cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sex Differences in Physician Salary in US Public Medical Schools

Importance Limited evidence exists on salary differences between male and female academic physicians, largely owing to difficulty obtaining data on salary and factors influencing salary. Existing studies have been limited by reliance on survey-based approaches to measuring sex differences in earnings, lack of contemporary data, small sample sizes, or limited geographic representation. Objective To analyze sex differences in earnings among US academic physicians. Design, Setting, and Participants Freedom of Information laws mandate release of salary information of public university employees in several states. In 12 states with salary information published online, salary data were extracted on 10 241 academic physicians at 24 public medical schools. These data were linked to a unique physician database with detailed information on sex, age, years of experience, faculty rank, specialty, scientific authorship, National Institutes of Health funding, clinical trial participation, and Medicare reimbursements (proxy for clinical revenue). Sex differences in salary were estimated after adjusting for these factors. Exposures Physician sex. Main Outcomes and Measures Annual salary. Results Among 10 241 physicians, female physicians (n = 3549) had lower mean (SD) unadjusted salaries than male physicians ($206 641 [$88 238] vs $257 957 [$137 202]; absolute difference, $51 315 [95% CI, $46 330-$56 301]). Sex differences persisted after multivariable adjustment ($227 783 [95% CI, $224 117-$231 448] vs $247 661 [95% CI, $245 065-$250 258] with an absolute difference of $19 878 [95% CI, $15 261-$24 495]). Sex differences in salary varied across specialties, institutions, and faculty ranks. For example, adjusted salaries of female full professors ($250 971 [95% CI, $242 307-$259 635]) were comparable to those of male associate professors ($247 212 [95% CI, $241 850-$252 575]). Among specialties, adjusted salaries were highest in orthopedic surgery ($358 093 [95% CI, $344 354-$371 831]), surgical subspecialties ($318 760 [95% CI, $311 030-$326 491]), and general surgery ($302 666 [95% CI, $294 060-$311 272]) and lowest in infectious disease, family medicine, and neurology (mean income, Conclusions and Relevance Among physicians with faculty appointments at 24 US public medical schools, significant sex differences in salary exist even after accounting for age, experience, specialty, faculty rank, and measures of research productivity and clinical revenue.
Titration and HPLC Characterization of Kombucha Fermentation: A Laboratory Experiment in Food Analysis

Quantification of the many constituents that make up our food, whether they are desirable (vitamins, antioxidants, nutrients) or undesirable (pesticides, toxins), is one of the most practical applications of chemistry. In this study, kombucha, a popular fermented tea beverage, was analyzed using acid–base titration and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Kombucha is made via the fermentation of sweetened black tea with a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY), which produces acetic acid in addition to a variety of other organic acids and vitamins. The aim of this study was to analyze the acid content of kombucha over a 21-day fermentation period in order to characterize the fermentation kinetics. Titrimetric analysis revealed that the total acidity increased linearly with fermentation time at a rate of 1.5 mM/day. The acetic acid content was also quantified by HPLC at 7-day intervals by standard addition and compared to the total acidity determined by titration. A paired Student’s t te...
Stochastic seismic inversion using greedy annealed importance sampling

A global optimization method called very fast simulated annealing (VFSA) inversion has been applied to seismic inversion. Here we address some of the limitations of VFSA by developing a new stochastic inference method, named greedy annealed importance sampling (GAIS). GAIS combines VFSA and greedy importance sampling (GIS), which uses a greedy search in the important regions located by VFSA, in order to attain fast convergence and provide unbiased estimation. We demonstrate the performance of GAIS with application to seismic inversion of field post- and pre-stack datasets. The results indicate that GAIS can improve lateral continuity of the inverted impedance profiles and provide better estimation of uncertainties than using VFSA alone. Thus this new hybrid method combining global and local optimization methods can be applied in seismic reservoir characterization and reservoir monitoring for accurate estimation of reservoir models and their uncertainties.
Phenomenology and Iconicity in Badiou’s Logics of Worlds

Is it possible to extend in an abductive manner the specifically iconic dimension of the mathematical modeling of reality implicit in Badiou’s austerely binary ontology? To a certain extent, Badiou himself has already done so.
Technical Considerations in Revision Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction for Operative Techniques in Orthopaedics

As the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction continues to increase, the rate of revision surgery continues to climb. Revision surgery has inherent challenges that must be addressed to achieve successful results. The cause of the primary ACL reconstruction failure should be determined and careful preoperative planning should be performed to address the cause(s) of failure. Each patient undergoing revision surgery should undergo a thorough history and physical examination, receive full-length alignment radiographs, lateral radiographs, 45° flexion weight-bearing posteroanterior radiographs, and patellofemoral radiographs. The 3-dimensional computed tomography scan should be performed to assess tunnel position and widening. Magnetic resonance imaging should be used to assess for intra-articular soft tissue pathology. Meniscal tears, meniscal deficiency, anterolateral capsule injuries, bony morphology, age, activity level, connective tissue diseases, infection, graft choice, and tunnel position can all affect the success of ACL reconstruction surgery. Meniscal lesions should be repaired, and in cases of persistent rotatory instability, extra-articular procedures may be indicated. Furthermore, osteotomies may be needed to correct malalignment or excess posterior tibial slope. Depending on the placement and condition of the original femoral and tibial tunnels, revision surgery may be performed in a single procedure or in a staged manner. In most cases, the surgery can be performed in one procedure. Regardless, the surgeon must communicate with the patient openly regarding the implications of revision ACL surgery, and the treatment plan should be developed in a shared fashion between the surgeon and the patient.
The Nicotinic Cholinergic Pathway Contributes to Retinal Neovascularization in a Mouse Model of Retinopathy of Prematurity.

Purpose To investigate the role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in retinal vascular development and ischemia-induced retinal neovascularization (NV). Methods The expression of nAChR subtypes and VEGF signaling pathway components was assessed in mice with and without oxygen-induced ischemic retinopathy by comparing expression levels at postnatal day (P) 14 and P17 in mice exposed to 75% oxygen from P7 to P12 and returned to room air versus mice pups that were exposed to ambient oxygen levels during the same period. The effect of topical or intraocular injection of mecamylamine, a nonspecific nAChR antagonist, or targeted deletion of α7- or α9-nAChRs on ischemia-induced retinal NV was determined by comparing the amount of retinal NV at P17 in these mice versus appropriate controls. Results The expression of nAChR subunits and components of the VEGF signaling pathways was increased in ischemic retina. Topical application or intraocular injection of mecamylamine decreased retinal NV in this model. Mecamylamine had no effect on normal retinal vascular development or on revascularization of the central retinal area of nonperfusion in mice with ischemic retinopathy. Targeted deletion of α9, but not α7, nAChR receptor subunits reduced retinal NV in mice with ischemic retinopathy. Conclusion These data suggest that nAChR signaling, primarily through the α9 nAChR subunit, contributes to ischemia-induced retinal NV, but not retinal vascular development. Mecamylamine or a specific α9 nAChR antagonist could be considered for treatment of retinopathy of prematurity and other ischemic retinopathies.
Evidence for Singlet Fission Driven by Vibronic Coherence in Crystalline Tetracene

Singlet fission proceeds rapidly and with high quantum efficiency in both crystalline tetracene and pentacene, which poses a conundrum given that the process in tetracene is disfavored by the electronic energetics. Here, we use an ab initio exciton model to compute nonadiabatic couplings in the unit cell of tetracene in order to identify the modes that promote this process. Four intramolecular modes in the range of 1400–1600 cm–1, which are nearly resonant with the single-exciton/multiexciton energy gap, appear to play a key role. Ab initio calculations of the electron/phonon coupling constants for these modes reveal that they are almost entirely of “Holstein” type, modulating the site energies rather than the intersite couplings. The constants are used to parametrize a vibronic Hamiltonian, simulations with which suggest a vibronically coherent singlet fission mechanism that proceeds spontaneously despite unfavorable electronic energetics. In the absence of vibronic coupling, there is no significant fiss...
Interaction between Physical Mechanisms and the Structure of Continuum Theories

The formulation of force-deformation constitutive relations for materials should be structured on the basis of the characteristics of the major mechanical phenomena involved and the constraints of continuum theory. Thus if a mathematically motivated concept is introduced its physical origin should be examined to ensure that it is an appropriate component of the theory being studied. Analogously for a physically motivated component its mathematical representation should be checked to ensure that it satisfies the requirements of continuum theory. Such considerations are particularly important for applications involving finite deformation because the mathematical structure is then more complicated and expresses so much more of the essence of the phenomenon. Examples of both aspects of this question are discussed. These considerations are particularly significant when it is not possible to deduce in detail precise macroscopic constitutive relations from the analysis of the micromechanical phenomena involved and their interactions, and this includes most structurally important materials. Of course, basic analyses which are less than complete and deductive analysis of idealized materials are essential in suggesting the components of the type of phenomenological theories considered in this chapter.
Monitoring, modeling, and characterizing single-speed ventilation fans for an animal building

Abstract Ventilation rate is equally important as pollutant concentration in aerial emission quantification, but is technically challenging to determine for animal buildings. A simple and reliable method using 240-VAC to 6-VDC unregulated adapters to monitor 24 single-speed wall-mount ventilation fans was applied in a 12-room swine environmental research building. A portable Wall Fan Tester (WFT), consisting of nine equally-distanced impeller anemometers, was designed and developed to measure airflow rates of the wall fans of 508-mm and 356-mm diameters. Fan ventilation rates were tested using the WFT at 5 or 6 static pressures from −1.8 to −133.9 Pa and power voltages from 185 to 245 VAC at 15-VAC increments in five fan test sessions. Fan ventilation models were developed using a single independent variable (static pressure) and two independent variables (static pressure and fan power voltage). The innovative system and methodology considerably improved ventilation rate quantification for the 12 rooms. The study also found that the wall fans in the building delivered 16.9–40.1% less ventilation under different static pressures compared with the fan specifications. There were 17–29% ventilation rate variations among identical fans in different rooms. Daily power supply voltages to the fans often fluctuated for 3–6%, which could introduce errors in ventilation calculations if not taking them into account. Cross-sectional airflow profiles were not always symmetric and there were backflows in some sub-areas for the 356-mm fan inlet at conditions of low power voltages and high negative static pressures.
Functional level-set derivative for a polymer self consistent field theory Hamiltonian

Abstract We derive functional level-set derivatives for the Hamiltonian arising in self-consistent field theory, which are required to solve free boundary problems in the self-assembly of polymeric systems such as block copolymer melts. In particular, we consider Dirichlet, Neumann and Robin boundary conditions. We provide numerical examples that illustrate how these shape derivatives can be used to find equilibrium and metastable structures of block copolymer melts with a free surface in both two and three spatial dimensions.
Orphanhood and School Attendance in Nigeria: Do Gender and Household Income Matter?

Using the 2010 Nigeria Education Data Survey, this research examines the interaction of paternal and maternal/double orphanhood with gender and household income on school attendance; we ascertain w...
Atomic Layer Deposition of Aluminum Sulfide: Growth Mechanism and Electrochemical Evaluation in Lithium-Ion Batteries

This study describes the synthesis of aluminum sulfide (AlSx) thin films by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using tris(dimethylamido)aluminum and hydrogen sulfide. We employed a suite of in situ measurement techniques to explore the ALD AlSx growth mechanism, including quartz crystal microbalance, quadrupole mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A variety of ex situ characterization techniques were used to determine the growth characteristics, morphology, elemental composition, and crystallinity of the resultant AlSx films. This study revealed that the AlSx growth was self-limiting in the temperature range 100–250 °C, and the growth per cycle decreased linearly with increasing temperature from ∼0.45 A/cycle at 100 °C to ∼0.1 A/cycle at 250 °C. The AlSx films were amorphous in this temperature range. We conducted electrochemical testing to evaluate the ALD AlSx as a potential anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The ALD AlSx exhibited reliable cyclability over 60 dischar...
MiGHT, a multi-level Gillespie hybrid tracked modeling framework which allows for cellular and environmental adaptivity

Cells dynamically alter their behavior and adapt the profile of receptors and ligands they produce in response to their personal history. This is clear in development and, even more so, in our understanding of the differentiation and action of the cells of the immune system. To model the adaptive changes of leukocytes, we must incorporate the cell's internal state as it is shaped by the cell's history within an environment. To do so, we have developed a multi-level Gillespie hybrid tracked (MiGHT) modeling schema. MiGHT derives from our previous modeling framework TIPS, a tracked interacting particle system (IPS) modeling framework. TIPS expanded on the IPS modeling structure by tagging entities to allow for agent-based manipulations and the tracking of individual agents over the course of a simulation through complex binding via a hierarchical structure. In MiGHT we have incorporated the ability to model internal mechanisms as sub-level self-contained models, which can both respond to historical events and the microenvironment, as well as influence their agent's future behavior. MiGHT also includes the ability to utilize hybrid simulation methods, including tau-leaping estimations and differential equation time steps. This gives us the capability of efficiently simulating differing amounts of molecules, such as cytokines as well as the ability to efficiently model internal interactions. Lastly, MiGHT includes an environment restrictions method, which allows for the environment to directly affect the behavior of the simulation as well as the ability to alter the simulation techniques based on individual bin entity concentrations. This creates a multi-level simulation in which entities can actively adapt their behavior to both history and the environment. Using MiGHT we have simulated the macrophage response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We show that a single population of macrophages can transition through the stages of macrophage activation and inactivation via a simple set of dynamics. Furthermore, we show that the systemic response of macrophages is dependent on how individual macrophages are distributed within the environment.
Stability of extemporaneously prepared ophthalmic solutions for mydriasis.

Purpose Results of an evaluation of the physical and chemical stability of extemporaneously prepared adult and pediatric ophthalmic solutions containing combinations of phenylephrine, tropicamide, and cyclopentolate are reported. Methods A stability study was conducted to help determine the feasibility of innovative formulations to meet an unmet clinical need for combination mydriatic ophthalmic eyedrops. An adult mydriatic ophthalmic solution containing phenylephrine hydrochloride 2.5% and tropicamide 1.0% and a pediatric formulation containing phenylephrine hydrochloride 2.5%, tropicamide 0.5%, and cyclopentolate hydrochloride 0.5% were prepared using proper aseptic techniques. Triplicate samples of each formulation were stored for 60 days at refrigeration temperatures (2–8 °C) and analyzed on day 0 and days 7, 14, 28, and 60. At each time point, the stability samples were assessed by visual inspection, pH measurement, and stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Results Over the 60-day storage period, there was no significant change in the visual appearance or pH level of any of the adult or pediatric solution samples. The results of HPLC analysis indicated that all samples retained 97–102% of the initial drug concentrations for up to 60 days. Conclusion Both adult and pediatric ophthalmic formulations containing combinations of phenylephrine, tropicamide, and cyclopentolate were stable physically and chemically for up to 60 days when stored at refrigeration temperatures (2–8 °C).
Reflections on Mathematical Contributions to Understanding the Molecular Basis of Life: From 1970 to the 21 st Century

A generation ago, research on the molecular basis of Ufe was confined to a small, though significant group of scientists. Their methods were experimental- and though many were trained in physics, only on the most infrequent of occasions did their investigations demand the exercise of mathematical methods beyond elementary statistics. But the elucidation of the DNA double helix, which was driving their research, had forever transformed biology to a conceptual science, and with that transformation it had set in motion an inevitable mathematical evolution.
Geologic Setting of Selected Chromium and Nickel Deposits of China

Five selected chromium deposits of China are described: Luobusa of Xizang (Tibet), northwestern and northern Inner Mongolia, western Henan, and Panzihua of Sichuan. The first four are podiform deposits and the fifth is stratiform. Six selected nickel deposits of China are described: Jinchuan of Gansu, Dali and Ailaoshan of Yunnan, weathering products near Ailaoshan, and sedimentary nickel deposits of Yangzi craton. These nickel deposits can be classified into four types according to their geologic settings: 1. Rift valley deposits — Jinchuan and Dali 2. Obducted ophiolites — Ailaoshan 3. Weathering products — near Ailaoshan 4. Sedimentary rocks — Lower Cambrian black shales of Yangzi craton
Initial Reactions to Carpenter v. United States

On June 22, 2018, the United States Supreme Court handed down its much-anticipated Fourth Amendment ruling in Carpenter v. United States. In the wake of Carpenter, Professor Kerr authored three extensive blog posts on the decision that appeared at both Lawfare and The Volokh Conspiracy. This paper presents the three posts together in the order that they appeared. The first post explores the basic reasoning of the opinion, the second post discusses Carpenter’s impact on the law of subpoenas, and the third post considers the timing of Carpenter searches.
A derivation framework for dependent security label inference

Dependent security labels (security labels that depend on program states) in various forms have been introduced to express rich information flow policies. They are shown to be essential in the verification of real-world software and hardware systems such as conference management systems, Android Apps, a MIPS processor and a TrustZone-like architecture. However, most work assumes that all (complex) labels are provided manually, which can both be error-prone and time-consuming. In this paper, we tackle the problem of automatic label inference for static information flow analyses with dependent security labels. In particular, we propose the first general framework to facilitate the design and validation (in terms of soundness and/or completeness) of inference algorithms. The framework models label inference as constraint solving and offers guidelines for sound and/or complete constraint solving. Under the framework, we propose novel constraint solving algorithms that are both sound and complete. Evaluation result on sets of constraints generated from secure and insecure variants of a MIPS processor suggests that the novel algorithms improve the performance of an existing algorithm by orders of magnitude and offers better scalability.
Methane Cycling Contributes to Distinct Patterns in Carbon Stable Isotopes of Wetland Detritus

Increasing global temperatures are changing the balance between carbon sequestration and its microbial processing in wetlands, making the tracking of these processes important. We used detrital carbon stable isotopes (δ13C) to trace aerobic decomposition and CH4 production in two experiments conducted in Alaskan wetlands. In laboratory bottle incubations, larger decreases in detritus δ13C corresponded to higher net CH4 and CO2 production rates. Because net CH4 production was the stronger predictor and its effect was negative, we hypothesize that decreases in δ13C trace concurrent CH4 production and oxidation. In a field experiment, decreases in detritus δ13C were not correlated with aerobic decomposition rates, but were positively correlated with CH4 production potentials as estimated from bottle incubations. We hypothesize that the positive relationship reflects only CH4 production, rather than concurrent production and oxidation. Although CH4 production rates were correlated with changes in detrital δ13C in both experiments, the direction of this relationship differed between laboratory and field with important consequences for the scale of ecological experiments. Our study demonstrates that CH4 cycling can create distinct patterns in δ13C of wetland detritus. Future studies should conduct explicit mass balance experiments to clarify mechanisms and determine the importance of scale in shaping isotopic patterns.
LSM-Trees and B-Trees: The Best of Both Worlds

LSM-Trees and B-Trees are the two primary data structures used as storage engines in modern key-value (KV) stores. These two structures are optimal for different workloads; LSM-Trees perform better on update queries, whereas B-Trees are preferable for short range lookups. KV stores today use one or the other. However, for modern applications with increasingly diverse workloads, limiting KV stores to utilize only one of the two designs leads to a significant loss in performance. We propose a novel method of online transitioning a KV store from an LSM-Tree to a B-Tree and vice versa. This allows KV stores to smoothly adapt to changing workloads and use the optimal data structure as the workload changes.
Effect of pollination on accumulation of ACC synthase and ACC oxidase transcripts, ethylene production and flower petal abscission in geranium (Pelargonium x hortorum L.H. Bailey).

Self-pollination of diploid zonal geranium (Pelargonium × hortorum L.H. Bailey) florets leads to a dramatic rise in ethylene production, followed by abscission within 4 h. Neither wounding of the stigma, pollination with tetraploid pollen, nor heat-killed self pollen could elicit as much ethylene production and petal abscission as self-pollination. A cDNA sharing sequence identity with ACC synthase (GACS2) and three different cDNAs sharing sequence identity with ACC oxidase (GACO1, GACO2, GACO3) were isolated from geranium pistils. Transcripts hybridizing with these probes increased slightly in response to self-pollination, but the degree of accumulation in response to various treatments did not correlate with ethylene production. When calculated on a per-plant-part basis, transcripts hybridizing with GACS2 were equally distributed among the stigma+style, sterile ovary, and ovary tissues, but transcripts hybridizing with the three ACC oxidase clones were differentially distributed. All transcripts were differentially expressed among the other tissues of the plant, with GACO1 being the most widely distributed. Ethylene production in geranium pistils was not autocatalytic. Propylene failed to induce ethylene production and ethylene did not induce the accumulation of ACC synthase or ACC oxidase transcripts. ACC accumulated in the stigma and style, and to a smaller extent in the sterile ovary, after pollination. These data support a model of pollination-induced ethylene production by post-transcriptional regulation of ethylene biosynthetic gene expression.
Compliant adhesive cuff electrode for selective stimulation in rat vagus nerve

This paper describes the design of a peripheral nerve cuff electrodes used to stimulate the rat vagus nerve. Multiple electrodes on the circumference of the cuff allow for selective stimulation of the nerve, targeting different functional pathways, including those involved in inflammatory, cardiac, and metabolic diseases. Our approach was verified by stimulating the cervical vagus while recording propagated action potentials to the abdominal vagus nerve. The flexible probe adjusts to the diameter of the nerve, with a robust electrode contact maintained by an adhesive hydrogel.
A Novel Space-Time Building Block Methodology for Transient Electromagnetic Analysis

This paper investigates a space-time building block methodology for efficient time-domain analysis of multi-scale, locally periodic structures. By leveraging the principles of linear superposition and space-time causality in wave physics, the 4D simulation domain is represented by a few space-time building blocks, which are constructed upon 3D spatial unit cell and 1D time unit. The work results in novel time-evolution schemes, which exhibit high-order accuracy and achieve concurrency and parallelism in both spatial and temporal dimensions. The outcomes lead to significantly reduced computational resources. The capability and benefit of proposed algorithms are illustrated through representative applications.
How to learn to recognize conspecific brood parasitic offspring.

Recognition systems evolve to reduce the risk and costs of making recognition errors. Two main sources of recognition error include perceptual error (error arising from inability to discriminate be...
Eco-Driving of Autonomous Vehicles for Nonstop Crossing of Signalized Intersections

This article is devoted to the development of an optimal speed profile for autonomous vehicles in order to cross a signalized intersection without stopping. The design objective is to achieve both a short travel time and low energy consumption by taking full advantage of the traffic light information based on vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. The eco-driving problem is formulated as an optimal control problem. For the case where the vehicles are in free-flow mode, we derive a real-time on-line analytical solution, distinguishing our method from most existing approaches based on numerical calculations. Under mild assumptions, the optimal eco-driving algorithm is readily extended to cases where the free-flow mode does not apply due to the presence of interfering traffic. Extensive simulations are provided to compare the performance of autonomous vehicles under the proposed speed profile and human-driven vehicles. The results show quantitatively the advantages of the proposed algorithm in terms of energy consumption and travel time.
Review and Management of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in Pregnancy

This chapter explores the prevalence, clinical symptoms, diagnosis, and management of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) in pregnant patients. The etiology of CRPS in this patient population is unique due to the changes in anatomy and pathophysiology of pregnancy. Management of CRPS symptoms becomes challenging when considering the health of the patient and the unborn fetus. This chapter serves to outline the current recommendations and guidelines for treatment.
The Personal is Political: Companionate Marriage, Republican Motherhood, and the Campaign Against State-Regulated Prostitution

This chapter centers on the idea that the personal was political for Victorian feminists and shows how these British-Italian reformers made choices in their private lives that reflected their political philosophies. The first section provides greater background on nineteenth-century marriage and motherhood before discussing how these activists and philanthropists forged marriages based on shared values and a true sense of intellectual partnership dedicated to a larger purpose. The second section examines their roles as mothers, focusing on how Giorgina Saffi, Julia Salis Schwabe, and Sara Nathan radicalized contemporary republican motherhood discourse. The final section examines how Saffi and Nathan used their platform as mothers and the language of chastity to publicly speak out against state-regulated prostitution and challenge the authority of male medical and legal authorities. It also shows how they, along with Jessie White Mario, participated in the burgeoning international feminist movement as part of the campaign.
Exercise 10: Immunodiffusion and Immunoelectrophoresis

The Ouchterlony gel immunodiffusion technique (double immunodiffusion) and immunoelectrophoresis assays both use a semi-solid medium such as agar or agarose for the diffusion of antibody and antigen. Soluble antigens and antibodies diffuse through the semisolid medium until they reach the optimum concentration to form a visible precipitation line.
Setting the Ventilator in the PICU

The initiation of mechanical ventilation and selection of initial ventilator settings is a complex process that must address the underlying pathophysiology and the change in clinical status which may follow intubation and the implementation of positive pressure breathing. The initial ventilator settings must be instituted to target a patient’s specific clinical indication(s) for mechanical ventilation. Due to the substantial variation in disease processes, no single ventilator strategy can be successfully applied to all patients. The strategy used for a patient with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) will vary greatly from that for status asthmaticus or a chronic neuromuscular disorder. An additional factor in the approach to mechanical ventilation in the pediatric critical care setting is the tremendous variation in both patient age and size. These considerations are important elements in the development of an approach to mechanical ventilation of the pediatric patient.
5 Age-Related Deficits in Cognitive-Motor Skills

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the age-related deficits in cognitive-motor skills. It considers the psychomotor changes that occur with advancing age and will specifically focus on age-related declines in the preparation and execution of motor skills. It has been well-documented that older adults tend to become slower in their performance of motor skills. The major measures utilized to document these findings have been reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT). This chapter presents data that document the cognitive-motor deficits found in RT and MT measures in older adults. These data demonstrate planning deficits in both the preparation and the maintenance of preparation of movements, difficulty in programming or reprogramming a response, and control problems in the execution of movements as revealed by kinematic and kinetic analyses. This chapter also presents hypotheses and theories which account for the slowing that occurs with advanced age. These hypotheses and theories suggest that older adults set different criteria for responding and/or adopt different strategies than young adults in order to successfully perform a movement.
School District and School Size: An Evolving Controversy

grams, services, and personnel needed to meet modernm educational requirements? Over the last fifty years, studies that suggest optimal size have focused on cost analysis, curriculum offerings, staffing, and student achievement as the most important variables. Historically, the minimum size tends to be 10,000 to 12,000 students and the maximum size tends to be 40,000 to 50,000 students (Dawson 1934; Fantini, Gittell, and Magat 1970; Passow 1967; Summary 1974). One classic study by Mort, Vincent, and Newell (1955) considered the maximally effective school district to comprise 100,000 students. However, advocates of small school districts and rural schools argue that school districts with 5,000 student maximums are more cost effective and have fewer student dropouts (percentage wise) and higher student SAT scores, ACT scores, and high school graduation rates than school districts with more than 5,000 students (A Critique 1986). Do these national comparisons provide evidence that small schools districts are more productive? Yes, in the sense that their per pupil expenditures are not in the top 10 percent (cluster between 14 and 30 percentile), even though they rank in the top 10 percent on nationwide achievement scores and other indicators of student performance, such as fewer dropouts and more high school graduates (A Critique 1986; Sher 1981). No, in the sense that these small school districts are more homogeneous and may reflect higher socioeconomic status. The point is, however, the data ought to make us suspicious about the claim that school districts must have at least 5,000 students to achieve quality education. Historically, 10,000 students is a large number for a school district. Our schools are an outgrowth of oneroom school houses in rural America. Even as late as the
Two members of the HNF-3 family have opposite effects on a lung transcriptional element; HNF-3 alpha stimulates and HNF-3 beta inhibits activity of region I from the Clara cell secretory protein (CCSP) promoter.

Region I of the Clara cell secretory protein (CCSP; also called CC10) promoter contains at least three functional factor binding sites, an upstream HNF-3 site and a downstream overlapping AP-1/HNF-3 site (Sawaya, P.L., Stripp, B. R., Whitsett, J.A., and Luse, D. S. Mol. Cell. Biol. (1993) 13, 3860-3871). Fragments containing -320/+58 of the rat CCSP promoter were mutagenized to eliminate one or two factor binding sites in region I, cloned into a luciferase reporter cassette, and assayed for activity by transfection into cultured lung (H441) cells. We found that the HNF-3 sites alone can account for the activity of region I in H441 cells. The activity of the two HNF-3 sites is synergistic; this effect depends on the presence of an upstream factor binding site. We had shown previously that H441 cells contain exclusively the HNF-3 alpha form of HNF-3, whereas HeLa cells have essentially no HNF-3. Co-transfection of an HNF-3 alpha expression plasmid with a CCSP reporter containing four copies of region I in HeLa cells stimulated CCSP activity 4-fold, whereas co-expression of HNF-3 beta inhibited activity 8-fold. HNF-3 beta was also inhibitory to region I expression in H441 cells, but to a lesser extent than in HeLa cells, presumably because of the high levels of HNF-3 alpha already present in H441 cells. We have thus identified a gene regulatory element through which two members of the HNF-3 transcription factor family, HNF-3 alpha and HNF-3 beta, exert opposite effects.
Subtilisin BPN. VI. Isolation and sequence of peptic peptides.

Abstract The diisopropylphosphoryl derivative of subtilisin BPN' was digested with pepsin, and the resulting peptide fractions were separated by ion exchange chromatography on Dowex 50-X2. After additional purification a total of 58 pure peptides were isolated. Many of these peptides provided confirmation of the known structure which had been established from peptides obtained from the tryptic and chymotryptic digests. Additional peptides were isolated which provided sequences in the previously unknown regions of the protein, and several other peptides were obtained which gave crucial overlaps for the known tryptic and chymotryptic peptides. The known structure of subtilisin BPN' has given a clear picture of the sites of action of pepsin on this large protein.
The dynamics of the aurora - i. instabilities of the aurora

Dynamic instabilities of aurora, including small- scale folding, omega band and large-scale wavy and coiling structures
QUICKSILVER simulations of applied-B extraction diodes

Recent simulations of the barrel diode configuration with the 3-D particle-in-cell code QUICKSILVER have detailed a rich evolution of unstable electromagnetic waves [Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 3904 (1991)]. Preliminary simulations of applied-B extraction diodes with the 3-D particle-in-cell code QUICKSILVER suggest some significant differences in equilibrium and stability properties between extraction and barrel diodes. The extraction diode simulations suggest better divergence and, when a limiter is employed to reduce divergence, potentially better efficiency. In the case of proton beam simulations, the low frequency ion mode was not found even for peak ion current enhancements in excess of 10. The ion mode was exhibited by the lithium beam extraction diode simulations. Limiter simulations with both proton and lithium beams demonstrated very good divergence. A scheme for obtaining uniform ion current density profiles based on a uniform dynamic gap calculation appears promising.
Dietary and biochemical aspects of vitamin E.

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews various aspects of the nutrition, physiology, and biochemistry of vitamin E (tocopherol). The application of newer techniques of analytical chemistry has allowed the investigation of a number of phenomena associated with the tocopherols, which have hitherto been impossible, yielding results, which in some cases have resolved long-standing inconsistencies in the chemistry or biology of vitamin E. In addition, the recent interest in promoting relatively large alterations in dietary fat intake and the development of fat substitutes warrants renewed scrutiny of the important dietary sources of tocopherols in human diets and continued estimation of vitamin E intakes in various population groups. Because the interpretation of many of the cited studies depends on the employed methodology, an attempt has been made to include sufficient methodological detail to permit comparison of results between laboratories, especially where conflicting results have been reported. Finally, suggestions are included for future research directions in the area of vitamin E nutrition and biochemistry.
Multi-scale modeling of antenna structures using non-conformal numerical methods

This paper presents a brief summary of various approaches that the authors have taken to address the multi-scale nature of many real-life electromagnetic problems. The developments of non-conformal domain decomposition methods, the hybridization of numerical and high frequency methods, and the discontinuous Galerkin methods have shown great promises through a few challenging electromagnetic applications.
A review of approaches to identifying patient phenotype cohorts using electronic health records

Objective To summarize literature describing approaches aimed at automatically identifying patients with a common phenotype. Materials and methods We performed a review of studies describing systems or reporting techniques developed for identifying cohorts of patients with specific phenotypes. Every full text article published in (1) Journal of American Medical Informatics Association , (2) Journal of Biomedical Informatics , (3) Proceedings of the Annual American Medical Informatics Association Symposium , and (4) Proceedings of Clinical Research Informatics Conference within the past 3 years was assessed for inclusion in the review. Only articles using automated techniques were included. Results Ninety-seven articles met our inclusion criteria. Forty-six used natural language processing (NLP)-based techniques, 24 described rule-based systems, 41 used statistical analyses, data mining, or machine learning techniques, while 22 described hybrid systems. Nine articles described the architecture of large-scale systems developed for determining cohort eligibility of patients. Discussion We observe that there is a rise in the number of studies associated with cohort identification using electronic medical records. Statistical analyses or machine learning, followed by NLP techniques, are gaining popularity over the years in comparison with rule-based systems. Conclusions There are a variety of approaches for classifying patients into a particular phenotype. Different techniques and data sources are used, and good performance is reported on datasets at respective institutions. However, no system makes comprehensive use of electronic medical records addressing all of their known weaknesses.
Complications from office sclerotherapy for epistaxis due to hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT or Osler-Weber-Rendu).

Background The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate adverse clinical outcomes following office-based sclerotherapy using sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS) for epistaxis due to hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasias (HHT or Osler-Weber-Rendu). Methods A retrospective chart review of 36 adult patients treated with STS sclerotherapy for severe and/or recurrent epistaxis due to HHT was performed. Results A total of 153 separate treatment sessions were analyzed. Each patient underwent an average of 4.3 sessions with an average of 7 intralesional injections per session. Bleeding during the procedure was experienced by 8 patients with a maximum reported blood loss of 200 mL in 1 patient, but less than 50 mL in all others. Seven patients reported some postinjection pain, which included nasal, cheek, and eye pain. Nasal congestion, sneezing, and vasovagal responses were each noted to occur 2 times. No complications of postprocedural visual loss, deep venous thrombosis/pulmonary embolus, transient ischemic attack (TIA)/stroke, or anaphylaxis were encountered. Conclusion Conventional therapies used in the management of HHT-related epistaxis, such as laser coagulation, septodermoplasty, selective arterial embolization, and Young's occlusion each have specific associated complications, including worsened epistaxis, septal perforation, foul odor, nasal crusting, and compromised nasal breathing. STS is a safe office-based treatment option for HHT-mediated epistaxis that is associated with exceedingly few of the aforementioned serious sequelae.
A regenerable pseudo-reagentless glucose biosensor based on Nafion polymer and l,1'-dimethylferricinium mediator

Glucose oxidase was immobilized onto electrodes by co-deposition from an aqueous solution containing the diluted ion-exchange polymer Nafion. The cationic exchange property of the polymer was used to provide high local concentrations of l,1'-dimethylferricinium (DMFc+) mediator in the film by exchange from solution. The mediated electrodes were operated at +200 mV (vs. solAgAgCl), and the Nafion film was shown to reduce interfering current from ascorbate anion. Cyclic voltammetric analysis revealed a fourteen-fold increase in the effective DMFc+ activity at the electrode after extraction into the film. The sensitivity to glucose was 52 μA/cm2/mM in a solution containing 0.09 mM DMFc+, which is at least three-fold greater than reported for similar electrodes using hydrogen peroxide detection at +650 mV, with a response time of less than 1 min for a 10 μm thick membrane. Oxygen interference was significant, requiring deaeration of the solution before analysis. The electrodes exhibited no significant decrease in sensitivity for more than 50 days on storage in acetate buffer. Electrodes covered with 8000 MWCO dialysis membrane slowed the exchange of DMFc+ with the solution such that the Nafion film functioned as a mediator reservoir. This permitted reagentless analysis of glucose, typically capable of twenty assays when measuring concentrations between 0.1 and 1 mM. The sensitivity for glucose was 7.85 μA/cm2/mM, which is 15% of the sensitivity for the electrode without the dialysis membrane. The detection limit was 20 μM, with a linear range extending to about 3 mM, giving a dynamic range of over two orders of magnitude. Thus where some sacrifice of sensitivity and response rate may be made, the dialysis membrane cover enables multiple analyses in a reagentless biosensor scheme.
Graded intracellular acidosis produces extensive and reversible reductions in the effective free energy change of ATP hydrolysis in a molluscan muscle.

Phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to evaluate the impact of experimental reductions of intracellular pH on in vitro preparations of the radula protractor muscle of the marine gastropod, Busycon canaliculatum. The intracellular pH of radula refractor muscle bundles superfused with buffered artificial sea water (pH = 7.8) was 7.29. It was possible to clamp muscle intracellular pH at various acidotic states by changing the superfusate to 5, 10, and 15 mmol.l-1 5,5-dimethyl-oxazolidine-2,4-dione in buffered artificial sea water (pH = 6.5). Consistent and temporally stable reductions of intracellular pH were achieved (intracellular pH = 6.98, 6.79, and 6.62, respectively). During the acidotic transitions, arginine phosphate concentrations decreased and inorganic phosphate concentrations increased in a reciprocal manner and remained essentially constant after the intracellular pH stabilized. The extent of changes in arginine phosphate and inorganic phosphate was directly proportional to the magnitude of the imposed acidosis. Total adenosine triphosphate concentrations remained unchanged in all treatments. However, the magnesium adenosine triphosphate to total adenosine triphosphate ratio declined in direct relation to the extent of the acidosis. Intracellular free Mg2+ fell incrementally with reduced intracellular pH. All of the above effects were rapidly reversed when the 5,5-dimethyl-oxazolidine-2,4-dione was washed out by changing the superfusate to buffered artificial sea water (pH = 7.8). Mg-adenosine diphosphate concentrations were calculated in all treatments using equilibrium constants for the arginine kinase reaction corrected for pH and intracellular free [Mg2+]. The metabolite, intracellular pH, and [Mg2+] data were used to estimate the effective free energy of hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (dG/d xi ATP) under most experimental conditions. Experimental acidosis resulted in dramatic reductions in dG/d xi ATP which were fully reversible upon wash-out of 5,5-dimethyl-dioxazolidine-2,4-dione and recovery to normal intracellular pH conditions. Acidosis resulted in net hydrolysis of arginine phosphate, likely via a complex mechanism involving enhancement of rate of adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis and/or inhibition of adenosine triphosphate synthesis.
Thermodynamics of the massive Thirring-sine-Gordon model: the Bethe ansatz variational method

The Bethe ansatz variational approach to the thermodynamics of the massive Thirring-sine-Gordon model in the attractive coupling regime and in the zero-change sector is discussed in detail.