cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Standards of Care in Catastrophic Emergencies

Recent events, including the tragic earthquake in Haiti (2010), the devastating tsunami and radiation emergency in Japan (2011) and the threat of highly pathogenic, easily transmissible pandemic influenza, demonstrate that widespread loss of infrastructure combined with excessive demand for healthcare services will affect the ability to deliver medical care in a crisis and the quality of deliverable care. The intent of this chapter is to highlight the implications and impact that complex humanitarian emergency (CHE) and catastrophic disaster events will have on existing medical standards of care. Proactive planning for response in such austere environments will be required to limit ad hoc responses producing inconsistencies in the delivery of care and uncertain medical outcomes. Guidelines for how and when to make the difficult transition from individual-based outcomes – the focus of care in normal settings – to population-based outcomes that emphasize benefits to the greatest number will be examined. The context in which standards of care may be affected in a disaster medical response will be described. How will these change based upon whether they occur in developed, developing or failed states? In addition, planning guidance for catastrophic disaster response related to the allocation of scarce resources will also be discussed. This will include a description of a proposed framework for catastrophic response, including implementation of a healthcare surge capability response spectrum that delineates options for decision making in austere environments.
The hiatal hernia-reflux complex: Current approaches to correction and evaluation of results

Abstract Experience with forty cases in which Belsey and Nissen fundoplication operation were performed for hiatus hernia-reflux complex is reviewed. The series was composed largely of cases complicated by stricture, ulceration, bleeding, aspiration, or previous repair. A system of clinical scoring is used and proposed as a method for objective evaluation of results. Follow-up study is complete, both clinically and radiographically, and recurrent hernia with reflux has developed in one patient. Late stricture was treated by simple correction of reflux, combined with intraoperative dilatation, with eight of ten initial successes, two patients requiring further therapy. The mean lower esophageal sphincteric pressure is improved by fundoplication, but its importance in preventing reflux after operation is secondary to the creation of an effective valve at the gastroesophageal junction.
Inelastic Multistory Frame Buckling

The paper presents an engineering solution to the problem of inelastic sidesway buckling of multistory steel frames. The girders of the frame are loaded by gravity loads which cause partial yielding in the frame before the occurrence of buckling. In the solution fictitious lateral loads of small magnitude are applied to the floor levels to approximate the effect of initial between-story eccentricities. For each set of the selected lateral loads, a second-order elastic-plastic analysis is performed to determine the frame instability load. The frame buckling load is obtained as the limit of the frame instability loads when the values of the lateral loads aproach zero. Tests on two half-scale frames fabricated from wide-flange shapes were conducted, and the results show good agreement with the theoretical predictions.
Perceptions of Risk and Their Effects on Decision Making

The evaluation of risks is a part of any rational decision-making process. But what risks? And whose evaluation? Measures of risk tend to fall in two broad categories: those that purport to observe or calculate the actual risk of a process or project and those that rely upon the judgments of those assessing the risk. A nomenclature problem arises here. Some characterize the categories as “objective” and “subjective”; others, perhaps somewhat arrogantly, call them “real” and “imagined.” Technical experts tend to consider the use of measures of the first sort the only legitimate way of describing risk, yet measures of the second sort tend to dominate the thinking and actions of most individuals. Whatever they are called, the two measures of risk seem seldom, if ever, to agree. The social and psychological reasons (or explanations) for the disparity are interesting but, beyond them, there are important implications of the disparity for decision making in an increasingly technological society. The distinction between the two measures of risk creates difficulties for decision makers and regulators among which are: an increase in the use of propaganda and indoctrination by government, industry, and technical experts in attempts to convince the public that technical estimates of risk are valid; a continued erosion of trust and understanding between experts and the rest of the public; further complication in the already involved process of setting priorities for government or corporate programs; and a challenge to decision makers to explain uncertainties about the effects of their actions.
Reconstructing 16S rRNA genes in metagenomic data.

Metagenomic data, which contains sequenced DNA reads of uncultured microbial species from environmental samples, provide a unique opportunity to thoroughly analyze microbial species that have never been identified before. Reconstructing 16S ribosomal RNA, a phylogenetic marker gene, is usually required to analyze the composition of the metagenomic data. However, massive volume of dataset, high sequence similarity between related species, skewed microbial abundance and lack of reference genes make 16S rRNA reconstruction difficult. Generic de novo assembly tools are not optimized for assembling 16S rRNA genes. In this work, we introduce a targeted rRNA assembly tool, REAGO (REconstruct 16S ribosomal RNA Genes from metagenOmic data). It addresses the above challenges by combining secondary structure-aware homology search, zproperties of rRNA genes and de novo assembly. Our experimental results show that our tool can correctly recover more rRNA genes than several popular generic metagenomic assembly tools and specially designed rRNA construction tools. Availability and implementation: The source code of REAGO is freely available at https://github.com/chengyuan/reago. Contact: ude.usm@nusinnay
Post-Merger Integration Duration and Leverage Dynamics of Mergers: Theory and Evidence

We introduce the concept of the post-merger integration duration (PMID) which is the time delay that it takes a merged entity to fully capture synergistic gains. Using a dynamic model, we examine the effects of this duration on acquiring ﬁrms’ financing behavior around mergers. When facing a longer PMID, acquiring firms optimally choose lower leverage prior to and at the time of a merger, and gradually levers up as the integration period nears completion. We hand collect a unique data set on the integration duration of mergers and provide strong empirical support for the model implications.
Fuzzy predictive PI control for processes with large time delays

This paper presents the design, tuning and performance analysis of a new predictive fuzzy controller structure for higher order plants with large time delays. The designed controller consists of a fuzzy proportional-integral (PI) part and a fuzzy predictor. The fuzzy predictive PI controller combines the advantages of fuzzy control while maintaining the simplicity and robustness of a conventional PI controller. The dynamics of the prediction term are adaptive to the system’s time delay. The prediction term has two parts: a fuzzy predictor that uses the system time delay as an input for calculating the prediction horizon and an exponential term that uses the prediction horizon as its positive power. The prediction term also introduces phase lead into the system which compensates for the phase lag due to the time delay in the plant, thereby stabilizing the closed-loop configuration. The performance of the proposed controller is compared with the responses of the conventional predictive PI controller, showing many advantages of the new design over its conventional counterpart.
Decision Fusion of Textural Features Derived From Polarimetric Data for Levee Assessment

Texture features derived from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery using grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) can result in very high dimensional feature spaces. Although this high dimensional texture feature space can potentially provide relevant class-specific information for classification, it often also results in over-dimensionality and ill-conditioned statistical formulations. In this work, we propose a polarization channel based feature grouping followed by a multi-classifier decision fusion (MCDF) framework for a levee health monitoring system that seeks to detect landslides in earthen levees. In this system, texture features derived from the SAR imagery are partitioned into small groups according to different polarization channels. A multi-classifier system is then applied to each group to perform classification at the subspace level (i.e., a dedicated classifier for every subspace). Finally, a decision fusion system is employed to fuse decisions generated by each classifier to make a final classification decision (healthy levee versus landslide in this work). The resulting system can handle the high dimensionality of the problem very effectively, and only needs a few training samples for training and optimization.
Future collapse: how optimistic should we be?

Prof. Kelly FRS is optimistic about the chances of avoiding a collapse, but sadly we find his arguments entirely unpersuasive. For example, have Malthus (or we) really been wrong about food security? Roughly 850 million people are seriously undernourished (lacking sufficient calories) today, and
Neuropathology of Experimental Spinal Cord Ischemia in the Rabbit

We studied a highly reproducible spinal cord model of focal central nervous system ischemia produced by occlusion of the abdominal aorta in the rabbit just below the renal arteries. The neuropathology of the lesion at one week or longer is characterized by: 1. Necrosis of gray matter and relative sparing of white matter throughout the lumbar and sacral cord with periods of ischemia between 45 minutes and 2 hours: and 2. Selective necrosis of elements within the anterior horns of the gray matter (neurons) in the lumbar cord with periods of ischemia between 15 and 30 minutes and in the transition zone between normal and infarcted gray matter with periods of ischemia between 45 minutes and 2 hours. Within the time period that causes irreversible damage (15 minutes to 1 hour), the distribution, size, and severity of infarcts is proportional to the duration of ischemia. The degree of functional impairment correlated closely with the extent of tissue damage. Previous work on ischemia of the spinal cord in experimental animals is critically reviewed. The segmental topographic distribution of the lesion and its histologic characteristics are discussed in relation to two important pathophysiological mechanisms of injury in central nervous system ischemia: the microcirculatory network, which in turn governs the adequacy of collateral flow, and the differential susceptibility of cells in nervous tissue. Sequential regional spinal cord blood flow determinations will be necessary to establish the precise relationship between levels of blood flow over time and space and neuropathology.
The potential use of coal mine refuse as feedstock for gasification or combustion and concurrent elimination as a source of acid mine drainage

Abstract The mining and processing of high sulfur coals produce millions of tons of waste rock yearly; mostly shales that are both organic-rich and potentially toxic. The toxicity results from the oxidization of the iron disulfide minerals when exposed to the atmosphere with the subsequent production of acid mine drainage. These rock materials are specially handled and chemically treated in an attempt to prevent the production of acid and the resultant impact upon the quality of surface- and groundwater. Many such reclamation attempts are not successful. As a result, acid mine drainage is the single most serious environmental problem facing the high-sulfur coal industry. The burial and isolation of these materials which attempt to eliminate their toxic potential at the same time, precludes the utilization of the potential energy source represented by their organic content. Many of these materials have organic contents sufficiently high to provide the heat potential of lignite. It is proposed that these waste materials be utilized as feedstock for gasification or combustion. This would allow to take advantage of their energy potential while at the same time rendering the materials environmentally inert due to the thermal decomposition and subsequent oxidation of the iron disulfide minerals. The resultant thermally altered shales could then be used in reclamation as synthetic minesoils. The data presented here evaluate the properties of these materials as conversion feedstock.
Reengineering information sharing behaviour in organizations

Organizational restructuring focuses on making business operations more flexible and responsive to customers. This has led to team based decision authority structures and horizontal business processes. Concurrently, the management of information has been decentralized in many organizations. Horizontal processes create information interdependencies among previously independent tasks, and call for high levels of information sharing among decision units. However, the decentralization of information management raises the possibility that units controlling specific information repositories may not readily make them available in the required form to other units, leading to poor organizational payoff. Thus it is critical to create an environment which will promote effective information flows across the organization. We suggest that mechanisms involving organizational outlook, social orientation, equitable information processing capability and communication across decision units regarding information requirements can help mitigate the information sharing problem. Using stylized game-theoretic models, we show that these organizationally oriented mechanisms have a sound economic foundation. We use these results to build a managerial basis for improving information exchange.
Description Logic for Product Information Models

The languages and logical formalisms developed by information scientists and logicians concentrate on the theory of languages and logical theorem proving. These languages, when used by domain experts to represent their domain of discourse, most often have issues related to the level of expressiveness of the languages and need specific extensions. In this paper we analyze the levels of logical formalisms and expressivity requirements for the development of ontologies for manufacturing products. We first discuss why the representation of a product model is inherently complex and prone to inconsistencies. We then explore how these issues can be overcome through a structured knowledge representation model. We report our evaluation of OWL-DL in terms of expressivity and of the use of SWRL for representing domainspecific rules. We present a case study of product assembly to document this evaluation and further show how the OWL-DL reasoner together with the rule engine can enable reasoning of the product ontology.
A new generation of fluorescent chemosensors demonstrate improved analyte detection sensitivity and photobleaching resistance

Molecular chemosensors have found increased utility in the development of precise and sensitive detection devices. However, chemosensors that report binding via fluorescence through UV excitation are susceptible to destruction via photodegradation of the fluorophore. In the following report, the dansyl fluorophore in a previously reported chemosensor for peptides is replaced with an acridone derivative that is highly resistant to photobleaching. Its spectral properties are closely matched to those of the original dansyl fluorophore, and although quite structurally dissimilar, the new more photostable acridone chemosensor analogue exhibits only minor differences in binding/detection characteristics.
Optimism and the socioeconomic status gradient in adolescent adiposity.

Abstract Purpose To assess whether dispositional optimism is associated with adiposity and to explore whether dispositional optimism mediates the relationship between parent education and adiposity (body mass index [BMI] z -score). Methods Multivariate regression analyses of data were collected from 1,298 non-Hispanic black and white adolescents aged 12–19 years from a single Midwestern public school district. Results Less optimistic adolescents had higher BMI z -scores ( r = −.09, p z -score relationship. Sobel tests confirmed that this attenuation indicated partial mediation. Conclusion Lower dispositional optimism is associated with higher adiposity and this association accounts for some of the influence of parent education on adolescent adiposity.
Facemask Use by Children During Infectious Disease Outbreaks

An overview of available literature on the use of protective facemasks by children for protection from respiratory infectious agents reveals relatively few articles dealing specifically with the topic, despite their use during recent outbreaks (eg, severe acute respiratory syndrome, pandemic influenza). Little is known about the physiological and psychological burdens imposed by these devices and a child's ability to correctly use and tolerate them. This article focuses on the myriad issues associated with protective facemask use by children in the hope of educating public health personnel, healthcare professionals, and families on their limitations and associated risks, and in the hope of fostering much-needed research.
Within-Plant Distribution and Sampling of Aphids (Homoptera: Aphididae) on Broccoli in Southern California

Within-plant distributions and sampling techniques for aphids were studied in three successive broccoli plantings in Orange County, Calif. Myzus persicae (Sulzer) preferred the oldest leaf per plant, and Brevicoryne brassicae (L.) the youngest and highest leaves. In plantings where M. perslcae was dominant, significantly ( P < 0.05) more aphids were found on the underside of the leaves. When B. Brassicae predominated, differences in aphid counts between leaf surfaces were not significant. Population density on specific leaves covaried with total aphid populations per plant and may be useful for developing efficient scouting programs for aphids on broccoli.
“Why Do You Stand Looking Up Toward Heaven?” New Testament Eschatology at the Turn of the Millennium

Apocalyptic narrative and apocalyptic expectation are integral to the logic of the gospel. This essay surveys and critiques three unsatisfactory strategies for reinterpreting the gospel in non-apocalyptic terms: the Johannine “vertical” eschatology of union with Christ, the Jesus Seminar's construction on a non-apocalyptic Jesus, and N. T. Wright's reading of synoptic apocalyptic passages as a symbolic references to events that occurred already in the first century. Christian theology cannot dispense with a future-oriented apocalyptic eschatology. Seven reasons for this claim are set forth and explained. The concluding part of the essay suggests that the difficulty of accepting apocalyptic eschatology has often been overstated and observes that “intratextual” Christian theology will necessarily interpret the story of Jesus in apocalyptic categories.
Stimulus Labelability as a Factor in Concept Formation

In a series of experiments (Jeffrey & Kluppel, 1962) various pretraining procedures were used in an attempt to alter the differential rare of attainment of concrete and abstract concepts as found by Heidbreder (1946, 1947). Only the over-all ease of attainment was affected by the procedures and no differential effect on concepts was found. Several investigators (Osgood, 1953; Deterline, 1957) have attributed the difficulty of learning concepts other than concrete objects to the fact that concrete object labels are dominant and must be extinguished before the appropriate concept label can be elicited. One way of resting this hypothesis is to compare the ease of concept attainment when number concept instances are depicted by easily labelled objects as opposed to objects without readily applicable names. Ss, 20 third grade children (CA = 8 yr., 8 mo.) from the University Elementary School, were randomly divided into rwo groups. The stimuli and method have been described (Jeffrey & Kluppel, 1962). Nine different instances of six concepts (face, bird, loop, circle, four, six) were presented. The difference bemeen groups was in the representation of the numerical concepts: Group C received the numerical concept instances with four or six labelable objects; Group N received four or six nonsense forms. Ss learned color-name responses to the concepts. The mean errors to criterion for Group C for the concept "four" were 19.5 and for "six" were 20.0: the means for Grou~ N were 17.2 and 17.4 for "four" and "six." respectively. Although the means for the NO groups are in the predicted direction, an analysis of variance of errors to criterion yields an F < 1.00 for rrearments. That the situation could have shown an effect were it sufficiently potent is indicated by the over-all F of 20.13 (p < .01) for concepts. Therefore, we conclude that the ease with which stimuli may be labelled in the numerical instances is not a major contributor to their difficulty.
The equilibrium price path of timber in the absence of replanting: does Hotelling rule the forests too?

Abstract Prior to 1985, virtually all analyses of forestry economics took the price of timber as given. Since Mitra and Wan (1985) , however, the literature has sought to solve social planning problems where the price of timber, as reflected in the path of the marginal utility of consumption, is endogenous. The purpose here is to focus directly on the equilibrium price path of timber under the stringent assumption that once a site is cleared, no new tree is planted and the site is used for some other purpose with an exogenously specified value. While extreme, this assumption permits us to show that familiar results from the Hotelling literature have their counterparts in forestry economics. The paper begins by describing the equilibrium price path if all trees are the same age and sit on sites of equal value. This turns out to generate a U-shaped price path under some circumstances. Heterogeneity is then introduced. It is shown that if trees differ only in site value, then in the competitive equilibrium it is optimal to extract the last tree on a more valuable site before extracting the first tree on a less valuable site. It is also shown that if trees differ only in their initial age, then in equilibrium, it is optimal to extract the last older tree before extracting the first younger tree. In short, the inisights of Hotelling (1931) and Herfindahl (1967) are shown to extend. As the concluding section suggests, some of these results reappear in special cases of the model with replanting.
Examining Threats to the Economic Aspects of Globalization

Based on scholarship in economics and related fields and analysis of current events, this paper examined international economic institutions, shifting US priorities and naturalresources diplomacy as key elements in the shift away from economic globalization. More similar to the recent retreat of global democratization than the continuing technological revolution of the last two decades, the economic aspects of globalization are under pressure from a variety of political, military and economic threats. First, several of the world’s leading economic institutions – each formerly with a role in promoting globalization – have suffered setbacks. The EU constitution was defeated by voters despite the support of the major political parties (Laurent CohenTanugi, Foreign Affairs, 2005). The WTO’s Doha round of trade negotiations foundered on agricultural protectionism (Joseph Stiglitz, Guardian.co.uk, 10 Aug. and 24 Oct. 2006). The World Bank’s conditional lending is challenged by China’s global quest for natural resources (Moises Naim, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2007). The IMF’s neo-liberal “Washington Consensus” reform package has been abandoned by its originators as “stale ideological rhetoric of the 1990s” (John Williamson, Finance and Development, 2003). Second, the US has moved toward a protectionist stance focused on the risks of globalization, especially since the attacks of September 11, 2001. The fiercest debate may be over immigration, with a shift in popular sentiment from “a nation of immigrants” to a focus on national security, economic, cultural and rule-of-law issues. Other examples include reluctance to deal on Doha, restrictions on foreign visas, and widespread popular objection to certain foreign direct investment, such as by China’s CNOOC [oil] and UAE’s DP World [ports] (Scheve and Slaughter, Foreign Affairs, 2007). Third, economic globalization depended in part upon a plentiful, dependable, affordable commodity – oil. But oil supplies have become increasingly uncertain, with questions over quantity, but especially in availability: located in regions Int Adv Econ Res (2008) 14:110–111 DOI 10.1007/s11294-007-9125-8
Tectonic outlier of Great Valley sequence in Franciscan terrain, Diablo Range, California

A dismembered ophiolite, tectonically overlain by Great Valley strata, rests upon Franciscan rocks southeast of Cedar Mountain in the northern Diablo Range. The klippe of sedimentary rocks is the first reported outlier of the Great Valley sequence in the interior of the range. The dismembered ophiolite is composed of serpentinized ultramafic rocks, hornblende gabbro, diorite, and plagiogranite, and it is partially altered to greenschist facies assemblages containing chlorite + epidote + albite + actinolite. The Franciscan Complex northeast of the ophiolite is characterized by lithologic heterogeneity, and it includes melanges comprised of mixed rock fragments of varied metamorphic grade incorporated in a pervasively sheared shale matrix. The coherent Franciscan terrain southwest of the ophiolite may belong to a structural unit of Late Jurassic age which overlies younger Franciscan rocks in other parts of the Diablo Range. All Franciscan samples examined petrographically contain blueschist facies minerals such as lawsonite, pumpellyite, sodic amphibole, and jadeitic pyroxene. The Great Valley strata consist of interbedded sandstone and shale. Arkoses of the Great Valley klippe are generally calcareous and contain well-preserved detrital potassium feldspar and biotite. Locally, the sandstone contains megafossils of probable Valanginian and Cenomanian age, including Linearia multicostata (Gabb), Pterotrigonia oregana (Packard), Turritella hearni Anderson, Trigonia sp., Panope sp., and small ammonite scraps similar to Thurmanniceras (?) sp. Incipient low-grade metamorphism is indicated by alteration of calcic plagioclase to albite + calcite + white mica and by partial chloritization of biotite. The lithology and the age, structural, and metamorphic relationships indicate that the Great Valley outlier and its underlying dismembered ophiolite are erosional remnants of the Coast Range thrust which once extended across the Diablo Range.
Toward Predicting Youth Resistance to Internet Risk Prevention Strategies

Strategies to protect youth from potentially problematic online experiences may be met with considerable resistance as young people may not be ready or willing to accept such interventions. This study seeks to identify specific Internet risk prevention strategies that are likely to be met with resistance from children and adolescents. It aims to advance the ability to predict when parents and their children will disagree on appropriate strategies for their household. A United States national sample of 456 parents indicated their level of support for a wide range of Internet risk prevention strategies. Their children, ranging from 10–16 years of age, also reported their own attitudes toward each strategy. Strategies resulting in the least disagreement from children include those that empower youth to protect themselves, as well as legal consequences or suspension from school for people who misbehave online. Analysis predicting disagreement between parents and their children revealed that certain characteri...
Snapshot Image Mapping Spectrometer (IMS) for Hyperspectral Fluorescence Microscopy

Principle and prototype of high sampling (285x285x60 data cubes) Snapshot Image Mapping Spectrometer for Fluorescence Microscopy is presented. Preliminary imaging results of cell samples stained with multiple dyes are demonstrated and discussed.
Hepatitis C: An unsuspected drug target

Infection with hepatitis C is one of the main causes of liver disease, yet there are no broadly effective treatments. Discovery of a potent inhibitor of this virus shows that researchers must think outside the box.
Psychosis of Alzheimer's disease: clinical characteristics and history

The concept of psychosis of Alzheimer's disease and dementia is developed with respect to prevalence, incidence, clinical characteristics, clinical course, and potential response to treatment. Psychosis frequently occurs subsequent to the onset of dementia. Published prevalence estimates of psychosis in patients with AD range from 10 to 73% with an overall median of 34% within clinic populations, and from 7 to 20% in community and clinical trials populations depending on definitions used. Among people with AD who have no psychotic symptoms there appears to be an annualized incidence of psychosis of about 20% in outpatients, and a much higher rate in nursing home patients. Female gender, somewhat greater cognitive impairment among outpatients, somewhat lesser cognitive impairment among nursing home patients, and physical aggression are more associated with psychotic signs and symptoms than not. Right frontal hypometabolism and greater frontal neuropsychological deficits occur in AD patients with psychosis in comparison to those without. Among nursing home patients with dementia who have clinically significant agitation, the substantial majority have delusions or hallucinations. Among patients in nursing homes with dementia and psychosis, nearly two-thirds have persistent symptoms over at least 12 weeks, and among outpatient studies, hallucinations and delusions may persist in approximately 40-50% over periods of 3 months to one year. There is some evidence that psychotic symptoms improve modestly with antipsychotic medication treatment. There is sufficient descriptive and empirical research to support the validity of a syndrome of psychosis of Alzheimer's disease.
Torsion Subgroups of Elliptic Curves over Quadratic Extensions

Abstract LetEbe an elliptic curve over Q . Observing certain relations between the torsion subgroups ofEandED, theD-quadratic twist ofE, we prove that the torsion subgroups ofEis stable for all but finitely many quadratic extensions. Moreover, using the result ofK. Ono, we classify the torsion subgroup ofEover all quadratic extensions whenEis of the formE:y2=x(x+M)(x+N), whereMandNare integers. In the special case when torsion subgroup ofEover Q is isomorphic to Z /2 Z ⊕ Z /8 Z , we prove that the torsion subgroup ofEis always stable under quadratic extensions.
Successful Ablation of Atrial Tachycardia in the Right Coronary Cusp of the Aortic Valve in a Patient with Atrial Fibrillation: What is the Substrate?

Atrial tachycardias have been successfully ablated from the noncoronary cusp of the aortic valve. The anatomical substrate responsible for the arrhythmia in these patients is unknown. We report a case of intracardiac ultrasound confirmed ablation in the right coronary cusp of the aortic valve. Pacing maneuvers performed in this case, along with the regional anatomy of the right coronary cusp, strongly suggest that the ablated substrate is muscular extensions above the aortic valve. Ablation in the right coronary cusp eliminated tachycardia without valve damage or AV conduction abnormality.
Minimally invasive lateral transpsoas interbody fusion using a stand-alone construct for the treatment of adjacent segment disease of the lumbar spine: Review of the literature and report of three cases

We describe 3 patients who presented with radiographic signs and clinical symptoms of adjacent segment disease several years after undergoing L4-S1 posterior pedicle screw fusion. All patients underwent successful lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) at 1-2 levels above their previous constructs, using stand-alone cages, with complete resolution of radiculopathy and a significant improvement in low-back pain. In addition to a thorough analysis of these cases, we review the pertinent literature regarding treatment options for adjacent segment disease and the applications of the lateral lumbar interbody technique.
When is it necessary to perform nuclear renography in patients with a unilateral neonatal hydronephrosis

Purpose To examine whether anteroposterior(AP) pelvic diameter on postnatal renal ultrasound scan (US) can predict both initial differential renal function (DRF) and deterioration in DRF in patients with prenatally diagnosed hydronephrosis.
An Air Interrupter for Use with the A.R.L. Spark Source

Substitution of an air interrupter for the rotary gap on this spark source is not practical as the transformer lacks power to charge the capacitors to sparking potential several times per second. A separate unit is described which is powered by the transformer in the original unit. Changeover from conventional operation with the rotary gap to air interruption is rapid and convenient.To study single patterns, a camera synchronizing attachment has been built that makes it possible to photograph a single trace on an ordinary oscilloscope with green, medium persistence screen. An Eastman Twin Lens Reflex camera was used. The moving contact that is built into the shutter closes the circuit to charge a condenser after the leaves are fully open. This potential is applied to the vertical plates of the oscilloscope and produces a single horizontal sweep across the screen. The shutter time is made long enough to take advantage of the full persistence period of the trace. Fully exposed photographs of single sweeps can be obtained on Verichrome film.
WE‐E‐BRB‐06: Optimization of Collimator Trajectory in Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy: Development and Evaluation for Paraspinal SBRT

Purpose: To develop a collimator trajectory optimization paradigm for volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and evaluate this technique in paraspinal stereotactic body radiation therapy(SBRT).Method and Materials: We propose a novel VMAT paradigm, Coll‐VMAT, which integrates collimator rotation into the synchronization of gantry rotation, multileaf collimator(MLC) motion, and dose rate modulation. A principle component analysis (PCA) calculates the primary cord orientation using the cord contour projection on the beam's eye view for each gantry angle, thereafter determining a collimator angle such that MLC travel is parallel to the PCA‐derived direction. In this way, cord can be constantly blocked while minimizing resultant blocking of the planning target volume (PTV), and more MLC pairs are available for dose modulation. Standard VMAT optimization follows the geometry‐based collimator trajectory calculation, to obtain the optimal MLC position and monitor units (MU) at each gantry angle. Evaluation compares Coll‐VMAT‐optimized plans to standard VMAT and IMRT in 5 paraspinal SBRT patients. Prescription dose to the PTV is 24Gy while constraining the cord maximum dose to 14Gy. Plan evaluation statistics include PTV V22.8Gy, PTV D95%, cord mean dose, and total beam‐on time. Results:Collimator rotation in the five Coll‐VMAT plans ranges from 26°–54°, with a median of 40°. Patient‐averaged PTV V22.8Gy (94.6% with Coll‐VMAT vs 92.1% VMAT and 93.3% IMRT) and D95% (22.5Gy vs 21.4Gy and 22Gy) are higher, while cord mean dose is lower (9.8Gy vs 10.0Gy and 11.7Gy). Total beam‐on time is comparable to standard VMAT and substantially lower than IMRT (5164MU vs 4868MU and 13,283MU). Conclusion: The dosimetric advantage of Coll‐VMAT is significant especially for small targets. Collimator trajectory optimization provides an additional degree of freedom in VMAT optimization that can improve dosimetric quality of paraspinal SBRT compared to standard VMAT and IMRT.Conflict of Interest: Research agreement with Varian Corporation.
“Textual power” and the subject of oral interpretation: An alternate approach to performing literature

Contemporary theory in literary and performance studies has significantly effected oral interpretation pedagogy by broadening the idea of “text.” Consequently, many oral interpretation courses now feature the analysis and performance of a variety of noncanonical or “nonliterary” verbal art forms. In this essay, we propose to supplement the changes in oral interpretation pedagogy brought about by the introduction of new texts by describing an alternate approach to analyzing and performing texts based on semiotic theory and Robert Scholes’ model of reading.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase Partial characterization of the rat liver and uterine enzymes

Abstract Some properties of rat liver and uterine glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase ( d -glucose-6-phosphate: NADP+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.49) have been determined. A procedure has been used for the purification of rat liver glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase to homogeneity (spec. act. 210–225 units/mg protein) from large amounts of liver (0.5–2 kg) with yields of up to 30%. Uterine glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was obtained by immunoprecipitation methods and the properties of radioactively-labeled forms of this enzyme were then determined. The amino acid composition of the liver enzyme was found to be similar to that for the enzyme from other mammalian tissues. The liver and uterine enzymes have a subunit molecular weight of 57 000 and a pI of 6.5. The NH2-terminal amino acid of both enzymes was found to be pyroglutamate.
Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Adult-Onset Leukodystrophy

• Five clinically affected and nine atrisk members of a kindred with an autosomal dominant adult-onset leukodystrophy simulating chronic progressive multiple sclerosis were studied with computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Computed tomographic scans showed white matter lucencies occurring earliest and most prominently in the frontoparietal region. The lesions were nondiscrete, diffuse, and bilaterally symmetric. These changes were more clearly visualized as areas of increased signal intensity with T 2 -weighted MRI. Magnetic resonance imaging also showed increased signal intensity in the brain stem, cerebellar white matter, or both of four patients. Both MRi and CT differentiated this entity from multiple sclerosis, but MRI was superior to CT in detailing the extent of white matter involvement.
A cloud monitoring framework for self-configured monitoring slices based on multiple tools

The monitoring of cloud computing environments is a key point to assure the availability of the cloud slices offered to cloud users. However, there are not any monitoring systems that satisfy all the cloud administrator requirements which imposes that cloud slices need to be monitored by a set of monitoring systems. The set of monitoring system configuration necessary to monitor a cloud slice and the corresponding set of monitored metrics we define as a monitoring slice. Unfortunately, the monitoring slices need to be built using solutions that are not integrated with cloud platforms. This lack of integration imposes that cloud administrators manually configure the monitoring solutions or develop scripts to automate this task. In this paper we propose a framework to address the problem of creating monitoring slices automatically independent of the monitoring solutions employed. To evaluate our proposed framework in an IaaS scenario, we develop FlexACMS, flexible automate cloud monitoring slices, which relies on a modules that flexibly handles cloud platforms and monitoring solutions.
Assessment of SAPRC07 with updated isoprene chemistry against outdoor chamber experiments

Abstract Isoprene, the most emitted non-methane hydrocarbon, is known to influence ozone (O 3 ) formation in urban areas rich with biogenic emissions. To keep up with the recent advance on isoprene oxidation chemistry including the identification of isoprene epoxydiols (IEPOX) as a precursor to secondary organic aerosol (SOA), Xie et al. (2013) updated the SAPRC (Statewide Air Pollution Research Center)-07 chemical mechanism. It is currently unknown how the Xie modification of SAPRC07 impacts the ability of the model to predict O 3 . In this study we will evaluate the Xie mechanism with simulations of 24 isoprene experiments from the UNC Dual Gas-phase Chamber. Our results suggest that the new mechanism increases NO x (nitrogen oxides) inter-conversion and produces more O 3 than SAPRC07 for all experiments. In lower-NO x experiments, the new mechanism worsens O 3 performance in the wrong direction, increasing bias from 4.92% to 9.44%. We found increased NO x recycling from PANs accounts for that. This could be explained by more PANs made due to increased first generation volatile organic compound (VOC) products and hydroxyl radical (OH) production.
Quasiparticle spectra and specific heat of a normal Fermi liquid in a spin-fluctuation model.

We calculate statistical and dynamical quasiparticle energies of a normal Fermi liquid in a spin-fluctuation model. The properties of spin fluctuations in the model are the same as those given by Landau Fermi-liquid theory at long wavelengths, low frequencies, and low temperatures if all Landau parameters except ${F}_{0}^{a}$ are neglected. The statistical quasiparticle spectrum is found to be significantly less dependent on momentum and temperature than the dynamical quasiparticle one. The specific heat is calculated both from the statistical quasiparticle spectrum and from the thermodynamic potential, and for parameters appropriate for liquid $^{3}\mathrm{He}$, the corrections to the leading low-temperature result (\ensuremath{\propto}T) are well characterized by ${T}^{3}$lnT behavior up to temperatures of order 100 mK, which is in qualitative agreement with what Greywall finds experimentally. If the Landau parameter ${F}_{1}^{a}$ is included in the calculation in addition to ${F}_{0}^{a}$, we find rather good agreement between theory and experiment. A further conclusion of our work is that the finite-temperature contributions to the specific heat are much less sensitive to variations of the cutoff momentum in our calculations than is the spin-fluctuation contribution to the effective mass. Spin fluctuations are therefore able to account for finite-temperature effects, even though they provide only a modest contribution to the effective mass. We also investigate the reason for earlier calculations in the paramagnon model giving very low estimates of the temperature below which the specific heat should exhibit ${T}^{3}$lnT behavior, and find that this is due to (i) the fact that the dynamical quasiparticle contribution to the specific heat was calculated and (ii) the use of the paramagnon model, rather than Landau theory.
Development of theta pinch discharges for emission spectrochemical analysis

Abstract The theta pinch discharge has been demonstrated to be a useful solids sampling and excitation source for emission spectrochemical analysis. For both conducting and insulating solids, adequate sampling for major and minor component detection has been demonstrated. Time-resolved studies indicate the means for providing adequate signal to background ratios. Engineering considerations for better control of sampling and quantitative analysis are described.
Modeling and simulation of asteroid retrieval using a flexible capture mechanism

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently considering an Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), the goal of which is to bring a near-Earth asteroid into lunar orbit for inspection by a team of human astronauts. In this paper we present the results of a simulation study that focuses on the challenge of capturing a target asteroid using a robotic spacecraft. This simulation study was conducted in parallel with an ongoing mechanical design process, with the goal of providing feedback on specific design concepts, deriving high-level design targets via optimization, and exploring the trade space of the capture problem independently. We present and discuss several simulation models, the results of which have influenced the evolution of the ARM project to date.
Continuous Biofeedback and Discrete Posttrial Verbal Feedback in Frontalis Muscle Relaxation Training

During training to relax the frontalis muscle, continuous biofeedback (BF) was compared to discrete verbal feedback (VF) delivered immediately after each trial. Both feedback modalities were based on frontalis electromyographic (EMG) activity. Training consisted of 3 consecutive daily session-each comprised of 3 baseline (nonfeedback) trials followed by 10 training trials of 128 see. The presence or absence of the two informationally positive feedback modalities were combined factorially to define four training conditions: BF + VF, NO BF + VF, BF + NO VF, and NO BF + NO VF. Results indicated that while VF alone facilitated muscle relaxation, BF was clearly prepotent ill effecting consistent decreases in EMG activity both across trials and days of training. Additionally, the facilitating effect of BF transferred to nonfeedback trials while VF did not affect performance on nonfeedback trials. Finally, accuracy of self-evaluations of performance on a trial by trial basis was markedly improved by BF, while VF improved accuracy only for trials having a very large absolute difference between levels of EMG activity. Ss receiving no feedback neither reduced muscle tension during training not were able to evaluate their performance accurately even when large absolute differences occurred between trials in frontalis EMG activity.
Propagule predation by crabs limits establishment of an endemic mangrove

Recruitment of seedlings is crucial to the establishment and maintenance of plant populations and species ranges. Seed predation by crabs is prevalent in mangroves globally, but the importance of predation on mangrove abundance and distribution relative to other factors remain unclear. The rare Neotropical mangrove Pelliciera rhizophorae occurs in freshwater-influenced sites, and may lose many of its propagules to crab predation in other locations. Propagules of P. rhizophorae were placed in either Rhizophora mangle or P. rhizophorae-dominated forests on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Panama. On the Caribbean coast, crabs consumed 86.7% of propagules in the R. mangle forest but only 3.3% of propagules in the P. rhizophorae zone. On the Pacific coast, crabs consumed 90% of propagules in the R. mangle zone and 66.7% in the P. rhizophorae zone. When crab exclosures were used, seedling survival did not vary between forest types, suggesting that predation, rather than seedling survival once established, limits P. rhizophorae populations. Rhizophora mangle produces an order of magnitude more propagules per capita than P. rhizophorae and may well satiate its crab predators. The low salinity forest stands may provide a refuge from crab predation for the rare mangrove P. rhizophorae.