cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Complications and results of primary minimally invasive antireflux procedures: a review of 10,735 reported cases.

The number of antireflux procedures performed for gastroesophageal reflux disease in the United States has increased in the past decade. In a sampling of US hospitals by the National Center for Health Statistics, the number of patients discharged with the International Classification of Disease (ICD-9-CM) classification 44.66 (“Other procedures for creation of esophagogastric sphincteric competence,” ie, fundoplication) in the years 1988, 1993, and 1998 was 13,000, 22,000, and 40,000, respectively. It would be safe to say that the majority of these antireflux procedures are now minimally invasive. The trend for more laparoscopic antireflux procedures also has been seen in Europe. The current approach of choice for surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease is a minimally invasive transabdominal antireflux procedure. During this evolution of operational approach there have been untoward events associated with the minimally invasive antireflux operation. There is a growing need to audit the results of minimally invasive antireflux procedures because there has been (in the medical literature) a question of its efficacy, and also because of the development of novel endoscopic procedures to reproduce a sphincter mechanism in the lower esophagus, which potentially could compete with laparoscopic antireflux surgery. In this review the results of primary laparoscopic antireflux procedures will be examined (international experience, English-language literature) with an emphasis placed on the description of perioperative complications and primary procedure failures. Data on redo procedures also will be analyzed to determine the causes for failure of primary minimally invasive procedures. Recommendations for avoiding the complications and failure of the primary minimally invasive antireflux procedure will be described.
Mouth to pouch transit after restorative proctocolectomy: Hydrogen breath analysis correlates with scintigraphy

OBJECTIVES: Fast intestinal transit may be responsible for slow adaptation and unacceptable steady-state function after restorative proctocolectomy. Investigation of GI transit time may be valuable in such a setting. We hypothesized that postprandial hydrogen breath tests may yield transit data that correlate with technetium-labeled meal scintigrams. METHODS: This study compared intestinal transit after a lactulose and bean meal via the breath hydrogen and scintigraphy methods in 21 ileoanal pouch subjects. The meal consisted of baked beans (425 g), 30 ml (20 g) lactulose syrup, 1 mCi 99m technetium sulfur colloid in finely chopped liver and 170 ml tap water. The meal contained 120 Kcal (70% carbohydrate, 18% protein and 12% fat). RESULTS: Of 21 pouch subjects, 11 (53%) had breath tests and scintigraphy transit studies that differed by 5‐21 min. Three of 21 (14%) scintigraphy mouth to pouch transit times were faster than breath test transits by 43‐107 min. Seven of 21 (33%) subjects did not have breath test peaks .10 ppm. Mouth to pouch transit for breath hydrogen (104 6 16 min) and scintigraphy (98 6 7 min) tests had significant correlation (r 5 0.96, p , 0.0001) among subjects with alveolar hydrogen peaks and accurate scintigrams (n 5 11). Scintigrams were five times more expensive than breath tests. CONCLUSIONS: A peaking hydrogen breath test provides an alternative to scintigraphy for estimating intestinal transit after ileoanal pouch. (Am J Gastroenterol 2001;96: 1460 ‐1463. © 2001 by Am. Coll. of Gastroenterology)
Enzyme-Induced Chemiluminescence-Determination of Blood Glucose Using Luminol

Abstract Hydrogen peroxide, produced by the interaction of glucose with immobilized glucose oxidase, reacts with the ferricyanide-luminol system to produce chemiluminescence linearly proportional to glucose concentration. The coupled reaction is used as a sensitive precise micro method for the determination of true blood glucose. The linear range of detection is 10−7 - 10−4 M glucose. The method correlates quantitatively with two glucose reference techniques.
Factors associated with eating disorder symptoms in a community sample of 6th and 7th grade girls

Nine hundred thirty-nine 6th and 7th grade girls participated in the baseline phase of a prospective study designed to examine a set of potential risk factors for the development of eating disorders. Of the 939,839 girls (89%) completed the bulimia nervosa section of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R disorders. One girl received the diagnosis of bulimia nervosa, another 35 were classified as a symptomatic group. Using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for age and stage of sexual maturation, symptomatic and asymptomatic groups were compared on the following measures: Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI), BMI, triceps skinfold thickness, waist-to-hip ratio, depression symptoms (CES-D and DSRS), Restraint Scale, and a measure of family adaptability and cohesion (FACES). Symptomatic girls were more developmentally mature, significantly heavier, reported greater fear of weight gain, experienced greater dysphoria, indicated increased body dissatisfaction, and reported greater feelings of inadequacy and personal worthlessness. Their status on these dimensions may indicate potential vulnerability to eating disorders and, ultimately, suggest the choice of targets for intervention. Our future goal is to conduct the prospective analyses needed to confirm the hypothesized linkages.
Market, state, and civil organizations in Latin America beyond the debt crisis: The context for rural development

Abstract The development strategy emerging in Latin America implies a sharply redefined balance in the relative roles of the market, the state, and civil organizations. Market liberalization has been extensive and intense efforts have been undertaken to make the new rules credible. The state has been divested of many productive and regulatory activities, but descaling is a reflection of short-run stabilization policies and signaling, not of long-term tendencies since an active state remains strongly in demand. Civil organizations are assuming active roles as alternative forms to produce and service members and as pressure groups. Agriculture has gained considerably from the policy reforms. Together with democratic representation and decentralization of governance this gives renewed opportunities for successful rural development initiatives.
Studies with the blowing method of measuring liquid viscosity near a solid surface

Abstract The viscous flow of liquid films near solid surfaces has been investigated for various hydrocarbons and polydimethylsiloxanes on stainless-steel and Nichrome-coated glass using the blowing method. Abrupt changes in film profile, suggesting anomalies in the liquid viscosity near the solid, were observed, similar to those reported by Derjaguin and co-workers. They attributed these anomalies to solid-surface forces affecting the liquid structure. However, the unusual film profiles observed in this study could be explained, and in some instances induced, by flow under surface tension gradients, capillary flow in surface roughness, and/or a very low contact angle between the liquid and solid surface.
Analysis of large angle p-d elastic scattering: 100–400 MeV

Abstract An analysis is presented of large angle proton-deuteron elastic scattering experiments at deuteron energies of 291, 362 and 433 MeV and proton energies of 140 and 316 MeVon the basis of the Kerman-Kisslinger (KK) model (first order). Further analysis is made using the KK model with second order corrections included. The object of the analysis is to determine quantitatively the sensitivity of large angle scattering to the D-state probability (PD) in the deuteron. It is found that the KK model (first order and also second order corrections included) is not very successful in fitting the data at those energies when used with existing wavefunctions obtained from phenomenological potentials. A value of 6.7% for PD gives the best fit when the model is used with the modified Moravcsik analytic fit to the Gartenhaus S-state wavefunction (the third approximation). The incoherent contributions of first and second order non-exchange processes are roughly estimated and found to be negligible. An investigation of the ambiguities in the S-state part of the deuteron wavefunction is also presented.
Adolescent sleep and cellular phone use: recent trends and implications for research.

Adolescent sleep needs range from 8.5–10 hours per night, with older adolescents requiring less sleep than younger adolescents. On average, however, American adolescents receive between 7.5–8.5 hours of sleep per night, with many sleeping fewer than 6.5 hours on school nights. Cellular phone use is emerging as an important factor that interferes with both sleep quality and quantity, particularly as smartphones become more widely available to teens. This review paper has three objectives. First, we will describe adolescent sleep patterns and the effects of sleep deprivation on adolescent physical and mental health. Second, we will describe current trends in technology use among adolescents, making associations to how technology impacts sleep. Lastly, we will discuss some of the methodological barriers of conducting sleep and technology research with adolescents and young adults and offer suggestions for overcoming those barriers. We will also discuss implications for healthcare providers.
Improving FPGA accelerated tracking with multiple online trained classifiers

Robust real time tracking is a requirement for many emerging applications. Many of these applications must track objects even as their appearance changes. Training classifiers online has become an effective approach for dealing with variability in object appearance. Classifiers can learn and adapt to changes online at the cost of additional runtime computation. In this paper, we propose a FPGA accelerated design of an online boosting algorithm that uses multiple classifiers to track and recover objects in real time. Our algorithm uses a novel method for training and comparing pose-specific classifiers along with adaptive tracking classifiers. Our FPGA accelerated design is able to track at 60 frames per second while concurrently evaluating 11 classifiers. This represents a 30× speed up over a CPU based software implementation. It also demonstrates tracking accuracy at state of the art levels on a standard set of videos.
Reducing time and increasing sensitivity in sample preparation for adherent mammalian cell metabolomics.

A simple, fast, and reproducible sample preparation procedure was developed for relative quantification of metabolites in adherent mammalian cells using the clonal β-cell line INS-1 as a model sample. The method was developed by evaluating the effect of different sample preparation procedures on high performance liquid chromatography- mass spectrometry quantification of 27 metabolites involved in glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle on a directed basis as well as for all detectable chromatographic features on an undirected basis. We demonstrate that a rapid water rinse step prior to quenching of metabolism reduces components that suppress electrospray ionization thereby increasing signal for 26 of 27 targeted metabolites and increasing total number of detected features from 237 to 452 with no detectable change of metabolite content. A novel quenching technique is employed which involves addition of liquid nitrogen directly to the culture dish and allows for samples to be stored at −80 °C for at lea...
Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction is impaired in rats with nitrofen-induced congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Abstract Background : Pulmonary hypertension and persistent fetal circulation contribute to the high mortality rate associated with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Morphological alterations of the pulmonary vasculature in infants with CDH are thought to contribute to exaggerated vasoconstrictor responses to normal vasoconstrictor stimuli. In the pulmonary circulation, hypoxia is a potent vasoconstrictor. Under pathological conditions, hypoxia-induced vasoconstriction may contribute to the development of pulmonary hypertension. Methods : The authors have used the nitrofen-induced model of congenital diaphragmatic hernia in rats to investigate the magnitude of the hypoxic vasoconstrictor response. Congenital diaphragmatic hernias were induced in fetal rats by feeding nitrofen (2,4-dichlorophenyl-p-nitrophenyl ether) to pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats at midgestation. Hypoxia-induced vasoconstriction was measured in isolated, perfused third-generation pulmonary arterioles from normal rats and from rats with nitrofen-induced CDH. Results : The hypoxic vasoconstrictor response was significantly blunted in the pulmonary arterioles of fetal rats with nitrofen-induced (2%±1% vasoconstriction), as compared with the responses observed in normal fetal rats (15%±3% vasoconstriction, P =.004). Conclusion : Blunting of the hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstrictor response may contribute to ventilation-perfusion mismatching in infants with CDH.
University Turbine Systems Research Program

The University Turbine Systems Research (UTSR) Program, developed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the US Department of Energy, supports research in gas turbines which is performed at universities. An Industrial Review Board (IRB), consisting of gas turbine OEM’s, users, and suppliers of gas turbine components and technologies recommends topics for the research to DOE. They also review the universities’ proposals and recommend a short list of proposals from each solicitation for funding. Since the program’s inception in 1992 a total of 101 research projects have been awarded. There are 110 universities participating in the program and eligible to compete for UTSR research awards. The research is mostly in three areas: Combustion, Materials (mostly thermal barrier coatings) and Aerodynamics / Heat Transfer. The program has produced significant benefits for the gas turbine industry in these fields. This paper provides several examples of the most significant research results.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Argumentative writing in pre-adolescents: The role of verbal reasoning:

Argumentative writing is a challenging communication task that calls upon sophisticated cognitive and linguistic abilities. Pre-adolescents (n = 80; mean age = 11;10; range = 10;6—13:5) were asked to write an argumentative essay on the controversial topic of training animals to perform in circuses. Additionally, they were asked to solve a set of verbal reasoning problems. Children whose essays reflected a more flexible attitude toward the controversy (Conditional subgroup) outperformed their peers whose attitude was more rigid (Absolute subgroup) on all key measures: Verbal Analogical Reasoning, Total Number of Reasons, and Mean Length of Utterance in Words. Implications for instruction and intervention with pre-adolescents are discussed.
Advocacy Politics in Presidential Parties

Analysis of data from a 1988 survey of presidential parties demonstrates that campaign leaders are better understood as true believers than as either representatives or vote maximizers. Analysis of leaders' attitudes reveals four issue groups in both the Republican and Democratic parties. The dominant coalition in the Republican party is slightly more conservative, and that in the Democratic party is slightly more liberal, than the party median. Comparison with similar 1972 data shows stable patterns of issue advocacy and intraparty cohesion over this time period but somewhat increased issue distance between the parties in 1988.
Paradoxes of US psychopharmacology practice in 2013: undertreatment of severe mental illness and overtreatment of minor psychiatric problems.

In the opinion of the author, 2013 may someday be seen as an important crossroad in US psychopharmacology practice, but the prescribers of psychopharmacology in 2013 may not be paying attention to its potentially bleak future because pharmaceutical companies are discontinuing the development of new
An electron-spin resonance study of coenzyme B12

The absence of electron-spin resonance spectra from three different samples of coenzyme B12 either in the solid crystalline state or in aqueous solution suggests that coenzyme B12 is diamagnetic. These results agree with several magnetic susceptibility measurements and with the chemical degradation studies; they are, however, in disagreement with other magnetic susceptibility measurements which indicate that coenzyme B12 is paramagnetic. In contrast, electron-spin resonance spectra of coenzyme B12 photolyzed under anaerobic condition indicate that the photolysis product is paramagnetic. Since this spectrum is identical to that obtained for vitamin B12r, it has been concluded that the anaerobic photolysis product contains bivalent cobalt. Furthermore, exposure of the anaerobic photolysis product or vitamin B12r to oxygen completely abolishes the electron-spin resonance spectra. This observation is in accord with the magnetic susceptibility studies of aquocobalamin, known to be the product of this oxidation reaction. These results are interpreted to mean that coenzyme B12 does not contain bivalent cobalt. Consequently, the photolytic decomposition of coenzyme B12 must involve an intramolecular oxidation reduction or a homolytic cleavage of the carbon-cobalt linkage. The electron-spin resonance spectra do not establish the valence state of cobalt in coenzyme B12; however, the absence of a signal suggests that coenzyme B12 is diamagnetic and consequently contains trivalent cobalt.
Disruption of Layer 4 Development Alters Laminar Processing in Ferret Somatosensory Cortex

Treatment with the anti-mitotic agent methylazoxymethanol (MAM) on embryonic day 33 (E33) in ferrets changes features of somatosensory cortex. These include dramatic reduction of cells in layer 4, and altered distributions of thalamocortical afferent terminations and GABAA receptors. To determine the effect of the relative absence of layer 4 on processing of sensory stimuli we used current source-density profiles to assess laminar activity patterns. Nearly synchronous activation occurs across all layers in treated animals, which contrasts with the normal cortical activation pattern of initial sinks in layer 4. This change after MAM treatment is consistent with the absence of layer 4 cells and widespread termination of thalamocortical afferents. Using periodic stimulation at ‘flutter’ frequency, layer 4 neurons in normal somatosensory cortex fire reproducibly to the stimulus rate; the capacity for entrainment is best for layer 4 and weaker in the extragranular layers. The capacity to encode periodic sensory stimuli is disrupted in MAM-treated somatosensory cortex; after an initial response to the onset of periodic stimuli, neurons in all cortical layers show weak entrainment. Neural responses to sensory drive in E33 MAM-treated cortex are also embedded in levels of neural activity substantially above those in normal somatosensory cortex. Sustained stimulation additionally reveals different capacities in each layer for improved signal-to-noise ratios, with layer 4 neurons in normal animals exhibiting the most improved signaling over time. We conclude that normal thalamic terminations, an intact layer 4 and subsequent intracortical processing are integral to proper encoding of stimulus features.
Striving for Therapeutic Relationships: Parent-Provider Communication in the Developmental Treatment Setting

The purpose of this grounded theory study is to develop a beginning substantive theory that explains the communication process between parents of children receiving center-based services for developmental delays and disabilities and the professional providers of those services. Communication is defined broadly as including both content and relationship dimensions. Twenty parents and 14 providers described their experience of communication with one another. The core phenomenon constructed from the data was striving for therapeutic relationships within a context of uncertainty. Both parents and providers operated in a context of uncertainty regarding the child and his or her development and prospects for the future as well as their expectations of each other. Both parents and providers used strategies of balancing, reading the cues, questioning, managing uncertainty, and managing the sessions. The outcomes were relationships that were valued by the extent to which they were perceived as therapeutic to paren...
An Examination of a Case Study with a Military Family and its Involvement with Child Protective Services

This theoretical article examines a case study of a military family and the family's involvement with Child Protective Services. The study initially gives a general overview of child maltreatment including the definition of child maltreatment. The article then highlights the risk factors of child maltreatment in military families. Resiliency theory identifies the strengths that mitigate the risk factors. The article concludes by discussing the social work implications of child abuse investigations involving the military and public child welfare agencies.
Nonlinear analytical multi-dimensional convolution solution of the second order system

In this paper, a procedure to analytically develop an approximate solution for the prototypical nonlinear mass–spring–damper system based on multi-dimensional convolution expansion theory is offered. The nonlinearity herein is mathematically considered in quadratic and bilinear terms. A variational expansion methodology, one of the most efficient analytical Volterra techniques, is used to develop an analytical two-term Volterra series. The resultant model is given in the form of first and second kernels. This analytical solution is visualized in the time domain followed by a parametric study for understanding the influence of each nonlinear/linear term appearing in the kernel structure. An analytical nonlinear step response is also conducted to characterize the overall system response from the fundamental components. The developed analytical step response provides an illumination for the source of differences between nonlinear and linear responses such as initial departure time, settling time, and steady value. Feasibility of the proposed implementation is assessed by numerical examples. The developed kernel-based model shows the ability to predict, understand, and analyze the system behavior beyond that attainable by the linear-based model.
A combined heat-transfer analysis of a single-fiber CVD reactor

In high-temperature applications, structural fibers such as SiC are currently being considered for reinforcement of both ceramic and intermetallic matrices. A combined-conjugated heat-transfer and fluid-flow analysis is presented for coating fibers by CVD in a vertical cylindrical quartz reactor. The numerical model focuses on radiation and natural convection. Three case studies are performed, and the wall temperature predictions are compared to experimental measurements. In the first case, the flowing gas is hydrogen, and conduction is more important than both radiation and convection, in which case measured and predicted wall temperatures agree excellently. In the second, hydrogen is replaced by argon, thus making radiation heat transfer more important than the previous situation. Three radiation models with increasing degrees of sophistication are compared: an approximate nongray model (no wavelength dependence of emissivity), an approximate semigray model, and a rigorous semigray model with view factor calculations. Comparison with experiments suggest that a semigray radiative analysis is needed for correct determination of wall temperatures. The third involves argon at a lower flow rate, where natural convection effects are more pronounced. Checking the validity of the Boussinesq approximation by incorporating the explicit dependence of density on temperature in the model shows a slight difference betweenmore » the velocity fields predicted using the Boussinesq approximation and those obtained using the explicit dependence of density on temperature. However, there is negligible difference between the temperature fields predicted in the two cases.« less
Vector theory of stimulated Raman scattering and its application to fiber-based Raman amplifiers

A vector theory of the stimulated Raman scattering process is developed for describing the polarization effects in fiber-based Raman amplifiers. We use this theory to show that polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) induces large fluctuations in an amplified signal. It is found that PMD-induced fluctuations follow a log-normal distribution. We also discuss the random nature of the polarization-dependent gain (PDG) in Raman amplifiers. Using the concept of a PDG vector, we find the probability distribution of PDG in an analytic form and use it to show that both the mean and the standard deviation of PDG depend on the PMD parameter inversely when the effective fiber length is much larger than the PMD diffusion length. We apply our theory to study how PDG can be reduced by scrambling pump polarization randomly and show that the mean value of PDG is directly proportional to the degree of pump polarization.
The Impact of Prerequisite General Education Courses on the ETS Major Field Test for Business (MFT-B).

The authors explore the relationship between general education prerequisite courses, used for schools of business admission, and predicted grade point averages (PGPAs) with the Major Field Test in Business (MFT-B). The MFT-B is designed to assess the general business knowledge of students at the end of their programs. There is no known literature that explores the relationship of prerequisite courses or PGPA with the MFT-B. This study finds that second semester Freshman English 102 and Economics 222, and PGPA influence MFT-B scores.
Energy Separation in the Wake of a Cylinder

Energy separation is a spontaneous redistribution of total energy (enthalpy) in a fluid without external work or heat flow, resulting in some portion of fluid having higher total energy (enthalpy) and another portion having lower energy (enthalpy) than the surrounding fluid. The present study investigates the mechanism of energy separation in the vortex field behind an adiabatic circular cylinder. Time-averaged velocity and temperature measurements are carried out in the wake of a cylinder in a cross flow of air. The measurements are performed at downstream locations of three, five, seven, and ten diameters, for a Reynolds number, based on upstream velocity and cylinder diameter, of 9.2×10 4 and freestream Mach number of 0.22. The measured velocity and recovery temperature data are expressed in nondimensional form as an energy separation factor. The distribution of energy separation factor indicates that the main cause of energy separation is the periodic vortex flow in the wake. The vortex strength and the separation effect decrease as the flow moves downstream. However, energy separation is observed even ten diameters downstream.
Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH) Treatment of Children Undergoing Peritoneal Dialysis

The authors studied the effect of recombinant growth hormone (rhGH) treatment on 5 growth retarded children, age 21/12 to 178/12 years, who had end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and were undergoing continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (CCPD). Patients received 0.125 mg/kg of subcutaneous rhGH 3 times weekly. Accelerated height velocity compared to the previous year of CCPD was noted in 2 patients and improvement in the standard deviation score (SDS) as a parameter of improved growth velocity was noted in a third patient. This was associated with an increase in weight and improvement in the midarm muscle circumference (MAMC) suggesting an ana bolic effect of rhGH treatment. Bone age advancement was consistent with the period of observation; no advancement greater than that expected for the increase in ch ronological age was observed. No significant side effects were attributable to rhGH therapy. These preliminary results indicate some growth retarded children without growth hormone deficiency with ESRD undergo ing CCPD may respond to exogenous rhGH therapy with an acceleration in growth velocity: However, the failure to achieve uniform acceleration of height velocity indicates the need for controlled studies before rhGH can be recommended for all growth retarded children with ESRD undergoing peritoneal dialysis.
On the baseband representation of a bandpass nonlinearity

Modeling, analysis, and compensation of nonlinearities in the transmitter (the power amplifier, in particular) has attracted a lot of attention recently. Given the same bandpass polynomial or Volterra representation of the nonlinear system, two different baseband formulations have appeared in the literature. The purpose of this correspondence is to examine the discrepancy between the two and to affirm that proper conjugation must be applied in the baseband representation of bandpass nonlinearities. A predistortion linearization test-bed experiment is conducted to illustrate the concepts.
3D nonlinear time-domain inversion technique for medical imaging

A nonlinear three-dimensional time-domain inverse scattering method was investigated, and was used to successfully reconstruct accurate 3D images of various unknown objects using time-domain data. It was shown that this technique has a resolution of 0.1 wavelength. This method could present a promising tool for the early-stage breast cancer detection as well as other medical imaging applications.
Concurrent intracranial and thoracic aortic aneurysms.

The pathogeneses of both thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) and intracranial aneurysm (ICA) share common pathologic mediators. However, the prevalence of ICA in patients with TAA is not known. The present study investigated the prevalence of concurrent ICA to determine whether patients with TAA should be screened for ICA. The records of 212 patients with TAA and concurrent brain images (computed tomographic angiograms or magnetic resonance angiograms) were retrospectively analyzed. A bivariate statistical analysis (Fisher's exact test) was used to compare the subgroups. We found that patients with TAA had a 9.0% prevalence of ICA (19 of 212 patients), ninefold greater than that in the general population. Also, the location of the TAA influenced the prevalence of ICA. The prevalence of ICA in patients with a descending TAA was significantly greater—33% (5 of 15 patients)—than the prevalence (7.1%) in patients (14 of 197 patients) with an ascending TAA (p = 0.006). Hypertension also increased the prevalence of concurrent ICA: 18 (11.8%) of 153 patients with hypertension and a TAA had concurrent ICA, but only 1 (1.7%) of 59 normotensive patients with a TAA had an ICA (p = 0.03). A history of cigarette smoking increased the risk of an ICA. Race, age, and gender did not significantly affect the prevalence of concurrent ICA. In conclusion, patients with a TAA are at increased risk of having an ICA. We suggest that patients with a TAA be screened for an ICA.
Waveguide coupled Ge-on-oxide photodetectors for integrated optical links

We demonstrate Ge MSM photodetectors with responsivities of 0.9 A/W at 1310 nm and capable of data rates of 20 Gb/s. Direct Ge on oxide deposition makes these photodetectors potentially suitable for CMOS back-end optical links.
Salience vs. commitment: dynamics of political hashtags in Russian Twitter

Social media sites like Twitter enable users to engage in the spread of contagious phenomena: everything from information and rumors to social movements and virally marketed products. In particular, Twitter has been observed to function as a platform for political discourse, allowing political movements to spread their message and engage supporters, and also as a platform for information diffusion, allowing everyone from mass media to citizens to reach a wide audience with a critical piece of news. Previous work1 suggests that different contagious phenomena will display distinct propagation dynamics, and in particular that news will spread differently through a population than other phenomena. We leverage this theory to construct a system for classifying contagious phenomena based on the properties of their propagation dynamics, by combining temporal and network features. Our system, applicable to phenomena in any social media platform or genre, is applied to a dataset of news-related and political hashtags diffusing through the population of Russian Twitter users. Our results show that news-related hashtags have a distinctive pattern of propagation across the spectrum of Russian Twitter users. In contrast, we find that political hashtags display a number of different dynamic signatures corresponding to different politically active sub-communities. Analysis using ‘chronotopes’ sharpens these findings and reveals an important propagation pattern we call ‘resonant salience.’
Continuum electrostatic analysis of preferred solvation sites around proteins in solution.

To understand water-protein inter- actions in solution, the electrostatic field is calculated by solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation, and the free energy surface of water is mapped by translating and rotating an explicit water molecule around the protein. The calculation is applied to T4 lysozyme with data available on the conservation of solvent binding sites in 18 crystallographically independent molecules. The free energy maps around the ordered water sites provide information on the relationship between water positions in crystal structure and in solution. Results show that almost all conserved sites and the majority of nonconserved sites are within 1.3 A of local free energy minima. This finding is in sharp contrast to the behavior of randomly placed water molecules in the boundary layer, which, on the aver- age, must travel more tha n3At o thenearest free energy minimum. Thus, the solvation sites are at least partially determined by protein-water interactions rather than by crystal packing alone. The characteris- tic water residence times, obtained from the free energies at the local minima, are in good agreement with nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. Only about half of the potential sites show up as ordered water in the 1.7 A resolution X-ray structure. Crystal packing interactions can stabilize weak or mobile potential sites (in fact, some ordered water positions are not close to free energy minima) or can prevent water from occupying certain sites. Apart from a few buried water molecules that are strong binders, the free energies are not very different for conserved and nonconserved sites. We show that conservation of a water site between two crystals occurs if the positions of protein atoms, primarily contributing to the free energy at the local minimum, do not substantially change from one structure to the other. This require- ment can be correlated with the nature of the side chain contacting the water molecule in the site. Proteins 2000;38:176-188. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Do Service Guarantees Guarantee Greater Market Value

Service guarantees are an important feature of many service offerings because consumers recognize greater risk associated with the purchase of services than with the purchase of goods. Despite substantial service guarantee research in the past two decades though, no extant study has examined the return on service guarantee investments. To fill this gap, the authors examine the effect of a service guarantee on a firm’s market value by identifying new service guarantee announcements, then using these announcements as events in an event study. The results show that simply offering a service guarantee does not result in greater market value, as measured by a change in stock market returns, for the offering firm. Instead, the market value of a service guarantee depends on its scope and the process required to invoke the guarantee. In particular, service guarantees that are specific in scope or automatically invoked lead to significantly greater market value than unconditional or customer-invoked guarantees, re...
Grooming and Social Cohesion in Patas Monkeys and Other Guenons

Patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas), although ecologically distinct, share many features of social organization with the forest guenons including similar patterns of female-female relations and less rigid dominance hierarchies than is typical of other cercopithecines, notably baboons and macaques. Like many guenons, patas monkeys are female philopatric and females need to cooperate closely to defend their offspring and their group’s range and its resources. As patas monkeys and at least some guenons also cooperate in caring for infants, these species would seem to need to maintain strong social bonds. We examined the idea that grooming acts to maintain and reinforce social bonds in species like patas monkeys with rather loosely defined dominance relations. We analyzed grooming patterns of adult female patas monkeys in two wild groups, one small and one large, in Kenya’s Laikipia District. We looked at the effect of group size on grooming frequency. We found that, contrary to earlier predictions, females in the smaller group groomed all other group members and other adult females significantly more frequently than did females in the larger group. We also assessed the role of grooming in reaffirming social bonds under two sets of circumstances we believed would create a need for strong cooperation among group females: during intergroup encounters and also during a period when several females in the small study group disappeared. We found no significant effect of either of these potential causes of social stress on patas female grooming relations generally. Our analysis provided partial support for the idea that grooming acts in a general way to maintain or reaffirm social bonds in female philopatric species.
Analysis and Practical Use of Flexible BiCGStab

A flexible version of the BiCGStab algorithm for solving a linear system of equations is analyzed. We show that under variable preconditioning, the perturbation to the outer residual norm is of the same order as that to the application of the preconditioner. Hence, in order to maintain a similar convergence behavior to BiCGStab while reducing the preconditioning cost, the flexible version can be used with a moderate tolerance in the preconditioning Krylov solves. We explored the use of flexible BiCGStab in a large-scale reacting flow application, PFLOTRAN, and showed that the use of a variable multigrid preconditioner significantly accelerates the simulation time on extreme-scale computers using $$O(10^4)$$O(104)---$$O(10^5)$$O(105) processor cores.
The Pediatric Pelvis

Ultrasonography has become a high-end diagnostic imaging modality and represents the method of choice in the investigation of the pediatric pelvis. In this chapter, we review the pediatric female pelvis including scanning techniques and normal sonographic appearance of the uterus and ovaries and the specific imaging features at different ages. Pathological conditions are discussed including ambiguous genitalia, uterine malformations, puberty disorders, pelvic masses, ovarian torsion, ovarian cysts, and ovarian neoplasms. We will then review the pediatric urinary bladder using scanning techniques, normal sonographic anatomy, and the different bladder abnormalities including congenital, inflammatory, neuropathic, neoplastic, and posttraumatic conditions.
A Biochemistry Question-Guided Derivation of a Potential Mechanism for HbA1c Formation in Diabetes Mellitus Leading to a Data-Driven Clinical Diagnosis

A unique homework exercise with a related clinical case study has been designed as a tool for teaching applied biochemistry. Within the framework of the homework exercise, students derive a mechanism for the covalent attachment of glucose to hemoglobin. This process is critical to understand both nonenzymatic glycation and the molecular basis of diabetes mellitus. The homework exercise teaches first-principles using a data-driven, question-guided approach. The accompanying case study contextualizes the principles derived by students into a tangible clinical application. In the case study, students interpret analytical chemistry data from a clinical setting for a diabetic patient and must make conclusions on the best control and treatment for the patient. To make the proper clinical assessment, students must understand the mechanistic principles regarding nonenzymatic glycation of proteins that they learned in the homework exercise. Overall, the homework exercise and the case study tether together principl...
A Comprehensive Assessment Tool for Psoriasis — An Unmet Need: Report from the GRAPPA 2014 Annual Meeting

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that has several distinct clinical subtypes, the most common of which is plaque psoriasis. Other non-plaque subtypes, however, including scalp, nail, inverse, and palmoplantar, have been demonstrated to be more common than previously believed, are associated with a significant burden of disease, and are likely underdiagnosed and undertreated. Understanding the effects of these non-plaque psoriasis subtypes can be challenging given that the gold standard psoriasis tool, the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index, is mostly directed at plaque psoriasis. Therefore, a tool that can more comprehensively assess the psoriasis patient represents an unmet need in dermatology. Herein we discuss the concept of an ideal tool that addresses both plaque and non-plaque subtypes, with equal contribution from physician and patient, as discussed at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA).
Abstract LB-242: Dissecting Cell Signaling Mediated by Multi-spanning Transmembrane Domain Association

The association of protein transmembrane domains regulates many pivotal signal transduction pathways. Molecular recognition by polytopic membrane proteins is especially poorly understood due to their difficult preparation, characterization and analysis. Herein, we demonstrate a modular approach designed to study multi-spanning transmembrane domain association, using hydrophobic peptides representing individual transmembrane helices. Transmembrane helices have a high level of intrinsic stability due to the energetic requirement to sequester the polar backbone from the hydrophobic environment of the membrane causing them to adopt native-like structures in membrane-mimetic environments. Biophysical and biochemical experiments on individual transmembrane helices identified a novel protein-oligomerization hotspot for a representative membrane protein, latent membrane protein 1, and the key residue was confirmed as biologically relevant in the full-length protein. This generally applicable approach provides a novel strategy to study multi-spanning transmembrane proteins. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-242. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-LB-242
Compressor Heuristics for Conceptual Process Design

Multiple compressors in series with intermediate heat exchangers are frequently used to reduce compressor energy consumption or to limit compressor discharge temperatures when the overall compressi...
Plakophilin 3 mediates Rap1-dependent desmosome assembly and adherens junction maturation.

The pathways driving desmosome and adherens junction assembly are temporally and spatially coordinated, but how they are functionally coupled is poorly understood. Here we show that the Armadillo protein plakophilin 3 (Pkp3) mediates both desmosome assembly and E-cadherin maturation through Rap1 GTPase, thus functioning in a manner distinct from the closely related plakophilin 2 (Pkp2). Whereas Pkp2 and Pkp3 share the ability to mediate the initial phase of desmoplakin (DP) accumulation at sites of cell–cell contact, they play distinct roles in later steps: Pkp3 is required for assembly of a cytoplasmic population of DP-enriched junction precursors, whereas Pkp2 is required for transfer of the precursors to the membrane. Moreover, Pkp3 forms a complex with Rap1 GTPase, promoting its activation and facilitating desmosome assembly. We show further that Pkp3 deficiency causes disruption of an E-cadherin/Rap1 complex required for adherens junction sealing. These findings reveal Pkp3 as a coordinator of desmosome and adherens junction assembly and maturation through its functional association with Rap1.
Conversational HELP

The operator aide project uses a minicomputer-based terminal for operator interaction and control of a large time sharing system. The software in the minicomputer is split into two parts. The foreground part controls the communications line to the time shared system. The background part uses natural language input to answer questions about operating procedures, options, and error conditions.
On the opacity of clausal constituents

AbstractClausal constituents of sentences present analytical difficulties in terms of both their distribution and their ability to determine syntactic relationships. This study proposes a typology of these constituents based on their differing syntactic and semantic properties and corresponding distinctions involving question formation. Contrary to the claims of government-binding theory, the analysis presented here argues that the data can ultimately be accounted for by an appeal to the semantic rather than simply the syntactic properties of these constituents.
CO_2 Laser Treatment for Common Anal Diseases:a Report of 470 Cases

Objective To introduce a method for curing common anal diseases including external and internal hemorrhoid, anal fistula and anal fissure. Methods The experience about the laser therapy for anal diseases was described and discussed by summarizing all clinical cases between 1995 to 2005. Results All 470 cases of anal diseases patients receiving CO_2 laser therapy healed well from the operation. Good results were obtained with a rehabilitation of 96.6% and effective rate of 100%. Conclusions CO_2 laser therapy for common anal diseases is simple and convenient, easy for operation with few complication and good results that it is considered a basic skill for the primary doctors in the anal diseases department or laser department.
Martial race theory

Martial race theory affected policies of military recruitment and conscription throughout the British and French empires. This ideology established a racial hierarchy based on climatic theories, physical qualities, and perceived behavioral characteristics, and colonial authorities sought to identify indigenous peoples in Asia and Africa naturally suited for military service. However, the classification of groups as inherently militaristic and their disproportionate presence in colonial forces was more often due to their acceptance of colonial authority instead of some innate fearlessness or capacity for violence. Keywords: 19th–20th centuries; Africa; Asia; imperial history; military history; race and ethnicity
Industrial interfaces can be wireless, and reliable

The tasks of digging ditches and laying cable lines are associated with high costs. These costs quickly multiply in view of the expense involved in development and inspection as well as in gaining approval before a project can get underway. Wherever obstacles such as streets, railway tracks or rivers need to be overcome, the industrial radio path offers new solutions at a fraction of the cost.