cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thoracic epidural analgesia: its role in postthoracotomy atrial arrhythmias.

Abstract Objective: To determine the effects of thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) management on the incidence of atrial arrhythmias (AAs) after thoracotomy for lung resection. Design: Retrospective. Setting: A major university medical center. Participants: The medical records of 185 consecutive patients who underwent thoracotomy between 1993 and 1997 were reviewed; patients with TEA only were included in the analysis. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: There was a 20% incidence of AAs after thoracotomy. Preoperative predictors of AAs were age >65 years, cardiac history, and an abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG). There was a temporal relationship between epidural catheter removal and occurrence of AAs. Fourteen patients developed AAs before TEA catheter removal, whereas 29 patients developed AAs after TEA catheter removal ( p = 0.01). There was no relationship between anatomic site of epidural catheter placement or choice of epidural agent and AAs. Conclusions: AAs after thoracotomy were common. These AAs were associated with increased age, cardiac history, abnormal ECG, increased cost, increased length of hospital stay, and time of epidural catheter removal. Although a cause-and-effect relationship cannot be inferred from this study, the presence or absence of TEA was found to have a temporal relationship with the incidence of AAs. Copyright © 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company
Gender effects in self‐management training: Individual versus cooperative interventions

This study examined gender differences in individual and cooperative (small-group) self-management training programs targeting mathematics performance. It was hypothesized that gender would interact with type of self-management training, such that girls in the individual training condition and boys in the cooperative training condition would improve less than girls in the cooperative training condition or boys in the individual training condition. As expected, girls in the individual training con- dition improved significantly less than both girls in the cooperative condition and boys in the individual condition. In contrast, boys in the cooperative training condi- tion did not differ significantly from either boys in the individual training condition or girls in the cooperative training condition. These results suggest the benefit of more cooperative self-management training interventions for classroom-wide interventions that include both boys and girls. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed.
A painful purgatory: grief and the Nicaraguan mothers of the disappeared.

Abstract In Latin America the past two decades have been marked by low-intensity conflicts, state-sponsored violence, and the creations of ‘cultures of terror’. This research, conducted in Managua, Nicaragua during 1991–1992 examines the impact of political violence on a small group of women whose relatives were ‘disappeared’ during the Contra War. I discuss the lack of discourse about the disappeared and suggest possible reasons for this silence in the body politic, the community and the family. The historical routinization of violence against the Nicaraguan poor and the continuing socio-political instability within the country present specific challenges to the healing processes of the Nicaraguan Mothers of the Disappeared. This article discusses some of the ways that these mothers challenge the collective silence and confront the public amnesia about what happened during the decade of war.
Processing commercial aluminum alloys for high strain rate superplasticity

The superplastic forming of sheets, although used on a small, specialized scale, has not yet been adapted for high-volume purposes. In processing for superplastic properties, the key microstructural features are grain size and grain-boundary misorientation. Current research trends are two-fold: to evaluate bulk processing of ultrafine-grained materials, and to understand the superplastic behavior of ultrafine-grained materials. Work is continuing on understanding the relationship between grain size and superplastic strain rate and superplastic temperatures. In this paper, strategies are reviewed for producing microstructures with enhanced superplastic characteristics.
Acquired cystic kidney disease.

A 34-year-old black sales manager was referred for evaluation of azotemia of undetermined duration. He claimed to be in good health except for "borderline" hypertension since age 25. He had no history of urinary tract signs or symptoms. A tumor of unspecified type had been removed from the left anterior chest wall 8 years previously; there had been no recurrence. A younger sister was a hemodialysis patient in another city; the cause of her renal failure was unknown to the patient. The family history included no deafness, hematuria, proteinuria, or renal cysts. The supine blood pressure was 160/100 mm Hg in both arms. The fundi were normal. His hearing acuity was judged to be intact. The left pectoralis major muscle had been removed surgically. Cardiovascular examination was normal. The abdomen was soft and nontender, and no masses were detected by palpation. Genital and rectal examinations were normal. The urine was negative for protein by dipstick examination. The urine sediment revealed 5 to 10 erythrocytes/high-power field and contained no casts or lipid bodies. The hemoglobin level was 13.4 g/dl and the hematocrit was 37.6%. The white blood cell and platelet counts were normal. Serum electrolyte levels were within normal limits. The serum creatinine concentration was 3.4 mg/dl; serum urea nitrogen, 45 mg/dl; serum calcium, 9,0 mg/dl; phosphate, 3.3 mg/dl; serum urate, 11.6 mg/dl; and alkaline phosphatase, 95 lU/liter. Total urinary protein excretion was 48 mg/24 hours. The creatinine clearance was 35 mI/mm. A renal scan with mTcDPTA showed prompt and symmetric flow to both kidneys; the excretion of '311-Hippuran was symmetric and slightly delayed; a furosemide washout test disclosed no evidence of obstruction. Ultrasound examination revealed kidneys of normal size
Geographic concentration and regional trends in the book publishing industry, 1963–1987

Book publishing became more decentralized when New York State's percentage of industry employment declined from 38 percent in 1963 to 31 percent in 1987. In spite of this reduced share of the publishing labor force and a significant reduction in its proportion of book publishing establishments, New York kept its value-added share at roughly 46 percent of the nation's total. Yet the emergence throughout the country of several much smaller but nonetheless noteworthy regional publishing centers suggests that requisite cores of expertise can innovate and flourish in areas where residential amenities and access to regional marketplaces for manuscripts and books compensate for the contacts and capital concentrated in Manhattan.
Coping self-efficacy perceptions as a mediator between acute stress response and long-term distress following natural disasters

The mediating effect of coping self-efficacy (CSE) perceptions between acute stress responses (ASR) and 1-year distress following two disasters was tested. Between 3 and 8 weeks after the second disaster and again at 1 year, 46 residents completed questionnaires. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms and global distress served as outcomes. Multiple regression demonstrated that ASR and Time 1 CSE were significant predictors of both Time 1 outcomes. Time 1 PTSD symptoms and Time 2 CSE were significant factors for Time 2 PTSD symptoms. Gender was significant for Time 2 PTSD symptoms, but not for Time 2 global distress. Longitudinally, Time 1 CSE predicted Time 2 PTSD symptoms, but not general distress. CSE mediated between ASR and both psychological outcomes at Time 2. Coping self-efficacy perceptions provide a possible intervention target.
Making Best Use of Performance Measures and Information

Managing a complex, boundary‐spanning function to maximize its contribution to the firm can be a challenging task. This research is concerned with providing management with increased understanding of the effects of different ways of managing a function, especially a significant boundary‐spanning operation. Conducted in the context of a procurement function, through a laboratory experiment, explores the impact of performance measures, interaction with other internal organizations and access to information about external events on an individual′s decision making and “comfort level”. Results indicate that the performance measurement system determines an individual′s decision‐making performance. The broader, more effectiveness‐oriented measures also tend to make the individuals more confident and satisfied with their operating environment and decisions. The availability of interaction with other internal organizations and the access to information about external events impact on an individual′s decisions but ...
Enhancement of drug susceptibility of multi-drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by ethambutol and dimethyl sulphoxide

Strategies to augment conventional methods of drug delivery in treatment of multiple drug resistant tuberculosis are needed to achieve optimum results with available drugs. We have studied the effect of sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (sub-MIC) of ethambutol and dimethyl sulphoxide on drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains both in vitro and in macrophages. At sub-MIC ethambutol between caused four and 64 fold increase in susceptibility to isoniazid rifampicin and streptomycin in four M. tuberculosis strains, resistant to these drugs. Incubation of the organisms with isoniazid and sub-MIC of dimethyl sulphoxide (2.5%) resulted in an eight-fold increase in susceptibility to the drug. Previous exposure of the organisms to sub-MIC of dimethyl sulphoxide also caused similar enhancement of susceptibility. Both ethambutol and dimethyl sulphoxide at the sub-MIC of sulphoxide also caused similar enhancement of susceptibility. Both ethambutol and dimethyl sulphoxide at the sub-MIC enhanced the activity of the anti-tuberculosis drugs against multiple drug resistant M. tuberculosis strains growing inside macrophages. Our data indicate that the agents which modify cell wall permeability can enhance the susceptibility of multiple drug resistant strains to drugs to which they were originally resistant. This could provide a new approach to treating drug resistant tuberculosis.
Deep space acquisition and tracking with single photon detector arrays

The laser beacon power required by a communication terminal for acquisition and tracking in deep space optical link scenarios can be reduced by a factor of 10 to 100 by replacing an integrating array, such as a CCD, with an array of single photon detectors. An additional benefit of the single photon detector array is that each pixel can have MHz bandwidths, allowing simultaneous recovery of photon time-of-arrival information that can be used for uplink data recovery or range measurements.
Microsatellite loci in Ipomopsis aggregata (Polemoniaceae) and cross-species applicability for ecological genetics studies

 Premise of the study: Novel microsatellite primers were developed for the native wildfl ower Ipomopsis aggregata to facilitate ongoing studies of the genetics of local adaptation and patterns of hybridization with closely related species within the genus.  Methods and Results: Thirteen primer sets were successfully developed and tested using populations from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA. The primers amplifi ed di-, tri-, and tetranucleotide repeats with 1–15 alleles per locus. All primers also amplifi ed fragments with varying success in closely related Ipomopsis species and more distant members of the Polemoniaceae.  Conclusions: The polymorphism levels observed across all loci suggest that these microsatellites may be useful for population genetic studies in Ipomopsis , as well as in studies of other related taxa in the Polemoniaceae.
Efficiency Gains from Value Pricing: Case Study of Sunol Grade

A case study of value pricing of a proposed capacity expansion for a major congested corridor in the San Francisco Bay Area known as the Sunol Grade is presented. A new high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane with a two-passenger-plus occupancy requirement is proposed to be added to the existing three southbound lanes to serve the morning peak period. The performance of the proposed HOV lane is compared with that of a value-priced express lane, which would provide unlimited, free access to vehicles with three-plus occupants and priced access to lower-occupancy vehicles. Compared with the proposed HOV lane, the express lane would reduce total vehicle-hours of delay—on both the general purpose and new lanes—by approximately two-thirds during the morning peak period, according to the queuing and high-occupancy mode-share models used here. These results are due to efficient throughout and increases in HOV mode share, made possible by the free-flowing conditions in the express lane compared with the expected congest...
Foliar potassium fertilization improves fruit quality of field-grown muskmelon on calcareous soils in south Texas.

BACKGROUND: Among plant nutrients, potassium (K) has the strongest influence on crop quality parameters that determine consumer preference. However, soil and plant factors often limit adequate soil K uptake to satisfy quality requirements during fruit development stages. The objectives of this multiyear field study with muskmelon were to determine if this apparent K deficiency and the associated fruit quality limitations can be alleviated by supplementing soil-derived K with foliar K nutrition, and whether differences exist among potential foliar K salts. RESULTS: Foliar K treatments increased tissue K concentrations, fruit sugars and bioactive compounds (ascorbic acid and β-carotene) by 19%, 21% and 15%, respectively, even though soil K levels were high, indicating that soil K alone was inadequate to improve these quality traits. All the K salts evaluated increased tissue K and fruit quality traits; however, no clear trends in the relative magnitudes of these enhancements were apparent among K sources, except for KNO3 which consistently resulted in non-significant effects. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that late-season foliar K feeding can improve fruit quality of muskmelons grown on calcareous soils. The data also reveal differences among K salts and suggest a reassessment of K management strategies aimed at improving quality. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry
Halo abundances in the fnl model

We show how the excursion set moving barrier model for halo abundances may be generalized to the local non-Gaussian f n1 model. Our estimate assumes that the distribution of step sizes depends on f n1 , but that they are otherwise uncorrelated. Our analysis is consistent with previous results for the case of a constant barrier, and highlights some implicit assumptions. It also clarifies the basis of an approximate analytic solution to the moving barrier problem in the Gaussian case, and shows how it might be improved.
A comparison of supervised learning techniques in the classification of bat echolocation calls

Abstract Today's acoustic monitoring devices are capable of recording and storing tremendous amounts of data. Until recently, the classification of animal vocalizations from field recordings has been relegated to qualitative approaches. For large-scale acoustic monitoring studies, qualitative approaches are very time-consuming and suffer from the bias of subjectivity. Recent developments in supervised learning techniques can provide rapid, accurate, species-level classification of bioacoustics data. We compared the classification performances of four supervised learning techniques (random forests, support vector machines, artificial neural networks, and discriminant function analysis) for five different classification tasks using bat echolocation calls recorded by a popular frequency-division bat detector. We found that all classifiers performed similarly in terms of overall accuracy with the exception of discriminant function analysis, which had the lowest average performance metrics. Random forests had the advantage of high sensitivities, specificities, and predictive powers across the majority of classification tasks, and also provided metrics for determining the relative importance of call features in distinguishing between groups. Overall classification accuracy for each task was slightly lower than reported accuracies using calls recorded by time-expansion detectors. Myotis spp. were particularly difficult to separate; classifiers performed best when members of this genus were combined in genus-level classification and analyzed separately at the level of species. Additionally, we identified and ranked the relative contributions of all predictor features to classifier accuracy and found measurements of frequency, total call duration, and characteristic slope to be the most important contributors to classification success. We provide recommendations to maximize accuracy and efficiency when analyzing acoustic data, and suggest an application of automated bioacoustics monitoring to contribute to wildlife monitoring efforts.
Challenges in portable RF transceiver design

As wireless products such as cellular phones become an everyday part of people's lives, the need for higher performance at lower costs becomes even more important. Overcoming the challenges involved in the design of radio-frequency (RF) transceivers can help meet this need. This article provides an overview of RF electronics in portable transceivers and describes design issues as well as current work toward achieving both high performance and low cost. To understand the implications in the design of RF integrated circuits (ICs) we look at the properties of the mobile communications environment. We then study receiver and transmitter architectures and their viability in present IC technologies. An example of an RF transceiver is given and the design of transceiver building blocks is discussed. We conclude by looking at future directions in RF design.
Capacitative Calcium Entry Deficits and Elevated Luminal Calcium Content in Mutant Presenilin-1 Knockin Mice

Dysregulation of calcium signaling has been causally implicated in brain aging and Alzheimer's disease. Mutations in the presenilin genes (PS1, PS2), the leading cause of autosomal dominant familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD), cause highly specific alterations in intracellular calcium signaling pathways that may contribute to the neurodegenerative and pathological lesions of the disease. To elucidate the cellular mechanisms underlying these disturbances, we studied calcium signaling in fibroblasts isolated from mutant PS1 knockin mice. Mutant PS1 knockin cells exhibited a marked potentiation in the amplitude of calcium transients evoked by agonist stimulation. These cells also showed significant impairments in capacitative calcium entry (CCE, also known as store-operated calcium entry), an important cellular signaling pathway wherein depletion of intracellular calcium stores triggers influx of extracellular calcium into the cytosol. Notably, deficits in CCE were evident after agonist stimulation, but not if intracellular calcium stores were completely depleted with thapsigargin. Treatment with ionomycin and thapsigargin revealed that calcium levels within the ER were significantly increased in mutant PS1 knockin cells. Collectively, our findings suggest that the overfilling of calcium stores represents the fundamental cellular defect underlying the alterations in calcium signaling conferred by presenilin mutations.
A Performance Comparison of Mobile WiMAX Spectrums: 2.5 GHz vs. 3.65 GHz

Mobile WiMAX is a popular broadband solution with diverse applications. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) currently issues licenses for Mobile WiMAX in several frequency bands, of which 2.5 GHz and 3.65 GHz are the most prevalent. A significant amount of research has been conducted in the domain of 2.5 GHz due to its widespread commercial use. However, no such work - academic or industrial - has been reported for 3.65 GHz, in spite of it being a more favorable option for many applications, particularly because of its licensing requirements. In this paper, we present a comprehensive comparison of these two frequency bands in order to provide benchmark results for use by network planners, engineers and researchers. Our analysis indicates that, while 2.5 GHz Mobile WiMAX generally offers a larger coverage area, the attractive licensing options for 3.65 GHz may present an interesting alternative for many deployment scenarios and applications.
Google's Deep Web crawl

The Deep Web, i.e., content hidden behind HTML forms, has long been acknowledged as a significant gap in search engine coverage. Since it represents a large portion of the structured data on the Web, accessing Deep-Web content has been a long-standing challenge for the database community. This paper describes a system for surfacing Deep-Web content, i.e., pre-computing submissions for each HTML form and adding the resulting HTML pages into a search engine index. The results of our surfacing have been incorporated into the Google search engine and today drive more than a thousand queries per second to Deep-Web content.Surfacing the Deep Web poses several challenges. First, our goal is to index the content behind many millions of HTML forms that span many languages and hundreds of domains. This necessitates an approach that is completely automatic, highly scalable, and very efficient. Second, a large number of forms have text inputs and require valid inputs values to be submitted. We present an algorithm for selecting input values for text search inputs that accept keywords and an algorithm for identifying inputs which accept only values of a specific type. Third, HTML forms often have more than one input and hence a naive strategy of enumerating the entire Cartesian product of all possible inputs can result in a very large number of URLs being generated. We present an algorithm that efficiently navigates the search space of possible input combinations to identify only those that generate URLs suitable for inclusion into our web search index. We present an extensive experimental evaluation validating the effectiveness of our algorithms.
Transmissible mink encephalopathy species barrier effect between ferret and mink: PrP gene and protein analysis

Experimental infection of transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) in two closely related mustelids, black ferret (Mustela putorius furo) and mink (Mustela visa), revealed differences in their susceptibility to the TME agent. When challenged with the Stetsonville TME agent, a longer incubation period was observed in ferrets (28 to 38 months) than mink (4 months). Western blot analysis of ferret and mink prion proteins (PrP) demonstrated no detectable differences between the proteins. Northern blot analysis of ferret brain RNA indicated that PrP mRNA abundance is similar in infected and uninfected individuals. We amplified the PrP coding region from ferret DNA using the polymerase chain reaction and compared the deduced amino acid sequence of the ferret PrP gene with the mink PrP gene. This comparison revealed six silent base changes and two amino acid changes between mink and ferret: Phe → Lys at codon 179 and Arg → Gln at codon 224, respectively. These changes may indicate the region of PrP that is responsible for the species barrier effect between mink and ferret.
Numerical solution of Laplace's equation as an integral equation of the first kind

Abstract A Fourier approximation method is developed for the simple layer potential reformulation of Laplace's equation. The efficacy of the method is demonstrated in computational examples, and also analyzed theoretically.
Long Term Exposure to Dopamine Reverses the Inhibitory Effect of Endothelin-1 on Prolactin Secretion*

This study was undertaken to assess the possibility that endothelin-1 (ET-1) and dopamine (DA) can act in concert to modulate PRL secretion. Enzymatically dispersed anterior pituitary cells obtained from random cycling female rats were perifused with Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium supplemented with 0.2% BSA and 100 microM ascorbic acid. In the absence of dopamine, ET-1 (applied at 20 nM for 60 min) rapidly evoked a small transient elevation of PRL release, followed by a sustained inhibitory phase. Overnight perfusion with 500 nM DA-supplemented medium did not change the basic character of ET-1's effects on PRL secretion. Continuation of DA exposure for 48 h dramatically shifted the responsiveness of the lactotrophs to ET-1; the fast stimulatory response was robustly enhanced, whereas the inhibitory phase was replaced by a modest secondary elevation of basal PRL secretion. The stimulatory effect of ET-1 on PRL secretion after DA pretreatment was blocked by an ETA receptor antagonist, BQ-123. The effect...
Coclustering of Human Cancer Microarrays Using Minimum Sum-Squared Residue Coclustering

It is a consensus in microarray analysis that identifying potential local patterns, characterized by coherent groups of genes and conditions, may shed light on the discovery of previously undetectable biological cellular processes of genes as well as macroscopic phenotypes of related samples. In order to simultaneously cluster genes and conditions, we have previously developed a fast co-clustering algorithm, Minimum Sum-Squared Residue Co-clustering (MSSRCC), which employs an alternating minimization scheme and generates what we call co-clusters in a checkerboard structure. In this paper, we propose specific strategies that enable MSSRCC to escape poor local minima and resolve the degeneracy problem in partitional clustering algorithms. The strategies include binormalization, deterministic spectral initialization, and incremental local search. We assess the effects of various strategies on both synthetic gene expression datasets and real human cancer microarrays and provide empirical evidence that MSSRCC with the proposed strategies performs better than existing co-clustering and clustering algorithms. In particular, the combination of all the three strategies leads to the best performance. Furthermore, we illustrate coherence of the resulting co-clusters in a checkerboard structure, where genes in a co-cluster manifest the phenotype structure of corresponding specific samples, and evaluate the enrichment of functional annotations in Gene Ontology (GO).
Breakdown Point of Model Selection When the Number of Variables Exceeds the Number of Observations

The classical multivariate linear regression problem assumes p variables X 1 , X 2 , . . ., X p and a response vector y, each with n observations, and a linear relationship between the two: y = X β + z, where z ∼ N (0, σ2. We poin out that when p > n, there is a breakdown point for standard model selection schemes, such that model selection only works well below a certain critical complexity level depending on n/p. We apply this notion to some standard model selection algorithms (Forward Stepwise, LASSO, LARS) in the case where p ≫ n. We find that 1) the breakdown point is well-defined for random X-models and low noise, 2) increasing noise shifts the breakdown point to lower levels of sparsity, and reduces the model recovery ability of the algorithm in a systematic way, and 3) below breakdown, the size of coefficient errors follows the theoretical error distribution for the classical linear model.
Synthesis of Capped Tetrachelate Porphyrins: Towards Insulation of the Chromophore on Semiconductor Surfaces

A novel "capped" metal-free tetraphenylporphyrin 1, was synthesized and characterized. The cap was designed to "insulate" the chromophoric unit and prevent aggregation as well as undesired contacts on the semiconductor surface. The cap was made of a benzene unit linked by four methylenic units (-(CH 2 ) 4 -) to the meso-phenyl ring of the porphyrin core through an ether group. The COOMe groups are in meta position for an ideal bite angle to the semiconductor surface and the constrain imposed by the cap avoids conformational freedom of the anchoring groups. The 1 H NMR spectrum of 1 suggests that the metal free macrocycle 1 is distorted from planarity. The solution UV-Vis and fluorescence emission spectra of 1 were typical of a metal-free tetraphenylporphyrin.
Electric conductivity and microstructure evolution of polymer-derived SiAlCO ceramics

Abstract The electric conductivity and microstructure of polymer-derived SiAlCO ceramic were studied. The conductivity increased drastically with increasing pyrolysis temperature and exhibited a typical Arrhenius dependence on pyrolysis temperature with the activation energy of ~7.15 eV. The microstructure was analyzed by XRD, Raman spectroscopy and XPS. Unlike previous reported PDCs, the increase in the conductivity of the SiAlCO cannot be explained by the structural changes of the free carbon phase. It is speculated that the increased conductivity is possibly due to the redistribution of C–O bonds within the free carbon phase.
The Origins of Fair Lending Litigation

This paper describes the origins of fair lending litigation in the 1970s. It documents two litigation strategies, one aimed at discriminatory lenders in local communities and a second at the federal lending regulators. Together, these two litigation strategies helped to establish the basic anti-lending discrimination framework that remains in place today. Rather than view these two strategies as distinct, however, this paper argues that they represented complementary efforts to establish an effective anti-discrimination strategy at local and national levels.The research for this paper was conducted in a law school seminar at Washington University taught by Professor Margo Schlanger. The research for this paper drew on dozens of fair lending cases from the 1970s to the present; summaries for all of these cases can be found at the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, located on the Washington University School of Law's website.
Photic phase response curve in Octodon degus: Assessment as a function of activity phase preference

Light exposure during the early and late subjective night generally phase delays and advances circadian rhythms, respectively. However, this generality was recently questioned in a photic entrainment study in Octodon degus. Because degus can invert their activity phase preference from diurnal to nocturnal as a function of activity level, assessment of phase preference is critical for computations of phase reference [circadian time (CT) 0] toward the development of a photic phase response curve. After determining activity phase preference in a 24-h light-dark cycle (LD 12:12), degus were released in constant darkness. In this study, diurnal (n = 5) and nocturnal (n = 7) degus were randomly subjected to 1-h light pulses (30-35 lx) at many circadian phases (CT 1-6: n = 7; CT 7-12: n = 8; CT 13-18: n = 8; and CT 19-24: n = 7). The circadian phase of body temperature (Tb) onset was defined as CT 12 in nocturnal animals. In diurnal animals, CT 0 was determined as Tb onset + 1 h. Light phase delayed and advanced circadian rhythms when delivered during the early (CT 13-16) and late (CT 20-23) subjective night, respectively. No significant phase shifts were observed during the middle of the subjective day (CT 3-10). Thus, regardless of activity phase preference, photic entrainment of the circadian pacemaker in Octodon degus is similar to most other diurnal and nocturnal species, suggesting that entrainment mechanisms do not determine overt diurnal and nocturnal behavior.
Femtosecond optical measurements of the position of the Fermi level in Y–Ba–Cu–O films with different oxygen contents

The carrier dynamics in high-temperature superconductors (HTS) have been recently studied by femtosecond pump-probe experiments. In particular, room-temperature femtosecond time-resolved measurements of differential reflectivity ΔR/R at 2 eV (Refs. 1 and 2) hinted that there must be a difference in the Fermi-level Ef positions between the oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor YBa2−Cu3−Ox (YBCO) thin films. The determination of the exact position of Ef in the HTS materials is very important since it should shed a new light on the origin of superconductivity in these materials.
Quality premiums and the firm's production decision

In real world production processes, the price-taking firm often produces a stream of products having varying quality. The firm may have limited control over the quality distribution, and may only observe quality after production decisions have been made. Often the marketplace can and does price output according to quality. Examples of the situations in question are beef, vegetable, fruit, and flower production, diamond mining, craft industries, and any production process where factory seconds exist. Another, though less apparent, example is where there is a minimum quality standard, a common practice in the production of branded goods. In this case, the price for production with quality below the standard is zero. While production under uncertainty [3; 5; 6; 10; 11] and hedonic pricing [1; 8] have received considerable attention, the issue of production when faced with a price-quality schedule has not. In this paper, we adapt the stochastic dominance approach [6, 430; 9, 227] to determine the effect of price-quality schedule changes on the optimal input choice of the firm. These stochastic dominance results are then extended by relaxing some dominance constraints that have little meaning in the context of price schedule dominance. Then the theory of monotonic functions [2, 13; 7, 197] is applied to study the effect of a global change from a constant price contract to a price-quality schedule contract. We also consider in detail the impacts of the commonly used minimum quality standard price-quality schedule on production. The paper is then summarized and conclusions are drawn.
Emoticons in Business Communication: Is the :) Worth it?

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is a standard tool in today’s workplace and is incredibly convenient. But although we are all pretty used to writing emails and instant messages, we still struggle when writing them. Why? We often wonder if our receiver is going to misconstrue the meaning or tone of our message. What are missing in CMC are nonverbal cues helping to clarify messages. Arguably our closest replacements for nonverbal cues in CMC are emoticons, the smiley faces made with symbols and punctuation marks. But these are considered unprofessional, and we are highly discouraged from using them in a workplace setting. Because of this stigma and perception, we may be missing out on potential benefits that emoticons can provide. This chapter offers an examination of emoticons, explores how they could supply all the benefits we know nonverbal cues to have, and how they could improve workplace relationships, particularly the leader-member relationship, leading to increased workplace outcomes.
A Hopi tradition: Yellow firing ceramics

The famed Hopi yellow-ware vessels of the American southwest were not the product of any single technological variable, firing technique, clay, or temper Instead, all of these factors worked together in a technological system affected by the desires, knowledge, and effectualness of the people producing the pottery.
Monogenic Diabetes: What It Teaches Us on the Common Forms of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

To date, more than 30 genes have been linked to monogenic diabetes. Candidate gene and genome-wide association studies have identified > 50 susceptibility loci for common type 1 diabetes (T1D) and approximately 100 susceptibility loci for type 2 diabetes (T2D). About 1-5% of all cases of diabetes result from single-gene mutations and are called monogenic diabetes. Here, we review the pathophysiological basis of the role of monogenic diabetes genes that have also been found to be associated with common T1D and/or T2D. Variants of approximately one-third of monogenic diabetes genes are associated with T2D, but not T1D. Two of the T2D-associated monogenic diabetes genes-potassium inward-rectifying channel, subfamily J, member 11 (KCNJ11), which controls glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in the β-cell; and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARG), which impacts multiple tissue targets in relation to inflammation and insulin sensitivity-have been developed as major antidiabetic drug targets. Another monogenic diabetes gene, the preproinsulin gene (INS), is unique in that INS mutations can cause hyperinsulinemia, hyperproinsulinemia, neonatal diabetes mellitus, one type of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY10), and autoantibody-negative T1D. Dominant heterozygous INS mutations are the second most common cause of permanent neonatal diabetes. Moreover, INS gene variants are strongly associated with common T1D (type 1a), but inconsistently with T2D. Variants of the monogenic diabetes gene Gli-similar 3 (GLIS3) are associated with both T1D and T2D. GLIS3 is a key transcription factor in insulin production and β-cell differentiation during embryonic development, which perturbation forms the basis of monogenic diabetes as well as its association with T1D. GLIS3 is also required for compensatory β-cell proliferation in adults; impairment of this function predisposes to T2D. Thus, monogenic forms of diabetes are invaluable "human models" that have contributed to our understanding of the pathophysiological basis of common T1D and T2D.
Delayed diagnosis of fractured anterior arch of the atlas in a young child.

A 2-year-old girl fell off a bunk bed onto a parquet floor. She immediately reported neck pain and presented with muscle spasm and limited motion of the cervical spine (C-spine). Plain X-rays of the C-spine showed no osseous lesion. Owing to persisting pain and limited motion in the neck, MRI of the C-spine was obtained which revealed intact ligaments and cervical spinal cord, as well as soft tissue swelling in front of the anterior arch of the atlas. Subsequent CT of the C-spine confirmed a complete, undisplaced fracture of the anterior arch of the atlas (Gehweiler type I fracture). A Minerva cast was applied for 2 months, followed by a soft cervical collar. Persistent neck pain and limited range of motion of the neck after a fall may be indicative of atlas fracture that should be ruled out by CT.
HIV and HIV/TB Co-infection in Relation to Nutrition

Malnutrition and HIV are inextricably linked, especially in resource-limited settings, and the combination is detrimental to disease outcomes. The malnutrition that is seen with HIV infections is complex and multifactorial, including metabolic derangements, leading to weight loss and wasting, which increases mortality risk, also among people starting anti-retroviral treatment. Malnutrition is even more common in HIV and TB co-infected individuals and found to be associated with severe adverse outcomes. Medical, socioeconomic, cultural, and psychological factors all play a role in the development of nutritional compromise with HIV or HIV/TB co-infection and vulnerable populations such as children, adolescents, pregnant women and the elderly, as well as poor and food-insecure people are at particular risk. While it is clear that treatment of the underlying HIV and/or TB is absolutely critical to improving outcomes, abnormal nutritional status persists despite (in case of ARV, lifelong) treatment and continues to contribute to adverse outcomes. Therefore, it is important to monitor nutritional status, including weight, and ensure adequate nutritional intake, which may require specific nutritious foods. According to WHO guidance, micronutrient intake should be at the level of one RNI, as with the evidence that is currently available, it is not possible to recommend other levels for either of these infections. In summary, because of the linkages between malnutrition and HIV and TB infection, as well as the nutrition issues related to long-term ART use and chronic HIV infection, it is important to continue to ensure nutrition assessment and counseling are part of standard care and treatment programs, and that these are augmented where necessary with support in the form of special nutritious foods and/or food assistance to support access, adherence, and retention in care and treatment.
Structure of a Myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) inhibitor bound to drug site 3 of Human Serum Albumin

Amplification of the gene encoding Myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) is one of the most common genetic aberrations in human cancer and is associated with high tumor grade and poor survival. Recently, we reported on the discovery of high affinity Mcl-1 inhibitors that elicit mechanism-based cell activity. These inhibitors are lipophilic and contain an acidic functionality which is a common chemical profile for compounds that bind to albumin in plasma. Indeed, these Mcl-1 inhibitors exhibited reduced in vitro cell activity in the presence of serum. Here we describe the structure of a lead Mcl-1 inhibitor when bound to Human Serum Albumin (HSA). Unlike many acidic lipophilic compounds that bind to drug site 1 or 2, we found that this Mcl-1 inhibitor binds predominantly to drug site 3. Site 3 of HSA may be able to accommodate larger, more rigid compounds that do not fit into the smaller drug site 1 or 2. Structural studies of molecules that bind to this third site may provide insight into how some higher molecular weight compounds bind to albumin and could be used to aid in the design of compounds with reduced albumin binding.
The IL-1β phenomena in neuroinflammatory diseases

It is becoming increasingly clear that neuroinflammation has a causal role in the pathogenesis of central nervous system (CNS)-related diseases, and therefore therapeutic strategies targeting the regulation or availability of inflammatory mediators can be used to prevent or mitigate pathology. Interestingly, the proinflammatory cytokine, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), has been implicated in perpetuating immune responses and contributing to disease severity in a variety of CNS diseases ranging from multiple sclerosis, neurodegenerative diseases, traumatic brain injury, and diabetic retinopathy. Moreover, pharmacological blockade of IL-1 signaling has shown to be beneficial in some autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases, making IL-1β a promising therapeutic target in neuroinflammatory conditions. This review highlights recent advances of our understanding on the multifaceted roles of IL-1β in neuroinflammatory diseases.
Dental and skeletal relationships to attritional occlusion.

Abstract No Abstract Available. Given at the January, 1973 meeting of the North Atlantic Component of the Angle Society.
High-Performance Pyrochlore-Type Yttrium Ruthenate Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Media

Development of acid-stable electrocatalysts with low overpotential for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a major challenge to produce hydrogen directly from water. We report in this paper a pyrochlore yttrium ruthenate (Y2Ru2O7−δ) electrocatalyst that has significantly enhanced performance toward OER in acid media over the best-known catalysts, with an onset overpotential of 190 mV and high stability in 0.1 M perchloric acid solution. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) indicates Y2Ru2O7−δ electrocatalyst had a low valence state that favors the high OER activity. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation shows this pyrochlore has lower band center energy for the overlap between Ru 4d and O 2p orbitals and is therefore more stable Ru–O bond than RuO2, highlighting the effect of yttrium on the enhancement in stability. The Y2Ru2O7−δ pyrochlore is also free of expensive iridium metal and thus is a cost-effective candidate for practical applications.
The time of the Popular Front

Our political world is impoverished by the lack of the category ‘imperialism’. Academic and media languages have succeeded in consigning it to history. Use of the category imperialism to describe o...
Wilson Disease: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Follow-up

Consideration of a diagnosis of Wilson disease is still the critical factor in testing for and establishing disease diagnosis. In association with other clinical and biochemical tests, liver biopsy results and molecular genetic testing can also be used to generate a score for diagnosing Wilson disease. Medical therapy is effective for most patients; liver transplant can rescue those with acute liver failure or those with advanced liver disease who fail to respond to or discontinue medical therapy. Treatment monitoring must be done at regular intervals and includes clinical evaluation, liver tests and blood counts, and copper metabolic parameters.
On Elliptic Operators in Nondivergence and in Double Divergence Form

This work surveys results on the existence and asymptotic behavior of the fundamental solution for an elliptic operator L in nondivergence form, including recent results for operators whose coefficients are continuous with mild conditions on the modulus of continuity: if the square of the modulus of continuity satisfies the Dini condition, then there is an integral invariant which controls the behavior of solutions of L*u=0 and whether there is a fundamental solution for L that is asymptotic to the fundamental solution for the associated constant coefficient operator.
Antibiotic combination therapy in neonatal septicemia

A retrospective analysis was carried out in 225 newborns treated for septicemia at the University Children's Hospital, Munich, from 1969 to 1978. The mortality rate was almost double in patients with septicemia caused by pathogens resistant to one partner of the antibiotic combination therapy (61%) compared to infants treated with an antibiotic regimen where the pathogen was susceptible to both chemotherapeutic agents (31%). Without taking possible synergism into consideration, we conclude that at present a combination therapy with cephalosporins and aminoglycosides, together with exchange transfusion, is indicated in neonatal septicemia and meningitis.
Impact of rooftop photovoltaics and centralized energy storage on the design and operation of a residential CHP system

Abstract With expected further increases in renewable generation, researchers have been investigating energy storage as a means to improve grid resiliency and harness renewable resources. Energy storage has the potential to both shift renewable generation in time and level peaks in demand. In this paper, we study the impact of centralized energy storage and rooftop photovoltaics on the design and operation of a natural-gas powered Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant as an integrated utility supplier for a residential neighborhood operating in island mode. Utilizing a novel simultaneous optimization approach for the plant design and operating strategy, the CHP plant is optimized to meet a time-dependent energy demand profile characteristic of residential energy use. This multi-scale optimization problem is solved using a tailored bilevel decomposition method. The results reveal the most economic energy storage method, while highlighting the need to decrease the cost of rooftop photovoltaic panels.