cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The evolution of parathyroidectomy failures

Abstract Background: Reported operative failure rates for primary hyperparathyroidism range from 5% to 10%. Failure has been due to multiglandular disease, ectopic parathyroid glands, errors in frozen section, and missed diagnoses. Recently, our operative approach has changed from bilateral cervical exploration to direction by preoperative localization and intraoperative quick parathyroid hormone assay. The purpose of this study is to examine the causes and rates of failure in this evolving approach to parathyroidectomy. Methods: Among 447 consecutive cases of primary hyperparathyroidectomy, 20 operative failures were examined. Three different operative approaches were compared with respect to causes and rates of failure. Results: From 1969 to 1989, with bilateral neck exploration, failure was due to missed diagnoses, ectopic glands, multiglandular disease, and unknown causes, with a failure rate of 5%. From 1990 to 1993, with bilateral neck exploration and quick parathyroid hormone assay, failure was due to ectopic mediastinal glands, misinterpretation of frozen section, and operative judgment, with a failure rate of 10%. From 1993 to 1998, with preoperative localization and quick parathyroid hormone assay, the two operative failures (1.5%) were due to operative judgment and misinterpretation of the quick parathyroid hormone assay. Conclusions: The new surgical approach combining preoperative localization studies and intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring has eliminated the most common causes of parathyroidectomy failure and has significantly decreased the operative failure rate. (Surgery 1999;126:998-1003.)
SUSCEPTIBILITY OF GRAVID MICE TO COXSACKIE VIRUS INFECTION

Gravid mice become progressively more susceptible to infection with the pancreatic line of Group B-1 Coxsackie virus during the last week of pregnancy. A Group A-8 strain did not have such an effect. The young that survive despite the fact that their mothers are infected with a B-1 strain appear to be normal in the gross and microscopically, to grow at the usual rate, to be free of demonstrable virus, and to be susceptible on challenge with a homologous strain.
Isoparametric C0 interior penalty methods for plate bending problems on smooth domains

In this paper we develop isoparametric C 0 interior penalty methods for plate bending problems on smooth domains. The orders of convergence of these methods are shown to be optimal in the energy norm. We also consider the convergence of these methods in lower order Sobolev norms and discuss subparametric C 0 interior penalty methods. Numerical results that illustrate the performance of these methods are presented.
Theory of the magnetomechanical effect

This study investigated a model theory of the changes in magnetization that a ferromagnetic material undergoes when subjected to an applied uniaxial stress. The description of these effects is shown to be totally different from the description of the changes in the hysteresis curve under a series of constant applied stresses. The main mechanism in the proposed model theory is the unpinning of domain walls by the application of stress, which allows the walls to move and causes a change in the magnetization. This change in magnetization reduces the displacement from the anhysteretic magnetization. In addition, the anhysteretic magnetization itself is changed by the application of stress via the magnetoelastic coupling. It is shown that the effect can be described by an equation in which the rate of change of magnetization with elastic energy is proportional to the displacement of the magnetization from the anhysteretic magnetization. This is termed the 'law of approach'. This law seems to apply when the starting condition of the material is on a major hysteresis loop.
Chemokine production during hypersensitivity pneumonitis

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an interstitial lung disease that develops following repeated exposure to inhaled particulate antigens. Individuals with HP develop lymphocytic alveolitis,granuloma formation, and fibrosis. HP is categorized as a Th1 disease, and granuloma formation is dependent on T cells and the Th1 cytokine IFN-γ. We therefore hypothesized that the IFN-γ-inducible chemokines IP-10, Mig, and I-TAC, which are frequently associated with Th1 diseases, would play an important role in the pathogenesis of disease. We analyzed the expression of multiple chemokines in the lungs of wild-type (WT) and IFN-γ-knockout (GKO) mice exposed to the particulate antigen Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula (SR). Our results demonstrate the production of IP-10, Mig, and I-TAC in WT mice during the development of HP, whereas GKO mice have reduced levels of IP-10 and no Mig or I-TAC mRNA in the lungs in response to SR exposure. The production of these chemokines is associated with an influx of CXCR3+/CD4+ T cells into lungs of WT mice, which is reduced in GKO mice. These results suggest that IFN-γ mediates the recruitment of CXCR3+/CD4+ T cells into the lung via production of the chemokines IP-10, Mig, and I-TAC, resulting in granuloma formation.
Fine-motor skill deficits in childhood predict adulthood tic severity and global psychosocial functioning in Tourette's syndrome.

Background: Most children with Tourette's syndrome (TS) experience a significant decline in tic symptoms during adolescence. Currently no clinical measures have been identified that can predict whose tic symptoms will persist into adulthood. Patients with TS have deficits on neuropsychological tests involving fine-motor coordination and visual-motor integration. We seek to determine if these neuropsychological tests are useful in predicting future symptom severity. Methods: Thirty-two children, aged 8–14, with TS underwent clinical evaluation and a focused neuropsychological testing battery consisting of the Purdue Pegboard, Beery Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) Test and the Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure Task (RCFT). A follow-up clinical assessment was performed on these children an average of 7.5 years later. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to correlate neuropsychological testing at Time 1 with tic severity, OCD severity and global psychosocial functioning at Time 2. Results: Poor performance with the dominant hand on the Purdue Pegboard test predicted worse adulthood tic severity and correlated with tic severity at the time of childhood assessment. Poor performance on the VMI and Purdue Pegboard tests (both dominant and non-dominant hand) also predicted worse adulthood global psychosocial functioning. None of the neuropsychological tests were useful in predicting the future course of OCD symptoms in TS patients. Conclusion: Fine motor skill deficits may be a predictor of future tic severity and global psychosocial function in children with TS. We hypothesize that performance on the Purdue Pegboard test may serve as a useful endophenotype in the study of TS and provide a rough measure of the degree of basal ganglia dysfunction present in TS patients.
Effect of chronic acidosis on discharge frequency of intrapulmonary chemoreceptors in the chicken

In order to determine the pH effect on the discharge of intrapulmonary chemoreceptors (IPC) not mediated through\(P_{CO_2 }\), we determined discharge frequency-ln\(P_{CO_2 }\) relationships of 28 IPC from ten adult cockerels made acidotic by ingestion of feed containing 6% NH4Cl for 2 to 5 days. Blood buffer curves — the relationships between pH and\(P_{CO_2 }\) — from these cockerels were shifted in parallel towards acidosis by 0.24 pH units (SE=±0.05) compared to control curves. The average slope of the IPC discharge frequenc-ln\(P_{CO_2 }\) relationships was less negative than that reported for similar cockerels with normal acid-base balance and the average intercept was decreased. We conclude that pH has an effect on IPC discharge, independent of changes in\(P_{CO_2 }\); this effect decreases IPC sensitivity to CO2. We calculate that a shift towards acidosis in the blood buffer curve of one pH unit causes the slope of the IPC discharge frequency-ln\(P_{CO_2 }\) relationship to be less negative by 14.7±3.3 imp (s·ln\(P_{CO_2 }\))−1 and that for any acidotic shift in the blood buffer curve (ΔpH), the average IPC discharge frequency=[−10.7+(14.7·ΔpH)][ln(\(P_{CO_2 }\)/25.5)]+3.37. Since IPC discharge is altered by changes in acid-base balance, IPC may contribute to the implementation of respiration responses during metabolic disturbances.
Homeowner Behavioral Intent to Evacuate After Flood Risk Warnings

The purpose was to create a model for improving resident attitudes toward flood evacuation warnings. Survivors of Hurricane Sandy in New York City were surveyed to test hypotheses based on a behavioral intent construct developed from the social-psychology literature. Expectancy Theory and Theory of Reasoned Action served as the basis for the personal attitude and social norm factors. Near disaster experience was derived from natural disaster studies to form a moderator of personal attitude. Credibility of the evacuation message source was engineered from Balance Theory in the consumer behavior literature as a modifier for social norms. A statistically significant model was developed using correlation, stepwise regression, ordinary least squares regression, and logistic regression. Only two composite factors were needed to capture 55.4% of the variance for behavioral intent to evacuate. The model predicted 43.9% of the evacuation decisions, with 13.3% undecided, leaving 42.8 incorrectly classified, using an ex post facto design N=405.
Beneficial Effects of a Glyburide/Metformin Combination Preparation in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by both insulin deficiency and insulin resistance. Effective treatment often requires therapy directed at both abnormalities. Patients on monotherapy might benefit from a combination agent such as glyburide/metformin, which increases insulin secretion and reduces insulin resistance. Methods All patients taking a glyburide/metformin preparation at the Carl T. Hayden VAMC were identified from pharmacy records. Patients with documented hemoglobin A 1c values within 31 weeks prior and between 3 and 33 weeks after initiation of therapy (92 subjects) were examined. Results Glyburide/metformin combination therapy reduced hemoglobin A 1c levels from 0.087 to 0.083 ( P P Conclusions In patients on monotherapy or on dual oral therapy with inadequate control, changing to a glyburide/metformin combination preparation may improve glucose control.
How many system architectures

Developers often call an embedded system's hardware architecture a platform. The idea is that you select a hardware platform, then write software to fit onto it. Matters are, however, more complicated. The platform provides the computing resources required to run the embedded application, and the decisions about what hardware should go into the platform often depend on what sort of software you want to run. It is predicted that constant pressure on the cost and power consumption of embedded systems will continue to spawn a diversity of uniprocessor and multiprocessor platforms.
Measurement of the body surface physiologic tremor or “microvibration”

Five sensor techniques were evaluated for the measurement of human body surface vibrations: a noncontacting capacitance sensor, seismic (velocity) and relative electrodynamic types, linear-variable-differential transformer sensors, and the miniature accelerometer type. Of these, only the miniature accelerometer proved to be entirely satisfactory. The electrodynamic transducer utilized by several previous workers was found to be unsatisfactory for use as a physiological vibration sensor, due to resonance problems.
Product Costing and Inventory Accounting: A New Approach to an Old Problem

Traditional methods of accounting—including full-absorption accounting, labor and cost standards, overhead allocations, and variance analysis–can stand in the way of attempts by managers and others to improve their company's overall performance and the ability to compete globally. Many companies have recognized the need to shift the role of accounting toward higher-value, more strategic tasks, such as financial and operational analysis, tactical decision support, and even process improvement and reengineering. But the accounting tools at their disposal often prove inadequate. In fact, there is a core conflict between the need to provide accurate and consistent financial reports for external consumption–reports that comply in all respects with GAAP, Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC requirements, and the like–and the need for value-relevant and informative reports for internal management purposes. The author proposes using multiple sets of financial reports, all deriving from a single, common database, to meet external reporting requirements while addressing the distortions and limitations of GAAP for internal purposes. In particular, he has developed a new approach called Value Added Accounting that eliminates the distortions of full-absorption accounting but that uses GAAP financial statements as its starting point. The article describes the key adjustments, presents a case study, and discusses how VAA aligns with Lean Manufacturing, Quick Response Manufacturing, Just-In-Time, and other common process improvement initiatives.
The Effects of Tragedies and Contradictions on Religion as a Quest

The present study was designed to investigate the differential influences of exposure to life tragedies and religious contradictions on the tendency to engage in religious questioning (quest orientation). A replication and extension of a study by Burris, Jackson, Tarpley, and Smith (1996) was conducted to determine whether exposure to religious contradictions alone or life tragedies alone would influence quest orientation. Additional experimental conditions attempted to address Batson's (1982) theoretical position that quest orientation results “from a process of cognitive restructuring in response to existential questions” (p. 162). The results replicated Burris et al. (1996) and also showed that exposure to tragedy alone led to increases in quest orientation. The results did not support the idea that exposure to contradictions increased quest orientation. Unexpectedly, some evidence was found that exposure to tragedy influenced extrinsic orientation.
Reproducing Segregation: Parent Involvement, Diversity, and School Governance

Government programs currently mandate direct parental input in school governance. In comparing the actions of low-income Latino parents with those of middle-income White and Asian parents within the context of school governance, we found that although both groups actively sought and achieved reforms in order to improve their children's education, the eventual outcomes of their efforts differed. This study suggests that within multicultural settings, diverse parent constituencies advocate changes in categorical programs like bilingual and gifted and talented education that impact classroom integration, and the ultimate program beneficiaries tend to be the children from higher income households.
Long-range transport of tobacco blue mold spores

Abstract The epidemics of tobacco blue mold occurring in Connecticut, USA in 1979 and 1980 probably resulted from spores blown by the wind from sources several hundred km away. This probability is supported here by calculations of trajectories of parcels of air and by calculations of the change in the aerial concentration of spores between the source and new hosts.
PEELING BACK THE EVANGELICAL ONION: WORLDVIEWS AND WORLD AFFAIRS

Abstract Trends in evangelical culture can be seen through a case study of evangelical laypersons and missionaries from the Pacific Northwest. While the outward dimension of mission work has changed, including more emphasis on cultural assimilation and a liberalizing view of the role of women, the core object of evangelicals' missions—conversion—remains intact. There are four layers of evangelical missionary belief structures: personal relationship with Jesus Christ, personal morality, economic and political positions, and customs and lifestyles. American evangelical missionaries tend tolaunch a strong moral critique of a society, but a more limited socio-political critique, and often conflate religion with nationalism.
Asymptotic Behavior of Solutions to a Model for the Flow of a Reacting Fluid

We give a complete analysis of solutions of a model for the flow of a multispecies reacting fluid occupying a thin cylinder whose walls may be semipermeable with respect to some or all of the chemical species. We prove the global existence of solutions and establish a number of time-independent a priori bounds sufficient to determine the corresponding time-asymptotic steady-state. We then derive necessary conditions and sufficient conditions ensuring that this steady-state reflects complete combustion, that is, that at least one of the reactant species is depleted.
Specification of fault current limitation level for FCLs in power systems

With the increasing capacity of power system, fault currents (CBs) may exceed the interrupting capacity ratings of circuit breakers. Fault current limiters (FCLs) can be applied to maintain circuit breakers within their interrupt ratings. The degree of fault current limiting on system performance is analyzed in radial and meshed system structures. Heavy limitation modes and light limitation modes are defined. The choice of limitation mode should be based on the locations of FCLs. We discovered that FCLs should work in light limitation mode to maintain the function of circuit breakers in a radial structure, or a matrix structure with changeable relay schemes, but that FCLs should work in heavy limitation mode in a matrix structure with unchangeable relay schemes, to limit the fault current contribution from newly-added distributed generators. The analyses are verified by simulation results.
Fault-tolerant broadcasts

A distributed program is presented that ensures delivery of a message to the functioning processors in a computer network, despite the fact that processors may fail at any time. All processor failures are assumed to be detected and to result in halting the offending processor. A reliable communications network is assumed.
The Surgical Management of Femoral Osteolysis

Fifteen patients underwent reoperation for failed total hip arthroplasty. At surgery, patients who had proximal femoral osteolysis with osseointegrated femoral components were managed with lesional treatment that included debridement and bone grafting. The femoral components included 7 extensively coated stems, 5 proximally coated stems, and 3 modular femoral components. At a minimum 5-year follow-up evaluation, all 15 femoral components remained radiographically stable. Graft material in contained defects appeared to consolidate radiographically. For selected patients, debridement and grafting of femoral osteolytic defects provide satisfactory intermediate term outcomes.
Variation in gut microbial communities and its association with pathogen infection in wild bumble bees (Bombus)

Bacterial gut symbiont communities are critical for the health of many insect species. However, little is known about how microbial communities vary among host species or how they respond to anthropogenic disturbances. Bacterial communities that differ in richness or composition may vary in their ability to provide nutrients or defenses. We used deep sequencing to investigate gut microbiota of three species in the genus Bombus (bumble bees). Bombus are among the most economically and ecologically important non-managed pollinators. Some species have experienced dramatic declines, probably due to pathogens and land-use change. We examined variation within and across bee species and between semi-natural and conventional agricultural habitats. We categorized as ‘core bacteria' any operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with closest hits to sequences previously found exclusively or primarily in the guts of honey bees and bumble bees (genera Apis and Bombus). Microbial community composition differed among bee species. Richness, defined as number of bacterial OTUs, was highest for B. bimaculatus and B. impatiens. For B. bimaculatus, this was due to high richness of non-core bacteria. We found little effect of habitat on microbial communities. Richness of non-core bacteria was negatively associated with bacterial abundance in individual bees, possibly due to deeper sampling of non-core bacteria in bees with low populations of core bacteria. Infection by the gut parasite Crithidia was negatively associated with abundance of the core bacterium Gilliamella and positively associated with richness of non-core bacteria. Our results indicate that Bombus species have distinctive gut communities, and community-level variation is associated with pathogen infection.
Global optimization of SixHy at the ab initio level via an iteratively parametrized semiempirical method

Previously we searched for the ab initio global minima of several SixHy clusters by a genetic algorithm in which we used the AM1 semiempirical method to facilitate a rapid energy calculation for the many different cluster geometries explored. However, we found that the AM1 energy ranking significantly differs from the ab initio energy ranking. To better guarantee locating the ab initio global minimum while retaining the efficiency of the AM1 method, we present an improved iterative global optimization strategy. The method involves two separate genetic algorithms that are invoked consecutively. One is the cluster genetic algorithm (CGA), mentioned above, to find the semiempirical SixHy cluster global minimum. A second and separate parametrization genetic algorithm (PGA) is used to reparametrize the AM1 method using some of the ab initio data generated from the CGA to form a training set of different reference clusters but with fixed SixHy stoichiometry. The cluster global optimization search (CGA) and the semiempirical parametrization (PGA) steps are performed iteratively until the semiempirical GA reparametrized AM1 (GAM1) calculations give low-energy optimized structures that are consistent with the globally optimized ab initio structure. We illustrate the new global optimization strategy by attempting to find the ab initio global minima for the Si6H2 and Si6H6 clusters. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem 95: 617- 626, 2003
Progresses and Challenges of Omics Studies and Their Impacts in Personalized Medicine

In the past decade, we have entered the new era of omics studies that may lead to a true clinical application of personalized medicine [1]. The discovery of DNA structure and more recently the completion of the human genome project allow us to define the relationship between one or more particular genes to a disease. Unfortunately, genetic aberrations of multiple genes and their interactions with complex environmental factors are the major causes of several diseases, including diabetes, hypertension and cancer. More importantly, the expression of these disease-related genes, the stability of mRNA and the final protein product can be modified by a wide-range of physiological processes including single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), alternate splicings, epigenetic modifications, post-translational modifications, etc. While these processes are a pathophysiological result of host-environment interactions, they present a complex challenge in understanding the disease process. Recent omics studies, for instance whole transcriptome analysis, microbiomics, proteomics and metabolomics, provide a new insight to unlimited possibilities of host-disease interactions. Typically we use omics methods to compare diseased populations to a control by studying multiple gene products, modifications of genes/proteins, as well as metabolites. These types of study together with the progression of bioinformatics allow us to see a global picture of how each disease affects its host. Each omics study provides us separation between disease and non-disease by alterations of genes, proteins or metabolites, in terms of gene modifications and expression, or protein modifications, or differential metabolites, etc. This may potentially and theoretically lead to gene targets or potential biomarkers that can be used in the future for therapeutic applications. Epidemiologically, disease can affect populations in a certain way, and certain drugs or interventions may work in reducing mortality and morbidity of certain diseases. However, the progression of omics system biology knowledge together with the emerging personalized medicine, suggest that each treatment or intervention can affect individuals differently [2]. Drugs that effectively cure a condition in one person may not work at all in another individual. This challenge can in theory be understood using current omics tools. While omics studies give us hope to understand individual host-disease interaction, they still have several serious limitations. Technical difficulties, expensive instruments, rare expertise, and others make the use of omics limited. Beside these limitations, the massive amount of data generated from each omics study with often small sample size complicates the data interpretation and restricts the clinical value of omics studies [3]. The majority of omics results are therefore often questioned and rejected by traditional epidemiologists, other clinicians and scholars [3].
Three-Dimensional Analysis of a Postbuckled Embedded Delamination

Delamination growth caused by local buckling of a delaminated group of plies was investigated. Delamination growth was assumed to be governed by the strain energy release rates, G(1), G(2) and G(3). The strain energy release rates were calculated using a geometrically nonlinear three-dimensional finite element analysis. The program is described and several checks of the analysis are discussed. Based on a limited parametric study, the following conclusions were reached: (1) the problem is definitely mixed mode (in some cases G(1) is larger than G(2), for other cases the opposite is true); (2) in general, there is a large gradient in the strain energy release rates along the delamination front; (3) the locations of maximum G(1) and G(2) depend on the delamination shape and the applied strain; (4) the mode 3 component was negligible for all cases considered; and (5) the analysis predicted that parts of the delamination would overlap. The results presented did not impose contact constraints to prevent overlapping. Further work is needed to determine the effects of allowing the overlapping.
Pervasive authentication domains for automatic pervasive device authorization

In a pervasive computing environment, users have many devices that are used to initiate or answer remote service requests, such as obtaining real-time stock quotes, handling corporate e-mail, or accepting telephone calls. We envision that in the future, many applications will be distributed, running across many of a user's specialized pervasive devices rather than on a single system. In this case, a user needs the ability to "log into" the personal pervasive domain which spans each of the pervasive devices representing this user. In addition, the pervasive devices belonging to the user's pervasive domain must be able to represent this user to external services. We solve the problem of managing the authorization for pervasive devices belonging to a user's personal pervasive domain by introducing a central personal authorization gateway that accompanies the user and allows pervasive devices in the user's pervasive domain to be automatically configured and authorized.
Openness, Country Size and the Government

This paper shows that smaller countries have larger public sectors as a share of GDP, and are also more open to trade. These empirical observations are consistent with recent theoretical models explaining country formation and break up.
Dynamic wetting on superhydrophobic surfaces: Droplet impact and wetting hysteresis

We study the wetting energetics and wetting hysteresis of sessile and impacting water droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces as a function of surface texture and surface energy. For sessile drops, we find three wetting regimes on these surfaces: equilibrium Cassie at small feature spacing, equilibrium Wenzel at large feature spacing, and an intermediate state at medium feature spacing. We observe minimum wetting hysteresis not on surfaces that exhibit Cassie wetting but rather on surfaces in the intermediate regime. We argue that droplets on these surfaces are metastable Cassie droplets whose internal Laplace pressure is insufficient to overcome the energy barrier required to homogeneously wet the surface. These metastable Cassie droplets show superior roll-off properties because the effective length of the contact line that is pinned to the surface is reduced. We develop a model that can predict the transition between the metastable Cassie and Wenzel regimes by comparing the Laplace pressure of the drop to the capillary pressure associated with the wetting-energy barrier of the textured surface. In the case of impacting droplets the water hammer and Bernoulli pressures must be compared with the capillary pressure. Experiments with impacting droplets show very good agreement with this simple pressure-balance model.
Genotype-environment interactions and their translational implications

Organisms frequently encounter different environmental conditions. The physiological and behavioral responses to these conditions depend on the genetic make up of individuals. Genotype generally remains constant from one environment to another, although occasional spontaneous mutations may occur which cause it to change. However, when the same genotype is subjected to different environments, it can produce a wide range of phenotypes. These phenotypic variations are attributable to the effect of the environment on the expression and function of genes influencing the trait. Changes in the relative performance of genotypes across different environments are referred to as genotype–environment interactions (GEI). A general argument for research on the impact of GEI in common diseases is that it provides insights into disease processes at the population, individual and molecular levels. In humans, GEI is complicated by multiple factors including phenocopies, genocopies, epigenetics and imprinting. A better unde...
Computation of the scattering of TM plane waves from a perfectly conducting square-comparison of Yee's algorithm Lax-Wendroff method and Ni's scheme

The Lax-Wendroff method and R.H. Ni's (1982) scheme for Euler equations in computational fluid dynamics are applied to the computation of the scattering of TM (transverse magnetic) plane waves from a perfectly conducting square. Comparisons of the results and features are made with those of K.S. Yee's (1966) algorithm. The results show that Ni's scheme has the potential to solve wave scattering problems in complex geometry. It has the potential to be applied to arbitrary, curvilinear coordinates, in computational electromagnetics because of its finite-volume feature and large CFL number. >
Pensée 4: Moving Beyond Orientalist Fantasy, Sectarian Polemic, and Nationalist Denial

The notion of sectarianism can be useful in understanding the Middle East. As in India and Ireland, sectarian (or communal) identities have been crucial to the elaboration of modern politics in many parts of the region. Unlike India and Ireland today, however, the Middle East is subject to American domination. The result is that the study of Middle Eastern sectarianism is extraordinarily politicized. As scholars struggle to study sectarianism in such a climate, they need to recognize—and, ideally, find a way to move beyond—several problematic assumptions.
Enhancing Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uptake in Myocytes From Failing Hearts Restores Energy Supply and Demand Matching

Mitochondrial ATP production is continually adjusted to energy demand through coordinated increases in oxidative phosphorylation and NADH production mediated by mitochondrial Ca 2+ ([Ca 2+ ] m ). Elevated cytosolic Na + impairs [Ca 2+ ] m accumulation during rapid pacing of myocytes, resulting in a decrease in NADH/NAD + redox potential. Here, we determined 1) if accentuating [Ca 2+ ] m accumulation prevents the impaired NADH response at high [Na + ] i ; 2) if [Ca 2+ ] m handling and NADH/NAD + balance during stimulation is impaired with heart failure (induced by aortic constriction); and 3) if inhibiting [Ca 2+ ] m efflux improves NADH/NAD + balance in heart failure. [Ca 2+ ] m and NADH were recorded in cells at rest and during voltage clamp stimulation (4Hz) with either 5 or 15 mmol/L [Na + ] i . Fast [Ca 2+ ] m transients and a rise in diastolic [Ca 2+ ] m were observed during electric stimulation. [Ca 2+ ] m accumulation was [Na + ] i -dependent; less [Ca 2+ ] m accumulated in cells with 15 Na + versus 5 mmol/L Na + and NADH oxidation was evident at 15 mmol/L Na + , but not at 5 mmol/L Na + . Treatment with either the mitochondrial Na + /Ca 2+ exchange inhibitor CGP-37157 (1 μmol/L) or raising cytosolic P i (2 mmol/L) enhanced [Ca 2+ ] m accumulation and prevented the NADH oxidation at 15 mmol/L [Na + ] i . In heart failure myocytes, resting [Na + ] i increased from 5.2±1.4 to 16.8±3.1mmol/L and net NADH oxidation was observed during pacing, whereas NADH was well matched in controls. Treatment with CGP-37157 or lowering [Na + ] i prevented the impaired NADH response in heart failure. We conclude that high [Na + ] i (at levels observed in heart failure) has detrimental effects on mitochondrial bioenergetics, and this impairment can be prevented by inhibiting the mitochondrial Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger.
Cell-Mediated Immune Responses after Immunization of Healthy Seronegative Children with Varicella Vaccine: Kinetics and Specificity

Humoral and cell-mediated immune responses were determined in seronegative children immunized with live attenuated Oka strain varicella vaccine. At 2 weeks after immunization, 80% of children had detectable lymphocyte proliferation to varicella-zoster virus (VZV) antigens, while only 40% had antibodies to VZV as detected by ELISA. By 6 weeks after immunization, 97% of children seroconverted, and 95% of these responded to VZV antigens in the proliferation assay. A high proportion of immunized children also responded in the proliferation assay to purified glycoproteins I, II, and III of VZV. These results indicate that most children develop a broad cell-mediated immune response to VZV antigens within weeks after immunization with varicella vaccine.
Development of a Spatially Targeted Field Sampling Technique for the Southern Cattle Tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, by Mapping Whitetailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, Habitat in South Texas

The objective of our study was to determine whether satellite remote sensed data could be used to identify white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmerman) (Artiodactyla: Cervidae), habitat and target locations for sampling free-living larvae of the southern cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini) (Ixodida: Ixodidae) in South Texas. Two methods for mapping white-tailed deer habitat were used, an object-oriented method to identify closed canopies and waterways for deer movement and two vegetation indices: the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and the Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index to identify forage for deer. These two data sets of favorable white-tailed deer habitat were combined within a geographic information system to identify locations for sampling ticks. Larvae of R. (B.) microplus, were sampled in Zapata County, Texas, by walking transects with attached flannel panels to jeans. Although the data set and sampling period were limited, data analysis demonstrated that sampling of free-living larvae of R. (B.) microplus can be conducted in South Texas, and larvae were most abundant in areas that harbored O. virginianus. Spatial analysis of satellite imagery to classify white-tailed deer/southern cattle tick habitat proved efficacious and may be useful in directing sampling activities in the field.
A Unified Test Framework for Continuous Integration Testing of SOA Solutions

The quality of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions is becoming more and more important along with the increasing adoption of SOA. Continuous Integration Testing (CIT) is an effective technology to discover bugs as early as possible. However, the diversity of programming models used in an SOA solution and the distribution nature of an SOA solution pose new challenges for CIT. Existing testing frameworks more focus on the integration testing of applications developed by a single programming model. In this paper, a unified test framework is proposed to overcome these limitations and enable the CIT of SOA solutions across the whole development lifecycle.This framework is designed following the Model Driven Architecture (MDA). The information of an executable test case is separated into two layers: the behavior layer and the configuration layer. The behavior layer represents the test logic of a test case and is platform independent. The configuration layer contains the platform specific information and is configurable for different programming models. An extensible and pluggable test execution engine is specially designed to execute the integration test cases. A global test case identifier instrumentation approach is used to merge the distributed test case execution traces captured by ITCAM – an IBM integrated management tool. A verification approach supporting Boolean expression and back-end service interaction verification is proposed to verify the test execution result. Initial experiments have shown the effectiveness of this unified test framework.
Bias in proxies' reports of disability: data from the National Health Interview Survey on disability.

OBJECTIVES: These studies examined whether differences between self-reports and proxy reports of disabilities reflect proxy response biases or only respondent selection factors. METHODS: The data were from the National Health Interview Survey on Disability (1994-1995, phases 1 and 2). In study 1, reports of disabilities were regressed on respondent status, self vs proxy, and demographic factors. In study 2, the ratios of the proportions of self-reports and proxy reports of disabilities were regressed on independent lay ratings of observability of these disabilities and their "interactional" nature. In study 3, the disability reports for people who differed in respondent status in one phase but self-reported the same disability in the other phase were compared. RESULTS: In study 1, proxies under-reported disabilities for people aged 18 to 64 years but overreported for people 65 years or older. In study 2, the observability and interactional scores accounted for more than 60% of the variance of self and proxy differences in an inverse relationship, study 3 confirmed the basic findings of study 1. CONCLUSIONS: Use of proxies in representative surveys on disability introduces systematic biases, affecting national disability estimates.
Cadmium zinc telluride spectral modeling

Abstract Cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detectors are the highest resolution room temperature gamma-ray detectors available for isotopic analysis. As with germanium detectors, accurate isotopic analysis using spectra requires peak deconvolution. The CZT peak shapes are asymmetric, with a long low energy tail. The asymmetry is a result of the physics of the electron/hole transport in the semiconductor. An accurate model of the physics of the electron/hole transport through an electric field will allow the parameterization of the peak shapes as a function of energy. In turn this leads to the ability to perform accurate spectral deconvolution and therefore accurate isotopic analysis. The model and the peak-shape parameterization as a function of energy will be presented.
Food, Fuel, and the New England Environment in the War for Independence, 1775–1776

Early in the American Revolution, British and American forces in New England fought to secure natural resources more than they battled each other. By extracting wool, hay, and firewood from a hinterland that barely sustained the civilian population, the Continental Congress and Massachusetts governments exercised powers that would come to shape Americans' relationship with their environment.
Detection of coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli by multiplex polymerase chain reaction: comparison with defined substrate and plating methods for water quality monitoring.

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene probe detection of target lacZ and uidA genes were used to detect total coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli, respectively, for determining water quality. In tests of environmental water samples, the lacZ PCR method gave results statistically equivalent to those of the plate count and defined substrate methods accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for water quality monitoring and the uidA PCR method was more sensitive than 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucuronide-based defined substrate tests for specific detection of E. coli.
Rangewide Survey of the Introgressive Status of Guadalupe Bass: Implications for Conservation and Management

Abstract The stocking of fishes outside of their native range for the purpose of sport fisheries can lead to secondary contact and introgression between species that were historically allopatrically distributed. Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu were introduced within the range of Guadalupe Bass M. treculii in central Texas and introgressive hybridization subsequently occurred. One recent survey of temporal changes in introgression in the Blanco River found that introgression had increased and that Guadalupe Bass had been extirpated. Thus, a survey of changes in introgression across the range of the Guadalupe Bass was conducted in 12 subbasins in the Brazos, Colorado, Guadalupe–San Antonio, and Nueces drainages in Texas using 15 microsatellite loci. The results indicate that introgression is now occurring in four subbasins but no longer occurring in the Lampasas and San Gabriel rivers, where rates were previously 6% and 46%, respectively. Additionally, we found no evidence that stocking of hatchery-rea...
Singing-voice separation from monaural recordings using robust principal component analysis

Separating singing voices from music accompaniment is an important task in many applications, such as music information retrieval, lyric recognition and alignment. Music accompaniment can be assumed to be in a low-rank subspace, because of its repetition structure; on the other hand, singing voices can be regarded as relatively sparse within songs. In this paper, based on this assumption, we propose using robust principal component analysis for singing-voice separation from music accompaniment. Moreover, we examine the separation result by using a binary time-frequency masking method. Evaluations on the MIR-1K dataset show that this method can achieve around 1∼1.4 dB higher GNSDR compared with two state-of-the-art approaches without using prior training or requiring particular features.
Comparison of Treatment Tolerance and Outcomes in Patients With Cervical Cancer Treated With Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in a Prospective Randomized Trial or With Standard Treatment

Purpose To compare the treatment and outcomes of cervical cancer patients treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CT-RT) in a multi-institutional trial or as standard care. Patients and Methods We reviewed the records of 302 patients treated with CT-RT for locoregionally confined, intact cervical cancer between 1990 and 2005. Of the 302 patients, 76 were treated using cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (C/F) on Radiation Therapy Oncology Group protocol 90-01 (CT-RT 90-01 ); 226 underwent CT-RT as standard care with either C/F [CT-RT SC(C/F) ; n = 115] or weekly cisplatin [CT-RT SC(WC) ; n = 111). Results The CT-RT 90-01 patients more often had tumors ≥6 cm and were less often diabetic than were the CT-RT SC patients. The CT-RT SC(WC) patients were more likely than the CT-RT SC(C/F) patients to be ≥60 years old or to have Stage III-IV disease. During treatment, CT-RT SC(C/F) patients experienced more Grade 2-3 neutropenia and were, therefore, less likely to receive 200 mg/m 2 cisplatin than were either CT-RT SC(WC) or CT-RT 90-01 patients (52% vs. 77% vs. 85%, respectively; p SC(C/F) , 75%; CT-RT 90-01 , 79%] than for those treated with CT-RT SC(WC) (58%; p = 0.02). On multivariate analysis, C/F chemotherapy, cisplatin dose ≥200 mg/m 2 , Stage I-II disease, and negative pelvic lymph nodes were independent predictors of improved disease-specific survival. Conclusions Even within a large comprehensive cancer center, the high rates of chemotherapy completion achieved on a multi-institutional trial can be difficult to reproduce in standard practice. Although C/F toxicity was greater in the standard care patients, their outcomes were similar to those of patients treated with C/F on Radiation Therapy Oncology Group protocol 90-01.
Collaborative Rehabilitation Support System: A Comprehensive Solution for Everyday Rehab

Repetitive rehabilitation exercises on a regular basis are crucial for enhancing and restoring functional ability and quality of life to those with cognitive and physical disabilities such as stroke. However, a good proportion of patients are often non-compliant to the repetitive exercise regimen prescribed by their therapists. This may be due to a variety of factors including lack of motivation. Although interactive gaming systems such as the Wii by Nintendo and haptic devices have been introduced to make repetitive actions more fun and engaging for typically functioning individuals, challenges still remain for those who have some impairment. Expensive and complicated gaming systems are still not widely used by those with disabilities. In addition, therapists and caregivers, who play an important role in rehabilitation, have not been sufficiently involved. To address these problems as they pertain to people with disabilities, we propose a collaborative rehabilitation support system (CRSS) where mobile-based interactive games are included. Through our approach, we expand in-home rehabilitation to self-rehabilitation which allows users to perform rehab anywhere and anytime. A pilot study involving stroke survivors, caregivers, therapists and physicians was conducted to evaluate our system, and users' feedback is highly positive.
Designing and Developing A “Real” Organization in the Classroom

The article discusses experiential-educational philosophy. Research is examined which presents a behavioral science curriculum program developed to involve students in a “real” organization requiri...
"The Ambidexterity Paradox: Balancing Exploration, Exploitation and Learning from Failure."

This paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the paradox of ambidexterity. Specifically, we consider the role of prior success experience and prior failure experience on the effectiveness of future exploration and exploitation. Using a sample of 13,464 patents from the biomedical industry we demonstrate several features salient to understanding the paradox of ambidexterity. First, we demonstrate that exploration and exploitation have opposing impacts on innovation performance, while we also demonstrate a negative interaction effect between exploration and exploitation, which highlights the challenge of ambidexterity. We also show that prior success experience increases the likelihood of breakthroughs. On the other hand, we do not find support for a direct benefit of learning from failure. Interestingly, however, we demonstrate that prior failure experience and exploitation are both necessary, but not independently sufficient, for learning from failure to occur. Furthermore, we find that when ...