cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evidence for serotonergic stimulation of pituitary beta-endorphin release: preferential release from the anterior lobe in vivo.

Abstract Using gel filtration chromatography (Sephadex G-50) and radioimmunoassay for β-endorphin (β-END) and β-lipotropin (β-LPH) we investigated the site [anterior lobe (AL) vs. intermediate lobe (IL)] for serotonergic control of pituitary β-END-like immunoreactivity (β-END-LI) in the rat. Since the secretion of β-LPH in vitro clearly distinguishes β-END-LI release by the AL as compared to the IL, we interpreted changes in plasma levels of immunoreactivity resembling β-LPH to reflect β-END-LI release from the AL. Following the administration of L-tryptophan (200 mg/kg, 30 min, ip), a serotonin precursor, nearly all of the rise in total plasma β-END-LI was due to the form of immunoreactivity resembling β-LPH in molecular size. Similarly, 5-hydroxytryptophan (30 mg/kg, 30 min, ip), a serotonin precursor, and fluoxetine (10 mg/kg, 15 min, ip), a serotonin reuptake blocker, predominantly increased circulating levels of β-LPH-sized immunoreactivity with little effect on β-END-sized immunoreactivity. Quipazine (2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg, 30 min, ip), a serotonin receptor agonist, elevated plasma levels of both forms of β-END-LI; however, the immunoreactive peak coeluting with β-LPH was primarily affected, being increased 9.5-fold while that resembling β-END was increased less than 1-fold.
The significance of a coexisting opioid use disorder in cocaine dependence: an empirical study.

This study was undertaken to compare cocaine-dependent patients with and without an opioid use disorder, in an effort to identify important clinical similarities and differences between the two groups. Ninety patients hospitalized for cocaine dependence were divided according to whether or not they had a coexisting opioid use disorder; 32 patients (35.6%) had an opioid diagnosis and 58 (64.4%) did not. The groups were compared on substance use histories, psychopathology, severity of drug-related problems, and 3-month cocaine use outcome. Patients with an opioid diagnosis had more current major depression, antisocial personality disorder, and other substance use disorders. They also had higher medical and drug scores on the Addiction Severity Index, and longer cocaine use histories. Nonetheless, 3-month cocaine use outcome was similar for both groups. Interestingly, patients with an opioid diagnosis engaged in more treatment during the follow-up period. Cocaine-dependent patients with a coexisting opioid u...
Algorithm 828: DNSPLIN1: discrete nonlinear spline interpolation

We describe a new method and a Fortran-77 code for constructing discrete approximations to nonparametric interpolating nonlinear spline curves. Our approach consists of minimizing the discretized strain energy by a descent method with a Sobolev gradient in place of the standard gradient. It serves as a demonstration of the Sobolev gradient method, which is much more generally applicable. The effectiveness of the method in rapidly producing smooth interpolatory curves is demonstrated by test results for several challenging data sets.
UV/visible Fourier transform spectroscopy using an inductively-coupled plasma : dual-channel noise cancellation

Abstract Although technological advances have extended the range of Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTS) into the UV/visible spectral domain, its application to spectroscopic and spectrometric problems has been hampered-relative to such applications in the infrared domain-by noise considerations. Although the technique retains high resolution, accurate wavelength registration, and simultaneous broad band coverage, the multiplex advantage present in the IR is severely compromised in the UV/visible due to the relative insignificance of detector noise. In particular, signal-carried noise distributes widely through the spectrum, degrading the dynamic range needed for many spectroscopic and analytical applications. This study demonstrates the use of complementary optical output channels in a commercial FTS to achieve up to ten-fold noise reductions for spectra acquired from an analytical inductively-coupled plasma with conventional pneumatic sample aspiration. The study also demonstrates the advisability of increasing the sampling rate of future instruments to exceed the maximum noise frequency characteristic of droplet evaporation effects.
The Cost of Inaccurate Consumer Information: The Case of the EPA Mileage Figures

The EPA fuel economy estimates for automobiles are an important instrument of public policy and are widely publicized. However, the accuracy of these figures, for use by consumers as an estimate of actual on-the-road mileage, has come under increasing challenge. Consumers Union provides alternative fuel efficiency estimates for the cars it tests, based on actual on-the-road driving. This study calculates the costs of in-accuracies in the EPA's Estimated Mileage, assuming consumers use those figures in making their automobile purchase decisions, but in actual driving achieve mileage equivalent to the Consumers Union's figures. The economic impact includes potentially large unanticipated additional expenditures on gasoline by consumers and in a few cases unexpected gasoline savings; also included is a net social welfare loss due to allocative error. This loss provides a measure of the gains to society obtainable from improvements in the reliability of the EPA estimates as a source of mileage information for consumers.
Familial hypercholesterolemias: prevalence, genetics, diagnosis and screening recommendations from the National Lipid Association Expert Panel on Familial Hypercholesterolemia.

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) may be the most common serious genetic condition and is a well-known and frequent cause of premature coronary heart disease (CHD). About 5% of heart attacks under age 60 and as many as 20% under age 45 are due to FH. Too often, FH is diagnosed after the occurrence of a major coronary event; hence a population-based approach to identify affected individuals prior to the discovery of atherosclerosis is clearly
Changing the Cultural View and Coverage of End-of-Life Care

Since the mid-60s, the trend has been for treatment to stand at the forefront of medicine and when death occurs, it is seen as a failure of intervention. Institutional deaths are far greater today for the elderly and terminally ill patients than prior to the Medicare era. The safety, comfort, desires, and mental/spiritual well-being of the patient (and their family) are often lost in the attempt to treat rather than comfort. The cost of end-of-life care continues to spiral out of control (along with the rest of health care costs), yet there has been very little impact on longevity in spite of all the technological advances. A change in attitude is needed to properly provide and pay for end-of-life care.
Detection of gene-environment interactions in joint segregation and linkage analysis.

Summary We compare approaches for analysis of gene-environment (G × E) interaction, using segregation and joint segregation and linkage analyses of a quantitative trait. Analyses of triglyceride levels in a single large pedigree demonstrate the two methods and show evidence for a significant interaction ( P =.015 when segregation analysis is used; P =.006 when joint analysis is used) between a codominant major gene and body-mass index. Genotype-specific correlation coefficients, between triglyceride levels and body-mass index, estimated from the joint model are r AA =.72, r Aa =.49, and r aa =.20. Several simulation studies indicate that joint segregation and linkage analysis leads to less-biased and more-efficient estimates of a G × E–interaction effect, compared with segregation analysis alone. Depending on the heterozygosity of the marker locus and its proximity to the trait locus, we found joint analysis to be as much as 70% more efficient than segregation analysis, for estimation of a G × E–interaction effect. Over a variety of parameter combinations, joint analysis also led to moderate (5%–10%) increases in power to detect the interaction. On the basis of these results, we suggest the use of combined segregation and linkage analysis for improved estimation of G × E–interaction effects when the underlying trait gene is unmeasured.
The role of fatigue in temperature resistance of salamanders

Abstract 1. 1.|We measured temperature resistance and lactic acid production of Notophthalmus viridescens and Plethodon cinerus acclimated to 10, 20 or 30°C. 2. 2.|Fatigue is responsible for the Loss of Righting Response (LRR) observed when Plethodon are heated and contributes to the LRR of Notophthalmus efts. 3. 3.|LRR is purely a manifestation of incapacitation by high temperature in Notophthalmus adults. 4. 4.|The Critical Thermal Maximum (CTM) is solely a product of temperature incapacitation in all three forms. 5. 5.|The standard test for temperature resistance should be expanded to include tests of fatigue.
Isolation of a phospholipase a from Agkistrodon piscivorus venom.

Abstract 1. 1. A protein with phospholipase A (phosphatide acyl-hydrolase, EC 3.1.1.4) activity has been isolated from Agkistrodon piscivorus venom by a combination of isoelectric precipitation and boiling, hydroxylapatite column chromatography and preparative acrylamide electrophoresis. 2. 2. Sedimentation equilibrium and gel filtration studies indicate the isolated phospholipase A has a molecular weight of about 14 000 ± 500 . 3. 3. Activity assays using hydroxamate formation indicate the enzyme can hydrolyze an acyl ester linkage of either l -α-phosphatidyl choline (synthetic, dipalmitoyl) or of phosphatidyl ethanolamine although the rate and extent of each reaction is different. 4. 4. The Agkistrodon piscovirus phospholipase A is active in the presence of ether and sodium deoxycholate but Ca2+, classically considered an absolute requirement for venom phospholipase A activity, does not appear to be necessary.
Projective Identification and Maternal Misconception in Disturbed Mothers

: The term projective identification has been used in many ways since Melanie Klein introduced it in 1946. I use it here to study intolerance of separation and motives such as envy, mistrust of dependency and persecutory anxiety. In terms of motives we can differentiate it from other forms of delegation like projection and externalisation; it is a defence set in motion after regression in the third trimester of pregnancy, especially during therapeutic regression, and after the physical separation of delivery. It entails the mother's retrieval of delegations when her child begins to move away, and can be transmuted by intervention into exploratory and empathic modes useful for the child's development. This paper reports a longitudinal study of women from the third trimester of pregnancy to four years after delivery. Our interviews were designed to tap the subject's preoccupations and projects for her child that she developed preconsciously, unconsciously or consciously. I suggest that destructive projective identification is used to deal with excessive persecutory anxiety, envy, or intolerance of separation by disturbed or vulnerable mothers militating against the child's progress toward autonomy. Relatively normal mothers use reaction formation and other ways of turning instinctual wishes around to bind anxiety and reverse negative attitudes about their children. Thus maternal misperception can be seen clinically in the context of projective identifications; it may be reversed proactively when the clinician can use projective tests or clinical interviews to gather and classify projective identifications in order to help the mother retrieve them and keep her from impeding her child's development.
Stereospecific approach to 3-oxocen-7-ones via aliphatic claisen rearrangement. synthesis of (+)-(2R,8S)- and (+)-(2R,8J)-lauthisan

Abstract A general synthetic strategy based upon thermally-induced Claisen ring expansion as the pivotal step allows for rapid elaboration of the lauthisans in enantiomerically pure condition and proper absolute configuration. The short sequence (nine steps) constitutes a new and versatile route to naturally occurring medium-ring ethers.
Distinguishing between dynamic yielding and wall slip in a weakly flocculated colloidal dispersion

Abstract Silica spheres coated with grafted poly(butyl methacrylate) chains and dispersed in a poor solvent at low to moderate volume fractions display high elastic and loss moduli, together with viscosities that diverge at a dynamic yield stress and decrease by several orders of magnitude with increasing stress. The elastic modulus and dynamic yield stress increase rapidly with volume fraction, but remain in constant ratio. Longer grafted chains produce stronger interparticle attractions, resulting in a smaller yield strain and larger elastic modulus. An apparent Newtonian plateau at extremely low shear rates in creep experiments is argued to result from slip at the wall. Thus, attractions between these grafted layers in a poor solvent generate a pseudo plastic solid, a metastable state that persists indefinitely and demonstrates little affinity for the walls of the rheometer, hence the slip. In contrast, depletion flocculated dispersions with higher volume fractions but weaker attractions produce very similar rheology but with a true Newtonian viscosity and adhesion to the wall.
Evaluating instructional scholarship in medicine

Over the past decade, the evaluation of teaching has increased in importance in US medical schools. In this review, research on student ratings, teaching portfolios, and peer review of teaching is presented in the context of instructional scholarship. Five principles for designing a comprehensive system to evaluate teaching are discussed, along with the impact of such systems on teaching improvement and academic promotions.
AN URBAN TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM USING TIMED COLOURED PETRI NETS

Abstract This paper focuses the traffic lights control system on the model of Timed Coloured Petri nets (TCPN). The applications of TCPN in six-phase and two-phase traffic lights are illustrated. The analysis of the control TCPN models is performed to demonstrate how the models enforce the signal lights’ transitions by Occurrence Graphs (OG) method. And then the relations of the liveness and reversibility of the control TCPN nets will be obtained. Finally, an urban traffic lights control system with nine intersections will be realized. To our knowledge, it is the first work that to employ TCPN obtains the model of an urban traffic control system.
Optimization of Bayesian emission tomographic reconstruction for region-of-interest quantitation

Region of interest (ROI) quantitation is an important task in emission tomography (e.g., positron emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography). It is essential for exploring clinical factors such as tumor activity, growth rate, and the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Bayesian methods based on the maximum a posteriori principle (or called penalized maximum likelihood methods) have been developed for emission image reconstructions to deal with the low signal to noise ratio of the emission data. Similar to the filter cut-off frequency in the filtered backprojection method, the smoothing parameter of the image prior in Bayesian reconstruction controls the resolution and noise trade-off and hence affects ROI quantitation. In this paper we present an approach for choosing the optimum smoothing parameter in Bayesian reconstruction for ROI quantitation. Bayesian reconstructions are difficult to analyze because the resolution and noise properties are nonlinear and object-dependent. Building on the recent progress on deriving the approximate expressions for the local impulse response function and the covariance matrix, we derived simplied theoretical expressions for the bias, the variance, and the ensemble mean squared error (EMSE) of the ROI quantitation. One problem in evaluating ROI quantitation is that the truth is often required for calculating the bias. This is overcome by using ensemble distribution of the activity inside the ROI and computing the average EMSE. The resulting expressions allow fast evaluation of the image quality for different smoothing parameters. The optimum smoothing parameter of the image prior can then be selected to minimize the EMSE.
The challenge of young children

(1969). The challenge of young children. Theory Into Practice: Vol. 8, A Fresh Look at the Child (Child Development), pp. 158-163.
18F-FDG PET Scanning Correlates with Tissue Markers of Poor Prognosis and Predicts Mortality for Patients After Liver Resection for Colorectal Metastases

18F-FDG PET has proven invaluable in the staging of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The aim of the current study was to determine whether this biologic scan would correlate with other cellular characteristics and the clinical behavior of tumors. Methods: Ninety patients with resectable colorectal cancer metastatic to the liver underwent 18F-FDG PET before hepatectomy. At surgery, tumors were harvested and prepared for assessment by histology and immunohistochemistry. Expression of Ki67 (a marker for cell proliferation), GLUT1 and GLUT3 (markers for glucose transportation), p53 and p27 (markers for cell cycle control), and BCL-2 (a marker for apoptosis) was assessed by a pathologist who was unaware of the PET results and the clinical outcome. Patients were followed to determine outcome. Survival analysis was performed comparing patient outcome in groups segregated according to standardized uptake values (SUVs) greater or less than 5, 7, or 10. Results: Maximum SUV correlated with GLUT1 (P = 0.03), Ki67 (P = 0.026), and p53 (P = 0.024) but did not correlate with p27, BCL-2, or GLUT3. Survival was significantly longer for patients with a low SUV than for patients with a high SUV, with P values of 0.014, 0.025, and 0.0095 for SUV cutoffs of 5, 7, and 10, respectively. Conclusion:18F-FDG PET is a biologic scan that predicts prognosis in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. It is uncertain if this ability is due to cellular glucose metabolism or to a correlation with other cellular characteristics of aggressive tumors.
Effect of color vision phenotype on the foraging of wild white-faced capuchins, Cebus capucinus

New World monkeys exhibit a color vision polymorphism. It results from allelic variation of the single-locus middle-to-long wavelength opsin gene on the X chromosome. Females that are heterozygous for the gene possess trichromatic vision. All other individuals possess dichromatic vision. The prevailing hypothesis for the maintenance of the color vision polymorphism is through a consistent fitness advantage to heterozygous trichromatic females. Such females are predicted to be more efficient than dichromats when detecting and selecting fruit. Recent experiments with captive callitrichid primates provided support for this hypothesis by demonstrating that color vision phenotype affects behavioral responses to contrived food targets. Yet, the assumptions that trichromatic females acquire more calories from fruit, or that number of offspring is linked to caloric intake, remain untested. Here, we assess if, in the wild, heterozygous trichromatic individuals in a group of white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) enjoy an energetic advantage over dichromats when foraging on fruit. Contrary to the assumptions of previous theoretical and experimental studies, our analysis of C. capucinus foraging behavior shows that trichromats do not differ from dichromats in their fruit or energy acquisition rates. For white-faced capuchins, the advantage of trichromatic vision may be related to the detection of predators, animal prey, or fruit under mesopic conditions. This result demonstrates the importance of using a fitness currency that is relevant to individual animals to test evolutionary hypotheses.
Nonlinear oscillations in diffusion flames

Recent experiments of diffusion flames have identified fascinating nonlinear behavior, especially near the extinction limit. In this work, we carry out a systematic analysis of pulsating instabilities in diffusion flames. We consider the simple geometric configuration of a planar diffusion flame situated in a channel at the interface between a fuel being supplied from below, and oxidant diffusing in from a stream above. Lewis numbers are assumed greater than unity in order to focus on pulsating instabilities. We employ the asymptotic theory of Cheatham and Matalon, and carry out a bifurcation analysis to derive a nonlinear evolution equation for the amplitude of the perturbation. Our analysis predicts three possible flame responses. The planar flame may be stable, such that perturbations decay to zero. Second, the amplitude of a perturbation can eventually become unbounded in finite time, indicating flame quenching. And finally, our amplitude equation possesses time-periodic (limit cycle) solutions, although we find that this regime cannot be realized for parameter values typical of combustion systems. The various possible burning regimes are mapped out in parameter space, and our results are consistent with available experimental and numerical data.
Reproduction and State-Building along China's Frontiers

This article analyzes population resettlement to western China during contemporary times within a historical framework that emphasizes gender. During the 1950s most relocatees to Qinghai were men, following the historical pattern set by Qing policies. Empirical data also show that the PRC government explicitly recruited women for relocation to border and remote areas. Women were moved to western regions as somewhat gender-neutral workers and also to serve in their traditional roles as wives and mothers. In both roles, women were a crucial component in state-building policies in border and remote areas. In fact, because sovereignty could not be permanently established without a naturally reproducing population, one can argue that reproduction was, and is, a basic component of state-building—an assertion that gets little attention in analyses of social and political change in border regions. This article describes the consolidation phase of territorial expansion as a feminine or yin process that relied upon...
A note on the influence of heat treatment, salting and smoking on the acceptability of camel meat products

The present study was conducted to assess the effect of selected processing operations on the acceptability of camel meat products in Dire Dawa, eastern Ethiopia. A total of eight camel meat products were prepared at two levels of salting, smoking, frying and cooking. They were evaluated by a sensory panel using a preference test. The results showed that the fully fried samples were not significantly different in preference to the smoked (2.5% salt, 3 h smoking) samples and were more acceptable than the partly fried samples. Nevertheless, the smoked (2.5% salt, 3 h smoking) samples were preferred over the others. The fully cooked and the salted (3% salt) products were also acceptable.
Relationship between indoor and outdoor airborne fungal spores, pollen, and (1→3)- β - D -glucan in homes without visible mold growth

In this exploratory study, indoor and outdoor airborne fungal spores, pollen, and (1→3)-β-D-glucan levels were determined through long-term sampling (24-h) using a Button Personal Inhalable Aerosol Sampler. The air samples were collected in five Cincinnati area homes that had no visible mold growth. The total count of fungal spores and pollen in the collected samples was conducted under the microscope and Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) chromogenic assay method was utilized for the determination of the (1→3)-β-D-glucan concentration. For the combined number concentration of fungal spores and pollen, the indoor and outdoor geometric mean values were 573 and 6,435 m−3, respectively, with a geometric mean of the Indoor/Outdoor (I/O) ratio of .09. The geometric means of indoor and outdoor (1→3)-β-D-glucan concentrations were .92 and 6.44 ng m−3, respectively, with a geometric mean of the I/O ratio equal to .14. The I/O ratio of (1→3)-β-D-glucan concentration was found to be marginally greater than that calculated based on the combined number concentration of fungal spores and pollen. This suggests that (1→3)-β-D-glucan data are affected not only by intact spores and pollen grains but also by the airborne fragments of fungi, pollen, and plant material, which are ignored by traditional enumeration methodologies. Since the (1→3)-β-D-glucan level may elucidate the total exposure to fungal spores, pollen, and fungal fragments, its I/O ratio may be used as a risk marker for mold and pollen exposure in indoor environments.
Reinforcement from alumina-type fillers precipitated into an elastomer

The in-situ precipitation of alumina-type fillers into poly(dimethylsiloxane) is achieved by the hydrolysis of an aluminate, aluminum tri-sec-butoxide, in a reaction paralleling the preparation of silica and titania from silicates and titanates. Both HCl and NH4OH were found to be good catalysts, but the latter produced particles which gave larger increases in ultimate strength of the reinforced elastomers.
Algorithmic skill vs. conceptual understanding

With the help of Pascual-Leone's Theory of Constructive Operators, this study investigated the hypothesis that understanding of the long division algorithm requires a high cognitive level, or greater m-capacity, than does understanding of the fundamental concepts of division. Formal and preformal sixth grade students were tested on performance and understanding of a given division algorithm and division concepts.
Development of diamond-like carbon-coated electrodes for corrosion sensor applications at high temperatures

Abstract Coupled multielectrode array sensors have been used as online and real-time monitors for localized corrosion in both laboratory and field systems. Multiple miniature electrodes made of materials identical to the engineering component of interest are used as sensing electrodes. However, these devices have an upper operating temperature limit of approximately 70 °C because crevice formation between the electrode and the mounting material impairs their performance. In this paper, a crevice-free electrochemical sensor for corrosion monitoring at temperatures above 100 °C is presented. A diamond-like carbon thin film was deposited on the sensing electrodes using plasma immersion ion processing and its properties were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and laser Raman spectroscopy. The effectiveness of the diamond-like carbon film in protecting the Alloy 22 (Ni-22Cr-13Mo-3Fe-3W) electrodes in a corrosive NaCl–NaNO 3 –KNO 3 salt mixture at 150 °C was demonstrated. The effective corrosion monitoring capability of the new electrochemical sensor at high temperatures was attributed to the pinhole-free microstructure, high electrical impedance, and high corrosion-resistance properties of the diamond-like carbon film.
Analysis of methionine oxides and nitrogen-transporting amino acids in chilled and acclimated maize seedlings

In maize seedlings, chilling causes a reduction of glutamine synthetase (GS) activity, while acclimation protects GS (manuscript submitted). Since ROS can oxidize both protein-bound and free Met to methionine sulfoxide (MSO) and further to methionine sulfone (MSO2, a GS inhibitor), it was hypothesized that the chilling-induced oxidative stress may cause accumulation of MSO and MSO2, thus contributing to the inactivation of GS. MSO2 preferentially inhibited the chloroplastic isoform, GS2. HPLC analysis of polar amino acids from coleoptiles + leaves, mesocotyls and roots of control, chilled, acclimated, acclimated and chilled and chilled and rewarmed plants revealed that free MSO and MSO2 do not accumulate after low temperature treatments. Nevertheless, acclimation significantly increased the expression of putative protein methionine sulfoxide reductase (PMSR), especially in mesocotyls. Different low temperature treatments caused complex changes in the profiles of N-transporting amino acids, Asp, Glu, Asn and Gln.
The Relationship Between Chronic Cocaine or Alcohol Use and Blood Pressure in Black Men During Uncomplicated Tooth Extraction

Purpose: The object of this study was to determine whether a history of cocaine or alcohol use is associated with blood pressure changes in patients undergoing an uncomplicated mandibular molar extraction. Patients and Methods: The blood pressure (BP) values of middle-aged (30 to 40 years of age) black men with different chronic drug histories were compared during extraction procedures. The four different groups were 1) no-drug control, (n = 10); 2) alcohol (n = 15); 3) “crack” cocaine (n = 9); and 4) cocaine (n = 22). Results: The cocaine group's blood pressures were significantly different compared with the blood pressures within the no-drug and alcohol groups (P < .05). The cocaine group's BPs decreased throughout the procedure, and the BPs of the no-drug and alcohol groups rose during administration of the local anesthetic and extraction, and then fell. The BPs of the crack group were highly variable and not significantly different when compared with other groups. Conclusion: There is a paradoxical effect of chronic cocaine use on blood pressure that needs to be considered when treating such patients.
Hydrocarbon generation during the inert gas pyrolysis of automobile shredder waste

Abstract When junked automobiles are shredded to recover the ferrous and non-ferrous metals, a large quantity of non-metallic waste is generated. These waste materials consist mainly of rubber and plastics. In this paper, the product yields and compositions obtained during inert gas pyrolysis of a representative shredder non-metallic waste fraction in three different experimental systems (batch thermogravimetric analyzer, bench scale batch pyrolyzer, and continuous rotary kiln) are compared. Analysis of the products by GC, HPLC, GC-MS, IR spectroscopy, H + NMR and GPC show the presence of many hydrocarbon compounds with no single species present in large concentrations. Weight loss kinetics during the pyrolysis are also presented and discussed. The products obtained without additional processing are complex and contain compunds that prevent their direct use as a fuel in many applications. As a result, commercial exploitation of this process must await evaluation of the products obtained and, if necessary, the costs of purification and modification of the products to more useful compositions.
Cabozantinib for progressive metastatic medullary thyroid cancer: a review

Medullary thyroid cancer is uncommon and patients typically present with advanced disease. Treatment options for patients with progressive, metastatic medullary thyroid cancer had been limited until recently. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors have garnered increasing interest in this subset of patients. The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved cabozantinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, after promising results were shown in a large Phase III clinical trial. This review summarizes the clinical pharmacology, clinical trials, and safety data for cabozantinib and concludes with a discussion of possible future directions for the treatment of medullary thyroid cancer.
On the structure of three-dimensional shear flows

Abstract This paper describes an investigation of structure in moderately dilute three-dimensional shear flows. Structure is defined as a dynamic inhomogeneity or fluctuation in the spatial concentration field. Numerical experiments are performed with large numbers of identical, frictionless, inelastic spheres. The spheres are contained in a fully periodic cubic control volume. A state of shear is maintained in the control volume by moving the upper periodic image in one direction and the lower image in the opposite direction. As the coefficient of restitution of the spheres is lowered, conditions in the control volume deviate from a state of simple shear, exhibiting strong wavelike fluctuations in the concentration, stress, and velocity fields. Visual inspection of the spatial concentration field reveals a strong tendency for spheres with a low coefficient of restitution to form dense elongated clouds. The major axis of the clouds tends to align itself in the direction of the mean velocity and perpendicular to the direction of variation in the mean velocity created by the moving periodic images of the control volume.
Selecting wavelet transform scales for multivariate classification

The wavelet transform is a relatively new method that partitions a signal into components which differ in the frequency of their features. Chemical data can be thought of as a signal being composed of several different frequency components, some more analytically significant than others. Therefore, a wavelet transform can be used to transform chemical data into components, called scales, which differ in the underlying frequency of the signal. These scales possess different signal to noise ratios, or alternatively contain different amounts of information, than the original data. In this manuscript, two classification problems are used to demonstrate how this property can be exploited to improve classification performance. We demonstrate that the classification performance of the individual scales varies, and we show that selectively combining scales results in a classifier with better performance than that of either a classifier trained on the original data or developed on any individual scale. This analysis demonstrates the applicability of the wavelet transform as a simple preprocessing step that can improve classification performance. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Validity of Standardized Teacher Test Scores for Predicting Beginning Teacher Performance

Abstract Standardized teacher tests of basic skills and content knowledge continue to be used as predictive measures of teaching ability despite the absence of research that either supports or refutes a connection between scores on teacher tests and beginning teachers' performance in classroom settings. The research project presented in this article was designed to compare standardized basic skills (reading, writing, mathematics, and grammar) and content area test scores with performance items on an INTASC standards-based rubric, scored by beginning teachers' supervisors. Eight competency indicators on the rubric evidenced a positive correlation with one or more of the four basic skills test subareas and four more competencies showed a negative correlation. In addition, performance ability under three composite standards correlated with two of the basic skills test subareas. There was no correlation whatsoever between any aspect of the content area tests and classroom performance of first-year teachers as...
Thunderstorm hazards flight research - Program overview

The NASA thunderstorm hazards research program, designed to study the effects of lightning strikes on the design and operation of aircraft, is described. An all-weather F-106B is instrumented to document the EM characteristics of direct and nearby strikes, measure the field parameters and analyze the ambient atmospheric content, and film the strikes; X-ray detectors are also on board, along with instrumentation for determining the frequency of visible light waveforms. Data is either recorded on-board or sent by telemetry to base, while ground based telemetry is used to direct the pilot and craft into regions of optimal lightning activity. The sensing apparatus is described, and ongoing programs to correlate different storm parameters are reviewed, along with operational procedures and safety precautions. Continued use of the craft through 152 storms and 16 direct hits, with no fatalities or circuit breaker throw, confirms the ability of metal skinned aircraft to withstand lightning strikes; data gathered from flights during 1980 are provided.
Modern modified 'ultra' Goeckerman therapy: a PASI assessment of a very effective therapy for psoriasis resistant to both prebiologic and biologic therapies.

Background: Compared with the original Goeckerman therapy devised by Dr Goeckerman in the 1930s, modern modified Goeckerman therapy in the second millennium shows significantly enhanced efficacy by improvements in technology (e.g. narrowband UVB) and the possibility of adding other relatively safe therapeutic options for more resistant cases to enhance efficacy without compromising the basic safety profile. Methods: For approximately 6 months, psoriasis patients undergoing Goeckerman therapy at the UCSF Psoriasis Center were followed from admission to discharge. A total of 25 consecutive psoriasis patients were treated with the Goeckerman regimen until (near‐) clearance or for a maximum period of 3 months, and their weekly improvements in terms of PASI (psoriasis area and severity index) were recorded. Results: In all, 100% reached PASI 75 by 12 weeks of treatment. In fact, by 8 weeks, 95% reached PASI 75 and most of the patients were discharged within 2 months. Conclusions: The onset of treatment effect ...
A progress report on information privacy and data security

The role and importance of information privacy in the modern society are briefly described. A number of recent law cases are then examined to illustrate how privacy cases are currently being adjudicated in the United States and to identify the limits of currently available privacy protection. Finally, certain issues are raised regarding the available techniques for insuring data confidentiality and security.
Interview with Oliver Obst of the Medical Library at the University of Muenster

This interview with Oliver Obst of the Medical Library of the University of Muenster in Muenster, Germany, describes what has influenced and shaped his career as a health sciences librarian and blogger.
Open admissions does not kill colleges

Theodore L. Gross, dean of humanities at City College of New York, would have us believe that open admissions killed his institution.1 A program which came to life during the close of the turbulent sixties now faces a sharp attack in the reactionary seventies. It is tragic that programs of reform such as open admissions should depend on political and economic climates for their existence. Nonetheless, it is most important to look objectively at open admissions and to determine whether it kills colleges. Roots of the open admissions concept go deep into our history. The egalitarian motive was a basic ingredient of the 1862 Morrill Act, which set the stage for universal higher education by establishing landgrant colleges. Between 1900 and 1970, the proportion of 18to 21-year olds attending college increased from 4 percent to 40 percent.2 World War II produced far-reaching reforms in college admissions by way of the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) and the post-war GI Bill. For example, ASTP flooded American colleges with students, regardless of qualifications, to prepare them to play an active role in the war effort. After the war, the GI Bill sent masses of veterans to college to help them re-enter society with jobs and meaningful lives. A 1973 Carnegie Commission study concluded that the quality of higher education had been generally maintained since World War II and the lowering of admissions standards had not affected adversely the quality of higher learning. In 1960, the California state college system implemented one of the first major open admissions programs in the United States. By the late 1960s, 68 percent of Califoria's high school graduates were entering college; no evidence exists that its system of higher education has suffered as a result of open admissions. The
Pay It Forward: Ensuring the Future With Internships

The number of librarians approaching retirement age is a critical issue affecting the profession of librarianship. Librarians as a group are substantially older than other professions, so it is imp...
Anionic difunctionalization with 1,1‐bis(4‐t‐butyldimethylsiloxyphenyl) ethylene. Synthesis of ω,ω‐bis(phenol)‐functionalized polystyrene condensation macromonomers

ω,ω-Diphenolpolystyrenes (6) can be synthesized in quantitative yields by reacting poly(styryl)lithium with 1,1-bis(4-t-butyldimethylsiloxyphenyl)ethylene (1), followed by methanol termination and hydrolysis with dilute acid. The initially formed 1,1-bis(4-t-butyldimethylsiloxyphenyl)alkyllithium can be reacted with additional styrene monomer to form a polystyrene internally substituted with two in-chain phenol groups after methanol termination and acid hydrolysis. The diphenol-substituted polystyrene condensation macromonomers have been characterized by end-group titration, size exclusion chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, and ultraviolet-visible, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Chain-extension reactions of 6 (Mn = 2.6 × 103g mol−1) with bis(trichloromethyl)carbonate produced the corresponding comb-type, branched polymer with estimated Mn(SEC, polystyrene standards) = 1.2 × 104g mol−1 and no detectable residual condensation macromonomer. The second order rate constants for the addition reaction of excess poly(styryl)lithium with 1 and with 1-(4-t-butyldimethylsiloxy-phenyl)-1-phenylethylene (3) have been estimated to be 1.7 × 10−3M−1/2S−1 and 3.2 × 10−3M−1/2S−1 respectively. A sigma value (σ) of −0.46 has been estimated for the t-butyldimethylsiloxy substituent.
Performance of ChAOS on the Apache Point Observatory's 3.5-m telescope

The Chicago Adaptive Optics System has been installed on the 3.5 meter ARC telescope at Apache Point for two years. Strehl improvements of 12 are obtained at 0.85 microns in 1- 2 arcsecond seeing. The major limitation in performance is set by the telescope vibrations.
Design pattern evolutions in QVT

One of the main goals of design patterns is to design for change. Many design patterns leave some room for future changes and evolutions. The application of design patterns leads to adaptable software since the design pattern instances could be changed with minimal impact on other parts of the system. Such changes, called the evolution of a design pattern instance in this paper, typically involve the addition or removal of a group of model elements, such as classes, attributes, operations, and relationships. However, the possible evolutions of each design pattern are often not explicitly documented. Missing a part of the evolution process may result in inconsistent evolutions. In this paper, we present our approach to assist the evolution processes of design patterns by model transformation technology. We provide a formal foundation for our approach by defining the predicates that can be used to describe the properties of each design pattern, software system design, and design pattern evolutions. We also provide tool support to automate the evolution processes based on the Query, View, and Transformation standard. A case study of a large open-source software system is conducted to illustrate and evaluate our approach.
Modeling the influence of superoxide dismutase on superoxide and nitric oxide interactions, including reversible inhibition of oxygen consumption.

Abstract A mathematical mass transport model was constructed in cylindrical geometry to follow coupled biochemical reactions and diffusion of oxygen, nitric oxide, superoxide, peroxynitrite, hydrogen peroxide, nitrite, and nitrate around a blood vessel. Computer simulations were performed for a 50 μm internal diameter arteriole to characterize mass transport in five concentric regions (blood, plasma layer, endothelium, vascular wall, perivascular tissue). Steady state gradients in nitric oxide, oxygen partial pressure, superoxide, and peroxynitrite, and associated production of hydrogen peroxide, nitrite, and nitrate were predicted for varying superoxide production rates, superoxide dismutase concentrations, and other physiological conditions. The model quantifies how competition between superoxide scavenging by nitric oxide and superoxide dismutase catalyzed removal varies spatially. Reversible inhibition of oxygen consumption by nitric oxide, which causes increased tissue oxygenation at deeper locations, was also included in the model. The mass transport model provides insight into complex interactions between reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in blood and tissue, and provides an objective way to evaluate the relative influence of different biochemical pathways on these interactions.
Investigation of Uncertainties in Surface Water Resource Assessment of Georgia’s State Water Plan

AbstractAs one of the three key components of state of Georgia’s state water plan, a surface water availability resource assessment (SWRA) involves three sequential steps, as follows: (1) synthesizing unimpaired flow (UIF) data by removing anthropogenic effects from streamflow observations, (2) developing instream flow protection thresholds based on the UIF data, and (3) assessing possible resource gaps based on UIF data, flow protection thresholds, and water demands. Uncertainties are embedded in the observed input data and development processes, and could be propagated through these steps. A legitimate question pertains to the reliability of the SWRA results since they may affect regional water development plans. In this study, the uncertainties in all input data and development processes of SWRA were identified and quantified through Monte Carlo simulations. Results at two typical nodes indicate that uncertainties associated with the derived UIF data, flow thresholds, and SWRA results are very limited....
Emotional displays in children's television programming

The facial expressions of emotion and the circumstances under which the expressions occurred in a sample of the most popular children's television programs were investigated in this study. Fifteen-second randomly selected intervals from episodes of five television programs were analyzed for displays of happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise. In addition, the contexts in which the emotions occurred were examined. Results indicated that particular emotional expressions occurred at significantly different frequencies and that there was an association between emotional displays and emotion-contexts. The high rate of emotional displays found in television shows has implications for the development of knowledge regarding emotional display rules in viewers.
AI safety engineering through introduction of self-reference into felicific calculus via artificial pain and pleasure

In the 18th century the Utilitarianism movement produced a morality system based on the comparative pain and pleasure that an action created. Called felicific calculus, this system would judge an action to be morally right or wrong based on several factors like the amount of pleasure it would provide and how much pain the action would inflict upon others. Because of its basis as a type of "moral mathematics" felicific calculus may be a viable candidate as a working ethical system for artificial intelligent agents. This paper examines the concepts of felicific calculus and Utilitarianism in the light of their possible application to artificial intelligence, and proposes methods for its adoption in an actual intelligent machine. In order to facilitate the calculations necessary for this moral system, novel approaches to synthetic pain, pleasure, and empathy are also proposed.
The lyotropic liquid crystal properties of n-octyl 1-O-β-d-glucopyranoside and related n-alkyl pyranosides

X-ray diffraction patterns have been obtained for the lyotropic phases of n-octyl 1-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside and the related n-heptyl, n-nonyl and n-decyl compounds with water. The octyl compound exhibits all three liquid crystal phases and forms a micellar solution with increasing solvation, when the crystal come into contact with water at room temperature. The X-ray diffraction patterns show a one-dimensional lamellar phase with [dx] = 28.4 A, a three-dimensional face-centered cubic phase with [a] = 51.2 A, and a two-dimensional hexagonal phase with [a] = [b] = 36.7 A. The micellar solution has a distribution pattern with a maximum at [dx] = 33.8 A. Crystals of the heptyl, nonyl and decyl derivatives form only the lamellar phases and the micellar solution on contact with water at room temperature.