cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Collaboration Between Maternal and Child Health and Chronic Disease Epidemiologists to Identify Strategies to Reduce Hypertension-Related Severe Maternal Morbidity.

INTRODUCTION Maternal and child health (MCH) and chronic disease programs at state health agencies may not routinely collaborate. The objective of this study was to describe a project that enhanced relationships between MCH and chronic disease epidemiologists at the Florida Department of Health, increased epidemiologic capacity, and informed both programs. METHODS We collaborated to assess hypertension-related severe maternal morbidity (H-SMM) and hypertensive disorders (preexisting hypertension, gestational hypertension, and preeclampsia) among women at delivery of their live birth to help determine the burden on health care systems in Florida. We identified ways to improve the health of women before they conceive and to help them manage any chronic diseases during the perinatal period. RESULTS We found differences by maternal characteristics in H-SMM rates among 979,660 women who delivered live births. We proposed strategies to support collaboration between state MCH and chronic disease staff. First, increase the screening, monitoring, and management of hypertension before, during, and after pregnancy. Second, examine H-SMM concurrently with maternal mortality to help find prevention strategies. Third, include reproductive-aged women in ongoing hypertension prevention and intervention efforts. Fourth, expand team-based care to include obstetricians, midwives, and doulas who can work together with primary care providers for hypertension management. And fifth, create and share data products that guide various groups about hypertension and related risk factors among reproductive-aged women. CONCLUSION The collaboration between the Florida Department of Health MCH and chronic disease epidemiologists produced 1) a program-relevant indicator, H-SMM and 2) strategies for enhancing program and clinical activities, communication, and surveillance to reduce H-SMM rates.
SRAM Stability Analysis and Performance–Reliability Tradeoff for Different Cache Configurations

Bias temperature instability (BTI), hot carrier injection (HCI), gate–oxide time-dependent dielectric breakdown (GTDDB), and random telegraph noise (RTN) degrade the stability of the deeply scaled transistors and the overall circuit reliability. These front-end wearout mechanisms are especially acute in the static random access memory (SRAM) cells of first-level (L1) caches, which are crucial for the performance of microprocessors due to frequent accesses. This article presents a methodology to analyze cache reliability degradation due to the combined effect of BTI, HCI, GTDDB, and RTN for different cache configurations, including variations due to associativity, cache line size, cache size, and the error-correcting codes (ECCs). Time-zero variability due to process and environmental parameters are also considered. First, we analyze how each wearout mechanism affects reliability degradation. Then we analyze the relationship between reliability (probability of failure) and performance (hit rate) of the L1 cache within a LEON3 microprocessor, while the LEON3 is running a set of benchmarks, which determine cell array activity, characterized by the duty cycle, toggle rate, temperature, and supply voltage distributions of cells. Insights on the performance–reliability tradeoff are provided for cache designers.
Tuning parameter selection for penalised empirical likelihood with a diverging number of parameters

Penalised likelihood methods have been a success in analysing high dimensional data. Tang and Leng [(2010), ‘Penalized High-Dimensional Empirical Likelihood’, Biometrika, 97(4), 905–920] extended t...
Geospatial characteristics of non-motor vehicle and assault-related trauma events in greater Phoenix, Arizona

Injury-causing events are not randomly distributed across a landscape, but how they are associated with the features and characteristics of the places where they occur in Arizona (AZ) remains understudied. Clustering of trauma events and associations with areal sociodemographic characteristics in the greater Phoenix (PHX), AZ region can promote understanding and inform efforts to ameliorate a leading cause of death and disability for Arizonans. The outcomes of interest are trauma events unrelated to motor vehicle crashes (MVC) and the subgroup of trauma events due to interpersonal assaults. A retrospective, ecological study was performed incorporating data from state and national sources for the years 2013–2017. Geographically weighted regression models explored associations between the rates of non-MVC trauma events (n/10,000 population) and the subgroup of assaultive trauma events per 1000 and areal characteristics of socioeconomic deprivation (areal deprivation index [ADI]), the density of retail alcohol outlets for offsite consumption, while controlling for race/ethnicity, population density, and the percentage urban population. The 63,451 non-MVC traumas within a 3761 mile2 study area encompassing PHX and 22 surrounding communities, an area with nearly 60% of the state’s population and 54% of the trauma events in the AZ State Trauma Registry for the years 2013–2017. Adjusting for confounders, ADI was associated with the rates of non-MVC and assaultive traumas in all census block groups studied (mean coefficients 0.05 sd. 0.001 and 0.07 sd. 0.002 for non-MVC and assaultive trauma, respectively). Alcohol retail outlet density was also associated with non-MVC and assaultive traumas in fewer block groups compared to ADI. Socioeconomic deprivation and alcohol outlet density were associated with injury producing events in the greater PHX area. These features persist in the environment before and after the traumas occur. Ongoing research is warranted to identify the most influential areal predictors of traumatic injury-causing events in the greater PHX area to inform and geographically target prevention initiatives.
SCRIMP: a general stochastic computing architecture using ReRAM in-memory processing

Stochastic computing (SC) reduces the complexity of computation by representing numbers with long independent bit-streams. However, increasing performance in SC comes with increase in area and loss in accuracy. Processing in memory (PIM) with non-volatile memories (NVMs) computes data inplace, while having high memory density and supporting bitparallel operations with low energy. In this paper, we propose SCRIMP for stochastic computing acceleration with resistive RAM (ReRAM) in-memory processing, which enables SC in memory. SCRIMP can be used for a wide range of applications. It supports all SC encodings and operations in memory. It maximizes the performance and energy efficiency of implementing SC by introducing novel in-memory parallel stochastic number generation and efficient implication-based logic in memory. To show the efficiency of our stochastic architecture, we implement image processing on the proposed hardware.
Making Play Work 4D

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, like other mechanisms for conceptualizing societal wellbeing, center problems that are of immediate and pervasive importance: gender equality, world hunger, global health, quality education, and more. These are challenges of global relevance to be examined, engaged, alleviated, and we have little time at hand to do so. What most frameworks for global and social change frequently sideline is the role that leisure, or play, might have in supporting these tremendous pursuits towards making the world a better place for all. Implicit in these tensions is the assumption that play is not high enough a priority, not low enough in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and therefore not anywhere in the plans that researchers and practitioners of global, sustainable development tend to foreground. What then is play good for? How might it open us up to imagining new and different futures?In this talk, I will begin with my initial encounters with play and leisure, the path my early explorations took me on as I grappled with these questions that it raised, introducing the audience to the work of others that offered inspiration along the way. I will draw connections with research efforts in the CHI PLAY community, and conclude by raising questions for the audience to engage with around making play work 4D, or for development.
Implementing cryptography in LoRa based communication devices for unmanned ground vehicle applications

In this study, a Long Range (LoRa) based bidirectional secured communication link for controlling and monitoring the robots from a remote location is proposed. The security features and structure of the LoRa is build upon the standard protocol called LoRa wide area networks (LoRaWAN). To take advantage of these features, LoRa devices/end modules need to be connected to a network server through a LoRa gateway. However, for certain military scenarios like war zones, terrorist attack sites, disaster sites etc., the availability of standard network cannot be guaranteed, and therefore, the security features available with LoRaWAN protocol cannot be guaranteed. To overcome this critical limitation, a LoRa based secured device for establishing a bidirectional communication link between the base station and the robots without relying on any network is proposed. To secure the exchanged data, a cryptographic protocol is developed, and confidentiality, authenticity and integrity of the transmitted data between the base station and the robot are ensured. The protocol is then implemented with a pair of LoRa devices and its functionality is tested from a remote location by controlling and monitoring a Pioneer-P3Dx robot from a distance of 1.2 miles. The test shows that the proposed cryptographic protocol can securely control and track the robot from a remote location.
Longitudinal associations between internalizing symptoms and driving avoidance in newly licensed adolescents.

BACKGROUND Extensive literature assesses risky adolescent driving, but nothing examines what makes teens avoid driving. Many assume teenagers are eager to drive, but evidence suggests internalizing symptoms lead some to avoid driving. AIMS This study tested whether depressive and anxious symptomology predicted longitudinal driving avoidance in novice teen drivers. MATERIALS AND METHODS N = 56 16-year-olds (52% female; 48% Black/African American) completed three observations over 6 months. At Time 1, participants reported depressive (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression 10-item Scale) and anxious (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale) symptomologies, and driving avoidance (Driving Habits Questionnaire [DHQ]), repeating DHQ at Times 2 and 3. Multiple linear regression tested whether symptomologies predicted avoidance at licensure. Linear mixed models tested associations between symptomologies and avoidance over time. RESULTS High anxiety predicted greater avoidance at baseline and over 6 months. Depressive symptoms did not predict avoidance. DISCUSSION Findings warrant an assessment of anxious adolescents' barriers to driving and avoidance impacts on crash risk.
Next-generation immunotherapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: navigating pathways of immune resistance

To date, the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors has proven largely ineffective in patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. A combination of low tumor antigenicity, deficits in immune activation along with an exclusive and suppressive tumor microenvironment result in resistance to host defensives. However, a deepening understanding of these immune escape and suppressive mechanisms has led to the discovery of novel molecular targets and treatment strategies that may hold the key to a long-awaited therapeutic breakthrough. In this review, we describe the tumor-intrinsic and microenvironmental barriers to modern immunotherapy, examine novel immune-based and targeted modalities, summarize relevant pre-clinical findings and human experience, and, finally, discuss novel synergistic approaches to overcome immune-resistance in pancreatic cancer. Beyond checkpoint inhibition, immune agonists and anti-tumor vaccines represent promising strategies to stimulate host response via activation and expansion of anti-tumor immune effectors. Off-the-shelf natural killer cell therapies may offer an effective method for bypassing downregulated tumor antigen presentation. In parallel with this, sophisticated targeting of crosstalk between tumor and tumor-associated immune cells may lead to enhanced immune infiltration and survival of anti-tumor lymphocytes. A future multimodal treatment strategy involving immune priming/activation, tumor microenvironment reprogramming, and immune checkpoint blockade may help transform pancreatic cancer into an immunogenic tumor.
Chapter 5. Biological Factors in the Major Psychoses

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews pharmacological studies related to psychoses and its biological factors. Recent evidence from clinical, genetic, pharmacologic, and biological studies suggest that major depressions can be meaningfully subdivided into bipolar and unipolar groups based on the presence or absence of a prior history of mania. The major hypotheses and data concerning the biochemistry of affective illness have focused on the possibility that major depression is related to a functional deficit in central norepinephrine (NE) or serotonin systems, while mania is related to a functional excess of NE or (5-hydroxytryptamine) 5HT. Conversely, drugs that could increase amines at the synapse were stimulants, had antidepressant properties, or could precipitate mania in susceptible individuals. In Alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (AMPT) is a potent and specific inhibitor of tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of dopamine (DA) and NE. In an attempt to reverse the hypothesized deficit in brain serotonin, L-tryptophan has been administered to depressed patients with varying results. In one single-blind study, it was reported that L-tryptophan plus an inhibitor of monoamine oxidase was as effective as electro-convulsive shock, while L-tryptophan alone (5-7 gm/day) was somewhat less effective. A recent double-blind study found L-trypto-phan alone as effective as imipramine in the treatment of depression.
Clinically Indicated Corticosteroids Do Not Affect Bone Turnover During Immune Restoration of Severely Lymphopenic HIV-Infected Patients

Abstract Lymphopenia, corticosteroids, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and inflammation negatively impact bone turnover and decrease bone mineral density, but their combined effect has not been evaluated. We examined the association between corticosteroids on bone turnover markers in severely lymphopenic HIV-infected patients initiating ART. Levels of osteocalcin (bone formation marker) and C-terminal telopeptide (CTX; bone resorption marker) were measured at baseline, weeks 4, 12, and 48 of ART in individuals with severe lymphopenia and opportunistic infection (OI) who received (n=28) or did not receive corticosteroids (n=30) during the first year of ART, and in a control group with CD4 >200 (n=15). Wilcoxon tests were used to compare median values of variables between groups. Correlations between plasma interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) levels with bone turnover marker levels were performed using Spearman's coefficient. Individuals given corticosteroids received a median of 21 days at a 3...
End-user Security in Mobile Telecommunications: Policy Perspectives and a Research Agenda

The recent advances in mobile technologies have brought about increased functionality, however this increased functionality in turn increases the vulnerability of mobile networks, services and users. In such an environment supplying secure mobile services requires a high degree of coordination among a variety of industry players including equipment manufacturers, application developers, operating system developers and service providers. The scale of the challenge can be assessed by merely observing the difficulties faced by administrators of fixed organizational networks in their attempts to maintain virus-free networks in a context where the end users are to some degree under their control. In this light it is easy to imagine that providing secure services to end users in a highly decentralized public mobile network environment will certainly be a challenge. The complexity such services entail raises questions about whether or not service providers will be able to deliver and even more challenging offer security quality of service guarantees. Whether or not secure mobile services will be offered is a function of both supply and demand. While certain measures can be taken to assist the traditional market mechanisms that face challenges when high degrees of coordination are required there may also be a role for public policy. As both a component of critical infrastructures and as a licensed use of the public spectrum with public interest obligations, there may be a basis for public policy mechanisms to be employed to facilitate the supply of such services. In this paper we address these issues by first exploring factors affecting the supply and demand of security technologies and services. This is followed by a review of the policy context and recent developments in the U.S. and Europe. Information from these synopses are then combined with findings from our companion report "The Delft UMTS Testbed and End-user Security Features: to suggest a research agenda that if implemented will answer fundamental questions concerning the future of end-user mobile security.
Left-to-right binary signed-digit recoding for elliptic curve cryptography

In this paper we present a new left-to-right (i.e., from the most significant bit to the least significant bit) algorithm to compute the binary signed-digit representations of two integers g and h such that their joint weight is optimal. This method has lower complexity compared to the best known method JSF (Joint Sparse Form) algorithm. This method can be easily extended to the case of finding the signed-digit representation of more than two integers. In [1] Solinas left this as an open problem. Such an algorithm is useful in simplifying the circuits for the implementation of elliptic curve cryptosystems (ECC).
Denaturation of Bovine Carbonic Anhydrase B by Guanidine Hydrochloride A PROCESS INVOLVING SEPARABLE SEQUENTIAL CONFORMATIONAL TRANSITIONS

Abstract The denaturation and renaturation of bovine carbonic anhydrase B is a thermodynamically reversible process, uncomplicated by aggregation or disulfide bond formation. The reaction is less cooperative than is the unfolding and refolding of most globular proteins, in that distinct successive stages can be observed both in equilibrium and kinetic measurements. This enzyme is therefore ideally suited for investigation of the mechanism of folding of an unfolded polypeptide chain. As part of this work the properties of the native enzyme have been carefully reinvestigated. A somewhat smaller molecular weight (29,000) and sedimentation coefficient (s020,w = 2.89 S) than previously reported were obtained. The absence of cystine or cysteine has been unambiguously established.
Mobile commerce: framework, applications and networking support

Advances in e-commerce have resulted in significant progress towards strategies, requirements, and development of e-commerce applications. However, nearly all e-commerce applications envisioned and developed so far assume fixed or stationary users with wired infrastructure. We envision many new e-commerce applications that will be possible and significantly benefit from emerging wireless and mobile networks. To allow designers, developers, and researchers to strategize and create mobile commerce applications, we propose a four-level integrated framework for mobile commerce. Since there are potentially an unlimited number of mobile commerce applications, we attempt to identify several important classes of applications such as mobile financial applications, mobile inventory management, proactive service management, product location and search, and wireless re-engineering. We discuss how to successfully define, architect, and implement the necessary hardware/software infrastructure in support of mobile commerce. Also, to make mobile commerce applications a reality, we address networking requirements, discuss support from wireless carriers, and present some open research problems.
Self-correcting incremental approach in nonlinear structural mechanics.

A self-correcting, incremental-solution procedure has been developed which seems to be promising in solving geometrically highly nonlinear problems. The procedure is also applicable to systems with many degrees of freedom where the bandwidth of the stiffness matrix is large compared with the narrow bandwidth for the shell of revolution.
Staphylococcus aureus Strain USA300 Perturbs Acquisition of Lysosomal Enzymes and Requires Phagosomal Acidification for Survival inside Macrophages

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes invasive, drug-resistant skin and soft tissue infections. Reports that S. aureus bacteria survive inside macrophages suggest that the intramacrophage environment may be a niche for persistent infection; however, mechanisms by which the bacteria might evade macrophage phagosomal defenses are unclear. We examined the fate of the S. aureus-containing phagosome in THP-1 macrophages by evaluating bacterial intracellular survival and phagosomal acidification and maturation and by testing the impact of phagosomal conditions on bacterial viability. Multiple strains of S. aureus survived inside macrophages, and in studies using the MRSA USA300 clone, the USA300-containing phagosome acidified rapidly and acquired the late endosome and lysosome protein LAMP1. However, fewer phagosomes containing live USA300 bacteria than those containing dead bacteria associated with the lysosomal hydrolases cathepsin D and β-glucuronidase. Inhibiting lysosomal hydrolase activity had no impact on intracellular survival of USA300 or other S. aureus strains, suggesting that S. aureus perturbs acquisition of lysosomal enzymes. We examined the impact of acidification on S. aureus intramacrophage viability and found that inhibitors of phagosomal acidification significantly impaired USA300 intracellular survival. Inhibition of macrophage phagosomal acidification resulted in a 30-fold reduction in USA300 expression of the staphylococcal virulence regulator agr but had little effect on expression of sarA, saeR, or sigB. Bacterial exposure to acidic pH in vitro increased agr expression. Together, these results suggest that S. aureus survives inside macrophages by perturbing normal phagolysosome formation and that USA300 may sense phagosomal conditions and upregulate expression of a key virulence regulator that enables its intracellular survival.
Behavior-based artificial intelligence in miniature mobile robot

Abstract An intelligent mobile robot that implements concepts of mechatronics, mobile robotics, and behavior-based artificial intelligence has been developed. The design process for such a mobile robot employs a concept of simple trade-off between the mechanical, electrical, and computational systems for the benefit of improving the robots overall system performance. The main features of the robot, named SCAVENGER, are to navigate freely in a controlled environment, search for one or more target objects with known characteristics (colored golf balls), and avoid the other objects as obstacles. A combination of infrared sensors, color detectors, and bumper skirts is used to facilitate navigation and object recognition. The robots brain consists of an on-board MC68HC11 microcontroller, which is programmed in C. The control software implements behavior-based artificial intelligence, where the robots overall intelligence is made up of layers of several simple and primitive behaviors similar to those observed in insects. In this work, the design of the robots subsystems, where the implementation of mechatronics is most in effect, is covered in more detail with a particular interest in object recognition and collection systems.
Modeling Random Methyl Branching in Ethylene/ Propylene Copolymers Using Metathesis Chemistry: Synthesis and Thermal Behavior

The structure of random ethylene/propylene (EP) copolymers has been modeled using step polymerization chemistry. Six ethylene/propylene model copolymers have been prepared via acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization and characterized for primary and higher level structure using in-depth NMR, IR, DSC, WAXD, and GPC analysis. These copolymers possess 1.5, 7.1, 13.6, 25.0, 43.3, and 55.6 methyl branches per 1000 carbons. Examination of these macromolecules by IR and WAXD analysis has demonstrated the first hexagonal phase in EP copolymers containing high ethylene content (90%) without the influence of sample manipulation (temperature, pressure, or radiation). Thermal behavior studies have shown that the melting point and heat of fusion decrease as the branch content increases. Further, comparisons have been made between these random ADMET EP copolymers, random EP copolymers made by typical chain addition techniques, and precisely branched ADMET EP copolymers.
Studies on themodulation of immunoglobulin production by prostaglandins

Abstract The present study investigated the effect of prostaglandins (PG) on the in vitro production of polyclonal IgG and IgM by pokeweed mitogen- stimulated normal human peripheral mononuclear cells. Concentrations of PGE 1 and PGA 1 in excess of 10 −6 M were suppressive. PGE 2 and PGs of the F series were less effective and significant suppression was seen in concentrations greater than 10 −3 M. Indomethacin added to cell cultures did not enhance Ig production. This discrepancy between physiologic PG concentrations and the very large pharmacologic concentration necessary to suppress Ig synthesis in vitro makes the physiologic role of PG in the modulation of Ig synthesis questionable.
1H NMR Investigation of the Role of Intrinsic Heme versus Protein-Induced Rhombic Perturbations on the Electronic Structure of Low-Spin Ferrihemoproteins: Effect of Heme Substituents on Heme Orientation in Myoglobin

Solution 1H NMR spectroscopy has been used to characterize the cyanomet myoglobin complexes of a variety of chemically modified hemins in order to elucidate the importance of hemin peripheral electronic, relative to axial His imidazole-induced, rhombic perturbations in raising the orbital degeneracy of the π-bonding dxz,dyz orbitals. Variation of the hemin 2- and/or 4-position substituents among hydrogen, ethyl, vinyl, acetyl, and formyl groups leads to conserved molecular structure of the heme pocket and orientation of the major magnetic axis for the heme iron, but systematically perturbed heme methyl contact shift patterns. Two strongly rhombically perturbed hemins with single acetyl groups on either pyrrole I or II exhibit heme methyl contact shift patterns and characteristic deviations from Curie law that are very similar to that induced in pseudosymmetric hemins upon incorporation into metMbCN in the alternate orientations about the α,γ-meso axis. The perturbation due to the 4-acetyl group and the ax...
Pineal Enzymes: Regulation of Avian Melatonin Synthesis

Groups of 8-week-old chickens were killed at six time points in their light-dark cycle, and pineal glands were removed and assayed individually for N- acetyltransferase activity, hydroxyindole -O- methyltransferase activity, and melatonin content. The tenfold nocturnal rise in melatonin was phased identically with the 27-fold increase in N- acetyltransferase activity. The relatively small changes (20 percent) in hydroxyindole -O- methyltransferase activity did not appear important in causing the large changes in melatonin. The phase of the rhythms of N- acetyltransferase activity and melatonin content in chickens relative to the phase of the light-dark cycle was qualitatively similar to that of rats. In contrast, the sleep-wake cycle of chickens is about 180° out of phase with that of rats.
Thiophilic interaction chromatography facilitates detection of various molecular complexes of prostate-specific antigen in biological fluids.

BACKGROUND It is known that total PSA values are often greater than the sum total of free-PSA (f-PSA) and PSA–ACT complex. It is primarily because other PSA complexes are present in the patient serum and currently cannot be quantified. Our studies were aimed in developing methodology that will permit recovery of all molecular forms of PSA from various biological fluids. METHODS Thiophilic interaction (3S,T-gel) chromatography procedure was used to isolate various PSA molecular forms present in biological fluids. f-PSA and PSA complexes were shown to have strong affinity for T-gel. PSA forms eluted from the column were analyzed by SDS–PAGE/Western blot and were identified by immunostaining with antibody-specific to PSA and to various protease inhibitors. The identity of PSA complexes was also confirmed by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent-assay (ELISA). RESULTS One step affinity chromatography procedure (3S,T-gel) was used to isolate different molecular forms of PSA in seminal plasma, patient sera, and in prostate cancer cell culture medium. Seminal plasma was shown to contain f-PSA, PSA–ACT, PSA–A2M, and PSA–PCI. Sera from prostate cancer patients at different stages of the disease contained f-PSA, PSA–ACT, and PSA–A2M. Besides these PSA forms, some patients at late stage of the disease (T3 and T4) also contained two additional PSA-complexes that have not been identified as of yet. Conditioned medium from LNCaP cells was shown to contain f-PSA, PSA–ACT, and PSA–A2M complexes. CONCLUSIONS Thiophilic gel has strong affinity for all known molecular forms of PSA present in any biological material. Visualization of PSA molecular forms in Western-blot analysis was feasible only after patient serum was processed through T-gel. Our procedure can be used to screen hybridoma and antibodies specific to the individual PSA complex. The PSA molecular forms isolated from patient serum after T-gel procedure may provide useful internal calibrators, and thus may significantly enhance the reliability of PSA measurements. Prostate 50: 145–153, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Role of surface strain in the subsurface migration of adsorbates on silicon

Modification of silicon surfaces through the insertion of atoms or even small molecular fragments of an adsorbate into a silicon-silicon bond can be affected tremendously by the effects of surface strain. This process takes place as either surface insertion or subsurface insertion, depending on whether the inserted species remains within the topmost layer or undergoes migration into subsurface layers, respectively. Using density-functional-theory cluster calculations, we show that insertion can be both thermodynamically and kinetically favorable if it takes place in such a way that surface strain is mitigated by neighboring surface sites. By considering the thermal decomposition of ammonia $({\text{NH}}_{3})$ adsorbed on a $\text{Si}(100)\text{\ensuremath{-}}2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1$ surface, we find that insertion mainly depends on the initial distribution of adsorbates and the orientation taken by inserted species with respect to neighboring structures along the surface. These factors seem to greatly affect the subsurface insertion, which can therefore be considered a long-range process. On the other hand, for surface-insertion processes the factors mentioned above are less influential, and insertion has more of a local character. Understanding the factors governing insertion mechanisms may lead to development of more approaches to surface functionalization, where the adsorbates decorating the surface can decompose in a controllable fashion.
Clinical use of sufentanill as an anesthetic

Abstract This review considers a few of the controversies and most recent data pertaining to the clinical intraoperative use of the potent opioid sufentanil. Although sufentanil is used extensively as the opioid component of "balanced" anesthesia, opioids themselves are not total anesthetics. Sufentanil is effective in reducing the so-called stress responses that can occur with balanced anesthesia. Although no conclusive data have shown that such reduction in stress response improves anesthetic outcome, many clinicians continue to choose sufentanil for both convenience and improved hemodynamic control. Recent pharmacokinetic modeling suggests that sufentanil would be a good choice for balanced anesthesia. Additionally, initial postoperative analgesia appears to work better when sufentanil rather than fentanyl is used intraoperatively. Although cost considerations remain important, cost analysis would suggest that, on a per-patient basis, choice of intraoperative opioid has very little effect on total hospital costs.
Construction of a Discrete-time Model for Periodic Diseases with Integer-valued Populations

We demonstrate by means of an explicit construction that it is possible to have a discrete-time model for periodic diseases, consisting of these interacting populations, such that if the initial populations are integer-valued, future populations are also integer-valued. This particular work indicates that the problem of “small values” for solutions can be overcome and, as a consequence, more realistic mathematical models can be constructed for dynamical systems involving the spread of disease in a population.
Multidrug-resistant Human Sarcoma Cells with a Mutant P-Glycoprotein, Altered Phenotype, and Resistance to Cyclosporins*

Abstract A variant of the multidrug-resistant human sarcoma cell line Dx5 was derived by co-selection with doxorubicin and the cyclosporin D analogue PSC 833, a potent inhibitor of the multidrug transporter P-glycoprotein. The variant DxP cells manifest an altered phenotype compared with Dx5, with decreased cross-resistance to Vinca alkaloids and no resistance to dactinomycin. Resistance to doxorubicin and paclitaxel is retained. The multidrug resistance phenotype of DxP cells is not modulated by 2 μM PSC 833 or cyclosporine. DxP cells manifest a decreased ability to transport [3H]cyclosporine. DNA heteroduplex analysis and sequencing reveal a mutant mdr1 gene (deletion of a phenylalanine at amino acid residue 335) in the DxP cell line. The mutant P-glycoprotein has a decreased affinity for PSC 833 and vinblastine and a decreased ability to transport rhodamine 123. Transfection of the mutant mdr1 gene into drug-sensitive MES-SA sarcoma cells confers resistance to both doxorubicin and PSC 833. Our study demonstrates that survival of cells exposed to doxorubicin and PSC 833 in a multistep selection occurred as a result of a P-glycoprotein mutation in transmembrane region 6. These data suggest that Phe335 is an important binding site on P-glycoprotein for substrates such as dactinomycin and vinblastine and for inhibitors such as cyclosporine and PSC 833.
Hypoglycemia: The standard and the fiction

Abstract With the glucose tolerance test the diagnosis of symptomatic postprandial hypoglycemia could be confirmed in only four of 135 patients claiming or suspected of hypoglycemia. However, the great majority of these patients manifested psychiatric conditions, including somatoform, depressive, and personality disorders. Erroneous diagnosis of the presence of hypoglycemia, usually caused by disregard of clear diagnostic criteria, cannot be considered harmless, since it may delay proper treatment for somatic or psychiatric disorders underlying the symptoms presented by the patient.
Kinetic characterization of [125I] iodo-prolactin in binding to primary monolayer cultures of rabbit mammary epithelium.

AbstractMonocellular suspensions of epithelial cells from mammary glands of rabbits at 20–22 days of pregnancy were prepared by sequential dissociation with collagenase-hyaluronidase followed by Pronase. Maintenance in D-valine-substituted minimum essential medium (D-valine-MEM) supplemented with 10% dialyzed calf serum yielded monolayers enriched for rabbit mammary epithelial cells (RMEC). RMEC specifically and reversibly bound bovine PRL with Ka = 1.41–1.85 × 109M-1. Association of lactogen with RMEC receptor followed bimolecular reaction kinetics with rate of 5.17 (±0.75) x 105M-1 sec-1 at 24 C, and 1.03 (±0.11) x 106M-1 sec-1 at 37 C. Dissociation was first order (k-1 = 5.97 (±0.70) x 10-5 sec-1) and was unaffected by the presence of lactogen. Specific binding determined with an excess of unlabelled bPRL was 66–77% of the total binding, and was optimal at pH 7.4. The binding reaction reached equilibrium in 2 h at 37 C, in 3 h at 24 C, and after 24 h at 4 C. Studies of binding capacity revealed the pre...
Intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide for acute radiation papillopathy.

Objective To evaluate intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide for patients with visually symptomatic acute radiation-induced papillopathy. Methods In a prospective, nonrandomized, single-center case series, intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (4 mg/0.1 mL) was injected through the pars plana using sterile technique in 9 patients with radiation papillopathy after plaque radiotherapy for choroidal melanoma. Status of radiation papillopathy and final visual acuity were the main outcome measures. Results At the time of diagnosis of the choroidal melanoma, visual acuity was 20/20 to 20/40 (n = 6), 20/60 (n = 2), and 20/100 (n = 1). The mean radiation dose to the optic disk was 6,175 cGy (median, 5,994 cGy; range, 3,571-12,760 cGy). Radiation papillopathy developed a mean of 18 months (median, 17 months; range, 6-33 months) after plaque radiotherapy. In all cases, the choroidal melanoma was regressed, and there was no retinal detachment or neovascularization of the retina, optic disk, or iris. Concomitant radiation maculopathy was found in 8 eyes manifesting as macular edema (n = 8), intraretinal dot hemorrhages (n = 6), intraretinal exudation (n = 6), or nerve fiber layer infarction (n = 3). The radiation papillopathy findings included optic disk hyperemia (n = 9), edema (n = 9), and circumpapillary hemorrhage (n = 8). At the time of diagnosis of radiation papillopathy, visual acuity was 20/70 (n = 1), 20/100 (n = 4), 20/200 (n = 1), and counting fingers (n = 3). At 1 week after injection of triamcinolone acetonide, visual acuity improvement was found in seven patients, and resolution of optic disk hyperemia and edema was noted for four and three patients, respectively. At a mean follow-up of 11 months (median, 9 months; range, 6-19 months), visual acuity was stable or improved in 7 patients, and resolution of optic disk hyperemia and edema was found in all 9 patients. The mean time to improvement in visual acuity by > or =2 lines was 3 weeks (median, 1 week; range, 1-12 weeks). The mean time to complete resolution of radiation papillopathy was 4 months. The two patients with worse final visual acuity also had macular hole and central retinal vein obstruction. The only complication of this therapy was possibly related cataract in three patients. Conclusion During short-term follow-up, acute radiation-induced papillopathy appears to respond rapidly to intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide injection with resolution of optic disk hyperemia and edema and modest return of visual acuity. The long-term effects remain unknown.
Illuminant precompensation for texture discrimination using filters

Texture-discrimination algorithms have often been tested on images containing either mosaics of synthetic textures or artificially created mosaics of real textures -- in any case, images in which most of the changes in intensity can be ascribed to the textures themselves. However, real images are not formed like this and may contain steep gradations in intensity which have nothing to do with local texture, such as those caused by incident shadows. A texture discrimination algorithm based on linear filters can fail in the presence of these strong gradations, as they may easily contain an order of magnitude more energy than the gradations in intensity due to texture in the image per se. In these cases, the mechanism may become responsive only to strong luminance effects, and not to texture. I have found that good performance on natural images containing texture can only be obtained from a filter-based texture detection scheme if it includes a stage which attempts to bring large intensity gradients within bounds. The exact nature of the best precompensator appears to depend somewhat on the way the filter outputs are processed. The fit to psychophysical data and the implications for more detailed models of human texture processing will be discussed.
Interface circuits for control of a variable speed conveyor belt by personal computers

Abstract A circuit suitable for an IBM PC XT expansion card is designed and constructed to control the speed of a conveyor belt transporting one object every 5 s. The software for a proportional-integral-derivative algorithm to control the motor speed that varies under operational conditions is stored and executed by the PC. The constructions of an address decoding circuit, an interface circuit, and a controller circuit and their applications in the PC's communications with peripheral devices by digital and analogue signals are demonstrated.
Conjugation and modeled structure/function analysis of lysozyme on glycine esterified cotton cellulose-fibers.

The antimicrobial activity of lysozyme covalently bound to glycine-derivatized cotton cellulose was assessed in a 96-well format. Lysozyme was immobilized on glycine-bound cotton through a carbodiimide reaction. The attachment to cotton fibers was made through both a single glycine and a glycine dipeptide esterified to cotton cellulose. Higher levels of lysozyme incorporation were evident in the diglycine-linked cotton cellulose samples. The antibacterial activity of the lysozyme-conjugated cotton cellulose against Bacillus subtilis was assessed as a suspension of pulverized cotton fibers in microtiter wells. Inhibition of B. subtilis growth was observed to be optimal within a range of 0.14−0.3 mM (equivalent to 4−20 mg of lysozyme-bound cotton/mL) of lysozyme. Enhancement of activity over soluble lysozyme may result from the solid-phase protection afforded by the cellulose linkage of the glycoprotein against proteolytic lysis. Computational models of lysozyme based on its crystal structure attached throu...
de Soto (Probably) Never Slept Here: Archaeology, Memory, Myth, and Social Identity

Accounts of the expedition of Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto to Southeastern North America (1539–43 CE) provide the first written descriptions of the Indigenous peoples and physical geography of the interior of this region. These accounts have become not only indispensable resources for archaeologists wishing to reconstruct the social, cultural, and political landscapes of Native Americans at the moments of first contact with Europeans, but essential components of existential ontology for many modern Southeastern communities. This paper examines the case of Childersburg, Alabama, which, despite archaeological evidence to the contrary, has developed a mythic civic charter that asserts itself to be the oldest continually occupied European community in the present United States.
Cues to action: pelvic floor muscle exercise compliance in women with stress urinary incontinence

Pelvic floor muscle exercises are recommended as an initial treatment to women with stress urinary incontinence. This treatment is often unsuccessful because of patient noncompliance. A post-test, experimental control group design was used to examine Pender's (1992) concept of an external cue to action, an audiocassette tape, to enhance patient compliance to pelvic floor exercises. Eighty-six women with urodynamically evaluated stress urinary incontinence participated through a Pelvic Floor Exercise Unit at a large teaching hospital. Patients received biofeedback training and written information to reinforce pelvic floor muscle exercises during a 45-min appointment with a nurse. Patients were instructed to perform the exercises for 10 min twice daily. Forty-three women randomly assigned to an experimental group received an audiocassette tape. Four to 6 weeks later all patients completed a researcher-developed questionnaire that was validity and reliability tested assessing pelvic floor exercise compliance. The 43 patients (100%) who received the audiocassette tape reported compliance with "routine" exercises. Twenty-two of 34 patients (65%) who did not receive the tape were compliant (P = 0.0003). Thirty-four of 41 patients (83%) who received the tape reported exercise compliance twice a day, while 4 of 34 patients (12%) in the control group were similarly compliant (P = 0.0000). The findings suggest adding an audiocassette tape to a pelvic floor exercise program enhances patient compliance for incontinent women compared to verbal and written instruction combined with biofeedback.
High-temperature protonic conductors with perovskite-related structures

Abstract The various perovskite-structured oxides found to be high-temperature protonic conductors are reviewed. They fall into two groups: the simple or ABO3 types and the complex (or mixed) types of formula A2B′B″O6 and A3B′B2″O9. Some microstructural features observed by TEM and electron diffraction are pointed out. A simple “first-order” model is then given to serve as a basis for consideration of various fundamental aspects of these protonic conductors. Three fundamental aspects are considered: the nature of proton incorporation by exposure to water vapor at high temperatures, the environment in which protons are located in the lattice, and the nature of proton migration. Proton incorporation is studied by water uptake experiments and the proton environment by spectroscopic techniques. Proton migration is studied by conductivity and isotope-effect experiments, which show that migration occurs by simple hopping of protons from one O2− ion to the next. However, the classical absolute rate theory (ART) requires modification because of the low efficiency of energy transfer between an excited proton and the cage of heavy ions that surrounds it.
Conservative discretization of contact/impact problems for nearly rigid bodies

Abstract A discretization scheme for contact/impact problems related to modeling of gears is proposed. The problem is first discretized in time and then a variational formulation for the resulted one step problem is developed. A finite element discretization completes the discretization process. The scheme is a reinterpretation of the general Simo–Laursen–Chavla algorithm in the context of the rigid body motion superimposed with small elastic deformation; it conserves precisely the linear momentum and total energy, and approximately the angular momentum. The discretization method is illustrated with two numerical examples: the standard 1D impact problem for an elastic rod and a 2D model problem of an elastic wheel bouncing within a constraining box.
Google: what it is and what it is not

Searching for the most successful combination of usefulness, expansiveness, and sustainability.
Paramagnetic resonance of Fe2+ in KMgF3

Abstract An isotropic paramagnetic resonance of Fe2+in KMgF3 has been observed at low temperature. From the relatively sharp resonances associated with the double quantum transition and with the half field line it is deduced that the g-value is 3.36 instead of the value of 3.53 predicted by second order crystal field theory. The difference is attributed to a combination of the dynamic Jahn-Teller effect and the effect of covalency both of which reduce the orbital contribution to the g-value.
Synthesis and electrochemical properties of a new C60-phenanthroline derivative and its dimeric complex with silver

Abstract The synthesis and characterization of a fullerene substituted phenanthroline derivative and its complex with silver are described. The redox properties of these compounds were studied using electrochemical and electron spin resonance techniques.