cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Growth and digestibility by three sizes of Penaeus vannamei Boone: effects of dietary protein level and protein source

Abstract Growth, survival and digestibility of Penaeus vannamei were studied in three experiments. P. vannamei averaging 4.0, 9.8 and 20.8 g were monocultured in circular fiberglass tanks (2650 l) for 30 days. Six diets having protein contents of 22, 29 and 36% and an animal: plant protein source ratio of 2:1 or 1:1 were fed ad libitum. Survival ranges for small, medium and large shrimp were 81.7–93.3, 65.6–90.0 and 65.0–80.0%, respectively, and were unrelated to diet. Growth (g/day) decreased significantly with increased size of shrimp, whereas digestibility varied independently of size. Growth by all three sizes of shrimp fed the 2:1 diet series was not significantly (α = 0.05) higher than that of the 1:1 diet series. Digestibility ranges for protein, lipid and total diet were 78.6–85.8, 45.1–64.8 and 43.9–53.8%, respectively, for small shrimp; 80.7–84.5, 52.8–63.8 and 46.9–53.0%, respectively, for medium shrimp; and 78.7–85.4, 49.2–63.2 and 41.8–58.4%, respectively, for large shrimp. Protein digestibility by small shrimp was strongly correlated with dietary protein level. Only small shrimp showed a strong correlation between protein digestibility and growth. No size exhibited a relationship between growth and either lipid or total diet digestibility. Growth of small P. vannamei appeared to be more influenced by protein level where-as growth of medium and large P. vannamei appeared to be more influenced by protein source.
The effects of suspended sediment on walleye (Sander vitreus) eggs

Purpose Sediment resuspension is among the most widely cited concerns that lead to restricted dredging timeframes. Protection of fish species is a primary concern regarding the effects of dredging operations, yet experimental data establishing thresholds for uncontaminated suspended sediment effects are largely lacking. We conducted research to determine suspended sediment effects on walleye (Sander vitreus) egg hatching success and gross morphology following exposures mimicking sediment resuspension during dredging operations.
Clinical utility of DNA gyrase inhibitors

Quinolone antibiotics provide potentially important therapy for many infections. These DNA gyrase inhibitors are established as excellent therapy of urinary infections and of diarrheal disease. As reviewed, the compounds have important use in respiratory, skin-structure and bone infections. It is possible that with more extensive use these drugs will show adverse reactions which to date are unknown. A number of other agents in this class with different pharmacological and improved anti-gram-positive and anti-anaerobic activity are in development. These agents will be used increasingly in medicine because of their in vitro activity, pharmacology, and cost-saving by oral therapy.
Team Training for Young Children with Autism: A Regional Model for Service Delivery.

Young children with autism and related developmental handicaps require early, intensive and comprehensive services if they are to progress rapidly and efficiently. Due to the relatively low incidence of autism and the lack of specially trained professionals, children who live in rural areas are typically unserved or are provided with limited services which fail to address adequately their extensive and ongoing needs. This article describes a recently developed regional model designed to provide thorough training services for preschool-aged children, their families, and community-based service providers who have an impact on the children's functioning and development. The team training approach is characterized by a focus on individualized intervention, ongoing assessments, and intensive training which seeks to produce a consistent, coordinated effort on behalf of the child-family-community interactions. The model is described in detail, and service implementation is illustrated by a representative case.
Cross-Functional Project Groups in Research and New Product Development: Diversity, Communications, Job Stress, and Outcomes

A model of cross-functional project groups was developed and hypotheses were tested in a study of 93 research and new product development groups from four companies. The results showed that functio...
Circle generators for display devices

Abstract Simple methods of generating digital approximations to circles and other types of curves are described.
Robustness analysis for the certification of digital controller implementations

Despite recent advances in the field of Networked Control Systems (NCS), the gap between the control design stage and the implementation stage on a physical platform remains significant. The simplifying assumptions made in the analysis of NCS are often not precise enough for realistic embedded control systems, and engineers must resort to time-consuming simulations and multiple redesign and testing phases before the performance of a system is judged adequate. Moreover, simulation-based methods do not typically provide rigorous performance or stability guarantees. We approach the problem of certifying a digital controller implementation from an input-output, robust control perspective. Following a standard method for analyzing sampled-data systems, we view the implementation step as a perturbation of a nominal linear time-invariant model. Nonlinearities and disturbances due to implementation effects are treated as uncertainty blocks and characterized via Integral Quadratic Constraints (IQCs), such as gain bounds. From our modeling discussion emerge some important types of uncertainties. We discuss some new gain bounds for one of them, namely an aperiodic sample-and-hold operator with uncertain sampling times. Two important features of the robust control approach are i) this approach is modular, i.e., the analysis of different uncertainty blocks can be done and refined separately, and the results combined in the study of a complete complex system; ii) the guarantees on the stability and performance of the implemented system can be obtained automatically via efficient computational tools.
Shock Dynamics in the Sub-Nanometer Femtosecond Domain *

New experimental techniques combined with computer molecular dynamics simulations of increasing complexity are beginning to permit a detailed examination of the initial steps in the complex chemistry describing the high-temperature, high-pressure regime associated with combustion and detonation as well as processes that may be involved in shock-induced chemistry. We present the results of several simulations that describe the generation of moderately strong shocks and their interaction with molecules embedded in weakly-bound clusters, with material defects such as microscopic voids, and with molecular species placed in the neighborhood of such defects.
A natural mutant of plasmid RP4 that confers phage resistance and reduced conjugative transfer

Abstract A natural isolate of RP4 (PRC#116) acquired from the Stanford University Plasmid Reference Center differed from the wild-type Incompatibility Group P plasmid in several respects. Cells of Escherichia coli harboring PRC#116 were resistant to the IncP pili-specific bacteriophage PRD1 and GU5, and transferred this plasmid at a lower efficiency than the wild-type RP4. Phage sensitivity was restored, and transfer considerably improved in PRC#116 + bacteria transformed with plasmid constructs containing the origin of transfer ( ori T region) of RP4. Mutant RP4 plasmids equivalent to PRC#116 were selected at a high frequency from an RP4 + E. coli population infected with PRD1 indicating that this RP4 variant may be the product of a very common mutation of the wild-type plasmid.
Plasma iron and saturation of plasma iron-binding protein in dogs as related to the gastrointestinal absorption of radioiron.

The absorption of a test amount of radioactive iron during artificial saturation of the plasma iron-binding protein, by the repeated intravenous injection of small amounts of iron, was measured in three normal and four anemic dogs. The procedure had no detectable influence on the iron absorption of the normal dogs nor on that of two of the anemic dogs. Two other anemic dogs showed some suppression of iron absorption, though the amount absorbed was still in excess of that absorbed by a normal dog. The reasons for this suppression are not clear from these experiments. Artificially raising the plasma iron to normal levels in one anemic dog did not influence the absorption of iron from the gastrointestinal tract nor was a delayed effect noted after the plasma iron had fallen to base line levels after 5 hours of artificial saturation. It appears that the plasma iron-binding protein and its relative saturation play little role per se in the control of iron absorption in dogs.
Effect of ionising radiation on mobile-ion density in m.o.s. oxides

Data are presented that indicate that the density of mobile ions in m.o.s. oxides is unaffected by exposure to ionising radiation. The flat-band voltages following irradiation and anneal appear to be correlated with the density of mobile ions.
BIODISTRIBUTION AND TARGETING POTENTIAL OF POLY (ETHYLENE GLYCOL)-MODIFIED GELATIN NANOPARTICLES IN SUBCUTANEOUS MURINE TUMOR MODEL

Purpose: In order to develop a safe and effective systemically-administered biodegradable nanoparticle delivery system for solid tumors, the comparative biodistribution profiles of gelatin and poly(ethylene-glycol)(PEG)-modified (PEGylated) gelatin nanoparticles was examined in subcutaneous Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC)-bearing female C57BL/6J mice.Methods: Type-B gelatin and PEGylated gelatin nanoparticles were radiolabeled (125I) for the in vivo biodistribution studies after intravenous (i.v.) administration through the tail vein in LLC-bearing mice. At various time intervals, the mice were sacrificed and blood, tumor, and major organs harvested for analysis of radioactivity corresponding to the localization of the nanoparticles. Percent recovered dose was determined and normalized to the weight of the fluid or tissue sample. Non-compartmental pharmacokinetic analysis was performed to determine the long-circulating property and preferential tumor targeting potential of PEGylated gelatin nanoparticles in vi...
MOLECULAR AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF TURKEY INTERFERON

The turkey interferon (TkIFN) gene encodes a signal peptide and a mature protein of 30 and 162 amino acids, respectively. TkIFN mRNA expression was induced by reoviral double-stranded RNA in fibroblasts. The recombinant TkIFN protein possessed species-specific antiviral activity and in synergy with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced bone marrow macrophages to produce nitric oxide (NO). LPS or TkIFN alone did not induce bone marrow macrophages to produce significant amounts of NO, which showed that TkIFN provided one of the two signals necessary to induce NO production in turkey macrophages. Unlike the anti-inflammatory nature of mammalian alpha/beta IFNs, TkIFN augmented the LPS-induced expression of interleukin-8, a proinflammatory cytokine. This finding suggests a role for TkIFN in inflammatory conditions.
Rickettsia rickettsii Infection in the Pine Vole, Microtus pinetorum

: The pine vole, Microtus pinetorum, was evaluated as a laboratory animal model for infection with Rickettsia rickettsii. Voles demonstrated signs of acute disease, and 45% of infected animals died following intraperitoneal infection with 3 × 106 plaque forming units of R. rickettsii. Spleen, liver, kidney, lung, brain, testes and blood were analyzed for rickettsial burden by a quantitative PCR assay. The distribution of rickettsiae in tissues during the course of infection was determined by immunohistochemical staining and pathological changes in tissues were correlated with the clinical severity of infection. Quantitative RT-PCR assays were designed to measure the mRNA levels of the antioxidant enzyme genes for catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, heme oxygenase, Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Mn-SOD, and 2 housekeeping genes, actin and glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase. Tissues from acutely ill animals on days 2 to 6 of infection, convalescent animals, and uninfected control animals were studied. The number of transcripts of each enzyme gene was determined and compared to the degree of rickettsial infection present. These studies demonstrate that the pine vole is a valuable experimental model for studying infection with R. rickettsii. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that R. rickettsii causes alteration(s) of the anti-oxidant system in vivo.
Characterization of single-mode chalcogenide glass waveguides at 8.35 µm

Laser-written single-mode waveguides in As 2 Se 3 /As 2 S 3 films were characterized at 8.35 µm using the Fabry-Perot technique. Waveguide loss and refractive index were measured as a function of writing dose and compared to modeling results.
An application of underwater imaging for marine vertebrate ecology

Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) and the National Marine Fisheries Service have conducted leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtle research for the last eight years. Leatherbacks come to the central California coast to forage on concentrations of jellyfish that accumulate in the nutrient rich waters over the coastal shelf. The research includes tracking leatherbacks across the Pacific Ocean with satellite transmitters, suction-cup attachment of time-depth-recorders (TDR) tags, and collection of morphological data. The TDRs are used to record the dive profiles of the leatherbacks foraging for jellyfish near shore. The TDR data provide graphical representation of the dive profile, showing decent and ascent rates, along with variations or deviations in the ascent pattern. This paper describes an application of a modest, but unique underwater imagining system designed and constructed at MLML to answer some of the questions inspired by the dive profiles. MLML's Turtle Cam synchronizes dive profiles with video images, providing researchers with a tool that is giving new insights to leatherback foraging ecology.
Acute urinary retention from coprostatic colon: an unusual presentation of 'adult Hirschsprung's disease'.

Hirschsprung disease (HD), or congenital intestinal aganglionosis, is characterized by absence of neurons in the distal colon resulting from a lack of migration of neural crest cells to the large intestine during fetal development.1 HD typically manifests in early childhood, but very rarely the diagnosis may be delayed for several years when ‘adult HD’ patients present with refractory constipation, intestinal obstruction, sigmoid volvulus or colonic perforation.2 While co-existing congenital genitourinary anamolies have been reported in ∼6% of HD cases, …
Oncogenic KRas suppresses inflammation-associated senescence of pancreatic ductal cells.

Summary Mutational activation of KRas is the first and most frequently detected genetic lesion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the precise role of oncogenic KRas in the pathogenesis of PDAC is not fully understood. Here, we report that the endogenous expression of oncogenic KRas suppresses premature senescence in primary pancreatic duct epithelial cells (PDEC). Oncogenic KRas-mediated senescence bypass is conferred by the upregulation of the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Twist that in turn abrogates p16 INK4A induction. Moreover, the KRas-Twist-p16 INK4A senescence bypass pathway is employed in vivo to prevent inflammation-associated senescence of pancreatic ductal epithelium. Our findings indicate that oncogenic KRas could contribute to PDAC initiation by protecting cells from entering a state of permanent growth arrest.
Patient’s Autonomy, Privacy and Informed Consent. H. Leino-Kilpi, M. Valimaki, M. Arndt, T. Dassen, M. Gasull, C. Lemonidou, P.A. Scott, G. Bansemir, E. Cabrera, H. Papaevangelou, and J. McFarland. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IOS Press, 2000, 166 pp., hardcover. ISBN 1-58603-039-6.

The report of this committee was written as the first phase of a project to evaluate the concept and application of patients’ autonomy, privacy, and informed consent in the context of the practice of nursing in Europe. The institutions participating in the project were located in Finland, Germany, Greece, Spain, and Scotland. This volume is a compilation of the current status of statutes, regulations, policies, and professional codes related to patient autonomy in these countries. This is followed by a review of the literature in the three areas of patient autonomy, privacy, and the concept of informed consent. This volume is an excellent source of citations from authoritative sources in the European community as …
Mitochondrial DNA-Based Phylogeography of North American Rubber Boas, Charina bottae (Serpentes: Boidae)

We used 783 bp of mitochondrial DNA sequences to study the phylogeography of Charina bottae (rubber boa) in western North America, with an emphasis on populations from California (U.S.A.). Maximum-parsimony and maximum-likelihood methods identified a basal divergence within C. bottae that corresponds to southern and northern segments of its current distribution. These clades coincide with the ranges of the two recognized subspecies, C. b. umbratica in the south and C. b. bottae to the north. A subsequent cladogenetic event in the C. b. bottae clade resulted in two groupings, which we refer to as the Sierra Nevada and the Northwestern subclades, based on the geographic distribution of their constituent populations. The two subclades have completely allopatric distributions, with a genetic break in the vicinity of Lassen Volcanic National Park in northeastern California, an area that was subjected to glaciation during the Pleistocene and that has been volcanically active in the past 100 years. An earlier genetic study documented fixed differences between populations of bottae and umbratica in four of seven allozymes surveyed, and despite noticeable variation and overlap in the characters that define C. b. bottae and C. b. umbratica, the two forms still can be separated in most cases using a suite of morphological traits. All available evidence thus indicates that C. b. umbratica is a genetically cohesive, allopatric taxon that is morphologically diagnosable, and we conclude that it is an independent evolutionary unit that should be recognized as a distinct species, Charina umbratica.
Customer retention in sports organization marketing: examining the impact of team identification and satisfaction with team performance

Over the past two decades, relationship marketing efforts have assumed a prominent role in sports organization marketing. A sports organization that successfully implements relationship marketing programmes is able to develop long-term relationships with its fans, thus increasing the likelihood of customer retention. This study examines customer retention in sports organization marketing by considering the impact of team identification and satisfaction with team performance on four fan consumption behaviours: in-person attendance, media-based attendance, purchase of team merchandise and word-of-mouth communication related to the team. Survey data were collected from 300 fans of more than 40 professional and collegiate teams involved in seven sports. Results suggest that both team identification and satisfaction with team performance impact multiple consumption behaviours, as represented by fans' intentions to engage in future consumption. Team identification was found to have the greater impact on consumption behaviours, suggesting that a sports organization's continuing efforts to bond with its fans may provide greater benefits than efforts to improve the team's competitive performance.
Relativism and Absolutism

My view of science involves both relativistic and absolutistic strains. I shall try to sort them out. Scientific theory is supported in part by systematic considerations of coherence, notably simplicity in some sense, and in part by external infor mation in the form of sensory stimulation. This external information finds its way into the formulation of the theory through the medium of certain sentences which are keyed exclusively, for our verdicts, to concurrent stimulation. Examples are 'It's raining', 'It's cold', 'That's a dog'; present stimulation decides them for us irrespective of what else may have been go ing on lately in our minds or environment. I call them observation sentences, but, as these examples show, they are not about observations or sensations. They are not even incorrigible; they may be recorded and subse quently repudiated for systematic reasons. But they command unwavering verdicts at the time. Relativism already intrudes. 'That's an X-ray machine' will qualify as observational, in the present sense, for an initiate and not for a novice. This relativism, however, is readily transcended. The empirical evidence for a theory is reducible ultimately to what can be conveyed in observation sentences at the novice's level. It just takes a little stubbornness, a Missourian insistence on being shown. Relativism of a higher order remains: relativity to one's language. The sentences, observational or otherwise, of one language are the gibberish of another. But this relativism, again, can be transcended. Observationality of a sentence consists in sheer concomitance between verdicts and concurrent external stimulatory situations; so we can teach our observation sentences to a foreigner by simple conditioning. Perhaps we can sum this up by saying that observation, properly so called, is independent of language. There remains, even so, a relativity to man's implicit standards of similarity. A conditioned response is conditioned not to a unique stimula tion but to a class of sufficiently similar stimulations. People have to be in substantial agreement, however unconscious, as to what counts as similar if they are to succeed in learning, one person from another, when next to as sent to a given observation sentence. Here, then, is an irreducible kernel of relativism: all sensory evidence as reflected in observation sentences is relative to the neural organization that determines what different triggerings
Altered lysophospholipase B responsiveness in lactating mice infected with intestinal nematode parasites

Lactating and nulliparous outbred Swiss (CF-1 strain) mice were infected at 12-16 weeks of age with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis or Trichinella spiralis. Lysophospholipase B levels in the intestinal tissue and faecal pellets were greatly in infected lactating mice in contrast to infected nulliparous mice. Correlated with these depressions in lysophospholipase levels were markedly reduced numbers of bone-marrow eosinophils in infected lactating mice. Although the peak levels of lysophospholipase in the intestinal tissues occurred in both nulliparous and lactating mice by days 9 and 14 after infection with N. brasiliensis and T. spiralis, respectively, lactating mice had significantly lower lysophospholipase peak levels than nulliparous mice. The peak of luminal levels of the enzyme coincided with peak levels of the enzyme in the intestinal tissues and with the expulsion of the majority of the worms from the small intestines of nulliparous mice. However, lactation delayed the temporal relation between the peak of lysophospholipase levels in the intestinal lumen and worm expulsion. These results suggest that lactation depressed the levels of the enzyme and interfered with its release into the intestinal lumen.
A locus affecting obesity in human chromosome region 10p12.

Aims/hypothesis. Obesity is a complex trait influenced by multiple genes. We evaluated linkage in three regions of human chromosome 10 previously linked to obesity-related phenotypes. Methods. We conducted non-parametric linkage analysis of obesity-related phenotypes in cohorts of 170 European-American and 43 African-American families having extremely obese and normal weight subjects. Results. We found support for linkage of an obesity phenotype (BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2) in both cohorts, as well as in a combined analysis (European-American cohort, Z = 1.90, p = 0.03; African-American cohort, Z = 2.25, p = 0.014; combined cohort, Z = 2.55, p = 0.005). Conclusion/interpretation. These results confirm previous reports of linkage in French and German families. The consistency of results across these four cohorts supports the localization of a quantitative trait locus influencing obesity to human chromosome region 10p12. [Diabetologia (2001) 44: 363–366]
Relationship Between a History of Antecedent Cancer and the Probability of Malignancy for a Solitary Pulmonary Nodule

Study objectives: To determine the probability of malignancy for a solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) as a function of cancer history. Setting and design: Patients who had undergone resection of SPNs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital between August 1989 and October 1998 were analyzed. The cohort was split into the following three groups: no history of cancer; history of lung cancer; and history of extrapulmonary malignancy. The histology of the SPN was determined after excision. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of covariates on the probability of malignancy. Measurements and results: A total of 1,104 patients (55% women; median age, 64 years; age range, 17 to 88 years) underwent removal of 353 benign lesions (32%), 638 non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) [58%], and 113 metastases (10%). Antecedent cancer history was significantly associated with final diagnosis (p 3 cm, if the patient had no history of cancer (p < 0.0001). The probability of an SPN being benign was cut in half if there was a history of cancer. Among patients with previous extrapulmonary malignancy, age, smoking history, and histology were predictors of diagnosis (p < 0.0001). These variables were used to construct a clinical score to predict the probability of an SPN being a NSCLC or metastasis in these patients. Conclusions: A history of cancer is an important predictor of the probability of malignancy in new SPNs. Metastases from previous cancer account for almost half of SPNs seen among patients in this subgroup. Diagnosis depends on the histology of previous malignancies, smoking history, age, and size of the SPN. (CHEST 2004; 125:2175–2181)
Randomized Comparison of Sulbactam/Cefoperazone with Imipenem as Empirical Monotherapy for Febrile Granulocytopenic Patients

In a prospective, randomized, controlled trial, we compared sulbactam/cefoperazone with imipenem as empirical monotherapy for febrile, granulocytopenic patients; 101 patients received sulbactam/cefoperazone (2 g/4 g every 12 hours) and 102 patients received imipenem (500 mg every 6 hours). Documented infections were present in 40% of patients treated with sulbactam/cefoperazone (40 of 101) and in 39% of patients receiving imipenem (40 of 102). The number of pretherapy gram-positive pathogens (52 isolates) was twice the number of pretherapy gram-negative pathogens (26 isolates). The overall favorable clinical response rates for sulbactam/cefoperazone (91 of 103 patients, or 88%) and imipenem (84 of 104 patients, or 81%) were similar. Both drugs were generally well tolerated. However, diarrhea occurred more often in patients treated with sulbactam/cefoperazone (31 of 101 patients, or 31%, vs. 15 of 102 patients, or 15%; P = .007), while seizures developed only in patients receiving imipenem (0 of 101 patients vs. 3 of 102 patients, or 3%). Superinfections developed in 16% of patients in both study groups but were infrequently caused by beta-lactam-resistant gram-negative bacilli (two cases with sulbactam/cefoperazone therapy and six cases with imipenem). These results support the efficacy and safety of either sulbactam/cefoperazone or imipenem as empirical monotherapy for febrile granulocytopenic patients.
Intravascular ultrasound lumen area parameters for assessment of physiological ischemia by fractional flow reserve in intermediate coronary artery stenosis.

Abstract Background A fractional flow reserve (FFR) of Aims We assessed IVUS measurement accuracy in defining functional ischemia by FFR. Methods The analysis included 205 intermediate lesions (185 patients) located in vessel diameters >2.5 mm. Positive FFR was considered present at Results There was moderate correlation between FFR and IVUS measurements, including minimum lumen area (MLA) ( r =0.36, P r =0.25, P = r =−0.43, P r =−0.33, P =.01). A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) identified MLA 2 (sensitivity 69.2%, specificity 79.5%) as the best threshold value for FFR 2 [area under curve (AUC)=0.74] in lesions with reference vessel diameters of 2.5–3 mm, MLA 2 (AUC=0.77) in lesions with reference vessel diameters of 3–3.5 mm, and MLA 2 (AUC=0.70) in lesions with reference vessel diameters >3.5 mm. Conclusion Anatomic measurements of intermediate coronary lesions obtained by IVUS show a moderate correlation to FFR values. The correlation was better for larger-diameter vessels. Vessel size should always be taken into account when determining the MLA associated with functional ischemia.
Kennedy disease misdiagnosed as polymyositis: a case report

Background Polymyositis is an immune-mediated myopathy with clinical features of proximal muscle weakness. Dysphagia and neck flexor weakness can develop along with respiratory muscle weakness as the disease progresses. Kennedy disease or X-linked spinobulbar muscular atrophy is a rare X-linked recessive disorder with clinical features of slowly progressive atrophy and weakness of limb and bulbar muscles. These two disorders may have overlapping clinical manifestations.
Dirac operators on spheres and hyperbolae

Cayley type transforms are used to show that a significan! portion of Clifford analysis developed over Rn can be transfered to the sphere and to the hyperbola. In particular we show that the conformal weight functions needed to describe the conformal covariance of solutions to the Euclidean Dirac equation are linearized with respect to the Pin group acting on the hyperbola. This leads to a simplification of aspects of the existing theory. Extensions of complex Clifford analysis to the complex sphere can also be described in this context. In particular we give a description of the Lie ball within the complex sphere.
Maneuver Design Using Relative Orbital Elements

Relative orbital elements provide a geometric interpretation of the motion of a deputy spacecraft about a chief spacecraft. The formulation yields an intuitive understanding of how the relative motion evolves with time, and by incorporating velocity changes in the local-vertical, local-horizontal component directions, the change in relative motion due to impulsive maneuvers can be evaluated. This paper utilizes a relative orbital element formulation that characterizes relative motion where the chief spacecraft is assumed to be in a circular orbit. Expressions are developed for changes to the relative orbital elements as a function of the impulsive maneuver components in each coordinate direction. A general maneuver strategy is developed for targeting a set of relative orbital elements, and this strategy is applied to scenarios that are relevant for close proximity operations, including establishing a stationary relative orbit, natural motion circumnavigation, and station-keeping in a leading or trailing orbit.
The Emergency Medicine Workforce: Profile and Projections.

Abstract Background The landscape of the emergency medicine workforce has changed dramatically over the last few decades. The growth in emergency medicine residency programs has significantly increased the number of emergency medicine specialists now staffing emergency departments (EDs) throughout the country. Despite this increase in available providers, rising patient volumes, an aging population, ED overcrowding and inefficiency, increased regulation, and other factors have resulted in the continued need for additional emergency physicians. Objectives To review current available data on patient volumes and characteristics, the overall physician workforce, the current emergency physician workforce, the impact of physician extenders and scribes on the practice of emergency medicine, and project emergency physician staffing needs into the future. Discussion and Projections We project that within the next 5 to 10 years, there will be enough board-certified or -eligible emergency physicians to provide care to all patients in the U.S. EDs. However, low-volume rural EDs will continue to have difficulty attracting emergency medicine specialists without significant incentives. Conclusions There remains a shortage of board-certified emergency physicians, but it is decreasing every year. The use of physicians from other specialties to staff EDs has long been based on the theory that there is a long-standing shortage of available American Board of Emergency Medicine/American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine physicians, both now and in the future. Our investigation shows that this is not supported by current data. Although there will always be regional and rural physician shortages, these are mirrored by all other specialties and are even more pressing in primary care.
What’s the Technology For? Teacher Attention and Pedagogical Goals in a Modeling-Focused Professional Development Workshop

This paper explores the role that technology can play in engaging pre-service teachers with the iterative, “messy” nature of model-based inquiry. Over the course of 5 weeks, 11 pre-service teachers worked in groups to construct models of diffusion using a computational animation and simulation toolkit, and designed lesson plans for the toolkit. Content analyses of group discussions and lesson plans document attention to content, representation, revision, and evaluation as interwoven aspects of modeling over the course of the workshop. When animating, only content and representation were heavily represented in group discussions. When simulating, all four aspects were represented to different extents across groups. Those differences corresponded with different planned uses for the technology during lessons: to teach modeling, to engage learners with one another’s ideas, or to reveal student ideas. We identify specific ways in which technology served an important role in eliciting teachers’ knowledge and goals related to scientific modeling in the classroom.
Branding in the American funeral industry

This article explores the ways in which interpassivity, as conceptualized in the work of Robert Pfaller and Slavoj Žižek, can contribute to understanding the role of brands in today’s commodity form. Interpassivity, like interactivity, implies an active relationship between an actor and an external entity. Interpassivity, however, suggests that the actor is active in order to take on a passive role. As it is used here, it refers to a condition in which a consumer actively delegates her or his emotional expressions to a brand. The integration of brands in funerals is appealing given the abject nature of deathcare, the affective intensity of dealing with loss, and the increasingly rationalized role of the funeral industry in deathcare. Based on a multi-sited ethnography, the author discusses the ways in which brandscapes are becoming more widespread in funeral products and services and are even contributing to ‘themed’ funerals and funeral settings. The author argues that these developments are conducive to...
Intelligent scheduling and path planning of warehouse mobile robots

The rapid increase of E-commerce brings new challenges for warehouse logistics. The shipments are characterized as big variety,small volume,large number of small batches and short cycle,and thus are difficult to handle. Emerging logistic technology based on mobile robots is the promising solution. In this work,firstly a warehouse model with flexible re-configurability was set up and a set of rules to govern warehouse logistics and robot movement were defined. After that,the logistic task was decomposed and a robot scheduling method taking into account the Manhattan path cost and the waiting time cost was proposed. Next,the A*algorithm was adapted for robot path planning under the special constraint rules. Finally,timing information was included for consideration and a timespace map was established to carry out three-dimensional path planning. The intelligent scheduling and path planning methods were validated by simulation experiments. The path planning methods and number of robots were compared in relation to total time cost,total mileage and number of conflicts.
Effects of temperature on non-electrolytes distribution between intra- and extracellular environment of human erythrocytes. 1H-NMR studies

Studies of the distribution of non-electrolytes such as 1, 2-propanediol (1, 2-PD), glycerol and polyethelene oxides (PEG) find an application in current cryobiological research which is attemping to obtain a viable method for the low temperature preservation of RBC suspensions. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been advocated as a non-invasive method of assesing the distribution of dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) [1, 2] and glycerol [3] between the cells and surrounding medium and the kinetics of influx of cryoprotectants into tissues. Our previous study has reported 1H-NMR investigations of distribution of n-alcohol series non-electrolytes between intra- and extracellular environment of human erythrocytes [4]. In this paper we studied the effect of temperature on non-electrolytes distribution between erythrocytes and surrounding medium.
Isolated small airway reactivity during bronchoprovocation as a mechanism for respiratory symptoms in WTC dust-exposed community members.

Introduction Small airway dysfunction occurs following WTC dust exposure, but its role in producing symptoms is unclear. Methods Methacholine challenge (MCT) was used to assess the relationship between onset of respiratory symptoms and small airway abnormalities in 166 symptomatic WTC dust-exposed patients. Forced oscillation testing (FOT) and respiratory symptoms were assessed during MCT. FOT parameters included resistance at 5 and 20 Hz (R5 and R20) and the R5 minus R20 (R5–20). Results Baseline spirometry was normal in all (mean FEV1 100 + 13% predicted, mean FEV1/FVC 80 + 4%). MCT revealed bronchial hyperreactivity by spirometry in 67 patients. An additional 24 patients became symptomatic despite minimal FEV1 change ( 0.001 vs. baseline). The dose–response of FOT (reactivity) was greater compared with subjects that remained asymptomatic (P < 0.05). Conclusions FOT during MCT uncovered reactivity in small airways as a mechanism for respiratory symptoms in subjects with inhalational lung injury. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:767–776, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Advanced Architecture for Colloidal PbS Quantum Dot Solar Cells Exploiting a CdSe Quantum Dot Buffer Layer

Advanced architectures are required to further improve the performance of colloidal PbS heterojunction quantum dot solar cells. Here, we introduce a CdI2-treated CdSe quantum dot buffer layer at the junction between ZnO nanoparticles and PbS quantum dots in the solar cells. We exploit the surface- and size-tunable electronic properties of the CdSe quantum dots to optimize its carrier concentration and energy band alignment in the heterojunction. We combine optical, electrical, and analytical measurements to show that the CdSe quantum dot buffer layer suppresses interface recombination and contributes additional photogenerated carriers, increasing the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of PbS quantum dot solar cells, leading to a 25% increase in solar power conversion efficiency.
Nanowires in energy devices

Semiconductor nanostructures have the potential to make a positive impact on the efficiency and cost of solid state energy devices such as solar cells and light emitting diodes. In this talk I will explore the use of semiconductor nanorods for solar cells and high efficiency LEDs.
Ready to forget: American attitudes toward the right to be forgotten

This study uses an experimental design to examine whether and under what circumstances Americans support the so-called “right to be forgotten”—a legal right that allows citizens to petition to have information about them taken down from the Internet. Findings indicate people are most concerned about who will be in charge of executing such a right. Framing effects are also found for opinions regarding age of information and whether the law should apply only to minors. The results offer insights to help scholars, national policymakers, and international relations organizations to understand public attitudes in a dynamic sociotechnical policy landscape.
A Team of Instructors' Use of Social Presence, Teaching Presence, and Attitudinal Dissonance Strategies: An Animal Behaviour and Welfare MOOC.

This case study examined a team of instructors’ use of social presence, teaching presence, and attitudinal dissonance in a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on Animal Behaviour and Welfare (ABW), designed to facilitate attitudinal learning. The study reviewed a team of six instructors’ use of social presence and teaching presence by applying the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, as well as the establishment of attitudinal dissonance within the announcements and discussion forums. The instructors entered the MOOC as a collaborative facilitation team and created a highly balanced manner of communication and positive atmosphere within the course. The instructional design focused on creating an informative and knowledgeable network of global learners that would agree that animal welfare was a critical social issue in today’s society. These course goals and facilitation intentions were demonstrated through a high number of social and teaching presence indicators, with a significant use of all social presence, teaching presence, and attitudinal dissonance categories in evidence. The results present a review of an instructional team’s facilitation that focused on shaping attitudes about the topic of animal behaviour and welfare within a MOOC. We conclude by providing insights into instructional design and facilitation of MOOCs in general or attitudinal learning specifically.
Mathematical Modeling in Radiation Oncology

The goal of precision medicine is to tailor treatments to the individual patient’s disease. In radiation oncology, this means tailoring the dose to the boundaries of the tumor, but also to the unique biology of the patient’s disease. In recent years, mathematical modeling has made inroads toward achieving these goals, through the optimization of radiation dose based on radiobiological parameters for individual patients. In this chapter, we review recent literature of mathematical models of tumor growth and response to radiation therapy (RT) and discuss the clinical utility of mathematical models, as well as provide a forward-looking perspective into how mathematical models may enhance patient outcomes through well-designed clinical trials.
Development of a mobile app for family members of Veterans with PTSD: identifying needs and modifiable factors associated with burden, depression, and anxiety

Family members of Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) face high levels of burden that are poorly addressed by existing mental health services. Widely distributed mobile interventions...
pFex: A highly efficient adenoviral vector system for fiber gene modification

3001 Adenoviral gene therapy vectors offer a safe, alternative platform for developing anti-cancer therapeutics. Current, second-generation vectors incorporate both cancer-specific targeting at a transcriptional level and improved viral transduction by alteration of viral coat proteins. Improved transduction and bio-distribution is achieved by mutating receptor binding domains (de-targeting) and/or by inserting targeting motifs (re-targeting) into viral coat proteins. However, manipulation of such late viral genes is difficult due to the potential problems of altering Major Late Transcriptional Unit (MLTU) splicing, protein folding, multimerization, and assembly into a working virus. Further, the viral genome is large and therefore cloning strategies are limited to low efficiency homologous recombination. We have therefore generated a novel and robust vector system, based on unidirectional Cre/lox recombination, which is capable of altering the fiber gene region of adenovirus with high efficiency. The system, termed pFex for Fiber EXchange, applies a small shuttle vector containing a floxed fiber gene cassette and a large acceptor viral vector. The modified fiber gene cassettes can be efficiently recombined back into the large viral vectors in bacteria or mammalian cells that express the Cre enzyme. Additionally, secondary genes and reporter constructs can be included in the Fiber gene cassette. Finally, modified fiber genes can be shuttled into linear, pseudotyped, viral genomes with high efficiency. Here we demonstrate the ability to generate re-targeted and replication-specific reporter adenovirus with this system.
Do hospitalized cancer patients requiring palliative care consultation discharged to subacute rehabilitation ever get anticancer therapy again

62Background: Patients with advanced cancer inevitably experience a functional decline that is often associated with notable symptom burden and/or indications for clarification of goals. Palliative care (PC) services frequently engage such patients during hospital stays. For many of these patients, discharge plans to sub-acute rehabilitation facilities (SAR) in order to ‘gain strength’ for future cancer treatment is a common practice. We wished to examine if inpatients with advanced cancer receiving PC consultation who are discharged to SAR are ever able to follow up with their oncology team and receive anti-cancer therapy. Methods: A search was conducted in our institution’s electronic medical system for hospitalized patients with cancer who received inpatient PC consultation and were subsequently discharged to SAR. Patients were excluded if they did not follow with an oncologist at MWHC as an out patient prior to the admission being reviewed or if they had never received anti cancer therapy before. Resu...
Obstacles to Brain Tumor Therapy: Key ABC Transporters

The delivery of cancer chemotherapy to treat brain tumors remains a challenge, in part, because of the inherent biological barrier, the blood-brain barrier. While its presence and role as a protector of the normal brain parenchyma has been acknowledged for decades, it is only recently that the important transporter components, expressed in the tightly knit capillary endothelial cells, have been deciphered. These transporters are ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters and, so far, the major clinically important ones that functionally contribute to the blood-brain barrier are ABCG2 and ABCB1. A further limitation to cancer therapy of brain tumors or brain metastases is the blood-tumor barrier, where tumors erect a barrier of transporters that further impede drug entry. The expression and regulation of these two transporters at these barriers, as well as tumor derived alteration in expression and/or mutation, are likely obstacles to effective therapy.
Transarterial Chemoembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a minimally invasive procedure performed in interventional radiology to kill cancer cells. TACE is the current standard of care for patients with intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and relatively preserved liver function. Multiple randomized clinical trials demonstrated a survival benefit of TACE, and the treatment has been incorporated into multiple clinical guidelines as standard care for patients with unresectable HCC. In this article, efficacy, technique, indications and contraindications, along with nursing consideration for the preprocedure workup, procedural techniques, and postprocedure management for patients undergoing TACE for nonresectable HCC are reviewed.
International House Price Linkages: Time-Varying Estimates and Contagion for the G-7

Abstract Co-movement between house prices across different countries has important implications for global investors. I employ a new data set on international house prices to examine home value co-...