cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Advances in imaging for pancreatic disease

Pancreatic imaging is an essential tool in the early diagnosis and staging of pancreatic disease. This review analyzes the most recent advances in pancreatic imaging. The specific modalities discussed include helical computed tomography (HCT) and multislice CT (MSCT), CT angiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), and positron emission tomography (PET). At present, MSCT is generally viewed as the most efficient modality for initial detection and staging of pancreatic carcinoma, with an accuracy rate of about 95% to 97% for initial detection and virtually 100% for staging. CT is also the initial imaging modality used in evaluation of acute pancreatitis. However, recently, MRI has been viewed increasingly as a more precise diagnostic tool in this subgroup of patients. MRCP has been accepted as the primary imaging technique in the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. PET imaging, on the other hand, has an increasing role in the staging of pancreatic carcinoma, for which it may be the modality of choice in detection of extrapancreatic metastasis.
Problems and prospects for educational direct broadcasting

Abstract A review of educational television broadcasting experiments, including projects in India, Brazil, Canada and the United States using direct broadcasting satellites and projects in American Samoa, Niger and Ivory Coast using terrestrial broadcasting, indicates the problems involved in integrating television into educational systems, particularly when the projects are technology driven. The development of an educational television system using saatellite transmission in China indicates how some of the obstacles may be overcome.
Synthesis of copolyamides containing octadecanedioic acid : An investigation of nylon 6/6,18 in various ratios

A series of copolyamides of various compositions of nylon 6 and nylon 6,18 were produced. Increased resistance to organic solvents resulted from greater incorporation of nylon 6,18, as shown by decreasing solubility. High-resolution solution NMR indicated there were four amide carbonyls that corresponded to the four possible pairs of comonomer units, allowing detailed composition determination. The melting points of the comonomers decreased as the ratio of hydrogen bonding amide units to methylene groups increased, going from nylon 6 to copolymers with an increasing number of nylon 6,18 repeat units. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006
Inhibition of cholesterol absorption with CP-148,623 lowers serum cholesterol in humans

Objective To determine the effects of the reduction of intestinal cholesterol absorption with CP-148,623 on serum cholesterol levels in men with mild hyperlipidemia. Methods In an outpatient study in a university medical center, healthy male volunteers (n = 25) with borderline-high serum cholesterol levels participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group study. A 3-week dietary run-in period was followed by 2 weeks of treatment with either CP-148,623 (300 mg twice a day; n = 12) or placebo (n = 13). Results Fractional cholesterol absorption (by the dual-isotope, continuous-feeding technique), fecal neutral sterol excretion, and serum lipids were measured after the diet run-in and after the treatment periods. CP-148,623 caused a marked inhibition (by 38%) of fractional cholesterol absorption (50% ± 2% [baseline] to 31% ± 1%) and a 71% increase in fecal neutral sterol excretion (481 ± 39 mg/day [baseline] to 804 ± 55 mg/day), compared with negligible changes in the placebo group (p < 0.0001 for both). Mean percent reductions from baseline in serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were 11.6% with CP-148,623 (119 ± 17 mg/dl to 104 ± 13 mg/dl) versus a nonsignificant 1.8% reduction with placebo (change with CP-148,623 versus placebo, p < 0.0002). Conclusions In healthy male volunteers with mild hypercholesterolemia, treatment for 2 weeks with 600 mg/day CP-148,623 inhibited fractional cholesterol absorption by 35% to 40%, increased fecal neutral sterol excretion by 60% to 70%, and reduced serum LDL cholesterol by 10% to 12%. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (1997) 61, 385–389; doi:
Idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis.

Abstract The clinical and hemodynamic features of a case of idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis are presented. Criteria for its clinical recognition are assessed and current concepts of its pathophysiology are briefly reviewed, with confirmation of a recently described technique for its hemodynamic detection. The importance of separating cases in this category from those in the categories of aortic stenosis which are amenable to corrective operation is emphasized.
Effects of a nonhomogeneous gain saturation law on predicted performance of a high-gain and a low-gain laser systems.

A modified Rigrod theory that uses a nonhomogeneous gain saturation law is used to model outcoupled, total, and intracavity power from a high-gain and a low-gain cw HF chemical laser with good accuracy. The homogeneous gain saturation law is found to have significant limitations when used to model total power data over a wide range of threshold gain values. The use of a nonhomogeneous gain saturation law indicates that a gain saturation law parameter of m = 1.2 models University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign supersonic cw HF fundamental laser data more accurately than a homogeneous gain saturation law (m = 1). A completely inhomogeneous saturation law (m = 2) models University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign supersonic HF overtone laser data more accurately than a completely homogeneous gain saturation law.
On the superiority of pulsing under a concave advertising market potential function

Abstract The authors study the superiority of advertising pulsing policy (turning advertising on and off in a cyclic fashion) over its uniform (constant spending) counterpart that costs the same under the assumption that sales dynamics follow a modified Vidale–Wolfe aggregate advertising model. The authors show that pulsing can be superior if the product of the concave market potential function and the linear or concave advertising response function is convex in advertising. Similar to previous studies in the literature, the average undiscounted profit over the infinite planning horizon is considered as a performance measure according to which alternative advertising pulsation policies are compared. Employing a well-known data set relating advertising to sales, the above convexity requirement is empirically supported and the superiority of pulsing is established numerically. The performance of the proposed model is found to be superior to two rival models using a one-step-ahead forecasting procedure. The analytical findings of the study are documented into six theoretical results for which proofs are relegated to a separate appendix. Managerial implications of the study and directions for future research are also discussed.
Privacy-preserving data sharing in cloud computing

Storing and sharing databases in the cloud of computers raise serious concern of individual privacy. We consider two kinds of privacy risk: presence leakage, by which the attackers can explicitly identify individuals in (or not in) the database, and association leakage, by which the attackers can unambiguously associate individuals with sensitive information. However, the existing privacy-preserving data sharing techniques either fail to protect the presence privacy or incur considerable amounts of information loss. In this paper, we propose a novel technique, Ambiguity, to protect both presence privacy and association privacy with low information loss. We formally define the privacy model and quantify the privacy guarantee of Ambiguity against both presence leakage and association leakage. We prove both theoretically and empirically that the information loss of Ambiguity is always less than the classic generalization-based anonymization technique. We further propose an improved scheme, PriView, that can achieve better information loss than Ambiguity. We propose efficient algorithms to construct both Ambiguity and Pri View schemes. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of both Ambiguity and PriView schemes.
Estimation of the Secretion Rate of Insulin from the Urinary Excretion Rate of C-Peptide: Study in Obese and Diabetic Subjects

Direct methods for measuring the secretion rate of insulin are too cumbersome for clinical application. Since C-peptide is secreted in an equimolar ratio with insulin and is excreted into the urine, measuring the urinary excretion rate of C-peptide (U-C) could serve as an indicator of its secretion rate (SR-C) if its urinary clearance (UCI-C) is constant and unaffected by plasma C-peptide concentration, body mass, or diabetes. We measured clearance ratios of C-peptide/creatinine (CR) in the fasting state and integrated 0-1, 1-3, and 3-5 h after 100 g of glucose p.o. as well as over a full 24-h in eight obese, eight lean, and six maturity-onset diabetic subjects. CR did not differ significantly when values in the fasting state were compared with those in the postprandial periods and was therefore unaffected by plasma C-peptide concentration. Furthermore, CR was similar in the lean, obese, and diabetic subjects. SR-C, determined as the product of the metabolic clearance rate of C-peptide and its fasting or integrated plasma concentrations, correlated significantly with U-C in all the subjects (r = 0.87, P less than 0.0001). The correlation of U-C with SR-C in the diabetic subjects alone was also significant (r = 0.88, P less than 0.0001). In conclusion, our data support the use of U-C as an indirect measure of SR-C and therefore of SR-I.
Social support, social strain and inflammation: evidence from a national longitudinal study of U.S. adults.

Social relationships have long been held to have powerful effects on health and survival, but it remains unclear whether such associations differ by function and domain of relationships over time and what biophysiological mechanisms underlie these links. This study addressed these gaps by examining the longitudinal associations of persistent relationship quality across a ten year span with a major indicator of immune function. Specifically, we examined how perceived social support and social strain from re- lationships with family, friends, and spouse at a prior point in time are associated with subsequent risks of inflammation, as assessed by overall inflammation burden comprised of five markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, fibrinogen, E-selectin, and intracellular adhesion molecule-1) in a national lon- gitudinal study of 647 adults from the Midlife Development in the United States (1995e2009). Results from multivariate regression analysis show that (1) support from family, friends, and spouse modestly protected against risks of inflammation; (2) family, friend, and total social strain substantially increased risks of inflammation; and (3) the negative associations of social strain were stronger than the positive associations of social support with inflammation. The findings highlight the importance of enriched conceptualizations, measures, and longitudinal analyses of both social and biological stress processes to elucidate the complex pathways linking social relationships to health and illness.
A coding technique for recovery against double disk failures in disk arrays

The author presents a method for encoding an array of disks in such a way that the information is protected against two disk failures. The encoding requires two redundant disks and this performance is optimal. The encoding and decoding circuits require only exclusive-OR operations, giving them an advantage over other methods involving finite field operations, like Reed-Solomon codes. >
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalization rates in Massachusetts: a trend analysis

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) causes a huge economic burden and >80% of COPD cases are attributable to smoking. Massachusetts introduced a comprehensive Tobacco Control Program (MTCP) in January 1993. A trend analysis of COPD hospitalization rates might indirectly reflect the potential impact of such comprehensive tobacco control programs. Methods: Age-adjusted COPD hospitalization rates/100 000 was abstracted from the Massachusetts Community Health Information Profile Database between 1989 and 2005. Joinpoint Regression Analyses program was employed to estimate annual percent changes (APC) in COPD rates by age, sex and race. Results: In 1989, 265/100 000 age-adjusted COPD hospitalization rates were reported that increased to 423/100 000 in 1993, and then declined to 329/100 000 in 2005. A significant annual decline of 5.6 percentage points was observed in overall COPD rates from 1993 onwards. A similar temporal pattern, with an age-gradient and a slower annual decline in female COPD rates relative to male COPD rates, was observed. COPD rates in both Blacks and Whites were similar to the general overall pattern. Such consistent annual declines in COPD hospitalization rates from 1993 onwards in Massachusetts also closely correspond to the introduction of the MTCP in January 1993. Conclusion: The findings indirectly suggest that smoking cessation should remain the cornerstone strategy for the prevention and control of COPD burden. However, additional studies across different population settings are essential for a definitive conclusion with regard to the immediate impact of a comprehensive tobacco control program on COPD hospitalization rates showing possible gender susceptibility.
Infrared ellipsometry—measurement of the optical properties of thin silver and gold films at 1.15, 3.39 and 10 μm

Abstract In the 1 to 10 μm range reported it is necessary to use alignment and calibration procedures as well as optical elements which are different from those used in the visible. Ellipsometric measurement using these procedures, and at 10 μm a CdS Babinet-Soleil compensator and wire-grid polarizers, are shown to give results comparable to those obtained by other methods in experiments on gold and silver. Point-by-point ellipsometry avoids the need for information over a wide spectral range required of reflectance measurements which use a Kramers-Kronig analysis.
A Source of Prudentius' Psychomachia

SEVERAL pagan and Christian works have been suggested at various times as sources for the general conception of Prudentius' Psychomachia, that influential late Classical poem.1 These general sources make clear that the concept of a struggle between the virtues and vices was not a new idea and that Prudentius was made aware of the moral battle by absorbing these earlier writings in one way or another. The purpose of this paper is to add another source to that list. The closeness of the parallel would seem to suggest that Prudentius consciously used the material, a suggestion that cannot be made with any certainty in the other cases. In fact, it may be said that the Psychomachia is a remarkably original piece of work. In a Prefatio of sixty-eight lines to the poem, Prudentius discusses several incidents from the life of Abraham, and especially the story of his aid to Bera, King of Sodom, and his allies.2 Bera, together with his associates, had been attacked by Amraphel, Arioch, Chedorlaomer and Tidal. After a preliminary success at Siddim, the attackers were routed by Abram who wished to rescue Lot, his nephew. His victory saved the goods of Bera and his brother kings. Prudentius interprets this tale as a battle between the virtues and vices. He writes in part:
Adaptation of metal arc plasma source to plasma source ion implantation

Summary form only given, as follows. In Plasma Source Ion Implantation (PSII) a target is immersed in a plasma and a train of high negative voltage pulses is applied to accelerate ions into the target and to modify the properties in the near surface region. In PSII, until now we have been using gaseous species to generate plasmas. However metal ion plasma may be used to modify the surface properties of material for industrial applications. Conventionally the ion implantation of metal ions is performed using beam line accelerators which have complex engineering and high cost. The employment of a metal are source to PSII has tremendous potential due to its ability to process the conformal surfaces, simple engineering and cost effectiveness. We have installed metal arc source for generation of titanium plasma. Currently, we investigating the properties of titanium plasma material behavior of titanium implanted aluminum and 52100 steel. The recent results of this investigation are presented.
Damage estimates from long-term structural analysis of a wind turbine in a US wind farm environment

Time-domain simulations of the loads on wind energy conversion systems have been hampered in the past by the relatively long computational times for nonlinear structural analysis codes. However, recent advances in both the level of sophistication and computational efficiency of available computer hardware and the codes themselves now permit long-term simulations to be conducted in reasonable times. Thus, these codes provide a unique capability to evaluate the spectral content of the fatigue loads on a turbine. To demonstrate these capabilities, a Micon 65/13 turbine is analyzed using the YawDyn and the ADAMS dynamic analysis codes. The SNLWIND-3D simulator and measured boundary conditions are used to simulate the inflow environment that can be expected during a single, 24-hour period by a turbine residing in Row 41 of a wind farm located in San Gorgonio Pass, California. Also, long-term simulations (up to 8 hours of simulated time) with constant average inflow velocities are used to better define the characteristics of the fatigue load on the turbine. Damage calculations, using the LIFE2 fatigue analysis code and the MSU/DOE fatigue data base for composite materials, are then used to determine minimum simulation times for consistent estimates of service lifetimes.
Spleen Cells from Young Donors Eradicate Large Tumors–Response

We are very grateful to Dr. Radvanyi for his keen analysis and stimulating suggestions for possible ways to offset the effects of aging on the immune system. We do not question the desirability for having standardized assays of “immune health” that can be applied to all cancer patients, but the
Characterization of ULSI gate oxide reliability using substrate and channel electron injection stresses

A hot electron reliability characterization methodology has been developed to separate the geometry and process related degradations using BIMOS (bipolar-MOS) and SMOSC (sourced MOS capacitor) tests structures which uniformly inject the hot electrons from the substrate into the oxide. In both test structures, the gate oxide current is independently controlled from the oxide electric field. The uniform injection into the gate oxide obtained in the BiMOS DC and the SMOSC AC (pulsed) substrate injection techniques facilitates rapid evaluation of gate oxide quality in the manufacturing environment independent of the drain doping profile. >
An improved model of lead-induced brain dysfunction in the suckling rat☆

Abstract Experimental lead encephalopathy is produced in suckling rats when lead is added to the mother's diet. Lead passes into developing sucklings via maternal milk. Lead-poisoned newborns have been reported to exhibit pronounced retardation of growth and during week 4 of life develop paraplegia and extensive histologic lesions of the cerebellum. Under similar dietary conditions experimental lactating rats eat 30% less food than controls, resulting in: (a) sustained loss in body weight of nursing mothers and (b) offspring who develop paraplegia and cerebellar damage after gaining access to the maternal lead-containing diet. We have found that a lactating mother rat consuming 5% lead acetate (PbAc) in the diet (2.73% Pb) produced milk containing 25 ppm lead. When the diet of the mother is changed on day 16 from 5% PbAc to one containing 25 ppm Pb, and neonates are allowed free access to the same solid diet, the sucklings still have retarded body growth but do not develop paraplegia or grossly apparent vascular damage of the cerebellum. However, during week 4 these animals exhibit hyperactivity, tremors, and stereotype behavior. Pair-fed controls coetaneous to experimental groups do not display such activities. The severe paraplegia and histopathologic lesions reported by others in the older model obscures minimal brain dysfunction. We propose the present procedure as a model for studies of the subtle effects of lead on the central nervous system.
Using case-based tests to detect gray cygnets

Black Swans are surprising, exceptional, provocative cases that instigate major change. Gray Cygnets follow a Black Swan, are highly similar to it, are also exceptional in outcome, and continue to provoke change. We discuss experiments with a family of tests designed to detect Gray Cygnet (GC) cases in a stream of cases following a known Black Swan case. Using the two classic CBR measures of lattice-based and nearest neighbor similarity, the tests use positional information about the Black Swan in the analysis of a new case, such as its being a supreme on-point case (sopc), a Level 1 (L1) case, or in the first ring of nearest neighbors (NN#1), to determine if it is a potential GC. The idea is that a case very similar to a known Black Swan might be a GC. Experiments performed on a corpus of cases from a well-known episode in legal history spanning the era from mid-1800's to mid-1900's showed tests using sopc's were very precise, while those using L1 cases had good recall.
A New Mission for Business Schools: The Development of Actor-Network Leaders

Abstract The lesson of actor-network theory is that to effect desired change, leaders must understand their place in the network and deploy strategies that forge new relationships and strengthen existing connections between individuals, groups, and other entities–both human and nonhuman. In this article, the authors use the Roy H. Park Leadership Fellows Program in the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University as a case study to demonstrate leadership as both an effect and cause of network change. They conclude with a new mission for leaders and business schools.
Detecting and Browsing Events in Unstructured text

Previews and overviews of large, heterogeneous information resources help users comprehend the scope of collections and focus on particular subsets of interest. For narrative documents, questions of "what happened? where? and when?" are natural points of entry. Building on our earlier work at the Perseus Project with detecting terms, place names, and dates, we have exploited co-occurrences of dates and place names to detect and describe likely events in document collections. We compare statistical measures for determining the relative significance of various events. We have built interfaces that help users preview likely regions of interest for a given range of space and time by plotting the distribution and relevance of various collocations. Users can also control the amount of collocation information in each view. Once particular collocations are selected, the system can identify key phrases associated with each possible event to organize browsing of the documents themselves.
An exploratory study on the development of an animal model of acute pancreatitis following nicotine exposure.

Cigarette smoking is known to be a major risk factor for pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis is believed to be a predisposed condition for pancreatic cancer. As of this date, there is no established experimental animal model to conduct detailed studies on these two deadly diseases. Our aim is to establish a rodent model by which we can systematically study the pathogenesis of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Methods: Adult Male Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to graded doses of nicotine by various routes for periods of three to 16 weeks. Blood samples were measured for hormonal and metabolic parameters. The pancreas was evaluated for histopathological changes and its function was assessed in iso- lated pancreatic acini upon stimulation with cholecystokinin (CCK) or carbachol (Cch). The pancreatic tissue was evaluated further for oncogene expression. Results: Body weight, food and fluid intakes, plasma glucose and insulin levels were significantly reduced in animals with nicotine exposure when compared to control. However, CCK and gastrin levels in the blood were significantly elevated. Pancreatic function was decreased significantly with no alteration in CCK receptor binding. Pancreatic histology revealed vacuolation, swelling, cellular pyknosis and karyorrhexis. Mutant oncogene, H-ras, was overexpressed in nicotine- treated pancreatic tissue. Summary and conclusions: The results suggest that alterations in metabolic, hormonal and pathologic parameters following nicotine-treatment appear consis- tent with diagnostic criteria of human pancreatitis. It is proposed that rats could be consid- ered as a potential animal model to study the pathogenesis of pancreatitis.
On the physical meaning of the dynamical equations governing geometrically-exact multilayer shells

In this paper, the physical meaning of the equations governing geometrically-exact multilayer shells is provided through a totally new derivation by means of dynamic equilibrium consideration, starting from a 3-D continuum setting in curvilinear coordinates. The theory is valid for large deformation and large overall motion, as characteristic of geometrically exact formulations. The dynamic equilibrium derivation offers a clear physical insight into the meaning of the terms in the equations of motion; such insight was not afforded by previous derivations based on the principle of virtual power. In particular, we obtain directly the balance of angular momentum in true resultant couples, without the need to use the constitutive restriction as in our previous papers. Moreover, we also obtain here new expressions for the inertia operators that will greatly simplify the computational formulation, when compared to our previous work. In addition, an analytical justification of the inertial operators is also provided. The present formulation is independent of any kinematic assumption along the shell director, and is in particular valid for the case of shells with variable-length director (e.g., for modeling through-the-thickness deformation) and higher-order kinematic assumptions.
Coronary Hemodynamics in Heart Failure and Effects of Therapeutic Interventions

Abstract Background The abnormalities in coronary hemodynamics in systolic heart failure are frequent. Myocardial oxygen demand and consumption are increased and myocardial perfusion is also impaired, which may result in myocardial ischemia, necrosis, and apoptosis. This is potentially a contributing factor for progressive heart failure. Methods and Results Neurohormonal abnormalities such as activated renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, increased adrenergic activity, hemodynamic abnormalities such as decreased left ventricular perfusion pressure, and increased left ventricular diastolic pressure are important mechanisms for myocardial ischemia. Conclusions Different pharmacologic agents may exert different effects on coronary hemodynamics although changes in systemic hemodynamics may be similar. Some agents may enhance myocardial ischemia and others may decrease it. Thus, an understanding of changes in coronary hemodynamics may have therapeutic implications.
Higher educational attainment but not higher income is protective for cardiovascular risk in Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users.

Abstract Background Higher educational attainment and income provide cardiovascular protection in the general population. It is unknown if the same effect is seen among Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users who face communication barriers in health care settings. Objective We sought to examine whether educational attainment and/or annual household income were inversely associated with cardiovascular risk in a sample of Deaf ASL users. Methods This cross-sectional study included 302 Deaf respondents aged 18–88 years from the Deaf Health Survey (2008), an adapted and translated Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) administered in sign language. Associations between the self-reported cardiovascular disease equivalents (CVDE; any of the following: diabetes, myocardial infarction (MI), cerebral vascular attack (CVA), and angina) with educational attainment (≤high school [low education], some college, and ≥4 year college degree [referent]), and annual household income ( Results Deaf respondents who reported ≤high school education were more likely to report the presence of a CVDE (OR = 5.76; 95% CI = 2.04–16.31) compared to Deaf respondents who reported having ≥4 year college degree after adjustment. However, low-income Deaf individuals (i.e., household incomes Conclusion Low educational attainment was associated with higher likelihood of reported cardiovascular equivalents among Deaf individuals. Higher income did not appear to provide a cardiovascular protective effect for Deaf respondents.
Process Fitness And Fidelity

This paper discusses the results of the author’s research and observations on the issues of designing software process definitions so they are both effective and easy to use. The reason for defining a software process is to improve software development capability [Kellner 19883. Process design starts with the specification of the process objectives and the development of an overall framework. Appropriate tools and methods are then incorporated and the resulting definition is carefully fitted to the users’ needs. This last step is generally accomplished through an iterative cycle of process refinement and test until the process stabilizes and the users’ needs are reasonably satisfied.
The Control of Disease in A Closed CAT Breeding Colony

SUMMARY The disease problems encountered in an established cat breeding colony are described. The treatments, hygienic measures, vaccination procedures employed, and the change over from continuous to seasonal breeding are discussed. An improved production of animals resulted. 111
Update on nuclear medicine imaging of neuroendocrine tumors

Radiolabeled tracers provide a functional imaging technique to identify neuroendocrine tumors, usually with greater sensitivity and specificity than anatomic imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound. Currently, there are several single-photon techniques available using either (123)I-MIBG, (111)In-DTPA-pentetreotide (Octreoscan) or (99m)Tc-EDDA/HYNIC-tyr3-octreotate. (111)In-DTPA-pentetreotide is most widely used. The best results are achieved with single-photon emission computed tomography/CT. Positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/CT are likely to provide further improvements in tumor detection, but there is, at the present time, no consensus on the choice of tracer. (18)F-FDG, (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC and (68)Ga-DOTA-NOC, (18)F-FP-Gluc-TOCA, (18)F-FDOPA and (11)C-5HTP (hydroxy tryptophan) are currently being evaluated. Early results and issues pertaining to availability are reviewed. The identification of the 'best' tracer will depend on multiple factors.
Jordan Algebras and Extremal Black Holes

We review various properties of the exceptional Euclidean Jordan algebra of degree three. Euclidean Jordan algebras of degree three and their corresponding Freudenthal triple systems were recently shown to be intimately related to extremal black holes in N = 2, d = 4 homogeneous supergravities. Using a novel type of eigenvalue problem with eigenmatrix solutions, we elucidate the rich matrix geometry underlying the exceptional N = 2, d = 4 homogeneous supergravity and explore the relations to extremal black holes.
Seasonal variations of capillary hydraulic conductivity and volume status

The purpose of this study was to determine whether circulating plasma protein concentration, capillary hydraulic conductivity (Lp), and overall volume status in frogs were correlated and whether these correlations varied with season. Individual vessel Lp was thus examined on a monthly basis and correlated with changes in protein content in three body compartments (blood, lymph, and body cavity) over a 10-yr period. The frogs were anesthetized, blood and fluid samples collected, Lp assessed, and samples assayed for overall protein content. Volume status indicators varied cyclically over the course of 1 yr. Protein levels reached their peak in winter and were lowest in summer for all compartments. Lp for venular and arteriolar capillaries reached maximal levels in summer and fell steadily throughout the remainder of the year. Basal true capillary Lp was stable over the course of the year. Lp and total protein concentration were inversely proportional to each other on a seasonal basis but did not correlate on a monthly basis. Therefore, we conclude that the lack of a simple relationship between Lp and volume status suggests an independent driver such as a hormonal signal for the hydraulic conductivity.
A System of System Approach for Smart Complex Energy System Operation Decision

The emerging technology in smart grids enables a bi-directional communication between buildings and power grids. Not only can a building request energy from power grid, but it is also able to sell surplus energy back to power grid or to its neighborhood buildings. The vision is that multiple residential houses can freely form a smart complex to share energy and exchange information, which is expected to reduce energy consumption and achieve significant energy cost savings. However, the study of the operation decisions of a smart complex with multiple residential buildings is limited in the literature. To address this research gap, this paper proposes a System of Systems (SoS) approach to investigate the smart complex operation that considers a residential complex setting where all of the households are connected to one another through the complex virtual decision making level, while maintaining their preferred comfort level. The core objective of the proposed model is to minimize the cost of energy for all of the households in the complex which can freely share energy and exchange information. Each household has the flexibility to maintain its comfort level while minimizing the energy cost. Two mathematical models are presented: (i) at complex level, and (ii) at household level. Although each household is given the freewill to set its comfort levels while optimizing energy costs, the interconnection of these houses with shared renewable energy systems and a complex size battery can boost the load shifting. To derive the operation decision for the smart complex, a genetic algorithm (GA) is developed, and a case study is used to test the efficiency of this GA. It was found that the GA provides acceptable levels of convergence within a reasonable time frame, thereby exhibiting potential for use in real-time decision making in the smart grid context.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
The crystal structure of Ca 7 Mg 9 (Ca,Mg) 2 (PO 4 ) 12

The unit cell of Ca7Mg9(Ca,Mg)2(PO4)12 isa=22.841(3) A,b=9.994(1) A,c=17.088(5) A and β=99.63(3)° at 24° C. The space-group is C2/c with four formula weights per cell. The crystal structure has been determined from 6330 X-ray reflections measured from a single crystal by a counter method and has been refined toR w =0.044,R=0.046 (based on 4227 observed reflections and 322 of the unobserved reflections). One cation site may be occupied by Ca or Mg and gives rise to variability in composition as is reflected in the formula give above. In the sample studied, Ca and Mg occupy the site approximately equally. The $$\left[ {10\bar 2} \right]$$ direction in the unit cell is pseudo-hexagonal. The structure of Ca7Mg9(Ca,Mg)2(PO4)12 is related to that of K3Na(SO4)2 in that along $$\left[ {10\bar 2} \right]$$ it has columns of cations and columns of cations and anions. These columns are arranged in a K3Na(SO4)2-type pseudo-cell. In the cation-anion columns, every other cation site in K3Na(SO4)2 is vacant in Ca7Mg9(Ca,Mg)2(PO4)12.
Glycocapture-Assisted Global Quantitative Proteomics (gagQP) Reveals Multiorgan Responses in Serum Toxicoproteome

Blood is an ideal window for viewing our health and disease status. Because blood circulates throughout the entire body and carries secreted, shed, and excreted signature proteins from every organ and tissue type, it is thus possible to use the blood proteome to achieve a comprehensive assessment of multiple-organ physiology and pathology. To date, the blood proteome has been frequently examined for diseases of individual organs; studies on compound insults impacting multiple organs are, however, elusive. We believe that a characterization of peripheral blood for organ-specific proteins affords a powerful strategy to allow early detection, staging, and monitoring of diseases and their treatments at a whole-body level. In this paper we test this hypothesis by examining a mouse model of acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatic and extra-hepatic toxicity. We used a glycocapture-assisted global quantitative proteomics (gagQP) approach to study serum proteins and validated our results using Western blot. We discovered in mouse sera both hepatic and extra-hepatic organ-specific proteins. From our validation, it was determined that selected organ-specific proteins had changed their blood concentration during the course of toxicity development and recovery. Interestingly, the peak responding time of proteins specific to different organs varied in a time-course study. The collected molecular information shed light on a complex, dynamic, yet interweaving, multiorgan-enrolled APAP toxicity. The developed technique as well as the identified protein markers is translational to human studies. We hope our work can broaden the utility of blood proteomics in diagnosis and research of the whole-body response to pathogenic cues.
School-based theories of pupil assessment: a case study.

Abstract Case study design was used in this investigation of the pupil assessment theories of two middle school physical education teachers whose program was identified as a good program in which pupil assessment was taking place. An assumption guiding the study was that teachers' actions are rational and are designed to produce desired results. Therefore, a comparison is made only between two theories of action (espoused and enacted) rather than between theory and practice. Informal and semistructured interviews were employed to elicit teachers' espoused theories, and enacted theories were identified during field visits over a semester in which classes were observed and school documents examined. Teachers' theories of assessment are identified for the categories of participation, effort, and improvement; grading; written tests; fitness testing; performance tests; and formative recordkeeping. Espoused and enacted theories are then examined for congruency. The highest level of incongruency was found in the...
Identification of the Third Party Effects in the Process of Water Property Rights Transaction

Water property rights transaction is an effective way to improve the efficiency of water resource allocation and utilizations.In many dry areas,water property rights transaction has increasingly been implemented.But in this process the interest of the trade participants is often the main concern.The third parties,who are affected by the water property rights transaction,often have no access to water rights trading game process because of the absence of contractual protection.The existence of third-party effects is a big challenge to the water rights market.This paper studies various positive and negative third party effects,which include positive effects on the ecology,on local economy and on technological advancement and negative effects on water supply reliability,on the rural economy,on water return flow,on water quality,on water entertainments and so on.Through the identification of these positive and negative effects,the third-party effects in the process of water right transaction are fully revealed,and it also helps to understand and solve the efficiency and equity problem in water rights transaction.
Antinociceptive and motor-blocking efficacy of ropivacaine and bupivacaine after epidural administration in the dog.

Background and Objectives This study was initiated to evaluate the antinociceptive and motor blocking capabilities of epidurally administered 0.5% and 0.75% ropivacaine and bupivacaine using a blinded, random crossover design in the dog. Additionally, serum drug concentrations and serum protein binding were determined. Methods Twelve male beagles were prepared with chronic epidural and arterial catheters under sterile conditions. The epidural space was identified by a loss-of-resistance technique using an 18-gauge thin-wall Crawford needle via the midline approach. The catheter was attached to a Schraeder-type Teflon valve sutured subcutaneously. Local anesthetic drugs were administered into the lumbar epidural space in a constant volume of 3.0 mL. Evaluation of antinociceptive and motor blocking qualities were evaluated at regular intervals. Arterial blood samples were drawn during the 15 minutes following local anesthetic injection for drug concentration and pharmacokinetic analysis. Results Onset time of motor block in the ropivacaine 0.5% group was longer than in other groups but not significantly different. Duration of motor and sensory block demonstrated a dose-dependent relationship of both drugs. Bupivacaine 0.5% and 0.75% produced motor block (81 ± 42 minutes and 198 ± 44 minutes [mean ± SD], respectively) of significantly longer duration than corresponding concentrations of ropivacaine (69 ± 35 minutes and 133 ± 32 minutes, respectively). The onset times for sensory block of the vertebral dermatomes were not different between groups. No difference was found in duration of dermatomal sensory block between the 0.5% solutions. However, the duration of dermatomal sensory block was significantly longer in the bupivacaine 0.75% group than in any other group. Peak arterial serum drug concentrations were not different between drugs at equal concentrations and were reached between 2 and 6 minutes in all animals. Both drugs were highly bound to serum proteins (>98%). No severe adverse effects or sequelae were observed. Conclusions The 0.5% solutions produced similar sensory block of the vertebral dermatomes. Duration of dermatomal block with 0.75% bupivacaine was longer than with the corresponding ropivacaine concentration. Ropivacaine produced motor block of shorter duration as compared with bupivacaine. Serum concentrations of the two drugs were similar after injection of the same doses. In this animal model, ropivacaine produced shorter durations of sensory and motor block than corresponding concentrations of bupivacaine. These data are consistent with previously published data in animals and humans.
Antarctomithrax thomsoni, a new genus and species of crab (Brachyura; Majidae) from the La Meseta Formation (Eocene) of Seymour Island, Antarctica

The james ross basin, situated on the eastern margin of the Antarctic Peninsula, has yielded an extensive fauna of decapod crustaceans spanning Late Cretaceous through Eocene time. To date, 28 species in 22 genera and 18 families have been described (Feldmann, 1992; Feldmann, Tshudy, and Thomson, 1993), making this the most diverse fossil decapod fauna in the Southern Hemisphere. Within the basin, Seymour Island alone contains rocks of the Eocene age La Meseta Formation from which seven species of crabs, one galatheid, and one species of callianassid ghost shrimp have been described (Feldmann and Zinsmeister, 1984; Feldmann and Wilson, 1988; Feldmann, 1992). The fauna of the La Meseta is remarkable also because, although the organisms are preserved in rocks deposited in moderate- to high-energy, shallow-water habitats (Elliot and Trautman, 1982), many of the species represent early occurrences of taxa with living descendants that are characteristic of deeper water, lower latitude habitats (Zinsmeister and Feldmann, 1984).
An Aqueous Symmetric Sodium-Ion Battery with NASICON-Structured Na3MnTi(PO4)3

A symmetric sodium-ion battery with an aqueous electrolyte is demonstrated; it utilizes the NASICON-structured Na3MnTi(PO4)3 as both the anode and the cathode. The NASICON-structured Na3MnTi(PO4)3 possesses two electrochemically active transition metals with the redox couples of Ti4+/Ti3+ and Mn3+/Mn2+ working on the anode and cathode sides, respectively. The symmetric cell based on this bipolar electrode material exhibits a well-defined voltage plateau centered at about 1.4 V in an aqueous electrolyte with a stable cycle performance and superior rate capability. The advent of aqueous symmetric sodium-ion battery with high safety and low cost may provide a solution for large-scale stationary energy storage.
Replication and extension of the dual pathway model of disordered eating: The role of fear of negative evaluation, suggestibility, rumination, and self-compassion.

Abstract Objective The dual pathway model, a theoretical model of eating disorder development, suggests that thin ideal internalization leads to body dissatisfaction which leads to disordered eating via the dual pathways of negative affect and dietary restraint. While the dual pathway model has been a valuable guide for eating disorder prevention, greater knowledge of characteristics that predict thin ideal internalization is needed. Method The present study replicated and extended the dual pathway model by considering the addition of fear of negative evaluation, suggestibility, rumination, and self-compassion in a sample of community women and female university students. Results Results showed that fear of negative evaluation and suggestibility predicted thin ideal internalization whereas rumination and self-compassion (inversely) predicted body dissatisfaction. Negative affect was predicted by fear of negative evaluation, rumination, and self-compassion (inversely). Discussion The extended model fit the data well in both samples. Analogue and longitudinal study of these constructs is warranted in future research.
Post-wrinkle bifurcations in elastic bilayers with modest contrast in modulus

Abstract Wrinkles, folds, creases and other elastic surface instabilities play a crucial role in many systems in nature and engineering. While surface instabilities of ideal bilayer structures with large contrasts in elastic stiffness are well understood, many natural and man-made structures are far from this ideal. To better understand the behavior of systems with modest stiffness contrast, in particular their secondary post-wrinkling bifurcations, we systematically vary the modulus contrast between the film and the substrate through a combination of experiments and finite element simulations. Above a modulus contrast of about 2, but below approximately 14, wrinkles represent the primary bifurcation mode, but can undergo two distinct types of secondary bifurcations upon further compression: (1) a direct transition from wrinkles to creases, and (2) wrinkles that first undergo period doubling, followed by a transition to creases.