cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electromagnetic wave interaction of conducting object with rough surface by hybrid SPM/MOM technique : Abstract

An electromagnetic wave scattering model based on a hybrid SPM/MoM technique has been developed for the study of the EM wave interaction of a conducting object above a rough surface. In this hybrid technique, the Green's function and surface variables are expanded in terms of the surface height function on the mean surface, so that the integral equations based on the extinction theorem and boundary conditions can be decomposed into different orders. Each order represents the problem of EM wave scattering from an object on a flat interface excited by a wave from an equivalent source. With the introduction of the dyadic Green's function for layered media, the integral equations are reformulated and solved without involving the surface variables on the interface. Since the returned fields using the hybrid technique are expressed term by term, the EM wave interaction of the object with the rough surface can be clearly identified and characterized. The total returned fields calculated by the hybrid technique, ...
Kidney pathology: current classification of renal cell carcinoma.

This report discusses the new cytogenetic classification of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and its biological and clinical significance. It describes the four major types (clear cell, chromophil [papillary], chromophobe, and collecting duct) as well as rarer entities, such as small cell carcinoma, cystic RCC, rhabdoid variant of RCC, and unclassified RCC. Sarcomatoid carcinomas are a diverse group representing high-grade transformation of the other types. In addition to a description of the pathologic findings, there is a discussion of tumor markers and prognostic indicators. The clinical significance of the classification is discussed, with reference to recent reports.
Patient and prescriber perspectives on long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics and analysis of in-office discussion regarding LAI treatment for schizophrenia

The research goal is to better understand prescriber, patient, and caregiver perspectives about long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic therapy and how these perspectives affect LAI use. Addressing these perspectives in the clinic may lead to greater success in achieving therapeutic goals for the patient with schizophrenia. Ethnographic information was collected from a non-random sample of 69 prescriber-patient conversations (60 with community mental health center [CMHC] psychiatrists; 9 with nurse-practitioners) recorded during treatment visits from August 2011 to February 2012, transcribed and analyzed. Discussions were categorized according to 11 predetermined CMHC topics. In-person observations were also conducted at 4 CMHCs, including home visits by researchers (n = 15 patients) prior to the CMHC visit and observations of patients receiving injections and interacting with staff. Telephone in-depth interviews with psychiatrists, patients, and caregivers to gather additional information on LAI discussion, prescription, or use were conducted. Antipsychotic treatment decisions were made without patient or caregiver input in 40 of 60 (67%) of psychiatrist-patient conversations. Involvement of patients or caregivers in treatment decisions was greater when discussing LAI (15 of 60 [25%]) vs oral antipsychotic treatment (5 of 60 [8%]). LAIs were not discussed by psychiatrists in 11 of 22 (50%) patients taking oral antipsychotics. When offered, more LAI-naive patients expressed neutral (9 of 19 [47%]) rather than favorable (3 of 19 [16%]) or unfavorable (7 of 19 [37%]) responses. Prescribers were most concerned about potentially damaging the therapeutic relationship and side-effects when discussing LAIs while patient resistance was often related to negative feelings about injections. Psychiatrists had some success in overcoming patient objections to LAIs by addressing and decomposing initial resistance. More than half (11 of 19 [58%]) of LAI-naive patients agreed to start LAI treatment following office visits. Patient-described benefits of LAIs vs orals included perceived rapid symptom improvement and greater overall efficacy. In this study, many psychiatrists did not offer LAIs and most patients and caregivers were not involved in antipsychotic treatment decision making. Opportunities to increase active patient engagement, address resistances, guide patient drug-formulation selection, and provide better LAI-relevant information for more individualized approaches to treating the patient with schizophrenia were present.
Glutamine Prevents Cytokine-Induced Apoptosis in Human Colonic Epithelial Cells

Epithelial cell apoptosis is an important regulator of normal gut mucosal turnover; however, excessive apoptosis may inhibit mucosal restitution during pathophysiologic states. Apoptosis is induced by oxidative stress and cytokines, but regulation by specific nutrients has been infrequently studied under these conditions. Glutamine (GIn) is an important metabolic fuel for intestinal epithelial cells and a precursor to the antioxidant glutathione (GSH), which has antiapoptotic effects. In cultured intestinal epithelial cells, GIn depletion increases oxidant-induced apoptosis. This study examined whether GIn protects against apoptosis induced by the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in the human colon carcinoma cell line, HT-29. TRAIL-induced apoptosis in HT-29 cells was characterized by an increase in the percentage of cells in the sub-G 1 fraction by flow cytometry, nuclear condensation and the activation of caspase-8 and caspase-3. TRAIL-induced apoptosis was completely prevented by GIn, but not inhibited by other amino acids, including the GSH constituents, glutamate, cysteine and glycine. Similar antiapoptotic effects of GIn occurred when apoptosis was induced by a combination of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma. Cellular GSH was oxidized during TRAIL-induced apoptosis. This effect was completely blocked by GIn, however, inhibition of GSH synthesis with buthionine sulfoximine did not alter GIn antiapoptotic effects. Furthermore, glutamate prevented GSH oxidation in response to TRAIL but did not protect against TRAIL-induced apoptosis. These results show that GIn specifically protects intestinal epithelial cells against cytokine-induced apoptosis, and that this occurs by a mechanism that is distinct from the protection against oxidative stress mediated by cellular GSH.
The Effect of the Physical Attractiveness and Role of the Helper on Help Seeking

The effects of a helper's physical attractiveness and role on help-seeking behavior were investigated here. Eighty randomly selected Smith College students were the subjects; the helpers were two confederates selected on the basis of a separately conducted photograph evaluation. The confederate was designated either as an experimenter (Role condition) or as a fellow subject (Nonrole condition). Subjects were reluctant to ask the attractive confederate for help when she was in the Nonrole condition; rather, most in this condition asked for information instead of assistance. When the confederate was unattractive, more subjects asked for help when she was in role than when she was not. Although there was a significant main effect, most of this effect appears to be accounted for by the low rate of seeking help in the Attractive, nonrole condition. Subjects took longer to communicate with the attractive confederate than with the unattractive one; further, they reported feeling more uncomfortable in the presence of the attractive helper regardless of role.
Quality of Life in Long-Term Survivors of Adult-Onset Cancers

The long-term survival of cancer patients has risen dramatically during the last few decades, yet little is known about the quality of life experienced by these survivors. This paper reviews research on the quality of life in long-term cancer survivors to identify quality-of-life concerns in this population, to provide a critical evaluation of the literature, and to suggest areas for future research. Searches of computerized literature databases were conducted to identify all studies of quality of life in cancer survivors that were published in English language journals during the period from January 1, 1980, through February 12, 1998, and that were based on responses from individuals who have survived 5 or more years after the diagnosis of adult-onset cancers. Thirty-four papers were identified. Most studies utilized self-report questionnaires to measure quality of life. Although methodologies and cancer patient populations varied greatly, most studies showed that many survivors continue to experience negative effects of cancer and/or treatment on their daily lives well beyond the completion of therapy. Sexual functioning and/or satisfaction and psychological functioning were found to be concerns for many survivors. Several reports documented positive coping strategies and enhanced quality of life in long-term cancer survivors, supporting the need to measure positive aspects of quality of life as well as problems in this population. Study designs that more accurately measure quality of life among survivors of cancer by adjusting for the effects of aging and long-term therapy and the impact of second cancers should be utilized. Additional data are needed to understand the needs of long-term survivors, especially of those in groups underrepresented in published quality-of-life studies, and to determine what kinds of support survivors want.
Intellectual Quotient of Juveniles Evaluated in a Forensic Psychiatry Clinic After Committing a Violent Crime

The purpose of this preliminary study is to evaluate if there is a difference between the intelligence quotient (IQ) of 27 adolescent defendants referred to the Bellevue Hospital Center Forensic Psychiatry Clinic after committing violent crimes, and those adolescents in the same age group in the general population of the United States, as defined by the norms of the psychometric testing instrument Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th edition (WISC-IV). The IQ scores and sub-scores were compared to IQ scores of the general population (mean = 100, SD = 15) using a Z-test. The mean for the Full Scale IQ was 82.93. The means for the subtests which include Processing Speed Index, Perceptual Reasoning Index, Verbal Comprehension Index, and Working Memory Index, were: 78.48, 87.78, 86.70 (p < 0.05), and 90.78 (p = 0.09) respectively. There is a statistically significant difference in the IQ scores of the violent juveniles studied when compared to the general population.
On using existing time-use study data for ubiquitous computing applications

Governments and commercial institutions have conducted detailed time-use studies for several decades. In these studies, participants give a detailed record of their activities, locations, and other data over a day, week, or longer period. These studies are particularly valuable for the ubicomp community because of the large number of participants (often the tens of thousands), and because of their public availability. In this paper, we show how to use the data from these studies to provide validated and cheap (although noisy) classifiers, baseline metrics, and other benefits for activity inference applications.
A new window for spectral analysis with comparisons to conventional windows

A new window is proposed in this paper. It is intended for signal processing applications where the peak sidelobe level and the total sidelobe energy are both important. The new window permits the designer to control the tradeoff between these performance measures. The objective is to minimize the total sidelobe energy, subject to constraints which include the maximum sidelobe level. The prolate-spheroidal and DolphChebyshev windows are virtually identical to special cases of the new window. Design algorithms are described and examples are included. The examples demonstrate that the proposed window is capable of significantly better performance than is available from conventional windows, such as the Hamming window.
AIRS radiance validation over ocean from sea surface temperature measurements

Demonstrates the accuracy of methods and in situ data for early validation of calibrated Earth scene radiances measured by the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) on the Aqua spacecraft. We describe an approach for validation that relies on comparisons of AIRS radiances with drifting buoy measurements, ship radiometric observations and mapped sea surface temperature products during the first six months after launch. The focus of the validation is on AIRS channel radiances in narrow spectral window regions located between 800-1250 cm/sup -1/ and between 2500 and 2700 cm/sup -1/. Simulated AIRS brightness temperatures are compared to in situ and satellite-based observations of sea surface temperature colocated in time and space, to demonstrate accuracies that can be achieved in clear atmospheres. An error budget, derived from single channel, single footprint matchups, indicates AIRS can be validated to better than 1% in absolute radiance (equivalent to 0.5 K in brightness temperature, at 300 K and 938 cm/sup -1/) during early mission operations. The eventual goal is to validate instrument radiances close to the demonstrated prelaunch calibration accuracy of about 0.4% (equivalent to 0.2 K in brightness temperature, at 300 K and 938 cm/sup -1/).
Inhibition of touch cell fate by egl-44 and egl-46 in C. elegans

In wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans, six cells develop as receptors for gentle touch. In egl-44 and egl-46 mutants, two other neurons, the FLP cells, express touch receptor-like features. egl-44 and egl-46 also affect the differentiation of other neurons including the HSN neurons, two cells needed for egg laying. egl-44 encodes a member of the transcription enhancer factor family. The product of the egl-46 gene, two Drosophila proteins, and two proteins in human and mice define a new family of zinc finger proteins. Both egl-44 and egl-46 are expressed in FLP and HSN neurons (and other cells); expression of egl-46 is dependent on egl-44 in the FLP cells but not in the HSN cells. Wild-type touch cells express egl-46 but not egl-44. Moreover, ectopic expression of egl-44 in the touch cells prevents touch cell differentiation in an egl-46-dependent manner. The sequences of these genes and their nuclear location as seen with GFP fusions indicate that they repress transcription of touch cell characteristics in the FLP cells.
Formulation considerations for proteins susceptible to asparagine deamidation and aspartate isomerization

The asparagine (Asn) deamidation and aspartate (Asp) isomerization reactions are nonenzymatic intra-molecular reactions occurring in peptides and proteins that are a source of major stability concern in the formulation of these biomolecules. The mechanisms for the deamidation and isomerization reactions are similar since they both proceed through an intra-molecular cyclic imide (Asu) intermediate. The formation of the Asu intermediate, which involves the attack by nitrogen of the peptide backbone on the carbonyl carbon of the Asn or the Asp side chain, is the rate-limiting step in both the deamidation and the isomerization reactions at physiological pH. In this article, the influence of factors such as formulation conditions, protein primary sequence, and protein structure on the reactivity of Asn and Asp residues in proteins are reviewed. The importance of formulation conditions such as pH and solvent dielectric in influencing deamidation and isomerization reaction rates is addressed. Formulation strategies that could improve the stability of proteins to deamidation and isomerization reactions are described. The review is intended to provide information to formulation scientists, based on protein sequence and structure, to predict potential degradative sites on a protein molecule and to enable formulation scientists to set appropriate formulation conditions to minimize reactivity of Asn and Asp residues in protein therapeutics.
Towards a hardware-based system for real-time vehicle tracking

Real-time vehicle tracking in ITS (intelligent transportation systems) is highly desirable. In this paper, we propose a hardware-based tracking system to achieve real-time vehicle tracking. The proposed tracking system employs two innovative designs. One is that a tracking algorithm based on motion estimation is adopted. Motion estimation is achieved by full-search block matching algorithm. The other innovation is that motion estimation is implemented in hardware, which greatly reduces computational time compared to the traditional software approach. Once the motion vectors are obtained, the remaining tracking process is implemented in software. Experiments have validated the tracking algorithm and simulations have shown that the proposed tracking system can achieve real-time tracking up to 40 frames per second.
Retinoids and Prevention of Experimental Cancer

A dietary vitamin A deficiency results in clinical symptoms manifested by growth retardation, degeneration of reproductive organs, metaplasia and hyperkeratinization of epithelial tissues (1). Moreover, animals deficient in vitamin A are more susceptible to chemical carcinogens than are non-deficient animals (2,3). It has also been well documented that, the exogenous administration of retinoids to experimental animals suppress epithelial carcinogenesis in several organs (4,5). Similarly, in vitro studies have shown that the expression of malignant phenotype is also suppressed by certain retinoids (6).
Figural Vividness and Persuasion: Capturing the “Elusive” Vividness Effect

Despite the widespread belief that the use of vividness in persuasive communications is effective, many laboratory studies have failed to find vividness effects. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that many laboratory tests have not vivified solely the central thesis of the message but have vivified irrelevant portions of the message as well or instead. Two experiments examined the effect of vivifying the central ("figure") or noncentral ("ground") features of a message on persuasion. In both experiments, the formerly "elusive vividness effect" of superior persuasion was found, but only in vivid-figure communications. A mediation analysis revealed the salutary role of supportive cognitive elaborations, rather than memory for the communication, in mediating the vividness effect. The findings caution against attempts to persuade by increasing overall message vividness because off-thesis vividness has the unintended and undercutting consequence of distracting recipients from the point of the communication.
High-Index-Contrast Grating (HCG) and Its Applications in Optoelectronic Devices

We review recent advances in subwavelength high-index-contrast gratings (HCGs) and a variety of applications in optoelectronic devices, including vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), tunable VCSELs, high-Q optical resonators, and low-loss hollow-core waveguides (HWs). HCGs can serve as broadband (Delta lambda/lambda ~ 35%), high-reflectivity (>99%) mirrors for surface-normal incident light, which is useful to replace conventional distributed Bragg reflectors in optical devices. HCGs can also be designed as high-Q resonators with output coupling in the surface-normal direction. Finally, we discuss a novel design of HCG as shallow angle reflectors and HWs.
Comparison of Natural and Nonnative Two-Species Communities of Anolis Lizards

Human-mediated colonizations present an informative model system for understanding assembly of organismal communities. However, it is unclear whether communities including naturalized species are accurate analogs of natural communities or unique combinations not present in nature. I compared morphology and phylogenetic structure of natural and naturalized two-species communities of Anolis lizards. Natural communities are phylogenetically clustered, whereas naturalized communities show no significant phylogenetic structure. This result likely reflects differences in colonization pools for these communities-that is, invasion from anywhere for naturalized communities but from proximal and thus phylogenetically close lineages in natural communities. Both natural and naturalized communities each include pairs of species that are significantly similar to each other in morphology, and both sets of communities are composed of species that possess traits of good colonizers. These similarities suggest that the formation of natural and naturalized communities may be at least partially governed by similar processes. Human-mediated invasions may be credibly viewed as modern incarnations of natural colonizations in this case.
Chlorination of dibenzofuran and dibenzo-p-dioxin vapor by copper (II) chloride.

Dibenzofuran (DF) is formed from phenol and benzene in combustion gas exhaust streams prior to particle collection equipment. Subsequent chlorination at lower temperatures on particle surfaces is a potential source of chlorinated dibenzofuran (CDF). Gas streams containing 8% O2 and approximately 0.1% DF vapor were passed through particle beds containing copper (II) chloride (0.5% Cu, mass) at temperatures ranging from 200 to 400 C to investigate the potential for CDF formation during particle collection. Experiment duration was sufficient to provide an excess amount of DF (DF=Cu ¼ 3). The efficiency of DF chlorination by CuCl2 and the distribution of CDF products were measured, with effects of temperature, gas velocity, and experiment duration assessed. Results of a more limited investigation of dibenzo-p-dioxin (DD) chlorination by CuCl2 to form chlorinated DD (CDD) products are also presented. The efficiency of DF/DD chlorination by CuCl2 was high, both in terms of CuCl2 utilization and DF/DD conversion. Total yields of Cl on CDF/CDD products of up to 0.5 mole Cl per mole CuCl2 were observed between 200 and 300 C; this suggests that nearly 100% CuCl2 was utilized, assuming a conversion of two moles of CuCl2 to CuCl per mole Cl added to DD/DF. In a short duration experiment (DF=Cu ¼ 0:3), nearly 100% DF adsorption and conversion to CDF was achieved. The degree of CDF chlorination was strongly dependent on gas velocity. At high gas velocity, corresponding to a gas–particle contact time of 0.3 s, mono-CDF (MCDF) yield was largest, with yields decreasing with increasing CDF chlorination. At low gas velocity, corresponding to a gas–particle contact time of 5 s, octa-CDF yield was largest. DF/DD chlorination was strongly favored at lateral sites, with the predominant CDF/CDD isomers within each homologue group those containing Cl substituents at only the 2,3,7,8 positions. At the higher temperatures and lower gas velocities studied, however, broader isomer distributions, particularly of the less CDD/CDF products, were observed, likely due to preferential destruction of the 2,3,7,8 congeners. 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
A field-programmable analog array using translinear elements

A field programmable analog array that uses translinear elements for computation is introduced. The system uses floating-gate transistors to implement switch networks and MITEs to create reconfigurable translinear networks. The system architecture includes 3 MITE CABs, 1 specialized CAB for implementing four quadrant and dynamic functions, and a global switch matrix used to connect them. A squaring circuit, a square root circuit, a 2nd-order translinear loop, a vector magnitude circuit, and a 1st-order log-domain filter are programmed onto the device and results are presented in order to demonstrate the reconfigurability of the system.
Minimaxity, More or Less

This is a historical study of the minimax idea in statistics and of its creator, Abraham Wald. The focus is on the place of minimaxity in the development of statistics over the last half century.
CHROMATOGRAPHY: LIQUID | Monolithic Columns

In recent years, high performance monolithic columns have been synthesized and commercialized for use in HPLC. This article discusses and compares silica-based and polymeric monoliths. An overview of the benefits and limitations of monoliths to more traditional packed bed columns is presented.
Effects of chronic norepinephrine administration on sympathetic neurotransmission in the isolated perfused rat kidney.

The effects of chronic NE administration (100 micrograms/kg/hr s.c., 6 days) on the stimulus-induced overflow of neurotransmitter from the isolated perfused rat kidney were examined. This treatment increased renal NE content and increased the absolute stimulus-induced overflow of NE. The increase in absolute overflow was not simply the result of the increase in renal NE content as fractional overflow was also increased slightly (20%). Alpha adrenoceptor blockade with phentolamine eliminated the NE treatment-induced difference in fractional overflow. However, the dose-response curves to phentolamine and the alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist UK 14,304 on stimulus-induced overflow from the kidney were not significantly different after NE treatment. Chronic EPI treatment (same dose) produced an 80% increase in fractional stimulus-induced overflow of neurotransmitter but the dose-response curve to UK 14,304 was shifted only slight to the right (3-fold) of the control curve. No influence of prejunctional beta adrenoceptors on stimulus-induced overflow was observed in either the control of the NE-treated group. In conclusion, the data regarding fractional overflow and the effects of the phentolamine suggest that NE treatment produces minimal change whereas EPI treatment produces marked decreases in the influence in prejunctional alpha adrenoceptors. However, although the data with UK 14,304 after NE treatment support this conclusion, the failure of EPI treatment to alter the dose-response curve to UK 14,304 does not. The apparent contradiction of the results with the alpha adrenoceptor agonist in the EPI-treated group as well as the large differences between the effects of NE vs. EPI treatment on stimulus-induced overflow and prejunctional alpha adrenoceptor function cannot be explained at this time.
Are Private Interests Clouding the Peer-Review Process of the WHO Bulletin? A Case Study

Readers' trust on the medical literature has been eroded, and journal editors and some editorial boards are taking measures to ensure that authors fully and accurately report research findings and disclose conflicts of interest. This article describes a case study in which the papers editor of the World Health Organization (WHO) Bulletin influenced the content of an article that had been approved by the external reviewers. The editor objected to the publication of the large price differentials of the new molecular entities (NMEs) across the Latin American countries where they had been tested and the limited added therapeutic value of the NMEs that had been assessed by independent drug bulletins. This article summarizes the exchanges with WHO staff and posits the hypothesis that the WHO Bulletin might be affected by the shifts in WHO financing. Several authors have raised concern about the impact of financial conflicts of interest in WHO activities in the field of nutrition, intellectual property, and in the emergency response to the flu pandemic. Moreover, it has been reported that powerful WHO contributors pressured WHO into revising its publication policy. This is the first time that authors question if these conflicts of interest are also affecting the editorial independence of the WHO Bulletin.
Early Development of Time-Resolved Volumetric Doppler Velocimetry for New Insights in Hot Supersonic Jet Noise

The early development of a novel implementation of Doppler-based flow velocimetry, termed the time-resolved volumetric Doppler velocimetry (TRVDV) technique, is discussed for the specific application of kinematics measurements related to flow-generated noise in hot supersonic jets. By combining new detector technologies with unique uses of advanced laser-based photonics, TRVDV promises to produce many hundreds of velocity vectors distributed throughout volumes of the flow at 100kHz repetition rates over long contiguous durations—information needed in real flows to quantitatively evaluate noise sources. Herein, we describe the instrument currently under development and present some single-point velocity statistics and signals from a two-point prototype instrument in a cold supersonic jet. Spectral analysis for the stream-wise normal stress has been done for the single-point data at the center of the jet near the exit plane via slot correlation, with results out to approximatlely 400kHz presented. Initial results for measuring two points spaced along the collection optics axis exhibit the key attribute required for obtaining volumetric results with the system, namely, sufficient scattering intensity with varying depth of focus. Future development of the instrumentation system for many point measurements are discussed in light of current results. It is planned that the mature TRVDV package will be portable such that the system may be shipped to larger facilities for aeroacoustics experiments with results at levels of detail never before obtained.
Interferon-induced guanylate-binding proteins in inflammasome activation and host defense

Traditional views of the inflammasome highlight the assembly of pre-existing core components shortly after infection or tissue damage. Emerging work, however, suggests that the inflammasome machinery is also subject to 'tunable' or inducible signals that might accelerate its autocatalytic properties and dictate where inflammasome assembly takes place in the cell. Many of these signals operate downstream of interferon receptors to elicit inflammasome regulators, including a new family of interferon-induced GTPases called 'guanylate-binding proteins' (GBPs). Here we investigate the critical roles of interferon-induced GBPs in directing inflammasome subtype-specific responses and their consequences for cell-autonomous immunity to a wide variety of microbial pathogens. We discuss emerging mechanisms of action and the potential effect of these GBPs on predisposition to sepsis and other infectious or inflammatory diseases.
CHAPTER 21 – STARCH-BASED GUMS

Publisher Summary Starches from whatever source are composed of one or more glucans. Although starches, both in native and modified form, meet the definition of an industrial gum, that is, they are water-soluble polymers that produce viscous dispersions, solutions, or gels at low concentrations, are used extensively in practical applications, and are usually considered in a separate category. This chapter describes the properties and applications of native and derivatized and/or modified starches. It discusses the structures and properties of the two principle molecular components of starches—the polysaccharides amylose and amylopectin. Starches can be identified by microscopy, because the sizes and shapes of starch granules are specific for the plant of origin. Although much starch is used in the native form, many applications require modified starches. Native starches produce narrow peak viscosities, have low process tolerance, and, in the case of food starches, produce undesirable textures. Conversion and/or derivatization correct those defects and produces higher quality products.
A Genetic Study of Chronic Spinal Muscular Atrophy

The identity of an autosomal recessive form of chronic spinal muscular atrophy with clinical features intermediate between acute Werdnig-Hojfmann disease and Kugelberg-Welander disease is confirmed. This form accounts for the majority of patients with spinal muscular atrophy surviving into adult life. Spinal muscular atrophy with onset after 2 years of age is a heterogeneous group and both autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant forms occur.
Cognitive health and risk of ED revisit in underserved older adults

Abstract Objective The objective was to examine associations between cognitive health and unplanned emergency department (ED) revisits 30, 60, and 90 days after the initial visit. Methods Sociodemographic, clinical, and cognitive measures were collected on 110 white and African American adults, 65 years and older, who sought care in an inner-city ED. The information was collected via face-to-face interviews and review of the electronic medical record. Returns to the study-site ED 30, 60, and 90 days later were identified through a search of the electronic medical record. Results The sample was mostly female (70.9%) and African American (73.6%), with an average age of 75 years (SD = 7.4). About half (56.4%) had 12 or more years of formal schooling. The overall cognitive score of 17.5 (SD 5.1) was 4.5 points less than standardized norms for persons 65 years and older. Each 1-point increase in cognitive score was associated with 24% and 21% decreased odds of 60-day (odds ratio [OR] = 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57-1.00) and 90-day revisit to the ED (OR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.62-0.99), respectively. Cognitive health and odds of 30-day revisit (OR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.72-1.26) had a nonsignificant association. Conclusions Our sample of older, mostly female African Americans showed poorer cognitive health compared with standardized norms. However, higher cognitive health scores were linked to lower risk for unplanned ED revisit 60 and 90 days later. A clearer understanding of biological and nonbiological pathways that connect cognitive health to revisit risk in disadvantaged older populations might improve health outcomes, including the avoidance of return trips to the ED.
Towards Early Dementia Detection: Fusing Linguistic and Non-Linguistic Clinical Data

Dementia is an increasing problem for an aging population, with a lack of available treatment options, as well as expensive patient care. Early detection is critical to eventually postpone symptoms and to prepare health care providers and families for managing a patient’s needs. Identification of diagnostic markers may be possible with patients’ clinical records. Text portions of clinical records are integrated into predictive models of dementia development in order to gain insights towards automated identification of patients who may benefit from providers’ early assessment. Results support the potential power of linguistic records for predicting dementia status, both in the absence of, and in complement to, corresponding structured nonlinguistic data.
Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic development prior to implantation of the embryo in the uterus includes a stage of blastocyst formation, where the initial mass of cells is segregated into an inner cell mass (ICM) that is destined to contribute to the developing embryo, and an outer layer of cells that will contribute to the fetal portion of the placenta. Embryonic stem (ES) cells are derived from the ICM of the developing pre-embryo that can be propagated indefinitely in culture. ES cells are characterized by the expression of a characteristic set of markers, the ability to self-renew indefinitely, a lack of contact inhibition, atypical cell cycle regulation, the ability to form teratocarcinomas in nude mice, and the ability to differentiate into ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm either in vitro or in vivo after injection into blastocysts. This constellation of abilities distinguishes ES cells from all other cell populations, including adult stem cells. The unique ability of ES cells to be propagated in culture, to undergo genetic manipulation but, nevertheless, to retain their ability to contribute to all portions of the developing embryos (including germ cells) has been utilized to generate transgenic animals in which specific genes are introduced or removed. Such transgenic and knock-outs have been utilized effectively to generate animal models of human disease, to develop improved strains, and to study critical aspects of development. The ability to manipulate ES cells such that subsequent generations are derived solely from cultured manipulated cells, coupled with recent advances in deriving primate (including human) ES cell lines, has generated much excitement and hope, as well as profound ethical concerns and considerable debate on how best to proceed. Keywords: Blastocyst; Centrosome; Chimera; Cloning; Embryo stem-like cells; Gastrulation; Homologous recombination; Induced pluripotent cells; Inner cell mass; In − vitro fertilization; Multipotent adult progenitor cell; Morula; Pre-embryo; Somatic cell nuclear transfer; Self-renewal; Stem cells; Teratocarcinomas; Trophoectoderm
High-efficiency, low noise UV superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors operating above 4 K

We have demonstrated ∼ 80% detection efficiency of 370 nm photons using superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) operating at 4.2 K, with system dark count rates below 1 count/s. Prospects for detecting shorter wavelengths are discussed.
Effects of Ethanol on the Immune System

The effects of ethanol are varied and complex. A number of observations have led to the belief that ethanol abuse alters the immune system and this results in a predisposition to infectious agents and tumors. It has been shown that alcoholics have increased incidences of certain tumors and increased incidences of infections (Smith and Palmer, 1976; Adama and Jordan, 1984; Eckardt et al., 1981) that include tuberculosis and opportunistic organisms. It is clear that the effect of ethanol that produces this increased susceptibility is multifactorial but it is thought that an immunosuppression associated with alcohol abuse is important.
Excess Readmission vs Excess Penalties: Maximum Readmission Penalties as a Function of Socioeconomics and Geography.

BACKGROUND The Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) penalizes hospitals with "excess" readmissions up to 3% of Medicare reimbursement. Approximately 75% of eligible hospitals received penalties, worth an estimated $428 million, in fiscal year 2015. OBJECTIVE To identify demographic and socioeconomic disparities between matched and localized maximum-penalty and no-penalty hospitals. DESIGN A case-control study in which cases included were hospitals to receive the maximum 3% penalty under the HRRP during the 2015 fiscal year. Controls were drawn from no-penalty hospitals and matched to cases by hospital characteristics (primary analysis) or geographic proximity (secondary analysis). SETTING A selectiion of 3383 US hospitals eligible for HRRP. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-nine case and 39 control hospitals from the HRRP cohort. MEASUREMENTS Socioeconomic status variables were collected by the American Community Survey. Hospital and health system characteristics were drawn from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, American Hospital Association, and Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. The statistical analysis was conducted using Student t tests. RESULTS Thirty-nine hospitals received a maximum penalty. Relative to controls, maximum-penalty hospitals in counties with lower SES profiles are defined by increased poverty rates (19.1% vs 15.5%, 𝑃 = 0.015) and lower rates of high school graduation (82.2% vs 87.5%, 𝑃 = 0.001). County level age, sex, and ethnicity distributions were similar between cohorts. CONCLUSIONS Cases were more likely than controls to be in counties with low socioeconomic status; highlighting potential unintended consequences of national benchmarks for phenomena underpinned by environmental factors; specifically, whether maximum penalties under the HRRP are a consequence of underperforming hospitals or a manifestation of underserved communities.
Asymptotic Theory for Estimators of High-Order Statistics of Stationary Processes

High-order cumulants and high-order spectra play an important role in the theory of stationary processes. For nonlinear processes, it is quite challenging to develop an asymptotic theory for their estimators. This paper presents a systematic asymptotic theory for estimators of high-order moments for a general class of stationary processes, using the framework of functional dependence measures. In particular, we prove the asymptotic normality of the estimators and establish a uniform convergence rate. We also provide a sufficient condition for the summability of high-order cumulants. Based on the latter, we prove consistency and asymptotic normality of the third-order spectra or bispectrum estimators under mild and easily verifiable conditions.
Partitioning of tritium between surface and bulk of 316 stainless steel at room temperature

Abstract The distribution of tritium between the near surface and the bulk of 316 stainless steel has been measured using two independent techniques: pulsed-plasma exposures and a zinc-chloride wash. Between 17% and 20% of the total inventory absorbed into a stainless-steel sample during a 24-h exposure to DT gas at room temperature resides in the water layers present on the metal surface. Redistribution of tritium between the surface and the bulk of stainless steel, if it occurs, is very slow. Tritium does not appear to enter into the bulk at a rate defined solely by lattice diffusivity.
Incisional Therapies: Shunts and Valved Implants

The earliest attempts to drain fluid out of the anterior chamber into the subconjunctival space consisted of implanting a variety of foreign objects into the eye extending from the anterior chamber to the subconjunctival space. These early operations failed because of excessive fibrosis over the subconjunctival portion of the implant at the limbus, seton migration, or conjunctival erosion. Dr. Anthony Molteno introduced the concept of draining fluid away from the anterior chamber to a plate posterior to the limbus. The Molteno implant had an episcleral plate positioned in the equatorial region, which was connected to the anterior chamber by means of an elongated silicone tube.
Abstract 17934: MicroRNA-223 Regulates Macrophage Polarization and Protects Mice from Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance and Adipose Tissue Inflammation

Macrophage-mediated adipose tissue inflammation is a crucial contributor to the risk of Cardiovascular disease (CVD) associated obesity. microRNAs are important regulators for various basic cell fu...
STRUCTURE AND BONDING IN METAL HYDRIDES

ABSTRACT Bonding in hydrides of the alkali metals, of the alkaline earth and of Eu and Yb is essentially ionic in nature and hydrogen in these materials is anionic. This is indicated by a variety of properties of these hydrides – structures, stoichiometrics and lattice energies. In the early studies of the magnetism of the Pd-H system it was concluded that hydrogen in this hydride was protonic, its 1s electron populating states in the d-band of the host metal. More recent work on the band structure of transition metal hydrides indicates that the simple protonic model is incorrect. Hydrogen participates, along with the ion cores of the host metal, in establishing the potential within which the delocalized electrons move. Hydrogen contributes states as well as electrons, in contrast with its behavior according to the protonic model in which it contributes only electrons. The special complexities which can arise for sub-stoichiometric hydrides – order-disorder phenomena on the hydrogen sub lattice, hydrogen structure polymorphism, etc. – are illustrated by reference to the well studied system Ta2H.
Pepper varietal response to thrips feeding.

Thrips damage to peppers in Palm Beach Co., FL exceeded $10 million in 1993, and most was caused by western flower thrips (WFT) and Thrips palmi. Both species feed in flowers, which can lead to poor seed set and fruit distortion. T. palmi foliar feeding causes leaf distortion and shortened internodes. We evaluated thrips density on four types of peppers at three sites in 1992. There was an early preference for flower feeding on sweet pepper varieties. Density increased more rapidly on cubanelle and cayenne types, and they supported larger numbers of thrips with significantly less damage than the other pepper types. Sweet and jalapeno types were very sensitive to foliar and flower feeding.
Developing a cross-disciplinary, scenario-based training approach integrated with eye tracking data collection to enhance situational awareness in offshore oil and gas operations

Abstract Complexity in oil and gas operations is increasing day by day with the advent of sophisticated technology resulting in an enormous amount of information. The processing of this information continuously makes humans more vulnerable and prone to lapses and errors. In the wake of such complexity, the construct of situation awareness (SA) and risk perception becomes a core theme for human factors in the operation. Several attempts have been made to develop reliable and valid measures of SA, but the past studies were mainly focused either on self-rating techniques or questionnaire analysis. The reliability and validity of these techniques for real-time application are yet to be established in the petroleum industry. Having this in mind, the current study focuses on the development of a training infrastructure to address the technical and non-technical aspects of training in a holistic manner. This paper presents a training framework based on scenario-based training in combination with different assessment and feedback techniques such as knowledge testing, risk literacy testing, eye-tracking data analysis, verbal response analysis, and questionnaire analysis. The framework comprises of four stages which can provide the participants a swift transition from their pre-training ability and knowledge to post training. To illustrate the working style of this training infrastructure, scenario descriptions are discussed which outlines different operational aspects of drilling. This can provide insight into the holistic approach needed to address the issues of high-reliability organizations (HROs) with improvement in the risk literacy and resilience of the candidates. In addition, the working methodology of eye-tracking analysis and its potential in the context of oil and gas operations training is explained using one of the scenarios constructed. Furthermore, the scenario was executed in which tools and techniques outlined above were implemented. A thorough analysis of the data collected was conducted using statistical methods. It is worthy to note that different techniques especially ocular movement analysis showed a definite lack of situation awareness in novices compared to expert data.
Maintaining Canonical Form After Edge Deletion

Waddle is a research intermediate-form optimizer that strictly maintains a canonical form similar to the loop-simplify form used in LLVM. The properties of this canonical form simplify movement of instructions to the edges of loops and often localize the effect on variables to the loop in which they are defined. The guarantee of canonical form preservation allows program transformations to rely on the presence of certain program properties without a necessary sanity-check or recalculation pre-step and does not impose an order of transformations in which reconstruction passes must be inserted.In this paper, we present a form-preserving edge deletion operation, in which a provably unreachable branch between two basic blocks is removed from the control flow graph. Additionally, we showa distinct application of the block ejection operation, a core procedure used for loop body reconstruction, as utilized in a function inlining transformation.