cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
COVID-19 treatment resource disparities and social disadvantage in New York City.

Black and Hispanic communities in the U.S. have endured a disproportionate burden of COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality. Racial and ethnic health disparities such as these are frequently aggravated by inequitable access to healthcare resources in disadvantaged communities. Yet, no known studies have investigated disadvantaged communities' access to COVID-19-related healthcare resources. The current study accordingly examined racial and ethnic differences in (1) April 2020 COVID-19 total and positive viral test rates across 177 New York City (NYC) ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA); and (2) November 2019-April 2020 licensed and intensive care unit (ICU) hospital bed access across 194 NYC ZCTAs. Pairwise analyses indicated higher COVID-19 total and positive test rates per 1000 persons in majority Black and Hispanic vs. majority White ZCTAs (CI [0.117, 4.55]; CI [2.53, 5.14]). Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that higher percentage of Black and Hispanic residents predicted more total COVID-19 tests per 1000 persons (p < 0.05). In contrast, majority Black and Hispanic ZCTAs had fewer licensed and ICU beds (CI [6.50, 124.25]; CI [0.69, 7.16]), with social disadvantage predicting lower licensed and ICU bed access per 1000 persons (p < 0.01). While news reports of inequitable access to COVID-19-related healthcare resources in ethnocultural minority communities have emerged, this is the first study to reveal that social disadvantage may be a major driver of hospital resource inequities in Black and Hispanic communities. Thus, it will be imperative to enact policies that ensure equitable allocation of healthcare resources to socially disadvantaged communities to address current and future public health crises.
The State of Functional Immunity of International Organizations and their Officials and Why it Should be Streamlined

International Organizations are important innovations of the twentieth century. In the last fifty years, they have managed to become global conglomerates by establishing a stake in every part of human life. Their growing role has brought the efficacy of the legal rules that govern their interaction into spotlight. This article inquires how functional immunity is erroneously understood and applied. It also presents arguments that should shape application thereof.
Predictable Corruption and Firm Investment: Evidence from a Natural Experiment and Survey of Cambodian Entrepreneurs

This paper utilizes a unique dataset of 500 firms in ten Cambodian provinces and a natural experiment to test a long-held convention in political economy that the predictability of a corruption is at least as important for firm investment decisions as the amount of bribes a firm must pay, provided the bribes are not prohibitively expensive. Our results suggest that this hypothesis is correct. Firms exposed to a shock to their bribe schedules by a change in governor invest significantly less in subsequent periods, as they wait for new information about their new chief executive. Furthermore, the amount of corruption (both measured by survey data and proxied by the number of commercial sex workers) is significantly lower in provinces with new governors. Our findings are robust to a battery of firm-level controls and province-level investment climate measures.
Tribochemistry of fluorinated ZnO nanoparticles and ZDDP lubricated interface and implications for enhanced anti-wear performance at boundary lubricated contacts

Abstract Surface-capped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were engineered to deliver beneficial anti-wear and anti-friction chemistries at sliding interfaces with a focus on potentially reducing environmentally hazardous zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) additive in automotive lubricants, without compromising tribological performance. A plasma polymerization technique was employed to coat ZnO nanoparticles, initially with fluorine rich polymer films to enhance the formation of surface protective tribofilms, followed by methacrylate-based coatings to reduce agglomeration and, simultaneously, induce stable dispersion of nanoparticles in the base oils. Formulation with an additive mixture of fluorinated ZnO and ZDDP (350 ppm phosphorus level) exhibited a reduction in the coefficient of friction and significantly improved wear performance. The improved tribological performance is attributed to the synergistic interaction between fluorinated ZnO and ZDDP and to the physical and chemical properties of the formed tribofilms. In-situ electrical contact resistance data highlighted the role of fluorinated ZnO nano-additives in reducing the incubation time for stable tribofilm formation. AFM, SEM, XANES, and XPS results revealed that oils with fluorinated ZnO form relatively thick, patchy tribofilms with hierarchical chemical structure enriched with zinc polyphosphates, coupled with minor amounts of metal fluorides, zinc, and iron sulfates and sulfides, further improving wear resistance under low concentration of ZDDP.
Narrow‐spectrum artificial light silences female fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

The rapid spread of artificial light at night (ALAN) poses myriad problems for nocturnal biodiversity. Bioluminescent taxa that communicate via glowing lures, warning signals, or courtship advertisements may have their signals obscured by artificial illumination, unless the added light is spectrally tuned to reduce its impact. Previous research has demonstrated that broad‐spectrum white light inhibits the production of courtship advertisements by male firefly beetles, yet the impact of varying wavelengths of artificial light on both members of the courtship dialogue is largely unknown. We exposed courting pairs of Photinus obscurellus fireflies to five colours of downwelling illumination, at two intensities, and recorded changes in male flash rate and flash intensity, female responsiveness, and the flash pattern composition of both sexes. All artificial light treatments significantly suppressed courtship activity. Bright amber light had the greatest impact, suggesting that ALAN which most overlaps the spectrum of firefly bioluminescence will most disrupt firefly courtship. Our findings contradict similar investigations of non‐bioluminescent taxa and raise concerns about the possibility of a universal standard for ecologically sustainable ALAN.
The Firm Size Effect and the Economic Cycle

Small firms have, on average, lower return on assets and higher leverage than do large firms. Small firms tend to do well in good economic conditions but to perform poorly in the worst economic conditions. We investigate the hypothesis that the small firm effect is manifest in the expansion phase of the economic cycle but not in the contraction phase. The empirical results of our study confirm the hypothesis for 1976-1995. We use the alpha, residual, and regression methods in testing the hypothesis.
New family of Ln9Mn4 (Ln = Gd, Tb, Dy) and Y9Mn4 clusters from the use of methyl-2-pyridyl-ketone oxime in heterometallic Mn chemistry

Abstract A new family of [Ln9Mn4O8(OH)4(O2CPh)17(mpko)4] (LnIII = Gd (2) , Tb (3) , Dy (4) ; 2MnIII, 2MnIV) clusters and their diamagnetic YIII analog (1) have been obtained from the reaction of Mn(O2CPh)2, LnCl3 or YCl3, methyl-2-pyridyl-ketone oxime (mpkoH), and NMe4OH in a 2:2:2:4 M ratio in MeCN/CH2Cl2 (22:3 mL). The crystal structure of 4·CH2Cl2·8MeCN reveals a very low-symmetry core comprising a [Dy2Mn2O4] cubane sandwiched between a {Dy7MnO4(OH)4} unit and an external Mn atom; alternatively, it can be described as a zig-zag 1-D {MnIVOMnIVO2MnIIIOMnIII}6+ unit sandwiched between Dy5 and Dy4 units. Fitting of the variable-temperature, solid-state dc and ac magnetic susceptibility data on the Mn4 unit of 1 revealed dominant antiferromagnetic (AF) Mn⋯Mn interactions: J1 = −22.5(9) cm−1, J2 = −7.6(5) cm−1, and J3 = +0.30(3) cm−1, with a constant g = 1.97, where J1, J2, and J3 are the J(MnIVMnIV), J(MnIVMnIII), and J(MnIIIMnIII) exchange parameters, respectively. These parameters indicate an S = 4 ground state with ST = 3 and ST = 2 excited states at 2.4 and 4.2 cm−1, respectively, above it. The many non-equivalent Mn∙∙∙Gd interactions in Gd9Mn4 complex 2 were deduced to include both F and AF interactions leading to an S = 18 or 19 ground state. Complexes 3 and 4 exhibited frequency-dependent ac out-of-phase (χ“M) signals below 4 K indicating them to be weak SMMs.
Demographic Correlates of Short-Term Mortality Among Youth and Young Adults With Youth-Onset Diabetes Diagnosed From 2002 to 2015: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study.

OBJECTIVE To examine short-term mortality and cause of death among youth and young adults (YYAs) with youth-onset diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We included 19,717 YYAs newly diagnosed with diabetes before 20 years of age from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2015 enrolled in the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study. Of these, 14,721 had type 1; 4,141 type 2; and 551 secondary and 304 other/unknown diabetes type. Cases were linked with the National Death Index through 31 December 2017. We calculated standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and 95% CIs based on age, sex, and race/ethnicity for state and county population areas and examined underlying causes of death. RESULTS During 170,148 person-years (PY) (median follow-up 8.5 years), 283 individuals died: 133 with type 1 (103.0/100,000 PY), 55 with type 2 (161.5/100,000 PY), 87 with secondary (1,952/100,000 PY), and 8 with other/unknown diabetes type (312.3/100,000 PY). SMRs (95% CI) for the first three groups were 1.5 (1.2-1.8), 2.3 (1.7-3.0), and 28.0 (22.4-34.6), respectively. Diabetes was the underlying cause of death for 42.1%, 9.1%, and 4.6% of deaths, respectively. The SMR was greater for type 2 than for type 1 diabetes (P < 0.001). SMRs were significantly higher for individuals with type 1 diabetes who were <20 years of age, non-Hispanic White and Hispanic, and female and for individuals with type 2 diabetes who were <25 years of age, from all race/ethnic minority groups, and from both sexes. CONCLUSION Excess mortality was observed among YYAs for each type of diabetes with differences in risk associated with diabetes type, age, race/ethnicity, and sex. The root causes of excess mortality among YYAs with diabetes merit further study.
Biobanking of derivatives from radical retropubic and robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy tissues as part of the prostate cancer biorepository network.

BACKGROUND The goal of the Prostate Cancer Biorepository Network (PCBN) is to develop a biorepository with high-quality, well-annotated specimens obtained in a systematic, reproducible fashion using optimized and standardized protocols, and an infrastructure to facilitate the growth of the resource and its wide usage by the prostate cancer research community. An emerging area of concern in the field of prostate cancer biobanking is an apparent shift in the proportion of surgical procedures performed for prostate cancer treatment from radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) to robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). Our study aimed to determine the potential impact of the RALP procedure on the detection of known prostate cancer biomarkers, and the subsequent suitability of RALP-derived specimens for prostate cancer biomarker studies. METHODS DNA and RNA were extracted from RRP and RALP specimens. Quality assessment was conducted using spectrophotometric analysis and RNA was analyzed for RNA integrity number (RIN) and by real-time reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) for racemase, hepsin, ERG, TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusions, and the microRNAs miR-26a, miR-26b, miR-141, and miR-221. RESULTS We demonstrate that extraction of derivatives from frozen tissues from RRP and RALP specimens yields samples of equally high quality as assessed by spectrophotometric and RIN analysis. Likewise, expression levels of genes analyzed by qRT-PCR did not differ between RRP and RALP-derived tissues. CONCLUSIONS Our studies indicate that samples obtained from RALP specimens may be suitable for prostate cancer biomarker studies—an important finding given the current shift in surgical procedures for prostate cancer treatment. Prostate 74:61–69, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Parameter convergence of a class of adaptive controllers

Concerns a class of adaptive control schemes, motivated from nonlinear systems theory, for minimum-phase linear time-invariant plants. Under certain assumptions on the plant transfer function, these schemes guarantee uniform signal boundedness and good transient and steady state response for the regulation or tracking error. In this paper we show that these schemes can guarantee exponential convergence of the tracking and parameter error to zero provided the reference signal is sufficiently rich.
Membrane transport in hepatic clearance of drugs. I: Extended hepatic clearance models incorporating concentration-dependent transport and elimination processes.

Purpose. The objective of the present study was to develop hepatic clearance models which incorporate a unidirectional carrier-mediated uptake and bidirectional diffusional transport processes for drug transport in the sinusoidal membrane of hepatocytes as well as nonlinear intrinsic elimination.
Static Analysis of a Microscale Cricket Filiform Hair Socket

Filiform hairs of crickets are of great interest to engineers because of their highly sensitive response to low velocity air currents. In this study, the cercal sensory system of a common house cricket has been analyzed. The sensory system consists of two antennae like appendages called cerci that are situated at the rear of the cricket’s abdomen. Each cercus is covered with 500–750 flow sensitive hairs that are embedded in a complex viscoelastic socket that acts as a spring -dashpot system and guides the movement of the hair. When the hair deflects due to the drag force induced on its length by a moving air-current, the spiking activity of the neuron and the combined spiking activity of all hairs are extracted by the cercal sensory system. The hair has been experimentally studied by few researchers though its characteristics are not fully understood. The socket structure has not been analyzed experimentally or theoretically from a mechanical standpoint. Therefore, this study aims to understand the socket’s behavior and its interaction with the filiform hair by conducting static analysis. First, a 3D Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model, representing hair and hair-socket, has been developed. Then the static analysis is conducted utilizing the appropriate load and boundary conditions based on the physical conditions that an insect experiences. These numerical analyses aid to understand the deformation mechanism the hair and hair-socket system. The operating principles of the hair and hair-socket could be used for the design of highly responsive MEMS devices such as fluid flow sensors or micro-manipulators.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Prototyping 1,4-butanediol (BDO) biosynthesis pathway in a cell-free transcription-translation (TX-TL) system

Current methods for assembling metabolic pathways require a process of repeated trial and error and have a long design-build-test cycle. Further, it remains a challenge to precisely tune enzyme expression levels for maximizing target metabolite production. Recently it was shown that a cell-free transcriptional-translation system (TX-TL) can be used to rapidly prototype novel complex biocircuits as well as metabolic pathways. TX-TL systems allow protein expression from multiple DNA pieces, opening up the possibility of modulating concentrations of DNA encoding individual pathway enzymes and testing the related effect on metabolite production. In this work, we demonstrate TX-TL as a platform for exploring the design space of metabolic pathways using a 1,4-BDO biosynthesis pathway as an example. Using TX-TL, we verified enzyme expression and enzyme activity and identified the conversion of 4-hydroxybutyrate to downstream metabolites as a limiting step of the 1,4-BDO pathway. We further tested combinations of various enzyme expression levels and found increasing downstream enzyme expression levels improved 1,4-BDO production.
Comparison of short-channel effect and offstate leakage in symmetric vs. asymmetric double gate MOSFETs

Double gate MOSFETs (DGFETs) in the sub-0.1 /spl mu/m regime are unlikely to use channel doping to set the threshold voltage, V/sub t/. Therefore, work function engineering is required to properly set V/sub t/. Asymmetric DGFETs use one n/sup +/ and one p/sup +/-poly gate to achieve a reasonable threshold voltage (Tanaka et al., 1994), whereas symmetric DGFETs use the same near-midgap material for both gates. This results in significantly different energy-band diagrams. The on-state drive currents in these two structures have been shown to be comparable to each other if off-state leakage currents are balanced; in the on-state, the asymmetric DGFET matches the inherent two-channel advantage of the symmetric DGFET with a single dynamic-threshold channel (Kim and Fossum, 1999). However, their short-channel effects should differ, since the two structures have different leakage paths. In this paper, the MEDICI 2D device simulator is used to study off-state leakage current in NMOS DGFETs as a function of channel length. The short-channel leakage behavior is explained by analyzing the change in the channel potential barrier.
Risk Alert: An Educator's Brief on Dangerous Plants

I ntegrating nature and environmental science into the curriculum is a growing trend. There are recycling programs, nature trails, field trips, print and video materials, nature games, and plants and animals in the classroom. Three cheers for education and the planet Earth! A word of caution, however, should accompany the cheers. Recently, I was in an elementary classroom where children had gathered mint leaves from the playground and were smelling and tasting them as an introduction to a unit on the senses. It was a good motivating activity, and the youngsters were very excited. From a danger viewpoint, the activity was low risk because mint leaves are not hazardous except in cases of a specific allergy or when very large quantities of the leaves are ingested (Hartley 1990). In the same room, however, there were two dieffenbachia plants and a crocus on the windowsill. The entryway to the school office was also adorned with several large dieffenbachias. During our conference after the lesson, I discovered that the teacher was not aware that dieffenbachia and crocus plants are toxic. My concern was, that in their zeal, the children might be tempted to taste those plants or other plants found on the playground. The outcome could be serious because dieffenbachia, for example, contains a substance that can cause the lips, tongue, and throat to swell to the extent that the affected individual cannot speak (hence, dieffenbachia's common name-"dumbcane"). Breathing can be influenced and, in extreme cases, suffocation exists. Chewing crocus leaves can lead to similar symptoms and severe gastrointestinal involvement as well. My concerns about dangerous plants were heightened on my annual trek as a judge on the science-fair circuit. I encountered projects such as "Plant Responses to Magnetic Fields," "Do Plants Grow Better When Exposed to Classical or Rock Music," and "Edible Wild Plants." At
Consequences of approximate S(3) symmetry of the neutrino mass matrix

Assuming that the neutrino mass matrix is dominated by a term with the permutation symmetry ${S}_{3}$ it is possible to explain neutrino data only if the masses are quasidegenerate. A subdominant term with an approximate $\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\tau}$ symmetry leads to an approximate tribimaximal form. Experimental consequences are discussed.
A diffusion method for determination of CO2 in solids

Abstract A method for the estimation of CO2 in calcified tissues and other low carbonate solids is described using the Obrink modification of the Conway diffusion technique. Carbon dioxide is liberated from the solid by a strong acid and quantitatively converts Ba(OH)2 to BaCO3. The amount of acid required to neutralize the base is used to calculate the quantity of CO2. Reliable standards were prepared by mixing ashed tricalcium phosphate and lead carbonate in a triturator. A total of 90 determinations was made on 5-mg samples; calculated CO2 values ranged from 0.20 to 11.32% CO2. The method is particularly applicable when only small quantities of sample are available or when a large number of determinations must be made.
Testing is Confidence Estimation: Partition Multiple Testing

Hypothesis testing and confidence set estimation coexist as two related but disparate methods of statistical inference. As is well known, a confidence set is equivalent to a family of hypothesis tests—a relationship often exploited to develop confidence sets. In this paper, an extension of hypothesis testing is considered which often makes testing equivalent to confidence estimation. In the extension, with roots in partition multiple testing, all parameter points are tested—not only those corresponding to the null hypotheses. Consequently, the conclusion of a test is a confidence set, whether or not the null hypothesis is rejected, and the more specific inference of a confidence set is obtained with no loss of power to reject the null hypothesis. The methodology, known to be applicable for individual tests, is extended here to multiple testing, or multiple comparisons. The literature on confidence estimation is reviewed in view of this extension of testing, to explore the nature and extent of the resulting stronger connections between these two methods of inference. Cases considered include basic t-tests and related extensions, the Tukey-Kramer and Scheffe single-step multiple tests, and certain step-down partition tests. Compelling evidence is provided that the traditional approach to hypothesis testing should in almost all cases be replaced with the partition multiple test extension presented here, so as to yield the same specific conclusions as corresponding confidence sets.
Self-assembled Janus-like multi-ionic lithium salts form nano-structured solid polymer electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and Li+ ion transference number

A solid polymer electrolyte with high ambient temperature conductivity, 4 × 10−4 S cm−1, and transference number, tLi+ = 0.6, is formed from blends of polyethylene oxide (PEO) and a multi-ionic polyoctahedral silsesquioxane lithium salt, POSS-phenyl7(BF3Li)3, with Janus-like properties. A two-phase morphology is proposed in which the hydrophobic phenyl groups cluster and crystallize, and the three –BF3− form an anionic pocket, with the Li+ ions solvated by the PEO phase. The high ionic conductivity results from interfacial migration of Li+ ions loosely bonded to three –BF3− anions and the ether oxygens of PEO. Physical crosslinks formed between PEO/Li+ chains and the POSS clusters account for the solid structure of the amorphous PEO matrix. The solid polymer electrolyte has an electrochemical stability window of 4.6 V and excellent interfacial stability with lithium metal.
Consumers' Attitudes Toward Clothing Coupons

Couponing has been widely used in many product categories but notfor clothing products. This research investigates thefeasibility of clothing coupons by studying consumers' attitudes toward a clothing coupon and buying intentions toward a coupon-promoted brand. Data collectedfrom 170 participants reveal that the majority of the respondents have favorable attitudes toward clothing coupons and strong buying intentions toward a coupon-promoted brand. Significant relationships are found between a consumer's attitude toward clothing coupons and coupon proneness, number of children, education, and household income. Although consumers' brand loyalty is not significantly related to their attitude toward clothing coupons, it is significantly related to the level of consumers' buying intentions toward a coupon-promoted brand.
EFFECTS OF CORTISONE ON DENTINOGENESIS IN MANDIBULAR FIRST MOLARS OF ALBINO RATS.

Abstract The effects on dentinogenesis of cortisone administered in the diet (0.2 mg per g of food) was studied on comparable central undecalcified sections cut in the mesio-distal direction of mandibular first molars of 144 young albino rats. Results showed that cortisone depressed dentinogenesis, somatic growth, and to a small extent, food intake. Body weights were rapidly recovered when cortisone treatment was stopped. Dentinogenesis at the mid-occlusal surface and below the disto-occlusal groove did not recover. The apposition of dentine at the cervical level of the tooth was only slightly influenced by the dietary regime and by cortisone. Semi-starvation per se inhibited somatic growth proportionally more than it affected the magnitude of dentine apposition.
Validation of a model of information seeking over multiple search sessions

Most information systems share a common assumption: information seeking is discrete. Such an assumption neither reflects real-life information seeking processes nor conforms to the perspective of phenomenology, "life is a journey constituted by continuous acquisition of knowledge." Thus, this study develops and validates a theoretical model that explains successive search experience for essentially the same information problem. The proposed model is called Multiple Information Seeking Episodes (MISE), which consists of four dimensions: problematic situation, information problem, information seeking process, episodes. Eight modes of multiple information seeking episodes are identified and specified with properties of the four dimensions of MISE. The results partially validate MISE by finding that the original MISE model is highly accurate, but less sufficient in characterizing successive searches; all factors in the MISE model are empirically confirmed, but new factors are identified as well. The revised MISE model is shifted from the user-centered to the interaction-centered perspective, taking into account factors of searcher, system, search activity, search context, information attainment, and information use activities.
Two dissimilar brothers with Becker's dystrophy have an identical genetic defect

Becker9s muscular dystrophy is phenotypically heterogeneous, but the clinical expression is usually similar in patients within the same family. We report here 2 brothers affected with Becker9s muscular dystrophy in whom the disease followed completely different courses. The disease started in both patients before their teens. However, the oldest sibling died at 37, following many years of severe disability, whereas the other sibling, now 26, has normal muscle strength. In addition, since the age of 13, the younger brother has had epilepsy and has been treated with phenytoin combined with other antiepileptic drugs. Analysis of the DNA from each of the 2 brothers revealed a similar deletion at the 59 end of the dystrophin gene. The different clinical courses despite the similar mutational event suggest that intrinsic muscle factors due to modified genes or environmental phenomena such as prolonged treatment with phenytoin or other antiepileptic agents may have influenced the clinical course.
Effect of nucleation and plasticization on the crystallization of poly(lactic acid)

Abstract In this paper, different strategies to promote PLA crystallization were investigated with the objective of increasing the crystalline content under typical polymer processing conditions. The effect of heterogeneous nucleation was assessed by adding talc, sodium stearate and calcium lactate as potential nucleating agents. The PLA chain mobility was increased by adding up to 10 wt% acetyl triethyl citrate and polyethylene glycol as plasticizers. The crystallization kinetics were studied using DSC analysis under both isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. The isothermal data showed that talc is highly effective in nucleating the PLA in the 80–120 °C temperature range. In the non-isothermal DSC experiments, the crystallinity developed upon cooling was systematically studied at cooling rates of 10, 20, 40, and 80 °C/min. The non-isothermal data showed that the combination of nucleant and plasticizer is necessary to develop significant crystallinity at high cooling rates. The nucleated and/or plasticized PLA samples were injection molded and the effect of mold temperature on crystallinity was determined. It was possible to mold the PLA formulations using mold temperatures either below 40 °C or greater than 60 °C. At low temperature, the molded parts were nearly amorphous while at high mold temperatures, the PLA formulation with proper nucleation and plasticization was shown to achieve crystallinity levels up to 40%, close to the maximum crystalline content of the material. Tensile mechanical properties and temperature resistance of these amorphous and semi-crystalline materials were examined.
Mouse embryo quality control for toxicity determination in the Norfolk in vitro fertilization program

Ongoing quality control is necessary as part of the maintenance and improvement of a successful human in vitro fertilization (IVF) program. Using a mouse quality-control culture system, several instrument preparation protocols were reevaluated to determine their efficiency in the control or elimination of potential toxicity. Dilute concentrations of urine and endometrial fluid were also tested. Medium rinsed through laparoscope and aspiration needles failed to support embryo development. This effect was reversed in needles that were pretreated with rinses of Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline. Endometrial fluid demonstrated no obvious toxic effect, but urine-exposed embryos arrested in the two-cell state. The importance of periodic evaluation of materials and their pretreatment before use in in vitro fertilization of human oocytes is essential to ensure control of potentially toxic substances.
Mechanisms of Neuronal Hyperexcitability Caused by Partial Inhibition of Na+-K+-ATPases in the Rat CA1 Hippocampal Region

Extra- and intracellular records were made from rat acute hippocampal slices to examine the effects of partial inhibition of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPases (Na(+)-K(+) pumps) on neuronal hyperexcitability. Bath application of the low-affinity cardiac glycoside, dihydroouabain (DHO), reversibly induced interictal-like epileptiform bursting activity in the CA1 region. Burst-firing was correlated with inhibition of the pumps, which was assayed by changes in [K(+)](o) uptake rates measured with K(+)-ion-sensitive microelectrodes. Large increases in resting [K(+)](o) did not occur. DHO induced a transient depolarization (5-6 mV) followed by a long-lasting hyperpolarization (approximately 6 mV) in CA1 pyramidal neurons, which was accompanied by a 30% decrease in resting input resistance. Block of an electrogenic pump current could explain the depolarization but not the hyperpolarization of the membrane. Increasing [K(+)](o) from 3 to 5.5 mM minimized these transient shifts in passive membrane properties without preventing DHO-induced hyperexcitability. DHO decreased synaptic transmission, but increased the coupling between excitatory postsynaptic potentials and spike firing (E-S coupling). Monosynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) amplitudes declined to approximately 25% of control at the peak of bursting activity; however, miniature TTX-resistant inhibitory postsynaptic current amplitudes were unaffected. DHO also reduced the initial slope of the intracellular excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) to approximately 40% of control. The conductances of pharmacologically isolated IPSPs and EPSPs in high-Ca/high-Mg-containing saline were also reduced by DHO by approximately 50%. The extracellular fiber volley amplitude was reduced by 15-20%, suggesting that the decrease in neurotransmission was partly due to a reduction in presynaptic fiber excitability. DHO enhanced a late depolarizing potential that was superimposed on the EPSP and could obscure it. This potential was not blocked by antagonists of NMDA receptors, and blockade of NMDA, mGlu, or GABA(A) receptors did not affect burst firing. The late depolarizing component enabled the pyramidal cells to reach spike threshold without changing the actual voltage threshold for firing. We conclude that reduced GABAergic potentials and enhanced E-S coupling are the primary mechanisms underlying the hyperexcitability associated with impaired Na(+)-K(+) pump activity.
Vascular Diseases in Birds of Prey

Abstract In birds of prey, vascular disease can be caused by a number of infectious or noninfectious agents and is in all likelihood underdiagnosed. This review attempts to provide a discussion of the available literature regarding vascular diseases in raptors by describing a number of conditions or etiological agents (e.g., atherosclerosis, aneurysms, bacterial and septicemic conditions, thromboembolic disease, and viral, fungal, parasitic, and miscellaneous diseases) and the vascular pathology that may occur with each.
Effects of ocean thermal energy conversion systems on near and far field seawater properties—A case study for Hawaii

In light of renewed interest and efforts in the development of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) systems with a vision to provide mankind with a long-lasting energy resource, the potential environmental impacts of this technology should be considered from the perspective of sustainability. As an important step toward such a goal, we examine effects of OTEC effluent discharge on the physical aspects of the ocean environment near a Hawaiian Island in the North Pacific Ocean. We use modeling tools comprised of a mixing model that predicts the near field dilution of effluent plumes and a high-resolution ocean circulation model that simulates the dispersion of effluent in the far field. Numerical experiments are conducted to explore factors that influence effluent dispersal. We find that OTEC thermal resource is favorable and stable at the chosen location for the time period experimented. For a given OTEC design, the effluent discharge settles at a depth sufficiently far from the depths of discharge or in...
Metastatic bone disease in breast cancer: The patient's perspective

Abstract Bone metastases represent a common source of morbidity and disability and are the cause of a significant decrease in quality of life in patients with advanced disease. Because the clinical course of metastatic bone disease can be long, effective palliative therapy is essential to maintain a good quality of life. Bisphosphonates have been proven as beneficial agents in the management of patients with lytic metastatic disease to bone. Although no effect on survival has been consistently shown, bisphosphonates can provide specific symptom control and prevent the progression of bone metastases and their complications. Bisphosphonates also have an established role in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, which is a significant problem in women with breast cancer, with or without bone metastases. Because bisphosphonate treatment is not designed to be curative, tolerability and patient friendliness are very important factors in bisphosphonate therapy. Highly potent third-generation bisphosphonates offer significant advantages from the patient's perspective, such as the possiility of outpatient treatment through shortened infusion times for intravenous (IV) formulations, and the avilability of once-daily oral formulations.
Implications of observation-fact modifiers to i2b2 ontologies

Biomedical translational research can be facilitated by integrating clinical and research data. In particular, study cohort identification and hypothesis generation is enabled by the mining of integrated clinical observations and research resources. The "informatics for integrating biology and the bedside, " or i2b2, framework is widely used for this biomedical data mining. The i2b2 "star schema" data model using entity-attribute-value (EA V) formatted concepts is a very efficient strategy for querying large amounts of data. However, until the most recent i2b2 release, the utility of the platform was somewhat constrained by the limitations on being able to express "facts about facts" - i.e., modify the observations about the patients. We have found that exploiting the new modifier functionality has significantly and favorably impacted the design of i2b2 ontologies, leading to easier and more meaningful query results.
DCMSVM: Distributed parallel training for single-machine multiclass classifiers

We present an algorithm and implementation for distributed parallel training of single-machine multiclass SVMs. While there is ongoing and healthy debate about the best strategy for multiclass classification, there are some features of the single-machine approach that are not available when training alternatives such as one-vs-all, and that are quite complex for tree based methods. One obstacle to exploring single-machine approaches on large datasets is that they are usually limited to running on a single machine! We build on a framework borrowed from parallel convex optimization — the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) — to develop a new consensus based algorithm for distributed training of single-machine approaches. This is demonstrated with an implementation of our novel sequential dual algorithm (DCMSVM) which allows distributed parallel training with small communication requirements. Benchmark results show significant reduction in wall clock time compared to current state of the art multiclass SVM implementation (Liblinear) on a single node. Experiments are performed on large scale image classification including results with modern high-dimensional features.
Matching Physical Sites with Web Sites for Semantic Localization

Locations are often expressed in physical coordinates such as an [X, Y] tuple in some coordinate system. Unfortunately, a vast majority of location-based applications desire the semantic translation of coordinates, i.e., store-names like Starbucks, Macy's, Panera. Past work has mostly focused on achieving localization accuracy, while assuming that the translation of physical to semantic coordinates will be done manually. In this paper, we explore an opportunity for automatic semantic localization -- the presence of a website corresponding to each physical store. We propose to correlate the information seen in a physical store with that found in websites of the stores around that location, to recognize that store. Specifically, we assume a repository of crowdsourced WiFi-tagged pictures from different stores. By correlating words inside the pictures, against words extracted from store websites, our proposed system can automatically label clusters of pictures, and the corresponding WiFi APs, with the store name. Later, when a user enters a store, her smartphone can scan the WiFi APs and consult a lookup table to recognize the store she is in. Our preliminary experiments with 18 stores in a shopping mall show that, our prototype system could correctly match the text from the physical stores with the text extracted from the corresponding web sites and hence label WiFi APs with store names with an accuracy upwards of 90%, which encourages us to pursue this study further. Moreover, we believe the core idea of correlating physical and web sites has broader applications beyond semantic localization, leading to better product placement and shopping experience, yielding benefits for both store owners and shoppers.
ReviewCollage: a mobile interface for direct comparison using online reviews

Review comments posted in online websites can help the user decide a product to purchase or place to visit. They can also be useful to closely compare a couple of candidate entities. However, the user may have to read different webpages back and forth for comparison, and this is not desirable particularly when she is using a mobile device. We present ReviewCollage, a mobile interface that aggregates information about two reviewed entities in a one-page view. ReviewCollage uses attribute-value pairs, known to be effective for review text summarization, and highlights the similarities and differences between the entities. Our user study confirms that ReviewCollage can support the user to compare two entities and make a decision within a couple of minutes, at least as quickly as existing summarization interfaces. It also reveals that ReviewCollage could be most useful when two entities are very similar.
Monopole ionization and the transition from weak to strong coupling in gauge theories

The influence of long-range gauge-field configurations on the Wilson loop integral W is discussed. It is shown that W can in principle be found from effective two- or three-dimensional models. The long-range fields considered are in two dimensions a vortex field, and in three dimensions a magnetic monopole field; the connection between these is that a monopole in three dimensions creates a vortex in two dimensions. Models of the statistical distribution of vortices or monopoles are invented and used to study the effect of these fields on W. It is suggested that the transition from weak to strong coupling might be due to a topological order-disorder phase transition in which monopoles are liberated. The XY model is discussed as an analog system with such a phase transition.
Defining a Schistosomiasis Vaccination Strategy – Is it really Th1 versus Th2?

Successful vaccine development for schistosomiasis has been hindered by a lack of consensus on the type of immune response that would provide maximum levels of protective immunity and incomplete knowledge of the key antiparasite effector mechanisms. Many vaccine studies conducted in mice support type-1-cytokine-mediated effector mechanisms, while acquired resistance in humans correlates with type-2-cytokine-mediated responses. However, recent data from cytokine-knockout mice suggest that choosing between these opposing pathways may be less important than previously hypothesized, as discussed here by Thomas Wynn and Karl Hoffmann.
Mandatory influenza vaccination programs for health care personnel in NACHRI-associated children's hospitals vs. non-children's hospitals.

We conducted a national study of children’s hospitals and neighboring general medical-surgical hospitals to examine their employee vaccination policies. Survey questions addressed health care personnel (HCP) influenza vaccination policies for the 2009–2010 (seasonal, H1N1) and 2010–2011 (H1N1+seasonal = combined) influenza seasons at each hospital, assessment of primary objectives behind hospitals’ influenza vaccination policies, and information about influenza vaccination policies for inpatient children. We conducted standard univariate and bivariate statistical analyses. The study sample included 136 hospitals: 71 children’s hospitals (response rate = 59%) and 65 matched non-children’s hospitals (39%). Children’s hospitals were significantly more likely than non-children’s institutions to have mandatory H1N1 influenza vaccination policies for their HCP in 2009–10 (27% vs. 13%, p = 0.03). There were no differences in HCP influenza vaccination policies otherwise: 25% in both groups with mandatory seasonal...
The effect of text genre on parent use of joint book reading strategies to promote phonological awareness

Abstract This study compared the rates of different types of joint book reading behaviors of parents of preschool children with and without language impairments using two different text genres. Participants included 72 preschool children between the ages of 51 and 70 months. Fifty-five children were typically developing and 17 were diagnosed with language impairments. Parent–child dyads were videotaped during periods of joint book reading using two different types of text (one alphabet-rhyming and one narrative). Results indicated parents rarely used reading behaviors known to enhance their preschoolers’ phonological awareness. However, when used, there was a significant difference between the two types of texts. The alphabet book elicited a higher rate of phonological awareness and print concept behaviors, while the narrative book resulted in parents using more content behaviors. In addition, the parents of typically developing children used more phonological awareness behaviors than the parents of children with language impairments.
Pipeline gating: speculation control for energy reduction

Branch prediction has enabled microprocessors to increase instruction level parallelism (ILP) by allowing programs to speculatively execute beyond control boundaries. Although speculative execution is essential for increasing the instructions per cycle (IPC), it does come at a cost. A large amount of unnecessary work results from wrong-path instructions entering the pipeline due to branch misprediction. Results generated with the SimpleScalar tool set using a 4-way issue pipeline and various branch predictors show an instruction overhead of 16% to 105% for event instruction committed. The instruction overhead will increase in the future as processors use more aggressive speculation and wider issue widths. In this paper we present an innovative method for power reduction ,which, unlike previous work that sacrificed flexibility or performance reduces power in high-performance microprocessors without impacting performance. In particular we introduce a hardware mechanism called pipeline gating to control rampant speculation in the pipeline. We present inexpensive mechanisms for determining when a branch is likely to mispredict, and for stopping wrong-path instructions from entering the pipeline. Results show up to a 38% reduction in wrong-path instructions with a negligible performance loss (/spl ap/1%). Best of all, even in programs with a high branch prediction accuracy, performance does not noticeable degrade. Our analysis indicates that there is little risk in implementing this method in existing processors since it does not impact performance and can benefit energy reduction.
Mental Distress and Family Functioning among Married Parents Bereaved by a Child's Sudden Death:

A child's sudden death is a highly traumatic event for parents and siblings. This study examined mental distress and family functioning in a sample of 32 married couples that were part of a larger study of parents whose adolescent or young adult children had died suddenly by accident, suicide, or homicide. Parents were recruited into the study 4–7 months after the child's death. Cohesion, flexibility, and mental distress were the variables of interest, and individual scores were compared at three time points: baseline, 6 and 18 months later. The variables examined point to theoretical and practical problems clinicians might encounter when planning interventions with bereaved families to promote optimal coping, cohesion, and flexibility after a child's violent death.
Cell surface antigens detected on mature and leukemic granulocytic populations by cytotoxicity testing.

Using a microcytotoxicity assay, the serological reactivity of human granulocytes, namely neutrophils and eosinophils, and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells and cultured CML cell lines (K562, NALM-1) were examined. Mature granulocyte forms and cord granulocytes are readily lysed by specific granulocyte cytotoxins that do not react with random T and B lymphocytes, monocytes, red blood cells, or platelets. Furthermore, certain antisera were preferentially cytotoxic for eosinophil-enriched populations. Granulocytotoxins detected antigens on one of three CML blast cell populations tested and K562, but failed to react with NALM-1. By cytotoxicity, mature granulocytes were poor targets for B2-microglobulin and the appropriate HLA antisera although both sera types are absorbed with granulocytes. Furthermore, granulocytes did not possess B-lymphocytes (la-like) or blood group A, B, and Rh (D) antigens. Except for K562, both HLA and heterologous B-lymphocyte antisera were cytotoxic for the CML blast cell populations tested.