cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Short-term fasting is a mechanism for the development of euglycemic ketoacidosis during periods of insulin deficiency.

To determine the etiology of euglycemic ketoacidosis, the effect of a 32-h fast on the rate of metabolic deterioration was examined in a group of 10 healthy subjects with type I diabetes mellitus. Patients were studied during 5 h of insulin withdrawal after 8 h (postprandial) and 32 h (fasted) of food deprivation. Study parameters included substrate levels, electrolytes, counterregulatory hormone levels, and rates of glucose and glycerol turnover. In the fasted state, mean peak plasma glucose concentrations were significantly lower than those in the 8-h postprandial state (13.3 +/- 1.6 vs. 17.4 +/- 1.4 mmol/L, respectively; P < 0.05), and mean rates of glucose production were also significantly lower at all time points in the fasting state. The rate of development of ketosis was significantly more rapid during insulin deficiency after a fast (8.82 +/- 0.63 vs. 6.23 +/- 0.30 micro/L.min; P < 0.05), while plasma nonesterified fatty acids and glycerol turnover showed a biphasic response to insulin withdrawal, which was also more robust after a fast. Metabolic acidosis, as reflected in the rate of decrease in serum bicarbonate concentration, was more severe after 32 h of fasting than in the postprandial state (mean nadir, 15.4 +/- 0.9 vs. 18.6 +/- 0.5 mmol/L; P < 0.001). In contrast to values in the postprandial state, serum glucagon levels rose during insulin withdrawal in the fasting state, and plasma norepinephrine levels also correlated positively with the ongoing metabolic decompensation. Other counterregulatory hormones did not differ significantly in the fasted vs. postprandial states in these short term metabolic studies. We conclude that a fast of moderate duration, such as might be expected to occur during the development of diabetic ketoacidosis, predisposes patients with type I diabetes to euglycemic ketoacidosis during periods of insulin deficiency. Furthermore, decreased rates of hepatic glucose production are responsible for the lower plasma glucose values observed during a fast. The development of ketosis continued progressively in both conditions, but the rate of rise of plasma ketones was increased in the fasted state. This accelerated development of ketosis may be attributable to the effects of elevated levels of glucagon and/or catecholamines on lipolysis.
Information systems concepts: a guide for executives

Explains that information technology (IT) applications, especially as reinforcer of competitive advantage, has received prodigious attention. Despite a generous coverage of information systems (IS) concepts, there is still a clear communication gap between line managers and IS managers that is harming the gain of strategic advantage. The lack of understanding between line managers and information specialists can create serious conflicts in interpreting corporate goals and strategic objectives. Presents an easy and user‐friendly organization of fundamental IS concepts in order to promote a higher level of communication between the two groups and produce a finer alignment of IT strategy and overall corporate strategy.
Global gradients in vertebrate diversity predicted by historical area-productivity dynamics and contemporary environment.

Broad-scale geographic gradients in species richness have now been extensively documented, but their historical underpinning is still not well understood. While the importance of productivity, temperature, and a scale dependence of the determinants of diversity is broadly acknowledged, we argue here that limitation to a single analysis scale and data pseudo-replication have impeded an integrated evolutionary and ecological understanding of diversity gradients. We develop and apply a hierarchical analysis framework for global diversity gradients that incorporates an explicit accounting of past environmental variation and provides an appropriate measurement of richness. Due to environmental niche conservatism, organisms generally reside in climatically defined bioregions, or “evolutionary arenas,” characterized by in situ speciation and extinction. These bioregions differ in age and their total productivity and have varied over time in area and energy available for diversification. We show that, consistently across the four major terrestrial vertebrate groups, current-day species richness of the world's main 32 bioregions is best explained by a model that integrates area and productivity over geological time together with temperature. Adding finer scale variation in energy availability as an ecological predictor of within-bioregional patterns of richness explains much of the remaining global variation in richness at the 110 km grain. These results highlight the separate evolutionary and ecological effects of energy availability and provide a first conceptual and empirical integration of the key drivers of broad-scale richness gradients. Avoiding the pseudo-replication that hampers the evolutionary interpretation of non-hierarchical macroecological analyses, our findings integrate evolutionary and ecological mechanisms at their most relevant scales and offer a new synthesis regarding global diversity gradients.
Relation of monoamine oxidase activity and collagen crosslinking in copper-deficient and control tissues.

SummaryThere is an inverse relationship between monoamine oxidase activity and the proportion of salt soluble collagen in connective tissues from copper-deficient and control chicks. Copper deficiency resulted in a markedly higher concentration of salt soluble collagen in aorta (4-5-fold) and tendon (2-3-fold) than in tissues from pair-fed controls. Total collagen remained relatively constant except that copper deficiency decreased the total collagen in skin. Amine oxidase activity was significantly lower in aorta, tendon, cartilage, and skin from deficient chicks while the activities in muscle and brain were not affected. Using the degree of solubility as a criterion of maturation, it was concluded that copper is essential for catalysis of collagen crosslinking.
Effect of ionic strength on two-dimensional streptavidin crystallization

We study two-dimensional (2D) crystallization of streptavidin under low ionic strength conditions. We investigate crystals on both giant unilamellar lipid bilayer vesicles and lipid monolayers at the air−water interface. In contrast to 2D crystallization in high ionic strength buffers, the electrostatic repulsions under these conditions favor the low density C222 crystal form. The crystals grown on giant vesicles and those on lipid monolayers show the same crystal structure and similar crystallization trends despite the difference in surface geometries. When the ionic strength of the crystallization solution is progressively increased at pH 4, we observe a transition from C222 to the denser P1 space group commonly seen in high ionic strength conditions at this pH. A new crystal structure appears at intermediate ionic strength, illustrating the role of electrostatic repulsions in these ordering processes.
Induction of swimming in the high spinal stingray by L-DOPA.

Abstract Stingrays with high spinal transections, which do not spontaneously locomote, can be induced to swim by intravenous injection of l -DOPA. The l -DOPA-induced swim of the spinal animal is associated with patterns of EMG activity that appear similar to those of the spontaneous swim of the decerebrate preparation. However, in contrast to the decerebrate condition, the l -DOPA-induced cycles of swimming are slower and less vigorous. Furthermore, secondary periodicities and altered intersegmental timing relationships are also evident.
Mast Cell Activation Disease and Microbiotic Interactions.

Abstract Purpose This article reviews the diagnostically challenging presentation of mast cell activation disease (MCAD) and current thoughts regarding interactions between microbiota and MCs. Methods A search for all studies on interactions between mast cells, mast cell activation disease, and microbiota published on pubmed.gov and scholar.google.com between 1960 and 2015 was conducted using the search terms mast cell, mastocyte, mastocytosis, mast cell activation, mast cell activation disease, mast cell activation syndrome, microbiome, microbiota. A manual review of the references from identified studies was also conducted. Studies were excluded if they were not accessible electronically or by interlibrary loan. Findings Research increasingly is revealing essential involvement of MCs in normal human biology and in human disease. Via many methods, normal MCs—present sparsely in every tissue—sense their environment and reactively exert influences that, directly and indirectly, locally and remotely, improve health. The dysfunctional MCs of the "iceberg" of MCAD, on the other hand, sense abnormally, react abnormally, activate constitutively, and sometimes (in mastocytosis, the "tip" of the MCAD iceberg) even proliferate neoplastically. MCAD causes chronic multisystem illness generally, but not necessarily, of an inflammatory ± allergic theme and with great variability in behavior among patients and within any patient over time. Furthermore, the range of signals to which MCs respond and react include signals from the body's microbiota, and regardless of whether an MCAD patient has clonal mastocytosis or the bulk of the iceberg now known as MC activation syndrome (also suspected to be clonal but without significant MC proliferation), dysfunctional MCs interact as dysfunctionally with those microbiota as they interact with other human tissues, potentially leading to many adverse consequences. Implications Interactions between microbiota and MCs are complex at baseline. The potential for both pathology and benefit may be amplified when compositionally variant microbiota interact with aberrant MCs in various types of MCAD. More research is needed to better understand and leverage these interactions.
Chemical inhomogeneity of the mantle

The major portion of the increase in density and elastic properties through the transition region of the upper mantle can be attributed to phase changes. However, the density increase in the Earth is slightly greater and the observed increase of the seismic velocities is slightly less than predicted on the basis of phase changes alone. The data can be reconciled with an increase in the mean atomic weight of about 1.5 to 1.6 units. This implies an increase in the FeO/MgO ratio of about 0.17 to 0.18, the lower mantle bring more iron rich than the upper mantle.
Rapid Home HIV Testing Risk and the Moral Imperatives of Biological Citizenship

This article examines the home rapid HIV test as a new practice of US biocitizenship. Via an analysis of discourse surrounding self-diagnostics, I conclude that while home HIV tests appear to expand consumer rights, they are in fact the vanguard of a new form of self-testing that carries a moral urgency to protect one’s own body and to manage societal risk. In addition, these tests extend biomedical authority into the private domain, while appearing to do the exact opposite. Furthermore, access to these tests may be stratified, contradicting the intent expressed by the manufacturer to reach populations in need of it most and reinforcing stigma against them. Lastly, diagnostics such as the rapid home HIV test represent new obligations for surveillance of one’s own health and that of others. The new public health effort to test the population at large has given rise to a new ‘risky’ population: the untested bodies.
On the measurement of the critical potentials of gases

In all methods of measuring excitation and ionisation potentials which are in common use the current-voltage characteristic curves of the apparatus are plotted. In the absence of gas these curves are smooth, but on the admission of gas at a suitable pressure sharp upward bends occur at definite voltages, which are interpreted as the critical potentials of the gas. In a variation by Franck and Hertz, the so-called inelastic impact method, these bends are downward, the critical points being represented by maxima.
Photoplethysmograph (PPG) derived heart rate (HR) acquisition using an Android smart phone

Smart phone OEM camera technology enables PPG measurement of HR. HR readings acquired by a Motorola Droid™ using a self-developed Android HR application were compared to HR readings acquired by an electrocardiograph (ECG) and Nonin 9560BT pulse oximeter during three 5 min. periods (rest, reading aloud, video game). Subjects were 14, 20--58 year olds. Across all conditions, and device pairings correlations (rs≥.99). Bland-Altman plots revealed that 95% of the data points (differences between devices) fell within the limits of agreement when the Droid was compared to ECG. Lack of electrode patches or sensor telemetric straps and general ease of use make it advantageous for use in monitoring adherence to m-Health delivered health promotion and wellness programs (e.g., anxiety reduction, meditation, yoga, tai chi, etc.).
Defining the Flora Family: Orbital properties, reflectance properties and age

Abstract The Flora family resides in the densely populated inner main belt, bounded in semimajor axis by the ν 6 secular resonance and the Jupiter 3:1 mean motion resonance. The presence of several large families that overlap dynamically with the Floras (e.g., the Vesta, Baptistina, and Nysa-Polana families), and the removal of a significant fraction of Floras via the nearby ν 6 resonance complicates the Flora family’s distinction in both proper orbital elements and reflectance properties. Here we use orbital information from the Asteroids Dynamic Site (AstDyS), color information from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), and albedo information from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) to obtain the median orbital and reflectance properties of the Floras by sampling the core of the family in multidimensional phase space. We find the median Flora SDSS colors to be a ∗ = 0.126 ± 0.007 and i - z = - 0.037 ± 0.007 ; the median Flora albedo is p V = 0.291 ± 0.012. These properties allow us to define ranges for the Flora family in orbital and reflectance properties, as required for a detailed dynamical study. We use the young Karin family, for which we have an age determined via direct backward integration of members’ orbits, to calibrate the Yarkovsky drift rates for the Flora family without having to estimate the Floras’ material properties. The size-dependent dispersion of the Flora members in semimajor axis (the “V” plot) then yields an age for the family of 950 - 170 + 200 My, with the uncertainty dominated by the uncertainty in the material properties of the family members (e.g., density and surface thermal properties). We discuss the effects on our age estimate of two independent processes that both introduce obliquity variations among the family members on short (My) timescales: (1) the capture of Flora members in spin–orbit resonance, and (2) YORP-driven obliquity variation through YORP cycles. Accounting for these effects does not significantly change this age determination.
Marking behaviour of the bahaman hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami)

Abstract The marking behaviour of a rare hystricomorph rodent, the Bahaman hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami), was studied in captivity. Hutias were more likely to mark urine-scented sticks than to mark unscented controls. The odour of conspecific urine readily induced marking and the sight and/or odour of an animal marking often immediately led to marking by other animals. Marking was exhibited by both males and females regardless of whether females were in oestrus. Olfactory investigation and marking by males was more intense, however, in the presence of oestrous females or their scent. Marking appears to be primarily a non-agonistic, social behaviour which may be important in the social organization of this gregarious, nocturnal species.
Immobility of reduced carbon along grain boundaries in dunite

Carbon-14 radiotracer experiments at 10 kbar (1 GPa) and 1000°-1200°C reveal that, due to low diffusivity or low solubility (or both), carbon is immobile in the grain boundary regions of natural dunite. Within the resolution of the beta-track mapping technique, grain boundary diffusion of carbon from a pure graphite source is not detectable in experiments of up to 10 days duration at 1200°C, even though measurable volume diffusion profiles are generated at these conditions (D ∼ 3-4 × 10−10 cm²/s, in agreement with previous estimates). The documented immobility of carbon in dunite grain boundaries precludes development of a continuous carbon film by diffusion from an initially localized source. If such a film is the cause of the mantle high-conductivity layer, it probably originated by a process involving fluid (CO/CO2) infiltration and subsequent reduction.
Physical site characteristics limit pollination and fruit set in the dioecious hydrophilous species, Vallisneria americana.

Experimental and observational studies of the submersed, freshwater macrophyte Vallisneria americana Michx. revealed that depth, wind and wave exposure, and current velocity may all influence fruit set. In this dioecious species, long-pedunculate female flowers are pollinated by free-floating male flowers at the water surface. Average fruit set in the natural populations studied varied from zero to 97% of the flowers observed. With increasing water depth in New York and Pennsylvania lakes, female plants continued to flower, though these flowers were unable to reach the surface, and consequently, did not set fruit. Fruit set was also lower in relatively open sites exposed to wind and waves, presumably because male flowers do not remain in the vicinity of female flowers long enough for effective pollination. This was particularly striking at a site with low male flower densities, but fruit set was increased to 100% at that site by confining the floating male flowers within a field enclosure. In a river, fruit set was negatively correlated with surface current velocity, and was reduced to zero in current velocities greater than 0.30 m · s−1. Fruit set in V. americana appears to be restricted or precluded by physical environmental conditions in a variety of sites.
Receptor-Targeted Cancer Therapy

Insight into the molecular mechanisms of malignant transformation is changing the way cancer is being treated. Conventional treatment strategies target the DNA of all dividing cells, resulting in a significantly increased risk of collateral toxicity. In addition, the accumulation of multiple mutations leads to drug resistance in many cancer cells. Targeted strategies have now been developed that specifically disrupt oncogenically active cell surface receptors and endogenous signaling molecules. These agents have a much greater selectivity for tumor tissue and decreased risk of side effects. Increased signaling through ErbB receptors via gene amplification, overexpression, and mutation has been implicated in many human cancers and associated with poor prognosis. Interruption of this process has been shown to cause antitumor effects. Downregulation of the ErbB receptors, HER-2/neu, and later EGFR, with monoclonal antibodies was the first demonstration of targeted therapy. Subsequently, the ErbB tyrosine kinase domain has been successfully targeted with small molecule inhibitors. The development of novel ErbB-directed entities is ongoing, with particular promise being shown by strategies targeting receptor interaction in oligomeric complexes.
A method for the relative quantification of lipofuscin based on a computer image analysis system.

The accumulation of lipofuscin in neurons is the best recognized microscopic alteration of the aging brain. The broad spectrum which characterizes this progressive accumulation of pigment has made necessary the use of quantitative methods for its assessment. Present day techniques for the quantitation of lipofuscin (e.g. fluorescent microspectrophotometry and planimetry) are cumbersome, rely on manual techniques and may be limited by fluorescent artifacts. In this article we report a computer image analysis method for the relative quantification of lipofuscin in slides stained with a modified aldehyde fuchsin stain. The method preserves the topography of the pigment, is not limited by artifacts due to fluorescence, and has excellent inter-rater reliability.
Bandwidth-satisfied multicast trees in large-scale ad-hoc networks

The purpose of this paper is to construct bandwidth-satisfied multicast trees for QoS applications in large-scale ad-hoc networks (MANETs). Recent routing protocols and multicast protocols in large-scale MANETs adopt two-tier infrastructures to avoid the inefficiency of the flooding. Hosts with a maximal number of neighbors are often chosen as backbone hosts (BHs) to forward packets. Most likely, these BHs will be traffic concentrations/bottlenecks of the network. In addition, since host mobility is not taken into consideration in BH selection, these two-tier schemes will suffer from more lost packets if highly mobile hosts are selected as BHs. In this paper, a new multicast protocol is proposed for partitioning large-scale MANET into two-tier infrastructures. In the proposed two-tier multicast protocol, hosts with fewer hops and longer remaining connection time to the other hosts will be selected as BHs. The objective is not only to obtain short and stable multicast routes, but also to construct a stable two-tier infrastructure with fewer lost packets. Further, previous MANET quality-of-service (QoS) routing/multicasting protocols determined bandwidth-satisfied routes for QoS applications. Some are implemented as a probing scheme, but the scheme is inefficient due to high overhead and slow response. On the contrary, the others are implemented by taking advantage of routing and link information to reduce the inefficiency. However, the latter scheme suffers from two bandwidth-violation problems. In this paper, a novel algorithm is proposed to avoid the two problems, and it is integrated with the proposed two-tier multicast protocol to construct bandwidth-satisfied multicast trees for QoS applications in large-scale MANETs. The proposed algorithm aims to achieve better network performance by minimizing the number of forwarders in a tree.
In vitro and in vivo analysis of the Effects of corticotropin releasing factor on rat dorsal vagal complex

In vivo and in vitro electrophysiological experiments were performed on the rat dorsal vagal complex (DVC, i.e. nucleus of the tractus solitarius, NTS, and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, DMV) to examine the effects of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRF) on the central components of the vago-vagal reflex control of gastric function. When applied to gastrointestinal projecting DMV neurones, CRF (10–300 nM) induced a concentration-dependent membrane depolarization, an increase in action potential firing rate and decrease in amplitude of the action potential afterhyperpolarization (P < 0.05). Pretreatment with the non-selective CRF antagonist, astressin (0.5–1 mM) or the selective CRF2 receptor antagonist, astressin 2B (500 nM) attenuated the CRFinduced increase in firing rate but did not alter basal discharge rate. CRF (30–300 nM) increased the amplitude of excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) evoked by stimulation of the NTS (P < 0.05). An alteration in the paired pulse ratio indicated the EPSC’s increase occurred due to actions at presynaptic sites. In the in vivo anaesthetized rat preparation, bilateral microinjections (20 fmol in 20 nl for each site) of CRF in the DVC decreased gastric motility in rats pretreated with the muscarinic agonist, bethanecol (P < 0.05). The effects of CRF were abolished by systemic administration of the NOS inhibitor, L-NAME, or by bilateral vagotomy. We concluded that CRF had both a direct and an indirect excitatory effect on DMV neurones via activation of CRF2 receptors and the decrease in gastric motility observed following microinjection of CRF in the DVC is due to the activation of an inhibitory non-adrenergic non-cholinergic input to the gastrointestinal tract.
Physical activity and cardiovascular disease prevention in women: A review of the epidemiologic evidence

Abstract Epidemiologic studies suggest that as little as 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per day can lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in women. Sedentary individuals who become physically active even at older ages derive cardiovascular benefits. Physical activity appears to slow the initiation and progression of CVD through salutary effects not only on adiposity but also on insulin sensitivity, glycemic control, incident type 2 diabetes, blood pressure, lipids, endothelial function, hemostasis, and inflammatory defense systems. Public health initiatives that promote moderate increases in physical activity may offer the best balance between efficacy and feasibility to improve cardiovascular health in sedentary populations.
Azithromycin as a cause of QT-interval prolongation and torsade de pointes in the absence of other known precipitating factors

During treatment with azithromycin, a 55 year-old woman developed a newly prolonged QT interval and torsade de pointes in the absence of known risk factors. Female gender and acute renal failure may be considerations in patients treated with azithromycin.
Laboratory tests for the evaluation of Helicobacter pylori infections.

Helicobacter pylori is a highly motile bacterium with multiple unipolar flagella, and it produces the urease enzyme. The flagella and urease are the virulence factors of H. pylori. H. pylori often establishes a chronic infection in the stomach that may lead to gastric and duodenal ulcers, gastric cancers, gastric lymphomas, and other gastrointestinal diseases. There are several different invasive and noninvasive clinical laboratory tests for H. pylori. Laboratory testing is not indicated in asymptomatic patients and should be considered only if treatment of H. pylori infection is planned. Invasive tests for H. pylori, such as tissue histology, culture, and rapid urease tests, are used if an endoscopy is performed on the patient. The noninvasive tests for H. pylori, such as enzyme antibody and urea breath tests, are recommended in patients whose symptoms do not warrant endoscopy. The urea breath test is very useful and is recommended to evaluate effectiveness in the eradication and treatment of H. pylori infections. Nucleic acid tests can complement other diagnostic procedures, and are useful in evaluating fixed biopsy tissue, environmental samples, gastric juices, oral secretions, and stool samples.
The Importance of Non‐Financial Performance Measures in Wine Business Strategy

This article explores the importance, measurement and use of non‐financial performance measures in the wine industry. Results are compared to a similar study done on US Fortune 500 and Canadian Post 300 companies. Findings indicate that a large percentage of US wineries believe in the importance of non‐financial performance measures, especially in the areas of process/product quality and overall customer satisfaction. On average, less than half the wineries are actually measuring for these factors. Also, while some wineries measure non‐financial performance, they then do not use the results of their findings in making strategic business decisions. The wineries differed from the Fortune 500 and Post 300 companies in that they ranked the measurement of employee involvement much higher in importance and market performance measurement much lower in importance.
Micro-Doppler signatures for intelligent human gait recognition using a UWB impulse radar

A UWB impulse Doppler radar has been developed recently to detect the micro-Doppler signatures of human motions. The system RF front-end, wideband antenna array and high speed data acquisition module are introduced in details. The developed radar is used to detect the Doppler features of arms swing, which has unique characteristics compared to movements of other body components, for intelligent human gait recognition. Several experiments, including human marching and walking, with either one-arm or two-arm swings, have been performed. Promising experimental results have been achieved from both high resolution range profiles and Doppler spectrogram. The developed radar is also capable of detecting vibrations of respiration and heartbeat for stationary human targets buried in collapse for search and rescue operations.
The Role of Solid State Lasers in Soft-X-Ray Projection Lithography

The ever increasing demand for more sophisticated electronic devices and higher-speed data processing have placed ever-increasing pressure on microchip manufacturers to produce more sophisticated microprocessing chips. These chips must not only have the capabilities of higher processing rates but also have more features on each chip. Manufacturers accomplish this by shrinking the size of each element on the chip and also by increasing the chip size. The greatest need associated with the reduction of the feature size on an individual chip is in the production of memory chips. By the turn of the century, minimum feature sizes of less than 0.2µm will be required in order to manufacture a one gigabit D-RAM. Such small feature sizes will most likely be beyond the capabilities of conventional optical lithography even with the use of phase-shift masks. The only likely alternatives at this point, for high wafer throughput manufacturing facilities, would be x-ray proximity lithography, projection e-beam lithography or soft-x-ray projection lithography (SXPL). This paper will briefly summarize the advantages of SXPL and specifically address the issues relating to the use of solid state lasers and the associated laser produced-plasma sources for this type of lithography.
Admission From Nursing Home Residence Increases Acute Mortality After Hip Fractures.

Background:Little is known about the effect of preinjury residence on inpatient mortality following hip fracture. This study addressed whether (1) admission from a nursing home residence and (2) ad...
A unified practical approach to stochastic DVS scheduling

This paper deals with energy-aware real-time system scheduling using dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) for energy-constrained embedded systems that execute variable and unpredictable workloads. The goal is to design DVS schemes to minimize the expected energy consumption of the whole system while meeting the deadlines of the tasks. Researchers have attempted to take advantage of stochastic information about workloads to achieve better energy savings, and accordingly, various stochastic DVS schemes have been proposed. However, the existing stochastic DVS schemes are based on much simplified power models that assume unrestricted continuous frequency, well-defined power/frequency relation, and no speed change overhead. When these schemes are used in practice, they need to be patched in order to comply with realistic power models. Experiments show that some of such DVS schemes perform even worse than certain non-stochastic DVS schemes. Furthermore, even for stochastic schemes that were shown experimentally to outperform non-stochastic schemes, it is not clear how well they perform compared to the optimal solution, which is yet to be found. In this work, we provide a unified practical approach for obtaining optimal (or provably close to optimal) stochastic inter-task, intra-task, and hybrid DVS schemes under realistic power models in which the processor only provides a set of discrete speeds, no assumption is made on power/frequency relation, and speed change overhead is considered. We also evaluate the existing DVS schemes by comparing them with our DVS schemes.
The Effect of Calcium Sulfate (Gypsum) in Combination with Different Sources and Forms of Calcium Carbonate on Acid-Base Balance and Eggshell Quality

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to determine the maximum level of gypsum (calcium sulfate) that can be used safely in the laying ration. Diets containing supplemental calcium as gypsum, pulverized limestone, oyster shell, and various combinations of these were used in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, the effect of a combination of gypsum and calcium chips (particulated form of limestone) was also studied. Egg production performance was not adversely affected when gypsum supplied up to two-thirds of the supplemental calcium regardless of the calcium sources used to provide the remaining one-third. Egg production and body weight gain were reduced when gypsum supplied all the supplemental calcium. Excreta moisture, shell quality, blood indicators of acid-base balance (pH, HCO–3 and base excess), and calcium retention were reduced with increased levels of gypsum substituted for pulverized limestone. The adverse effect on shell quality of supplying up to two-thirds of the calcium as gypsum was alleviated when the remaining part was provided by oyster shell but not when it was provided by calcium chips. The data suggest that the beneficial effect of oyster shell as compared with calcium chips in alleviating the adverse effect of gypsum on shell quality was due to its higher solubility and larger proportion of larger particles. The results indicate that gypsum can be used safely in laying hen rations to supply up to two-thirds of the supplemental calcium provided that the remaining part is supplied by oyster shell.
Heritability, Platelet Function, and Aspirin A Link Established but Cause Unknown

Platelets play a critical role in the pathophysiology of atherothrombotic disease. A pivotal event contributing to the understanding of platelet-dependent clot formation was the development of the platelet aggregometer in 1962.1 An aggregometer specifically measures the ability of platelets to adhere via glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (integrin αIIbβ3), and thousands of articles using this technique have been published, characterizing platelet function; however, the usefulness of these measurements remains unclear. Whereas the aggregometer and related techniques that measure platelet aggregation or glycoprotein expression have led to large amounts of data characterizing platelet function in various settings, the clinical importance of measurable differences in platelet function is still debated.2 The use of platelet function testing is established in rarer platelet abnormalities, such as the autosomal recessive bleeding disorder Glanzmann thrombasthenia,3 but no clear consensus has been reached on its usefulness for highly prevalent diseases caused by platelet-dependent thrombosis, such as myocardial infarction. A major factor for this discrepancy is that many of the platelet function defects that lead to bleeding are known to be caused by a single defect, whereas thrombosis in the setting of cardiovascular disease is presumed to be multifactorial. Article p 2490 The evolution of platelet function studies in various clinical settings has led to the realization that wide interindividual variability exists in the platelet activation response.4,5 What accounts for this variability? Only a few studies have systematically examined this question. Platelet function has been established as markedly dependent on the type of agonist used, the agonist concentration, and the concomitant use of antiplatelet therapy.6 In addition, in the large population-based Framingham Heart Study, O’Donnell and colleagues7 have demonstrated that heritable factors play a major role in determining platelet aggregation, as opposed to measured covariates. Less clear from the current literature is the direct …
Is Acute Reperfusion Therapy Safe in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients who Harbor Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysm

BackgroundIntracranial aneurysms are currently considered as contraindication for intravenous thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke, very likely due to a possible increase in the risk of bleeding from aneurysm rupture; however, there is limited data available on whether intravenous thrombolysis is safe for acute ischemic stroke patients with pre-existing intracranial aneurysms.Aims and/or hypothesisTo find out the safety of intravenous thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke patients who harbor unruptured intracranial aneurysms.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records and cerebrovascular images of all the patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke in our center from the beginning of 2006 till the end of April 2014. Those with unruptured intracranial aneurysm present on cerebrovascular images prior to acute reperfusion therapy were identified. Post-thrombolysis brain imaging was reviewed to evaluate for any intraparenchymal or subarachnoid hemorrhage related or unr...
Computer based harmonic generator facilities to study harmonic related problems

Unique educational and research facilities for teaching and performing research on harmonic-related problems in power systems are discussed. The facilities consist mainly of computer-based three-phase harmonic generators, a data acquisition system to process the data digitally, and a computer control system to control the harmonics levels. Application of the system in teaching, studying and investigating appropriate solutions to harmonic-related problems is the primary objective. The assistance of power industry representatives in formulating the different problems is discussed. A brief summary of six teaching projects and concepts of the computer-based system are included. >
Gradient-index adiabatic impedance matching (GRIN-AIM) antireflective diffractive optics

We have experimentally demonstrated suppression of reflection diffracted orders by at least 100× in a silicon grating by tapered nanostructures emulating adiabatic index matching. Novel fabrication using self-assembled nanospheres as lithographic mask was employed.
Gate sizing and device technology selection algorithms for high-performance industrial designs

It is becoming more and more important to design high performance designs with as low power as possible. In this paper, we study the gate sizing and device technology selection problem for today's industrial designs. We first outline the typical practical problems that make it difficult to use the traditional algorithms on high-performance industrial designs. Then, we propose a Lagrangian Relaxation (LR) based formulation that decouples timing analysis from optimization without resulting in loss of accuracy. We also propose a graph model that accurately captures discrete cell type characteristics based on library data. We model the relaxed Lagrangian subproblem as a discrete graph problem, and propose algorithms to solve it. In our experiments, we demonstrate the importance of using the signoff timing engine to guide the optimization. Compared to a state-of-the art industrial optimization flow, we show that our algorithms can obtain up to 38% leakage power reductions and better overall timing for real high-performance microprocessor blocks.
Case alternations in Icelandic ‘get’-passives

The analysis of ‘get’-passives across Germanic poses a number of challenges to our understanding of valency alternations: they exhibit surprising case alternations and recalcitrant thematic properties (Alexiadou 2012, Alexiadou, Anagnostopoulou & Sevdali to appear). In this article, we present novel data on ‘get’-passives in Icelandic; while Icelandic has played an important role in our understanding of case marking and valency alternations, ‘get’-passives have not, to our knowledge, been studied in this language before. By situating ‘get’-passives within the landscape of well-established case patterns of Icelandic, we are able to argue in favor of the following conclusions: (i) Icelandic ‘get’-passives involve unambiguously verbal passives; (ii) the surface subject of recipient ‘get’-passives (‘I got a letter sent to me’) does not originate as the dative indirect object of the passive participle, but rather originates as an (external) argument of ‘get’; and (iii) at least some intransitive ‘get’-passives (‘This got changed’) involve anticausativization of the corresponding causative ‘get’-passive (‘I got this changed’), as proposed for English by Haegeman (1985).
Depolarization‐stimulated catecholamine biosynthesis: involvement of protein kinases and tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation sites in situ

Depolarizing stimuli increase catecholamine (CA) biosynthesis, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity, and TH phosphorylation at Ser19, Ser31, and Ser40 in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. However, the identities of the protein kinases that phosphorylate TH under depolarizing conditions are not known. Furthermore, although increases in Ser31 or Ser40 phosphorylation increase TH activity in vitro, the relative influence of phosphorylation at these sites on CA biosynthesis under depolarizing conditions is not known. We investigated the participation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) in elevated K(+)-stimulated TH phosphorylation in PC12 cells using an ERK pathway inhibitor, PD98059, and PKA-deficient PC12 cells (A126-B1). In the same paradigm, we measured CA biosynthesis. TH phosphorylation stoichiometry (PS) was determined by quantitative blot-immunolabeling using site- and phosphorylation state-specific antibodies. Treatment with elevated K(+) (+ 58 mM) for 5 min increased TH PS at each site in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. Pretreatment with PD98059 prevented elevated K(+)-stimulated increases in ERK phosphorylation and Ser31 PS. In A126-B1 cells, Ser40 PS was not significantly increased by forskolin, and elevated K(+)-stimulated Ser40 PS was three- to five-fold less than that in PC12 cells. In both cell lines, CA biosynthesis was increased 1.5-fold after treatment with elevated K(+) and was prevented by pretreatment with PD98059. These results suggest that ERK phosphorylates TH at Ser31 and that PKA phosphorylates TH at Ser40 under depolarizing conditions. They also suggest that the increases in CA biosynthesis under depolarizing conditions are associated with the ERK-mediated increases in Ser31 PS.
Open-palm technique and soft-tissue coverage in Dupuytren's disease.

SUMMARY Dupuytren’s disease remains a condition rich with history and tradition. New ideas in pathophysiology have stimulated research in basic science and the continuing search for the cause. The pathoanatomy, although well understood, challenges the surgeon with difficult dissection and the need to understand the blood supply to the palm. The author still recommends the open-palm technique, initially described by Dupuytren and later popularized by McCash, as the treatment of choice in Dupuytren’s disease.
Carotid artery disease progression and related neurologic events after carotid endarterectomy.

Objective During the last decade, there has been a dramatic improvement in best medical treatment for patients with vascular disease. Yet, there is a paucity of contemporary long-term data for restenosis and contralateral internal carotid artery (ICA) progression. This study assessed ipsilateral and contralateral disease progression and cerebrovascular events after carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Methods A consecutive cohort of CEAs between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2010, was retrospectively analyzed. End points were restenosis ≥50% and ≥70%, contralateral carotid disease progression (50%-69%, 70%-99%, or occlusion) and stroke. Survival analysis and Cox regression models were used to assess the effect of baseline predictors. Results During the 11-year study period, 1639 patients underwent 1782 CEAs (50.0% patch closure, 23.9% primary closure, 26.1% eversion, and 2.5% combined with coronary artery bypass grafting). The combined stroke/death rate was 2.6% overall and 1.8% in the asymptomatic cohort. The rate of restenosis ≥50% at 2, 5, and 10 years was 8.5%, 15.6%, 27.2%, and the rate for restenosis ≥70% was 3.4%, 6.5%, 10.2%, respectively. Restenosis ≥50% was predicted by hypertension (hazard ratio [HR], 2.09; P = .027), female gender (HR, 1.43; P = .042), and younger age (≤65 years; HR, 1.56; P = .016), but not by statins, surgical technique, symptoms, or other baseline risk factors. Restenoses remained asymptomatic in 125 of 148 (84.5%). Progression of contralateral ICA disease at 2, 5, and 10 years was estimated at 5.4%, 15.5%, and 46.8%, respectively. Contralateral progression was only predicted by smoking (HR, 1.74; P = .008). The stroke rate in patients with disease progression of the contralateral ICA was not different compared with those without progression (7.0% vs 3.3%; P = .063). Any-stroke rates at 2, 5, and 10 years were 4.6%, 7.3%, and 15.7%, respectively. Predictors were symptomatic lesion (HR, 1.48; P = .039), renal insufficiency, defined as a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to 59 vs 2 (HR, 0.34; P = .009) or GFR ≥60 vs GFR 2 (HR, 0.55; P = .109), and statin use (HR, 0.59; P = .006). Conclusions Restenosis or contralateral disease progression after CEA, to a level that might warrant consideration for treatment, is very low. The potentially associated stroke rates are also very low and not clearly related to disease progression. With the exception of the postoperative duplex, surveillance within short intervals of
Possible origin of the discrepancy in Peierls stresses of fcc metals: First-principles simulations of dislocation mobility in aluminum

Dislocation motion governs the strength and ductility of metals, and the Peierls stress (${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{p}$) quantifies dislocation mobility. ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{p}$ measurements carry substantial uncertainty in face-centered cubic (fcc) metals, and ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{p}$ values can differ by up to two orders of magnitude. We perform first-principles simulations based on orbital-free density functional theory (OFDFT) to calculate the most accurate currently possible ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{p}$ for the motion of $\frac{1}{2}\ensuremath{\langle}110\ensuremath{\rangle}\left\{111\right\}$ dislocations in fcc Al. We predict the ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{p}$s of screw and edge dislocations (dissociated in their equilibrium state) to be $1.9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}G$ and $4.9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}G$, respectively ($G$ is the shear modulus). These values fall within the range of measurements from mechanical deformation tests (10${}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$--10${}^{\ensuremath{-}5}G$). OFDFT also finds a new metastable structure for a screw dislocation not seen in earlier simulations, in which a dislocation core on the glide plane does not dissociate into partials. The corresponding ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{p}$ for this undissociated dislocation is predicted to be $1.1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}2}G$, which agrees with typical Bordoni peak measurements (10${}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$--10${}^{\ensuremath{-}3}G$). The calculated ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{p}$s for dissociated and undissociated screw dislocations differ by two orders of magnitude. The presence of undissociated, as well as dissociated, screw dislocations may resolve the decades-long mystery in fcc metals regarding the two orders of magnitude discrepancy in ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{p}$ measurements.
Efficacy and Safety of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Inhibitors Treatment in Familial Hypercholesterolemia: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis of All Randomized Clinical Trials

Clinical trials have demonstrated concomitant lipid lowering treatments (LLT) with Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9I) effective in reducing LDL levels in patients suffering from familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and
Effect of Calcium Sulfide on Chironomus riparius (Diptera: Chironomidae) Egg Hatchability

Egg masses of Chironomus riparius Meigen were tested in graduated aqueous solutions of CaS, ranging from 1–100 mg/l. Results showed that the number of unhatched eggs/given sulfide concn fit an exponential function of the form y = a ebx. The median lethal tolerance at 72 h after oviposition (TLm, 72) was established at 9.15 mg sulfide/l.