cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exact analytical solution to the 3D Navier-Lame equation for a curved beam of constant curvature subject to arbitrary dynamic loading

Abstract This paper presents an exact analytical solution to the 3D transient dynamics of a linear elastic, isotropic homogeneous, curved beam, with uniform rectangular cross-section. The solution technique uses vector identities to decouple the governing equations. The decoupled equations are then solved by method of separation of variables. The solutions to the decoupled equations can be recombined to form a new equation. Solving this new equation yields the displacement field. To demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed solution technique, a generic case study was modeled and computed. A curved beam is subjected to a longitudinal impulse loading and the transient displacement field is calculated. This solution technique is valid for any curvature so long as the curvature is the same throughout the beam. This includes the limiting case where the inner radius of the beam goes to zero and the curved beam becomes a section of a disk. The presented solution results were compared with an approximate solution from the literature and experimental data from the literature. The solution is also compared with an explicit FEM solution conducted by the Authors. The presented solution agrees with the results from the literature and from the FEM solutions conducted by the Authors. This paper demonstrates that the accuracy and robustness of the proposed solution technique meets the needs of many potential applications.
Democracy in Ghana: Everyday Politics in Urban Africa

Rapid urbanization and political liberalization is changing the nature of African politics and societies. This book develops a framework for the study of democracy and development that emphasizes informal institutions and the politics of belonging in the context of daily life, in contrast to the formal and electoral paradigms that dominate the social sciences. Based on fifteen months of field research including ethnographic observation, focus group interviews, and original quantitative survey analysis in Ghana, this book intervenes in major debates about public goods provision, civic participation, ethnic politics and democratization, and the future of urban sustainability in a rapidly changing world. By developing new understandings of democracy, as well as providing novel explanations for good governance and development in poor urban neighborhoods, the book transcends the narrative of a failing and corrupt Africa and charts a new way forward for the study of democracy and development.
ATYPICAL PRESENTATION OF FATAL CARDIAC AMYLOIDOSIS

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is rare and often associated with progressive heart failure, arrhythmia, and substantial morbidity and mortality. A 57-year-old man presented with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. His examination was notable for diffuse abdominal tenderness, jugular venous distention,
Aplasia cutis congenita of the scalp: The success of conservative approach in treatment of a large defect

Aplasia cutis congenita is a rare malformation that usually involves the scalp. It may occur as an isolated defect or be combined with congenital malformations. We present a case of a female infant at the age of 2 days with aplasia cutis congenita of the scalp. Although there is no consensus about the treatment, we have decided for a conservative approach because sagittal sinus, large veins, or brain were not exposed. Ten months since the onset of conservative treatment, the aplastic area was almost completely cured.
Myocardial Contraction Fraction Predicts Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Normal Ejection Fraction.

ABSTRACT Background Myocardial contraction fraction (MCF), the ratio of left ventricular stroke volume to myocardial volume, is a novel parameter that can distinguish between pathologic and physiologic hypertrophy. However, its prognostic value in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has never been examined. The objective was to determine if MCF is associated with functional capacity and predicts adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with HCM and normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Methods and Results We conducted a prospective cohort study of 137 patients with HCM and LVEF ≥55%. Patients were followed for 2.7 ± 2.5 years. We examined association of MCF with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class and a composite outcome of embolic stroke, heart transplantation, and cardiac death. We performed time-to-event analysis with the use of Cox proportional hazards modeling and stepwise elimination. The average age was 52 ± 18 years. The average MCF was 26 ± 11%. MCF was inversely correlated with NYHA functional class (P = .001). A total of 20 subjects experienced an outcome event with an event rate of 5.6% per patient-year. MCF independently predicted the outcome (adjusted hazard ratio 0.50 per 10% increase, 95% confidence interval 0.28–0.90, adjusted P = .02). Conclusions In patients with HCM and normal LVEF, MCF is associated with functional capacity and independently predicts adverse cardiovascular outcomes.
Gene expression comparison between primary triple-negative breast cancer and matched axillary lymph node metastasis.

565Background: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy guides breast cancer treatment and prognostication. To date, there have been few studies examining the genetics of SLN metastasis in triple negative ...
Integrated Health Care Best Practices and Culturally and Linguistically Competent Care: Practitioner Perspectives

Practitioners in two federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) were interviewed to explore how their organizations carried out best practices in cultural and linguistic competence (CLC) when integrating mental health services into primary care. Archival data and data from interviews with eight clinical service providers were analyzed using exploratory cross-case synthesis. To highlight best practices in integrated health care (IHC), clinical, systemic, and organizational themes were identified: patient-centered care for underserved populations, building and sustaining a successful multidisciplinary team, and increasing capacity and adapting to changing circumstances. CLC did not emerge as a distinct interview theme, though it was present in subthemes and was discussed by both mental health and medical practitioners as central to effective healthcare delivery. The results underscore the need for culturally-tailored research and training that examines how IHC can best serve diverse groups and communities.
Validity of Physical Exam Maneuvers in the Diagnosis of Sacroiliac Joint Pathology.

Background A combination of physical examination maneuvers is currently considered necessary to help predict who will respond to injections in the sacroiliac joint. However, the literature on this topic currently consists of conflicting studies, with one showing the value of a combination of exam maneuvers and the other showing no real value. Objective To determine the diagnostic validity of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) physical exam maneuvers using anesthetic intra-articular injection as a reference standard. Design A single institution prospective study. Participants Patients with the clinical diagnosis of SIJ pain and referred for SIJ injection were enrolled. Main outcome measure Numeric rating scale (NRS) to assess pain intensity. Results Participants underwent fluoroscopically guided SIJ intra-articular injection with 1 cc of 2% lidocaine and 1 cc of triamcinolone 40 mg. Patients' pain was assessed via 0-10 NRS pre-injection and immediately postinjection to determine positive anesthetic response to the injection. Six physical exam maneuvers (thigh thrust, Geanslen's test, FABER test, distraction test, compression test, and sacral thrust) were performed pre-injection and 15 minutes postinjection. The results of these SIJ physical exam maneuvers were evaluated singly and in combinations for diagnostic power in relation to a positive anesthetic response (>80% relief) to the injection. No association was found between a single SIJ physical exam maneuver or combination of maneuvers and anesthetic response to the injection. Conclusions In this cohort, patient physical exam maneuvers to identify intra-articular SIJ pain did not demonstrate diagnostic value when compared with the reference standard of an intra-articular anesthetic block.
The Cenozoic magmatism of East Africa: Part V – Magma sources and processes in the East African Rift

Abstract The generation of magmas in the East African Rift System (EARS) is largely the result of either: (A) melting of easily fusible compositions located within the lithospheric mantle due to thermobaric perturbations of the lithosphere, or (B) melting of the convecting upper mantle due to decompression caused by thinning of the plate during extension. Melt generated from amphibole- or phlogopite-bearing metasomes within the lithospheric mantle yields alkaline, silica-undersaturated lavas, while more silica-saturated lavas are primarily a function of melting material within the convecting upper mantle. Sourcing of silica-undersaturated melts within the lithospheric mantle is consistent with the observed tendency for initial melts within any given region to exhibit trace element characteristics consistent with melting of lithospheric metasomes, likely reflecting the initial destabilization and thinning of the lithospheric mantle. With continued lithospheric thinning, the trend towards more silica-saturated compositions coincides with a shift towards compositions interpreted as melting of the convecting upper mantle. Contributions from these two sources may oscillate where extension is pulsed – melts of the convecting upper mantle are favored during periods of plate thinning; melting of either existing or recently formed metasomes may be favored during periods of relative extensional quiescence. The isotopic systematics of East African magmatism reveals significant complexity as to the specific reservoirs that may participate in the melting processes noted above. The lithospheric mantle beneath East Africa has undergone enrichment through the percolation of sub-lithospheric derived melts and fluids over an extended interval, which close to the Tanzania craton has resulted in a layered lithospheric mantle exhibiting extreme isotopic ratios. Elsewhere, the lithospheric mantle has also undergone enrichment but given the more juvenile age of this lithosphere, less extreme isotopic values have developed. Material rising from the African Large Low Shear Velocity Province (LLSVP) has also metasomatized the lithospheric mantle, and thus lavas exhibiting a trace element signature linked to melting within the lithospheric mantle may exist as any number of reservoirs or mixtures of the same. Material derived from the convecting upper mantle incorporates the Afar Plume endmember, a depleted mantle endmember, and some form of lithospheric endmember. The isotopic characteristics of magma suites from throughout the region form arrays that broadly converge on the composition of the Afar Plume, despite some complexity where the plume material has formed a hybrid plume-lithosphere component. The convergence of these arrays strongly supports a model whereby the prevalent composition of material rising from the African LLSVP beneath the EARS is broadly equivalent to the composition of the Afar Plume.
The Roles of Emotion Regulation Difficulties and Impulsivity in the Associations between Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Frequency of Nonprescription Sedative Use and Prescription Sedative/Opioid Misuse.

Abstract Despite evidence of a strong relationship between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and substance use problems in general, little research has examined the associations of BPD symptoms with the misuse of sedatives or opioids, and no studies have explored possible factors that may underlie these associations. Thus, this study examined the relationships of BPD symptoms (i.e., the number of BPD criteria with threshold ratings on a diagnostic interview) to nonprescription sedative use, nonprescription opioid use, and prescription sedative/opioid misuse among 194 patients with alcohol and/or cocaine dependence in a residential substance use disorder treatment facility, as well as the roles of two theoretically-relevant factors in these relationships: emotion regulation (ER) difficulties and impulsivity facets. We found significant positive associations between BPD symptoms and nonprescription sedative use, nonprescription opioid use, and prescription sedative/opioid misuse. We also found significant positive indirect relationships of BPD symptoms to nonprescription sedative use through ER difficulties, ab = 0.04, 95% CI [0.003, 0.09], and to prescription sedative/opioid misuse through two facets of impulsivity: lack of perseverance, ab = 0.05, 95% CI [0.01, 0.11], and negative urgency, ab = 0.03, 95% CI [0.002, 0.07]. Findings highlight the differential relevance of ER difficulties and impulsivity dimensions to the relationships of BPD symptoms to nonprescription sedative use and prescription sedative/opioid misuse, respectively, among patients with alcohol and/or cocaine dependence.
The Use of Capsule Paper in Producing Tactual Maps.

Many processes are currently used to produce tactual maps for visually impaired persons. Although each process has certain assets and liabilities, the variety gives tactual map researchers and make...
"Contribution of Brain MRI after Head CT in the Evaluation of Acute, Hospitalized Traumatic Brain Injury Patients: An Under-Utilized Resource?"

Imaging plays a crucial role in the initial evaluation of moderate and severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients. Non- Contrast Head CT (NHCT) has long been the initial step of imaging
Gorham Disease Limited to the Left Upper Extremity Without Hand Involvement

In this case report, we present a young female patient with a history of Gorham disease, who sustained pathologic fractures of the left radius and ulna after a low-impact fall. Massive osteolysis of the left forearm and wrist was noted on plain radiographs. The patient had had 8 previous left upper-extremity fractures without evidence of disease in any other area of the body.
FRANCESCA WOODMAN: WATER SPECIFIED

Paul de Man makes a distinction between interpretation and reading as that which finds meaning in a text versus an analysis of the relationship between a text’s rhetorical and grammatical dimension...
Linear-to-Circular Polarization Converter Based on Stacked Metasurfaces with Aperture Coupling Interlayer

In this paper, we propose stacked metasurfaces that can convert linearly polarized (LP) wave into circularly polarized (CP) wave. The metasurfaces consist of two layers of periodic subwavelength Jerusalem cross elements and one interlayer of periodic square rings. The anisotropic metasurface elements yield 90° phase difference for two orthogonal linear polarizations upon transmission. The aperture coupling interlayer can provide a flat and close to unity magnitude response to improve the axial ratio (AR). A prototype of this metasurface polarization converter is simulated, fabricated and measured in Ku band. Both simulation and measurement results demonstrate good AR in the operating frequency band. This linear-to-circular polarization converter design can also be used in quasi-optical applications.
Corrosion of Al2O3/Cr and Ti2O3/Cr composites in flowing air and CO2 at 750°C

Abstract Hot-pressed Al2O3/Cr and Ti2O3/Cr composites were exposed to synthetic air or CO2 at 750 °C. The Al2O3/Cr composites formed external Cr2O3 scales, and exhibited slow parabolic oxidation kinetics, in both gases. The Cr2O3 scales formed in CO2 possessed finer grains, and thickened at a faster rate, than Cr2O3 scales formed in air. The Ti2O3/Cr composites formed thick external TiO2 scales with internal oxidation zones that also contained Cr2O3 scales on subsurface Cr grains. After 20 h at 750 °C, the Ti2O3/Cr composites exhibited parabolic oxidation kinetics in both gases, although the oxidation rates were significantly higher than for the Al2O3/Cr composites.
The influence of antidepressants and actigraphy-derived sleep characteristics on pediatric multiple sleep latency testing.

Study Objectives: Research evaluating the influence of rapid eye movement suppressing antidepressants (REMS-AD) on multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) results and the value of performing actigraphy ...
Insights into population behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic from cell phone mobility data and manifold learning

Understanding the complex interplay between human behavior, disease transmission and non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic could provide valuable insights with which to focus future public health efforts. Cell phone mobility data offer a modern measurement instrument to investigate human mobility and behavior at an unprecedented scale. We investigate aggregated and anonymized mobility data, which measure how populations at the census-block-group geographic scale stayed at home in California, Georgia, Texas and Washington from the beginning of the pandemic. Using manifold learning techniques, we show that a low-dimensional embedding enables the identification of patterns of mobility behavior that align with stay-at-home orders, correlate with socioeconomic factors, cluster geographically, reveal subpopulations that probably migrated out of urban areas and, importantly, link to COVID-19 case counts. The analysis and approach provide local epidemiologists a framework for interpreting mobility data and behavior to inform policy makers’ decision-making aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. Combining human mobility data and nonlinear mathematical analysis techniques, this study offers insights into the interplay between human behavior, disease transmission and non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Towards a Theory of Valid Inferential Models with Partial Prior Information

Inferential models (IMs) are used to quantify uncertainty in statistical inference problems, and validity is a crucial property that ensures the IM’s reliability. Previous work has focused on validity in the special case where no prior information is available. Here I allow for prior information in the form of a non-trivial credal set, define a notion of validity and investigate its implications.
Family Sex Communication Among Arab American Young Adults: A Mixed-Methods Study

There is a significant gap in understanding the sexual health of Arab Americans. The purpose of this study is to explore family sex communication among Arab American young adults and its association with gender and sexual attitudes. We used a parallel mixed methods design and administered an electronic survey (N = 100); a subsample of 24 participants participated in five focus groups. We observed convergence in the findings. Participants reported rare occurrences of family sex communication, with women reporting less comfort than men. Family sex communication was often "unspoken," and reinforced prevailing social norms. Gender differences were reported based on sex communication topics. The most common source of sex information was peers/friends. Focus group participants perceived their parents to be more conservative and less knowledgeable about sex than they were. Future research on strategies to bridge generational differences is needed to promote family-based sex communication, given the multiple teachable moments at home.
Feasibility and Acceptability of Ecological Momentary Assessment of Psychosocial Factors and Self-Management Behaviors Among Veterans With Type 2 Diabetes

Comorbid symptoms such as post-traumatic stress and pain are common barriers to optimal self-management among veterans with type 2 diabetes. Additionally, self-management behaviors occur in the context of veterans9 daily routines and social environments. This study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) among veterans with type 2 diabetes. Ten veterans with type 2 diabetes were asked to respond to random EMA surveys during pre-programmed intervals five times per day for 14 days. EMA surveys were delivered via a mobile application and assessed momentary physical location, activities, social interactions, mood, stress, and pain. The last survey of each day included additional items about daily post-traumatic stress symptoms, diabetes distress, social support, physical activity, self-management behaviors, and functioning. Participants completed interviews assessing their experience in the study and barriers to responding and indicated their likelihood of participating in similar studies. The mean survey response rate was 96%, providing 675 observations. The majority of participants completed the five momentary surveys in
The Case for the Leader-as-Negotiator

The need for Leaders to be Negotiators is discussed in this chapter. The context of this chapter is built on the interdependency of business and governments. Four prominent leadership theories that have dominated from the 1930s to the present are briefly described, setting the stage for the author's argument that studying leadership skills in exclusion of negotiation skills inhibits leaders' effectiveness. Organizational intelligence is described as a leader's ability to understand three zones common to most organizations. This chapter's emphasis is on replacing specialization with an integrated organizational approach. The Leader–Negotiator Theory unpacks the changes that have occurred in the concepts of leadership and negotiation. In addition, the rationale for the mind of the leader taking a higher priority than the four leadership styles is provided.
Unravelling the role of defective genes.

Abstract Several genes that cause familial forms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) or similar disorders have been found in recent years. The aim of this review is to cover two broad aspects of the logic of genetics. The first aspect is the recognition that PD can have a genetic basis, either for Mendelian families where genes can be identified because mutations segregate with disease or in populations where more common variants are associated with disease. There are several causal genes for both dominant and recessive forms of parkinsonism, some of which overlap with sporadic PD and some of which have more complex phenotypes. Several of the dominant loci have also been reliably identified as risk factors for sporadic PD. The second topic is how the study of multiple mutations in any given gene can help understand the role that the protein under investigation plays in PD. Examples will be given of both recessive and dominant genes for parkinsonism, showing how the analysis of multiple gene mutations can be a powerful approach for dissecting out which function(s) are important for the disease process.
Open Set Fingerprint Spoof Detection Across Novel Fabrication Materials

A fingerprint spoof detector is a pattern classifier that is used to distinguish a live finger from a fake (spoof) one in the context of an automated fingerprint recognition system. Most spoof detectors are learning-based and rely on a set of training images. Consequently, the performance of any such spoof detector significantly degrades when encountering spoofs fabricated using novel materials not found in the training set. In real-world applications, the problem of fingerprint spoof detection must be treated as an open set recognition problem where incomplete knowledge of the fabrication materials used to generate spoofs is present at training time, and novel materials may be encountered during system deployment. To mitigate the security risk posed by novel spoofs, this paper introduces: 1) the use of the Weibull-calibrated SVM (W-SVM), which is relatively robust for open set recognition, as a novel-material detector and a spoof detector and 2) a scheme for the automatic adaptation of the W-SVM-based spoof detector to new spoof materials that leverages interoperability across classifiers. Experiments conducted on new partitions of the LivDet 2011 database designed for open set evaluation suggest: 1) a 97% increase in the error rate of the existing spoof detectors when tested using new spoof materials and 2) up to 44% improvement in spoof detection performance across spoof materials when the proposed adaptive approach is used.
Phospholemman: A Novel Cardiac Stress Protein

Phospholemman (PLM), a member of the FXYD family of regulators of ion transport, is a major sarcolemmal substrate for protein kinases A and C in cardiac and skeletal muscle. In the heart, PLM co-localizes and co-immunoprecipitates with Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger, and L-type Ca(2+) channel. Functionally, when phosphorylated at serine(68), PLM stimulates Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase but inhibits Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger in cardiac myocytes. In heterologous expression systems, PLM modulates the gating of cardiac L-type Ca(2+) channel. Therefore, PLM occupies a key modulatory role in intracellular Na(+) and Ca(2+) homeostasis and is intimately involved in regulation of excitation-contraction (EC) coupling. Genetic ablation of PLM results in a slight increase in baseline cardiac contractility and prolongation of action potential duration. When hearts are subjected to catecholamine stress, PLM minimizes the risks of arrhythmogenesis by reducing Na(+) overload and simultaneously preserves inotropy by inhibiting Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger. In heart failure, both expression and phosphorylation state of PLM are altered and may partly account for abnormalities in EC coupling. The unique role of PLM in regulation of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger, and potentially L-type Ca(2+) channel in the heart, together with the changes in its expression and phosphorylation in heart failure, make PLM a rational and novel target for development of drugs in our armamentarium against heart failure. Clin Trans Sci 2010; Volume 3: 189-196.
A Historical Perspective on the Development of β-Adrenergic Blockers

The introduction of β-adrenergic-blocking drugs into clinical medicine in the early 1960s represented a major advance in pharmacotherapy. The use of these drugs highlighted the importance of the sympathetic nervous system in contributing to the pathophysiology of a wide variety of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular disorders. This article summarizes the history of β-blocking agents and reviews the applications of this therapeutic class. These drugs may be useful as primary protection against cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients and have proved to be beneficial in other cardiovascular conditions. Not all β-blockers have the same mechanism of action and, among them, there are pharmacologic differences that may be of clinical importance.
Coordinated Dynamics of RNA Splicing Speckles in the Nucleus

Despite being densely packed with chromatin, nuclear bodies and a nucleoskeletal network, the nucleus is a remarkably dynamic organelle. Chromatin loops form and relax, RNA transcripts and transcription factors move diffusively, and nuclear bodies move. We show here that RNA splicing speckled domains (splicing speckles) fluctuate in constrained nuclear volumes and remodel their shapes. Small speckles move in a directed way toward larger speckles with which they fuse. This directed movement is reduced upon decreasing cellular ATP levels or inhibiting RNA polymerase II activity. The random movement of speckles is reduced upon decreasing cellular ATP levels, moderately reduced after inhibition of SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling and modestly increased upon inhibiting RNA polymerase II activity. To define the paths through which speckles can translocate in the nucleus, we generated a pressure gradient to create flows in the nucleus. In response to the pressure gradient, speckles moved along curvilinear paths in the nucleus. Collectively, our results demonstrate a new type of ATP-dependent motion in the nucleus. We present a model where recycling splicing factors return as part of small sub-speckles from distal sites of RNA processing to larger splicing speckles by a directed ATP-driven mechanism through interchromatin spaces.
Distribution and drift pathways of Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) during early life stages in the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

We describe the spatial distribution and dispersal pathways of Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) early life stages based on historical field data from the eastern Bering Sea and adjacent water along the eastern Aleutian Islands. Our results indicate that Greenland halibut from preflexion larvae to newly settled juveniles have a long pelagic duration and are subject to extended drift pathways. Hatching may occur in deep water, below 530 m, and larvae rise in the water column as they grow. Flexion/postflexion larvae are mostly found around the Pribilof Islands over the middle shelf (50–100-m isobaths) in July, and settling occurs during late summer on the middle shelf near St. Matthew Island. However, given that age-1 individuals were primarily found on the outer shelf, it appears that Greenland halibut actively move to deeper water with age (or size). The mechanisms of slope–shelf connectivity in preflexion larvae may be related to the Bering Slope Current in the vicinity of both Bering and Pribilof Canyons. This study shows that Greenland halibut early life stages have extensive horizontal ontogenetic migrations in the Bering Sea, and utilize a range of geographic areas over the basin and slope along the Aleutian Islands and in the eastern Bering Sea. Based on these results, it is hypothesized that settlement success and recruitment of Greenland halibut may be influenced by variability in currents and flows of the Bering Sea slope and shelf during their transport.
(S)‐( + )‐2‐(p‐Toluenesulfinyl)‐2‐Cyclopentenone: Precursor for Enantioselective Synthesis of 3‐Substituted Cyclopentanones

(S)-( + )-2-(p-toluenesulfinyl)-2-cyclopentenone: Precursor for enantioselective synthesis of 3-substituted cyclopentanones intermediate: 57.5 g of crude methyl p-toluenesulfinate intermediate: (S)-( + )-2-(p-toluenesulfinyl)-2-cyclopentenone ethylene ketal product: (S)-( + )-2-(p-toluenesulfinyl)-2-cyclopentenone Keywords: acetal (and thioacetal) formation; esterification, miscellaneous; hydrolysis, acetals and ketals; sulfinylation; assay methods, for butyllithium, with diphenylacetic acid; 2-lithio-2-cyclopenten-1-one ethylene ketal; petroleum ether; sodium p-toluenesulfinate, preparation of; tetrahydrofuran; benzene; sulfur dioxide
Repigmentation of Vitiliginous Skin by Cultured Cells

Epidermal cells from pigmented areas of a patient with vitiligo were cultured in MCDB-153 medium, which supports the clonal growth of undifferentiated keratinocytes and melanocytes. The cells were grown on collagen-coated substrata. After the cells reached semiconfluence, the composite of substratum and cells was emplaced onto dermabraded vitiliginous areas as a graft. Re-epithelialization of the grafted areas was complete after 2 weeks. Repigmentation was evident after 1 month and continued over the observation period of several months. There was complete and normal differentiation of the graft, including a normal distribution of melanocytes in the basal layer. Ultrastructural studies showed a normal distribution of melanosomes in the melanocytes and showed keratinocytes that were indistinguishable from the uninvolved skin.
Abscess formation post cesarean section due to a piece of latex glove

Pelvic abscesses may develop after retention of foreign bodies. A case is presented in which during drainage of a post cesarean section pelvic abscess a small piece of a latex glove was recovered. The formation of pelvic abscesses due to foreign bodies is discussed.
A regression-based K nearest neighbor algorithm for gene function prediction from heterogeneous data.

As a variety of functional genomic and proteomic techniques become available, there is an increasing need for functional analysis methodologies that integrate heterogeneous data sources. In this paper, we address this issue by proposing a general framework for gene function prediction based on the k-nearest-neighbor (KNN) algorithm. The choice of KNN is motivated by its simplicity, flexibility to incorporate different data types and adaptability to irregular feature spaces. A weakness of traditional KNN methods, especially when handling heterogeneous data, is that performance is subject to the often ad hoc choice of similarity metric. To address this weakness, we apply regression methods to infer a similarity metric as a weighted combination of a set of base similarity measures, which helps to locate the neighbors that are most likely to be in the same class as the target gene. We also suggest a novel voting scheme to generate confidence scores that estimate the accuracy of predictions. The method gracefully extends to multi-way classification problems. We apply this technique to gene function prediction according to three well-known Escherichia coli classification schemes suggested by biologists, using information derived from microarray and genome sequencing data. We demonstrate that our algorithm dramatically outperforms the naive KNN methods and is competitive with support vector machine (SVM) algorithms for integrating heterogenous data. We also show that by combining different data sources, prediction accuracy can improve significantly. Our extension of KNN with automatic feature weighting, multi-class prediction, and probabilistic inference, enhance prediction accuracy significantly while remaining efficient, intuitive and flexible. This general framework can also be applied to similar classification problems involving heterogeneous datasets.
Mucosal melanoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses

Background. Mucosal melanomas of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses are rare and do poorly. Methods. Seventeen patients treated from 1981 to 1993 at a single referral center were retrospectively reviewed. Results. Thirteen patients underwent surgical resection, with seven receiving postoperative radiotherapy. Eight had microscopically negative margins. The actuarial 2-year and 5-year survivals for this group of 13 were 67% (8 of 12) and 20% (2 of 10). The local recurrence rate was 85% (11 of 13) and distant metastases occurred in 31% (4 of 13) patients. In the absence of metastatic disease, resection of recurrent tumor correlated with disease-free intervals ranging from 3 months to 40 months. Conclusions. Those who received postoperative radiotherapy appeared to have done better with increased disease-free intervals and prolonged survival. Negative surgical margins were not predictive of a more favorable outcome. Surgical resection followed by postoperative radiotherapy is appropriate and resection of recurrent tumor should be considered
Five questions on intellectual history

Responding to questions posed by Mikkel Thorup (University of Aarhus), I recount how I was drawn to intellectual history by its breadth of concern and its relative epistemological modesty. I characterise it is as less a subfield of history than an interdisciplinary field aimed at clarifying problems and calling attention to limits. I reject the view that it ought to follow a single ‘proper’ approach: various approaches can be justified. I suggest that currently some important topics for intellectual historians to consider are religion, identity, problems of collective motivation, and our relations to the natural world.
Optical crystallographic identification of some amino acids with 2-nitroindandion-1,3

Derivatives of 18 amino acids with 2-nitroindandion-1,3 have been prepared and analyzed. The optical crystallographic data have been determined for 15 of these new compounds. Photo-micrographs of these nitroindandionates have been made. Several of the compounds prepared did not form crystals of sufficient size to accurately determine all of the optical properties. This condition was especially true with the compounds obtained from arginine, phenylalanine, methionine, and tryptophane.
Estradiol-sertraline synergy in ovariectomized rats.

Summary This study investigated estradiol (E2) modulation of the antidepressant effects of a selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitor (SSRI; sertraline) and a tricyclic antidepressant (imipramine) as measured by the forced swim test (FST) followed by assessment of gene and protein expression for the 5-HT transporter (SERT) and multiple 5-HT receptors. Female Sprague–Dawley rats were ovariectomized (OVX) and two-thirds of the rats received E2 implants (OVE). 4 weeks later, implants were withdrawn in half of the OVE rats (OVW) to capture a time point when E2 levels were rapidly declining. Rats in each hormone group were treated with vehicle, sertraline (10 mg/kg) or imipramine (10 mg/kg), 24, 5 and 1 h before the FST. Immediately after the FST, midbrain, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex tissue was removed and frozen for analysis of gene expression via quantitative real-time PCR (midbrain tissue) and protein expression via Western blot (prefrontal cortex and hippocampal tissue). In the FST, sertraline decreased immobility and increased swimming in OVE rats, as well as increased swimming in OVW rats. In contrast, no sertraline effect was observed in OVX rats. Rats treated with imipramine showed increased climbing but no changes in immobility or swimming. No changes in protein expression were detected in any treatment group. However, in vehicle-treated rats, E2 increased midbrain SERT mRNA expression, with no effect on midbrain mRNA for the 5-HT receptors. In sertraline-treated rats, E2 decreased 5-HT2A receptor mRNA, and E2-withdrawal increased 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor mRNA. In imipramine-treated rats, E2 (and E2-withdrawal) did not affect mRNA expression for any of the target genes. Thus, E2 synergized behaviorally and neurochemically with an SSRI but not a tricyclic antidepressant.
Citizen Participation Influencing Public Decision Making: Brazil and the United States

Municipalities around the world are facing enormous challenges brought about by the forces of globalization and democratiza tion. In this environment and as the number of peo ple living in urban areas increases, the role of citizens participating and influencing political processes and decision making within their communities grows increasingly important. Concepts of governance and participation may be viewed from different perspec tives depending on the cultural and social perspectives of different countries and the historical development of their government and institutions. In developing countries, particularly in many South American coun tries, collective participation in the political system has historically been restricted both in frequency and level. Many citizens have survived in a political system of patronage and obligation to the political and eco nomic elite.
The use of regional anesthesia in combination with general anesthesia for cardiac surgery in children

The use of regional anesthesia in combination with general anesthesia for children undergoing cardiac surgery is the subject of a growing number of publications and presenta tions. Benefits of regional anesthesia in patients having car diac surgery include attenuation of the neuroendocrine response to surgical stress, improved postoperative pulmo nary function, enhanced cardiovascular stability, and im proved postoperative analgesia. To the extent that regional anesthesia facilitates early tracheal extubation in cardiac surgical patients, complications and costs associated with postoperative mechanical ventilation may be reduced. These benefits must, however, be weighed against the ad verse effects that may accompany the use of regional anes thesia, including hypotension, postoperative respiratory de pression, and epidural hematoma formation. In this article, the benefits and risks of regional anesthesia in infants and children undergoing open heart surgery are reviewed. In addition, specific spinal and e...
Finding concealed active faults: Extending the southern Whidbey Island fault across the Puget Lowland, Washington

[1] The southern Whidbey Island fault zone (SWIF), as previously mapped using borehole data, potential field anomalies, and marine seismic reflection surveys, consists of three subparallel, northwest trending strands extending ∼100 km from near Vancouver Island to the northern Puget Lowland. East of Puget Sound, the SWIF makes landfall between the cities of Seattle and Everett but is concealed beneath a thick mantle of young glacial deposits and vegetation. A ∼20-km-wide, northwest trending swath of subparallel, low-amplitude aeromagnetic anomalies crosses this region of the Puget Lowland and is on strike with the SWIF. The most prominent aeromagnetic anomaly, the Cottage Lake lineament, extends at least 18 km and lies approximately on strike with the SWIF on Whidbey Island. Subtle scarps and topographic lineaments on Pleistocene surfaces, visible on high-resolution lidar topography at a number of locations along the SWIF, lie on or near these magnetic anomalies. In the field, scarps exhibit northeast-side-up and vertical relief of 1 to 5 m. Excavations across several lidar scarps lying on or near magnetic anomalies show evidence for multiple folding and faulting events since deglaciation, most likely above buried reverse/oblique faults. Excavations in areas away from magnetic anomalies do not show evidence of tectonic deformation. In total, paleoseismological evidence suggests that the SWIF produced at least four earthquakes since deglaciation about 16,400 years ago, the most recent less than 2700 years ago.
Using the kernel method for functional estimation with current status data

Yang ([1]) proposes the use of a simple estimator of the cumulative distribution function for estimating the functionals with current status data. It is a kernel estimator and is an alternative to the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator (NPMLE), while the resulting functional estimator has the same asymptotic normal distribution as the NPMLE based estimator. The performance of the kernel based functional estimator very much depends on the choice of bandwidth. In this article, we study the choice of bandwidth for the kernel estimator method of Yang. Through extensive numerical studies, it was found that the bandwidth can be properly chosen using the Jackknife resampling method, and that the kernel based estimator performs well when using a good choice of the bandwidth.
A method of replicating glasses and glass ceramics at and near the sample surface

A method for replicating glasses and glass-ceramics at and in close proximity to the surface is described. The replicas used are platinum-palladium pre-shadowed carbon replicas. The method consists of fracturing the sample and mounting it in such a manner that both the shadowing metals and the carbon substrate are deposited on the sample surface and cross-section simultaneously. Artefacts are discussed, and examples of the application of the method given.
Revised depolarization corrections for atmospheric extinction.

Possible sources of errors in depolarization data are analyzed with special reference to the rotational Raman contribution to the optical depth. It is shown that the depolarization data now available are so accurate that their uncertainty affects the calculated Rayleigh optical depth by less than 1%, and consequently, the anomalously low extinctions occasionally reported must be due to systematic errors of measurement rather than errors in the Rayleigh optical depths.
Special Feature Computers in Clinical Medicine: a Critique

In clinical medicine, computers are not an unmixed blessing. Sometimes their only observable effect is to drive up the costs of health care.
American option pricing under stochastic volatility: an empirical evaluation

Over the past few years, model complexity in quantitative finance has increased substantially in response to earlier approaches that did not capture critical features for risk management. However, given the preponderance of the classical Black–Scholes model, it is still not clear that this increased complexity is matched by additional accuracy in the ultimate result. In particular, the last decade has witnessed a flurry of activity in modeling asset volatility, and studies evaluating different alternatives for option pricing have focused on European-style exercise. In this paper, we extend these empirical evaluations to American options, as their additional opportunity for early exercise may incorporate stochastic volatility in the pricing differently. Specifically, the present work compares the empirical pricing and hedging performance of the commonly adopted stochastic volatility model of Heston (Rev Financial Stud 6:327–343, 1993) against the traditional constant volatility benchmark of Black and Scholes (J Polit Econ 81:637–659, 1973). Using S&P 100 index options data, our study indicates that this particular stochastic volatility model offers enhancements in line with their European-style counterparts for in-the-money options. However, the most striking improvements are for out-of-the-money options, which because of early exercise are more valuable than their European-style counterparts, especially when volatility is stochastic.
Oxide-ion conduction in Ba2In2O5 and Ba3In2MO8 (M=Ce, Hf, or Zr)

Oxide-ion conductivity in oxygen-deficient perovskites has been explored in two structures having ordered oxygen vacancies at room temperature. Ba2In2O5 was shown to be isostructural with Brownmillerite, Ba3In2MO8 (M=Ce, Hf, or Zr) with Ca3Fe2T iO8. Ba2In2O5 exhibits a low extrinsic O2--ion conductivity below 650°C, an intrinsic conductivity across an ordering energy gap △Hg that decreases with increasing temperature in the interval 650°C<T<Tt, and a first-order transition to a fast oxide-ion conductor above Tt≈930°C. The compounds Ba3In2MO8 exhibit an extrinsic conductivity below 450°C that is markedly superior to that of the fluorite-related oxides, e.g. Gd-CeO2 and Y-ZrO2; in particular, Ba3In2ZrO8 has twice the dc conductivity at 400°C as Ca-ZrO 2 at 800°C. Disordering of the M4+ cations over the cation array and their preference for octahedral versus tetrahedral coordination introduces a disordering of the oxygen vacancies at lower temperatures. An extrinsic activation energy Ea≈0.6 eV was found for Ba3In2ZrO8.
Basic Magnetic Functions in Converters and Inverters Including New Soft Commutation

Magnetic components, operating on the principle of magnetization of a core, in converters and inverters are discussed. The functions of the components in switching circuits and their inherent advantages for filtering, insulation, and isolation are shown. "Soft" commutation, for suppression of silicon controlled rectifier circuit switching losses, is explained.
Pressure-induced structural changes in superconducting HgBa2Can−1CunO2n+2+δ (n = 1, 2, 3) compounds

Abstract The crystal structures of superconducting HgBa2CuO4+δ and HgBa2CaCu2O6+δ have been investigated with a pressure up to 0.6 GPa and HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+δ to 9.2 GPa by neutron powder diffraction. The compressibility along the c-axis is nearly the same for the three compounds and up to two times larger than the compressibility along the a-axis. The one-layer compound, HgBa2CuO4+δ, shows the largest a-axis compressibility, while HgBa2Ca2Cu3O4+δ shows the smallest compressibility. The bond compressibilities of HgBa2CuO4+δ and HgBa2CaCu2O6+δ are significantly different from HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+δ bond compressibilities. In the one- and two-layer compounds the largest bond compressibility was the Cu-O2 (apical) bond distance, while for the three-layer compound it was the Hg-O2 bond distance.