cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Early onset benign occipital susceptibility syndrome: video-EEG documentation of an illustrative case

Early onset benign occipital susceptibility syndrome (EBOSS) is a recently delineated form of idiopathic childhood partial epilepsy, which is still not recognized by the International League Against Epilepsy as a distinct epileptic syndrome. It occurs with generally nocturnal, prolonged partial seizures, which can become a status epilepticus. The seizures are characterized by tonic eye deviation, vomiting, progressive impairment of consciousness, autonomic symptoms, frequent progression to hemiconvulsions or generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Age at onset is usually between 3 and 7 years, frequency is remarkably low (often a single seizure), and outcome is excellent. Interictal EEG shows occipital paroxysms with fixation-off sensitivity. We present the first video-EEG documentation of a typical case of EBOSS and discuss the clinical and EEG features of the case. The documentation is useful for a better definition of the syndrome and also permits a differential diagnosis with respect to other occipital forms of epilepsy and other sleep related paroxysmal disorders.
Structural basis of coactivation of liver receptor homolog-1 by β-catenin

We report the three-dimensional structure of a β-catenin armadillo repeat in complex with the liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1) ligand binding domain at 2.8 A resolution as the first structure of β-catenin in complex with any nuclear receptor. The surface of β-catenin that binds LRH-1 partly overlaps defined contact sites for peptide segments of β-catenin partners, including T-cell factor-4. The surface of LRH-1 that engages β-catenin is comprised of helices 1, 9, and 10 and is distinct from known interaction surfaces of LRH-1, including corepressor and coactivator binding sites. Targeted mutagenesis of amino acids forming both sides of the LRH-1/β-catenin interface reveals that they are essential for stable interactions between these proteins in solution. The LRH-1 binding site in β-catenin is also required for association with androgen receptor, providing evidence that the observed LRH-1/β-catenin interaction may be prototypic.
Longitudinal transit time factors of short independently phased accelerating structures for low velocity ions

Abstract We review the concept of transit time factor which is universally used to calculate the energy gain of low velocity ions, and the assumption of constant velocity which allows its determination. By introducing two new transit time factors, we obtain a second-order approximation for the energy gain which takes into account the change in particle velocity in the accelerating structure. This second-order approximation can be used to explain observations in deceleration experiments and can be useful in calculating the setting of the amplitudes and phases of the resonators' fields in decelerators or low velocity accelerators.
Ranking of apparent area for different shapes of equal area.

St~mmasy.-36 figures of equal area but different form made up six form classes: triangles, quadrilarerals, polygons, ellipses, stars and irregular figures. 24 students presented with each set one at a time were asked to rank the figures from largest to smallest in perceived area. Next these Ss ranked sets including figures from the different shape classes, the sets being formed on the basis of ranks in the first task. Kendall's W and Friedman's x.' were significant for rankings within all sets suggesting consistent and differentiated influences of form on apparent area. Significant negative correlations between figure perimeter and ranks of estimated area in Exp. 1 and their absence in Exp. 2 suggested perimeter is related to apparent area with only certain sets of figures.
Wishful Thinking in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election

In elections, political preferences are strongly linked to the expectations of the electoral winner—people usually expect their favorite candidate to win. This link could be driven by wishful thinking (a biasing influence of preferences), driven by a biasing influence of expectations on one’s wishes, or produced spuriously. To examine these competing possibilities in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, a longitudinal study assessed uncommitted young voters’ electoral expectations and preferences over four time points during the month before the election. The findings indicated clear support for wishful thinking: Over time, people’s preferences shaped their expectations, but the reverse was not the case. Moreover, these relations were larger among those more strongly identified with their political party and held even when perceptions of general candidate popularity were taken into account. Finally, changes in electoral expectations were consequential, as they shaped disappointment in the electoral result...
Microsystem-Based Study of Pollen-Tube Attractants Secreted by Ovules

Microdevices are developed to resemble the in-vivo micro-environment of ovule fertilization by pollen tubes in model research plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The PDMS-based microdevices are filled with pollen germination medium (PGM) providing pollen tubes with a proper growth environment. Pollen tubes are found to grow within the microgrooves with an average rate of 130?m/hr, reaching a final tube length of about 450?m. Targeting ovules by pollen tubes has also been tested with an observed efficiency of about 67%. Both the pollen tube growth rate and the ovule targeting efficiency in microdevices are similar to those obtained using in-vitro plate experiments. Finally, initial results indicate that pollen tube bundles preferentially turn toward ovule containing chambers, suggesting that the pollen tubes respond to the attractants secreted by unfertilized ovules.
δ-opioid receptors inhibit neurogenic intestinal secretion evoked by mast cell degranulation and type I hypersensitivity

Histamine and the mast cell degranulator, compound 48/80 produced elevations in short-circuit current, an electrical measure of active anion secretion, across porcine ileal mucosa sheets mounted in Ussing chambers. Luminally-applied beta-lactoglobulin produced similar effects in mucosal sheets from cow's milk-sensitized pigs. Their secretory effects were attenuated by blockers of H(1)-histamine receptors, neuronal conduction or epithelial Na(+)/K(+)/Cl(-) cotransport. The delta-opioid agonist [D-Pen(2), D-Pen(5)]enkephalin suppressed mucosal responses to these substances in a naltrindole-reversible manner. Furthermore, submucosal mast cells and delta-opioid receptor-immunoreactive nerve fibers were observed in close juxtaposition. Intestinal neural pathways linking immediate hypersensitivity to secretory host defense appear to express inhibitory delta-opioid receptors.
Spontaneous miniature activity and gradation of transmission at the neuromuscular junction

Aus den bisher veroffentlichten experimentellen Befunden uber presynaptische, fur die neuromuskulare Erregungsubertragung massgeblich erscheinende Vorgange wird geschlossen, dass die Forderung der Erregungsubertragung in direkter Beziehung zur Grosse des Aktionspotentials in den motorischen Nervenendigungen steht, wahrend die Frequenz der spontanen Miniaturentladungen an sich kein eindeutiges Mass fur die Intensitat des Ubertragungsvorganges von Nervimpulsen zum Muskel darstellt.
Topographic controls on soil nitrogen availability in a lowland tropical forest

Geomorphic position often correlates with nutrient cycling across landscapes. In tropical forests, topography is known to influence phosphorus (P) availability, but its effect on nitrogen (N) cycling has received less exploration, especially in lowland forests where widespread N richness is frequently assumed. Here, we report significant effects of topographic slope and landscape position on multiple aspects of the N cycle across a highly dissected lowland tropical forest on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. A suite of N cycle metrics measured along a topographic sequence revealed a distinct gradient in N availability. Values of soil δ15N, inorganic N pools, net nitrification rates, and nitrification potentials were all substantially lower on a flanking steep hillslope (~28°) compared to a relatively flat ridge top (~6°), indicating lower N availability and a less open N cycle in steep parts of the landscape. Slope soils also hosted smaller total carbon and nitrogen stocks and notably less weathered soil min...
Content and release of amino-acids and catecholamines in monkey brain.

PUSH pull cannulae1 were stereotaxically implanted in the regions of the amygdala and putamen of five rhesus monkeys anaesthetized with halothene. Buffered solutions containing 10 µCi/ml. of U-14C-D-glucose (5 mCi/mmole), 20 µCi/ml of 1-14C-γ-hydroxybutyric acid (5 mCi/mmole) or 10 µCi/ml. of U-14C-L-tyrosine (62 mCi/mmole) were perfused through the brain structures at a rate of 1.18 ml. per h. After discarding the perfusate collected during the first 30 min, 1 ml. of perfusate was collected and prepared for analysis. Cerebral blocks of brain were cut out, rinsed with buffered solution and perfused structures were dissected out and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Perfusates and brain extracts were desalted and deproteinized using methods of ion exchange displacement2,3 and a modification of the picric acid method4 and were then subjected to automated amino-acid analysis. Eluate fractions from the analyser were collected for 1 min intervals and appropriate aliquots were assayed for radioactivity. Endogenous and labelled dopamine and norepinephrine were determined by previously described methods5–7.
Myelin protein metabolism in demyelination and remyelination in the sciatic nerve

Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) was injected intraneurally into the right sciatic nerve of a series of rats, leaving the left nerve as a control. At various time points up to 30 days after LPC treatment, the injected and control nerves were removed and incubated with [3H]amino acids, then purified myelin was prepared from the nerves. At all time points investigated the uptake of labeled amino acids was much higher in myelin proteins from the LPC-treated nerve than in those from the intact control nerve. [3H]Fucose uptake was also slightly increased. In the first week after LPC injection the increased amino acid incorporation was much greater in the myelin proteins of molecular weight higher than P0. From 10 days on, the smaller myelin proteins including P0, 19K, P1 and P2 showed the largest increase. From comparison of the morphology and biochemistry at 3 and 7 days after LPC injection, we propose that in the first 7 days, while myelin is degenerating, those proteins associated with Schwann cell or myelin reaction, interaction, and recognition functions are most stimulated metabolically, while after ten days the structural myelin proteins are actively resynthesized and the axon is remyelinated.
Controlled reduction of cytochrome b in succinate-cytochrome c reductase complex by succinate in the presence of ascorbate and antimycin

Summary More than 75 percent of the cytochrome b of resolved succinate-cytochrome c reductase complex is rapidly reduced upon addition of succinate. In the presence of ascorbate and antimycin, the reduction of b by succinate is markedly inhibited such that electron transfer into b proceeds as a pseudo-first order reaction with a rate constant of 3 × 10 −2 /min at 25°C. This inhibition is consistent with a model in which the total succinate-reducible b is regulated by the redox status of cytochrome c l or another, currently unidentified component of the cytochrome b - c l complex whose redox status closely parallels that of cytochrome c l.
Regularity of the free boundary for the one phase Hele–Shaw problem

Abstract In this paper we prove that, in a local neighborhood, Lipschitz continuous free boundary of a solution of the one-phase Hele–Shaw problem is indeed smooth if the solution is Lipschitz continuous and non-degenerate in the neighborhood.
Examining fidelity of program implementation in a STEM-oriented out-of-school setting

In the United States and many other countries there is a growing emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education that is expanding the number of both in-school and out-of-school instructional programs targeting important STEM outcomes. As instructional leaders increasingly train teachers and facilitators to undertake new STEM focused programs, it will become especially important for these leaders to understand the concept of program fidelity, which seeks to examine the alignment between how a program is designed to be implemented and how that program is actually implemented in the field. This article discusses an exploratory study examining program fidelity within the geospatial and robotics technologies for the twenty-first century (GEAR-Tech-21) project, which is an out-of-school program teaching educational robotics and geospatial-related STEM concepts, across more than 20 different states, as funded by the National Science Foundation. The study results identified relationships related to program fidelity that were identifiable across various instructional modules, and associated with specific training and content characteristics.
Quantitative evaluation and intercomparison of morning and afternoon Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol measurements from Terra and Aqua

[1] The quality of the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) data retrieved operationally from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites, over land, and over ocean from 2000 to 2003 (Aqua only from June 2002) were evaluated thoroughly. Terra-MODIS versions 3 and 4 data (T003 and T004) and Aqua-MODIS version 3 data (A003) were independently and comparatively evaluated with collocated AOT from ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Sun photometers. At 550 nm wavelength, 67.3%, 55.0%, and 55.5% of AOT from T003, T004, and A003, respectively, meet the prespecified accuracy conditions of ±(0.05 + 0.2aot) over land, while about 63.3%, 59.4%, and 62.2% fall within the more stringent range of ±(0.03 + 0.05aot) over ocean. However, when based on equal standards of comparison and regression analysis, aerosol retrievals are much more accurate over ocean than over land. Analysis of MODIS full regional AOT averages from 12 land and 6 oceanic regions shows that aerosol loading exhibits an annual cycle in almost every region, with the exception of very remote oceanic regions such as the central Pacific. On the basis of regional monthly averages, west Africa, China, and India show the highest peak monthly mean AOT value of ∼0.7 at 550 nm, while the highest over-ocean aerosol loading occurs over the Mediterranean and Mid-Atlantic oceans, with a regional monthly peak of ∼0.35, which is half of the peak over land. The magnitude of day-to-day variation between morning (Terra) and afternoon (Aqua) AOT varies from region to region and increases with aerosol loading for any given region. However, none of the regions examined show any consistent regional trend in morning-to-afternoon aerosol loading, all showing almost equal likelihood of increase or decrease from morning to afternoon.
A new relaxation effect in gold-doped lead

Abstract Internal friction studies on gold-doped lead are reported which yield a relaxation time of τ = 10 -14.9 exp 0.437 eV / kT . The defect producing the relaxation process appears to have 〈100〉 symmetry and a relatively large elastic-dipole strength. Since this activation energy is equal to that measured in diffusion it is suggested that the two processes are identical, presumably from a dumb-bell configuration.
Certain distance-regular diagraphs and related rings of characteristic 4

Abstract An infinite family of distance-regular edge transitive digraphs of girth 4 is constructed using cyclotomic extensions of the integers modulo 4. Automorphism groups are computed and it is shown that nonisomorphic digraphs with the same parameters occur in some cases.
A Hybrid Method for the Solution of Some Multi-Commodity Spatial Equilibrium Problems

This paper describes a hybrid method for solving the multi-commodity transportation and transshipment spatial equilibrium models. The method is basically a specialization of the block successive overrelaxation method for solving a linear complementarity problem with certain block structure and consists of solving a sequence of subproblems of the single-commodity type. These subproblems are solved by a special-purpose principal pivoting algorithm developed in an earlier paper. Under some mild conditions, convergence of the proposed method is established. Finally, computational experience of solving some fairly large randomly generated problems by the proposed hybrid method is presented.
Caribbean journalism’s media economy: Advancing democracy and the common good?

Since the turn of the 21st century, the Caribbean news industry has experienced an economic phase of growth, a trend that contradicts the experience in the United States and Europe, and rapid chang...
Stability of Mouse Oocytes at –80 °C: The Role of the Recrystallization of Intracellular Ice

The germplasm of mutant mice is stored as frozen oocytes/embryos in many facilities world-wide. Their transport to and from such facilities should be easy and inexpensive with Dry Ice at −79 °C. The purpose of our study was to determine the stability of mouse oocytes with time at that temperature. The metaphase II oocytes were cryopreserved with a vitrification solution (EAFS10/10) developed by M. Kasai and colleagues. Two procedures were followed. In one, the samples were cooled at 187 °C/min to −196 °C, warmed to −80 °C, held at −80 °C for 1 hour to three months, and warmed to 25 °C at one of three rates. With the highest warming rate (2,950 °C/min), survival remained at 75% for the first month, but then slowly declined to 40% over the next two months. With the slowest warming (139 °C/min) survival was only ~5% even at 0 time at −80 °C. In the second procedure, the samples were cooled at 294 °C/min to −80 °C (without cooling to −196 °C) and held for up to 3 months before warming at 2,950 °C/min. Survival was ~90% after 7 days and dropped slowly to 35% after 3 months. We believe that small non-lethal quantities of intracellular ice formed during the cooling and that the intracellular crystals increased to a damaging size by recrystallization during the 3-months storage at −80 °C. From the practical point of view, this protocol yields sufficient stability to make it feasible to ship oocytes world-wide in Dry Ice.
CHANGING RESPONSIVENESS OF DHA TO ACTH

In order to evaluate the regulating mechanism of the secretion of DHA, its response to ACTH (Synacten 0,15 mg/ m2 i.v.) was measured in 79 children: 34 with normvariant growth serving as controls (A), 27 with idiopathic hypotituitarism (B), 11 with Turner's Syndrome (C), 7 hypergonadotrophic hypogonad males (D). The children were divided into 3 groups: I.preadrenarche (B.A., 7.5 yrs), II. adrenarche (B.A. 7.5 yrs + no gonadarche), III. gonadarche. The facilatory effects on DHA in terms of peak/basal concentration ratio in the control groups showed that the responsiveness was highest in group All (N=16,B.A.=10.8) being 2.58 while in groups AI(N=5;B.A. 6.5) and AIII(N=13;B.A.=14.2) ratios were 1.58 and 1.31. The ratios in the groups with hypopituitarism paralleled the normal groups in relation to B.A.:BI(N=5;B.A.=6.6) ratio 1.66;BII(N=9;B.A.=10) ratio 2.26;BIII(N=6;B.A.=12.3) ratio 1.78. In 7 subjects of this group no response was seen. The ratio was 2.09 in group CII(N=11;B. A.=11.2) and 1.41 in group DNN(N=7;B.A.13.1). The present data - although limited - pose two questions: Does the DHA responsiveness to ACTH peak during the onset of adrenarche? Is this responsiveness more closely associated with bone age(B.A.) than with pubertal development?
Self-agency in rhesus monkeys

Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) have shown the ability to monitor their own mental states, but fail the mirror self-recognition test. In humans, the sense of self-agency is closely related to self-awareness, and results from monitoring the relationship between intentional, sensorimotor and perceptual information. Humans and rhesus monkeys were trained to move a computer icon with a joystick while a distractor icon partially matched their movements. Both humans and monkeys were able to monitor and identify the icon they were controlling, suggesting they have some understanding of self-agency.
DynamicDuo: Co-presenting with Virtual Agents

The quality of most professional oral presentations is often poor, owing to a number of factors, including public speaking anxiety. We present DynamicDuo, a system that uses an automated, life-sized, animated agent to help inexperienced speakers deliver their presentations in front of an audience. The design of the system was informed by an analysis of TED talks given by two human presenters to identify the most common dual-presentation formats and transition behaviors used. In a within-subjects study (N=12) comparing co-presenting with DynamicDuo against solo-presenting with conventional presentation software, we demonstrated that our system led to significant improvements in public speaking anxiety and speaking confidence for non-native English speakers. Judges who viewed videotapes of these presentations rated those with DynamicDuo significantly higher on speech quality and overall presentation quality for all presenters.
Characterizing the Prostate Stem Cell

typically represent 0.01% to 0.5% of the total population. Therefore, it is critical to identify specific markers which increase the efficiency of isolating stem cells from normal or tumor human biopsy specimens or from mouse tissues representing human diseases. An alternative method for detecting stem cell populations in mouse tissues takes advantage of the observation that slow cycling cells retain BrdU labeling following androgen withdrawal and replacement. Studies have identified BrdU retaining cells in the proximal region of prostatic ducts. 6 These cells do not appear restricted to 1 epithelial cell compartment since they have been localized to basal and luminal cell compartments. In the rodent model the prostate develops along the proximal-distal axis, with the proximal region appearing the most primitive. Prostatic ductal structures originate in the proximal region at the urethra and extend in the direction of the capsule, terminating in distal branches. 7 Thus, the developmental pattern of the prostate provides insight into the possible origin of the prostate stem cell. Epithelial cell morphology changes from cuboidal to low columnar epithelium in the proximal region to tall columnar cells in the distal region. 8 In parallel, proliferation rates are lowest in the proximal region, whereas proliferation and secretory protein expression increase along the ductal axis with the highest proliferative activity occurring at the distal tips of the branching ducts. 8 This regionalization is further characterized by responsiveness of the epithelial cells to androgens. Luminal epithelial cells in the proximal regions remain relatively insensitive to androgen withdrawal after castration, whereas the intermediate and distal regions of the gland involute rapidly to androgen deprivation. 9 Thus, it is not surprising that the proximal region appears to be the primary source of prostate stem cells. In this issue of The Journal Tsujimura et al (page 686) address the challenge of identifying prostate stem cell markers by microdissecting out the proximal region, and comparing proximal gene profiles to those in the remaining intermediate and distal regions. Microarray analysis identified the cell surface protein prominin, a pentaspan membrane glycoprotein which binds cholesterol and is associated with plasma membrane protrusions. 10 Prominin, also known as CD133, is specifically expressed in the proximal regions of the prostatic lobes, being enriched in the basal layer. Subpopulations of prominin positive cells also co-express the stem cell protein telomerase reverse transcriptase or the basal cell marker cytokeratin 14. These cells retain prominin expression, and give rise to more numerous and larger
Fatness is not a factor of fitness: analysis of cardiorespiratory data from healthy children over an 8-year period.

Purpose To evaluate exercise performance and body mass index in healthy children over an 8-year period in order to determine whether cardiorespiratory fitness has decreased relative to changes in body mass index in our patient population. Method This study is a retrospective review of anthropometric and cardiorespiratory fitness data from our hospital's Exercise Physiology Laboratory's database on 1201 healthy children (6–18 years) with structurally normal hearts who performed one cycle ergometry test between 1999 and 2006. Subjects were stratified by gender and age. Body mass index was compared between 1999–2002 (Early Group) and 2003–2006 (Late Group) and with national averages. Exercise outcome variables were maximal oxygen consumption, anaerobic threshold, physical working capacity indexed to body weight. Analysis of variance was used to detect differences between groups for each outcome variable. Results Body mass index was not significantly different from national data (p-value equals 0.79) or between groups. A negative trend (p-value greater than 0.15 less than 0.20) was observed among most indices of exercise performance between Early and Late Groups. Significantly lower anaerobic threshold was found among males between Early and Late Group (25.7 plus or minus 0.9 versus 23.4 plus or minus 1.6 millilitres per kilogram per minute, p-value less than 0.01), and in physical working capacity among females between Early and Late Groups (2.9 plus or minus 0.1 versus 2.7 plus or minus 0.1, p-value less than 0.05). Conclusions Cardiorespiratory fitness in males and working capacity in females declined over time independent of body mass index. This suggests that other measures may need to be evaluated for promotion of overall cardiovascular health.
A Six-Color Flow Cytometry Assay for Immunophenotyping Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma in Lymph Nodes

Objectives: We have recently demonstrated that classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) can be immunophenotyped by flow cytometry (FC), thus obviating the need for immunohistochemistry in many cases. The previously described nine-color assay, however, cannot be used by laboratories that do not have access to a nine- or ten-color flow cytometer. Therefore, a six-color FC tube was designed employing the following combination: CD64-FITC/ CD30-PE/CD40-PeCy5.5/CD20-PECy7/CD95-APC/ CD3-APC-H7. Methods: To validate this assay, we analyzed 408 tissue specimens (including 55 CHL cases, 26 of which had been previously cryopreserved). Specimen inclusion criteria included the identification of an abnormal population by FC or (if no abnormal population was identified) greater than 50,000 viable events and specimen age less than 4 days. All FC studies were examined blinded to any clinical, laboratory, or histologic information. Results: The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the six-color FC assay was 85.4% and 99.7%, respectively. Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that the six-color FC assay has acceptable sensitivity and specificity for clinical use, allowing more FC laboratories to immunophenotype CHL by this method. Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) is an unusual type of lymphoma that is characterized by scattered large, multinucleate Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells (comprising 1% or less of the lymph node cells) embedded in a reactive cellular infiltrate composed of lympho
Comparison of intravenous ganciclovir and cytomegalovirus hyperimmune globulin pre-emptive treatment in cytomegalovirus-positive heart transplant recipients.

Abstract Background We compared the use of intravenous ganciclovir and cytomegalovirus hyperimmune globulin (CMVIG) as a pre-emptive treatment for cytomegalovirus (CMV)-positive heart transplant recipients. Methods Of 59 CMV-seropositive adult heart transplant recipients enrolled in Group 1, 37 tested positive for pp65 antigen within 12 weeks post-transplantation. These patients were randomized to receive either intravenous ganciclovir (n = 23) or CMVIG (n = 14). Group 2 included 133 CMV-seropositive heart transplant recipients who were not tested for CMV antigenemia and who received no anti-CMV therapy. Results CMV disease developed in 0 of 59 patients from Group 1, and in 27 of 133 patients (20%) in Group 2 (p = 0.0001). The incidence of superinfections was lower in Group 1 (0.28 ± 0.46) than in Group 2 (1.10 ± 1.33) (p = 0.01). The 2 groups did not differ with regard to incidence of rejection (0.7 ± 0.9 in Group 1 vs 1.0 ± 1.2 in Group 2; p = NS), transplant coronary artery disease at 1 year (14% in Group 1 vs 16% in Group 2; p = NS) or post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (0% in Group 1 vs 2% in Group 2; p = NS). Ganciclovir and CMVIG therapies were associated with similar rates of rejection (0.52 ± 0.6 with ganciclovir vs 0.50 ± 0.60 with CMVIG; p = NS), superinfection (0.30 ± 0.48 with ganciclovir vs 0.25 ± 0.46 with CMVIG; p = NS), and transplant coronary artery disease at 1 year (13% with ganciclovir vs 14% with CMVIG, p = NS). Conclusions The pre-emptive anti-CMV approach is superior to prophylaxis in CMV-seropositive heart transplant recipients. Both ganciclovir and CMVIG are equally effective.
Critical structure movement in cervix brachytherapy

Abstract Background and purpose To investigate critical structure movement and subsequent dose received during conformal MR-guided cervix brachytherapy. Materials and methods 21 patients (36 HDR fractions) undergoing brachytherapy for cervical cancer underwent a second MR immediately prior to treatment (pre-treatment MR). Bowel (including sigmoid), bladder and rectum were outlined on both planning and pre-treatment MR scans and dosimetry compared. Results No statistically significant differences were found between the volumes of the OAR doses across the two scans but there were large variations between patients with differences of up to 3.3Gy observed. The percentage of fractions for which D 2cc was within 10% of that planned was 61.1%, 41.7% and 47.2% for bladder, rectum and bowel, respectively. The average time between MR scans was found to be 4.75h (SD±1.2; range 3.2–9.9h), with no correlation found with critical structure movement within this range. Conclusions OAR movement is difficult to predict though significant changes occur in individual patients. In 61% of cases in our sample the D 2cc dose changed by at least 10% for at least one OAR from that planned. Pre-treatment imaging with subsequent adjustment of dosimetry will minimise the impact of organ movement on delivered dose.
On the use of the Blatz-Ko constitutive model in nonlinear finite element analysis

Abstract The nearly-incompressible material model proposed by Blatz and Ko (Trans. Soc. Rheol., 6, 223–251, 1962) is attractive for its simplicity, and is used currently in several finite element wave propagation codes. A form of the Blatz-Ko model suitable for use within static and implicit dynamic solutions is developed in this paper. Stress point equations for both stress and tangent modulus computations are given, and a typical implementation in FORTRAN is presented. The determination of material properties for the model from laboratory test data is also discussed.
Shakin' up your management style

There are thousands of management books out there in the world, guiding us to lead, follow, create a great team, coach your team, team collaboration, lead from above, lead from the middle, motivate the team, reward the team, reward yourself, manage change, manage performance, manage your time, think inside the box, think outside the box, manage without thinking&whew! Regardless of the book, article, webinar, or seminar that we learn from, it centers on the positive aspects of managing and most find a way to align themselves with the message, often not recognizing their own management styles may actually conflict with the message. What about the negative aspects of managing? Very few I.T managers are given proper training or mentoring before being assigned human beings to "manage" and many of them fall short of the managers outlined in all of the great advice given by authors and facilitators.Whether you work for someone with bad management habits or you identify with some of the undesirable qualities, yourself, it is helpful to be able to recognize the qualities of these styles and either work to rid the world of the not-so-great management habits or learn some creative techniques in dealing with those traits and the people you cannot change.
A scalable architecture for emulating Dynamic Resource Allocation in wireless networks

With the increasing size and complexity of emerging military communication networks, low footprint emulation methods are required to evaluate protocols, algorithms and user performance. In this paper we describe a new emulation architecture that is scalable, modular, and responds to real-time changes in topology and link characteristics. We use this scalable emulation testbed to evaluate system performance in a simple Satcom network topology, and enhance it to emulate Dynamic Resource Allocation using distributed software architecture.
Note on surface‐field analysis

In a famour memoir Gauss [see 1 of “References” at end of paper] showed that the surface magnetic field of a sphere could be separated into parts of origin external and internal to the sphere, using the method of spherical harmonic analysis. This analysis also afforded a means of computing the field in adjacent regions of free space from a knowledge of the field over the surface of the sphere. Neumann [2], Schmidt [3], Schuster [4], and others have introduced various improvements in the technique of spherical harmonic analysis and have thereby permitted the achievement of results important in the theory of geomagnetism. However, certain limitations of this valuable method have always been keenly in evidence. In such an analysis an infinite sequence of spherical harmonic terms is usually required to completely represent the field. In cases where the surface-field is of a type adequately represented by only a small number of spherical harmonic terms, so that those remaining may be neglected, the Gaussian method yields a very convenient and useful analysis. But it is sometimes found that the electric or magnetic surface-field is complicated and/or of a type expressed adequately only by many spherical harmonic terms. A spherical harmonic analysis may then become so laborious that it becomes futile from a practical point of view, although still possible in theory. This particular limitation of the Gaussian method often arises in geomagnetism, where complicated features appear not only in the Earth's general magnetic field but also in many of its additional surface-fields varying periodically and aperiodically in time.
Ongoing requirements discovery in high-integrity systems

Discovering new requirements and requirements knowledge continues throughout the lifetime of many high-integrity embedded systems. Understanding the mechanisms for how we discover and resolve requirements identifies guidelines to help prevent anomalies found during testing from recurring during operations. We can improve our systems' quality by means of a better understanding of the mechanisms by which we discover requirements and manage them in testing and operations. We analyzed anomaly reports from testing and operations for eight spacecraft projects at the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, showing that many of the anomalies during these phases involve software requirements discovery. As a result, several patterns of requirements discovery emerged. In turn, identifying these patterns leads to six guidelines for managing the ongoing requirements discovery.
Open pilot study of gabapentin versus trazodone to treat insomnia in alcoholic outpatients

Alcohol-dependent outpatients with persisting insomnia were treated with either gabapentin or trazodone. Patients were assessed at baseline and after 4 to 6 weeks on medication using the Sleep Problems Questionnaire (SPQ). Of 55 cases initially treated, 9% dropped out due to morning drowsiness. Of the remaining 50 cases, 34 were treated with gabapentin (mean dose ± SD = 888 ± 418 mg) at bedtime and 16 were treated with trazodone (105 ± 57 mg) at bedtime. Both groups improved significantly on the SPQ, however, the gabapentin group improved significantly more than the trazodone group. Controlled studies are warranted to replicate these findings.
Outpatient management of the uncomplicated postdate pregnancy with intravaginal prostaglandin E2 gel and membrane stripping.

The purpose of the study was to determine the safety and efficacy of outpatient intravaginal prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and membrane stripping in promoting labor in the uncomplicated postdate pregnancy. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study, 150 enrollees were randomized to one of four treatment groups; group I, no membrane stripping and placebo gel; group II, no membrane stripping and PGE2 gel; group III, membrane stripping and placebo gel; and group IV, membrane stripping and PGE2 gel. The treatments were administered at 287 days (41 weeks) and 294 days (42 weeks) of gestation, then every 3-4 days until 307 days (43 completed weeks) of gestation. The patients in group IV had the shortest interval to delivery with a median of 1 day, P = .001, and the fewest antenatal surveillance visits with only 21% requiring more than one visit, P = .02. Group I patients in comparison, had a 7-day median to delivery, and 61% required more than one visit. The time spent in labor and delivery and the need for oxytocin augmentation was not significantly reduced in groups II, III, and IV. No adverse side effects to either mother or neonate could be directly attributed to this outpatient treatment combination. We conclude that intravaginal PGE2 gel combined with membrane stripping reduces postterm pregnancies and antenatal visits in our patients.
Thin Film Deposition

The controlled deposition of thin organic and inorganic films is an important step in the manufacture of integrated circuits. These films are deposited to remain as an inherent part of the device structure (Fig. 3.1), or to constitute intermediate layers that are used for particular processing steps and then removed. The methods for the deposition of thin films fall into three broad categories: chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), and overlapping techniques which combine both physical and chemical processes [1,2]. This chapter discusses the deposition of single crystal silicon, polysilicon, silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, and gallium arsenide. The deposition of metals and metal compounds is discussed in Chap. 8.
Variation in Vigilance in White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) in Northeastern Kansas

ABSTRACT This study was designed to test hypotheses regarding vigilance (a state of alertness that allows an animal to detect the presence of predators or other threats) in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Based on findings on other species, we predicted that: (1) increasing group size would result in decreased individual vigilance; (2) juveniles would be less vigilant than adults; and (3) males would be less vigilant than females. Deer were observed from a tower in northeastern Kansas from May through Jul. 2001 at dawn and dusk. In accordance with other species, individual vigilance was negatively correlated with group size and juveniles spent less time vigilant than adults. However, there was no apparent difference in vigilance levels between the sexes in adults. We conclude that deer exploit loose aggregations to maximize foraging time by decreasing individual vigilance (without increasing risk) and that the trade off between vigilance and foraging intensity changes with maturation.
The Human Factors of Cyber Network Defense

Technology’s role in the fight against malicious cyber-attacks is critical to the increasingly networked world of today. Yet, technology does not exist in isolation: the human factor is an aspect o...
Women physicians in academic medicine: new insights from cohort studies.

Background I conducted a study to determine whether women who graduate from medical schools are more or less likely than their male counterparts to pursue full-time careers in academic medicine and to advance to the senior ranks of medical school faculties. Methods The rates of advancement to the ranks of assistant, associate, and full professor for all U.S. medical school graduates from 1979 through 1993 and for all members of U.S. medical school faculties from 1979 through 1997 were studied. Cohorts were defined on the basis of the year of graduation from medical school, track (tenure or nontenure), and academic department. Within each cohort, the number of women who advanced to a senior rank was compared with the number that would be expected on the basis of parity between men and women, and 95 percent confidence intervals were calculated. Results Women were significantly more likely than men to pursue an academic career. During the study period, 634 more women became faculty members than expected. The...
Analyzing public sentiments online: combining human- and computer-based content analysis

ABSTRACTRecent technological developments have created novel opportunities for analyzing and identifying patterns in large volumes of digital content. However, many content analysis tools require researchers to choose between the validity of human-based coding and the ability to analyze large volumes of content through computer-based techniques. This study argues for the use of supervised content analysis tools that capitalize on the strengths of human- and computer-based coding for assessing opinion expression. We begin by outlining the key methodological issues surrounding content analysis as performed by human coders and existing computational algorithms. After reviewing the most popular analytic approaches, we introduce an alternative, hybrid method that is aimed at improving reliability, validity, and efficiency when analyzing social media content. To demonstrate the usefulness of this method, we track nuclear energy- and nanotechnology-related opinion expression on Twitter surrounding the Fukushima ...
Value Misunderstanding of“Technological Rationality”and Rational Transcendence of Ecological Practice

Based on the value criticism of technological rationality,this paper justifies technological rationality through the discourse of perfection and duality of technological rationality.Moreover,it elaborates on the necessity of transition from technological rationality to practical rationality and states that the practical transition of technological rationality is an effective measure to cope with ecological crisis.
Head slippage during broad-frequency rotational chair testing

Broad-frequency rotational chair testing is employed in clinical and research settings to evaluate the response of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) over a range of frequencies. Accurate computation of the gain and phase of the VOR is dependent upon the assumption that the subject's head is rigidly coupled to the rotating chair over the range of frequencies employed. We tested this assumption by examining head slippage in 20 normal subjects using a standard rotational chair over the frequency range 0.025 to 2 Hz. Measurements were made with the subjects' head optimally restrained according to our standard clinical protocol and with the head minimally restrained. Head slippage was expressed as gain and phase of the head with respect to the chair. Computation of these parameters was made by comparing the signal received from a biteblock-mounted rate sensor rigidly coupled to the skull with that of the chair's tachometer. We found highly significant slippage of the head with respect to the chair occurred at 0.5, 1 and 2 Hz, even with the head optimally restrained, leading to increased gain and a phase lag. Gain and phase were highly variable for both conditions at 2 Hz indicating inadequate head fixation using our methods. Below 0.5 Hz, minimal head slippage occurred whether the head was restrained or simply rested against a contoured headrest. Consideration of these results may lead to changing some practices currently employed in broad-frequency rotational chair testing at frequencies of 0.5 Hz and above.
Core-Periphery Divisions Among Labor Activists at the World Social Forum

This article examines, through a quantitative analysis of survey data, the extent to which union members and labor activists attending the World Social Forum from different world system zones vary in their political goals and activities. Consistent with world systems theory, we find that labor activists from the semiperiphery protested most frequently whie their counterparts from the periphery protested the least frequently. We also found that union members and labor activists from the periphery were significantly more supportive of reforming (rather than abolishing and replacing) capitalism and international financial and trade institutions compared to their counterparts from other zones, although this finding disappears after local (Kenyan) participants are excluded from the analysis. Finally, we find that representatives of organized labor from the semiperiphery were the least supportive of proposals for creating a democratic world government, while those from the core were the most supportive of globa...
Histone acetylation and hormone action. Early effects of oestradiol-17β on histone acetylation in rat uterus

The effect of oestradiol treatment on the acetylation of histones of the immature rat uterus has been studied. A 10μg dose of oestradiol causes a 70% increase at 5min and a 140% increase at 10min after administration in the labelling of the histone fraction F2+F3. No effect of oestradiol is seen on the labelling of histones F1 or acidic non-histone chromatin proteins. The oestradiol stimulation is seen in animals pretreated with either cycloheximide or actinomycin D. The stimulation of labelling caused by oestradiol is completely abolished by pretreatment of the animals with the anti-oestrogen, nafoxidine. The stimulation is given by lower doses of oestradiol, by stilboestrol and oestriol, but is not given by testosterone. These results suggest that stimulation of histone acetylation in the uterus is the earliest known effect of the hormone on its target tissue.