cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Epidemiological analysis on acute flaccid paralysis cases and evaluation on surveillance system in Meizhou City from 1994-2011

[Objective]To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of acute flaccid paralysis(AFP) cases in Meizhou City,understand the epidemic law,and evaluate the surveillance system.[Methods]The data of AFP cases in Meizhou City from 1994-2011 were analyzed retrospectively.[Results]During 1994-2011,a total of 289 AFP cases were reported in Meizhou City.The average reported incidence of children aged 0-14 years old was 1.26/lakh.There was an obvious summer/autumn peak,and 15.6% of cases occurred in June.Most of patients were young children,and patients under 5 years old accounted for 65.1%.Among 289 cases,244(84.4%) cases had been vaccinated more than three times,11.8% had been vaccinated once or twice,3.8% were unvaccinated,and 9.0% had dubious immunization history.The sensitivity of surveillance system met the standard.In integrity,there were missing data in case questionnaires and follow-up,which were mainly clinical symptoms and immunization history.In timeliness,most of indexes reached the standard,and only 28.7% reported the case more than 24 hours after paralysis onset.[Conclusion]AFP surveillance system should be further perfected,and the surveillance quality should be further improved.It is important to strengthen the training among doctors and enhance the surveillance.
Legal status of coastal mud flat resources

The natural attribute of coastal mud flat is wetlands ecosystem. It breaks the traditional dichotomy structure of coastal mud flat that belongs to land or sea in the analysis of property of coastal mud flat. This definition can alleviate the conflict between ecological value and economic value,and bring about the reasonable solution to the management responsibilities. It is more conducive to sustainable development of coastal mud flat and solving dispute.
Contour Curvature As an Invariant Code for Objects in Visual Area V4.

Size-invariant object recognition—the ability to recognize objects across transformations of scale—is a fundamental feature of biological and artificial vision. To investigate its basis in the primate cerebral cortex, we measured single neuron responses to stimuli of varying size in visual area V4, a cornerstone of the object-processing pathway, in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Leveraging two competing models for how neuronal selectivity for the bounding contours of objects may depend on stimulus size, we show that most V4 neurons (∼70%) encode objects in a size-invariant manner, consistent with selectivity for a size-independent parameter of boundary form: for these neurons, “normalized” curvature, rather than “absolute” curvature, provided a better account of responses. Our results demonstrate the suitability of contour curvature as a basis for size-invariant object representation in the visual cortex, and posit V4 as a foundation for behaviorally relevant object codes. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Size-invariant object recognition is a bedrock for many perceptual and cognitive functions. Despite growing neurophysiological evidence for invariant object representations in the primate cortex, we still lack a basic understanding of the encoding rules that govern them. Classic work in the field of visual shape theory has long postulated that a representation of objects based on information about their bounding contours is well suited to mediate such an invariant code. In this study, we provide the first empirical support for this hypothesis, and its instantiation in single neurons of visual area V4.
NKp80 Defines a Critical Step during Human Natural Killer Cell Development

Human natural killer (NK) cells develop in secondary lymphoid tissues (SLTs) through distinct stages. We identified two SLT lineage (Lin)(-)CD34(-)CD117(+/-)CD94(+)CD16(-) "stage 4" subsets according to expression of the C-type lectin-like surface-activating receptor, NKp80: NKp80(-) (stage "4a") and NKp80(+) (stage "4b"). Whereas stage 4b cells expressed more of the transcription factors T-BET and EOMES, produced interferon-gamma, and were cytotoxic, stage 4a cells expressed more of the transcription factors RORγt and AHR and produced interleukin-22, similar to SLT Lin(-)CD34(-)CD117(+)CD94(-)CD16(-) "stage 3" cells, whose phenotype overlaps with that of group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s). Co-culture with dendritic cells or transplantation into immunodeficient mice produced mature NK cells from stage 3 and stage 4a populations. These data identify NKp80 as a marker of NK cell maturity in SLTs and support a model of human NK cell development through a stage 4a intermediate with ILC3-associated features.
On Random Multipliers in the Central Limit Theorem with p-stable Limit, 0 < p < 2

Let B be a separable Banach space with dual space B*. Let X be a B-valued random variable, {X j } j=1 ∞ independent identically distributed (i.i.d.) copies of X, {e j } j=1 ∞ a Rademacher sequence independent of {X j } j=1 ∞ , and {gj} an orthogaussian sequence independent of {X j } j=1 ∞ . It is well known ([5]) that X satisfies the central limit theorem in B if and only if eX satisfies the central limit theorem in B, i.e. if and only if the sequence $$\{{{n}^{-1/2}}\sum\limits_{j=1}^{n}{{{\varepsilon }_{j}}}{{X}_{J}}\}_{n=1}^{\infty }$$ (1.1) converges in distribution, and also if and only if ([6]) gX satisfies the central limit theorem in B, i.e.
Bringing educational theory to end-user programming

Recent years have seen the explosive growth of end-user programming. End-user programmers are writing an unprecedented number of programs, due in large part to the significant effort put forth to bring programming power to end users. Unfortunately, this effort has not been supplemented by a comparable effort to help them increase the correctness of these often-faulty programs. One of the most widely used real-world end-user programming paradigms is the spreadsheet. Despite its perceived simplicity, evidence from this paradigm reveals that end-user programs often contain an alarming number of faults. To address this problem we plan to work towards providing the end user with just enough fine grained information they need to help them create correct and reliable spreadsheets. One means to facilitate such help is to develop an on-demand explanatory and advisory system that would encourage exploratory learning by the user and thus effective use of the system's features. The focus of this research is to bring the principles of educational theory to end user programming to help end users build their skills that enhance their information seeking power and thus succeed in creating correct spreadsheets. We think this research would also benefit the educationally disadvantaged populations equally because the disadvantages (one specific disadvantage being lack of programming experience/background) faced by both these groups seem to overlap.
Financial Planning and Management Practices of Electrical Contractors

Contractors must carefully manage their cash outflows (e.g., for materials to enable their work) and inflows (after the work) to be profitable, particularly in an economy that is still recovering from the 2008-2012 recession that grew out of the mortgage crisis. Their importance for business success is undisputed, as bankruptcies due to insufficient cash flow underline. Therefore, this study investigated current business practices of electrical contracting companies of different sizes with respect to their financial planning and management. A detailed questionnaire was developed with best guidelines on survey studies and pilot testing. It was sent to members of the National Electrical Contractors Association. Respondent anonymity was ensured. The survey recorded demographics, business practices, operating conditions, and other important factors using 57 subquestions. Each section allowed feedback to clarify the numerical responses. Responses were well distributed across company sizes, so that the results are representative for the entire industry. The results indicated that contractors generally have a substantial amount of experience in financial decision making. Their approach is conservative and focuses on healthy growth. Yet, opportunities to fine-tune business practices are identified, e.g., immediate invoicing, considering discounts to accelerate payment receipts, attempting to negotiate and use favorable credit terms, reviewing payment performance, and performing frequent cash flow forecasts. Some of the differences in the responses can be attributed to different company sizes. To help especially smaller companies in planning their cash flow, a spreadsheet for implementation has been created.
Social support networks and religiosity in rural South India

In recent years, scientists based in a variety of disciplines have attempted to explain the evolutionary origins of religious belief and practice1–3. Although they have focused on different aspects of the religious system, they consistently highlight the strong association between religiosity and prosocial behaviour (acts that benefit others). This association has been central to the argument that religious prosociality played an important role in the sociocultural florescence of our species4–7. But empirical work evaluating the link between religion and prosociality has been somewhat mixed8–11. Here, I use detailed, ethnographically informed data chronicling the religious practice and social support networks of the residents of two villages in South India to evaluate whether those who evince greater religiosity are more likely to undertake acts that benefit others. Exponential random graph models reveal that individuals who worship regularly and carry out greater and costlier public religious acts are more likely to provide others with support of all types. Those individuals are themselves better able to call on support, having a greater likelihood of reciprocal relationships. These results suggest that religious practice is taken as a signal of trustworthiness, generosity and prosociality, leading village residents to establish supportive, often reciprocal relationships with such individuals. Using a detailed ethnographic dataset from rural India, Power finds that the outwardly religious engage in more prosocial acts, are perceived as more prosocial by others in their social network and leverage greater social support as a result.
Use of an argatroban-based purge solution in a percutaneous ventricular assist device.

Purpose The use of an argatroban-based percutaneous ventricular assist device (pVAD) purge solution in a patient with suspected heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is described. Summary A 70-year-old woman in cardiogenic shock was admitted to a coronary care unit after being discovered unresponsive at home. A transthoracic echocardiogram revealed a low ejection fraction and findings consistent with takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Administration of multiple inotropes and vasopressors was initially required for hemodynamic support. The patient was implanted with an Impella pVAD (Abiomed, Inc., Danvers, MA) using a heparin-based purge solution; an i.v. heparin infusion was initiated for supplemental systemic anticoagulation. Over the next 24 hours, the patient’s platelet count decreased from 168,000 to 37,000 cells/μL. Given a differential diagnosis that included HIT, the patient was transitioned to an argatroban-based purge solution. Due to prolonged activated partial thromboplastin times, a systemic argatroban infusion was not initiated, and the patient remained fully anticoagulated throughout pVAD support with only the argatroban-based purge solution. An HIT antibody test was negative. On hospitalization day 9 (day 6 of pVAD support with argatroban use), the patient became hemodynamically stable and was weaned off pVAD support. Three days later, the platelet count had recovered to 117,000 cells/μL (from a nadir of 21,000 cells/μL). During pVAD support, the patient developed hemolytic anemia with minimal bleeding complications. Conclusion Argatroban was used as a purge solution anticoagulant in a patient with an Impella pVAD and found to be a safe and effective alternative to heparin.
Hospital Minimally Invasive Surgery Utilization for Gastrointestinal Cancer

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of receiving care at high minimally invasive surgery (MIS)-utilizing hospitals BACKGROUND:: MIS techniques are used across surgical specialties. The extent of MIS utilization for gastrointestinal (GI) cancer resection and impact of receiving care at high utilizing hospitals is unclear. METHODS This is a retrospective cohort study of 137,581 surgically resected esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, hepatobiliary, colon, and rectal cancer patients within the National Cancer Data Base (2010-2013). Disease-specific, hospital-level, reliability-adjusted MIS utilization rates were calculated to evaluate perioperative outcomes. Among patients for whom adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) was indicated, the association between days to AC and hospital MIS utilization was examined using generalized estimating equations. Association with risk of death was evaluated using multivariable Cox regression. RESULTS Disease-specific MIS use increased significantly [42.0%-68.3% increase; trend test, P < 0.001 for all except hepatobiliary (P = 0.007)] over time. Most hospitals [range-30.3% (colon); 92.9% (pancreatic)] were low utilizers (≤30% of cases). Higher MIS utilization is associated with increased lymph nodes examined (P < 0.001, all) and shorter length of stay (P < 0.001, all). Each 10% increase in MIS utilization is associated with fewer days to AC [3.3 (95% confidence interval, 1.2-5.3) for MIS gastric; 3.3 ([0.7-5.8) for open gastric; 1.1 (0.3-2.0) days for open colon]. An association between MIS utilization and risk of death was observed for colon [Q2-hazard ratio (HR) 0.96 (0.89-1.02); Q3-HR 0.91 (0.86-0.98); Q4-HR 0.87 (0.82-0.93)] and rectal cancer [Q2-HR 0.89 (0.76-1.05); Q3-HR 0.84 (0.82-0.97); Q4-HR 0.86 (0.74-0.98)]. CONCLUSIONS Most hospitals treating GI malignancies are low MIS utilizers. Our findings may reflect real-world MIS effectiveness for oncologic resection and could be useful for identifying hospitals with infrastructure and/or processes beneficial for multimodality cancer care.
Enhancing Moral Goodness: Toward a Virtue Ethics of Moral Bioenhancement

A recurrent philosophical critique of the project of moral bioenhancement proposed by Julian Savulescu and his colleagues at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics is that although certain positive consequences might result from the deliberate biogenetic or pharmacological reshaping of moral disposition and behavior, the implementation of the various measures of moral bioenhancement would nevertheless entail the morally unacceptable consequence of undermining personal autonomy and moral responsibility. This chapter engages this critique of moral bioenhancement from a virtue ethics perspective, and argues, first, that the adoption of a select range of means of combined cognitive and moral enhancement may in fact enhance rather than undermine personal autonomy, thereby improving moral performance, and second, that the most appropriate normative framework within which to locate the practice of moral bioenhancement is that of virtue ethics rather than, as with Savulescu et al., utilitarianism.
Quantitative proteomic analysis of auxin signaling during seedling development

Auxin induces rapid gene expression changes throughout plant development. How these transcriptional responses relate to changes in protein abundance is not well characterized. We have identified auxin regulated proteins in whole seedlings, roots and hypocotyls and at three different time points (30 min, 120 min and 3 hours) using an iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification) based quantitative proteomics approach. These profiling experiments detected 4,701 proteins from seedling tissue, 6,740 proteins from root tissue and 3,925 proteins from hypocotyl tissue. Comparisons between the differentially expressed proteins data sets showed little overlap, suggesting that auxin proteomes exhibit both temporal and spatial specificity. Numerous proteins showed significant changes in abundance following auxin treatment independent of changes in cognate transcript abundance. This includes several well characterized proteins with various roles in auxin pathways, suggesting that complex gene regulation mechanisms follow auxin signaling events. Specifically, regulation of translation may play a role as inferred from MapMan categorization analyses and protein interaction networks comprised of auxin regulated proteins. Additionally, functional categorization of auxin regulated proteins indicates rapid and complex metabolic changes occur in both roots and hypocotyls in response to auxin which are not apparent from transcriptome analyses. Altogether these data describe novel auxin-regulated proteomes and are an excellent resource for identifying new downstream signaling components related to auxin-mediated plant growth and development.
Entropy–Driven Conformations Controlling DNA Functions

In memory of Jim Krumhansl we summarize our growing level of understanding of the origins and functional roles of specific nonlinear conformational excitations (“bubbles”) in DNA. We present a number of results that point toward the conclusion that DNA is capable of directing major aspects of its own lifecycle, governed by the laws of equilibrium thermodynamics.First, we discuss a series of experimental and theoretical research results that demonstrate a correlation between DNA bubbles and essential biological processes such as DNA transcription and DNA–protein binding. Specifically, we discuss how, through a synergetic combination of modeling and experiments, we have developed an extended version of the Peyrard–Bishop–Dauxois model, and used it to predict specific properties, such as bubble location, size, and duration, of DNA breathing. Applying this framework, we show a number of examples that demonstrate that specific breathing properties lead to enhancements in transcription activity and DNA–protein binding efficiency.Second, we show that DNA may be able to apply its complex conformational dynamics to facilitate its own repair. We demonstrate this in the context of specific DNA damage that has been documented to arise from exposure to UV radiation.Finally, we discuss our ongoing attempts to harness our knowledge of DNA conformation and dynamics and their impact on function to help predict transcription initiation sites in entire genomes. We apply techniques from bioinformatics and statistical learning to incorporate the above features into a more predictive framework.
The Angle Trisection by Thābit ibn Qurra

The text of the angle trisection by Thābit ibn Qurra (here denoted as C) is taken from Bibl. nat. ms. arab. (Slane) 2457, no. 45 (f. 192v-4r). Its first part is in verbatim agreement with the text on the hyperbola construction in Apollonius, Conies II, 4, as given in the 9th century Arabic recension of the work by Hilāl ibn Abī Hilāl al-Himsī and Thābit (cf. Sezgin, V, p. 139). The latter text is preserved in the Bodleian ms. Marsh 667; I denote it by C2 and indicate in the notes its differences from C. As for the remaining two sections of Thābit’s trisection, they stand in close agreement with the treatments by Pappus and Ahmad ibn Mūsā (see chap. B) as far as the geometric method is concerned, but differ considerably from the viewpoint of text. As indicated below, there are subtle signs that Thābit, like Ahmad, produced his version as a translation, rather than as an independent composition or paraphrase in Arabic.
Characteristics of Selected Migrant Farm Workers in West Texas and Southern New Mexico

Approximately 4.2 million migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families work in the United States, and 1.6 million are classified as migrants. Migrant farmworkers are known to have more health problems than the general population, and they lack dependable access to health care services. Little is known about the status of farmworkers in the area surrounding El Paso, Texas. We report here the results of a survey of the demographic and health characteristics of 150 migrant farmworkers in West Texas and Southern New Mexico. / Aproximadamente 4.2 millones de trabajadores agricolas emigrantes y temporales y sus familias trabajan en los Estados Unidos, y 1.6 millones son clasificados como trabajadores emigrantes. Se conoce que los trabajadores agricolas emigrantes tienen mas problemas de salud que la poblacion en general, y ellos no tienen acceso confiable a servicios de cuidado de salud. Se sabe muy poco sobre el estatus de los trabajadores agricolas en el area alrededor de El Paso, Texas. Aqui reportamos los resultados de un estudio demografico y las caracteristicas de salud de 150 trabajadores agricolas emigrantes en el oeste de Texas y sur de Nuevo Mexico.
Problem Statement and Optimality

This chapter is devoted to a discussion of what might be termed the “simplest problem of optimal control.” As indicated in Chapter 9, it is the problem of extremizing the values of functionals which depend on control variables. These control variables belong to a given class of functions, satisfy constraints, and steer the state of the system under consideration from a prescribed initial state to a state that is wholly or partly specified.
The Role of Government in Agriculture

The changing role of government as a policy buffer, social protector, and industry advocate is presented. The political implications of shrinking farm numbers and increasing commercial farm production values and the need for political coalitions are discussed. Policies protecting against risk and uncertainty are reviewed, ranging from consumer fears about food and water safety to market orders, crop and income insurance, and tax strategy.
A study of the sickling phenomenon and oxygen dissociation curve in patients with hemoglobins SS, SD, SF and SC.

AS ) . Precise correlations cannot be made between the amount of hemoglobin S present, the number of sickle cells in the blood, and the clinical severity of the disease. It has been suggested that the greater the per cent of hemoglobin 5, the greater the number of sickle cells and the more severe the disease. Exceptions to this have been described. The sickle phenomenon in a cell containing hemoglobin S has been postulated to be dependent on a variety of intra- and extracorpuscular factors including the type and amount of non-S hemoglobin present, the level of intracellular enzymes, blood oxygen tension, pH, osmolarity, temperature, and trauma.�#{176} This study was designed to investigate the sickle phenomenon and the oxygen dissociation curves in eight patients with hemoglobin S in association with other hemoglobin abnormalities in an attempt to provide at least a partial answer to the postulated correlations noted above.
100 Years of Progress in Polar Meteorology

AbstractThe polar regions present several unique challenges to meteorology, including remoteness and a harsh environment. We summarize the evolution of polar meteorology in both hemispheres, beginn...
The Follow-Up Period

Five hundred and seventy-five patients entered the follow-up period, which began on the date of X-ray healing or surgery for the initial ulcer and lasted for 24 months unless terminated sooner because of loss to follow-up, a second recurrence, or surgery. Of the 377 patients whose initial ulcer had healed satisfactorily and who were followed for the entire 2 years, 41.9% had one or more recurrences of gastric ulcer. Rate of recurrence was not influenced by size or location of index ulcer or by age of the patient. Recurrence rate was higher in Negroes and slightly higher in white patients with associated duodenal ulcer. Over half of the recurrences were observed within the first 6 months of follow-up and the rate decreased with time. Length of time to complete healing was not related to likelihood of recurrence in patients with satisfactory healing; however, in the 26 patients with unsatisfactory healing who were randomized to medical therapy and eventually healed, the recurrence rate was high (61.5%). In general, the outcome of the 62 patients with unsatisfactory healing who were randomized to medical management was poor: 36 failed subsequent tests of healing, 61.5% of those who eventually healed had recurrence, and 3 had gastric cancer. Of the 41 randomized patients who accepted surgery, 1 died from surgery and 6 had gastric cancer. Most were asymptomatic or had only minor postgastrectomy symptoms. No gastric ulcers recurred after surgery. While strict comparison was not possible, it is clear that patients healing satisfactorily according to protocol had superior follow-up results to those who did not heal satisfactorily, as measured by recurrence, cancer, and mortality rates.
Nonspecific parameters of the immune inflammatory response as a link in the pathogenesis of remodeling of the vascular wall and destruction of bone tissue in women with arterial hypertension in postmenopausal women.

Recently, they increasingly began to pay attention to the role of a nonspecific immune-inflammatory vascular response as a link in general pathogenetic mechanisms with a change in the elastic properties of arteries and phenomena of destructive bone changes, which at the subclinical level is of great importance for the prevention of the development of socially significant diseases. A total of 104 patients were examined (mean age 57.45 years), which were divided into three groups. The first group included 39 healthy women, the second group included 30 patients with hypertension and osteopenia, and the third group included 35 women with hypertension and osteoporosis. The analysis of markers of the immune inflammatory response, endothelial dysfunction, hormonal and mineral-vitamin status parameters was conducted against the background of the study of parameters of daily monitoring of arterial pressure, study of parameters of vascular wall stiffness and densitometry to clarify the predictors of cardiovascular and degenerative bone changes in postmenopausal women. A significant increase in the concentration of HF-CRP, the level of homocystemine, IL-8, parathyroid hormone, against the background of a significant decrease in the level of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, with a persistent tendency to increase in total cholesterol, atherogenic lipid fractions, myeloperoxidase, endothelin-1 and decrease was recorded calcitonin, total and ionized calcium, with a significantly minimal value of vitamin D in the 3rd group of patients. The risks of development and progression of bone destructive changes were calculated using the logistic regression method for the group of AH with osteopenia and osteoporosis. Thus, for patients with hypertension and osteopenia, a significantly significant parameter associated with the risk of developing osteoporosis was an indicator of the velocity of the pulse wave, an increase in the level of which exceeds 12.05 m/s is associated with an increased risk of developing osteoporosis by 3.8 times. Increased levels of pro-inflammatory parameters, IL-6 and 8, TNF-α, HB-SRB, parathyroid hormone and reduced levels of progesterone and IL10, took the most active part in aggravating the degree of available bone tissue destruction. Timely specialized multidirectional study of biochemical and instrumental parameters (in particular, the study of the speed of the pulse wave and densitometry) can be the basis for the development of personalized prevention and treatment tactics for women in order to prevent socially dangerous cardiovascular and bone complications.
Bollinger, L.C. Jr. Freedom of the Press and Public Access: Toward a Theory of Partial Regulation of the Mass Media, 75 Mich. L. Rev. 1 (1976)

In selecting my article, I pivoted at decision time from an article that was influential in my development as a scholar to one that has recently begun to strike me as particularly relevant to ongoi...
Research on a Fault Location Method for a Pole-to-Pole Short-Circuit Fault in an LCC-MMC Hybrid DC Transmission System

When a pole-to-pole short-circuit fault occurs in an LCC-MMC hybrid DC transmission system, the fault characteristics are affected by the distributed capacitance and the transition resistance that cause a dead zone in the fault location and poor accuracy in determining the fault location. In view of this, this paper proposes a fault location method for the LCC-MMC hybrid DC transmission system. By analyzing the fault characteristics of the rectifier station and inverter station, the fault circuit equation of the rectifier side is analyzed, and the relationship between the fault distance and the transition resistance is deduced. The fault circuit of the inverter side is isolated by blocking CDSM-MMC, which can clear the fault current on the inverter side and thus eliminate the influence of the transition resistance. The steady-state fault information of the LCC DC outlet is used to eliminate the effect of distributed capacitance and achieve an accurate fault location. The LCC-MMC hybrid DC transmission system model is built on the PSCAD / EMTDC simulation platform. Simulation results show that the proposed fault location method can effectively avoid the transition resistance and distributed capacitance influences and thus obtain high fault location accuracy. Moreover, an accurate fault location can be achieved with a narrow fault data window length.
Work-Efficient Parallel Algorithms for Accurate Floating-Point Prefix Sums

Existing work-efficient parallel algorithms for floating-point prefix sums exhibit either good performance or good numerical accuracy, but not both. Consequently, prefix-sum algorithms cannot easily be used in scientific-computing applications that require both high performance and accuracy. We have designed and implemented two new algorithms, called CAST _BLK and PAIR_BLK, whose accuracy is significantly higher than that of the high-performing prefix-sum algorithm from the Problem Based Benchmark Suite, while running with comparable performance on modern multicore machines. Specifically, the root mean squared error of the PBBS code on a large array of uniformly distributed 64-bit floating-point numbers is 8 times higher than that of CAST _BLK and 5.8 times higher than that of PAIR_BLK. These two codes employ the PBBS three-stage strategy for performance, but they are designed to achieve high accuracy, both theoretically and in practice. A vectorization enhancement to these two scalar codes trades off a small amount of accuracy to match or outperform the PBBS code while still maintaining lower error.
Eugene: A conceptual manual

The study of international relations using quantitative analysis relies, in part, on the availability of comprehensive and easily manipulable data sets. To execute large‐n statistical tests of hypotheses, data must be available on the variables of interest, and those data must be manipulated into a suitable format to allow the inclusion of appropriate control variables as well as variables of central theoretical interest This paper introduces software designed to eliminate many of the difficulties commonly involved in constructing large international relations data sets, and with the unavailability of data on expected utility theories of war. In order to solve these two problems, we developed EUGene (the Expected Utility Generation and Data Management Program). EUGene is a stand‐alone Microsoft Windows based program for the construction of annual data sets for use in quantitative studies of international relations. It generates data for variables necessary to incorporate key variables from implementations...
VIBRATORY COMPACTION IN THE LABORATORY OF GRANULAR MATERIALS IN LONG COLUMNS

FOR A LABORATORY STUDY OF THE DRAINAGE OF LONG COLUMNS OF POROUS MEDIA, A MAXIMUM DENSITY, UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE COLUMN, WAS REQUIRED. RESEARCH RESULTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MECHANICAL TECHNIQUE FOR THE PACKING OF DRAINAGE COLUMNS, AS MUCH AS 60 IN. LONG, WITH GLASS BEADS AND NATURAL SANDS OF VARIOUS PARTICLE SIZES. A VIBRATORY PACKER USED TO PACK THESE COLUMNS, WHICH ARE 1 TO 8 IN. IN DIAMETER, PROVIDED GOOD REPRODUCIBILITY OF DRY UNIT WEIGHT AND POROSITY BETWEEN DUPLICATE COLUMNS AS WELL AS A VERTICAL UNIFORMITY OF THESE PROPERTIES WITHIN THE SAME OR DUPLICATE COLUMNS. TO DEVELOP THE STANDARD METHOD OF PACKING COLUMNS, A STUDY WAS MADE OF THE EFFECTS OF TIME, AMPLITUDE, AND SURCHARGE WEIGHT ON THE UNIFORMITY AND REPRODUCIBILITY OF RESULTS. THE TECHNIQUE WAS STANDARDIZED AT A PACKING PERIOD OF 10 S AND A VIBRATORY AMPLITUDE OF 0.09 CM. /AUTHOR/
Regulation of amyloid β-peptide levels by enzymatic degradation

It is generally accepted that amyloid beta peptides (Abeta) play a significant role in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease. The Abeta peptides are produced by the sequential cleavage of an amyloid precursor protein by a betasecretase followed by cleavage by a gamma secretase. The clearance of beta appears to be due primarily by the action of one or more peptidases. An imbalance between the rate of synthesis and the rate of clearance of Abeta is now considered a possible contributor to the onset of Alzheimer's disease. This review focuses on peptidases that have been proposed to contribute to Abeta catabolism and discusses the evidence for their participation in Abeta peptide clearance in vivo.
Brown hydroboration reaction

Addition of boranes to olefins, followed by basic oxidation of the organoborane adducts, resulting in alcohols.
Patient complaints and physician practice: the urological experience

Roger Dmochowski investigates the relationship between patient complaints and the risk of malpractice by linking complaints to urological practice types. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons
Stereochemistry of actinomycin binding to DNA. I. Refinement and further structural details of the actinomycin-deoxyguanosine crystalline complex.

Abstract Actinomycin D co-crystallizes with deoxyguanosine to form a 1:2 stoichiometric complex. The crystals are orthorhombic, space group P212121, with cell parameters, a = 24.78, b = 29.47 and c = 13.60 A . The structure contains 140 atoms in the asymmetric unit (one actinomycin, two deoxyguanosine, and twelve water molecules) and has been solved using a combination of Patterson and tangent refinement methods, and refined by full matrix least squares to a residual of 9.4%. The two polypeptide chains of actinomycin are related by an approximate dyad axis lying roughly along a vector connecting the ON bridging atoms in the phenoxazone ring. A strong hydrogen bond exists between neighboring cyclic pentapeptide chains connecting the NH of one d -valine residue with the carbonyl oxygen of the other d -valine residue (2.94, 2.96 A). The conformations of the peptide linkages are as follows: l -threonine- d -valine, trans; d -valine- l proline, cis; l -proline-sarcosine, cis; sarcosine- l -methylvaline, trans; l -threonine-carboxamide carbonyl oxygen and carbon of chromophore, trans. The 1:2 stoichiometry of the complex is a direct consequence of the 2-fold symmetry of actinomycin and reflects the two chemically equivalent binding sites available to deoxyguanosine for complex formation. The two deoxyguanosine molecules interact with each cyclic peptide residue and stack on alternate sides of the phenoxazone ring system. A strong hydrogen bond (2.82, 2.80 A) connects the guanine 2-amino group with the carbonyl oxygen of the l -threonine residue, while a weaker hydrogen bond connects the guanine N(3) ring nitrogen with the NH group on this same l -threonine residue (3.15, 3.25 A). Further details of the crystal structure are presented. This structure is an example of a protein—nucleic acid co-crystallization and the configuration observed in the crystalline complex explains in a natural way the stereochemistry of actinomycin binding to DNA. This is described in the accompanying paper.
Heavily Oiled Salt Marsh following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Ecological Comparisons of Shoreline Cleanup Treatments and Recovery

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill affected hundreds of kilometers of coastal wetland shorelines, including salt marshes with persistent heavy oiling that required intensive shoreline “cleanup” treatment. Oiled marsh treatment involves a delicate balance among: removing oil, speeding the degradation of remaining oil, protecting wildlife, fostering habitat recovery, and not causing further ecological damage with treatment. To examine the effectiveness and ecological effects of treatment during the emergency response, oiling characteristics and ecological parameters were compared over two years among heavily oiled test plots subject to: manual treatment, mechanical treatment, natural recovery (no treatment, oiled control), as well as adjacent reference conditions. An additional experiment compared areas with and without vegetation planting following treatment. Negative effects of persistent heavy oiling on marsh vegetation, intertidal invertebrates, and shoreline erosion were observed. In areas without treatment, oiling conditions and negative effects for most marsh parameters did not considerably improve over two years. Both manual and mechanical treatment were effective at improving oiling conditions and vegetation characteristics, beginning the recovery process, though recovery was not complete by two years. Mechanical treatment had additional negative effects of mixing oil into the marsh soils and further accelerating erosion. Manual treatment appeared to strike the right balance between improving oiling and habitat conditions while not causing additional detrimental effects. However, even with these improvements, marsh periwinkle snails showed minimal signs of recovery through two years, suggesting that some ecosystem components may lag vegetation recovery. Planting following treatment quickened vegetation recovery and reduced shoreline erosion. Faced with comparable marsh oiling in the future, we would recommend manual treatment followed by planting. We caution against the use of intensive treatment methods with lesser marsh oiling. Oiled controls (no treatment “set-asides”) are essential for judging marsh treatment effectiveness and ecological effects; we recommend their use when applying intensive treatment methods.
A thermodynamic analysis discriminating loop backbone conformations

Publisher Summary The X-ray crystal structures of antibodies revealed that complementarity determining regions (CDRs) are loop connecting β-strands located at the extremity of a well-conserved β-barrel fold known as the framework (FR). Although X-ray diffraction studies provide accurate description of molecules at an atomic level, it is a time consuming task to undertake. Because of the very high structural similarity of the framework conformation, attempts have been made to model new antibody conformations using homology modeling techniques. Moreover, these modeling experiments provide a basis for integrating and testing the understanding of antibody structure. The major challenge in this approach is to adequately search conformational space for the six hypervariable loops or CDRs, three for the light chain and three for the heavy chain to obtain accurate models. This chapter discusses results concerning the development of a complete physical treatment that allows the screening of loop conformations to identify the most suitable options for a particular antibody model. A formalism has been established that allows the computation of the conformational free energies of loops by combining a molecular mechanic treatment of a loop with a continuum treatment of the solvent. A model study has been stimulated by removing the three light chain CDRs from a recently solved crystal structure of an antibody in a bound conformation—namely, Fab R45-45-11 (R45), then replacing loops from the database and calculating the conformational free energies for each conformation. The results reveal that loops in the database having the lowest conformational energy are the loops with the smallest root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) compared to CDRs of R45. The thermodynamic analysis is expected to be generally useful for antibody modeling.
Application of Sliding Mode Methods to the Design of Reconfigurable Flight Control Systems

Observer-based sliding mode control is investigated for application to aircraft reconfigurable flight control. A comprehensive overview of reconfigurable flight control is given, including, a review of the current state-of-the-art within the subdisciplines of fault detection, parameter identification, adaptive control schemes, and dynamic control allocation. Of the adaptive control methods reviewed, sliding mode control (SMC) appears very promising due its property of invariance to matched uncertainty. An overview of sliding mode control is given and its remarkable properties are demonstrated by example. Sliding mode methods, however, are difficult to implement because unmodeled parasitic dynamics cause immediate and severe instability. This presents a challenge for all practical applications with limited bandwidth actuators. One method to deal with parasitic dynamics is the use of an asymptotic observer in the feedback path. Observer-based SMC is investigated, and a method for selecting observer gains is offered. An additional method for shaping the feedback loop using a filter is also developed. It is shown that this SMC prefilter is equivalent to a form of model reference hedging. A complete design procedure is given which takes advantage of the sliding mode boundary layer to recast the SMC as a linear control law. Frequency domain loop shaping is then used to design the sliding manifold. Finally, three aircraft applications are demonstrated. An F-18/HARV is used to demonstrate a SISO pitch rate tracking controller. It is also used to demonstrate a MIMO lateral-directional roll rate tracking controller. The last application is a full linear six degree-of-freedom advanced tailless fighter model. The observer-based SMC is seen to provide excellent tracking with superior robustness to parameter changes and actuator failures.
Simulated natural experiments in spontaneous organization of morphological units from proteinoid.

Properties of microspheres from thermal proteinoid, showing emergence of complex materials and microstructures, reminiscent of cells, from simple processes
Fluorophotometry as a diagnostic tool for the evaluation of dry eye disease

Dry eye disease is a common debilitating ocular disease. Current diagnostic tests used in dry eye disease are often neither sensitive nor reproducible, making it difficult to accurately diagnose and determine end points for clinical trials, or evaluate the usefulness of different medications in the treatment of dry eye disease. The recently developed fluorophotometer can objectively detect changes in the corneal epithelium by quantitatively measuring its barrier function or permeability. The purpose of the study is to investigate the use of corneal fluorescein penetration measured by the fluorophotometer as a diagnostic tool in the evaluation of dry eye patients. Dry eye patients (16 eyes), who presented with a chief complaint of ocular irritation corresponding with dry eye, low Schirmer's one test (<10 mm after 5 minutes) and corneal fluorescein staining score of more than two, were included in the study. Normal subjects (16 eyes), who came for refraction error evaluation, served as controls. Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved consent was obtained before enrolling the subjects in the study and all questions were answered while explaining the risks, benefits and alternatives. All Fluorophotometry of the central corneal epithelium was done utilizing the Fluorotron Master (TradeMark). Each eye had a baseline fluorescein scan performed, after which 50 l of 1% sodium fluorescein dye was instilled. Three minutes later, the fluorescein was washed with 50 ml of normal saline. Fluorescein scans were then started immediately after washing and were recorded at 10, 20, 40, and 60 minutes thereafter. The corneal peak values of fluorescein concentration were recorded within the central cornea in both dry eyes and in controls. Ten minutes after fluorescein installition, patients with dry eye disease averaged a five-fold increase in corneal tissue fluorescein concentration (mean = 375.26 ± 202.67 ng/ml) compared with that of normal subjects (mean = 128.19 ± 85.84 ng/ml). Sixty minutes after dye installation, patients with dry eye disease still revealed higher corneal tissue fluorescein concentration (mean = 112.87 ± 52.83 ng/ml) compared with that of controls (mean = 40.64 ± 7.96 ng/ml), averaging a three-fold increase. Patients with dry eye disease demonstrated an increased corneal permeability and a slower rate of elimination to topically administered fluorescein when measured by the fluorophotometer. This suggests that fluorophotometry may serve as a valuable quantitative and objective tool for the diagnosis of dry eye disease, and in following patients' response to new treatment modalities. Fluorophotometry may serve as an objective non-invasive tool for end-point analysis in clinical trials of new treatments for dry eye disease.
Analysis of Hydrophobic Amine Antimalarials in Biological Fluids with The Plastic Ion-Selective Electrode

Plastic ion-selective electrode analysis of the hydrophobic amine antimalarial mefloquine in blood samples was investigated. The direct electrode response in plasma samples provided poor drug sensitivity due to high mefloquine protein binding. The drug was analyzed in whole blood by initial extraction into ether as its trichloroacetate ion-pair. Mefloquine was monitored in whole blood extracts with the electrode to moderately low levels (to 0.4 microgram/ml). Rapid blood mefloquine level monitoring by this electrode was demonstrated in a bioavailability study. Mefloquine alkylation with various alkyl halides produced derivatives detectable by the electrode at much lower levels (up to two orders of magnitude) than the parent. A kinetic study of this alkylation reaction revealed that an alkyl amine base was necessary to scavenge the acid produced during reaction and to allow the reaction to go to completion. At room temperature, with benzyl bromide as the reagent, reaction was 99% complete in 30 min and mefloquine could be detected to approximately to 10(-8) M, a 100-fold improvement in sensitivity over electrode monitoring of underivatized mefloquine.
Phase I Study of Subconjunctival Ranibizumab in Patients With Primary Pterygium Undergoing Pterygium Surgery

Purpose To evaluate the safety and tolerability of ranibizumab given via subconjunctival injection in patients with primary pterygium undergoing pterygium surgery with autograft placement. Design Prospective, open-label pilot study. Methods Setting: Single-center, academic practice. Study Population: Ten patients with primary pterygia. bservational Procedure: Subconjunctival ranibizumab (0.5 mg/0.05 mL) administered at the limbus, adjacent to pterygium either 3 days prior to surgery (Group 1, n=5) or at the time of surgery (Group 2, n=5). Patients prospectively followed for 6 months after injection. Main Outcome Measures: Safety and tolerability of subconjunctival ranibizumab as determined by patient reporting, clinical examination, and masked observer interpretation of slit-lamp photographs. Results The median age at presentation was 59 years (range 33 to 71 years); 60% of patients were male. Five patients were randomly assigned to be injected with 0.05 mg ranibizumab via subconjunctival injection 3 days prior to surgery; an additional 5 patients were injected with ranibizumab at the time of surgery. All 10 patients tolerated the injection well. The conjunctival autograft remained intact in the 9 patients whose grafts were secured with sutures. There was dehiscence of the autograft in the 1 patient whose graft was secured with fibrin glue. No other safety concerns arose after 6 months of follow-up. Three pterygium recurrences were noted at 6 months (all patients in Group 1). All remaining patients had a normal surgical bed appearance. Conclusions The data from this small pilot study suggest that 1 subconjunctival injection of ranibizumab in conjunction with pterygium surgery is well tolerated.