cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Overwintering by the Boll Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Conservation Reserve Program Grasses on the Texas High Plains.

Scarcity of suitable overwintering habitat is a major obstacle to the establishment of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman, in cotton-producing counties of the Texas High Plains (THP). After introduction of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in 1985, a 3-yr study was conducted to investigate the overwintering potential of the boll weevil in two CRP grass habitats on the THP. Overwintering survival of the boll weevil in leaf litter of sand shinnery oak, Quercus havardii (Rydberg), in the Texas Rolling Plains (TRP) served as a comparison. CRP grasses provide marginal overwintering habitat when compared with sand shinnery oak leaf litter. For a given level of winter severity, total winter survival and effective emergence (emergence after approximately 15 June in the study area) were consistently lower in the CRP grasses than in sand shinnery oak leaf litter. Even with lower survival rates in THP grasses, economically damaging boll weevil infestations could follow mild winters if large diapausing populations develop in the fall. Pheromone traps located in CRP pastures on the THP indicated a relatively low level of overwintered boll weevil emergence during all three study years.
Advanced technology for FPGAs

Power management and high speed transceiver I/O demands are two major challenges for advanced field programmable gate array (FPGA) at 28nm node. To meet requirements, not only innovations in process technology but also co-optimization of process, circuit and system architecture are required. Advanced process technologies, such as high-k metal gate (HKMG) and enhanced strain engineering, significantly improves performance while reducing leakage power. With co-optimization of process, circuit, and architecture, 30% lower total power is achieved for 28nm FPGAs vs. previous generations. With optimized analog/RF devices, high data rate of 28 Gbps transceivers are produced using a 28nm digital process.
Induction of angiogenic chemokine CCL2 by human herpesvirus 8 chemokine receptor.

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), an endothelial cell lesion believed to be initiated and driven primarily by cytokine dysregulation. Among the viral proteins suspected as contributing to viral pathogenesis is the lytically expressed viral G protein-coupled receptor (vGPCR), which can induce various cellular cytokines. CC ligand-2 (CCL2/MCP-1) is a vGPCR-regulated angiogenic chemokine found at elevated levels in KS lesions and induced by HHV-8 infection of endothelial cells. Here we show that vGPCR induces CCL2 in endothelial cells via activation of C/EBPβ and that vGPCR and C/EBPβ are critical components of CCL2 induction by HHV-8 infection of endothelial cultures. To our knowledge, this is the first report of vGPCR-mediated cytokine induction, and its characterization, in the context of virus infection. Our results identify a mechanism by which vGPCR can contribute, in a host cell shutoff-independent manner, to viral pathogenesis.
Worsening trends in adult health-related quality of life and self-rated health-United States, 1993-2001.

Objectives.Health-related quality of life and self-rated health complement mortality and morbidity as measures used in tracking changes and disparities in population health. The objectives of this ...
Statistical methods in the surgical literature.

Background It is important that clinicians understand statistical methods to incorporate statistics into their own research and to correctly translate published literature into improved patient care. The purpose of this study was to identify frequency and appropriate use of statistical methods in clinical surgical publications during the past 18 years. Study design The study included randomly selected issues from odd-numbered years of Annals of Surgery (Annals) and Archives of Surgery (Archives) between 1985 and 2003, and issues in 2003 from Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS), Journal of Surgical Research (JSR), and Surgery. We identified all statistical procedures reported in each article, examined correctness of methods, and reported trends in publication of statistical methods over time. Results The proportion of publications incorporating statistics has increased over time. Declining trends were seen in the proportion of articles with no statistics (p Conclusions Overall, the statistical complexity of research in clinical surgery journals is increasing. It is important that clinicians reading this literature have sufficient knowledge of statistical methods to facilitate interpretation of increasingly sophisticated statistical analyses.
Defining Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Pain Management

Background Substantial pain prevalence is as high as 40% in community populations. There is consistent evidence that racial/ethnic minority individuals are overrepresented among those who experience such pain and whose pain management is inadequate.
The synthesis of 2-amino-7-(β-D-ribofuranosyl)pyrrolo[2,3-d]-pyrimidin-4-one (7-deazaguanosine), a nucleoside Q and Q* analog

The synthesis of 2-amino-7-(β-D-riholuranosyl)pyrrolo[2,3-d ]pyrimidin-4-one (7-deazaguanos-ine, a nucleoside Q and Q* analog, has been accomplished hy two independcnl routes.
Individual subunits of the glutamate transporter EAAC1 homotrimer function independently of each other.

Glutamate transporters are thought to be assembled as trimers of identical subunits that line a central hole, possibly the permeation pathway for anions. Here, we have tested the effect of multimerization on the transporter function. To do so, we coexpressed EAAC1WT with the mutant transporter EAAC1R446Q, which transports glutamine but not glutamate. Application of 50 μM glutamate or 50 μM glutamine to cells coexpressing similar numbers of both transporters resulted in anion currents of 165 and 130 pA, respectively. Application of both substrates at the same time generated an anion current of 297 pA, demonstrating that the currents catalyzed by the wild-type and mutant transporter subunits are purely additive. This result is unexpected for anion permeation through a central pore but could be explained by anion permeation through independently functioning subunits. To further test the subunit independence, we coexpressed EAAC1WT and EAAC1H295K, a transporter with a 90-fold reduced glutamate affinity as com...
Absorption of whole peanuts, peanut oil, and peanut butter.

Horace Fletcher, a popular 19th-century food faddist who advocated chewing food twice for each tooth, alluded to the possible dependence of absorption on thorough mechanical breakdown of food.1 How...
BWR in-core fuel management optimization using parallel simulated annealing in FORMOSA-B

Abstract The process of finding optimized fuel reload patterns for boiling water reactors is complicated by a number of factors including the large number of fuel assemblies involved, the three-dimensional neutronic and thermal-hydraulic variations, and the interplay of coolant flow rate with control rod programming. The FORMOSA-B code was developed to provide an automated method for finding fuel loading patterns, control rod programs and coolant flow rate schedules to minimize certain quantitative metrics of core performance while satisfying given operational constraints. One drawback of this code has been the long runtimes required for a complete cycle optimization on a desktop workstation (oftentimes several days or more). To address this shortcoming, a parallel simulated annealing algorithm has been added to the FORMOSA-B code, so that the runtimes may be greatly reduced by using a multiprocessor computer cluster. Tests of the algorithm on a sample problem indicate that it is capable of parallel efficiencies exceeding 80% when using four processors.
Non-destructive deposition and diffusion–aggregation of size-selected silver nanoclusters on glassy carbon substrates as probed by real-time X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Abstract Silver nanoclusters, generated and size-selected in the gas phase and soft landed on low-temperature glassy carbon substrates, were characterized by real-time X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It has been found that the 3d core–electron binding energies of the deposited clusters gradually decrease with time in size-specific manners. The observation clearly showed that the clusters are deposited intact on the surface and diffuse and aggregate, leading to larger clusters. This demonstrates that the real-time XPS can provide key information on states and behaviors of size-selected nanoclusters deposited on surfaces.
Estimating the frequency and extent of bloodworm digging in Maine from aerial photography

Abstract The extent and frequency of bloodworm digging in northeast North America has never been investigated, making bloodworm fishery management difficult and an assessment of ecological impact impossible. We examined the spatial and temporal patterns of bloodworm digging by surveying 13 mudflats in mid-coast Maine using monthly aerial photography. We used ArcGIS to “georeference” spatial information into the photographs, allowing us to quantify the area of the mudflat disturbed by digging. Of the 122 ha of flats we monitored, almost 48% was dug in 2006, and 24% was dug in 2007, corresponding to 57.9 ha and 24.8 ha, respectively. Individual flats in this study were dug as much as 155% and as little as 0% annually, but rarely were they dug more than once a year as studies assessing the impact of digging on soft-sediment communities have assumed. Digging activity peaked in early spring with a smaller peak in August. On average, 3% of the visual evidence of digging faded each month. Except for those erased by winter storms and ice scour, no dug strip faded before 5 months of age, therefore flats could be monitored every 4–5 months for an accurate estimate of digging activity. Our results allow us, for the first time, to estimate the impact of digging on the bloodworm resource and to design realistic experiments to measure the impact of digging on the soft-sediment community and non-target species.
Synthesis of carbon‐13 and carbon‐14 labelled triazolo‐1,4‐benzodiazepines

An efficient two-step synthesis of 8-chloro-1-methyl-6-phenyl-[3H]-S-triazolo-[4,3-a][1,4]-benzodiazepine (alprazolam) and 8-chloro-6-(2-chlorophenyl)-1-methyl-[3H]-S-triazolo-[4,3-a][1,4]-benzodiazepine (triazolam) labelled with carbon-13 or carbon-14 from their corresponding hydrazines is reported. The method involves acylation of the appropriate hydrazine using the mixed carbonic anhydride of sodium [13C] or [14C] acetate and isobutylchloroformate under mild conditions. Thermolysis of the resulting acetylhydrazides gave the target carbon-14 and carbon-13 labelled compounds in good yields.
In conversation with Miho Mazereeuw

Kelly Shannon: in 2012 you established the Urban risk lab to ‘develop methods to embed risk reduction and preparedness into the design of regions, cities and everyday urban spaces to increase the r...
Simple Analytical U-Tube Benchmarks Appropriate for Testing of Pipe-Network Computer Codes

Partially heated U-tube configurations are characteristic idealizations for the so called building condensers of future nuclear reactors with passive safety systems. In this paper three simple cases of natural circulation problems are analyzed and analytical solutions are generated. This solutions are recommended for validation of pipe network computer codes. As an example the procedure is demonstrated for the IVA computer code. The usefulness of the obtained solutions is demonstrated discussing the inherent safety behavior of the building condenser of the Framatome ANP SWR 1000 power plant being under development.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Seismic fragility estimates for corroding reinforced concrete bridges

Seismic fragility of reinforced concrete (RC) bridges is defined as the conditional probability that the seismic demand exceeds the corresponding capacity, specified for a certain performance level, for given seismic intensity measures. However, the structural properties of RC bridges change over time due to the onset of corrosion in the reinforcing steel. Therefore, seismic fragility of RC bridges changes during a bridge lifetime. This paper proposes a method to estimate the seismic fragility of corroding RC bridges. Structural capacities are defined using probabilistic models for deformation and shear capacities of RC columns. Probabilistic models are also used to estimate the corresponding demands for given seismic intensity measures. The capacity and demand models are then combined with probabilistic models for chloride-induced corrosion and time-dependent corrosion rate to model the dependency on time of the seismic fragility of RC bridges. In particular, the loss of reinforcing steel is modelled as ...
X-irradiation of pupae of the house fly Musca domestica L. and adult survival

Abstract The average life span of the male house flies, which have successfully emerged from pupae previously exposed to X-ray dosages, increases from 13·2 days for untreated flies to 16·0 days for 10,000-rad doses, to 16·6 days for15,000 rads. The life span for pupae exposed to doses of 20,000 rads remains unchanged in relation to that of normal flies. Exposure of pupae to 30,000 rads, however, results in a significant decline in the mean life span of the male flies by about 3·2 days. In the female, on the other hand, the average life span is progressively lowered, with an increase in radiation dosage, from 20·8 days in untreated females to 9·1 days in females derived from pupae previously exposed to 30,000-rad doses. The observed increase in the average life span of male flies suggests that the process of aging of the male house fly may be a sex-linked phenomenon, such that X-ray doses of 10,000 and 15,000 rads may alter the expression of such genetic factors in a positive fashion, so as to result in an increased longevity.
S-PUT

Online social networking has become ubiquitous. For a social storage system to keep pace with increasing amounts of user data and activities, a natural solution is to deploy more servers. An important design problem then is how to partition the data across the servers so that server efficiency and load balancing can both be maximized. Although data partitioning is well-studied in the literature of distributed data systems, social data storage presents a unique challenge because of the social locality in data access; we need to factor in not only how actively users access their own data but also how often socially connected users read the data of one another. We investigate the socially aware data partitioning problem by modeling it as a multi-objective optimization problem and exploring the applicability of evolutionary algorithms in order to achieve highly-efficient and well-balanced data partitions. Specifically, we propose a solution framework that is closer to being optimal than existing techniques are, which is substantiated in our evaluation study with real-world datasets.
Cometary Evidence of a Massive Body in the Outer Oort Clouds

Approximately 25% of the 82 new class I Oort cloud comets have an anomalous distribution of orbital elements that can best be understood if there exists a bound perturber in the outer Oort cloud. Statistically signican t correlated anomalies include aphelia directions, energies, perihelion distances and signatures of the angular momentum change due to the Galaxy. The perturber, acting in concert with the galactic tide, causes these comets to enter the loss cylinder - an interval of Oort cloud comet perihelion distances in the planetary region which is emptied by interactions with Saturn and Jupiter. More concisely, the impulse serves to smear the loss cylinder boundary inward along the track of the perturber. Thus it is easier for the galactic tide to make these comets observable. A smaller number of comets are directly injected by the impulsive mechanism. We estimate that the perturber-comet interactions take place at a mean distance of 25000 AU. The putative brown dwarf would have a mass of 3 2MJupiter and an orbit whose normal direction is within 5 of the galactic midplane. This object would not have been detected in the IRAS database, but will be detectable in the next generation of planet/brown dwarf searches, including SIRTF. It is also possible that its radio emissions would make it distinguishable in sensitive radio telescopes such as the VLA.
Lipid and Fatty Acid Composition of Chloroplast Envelope Membranes from Species with Differing Net Photosynthesis

Lipid and fatty acid compositions were determined for chloroplast envelope membranes isolated from spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), and maize (Zea mays L.) leaves. The lipid composition was similar in sunflower, spinach, and undifferentiated maize chloroplast envelope membranes and different in maize mesophyll chloroplast envelope membranes. The predominant lipid constituents in all envelope membranes were monogalactosyldiglyceride (27 to 46%), digalactosyldiglyceride (18 to 33%), and phosphatidylcholine (7 to 30%). The fatty acid composition was also similar in sunflower and spinach chloroplast envelope membranes in comparison to those from maize. The major acyl fatty acids of the chloroplast envelope membrane were palmitic (C16:0, 41 and 36%) and linolenic (C18:3, 29 and 40%) acids for spinach and sunflower; palmitic (77%) and stearic (C18:0, 12%) acids for young maize; and palmitic (61%), stearic (14%), and linolenic (13%) acids for mature maize. The differences in lipid and acyl fatty acid compositions among these plants which vary in their rates of net photosynthesis were largely quantitative rather than qualitative.
Adolescence to Young Adulthood: When Socioeconomic Disparities in Substance Use Emerge

We examined trends in cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use by eventual educational attainment in 1,902 participants from Project EAT, a 10-year longitudinal study following participants from early adolescence through young adulthood. Generally, for cigarettes and marijuana, disparities were evident by early adolescence with prevalence of use highest among those who had no secondary education. With alcohol, use diverged during young adulthood when the college group reported the most weekly alcohol use while those without postsecondary education reported greatest daily use. When disparities in substance use behaviors first emerge and later escalate can guide how to craft and target interventions.
Discrimination between singing and speech in real-world audio

The performance of a spoken language system suffers when non-speech is incorrectly classified as speech. Singing is particularly difficult to discriminate from speech, since both are natural language. However, singing conveys a melody, whereas speech does not; in particular, a singer's fundamental frequency should not deviate significantly from an underlying sequence of notes, while a speaker's fundamental frequency is freer to deviate about a mean value. The present work presents a novel approach to discrimination between singing and speech that exploits the distribution of such deviations. The melody in singing is typically not known a priori, so the distribution cannot be measured directly. Instead, an approximation to its Fourier transform is proposed that allows the unknown melody to be treated as multiplicative noise. This feature vector is shown to be highly discriminative between speech and singing segments when coupled with a simple maximum likelihood classifier, outperforming prior work on real-world data.
Luteinizing Hormone and Progesterone Secretion During Sexual Maturation of the Rhesus Monkey: Short Luteal Phases During the Initial Menstrual Cycles

Patterns of circulating progesterone and luteinzing hormone (LH) were studied over a 1e-year period during the first 10 menstrual cycles in 10 normal female rhesus monkeys to determine when normal luteal function became established following menarche. 4 of the animals failed to show levels of progesterone greater than 1 ng/ml even though their mean age and body weights were similar to those in the remaining 6 females who showed increasing levels of progesterone. Progesterone levels were greater than 1 ng/ml in 38 of 60 cycles in these latter 6 females. However 10 of these 38 cycles had short luteal phases approximately 9 days compared with the normal 16-day luteal phase. These short luteal phases were observed before the onset of the normal luteal phases. An interval of 67 + or -10 days between menses was observed in the first 5 cycles. This interval decreased to 30 + or -3 days with the onset of normal luteal phases. It is suggested that not only the lack of ovulation but also inadequate luteal function contribute to the period of adolescent sterility in the rhesus monkey.
Comparison of Heavy Metal Removal From Chemically Interactive and Non-Interactive Solid Phases by The CEHIXM Process

A laboratory study was conducted to compare the removal of heavy metals from chemically interactive and non-interactive solid phases using coupled electric-hydraulic gradient assisted by ion exchange medium (CEHIXM) process. The removal of primarily four heavy metals Pb, Cd, Zn, and Mn from the contaminated sources was investigated. Experiments were conducted at a constant electric field of 50 V DC for both the solid phases and with constant hydraulic flow-rates of 10 cm3/min for chemically non-interactive solid phase and 4 cm3/min for chemically interactive solid phase. As much as 93% of Pb, 97% of Cd, 98% of Zn, and 94% of Mn were removed after 100 hours of the processing from chemically non-interactive solid phase. About 72% of Pb, 85% of Cd, 81% of Zn, and 77% of Mn were removed after 100 hours of the processing and about 90% of Pb, 96% of Cd, 93% of Zn, and 91% of Mn were removed after 200 hours of the processing from chemically interactive solid phase. Metal removal percentage was always higher for ...
Performance of a 41×41 cm2 amorphous silicon flat panel x-ray detector designed for angiographic and R&F imaging applications

We measured the physical imaging performance of a 41×41 cm 2 amorphous silicon flat panel detector designed for angiographic and R&F imaging applications using methods from the emerging IEC standard for the measurement of detective quantum efficiency (DQE) in digital radiographicdetectors.Measurements on 12 production detectors demonstrate consistent performance. The mean DQE at the detector center is about 0.77 at zero frequency and 0.27 at the Nyquist frequency (2.5 cycles/mm) when measured with a 7 mm of Al HVL spectrum at about 3.6 μGy. The mean MTF at the center of the detector for this spectrum is 0.24 at the Nyquist frequency. For radiographic operation all 2048×2048 detector elements are read out individually. For fluoroscopy, the detector operates in two 30 frame per second modes: either the center 1024×1024 detector elements are read out or the entire detector is read out with 2×2 pixel binning. A model was developed to predict differences in performance between the modes, and measurements demonstrate agreement with the model. Lag was measured using a quasi-equilibrium exposure method and was found to be 0.044 in the first frame and less than 0.007 after 1 s. We demonstrated that it is possible to use the lag data to correct for temporal correlation in images when measuring DQE with a fluoroscopic imaging technique. Measurements as a function of position on the detector demonstrate a high degree of uniformity. We also characterized dependences on spectrum, exposure level, and direction. Finally, we measured the DQE of a current state of the art image intensifier/CCD system using the same method as for the flat panel. We found the image intensifier system to have lower DQE than the flat panel at high exposure levels and approximately equivalent DQE at fluoroscopic levels.
Some factors affecting sieving performance and efficiency

Sieving or screening has been the oldest yet most important unit operation for industrial separation of solid particles or as a laboratory method in size analysis. A stack of sieves with decreasing mesh size is usually used. Alternatively, particles can be sifted in a fine to coarse order by multiple sieving steps with each step using a single sieve. The latter is referred to as reverse sieve method. This study compared the two methods for sieving performance and efficiency using flours made from soft white and hard white wheat, hulless barley and medium grain rice. Additional factors, including milling method (impact vs. abrasive), flour moisture (7% vs. 11%), duration of sieving (60 vs. 120 min), and tapping (percussion during sieving), were also investigated. Mass frequency and protein content of oversize fractions were measured. Results show that all the variables and their interactions had significant effects on sieving performance and efficiency. Among them, tapping was most important, followed by sieving duration, sieving method, milling method, flour type, and flour moisture. When other conditions were equal, the reverse sieve method always gave improved sieving efficiency over the stacked sieve method. The observation can be attributed to the beneficial effect of oversized particles on reducing sieve blinding by near or sub-sieve sized particles. Furthermore, the reverse sieve method also expanded the difference in protein content among sieved fractions. Because of its practical significance, this so far unreported effect would bear further confirmation of other sieving and screening conditions.
Biological chelation: 2,3-dimercapto-propanesulfonic acid and meso-dimercaptosuccinic acid

Water soluble analogs of British Anti-Lewisite that are active orally and less toxic than BAL are now available. These agents are 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid and meso-dimercaptosuccinic acid. Evidence for their effectiveness in preventing the lethal effects of sodium arsenite in mice and lewisite in rabbits is presented. These analogs can be expected to replace BAL in the treatment of heavy metal poisoning.
Modified log-sobolev inequalities, mixing and hypercontractivity

Motivated by (the rate of information loss or) the rate at which the entropy of an ergodic Markov chain relative to its stationary distribution decays to zero, we study modified versions of the standard logarithmic Sobolev inequality in the discrete setting of finite Markov chains and graphs. These inequalities turn out to be weaker than the standard log-Sobolev inequality, but stronger than the Poincare' (spectral gap) inequality. We also derive a hypercontractivity formulation equivalent to our main modified log-Sobolev inequality which might be of independent interest. Finally we show that, in contrast with the spectral gap, for bounded degree expander graphs various log-Sobolev-type constants go to zero with the size of the graph.
Uric acid protection of nucleobases from ozone-induced degradation

Uric acid has been proposed to be an important antioxidant and free radical scavenger in humans. Of the purine and pyrimidine compounds examined in this study, uric acid showed the greatest susceptibility to ozone-induced degradation. The parent compounds, purine and pyrimidine, were more resistant to ozonation than were the nucleobases. When the degradation of OH-substituted purines was examined, it was found that the more OH groups on the purine ring, the more readily the purine was degraded. Urea and allantoin were identified as degradation products of uric acid. The relative rates of nucleobase degradation in the presence and absence of uric acid were compared. Uric acid protected thymine, guanine, and uracil from degradation by ozone. In this system uric acid was found to protect the nucleobases as effectively as reduced glutathione.
Reactivity parameters in structure-activity relationship-based risk assessment of chemicals

New approaches to the risk assessment process are needed that might be more definitive and satisfying to the scientific community, interest groups, and the public at large. This commentary examines an alternative approach that is based on understanding the relationships of chemical structure and reactivity properties to the toxicokinetic behavior of chemicals in biological systems. This approach is based on the likelihood that there is a limited number of triggering (reactivity) mechanisms by which chemicals can express their toxicity at the molecular level. The fundamental importance of electrophilic character of chemicals as a determinant of their critical molecular reactivities and interactions with biological material in the expression of toxicity is supported. Such an approach also takes advantage of the maturing field of theoretical/computational chemistry in understanding important molecular recognition and reactivity processes (both qualitatively and quantitatively) for chemicals that can underlie their biological/toxicological activity. A process that permits assessment of reaction equivalents delivered to biological systems may hold promise for grouping chemicals by common triggering mechanisms with clearly delineated toxicological endpoints.
Effects of mascara on iris recognition

Iris biometrics systems rely on analysis of a visual presentation of the human iris, which must be extracted from the periocular region. Topical cosmetics can greatly alter the appearance of the periocular region, and can occlude portions of the iris texture. In this paper, the presence of topical cosmetics is shown to negatively impact the authentic distribution of iris match scores, causing an increase in the false non-match rate at a fixed false match rate.
237: Prevalence and Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease among Different Races

PREVALENCE AND PROGRESSION OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE AMONG DIFFERENT RACES Samir N. Shah, Bernadette Thomas, Jamie Hirsch, Thomas Hostetter, Michal L. Melamed; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY. Disparities in ESRD incidence between ethnic groups are still largely unexplained. We performed a non-concurrent observational cohort study to assess whether the increased ESRD risk is due to: (A) a greater prevalence of CKD (stages 3 and 4, eGFR 15-59 ml/min/1.73m) in the non-white population; or (B) a faster progression from CKD to ESRD in non-whites. Patients with a self-reported race/ethnicity visiting a Montefiore Medical Center medicine clinic from 1/1/2001 to 12/31/2003 were included (n=10,653). Baseline data including serum creatinine, demographics, comorbidities, insurance status and income level were collected. Serial serum creatinines until 6/30/2007 were gathered for the progression analysis (n=5,657, mean creatinine measurements = 7.7 per subject). GFR was estimated using the 4-variable MDRD equation. Progression of CKD was defined as either a decrease in the eGFR by 30% or an achieved eGFR of <15 ml/min/1.73m. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to evaluate risk of progression, censoring for death and loss to follow-up. Compared to whites (9.9%), the prevalence of CKD stages 3 and 4 was similar for Hispanics (9.7%), Asian-Americans (9.8%) and other races (9.3%). Only African-Americans (7.1%) had a significantly different prevalence of CKD (p = 0.002). Compared to whites, the hazard ratio for progression after adjustment for potential confounders was 0.98 (95% CI 0.81-1.19) for African-Americans, 1.41 (95% CI 0.96-2.08) for Asian-Americans and 1.13 (95% CI 0.90-1.41) for other races. Hispanics, however, had a significantly higher risk for progression (1.44, 95% CI 1.17-1.76). These results indicate that a difference in prevalence of CKD in nonwhites compared to whites does not explain their increased burden of ESRD. The results also suggest that Hispanics progress faster from CKD to ESRD compared to whites. Further studies are needed to discover the mechanisms underlying the faster progression rate in Hispanics.
Functional Disability in Late‐Middle‐Aged and Older Adults Admitted to a Safety‐Net Hospital

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of preadmission functional disability in late-middle-aged and older safety-net inpatients and to identify characteristics associated with functional disability by age. Design: Cross-sectional analysis. Setting: Safety-net hospital in San Francisco, California. Participants: English-, Spanish-, and Chinese-speaking community-dwelling individuals aged 55 and older admitted to a safety-net hospital with anticipated return to the community (N = 699). Measurements: At hospital admission, participants reported their need for help performing five activities of daily living (ADLs) and seven instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) 2 weeks before admission. ADL disability was defined as needing help performing one or more ADLs and IADL disability as needing help performing two or more IADLs. Participant characteristics were assessed, including sociodemographic characteristics, health status, health-related behaviors, and health-seeking behaviors. Results: Overall, 28.3% of participants reported that they had an ADL disability 2 weeks before admission, and 40.4% reported an IADL disability. The prevalence of preadmission ADL disability was 28.9% of those aged 55 to 59, 20.7% of those aged 60 to 69, and 41.2% of those aged 70 and older (P < .001). The prevalence of IADL disability had a similar distribution. The characteristics associated with functional disability differed according to age; in participants aged 55 to 59, African Americans had a higher odds of ADL and IADL disability, whereas in participants aged 60 to 69 and aged 70 and older, inadequate health literacy was associated with functional disability. Conclusion: Preadmission functional disability is common in individuals aged 55 and older admitted to a safety-net hospital. Late-middle-aged individuals admitted to safety-net hospitals may benefit from models of acute care currently used for older adults that prevent adverse outcomes associated with functional disability.
The Double‐Deficit Theory of Reading Disability Does Not Fit All

The double-deficit theory of reading disability (Wolf & Bowers, 1999) was examined in a sample of 56 reading-disabled and 45 normal-reading elementary school children (aged 8 to 11). As hypothesized, the two groups differed markedly on all phonological analysis tasks and on rapid continuous naming of digits and letters (the double deficits), but they differed as well on orthographic tasks, attention ratings, arithmetic achievement, and all WISC-III factors except perceptual organization. Within the reading-disabled (RD) sample, children in the double-deficit subgroup were no more impaired in reading and spelling than those with a single deficit in phonological analysis, and those with a single deficit in rapid naming were no more impaired than those with neither deficit. Multiple regression analyses suggest that a multiple causality theory of RD is more plausible than a double-deficit theory.
Anatomically based Bayesian decoding of the cortical response to intracortical microstimulation

Sensory prostheses must encode complex surrogate sensory signals as patterns of microstimulation, and yet no established framework exists for quantifying the information delivered to the brain. Here we develop a Bayesian decoder based on the underlying anatomy in cortex and evaluate it on population neural activity recorded from the vibrissa region of rodent primary somatosensory cortex with voltage sensitive dye imaging in response to intracortical microstimulation (ICMS). The anatomically based decoder accurately classified stimulus location from the multi-electrode array, indicating a degree of similarity between the whisker evoked neural response and that generated by intracortical microstimulation. However, when the decoder was modified to discriminate between whisker and electrical stimuli, it did so with high performance. Ultimately, the results presented here establish the beginnings of a generalized decoding framework for evaluating stimulus encoding models designed to deliver surrogate sensory signals to the brain.
Solutions of the equations of radiative transfer by an invariant imbedding approach

This thesis is a study of the solutions of the equations of radiative transfer by an invariant imbedding approach.
Errata: New measures of graph irregularity

This paper gives an errata to the paper "New measure of graph irregularity", Electronic Journal of Graph Theory and Applications {\bf 2}(1) (2014), 52-65.
A flexible approach to modeling the storm time Region 2 and magnetopause currents

[1] We present flexible approaches to modeling the Region 2 (R2) Birkeland current system with the associated partial ring current (PRC) and the Chapman-Ferraro currents for arbitrarily shaped magnetopauses. The R2 field-aligned current sheet and the PRC are constructed with an array of overlapping conical diffuse current segments. The dawnside R2 current is connected to the duskside R2 current azimuthally in the equatorial plane, forming a spread-out PRC. The Chapman-Ferraro shielding field due to an arbitrary magnetopause shape (on the basis of empirical approximations) is derived as a linear combination of spherical harmonics and image dipoles by a least squares minimization. We generalize the Rice Field Model, a modular open field model, to include the effects of these current systems, which are important in the storm time magnetosphere. We demonstrate the feasibility and flexibility of these techniques by modeling a simple R2 Birkeland current and PRC system.
Renin activity and angiotensin I concentration in genetically selective inbred line of hypertensive mice.

Abstract Blood pressure lowering kallikrein–kinin and blood pressure raising renin–angiotensin systems play a major role in the maintenance of normal blood pressure. In a previous study, we have shown that a kallikrein-like prorenin converting enzyme (PRCE C) is elevated in the submandibular gland tissue of a mouse line (BPH) that was genetically selected and inbred for high blood pressure in comparison to normotensive line (BPN) that was derived from the ancestors of BPH line. In the present investigation we wanted to find out if elevated levels of PRCE C were involved in the modulation of tissue (local) renin–angiotensin system in the submandibular gland tissue. Results indicate significantly high renin activity but low angiotensin I level in the tissue of BPH mouse model. These results tend to suggest PRCE C’s involvement in tissue (local) renin–angiotensin system.
The revised CMM as a test of perceived M-F and of self-report M-F.

Summary Five studies investigated aspects of validity of the Revised CMM as a test of self-report M-F and of perceived M-F in others. In Study I husband-wife pairs used the Revised CMM to describe the self and to describe own wife or husband. In Study II each S described the self, his own mother, and his own father. Study III and IV required self-descriptions and descriptions of the “ideal person” of the S's own sex and age. Study V required each S to describe the self and to describe the kind of person the S would like to marry. Ss in studies III, IV, and V were also given the MMPI. In all relevant comparisons, rated males were significantly differentiated from rated females, in the predicted direction. Self-rating scores on the Revised CMM also correlated significantly with MMPI Mf scores.
Clinical engineering: a prospectus

The future of clinical engineering in the health care field is viewed against trends in health care technological advances, economics, demographics, and patterns of illness. A historical overview and a look at the current state of affairs of clinical engineering are presented. The multidisciplinary role of the clinical engineer is examined in the context of the widely varying nature of health care organizations employing clinical engineers. Examples of organizational structures into which clinical engineers place themselves or are placed are reviewed. National and international aspects are examined. It is suggested that significant shifts in the duties and responsibilities and, especially, the attitudes of clinical engineers must occur for the profession to survive. Several professional organizations seek to provide a home for CEs, yet dissatisfaction that needs are not met continues to exist. >
Intensity effects in electron-laser interaction☆

Abstract New formulas for both the mass-shift and frequency shift of an electron in a laser beam are obtained by solving the equation of motion of the electron in terms of the observer's time instead of the proper time.
Ramanujan—100 years old (fashioned) or 100 years new (fangled)?

Everyone enjoys celebrating birthdays. Admittedly, as we get older, perhaps we enjoy celebrating others' birthdays more than our own. We also rejoice in commemorating the birthdays of many that have gone before us. Recalling their achievements and deeds provides needed inspiration for our own lives, and gives direction to our endeavors. In 1985, the musical world celebrated the birth tercentenaries of three grea t composers , Johann Sebast ian Bach, George ,Fr ider ic Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti. Musical celebr~itions occurred throughout the western world, and lectures and articles examined their accomplishments and inf luence on music in the ensuing years after their deaths. The year 1987 marks the birth centenaries of two profoundly influential mathematicians, Erich Hecke and Srinivasa Ramanujan. It is undoubtedly easier to assess the influence of Hecke than of Ramanujan, for much of what Ramanujan accomplished has not been verified, or has not been published, or is still not understood. We make no pretense that we can clarify this situation in this short article, but perhaps readers will gain a greater apprec ia t ion for Ramanujan ' s achievements. The career of Ramanujan was so disparate that it cannot be compared with that of any other mathematician, but, interestingly, there are some similarities with the career of Bach (of course, at a more superficial level), which we will briefly delineate in the course of this article. In fact, because of Bach's inexorable calculated polyphony and planned methodical approach, he was often called the "mathematical" Bach.
Agreement between self-reports and medical records was only fair in a cross-sectional study of performance of annual eye examinations among adults with diabetes in managed care.

Background:Despite consensus about the importance of measuring quality of diabetes care and the widespread use of self-reports and medical records to assess quality, little is known about the degree of agreement between these data sources.Objectives:To evaluate agreement between self-reported and me
Fund Flow Volatility and Performance

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the impact of daily mutual fund flow volatility on fund performance. I document a significant negative relationship between the volatility of daily fund flows and cross-sectional differences in risk-adjusted performance. This relationship is driven by domestic equity funds, as well as small funds, well-performing funds, and funds that experience inflows over the sample period. My results are consistent with performance differences arising from the transaction costs of nondiscretionary trading driven by daily fund flows, but not with performance differences arising from the suboptimal cash holdings that arise from fund flows.
A study of the selective antagonism by N-allylnormorphine against meperidine, methadone, and morphine.

A study has been made of the selective antagonism by N-allylnormorphine against meperidine, methadone, and morphine. The degree of protection offered by 10 mg./Kg. of N-allylnormorphine against the acute toxicity of the narcotics in mice and rats has been determined. The extent of antagonism of the narcotic-induced depression of rabbit minute respiratory volume has been determined by repeated fixed doses of N-allylnormorphine. Further work on rabbit respiration has been carried out by administration of different mixed doses of narcotic and antagonist. Tests of selective antagonism against convulsive and acute toxic effects of the narcotics in frogs have been made.
Microbiologic Efficacy of Azithromycin and Susceptibilities to Azithromycin of Isolates of Chlamydia pneumoniae from Adults and Children with Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Chlamydia pneumoniae was eradicated from the nasopharynges of 26 of 33 (78.8%) evaluable children and adults with community-acquired pneumonia who were treated with azithromycin. We tested 55 isolates of C. pneumoniae obtained from 46 of these patients against azithromycin. The MIC at which 90% of the isolates were inhibited and the minimal chlamydiacidal concentration at which 90% of strains tested were killed of azithromycin for these isolates were both 0.5 μg/ml. Seven patients remained culture positive after treatment. The MICs of azithromycin for isolates from two patients increased fourfold after therapy. However, all the patients with persistent infection improved clinically. Further studies of treatment of C. pneumoniae infection, utilizing culture, are needed both to assess efficacy and to monitor for the possible development of antibiotic resistance.
Molecular Determinants of High Affinity Phenylalkylamine Block of L-type Calcium Channels

The high affinity phenylalkylamine (-)D888 blocks ion currents through L-type Ca2+ channels containing the alpha 1C subunit with an apparent Kd of 50 nM, but N-type Ca2+ channels in the pheochromocytoma cell line PC12 are blocked with a 100-fold higher Kd value of 5 microM. L-type Ca2+ channels containing alpha 1C subunits with the site-directed mutations Y1463A, A1467S, or I1470A in the putative transmembrane segment S6 in domain IV (IVS6) were 6-12 times less sensitive to block by (-)D888 than control alpha 1C. Ca2+ channels containing paired combinations of these mutations were even less sensitive to block by (-)D888 than the single mutants, and channels containing all three mutations were > 100 times less sensitive to (-)D888 block, similar to N-type Ca2+ channels. In addition, the Y1463A mutant and all combination mutants including the Y1463A mutation had altered ion selectivity, suggesting that Tyr-1463 faces the pore and is involved in ion permeation. Since these three critical amino acid residues are aligned on the same face of the putative IVS6 alpha-helix, we propose that they contribute to a receptor site in the pore that confers a high affinity block of L-type channels by (-)D888.
Fast and efficient FDTD simulations of personal wireless devices for SAR compliance testing and antenna design

We have used an efficient implementation of the PML boundary according to the formulation proposed by Sullivan (1977) to truncate the human head model for cellular telephone simulations. Different from the truncation method previously presented by the authors, the new method does not require any symmetry considerations. Because of the basic observation that a large percentage of the power absorbed in the human head model is concentrated in the proximal ear and a limited volume of the head behind it, it was possible to gradually truncate the head model in the ear-to-ear (x) direction, back-to-front (y) direction, and bottom-to-top (z) directions. It was found that it is possible to retain just 4% of the original volume of the head model to obtain 1- and 10-g SARs within 1% accuracy at the frequency of 1900 kHz. At the frequency of 835 MHz, since the actual shape of the head in proximity of the ear region affects the radiation from the cellular telephone and its radiated power, it was necessary to retain approximately 15% of the head model to achieve 1% accuracy for the 1- and 10-g SARs. The method allowed us to complete cellular telephone simulations in less than 5 minutes at the frequency of 1900 MHz using a commonly available PC. The method can be efficiently used for SAR compliance testing of wireless devices and may also be used as an efficient tool for the design of handset antennas.