cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Role of Earlier Receipt of a Lower Limb Prosthesis on Emergency Department Utilization.

INTRODUCTION Adverse events after a lower limb amputation (LLA) can negatively affect the rehabilitation process and may lead to emergency department (ED) visits. Earlier receipt of a prosthesis, as compared to delayed or not receiving a prosthesis, may decrease or moderate the risk of increased ED utilization. In addition, adverse events (ie, fall-related injury [FRI]) may be associated with increased health care utilization as measured by ED use. The implication of the timing of prosthesis provision after amputation and reduced ED use is not well established. Obtaining data about ED utilization early post-LLA could assist the rehabilitation team in ensuring timely and appropriate access to improve outcomes. OBJECTIVE To determine the role that timing of prosthesis receipt has in ED utilization and the association of fall/FRI with health care utilization. DESIGN Retrospective observational cohort using commercial claims data. A logistic regression model was used to assess factors that influence ED utilization post-LLA. SETTING Watson/Truven administrative database 2014 to 2016. PARTICIPANTS The study sample consisted of 510 adults age 18 to 64 years with continuous enrollment for 3 years. INTERVENTIONS Independent variables included age, sex, diabetes status, amputation level, fall diagnosis, and prosthesis receipt. Fall was defined as presence of a diagnosis code in any outpatient procedure after the amputation date. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE ED use after amputation was defined as the presence of procedure codes that billed for ED services (99281 to 99285). RESULTS Individuals who receive a prosthesis early, within 0 to 3 months, post-LLA were 48% (odds ratio [OR] 0.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.28 to 0.97) less likely to use the ED compared to those who did not receive a prosthesis. Individuals who experienced a fall/FRI had 2.8 (OR 2.86, 95% CI 1.23 to 6.66) times the odds of ED utilization. CONCLUSION Receipt of a prosthesis reduces the risk of ED use. The current study underscores the value of prostheses during the rehabilitation process after LLA.
Predictors of HIV Testing among Orphaned Youths in Three East African Countries

In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV prevalence is high, HIV is a leading cause of death among youths. Orphaned and separated youths are an especially vulnerable group, yet we know little about what influences their testing behavior. We conducted multiple logistical regression to examine theory-based predictors of past-year HIV testing among 423 orphaned and separated youths in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. We also conducted moderation, assessing whether predictors varied by sex. Over one-third of our sample reported past-year HIV testing. Those with greater perceived social support and those who reported sexual HIV risk behavior were more likely to report past-year testing. Furthermore, boys who reported ever previously testing for HIV were more likely, a year later, to report past-year HIV testing. In conclusion, our findings have important implications for intervention development, including the potential for enhanced perceived social support to positively influence HIV testing among orphaned and separated youths.
How language brokering relates to empathy and psychological well-being:

Language brokering often brings children in close, intimate interactions with parents, which, over time, may help them understand their parents and others in the form of empathy. Specifically, freq...
Religion and Authoritarianism: Cooperation, Conflict, and the Consequences

This book provides a rare window into the micropolitics of contemporary authoritarian rule through a comparison of religious-state relations in Russia and China - two countries with long histories of religious repression, and even longer experiences with authoritarian politics. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in multiple sites in these countries, this book explores what religious and political authority want from one another, how they negotiate the terms of their relationship, and how cooperative or conflicting their interactions are. This comparison reveals that while tensions exist between the two sides, there is also ample room for mutually beneficial interaction. Religious communities and their authoritarian overseers are cooperating around the core issue of politics - namely, the struggle for money, power and prestige - and becoming unexpected allies in the process.
Virtual Time Synchronization in Distributed Database Systems Using a Cluster of Workstations

Virtual Time is the fundamental concept in optimistic synchronization schemes. In this paper, we investigate the efficiency of a distributed database management system. synchronized by virtual time using a LAN connected collection of SPARCS. To the best of our knowledge, there is little data reporting VT performance in DDBMS. The experimental results are compared with a multiversion timestamp ordering (MVTO) concurrency control method, a widely used technique in distributed databases, and approximately 25–30% reduction in the response time is observed when using the VT synchronization scheme. Our results demonstrate that the VT synchronization approach is a viable alternative concurrency control method for distributed database systems and outpforms MVTO one.
MAKING SENSE OF SUPPLY DISRUPTION RISK RESEARCH: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK GROUNDED IN ENACTMENT THEORY

The rich stream of supply disruption risk (SDR) literature incorporates several different theories and constructs across studies, but lacks a unifying decision-making framework. We review 79 SDR studies and advance a comprehensive framework, grounded in enactment theory, which integrates the disparate elements of SDR research and offers new insights into the SDR decision-making process. Enactment theory posits a three-stage, closed-loop process, consisting of enactment, selection and retention, through which individuals process and make sense of equivocal environments. We suggest that this sense-making process also underlies SDR decision-making, and provides the theoretical underpinnings for the environmental, organizational and individual factors that affect the formation of buyers' perceptions of SDR and the actions they take to mitigate such risks. In accordance with our conceptual framework, we develop seven propositions that advance the social and psychological factors that drive the idiosyncratic nature of SDR decision-making.
Meurtre du père/sacrifice de la sexualité: Approches anthropologiques et psychanalytiques

Meurtre du pere/sacrifice de la sexualite: Approches anthropologiques et psychanalytiques. Maurice Godelier and Jacques Hassoun. eds. Strasbourg: Arcane, 1996. 250 pp.
General formulas for a 2D leaky-wave antenna

General closed-form expressions for a 2D leaky-wave antenna (LWA) are obtained, based on a TEN (transverse equivalent network) model. Results for the radiation pattern, the peak field value, the pattern beamwidth, and the pattern bandwidth are obtained. The closed-form expressions are quite accurate for narrow-beam LWA structures. The new expressions explain many of the physical properties of LWA patterns that are observed, such as why narrow-beam scanning down to endfire is possible in the H-plane, but not the E-plane.
Stochastic preference and randomized strategies for consumer choice

Abstract In this article a stochastic model of choice is developed that is based on game theory. The model is developed to demonstrate that a basic stochastic model can yield results similar to phenomena discovered in consumer behavior. In particular, a definition of brand loyalty is developed along with a basis for rational intransitivity of preferences, which is noted by brand switching. A measurement approach is also presented along with an example. The basic intent is to demonstrate that stochastic approaches to choice do have a foundation in both theoretical development beside observations in empirical studies.
Selectfluor: Mechanismen und Anwendungen

Der Ersatz von Wasserstoff durch Fluor in organischen Substraten ist wegen der hohen Elektronegativitat des Fluors bei fast gleich bleibendem Raumanspruch von grosem Interesse in der Synthesechemie. Viele Quellen fur nucleophiles Fluor zur Derivatisierung unter sauren, basischen und neutralen Bedingungen stehen zur Verfugung. Hingegen erforderte eine elektrophile Fluorierung fruher den Einsatz von molekularem Fluor, was aufgrund dessen Toxizitat und Explosionsneigung zu einer nur begrenzten Anwendung dieser Methode gefuhrt hat. Der Bedarf an einem elektrophilen Fluorierungsreagens, das sicher zu handhaben, stabil und hoch reaktiv ist und in der industriellen Produktion als Alternative zum hoch giftigen gasformigen Fluor eingesetzt werden kann, fuhrte letztlich zur Entwicklung von Selectfluor (1). Dieses Reagens ist eines der reaktivsten elektrophilen Fluorierungsmittel und dazu noch ungefahrlich, nicht toxisch und leicht zu handhaben. In diesem Aufsatz beschreiben wir die zahlreichen Einsatzmoglichkeiten von Selectfluor und diskutieren mogliche Reaktionsmechanismen.
On the detection of time-reversal symmetry breaking by photoemission with circularly polarized light in the high- T c superconductor Bi2212

We argue that that in their recent experiment in which they claim to have found evidence for a time-reversal symmetry broken state, Kaminski et al. (2002) (Nature, 416, p. 610) overlooked small temperature-dependent changes in the superstructure of Bi2212. These subtle changes may manifest themselves by changing the final state configurations of the photoemission process and thus invalidate their ultimate conclusions.
Effect of Roasting Conditions on Color and Volatile Profile Including HMF Level in Sweet Almonds (Prunus dulcis)

Abstract: Microwave, oven, and oil roasting of almonds were used to promote almond flavor and color formation. Raw pasteurized almonds were roasted in a microwave for 1 to 3 min, in an oven at 177 °C for 5, 10, 15, and 20 min; and at 135 and 163 °C for 20 min, and in oil at 135, 163, and 177 °C for 5 min and 177 °C for 10 min. Volatile compounds were quantified in the headspace of ground almonds, both raw and roasted, by selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry. Strong correlations were found between L value, chroma, and 5-(hydroxy methyl)-2- furfural; and were independent of roasting method. Raw almonds had lower concentrations of most volatiles than roasted almonds. Conditions that produced color equivalent to commercial samples were 2 min in the microwave, 5 min at 177 °C in the oven, and 5 min at 135 °C in oil. Microwave heating produced higher levels of most volatiles than oven and oil roasting at commercial color. Sensory evaluation indicated that microwave-roasted almonds had the strongest aroma and were the most preferred. Oil-roasted almonds showed significantly lower levels of volatiles than other methods, likely due to loss of these volatiles into the oil. Alcohols such as benzyl alcohols and strecker aldehydes including benzaldehyde and methional were at higher concentrations than other volatiles in roasted almonds. The oxidation of lipids to form alkanals such as nonanal and degradation of sugars to form furan type compounds was also observed. The Maillard reaction contributed to the formation of more of the total volatiles in almonds than the lipid oxidation reaction. Practical Application: The level of 5-(hydroxy methyl)-2- furfural (HMF), color, volatile profile, and sensory perception can be used to develop the best roasting method, time, and temperature for almonds. The rate of color development and the production of volatiles differ under different roasting conditions. Based on the color, volatile, and sensory assessments of the 3 almonds, the use of microwave technology as a process for roasting almonds reduces processing time and leads to an almond product with better flavor than oven or oil roasting.
Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma metastatic to the skin

Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC) is an aggressive malignancy of disputed histogenesis that arises in the sinonasal tract and has an extremely poor prognosis. Despite multimodality treatment with surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy, recurrence is common. The tumor spreads by direct local extension, but also metastasizes to lymph nodes, brain, lung and bone. To date, reports of metastasis to the skin have not been published. We report a case of a 58-year-old woman diagnosed with SNUC who underwent surgical resection of the tumor followed by chemoradiation. The tumor soon recurred, and she required wide re-excision. Two months after this procedure, she developed multiple dermal nodules in the head and neck region, clinically suspicious for metastases. Biopsy of a nodule from the right neck revealed a poorly differentiated carcinoma, with morphological and immunohistochemical findings consistent with a metastasis of the patient's known SNUC. We conclude that the skin may be a rare site of metastasis of SNUC, and in some cases may be the presenting sign of tumor recurrence despite aggressive multimodality treatment.
Synthetic generation of seasonal precipitation

Abstract An analytical model was developed for the synthesis of seasonal point precipitation at State College, Pennsylvania. This model was based on statistical properties of precipitation events obtained from 27 years of historical data. The means and variances of important precipitation characteristics were reasonably well preserved in the synthesized data. These characteristics include precipitation amounts, precipitation durations, length of dry periods between occurrences of precipitation events, and parameters describing the time patterns of precipitation intensities. The model utilized lognormal and lognormal bivariate distributions of the precipitation characteristics of interest. The lognormal bivariate distributions enabled the preservation of interdependence between selected variables in a Monte Carlo type of generation process. The seasonal cycle in precipitation was defined by subdividing the 365 days of the year into one period of 60 days and five periods of 61 days each, starting at January 1 of each year. The one extra day in leap years was ignored. Time patterns of precipitation intensities were described by the incomplete beta-function. Precipitation events were arbitrarily separated when a period without precipitation lasted for or exceeded 30 min.
Summary of retrospective asbestos and welding fume exposure estimates for a nuclear naval shipyard and their correlation with radiation exposure estimates.

In support of a nested case-control study at a U.S. naval shipyard, the results of the reconstruction of historical exposures were summarized, and an analysis was undertaken to determine the impact of historical exposures to potential chemical confounders. The nested case-control study (N = 4388) primarily assessed the relationship between lung cancer and external ionizing radiation. Chemical confounders considered important were asbestos and welding fume (as iron oxide fume), and the chromium and nickel content of welding fume. Exposures to the potential confounders were estimated by an expert panel based on a set of quantitatively defined categories of exposure. Distributions of the estimated exposures and trends in exposures over time were examined for the study population. Scatter plots and Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to assess the degree of association between the estimates of exposure to asbestos, welding fume, and ionizing radiation. Correlation coefficients were calculated sep...
Are hydrostatic and pneumatic methods of intussusception reduction comparable

The hydrostatic pressures and flow rates of barium sulphate and water soluble contrast in concentrations representative of those used for intussusception reduction were measured. The change of height with discharge of fluid from the filled kit was also assessed. A group of experienced paediatric radiologists and radiographers significantly underestimated the height to which contrast should be placed for intussusception reduction. The results indicate that baseline hydrostatic reduction pressures tend to be less and maximum pressures significantly less than those presently advocated for pneumatic reduction. This disparity may account for the apparent improvement in intussusception reduction rates reported for air enema when compared with barium enema. Intraluminal pressure monitoring during contrast enema would aid control of intussusception reduction but hydrostatic reduction would still be at a disadvantage because of lower flow rates. Where hydrostatic reduction is performed, the contrast density and height used should be set to give known pressure, according to local guidelines.
You can't Get There from Here, or How Do I Become a Slavic Studies Librarian?

ABSTRACT New librarians looking to enter the field of Slavic librarianship soon discover there is no clear template for how to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in this field. This article attempts first to define those skills and knowledge, and then to map out the opportunities for acquiring them in North American institutions. Toward this goal, it summarizes and analyzes the results from a survey of the educational and experiential background and current responsibilities of 128 working Slavic librarians. It then details the North American academic institutions offering specialized training or degree programs for Slavic librarians and those institutions where the component parts are all available to be assembled by the proactive student.
Normal order statistics and sums of geometric random variables in treatment allocation problems

The target fulfillment instants of two balanced randomization procedures for several treatments are studied under a general (non-uniform) allocation scheme. Their limiting distributions are shown to be related to the normal order statistics with different variances and to the sums of independent geometric random variables.
THE UTILITY OF SINGLE INJECTION CLEARANCES OF CHEMICAL INULIN AND PAH IN CHILDREN WITH OBSTRUCTIVE UROPATHY

Children with obstructive uropathy present difficult problems in the measurement of renal function due to their retention of urine within the urinary tract. The single injection (SI) of isotopically labelled markers for the estimation of glomerular filtration rate(GFR) and renal plasma flow(RPF)has been shown to be accurate when compared with constant infusion (CI) methods. The use of chemical inulin and PAH offers the further advantage of avoiding the injection of radioisotopes in children. We have compared CI and SI clearances using chemical inulin and PAH in eight children aged 4-11 yrs., with obstructive uropathy due to meningomyelocele. All had neurogenic bladders with poor emptying or ileal conduits but normal upper tracts on IVP. Urine was collected during CI clearance periods by an indwelling catheter in the patient's bladder or ileal conduit. Inulin clearance was 128.4± 8.5 (SEM) when estimated by SI and 129.4±13.3 ml/min/1.73 M2 when estimated by CI (r=0.809). PAH clearance was 615.0±74.6 by SI and 506.4±59.7 ml/min/1.73 M2 when estimated by CI- (r=0.920). The SI of chemical inulin is thus comparable to CI of inulin as a method for estimating GFR in patients with obstructive uropathy. PAH clearances on the other hand were consistently higher when measured by SI than by CI techniques and did not provide a comparable estimate of RPF.
Cyclic cortical reorganization during early childhood

EEG coherence was computed from 8 left and 8 right intrahemispheric electrode pairs from 253 children ranging in mean age from 6 months to 7 years. The first derivative of mean coherence was computed in order to study growth spurts or rapid changes in mean coherence over the early childhood period. Growth spurts in EEG coherence were approximately 6 months to 1 year in duration and involved a cyclical process composed of a sequential lengthening of intracortical connections in the left hemisphere and a sequential contraction of intracortical connections in the right hemisphere. Each growth spurt cycle had a period of approximately 2 to 4 years and involved both a rostral-caudal expansion and contraction as well as a lateral-to-medial rotation. Data support the view that the functions of the left and right hemisphere are established early in human development through complementary developmental sequences and that these sequences appear to recapitulate differences in adult hemispheric function.
Searching for Halo Dark Matter through γ Ray Linesa

There is a considerable interest in the possible detection of dark matter1 through astrophysical observations as well as terrestrial observations.2,3 If dark matter is made up of massive, weakly interacting particles, one of the best indirect signatures would be the detection of annihilation products of these particles.4–7 It has been recently suggested8–12 that if the halo of our Galaxy is made of particles in the mass range 1 GeV to 100 GeV, and if these particles self-annihilate, as most of the potential candidates do, then monoenergetic γ rays should be observed when they annihilate directly into two photons. The energy of these γ's is very nearly equal to the mass of the (non-relativistic: v/c± 10−3) parent particles. Very narrow γ lines in the range 1 GeV to 100 GeV would provide a clear signature for dark matter annihilation, if they stand out above the background.
Bin-packing by simulated annealing

Abstract The process of gradually settling a combinatorial system into configurations of globally minimum energy has variously been called simulated annealing, statistical cooling, and so on. In the past, very large combinatorial optimization problems have been solved using this technique. It has also been shown that this method is effective in obtaining close-to-optimal solutions for problems known to be NP complete. Further, this technique is applicable to a whole class of problems that satisfy a few requirements. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an efficient version of the simulated annealing method as applied to a variant of the bin-packing problem. The computational complexity of the method is linear in input size similar to various well-known heuristic methods for the problem. The solutions obtained, however, are much better than any of the heuristic methods. The particular variant of the bin-packing problem we consider has several practical applications such as static task allocation in process scheduling and batch processing. At the time of this writing, we have not yet seen a stochastic solution to the bin-packing problem in the literature. One of the distinguishing features of our research is the high quality of solutions obtained by our method. Extensive simulation experiments we have carried out show that the solutions obtained by the stochastic method show a significant improvement over those obtained by any of the well-known heuristic methods.
Feasibility and informative value of environmental sample collection in the National Children's Vanguard Study

Abstract Background Birth cohort studies provide the opportunity to advance understanding of the impact of environmental factors on childhood health and development through prospective collection of environmental samples. Methods We evaluated the feasibility and informative value of the environmental sample collection methodology in the initial pilot phase of the National Children's Study, a planned U.S. environmental birth cohort study. Environmental samples were collected from January 2009–September 2010 at up to three home visits: pre-pregnancy (n=306), pregnancy (n=807), and 6-months postnatal (n=117). Collections included air for particulate matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and carbonyls; vacuum dust for allergens/endotoxin; water for VOCs, trihalomethanes (THMs), and haloacetic acids (HAAs); and wipe samples for pesticides, semi-volatile organics, and metals. We characterized feasibility using sample collection rates and times and informative value using analyte detection frequencies (DF). Results Among the 1230 home visits, environmental sample collection rates were high across all sample types (mean=89%); all samples except the air PM2.5 samples had collection times Conclusions Though collection of environmental samples was feasible, some samples (e.g., wipe pesticides and water VOCs) yielded limited information. These results can be used in conjunction with other study design considerations, such as target population size and hypotheses of interest, to inform the method selection of future environmental health birth cohort studies.
Inductively coupled dielectric detuning in NMR surface coils

Presents a theoretical description and experimental verification of an inductively mediated detuning mechanism stemming from the reduction in the speed of light in a dielectric medium. Treated explicitly is the interaction between a circular NMR coil and a large lossy dielectric medium.
MHC class II DR allelic diversity in bighorn sheep.

Abstract We hypothesized that decreased diversity and/or unique polymorphisms in MHC class II alleles of bighorn sheep (BHS, Ovis canadensis) are responsible for lower titer of antibodies against Mannheimia haemolytica leukotoxin, in comparison to domestic sheep (DS, Ovis aries). To test this hypothesis, DRA and DRB transcripts from 24 captive BHS (Ovca-DRA and Ovca-DRB) were sequenced. Based on exon 2 (β1 domain) sequences, eight different Ovca-DRB cDNA sequences were identified in BHS. Six of them were 100% identical to previously reported Ovca-DRB genomic DNA sequences. The new alleles DRB*23 and DRB*24, were closely related to two other Ovca-DRB exon 2 genomic DNA sequences. Nineteen out of 24 BHS (79%) Ovca-DRB exon 3 (β2 domain) sequences were 100% identical to exon 3 sequence of DRB1 of DS (Ovar-DRB1). Ovca-DRA full length cDNA sequences exhibited > 99% identity. Based upon exon 2 sequences, this BHS herd yielded higher Ovca-DRB allelic diversity than that reported in the previous study. Positively selected amino acid positions were identified in the peptide-binding groove of BHS and DS, but BHS showed more such sites. This highlights differing population histories, and may suggest differing needs for DR peptide-binding specificities. Presence of glutamine at position 52 (52Q) in some of the desert and captive BHS is predicted to alter the efficiency of DR dimerization, which may influence antigen presentation and Th cell activation. Functional assays with unique alleles should reveal whether the presentation of M. haemolytica leukotoxin peptides to Th cells by Ovca-DRB alleles is equivalent to that of Ovar-DRB1 alleles.
The Effects of Food Supplementation on Extraterritorial Behavior in Female Northern Cardinals

Abstract We tested how food supplementation affects extraterritorial behavior in the socially monogamous Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Assuming extraterritorial movements are energetically costly, we predicted that if these movements function for gaining extra-pair matings, females on supplemented territories would spend more time off territory, make more extraterritorial forays, and have larger home ranges in relation to territory size than those on unsupplemented territories. If extraterritorial movements function for foraging purposes, then supplemented females should spend less time off territory, make fewer forays, and have smaller home ranges than unsupplemented females as a result of plentiful food on their home territories. We radio-tracked seven females during their fertile periods and found a trend for supplemented females to make more extraterritorial forays and spend more time off territory than unsupplemented females; however, there was no significant difference in home range siz...
Conservation relations and anisotropic transmission resonances in one-dimensional PT -symmetric photonic heterostructures

We analyze the optical properties of one-dimensional $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric structures of arbitrary complexity. These structures violate normal unitarity (photon flux conservation) but are shown to satisfy generalized unitarity relations, which relate the elements of the scattering matrix and lead to a conservation relation in terms of the transmittance and (left and right) reflectances. One implication of this relation is that there exist anisotropic transmission resonances in $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric systems, frequencies at which there is unit transmission and zero reflection, but only for waves incident from a single side. The spatial profile of these transmission resonances is symmetric, and they can occur even at $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry-breaking points. The general conservation relations can be utilized as an experimental signature of the presence of $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry and of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry-breaking transitions. The uniqueness of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry-breaking transitions of the scattering matrix is briefly discussed by comparing to the corresponding non-Hermitian Hamiltonians.
Efficient Finite Element Method for Two-Dimensional Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Problems

Velocity-pressure finite element methods for two-dimensional incompressible viscous flow and natural convection are considered. The governing continuum mechanics equations are summarized, and the finite element formulation is given. Some details of the implementations with the resulting analysis capabilities are presented. Finally, sample results that demonstrate some of the capabilities of the present approach are given.
Mass transfer within electrostatic precipitators: in-flight adsorption of mercury by charged suspended particulates.

Electrostatic precipitation is the dominant method of particulate control used for coal combustion, and varying degrees of mercury capture and transformation have been reported across ESPs. Nevertheless, the fate of gas-phase mercury within an ESP remains poorly understood. The present analysis focuses on the gas-particle mass transfer that occurs within a charged aerosol in an ESP. As a necessary step in gas-phase mercury adsorption or transformation, gas-particle mass transferparticularly in configurations other than fixed bedshas received far less attention than studies of adsorption kinetics. Our previous analysis showed that only a small fraction of gas-phase mercury entering an ESP is likely to be adsorbed by collected particulate matter on the plate electrodes. The present simplified analysis provides insight into gas-particle mass transfer within an ESP under two limiting conditions: laminar and turbulent fluid flows. The analysis reveals that during the process of particulate collection, gas-par...
Treating attention in mild aphasia: evaluation of attention process training-II.

Abstract This study examined whether attention processing training-II [Sohlberg, M. M., Johnson, L., Paule, L., Raskin, S. A., & Mateer, C. A. (2001). Attention Process Training-II: A program to address attentional deficits for persons with mild cognitive dysfunction (2nd ed.). Wake Forest, NC: Lash & Associates.; APT-II], when applied in the context of a multiple baseline ABA design, would improve the attention abilities of RW, a patient with mild conduction aphasia and concomitant attention and working memory deficits. We also explored whether APT-II training would enhance RW's auditory comprehension, other cognitive abilities such as memory, and his and his spouse's perceptions of his daily attention and communication difficulties. With treatment, RW improved on trained attention tasks and made modest gains on standardized tests and probes that evaluated cognitive skills related to treatment activities. Nominal change in auditory comprehension and untrained attention and memory functions was observed, and neither RW nor his spouse reported noticeable improvements in his daily attention or communication abilities. These and previous findings indicate that structured attention retraining may enhance specific attention skills, but that positive changes in broader attention and untrained functions are less likely. Learning outcomes As a result of reading this article, the participant will be able to: (1) summarize the previous literature regarding attention impairments and treatment approaches for patients with aphasia. (2) describe how Attention Processing Training-II affected the attention, auditory comprehension, and other cognitive abilities of the patient in this study.
Hybrid composite filter banks for distortion-invariant optical pattern recognition

In the past, several different approaches to synthetic discriminant function (SDF) filter design have been proposed, including conventional SDFs, which control the correlation values at the origin; minimum variance SDFs (MVSDFs), which minimize the noise sensitivity of the filters; minimum average correlation energy (MACE) filters, which maximize the peak sharpness; and linear phase coefficient composite (LPCC) filters, which are obtained as the sum of training images weighted by linear phase coefficients. We introduce a new family of SDF filters of which all the above are special cases. Each filter in this family is characterized by two parameters α1 and α2. Various choices of (α1 , α2) lead to the above special filters. For example, α1 = 1 and α2 = 0 leads to MACE LPCC filters, which are hybrid versions of MACE and LPCC filters. This family of filters is evaluated using the minimum probability of error (MPE) criterion and a database of aircraft images. These simulation experiments confirm the superior performance of this filter family. Also, we observe the interesting result that the MPE is at its lowest not for one of the four special filters listed above, but for a combination of them.
Tuberculosis: Shrewd survival strategy.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis modulates its virulence to cause persistent but often subclinical infection. This strategy is regulated in part by a feedback loop that controls the secretion of a small subset of bacterial proteins.
Transneuronal Transfer of Radioactivity in the Central Nervous System

After injection of tritiated amino acid into the mouse eye, radioactivity appeared in the contralateral visual cortex, indicating that some material had been transferred from optic axons to lateral geniculate neurons. The radioactivity in the cortex was about 2 percent of that arriving in the geniculate, and most of it was contained in material that appeared to be protein.
Molecular Ecology of Tetracycline Resistance: Development and Validation of Primers for Detection of Tetracycline Resistance Genes Encoding Ribosomal Protection Proteins

Phylogenetic analysis of tetracycline resistance genes encoding the ribosomal protection proteins (RPPs) revealed the monophyletic origin of these genes. The most deeply branching class, exemplified by tet and otrA, consisted of genes from the antibiotic-producing organisms Streptomyces rimosus and Streptomyces lividans. With a high degree of confidence, the corresponding genes of the other seven classes (Tet M, Tet S, Tet O, Tet W, Tet Q, Tet T, and TetB P) formed phylogenetically distinct separate clusters. Based on this phylogenetic analysis, a set of PCR primers for detection, retrieval, and sequence analysis of the corresponding gene fragments from a variety of bacterial and environmental sources was developed and characterized. A pair of degenerate primers targeted all tetracycline resistance genes encoding RPPs except otrA and tet, and seven other primer pairs were designed to target the specific classes. The primers were used to detect the circulation of these genes in the rumina of cows, in swine feed and feces, and in swine fecal streptococci. Classes Tet O and Tet W were found in the intestinal contents of both animals, while Tet M was confined to pigs and Tet Q was confined to the rumen. The tet(O) and tet(W) genes circulating in the microbiota of the rumen and the gastrointestinal tract of pigs were identical despite the differences in animal hosts and antibiotic use regimens. Swine fecal streptococci uniformly possessed the tet(O) gene, and 22% of them also carried tet(M). This population could be considered one of the main reservoirs of these two resistance genes in the pig gastrointestinal tract. All classes of RPPs except Tet T and TetB P were found in the commercial components of swine feed. This is the first demonstration of the applicability of molecular ecology techniques to estimation of the gene pool and the flux of antibiotic resistance genes in production animals.
Colocalization of Sensors Is Sufficient to Activate the DNA Damage Checkpoint in the Absence of Damage

Previous work on the DNA damage checkpoint in Saccharomyces cerevisiae has shown that two complexes independently sense DNA lesions: the kinase Mec1-Ddc2 and the PCNA-like 9-1-1 complex. To test whether colocalization of these components is sufficient for checkpoint activation, we fused these checkpoint proteins to the LacI repressor and artificially colocalized these fusions by expressing them in cells harboring Lac operator arrays. We observed Rad53 and Rad9 phosphorylation, Sml1 degradation, and metaphase delay, demonstrating that colocalization of these sensors is sufficient to activate the checkpoint in the absence of DNA damage. Our tethering system allowed us to establish that CDK functions in the checkpoint pathway downstream of damage processing and checkpoint protein recruitment. This CDK dependence is likely, at least in part, through Rad9, since mutation of CDK consensus sites compromised its checkpoint function.
Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Response to Johnson et al.

Our paper (Duffy & Meier 1992) was an effort to measure the recovery of Appalachian forests understory herbs following deforestation. We expected herbal recovery to parallel that of the trees, but our results showed a dramatic difference between primary and secondary forests in the extent of herbaceous cover and species richness. Over time, the two forest types should converge in herb characteristics, but our data show no such trend through 87 years. We speculated that recovery of the understory community would take several centuries or might not occur at all. We noted that such loss of diversity and failure to recover would appear to be at variance with the requirements of the National Forest Management Act of 1976. Our article was reported on by The Associated Press, CNN, The Atlanta Constitution, and The New York Times and has been used by citizens' groups opposed to clear-cutting in the Southern Appalachians. This in turn appears to have upset some foresters and Forest Service researchers. Johnson et al. admit that they wrote to Conservation Biology because our original article was "... widely reported in the popular press" and because some of our comments in the press were "... especially troubling." Within the limits of available space, I have tried to address the main scientific points raised by Johnson et al.; other points have already been addressed in my response to the letters of Steinbeck and of Elliott and Loftis. I suspect that many of the points raised by Johnson et al. would have been resolved had they taken into account the following: that we worked on understory herbs, not on all herbs; that we defined primary forest as we did (see below); and that we used a diversity, rather than a species-approach, to the problem. Johnson et al. claim that, "The primary forest sites studied by Duffy and Meier were not undisturbed." We
On the irreducibility of Hecke polynomials

Let T n,k (X) be the characteristic polynomial of the nth Hecke operator acting on the space of cusp forms of weight k for the full modular group. We record a simple criterion which can be used to check the irreducibility of the polynomials T n,k (X). Using this criterion with some machine computation, we show that if there exists n ≥ 2 such that T n,k (X) is irreducible and has the full symmetric group as Galois group, then the same is true of T p,k (X) for each prime p < 4,000,000.
Heavy quark symmetry in isosinglet non-leptonic B-decays

Abstract We use a factorization theorem from the soft-collinear effective theory along with heavy quark symmetry to make model independent predictions for B ¯ 0 → D ( * ) 0 M where M = { η , η ′ , ϕ , ω } . Gluon production of these isosinglet mesons is included. We predict the equality of branching fractions in the B ¯ → D M and B ¯ → D * M channels, with corrections at order Λ QCD / Q and α s ( Q ) where Q = m b , m c , or E M . We also predict that Br ( B ¯ 0 → D η ′ ) / Br ( B ¯ 0 → D η ) = tan 2 ( θ ) = 0.67 and Br ( B ¯ → D ϕ ) / Br ( B ¯ → D ω ) ≲ 0.2 , where here there are also α s ( E Λ ) corrections. These results agree well with the available data. A test for SU(3) violation in these decays is constructed.
TLR2/MyD88/NF-κB pathway, reactive oxygen species, potassium efflux activates NLRP3/ASC inflammasome during respiratory syncytial virus infection

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) constitute highly pathogenic virus that cause severe respiratory diseases in newborn, children, elderly and immuno-compromised individuals. Airway inflammation is a critical regulator of disease outcome in RSV infected hosts. Although “controlled” inflammation is required for virus clearance, aberrant and exaggerated inflammation during RSV infection results in development of inflammatory diseases like pneumonia and bronchiolitis. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) plays an important role in inflammation by orchestrating the pro-inflammatory response. IL-1β is synthesized as an immature pro-IL-1β form. It is cleaved by activated caspase-1 to yield mature IL-1β that is secreted extracellularly. Activation of caspase-1 is mediated by a multi-protein complex known as the inflammasome. Although RSV infection results in IL-1β release, the mechanism is unknown. Here in, we have characterized the mechanism of IL-1β secretion following RSV infection. Our study revealed that NLRP3/ASC inflammasome activation is crucial for IL-1β production during RSV infection. Further studies illustrated that prior to inflammasome formation; the “first signal” constitutes activation of toll-like receptor-2 (TLR2)/MyD88/NF-κB pathway. TLR2/MyD88/NF-κB signaling is required for pro-IL-1β and NLRP3 gene expression during RSV infection. Following expression of these genes, two “second signals” are essential for triggering inflammasome activation. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and potassium (K+) efflux due to stimulation of ATP-sensitive ion channel promote inflammasome activation following RSV infection. Thus, our studies have underscored the requirement of TLR2/MyD88/NF-κB pathway (first signal) and ROS/potassium efflux (second signal) for NLRP3/ASC inflammasome formation, leading to caspase-1 activation and subsequent IL-1β release during RSV infection.
Cardiac transplant donor heart allocation based on prospective tissue matching

The present priority scheme for the allocation of donor hearts based on patient acuity and waiting time contributes to the escalating costs of heart transplantation, ignores the potential outcome advantages of prospective tissue matching, and is vulnerable to manipulation. Costs have trebled in recent years, as recipients frequently spend weeks before transplantation as inpatients in intensive care units and become more susceptible to nosocomial complications. The findings from an international cooperative study suggest that patient survival is correlated with the level of histocompatibility (ie, human lymphocyte antigen [HLA]) matching. We observed a similar inverse association between retrospective fortuitous HLA matching and the risk of rejection in 39 patients undergoing heart transplantation over a 29-month period (p = 0.03 by nonparametric analysis). These observations prompted us to consider the feasibility of donor heart allocation based on the degree of HLA matching and waiting time alone. Current methods permit the accurate determination of HLA type in a matter of hours using donor peripheral blood alone. Human lymphocyte antigen typing, therefore, could be performed locally before organ harvesting, making issues of donor heart preservation irrelevant. We evaluated the extent of HLA matching that might be achieved practically. Forty-seven patients on our waiting list during calendar year 1991 were tested retrospectively for HLA matching with all geographically accessible 1991 heart donors identified by the United Network for Organ Sharing for all donors from hospitals east of the Mississippi River.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Differential expression of angiogenic cytokines by cell lines and primary cultures of human prostate cancer.

Studies on angiogenic cytokines usually are initially based upon their expression by available established cell lines. Our hypothesis is that established epithelial prostate cancer (CaP) cell lines do not accurately reflect angiogenic cytokine expression as compared to epithelial and stromal components of primary cultures generated from clinical CaP specimens. Serum free and growth factor free conditioned medium (CM) was collected from PC3, LNCaP, and their orthotopic selected prostate cancer sublines. Surgically acquired and pathologically confirmed neoplastic prostate tissue was selectively grown for selection of epithelial or stromal components, and CM was also collected. CM was assayed for urokinase (u-PA), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). u-PA was expressed only by androgen independent cell lines, but was detectable in the epithelial and stromal cultures of androgen sensitive primary cultures. bFGF was not secreted by cell lines nor epithelial primary cultures. VEGF was universally expressed, but TNF-α was not secreted by cells lines nor primary cultures. These data suggest that the expression of angiogenic cytokines by established epithelial CaP cell lines does not reflect epithelial and stromal primary cultures.
Angiotensin II type 1 and bradykinin B2 receptors expressed in early stage epithelial cells derived from human embryonic stem cells.

When human embryonic stem (hES) cells were placed into suspension culture followed by culture on BD matrigel™ coated plates in the presence of medium conditioned by NIH-3T3 cells, they differentiated into cells of which more than 95% stained positive for keratin 8 by day 14, demonstrating that the hES cells had committed to an epithelial lineage. Approximately 50% of the keratin 8 staining cells became positive for cytokeratin 14 after 26 days. Binding experiments supported by real time PCR showed that the expression of bradykinin B2 (BKB2) and angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptors accompanied this differentiation. Neither receptor was expressed in the pluripotent H9 stem cells. However, transduction of the hES cells with lentivirus containing BKB2 or AT1R cDNA resulted in ligand binding and ERK1/2 activation but not in Gαi or Gαq coupled signaling. In the differentiated cells, both BKB2R and AT1R were expressed constitutively and effected typical Gαi and Gαq coupled signaling characterized by the release of arachidonate, generation of inositol phosphates, and Ca2+ mobilization. These signals were abolished by the receptor antagonists, losartan, and HOE 140. Angiotensin II and bradykinin also stimulated the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, JNK1/2, and p70S6 in the differentiated cells. Our results demonstrate that human embryonic stem cells can be differentiated effectively into the epithelial lineage and that when differentiated express functional, signaling AT1 and BKB2 receptors. J. Cell. Physiol. 211: 816–825, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.