cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preliminary results of anatomic lung resection using energy-based tissue and vessel coagulative fusion technology.

Objectives Mechanical stapling devices have been established as the mainstay of therapy in the selective isolation and division of bronchial and vascular structures during anatomic lung resection. Few data are available regarding the application of energy-based tissue fusion technology during anatomic lung resection. In the present study, we evaluated the use of energy-based instruments for the division of the pulmonary arterial and venous branches during anatomic lung resection. Methods Anatomic lung resection (segmentectomy or lobectomy) was performed using energy-based coagulative fusion technology. A low-profile jaw can be used to facilitate dissection in both open and video-assisted thoracic surgery cases, applying a seal 6 mm wide by 22 mm in length. Two energy applications were applied to the arterial and venous branches before vessel division. Results The bipolar tissue fusion system was used in 211 patients between 2008 and 2010 (104 lobectomies and 107 anatomic segmentectomies). Initially, we used a device with a smaller, curved jaw (n = 12), producing a 3.3- to 4.7-cm seal. No arterial dehiscences and 2 partial venous dehiscences that were recognized and controlled intraoperatively occurred. For the remaining cases, we used a new device with a larger jaw that applied a seal 6 mm wide by 22 mm in length. No arterial or venous dehiscences (vessel size range, 0.4-1.2 cm) occurred. Conclusions The bipolar tissue fusion system provided safe and reliable control of pulmonary arterial and venous branches during anatomic lung resection. The use of energy-based tissue fusion technology represents a reasonable alternative to mechanical stapling devices during anatomic lung resection.
Consumer Acceptance of Ozone‐Treated Whole Shell Eggs

: Ozone-based processing is a novel technology with potentially fewer adverse effects than in-shell thermal pasteurization of eggs. There are no consumer acceptance studies published on ozone-treated eggs. This study examines consumers’ ability to detect changes between ozone-treated, thermal-treated, and fresh untreated eggs. Consumers (n = 111) evaluated visual attributes of uncooked eggs and a separate group of consumers (n = 132) evaluated acceptability of cooked eggs. Consumers evaluated attribute intensity of the eggs. The yolks and albumens of the thermal-treated and ozone-treated eggs were perceived to be significantly cloudier than the untreated control, while the ozone-treated eggs were more similar to control (P < 0.05). The yolks of ozone-treated eggs were perceived to have significantly lower heights and greater spreads than the others (P < 0.05). Despite these perceptions, overall visual appeal of ozone-treated eggs was not significantly different from control eggs. A separate set of consumers used hedonic scales to evaluate overall liking, appearance, aroma, flavor, and texture of cooked eggs. Just-about-right (JAR) scales were used to rate the color, moistness, and texture. There were no differences on any attribute scores between the treatments, except thermal-treated and ozone-treated were perceived as less moist than the control. There were no adverse effects on consumer acceptance of eggs, treated with ozone, with acceptance the same as an untreated control. These findings are useful as ozone pasteurization can enhance the safety of fresh shell eggs to meet the goals of the U.S. Egg Safety Action Plan. Practical Application: The U.S. Egg Safety Action Plan requires all shell eggs to be pasteurized to prevent foodborne illness. Heat pasteurization partially cooks the egg, so an alternative process uses ozone with less heat. This study shows the ozone pasteurization has no detectable sensory defects.
The peripheral antinociceptive effect of morphine in a rat model of facial pain

Abstract The present study compared the peripheral and systemic antinociceptive effect of morphine on formalin-induced facial pain behavior in the rat. Formalin (5%, 50 μl) was injected subcutaneously into the vibrissal pad of adult rats (250–300 g). Morphine sulfate at doses of 100–1000 μg was subcutaneously injected locally (same area) or systemically (in the neck), 30 min before, or simultaneously with, formalin. The typical biphasic face grooming response, consisting of an early phasic phase (0–6 min) and a delayed tonic phase (12–42 min), displayed by control animals, was suppressed by both local and systemic administration of morphine; this effect was dose dependent. However, the suppression of the early phase with local morphine administration 30 min before formalin could be significantly greater (49–52%) than with systemic administration, depending on the dose used. Administration of local morphine simultaneously with formalin produced up to 34% reduction in the early and an additional 32% reduction of the late phases of face grooming, compared to systemic injections. Local injection of naloxone (l0,μg) almost completely reversed the antinociceptive effect of 1000 μg of morphine (early phase 85 ± 7%, late phase 100 ± 26% reduction), whereas the same dose of naloxone applied systemically (i.p.) produced only partial reversal (early phase 29 ± 16%, late phase 36 ± 1 % reduction). This study further indicates that locally administered morphine can exert an analgesic effect superior to systemic administration in the case of inflammatory and non-inflammatory pain through a peripheral site of action. These results support the clinical use of peripheral opioid administration in the treatment of human painful conditions.
Toxicologic considerations in workplace exposures.

Virtually any substance may be toxic depending on the dose. This concept embodies the dose-response relationship, the cornerstone of toxicology. In contrast to an allergic response, which requires immunologic sensitization for a response to occur, a toxic response requires no previous exposure or immunologic sensitization. The evaluation of a potential toxic exposure requires a detailed patient evaluation in addition to consideration of the specific chemical substance, route of exposure, duration and intensity of exposure, and documentation of the pathologic consequences.
NOREPINEPHRINE (NE) SUPPRESSES AND MAP KINASE KINASE (MEK1) INHIBITOR ENHANCES PROTEIN TYROSINE KINASE (PTK) ACTIVITY IN NEWBORN LAMB MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERIES (MCA). † 355

Protein Tyrosine Kinase plays a pivotal role in intracellular signal transduction pathways leading to complex expressions of cellular responses. NE is an important neurotransmitter engaging in varied arterial vascular pathophysiology. However, its post-receptor signalling pathway(s) in cerebral circulation is poorly understood. We have preliminarily studied regulatory aspects of NE on PTK of isolated MCA preparations of newborn lambs. PTK activities [PTK] were measured on soluble fraction [sPTK] and particulate fraction [pPTK] (100,000xgx1h) using a synthetic peptide (MW = 1,520) substrate RR-SRC with a known amino acid sequence (RRLIQDAEYAARG) surrounding the phosphorylation site in pp60src(Krebs, E.G., 1985). NE challenge(5μM) suppressed impressively both [sPTK](86%) and [pPTK](75%). In NE naive preparations, the enzyme activity was preferentially localized in [sPTK](≈ 160%/[pPTK]). Genistein(PTK inhibitor, 20 μM) stimulated [pPTK] over 40%. Interestingly, PD098059 (MEK1 inhibitor, 10 μM) robustly heightened[pPTK](80%). Taken together, it is concluded that NE exerted a suppressive effect on [PTK] and MEK1 inhibitor strengthened [pPTK]. Hence, it is proposed that interplay between PTK and MEK1 is implicated in NE-associated modification of intracellular machinery and that the link of the two signal transducing enzyme systems may present a characteristic biochemical basis for altered cerebral circulation and related clinical manifestations. (Inst Korean-American Studies;American Heart Association national council #95009270; Allegheny-Singer Res Inst #960181SCHC)
Metabolic studies on rabbit bladder smooth muscle and mucosa.

Recent studies indicate that the mucosa of the urinary bladder may play a major role in the maintenance of normal bladder function. The mucosal surface of the urinary bladder serves as a protective layer against the irritative solutes found in the urine. The integrity of this barrier can be broken by overdistension, anoxia, detergents, alcohols, bacterial infection and by contact with agents to which the mucosa has been sensitized.
Toward Meaningful Industrial--Academic Partnerships

At the Ready-Set-Transfer panel at the 2014 IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, researchers presented their projects to a team of industrial judges, explaining the industrial motivation and describing how they had evaluated their idea's adoption readiness. The projects included FlexiSketch, a collaborative-whiteboard sketching tool; the Collaborative Creativity Canvas, which replaces requirements negotiation with a lively cocreation process; and Archie, which detects and visualizes architectural decisions in code. The Web extra at http://youtu.be/6RNYVVWrJAQ is an audio podcast in which author Jane Cleland-Huang provides an audio recording of the Requirements column,in which she discusses the Ready-Set-Transfer panel at the 2014 IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference.
Automatic breathing segmentation from wearable respiration sensors

Respiratory Inductance Plethysmography (RIP) allows studying the physiology of the breathing process and provides ability to characterize it in an automated manner. An efficient and robust automatic breath segmentation technique that can be applied to sensor signals acquired in free living conditions is of interest due to the significant variability in the breathing patterns of different activities. The gold standard for breath segmentation has been visual recognition of breath cycles based on respiratory signals interpreted by an expert. This process is impractical for long term monitoring of respiration, especially when intended to be performed by wearable sensors. In this work a feasibility study is presented using a technique for automatic breath segmentation based on peak and valley detection to determine beginning and end of a breath segment. The proposed segmentation method is applied to breathing recordings collected from four different activities: resting, reading aloud, food intake and smoking, acquired by a wearable RIP sensor. Significant differences in the breathing waveforms patterns are easily observed for each one of these activities. Results suggest that the breath segmentation technique studied in this paper has enough robustness to be used under different activities, with up to 96.6% accuracy for resting, 89.9% for reading, 91.1% for food intake and 89.2% for smoking.
Evaluation of non-dormant alfalfa cultivars for resistance to the Egyptian alfalfa weevil.

Several non-dormant alfalfa cultivars were evaluated for resistance to Hypera brunneipennis (Boheman) in 1973 and 1974. The winter hardy varieties ‘Team’ and ‘Weevlcheck,’ each with moderate resistance to the closely related alfalfa weevil, H. postica (Gyllenhal), but too dormant for maximum production under California conditions, were also included in the tests. ‘Moapa,’ the most widely grown commercial alfalfa in California, was included as a “susceptible” check. The non-dolmant cultivar ‘UC 73’ appeared to contain the greatest amount of resistance to H. brunneipennis among the non-winter hardy entries tested. There was no significant difference in the number of eggs/stem among any of the cultivars but UC 73 had significantly fewer larvae per stem and per sweep than did Moapa. It was also significantly less damaged than Moapa in 2 feeding injury evaluations. UC 73 appeared to contain as high a level of resistance as either Team or Weevlcheck as determined by all evaluation criteria used. There was no significant correlation between stem diam and the number of eggs/stem or the number of egg clusters/stern. Adult ♀ were found to oviposit in stems throughout the size range available within the crop. The relationship between the number of eggs/cluster and increasing stem diam was significant (P = 0.05). A possible antibiosis factor present in UC 73 is also discussed.
COLONIZATION AND REPRODUCTION OF THE EPIBIOTIC FLAGELLATE COLACIUM VESICULOSUM (EUGLENOPHYCEAE) ON DAPHNIA PULEX1

The epibiotic flagellate Colacium vesiculosum Pringsheim attaches to planktonic species of Daphnia in freshwater habitats. Previous studies found that prevalence (percentage of substrate organisms carrying attached epibionts) and intensity (number of attached epibionts on a given substrate organism) are low early in the Daphnia intermolt period and are high late in the intermolt period. We tested the hypothesis that increases of Colacium cells attached to Daphnia occur both by rapid initial and continuous colonization and by cell reproduction. Epibiont prevalence and intensities were determined at successive intermolt stages of Daphnia pulex Leydig collected from freshwater ponds in Colorado. Colonization was continuous throughout the intermolt period and was most important to epibiont population increase at the beginning of the intermolt period. Cell division was the major contributor to epibiont increase at the end of the intermolt period.
CCD-based detector for x-ray crystallography

We have constructed a modular detector for x-ray crystallography and made preliminary performance measurements. A single detector module consists of a large-area (100 X 100 mm square) fiberoptic taper with a phosphor x-ray converter deposited on the large end and a back-illuminated MPP-mode CCD bonded to the small end. Two or more of these modules can be used together to increase the detector area. The CCD can be operated at -55 degree(s)C when cooled with a two-stage thermo-electric cooler in a 1 atmosphere Xenon-filled chamber. The CCD readout noise is 9e- when read out at a rate of 100 kpixels/second.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Heat Capacity Effects on the Melting of DNA. 1. General Aspects

In this paper we analyze published data on DeltaH and DeltaS values for the DNA melting transition under various conditions. We show that there is a significant heat capacity increase DeltaC(p) associated with DNA melting, in the range of 40-100 cal/mol K per base pair. This is larger than the transition entropy per base pair, DeltaS(0) approximately 25 cal/mol K. The ratio of DeltaC(p)/DeltaS(0) determines the importance of heat capacity effects on melting. For DNA this ratio is 2-4, larger than for many proteins. We discuss how DeltaC(p) values can be extracted from experimental data on the dependence of DeltaH and DeltaS on the melting temperature T(m). We consider studies of DNA melting as a function of ionic strength and show that while polyelectrolyte theory provides a good description of the dependence of T(m) on salt, electrostatics alone cannot explain the accompanying strong variation of DeltaH and DeltaS. While T(m) is only weakly affected by DeltaC(p), its dependence on one parameter (e.g., salt) as a function of another (e.g., DNA composition) is determined by DeltaC(p). We show how this accounts for the stronger stabilization of AT relative to GC base pairs with increasing ionic strength. We analyze the source of discrepancies in DeltaH as determined by calorimetry and van't Hoff analysis and discuss ways of analyzing data that yield valid van't Hoff DeltaH. Finally, we define a standard state for DNA melting, the temperature at which thermal contributions to DeltaH and DeltaS vanish, by analyzing experimental data over a broad range of stabilities.
Exploring the possibility of change in the US utilities’ market orientation towards more renewable energy

This research examines the possibility of the US electric utilities’ transition from closed to open systems, while taking steps towards new market orientation. By employing an inductive approach, it observes recent developments in two fronts: First, it observes that more renewable energy sources have been added to the power generation mix, and that utilities advertise their renewable energy related efforts through their websites. Second, it looks at the business environment from the perspective of market orientation. For this, the shifts in the business environment were put under the lens of four driving factors: customer support, regulation, competition, and technology.
Technology affordances for intersubjective meaning making: A research agenda for CSCL

Now well into its second decade, the field of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) appears healthy, encompassing a diversity of topics of study, methodologies, and representatives of various research communities. It is an appropriate time to ask: what central questions can integrate our work into a coherent field? This paper proposes the study of technology affordances for intersubjective meaning making as an integrating research agenda for CSCL. A brief survey of epistemologies of collaborative learning and forms of computer support for that learning characterize the field to be integrated and motivate the proposal. A hybrid of experimental, descriptive and design methodologies is proposed in support of this agenda. A working definition of intersubjective meaning making as joint composition of interpretations of a dynamically evolving context is provided, and used to propose a framework around which dialogue between analytic approaches can take place.
Safety and Efficacy of Fidaxomicin in Patients With Clostridium Difficile Infection

Fidaxomicin is a bactericidal macrolide that is indicated for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in adults. Fidaxomicin is not effective for the treatment of systemic infections due to minimal systemic absorption. Until recently, oral vancomycin was the only medication with United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of CDI. In clinical studies, fidaxomicin demonstrated noninferiority to vancomycin for the treatment of CDI. Lower recurrence rates of CDI with fidaxomicin than with oral vancomycin were observed. The lower recurrence rates were not observed with highly virulent strains of C. difficile. Lower recurrence rates of CDI with fidaxomicin are believed to be associated with its narrow spectrum of activity. Fidaxomicin was approved for use after publication of the most recent guideline from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). However, its current place in clinical practice is unknown. The cost of fidaxomicin should be considered when prescribing this medication.
Relation of early termination of persistent atrial fibrillation by cardioversion or drugs to ablation outcomes.

Current ablation consensus documents define persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) as AF lasting >1 week to 1 year or AF requiring cardioversion or pharmacologic conversion in 1 week to 1 year. Patients with AF termination in 1 week to 1 year. Once AF lasted >1 week, duration up to 1 year did not affect ablation success. In conclusion, patients whose persistent AF is always terminated by drugs/cardioversion in
Review of the Foundations of Network Environ Analysis

This article introduces and summarizes the foundations of network environ analysis and describes four primary properties resulting from this research. These properties—dominance of indirect effects (Higashi and Patten 1986), network amplification (Patten and others 1990), network homogenization (Patten and others 1990), and network synergism (Patten 1991)—provide insight into the behavior of holistic network interactions. In short, amplification, homogenization, and indirect effects demonstrate the influence of the indirect flows in a system to show that energy or matter cycling allows flow to return to the same component many times and tend to become evenly distributed within the network. Synergism relates direct and indirect, qualitative relations to show that network organization is, on the whole, more mutualistic than is apparent from direct interactions alone. Using network analysis, objects can be studied as part of a connected system and the indirect effects can be identified and quantified. This is a fundamentally different way of investigating ecosystems, and it gives a quantitative foundation to the widely held perception of the interconnectedness of nature.
Calcium is required for the mitogenic activation of lymphocytes by periodic acid oxidation.

Abstract This investigation of Ca 2+ requirements for the mitogenic activation of lymphocytes by periodic acid has shown that oxidation by periodate causes an immediate and transient increase of Ca 2+ influx and efflux in oxidized cells. Oxidized lymphocytes maintained in the medium containing 0.2 mM Ca 2+ failed to proliferate or to produce IL-2, whereas a 1.4 mM Ca 2+ concentration was shown to be sufficient to sustain cellular proliferation and IL-2 secretion. These results indicate that mitogenic activation of lymphocytes by periodic acid oxidation is Ca 2+ -dependent.
Relation of the westward drift of the geomagnetic field to the rotation of the Earth's core

The concept of equating the drift of the geomagnetic field with a similar drifting motion of the earth's core is examined. The drift of the field at the earth's surface and at the core is calculated, and the two values are shown to be considerably different. Analysis of the portion of secular change remaining after westward drift effects have been removed is used to provide an estimate of the error that results from equating the drift of the field to that of the core. On this basis the best estimate of the westward rotation of the core for epoch 1965 is found to be 0.13° ± 0.03° per year. This value is smaller than those usually cited for the core's rotation, such as 0.18° per year obtained by Bullard and others, based mainly on charted differences in surface data.
The Solar Power Satellite as a Source of Base Load Electrical Power

This paper presents the history and current status of the Solar Power Satellite (SPS) concept with emphasis upon the latest developments in the application of the technology of microwave power transmission to the SPS. The characteristics and features of the SPS as viewed at its interface with the earth's electric power system are presented. Its environmental impact is discussed. A comparison of the SPS with other approaches to base load electrical power is presented.
An analysis of simulated summer blocking episodes

A summer simulation using high-resolution Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres GCM with realistic ocean surface temperatures has been able to generate persistent blocking events in Eurasia and the eastern Pacific during the 46-day period from July 1 to August 15, 1979. The generation of summer blocking episodes appears to be due at least partly to heating at the surface boundary over both the oceanic and continental areas. A control run with the SST climatology failed to produce such blockings in the late portion of the simulation. It is shown that there is considerable forecast skill in the area of the blocking circulations, particularly in the confluence area downstream. It appears that, with updated SSTs, simulation of realistic summer blocking episodes in the Northern Hemisphere is possible at least for a one-and-a-half month period, with a high forecast skill when the blocking pattern develops or is reinforced.
Dynamic response of rigid strip‐foundations by a time‐domain boundary element method

SUMMARY The dynamic response of rigid strip-foundations placed on or embedded in a homogeneous, isotropic, hear elastic half-space under conditions of plane strain to either external forces or obliquely incident seismic waves of arbitrary time variation is numerically obtained. The above mixed boundary-value problems are treated by the time domain boundary element method which is used in a step-by-step timewise fashion to provide the foundation response to a rectangular impulse. Numerical examples are presented in detail to demonstrate the use and importance of the proposed method. The method appears to be more advantageous than frequency domain techniques, because it provides the transient foundation response in a natural and direct way and can form the basis for extension to the non-linear case.
Efficient sporulation in Clostridium difficile requires disruption of the σK gene

Summary A 14.6 kb prophage-like insertion, termed skin Cd , was found to interrupt the sigK gene, which encodes an RNA polymerase sigma factor essential for sporulation, in six strains of Clostridium difficile . Until now, Bacillus subtilis was the only spore-former shown to carry such an insertion, and the presence of the insertion is not required for efficient sporulation in this organism. The B. subtilis and C. difficile skin elements proved to be divergent in sequence, inserted at different sites within the sigK gene and in opposite orientations. The skin Cd element was excised from the chromosome specifically during sporulation, forming a circular molecule. Two natural isolates of C. difficile lacked the skin Cd element and were defective in sporulation. When a merodiploid strain was created that carries both interrupted and uninterrupted versions of the sigK gene, the cells became Spo ‐ , show
Theoretical Observations on Applied Behavioral Science Schooling and Learning: The Place of Learning in Social Theories of Education

Educational theory has developed in a fragmented fashion, with perspectives on the structure and organization of schooling developing in isolation from theories of cognition and learning. In this article, the author argues that for educational theory to have coherent policy implications, these two strands of thought must be integrated. Following an analysis of three major views of the role of schooling-the functionalist, Marxist, and cultural Marxist theories-the author reviews the"constructivist" framework and suggests how this could be used for such integration when augmented by examination of the contextual grounding of learning. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for theory, research, and educational policy.
Improving the correlation structure selection approach for generalized estimating equations and balanced longitudinal data

Generalized estimating equations are commonly used to analyze correlated data. Choosing an appropriate working correlation structure for the data is important, as the efficiency of generalized estimating equations depends on how closely this structure approximates the true structure. Therefore, most studies have proposed multiple criteria to select the working correlation structure, although some of these criteria have neither been compared nor extensively studied. To ease the correlation selection process, we propose a criterion that utilizes the trace of the empirical covariance matrix. Furthermore, use of the unstructured working correlation can potentially improve estimation precision and therefore should be considered when data arise from a balanced longitudinal study. However, most previous studies have not allowed the unstructured working correlation to be selected as it estimates more nuisance correlation parameters than other structures such as AR-1 or exchangeable. Therefore, we propose appropriate penalties for the selection criteria that can be imposed upon the unstructured working correlation. Via simulation in multiple scenarios and in application to a longitudinal study, we show that the trace of the empirical covariance matrix works very well relative to existing criteria. We further show that allowing criteria to select the unstructured working correlation when utilizing the penalties can substantially improve parameter estimation.
The fine structure of four "species" of Amoeba.

SYNOPSIS The fine structure of Amoeba discoides, Amoeba dubia, and Amoeba amazonas was studied and compared with that of Amoeba proteus. The different kinds of amebas showed general similarities but differed in the ultrastructural details of their organelles. With respect to fine structure, A. discoides was indistinguishable from A. proteus, while both A. dubia and A. amazonas had distinctive features. The nuclei of all had a prominent honeycomb-like fibrous lamina, but A. dubia differed from the others in the distribution of nucleoli within the nucleus. The mitochondria of A. amazonas were unusual in having a variable pattern of cristae, some being plate-like and others tubular. Golgi bodies in A. amazonas had a greater proportion of vesicles and a smaller number of cisternae than those of the others, while Golgi bodies in A. dubia had highly flattened cisternae without a lining of filamentous material such as is found in the other types. The plasma membrane of A. dubia also lacked the prominent filamentous cell coat common to A. proteus and other amebas. The relation between the Golgi apparatus and the cell coat and the significance of the degree of development of the cell coat for pinocytosis and other phenomena is considered. The experimental use of these cells, including the formation of hybrids by nuclear transplantation is discussed.
Acute stress impairs lymphocyte function but spares pancreatic endocrine function

In the same animal, following HS and recovery, pancreatic islet function remains intact while immunologic functions are impaired. Cellular responses to thermal stresses are complex and tissue specific.
Competing fracture modes in brittle materials subject to concentrated cyclic loading in liquid environments: Monoliths

The competition between fracture modes in monolithic brittle materials loaded in cyclic contact in aqueous environments with curved indenters is examined. Three main modes are identified: conventional outer cone cracks, which form outside the maximum contact; inner cone cracks, which form within the contact; and median–radial cracking, which form below the contact. Relations describing short-crack initiation and long-crack propagation stages as a function of number of cycles, based on slow crack growth within the Hertzian field, are presented. Superposed mechanical driving forces—hydraulic pumping in the case of inner cone cracks and quasiplasticity in the case of median–radials—are recognized as critically important modifying elements in the initial and intermediate crack growth. Ultimately, at large numbers of cycles, the cracks enter the far field and tend asymptotically to a simple, common relation for center-loaded pennylike configurations driven by slow crack growth. Crack growth data illustrating each mode are obtained for thick soda-lime glass plates indented with tungsten carbide spheres in cyclic loading in water, for a range of maximum contact loads and sphere radii. Generally in the glass, outer cone cracks form first but are subsequently outgrown in depth as cycling proceeds by inner cones and, especially, radial cracks. The latter two crack types are considered especially dangerous in biomechanical applications (dental crowns, hip replacements) where ceramic layers of finite thickness are used as load-bearing components. The roles of test variables (contact load, sphere radius) and material properties (hardness, modulus, toughness) in determining the relative importance of each fracture mode are discussed.
Characterization of the Calcium‐Binding Contractile Protein Centrin from Tetraselmis striata (Pleurastrophyceae)

. Centrin is a major protein of the contactile striated flagellar roots of the green alga Tetraselmis striata. We present a newly modified procedure for the preparation of centrin in sufficient quantity and purity to allow for detailed biochemical characterization. We establish that centrin purified by differential solubility, followed by phenyl-Sepharose and DEAE-Sephacel chromatography is identical with the protein extracted directly from striated flagellar roots with regard to molecular weight, isoelectric point, and calcium-dependent behavior in SDS-PAGE. We also compare the biochemical properties of purified centrin with calmodulin isolated from Tetraselmis and calmodulin isolated from mammalian brain. Centrin can be fully distinguished from either algal or mammalian calmodulin on the basis of molecular weight, isoelectric point, calcium-dependent behavior in SDS-PAGE, proteolytic peptide maps, amino acid composition, ability to activate bovine brain phosphodiesterase, and reactivity with specific antibodies.
Prevalence of scoliosis in patients with Fontan circulation.

Objective To examine the prevalence of scoliosis in patients with Fontan circulation. Design Retrospective cohort (case-only), level IV study. Setting A comprehensive paediatric centre. Methods We examined the radiographs of 194 patients who underwent Fontan completion surgery between 1998 and 2011 at a median age of 1.3 years. Main outcome measure We collected data on the age at the last available radiograph and when scoliosis was diagnosed; we used the first available radiograph with scoliosis. We also measured the magnitude and direction of the spinal curve in patients with scoliosis. Results Median age at radiography was 3.4 years. Nineteen patients (9.8%) developed scoliosis; none of them underwent thoracotomy. Most of the patients with scoliosis were older than 5 years of age at scoliosis diagnosis and the female to male ratio was 5 : 3. The major curve was right thoracic in 12 patients (63.2%), left thoracic in four patients (21.1%) and high thoracic in three patients (15.8%). For every 1 year increase in age there was a 27% increased risk of developing scoliosis. Conclusions There was a high prevalence of scoliosis in patients with Fontan circulation. We recommend interdisciplinary monitoring of these patients to diagnose spinal curve deformities in a timely manner.
Wavelet analysis of EEG signals

This paper examines the use of wavelets to analyze EEG signals. Wavelets provide time and frequency analysis simultaneously and offer different approaches for data analysis with a number of properties and flexibility. It is intended to seek similarities and correlations of EEG signals.
Phoneme sequence recognition via DTW-based classification

Phonemes are the smallest units of sound produced by a human being. Automatic classification of phonemes is a well-researched topic in linguistics due to its potential for robust speech recognition. With the recent advancement of phonetic segmentation algorithms, it is now possible to generate datasets of millions of phonemes automatically. Phoneme classification on such datasets is a challenging data mining task because of the large number of classes (over a hundred) and complexities of the existing methods. In this paper, we introduce the phoneme classification problem as a data mining task. We propose a dual-domain (time and frequency) hierarchical classification algorithm. Our method uses a dynamic time warping (DTW)-based classifier in the top layers and time---frequency features in the lower layer. We cross-validate our method on phonemes from three online dictionaries and achieved up to 35 % improvement in classification compared with existing techniques. We further modify our vowel classifier by adopting DTW distance over time---frequency coefficients and gain an additional 3 % improvement. We provide case studies on classifying accented phonemes and speaker-invariant phoneme classification. Finally, we show a demonstration of how phoneme classification can be used to recognize speech.
The effect of monitoring concentration of antiepileptic drugs in blood plasma and its value

Objective: To understand the adverse drug reaction of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) taking place daily in pediatric clinic, and to monitor the concentration of AEDs in blood plasm, especially in the patients with liver and kidney function damaged. Methods: 228 patients were divided into four groups: phenobarbital(PB) group, sodium valproate (VPA) group, carbamazepine (CBZ) group and clonazepam (CNP) group. The concentration of AEDs in blood plasm was detected with Fluoirescence immunoassay (FPIA). All patients were followed up by regular visits for a long time of over one year. The emergence of AEDs with the dosage, the therapeutic efficacy, adverse drug reaction and their interrelation were recorded. Results: There were 192 cases(84.2%)within the valid range of AEDs concentration. 183(80.3%) cases were controlled effectively. 55 patients had the poisonous side effect, with an incidence of 24.1%. Conclutions: The poisonous side effect was mainly caused by too big dosage of AEDs and the idiosyncrasy tending to resist AEDs. There was obvious difference in adverse drug reaction with different types of AEDs. Improper selection and too small dosage of AEDs were important causes of unsatisfied treatment.
Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma in Individuals of African Descent: A Review of Risk Factors

Objective: To identify the major risk factors for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in individuals of African descent. Methods: We searched PubMed for relevant articles, with results spanning April 1947 to present. All abstracts were reviewed and, where relevant to POAG and race, articles were catalogued and analyzed. Additional sources were identified through citations in articles returned by our search. Results: Numerous potential POAG risk factors were identified and organized into categories by demographics (age, sex, and skin color), lifestyle choices (smoking, alcohol), comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, and obesity), ophthalmic findings (eye structure, central corneal thickness, corneal hysteresis, elevated intraocular pressure, myopia, cataract, and vascular abnormalities), family history, socioeconomic status, and adherence. Older age, male sex, lower central corneal thickness, decreased corneal hysteresis, elevated intraocular pressure, myopia, vascular abnormalities, and positive family history were definitively associated with increased risk of POAG. Conclusions: Individuals at greatest risk for POAG should be screened by an ophthalmologist to allow earlier detection and to slow disease progression. Further studies on the genetics of the disease will provide more insight into underlying pathologic mechanisms and could lead to improved therapeutic interventions. Continued research in urban areas with large populations of blacks is especially needed.
The olfactory memory of the honeybee Apis mellifera. II. Blocking between odorants in binary mixtures.

Proboscis extension conditioning of honeybee workers was used to study the processing of odorants when bees were conditioned to binary mixtures. Responses to a set of pure floral odors and pheromones after conditioning have already been described. When bees are conditioned to certain mixtures of odorants, the response to both components is equal to that when they are tested alone. However, mixtures of an aliphatic aldehyde and an alcohol elicit asymmetric response patterns; that is, the response to the aldehyde is much stronger than that to the alcohol. A bee9s response to the alcohol after it had been trained in an aldehyde background is significantly lower than when the bee is trained to respond to the same alcohol in the background of another odorant. Such response patterns are not necessarily caused by a behavioral decrement resulting from a compound-unique perceptual effect produced by the mixture. Furthermore, studies of blocking show that behavioral acquisition in response to one component can be hindered or blocked by pretraining with the other component. These results suggest that honeybees can perceive the individual components of some binary mixtures. The similarities in neural processing in olfactory systems of vertebrates and invertebrates mean that such studies could elucidate behavioral mechanisms of olfaction in a wide phylogenetic spectrum of animals.
Public housing myths: perception, reality, and social policy

The academic project to debunk myths about the failure of public housing dates back to Katharine Bristol’s 1991 article, ‘The Pruitt Igoe Myth,’ and the more recent 2012 film The Myth of Pruitt Igo...
Design of LED marker for camera calibration of rapid deployment

This paper designs a kind of LED markers as well as the counterpart recognition algorithm for calibrating cameras in need for the rapid deployment for WMSN. Firstly, the implementation of WMSN calibration process is introduced. Afterwards, by analyzing the defects of algorithms using feature extraction for recognition, a simpler two-dimensional marker recognition method is designed. The recognition algorithm for the markers is described in detail. By experimenting in different circumstances we prove that our method is simple and fast, with good anti-interference and rotation invariance performance. Besides it provides essential and sufficient corner information for the following calibration process. Thus the presented LED marker and detection method is suitable for calibrating camera nodes in practical applications.
Amplitude-only direction finding using squinted stabilized-pattern horn antennas in W-band

A horn antenna with stabilized radiation characteristics over the entire W-band (75–110 GHz) is used for amplitude-only direction finding. Two horns are squinted in H plane to produce a direction finding function that covers a maximum field-of-view (FOV) with minimum uncertainty (errors). Preliminary results show the system's capability to readily cover FOVs of up to 60° with errors less than ±3°.
W. E. B. Du Bois at the center: from science, civil rights movement, to Black Lives Matter

I am honoured to present the 2016 British Journal of Sociology Annual Lecture at the London School of Economics. My lecture is based on ideas derived from my new book, The Scholar Denied: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Birth of Modern Sociology. In this essay I make three arguments. First, W.E.B. Du Bois and his Atlanta School of Sociology pioneered scientific sociology in the United States. Second, Du Bois pioneered a public sociology that creatively combined sociology and activism. Finally, Du Bois pioneered a politically engaged social science relevant for contemporary political struggles including the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement.
Prognostic variables for successful lexical retrieval of treated and untreated verbs vary greatly suggesting that different cognitive processes might underlie the production of treated and untreated verbs

This review provides a summary and appraisal commentary on the treatment review by de Aguiar, V., Bastiaanse, R., & Miceli, G. (2016). Improving production of treated and untreated verbs in aphasia: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10:468. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00468Source of funding and declaration of interests: Funding was provided by the Provincia Autonoma di Trento and Fondazione CaRiTRO and Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate IDEALAB. No conflicts of interests were declared.
The Confrontation Clause Re-Rooted and Transformed

This article discusses the transformation effected by Crawford v. Washington, 124 S.Ct. 1354 (2004), in the law governing the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. Before Crawford, the Clause was deemed to apply broadly to all hearsay by out-of-court declarants, but subject to a general principle that it did not preclude the admission of reliable hearsay, with the qualification that in some undefined set of circumstances the hearsay could not be admitted if the declarant was available to testify at trial. This doctrine was unsatisfactory on various grounds, and it did not reflect the fundamental nature of the Clause: The Clause provides a categorical rule that a statement of a testimonial nature may not be introduced against a criminal defendant unless the defendant has had an adequate opportunity to cross-examine the witness; ordinarily that opportunity occurs at trial, but if the witness is unavailable to testify there a prior statement made subject to cross-examination may be acceptable. This is essentially the doctrine adopted by Crawford. The article reviews various respects in which Crawford does not change the law, and then addresses the changes that it does make and the questions that it leaves open. Most important of these is the question of when a statement is testimonial. The article argues that a statement is testimonial if it was made in circumstances in which a reasonable person would anticipate that it would have evidentiary use, whether or not it was made directly to a governmental official or in response to interrogation.
Intergovernmentalism or Functionalism? Foreign Policy in the European Union after the Lisbon Treaty

Neo functionalism and its consequential foundations in the study of unity and the integration of nation-states in a non-coercive way have played a major role in the formulation of integration-oriented theories of governance. The European Union (EU) as a functional establishment has traveled a long trajectory from its initial economic cooperation programs to social and political harmonization schemes as well. Intergovernmentalism as a decision making factor by Member States has created a new source of balance and stability throughout the European Union. The Lisbon Treaty, with the new identity that it created after the failure of the European Constitution has been comprehensive in its approach to all procedures and rules of the former treaties of the community. That treaty has renewed the EU with major changes in foreign policy and has granted more power to the European Parliament. In general, the connection between the European Council and the supranational sections of the EU have originated more influence for individual states to enforce their own interests rather than working for collective gain. The establishment of the High Representative as executive power in foreign policy (CFSP) is moving toward the intergovernmental territory which takes the EU away from their functional abilities and it reduces the principle of community-oriented functions to constructive power building by the political interests of different Member States.One might ask 'are the European Union and its own functional regional institutions repositioning themselves as intergovernmental establishments?' The Lisbon Treaty as a general agreement in between twenty seven Member States is now finding new perception to balance these supranational and intergovernmental sectors together. With no measurements available to control the level of each section, with the exception of the European Parliament, the separation of authority of the European governing body can therefore influence intergovernmental activities and reduce the supranational nature of integration. How new developments form the future of foreign policy of the European Union will remain a question, perhaps metamorphosing and progressing to continue internally and externally affecting the European Union and its decision making process.