cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Drbd: Dynamic Reliability Block Diagrams for System Reliability Modelling

AbstractWith the rapid advances of computer-based technology in mission-critical domains such as aerospace, military, and power industries, critical systems exhibit more complex, dependent, and dynamic behaviours. Such dynamic system behaviours cannot be fully captured by existing reliability modelling tools. In this paper, we introduce a new reliability modelling tool, called dynamic reliability block diagrams (DRBD), to model dynamic relationships between system components. Due to the complexity of DRBD models that involve dynamic conceptual modelling constructs, such as a state dependency (SDEP) block, design errors, which are subtle and difficult to detect, can be easily introduced during the modelling process. To formally verify and validate the correctness of a DRBD model, we propose a Petri net based approach by converting DRBD constructs into coloured Petri nets (CPN). We use a case study to illustrate how to convert a DRBD model into CPN, and how to use an existing Petri net tool to analyse and v...
The effect of a rise or fall of serum estradiol the day before oocyte retrieval in women aged 40-42 with diminished egg reserve.

Purpose To determine the effect of a drop in serum estradiol the day after injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) cycles in women aged 40-42 with diminished oocyte reserve. Materials and methods Retrospective study with further requirement that the female partner had a day 3 serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) of ≥ 12 miU/mL and ≥ five antral follicles. Results A drop in serum estradiol the day after hCG injection is not associated with a lower chance of pregnancy compared to those women whose serum estradiol increases. However, their chances of releasing the oocyte before retrieval is significantly higher. Conclusions A drop in serum estradiol in women of advanced reproductive age with diminished oocyte reserve should not signal the need to cancel the retrieval.
The Principle of Proximity

How should we think about, how should we model the basis of political community. To the extent that it is a matter of choice, what should be the basis on which the people of the world divide themselves up into distinct political communities. This paper seeks to cast doubt on the proposition that it is a good idea for people to form a political community exclusively with those who share with them some affinity or trust based on culture, language, religion, or ethnicity. I want to cast doubt on that proposition by articulating an alternative approach to the formation of political communities, which I shall call the principle of proximity. People should form political communities with those who are close to them in physical space, particularly those close to them whom they are otherwise like to fight or to be at odds with. This principle is rooted in the political philosophies of Hobbes and Kant. The suggestion is that we are likely to have our most frequent and most densely variegated conflicts with those with whom we are (in Kant’s words) “unavoidably side by side”, and the management of those conflicts requires not just law (which in principle can regulate even distant conflicts) but law organized densely and with great complexity under the auspices of a state. The paper outlines and discusses the proximity principle, and the conception of law and state that it involves, and defends it against the criticism that it underestimates the importance of pre-existing trust in the formation of political communities.
Crosstalk performance evaluation of a composite star network

Composite star network is an alternative architecture for the backbone of the next generation Internet as it provides agility and means of QoS to applications. We present performance evaluation of a composite star network based on a crossbar, a Benes or a log/sub 2/(N, m, p) architecture. Crosstalk property of these architectures are analyzed and compared. Based on the analysis of switch properties, crosstalk property of the composite star network is analyzed. As path length is short in such network, photonic switches with large size can be adopted. Our results indicate that crossbar switch is not suitable for this network as its crosstalk performance is quite poor. The results can be used as guides to designing of photonic switches.
Theory of luminescence from highly excited self-assembled quantum dots

The magneto-luminescence from lens-shaped self-assembled quantum dots, containing either many excitons or many electrons is studied. The single-electron and hole energy levels are shown to form degenerate shells in the absence of a magnetic eld. In the case of many-exciton dots, the hidden symmetries associated with these degeneracies are responsible for a remarkable dependence of the absorption=emission spectrum on the number of excitons. In the case of many-electron dots, the degeneracies lead to the Hund-like oscillation of the total spin as a function of the number of electrons, which can be probed by photoluminescence. The symmetry-breaking eect of a magnetic eld is also demonstrated. ? 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Predicting the impact of insecticide-treated bed nets on malaria transmission: the devil is in the detail

Insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), including long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), play a primary role in global campaigns to roll back malaria in tropical Africa. Effectiveness of treated nets depends on direct impacts on individual mosquitoes including killing and excite-repellency, which vary considerably among vector species due to variations in host-seeking behaviours. While monitoring and evaluation programmes of ITNs have focuses on morbidity and all-cause mortality in humans, local entomological context receives little attention. Without knowing the dynamics of local vector species and their responses to treated nets, it is difficult to predict clinical outcomes when ITN applications are scaled up across African continent. Sound model frameworks incorporating intricate interactions between mosquitoes and treated nets are needed to develop the predictive capacity for scale-up applications of ITNs. An established agent-based model was extended to incorporate the direct outcomes, e.g. killing and avoidance, of individual mosquitoes exposing to ITNs in a hypothetical village setting with 50 houses and 90 aquatic habitats. Individual mosquitoes were tracked throughout the life cycle across the landscape. Four levels of coverage, i.e. 40, 60, 80 and 100%, were applied at the household level with treated houses having only one bed net. By using Latin hypercube sampling scheme, parameters governing killing, diverting and personal protection of net users were evaluated for their relative roles in containing mosquito populations, entomological inoculation rates (EIRs) and malaria incidence. There were substantial gaps in coverage between households and individual persons, and 100% household coverage resulted in circa 50% coverage of the population. The results show that applications of ITNs could give rise to varying impacts on population-level metrics depending on values of parameters governing interactions of mosquitoes and treated nets at the individual level. The most significant factor in determining effectiveness was killing capability of treated nets. Strong excito-repellent effect of impregnated nets might lead to higher risk exposure to non-bed net users. With variabilities of vector mosquitoes in host-seeking behaviours and the responses to treated nets, it is anticipated that scale-up applications of INTs might produce varying degrees of success dependent on local entomological and epidemiological contexts. This study highlights that increased ITN coverage led to significant reduction in risk exposure and malaria incidence only when treated nets yielded high killing effects. It is necessary to test efficacy of treated nets on local dominant vector mosquitoes, at least in laboratory, for monitoring and evaluation of ITN programmes.
The search for meaning and its potential for affecting growth in bereaved parents.

The loss of a loved one through death is virtually a universal human experience. Few individuals who live a normal life span can escape the experience of losing a close relative or friend. The grief process that characteristically follows such loss is considered one of life’s most profound and unique human experiences.1
Revisiting Du Bois: The Relationship Between African American Double Consciousness and Beliefs About Racial and National Group Experiences

This study revisits Du Bois’s concept of double consciousness by examining the relationship between racial and mainstream acculturation and African Americans’ beliefs about their racial and national groups. Surveys completed by 100 prospective Black jurors at a municipal courthouse approximately 6 months after 9/11 revealed that they perceived their racial group as more unjustly treated and more helpless than their national group but believed their national group was more vulnerable and more in need of maintaining a distrustful posture than their racial group. In addition, beliefs about racial group vulnerability, unjust treatment, and superiority were stronger for those respondents more deeply immersed in Black culture, whereas engagement with mainstream culture was unrelated to the strength of these convictions. In contrast, both racial and mainstream acculturation tended to predict beliefs about the American national group in the domains of vulnerability, injustice, distrust, and superiority.
Does morphine mitigate effects of prenatal stress on maternal behavior in rats

BEHAVIOR IN RATS? SUSAN FONG, PETER VAN EERDEN, ILONA VATHY, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women’s Health, Bronx, New York, University of South Dakota School of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Bronx, New York OBJECTIVE: To determine whether prenatal stress in the form of subcutaneous injections adversely affects maternal behaviors in rats, and whether morphine can decrease these effects. STUDY DESIGN: Pregnant rats at gestational day 11 were randomly assigned to treatment with saline (n = 8), morphine (n = 7), or neither (n = 7). Saline or morphine was given subcutaneously every 12 hours on gestational days 11 to 18. Litters were cross fostered upon delivery. Rats were monitored on postnatal days 2 to 16 for retrieval of the pups. Prior to this test pups were removed from home cages for 5 minutes, then replaced in the home cages distal to the nest, and time to retrieval of first and all pups monitored. The postnatal day at which retrievals took longer than 10 minutes was recorded. Postnatal days 2 to 22, rats were monitored 10 times daily for non-maternal behaviors. RESULTS: Using the log-rank test, there was a significant difference (p = 0.012) between the saline-exposed group and the morphine-exposed and control groups in the postnatal day at which time to retrieval of the first pup occured at greater than 10 minutes (saline 14.4 +/ 1.9, morphine 9.8 +/ 2.6, control 9.8 +/ 2.4); however there was no difference between groups in the postnatal day at which retrieval of all pups in the litter occured at greater than 10 minutes (p = 0.16). Using one way ANOVA, the mean occurence of non-maternal behaviors (saline 29.2 +/ 10.4, morphine 86.0 +/ 19.6, control 81.8 +/ 26.5) was different between the three groups (F = 19.9, p!0.0001). CONCLUSION: Prenatal exposure to stress in the form of subcutaneous injections resulted in an increased occurance and duration of maternal behaviors towards their offspring as compared to controls. The addition of morphine to the stress was associated with occurance and duration of maternal behavior identical to that of controls.
Cortical neuron response properties are related to lesion extent and behavioral recovery after sensory loss from spinal cord injury in monkeys.

Lesions of the dorsal columns at a mid-cervical level render the hand representation of the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex (area 3b) unresponsive. Over weeks of recovery, most of this cortex becomes responsive to touch on the hand. Determining functional properties of neurons within the hand representation is critical to understanding the neural basis of this adaptive plasticity. Here, we recorded neural activity across the hand representation of area 3b with a 100-electrode array and compared results from owl monkeys and squirrel monkeys 5–10 weeks after lesions with controls. Even after extensive lesions, performance on reach-to-grasp tasks returned to prelesion levels, and hand touches activated territories mainly within expected cortical locations. However, some digit representations were abnormal, such that receptive fields of presumably reactivated neurons were larger and more often involved discontinuous parts of the hand compared with controls. Hand stimulation evoked similar neuronal firing rates in lesion and control monkeys. By assessing the same monkeys with multiple measures, we determined that properties of neurons in area 3b were highly correlated with both the lesion severity and the impairment of hand use. We propose that the reactivation of neurons with near-normal response properties and the recovery of near-normal somatotopy likely supported the recovery of hand use. Given the near-completeness of the more extensive dorsal column lesions we studied, we suggest that alternate spinal afferents, in addition to the few spared primary axon afferents in the dorsal columns, likely have a major role in the reactivation pattern and return of function.
On the specific role of the cerebellum in motor learning and cognition: Clues from PET activation and lesion studies in man

Brindley proposed that we initially generate movements “consciously”, under higher cerebral control. As the movement is practiced, the cerebellum learns to link within itself the context in which the movement is made to the lower level movement generators. Marr and Albus proposed that the linkage is established by a special input from the inferior olive, which plays upon an input-output element within the cerebellum during the period of the learning. When the linkage is complete, the occurrence of the context (represented by a certain input to the cerebellum) will trigger (through the cerebellum) the appropriate motor response. The “learned” movement is distinguished from the “unlearned” conscious movement by its now being automatic, rapid, and stereotyped. The idea is still controversial, but has been supported by a variety of animal studies and, as reviewed here, is consistent with the results of a number of human PET and ablation studies. I have added to the idea of context-response linkage what I think is another important variable: novel combinations of downstream elements. With regard to the motor system and the muscles, this could explain how varied combinations of muscles may become active in precise time-amplitude specifications so as to produce coordinated movements appropriate to specific contexts. In this target article, I have further extended this idea to the premotor parts of the brain and their role in cognition. These areas receive influences from the cerebellum; they are active both in planning movements that are to be executed and in thinking about movements that are not to be executed. From recent evidence, the cerebellar output extends even to what has been characterized as the ultimate frontal planning area, the “prefrontal” cortex, area 46. The cerebellum thus may be involved in context-response linkage, and response combination even at these higher levels. The implication would be that, through practice, an experiential context would automatically evoke a certain mental action plan. The plan would be in the realm of thought, and could – but need not – lead to execution. The specific cerebellar contribution would be one of the context linkage and the shaping of the response, through trial and error learning. The prefrontal and premotor areas could still plan without the help of the cerebellum, but not so automatically, rapidly, stereotypically, so precisely linked to context, or so free of error. Nor would their activities improve optimally with mental practice.
Effects of ethidium bromide and several acridine dyes on the kinetoplast DNA of Leishmania tropica.

SYNOPSIS Whole cell DNA from Leishmania tropica has 2 peaks when banded by CsCl equilibrium density centrifugation. The main band has a buoyant density of 1.721 and the satellite band a buoyant density of 1.705, with Clostridium perfringens DNA (ρ= 1.6915) used as a reference. The satellite band has been identified as the kinetoplast DNA by purifying DNA from isolated kinetoplasts. L. tropica has the highest G + C content of both nuclear and kinetoplastic DNA thus far reported for trypanosomatids. The effects of ethidium bromide, acriflavin, proflavin, and 5-aminoacridine on the kinetoplast of L. tropica have been compared. Ethidium bromide and acriflavin, but not proflavin or 5-aminoacridine, induce dyskinetoplasty. L. tropica is one of the most sensitive trypanosomatids to ethidium bromide and acriflavin. Examination of the DNA from drug-treated cells in CsCl gradients revealed a loss of the satellite band after ethidium bromide or acriflavin treatment, but not after proflavin or 5-aminoacridine treatment. Cell division was required to produce these effects on the kinetoplast.
Ethnicity and mating patterns in Punta Gorda, Belize

The town of Punta Gorda in southern Belize is composed of people from a variety of backgrounds. The majority (approximately 70%) are Garifuna (Black Caribs); the next largest group are Creoles (18%); the remainder includes Spaniards, East Indians, Chinese, Mayans, and others. Carr and Thorpe (1961) report that little interethnic friction exists and that intermarriage among the various peoples is common in Punta Gorda. On the other hand, Taylor (1951, p. 38) reports that the Garifuna rarely intermarry or have any social dealings with the non-Garifuna communities. The validity of these claims will be investigated in terms of data obtained in Punta Gorda. If intermarriage is common, how are ethnic boundaries maintained? If there is little friction, how is interaction structured among these ethnic groups to allow for their persistence without conflict?
Cystic fibrosis patients have poor sleep quality despite normal sleep latency and efficiency.

Study objectives: Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients may be predisposed to poor sleep quality due to upper and lower airway abnormalities and impaired gas exchange. Previous sleep investigations of CF patients using single-night polysomnography have reported conflicting results. We hypothesized that sampling sleep for a prolonged period in a patient’s normal environment may give a more representative assessment of sleep quality than a single-night polysomnogram, and that impaired sleep quality would correlate with pulmonary disease severity and self-assessed sleep quality. Design: Using wrist actigraphy, we measured sleep quality in clinically stable CF patients and age-matched control subjects. In addition, each CF patient and control subject completed the following three questionnaires: the Epworth sleepiness scale; the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI); and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short form. Results: Twenty CF patients and control subjects were enrolled in the study, and were well-matched for age, sex, and body mass index. The mean ( SD) FEV1 for CF patients was 61.0 20.1% predicted. CF patients and control subjects had similar sleep duration, sleep latency, and sleep efficiency. However, CF patients had higher PSQI scores (6.45 vs 4.55, respectively; p .04), a higher fragmentation index (FI) [31.72 vs 18.02, respectively; p < 0.001], and less immobile time (88.87 vs 91.89, respectively; p 0.02). There was a significant correlation of FI with FEV1 and PSQI scores. Conclusions: Stable CF patients have disrupted sleep, and sleep disruption may in part be related to the severity of pulmonary disease. In addition, the PSQI may be useful in detecting CF patients with poor sleep quality. (CHEST 2005; 127:1593–1599)
Finite Abelian actions on surfaces

Abstract Edmonds showed that two free orientation preserving smooth actions φ 1 and φ 2 of a finite Abelian group G on a closed connected oriented smooth surface M are equivalent by an equivariant orientation preserving diffeomorphism iff they have the same bordism class [ M , φ 1 ] = [ M , φ 2 ] in the oriented bordism group Ω 2 ( G ) of the group G . In this paper, we compute the bordism class [ M , φ ] for any such action of G on M and we determine for a given M , the bordism classes in Ω 2 ( G ) that are representable by such actions of G on M . This will enable us to obtain a formula for the number of inequivalent such actions of G on M . We also determine the “weak” equivalence classes of such actions of G on M when all the p -Sylow subgroups of G are homocyclic (i.e. of the form ( Z / p α Z ) n ) .
Utilizing nature as a source of new probes for opioid pharmacology

Background: Traditional and current opioid pharmacology is fundamentally based on interactions between opioid receptors and compounds isolated from natural sources. Adverse effects associated with opioids have led to the search for compounds with diminished side effects. Discussion: Recent discoveries of non-nitrogenous and structurally diverse alkaloids as novel opioid ligands have led to renewed interest in the development of novel chemotypes for opioid receptors. Conclusion: The strong history of natural products as opioid receptor ligands suggests that nature is one of the most promising for the identification of novel opioids. This review highlights the vast potential of investigating natural products as novel probes of opioid receptors.
The surgical treatment of extratemporal facial paralysis: An overview

At present there is no single surgical approach that is ideally suited to rehabilitation of the paralyzed face. Dynamic reconstruction and neural reconstitution are usually preferred to static methods, except under special circumstances. Experience with over 150 autogenous facial-nerve grafts using epineural suture technique has resulted in return of movement in 95% of properly selected patients. When grafting is not feasible, as in the obliterated central facial nerve, hypoglossal-facial-nerve crossover is a simple and powerful source of reinnervation, usually resulting in minimal intraoral crippling and mild mass movement. A newer procedure, the cross-face nerve graft, is an alternative to hypoglossal crossover, although it results in less axonal input and longer regenerative time. In cases of long-standing facial paralysis with muscle atrophy, temporalis and masseter transfers are dependable and may sometimes be combined with a nerve graft.
Conformational preference and ligand binding properties of DNA junctions are determined by sequence at the branch.

Four-arm DNA branched junctions are stable analogues of Holliday recombinational intermediates. A number of four-arm DNA junctions synthesized from oligonucleotides have now been studied. Gel mobility or chemical footprinting experiments on several immobile four-arm junctions indicate that in the presence of Mg2+, they assume a preferred conformation consisting of two helical domains, each formed by stacking a particular pair of arms on each other. We show here that a junction we designate as J1c that has the same chemical composition as one we have previously studied in detail, J1, but is formed from the four strands complementary to those of the latter, exhibits the reverse stacking preference. The pattern of self-protection of the strands of J1c exposed to Fe(II).EDTA-induced scission reveals that twofold symmetry is preserved, but the opposite pair of strands preferentially cross over. Moreover, the Fe(II).EDTA scission profiles of J1c indicate that this junction exhibits a weaker bias as to which strands cross over than is observed in J1. The preference for the dominant species in J1 is 1.3 times greater than in J1c at 4 degrees C and in the presence of 10 mM Mg2+, based on chemical reactivity data. This is confirmed by a cleavage experiment using the resolvase enzyme, endonuclease I, from bacteriophage T7. This difference could reflect either sequence-dependent differences in the equilibrium among isomers, or in the structure of these junctions. Chemical footprinting experiments using the probes MPE.Fe(II) and (OP)2Cu(I) show that the high-affinity ligand binding site in immobile junctions is determined by junction geometry.
Anti-TNF therapy in Crohn’s disease: a balance between a targeted therapeutic approach and drug-induced immunogenicity

Evaluation of: Schreiber S, Khaliq-Kareemi M, Laurence IC et al.; PRECISE 2 Study Investigators. Maintenance therapy with certolizumab pegol for the treatment of Crohn’s disease. N. Engl. J. Med. 357, 239–250 (2007).Crohn’s disease is a chronic idiopathic inflammatory bowel disorder with no known cure. Patients generally require drug therapy over their lifetime in order to induce and maintain disease remission and an improved quality of life. Although anti-TNF therapies have proven efficacy in the treatment of patients with Crohn’s disease, not all patients respond, while others show a loss of efficacy over time on maintenance therapy. The risk for immunogenicity with certain forms of anti-TNF therapy has led to the development of novel biologics, including certolizumab pegol. This paper evaluates the results of a large randomized placebo-controlled trial with certolizumab pegol in the maintenance (26 weeks) of remission in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease.
Poupartiopsis gen. nov. and its Context in Anacardiaceae Classification

Poupartiopsis spondiocarpus, a modest-sized tree of littoral forests of eastern Madagascar, is recognized as a distinct genus and described. Emended descriptions and circumscriptions of the recognized subfamilies Spondioideae and Anacardioideae are provided, as are separate keys to the genera of Spondioideae based on flowering and fruiting material and a table of diagnostic characters for distinguishing the genera. Molecular phylogenetic analysis and structural data including leaf architecture, floral morphology, and endocarp structure place Poupartiopsis in the Spondioideae, one of two subfamilies in Anacardiaceae.
Desiccation Tolerance of Three Mycophagous Drosophila Species

Abstract The desiccation tolerance of three mycophagous Drosophila species was measured by enclosing sets of 20 sexed flies in Drosophila vials with 2 g of Drierite® calcium sulfate desiccant at 23 C and recording the time until 10 flies were dead (LT50). Female D. putrida were the most desiccation tolerant; they had LT50 periods (X ± 1, sd = 21.55 ± 1.36 h) twice as long as male D. putrida and males and females of D. falleni and D. tripunctata. Although D. putrida had the lowest initial wet mass, it had significantly higher percentage body water and lost a smaller percentage of body water at LT50 than the other species. These differences in desiccation tolerance may explain, in part, why D. putrida is more abundant than the other species in dry habitats or during dry periods.
Contemporary use of dual antiplatelet therapy for preventing cardiovascular events.

Objectives CHARISMA was a landmark randomized clinical trial that failed to demonstrate a benefit of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) over aspirin alone for preventing cardiovascular events. However, subgroup analyses of the trial found fewer major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) for patients with established cardiovascular disease but more MACEs for patients with multiple risk factors without established cardiovascular disease. Our objective was to examine DAPT use in contemporary clinical practice after publication of CHARISMA results. Study design Retrospective analysis of a large clinical registry of outpatient cardiovascular visits to over 1000 physicians that collected data on patient clinical history, symptoms, vital signs, and medications. Methods Clinical characteristics and prescription rates of aspirin and clopidogrel were compared for patients with established cardiovascular disease and for patients with only multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Prescription of DAPT by calendar quarter was evaluated from 2008 to 2011 using multivariable Poisson regression models. Results Of 167,839 patients with established cardiovascular disease, 20.5% were prescribed both aspirin and clopidogrel. Of 20,478 patients with multiple risk factors but no known cardiovascular disease, 3.5% were prescribed both aspirin and clopidogrel. Across 14 calendar quarters, prescription rates of DAPT did not change significantly for patients with established CVD but decreased for patients with multiple risk factors with an incidence rate ratio of 0.77. Conclusions Use of DAPT is modest in patients with established cardiovascular disease, for whom the CHARISMA trial suggested decreased MACEs, and prescription rates have remained stable over time. Use of DAPT in patients with multiple risk factors only, for whom CHARISMA suggested that DAPT may lead to increased MACE, was low and decreased over time.
Intensive working memory training produces functional changes in large-scale frontoparietal networks

Working memory is central to human cognition, and intensive cognitive training has been shown to expand working memory capacity in a given domain. It remains unknown, however, how the neural systems that support working memory are altered through intensive training to enable the expansion of working memory capacity. We used fMRI to measure plasticity in activations associated with complex working memory before and after 20 days of training. Healthy young adults were randomly assigned to train on either a dual n-back working memory task or a demanding visuospatial attention task. Training resulted in substantial and task-specific expansion of dual n-back abilities accompanied by changes in the relationship between working memory load and activation. Training differentially affected activations in two large-scale frontoparietal networks thought to underlie working memory: the executive control network and the dorsal attention network. Activations in both networks linearly scaled with working memory load before training, but training dissociated the role of the two networks and eliminated this relationship in the executive control network. Load-dependent functional connectivity both within and between these two networks increased following training, and the magnitudes of increased connectivity were positively correlated with improvements in task performance. These results provide insight into the adaptive neural systems that underlie large gains in working memory capacity through training.
Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease

Purpose of reviewThe purpose of this article is to review the current literature on Vogt−Koyanagi−Harada (VKH) disease, including current treatment options and new research directions.Recent findingsRecent publications on VKH disease show an increased focus on the immunogenetics and immune pathways
Abstract TMP89: Nurse's Responses to Caregivers using a Web-based Supportive Intervention

Background: Approximately 795,000 people experience a first time or recurrent stroke every year and most are cared for by family caregivers in home settings. Web-based interventions provide 24/7 access to support services and have been explored in the literature with caregivers of persons with chronic conditions, such as cancer, dementia, and stroke. Current research into nurses’ interactions with family caregivers in these web-based interventions is lacking. Purpose: Guided by Friedemann’s Framework of Systemic Organization, the aim of this descriptive study was to examine a nurse specialist’s e-mail comments to stroke family caregivers participating in a web-based supportive intervention used in a one-year randomized controlled trial (RCT). Methods: With institutional review board approval, caregivers in Ohio and Michigan (n=36) accessed the intervention support group and communicated by email with this nurse. These caregivers were primarily white women caring for a spouse, with an average age of 54 years (SD=12.2). The nurse moderated the group, answered caregivers’ questions, and offered support. Data were collected over a period of four years and the nurse’s responses were examined using rigorous content analysis. Results: From the nurse specialist’s narrative responses and questions/answers posted to the support group, five themes emerged and were drawn to Friedemann’s Framework. These themes included: socializing (coherence in Friedemann’s terms), dealing with emotions of the caregiver (individuation), taking care of the caregiver (individuation), accepting the caregiver role (individuation/system maintenance), and providing medical advice or referral related to the care recipient (system maintenance). Conclusions: Email interactions between the nurse and stroke family caregivers in this RCT revealed specific issues that these caregivers were struggling with, as well as methods that nurses might suggest to help address them. Healthcare providers can use this information to provide better, more informed care, and directed interventions for caregivers in dealing with stroke and its outcomes.
The Admissibility of Consumer Surveys as Legal Evidence in Courts

Federal and state courts have exhibited an increasing tendency during the past 15 years to receive consumer survey findings into evidence. This article examines the ways in which the prudent market...
Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Behavioral Response to Primary Alfalfa (Rosales: Fabaceae) Floral Volatiles

One potential method to increase honey bee, Apis mellifera L., pollination in alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., seed fields is to develop populations that emanate greater quantities of honey bee attractive floral volatiles. Our study was designed to determine the concentrations for five antennally perceived alfalfa floral volatiles- cis -3-hexenyl acetate, linalool, methyl salicylate, ocimene, and 3-octanone-that optimize honey bee behavioral response, and relative attraction of the alfalfa floral volatiles to honey bees. Studies were conducted in a screened flight chamber and used a single colony of Italian honey bees. Linalool was the only Cornpound attractive to honey bees at the optimized concentration. Two other Cornpounds, 3-octanone and methyl salicylate, were repellent. The remaining two Cornpounds, cis -3-hexenyl acetate and ocimene, were neither attractive nor repellent when Compared with the blank sample. Honey bee defensive behavior was observed when bees were exposed to cis -3-hexenyl acetate. Behavioral response to Cornbinations of these floral volatiles was not determined. Present data suggest that plant breeders should simultaneously select for increased relative concentration of linalool and decreased relative concentration of both 3-octanone and methyl salicylate in the floral aroma to enhance honey bee visitation of alfalfa.
An Experimental Investigation of Pulse Tube Refrigeration Heat Pumping Rates

Pulse tube refrigerators have been under development at Syracuse University since 1962. These efforts have resulted in the construction of units that have achieved 124°K in one stage and 79°K in two stages from room temperature. Another single stage unit operating from 65°K achieved 30°K. Several unique features and reasonably good efficiency make pulse tube refrigeration particularly well suited for certain cryogenic cooling applications.
Early impact of Medicare accountable care organizations on cancer surgery outcomes

BACKGROUND Accountable care organizations (ACOs) were established to improve care and outcomes for beneficiaries requiring highly coordinated, complex care. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between hospital ACO participation and the outcomes of major surgical oncology procedures. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries older than 65 years who were undergoing a major surgical resection for colorectal, bladder, esophageal, kidney, liver, ovarian, pancreatic, lung, or prostate cancer from 2011 through 2013. A difference-in-differences analysis was implemented to compare the postimplementation period (January 2013 through December 2013) with the baseline period (January 2011 through December 2012) to assess the impact of hospital ACO participation on 30-day mortality, complications, readmissions, and length of stay (LOS). RESULTS Among 384,519 patients undergoing major cancer surgery at 106 ACO hospitals and 2561 control hospitals, this study found a 30-day mortality rate of 3.4%, a readmission rate of 12.5%, a complication rate of 43.8%, and a prolonged LOS rate of 10.0% in control hospitals and similar rates in ACO hospitals. Secular trends were noted, with reductions in perioperative adverse events in control hospitals between the baseline and postimplementation periods: mortality (percentage-point reduction, 0.1%; P = .19), readmissions (percentage-point reduction, 0.4%; P = .001), complications (percentage-point reduction, 1.0%; P < .001), and prolonged LOS (percentage-point reduction, 1.1%; P < .001). After accounting for these secular trends, this study identified no significant effect of hospital participation in an ACO on the frequency of perioperative outcomes (difference-in-differences estimator P values, .24-.72). CONCLUSIONS Early hospital participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO program was not associated with greater reductions in adverse perioperative outcomes for patients undergoing major cancer surgery in comparison with control hospitals. Cancer 2016. © 2016 American Cancer Society. Cancer 2016;122:2739–2746. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Optimizing exercise training for subgroups of patients with chronic heart failure.

Paticnts with heart failure and severe left ventricular dysfunction are limited in their ability to tolerate exercise. Recent research has demonstrated that it is not a restricted cardiac output which limits exercise but an abnormality in the performance of a more peripheral component in the pathway of delivery of oxygen to the exercising muscles. Deficiencies in peripheral blood flow and skeletal muscle function and an exaggerated sensitivity to exercise-derived metabolic signals lead to early and profound exercise-induced fatigue and dyspnoea, the mechanisms of which we are only now beginning to understand. These findings raise the possibility of improving exercise tolerance by peripherally acting therapies such as exercise training of skeletal muscles in left ventricular dysfunction and chronic heart failure. Training has been shown to improve exercise tolerance at least as much as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in these syndromes ; additionally, training improves ventilatory control, skeletal muscle metabolism and autonomic nervous system activity. As yet. the most appropriate forms of exercise therapy are not known nor is how best to choose the most suitable patients for this form of treatment. There is evidence that patients with at least moderate, and possibly severe but stable, heart failure can benefit from exercise rehabilitation, provided it is tailored to the capacity of the patient and certain safety considerations are taken into account.
Chondrosarcoma of the pelvis and upper end of the femur. An analysis of factors influencing survival time in one hundred and thirteen cases.

Between January 1, 1931, and January 31, 1970, 121 patients were treated for chondrosarcoma of the pelvis and proximal end of the femur. Of these 121 patients, 113 with 152 operations met stated criteria and were used to study factors influencing survival rate. At the time of follow-up, forty patients were alive and seventy-three were dead. Of the forty living patients, five had disease and thirty-five showed no evidence of disease—eleven of the thirty-five more than fifteen years after their last surgical procedure. Of the seventy-three dead patients, fifty-nine had died from their chondrosarcoma and fourteen, from other causes. The data analyzed were sex, age, preoperative duration of a recognized mass, preoperative duration of pain, site and size of the lesion, histological grade of the tumor, and date and type of surgical treatment. The basic method of analysis was by means of survival curves. The significance of the differences between curves was tested by the Wilcoxon-Gehan test. The findings in this study indicate that histological grading is of prognostic importance and that in the surgical treatment of chondrosarcomas in this region there must be a wide margin of normal tissue between the tumor and the line of resection if the best cure rate is to be attained.
Synthesis and Thermal Properties of Solid-State Structural Isomers: Ordered Intergrowths of SnSe and MoSe2.

A family of structural isomers [(SnSe)1.05]m(MoSe2)n were prepared using the modulated elemental reactant method by varying the layer sequence and layer thicknesses in the precursor. By varying the sequence of Sn–Se and Mo–Se layer pairs deposited and annealing the precursors to self-assemble the targeted compound, all six possible isomers [(SnSe)1.05]4(MoSe2)4, [(SnSe)1.05]3(MoSe2)3[(SnSe)1.05]1(MoSe2)1, [(SnSe)1.05]3(MoSe2)2[(SnSe)1.05]1(MoSe2)2, [(SnSe)1.05]2(MoSe2)3[(SnSe)1.05]2(MoSe2)1, [(SnSe)1.05]2(MoSe2)1[(SnSe)1.05]1(MoSe2)2[(SnSe)1.05]1(MoSe2)1, and [(SnSe)1.05]2(MoSe2)2[(SnSe)1.05]1(MoSe2)1[(SnSe)1.05]1(MoSe2)1 were prepared. The structures were characterized by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy which showed that all of the compounds have very similar c-axis lattice parameters and in-plane constituent lattice parameters yet distinct isomeric structures. These studies confirm that the structure, order, and thickness of the constituent layers match that of the precursors. The cross-plane ...
Ice Nucleation Parameterization and Relative Humidity Distribution in Idealized Squall-Line Simulations

AbstractOutput from idealized simulations of a squall line are compared with in situ aircraft-based observations from the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry campaign. Relative humidity distributions around convection are compared between 1-Hz aircraft observations (≈250-m horizontal scale) and simulations using a double-moment bulk microphysics scheme at three horizontal grid spacings: Δx = 0.25, 1, and 4 km. The comparisons focus on the horizontal extent of ice supersaturated regions (ISSRs), the maximum and average relative humidity with respect to ice (RHi) in ISSRs, and the ice microphysical properties during cirrus cloud evolution, with simulations at 0.25 and 1 km providing better results than the 4-km simulation. Within the ISSRs, all the simulations represent the dominant contributions of water vapor horizontal heterogeneities to ISSR formation on average, but with larger variabilities in such contributions than the observations. The best results are produced by a Δx = 0.25-km simulation with th...
Acute pneumonitis associated with nickel carbonyl exposure in the workplace

AbstractBackground: We describe the clinical course of one industrial technician occupationally exposed to nickel carbonyl (NiC).Case report: A 50-year-old male industrial technician presented with complaints of nausea, myalgia, and cough to a local clinic after suspected occupational exposure to nickel carbonyl. He has no history of lung disease or smoking. His initial urine nickel concentration was 692 ug/L. He had infiltrates on the initial chest X-ray (CXR) and an oxygen saturation (O2) of 97% on room air. The patient was started on disulfiram 1 g by mouth (PO), 500 mg six hours after the first dose, then 250 mg twice daily for five days with prednisone 60 mg by mouth for five days. He presented 48 hours later with worsening respiratory symptoms. His O2 saturation decreased to 85% despite two days of oral steroids, and he was admitted to a hospital. He received prednisone 60 mg/day PO, 4 L nasal O2, and disulfiram 500 mg twice daily. He was discharged on day 7 post-exposure with disulfiram and prednis...
Needs and opportunities in bio-design automation: four areas for focus

Bio-design automation (BDA) is an emerging field focused on computer-aided design, engineering principles, and automated manufacturing of biological systems. Here we discuss some outstanding challenges for bio-design that can be addressed by developing new tools for combinatorial engineering, equipment interfacing, next-generation sequencing, and workflow integration. These four areas, while not an exhaustive list of those that need to be addressed, could yield advances in bio-design, laboratory automation, and biometrology.
Ausgewählte methodische Probleme

Dem Anfangsunterricht kommt besondere Bedeutung zu: er muss die Schuler behutsam in das “chemische Denken” einfuhren, das beim Anfanger meist vorhandene Interesse bewahren und allfallige Vorurteile abbauen. Der Anfangsunterricht, gleich welcher Stufe, bedarf daher genauer Planung. Zahlreiche, sorgfaltig ausgewertete Experimente und klare Begriffe sind eine unabdingbare Notwendigkeit.
PROCESSOR SELF-SCHEDULING FOR MULTIPLE-NESTED PARALLEL LOOPS.

Processor self-scheduling is a useful scheme in a multiprocessor system if the execution time of each iteration in a parallel loop is not known in advance and varies substantially, or if there are multiple nestings in parallel loops which makes static scheduling difficult and inefficient. By using efficient synchronization primitives, the operating system is not needed for loop scheduling. The overhead for the processor self-scheduling is small. We presented a processor self-scheduling scheme for a single-nested parallel loop, and extend the scheme to multiple-nested parallel loops. Barrier synchronization mechanisms in the processors self-scheduling schemes are also discussed. 12 references, 2 figs.
Oxygen Carriers as Molecular Models of Allosteric Behavior

Cooperative phenomena, in which events at one place determine what happens at another, are best known in physics, with the phenomenon of phase transitions as a classic example. Cooperative phenomena also have an important function in biology that was first defined and analyzed in a seminal paper published a quarter century ago (Monod et al. 1965). The classic example of cooperativity among biological macromolecules is that of the binding of oxygen by hemoglobin. According to simple mass action law, with the assumption that the four oxygen-binding sites on Hb are identical and independent or noninteracting: $${\text{HbO}_2 \longleftarrow \text{K}_{\text{diss}}\longrightarrow}\text{Hb} +\text{O}_2\;\text{and}\; [\text{Hb}][\text{O}_2]\: =\text{K}_{\text{diss}}[{\text{HbO}_2}]$$ (1)
"Sun Safe Kids," implementing a low cost, school-based public policy to protect Hawaii's children from skin cancer risks.

The rates of melanomas and skin cancers are increasing in the United States. Children attending elementary schools are in the most danger of acquiring these diseases later in life, and elementary school children in Hawai‘i have the greatest risk of all children in the United States. The parents and educators of Hawai‘i's elementary school age children are unaware of the potential risks for cancer that young children experience every day at school. Effective sun protection policies have been implemented in other jurisdictions, including Australia, that have similar risks for over-exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation in children. These proven policy models can inform sun protection practices in Hawai‘i. A simple policy whereby public elementary schools require that children wear ordinary long sleeves shirts and hats during the school's outdoor activities will protect Hawai‘i's children from overexposure to sun's ultraviolet radiation. Establishment of a state law codifying the implementation of this simple, yet scientifically proven strategy into the policies of Hawai‘i's public elementary schools can significantly reduce the incidence and deaths from melanoma and skin cancer in the state.