cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sexual behaviors of adolescent emerging and young adult men who have sex with men ages 13-29 in New York City.

Content HIV infections among young men who have sex with men (YMSM), ages 13-29 in New York City have been steadily increasing over the last decade. Objective To document the sexual onset and behavior of YMSM as a means for informing the development of new HIV prevention messaging. Design Cross-sectional study. Participants Five hundred fifty-eight YMSM, with more than 60% racial/ethnic minorities. Results Young adults (25-29 years) reported a greater number of lifetime sexual partners, but the adolescents (13-17 years) and emerging adults (18-24 years) reported having their first sexual encounter with another man at a younger age. Black and Latino men first engaged in various sexual behaviors, including receptive anal intercourse, at a younger age than either Asian/Pacific Islander or white men, and were more likely to report an HIV-seropositive status. Across race/ethnicity, YMSM reported an equivalent number of recent male sex partners and selected both main and casual partners who were age and race/ethnicity matches. During the most recent sexual encounter with a casual male partner, black men were more likely than white men to have had unprotected receptive anal intercourse, whereas white men were more likely to report unprotected oral sex. Black YMSM reported more recent female partners than all other groups. Conclusions Black and Latino YMSM may be at increased risk for seroconversion because they tend to start having sex with other men at a younger age than their white and Asian/Pacific Islander peers and because they engage in unprotected sexual behaviors with men of concordant race/ethnicity and of a similar age where levels of viremia may be more elevated but not because of the sheer number of sexual partners.
A model of proactive and reactive cognitive control with anterior cingulate cortex and the neuromodulatory system

Abstract Proactive and reactive cognitive control are often associated with anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). How ACC affects processing in other brain areas, however, is often not explicitly delineated. In this work, we describe a model of how ACC computes measures of conflict and surprise that are in turn relayed to the basal forebrain (BF) and locus coeruleus (LC) in that order. BF and LC signals then respectively sharpen posterior cortical processing and trigger the reframing of prefrontal cortical decision-making frames. We implemented this theory in a large-scale neurocognitive model that performs simulated geospatial intelligence tasks. Experiments demonstrate improved performance while minimizing additional processing. Alternate interpretations of neuromodulatory signals are also discussed.
Novel Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 cathode morphologies for high power Li-ion batteries

Abstract In this paper, we report unique Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 (NCM) materials produced using aerosol based liquid to solid conversion in different reactor configurations and using different atomization methods jointly termed Reactive Spray Technology (RST). A series of experiments was performed at different RST synthesis conditions suitable for large scale manufacturing to produce NCM powders with particle size ranging from 1 to ∼10 μm, varying degree of particle porosity and excellent compositional purity. The electrochemical testing in Li-ion cells indicates that NCM materials made via RST have high initial discharge capacity and good first cycle efficiency. NCM materials with small particle size and substantial intra-particle porosity show improved power rate performance at high discharge rates compared to larger particle size NCM. This was attributed to shorter diffusion length in the solid phase, increased electrochemically active surface area and high active phase accessibility due to the combined effect of smaller particle size and internal porosity. Specific capacity of small-particle NCM made by RST method was 167 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C and 137 mAh g−1 at 10 C, which compares favorably to 160 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C and 97 mAh g−1 at 10 C for NCM made by co-precipitation method having 10 μm average particle diameter.
Small-scale resource heterogeneity among halophytic plant species in an upper salt marsh community

Abstract The focus of the present study was to determine whether spatial and temporal variation, in soil and plant factors of upper salt marsh areas, exists among microsites of three coexisting halophytic plant species, Grindelia humilis, Jaumea carnosa and Limonium californicum, on the Pacific coasts of California. Low frequencies in tidal inundations coupled with variation in temperature and rainfall patterns often result in wide seasonal salinity variations in these upper salt marsh zones. The study was carried out to evaluate (1) variation in soil osmolalities and soil water contents for the three species; (2) differences in chemical soil factors associated with the three species; (3) variation in leaf succulence associated with saline stress; and (4) levels of plant nutrients present in each of the three species. The results indicated that soil osmolalities associated with Limonium, a salt excreting halophyte were markedly different from those recorded for the other two species. Nitrogen levels in soils associated with Jaumea as well as levels in composite plant samples were significantly lower than those of the other two species. Also noted were variations in nutrient ions in plants as well as soil environments.
Peanut-induced anaphylactic reactions

Food allergies, particularly to peanuts, are a common cause of anaphylaxis. Approximately 125 people die each year in the USA secondary to food-induced anaphylaxis. Clinical anaphylaxis is a syndrome of diverse etiology and dramatic presentation of symptoms associated with the classic features of type I, IgE-mediated hypersensitivity [1]. Typically the term anaphylaxis connotes an immunologically-mediated event that occurs after exposure to certain foreign substances. This reaction results from the generation and release of a variety of potent biologically active mediators and their concerted effects on various target organs. Anaphylaxis is recognized by cutaneous, respiratory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal signs and symptoms occurring singly or in combination. This article focuses on allergic reactions to peanuts that manifest as signs and symptoms involving multiple target organs or the cardiovascular system alone.
The effects of gender on salary-at-hire in the academic labor market

Abstract This paper uses data compiled from faculty files at a private, doctoral-granting research university to investigate whether or not there are gender-related differences in salary offers at the time of initial appointment. The investigation uses single- and multiple-equation regression models that control for gender, date of hire, experience and degree attained, rank, characteristics of the position being filled, inflation, and academic department. The study finds an unexplained and statistically significant differential in salary-at-hire between men and women of from 2.9% to 8.4%, and it finds that the unexplained male–female differential in salary-at-hire has increased since 1990.
A Comprehensive Evaluation Analysis of Financial Core Competitiveness of Listed Companies

Financial management is an important component of companies’ economic activities. Companies’ core competitiveness is based on the financial core competitiveness in a sense. To measure a company’s financial core competitiveness is meaningful for understanding the company’s financial management performance and building the company’s core competitiveness. This essay constitutes a set of indexes system for evaluating listed companies’ financial core competitiveness. According to data from 15 steel companies listed in Shenzhen Stock Exchange, this essay analyzes and evaluates listed companies’ financial core competitiveness, and finally advances several suggestions for cultivating and improving listed companies’ financial core competitiveness.
Leader-Member Conflict in Protest Organizations: The Case of the Southern Farmers' Alliance

We examine the conflict between leaders and members in protest organizations and challenge Robert Michels' argument that both oligarchy and goal displacement are inevitable in such settings. An examination of protest organizations shows there is often conflict between the interests of membership, the needs of leadership and the requirements for organizational permanence. Our study of the Southern Farmers' Alliance shows that the leadership's pursuit of its own interests contributed to both the rejection of a potentially successful reform program and the demise of the organization itself.
Conciliation and Self-incrimination

Conciliationism is a view—well, a family of views—in the epistemology of disagreement. The idea, simply put, is that, in a wide range of cases where you find yourself in disagreement with another reasoner about the truth of some proposition, you are rationally obliged to adjust your credence in the direction of hers. Conciliationism enjoys a fair bit of prima facie plausibility. Most versions of it, however, suffer from a common (and rather obvious) problem: self-incrimination. Although there is some recognition in the recent literature on disagreement that there is a problem in this vicinity, it, more often than not, is completely ignored. When it is not completely ignored, both the conciliationists and their critics tend to frame the problem incorrectly. As a result, they end up focusing most of their attention on pseudo-problems rather than the genuine worry. Furthermore, even when they have hit on the genuine worry, conciliationists have tended to give surprising and implausible responses to it. Even by their own lights, conciliationists aren’t justified in believing their conciliationist theses. In this paper, I argue that it’s time to come clean. Time to look for a view on the epistemic significance of disagreement that we can actually be justified in believing.
Network formation and compositional drift during photo-initiated copolymerization of dimethacrylate monomers

The copolymerization of viscous monomers with a nonviscous diluent comonomer was investigated. Overall, photopolymerization kinetics was compared for equimolar mixtures of triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA), a low viscosity monomer, with either a rigid aromatic dimethacrylate (Bis-GMA) or a flexible aliphatic urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA), as examples of viscous comonomers. Sol fraction analysis from partial cure polymerizations provided individual monomer reactivities as a function of conversion. The resin containing UDMA reached greater maximum polymerization rate and final conversion compared with the resin based on Bis-GMA. The viscous monomers (Bis-GMA or UDMA) were found to be less reactive than the diluent comonomer (TEGDMA) at nearly all stages of the photopolymerization process. The reactivity differential was especially dramatic at the latter stages of the polymerization.
On the Design of Optimal and Robust Supervisors for Deterministic Finite State Automata

In this paper, the problem of optimal and robust controller design for finite state automata is addressed. The approach presented is based on the language measure introduced in Wang and Ray. However, it differs from previous approaches to optimal controller design by using a new definition of the performance of the supervised automaton. This new definition is, in our opinion, more appropriate in cases where the performance weights are related to the relative frequency of the events.
MR imaging of the prostate at 3 Tesla: comparison of an external phased-array coil to imaging with an endorectal coil at 1.5 Tesla.

Rationale and objectives To qualitatively compare the image quality of torso phased-array 3-Tesla (3T) imaging of the prostate with that of endorectal 1.5-Tesla imaging. Materials and methods Twenty cases of torso phased-array prostate imaging performed at 3-Tesla with FSE T2 weighted images were evaluated by two readers independently for visualization of the posterior border (PB), seminal vesicles (SV), neurovascular bundles (NVB), and image quality rating (IQR). Studies were performed at large fields of view (FOV) (25 cm) (14 cases) (3TL) and smaller FOV (14 cm) (19 cases) (3TS). A comparison was made to 20 consecutive cases of 1.5-T endorectal evaluation performed during the same time period. Results 3TL produced a significantly better image quality compared with the small FOV for PB ( P = .0001), SV ( P = .0001), and IQR ( P = .0001). There was a marginally significant difference within the NVB category ( P = .0535). 3TL produced an image of similar quality to image quality at 1.5T for PB ( P = .3893), SV ( P = .8680), NB ( P = .2684), and IQR ( P = .8599). Conclusion Prostate image quality at 3T with a torso phased-array coil can be comparable with that of endorectal 1.5-T imaging. These findings suggest that additional options are now available for magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate gland.
On the audio representation of radial direction

We present and evaluate an approach towards eyes-free auditory display of spatial information that considers radial direction as a fundamental type of value primitive. There are many benefits to being able to sonify radial directions, such as indicating the heading towards a point of interest in a direct and dynamic manner, rendering a path or shape outline by sonifying a continual sequence of tangent directions as the path is traced, and providing direct feedback of the direction of motion of the user in a physical space or a pointer in a virtual space. We propose a concrete mapping of vowel-like sounds to radial directions as one potential method to enable sonification of such information. We conducted a longitudinal study with five sighted and two blind participants to evaluate the learnability and effectiveness of this method. Results suggest that our directional sound mapping can be learned within a few hours and be used to aurally perceive spatial information such as shape outlines and path contours.
Optimization of carbon fiber composite for microwave absorber

Optimization of the carbon fiber composite for a microwave absorber is presented. The predicted results are based on the modulus of permittivity which obeys a logarithmic law of mixtures while the dielectric loss tangents are related through a linear law of mixtures. Linear regression analysis performed on the data points provides the constants which are used to predict the effective permittivities at different frequencies. An optimization program is written to compute the optimum amount of carbon fiber paste and thickness required for each layer. As shown, the predicted results agree quite well with the measured data.
Backward Traveling Rotating Stall Waves in Centrifugal Compressors

Rotating stall waves that travel against the direction of rotor rotation are reported for the first time and a new, low-order analytical approach to model centrifugal compressor stability is introduced. The model is capable of dealing with unsteady radially swirling flows and the dynamic effects of impeller-diffuser component interaction as it occurs in centrifugal compression systems. A simple coupling criterion is developed from first principles to explain the interaction mechanism important for system stability. The model findings together with experimental data explain the mechanism for first-ever observed backward traveling rotating stall in centrifugal compressors with vaned diffusers. Based on the low-order model predictions, an air injection scheme between the impeller and the vaned diffuser is designed for the NASA Glenn CC3 high-speed centrifugal compressor. The steady air injection experiments show an increase of 25% in surge-margin with an injection mass flow of 0.5% of the compressor mass flow. In addition, it is experimentally demonstrated that this injection scheme is robust to impeller tip-clearance effects and that a reduced number of injectors can be applied for similar gains in surge-margin. The results presented in this paper firmly establish the connection between the experimentally observed dynamic phenomena in the NASA CC3 centrifugal compressor and a first principles based coupling criterion. In addition, guidelines are given for the design of centrifugal compressors with enhanced stability.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Where have all the trees gone? The declining use of phylogenies in animal behaviour journals

Phylogenetic comparative methods have a rich history in the study of animal behaviour (Brooks & McLennan 1991; Martins 1996; Owens 2006). For early ethologists, comparative studies of multiple species were an essential technique for reconstructing the processes and patterns of behavioural evolution (Lorenz 1941,1958; Tinbergen 1951,1959,1963; McKinney 1965; van Tets 1965; also see Darwin 1872). Indeed, this approach was one of Niko Tinbergen’s four ‘levels of analysis’, the others being the functional significance, ontogenetic development and proximate mechanisms underlying such traits (Tinbergen 1963; Sherman 1988). To these researchers, phylogenetic relationships among species provided a fundamental framework upon which our understanding of the other processes responsible for animal behaviour may be derived (Brooks & McLennan 1991). Despite its early importance, however, the historical component of behaviour subsequently received relatively little attention in comparison to other research interests in the field (Brooks & McLennan 1991; Wenzel 1992; Ryan 1996; Owens 2006). This reduced attention was due in part to early scepticism that behavioural similarities between species due to homology could be distinguished from similarities due to convergent evolution (Atz 1970). Behavioural traits were often considered far too labile and homoplasious to be useful as characters in phylogenetic analyses (reviewed byWenzel 1992). But this change in focus also coincided with a variety of exciting new approaches for understanding behavioural traits (e.g. Hamilton 1964; Maynard Smith 1974) and a general shift in interest towards current adaptive function (Ryan 1996; Owens 2006). Wenzel (1992, page 361) put it bluntly in his assessment that ‘ethology hasmade almost no advancewith respect to a phylogenetic understanding of behavior since the late 1950s’. Yet, during this same time period, another science was flourishing. Hennig’s (1966) cladistic methods inspired a progression of new techniques for estimating phylogenetic relationships and comparing traits across taxa, which together revolutionized our abilities to reconstruct character evolution (Brooks & McLennan 1991; Harvey & Pagel 1991; Avise 2004; Freckleton 2009). For example, from a statistical perspective, accurate phylogenies are necessary to transform comparative data so that they do not violate the assumptions of statistical independence (Felsenstein 1985; Garland et al. 1992; Martins & Hansen 1997). Studies also * Correspondence: J. J. Price, Department of Biology, St Mary’s College of Maryland, 18952 E. Fisher Road, St Mary’s City, MD 20686, U.S.A. E-mail address: jjprice@smcm.edu (J.J. Price). 1 K. E. Omland is at the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, U.S.A.
Improving command and control speech recognition on mobile devices: using predictive user models for language modeling

Command and control (C&C) speech recognition allows users to interact with a system by speaking commands or asking questions restricted to a fixed grammar containing pre-defined phrases. Whereas C&C interaction has been commonplace in telephony and accessibility systems for many years, only recently have mobile devices had the memory and processing capacity to support client-side speech recognition. Given the personal nature of mobile devices, statistical models that can predict commands based in part on past user behavior hold promise for improving C&C recognition accuracy. For example, if a user calls a spouse at the end of every workday, the language model could be adapted to weight the spouse more than other contacts during that time. In this paper, we describe and assess statistical models learned from a large population of users for predicting the next user command of a commercial C&C application. We explain how these models were used for language modeling, and evaluate their performance in terms of task completion. The best performing model achieved a 26% relative reduction in error rate compared to the base system. Finally, we investigate the effects of personalization on performance at different learning rates via online updating of model parameters based on individual user data. Personalization significantly increased relative reduction in error rate by an additional 5%.
Leptin signaling in the hypothalamus: emphasis on energy homeostasis and leptin resistance.

Abstract Leptin, the long-sought satiety factor of adipocytes origin, has emerged as one of the major signals that relay the status of fat stores to the hypothalamus and plays a significant role in energy homeostasis. Understanding the mechanisms of leptin signaling in the hypothalamus during normal and pathological conditions, such as obesity, has been the subject of intensive research during the last decade. It is now established that leptin action in the hypothalamus in regulation of food intake and body weight is mediated by a neural circuitry comprising of orexigenic and anorectic signals, including NPY, MCH, galanin, orexin, GALP, α-MSH, NT, and CRH. In addition to the conventional JAK2–STAT3 pathway, it has become evident that PI3K–PDE3B–cAMP pathway plays a critical role in leptin signaling in the hypothalamus. It is now established that central leptin resistance contributes to the development of diet-induced obesity and ageing associated obesity. Central leptin resistance also occurs due to hyperleptinimia produced by exogenous leptin infusion. A defective nutritional regulation of leptin receptor gene expression and reduced STAT3 signaling may be involved in the development of leptin resistance in DIO. However, leptin resistance in the hypothalamic neurons may occur despite an intact JAK2–STAT3 pathway of leptin signaling. Thus, in addition to defective JAK2–STAT3 pathway, defects in other leptin signaling pathways may be involved in leptin resistance. We hypothesize that defective regulation of PI3K–PDE3B–cAMP pathway may be one of the mechanisms behind the development of central leptin resistance seen in obesity.
Sensory integration in a neural network-based robot safety system

This article presents an architecture for a real-time robot safety system for advanced manufacturing environments. The system is based on neural network technology, and contains the neural network detection unit and the neural network decision unit implemented at the intermediate and high level of processing, respectively. A new, computationally efficient methodology for sensory fusion at the intermediate level in the dynamic robot cell environment is also proposed. In particular, the neural network detection unit is used to combine basic probability mass functions encoded in certainty grids (local maps) into one final map of the robot environment containing potential collision zones with the human operator. The map produced by the neural network detection unit along with other information will be utilized by the neural network decision unit to produce appropriate robot safety decisions. The results of initial computer simulation indicate that the proposed approach can be very useful for design of robot safety in advanced manufacturing environments. @ 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Biological investigation and structure-activity relationship studies on azadirone from Azadirachta indica A. Juss.

Azadirone 1, a limonoidal constituent of Azadirachta indica is found to possess potent cytotoxic activity against a panel of human cancer cell lines in our in vitro studies. In vitro screening of a number of semi-synthetic analogues of 1 revealed that the α,β-unsaturated enone moiety or its equivalent conjugated system in A-ring, C-7 acetyloxy/chloroacetyloxy or keto group in B-ring and the furan moiety are responsible for the activity of 1 and its analogues. Compound 1 and two of the semi-synthetic analogues 10 and 13 were found to possess good in vivo antitumor activity in modified hollow fiber animal models.
Integration Theory Applied To Models of Inequity

Three algebraic models for inequity were shown to be simply testable in terms of their additivity structure. The model from integration theory correctly represented the sequence of comparisons, first between persons, then between input and outcome. Also, it gave a good though not perfect account of the additivity structure.
Comparison of the Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes Associated with Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecalis and Vancomycin-Resistant E. faecium Bacteremia

In published studies, cohorts of patients with bacteremia due to vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) have predominantly been infected with Enterococcus faecium. Little is known about the epidemiology and outcomes associated with bacteremia due to VR Enterococcus faecalis. A retrospective study of isolates obtained from January 2008 to October 2010 was conducted at Detroit Medical Center (DMC). Unique patients with blood cultures positive for VRE were reviewed. Outcomes were analyzed using logistic regression. During the study period, 105 cases of bacteremia due to VR E. faecalis and 197 cases of bacteremia due to VR E. faecium were identified. The mean age in the study cohort was 61.5 ± 15 years; 162 subjects (53.6%) were male. After controlling for a propensity score, bacteremia due to VR E. faecalis was associated with >2-fold-lower in-hospital mortality than bacteremia due to VR E. faecium. Interestingly, bacteremia due to VR E. faecalis was associated with longer hospital stay after VRE isolation, although total length of stay was similar for groups with VR E. faecalis and VR E. faecium. Bacteremia due to VR E. faecalis was associated with a >2-fold-lower risk for mortality than bacteremia due to VR E. faecium, possibly due to the availability of β-lactam therapeutics for treatment of VR E. faecalis.
Protecting Privacy Against Record Linkage Disclosure: A Bounded Swapping Approach for Numeric Data

Record linkage techniques have been widely used in areas such as antiterrorism, crime analysis, epidemiologic research, and database marketing. On the other hand, such techniques are also being increasingly used for identity matching that leads to the disclosure of private information. These techniques can be used to effectively reidentify records even in deidentified data. Consequently, the use of such techniques can lead to individual privacy being severely eroded. Our study addresses this important issue and provides a solution to resolve the conflict between privacy protection and data utility. We propose a data-masking method for protecting private information against record linkage disclosure that preserves the statistical properties of the data for legitimate analysis. Our method recursively partitions a data set into smaller subsets such that data records within each subset are more homogeneous after each partition. The partition is made orthogonal to the maximum variance dimension represented by the first principal component in each partitioned set. The attribute values of a record in a subset are then masked using a double-bounded swapping method. The proposed method, which we call multivariate swapping trees, is nonparametric in nature and does not require any assumptions about statistical distributions of the original data. Experiments conducted on real-world data sets demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly outperforms existing methods in terms of both preventing identity disclosure and preserving data quality.
F statistics in Drosophila buzzatii : selection, population size and inbreeding

Drosophila buzzatii is confined to reproducing in a well defined patchy environment consisting of rotting cactus cladodes which are ephemeral, permitting at most three generations. Flies emerging from such rots were used to estimate the additive genetic variance within rots and the genetic variance between rots for body size and also were electrophoresed to determine their genotypes at six polymorphic loci. F statistics were estimated from body size and allozyme data. The FST derived from body size was significantly larger than the allozyme FST. It is proposed this is due to selective differentiation of body size. The allozyme FST is used to estimate effective population size: 10
To Scroll or Not to Scroll: Scrolling, Working Memory Capacity, and Comprehending Complex Texts

Objective: The purpose of these experiments was to examine the effects of user characteristics on learning from scrolling interfaces. Background: Although scrolling Web pages are now common, few studies have explored the effects of scrolling on understanding the content that is being conveyed. Method: This set of studies investigated whether presenting text in two particular formats has an effect on comprehension for readers who differ in working memory capacity. Results: Results from both studies indicated that a scrolling format reduced understanding of complex topics from Web pages, especially for readers who were lower in working memory capacity. Conclusion: These findings show that the way text is presented can interact with learner abilities to affect learning outcomes. Application: These results have implications for both educational technology and human interfaces that present information using displays that can vary in size and construction.
Equatorial Waves and Air–Sea Interaction in the Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation

Abstract A composite study of the life cycle of the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO) was performed using data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration polar-orbiting satellites. Because of pronounced differences in their climatologies, the boreal summer periods May–June (MJ) and August–October (AO) were composited separately. Characteristics of the BSISO life cycle common to MJ and AO were initiation and eastward propagation of the convective anomaly over the Indian Ocean, followed by poleward propagation, with the northward-moving branch having greater amplitude than the southward-moving branch. The transition of convection from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific occurred next, followed by dissipation of the current cycle and initiation of the subsequent cycle. The MJ and AO life cycles were found to have several significant differences. The MJ shows strong eastward mo...
Analysis of the zebrafish sox9b promoter: Identification of elements that recapitulate organ-specific expression of sox9b

The SRY-related high-mobility box 9 (SOX9) gene is expressed in many different tissues. To better understand the DNA elements that control tissue-specific expression, we cloned and sequenced a 2.5 kb fragment lying 5' to the zebrafish sox9b gene transcriptional start site. Three regions of this clone contained stable secondary structures that hindered cloning, sequencing, and amplification. This segment and smaller fragmentswere inserted 5' of an EGFP reporter and transgenic fish were raised with the different reporters. Reporter expression was also observed in embryos directly injected with the constructs to transiently express the reporter. Heart expression required only a very short 5' sequence, as a 0.6 kb sox9b fragment produced reporter expression in heart in transgenic zebrafish, and transient experiments showed heart expression from a minimal sox9b promoter region containing a conserved TATA box and an EGR2 element (-74/+29 bp). Reporter expression in transgenic skeletal muscle was consistently lower than in other tissues. Jaw, brain, and notochord expression was strong with the full-length clone, but was dramatically reduced as the size of the fragment driving the reporter decreased from approximately 1.8 to 0.9 kb. The 2.5 kb region 5' of the sox9b contained 7 conserved non-coding elements (CNEs) that included putative hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF1α), CAAT box (CCAAT), early growth response protein 2 (EGR2), and core promoter elements. While a synthetic fragment containing all 7 CNEs produced some degree of reporter expression in muscle, jaw, heart and brain, the degree of reporter expression was considerably lower than that produced by the full length clone. These results can account for the tissue-specific expression of sox9b in the developing zebrafish.
National Association of Medical Examiners Pediatric Toxicology Registry. Report 2: Phenylpropanolamine update.

The National Association of Medical Examiners (N.A.M.E.) has an ongoing project referred to as the Pediatric Toxicology (PedTox) Registry, which contains data for drugs and poisons detected in children. A recent PedTox Registry report on phenylpropanolamine (PPA) reported blood PPA concentrations in 12 dead children whose deaths were not attributed to PPA. Since that report, another article has been published describing plasma PPA concentrations in living children who were given PPA to evaluate its effect on incontinence. The 10 children in the incontinence study were older than most of the 12 deceased children whose PPA concentrations were reported in the PedTox Registry (10 of whom or = 6 years of age. Insufficient data exist to determine how similar blood PPA concentrations are tolerated by children Language: en
Extra-Articular Hip Arthrodesis

Fusion of the hip after the removal of a prosthesis has several disadvantages, chief among which is loss of femoral length. Arthrodesis with retention of the prosthesis preserves femoral length. Also, the operative procedure is simpler and carries less morbidity than if the prosthesis is removed. A possible drawback is the retention of a large metallic foreign body. In selected cases, it appears that the advantages of the procedure outweigh its disadvantages. This method of salvage appears to be best suited to the patient who has markedly restricted hip motion, who is not too old or infirm to tolerate prolonged plaster immobilization, and who needs a painless stable hip.
Albert szent-györgyi, MD, PhD: Discoverer of vitamin C and a pioneer of cellular respiration, muscle physiology, and cancer development

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (1893–1986) Albert Imre Szent-Gyorgyi was born in Budapest, Hungary, on September 16, 1893, to Miklos and Jozefin Szent-Gyorgyi. Miklos was a businessman who ran a large estate outside of Budapest, while Jozefin was a talented musician whose family consisted of notable scientists Jozsef Lenhossek (father) and Mihaly Lenhossek (brother), both professors of anatomy at the University of Budapest. In 1911, Szent-Gyorgyi entered the Budapest Medical School. Shortly thereafter, he became more interested in his uncle’s laboratory than his medical classes.1 Szent-Gyorgyi’s medical education was temporarily suspended by the outbreak of World War I, where he served as an army medic for 2 years. He earned the Silver Medal of Valor for bravery before being discharged in 1917 after being wounded in the arm. He was sent back to Budapest, and while his arm healed he completed his MD in 1917. After graduation, Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi was sent to his next military post where he remained until the war ended.1 > “Think boldly, don’t be afraid of making mistakes, don’t miss small details, keep your eyes open, and be modest in everything except your aims.” > > —Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi traveled by train to a number of laboratories throughout Europe. He first studied pharmacology with G. Mansfeld in Pozsony (now Brataslavia, Slovakia), then electrophysiology with Armin von Tschermak in Prague, then in Berlin with L. Michaelis, followed by training in physical chemistry for 2 years in Hamburg at the Institute for Tropical Medicine.1 His first position was as an assistant in Leiden at the University Institute; from 1922–1926 he studied with H.J. Hamburger in Groningen (Netherlands).1 It was in Groningen that he became interested primarily in cellular respiration—that myriad of reactions in cells allowing them to use nutrients to create adenosine triphosphate (ATP). While his focus was primarily on cellular …
Spreading depression: Effects of applying potassium chloride to the dura of the rabbit on the conditioned nictitating membrane response

The nictitating membrane response of the rabbit was conditioned to an auditory CS with infra-orbital shock as the US. Following conditioning, Ss were divided into two groups to receive application to their exposed dura of either physiological saline or potassium chloride (KCl). Saline had no detectable effects, whereas KCl crystals blocked the occurrence of CRs for about 100 min. and was followed by recovery to approximately 70% of their initial level after 254 min.
Large-eddy simulations of a separated plane diffuser

We present Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) of a weakly separated diffuser. The influence of mesh resolution and the choice of subgrid model is investigated. Three resolutions ranging from 1.5 to 6.5 million cells are computed. The influence of the subgrid model is studied on the coarsest mesh using no subgrid model, the standard Smagorinsky model, the dynamic Smagorinsky model and the dynamic localization model. Furthermore, some flow features are investigated using the results of the fine mesh simulation. The application of LES to a gas turbine prediffuser flow is briefly described.
Deposition of Dense Siloxane Monolayers from Water and Trimethoxyorganosilane Vapor

A convenient, laboratory-scale method for the vapor deposition of dense siloxane monolayers onto oxide substrates was demonstrated. This method was studied and optimized at 110 °C under reduced pressure with the vapor of tetradecyltris(deuteromethoxy)silane, (CD3O)3Si(CH2)13CH3, and water from the dehydration of MgSO4·7H2O. Ellipsometric thicknesses, water contact angles, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and electrochemical capacitance measurements were used to probe monolayer densification. The CD3 stretching mode in the FTIR spectrum was monitored as a function of the deposition time and amounts of silane and water reactants. This method probed the unhydrolyzed methoxy groups on adsorbed silanes. Excess silane and water were necessary to achieve dense, completely hydrolyzed monolayers. In the presence of sufficient silane, an excess of water above the calculated stoichiometric amount was necessary to hydrolyze all methoxy groups and achieve dense monolayers. The excess water was partially...
Simultaneous use of multiple fibrometers for coagulation factor and heparin assays.

A procedure for the simultaneous use of four fibrometers for coagulation factor and heparin assays is described. Using this method it is possible to perform 20 individual assays per hour.
Southwestern Internal Medicine Conference: Plasma Cell Dyscrasias and the Kidney

ABSTRACT Renal manifestations of plasma cell dyscrasias (PCD) are common. Most patients with multiple myeloma, for example, develop abnormal levels of proteinuria, and nearly one-half develop renal failure, a major cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients. The manifestations, causes, and treatment of renal disease associated with PCD are reviewed. Abnormal light chain production appears to be an especially important factor causing renal involvement in the setting of PCD, although not all light chains have demonstrable nephrotoxic properties. Renal failure, the most serious form of renal involvement in patients with PCD, should be managed aggressively, because even severe renal failure is reversible in some cases and need not preclude prolonged survival.
Examining electronic markets in which intelligent agents are used for comparison shopping and dynamic pricing

Electronic commerce markets are becoming increasingly popular forums for commerce. As those markets mature, buyers and sellers will both vigorously seek techniques to improve their performance. The Internet lends itself to the use of agents to work on behalf of buyers and sellers. Through simulation, this research examines different implementations of buyers' agents (shopbots) and sellers' agents (pricebots) so that buyers, sellers, and agent builders can capitalize on the evolution of e-commerce technologies. Internet markets bring price visibility to a level beyond what is observed in traditional brick-and-mortar markets. Additionally, an online seller is able to update prices quickly and cheaply. Due to these facts, there are many pricing strategies that sellers can implement via pricebot to react to their environments. The best strategy for a particular seller is dependent on characteristics of its marketplace. This research shows that the extent to which buyers are using shopbots is a critical driver of the success of pricing strategies. When measuring profitability, the interaction between shopbot usage and seller strategy is very strong---what works well at low shopbot usage levels may perform poorly at high levels. If a seller is evaluating strategies based on sales volume, the choice may change. Additionally, as markets evolve and competitors change strategies, the choice of most effective counterstrategies may evolve as well. Sellers need to clearly define their goals and thoroughly understand their marketplace before choosing a pricing strategy. Just as sellers have choices to make in implementing pricebots, buyers have decisions to make with shopbots. In addition to the factors described above, the types of shopbots in use can actually affect the relative performance of pricing strategies. This research also shows that varying shopbot implementations (specifically involving the use of a price memory component) can affect the prices that buyers ultimately pay---an especially important consideration for high-volume buyers. Modern technology permits software agents to employ artificial intelligence. This work demonstrates the potential of neural networks as a tool for pricebots. As discussed above, a seller's best strategy option can change as the behavior of the competition changes. Simulation can be used to evaluate a multitude of scenarios and determine what strategies work best under what conditions. This research shows that a neural network can be effectively implemented to classify the behavior of competitors and point to the best counterstrategy.
Changes in macromolecular components of prolapsed intervertebral discs.

Des differences significatives des quantites respectives des composants macromoleculaires ont ete observees dans la comparaison de noyaux gelatineux de disques intervertebraux ayant subi un prolapsus par rapport a des disques preleves au cours d'autopsies systematiques. Les premiers contiennent deux fois plus de collagene que les seconds. La quantite de collagene de type I et de type II croit fortement par rapport a celle de type II. Apres prolapsus, les disques intervertebraux ont une plus grande solubilite avec une augmentation du contenu aldehydique dans les fractions de collagene solubilise. Une diminution de la quantite de glycosylaminoglycanes (en particulier ch-4-S et ch-5-S) a ete egalement notee. De plus, une augmentation significative du contenu en elastine et de sa sensibilite a l'action proteolytique de l'elastase a ete observee. La signification de ces phenomenes est discutee
Formal factors and the meaning response

The most important aspect of any medical experience is its content. Whether a physician or healer prescribes aspirin or penicillin, willow bark tea or quinine, the most crucial thing is that the drug has some sort of active ingredient which interacts with the body, the immune system, a pathogen or the like, to facilitate recovery. But the content of medicines is not the only thing that counts. We have just reviewed the effect that physicians - their knowledge, their enthusiasms - can have on treatment. The form of medicines, their color, shape, and amount, makes a difference, too. Meaningful pills (pink and blue ones) In the early 1970s, several professors at the University of Cincinnati medical school devised an interesting experiment for their students (Blackwell, Bloomfield, and Buncher 1972). Fifty-seven second-year medical students agreed to participate in what they were told was a study of two new drugs. Each student would receive either a stimulant or a sedative. They were told the ordinary effects of these drugs. For example, they were told that “a sedative drug usually makes the individual feel more relaxed, calm and easy-going, but some people react by feeling drowsy, sluggish or tired. There is a tendency toward a decrease in pulse-rate, pupil size, and arterial [blood] pressure.” The students were randomly divided into four groups. These groups received, respectively, one or two pink or blue tablets; the tablets were, in fact, inert.
Isolated coronary artery ectasia: Clinical, angiographic, and follow up characteristics.

Abstract Background Isolated Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is considered an uncommon angiographic finding with varying patterns of presentation and carries significant morbidity burden to the patient. Our objective was to evaluate the prevalence of this condition, to analyse its clinical, angiographic, and follow up characteristics. Patients and methods Coronary angiography was performed in 4950 patients from January 2009 to August 2014. The epidemiological, clinical, angiographic, and follow up characteristics of 52 patients with isolated CAE were examined. Results Of the 4950 angiograms analysed, isolated CAE was found in 52 patients, a prevalence of 1.05 %. The mean age of patients was 53.4 years. A predominance of the male sex was observed (71.1%). Angina on exertion was the most common presenting symptom (61.5%). Single vessel was involved in 61.5%. Left anterior descending artery was the most commonly involved vessel followed by right coronary artery, left circumflex and left main coronary artery. Type IV CAE as per Markis classification was the most common involvement. The median follow-up was 28 ± 20 months, during which 10 patients (19.2%) had recurrent chest pain, and four patients were re-hospitalised, three for unstable angina, one for myocardial infarction. Conclusion The prevalence of isolated coronary ectasia was 1.05%. The majority of patients had single vessel involvement, and left anterior descending branch was the most common involved vessel. This condition may not be considered completely benign, as it is associated with atherosclerotic risk factors and occurrence of coronary events including angina and myocardial infarction.
Comparing del Nido and Conventional Cardioplegia in Infants and Neonates in Congenital Heart Surgery

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate outcome measures after the use of del Nido (dN) cardioplegia compared with conventional multidose high-potassium (non-dN) cardioplegia in neonates and infants. Methods We retrospectively analyzed data in patients, aged younger than 1 year, undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) from January 2012 to August 2015. We changed our cardioplegia protocol from non-dN to dN administered in a single or infrequently dosed strategy in September 2013. The outcomes of the dN group (n = 107) are compared with the non-dN group (n = 118). We analyzed variables for demographic, intraoperative, early postoperative, and discharge variables. Results The two groups were similar in age, weight, height, CPB, and cross-clamp time; preoperative and postoperative echocardiographic systolic functions; first 24-hour postoperative urine output and inotropic score; length of stay; and mortality rate. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons/European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Congenital Heart Surgery (STAT) mortality category was significantly higher in the dN group ( p = 0.03). The cardioplegia dosing interval was lower for the non-dN group ( p p Conclusions Similar outcomes can be achieved with less frequent interruption of the operation and lower volume of cardioplegia when using dN cardioplegia solution compared with conventional cardioplegia. The dN cardioplegia with extended ischemic interval can be used as an alternative strategy in the neonatal and infant population during cardiac operations.