cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of histamine N-methyltransferase activity in guinea-pig pulmonary alveolar macrophages by nicotine

Both S-(-)- and R-(+)-nicotine enantiomers are inhibitors of histamine N tau-methylation activity in guinea-pig pulmonary alveolar macrophage cultures, exhibiting IC50 values of 7 and 8 microM, respectively. S-(-)-Nicotine is not biotransformed under the conditions of the experiment, however, R-(+)-nicotine undergoes significant N-methylation to produce N-methylnicotinium ion. S-(-)-Nicotine appears to inhibit the N-methylation of its optical antipode by the alveolar nicotine N-methyltransferase. The results indicate that a contributing factor in the toxicology of cigarette smoke inhalation may be due to the inhibition of pulmonary metabolism of histamine by nicotine.
Calculations of magneto-transport fluctuations in ballistic quantum dots

We examine the magneto-conductance fluctuations in ballistic quantum dot structures, for a weak field strength, using the recursive Green's function technique. We analyze the spectral content of the conductance fluctuations for two differently shaped dots, where the underlying classical dynamics are either regular or chaotic, by constructing magnetic field conductance correlation functions. We find our numerical quantum mechanical correlation function results for the chaotic dot are in agreement with semiclassical theory predictions.
Examining the Role of Free Carrier Concentration on the Phonon Lifetimes in GaN Using Raman Spectroscopy

The lifetimes of polar optical phonons are known to affect the electrical and thermal performance of gallium nitride (GaN) based devices. Utilizing the energy-time uncertainty relation, this study investigates these lifetimes using Raman spectroscopy for a series of samples having free carrier concentrations ranging from 1.24e18 to 3e17 cm−3 . By measuring across the typical operating temperatures of these devices, the mechanisms responsible for scattering of 5 separate optical modes are elucidated. It is found that phonon-carrier interaction directly determines the lifetime of the polar optical A1(LO) mode while indirectly influencing the modes into which this longitudinal phonon decays, namely, E1 and A1(TO). Thus understanding the entire phonon energy cascade is vital both for management of the so called “hot phonon” effect as well as modeling of carrier-phonon interactions.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Transport and biodegradation of quinoline in horizontally stratified porous media

Abstract An experimental study of the movement and biodegradation of quinoline was conducted in a saturated 2-layer system (1 m long) to identify processes that may result in increased microbial growth at hydraulic layer interfaces. The system contained two layers of contrasting hydraulic conductivity (1:12) and flow was parallel to layers. Tracer breakthrough, used to quantify interlayer mass transfer, showed that the transverse dispersivity was 0.3 cm near the interface and 0.036 cm within the low-conductivity (low-K) layer. Interlayer mass transfer resulted in arrival of substrate (quinoline) and oxygen 10's to 100's of hours sooner in the low-K layer near the interface compared to other locations within the low-K layer where substrates arrived via only advection. Early arrival of substrates near the interface resulted in biodegradation of quinoline for a longer period than within layers, yielding increased growth in a 1- to 3-cm-thick zone, as measyred by plate counts. Because biodegradation was oxygen limited in this system, microbial growth at all locations was small [log(maximum increase) ⩽ 1.0] and measured porous-medium hydraulic properties (dispersion, hydraulic gradient) were not affected by the biomass production. Although the thickness of the effected interface zone was small in this system, the effect on the overall transport of quinoline was significant; 19% of the growth (and corresponding degradation of substrates) in the low-K layer was in the relatively small interface zone. The effect of microbial biomass production at interfaces on overall solute movement is likely to be maximized in environments that have a high density of hydraulic or geochemical interfaces, particularly in settings where the interfaces serve as mixing zones between nutrient-limited waters.
A constant-head floating-siphon stage-recording system

Abstract A number of siphons mounted on a float or floats can be used as a simple, inexpensive device to discharge water from a container at a constant rate independent of the stage or water level in the container provided the siphons are discharged freely into the atmosphere. The stage can also be recorded simultaneously by a recorder. Different constant discharges can be maintained by controlling the number of siphons in operation and the siphon head. The theory on siphon hydraulics and the response of the floating siphon system to the change of stage are presented. A plexiglass floating siphon system is built, consisting of four pairs of siphons and connected to a recorder. Calibration is made for various siphon heads and combinations with rising or falling water surface at uniform as well as accelerating or decelerating rates. As predicted by the theory, variation of the presumably constant discharge for the system tested is 0.1% or less. The most critical condition concerning the sensitivity is at the incipient motion with a falling stage which requires a fall of 0.069 cm (0.027 inch) of water surface for the system to response. Other factors affecting the performance of the system are also discussed.
Growth and Survival of Lake Sturgeon Larvae Fed Formulated Diets

Abstract We conducted a 60-d experiment to ascertain diet-related differences in survival and growth of larval lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens. We offered formulated diets to larval lake sturgeon 2 weeks after first-feeding to find a suitable formulated diet. The five formulated diets were fed to larvae in combination with live brine shrimp Artemia sp., which served as a control. There was no diet effect (P ≤ 0.05) on mean survival, which ranged from 67.4% to 58.3%. Lake sturgeon fed only brine shrimp were significantly greater in mean length (60.4 mm) at 68 d of age than all other treatments, and BioKyowa produced the lowest (44.2 mm) mean length. Mean weight of fish provided brine shrimp (0.74 g) was significantly greater than the weights of those fed the Tunison, Biodiet, or BioKyowa diets. There was no indication that larval lake sturgeon had consumed the formulated feeds; rather, it is likely they may have become imprinted on brine shrimp during the 2 weeks immediately following the onset of exoge...
Tigliane-Type Phorbols Stimulate Human Melanocyte Proliferation: Potentially Safer Agents for Melanocyte Culture

Previous studies have established that some phorbol compounds that are active in binding to protein kinase C (PKC) are also strong mitogens for human melanocytes in culture. Structure/activity studies on tigliane class phorbol compounds. which lack an oxygen at the 12 position, have shown that tumor-promoting activity can he diminished or abolished though retaining other biologic activities of phorbol compound, including the ability to activate PKC. In this study, two tigliane class phorbol derivates [12 deoxyphorbol, 13 isobutyrate (DPIB) and 12 deoxyphorhol, 13 phenylacetate (DPPA)] were studied for their ability to stimulate melanocyte proliferation in a serum-free culture system based on MCDB 153 medium. Compared to the activity of phorbol 12-0-myristate, 13 acetate (PMA), a widely used tumor-promoting phorbol derivative, DPIB and DPPA were effective mitogens for human melanocytes. The importance of PKC activation in mitogenic modulation of human melanocytes is further supported by the stereospecific mitogenic activity of (-)Indolactam V, a PKC-activating compound structurally unrelated to phorbols. The use of the tigliane type phorbols DPIB and DPPA to stimulate growth of human melanocytes may provide safer compounds for laboratory or patient studies and may also provide further insights into the role of PKC activation in human melanocyte biology.
In vitro and in vivo localization of prostaglandin H synthase in fetal sheep neurons

Immunoreactive (IR) prostaglandin H synthase (PGHS) was evident in primary cortical cultures as early as day 2 after seeding. Labeling did not increase with time in culture, nor was there an apparent difference in IR intensity between 2 and 10% serum cultures or between glial and neuronal figures. PGHS-1 IR appeared as a homogeneous cytoplasmic fluorescence compared with PGHS-2 IR which tended to be more intense, particulate and exclusively perinuclear. PGHS-2(+) IR in both neurons and glia increased with time in culture. Immunofluorescence varied in intensity, but no significant degree of variation was seen between cell types. Neuronal PGHS-2 IR extended into processes and amassed in growth cones and at the leading edge processes of astrocytes. Novel rosette formations, possibly lipid bodies, were common in cultured neurons, but not astrocytes.
Promoting Interdisciplinary Practice: An Interview With Steven R. Forness

As part of an ongoing oral history project, a conversation was held with Dr. Stephen Forness on the past, present, and possible future of the field of providing services to children with emotional-behavioral disorders. Dr. Forness stresses the increasing importance of providing an interdisciplinary approach to meeting these needs.
SECOND-CLASS CURRENTS, NEUTRAL CURRENTS, AND THE STRANGENESS-CONSERVING NONLEPTONIC WEAK INTERACTIONS.

The isospin structure of the strangeness-conserving nonleptonic weak Hamiltonian constructed from products of octets of vector and axial-vector currents is investigated in the presence of charged and neutral currents of both regular and irregular behavior under charge conjugation. It is shown that in a $\mathrm{CP}$-invariant theory an isospin-invariant Hamiltonian is possible only in the absence of charged second-class currents.
Screening of type I and II drug binding to human cytochrome P450-3A4 in nanodiscs by localized surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy

A prototype nanoparticle biosensor based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectroscopy was developed to detect drug binding to human membrane-bound cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4). CYP3A4 is one of the most important enzymes in drug and xenobiotic metabolism in the human body. Because of the inherent propensity of CYP3A4 to aggregate, it is difficult to study drug binding to this protein in solution and on surfaces. In this paper, we use a soluble nanometer scale membrane bilayer disk (Nanodisk) to functionally stabilize monomeric CYP3A4 on Ag nanoparticle surfaces fabricated by nanosphere lithography. CYP3A4-Nanodiscs have absorption bands in the visible wavelength region, which upon binding certain drugs shift to either shorter (type I) or longer wavelengths (type II). On the basis of the coupling between the LSPR of the Ag nanoparticles and the electronic resonances of the heme chromophore in CYP3A4-Nanodiscs, LSPR spectroscopy is used to detect drug binding with high sensitivity. This paper combines LSPR and Nanodisc techniques to optically sense drug binding to a functionally stable membrane protein, with the goal of integrating this with microfluidics and expanding it into a multiarray format, enabling high-throughput screening.
Reverse engineering & re-engineering of avionics legacy components

The average age of US military aircraft is 20+ years and the avionics systems on these aircraft are becoming increasingly more expensive to maintain and operate. Typically, the root of the problem can be traced to a few "bad actor" components within legacy avionics systems. These bad actor components are characterized by low reliability and high repair costs. The high repair costs are due to the age of the components (multiple past repairs make new repairs more difficult) and high cost or non-availability of replacement parts. These reliability and maintainability (R and M) problems lead to high and increasing cost of ownership. The objective of a re-engineering effort is to replace old technology components to "fix" a system level R and M problem to maximize life cycle cost savings for the remainder of the system life. Many times data is insufficient to re-engineer a system component without first reverse engineering the existing component. This paper details some reverse engineering and re-engineering techniques to replace low R and M legacy components. The reengineering of an A-10 armament control system is provided as an example of the process of developing a replacement system where data is not available for the existing system.
The post-repurchase announcement drift: an anomaly in disguise?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reexamine the stock price drifts after open-market stock repurchase announcements by differentiating actual repurchases from repurchase announcements and by controlling for the repurchasing firms’ earnings improvement in the announcement year relative to the prior year. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use the calendar-time method and matching method based on different criteria to calculate the post-announcement abnormal returns. Findings – The results show that only firms actually repurchasing their shares exhibit a positive post-announcement drift. More importantly, the authors find that these repurchasing firms have the same post-announcement drift as their matching firms that have similar size and earnings performance but do not repurchase. This supports the argument that the post-repurchase announcement drift found in previous studies is not a distinct anomaly but the post-earnings announcement drift in disguise. Social implications – The post-repurc...
47.3: The Impact of Watching Television on Evening Melatonin Levels

Self-luminous electronic devices emit optical radiation at short wavelengths, close to the peak sensitivity of melatonin suppression. The present paper investigated if light from a 70-inch television suppressed melatonin. Results showed that light from televisions does not impact melatonin levels in the evening.
Semi-automatic creation of an emotion dictionary using WordNet and its evaluation

This paper describes an algorithm for semi-automatically creating an emotion dictionary using WordNet and evaluating the created dictionary. The algorithm takes as input a set of seed words that have been manually assigned with WordNet senses and emotion information. An initial dictionary is automatically created using the seed words and WordNet. Then, various correction stages are performed where parts of the dictionary are shown to the user for verification. An almost 6,000 word sense emotion dictionary was created from only 130 seed words using the proposed algorithm. Evaluation of the created dictionary shows that it has a good vocabulary coverage for an independently tagged emotion corpus. The created dictionary was also used to classify the opinion of news articles. A simple algorithm that relied completely on the strength of the created dictionary achieved an accuracy of 84%.
The role of glucose as an independent cardiovascular risk factor

The role of hyperglycemia as an independent risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis and CVD is strongly suggested by data from large epidemiologic studies as well as by numerous clinical trials. However, the specific roles of elevated fasting plasma glucose, postprandial glucose levels, and average blood glucose as measured by glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc) are less clear. Population studies and clinical trials addressing these issues have been reviewed with the conclusion that HbAlc is an independent risk factor for CVD in both diabetic and nondiabetic subjects. There is also strong evidence that postchallenge plasma glucose levels independently predict CVD events, whereas the evidence that fasting plasma glucose levels are predictive is much weaker. The implications for treatment are that targets for HbAlc and postprandial glucose levels are important to achieve, not only to reduce the risk of microvascular complications, but also to reduce the risk of CVD morbidity and mortality in people with diabetes.
A Balanced Tropical Cyclone Test Case for AGCMs with Background Vertical Wind Shear

AbstractThis paper presents a balanced tropical cyclone (TC) test case designed to improve current understanding of how atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) configurations affect simulated TC development and behavior. It consists of an analytic initial condition comprising two independently balanced components. The first provides a vortical TC seed, while the second adds a planetary-scale zonal flow with height-dependent velocity and imposes background vertical wind shear (VWS) on the TC seed. The environmental flow satisfies the steady-state hydrostatic primitive equations in spherical coordinates and is in balance with other background field variables (e.g., temperature, surface geopotential). The evolution of idealized TCs in the test case framework is illustrated in 10-day simulations performed with the Community Atmosphere Model, version 5.1.1 (CAM 5.1.1). Environmental wind profiles with different magnitudes, directions, and vertical inflection points are applied to ensure that the technique...
A Two-Stage ADC Architecture With VCO-Based Second Stage

This brief describes the design of a two-stage analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO)-based second stage. The advantages of quantizing the first-stage residue in time domain versus traditional voltage domain are presented. The dc gain requirement of the first-stage residue amplifier is relaxed by reference-scaling and reference-recycling schemes. This enables the use of a very simple telescopic cascode amplifier in the gain stage. The second-stage VCO linearity is improved by a differential measurement of VCO frequency. Power consumption in the second stage is reduced by time-to-digital conversion for fine quantization of the VCO phase. Simulation results are presented for the design of a 13-bit 20-Msps ADC in 65-nm CMOS process. The estimated power dissipation of this converter is less than 1 mW.
New Linear Phase Orthogonal Binary Codes for Spread Spectrum Multicarrier Communications

Walsh codes are perfectly orthogonal binary (antipodal) block codes that found many popular applications over several decades including synchronous multicarrier communications. It is well known that they perform poorly for asynchronous multiuser communications. Therefore, the Gold codes with their superior performance are the preferred user codes in asynchronous CDMA communications. In this paper, new sets of binary orthogonal and near orthogonal user codes are searched in the binary sample space and introduced for asynchronous spread spectrum multicarrier communications. It is shown that the proposed binary user code family outperforms the Walsh codes significantly and they match in performance with the popular, nearly orthogonal Gold codes closely for asynchronous multiuser communications in AWGN channels. On the other hand, we also observed that all the binary codes considered in this study performed comparable for Rayleigh flat fading channels except the inferior performance of Gold codes in synchronous case with high SNR. We present that there are a number of such new binary code sets with different lengths available in the binary sample space. They might help us to improve the multicarrier performance of future communications systems.
Concerns About Unreliable Data from Spotted cDNA Microarrays Due to Cross-Hybridization and Sequence Errors

We discuss our concerns regarding the reliability of data generated by spotted cDNA microarrays. Two types of error we highlight are cross-hybridization artifact due to sequence homologies and sequence errors in the cDNA used for spotting on microarrays. We feel that statisticians who analyze microarray data should be aware of these sources of unreliability intrinsic to cDNA microarray design and use.
Anaplasma phagocytophilum outer membrane protein A interacts with sialylated glycoproteins to promote infection of mammalian host cells

ABSTRACT Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the tick-transmitted obligate intracellular bacterium that causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA). A. phagocytophilum binding to sialyl Lewis x (sLex) and other sialylated glycans that decorate P selectin glycoprotein 1 (PSGL-1) and other glycoproteins is critical for infection of mammalian host cells. Here, we demonstrate the importance of A. phagocytophilum outer membrane protein A (OmpA) APH_0338 in infection of mammalian host cells. OmpA is transcriptionally induced during transmission feeding of A. phagocytophilum-infected ticks on mice and is upregulated during invasion of HL-60 cells. OmpA is presented on the pathogen9s surface. Sera from HGA patients and experimentally infected mice recognize recombinant OmpA. Pretreatment of A. phagocytophilum organisms with OmpA antiserum reduces their abilities to infect HL-60 cells. The OmpA N-terminal region is predicted to contain the protein9s extracellular domain. Glutathione S-transferase (GST)-tagged versions of OmpA and OmpA amino acids 19 to 74 (OmpA19-74) but not OmpA75-205 bind to, and competitively inhibit A. phagocytophilum infection of, host cells. Pretreatment of host cells with sialidase or trypsin reduces or nearly eliminates, respectively, GST-OmpA adhesion. Therefore, OmpA interacts with sialylated glycoproteins. This study identifies the first A. phagocytophilum adhesin-receptor pair and delineates the region of OmpA that is critical for infection.
Neutron activation of NIF Final Optics Assemblies

Analyses were performed to characterize the radiation field in the vicinity of the Final Optics Assemblies (FOAs) at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) due to neutron activation following Deuterium-Deuterium (DD), Tritium-Hydrogen-Deuterium (THD), and Deuterium-Tritium (DT) shots associated with different phases of the NIF operations. The activation of the structural components of the FOAs produces one of the larger sources of gamma radiation and is a key factor in determining the stay out time between shots to ensure worker protection. This study provides estimates of effective dose rates in the vicinity of a single FOA and concludes that the DD and THD targets produce acceptable dose rates within10 minutes following a shot while about 6-days of stay out time is suggested following DT shots. Studies are ongoing to determine the combined effects of multiple FOAs and other components present in the Target Bay on stay-out time and worker dose.
Reply to “remarks on the analytic hierarchy process” by J. S. Dyer

The paper by J. S. Dyer ( 1990, this issue) presents two arguments against the use of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP): the axioms are "flawed" and the rankings which the AHP produces are "arbitrary". In particular, he takes offense of our earlier claim ( 1987) that much of the criticisms of the AHP are based on a misunderstanding of the theoretical foundations of the AHP. The arguments raised by Dyer are not new (Dyer and Wendell 1985) and were, in fact, the reason for our earlier paper in Management Science (Harker and Vargas 1987). In this note, we would like to respond to Dyer's claim that the AHP is "flawed" and to argue that our initial claim is true: this criticism arises out of a lack of understanding of the theory underlying the AHP. However, we shall not respond on a point-by-point basis since this has been done by Saaty ( 1990, this issue). Thus, we will present a brief discourse on the flaws in Dyer's argument. Before attacking the axiomatic basis of the AHP and the "flawed" nature of the ranking procedure in the AHP, Dyer claims that the questions asked in the AHP are ambiguous; he writes:
On the Cache-and-Forward Network Architecture

In order to meet the increasing demands of content dissemination in Internet, we propose a novel architecture for the future Internet called Cache-and-Forward (CNF), which transports content as "packages" in a hop-by-hop manner towards the destination, instead of transporting a stream of fragmented packets along an established TCP/IP connection. In this paper, we discuss how the CNF network architecture can be designed for efficient content retrieval. We first introduce several specific services provided in CNF network which are centered around content handling and mobile access. We then give an overview of the CNF protocol stack, which is built on top of IP, and consists of a data plane and a control plane. We provide detailed descriptions of each protocol within both planes. Then we present two caching algorithms, where one involves each CNF router making independent decisions on content caching while the other coordinates node caching within an autonomous system (AS) through hashing. Finally, we gave the initial simulation results to show the performance benefits of hop-by-hop transport and content caching.
Listeria monocytogenes Flagella Are Used for Motility, Not as Adhesins, To Increase Host Cell Invasion

Flagellar structures contribute to the virulence of multiple gastrointestinal pathogens either as the effectors of motility, as adhesins, or as a secretion apparatus for virulence factors. Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne, gram-positive pathogen that uses flagella to increase the efficiency of epithelial cell invasion (A. Bigot, H. Pagniez, E. Botton, C. Frehel, I. Dubail, C. Jacquet, A. Charbit, and C. Raynaud, Infect. Immun. 73:5530-5539, 2005; L. Dons, E. Eriksson, Y. Jin, M. E. Rottenberg, K. Kristensson, C. N. Larsen, J. Bresciani, and J. E. Olsen, Infect. Immun. 72:3237-3244, 2004). In this study, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism by which flagella contribute to L. monocytogenes invasion. To examine the role of flagella as adhesins, invasion and adhesion assays were performed with flagellated motile and nonmotile bacteria and nonflagellated bacteria. We observed that flagellated but nonmotile bacteria do not adhere to or invade human epithelial cells more efficiently than nonflagellated bacteria. These results indicated that flagella do not function as adhesins to enhance the adhesion of L. monocytogenes to targeted host cells. Instead, it appears that motility is important for tissue culture invasion. Furthermore, we tested whether motility contributes to early colonization of the gastrointestinal tract using a competitive index assay in which mice were infected orally with motile and nonmotile bacteria in a 1:1 ratio. Differential bacterial counts demonstrated that motile bacteria outcompete nonmotile bacteria in the colonization of the intestines at early time points postinfection. This difference is also reflected in invasion of the liver 12 h later, suggesting that flagellum-mediated motility enhances L. monocytogenes infectivity soon after bacterial ingestion in vivo.
The Na+/Ca2+ exchanger/SR Ca2+ ATPase transport capacity regulates the contractility of normal and hypertrophied feline ventricular myocytes.

Abstract Background Pressure overload leads to cardiac hypertrophy, which is often followed by heart failure. We tested the hypothesis that depressed contractility in this process results from an imbalance in Ca 2+ transport by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca 2+ ATPase (SERCA) and the sarcolemmal Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger (NCX). Methods and Results Left ventricular (LV) myocytes (n = 79) from 12 normal (N) and 5 hypertrophied (LVH, by aortic banding) feline hearts were studied. Adenoviral gene transfer was used to introduce green fluorescent protein (GFP), SERCA2, and NCX into N and LVH myocytes. Contraction (videomicroscopy) and Ca 2+ transients (Fluo-3) were measured in steady state and after rest periods of 2 to 120 seconds (rest decay and potentiation). LVH hearts were significantly larger than N (7.1 ± 1.4 versus 4.2 ± 0.2 g/kg). SERCA protein was significantly less abundant in LVH versus N. Steady state contractions and Ca 2+ transients of LVH-GFP myocytes decayed more slowly and rest decay of contractility was more pronounced compared with N-GFP. Infection of LVH (and N) myocytes with SERCA increased basal contractility and reduced rest decay. Infection of LVH myocytes with NCX almost abolished contraction and in N myocytes reduced contractility and increased rest decay. Conclusion These findings suggest that an imbalance of Ca 2+ transport by SERCA and the NCX produces the characteristic contractile abnormalities of hypertrophied cardiac myocytes.
Reliability and contingency criteria for planning

The best way to address reliability in distribution planning is to use it directly as a criterion in the evaluation of various alternatives. In this approach, frequency and duration of service interruption are computed for each potential alternative design (using a reliability analysis method) and compared to corporate reliability criteria to assure compliance of all new designs, additions and operating changes. The corporate reliability criteria set goals for the expected average frequency and duration of outages on any part of the system, as well as an upper limit on the worst case reliability that will be allowed for any one customer.
Know your BIOTEACHERS when you assess sexual health

Psychiatrists often are required to obtain basic sexual information as part of a thorough clinical assessment. (1) Although a detailed sexual health assessment comprises multiple elaborate domains, (2) it's important that mental health professionals remember a set of topics and related questions (Table) that can help investigate, diagnose, and treat sexual dysfunction, and contribute to a biopsychosocial formulation of your patient's sexuality The BIOTEACHERS mnemonic can remind you what to ask when taking a patient's sexual history; it is not intended to be an alternative to a comprehensive sexual health evaluation. Table BIOTEACHERS: Questions to ask when taking a sexual history Topic Question Background or Tell me about your problem. Do you have biophysical state physical issues that affect your sexual health? Identity In terms of gender, how do you identify yourself? What gender pronouns do you prefer? Orientation To whom are you attracted, sexually? Who do you prefer as a sexual partner? Thoughts of a Do you ever think about sex or being sexually sexual nature intimate? Do certain thoughts trouble you? Erotic desire Are you interested in sex? Do you seek sexual (sexual interest) gratification or find it pleasurable? Arousal Can you become sexually aroused? Do you experience erections or vaginal lubrication? Climax Are you able to have a climax? What is the quality of your orgasm? How often? What is the frequency of your sexual activity? Education How did you obtain your sexual knowledge? What are your sexual health practices? Repertoire or relationship dynamics What sexual activities do you engage in? How is your relationship with your partner? Self-stimulation Do you have the ability to obtain satisfaction from self-stimulation? Each letter stands for a component of the sexual assessment. The grouped letters of the acronym break down into different relevant areas that aid in remembering each category. BIO Background of the problem or the patient's biophysical state Identity Orientation BIO gathers basic medical information, then creates an opportunity to understand the patient's gender identity. …
Antibiotic-tolerant Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Persists on Arthroplasty Materials

The continued presence of biofilm may be one cause of the high risk of failure observed with irrigation and debridement with component retention in acute periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). There is a poor understanding of the role of biofilm antibiotic tolerance in PJI. (1) Do increasing doses of cefazolin result in decreased viable biofilm mass on arthroplasty materials? (2) Is cefazolin resistance phenotypic or genotypic? (3) Is biofilm viability a function of biofilm depth after treatment with cefazolin? (4) Is the toxin-antitoxin system, yoeB expression, associated with antibiotic stress? Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus biofilm was cultured on total knee arthroplasty (TKA) materials and exposed to increasing doses of cefazolin (control, 0.5, 1.0, 10.0, 100.0 μg/mL). Quantitative confocal microscopy and quantitative culture were used to measure viable biofilm cell density. To determine if cefazolin resistance was phenotypic or genotypic, we measured minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) after exposure to different cefazolin concentrations; changes in MIC would suggest genotypic features, whereas unchanged MIC would suggest phenotypic behavior. Finally, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify expression of yoeB levels between biofilm and planktonic bacteria after exposure to 1 μg/mL cefazolin for 3 hours. Although live biofilm mass was reduced by exposure to cefazolin when compared with biofilm mass in controls (39.2 × 103 ± 26.4 × 103 pixels), where the level after 0.5 µg/mL exposure also showed reduced mass (20.3 × 103 ± 11.9 × 103 pixels), no further reduction was seen after higher doses (mass at 1.0 µg/mL: 5.0 × 103 pixels ± 1.1 × 103 pixels; at 10.0 µg/mL: 6.4 × 103 ± 9.6 × 103 pixels; at 100.0 µg/mL: 6.4 × 103 ± 3.9 × 103). At the highest concentration tested (100 µg/mL), residual viable biofilm was present on all three materials, and there were no differences in percent biofilm survival among cobalt-chromium (18.5% ± 15.1%), polymethylmethacrylate (22.8% ± 20.2%), and polyethylene (14.7% ± 10.4%). We found that tolerance was a phenotypic phenomenon, because increasing cefazolin exposure did not result in changes in MIC as compared with controls (MIC in controls: 0.13 ± 0.02; at 0.5 µg/mL: 0.13 ± 0.001, p = 0.96; at 1.0 µg/m: 0.14 ± 0.04, p = 0.95; at 10.0 µg/m: 0.11 ± 0.016, p = 0.47; at 100.0 µg/m: 0.94 ± 0.047, p = 0.47). Expression of yoeB after 1 µg/mL cefazolin for 3 hours in biofilm cells was greater in biofilm but not in planktonic cells (biofilm: 62.3-fold change, planktonic cells: −78.8-fold change, p < 0.001). Antibiotics are inadequate at complete removal of the biofilm from the surface of TKA materials. Results suggest that bacterial persisters are responsible for this phenotypic behavior allowing biofilm high tolerance to antibiotics. Antibiotic-tolerant biofilm suggests a mechanism behind the poor results in irrigation and debridement for acute TKA PJI.
When the Hurly Burly's Done: The Bar's Struggle with the SEC

The SEC's failed efforts to regulate securities bar and the securities bar's power and push back.Enron went bust. Global Crossing went bust. WorldCom went bust. And underneath all their apparent gold we found, not mere mistakes, but rot and more rot and more rot still. And the rot had to be named, and it was: accounting scandal. The name stuck, and names matter. Arthur Andersen knows.
Aneurysm of an aberrant right subclavian artery: repair using circulatory arrest.

An arteriosclerotic aneurysm of an aberrant right subclavian artery was repaired by median sternotomy with use of deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest. The procedure was combined with myocardial revascularization. All reported cases of aneurysmal dilatation of this vessel are reviewed, and the technical aspects of repair are described.
Clinicopathologic Features of Gallbladder Cancer and Associated Outcomes

Gallbladder cancer is an infrequent malignancy but is the sixth most common and ninth most lethal gastrointestinal malignancy in the United States. The lack of specific signs and symptoms results in an advanced tumor stage at diagnosis, resulting in a dismal prognosis. Papillary adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder has been reported to have a better prognosis, but few studies address the correlation …
The Austin Flint Murmur

The Austin Flint murmur (AF) is a mid-diastolic murmur secondary to severe aortic regurgitation (AR). Because it is best heard at the apex of the heart, it can be mistaken for mitral stenosis (MS). While the etiology of AF is not completely understood, it is agreed that AF is not due to functional MS. Commonly accepted mechanisms for AF include turbulent flow, mitral valve fluttering, and septal bulging. While often found in asymptomatic patients, AF can indicate severe AR.
3H-Thymidine Uptake by the Rat Urinary Bladder After Induction Of Diabetes Mellitus

Streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus causes diuresis, increases in bladder mass and changes in micturition. Temporal changes in micturition and bladder mass after induction of diabetes with streptozotocin were monitored and correlated with DNA synthesis and 3H-thymidine incorporation. There were increases in water consumption, urine excretion, urinary frequency, and mean and maximal micturition volume within 1 day after induction of diabetes. These parameters reached maximal values within 6 to 11 days and were maintained at 30 and 60 days. Bladder mass was significantly elevated by 7 days and did not increase further with increasing duration of diabetes. DNA concentration was decreased in bladders from 4, 7 and 14 day diabetics. 3H-thymidine incorporation into DNA increased within 2 days after induction of diabetes, reached maximal values at 4 to 7 days and declined to control values by 14 days. Autoradiography showed intense labelling of the urothelium one day after induction of diabetes, with labelling remaining high up to day 7. Connective tissue and smooth muscle labelling were slower to develop. Labelling of smooth muscle was transient, appearing only on days 4 and 7. The time course of the events was consistent with the hypothesis that bladder distension or increasing micturition volume stimulates thymidine incorporation into DNA, resulting in an increase in bladder mass.
High-Fidelity Patient Simulation Increases Dietetic Students' Self-Efficacy Prior to Clinical Supervised Practice: A Preliminary Study

Abstract Objective This study examined the effect of high-fidelity patient simulation (HPS) on dietetics students' self-efficacy before supervised clinical practice. Methods This repeated-measures study was conducted during the 2012–2013 academic year. All students in a masters coordinated program cohort (n = 19) participated in an interprofessional HPS experience before clinical supervised practice. The students completed a 4-point self-efficacy scale in which 0 = not at all confident and 3 = fully confident, at 3 time points: before and after the simulation experience and 2 weeks after beginning clinical supervised practice. Results Using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, median confidence level differed before and after the simulation (1.5; interquartile range [IQR] 1.2–1.8; and IQR 1.3–2.0, respectively; P = .03) as well as after the simulation vs during the clinical rotation (2.2; IQR 2.0–2.4; P = .002). Conclusions and Implications This study supports the use of HPS with dietetics students in a coordinated program. High-fidelity patient simulation increases dietetics students' self-efficacy before supervised clinical practice.
Sleep, Sexual Function, and Testosterone

Sleep plays an important, but often underestimated, role in sexual function throughout life. Beginning with puberty, normal sleep is required for development of the pituitary–gonadal axis. The effect of sleep on sexual function after puberty can be explained partly by the effects of sleep disruption on hormonal abnormalities, especially testosterone regulation. Sleep apnea is a risk factor for sexual dysfunction in both men and women. This chapter will explore how sleep and sleep disruption affects sexual function. In addition, the interactions between sleep and the pituitary–gonadal axis will be discussed.
Probability and Statistical Models

It is assumed that the reader is already at least somewhat familiar with the basics of probability and statistics. The goals of this chapter are to 1. review these basics; 2. discuss more advanced; topics needed in our empirical study of financial markets data such as random vectors, covariance matrices, best linear prediction, heavy-tailed distributions, maximum likelihood estimation, and likelihood ratio tests; 3. provide glimpses of how probability and statistics are applied to finance problems in this book; and 4. introduce notation that is used throughout the book.
Significance of blood gas monitoring for parameter adjustment of mechanical ventilation

Mechanical ventilation is an important life support method.Correct parameter adjustment of mechanical ventilation depends on assessment of Patient's respiratory and the effectiveness of mechanical venfilation.Blood gas monitoring is the most important way to assess the effectiveness of mechanical ventilation.Guidance of blood gas monitoring in parameter adjustment of mechanical venfilation is the key of successful mechanical ventilation. Key words: Respirator; Respiratory failure; Blood gas monitoring; Parameter adjustment
Organic Ultraviolet Photodetectors Exhibiting Photomultiplication, Low Dark Current, and High Stability

Organic UV photodetectors can provide a cheap, durable alternative to current technologies used for applications such as missile detection and arc flash protection. The wide-bandgap semiconductor poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-alt-co-(bithiophene)] (F8T2), combined disproportionately with the fullerene-derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) in weight ratios of 100:4 and 100:1, comprises the active layers of organic UV photodetectors. The small clusters of PC71BM trap charges, enhancing band bending and charge injection and thus enabling photomultiplication. These clusters also prevent electrons from transporting through the device, helping produce a low dark current. Although devices without an electron transfer layer (ETL) exhibit more efficient photomultiplication, they tend to be unstable. Devices with a F8T2:PC71BM weight ratio of 100:4 and with an ETL demonstrate an external quantum efficiency peaking at 5600%, at 360 nm and −40 V bias, and a low dark current of 2.7 × 10−7 mA cm−2 at −1 V bias. These devices are stable and behave well even under strong biases, which enhance the UV-selectivity and response speed of the devices.
Quadrature-amplitude-coding PAM to improve bandwidth-limitation tolerance for short-reach transmission

We experimentally demonstrate 56-Gb/s quadrature-amplitude-coding PAM under a 9-GHz bandwidth limitation in a conventional direct-detection system. We also confirm the scheme requires fewer feed-forward equalizer taps at the receiver than conventional PAM4.
Differences in User Responses to a Wizard-of-Oz versus Automated System

© 2013 Association for Computational Linguistics. Wizard-of-Oz experimental setup in a dialogue system is commonly used to gather data for informing an automated version of that system. Previous work has exposed dependencies between user behavior towards systems and user belief about whether the system is automated or human-controlled. This work examines whether user behavior changes when user belief is held constant and the system's operator is varied. We perform a posthoc experiment using generalizable prosodic and lexical features of user responses to a dialogue system backed with and without a human wizard. Our results suggest that user responses are different when communicating with a wizarded and an automated system, indicating that wizard data may be less reliable for informing automated systems than generally assumed.
Modeling Student Engagement and Attrition in BJCx, a CS Principles MOOC: (Abstract Only)

One method of increasing accessibility to computer science education is through massive open online courses (MOOCs). The Beauty and Joy of Computing MOOC (BJCx) on edX is an introductory computer science course aimed to reach a broad audience of learners and designed to fulfill the AP CS Principles curriculum. However, like most MOOCs, BJCx faces high rates of student attrition. Some of this can be attributed to variance in student intentions; there are students who enroll only to browse the material with no plan of completing the course. On the other hand, the attrition of those students who intend to finish but drop out along the way is a point of concern. It could be reduced if course staff could predict it using the students' behavior and intervene. In this project, I explore how patterns of student engagement with course material can predict attrition. Using a recurrent neural network, I model student behavior over time. I am then able to analyze the behavioral patterns which are likely to precede dropping out. Furthermore, I explore which topics in the course curriculum most often immediately precede students dropping out. I visualize the time-series trends overlaid with the curriculum in order to gain insights into correlations between introductory computer science topics and student attrition. This information, along with the predictive student engagement model, can potentially allow teachers to design interventions at MOOC scale, something that is otherwise lacking in comparison to traditional classroom settings where the teacher can directly gauge student behavior.
Communication Between Enteric Neurons, Glia, and Nociceptors Underlies the Effects of Tachykinins on Neuroinflammation.

Background & Aims Tachykinins are involved in physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms in the gastrointestinal tract. The major sources of tachykinins in the gut are intrinsic enteric neurons in the enteric nervous system and extrinsic nerve fibers from the dorsal root and vagal ganglia. Although tachykinins are important mediators in the enteric nervous system, how they contribute to neuroinflammation through effects on neurons and glia is not fully understood. Here, we tested the hypothesis that tachykinins contribute to enteric neuroinflammation through mechanisms that involve intercellular neuron-glia signaling. Methods We used immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and studied cellular activity using transient-receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1)tm1(cre)Bbm/J::Polr2atm1(CAG-GCaMP5g,-tdTomato)Tvrd and Sox10CreERT2::Polr2atm1(CAG-GCaMP5g,-tdTomato)Tvrd mice or Fluo-4. We used the 2,4-di-nitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS) model of colitis to study neuroinflammation, glial reactivity, and neurogenic contractility. We used Sox10::CreERT2+/-/Rpl22tm1.1Psam/J mice to selectively study glial transcriptional changes. Results Tachykinins are expressed predominantly by intrinsic neuronal varicosities whereas neurokinin-2 receptors (NK2Rs) are expressed predominantly by enteric neurons and TRPV1-positive neuronal varicosities. Stimulation of NK2Rs drives responses in neuronal varicosities that are propagated to enteric glia and neurons. Antagonizing NK2R signaling enhanced recovery from colitis and prevented the development of reactive gliosis, neuroinflammation, and enhanced neuronal contractions. Inflammation drove changes in enteric glial gene expression and function, and antagonizing NK2R signaling mitigated these changes. Neurokinin A–induced neurodegeneration requires glial connexin-43 hemichannel activity. Conclusions Our results show that tachykinins drive enteric neuroinflammation through a multicellular cascade involving enteric neurons, TRPV1-positive neuronal varicosities, and enteric glia. Therapies targeting components of this pathway could broadly benefit the treatment of dysmotility and pain after acute inflammation in the intestine.
Perspectives on Comparative Cognition

In this chapter, first, I would like to note that 1996 marks the 20th anniversary of an important event in the history of comparative cognition, an event that helps set our activities this weekend into historical context. After a few words about that, I will then turn to a problem with which I have had a certain measure of familiarity over the years, namely, the problem of serial order in behavior. I intend to examine that issue with an historical approach. History captures much that remains important in our field, not only regarding the problem of serial order, but also regarding the larger framework of comparative cognition as a whole. Finally, I would like to make a few observations about where I think the field of comparative cognition may be headed. We have made great progress in the past few decades, but I fear that serious pitfalls are either with us or lurk immediately ahead. Because history has a way of repeating itself, as the historian has said, we must heed some looming danger signals, the harbingers of which are already among us. Still, we have made progress, and there is much to look forward to.