cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Civil Society and Democratic Governance in Turkey: Prospects and Challenges

There is still debate regarding the definition of civil society and its development. However, today civil society is perceived as one of the main actors in public policy and decision-making processes. This chapter defines the concept of civil society and its development in western societies. Further, the chapter presents a brief background of civil society in Turkey and provides a spectrum of civil society organizations from the country. The role of training and capacity building and the educational capacity of educational institutions are also analyzed in this chapter with an emphasis on the influence of civil society on Turkish democratic governance.
Emergencies in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

The clinical presentation of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) may range from nonspecific symptoms such as progressive malaise, fever, and fatigue to severe life-threatening manifestations, requiring immediate medical intervention.
Scalable Exploratory Search on Knowledge Graphs Using Apache Spark

Faceted search is a popular exploratory search paradigm on Big Knowledge Graphs. Translating exploration steps into database queries for processing leads to several joins when dealing with knowledge graphs as opposed to filter conditions when dealing with structured data. Further, existing engines handle each exploration step as independent queries in spite of data dependencies that often exist between steps. In this work, we propose an incremental query execution model RAPIDFacet, that exploits the iterative nature of faceted search and reuses intermediate results. The approach is built on top of Apache Spark which naturally supports iterative models and the Nested Triplegroup Data Model and Algebra (NTGA) which uses a coarse grained data model to avoid joins. Evaluations showed up to 150x faster execution than existing approaches.
SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF DIRECT ORAL ANTICOAGULANTS IN PATIENTS WITH ATRIAL FIBRILLATION AND VALVULAR HEART DISEASE

Studies assessing direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) have excluded those with bioprosthetic heart valves (BPHV). Data on the safety and efficacy of DOACs is limited in this population We queried the electronic medical records (EMR) of our institution for
Morphogenic Spatial Analysis: A Novel Approach for Visualizing Volumetric Urban Conditions and Generating Analytical Morphology

This investigation explores the simultaneous mapping of environmental and socioeconomic conditions for the volumetric analysis of urban space and impacting early-stage design. The research asserts ...
Laser Self-Mixing Interferometry for Precision Displacement Measurement in Resonant Gyroscopes

Laser self-mixing interferometry (SMI), as an alternative contactless displacement measurement method, has extremely high resolution (pico-meter), large dynamic range and wide bandwidth. Comparing to electrostatic capacitive sensing, its detection accuracy does not depend on the gap size, electrode area, or bias voltage, which are bottlenecks for high-performance vibrating sensors. This paper presents our initial study in measuring vibrations of 3D shell resonators by laser self-mixing interferometry for application in high-performance gyroscopes. Our measurement of vibrations of a shell resonator using a VCSEL shows a noise-equivalent displacement resolution of 329pm with 100Hz bandwidth for resonator vibration amplitudes of less than 100nm, which can be improved down to $\pmb{2.2}\mathbf{pm}/\surd\mathbf{Hz}$ using low noise voltage amplifiers. If used with a fused silica shell resonator gyroscope, a rate resolution of 0.45 mdeg/hr with 1Hz bandwidth can be expected. To expand sensor dynamic range, a real-time, high-accuracy phase unwrapping technique is proposed. The scale factor of the SMI can be optimized in real time through mid-fringe point tracking by a positioning actuator.
Islamic Banking: Home Purchase Financings IV: Bai Bithamen Ajil and Istisna'a - Parallel Istisna'a

This article describes two structures that are used in Shari'ah-compliant home purchase financings: the bai bithamen agil (BBA; deferred payment sale) and the istisna'a - parallel istisna'a (construction contract - parallel construction contract). The BBA structure is used primarily in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian jurisdictions, and is used in other areas of real estate finance as well. The istisna'a - parallel istisna'a is used in construction of real estate projects and in other project financings and infrastructure financings.
Pathophysiology of Cardio-Renal Syndrome: Autonomic Mechanisms

Sympathetic activation occurs in the setting of renal dysfunction and is associated with alterations of sensory afferent renal nerve activity with inputs into central autonomic nuclei responsible for cardiovascular control and sympathetic outflow. In disease states such as heart failure and renal failure, increased renal sympathetic nerve activity can further worsen renal function, with a shift from inhibitory to “less inhibitory” (or potentially excitatory) reflex responses. Available evidence suggests that in the setting of renal disease, the normally sympatho-inhibitory renal reflex shifts towards a sympatho-excitatory reflex. This shift may then contribute to the development and maintenance of cardio-renal syndrome and also to the sympathetic overactivation present in heart failure. Renal nerve denervation, with particular emphasis on the afferent renal nerves, could attenuate or abrogate these maladaptive responses in heart failure. The potential for renal nerves to reinnervate may significantly impact the long-term efficacy of this procedure. Definitive testing in long-term outcome studies in humans should inform the role that renal nerve denervation may play in heart failure and cardio-renal syndrome.
A large inner membrane pore defines the ESX translocon

Abstract The ESX (or Type VII) secretion systems are protein export systems in mycobacteria and many Gram-positive bacteria that mediate a broad range of functions including virulence, conjugation, and metabolic regulation. These systems translocate folded dimers of WXG100-superfamily protein substrates across the cytoplasmic membrane; however, the architecture and mechanism of translocation has remained elusive. We report the cryo-electron microscopy structure of an ESX-3 system, purified using an epitope tag inserted with recombineering into the model organism Mycobacterium smegmatis. The structure reveals two large α-helical membrane pores of sufficient diameter to secrete folded substrates. A complex, asymmetric, multimeric cytoplasmic domain is poised to gate and regulate the pore’s function. Our study provides mechanistic insights into the ESX systems and will guide structure-based design of drugs targeting this unique bacterial translocon. One Sentence Summary The structure of the ESX-3 secretion system reveals a pore of sufficient size for the transit of folded substrates and a complex, cytoplasmic regulatory apparatus.
Gender-Affirming Surgical Care

An increasing proportion of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals are pursuing gender-affirming surgery (GAS), but surgery in the TGD youth population remains controversial. Differing opinions among providers and advocates add to the complexities of surgical decision-making. Evaluating patient candidacy is a shared responsibility of the entire multidisciplinary team. Primary care and mental health providers play a critical role in educating their patients and referring appropriate individuals to surgeons for more rigorous evaluation of their candidacy for GAS. There is no discrete algorithm that can determine which patients should proceed with surgery. The needs and goals of each patient must be weighed alongside a number of other considerations, including patient age, medical and psychological history, type of surgery requested, lifestyle factors, social support, and resources. Above all, the decision to proceed with surgical care must involve shared decision-making among the patient and all members of their care team.
Extremely Late In-Stent Thrombosis 12 Years After Implantation of a Drug-Eluting Stent.

Stent thrombosis is one of the most feared complications of percutaneous coronary intervention. Most commonly it occurs within the first few days after the deployment of the stent. Once the stent is completely endothelialized, this complication becomes extremely rare. Few cases of very late stent thrombosis were reported in the literature with the longest interval being around 11 years after the initial intervention. We report here the case of a 78-year-old male patient who presented with acute onset chest pain found to have acute inferior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction due to thrombotic occlusion of a prior paclitaxel drug-eluting stent placed 12 years prior. This is, to our knowledge, the first case of stent thrombosis occurring after this long duration since stent implantation.
Effects of Febuxostat on Mortality and Cardiovascular Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract Objective To investigate the association between using febuxostat and cardiovascular events. Methods Systematic search of randomized controlled trials was performed using PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane review, and EMBASE databases through April 17, 2019. Meta-analysis was performed using random effect model and estimates were reported as risk difference (RD) with 95% CIs. The certainty of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. The main outcomes of interest were cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality. Results A total of 15 randomized controlled trials (16,070 participants) were included. The mean ± SD age was 58.1±11.7 years. At the median follow-up of 6.4 months, use of febuxostat was not associated with statistically significant risk of cardiovascular mortality (RD, 0.12%; 95% CI, -0.25% to 0.49%; I2=48%; low certainty evidence), all-cause mortality (RD, 0.20%; 95% CI, -0.28% to 0.68%; I2 =60%; very low certainty evidence), major adverse cardiovascular events (RD, 0.40%; 95% CI, -0.34% to 1.13%; I2=26%; low certainty evidence), myocardial infarction (RD, -0.06%; 95% CI, -0.29% to 0.17%; I2 =0%; moderate certainty evidence), stroke (RD, 0.10%; 95% CI, -0.15% to 0.35%; I2=0%; moderate certainty evidence), or new-onset hypertension (RD, 1.58%; 95% CI, -0.63% to 3.78%; I2=58%; very low certainty evidence). These findings were consistent in patients with existing cardiovascular disease. Conclusion This meta-analysis suggested that use of febuxostat was not associated with higher risk of mortality or adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with gout and hyperuricemia. The results were limited by low to moderate certainty of evidence.
Atypical UV Photoproducts Induce Non-canonical Mutation Classes Associated with Driver Mutations in Melanoma.

Summary Somatic mutations in skin cancers and other ultraviolet (UV)-exposed cells are typified by C>T and CC>TT substitutions at dipyrimidine sequences; however, many oncogenic “driver” mutations in melanoma do not fit this UV signature. Here, we use genome sequencing to characterize mutations in yeast repeatedly irradiated with UV light. Analysis of ~50,000 UV-induced mutations reveals abundant non-canonical mutations, including T>C, T>A, and AC>TT substitutions. These mutations display transcriptional asymmetry that is modulated by nucleotide excision repair (NER), indicating that they are caused by UV photoproducts. Using a sequencing method called UV DNA endonuclease sequencing (UVDE-seq), we confirm the existence of an atypical thymine-adenine photoproduct likely responsible for UV-induced T>A substitutions. Similar non-canonical mutations are present in skin cancers, which also display transcriptional asymmetry and dependence on NER. These include multiple driver mutations, most prominently the recurrent BRAF V600E and V600K substitutions, suggesting that mutations arising from rare, atypical UV photoproducts may play a role in melanomagenesis.
No Wealthy Parent Left Behind: An Analysis of Tax Subsidies for Higher Education

This Article will examine whether the tax provisions constitute a sensible portion of the federal financial aid expenditure programs. Part I of this Article discusses the principal tax provisions that provide subsidies for higher education and analyzes provisions constitute a sensible component of the federal financial aid expenditure programs. Part I of this Article discusses the principal tax provisions that provide subsidies for higher education and analyzes the allocation of benefits that arise from these provisions. Part II evaluates these provisions from a tax policy perspective. Part III contains conclusions and policy recommendations.
A first look into users’ perceptions of facial recognition in the physical world

Abstract Facial recognition (FR) technology is being adopted in both private and public spheres for a wide range of reasons, from ensuring physical safety to providing personalized shopping experiences. It is not clear yet, though, how users perceive this emerging technology in terms of usefulness, risks, and comfort. We begin to address these questions in this paper. In particular, we conducted a vignette-based study with 314 participants on Amazon Mechanical Turk to investigate their perceptions of facial recognition in the physical world, based on thirty-five scenarios across eight different contexts of FR use. We found that users do not have a binary answer towards FR adoption. Rather, their perceptions are grounded in the specific contexts in which FR will be applied. The participants considered a broad range of factors, including control over facial data, the utility of FR, the trustworthiness of organizations using FR, and the location and surroundings of FR use to place the corresponding privacy risks in context. They weighed the privacy risks with the usability, security, and economic gain of FR use as they reported their perceptions. Participants also noted the reasons and rationals behind their perceptions of facial recognition, which let us conduct an in-depth analysis of their perceived benefits, concerns, and comfort with using this technology in various scenarios. Through this first systematic look into users’ perceptions of facial recognition in the physical world, we shed light on the tension between FR adoption and users’ concerns. Taken together, our findings have broad implications that advance the Privacy and Security community’s understanding of FR through the lens of users, where we presented guidelines for future research in these directions.
Partial Monotone Dependence

We present a new measure of dependence suitable for time series forecasting: Partial Monotone Correlation (PMC) that generalizes Monotone Correlation. Unlike the Monotone Correlation, the new measure of dependence uses piecewise strictly monotone transformations that increase the value of the correlation coefficient. We explore its properties, its relationship with Monotone and Maximal Correlation, and present an algorithm that calculates it based on the Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation method. We also demonstrate how to apply Partial Monotone Correlation for time series analysis and forecasting introducing Partial Monotone Autoregressive model (PMAR) of order 1. Its performance is then evaluated against the baseline of linear and nonlinear autoregressive models (AR, LSTAR) on 150 time series produced from 3 datasets: Yellow Taxi pickups, Citi Bike pickups, and Cellular Network hits. Overall, PMAR model outperforms the baseline with the average sMAPE of about 1.7-4% lower.
DNA damage checkpoint activation affects peptidoglycan synthesis and late divisome components in Bacillus subtilis.

During normal DNA replication, all cells encounter damage to their genetic material. As a result, organisms have developed response pathways that provide time for the cell to complete DNA repair before cell division occurs. In Bacillus subtilis, it is well established that the SOS-induced cell division inhibitor YneA blocks cell division after genotoxic stress; however, it remains unclear how YneA enforces the checkpoint. Here, we identify mutations that disrupt YneA activity and mutations that are refractory to the YneA-induced checkpoint. We found that YneA C-terminal truncation mutants and point mutants in or near the LysM peptidoglycan binding domain rendered YneA incapable of checkpoint enforcement. In addition, we developed a genetic method which isolated mutations in the ftsW gene that completely bypassed checkpoint enforcement while also finding that YneA interacts with late divisome components FtsL, Pbp2b and Pbp1. Characterization of an FtsW variant resulted in considerably shorter cells during the DNA damage response indicative of hyperactive initiation of cell division and bypass of the YneA enforced DNA damage checkpoint. With our results, we present a model where YneA inhibits septal cell wall synthesis by binding peptidoglycan and interfering with interaction between late arriving divisome components causing DNA damage checkpoint activation.
Physico-chemical properties of selenium–tellurium alloys across the scales

Selenium and tellurium are both energy critical elements as defined by the American Physical Society and the Materials Research Society. When mixed together, both elements form an alloy. The size- and shape-dependent thermal and optical properties of this alloy are investigated in this manuscript by using nano-thermodynamics and machine learning techniques. This alloy is found to have particularly interesting properties for solar cell applications.
Impact of Filtering Generated Pseudo Bilingual Texts in Low-Resource Neural Machine Translation Enhancement: The Case of Persian-Spanish

Abstract Although the Neural Machine Translation (NMT) framework has already been shown effective in large training data scenarios, it is less effective for low-resource conditions. To improve NMT performance in a low-resource setting, we extend the high-quality training data by generating a pseudo bilingual dataset and then filtering out low-quality alignments using a quality estimation based on back-translation. We demonstrate that our approach yields significantly higher BLEU scores than those of a set of baselines.
Aqueous angiography in pre-glaucomatous and glaucomatous ADAMTS10-mutant canine eyes: A pilot study.

Objective To evaluate intravenous scleral and intracameral aqueous angiography in normotensive (n = 4) and hypertensive glaucomatous (n = 6) ADAMTS10-mutant canine eyes. Animals studied Ten ADAMTS10-mutant dogs were used in this study. Procedures Dogs were sedated and one eye from each dog underwent scleral angiography following intravenous injection of 0.25% indocyanine green (ICG). After a 24-h recovery period, the same eye underwent aqueous angiography via intracameral administration of ICG. Imaging of identical scleral sectors from the same eye was performed using a Heidelberg Spectralis® Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope. Intrascleral vessel depth and lumen diameters were measured using Heidelberg Spectralis® optical coherence tomography and computer software. Results Scleral angiography permitted visualization of vascular components associated with conventional aqueous humor outflow pathways with an average time from injection to fluorescence of 35.8 ± 10.6 s (mean ± SD). Two normotensive eyes (2/10;20%) demonstrated turbulent dye movement, while 4 hypertensive eyes (4/10;40%) exhibited laminar flow. Aqueous angiography demonstrated dye fluorescence within the post-trabecular conventional aqueous humor outflow pathways in all 10 eyes at 34.3 ± 11.0 s post-injection. Sectoral and dynamic outflow patterns were observed primarily within the superotemporal sector in nine eyes (9/10; 90%). Seven eyes (7/10; 70%) demonstrated pulsatile dye movement and five eyes (5/10; 50%) exhibited laminar flow. The degree of laminar movement of dye was greatest in hypertensive eyes. Vessel lumen diameters measured 133.85 ± 28.36 µm and 161.18 ± 6.02 µm in hypertensive and normotensive eyes, respectively. Conclusions Aqueous angiography allowed for visualization of fluorescent dye in the superotemporal sclera. Laminar flow and smaller lumen vessels were observed mainly in hypertensive eyes.
The Restoration and Identification of Water-Soaked Documents: A Case Study

The wallet of a 33-year-old male who had been reported missing a year ago was recovered from a pond and submitted to the Arkansas Crime Laboratory for identification. While the wallet retained its original shape and size, the billfold contents looked to be severly damaged. This paper discusses the procedure used to restore and identify successfully these documents.
The Stereochemistry of Hydrogenation of α,β-Unsaturated Ketones

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the stereochemistry of hydrogenation of αβ-unsaturated ketone. When the double bond is polarized by being in conjugation with an electron-withdrawing group as in an αβ-unsaturated ketone, other factors enter into product stereochemistry considerations. In the hydrogenation of these compounds, the stereochemistry of the product can be influenced by the nature of the solvent used in the reaction, hydrogen availability, and the nature of the catalyst. The product stereochemistry obtained on hydrogenation of αβ-unsaturated ketones is dependent on a number of reaction variables. The chapter discusses the effect of solvent on this hydrogenation of ketones. In neutral media the reaction occurs essentially by way of the classic Horiuti–Polanyi process that has been modified to incorporate both 1,2- and l,4-addition of hydrogen to the conjugated system. The relative amounts of 1,2- and 1,4-addition that take place are dependent on the nature of the solvent. In polar aprotic solvents, 1,4-addition predominates, whereas in nonpolar aprotic solvents the hydrogenation occurs primarily by a 1,2-addition sequence.
A Critical Review of “Efficiency Ethics”: The Case of Climate Economics

By examining the problem of climate change this paper develops (a) a substantial critique of the background assumptions that not only the formulation of economic theories but also, in parts, that of sociological/political theories is based upon, and (b) an approach to what should be understood by the term “ethics” with regard to the fifth IPCC Assessment Report 2014. However, ethics do not “supplement” “efficiency considerations” which up to now have dominated the practical results of the IPCC; they rather have to supersede them. It will be demonstrated that the supposed rationality behind the cost-benefit analysis used by economists and the IPCC – in correspondence to neo-classical economic theory – in order to more or less calculate mathematically the ideal climate policy, is only vaguely discernible, since both incorrect and incomplete normative and descriptive assumptions are incorporated into the calculation of what is supposed to be “efficient” climate policy. Accordingly, keywords are: predated and too optimistic climate data; problematic handling of prognosis uncertainty; missing important consequences of global warming such as wars over resources; not taking into account the limits of growth; improper quantification of what cannot be quantified; incorrect discounting of future events; and ethical and democratic deficiencies of “efficiency/preference theory” (to be clear, the problem lies within normative preference theory itself and not within the descriptive anthropology of the so called “homo economicus” which is often criticized in a rather misleading manner). The critique not only points at neoclassical environmental economics, Nicholas Stern, the IPPC, and, what is more, their “sceptical” critics, but also to some extent even at alternative economists. This paper also outlines an alternative to “efficiency thinking” which is not to be associated with “Rousseauian” or “Marxist” theories focusing on basic human needs or capabilities and Rawls’ critique of utilitarianism. It therefore goes beyond the prevalent critique of the neo-classical approach to economics. A possibly more moderate but, from a methodological standpoint, more coherent climate economics could be the objective that merges into a more general “climate social science” (Klimasozialwissenschaft) and a general balancing theory rather than focusing only on technicalities and natural sciences. Furthermore, the idea behind terms such as “ethics” and “theory of justice” that most social scientists have adopted will be corrected in the process of this review. These ideas are neither “vague”, when it comes to their justification, nor do they solely correspond to the “democratic will of the majority”. They are not even completely different from preference theories which have to be qualified as (less convincing) ethics themselves.
OFFSHORE GRAVITY STRUCTURES: CENTRIFUGAL MODELING

Offshore gravity structure foundations, including their analysis and design, are investigated. The results of an experimental study on the interaction of such structures with their soil foundations when subjected to wave forces are reported. The experimental tests were performed in a centrifuge at 100 g centrifugal acceleration with a 10-cm diam model structure bearing on a normally consolidated desposit of Santa Barbara silt. Therefore, the experimental test results apply to a 10-m diam prototype structure. The model structure was subjected to both monotonic and cyclic, as well as inclined and eccentric loading conditions; and its resulting movements (sinking, sliding and tilting) were recorded.
Designing User-Interfaces for the Cockpit: Five Common Design Errors and How to Avoid Them

The efficiency and robustness of pilot-automation interaction is a function of the volume of memorized action sequences required to use the automation to perform mission tasks. This paper describes a model of pilot cognition for the evaluation of the cognitive usability of cockpit automation. Five common cockpit automation design errors are discussed with examples.
Mechanism of the Prins reaction of styrenes

Abstract Trans-β-d-Styrene has been prepared and allowed to undergo the Prins reaction in both dioxane and acetic add solutions. The stereochemistry of the product 5-d-4-phenyl-1,3-dioxane has been determined by both proton and deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. It has thus been shown that the Prins reaction of styrene under the conditions used is almost totally non-stereoselective. The implications of these results are discussed. A general reaction scheme which satisfactorily explains the stereochemical behaviour of styrenes in the Prins reaction is presented. The potential usefulness of deuterium magnetic resonance as a probe of reaction stereochemistry has been demonstrated.
Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonitis in Young Immunocompetent Infants

Of 67 infants enrolled in a prospective study of infant pneumonia ten (14%) had evidence of Pneumocystis carinii infection. Diagnosis was achieved by demonstrating circulating P carinii antigens by counterimmunoelectrophoresis in all ten cases and by histopathology in the only infant who underwent an open lung biopsy. Antigenemia did not occur in 64 control infants (P = .003), nor in 57 patients of similar age who were hospitalized with pneumonitis due to Chlamydia trachomatis, respiratory syncytial virus, cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, and influenza A and influenza B viruses. None of the ten infants with P carinii pneumonitis had evidence of a primary immunodeficiency nor had any received immunosuppressive medication. These patients were hospitalized at a mean age of 6 weeks (range 2 to 12) and their illness was characterized by its afebrile course, presentation in crisis with severe respiratory distress, apnea, tachypnea, cough, increased IgM, and bilateral pulmonary infiltrates with hyperaeration. The clinical features of P carinii pneumonitis were indistinguishable from those of C trachomatis and cytomegalovirus pneumonia. Treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was associated with rapid disappearance of circulating antigens; however, the small number of patients studied did not permit an analysis of its clinical efficacy. These results indicate that P carinii singly or in combination with other infectious agents may be an important cause of pneumonitis in young, immunocompetent infants with no underlying illnesses.
On the Spectrum of Cyberspace Operations

The paper sets out a model for analyzing cyber events along the spectrum of conflict. It includes a review of actual events, mapping them to the model.
Implications of waveform and thickness dependence of SiO/sub 2/ breakdown on accelerated testing

Oxide breakdown characteristics under accelerated test conditions are different from those under normal operating conditions. While oxide lifetime under unipolar pulse stress is roughly equal to the DC lifetime multiplied by the reciprocal of the duty cycle, lifetime under bipolar pulse stress is extended by an additional factor of 40 or more. At the high electric fields used during accelerated testing, oxides with thickness greater than 15 nm suffer lifetime degradation which may be attributed to hole trapping. This will lead to overly conservative projections of lifetime under normal operating conditions. >
IR Microscopy Applied to Slider Rail Depletion of Lube on a Thin-Film Magnetic Recording Disk

Liquid lubricants reduce friction and wear at the recording surface of rigid magnetic disks. Loss of this lubricant can come from centrifugal effects, from evaporation, and from periodic contacts of the recording head slider rails with the lubed disk surface. Magnetic disk lubricant levels have been quantified by ESCA, by IR spectroscopy, and by ellipsometry. However, ellipsometry techniques on multilayered thinly lubed magnetic disks are complicated by multi-angle measurements and numerical calculations that are difficult to apply, while ESCA requires exposure of the lube to undesirable high-vacuum conditions. Infrared spectroscopy is easy to apply, avoids vacuum concerns and, with a grazing angle approach, has very good sensitivity. Also desirable is the capability of submillimeter spatial resolution. A device that meets these requirements is a Grazing Angle Microscopy (GAM) for infrared spectroscopy. Aside from providing magnification to analyze very small spots, a GAM with 65 to 80° incident illumination also provides the enhanced sensitivity to very thin films that ordinary IR microscopes (with normal incident illumination) lack. An example of this sensitivity is shown in Fig. 1, where the GAM measured absorbance for a 0.5 × 0.2 mm spot is distinguishable below 10 angstroms (1 nm) of perfluoropolyether lube thickness. In this study a GAM was used to quantify the polyether lube depletion on a developmental thin-film disk within the contact points of the recording head slider rails used in a routine wear test (i.e., oscillatory wear tester).
The effects of cohesive strength and toughness on mixed-mode delamination of beam-like geometries

Cohesive-zone models have been used to study the effects of strength and toughness on the delamination of beam-like geometries. The conditions under which linear-elastic interfacial mechanics provide a good frame-work for predicting failure of such systems have been studied. It has been determined that the phase angle derived from LEFM calculations provides an excellent description of the partitioning between the mode-I and mode-II energy-release rates over a wide range of fracture-length scales. In particular, the nominal phase angle can be a useful parameter, even when the fracture-length scale is so large that the interface stresses do not exhibit the expected inverse-square-root dependence. The analysis has also shown that nominal phase angles with a magnitude greater than 90° can have physical significance, provided the interface layer is thick enough to accommodate compression without crack-surface contact. Finally, the role of modulus mismatch has been studied. A length scale introduced by the cohesive strength allows a crack-tip phase angle to be established, when LEFM predicts oscillating stress fields at the crack tip. This crack-tip phase angle is shifted from the nominal phase angle based on a characteristic geometrical length by an amount that depends on the cohesive parameters of the interface and the modulus mismatch. It has been shown that, as a result of this shift, both modulus mismatch parameters can influence the strength of an interface.
Responses to a nonpeptide angiotensin receptor agonist, L163491, in the feline pulmonary vascular bed

Abstract The mechanism by which a novel potent non-peptide angiotensin subtype 1 receptor (AT 1 ) agonist, (5,7-dimethyl-2-ethyl-3-[[2′-[(butyloxycarbonyl) aminosulfonyl]-5′-(3-methoxybenzyl)-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl] methyl]-3H-imidazo [4,5-b] pyridine) (L-163,491), increased pulmonary vascular resistance was investigated in the intact-chest anesthetized cat under conditions of controlled blood flow. Intralobar injections of L-163,491, in doses of 10-300 μg i.a., caused dose-related increases in lobar arterial pressure that were partially antagonized by an AT 1 receptor antagonist, DuP 532, or by staurosporine, a protein kinase C inhibitor, in doses that antagonized presser responses to Ang II, but not to the thromboxane A 2 mimic, U46619. Responses to L 163491 were not altered by PD 123319, an AT 2 receptor antagonist. These data provide support for the hypothesis that vasoconstrictor responses to L 163491 are mediated by the activation of AT 1 receptors and the protein kinase C pathway in the pulmonary vascular bed of the intact-chest cat.
A structurally diverse mixed-metal complex with mixed bridging ligands [{[(bpy)2Os(dpp)]2Ru}2(dpq)](PF6)12: Modulating orbital energetics within a supramolecular architecture

Abstract A structurally diverse supramolecular complex, [{[(bpy) 2 Os(dpp)] 2 Ru} 2 (dpq)](PF 6 ) 12 , has been prepared (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine, dpp = 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine, and dpq = 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)quinoxaline). The supramolecular assembly contains four light absorbing osmium metal centers coupled to two ruthenium metal centers linked by two different bridging ligands (BL) capped by bpy terminal ligands. This supramolecule possesses a lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) localized on the central μ-dpq bridging ligand (BL) and a highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) localized on the terminal Os centers, providing significant spatial separation of these donor and acceptor orbitals. This hexametallic complex absorbs throughout the visible region due to overlapping singlet metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transitions from the Os and Ru chromophores to each π-acceptor ligand. The Os based 3 MLCT bands extend into the near-infrared. The light absorbing and redox properties for this hexametallic complex have been elucidated using smaller model fragments and spectroelectrochemistry.
Trends in non-medical use of anabolic steroids by U.S. college students: Results from four national surveys

This study assessed the prevalence, trends, and student- and college-level characteristics associated with the non-medical use of anabolic steroids (NMAS) among U.S. college students. Data were collected through self-administered mail surveys, from 15,282, 14,428, 13,953, and 10,904 randomly selected college students at the same 119 nationally representative colleges in 1993, 1997, 1999 and 2001, respectively. The prevalence of lifetime, past-year and past-month NMAS was 1% or less and generally did not change significantly between 1993 and 2001, with one exception: past-year NMAS increased significantly among men from 1993 (0.36%) to 2001 (0.90%). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that lifetime and past-year NMAS were associated with student-level characteristics such as being male and participation in intercollegiate athletics. Lifetime and past-year NMAS were also positively associated with several risky behaviors, including cigarette smoking, illicit drug use, drinking and driving, and DSM-IV alcohol use disorders. Nearly 7 out of every 10 lifetime non-medical users of anabolic steroids met past-year criteria for a DSM-IV alcohol use disorder. Although the overall prevalence of NMAS remained low between 1993 and 2001, findings suggest that continued monitoring is necessary because male student-athletes are at heightened risk for NMAS and this behavior is associated with a wide range of risky health behaviors. The characteristics associated with NMAS have important implications for future practice and research.
Pediatric cardiac imaging: the beat goes on!

The publication of the paper “The accuracy of chest radiographs in the detection of congenital heart disease and in the diagnosis of specific congenital cardiac lesions” [1] provides an opportunity for me to reflect on my career as a pediatric cardiac imager, on past teaching strategies in cardiac imaging, and to comment on the current and future opportunities. I welcome this re-evaluation of cardiac imaging, and the new horizons. Nearly 40 years ago, prior to echocardiography, the gold standard for recognizing children with congenital heart disease consisted of findings on physical examination and a chest radiograph. Traditionally, the radiologist tried to decide based on the chest radiograph whether the infant or child had congenital or acquired heart disease and to suggest a differential diagnosis. Each new generation of residents would learn the list of congenital heart lesions associated with increased, decreased and normal flow, and after asking whether the patient was cyanotic or acyanotic, they would proceed with a list of lesions associated with the flow pattern. Despite the advancement of non-invasive modalities such as echocardiography, CT, and MRI, the approach to teaching and educational programs was based on the assessment of pulmonary flow. Retrospectively, this may have been a flawed approach to cardiac imaging and has resulted in many radiologists not understanding basic physiology and anatomy of the heart.
Assessing the relationships between nurse work hours/overtime and nurse and patient outcomes: Systematic literature review

Abstract Background The effects of work hours/overtime on nurse and patient outcomes and specific components of work hours (per shift and per week) and overtime on these effects have not been systematically examined. Purpose The purpose of this review was to systematically evaluate the effect of nurse overtime and long work hours on nurse and patient outcomes. Methods An online search of six electronic bibliographic databases was conducted for research published from 2000 to 2013. Discussion Twenty-one nurse outcome measures and 19 patient outcome measures were found in relationships with work hours and overtime. A total of 67 relationships to nurse outcomes and 41 relationships to patient outcomes were examined. Conclusions The findings of this review suggested that evidence supporting positive relationships between working long hours and adverse outcomes to the nurses is strong. However, to make a conclusion of the positive relationship between long work hours and adverse patient outcomes, more evidence is needed.
Security enforcement in wireless sensor networks: A framework based on non-cooperative games

This paper focuses on the design of security enforcement mechanisms for the prevention of denial of service (DoS) attacks in wireless sensor networks. In the first part, we identify the requirement for security enforcement using auction theory, which allows us to detect non-cooperative nodes. Our novel scheme for preventing DoS attacks is called Secure Auction based Routing (SAR). In the proposed protocol, nodes prefer to participate in forwarding incoming packets and gaining reputation in the network. Nodes willing to do so must compete against each other, and the competition is based on auction theory. The amount of bid that each node offers is equal to its utility value; and the price that a winner of a bid pays is a reduction in its original battery power. Since a node's truthful bidding is shown to be a dominant strategy, in order to prevent DoS attack, nodes that do not bid truthfully should be isolated. In the second part, we formulate the attack-defense problem as a non-cooperative, two-player, non-zero-sum game between an attacker and a wireless sensor network. We show that this game achieves Nash equilibrium, thus leading to a defense strategy for the network. We propose two novel schemes. The first one is called Utility based Dynamic Source Routing (UDSR), which incorporates the total utility of each en-route node in data packets, where utility is the difference between gain and cost for each node. The second scheme is based on a watch-list, where each node earns a rating from its neighbors, based on its previous cooperation in the network. Simulation results show that the proposed game theoretic framework significantly increases the chance of success in defense strategy for the wireless sensor network.
Serum immunoglobulin free light chain measurements and heavy chain isotype usage provide insight into disease biology in patients with POEMS syndrome

POEMS (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, skin changes) syndrome is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome in which nearly all patients have a monoclonal lambda restricted plasma cell disorder. We investigated whether patients with POEMS have abnormal serum immunoglobulin free light chain (FLC) ratios. Fifty patients with newly diagnosed POEMS syndrome were assessed. Cystatin C levels were measured to discern whether subclinical renal insufficiency could account for FLC elevations in the presence of a normal FLC ratio. Forty-five patients (90%) had elevated lambda FLC; however, only nine (18%) had abnormal FLC ratios. The rise in serum FLC of POEMS patients appeared to be multifactorial-both a function of subclinical renal insufficiency and polyclonal activation of medullary and extramedullary plasma cells. Those patients expressing a clonal IgA were more likely to have clonal plasmacytosis observed on iliac crest biopsy than those with IgG. In summary, serum immunoglobulin profiles are unique in POEMS syndrome as compared with other plasma cell disorders.
Needle-exchange attendance and health care utilization promote entry into detoxification

This study was undertaken to identify factors associated with entry into detoxification among injection drug users (IDUs), and to assess the role of needle-exchange programs (NEPs) as a bridge to treatment. IDUs undergoing semiannual human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) tests and interviews were studied prospectively between 1994 and 1998, during which time an NEP was introduced in Baltimore. Logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of entry into detoxification, stratifying by HIV serostatus. Of 1,490 IDUs, similar proportions of HIV-infected and uninfected IDUs entered detoxification (25% vs. 23%, respectively). After accounting for recent drug use, hospital admission was associated with four-fold increased odds of entering detoxification for HIV-seronegative subjects. Among HIV-infected subjects, hospital admission, outpatient medical care, and having health insurance independently increased the odds of entering detoxification. After accounting for these and other variables, needle-exchange attendance also was associated independently with entering detoxification for both HIV-infected (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=3.2) and uninfected IDUs (AOR=1.4). However, among HIV-infected subjects, the increased odds of detoxification associated with needle exchange diminished significantly over time, concomitant with statewide reductions in detoxification admissions. These findings indicate that health care providers and NEPs represent an important bridge to drug abuse treatment for HIV-infected and uninfected IDUs. Creating and sustaining these linkages may facilitate entry into drug abuse treatment and serve the important public health goal of increasing the number of drug users in treatment.
DNA MICROSPECTROPHOTOMETRY OF SHOOT APICAL MERISTEM CELL POPULATIONS IN CERATOPTERIS THALICTROIDES (FILICALES)

A microspectrophotometric analysis of the DNA content of cell populations in the shoot apical meristem of young and adult stages of the filicalean fern Ceratopteris thalictroides was conducted to determine if the previously reported uptake of labeled DNA precursors by the apical cell was a consequence of endomitotic DNA replication or of DNA synthesis preceeding mitosis. Results demonstrate that in both the young and adult plants the estimated DNA content of the apical cell nuclei parallels that of the other cells of the meristem. There was no evidence of an "apical zone" of endopolyploid cells. IN RECENT YEARS the classical concept of the apical cell in the terminal meristems of certain lower vascular plants has been questioned by several workers. Buvat and Laird (1953) suggested that the apical cell in the shoot tip of Equisetum is a fully differentiated cell which divides only very infrequently. This concept has since been extended to all meristems which terminate in a single cell (D'Amato, 1975,
Estrogen therapy for gonadal dysgenesis: a rational approach.

The administration of estrogens for gonadal dysgenesis is sometimes associated with the development of endometrial neoplasms. An approach which minimizes the inadvertent side effects while still providing the desired therapeutic effects may be to imitate the hormonal milieu of the normal menstruating woman. Oral administration of estradiol will not necessarily accomplish this, because of the intestinal conversion of estradiol to estrone. That problem can be overcome by the vaginal administration of estrogenes.
Effect of Heat on Raw Rubber

Abstract A study has been made of the effect of heat upon crude rubber. Heating in steam for 24 hours at 158° C. plastifies the rubber to about the same extent as about five passes through a tight mill. The chemical characteristics are changed in such a way as to indicate that a portion of the protein materials and fatty acid esters has been hydrolyzed. The rate of cure is increased in the case of most crudes for mercaptobenzothiazole and pure-gum mixes, but is less affected in the case of hexamethylenetetramine, diphenylguanidine, and ethylidene aniline. The stress-strain curve is affected by the heating in such a way as to make it more convex toward the strain axis. A study has been made of the chemical constituents of the heated rubber which have been responsible for changes in curing characteristics. It is believed that the amines, nitrogen bases, and alkaloids are the principal active material responsible for the peculiarities of heated rubber.
Correlation of aspartate dose, plasma dicarboxylic amino acid concentration, and neuronal necrosis in infant mice.

Abstract Eight-day-old mice were administered aspartate at 0, 1.88, 3.76, 4.89, 5.64 and 7.52 mmol/kg body wt and the degree and extent of neuronal necrosis determined. In addition, plasma aspartate and glutamate concentrations were determined at each aspartate dose. Animals administered aspartate at 0, 1.88 and 3.76 mmol/kg body wt did not develop neuronal necrosis. Hypothalamic neuronal necrosis (7.33 ± 1.52 necrotic neurons/section of maximal damage) was found in 3 of 10 animals administered aspartate at 4.89 mmol/kg body wt. The extent of neuronal necrosis was proportional to dose once a neurotoxic dose of aspartate was reached. All 12 animals administered aspartate at 5.64 mmol/kg body wt developed lesions (49.5 ± 7.2 necrotic neurons/section of maximal damage). Similarly, all 18 mice administered aspartate at 7.52 mmol/kg developed hypothalamic lesions (80.8 ± 17.8 necrotic neurons/section of maximal damage). Infant mice administered the highest dose of aspartate not producing neuronal necrosis (3.76 mmol/kg) had a mean (±S.D.) peak plasma aspartate concentration of 87 ± 23 μmol/dl and a mean peak plasma glutamate concentration of 64±22 μmol/dl. Thus, the toxic threshold for these amino acids must be greater than those values.