The apparent, average quantum yield in the LHHW kinetic rate form is the single adjustable parameter in the model. Isopropanol (IPA) was chosen as the test contaminant to conduct experimental performance measurements for model validation. Model-predicted radial and axial profiles for bulk and surface concentration reveal that the extent to which mass transport influences the operation of a photocatalytic reactor is determined largely by the local magnitude of the LVREA. Similitude in the scale-up of an annular lamp-in-tube heterogeneous photocatalytic reactor is achieved only when the dimensionless radial radiation profile, as well as corresponding magnitudes of a geometric number, the Peclet number, the Stanton number, and the photocatalytic analog of the Damkohler number, are identical.
Neurologists and end-of-life decision-making: The role of “protective paternalism”

Most end-of-life care situations that neurologists mediate in intensive care units (ICUs) involve surrogate decision-makers for patients who have lost their capacity to make—or even weigh in on—such decisions. While a decision to limit life-sustaining treatment is optimally shared between a patient's medical team and family, practical difficulties often complicate this dynamic.1 Surrogates are understandably emotionally wrought and often are unsure of the patient's own wishes for prioritizing prolongation of life vs pursuing comfort measures. Efforts of a medical team to communicate with and educate surrogates on a patient's disease and prognosis may be ineffective. Moreover, a neurologist's personal or cultural background may exert a strong influence on the extent and manner to which he or she involves families in end-of-life decision-making, especially when conflict arises. Data have been published on international variations of the degree to which physicians involve families in such decisions.2 However, data specific to neurologists and ICU shared decision-making remain sparse.
Diffraction-biased shear wave fields generated with longitudinal magnetic resonance elastography drivers

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a technique for quantifying the acoustic response of biological tissues to propagating waves applied at low frequencies in order to evaluate mechanical properties. Application-specific MRE drivers are typically required to effectively deliver shear waves within the tissue of interest. Surface MRE drivers with transversely oriented vibrations have often been used to directly generate shear waves. These drivers may have disadvantages in certain applications, such as poor penetration depth and inflexible orientation. Therefore, surface MRE drivers with longitudinally oriented vibrations are used in some situations. The purpose of this work was to investigate and optimize a longitudinal driver system for MRE applications. A cone-like hemispherical distribution of shear waves being generated by these drivers and the wave propagation being governed by diffraction in the near field are shown. Using MRE visualization of the vector displacement field, we studied the properties of the shear wave field created by longitudinal MRE drivers of various sizes to identify optimum shear wave imaging planes. The results offer insights and improvements in both experimental design and imaging plane selection for 2-D MRE data acquisition.
Parameter Estimation for Truncated Exponential Families

The multiparameter exponential families of probability density functions include many commonly used densities such as the normal, gamma, and beta, and many others besides. We consider the general parameter estimation problem for these families, given observations that are restricted (i.e. truncated) to the closed interval [a,b]. We show how to find maximum likelihood estimators using Newton-Raphson iteration, but observe that in general this technique requires numerical integration within each iteration. Then we give a new non-iterative method for obtaining the desired estimators for the parameter vector. An example using the generalized Inverse Gaussian is given.
Pitch Your Project

No matter what you do later in your career, you are going to have to learn how to pitch ideas. Perhaps you will want to convince a venture capitalist to invest in your new business idea. Perhaps you will want to convince your company to develop an innovative product. Perhaps you will want to convince your board of directors that it is worth developing a new market segment. This exercise helps students practice the skill of getting other people interested in their ideas.Learning Objective: The goals of this exercise are: to practice the skill of getting other people interested in your ideas to practice the skill of helping other people develop their ideas
Elementary Educators' Perceptions of Elementary General Music Instructional Goals

The purpose of this study was to compare preservice (n = 208) and inservice (n = 73) elementary educators? perceptions of goals surrounding the elementary general music curriculum. Teachers were asked to respond to a series of instructional goals, using a Likert-type scale, related to one of five general areas: entertainment/recreation, expressive/creative, interdisciplinary, musical, and sociocultural. Although responses toward all areas were moderately positive, preservice and inservice educators differed in their values. Mean scores for the preservice teachers were more positive for each goal area except the musical category. Inservice teachers placed significantly more value on musical goals than preservice teachers. There were significant differences between groups in all goal areas except the sociocultural. Those participants who claimed to have had positive experiences with elementary music as children placed higher value on all areas of school music instruction than did those with neutral experiences.
Distribution of Functional Glutamate and GABA Receptors on Hippocampal Pyramidal Cells and Interneurons

The distribution of functional neurotransmitter receptors is an important determinant of neuronal information processing. To map the location of functional glutamate and GABA receptors on individual hippocampal neurons, we photolyzed “caged” glutamate and GABA while measuring the electrical currents resulting from activation of these receptors. Responses to uncaged neurotransmitters were spatially nonuniform and varied according to the type of receptor and type of neuron. Every region of CA1 pyramidal cells responded to glutamate and GABA, but glutamate and GABA receptors increased in density along the length of their distal dendrites. Similar gradients of glutamate receptors were found in stratum radiatum interneurons, while GABA responses were detectable only in the perisomatic region of these interneurons. These regional variations in receptor distribution indicate the selective targeting of receptors on central neurons and may reflect a mechanism for local regulation of synaptic efficacy.
Excited States of Butadiene to Chemical Accuracy: Reconciling Theory and Experiment.

We obtain the vertical excitation energies of the notoriously challenging lowest-lying dark and bright excitations of trans-butadiene to chemical accuracy using high-order equation-of-motion coupled-cluster theory. Convergence is demonstrated in both the one-particle basis set (up to augmented quintuple-zeta quality) and the coupled-cluster expansion (including up to connected quadruple excitations) within an incremental scheme. Our best estimates for the bright 1^1(B_u)^+ and dark 2^1(A_g)^– vertical transitions are 6.21 ± 0.02 eV and 6.39 ± 0.07 eV, respectively, establishing definitively that the vertical 11Bu+ transition lies below the 2^1(A_g)^– transition. Our 11Bu+ excitation energy remains significantly higher than the generally cited experimental value of 5.92 eV. To rationalize this difference, we have computed the zero-point vibrational energy corrections, which reduce the theoretical 1^1(B_u)^+ excitation energy to 6.11 eV. We also correct for nonverticality in the experimental value by recomputing the transition as the weighted intensity average of the electron impact energy loss spectra, which gives the range 5.96–6.05 eV. The corrected best theoretical and experimental 1^1(B_u)^+ excitation energies are then in good agreement, resolving a long-standing discrepancy.
Analysis of antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumonia in a children's hospital

Objective To investigate the antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumonia (Sp) isolated from children in a children's hospital and to guide the rational drug usage in clinic. Methods Bacteria strains were isolated from the nasopharyngeal secretion of children with upper respiratory tract infection from 2000 to 2001. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed with disk agar diffusion and E-test methods. Results One hundred and fifty-seven strains of Sp were isolated. The resistant rate of Sp to penicillin was 59.87% , the resistant rate to cefuroxine, cefaclor, erythromycin and tetracycline was 40.77% , 56.00% , 77.71% and 87.90% respectively, the resistant rate to chloramphenicol was low ( 33.12% ). The isolates of Sp were susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and ceftriaxone. Conclusion Antimicrobial resistance of Sp isolated from children with upper respiratory tract infection in this area is a serious problem.
The study on relationship between early damage of kidney and blood pressure variation in patients with essential hypertension

Objective To study the relationship between early damage of kidney and blood pressure variation in patients with essential hypertension.Methods Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was measured in 51 patients,29 patients of dippers and 22 patients of non-dippers. Microalbuminuria was detected by the DCA 2000 microalbuminuria/creatinine assay in all patients.Results The frequency of early damage of kidney in non-dippers was higher than that in dippers.Conclusion The patients with non-dippers are more likely to suffer from early renal damage than patients with dippers.
Analysis on the Causes of Cultural Transformation of Chinese Wushu in Its Present Development

Chinese Wushu in the era of social transformation should transform itself accordingly so as to adapt to the time.Based on the analysis of documental materials on social transformation and Wushu development,the present study sets to analyze the causes why Chinese Wushu must transform itself under the present situation from the perspectives of history,sociology and cultural study.The internal reasons are the difficult situation of competitive Wushu,traditional Wushu,school Wushu,art Wushu,Wushu research,Wushu talent training,the internationalization of Wushu,etc.While the external reasons include the transformation from a major sports country to a world sports country,the development of cultural industries,the improvement of the soft power of Chinese culture and the enhancement of national and cultural identity and so on.Besides,this thesis also studies on the practical approaches of the transformational development of Chinese Wushu on the basis of the above-mentioned studies.
Of Fear and Exaltation

AbstractThis essay considers the political economic ideology in recent popular cinematic depictions of finance in terms of Immanuel Kant’s aesthetics of the sublime. Think, for instance, of the contingent and risky peaks and valleys of the stock market’s price paths as the jagged mountains that inspire the fear and terror necessary for sublime feeling. I give a sustained reading of how the Kantian sublime operates in Neil Burger’s 2011 film Limitless. By subordinating both the technics of neuro-augmentation and the contingency of the economy to an innate human reason, the protagonist shows audiences what it might mean today to experience sublimity – but not without hinting at a latent anti-Kantian fissure that would reorient us against this bourgeois discourse.
Data-driven event detection with partial knowledge: A Hidden Structure Semi-Supervised learning method

Enabled by the advancement of data acquisition and data analysis technologies such as sensor networks and machine learning, recently data-driven event detection has shown its advantage in dealing with complex systems especially those with significant stochastic and dynamic behavior. However, existing methods usually adopt supervised learning framework and depend on explicit expert labeling in the learning phase, which is expensive even impractical in many situations. In this work, we propose a new data-driven event detection method, namely Hidden Structure Semi-Supervised Machine (HS3M), that only requires partial expert knowledge. The key idea is to combine unlabeled data and partly labeled data in a large margin learning objective to bridge the gap between supervised, semi-supervised learning and learning with hidden structures. Difficulties do arise as the incorporation of extra learning terms makes the problem non-convex. To optimize the learning objective we establish a novel global optimization algorithm, namely Parametric Dual Optimization Procedure (PDOP), by showing that the parametrized dual problem has local explicit solutions and the corresponding optimality is convex in hidden variables. The proposed approach is applied to power distribution network event detection, and the result justifies the effectiveness of both HS3M and the new global optimization algorithm.
Case Report: De Garengeot's hernia. Appendicitis within femoral hernia. Diagnosis and surgical management.

Introduction Abdominal wall hernias remain as one of the most common problems that the general surgeon has to treat. Although usually straightforward and easy to diagnose by the experienced hands, obstacles appear when contents of the hernia sac include organs. The presence of the appendix inside a femoral hernia (De Garengeot’s hernia) is a rare entity which represents multiple challenges, both diagnostic and therapeutic.
Lessons learned using boundary scan and built-in test for integration and diagnostic test of the U.S. Navy joint standoff weapon

The integration of the various hardware and software components of a newly developed system can be a difficult and time consuming task. In many cases, the factory test equipment and test programs are not normally available for testing of the first few printed wiring boards (PWBs)/subsystems/systems built. The time taken to diagnose encountered problems can mean the difference between meeting or failing to meet product delivery schedules. Well planned design for test (DFT) and test development can significantly reduce the risk and overall cycle time of the integration and testing of these early PWBs/subsystems/systems. On a recent DoD program at Texas Instruments the Built-in Test (BIT) designed for field support of the weapon system, and the boundary scan intended for factory test support, were utilized to provide improved accuracy and reduced cycle time for processor board acceptance test (AT), hardware/software integration, environmental stress screening (ESS), and for the diagnosis of problems encountered during PWB/subsystem/system Integration. This paper briefly describes the weapon system, the diagnostic requirements, and the functionality of the BIT, boundary scan and DFT implemented. These details are followed by a discussion of problems encountered and lessons learned in utilizing these field and factory test capabilities as integration and diagnostic tools in a development environment.
Demand response via large scale charging of electric vehicles

The problem of centralized scheduling of large scale charging of electric vehicles (EVs) with demand response options is considered. A stochastic dynamic programming model is introduced in which the EV charging service provider faces stochastic demand, convex non-completion penalties, and random demand response requirements. Formulated as a restless multi-armed bandit problem, the EV charging problem is shown to be indexable, thus low complexity index policies exist. An enhancement of the Whittle's index policy based on spatial interchange according to the less laxity and longer processing time (LLLP) principle is presented. Numerical results illustrate the performance improvement and the capability of handling various operation uncertainties of the proposed index policy.
The role of very high high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels on mortality after stroke.

Abstract High-sensitivity C-reaction protein (hsCRP) levels are correlated with risk of vascular disease. The clinical implications of markedly elevated hsCRP levels in the setting of acute stroke are less understood. Objective To determine the association of very high admission hsCRP levels (≥ 10 mg/L) on all-cause mortality in patients with acute stroke. Methods A retrospective cohort study of 1176 patients hospitalized with acute stroke between 2005 and 2012 who had a hsCRP assay drawn within seven days of admission. Mortality data was obtained using Ohio Death Index. Cox proportional analysis was used to determine hazard ratios of death among patients with hsCRP values > 10 mg/L after adjusting for age, sex, race and relevant co-morbid conditions. NIHSS was also adjusted in a subset of patients in whom it was available ( n = 378). Results Patients with hsCRP > 10 mg/L had 2.65 (95% CI: 1.99, 3.53) increased hazard of all-cause mortality compared to stroke patients with hsCRP ≤ 10 mg/L. Association of hsCRP with mortality was greater for patients with low NIHSS and declined in patients with increasing NIHSS scores. A higher proportion of patients with hsCRP > 10 died from nonvascular causes than patients with hsCRP ≤ 10 mg/L. Conclusion Very high levels of hsCRP may be a useful marker to identify stroke patients at increased risk for death, especially those with stroke of mild severity. More research is needed to determine how this information can be used to improve patient care, especially in patients with mild stroke.
Economic stability under alternative banking systems: Theory and policy

Abstract In this paper we show in a thought experiment that in an economy where i) investors hold rational expectations, ii) output is generated by a linear homogeneous production function, and iii) real investment is allocated across sectors according to the CAPM, a fractional reserve banking system is not Pareto efficient and amplifies the business cycle. In developing these results we show that these three well known propositions in economics also imply a new view of the business cycle, one where the business cycle is described in terms of the dispersion of an ex-ante probability distribution. The policy implication of this analysis is that bank regulation should go further than the Volcker rule or the Vickers commission proposal by restricting bank investments to currency and deposit accounts on the central bank. Nonbank financial institutions should then carry out the financial intermediation function now carried out by banks. The paper proposes that post office banking perhaps augmented with blockchain technology sometime in the future is one way to implement the transition from fractional reserve banking to full reserve banking. While little academic work has been done on full reserve banking in the aftermath of the Great Crisis, it is interesting to note that it is part of banking reform proposals now (July 2016) before the parliament in Iceland and a special national referendum in Switzerland.
Exhibiting Music in a Sound Community

Exhibiting music in a sound community announces the presence and potential of an ecological rationality. Two or more beings co-present to each other in sound resonate at the same frequency with one another and comprise a sound community. Co-presence in sound is intersubjective and relational, a subject-to-subject resonant and reciprocal way of knowing, rather than a subject-to-object, asymmetrical and manipulative knowledge. In a sound community music is communicative, as natural as breathing, participatory and exchanged freely, strengthening and sustaining individuals and communities. A sound community exhibits a sound economy, just, participatory and egalitarian. Wealth and power are widely distributed and shared, and maintained through the visible hand of democratic management. A sound economy is based in a sound ecology where exchanges are based in honest signals that invite reciprocity and trust. In a sound ecology, sound being and sound knowing lead to sound action, which is cooperative, mutually beneficial, and just.
Piecewise proportional hazards models with interval-censored data

We consider the piecewise proportional hazards (PWPH) model with interval-censored (IC) relapse times under the distribution-free set-up. The partial likelihood approach is not applicable for IC da...
Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in the Medical Setting: A Survey of the Knowledge, Discomfort, and Training of Pediatric Attending Physicians

Domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) is a severe manifestation of sexual abuse and a major domestic health issue. The adverse health consequences of DMST bring victims into contact with health ins...
Strategic equilibrium bidding for electricity suppliers in a day-ahead market using inverse optimization

We consider the problem of devising optimal bidding strategies for electricity suppliers in a day-ahead market where each supplier bids a linear non-decreasing function of its generating capacity for each of the 24 hours. The market operator schedules suppliers based on their bids to meet demand during each hour and determines hourly market clearing prices. Each supplier strives to submit bids that maximize her individual profit, conditional upon other suppliers bids. This process achieves a Nash equilibrium when no supplier is motivated to modify her bid. Solving the profit maximization problem requires information of rivals' bids which are typically not available. We develop an inverse optimization approach for estimating rivals' cost functions given historical market clearing prices and production levels, and use these functions to compute the Nash equilibrium bids. We propose sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the Nash equilibrium, and provide out-of-sample performance guarantees for the estimated cost parameters. Numerical experiments show that our approach achieves higher profit than the one proposed in [16], which relies instead on the assumption that other suppliers' bids are normally distributed.