cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
THE RESPONSE OF A HYDROID TO WEAK WATER-BORNE DISTURBANCES

1. Syncoryne mirabilis polyps rapidly bend toward the source of a mechanical disturbance in their vicinity. A small moving copepod a few millimeters from the polyp creates sufficient stimulus to evoke this response. 2. The hydroid will respond to a mechanical pulse from an electrically driven prodder as well as to single movements of the prodder either toward or away from the polyp. With the prodder 0.5 mm. from the polyp mid-line, threshold displacement of the prodder is only 2.5-3µ. Repeated pulses of increasing amplitude, initially below threshold intensity, will not evoke bending if the frequency is over 5/sec. This means that stimuli which cause no overt response can still inhibit polyp bending to normally supra-threshold subsequent stimuli. 3. A polyp will not respond to slow currents of water, but will bend towards the source of sudden jets of water directed at it. 4. The capitate tentacles are not necessary for the movement perception, but after their removal the threshold is raised and the accuracy of bending reduced. The response does not require that the polyp be attached to a fixed stalk; it also occurs in isolated polyps floating in a density gradient. 5. The hypothesis is presented that polyp bending is due to unequal stimulation of opposite sides of the polyp because of decreasing stimulus intensity with increasing distance from the source of disturbance.
Magnetic shielding for magnetically levitated vehicles

The magnetic shielding required for magnetically levitated vehicles is discussed. Shielding is needed to protect passengers in a vehicle from stray dc magnetic fields coming from the superconducting dipoles carried by the vehicle. In addition, the superconducting dipoles must be shielded against various ac magnetic fields. Here we consider shielding of ac magnetic fields generated by the propulsion windings for the case of a linear-synchronous-motor active guideway. Protection for passengers against magnetic fields is necessary as there are at present no data upon which to base a human tolerance of magnetic-field intensity. It is shown here that in a magnetically levitated vehicle where the space to be shielded is large and where the weight of shielding is a prime concern, active shielding, in which compensation dipoles generate a canceling magnetic field, is superior to passive shielding, which uses iron plates. At the floor of the passenger cabin of a proposed vehicle, the magnetic field, without compensation, is as high as 0.03 T. Compensation dipoles, comparable in size to and placed 0.5 m above the main dipoles, increase the total conductor requirement by about ⅓ to bring the magnetic field at the floor of the passenger cabin below a level of 0.005 T. To achieve the same result by passive shielding, an iron plate or equivalent up to 2 cm thick must cover the floor of the passenger cabin, resulting in at least a 10 000-kg increase in the total weight for a 100-passenger vehicle. We therefore strongly recommend active shielding. At 100 Hz, a peak ac field of more than 10-5T cannot be tolerated in the superconducting dipoles of a vehicle as hysteresis and eddy-current losses within the conductor become excessive. The ac field reaching the main dipoles from the propulsion windings in the guideway can be as high as 10-3T without shielding. An aluminum sheet of 2-mm thickness kept at 4.2 K attenuates the field and makes ac superconductor losses negligible while keeping the eddy-current losses in the sheet to an acceptable level.
Making electrical contacts to molecular monolayers

Electrical contacts between a metal probe and molecular monolayers have been characterized using conducting atomic force microscopy in an inert environment and in a voltage range that yields reversible current-voltage data. The current through alkanethiol monolayers depends on the contact force in a way that is accounted for by the change of chain-to-chain tunnelling with film thickness. The electronic decay constant, βN, was obtained from measurements as a function of chain length at constant force and bias, yielding βN = 0.8±0.2 per methylene over a ±3 V range. Current-voltage curves are difficult to reconcile with this almost constant value. Very different results are obtained when a gold tip contacts a 1,8-octanedithiol film. Notably, the current-voltage curves are often independent of contact force. Thus the contact may play a critical role both in the nature of charge transport and the shape of the current-voltage curve.
Effect of Low Dose Radiation Computerized Tomography Protocols on Distal Ureteral Calculus Detection

Purpose: Unenhanced multidetector computerized tomography is the imaging modality of choice for urinary calculi but exposes patients to substantial radiation doses with a subsequent risk of radiation induced secondary malignancy. We compared ultra low dose and conventional computerized tomography protocols for detecting distal ureteral calculi in a cadaveric model.Materials and Methods: A total of 85 calcium oxalate stones 3 to 7 mm long were prospectively placed in 14 human cadaveric distal ureters in 56 random configurations. The intact kidneys, ureters and bladders were placed in a human cadaveric vehicle and computerized tomography was performed at 140, 100, 60, 30, 15 and 7.5 mA seconds while keeping other imaging parameters constant. Images were independently reviewed in random order by 2 blinded radiologists to determine the sensitivity and specificity of each mA second setting.Results: Overall sensitivity and specificity were 98% and 83%, respectively. Imaging using 140, 100, 60, 30, 15 and 7.5 mA...
A New Solar Reactor Aperture Mechanism Coupled with Heat Exchanger

Concentrated solar energy finds applications for power generation and as a source of heat for solar thermochemical processes. However, solar energy reaching the earth’s surface is intermittent and fluctuates with weather conditions, position of the sun throughout the day and other seasonal changes. This causes a major drawback in receiver efficiency as semi-constant temperatures are required for efficient operation of solar thermochemical processes. This paper introduces a new variable aperture mechanism which is coupled with a heat exchanger to collect unused heat during peak times. The paper presents an optical and heat transfer analysis of the concept using Monte-Carlo ray tracing technique via TracePro and an in-house developed heat transfer code. The heat transfer analysis of the proposed concept shows the optimum aperture diameter with a compromise between reactor temperature and reradiation losses. It also predicts the losses incurred by the variable sized aperture mechanism when the incoming solar radiation changes.
PP05.2 – 2269: Decreased levels of nasal nitric oxide in children with midline neuroanatomical anomalies: A possible connection between ciliary dysfunction and isolated nervous system defects?

Objectives Given the involvement of cilia in neurodevelopment, we set to determine whether children with midline neuroanatomical defects have increased prevalence of ciliary dysfunction, using nasal nitric oxide measurement, a screening test for Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia. Methods We measured the nasal nitric oxide levels of 26 children ages 6–17, with congenital midline central nervous system defects, who are otherwise healthy. We evaluated the effect of variables including: age, gender, and anomaly (brain, spinal cord, or combined) on our measurements. We compared our results to the previously established normal range (153.6–509.9 nL/min), and to the cutoff for children with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (77 nL/min). Results The overall range for nasal nitric oxide in our cohort was 56.5 to 334.7 nL/min, with age, gender, and anomaly not having a significant effect. The overall mean, 217.7 nL/min, was significantly lower than the preestablished mean in normal children, 314.51 nL/min (p Conclusions This is the first study reporting a possible association between ciliary dysfunction and isolated congenital midline neuroanatomical defects, not in the context of any known syndrome. We suggest that genes known to cause isolated CNS defects, may also be implied in the function of cilia. Longitudinal studies are required to investigate whether, in children with abnormal measurements, nasal nitric oxide levels normalize over time, and whether these children suffer from any respiratory sequelae.
Foreign Correspondence: European Accounts of Sultan Süleyman I’s Persian Campaigns, 1548 and 1554

European sources for Suleyman I’s Persians campaigns of 1548 and 1554 have been little noticed. This essay reviews a journal of a French ambassador’s campaign travels (1548), a Venetian merchant’s account of the 1553–1555 war, and the dispatches of Vienna’s ambassadors at the Porte, relaying what are said to be letters from the sultan’s camp. No definitive assessment of these sources is offered, since Ottoman and Persians sources are used only in translation. But the European accounts add unfamiliar material for a still-needed discussion of logistical problems. They corroborate one another, and they combine to give a concrete idea how difficult it was to supply a huge army in mountainous terrain 2,000 km from the Ottoman capital.
Threshold-based burst assembly policies for QoS support in optical burst-switched networks

In this paper, we propose a threshold-based burst assembly scheme in conjunction with a burst segmentation policy to provide QoS in optical burst switched (OBS) networks. Bursts are assembled at the network edge by collecting packets that have the same QoS requirements. Once the number of packets in a burst reaches a threshold value, the burst is sent into the network. We investigate various burst assembly strategies which differentiate bursts by utilizing different threshold values or assigning different burst priorities to bursts that contain packets with differing QoS requirements. The primary objective of this work is to find the optimal threshold values for varous classes of bursts. We show through simulation that there is an optimal value of burst threshold that minimizes packet loss for given network parameters.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Advanced Neuroimaging Methods Towards Characterization of Early Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

In the past 5 years, imaging network properties in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) has revolutionized our understanding of this disorder. Postmortem data had already suggested that the damage spreads along functional neural networks, but postmortem studies do not provide information on the temporal evolution of the damage in the same patient, essential to determine spreading. These data can be provided by functional and structural neuroimaging, which allow for the visualization over time of the progressive damage inflicted by AD. Functional networks can be mapped by determining the synchrony across brain regions of the blood oxygenation level dependence (BOLD) signal on functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during quiet wakefulness. Other less extensively used techniques are also useful. For instance, amyloid deposition can be imaged and its progression mapped to determine whether it follows brain networks, and, if so, which are affected earliest. Network patterns of neurobiological changes, including tau deposition, may prove critical to our understanding of the neurobiology of AD and therefore open the way for therapeutic interventions.
On Objective Measures of Actionability in Knowledge Discovery

One of the main goals of knowledge discovery is to find nuggets of useful knowledge that could influence or help users in a decision-making process. This task can be viewed as searching in an immense space for possible actionable concepts. Most of the KDD researchers believe that the task of finding actionable patterns is not easy and actionability is a purely subjective concept. Practitioners report that applying the KDD algorithms comprises not more than 20% of the knowledge discovery process and the remaining 80% relies on human experts to post-analyze the discovered patterns manually. To improve the effectiveness of the process, actionability can be defined as an objective measure via providing a well-defined strategy of pattern generations that allow guidance from domain experts at key stages in the search for useful patterns. The approach tightly integrates KDD and decision making by solving the decision-making problems directly on the core of KDD algorithms. In this paper, we present a granular computing-based method for generating a set of rules by utilizing the domain experts’ prior knowledge to formulate its inputs and to evaluate the observed regularities it discovers. The generated rule overcomes the traditional data-centered pattern mining, resulting to bridge the gap and enhance real-world problem-solving capabilities.
Does Nebulin Make Tropomyosin Less Dynamic in Mature Myofibrils in Cross-Striated Myocytes?

Myofibrils in vertebrate cardiac and skeletal muscles are characterized by groups of proteins arranged in contractile units or sarcomeres, which consist of four major components – thin filaments, thick filaments, titin and Zbands. The thin actin/tropomyosin-containing filaments are embedded in the Z-bands and interdigitate with the myosin-containing thick filaments aligned in A-bands. Titin is attached to the Z-band and extends upto the middle of the A-Band. In this mini review, we have addressed the mechanism of myofibril assembly as well as the dynamics and maintenance of the myofibrils in cardiac and skeletal muscle cells. Evidence from our research as well as from other laboratories favors the premyofibril model of myofibrillogenesis. This three-step model (premyofibril to nascent myofibril to mature myofibril) not only provides a reasonable mechanism for sequential interaction of various proteins during assembly of myofibrils, but also suggests why the dynamics of a thin filament protein like tropomyosin is higher in cardiac muscle than in skeletal muscles. The dynamics of tropomyosin not only varies in different muscle types (cardiac vs. skeletal), but also varies during myofibrillogenesis, for example, premyofibril versus mature myofibrils in skeletal muscle. One of the major differences in protein composition between cardiac and skeletal muscle is nebulin localized along the thin filaments (two nebulins/thin filament) of mature myofibrils in skeletal muscle cells, but which is expressed in a minimal quantity (one nebulin/50 actin filaments) in ventricular cardiomyocytes. Interestingly, nebulin is not associated with premyofibrils in skeletal muscle. Our FRAP(Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching) results suggest that tropomyosin is more dynamic in premyofibrils than in mature myofibrils in skeletal muscle, and also, the dynamics of tropomyosin in mature myofibrils is significantly higher in cardiac muscle compared to skeletal muscle. Our working hypothesis is that the association of nebulin in mature myofibrils renders tropomyosin less dynamic in skeletal muscle.
The inimitable field of cosmology.

In the News Focus article “A singular conundrum: How odd is our universe?” (28 September 2007, p. [1848][1]), A. Cho perpetuated misunderstanding of science with the statement, in part from James Gunn, that “'Cosmology may look like a science, but it isn't a science' because it's impossible to do repeatable experiments.” In the truly natural sciences (such as geology, oceanography, atmospheric science, and ecology), rigorous observation and interpretation are commonly used, rather than “repeatable experiments” a la Karl Popper—except in those few cases where a small-scale experiment is meaningful ([1][2]). It would be better to say that cosmology is science—it just isn't Popperian physics. 1. 1.[↵][3]1. C. M. Condit, 2. L. B. Railsback , The Transilience Project [www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/Transilience/Transilience.html][4]). # Response {#article-title-2} With all due respect, I think that L. B. Railsback misses the point that I was attempting to make. The pursuit of understanding the cosmos is certainly a scientific pursuit and makes use of many of the most powerful tools of science. Unfortunately, there is only one observable universe, and while it is quite possible in principle, and probably in practice, to formulate theories that describe its observed behavior perfectly on the largest scales, those theories could well be unverifiable by any doable experiment. In geophysics and astrophysics, the experimenter is nature, not the scientist, but repeated experiments can be done and the results can be observed. This is not so in cosmology for phenomena on the largest scales. Further confusion stems from our belief that the structure we are observing is stochastic on scales up to and beyond the current particle horizon. As discussed in the News Focus article, we may be unlucky enough to live in a volume in which some large-scale quantity assumes a very unlikely value within the framework of some otherwise seemingly successful theory. It then becomes a very subjective matter of whether this observation does or does not rule out the theory in question. Whatever one's view on the Popperian definition, verification by whatever technique is a cornerstone of science; I am merely saying that this can be impossible for crucial and interesting aspects of cosmological inquiry. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.317.5846.1848 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1. in text" [4]: http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/Transilience/Transilience.html
Imaging Of Hierarchically Structured Materials

We describe techniques used to characterize hierarchically structured synthetic and biological materials. These techniques decipher the structures through the dimensional spectrum from the molecular and atomic scales (10.−10 m) to the macro scales (10−3 m) where the overall shape of the material emerges. Techniques used to image surfaces and internal structures can be categorized according to their wavelength and thus spatial resolution as light, x-ray, and electron microscopy. We also discuss newly emerging microscopy techniques that image surfaces at the atomic level without a focusing lens, such as scanning tunneling and atomic force microscopies, with the aid of field ion microscope and scanned probe microscopes. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), a unique tool for multipurpose imaging, provides structural information through direct imaging, diffraction, and spectroscopic analysis. We illustrate the major TEM techniques used to analyze structural hierarchy with examples of synthetic and biological materials. We also describe light optical microscopy and scanning probe microscopy techniques, which cover the opposite ranges of the dimensional spectrum at the micrometer and subangstrom levels.
Monitoring controlled release of payload from gold nanocages using surface enhanced Raman scattering.

Novel organic and inorganic nanostructures for localized and externally triggered delivery of therapeutic agents at a target site have received immense attention over the past decade owing to their enormous potential in treating complex diseases such as cancer. Gold nanocages, a novel class of hollow plasmonic nanostructures, have been recently demonstrated to serve as carriers for the delivery of payload with external trigger such as light or ultrasound. In this article, we demonstrate that surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can be employed to noninvasively monitor the release of payload from these hollow plasmonic nanostructures. The large enhancement of electromagnetic (EM) field at the interior surface of these nanostructures enables us to monitor the controlled release of Raman-active cargo from nanocages. Considering that SERS can be excited and collected in near-infrared (NIR) therapeutic window, this technique can serve as a powerful tool to monitor the drug release in vivo, providing addi...
Evaluations of lunar regolith simulants

Apollo lunar regolith samples are not available in quantity for engineering studies with In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). Therefore, with expectation of a return to the Moon, dozens of regolith (soil) simulants have been developed, to some extent a result of inefficient distribution of NASA-sanctioned simulants. In this paper, we review many of these simulants, with evaluations of their short-comings. In 2010, the NAC–PSS committee instructed the Lunar Exploration Advisory Group (LEAG) and CAPTEM (the NASA committee recommending on the appropriations of Apollo samples) to report on the status of lunar regolith simulants. This report is reviewed here-in, along with a list of the plethora of lunar regolith simulants and references. In addition, and importantly, a special, unique Apollo 17 soil sample (70050) discussed, which has many of the properties sought for ISRU studies, should be available in reasonable amounts for ISRU studies.
The Three-dimensional Parameterized Teeth Placement Design of PDC Drill

The paper builds the parameterized 3D solid model of PDC drill and bit;and writes relevant computer program to validate the results.This paper provides a ground for precise teeth placement design of PDC drill.
On Unsettleable Arithmetical Problems

It has long been known that there are arithmetic statements that are true but not provable, but it is usually thought that they must necessarily be complicated. In this paper, I shall argue that th...
INTEGRATION AND REGULATION OF CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTION

New methods in molecular biology and genetics have made possible many of the dramatic advances in physiological research that have occurred in recent years. For those of us who spend most of our time in the research laboratory, it si sometimes difficult to avoid a research-oriented, reductionist mind-set when discussing physiology with students. This article illustrates, with a few examples, the importance of conveying a "big picture" conceptual framework before discussing the details of cardiovascular physiology. Also, I have chosen examples from cardiac output and blood pressure regulation that show the importance of discussing cardiovascular physiology in terms of feedback control systems and integrating information from other areas, such as renal and endocrine physiology. Finally, I have highlighted the importance of two principles that I believe are often underemphasized in teaching physiology: mass balance and time dependence of physiological control systems.
The boreal winter madden julian oscillation's influence on summertime precipitation in the greater caribbean

Precipitation totals in the greater Caribbean are known to be affected by interannual variability. In particular, dry conditions in the spring-summer have been physically linked to the positive phase of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in the literature. In this study, it was found through regression analysis that an active Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) in winter geographically focused over the Maritime Continent contributes to a positive NAO in March via the generation of Rossby waves in the Northern Hemisphere. Specifically, a negative Pacific-North American pattern develops in the winter and transitions to an Atlantic pattern in spring. The positive NAO is a transient feature of this evolving wave train, but a center of significant positive 200 hPa geopotential heights is entrenched over the southeast U.S. throughout the February to May time period and is manifested as high pressure at the surface. The southern flank of this system increases the speeds of the trade winds and leads to a cooling of the Caribbean sea surface temperatures and, thus, convection suppression and reduced precipitation. Thus, this study advances our understanding of the climate of the greater Caribbean by using climate teleconnections to relate the MJO to rainfall in the region.
Switchgrass growth and pine–switchgrass interactions in established intercropping systems

Intercropping switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) with loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) has been proposed for producing bioenergy feedstock in the southeastern United States. This study investigated switchgrass growth and pine–switchgrass interactions at two established experimental fields (7-year-old Lenoir site and 5-year-old Carteret site) located on the coastal plain of eastern United States. Position effects (edge and center of switchgrass alley in intercropping plots) and treatment effects (intercropping vs. grass-only) on aboveground switchgrass growth were evaluated. Interspecific interactions with respect to capturing resources (light, soil water, and nitrogen) were investigated by measuring photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) above grass canopy, soil moisture, and soil mineral nitrogen contents. Switchgrass growth was significantly (P = 0.001) affected by treatments in Lenoir and by position (P < 0.0001) in both study sites. Relative to the center, PAR above grass canopy at edge in both sites was about 48% less during the growing season. Soil water content during the growing season at the edge of grass alley was significantly (P = 0.0001) lower by 23% than at the center in Lenoir, while no significant (P = 0.42) difference was observed in Carteret, in spite of more grass growth at center at both sites. Soil mineral nitrogen content at the center of intercropping plots in Lenoir (no fertilization during 2015) was significantly (P < 0.07) lower than at the edge during the peak of growing season (June, July, and August), but not during early and late parts of growing season (May, September, and November). Position effects on soil water and mineral nitrogen were less evident under conditions with higher external inputs (rainfall and fertilization) and lower plant uptake during nongrowing seasons. Results from this study contributed to a better understanding of above- and belowground pine–switchgrass interactions which is necessary to properly manage this new cultivation system for bioenergy production in the southeastern United States.
Effects of adhesive thickness on the Lamb wave pitch-catch signal using bonded piezoelectric wafer transducers

This paper investigates the effects of adhesive layer on Lamb wave ultrasound pitch-catch signals that are excited and sensed by piezoelectric wafer transducers bonded on a slender structure. Analytical models were established to simulate the longitudinal and flexural vibrations of the structures separately and parametric studies of the bonding layer properties, i.e. the shear transfer parameter, adhesive thickness, and shear modulus, were performed. The parametric studies indicate that there exists an optimal adhesive layer thickness that generates maximum ultrasound pitch-catch signal for both wave modes. This prediction was subsequently validated by measurements. In addition, an improved match between the measured and simulated pitch-catch signals was achieved by adjusting the adhesive layer parameters.
Orthodox Christian Values Related to Psychotherapy and Mental Health

The role of values in psychotherapy has received increasing attention in recent years. Previous research suggests that the values of orthodox Christian individuals influence their selection of a ps...
Improved Bond Strength of Cyanoacrylate Adhesives Through Nanostructured Chromium Adhesion Layers

The performance of many consumer products suffers due to weak and inconsistent bonds formed to low surface energy polymer materials, such as polyolefin-based high-density polyethylene (HDPE), with adhesives, such as cyanoacrylate. In this letter, we present an industrially relevant means of increasing bond shear strength and consistency through vacuum metallization of chromium thin films and nanorods, using HDPE as a prototype material and cyanoacrylate as a prototype adhesive. For the as received HDPE surfaces, unmodified bond shear strength is shown to be only 0.20 MPa with a standard deviation of 14 %. When Cr metallization layers are added onto the HDPE at thicknesses of 50 nm or less, nanorod-structured coatings outperform continuous films and have a maximum bond shear strength of 0.96 MPa with a standard deviation of 7 %. When the metallization layer is greater than 50 nm thick, continuous films demonstrate greater performance than nanorod coatings and have a maximum shear strength of 1.03 MPa with a standard deviation of 6 %. Further, when the combination of surface roughening with P400 grit sandpaper and metallization is used, 100-nm-thick nanorod coatings show a tenfold increase in shear strength over the baseline, reaching a maximum of 2.03 MPa with a standard deviation of only 3 %. The substantial increase in shear strength through metallization, and the combination of roughening with metallization, may have wide-reaching implications in consumer products which utilize low surface energy plastics.
A shotgun approach to identify mechanical nociception genes

The molecular mechanisms of sensing noxious mechanical force by nociceptive sensory neurons remain poorly understood. Traditional methods for probing mechanical nociception behavioral responses are labor intensive and involve the testing of one animal at a time. This time consuming process of behavioral testing has largely precluded large scale analyses. Indeed, large scale genetic screens that have been performed thus far have been largely restricted to the investigation of ion channel genes. Here we describe a new behavioral assay for mechanical nociception in which tens of animals can be stimulated simultaneously. In this assay, third instar larvae of the genetically tractable Drosophila melanogaster are mechanically stimulated with tungsten particles that are fired from a gun. In addition, we have used the new assay to carry out a genetic screen in which we investigated the function of 231 nociceptor enriched genes with tissue-specific RNA interference. Targeting of 21 genes resulted in mechanically insensitive phenotypes and targeting of a single gene resulted in hypersensitive mechanical nociception phenotypes. Six of the identified genes were previously uncharacterized and these were named after famed Roman gladiators (Spartacus (CG14186), Commodus (CG1311), Flamma (CG10914), Crixus(CG6685), Spiculus (CG10932), and Verus (CG31324)).
Performance characterization of a high-purity germanium detector for small-animal SPECT

We present an initial evaluation of a mechanically-cooled, high-purity germanium double-sided strip detector as a potential gamma camera for small-animal SPECT. It is 90 mm in diameter and 10 mm thick with two sets of 16 orthogonal strips that have a 4.75 mm width with a 5 mm pitch. A sub-strip interpolation method is used to bin the data at a pixel size of 0.53mm × 0.53mm, while it is also possible to estimate the depth of interaction based on CFD time differences between the anode and cathode. The system has an energy resolution of 0.92% at 140 keV and an intrinsic efficiency of 55.40% at 122 keV. Simulations suggest that increases in the efficiency should be possible by altering signal processing to include Compton events in which charge is collected on more than one strip. Integral uniformity in the central field of view for strips was found to be less than 1% in a flood-corrected flood while pixel-level uniformity was 2.98%. Due to the excellent energy resolution, the presence of a scattering medium did not greatly alter the FWHM or FWTM of a pinhole projection when compared to an acquisition without a scattering medium. This high-purity germanium system offers many desirable properties for small-animal SPECT.
Meta-Analysis of Pharmacotherapy Vs. Observation for Management of Smoldering Multiple Myeloma

Abstract Introduction: Asymptomatic or smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) is usually 10-15% of all patients with multiple myeloma. Currently, national guidelines do not recommend early treatment of SMM though the majority of patients progress to active disease over time. Multiple trials have been conducted to evaluate implications of early therapy for SMM. Some of these trials, most notably, Mateos et al. (N Engl J Med 2013; 369:438-447) have shown benefit for treating SMM. However, there is lack of consensus as to whether early treatment of SMM prior to symptomatic disease progression is superior to observation alone. Hence we conducted a meta- analysis to determine if observation or treatment is superior in the management of SMM. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, the Cochrane database and hand-search of articles to identify 12 clinical trials which allocated SMM patients to treatment. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of Bias tool. Our main outcomes were progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Sub-analysis examined the difference in treatment with antineoplastic agent (C), bisphosphonates (B), or their combination (CB). Data were pooled using a random effects meta-analysis using STATA (College Station Texas, V13.2). Results: Among the 12 trials, 4 trials were excluded due lack of survival curves for OS, PFS, TTP. Characteristics of the 8 included clinical trials are given in Table 1. Participants treated for early SMM had reduced mortality (HR: 0.64, 95% CI 0.4-1.0) and better PFS (HR=0.83, 95% CI, 0.64-1.07) compared to the observation group. In subgroup analysis, patients treated with either antineoplastic agents or the combination of antineoplastic agents and bisphosphonate had a better OS and PFS, whereas therapy with only bisphosphonate did not impact OS or PFS (Figures 1, 2). Conclusion: We conclude that antineoplastic treatment or a combination of antineoplastic agents and bisphosphonates is better than observation in improving overall survival in SMM patients. A similar trend is seen with PFS. This conclusion merits caution given the limited data available and the differences in the agents used for therapy. Download : Download high-res image (123KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure 1 . Download : Download high-res image (120KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure 2 . Download : Download high-res image (187KB) Download : Download full-size image Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Observations on the effect of changes in arterial oxygenation on adenosine induced coronary vasodilation.

At present there are two general theories that have been proposed to account for the autoregulatory vascular response to decreased coronary arterial flow. One holds that an increased concentration of vasoactive tissue metabolites which accumulate as a result of myocardial hypoxia, most notable among which is the nucleoside adenosine, directly causes vasodilation in the coronary resistance vessels (1, 2, 3, 4). The other states that the low pO2 incident to low coronary flow acts directly on vascular smooth muscles to cause vasodilation, possibly because of depletion of ATP and other oxygen dependent energy substrates necessary to maintain the contractile state (5, 6, 7, 8). Recently, a study of isolated coronary vascular smooth muscle strips has suggested another mechanism in which both the local oxygen tension and adenosine concentration may act in concert to effect coronary vasodilation in the presence of myocardial hypoxia: this in vitro study demonstrated an enhancement of adenosine induced relaxation of vascular smooth muscle when local oxygen tension was reduced to below 40 mm Hg (9).
THE DIAGRAM OF THE COST SYSTEM OF HANS RENOLD LTD. — A BLUEPRINT FOR ACCOUNTING FOR ROBOTS

Knowledge of accounting history can be a great aid in solving accounting problems of today and tomorrow. One example of this is the use of a cost diagram of Church and Renold and the writings of Church to solve the problem of accounting for robots.
Graduate Students’ Antecedents to Meaningful and Constructive Discussions: Developing Potential Collaborative Online Interactions

The study analyzes evidence of how online graduate students perceive antecedents to productive online discussion posts and exchanges. It seeks to document how graduate students perceive good and bad discussions (both face-to-face and online). Through descriptive qualitative analysis we consider how graduate students describe online productive social interactions. Graduate student data provide potential elements and “rules” for discussion posts and group work that promote higher-order cognitive skills. As one graduate student succinctly offered, “I enjoyed reading my classmates’ lists, especially because it was so informative to learn what characteristics my classmates find most important in regards to discussions. This information will help me in how I approach our group work and discussion throughout this class. I was happy for the opportunity to use everyone’s wonderful posts in order to expand, elaborate, and clarify my own thoughts.”
Does handwriting instruction have a place in the instructional day? The relationship between handwriting quality and academic success

Handwriting is a foundational skill needed by students to demonstrate competency in reading, writing, and math. Occupational therapists who work in schools are tasked with providing remedial servic...
Mindfulness Meditation and Art Appreciation as Meaning-Making Practices

Mindfulness has recently gained significant attention and momentum in academia and popular culture in the US and the UK. There is, however, a paucity of literature on how students make sense of con...
Fertilizer Usage and Technical Efficiency of Rice Farms under Tropical Conditions: A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

This study employed an output-oriented DEA approach to evaluate the impact of fertilizer usage on the technical efficiency of rice farms in Kogi state, Nigeria. Results suggest that rice farms with...
The relationship between drug use settings, roles in the drug economy, and witnessing a drug overdose in Baltimore, Maryland.

Background: There has been a dramatic increase in drug overdose deaths in the United States. In the current study, the authors examined factors associated with witnessing a drug overdose. Methods: ...
Stabilizability of Discrete-Time Controlled Switched Linear Systems

The goal of this paper is to study the stabilizability of controlled discrete-time switched linear systems (CSLSs), where the discrete switching control input and the continuous control input coexist. For a given positive integer $h$ , we propose a quantitative metric of stabilizability, called $h$ -contraction rate ( $h$ -CR), and prove that it serves as an indicator of the stabilizability in the following sense: the $h$ -CR is less than one for sufficiently large $h$ if and only if the switched linear system is stabilizable. In addition, we develop computational tools to estimate upper and lower bounds of the $h$ -CR. In particular, the upper bound estimation is expressed as a semidefinite programming problem. We derive its Lagrangian dual problem and prove that the dual problem with an additional rank constraint gives an exact characterization of the $h$ -CR. An algorithm is developed to solve the dual problem with the rank constraint.
Post-truth or agnogenesis? Theorizing risk and uncertainty in a neoliberal nature

AbstractIn the aftermath of the great recession, many have investigated the characteristics of life in a ‘neoliberal nature’. In more recent months, we have also seen an apparent erosion of truth, ...
Numerical determination of Green's functions for far field scattering solutions

Typical finite element target scattering results are evaluated over a small physical domain and then propagated to the far field using the Helmholtz-Kirchhoff integral. This process allows for direct far field data-model comparison and is substantially faster than evaluation over a large domain. It does, however, require knowledge of the Green’s function of the target’s environment. For underwater buried targets, the two-medium Green’s function pertaining to the water and sediment is often not readily known and can be cumbersome to analytically solve or approximate, particularly when surface roughness or volume inhomogeneity is to be incorporated. Instead, the Green’s function can be determined directly through numerical methods. A direct process for numerical Green’s function determination in an arbitrary two-medium environment is proposed, and is used to determine the far field scattering from buried targets. Results are compared to experimental scattering records on buried elastic targets, and to other models where the Green’s function was determined/approximated analytically. [Work supported by Applied Research Laboratories IR&D and ONR, Ocean Acoustics.]
Protection from adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy in rats.

The use of adriamycin, one of the most potent antineoplastic agents available causes a dose dependent cardiomyopathy. Carnitine does play a central role in myocardial metabolism by controlling fatty acid oxidation and the acetyl-CoA pool. Protective effects of carnitine have been described in different myocardial diseases. We therefore investigated whether chronic carnitine administration could protect from adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy. As the rat has proved to be an effective model for adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy, we studied four groups of rats, treated for 6 weeks according to the following protocols: group (I) adriamycin i.v. and carnitine i.p. (II) adriamycin i.v. and NaCl i.p. (III) NaCl i.v. and i.p. (IV) NaCl i.v. and carnitine i.p. After 6 weeks of treatment, hearts were studied in an isolated working rat heart system. Adriamycin/NaCl treated hearts produced reduced cardiac output and left ventricular systolic pressure compared to controls (NaCl/CaCl, group III) or to adriamycin/carnitine treated hearts (Fig. 1-3 and Table 1). The myocardial carnitine content in non-perfused hearts was not influenced by adriamycin therapy, and muscle, kidney and liver carnitine levels were unchanged. However, total plasma carnitine in the adriamycin/NaCl group was significantly elevated, based on increased carnitine esters. Histological changes like degeneration, vacuolization, interstitial edema, fibrosis and mitochondrial damage were pronounced in the adriamycin group but were almost lacking in the carnitine-treated animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Training... A Key to Better Help Desk Consultants.

The quality of student consultants and their development through training and education are major factors in determining long-term effectiveness of university Help Desk. To hire and retain good student consultants, it is good policy to invest in the development of their skills, so they can increase their productivity and obtain real-world work experience as IT Professionals. We would like to share with our colleagues the evolution of our consultant training procedures, from “train yourselves” to a formal, systematic training program: • First day of work orientation – introducing each new consultant to the department as a whole, each department and an overview of how the Help Desk and its consultants fit. • One-on-one training on specific applications. • Self-Paced learning (Handbooks at each station with flow charts and step by step instructions on how to handle specific situations, Web resources (on-line documentation on supported software packages, University Policies and Procedures, and CD-ROMbased containing tutorials). • One-Day Training sessions which include: o Guest speakers on specific topics (i.e. Customer Service, Handling Difficult Customers, Troubleshooting) o Role Playing scenarios of common service issues and areas of confusion • Rotational Cross-Training among various teams, part of on-going training for all consultants. • Lab training, for the experienced consultants. After their training sessions, consultants are given an online test. The results help us determine if each trainee has learned the required knowledge to become an effective help desk consultant, or if they require additional training and reinforcement of the skills. This is an ongoing process, which helps us maximize training and meet the training goals for each consultant.
Application of PID Controller Based on BPNN in Temperature Control of Electrothermal Boiler

In order to achieve effective and intelligent control for Water temperature, a PID controller on BPNN-based was used in the Temperature control system of electrothermal boiler, which can adjust PID control parameters Kp, Ki, Kd automatically. While, we design a mathematical model of the electrothermal boiler with least square system identification. The simulation results prove that the Temperature control system of the electrothermal boiler not only gains the better control performance, but also acquires stronger adaptability to math model using the PID controller based on BPNN.
Differences in healthcare outcomes between teaching and non teaching hospitals for patients with delirium: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND The physician workforce at teaching hospitals differs compared to non-teaching hospitals, and data suggest that patient outcomes may also be dissimilar. Delirium is a common, costly disorder among hospitalized patients and approaches to care are not standardized. OBJECTIVE This study set out to explore differences in healthcare outcomes between teaching and non-teaching hospitals for patients admitted with delirium. DESIGN Retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS We used the 2014 Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. Adult patients (≥18 years of age) hospitalized in acute-care hospitals in the USA with delirium (defined with ICD-9 code) were studied. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome was in-hospital all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were discharge status and several measures of healthcare resource utilization: length of stay, total hospitalization costs and multiple procedures performed. RESULTS In 2014, out of 57 460 adult patients admitted to hospitals with delirium, 58.4% were hospitalized at teaching hospitals and the remainder 41.6% at non-teaching hospitals. The in-hospital mortality of delirium patients in teaching hospitals was 1.33% (95% CI 1.08%-1.63%), and 1.26% (95% CI 0.97%-1.63%) in non-teaching hospitals. The mean total hospital costs were $7642 (95% CI 7384-7900) in teaching hospitals, and $6650 (95% CI 6460-6840) in non-teaching hospitals. After adjustment for confounders, total hospitalization costs were statistically significantly different between the hospitals types-with non-teaching providing less expensive care. CONCLUSIONS Patients with delirium admitted to non-teaching hospitals had comparable clinical and process outcomes achieved at lower costs. Further research can be conducted to explore the contextual issues and reasons for these differences in healthcare costs.
Embracing the Mystery Box: How Outdoor Leaders Discover and Sustain Their Way of Life.

Recent reports suggest that quality outdoor leaders are needed to meet the needs of increasing outdoor recreation participation. However, little is known about the experiences of individuals who discover outdoor leadership as a career or how outdoor leaders sustain this way of life over many years. Through a narrative inquiry framework, this study conducted in-depth interviews with outdoor leaders to better understand how they discovered the life theme of outdoor leader, as well as how they created and maintained this lifestyle over the years. This study used relevant life theme concepts such as flow and resonance as conceptual grounding, to understand and interpret the outdoor leaders’ stories. Findings describe experiences within two main categories: Becoming and Maintaining. The participants discussed experiences that served as catalysts for becoming an outdoor leader, and they described how they established community networks, connected with nature, and created goals and challenge to maintain their discovered life theme over many years. This article discusses implications for the growth and development of outdoor leaders as well as future research. Subscribe to JOREL
Abstract P234: Obstructive Sleep Apnea is More Common in Patients With Masked Uncontrolled Hypertension

Introduction: Masked uncontrolled hypertension (MUCH) is defined as controlled automated office blood pressure (AOBP) in clinic, but uncontrolled out-of-clinic BP by 24-hr ambulatory blood pressure...