cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Near Field Communication: Recent Developments and Library Implications

Near Field Communication is a radio frequency technology that allows objects, such as mobile phones, computers, tags, or posters, to exchange information wirelessly across a small distance. This report on the progress of Near Field Communication reviews the features and functionality of the technology and summarizes the broad spectrum of its current and anticipated applications. We explore the development of NFC technology in recent years, introduce the major stakeholders in the NFC ecosystem, and project its movement toward mainstream adoption. Several examples of early implementation of NFC in libraries are highlighted, primarily involving the use of NFC to enhance discovery by linking books or other physical objects with digital information about library resources, but also including applications of NFC to collection management and self-checkout. Future uses of NFC in libraries, such as smart posters or other enhanced outreach, are envisioned as well as the potential for the "touch paradigm" and "Internet of things" to transform the ways in which library users interact with the information environment. Conscious of the privacy and security of our patrons, we also address continuing concerns related to NFC technology and its expected applications, recommending caution, awareness, and education as immediate next steps for librarians. Table of Contents: Preface / Dedication / Background / What Is NFC / Ecosystem and Adoption / Commercial Uses and Library Implications / Health Care / Education / Concerns / Recommendations / Bibliography / Author Biographies
Neuronal exosome proteins: novel biomarkers for predicting neonatal response to therapeutic hypothermia

Objective Central nervous system (CNS) derived exosomes can be purified from peripheral blood and have been used widely in adult neurological disease. Application to neonatal neurological disease deserves investigation in the setting of hypoxic–ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE). Design Observational cohort. Setting Level III neonatal intensive care unit. Participants Term/near-term neonates undergoing therapeutic hypothermia (TH) for HIE. Interventions Blood samples were collected at 0–6, 12, 24, 48 and 96 hours of life. Main outcomes and measures CNS exosomes were purified from serum using previously described methods. Biomarker protein levels were quantified using standard ELISA methods and normalised to exosome marker CD-81. The slope of change for biomarker levels was calculated for each time interval. Our primary outcome was MRI basal ganglia/watershed score of ≥3. Results 26 subjects were included (umbilical artery pH range 6.6–7.29; 35% seizures). An increasing MRI injury score was significantly associated with decreasing levels of synaptopodin between 0–6 and 12 hours (p=0.03) and increasing levels of lipocalin-2 (NGAL) between 12 and 48 hours (p Conclusions and relevance Our results indicate that CNS exosome cargo has the potential to act as biomarkers of the severity of brain injury and response to TH as well as quantify pharmacological response to neuroactive therapeutic/adjuvant agents. Rigorous prospective trials are critical to evaluate potential clinical use of exosome biomarkers.
Quantification of Antisense Oligonucleotides by Splint Ligation and Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction [preprint]

Abstract Reliable detection and quantification of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) in experimental and clinical specimens is essential to understand the biological function of novel oligonucleotide-based therapeutics. In this study, we describe a method to detect and quantify ASOs in biological samples, whereby the ASO acts as a splint to direct the ligation of complementary probes and quantitative real-time PCR was used to monitor ligation products. Low levels of 2′-O-MOE gapmer ASO in serum, liver, kidney, lung, heart, muscle, and brain tissues can be detected over a 6-log linear range for detection using this method. This method allows quantification of various types of chemically modified ASOs, including PS linkage, 2′-OMe, 2′-O-MOE, locked nucleic acid (LNA), and siRNA. This method does not require probe modifications, and can be performed using standard laboratory equipment; making it a fast, sensitive, and reliable technique that can be widely applied. This detection method may find potential applications in detection of therapeutic oligonucleotides in biological samples.
Ensemble Prediction of Job Resources to Improve System Performance for Slurm-Based HPC Systems

In this paper, we present a novel methodology for predicting job resources (memory and time) for submitted jobs on HPC systems. Our methodology based on historical jobs data (saccount data) provided from the Slurm workload manager using supervised machine learning. This Machine Learning (ML) prediction model is effective and useful for both HPC administrators and HPC users. Moreover, our ML model increases the efficiency and utilization for HPC systems, thus reduce power consumption as well. Our model involves using Several supervised machine learning discriminative models from the scikit-learn machine learning library and LightGBM applied on historical data from Slurm. Our model helps HPC users to determine the required amount of resources for their submitted jobs and make it easier for them to use HPC resources efficiently. This work provides the second step towards implementing our general open source tool towards HPC service providers. For this work, our Machine learning model has been implemented and tested using two HPC providers, an XSEDE service provider (University of Colorado-Boulder (RMACC Summit) and Kansas State University (Beocat)). We used more than two hundred thousand jobs: one-hundred thousand jobs from SUMMIT and one-hundred thousand jobs from Beocat, to model and assess our ML model performance. In particular we measured the improvement of running time, turnaround time, average waiting time for the submitted jobs; and measured utilization of the HPC clusters. Our model achieved up to 86% accuracy in predicting the amount of time and the amount of memory for both SUMMIT and Beocat HPC resources. Our results show that our model helps dramatically reduce computational average waiting time (from 380 to 4 hours in RMACC Summit and from 662 hours to 28 hours in Beocat); reduced turnaround time (from 403 to 6 hours in RMACC Summit and from 673 hours to 35 hours in Beocat); and acheived up to 100% utilization for both HPC resources.
Intraoral neuropathy

Chronic nonodontogenic toothache has been reported in the literature since the 1700s. This problem has followed a similar scenario since those first reports. The patient typically is misdiagnosed and then subjected to multiple unnecessary procedures, ultimately resulting in tooth extractions because of dentists and physicians being unaware of the existence of atypical odontalgia and other types of intraoral neuropathic pain that are treatable without sacrificing the teeth. This paper reviews the medications and procedures used to treat nonodontogenic toothache.
7.1.4 Identifying and Modeling Safety Hazards

The Hazard Model described in this paper is a risk management tool that is intended to aid in tracking and evaluating risks. The model is a new application of old systems engineering tools, i.e., tradeoff studies. However, the model is not intended to be directly integrated into the SE process. Rather, it should be implemented as an ongoing evaluator of key attributes as required by the system under study. The Hazard Model is designed to accept data from distributed databases, evaluate the data, and provide as output a numerical representation of the system's state, called the Hazard Index. The Hazard Index may be interpreted as a traveler's advisory. A Hazard Object template is used to ensure that all necessary descriptors for each condition that may potentially contribute to hazardous circumstances are collected in a standardized format. Three methods for combining hazard data are presented and compared. These three methods serve as the “engine” for our Hazard Model. Interactions among hazard stimuli are also investigated. Three methods are presented for handling three different types of interactions between the Hazard Objects.
Sensitivity minimization as a Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation problem

Using known results on matrix Nevanlinna-Pick interpolation combined with a spectral factorization algorithm of Youla, we present an algorithm for obtaining all stable closed loop sensitivities having H∞-norm within a prescribed (suboptimal) tolerance for a given open loop plant P(s). Other desirable characteristics for the associated stabilizing compensator (such as suitable roll-off at ∞) can then be sought within this class.
Applications of Laboratory Technology in the Evaluation of the Risk of Rabies Transmissions by Biting Dogs and Cats

While rabies is not a common disease in domestic animal species of the United States, potential exposures to rabies in the form of bites are very common and increasing. A nationwide study conducted among general hospitals shows that 1 percent of emergency room visits are for animal bites, of which 80–90 percent are inflicted by the dog (Callaham 1980). This figure is conservative, as the study did not include pediatric hospitals, the bite of victims that progress only to a physician’s office, or those that receive no medical care at all. In Missouri alone, this study would infer about 1500 dog bites per year reaching only the general hospital. The number of dog and other animal bites across the country is unknown but may safely be assumed to be staggering in magnitude.
An adversarial evaluation of network signaling and control mechanisms

Network signaling and control mechanisms are critical to coordinate such diverse defense capabilities as honeypots and honeynets, host-based defenses, and online patching systems, any one of which might issue an actionable alert and provide security-critical data. Despite considerable work in exploring the trust requirements of such defenses and in addressing the distribution speed of alerts, little work has gone into identifying how the underlying transport systems behave under adversarial scenarios. In this paper, we evaluate the reliability and performance trade-offs for a variety of control channel mechanisms that are suitable for coordinating large-scale collaborative defenses when under attack. Our results show that the performance and reliability characteristics change drastically when one evaluates the systems under attack by a sophisticated and targeted adversary. Based on our evaluation, we explore available design choices to reinforce the reliability of the control channel mechanisms. To that end, we propose ways to construct a control scheme to improve network coverage without imposing additional overhead.
Religious Freedom and the Nondiscrimination Norm

“Discrimination,” we believe, is wrong. And, because “discrimination” is wrong, we believe that governments like ours – secular, liberal, constitutional governments – may, and should, take regulatory and other steps to prevent, discourage, and denounce it. However, it is not true that “discrimination” is always or necessarily wrong. Nor is it the case that governments always or necessarily should or may regulate or discourage it even when it is. Some wrongs are beyond the authorized reach of government policy; some are too difficult or costly to identify, let alone regulate; others are none of the government’s business.When we say that “discrimination” is wrong, what we actually mean is that wrongful discrimination is wrong, and when we affirm that governments should oppose it we mean that governments should oppose it when it makes sense, all things considered, and when it is within their constitutionally and morally limited powers to do so. To label a decision or action “discrimination” is simply to note that one factor or another was or will be taken into account in the course of a decision; it is to invite, but not at all to answer, the questions whether that decision or action was or would be wrong, and whether the public authority may or should forbid or discourage it.The important enterprise of respecting and protecting religious freedom in and through law is closely related, in several ways, to the also-important enterprise of deploying public power to identify, regulate, and discourage wrongful discrimination. It is suggested in this chapter the rhetorical, moral, and legal power of the antidiscrimination norm can sometimes distort or distract our thinking about how we do and should protect religious freedom through law. This is because the near-universal, if sometimes unreflective, conviction that “discrimination” is wrong means that assertions of religious freedom are sometimes heard as requests that the political authorities tolerate a wrong – i.e., “discrimination” – which they would otherwise prohibit, penalize, or discourage. Such requests then raise the question whether it is “worth it” for the authorities to do so – that is, whether doing so would complicate too much the government’s own projects or conflict too glaringly with its values – and so, when they are granted, accommodations are regarded all around as concessions. Sometimes, to be sure, we do and probably should think about legal rights as protecting, or simply tolerating, a liberty to do even the wrong thing (so long as the wrong thing is not too wrong). We should not forget, though, that a dimension of the freedom of religion is, sometimes, precisely the freedom to “discriminate,” and that this freedom should be protected not simply because such discrimination is an all-things-considered tolerable wrong – sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t – but because it is inextricably tied to a human right and is, sometimes, beyond political authorities’ legitimate reach.
Nonrandom turnover of actin and tubulin in cultured rabbit cardiac fibroblasts

Total protein fractional rates of growth, synthesis, and degradation were assessed in primary cultures of rabbit cardiac fibroblasts. Differences in fractional growth rates were produced by subculturing cells at low density and growing them to confluence. Total protein fractional degradative rates were then derived by subtracting fractional growth rates from measured fractional synthetic rates (obtained in (3H)leucine pulse-labeling experiments). Actin and tubulin degradation were studied in similar rapidly and slowly growing cultures. (35S)methionine pulse-chase experiments, followed by dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, fluorography, and densitometry were used to determine the amount of labeled actin and tubulin remaining in cultures at various times during the chase (0-96 h). The indirect study showed a substantially lower total protein fractional degradative rate during rapid vs. slow growth (0.04 +/- 0.13 vs. 0.42 +/- 0.01 d-1 at 2 and 15 days after subculture, respectively; P less than 0.01). At both growth rates, the disappearance of labeled actin and tubulin was delayed, suggesting a more complex model for their degradation than random decay. Serum deprivation of slowly growing fibroblasts increased the rate of disappearance of both proteins by eliminating the delay in their breakdown. Thus the suppression of protein degradation during rapid growth appears to resultmore » from the presence of relatively greater amounts of new actin and tubulin (and possible other long-lived proteins) that are kinetically distinct from the total intracellular pools of these proteins with respect to their susceptibility to proteolysis.« less
Thermal response of a fluid near its critical point:3He atT>T c

The local density response is studied in a simple fluid near the liquid-vapor critical point, subjected to temperature oscillations of its container. This investigation provides a new approach in the study of the adiabatic energy transfer (“piston effect”) in the fluid. The density response functionZ F (ω, e,z) is calculated for3He in the absence of stratification, where ω is the angular frequency, e=(T−T c )/T c the reduced temperature,T c =3.316 K the critical temperature, andz the vertical position in the container. Experiments are described where the density is measured by two superposed capacitive sensors in a cell of 3.5 mm height, and where the temperature oscillation frequencyf=ω/2π is varied between 10−4 and 2 Hz. Over the experimental range 5×10−4<e<5×10−2 there is in general reasonable agreement between predictions and experiments. The systematic departures might be accounted for by deviations from 1D geometry, which were not included in the calculations. Over the frequency and reduced temperature ranges, the damping effect from the critical bulk viscosity is predicted to be too small to be detectable. The observed effect of the stratification and its frequency dependence inZ F are briefly discussed. In the appendix, the predicted critical acoustic attenuation from the bulk viscosity is compared with published data, the effect from finite thermal conductivity of the fluid container plates and also the corrections toZ F for the effects of the cell sidewalls are calculated.
Glioma cells with the IDH1 mutation modulate metabolic fractional flux through pyruvate carboxylase.

Background Over 70% of low-grade gliomas carry a heterozygous R132H mutation in the gene coding for isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1). This confers the enzyme with the novel ability to convert α-ketoglutarate to 2-hydroxyglutarate, ultimately leading to tumorigenesis. The major source of 2-hydroxyglutarate production is glutamine, which, in cancer, is also a source for tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) anaplerosis. An alternate source of anaplerosis is pyruvate flux via pyruvate carboxylase (PC), which is a common pathway in normal astrocytes. The goal of this study was to determine whether PC serves as a source of TCA anaplerosis in IDH1 mutant cells wherein glutamine is used for 2-hydroxyglutarate production.
Diagnosis and treatment of acute otitis media: an assessment.

Objective. To assess compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) evidence-based guidelines for the judicious use of antimicrobials in children with acute otitis media (AOM). Methods. Compliance with CDC’s recommended diagnostic criteria and antimicrobial treatments for management of AOM was assessed by chart review and self-report for 29 community pediatricians in St. Louis, Missouri. For each physician, a simple random sample of AOM visits was selected and reviewed by trained reviewers. In addition, each physician completed a questionnaire. Results. Compliance with recommended diagnostic criteria was 38% (95% confidence interval: 34%–42%; n = 573) by chart audit and 41% (95% confidence interval: 24%–61%; n = 29) by self-report. Antimicrobial selection assessed by chart audit was consistent with CDC guidelines in 68% (95% confidence interval: 64%–72%) of visits for a new infection, 63% (95% confidence interval: 47%–78%) of visits for treatment failure, and 50% (95% confidence interval: 33%–67%) for recurrent disease. Self-reported compliance with treatment guidelines for new infection was 100% (95% confidence interval: 88%–100%) and 83% (95% confidence interval: 64%–94%) for treatment failure. Noncompliance was most frequently attributable to overuse of broad-spectrum antimicrobials. Most patients treated with amoxicillin received a 10-day course (98%). Subtherapeutic dosing occurred in 26% of patients treated with amoxicillin. Conclusions. Overdiagnosis of AOM is common. Efforts to improve the judicious use of antimicrobials for AOM should focus on improving diagnostic accuracy, limiting the use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials to cases where they offer clinical benefit, and ensuring that amoxicillin dosing regimens are optimal.
Spectroscopy and Dynamics of Al Atoms Solvated in Superfluid Helium Nanodroplets

The laser-induced fluorescence excitation spectrum in the vicinity of the 32D ← 32P transition of Al atoms solvated in superfluid helium nanodroplets has been measured. While this transition has no...
Experimental test for pinned spins in ferromagnetic resonance: Parallel resonance

It has been shown that the magneto exchange rather than the usual magnetostatic modes occur in perpendicular resonance in thin ferromagnetic films when the spins are pinned. New branches of this type also occur in parallel resonance even though the basic symmetry and dipole-exchange equations are entirely different. Formulae are derived which can be used with experimental ferromagnetic resonance data to distinguish between the pinned and unpinned conditions. Recent conflicting results are shown to be erroneous.
Inhibition of neuronal nitric oxide synthase by antipsychotic drugs.

There is rapidly accumulating evidence that generation of nitric oxide (NO) through a Ca2+ and calmodulin-dependent pathway plays various important roles in the central nervous system. In the present study, effects of several antipsychotics on the activity of NO synthase were investigated in rat cerebellum and neuroblastoma N1E-115 cells, due to the known ability of these agents to inhibit calmodulin. In cytosolic preparations of rat cerebellum, the antipsychotic drugs inhibited the conversion of [3H]l-arginine into [3H]l-citrulline by NO synthase in a concentration-dependent manner. This inhibition was noncompetitive in nature, and it exhibited an excellent correlation with blockade of calmodulin activity. Furthermore, these drugs attenuated cyclic GMP formation induced by a calcium ionophore in N1E-115 cells, a response which takes place as a consequence of NO generation. Taken together, our data demonstrate that antipsychotic drugs inhibit NO formation in vitro. It is unlikely, however, that these actions might contribute to their therapeutic and/or side effects, since they take place at relatively high concentrations.
Correlation of trace elements in hair of patients with colon cancer

Abstract The trace element content of 116 hair samples from patients with colon cancer and from referent series of patients who had a variety of other diseases were measured using proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). The patients had been on largely uncontrolled diets, and the interest was whether there were differences in trace element concentrations attributable to the effects of colon cancer. The concentrations of K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, Br, and Rb were determined using a beam of 2.5-MeV protons. Minimum detectable limits (MDL) of 0.3 ppm were obtained for Zn and Se. Cluster analysis of the data set did not reveal any significant differences between the cancer and control groups. Mean values and ranges obtained for the elemental concentrations show good agreement with other published determinations.
Notochord patterning of the endoderm.

Endodermally derived organs of the gastrointestinal and respiratory system form at distinct anterioposterior and dorsoventral locations along the vertebrate body axis. This stereotyped program of organ formation depends on the correct patterning of the endodermal epithelium so that organ differentiation and morphogenesis occur at appropriate positions along the gut tube. Whereas some initial patterning of the endoderm is known to occur early, during germ-layer formation and gastrulation, later signaling events, originating from a number of adjacent tissue layers, are essential for the development of endodermal organs. Previous studies have shown that signals arising from the notochord are important for patterning of the ectodermally derived floor plate of the neural tube and the mesodermally derived somites. This review will discuss recent evidence indicating that signals arising from the notochord also play a role in regulating endoderm development.
Religious and Gender Effects on Psychosocial Adaptation Among Japanese Immigrants

This exploratory study examined the effects of religious identification and gender on psychosocial adaptation among a nonrandom sample of 440 Japanese immigrants who lived in Texas. The study revealed that a religious effect became salient in terms of the cross-cultural adaptation and life outcomes of first-generation immigrants. Christian immigrants were significantly better adjusted than were their Buddhist or atheist counterparts. Although there was little or no gender effect, female immigrants enjoyed higher emotional well-being than did their male counterparts. The findings have implications for social work in terms of client religion and, possibly, gender as well as services to enhance psychosocial adaptation of first-generation immigrants in the United States.
Alfred C. Kinsey: Pervert, prophet, or patsy?

Loosely based on Jonathan Gathome-Hardy's biography Kinsey: Sex--The Measure of All Things, Bill Condon's recent film about the famous sex researcher will hopefully do a great deal to restore Kinsey's reputation, slightly tarnished of late. As a matter of fact, it's surprising we had to wait so long for major film to take Kinsey as its subject, since in many ways his life and work make such a fitting match with Hollywood's odd combination of prurience and prudishness. But the fact is Kinsey's contribution to our modem understanding of sexual behavior has been either widely overlooked, or else misunderstood. It now appears to be an undeniable fact that, apart from his other achievements, Kinsey's research has led to the tacit acknowledgment that sexual proclivities have nothing to do with morality, and perhaps this film's box-office success will help to audiences to understand the enormous historical significance of Kinsey's work. Having said that, of course, Kinsey is a fairly conventional Hollywood biopic, and, as in all such movies, the protagonist's life and story is shaped and revised to fit the appropriate narrative arc. Liam Neeson cuts a noble figure as Alfred C. Kinsey, who was surely never this handsome or charming, and Laura Linney endows his understanding wife, Clam, with an almost saintly patience
Noisy winter : The DDT controversy in the years before Silent Spring

In this paper, the authors examine three unanticipated findings from a social constructionist analysis of popular media coverage of the pesticide DDT from the years 1944 to 1961. The first unanticipated finding was the early (1945) appearance of negative or cautionary claims in the media source examined, the «New York Times». Second, while negative or cautionary claims about the pesticide did constitute a minority voice during this time period, it was nonetheless a persistent voice. The third unanticipated finding was the predominance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the State Agricultural Experiment Stations among those claimsmakers initially cautioning potential users about unintended and potentially deleterious impacts. The concept of routine monitoring mechanisms is introduced to explain this third finding. They conclude by considering the potential impact of this coverage on the subsequent development of the controversy
Investigating “Precursor Flows” in Solar Flares

Despite some measure of theoretical and predictive success of the electron-heated model of solar flares, observations of low levels of soft X-ray emission prior to the detection of hard X-rays in most flares present a problem for the paradigm, since it suggests some sort of "preheating" of the chromospheric plasma before electron acceleration. Particularly troublesome are assertions that plasma flows have been observed prior to hard X-ray emission, because they imply significant and rapid energy input by some agent without leaving a (currently) detectable hard X-ray signature. Given this challenge to a prevailing paradigm, it is imperative to investigate more comprehensively the existence of "precursor flows" manifested in the asymmetry of X-ray spectral lines. In this paper, we examine a sample of 50 disk-center flares observed by the Yohkoh Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) between 1991 and 1993, and determine with the velocity differential emission measure the extent to which "precursor flows" occur. We explore specifically the possibility that these "precursor flows" are only apparent, arising from the existence of more than one emission region on the solar disk. The spatial separation between regions could cause the emission to be registered by the detector in a wavelength bin that is shifted relative to the line's nominal location, giving rise to line asymmetries. In our sample, we find that only five flares manifest "precursor flows," three of which can be explained definitively by the presence of other active regions. It also appears plausible that the remaining two events can be explained in terms of such spatial effects, although the evidence is more circumstantial. We conclude, therefore, that one can reasonably question the existence of "precursor flows" in our sample and that the observations to date cannot contribute decisively to the electron versus proton debate. These results are contrasted with those of Plunkett & Simnett, who identified 14 precursor events in a sample of 35 flares and hence concluded, without further analysis, that protons, rather than electrons, must be the primary energy carriers in flares. Our paper's sample included eight of Plunkett & Simnett's 14 precursor events, and yet our analysis, which employed substantially different methods, identified only one of these eight as a "precursor" event. The remaining seven were either troubled by BCS data dropout or failed to exceed the 10% threshold required to classify a flare as a"precursor" event.
Validation of a Telephone Screening Tool for Spasmodic Dysphonia and Vocal Fold Tremor

Summary Objectives/Hypothesis The objective of this study was to ascertain whether clinicians can reliably distinguish between spasmodic dysphonia (SD)/vocal tremor and other voice disorders by telephone, despite this modality's limited frequency response. Study Design Randomized, single-blinded, and prospective study. Methods Voice-disordered patients with (n = 22) and without (n = 17) SD and/or vocal tremor recorded standardized utterances via landline telephone. A laryngologist and two speech-language pathologists blinded to the diagnoses rated each recording as "yes" or "no" to "SD or tremor present?," and if "yes" categorized into adductor, abductor, tremor only, or adductor with tremor subtypes. Twenty-one recordings were presented twice at random so intrarater reliability could be assessed. All ratings were compared with gold standard diagnosis by a second laryngologist who performed a full examination, including videostroboscopy, on each patient. Results For the comparison "SD or tremor" yes versus no, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value are 90%, 95%, 96%, and 89%, respectively. Interrater reliability (Cohen kappa) compared with the gold standard ranged from 0.70 to 0.93 (substantial to almost perfect agreement). Cronbach alpha among three raters was 0.90 for this comparison. Intrarater reliability (number matched/number inspected) was very high, ranging from 0.97 to 1.0. Comparing gold standard and telephone rating of SD/tremor subtypes, kappa ranged from 0.48 to 0.60 (moderate agreement). Cronbach alpha among three raters was 0.88 for this comparison. Intrarater reliability ranged from 0.84 to 0.97. Conclusions SD and tremor can be reliably distinguished from other voice disorders over the telephone.
Studies of the proteins elutable from certain artificial surfaces exposed to human plasma.

Abstract The proteins elutable under certain conditions from glass, silicone-coated glass, and Cuprophane exposed to normal, afibrinogenemic, or Factor XII-deficient plasmas have been studied. The methods of protein detection employed include polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis and a modified method of immunodiffusion. The results indicate that most of the adsorbed plasma proteins are loosely adherent to all three artificial surfaces. In addition, certain plasma proteins appear to adsorb strongly to glass, less strongly to silicone-coated glass, and least strongly to Cuprophane. Albumin and IgG were identified immunologically as two of the proteins which could be eluted from test surfaces even after extensive washing. Tentative identification of other eluted proteins was made. Factor XII activity was recovered in dissimilar quantities from glass beads exposed to normal or afibrinogenemic plasma. The possible interplay between Factor XII, fibrinogen, and other plasma proteins at interfaces is discussed as it may relate to adsorption of proteins to artificial surfaces.
Use of the Triethanolammonium Salts of Several of Alkylsulfuric Acids as Dermatologic Vehicles

The triethanolammonium salts of dodecyl-, tetradecyl-, hexadecyl-, and octadecyl-sulfuric acids were prepared. Ointment bases were formulated from varying proportions of the salts, the corresponding alcohols, and propylene glycol. The release of salicylic acid, resorcinol, sulfadiazine, iodochlorhydroxyquin, and sulfur from these bases, polyethylene glycol ointment, and white petrolatum was studied by use of tissue digest procedures and microscopic examination, using guinea pigs as the test animals.
Risk of hypoventilation in premature infants in car seats.

We examined 30 newborn infants for respiratory compromise before, during, and after placement in a recommended car seat restraining device. Twelve infants were premature with a history of apnea, eight were premature without knwon apnea, and 10 were born at term. Both premature groups had significant decreases in oxygen saturation while in the car seat (P
Active Involvement Simulation Games and Teaching

When correctly designed and implemented, . simulation games are an effective mode of instruction, says this writer, who reviews the literature concerning the advantages and uses of such games.
Developmental patterns of cadherin expression and localization in relation to compartmentalized thalamocortical terminations in rat barrel cortex

The wiring of synaptic circuitry during development is remarkably precise, but the molecular interactions that enable such precision remain largely to be defined. Cadherins are cell adhesion molecules hypothesized to play roles in axon growth and synaptic targeting during development. We previously showed that N-cadherin localizes to ventrobasal (VB) thalamocortical synapses in rat somatosensory (barrel) cortex during formation of the whisker-map in layer IV (Huntley and Benson [1999] J. Comp. Neurol. 407:453-471). Such specific association of N-cadherin with one identified afferent pathway raises the prediction that other cadherins are expressed in barrel cortex and that these are, in some combination, also differentially associated with distinct inputs. Here, we first show that N-cadherin and three other classic cadherins (cadherin-6, -8, and -10) are expressed contemporaneously in barrel cortex with relative levels of postnatal expression that are highest during the first 2 weeks, when afferent and intrinsic circuitries are forming and synaptogenesis is maximal. Each displayed distinct, but partly overlapping laminar patterns of expression that changed over time. Cadherin-8 probe hybridization formed a particularly striking pattern of intermittent, columnar patches extending from layer V through layer III, which was first detectable at approximately postnatal day 3. The patches were centered precisely over regions of dysgranular layer IV and, in the whisker barrel field, over barrel septa. This pattern is similar to that formed by the terminal distribution of thalamocortical afferents arising from the posterior nucleus (POm), suggesting cadherin-8 association with the POm thalamocortical synaptic circuit. Consistent with this, cadherin-8 mRNAs were enriched in the POm nucleus, and cadherin-8 immunolabeling in layer IV was enriched in barrel septa and codistributed with labeled POm thalamocortical synaptic-like puncta. The striking molecular parcellation of at least two different cadherins to the two, converging thalamic pathways that terminated in non-overlapping barrel center and septal compartments in layer IV strongly suggested that cadherins provide requisite molecular recognition and targeting that enable precise construction of thalamocortical and other synaptic circuitry.
Left Ventricular Ejection Time on Echocardiography Predicts Long-Term Mortality in Light Chain Amyloidosis

Objective Light chain amyloidosis (AL) is associated with high mortality. The aim was to identify echocardiographic parameters that predict AL long-term mortality. Methods Forty-two subjects with biopsy-proven AL (43% were female; aged 61 ± 12 years) underwent echocardiography and were followed 29 ± 16 months (median 29.4 months). Standard echocardiographic and clinical parameters and heart failure (HF) class were tested using univariate/multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analyses to identify markers of mortality. Results Twenty-three subjects died, with a 1-year mortality of 44%. Univariate predictors of mortality were HF class ( P 001), left ventricular systolic ejection time (ET) ( P = . 002), alkaline phosphatase ( P 001), and aspartate and alanine aminotransferase ( P = . 003 each). On multivariable analysis, only HF class (hazard ratio [HR] 4.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.58-14.9; P = . 006), ET (10 ms increase; HR 0.87; CI, 0.78-0.97; P = . 01), and alkaline phosphatase (10 U/L increase; HR 1.04; CI, 1.01-1.06; P = . 01) were prognostic. ET ≤ 240 ms had a sensitivity of 61% and a specificity of 90% in predicting 1-year mortality and a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 90% in predicting 1-year cardiac mortality. Conclusion AL amyloidosis was associated with high long-term mortality. Among echocardiographic and clinical parameters, only ET and alkaline phosphatase had incremental value to HF class in predicting mortality. This may be useful to identify high-risk patients.
Direct real time measurement of quasiparticle lifetimes in a superconductor.

A short laser pulse breaks Cooper pairs and photoexcites electrons in a superconducting film of niobium. As the quasiparticles recombine and rejoin the condensate, changes in the electrodynamic response of the sample are detected by a fast oscilloscope. The observed biexponential decay is consistent with a previous measurement. The fast recovery time is used to obtain the pair recombination time, which is in good agreement with theory.
Spacecraft charging requirements and engineering issues

An effort is currently underway to recast and combine two NASA guidelines for mitigating the effects of spacecraft charging and electrostatic discharge on spacecraft. The task has the goal of taking the existing NASA guidelines for preventing surface electrostatic charging, NASA-TP-2361 (Purvis et al., 1984), and internal electrostatic charging, NASAHDBK 4002 (Whittlesey, 1999), and bringing them up to date with recent laboratory and onorbit findings. This paper will describe the status of those on-going efforts to combine and update the two guidelines. Reasons for the upgrades will be presented, including new subject material for which there is now a greater understanding or a greater need which changes satellite design procedures, or both. There will be an emphasis on the proposed contents and on the differences and similarities between surface and internal charging mitigation techniques. In addition, the mitigation requirements that can be derived from the combined handbook will be discussed with emphasis on how they might affect the engineering design and testing of future spacecraft.
Variation in nutria diets in selected freshwater forested wetlands of Louisiana

Nutria (Myocastor coypus) diets and food preferences in selected freshwater forested wetlands of Louisiana were determined by microhistological examination of fecal pellets and stomach contents.Lemna minor andSpirodela polyrrhiza (duckweeds) dominated the diet (yearly mean 55.5%) during all seasons on 4 of 6 sites sampled. Nutria also ate substantial amounts of Pontederiaceae (Eichhornia crassipes andPontederia cordata) (9.9%),Alternanthera philoxeroides (8.3%), Poaceae (mostlyPanicum gymnocarpon) (5.1%), and woody tissue (6.8%). Nutria diets varied among seasons, with spring diets containing more Poaceae (P<0.01) and less Pontederiaceae (P<0.01) than during other seasons. Nutria showed seasonal preference forL. minor andS. polyrrhiza (spring and summer), Poaceae (spring),A. philoxeroides (summer and winter), and Cyperaceae (summer and fall). SinceL. minor andS. polyrrhiza dominated nutria diets even when they had relative cover values as low as 16.8%, nutria habitat quality should improve if freshwater forested wetland understories are converted (through natural or anthropogenic forces) to communities dominated by these plant species.
Middle knowledge and divine control: Some clarifications

What then have we discovered? The general issue under discussion, remember, is whether it is advantageous or disadvantageous for the theist to affirm MK, especially as this form of knowledge relates to God's control over earthly affairs. As we have seen, both proponents and opponents of MK have claimed that this form of knowledge gives God significant power over earthly affairs, including control over the (indeterministically) free choices of humans.
An experimental and numerical investigation into the dynamic crash testing of vehicle bumper fabricated using friction stir welding and gas metal arc welding

The advancement in friction stir welding (FSW) technology has provided automotive and aerospace industry with an alternative method in developing structures and assemblies. This study investigates the performance of FSW and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) on road vehicle bumpers. The method of investigation is to weld the bumper to the crash-box, and the assembly is mounted onto a moving deformable barrier before a dynamic crash test is performed. The bumper and crash-box is fabricated from AA6082-T6 and AA6063-T6 extrusions, respectively. In the first part of the study, the full-frontal crash testing of the FSW and GMAW fabricated bumper using experimental method is presented. The FSW and GMAW fabricated bumpers are subjected to 7, 10, 15 and 20 km/hr impact velocities against a rigid wall. The methods used to quantify the results are the post-crash deformation and stress distribution of the bumper as well as crack propagation at the weld joint. The non-linear dynamic software, LS-DYNA, is used exclusively in the second part of this study to replicate the experimental procedures using numerical methods. Finally, a 40% frontal offset test is conducted to evaluate the performance of the bumper when subjected to a different impact condition. It was shown that the FSW fabricated bumper can enhance the structural integrity and performance of the bumper at all impact velocities and configurations.
Numerical and Analytical Estimates of M2 Tidal Conversion at Steep Oceanic Ridges

Abstract Numerical calculations of the rate at which energy is converted from the external to internal tides at steep oceanic ridges are compared with estimates from analytic theories. The numerical calculations are performed using a hydrostatic primitive equation ocean model that uses a generalized s-coordinate system as the vertical coordinate. The model [Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)] estimates of conversion compare well with inviscid and nondiffusive theory in the sub- and supercritical regimes and are insensitive to the strength of viscosity and diffusivity. In the supercritical regime, the nondissipative analytic solution is singular all along the internal tide beams. Because of dissipation the ROMS solutions are nonsingular, although the density gradients are strongly enhanced along the beams. The agreement between model and theory indicates that the prominent singularities in the inviscid solution do not compromise the estimates of tidal conversion and that the linearization used in derivi...
Multi-walled carbon nanotube-based RF antennas

A novel application that utilizes conductive patches composed of purified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) embedded in a sodium cholate composite thin film to create microstrip antennas operating in the microwave frequency regime is proposed. The MWCNTs are suspended in an adhesive solvent to form a conductive ink that is printed on flexible polymer substrates. The DC conductivity of the printed patches was measured by the four probe technique and the complex relative permittivity was measured by an Agilent E5071B probe. The commercial software package, CST Microwave Studio (MWS), was used to simulate the proposed antennas based on the measured constitutive parameters. An excellent agreement of less than 0.2% difference in resonant frequency is shown. Simulated and measured results were also compared against identical microstrip antennas that utilize copper conducting patches. The proposed MWCNT-based antennas demonstrate a 5.6% to 2.2% increase in bandwidth, with respect to their corresponding copper-based prototypes, without significant degradation in gain and/or far-field radiation patterns.
Oxidation of amino acids by human neutrophils

We studied the oxidation of alanine and methionine by human neutrophils. Phagocytosis enhanced the decarboxylation of amino acids by human neutrophils. Decarboxylation of amino acids was dependent on the myeloper-oxidase system (MPO-H2O2-Cl−). This was further confirmed using purified canine MPO. Human neutrophils and the MPO system were about 10 times more efficient in decarboxylating alanine than methionine. They also oxidized methionine to methionine sulfoxide. The fraction of methionine decarboxylated by human neutrophils or the MPO system was small compared to the fraction which was oxidized to methionine sulfoxide. Thus methionine was preferentially oxidized to methionine sulfoxide by the MPO system. However, once methionine was oxidized to methionine sulfoxide, it was readily decarboxylated by the MPO system. The results suggest that the thio group of methionine prevents its carboxylic group from being decarboxylated.
A Robust Image Super-Resolution Scheme Based on Redescending M-Estimators and Information-Theoretic Divergence

This paper proposes a novel image super-resolution (SR) algorithm in a robust estimation framework. SR estimation is formulated as an optimization (minimization) problem whose objective function is based on robust M-estimators and its solution yields the SR output. The novelty of the proposed scheme lies in the selection of this class of estimators and the incorporation of information-theoretic similarity measures. Such a choice helps in dealing with violations (outliers) of the assumed mathematical model that generated the low-resolution images from the "unknown" high-resolution one. The proposed approach results in high-resolution images with no estimation artifacts. Experimental results demonstrate its superior performance in comparison to both L1 and L2 estimation in terms of robustness and speed of convergence.
Chemistry of the River Niger I. Major ions

Abstract The pH and concentrations of Ca, Mg, Na, K, Fe, SO 4 , NO 3 , Cl, F, and HCO 3 in River Niger water were measured during the peak and lean flow regimes. The concentrations of SO 4 (0.34 mg l −1 ) and Cl (0.46 mg l −1 ) rank among the lowest ever reported for the major rivers of the world. The dissolved solids show a pronounced seasonality, the levels generally being significantly elevated during the dry season (December to April) when the river loses a large fraction of its water. A comparison of the basin loss rate by river transport against the inputs from the atmosphere shows that the terrestrial ecosystems retain most of the major ions deposited via the atmosphere. The hydrochemistry of the River Niger is thus determined primarily by the weathering of the Precambrian Shield rocks, and little of the atmospheric inputs into the drainage basin seem to actually get into the river.