cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What Can the United States Learn from Pharmaceutical Spending Controls in France

ISSUE: U.S. health care payers and policymakers are looking for strategies to combat high drug prices and spending. In the United States, spending on prescription drugs grew an average of 3.6 percent annually from 2008 to 2017, a rate far more rapid than in other developed nations like France, where retail drug spending declined during this same period. GOALS: Describe and assess France’s system of pharmaceutical price and spending controls to identify potential lessons for the U.S. METHODS: Analysis of legal texts and government reports and interviews with policymakers and members of the French pharmaceutical trade association. KEY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION: To control spending, France sets maximum prices for new products that reflect the added value of the new drug compared with a comparator product. The country also prohibits price increases after a new drug’s launch and, after five years, lowers prices and obtains additional discounts based on market competition. France also requires manufacturers to pay rebates if spending exceeds a national pharmaceutical spending cap set by Parliament. By employing approaches used in France, private and public payers in the U.S. could reduce drug spending without restricting access to new drugs.
Journalists on COVID-19 Journalism: Communication Ecology of Pandemic Reporting

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists have the challenging task of gathering and distributing accurate information. Journalists exist as a part of an ecology in which their work influe...
Introducing an Integrated Model of Adults’ Wearable Activity Tracker Use and Obesity Information–Seeking Behaviors From a National Quota Sample Survey

Background: Research from multiple perspectives to investigate adults’ use of wearable activity-tracking devices is limited. We offer a multiperspective model and provide empirical evidence of what leads to frequent usage of wearable health technologies from a large, nationally representative survey sample. Objective: This study aims to explore factors affecting the use of wearable activity-tracking devices among health consumers from the perspectives of individual health beliefs (perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, and self-efficacy) and information-seeking behaviors. Methods: Our Integrated Model of Wearable Activity Tracker (IMWAT) use and proposed hypotheses were validated and tested with data collected from a telephone survey with a national quota sample. The data were analyzed using a variety of statistical techniques, including structural equation analysis. Results: The sample comprised 2006 participants. Our results showed that the perceived benefits of physical activity, perceived susceptibility, and self-efficacy toward obesity were significant predictors of information-seeking behaviors, which, in turn, mediated their effects on the use of wearable activity trackers. Perceptions of obesity severity directly promoted wearable device usage. Conclusions: This study provided a new and powerful theoretical model that combined the health beliefs and information-seeking behaviors behind the use of wearable activity trackers in the adult population. The findings provide meaningful implications for developers and designers of wearable health technology products and will assist health informatics practitioners and obesity prevention communicators.
The AML microenvironment catalyzes a stepwise evolution to gilteritinib resistance

Our study details the stepwise evolution of gilteritinib resistance in FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Early resistance is mediated by the bone marrow microenvironment, which protects residual leukemia cells. Over time, leukemia cells evolve intrinsic mechanisms of resistance, or late resistance. We mechanistically define both early and late resistance by integrating whole-exome sequencing, CRISPR-Cas9, metabolomics, proteomics, and pharmacologic approaches. Early resistant cells undergo metabolic reprogramming, grow more slowly, and are dependent upon Aurora kinase B (AURKB). Late resistant cells are characterized by expansion of pre-existing NRAS mutant subclones and continued metabolic reprogramming. Our model closely mirrors the timing and mutations of AML patients treated with gilteritinib. Pharmacological inhibition of AURKB resensitizes both early resistant cell cultures and primary leukemia cells from gilteritinib-treated AML patients. These findings support a combinatorial strategy to target early resistant AML cells with AURKB inhibitors and gilteritinib before the expansion of pre-existing resistance mutations occurs.
Same-day discharge across FPMRS surgical cases is safe and feasible: A 10-year single-surgeon experience.

INTRODUCTION Enhanced recovery after surgery protocols and increased attention to value-based care have led to the reconsideration of routine postoperative admission in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS) cases. We aimed to assess trends in same-day discharge (SDD) and associated readmissions and emergency room visits in a single-surgeon 10-year experience. METHODS The electronic medical record was queried for 30-day outcomes (readmission and emergency department visits with associated indications) for all cases performed between June 2010 and August 2020 by a single FPMRS surgeon. Non-FPMRS specialty cases were excluded. Patient characteristics and 30-day outcomes were compared based on SDD status for the overall cohort as well as the subset of cases traditionally involving an overnight stay (i.e., robotic transabdominal, apical prolapse repair). RESULTS 1793 surgeries were identified and analyzed, including 357 apical prolapse repairs, 370 slings, 392 neuromodulation and 114 complex mesh excisions. The majority (79.1%) had SDD. For admitted patients, mean length of stay was 1.5 (1.3) days. Among cases traditionally involving overnight stay, rates of SDD were significantly higher in 2020 than 2010 (84% vs. 32%, p < 0.001), and increased over time. Overall rates of 30-day readmission and ED visits were low (1.9% and 2.6%, respectively) and did not differ based on SDD status (p = 0.76). Readmissions occurred at mean 11.6 (7.0) days, most commonly for urinary tract infection (13/34). CONCLUSIONS SDD is not associated with increased 30-day readmission or ED visits across a wide breadth of FPMRS cases. SDD is safe and feasible in the majority of FPMRS cases.
Artificial Intelligence: Unpacking Political, Rhetorical, and Security Factors

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled capabilities have advanced considerably in the last decade and are expected to see increased employment by states and potentially by non-state actors in the ensuing years. This chapter explores how political, rhetorical, and security factors surrounding the research and development of AI-enabled capabilities interact and considers the implications for geopolitics. The widespread emphasis on the importance of AI globally, especially in the context of military capabilities and balance of power, is uncontested politically, and concurrently, it is also an area in need of more investigation by scholars.
Public Water and COVID-19: Dark Clouds and Silver Linings: David A. McDonald, Susan Spronk, and Daniel Chavez, eds. Kingston, ON, Canada: Municipal Services Project; Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Transnational Institute; and Buenos Aires, Argentina: Latin American Council of Social Sciences, 2020. xii and 458pp., diagrams, illustrations, notes, bibliography, author bios. Print (ISBN 978-1-55339-667-3); (free to access) electronic (ISBN 978-1-55339-666-6).

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has forced human societies around the world to take extraordinary steps to stop the spread of the virus. Although initially positioned as “the great leveler” tha...
Geographies of Aging in Jhumpa Lahiri’s “The Third and Final Continent” and Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex

Jhumpa Lahiri’s 1999 short story “The Third and Final Continent” and Geoffrey Eugenides’ 2002 novel Middlesex draw complex portraits of immigrant American masculinities that change with age. In these fictions, characters work to construct masculine identities in a diaspora as they confront their own aging and mortality. This essay uses the short story to explore the relationship between emerging gender identity and shifting geographies and then turns to see how this relationship is complicated in Eugenides’ longer work. Lahiri’s narrator tells a linear story of aging immigrant masculinity using his first American landlady as a fixed point in the geography of his becoming a citizen, a husband, and a father. This mapped out path of aging is complicated in Middlesex: the narrator, Cal, in the process of building a masculine identity after a childhood as a girl, weaves a story that includes those of his immigrant grandfather Lefty and his father Milton.
WE-A-304-00: Stereotactic Radiosurgery

The high fractional doses, stringent requirements for accuracy and precision, and surgical perspective characteristic of intracranial radiosurgery create considerations for treatment planning which are distinct from most other radiotherapy procedures. This session will introduce treatment planning techniques specific to two popular intracranial SRS modalities: Gamma Knife and MLC-based Linac. The basic treatment delivery characteristics of each device will be reviewed with a focus on how those characteristics determine the paradigm used for treatment planning. Basic techniques for treatment planning will be discussed, including considerations such as isodose selection, target and organ-at-risk definition, quality indices, and protection of critical structures. Future directions for SRS treatment planning will also be discussed. Learning Objectives: 1. Introduce the basic physical principles of intracranial radiosurgery and how they are realized in the treatment planning paradigms for Gamma Knife and Linac radiosurgery. 2. Demonstrate basic treatment planning techniques. 3. Discuss metrics for evaluating SRS treatment plan quality. 4. Discuss recent and future advances in SRS treatment planning. D. Schlesinger receives research support from Elekta, AB
Chapter 13 Bizarre imagery: Mnemonic benefits and theoretical implications

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the mnemonic benefits and theoretical implications of bizarre imagery. One issue in studying imagery and memory concerns how the quality of the image may influence its mnemonic properties. Two factors that are apparently important for obtaining bizarre imagery effects are the processing task and the test task. A distinctiveness hypothesis has been used to explain why the type of design is instrumental for observing bizarre imagery effects. According to most accounts of distinctiveness, the distinctiveness of an event is determined by two factors. First, a distinctive item is one that shares few features in common with other information in memory. Second, distinctiveness is typically defined in a relative sense—that is, relative to other information in the learning context According to this criterion, items become functionally distinct only when they are presented in the context of common items. Bizarre imagery effects are found only when bizarre items appear in the context of common material.
The Distribution of Electrons in the Ionosphere

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the distribution of electron in the ionosphere. The leading features of the mean behavior of the ionospheric regions have been presented, together with a critical appreciation of the methods used for studying them. Although the ionosphere is a very active research field, its study has been to some extent hampered by the fact that the practical applications of radio propagation have led to a phenomenological type of approach to ionospheric behavior. The early availability of large amounts of numerical data on critical frequencies, obtained at the world-wide sounding stations set up for the purposes of long-distance radio propagation prediction, contributed to this approach. Ionosphere studies may thus eventually contribute to the knowledge of rate processes for gaseous reactions. With a highly variable parameter such as the ionospheric electron density, the use of techniques which study different regions of the ionosphere, or different ranges of electron density, gives useful results only if the observations are simultaneous and at the same location.
Septicemia due to multiple biotypes of Escherichia coli

Background Polymicrobial bacteremias with different biotypes of the same organism have not been reported as a cause of bacteremia in any patient. Case A 37-year-old gravida had a cesarean delivery performed after a failed vacuum extraction. On the second postoperative day, she developed a septicemia with temperature to 39.4C. Three different biotypes of Escherichia coli with different antibiotic susceptibilities were isolated from her blood. A fourth biotype was isolated from the urinary and genital tracts; therefore, the source of her bacteremia was not apparent. She was treated successfully with cefoxitin and gentamicin. Conclusion Accurate selection of colonies from microbiological isolation plates allowed identification of four different E coli biotypes (three in the blood) from a bacteremic patient. Rapid identification of antibiotic susceptibility is important in such patients.
Time Series Segmentation Using a Novel Adaptive Eigendecomposition Algorithm

In this paper we present a new technique for time series segmentation built around a fast principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm that is on-line and stable. The traditional Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test (GLRT) has been used to solve the segmentation problem, but this has enormous limitations in terms of complexity and speed. Newer methods use gated experts and mixture models to detect transitions in time series. These techniques perform better than GLRT, but most of them require extensive training of relatively large neural networks. The segmentation method discussed in this paper is based on a novel idea that involves solving the generalized eigendecomposition of two consecutive windowed time series and can be formulated as a two-step PCA. Thus, the performance of our segmentation technique mainly depends on the efficiency of the PCA algorithm. Most of the existing techniques for PCA are based on gradient search procedures that are slow and they also suffer from convergence problems. The PCA algorithm presented in this paper is both online, and is proven to converge faster than the current methods.
Promoter Hypermethylation of the DNA Repair Gene O6-Methylguanine-DNA Methyltransferase Is Associated with the Presence of G:C to A:T Transition Mutations in p53 in Human Colorectal Tumorigenesis

Defects in DNA repair may be responsible for the genesis of mutations in key genes in cancer cells. The tumor suppressor gene p53 is commonly mutated in human cancer by missense point mutations, most of them G:C to A:T transitions. A recognized cause for this type of change is spontaneous deamination of the methylcytosine. However, the persistence of a premutagenic O(6)-methylguanine can also be invoked. This last lesion is removed in the normal cell by the DNA repair enzyme O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT). In many tumor types, epigenetic silencing of MGMT by promoter hypermethylation has been demonstrated and linked to the appearance of G to A mutations in the K-ras oncogene in colorectal tumors. To study the relevance of defective MGMT function by aberrant methylation in relation to the presence of p53 mutations, we studied 314 colorectal tumors for MGMT promoter hypermethylation and p53 mutational spectrum. Inactivation of MGMT by aberrant methylation was associated with the appearance of G:C to A:T transition mutations at p53 (Fischer's exact test, two-tailed; P = 0.01). Overall, MGMT methylated tumors displayed p53 transition mutations in 43 of 126 (34%) cases, whereas MGMT unmethylated tumors only showed G:C to A:T changes in 37 of 188 (19%) tumors. A more striking association was found in G:C to A:T transitions in non-CpG dinucleotides; 71% (12 of 17) of the total non-CpG transition mutations in p53 were observed in MGMT aberrantly methylated tumors (Fischer's exact test, two-tailed; P = 0.008). Our data suggest that epigenetic silencing of MGMT by promoter hypermethylation may lead to G:C to A:T transition mutations in p53.
THE TISSUE DISTRIBUTION OF SE-75-SELENOURACIL AND SE-75-SELENOUREA.

With the development of photoscanning clinical medicine now possesses a diagnostic technique in which further advances will depend heavily upon pharmacologic investigations of structure-distribution relations. In the present study the distribution of the selenium analogs of thiouracil and thiourea, labeled with Selenium-75, was studied in rabbits. After administration of either compound, high concentrations of Se75 were found in the lung, liver and kidney. The concentration of Se75 in the lungs after administration of these compounds, especially Se75-selenouracil, permitted visualization of the lungs in the living, intact animal by photoscanning. However, neither Se75-selenouracil nor Se75-selenourea permit pulmonary scans of high quality and these particular compounds are not recommended for trial in man. The possible relation of labelled compounds of this type, as well as certain other series of labeled compounds, to the problem of adrenal scanning is also discussed.
Designing the Finch: Creating a Robot Aligned to Computer Science Concepts

We present a new robot platform, the Finch, that was designed to align with the learning goals and concepts taught in introductory computer science courses. The Finch was developed in the context of the CSbots program, the goal of which is to improve retention and learning in computer science courses through the use of robots and other physically embodied hardware. This paper concentrates on design constraints that were determined in earlier CSbots studies and how those constraints were instantiated by the Finch. We also present some preliminary results from pilot studies in which Finch robots were used in CS1 and CS2 classes.
A Unique Muscular Ring of the Jejunum

Muscular malformations of the gastrointestinal tract are rare conditions. This communication describes a unique case of such a malformation which developed as a muscular ring in the jejunum. The ring consisted of muscular stricture with a vascular stroma and scattered ganglion cells, covered with pyloric type glands. A similar lesion, which probably represents a hamartoma, has not been reported previously.
A capabilities approach to arts and culture? Theorizing community development in West Philadelphia

AbstractArts and culture are increasingly part of the planning and development toolkit in the USA. Justifications for investment in the arts often center on economic development outcomes. In contrast, we propose the use of Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach to human development, which asserts the importance of the freedom to achieve personal and group well-being through the creation of conditions that maximize opportunity. This paper advances the capabilities approach by exploring arts and culture engagement in three adjacent West Philadelphia neighborhoods. Amid conditions of material deprivation and pressure from gentrification, neighborhood residents strongly articulate their belief in arts and culture as a strategy of community empowerment. The capabilities approach offers planners an opportunity to reevaluate the way they incorporate arts and culture in their efforts. We conclude that arts-based development should employ comprehensive place-based strategies, with social and spatial justice as guides...
A Review of the World's Active Seabird Restoration Projects

Within the past several decades, seabird populations have been actively restored in locales where they were reduced or extirpated. Chick translocation, acoustic vocalization playbacks, and decoys are now used widely to lure breeding seabirds to restoration sites. In this first worldwide review of seabird restoration projects we evaluate the factors affecting project success or failure and recommend future directions for management. We identified 128 active restoration projects that were implemented to protect 47 seabird species in 100 locales spanning 14 countries since active restoration methods were pioneered in 1973. Active seabird restoration can achieve conservation goals for threatened and endangered species, and for species affected by anthropogenic impacts (e.g., oil spills, invasive species, fisheries). It also can be used to relocate populations from undesired breeding locales to more favorable locations, and to establish multiple breeding locations to reduce risks posed by catastrophic events. Active restoration can help to restore ecological processes, as large seabird colonies function to cycle marine nutrients to terrestrial ecosystems and create habitats for commensal species. Active restoration is especially appropriate where the original causes of decline are no longer working to suppress colony establishment and growth. Successful restoration efforts require careful planning and long-term commitments. We introduce the different forms of active seabird restoration techniques, review their utility for different seabird species, and use case studies to suggest how to optimize this technique to restore seabird species globally. Wildlife managers can use this review to guide their seabird restoration projects in the planning, implementation, and monitoring stages; tailor their restoration to seabird-specific life histories; and identify areas for further research to improve restoration utility in the future. ! 2011 The Wildlife Society.
Preparation of Gliadin and Zein.

SummaryMethods are described for the preparation of gliadin from wheat and of zein from corn (maize). The products are of a grade suitable for many types of nutrition investigations.
Preparation and magnetic measurements of single crystal Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8

Abstract A novel self-flux growth technique has been used to prepare superconducting single crystals with transition temperatures, T c , ranging from 105 to 124 K in the Tl-Ca-Ba-Cu-O system. Measurements of the magnetic hysteresis and magnetic relaxation in Tl 2 Ba 2 CaCu 2 O 8 crystals reveal extraordinary flux creep behavior that persists at low temperatures. These effects are attributed to the lack of effective pinning centers in these materials.
Variational description of the dimensional crossover in an array of coupled one-dimensional conductors

Variational wave function is proposed to describe electronic properties of an array of one-dimensional conductors coupled by transverse hopping and interaction. For weak or intermediate in-chain interaction the wave function has the following structure: Tomonaga-Luttinger bosons with momentum higher than some variational quantity $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ are in their ground state while other bosons (with $|k|l\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{\ensuremath{\Lambda}})$ form kinks \char22{} fermionlike excitations of the Tomonaga-Luttinger boson field. The nature of the ground state for these quasiparticles can be determined by solving a three-dimensional effective Hamiltonian. Since the anisotropy of the effective Hamiltonian is small the use of mean-field theory is justified. For repulsive interaction possible phases are density wave and p-wave superconductivity. Our method allows us to calculate the low-energy part of different electronic Green's functions. In order to do this it is sufficient to apply standard perturbation theory technique to the effective Hamiltonian. When the in-chain interaction is strong $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ vanishes and no fermionic excitation is present in the system. In this regime the dynamics is described by transversally coupled Tomonaga-Luttinger bosons.
Potato Leafhopper (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) Antixenosis and Antibiosis in Medicago Species

Selected clones from three perennial glandular-haired Medicago species— M. glandulosa David, M. glutinosa Marschall von Bieberstein, and M. prostrata Jacquin, Hort. Vindob.—and one nonglandular hay-type, M. sativa L., were tested under controlled conditions in a growth chamber to determine their resistance to adult potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Harris), feeding and oviposition. One clone each from glandular-haired M. glandulosa, M. glutinosa , and M. prostrata exhibited antixenosis in free-choice tests under two temperature regimes. Clones were delineated better at 13–18°C than at 18–24°C. The antixenotic M. glutinosa and M. prostrata clones showed no damage symptoms; in a no-choice situation they exhibited antibiosis or extreme antixenosis (100% mortality) to adults. In ovipositiontests, eggs were rare in stems of clones with high antibiosis but were frequently laid in glandular-haired M. glandulosa . Clones resistant to oviposition had a tough vascular cylinder surrounding the pith. A nonglandular control clone with tolerance to yellowing in the field showed little antixenosis or antibiosis in growth chamber tests.
Lipidomic Profiling of Phosphocholine Containing Brain Lipids in Mice with Sensorimotor Deficits and Anxiety-Like Features After Exposure to Gulf War Agents

The central nervous system (CNS)-based symptoms of Gulf War Illness (GWI) include motor dysfunction, anxiety, and cognitive impairment. Gulf War (GW) agents, such as pyridostigmine bromide (PB), permethrin (PER), N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), and stress, are among the contributory factors to the pathobiology of GWI. This study characterizes disturbances in phosphocholine-containing lipids that accompany neurobehavioral and neuropathological features associated with GW agent exposure. Exposed mice received PB orally, dermal application of PER and DEET and restraint stress daily for 28 days, while controls received vehicle during this period. Neurobehavioral studies included the rotarod, open field, and Morris water maze tests. Histopathological assessments included glial fibrillary acid protein, CD45, and Nissl staining. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry with source collision-induced dissociation in negative and positive ionization scanning modes was performed to characterize brain phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin (SM). A significant increase in ether containing PC (ePC34:0, ePC36:2, and ePC36:1) or long-chain fatty acid-containing PC (38:1, 40:4, 40:2) was observed in exposed mice compared with controls. Among differentially expressed PCs, levels of those with monounsaturated fatty acids were more affected than those with saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Sensorimotor deficits and anxiety, together with an increase in astrocytosis, were observed in exposed mice compared with controls. These lipid changes suggest that alterations in peroxisomal pathways and stearoyl-CoA desaturase activity accompany neurobehavioral and neuropathological changes after GW agent exposure and represent possible treatment targets for the CNS symptoms of GWI.
Metallothionein excretion in urine upon cadmium exposure: its relationship with liver and kidney cadmium.

Abstract The relationships between quantities of accumulated cadmium in the liver and kidney and those of metallothionein in urine was studied in occupationally exposed workers and experimentally exposed rats. Cadmium-exposed workers who had been employed at a cadmium production plant for periods of 8–29 years had significantly higher levels of cadmium in both liver and kidney and excreted significantly larger amounts of metallothionein in urine when compared with workers who had been employed for less than 1 year, with office workers at the plant or with control subjects having no known occupational exposure to cadmium. The excretion of metallothionein in urine of the cadmium-exposed workers appeared to be related to the levels of cadmium in both liver and kidney. A similar dose-effect relationship was also observed among rats given repeated subcutaneous injections of 5 μmol CdCl2/kg. However, in the rats the metallothionein excretion increased markedly when the liver and renal cortex Cd levels exceeded approximately 300 μg/g and 200 μg/g, respectively. It appears that urinary metallothionein may be a useful biological indicator of liver and kidney cadmium levels.
The oxysterol-binding protein superfamily: new concepts and old proteins.

The Kes1 OSBP (oxysterol-binding protein) is a key regulator of membrane trafficking through the TGN ( trans- Golgi network) and endosomal membranes. We demonstrated recently that Kes1 acts as a sterol-regulated rheostat for TGN/endosomal phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate signalling. Kes1 utilizes its dual lipid-binding activities to integrate endosomal lipid metabolism with TORC1 (target of rapamycin complex 1)-dependent proliferative pathways and transcriptional control of nutrient signalling.
Spectrally Constrained Optical Breast Imaging with Co-registered X-Ray Tomosynthesis

We imaged 65 patients with a combined optical and tomosynthesis imaging system. The bulk optical properties from 72 healthy breasts and the reconstructed images using a spectrally-constrained algorithm for healthy and tumor breasts are reported.
Zep process optimization for submicron reticle fabrication in high-acceleration voltage writing tool

ABSTRACT In e-beam lithography for high-end reticle fabrication, process capability of higher resolution and cd accuracy are needed more tosolve tighter specification. In order to overcome this serious problem , various items including high acceleration voltage e-beamtool and good durability of dry etching resist such as ZEP-7000, CAR are recommended. Therefore basically the process on highacceleration voltage strategy is changing from wet etching to dry etching which must be established and optimized condition withdevelop. The high acceleration voltage e-beam tool has a high accuracy and high-throughput , high speed PEC correction systemwith variable shaped e-beam but the condition of writing must be optimized to make best performance including hardware circuits .There are so many parameters to get the cd performance on ZEP 7000 resist & vector scan high voltage writing tool, so maskmanufacturer has to consider optimized parameter of them. In this work , we evaluated some barrier to make advanced reticle us inghigh acceleration voltage writing tool related on PEC application with ZEP resist process optimization.KEYWORDS: PEC , ZEP process, 50Kv writing tool, fogging
Direction-selective Coding of Stereoscopic (Cyclopean) Motion

This study employed a selective adaptation paradigm and investigated thresholds for direction discrimination of translational stereoscopic motion (moving binocular disparity information). The stimuli were moving arrays of randomly positioned stereoscopic discs created from disparity embedded in dynamic random-element stereograms. When discrimination thresholds were measured across a range of base directions following adaptation in a fixed direction, discrimination thresholds were maximally elevated 20-30 deg away from adaptation and reduced in the same direction as adaptation. These results are consistent with a distributed-channel model of direction coding and indicate that the direction of stereoscopic motion is encoded by adaptable direction-selective mechanisms similar to those proposed for luminance-defined motion.
Effects of Adsorbate/Adsorbate Interactions and Surface Fractality on Diffusion- and Reaction-Limited Adsorption

The factors affecting the kinetics of adsorption on fractal surfaces have been studied by means of a Langmuir-derived model. This model was applied to fractal model surfaces with fractal dimensions ranging from 2.35 to 2.89. The sticking probabilities of all the surface sites were estimated; thus the sticking dependence on coverage could be determined. The results obtained show an important modification of the sticking probabilites in the presence of surface fractality. Furthermore, the curvature of the plot of sticking probabilities versus coverages increases with the occurrence of adsorbate/adsorbate interactions. The present paper also shows that Tempkin-like adsorption isotherms can be obtained due to surface fractality even in the case of a lack of adsorbate/adsorbate interactions. Finally, this study supports the hypothesis that the ubiquity of Freundich and Tempkin isotherms may due to the ubiquity of fractal surfaces.
Synthesis And Properties of Multifunctional Polymers

Abstract : Recent work aimed at developing new polymers which exhibit useful optical, electro-optical, and piezoelectric properties is presented. The materials under study are polymers with methacrylate backbones and oxynitrostilbene side chains. The synthesis is outlined, and pyroelectric, electro-optic, and thermal property data are reported and discussed.
Residual high incidence of ventricular arrhythmias after left ventricular reconstructive surgery.

Objective Left ventricular reconstruction is performed in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and akinetic or dyskinetic left ventricular regions. These patients may remain at risk for malignant ventricular arrhythmias and hence may benefit from prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. Specific guidelines for electrophysiologic testing and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation in patients undergoing left ventricular reconstruction are lacking. We aimed to assess the residual risk and timing of ventricular arrhythmias after left ventricular reconstruction to determine whether electrophysiologic risk stratification or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation can be safely deferred. Methods Data were prospectively gathered on 217 consecutive patients with left ventricular ejection fractions less than 40% undergoing left ventricular reconstruction at our institution from 1997 to 2002. Patients were divided into 3 groups: group 1, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator present before surgery; group 2, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implanted early after surgery; and group 3, no implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implanted. End points were all-cause mortality (censored for cardiac transplantation) and appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapies. Results Of 217 patients (mean age, 61 ± 10 years [mean ± SD]), survival after a median follow-up of 381 days was 90%. Electrophysiologic studies successfully identified patients at low risk. Appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapies occurred in 20% of group 1 and 12% of group 2. The median time to the first implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy from the time of left ventricular reconstruction was 43 days, and most first therapies (67%) occurred within the first 63 days. Conclusions The early event rates (occurring in the first 90 days after left ventricular reconstruction) support the use of predischarge electrophysiologic studies, implantation of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators before discharge from the hospital, or both.
Participants and non-participants of place-based groups: An assessment of attitudes and implications for public participation in water resource management

Policy-makers and public participation analysts face the question of who should be involved in environmental decision-making. Participants are often representatives of organized groups who share similar demographic and other characteristics. This raises concerns about the degree to which the interests and opinions of others are represented. The research presented here investigates the nature and degree of differences in environmental attitudes, specifically those toward water resource management efforts, among people who do and do not participate in place-based groups in metropolitan Portland, Oregon. Neighborhood associations and a watershed council were the focus of this research due to their involvement in land-use planning and resource activities. Thirty-four individual attitudinal judgments were evaluated, along with four indices representing attitudes toward resource protection goals, government, regulations, and economic measures. Survey findings revealed watershed council participants were more supportive of resource protection compared to others on all attitudinal dimensions except anthropocentric goals. In contrast, neighborhood association participants are relatively representative of non-participants except for heightened support for economic strategies. Participants in both groups exhibited higher socioeconomic status than non-participants. Written survey comments highlighted the perceived value of on-the-ground projects incorporating local input and feedback while interviews provided insights on how to expand participation in place-based groups and resource protection efforts.
Glycine betaine and proline are the principal compatible solutes of Staphylococcus aureus

The foodborne pathogenStaphylococcus aureus is distinguished by its ability to grow within environments of extremely high osmolarity (e.g., foods with low water activity values). In the present study, we examined the accumulation of intracellular organic solutes withinS. aureus strain ATCC 12600 when cells were grown in a complex medium containing high concentrations of NaCl. Consistent with previous reports [Measures JC (1975) Nature 257:398–400; Koujima I, et al. (1978) Appl Environ Microbiol 35:467–470; and Anderson CB, Witter LD (1982) Appl Environ Microbiol 43:1501–1503], intracellular proline was found to accumulate to high concentrations. However, NMR spectroscopy of cell extracts revealed glycine betaine to be the predominant intracellular organic solute accumulated within cells grown at high osmolarity. In additional experiments, we examined the growth rate ofS. aureus in a defined medium of high osmolarity and found it to be stimulated significantly by the presence of either exogenous proline or glycine betaine. Highest growth rates were obtained when the defined medium was supplemented with glycine betaine.
Urethral reconstruction following an unsuccessful one-stage hypospadias repair

At present, essentially all cases of hypospadias may be repaired in a single stage on an outpatient basis or with a single night's stay. Urethrocutaneous fistula, anastomotic stricture, and meatal stenosis are the most common complications. A urethral diverticulum may develop following a transverse preputial island flap if the caliber of the neourethra is too large or secondary to postoperative urinary extravasation. Many of these patients have multiple complications that must be recognized. If a long urethral segment is needed to reconstruct a previously unsuccessful hypospadias repair, a repeat island pedicle flap or free skin graft may be used. More recently, a free bladder mucosal graft has been demonstrated to be quite effective.
Growth Performance, Immune Response, and Resistance to Streptococcus iniae of Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, Fed Diets Containing Various Levels of Vitamins C and E

Growth, immunity, and resistance of Nile tilapia to Streptococcus iniae challenge were evaluated after feeding diets supplemented with vitamin C (0, 100, 2000 mg/kg) and E (0, 50, 500 mg/kg) for 12 wk. Supplementation of 100 mg vitamin C/kg to the basal diet was sufficient to increase growth and feed efficiency. The amount of vitamin E present in the basal diet (23.1 mg/kg) was sufficient to promote good growth and feed efficiency, but adding 50 mg vitamin E/kg was necessary to increase survival. Liver vitamin C and E concentrations increased with increasing dietary concentrations of the corresponding vitamin. Dietary vitamin E concentrations had no effect on liver vitamin C concentration, but increasing dietary vitamin C increased liver vitamin E. Although hematology was generally unaffected by dietary vitamin E, significantly lower red blood cell count and hemoglobin and higher mean corpuscular volume were observed in fish fed the vitamin C-unsupplemented diets. Total immunoglobulin and lysozyme activity were significantly higher and lower, respectively, in fish fed 2000 mg/kg vitamin C diets. Vitamin E at 500 mg/kg diet significantly decreased alternative complement activity. Dietary concentrations of vitamin C had no effect on mortality following S. iniae challenge, but mortality significantly decreased in fish fed vitamin E–supplemented diets.
Ancillary Benefits for Caregivers of Children with Asthma Participating in an Environmental Intervention Study to Alleviate Asthma Symptoms

Providing care for children with asthma can be demanding and time-intensive with far-reaching effects on caregivers’ lives. Studies have documented childhood asthma symptom reductions and improved asthma-related quality of life (AQOL) with indoor allergen-reducing environmental interventions. Few such studies, however, have considered ancillary benefits to caregivers or other family members. Ancillary benefits could be derived from child health improvements and reduced caregiving burden or from factors such as improved living environments or social support that often accompanies intensive residential intervention efforts. As part of the Boston Healthy Public Housing Initiative (HPHI), a longitudinal single-cohort intervention study of asthmatic children, we examined trends in caregivers’ quality of life related to their child’s asthma (caregiver AQOL) using monthly Juniper Caregiver Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaires (AQLQ) for 32 primary caregivers to 42 asthmatic children aged 4 to 17 years. Longitudinal analyses were used to examine caregiver AQOL trends and their relationship to the child’s AQOL, then to consider additional predictors of caregiver AQOL. Caregiver AQLQ improved significantly over the course of the study with overall improvements significantly correlated with child AQOL (p = 0.005). However, caregiver AQOL improved most in the months before environmental interventions, while children’s AQOL improved most in the months following. Time trends in caregiver AQOL, controlling for child AQOL, were not explained by available social support or caregiver stress measures. Our findings suggest potential participation effects not adequately captured by standard measures. Future environmental intervention studies should more formally consider social support and participation effects for both children and caregivers
An approach to guided learning of boolean functions

A critical aspect in the problem of inductive inference is the number of examples needed to accurately infer a Boolean function from positive and negative examples. In this paper, we develop an approach for deriving a sequence of examples for this problem. Some computer experiments indicate that, on the average, examples derived according to the proposed approach lead to the inference of the correct function considerably faster than when examples are derived in a random order.
External auditor characteristics and internal control reporting under SOX section 302

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether external auditor traits influenced the reporting of internal control deficiencies (ICDs) prior to SOX‐mandated audits, holding constant the existence of a control weakness.Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected from publicly available sources such as Securities and Exchange Commission filings and Audit Analytics database.Findings – Companies that were audited by industry leading auditors were more likely to disclose ICDs prior to SOX‐mandated audits and that companies with longer client‐auditor tenure were less likely to disclose ICDs prior to SOX‐mandated audits.Originality/value – These findings suggest that while external auditors were not required to participate in internal control evaluation and certifications prior to their audit of internal control for the 2004 fiscal year, they nevertheless influence the likelihood of ICD disclosure prior to their initial audit.
Single channel currents in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor: a direct demonstration of allosteric transitions.

Abstract An allosteric transition is a change in the binding or catalytic properties of a molecule brought about by the binding of an effector molecule at a site distinct from that which confers the binding or catalytic property. This month's Talking Point discusses unprecedented evidence from the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that demonstrates a clear switch between conformational states with or without ligand binding, suggesting that these states pre-exis, in support of the Monod-Wyman-Changeux allosteric model.
Hidden topological Zn symmetry and fractional statistics

Abstract We discuss the multivaluedness and multidimensionality of anyons using hidden topological Z n symmetry.
Careers-perspective interview.

Yes. My initial consideration was given to teaching positions in less-research-intensive environments. Rather than shying away from the competition for these positions, I realized that this direction was not going to bring me closer to my field. I also investigated my options in science journalism but found again that, while broad in scientific scope, this type of position would distance me from the research in my scientific area.
Transfer of life-history phenology from mothers to progeny in a solitary univoltine parasitoid

Among univoltine insects that experience diapause, differences in emergence timing between adult males and females are expected to be dictated by sex-specific developmental factors. In multivoltine insects without a diapause, there is often an additional relationship between the date of oviposition and the date of adult emergence. Differences between male and female emergence timing in the latter case can therefore be influenced by female sex-allocation decisions. In the present study, it is shown that eggs of a univoltine parasitoid wasp Diachasma alloeum Muesebeck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) that are laid earlier also eclose earlier during the subsequent year, independent of (although complementary to) sex-related differences in development time. The implications of this pattern for sex allocation decisions by female univoltine parasitoids are discussed.
Small Town Civic Structure and Interlocal Collaboration for Public Services

Local governments are responsible for financing and providing an array of public services ranging from police, fire, and emergency medical services to streets, parks, and water. Two mechanisms, civic structure and interlocal collaboration, have the potential to solve the problem of providing high-quality public services in the face of declining resources and increasing needs. We find that civic structure—citizen engagement in solving public problems—is positively and strongly associated with perceived quality of small town public services. Although many rural towns have entered into service agreements with other local governments, this approach is not significantly associated with citizen ratings of overall service quality. Citizens seem to prefer their local government directly providing police services rather than entering into interlocal agreements. This suggests that leaders and heads of departments providing public services need to carefully assess which services are most appropriately shared across governments to achieve cost savings and which support sense of community and would be better provided directly.