cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Targeting the Modulation of Neural Circuitry for the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are a major public health concern. Here, we examine the familiar area of anxiolysis in the context of a systems-level understanding that will hopefully lead to revealing an underlying pharmacological connectome. The introduction of benzodiazepines nearly half a century ago markedly improved the treatment of anxiety disorders. These agents reduce anxiety rapidly by allosterically enhancing the postsynaptic actions of GABA at inhibitory type A GABA receptors but side effects limit their use in chronic anxiety disorders. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors have emerged as an effective first-line alternative treatment of such anxiety disorders. However, many individuals are not responsive and side effects can be limiting. Research into a relatively new class of agents known as neurosteroids has revealed novel modulatory sites and mechanisms of action that are providing insights into the pathophysiology of certain anxiety disorders, potentially bridging the gap between the GABAergic and serotonergic circuits underlying anxiety. However, translating the pharmacological activity of compounds targeted to specific receptor subtypes in rodent models of anxiety to effective therapeutics in human anxiety has not been entirely successful. Since modulating any one of several broad classes of receptor targets can produce anxiolysis, we posit that a systems-level discovery platform combined with an individualized medicine approach based on noninvasive brain imaging would substantially advance the development of more effective therapeutics.
Jacobi sums and new families of irreducible polynomials of Gaussian periods

Let m > 2, ζ m an m-th primitive root of 1, q ≡ 1 mod 2m a prime number, s = sq a primitive root modulo q and f = fq = (q-1)/m. We study the Jacobi sums J a,b = - Σ q-1 k=2 ζ a inds(k)+b inds(1-k) m , 0 ≤ a,b ≤ m-1, where ind s (k) is the least nonnegative integer such that S ind s (k) ≡ k mod q. We exhibit a set of properties that characterize these sums, some congruences they satisfy, and a MAPLE program to calculate them. Then we use those results to show how one can construct families P q (x), q E P, of irreducible polynomials of Gaussian periods, η i = Σ f-1 j=0 ζ si+mj q, of degree m, where P is a suitable set of primes ≡ 1 mod 2m. We exhibit examples of such families for several small values of m, and give a MAPLE program to construct more of them.
Emergent spatial correlations in stochastically evolving populations

We study the spatial pattern formation and emerging long-range correlations in a model of three species coevolving in space and time according to stochastic contact rules. Analytical results for the pair correlation functions, based on a truncation approximation and supported by computer simulations, reveal emergent strategies of survival for minority agents based on selection of patterns. Minority agents exhibit defensive clustering and cooperative behavior close to phase transitions.
Species differences and geographic variation in the communal roosting behavior of Prionostemma harvestmen in Central American rainforests

Abstract Many species roost communally but the proximate causes and ultimate functions of this widespread behavior remain poorly understood. We studied the communal roosts of two undescribed species of harvestmen in the genus Prionostemma Pocock 1903 at a Caribbean rainforest site in southeastern Nicaragua. The species are quite similar in gross morphology but differ in body coloration, male genitalia, and roosting behavior. One species roosts primarily on spiny palms while the other species, which is darker in coloration, roosts inside buttress root cavities. In a mark-recapture study, the cavity-roosting species had higher levels of individual site fidelity than found previously in the spiny palm-roosting species, perhaps because suitable cavities are scarcer than spiny palms. The tree cavity aggregations were strongly male-biased, which our review of the literature suggests is unusual for harvestman roosts. The overall sex ratio of the spiny palm aggregations was 1∶1, but some roost sites were strongly...
Preservation of hypothalamic dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease

The integrity of the hypothalamic neuroendocrine dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease was assessed by comparing the numbers and distribution of melanin-pigmented neurons in the arcuate and periventricular nuclei in 7 parkinsonian and 5 normal brains. No significant differences were observed. In contrast to theories suggesting that Parkinson's disease involves a universal degeneration of central catecholaminergic neurons, the hypothalamic neuroendocrine dopaminergic neurons do not appear to be involved by the disease.
Combinations of arabinosyl cytosine and 6‐thioguanine for treatment of adults with acute leukemia

The combination of arabinosyl cytosine and 6-thioguanine has been effective for the treatment of acute leukemia. Three schedules of this combination were studied to determine which was most effective, especially in patients who had prior exposure to either or both of these drugs. Sequential and simultaneous 5-day courses of the combination were ineffective. A regimen consisting of a 5-day course of arabinosyl cytosine followed by a 5-day course of 6-thioguanine and another 5-day course of arabinosyl cytosine produced responses in 36% of 25 patients. Seven of the nine patients who responded were refractory to prior therapy with arabinosyl cytosine and 5 were refractory tp prior therapy with 6-mercaptopurine. However, the median duration of response was only six weeks. Four patients developed central nervous system complications and three of these patients died while in complete remission. Major toxicity from all three regiments was myelosuppression. This regimen was about as effective as most other regimens used as secondary therapy in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia, but its toxicity was too great for routine usage.
Anomalous shifts of hydrogen balmer-α fine structure lines in helium

Abstract Resolved H α fine and hyperfine structure lines are investigated by polarization and double-quantum saturation spectroscopy in a HeH 2 (1%) dc discharge. Anomalous negative density shifts are observed which are correctly predicted by a van der Waals interaction theory. For the pressures below 0.1 Torr a positive shift due to hfs decoupling occurs. Consequences of a comparison with the unresolved H α line and the alkali D lines are discussed.
Gardner's syndrome: Formal genetics and statistical analysis of a large Canadian kindred

In a large Canadian kindred 71 members manifested at least one component of the Gardner's syndrome triad. Thirty-seven manifested polyposis only (including 10 cases of deduced polyposis), ten members manifested soft tissue abnormality only, and one kindred member manifested bone abnormality only. Nineteen kindred members manifested two triad components; 15 had soft tissue abnormality and polyposis, whereas four had polyposis and bone involvement. Four kindred members exhibited the complete triad, while two known to possess the Gardner gene failed to manifest any triad stigmata. 1. Polyposis. Mean age at onset of symptoms in 30 proven cases was 32.2 years, age at polyposis diagnosis in 48 proven cases was 31.4 years, and age at diagnosis of cancer secondary to polyposis in 25 cases was 37.2 years. Fourteen deduced polyposis cases were diagnosed at a mean age of 57.1 years. 2. Hard and soft tissue abnormality. Lack of precise age at onset precluded statistical analysis. The findings described cover the full spectrum of extra-colonic involvement now associated with Gardner's syndrome. 3. Formal genetics. Males and females were equally affected. The calculated frequency at birth of individuals heterozygous for the Gardner syndrome gene was 1 in 14,025. Kindred members affected with Gardner's syndrome had a relative biological fitness of 82.2 per cent (males 78.9 per cent and females 85.7 per cent). The estimated mutation rate at the Gardner locus was 13 mutations per million loci per generation. In this kindred, the Gardner syndrome gene was 83.9 per cent penetrant. Possible sources of bias entering into the above calculations are discussed.
The reinforcing properties of procaine, chloroprocaine and proparacaine in rhesus monkeys.

Responding was maintained under a fixed ratio 10 schedule of intravenous cocaine (six monkeys) or pentobarbital (two monkeys) delivery during a daily 3 h session. When responding was stable, intravenous doses of procaine (0.05–3.2 mg/kg), chloroprocaine (0.05–3.2 mg/kg), proparacaine (0.01–0.4 mg/kg), or saline were substituted for the cocaine or pentobarbital for six to ten sessions. Between each substitution, responding was again maintained by cocaine or pentobarbital. Procaine and chloroprocaine maintained rates of responding exceeding saline levels in all monkeys tested, with maximum rates generated by 0.2 mg/kg. Daily intake in mg/kg increased 3–10 times a dose was increased from 0.1 to 3.2 mg/kg per infusion. Within each session, there were periods of continuous responding resulting in multiple infusions, separated by intervals of no responding of varying duration. Nevertheless, the number of infusions occurring in each of the six 30 min periods was relatively constant for both drugs. Responding maintained by proparacaine was similar or slightly above that maintained by saline except at one dose (0.025 mg/kg) in one monkey. No signs of toxicity were observed with any of the drugs. These results indicate that procaine and chloroprocaine are strong positive reinforcers but that proparacaine has minimal reinforcing properties.
Changes in constant-hue loci with spatial frequency

We examined the effects of spatial frequency and colorimetric purity using a hue-matching technique. At constant retinal illuminance, hue matches of alternate stripes of square-wave gratings changed with spatial frequency. At high spatial frequencies the data did not tend towards tritanopic confusion loci. Several alternative hypotheses, including optical factors, chromatic induction, and changes in the relative sensitivity of the opponent-colors channels, are discussed. None of these mechanisms can explain all of the data.
A thermodynamic analysis of refueling of a hydrogen tank

A thermodynamic analysis of refueling of a gaseous hydrogen fuel tank is described. This study may lend itself to the applications of refueling a hydrogen storage tank onboard a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. The gaseous hydrogen is treated as an ideal or a non-ideal gas. The refueling process is analyzed based on adiabatic, isothermal, or diathermal condition of the tank. A constant feed-rate is assumed in the analysis. The thermodynamic state of the feed stream also remains constant during refueling. Ideal-gas assumption results in simple closed-form expressions for tank temperature, pressure, and other parameters. The non-ideal behavior of high-pressure gaseous hydrogen is addressed using the newly developed equation of state for normal hydrogen, which is based on the reduced Helmholtz free energy formulation. Sample calculations are presented using initial tank and feed stream conditions commensurate to practical vehicular applications. Comparing to the non-ideal analysis, the ideal-gas assumption always results in under-prediction of the tank temperature and pressure irrespective of the filling condition. For a given target tank pressure, the refueling time is the shortest under adiabatic condition and is the longest under isothermal condition with the tank being maintained at the initial tank temperature. The adiabatic and isothermal conditions can be viewed, respectively, as the lower and upper bounds of the refueling time for a given final target tank pressure.
FEDERAL HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY: A VIEW FROM THE CAMPUS

During the last generation, the federal government became a major source of financial asssistance to colleges and universities. At the same time, in pursuit of its goals in areas such as affirmative action, collective bargaining, and expenditures control, it became a regulator of campus action to the point where many educators feel it is threatening the autonomy and integrity of institutions of higher education. There is a fear on many campuses that the increased scope and nature of federal activity is causing a fundamental change in the governance of American higher education. We need a major effort to find ways of ameliorating societal problems impacting on the campus within a framework of overall respect for the autonomy of institutions of higher education if the integrity of America's colleges and universities is to be preserved.
Economic Efficiency Effects of Alternative Policies for Reducing Waste Disposal

Abstract Reducing the amount of municipal solid waste that is disposed of has become an important policy goal. Previous research argued that a virgin material tax offered an efficient method of meeting this goal and it continues to be considered as a policy option today. This paper demonstrates, however, that a virgin material tax is not an efficient method of reducing waste, but that an alternative policy-a combined disposal tax and reuse subsidy-is. The combined disposal tax and reuse subsidy is theoretically consistent with unit-based household charges for waste disposal, but may have advantages in some situations.
The reaction of benzylideneacetoneiron tricarbonyl with dienes; measurement of relative reactivities using competition experiments

Abstract Benzylideneacetoneiron tricarbonyl (BDAFe(CO) 3 ) reacts with acyclic conjugated dienes to give good to moderate yields of dieneiron tricarbonyl complexes. Competition experiments demonstrate that there is a large difference in relative reactivities among a series of acyclic and cyclic dienes. Certain cyclic and nonconjugated dienes are essentially inert. These differences are rationalized primarily on the basis of the conformation of the diene. Results of the reaction of cycloheptatriene with BDAFe(CO) 3 /BDA mixtures support a mechanism of BDAFe(CO) 3 selectivity previously postulated.
Salt impacts on organic carbon and nitrogen leaching from senesced vegetation

Senesced vegetation is exposed to a wide range of salt concentrations in surface waters resulting from human activities which include deicing salts and irrigation water chemistry. Both dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and salt concentrations are rising in northern hemisphere watersheds, yet there has been little investigation of sodium as a potential mechanism for DOC increases. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of solution sodicity and salinity on DOC and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) leaching from five types of senesced and cut vegetation. Vegetation was soaked for 24 h in a series of sodium chloride (NaCl)–calcium chloride (CaCl2) solutions with sodium adsorption ratios (SAR) of 2, 10, or 30 and electrical conductivities of 0.1 dS m−1 through 3.0 dS m−1. Vegetation was also soaked in a sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) solution at SAR = 30 and stream water from local watersheds with a range of sodicity and salinity. The mass of both DOC and DON released increased as SAR increased in the NaCl solutions, but the total salinity had inconsistent effects on DOC and DON release. NaHCO3 leached similar amounts of DOC and DON as NaCl. The SAR of the stream water solutions was able to explain 88 % of the variability in DOC leached from vegetation (p < 0.05). The results indicated that sodicity, quantified by SAR, had a significant impact on DOC and DON leaching from senesced vegetation and could be a potential mechanism to explain the observed increases in surface water DOC.
Disturbance, interspecific interaction and diversity in metapopulations

Metapopulation diversity patterns depend on the relations among the timescales of local biological interactions (predation, competition), the rates of dispersal among local populations and the patterns of disturbance. We investigate these relationships using a family of simple non-linear Markov chain models. We consider three models for interspecific competition; if the species are identified with early and late successional species, the models describe the facilitation, inhibition and tolerance models of ecological succession. By adding a third competing species we also compare transitive competitive hierarchies and intransitive competitive networks. Finally, we examine the effects of predation in mediating coexistence among competing prey species. In each model we find circumstances in which biotic or abiotic disturbance can increase both local and regional diversity, but those circumstances depend on the various timescales in the model in ways that arc neither obvious nor trivial.
Laparoscopic versus open cytoreductive nephrectomy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Abstract Objectives To compare the outcomes of those patients who underwent laparoscopic versus open cytoreductive nephrectomy. Cytoreductive nephrectomy before systemic therapy has been shown to offer a survival advantage compared with systemic therapy alone for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Methods We reviewed the outcomes of all patients who underwent either open or laparoscopic cytoreductive nephrectomy between 2000 and 2003. The inclusion criteria included patients with tumors 15 cm or less without local invasion, venous involvement, or bulky local adenopathy who had concurrent metastatic disease. A total of 64 patients (22 in the laparoscopic group and 42 in the open group) fulfilled these criteria. The parameters measured were age, tumor size, operative time, estimated blood loss, complications, length of hospital stay, percentage of patients receiving systemic therapy, and the interval to the start of systemic therapy. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were compared. Results Patients who underwent laparoscopic cytoreductive nephrectomy had a shorter length of stay (2.3 versus 6.1 days) and less operative blood loss (288 versus 1228 mL) than those who underwent open nephrectomy. Patients in the laparoscopic group received systemic therapy sooner after surgery (36 versus 61 days) than those in the open group. The Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were similar for both groups, with a 1-year survival rate of 61% in the laparoscopic group and 65% in the open group. Conclusions With judicious patient selection, laparoscopic cytoreductive nephrectomy can be performed safely, with minimal morbidity, and may shorten the interval from nephrectomy to the start of systemic therapy.
Katalytische Hydrierungen und Deuterierungen von Steroiden in homogener Phase

Die Reduktion von Olefinen mit Tris-triphenylphosphin-rhodium(I)- chlorid eroffnet neue Moglichkeiten spezifischer Hydrierungen von Doppelbindungen im Steroidgerust. Abhangigkeit dieser Reaktion vom Losungsmittel, Druck und von der Reaktionszeit werden an CC-Doppelbindungen von Steroiden unterschiedlicher Reaktivitat untersucht. Δ-α.β-Ungesattigte 3-Ketosteroide werden zur 5α-Form reduziert. Die Isotopenstreuung bei Deuterierung ist vom Losungsmittel und von der Konzentration des Katalysators stark abhangig. Aber bei Wahl geeigneter Bedingungen kann Spezifitat ohne Isotopenstreuung erreicht werden. Auch die Ursachen fur die Isotopenstreuung werden diskutiert.
Non-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies can prevent lethal alphavirus encephalitis

Among the heterogeneous population of antibodies specifically induced during many acute viral infections, those having virus-neutralizing activity in vitro are generally considered to be most important for recovery and immunity to reinfection. Similarly, the ability to stimulate production of circulating neutralizing (NT) antibodies is a major criterion for evaluating the immunoprophylactic potential of many antiviral vaccines1. Although there is obviously an association between NT antibody induction and host resistance, we present here data which indicate that other virus-specific antibodies lacking NT function may be equally important in conferring protective immunity to alphaviruses. We used monoclonal antibodies against Sindbis virus (SV) to demonstrate that passive protection of SV-infected mice from fatal paralytic central nervous system (CNS) disease may be mediated not only by antibodies which neutralize the infectivity of extracellular virus particles but also by those lacking this capacity, which react preferentially with virus-infected cells.
Fair Equality of Opportunity Critically Reexamined: The Family and the Sustainability of Health Care Systems*

A complex interaction of ideological, financial, social, and moral factors makes the financial sustainability of health care systems a challenge across the world. One difficulty is that some of the moral commitments of some health care systems collide with reality. In particular, commitments to equality in access to health care and to fair equality of opportunity undergird an unachievable promise, namely, to provide all with the best of basic health care. In addition, commitments to fair equality of opportunity are in tension with the existence of families, because families are aimed at advantaging their own members in preference to others. Because the social-democratic state is committed to fair equality of opportunity, it offers a web of publicly funded entitlements that make it easier for persons to exit the family and to have children outside of marriage. In the United States, in 2008, 41% of children were born outside of wedlock, whereas, in 1940, the percentage was only 3.8%, and in 1960, 5%, with the further consequence that the social and financial capital generated through families, which aids in supporting health care in families, is diminished. In order to explore the challenge of creating a sustainable health care system that also supports the traditional family, the claims made for fair equality of opportunity in health care are critically reconsidered. This is done by engaging the expository device of John Rawls's original position, but with a thin theory of the good that is substantively different from that of Rawls, one that supports a health care system built around significant copayments, financial counseling, and compulsory savings, with a special focus on enhancing the financial and social capital of the family. This radical recasting of Rawls, which draws inspiration from Singapore, is undertaken as a heuristic to aid in articulating an approach to health care allocation that can lead past the difficulties of social-democratic policy.
Orthographic neighbors and visual word recognition.

Two lexical decision experiments, using words that were selected and closely matched on several criteria associated with lexical access, provide evidence of facilitatory effects of orthographic neighborhood size and no significant evidence of inhibitory effects of orthographic neighborhood frequency on lexical access. The words used in Experiment 1 had few neighbors that were higher in frequency. In Experiment 2, the words employed had several neighbors that were higher in frequency. Both experiments showed that words possessing few neighbors evoked slower responses than those possessing many neighbors. Also, in both experiments, neighborhood size effects occurred even though words from large neighborhoods had more potentially interfering higher-frequency neighbors than words from small neighborhoods.
Ca2+-Insensitive Vascular Protein Kinase C During Pregnancy and NOS Inhibition

Abstract —Pregnancy-induced hypertension is associated with increased vascular resistance; however, the cellular mechanisms involved are unclear. We have previously found that the relation between Ca 2+ entry and the developed force in vascular smooth muscle is altered during normal pregnancy and in a rat model of pregnancy-induced hypertension produced by long-term treatment with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N G -nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the pregnancy-associated changes in the vascular Ca 2+ entry-force relation reflect changes in the amount and/or activity of Ca 2+ -insensitive protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms. Active stress and the amount and activity of PKC were measured in deendothelialized aortic strips from nonpregnant and pregnant rats untreated or treated with L-NAME and incubated in Ca 2+ -free (2 mmol/L EGTA) Krebs solution. In nonpregnant rats, the PKC activator phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu, 10 −6 mol/L) and the α-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine (Phe, 10 −5 mol/L) caused significant, maintained increases in active stress and PKC activity that were inhibited by the PKC inhibitors staurosporine and calphostin C. Western blots in aortic strips of nonpregnant rats revealed the Ca 2+ -insensitive δ-PKC and ζ-PKC isoforms. Both PDBu and Phe caused translocation of δ-PKC from the cytosolic to the particulate fraction. Compared with nonpregnant rats, the amount of δ-PKC and ζ-PKC and the PDBu-stimulated and Phe-stimulated stress, PKC activity and translocation of δ-PKC were significantly reduced in late pregnant rats but significantly enhanced in pregnant rats treated with L-NAME. The PDBu-induced and Phe-induced responses in nonpregnant rats treated with L-NAME were not significantly different from nonpregnant rats, whereas the responses in pregnant rats treated with L-NAME+l-arginine were not significantly different from pregnant rats. These results provide evidence that a signaling pathway in vascular smooth muscle possibly involving the Ca 2+ -insensitive δ-PKC and ζ-PKC isoforms is reduced in late pregnancy and enhanced during long-term inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis. The changes in the amount and activity of vascular PKC isoforms may, in part, explain the changes in vascular resistance during normal pregnancy and pregnancy-induced hypertension.
The safety matrix-a method for guidelining industrial microcomputers

The author presents a matrix guideline, used to compare the safety value of existing control circuit options to new options. Programmable controllers, instrument distributed control systems, front-end controllers, and microcomputers have been compared to electromechanical relays to clarify the microcomputer-type controllers' levels of safety responsibility. The matrix will assist people knowledgeable in safety and electromechanical relay application, but not familiar with current microcomputer technology, to choose the appropriate system configuration for risk-related applications. >
The dynamic fetal brain.

Purpose. To evaluate fetuses with normal intracranial anatomy in the second trimester that became abnormal in the third trimester. Methods. We sonographically examined 6 fetuses with a normal second-trimester head sonogram that presented later in pregnancy with an abnormal head sonogram. Results. Four categories of intracranial pathology were depicted: obstructive hydrocephalus, intraventricular intracranial hemorrhage, non-intraventricular intracranial hemorrhage, and porencephaly. Conclusions. Despite a normal midtrimester intracranial examination, evaluation of the fetal intracranial contents should be undertaken in subsequent sonographic examinations, because significant pathology can develop spontaneously. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2007
Quantitative thermodynamic predication of interactions between nucleic acid and non-nucleic acid species using Microsoft excel

Proper design of nucleic acid sequences is crucial for many applications. We have previously established a thermodynamics-based quantitative model to help design aptamer-based nucleic acid probes by predicting equilibrium concentrations of all interacting species. To facilitate customization of this thermodynamic model for different applications, here we present a generic and easy-to-use platform to implement the algorithm of the model with Microsoft^(R) Excel formulas and VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) macros. Two Excel spreadsheets have been developed: one for the applications involving only nucleic acid species, the other for the applications involving both nucleic acid and non-nucleic acid species. The spreadsheets take the nucleic acid sequences and the initial concentrations of all species as input, guide the user to retrieve the necessary thermodynamic constants, and finally calculate equilibrium concentrations for all species in various bound and unbound conformations. The validity of both spreadsheets has been verified by comparing the modeling results with the experimental results on nucleic acid sequences reported in the literature. This Excel-based platform described here will allow biomedical researchers to rationalize the sequence design of nucleic acid probes using the thermodynamics-based modeling even without relevant theoretical and computational skills.
The evolving gender gap in general obstetrics and gynecology.

Objective The purpose of this study was to analyze the trend in subspecialization among men graduating from obstetrics and gynecology residency programs. Study design Results of the Survey of Residents Completing Training in New York State were analyzed for 1998 to 2003. The proportions of men and women graduating from residency programs and pursuing subspecialty training were compared. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to analyze trends over time while controlling for confounding variables. Results Seven hundred thirty-seven Ob/Gyn, 1820 pediatrics, and 5007 internal medicine residents responded. The proportion of male graduating Ob/Gyn residents decreased from 46% to 23% ( P P = .01). Women graduating from an Ob/Gyn residency program displayed a similar but smaller trend towards subspecialization, as did men graduating from pediatrics residencies. Men graduating from internal medicine residency programs demonstrated no change. Conclusion As the proportion of men entering Ob/Gyn residency programs declines, the number of men entering general Ob/Gyn is declining at an even more dramatic rate.
Incentives for healthy behaviors: experience from Florida Medicaid's Enhanced Benefit Rewards program.

Objective: Engaging individuals in their own health care proves challenging for policy makers, health plans, and providers. Florida Medicaid introduced the Enhanced Benefits Rewards (EBR) program i...
A General and Reliable Model for Charge Pumping—Part I: Model and Basic Charge-Pumping Mechanisms

Starting from a rigorous analysis of the charge-pumping (CP) mechanisms, a general CP model, which accounts for capture time constant distribution (TCD) that exists at Si -SiO2 interface, is derived. By doing so, CP curves of state-of-the-art MOS devices are extremely well simulated. It is remarkable as this is achieved in a large range of experimental conditions, confirming the reliability of the approach. The interpretation of the TCDs in terms of distance from the Si- SiO2 interface through carrier tunneling, as used initially, is discussed in the light of recent results which show that the traps which dominate at the Si-SiO2 interface in fully processed devices, at least down to 109 eV1middotcm-2, are acceptor-like in the upper part of the bandgap, donor-like in its lower part and are amphoteric, i.e., have the properties of the Pb0 centers. As the model allows the energy and depth regions probed to be known in all experimental conditions, this paper focuses on the basic CP features at the Si-SiO2 interface and toward the insulator depth. For that, one of the standard CP curves is used.
PASTEURIZATION OF CHERRY BRINE IN A HELICALLY COILED HEAT EXCHANGER

Spent cherry brine was pasteurized in a helically coiled heat exchanger. The brine contained polygalacturonase enzyme at a concentration of 1 mg of enzyme per 1 ml of brine. Two methods were used to predict the amount of polygalacturonase inactivation. Predicted and measured values varied less than 2.34%. A pasteurization process with a constant temperature of 81†C throughout the holding coil of the heat exchanger for 9 sec resulted in 99.8% inactivation.
Activation-specific metabolic regulation of NK cell IFN-gamma production (INC6P.334)

Many factors that stimulate NK cell functional responses have been described; however metabolic fuels that drive NK cell function are unknown. Metabolism is significantly altered in disease states and metabolic regulation of T cell function is well-described. We hypothesize that NK cells require distinct metabolic fuels for survival, proliferation, and functional responses. NK cell metabolic phenotype was determined with an extracellular flux analyzer to determine basal oxidative phosphorylation (oxphos) and glycolysis of resting and activated NK cells. NK cells were then cultured under a variety of conditions using inhibitors and nutrient deprivation to determine cellular requirements for glucose, fatty acids, and oxphos for NK cell survival, proliferation, and function. NK cells primarily utilize oxphos at baseline and, in contrast to T cells, upon proliferation. However, there is significant plasticity in the metabolic requirements for NK cell IFN-gamma production. NK cell IFN-gamma production in response to cytokine stimulation is not dependent on either glycolysis or oxphos. By contrast, NK cell IFN-gamma production in response to receptor stimulation requires oxphos and is partially dependent on glycolysis. The metabolic requirements for NK cell IFN-gamma production are not altered by priming in vitro or in vivo, but do change with proliferation. These findings suggest that the metabolic microenvironment in vivo may significantly alter NK cell function.
Metabolism of oxysterols derived from nonenzymatic oxidation of 7-dehydrocholesterol in cells

Recent studies suggest that 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC)-derived oxysterols play important roles in the pathophysiology of Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS), a metabolic disorder that is caused by defective 3β-hydroxysterol-Δ7-reductase (DHCR7). Although 14 oxysterols have been identified as the primary products of 7-DHC autoxidation in organic solution, the metabolic fate of these oxysterols in a biological environment has not yet been elucidated. Therefore, we incubated these primary 7-DHC oxysterols in control Neuro2a and control human fibroblast cells and identified metabolites of these oxysterols by HPLC-MS. We also incubated Dhcr7-deficient Neuro2a cells and fibroblasts from SLOS patients with isotopically labeled 7-DHC (d7-7-DHC). The observation of matching d0- and d7 peaks in HPLC-MS confirmed the presence of true metabolites of 7-DHC after excluding the possibility of ex vivo oxidation. The metabolites of primary 7-DHC oxysterols were found to contribute to the majority of the metabolic profile of 7-DHC in cells. Furthermore, based on this new data, we identified three new 7-DHC-derived metabolites in the brain of Dhcr7-KO mice. Our studies suggest that 7-DHC peroxidation is a major source of oxysterols observed in cells and in vivo and that the stable metabolites of primary 7-DHC oxysterols can be used as markers of 7-DHC peroxidation in these biological systems.
Physically unclonable functions for embeded security based on lithographic variation

Physically unclonable functions (PUF) are designed on integrated circuits (IC) to generate unique signatures that can be used for chip authentication. PUFs primarily rely on manufacturing process variations to create distinction between chips. In this paper, we present novel PUF circuits designed to exploit inherent fluctuations in physical layout due to photolithography process. Variations arising from proximity effects, density effects, etch effects, and non-rectangularity of transistors is leveraged to implement lithography-based physically unclonable functions (litho-PUFs). We show that the uniqueness level of these PUFs are adjustable and are typically much higher than traditional ring-oscillator or tri-state buffer based approaches.
Control Allocation for Over-actuated Systems

Much emphasis has been placed on over-actuated systems for air vehicles. Over-actuating an air vehicle provides a certain amount of redundancy for the flight control system, thus potentially allowing for recovery from off-nominal conditions. Due to this redundancy, control allocation algorithms are typically utilized to compute a unique solution to the over-actuated problem. Control allocators compute the commands that are applied to the actuators so that a certain set of forces or moments are generated by the control effectors. Usually, control allocation problems are formulated as optimization problems so that all of the available degrees of freedom can be utilized and, when sufficient control power exists, secondary objectives can be achieved. In this work, a survey of control allocation techniques will be given.
Analyzing the Communication Environment to Increase Functional Communication.

Many students with severe and multiple disabilities demonstrate severe communication impairments. Efforts to improve communication in these students often embrace a “natural environment” or “milieu...
Impedance spectroscopy study of sintering in Bi-doped ZnO

Solid- and liquid-state sintering kinetics in the (1 – x)ZnO-xBi2O3 system with 0 ≤x≤ 0.05 over the range 600 ≤T (°C) ≤ 1100 were investigated by impedance spectroscopy. Compositions with x < 0.002 retarded sintering, whereas compositions with x≥ 0.004 accelerated sintering above the eutectic temperature of 740°C. The results could be interpreted in terms of limited solid solubility of Bi2O3 in ZnO (x≃ 0.004 ± 0.002), solid-state sintering in the subsolidus, and liquid-state sintering above the solidus. A phase diagram for the ZnO-rich end of the system is proposed, based on these results.
Damage Detection of Concrete Structures Using Acoustic Emission

The current state of bridges in the United States calls for the implementation of a continuous bridge monitoring system that can aid in timely damage detection and help extend the service life of these structures. A typical monitoring system would be one which enables non-invasive, continuous monitoring of the structure. The passive nature of the acoustic emission (AE) evaluation technique makes it an ideal choice to serve this purpose. Although the technique has been successfully used for decades for damage detection in other fields, its potential in bridge monitoring has not yet been fully exploited. This paper presents experimental tests performed on four concrete beams in laboratory. The laboratory concrete beams were tested under different loading patterns. While acoustic emission monitoring of bridge structures is not a new vista, most evaluations conducted before are only qualitative. Though some quantitative methods have been proposed, they have not yet developed to be useful for actual field test of bridges. Therefore, an attempt was made in this study to use the intensity analysis technique for damage quantification. The use of intensity charts may help in better estimating the damage severity, although clearly marked zones of damage are not yet prescribed for certain materials like concrete and steel. All in all, the applications of AE in bridge monitoring reveal the potential of this technique’s versatility. The technological advances made in recent years have made the method more suitable for onsite monitoring situations. Although more research may be needed to implement the current ideas, the future looks promising for the application of this technology in efficient continuous bridge monitoring scenarios.
Lasing in a Phase-Separated Glass

Lasing parameters, optical absorption, fluorescent properties, and laser-damage threshold were studied in samples of an Nd-doped Ca-Mg silicate glass which were phase-separated to various degrees. The phase-separation process was followed by low-angle X-ray scattering and electron microscopy. Lasing efficiencies increased when small amounts of phase separation were present, but in general efficiencies decreased and laser thresholds increased with increased phase separation. Optical absorption was essentially unchanged except for scattering at the shorter visible wavelengths. Fluorescent lifetimes and integrated intensities were virtually unchanged by various heat treatments. Laser-radiation-damage thresholds appeared to increase slightly with increased phase separation. Low-angle X-ray scattering showed that the particle size increased continuously with increasing heat-treatment time, although the number density of particles decreased initially.
Interaction of borazine with a Re(0001) surface, studied by LEED, TDS, AES and ELS

Abstract The interaction of borazine (N3B3H6) with a Re(0001) surface has been studied by low energy electron diffraction (LEED), thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (ELS). Two LEED patterns have been observed following borazine adsorption and annealing. One is the 2 × 2 structure, assigned to arise from atomic nitrogen. The other is the 3 1 2 × 21 1 2 pattern and is related to boron. The appearance of the two patterns indicates that bo dissociates at 570 K. With a high exposure ( #62; 6 L) of borazine and a subsequent annealing, only the well-formed 3 1 2 × 21 1 2 pattern is observed. Completion of this boron structure depends on both the surface boron coverage and the annealing temperature. Thermal desorption spectra show three states for borazine (α, β1 and β2) and three states for hydrogen (α, β1, β1). The a state in desorption spectrum is due to desorption of multilayers of borazine. The β state hydrogen is shown to correspond primarily to decomposition of borazine on Re(0001). Two desorption states of nitrogen are observed at T #62; 1300 K and also arise from the decomposition of borazine. AE data show that borazine decomposes to a boron-nitrogen compound when irradiated with a 2 keV e−-beam. Chemisorbed borazine, on the other hand, without e−-beam irradiation, dissociates into atomic nitrogen and boron upon annealing to T #62; 450 K. ELS results corroborate the LEED, TDS, and AES data that borazine adsorbs on Re(0001) non-dissociatively at 115 K and dissociates into N and B upon annealing to ~ 600 K.
Learning to Traverse Image Manifolds

We present a new algorithm, Locally Smooth Manifold Learning (LSML), that learns a warping function from a point on an manifold to its neighbors. Important characteristics of LSML include the ability to recover the structure of the manifold in sparsely populated regions and beyond the support of the provided data. Applications of our proposed technique include embedding with a natural out-of-sample extension and tasks such as tangent distance estimation, frame rate up-conversion, video compression and motion transfer.
Subword-based approaches for spoken document retrieval

Abstract This paper explores approaches to the problem of spoken document retrieval (SDR), which is the task of automatically indexing and then retrieving relevant items from a large collection of recorded speech messages in response to a user specified natural language text query. We investigate the use of subword unit representations for SDR as an alternative to words generated by either keyword spotting or continuous speech recognition. In this study, we explore the space of possible subword units to determine the complexity of the subword units needed for SDR; describe the development and application of a phonetic recognition system to extract subword units from the speech signal; examine the behavior and sensitivity of the subword units to speech recognition errors; measure the effect of speech recognition performance on retrieval performance; and investigate a number of robust indexing and retrieval methods in an effort to improve retrieval performance in the presence of speech recognition errors. We find that with the appropriate subword units, it is possible to achieve performance comparable to that of text-based word units if the underlying phonetic units are recognized correctly. In the presence of speech recognition errors, retrieval performance degrades to 60% of the clean reference level. This performance can be improved by 23% (to 74% of the clean reference) with use of the robust methods.
Research–Practice Partnerships in Education Outcomes, Dynamics, and Open Questions

Policymakers, funders, and researchers today view research–practice partnerships (RPPs) as a promising approach for expanding the role of research in improving educational practice. Although studies in other fields provide evidence of the potential for RPPs, studies in education are few. This article provides a review of available evidence of the outcomes and dynamics of RPPs in education and related fields. It then outlines a research agenda for the study of RPPs that can guide funders’ investments and help developing partnerships succeed.
Abstract 5453: YK-4-279 inhibits ETS-positive prostate cancer cell metastasis in a mouse xenograft model.

Chromosomal translocations involving the ETS family of transcription factors are found in a majority of prostate cancers, including the most clinically aggressive forms. These translocations produce a chimeric gene, which fuses the promoter region of an androgen responsive gene to the coding region of ETS factors, most frequently ETV1 or ERG. Over-expression of ETS factors in prostate cancer cells results in a more invasive phenotype. The high prevalence of these rearrangements, and their biological significance represents a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of prostate cancer. We recently demonstrated that the small molecule YK-4-279 inhibits ERG and ETV1 biological activity in fusion-positive prostate cancer cells leading to decreased motility and invasion in-vitro. Here we present our findings in an in-vivo mouse xenograft model. SCID-beige mice were subcutaneously injected with LNCaP and PC-3 xenografts. Mice were treated with YK-4-279 and its effect on primary tumor size and lung metastasis was observed. YK-4-279 treatment resulted in reduced metastasis of the tumor from primary site to lungs. YK-4-279 also affected expression of ETV1 target genes such as MMP7 and MMP13. ETS fusion-negative PC-3 xenografts were unresponsive to YK-4-279. Our results demonstrate that YK-4-279 decreases tumor growth and inhibits metastasis in fusion-positive prostate cancer cell xenografts. Therefore, YK-4-279 may have an impact on preventing metastasis in prostate cancer patients, which is a leading cause of death. Citation Format: Said Rahim, Sarah Justvig, Sung-Hyeok Hong, Yali Kong, Milton L. Brown, Colm Morrissey, Jeffrey A. Toretsky, Aykut Uren. YK-4-279 inhibits ETS-positive prostate cancer cell metastasis in a mouse xenograft model. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5453. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-5453
Translating the Social-Ecological Perspective Into Multilevel Interventions for Family Planning How Far Are We?

Scholars and practitioners frequently make recommendations to develop family planning interventions that are "multilevel." Such interventions take explicit account of the role of environments by incorporating multilevel or social-ecological frameworks into their design and implementation. However, research on how interventions have translated these concepts into practice in the field of family planning-and generally in public health-remains scarce. This article seeks to review the current definitions of multilevel interventions and their operationalization in the field of family planning. First, we highlight the divergent definitions of multilevel interventions and show the persistent ambiguity around this term. We argue that interventions involving activities at several levels but lacking targets (i.e., objectives) to create change on more than one level have not incorporated a social-ecological framework and should therefore not be considered as "multilevel." In a second step, we assess the extent to which family planning interventions have successfully incorporated a social-ecological framework. To this end, the 63 studies featured in Mwaikambo et al.'s systematic review on family planning interventions were reexamined. This assessment indicates that the multilevel or social-ecological perspective has seldom been translated into interventions. Specifically, the majority of interventions involved some form of activity at the community and/or organizational level, yet targeted and measured intrapersonal change as opposed to explicitly targeting/measuring environmental modification.