cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical presentation, management, follow-up, and outcomes of isolated celiac and superior mesenteric artery dissections

Abstract Objective Isolated visceral artery dissections are rare entities with no current consensus guidelines for treatment and follow-up. This study aims to evaluate the presentation, management, outcomes, and follow-up practices for patients with isolated visceral artery dissections and to compare those with and without symptoms. Methods In this retrospective analysis, we identified all patients with isolated celiac artery and/or isolated superior mesenteric artery dissections at a single institution between September 2006 and December 2014. Patients with concomitant aortic dissections were excluded. Cases were stratified by symptom status. Presentation, anatomic findings, treatment, outcomes, and follow-up imaging were then compared between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Results We identified 25 patients including 15 with symptoms and 10 without. There were no differences in patient comorbidities; however, symptomatic patients more frequently presented with thrombus (n = 10; 67% vs n = 1; 10%; P = .01) and inflammation (n = 8; 53% vs n = 1; 10%; P = .04), and trended toward increased stenosis (n = 12; 80% vs n = 4; 40%; P = .09) compared with asymptomatic patients. All asymptomatic patients were treated with observation alone with vessel diameter enlargement noted in 33% (n = 2) of patients on follow-up imaging. Among symptomatic patients, standard treatment included a short course of anticoagulation (mean, 4.5 months) with lifelong antiplatelet therapy. Three patients underwent operative intervention for persistent or worsening symptoms, two during the index admission and one 10 months after presentation for chronic abdominal pain. Approximately 70% (n = 17) of patients in each group had follow-up imaging (computed tomography angiography: n = 14; 56%; magnetic resonance angiography: n = 4; 16%; ultrasound: n = 13; 52%). Among patients treated nonoperatively, no patients complained of symptoms at follow-up, and 50% of those with inflammation on initial imaging had resolution. Twenty-five percent (n = 4) of patients had an increase in vessel size; however, all vessels remained less than 2 cm in maximal diameter. There were no ruptures or related deaths in either group. Conclusions Among patients with visceral artery dissection, no ruptures occurred but diameter enlargement was documented. This disease progression suggests that routine surveillance may be appropriate; however, transitioning early to ultrasound imaging should be considered to decrease radiation, contrast, and associated costs.
Transformational leadership in primary care: Clinicians’ patterned approaches to care predict patient satisfaction and health expectations:

Clinicians face the complex challenge of motivating their patients to achieve optimal health while also ensuring their satisfaction. Inspired by transformational leadership theory, we proposed that clinicians’ motivational behaviors can be organized into three patient care styles (transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant) and that these styles differentially predict patient health outcomes. In two studies using patient-reported data and observer ratings, we found that transformational patient care style positively predicted patients’ satisfaction and health expectations above and beyond transactional and passive-avoidant patient care style. These findings provide initial support for the patient care style approach and suggest novel directions for the study of clinicians’ motivational behaviors.
Total Positivity and Renewal Theory

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the total positivity and renewal theory. Samuel Karlin has made fundamental contributions to the two fields of total positivity and renewal theory and has demonstrated its usefulness in differential equations, probability theory, and many other parts of mathematics. Karlin also discusses the applications of total positivity to Markov chains and, hence, indirectly to renewal theory, insofar as renewal theory occurs in their study. There have been a number of investigations of relations between monotonicity and renewal theory. The renewal process cannot be expressed directly as a function of this sequence because of the difficulty in initializing the process.
New agents that target senescent cells: the flavone, fisetin, and the BCL-X L inhibitors, A1331852 and A1155463.

Senescent cells accumulate with aging and at sites of pathology in multiple chronic diseases. Senolytics are drugs that selectively promote apoptosis of senescent cells by temporarily disabling the pro-survival pathways that enable senescent cells to resist the pro-apoptotic, pro-inflammatory factors that they themselves secrete. Reducing senescent cell burden by genetic approaches or by administering senolytics delays or alleviates multiple age- and disease-related adverse phenotypes in preclinical models. Reported senolytics include dasatinib, quercetin, navitoclax (ABT263), and piperlongumine. Here we report that fisetin, a naturally-occurring flavone with low toxicity, and A1331852 and A1155463, selective BCL-XL inhibitors that may have less hematological toxicity than the less specific BCL-2 family inhibitor navitoclax, are senolytic. Fisetin selectively induces apoptosis in senescent but not proliferating human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). It is not senolytic in senescent IMR90 cells, a human lung fibroblast strain, or primary human preadipocytes. A1331852 and A1155463 are senolytic in HUVECs and IMR90 cells, but not preadipocytes. These agents may be better candidates for eventual translation into clinical interventions than some existing senolytics, such as navitoclax, which is associated with hematological toxicity.
Evaluating Force Field Performance in Thermodynamic Calculations of Cyclodextrin Host-Guest Binding: Water Models, Partial Charges, and Host Force Field Parameters.

Computational prediction of noncovalent binding free energies with methods based on molecular mechanical force fields has become increasingly routine in drug discovery projects, where they promise to speed the discovery of small molecule ligands to bind targeted proteins with high affinity. Because the reliability of free energy methods still has significant room for improvement, new force fields, or modifications of existing ones, are regularly introduced with the aim of improving the accuracy of molecular simulations. However, comparatively little work has been done to systematically assess how well force fields perform, particularly in relation to the calculation of binding affinities. Hardware advances have made these calculations feasible, but comprehensive force field assessments for protein–ligand sized systems still remain costly. Here, we turn to cyclodextrin host–guest systems, which feature many hallmarks of protein–ligand binding interactions but are generally much more tractable due to their ...
Orexin/Hypocretin System: Role in Food and Drug Overconsumption

The neuropeptide orexin/hypocretin (OX), while largely transcribed within the hypothalamus, is released throughout the brain to affect complex behaviors. Primarily through the hypothalamus itself, OX homeostatically regulates adaptive behaviors needed for survival, including food intake, sleep-wake regulation, mating, and maternal behavior. However, through extrahypothalamic limbic brain regions, OX promotes seeking and intake of rewarding substances of abuse, like palatable food, alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine. This neuropeptide, in turn, is stimulated by the intake of or early life exposure to these substances, forming a nonhomeostatic, positive feedback loop. The specific OX receptor involved in these behaviors, whether adaptive behavior or substance seeking and intake, is dependent on the particular brain region that contributes to them. Thus, we propose that, while the primary function of OX is to maintain arousal for the performance of adaptive behaviors, this neuropeptide system is readily co-opted by rewarding substances that involve positive feedback, ultimately promoting their abuse.
HABITAT SUITABILITY MODELING AND SEASONAL MOVEMENTS OF Peromyscus laceianus (Lacey's white-ankled mouse) in Val Verde County, Texas

We used spool-and-line tracking and habitat suitability modeling to delineate mobility and the environmental factors that influence the seasonal distribution and abundance of Lacey's white-ankled mouse (Peromyscus laceianus). Using trapping data from a 21-month period (February 2013–October 2014) in Val Verde County, Texas, we used MaxEnt modeling and a jackknife test of variable importance to determine that vegetation series and slope were the highest contributing variables in isolation. Using generalized linear modeling we found positive correlations with higher abundance indices in winter, spring, and fall among a variety of season-specific vegetation series. Using spool-and-line tracking, we determined P. laceianus to be highly mobile, indicating that this species is capable of dispersing to seasonally suitable habitats. Additionally, we observed higher degrees of arboreality in this region than reported from similar studies. Data suggest that vegetative habitat selection of this species varies seasonally and is likely dependent on the degree of seasonal resource availability within each vegetation type and the trophic ecology of P. laceianus.
A Tandem ICR Study of the Reaction of N2+ with SO2

The title reaction is an example of a growing group of reactions which exhibit very strong dependence on ion translational energy and/or internal energy of the reactant species. An extensive investigation of the charge transfer reaction between N2 + and SO2 utilizing a flow drift tube has demonstrated that this reaction system has an extremely strong dependence on translational energy [I]. The rate constant reported by Dotan et al. has a miximum value of 7 × 10-10 cc’s per molecule second at thermal energy, declines sharply to a minimum at 0.5 eV and increases at higher energy. Figure 1 illustrates this kinetic energy dependence.
Residual Excess Cement Detection

Residual excess cement detection is mandatory if the material is to be entirely removed. Luting cement formulations do not always account for this need, with some cements colored pink so camouflaging in with the soft tissue surroundings. Detection of excess cement with radiography is also limited with many of the cements currently available. The peripheral eggshell effect is a characteristic frequently encountered when the cement is visible on a radiograph. How patterns develop and how they relate on a radiograph to the radiodensity of the cement used will assist the clinician in cement selection as well as detection. The lack of ability to find excess cement is not limited to dentistry; orthopedic medicine has also failed to understand cement flow and detection that has also resulted in failures.
Prognostic Classification Systems for Brain Metastases

Patients with brain metastases are a heterogeneous population. The epidemiology of brain metastases is addressed elsewhere in this textbook. In the past, outcomes were considered uniformly grim for all patients with brain metastases. We now know that outcomes vary widely by diagnosis (type of primary cancer) and diagnosis-specific prognostic factors. This chapter reviews the history of prognostic classifications for patients with brain metastases and the current state of knowledge in this area. Such classification systems are important for two reasons: (1) they facilitate clinical decision-making regarding whether and what treatment is appropriate, and (2) they provide a method for stratification of clinical trials to ensure trials are comparing comparable patients, which is particularly important in such a heterogeneous patient population.
Bayesian analyses of 17 winters of water vapor fluxes show bark beetles reduce sublimation

Sublimation is an important hydrological flux in cold, snow‐dominated ecosystems. In high‐elevation spruce‐fir forests of western North America, spruce beetle outbreaks have killed trees, reduced the canopy, and altered processes that control sublimation. We evaluated two hypotheses related to effects of disturbance on sublimation in this ecosystem: (1) the dominant source for sublimation is canopy intercepted snow and (2) the loss of canopy following a beetle disturbance leads to less total sublimation. To incorporate uncertainty hierarchically across multiple data sources and address phenomenological parsimony, Bayesian statistics were used to analyze 17 years (2000–2016) of winter eddy covariance flux data at the Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Sites AmeriFlux sites where a spruce beetle outbreak caused 75–85% basal area mortality. Our analysis revealed that resistances to sublimate snow from the canopy were an order of magnitude less than from the snowpack, and the maximum snow loading capacity in disturbed canopies was reduced to 34% of its pre‐outbreak value. Total sublimation has decreased since 2010, 2 years after the main outbreak, declining 24% (with a 95% credible interval, C.I., between 18% and 38%) during 2014–2016 due to a 32% decrease in canopy sublimation. Snowpack sublimation only increased 3% over this period. With less total sublimation, the forest retained 6.1% (4.5–12.3% C.I.) more snowpack mass or equivalently 4.4% (3.2–8.8 C.I.) of the annual precipitation. Considering tree growth and ecological succession are slow in spruce‐fir forests, this decrease in sublimation should persist as an increased snowpack for decades, with substantial impacts on catchment hydrologic processes and potentially streamflow.
Data-Driven Decision Making Literacy among Rural Community College Leaders in Iowa: The Role of Leadership Competencies.

ABSTRACTThis quantitative study explored the statistical relationship between American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) leadership competencies and data-driven decision making (DDDM) litera...
Energy System Options

This chapter discusses the traditional energy system assessment. The energy system characteristics traditionally analyzed in the industrialized countries provide a basis for a regional assessment. The capital costs per unit of energy-supply capacity are most likely the single-most important factor, particularly in countries with very limited capital. Operating costs, involving fuel, and system reliability do trade-off with capital costs, depending on capital availability. The long-term social costs arising from environmental impacts of energy systems should be considered in terms of the present value of future risks and benefits, but these are more difficult to evaluate and assess. The initial factor in all these issues of energy system planning for underdeveloped areas is capital availability.
The wonders of BMP9: From mesenchymal stem cell differentiation, angiogenesis, neurogenesis, tumorigenesis, and metabolism to regenerative medicine.

Although bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) initially showed effective induction of ectopic bone growth in muscle, it has since been determined that these proteins, as members of the TGF-β superfamily, play a diverse and critical array of biological roles. These roles include regulating skeletal and bone formation, angiogenesis, and development and homeostasis of multiple organ systems. Disruptions of the members of the TGF-β/BMP superfamily result in severe skeletal and extra-skeletal irregularities, suggesting high therapeutic potential from understanding this family of BMP proteins. Although it was once one of the least characterized BMPs, BMP9 has revealed itself to have the highest osteogenic potential across numerous experiments both in vitro and in vivo, with recent studies suggesting that the exceptional potency of BMP9 may result from unique signaling pathways that differentiate it from other BMPs. The effectiveness of BMP9 in inducing bone formation was recently revealed in promising experiments that demonstrated efficacy in the repair of critical sized cranial defects as well as compatibility with bone-inducing bio-implants, revealing the great translational promise of BMP9. Furthermore, emerging evidence indicates that, besides its osteogenic activity, BMP9 exerts a broad range of biological functions, including stem cell differentiation, angiogenesis, neurogenesis, tumorigenesis, and metabolism. This review aims to summarize our current understanding of BMP9 across biology and the body.
Initial Experience With the Terumo Aortic TREO Device for Fenestrated Endovascular Aneurysm Repair

Abstract Objective The Terumo aortic (TA) Treo device (Terumo, Somerset, NJ) is an endograft with unique features that lends itself to fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR), including a low device profile, a wide amplitude stent design, and an increased interstent distance. We have described our initial experience with the Treo device for FEVAR to treat short neck and juxtarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms. Methods As part of an ongoing physician-sponsored investigational device exemption clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT01538056 ), subjects were prospectively enrolled and underwent elective FEVAR using a variety of devices. Demographic and procedural details were collected. The data from subjects treated specifically with the Treo device from November 3, 2016 to May 2, 2019 were collected and analyzed. Results Of a cohort of 161 patients who had undergone elective FEVAR, 46 had been treated with the TA Treo device. Most patients were men (70%), with a mean age of 75 years and high rates of hypertension (74%), hyperlipidemia (83%), coronary artery disease (33%), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (33%). The mean aneurysm size was 66 mm, the mean preoperative infrarenal neck length was 5 mm, and the mean final seal zone length was 45 mm. The average hospital and intensive care unit lengths of stay were 2.4 and 1.5 days, respectively. A total of 129 fenestrations were created for 44 superior mesenteric and 85 renal arteries (2.8 fenestrations per patient). Technical success, defined as successful implantation of the device with all target vessels preserved, was 98% (45 of 46), with only one renal artery not successfully preserved. The mean follow-up period was 598 days. During the study period, 18 endoleaks were detected (17 type II and 1 type III), with one patient with a type III endoleak requiring reintervention. Three subjects had died within 30 days, one of intracranial hemorrhage, one of respiratory failure, and one of ischemic colitis. The graft modification times for the TA Treo were significantly shorter (43 minutes) than those for other commercially available devices (Cook Zenith, 55 minutes; Medtronic Endurant, 54 minutes; P Conclusions Our institution has reported exclusive worldwide experience using the TA Treo device for FEVAR. This device provides for a highly efficient and technically successful procedure for most patients. The procedural and fluoroscopy times were low even in the setting of high complexity. The technical success rates and simplification of the FEVAR procedure have made this approach a preferred technique for most patients at our institution.
CISL: a class-based machine description language for co-generation of compilers and simulators

It is currently difficult fully to understand the performance of a modern dynamic programming language system, such as Java. One must observe execution in the context of specific architectures in order to evaluate the effects of optimizations. To do this we require simulators and compiler back-ends for a wide variety of machines that are capable of handling the demands of today's dynamically compiled languages and their environments. We introduce here CISL, a machine description language specifically designed for the automatic generation of simulators and compiler back-end. CISL is a class-based language with a C/Java style syntax aimed at extensibility. CISL is processed by tools to generate descriptions of architectures represented in an intermediate form; the descriptions are then further combined and processed to produce efficient compiler and simulator components designed to "plug in" to existing frameworks. CISL provides the necessary flexibility to advance the simulation paradigm to match the state of the art in computer systems.
Ambipolar transport and magneto-resistance crossover in a Mott insulator, Sr2IrO4.

Electric field effect (EFE) controlled magnetoelectric transport in thin films of undoped and La-doped Sr2IrO4 (SIO) is investigated using ionic liquid gating. The temperature dependent resistance measurements exhibit insulating behavior in chemically and EFE doped samples with the band filling up to 10%. The ambipolar transport across the Mott gap is demonstrated by EFE tuning of the channel resistance and chemical doping. We observe a crossover from high temperature negative to low temperature positive magnetoresistance around ~80–90 K, irrespective of the filling. This temperature and magnetic field dependent crossover is discussed in the light of conduction mechanisms of SIO, especially variable range hopping (VRH), and its relevance to the insulating ground state of SIO.
Poets in Prose: Genre & History in the Arabic Novel

Novelists in many literary traditions have come to terms with the distinctiveness of their art form by thinking about poets and poetry. The need to differentiate the novel from poetry is especially...
Storm hazard analysis over extended geospatial grids utilizing surrogate models

Abstract The use of surrogate modeling techniques for storm surge estimation is providing unique opportunities for coastal hazard analysis and risk assessment. Specifically, surrogate models can support a comprehensive estimation of the coastal hazard/risk utilizing ensembles with large number of storm simulations. A critical challenge in this assessment is the high-dimensionality of the output, which needs to be handled efficiently both in terms of computational burden and, especially in the context of automated risk assessment tools, of memory requirements. Though dimensionality reduction techniques, like Principal Component Analysis (PCA), can address this challenge for the surrogate model calibration, the same does not apply for the hazard/risk estimation performed using the trained surrogate model. In this paper, the estimation of coastal risk using large storm ensemble predictions is examined for domains with hundreds of thousands of point locations (grid nodes of the storm surge computational model) for which the corresponding hazard curves need to be provided. This is achieved by exploiting their geospatial distribution and their surge response correlations within the high dimensional original output. K-means clustering is adopted to identify a small subset of nodes to serve as basis for the hazard estimation: instead of calculating the response for the storm ensemble over the entire grid, and then calculating the hazard curves, the hazard curves are first produced for this small subset, and then interpolated over the original grid. Kriging is examined for the latter geospatial interpolation, and its formulation is enhanced to support the desired application, with modifications established for both the calibration stage, as well as the efficient implementation of the interpolation. Additionally, different variants are examined for the clustering stage using information from: (i) the spatial structure of the grid, (ii) the characteristics of the response variability across the geographical domain, and (iii) the combination of the above two. A comprehensive framework is presented integrating both the surrogate model development and the hurricane hazard estimation, with the computational benefits offered in the latter estimation by the use of a small subset of nodes discussed in detail. A validation study is performed utilizing the Coastal Hazards System's (CHS) North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS) database. It is shown that the achieved numerical efficiency is significant, offering a 50–250-fold reduction of the computational burden with only a moderate impact on the accuracy of the estimated hazard curves.
Co-operative Government in South Africa's Post-Apartheid Constitutions: Embracing the German Model?

Constitutional borrowing became a major feature of the post-cold war process of state reconstruction Regardless of the form of constitution-making adopted in each particular case, whether new constitutions were negotiated in a round-table process, most common in eastern Europe, or among parties in a democratically elected constitutional assembly, as in South Africa, the practice of borrowing has been ubiquitous Legal transplants which result from this practice provide an opportunity to engage in a form of comparative legal analysis that, in my view, demonstrates how both the act of borrowing and subsequent outcomes have more to do with the politics of the receiving entity than with the application and meaning of the borrowed form in its original context There is however another possibility for the comparative project, and that is for the donor system to view the ways in which its borrowed form is applied in the new context, providing an opportunity to consider inherent and unchartered alternatives In this paper I will consider South Africa's "borrowing'' and "adaptation" of the German model of constitutional relations - particularly with respect to the division of legislative power - between the central and regional governments, as a way to both explore the question of constitutional borrowing and also to consider, conjecturally, how this experience may reflect back on developments within the German system.
Comparison of the extraction methods of phycocyanin pigments in eutrophic lake waters

The paper compares the effects of three methods of phycocyanin extraction buffer and tries to find out which method is the best. Cultured Microcystis aeruginosa and cyanobacteria blooms water samples of Lake Chaohu were used as extract objects. By repeated freezing and thawing method,cyanobacterial cells were broken,and then applied with Asolctin-CHAPS buffer,phosphate buffer and Tris-HCl buffer solution as extractant agent for extracting phycocyanin. Finally,spectrophotometry was used to detect the content of phycocyanin. We analyzed the absorption spectrum of the phycocyanin extract,the concentration of phycocyanin and the relevance between phycocyanin concentration and chlorophyll-a concentration to compare the quality of three methods. Absorption spectra show that all the characteristic absorption peaks of phycocyanin are emerged at 620 nm. Experimental results show that AC buffer and PBS buffer are better than the Tris-HCl buffer in extraction efficiency. In comparison,AC buffer is more expensive and difficult to obtain and save than the other two buffers,which makes it not suitable for large-scale use. So we recommend PBS buffer as the normal buffer which can meet the requirements of large-scale water quality monitoring.
Perfect Tabular Hashing in Pseudolinear Time

We present an algorithm for generating perfect tabulation hashing functions by reduction to Boolean satisfaction (SAT). Tabulation hashing is a high-performance family of hash functions for hash tables that involves computing the XOR of random lookup tables. Given $n$ keys of word size $W$ , we show how to compute a perfect hash function in $O(nW)$ worst-case time. This is competitive with other perfect hashing methods, and the resultant hash functions are simple and performant.
Huxley's Model for Muscle Contraction Revisited: The Importance of Microscopic Reversibility.

Andrew Huxley’s model for muscle contraction is the first mechanistic description of how an energy-providing chemical reaction, ATP hydrolysis, can be coupled by a molecule (myosin) to do work in the environment in a cyclic process. The model was originally used to fit experimentally obtained force vs velocity curves, and has served as a paradigm for understanding mechanochemical coupling ever since. Despite the remarkable success in fitting kinetic data, Huxley’s model is thermodynamically inconsistent in several regards, most notably in its failure to include thermal noise in the description of the mechanical transitions by which motion occurs. This inconsistency has led subsequent workers to incorrect conclusions regarding the importance of mechanical transitions for determining the direction of motion, the efficiency of energy conversion, the ratio of forward to backward steps, and the applied force necessary to stop the motion of chemically driven molecular motors. In this chapter an extension of Huxley’s model is described where the principle of microscopic reversibility provides a framework for developing a thermodynamically consistent description of a molecular machine. The results show clearly that mechanical strain and the so-called “power stroke” are irrelevant for determining the directionality and thermodynamic properties of any chemically driven molecular motor. Instead these properties are controlled entirely by the chemical specificity that describes how the relative rates of the ATP hydrolysis reaction depend, by allosteric interactions, on the mechanical state of the molecule. This mechanism has been termed an “information ratchet” in the literature. In contrast to the results for chemical driving, a power stroke can be a key component for the operation of an optically driven motor, the transitions of which do not obey microscopic reversibility.
Uncorrelated volume element for stochastic modeling of microstructures based on local fiber volume fraction variation

Abstract One source of microstructural variability in fiber reinforced polymers is variability in fiber volume fraction. Despite large scatter in fiber volume fraction, an average value is usually reported without any consideration regarding the variability. Significant variation in fiber volume fraction across the sample reveals that homogeneity throughout the sample is a poor assumption and the commonly employed representative volume element is a poor representation of real microstructures. In this work, the distributions of fiber volume fraction at different length scales are investigated. The variation in distributions suggests that a length scale-dependent distribution must be selected in probabilistic analysis. A cross-correlation between fiber volume fractions of nearest neighbors was computed and an uncorrelated volume element (UVE) is introduced for the length scale at which fiber volume fractions become uncorrelated. The concept of a UVE enables random attribution of properties in stochastic modeling.
Interface Challenges for Mobile Tutoring Systems

Mobile devices used in education have the potential to provide learners with access to tutoring systems outside of the classroom or computer laboratory setting. To effectively deliver tutors on mobile devices, developers must consider the interface constraints imposed by the devices. The primary restriction is the small display available to users and the large amount of text and diagrams integral to desktop tutors. This paper describes two approaches to creating a mobile tutor interface and discusses the tradeoffs of each approach.
Momentum distribution in κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br organic superconductor measured by positron annihilation. Search for the Fermi surface

Abstract We report the first precise measurement of the positron-electron momentum distribution in an organic superconducting single crystal κ-(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu[N(CN) 2 ]Br by the 2D-ACAR method. The anisotropy in the raw spectrum has the appropriate symmetry and is consistent with the structure factors of the space group of the crystal. The LCW-folded k -space density is discussed and compared with the Fermi surface prediction of a HMO calculation. Substantial discrepancies between the experimental results and the existing theory are found.
Inversion of combined gravity and bathymetry data for crustal structure: A prescription for downward continuation

Abstract We propose a new and improved recipe for inverting for crustal thickness variations from combined gravity and bathymetry data. The ‘new’ ingredients with respect to previous studies are the posing of this problem as an inverse problem and the use of a downward continuation filter which can be tailored to find the crustal thickness solution which satisfies a minimum slope or maximal smoothness criteria, or a weighted combination of these desired solution features. We explore several suggestions for determining the ‘optimum’ smoothing parameters for a given crustal thickness inversion. Then we compare this new method to that used previously in marine gravity studies. We find it to be an ‘improved’ recipe for dealing with gravity data with observation errors of ∼ 3–5 mGal, but not by much. This recipe will be most useful in extracting more geological information from marine gravity data where apparent observation errors are ∼ 1 mGal, e.g. from future Global Positioning Satellite navigated studies.
Hyperthermic pre-conditioning promotes measles virus clearance from brain in a mouse model of persistent infection.

Nervous tissue subjected to hyperthermic pre-conditioning is resistance to numerous insults although in vitro, the same treatment can increase gene expression and cytopathic effect of neurotropic paramyxoviruses, including measles virus (MV). The present work determined whether the in vivo relationship between hyperthermic pre-conditioning and MV infection would be to increase neuropathogenicity or, conversely, to promote clearance. Balb/c mice 36 h of age were exposed to a 41 °C hyperthermic treatment for 30 min. Intracranial inoculation of mice with Edmonston MV was performed at 6 h following the heat treatment, a time point exhibiting elevated levels of the major inducible 70-kDa heat shock protein in brain, a hallmark of pre-conditioning. Forty-seven percent of the non-heated animals supported a persistent cytopathic infection at 21-day post infection (PI) based upon the quantitative detection of viral RNA in brain using real time RT-PCR. Cytopathic effect in the infected brains was proportionate to viral RNA burden. In contrast, infected stress conditioned mice lacked significant cytopathic effect and clearance was demonstrated in 95% of the animals. Analysis of shorter post-infection intervals showed that levels of viral RNA in brain were equivalent between stress conditioned and non-conditioned mice at 2 and 7 days PI, with clearance being first evident in both groups at 14 days. The temporal onset and progression of clearance was correlated to splenocyte blastogenic responsiveness to purified MV antigen but not the production of MV-specific antibody. Collectively, these results support the hypothesis that stress conditioning enhances the efficacy of cell-mediated immune responses known to mediate viral clearance from brain.
Nonaqueous synthesis and reduction of diazonium ions (without isolation) to modify glassy carbon electrodes using mild electrografting conditions

Abstract Synthesis and reduction of diazonium cations in acetonitrile – without isolation of the solid – was carried out to modify glassy carbon (GC) electrodes with p-nitrophenyl or p-carboxyphenyl groups. Reduction of diazonium ions was investigated under a variety of conditions to further understand the process. Cyclic voltammetry at GC consistently yields two distinct peaks for the reduction of nitrobenzenediazonium ions; the first peak is particularly dependent upon the GC surface treatment and history. Subsequent reduction of the surface nitrophenyl groups was used to assess the extent of modification, and results were compared for different electrografting conditions. Electrolysis of diazonium ions, using a more positive reduction potential than typical, results in modified surfaces, and the electrolysis charge can be varied to affect the surface coverage of modifying groups, though with %RSD > 25%. Electrochemistry of common redox systems (dopamine, ruthenium hexammine, ferrocyanide) was studied as a function of modification parameters. Under mild electrografting conditions, it appears that inhomogeneously covered surfaces are produced, with blocking properties similar to spontaneously grafted GC. Additionally, electron transfer for Fe 2+/3+ is suppressed at carboxyphenyl-modified GC rather than accelerated as it is at oxidized carbon electrodes containing carbonyl groups.
Some Things About Stuff

I examine the implications of positing stuff (which occupies an ontological category distinct from things) as a way to avoid colocation in the case of the statue and the bronze that constitutes it. When characterising stuff, it’s intuitive to say we often individuate stuff kinds by appealing to things and their relations (e.g., water is water rather than gold because it is entirely divisible into subportions which constitute or partially constitute H2O molecules). I argue that if this intuition is correct, there are important restrictions on how we can characterise stuff in order to avoid colocated portions of stuff.
Lot size, zoning, and household preferences

Urban density is a key feature of urban structure, and there is continuing interest in what determines density and how it might be influenced over time. Residential lot sizes are the underlying determinant of urban density, and lot sizes are determined by complex interactions of supply and demand forces. This article attempts to shed light on the extent to which lot size has been influenced by regulatory constraints, such as zoning rules or consumer preferences, drawing on data from the large metropolitan area surrounding Washington, DC. We find that new single-family development has been built on large lots, averaging in recent years between one half and one full acre, and that there is some evidence of convergence between inner and outer suburbs in lot sizes in new development over time. Our more detailed comparison of actual to allowable density using subdivision-level data reveals that developers only appear to be constrained by zoning rules in areas where regulations require that lots be larger than ...
ASYMPTOTIC THEORY FOR NONPARAMETRIC ESTIMATION OF SURVIVAL CURVES UNDER ORDER RESTRICTIONS

F t G F t , all t. The nonparametric maximum likelihood estimators in these problems were derived by Brunk, Franck, Hansen and Hogg and Dykstra. In the present paper we derive their large-sample distributions. We present two sets of proofs depending on whether or not the data are right-censored. When centered and scaled by n 1r2 , the estimators con- verge in distribution to limiting processes related to the concave majorant of Brownian motion. The limiting distributions are not known in closed form, but can be simulated for the purpose of forming asymptotic point- wise confidence limits.
Effect of K promotion of Fe and FeMn Fischer–Tropsch synthesis catalysts: Analysis at the site level using SSITKA

Promoting a precipitated FeCuSiO2 catalyst with Mn has been shown to significantly improve its catalytic activity for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS). Although the impact of K promotion on the activity of Fe catalysts with and without Mn addition has been studied previously, no one has previously delineated how K influences the concentration of active surface intermediates and the intrinsic site activities of Fe and, more specifically, Mn-promoted Fe catalysts. This paper addresses that issue using steady-state isotopic transient kinetic analysis (SSITKA). Adding K at relatively low concentrations to the base Fe and Mn-promoted Fe catalysts improved the catalyst activity, but the activity of the catalysts declined with the addition of an excess amount. The percentage of light olefins (C2–C4 fraction) and chain growth probability (α) were enhanced, as expected with the presence of K, regardless of Mn addition. The addition of K decreased the BET surface area and the concentration of surface exposed Fe0 atoms (as determined by CO chemisorption). The intrinsic site activities (TOFITK) of all of the Fe catalysts determined using SSITKA were essentially identical, regardless of the concentration of added K or Mn promotion. This indicates that adding K to unpromoted or Mn-promoted Fe catalysts did not greatly affect the activity of the active sites. Rather, the higher catalyst activities observed for the Fe and Mn-promoted Fe catalysts with K addition were due primarily to an increase in the number of active surface intermediates leading to hydrocarbon products.
Carbon filaments provide support and directionality to growing rat fetal spinal cord explants

Spinal cord explants obtained from 15 to 17-day-old fetal rats were cultured on bundles of 5-7 microns diameter carbon filaments attached to the bottom of Petri dishes. After a 3 week incubation period, the cultures were fixed and observed by light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. Neurites and glial processes were found to be growing both on and between the carbon filaments. The carbon filaments appeared to provide a biocompatible scaffold which promoted adhesion and gave directionality to the growing cell processes. These properties may make carbon filaments a suitable substrate for in vivo implantation into the damaged spinal cord.
Moving horizon approach of integrating scheduling and control for sequential batch processes

Online integration of scheduling and control is crucial to cope with process uncertainties. We propose a new online integrated method for sequential batch processes, where the integrated problem is solved to determine controller references rather than process inputs. Under a two-level feedback loop structure, the integrated problem is solved in a frequency lower than that of the control loops. To achieve the goal of computational efficiency and rescheduling stability, a moving horizon approach is developed. A reduced integrated problem in a resolving horizon is formulated, which can be solved efficiently online. Solving the reduced problem only changes a small part of the initial solution, guaranteeing rescheduling stability. The integrated method is demonstrated in a simulated case study. Under uncertainties of the control system disruption and the processing unit breakdown, the integrated method prevents a large loss in the production profit compared with the simple shifted rescheduling solution. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 1654–1671, 2014
Post‐traumatic stress after childhood cancer II: A family model

Recent studies have suggested that parental responses to pediatric cancer can include symptoms of post-traumatic stress even years after the end of successful treatment. This paper proposes a family model, based on data about the relationship between post-traumatic stress symptoms in parents of cancer survivors and the child's perceptions, symptoms and treatment. Parents of 30 childhood cancer survivors 8–19 years old, who were at least 22 months off treatment and disease free after a malignancy, were evaluated using self-report questionnaires. Neither diagnostic category (leukemia versus solid tumor), nor time since completion of treatment significantly correlated with severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms reported by parents. Although there was a significant correlation between symptom severity of mothers and fathers, neither mothers nor fathers' scores were significantly correlated with the survivors'. Maternal symptoms were significantly correlated with mothers' trait anxiety, survivors' appraisal of treatment intensity, and with duration of treatment. Further study of the interaction of family variables in parental post-traumatic response to pediatric illness appears to be indicated.
Remodeling of ribonucleoprotein complexes with DExH/D RNA helicases

The DExH/D protein family is the largest group of enzymes in eukaryotic RNA metabolism. DExH/D proteins are mainly known for their ability to unwind RNA duplexes in an ATP-dependent fashion. However, it has become clear in recent years that these DExH/D RNA helicases are also involved in the ATP-dependent remodeling of RNA–protein complexes. Here we review recent studies that highlight physiological roles of DExH/D proteins in the displacement of proteins from RNA. We further discuss work with simple RNA–protein complexes in vitro, which illuminates mechanisms by which DExH/D proteins remove proteins from RNA. Although we are only beginning to understand how DExH/D proteins remodel RNA–protein complexes, these studies have shown that an ‘RNA helicase’ does not per se require cofactors to displace proteins from RNA, that protein displacement does not necessarily involve RNA duplex unwinding, and that not all DExH/D proteins are able to disassemble the same range of ribonucleoproteins.
Incipient Fault Detection and Diagnosis in Turbine Engines Using Hidden Markov Models

Incipient fault detection and diagnosis in turbine engines is key to effective maintenance and improved availability of systems dependent on these engines. In this paper, we present a novel method for incipient fault detection and diagnosis using Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). In particular, we focus on engine faults that are manifest in transient operating conditions such as engine startup and acceleration. HMMs are stochastic signal models that are effective in modeling transient signals. They are developed with engine data collected under nominal operating conditions. Engine data representing different fault conditions are used to develop the fault HMMs; a separate model is developed for each of the faults. Once the nominal and fault HMMs are developed, new engine data collected from the engine are evaluated against the HMMs and a determination is made whether a fault is indicated. Here, we demonstrate our HMM-based fault detection and diagnosis approach on engine speed profiles taken from a real engine. Further, the effectiveness of the HMM-based approach is compared with a neural-network-based approach and a method based on using principal component analysis in conjunction with a neural network approach.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Relation between the transmural extent of acute myocardial infarction and associated myocardial contractility two weeks after infarction

Abstract To characterize the relation between the transmural extent of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and associated regional contractility after recovery from ischemia, 11 mongrel dogs underwent occlusion of the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery and were evaluated 2 weeks after infarction. Occlusion was permanent in 5 dogs, and reperfusion was allowed after 2 hours of occlusion in 6 dogs. All dogs had computer-assisted quantitative wallthickening analysis by 2-dimensional echocardiography and infarct localization by the triphenyltetrazolium chloride technique. Percent systolic wall thickening was correlated with the transmural extent of AMI in 40 regions of interest, each measuring aproximately 60 arc degrees in circumference. In 11 non-infarct-containing regions, the mean wall thickening was 59 ± 16% (± standard deviation). In 29 infarct-containing segments (with transmural extent of infarction 11 to 100%) systolic wall thickening ranged from −4% to 47%. Wall thickening and transmural extent of AMI were inversely related. Least-squares regression analysis found the relation to be best described by the logarithmic function, percent wall thickening = 61 − 26 log (percent transmural extent of infarction +1), r = −0.87. The nature of this relation between structure and function suggests that salvage of small amounts of myocardium (transmural extent less than 30 to 40%) by coronary reperfusion or other means may have little effect on systolic myocardial function when compared with the function of transmural infarcts. Alternatively, salvage of more than 40 % of the jeopardized myocardium should be expected to appreciably augment myocardial function.