cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Further development of the losipescu shear test method

Recent activities by the present investigators to further develop the losipescu-shear-test method for use with composite materials are summarized. Finite-element analyses used to predict the stress states in the specimen are described, with particular emphasis on how they are influenced by the specific test-fixture configuration used. These same analytical tools were also used to predict the influence of specimen notch depth, notch angle, and notch-root radius. The result was a redesign of the original Wyoming version of the losipescu-shear-test fixture, and the establishment of guidelines for preparing specimens. These are discussed in some detail. Many references to available literature are included. An attempt has been made to put the work performed to date into perspective, to aid the potential user of the losipescu-shear-test method in establishing proper test procedures.
Exposure of US counties to Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes, 1851–2003

Exposure of counties in the continental United States to tropical storm and hurricane conditions was determined using the historic record of storm tracks for the period 1851–2003. Two approaches were used to determine exposure: (1) cumulative number of hits, with a hit occurring when the storm’s path crosses a county and (2) cumulative exposure factor, which describes how much of the county has been exposed to tropical storm, hurricane, and intense hurricane-force winds. In both approaches the top 10 counties in terms of cumulative exposure are in coastal Florida, North Carolina, and Louisiana. An explanatory model was developed to describe the patterns in the documented exposure, which included distance to coast, latitude, longitude, size, and shape of the counties. Multivariate linear regression confirmed that much of the spatial variability in exposure to storm conditions can be explained with these simple parameters.
Packing Characterization for Post Combustion CO2 Capture: Mass Transfer Model Development☆

Abstract Three mass transfer properties: the effective area (ae), liquid film and gas film mass transfer coefficients (kL and kG) are measured consistently for eleven packings with different surface area and corrugation angle. The effective area and liquid film mass transfer coefficient increases with liquid velocity while gas film mass transfer coefficient increases with gas velocity. The fractional effective area decreases with surface area and barely changes with corrugation angle. kL and kG increase as surface area increases or corrugation angle decreases. A new concept-mixing point density is proposed to represent the packing geometry influence on kL and kG. Correlations for ae, kL, and kG are developed including effects of gas and liquid rates and packing geometry.
Status of Pion Rare Decays

The present status of the rare pion (and muon) decays is reviewed. New results of the PIBETA experiment are discussed, as well as recent theoretical developments. Special attention is devoted to the π + → π 0 e + ν and π + → e + ν γ channels, the pion beta and radiative decays, respectively.
Remanence loss in &#947;-Fe 2 O 3 tapes as related to reptation, viscosity, and print-through

The reptation and magnetic viscosity in γ-Fe 2 O 3 tape as a function of an applied field is found by using a rotating sample magnetometer (RSM) which measures the decrease in remanent magnetization M R , as the sample spins in a field at different frequencies. A modified RSM is used to find the decrease in M R when a reverse field is repeatedly applied along a stationary axis. Reptation is found only when the sample rotates in a field. Magnetic viscosity effects peak at fields near the coercive field and scale with print-through in tapes.
Update on Pharmacotherapy for Prevention and Treatment of Post-operative Delirium: A Systematic Evidence Review

Delirium is highly prevalent among elderly post-operative patients with no pharmacological intervention approved by the Food and Drug Administration for prevention or treatment. We conducted a systematic evidence review to critically appraise literature related to the pharmacotherapy of post-operative delirium. Ten studies fulfilled our inclusion criteria with two interventions for delirium treatment and eight interventions for delirium prevention in post-operative patients. The quality of evidence of delirium treatment studies was poor, whereas the quality of evidence in delirium prevention studies ranges from moderate to high. Delirium treatment studies find similar delirium duration and length-of-stay outcomes between haloperidol and either morphine or ondansetron. Risperidone was found to reduce the conversion of sub-syndromal delirium to delirium in one study compared to placebo. Haloperidol, olanzapine, and ketamine were each found to reduce delirium incidence, whereas rivastigmine had no impact on delirium incidence or duration. Lighter anesthesia as monitored by bi-spectral index led to a decreased delirium incidence. Considering results from studies conducted prior to the dates of this review, the current evidence suggests that certain pharmacologic classes and lighter sedation using BIS monitoring may prevent post-operative delirium, although a conclusive recommendation for clinical practice must await further research.
Interleaved balanced SSFP imaging: artifact reduction using gradient waveform grouping.

Purpose To analyze steady-state signal distortions in interleaved balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) caused by slightly unbalanced eddy-current fields and develop a general strategy for mitigating these artifacts. Materials and Methods We considered bSSFP sequences in which two gradient waveforms are interleaved in a “groupwise” fashion, ie, each waveform is executed consecutively two or more times before switching to the other waveform (we let “N” count the number of times each waveform is executed consecutively). The steady-state signal profile over the bSSFP passband was calculated using numerical Bloch simulations and measured experimentally in a uniform phantom. The proposed “grouped” interleaved bSSFP strategy was applied to cardiac velocity mapping using interleaved phase-contrast imaging with N = 2 and N = 6 in one healthy volunteer. Results Simulation and phantom measurements show that signal distortions are systematically reduced with increasing grouping number N. For most tissues, significant suppression was achieved with N = 4, and increasing N beyond this value produced only marginal gains. However, signal distortions for blood remain relatively high even for N > 4. In vivo cardiac velocity mapping using interleaved phase-contrast imaging with N = 6 demonstrated reduced image artifact levels compared to the N = 2 acquisition. Conclusion Gradient waveform “grouping” offers a simple and general strategy for mitigating steady-state eddy-current distortions in bSSFP sequences that interleave two different gradients. Blood exhibits significant distortion even with “grouping,” which is a major obstacle for cardiovascular bSSFP approaches that interleave multiple gradient waveforms. The grouping concept may also benefit applications that acquire images during the transient approach to steady state. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009;29:745–750. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Protection against heavy metal toxicity by mucus and scales in fish

Fingerlings of three freshwater fish showed differences in susceptibility to lethality of 250 mg/L lead suspension or lead nitrate solution in water. Among these, the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) was more tolerant than green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) and goldfish (Carassius auratus). The addition of mucus from largemouth bass, when added to jars containing lead, increased the LT-50 value (time to kill 50% of fingerling exposed to 250 mg/L lead) in green sunfish and goldfish. However, adding scales, especially if the scales were treated with an alkaline solution of cysteine and glycine, made all of these species tolerant to otherwise lethal concentrations of lead or mercury. The scales buffered the pH of lead nitrate solution as well as removed lead (and mercury) from water (by settling down at the bottom after sequestering lead). Scales of younger fingerlings of largemouth bass were more efficient in chelating heavy metals than those of older ones.
The Interaction of Jet Streak Circulations during Heavy Snow Events along the East Coast of the United States

Abstract The interaction of transverse vertical circulations associated with two separate jet steak/trough systems is found to be a common feature of cyclogenetic events which produce heavy snow along the East Coast of the United States. The transverse circulations are identified for eight cases that span the period from 1960 to 1987 utilizing an isentropic analysis of the operational radiosonde data. The analyses depict the interaction of 1) a direct circulation located within the confluent entrance region of an upper-level jet streak over the northeastern United States or southeastern Canada with 2) an indirect circulation in the diffluent exit region of a jet streak associated with a trough nearing the East Coast. This interaction contributes to differential moisture and temperature advections and vertical motions necessary to produce heavy snowfall along the coast. It is suggested that the circulation patterns associated with the jet streak establish an environment within which boundary layer processe...
Ultrasound-guided four quadrant biopsy of the prostate: efficacy in the diagnosis of isoechoic cancer

Five hundred and eighty men underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy of the prostate using the four quadrant biopsy (4QB) technique. Four hundred and three men had focal hypoechoic lesions of the peripheral gland but the other 177 men referred because of concern for the presence of cancer had no discrete sonographic lesion. Cancer was found from 4QB in only 32 of these 177 men (18.1%) compared to 158 of the 403 men (39.2%) with focal hypoechoic lesions (P P =0.02). Cancer yield in the 177 men without hypoechoic lesions increased as a function of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level; 11% if PSA 20ng/ml. Prostatitis was the most common abnormal biopsy finding in these men. 4QB increases the yield of prostate cancer compared to simple biopsy of hypoechoic lesions and improves knowledge of local disease extent. 4QB is recommended for men with elevated PSA levels but no peripheral gland sonographic abnormality.
Intervention time series analysis — sampling strategies

Abstract Goldschmidt, H.M.J., Ten Voorde, L.J.F., Leijten, J.F. and Lent, R.W., 1990. Intervention time series analysis — sampling strategies. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems , 9: 83–94. The application of process control characteristics to the quality assessment of analytical and clinical chemical data as well as to series of monitoring results is described extensively. These applications presume a steady state, i.e., no interventions or actions are allowed other than those induced by the process itself or by random analytical errors. However, in the study of physiological time series, interventions are common; e.g., a new type of insulin is administered, a new level of anticoagulant is prescribed, etc. A type of statistical analysis that is suited for this type of data is intervention time series analysis. We measured blood glucose, insulin and C-peptide in two diabetic patients every two hours for six days. In one patient (V) the blood glucose varied from 5 to 24 mmol/l, the C-peptide remained within the reference interval (0.2–1.0 nmol/l) while the insulin level varied from 20–140 μIU/ml, depending on the amount of insulin administered. There was no direct correlation between blood glucose level and total insulin. In the second case (VA), the blood glucose varied from 5 to 15 mmol/l, the C-peptide was always greater than 2.0 nmol/l along with a total insulin of 40–220 μIU/ml. A retrospective analysis of the blood glucose level for both patients using univariate and multivariate statistical analysis proved to be applicable to only one patient (VA). The data in the other case (V) could only be fitted by means of an intervention time series analysis. Time series analysis not only provides a good description of physiological time tracks but, with the application of intervention analysis, it also offers the possibility of handling medical actions. The accurate forecasting of results, e.g. in medical settings, is possible with these techniques. The optimal sample frequency can be also estimated. In the future, with the growing need for cost-effective information management tools, these methods will gain in importance.
Optimal control with a bounded energy input derivative for a class of distributed systems

An optimal control problem, for a class of distributed parameter systems, with a constraint on the input derivative, is posed. The constraint is a bound on the L 2 norm of the input derivative. Existence of optimal controls is proved, and a non-linear integro-differential equation is derived to serve as a necessary and sufficient condition for the optimal controls to satisfy. Also, a computational scheme, for optimal controls, is suggested.
Dynamically managed multithreaded reconfigurable architectures for chip multiprocessors

Prior work has demonstrated that reconfigurable logic can significantly benefit certain applications. However, recon-figurable architectures have traditionally suffered from high area overhead and limited application coverage. We present a dynamically managed multithreaded reconfigurable architecture consisting of multiple clusters of shared reconfigurable fabrics that greatly reduces the area overhead of reconfigurability while still offering the same power efficiency and performance benefits. Like other shared SMT and CMP resources, the dynamic partitioning of the reconfigurable resource among sharing threads, along with the co-scheduling of threads among different reconfigurable clusters, must be intelligently managed for the full benefits of the shared fabrics to be realized. We propose a number of sophisticated dynamic management approaches, including the application of machine learning, multithreaded phase-based management, and stability detection. Overall, we show that, with our dynamic management policies, multithreaded reconfigurable fabrics can achieve better energy × delay2, at far less area and power, than providing each core with a much larger private fabric. Moreover, our approach achieves dramatically higher performance and energy-efficiency for particular workloads compared to what can be ideally achieved by allocating the fabric area to additional cores.
Magnetic and crystallographic characteristics of the ternary intermetallic compounds containing lanthanides and iron or cobalt

Abstract The ternary alloy systems GdCo 5− x Al x , GdCo 5− x Cu x and Ln 1− x Zr x Fe 2 (with Ln = Gd, Dy, and Ho) have been studied to ascertain whether the antiferromagnetic coupling between the sublattices in the parent compound, GdCo 5 or LnFe 2 , can be reversed by forming the ternary intermetallics. It was expected that replacement of Co with Al or Cu and of Ln with Zr would increase the electron concentration and in consequence the sign of the intrasublattice magnetic interactions might be reversed. Results showed the GdCo coupling remains anti-ferromagnetic up to the phase boundary, x = 1.75 and 4.20 for the Al- and Cu-containing ternaries, respectively. The saturation magnetization of ternaries indicates a steadily declining Co moment as Cu or Al is introduced. From the observed moments it is clear that cobalt absorbs electrons into its d -shell and at such a rate that the electron concentration is not increased by introducing Cu or Al. Similar results were obtained for the LnFe 2 -based ternaries and again it appears that the d -transition element, Fe, absorbs electrons at a rate to preserve a constant electron concentration. In both the Haucke and Laves phase systems it appears that Brillouin Zone filling is an important consideration. In both GdCo 5 and the LnFe 2 compounds the Fermi sphere seems to be in contact with a zone boundary so that increasing the electron concentration is energetically difficult and additional electrons are accommodated instead in essentially localized d -states associated with Fe or Co. This analysis provides a basis for understanding the phase boundaries in the GdCo 5 -based systems and the nonexistence of GdCu 5 , GdAl 5 , and ZrNi 2 . The lattice parameters vary linearly with composition for all systems studied. ZrFe 2 is miscible in all proportions with DyFe 2 and HoFe 2 , the ternaries all having the C 15 structure. ZrFe 2 and GdFe 2 have limited miscibility. The C 15 structure exists in Gd 1− x Zr x Fe 2 for x = 0 and for x = 0.8 to 1.0; the system consists of two phases for 0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.8.
INCREASED TYPE V COLLAGEN IN THE STRICTURES OF CROHN'S DISEASE

Histologic studies of strictured intestine in Crohn's disease have revealed an accumulation of collagen and a proliferation of smooth smooth muscle cells. In order to determine if these changes were associated with changes in collagen types, collagen was isolated (acetic acid extraction, limited pepsinisation and salt precipatation) from control intestine, inflamed intestine, and strictured intestine resected from patients with Crohn's disease and collagen types separated by slab gel electropheresis, and quantitated by densitometry. The major collagen type in control intestine was Type I followed by Types III and V. In strictured intestine the relative amount of Type V collagen was significantly increased. Quantitation of hydroxyproline content of the specimens by acid hydrolysis and HPLC demonstrated a significant (p<0.05) increase in collagen per unit area of mucosa in strictured (2308±269 nM) vs. control (1706±122 nM) intestine. Intestinal strictures in Crohn's disease contain increased Type V collagen. These data, in conjunction with the histologic data, suggest a significant role for smooth muscle cells in intestinal fibrosis. Supported by NIH grant AM34151 and the NFIC.
EFFECT OF SODIUM SULFATE ON THE PHAGE-BACTERIUM REACTION.

Bacteriophagy taking place in the presence of M/8 Na2SO4 has the following pronounced characteristics: A. Time of lysis is considerably prolonged. B. The bacteria take up less than the normal amount of phage. C. Phage production occurs at one-third the customary rate. D. It takes four times as much phage to lyse a Na2SO4-treated bacterium than a normal one. E. Bacterial growth is not affected by Na2SO4. The lag phase and the lowered rate of phage production can be attributed to the Na2SO4 effect on the cell surface. Less phage is taken up by the cells and contact of phage with the bacterium's precursor-producing mechanism is impeded.
Synergistic and feedback signaling mechanisms in the regulation of inflammation in respiratory infections

Pneumonia, the most typical and frequent lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), is a leading cause of health problems in the United States. Bacteria represent the most prevailing cause of pneumonia in both children and adults. Although pneumonia with a single bacterial infection is common, a significant portion of patients with pneumonia is polymicrobial. This infection is often complexed with other physiological factors such as cytokines and growth factors. Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is the most frequently recovered Gram-negative bacterial pathogen in the respiratory system and induces strong inflammatory responses. NTHi also synergizes with other respiratory pathogens, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and respiratory viruses and pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). It is noteworthy that NTHi not only synergizes with growth factors such as transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), but also utilizes growth factor receptors such as TGF-β receptor and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), to enhance inflammatory responses. Although appropriate inflammation is a protective response against invading pathogens, an uncontrolled inflammatory response is often detrimental to the host. Thus, inflammation must be tightly regulated. The human immune system has evolved strategies for controlling overactive inflammatory response. One such important mechanism is via regulation of negative feedback regulators for inflammation. CYLD, a multifunctional deubiquitinase, was originally reported as a tumor suppressor, but was recently identified as a negative regulator for nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling. It is induced by NTHi and TNF-α via a NF-κB-dependent mechanism, thereby serving as an inducible negative feedback regulator for tightly controlling inflammation in NTHi infection.
British and French Intelligence in their Modern Middle Eastern Empires

Military Intelligence and the Arab Revolt: The First Modern Intelligence War. By Polly A. Mohs (London: Routledge, 2008), xvii + 238 pp. £70.00 cloth. Empires of Intelligence: Security Services and...
Census of Dinosaur Skin Reveals Lithology May Not Be the Most Important Factor in Increased Preservation of Hadrosaurid Skin

A global census of published records of dinosaur skin from the Mesozoic, cross-referenced against a more detailed lithological dataset from the Maastrichtian of North America, clarifies why most examples of fossilized dinosaur skin come from hadrosaurids. Globally, more published specimens of hadrosaurids exhibit preserved skin than any other major clade of dinosaur. North American Maastrichtian hadrosaurid fossils are 31 times more likely to have skin preserved than coeval dinosaur remains. This does not arise from collection methodology, the large population size of hadrosaurids, or the gross lithology of their depositional environment. The reason that so many hadrosaurid fossils have skin is still elusive, but was likely something intrinsic to hadrosaurids that originated early on in the clade, perhaps the possession of tougher or thicker skin. The database of published examples of fossilized dinosaur skin assembled here will assist the continued development of a much needed common terminology and taxo...
Multicasting in a linear lightwave network

Dynamic routing algorithms are proposed for setting up multicast connections in a linear lightwave network (LLN). The problem of finding a physical path for the multicast connection so as to satisfy all the constraints in the LLN is shown to be NP-complete, and a heuristic approach is presented. An algorithm is presented that decomposes the LLN into edge disjoint trees with at least one spanning tree. A multicast call is allocated a physical path on one of the trees, using the smallest component tree (SCT) or the minimum interference tree (MIT) criterion. Finally, the call is allocated the least used channel from among channels that can be allocated to it. The best performance (low blocking probability) is obtained when the LLN is decomposed into many spanning trees, each of them having a small diameter. It is also found that the selection of trees for each call using the MIT criterion exhibits better performance than with the SCT criterion. >
Holography and its application to acoustic imaging

This paper briefly reviews some aspects of holography and its application to acoustic imaging with an emphasis on concept. Included age discussions of the identity of holography, the principle of optical holography, holography applied to the acoustic domain and holography by linear detection, the applications of optical and acoustic holography, the concept and front-end embodiment of acoustic imaging systems that can be considered holographic, and the limitations of acoustic holography. This paper is intended to be tutorial and to provide discussions on relevant topics not covered by other papers in this issue on the subject of holography.
Fuzzy information retrieval

Over the past decade, information retrieval has emerged as an active research area in the application of fuzzy set theory. Fuzzy information retrieval utilizes fuzzy sets to represent documents, membership degrees for query term relevance, fuzzy logical operators to define queries, and fuzzy compatibility measures to assess the retrieval status value of a document. This paper presents an overview of fuzzy relational databases and fuzzy information retrieval. A general description of the main components of fuzzy information retrieval are given: document representation, query representation, computer-aided query formulation, document retrieval status, and performance measures. Examples of areas currently being researched are provided. The relation between fuzzy information retrieval and fuzzy relational databases is examined.
Physiologic and metabolic response to progressive and prolonged exercise in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Physical work capacity in 35 ALS patients and 6 untrained controls was evaluated during progressive bicycle ergometry. In the ALS patients, maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) and work capacity (Wmax) drop in relation to the decrease in ALS functional score. However, the oxygen cost (ml O2/kpm) of submaximal exercise was significantly increased. Prolonged submaximal exercise tests in six ALS patients and six matched untrained controls indicated that the exercise-induced increase in plasma free fatty acids, beta-hydroxybutyrate, esterified carnitine, and muscle esterified carnitine was significantly retarded in ALS patients.
Interest in Psychiatric Advance Directives Among High Users of Crisis Services and Hospitalization

Objectives: This study examined rates of interest in creating psychiatric advance directives among individuals at risk of psychiatric crises in which these directives might be used and variables associated with interest in the directives. Methods: The participants were 303 adults with serious and persistent mental illnesses who were receiving community mental health services and who had experienced at least two psychiatric crises in the previous two years. Case managers introduced the concepts of the directives and assessed participants’ interest. The associations between interest in the directives and demographic characteristics, psychiatric symptoms, level of functioning, diagnosis, history of hospitalizations, history of outpatient commitment orders, support for the directives by case managers, and site differences were examined. Results: Interest in creating a directive was expressed by 161 participants (53 percent). Variables significantly associated with interest were support for the directives by a participant’s case manager and having no outpatient commitment orders in the previous two years. Reasons for interest included using the directives in anticipation of additional crises and as a vehicle to help ensure provision of preferred treatment. Conclusions: Substantial interest in psychiatric advance directives was shown among individuals with serious and persistent mental illness. The results strongly suggested that attitudes of clinicians about psychiatric advance directives are associated with interest in the directives among these individuals. Therefore, it is important to educate clinicians and address their concerns about the directives so that they can more comfortably support creating the documents. A shift in values may also be necessary to more consistently recognize and honor patients’ treatment preferences as specified in the directives. (Psychiatric Services 54:981–986, 2003)
Higher risk factor burden and worse outcomes in urban carotid endarterectomy patients.

Background and Purpose— Previous multicenter carotid endarterectomy (CEA) studies had screening criteria for patient comorbidities and very few blacks. We assessed the hypothesis that CEA results from two urban hospitals would approximate those of the previous multicenter trials. Methods— A retrospective chart review was completed at two urban hospitals for CEA procedures done in 2003 and 2004. Demographic information and past medical history was recorded. In hospital perioperative complications (stroke or myocardial infarction [MI]) were noted. We calculated an expected perioperative stroke rate based on trial figures and our proportion of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Results— Patients in our cohort had significantly higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, smoking, black race, and elderly status compared to previous trials. The expected perioperative stroke was 3.1%, and the observed stroke rate was 4.7% (P=0.36). Observed rates of MI (6.7%, P<0.001)) and stroke or MI (11.3%, P<0.0001) were hig...
Avoiding unintentional eviction from integral projection models

Integral projection models (IPMs) are increasingly being applied to study size-structured populations. Here we call attention to a potential problem in their construction that can have important consequences for model results. IPMs are implemented using an approximating matrix and bounded size range. Individuals near the size limits can be unknowingly “evicted” from the model because their predicted future size is outside the range. We provide simple measures for the magnitude of eviction and the sensitivity of the population growth rate (λ) to eviction, allowing modelers to assess the severity of the problem in their IPM. For IPMs of three plant species, we found that eviction occurred in all cases and caused underestimation of the population growth rate (λ) relative to eviction-free models; it is likely that other models are similarly affected. Models with frequent eviction should be modified because eviction is only possible when size transitions are badly mis-specified. We offer several solutions to e...
Prohealing Endothelial Progenitor Cell Capture Stents Do the Cells Captured Explain the Clinical Outcomes

Since the early days of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, it has been recognized that balloon inflation disrupts the endothelial monolayer and injures normal arterial segments.1 This initiates a repair process that is mediated by platelets, inflammatory cells, and circulating progenitor cells that are recruited to sites of injury. There has been recent interest in the prohealing properties of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Early studies identified these cells by expression of the surface antigen CD34 and demonstrated that they promoted reendothelialization after balloon injury.2,3 Because of the fact that these cells are relatively rare in the circulation (0.005%–0.01% of the total white blood cell count), it is not surprising that a stent was designed to capture circulating EPCs and sequester the cells to promote rapid reendothelialization, to decrease thrombogenicity, and to prevent restenosis.4 To accomplish this, the stent incorporated a monoclonal CD34 antibody in a proprietary polysaccharide intermediate coating that was adhered to a stainless steel stent; in 2010, the stent platform was changed to cobalt chromium.5 The safety and efficacy of the EPC capture stent have been studied extensively in clinical registries and randomized trials. The Healthy Endothelial Accelerated Lining Inhibits Neointimal Growth (HEALING) registries established a safety profile for the stent but demonstrated what would become a common theme; the stent did not decrease late lumen loss (LLL) to the same degree observed for drug-eluting stents (DES). This finding was attributed initially to variation in the number of circulating EPCs because of differences in the use …
Rapid new methods for paint collection and lead extraction

Chronic exposure of children to lead can result in permanent physiological impairment. In adults, it can cause irritability, poor muscle coordination, and nerve damage to the sense organs and nerves controlling the body. Surfaces coated with lead-containing paints are potential sources of exposure to lead. In April 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized new requirements that would reduce exposure to lead hazards created by renovation, repair, and painting activities, which disturb lead-based paint. On-site, inexpensive identification of lead-based paint is required. Two steps have been taken to meet this challenge. First, this paper presents a new, highly efficient method for paint collection that is based on the use of a modified wood drill bit. Second, this paper presents a novel, one-step approach for quantitatively grinding and extracting lead from paint samples for subsequent lead determination. This latter method is based on the use of a high-revolutions per minute rotor with stator to break up the paint into approximately 50 micron-size particles. Nitric acid (25%, v/v) is used to extract the lead in 95% for real-world paints, National Institute of Standards and Technology's standard reference materials, and audit samples from the American Industrial Hygiene Association's Environmental Lead Proficiency Analytical Testing Program. This quantitative extraction procedure, when paired with quantitative paint sample collection and lead determination, may enable the development of a lead paint test kit that will meet the specifications of the final EPA rule.
Storage Sizing and Placement through Operational and Uncertainty-Aware Simulations

As the penetration level of transmission-scale time-intermittent renewable generation resources increases, control of flexible resources will become important to mitigating the fluctuations due to these new renewable resources. Flexible resources may include new or existing synchronous generators as well as new energy storage devices. Optimal placement and sizing of energy storage to minimize costs of integrating renewable resources is a difficult optimization problem. Further, optimal planning procedures typically do not consider the effect of the time dependence of operations and may lead to unsatisfactory results. Here, we use an optimal energy storage control algorithm to develop a heuristic procedure for energy storage placement and sizing. We perform operational simulation under various time profiles of intermittent generation, loads and interchanges (artificially generated or from historical data) and accumulate statistics of the usage of storage at each node under the optimal dispatch. We develop a greedy heuristic based on the accumulated statistics to obtain a minimal set of nodes for storage placement. The quality of the heuristic is explored by comparing our results to the obvious heuristic of placing storage at the renewables for IEEE benchmarks and real-world network topologies.
Climate change impacts on vegetation and water cycle in the Euro-Mediterranean region, studied by a likelihood approach

Scientific community and policy-makers share the common interest in identifying and evaluating potential impacts of climate change on ecosystems, relying mainly on probabilistic methods of exploring the risks. In this perspective, the concept of ensemble forecasting makes possible to handle uncertainties associated with climate risk analysis by focusing on a range of potential or probable impact scenarios rather than actualizing a single case. In this paper, an ensemble of simulations based on the Lund-Potsdam-Jena (LPJ) model was used to investigate the uncertainty upon predictions of the future Euro-Mediterranean vegetation distribution, carbon dynamics, and water budget. Twenty simulations from past to future were based on the combination of different climate inputs, vegetation model parameterizations, and configurations. The evaluation of results combined the separate deterministic future projections from the LPJ model into a single probabilistic projection, associating a likelihood degree in accordance with the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change terminology. Results projected a general critical situation in terms of water availability, made more serious if considering that also the occurrence of extreme-related events, e.g., fires, is expected to become more frequent as favored by more recurrent drought episodes. Although more uncomfortable climate conditions were projected for vegetation, net primary production (NPP) was predicted to increase due to the potential enrichment of CO2 in atmosphere and its fertilization effects on vegetation. The combination of rising NPP and fire frequency may shape the carbon cycle components, as the carbon losses by fire also were projected to increase.
Copolymerization of 3,4‐dimethyltetrahydrofuran with cyclic ethers

The copolymerization of 3,4-dimethyltetrahydrofuran with selected cyclic ethers was studied. Although 3,4-dimethyltetrahydrofuran did not homopolymerize, it readily copolymerized with propylene oxide and epichlorohydrin in an alternating fashion using the cationic initiator PF5. The reactivity ratios r1 and r2 for the copolymerization of 3, 4-dimethyltetrahydrofuran and epichlorohydrin were r1 = 0.22 ± 0.05 and r2 = 0.11 ± 0.01, respectively.
Aspectos ecónomicos del vivir transnacional

Las relaciones economicas de los migrantes con su tierra natal han sido sujeto de amplia aunque fragmentada investigacion multidisciplinar. Sin embargo, la mayoria de estudios se han preocupado pri...
A non-specific Brucella agglutinating substance in bovine serum.

SummaryA filter paper chromatographic technic was used to demonstrate the presence in animal serums of a non—specific agglutinative material for Brucella. As judged by the physio—chemical properties of the material it does not seem to be related to agglutinins which arise from a specific antigenicThe authors wish to express their indebtedness to Dr. Fred C. Driver, Veterinarian in Charge, U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry and members of his staff, Drs. L. B. Clausen, E. H. Braunworth, F. R. Cameron, Louis Olson, Alfred Peterson and D. N. Werring for their very valuable assistance in supplying low—titered bovine serums, and to Drs. Henry Bauer and Anne C. Kimball of the Minnesota State Board of Health for providing the specimens of human serum used in this study.
Bringing Non-programmer Authoring of Intelligent Tutors to MOOCs

Learning-by-doing in MOOCs may be enhanced by embedding intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs). ITSs support learning-by-doing by guiding learners through complex practice problems while adapting to differences among learners. We extended the Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools (CTAT), a widely-used non-programmer tool kit for building intelligent tutors, so that CTAT-built tutors can be embedded in MOOCs and e-learning platforms. We demonstrated the technical feasibility of this integration by adding simple CTAT-built tutors to an edX MOOC, "Big Data in Education." To the best of our knowledge, this integration is the first occasion that material created through an open-access non-programmer authoring tool for full-fledged ITS has been integrated in a MOOC. The work offers examples of key steps that may be useful in other ITS-MOOC integration efforts, together with reflections on strengths, weaknesses, and future possibilities.
Text mining-based categorization and user perspective analysis of environmental sustainability indicators for manufacturing and service systems

Abstract In response to increasing global consciousness about the environmental impact of companies, a wide variety of environmental sustainability indicators and frameworks have been developed. Despite the variety of available environmental sustainability indicators, the absence of a commonly accepted categorization framework often creates confusion and inhibits indicator deployment in practice. This paper addresses this issue with a bottom-up approach that categorizes environmental sustainability indicators using their text-based objective information, and investigates industrial perceptions on indicator use. As the foundation for this work, 55 environmental sustainability indicators were extracted from extant literature. Then, companies from manufacturing and service domain were surveyed to reveal perceptions on utilization status (i.e. used in practice and future implementation) and utility (i.e. usefulness and practicality) of each indicator. For indicator categorization, the text descriptions of the collected indicators were modeled using a text mining technique, the correlated topic model, to extract their latent topics as a basis to categorize the indicators. As a result, five categories and their relevant indicators were defined. Further, the utilization status and utility levels of the indicators within the derived categories were analyzed. Possible relationships between indicator utility levels and company characteristics were also identified through logistic regression. Utility levels of specific indicators were found to change subject to market location and industry sector. Findings from this study can complement top-down conceptual categorization and inform implementation of indicators.
A Novel Cooling Method and Comparison of Active Rewarming of Mildly Hypothermic Subjects.

Objective To compare the effectiveness of arteriovenous anastomosis (AVA) vs heated intravenous fluid (IVF) rewarming in hypothermic subjects. Additionally, we sought to develop a novel method of hypothermia induction. Methods Eight subjects underwent 3 cooling trials each to a core temperature of 34.8±0.6 (32.7 to 36.3°C [mean±SD with range]) by 14°C water immersion for 30 minutes, followed by walking on a treadmill for 5 minutes. Core temperatures (Δtes) and rates of cooling (°C/h) were measured. Participants were then rewarmed by 1) control: shivering only in a sleeping bag; 2) IVF: shivering in sleeping bag and infusion of 2 L normal saline warmed to 42°C at 77 mL/min; and 3) AVA: shivering in sleeping bag and circulation of 45°C warmed fluid through neoprene pads affixed to the palms and soles of the feet. Results Cold water immersion resulted in a decrease of 0.5±0.5°C Δtes and 1±0.3°C with exercise ( P P R 2 = 0.683; IVF 1.3±0.7 ° C/h, R 2 = 0.863; and AVA 1.4 ± 0.6°C/h, R 2 = 0.853; P = .58). Shivering inhibition was greater with AVA but was not significantly different ( P = .07). Conclusions This study developed a novel and efficient model of hypothermia induction through exercise-induced convective afterdrop. Although there was not a clear benefit in either of the 2 active rewarming methods, AVA rewarming showed a nonsignificant trend toward greater shivering inhibition, which may be optimized by an improved interface.
Kashaya [asp] assimilation and dissimilation by correspondence

An aspirated stop in a Kashaya prefix becomes a plain voiceless stop by dissimilation when the root begins with an aspirate; but it also assimilates to an unaspirated stop in the same position. The OCP cannot help with assimilation, so I propose a unified analysis of the two phenomena within Agreement by Correspond­ence (Rose & Walker 2004, Bennett 2013). Unlike somewhat similar cases in the literature with both assimilation and dissimilation, here there is no structural difference. I posit a conjoined constraint that penalizes an initial aspirate in a correspondence relation; the rest follows from standard ABC assumptions.
Guatemalan Catholics and Mayas: The Future of Dialogue

April 2010 I hardly bears commenting that the first evangelization of the native peoples of the Americas was unfortunate in many respects. The abuse of forced conversion is reflected in Pedro de Alvarado’s assault on the Mam Mayas in the highlands of Guatemala in 1525. Alvarado issued a stock Spanish ultimatum: “Let it be known that our coming is beneficial because we bring tidings of the true God and Christian Religion . . . so that you might become Christians peacefully, of your own free will; but should you refuse the peace we offer, then the death and destruction that will follow will be entirely of your own account.”1 The Mams refused, and death and destruction did follow, as it had for the Mixtecs, the Zapotecs, the Tzotzil Mayans of southern Mexico, and the neighboring Guatemalan kingdom of the K’iche’ Mayas (the Guatemalan department in which they live is often Latinized as “Quiche”). Within a decade and a half, Spanish expeditions subdued most of the other Mayan strongholds in the Guatemalan highlands.2 Coerced conversion had mixed results. Carmack, Gasco, and Gossen describe Christianity as an addition to, rather than a replacement of, Mayan religious beliefs. While many were baptized and attended religious services, Mayas understood Christianity in terms compatible with their own cultures. “Over time, new prayers, new images, new songs, new penances, and new festivals were adopted whereas many of the old practices were abandoned. But there was never a sudden and total substitution of a new faith for an old.”3 Gustavo Gutierrez laments the tragic Christian-Mayan religious encounter through centuries of conquest. Unlike Paul’s approach to the Greco-Roman world that was “attentive to the religious values to be found outside Christianity,” sixteenthcentury Spanish missionaries regarded the peoples of the Americas as belonging to a “socially and culturally inferior world.”4
Hypertrophic and atrophic scars.

A middle-aged man presented with firm hypopigmented linear lesions and an ulcerative papule (Figure ​(Figure11) as well as atrophic scars (Figure ​(Figure22) on his forearm. What is your diagnosis? Figure 1 Forearm with hypopigmented linear scar and hyperpigmented ulcerative papule. Figure 2 Forearm with atrophic lesions. Diagnosis: Cutaneous manifestations of heroin use.
Response function formulation for inverse heat conduction: concept

The Calibration Integral Equation Method (CIEM) represents an alternative view for resolving inverse heat-conduction problems based on a closely integrated mathematical and calibratory framework. The development of the measurement equation is constructed in the frequency domain and then inverted to the physical time domain through a convolution theorem. Hence, a first-kind Volterra integral equation arises from which the surface thermal condition can be resolved. This paper develops a “solution” formulation for the surface thermal condition initiated by CIEM principles. As with all inverse problems, stability in the prediction is key to the success of the methodology. All inverse problems require regularization by some technique for producing a stable approximate solution. The solution approach is formulated in the frequency domain in terms of a ratio of Laplace-transformed in-depth temperature measurements multiplied by the transformed calibration surface condition. The Laplace-transformed response function contains the calibration and reconstruction information from the in-depth sensor. The reconstructed surface condition is obtained in two steps. First, the inversion of this response function to the time domain is meticulously illustrated. Second, this temporal representation of the response function is then convolved with the measured calibration surface condition for predicting the surface condition. Fundamental to this paper is the mathematical framework required for inverting the Laplace-transformed response function composed of noisy in-depth data. The methodology is demonstrated by investigating a transient, one-dimensional linear heat equation in a semi-infinite geometry as associated with null-point calorimetry. This preliminary study relates the relevant details for the inversion of the response function based on Fourier analysis and presents results highlighting the merit of the concept.
High-fat, high-fructose, high-cholesterol feeding causes severe NASH and cecal microbiota dysbiosis in juvenile Ossabaw swine.

Pediatric obesity and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are on the rise in industrialized countries, yet our ability to mechanistically examine this relationship is limited by the lack of a suita...
QALMA: A computational toolkit for the analysis of quality protocols for medical linear accelerators in radiation therapy

Abstract Quality Assurance (QA) for medical linear accelerator (linac) is one of the primary concerns in external beam radiation Therapy. Continued advancements in clinical accelerators and computer control technology make the QA procedures more complex and time consuming which often, adequate software accompanied with specific phantoms is required. To ameliorate that matter, we introduce QALMA (Quality Assurance for Linac with MATLAB), a MALAB toolkit which aims to simplify the quantitative analysis of QA for linac which includes Star-Shot analysis, Picket Fence test, Winston–Lutz test, Multileaf Collimator (MLC) log file analysis and verification of light & radiation field coincidence test.