cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High Temperature Near-Field NanoThermoMechanical Rectification.

Limited performance and reliability of electronic devices at extreme temperatures, intensive electromagnetic fields, and radiation found in space exploration missions (i.e., Venus &Jupiter planetary exploration, and heliophysics missions) and earth-based applications requires the development of alternative computing technologies. In the pursuit of alternative technologies, research efforts have looked into developing thermal memory and logic devices that use heat instead of electricity to perform computations. However, most of the proposed technologies operate at room or cryogenic temperatures, due to their dependence on material's temperature-dependent properties. Here in this research, we show experimentally-for the first time-the use of near-field thermal radiation (NFTR) to achieve thermal rectification at high temperatures, which can be used to build high-temperature thermal diodes for performing logic operations in harsh environments. We achieved rectification through the coupling between NFTR and the size of a micro/nano gap separating two terminals, engineered to be a function of heat flow direction. We fabricated and tested a proof-of-concept NanoThermoMechanical device that has shown a maximum rectification of 10.9% at terminals' temperatures of 375 and 530 K. Experimentally, we operated the microdevice in temperatures as high as about 600 K, demonstrating this technology's suitability to operate at high temperatures.
Patients with a resected pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasm have a better prognosis than patients with an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm: A large single institution series

Abstract Background/Objectives Mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs) are rare pancreas tumors distinguished from intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) by the presence of ovarian-type stroma. Historical outcomes for MCNs vary due to previously ambiguous diagnostic criteria resulting in confusion with IPMNs. This study seeks to characterize and clarify the clinical features and long-term outcomes of MCNs versus IPMNs in the largest single-institution series of pathology-confirmed MCNs to date. Methods We compared 142 MCNs and 746 IPMNs resected at a single institution. MCNs were reviewed for confirmation of ovarian-type stroma and reclassified according to current WHO guidelines. Results MCNs presented almost exclusively in middle-aged women (median 47.5 years, 96.5% female) as solitary (100%), macrocystic (94.2%) lesions in the distal pancreas (92.1%). IPMNs were distributed equally by sex in an older population (median 69.0 years, 49.6% female) and favored the proximal pancreas (67.6%). Compared with IPMNs, MCNs were larger (4.2 cm vs 2.5 cm) and more often low-grade (71.1% vs 13.8%). Associated invasive carcinoma was less common in MCNs than in IPMNs (9.9% vs 32.4%). Surgical resection was curative for 100% of noninvasive MCNs. Patients with an MCN-associated invasive carcinoma had a much better prognosis than did patients with an IPMN-associated invasive carcinoma with 10-year disease-specific survival of 79.6% versus 27.2%, respectively. Conclusion MCNs have a stereotypical clinical profile that is readily distinguishable from IPMNs based on demographic features, imaging, and pathology. Most MCNs are noninvasive and curable with surgical resection. Prognosis remains excellent even for invasive disease with 10-year survival approaching 80% following resection.
Managerial Ownership in Nursing Homes: Staffing, Quality, and Financial Performance.

Purpose of the study Ownership of nursing homes (NHs) has primarily focused broadly on differences between for-profit (FP), nonprofit (NFP), and government-operated facilities. Yet, among FPs, the understanding of detailed ownership structures at individual NHs is rather limited. Particularly, NH administrators may hold significant equity interests in their facilities, leading to heterogeneous financial incentives and NH outcomes. Through the principal-agent theory, this article studies how managerial ownership of individual facilities affects NH outcomes. Design and methods We use a unique panel dataset of Ohio NHs (2005-2010) to empirically examine the relationship between managerial equity ownership and NH staffing, quality, and financial performance. We identify facility administrators as owner-managers if they have more than 5% of the equity stakes or are relatives of the owners. The statistical analysis is based on the pooled ordinary least squares and NH-fixed effect models. Results We find that owner-managed NHs are associated with higher nursing staff levels compared to other FP NHs. Surprisingly, despite higher staffing levels, owner-managed NHs are not associated with better quality and we find no statistically significant difference in financial performance between owner-managed and nonowner-managed FP NHs. Our results do not support the principal-agent model and we offer alternative explanations for future research. Implications Our findings provide empirical evidence that NH ownership structures are more nuanced than simply broadly categorizing facilities as FP or NFP, and our results do not fully align with the standard principal-agent model. The role of managerial ownership should be considered in future NH research and policy discussions.
Multi-Layer Mutually Reinforced Random Walk with Hidden Parameters for Improved Multi-Party Meeting Summarization

This paper proposes an improved approach of summarization for spoken multi-party interaction, in which a multi-layer graph with hidden parameters is constructed. The graph includes utterance-to-utterance relation, utterance-to-parameter weight, and speaker-to-parameter weight. Each utterance and each speaker are represented as a node in the utterance-layer and speaker-layer of the graph respectively. We use terms/topics as hidden parameters for estimating utterance-to-parameter and speaker-to-parameter weight, and topical similarity between utterances as the utterance-to-utterance relation. By withinand between-layer propagation in the graph, the scores from different layers can be mutually reinforced so that utterances can automatically share the scores with the utterances from the speakers with similar terms/topics and similar utterances. For both ASR output and manual transcripts, experiments confirmed the efficacy of including hidden parameters and involving speaker information in the multi-layer graph for summarization. We find that choosing latent topics as hidden parameters can significantly reduce the running time and does not hurt the performance.
Operational Semantics for the Rigorous Analysis of Distributed Systems

The development of distributed systems based on poorly specified abstractions can hinder unambiguous understanding and the creation of common formal analysis methods. In this paper, we outline the design of a system modeling language called DS2, and point out how its primitives are well matched with concerns that naturally arise during distributed system design. We present an operational semantics for DS2 as well as results from an ongoing Scala-based implementation slated to support a variety of state-space exploration techniques. The driving goals of this project are to: (1) provide a prototyping framework within which complex distributed system protocols can be stated and modeled without breaking the primitives down to low level ones, and (2) drive the development of interesting and distributed system-relevant property checking methods (e.g., linearizability).
Abstract 11953: Predictors of In-Hospital Mortality Among Left Ventricular Assist Device Recipients in the United States: A National Inpatient Sample Perspective

Background: A remarkable increase in the rate of left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) placement has occurred in recent years. Despite increased utilization, there is a continued need to define the changing incidence of in-hospital mortality and their predictors. Methods: From 2009 to 2011, National Inpatient Sample database was utilized to include all adult patients with admission diagnosis codes of congestive heart failure and procedure codes for left ventricular assist device (37.66). Patients who underwent LVAD and IABP or OHT placement were excluded from the analysis. Information about demographics, insurance, year of admission, and hospital characteristics, comorbidities and acute in hospital complications were abstracted. Using in-hospital death as our outcome, variables that achieved statistical significance (p Results: A total of 4,869 patients had LVAD placement with a mean age was 56 (49-65) years. 57% of the patients were Caucasian and near half of the patients (46%) were on Medicare insurance. Ninety eight percent of the LVAD placement was performed in teaching hospitals. The overall mortality rate was 12.4%, with reduced mortality in 2010 and 2011 as compared to 2009. The presence of acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring hemodialysis (HD) was associated with the highest risk of in-hospital death [OR 21, CI 95% 14.4-30.8, p Conclusion: In this nationwide analysis, overall in-hospital mortality occurred in 12% of the patients following LVAD placement. The presence of older age, low socio-economic status, AKI, ESRD, GIB and DIC are associated with worse outcome following LVAD placement.
Inferring Microbial Interactions from Metagenomic Time-series Using Prior Biological Knowledge

Due to the recent advances in modern metagenomics sequencing methods, it becomes possible to directly analyze the microbial communities within human body. To understand how microbial communities adapt, develop, and interact over time with the human body and the surrounding environment, a critical step is the inference of interactions among different microbes directly from sequencing data. However, metagenomics data is both compositional and highly dimensional in nature. Consequently, new approaches that can accurately and robustly estimate the interactions among various microbe species are needed to analyze such data. To this end, we propose a novel framework called Microbial Time-series Prior Lasso (MTPLasso) which integrates sparse linear regression with microbial co-occurrences and associations obtained from scientific literature and cross-sectional metagenomics data. We show that MTPLasso outperforms existing models in terms of precision and recall rates, as well as the accuracy in inferring the interaction types. Finally, the interaction networks we infer from human gut data demonstrate credible results when compared against real data.
Proceedings of the 4th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on GeoStreaming

These proceedings contain the papers selected for presentation at the third edition of the ACM Workshop on GeoStreaming (IWGS 2013) which is being held in conjunction with the ACM SIGSPATIAL GIS conference. Real-time stream data acquisition through sensors and imagery devices has been widely used in many applications. In addition to the temporal nature of stream data, various sources provide stream data that has geographical locations and/or spatial extents such as point coordinates, lines, or polygons. Thanks to advances in geosensing technologies, researchers in the geospatial community have been able to acquire huge amounts of streamed sensor data. On one hand, this amount of streamed data has been a major propeller to advance the state of the art in geographic information systems. On the other hand, the ability to process, mine, and analyze that massive amount of data in a timely manner prevented researchers from making full use of the incoming stream data. The geostreaming term refers to the ongoing effort in academia and industry to process, mine and analyze stream data with geographic and spatial information.
Why saying what you mean matters: An analysis of trauma team communication.

Abstract Background We hypothesized that team communication with unmatched grammatical form and communicative intent (mixed mode communication) would correlate with worse trauma teamwork. Methods Interdisciplinary trauma simulations were conducted. Team performance was rated using the TEAM tool. Team communication was coded for grammatical form and communicative intent. The rate of mixed mode communication (MMC) was calculated. MMC rates were compared to overall TEAM scores. Statements with advisement intent (attempts to guide behavior) and edification intent (objective information) were specifically examined. The rates of MMC with advisement intent (aMMC) and edification intent (eMMC) were also compared to TEAM scores. Results TEAM scores did not correlate with MMC or eMMC. However, aMMC rates negatively correlated with total TEAM scores (r = −0.556, p = 0.025) and with the TEAM task management component scores (r = −0.513, p = 0.042). Conclusions Trauma teams with lower rates of mixed mode communication with advisement intent had better non-technical skills as measured by TEAM.
Restoration of Cordgrass Salt Marshes: Limited Effects of Organic Matter Additions on Nitrogen Fixation

The extensive loss of tidal marsh habitat surrounding the San Francisco Bay has led to numerous restoration projects to restore ecosystem function. Native cordgrass (Spartina foliosa) is important for sediment accumulation and nesting habitat for endangered California Ridgway’s Rail (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus), and because salt marshes are typically nitrogen-limited ecosystems, previous restoration studies in California have used nitrogen fertilizers to increase plant growth. This study compared the use of two low-nitrogen, high-carbon fertilizers (Macrosystis pyrifera (kelp) and sodium alginate) to stimulate N2-fixing bacteria inhabiting the S. foliosa rhizosphere in a historic and recently restored marsh in San Francisco Bay. Alginate increased N2-fixation, though there was no observed S. foliosa growth response. Kelp suppressed N2-fixation, and increased the foliar nitrogen content of Salicornia pacifica in mixed Spartina-Salicornia stands. The restored marsh had less than 0.5 μM phosphate in porewaters, suggesting phosphorus, not nitrogen, limits S. foliosa growth in this marsh. Alginate increased rates of N2-fixation and may promote plant growth in marshes exhibiting nitrogen limitation. Phosphate limitation was a surprise considering numerous previous studies indicate nitrogen as the primary limiting nutrient of tidal marsh plants. We recommend first assessing nutrient stoichiometry when considering manipulations to promote plant growth in restored marshes.
Surviving Together: Individual and Communal Narratives in the Wake of Tragedy

This chapter offers an in-depth discussion of trauma narrative and multiple forms of trauma that clinical social workers may encounter in their practice. The contribution of narrative theory to an understanding of the individual and communal impact of trauma is examined, as well as a narrative approach to the healing of trauma in the clinical relationship. Clinical case illustrations are provided.
Using artificial intelligence to predict prolonged mechanical ventilation and tracheostomy placement.

Abstract Background Early identification of critically ill patients who will require prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) has proven to be difficult. The purpose of this study was to use machine learning to identify patients at risk for PMV and tracheostomy placement. Materials and methods The Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care III database was queried for all intensive care unit (ICU) stays with mechanical ventilation. PMV was defined as ventilation >7 d. Classifiers with a gradient-boosted decision trees algorithm were created for the outcomes of PMV and tracheostomy placement. The variables used were six different severity-of-illness scores calculated on the first day of ICU admission including their components and 30 comorbidities. Mean receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated for the outcomes, and variable importance was quantified. Results There were 20,262 ICU stays identified. PMV was required in 13.6%, and tracheostomy was performed in 6.6% of patients. The classifier for predicting PMV was able to achieve a mean area under the curve (AUC) of 0.820 ± 0.016, and tracheostomy was predicted with an AUC of 0.830 ± 0.011. There were 60.7% patients admitted to a surgical ICU, and the classifiers for these patients predicted PMV with an AUC of 0.852 ± 0.017 and tracheostomy with an AUC of 0.869 ± 0.015. The variable with the highest importance for predicting PMV was the logistic organ dysfunction score pulmonary component (13%), and the most important comorbidity in predicting tracheostomy was cardiac arrhythmia (12%). Conclusions This study demonstrates the use of artificial intelligence through machine-learning classifiers for the early identification of patients at risk for PMV and tracheostomy. Application of these identification techniques could lead to improved outcomes by allowing for early intervention.
The Global Weather Experiment II. The Second Special Observing Period

During the Second Special Observing Period of May and June 1979, the Global Weather Experiment reached a peak. At this time the largest concentration of resources ever assembled was deployed to meet the challenge of observing the atmosphere and oceans to an unprecedented degree. This article outlines this effort and highlights the various observing systems involved in this effort—in particular the quantity of observations gathered from each major system.
Management innovation and technological culture. A philosophical inquiry

This article travels across the waters separating management and philosophy with special attention to management innovation (or management reform). More specifically, the article examines attempts to place management innovation in the context of culture transformation - from scientific to technological culture - by adopting philosophical categories. After circumscribing the field of management innovation, a definition of culture is provided in terms of ethos (the embodiment of ideas in social practice) and logos (the rationale behind practice). Then the article considers management innovation in the context of culture transformation, through a complex re-articulation of the ethos-logos relationship. The endgame of the analysis pursued throughout this article is that in a technological culture, management innovation is ineffective in providing rationale to practice.
Programmed −1 Frameshift Sites in Prokaryotes

By analogy to the characterized eukaryotic sites, putative simultaneousslippage −1 shift sites have been identified in E. colt in the chromosomal gene for two subunits of DNA polymerase III, dnaX,2,18,51 at the 3’ end of gene 10 of bacteriophage T7,8,9,14 within the overlap between the lambda phage tail genes, G and T,30 and in many insertion sequences (IS).15,27,35,38,41,47,53,54 However, the analysis of these sites has revealed several features lacking in eukaryotic sites, implying mechanistic differences between the events responsible for stimulating bacterial and eukaryotic frameshifts. Many of the bacterial sites do not include a stimulatory pseudoknot, often substituting a hairpin loop structure, though some show no evidence of any secondary structure. Some of the sites do not show evidence of a heptameric sequence being required at the shift site, which would certainly imply a different mechanism. Finally, in vitro mutagenesis indicates that several of the sites include a Shine-Dalgarno interaction site upstream of the recoding site which stimulates −1 frameshifting in a fashion analogous to its stimulation of +1 frameshifting at the prfB gene.11,55,56
Factors that Influence the Timing of Calling and Oviposition of a Lotic Frog in Northwestern California

Abstract Species that breed in stream environments with unpredictable interannual variability in hydrological regimes may exhibit plasticity in the timing of their breeding activities. Breeding phenology should coincide with conditions and habitats that maximize a species' reproductive success. For the lotic-breeding frog Rana boylii, the timing of breeding activities of a population can vary by more than a month among years. To examine the influence of abiotic factors on the variation in the timing of onset and patterns (i.e., peaks and pauses) in breeding activity of R. boylii, we sampled seven geographically separated sites that covered an extensive portion of the species' range in northwestern California for two breeding seasons. We collected daily environmental and male vocalization data and conducted weekly egg mass surveys at breeding sites. Here, we found the timing of calling activity and oviposition varied markedly among geographically separated sites and between years. Water depth and water tem...
Principles of Mathematics Used in NDT Methods

NDT geophysical data analysis requires considerable knowledge of mathematical concepts. As underline in the book—for a broad understanding—the more advanced NDT geophysical data analysis and interpretational techniques require a reasonable level of mathematical ability. In this chapter, some basic mathematical concepts are presented as simply as possible. The approach employed enables readers to appreciate their scope and importance, without needing to go into the details of their implementation.
Leadership and innovation within a complex adaptive system: Public libraries:

Viewing public libraries as Complex Adaptive Systems, the current study analyzed leadership within these systems in terms of complexity and innovation. This included a leader’s capacity for ambigui...
ADVANCES IN THE MOLECULAR IMAGING OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF DISEASE AND NEUROPSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS: Session 209

Abstract The pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains elusive. The observed accumulations of beta amyloid and phosphorylated tau protein aggregates are thought to play key roles in initiating or propagating the disease. However, other processes including changes in synaptic proteins, neurotransmitter loss, inflammation and cerebrovascular disease have been suggested as important etiologies as well. Importantly, the recent, unprecedented advancements of positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer chemistry allow investigations into molecular changes associated with AD. Until recently, much of what is known about AD pathology has been learned from post mortem studies and animal models. The advancements of PET imaging allows quantitative in vivo measurements of specific proteins within many brain regions. Because the manifestations of AD are heterogeneous. The use of PET imaging can be used to improve the understanding of diverse symptoms. For example, a majority of individuals experience neuropsychiatric symptoms during the disease process, but the onset and composition of these symptoms vary widely. Molecular imaging using PET allows us to study neurobiological processes both early in the disease process and longitudinally. PET imaging can be used in concert with other imaging modalities such as MRI, as well as assessments of cognition and neuropsychiatric symptoms to investigate the molecular underpinnings of AD. It is of great importance for clinicians to learn about these innovative and translational tools which will ultimately lead to the identification of disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The goal of this session is to illustrate the importance of in vivo molecular imaging in the study of AD with a specific emphasis on PET. Dr. Adam Mecca (Chair) will present results of cross-sectional studies that investigate synaptic protein alterations in individuals with AD. These investigations utilize specific PET tracers to quantify synaptic density and metabotrophic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGluR5). Dr. Nancy Donovan will describe research that examines the relationships between cortical and subcortical brain amyloid quantified using PET, anxiety, and AD risk in cognitively normal older adults. Dr. Jennifer Gatchel will present work on the association between depressive symptoms and in vivo cerebral tau and amyloid measurements. Dr. Gwenn Smith will describe the role of serotonin (5-HT), tau and amyloid b in cognitive decline in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and normal cognition. Finally, Dr. Donovan (Discussant) will lead the speakers in a panel discussion, along with Q&A involving session attendees.
Patterns and Humans

The appearance of spiral structures on the human tongue (geographic tongue) and skin (pathological rashes) are described. Affected and often migrating areas on the tongue can be bistable, patch-like fronts or waves. Pathological rashes with an expanding region of redness is often a result of an autoimmune disease in which the human immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks healthy tissues. In addition, we show a rotating spiral created by humans, which has been described as a reaction-diffusion waves in an excitable medium.
Thrombus Formation at the Left Ventricular Apex Due to Split Inflow After MitraClip Implantation

Percutaneous edge-to-edge mitral valve repair using the MitraClip system (Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, California) is safe and effective in high-risk patients with symptomatic severe mitral regurgitation (MR). Although cases of MitraClip-related left ventricular thrombus formation have been
CT-scan Based Liver and Spleen Volume Measurement as a Prognostic Indicator for Patients with Cirrhosis.

Abstract Background Complications of patients with liver disease generally occurs as the consequence of advanced fibrosis and portal hypertension. Non-invasive tools to predict the complications may allow for better risk-stratification and medical management in patients with cirrhosis. The goals of this study were to determine the utility of CT-scan based liver and spleen volume measurement in association with complications and outcomes in patients with cirrhosis. Methods Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of 556 patients with cirrhosis who underwent CT scan of the abdomen between January 1-June 30,2009 were reviewed. Liver and spleen volume were measured using semi-automated interactive software and compared to 47 healthy controls. The association between liver and spleen volume and complications of cirrhosis was determined. Independent predictors of survival were analyzed with Cox regression model. Results Patients with cirrhosis had significantly lower total and functional liver volume, larger total and functional spleen volume, and significantly lower total liver to spleen volume ratio when compared to controls. Liver volume, spleen volume, and liver to spleen volume ratio were significantly altered in patients with decompensated stage. Patients with hepatic encephalopathy had significantly lower total liver volume and spleen size was associated with the presence of esophageal varices. Patients with cirrhosis who underwent liver transplantation had significantly lower total liver volume and larger total spleen volume. However, spleen volume was not an independent predictor for mortality. Conclusions Baseline liver and spleen volume and its ratio are significantly altered in patients with cirrhosis. Spleen volume is also associated with the presence of esophageal varices.
Tandem surface-induced dissociation of protein complexes on an ultrahigh resolution platform.

Abstract We describe instrumentation for conducting tandem surface-induced dissociation (tSID) of native protein complexes on an ultrahigh resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer. The two stages of SID are accomplished with split lenses replacing the entrance lenses of the quadrupole mass filter (stage 1, referred to herein as SID-Q) and the collision cell (stage 2, Q-SID). After SID-Q, the scattered projectile ions and subcomplexes formed in transit traverse the pre-filter prior to the mass-selecting quadrupole, providing preliminary insights into the SID fragmentation kinetics of noncovalent protein complexes. The isolated SID fragments (subcomplexes) are then fragmented by SID in the collision cell entrance lens (Q-SID), generating subcomplexes of subcomplexes. We show that the ultrahigh resolution of the FT-ICR can be used for deconvolving species overlapping in m/z, which are particularly prominent in tandem SID spectra due to the combination of symmetric charge partitioning and narrow product ion charge state distributions. Various protein complex topologies are explored, including homotetramers, homopentamers, a homohexamer, and a heterohexamer.
Construction and Performance Testing of a Fast-Assembly COVID-19 (FALCON) Emergency Ventilator in a Model of Normal and Low-Pulmonary Compliance Conditions

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed an immense, unmet and international need for available ventilators. Both clinical and engineering groups around the globe have responded through the development of "homemade" or do-it-yourself (DIY) ventilators. Several designs have been prototyped, tested, and shared over the internet. However, many open source DIY ventilators require extensive familiarity with microcontroller programming and electronics assembly, which many healthcare providers may lack. In light of this, we designed and bench tested a low-cost, pressure-controlled mechanical ventilator that is "plug and play" by design, where no end-user microcontroller programming is required. This Fast-AssembLy COVID-Nineteen (FALCON) emergency prototype ventilator can be rapidly assembled and could be readily modified and improved upon to potentially provide a ventilatory option when no other is present, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Hypothesis We anticipated that a minimal component prototype ventilator could be easily assembled that could reproduce pressure/flow waveforms and tidal volumes similar to a hospital grade ventilator (Engstrom CarestationTM). Materials and methods We benched-tested our prototype ventilator using an artificial test lung under 36 test conditions with varying respiratory rates, peak inspiratory pressures (PIP), positive end expiratory pressures (PEEP), and artificial lung compliances. Pressure and flow waveforms were recorded, and tidal volumes calculated with prototype ventilator performance compared to a hospital-grade ventilator (Engstrom CarestationTM) under identical test conditions. Results Pressure and flow waveforms produced by the prototype ventilator were highly similar to the CarestationTM. The ventilator generated consistent PIP/PEEP, with tidal volume ranges similar to the CarestationTM. The FALCON prototype was tested continuously for a 5-day period without failure or significant changes in delivered PIP/PEEP. Conclusion The FALCON prototype ventilator is an inexpensive and easily-assembled "plug and play" emergency ventilator design. The FALCON ventilator is currently a non-certified prototype that, following further appropriate validation and testing, might eventually be used as a life-saving emergency device in extraordinary circumstances when more sophisticated forms of ventilation are unavailable.
Asian American experiences : A view from the other side

L'A. porte son attention sur l'evolution de la situation des asiatiques americains aux Etats-Unis. Il s'efforce de reconstruire leurs differentes experiences et souligne le caractere tres divers de cette population. Il critique la theorie qui presente les asiatiques americains comme formant une minorite modele. Il examine un certain nombre de donnees collectees aux Etats-Unis entre 1980 et 1990 concernant les differents groupes ethniques qui composent la societe americaine et compare les performances scolaires des differents groupes ethniques entre 1980 et 1993, leurs niveaux de revenu entre 1980 et 1990, l'aide sociale dont chacun d'eux beneficie sur la meme periode et enfin le prestige socio-economique dont chacun jouit respectivement entre 1990 et 1993
Role of Binocular Interactions in Visual System Development in the Cat

In normal cats, the majority of striate cortex cells can be excited by stimulation of both eyes (1, 2). This is illustrated in Fig. 1., which shows the ocular dominance distribution of striate cortex cells in normal cats studied in our laboratory. Numbers on the abscissa represent ocular dominance groups: Group 1 includes cells driven only by the contralateral eye, group 4 includes cells driven about equally by both eyes, and group 7 includes cells driven only by the ipsilateral eye. Groups 2, 3, 5 and 6 include binocularly driven cells with intermediate degrees of dominance by the two eyes. Most of the cells are binocularly driven in these normally reared animals (groups 2–6).
Watson, James Dewey

1928– American scientist who, with Francis Crick, discovered the double helical structure of DNA and went on to establish the Human Genome Project in the USA.
Transvaginal aspiration of oocytes from hormone-treated pregnant beef cattle for in vitro fertilization

The ability to produce oocytes from genetically valuable, pregnant donors in a safe, repeatable manner would broaden the application of in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures for beef and dairy cattle. The objectives of this study were to evaluate two gonadotropin treatment schedules for follicle stimulation of pregnant donor cattle and to determine the efficacy and safety of the repeated oocyte aspiration procedure from pregnant cattle. In Exp. 1, pregnant donors at 60 to 90 d of gestation were randomly allotted to three treatment groups. Cows in Treatment A received a total dose of 40 mg of FSH. Cows in Treatment B were administered a total of 20 mg of FSH, and females in Treatment C served as pregnant vehicle-treated controls. A group of luteal phase cows received a total of 40 mg of FSH and served as nonpregnant controls (Treatment D). Ultrasound-guided transvaginal oocyte aspiration was performed 12 h following the last FSH or saline injection. Following follicle aspiration, oocytes were matured for 24 h and then entered a standard bovine IVF procedure. Experiment 2 was conducted to determine the repeatability of this procedure on first trimester cows. Cows in Exp. 2 were selected (after a 20-d recovery period) from each of the three pregnant treatment groups in Exp. 1 and each given 40 mg of FSH before a second oocyte aspiration procedure. The number of follicles aspirated per cow in treatment groups receiving the high FSH dose treatment (40 mg of FSH total dose) was not different (Treatment A, Treatment D, and cows in Exp. 2).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Linear systsems with rational distributed delay: Reduction and stability

A reduction method for the class of distributed delay systems with rational kernel is studied. It transforms the delay system to one with fixed crisp delays. Applications in stability analysis and realization with integrators and (fixed) delay lines is shown. The second part illustrates the use of algebraic methods to obtain necessary and sufficient stability conditions for a subclass of systems. These conditions are based on the known NASC for the scalar delay system and involve the location of a finite number of generalized poles in C.
Like a Nation State

Using California's self-consciously internationalist approach to climate change regulation as a primary example, this Article examines constitutional limitations on state foreign affairs activities. In particular, by focusing on the prospect of California's establishment of a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading system and its eventual linkage with comparable systems in Europe and elsewhere, this Article demonstrates that certain constitutional objections to extrajurisdictional linkage of state GHG emissions trading systems and the response that these objections necessitate may be more complicated than previously anticipated. First, successfully combatting the Bush Administration's potential claim that state-level climate change activities interfere with a federal executive position of withholding binding domestic GHG reductions in advance of a multilateral agreement including key developing nations, will require demonstrating that the executive branch is not acting with congressional support and has, furthermore, declared its position too informally to constitute an exercise of any of the president's independent constitutional powers. Second, state efforts to link GHG emissions trading systems with those of other nations may well take them into territory abutting that which is constitutionally impermissible under the foreign affairs and Foreign Commerce Clause doctrines. Finally, state efforts to integrate with other trading schemes or to otherwise protect the integrity of their own trading schemes must be carefully constructed lest they invite challenge as being discriminatory or overreaching, in light of more conventional dormant Commerce Clause constraints on state regulation.
An Evaluation of the Respective Roles of Portosystemic Shunting and Portal Hypertension in Rats Upon the Production of Gonadal Dysfunction in Cirrhosis

To evaluate the differential effects of portal hypertension and portosystemic shunting upon the endocrine changes that occur in men with advanced chronic liver disease, male rats underwent either partial portal vein ligation or direct portocaval anastomosis. Testicular mass was found to be reduced in both models (p
Markov Chain Monte Carlo Estimation of Normal Ogive IRT Models in MATLAB

Modeling the interaction between persons and items at the item level for binary response data, item response theory (IRT) models have been found useful in a wide variety of applications in various fields. This paper provides the requisite information and description of software that implements the Gibbs sampling procedures for the one-, two- and three-parameter normal ogive models. The software developed is written in the MATLAB package IRTuno. The package is flexible enough to allow a user the choice to simulate binary response data, set the number of total or burn-in iterations, specify starting values or prior distributions for model parameters, check convergence of the Markov chain, and obtain Bayesian fit statistics. Illustrative examples are provided to demonstrate and validate the use of the software package. The m-file v25i08.m is also provided as a guide for the user of the MCMC algorithms with the three dichotomous IRT models.
Mental Health Care Delivered to Younger and Older Adults by Office‐Based Physicians Nationally

Objectives To compare the provision of mental health care to older adults with that provided to younger adults. Design Analysis of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Setting Visits to office-based physicians in the United States, 2007 to 2010 (n = 100,661 visits). Participants Individuals with an outpatient visit resulting in a mental health diagnosis or treatment, defined as a visit resulting in a mental disorder diagnosis, at which a psychotropic medication was prescribed, to a psychiatrist, or including psychotherapy. Measurements The number of each type of mental healthcare visit was estimated according to participant age (21 to 64, ≥65), along with the percentage this represented of all office-based care and the annual visit rate per 100 population. Within each visit type, age groups were compared according to clinical and demographic characteristics such as sex, diagnosed mental illness, and use of psychotropic agents. Results Older adults had a smaller proportion than younger adults of visits with a mental disorder diagnosis (4.8% vs 9.5%, chi-square = 228.21, P < .001), to a psychiatrist (0.9% vs 4.0%, chi-square = 233.76, P < .001), and including psychotherapy (0.6% vs 2.3%, chi-square = 57.65, P < .001). The percentage of older adult psychotropic visits was slightly smaller than of younger adult visits (18.1% vs 19.2%, chi-square = 5.33, P = .02). Older adults had a higher rate of psychotropic visits (121.4 per 100 population) than younger adults (56.8 per 100 population). Conclusion Less care of older adults is from psychiatrists or incorporates psychotherapy. Older adults have a far higher rate of psychotropic use than younger adults on a per-population basis. Addressing the mental healthcare needs of older adults will require care in nonspecialty settings.
The application of jackknife statistics to estimates of the recombination fraction.

We develop and evaluate the jackknife statistics [Efron, 1982] for obtaining confidence intervals for the recombination fraction. We consider two cases: (1) a single sibship of size S with phase known parents (one doubly heterozygous and one doubly homozygous) and (2) a sample of 20 nuclear families. We compare the jackknife confidence interval to the -1.00 lod and -0.83 lod intervals. For the first case we compare our intervals with a confidence interval which we develop that has coverage of exactly 95%. For the second case, we do a simulation study and compare the coverage of the intervals and the endpoints of the intervals with the actual 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles. Our results indicate that in case (1) the lod intervals provide closer estimates to the 95% exact interval than does the jackknife approach
Down-regulation of the Filamentous Actin Cross-linking Activity of Cortactin by Src-mediated Tyrosine Phosphorylation

Cortactin, a prominent substrate for pp60(c-src), is a filamentous actin (F-actin) binding protein. We show here that cortactin can promote sedimentation of F-actin at centrifugation forces under which F-actin is otherwise not able to be precipitated. Electron microscopic analysis after negative staining further revealed that actin filaments in the presence of cortactin are cross-linked into bundles of various degrees of thickness. Hence, cortactin is also an F-actin cross-linking protein. We also demonstrate that the optimal F-actin cross-linking activity of cortactin requires a physiological pH in a range of 7.3-7.5. Furthermore, pp60(c-src) phosphorylates cortactin in vitro, resulting in a dramatic reduction of its F-actin cross-linking activity in a manner depending on levels of tyrosine phosphorylation. In addition, pp60(c-src) moderately inhibits the F-actin binding activity of cortactin. This study presents the first evidence that pp60(c-src) can directly regulate the activity of its substrate toward the cytoskeleton and implies a role of cortactin as an F-actin modulator in tyrosine kinase-regulated cytoskeleton reorganization.
Quantitative Decisions by Groups and Individuals: Voting Procedures and Monetary Awards by Mock Civil Juries

Abstract Two experiments, using a mock civil trial format, addressed the question of how a common procedural mechanism, in this case a straw poll, might itself influence the preferences of group members and the consensus decisions of six-person groups faced with a quantitative judgment (in contrast to the more common choice among discrete alternatives). Experiment 1 found that mandated polling, in contrast to deliberation only, increased the number of hung juries, but also fostered larger damage awards in those groups that reached decisions. Results from Experiment 2 showed that mere polling sequence (ascending or descending order of magnitude within a poll) and timing of the vote (early or late in deliberation) interacted to influence member preferences, although only timing ultimately affected the verdict and final judgments of ex-members. Personal reactions of ex-members to their jury′s decision and consensus processes not only supported interpretations of procedural effects as depending upon norms engaged by task and context, but once more underscored the extra-task value of group work in terms of increased decision certainty and satisfaction.
An Analytical Evaluation of the Optimal Thermal Dose Delivery Parameters for Thermal Therapies

This study derives the first analytic solution for evaluating the optimal treatment parameters needed for delivering a desired thermal dose during thermal therapies consisting of a single heating pulse. Each treatment is divided into four time periods (two power-on and two power-off), and the thermal dose delivered during each of those periods is evaluated using the non-linear Sapareto and Dewey equation relating thermal dose to temperature and time. The results reveal that the thermal dose delivered during the second power-on period when T>43C (TD2) and the initial power-off period when T>43C (TD3) contribute the major portions of the total thermal dose needed for a successful treatment (taken as 240 CEM43°C), and that TD3 dominates for treatments with higher peak temperatures. For a fixed perfusion value, the analytical results show that once the maximum treatment temperature and the total thermal dose (e.g., 240 CEM43°C) are specified, then the required heating time and the applied power magnitude are uniquely determined. These are the optimal heating parameters since lower/higher values result in under-dosing/over-dosing of the treated region. It is also shown that higher maximum treatment temperatures result in shorter treatment times, and for each patient blood flow there is a maximum allowable temperature that can be used to reach the desired thermal dose. In addition, since TD2 and TD3 contribute most of the total thermal dose, and they are both significantly affected by the blood flow present for high treatment temperatures, these results show that perfusion effects must be considered when attempting to optimize high temperature thermal therapy treatments (no excess thermal dose delivered, minimum power applied and shortest treatment time attained).Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Identification of three related human GRO genes encoding cytokine functions

Abstract The product of the human GRO gene is a cytokine with inflammatory and growth-regulatory properties; GRO is also called MGSA for melanoma growth-stimulatory activity. We have identified two additional genes, GRO beta and GRO gamma, that share 90% and 86% identity at the deduced amino acid level with the original GRO alpha isolate. One amino acid substitution of proline in GRO alpha by leucine in GRO beta and GRO gamma leads to a large predicted change in protein conformation. Significant differences also exist in the 3' untranslated region, including different numbers of ATTTA repeats associated with mRNA instability. A 122-base-pair region in the 3' region is conserved among the three GRO genes, and a part of it is also conserved in the Chinese hamster genome, suggesting a role in regulation. DNA hybridization with oligonucleotide probes and partial sequence analysis of the genomic clones confirm that the three forms are derived from related but different genes. Only one chromosomal locus has been identified, at 4q21, by using a GRO alpha cDNA clone that hybridized to all three genes. Expression studies reveal tissue-specific regulation as well as regulation by specific inducing agents, including interleukin 1, tumor necrosis factor, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, and lipopolysaccharide.
Maristentorin, a novel pigment from the positively phototactic marine ciliate Maristentor dinoferus, is structurally related to hypericin and stentorin.

The photoreceptor pigment of the heterotrich ciliate, Maristentor dinoferus, has been characterized. It is structurally similar to those of Stentor coeruleus and Blepharisma japonicum but differs significantly in that it bears no aromatic hydrogens. The structure of the pigment, maristentorin, is based upon the hypericin skeleton, and its spectra are nearly identical to those of hypericin but shifted toward the red. Within experimental error, its fluorescence lifetime is identical to that of hypericin, ∼5.5 ns in dimethylsulfoxide. It is remarkable that while the pigments are structurally similar in S. coeruleus and M. dinoferus, in the former there is an abrupt photophobic response, whereas in the latter there is a slow response toward light. The roles of the hypericin-like pigments in the heterotrich ciliates are discussed as potentially analogous in Maristentor.