cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radiation Injuries, Triage, and Treatment after a Nuclear Terrorist Attack

The treatment of injuries from a nuclear weapon or a radioactive dispersal device most likely will be in a mass casualty scenario. Radiation injuries complicate the treatment process, with increased emphasis on early intervention. The care of patients must proceed in an orderly fashion. If radiation injury occurs as part of a mass casualty, some organized method of triage, decontamination, evacuation, and treatment must be implemented. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons should plan to become integral members of the treatment team, especially considering their wide scope of training. It is important for all health care providers to become familiar with the types of injuries that can be expected after a radiologic attack and the treatment modalities that can preserve life should such a catastrophe occur.
Parent–Adolescent Communication and Psychological Symptoms among Adolescents with Chronically Ill Parents

Objective To examine the psychological adjustment of adolescents living with a chronically ill parent and the relationship between psychological symptoms and communication with both their healthy and ill parents. Method Adolescents, healthy parents, and ill parents from 38 families completed questionnaires regarding adolescent psychological symptoms, including posttraumatic stress symptoms, and parent-adolescent communication. Results Adolescent anxiety, depression, and behavior problems were within the subclinical ranges while approximately one-third of adolescents reported clinical levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Openness, but not problems, in communication between adolescents and their parents varied as a function of the parent's health status (healthy or ill) and parent sex. Adolescents reported poorer communication with healthy mothers; however only the quality of communication with healthy parents was related to adolescent psychological symptoms. Conclusions Many adolescents with severely ill parents appear to experience clinically significant posttraumatic stress symptoms, therefore assessment for these symptoms in this population is important. Communication with a healthy parent may serve significant and unique functions for adolescents with ill parents, making communication between adolescents and their healthy parent a potentially useful target for clinical intervention.
Internally iterative improvement of optical tomographic reconstructions.

An iterative improvement of minimum-norm least-squares estimates for values in limited-angle reconstruction is presented. Implementation provides considerable improvement over noniterative methods for reconstructions with total angles less than 90° with redundant data and requires considerably less computation time than do globally iterative schemes.
Relative Influence of Antibiotic Therapy Attributes on Physician Choice in Treating Acute Uncomplicated Pyelonephritis

Background. Reducing excess duration of antibiotic therapy is a strategy for limiting the spread of antibiotic resistance, but altering physician practice to accomplish this requires knowledge of t...
Evaluation of potential near-term operational changes to mitigate environmental impacts of aviation:

Changing aircraft operational procedures is one way of mitigating the environmental impacts of aviation in relatively short timeframes with existing aircraft types. However, to date these mitigations have not been evaluated or compared in a systematic manner that considers both their environmental impact reduction potential and their ability to be successfully implemented. This article presents a comprehensive identification and systematic evaluation of potential near-term operational changes to determine their relative environmental mitigation benefits. The research also evaluated the potential for successful implementation by identifying possible barriers to implementation for each mitigation. The analysis identifies the most promising mitigations offering a combination of environmental impact reduction and ease of implementation.
Epidemiologic Measures of the Course and Outcome of Pregnancy

Successful reproduction, the spectrum of events leading from conception to birth of a healthy infant, is both biologically and epidemiologically complex. Problems that arise during the course of the reproductive process define the adverse outcomes in epidemiologic studies of pregnancy. A simplified time line for the process leading from conception to birth is shown in figure 006F1, along with an indication of approximately when critical events occur. With the focus first on the desired or “normal” outcomes, conception results from a viable sperm’s reaching the ovum and progressing to implantation. Normal development over the first weeks of life depends on differentiation and migration of cells, events that must follow precise timing, leading to formation of organ systems and subsequent fetal growth and development. Reproductive epidemiology encompasses the entire scope of these events, often extending backward to the determinants of conception (e.g., semen quality, menstrual cycles) and forward to postnatal health and development, often through infancy, childhood, and puberty, and occasionally to adulthood. For the purposes of this paper, our focus is on the narrower time frame of conception to birth, with full recognition that the boundaries are arbitrary and sometimes ambiguous.
The Journal of Virology: a personal retrospective.

As the title suggests, this article does not pretend to be a history of the Journal of Virology. When Tom Shenk asked me to write a minireview about the history of the Journal of Virology for the American Society for Microbiology centennial celebration, I accepted with alacrity. After all, as founding editor in chief, a position I held for 15 years, I not only had an obligation to undertake this review but also had a fairly large stake in the future as well as the past of this enterprise. Gradually, I began to have second thoughts and some misgivings about accepting the offer to write such a history. It dawned on me that I had kept no records of the events that led to the founding of the journal or of its early history. In fact, I had disposed of all my Journal of Virology files a few years ago when I gave up my chairman’s office. All I had to rely on for such an undertaking was my memory, undoubtedly faulty and progressively so as the years go by. Therefore, this article can in no way be construed as true, documented history; it is instead the reminiscences of someone who is a bit too close to his subject but, nevertheless, feels that he has retained his objectivity. In fact, many of the events are still vividly impressed on my mind and quite clearly retrievable. What I cannot be held accountable for are the exact dates and exact sequences of events. I must leave the precise details, chapter and verse, to a real historian who is willing to dig up and go through all the documentation as well as to interview all the relevant players in this saga, which would be no mean task.
"Configural" conditioning in discrete-trial bar pressing.

Three experiments are reported comparing responses to stimulus compounds and to their elements. Experiment 1 found no loss in responding to the elements of a repeatedly reinforced stimulus compound. Experiments 2 and 3 explicitly trained a discrimination between a compound and its elements and found successful learning whether the compound or the elements were reinforced. Addition of an explicit stimulus common to the compound and its elements retarded, rather than facilitated, the discrimination. Replacement of one element in a compound by another of similar intensity and associative strength disrupted performance. These findings rule out a number of interpretations of "configuring," but permit an interpretation in terms of a unique stimulus element and limitations on the total associative strength of the compound. An elementary problem in the development of any theory of behavior is that of providing an account of the response to a stimulus complex in terms of the responses to the elements of that complex. If an organism exhibits a learned response to a stimulus compound, AB, how can we understand this response in terms of the learning to the individual elements, A and B? Most theories (e.g., Estes, 1950; Hull, 1943) assume that the response to the compound is some combination of the learning to the elements. Indeed, a common specific combination rule has been proposed: that the "associative strength" of the compound is simply the algebraic sum of the associative strength of the elements. Such combinatorial approaches have
Suture Anchor Arthroplasty for Thumb Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis

We describe a surgical technique for the treatment of thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis that we call suture anchor arthroplasty . This technique is similar to ligament reconstruction tendon interposition arthroplasty except that the entire flexor carpi radialis tendon is secured to the thumb metacarpal base by using suture anchors instead of a bone tunnel. The use of suture anchors eliminates the need for a transosseous bone tunnel, simplifying the procedure.
The Development of Nonverbal Working Memory and Executive Control Processes in Adolescents

The prefrontal cortex modulates executive control processes and structurally matures throughout adolescence. Consistent with these events, prefrontal functions that demand high levels of executive control may mature later than those that require working memory but decreased control. To test this hypothesis, adolescents (9 to 20 years old) completed nonverbal working memory tasks with varying levels of executive demands. Findings suggest that recall-guided action for single units of spatial information develops until 11 to 12 years. The ability to maintain and manipulate multiple spatial units develops until 13 to 15 years. Strategic self-organization develops until ages 16 to 17 years. Recognition memory did not appear to develop over this age range. Implications for prefrontal cortex organization by level of processing are discussed.
Urban Containment and Residential Segregation: A Preliminary Investigation

A fundamental purpose of traditional land-use controls is to exclude undesirable land uses from residential communities. However, such regulations have been shown to limit the ability of low-income...
Modeling of faulty behavior of ECL storage elements

Bipolar emitter coupled logic (ECL) devices can now be fabricated at very high densities and much lower power consumption. Behavior of two different ECL storage element implementations are examined in the presence of physical faults. While fault models for some implementations of CMOS storage elements have been examined, not much attention has been paid to ECL storage elements. The conventional stuck-at fault model termed minimal fault model assumes that an input (output) of a storage element can be stuck-at-1 or 0. The minimal fault model may not model the behavior under certain physical failures in a storage element. The enhanced fault model providing higher coverage of physical failures is presented. >
Kidney Morphology: Update 1985:

Many new observations have been made correlating changes in renal morphology with changes in renal function. These changes have led to a better definition of the various segments which make up the renal tubule. These morphological patterns vary in different species as is documented by morphologic studies and by differences in the patterns of enzymes in various nephron segments. The subdivision of cells located in the mesangial region of the glomerulus into several types may provide new areas to study with respect to disease processes.
Hard Real-Time wireless communication in the northern Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory employs a large array of Surface Detector stations to detect the secondary particle showers generated by the arrivals of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays. The operational Auger South site uses a tower-based wireless network for communication between the stations and observatory campus. Plans for a larger Auger North array call for a similar system. However, a variety of factors have rendered direct station-to-tower routing infeasible in Auger North. Thus, it will employ a new paradigm, the Wireless Architecture for Hard Real-Time Embedded Networks (WAHREN) designed specifically for highly reliable message delivery over a fixed network, under hard real-time deadlines. This paper describes the WAHREN topology and protocols, as well as real-time performance evaluation, formal verification, testbed operation, and Markov reliability modeling. The status of system hardware development and an on-site Research and Development Array are also discussed.
Inflammation and Alzheimer's disease: Possible role of periodontal diseases

Abstract The molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for the etiology and pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have not been defined; however, inflammation within the brain is thought to play a pivotal role. Studies suggest that peripheral infection/inflammation might affect the inflammatory state of the central nervous system. Chronic periodontitis is a prevalent peripheral infection that is associated with gram-negative anaerobic bacteria and the elevation of serum inflammatory markers including C-reactive protein. Recently, chronic periodontitis has been associated with several systemic diseases including AD. In this article we review the pathogenesis of chronic periodontitis and the role of inflammation in AD. In addition, we propose several potential mechanisms through which chronic periodontitis can possibly contribute to the clinical onset and progression of AD. Because chronic periodontitis is a treatable infection, it might be a readily modifiable risk factor for AD.
Parallel changes in gene expression in aged human and mouse cortex

The intensity of expression of over 20,000 genes and expressed sequence tags within the cerebral cortex has previously been described for both the human and mouse genomes. In both these species, the degree of expression of a relatively limited number of cortical genes, around 300, is significantly altered during senescence. The extent of similarity between age-related alterations of levels of specific mRNAs in either species has been compared. There is a significant correlation between species in those genes whose expression changes markedly in either direction with aging. This parallel serves to validate the use of mouse strains to study general age-related genetic events associated with aging.
NOT SO PUBLIC: ACCESS TO COLLECTIONS

~ JAMES E. B. BRESLIN In 1951, Kurt Eissler, a psychoanalyst who as head of the Freud Archives controlled many of Freud’s papers, deposited the collection at the Library of Congress (LC) under an arrangement that sealed various materials until 2020, 2038, 2053, 2057, and, in the case of one item, 2113. Although LC staff members have worked commendably to open as much of the collection as possible to the public (about 90 . . .
Nanophotonic detection of freely interacting molecules on a single influenza virus.

Biomolecular interactions, such as antibody-antigen binding, are fundamental to many biological processes. At present, most techniques for analyzing these interactions require immobilizing one or both of the interacting molecules on an assay plate or a sensor surface. This is convenient experimentally but can constrain the natural binding affinity and capacity of the molecules, resulting in data that can deviate from the natural free-solution behavior. Here we demonstrate a label-free method for analyzing free-solution interactions between a single influenza virus and specific antibodies at the single particle level using near-field optical trapping and light-scattering techniques. We determine the number of specific antibodies binding to an optically trapped influenza virus by analyzing the change of the Brownian fluctuations of the virus. We develop an analytical model that determines the increased size of the virus resulting from antibodies binding to the virus membrane with uncertainty of ±1–2 nm. We present stoichiometric results of 26 ± 4 (6.8 ± 1.1 attogram) anti-influenza antibodies binding to an H1N1 influenza virus. Our technique can be applied to a wide range of molecular interactions because the nanophotonic tweezer can handle molecules from tens to thousands of nanometers in diameter.
FTC v. Actavis: The Patent-Antitrust Intersection Revisited

Antitrust and patent law both seek to advance public welfare, but there has long been an undeniable tension between them. Where antitrust seeks to minimize market power in order to ensure competitive markets and pricing, patent law seeks to provide market power in order to provide incentives for the creation and disclosure of desirable inventions. In its most recent iteration, the tension between patent and antitrust law was before the Court in FTC v. Actavis, a case involving the legality of so-called reverse payments settlements. In a reverse payment settlement, a pharmaceutical company and a generic drug company settle claims of patent infringement by agreeing that the generic drug company will remain out of the pharmaceutical market covered by the patent in return for a payment from the patent-holding pharmaceutical company. The various circuit courts had reached widely variant conclusions on whether reverse payment settlements were legal, with some of the courts ruling such agreements, essentially, per se illegal, while others ruled such agreements, essentially, per se legal, at least so long as the agreement’s anticompetitive effects fell within the patent’s exclusionary scope. In its decision, the Court rejected both approaches, and required courts to apply the rule of reason to these settlements. While the Court provided some guidance on how the courts should approach a rule of reason analysis in these cases, some issues remain unclear. With the hope of suggesting some workable principles, this article re-examines the economics of patents and explains why some patents are weak, while others are strong. It then uses a game theoretic approach to analyze how the legal rules governing settlement can advance or disserve the goals of patent and antitrust law in this context.
Using Catalytic and Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy-Active Gold Nanoshells to Understand the Role of Basicity in Glycerol Oxidation

The origin of oxidation activity of gold catalysts has been a subject of great interest, particularly with the discovery of selective glycerol oxidation under water-phase alkaline conditions, for which neither small gold nanoparticles nor a catalyst support is necessary for activity. Little is known about the interactions among the catalyst surface, reactant, and hydroxyl species, which have never been examined spectroscopically because of a lack of developed in situ methods. In this work, we studied the room-temperature, water-phase reaction of glycerol oxidation using gold nanoshells (Au NSs), in which the gold substrate was active for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and catalysis. Analysis of glycerol solutions at high pH values and with oxygen content indicated that glycerol and glycerolate species did not bind directly to the catalyst surface in the absence of oxygen. However, glycerate surface species formed very rapidly when oxygen was present, suggesting an Eley–Rideal-type reaction mec...
Quality of Physician Communication about HPV Vaccine-Response.

We thank Osazuwa-Peters et al. ([1][1]) for their letter. While health professionals from various specialties can play a role in supporting adolescent immunization, primary care physicians are the most appropriate target for quality improvement efforts related to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine
The Linear Equilibrium Auction Strategy of Asymmetric Bidders and Net Underpricing under Uncertain Supply

Based on the Bayesian-Nash equilibrium,we study the linear auction strategies and net underpricing in the uniform price auction on the asymmetrically informed IPO market with uncertain supply.First we derive the linear equilibrium auction strategies,and then derive the seller's expected revenue,the expected stop-out price and the net underpricing.Through analysis we find that,the net underpricing is impacted by the number of competitive bidders,the uncertainty of supply,each bidder's sensitivity(or responsiveness)to his own private signal and the slope of each bidder's bid schedule.In addition,the net underpricing may be eliminated.This study can provide a reference for the relevant department.
Finite element analysis of influence of cone horn mouth for sealing performance

In order to solve the problems of leakage for connections of the braking system in the process of filling,the principle of sealing was investigated to analyze the cause of leakage.Firstly,using the software of ANSYS,the relation between difference size of two groups and the sealing was established.According to the analysis results,the charts of displacement vector sum of every group were compared to find the main reason of the infiuence of horn mouth of sealing.Then,the conclusion was utilized to the improvement of production technology.Finally,the sealing was tested on the automobile.The research result shows that,the diffence of taper is the primary cause,and the performance of sealing is improved obviously after improvement.
Data-weighted ensemble learning for privacy-preserving distributed learning

In collaborative medical research settings, a moderate number of groups (sites) may wish to merge local analyses of private subject data. Differential privacy offers one way to guarantee privacy for these local analyses. We describe a novel ensemble learning method that we call the "feature method" for aggregating binary classifiers or regressors trained on local data. Our method leverages a public data set available at the aggregator to optimize a linear combination of local predictors. We provide some analysis of the method and show how it is effective when the local sites are required to learn classifiers that are differentially private. We prove that this method has near-optimal performance when local data sets are large enough under certain requirements on the parameters. Experimentally, we give a comparison of the feature method and the standard approach of averaging the local classifiers.
Role of endothelium in reactive dilation of skeletal muscle arterioles

In cremaster muscle of pentobarbital-anesthetized rats, the role of endothelium in the reactive dilation of an arteriole (mean control diameter: 18.2 +/- 0.5 microns) during and after short (approximately 20 s) or long (approximately 80 s) occlusion of a parent arteriole was investigated. Distal to the occluder, arteriolar diameter increased during the occlusion (mean peak increase: 6.9 +/- 0.4 and 6.7 +/- 1.1 microns, respectively) and increased even further after the release of the occlusion as blood flow was reestablished (additional mean increase: 6.5 +/- 0.7 and 5.8 +/- 0.8 microns, respectively). The duration of arteriolar dilation after the release of the occlusion was dependent on the duration of occlusion (252.2 +/- 37 vs. 411.3 +/- 57 s; P less than 0.05). After impairment of the arteriolar endothelium by light/dye treatment, a dilation was still present during both the shorter and longer occlusions (mean increase: 4.73 +/- 1.4 and 4.73 +/- 1.3 microns, respectively); however, in both cases the additional dilation after release of the occlusion was greatly diminished. The duration of reactive arteriolar responses following impairment of the endothelium was significantly reduced only on release of the shorter occlusions. The results suggest that reactive dilation (hyperemia) of arterioles is the result of multiple, endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vasoactive factors.
The epoxyeicosatrienoic acid analog PVPA ameliorates cyclosporine-induced hypertension and renal injury in rats

The introduction of calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) into clinical practice in the late 1970s transformed organ transplantation and led to significant improvement in acute rejection episodes. However, ...
Cellulase in Biomedical Research

Abstract Cellulases have a great potential, mainly known for different industrial applications. These are widely used in the textile industry and in laundry detergents. They have also been used in the pulp and paper industry for various purposes, and they are even used for pharmaceutical applications. Cellulase is used in the fermentation of biomass into biofuels, although this process is relatively experimental at present. Microbial-origin cellulases can also be used in improving the nutritional quality of animal feed (e.g., food additives for poultry, piggery, or fishery) and indirectly affect humans. Additionally, they can be used directly in human food in baking, clarification of juices, and in tobacco processing. Cellulase now has a new dimension as a fiber-digesting agent having relevance to food, drugs, and cosmetics. This chapter presents some important applications of cellulases extended up to biomedical sciences.
The Genesis and Evolution of China's Economic Liberalization

China has made much progress since it first opened to the outside world in 1978 under the guidance of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. The devastation caused by Mao Zedong during the Great Leap Forward (1958–60), the Great Famine (1959–61), and the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) led Deng to rethink Marxist ideology and central planning. Rather than adhering to Chairman Mao’s “Little Red Book” and engaging in class struggle, Deng elevated economic development to the primary goal of socialism. His vision of “market socialism with Chinese characteristics” — and his mantra, “Seek truth from facts” — paved the way for the emergence of the nonstate sector and the return of private entrepreneurs. The success of that vision is evident from the fact that China is now the world’s largest trading nation and the second largest economy.This article begins with the state of China’s economic and social life under Mao and proceeds to examine the genesis of economic reform that took place between Mao’s death in September 1976 and the Third Plenum of the Eleventh Central Committee of the CCP in December 1978, which is considered the official start of Deng’s economic liberalization. We then investigate the unfolding of reforms from 1978 to the present, what motivated those reforms, and the prospect for future reform. The focal point will be the quest for economic freedom and the relation between the state and the market in the process of development.
Letter to the editor: Regarding the editorial by Penttinen and Friede.

To the editor: In the editorial by Penttinen and Friede, the authors summarised data from 2015 to 2016 on live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) effectiveness in a Table and used the data in the Table to make several conclusions [1]. Unfortunately, the Table has several errors and, therefore, misrepresents the available data and studies. On 26 June 2016, the United States (US) Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that LAIV not be used during the 2016/17 season in the US [2]. Among all studies using a test-negative case–control design (TNCCD), the study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (US Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness (VE) network) and the US Department of Defence (DoD) study (US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM) Sentinel Provider network) had the largest number of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09-infected children aged 2–17 years and larger or comparable numbers of children who received LAIV; these numbers were not correctly shown in the Table in the editorial. The US CDC study included 133 children aged 2–17 years who received LAIV (23 LAIV-vaccinated children had influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 infection) and 1,078 children who were unvaccinated. The US DoD study included 93 children vaccinated with LAIV (23 LAIV-vaccinated children had influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 infection) and 338 unvaccinated children (personal communication September 2016, Susan Federinko, USAFSAM). The youngest age for which LAIV is licensed for use in the US is two years; the US CDC VE estimates refer to children aged 2–17 years. The sample sizes for the other studies in the Table should also be consistently reported so that the same numerical comparisons are available for each study.
Impact of timing of radiotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma

Abstract Objective To further evaluate if a delay in the start of radiation therapy (RT) affects patient outcomes for glioblastoma (GBM). Patients and methods From May 1999 to May 2010, a total of 161 patients underwent surgery followed by RT for GBM. We assessed overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS), stratified by extent of surgical resection. Included in the analysis were genomic predictors of progression. Results Median time from surgery to start of RT was 20 days for biopsy alone, 28 days for subtotal resection (STR) and 28 days for gross total resection (GTR). For all patients, a delay >28 days did not result in a difference in PFS when compared to no delay (6.7 vs. 6.9 months, p = 0.07). PFS was improved in biopsy or STR patients with a >28 day delay to start of RT (4.2 vs. 6.7 months, p = 0.006). OS was also improved in patients receiving biopsy or STR with a >28 day delay to start of RT (12.3 vs. 7.8 months, p = 0.005). Multivariable analysis (MVA) demonstrated an improvement in OS and PFS with time to RT >28 days for biopsy or STR patients (HR 0.52 p = 0.008 and HR 0.48 p = 0.02, respectively). Conclusion In this retrospective review of GBM patients treated at a single institution, OS and PFS were not different between time to RT >28 days compared to 28 days.
A hardware-efficient self-tuned output capacitor current and time constant estimator for indirect energy transfer converters based on dynamic voltage slope adjustment

This paper introduces a novel hardware-efficient auto-tuned output capacitor current and time-constant estimator for indirect energy transfer converters, which is based on well-known principle of the utilization of an auxiliary RC circuit and time constant matching. To provide accurate current measurement and early fault detection of the system while avoiding complex calculations/hardware usually existing in other auto-tuned methods, the reconstruction of the time constant is performed through a simple detection of the polarity of the slope of the estimator voltage during the main switch off time. The effectiveness of the estimator has been experimentally verified with a 20 W boost-based prototype, demonstrating about 97% of accuracy in the instantaneous current and time-constant measurements.
Incontinentia pigmenti with secondary Raynaud's phenomenon: A case report and review of the literature.

Abstract Purpose To describe a patient with incontinentia pigmenti (IP) and Raynaud's phenomenon (RP). Observations A 5 year-old girl with history of IP was noted to have RP. Visual acuity was unaffected in both eyes, and fundus examination demonstrated regressed peripheral neovascularization. Photos of the patient's hands demonstrated pale discoloration associated with exposure to cold. Conclusions and importance IP, known to affect small cerebral and retinal blood vessels, can also affect the small blood vessels in the extremities, resulting in secondary RP.
Signature Evaluation for Thermal Infrared Countermine and IED Detection Systems

The countermine computational testbed is a coupled system of parallelized computer codes and associated software tools that can simulate images from remote sensors operating in the visible and infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The testbed is used to explore thermal and hydrologic process interaction at a fine scale to understand the contrast between target and background. The testbed provides an opportunity to exploit knowledge of the ground state (soil moisture, soil, or vegetation temperature) and material properties (hydraulic and thermal), to optimize sensor selection and time of flight, and to improve automated target recognition algorithms (ATRs) by limiting false alarms. For example, the testbed provided simulated data to provide field guidance on sensor performance taking into account weather events. The use of simulated data to improve ATR performance is described in detail.
Perfect storm: Therapeutic plasma exchange for a patient with thyroid storm.

Thyroid storm is a potentially lethal complication of hyperthyroidism with increased thyroid hormones and exaggerated symptoms of thyrotoxicosis. First-line therapy includes methimazole (MMI) or propylthiouracil (PTU) to block production of thyroid hormones as a bridge toward definitive surgical treatment. Untreated thyroid storm has a mortality rate of up to 30%; this is particularly alarming when patients cannot tolerate or fail pharmacotherapy, especially if they cannot undergo thyroidectomy. Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is an ASFA category III indication for thyroid storm, meaning the optimum role of this therapy is not established, and there are a limited number of cases in the literature. Yet TPE can remove T3 and T4 bound to albumin, autoantibodies, catecholamines and cytokines and is likely beneficial for these patients. We report a patient with thyroid storm who could not tolerate PTU, subsequently failed therapy with MMI, and was not appropriate for thyroidectomy. TPE was therefore performed daily for 4 days (1.0 plasma volume with 5% albumin replacement and 2 U of plasma). Over the treatment course, the patient's thyroid hormones normalized and symptoms of thyroid storm largely resolved; his T3 decreased from 2.27 to 0.81 ng/mL (normal 0.8-2.0), T4 decreased from 4.8 to 1.7 ng/mL (0.8-1.8), heart rate normalized, altered mental status improved, and he converted to normal sinus rhythm. He was ultimately discharged in euthyroid state. He experienced no side effects from his TPE procedures. TPE is a safe and effective treatment for thyroid storm when conventional treatments are not successful or appropriate.
Context-dependent medicinal effects of anabasine and infection-dependent toxicity in bumble bees

Background Floral phytochemicals are ubiquitous in nature, and can function both as antimicrobials and as insecticides. Although many phytochemicals act as toxins and deterrents to consumers, the same chemicals may counteract disease and be preferred by infected individuals. The roles of nectar and pollen phytochemicals in pollinator ecology and conservation are complex, with evidence for both toxicity and medicinal effects against parasites. However, it remains unclear how consistent the effects of phytochemicals are across different parasite lineages and environmental conditions, and whether pollinators actively self-medicate with these compounds when infected. Approach Here, we test effects of the nectar alkaloid anabasine, found in Nicotiana, on infection intensity, dietary preference, and survival and performance of bumble bees (Bombus impatiens). We examined variation in the effects of anabasine on infection with different lineages of the intestinal parasite Crithidia under pollen-fed and pollen-starved conditions. Results We found that anabasine did not reduce infection intensity in individual bees infected with any of four Crithidia lineages that were tested in parallel, nor did anabasine reduce infection intensity in microcolonies of queenless workers. In addition, neither anabasine nor its isomer, nicotine, was preferred by infected bees in choice experiments, and infected bees consumed less anabasine than did uninfected bees under no-choice conditions. Furthermore, anabasine exacerbated the negative effects of infection on bee survival and microcolony performance. Anabasine reduced infection in only one experiment, in which bees were deprived of pollen and post-pupal contact with nestmates. In this experiment, anabasine had antiparasitic effects in bees from only two of four colonies, and infected bees exhibited reduced—rather than increased—phytochemical consumption relative to uninfected bees. Conclusions Variation in the effect of anabasine on infection suggests potential modulation of tritrophic interactions by both host genotype and environmental variables. Overall, our results demonstrate that Bombus impatiens prefer diets without nicotine and anabasine, and suggest that the medicinal effects and toxicity of anabasine may be context dependent. Future research should identify the specific environmental and genotypic factors that determine whether nectar phytochemicals have medicinal or deleterious effects on pollinators.
The Terania Native Forest Action Group

This chapter focuses on the formation of the Terania Native Forest Action Group (TNFAG) and the details of its five-year campaign. TNFAG first tried ‘polite’ protest, including letter-writing, lobbying and appealing to well-established conservation groups. While the group’s campaigning remained within the confines of conventional protest techniques, it pushed the boundaries in terms of approach. TNFAG drew on the skills of an educated countercultural community and pioneered innovative methods, such as the production of a television commercial and ‘citizen science’, conducting transects of the forest and disseminating information about ‘rain forest’—an only recently distinguished and little-known category of forest at the time. The chapter also details the establishment of the blockade camp and the centrality of the principles of consensus decision-making to the campaign.
Global Weather Experiment Data From the National Environmental Satellite Service

The National Environmental Satellite Service (NESS) provided sea surface temperature values, cloud motion vectors, and vertical temperature soundings for the Global Weather Experiment. This article gives a brief history of the operational satellite system and a short description of each of the products for the two year period of the Global Weather Experiment.
Estimates of recharge in two arid basin aquifers: a model of spatially variable net infiltration and its implications (Red Light Draw and Eagle Flats, Texas, USA)

Methods of estimating recharge in arid basin aquifers (such as the 1 % rule, Maxey-Eakin method, storm-runoff infiltration and others) overlook the potential contribution of direct recharge on the basin floors. In the Trans-Pecos region of west Texas, USA, this has resulted in potential recharge and solute flux to basin aquifers being ignored. Observed trends in groundwater nitrate (NO3 −) concentrations and the presence of young (<70 years old) water in the basins indicate that recharge is occurring through the basin floors. A spatially variable net infiltration model (INFIL 3.0.1) was used to estimate the volume and spatial distribution of potential recharge to two basins: Red Light Draw and Eagle Flats. The INFIL model provides insight into the mechanisms by which recharge and solute flux occurs in arid basin systems. This method demonstrated that recharge is widespread; it is not limited to the mountainous areas and mountain-front recharge mechanisms, and up to 15 % of total potential recharge in these basins occurs across widespread areas of the basin floors. Models such as this should improve scientific understanding and sustainable management of arid basin aquifers in Texas and elsewhere.
A Philosophical Problem Concerning Perception and Knowledge

It is obvious that there is a fundamental relationship between perception and knowledge. This is not to say that the two are identical. At any given time, we each know many things that we do not perceive. I know at this moment that there is ice at the North Pole, but I am not perceiving this to be the case. Further, at any given time we each know many things that we are not even thinking about. At this moment I know certain facts of history and geography, for example, which are in no sense present to my mind; and I shall continue to know these facts even while sound asleep. For these and other reasons, perception cannot be simply identified with knowledge.
Frequency and Orientation Effects on Sites of Energy Deposition

The physiological and behavioral responses of animals exposed to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) are related to both the whole-body average specific absorption rate (SAR) and the distribution of absorbed energy within the irradiated subjects (the local SAR). Local and whole-body average energy absorption varies with a great number of factors—carrier frequency, power density, physical dimensions of the organism, and orientation of the subject with respect to the electric and magnetic fields. RFR exposure at different carrier frequencies results in different SARs in prolate spheroid models,1 and in different colonic heating rates in rats2 and rhesus monkeys,3 with higher SARs and faster heating occurring at or near the resonant frequency.
The Asian Financial Crisis

This account of the Asian Financial Crisis is meant to provide a quick introduction to the role of Banking and to suggest by this example that real world events can be understood without much theoretical machinery.1 Throughout I have relied primarily on financial journalists and secondarily on the expository accounts of economists. The journalists provided a clear and comprehensible account and the economists added some details and historical depth; but the economists added no significant theoretical insight. I spent, or rather wasted, some years of reading on Money and Banking, convinced that herein must lie a great mystery. Eventually it dawned on me that the only complexity lay in the execution of policy, not at all in the principles that should guide it. This field is thus another illustration of the need for sound judgement in economics. The forthright words of an experienced banker,— whose straightforward analysis, laced with a variety of delightful anecdotes and helpful tables, is good reading— gave me considerable comfort.2
Geological Observations Supporting Dynamic Climatic Changes

The Eocene Green River Formation in Wyoming has long served as a standard for lacustrine depositional systems. This lacustrine formation, excluding the culminating phase, was deposited in a closed hydrographic basin. The position of the boundary between lake and mudflat margin was dictated by the inflow/evaporation ratio (inflow greater than evaporation = transgression; inflow less than evaporation = regression). All members of the Green River Formation are characterized by repetitive stratification sequences. In the Tipton and Laney members, the repetitive stratification sequences are laminated, kerogen-rich carbonates with fish fossils overlain by dolostone with numerous desiccation features. In contrast, in the middle member (Wilkins Peak), the typical stratification sequence is trona (evaporate) overlain by dolostone, overlain by kerogen-rich carbonate (oil shale). All these stratification sequences can be explained as products of dynamic climate change and a consequent imbalance between inflow and evaporation which probably resulted from the earth’s processional variations. The evidence for global warming and climate change (prior to anthropogenic green house gas (GHG) emissions) is undeniable. The crucial question is, are anthropogenic GHG emissions accelerating the rate of climate change? The confluence of rising global temperature with substantial increases in GHG emissions since the beginning of the industrial revolution strongly suggests that the answer to this question is yes.
Did We Jump to Conclusions? Reconsidering “Snap Decisions” in Employment Interviews

It is commonly believed that interviewers make “snap decisions” about applicants within the first few minutes of an interview. Unfortunately, this belief is primarily based on a single, unpublished...
A role for astroglial calcium in mammalian sleep

Mammalian sleep is characterized by dramatic changes in neuronal activity, and waking neuronal activity is thought to increase sleep need. Changes in other brain cells (glia) across the natural sleep-wake cycle and their role in sleep regulation are comparatively unexplored. We show that sleep is also accompanied by large changes in astroglial activity as measured by intracellular calcium concentrations in unanesthetized mice. These changes in calcium vary across different vigilance states and are most pronounced in distal astroglial processes. We find that reducing intracellular calcium in astrocytes impaired the homeostatic response to sleep deprivation. Thus, astroglial calcium changes dynamically across vigilance states and is a component of the sleep homeostat.
Mechanical Heterogeneity in Tissues Promotes Rigidity and Controls Cellular Invasion

We study the influence of cell-level mechanical heterogeneity in epithelial tissues using a vertex-based model. Heterogeneity is introduced into the cell shape index (p_{0}) that tunes the stiffness at a single-cell level. The addition of heterogeneity can always enhance the mechanical rigidity of the epithelial layer by increasing its shear modulus, hence making it more rigid. There is an excellent scaling collapse of our data as a function of a single scaling variable f_{r}, which accounts for the overall fraction of rigid cells. We identify a universal threshold f_{r}^{*} that demarcates fluid versus solid tissues. Furthermore, this rigidity onset is far below the contact percolation threshold of rigid cells. These results give rise to a separation of rigidity and contact percolation processes that leads to distinct types of solid states. We also investigate the influence of heterogeneity on tumor invasion dynamics. There is an overall impedance of invasion as the tissue becomes more rigid. Invasion can also occur in an intermediate heterogeneous solid state that is characterized by significant spatial-temporal intermittency.
Mucoidy, a general mechanism for maintaining lytic phage in populations of bacteria

We present evidence that mucoidy provides a general answer to the longstanding question of how lytic phage are maintained in bacterial populations. In serial transfer culture, populations of mucoid E. coli MG1655 that appear to be broadly resistant to lytic phage with different receptors are capable of maintaining these phage with little effect on the total density of bacteria. Based on the results of our analysis of a mathematical model, we postulate that the maintenance of phage in populations dominated by mucoid cells can be attributed to high rates of transition from the effectively resistant mucoid states to susceptible non-mucoid states. Our test of this leaky resistance hypothesis with both population dynamic and single cell experiments are consistent with it. We discuss reasons for the generalized resistance of these mucoid E. coli, and the genetic and molecular mechanisms responsible for the high rate of transition from mucoid to sensitive states.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Secondary to Ganglion Cyst, with Denervation of Abductor Pollicis Brevis

Cases of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) secondary to ganglion cysts are sparse in the literature. The purpose of this case report is to demonstrate clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of CTS secondary to an intra-tunnel ganglion, with denervation of the abductor pollicis brevis muscle (APB). A 42-year-old female presented with worsening pain, numbness, and tingling in the right hand of several months duration. Median sensory and motor latencies were consistent with CTS. MRI revealed a cystic mass within the carpal tunnel, which displaced and compressed the median nerve. Additionally, homogenous high signal intensity within the APB was detected, consistent with acute denervation. The diagnosis of CTS secondary to ganglion cyst was confirmed intraoperatively, with median nerve decompression and cyst removal.
Abstract P538: Cardiovascular Health Benefits of Optimism are Socially Patterned: A 15-year Prospective Study

Introduction: Optimism is consistently associated with better cardiovascular health but underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. This study examines prospective links between optimism and lipid...