cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Benign thyroid disease: what is the role of nuclear medicine?

Nuclear medicine is directly involved in both the diagnosis and treatment of benign thyroid disease, which requires an understanding of the pathophysiology and management of thyroid disorders in addition to expertise in nuclear methodology. Thyroid uptake and imaging, the principal nuclear tests in thyroid disease, may be used as follows: (1) Differential diagnosis of hyperthyroidism: A very low thyroid uptake suggests destructive ("subacute") thyroiditis, a self-limited disorder, whereas a normal or elevated uptake is consistent with toxic nodular goiter and Graves' disease. Scintigraphic characteristics also help differentiate between nodular and Graves' disease. (2) Function of thyroid nodules: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy with cytological examination (FNAB) is used routinely to assess for malignancy in thyroid nodules. Scintigraphy may be of assistance before FNAB. "Hot" nodules are generally benign and do not require FNAB, while "cold" nodules may be malignant. (3) Differential diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism: Scintigraphy combined with ultrasound examination may be used to identify such conditions as thyroid agenesis, dyshormonogenesis, and incomplete thyroid descent. Treatment of Graves' disease and toxic nodular disease with 131 I may require greater clinical involvement and decision analysis compared with thyroid uptake and imaging. The following aspects of treatment are particularly important: (1) Risk: Radioiodine treatment may occasionally aggravate hyperthyroidism, Graves' ophthalmopathy, and airway obstruction caused by large, nodular goiters. Alternative treatments, including the temporary use of antithyroid drugs, and surgery for nodular goiters, may be considered. (2) Radioiodine dose: Cure of hyperthyroidism with a single 131 I treatment is desirable, though not always possible. Such factors as a large goiter, severe hyperthyroidism, and prior propylthiouracil therapy, may contribute to treatment failure. (3) Informed consent: A detailed discussion with the patient regarding the clinical risks, outcomes, and side effects of 131 I is a critical component of successful management.
Comparison of Disintegrant and Binder Activity of Three Corn Starch Products

AbstractThis study demonstrates the differences obtained when using different corn starch products as both binder and disintegrant in pharmaceutical tablets. Formulations made with Fluftex W, Tablet White and Purity 21 starches were compared. In addition, Avicel PH101 was used in this study as a benchmark component whose properties are well understood.Four test formulations containing hydrochlorothiazide were prepared by wet granulation. Starch was incorporated in both powder and paste form. All granulations were found to possess similar traits when evaluated based upon geometric mean diameter, particle size distribution, bulk/tap densities, powder flow rate and surface characteristics.Tablets prepared from these granulations were shown to be similar when evaluated for degree of friability, weight and content uniformity. All starch formulations disintegrated within 30 seconds and produced similar dissolution profiles. Tablets produced with Avicel, however, were found to exhibit significantly longer disint...
Control systems laboratory at the University of Nevada

The junior level control lab is an important component of the electrical engineering curriculum at the University of Nevada, Reno. Its serves to familiarize the student with the design simulation and analysis of control systems. The emphasis is on the basics and advanced theoretical concepts are avoided. The electronic instruments used in the lab are all capable of interaction with personal computers through the HP interface bus. This creates an integrated lab environment that combines data acquisition and analysis. The major topics considered in the lab are transducers, circuit implementation of controllers, mathematical modeling, computer aided design and simulation of control systems.
Neural cell fate in rca1 and cycA mutants: the roles of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in asymmetric division in the Drosophila central nervous system

In the central nervous system (CNS) of Drosophila embryos lacking regulator of cyclin A (rca1 )o rcyclin A, we observe that several ganglion mother cells (GMCs) fail to divide. Whereas GMCs normally produce two sibling neurons that acquire different fates (‘A/B’), nondividing GMCs differentiate exclusively in the manner of one of their progeny (‘B’). In zygotic numb mutants, sibling neuron fate alterations (‘A/B’ to ‘A/A’) occur infrequently or do not occur in some sibling pairs; we have determined that depletion of both maternal and zygotic numb causes sibling neurons to acquire equalized fates (‘A/A’) with near-complete expressivity. In rca1, numb mutant embryos, we observe binary cell fate changes (‘B’ to ‘A’) in several GMCs as well. Finally, we have demonstrated that expression of Delta in the mesoderm is sufficient to attain both sibling fates. Our results indicate that the intrinsic determinant Numb is absolutely required to attain differential sibling neuron fates. While the extrinsic factors Notch and Delta are also required to attain both fates, our results indicate that Delta signal can be received from outside the sibling pair. q 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Clinical decision support with IM-agents and ERMA multi-agents

IM-Agents (intelligent monitoring agents) provides a system infrastructure and proof of concept applications demonstrating meaningful diagnosis and intervention advice for healthcare personnel. The problem domain is extremely complex, with uncertainties and interdependencies. The monitored environment for a patient is comprised of a number of influences from numerous sources involving asynchronous, dynamic changes. Agents act as a collaborative team of specialists. Data is dynamically collected, filtered and integrated. Dynamic inference is accomplished within agents through a hybrid approach of fuzzy logic, causal Bayesian networks, trend analysis and qualitative logic. Emergency medical assistant (ERMA) components demonstrate the system for the trauma environment with particular emphasis on types of shock and stabilization of arterial blood gases. This approach for clinical decision support systems shows promise for a number of critical care scenarios.
Probabilistic Collision Checking With Chance Constraints

Obstacle avoidance, and by extension collision checking, is a basic requirement for robot autonomy. Most classical approaches to collision-checking ignore the uncertainties associated with the robot and obstacle's geometry and position. It is natural to use a probabilistic description of the uncertainties. However, constraint satisfaction cannot be guaranteed, in this case, and collision constraints must instead be converted to chance constraints. Standard results for linear probabilistic constraint evaluation have been applied to probabilistic collision evaluation; however, this approach ignores the uncertainty associated with the sensed obstacle. An alternative formulation of probabilistic collision checking that accounts for robot and obstacle uncertainty is presented which allows for dependent object distributions (e.g., interactive robot-obstacle models). In order to efficiently enforce the resulting collision chance constraints, an approximation is proposed and the validity of this approximation is evaluated. The results presented here have been applied to robot-motion planning in dynamic, uncertain environments.
Tectonics of the Afar Depression: A review and synthesis

Abstract This article outlines geomorphological and tectonic elements of the Afar Depression, and discusses its evolution. A combination of far-field stress, due to the convergence of the Eurasian and Arabian plates along the Zagros Orogenic Front, and uplift of the Afar Dome due to a rising mantle plume reinforced each other to break the lithosphere of the Arabian–Nubian Shield. Thermal anomalies beneath the Arabian–Nubian Shield in the range of 150 °C–200 °C, induced by a rising plume that mechanically and thermally eroded the base of the mantle lithosphere and generated pulses of prodigious flood basalt since ∼30 Ma. Subsequent to the stretching and thinning the Afar Dome subsided to form the Afar Depression. The fragmentation of the Arabian–Nubian Shield led to the separation of the Nubian, Arabian and Somalian Plates along the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the Main Ethiopian Rift. The rotation of the intervening Danakil, East-Central, and Ali-Sabieh Blocks defined major structural trends in the Afar Depression. The Danakil Block severed from the Nubian plate at ∼20 Ma, rotated anti-clockwise, translated from lower latitude and successively moved north, left-laterally with respect to Nubia. The westward propagating Gulf of Aden rift breached the Danakil Block from the Ali-Sabieh Block at ∼2 Ma and proceeded along the Gulf of Tajura into the Afar Depression. The propagation and overlap of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden along the Manda Hararo–Gobaad and Asal–Manda Inakir rifts caused clockwise rotation of the East-Central Block. Faulting and rifting in the southern Red Sea, western Gulf of Aden and northern Main Ethiopian Rift superimposed on Afar. The Afar Depression initiated as diffused extension due to far-field stress and area increase over a dome elevated by a rising plume. With time, the lithospheric extension intensified, nucleated in weak zones, and developed into incipient spreading centers.
Pair of Unusual GCN5 Histone Acetyltransferases and ADA2 Homologues in the Protozoan Parasite Toxoplasma gondii

GCN5 is a histone acetyltransferase (HAT) essential for development in mammals and critical to stress responses in yeast. The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is a serious opportunistic pathogen. The study of epigenetics and gene expression in this ancient eukaryote has pharmacological relevance and may facilitate the understanding of these processes in higher eukaryotes. Here we show that the disruption of T. gondii GCN5 yields viable parasites, which were subsequently employed in a proteomics study to identify gene products affected by its loss. Promoter analysis of these TgGCN5-dependent genes, which were mostly parasite specific, reveals a conserved T-rich element. The loss of TgGCN5 does not attenuate virulence in an in vivo mouse model. We also discovered that T. gondii is the only invertebrate reported to date possessing a second GCN5 (TgGCN5-B). TgGCN5-B harbors a strikingly divergent N-terminal domain required for nuclear localization. Despite high homology between the HAT domains, the two TgGCN5s exhibit differing substrate specificities. In contrast to TgGCN5-A, which exclusively targets lysine 18 of H3, TgGCN5-B acetylates multiple lysines in the H3 tail. We also identify two ADA2 homologues that interact differently with the TgGCN5s. TgGCN5-B has the potential to compensate for TgGCN5-A, which probably arose from a gene duplication unique to T. gondii. Our work reveals an unexpected complexity in the GCN5 machinery of this primitive eukaryote.
Swarm robotic odor localization: Off-line optimization and validation with real robots

This paper presents an investigation of odor localization by groups of autonomous mobile robots using principles of Swarm Intelligence. First, we describe a distributed algorithm by which groups of agents can solve the full odor localization task more efficiently than a single agent. Next, we demonstrate that a group of real robots under fully distributed control can successfully traverse a real odor plume, and that an embodied simulator can faithfully reproduce these real robots experiments. Finally, we use the embodied simulator combined with a reinforcement learning algorithm to optimize performance across group size, showing that it can be useful not only for improving real world odor localization, but also for quantitatively characterizing the influence of group size on task performance.
In Vitro Effects of Mucus from the Mantle of Compatible (Lymnaea elodes) and Incompatible (Helisoma trivolvis) Snail Hosts on Fascioloides magna Miracidia

Abstract: The epidermal mucus covering the surface of a snail represents an important barrier to trematode larvae attempting to penetrate the snail and may play a role in mediating snail-trematode compatibility. In this study, Facioloides magna miracidia were exposed to mucus harvested from a compatible snail host, Lymnaea elodes (palustris), and from an incompatible snail, Helisoma trivolvis. In vitro treatment of freshly hatched miracidia with snail-derived mucus exerted dramatically different effects on larvae depending on snail species. At the lowest dilution of mucus tested (1:3) mean damage rates (tegumental damage and/or larval lysis and death) were as high as 100% for miracidia exposed to H. trivolvis mucus, while none of F. magna miracidia were damaged in L. elodes mucus. A dilution series for each snail species, and treatments with heat and proteinase K were performed to characterize the component(s) of mucus inducing the observed morphological changes. The damaging effects of H. trivolvis mucu...
Outcomes after autologous stem cell transplantation in relapsed or refractory Hodgkin disease: The Duke experience

8100 Background: High dose chemotherapy (HDT) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) offers patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's disease (HD) the possibility of durable l...
Integrated Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixtures

Soil, surface water, and groundwater at more than 100 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites are radioactively and chemically contaminated from past nuclear and chemical research, production, and disposal activities. Safely managing the contaminated materials is a priority, and risk assessment plays a key role in identifying appropriate solutions that will ensure long-term health and environmental protection. The risk assessments must consider multiple contaminants, media, exposures, receptors, and time frames. Initial steps are being taken to develop mixtures assessments for these sites, focusing on linked conceptual models and screening approaches.
Posttransplantation Lymphoproliferative Disorders in Solid Organ Recipients Are Predominantly Aggressive Tumors of Host Origin

Patients immunosuppressed after organ transplantation have an increased frequency of lymphoproliferative disorders, known as posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs). In recipients of bone marrow allografts, PTLDs are often of donor origin. In only a few cases of lymphoma arising in solid-organ transplant recipients has the origin from host or donor lymphocytes been established. The authors have analyzed 11 cases of PTLD from Massachusetts General Hospital, arising in seven male and four female patients, aged 8 to 63, five with renal, four with cardiac, and two with hepatic allografts. Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to investigate genetic polymorphism at the D4S174 locus on chromosome 4, the Rb1.20 locus on chromosome 13, and the D19S178 locus on chromosome 19, only one tumor (previously reported) was of donor origin, whereas 10 were of host origin. Follow-up revealed that six patients died of PTLD, one was alive with recurrent PTLD, and four were alive and well or had died of other causes, including the patient with donor-origin PTLD. Based on these cases and on a review of previously reported cases, the authors conclude that the majority of PTLDs in solid organ recipients are of host origin. There appears to be a trend toward a greater likelihood of persistent or recurrent PTLD among solid organ recipients with host-origin tumors than among those with donor-origin tumor.
A Wise Latina's Demystification: Revamping Nietzsche's Objectivity Imperative

This paper analyzes the discourses surrounding the nomination and confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court as containing an incisive yet aborted attempt to problematize the myth of impartial state rationality. I consider Obama's discussion of empathy as a criterion of judicial acumen, and Sotomayor's pre-nomination speeches referencing the unique insights of a "wise Latina judge" and describing how embodied experience affects rationality, through an engagement with political, feminist, and race theories. I analyze her critique of the objectivity ideal and her later retreat as instantiating a temporary rupture of what P. Hill Collins calls a controlling narrative. I argue that while her confirmation dialogues ultimately reaffirmed and fortified that narrative, a Nietzsche-inspired analysis of her original remarks point in a more promising direction. Nietzsche's displacement of epistemology with a perspective theory of affects offers a framework for appraising the depth of this critique of the possibility and desirability of impartiality. His reconception of objectivity as viewing from multiple vantage points, an insight Arendt elaborates, emphasizes the legacy of lived experience to our capacity for perception and judgment. Moreover, it undermines the status and necessity of the myth of disembodied rationality and suggests a new ethical imperative to achieve diversity on the Court. (Other cites include Butler, Conway, Young, Owen, and Sandoval.)
Packaging Architecture for an Implanted System that Monitors Brain Activity and Applies Therapeutic Stimulation

Deep brain stimulation therapies for Parkinson's disease utilize hardware that, from a packaging perspective, resembles those that are used in cardiac pacemakers. A hermetic package that contains stimulation electronics and a primary battery supply is implanted under the scalp into a recess formed in the skull. Stimulation probes, each with up to four electrodes, are inserted into the brain and connected to the electronics package via a plug and cable system. Unlike single-target devices such as cochlear implants and pacemakers, achieving this type of neuropsychiatric therapy requires the ability to record and stimulate in multiple and distributive areas of the brain, both cortical and subcortical. By contrast, the closed-loop neural stimulator being developed under the DARPA SUBNETS program utilizes probes, each of which carries up to 64 electrodes that can be switched between recording and stimulation functions. This capability necessitates locating low-noise amplifiers, switching and communication elec...
The Gender Paradox in the Transnational Families of Filipino Migrant Women

This article examines the division of labor in the transnational families of migrant mothers from the Philippines using interviews with young adult children and guardians in 30 mother-away transnational families. It looks closely at the work of fathers, migrant mothers, eldest daughters, and extended kin to show that caring practices in the transnational families of migrant women perpetuate conventional gender norms of the family. As it specifically shows that the work of women both at home and abroad maintains transnational migrant families, this article establishes that women's migration has not led to a more egalitarian division of labor in the family.
Inclusion Complexes and Solvates of Buckycatcher, a Versatile Molecular Host with Two Corannulene Pincers

X-ray crystal structure study of cocrystallites of buckycatcher (2, C60H28) demonstrates a remarkable versatility of the molecular clip to accommodate guest molecules of various sizes and shapes. As demonstrated by the B97-D calculations, concave–concave conformation of the clip seems to be preferred for the gas-phase 1:1 inclusion complexes of 2 with a series of potential guests. However, the unprecedented concave–convex conformations were found in two of the reported solvates [i.e., 2·0.75(p-xylene) and 2·2PhNO2]. Three of the studied inclusion complexes with the highest calculated gas-phase binding energies (1,3,5-trinitrobenzene@2, and the previously reported C60@2 and C70@2) exhibit the analogous 1:1 supramolecular arrangements in the crystal state. On the other hand, p-xylene and PhNO2 solvates as well as DDQ/MeCN cocrystallite exhibit quite different stoichiometries and supramolecular arrangements, presumably enforced by the crystal packing forces. Dramatic variations of the intercentroid distances...
Observation the preventive and control effect of optigard adhesive bait on kill cockroaches

Objective To investigate cockroach invasion in dining-room of an guesthouse,and observe the preventive and control effect of Optigard cockroach bait.Method Adhesive catch method was used for density investigation,and Optigard cockroach bait for chemical control.Results The density index was 11.14 pieces per box per night before control,and Blattella germanica was the dominant species,which accounted for 99.46%.One month after using the bait,the density was 0.1 per box per night with the mortality rate of 99.10%.Conclusions The Optigard cockroach bait has good efficacy against Blattella germanica in the guesthouse dining-room with invaded badly,it can control the Cockroaches effectively.
The effects of isoproterenol and dopamine on regional myocardial blood flow after stenosis of circumflex coronary artery.

The effects of isoproterenol and dopamine on regional myocardial blood flow were studied in 10 open-chest dogs after acute stenosis of the proximal circumflex coronary artery. Blood flow was determined by the radioactive microsphere technique. Isoproterenol led to a homogeneous increase in blood flow in the normal myocardium. In the myocardium with compromised coronary blood flow, isoproterenol led to a relative subendocardial ischemia. This occurred despite increased aortic flow and peak left ventricular dp/dt. Dopamine also increased aortic flow and peak left ventricular dp/dt, but it did not cause regional myocardial ischemia. The findings suggest that dopamine is the preferable inotropic agent in managing low cardiac output in patients with significant coronary artery disease.
Child-Rearing and Class

Before the publication of the November 1935 edition of the children’s magazine Baba Sadiq, Ahmad Samir, Hanefa Muhammad Fatha, and Nabil Wahabe—three children who sent in their photographs with a short biography for inclusion on the magazine’s regular page of featured readers—may never before have looked so squarely into their own faces in the printed press, nor have introduced themselves to a community of children.1 The individualization of the child and the creation of a children’s culture were two new phenomena at the turn of the last century. Individualization means allowing a space in society for the child to express his/her own identity, as distinct from being lumped together with all other children, without recognition that each child has his/her own needs, wants, desires, and modes of expression. The creation of a children’s culture means acknowledging that children form a unique group among the many stakeholders in society, as distinct from being nameless, faceless, and at the mercy of what adults decide for them.
Shape change behavior by mesopelagic animals

In situ observations in Monterey Bay and elsewhere revealed a common behavior pattern among certain species living at mesopelagic depths between 200 and 800 m. When these animals were presented with threatening stimuli, they responded by curling their elongate bodies into circular shapes. They maintained this posture, hanging motionless in midwater, until the danger had passed. This behavior was strongly associated with dim light and occurrences were rare in well‐lit shallow depths, at depths beyond the penetration of sunlight, and at night. This behavior is interpreted as a case of protective mimicry, in which these animals change their appearance to resemble medusae as unpalatable models.
Research Designs and Special Education Research: Different Designs Address Different Questions.

The aim of this article is to provide practitioners and other nonresearchers a basic understanding of research designs to aid in appropriately interpreting and applying research findings in special education. Research design provides the blueprint for conducting a research study and shapes what kind of knowledge is generated by the study. We discuss the purpose of, types of questions addressed by, and different types of studies associated with four research designs commonly used in special education—descriptive, relational, experimental, and qualitative designs, as well as briefly review an example study using each research design. The take-away message of this article is that different research designs address different types of questions. Therefore, it is important that research consumers know what type of questions each research design addresses and interpret and apply research findings accordingly.
Something for pain: Responsible opioid use in emergency medicine

The United States is currently experiencing a public health crisis of opioid addiction, which has its genesis in an industry marketing effort that successfully encouraged clinicians to prescribe opioids liberally, and asserted the safety of prescribing opioids for chronic non-cancer pain, despite a preponderance of evidence demonstrating the risks of dependence and misuse. The resulting rise in opioid use has pushed drug overdose deaths in front of motor vehicle collisions to become the leading cause of accidental death in the country. Emergency providers frequently treat patients for complications of opioid abuse, and also manage patients with acute and chronic pain, for which opioids are routinely prescribed. Emergency providers are therefore well positioned to both prevent new cases of opioid misuse and initiate appropriate treatment of existing opioid addicts. In opioid-naive patients, this is accomplished by a careful consideration of the likelihood of benefit and harm of an opioid prescription for acute pain. If opioids are prescribed, the chance of harm is reduced by matching the number of pills prescribed to the expected duration of pain and selecting an opioid preparation with low abuse liability. Patients who present to acute care with exacerbations of chronic pain or painful conditions associated with opioid misuse are best managed by treating symptoms with opioid alternatives and encouraging treatment for opioid addiction.
Planting Date and Variety Effects on Rice Main and Ratoon Crop Production in South Texas

Rice ratooning could be a practical way to increase rice production per unit area and per unit time. The objectives of this study were to evaluate variety [two inbreds (Cocodrie and Presidio) and t...
Engineering computing and communications in biological systems

Biological cells have the natural ability to sense, compute, and release information from/to the environment, and communicate with each other. This is at the basis of major cellular functionalities such as cell growth, proliferation, apoptosis, and homeostasis. The possibility of exploiting these abilities by reprogramming the genetic code of cells through synthetic biology is increasingly becoming a reality, with the potential to enable the realization of biological computing devices, or genetically engineered cells, able to interconnect into networks and interact within biological environments by exchanging molecules, a paradigm recently studied and classified in communications engineering as Molecular Communication (MC).This future pervasive biological networking scenario, defined as the Internet of Bio-Nano things, will enable a plethora of new applications in diverse areas, mostly in the biomedical, but also in the industrial and surveillance fields. After a first broad introduction to the enabling technologies at the basis of this research field, this talk will focus on the latest advances in modeling, exploiting and reprogramming information processing in biological cells from the perspective of computer and communications engineering. Particular attention will be devoted to leveraging cell metabolism, biological circuits, and in-vivo information exchange to realize the next generation of interconnected biological computing systems. Finally, the latest frontiers and challenges ahead will be presented in reference to the main envisioned future advancements of this promising research field.
Optimizing FPGA Performance, Power, and Dependability with Linear Programming

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) are an increasingly attractive alternative to traditional microprocessor-based computing architectures in extreme-computing domains, such as aerospace and supercomputing. FPGAs offer several resource types that offer different tradeoffs between speed, power, and area, which make FPGAs highly flexible for varying application computational requirements. However, since an application’s computational operations can map to different resource types, a major challenge in leveraging resource-diverse FPGAs is determining the optimal distribution of these operations across the device’s available resources for varying FPGA devices, resulting in an extremely large design space. In order to facilitate fast design-space exploration, this article presents a method based on linear programming (LP) that determines the optimal operation distribution for a particular device and application with respect to performance, power, or dependability metrics. Our LP method is an effective tool for exploring early designs by quickly analyzing thousands of FPGAs to determine the best FPGA devices and operation distributions, which significantly reduces design time. We demonstrate our LP method’s effectiveness with two case studies involving dot-product and distance-calculation kernels on a range of Virtex-5 FPGAs. Results show that our LP method selects optimal distributions of operations to within an average of 4% of actual values.
The Geek perspective: answering the call for advanced technology in research inquiry related to pediatric brain injury and motor disability

The Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy Research Summit IV issued a Call to Action for community-wide intensification of a research enterprise in inquiries related to pediatric brain injury and motor disability by way of technological integration. But the barriers can seem high, and the pathways to integrative clinical research can seem poorly marked. Here, we answer the Call by providing framework to 3 objectives: (1) instrumentation, (2) biometrics and study design, and (3) data analytics. We identify emergent cases where this Call has been answered and advocate for others to echo the Call both in highly visible physical therapy venues and in forums where the audience is diverse.
The relationships between public finance issues, financial management issues, and conditions of fiscal stress in small and rural governments: the case of west Virginia

Small and rural communities face severe fiscal constraints. Many factors affect governance in these localities. Because of this, a vital concern are the relationships between “Fiscal Stress” and other factors. Multivariate analysis techniques are utilized to examine these relationships based on data collected from a survey of West Virginia local public officials. The analysis showed that “Public Finance” and “Financial Management” factors affect Fiscal Stress while external factors, such as professionalism, population, and metropolitan status, have little to no impact on Fiscal Stress. Additionally, Public Finance and Financial Management issues are critical to explaining Fiscal Stress in small and rural governments and Fiscal Stress is critical in explaining Public Finance and Financial Management issues. However, the relationships are not of equal strength; Fiscal Stress and Public Finance influence each other more strongly than Financial Management factors.
Not-So-Great Expectations: Pregnancy and Syphilis in Sarah Grand’s The Heavenly Twins

Though nineteenth-century fiction is generally marked by somatic and sexual reticence that relegates conditions like pregnancy and syphilis to the realm of euphemism, fears about the power of “disordered” bodies to shape futurity rise to trouble literature of the fin-de-siecle explicitly. This chapter demonstrates that in Sarah Grand’s The Heavenly Twins (1893) pregnancy is the site at which disorders of the social body are expressed. Edith’s syphilitic pregnancy signals—as Evadne’s bouts of sexually frustrated hysteria and post-partum mania confirm—that social illness becomes legible on the reproductive bodies of women. I argue that maternal impression theories that emphasize the susceptibility of generational bodies offer useful frameworks for thinking through anxieties about threatening somatic agency in the fin-de-siecle and more broadly.
A structural contingency theory model of library and technology partnerships within an academic library information commons

Purpose – The integration of librarians and technologists to deliver information services represents a new and costly organizational challenge for many library administrators. To understand how to control the costs of integration, this study uses structural contingency theory to study the coordination of librarians and technologists within the information commons. Design/methodology/approach – This study tests the structural contingency theory expectation that an organization will achieve higher levels of performance when there is a positive relationship between the degree of workflow interdependence and the complexity of coordinative structures necessary to integrate these workflows. This expectation was tested by (a) identifying and collecting a sample of information common; (b) developing and validating survey instruments to test the proposition; and (c) quantitatively analyzing the data to test the proposed contingency theory relationship. Findings – The contingency theory expectations were confirmed by finding both a positive relationship between coordination and interdependence and a positive relationship between perceptions of performance and degree of congruency between interdependence and coordination. Limitations – The findings of this study are limited to both the context of an information common and the structures tested. Future research should seek to both broaden the context in which these findings are applicable, and test additional structural relationships as proposed by contingency theory Practical implications – This study contributes to the library profession in a number of ways. First, it suggests that managers can improve IC performance by matching coordination structures to the degree of interdependence. For instance, when librarians and technologists are strictly co-located, managers should coordinate workflows using less resource-intensive policies rather than meetings. Second, the instruments developed in this study will improve the library manager's ability to measure and report unit interdependence and coordination in a valid and reliable manner. Lastly, it also contributes to the study of structural contingency theory by presenting one of the first empirical confirmations of a positive relationship between interdependence and coordination. Originality/value – This study represents one of the first empirical confirmations of the structural contingency theory expectations of both a positive relationship between workflow interdependence and coordination, and a positive relationship between performance and coordination's fit to workflow interdependence. These findings are of value to both organizational theorists and to administrators of information commons.
Relationship of Images of Acoustic Refractive Index and Attenuation to Tissue Types within Excised Female Breast

Two-dimensional images of the distribution of values of acoustic attenuation (A) and velocity (V) in coronal planes of excised human female breasts were obtained using computer assisted tomography (CAT) techniques. Projection profiles of amplitude attenuation and of propagation delay of acoustic pulses were obtained by rectilinear transverse scanning of the tissue under study. Over 200 equispaced pulses were obtained along a 15 cm scan for each of about 35 angles of view separated by 5.4°. Focusing acoustic lenses were used to insonify as small a volume as possible in order to minimize the probability of receiving pulses from multiple pathways. The received pulses were digitized at one 8-bit sample every 10 nanoseconds for up to 1,024 samples. Edge detection algorithms were used to determine the arrival time of the pulse within the digitized signal. The amplitude of the arriving pulse was determined by measuring the peak or the area of the earliest arriving pulse.
Problems of and Solutions for Coating Techniques for TEM Sample Preparation on Ultra Low-k Dielectric Devices after Progressive-FIB Cross-section Analysis

This paper presents the impact of coating techniques for TEM sample preparation on ultra low-k dielectric devices after progressive-FIB cross-section analysis. The ultra low-k materials used as inter-metal dielectrics (IMD) has a k value less than 2.6. In the experimental study on three commonly used protective coatings (sputtered Pt, e-beam deposited insulator and PECVD oxide) for the 28 nm technology node with ultra low-k IMD, PECVD oxide coating was found to be an ideal choice for the TEM sample preparation with the least low-k dielectric deformation or damage. In-situ e-beam deposited insulator in a dual-beam FIB tool equipped with a GIS for insulator deposition is a convenient and commonly used method. However, the e-beam can introduce a considerable damage to the ultra low-k IMD during the e-beam deposition. Sputtered Pt can achieve a damage-free profile of an ultra low-k IMD, but we have to sacrifice certain portion of the target area in the final FIB cleaning process during TEM sample preparation. This makes sputtered Pt not suitable for the TEM sample preparation on a defect with a small size (<100 nm).
Characterization of the mating system of a native perennial tetraploid herb, Silene stellata.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Nursery pollination systems can range from obligate to facultative. In a system where generalists provide substantial pollination service, an important question is whether the cost of seed predation outweighs the benefit provided by the nursery pollinator to cause the plant to evolve toward more generalized pollination. Using a facultative system native to North America, we tested whether nursery pollinator vs. strictly mutualistic generalists affect mating-system parameters of the host plant and explored the implications for long-term coevolution. METHODS: We used paternity analyses with 11 microsatellite markers to characterize the mating system of Silene stellata when pollination service is primarily through the nursery pollinator Hadena ectypa and generalist moths. KEY RESULTS: Our experimental population of S. stellata was predominantly outcrossing (average outcrossing rate t = 0.83), and mating-system parameters were similar between pollinator groups. We detected significant correlations in both selfing and outcrossed paternity at the fruit and maternal family level, corresponding to limited pollen dispersal (mean = 3.9 m). Among individuals, variation in anther-stigma separation was positively associated with outcrossing rate, which suggests the importance of herkogamy in preventing selfing. CONCLUSIONS: Correlated paternity suggests that seeds from the same fruit and/or plants are sired by a limited number of pollen donors, resulting from low pollen dispersal and potential male-male competition. The similar mating-system parameters of the two pollinator groups suggest that selection for higher outcrossing in S. stellata is likely to be through floral design rather than through increased pollinator specialization with H. ectypa.
Exploration of the Predictors of Adolescent Suicidal Ideation Based on Routine Activities and Lifestyle

Adolescence can be an extremely volatile time for high school students. Heightened emotions and unexplained mood swings are not uncommon as young people are maneuvering developmental milestones (Ha...
Access to Social Network Support and Material Hardship

Does access to social network support help protect households from material hardship? In this study, we analyze data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (N = 28,805) and find that a...
Revisiting the construct of boundary dissolution : A multidimensional perspective

SUMMARY The concept of boundary dissolution has a long history in both the psychodynamic and family systems literatures and is linked to a number of important processes in developmental psychopathology. However, advancements in the empirical study of boundary dissolution have been hindered by the multiplicity of terms and conceptualizations that have been used to capture the construct. The purpose of this paper is to present a multidimensional model of boundary dissolution and to show how the specific dimensions of the construct might be differentially linked to pathological processes in development. Research from a series of studies is presented that lends support to this model.
Adult Eye Examination Techniques

The adult eye examination is unique in medicine in that most of the pathology is directly, objectively visible to the examiner. The adult eye examination includes an analysis of the physiologic function and anatomic status of the eye, visual system, and related structures. Through the use of specialized instruments, the adult eye examination is performed in a systematic manner.
Histories of the Transgender Child, by Julian Gill-Peterson

Julian Gill-Peterson’s first book entered the scene this October to an expectant audience as Amazon and Barnes & Noble both struggled to fulfill all their preorders. Histories of the Transgender Ch...
Flow in Random Porous Media

Flow in a porous medium with a random hydraulic conductivity tensor K(x) is analyzed when the mean conductivity tensor \(\overline K\)(x) is a non-constant function of position x. The results are a non-local expression for the mean flux vector \(\overline q\)(x) in terms of the gradient of the mean hydraulic head \(\overline \varphi\)(x), an integrodifferential equation for \(\overline \varphi\)(x), and expressions for the two point covariance functions of q(x) and ϕ(x). When K(x) is a Gaussian random function, the joint probability distribution of the functions q(x) and ϕ(x) is determined.
PCK1 and DHODH drive colorectal cancer liver metastatic colonization and nucleotide biosynthesis under hypoxia

Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of human death. Mortality is primarily due to metastatic organ colonization, with liver being the primary organ affected. We modeled metastatic CRC (mCRC) liver colonization using patient-derived primary and metastatic tumor xenografts (PDX). Such PDX modeling predicted patient survival outcomes. In vivo selection of multiple PDXs for enhanced metastatic capacity upregulated the gluconeogenic enzyme PCK1, which enhanced metastatic hypoxic survival by driving anabolic pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis. Consistently, highly metastatic tumors upregulated multiple pyrimidine biosynthesis intermediary metabolites. Therapeutic inhibition of the pyrimidine biosynthetic enzyme DHODH with oral leflunomide substantially impaired CRC liver metastatic colonization and hypoxic survival. Our findings provide a potential mechanistic basis for the epidemiologic association of anti-gluconeogenic drugs with improved CRC metastasis outcomes, reveal the exploitation of a gluconeogenesis enzyme for pyrimidine biosynthesis during hypoxia, and implicate DHODH and PCK1 as metabolic therapeutic targets in colorectal cancer metastasis.
Pattern Strabismus: Where Does the Role of the Brain End and the Role of Muscles Begin?

Pattern strabismus is a vertically incomitant horizontal strabismus comprising 50% of its infantile forms. High-resolution orbit imaging and contemporary physiology literature suggested the role of oblique muscle dysfunction as its pathophysiology. The role of the central nervous system was also outlined. Here, we will discuss contemporary theories with specific focus on pathophysiological concepts including oblique muscle dysfunction, loss of fusion with altered recti muscle pull, displacements and instability in connective tissue pulleys of the recti muscles, vestibular hypofunction, and abnormal neural connections.
Total organic carbon quantification from wireline logging techniques: A case study in the Vaca Muerta Formation, Argentina

Abstract The Vaca Muerta Formation, one of the most prolific unconventional play in South America, exhibits concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC) of up to 16% with variations in TOC paralleling the general facies evolution of the prograding system. This study examines the applicability and accuracy of predicting TOC from two methods of quantifying organic-rich zones from wireline logs: the relationship of uranium from spectral gamma-ray to TOC, and the δlogR technique for calculating TOC. A database from extensive outcrop geochemical sampling (n = ~1900) was correlated to the uranium signal from a handheld spectral gamma-ray logging tool. The U/TOC relationship derived from the outcrop samples shows high variability between outcrop sections measured across the formation. The U/TOC ratio increases from proximal to distal positions within the basin. A second dataset, consisting of core samples, was also analyzed and compared to the TOC calculated using a combination of the sonic and resistivity data obtained from downhole logging. This second method of TOC prediction reliably and accurately reproduces laboratory measurements, and is the far superior choice when estimating organic richness from wireline log signatures. To further test this method of TOC prediction, a subset of sidewall plugs were analyzed for petrophysical and geochemical measurements and using the δlogR technique, was able to produce TOC values that compared to discrete laboratory measurements with a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.83. The time-tested method of determining organic richness from wireline logs can be successfully applied in the Neuquen Basin and could be attempted in other basins once all available data has been carefully considered.
Power and Productivity: Institutions, Ideology, and Technology in Political Economy

Market democracies struggle with economic insecurity and growing inequality, presenting new threats to democracy. The revival of “political economy” offers a frame for understanding the relationship between productivity and justice in market societies. It reintegrates power and the social and material context—institutions, ideology, and technology—into our analysis of social relations of production, or how we make and distribute what we need and want to have. Organizations and individuals, alone and in networks, struggle over how much of a society’s production happens in a market sphere, how much happens in nonmarket relations, and how embedded those aspects that do occur in markets are in social relations of mutual obligation and solidarism. These struggles at the micro, meso, and macro levels involve efforts to shape institutions, ideology, and technology in ways that trade off productivity and power, both in the short and long term, including through the production and exploitation of atavistic status-hierarchies, primarily race, gender, and immigration. The outcome of this struggle shapes the divergent paths that diverse market societies take, from oligarchic to egalitarian, and their stability as pluralistic democracies.
Optimal Configuration of Rock Vanes and Bendway Weirs for River Bends: Numerical-Model Insights

AbstractPresented are insights from three-dimensional numerical models used to identify optimal performance configurations of rock vanes and bendway weirs placed in midsize rivers, such as the Midd...