cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Images in clinical medicine. FLT3 Mutation and acute myelogenous leukemia with leukostasis.

A 59-year-old man presented with a sudden onset of abdominal pain in the left upper quadrant, associated with low-grade fever and shortness of breath. He had had a recent relapse of acute myelogenous leukemia and had an internal-tandem-duplication mutation of Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3). His white-cell count at admission was 15,900 per cubic millimeter, with 60% monoblasts. Over the next 24 hours, his leukocyte count increased from 29,000 to 102,340 per cubic millimeter, and his monoblast count increased from 5510 to 55,264 per cubic millimeter, despite the administration of cyclophosphamide. The patient's hypoxemia worsened. Mechanical ventilation was initiated, but . . .
Characterization of linear network coding for pollution detection

While linear network coding can improve the throughput significantly in network environment with little additional computational overhead, it is fragile to communication errors and node compromising attacks. To combat the errors in network coding, both error-detection and error-correction based schemes have been proposed. In this paper, we provide a novel methodology to characterize linear network coding through error-control coding. Our main idea is to represent each linear network coding with an error-control coding. We provide comprehensive theoretical analysis on the relationships between linear network coding and error-control coding in both unicast and multicast scenarios. We find that these two codes are essentially identical in algebraic aspects. Our research provides a new approach to understand network coding schemes and also a novel methodology to develop network coding schemes that can combat communication errors and also node compromising attacks.
Late-Pleistocene Eolian Sand Sheets in Alaska

Nonglaciated lowlands in central and southwestern Alaska contain extensive deposits of upper-Quaternary eolian sand, derived largely from major outwash rivers. Although surface dunes are common, deep exposures consistently reveal that subhorizontally stratified sand and silt deposits dominate over dune cross strata. We hypothesize that (1) many of the subhorizontally stratified deposits represent full-glacial eolian sand sheets, formed when sand supply was limited by seasonally variable combinations of ice cementation, snow cover, high groundwater tables, and vegetation, and (2) many surface dunes reflect late-glacial and postglacial reworking under conditions of increased short-term availability of loose sand. The morphology of some surface dunes may therefore reflect mainly the intensity of reworking since the last glacial maximum, rather than full-glacial paleowind vectors or the age of the bulk of the underlying deposits.
Investigation of acoustic sensing for laser machining processes Part 1: Laser drilling

Abstract An acoustic sensing technique has been developed for the in-process sensing of the erosion front condition during laser machining. This paper presents an analysis of acoustic sensing for blind and through-hole drilling. Theoretical analysis of the relationship between resonant frequency and hole geometry were performed using a Helmholtz resonator and wave equation models. The theoretical estimates are compared to experimental results for the laser drilling of acrylic, aluminum oxide and steel. Process control schemes for hole depth and beam break-through regulation using acoustic sensing are proposed.
Aerosol Size Distribution, Particle Concentration, and Optical Property Variability near Caribbean Trade Cumulus Clouds: Isolating Effects of Vertical Transport and Cloud Processing from Humidification Using Aircraft Measurements

AbstractThis paper examines the effect of trade wind cumulus clouds on aerosol properties in the near-cloud environment using data from the Rain in Cumulus over the Ocean (RICO) campaign. Aerosol size distributions, particle concentrations, and optical properties are examined as a function of altitude and distance from cloud, at ambient relative humidity (RH) and adjusted to a constant RH to isolate effects of humidification from other processes.The cloud humidity halo extended about 1500–2000 m from the cloud edge, with no clear altitude dependence on horizontal extent over an altitude range of 600–1700 m. The combined effects of vertical transport of aerosol by clouds and cloud processing contributed to the modification of aerosol size distributions within the clouds' humidity halos, particularly close to the cloud boundaries. Backscatter at 532 nm, calculated from the aerosol properties, exhibited no distinguishable trend with altitude within 400 m of cloud edges, increased toward lower altitudes beyon...
Digital simulation of continuous dynamic systems: an overview

There has been a growing interest over the last decade, both in this country and abroad, in the use of the digital computer to model continuous dynamic systems. Prior to 1960, and still true in large measure today this application area had been the exclusive province of the analog computer. The initial motivation for integrating the ordinary differential equations characteristic of continuous system simulation models on the digital computer was one of accuracy; given enough time, solutions of essentially unlimited accuracy could be obtained from the digital computer. These accurate, but costly, solutions were then used as consistency checks on the many hundreds of solutions characteristic of a simulation study on a high speed electronic analog computer.
Antimetastatic effect of bromelain with or without its proteolytic and anticoagulant activity.

Bromelain, a pineapple-derived plant product, added to C57B1/6 mice laboratory chow decreased lung metastasis of Lewis lung cancer cells implanted s.c. This antimetastatic potential was demonstrated by both the active and inactive bromelain with or without proteolytic, anticoagulant properties.
Measurement of effective renal plasma flow in congestive heart failure.

In the management of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), it is often desirable to have precise knowledge of overall renal function, including the effective renal plasma flow (ERPF). It has long been recognized that ERPF is diminished in CHF. Since glomerular filtration rate is often decreased to a much lesser extent, other noninvasive procedures such as the measurement of creatinine clearances may not be entirely suitable. ERPF determination by the single plasma sampling (SPS) method affords a rapid, simple, noninvasive, and economical technique that is quite accurate and reproductible. A SPS method has been well-tested in patients following renal transplantation plus a wide variety of nephrological disorders. We have been concerned whether the SPS method would be valid in volume expanded patients.
Reduction of oligopeptides to amino alcohols with borane.

Abstract Reduction of olipopeptides to amino alcohols with borane in tetrahydrofuran is investigated and optimized. The products are characterized by thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry. The method proves to be side-product-free and very fast; complete derivatization is achieved within 4 h.
Fiscal federalism, jurisdictional competition, and the size of government

Fiscal federalism is commonly held to reduce the size of government, but how does it do so: through shrinking the welfare state, cutting government consumption, or reducing public investment? This paper examines tax competition under fiscal federalism through the lens of imperfect competition theory, derives new empirical implications from different theories of fiscal federalism, and tests those hypotheses with new variables and data. Cross-national statistical results show that jurisdictional competition under fiscal federalism is associated with reductions in the administrative expense of government but not the size of the welfare state. Moreover, the apparent impact of fiscal federalism with a high degree of jurisdictional competition is larger than that estimated in previous research. Once the models have been appropriately specified, the United States is no longer an outlier among high-income democracies on either government consumption or social spending. Close examination of the data reveals that some fiscally federal systems better approximate a “market-preserving model” and others a “capital-privileging” or “state-corroding” model.
Central-peripheral chemoreceptor ventilatory interaction in awake goats.

Abstract This study was designed to characterize the ventilatory interaction between central and carotid body (CB) chemoreceptor stimulation in awake goats undergoing selective CB perfusion. This model allowed us to expose central and CB chemoreceptors to separate blood gas conditions in an animal that is conscious and not systemically hypoxic. Systemic CO 2 ventilatory response curves, performed by progressively increasing FI CO2 in systemic hyperoxia, were completed in 7 goats during CB perfusion with hypercapnic-hypoxic blood and normocapnic-normoxic blood, and in 3 goats without CB perfusion. The slopes of the curves done with perfusion were not significantly different ( P > 0.05 ) in CB hypercapnic hypoxia and CB normocapnic normoxia for V E , V T , f and V T /T I , and the coefficients of variation of slopes generated with and without perfusion were similar. Our data indicate there is addition of central and CB chemoreceptor input in respiratory control, and we conclude that the previously demonstrated stimulus interaction at the CB is the primary source of the hyperadditive hypercapnic-hypoxic ventilatory interaction in an animal unaffected by anesthetics or brain hypoxia.
Effect of Various Alcohols on Lactose

Abstract The types of lactose resulting from treatment with various alcohols were studied. Conversion of α-hydrate to the stable anhydrous form of lactose was similar in ethanol, propanol, butanol, and isobutanol; the reaction was slow at room temperature but at refluxing temperature was usually complete in 1 h. The reaction was slowed by increasing moisture content in the alcohol, becoming inhibited at 2 to 2.5% moisture, depending on whether the moisture was added or came from the water of crystallization. Converson from α-hydrate to stable-α slowed as the alcohol chain length increased, particularly in the presence of moisture. The product also became more variable. The product of concentrated lactose solution added to methanol contained only anhydrous lactose but at the normal alpha:beta ratio. With moisture content above 10%, some α-hydrate was formed, but at a normal ratio, suggesting either insufficient time and/or insufficient moisture for mutarotation. Above 15% moisture, α-hydrate increased until at 35% moisture α-hydrate became the entire product. Product composition could be controlled by starting with either alpha-or beta-lactose and allowing mutarotation to produce the desired composition before the solution was added to methanol. An explanation is proposed for the transient milldness that sometimes results when lactose solutions and organic solvents are mixed: the milldness is due to the formation of minute α-stable crystals temporarily formed at critical amounts of lactose, moisture, and solvent, with too much moisture preventing formation because of high solubility, and too much solvent resulting in permanent precipitation.
β-Catenin-Dependent Wnt Signaling in C. elegans: Teaching an Old Dog a New Trick

Wnt signaling is an evolutionarily ancient pathway used to regulate many events during metazoan development. Genetic results from Caenorhabditis elegans more than a dozen years ago suggested that Wnt signaling in this nematode worm might be different than in vertebrates and Drosophila: the worm had a small number of Wnts, too many β-catenins, and some Wnt pathway components functioned in an opposite manner than in other species. Work over the ensuing years has clarified that C. elegans does possess a canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway similar to that in other metazoans, but that the majority of Wnt signaling in this species may proceed via a variant Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway that uses some new components (mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling enzymes), and in which some conserved pathway components (β-catenin, T-cell factor [TCF]) are used in new and interesting ways. This review summarizes our current understanding of the canonical and novel TCF/β-catenin-dependent signaling pathways in C. elegans.
Theoretical models, assessment frameworks and test construction

The article reviews the usefulness of several models of proficiency that have influenced second language testing in the last two decades. The review indicates that several factors contribute to the...
Cohort analysis finds that the proportion of people who meet high risk criteria for colorectal, breast or prostate cancer screening based on family history increases between age 30 and 50.

Commentary on: A Ziogas, NK Horick, AY Kinney, et al.. Clinically relevant changes in family history of cancer over time.JAMA2011;306:172–8.
Stoichiometry and microstructure effects on tungsten oxide chemiresistive films

Abstract Highly oriented tungsten trioxide thin films have been grown on (0 1 2) r-cut sapphire substrates using reactive rf magnetron sputtering of a tungsten metal target in various oxygen/argon mixtures. Parameters for growth of stoichiometric tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) films were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In situ four-point Van der Pauw conductivity measurements were performed on as-grown films and after post-deposition annealing to study changes in the oxygen vacancy population. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicate that stoichiometric WO 3 films deposited at 450°C are dominated by the tetragonal phase with (0 0 1) orientation along the growth direction, and films deposited at 650°C possess coexisting (0 0 2), (0 2 0), and (2 0 0) in-plane orientations of the monoclinic phase. Tetragonal and monoclinic-phase WO 3 films exhibit a change in conductivity of 0.1 Ω −1 cm −1 to 20 ppm H 2 S at 250°C, but display different response kinetics.
Soybean aphid intrabiotype variability based on colonization of specific soybean genotypes

The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is one of the most destructive insect pests on soybeans in the United States. One method for managing this pest is through host plant resistance. Since its arrival in 2000, 4 aphid biotypes have been identified that are able to overcome soybean aphid resistance (Rag) genes. A soybean aphid isolate collected from Moline, Illinois readily colonized soybean plants with the soybean aphid resistance gene Rag2, unlike biotypes 1 and 2, but similar to soybean aphid biotype 3. Two no-choice experiments compared the virulence of the Moline isolate with biotype 3. In both experiments, differences in aphid population counts were not significant (P > 0.05) on soybean genotypes LD08-12957a (Rag2) and LD11-5413a (Rag2), but the aphid counts for the Moline isolate were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than the aphid counts for the biotype 3 isolate on the soybean genotypes Dowling (Rag1), LD05-16611 (Rag1), LD11-4576a (Rag1), and PI 567598B (rag1b and rag3). The Moline isolate was a variant of aphid biotype 3, which is the first report showing that soybean aphid isolates classified as the same biotype, based on virulence against specific Rag genes, can differ in aggressiveness or ability to colonize specific host genotypes.
Familial trembling of the chin.

Summary 1. This is the second family to be reported in the American literature with familial trembling of the chin. 2. This is the first report of electroencephalograms of these patients. 3. Further therapeutic trials with tranquilizers or anticonvulsant therapy should be evaluated.
Traveling-wave photodetector design and measurements

A simple and accurate design method for traveling-wave photodetectors is presented and illustrated by example. Fully distributed, hybrid-coplanar, traveling-wave photodetectors are designed. Linear and nonlinear responses are measured, and linear responses are compared with design predictions. Record bandwidths of 190 GHz and record bandwidth-efficiency products of 84 GHz are measured. Behavior under high-power illumination is investigated and contrasted with lumped-element photodetectors. A phenomenological model, implying fundamental bandwidth-power limitations, is used to interpret the results.
Model life tables for the smaller new world monkeys.

Mortality statistics from five populations of small New World monkeys (includinsg Callithrix jaccus, Leontopithecus rosalia, Saguinus fuscicollis, and Saguinus oedipus) were combined to generate a standard model life table reflecting the mortality patterns of these primates. The model is applied to three individual populations to illustrate a strategy for smoothing and interpolating mortality statistics of varying completeness and quality. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Citizenship and Sustainability: Toward Global‐Reach Curricula

: [sustainability, curriculum development, global citizenship, global sustainability, education, University of South Florida]
PriceMyRoute: a competitive pricing strategy for internet connectivity service providers

Traditional interdomain routing algorithms such as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) rely on bilateral peering agreements between service providers to support end-to-end connectivity in the Internet. Network end users have very little control in the selection of these routes. Instead, network users are given a route to their destination with little or no assurances on its availability or performance. This traditional approach is not likely to work well for many rapidly growing streaming and gaming applications because their performance benefits significantly from better-than-best-effort connectivity. One possible approach for supporting such connectivity is to rely on a market-based mechanism through which network end users can shop and purchase interdomain routes of their choice. This paper envisions such a market in the near future. The paper then proposes a pricing strategy for connectivity service providers, called PriceMyRoute. The strategy allows multiple service providers to effectively compete with each other in order to offer the end-to-end connections requested by network users. The approach is likely to succeed because: (i) it offers monetary compensation to service providers for providing the routing flexibility to network users, and (ii) the improved performance is an incentive for network users to purchase better-than-best-effort end-to-end connectivity. The paper compares the effectiveness of the proposed strategy with that of RouteBazaar, a recent related scheme from literature [4]. The comparison shows that both service providers and network users are likely to be more satisfied using the proposed strategy as compared to RouteBazaar.
A method to exclude nitrate from Kjeldahl digestion of plant tissues

Abstract A micro‐Kjeldahl method suitable for use with a commercial block digestor is described which minimizes NO3‐N reduction during digestion and also reduces foaming. One hundred mg plant tissue are pretreated with 3 ml H2O2 at 100° C for 15 min. This is followed by addition of concentrated H2SO4, K2SO4, and catalyst, and digestion at 360° C for 1 hr. With H2O2 added after the H2SO4, 40% of the NO3‐N was reduced over a range in the tissue from 0.25% to 1.5% NO3‐N. With the H2O2 pretreatment essentially none of the NO3‐N was reduced. Total nitrogen, (reduced N determined by the proposed method plus nitrate, measured separately) was analyzed for 9 species ranging in NO3‐N from 0 to 0.73% and in total N from 1.4 to 4.4%. The results agree well with the AOAC method 2.052 (1).
Hart's critics on defeasible concepts and ascriptivism

Hart’s "Ascription of Responsibility and Rights" is where we find perhaps the first clear pronouncement of defeasibility and the technical introduction of the term. The paper has been criticised, disavowed, and never quite fully redeemed. Its lurid history is now being used as an excuse for dismissing the importance of defeasibility. Quite to the contrary, Hart’s introduction of defeasibility has uniformly been regarded as the most agreeable part of the paper. The critics’ wish that defeasibility could be better expounded along the lines of a Wittgensteinian game-theoretic semantics has largely been fulfilled. Even the most contentious part of the paper, Hart’s claim that the ascription of acts implies responsibility, is not as mistaken as some have taken it to be. The paper remains a paragon of clarity in the important and active scholarly area that crosses legal reasoning, language, and logic. Precis given at the Fifth Intl. Conf. on AI and Law, Washington D.C., May 1995
Genetic variations in angiogenesis pathway genes associated with clinical outcome in localized gastric adenocarcinoma

Background: Angiogenesis has been attributed to be a well-recognized aspect of human cancer biology. As such, proteinase-activated receptor (PAR)-1, endostatin (ES) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) mediate the regulation of early-onset angiogenesis and in turn impact the process of tumor-growth and disease progression. Patients and methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues were obtained from 137 patients with localized gastric cancer at University of Southern California and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center medical facilities. DNA was extracted and genotyping was carried out using PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism-based protocols. Results: In false discovery rate-adjusted univariate analysis, PAR-1 −506 ins/del (P A (P = 0.004), and IL-8 −251 T>A (P < 0.0001) were associated with time to tumor recurrence (TTR). Further, PAR-1 −506 ins/del and IL-8 −251 were associated with overall survival (OS). After adjusting for covariates, IL-8 remained significantly associated with TTR (adjusted P = 0.003) and OS (adjusted P = 0.049), whereas ES was significantly associated with TTR (adjusted P = 0.026). Conclusions: Polymorphisms in PAR-1, ES, and IL-8 may serve as independent molecular prognostic markers in patients with localized gastric adenocarcinoma. The assessment of the patients’ individual risk on the basis of interindividual genotypes may therefore help to identify patient subgroups at high risk for poor clinical outcome.
In Vitro and In Vivo Antifungal Activity of Amphotericin B Lipid Complex: Are Phospholipases Important?

Amphotericin B lipid complex for injection (ABLC) is a suspension of amphotericin B complexed with the lipids l-α-dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and l-α-dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol. ABLC is less toxic than amphotericin B deoxycholate (AmB-d), while it maintains the antifungal activity of AmB-d. Active amphotericin B can be released from ABLC by exogenously added (snake venom, bacteria, or Candida-derived) phospholipases or by phospholipases derived from activated mammalian vascular tissue (rat arteries). Such extracellular phospholipases are capable of hydrolyzing the major lipid in ABLC. Mutants of C. albicans that were resistant to ABLC but not AmB-d in vitro were deficient in extracellular phospholipase activity, as measured on egg yolk agar or as measured by their ability to hydrolyze DMPC in ABLC. ABLC was nevertheless effective in the treatment of experimental murine infections produced by these mutants. Isolates of Aspergillus species, apparently resistant to ABLC in vitro (but susceptible to AmB-d), were also susceptible to ABLC in vivo. We suggest that routine in vitro susceptibility tests with ABLC itself as the test material may not accurately predict the in vivo activity of ABLC and that the enhanced therapeutic index of ABLC relative to that of AmB-d in vivo may be due, in part, to the selective release of active amphotericin B from the complex at sites of fungal infection through the action of fungal or host cell-derived phospholipases.
Conservation genetics of the broadstripe shiner, Pteronotropis euryzonus, an endemic species of the middle Chattahoochee River

The broadstripe shiner, Pteronotropis euryzonus is a freshwater minnow endemic to a small area that includes the tributaries of the middle and lower Chattahoochee River in Alabama and Georgia. Populations of P. euryzonus appear fragmented because individuals have not been detected in the main channel. This suggests limited dispersal potential and low gene flow between populations, and previous studies have suggested multiple forms of P. euryzonus in the Chattahoochee. In total, 125 samples of P. euryzonus were collected for genetic analysis from 23 sites in 11 tributaries of the Chattahoochee River, and museum specimens were used for morphometric analyses. The mitochondrial genes cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and cytochrome b (cytb) were used to assess the genetic structure of P. euryzonus throughout its range. Geometric morphometrics were used to quantify shape variation among populations. Results suggest the presence of three genetically distinct populations: Northern, Pataula, and Southern, which also exhibit distinct morphologies. These populations support previous hypotheses of multiple forms of P. euryzonus in the Chattahoochee River. The presence of three genetically and morphologically distinct populations has significant conservation implications for P. euryzonus, which is currently listed as imperilled in both Alabama and Georgia. Three distinct populations, a restricted range, and recent disturbance to gene flow from local infrastructure may necessitate further protections to prevent extirpation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Germania Fluggesellschaft MBH (A)

This case accompanies the A case (UVA-QA-0620) and contains a ready-made estimation of the competitors' payoff matrices.
Patent Reform in 2008

The possibility of the most significant restructuring of patent law in 56 years is growing increasingly likely. In January 2008, the Senate Judiciary Committee released a draft report on the Senate’s patent reform proposal, Senate bill 1145. The draft report, described by one commentator as “comprehensive and methodical”, sets the stage for final committee approval and debate on the Senate proposal later this spring.The current Patent Act was last substantially revised in 1952. While there have been a number of amendments and modifications over the last 55 years, it has become clear that U.S. patent law has struggled to keep up with the challenges of a technological and global marketplace. The number of patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has increased dramatically over the last twenty years. This increase has been largely attributed to the growth of technology and the rise of the “business methods” patents. However, this has also raised questions as to whether patents are granted too readily or the standards for obtaining a patent are too low.
Allocation Efficiency in a Traditional Indian Agriculture

The hypothesis that Indian cultivators who use traditional technology make rational profit maximizing allocations of factors was tested by observation of the allocation of four major inputs to four production alternatives for 43 farms in north central India. The measurements were made during the peak period of agricultural activity when factor-product allocations are truly competitive. Production functions were determined and the implicit marginal product of each factor and the implicit value of each product were calculated at the mean levels of input and expected output. The calculated relative prices implicit in the factor-product allocations conformed, within error limits, to expectations of profit maximizing behavior derived from a static neoclassical model. When the calculated relative implicit product prices were expanded to the market price level, they were in close correspondence with prices prevailing in the local market town.
Professionalism, Higher Education, and American Culture: Burton J. Bledstein's The Culture of Professionalism

Burton Bledstein classed his book The Culture of Professionalism with the work of the giants in American academik history. He suggested that his theory of the culture of professionalism ranked in significance with Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis, Charles A. Beard's industrialization theories, and Perry Miller's analysis of Puritanism. Bledstein's fresh historical perspective on higher education and his skepticism regarding professional authority no doubt were shaped by his experiences at elite public and private institutions, the University of California at Los Angeles (B.A., 1959) and Princeton (Ph.D., 1967). He has spent his whole professional life at one public institution, the University of Illinois at Chicago, with brief interludes provided by fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities (1972-73) and the University of Chicago (1977-78), the latter in recognition of his book.1 The Culture of Professionalism was well received in the world of academic publishing. It was reviewed extensively in law, medicine, social
Identifying Spiritual Landscapes among Oncology Patients

An oncology chaplain describes the landscape of many oncology patients' worlds. To enable chaplains to invite cancer patients and their family members towards better coping and spiritual growth, the article identifies spiritual movement within a cancer journey, opportunities for chaplain intervention, and coping styles at various points in the disease process.
Towards 3D full-wave inversion for GPR

Full-wave inversion (FWI) for GPR is an imaging approach in which one tries to determine the parameters describing the subsurface (such as permittivity and permeability) which would best reproduce the observed data, via a non-linear least-squares optimisation problem. The approach can account for multiple-scattering and multi-path information in the data, and results in quantitative information about the subsurface. The method is now well studied for seismic imaging, as well as for GPR imaging in 2D. However, taking a 2D imaging approach limits the applicability and accuracy of FWI whenever significant 3D effects have been observed, such as out-of-plane scattering. We present a theoretical approach to FWI for GPR in 3D, which utilises Total Variation regularisation and a novel Hessian approximation, as well as a coupled finite-element boundary-integral solver for Maxwell's equations to simulate the GPR forward problem. We test the algorithm with a numerical experiment into the reconstruction of a domain containing nearby targets buried in a cluttered, stochastically varying, background soil medium.
Adaptive Control of Flexible Structures Using a Nonlinear Vibration Absorber

A nonlinear adaptive vibration absorber to control the vibrations offlexible structures is investigated. The absorber is based on thesaturation phenomenon associated with dynamical systems possessingquadratic nonlinearities and a two-to-one internal resonance. Thetechnique is implemented by coupling a second-order controller with thestructure through a sensor and an actuator. Energy is exchanged betweenthe structure and the controller and, near resonance, the structure'sresponse saturates to a small value.
On the effects of fiber length and spatial distribution on the stiffness of short-fiber reinforced composites

We report on the results of a computational investigation of the effect of fiber aspect ratio (a r ) on the stiffness of composite rods reinforced with rigid spheroidal inclusions. The reinforcing spheroids are randomly placed within the containing rod and are also perfectly aligned with the tensile axis. Attention is focused in the interesting region of low (a r ), where the stiffness of the composite rod is known to be most sensitive on (a r ). Use of low aspect ratio fibers makes the results of this analysis suitable for a class of processed materials, such as whisker-reinforced metal-matrix composites and extruded or molded short-fiber-reinforced polymers. We consider steady-state three-dimensional deformations of composite rods containing up to 50 individual, randomly placed aligned spheroids. The equations of elasticity for the entire multi-fiber assembly are solved using the Boundary Element Method (BEM), implemented on a four-processor server and the force needed to impose a certain tensile deformation on the composite is computed. From this, an effective tensile modulus is obtained. Statistical averages of the computed effective moduli are compared to the predictions of the Mori-Tanaka model for the stiffness of short fiber composites. We find a good agreement at low values of (a r ). Additionally, we investigate the effect on stiffness of random perturbations in fiber length around a mean value.
A Study of Reverse Leaks

The penetration of a background gas into a higher pressure gas source, what we call a "reverse leak", is of interest in a number of applications. Protection of the cold optical components of infrared telescopes is one example (Ref. 1). Another is the escape to the high pressure region of small amounts of toxic materials through microscopic holes in a pressure barrier, for example tritium escaping the interior of a fusion reactor (Ref. 2). A third example of background penetration into a source region is the Jet Membrane isotope separation scheme (Ref. 3).
Fichte, Transcendental Ontology, and the Ethics of Belief

Fichte’s Jena Wissenschaftslehre is often thought to occupy a standpoint from which claims about what there really is, as opposed to claims about how we necessarily represent things to be, are metaphilosophically prohibited or methodologically precluded. In this chapter I argue that for Fichte a transcendental account of the necessary conditions for knowing supports an accordant understanding of the basic nature of being. These are linked by a reconception of the nature of rationality, and thus of rational justification, that Fichte’s transcendental epistemology secures and which his ontology draws on and develops. In particular, his account of the nature of rationality issues in a distinctive form of nonevidentialism, according to which we possess unimpeachable rational grounds, albeit not narrowly evidential ones, for assent to certain metaphysical claims.
Synthesis and characterization of nanoparticles of wurtzite aluminum nitride from various nut shells

Abstract Nanoparticles of Aluminum Nitride (AlN) were synthesized from a thermal treatment of mixtures of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and either shells of almond, cashew, coconuts, pistachio, or walnuts in a nitrogen atmosphere at temperatures in excess of 1450 °C. By selecting the appropriate ratios of each nutshell powder to Al2O3, it is demonstrated that stoichiometric aluminum nitride is produced via carbo-thermal reduction in nitrogen atmosphere. In addition, results show the formation of Al from Al2O3 before transformation to AlN. On the other hand, when Al was mixed with nutshell powder first, mixed phases of AlN and Al4C3 were formed before complete transformation to AlN. X-ray diffraction analysis, Raman scattering and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy confirmed the wurtzite phase of aluminum nitride. Transmission electron microscopy indicated the formation of AlN nanoparticles. The formation of AlN from nutshells offers a simple route and avoids multiple-step processes involving carbon rich agents at elevated temperatures.
Classification of Image Distortions for Image Quality Assessment

No Reference Image Quality Assessment (NR-IQA) refers to automatic quality assessment of an image using an algorithm such that the only information that the algorithm receives is the distorted image. Moreover, the general purpose NR-IQA algorithms predicts the quality of image with no information about the distortion that affecting the tested image. BIQI framework [1] classifies the distortions in the distorted image first, and then followed by distortion-specific quality assessment method to predict the final quality score. In this paper, we improve the classification portion by investigating the performance of different classification techniques and different features. Each features in our features collection is evaluated using different features evaluation techniques. We constructed a set of optimal features that classify image distortions with a high accuracy rate. Furthermore, we find that the best performing classifier is multiclass classifier (Exhaustive Correction Code) with logistic regression as base classifier. Our evaluation shows that our trained model outperforms state-of-the-art classification methods.
Acute Treatment Patterns for Lower Extremity Trauma in the United States: Flaps versus Amputation.

Background Treatment algorithms for large soft tissue defects in lower extremity trauma are not clearly defined. The aim of this study is to determine if there are geographic or demographic differences in the management of open tibia fractures with soft tissue defects requiring either soft tissue reconstruction or amputation in the United States (US). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), 2000 to 2011. We evaluated flap and amputation rates in the open tibia fractures with soft tissue defects based on geographic and socioeconomic factors. Results From 2000 to 2011, there were 175,283 open tibia fractures in the US; 7.2% (n = 12,620) had a concomitant soft tissue defect requiring either flap or amputation. The overall flap rate was 73.2% (n = 9,235). When compared with the South at 68%, flap rates were highest in the West at 79% (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.06; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.49, 2.86; p Conclusions Reconstruction rates were significantly higher in three major US regions when compared with the South, urban hospitals in the West and Northeast, and the highest income quartile.
A unified Bayesian approach to extract network-based functional differences from a heterogeneous patient cohort

We present a generative Bayesian framework that automatically extracts the hubs of altered functional connectivity between a neurotypical and a patient group, while simultaneously incorporating an observed clinical severity measure for each patient. The key to our framework is the latent or hidden organization in the brain that we cannot directly access. Instead, we observe noisy measurements of the latent structure through functional connectivity data. We derive a variational EM algorithm to infer both the latent network topology and the unknown model parameters. We demonstrate the robustness and clinical relevance of our model on a population study of autism acquired at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD. Our model results implicate a more diverse pattern of functional differences than two baseline techniques, which do not incorporate patient heterogeneity.
The Impact of Latino Values and Cultural Beliefs on Brain Donation: Results of a Pilot Study to Develop Culturally Appropriate Materials and Methods to Increase Rates of Brain Donation in this Under-Studied Patient Group.

Objectives: Increasing the number of Latino persons with dementia who consent to brain donation (BD) upon death is an important public health goal that has not yet been realized. This study identif...
Marination and cooking performance of portioned broiler breast fillets with the wooden breast condition

ABSTRACT The wooden breast (WB) condition in broiler breast meat negatively influences technological meat quality. However, it is unknown if the WB effects are uniform throughout the Pectoralis major. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of WB on the marination and cooking performance of the dorsal and ventral portions of broiler breast fillets. Sixty butterfly breast fillets were collected from the deboning line of a commercial plant and sorted into normal (no WB) and severe WB categories. Each fillet was horizontally portioned into dorsal and ventral halves. Portions from one side of each butterfly were used as non-marinated controls, while portions from the other side were vacuum-tumble marinated (16 rpm, −0.6 atm, 4°C, 20 min) with 20% (wt/wt) marinade to meat ratio. Marinade was formulated to target a final concentration of 0.75% salt and 0.45% sodium tripolyphosphate in the final product. Samples were cooked to 78°C in a combination oven. Marinade uptake and retention were lower (P
CASE STUDIES ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER EXPRESSION IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

Lori Messinger and Deana F. Morrow, eds. (2006). New York: Columbia University Press (224 pp., $29.50, softcover, ISBN# 1780231127431) This case study workbook can be used to complement Messinger a...
Professionalism and Matthew Shardlake

This Essay/Book Review examines the Matthew Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom. In particular, it examines the question of whether the sixteenth-century fictional lawyer Shardlake can serve as a role model for twenty-first-century lawyers, both in terms of his ethics and his professionalism. An examination of the Shardlake series as a whole yields some uncertain answers, both as to Shardlake and as to what it means to be an ethical and professional lawyer. This is ultimately part of what makes the series so enjoyable for lawyers.
Structured Operational Data Sets from Arbitrarily Arranged Computer Graphic Symbols

A method is presented for generating operational graphic and computational data sets from an arbitrary arrangement of symbols on a computer graphic display console. Graphical data sets are formed by first developing the desired engineering symbols by means of the GRAF language, and then structuring the symbol reference points, types, and identifiers by a unique dot-grid display. Computational data sets are then formed by relating the design parameters and computational steps to the graphical data sets by assigning state points to the display of symbols on the CRT.
Affirmative Disclosure at the FTC: Communication Decisions:

This paper builds on previous work by the author on a framework for understanding affirmative action orders by the FTC. Specifically, this paper looks at the more detailed elements of the disclosur...
Simulation and Implementation of a SPWM Inverter Pulse Generator Circuit for Educational Purposes

Abstract This paper aims to develop and implement an educational kit for a Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) inverter pulse generator circuit, which can be used to educate Electronics Engineering undergraduate students the structure and behavior of a SPWM’s inverter pulse generator. The developed electronic circuit is simulated and implemented using low cost and reliable electronic parts. The concept is to offer under/postgraduate students the opportunity to deeply understand how a SPWM pulse generator works, by virtually and practically experimenting with the pulse generator itself creating the necessary models in the popular platform of MULTISIM (Simulation Tool of National Instruments) and designing/constructing the respective PCB circuits in the also popular platform of ULTIBOARD (Circuit Design Tool of National Instruments). This work is also useful for engineers who deal with operation and maintenance (O&M) of inverters, because it provides a deeper knowledge and understanding of all operational characteristics of every stage of the SPWM electronic pulse generator of an inverter.
Busulfan Pharmacokinetics Using 25% Adjusted Body Weight in Obese Stem Cell Transplant Patients

Introduction The use of adjusted body weight for dosing of conditioning chemotherapy is recommended in obese stem cell transplant (SCT) patients. Busulfan (Bu), specifically, has several acceptable dosing regimens per evidence based guidelines. We evaluated whether a 25% correction in dosing weight may underestimate the targeted area under the curve (AUC) for this narrow therapeutic agent. Objectives The primary objective was the number of patients requiring a clinically relevant PK-guided dose adjustment (change in dose of 10% or more). Secondary objectives include any increase or decrease in dosing, as well as the magnitude of dose adjustments. Methods Single center retrospective chart review of adult obese SCT patients receiving Bu as a part of their conditioning regimen. Bu was administered intravenously once daily at a dose of 130 mg/m2 for 4 planned doses in the allogeneic (allo) and 3 planned in the autologous (auto) population with an AUC goal of 5000 µmol*min/dose. The dose was calculated using the 25% adjusted body weight equation (AdjBW25) and pharmacokinetic (PK) samples were sent from the first day of Bu. Results Fifty-five obese SCT patients (51 allo and 4 auto) were identified between 2017 to 2019 who underwent PK levels with Bu. Majority of allo patients were transplanted for acute myeloid leukemia (61%); received matched unrelated (43%) or matched related donor transplants (33%), and received fludarabine/Bu (95%) based conditioning. All the auto patients received thiotepa, Bu, and cyclophosphamide (TBC) regimen. Forty-four (80%) patients required a clinically relevant dose adjustment. In the allo SCT group, 45/51 (88%) patients required a dose change with 36 (71%) requiring a median increase in dose by 37% (range 3 -126%) and 9 (18%) requiring a median decrease in dose by 12% (range 7-29%). Following the first dose, the median AUC was 4318 µmol*min (range 2994 - 5854 µmol*min) and after PK-guided adjustment the median AUC of all doses was 4934 µmol*min (range 4215 - 5061 µmol*min). In the auto SCT group, 4/4 (100%) patients required a dose change with 1 (25%) requiring an increase in dose by 28%, and 3 (75%) requiring a median decrease in dose by 100% (range 13 – 100%). Following the first dose, the median AUC was 6285 µmol*min (range 4213 - 8995 µmol*min) and after PK-guided adjustment the median AUC of all doses was 4948 µmol*min (range 4609 - 5997 µmol*min). Conclusion Overall, the majority of our allo SCT patients required a clinically significant increase in Bu dose. However, in our auto SCT patients, the majority required a significant decrease in dose that translated into omitting the last dose in two patients. Using PK-guided dose adjustments were critical in achieving our desired AUC goal and, based on our findings, using AdjBW25 may not be adequate. Further studies are warranted to identify the most appropriate dosing weight for obese patients, as well as allo versus auto recipients.
To control the covid-19 outbreak, young, healthy patients should avoid the emergency department.

Young, healthy people with symptoms of covid-19 can help to prevent outbreaks in emergency departments where our society’s sickest will be seeking care, says Abraar Karan
Does Preventive Care Reduce Severe Pediatric Dental Caries

INTRODUCTION Tertiary oral health services (caries-related surgery, sedation, and emergency department visits) represent high-cost and ineffective ways to improve a child's oral health. We measured the impact of increased Texas Medicaid reimbursements for preventive dental care on use of tertiary oral health services. METHODS We used difference-in-differences models to compare the effect of a policy change among children (≤9 y) enrolled in Medicaid in Texas and Florida. Linear regression models estimated 4 outcomes: preventive care dental visit, dental sedation, emergency department use, and surgical event. RESULTS Increased preventive care visits led to increased sedation visits (1.7 percentage points, P < .001) and decreased emergency department visits (0.3 percentage points, P < .001) for children aged 9 years or younger. We saw no significant change in dental surgical rates associated with increased preventive dental care reimbursements. CONCLUSION Increased access to preventive dentistry was not associated with improved long-term oral health of Medicaid-enrolled children. Policies that aim to improve the oral health of children may increase the effectiveness of preventive dentistry by also targeting other social determinants of oral health.