cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Concerns of women presenting to a comprehensive cancer centre for genetic cancer risk assessment

About 5-10% of breast and ovarian cancers are the result of an autosomal dominant inherited predisposition, with a significant portion resulting from a germline mutation in the highly penetrant BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.1 The risk for breast cancer in women who carry a BRCA mutation is estimated to be 33-50% by the age of 50 and 56-85% by the age of 70,1–4 and the risk of a second breast cancer may be as high as 60% over a woman's lifetime. The risk of ovarian cancer ranges from about 10-50%. Women are increasingly presenting for genetic cancer risk assessment (GCRA) services, wherein genetic testing and empirical data may be used to predict breast and ovarian cancer risk. Risk management options ranging from close surveillance to chemoprevention to prophylactic surgery are discussed as part of the GCRA consultation. While there is clearly a potential to benefit carefully selected and counselled subjects and family members who choose to undergo predisposition genetic testing,5,6 numerous barriers exist to the appropriate application of this emerging technology.7,8 Attention to the psychological implications of hereditary cancer including passing on a disease associated gene to one's children (transmission guilt) or alterations in family relationships are inherent in the counselling process. It is essential to understand the needs, beliefs, and values of women who seek GCRA services.9 The purpose of this pilot study was to ascertain the motivations and concerns of women presenting to a comprehensive cancer centre for GCRA in order to understand their needs better. The study findings provided valuable insights into women's concerns and served as the basis for an ongoing comprehensive evaluation of needs in a larger cohort. ### Eligibility The study was approved by both the City of Hope's (COH) clinical protocol review and monitoring committee and institutional review …
Utilization of High-Density Strained Hydrocarbon Fuels for Propulsion

To increase the range of liquid-hydrocarbon-fueled ramjets and cruise missiles, a new class of high-density strained hydrocarbon fuels has been synthesized and characterized. By virtue of the increased density and additional strain energy introduced during synthesis, these fuels haveincreased thevolumetricheatof combustion. The oxidation chemistry and short-term and long-term stability for storage of these fuels have been studied. Because of the high carbon-content-to-hydrogen ratio of the molecules, there is an increased tendency for sooting. Several methods have been identie ed to eliminate this problem. These include sequential timed fuel injection, retarded fuel-stream velocities, and the use of additives. It has been shown that soot generation and transport can be controlled and that these fuels microexplode rapidly, thus offering potential for utilization in propulsion systems to obtain increased range.
Expeditious chemoenzymatic synthesis of CD52 glycopeptide antigens

CD52 is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored glycopeptide antigen found on sperm cells and human lymphocytes. Recent structural studies indicate that sperm-associated CD52 antigen carries both a complex type N-glycan and an O-glycan on the polypeptide backbone. To facilitate functional and immunological studies of distinct CD52 glycoforms, we report in this paper the first chemoenzymatic synthesis of homogeneous CD52 glycoforms carrying both N- and O-glycans. The synthetic strategy consists of two key steps: monosaccharide primers GlcNAc and GalNAc were first installed at the pre-determined N- and O-glycosylation sites by a facile solid-phase peptide synthesis, and then the N- and O-glycans were extended by respective enzymatic glycosylations. It was found that the endoglycosidase-catalyzed transglycosylation allowed efficient attachment of an intact N-glycan in a single step at the N-glycosylation site, while the recombinant human T-synthase could independently extend the O-linked GalNAc to form the core 1 O-glycan. This chemoenzymatic approach is highly convergent and permits easy construction of various homogeneous CD52 glycoforms from a common polypeptide precursor. In addition, the introduction of a latent thiol group in the form of protected cysteamine at the C-terminus of the CD52 glycoforms will enable site-specific conjugation to a carrier protein to provide immunogens for generating CD52 glycoform-specific antibodies for functional studies.
Sleep and behavior during vesicular stomatitis virus induced encephalitis in BALB/cJ and C57BL/6J mice

Intranasal application of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) produces a well-characterized model of viral encephalitis in mice. Within one day post-infection (PI), VSV travels to the olfactory bulb and, over the course of 7 days, it infects regions and tracts extending into the brainstem followed by clearance and recovery in most mice by PI day 14 (PI 14). Infectious diseases are commonly accompanied by excessive sleepiness; thus, sleep is considered a component of the acute phase response to infection. In this project, we studied the relationship between sleep and VSV infection using C57BL/6 (B6) and BALB/c mice. Mice were implanted with transmitters for recording EEG, activity and temperature by telemetry. After uninterrupted baseline recordings were collected for 2 days, each animal was infected intranasally with a single low dose of VSV (5 × 104 PFU). Sleep was recorded for 15 consecutive days and analyzed on PI 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14. Compared to baseline, amounts of non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) were increased in B6 mice during the dark period of PI 1–5, whereas rapid eye movement sleep (REM) was significantly reduced during the light periods of PI 0–14. In contrast, BALB/c mice showed significantly fewer changes in NREM and REM. These data demonstrate sleep architecture is differentially altered in these mouse strains and suggests that, in B6 mice, VSV can alter sleep before virus progresses into brain regions that control sleep.
Effects of dietary lipid levels on growth, feed utilization and mitochondrial function in low- and high-feed efficient families of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Abstract A 2 × 3 factorial study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary lipid levels on growth, feed utilization and mitochondrial enzyme activities in juvenile all-female rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ). Practical diets with a fixed crude protein content of 42%, formulated to contain 10% (42/10), 20% (42/20) and 30% (42/30) dietary lipid, were fed to apparent satiety to triplicate groups of either low-feed efficient (low-FE, 105.67 ± 3.04 g initial average mass) or high-feed efficient (high-FE, 97.86 ± 4.02 g) families of fish, twice per day, for 108 days. At the end of the experiment, the group of fish fed diets 42/20 and 42/30 showed higher growth and feed efficiency (FE), coupled with a lower daily feed consumption (FC), than fish fed 42/10 diet, although similar results were found with diets 42/10 and 42/30 for growth (P 0.05). The overall results of this study established that feeding a 42% CP diet with a minimum of 20% dietary lipid leads to high growth, feed utilization on the one hand, and that these zootechnical parameters are coupled with high mitochondrial enzymatic function in the liver, the intestine and the muscle of rainbow trout. Also, as it was expected, the high-FE family showed higher response to treatments than the low-FE family.
Standing Waves and Notches in an EMP Simulator and Their Reduction

The high standing-wave ratio in a model simulator in the midfrequency range defined by kh = 27?h/? ~ 2? (where h is the height of the parallel-plate region) is investigated experimentally. It is shown that the isolated deep minimum or "notch" is due to the mutual cancellation of the imaginary parts of the TM01 and TEM modes. The effects on the SWR and the deep minimum of changes in the magnitude and location of the terminating resistance are investigated. Also studied are the introduction of a bifurcating plate, resistive modal filters, and series aprons. It is shown that, with the proper adjustment of the last named, the "notch" can be eliminated and the SWR reduced to near two at discrete frequencies that span the entire midfrequency range. Since the low-frequency and high-frequency ranges already have low SWR's, the simulator has been made effective over the entire frequency band, in the sense that the SWR is low.
Potential for Sulfur Contamination of Low-Sulfur Fuels When Contacting Surfaces Previously Exposed to High-Sulfur Fuels during Their Storage and Handling

The adsorption of sulfur compounds from high-sulfur fuels onto metal surfaces and their propensity for subsequent desorption when the metal then contacts a low-sulfur fuel were measured for carbon and stainless steels, copper, and a copper−nickel alloy. Treatments were carried out in a variety of liquid fuels with a large range of sulfur concentrations. Of the common metals that come in contact with fuels, copper alloys had the greatest potential for contributing to sulfur contamination because of the high sulfur adsorption/desorption activity of copper. Carbon steel, which is the primary material for pipelines transporting finished fuels, shows virtually no potential for causing contamination of low-sulfur fuels, while stainless steel is only slightly more active. Polymeric materials, such as fiberglass-reinforced plastic, which is a common material used for manufacturing fuel storage tanks, have a greater potential for sulfur contamination of fuels than most metals, because fuel can be adsorbed and rele...
Frequency/Sequence Selective Filters for Power Quality Improvement in a Microgrid

A microgrid is capable of providing highly reliable power supply to sensitive loads like semiconductor fabrication or computer data processing equipment. This is especially required when the sensitive loads are located in distribution systems that also contain several single-phase and/or nonlinear loads. Voltage source inverter (VSI) based distributed energy resources can provide power quality conditioning support. They require filters to accurately detect unbalance and harmonics in the system. The state-of-the-art filtering techniques in three-phase power systems involve employing complex bandpass filters that pass frequencies within a band without much attenuation. Such methods however give good dynamic performance only when there is a wide separation between the desired and undesired frequencies. In power distribution systems containing imbalances and harmonic generating loads, the gap between the two frequencies may be very small, and therefore such methods don't offer good performance. This paper proposes improved methods of filtering signals in three-phase, three-wire power systems, especially when there is a narrow gap between the desired and undesired frequencies. The proposed techniques contain both complex bandpass and bandstop sections and are designed on three-phase space-vector quantities. Simulation and experimental results are presented to validate these novel filtering concepts.
Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus

Objective We examined the association of second-trimester maternal plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) during pregnancy with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Study Design Among 1314 pregnant women who participated in Project Viva, a birth cohort study, we measured 25(OH)D levels at 26-28 weeks gestation during GDM screening using a 1-hour 50-g glucose challenge test. Results We found 25(OH)D levels of P Conclusion Second-trimester 25(OH)D levels were associated inversely with glucose levels after 1-hour 50-g glucose challenge test; low 25(OH)D levels may be associated with increased risk of GDM.
Developing an Internet primer for CWIS training

Campus‐wide information systems (CWISs) offer the connectivity benefits of networking, the flexibility of local computing services and the power of computer‐mediated communications. Users have at their disposal a plethora of intramural resources, as well as the opportunity to tap into worldwide webs of information. Usually, the networks of which the CWISs consist take advantage of some form of the standard TCP/IP implementation, and are able to offer access to the popular and powerful applications of telnet, ftp, and e‐mail; with these, the user can navigate local and distant computers and maintain current correspondence with colleagues.
A new criterion for mixed mode fracture initiation based on the crack tip plastic core region

Abstract In this work, we propose a new criterion for mixed mode I-II crack initiation angles based on the characteristics of the plastic core region surrounding the crack tip. The shape and size of the plastic core region are thoroughly analyzed under different loading conditions and a new formulation for the non-dimensional variable radius of the core region is presented for mixed mode (KI−KII) fracture. The proposed criterion states that the crack extends in the direction of the local or global minimum of the plastic core region boundary depending on the resultant stress state at the crack tip. The results show a well-defined correlation between the plastic core region characteristics and crack extension angles predicted by other criteria. The proposed criterion is formulated for various loading conditions and is compared with other available criteria against the limited available experimental data. It is shown that the proposed criterion provides a better agreement with the experimental data.
SU-FF-T-47: Automated Planning Volume Definition for HDR Brachytherapy: Application to Intraluminal Treatment of the Bile Duct

Purpose: Although surgery remains the treatment of choice, patients with carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile duct who are not candidates for surgical resection(∼75%) are treated palliatively with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. Intraluminal LDR or HDR brachytherapy has the well‐documented advantage of delivering a large target dose, while significantly sparing surrounding healthy tissues. Typically, treatment planning is performed with respect to source‐guide catheter(s) inserted along the biliary canal under fluoroscopic guidance. The prescription hull refers to a volume at a distance of 0.5–1.0 cm from catheter(s). Because of the irregular shape of the source guides, manual contouring of the prescription hull is time consuming and subject to errors. We describe, and illustrate with actual treatment plans, an automatic algorithm to outline the planning volume. Methods and Materials: The contouring of a single catheter can be considered as the trajectory generated by a moving ball. The path of the ball forms a guide curve, which is given by the digitized‐coordinates of the source‐guide catheter. Given a radius r that defines the thickness of the PTV, our volume‐definition algorithm applies curve fitting via Ferguson spline interpolation, followed by circle generation and sphere generation. For multiple catheters, the algorithm is more complex, requiring curve fitting, warping, slicing, and linking to obtain the resulting tumor shape. Results: For the biliary intraluminal case, the algorithm takes only seconds to generate a 3D‐planning volume. Applying it to complex hypothetical cases reveals that it handles irregular tumor volumes and shapes well, and returns a 3D‐planning volume within 1 CPU‐minute. Conclusion: The automatic volume‐definition algorithm works reliably and quickly, and results in plans that are demonstratively superior to those obtained by manual planning. Furthermore, the planning volume is a necessary input to computer‐based plan optimization. The volume‐definition algorithm improves the treatment dosimetric conformity, a factor that may contribute to improved clinical outcome.
Menopause-related definitions

Introduction: There is confusion in the use of terminology relating to the human female menopause. In turn, this can lead to misinterpretation of research publications and an adverse effect on health care provided to women. Methods: The history of attempts to define terminology related to the human menopause is reviewed and placed in scientific and clinical perspective. Appropriate terminology has been used in developing a staging system for reproductive aging. Commentary: The combination of appropriate definitions of the terminology around menopause with categorization in phases of the reproductive aging process allows for accurate selection of study populations in clinical research studies related to the menopause transition and beyond. In turn, this will allow for direct comparison of results of studies conducted in different geographic centers and cross-cultural populations. This is mandatory for future progress and to obviate errors that have occurred in translation of study results into guidelines for clinical practice.
Photodisintegration of Deuterium by 60- to 250-Mev X-Rays

A liquid deuterium target was irradiated with x-rays from the University of Illinois 300-Mev betatron. Exposures were made at maximum bremsstrahlung energies of 165 Mev, 280 Mev, and 300 Mev. The photoprotons produced were detected with Ilford $G\ensuremath{-}5$ nuclear emulsions. The distributions of protons as functions of energy were determined for laboratory angles of 30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 45\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 75\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 120\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, and 150\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}. In the energy region from 60 Mev to 250 Mev the angular distributions are relatively flat but have considerable fore and aft asymmetries. The total cross section, which was found not to vary greatly over this entire energy region, has a broad minimum of about 55 microbarns in the region of 150 Mev.
Immune response to Escherichia coli O157:H7 in hemolytic uremic syndrome following salmonellosis

Escherichia coli O157:H7, a Shiga-like toxin (SLT)-producing enteric pathogen, has been implicated in most cases of post-diarrheal hemolytic uremic syndrome (D+HUS). Infection with other bacterial pathogens such as Salmonella has also preceded D+HUS episodes, leading to speculation that these organisms may also be etiological. We present two children with unrelated D+HUS following salmonellosis. Both children had negative stool cultures on sorbitol-MacConkey agar soon after the onset of diarrhea. After the diagnosis of HUS, both patients had repeat stool cultures positive for Salmonella alone. Polymerase chain reactions for SLT I and II gene sequences in Salmonella isolates were negative. Enzyme-linked imunosorbent assay for specific humoral response to E. coli O157:H7 lipopolysaccharide in acute and convalescent serum samples revealed evidence of heretofore undetected E. coli O157:H7 infection contemporaneous with each D+HUS episode. These cases demonstrate that isolation of only non-SLT-producing microbes from children with D+HUS should raise suspicion of concurrent undetected infection with SLT-producing organisms. Assaying specific immune response to E. coli O157:H7 can be an important epidemiological adjunct. Bacterial infection with non-SLT-producing Salmonella may represent concomitant enteric pathology rather than D+HUS-instigating infection.
Insulation Draws Water

In the late 1930s, an architect and two researchers created a version of hygrothermal building science for the United States that focused on moisture conditions in exterior materials during cold weather. The version they created was partial, and it was biased: It highlighted the importance of vapor transport, while it obscured the importance of temperature impact. They based their argument on the prevention of “condensation,” yet they failed to provide a definition of condensation sufficient for use as a performance measure or criterion. They produced prescriptive recommendations that later became code requirements, and these prescriptions embodied the incomplete and biased nature of their analysis. They supported their argument with a flawed and misleading analogy. They and their followers left a legacy of consumer fear of ill-defined moisture effects in buildings and of designers assigning excessive importance to prescriptive measures. Their version provides inadequate preparation for the anticipated re-insulation of millions of U.S. buildings in the years to come. This paper will provide a short description of the hygrothermal issues involved. It will trace the development of the condensation version by Rogers, Teesdale, and Rowley and the efforts that followed up to 1952. It will explain the legacy and impact of this approach related to existing building re-insulation and professional practice in design and architecture. It will propose a framework for reviewing the link between moisture control prescriptive requirements and performance outcomes.
Hydrogen attack in a 3Cr-1.5Mo steel at elevated temperatures

Abstract Specimens of a 3Cr-1.5Mo steel (where the composition is in approximate weight per cent) were exposed to hydrogen at 13.8 MPa and 600°C to examine their susceptibility to hydrogen attack. Special attention was given to the weld and heat-affected zones and to the cold-worked base material, all of which were expected to exhibit poorer resistance to attack than the base material. Several specimens were exposed under a simultaneously applied tensile stress which was expected to accelerate the rate of attack. The materials tested were found to be highly resistant to hydrogen attack. The thermodynamic and microstructural bases for this resistance are discussed. Previous findings on hydrogen attack in 2.25Cr-1Mo steels are included for comparison purposes.
Translating Spiritual Intelligence into Leadership Competencies

The objective of this project is to increase understanding among aspiring leaders and scholars of leadership development of ways to ground dimensions of spiritual intelligence in leadership contexts. To do so, we illuminate a historical, organizational foundation for Emmons' (1999) framework of core components of spiritual intelligence, and then translate Emmons' components into a conceptual framework of leadership competencies. The foundation that we employ derives from integrative and dynamic perspectives, partly comprised of linear patterns of human and organizational evolution, and partly of interdependent relationships that position spiritual potential amid physical, emotional, and mental potentialities. Together these perspectives offer supportive context for framing spiritual intelligence in organizationally relevant ways. The resultant framework refines connections between organizations and spiritual intelligence, and provides catalysts for further discussion and study of the contributions that sp...
A re-evaluation of hydroxylammonium acetate as a carbonyl reagent — the effect of dielectric constant change on titration end-points

Abstract The determination of carbonyl groups with hydroxylammonium acetate in acetic acid has been re-examined. The reaction of hydroxylammonium acetate with acetic acid has been found to yield non-basic products, first acethydroxamic acid and eventually diacetylhydroxylamine, which do not interfere with the analyses. Calculations based on kinetics show that loss of the reagent is negligible in most cases, and in the extreme, involves only 0.9% of the amount originally present. Analyses in acetic acid media throughout are compared with those in which the titrations were conducted in benzene-acetic acid or carbon tetrachloride-acetic acid mixtures whose compositions were chosen to yield the most favorable titrations. The slopes of the titration curves were uniformly improved in the systems containing inert solvents, as predicted by consideration of the effect of dielectric constant change. Analytical precision was slightly improved except for aromatic aldehydes. Neither inert solvent system seemed superior to the other. The undesirable effect of small amounts of water is discussed.
CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS OF Δ9‐TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL IN CONSCIOUS AND ANAESTHETIZED DOGS

Abstract 1. Temporal effects of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on heart rate and blood pressure in conscious dogs were compared to those in anaesthetized dogs. 2. In conscious dogs, THC in doses of 0.25 and 0.1 mg/kg resulted in maximal heart rate reductions of 48 and 41%, respectively, and in no significant change in blood pressure. 3. In anaesthetized animals THC in doses of 0.5 and 0.25 mg/kg caused a peak reduction in heart rate of 38 and 34%, and of blood pressure of 24 and 8%, respectively. 4. The results demonstrate that the bradycardia in response to THC in dogs is independent of the concomitant anaesthesia. 5. We conclude that the discrepancy between heart rate response to THC in dogs and in man is due to a species difference.
The fire frequency‐severity relationship and the legacy of fire suppression in California forests

Fire is one of the most important natural disturbance processes in the western United States and ecosystems differ markedly with respect to their ecological and evolutionary relationships with fire. Reference fire regimes in forested ecosystems can be categorized along a gradient ranging from “fuel-limited” to “climate-limited” where the former types are often characterized by frequent, lower-severity wildfires and the latter by infrequent, more severe wildfires. Using spatial data on fire severity from 1984–2011 and metrics related to fire frequency, we tested how divergence from historic (pre-Euroamerican settlement) fire frequencies due to a century of fire suppression influences rates of high-severity fire in five forest types in California. With some variation among bioregions, our results suggest that fires in forest types characterized by fuel-limited fire regimes (e.g., yellow pine and mixed conifer forest) tend to burn with greater proportions of high-severity fire as either time since last fire or the mean modern fire return interval (FRI) increases. Two intermediate fire regime types (mixed evergreen and bigcone Douglas-fir) showed a similar relationship between fire frequency and fire severity. However, red fir and redwood forests, which are characterized by more climate-limited fire regimes, did not show significant positive relationships between FRI and fire severity. This analysis provides strong evidence that for fuel-limited fire regimes, lack of fire leads to increasing rates of high-severity burning. Our study also substantiates the general validity of “fuel-limited” vs. “climate-limited” explanations of differing patterns of fire effects and response in forest types of the western US.
Construction of a conservative confidence region from projections of an exact confidence region in multiple linear regression

Abstract The problem of constructing a confidence region for simultaneously estimating p, p ≥ 2, linear regression parameters for which confidence statements can be made on the individual parameters is revisited. Here, an intercept may be included among the p paremeters. The technique is due to Working and Hotelling (1929) and Scheffe (1959) and uses the p separate projections of the exact (1 – α) 100% confidence ellipsoid (ellipse if p = 2) to give confidence intervals for each regression parameter. The Cartesian product of these p confidence intervals gives a p-dimensional rectangle that contains the confidence ellipsoid and hence has a joint confidence coefficient of at least (1–α). A simple calculus proof is given to determine these projections. The projection procedure is compared with the Bonferroni procedure for this case.
Spectrum Sharing for Multi-Hop Networking with Cognitive Radios

Cognitive radio (CR) capitalizes advances in signal processing and radio technology and is capable of reconfiguring RF and switching to desired frequency bands. It is a frequency-agile data communication device that is vastly more powerful than recently proposed multi-channel multi-radio (MC-MR) technology. In this paper, we investigate the important problem of multi-hop networking with CR nodes. For such a network, each node has a pool of frequency bands (typically of unequal size) that can be used for communication. The potential difference in the bandwidth among the available frequency bands prompts the need to further divide these bands into sub-bands for optimal spectrum sharing. We characterize the behavior and constraints for such a multi-hop CR network from multiple layers, including modeling of spectrum sharing and sub-band division, scheduling and interference constraints, and flow routing. We develop a mathematical formulation with the objective of minimizing the required network-wide radio spectrum resource for a set of user sessions. Since the formulated model is a mixed-integer non-linear program (MINLP), which is NP-hard in general, we develop a lower bound for the objective by relaxing the integer variables and using a linearization technique. Subsequently, we design a near-optimal algorithm to solve this MINLP problem. This algorithm is based on a novel sequential fixing procedure, where the integer variables are determined iteratively via a sequence of linear programs. Simulation results show that solutions obtained by this algorithm are very close to the lower bounds obtained via the proposed relaxation, thus suggesting that the solution produced by the algorithm is near-optimal.
Planned Tourism Development in Quintana Roo, Mexico: Engine for Regional Development or Prescription for Inequitable Growth?

In the 1960s the isolated tropical forest enclave of Quintana Roo was targeted by the Mexican Government to serve as the cornerstone for launching what is now considered to be one of Mexico’s most successful economic development strategies – Planned Tourism Development (PTD). This paper commences with a brief review of the role of state-driven PTD in Mexico’s national economic development agenda. Government discourse surrounding the Cancun project emphasised tourism as a mechanism for promoting ‘regional development’through creation of backward linkages to other economic sectors – notably agriculture and small industry – to benefit the region’s marginalised Mayan peasant population. Based on research in Quintana Roo, this paper contends that while PTD has generated profit for the Government, transnational corporations and entrepreneurial elites, it has failed to achieve backward linkages that may have improved conditions for the region’s impoverished rural population. Employing a case study approach, the ...
A practical CAD technique for reducing power/ground noise in DSM circuits

One of the fundamental problems in Deep Sub Micron (DSM) circuits is Simultaneous Switching Noise (SSN), which causes voltage fluctuations in the circuit power/ground networks. In this work we propose a CAD optimization technique to spread out the switching times of different gates in a circuit to reduce its SSN, by sizing them appropriately. We make sure that its critical delay does not increase while its p/g noise decreases. Our formulation is a Linear Programming one, which we have efficiently formulated and solved. On average, improvements of 28% in the maximum peak-peak voltage fluctuations in the power networks, and that of 20% in the ground networks were achieved by our method over the original circuit implementations. These results were obtained without any performance penalty. As a positive effect of gate-sizing, the power dissipation in the optimized circuits, on average, was reduced to about half of the unoptimized ones for the same supply voltage. We have used standard commercial design flows for all our experiments, and all the results have been validated by extensive SPICE simulations.
UCP-mediated energy depletion in skeletal muscle increases glucose transport despite lipid accumulation and mitochondrial dysfunction

To address the potential role of lipotoxicity and mitochondrial function in insulin resistance, we studied mice with high-level expression of uncoupling protein-1 in skeletal muscle (UCP-H mice). Body weight, body length, and bone mineral density were decreased in UCP-H mice compared with wild-type littermates. Forelimb grip strength and muscle mass were strikingly decreased, whereas muscle triglyceride content was increased fivefold in UCP-H mice. Electron microscopy demonstrated lipid accumulation and large mitochondria with abnormal architecture in UCP-H skeletal muscle. ATP content and key mitochondrial proteins were decreased in UCP-H muscle. Despite mitochondrial dysfunction and increased intramyocellular fat, fasting serum glucose was 22% lower and insulin-stimulated glucose transport 80% higher in UCP-H animals. These beneficial effects on glucose metabolism were associated with increased AMP kinase and hexokinase activities, as well as elevated levels of GLUT4 and myocyte enhancer factor-2 proteins A and D in skeletal muscle. These results suggest that UCP-H mice have a mitochondrial myopathy due to depleted energy stores sufficient to compromise growth and impair muscle function. Enhanced skeletal muscle glucose transport in this setting suggests that excess intramyocellular lipid and mitochondrial dysfunction are not sufficient to cause insulin resistance in mice.
Trauma and Negative Underlying Assumptions in Feelings of Shame: An Exploratory Study

Shame is a common, although understudied, reaction to trauma. It is associated with numerous negative outcomes after trauma including emotional distress and health problems. Using a mixed experimental and correlational design, this study explored the association between trauma exposure, negative underlying assumptions (NUAs; attitudes such as “If I make a mistake, it means I am a bad person”), and feelings of shame. Our objectives were (1) to examine the association between trauma history and NUAs, (2) to examine the effects of trauma history and NUAs on shame in response to negative or positive feedback, and (3) to provide incremental evidence of validation for the Shame Posture Measure. After participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing NUAs, trauma history, and shame, they completed a short problem set and were randomly assigned to receive positive or negative feedback on their work. Changes in state shame were examined after feedback. We found that: (1) participants who scored high on NUAs were much more likely to have experienced a traumatic event than were people with low NUA scores; (2) people with high NUAs and with a history of at least one traumatic event were much more likely than any other group to experience shame in response to negative feedback; (3) the Shame Posture Measure demonstrated evidence of validity for measuring state shame. We discuss clinical implications of the finding that the unique combination of NUAs and having experienced at least one psychological trauma creates a strong vulnerability to shame.
Who is Diverted? Case Selection for Court‐Monitored Mental Health Treatment

Specialized courts raise questions about the decisions that bring some defendants into such courts and keep others out. Because of risks perceived in diverting mentally ill defendants, decisions to select defendants for mental health courts are especially interesting. I estimate a model of the decision to divert defendants into court-monitored mental health treatment. I find that gender and age combine to disadvantage young male defendants and older female defendants. The findings point to the importance of structuring selection processes in the design of specialized courts. They shed light on the consequences of including treatment personnel in justice system decisions.
Nurse educator views of assignment of authorship credits.

A national survey of nurse educators was conducted to assess their opinions on publication credit assignments. Data were collected using 22 scenario items modified from a questionnaire developed by Spiegel and Keith-Spiegel (1970) and adapted by Werley, Murphy, Gosch, Gottesman and Newcomb (1981). Questionnaires were distributed to 431 nurse educators; 229 (52.6%) completed questionnaires were returned. The data were analyzed to identify points of agreement that were selected by more than 50 percent of the respondents. These points are summarized as possible guidelines for publication credits. The findings have implications for nurse educators and nurse researchers.
Motivational interviewing with computer assistance as an intervention to empower women to make contraceptive choices while incarcerated: study protocol for randomized controlled trial.

Background: Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are important and costly public health problems in the United States resulting from unprotected sexual intercourse. Risk factors for unplanned pregnancies and STIs (poverty, low educational attainment, homelessness, substance abuse, lack of health insurance, history of an abusive environment, and practice of commercial sex work) are especially high among women with a history of incarceration. Project CARE (Contraceptive Awareness and Reproductive Education) is designed to evaluate an innovative intervention, Motivational Interviewing with Computer Assistance (MICA), aimed at enhancing contraceptive initiation and maintenance among incarcerated women who do not want a pregnancy within the next year and who are anticipated to be released back to the community. This study aims to: (1) increase the initiation of highly effective contraceptives while incarcerated; (2) increase the continuation of highly effective contraceptive use at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after release; and (3) decrease unsafe sexual activity. Methods/Design: This randomized controlled trial will recruit 400 women from the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RI DOC) women’s jail at risk for an unplanned pregnancy (that is, sexually active with men and not planning/wanting to become pregnant in the next year). They will be randomized to two interventions: a control group who receive two educational videos (on contraception, STIs, and pre-conception counseling) or a treatment group who receive two sessions of personalized MICA. MICA is based on the principles of the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) and on Motivational Interviewing (MI), an empirically supported counseling technique designed to enhance readiness to change targeted behaviors. Women will be followed at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post release and assessed for STIs, pregnancy, and reported condom use. Discussion: Results from this study are expected to enhance our understanding of the efficacy of MICA to enhance contraceptive initiation and maintenance and reduce sexual risk-taking behaviors among incarcerated women who have re-entered the community. Trial registration: NCT01132950
Efficient computation of time-varying and adaptive filters

Two techniques for efficient computation of filters that support time-varying coefficients are developed. These methods are forms of distributed arithmetic that encode the data, rather than the filter coefficients. The first approach efficiently computes scalar-vector products, with which a digital filter is easily implemented in a transpose-form structure. This method, based on digital coding, supports time-varying coefficients with no additional overhead. Alternatively, distributed-arithmetic schemes that encode the data stream in sliding blocks support efficient direct-form filter computation with time-varying coefficients. A combination of both of these techniques greatly reduces the computation required to implement LMS adaptive filters. >
Nitric oxide scavenging modulates an experimental vasoplesia in-vitro.

Endogenous overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) is believed to be a primary cause of refractory hypotension in septic shock. Under this condition, effectiveness of vasopressors is diminished due to hyporeactivity of blood vessels, a condition termed as vasoplesia. Effective reduction of NO levels should alleviate the condition. In this study, we investigated whether NO scavenging could modulate the endotoxin mediated vasoplesia in-vitro. Further, we explored whether NO scavenging in combination with a moderate NO synthase (NOS) inhibition would also be effective in modulating NO mediated vasoplesia. Experimental vasoplesia was produced invitro by incubating isolated rat thoracic aortic rings with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Vessel rings were then treated with Nω-nitro- L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; a NOS inhibitor), human hemoglobin (Hb; a NO scavenger), or both L-NAME and Hb. Vascular reactivity was assessed by measuring vessel ring isometric tension changes to norepinephrine (NE) doses; the median effec...
A chemical approach for the mitigation of Prymnesium parvum blooms.

Known as Golden Algae in popular media, the harmful algal bloom causing organism Prymnesium parvum secretes increased amounts of toxic chemicals called prymnesins when stressed, resulting in major fish kills in Texas. Although many options exist for mitigation of blooms, a feasible protocol for control of blooms on large-scale impoundments has yet to be identified. Chemical control of P. parvum using six different enzyme inhibiting aquatic herbicides was explored in laboratory experiments. Of the six chemicals screened, one (flumioxazin) was selected for further study due to a significant decrease in P. parvum cell numbers with increasing chemical concentration. It was applied to natural plankton communities during in-situ experiments (Lake Granbury, Texas). The first experiment was conducted during a period of P. parvum bloom initiation (March) and the second experiment conducted during a post bloom period (April). Experiments were carried out in 20 L polycarbonate carboys covered in 30% shade cloth to simulate natural light, temperature and turbulence conditions. Through cell counts via light-microscopy, the chemical flumioxazin was found to cause significant decreases in P. parvum, but no significant differences in zooplankton abundance during the period of bloom initiation. However, significant decreases in adult copepods were observed during the post bloom period, with no significant decreases in P. parvum most likely due to decreased light penetration and inhibition of the photosensitive mode of action.
Enhanced Chlorophyll A Purification and Dye Sensitized Solar Cell Performance

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) may provide an economical alternative to the present p–n junction photovoltaic devices. Here the relation between chlorophyll purity and photovoltaic performance was examined. Also the commercial grade copper chlorophyll was examined. The performance under simulated sunlight and the quantum efficiency were measured. All samples had large short wavelength quantum efficiency however the high purity chlorophyll had larger quantum efficiency in the visible. The highest purity samples produced DSSC solar cells with the highest open circuit voltage and efficiency while the fill factor and the short circuit current were not strongly correlated with purity. The un-altered short circuit current suggests that chlorophyll attachment and charge transfer at the titanium oxide are not altered by impurities. However the results suggest that impurities (and/or copper in the commercial chlorophyll case) alter the photo-absorption and the electrolyte so as to either change the iodine chemical potential or decrease the diffusivity of iodine ions.
Concepts of national identity and the readiness for conflict behaviour

This article examines the process of national identity formation among ethnic minorities in the Crimea – specifically, the moderation effects of concepts of national identity on interrelations between conflict indicators and readiness for conflict or compromise for two ethnic minorities in Crimea. Based on a survey in the Crimea, results show that concepts of national identity moderate the effects of ethnic identity, ethnocentrism and economic deprivation on individual conflict behaviour. Research show that civic concept of national identity significantly reduces readiness for conflict among ethnic minorities. The position of a minority within the nation regulates impact of ethnic and multicultural concepts on readiness to fight with other groups.
Should chronic transfusions be matched for antigens other than ABO and Rho(D)

. It has been recommended that red blood cell transfusions to patients with hemoglobinopathy or aplastic anemia be matched for antigens other than ABO and Rho(D). We studied 1,010 patients with disorders that often lead to repetitive transfusion. The frequency of transfused patients with clinically important antibodies was not significantly different among the disease groups except for those with lymphocytic leukemia. The frequency of multiple red cell antibodies was about 3% overall. Most antibodies (71%) developed early in the transfusion course, before the 15th transfusion. From the standpoints of frequency of alloimmunization, multiplicity of antibodies, and time course of antibody development, patients with hemoglobinopathy and aplastic anemia were not significantly different from other transfused patients. Matching for antigens other than ABO or Rho(D) might increase costs in our hospital by 40,000–370,000 dollars per year for these patients. Because morbidity or mortality due to these antibodies is rare, antigen matching for other than ABO and Rho(D) is not cost-effective.
Recuperation from mass extinctions.

Looy et al. (1) present, for the first time, quantitative data for land plants during the “recuperation” period after the major crisis. In the European part of the mega-continent Pangaea, conifer forests were dominant during the latest Permian in a tropical setting. These forests became extinct during the crisis and for 4–5 million years small lycopsids experienced an adaptive radiation and dominated the landscapes. The replacement of the lycopsids by newly evolved conifers itself took …
The European Union: What Might The Future Hold?

ome extraordinary events have been taking place in the European Union in recent years. This group of countries has introduced a new currency, has expanded to a 25 member country single market, and is in the process of implementing a European Union constitution. Because these events will have an impact on the United States and on global business, it is important to monitor and evaluate activities of the EU. This paper briefly reviews the development of the European Union, then discusses recent events and the implications of European Union activities for business, and looks at future possibilities for the EU.
Methods to quantify sex steroid hormones in bone: applications to the study of androgen ablation and administration.

Bone may contain an intraskeletal reservoir of sex steroids that is capable of producing biological effects. The purposes of these experiments were to 1) establish and validate methods to extract a...
Regulation of the imprinted Dlk1-Dio3 locus by allele-specific enhancer activity

Genomic imprinting is a critical developmental process characteristic of parent of origin-specific gene expression. It is well accepted that differentially DNA-methylated regions (DMRs) and enhancers are two major classes of cis-elements determining parent of origin-specific gene expression, with each recruiting different sets of transcription factors. Previously, we identified the AF4/FMR2 (AFF) family protein AFF3 within the transcription elongation complex SEC-L3. Here, we report that AFF3 can specifically bind both gametic DMRs (gDMRs) and enhancers within imprinted loci in an allele-specific manner. We identify the molecular regulators involved in the recruitment of AFF3 to gDMRs and provide mechanistic insight into the requirement of AFF3 at an enhancer for the expression of an ∼200-kb polycistronic transcript within the imprinted Dlk1-Dio3 locus. Our data suggest that the heterochromatic environment at the gDMR reinforces silencing of its related enhancer by controlling the binding and activity of AFF3 in an allele-specific manner. In summary, this study provides molecular details about the regulation of dosage-critical imprinted gene expression through the regulated binding of the transcription elongation factor AFF3 between a DMR and an enhancer.
Abstract WMP37: Methodological Quality and Meta-Analysis of Animal Studies of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for Ischemic Stroke

INTRODUCTION: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are multipotent cells that support numerous restorative processes after stroke. The ease of isolation and immunoprivileged status of MSC have stimulate...