cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Endoscopic and Transconjunctival Orbital Decompression for Thyroid-Related Orbital Apex Compression

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a combined endoscopic and transconjunctival orbital decompression in patients with thyroid-related orbitopathy with orbital apex compression. Study Design Retrospective review. Methods A sequential series of patients with thyroid-related orbitopathy presenting with orbital apex compressive myopathy with and without optic neuropathy who were undergoing combined endoscopic and transconjunctival decompression by the same surgeons from 1992 to 2001 was reviewed. Patients were regularly evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively over a 3- to 55-month period to record the effects of this approach on visual acuity, Hertel exophthalmometry, and diplopia. Complications and secondary ophthalmological procedures were reviewed. Results Between 1992 and 2001, 72 combined endoscopic and transconjunctival decompressions were performed on 41 patients with orbital apex compression. Visual acuity improved in 89.3% of the patients with compressive optic neuropathy (P <.0005) and in 34.1% of those without neuropathy. Proptosis was reduced by 3.65 mm, on average. There was one case of transient intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid extravasation at the site of the optic nerve decompression, and one patient developed epistaxis. Conclusions The study supports the treatment of thyroid-related orbital apex compression with and without compressive optic neuropathy by a combined transconjunctival and endoscopic approach. This approach offers short hospital stays, excellent visual recovery, and minimal complications in patients with thyroid-related orbital apex compressive myopathy and related compressive optic neuropathy. The beneficial effects observed in the patients with visual loss continued to improve over time and were significant (P <.001).
Geographic disparities in mammography capacity in the south: A longitudinal assessment of supply and demand

ObjectiveStudies have shown that there is sufficient availability of mammography; however, little is known about geographic variation in capacity. The purpose of this study was to determine the locations and extent of over/undersupply of mammography in 14 southern states from 2002 to 2008. Data SourcesMammography facility data were collected from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Population estimates, used to estimate the potential demand for mammography, were obtained from GeoLytics Inc. Study DesignUsing the two-step floating catchment area method, we calculated spatial accessibility at the block group level and categorized the resulting index to represent the extent of under/oversupply relative to the potential demand. Principal FindingsResults show decreasing availability of mammography over time. The extent of over/undersupply varied significantly across the South. Reductions in capacity occurred primarily in areas with an oversupply of machines, resulting in a 68 percent decrease in the percent of women living in excess capacity areas from 2002 to 2008. The percent of women living in poor capacity areas rose by 10 percent from 2002 to 2008. ConclusionsOur study found decreasing mammography availability and capacity over time, with substantial variation across states. This information can assist providers and policy makers in their business planning and resource allocation decisions.
Live forensics: diagnosing your system without killing it first

Live forensics gathers data from running systems, providing additional contextual information that is not available in a disk-only forensic analysis.
Quotients of Bing spaces

Abstract A Bing space is a compact Hausdorff space whose every component is a hereditarily indecomposable continuum. We investigate spaces which are quotients of a Bing space by means of a map which is injective on components. We show that the class of such spaces does not include every compact space, but does properly include the class of compact metric spaces.
Appetite Sensations and Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy: An Overview of the Explanations

We review information about the potential mechanisms underlying nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP), food cravings, and/or aversions in pregnancy. In addition to providing overviews about genetic predispositions and hormonal associations with appetite sensations and NVP, we review two functional explanations: the "maternal and embryo protection" and the "placental growth and development" hypotheses. We conclude with a discussion about the kinds of data that would enable us to better evaluate the relative advantages and disadvantages of NVP across disparate resource and ecological conditions.
Simulation of the role of water in ion channel gating.

Fluids behave differently in confined spaces than inbulk; for example,viscosity changesdrasticallyfor hydro­phobic liquids atleast, as does the activation volume forflow (Granick, 1991). Also, there is evidence for theformation ofstructure at mica surfaces, even for hydro­phobic liquids (Israelachvili and Kott, 1988). Water issomewhat more difficult to study, but is expected tobehave similarly inmany respects, even ifthe intermolec­ular interactions are quite different. An ion channel iscertainly a confined space, with a small numberofwatermolecules held within a pore ofnanometer dimensions.The water must move through the pore when thechannel is open. Thechannel producessignificant forceson the water; the most important appears to be theelectric field produced by the ionic groups on theproteins. In an earlier work (Green, 1989), I proposedthat the water would be ordered by the external fieldacross the membrane; this appears to be incorrect.However, it is entirely possible that the water, held bythe force of the electric field provided by ionic groups,closes the channel. Monte Carlo simulations using theTIP4P potential indicated a strong effect on the waterwhich did imply that the channel would close underthese conditions (Green and Lewis, 1991). However, thecalculation did not include mobile ions. Whereas includ­ing more details in the calculation will be necessary forquantitative comparison with experiment, the only qual­itative difference in the system which seems likely to besignificant is the inclusion of mobile charges. Furtherwork has now been done with a "pseudoion," keepingtheTIP4Ppotential, butadding anextra negative chargeto one of the water molecules. This molecule thusfunctions as a mobile anion in thesimulation. Itdoes nothave the specific local potentialofa chloride ion, noris ita hydroxide ion; in fact, it could as easily have beenpositive. Nevertheless, thelonger range forces, includingin particular the Coulombic forces, will be reasonably
Current perspectives on lipid lowering with statins to decrease risk of cardiovascular disease

Although guidelines for individual risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) assist the healthcare provider, management of the global risk profile of patients is the optimal means to minimize risk. Regardless of whether patients have one or more risk factors, elevated lipid values are generally considered to be a major contributor to global CVD risk. Therefore, reduction of lipid levels is one of the most effective methods to reduce risk of CVD. The 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitor class of drugs (also known as statins) has documented clinical benefits for reducing the incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke, death from CVD, and total death. Despite widespread acknowledgment of the very favorable benefit-to-risk ratio of the statins, most at-risk patients either are not being treated or are not at the goals defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program.
Canine Transposition—Approaches to Treatment

The anomaly of canine transposition is discussed with a review of the literature and three case reports.
Mixed-order basis functions for the locally-corrected Nystro/spl uml/m method

The paper presents a thorough study of the application of the mixed-order basis proposed by F. Caliskan and A.F. Peterson (see IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propag. Lett., vol.2, p.72-3, 2003) for the locally corrected Nystrom (LCN) method when analyzing electromagnetic scattering by targets composed of both dielectric and conducting materials. The integral formulation is based on a superposition of the classical combined field integral equation (CFIE) operator (Peterson et al., 1998) for metallic surfaces and a Muller formulation for penetrable objects (Muller, C., 1969; Mautz, J.R. and Harrington, R.F., 1979). It is demonstrated that for general scattering objects, mixed-order basis functions accelerate the convergence of the LCN solution, eliminate spurious charges for singular geometries, and can significantly reduce the condition number of the impedance matrix.
A pattern language for USA citizens clearing USA passport and customs

This paper contains patterns that form an initial pattern language for United States Citizens re-entering the United States from an international trip, in particular for clearing USA Passport and Customs. It is a team project completed as part of a pattern language project for the Pace University Doctor of Professional Studies (DPS) in Computing program. A preliminary version of this pattern language was presented at a writers' workshop at the 15th Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs (PLoP). PLoP'09, August 28--30, Chicago, IL.
Razón y pulsión de muerte: violencia política en el pasado reciente de Guatemala

En este ensayo reflexionamos acerca de la relacion entre violencia, politica y genocidio en la historia reciente de Guatemala. Para ello estudiamos una muestra de la produccion intelectual sobre dichos topicos. Los revisamos como campos problematicos a la vez que mostramos cuales son las apuestas analiticas que las hacen posibles. El pensamiento estudiado en este ensayo tiene en comun la afirmacion de que la violencia politica en Guatemala es producto de unas estructuras racistas arraigadas en la experiencia colonial. Organizamos el texto en base a dos propuestas de trabajo. La primera estudia el pasado de violencia apoyandose en conceptos como biopolitica. Este analisis muestra como la supuesta superioridad blanca nos mueve de una racionalidad que se manifiesta en el orden finca a una necropedagogia que culmina en la liminacion de las poblaciones indigenas. La segunda propuesta complementa la anterior integrando la dimension psicoanalitica. Pasan a primer plano las estructuras psiquicas que operan y producen el lazo social que admite la experiencia limite del genocidio. La conclusion es que el Estado guatemalteco, tanto como la estructura de poder dominante, ha sido racista, perverso, criminal y psicotico.
Miss-targeted or miss-measured?

Abstract A method is proposed for testing the robustness of the assessed targeting performance of an anti-poverty program to the fact that program administrators have a broader concept of “poverty” than the economist/evaluator. An application is given to China's main urban anti-poverty program.
Electrical conductivity of Li2SO4Ag2SO4 solid electrolytes

Abstract New solid-state electrochemical sensors using Li 2 SO 4 Ag 2 SO 4 electrolytes have been recently developed in our laboratory for measring SO 2 and/or SO 3 in gas mixtures. The electrical conductivities of these solid electrolytes are reported in this paper. An A. C. impedance technique has been used to measure the electrical conductivities of several Li 2 SO 4 Ag 2 SO 4 solid electrolytes. Results indicate that the electrical conductivities of the Li 2 SO 4 Ag 2 SO 4 solid electrolytes are much higher than those for other sulfate electrolytes. The variation in conductivity with gas composition has also been investigated. The independence of the electrical conductivity with the SO 2 and SO 3 concentrations indicates that the conduction is ionic.
The use of nifedipine during the postpartum period in patients with severe preeclampsia

Nifedipine is a calcium channel blocker that reduces blood pressure and increases renal blood flow. This double-blind investigation evaluated the effect of nifedipine in postpartum patients with severe preeclampsia. Thirty-one patients were randomized to receive either nifedipine (10 mg) or placebo every 4 hours beginning immediately after delivery. Data analysis revealed a significantly higher urine output in the nifedipine group during the first 24 hours after delivery (3834 versus 2057 ml; p less than 0.05). A significant reduction in mean arterial pressure was also noted in the nifedipine group between 18 and 24 hours postpartum (93.9 versus 100.2 mm Hg; p less than 0.05). There were no significant differences in the systolic or diastolic blood pressures, pulse, laboratory study results, or the need to administer hydralazine to control blood pressure. Nifedipine appears to have a beneficial effect on urinary output and mean arterial pressure during the first 24 hours post partum in patients with severe preeclampsia.
The NWSC benchmark suite using scientific throughput to measure supercomputer performance

The NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC) will begin operating in June 2012, and will house NCAR's next generation HPC system. The NWSC will support a broad spectrum of Earth Science research drawn from a user community with diverse requirements for computing, storage, and data analysis resources. To ensure that the NWSC satisfies the needs of this community, the procurement benchmarking process was driven by science requirements from the start. We will discuss the science objectives for NWSC, translating scientific goals into technical requirements for a machine, and assembling a benchmark suite from community science models and synthetic tests to measure the technical capabilities of the proposed HPC systems. We will also talk about the benchmark analysis process, extending the benchmark suite as a testing tool over the life of the machine, and the applicability of the NWSC benchmarking suite to other HPC centers.
Incidence Angle Effect of Energetic Carbon Ions on Deposition Rate, Topography, and Structure of Ultrathin Amorphous Carbon Films Deposited by Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc

The effect of the incidence angle of energetic carbon ions on the thickness, topography, and structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) was examined in the context of numerical and experimental results. The thickness of a-C films deposited at different incidence angles was investigated in the light of Monte Carlo simulations, and the calculated depth profiles were compared with those obtained from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The topography and structure of the a-C films were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The film thickness decreased with the increase of the incidence angle, while the surface roughness increased and the content of tetrahedral carbon hybridization (sp3) decreased significantly with the increase of the incidence angle above 45°, measured from the surface normal. TEM, AFM, and XPS results indicate that the smoothest and thinnest a-C films with the highest content of sp3 carbon bonding were produced for an incidence angle of 45°. The findings of this study have direct implications in ultrahigh-density magnetic recording, where ultrathin and smooth a-C films with high sp3 contents are of critical importance.
Critical Comparison Between Equation of Motion-Green's Function Methods and Configuration Interaction Methods: Analysis of Methods and Applications

A description is provided of the common conceptual origins of many-body equations of motion and Green's function methods in Liouville operator formulations of the quantum mechanics of atomic and molecular electronic structure. Numerical evidence is provided to show the inadequacies of the traditional strictly perturbative approaches to these methods. Nonperturbative methods are introduced by analogy with techniques developed for handling large configuration interaction calculations and by evaluating individual matrix elements to higher accuracy. The important role of higher excitations is exhibited by the numerical calculations, and explicit comparisons are made between converged equations of motion and configuration interaction calculations for systems where a fundamental theorem requires the equality of the energy differences produced by these different approaches.
Ad-dimers on Strained Carbon Nanotubes: A New Route for Quantum Dot Formation?

Among the many remarkable properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes, it is their mechanical and electronic properties that stand out [1]. The excellent resistance of carbon nanotubes to bending [2 –7] should lead to future applications of the tubes as a high-strength, lightweight material. Turning to their electronic properties, we find that, at ambient temperatures, single-walled carbon nanotubes may be either metallic or semiconducting, depending upon their helicity [8– 12]. It has been shown [13] that tubes with different helicities may be joined together with one or more pentagon-heptagon (5-7) defects to form different electronic heterojunctions, thereby opening up the intriguing possibility of forming all-carbon based microelectronic devices [14,15]. Some of these remarkable theoretical predictions have recently been confirmed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments [16]. However, if the dream of producing an all-carbon-based microelectronics is ever to be realized, then different methods will be needed to produce a variety of devices. Here, we present the results of a large-scale study of the mechanical transformations of strained nanotubes in the presence of ad-dimers and show that this combination may well turn out to be a natural route for the formation of all-carbon nanotube-based quantum dots. Ad-dimers are likely to be present in small amounts on as-grown carbon nanotubes, or they may be deposited there with a STM tip or other methods. The formation of quantum dots with ad-dimers is particularly favorable for the n ,0 zigzag tubes. Specifically, we show that ad-dimers induce plastic behavior on tubes that are otherwise brittle. Before discussing the simulations, we briefly review the
Surgical removal of solitary hepatic metastasis from choroidal melanoma

Purpose To report surgical management of solitary hepatic metastasis that occurred 25 years after an enucleation for uveal melanoma. Methods A 16-year-old girl, diagnosed with choroidal melanoma and treated with enucleation, was found 25 years later to have liver metastasis affecting the entire left lobe of the liver. Results She underwent partial hepatectomy with removal of the metastatic melanoma. Four years later, she was found to have a smaller circumscribed nodular melanoma in the remaining right lobe of the liver, also treated with resection. She has remained disease-free for 2 years, with no evidence of systemic disease. Conclusion Surgical excision may be a useful treatment option in selected cases with solitary, circumscribed liver metastasis from uveal melanoma.
Recent advances on the manipulation of single biomolecules

Over the last ten years, a number of new approaches have emerged that have made it possible for scientists to mechanically manipulate individual molecules. These methods are proving themselves quite powerful to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying many dynamic biochemical processes. Because molecules are studied one at a time, single molecule manipulation techniques avoid the ensemble average characteristic of bulk studies. This feature is particularly useful to follow complex dynamic processes in time where the presence of multiple species in solution blurs the dynamical description of the system. Moreover, many processes in the cell are known to be mechanical in nature and mechanical force is one of the "products" of the reaction. It follows that forces applied to the molecules undergoing these processes can be used to alter the extent and in some cases even the fate of the reactions, thus helping to reveal the molecular mechanisms by which force is generated in them. In this presentation, I will illustrate the use of optical tweezers with three different examples taken from my own research.
Critical and Transformative Literacies: Music and General Education

Even though there are multiple literacies, the preoccupation and even reliance on the primacy of functional literacy, as seen as an end-point in the formal process of schooling, masks an ideology that rarely goes interrogated throughout all disciplines. This article considers the obligation and structure of functional literacy, and, in particular, scripted curriculum, as an imposition of meaning. Broad constructions of literacy, as have been addressed in the general disciplines (including mathematics, language arts, history, and science), provide a lens through which to consider those ways sequential, scripted curriculum and pedagogy frame all disciplines, most especially music.
Drag Reduction by Controlling Flow Separation Using Stepped Afterbodies

A method has been proposed of controlling separated base flows as a means of reducing aerodynamic drag. A series of steps attached to the base of the body of interest is used to control flow separation by forming a system of captive vortices on the steps. Kentfield's wind tunnel experiments seemed to confirm this concept for axisymmetric bodies at low subsonic Mach numbers and low Reynolds numbers. He reported drag reductions of as much as 56% using stepped afterbodies as compared to identical bodies with flat bases. The paper presents results obtained from further investigations of this stepped base concept in conjunction with both fin- and spin-stabilised configurations at high subsonic,
Intercalibrated lead concentration measurements in the Atlantic Ocean

Measurements of dissolved (< 0.22 μm) lead concentrations in seawater in samples collected on the third 1996 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission cruise (IOC III) in the Atlantic Ocean have been intercalibrated. This represents the first successful intercalibration (p < 0.05, paired t-test) of lead concentration measurements in the IOC's Global Investigation of Pollution in the Marine Environment (GIPME), which was designed to establish the baseline concentrations of trace elements in oceanic waters and the reproducibility of those measurements.
Demography of the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch

A simple life table model was constructed for Tetranychus urticae in which daily survivorship of eggs and motil stages, fecundity, and development time was altered to assess the impact of each parameter on the intrinsic rate of increase. r. Interpretation of the trade-offs focused on management considerations.A second aspect of the study concerned age and stage structure in mite populations including the time path of convergence to a stable age distribution and the effect of changes in birth and death rates on the age profile. The stable stage distributions of 7 tetranychid mite species were computed using 25 separate life tables. In spite of the wide range of r-values induced by different experimental conditions, all of the stage distributions were quite similar averaging roughly 66% eggs, 26% immatures, and 8% adults. Several population studies were cited which reported stage distributions of growing mite populations. The empirical evidence suggested that natural mite populations are often quite near this stable distribution.A practical problem involving the extent to which hormoligosis (insecticide stimulation) affects mite population growth rate was addressed using the life table model and laboratory data from controlled studies. The findings suggested that mite populations treated with insecticide may attain a 1.4- to a 4.2-fold difference in population size relative to an untreated population after 2 generations and over a 1,300-fold potential difference after 10 generations.
GM1-Ganglioside Accumulation at the Mitochondria-Associated ER Membranes Links ER Stress to Ca2+-Dependent Mitochondrial Apoptosis

Mitochondria-associated ER membranes, or MAMs, define the sites of endoplasmic reticulum/mitochondria juxtaposition that control Ca(2+) flux between these organelles. We found that in a mouse model of the human lysosomal storage disease GM1-gangliosidosis, GM1-ganglioside accumulates in the glycosphingolipid-enriched microdomain (GEM) fractions of MAMs, where it interacts with the phosphorylated form of IP3 receptor-1, influencing the activity of this channel. Ca(2+) depleted from the ER is then taken up by the mitochondria, leading to Ca(2+) overload in this organelle. The latter induces mitochondrial membrane permeabilization (MMP), opening of the permeability transition pore, and activation of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. This study identifies the GEMs as the sites of Ca(2+) diffusion between the ER and the mitochondria. We propose a new mechanism of Ca(2+)-mediated apoptotic signaling whereby GM1 accumulation at the GEMs alters Ca(2+) dynamics and acts as a molecular effector of both ER stress-induced and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis of neuronal cells.
Expression and purification of hexahistidine-tagged human glutathione S-transferase P1-1 in Escherichia coli.

Abstract The bacterial expression and purification of human pi class glutathione S-transferase (hGST P1-1) as a hexahistidine-tagged polypeptide was performed. The expression plasmid for hGST P1-1 was constructed by ligation of the cDNA which codes for the protein into the expression vector pET-15b. The expressed protein was purified by either glutathione or metal (Co2+) affinity column chromatography, which produced the pure and fully active enzyme in one step with a yield of more than 30 mg/liter culture. The activity of the purified protein was 130 units mg−1 from the GSH affinity column and 112 units mg−1 from the Co2+ affinity column chromatography. The purity of the protein was assessed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and size-exclusion chromatography. It showed that the real molecular weight of the hexahistidine-tagged hGST P1-1 polypeptide chain agreed with the calculated value and that the purified protein eluted as an apparent homodimer on the gel filtration column. Our expression system allows the expression and purification of active hexahistidine-tagged hGST P1-1 in high yield with no need of removal of the hexahistidine tag and gives pure protein in one purification step allowing further study of this enzyme.
Living the dream or awakening from the nightmare: Race and athletic identity

Education is often viewed as the door that leads out of poverty for many students of color. But for many African American boys and young men, the dream of becoming a professional athlete is a door that appears to be wide open. Considering the over‐representation of African American athletes in revenue‐producing sports in colleges, universities and at the professional ranks, it is no surprise that many African American male youth develop aspirations for, and identify with the athletic role. These aspirations may become even more focused and intense if they ascend to the level of division I college athletes. The identification with the athlete role is likely to intensify as they get closer to the goal of professional sport. Most individuals occupy multiple identities or roles in life such as sibling, student, spouse, employee, athlete, etc. Identity salience and strength depends on the importance of that role. Athletic identity has been defined as the degree to which an individual identifies with the athlet...
Characterization of laser seeding by use of group-velocity dispersion in an atomic-vapor filter

A method for measuring laser seeding efficiencies by use of group-velocity dispersion has been developed. By tuning the laser near a resonance in an atomic-vapor filter it is possible to temporally decouple the seeded (narrow-band) light from the unseeded (broadband) light. We measured a seeding efficiency of 99.8% of the third harmonic of an injection-seeded Ti:sapphire laser. A model for the observed dispersion has been developed and tested. The group-velocity dispersion in the filter may also be used to chirp pulses for spectral analysis in the time domain.
Network and Complexity Theories: A Comparison and Prospects for a Synthesis

It is argued that a synthesis of network and complexity theories will help enhance the theoretical and methodological capabilities of understanding governance, policy, and public management network...
Effects of fat replacers on the sensory properties, color, melting, and hardness of ice cream

Abstract We examined the effects of individual fat replacers on the physical and sensory properties of fat-free ice cream. Ice creams (≤0.5% milk fat) were formulated with maltodextrin, milk protein concentrate, or polydextrose. Lactose-reduced, freeze-concentrated skim milk was used to prepare a 1.6% fat ice cream mix. Experimental mixes were formulated to maintain the sweetness intensity and freezing characteristics of a 10% fat ice cream mix. Ice creams with 10 or 0.1% fat were prepared as controls. Composition, color, hardness, and melting characteristics were measured, and descriptive sensory analysis was used to score the ice creams. Only the maltodextrin sample was as white as 10% fat ice cream, whereas the polydextrose and lactose-reduced, freeze-concentrated skim milk samples were more yellow. Except for milk protein concentrate ice cream, products containing fat replacers were less hard than 0.1% fat ice cream. Products made with fat replacers melted faster and were judged by the sensory panel to have less cream flavor than 10% fat ice cream. Although the lactose-reduced, freeze-concentrated skim milk product had the lowest level of undesirable flavors (i.e., corn syrup, milk powder, and aftertaste) relative to the products prepared with the other fat replacers, its textural characteristics were scored as the least desirable. The sensory analysis panel scored maltodextrin as best overall as a single fat replacer in fat-free ice cream. These results suggest the need for development of fat replacer blends to optimize quality of fat-free frozen desserts.
A Broader Perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility Research in Accounting

M ost companies try to project an image of corporate social responsibility (CSR), often by voluntarily supplementing their annual financial reports with separate CSR reports. Because such CSR reports represent additional disclosures, accounting researchers have become increasingly interested in the role that such disclosures play in firm valuation. The fundamental importance of CSR issues in accounting research is evidenced by the two articles in this Forum (Dhaliwal et al. 2012; Kim et al. 2012), as well as by other recent CSR articles published in The Accounting Review (Dhaliwal et al. 2011; Balakrishnan et al. 2011; Simnett et al. 2009) and other outlets. Traditionally, scholars have considered two broad perspectives on CSR. Economics, finance, and accounting researchers (e.g., Friedman 1970; Shank et al. 2005; Dhaliwal et al. 2011), as well as some writers in the financial press (Karnani 2010), have typically taken the perspective that companies will, or should, only engage in socially responsible activities when doing so maximizes shareholder value. However, there is also a long history of an alternative perspective advocated by
Software instrumentation for failure analysis of USB host controllers

Failures caused by electrostatic discharge (ESD) compromise the reliability of embedded systems. Peripherals such as the universal serial bus (USB) are particularly vulnerable, as isolating them to avoid electromagnetic interference would defy their purpose - facilitating communication with and/or by the embedded system. Better understanding the propagation of failures that result from ESD would facilitate defensive development of hardware and software for embedded systems, but is hampered by the lack of non-invasive and lightweight instrumentation techniques. This paper proposes the use of software instrumentation for monitoring the reaction of the USB peripheral of an embedded system to ESD. It describes our efforts towards detection and root cause analysis of ESD-induced failures - correlating changes in the operation of the peripheral with the specific pin subjected to ESD. The work described is intended as proof-of-concept for the development and use of (in situ) software instrumentation for lightweight acquisition of data that can be used for runtime failure analysis and actuation of self-healing mechanisms, as well as postmortem statistical analysis of system reliability, availability, and survivability.
The Incidence of Stroke after Myocardial Infarction: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract Purpose While the risk of stroke after myocardial infarction (MI) is increased compared with the risk among those without MI, the magnitude of this risk remains unclear. Although numerous clinical trials have reported the incidence of stroke following MI, these are among selected populations. We reviewed cohort studies reporting the incidence of stroke after MI to better define the risk of ischemic stroke in an unselected population. Methods A computerized literature search (MEDLINE and PubMed) and manual review of reference lists of identified articles were conducted. Population-based studies published from 1978-2004 with at least 100 subjects that reported number or percent of ischemic strokes experienced by MI survivors were identified. Data were extracted using standardized forms, and study quality was assessed by 2 independent reviewers. Ischemic stroke rates were reported as number of events per 1000 MI with 95% confidence intervals (CI) calculated by Poisson distribution. A combined stroke rate was calculated for in-hospital, 30 days, and 1-year post-MI using weights of 1/variance. A random-effects model also was created to estimate in-hospital stroke rate. Variability in study designs and outcome definitions limit synthesis of available data. Results During hospitalization for the index MI, 11.1 ischemic strokes occurred per 1000 MI compared with 12.2 at 30 days and 21.4 at 1 year. Using a random-effects model, 14.5 strokes occurred per 1000 MI. Positive predictors of stroke after MI included: advanced age, diabetes, hypertension, history of prior stroke, anterior location of index MI, prior MI, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and nonwhite race. Conclusions The public health implications of stroke among MI survivors, as well as the large number of MI survivors, underscore the need to be aware of this devastating complication. Further research is needed to determine the optimal stroke prevention strategies for MI survivors.
Verification of TIGGE Multimodel and ECMWF Reforecast-Calibrated Probabilistic Precipitation Forecasts over the Contiguous United States*

AbstractProbabilistic quantitative precipitation forecasts (PQPFs) were generated from The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) Interactive Grand Global Ensemble (TIGGE) database from July to October 2010 using data from Europe (ECMWF), the United Kingdom [Met Office (UKMO)], the United States (NCEP), and Canada [Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC)]. Forecasts of 24-h accumulated precipitation were evaluated at 1° grid spacing within the contiguous United States against analysis data based on gauges and bias-corrected radar data.PQPFs from ECMWF’s ensembles generally had the highest skill of the raw ensemble forecasts, followed by CMC. Those of UKMO and NCEP were less skillful. PQPFs from CMC forecasts were the most reliable but the least sharp, and PQPFs from NCEP and UKMO ensembles were the least reliable but sharper.Multimodel PQPFs were more reliable and skillful than individual ensemble prediction system forecasts. The improvement was larger for heavier precipitation eve...
The value of electrophysiologic studies in syncope of undetermined origin: report of 150 cases

A prospective study examined the diagnostic yield and therapeutic efficacy of electrophysiologic studies in patients with SUO. We defined SUO as those syncopal or near-syncopal events remaining unexplained after a standardized, noninvasive evaluation that included a history, physical examination, routine laboratory screening, EEG, nuclear brain scan or CAT scan, 12-lead ECG, chest x-ray, orthostatic vital signs, bedside carotid sinus massage, and at least 24 hours of continuous ECG monitoring. The 150 SUO patients included 95 men and 55 women (mean age 62.0 years); 35 had recurrent SUO, 75 (50%) had organic heart disease, and 129 (86%) had abnormal ECGs. There were 162 abnormal electrophysiologic findings that could explain the SUO uncovered in 112 patients, a diagnostic yield of 75%: one finding in 71 patients, two findings in 32, and three findings in nine. These findings were: His-Purkinje disease in 49 patients (30%), inducible ventricular arrhythmias in 36 (22%), AV nodal disease in 20 (12%), sinus node disease in 19 (12%), inducible supraventricular arrhythmias in 18 (11%), carotid sinus hypersensitivity (not elicited by carotid sinus massage prior to electrophysiologic studies) in 15 (9%), and hypervagotonia in five (3%). When electrophysiologic study findings were classified as clearly abnormal or borderline, 54 patients had at least one clearly abnormal finding, a diagnostic yield of 36%. Subgroups of patients presenting with only a single SUO event, no evidence of organic heart disease, or normal baseline ECGs all had substantial diagnostic yields during electrophysiologic studies. Follow-up data in 137 patients (91%) (mean 31 months) showed recurrences in 16 of 34 patients (47%) without and 15 of 103 patients (15%) with electrophysiologic findings despite therapy directed by electrophysiologic testing (p less than 0.0005). This study and a review of the literature indicate that electrophysiologic testing is useful in elucidating the causes of SUO and directing therapy. A significant number of patients benefit from electrophysiologic studies, even when only clearly abnormal findings are considered diagnostic, when only a single syncopal event has occurred, or whether or not organic heart disease or an abnormal ECG is present.
The development of social preferences in the voles Microtus montanus and Microtus canicaudus: effects of cross-fostering.

Litters of Microtus montanus and Microtus canicaudus were cross-fostered for 28 days postpartum. Upon reaching sexual maturity, they were tested for social preferences by giving them a 48-hr choice test between individuals of the opposite sex of the two species. The test animals had free access to the stimulus animals. The major results were as follows: (1) M. montanus males reared by natural parents showed a preference for conspecific females, while fostered males showed no preference; (2) M. montanus females reared by natural parents showed no discrimination between males, while fostered females preferred males of the foster species; and (3) M. canicaudus females showed no discrimination between males when reared both by natural or foster parents. It is likely that the discriminations shown were based on olfactory cues, but this was not specifically examined in these experiments. It is concluded that, at least in M. montanus, a behavioral isolating mechanism may be established by early experience with the parents.
Report of Committee on Glaciers, 1945

To Preston P. Macy, Superintendent of Olympic National Park, the Committee is indebted for the first data on the recession of the Blue Glacier, one of the major ice streams on Mount Olympus. Annual measurements to its terminus were begun in 1938, the year in which Olympic National Park was established, and such measurements, MACY states, will be continued in future years, circumstances permitting. Thus one more sizable glacier is added to the list of ice bodies in the western United States whose variations in length and volume in response to current climatic fluctuations are being observed from year to year.
Enzymatic synthesis of camphor from neryl pyrophosphate by a soluble preparation from sage (Salvia officinalis).

Summary Camphor, a bicyclic monoterpene ketone, is one of the major components of the volatile oil of sage (Salvia officinalis). A soluble enzyme preparation obtained from homogenates of young sage leaves converts the acyclic precursor neryl pyrophosphate to borneol in the presence of Mg++, and in the presence of NAD, dehydrogenates the borneol formed to camphor. The biosynthetic products were identified via the synthesis of derivatives and radiochromatographic analysis. The results presented strongly suggest that camphor is derived by the cyclization of neryl pyrophosphate to horneol followed by dehydrogenation of this bicyclic alcohol. This is the first report on the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of camphor.
Preparation of primary cultures of ovine thyroid gland cells

An effective method is described for the dissociation of ovine thyroid gland tissue using collagenase as the dispersing agent. The procedure results in large yields of cells from relatively small amounts of thyroid tissue. The conditions for preparing primary cultures of the cells which result in optimum morphologic and metabolic responses to thyroid-stimulating hormone are presented.
Two methods for establishing primary human endometrial stromal cells from hysterectomy specimens

Many efforts have been devoted to establish in vitro cell culture systems. These systems are designed to model a vast number of in vivo processes. Cell culture systems arising from human endometrial samples are no exception. Applications range from normal cyclic physiological processes to endometrial pathologies such as gynecological cancers, infectious diseases, and reproductive deficiencies. Here, we provide two methods for establishing primary endometrial stromal cells from surgically resected endometrial hysterectomy specimens. The first method is referred to as “the scraping method” and incorporates mechanical scraping using surgical or razor blades whereas the second method is termed “the trypsin method.” This latter method uses the enzymatic activity of trypsin to promote the separation of cells and primary cell outgrowth. We illustrate step-by-step methodology through digital images and microscopy. We also provide examples for validating endometrial stromal cell lines via quantitative real time polymerase chain reactions (qPCR) and immunofluorescence (IF).
Time-domain stability robustness measures for linear regulators

The stability robustness aspect of linear systems is analyzed in the time domain. A bound on the perturbation of an asymptotically stable linear system is obtained to maintain stability using Liapunov matrix equation solution. The resulting bound is shown to be an improved upper bound over the ones recently reported in the literature. The proposed methodology is then extended to Linear Quadratic (LQ) and Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) regulators. Examples given include comparison with an aircraft control problem previously analyzed.
THE TRIBE CTENOCERATINI IN AUSTRALIA (HYMENOPTERA: POMPILIDAE)

The pompilid tribe Ctenoceratini (Pompilidae, Pepsinae) is reported from Australia for the first time. The genus Maurillus Smith is properly included in this tribe, and the type species, australis Smith, is here redescribed. Also included are three new genera: Apoclavelia, based on A. aganippeae sp. n. (Western Australia); Austroclavelia, based on A. venator sp. n. (South Australia); and Cteniziphontes, with Calopompilus protervus Turner as type-species and also including C. ornatus sp. n. (both Western Australia). Members of the last three genera have been reared from the nests of trap-door spiders.
Using knowledge to organize sound: the prediction-driven approach to computational auditory scene analysis and its application to speech/nonspeech mixtures

Computational auditory scene analysis ‐ modeling the human ability to organize sound mixtures according to their sources ‐ has experienced a rapid evolution as the simple principles suggested by psychological experiments have turned out to be less than the whole story. Phenomena such as the continuity illusion and phonemic restoration show that the brain is able to use a wide range of knowledge-based contextual constraints when interpreting obscured or complex mixtures: To model such processing, we need architectures that operate by confirming hypotheses about the observations rather than relying on directly-extracted descriptions. One such architecture, the ‘prediction-driven’ approach, is presented along with results from its initial implementation. This architecture can be extended to take advantage of the high-level knowledge implicit in today’s speech recognizers by modifying a recognizer to act as one of the ‘component models’ which provide the explanations of the signal mixture. Although this adaptation raises a number of issues, a preliminary investigation supports the argument that successful scene analysis must exploit such abstract knowledge at every level.
Mono-(L)-aspartylchlorin-e6.

Mono-(L)-aspartylchlorin-e6 (also known as Talaporfin, NPe6, MACE, and most recently LS-11) is a potent sensitizer for photodynamic therapy that is currently undergoing clinical trials. Using a combination of unambiguous partial synthesis from pheophytin-a and methyl pheophorbide-a, NMR spectroscopy, and single crystal X-ray diffraction, the structure of mono-(L)-aspartylchlorin-e 6 is definitively shown to be the isomer in which the aspartyl residue is attached at the 15 2 -side chain position. This conclusion is contrary to earlier assumptions, but affirms the conclusions of a study based on NMR spectroscopy; a rationale for the unique formation of the 15 2 -aspartyl derivative is proposed.
A study of an irrelevant variability normalization based discriminative training approach for LVCSR

This paper presents a discriminative training (DT) approach to irrelevant variability normalization (IVN) based training of feature transforms and hidden Markov models for large vocabulary continuous speech recognition. A speaker-clustering based method is used for acoustic sniffing and maximum mutual information (MMI) is used as a training criterion. Combined with unsupervised adaptation of feature transforms, the IVN-based DT approach achieves a 14.5% relative word error rate reduction over an MMI-trained baseline system on a Switchboard-1 conversational telephone speech transcription task.
Gait variability is altered in patients with peripheral arterial disease

Objective Claudication is the most common presentation of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), producing significant ambulatory compromise. Claudicating patients, most of whom are elderly, have reduced mobility and poor health outcomes, including an increased risk of falls. The gait of elderly fallers is characterized by increased variability. Increase in the variability of the locomotor system makes the gait more noisy and unstable. The purpose of this study is to investigate gait variability in patients with PAD. Methods Nineteen symptomatic PAD patients (age, 63.6 ± 9.8 years; body mass, 82.1 ± 18.5 kg; height, 1.71 ± 0.06 m) walked on a treadmill in the absence of pain or claudication symptoms while joint flexion and extension kinematics were captured. Results were compared with results obtained from 17 matched healthy controls (age, 65.2 ± 12.5 years; body mass, 82.0 ± 25.9.5 kg; height, 1.73 ± 0.08 m). Relative joint angles were calculated for the ankle, knee, and hip flexion/extension, and the stride-to-stride variability of joint flexion and extension was calculated from at least 30 consecutive footfalls. Variability was expressed using the largest Lyapunov exponent, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation. Independent t tests were used to compare gait variability between groups. Results Symptomatic PAD patients had significantly higher largest Lyapunov exponent values and coefficient of variation values for all joints, and higher standard deviation values at the ankle and the hip ( P Conclusion Symptomatic PAD patients have increased gait variability at the ankle, knee, and hip joints at baseline ambulation in the absence of claudication pain. Our findings indicate significant baseline deterioration in the locomotor system of symptomatic PAD patients. This deterioration results in increased noise and instability of gait and is a potential contributing factor to the falls and mobility problems experienced by symptomatic PAD patients.