cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical emergence of neurometastatic merkel cell carcinoma: a surgical case series and literature review.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare cutaneous neuroendocrine neoplasm of possible viral origin and is known for its aggressive behavior. The incidence of MCC has increased in the last 15 years. Merkel cell carcinoma has the potential to metastasize, but rarely involves the central nervous system. Herein, we report three consecutive surgical cases of MCC presenting at a single institution within 1 year. We used intracavitary BCNU wafers (Gliadel®) in two cases. Pathological features, including CK20 positivity, consistent with MCC, were present in all cases. We found 33 published cases of MCC with CNS involvement. We suggest that the incidence of neurometastatic MCC may be increasing, parallel to the increasing incidence of primary MCC. We propose a role for intracavitary BCNU wafers in the treatment of intra-axial neurometastatic MCC.
Approximately size extensive local multireference singles and doubles configuration interaction

Multi-reference Configuration Interaction (MRCI) is often used to predict the electronic structures and reaction energetics of small molecules with very high accuracy. Unfortunately, MRCI is inapplicable to large or even medium-sized molecules for two reasons: its computational cost scales poorly with molecule size and MRCI methods are not size extensive, leading to large energy errors. We have developed a new local (L) and approximately size extensive MRCI method that addresses both shortcomings. Truncating long-range electron correlation in a local orbital basis as well as efficient processing of two-electron integrals via Cholesky decomposition (CD) and integral screening reduce the computational cost to O(N3) with a small prefactor. A priori and a posteriori size extensivity corrections are both considered. The Multi-reference Averaged Coupled-Pair Functional (MRACPF) provides approximate size extensivity by modifying the energy functional. The very inexpensive Davidson-Silver and Pople a posteriori schemes also produce quite accurate corrections over a large range of molecular size. Employing CD-LMRACPF is slightly more expensive than using a Davidson-type correction, but the former gives superior results. Molecules with up to 50 heavy atoms can be treated with our CD-LMRACPF method thus far.
Purtscher’s Retinopathy That Occurred 6 Months Before Acute Pancreatitis

Purpose To report Purtscher’s retinopathy in a patient with chronic pancreatitis 6 months before the development of fulminant acute pancreatitis. Design Observational case report. Methods Review of clinical chart, photographs, fluorescein angiography, and optical coherence tomography. Results A 45-year-old man with a history of alcohol abuse with a 3-day history of decreased vision in both eyes was examined. Diffuse retinal whitening and intraretinal hemorrhages that were consistent with Purtscher’s retinopathy were present in both eyes. Serum amylase and lipase levels were normal. Six months later, he experienced intractable abdominal pain. Serum amylase and lipase levels were elevated markedly. Abdominal computed tomography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography confirmed acute pancreatitis, with evidence of coexisting chronic pancreatitis. His funduscopic examination after the development of acute pancreatitis was improved, with almost complete resolution of retinal whitening and hemorrhages. Visual acuity remained poor because of retinal ischemia. Conclusions Purtscher’s retinopathy can be associated with chronic pancreatitis and can precede the development of fulminant acute pancreatitis.
Electronic Spectroscopy of Highly-Polar Aromatics. Molecular interactions in the ground and excited states of N,N-Dimethyl-p-cyanoanline

Abstract Absorption and luminescence spectra of N,N-dimethyl- p -cyanoaniline in a variety of solvents are reported. Evidence for dimer and excimer formation is provided and the anomalous luminescence of this molecule, which exhibits three distinctly different fluorescence emissions and two very dissimilar phosphorescence process, is interpreted.
Space efficient conservative garbage collection

We call a garbage collector conservative if it has only partial information about the location of pointers, and is thus forced to treat arbitrary bit patterns as though they might be pointers, in at least some cases. We show that some very inexpensive, but previously unused techniques can have dramatic impact on the effectiveness of conservative garbage collectors in reclaiming memory. Our most significant observation is that static data that appears to point to the heap should not result in misidentified references to the heap. The garbage collector has enough information to allocate around such references. We also observe that programming style has a significant impact on the amount of spuriously retained storage, typically even if the collector is not terribly conservative. Some fairly common C and C++ programming style significantly decrease the effectiveness of any garbage collector. These observations suffice to explain some of the different assessments of conservative collection that have appeared in the literature.
Shear-free turbulence near a flat free surface

In this study the evolution of initially homogeneous and isotropic turbulence in the presence of a free surface was investigated. The Navier–Stokes equations were solved via direct pseudo-spectral simulation with a resolution of 963. The Reynolds number based on the volume-averaged turbulence kinetic energy and dissipation rate was 147. Periodic boundary conditions were used in two dimensions, and the top and bottom sides of the domain were flat and shear-free. A random, divergence-free velocity field with a prescribed spectrum was used as the initial condition. An ensemble of sixteen separate simulations was used to calculate statistics.Near the surface, the Reynolds stresses are anisotropic and the anisotropy extends a distance from the surface roughly equal to the turbulent lengthscale. The tangential vorticity fluctuations also vanish near the surface, owing to the no-shear condition, causing a corresponding decrease in the fluctuating enstrophy. The thickness of the region in which the surface affects the vorticity distribution is roughly one-tenth the turbulent lengthscale. The stress anisotropy near the surface appears to be maintained by reduced dissipation for the tangential velocity fluctuations, reduced pressure–strain transfer from the tangential to surface-normal velocity fluctuations, and rapid decay of the surface-normal velocity fluctuations due to dissipation. The turbulence kinetic energy rises in the near-surface region owing to a decrease in dissipation at the surface. This decrease in dissipation results from the local reduction in enstrophy owing to the vanishing of the tangential vorticity fluctuations at the surface. At the free surface, the mean pressure rises. This is also due to the reduction in enstrophy.While the tangential vorticity must vanish at the free surface, the flow is fully three-dimensional up to the surface and the production of surface-normal vorticity by vortex stretching attains a maximum at the free surface. The contribution to the total enstrophy by the surface-normal vorticity fluctuations remains relatively constant over depth. The production of the surface-normal enstrophy component due to vortex stretching is roughly balanced by turbulent transport of enstrophy away from the surface. Near the surface, there are elevated levels of production of tangential vorticity by both vortex-stretching and fluctuating shear strains.
Uptake and utilization of free fatty acids supplied by liposomes to mammary tumor cells in culture

Abstract Unesterified oleic acid was co-dispersed with various phospholipids in Ca-Mg-free saline and sonicated. Most of the fatty acid co-eluted with phospholipid vesicles when the sonicate was chromatographed on a column of Sepharose 4B. Cells from mouse mammary tumors, maintained in primary monolayer culture, were incubated with these phospholipid-oleic acid vesicles and optimal conditions for the uptake of oleic acid were established. When phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine were used to make the vesicles, the oleic acid was taken up by cells more efficiently than was oleic acid complexed with albumin. The liposome-supplied unesterified oleic acid was rapidly incorporated into other cellular compounds, especially triglycerides and phospholipids. Growth of cells was measured after a 2-h pulse with the liposomes. The amount of DNA in treated cultures was 50% greater than in control cultures by 3 days after treatment. The magnitude of the growth response was sensitive to liposome dosage and to cell density in the treated cultures. This survey suggests that liposomes can be employed to insert materials directly into epithelial cells via their apical surface, that oleic acid so supplied is readily metabolized, and that solutes from liposomes can participate in functioning of the cells.
A COMPARATIVE CYTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF VOLVOCACEAN MATRIX POLYSACCHARIDES1

The colonial matrices of the volvocacean algae were examined for the presence of sulfated and carboxylated polysaccharides. These results were compared to a similar examination of the single-celled Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dang. The colonial algae examined were Pandorina morum Bory, Eudorina elegans Ehr., Platydorina caudata Kofoid, Pleodorina californica Shaw, Pleodorina illinoisensis Kofoid and Volvox carteri var. nagariensis Iyengar. Alcian blue staining of whole colonies at pH 0.5 and 2.5 showed evidence for the presence of both sulfated and carboxylated polysaccharides in the extracellular matrix. Quantitative measurement of alcian blue bound to solubilized matrices supported the in vivo results. There was a trend toward an increase in sulfated polysaccharides in the more evolutionary advanced forms with the exception of Pleodorina. This trend was readily seen in the sulfate: carboxyl ratios: Pandorina morum—0.4, Eudorina elegans—1.0, Platydorina caudata—2.1 and Volvox carteri—2.2. The acidic nature of the Pleodorina matrix with a sulfate: carboxyl ratio of 0.2 appeared to be more like that of Pandorina rather than that of the more advanced Volvox.
Crystal structure of the C-terminal deaminase domain of APOBEC3G: implications and projections

Evaluation of: Holden LG, Prochnow C, Chang YP et al.: Crystal structure of the anti-viral APOBEC3G catalytic domain and functional implications. Nature 456(7218), 121–124 (2008). APOBEC3 proteins belong to a family of cytidine deaminases that can inhibit a variety of retroviruses as well as a range of endogenous retroelements. In particular, APOBEC3G can strongly restrict HIV-1 Vif deletion mutants. Normally, however, HIV-1 counters this restriction by using the viral protein Vif to direct the degradation of APOBEC3 proteins by targeting them for proteasomal degradation. However, in the absence of Vif, APOBEC3G can be packaged into virions and, upon re-infection of new cells, can induce C-to-U mutations in the newly reverse-transcribed, ssDNA. Understanding the structural elements of APOBEC3 proteins, their mechanism of action and how they interact with proteins such as HIV-1 Vif, is crucial for intelligent drug design. In this recently published manuscript, the crystal structure of the C-terminal deamin...
Dynamics of IGBT performance in hard- and soft-switching converters

This paper reports on the physics of IGBT switching dynamics in soft- and hard-switching conditions. Mixed device and circuit simulations were used to study the carrier dynamics during turn-on and turn-off. It is shown that di/dt-dependent turn-on voltage spike results from high drift-region resistivity in the low-level injection regime. Beyond the voltage spike, dynamic forward voltage saturation occurs because of high-level injection. These two effects cause lead to conductivity modulation lag during turn-on under ZVS conditions. During turn-off, dv/dt-dependent elevated tail-current "bump" results from the interaction between electric field and carrier recombination mechanisms. The turn-on and turn-off characteristics are measured under various boundary conditions and an excellent agreement with the simulated results is obtained.
Oxidation Behavior of Chemically-Vapor-Deposited Silicon Carbide and Silicon Nitride from 1200° to 1600°C

The isothermal oxidation of pure CVD SiC and Si3N4 has been studied for 100 h in dry, flowing oxygen from 1200° to 1600°C in an alumina tube furnace. Adherent oxide formed at temperatures to 1550°C. The major crystalline phase in the resulting silica scales was alpha-cristobalite. Parabolic rate constants for SiC were within an order of magnitude of literature values. The oxidation kinetics of Si3N4 in this study were not statistically different from that of SiC. Measured activation energies were 190 kJ/mol for SiC and 186 kJ/mol for Si3N4. Silicon oxynitride did not appear to play a role in the oxidation of Si3N4 under the conditions herein. This is thought to be derived from the presence of ppm levels of sodium impurities in the alumina furnace tube. It is proposed that sodium modifies the silicon oxynitride, rendering it ineffective as a diffusion barrier. Material recession as a function of oxide thickness was calculated and found to be low. Oxidation behavior at 1600°C differed from the lower temperatures in that silica spallation occurred after exposure.
A National Study of Physician Recommendations to Initiate and Discontinue Growth Hormone for Short Stature

OBJECTIVES: Overall growth hormone (GH) use depends on decisions to both initiate treatment and continue treatment. The determinants of both are unclear. We studied how physicians decided to begin GH in idiopathic short stature and how, after an initial course of treatment, they decided to continue, intensify (increase the dose), or terminate treatment. METHODS: We used a national census study of 727 pediatric endocrinologists involving a structured questionnaires with a factorial experimental design. Main outcome measures were GH recommendations for previously untreated children and those children who were treated with GH for 1 year. RESULTS: The response rate was 90%. In previously untreated children, recommendations to initiate GH were consistent with guidelines and also influenced by family preferences and physician attitudes ( P P P CONCLUSIONS: Physician decisions to initiate GH are largely consistent with evidence-based medicine. However, decisions about continuing GH vary and are strongly influenced by factors other than response to treatment. With a potential market of 500 000 US children and costs exceeding $10 billion per year, changes in GH use may depend on potentially modifiable physician attitudes and family preferences as much as physiologic evidence.
A survey of students' notions of body function as teleologic or mechanistic.

The objectives of this study were to determine 1) the relative degrees to which students' notions of physiological functions are teleologic or mechanistic in nature, 2) whether these notions differ...
Biomarker-based prediction of progression in MCI: Comparison of AD signature and hippocampal volume with spinal fluid amyloid-β and tau.

OBJECTIVE: New diagnostic criteria for MCI due to AD have been developed using biomarkers aiming to establish whether the clinical syndrome is likely due to underlying AD. We investigated the utility of MRI and CSF biomarkers in predicting progression from amnesic MCI to dementia, testing the hypotheses that 1) markers of amyloid and neurodegeneration provide distinct and complementary prognostic information over different time intervals, and that 2) evidence of neurodegeneration in amyloid-negative MCI individuals would be useful prognostically. METHODS: Data were obtained from the ADNI-1 database on all individuals with a baseline diagnosis of MCI, baseline MRI and CSF data, and at least one follow-up visit. MRI data were processed using a published set of a priori regions of interest to derive a measure known as the “AD-signature”, as well as hippocampal volume. The CSF biomarkers amyloid-b, total tau, and phospho tau were also examined. We performed logistic regression analyses to identify the best baseline biomarker predictors of progression to dementia over 1 or 3 years, and Cox regression models to test the utility of these markers for predicting time-to-dementia. Results: For prediction of dementia in MCI, the AD signature cortical thickness biomarker performed better than hippocampal volume. Although CSF tau measures were better than CSF amyloid-β at predicting dementia within 1 year, the AD signature was better than all CSF measures at prediction over this relatively short-term interval. CSF amyloid-β was superior to tau and AD signature at predicting dementia over 3 years. When CSF amyloid-β was dichotomized using previously published cutoff values and treated as a categorical variable, a multivariate stepwise Cox regression model indicated that both the AD-signature MRI marker and the categorical CSF amyloid-β marker were useful in predicting time-to-event diagnosis of AD dementia. CONCLUSIONS: In amnesic MCI, short-term (1 year) prognosis of progressio
The predatory behaviour of the thylacine: Tasmanian tiger or marsupial wolf?

The extinct thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and the extant grey wolf (Canis lupus) are textbook examples of convergence between marsupials and placentals. Craniodental studies confirm the thylacine’s carnivorous diet, but little attention has been paid to its postcranial skeleton, which would confirm or refute rare eyewitness reports of a more ambushing predatory mode than the pack-hunting pursuit mode of wolves and other large canids. Here we show that thylacines had the elbow morphology typical of an ambush predator, and propose that the ‘Tasmanian tiger’ vernacular name might be more apt than the ‘marsupial wolf’. The ‘niche overlap hypothesis’ with dingoes (Canis lupus dingo) as a main cause of thylacine extinction in mainland Australia is discussed in the light of this new information.
‘The Untold Story’: The mediated female ghost in England’s Blenheim Palace:

Designated a World Heritage site, Blenheim Palace demonstrates the use of technology and gender in tourist destinations to re-package cultural sites. A multi-media exhibit entitled ‘The Untold Stor...
Expression of bcl-3 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia correlates with trisomy 12 and abnormalities of chromosome 19.

The bcl-3 gene at chromosome 19q13 encodes a member of the IκB family involved in regulating the nuclear factor κB pathway. Originally identified by its involvement in the t(14:19)(q32;q13), bcl-3 expression recently has been reported in 12% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas and 41% of Hodgkin lymphomas. Because the t(14;19) is detected most commonly in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), we assessed for bcl-3 expression using immunohistochemical analysis in 72 CLL cases with immunophenotypic and cytogenetic data. Of 72 CLL cases, 12 (17%) were bcl-3+. Expression of bcl-3 correlated with an atypical immunophenotype, defined using the World Health Organization scoring system. Expression also correlated with trisomy 12 and chromosome 19 abnormalities but was not limited to cases with the t(14:19)(q32;q13). Although the mechanism of bcl-3 expression is unclear, these results raise the possibility that bcl-3 may be involved in the pathogenesis of this subset of tumors and could be a potential target for investigational therapies.
THE IMPACT OF STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS ON RELAPSE OF GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER

BACKGROUND: Stressful life events (SLEs) are associated with the onset of psychiatric disorders but little is known about the effects of SLEs on individuals already diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, particularly generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in which worry about life events is a defining characteristic. This study examined the impact of SLEs on relapse in adults already diagnosed with GAD. METHODS: Data are obtained from the Harvard/Brown Anxiety Research Project (HARP), a naturalistic longitudinal study of adults with a current or past history of anxiety disorders. One hundred and twelve adults recovered from an episode of GAD and 27 subsequently relapsed during the study. Eight categories of SLEs were assessed via interview and were examined as predictors of GAD relapse. RESULTS: An increased total number of SLEs was associated with a higher cumulative probability of relapse into episode of GAD and there was a nonsignificant statistical trend indicating specific categories of SLEs including health, death, and family/friends/household were related to an increased probability of relapse into episodes of GAD. CONCLUSIONS: SLEs impact the course of GAD and certain types of stressors may be more relevant to symptomatology than others. The change and uncertainty associated with SLEs may exacerbate existing worry tendencies even among those who have recovered from GAD. Language: en
Evolutionary implications of Leishmania amastigotes in circulating blood cells of lizards

Amastigotes of 2 Leishmania species are reported from the Pakistani lizards Teratoscincus scincus (Gekkonidae) and Agama agilis (Agamidae) collected in western Baluchistan and north-central Sind, respectively. Parasites were seen only in blood cells, primarily within thrombocytes, and were detected on smears of peripheral blood. Slides made at 3-day intervals for 38 days from an infected hatchling T. scincus demonstrated an increase with time in the mean number of amastigotes/infected thrombocyte. No evidence of an infection focus in fixed cells of the viscera was found. It is suggested, in view of reports of amastigotes in circulating blood cells of hosts belonging to 5 genera, collected in 5 countries from India to France, that saurian Leishmania may behave simply as parasites of circulating blood cells, thus illustrating an early stage in the adaptation of leishmanias to the vertebrate host.
Exploiting Morphology in Turkish Named Entity Recognition System

Turkish is an agglutinative language with complex morphological structures, therefore using only word forms is not enough for many computational tasks. In this paper we analyze the effect of morphology in a Named Entity Recognition system for Turkish. We start with the standard word-level representation and incrementally explore the effect of capturing syntactic and contextual properties of tokens. Furthermore, we also explore a new representation in which roots and morphological features are represented as separate tokens instead of representing only words as tokens. Using syntactic and contextual properties with the new representation provide an 7.6% relative improvement over the baseline.
"Ventricular function curve" from a single diagnostic left ventriculogram: technique, results and value.

Abstract A programmable atrial pacemaker was used to vary sequential left ventricular end-dlastolic volumes. Left ventricular stroke volume and end-diastolic volume were used to construct a left ventricular “function curve”. Four successive beats from one diagnostic left ventricular angiogram were analyzed—a beat during atrial pacing at 5 to 10 beats faster than sinus rate, an atrial extrastimulus beat in the sinus nodal reset zone, a postextrastimulus beat and a sinus beat. Excluding measurements in postextrastimulus beats, left ventricular stroke volume decreased from 124 to 59 cc (P This technique is safe and easy to use in man. This study demonstrates that ejection fraction is dependent on end-dlastolic volume with rapid changes of R-R interval. Therefore, both ejection fraction and end-diastolic volume should be measured when ejection fraction is used as an index of left ventricular performance, particularly if ejection fractions obtained from different angiograms are being compared.
Flow performance of ground biomass in a commercial auger

Abstract The flow performance of preprocessed biomass plays an important role in biomass transportation and handling. The research as presented here investigated how the Angle of Repose (AOR) of miscanthus and switchgrass is related to flow performance of biomass particles in an auger that was originally designed to convey corn and soybeans. The flow performance metrics were the specific energy consumption (SEC), energy efficiency (EE), volumetric efficiency (VE), volumetric flow rate (VFR) and mass flow rate (MFR). The results showed that the EE and MFR while conveying miscanthus and switchgrass particles ground through 6.35-, 9.53-, 12.7- and 25.4-mm milling screens were much lower than those of corn. However, the differences in VFR between corn and biomass were much smaller than that in SEC and mass flow rate (MFR). This result implies that the low bulk density of biomass feedstock is a more pronounced limiting factor in biomass handling than the conveying mechanism used. The AOR of miscanthus and switchgrass particles was found proportional to particle size and moisture content. While AOR is an indicator of the material's internal friction, in this study, the AOR of miscanthus and switchgrass was not significantly related to the energy/volumetric efficiency of the auger. By comparing the measured auger power consumption to predictions from empirical equations developed for corn and soybean, it became evident that these equations do not perform well for biomass feedstock.
Microbial Dynamics Following the Macondo Oil Well Blowout across Gulf of Mexico Environments

The Macondo blowout released roughly 5 million barrels of oil and up to 500,000 tons of natural gas into Gulf of Mexico at a depth of 1500 meters. Inarguably, the gas released from the Macondo blowout remained in the deep water. At least 30% of the oil remained in the deepwater plume, whereas the remainder reached the surface, forming sometimes thick and expansive surface slicks. The hydrocarbon injection led to profound changes in microbial community composition and activity in the Gulf ’s waters and sediments and in nearshore benthic habitats. We provide a comprehensive literature review of the blowout’s impacts on microbial community composition and on microbial activity across Gulf of Mexico ecosystems. Although microbiological research in the wake of the blowout led to many noteworthy discoveries, it also revealed an urgent need to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the environmental factors that regulate microbial hydrocarbon degradation in the environment.
Using a utility computing framework to develop utility systems

In this paper we describe a utility computing framework, consisting of a component model, a methodology, and a set of tools and common services for building utility computing systems. This framework facilitates the creation of new utility computing systems by providing a set of common functions, as well as a set of standard interfaces for those components that are specialized. It also provides a methodology and tools to assemble and re-use resource provisioning and management functions used to support new services with possibly different requirements. We demonstrate the benefits of the framework by describing two sample systems: a life-science utility computing service designed and implemented using the framework, and an on-line gaming utility computing service designed in compliance with the framework.
Factors Affecting the Interpretation of Canine and Nonhuman Primate Clinical Pathology

Interpreting canine and nonhuman primate clinical pathology data from preclinical studies can be challenging. Relatively few animals are tested (typically beagles and macaques), and they often undergo study-related procedures (eg, sample collection for pharmacokinetic analysis) that can affect clinical pathology test results. Data interpretation requires an understanding of the significance of each test, species differences for each test, normal interanimal and intraanimal variability, the effects of study design variables, and supporting data from other disciplines. Interpretation of hematology, coagulation, clinical chemistry, and urinalysis parameters are discussed, with emphasis on species peculiarities and study design variables that may affect clinical pathology test results.
Abusive Head Trauma in Infants and Children

Shaken baby syndrome is a term often used by physicians and the public to describe abusive head trauma inflicted on infants and young children. Although the term is well known and has been used for a number of decades, advances in the understanding of the mechanisms and clinical spectrum of injury associated with abusive head trauma compel us to modify our terminology to keep pace with our understanding of pathologic mechanisms. Although shaking an infant has the potential to cause neurologic injury, blunt impact or a combination of shaking and blunt impact cause injury as well. Spinal cord injury and secondary hypoxic ischemic injury can contribute to poor outcomes of victims. The use of broad medical terminology that is inclusive of all mechanisms of injury, including shaking, is required. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians develop skills in the recognition of signs and symptoms of abusive head injury, including those caused by both shaking and blunt impact, consult with pediatric subspecialists when necessary, and embrace a less mechanistic term, abusive head trauma, when describing an inflicted injury to the head and its contents.
The relationship between social support, self-esteem, and maternal-fetal attachment in adolescents

Limited information is available about factors related to prenatal attachment in adolescents. In this study, relationships among self-esteem, social support, and maternal-fetal attachment were examined. A culturally diverse sample of 90 adolescents between 14 and 19 years of age was recruited from two of the three licensed residential maternity homes in Los Angeles County. The four research instruments administered included: a background questionnaire, Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory, Norbeck's Social Support Questionnaire, and Cranley's Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale. Although nonsignificant correlations were found between total maternal-fetal attachment scores and measures of self-esteem and social support, four key variables were identified through regression analyses. These significant predictors of prenatal attachment were total functional support, total size of network, planning of pregnancy, and intent to keep the infant. Implications for clinical practice are discussed related to these findings.
The Importance of Using Multiple Approaches for Identifying Emerging Invasive Species: The Case of the Rasberry Crazy Ant in the United States

In the past decade, Houston, Texas has been virtually overrun by an unidentified ant species, the sudden appearance and enormous population sizes and densities of which have received national media attention. The Rasberry Crazy Ant, as it has become known due to its uncertain species status, has since spread to neighboring states and is still a major concern to pest control officials. Previous attempts at identifying this species have resulted in widely different conclusions in regards to its native range, source, and biology. We identify this highly invasive pest species as Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) using morphometric data measured from 14 characters, molecular sequence data consisting of 4,669 aligned nucleotide sites from six independent loci and comparison with type specimens. This identification will allow for the study and control of this emerging pest species to proceed unencumbered by taxonomic uncertainty. We also show that N. fulva has a much wider distribution than previously thought and has most likely invaded all of the Gulf Coast states.
A rapidly deployable manipulator system

A rapidly deployable manipulator system combines the flexibility of reconfigurable modular hardware with modular programming tools, allowing the user to rapidly create and program a manipulator, which is custom-tailored for a given task. This article describes the main building blocks of such a system: a reconfigurable modular manipulator system (RMMS), modular and reusable control software, and a novel agent-based approach to task-based design of modular manipulators.
Controlling liver cancer internationally: A qualitative study of clinicians' perceptions of current public policy needs

Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in men and the seventh for women. Usually because of late diagnosis, the prognosis for liver cancer remains poor, resulting in liver cancer being the third most common cause of death from cancer. While some countries have treatment guidelines, little is known or understood about the strategies needed for liver cancer control internationally. To explore leading liver cancer clinician's perceptions of the current public policy needs to control liver cancer internationally. Key informant interviews were conducted with a range of liver cancer clinicians involved in policy in eleven countries. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated (where necessary), de-identified and analyzed by two researchers using a constant comparative method. Twenty in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted in: Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States. Nine themes were identified and cluster into three groups: 1) Promoting prevention via early risk assessment, focusing on viral hepatitis and other lifestyle factors; 2) Increasing political, public and medical community awareness; and 3) Improving funding for screening, liver cancer surveillance and treatment. This study is an important step towards developing an evidence-based approach to assessing preparedness for implementing comprehensive liver cancer control strategies. Evaluation mechanisms to assess countries' performance on the needs described are needed. Future research will concentrate of understanding how these needs vary across countries and the optimal strategies to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with liver cancer internationally.
Hamiltonian evolution of curves in classical affine geometries

Abstract In this paper we study geometric Poisson brackets and we show that, if M = ( G ⋉ R n ) / G endowed with an affine geometry (in the Klein sense), and if G is a classical Lie group, then the geometric Poisson bracket for parametrized curves is a trivial extension of the one for unparametrized curves, except for the case G = GL ( n , R ) . This trivial extension does not exist in other nonaffine cases (projective, conformal, etc).
Borrowing, Return of Capital Conventions, and the Structure of the Income Tax: An Essay in Statutory Interpretation

This Article concludes that, contrary to the prevailing academic view, the United States transaction-based income tax statute is not usefully seen as the manifestation of a single overarching principle. Instead, the transaction-based income tax is seen to be a series of ad hoc compromises between accrual taxation and consumption taxation. This insight has substantial implications for the manner in which the tax statute is seen and interpreted. The Article approaches this insight by examining a very common nontaxable transaction, the incurring of a debt. The article examines the traditional explanation of that result - that the obligation to repay offsets the benefit of the loan proceeds - to determine whether it can be given substantive content. The Article concludes that the traditional explanation describes a return of capital rule, termed here the Anticipated Capital Convention. Because the Article identifies alternatives to the Anticipated Capital Convention that would have made a borrowing transaction taxable at least in part, the article examines whether it is possible to identify a single return of capital convention as the uniquely correct convention compelled by the definitional structure of the transaction-based income tax. This analysis leads to several implications. It is not possible to determine whether the Anticipated Capital Convention, or any other capital convention, is affirmed or rejected by the definitional structure of the transaction-based income tax. The statute has no option but to adopt a series of more or less arbitrary return of capital conventions. Those tasked with interpreting the statute - courts, bureaucrats, and attorneys - should not attempt to discern the economic substance of a transaction. Instead, they should see the statute as it is, a series of arbitrary return of capital regimes reflecting the many ad hoc policy decisions that Congress has no choice but to make. That conclusion calls into doubt a revered icon of the income tax law: the substance over form doctrine.
Visual outcomes after femtosecond laser in situ keratomileusis flap complications

Purpose To compare visual outcomes in normal and complicated laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) flaps constructed with a femtosecond laser. Setting Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, San Antonio, Texas. Design Retrospective chart review. Methods The main outcome measures were uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) and best-corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) at 1 month post-surgery, which were compared in patients with and without complications during flap creation. Results This retrospective chart review identified 586 eyes of 293 consecutive patients who had bilateral simultaneous femtosecond LASIK for myopia. A normal flap was attained in 539 (91.8%) of patients. At 1 month postoperatively, the mean UDVA was 20/19.1, and the CDVA was 20/16.8. 3 (0.51%) of patients experienced an incomplete side cut or intraoperative flap tear (the mean 1-month uncorrected distance visual acuity [UDVA] was 20/17.5 and the corrected distance visual acuity [CDVA] was 20/16.9 in both groups). Microstriae were seen in 28 (4.8%) of patients (mean 1-month UDVA, 20/21.7; CDVA, 20/17.4). Diffuse lamellar keratitis appeared in 4 (0.68%) of patients (mean 1-month UDVA, 20/21.7; CDVA, 20/15.6). Epithelial ingrowth developed in 9 (1.5%) of patients (mean 1-month UDVA, 20/18.7; CDVA, 20/16.9). There was no statistically significant difference in UDVA or CDVA at 1 month postoperatively between complicated and uncomplicated flaps ( P > .05), and complicated flaps did not lose a statistically significant amount of CDVA or low-contrast acuity (CDVA 5%) compared to preoperative values. Conclusions Intraoperative and postoperative complications of LASIK flaps created with the femtosecond laser were rare, and their visual outcomes were equivalent to those of normal flaps. Financial Disclosure Charles D. Reilly is a consultant to Alcon Labs and Abbott Medical Optics at present, but was not at the time of the study. For the remaining authors none are declared.
Unit Reorganization Program for the Southern Great Plains

The boom years of the 1920's set the stage for what the region has been going through in the 1930's. Beginning with the World War, millions of acres of grasslands were put to the plow for the production of wheat. Thousands of settlers came into the region to buy the lands at speculative prices. Doctors, lawyers, barbers, and businessmen bought parcels of land for the avowed purpose of making fortunes in wheat. Concrete grain elevators soon dotted the country; old cattle towns changed from wood to brick almost overnight; branch railroad lines crisscrossed the country. Western Kansas, eastern Colorado, and the Panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma were considered the breadbasket of the nation. But even during the boom years farmers had their ups and downs. Indidividual failures were many. Land shifted from one ownership to another. A large percentage of the farm population was really a floating group, operating here one year, somewhere else the next. Ironically enough, the drought and the economic depression struck the region simultaneously. The crop failures of 1932 and 1933 exhausted the reserves of tens of thousands of farmers. The severity of the dust storms drove many of them to other sections of the United States. By 1934, the situation had reached emergency proportions over the entire region. Private credit facilities had broken down. Wind erosion was working havoc on the land. Entire communities were completely demoralized. The first efforts toward dealing with conditions had to be in terms of emergency. Relief had to be provided on a wholesale scale. Special programs were initiated to bring wind erosion under some measure of control. The RA and the FCA undertook to fill the credit gap vacated by local banking institutions. Unhappily, however, millions of dollars were loaned for the production of wheat in the face of continued drought. Instead of helping the farmer, these loans put him more hopelessly in debt than ever. The country was wheat minded even under conditions of acute distress. But, as crop failures continued, even the optimists began to despair. Serious doubts arose in the public mind as to whether the
Some Observations on Theories of Collective Decisions

Research in the area of collective decision making has been somewhat neglected by Bayesian Decision Theorists. In this paper several collective decision making research topics are discussed. Opportunities for descriptive studies on group decision making, group utility functions, and team theory are suggested in the hope of stimulating further meaningful research in these important areas.
The 23rd Scientific Conference of the Society on Neuroimmune Pharmacology

The 23rd Scientific Conference of the Society on Neuroimmune Pharmacology (SNIP) will take place in Philadelphia, PA, USA, from March 29 to April 1, 2017. The conference will present a selection of the latest and most advanced research in the intersecting areas of neuroscience, immunology, pharmacology and its translational aspects.
Lawnmower safety research

The Human Factors Group at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) has supported the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) during the development and evaluation of a power lawn mower safety standard. This support provided CPSC with data concerning how lawn mower users interact with power mowers. Three studies assisted CPSC in resolving specific questions concerning requirements in the proposed safety regulation based on a report from Consumers Union (Consumers Union, 1975). Language: en
Metastatic epithelioid angiosarcoma with bone marrow involvement.

![Figure][1] A previously healthy 49-year-old woman presented with a 2-month history of unintentional weight loss, early satiety, nausea, and vomiting. Whole-body computerized tomography scan revealed hepatosplenomegaly with enhancing lesions in the liver, spleen, lumbar vertebrae, and right
Detrital zircon geochronology from the Cambrian-Ordovician Bliss Sandstone, New Mexico: Evidence for contrasting Grenville-age and Cambrian sources on opposite sides of the Transcontinental Arch

Cambrian sandstones of the western United States and northern Mexico record deposition above a major unconformity on the rift margin of Laurentia. Detrital zircon ages from the Cambrian-Ordovician Bliss Sandstone in southern New Mexico are used to test models for the influence and significance of the Transcontinental Arch during the early Paleozoic. We obtained U-Pb zircon ages of basement rocks to test potential local source rocks in New Mexico. An orthogneiss in the Florida Mountains has an age of 1627 ± 18 Ma (all errors 2σ). The San Diego Mountain granite underlying the Bliss Sandstone is ∼1400 Ma. A rapakivi granite in the Little Hatchet Mountains has a U-Pb Concordia age of 1077 ± 4 Ma, coeval with the Pikes Peak granite and several granites in Sonora, Mexico. Three samples of the Florida Mountains granite underlying the Bliss Sandstone yield an average age of 510 ± 5 Ma; this is a rare and distinctive age of magmatism in western Laurentia. Zircons with these ages can be used as tracers for understanding transportation paths of sediment. The Bliss Sandstone was studied from eight localities in southern New Mexico; one overlies the Cambrian Florida Mountains granite, and three lie to the west. The sandstones are quartzarenite, subarkose, and arkose. The most abundant detrital zircon population included Grenville ages with a main peak at 1250 Ma. Other significant peaks are at 1465 Ma, 1625 Ma, 1710 Ma, and 1850 Ma, and these populations generally decrease in abundance with increasing age. Only five Archean zircons (out of 845) were discovered. Cambrian detrital zircons are present in the Florida Mountains Bliss Sandstone locality, directly overlying the Cambrian granite. They are also present in two localities 60–80 km southwest and northwest of the Florida Mountains. Maximum depositional ages from sandstones with Cambrian zircons range from 509 ± 7 Ma to 504 ± 12 Ma, overlapping with the age of the Florida Mountains granite. The four localities east of the Florida Mountains did not have any Cambrian detrital zircons. We interpret these data as indicating that the Cambrian intrusions of the Oklahoma-Colorado rift were not a source for the Cambrian zircons in the Bliss Sandstone. The Tapeats Sandstone in the Grand Canyon does not have Cambrian zircons and has a minor Grenville peak at 1070 Ma (Gehrels et al., 2011), significantly younger than the 1250 Ma Grenville peak in the Bliss Sandstone. We interpret these differences as being related to different source areas on opposite sides of the Transcontinental Arch. The differences in the specific ages of Cambrian plutons between the Oklahoma rift and the Florida Mountains granite can be used to test depositional models for other Cambrian sandstones of the southwest U.S. and in Mexico, where the presence of Cambrian zircons in the Caborca Block has implications for the Mojave-Sonora megashear hypothesis.
Cross-morpheme facilitation: The systematic emergence of agreement in 2-year-olds

ABSTRACTThis article investigates the relationship between third person singular present tense agreement morphemes, copula is and verb-s, at 2;00 and 2;03. Language samples from 60 children at 2;00 were analyzed for the productivity of copula is as measured by the number of different morphemes preceding is in children’s sentences. Samples at 2;03 were analyzed for the number of different verb stems affixed with –s or marked with verb past inflection. Concurrent control measures of vocabulary and MLU were obtained at 2;03. Two hierarchical multiple regressions were performed to determine whether there was a relationship between 2;00 copula is and 2;03 verb inflection. Each regression had a different 2;03 verb inflectional category, verb-s or verb past, as its dependent variable. The results of the verb-s regression showed that both MLU and copula is productivity accounted for significant portions of unique variance in 2;03 verb-s productivity. In contrast, the results of the verb past regression revealed t...
Role of Mucopolysaccharides in Pathogenesis of Experimental Exophthalmos.

SummaryThe development of experimental exophthalmos in the guinea pig is dependent on the accumulation of large quantities of intercellular ground substance and water in the connective tissue of the orbital contents. This is evidenced by the presence of considerable amounts of metachromatic material, of which hyaluronic acid is an important component, and by an increase in the hexosamine and water content of these tissues.This is similar to the changes observed in localized myxedema in man, and suggests a common mechanism for the two conditions.
Study on properties of matrix resins and carbon fiber composites for resin transfer moulding

Through applying a liquid modified aromatic amine as curing agent for epoxy resin,a high performance resin matrix system for resin transfer moulding(RTM) was derived.The results showed that the resin's viscosity was only 0.01Pa.s at 10 0 ℃ and the pot-life was beyond 8 hours at 40 ℃.The resin's glass transition temperature,the carbon fiber composite's shearing strength and the tensile strength as well as the tensile modulus were 107℃,70MPa,1020MPa,and 98GPa,respectively.It was therefore concluded that the matrix resin system had lower viscosity,longer pot-life,higher glass transition temperature.The cured resin adhered well to carbon fiber and it could be a high performance matrix for RTM.