cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A distributed adverse drug reaction detection system using intelligent agents with a fuzzy recognition‐primed decision model

Discovering unknown adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in postmarketing surveillance as early as possible is highly desirable. Nevertheless, current postmarketing surveillance methods largely rely on spontaneous reports that suffer from serious underreporting, latency, and inconsistent reporting. Thus these methods are not ideal for rapidly identifying rare ADRs. The multiagent systems paradigm is an emerging and effective approach to tackling distributed problems, especially when data sources and knowledge are geographically located in different places and coordination and collaboration are necessary for decision making. In this article, we propose an active, multiagent framework for early detection of ADRs by utilizing electronic patient data distributed across many different sources and locations. In this framework, intelligent agents assist a team of experts based on the well-known human decision-making model called Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD). We generalize the RPD model to a fuzzy RPD model and utilize fuzzy logic technology to not only represent, interpret, and compute imprecise and subjective cues that are commonly encountered in the ADR problem but also to retrieve prior experiences by evaluating the extent of matching between the current situation and a past experience. We describe our preliminary multiagent system design and illustrate its potential benefits for assisting expert teams in early detection of previously unknown ADRs. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 22: 827–845, 2007.
Peeking Under the Peaks Following Up Genome-Wide Linkage Analyses

Family studies throughout the 1970s and 1980s documented the role of shared genetic factors in the familial aggregation of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, including hypertension. These familial aggregation studies, however, do not identify and characterize the role of particular genes. Identification of the genes contributing to interindividual variation in disease risk may facilitate early identification of patients who are at elevated risk of cardiovascular disease before the onset of any clinical symptoms, development of more efficacious treatments by exploiting previously unidentified metabolic and physiological pathways, and the tailoring of particular treatments to patients who are most likely to respond on the basis of their genetic constitution. Cardiovascular disease risk and risk factor levels are controlled by complex interactions among numerous metabolic and physiological systems, as well as demographic and lifestyle factors. Because so many systems are involved, variation in a large number of genes can potentially influence interindividual variation in disease risk, and the impact of any one gene is likely to be small to moderate in size. Before the current revolution in genomic analyses, studies identifying genes contributing to cardiovascular disease risk were of 2 basic types: studies of rare inborn errors of metabolism and association studies of a priori biologic candidate genes. The former have proved very useful for the identification of novel pathways, but the frequencies of these conditions are very rare, so their contribution to the prevalence of disease in the general population is minimal. The latter have proven useful in a few cases, such as the apolipoprotein E polymorphism with plasma cholesterol levels and risk of myocardial infarction, but have been plagued by lack of consistency. Modern genomic analyses have provided 2 additional pathways to identify genes that may be contributing to disease risk: gene expression profiles and genome-wide linkage analyses. Nothing further …
Adipose tissue in myocardial infarction

Abstract Introduction The histologic evolution of myocardial infarction (MI) has been studied in some detail. However, there is little mention of the presence of adipose tissue in healed MI(HMI). Ninety-one hearts explanted during 1997–2001 were examined to determine the extent of adipose tissue within HMI. Methods The medical records, surgical pathology reports, and all histologic sections of the explanted heart, from patients undergoing heart transplantation for ischemic heart disease, were reviewed. Adipose tissue within the areas of HMI was quantified. The location of the HMI, the age and gender of the patient, age of HMI, and whether the patient was treated with coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) were noted. Results Of the 91 hearts examined, 168 HMIs were identified; 141 (84%) contained some mature fat within the HMI. Adipose tissue increased with increasing age, in males, and in those patients who had CABG surgery. The amount of adipose tissue was not related to the location or age of the HMI. Conclusion Adipose tissue is a prevalent histological finding in HMIs. The pathogenesis of adipose tissue is unknown, but may be influenced by current medical therapy for ischemic heart disease, thus explaining why adipose tissue in HMIs was not reported until 1997. The presence of fat supports the speculation that a regenerative cell, or multipotent stem cell, exists within the heart, and under the influence of microenvironmental or therapeutic factors can differentiate into fat, other mesenchymal tissues, and potentially even myocardium.
Rheomagnetic properties of mixed magnetic particle suspensions

Abstract Single-domain magnetic particles are the essential ingredient of magnetic tapes, particulate recording disks and magnetic stripes. The particles are single-domain γ-Fe 2 O 3 , CrO 2 or barium ferrite, and non-magnetic α-Fe 2 O 3 mixture. Each of these particles has intrinsic coercivity, which should be matched with the magnetic field strength of the writing element of a particular device. In this study a magnetic inductance measurement with low field strength was employed to obtain the magnetic permeability of suspensions containing two of the particle types mixed together as a function of composition and volume fraction of particles. The bulk magnetic property B is a linear combination of the contributions from each particle type such that the “excess” inductance is L − L s = Σφ i B i where φ i is the volume fraction and B i , is the magnetic property of particle type i . For the non-magnetic α-Fe 2 O 3 , B i = 0. This allows the formulation of mixed particle suspensions to obtain a desired property for custom-designed magnetic particle coatings. However, mixing magnetic particle types will broaden or produce a bimodal switching field distribution. This may affect the squareness of the magnetic hysteresis loop. These properties should be taken into account for the design of a practical magnetic coating with mixed particle suspension. Another requirement of the magnetic particle suspensions is that they remain well dispersed, even though strong magnetic forces between the particles promote flocculation. An extension of the inductance measurement technique is employed to study the flocculation of a suspension containing magnetic γ-Fe 2 O 3 and non-magnetic α-Fe 2 O 3 . The presence of the α-Fe 2 O 3 decreases the flocculation state of the suspension. Thus the suspension stability is enhanced by incorporating a small amount of non-magnetic particles in addition to surfactant.
Servants and the Household Unit in an Elizabethan English Community

During the early modern period many English young people spent five to ten years as servants, leaving their parental families in their teens to live with and work for another household until they were financially able to set up their own homes, usually in their mid- or late twenties. Servants were employed in agriculture, crafts, retailing, and domestic work. The place of servants in the large manor of Havering, Essex, 1560-1620, may be examined through a listing of communicants by household unit, parish registers, and other local records. The mean projected household size in the urbanized parish of Romford was 4.2 people, including 0.9 servants. Servants constituted about 20 percent of the total population; around 40 percent of all households included a servant. Havering's servants gained occupational training, accumulated cash and goods, and often formed lasting friendships with their masters and peers.
Disseminated coccidioidomycosis in a patient managed with adalimumab for Crohn's disease.

A 50-year-old man from Las Vegas with a history of complicated Crohn's disease and who had received adalimumab therapy presented with left lower quadrant abdominal pain, periorbital headache, blurry vision, tinnitus, polydipsia, right elbow pain and weight loss. He was diagnosed with having disseminated coccidioidomycosis. Despite antifungal treatment, surgical debridement and irrigation, and discontinuation of immunosuppressive therapy, the patient eventually died. This case highlights the risk of developing endemic mycoses while receiving biologic therapy. Background. A 50-year-old man presented with a 2–3 month history of left lower quadrant abdominal pain, right periorbital headache, blurry vision, tinnitus, polydipsia, right elbow pain, and a 32 kg weight loss over the past year. He had a 34-year history of complicated Crohn's disease that was notable for surgical stricture repair and partial colectomy for bowel perforation. The patient was receiving mesalazine and 6-mercaptopurine and, 2 months before admission, had stopped a 4-month therapy course with the biologic agent adalimumab for treatment of Crohn's disease. Investigations. Physical examination, brain and elbow MRI scans, chest CT scan, routine blood analyses, assessment of coccidioidomycosis antibody levels, immunodiffusion and complement fixation studies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid, full-body technetium-99m nuclear bone scan, hematoxylin and eosin staining of resected tissue specimens. Diagnosis. Disseminated coccidioidomycosis with meningeal, bone, soft tissue and pulmonary involvement. Management. The patient underwent treatment with amphotericin B liposomal complex and oral fluconazole and right elbow surgical debridement and irrigation. All immunosuppressive therapy was stopped.
G-Quadruplex Folding Depends on its Loop Size and Sequence: Extreme Fast Folding Kinetics Observed in Human Telomere and its Isomer

Highly stable GQ structures have been observed at telomeres and GC rich promoter regions of several oncogenes in human cancer cells. Potential GQ forming sequences entail triplet Gs (GGG) separated by variable sequence and length of none-G bases, termed loop which often determines GQ folding conformation. Folding conformations of GQ structures play an important role in targeting GQ binding anticancer drugs with high specificity and selectivity.It is very challenging to quantify each folded population accurately using bulk methods. Ensemble measurements only provide information on existence of both folded populations. Here we employed single molecule FRET to observe two GQ folding conformations (parallel, antiparallel) and unfolding in real time. In order to understand nature of GQ folding kinetics, we varied the loop length and sequence systematically in between triplet Gs. Our result reveals that a single base in one loop between any triplet Gs instantly drives GQ folding into parallel conformation. Furthermore, keeping two or more bases leads to appearance of antiparallel conformation first then it interconverts between other conformations at equilibrium. We quantified the fraction of each conformation from FRET intensity histograms. Furthermore we explored the loop sequence variance in the context of human telomere (TTA) and its isomers (TTT, TAA, AAA). Interestingly, kinetic analysis indicates that the human telomeric sequence exhibits extremely fast folding rates compared to its counterparts. Higher preference for either of the folded state observed in human telomere and its isomers could have implication in protecting genome by tightly capping chromosome end. Observed extreme rates of GQ folded state could potentially useful in targeting GQ binding anticancer drugs at the telomere regions.
Advice to a graduating surgical resident; some new "A"s.

p a t c e i d y t t a s w m s t t As the academic year comes to a close, commencement ceremonies are planned celebrating the completion of the arduous training required to become a surgeon. Although the work hours for residents have been reduced, surgical training is still the most arduous of all subspecialties. Attending senior surgeons, myself included, begin to consider what advice to impart to the new surgical training program graduates. There is really too much information and not nearly enough time. Where to begin? When I was in training in simpler times some years ago in the age of the 120 hour work week, according to my mentors, the three “A’s” were all that allegedly were necessary to ensure a successful surgical practice. These were, in order of importance, availability, affability, and lastly, ability. I really did not apreciate the wisdom of my mentors at that time, but have realzed the truths in their words with the passage of time and the larity afforded by experience. Availability has not changed. Patients with surgical disease ften require immediate attention. The old naval adage, “any ort in a storm,” is still true. It is necessary to be available and to rovide care to any patient referred by another physician. If you ave the privilege of practicing in a small community, your vailability becomes well known and will help you immensely. f you practice in a larger community, you still need to be vailable. Having a good working relationship with the emerency room physicians should help. The focus is on helping the atient. No one likes to wait, not only the patient, but also he referring physician, and the emergency room physician. he emergency room physicians are also under significant time onstraints and are trying to accommodate the patient, and eet administrative defined production goals. As more physiians become employed, there is more administrative oversight nto production metrics first and outcomes secondarily. In the ast decade, there has been a decline in the number of surgeons n independent practice in the United States and is estimated in 009 to be 27%. Production metrics are easy to define and measure. Outcome metrics are more difficult to define and
What effect does uncertainty have on the length of labor contracts

Abstract The literature on duration of explicit labor contracts has suggested that increased uncertainty should be associated with shorter labor contracts. More recently, it has been argued that the effect of uncertainty on contract duration depends on the type of uncertainty involved. Specifically, if the uncertainty pertains to aggregate real shocks, then contract durations should increase as workers seek to insure themselves against the repercussions of such shocks. Using a sample of 1876 labor contracts signed during the period 1977–1988, this paper provides an empirical test of the foregoing hypothesis (known as the efficient risk sharing hypothesis). The paper presents results from estimation of a generalized-probit, simultaneous equation model, in which the dependent variables are contract length, indexation of the contract through a cost-of-living allowance, and the rate of wage change specified in the contract. The empirical findings confirm the efficient risk sharing hypothesis.
Design of a blade-stiffened composite panel with a hole

A procedure is developed analytically to design and produce an optimized stiffened panel with a centrally located hole. The PASCO panel-buckling analysis and sizing code is employed with the Engineering Analysis Language (EAL) code for finite-element analysis to optimize the design variables. Important design considerations are stiffener height and ply thicknesses in the skin and the stiffener laminates. The EAL code calculates the maximum strains around the hole boundary, and the resulting constraints are combined with the buckling constraint developed by the PASCO code. Cooptimization of the two codes is effected until convergence on the optimal solution is achieved. Results of the analytical procedure are experimentally verified by applying a compressive end-load to graphite-fiber laminated plates with center holes. The experimental results support the analytical procedure, and it is found that for the same weight, the soft-skin designs tested are found to have the best tolerance characteristics and resistance to failure.
The Role of Instructional Design and Technology in the Dissemination of Empirically Supported, Manual-Based Therapies

The principles, processes, and tools of instructional design and technology (IDT) can facilitate the translation of paper-based, text-intensive Manual-Based Therapies (MBTs) into media-rich, interactive, Web-based training (WBT) applications. This article outlines available technology-based mechanisms for delivering instructional content, provides examples of how each can be used for effective dissemination of MBTs, and outlines the advantages that may accrue from this approach. Clinical researchers and IDT professionals can collaborate to increase adoption of treatment manuals by employing user-friendly, instructionally sound Web applications that incorporate video role-plays, audio narration, graphics, animation, and dynamic, interactive content.
P/n/ velocity and cooling of the continental lithosphere

The average upper mantle compressional wave velocity and heat flow figures presently computed for continental physiographic provinces in North America exhibit an inverse relationship, and possess a statistically significant correlation coefficient. A correlation is also demonstrated between compressional wave velocity and material temperature by estimating crust-mantle boundary temperatures from heat flow values. The dependency of compressional wave velocity on temperature implies that the observed geographical distribution in upper mantle seismic velocity may be due to the temperature effect character of upper mantle compressional wave velocity variation.
Synthesis, characterization, and photoluminescence of isostructural Mn, Co, and Zn MOFs having a diamondoid structure with large tetrahedral cages and high thermal stability

Three novel Mn, Co, and Zn MOFs containing large tetrahedral cages have been prepared and are stable up to 400 degree C; X-ray diffraction revealed the frameworks are isostructural having a diamondoid structure of "hourglass" subunits connected by triangular carboxylate ligands.
A Multilateral Negotiations Challenge: International Management of the Communications Commons:

The community of nations faces the task of governing many new global commons issues, including information access and availability, and common property resources. One approach to addressing this challenge arises from current efforts to create an international legal regime for the global communications commons. The context for international collaboration involving a communications commons regime is defined by identifying and describing (a) the stakeholders; (b) the characteristics of a global commons and a communications commons; (c) the prevailing political, economic, and legal principles that influence behavior in both the international system and the communications commons; and (d) typical barriers to collaboration. The evolving governance structure of the global communications commons is analyzed, and suggestions are offered for creating effective legal regimes to manage similar challenges in international relations.
Communication in Computation

The need for communication is an essential factor shaping the physical nature of a computing system. A computing system functions by bringing a large number of separate elements to bear on a common problem. Coordinated operation of the elements requires a large amount of communication among them through many long wires. Some implications of communication for the physical characteristics of electrical computers are as follows. Variability in manufacturing and of the environment within a system causes the elements of a system to differ from one another in their responses to electrical signals. Signals must be large enough to be interpretable by any element of the system. Therefore, the need for rapid reliable communication implies that signals that are large in some sense are required. The combination of large signals and many wires implies high-power dissipation. Fitting the pattern of interconnection into minimum space is a very complex problem which is one of the most severe limitations on the utilization of integrated electronics in computation. Experience has led to the establishment of certain quantitative generalizations concerning the communication requirements in large systems. Similarity between these and neuronal communication is noted.
Amplified quantum fluctuation as a mechanism for generating ultrashort pulses in semiconductor lasers

A quantum amplifier model is used to simulate semiconductor laser operation in the presence of quantum fluctuations. The model explicitly takes into account of the finite dipole dephasing time of the lasing medium and the longitudinal non-uniformity of carrier and photon distributions. Quantum fluctuations are considered by regarding each of the spontaneous, stimulated emission and absorption processes as random processes obeying Poisson statistics. The simulation results agrees with conventional traveling wave rate equation approach in the absence of noise. However, with the presence of quantum fluctuations, the laser output experiences pulsation at the period of cavity round-trip time. The pulsation behavior is heavily dependent on the finite dipole dephasing time and the nonlinear gain constant of the lasing medium. By appropriately adjusting the mode-lock condition of a high speed laser diode, ultrashort pulse train can be obtained from the laser diode with external cavity repetition frequency.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Do we still need primary care tracks

Abstract ▪ Primary care tracks in internal medicine residency programs were initiated in the late 1970s in response to the need for more primary care physicians. These programs have shown that inte...
Fermions and the Gaussian effective potential.

The effect of fermions on the Gaussian effective potential is studied in a variety of fermion-scalar models in 2, 3, and 4 dimensions. Both gphipsi-barpsi and gphi/sup 2/psi-barpsi couplings are considered. Stability requires the bare g to be infinitesimal; g/sub B/ /sup 2/ = G/sup 2//I/sub 0/ with I/sub 0/ a divergent integral. This contrasts with large-N studies in which g/sub B/ remains finite. The presence of fermions encourages spontaneous symmetry breaking, and in 3+1 dimensions the fermions destabilize the already ''precarious'' phi/sup 4/ theory.
Cells expressing angiotensin II receptors in fibrous tissue of rat heart

Objective: Following left coronary artery ligation, markedly increased angiotensin II (AngII) receptor binding appears at the site of myocardial infarction (MI). This is also true for the fibrosed visceral pericardium in rats following pericardiotomy (with or without MI). Cells expressing AngII receptors at these sites remain unknown. In the present study, we sought to identify cells expressing AngII receptors at these sites of fibrosis in the rat heart during both early and late stages of wound healing. Methods: MI was created by left coronary artery ligation. Sham operation included thoracotomy, pericardiotomy and placement of silk ligature around the left coronary artery without MI. Hearts were collected at postoperative week 1 and 4. In serial sections: autoradiography (125I[Sar1,Ile8]AngII) was used to determine cells expressing AngII receptors; hematoxylin-eosin and α smooth muscle actin were used for identification of cell morphology and phenotype, respectively; and picrosirius red for identification of fibrillar collagen. Results: (1) at week 1, necrotic tissue at the site of MI was surrounded by granulation tissue that included macrophages, α smooth muscle actin fibroblast-like cells, or myofibroblasts, fibrillar collagen, and new vessels; (2) at week 4, scar tissue had formed and remaining cells were primarily myofibroblasts; (3) pericardial fibrosis was evident at weeks 1 and 4 and contained myofibroblasts, not macrophages or new vessels; (4) at week 1 and 4 myofibroblasts were the predominant cell expressing high-density AngII receptors at the site of MI, while fibroblasts, macrophages and vessels demonstrated low-density AngII receptor binding; and (5) at weeks 1 and 4, myofibroblasts express high-density AngII receptor binding in pericardial fibrosis. Conclusion: In a rat model of tissue repair involving either MI or pericardial fibrosis, increased AngII receptor expression is primarily associated with myofibroblasts. This suggests AngII may play a role in mediating the fibrogenic response provided by this wound healing cell at sites of tissue injury in the rat heart.
Circannual rhythms—III. Rhythmicity in the longevity of hydranths of the marine cnidarian, Campanularia flexuosa

Abstract 1. 1. Free-running circannual rhythms in hydranth longevity of the marine cnidarian Campanularia flexuosa cultured continuously in constant 10, 17 and 24°C environmentsfor over 2 1 2 years are defined and have periods ranging from 315 to 432 days. 2. 2. Hydranth life spans decreased to about half their maxima during summer and mid-winter phases of sparse growth; increases in longevity occurred as growth became luxuriant. 3. 3. On the assumption that each hydranth is an individual organism, the circannual rhythms in longevity contradict the accepted concept of an invariable mean life span or “specific age”, an age at death characteristic of the species. 4. 4. Endogenous, longevity rhythms anticipate seasonal variations in the coastal water temperature of the species' natural environment.
Feedforward and feedback projections of caudal belt and parabelt areas of auditory cortex: refining the hierarchical model

Our working model of the primate auditory cortex recognizes three major regions (core, belt, parabelt), subdivided into thirteen areas. The connections between areas are topographically ordered in a manner consistent with information flow along two major anatomical axes: core-belt-parabelt and caudal-rostral. Remarkably, most of the connections supporting this model were revealed using retrograde tracing techniques. Little is known about laminar circuitry, as anterograde tracing of axon terminations has rarely been used. The purpose of the present study was to examine the laminar projections of three areas of auditory cortex, pursuant to analysis of all areas. The selected areas were: middle lateral belt (ML); caudomedial belt (CM); and caudal parabelt (CPB). Injections of anterograde tracers yielded data consistent with major features of our model, and also new findings that compel modifications. Results supporting the model were: 1) feedforward projection from ML and CM terminated in CPB; 2) feedforward projections from ML and CPB terminated in rostral areas of the belt and parabelt; and 3) feedback projections typified inputs to the core region from belt and parabelt. At odds with the model was the convergence of feedforward inputs into rostral medial belt from ML and CPB. This was unexpected since CPB is at a higher stage of the processing hierarchy, with mainly feedback projections to all other belt areas. Lastly, extending the model, feedforward projections from CM, ML, and CPB overlapped in the temporal parietal occipital area (TPO) in the superior temporal sulcus, indicating significant auditory influence on sensory processing in this region. The combined results refine our working model and highlight the need to complete studies of the laminar inputs to all areas of auditory cortex. Their documentation is essential for developing informed hypotheses about the neurophysiological influences of inputs to each layer and area.
Hypocholesterolemia in hairy cell leukemia: a marker for proliferative activity.

Hypocholesterolemia is a well-documented phenomenon associated with a variety of hematological malignancies and nonmalignant disorders associated with splenomegaly. To determine the incidence of hypocholesterolemia in patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL), we measured the serum cholesterol levels before and after a single cycle of 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA) in 46 patients. The mean pre-treatment serum cholesterol level was 152.8 mg/dl (range, 60 to 293 mg/dl). The mean post-treatment serum cholesterol level was 190.0 mg/dl. This was significantly higher than the pre-treatment values (P < 0.0001). Twelve patients who had previously undergone splenectomy showed a similar response to treatment, with a pre-treatment value of 180.0 mg/dl and a post-treatment value of 219.8 mg/dl (P < 0.0001). However, there was a significant difference in the pre-treatment serum cholesterol levels in the nonsplenectomized patients (143.0 mg/dl) compared to the splenectomized patients (180.0 mg/dl) (P < 0.03). The pre-treatment serum cholesterol did not correlate with the pre-treatment splenic index (correlation coefficient = −0.39, P < 0.065). Similarly, there was no correlation between the change in splenic index and the change in serum cholesterol level post-treatment. These findings suggest that hypocholesterolemia in HCL is related to tumor burden and not to splenomegaly alone. Since cholesterol is critical to hairy cell metabolism and structure, treatment strategies interfering with cholesterol synthesis may be productive. Am. J. Hematol. 55:129–133 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
TEtranscripts: a package for including transposable elements in differential expression analysis of RNA-seq datasets

MOTIVATION: Most RNA-seq data analysis software packages are not designed to handle the complexities involved in properly apportioning short sequencing reads to highly repetitive regions of the genome. These regions are often occupied by transposable elements (TEs), which make up between 20-80% of eukaryotic genomes. They can contribute a substantial portion of transcriptomic and genomic sequence reads, but are typically ignored in most analyses. RESULTS: Here we present a method and software package for including both gene- and TE-associated ambiguously mapped reads in differential expression analysis. Our method shows improved recovery of TE transcripts over other published expression analysis methods, in both synthetic data and qPCR/NanoString-validated published datasets. AVAILABILITY:The source code, associated GTF files for TE annotation, and testing data are freely available at http://hammelllab.labsites.cshl.edu/software. CONTACT:mhammell@cshl.edu.
Modeling Entrainment and Finescale Mixing in Cumulus Clouds

Abstract A model used to study entrainment and mixing of thermodynamic properties in the stratus-topped boundary layer has been extended to represent these processes in cumulus clouds. The new model, called the “explicit mixing parcel model” (EMPM), depicts finescale internal structure of a rising thermal in a cumulus cloud using a 1D domain. The EMPM links the conventional parcel model, which has no internal structure, and multidimensional cloud models, which resolve cloud-scale structure produced by large eddies. In the EMPM, the internal structure evolves as a consequence of a sequence of discrete entrainment events and an explicit representation of turbulent mixing based on Kerstein’s linear eddy model. In this version of the EMPM, subgrid-scale (eddy) diffusion is found to be adequate for representing the effects of the smallest turbulent eddies. In addition, a simple parameterization is used to determine the local condensation or evaporation rates. If the grid size is reduced so that the Kolmogorov ...
Influence of study approaches on academic outcomes during pre-clinical medical education.

Background: Different approaches to study lead to differing academic outcomes. Deep and strategic approaches have been linked to academic success while surface approaches lead to poorer understandings.Aims: This study sought to characterize how the approaches to study used by medical students impacted their academic success as measured by three outcomes: cumulative grades at the end of the first year, cumulative grades at the end of the second year, and performance on a medical licensing examination.Methods: The approaches and study skills inventory for students was administered to medical students to determine their predominant study approach (deep, strategic, superficial) at the beginning of their first year, end of first year, and end of second year. Each group's mean performance on each outcome measure was compared by ANOVA to find significant differences.Results: For all three outcome measures, strategic approaches to study were associated with high performance while surface approaches with a poor on...
Interaction of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde with ruthenium

Abstract The interaction of H 2 , CO, and H 2 CO with a clean (110) ruthenium surface has been studied using temperature-programmed desorption methods. Although Ru is known to be an excellent catalyst for methane production via hydrogenation of CO, no observable CH 4 was produced over Ru(110) at H 2 + CO pressures up to ~10 −3 Torr, due to kinetic limitations. Also, no CH 4 was observed to desorb from coadsorbed H 2 + CO. Formaldehyde dissociates upon adsorption on Ru(110) and yields H 2 and CO as the dominant desorption products. In addition, a small (~0.1% of a monolayer) amount of CH 4 was also seen following H 2 CO adsorption. This CH 4 presumably originates from the thermal decomposition of a low-concentration oxygenated hydrocarbon complex. The relationship between this complex and the catalytic intermediate in the methanation reaction is explored.
Adsorption of Arsenate and Arsenite by Iron-Treated Activated Carbon and Zeolites: Effects of pH, Temperature, and Ionic Strength

Naturally occurring arsenic contaminates groundwater in many countries, including the United States, at levels greater than 10 microg l(-1), the current WHO guideline value, increasing the risk of skin, lung, bladder, and kidney cancer in millions of people. Arsenic toxicity is dependent on its chemical form; arsenite is more toxic due to its higher affinity for protein than arsenate. This study supports worldwide research efforts to obtain drinking water with arsenic levels below 10 microg l(-1). Batch adsorption kinetic and isotherm studies were conducted to compare and evaluate iron-treated adsorbents for arsenate and arsenite removal from aqueous media. Two iron treatments were investigated as well as the effects of varied pH, temperature, and ionic strength increases on adsorption effectiveness. Adsorbent materials such as activated carbon and naturally occurring zeolites (clinoptilolite and chabazite) were selected because of their relative low cost and because the zeolites are potential point-of-use materials for mitigating arsenic contaminated groundwater. Molecular sieves, Faujasite (13X) and Linde type A (5A) were selected because they provide a basis for comparison with previous studies and represent well-characterized materials. Iron-treated activated carbon and chabazite showed the most promise as low-cost arsenic adsorbents; activated carbon removed approximately 60% of arsenate and arsenite while chabazite removed approximately 50% of arsenate and 30% of arsenite. Modeling arsenate and arsenite adsorption by these adsorbents using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm expressions determined the adsorbents' capacity for arsenic removal from aqueous media. Arsenate removal by iron-treated activated carbon and clinoptilolite best fit the Langmuir model. Arsenate removal by iron-treated chabazite and arsenite removal by activated carbon, chabazite, and clinoptilolite best fit the Freundlich model. Applications of iron-modified activated carbon for effective arsenate removal would require pH values between 7 and 11, chabazite between 4 and 5, and clinoptilolite between 3 and 7. Arsenite removal by iron-modified activated carbon would require pH values between 7 and 11, chabazite between 7 and 10, and clinoptilolite between 4 and 11. Increasing temperature improved adsorption performance for activated carbon and the zeolites. Increasing ionic strength improved performance of iron-treated activated carbon and zeolites.
Monophyly of the catfish family Siluridae (Teleostei: Siluriformes), with a critique of previous hypotheses of the family's relationships

Monophyly of the Eurasian catfish family Siluridae is established according to five synapomorphies unique to the family: (1) palatine reduced to a small nodule; (2) lateral ethmoid and sphenotic contact by narrow extensions lateral to the frontal; (3) ossified transscapular ligament anteroposteriorly compressed; (4) distal radials of dorsal-fin pterygiophores absent; (5) articulations of anal-fin rays with pterygiophores posterodorsally shifted. Previous hypotheses of silurid non-monophyly or a close relationship of the Siluridae to the Malapteruridae, Plotosidae or Amblycipitidae are shown to be poorly supported by available evidence. Silurids share with other subgroups of the Siluroidea character states that are derived within the Siluroidea; these are described in an appendix. Additional character state evidence is needed before a hypothesis of sister-group relationshipi between the Siluridae and another siluroid subgroup can be proposed.
Efficient monitoring in wireless mesh networks: Overheads and accuracy trade-offs

802.11-based multi-hop wireless mesh networks have become increasingly prevalent over the last few years. Recently, a lot of focus has been on deploying monitoring frameworks for enterprise and municipal multi-hop wireless networks. A lot of work has also been done on developing measurement-based schemes for resource management and fault management in these networks. The above goals require an efficient monitoring infrastructure to be deployed in the wireless network, which can provide the maximum amount of information regarding the network status, while utilizing the least possible amount of network resources. However, network monitoring introduces overheads, which can impact network performance, from the perspective of the end user. The impact of monitoring overheads on data traffic has been overlooked in most of the previous works. It remains unclear, as to how parameters such as number of monitoring agents, frequency of reporting monitoring data, and others, impact the performance of a wireless network. In this work, we first evaluate the impact of monitoring overheads on data traffic, and show that even small amounts of overheads can cause large degradation in network performance. We then explore several different techniques for reducing monitoring overheads, while maintaining the objective (resource management, fault management and others) that needs to be achieved. Via extensive simulations, we investigate whether a monitoring framework, which is constrained in terms of number of monitors or periodicity of monitoring, can achieve similar performance as a monitoring framework spanning the entire network. We show that different techniques lend themselves to different application scenarios, and evaluate the trade-offs involved in terms of monitoring overheads and quality of monitoring data.
Multi-scale Forecasting and Targeting of Tropical Cyclones in the Western Pacific

In support of The Observing-system Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) Pacific Asian Regional Campaign (T-PARC) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Tropical Cyclone Structure-08 (TCS-08) experiments, a variety of real-time products were produced at the Naval Research Laboratory during the field campaign that took place from August through early October 2008. In support of the targeted observing objective, large-scale targeting guidance was produced twice daily using singular vectors (SVs) from the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS). For mesoscale models, TC forecasts were produced using a new version of the Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS®) developed specifically for tropical cyclone prediction (COAMPS-TC). In addition to the COAMPSTC forecasts, mesoscale targeted observing products were produced using the COAMPS forecast and adjoint system twice daily, centered on storms of interest.
A simple error estimator for the moment method in electromagnetic scattering

A simple method of error estimation was proposed in the moment method for 3D electromagnetic scattering problems. The results show that a higher-order solution and hence the error in the lower-order solution can be estimated accurately by this method with a low computational cost.
Sliding modes and soft switching control in dynamic systems

This paper researches the synthesis of soft switching continuous controllers with nonlinear switching surfaces. These tracking control laws are found using the state variables and the tracking error. It is illustrated that robust tracking and stability are guaranteed for admissible disturbances, reference inputs and parameter variations. To verify the theoretical results, the motion control problem is solved for a class of nonlinear electromechanical systems driven by permanent-magnet synchronous motors. The dynamic systems studied are described by nonlinear differential equations with control bounds and parameter variations. The soft switching controllers are designed to guarantee soft switching sliding modes in the closed-loop systems, and robust stability and tracking, disturbance attenuation and robustness to parameter variations are ensured. Experimental verification was performed.
Characterizing the existing and potential structural space of proteins by large-scale multiple loop permutations

Worldwide structural genomics projects are increasing structure coverage of sequence space but have not significantly expanded the protein structure space itself (i.e., number of unique structural folds) since 2007. Discovering new structural folds experimentally by directed evolution and random recombination of secondary-structure blocks is also proved rarely successful. Meanwhile, previous computational efforts for large-scale mapping of protein structure space are limited to simple model proteins and led to an inconclusive answer on the completeness of the existing observed protein structure space. Here, we build novel protein structures by extending naturally occurring circular (single-loop) permutation to multiple loop permutations (MLPs). These structures are clustered by structural similarity measure called TM-score. The computational technique allows us to produce different structural clusters on the same naturally occurring, packed, stable core but with alternatively connected secondary-structure segments. A large-scale MLP of 2936 domains from structural classification of protein domains reproduces those existing structural clusters (63%) mostly as hubs for many nonredundant sequences and illustrates newly discovered novel clusters as islands adopted by a few sequences only. Results further show that there exist a significant number of novel potentially stable clusters for medium-size or large-size single-domain proteins, in particular, >100 amino acid residues, that are either not yet adopted by nature or adopted only by a few sequences. This study suggests that MLP provides a simple yet highly effective tool for engineering and design of novel protein structures (including naturally knotted proteins). The implication of recovering new-fold targets from critical assessment of structure prediction techniques (CASP) by MLP on template-based structure prediction is also discussed. Our MLP structures are available for download at the publication page of the Web site http://sparks.informatics.iupui.edu.
Mining MEDLINE for implicit links between dietary substances and diseases

Motivation: Text mining systems aim at knowledge discovery from text collections. This work presents our text mining algorithm and demonstrates its use to uncover information that could form the basis of new hypotheses. In particular, we use it to discover novel uses for Curcuma longa, a dietary substance, which is highly regarded for its therapeutic properties in Asia. Results: Several disease were identified that offer novel research contexts for curcumin. We analyze select suggestions, such as retinal diseases, Crohn's disease and disorders related to the spinal cord. Our analysis suggests that there is strong evidence in favor of a beneficial role for curcumin in these diseases. The evidence is based on curcumin's influence on several genes, such as COX-2, TNF-alpha, JNK, p38 MAPK and TGF-beta. This research suggests that our discovery algorithm may be used to suggest novel uses for dietary and pharmacological substances. More generally, our text mining algorithm may be used to uncover information that potentially sheds new light on a given topic of interest. Availability: Contact authors.
Negligence Law and Mental Mutation

In thinking about this accident, most people are quickly drawn to the financial hardship that Mr. Evans suffered. Under most states’ workmen’s compensation laws, restitution for Mr. Evans’ injury would be forthcoming from state insurance paid for by the private contractor, Waldon Company (Dobbs, 1985, p. 742). However, workmen’s compensation statutes limit liability to fixed amounts for specific injuries and percentages of lost wages. In order to be compensated for his pain and suffering, Mr. Evans would have to show, in a court of law, that River City Mall was negligent when it failed to provide a safe working environment and therefore was at fault for the accident (Dobbs, 1985). In a case like Evans v. River City Mall, the central tasks for the trier of fact (i.e., judge or jury) are to weigh the evidence, apply the law, and attribute fault among the deserving parties.
The role of gender and sex hormones in determining the onset and outcome of multiple sclerosis

Intriguing sex differences both in multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility and its disease course may offer important insights into MS disease pathophysiology, prevention and treatment. In this review, we first summarize the key sex-related differences in MS risk, heritability and disease progression. One promising hypothesis we explore is whether sexually-dimorphic responsiveness to cultural and environmental changes may explain the observation of an increasing female:male sex ratio in MS. We then review the evidence for hormonal modulation of MS, during such transitions as puberty and pregnancy. Finally, we review sex differences in the non-inflammatory facets of MS. We highlight those research gaps that may point to important sex or sex hormone-mediated mechanistic and therapeutic insights.
Determining Diffusion and Convective Mass Transfer Coefficients in Dyeing a Thin Flat Film

A method based on laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) has been developed for simultaneously obtaining the diffusion coefficient D and the ratio of the convection mass transfer coefficient hm ...
Optimal collision avoidance and formation switching on Riemannian manifolds

The problems of optimal collision avoidance and optimal formation switching for multiple agents moving on a Riemannian manifold are studied. It is assumed that the underlying manifold admits a group of isometries, with respect to which the Lagrangian function is invariant. A reduction method is used to derive optimality conditions for the solutions. Some examples are presented.