cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inviting manuscripts to interprofessional education reports

Abstract The Journal announces a new section called “Interprofessional Education Reports” within our Short Communications manuscript category. Manuscripts in this section seek to facilitate prompt dissemination of innovative, promising, early-stage interprofessional education models alongside thoughtful analysis related to insights gained and barriers identified/overcome by pharmacy educators working to address interprofessional education requirements.
A framework for an alternatives assessment dashboard for evaluating chemical alternatives applied to flame retardants for electronic applications

The goal of alternatives assessment (AA) is to facilitate a comparison of alternatives to a chemical of concern, resulting in the identification of safer alternatives. A two-stage methodology for comparing chemical alternatives was developed. In the first stage, alternatives are compared using a variety of human health effects, ecotoxicity, and physicochemical properties. Hazard profiles are completed using a variety of online sources and quantitative structure–activity relationship models. In the second stage, alternatives are evaluated utilizing an exposure/risk assessment over the entire life cycle. Exposure values are calculated using screening-level near-field and far-field exposure models. The second stage allows one to more accurately compare potential exposure to each alternative and consider additional factors that may not be obvious from separate binned persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity scores. The methodology was utilized to compare phosphate-based alternatives for decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) in electronic applications.
Efficiency Comparison of Grid Side Converters for DC Distribution Systems

This paper aims to study the energy losses in Grid Side Converters (GSCs) used for grid connection of DC residential distribution systems, including renewables and storage. Two different electrical architectures have been considered, the former using an H-bridge as GSC and the latter a PFC active rectifier in association with a storage system. An observation time of one year has been fixed. The analysis is based on the same amount of energy generated by renewables and load demand, in both cases. A detailed formulation of the power losses in each component of the power converter is given. A comparison of the energy lost yearly in both the GSCs is presented, considering different sizing of the storage system.
Conclusion: The Deeper You Dig, the Dirtier It Gets

In investigating the links between terror, violence, increasing inequalities, and poverty, anthropologist Michael Taussig emphasizes the words of a social working trying to deal with the escalating violences he sees people trying to live within. He (the social worker) stated that the “…deeper you dig, the dirtier it gets; the web of connections, the tangled family histories of failure, abuse and neglect spread out in awesomely unmanageable proportions” (Taussig 2004:269).
Secretive eating among youth with overweight or obesity

Abstract Purpose Secretive eating, characterized by eating privately to conceal being seen, may reflect eating- and/or body-related shame, be associated with depression, and correlate with binge eating, which predicts weight gain and eating disorder onset. Increasing understanding of secretive eating in youth may improve weight status and reduce eating disorder risk. This study evaluated the prevalence and correlates of secretive eating in youth with overweight or obesity. Methods Youth ( N = 577) presented to five research/clinical institutions. Using a cross-sectional design, secretive eating was evaluated in relation to eating-related and general psychopathology via linear and logistic regression analyses. Results Secretive eating was endorsed by 111 youth, who were, on average, older than youth who denied secretive eating (mean age = 12.07 ± 2.83 versus 10.97 ± 2.31). Controlling for study site and age, youth who endorsed secretive eating had higher eating-related psychopathology and were more likely to endorse loss of control eating and purging than their counterparts who did not endorse secretive eating. Groups did not differ in excessive exercise or behavioral problems. Dietary restraint and purging were elevated among adolescents (≥13y) but not children ( Conclusions Secretive eating may portend heightened risk for eating disorders, and correlates of secretive eating may differ across pediatric development. Screening for secretive eating may inform identification of problematic eating behaviors, and understanding factors motivating secretive eating may improve intervention tailoring.
Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (NCPS) Fuel Element Testing in the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES)

To support the on-going nuclear thermal propulsion effort, a state-of-the-art non nuclear experimental test setup has been constructed to evaluate the performance characteristics of candidate fuel element materials and geometries in representative environments. The facility to perform this testing is referred to as the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environment Simulator (NTREES). Last year NTREES was successfully used to satisfy a testing milestone for the Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (NCPS) project and met or exceeded all required objectives.
Robert L. Comis: In Memoriam

The oncology community remembers, with great affection, Dr. Robert L. Comis, and his many contributions to the field.
An Assessment of Asthma Therapy in the Pediatric ICU

OBJECTIVES: To describe asthma management, investigate practice variation, and describe asthma-associated charges and resource use during asthma management in the PICU. METHODS: Children ages 2 to 18 years treated for status asthmaticus in the PICU from 2008 to 2011 are included in this study. This is a retrospective, single-center, cohort study. Data were collected by using the Intermountain Healthcare Enterprise Data Warehouse. RESULTS: There were 262 patients included and grouped by maximal respiratory support intervention. Seventy percent of the patients did not receive escalation of respiratory support beyond nasal cannula or nonrebreather mask, and the majority of these patients received only first-tier recommended therapy. For all patients, medical imaging and laboratory charge fractions accounted for 3 days versus CONCLUSIONS: In our study, the vast majority of patients with severe asthma were treated with minimal interventions alone (nasal cannula or nonrebreather mask and first-tier medications). Minimizing PICU length of stay is likely the most successful way to decrease expense during asthma care.
Formation and Stability of Base Metal Phosphates in Soils and Sediments

Most textbooks and journal articles contend that the stable forms in which the base metals are likely to occur in the aerobic environments are as the oxides and the carbonates. Since the base metal carbonates and oxides are fairly soluble (see Garrels and Christ 1965; Stumm and Morgan 1970), the conclusion is inescapable that, when in a dispersed form, the base metals are sorbed onto the sediment and soil particles. The dearth of pertinent thermochemical data apparently has forestalled any attempt to consider the supergene formation and stability of the base metal phosphates. Using the available (Nriagu 1974) or predictive thermochemical data, this report explores the role of the formation of base metal phosphates in the dispersion and fixation of the base metals in soils and sediments. Evidence which implicates the formation of insoluble lead phosphates in roadside soils is also considered in detail.
Urinary nitrite and urinary-tract infection.

Two dipstick procedures and an automated quantitative urinary nitrite assay were used to study nitrite in 786 samples of urine submitted to the bacteriology laboratory for routine culture and sensitivity testing. Many samples that had more than 100,000 nitrite-reducing organisms/ml and no detectable nitrite were studied. Limited nitrate concentration in urine was not a significant cause of false-negative nitrite results. However, in some urine samples nitrite added in vitro was lost during a four-hour incubation in vitro at 37 C in the presence of more than 100,000 nitrite-reducing organisms/ml. Ascorbic acid, abnormal amounts of urobilinogen, and urinary p H below 6.0 are all possible causes of false-negative nitrite determinations.
STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS FOR FINITE LIFETIME

The aerodynamic heating accompanying supersonic and hypersonic flight renders design for infinite lifetime impossible. At moderately high temperatures creep sets in and causes rupture in tension and buckling in compression, even under relatively small loads if they act for a sufficiently long time. At extremely high temperatures the structural material, or its protective covering, melts, vaporizes, sublimes, or burns. The analyst must be able to calculate the lifetime of the structural elements in order to ensure the safety of the structure. A few simple methods of analysis are presented in the report with the aid of which approximate calculations of the lifetime can be carried out.
Informational Ontology: The Meaning of Gilbert Simondon's Concept of Individuation

Abstract The French philosopher Gilbert Simondon (1924-1989) was the first true philosopher of information, yet heremains relatively unknown outside of his native France. This situation is curious, given the warm receptionhis work has received from a small group of internationally renowned thinkers. Simondon’s lifelong projectwas to expound the appearance of what I call an “informational ontology,” a subject that deserves to beaddresses at length. This article limits itself by focusing on three aspects of Simondon’s philosophy ofinformation. First, it situates Simondon within the French intellectual scene in post-World War II Europe toget sense of his cultural milieu. Second, it positions Simondon’s work in the context of the Americancybernetic tradition from which it emerged. Finally, it offers an exegesis of Simondon’s informationalontology, a radically new materialism that stands to change contemporary debates surrounding issues relatedto information, communication, and technology.
NSTS Data System

The Scripps data acquisition system (SAS), as described in Lowe et al. (1973), was used in the first two field experiments. Some important modifications were made to adapt that system to the specific requirements of the Santa Barbara experiment. The basic system consists of six pulse code modulated (PCM) encoders connected via very high frequency (VHF) radio-telemetry links or coaxial cable to a receiving/recording station where the signals were recorded with a time code on a tape deck. Because of an increase in data channels at Santa Barbara, four of the six encoders were expanded from fifteen data channels to thirty-one. This gave the total system a capacity of 154 channels of data.
The BabySeq project: implementing genomic sequencing in newborns

The greatest opportunity for lifelong impact of genomic sequencing is during the newborn period. The “BabySeq Project” is a randomized trial that explores the medical, behavioral, and economic impacts of integrating genomic sequencing into the care of healthy and sick newborns. Families of newborns are enrolled from Boston Children’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital nurseries, and half are randomized to receive genomic sequencing and a report that includes monogenic disease variants, recessive carrier variants for childhood onset or actionable disorders, and pharmacogenomic variants. All families participate in a disclosure session, which includes the return of results for those in the sequencing arm. Outcomes are collected through review of medical records and surveys of parents and health care providers and include the rationale for choice of genes and variants to report; what genomic data adds to the medical management of sick and healthy babies; and the medical, behavioral, and economic impacts of integrating genomic sequencing into the care of healthy and sick newborns. The BabySeq Project will provide empirical data about the risks, benefits and costs of newborn genomic sequencing and will inform policy decisions related to universal genomic screening of newborns. The study is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02422511 . Registration date: 10 April 2015.
PET-CT in Radiation Treatment Planning

An increasing volume of evidence supports the inclusion of PET-CT imaging in radiation therapy planning. In spite of possible inaccuracies in edge detection relating to the resolution of PET, the overall gain in improvement in target delineation as well as the contribution to more accurate staging is a clear step toward individualized cancer therapy. The anticipated development of additional positron tracers that will allow pretherapeutic identification of tumor biologic phenotype coupled with continuing advances in delivery techniques may ultimately result in further refinement in target definition, with the potential to increase tumoricidal dose to the tumor target without increasing toxicity to normal tissues. Further studies are essential to determine whether changes in therapy resulting from biologic targeting as defined on FDG-PET images result in improvement in patient outcome.
Liquid Chromatographic Assay and Pharmacokinetics of Quazepam and Its Metabolites Following Sublingual Administration of Quazepam

A reverse-phase liquid chromatographic method is described for simultaneous quantification of quazepam, and two of its metabolites, 2-oxoquazepam and N-desaklyl-2-oxoquazepam. The method uses a solid-phase extraction procedure to prepare plasma samples. After extraction, the methanolic extract is evaporated; the residue is then reconstituted in a small volume of mobile phase and chromatographed. The total chromatography time for a single sample is about 20 min. A sensitivity of 1 ng/ml for quazepam and its metabolites is attained when 1 ml of plasma is extracted. Analytical recovery of quazepam and its metabolites added to plasma ranged from 87 to 96%. The maximum within-day and day-to-day coefficients of variation for each compound at concentrations of 20 and 60 ng/ml were 7.6 and 11.2%, respectively. The method was applied to sublingual pharmacokinetic studies of quazepam in healthy volunteers.
Valgus Osteotomy with Plate-and-Nail Fixation for the Treatment of Proximal Femoral Deformities Due to Fibrous Dysplasia: A Report of Two Cases

CASE We describe 2 cases of proximal femoral deformity due to fibrous dysplasia that were corrected with osteotomies and a novel combined construct with a blade plate and a retrograde intramedullary nail. CONCLUSION A single-stage procedure using a combined construct with a blade plate and a retrograde intramedullary nail is a viable option for correcting and subsequently preventing proximal femoral deformities due to fibrous dysplasia.
Baroque theatricality reinvented: contemporary design for baroque opera

ABSTRACTThis article analyzes contemporary stagings of Baroque operas that challenge the historical practice of orthodox ‘period’ productions, arguing that postmodern scenographers alter spectators...
Recovering Noisy-Pseudo-Sparse Signals From Linear Measurements via l ∞

Compressive sensing (CS) can recover a sparse signal x reliably under an indefinite linear system. However, corruption with noise can severely damage the system performance. For Gaussian deviation, a noise whitening method is often used which leads to the noise folding phenomenon, increasing the noise energy greatly. In this paper, we introduce a different approach and design a new optimization model to recover x with $\ell _{\infty }$ norm. Moreover, in our setup, the signal (prior to corruption by noise) is only pseudo sparse. We analyze the solution exactness and show that a unique solution close to the true values of pseudo-sparse signals can be obtained in an indefinite system with uniform magnitude noise. We then relax the uniform-magnitude assumption and use Gaussian noise in simulations. We show that, compared to the noise-whitening method, our method can reduce almost 50% of the noise by only sacrificing less than 0.3% of the support-set recovery rate.
Exosomes as a Surrogate Marker for Autophagy in Peripheral Blood, Correlative Data from Phase I Study of Chloroquine in Combination with Carboplatin/Gemcitabine in Advanced Solid Tumors.

Background Autophagy is a catabolic process, utilized constitutionally by body cells to recycle nutrients and to remove unwanted/damaged intracellular constituents. It is enhanced during periods of stress, such as starvation and hypoxia, aiding in cell survival and it is linked to major cellular processes, such as apoptosis and antigen expression. The process has been extensively studied in vitro models or tumor tissue samples with rare application on human subjects. Methods Plasma samples from 24 advanced solid tumor patients were collected at different time points before and after chemotherapy. Their exosomes were isolate and blotted for microtubule-associated protein-1 light chain-3 (LC-3B) protein as a marker for autophagy. All the subjects received a standard chemotherapy regimen of carboplatin- gemcitabine with chloroquine (CQ)/ hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in chronic doses throughout their treatment period as an autophagy modulator. CQ/HCQ was given in 50 mg increments as guided by their tolerability to treatment. Results A total of 267 plasma samples were obtained for the 24 patients and processed. Each sample corresponds to a single time point. The first group included 6 patients, all received 50 mg of CQ with chemotherapy. LC-3B I was detected in their isolated exosomes, while LC3-BII was not detected in their samples. The second cohort of patients included 3 subjects who re-ceived 100mg of HCQ. They demonstrated both LC3-BI and II on day 15 after chemotherapy in one patient, and on third cycle after 24 hours in the second patient. The third cohort included 3 subjects who received 150 mg of HCQ. All cases demonstrated LC3-BI and II on first cycle of treatment after less than 24 hours. The last cohort included 8 subjects, who received a fixed dose of 100 mg of HCQ with treatment. In this cohort, we were able to detect both LC3-B isoforms on advanced time points of second and third cycles. Conclusion Detection of autophagy protein LC3-B in exosomes serves as a dynamic method to monitor autophagy. It can be utilized to study the effects of anti-neoplastic agents on autophagy and mechanisms of drug resistance, however, to standardize our results a larger specimen of patients should be included.
The Missing Gamete? Ten Common Mistakes or Lies About Men's Sexual Destiny

The French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir writes in The Second Sex that “biological facts [provide] one of the keys to the understanding of woman.” Yet, she quickly adds, “I deny that they establish for her a fixed and inevitable destiny” (1970 [1949]:29). This revolutionary thesis that detached female bodies from female destinies has been a cornerstone of feminism and women’s studies for several decades, sometimes captured in the aphorism that biology is not destiny. Since The Second Sex, our understanding of the biological facts have become more complex (see, for example, Anne Fausto-Sterling’s Sexing the Body [2000]). Some hallowed truths about bodies have been more difficult to dislodge than others. This chapter examines the notion of men’s sexual destiny, a topic widely taken for granted in the popular imagination yet sadly and oddly seldom examined by feminist and gender studies scholars.
Unusual Non-neoplastic Pulmonary Conditions

In this chapter, various unusual non-neoplastic pulmonary disorders are discussed. This group of lesions encompasses a range of different conditions that may be of multifactorial, immunologic, genetic, or uncertain etiology. Awareness of the existence of these relatively rare disorders and their histopathological characteristics is necessary for the pathologist in order to avoid misdiagnosis.
The Changing Environment for Health Planning

By the late twentieth century, the US healthcare system was undergoing a major transformation driven by the many deficiencies in the operation of the system. Nevertheless, Americans continued to turn to the healthcare institution for a wide range of problems. However, changing patient characteristics and changes in the etiology of disease increasingly limited the effectiveness of the system, and these developments led to the emergence of a new paradigm. This shift from “medical care” to “health care” reflected a broadened definition of health and a holistic approach to the delivery of care. While then considered a positive development, the new paradigm failed to contribute to community health improvement. The failure paradigm led to the emergence in the twenty-first century of the population health model. Population health focused on communities of people rather than individual patients and downplayed the role of medicine. This model attempted to address the social determinants of health and emphasized multi-sector collaboration for collective impact. Today, the population health model is being increasingly accepted as the path to community health improvement.
CNS Whipple’s Disease

Whipple’s Disease (WD) was first described by George H. Whipple in 1907. Classic Whipple disease (CWD) is a systemic chronic infection by Tropheryma whipplei (T. whipplei) that can involve various organ systems such as gastrointestinal tract, joints, and central nervous system (CNS). Central nervous system Whipple’s disease (CNS- WD) can be a part of the classical WD, a recurrent phenomenon or an isolated disease. It encompasses a wide array of clinical manifestations depending on the anatomic region affected by the pathological process. Diagnosis is made by polymerase chain reaction testing. It is vital to implement an aggressive mode of treatment to reduce the chances of complications like cognitive impairment, or disease recurrence, even many years later.
Fast and Accurate Determination of Graph Node Connectivity Leveraging Approximate Methods.

For an undirected graph G, the node connectivity K is defined as the minimum number of nodes that must be removed to make the graph disconnected. The determination of K is a computationally demanding task for large graphs since even the most efficient algorithms require many evaluations of an expensive max flow function. Approximation methods for determining K replace the max flow function with a much faster algorithm that gives a lower bound on the number of node independent paths, but this frequently leads to an underestimate of K. We show here that with minor changes, the approximate method can be adapted to retain most of the performance benefits while still guaranteeing an accurate result.
Integration of Synaptic Inputs in a Model of yhe Purkinje Cell

The response of the cerebellar Purkinje cell to granule cell synaptic inputs was examined with a compartmental model that included active dendritic conductances. The model was optimized to replicate the Purkinje cell response to current injection in in vitro experiments. Synaptic inputs were applied to the same model to examine the effect of synchronous excitatory inputs during asynchronous stimulation. The active conductances in the dendritic membrane amplified post-synaptic responses. Small synchronous inputs applied distally resulted in somatic postsynaptic potentials of similar size to those generated by more proximal inputs. In contrast, in a purely passive model the peak amplitude of the somatic response to distal inputs was 76% smaller than the response to proximal synaptic inputs. The model predicts that the calcium channels in the Purkinje cell dendrite make this cell relatively insensitive to the exact dendritic location of its synaptic inputs. This result has important consequences for the function of the cerebellar cortex.
Stereoselection in the Elementary steps of Organic Reactions

Publisher Summary This chapter describes a number of principles or causes of stereoselection associated with bonding, steric, thermodynamic, electrical, and mechanical factors, inherent in the stereoprocess. It deals with the relation between the properties of intermediates, such as carbanion or syn-anti isomers, rate and equilibrium conditions and stereoselectivity are also discussed. The chapter also examines representative systems and reactions to see the relevance of the principles of stereoselection. The focus is on the stereo-process that include two axioms—every reaction at the molecular level is stereospecific (axiom 1) and for a collection of molecules the elementary reaction is stereoselective (axiom 2). The shape of simple species is examined. Both valence bond (VB) and molecular orbital (MO) theories are used to explain the observed shapes of molecules. The preferred shapes of the simple species are known or can be guessed from the numbers and kinds of bonding and nonbonding electron pairs. Several valence bond results and molecular orbital results are discussed.
Gift shopping behavior in a multichannel retail environment

Purpose – To date, most research focused on understanding the meanings and mechanism of gift giving behavior and there is little literature on channel usage behavior for gift shopping. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between consumers' retail purchase experiences for their own use and their gift shopping for others in a multichannel retail context.Design/methodology/approach – Using a self‐administered survey method, the paper obtained 171 usable responses from females in a large US Midwestern University. Data are analyzed employing descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling.Findings – The findings of this paper showed that for all five retail channels (i.e. internet, mail‐order catalog, TV shopping, local stores, and non‐local stores), there are significant and positive relationships between consumers' product purchase experiences for their own use and their gift purchase experiences. Managerial and theoretical implications are provided.Researc...
Short versus long course of prophylactic antibiotics in cesarean section

Abstract The use of prophylactic antibiotics to reduce post-cesarean section febrile morbidity has been advocated since 1968. Although this approach has theoretical and actual disadvantages, all but one study found a reduction in febrile morbidity when prophylactic antibiotics were used. An unresolved question was the duration of antibiotic therapy. A double-blind randomized study compared a long course of ampicillin (3 days) to a short course of ampicillin (three doses) to placebo. The long course of prophylactic antibiotics reduced febrile morbidity significantly better (p
Intergenerational Theory in Society

ABSTRACT Now that the 21st century is underway, society is changing more rapidly than ever. People of all ages are facing new kinds of psychological and interpersonal issues. They are living longer and pioneering new kinds of family patterns and relationships. Given this, then, how can intergenerational programs and relationships both adapt to these new contexts and serve to help people better meet these new societal demands and changes? This article extends, deepens and elaborates upon earlier efforts by describing new societal trends that affect people in the life span, selecting some relevant concepts, exploring them, and suggesting how they might enhance our understanding. Given that this is the postmodern age in which there are questions rather than answers, the discussion of each concept ends with questions for future theory construction.
Advancing the business creed? The framing of decisions about public sector managed care.

Abstract Relatively little research has clarified how executives of for-profit healthcare organisations frame their own motivations and behaviour, or how government officials frame their interactions with executives. Because managed care has provided an organisational structure for health services in many countries, we focused our study on executives and government officials who were administering public sector managed care services. Emphasising theoretically the economic versus non-economic motivations that guide economic behaviour, we extended a long-term research project on public sector Medicaid managed care (MMC) in the United States. Our method involved in-depth, structured interviews with chief executive officers of managed care organisations, as well as high-ranking officials of state government. Data analysis involved iterative interpretation of interview data. We found that the rate of profit, which proved relatively low in the MMC programme, occupied a limited place in executives� self-described motivations and in state officials� descriptions of corporation-government interactions. Non-economic motivations included a strong orientation toward corporate social responsibility and a creed in which market processes advanced human wellbeing. Such patterns contradict some of the given wisdom about how corporate executives and government officials construct their reality.
Connection and Reinforcement Design Details for Pultruded Fiber Reinforced Plastic (PFRP) Composite Structures

This paper aims at introducing some suggested design detail recommendations for connections and stiffeners for pultruded fiber reinforced plastics (PFRP) structural shapes. It also serves as a prac...
Amplifiers in RF Transceiver for Wireless Communication

Wireless communication entails transmission and reception of data with air and surrounding environment as a communication channel. The channel, in this case the surrounding environment, therefore, dictates the quality of wireless communication. Wireless communication uses radio frequency (RF) as carrier frequency for data transmission and reception. The channel for RF communication (surrounding environment) is lossy, and thus, it is necessary to boost or amplify the signal levels during both transmission and reception. In the transmitter, the power amplifier (PA) is used to boost the signal power levels, and at the receiver, the low noise amplifier (LNA) is used to amplify the weak RF signals. The power amplifier and the low noise amplifier, consequently, dictate the quality of wireless or RF communication and therefore are critical in RF transceiver design. Keywords: Amplifier; CMOS; Direct Conversion Transceiver; Doherty PA; FET; Homodyne Receiver; Low noise amplifier; LNA; Mixer; RF; Superheterodyne Receiver; TR Switch; Transceiver; Power Amplifier; VCO; Very Low IF Receiver; Zero IF Receiver
Acute and chronic hepatic involvement of brucellosis.

Two patients with brucellosis are presented; one with acute hepatitis and the other with a chronic draining sinus at the right costal margin which originated from an abscess of the liver. Brucella abortus infection may be manifest by nonspecific hepatic inflammation or, occasionally, by granulomatous hepatitis. Rarely, cirrhosis may result i f untreated. Chronic hepatic and splenic involvement, which is characterized by tissue calcification, can be seen in Brucella suis infection. Suppurative complications may develop after many years of dormancy. This variable response to Brucella infection seems related to species differences and perhaps differing immune response in the host. Because Brucella suis has been more commonly recovered in recent years, more patients with chronic hepatic and splenic involvement may be seen in the future this spectrum of liver involvement in brucellosis. In both cases, a careful occupational history and earlier consideration of the possibility of brucellosis might have expedited appropriate diagnosis and treatment.
Ultra-high-sensitivity color imaging via a transparent diffractive-filter array and computational optics

Conventional color imaging requires absorptive color-filter arrays, which exhibit low light transmission. Here, we replace the absorptive color-filter array with a transparent diffractive-filter array (DFA) and apply computational optics techniques to enable color imaging with a sensitivity that is enhanced by a factor as high as 3.12. The DFA diffracts incident light onto a conventional monochrome sensor array to create intensity distributions that are wavelength dependent. By first calibrating these wavelength-dependent intensity distributions and then applying computational techniques, we demonstrate single-shot hyperspectral imaging and absorption-free color imaging.
Influence of human granulocytemacrophage colony stimulating factor/interleukin-3 fusion protein (PIXY321) on the hematopoietic toxicity associated with anti-viral drugs (zidovudine and didanosine) in vitro using normal human marrow cells

Abstract The antiviral drugs didanosine (ddl) and zidovudine (AZT), synthetic nucleoside analogs, have been used in the treatment of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Although clinical use of zidovudine (AZT) is still widely used, it is associated with the development of virus disease resistance and toxicity to the hematopoietic system. Alternative nucleoside reverse transcriptase derivatives such as didanosine (ddl) have been developed in order to reduce the incidence of virus disease resistance and hematological toxicity. We report here studies designed to evaluate the toxicity profile comparing didanosine (ddl) with zidovudine (AZT) when used alone or in combination with normal non-adherent, T-cell depleted human marrow cells plated in the presence or absence of the. human cytokine fusion protein of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor and interleukin-3 (PIXY321). As expected, didanosine (ddl) was less toxic for human hematopoietic progenitor Cells, I.e, CFU-GEMM, CFU-GM, CFU-Meg, and BFU-E than zidovudine. Toxicity was additive when didanosine (ddl) and zidovudine (AZT) were combined. In the absence of drugs PIXY321 colony formation was increased for all progenitor cells cultured. In the presence of didanosine (ddl) or zidovudine (AZT), either as single-agents or combined, PDCY321 reduced toxicity significantly. These results demonstrate PIXY321 is an effective cytokine capable of reversing the toxicity associated with anti-viral drugs when used in vitro where didanosine (ddl) is less toxic than zidovudine (AZT); however their suppression of hematopoietic progenitors is additive when combined.
Synthesis and Electrocatalytic Properties of Cubic Mn−Pt Nanocrystals (Nanocubes)

Mn-Pt nanocubes were synthesized from platinum acetylacetonate and manganese carbonyl in the presence of oleic acid and oleylamine. The Mn-Pt nanocubes were converted into an ordered MnPt(3) intermetallic phase upon annealing. The electrocatalytic properties of the Mn-Pt nanocubes and spheres (including oxygen reduction, formic acid oxidation, and methanol oxidation) were tested and found to be shape-dependent. The Mn-Pt nanocubes, which are enclosed by (100) surfaces, showed better activities than their spherical counterparts. These materials are promising new candidates as cathode and anode catalysts in fuel cells.
Finite fault source study of the Great 1994 Deep Bolivia Earthquake

We apply an empirical Green's function method to recordings of teleseismic body waves from the June 9, 1994 deep-focus Bolivia earthquake. The far-field source time functions reveal that rupture occurred on a sub-horizontal fault plane. The main rupture began some 25 km to the east of the hypocenter, consists of three large subevents, and covers a total area of about 60×40 km². The static stress drop is quite large, more than 150 MPa, and the obtained rupture velocity is less than 2 km/sec. While the total dimensions of the earthquake are large compared to estimates of the width of a metastable olivine wedge at this depth, the moment release is confined largely to a narrow band along an EW axis, and may be compatible with phase transitions within a thickened slab core.
Potent anticancer activity of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate–copper complex against cisplatin-resistant neuroblastoma cells

Effective drugs are urgently needed for the treatment of advanced neuroblastoma refractory to conventional chemotherapy. Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) is a copper-binding ligand, which showed cytotoxicity on many human tumor cells after binding with copper ions. In this study, we synthesized a copper-PDTC complex, which was characterized as a Cu(PDTC)2 complex, with elemental analyses (Fourier transform infrared, electrospray ionization mass spectra, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy). The Cu(PDTC)2 complex suppressed the proliferation of BE(2)C cells, a human neuroblastoma cell line, with an IC50 of 8.0 micromol/l, which was more potent than cisplatin (IC50 of 80 micromol/l). Treatment of BE(2)C cells with the Cu(PDTC)2 complex caused the S-phase arrest of cell cycle progression, cellular apoptosis, and necrosis, and increased the expression of p53 protein. The Cu(PDTC)2 complex holds potential as a new drug for the treatment of refractory neuroblastoma in children.
Monodromic Systems on Affine Flag Manifolds

There has been recently substantial progress in the programme of expressing the characters of irreducible modular representations of a semisimple group over a field of positive characteristic in terms of combinatorics of affine Hecke algebras (see Andersen et al . 1992; Kazhdan & Lusztig 1979). This paper is a further contribution to this programme: I explain why in the non-simply laced case, the ‘dual’ affine Weyl group is needed and why in this case it is necessary to use monodromic systems (certain local systems defined on subvarieties of a line bundle) over an affine flag manifold.
Nestorone®: clinical applications for contraception and HRT

Abstract The 19-nor derivatives of progesterone are referred to as “pure” progestational molecules as they bind almost exclusively to the progesterone receptor (PR) without interfering with receptors of other steroids. In this category is Nestorone ® , which has strong progestational activity and antiovulatory potency with no androgenic or estrogenic activity in vivo. These properties make it highly suitable for use in contraception and hormonal therapy (HT). Due to its high potency, very low doses of Nestorone may be delivered via long-term sustained-release delivery systems. Nestorone, 75 or 100 μg per day, released by vaginal ring has suppressed ovulation in women, with inhibition of follicular maturation. A vaginal ring releasing both 150 μg of Nestorone and 15 μg of ethinyl estradiol per day has effectively suppressed ovulation for 13 consecutive cycles. Nestorone has also been used effectively in a single implant for contraception in breastfeeding women and shows promise for use in transdermal systems as a contraceptive or for HT when combined with estrogen.
A theorem on neutral delay systems

Abstract It is known that the stabilization of neutral delay differential tems requires first the stabilization of the difference operator or D-operator. In case all delays in the system are commensurable, necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of suitable derivative feedback for the stabilization of the D-operator have been known for some time [14]. In this note we derive a result in the case of noncommensurable delays analogous to the known results for the commensurable delay case.
Hydrogenic energy levels in two dimensions at arbitrary magnetic fields

The eigenvalue spectrum for a hydrogenic potential [V(r)=-${e}^{2}$/r] in two dimensions is studied for perpendicular magnetic fields of arbitrary strength. The weak-field regime has been treated by considering the magnetic field as a perturbation while in the strong-field regime the potential is treated as a perturbation. A two-point Pad\'e approximant is shown to provide a reliable interpolation between these two limiting situations, allowing us to present accurate analytic expressions for the magnetic-field dependence of both ground- and excited-state energies.
The in-vitro and in-vivo efficacy of cisplatin and analogues in the treatment of herpes simplex virus-II infections

The antitumour effect of cisplatin results from cross-linking and disruption of DNA when it binds to DNA bases, especially cytosine and guanine. Since herpes simplex virus (HSV) has a high cytosine and guanine content, cisplatin might be expected to have an antiviral effect against HSV. The 50% inhibitory concentration of cisplatin for HSV-II was 0.06 mg/l. Six of ten platinum analogues had 50% inhibition of plaques at less than or equal to 10 mg/l. We evaluated the in-vivo activity of cisplatin against the MS strain of HSV-II in the mouse genital HSV model. Mice were treated either intraperitoneally or intravaginally beginning at 3 or 51 h after inoculation. In the intraperitoneally treated groups infection rates were lower, but not significantly; 4 of 15 in the 3-h and 7 of 15-h group, compared to 9 of 15 in the untreated control group (P greater than 0.18, chi-square test). Intravaginal cisplatin demonstrated a significant reduction of the infection rate from 10 of 15 untreated controls, compared to 5 of 18 in the 3-h and 5 of 17 in the 51-h group (P less than 0.05, chi-square test). No toxic effects of intravaginal cisplatin were seen in uninfected mice. These studies suggest that platinum containing drugs warrant further evaluation as a new class of antiviral agents with activity against HSV.
Ultrahigh-resolution studies of heavy-ion-induced X-ray satellite emission☆

Abstract We studied Kα X-ray emission from sulfur compounds and L X-ray emission from molybdenum metal induced by 34 MeV Clq+ ion bombardment. The measurements were made with an energy resolution high enough to observe the principal multiplet components within the various satellite groups. The data were taken with a narrow-bandwidth, very-high-resolution, Van Hamos curved-crystal spectrometer using a position sensitive detector. The sulfur spectra display ~1 eV fine structures which differ markedly for the various targets. Even in these preliminary studies, the data show promise for yielding new information for chemical analysis. To continue to progress in this area, we have designed and are constructing a new, more versatile Van Hamos spectrometer.
Synthesis of hydrolytically stable phosphorus‐containing polymers via polycondensation and their utilization in polymer blends

Amorphous polyarylene ether homo- and copolymers were synthesized which were based upon bisphenol A and either 4,4'-dichlorodiphenylsulfone, 4,4'-difluorobenzophenone or 4,4'-difluorodiphenyl phenylphosphine oxide. Solution blends were prepared from these homo- and copolymers with linear bisphenol A based polyhydroxyether, which was used as a model for the epoxy or vinyl ester thermosetting matrix resins for composite materials. It was observed that transparent, single Tg blends could be prepared from the phosphine oxide containing homopolymer and a 50/50 phosphine oxide/dichlorodiphenylsulfone copolymer. The other homopolymers produced materials with two Tg's, implying that they were definitely phase separated systems. Thermogravimetric analysis was also conducted and the phosphine oxide blends produced high char yields suggesting utilization in fire-resistant applications. The miscibility of the phosphine oxide material has been attributed to specific hydrogen bonding interactions observed between the phosphine oxide bond and the secondary hydroxyl group in the polyhydroxy ether. This hydroxyl functionality is also present in the epoxy and vinylester precursors and it is suggested that these materials could be utilized as interface sizings for carbon fibers, which would produce a graded microstructure between the fiber and the polymer matrix systems.
Polymorphisms in DNA Double-Strand Break Repair Genes and Skin Cancer Risk

UV can cause a wide range of DNA lesions. UVA-induced oxidative DNA damage and blocked DNA replication by UVB-induced photoproducts can lead to double-strand breaks (DSBs). We selected 11 haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms in three DSB repair genes XRCC2 , XRCC3 , and LigaseIV and evaluated their associations with skin cancer risk in a nested case-control study within the Nurses’ Health Study [219 melanoma, 286 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 300 basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and 873 controls]. We observed that the XRCC3 18085T (241Met) allele and its associated haplotype were significantly inversely associated with the risks of SCC and BCC, whereas the XRCC3 4552C allele along with its associated haplotype and the XRCC2 30833A allele were significantly associated with increased BCC risk. The LigaseIV 4044T and 4062T alleles were associated with decreased BCC risk; two of four haplotypes were significantly associated with altered BCC risk. A trend toward decreased risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer was found in those harboring a greater number of putative low risk alleles ( P for trend, 0.05 for SCC, <0.0001 for BCC). The main effects of these genotypes were essentially null for melanoma risk. This study provides evidence to suggest the role of the DSB repair pathway in skin cancer development, especially for BCC.
Filipin-cholesterol complexes in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of frog skeletal muscle.

The polyene antibiotic filipin forms electron microscopically visible complexes with cholesterol. In skeletal muscle fibers the filipin complexes are found mainly in the surface plasmalemma and transverse tubules, as closely packed single units. In the sarcoplasmic reticulum the filipin complexes are much less common, occur as clusters, and have a pronounced predilection for the intermediate cisterna. The incidence and distribution of the filipin complexes in situ and in SR vesicles compares well with the quantitative chemical analysis of the cholesterol content in comparable subcellular fractions of skeletal muscle reported in the literature.
Differentiation of lymphoid cells: suppression of the induction of immunoglobulin M-secreting rabbit lymph node cells by cells present in bone marrow.

Bone marrow cells, but not thymus cells, inhibit the induction of immunoglobulin production by lymph node cells cultured for 72 hr in vitro in the absence of added antigen. Homologous bone marrow cells from immunized animals were as inhibitory as autologous bone marrow cells. Unlike the behavior of other inhibitors of the induction process which are inhibitory when added as late as 24 hr after initiation of culture, freshly prepared homologous bone marrow cells were not inhibitory unless added earlier than 24 hr. Heat-killed bone marrow cells were as inhibitory as live bone marrow cells, whereas cell-free culture filtrates derived from bone marrow cell cultures were not inhibitory. The inhibitory activity of bone marrow cells was markedly reduced by prior treatment with anti-rabbit immunoglobulin antibody but was unaffected by treatment with antisera specific for thymus cells.