cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Results of a physician survey on ordering viral load testing. Opportunity for laboratory consultation.

Abstract Objective.—To profile physicians' practices, utilization, and understanding of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA (viral load) testing and the laboratory's role in this testing. Desig...
State Tobacco Control Program Implementation Strategies for Smoke-Free Multiunit Housing:

Multiunit housing residents are at risk of secondhand smoke exposure from adjoining units and common areas. We developed this case study to document state-level strategies undertaken to address this risk. We explored program documents to identify facilitators, barriers, and outcomes. Three states (Montana, Michigan, and Nebraska) provided detailed information on multiunit housing efforts in the study time frame. We conducted a qualitative analysis using inductive coding to develop themes. Several facilitators relating to existing infrastructure included traditional and nontraditional partnerships, leadership and champions, collecting and using data, efficient use of resources, and strategic plans. We also report external catalysts, barriers, and outcomes. Significant state leadership and effort were required to provide local-level technical assistance to engage traditional and nontraditional partners. Information needs were identified and varied by stakeholder type (i.e., health vs. housing). States recommend starting with public housing authorities, so they can become resources for affordable and subsidized housing. These lessons and resources can be used to inform smoke-free multiunit housing initiatives in other states and localities.
Current Mirror Based Filter

Analog baseband circuits, including filters and programmable gain amplifiers (PGA), are indispensable in wireless sensors and communication systems. Portable devices continue to drive the need for circuits that achieve low power without sacrificing linearity. These analog baseband filters typically consume tens of mW and have a considerable impact on the total power consumption of a transceiver. Wireless receivers today demand low-noise and linear baseband channel select filters to accommodate the large dynamic range of the input signals. Power dissipation and die area of these filters must also be as small as possible. Analog frond ends are usually integrated with digital function blocks in recent mixed-signal Soc applications including data communication and image processing systems. Low power and small area ADCs with 8–10b accuracy operating several tens of MS/s are considered important building blocks. However each ADC has to he preceded by a front end anti-alias filter with cut off frequency in MHz range. There are two major concerns when we design a wideband LPF. One is the selection of filter LCR prototype, that is, Butterworth, Chebychev, Bessel etc. The other is the selection between G m -C and active-RC.
Alpha blockers for treatment of ureteric stones: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of alpha blockers in the treatment of patients with ureteric stones. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, Embase, LILACS, and Medline databases and scientific meeting abstracts to July 2016. Review methods Randomized controlled trials of alpha blockers compared with placebo or control for treatment of ureteric stones were eligible. Two team members independently extracted data from each included study. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who passed their stone. Secondary outcomes were the time to passage; the number of pain episodes; and the proportions of patients who underwent surgery, required admission to hospital, and experienced an adverse event. Pooled risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for the primary outcome with profile likelihood random effects models. Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias and the GRADE approach were used to evaluate the quality of evidence and summarize conclusions. Results 55 randomized controlled trials were included. There was moderate quality evidence that alpha blockers facilitate passage of ureteric stones (risk ratio 1.49, 95% confidence interval 1.39 to 1.61). Based on a priori subgroup analysis, there seemed to be no benefit to treatment with alpha blocker among patients with smaller ureteric stones (1.19, 1.00 to 1.48). Patients with larger stones treated with an alpha blocker, however, had a 57% higher risk of stone passage compared with controls (1.57, 1.17 to 2.27). The effect of alpha blockers was independent of stone location (1.48 (1.05 to 2.10) for upper or middle stones; 1.49 (1.38 to 1.63) for lower stones). Compared with controls, patients who received alpha blockers had significantly shorter times to stone passage (mean difference −3.79 days, −4.45 to −3.14; moderate quality evidence), fewer episodes of pain (−0.74 episodes, −1.28 to −0.21; low quality evidence), lower risks of surgical intervention (risk ratio 0.44, 0.37 to 0.52; moderate quality evidence), and lower risks of admission to hospital (0.37, 0.22 to 0.64; moderate quality evidence). The risk of a serious adverse event was similar between treatment and control groups (1.49, 0.24 to 9.35; low quality evidence). Conclusions Alpha blockers seem efficacious in the treatment of patients with ureteric stones who are amenable to conservative management. The greatest benefit might be among those with larger stones. These results support current guideline recommendations advocating a role for alpha blockers in patients with ureteric stones. Systematic review registration PROSPERO registration No CRD42015024169.
Palliation of urinary obstruction from advanced prostate cancer with SBRT.

246Background: In patients with advanced prostate cancer (PCa), urinary obstruction (UO) can lead to urinary retention requiring indwelling or suprapubic catheterization, which negatively impacts q...
Mapping of pH Gradients in Microfluidic Electrokinetic Devices

As part of a larger effort to perform isoelectric focusing and electrophoresis in a microfluidic device [1,2], image analysis techniques that permit non-invasive quantitative measurement of pH in a micro fluidic channel have been developed [3]. By using two independent color channels, the ratio of the two forms of the indicator dye can be measured; this ratio is then correlated to pH. Methods for accounting for illumination variation have also been developed and shown to reduce scatter in the data. Results of this technique are compared to model predictions of dye concentration and pH gradients and found to be in good agreement.
G92(P) 4-year experience of using high flow nasal cannula (hfnc) oxygen therapy on paediatric wards

We describe our experience of using High Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) Oxygen on the paediatric wards during a 4 year period from January 2014 to October 2017. A standard operating procedure (SOP) provided instructions and guidance for the use of HFNC. Retrospective analysis of demographic data,clinical conditions, indications, HFNC settings, adherence to SOP, adverse events and safety profile was undertaken over the 4 year period. HFNC was used in 124 babies and children, for a variety of conditions requiring respiratory assistance. Bronchiolitis was the commonest indication for the use of HFNC, followed by pneumonia, viral induced wheeze, asthma, and for alleviation of respiratory distress at the end of life in palliative care situations. Relatively high flow rates compared to other centres of upto 4 Litres/kg was used, with no adverse effects such as air leaks. Conversion to NIV modalities such as CPAP and BiPap and intubation rates was comparable to other centres. Our findings agreed with previous studies that HFNC failure rates could be predicted by the lack of repsonse of respiratory distress and oxygen requirement, 60–90 min after commenicng HFNC. Incremental expansion of the use of HFNC was seen over the study period as well as extension of its use to a variety of clinical conditions. This was achieved without additional medical resources, but by nursing empowerment through training for the safe initiation, weaning and cessation of HFNC, as well as timely escalation. Our experience of the use of HFNC is unique in using high flow rates in large numbers of children with a wide variety of respiratory conditions, in a non-paediatric intensive care setting.
Diagnosing basal cell carcinoma by dermatoscopy

Antecedents: La dermatoscopie sert principalement a evaluer les lesions cutanees pigmentees et l'on connait peu son utilite pour reconnaitre un carcinome basocellulaire (CBC). C'est une technique non invasive qui autorise la visualisation des signes cutanes depuis la surface de la peau jusqu'au derme papillaire. Le CBC, la plus courante des tumeurs cutanees malignes, est generalement diagnostiquee a l'examen clinique et confirmee par une biopsie. Objectif: Determiner les signes dermatoscopiques de CBC non pigmentes. Methode: Analyser les resultats de l'examen dermatoscopique de 27 lesions que l'examen clinique identifiait comme ayant l'aspect d'un CBC. Resultats: Sur les 27 lesions cliniquement suspectes, la biopsie a confirme 20 cas de CBC et revele la presence d'un carcinome spinocellulaire (CSC) dans deux echantillons. Vingt de ces vingt-deux specimens avaient ete reconnus comme presentant les signes d'un CBC a l'examen dermatoscopique, soit: vaisseaux sanguins a embranchements et diffus, vaisseaux sanguins asymetriques et etroits penetrant profondement le derme ou couronne rouge laiteuse avec vaisseaux sanguins superficiels larges. Enfin, un CBC nodulaire ne presentait aucune caracteristique distincte. Conclusions: Bon nombre de CBC ont un aspect dermatoscopique caracteristique. Toutefois, l'examen dermatoscopique de certaines tumeurs ne met en relief aucune caracteristique connue. L'examen dermatoscopique que nous suggerons dans le cas des CBC sera plus utile comme etude complementaire des impressions cliniques. La biopsie demeure l'instrument diagnostique par excellence.
Remodeling of the left atrium in pacing-induced atrial cardiomyopathy.

Rapid atrial pacing produces atrial systolic and diastolic failure characterized by absent atrial booster pump function, increased atrial chamber stiffness, enhanced atrial conduit function, and atrial enlargement. However, the processes underlying these abnormalities are poorly understood. Therefore, we examined left atrial myocardium from dogs with rapid pacing-induced atrial failure (400 bpm for 6 weeks) and from control dogs. Western blotting was used to determine the levels of proteins involved in calcium homeostasis (SERCA 2A, phospholamban, Na+-Ca2+ exchanger). Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity was measured using gelatin and casein zymography, and levels of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-4 (TIMP-4) and the TIMP-4 complexed with MMPs were measured with Western blot analysis. There were no differences in SERCA 2A or Na+-Ca2+ exchanger protein levels, but phospholamban level was significantly decreased in atrial samples from rapidly paced dogs (51.2 ± 7.8 vs. 77.0 ± 10.0, p < 0.01). The activity of MMP-9 was selectively and significantly increased by ∼ 50%, and the level of complexed TIMP-4 protein was significantly decreased by ∼ 50% in samples from dogs with atrial failure. Thus, rapid pacing-induced atrial failure is associated with differential changes in MMP activity, an unchanged number of calcium pumps, and compensatory changes in the level of phospholamban.
Counter-Examples in Interpolation Space Theory from Harmonic Analysis

That the classical interpolation theorems of Riesz-Thorin and Marcinkiewicz are of great importance in harmonic analysis has long since been realized. The functional analytic generalization of these interpolation theorems — abstract interpolation space theory — also is now proving to be of importance in harmonic analysis (cf., for instance, [1]). In this paper we reverse the flow in the sense that a circle of ideas from Lp-multiplier theory and tensor products of Banach spaces is used to provide answers to a number of questions that arise naturally in the general theory of abstract interpolation spaces. While some of these questions have been answered before (though not always published), the unified approach used in this paper introduces techniques which may well be of wider utility in interpolation space theory. We shall be interested in both the real interpolation spaces (X o, X 1)θq;J, (X o, X 1)θ, q;k of Peetre and the complex interpolation spaces (X o,X 1)θ of Lions and Calderon. For all unexplained notation and terminology see [2], [5], [6] or [11].
Design considerations for intelligent data entry: development of MedIO.

Abstract Capturing clinical data is a multi-faceted problem. This paper discusses clinical data entry problems encountered during the development of an intelligent clinical data entry system. Based on a review of the problems, recommendations are made for an approach to the design of clinical data entry programs. These recommendations include a discussion of key components in the design process as illustrated by the development of MedIO, a C++ computer program for the entry of history and physical exam information.
Frecuencia de Epidermophyton floccosum en dermatofitos aislados en un laboratorio de la Región de Valparaíso, Chile. Período 1980-2010

Background: Dermatophytoses are frequent infections in human, which are produced by fungus genera Trichophyton, Microsporum and Epidermophyton. Aim: To determine frequency of E. floccosum in isolated dermatophyte in a laboratory from Valparaiso during the last three decades, in addition to knowing the most frequent localization, age and gender of patients affected by this agent. Method: All superficial culture reports, issued by the Universidad de Valparaiso’s mycology laboratory in the last three decades, with E. floccosum, Microsporum spp and Trichophyton spp development, has been reviewed. Patients age, gender, location of the injury and culture report has been registered in an excel spreadsheet. Results: The total number of reports with dermatophyte development in the culture was 6,780. Only 26 cases show E. floccosum development, 73% of this (19/26) were present on men with and average age of 37 years. Frequency did progressively fall since eighty’s until 2000 decade. The age group most affected by this etiological agent was 30-36 years. The most frequently localization in both man and woman were foot plant and nails. Conclusions: Frequency of isolation did decrease progressively in dermatophytose by E. floccosum for the study period. Masculine gender and 36-60 age group were the most affected. The most frequently localization were foot plant and nails.
Corporate Political Activity as Competitive Action

This research seeks to understand the relationship between a firm’s market and nonmarket strategy by examining whether firms respond to performance shortfalls in the market environment by engaging in greater levels of corporate political action in the nonmarket environment. Building on arguments from Austrian economics, we argue that corporate political activity represents a competitive action available to firms seeking to gain competitive advantage. Our findings suggest that firms are more likely to engage in nonmarket strategic behaviors when they experience market share erosion. That is, we find that firms are likely to engage in greater levels of federal lobbying and are more likely to promote internal lobbyists to levels of greater authority in years in which they lose market share. These findings, based on 27 years of data from large U.S. firms, contribute to research on corporate political activity and competitive dynamics.
STATISTICAL DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION OF TRANSIENT SIGNALS IN LOW-BIT SAMPLING TIME-DOMAIN SIGNALS

We investigate the performance of the generalized Spectral Kurtosis (SK) estimator in detecting and discriminating natural and artificial very short duration transients in the 2-bit sampling time domain Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) data. We demonstrate that, after a 32-bit FFT operation is performed on the 2-bit time domain voltages, these two types of transients become distinguishable from each other in the spectral domain. Thus, we demonstrate the ability of the Spectral Kurtosis estimator to automatically detect bright astronomical transient signals of interests - such as pulsar or fast radio bursts (FRB) - in VLBI data streams that have been severely contaminated by unwanted radio frequency interference.
Information Aggregation in Double Auction Markets With Interdependent Values

This paper studies information aggregation of double auction mechanisms in general interdependent values economic environments. The main findings of the paper is as follows. First, when buyers and sellers have unit demand and supply and one dimensional conditional iid signals, since inferences are symmetric, even with a small private value effect, every perfect equilibrium of double auction games converges to an ex post monotone equilibrium in the limit economy. Second, in more general economic environments with heterogeneous distributions of signals, multidimensional signals, and multiple units of demand and supply, information aggregation requires stronger private value effects that outweighs the heterogeneous inference effects. Without these conditions, equilibrium prices in the limit economy can only be partially revealing. Third, when these conditions hold, equilibrium prices of double auction markets provide consistent and asymptotic estimators of the fundamental value of the assets.
Making Space for Storytime: The Role of the Environment in the Production of Storytime

This article reviews the findings from Project VIEWS2, a four-year IMLS-funded study that examined the early literacy impact of public library storytimes, and provides detail on a secondary analysi...
Prolonged Weakness and Paresthesia After Revision Total Hip Arthroplasty in a Patient with Sickle Cell Anemia Receiving Spinal Anesthesia: A Case Report.

Case This report describes a case of prolonged neurologic deficit of primarily the nonoperative lower extremity in a patient with sickle cell disease (SCD) who received spinal anesthesia during revision total hip arthroplasty (THA). The patient initially showed bilateral lower extremity neurologic deficits localized to the L5/S1 nerve root, with the eventual persistence of symptoms in the nonoperative extremity for >1 year. Conclusions This report describes an unusual complication after THA and spinal anesthesia. This case highlights the rare occurrence of nerve root injury after spinal anesthesia and emphasizes the importance of close perioperative monitoring in patients with SCD undergoing orthopaedic surgery.
Standing up against workplace bullying behavior: Recommendations from newly licensed nurses

Objective : Workplace bullying exists in today’s healthcare system and often targets newly licensed nurses. Experiences of workplace bullying behavior may negatively affect the nurses’ physical and psychological health and impact job satisfaction and staff turnover rates at an organizational level. The purpose of this study was to explore strategies suggested by newly licensed nurses to prevent and intervene during incidents of workplace bullying behavior. Methods : An exploratory qualitative design guided this study. Three open-ended questions asked included: What do you think could be done to prevent a future, similar incident of workplace bullying? If you or someone else attempted to the stop the bullying incident, please describe the actions taken. If you or someone else did not attempt to stop the bullying incident, please state what would need to happen for you to intervene on behalf of yourself or someone else. Surveys were distributed electronically to newly licensed nurses from three baccalaureate nursing programs who had participated in a workplace bullying education intervention study as students. A total of 79 responses were received. Responses to three open-ended questions about recent incidents of workplace bullying behavior were coded and analyzed. Then the Social-Ecological Model was used to organize results into individual, relationship, and organizational level strategies. Results : Most respondents reported experiencing workplace bullying behaviors in the previous six months. Three domains of strategies were identified: Preventing Future Bullying Behavior, Stopping Incidents of Bullying Behavior, and Promoting Others to Act. Conclusions : Results indicated newly licensed nurses desire to be supported by their peers and organization as well as strategies to intervene when bullying behaviors occur. Implications for clinical practice and education are presented.
Social media engagement association with human papillomavirus and vaccine awareness and perceptions: Results from the 2017 US Health Information National Trends Survey.

Abstract Due to social media's ability to publicize misinformation about vaccines, there is a need to study associations between social media engagement (SME) with human papillomavirus (HPV) and vaccine-related awareness and beliefs. Therefore, the study objectives were to (1) describe the SME of a nationally representative sample of US adults, and (2) determine the associations between SME and HPV-related awareness, HPV-related knowledge, HPV vaccine-related awareness, and perceived HPV vaccine efficacy. In 2019, we completed a secondary analysis of the 2017 Health Information National Trends Survey (Cycle 5.1). We created the SME index from 5 social media items. For each outcome variable, 3 models using binary and multinomial logistic regression were estimated. SME in the sample (n = 3171) was low (M = 0.9; range: 0–2). Respondents with higher SME had higher odds of HPV awareness (AOR = 1.56; 95% CI = 1.23, 1.99). Higher SME was associated with awareness of the HPV vaccine (AOR = 1.46; 95% CI = 1.16, 1.85). Respondents with higher SME had higher odds of perceiving HPV vaccine to be “not at all successful” (AOR = 2.22; 95% CI = 1.16, 4.24), “a little successful” (AOR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.35, 2.94), “pretty successful” (AOR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.04, 1.89), and “very successful” (AOR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.02, 1.92) compared to those who selected “don't know” after adjusting for demographics and internet use. Our study highlights novel findings using a comprehensive SME index with a national sample providing insight to leverage existing consumer behaviors to better connect and disseminate accurate HPV information in a more strategic manner.
Lesbian Police Officers: A Review of Television Portrayals and Their Lived Experiences

This exploratory research considers television’s portrayals of lesbian police officers from the first known character in 1986 through the present. We examine the degree to which depictions of lesbi...
Navigating White Spaces: Examining the Lived Experiences of Black Undergraduate Women Involved in Historically White Student Organizations.

This article reports the findings of a phenomenological study that examined the experiences of 10 Black undergraduate women involved in historically White student organizations. Grounded in a Black...
Increasing electrocatalytic nitrate reduction activity by controlling adsorption through PtRu alloying

Abstract Nitrate produced from industrial and agricultural processes has imbalanced the global nitrogen cycle. Electrocatalytic reduction is a sustainable route to remediate nitrate while generating products such as ammonia or N2. Here we report the surface-area normalized activity of platinum-ruthenium (PtxRuy/C) catalysts of different compositions (x = 48–100%) for electrocatalytic nitrate reduction, chosen based on screening using a computational activity volcano plot. The PtxRuy/C alloys are more active than Pt/C, with Pt78Ru22/C six times more active than Pt/C at 0.1 V vs. RHE, and ammonia faradaic efficiencies of 93–98%. Density functional theory calculations predict maximum activity at 25 at% Ru, consistent with experiments. This maximum is due to a transition from nitrate dissociation as the rate determining step to a new rate-determining step at higher Ru content. This study demonstrates how electrocatalyst performance is tunable by changing the adsorption strength of reacting species through alloying.
Synchronizing Solvable Chaotic Oscillators

We present the synchronization of two chaotic systems. These systems consist of solvable chaotic oscillator circuits operating at 10kHz with similar parameters. Although many chaotic systems have been synchronized, few instances of synchronized solvable chaos have been reported in hardware. Here, we use the analytical solution of solvable chaos to quantitatively measure the effect of coupling on the synchronized chaotic systems. The resulting oscillators are characterized by their time-series, return maps, phase portraits and finally by their closed-form analytical solutions. We subsequently synchronize these systems via bidirectional resistive coupling. Synchronization of these types of systems enables phase synchronization applications and clock recovery in popular ranging and secure communication schemes such as bistatic radar, chaotic mask and chaos shift keying (CSK).
B.P.E v Dangote Cement PLC (2020) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1717) 322: The Enforceability of Unincorporated Collective Agreements in Nigeria

This paper briefly reviews part of the recent decision of the Supreme Court in B.P.E v Dangote Cement Plc wherein the apex court reiterated the old common law position to wit that a collective agreement is not enforceable except where it has been incorporated into the contract of employment by the parties. The aim of this paper therefore is to discuss the applicability or otherwise of this recapitulation by the supreme court on the lower courts especially in the light of the doctrine of judicial precedent vis-a-vis the current labour dispensation in Nigeria. Adopting a doctrinal and analogical approach, the researcher finally submits that the supreme court’s decision particularly as it relates to collective agreements, is not binding on the lower courts and that, under the new labour dispensation, a collective agreement need not be incorporated into an employee’s contract of employment before it can be enforced by the court.
Food Safety Regulations Applicable to Imported Foods

This chapter focuses on regulatory oversight of imported foods. Despite the long history, recent changes to bolster the authority of the agencies responsible for regulating imported food have been proposed. Hence, it is important to recognize that information presented in the chapter pertains to food safety regulations that were in effect as of October 2007. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) share primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of food imported into the United States. To gain an understanding of the food safety regulatory system for imported foods, first one must sort through the alphabet soup of agencies that enforce the regulations. Customs notifies FSIS and FDA of imported foods for the agencies’ review. The chapter describes the import process. Although FDA’s statutory authority is largely limited to inspections and tests of imported foods at the U.S. port of entry, with low-acid and acidified canned foods and infant formula, FDA may request that foreign exporting firms grant FDA inspectors access to their plants. The FDA must rely on inspections at the U.S. ports of entry to determine the safety of the imported foods. While the law requires that all imported foods meet the same food safety standards as foods produced in the United States do, recent events have raised questions about the adequacy of the regulation of imported foods.
Neuropsychological Characteristics of Academic and Creative Giftedness

Evidence for interpretable neural correlates of giftedness comes from two main lines of enquiry. First, studies comparing the neural functioning of gifted children with age-matched peers not identified as gifted consistently report that gifted subjects display enhanced frontal cortical activation and inter-hemispheric functional connectivity. Second, studies which compare the neural function and structure of high-IQ adults with those of average IQ consistently report that high-IQ subjects display relatively enhanced inferior lateral prefrontal cortical (PFC) activations, together with relatively enhanced activations in a network of other cortical regions including the inferior parietal cortex. The salience of PFC activations is supported by neuroanatomical studies in which the grey matter densities of high-IQ subjects in frontal regions are significantly higher than average. These data can account for enhanced executive capability as one important neuropsychological characteristic of gifted people and a more efficacious working memory as another.
Chapter 7 – Aluminum and Gene Transcription in the Mammalian Central Nervous System — Implications for Alzheimer's Disease

Aluminum has been repeatedly implicated in the etiopathology of several human neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease. Due largely to the extensive euchromatization of normal brain cell neuronal nuclei and their high intrinsic rate of transcription, one prime target for aluminum appears to be within the nucleic acid compartments of the central nervous system. Generally, the high positive charge density of aluminum (Z2/r = 17.65) acts as a pervasive repressor and demodulator of neural activity. This chapter will review our current knowledge concerning aluminum as a genotoxic 'dementing' cation, particularly as it applies to neural-specific gene transcription and transcription factors in the human brain.
Large-scale inference : empirical Bayes methods for estimation, testing, and prediction

Introduction and foreword 1. Empirical Bayes and the James-Stein estimator 2. Large-scale hypothesis testing 3. Significance testing algorithms 4. False discovery rate control 5. Local false discovery rates 6. Theoretical, permutation and empirical null distributions 7. Estimation accuracy 8. Correlation questions 9. Sets of cases (enrichment) 10. Combination, relevance, and comparability 11. Prediction and effect size estimation A. Exponential families B. Programs and data sets Bibliography Index.
Recent advances in X-ray astronomy

X ray astronomy data from rocket- and balloon- borne instruments including sources detection, identification and variability
Bias-induced diversity-detection (BIDD) technique for robust transmission of subcarrier-multiplexed channels

We demonstrate CD and PMD robust SCM. The modulator is low-biased, and we have diversity from first and second harmonics. We reduce the CD fading from 40 to <6-dB, and the 5% PMD tail fading from 40 to <12-dB.
HIV-1 gp120-induced tubular epithelial cell apoptosis is mediated through p38-MAPK phosphorylation.

HIV-associated nephropathy is accompanied by significant tubular alterations in the form of tubular cell proliferation, apoptosis, and microcystic dilatation. In the present study we evaluated the role of CD4 receptors in HIV-1-induced tubular cell injury. To confirm the presence of CD4 receptors in tubular cells, immunocytochemical, Western and Northern blot studies were carried out. To determine the downstream effect of CD4 and gp120 interaction, we evaluated the effect of gp120 on tubular cell p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity and phosphorylation. To establish causal relationships between gp120, CD4, and p38 MAPK pathways, we studied the effect of anti-CD4 antibody and SB 202190 (an inhibitor of p38 MAPK) on gp120-induced tubular cell apoptosis. Proximal tubular cells in culture as well as in intact tissue showed expression of CD4 (immunocyto-chemical and Western blot studies). Cultured tubular cells also showed mRNA expression for CD4 (Northern blot studies). Gp120, at concentrations of 10–100 ng/ml, triggered tubular cell apoptosis; however, this effect of gp120 was inhibited by anti-CD4 antibody. SB 202190 also inhibited gp120-induced tubular cell apoptosis. In addition, gp120 promoted tubular cell p38 MAPK phosphorylation in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Gp120 through interaction with CD4 triggers tubular cell apoptosis. This effect of gp120 on tubular cells is mediated through phosphorylation of p38 MAPK.
Size separation of granular particles

Granular media differ from other materials in their response to stirring or jostling — unlike two-fluid systems, bi-disperse granular mixtures will separate according to particle size when shaken, with large particles rising, a phenomenon termed the 'Brazil-nut effect'1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Mounting evidence indicates that differences in particle density affect size separation in mixtures of granular particles9,10,11. We show here that this density dependence does not follow a steady trend but is non-monotonic and sensitive to background air pressure. Our results indicate that particle density and interstitial air must both be considered in size segregation.
C3b receptor activity on transfected cells expressing glycoprotein C of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2.

Abstract Glycoprotein C from herpes simplex virus type 1 (gC-1 from HSV-1) acts as a receptor for the C3b fragment of the third component of complement on HSV-1-infected cell surfaces. Direct binding assays with purified gC-1 and C3b demonstrate that other viral and cellular proteins are not required for this interaction. Although C3b receptor activity is not expressed on HSV-2-infected cell surfaces, purified gC-2 specifically binds C3b in direct binding assays, suggesting that gC-1 and gC-2 are functionally similar. Here, we used a transient transfection system to further characterize the role of gC-1 and gC-2 as C3b receptors and to localize the site(s) on gC involved in C3b binding. The genes for gC-1 and gC-2 were each cloned into a eucaryotic expression vector containing the Rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat as the promoter and transfected into NIH 3T3 cells. The expressed proteins were similar in molecular size, extent of carbohydrate processing, and antigenic properties to gC-1 and gC-2 purified from infected cells. Using a double-label immunofluorescence assay, we found that both gC-1 and gC-2 were expressed on the surfaces of transfected cells and bound C3b. These results suggest that other proteins expressed during HSV-2 infection prevent receptor activity. We constructed three in-frame deletion mutants of gC-2 to identify domains on the protein important for C3b receptor activity. These mutants lacked amino acids 26 to 73, 219 to 244, or 318 to 346. The mutant protein lacking residues 26 to 73 was reactive with two monoclonal antibodies recognizing distinct epitopes, showed a wild-type pattern of carbohydrate processing, and bound C3b on the transfected cell surface. These results suggest that residues 26 to 73 are not involved in C3b binding. The other two mutant proteins were present on the cell surface, but did not bind C3b. In addition, these mutant proteins showed altered patterns of carbohydrate processing, formed aggregates, and were no longer recognized by the monoclonal antibodies. These properties indicate that removal of residues 219 to 244 or 318 to 346 disrupted the native conformation of gC-2, possibly owing to an alteration in the spacing between critical cysteine residues.
Replication of Canine Herpesvirus II. Virus Development and Release in Infected Dog Kidney Cells

Abstract The studies reported in this paper demonstrate that, although canine herpesvirus differs from other herpesviruses in that it is characterized by a restricted host range, the pattern of virus development in the permissive host closely resembles that previously described for herpes simplex virus. These experiments also reveal the formation in the infected dog kidney cells of a system of tubules and channels in which virions accumulate. It is suggested that these membrane-bound structures serve to protect enveloped virus from being uncoated in the cytoplasm and function in virus release from the infected cells.
Monte Carlo simulation of the fundamental photodetector response on sub-picosecond time scales

The fundamental response of transit time photodetectors with picosecond response times has been analyzed through Monte Carlo simulation of MSM photodiodes. The fundamental response was found to consist of three components: a fast initial peak due to velocity overshoot in the /spl Gamma/ valley electrons, a slow secondary steady state electron response, and a slow steady state hole response. The relative magnitude of the two electron responses was found to be extremely sensitive to the device length, the electric field, and the energy of the exciting photons, such that, for a given device length and photon energy there is an optimal electric field for which the electron transit time is minimized. The hole transit time was observed to decrease monotonically with increasing electric field, thus making it difficult to optimize the electron and hole responses simultaneously. Accounting for the hole response was found to increase the magnitude of the optimal field. The detector response was also observed to degrade significantly as the energy of the exciting photons was increased.
Institutions, the Resource Curse and the Collapse Hypothesis

In his influential and highly readable book Collapse, Jared Diamond claims that human-induced ecological and environmental degradation and the over-use of natural resources have caused civilizations to collapse. This paper examines the collapse thesis in light of recent research on the way natural resource abundance is linked to the economic and political paths societies follow — research on a phenomenon known as the natural resource curse. Countries with depleted environments tend to be economically poor and ill-governed, while those with better protected environments tend to be rich and democratic, so a correlation exists. However, evidence from the resource curse literature and other streams of research indicates that causation runs contrary to Diamond's thesis. Poverty and environmental degradation often are found in the same place because both are the consequence of dysfunctional governance.
Eisenmenger's Syndrome and the Pregnant Patient

The presence of Eisenmenger's syndrome places the pregnant patient at high risk for maternal and neonatal mortality. Since patients with Eisenmenger's syndrome generally survive until the fourth decade, some patients with this disease process will become pregnant. A discussion of cardiovascular changes that occur during pregnancy is presented with a description of the manifestations of Eisenmenger's syndrome. The literature on Eisenmenger's syndrome in pregnancy is reviewed and a therapeutic approach to the management of the pregnant patient with this disease is presented.
“Really Deep Thoughts”: Bibliographic Resources about Tori Amos

This article provides a brief look into the academic resources available that examine Tori Amos’s music. The article begins with a brief biographical and original album overview before moving into the resources that a music librarian might use to assist a popular music scholar. The article begins by describing several websites available before moving into primary and secondary resources that examine Amos and her music.
Teaching through the use of games and simulations

This paper describes the use of games and simulations in teaching criminal justice students and those in the related social sciences. The authors have utilized a two-week interim session (following the spring semester) to use this approach in illustrating a wide variety of concepts such as political power, conflict, cooperation and negotiation as applied to criminal justice and other governmental agencies. Two types of teaching tools--small group board games and large group simulations--have been utilized. While the interim class sessions run two and one-half hours each, many of the games and simulations are adaptable to shorter time periods or multiple class periods and, thus, are useful teaching devices for regular school terms1.
To be or Not to be ridded?--That is the question addressed by the associative antigen recognition model.

The reasons that germline-encoded recognitive sites cannot sort the immune system's large and random somatically generated repertoire into anti-Not-to-be-ridded (‘self ’) and anti-To-be-ridded (‘nonself ’) specificities are analysed. The immune system cannot use ‘nonself ’-markers of To-be-ridded antigens (‘Danger’, toll receptors, pathogenicity, localization, etc.) to sort the repertoire; it may, however, use them to determine the magnitude and class of the effector response.
Threshold effects and time dependence in electron-and photon-stimulated desorption*

The use of optical techniques to study the dynamics of neutral alkali emission from alkali halides in electron- and photon-stimulated desorption (ESD/PSD) has produced significant new insights into the ways in which incident electronic energy is converted into kinetic energy of desorbing neutral atoms. In this paper, we show that the threshold for efficient PSD of Li from LiF lies below the band-gap energy, lower than those obtained from earlier ESD threshold measurements on NaCl. Time-resolved measurements of ground-state and excited-state Li desorption from LiF under both electron and photon irradiation exhibit a clear distinction between the spatial and physical origins of these two desorption products. The data suggest a possible identification of excited-state neutral desorption with surface-specific processes; one the other hand, a defect-diffusion model for ground-state desorption is more consistent with the data than are earlier thermal drift models. We also discuss briefly the implications of this work for technological problems as diverse as high-power laser optical damage and the production of intense lithium ion beams for fusion applications.
High school students of color tell us what nursing and college mean to them

Abstract Excepts from application essays of urban public high school sophomores of color enrolled in Choose Nursing! ,© a precollegiate nursing career development program, illustrate their clear, insightful, and positive perceptions of nursing. The hospital-based program received 187 applications over a 4-year period. It enrolled 61 students and graduated 40, all of whom matriculated at 4-year colleges; 36 declared a nursing major. Based on application and other student essays, as well as data used for formative evaluation, the author suggests that efforts to recruit urban students of color for baccalaureate nursing education should be school focused and built on the positive perceptions and strong interest in nursing and collegiate education held by many students. Promising ways to engage and support interested students while they still have time to meet college and nursing prerequisites are integrated within the discussion, as is the value of hands-on experience in a "nursing" role in motivating students to persist in reaching their goals.
Optimality Conditions for a Blocking Strategy Involving Delaying Arcs

In this paper, we study a class of optimization problems, originally motivated by models of confinement of wild fires. The burned region is described by the reachable set for a differential inclusion. To block its spreading, we assume that barriers can be constructed in real time. In mathematical terms, a barrier is a one-dimensional rectifiable set, which cannot be crossed by trajectories of the differential inclusion.
Histologic effects of radiation therapy and total androgen blockade on prostate cancer

Two commonly used therapies on prostate cancer-radiation and total androgen blockade-induce predictable histologic changes in the tumor tissue. With the increasing use of posttreatment biopsies to evaluate patients receiving radiation therapy and the use of neoadjuvant total androgen blockade before radical prostatectomy, recognition of these alterations is of considerable importance to pathologists. Additionally, the significance of the observed changes, as regards evaluating the therapeutic response, is of considerable interest. The purpose of this report is to review the current knowledge of these important issues. Cancer 1995 ; 75 :1837-41.
XPS and UPS characterization of the reactions of Al(111) with tetrahydrofuran and propylene carbonate

Abstract Tetrahydrofuran (THF) and propylene carbonate (PC) condensate layers were formed by dosing the Al(111) surface at 135–140 K. The reaction of each molecule with Al was followed by both core level (XPS) and valence band (UPS) spectroscopies as a function of temperature on heating to successively higher temperatures. Considerable desorption of solvent molecules occurs after heating to their respective bulk melting points but in both cases a multilayer of solvent molecules remains on the surface. Al catalyzes the polymerization of THF at its melting point, resulting in a relatively thick, e.g. 30–60 A, film remaining on the surface to temperatures more than 100 K above the melting point. Above about 220 K the poly-THF film reacts with Al in two stages: the first is a chain-breaking reaction eliminating ethylene to the gas phase and producing propylene alkoxide (AlOCHCH2), and the second is decomposition of this adsorbate by oxygen extraction to form an “oxide”-like AlO layer. The latter reaction begins at temperatures above about 320 K. At 470 K the carbon from the THF is present in an elemental and/or CHx form which on heating to 620 K further reacts to form a “carbide”-like state mixed with the AlO oxide layer. At or near its melting point some fraction of the PC reacts with Al to form fragments of PC from which the carboxyl oxygen has been removed. The deoxygenated fragments interact strongly with unreacted PC preventing their desorption on heating above the melting point. Extraction of carbonyl oxygen by Al occurs to a greater extent as the temperature is increased until at ambient temperature no unreacted PC remains on the surface. The overlayer becomes completely deoxygenated on heating to 470 K, ultimately producing at 620 K a thicker film of similar composition to that produced by THF. Al2O3 and Al4C3 are the thermodynamically expected products of THF and PC in equilibrium with metallic Al and these appear to be the ultimate products of the reaction. The results are consistent with the chemical intuition that THF is a much less reactive solvent than PC.
Simplified models with baryon number violation but no proton decay

We enumerate the simplest models that have baryon number violation at the classical level but do not give rise to proton decay. These models have scalar fields in two representations of SU(3)×SU(2)×U(1) and violate baryon number by two units. Some of the models give rise to nn (neutron-antineutron) oscillations, while some also violate lepton number by two units. We discuss the range of scalar masses for which nn oscillations are measurable in the next generation of experiments. We give a brief overview of the phenomenology of these models and then focus on one of them for a more quantitative discussion of nn oscillations, the generation of the cosmological baryon number, the electric dipole moment of the neutron, and K^0-K^0 mixing.