cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Assessment of Mechanical Allodynia and Central Sensitization in Endodontic Patients.

Abstract Introduction Patients seeking endodontic treatment commonly present with reduced mechanical pain thresholds (ie, mechanical allodynia [MA]) in the offending teeth. In patients with moderate to severe pain, MA may manifest in the teeth contralateral to the offending teeth because of the onset of central sensitization (CS). We hypothesize that there are quantitative differences in MA and CS in patients with different pulp and periradicular diagnoses. Methods Patients (n = 70) receiving endodontic treatment in the graduate endodontic clinic at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and healthy volunteers (n = 10) were included in this cross-sectional study. The mechanical pain threshold from molar teeth was measured by a digital bite force transducer on the offending tooth (ipsilateral) and the contralateral tooth. Ipsi- and contralateral MA among different endodontic diagnoses were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn post hoc test and the Student t test for differences between sexes. Multivariate regression models analyzed predictors for MA and CS. Results Periradicular diagnoses of asymptomatic apical periodontitis, symptomatic apical periodontitis, and chronic apical abscess cases were significantly associated with MA. CS, seen as contralateral MA, was only detected in pulpal diagnosis of symptomatic irreversible pulpitis, previously initiated treatment, symptomatic apical periodontitis, and chronic apical abscess. Females experienced significantly lower pain thresholds than males on both sides. MA and CS were significantly correlated in both sexes. The preoperative pain level and duration were significant predictors for MA and CS only in female patients. Lastly, age was a significant predictor for MA in females. Conclusions The magnitude of MA and CS varied with different endodontic diagnoses, with CS being correlated with increases in MA. Only in female patients were age, preoperative pain duration, and intensity significant predictors for the development of MA and CS.
Symptoms of convergence and accommodative insufficiency predict engagement and cognitive fatigue during complex task performance with and without automation.

Abstract Deficits in the accommodative and/or vergence responses have been linked with inattentive behavioral symptoms. While using automated systems (e.g., self-driving cars, autopilot), operators (e.g., drivers, pilots, soldiers) visually monitor displays for critical changes, making deficits in the accommodative and/or vergence responses potentially hazardous for individuals remaining actively engaged in the task at hand. The purpose of this study was to determine if symptoms of accommodative-vergence deficits predict an individual's level of task engagement and cognitive fatigue while performing a flight simulation task with or without automation. Eighty-four participants performed a flight simulation task with or without automation. Prior to task completion, self-report accommodative-convergence deficit symptoms were assessed with the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS). Before and after the flight simulation task participants rated their task engagement and cognitive fatigue. Electroencephalographic activity (EEG) was recorded concurrently during task performance. Results showed that higher scores on the CISS were related to increased feelings of fatigue and decreased ratings of task engagement. The CISS was also positively related to parietal-occipital fast alpha power during the last 10 min of the task for participants using automation, suggesting increased cortical idling. CISS scores did not predict performance. Results have implications for optimizing operator cognitive states over extended task performance.
Deeds: Working It Out in Writing, the Evolving Language of Land Deeds

The language of American recorded deeds grew ever more elaborate in the nineteenth century as the individuals granted access, use, and occupation rights to land sought to pin down exactly what those rights entailed. This urge for precision and tendency of repetitive assertion of rights reflected a broader uncertainty: a basic conflict between a traditional notion (as expressed, e.g. by John Locke) that the human labor that transformed land earned a person rights to that land versus the market ideal that purchase of a particular set of rights, those of fee simple ownership, were fundamental. This conflict of tenure concepts was in the process of resolving to favor fee simple ownership. Economists eschewed the idea that land had an inherent value from its natural attributes to argue that its value was simply as form of capital and its value simply what buyers would pay. Easy recordation and the development of warrants and other securities representing conditional claims to land accelerated this trend.
Dual-Functional Phosphorene Nanocomposite Membranes for the Treatment of Perfluorinated Water: An Investigation of Perfluorooctanoic Acid Removal via Filtration Combined with Ultraviolet Irradiation or Oxygenation

Nanomaterials with tunable properties show promise because of their size-dependent electronic structure and controllable physical properties. The purpose of this research was to develop and validate environmentally safe nanomaterial-based approach for treatment of drinking water including removal and degradation of per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFAS). PFAS are surfactant chemicals with broad uses that are now recognized as contaminants with a significant risk to human health. They are commonly used in household and industrial products. They are extremely persistent in the environment because they possess both hydrophobic fluorine-saturated carbon chains and hydrophilic functional groups, along with being oleophobic. Traditional drinking water treatment technologies are usually ineffective for the removal of PFAS from contaminated waters, because they are normally present in exiguous concentrations and have unique properties that make them persistent. Therefore, there is a critical need for safe and efficient remediation methods for PFAS, particularly in drinking water. The proposed novel approach has also a potential application for decreasing PFAS background levels in analytical systems. In this study, nanocomposite membranes composed of sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (SPEEK) and two-dimensional phosphorene were fabricated, and they obtained on average 99% rejection of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) alongside with a 99% removal from the PFOA that accumulated on surface of the membrane. The removal of PFOA accumulated on the membrane surface achieved 99% after the membranes were treated with ultraviolet (UV) photolysis and liquid aerobic oxidation.
A Kernel Framework to Quantify a Model's Local Predictive Uncertainty under Data Distributional Shifts.

Traditional Bayesian approaches for model uncertainty quantification rely on notoriously difficult processes of marginalization over each network parameter to estimate its probability density function (PDF). Our hypothesis is that internal layer outputs of a trained neural network contain all of the information related to both its mapping function (quantified by its weights) as well as the input data distribution. We therefore propose a framework for predictive uncertainty quantification of a trained neural network that explicitly estimates the PDF of its raw prediction space (before activation), p(y'|x,w), which we refer to as the model PDF, in a Gaussian reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS). The Gaussian RKHS provides a localized density estimate of p(y'|x,w), which further enables us to utilize gradient based formulations of quantum physics to decompose the model PDF in terms of multiple local uncertainty moments that provide much greater resolution of the PDF than the central moments characterized by Bayesian methods. This provides the framework with a better ability to detect distributional shifts in test data away from the training data PDF learned by the model. We evaluate the framework against existing uncertainty quantification methods on benchmark datasets that have been corrupted using common perturbation techniques. The kernel framework is observed to provide model uncertainty estimates with much greater precision based on the ability to detect model prediction errors.
Flying Into Hurricanes: A Former Prosecutor’s Reflections on the Guantánamo Bay Military Commissions

This essay draws upon the author’s experience as a prosecutor at the Guantanamo Bay Military Commissions and provides commentary on the troubled terrorism courts. The essay is both a reflection piece and an introduction for readers to various issues, including: the public perception of the commissions, the potential legacy, the role of the prosecution and defense, and current legal struggles. Calls for the demise of the military commissions are frequent, but so far premature. Ultimately, it is uncertain when, if ever, the process will come to a successful conclusion.
Bush v. Gore: The Question of Legitimacy

The Supreme Court's intervention in the 2000 election will shape American law and democracy long after George W. Bush has left the White House. This vitally important book brings together a broad range of preeminent legal scholars who address the larger questions raised by the Supreme Court's actions. Did the Court's decision violate the rule of law? Did it inaugurate an era of super-politicized jurisprudence? How should Bush v. Gore change the terms of debate over the next round of Supreme Court appointments? The contributors-Bruce Ackerman, Jack Balkin, Guido Calabresi, Steven Calabresi, Owen Fiss, Charles Fried, Robert Post, Margaret Jane Radin, Jeffrey Rosen, Jed Rubenfeld, Cass Sunstein, Laurence Tribe, and Mark Tushnet-represent a broad political spectrum. Their reactions to the case are varied and surprising, filled with sparkling argument and spirited debate. This is a must-read book for thoughtful Americans everywhere.
Linking professional development, teacher outcomes, and student achievement: The case of a learner-centered mathematics program for elementary school teachers

Abstract Research is needed to examine the link between professional development on both teachers’ instruction and student achievement. This study examined the influence of three year-long cohorts of elementary school teachers’ participating in a learner-centered mathematics professional development program. Data sources include surveys on teachers’ instructional practices and beliefs as well as their students’ performance on curriculum-based assessments. Multi-level analyses indicated that teachers’ content knowledge and changes in teachers’ practices both had statistically significant effects on student achievement. This study advances the knowledge base on the influence of content knowledge and teachers’ beliefs on student achievement.
Design optimization of a linear generator with dual Halbach array for human motion energy harvesting

This paper presents a linear generator for human motion energy harvesting using dual Halbach magnet arrays. A novel Halbach array with non-uniform magnet blocks is proposed to enhance the air-gap flux density in the linear generator for a given size and weight of permanent magnet material. Then, the optimization model is constructed with the objective of maximizing the output power of the linear generator. The resulting optimized linear generator with the non-uniform Halbach magnet arrays provides a significant improvement in power density. Comparisons between the proposed linear generator and two different linear generators for human walking motion energy harvesting are provided. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is verified by two-dimensional finite element analysis simulation results.
Semantics of Networks Containing Indeterminate Operators

We discuss a denotational semantics for networks containing indeterminate operators. Our approach is based on modelling a network by the set of all its possible behaviors. Our notion of behavior is a sequence of computational actions. The primitive computational action is an event: the appearance or consumption of a token on a data path. A sequence of such events is called a history and a set of such histories is called an archive. We give composition rules that allow us to derive an archive for a network from the archive of its constituents. Causal and operational constraints on network behavior are encoded into the definitions of archives. We give a construction that allows us to obtain the denotation of networks containing loops by a process of successive approximations. This construction is not carried out in the traditional domain-theoretic setting, but rather resembles the category theoretic notion of limit. By using this construction, we avoid having to impose any closure conditions on the set of behaviors, as are typically necessary in powerdomain constructions. The resulting theory is general and compositional, but is also close to operational ideas making it a useful and flexible tool for modelling systems.
Efficient Numerical Error Bounding for Replicated Network Services

The goal of this work is to support replicated network services that accept updates to numerical records from multiple wide-area locations. Given the high overhead of maintaining strong consistency, many replicated services can tolerate divergence of their shared data, as long as the numerical error is bounded. Target distributed services include replicated stock quotes services, online auctions, distributed sensor systems, wide-area resource accounting and load balancing for replicated servers. We present two algorithms to e ciently bound absolute error using only local information. Split-Weight AE separately bounds increases and decreases, while Compound-Weight AE bounds them together. The two algorithms can be combined to provide good performance and low space overhead. Our Inductive RE algorithm transforms relative error to absolute error solely based on local knowledge, taking advantage of the fact that the divergence was properly bounded prior to each invocation of the algorithm. We also discuss two optimizations that reduce the space and computational overheads in the algorithms. This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation (EIA-99772879). Vahdat is also supported by an NSF CAREER award (CCR-9984328). Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the VLDB copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Very Large Data Base Endowment. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or special permission from the Endowment. Proceedings of the 26th VLDB Conference, Cairo, Egypt, 2000.
Functional heterogeneity among peritoneal macrophages. II. Enzyme content of macrophage subpopulations.

Abstract Rabbit peritoneal exudate (PE) macrophages were separated into subpopulations on discontinuous density gradients of bovine serum albumin. Four such macrophage subpopulations, referred to as bands A, B, C, and D (from lightest to heaviest buoyant density), were examined for differences in enzyme content. With regard to three acid hydrolases—acid phosphatases, β-glucuronidase, and cathepsin D—cells in bands A and B had greater enzyme activity than cells in bands C and D. A similar distribution of activities was observed for acid p-nitrophenylphosphatase. Peroxidase activity was present only in band D. Lysozyme activity was greatest in band D cells and least in band A cells. Only small differences in cytochrome c oxidase activity were observed among the subpopulations. Arginase activity was found to be greater in cells from band A than cells in bands B, C, and D. Macrophage subpopulations derived from PE macrophages placed in tissue culture for 7 days and macrophage subpopulation cells cultured for 2 days showed differences in acid phosphatase content similar to those seen with freshly obtained subpopulations. These results extend previous work demonstrating heterogeneity among PE macrophages.
Life History of the Hawaiian Fish Kuhlia sandvicensis as Inferred from Daily Growth Rings of Otoliths

Kuhlia sandvicensis, the aholehole, is a native Hawaiian fish found in both marine and freshwater habitats. In the lower reaches of streams, they are predators on stream fishes, invertebrates, and insects. Aholehole are an important food fish in the Hawaiian Islands and were often used by ancient Hawaiians in traditional ceremonies. Although aholehole are an important part of stream ecosystems and Hawaiian culture, little is known about their life history, specifically, whether a freshwater phase is obligatory. In this study, light microscopy and electron microprobe techniques were used to analyze otolith daily increments. The analysis estimated age of juveniles and provided information regarding salinity of a fish's habitat at specific points in its life. Sr/Ca profiles from otoliths of juvenile and adult fish from fresh and salt water indicated that this species' use of stream habitats is facultative. Unlike Hawaiian freshwater gobies and at least one other member of the Kuhliidae from the Western Pacific, there is no physiological requirement of fresh water at a specific point in the life cycle of K. sandvicensis. Future research will provide a greater understanding as to the importance of streams as nursery habitats for this species. The research is expected to bolster the argument for maintaining the stream-ocean corridor for access by amphidromous gobies and perhaps also for the aholehole.
Chromosomes and Sex in Hypospadias

The recent article by Juberg, et al., titled "Chromosome Studies in Patients with Hypospadias" has aroused my concern. The authors state that the most common associated genital anomaly in hypospadias is cryptorchism, and from their study of 21 patients, they state "there appears to be no genetic basis for the assumption that hypospadias in the male represents a form of intersexuality." This appears to be in conflict with nearly all previously published studies and one wonders how a study of such a small number warrants such a conclusion.
THE AMBIGUITY OF MORAL EXCELLENCE: A Response to Aaron Stalnaker's “Virtue as Mastery”

This response draws on Saba Mahmood's work on Muslim subjectivities in order to consider how Stalnaker's conceptualization of virtue might be applied to non-Confucian sources. I argue that when applied cross-culturally, Stalnaker's revised definition of “skillful virtue” raises normative and metaethical questions about what counts as a skill versus a mere bodily practice, the process by how skill is acquired, and how we can both allow for the ambiguity of skills and continue to make constructive arguments about them.
GOALS (graduate online active learning strategies)

The purpose of this project was to develop active learning strategies for experiential learning in an online environment. As institutions embrace technology, designers and developers should endeavor to incorporate effective strategies that emulate the instructor-student interaction of a traditional classroom and engage the learners in an active learning process. That process should incorporate problem-solving strategies and modeling using many different forms of instructional technology. Online learning experiences should provide authentic experiences using adaptive learning contexts that enable the learner to immediately apply the knowledge gained. The online course created by this project serves as a model for the development of future courses and as a new paradigm for higher education in both pedagogical and curricular reform.This paper describes the significance, development, and components of an online course for graduate students that incorporate experiential and active learning in a virtual environment. The course is housed in a department that is committed to providing personalized higher education experiences for a diverse body of students. GOALS, the project acronym selected early in the design phase, guided the development and application of instructional strategies for the course. Other strategies included adaptive learning to individualize the content, motivate the learner, and provide authentic experiences that were relevant.When the course begins, the student is informed that s/he has been hired as a instructional technology coordinator at the "school of your dreams." Students complete an online form that prompts them to select the level of school (e.g., K-3, K-12, 9-12), the size of the school (less than 500, 500-1000, more than 1000), and the location of the school (e.g., rural, urban, suburban). Additional information is assigned with random data (e.g., racial/gender percentages, number of students receiving free lunches, type of students with disabilities, and so on). Learners access a "virtual office" with computer, phone, Rolodex, in-box, and a bookcase containing links for each activity. The instructional content consists of four sections divided into twenty-two activities that engage learners in an active learning process that incorporates problem-solving strategies and modeling using many different forms of technology. An animated video character referred to as the "virtual assistant" guides the learner through the activities by providing specific instructions about what to do. Learners receive virtual e-mails and voice mail messages that describe their assignments. Some assignments are adaptive to an initial profile submitted by the learner; however, all assignments are completed in the authentic context of the technology director position.This online course serves as a model for the development of future courses and as a new paradigm for higher education in both pedagogical and curricular reform. The result is learner-centered education that is outcomes-driven, performance-based, and assessment intensive.
Recent Developments in Rayleigh-Benard Convection and Interface Dynamics

We present three topics in fluid dynamics which have recently sparkled the interest of the physics community: 1) Rayleigh-Benard convection 2) Saffman Taylor Instability 3) Solid liquid interface dynamics.
Mean platelet volume is decreased in HIV-infected women.

Objectives HIV infection is associated with higher than expected cardiovascular event rates and lowered platelet counts. These conditions are associated with an elevation of mean platelet volume (MPV). The present study compared MPV in HIV-infected and uninfected women and identified factors influencing MPV values in HIV-infected women. Methods A total of 234 HIV-infected and 134 HIV-uninfected participants from the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) had MPV values obtained. HIV-infected women were older, were more likely to have diabetes and had higher triglyceride levels than HIV-uninfected women. Results The mean platelet count was lower in HIV-infected vs. uninfected women [249 cells/μL (95% confidence interval (CI) 238, 259 cells/μL) vs. 276 cells/μL (95% CI 265, 287 cells/μL), respectively; P < 0.01]. Adjusted mean MPV values were lower in the HIV-infected than in the uninfected group [8.66 fL (95% CI 8.52, 8.79 fL) vs. 9.05 fL (95% CI 8.87, 9.24 fL), respectively]. In multiple regression analysis, after adjusting for other covariates, MPV was positively associated with platelet count, and negatively with HIV infection (model R2 = 0.20; P < 0.01). In multiple regression analysis confined to HIV-infected women, a lower MPV was independently associated with a history of AIDS-defining illness (R2 = 0.28; P = 0.03), but not with nadir CD4 count or highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) use. Conclusions HIV-infected women had lower MPV values than uninfected women, suggesting impaired production rather than increased destruction. Higher than expected cardiovascular event rates cannot be attributed to greater platelet reactivity as measured by MPV.
Analyses of the FlashTrack DNA probe and UTIscreen bioluminescence tests for bacteriuria.

Five hundred urine specimens were selected at random and screened for bacteriuria by a DNA probe method, FlashTrack (Gen-Probe, San Diego, Calif.), and an automated bioluminescence method, UTIscreen (Los Alamos Diagnostics, Los Alamos, N.M.), and the results were compared with those of the semiquantitative plate culture method. The performance of each test versus culturing was evaluated at colony counts of greater than or equal to 10(4), greater than or equal to 5 x 10(4), and greater than or equal to 10(5) CFU/ml. Since the interpretive breakpoint of each test was user selectable, the results were reported as receiver operator characteristic curves. Optimum interpretive breakpoints were determined for each test at each colony count by calculating a performance index that emphasized sensitivity over specificity in a 70:30 ratio. Although both tests had less-than-optimal sensitivities and specificities, the performance of FlashTrack was significantly better than that of UTIscreen at two of the three colony counts (10(4) and 10(5) CFU/ml); however, FlashTrack costs more and is a labor-intensive procedure. Neither method was evaluated for the detection of colony counts of less than 10(4) CFU/ml.
Spring and Summer 1988 Drought over the Contiguous United States—Causes and Prediction

Abstract This paper deals primarily with the 1988 summer drought over much of the contiguous United States and its generation from conditions during the preceding spring. Both the spring and summer environment are described in terms of hemispheric flow patterns in midtroposphere, temperature and precipitation anomalies, and sea surface temperature anomalies. Conditions in March were especially indicative of the ensuing drought, since a model routinely employed in long-range forecasting showed that the March circulation would most likely be followed by a hot dry April, May, and June over much of the nation—a pattern which persisted into early summer. This result suggests that the initiation of the drought was rooted in extratropical climate variations, an alternative hypothesis to one which attributes the persistent drought-producing circulation to oceanic and atmospheric conditions in the tropics. In many respects the summer drought of 1988 was similar to earlier great droughts of the Great Plains, althou...
New transformation mechanism for a zinc-blende to rocksalt phase transformation in MgS.

The stability of the zinc-blende structured MgS is studied using a constant pressure ab initio molecular dynamics technique. A phase transition into a rocksalt structure is observed through the simulation. The zinc-blende to rocksalt phase transformation proceeds via two rhombohedral intermediate phases within R3m (No:160) and (No:166) symmetries and does not involve any bond breaking. This mechanism is different from the previously observed mechanism in molecular dynamics simulations.
Longitudinal predictors of bipolar spectrum disorders: A behavioral approach system perspective.

We review longitudinal predictors, primarily psychosocial, of the onset, course, and expression of bipolar spectrum disorders. We organize our review along a proximal - distal continuum, discussing the most proximal (i.e., prodromes) predictors of bipolar episodes first, then recent environmental (i.e., life events) predictors of bipolar symptoms and episodes next, followed by more distal psychological (i.e., cognitive styles) predictors, and ending with the most distal temperament (i.e., Behavioral Approach System sensitivity) predictors. We then present a theoretical model, the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) dysregulation model, for understanding and integrating the role of these predictors of bipolar spectrum disorders. Finally, we consider the implications of the reviewed longitudinal predictors for future research and psychosocial treatments of bipolar disorders.
Genetic association between intronic polymorphism in presenilin-1 gene and late-onset Alzheimer's disease

Abstract Summary Background Mutations in the presenilin-1 ( PS-1 ) gene are associated with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. 40-50% of the risk for late-onset disease has been attributed to alleles at the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) locus. We have looked for an association between PS-1 and late-onset disease. Methods We collected blood samples from 208 white cases of dementia of the Alzheimer type and from 185 age-matched controls (mean ages 76·9 and 76·2 years, respectively; 58% female in each series). Clinical diagnostic accuracy for Alzheimer's disease in our patients is 96%. We also studied 29 African-American patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type and 50 age-matched controls (cases vs controls, 77·2 vs 72·0 years; 72 vs 77% female). We used PCR to test for an association between Alzheimer's disease and a polymorphism within the intron 3' to exon 8 of the PS-1 gene. The ApoE genotype of most of the cases and controls was known from previous investigations. Findings Homozygosity of the 1 allele in the PS-1 gene was associated with a doubling of the risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease compared with the [ 12 ]/[ 22 ] genotype (odds ratio 1·97, 95% Cl 1·29-3·00). The proportion of Alzheimer's disease cases in the white population that could be attributed to homozygosity at this locus, as estimated by the attributable fraction, was 0·22. This compares with 0·35 for a single copy of ApoE4 and 0·15 for two copies. The smaller African-American series showed similar distribution of PS-1 genotype between cases and controls. Interpretation In our white series of cases, PS-1 accounted for about half as much of the risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease as did ApoE4.
Influence of the U.S. Military and Occupational Therapy Reconstruction Aides in World War I on the Development of Occupational Therapy

The development of occupational therapy was heavily influenced by an early evolved relationship between orthopedists and reconstruction aides during the first World War. Orhopedists were largely responsible for both the presence of occupational therapy in the war and the eventual acceptance (by army personnel) of women fulfilling this military function. As a result of gender issues of that time--characterized by a dearth of employment opportunities for women and by a general resistance to women in military roles--this affiliation with orthopedists in World War I served to promote occupational therapy within the military environment. This affiliation also marked an early willingness by occupational therapists to accept the medical model as one guide for clinical practice.
Case Study: Impact of Reservoir Stratification on Interflow Travel Time

A case study is presented on the relation between interflow travel time and reservoir stratification. A simulation model is calibrated and validated for the Wachusett Reservoir in Massachusetts. The Reservoir has a major controlled inflow which traverses the reservoir as an interflow. The model is used with a range of alternate inflow schedules and the resulting travel time of the interflow is examined. The inflow density is within the range of densities found in the reservoir thermocline and the inflow rate is sufficient to maintain a continuous interflow. Under these conditions it is found that a linear relation exists between the average interflow travel time, as measured by the arrival of a specified fraction of interflow water at the outlet, and the degree of stratification, as measured by the maximum difference in reservoir thermocline temperature, at the initiation of the inflow. The results may be useful for operation of the reservoir under study subject to continued validation of the simulation model used.
Effects of bilateral subthalamic nucleus stimulation on sleep, daytime sleepiness, and early morning dystonia in patients with Parkinson disease

Object The aim of this study was to assess the long-term effects of bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) for Parkinson disease (PD) on sleep, daytime sleepiness, and early morning dystonia and to evaluate the relationship between total sleep time and motor function. Methods Patients who had undergone bilateral STN DBS and a follow-up evaluation of 6 months (89 patients), 12 months (83 patients), and 24 months (43 patients) were included in this study. The patients were preoperatively assessed using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) in the medication-on and -off conditions, and they completed patient diaries. A subset of patients also completed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. These assessments were repeated postoperatively with stimulation. The UPDRS activities of daily living (ADL) and motor scores as well as total sleep hours were significantly improved at 6, 12, and 24 months poststimulation and with no medication compared with baseline values. Increas...
Risk-Reducing Mastectomy: Who Is a Candidate and What Are the Outcomes?

As genetic testing to identify hereditary susceptibility for breast cancer becomes more widely available, interest in prophylactic mastectomy is becoming more popular. Patients with unilateral breast cancer are also pursuing prophylactic contralateral mastectomy for its risk-reducing and symmetry benefits. This review discusses the selection of candidates for prophylactic mastectomy, its benefits, and data on effectiveness of this surgery.
CHARACTERISTICS OF INVASIVE GROUP A BETA HEMOLYTIC STREPTOCOCCAL INFECTIONS IN CRITICALLY ILL CHILDREN. 274

Objective: To describe clinical and microbiological characteristics of a cluster of critically ill children with Group A Beta Hemolytic Streptococcal (GABS) infections. Design: Concurrent review. Setting: Pediatric intensive care unit of a university teaching hospital. Patients: Six children (mean age 3.4±2 yrs) with culture-proven GABS disease. Interventions: After routine hemodynamic and intensive care management, culture isolates of GABS were sent to the CDC, Atlanta GA, for surface protein identification and to the University of Minnesota Microbiology Department for exotoxin typing.Results: Five of six children were admitted in a 16 week period between March and July, 1994; the sixth in April, 1995. GABS was the causative organism for two cases of pneumonia with empyema and one case each of peritonitis, superinfection of thermal burn with inhalation injury, mastoiditis presenting as status epilepticus, and overwhelming septic shock. Bacteremia was documented in 4 of 6 patients (67%). Four patients (67%) fulfilled streptococcal shock syndrome(SSS) criteria.* The mean PRISM was 16±9 and the mortality rate was 17%. The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) occurred in four of five patients who required mechanical ventilation while the fifth was intubated for airway control. Pulmonary artery catheterization was performed in three patients. Two had elevated cardiac indices (CI)(5.9 and 4.73 I/min/m2) while the third, who died, had a depressed (2.33 I/m/m2) CI despite resuscitation. Systemic vascular resistances were decreased (788 dyneseccm2/cm5) or normal (1587) in the survivors and low normal(1438) in the patient who died. Four patients (67%) either had varicella or had recently been exposed to it. None had received ibuprofen. Evaluation of four GABS isolates revealed each produced exotoxin B, either alone, or in conjunction with exotoxin A. No M or T type predominance was identified.Conclusion: A cluster of invasive GABS cases occurred in a one year period. Hemodynamic patterns were similar to those seen in septic shock. Heightened suspicion for GABS disease should be maintained in ill children who have recently had, or been exposed to, varicella.
Resolution of severe thrombocytopenia in a pregnant patient with rhesus-negative blood with autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura after intravenous rhesus immune globulin.

Summary Treatment with 120 μg of intravenous rhesus immune globulin at 291/2 weeks' gestation resulted in anelevation of the platelet count from 38,000/mm 3 to 73,000/mm 3 in a patient with rhesus-negative blood with autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura. Red blood cell immune blockade of the reticuloendothelial system is probably not the primary mechanism by which rhesus immune globulin elevates the platelet count
SU‐GG‐J‐30: Analysis of Daily Setup Variation with Tomotherapy Megavoltage Computed Tomography (MVCT)

Purpose: To evaluate setup variation for different sites using tomotherapy pretreatment megavoltage computed tomography (MVCT), and provide the reference margins for different anatomic sites. Method and Materials: Ninety‐two patients were positioned supinely the same as CT simulation. MVCT was used to verify patient position and target localization before each treatment. With anatomy registration tool, MVCT provided the real‐time tumor/organ shift coordinates, relative to the positions when the simulation CT was done. The thermoplastic face mask was used for H/N and brain treatment. Hip and pelvic Vac‐Lok™ cushions were used for prostate patients. There was no respiration suppression used for lung and abdomen patients. The setup variations in the inter‐fraction treatments were recorded and corrected for treatment. 2900 data points were analyzed for the 92 patients with the five different sites: head and neck, brain, prostate, lung and abdomen. Results: The mean inter‐fractional setup error for H/N and brain was smallest among the five sites analyzed. The mean setup error in the 3D translational for H/N, brain, prostate, abdomen and lung were 2.2mm, 2.3mm, 3.2mm, 4.4mm and 7.7mm respectively. The largest motion in lung was in the longitudinal direction, with mean error 6.0mm and standard deviation of 4.8mm. The mean rotational variation ranged from 0.2° to 0.5°, with the standard deviation from 0.7° to 0.9°. The system error and random error were analyzed and the suggested margin for H/N, brain, prostate, abdomen and lung in the direction of lateral, longitudinal and vertical ranged from 5.0 to 9.3 mm, 5.8 mm to 14.6 mm, and 1.7 mm to 7.8 mm respectively. Conclusion: The pre‐treatment MVCT can be used to improve the accuracy of patient positioning and to reduce the tumor margin. Results from this study could be used as a reference to determine the tumor margin for regular radiation therapy treatment.
Remediation of DNAPL-Contaminated Subsurface Systems Using Density-Motivated Mobilization

Dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs), especially when present as trapped free-phase pools, are long-lived in the subsurface environment and extremely difficult to remove. Despite vigorous research efforts over the last two decades, all current DNAPL pool remediation strategies suffer from a combination of inefficiency, increased risk of contaminant spreading due to uncontrolled mobilization, and or high treatment costs. This work reports results from two novel strategies that use density-motivated approaches to mobilize DNAPLs. Experiments were conducted in one-dimensional bench-scale columns and two-dimensional flow cells containing heterogeneous media and DNAPL pools to quantify removal efficiency. Results show that greater than 90% removal of the total DNAPL mass (including both pools and associated residuals) is possible. Further, the removal process is potentially safe and rapid: since it is a stable displacement strategy, it does not rely upon any mass transfer limited steps, and it can be applied using a total of less than one pore volume of flushing solution.
Effect of preceding rainfall on sediment, nutrients, and bacteria in runoff from biosolids and mineral fertilizer applied to a hayfield in a mountainous region

Abstract Biosolids and mineral fertilizers (MF) can provide nutrient recycling and nutrients for hay production, but excessive or inappropriate applications can also contribute to water quality degradation when sediment, nutrients, and bacteria are included in surface runoff. Rainfall simulation studies were completed in a hayfield typical of the Ozark mountain region to compare sediment and nutrient content, and bacteria concentration in surface runoff from plots receiving biosolids or MF with or without pre-irrigation that simulated small (no runoff) rainfall events. No differences among treatments were detected for total suspended solids. According to an LSD test, fecal coliform colony-forming unit (CFU) levels in runoff in all biosolids treatments and the pre-irrigated MF treatment were similar to the unamended control; however, pre-planned orthogonal contrasts indicated more CFUs were included in runoff from pre-irrigated plots. Pre-irrigating treatments decreased certain forms of nitrogen and phosphorus losses found in surface runoff when compared to treatments that did not receive irrigation before a runoff event. Total Kjeldahl nitrogen, dissolved total Kjeldahl nitrogen, ammoniacal-nitrogen, dissolved ammoniacal-nitrogen, total phosphorus (TP), and dissolved phosphorus (DP) losses from the MF treatment that received a runoff producing rainfall immediately after application were greater than any other treatment ( P ≤ 0.05). Similarly, an orthogonal contrast of all MF treatments (with and without pre-irrigation) against the low rate of biosolids treatments (with and without pre-irrigation) revealed that MF had greater runoff losses of TP ( P ≤ 0.0001) and DP ( P ≤ 0.0002). Results suggest that MF applications have the potential to deliver higher nutrient pollutant loads through surface runoff than biosolids applications when a runoff producing rainfall event occurs soon after amendments are applied. This results in increased risk of nutrient loading to surface waters in states or areas where buffer areas are not required to protect them from MF runoff. In addition, nutrient losses in runoff may decrease when application is made such that small rainfall events occur prior to a runoff producing event.
Functional analysis of fiddler crab foraging: sex-specific mechanics and constraints in Uca pugnax (Smith)☆

Abstract Intake rate (μg Chl a ·g −1 sediment dry weight · s −1 ), scoop rate (feeding motions · s −1 of the feeding chelae) and extraction rate (μg Chl a removed · g −1 sediment dry wt · s −1 ) were characterized for male and female fiddler crabs Uca pugnax (Smith) feeding on patches of diatoms in the laboratory. Female intake rate remained constant on patches with Chl a concentrations ranging from 50 to 200 μg Chl a · g −1 3ediment dry wt, whereas male intake rate increased between 50 and 100 μg · g −1 Chl a , and plateaus at a food level of 200 μg Chl a · g −1 . The ratio of female: male intake rate declined from a value of 2.3 at 50 μg Chl a · g −1 , to ≈1.3 at 200 μg · g −1 . These patterns were the result of sex-specific patterns in scoop and extraction rates vs. food concentration. Scoop rate increased with food concentration, but the extraction rate fell as individuals fed more quickly, and extraction became time limited. Females exhibited higher overall scoop rates than males, and maintained higher per chelae scoop rates except at very low food concentrations. Females also had higher extraction rates at equivalent feeding rates. In general, because of their more rapid feeding, females were always extraction-time limited, whereas males were scoop rate limited at low food levels, and extraction-time limited at high food levels. These results illustrate the danger of extrapolating intake rate from scoop (feeding) rate, as there was a nonlinear relationship between the two. In addition, the cost of the male master chelae in terms of decreased intake rate is not constant, but varies with food concentration. The overall decrease in male fitness due to this feeding cost is therefore dependent on the distribution of food abundance in the habitat.
Siren: catching evasive malware

With the growing popularity of anomaly detection systems, which is due partly to the rise in zero-day attacks, a new class of threats have evolved where the attacker mimics legitimate activity to blend in and avoid detection. We propose a new system called Siren that injects crafted human input alongside legitimate user activity to thwart these mimicry attacks. The crafted input is specially designed to trigger a known sequence of network requests, which Siren compares to the actual traffic. It then flags unexpected messages as malicious. Using this method, we were able to detect ten spyware programs that we tested, many of which attempt to blend in with user activity. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of the Siren activity injection system, as well as a discussion of its potential limitations.
Glycosylation Mediates Up-regulation of a Potent Antiangiogenic and Proatherogenic Protein, Thrombospondin-1, by Glucose in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Accelerated development of atherosclerotic lesions remains the most frequent and dangerous complication of diabetes, accounting for 80% of deaths among diabetics. However, our understanding of the pathways mediating glucose-induced gene expression in vascular cells remains controversial and incomplete. We have identified an intracellular metabolic pathway activated by high glucose in human aortic smooth muscle cells that mediates up-regulation of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1). TSP-1 is a potent antiangiogenic and proatherogenic protein that may represent an important link between diabetes and vascular complications. Using different glucose analogs and metabolites sharing distinct, limited metabolic steps with glucose, we demonstrated that activation of TSP-1 transcription is mediated by the hexosamine pathway of glucose catabolism, possibly resulting in modulation of the activity of nuclear proteins activity through their glycosylation. Specific inhibitors of glutamine: fructose 6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFAT), an enzyme controlling the hexosamine pathway, as well as direct inhibitors of protein glycosylation efficiently inhibited TSP-1 transcription and the activity of a TSP-1 promoter-reporter construct stimulated by high glucose. Overexpression of recombinant GFAT resulted in increased TSP-1 levels. Pharmacological inhibition of GFAT or protein glycosylation inhibited increased proliferation of human aortic smooth muscle cells caused by glucose. We have demonstrated that the hexosamine metabolic pathway mediates up-regulation of TSP-1 by high glucose. Our results suggest that the hexosamine pathway and intracellular glycosylation may control important steps in initiation and development of atherosclerotic lesions.
Calcium activates erythrocyte AMP deaminase [isoform E (AMPD3)] through a protein-protein interaction between calmodulin and the N-terminal domain of the AMPD3 polypeptide.

Erythrocyte AMP deaminase [isoform E (AMPD3)] is activated in response to increased intracellular calcium levels in Tarui's disease, following exposure of ionophore-treated cells to extracellular calcium, and by the addition of calcium to freshly prepared hemolysates. However, the assumption that Ca2+ is a positive effector of isoform E is inconsistent with the loss of sensitivity to this divalent cation following dilution of erythrocyte lysates or enzyme purification. Ca2+ regulation of isoform E was studied by examining in vitro effects of calmodulin (CaM) on this enzyme and by monitoring the influence of CaM antagonists on purine catabolic flow in freshly prepared erythrocytes under various conditions of energy imbalance. Erythrocyte and recombinant isoform E both adsorb to immobilized Ca2+-CaM, and relative adsorption across a series of N-truncated recombinant enzymes localizes CaM binding determinants to within residues 65−89 of the AMPD3 polypeptide. Ca2+-CaM directly stimulates isoform E catalytic ...