cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Temporal trends, outcomes, and predictors of mortality after pericardiocentesis in the United States.

BACKGROUND Data regarding the temporal trends, outcomes, and predictors of in-hospital mortality after pericardiocentesis are limited. METHODS The National Inpatient Sample database was used to extract hospitalizations of patients who underwent pericardiocentesis from January 2007 to September 2015. We examined the rates of in-hospital mortality, its predictors, and the temporal trends of pericardiocentesis utilization in the United States during the study period. We also examined trends and outcomes of pericardiocentesis associated with different cardiovascular procedures. RESULTS A total of 96,377 hospitalizations with pericardiocentesis were examined. The number of pericardiocentesis procedures performed trended up significantly between 2007 and 2015 (p trend <.001), and this increase was observed predominantly in patients with unstable conditions. In-hospital mortality after pericardiocentesis decreased over time (14.6% in 2007 vs. 12.0% in 2015, p trend <.001), but remained higher than that after surgical pericardial intervention (13.1 vs. 8.9%, p value <.0001), predominantly attributable to a higher patient risk profile. Rates of in-hospital mortality were not statistically different between the procedural cohort and the nonprocedural cohort, 13.5 versus 13.0%, p value = .051. After multivariable adjustment, structural heart interventions (odds ratio [OR] 2.86; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.35-3.49), bacterial and/or infective endocarditis (OR 2.09; 95% CI 1.72-2.54) and active neoplasms (OR 1.72; 95% CI 1.6-1.85) were independently associated with increased in-hospital mortality in pericardiocentesis patients. CONCLUSION In this nationwide analysis, the number of pericardiocentesis procedures increased significantly over time. Structural interventions, endocarditis, and active neoplasms were associated with increased in-hospital mortality after pericardiocentesis.
Assessment of Consensus-Based Scouting for Management of Sugarcane Aphid (Heteroptera: Aphididae) in Georgia

The sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner) (Heteroptera: Aphididae), was recently recognized as a pest of grain sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, in the southeastern United States. The objectives of the study reported herein were to evaluate the suitability of using a consensus-based scouting network and determine the timing of insecticide applications for management of sugarcane aphid in grain sorghum. The timing of insecticide applications was (1) application at 25 aphids per leaf, (2) application at 50 aphids per leaf, (3) a delayed application 1 week after occurrence of 50 aphids per leaf, or (4) not treated. Results showed that a single application of flupyradifurone at 15.4 g(AI)/ha consistently reduced populations to nearly zero for the remainder of the season, while aphid populations in the nontreated plots reached a peak of 300–400 aphids per leaf. Aphid populations on the upper leaves reached 50 aphids per leaf in nontreated plots 1 week after reaching the treatment threshold on the lower leaves. All plots receiving insecticide applications had similar estimated yields, which were >5 times greater than yields in nontreated plots. Results from the consensus-based scouting network showed that first detections and reported first commercial applications generally occurred within 1 week (range of 3–11 d) of the actual populations quantified in the research trials. These data suggest that initiating scouting for sugarcane aphid populations following notification of activity in the area through consensus reporting would provide adequate warning for preventing economic losses to sugarcane aphid.
The Realities of Governance: Conflict and Context Across Africa

This chapter debates what governance fundamentally means, and more importantly what it actually delivers as tangible outcomes. Whilst the focus is on the sad African experiences, I dissect global examples of the many failures and rare successes often in a neo-patrimonial post-colonial context. Equity requires disregarding the expectations of donors and the World Bank, to reflect on the hopes and fears of men and women villagers in remote and violence-plagued regions long neglected by national agencies. Since honesty can rarely be spread, whilst corruption is highly infectious, I explore whether democracy and a free press are requirements for good governance, or the outcomes where national systems and local cultures combine to provide the services which citizens require, beginning with the rule of law. Case studies include governance in war zones, in Sierra Leone, Colombia and Rwanda.
The Apostle Paul, the Law, and Antinomianism

The Apostle Paul is frequently cited as the source for antinomianism - the belief that Jesus overturned the law and that is no longer has any authority. Such a view is incorrect as Paul like the other writers of scripture taught that Jesus fulfilled the law and thus the law is stratified by the blood of Jesus. However, the law still has authority and will serve as the basis for the judging of lost at the White Throne of Judgment. The false teaching of antinomianism has taken many forms throughout the Church AGe and continues to today.
Pharmaceutical Reason: Knowledge and Value in Global Psychiatry

Andrew Lakoff argues that a new 'pharmaceutical' way of thinking about and acting upon mental disorder is coming to reshape not only the field of psychiatry, but also our very notions of self. Drawing from a comprehensive ethnography of psychiatric practice in Argentina (a country which boasts the most psychoanalysts per capita in the world) Lakoff looks at new ways of understanding and intervening in human behaviour. He charts the globalization of pharmacology, particularily the global impact of US psychiatry and US models of illness, and further illustrates the clashes, conflicts, alliances and reformulations that take place when psychoanalytic and psychopharmacological models of illness and cure meet. Highlighting the social and political implications that these new forms of expertise about human behaviour and human thought bring, Lakoff presents an arresting case-study that will appeal to scholars and students alike.
The Case of "Not Enough Time": Using GROW and Motivational Interviewing Coaching Frameworks.

Leadership coaching has gained in use and popularity as a leadership development tool used both within and outside the context of an organization. At the heart of the coaching process is the coaching relationship and the critical coaching skills of powerful questioning and active listening. One of the most popular coaching models within which these skills serve as a cornerstone is the GROW model, which stands for Goal-Reality-Options-Will. The following teaching exercise seeks to provide students with skill practice in designing powerful questions and recognizing elements of the GROW model of coaching.
Federalism and Economic Reform: Indian Federalism, Economic Reform, and Globalization

In this paper we examine several dimensions of economic reform in India, in the context of the country's federal system and of globalization, i.e., we explicitly recognize that the national government has subnational governments below it, and that all these layers of government simultaneously interact with foreign governments and corporations in a global economy. We examine two groups of reforms, the first involving redrawing of state-market boundaries, and the second concerned with reconfiguring federal institutions themselves. The first group includes financial sector reforms, assignment of regulatory powers, infrastructure reform and development, and privatization. We note the progress made in financial sector reform but also the problems caused for the financial sector as a whole by state and central fiscal deficits. We discuss the extreme problems of the power sector, and the important federal dimensions that make reform more difficult there. We also highlight the regional concentration of FDI in India's more liberalized economy. The second group of reforms includes tax reforms, reform of center-state fiscal transfer mechanisms, and local government reforms. To some degree, these reforms in federal governance hold the key to opening the door to further reform elsewhere, by reducing the fiscal burden placed on the private sector by government deficits. We acknowledge the political economy aspects of reform of governance, and discuss possibilities for politically acceptable packages of fiscal reforms, such as combinations of changes in tax assignment that would be acceptable to the center as well as the state governments. We also discuss the possibility that growing regional inequalities might require the intergovernmental transfer system to be more efficient and effective in its objectives.
Characterization of Opioid and ORL1 Receptors

This unit describes methods for studying activity at opioid receptor subtypes and the ORL1 receptor using conventional radioligand binding assay methods as well as procedures for quantitating functional activity of these receptors by measuring agonist-induced G protein activation with [35S]GTPγS binding in a manner analogous to traditional receptor-binding methods. These procedures permit the assessment of the agonist or antagonist character of compounds in a rapid manner that, like most radioligand binding methodologies, is also amenable to high throughput technologies.
Fabrication of Metal Matrix Composite Materials

The analysis of the limiting factors associated with ultimate strength of metal matrix composite materials provides a basis for applying boundary conditions to potential fabrication techniques. The boundary conditions are formulated through an understanding of fiber degradation, fiber-matrix interface and reactivity and processing effects (residual stress). The boron-aluminum system is considered for definition of boundary conditions. These condi tions are compared with test data generated from composites fabri cated by both liquid and solid state techniques. Considerations for future research in the area of metal matrix composite fabrication techniques are proposed.
Genesis of antibiotic resistance VIII: monitoring of non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in biomedical, agricultural - livestock and pharmaceutical research and development process (986.8)

A systematic approach has been taken to demonstrate that the unregulated antibiotic use in the R&D is a potential cause for concern in regards to the genesis of Antibiotic Resistance in bacterial p...
Model-Based Estimation of Ventricular Deformation in the Cat Brain

The estimation of ventricular deformation has important clinical implications related to neuro-structural disorders such as hydrocephalus. In this paper, a poroelastic model was used to represent deformation effects resulting from the ventricular system and was studied in 5 feline experiments. Chronic or acute hydrocephalus was induced by injection of kaolin into the cisterna magna or saline into the ventricles; a catheter was then inserted in the lateral ventricle to drain the fluid out of the brain. The measured displacement data which was extracted from pre-drainage and post-drainage MR images were incorporated into the model through the Adjoint Equations Method. The results indicate that the computational model of the brain and ventricular system captured 33% of the ventricle deformation on average and the model-predicted intraventricular pressure was accurate to 90% of the recorded value during the chronic hydrocephalus experiments.
Adaptive packet-combining to counter traffic analysis in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have become an attractive choice for many applications that serve in hostile setup. The operation model of a WSN makes it possible for an adversary to determine the location of the base-station (BS) in the network by intercepting transmissions and employing traffic analysis techniques such as Evidence Theory. By locating the BS, the adversary can then target it with denial-of-service attacks. This paper promotes a novel strategy for countering such an attack by adaptively combining packet payloads. The idea is to trade off packet delivery latency for BS location anonymity. Basically, a node on a data route will delay the forwarding of a packet until one or multiple additional packets arrive and the payloads are then combined in a single packet. Such an approach decreases the number of evidences that an adversary will collect and makes the traffic analysis inclusive in implicating the BS position. Given the data delivery delay that will be imposed, the proposed technique is to be adaptively applied when the BS anonymity needs a boost. The simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed technique.
How to speed up software migration and modernization: Successful strategies developed by precisiating expert knowledge

Computers are getting faster and faster; the operating systems are getting more sophisticated. Often, these improvements necessitate that we migrate existing software to the new platform. In an ideal world, the migrated software should run perfectly well on a new platform; however, in reality, when we try that, thousands of errors appear, errors that need correcting. As a result, software migration is usually a very time-consuming process. A natural way to speed up this process is to take into account that errors naturally fall into different categories, and often, a common correction can be applied to all error from a given category. To efficiently use this idea, it is desirable to estimate the number of errors of different types. In this paper, we show how imprecise expert knowledge about such errors can be used to produce very realistic estimates.
Engineered manganese oxide nanocrystals for enhanced uranyl sorption and separation

For the first time, this work develops and demonstrates precisely engineered manganese oxide nanoscale particles for the sorption of uranium, as uranyl, in water. Size controlled monodisperse nanocrystalline manganese oxides (12 to 28 nm) were systematically synthesized via thermal decomposition of manganese oleate and phase-transferred into water by ligand exchange and bilayer stabilization methods. Resulting monodisperse suspensions demonstrate significantly enhanced uranyl adsorption as a function of size, surface coating chemistries, and solution pH. In particular, 12 nm particles coated with the unsaturated–unsaturated carbon chains linked bilayers, (e.g. oleic acid-oleyl phosphate linked bilayer coatings) have binding capacities well over 600 mg U per g of Mn, which is the highest reported uranium sorption capacity for any manganese based sorbent to date. Further, we spectrally identify significant uranyl reduction as part of the adsorption mechanism(s) for high capacity materials. Last, oleyl-based (phosphate and carboxylic) functionalized bilayered nanocrystals were extremely stable in the presence of high ionic strength/type (>800 mM); calcium (>19 mM), including the presence of uranyl cations (from 0.1 to 60 ppm). Taken together, these data demonstrate the potential for engineered monodisperse manganese oxide nanocrystals as ultra-high capacity platform sorbent materials for uranium separation at environmentally relevant ionic strengths and pH.
Population Malthus: His life and times

(1983). Population Malthus: His life and times. History of European Ideas: Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 221-222.
Repeating video/EEG monitoring: Why and with what results?

Prolonged video/EEG monitoring is the main activity of referral tertiary epilepsy centers. Occasionally, monitoring is repeated in the same patient, but this subgroup has not been specifically studied. The purpose of this study was to analyze repeated video/EEG monitoring. We reviewed all sessions of inpatient video/EEG monitoring performed over 3 years (2005-2008), and selected the ones that were repeated in the same patient. A total of 1063 video/EEG monitoring sessions were performed. Of these, 43 (4.0%) were "redos." The most common indication for repeat video/EEG monitoring was evidence of focal epilepsy with no recorded seizures, followed by normal interictal EEG with no recorded episodes. The second session answered the question in 35 (81%) cases, whereas the question remained unanswered in 8 (19%). The repeated session was useful in 35 (81%) cases.
The Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers: advancing standardized evaluation of public health preparedness and response trainings.

Introduction The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers (PERLCs) across the United States. The PERLCs provide training to state, local, and tribal public health organizations to meet workforce development needs in the areas of public health preparedness and response, specialized training, education, and consultation. Methods/activity Using Donald Kirkpatrick's training evaluation model, the PERLC network established 4 evaluation working groups that developed evaluation criteria to address each level of the model. The purpose of the working groups was to inform and promote center-level and program-level evaluation across the PERLC network; identify common training evaluation methods and measures; and share materials, resources, and lessons learned with state, local, and tribal public health organizations for potential replication. Results/outcomes The evaluation of education and training, irrespective of its modality (eg, in-person, online, webinars, seminars, symposia) can be accomplished using Kirkpatrick's 4-level taxonomy. Discussion The 4 levels aim to measure the following aspects of training programs: (1) trainees' reaction; (2) knowledge acquired, skills improved, or attitudes changed; (3) behavior changed; and (4) results or impact. To successfully evaluate emergency preparedness training, drills and exercises, it is necessary to understand the fundamental tenets of each level and how to apply each to measure training outcomes. Lessons learned/next steps The PERLC evaluators have adopted the basic schema of Kirkpatrick's 4-level model and applied its structure to a wide variety of preparedness and emergency response training and related activities. The PERLC evaluation working groups successfully developed and tested survey methods and instruments for each of the 4 levels of Kirkpatrick's training evaluation model. Each can be used for replication by state, local, and tribal public health professionals.
Simultaneous diffusion and sedimentation of aerosols in channel flows

Abstract The problem of particle loss to the wall of a narrow rectangular channel through which an aerosol is passing is studied with simultaneous consideration of diffusion and sedimentation. Both slug flow and Poiseuille flow are considered. It is found that the relative importance of diffusion and sedimentation on the fractional penetration depends upon a parameter σ = hvg/D, where h is the half height of the channel, vg is the settling velocity of a particle and D is the Brownian diffusion coefficient. For σ 200, the loss is due to settling. The loss due to the combined mechanism in the range 0·1
A novel substation area backup protection for smart substation

This paper proposes a new scheme of substation area backup protection system based on substation area range of information. A configuration scheme of relay protection in smart substation was proposed firstly, the structure of substation area backup protection (SABP) was introduced, the information matrix of SABP which can reflect the substation topology was established, the protection algorithm of SABP was proposed, the fault-tolerance performance of the proposed protection scheme was also analyzed. According to the analysis of fault direction information, fault current differential information, as well as the information matrix, the SABP can carry out fault location and make a reasonable tripping strategy. The result of case studies shows that the proposed protection algorithm can implement backup protection and circuit breaker failure protection for each electrical element inside smart substation, and has good adaptability to disconnection fault of CT.
Effects of putative modulators of relaxation microinjected into intact amphibian smooth muscle cells.

1. Single smooth muscle cells were isolated intact from the stomach of the toad Bufo marinus. The relaxation of cells following cessation of electrical stimulation was compared with those relaxed by pressure microinjection of either metal ion chelators or cyclic nucleotides. 2. Injection of either a Ca2+ chelator or 3',5'-cyclic AMP slowed or halted shortening and promoted re-extension of a cell or collapse of membrane evaginations (blebs) in a manner similar to that following cessation of electrical stimulation. Collapse of blebs occurred first and was then followed smoothly by the next stage with cells re-extending at maximum rates in one of three ranges at 22 degrees C. These rates, in order of increasing speed, were 0.005, 0.009 and 0.03 cell lengths s-1 after electrical stimulation, 3',5'-cyclic AMP and EDTA injection, respectively. On the other hand, shortening began at a maximum rate of about 0.1 cell lengths s-1 unless a Ca2+ chelator or 3',5'-cyclic AMP was injected about 30 s or less before electrical stimulation. Injection of these agents reduced the speed of shortening by about half. 3. Injection of a liquid per se (e.g. 140 mM-KCl) neither altered action potentials nor duplicated the changes produced by the aforementioned relaxing agents. Large, sustained injections of substances that were not relaxing agents (e.g. dilute KCl) ruptured the membrane without producing any bleb collapse or re-extension of a contracted cell. Blebs not only collapsed rapidly when a relaxing agent was injected but bleb collapse was a much more sensitive indication of relaxation than cell re-extension; small injections of relaxing agents could clearly collapse blebs with no associated measurable change in cell length. This supports the idea previously inferred from fixed or permeabilized cells, that filaments in smooth muscle are organized to produce force over short distances at points along the cell membrane, in addition to shortening along the long axis. 4. Physiological relaxation of smooth muscle can evidently be mimicked by 3',5'-cyclic AMP elevation. Restoring forces may develop during shortening of isolated smooth muscle cells in elements of their cytoskeleton, surface membrane, or contractile filaments. However, these putative forces may not be able to produce physiological re-extension in the absence of a rise in cyclic AMP and/or a fall in [Ca2+].
Run-time support for distributed sharing in safe languages

We present a new run-time system that supports object sharing in a distributed system. The key insight in this system is that a handle-based implementation of such a system enables efficient and transparent sharing of data with both fine- and coarse-grained access patterns. In addition, it supports efficient execution of garbage-collected programs. In contrast, conventional distributed shared memory (DSM) systems are limited to providing only one granularity with good performance, and have experienced difficulty in efficiently supporting garbage collection. A safe language, in which no pointer arithmetic is allowed, can transparently be compiled into a handle-based system and constitutes its preferred mode of use. A programmer can also directly use a handle-based programming model that avoids pointer arithmetic on the handles, and achieve the same performance but without the programming benefits of a safe programming language. This new run-time system, DOSA (Distributed Object Sharing Architecture), provides a shared object space abstraction rather than a shared address space abstraction. The key to its efficiency is the observation that a handle-based distributed implementation permits VM-based access and modification detection without suffering false sharing for fine-grained access patterns. We compare DOSA to TreadMarks, a conventional DSM system that is efficient at handling coarse-grained sharing. The performance of fine-grained applications and garbage-collected applications is considerably better than in TreadMarks, and the performance of coarse-grained applications is nearly as good as in TreadMarks. Inasmuch as the performance of such applications is already good in TreadMarks, we consider this an acceptable performance penalty.
When Whites Love a Black Leader: Race Matters in Obamerica

“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle,” George Orwell (1946) stated a while ago. I am convinced that we, blacks in the USA, are not able to see what is in front of our nose in this election cycle. Instead, we are seeing what we want and long to see. I am one-hundred percent sure that until about a year ago, almost all of us, as well as progressive race analysts out there, would have agreed with the following proposition: race matters in the USA have stagnated or, worse yet, regressed (Steinberg 2001). We had plenty of objective and subjective indicators to make our point. Objective indicators show that many of the country’s racial outcomes are still mired in a pre-civil rights mindset. The separate and unequal fallout from Hurricane Katrina, voter disenfranchisement, incarceration rates seven times those of whites (Pettit and Western 2004), persistent and growing wealth inequality (Oliver and Shapiro 2006; Shapiro 2004), residential segregation patterns and housing discrimination (Massey and Denton 1993), pre-Brown school segregation levels (Kozol 2005), the color-blind gutting of Brown v. Board of Education (Williams 2007), racialized job discrimination and exclusion from white job networks (Pager 2003; Royster 2003), the predatory, racist, distribution of subprime mortgages (Calem et al. 2004; Bocian et al. 2008), and nooses sprouting like fertilized kudzu across the U.S. all testify to a less than “transcendent” racial climate. In post-9/11Amerika, the public space to even talk about race has decreased. Racial profiling, a tactic hotly debated and questioned before 9/11, has moved from J Afr Am St (2009) 13:176–183 DOI 10.1007/s12111-008-9073-2
Transformation of cutaneous gamma/delta T-cell lymphoma following 15 years of indolent behavior

Subcutaneous gamma/delta (gamma/delta) T-cell lymphoma is a rare lymphoma, characterized by its unique immunophenotype and clinical course. It has been shown to behave more aggressively than its counterpart bearing the alpha/beta receptor and has recently been removed from the subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma category for this very reason. We present a case of a patient with a 15-year running diagnosis of panniculitis. Following these years of indolent behavior, the disease began an aggressive clinical course and she was diagnosed with gamma/delta T-cell lymphoma. Molecular analysis identified a T-cell clone, which through retrospective analysis, was also shown to be present in the patient's original biopsy material. We present this case as a rare example of initial indolent behavior in a lymphoma typically considered very aggressive.
An architecture-reconfigurable 3b-to-7b 4GS/s-to-1.5GS/s ADC using subtractor interleaving

This paper introduces the design of a high-speed reconfigurable analog-to-digital converter in 65-nm CMOS. Accuracy requirements are met without compromising performance by means of digital calibration and smart architecture selection. Partial interleaving architecture and the introduction of a current-steering DAC and an open-loop residue amplifier are proposed to relax the MDAC settling at minimal overhead. Dynamic thresholds adjustment for the sub-ADCs is employed both to calibrate the ADC offset mismatches and to correct for the residue amplifier nonidealities. The ADC covers a resolution range from 3-b to 7-b at sampling rates from 4GS/s to 1.5GS/s. The worst case DNL and INL are ±0.45LSB and ±0.66LSB respectively. The ADC achieves a figure-of-merit of 0.46pJ/conv at 7-b and occupies an active area of 0.15mm2.
Menthol Response and Adaptation in Nociceptive-Like and Nonnociceptive-Like Neurons: Role of Protein Kinases:

Menthol-sensitive/capsaicin-insensitive neurons (MS/CI) and menthol-sensitive/capsaicin-sensitive neurons (MS/CS) are thought to represent two functionally distinct populations of cold-sensing neurons that use TRPM8 receptors to convey innocuous and noxious cold information respectively. However, TRPM8-mediated responses have not been well characterized in these two neuron populations. Using rat dorsal root ganglion neurons, here we show that MS/CI neurons had larger menthol responses with greater adaptation. In contrast, MS/CS neurons had smaller menthol responses with less adaptation. All menthol-sensitive neurons showed significant reduction of menthol responses following the treatment of cells with the protein kinase C (PKC) activator PDBu (Phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate). PDBu-induced reduction of menthol responses was completely abolished in the presence of PKC inhibitors BIM (bisindolylmaleimide) or staurosporine. When menthol responses were examined in the presence of protein kinase inhibitors, it was found that the adaptation was significantly attenuated by either BIM or staurosporine and also by the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase ( CamKII) inhibitor KN62 (N,O-bis(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-N-methyl-L-tyrosyl]-4-phenylpiperazine) in MS/CI neurons. In contrast, in MS/CS neurons menthol response was not affected significantly by BIM, staurosporine or KN62. In both MS/CI and MS/CS neurons, the menthol responses were not affected by PKA activators forskolin and 8-Br-cAMP (8-Bromoadenosine-3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate) or by protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor Rp-cAMPs (Rp-Adenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphorothioate). Taken together, these results suggest that TRPM8-mediated responses are significantly different between non-nociceptive-like and nociceptive-like neurons.
Stability of Velocity in the Major Industrial Countries: A Kalman Filter Approach

Forecasting models are estimated using annual data for the income velocity of money in seven major industrial countries. The predictions are conditional on the realized value of the long-term domestic government bond rate. These forecasts did not deteriorate over the period 1980-88, compared with the earlier postwar period. Velocity of M1 is found to be very interest elastic in almost all countries; velocity of M2, less so. The specifications (based on Kalman filters) point to a nonconstant trend in velocity, raising questions about the assumptions required for the cointegration techniques used in other research on money demand.
Interplay between uncertainty and flexibility across the value-chain: Towards a transformation model of manufacturing flexibility

Abstract Traditionally, flexibility, in its reactive application, has been viewed as a coping mechanism against uncertainty in an organization's internal or external environment. It has also been shown that flexibility can be utilized proactively to create a competitive advantage for a company. Despite the recognition that it serves a dual purpose, little work has been done to synthesize these competing uses of flexibility. This study proposes a model that not only articulates an effective use of flexibility concurrently for both proactive and reactive purposes, it also allows a simultaneous view of the opportunities and uncertainties along the value-chain. By embracing the entire value-chain, this model considers the implications of the inter-relating feedback loops within the supply-chain, which to-date has been overlooked in the flexibility literature. Such an approach provides managers with a tool that allows them to consider more options in configuring flexibility between its two competing uses. Within the model, eleven dimensions of flexibility are identified and then classified into three levels comprising a transformation process. This model is grounded in observations from a field study of 10 printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication companies.
On the Use of Approximation Methods for Microcrack Shielding Problems

There is experimental evidence that stress-induced microcracking near a macrocrack tip enhances the fracture toughness of brittle materials. In considering the interaction of the macrocrack with multiple microcracks using a discrete model, it is essential to use approximation methods in order to keep the amount of the computation to a tractable level. However, when crack distances are small, the results of the approximation methods can be significantly different from the numerical solution based upon the exact formulation. The results obtained by these approximation methods will be compared with the numerical solution to show the applicability ranges in which the errors are acceptably small. The use of results obtained by the approximation methods outside applicability ranges in literature is shown to lead to incorrect conclusions concerning microcrack shielding.
Grain refining mechanisms in Mg–Al alloys with Al4C3 microparticles

Abstract Experiments were conducted to examine the grain refining mechanisms in AM60B, pure Mg, and Mg–6%Al with the addition of 5 wt% aluminum carbide (Al 4 C 3 ). Grain refinement was observed in the AM60B and pure Mg with the addition of 5 wt% Al 4 C 3 via two different mechanisms respectively, i.e. duplex nucleation hypothesis (Al 4 C 3 → Al 8 Mn 5 → α-Mg) in AM60B and Al 4 C 3 nuclei hypothesis (Al 4 C 3 → α-Mg) in pure Mg. It is suggested that Mn is required to facilitate significant grain refinement in Mg–Al alloys containing ≥6% Al due to the segregating behavior of Al 4 C 3 particles to the solid–liquid (S–L) interface. Mechanical properties (yield strength, tensile strength, ductility, and microhardness) were enhanced by the addition of Al 4 C 3 to AM60B alloy.
Investigations of the toxic effects in mice of certain species of Penicillium

Abstract Several species of Penicillium isolated from corn were tested for toxicity in mice. Corn cultures of the several species were incubated either at 24 or 16°. After the fungi were treated with chloroform, the cultures were dried and ground for mixing with either chicken mash or a purified diet at a ratio of 2:1 or 1:1 mold culture to diluent. Generally, corn cultures were more toxic when incubated at 24°. Penicillium oxalicum and P. viridicatum were clinically toxic, reducing weight gains and increasing the number of deaths. Other isolates which were less toxic, especially when fed at 1:1 ratio, included P. citrinum, P. variabile, P. purpurogenum, P. expansum, P. multicolor, P. frequentans, P. puberulum, and P. urticae. Only P. viridicatum consistently produced gross and microscopic lesions. About 40% of test mice were jaundiced and had green urine positive for bile pigments. Hepatic lesions including greenish discoloration and mottling of surface due to focal areas of necrosis were observed in most of the mice. Microscopic lesions included disseminated focal areas of necrosis, bile ductule cell hyperplasia, cholangitis and periductular fibrosis often accompanied by hypertrophy and hyperplasia of ductal epithelium. Six isolates of P. viridicatum were tested, and only the NRRL culture failed to elicit the gross and microscopic lesions as described above. A portion of the toxic activity of the P. viridicatum culture appeared to be thermolabile as weight gains were greater and mortality less in group of mice fed the corn culture subjected to steaming.
Self Diagnosis of Lynch Syndrome Using Direct to Consumer Genetic Testing: A Case Study

We are reporting what we believe to be the first published case of patient initiated direct to consumer (DTC) genetic testing to test for the presence of a known familial mutation. Our client in this case is from a known MSH2 family; both his/her parent and associated grandparent have previously tested positive for the known familial MSH2 mutation. Using 23andme’s “family inheritance genome-wide comparison” option we were able to determine that our client most likely inherited the known familial MSH2 mutation without pursuing single site genetic testing. Our client pursued DTC genetic testing instead of single site genetic testing due to the fear of genetic discrimination. This case shows that patients are still fearful of genetic discrimination, despite the passage of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), and that DTC genetic testing may be useful despite the overall negative feeling towards this type of testing in the genetic counseling community.
Consumer support systems

The interaction between businesses and their customers is ripe for the next leap, and it will require a collection of technologies to build new organizational structures such as demand chains, task-based intermediaries, and consumer communities.
“The detail should not fall into dependence on the landscape!” or Brodsky's “On the Talks in Kabul,” Derzhavin, Genre, and Identity

Provoked by two exclamation points, a set of unadventurous rhymes, and a verse form based on relatively long lines and a free dol'nik, my colleague Gerald Smith took it upon himself to investigate the meaning and nature of Brodsky's "On the Talks in Kabul." This may confirm the opinion of some in our field that those of us interested in verse structure have taken leave of our senses. However, these doubting Slavists are wrong. Professor Smith has led us to a rich and substantive problem that lies at the heart of Brodsky's poetics. More than this, the ramifications of the investigation reach beyond Brodsky to include the role of the genre as a force of literary reality, and even more broadly, the role of the poet as a moral presence in the world. They raise questions of identity, power, and politics. What is a poet? What is a state? What is a human being? And what is the relation among these entities? Smith concludes his comments with a question that sums up the issues and seems to imply its own answer. He suggests that the persona of the poem is not Brodsky at all, but a diplomatic functionary at some distance from the poet's self: "Perhaps the text of the poem is best understood as a scathingly ironic representation of the unsayable thoughts that go through the mind or the unconscious of some dimwitted ex-Soviet Russian diplomat as he prepares to face the talks in Kabul?" Perhaps. The meaning of the poem depends on a larger literary context that encompasses both the formal details that drew Professor Smith's attention in the first place, and the work's odd mixture of seriousness, projected Orientalism, and vulgarity. And while Harold Bloom might claim that Brodsky would disguise the context, I would adapt Michael Wachtel's statement about the Symbolists to Brodsky, and argue rather that the omnivorous cosmopolitan Brodsky evinced an "anxious desire to be influenced."' In "On the Talks in Kabul," Brodsky all but forces us to look back to the works of Gavrila Derzhavin, a poet profoundly concerned with issues of empire, power, and moral position, and a poet who also toyed with the identity of his poetic persona and the formal details of the genre of the ode. Brodsky had established his relation to Derzhavin some years earlier with an elegy entitled "Na smert' Zhukova" ("On the Death of Zhukov"), which recasts Derzhavin's "Snigir"'
Fragmentation, Tenderness, and Post-Mortem Metabolism of Early-Harvested Broiler Breast Fillets from Carcasses Treated with Electrical Stimulation and Muscle Tensioning

Abstract Two 72-bird trials were conducted to determine the effects of 15 s electrical stimulation (ES) (440 V, 2 s on and 1 s off) and prechill muscle tensioning (MT) on fragmentation, tenderness, and post-mortem metabolism of early-harvested (1 h post-mortem) broiler breast fillets. Compared with controls, all treatments increased sarcomere length and decreased shear value. Electrical stimulation reduced muscle pH values. Histological examination of samples from fillets harvested early and then aged 24 h revealed that all treatments increased fiber disruption compared with controls. Both fragmentation and excessive sarcomere shortening prevention were important to the improvement in fillet tenderness associated with the ES and MT treatments.
Fast Change Point Detection for electricity market analysis

Electricity is a vital part of our daily life; therefore it is important to avoid irregularities such as the California Electricity Crisis of 2000 and 2001. In this work, we seek to predict anomalies using advanced machine learning algorithms, more specifically a Change Point Detection (CPD) algorithm on the electricity prices during the California Electricity Crisis. Such algorithms are effective, but computationally expensive when applied on a large amount of data. To address this challenge, we accelerate the Gaussian Process (GP) for 1-dimensional time series data. Since GP is at the core of many statistical learning techniques, this improvement could benefit many algorithms. In the specific Change Point Detection algorithm used in this study, we reduce the overall computational complexity from O(n5) to O(n2), where the amountized cost of solving a GP projet is O(1). Our efficient algorithm makes it possible to compute the Change Points using the hourly price data during the California Electricity Crisis. By comparing the detected Change Points with known events, we show that the Change Point Detection algorithm is indeed effective in detecting signals preceding major events.
Intrauterine growth retardation in full-term newborn infants with birth weights greater than 2,500 g

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is an overlooked problem in full-term infants with birth weights greater than 2,500 g. Birth weight less than the 10th percentile underestimates the presence of IUGR. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of IUGR in full-term infants and to identify sociodemographic and maternal characteristics associated with IUGR. The Ohio Department of Health Vital Statistics database was used to obtain data related to sociodemographic and maternal characteristics. The fetal growth ratio (FGR) was used to determine the presence of IUGR. The sample consisted of 1,569 infants with normal ratios and 1,364 infants classified as IUGR. Infants with IUGR were more often male and African American or Asian American. Maternal characteristics associated with IUGR included history of smoking during pregnancy, lower pre-pregnancy weight, lower weight gain during pregnancy, and inadequate prenatal care. IUGR is present in a significant number of full-term infants with birth weights greater than 2,500 g. The long-term effects of IUGR in these infants remain to be determined.
Use and safety of antihistamines in children

: Although first-generation antihistamines remain popular for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and urticaria in children, second- and third-generation antihistamines hold clear advantages over the first-generation agents, especially for the pediatric patient. The less frequent dosing schedule of the second- and third-generation agents makes administration easier for the parent. With less sedation and lower risk of adverse effects, the safety profile of second- and third-generation agents appears superior to that of first-generation agents. After briefly discussing the use of first-generation antihistamines, the pharmacokinetics, safety, and use of the newer antihistamines loratadine, cetirizine, and fexofenadine in the pediatric patient are reviewed.
Effects of Pathogenic Proline Mutations on Myosin Assembly

Laing distal myopathy (MPD1) is a genetically dominant myopathy characterized by early and selective weakness of the distal muscles. Mutations in the MYH7 gene encoding for the β-myosin heavy chain are the underlying genetic cause of MPD1. However, their pathogenic mechanisms are currently unknown. Here, we measure the biological effects of the R1500P and L1706P MPD1 mutations in different cellular systems. We show that, while the two mutations inhibit myosin self-assembly in non-muscle cells, they do not prevent incorporation of the mutant myosin into sarcomeres. Nevertheless, we find that the L1706P mutation affects proper antiparallel myosin association by accumulating in the bare zone of the sarcomere. Furthermore, bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay shows that the α-helix containing the R1500P mutation folds into homodimeric (mutant/mutant) and heterodimeric [mutant/wild type (WT)] myosin molecules that are competent for sarcomere incorporation. Both mutations also form aggregates consisting of cytoplasmic vacuoles surrounding paracrystalline arrays and amorphous rod-like inclusions that sequester WT myosin. Myosin aggregates were also detected in transgenic nematodes expressing the R1500P mutation. By showing that the two MPD1 mutations can have dominant effects on distinct components of the contractile apparatus, our data provide the first insights into the pathogenesis of the disease.
Using the Mini-Session Course Format To Train Students in the Practical Aspects of Modern Mass Spectrometry

Mass spectrometry (MS) has been gaining in popularity in recent years owing in large part to the development of soft-ionization techniques such as matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI). These soft-ionization techniques have opened up the field of MS analysis to biomolecules, polymers, and other high molecular weight materials. The growing publication rate and a quick survey of available job postings requiring MS skill sets illustrate the importance of properly training students in the use of modern MS techniques. Many colleges and universities are unable to hire full-time technical staff devoted to student training on the use of MS equipment. The lack of technical staff results in less than adequate student training on the use of MS equipment, which ultimately leads to student apprehension about using the instruments regularly in their research projects. Herein, we report on our efforts utilizing a mini-session course format (one week with 40 contact hours) ...
Secretory vesicle - cytosol interactions in exocytosis: isolation by Ca2+-dependent affinity chromatography of proteins that bind to the chromaffin granule membrane.

Abstract Proteins from adrenal medullary cytosol that bind to chromaffin granule membranes in the presence of Ca 2+ were isolated by affinity chromatography on granule membranes coupled to Sepharose 4B. Cytosol was applied to the affinity column in the presence of 2 mM free Ca 2+ . One group of proteins was eluted at 50 μM Ca 2+ and had molecular weights of 60,000, 46,000, 36,000, 34,000, 32,000 and 26,000. At 0.1 μM Ca 2+ additional proteins of molecular weights 70,000, 44,000 and 33,000 were eluted. Both groups of proteins aggregated isolated chromaffin granules in the presence of Ca 2+ . Since exocytosis involves cytosol-membrane interactions regulated by Ca 2+ , these proteins may have functional roles in this process. The term “chromobindins” is introduced to describe these proteins.
The preparation of α,ω-dibromopermethylpolysilanes and characterization of these and related chloropermethylpolysilanes by mass spectrometry

The series of α,ω-dibromopermethylpolysilanes, Br(SiMe2)nBr, (n = 2−6) has been prepared by the action of bromine on dodecamethylcyclohexasilane. The mass spectra of these compounds, of the corresponding chlorine compounds Cl(SiMe2)nCl (n = 2−6), and of the 1-chloropermethylpolysilanes Cl(SiMe2)Me (n = 2, 3, 4, 6) have been recorded at 14 and 70 eV. For compounds with n > 3, the formation of the ions Si3Me6X+ and Si4Me8X+ (X = Cl, Br) is strongly favored, with these ions being major or base peaks in the spectra. It is proposed that the stability of these ions is due to cyclization and bridging: