cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enabling Mars Radio Occultation by Smallsats

We introduce a Mars Radio Occultation (RO) mission concept leveraging on small satellite (smallsat) technologies that will enable measurements that address both Mars science and exploration priorities. The RO technique measures the Doppler shift of radio signals of a spacecraft occulting behind a planet's limb, providing information about the planet's atmospheric density, temperature, and pressure profiles. We design a smallsat constellation and simulate “crosslink” RO observations between the smallsats to determine the expected accuracy and spatiotemporal coverage of Mars RO atmospheric profiles. Such measurements are key to spacecraft Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL), and Ascent from the Surface (AST) of Mars. Today, the number of Mars atmospheric profiles measurements with high vertical resolution is limited, especially near the surface where satellite-based passive measurements are inhibited by atmospheric absorption. We find that crosslink ROs between a constellation of six smallsats provide global and diurnal cycle coverage with dozens of occultations per day, providing temperature information from near-surface up to ~45 km with altitude-dependent accuracy that ranges between <0.5 K at lower altitude to <5 K in the middle-to-upper atmosphere. Ionospheric ROs measure the electron density with accuracy of ~5 - 10% at the peak ionospheric height between 100 and 140 km. We conclude that measurement by a smallsat constellation can augment existing observing platforms by reducing observational gaps and yield high resolution measurements required for safe spacecraft operations during EDL and AST.
The formation mechanism, growth, and effect on the mechanical properties of precipitate free zones in the alumina-forming austenitic stainless steel Fe–20Cr–30Ni–2Nb–5Al during creep

Abstract The mechanisms of formation and growth of L12 precipitate-free zones (PFZs) in the alumina-forming austenitic stainless steel Fe–20Cr–30Ni–2Nb–5Al during creep were studied using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The PFZs formed following the dissolution of L12 precipitates due to depletion of nickel and aluminum. Little PFZ growth occurred until the grain boundaries were substantially covered by Laves phase and B2 precipitates large enough to deplete the surrounding grain of nickel and aluminum. This resulted in the dissolution of the L12 precipitates. Additionally, micro-cracks observed in the PFZ at long creep times suggest that the PFZ is ultimately the weakest point in the microstructure, and that fracture initiates there.
Off-axis microsphere photolithography patterned nanohole array and other structures on an optical fiber tip for glucose sensing

Microsphere photolithography (MPL) using off-axis UV exposure is a technique that uses a layer of self-assembled microspheres as an optical mask to project different periodic nanopatterns. This paper introduces MPL as an alternative fabrication technique to pattern complex metasurfaces on an optical single mode fiber tip as a sensor for measuring refractive index. Based on the hexagonal close packing microsphere array, complicated metasurfaces were successfully created by changing the UV illumination angle. Using the same self-assembled microspheres monolayer, multiple UV illumination jets were projected to create multiple hole group patterns. Fiber sensors with three-hole group and four-hole group patterns were fabricated and tested with different glucose concentrations in water. The different concentration solutions have various refractive indexes, which result in the shift of the metasurface resonant wavelength, represented as sensitivity. The testing results show that the three-hole group and four-hole group have the sensitivity of 906 nm per RIU and 675 nm per RIU, respectively. Finite element analysis was used to model the fiber sensor's surrounding with different refractive index solutions. These new pattern metasurface coated fibers' refractive index sensitivity has increased by 40% compared to our previous work, while the technique still provides a cost-effective, flexible, high-throughput fabrication of the fiber sensor.
Social Media and Academic Impact: Do Early Tweets Correlate With Future Citations?

Objective:Determine whether social media platforms can influence article impact as measured by citations.Methods:Cross-sectional study that analyzed articles published in the top 10 otolaryngology ...
Indolent nonendemic central nervous system histoplasmosis presenting as an isolated intramedullary enhancing spinal cord lesion

Background Histoplasma capsulatum infection is largely seen in endemic regions; it results in symptomatic disease in Case description We present an atypical case of a 44-year-old man from a nonendemic region, on adalimumab therapy for ulcerative colitis who developed an isolated intramedullary spinal cord lesion in the setting of disseminated histoplasmosis. His course was initially indolent with vague systemic symptoms that led to consideration of several other diagnoses including sarcoidosis and lymphoma. Biopsies of several positron emission tomography positive lymph nodes revealed granulomatous inflammation, but no firm diagnosis was achieved. He was ultimately diagnosed with histoplasmosis after an acute respiratory infection in the setting of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy. With appropriate antifungal therapy, the spinal cord lesion regressed. The previous systemic biopsies were re-reviewed, and rare fungal elements consistent with H. capsulatum were identified. A presumptive diagnosis of CNS histoplasmosis was made in the absence of direct laboratory confirmation in the setting of rapid and complete resolution on antifungal therapy. Conclusion Disseminated histoplasmosis should be considered in granulomatous disease, even if the patient resides in a nonendemic region. Furthermore, clinicians should be mindful that CNS histoplasmosis may present in an atypical fashion.
Clinical Development of Metal Complexes as Photosensitizers for Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer

Cancer has emerged over the last decades as one of the deadliest diseases in the world. Among the most commonly used techniques (i.e. surgery, immunotherapy, radiotherapy or chemotherapy), increasing attention has been devoted towards photodynamic therapy. However, the vast majority of clinically applied photosensitisers are not ideal and associated with several limitations including poor aqueous solubility, poor photostability and slow clearance from the body, causing photosensitivity. In an effort to overcome these drawbacks, much attention has been devoted towards the incorporation of a metal ion. Herein, the clinical development of metal containing compounds including Purlytin ® , Lutrin ® /Antrin ® , Photosens ® , TOOKAD ® soluble or TLD-1433 is critically reviewed.
MRI and PET of CNS delayed radiation injury in an animal model

Delayed CNS radiation injury was studied with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) in the rabbit brain using 225 keV X-rays (60 Gy) and 230 MeV/u Bragg peak helium ions (15 and 30 Gy) to the left hemisphere. MRI at 2.5 months after X-irradiation showed increased signal on T2-weighted images and T1-weighted gadolinium(Gd)-DTPA contrast enhancement indicating increased tissue water content and blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was reduced in the irradiated hemisphere. The 15 Gy helium irradiated cases showed no alterations on imaging studies. The 30 Gy cases showed alterations at 9–11 months including high signal on T2-weighted MR images and enhancement on Tl-weighted Gd-DTPA MR images, primarily in the central white matter tracts and thalamus. These regions also showed reduced glucose utilization, measured by [18]FDG PET, and breakdown of the BBB, identified by [82]Rb PET. Histopathology showed white matter de-myelination and edema corresponding to high signal changes on T2-weighted MRI and cystic necrosis with gliosis and dilated blood vessels in the thalamus, corresponding to Gd-DTPA contrast enhancement and [82] Rb PET. Cerebrovascular effects with BBB breakdown and tissue edema or necrosis may be a final common pathway for both “early delayed” CNS injury from high dose X-ray exposure and “late delayed” injury from heavy charged particle (helium) irradiation.
Software Applications to Three-Dimensional Visualization of Forest Landscapes — A Case Study Demonstrating the Use of Visual Nature Studio (VNS) in Visualizing Fire Spread in Forest Landscapes

Three-dimensional (3D) visualization is a useful tool that depicts virtual forest landscapes on computer. Previous studies in visualization have required high end computer hardware and specialized technical skills. A virtual forest landscape can be used to show different effects of disturbances and management scenarios on a computer, which allows observation of forest landscapes without time limitations. This chapter lists updated methods and software used for 3D visualization of forest landscapes, and demonstrates a fire visualization using Visual Nature Studio and standard computer hardware. Elevation and vegetation data were used to create a representation of the New Jersey pine barrens environment. Photographic images were edited to use as image object models for forest vegetation. The FARSITE fire behavioral model was used to model a fire typical of that area. Output from FARSITE was used to visualize the fire with tree models edited to simulate burning and flame models. Both static and animated views of the fire spread and effects were visualized. The visualization method was evaluated for advantages and disadvantages. VNS visualization is realistic, including many effects such as ground textures, lighting, user-made models, and atmospheric effects. However VNS has additional hardware requirements in terms or memory or hard drive space and sometimes renders images slowly.
Structure and function of the J chain.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the role of the J chain in determining the initiation of synthesis, the assembly, and the biologic properties of polymer immunoglobulins (Ig). It is particularly important, because the J chain, via its essential role in IgM polymerization, appears to be a critical factor in the initiation of the immune response and its conversion from IgM to IgG production. The characterization of the J Chain is discussed in the chapter, including its isolation, physical properties, and chemical properties. The relationship of J Chain to IgA and IgM polymers is described in the chapter, including the mode of attachment and stoichiometry. The quantitative measurements of J-chain stoichiometry became possible once its molecular weight was determined and its amino acid composition could be expressed as residues per mole. The monomer IgM is the major antigen specific receptor on the surface of bone-marrow-derived lymphocytes. The structural homology among J chains of various species also suggests that the J chain has a vital function.
Laser photovaporization of endometrium for the treatment of menorrhagia

Abstract As an alternative to hysterectomy in patients with excessive bleeding, the endometrium was destroyed by means of the neodymium-YAG laser. The photovaporization was done under direct vision through a hysteroscope. Twenty-two patients have been treated, all but one successfully, i.e., little or no menstrual flow. The human uterus having a thick myometrium was found to be ideal for this modality. To suppress endometrial regeneration further, each patient was placed on a regimen of danazol for 2 to 3 weeks prior to and after the procedure. Hysterograms after laser photovaporization showed variable degrees of uterine contraction, scarring, and adhesion formation. Biopsies of the endometrial surface up to 20 months following the procedure showed no evidence of inflammation other than foreign body giant cell reaction around carbon particles. Minimal endometrial regeneration occurred.
A temporal mechanism for generating the phase precession of hippocampal place cells

The phase relationship between the activity of hippocampal place cells and the hippocampal theta rhythm systematically precesses as the animal runs through the region in an environment called the place field of the cell. We present a minimal biophysical model of the phase precession of place cells in region CA3 of the hippocampus. The model describes the dynamics of two coupled point neurons—namely, a pyramidal cell and an interneuron, the latter of which is driven by a pacemaker input. Outside of the place field, the network displays a stable, background firing pattern that is locked to the theta rhythm. The pacemaker input drives the interneuron, which in turn activates the pyramidal cell. A single stimulus to the pyramidal cell from the dentate gyrus, simulating entrance into the place field, reorganizes the functional roles of the cells in the network for a number of cycles of the theta rhythm. In the reorganized network, the pyramidal cell drives the interneuron at a higher frequency than the theta frequency, thus causing a systematic precession relative to the theta input. The frequency of the pyramidal cell can vary to account for changes in the animal's running speed. The transient dynamics end after up to 360 degrees of phase precession when the pacemaker input to the interneuron occurs at a phase to return the network to the stable background firing pattern, thus signaling the end of the place field. Our model, in contrast to others, reports that phase precession is a temporally, and not spatially, controlled process. We also predict that like pyramidal cells, interneurons phase precess. Our model provides a mechanism for shutting off place cell firing after the animal has crossed the place field, and it explains the observed nearly 360 degrees of phase precession. We also describe how this model is consistent with a proposed autoassociative memory role of the CA3 region.
A fast longest common subsequence algorithm for similar strings

The longest common subsequence problem is a very important computational problem for which there are many algorithms. We present a new algorithm for this problem. Let X and Y be any two given strings each of length O(n). We observe that a longest common subsequence can be obtained by using longest common prefixes of suffixes (longest common extensions) of X and Y. The longest common extension problem asks for the longest common prefix of suffixes starting in a given pair of positions in X and Y, respectively. Let e be the number of edit operations, insert, delete, and substitute to change X to Y (i.e. let e be the edit distance between X and Y). Our algorithm visits $O(\min\{en,(1+\sqrt{2})^{2e+1})$ nodes in the edit graph, and for every visited node, performs one longest common extension query. Each of these queries can be answered in constant time if we represent the strings by a suffix tree or a suffix array. These data structures can be created in linear time. We do not assume that the edit distance e is known beforehand, therefore we try values for e starting with e=1 (without loss of generality X≠Y) and double e until our algorithm finds a longest common subsequence. The total time complexity of our algorithm is $O(\min\{en\log{n},n+e(1+\sqrt{2})^{2e+1}\})$. This is a better time complexity result compared to those of existing solutions for the problem when e is small. For example, when $e\leq \frac{1}{3}((\log_{(1+\sqrt{2})}~{n})-1)$ our algorithm finds an optimal solution in time O(n).
Ca2+ changes induced by different presynaptic nicotinic receptors in separate populations of individual striatal nerve terminals

Presynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors likely play a modulatory role in the nerve terminal. Using laser-scanning confocal microscopy, we have characterized physiological responses obtained on activation of presynaptic nicotinic receptors by measuring calcium changes in individual nerve terminals (synaptosomes) isolated from the rat corpus striatum. Nicotine (500 nm) induced Ca2+ changes in a subset (10–25%) of synaptosomes. The Ca2+ responses were dependent on extracellular Ca2+ and desensitized very slowly (several minutes) on prolonged exposure to agonist. The nicotine-induced Ca2+ responses were dose-dependent and were completely blocked by dihydro-β-erythroidine (5 µm), differentially affected by mecamylamine (10 µm) and α-conotoxin MII (100 nm), and not affected by α-bungarotoxin (500 nm). Immunocytochemical studies using well-characterized monoclonal antibodies revealed the presence of the α4 and α3/α5 nicotinic subunits. The nicotine-induced responses were unaffected by prior depolarization or by a mixture of Ca2+ channel toxins including ω-conotoxin MVIIC (500 nm), ω-conotoxin GVIA (500 nm) and agatoxin TK (200 nm). Our results indicate that nicotinic receptors present on striatal nerve terminals induce Ca2+ entry largely without involving voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, most likely by direct permeation via the receptor channel itself. In addition, at least two subpopulations of presynaptic nicotinic receptors reside on separate terminals in the striatum, suggesting distinct modulatory roles.
Varicella zoster virus retrobulbar optic neuritis preceding retinitis in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome

Abstract Objective This study aimed to describe a recently recognized and rare presentation of varicella zoster virus (VZV) retrobulbar optic neuritis preceding retinitis in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome and to identify factors that may relate to improved visual outcome. Methods Diagnosis, treatment, and clinical course are described for three eyes of two patients with this viral infection. Results Patients had decreased vision, headache, and recent zoster dermatitis. Varicella zoster virus retrobulbar optic neuritis was diagnosed on the bases of clinical, laboratory, and electrophysiologic examination results. Profound vision loss and peripheral retinitis ensued despite intravenous antiviral treatment. Combination intravenous and intravitreous antiviral injections were administered with dramatic visual recovery. Conclusions Varicella zoster virus retrobulbar optic neuritis should be considered in immunocompromised patients with visual loss. Early diagnosis and aggressive combination therapy via systemic and intravitreous routes may enable return of useful vision.
Trends in medication prescribing for pediatric sleep difficulties in US outpatient settings.

OBJECTIVES This study examined trends in physician-prescribing of medications for children with sleep difficulties in outpatient settings in the US. Additionally, we explored the incidence of physician prescribing patterns of medications with high abuse potential for children with sleep difficulties. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients aged < or =17 years with sleep difficulties from 1993-2004 using data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). Office visits were considered related to sleep difficulties if relevant ICD-9 codes were recorded and if sleep difficulties were reported as the reason for the visits. Medications were retrieved using the NAMCS drug codes, and all analyses were weighted to determine national estimates. RESULTS During 1993 to 2004, approximately 18.6 million visits occurred for sleep related difficulty in children. The highest percentage of visits were by school-aged children (6 to 12 years). Pediatricians saw 35% of patients, psychiatrists saw 24%, and general/family practice physicians saw 13% of the patients. Eighty-one percent of visits among children with sleep difficulties resulted in a prescription for a medication. Many of these medications prescribed lack FDA approved labeling to assure their effectiveness and safety in this population. CONCLUSION The findings of this study suggest that physicians frequently prescribed medications for sleep difficulties in children in US outpatient settings. Of particular concern is prescribing of many unapproved medications for this population.
Goodbye to Law Reviews – Revisited

Twenty-five years ago Professor Rodell, as part of a series of articles on the value of law reviews appearing in the first issue of Volume 23 of the Review, wrote his "last law review article." To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of that "last" article, which did, incidentally acquire a certain amount of fame, or possibly notoriety, the editors asked Professor Rodell to give an account of his present-day impressions of law reviews. Offered here is his original article, together with his recent "supplement," not only as a humorous change of pace from the usual law review make-up, but also for the poignant remarks they contain on law review make-up and style, legal writing, and scholarship in general.
Electronic Structure of Monoclinic BiVO4

A comprehensive approach to understanding the electronic structure of monoclinic scheelite bismuth vanadate (ms-BiVO4), including both valence band (VB) and conduction band (CB) orbital character, is presented. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are directly compared to experimental data obtained via X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), X-ray emission spectroscopy, resonant inelastic X-ray spectroscopy (RIXS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to provide a complete portrait of the total and partial density of states (DOS) near the bandgap. DFT calculations are presented to confirm the VB maximum and CB minimum are comprised primarily of O 2p and V 3d orbitals, respectively. Predicted triplet d-manifold splitting of V 3d CB states, arising from lone pair-induced lattice distortions, is quantified by V L- and O K-edge XAS. Furthermore, the partial contributions to the total DOS within both the CB and VB, determined by RIXS, are found to be in excellent agreement with DFT calculations. Energy le...
Circulant matrices and affine equivalence of monomial rotation symmetric Boolean functions

The goal of this paper is two-fold. We first focus on the problem of deciding whether two monomial rotation symmetric (MRS) Boolean functions are affine equivalent via a permutation. Using a correspondence between such functions and circulant matrices, we give a simple necessary and sufficient condition. We connect this problem with the well known Adam's conjecture from graph theory. As applications, we reprove easily several main results of Cusick et?al. on the number of equivalence classes under permutations for MRS in prime power dimensions, as well as give a count for the number of classes in p q number of variables, where p , q are prime numbers with? p < q < p 2 . Also, we find a connection between the generalized inverse of a circulant matrix and the invertibility of its generating polynomial over? F 2 , modulo a product of cyclotomic polynomials, thus generalizing a known result on nonsingular circulant matrices.
Efficient statistical pruning for maximum likelihood decoding

In many communications problems, maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding reduces to finding the closest (skewed) lattice point in N-dimensions to a given point x/spl isin/C/sup N/. In its full generality, this problem is known to be NP-complete and requires exponential complexity in N. Recently, the expected complexity of the sphere decoder, a particular algorithm that solves the ML problem exactly, has been computed; it is shown that, over a wide range of rates, SNRs and dimensions, the expected complexity is polynomial in N. We propose an algorithm that, for large N, offers substantial computational savings over the sphere decoder, while maintaining performance arbitrarily close to ML. The method is based on statistically pruning the search space. Simulations are presented to show the algorithm's performance and the computational savings relative to the sphere decoder.
Foreign Capital, Spillovers and Export Performance in Emerging Economies: Evidence from Indian IT Firms

The role of foreign capital inflow, foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio investment (FPI), on export behavior of both recipients and non-recipient competing firms in the same sector often guides economic development policy. By using panel data of Indian IT firms over 2000–2006, we show that FDI reduces the sunk costs of entering foreign markets and therefore positively effects both the decision to export and the export propensity of recipient firms. Foreign portfolio investment has no effect on the decision to export, but it does marginally increase the volume of exports. Further, these positive FDI and FPI recipient effects do not spill-over to non-recipients.
NH(A3Π → X3Σ-) Chemiluminescence from the CH(X2 Π) + NO reaction

Abstract NH(A 3 Π → X 3 Σ − ) and OH(A 2 Σ + → X 2 Π) chemiluminescences from the reaction of CH(X 2 Π) with NO and O 2 , respectively, have been observed at room temperature. From the decay of such emissions we have measured the rate constants for these two reactions: k NO = (2.5 ± 0.5) × 10 −10 and k O 2 = (8 ± 3) × 10 −11 cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 , which are in agreement with previously reported rates determined by direct CH(X) detection using, laser-induced fluorescence. This indicates that a four-centered mechanism generating these excited species is operative in both reactions. The CH generation from 266 nm photolysis of CHBr 3 has also been investigated via analysis of CH* emissions.
A Neural Network for Planning Hand Shapes in Human Prehension

Quantifying human hand movement is a problem that interests both motor psychologists, in studying human behavior, and robot designers, in reproducing it. We attempt to capture the functionality of human prehensile movement using abstracted concepts such as virtual fingers and opposition space. We describe a neural network that maps object/task properties into a prehensile posture, relating the mapping to empirical evidence.
A probabilistic model of brittle crack formation

Probability of a brittle crack formation in an elastic solid with fluctuating strength is considered. A set Omega of all possible crack trajectories reflecting the fluctuation of the strength field is introduced. The probability P(X) that crack penetration depth exceeds X is expressed as a functional integral over Omega of a conditional probability of the same event taking place along a particular path. Various techniques are considered to evaluate the integral. Under rather nonrestrictive assumptions, the integral is reduced to solving a diffusion-type equation. A new characteristic of fracture process, 'crack diffusion coefficient', is introduced. An illustrative example is then considered where the integration is reduced to solving an ordinary differential equation. The effect of the crack diffusion coefficient and of the magnitude of strength fluctuations on probability density of crack penetration depth is presented. Practical implications of the proposed model are discussed.
Assessment of Muscle Vascular Disease with Diffuse Light

Near-infrared diffuse optical spectroscopies were used to measure noninvasively the dynamics of muscle blood flow, blood oxygenation, and oxygen consumption for evaluation of microcirculation and tissue metabolism in the patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
Latency Minimizing Tasking for Information Processing Systems

Real-time cyber-physical systems and information processing clusters require system designers to consider the total latency involved in collecting and aggregating data. For example, applications such as wild-fire monitoring require data to be presented to users in a timely manner. However, most models and algorithms for sensor networks have focused on alternative metrics such as energy efficiency. In this paper, we present a new model of sensor network aggregation that focuses on total latency. Our model is flexible and enables users to configure varying transmission and computation time on a node-by-node basis, and thus enables the simulation of complex computational phenomena. In addition, we present results from three tasking algorithms that trade-off local communication for overall latency performance. These algorithms are evaluated in simulated networks of up to 200 nodes.
Three model systems measure oxidation/nitration damage caused by peroxynitrite

Diseases activate the innate immune response which causes ancillary damage to the human body. Peroxynitrite (OONO-) or its carbon dioxide derivatives cause oxidation/nitration and hence mutation to various body polymers e.g. DNA, RNA, protein, lipids and sugars. The control of the ancillary damage can come from antioxidants which inhibit control the amount of peroxynitrite available for damage. In this paper we have developed three different levels of antioxidant screening: (i) Peroxynitrite or SIN-1 reaction with luminol to produce light, and the inhibition of light by substances therefore represents antioxidation. (ii) Nicking of plasmid DNA occurs via oxidants: and is prevented by antioxidants. (iii) Detection of plasmid luciferase activity post-oxidation and infection indicates either prevention or repair of damage: via antioxidants. We found green tea and a number of its polyphenolic constituents effective only at the first level of antioxidation, while extracts of various fruit help at all levels antioxidation. In the final analysis, a combination of green tea extracts and fruits is suggested to produce more complete antioxidant protection.
Efficient large-scale hybrid fluid simulation

State-of-the-art methods for fluid simulation, including velocity-based grid methods and smoothed particle hydrodynamics [Bridson and Muller-Fischer 2007], require a detail vs. domain size tradeoff. As a result, scenes with large spatial scales are restricted to coarse detail under the restriction of limited computational resources. The elliptic problems solved for incompressibility projection in these simulations are bandwidth-bound, since domains of interest are not cache resident on current generation hardware. As a result, limited optimization is possible, and interactive performance is not possible for medium-large scenes.
Development of crosslinked fully aromatic polyamide ultra-thin composite membranes for seawater desalination

A crosslinked fully aromatic polyamide ultra-thin composite membrane, designated UTC-80, has been developed for seawater desalination. The excellent membrane performance was derived from the combination of both design of membrane materials and membrane fabrication technology. SU-820 spiral wound membrane element using UTC-80 membrane has high salt rejection (99.75%) and high water productivity (16 m3/d) at 56 kg/cm2 for live seawater fed at 25°C. We found that the trihalomethane rejection of the UTC-80 membrane was much higher even in the case of the seawater desalination compared to cellulose acetate membrane. The affinity of trihalomethane with membrane materials is presumed to cause the difference of trihalomethane rejection.
Interplay between hydrodynamic and thermodynamic behavior in macromolecular coils in dilute solution

The dynamic light scattering technique of photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) is a sensitive and noninvasive method of probing spontaneous fluctuations in macromolecular solutions. PCS was used to study the wavevector dependence (wavevector magnitude, q) for a wide range of q of intracoil relaxations for a very large, linear polystyrene in both good and theta solvents and a clear coupling between intracoil excluded volume behavior and hydrodynamic interactions was observed. Moreover, the marked concentration dependence of the overall intracoil relaxation for the same polystyrene in good solvent revealed the important role strong intercoil interactions, i.e. `collisions,' played in this system while the absence of this dependence and thus of collisions, in the corresponding theta system highlighted the important role played by thermodynamics in determining the magnitude of the effect of intercoil behavior on intracoil behavior. These results were also consistent with those of an earlier study of coil-coil interactions in dilute solution in which it was also found that thermodynamics played the dominant role.
Nutrient recoveries from plug-flow anaerobic digestion of poultry manure

Abstract Anaerobic digestion provides for the production of a biogas fuel while concurrently conserving the nutrient value of manures used. The nutrients placed in anaerobic digesters are, however, subject to possible transformations. The objectives of this study were to evaluate changes in the N composition following plug-flow digestion of poultry manure, and to determine the distribution of N, K, P, Ca and Mg between the outflowing effluent and the settled manure sludge which remained in the digester. Total Kjeldhal N (TKN) was completely recovered in the pilot-scale digestion operated with 6% influent TS, 35°C and 30 day retention time. Mineralization of poultry manure organic N by the digestion process was 53%. Consequently, NH4+-N in the digested manure accounted for the large majority (79·6%) of the TKN. The effluent accounted for the majority of the N and K present in the digested manure (91·2 and 95·9%, respectively). The settled manure sludge, accounted for 26·3% of the recovered TS and contained approximately 30% of the P, Ca and Mg.
On continuous extensions.

We consider various possiblities concerning the continuous extension of continuous functions taking values in an ultrametric space. In Section 1 we consider Tietze-type exetension theorems concerning continuous extendibility of continuous functions from compact and closed subsets to the whole space. In Sections 2 and 3 we consider extending “separated” continous functions in such a way that, certain continuous extensions remain separated. Functgions taking values in a complete ultravalued field are dealt with in Section 2, and the real and complex cases in Section 3.
Review of the Book Essential Statistical Inference, by Boos and Stefanski

Prepared for JABES I was delighted when I was approached to review the book “Essential Statistical Inference” by Boos and Stefanski as I know the authors as thoughtful scholars who have a great understanding of statistical foundations, theory and practice. I was not disappointed! The book is aimed at Ph.D. students in statistics who have already taken some basic graduate level Mathematical Statistics course. It succeeded in being at the perfect level to be beneficial to every statistic student. To the theoretically minded student it brings an exposure to how applications motivates statistics while to the applied student it gives theoretically motivated understanding ofwhy themethodswork. It also contains explanation of numerical methods including some implementation in R. The book is divided into 5 main parts. The first part is brief and brings motivating examples. In my opinion it could be assigned as reading to students who already had some exposure to statistical reasoning. Part II, Likelihood BasedMethods is about 1/3 of the book and feels like the main part. It is mainlymethodological. Instead of formally deriving themethods the bookmotivates them on examples and explains the reasoning behind eachmethod including some history. Thanks to the thoughtful presentation reader is lead to more than just mechanical understanding of how touse themethod. Part II startswith tips ondeveloping an appropriate likelihood inmany situations with examples far beyond the ones that are typically covered in a similar course. It continues to explore methodological and numerical aspects maximum likelihood estimator. Testing section mainly contrasts the Wald, score and likelihood ratio tests giving a good explanation of their relative strengths and weaknesses. I particularly enjoyed the graphical
Reply to "Consequence of lack of invariance under active Lorentz transformations"

The theory of tachyons described in my earlier work is invariant under both active and passive Lorentz transformations. The conclusion of Rolnick to the contrary is based on taking an insufficient general set of tachyon distributions in conjunction with a given electron state.
Targets of horizontal connections in macaque primary visual cortex

Pyramidal neurons within the cerebral cortex are known to make long-range horizontal connections via an extensive axonal collateral system. The synaptic characteristics and specificities of these connections were studied at the ultrastructural level. Two superficial layer pyramidal cells in the primate striate cortex were labeled by intracellular injections with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and their axon terminals were subsequently examined with the technique of electron microscopic (EM) serial reconstruction. At the light microscopic level both cells showed the characteristic pattern of widespread, clustered axon collaterals. We examined collateral clusters located near the dendritic field (proximal) and approximately 0.5 mm away (distal). The synapses were of the asymmetric/round vesicle variety (type I), and were therefore presumably excitatory. Three-quarters of the postsynaptic targets were the dendritic spines of other pyramidal cells. A few of the axodendritic synapses were with the shafts of pyramidal cells, bringing the proportion of pyramidal cell targets to 80%. The remaining labeled endings were made with the dendritic shafts of smooth stellate cells, which are presumed to be (GABA)ergic inhibitory cells. On the basis of serial reconstruction of a few of these cells and their dendrites, a likely candidate for one target inhibitory cell is the small-medium basket cell. Taken together, this pattern of outputs suggests a mixture of postsynaptic effects mediated by consequence the horizontal connections may well be the substrate for the variety of influences observed between the receptive field center and its surround.
LINKAGE DISEQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES AND THE KIDD BLOOD GROUP Jkb ALLELE

We studied 102 randomly ascertained probands from the Upper Midwest United States with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) with respect to both HLA-DR and Kidd (Jk) markers. Based on our evidence that multiple genetic mechanisms may be involved in the etiology of IDDM the data were partitioned according to the HLA-DR phenotype, containing either two high risk antigens (DR3 or DR4) or not. Probands with two such antigens showed no appreciable deviation from control frequencies, while the remainder displayed a slightly reduced relative risk for Jka (RR=0.70, p<25), but a significantly elevated risk for Jkb (RR=2.53, p<025). These results strongly suggest a complex model of IDDM inheritance involving, at least, one susceptibility locus in linkage disequilibrium with HLA DR3 and DR4 on chromosome 6, and a second locus in linkage disequilibrium with Jk3 on chromosome 2.
Effect of Wavelength Drift on Single- and Multi-Instrument Calibration Using Genetic Regression

The ability of genetic regression (GR) to correct for wavelength drift in instrument responses was investigated in single- and multi-instrument calibrations. Sample spectra of ternary mixtures were collected on two near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers, one a dispersive instrument and one a Fourier transform instrument, with different resolutions. In the first and second cases, calibration models were generated with the use of spectra collected on a single instrument. For the third case, hybrid calibration models (HCMs) were built in order to combine spectra from two instruments into one calibration model. In order to simulate a wavelength shift, some of the spectra were shifted along the wavelength axis from 0 nm to 6 nm. The performance of GR was poor when calibration models produced from unshifted spectra were used to predict shifted spectra. However, the inclusion of shifted spectra in the calibration model corrected the prediction of shifted and unshifted spectra at levels similar to those of models built and evaluated by using only unshifted spectra.
Surgery for pelvic organ prolapse: a historical perspective.

Surgical treatment of pelvic organ prolapse has evolved from the use of pomegranates as pessary devices to contemporary robot-assisted laparoscopic sacral colpopexy. Symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse requires correction of all the defects to achieve optimal outcomes. Factors to consider in selecting the appropriate repair include patient’s age; stage of prolapse; vaginal length; hormonal status; desire for uterine preservation and coitus; symptoms of sexual, urinary, or bowel dysfunction; and any comorbidities that influence her eligibility for anesthesia or chronically increase intra-abdominal pressure. There is currently no consensus as to the best surgical approach for advanced pelvic organ prolapse. Reconstructive surgery for pelvic organ prolapse is currently performed by vaginal or abdominal (open, laparoscopic, and robotic approaches) approaches or a combination. It is important to maintain skills in proven procedures such as abdominal sacrocolpopexy and sacrospinous ligament suspension. This paper discusses the historical evolution of surgery for pelvic organ prolapse from antiquity to date.
Responsiveness to lipolytic hormones, and inactivation of adrenocorticotropin, by adipose tissue slices and free fat cells from different mammalian species.

The adipose tissues of rat, hamster and guinea pig are known to differ from each other in capacity to respond to the lipolytic action of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), β-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (β-MSH), thyroidstimulating hormone (TSH), glucagon and epinephrine, and in capacity of the homogenized tissue, to destroy the lipolytic activity of ACTH and other lipolytic pituitary peptides. In order to learn whether these species differences reside in the fat cells, or in other components of the adipose tissue, (a) adipose tissue slices and free fat cells (prepared by the collagenase technique of Rodbell) from the same rat, hamster or guinea pig were incubated with ACTH, β-MSH, TSH, glucagon or epinephrine, and the lipolytic response was measured; (b) aqueous homogenates of adipose tissue and free fat cells from the same rat or hamster were incubated with ACTH and the effect of the incubation on the hormone’s lipolytic activity was measured. The data show that, in all 15 instances tested, the free fat cells...
Relationship of human gingival crevicular fluid polyamine concentration to the percentage of spirochaetes in subgingival dental plaque

This relationship was examined at 45 inflamed periodontitis sites in 28 patients. A statistically significant positive correlation between polyamine concentration and spirochaetes was observed overall (r = 0.551, p = 0.0001). Within subgroups of this population (n = 15 each), there was no such relationship among midly inflamed sites with 5-6 mm probing depths (r = 0.0003, p = 0.999), but significant relationships among moderately inflamed sites with 5-6 mm depths (r = 0.567, p = 0.027) and 7-11 mm depths (r = 0.639, p = 0.010). Thus polyamines may be involved in subgingival plaque homeostasis at moderately inflamed periodontal sites.
Prevalence and characteristics of flare-ups of chronic nonspecific back pain in primary care: a telephone survey

OBJECTIVES To describe the prevalence and characteristics of flare-ups of chronic nonspecific back pain (CNSBP) among primary care patients, and to examine associations with measures of pain severity and psychosocial factors. METHODS Six hundred thirty-four participants with nonspecific back pain were interviewed by telephone 2 years after an initial primary care visit for back pain. Participants experiencing flare-ups in the last 6 months reported on frequency, duration, and other characteristics of flare-ups. Using bivariate and multivariate analyses, we compared individuals with and without CNSBP flare-ups with respect to demographic characteristics, measures of pain severity, and psychosocial factors. RESULTS Approximately 51% of the participants reported flare-ups. Physical activities, including lifting and bending, were the most common perceived triggers of flare-ups. Participants with flare-ups experienced greater levels of pain intensity, disability, opioid medication use, and psychosocial comorbidities. After adjustment for demographic factors, pain intensity, and pain frequency, participants with flare-ups were more disabled than those without [mean (95% confidence interval) disability score 4.2 (3.9-4.4) vs. 3.3 (2.9-3.6); P<0.0001] and demonstrated higher levels of passive coping [mean passive coping score 4.1(3.8-4.3) vs. 3.4 (3.1-3.7); P=0.0008]. DISCUSSION Flare-ups of CNSBP are common among primary care patients, and are independently associated with higher levels of pain intensity, disability, and passive coping. The presence of flare-ups and the perception of activity as a trigger may predispose patients with flare-ups to experience disability not explained by pain intensity alone. Further longitudinal studies are required to better characterize CNSBP flare-ups and determine their clinical implications.
The Relationship between Prior Knowledge and Situational Interest When Reading Text.

To examine the relationship between prior knowledge, situational interest, and recall, 34 college students read 15 paragraphs that contained varying amounts of fictional material, rated how interesting they found each paragraph, and were later assessed on how much of the information they retained. Five of the paragraphs contained fictional items that were accessible, and five paragraphs contained fictional items that were inaccessible. Results indicated that the relationship between prior knowledge was curvilinear but varied based on the accessibility of the novel information. For accessible materials, interest first increased as prior knowledge decreased, but then decreased sharply as prior knowledge lessened. For inaccessible materials, interest did not significantly increase, and decreased at a higher level of prior knowledge relative to accessible materials. Overall, people found accessible materials to be more interesting than inaccessible materials, and interest was not a significant predictor of performance on recall or recognition tasks when prior knowledge was controlled.
The Pathogenesis of Osteonecrosis and the Relationships to Corticosteroids

One of the challenging issues faced by allergists is a risk-benefit analysis on the use of corticosteroids. An uncommon, but serious complication of corticosteroids is the development of avascular necrosis (osteonecrosis). In this review we present the differential diagnosis and pathophysiology of osteonecrosis, with particular emphasis on steroids. Osteonecrosis of the femoral head is a common disorder that may be either naturally occurring or iatrogenic. With the exception of those cases labeled as idiopathic, the majority are the result of some insult to the vascular integrity of the affected hip. The reason for this disruption is manifold and can range from direct trauma to the more subtle or indirect compromise associated with fatty emboli or often an intravascular event such as that seen in sickle cell anemia. Although they are not totally understood, corticosteroids present a special problem because of susceptibility factors that may make some patients more likely to get osteonecrosis than others. The problem may be more complex, in that the association between corticosteroid use and osteonecrosis may be disease-dependent. In any case, any patient receiving long-term corticosteroids should be warned of this potentially debilitating complication.
Package Dyeing of Continuous‐filament Nylon, Polyester and Acrylic Yarns

The various forms in which yarn is dyed in packages are considered. Package-dyeing machines are then discussed. Techniques for the dyeing of continuous-filament nylon, polyester and acrylic yarns are given. Mention is made of the drying of package-dyed yarns and evaluation of the dyeing. Colour measurement has not yet proved to be an acceptable tool for the practical dyer, although it may eventually provide the required assistance. Detailed attention should be paid to the weighing of dyes and dyebath auxiliaries. Dye ranges should be extended for complex processes such as the package dyeing of continuous-filament yarns.