cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
American pandemic: the lost worlds of the 1918 influenza epidemic

American national identity rests on a triumphant narrative of unifying to overcome adversity and emerging stronger as a result. According to Nancy K. Bristow, this phenomenon also explains why Amer...
Effects of Proteolysis of Natural Cheese on Body and Melting Properties of Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread

Summary Cheddar and Dariworld cheese were specially made and ripened for six months. At regular intervals they were analyzed and made into pasteurized process cheese spreads. The original making processes were varied to give both normal and abnormally sweet (high pH) lots of both varieties. Proteolytic changes, measured by nitrogen and formol nitrogen as per cent of total nitrogen soluble in a sodium citrate-HCl extract of cheese at pH 4.4 ± 0.05, were quite similar in all modifications excepting sweet Dariworld; proteolysis in sweet Dariworld exceeded that of all other treatments. In spite of this general similarity, satisfactory penetrometer and melting values occurred only in spreads made from normal cheese and then only when soluble nitrogen had developed to approximately 12 to 15% of total nitrogen and formol nitrogen to 2 to 3% of total nitrogen. Changes in pH during making and curing were more significant than proteolysis in determining rheological properties of the cheese spreads.
Transplantation: Sirolimus plus calcineurin inhibitors in transplantation

A recent study reported that combination therapy with sirolimus plus either tacrolimus or ciclosporin resulted in effective immunosuppression in high-risk renal allograft recipients. Does such combination therapy really represent an advance in immunosuppressive therapy for these individuals?
Importance of temperature and humidity in the measurement of pulmonary oxygen uptake per breath during anesthesia.

Traditionally, measurement of pulmonary O2 uptake uses mass balance of N2 to correct for differences between inspired and expired volume (V) due to temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH). Often during anesthesia, N2 balance cannot be invoked due to high inspired O2 fraction (FIO2) or nonsteady state conditions. Then, O2 uptake per breath (VO2,br) must use assumed or measured T and RH differences between inspirate and expirate. This numerical analysis study examines how errors in inspired RH and T can affect VO2,br. Equations were developed to simulate a baseline metabolic and ventilatory condition. A unit error in inspired RH of 0.5 (during constant inspired T of 22°C) caused percent errors in VO2,br of 5.6% during FIO2 = 0.2% and 28.8% during FIO2 of unity. Percent error in VO2,br was given by (-57.6 FIO2 -0.115) ⋅(change in RH) \( \left( {R^2 >0.999} \right) \). Errors in inspired T (during constant inspired RH of 0.5) had similar effects on percent error in \( V_{O_2 ,br} \left( { = - 8.75F_{I_{O_2 } } - 0.093} \right) \)⋅(change in T) \( V_{O_2 ,br} \left( { = - 8.75F_{I_{O_2 } } - 0.093} \right) \) Because inspired \( V_{O_2 } \) is larger at higher \( F_{I_{O_2 } } \) and because \( V_{O_2 ,br} \) is the difference between inspired and expired \( V_{O_2 } \)\( V_{O_2 ,br} \) is most affected by the inspired V error at the largest \(F_{I_{O_2 } } \) When tissue O2 consumption decreases relative to minute ventilation, T and RH errors have a greater effect on \( V_{_{O_2 } ,br} \) because the error in inspired V affects a smaller \( V_{_{O_2 } ,br} \) At lower barometric pressure, RH errors affect \( V_{_{O_2 } ,br} \) more because water vapor V occupies a larger fraction of inspired V. In summary, because inspired RH and T can vary significantly during anesthesia, a fast-response humidity and T sensor, combined with flow and \( F_{O_2 } \) measurements, are needed to allow accurate determination of \( V_{O_2 ,br} \)\( V_{O_2 ,br} \) should become an important measure of metabolism and patient wellness during anesthesia. © 2000 Biomedical Engineering Society.
Effect of meconium on the surface properties of perflubron.

OBJECTIVE Meconium passage with pulmonary aspiration in utero is associated with surfactant inactivation and is a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Ventilation with low surface tension perfluorocarbon in animal models of meconium aspiration has been shown to improve both oxygenation and lung compliance. Exogenously administered surfactant is inactivated by meconium. We wished to determine whether meconium would alter the surface properties of perfluorooctyl bromide (perflubron). DESIGN Biophysical analysis using novel methods. SETTING University research laboratory. SUBJECTS Healthy newborns. INTERVENTIONS First pass meconium was obtained from healthy newborns. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS We evaluated the surface-active properties of perflubron after exposure to meconium-saline dilutions using the de Nouy ring distraction technique to measure interfacial tension and the sessile contact angle of meconium-saline suspensions. Both were assessed in the absence and presence of perflubron. Meconium-saline suspensions inhibited surfactant activity. In contrast, the surface properties of perflubron were unaffected by the presence of meconium-saline suspensions. CONCLUSIONS These data are consistent with reported observations of increased lung compliance in perfluorocarbon-treated animals with meconium aspiration. In addition to these clinical implications, the novel interfacial tension technique described here could prove useful for assessing the interfacial properties of other poorly miscible biological fluids.
Integrating Surgical Skills Education into the Anatomy Laboratory

Background Preclinical education plays a pivotal role in improving the quality of patient care and safety. Early exposure to surgical skills training and surgical mentors enhance students’ retention and confidence in those skills, and may promote their interest in surgery. Methods Based upon a needs assessment survey of surgical education at UCSF, we introduced a curriculum to teach basic surgical techniques in the preclinical years with the intent of emphasizing several important skills and providing students with exposure to surgical mentors in a small group environment. We then surveyed the students to assess satisfaction with the new curriculum and the effect on perceptions regarding a career in surgery. Results Rising fourth y students at UCSF identified the need for increased exposure to basic surgical skills in preparation for third y clerkships. Collaboration between the Departments of Anatomy and Surgery subsequently produced an integrated suturing curriculum in the anatomy lab as part of the first y medical school coursework. The curriculum offered a focused exposure to skills identified by senior students as important for their clinical rotations. The vast majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the exercise was enjoyable and worth continuing, and that their interactions with the surgeon volunteers were positive. Furthermore, 33% stated that their interest in surgery increased after the exercise. Qualitative comments praised both the experience and surgical faculty participation. Conclusion A needs-based surgical skills curriculum can be integrated into the traditional first-y anatomy course without detracting from didactic instruction in anatomy. Furthermore, students received early exposure to surgical mentors and skills training, which may translate into greater confidence on the wards and increased interest in surgical careers.
The Students' Representative in the Law Colleges of 14th-Century Damascus

This study examines two fatwās issued by Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī in the mid-14-century regarding the Shāmīyah Madrasah of Damascus. Both texts refer to the position of "representative of the law students" (nāib al-fuqahā) and state that the position had become customary at the Shāmīyah Madrasah and other madrasahs in Damascus during that period. The existence of the post, which has not been noted in scholarship on pre-modern Islamic education to date, shows that madrasah students were more organized in this context than has been realized and raises questions about the institutional character of the madrasah.
The specific uptake of cloned Haemophilus DNA

Abstract During the process of transformation Haemophilus influenzae cells bind its own DNA but little or no foreign DNA. This specificity for recognition of DNA was studied by cloning Haemophilus DNA in E. coli . Haemophilus DNA fragments were cloned using plasmid pBR322 as a vector. The fragment cH7 cloned in pBR322 was found to be homologous to Haemophilus DNA and shown to bind irreversibly to competent Haemophilus cells. The fact that cH7 isolated from E. coli lacks Haemophilus modification leads to the conclusion that modification does not play a role in the uptake mechanism. Uptake specificity is a function of recognition sequences that reside in DNA itself.
Distortion-invariant face recognition using a projection-slice-synthetic-discriminant-function-based algorithm

The projection slice theorem has been used to create synthetic discriminant function (SDF) based matched filters that are capable of discerning rotation and scale distortions. In this paper, we propose to use the projection slice algorithm for invariant face recognition that is capable of accommodating in-plane and out-of-plane 3D distortions. The projection slice algorithm is applied to train images in order to synthesize a composite image to represent each class. The optoelectronic fringe-adjusted joint transform correlator (JTC) technique is then used to correlate the test images with the composite images of each class. The fringe-adjusted JTC technique has been chosen due to its superior performance over alternate JTCs and the feasibility of its implementation in the all- optical domain. Simulation results are furnished to prove the effectiveness of the proposed system.
A Novel Bis(azatitanatrane) with a T-Shaped Nitrido Bridging Ligand: Synthesis and Structure of {[N(CH2CH2N-i-Pr)3Ti]2(μ3-N)Na(THF)}

The title compound 1 was unexpectedly synthesized by the reaction of ClTi(i-PrNCH2CH2)3N and excess NaNH2 in THF. A single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of 1 revealed that two azatitanatrane units and a sodium atom are bridged by a T-shaped nitrido ligand, the first such structure unsupported by a metal−metal bond. Structural evidence is presented for substantial π bonding in the TiN(nitrido)Ti bridging linkages that at least partially accounts for the unexpectedly long sodium−nitrido distance.
Strategic Manipulation in Voting Games When Lotteries and Ties Are Permitted

Abstract A Gibbard–Satterthwaite type theorem is established for random decision rules and rules that permit ties. The rules use full information on how individuals rank lotteries and sets of outcomes. The theorem allows restrictions on the domain of rankings. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D7, C7.
A Micromechanical Contribution to Cochlear Tuning and Tonotopic Organization

The response properties of hair cells and nerve fibers in the alligator lizard cochlea are frequency selective and tonotopically organized with longitudinal position in the organ. The lengths of the hair-cell hair bundles also vary monotonically with longitudinal position. In this study, quantitative measurements were made of the motion of individual hair bundles in an excised preparation of the cochlea stimulated at auditory frequencies. The angular displacement of hair bundles is frequency selective and tonotopically organized, demonstrating the existence of a micromechanical tuning mechanism.
Italy's Racial Cauldron: Immigration, Criminalization and the Cultural Politics of Race

This article explores how race and racism shape Italian state practices and policies, and how these policies shape popular opinion on immigration. It is concerned with the ways in which African immigrants to Italy, as racially marked subjects, are affected by the discourses of race and criminalization. Rather than discuss immigrants in Italy's social landscape generally, this article focuses attention on immigration policies and forms of racism and racialized violence that have been on the rise as immigrant populations in Italy increase in number and become more visible.
β -arrestin protects neurons by mediating endogenous opioid arrest of inflammatory microglia

Microglial activation worsens neuronal loss and contributes to progressive neurological diseases like Parkinson's disease (PD). This inflammatory progression is countered by dynorphin (Dyn), the endogenous ligand of the kappa-opioid receptor (KOR). We show that microglial β-arrestin mediates the ability of Dyn/KOR to limit endotoxin-elicited production of pro-inflammatory effectors and cytokines, subsequently protecting neurons from inflammation-induced neurotoxicity. Agonist-activated KOR enhances the interaction of β-arrestin2 with transforming growth factor-beta-activated kinase 1 (TAK1)-binding protein 1 (TAB1), disrupting TAK1-TAB1 mediated pro-inflammatory gene expression. We reveal a new physiological role for β-arrestin in neuroprotection via receptor internalization-triggered blockade of signal effectors of microglial inflammatory neurotoxicity. This result offers novel drug targets in the convergent KOR/β-arrestin2 and inflammatory pathways for treating microglial inflammatory neuropathologies like PD.
Gorenstein model structures and generalized derived categories

In (Hov02), the second author introduced the Gorenstein projec- tive and Gorenstein injective model structures on R-Mod, the category of R-modules, where R is any Gorenstein ring. These two model structures are Quillen equivalent and in fact there is a third equivalent structure we introduce; the Gorenstein flat model structure. The homotopy category with respect to each of these is called the stable homotopy category of R. Here we show that if such a ring R has nite global dimension, the graded ring R(x)=(x 2 )i s Goren- stein and the three associated Gorenstein model structures on R(x)=(x 2 )-Mod, the category of graded R(x)=(x 2 )-modules, are nothing more than the usual projective, injective and flat model structures on Ch(R), the category of chain complexes of R-modules. Although these correspondences only recover these model structures on Ch(R )w henR has nite global dimension, we can set R = Z and use general techniques from model category theory to lift the pro- jective model structure from Ch(Z )t o Ch(R) for an arbitrary ring R.T his shows that homological algebra is a special case of Gorenstein homological algebra. Moreover, this method of constructing and lifting model structures carries through when Z(x)=(x 2 ) is replaced by many other graded Gorenstein rings (or Hopf algebras, which lead to monoidal model structures). This gives us a natural way to generalize both chain complexes over a ring R as well as the derived category of R and we give some examples of such generalizations.
Experimental performance of a microwave electrothermal thruster with high temperature nozzle materials

Testing of various modifications of a microwave electrothermal thruster, including the use of boron nitride and metal nozzles, the cooling of the nozzle with the incoming propellant, and the use of a spherical dome discharge chamber, is discussed. Tests were performed in nitrogen and helium gases over a 500-5000-sccm flow range and at pressures of up to 1500 torr, and experimental results are presented for specific impulse and energy efficiency. For the nitrogen experiments, excellant results were found for metal nozzle thrusters at very low flow rates in comparison with previous results for quartz nozzles at higher flow rates, and nozzle melting and erosion problems were eliminated. 11 references.
FINITE DIFFERENCE METHODS FOR ELASTIC WAVE PROPAGATION IN LAYERED MEDIA

This paper is concerned with the numerical modeling of elastic wave propagation in layered media. It considers two isotropic homogeneous elastic solids in perfect contact. The interface is parallel to the free surface. Two finite difference methods are developed. The usefulness of the methods are investigated for long time simulations and the accuracy of the results are compared with the response from an approximate model.
Perioperative Assessment and Management for Sleep Apnea in the Ambulatory Surgical Patient

The overwhelming majority of surgical procedures performed in the United States are done on an outpatient basis. Patients with complicated medical problems are routinely scheduled for ambulatory procedures that have become progressively more complex. Appropriate patient selection is paramount to ensuring optimal perioperative outcomes, and the patient with known or suspected OSA presents unique challenges to the anesthesia care team regarding airway management, pain control, and postoperative monitoring requirements. Currently, a relative paucity of high-quality evidence exists on which to base guidelines or recommendations for the anesthetic care of these patients. It is generally agreed that early identification of those at risk for OSA allows for planning and implementation of strategies to help to reduce the risk of adverse perioperative events. Although various national societies have published consensus statements aimed at guiding the perioperative management of the patient at risk for OSA, more studies are needed to define the optimal approach to the perioperative care of this population.
Nitroaromatic stimulation of superoxide production in three species of freshwater fish

Abstract Nitroaromatic compounds frequently contaminate aquatic systems and may, therefore, impact fish. However, a known pathway of nitroaromatic toxicity in mammals, that of nitroaromatic stimulated superoxide (O2−) production, has yet to be addressed in fish. In this study we investigated this pathway in three species of freshwater fish-channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)-exposed to nitrofurantoin (NF), p-nitrobenzoic acid (PNBA) and m-dinitrobenzene (MDNB). Our results indicate that these nitroaromatics elicit a stimulation of O2− production by fish liver fractions. Additionally, results suggests a similarity between, fish and mammals in the nitroreductases which mediate nitroaromatic activation and subsequent O2− production. These findings indicate a potential toxic consequence of fish exposure to nitroaromatic contaminants in aquatic systems.
The Effects of Student Choices on Academic Performance

This article provides an overview of the empirical effects of students' academic choices on academic performance (e.g., amount, quality, and rate of work). Twenty-nine separate experiments within 26 publications were included in the review. The choices involved performance goals and standards, the nature of assignments, instructional support within assignments, and rewards for academic performance. Experiments with students with significant cognitive or behavioral problems (approximately 17% of the experiments) yielded better performance under student choices than external choices in 80% of those experiments, whereas experiments including general education students (86% of the experiments) showed superior academic performance for students over external choices in only 12% of the experiments. Nearly 45% of the experiments included students' attitudinal perspectives of their experiences of choice. In all studies, attitudinal comparisons either favored choice, or students' judgments were similar across choic...
Survey and analysis of demand for journals at the state University of New York at Stony Brook

AbstractThis paper describes surveys and analyses conducted in 1991–1993 to determine the demand for journals by users of the libraries of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. It also describes the use of the information gathered by these surveys in a journal cancellation project.The use and user studies described include (1) a one-year analysis of use of all journals (new issues and bound volumes); (2) an analysis of faculty perception of the value of individual journal titles; and (3) citation studies analyzing use of journal collections in the sciences.
DEFAULT ON DEVELOPING COUNTRY DEBT: IS IT JUSTIFIED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW?

A simple balance of payments accounting framework is used to analyze the role of interest rates and commodity prices in the debt crisis of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela. It is argued that high real interest rates in the 1980s were unexpected by showing that the actual path was significantly far away from an optimal forecast based on an ARIMA process estimated for the 1954–1979 as well as for the 1926–1979 period. According to the legal principle of unforeseen change of circumstances, this may provide sufficient grounds for partial debt forgiveness by a court of law.
Expression of Human Protein Phosphatase-1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Highlights the Role of Phosphatase Isoforms in Regulating Eukaryotic Functions

Human (PP1) isoforms, PP1α, PP1β, PP1γ1, and PP1γ2, differ in primary sequences at N and C termini that potentially bind cellular regulators and define their physiological functions. The GLC7 gene encodes the PP1 catalytic subunit with >80% sequence identity to human PP1 and is essential for viability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In yeast, Glc7p regulates glycogen and protein synthesis, actin cytoskeleton, gene expression, and cell division. We substituted human PP1 for Glc7p in yeast to investigate the ability of individual isoforms to catalyze Glc7p functions. S. cerevisiae expressing human PP1 isoforms were viable. PP1α-expressing yeast grew more rapidly than strains expressing other isoforms. On the other hand, PP1α-expressing yeast accumulated less glycogen than PP1β-or PP1γ1-expressing yeast. Yeast expressing human PP1 were indistinguishable from WT yeast in glucose derepression. However, unlike WT yeast, strains expressing human PP1 failed to sporulate. Analysis of chimeric PP1α/β subunits highlighted a critical role for their unique N termini in defining PP1α and PP1β functions in yeast. Biochemical studies established that the differing association of PP1 isoforms with the yeast glycogen-targeting subunit, Gac1p, accounted for their differences in glycogen synthesis. In contrast to human PP1 expressed in Escherichia coli, enzymes expressed in yeast displayed in vitro biochemical properties closely resembling PP1 from mammalian tissues. Thus, PP1 expression in yeast should facilitate future structure-function studies of this protein serine/threonine phosphatase.
AAV Empty Capsids: For Better or for Worse?

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors expressing therapeutic genes continue to demonstrate great promise for treatment of a wide variety of diseases. A peculiar feature of AAV vector generation in cell culture is the formation of an excess of “empty” capsids, which lack the vector genome and are therefore unable to provide a therapeutic benefit. The effect of the empty capsids on clinical outcome is unclear, but the potential for increasing innate or adaptive immune responses to the vector is a major concern. At the same time, very recent data show that empty AAV capsids can actually enhance gene transfer by mitigating the problem of preexisting humoral immunity to AAV. A conclusive answer to the question of whether empty capsids are beneficial or detrimental may emerge from forthcoming data from several clinical trials, using different AAV vector preparations, combined with those from additional preclinical studies on biological consequences of their presence as an impurity or deliberate inclusion of empty capsids.
Utility and sensitivity of anti BrdU antibodies in assessing S-phase cells compared to autoradiography

A rapid and convenient method for estimating S-phase cells in a population was developed which detects bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation into DNA by means of monoclonal anti-BrdU antibodies. This immunofluorescence technique (RPMB technique) was compared to autoradiographic (ARG) detection of tritiated thymidine (3HTdr) grains incorporated into the DNA. Using incubation periods for BrdU and 3HTdr ranging from one minute to one hour and detecting their incorporation by ARG and RPMB techniques, it became apparent that the RPMB technique was far more sensitive than ARG in addition to being extremely easy to perform. Some possible utilities of the RPMB technique are discussed.
Hydrologic inferences from ring widths of flood-damaged trees, Potomac River, Maryland

Year-to-year variability in the ring widths of trees on flood plains along two reaches of the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., seems in large part to be related to differences in flood-flow regimes. Trees directly exposed to high flood velocities are damaged more often than sheltered trees and thus exhibit more variable ring-width patterns. The ring-width variability of unsheltered trees on low levels of flood plains is greater than that of trees on high levels, indicating that variability values are positively correlated with flood frequency. Sheltered trees, however, have less variable ring-width patterns than those of unsheltered trees, and variability is not correlated with flood frequency. As a result, ring-width variations may be used to estimate the probability of flood damage along local channel reaches of a stream. Growth responses after hydrologic catastrophies in 1948 and 1972 indicate that rings of flood-plain trees can be used to document the occurrence and crest altitude of high-magnitude floods.
Suppressive and pro-inflammatory roles for IL-4 in the pathogenesis of experimental drug-induced liver injury: a review

Importance of the field: Idiosyncratic drug reactions resulting in drug-induced liver injury (DILI) account for ∼ 13% of acute liver failure cases in the US. Idiosyncratic drug reactions are the third most common cause of liver transplantation, exceeded only by acetaminophen and indeterminate causes. Clinical evidence suggests that idiosyncratic DILI is triggered by drug hapten-altered self proteins resulting in hepatocellular injury. An example of this type of DILI is hepatitis that develops in susceptible individuals following administration of halogenated volatile anesthetics, dihydralazine, carbamazepine or diclofenac.Areas covered in this review: In this review, we describe research in animal models that supports a critical role for suppressive and pro-inflammatory roles for IL-4 in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated DILI.What the reader will gain: The reader will gain insights into the roles of IL-4 in the development of experimental DILI. The reader will gain tools to assist in the translation of ...
Peer victimization and sexual risk differences between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning and nontransgender heterosexual youths in grades 7-12

Objectives. Before and after accounting for peer victimization, we estimated sexual risk disparities between students who self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) and students who self-identified as nontransgender heterosexual.Methods. Students in grades 7 through 12 in Dane County, Wisconsin, were given the Web-administered Dane County Youth Assessment. One set of analyses was based on a sample that included 11 337 students. Subsequent analyses were based on a sample from which we screened out students who may not have been responding to survey items truthfully. Various multilevel-modeling and propensity-score-matching strategies ensured robustness of the results, examined disparities at lower and higher victimization rates, and explored heterogeneity among LGBTQ-identified youths. Finally, propensity-score-matching strategies estimated LGBTQ–heterosexual disparities in 2 matched samples: a sample that reported higher victimization and one that reported lower victimi...
Exposure to strong ELF magnetic fields does not alter cardiac autonomic control mechanisms.

Clinical and epidemiological studies attest that alterations in heart rate variability (HRV) are predictive of specific types of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in otherwise healthy persons. Recent reports also suggest that changes in HRV may be associated with exposure to intermittent magnetic fields (60 Hz, 28.3 microT) in the laboratory and that mortality is increased in cardiac disease categories related to altered HRV for utility workers whose jobs involve longer exposure to elevated magnetic fields. This study combined three approaches to learn more about the specific exposure circumstances under which changes in HRV occur. First, cardiac autonomic control, as indexed by HRV spectral analysis measures, was measured in 24 men during exposure to a much higher intensity field than any previously examined (resultant flux density = 127.3 microT [1273 milliGauss, mG]). Second, HRV measures from the same individual were compared across three relevant test conditions: intermittent and continuous field exposure and during a no-exposure, control condition. Third, electrocardiographic data were analyzed to determine if the precise timing of when the magnetic field switched on or off in relation to the cardiac cycle results in phase-resetting of the human cardiac rhythm. HRV measures were not altered by either field exposure condition compared to the control condition, and no evidence for a phase-resetting mechanism was found. Further research is needed to resolve the differences between the present and the earlier laboratory-based studies of HRV and to determine if cardiac rhythm disturbances are associated with exposure to the more complex magnetic fields found in the man-made environment.
OPERETTA: Demonstrating an optimal energy efficient bandwidth aggregation system

The widespread deployment of varying networking technologies, coupled with the exponential increase in end-user data demand, have led to the proliferation of multi-homed or multi-interface enabled devices. To date, these interfaces are mainly utilized one at a time based on network availability, cost, and user-choice. While researchers have focused on simultaneously leveraging these interfaces by aggregating their bandwidths, these solutions however, have faced a steep deployment barrier. In this demo, we demonstrate the OPERETTA optimal bandwidth aggregation system. OPERETTA aims to utilize all the available network interfaces on a mobile device by distributing the users traffic on them. It is implemented as a Layered Service Provider (LSP) in the Windows OS to intercept the network connections from the applications and schedule these connections on the most appropriate interfaces. The network interfaces are chosen with the goal to optimize the overall system power consumption while meeting a certain throughput constraint calculated based on a user defined utility. The demo shows the effect of applying different scheduling algorithms and user utility functions on the system throughput and energy consumption.
Time Series Analysis of California’s Prescription Monitoring Program: Impact on Prescribing and Multiple Provider Episodes

Abstract Prescription monitoring programs (PMPs) are designed to reduce medication diversion by identifying individuals obtaining the same medication from multiple providers (termed multiple provider episodes [MPEs]). This study determined whether recent changes to California’s PMP influenced: 1) the extent that practitioners issue prescriptions for a variety of Schedule II opioids; and 2) the incidence of MPEs involving these opioids. Intervention time series of California’s PMP data was used to determine the effect of requiring practitioners to transition from using triplicate prescription forms for Schedule II medications to security forms for all controlled substances. Outcome measures included changes in number of prescriptions issued for Schedule II long-acting or short-acting (SA) opioids and the MPEs involving these medications. Requiring a security form was associated with a sustained prescribing increase for SA hydromorphone, meperidine, and SA oxycodone; no prescribing changes were found for SA fentanyl, methadone, and SA morphine, or for any long-acting opioids. The same policy change, however, increased MPEs involving all opioids. Further effort is required to determine how California’s PMP can continue to ensure availability of prescription opioids for medical use while better mitigating their diversion. Perspective Statistical model-building was used to evaluate the influence of changes to California’s prescription monitoring program. The extent that practitioners prescribe Schedule II opioids and the incidence of people receiving prescriptions from multiple providers were measured. Such research illustrates the viability of evaluating drug control program impact on prescribing practice and potential diversion behaviors.
Geometric methods for multi-agent collision avoidance

We present an approach to reciprocal collision avoidance, where multiple mobile agents must avoid collisions with each other while moving in a common workspace. Each agent acts fully independently, and does not communicate with others. Yet our approach guarantees that all agents will be collision-free for at least a fixed amount of time. Our approach provides a sufficient condition for collision-free motion. Given the agent's objective, the optimal collision-free action can be computed very efficiently, as it is the solution to a two-dimensional linear program. We show our approach on dense and complex simulation scenarios involving thousands of agents at fast real-time running times.
BLOOD-CONTAINING AEROSOLS GENERATED BY SURGICAL TECHNIQUES A POSSIBLE INFECTIOUS HAZARD

The aerosols generated in an operating room during surgery were simulated in the laboratory by using a variety of common surgical power tools. A Stryker bone saw, a Hall drill, and a Shea drill were used on bone, and a Bovie electrocautery was used in both the cutting and coagulation modes on tendon, all in the presence of a thin film of blood. A 10-stage, low-pressure cascade impactor was used to determine the particle size distribution of each aerosol, and Hemastix was used to assess the hemoglobin content of each particle size fraction. The same assessment was done for another series of blood aerosols that had previously shown the ability to infect human T-cell cultures. All of the tools tested produced blood-containing aerosol particles in the respirable size range (<5 µm). Because surgical masks offer little protection against such particles, personal sampling is indicated to define the risk of exposure to blood-borne pathogens by this route.
A study of the spontaneous magnetization of EuLiH3 using the Mössbauer effect

Abstract The spontaneous magnetization of the ferromagnetic semiconductor EuLiH 3 is studied using the 151 Eu Mossbauer effect. Mossbauer parameters determined are isomer shift = −12.8 mm/sec and H eff (0) = 251 kOe. Critical parameters are found to be β = 0.32 and T c = 37.6 K. Analysis using the Callen-Callen spin cluster model gives J 1 / k = + 0.8 K and J 2 / k = ± 0.05 K.
Regions that influence acoustic propagation in the sea at moderate frequencies, and the consequent departures from the ray-acoustic description

In the limit where a transient signal is comprised of very large frequencies, spatial regions within an inhomogeneous medium that influence the propagation from a source to a receiver lie along one or more ray paths. At lower frequencies for which the geometrical acoustic approximation is of borderline applicability, the regions that influence such transient signals are extended because of diffraction. Previous research has addressed the numerical determination of those spatial regions that influence propagation at low frequency. The present paper addresses the question of how high the center frequency need be so that the regions of influence are nearly described as ray paths for a model ocean in which the speed of sound increases nearly linearly with depth from a perfectly reflecting surface. Computations indicate that near 2500 Hz and at a range of 50 km, the region of influence resembles a ray. Noticeable departures from the ray picture are found at a range of 500 km. Various physical and mathematical ...
Inhibition of RNA transcription modulates magnesium-supplemented potassium cardioplegia protection.

Abstract Background . Previously we reported that decreased postischemic functional recovery was associated with increased DNA fragmentation in the aged myocardium. Magnesium-supplemented potassium (K/Mg) cardioplegia ameliorated DNA fragmentation and enhanced postischemic functional recovery. We hypothesized that K/Mg cardioprotection might involve either an RNA- or a protein-dependent mechanism. Methods . Aged rabbit hearts underwent Langendorff perfusion. Global ischemia hearts (GI) received 30 minutes of global ischemia and 60 minutes of reperfusion; K/Mg hearts received cardioplegia before global ischemia. To investigate the role of RNA and protein synthesis, K/Mg hearts were treated with α-amanitin or cycloheximide to inhibit RNA or protein synthesis. We also determined the quantity of DNA fragmentation and RNA/DNA ratio. Results . Inhibition of RNA but not protein synthesis significantly decreased K/Mg cardioprotection and was associated with significantly decreased postischemic functional recovery ( p p Conclusions . These results indicate that K/Mg cardioprotection in the aged myocardium was modulated by an RNA-dependent mechanism.
Maintaining Anonymity vs Requesting Feedback as a Function of Oral Dependency

61 undergraduates took a structured version of the group Rorschach. They were given the option of identifying themselves on the face sheet and requesting feedback from a professor of psychology or ...
Design Innovations in Personal Computers

There is little question that the current enthusiasm in personal computing was catalyzed by the introduction of the MITS Altair computer kit in January 1975. This computer kit demonstrated by its cost (originally less than $400) that individuals could now afford a computer. And by its design the Altair established a standard bus structure for the personal computing industry.
Banking on decoupling: budget-driven sustainability for HPC applications on auction-based clouds

Cloud providers are auctioning their excess capacity using dynamically priced virtual instances. These spot instances provide significant savings compared to on-demand or fixed price instances. The users willing to use these resources are asked to provide a maximum bid price per hour, and the cloud provider runs the instances as long as the market price is below the user's bid price. By using such resources, the users are exposed explicitly to failures, and need to adapt their applications to provide some level of fault tolerance. In this paper, we expose the effect of bidding in the case of virtual HPC clusters composed of spot instances. We describe the interesting effect of uniform versus non-uniform bidding in terms of both the failure rate and the failure model. We propose an initial attempt to deal with the problem of predicting the runtime of a parallel application under various bidding strategies and various system parameters. We describe the relationship between bidding strategies and programming models, and we build a preliminary optimization model that uses real price traces from Amazon Web Services as inputs, as well as instrumented values related to the processing and network capacities of cluster instances on the EC2 services. Our results show preliminary insights into the relationship between non-uniform bidding and application scaling strategies.
Motion of the Center of Mass of Atoms and Molecules

The motion of the center of mass of atoms and molecules is described in the presence of external fields. In the case of electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is much larger than the atom or molecule, we find that there will be a very small change in the component of the momentum of the center of mass which is in the direction of the polarization of the light. For ions we show that the integral over the perturbing potential yields $\ensuremath{-}Nqv$, where $N$ is the degree of ionization, $q$ is the elementary charge, and $v$ is the velocity of the center of mass in the direction which the light wave travels. If the wavelength of the light is large when compared with the size of the vessel which contains ionized atoms or molecules, the equation describing the motion of the center of mass is that of a damped harmonic oscillator. We show that in an external homogeneous electric field, the wave function of the center of mass of an ionized atom or molecule is an Airy function. In an external homogeneous magnetic field, we show that the motion of the center of mass of a neutral molecule is that of a harmonic oscillator with a frequency of $\ensuremath{\omega}={(\frac{{N}_{e}{q}^{2}{H}^{2}}{4Mm{c}^{2}})}^{\frac{1}{2}}$, where ${N}_{e}$ is the number of electrons in the atom or molecule, $H$ is the magnetic field strength, $M$ is the total mass, $m$ is the electronic mass, and $c$ is the velocity of light. If an oscillatory field polarized perpendicular to the steady field is introduced, we show that the transitions are restricted by the usual harmonic-oscillator selection rules, and that the emission rate for spontaneous emission is about ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ ${\mathrm{sec}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ for the lighter atoms.
Cumulative distribution function values for symmetric standardized stable distributions

There exists a significant body of empirical evidence indicating that the underlying distribution from which samples of stock returns have been drawn may reasonably be characterized as stable Paretian with characteristic exponent less than two. This paper employs the methodology of Woxsdale (1975) to calculate five-decimal-place cumulative distribution function (c.d.f.) values for standardized stable distributions with characteristic exponents alpha [α] between one and two. The standardization is that originally proposed by Fama and Roll (1968). In addition to extending the Fama and Roll four decimal c.d.f. table to five decimal places, the current paper demonstrates that the Worsdale procedure using numerical integration techniques readily overcomes the computer overflow problems found by Fama and Roll in employing the gamma expansions of Bergstrom (1952).
Viruses and the Advantage of Sex in Anthoxanthum odoratum: A Review

The nature of the selective forces responsible for the maintenance of sexual reproduction in populations remains controversial. Theoreticians have proposed a variety of mechanisms to explain how sex is adaptive, including varying environments, sib competition, mutational damage, and pathogens. In a well-studied population of the short-lived, perennial grass Anthoxanthum odoratum in a mown North Carolina field, significant fitness advantages for sexual vs. asexual offspring have been shown. Evidence from two recent experiments implicates barley yellow dwarf luteovirus (BYDV), a single-stranded RNA virus, as a cause of the short-term advantage for sex in this population. When planted in sites close to parents, asexual offspring were twice as frequently infected as sexual offspring. In other sites, infection was more frequent among common than rare genotypes. Viruses possess a unique combination of features which make them plausible candidates to favor sexual reproduction in plants. Viruses are pervasive, have subtle but significant fitness effects, have the potential for rapid mutation and evolution, and are spread by vectors whose behaviors are host frequency dependent. The ecological and evolutionary consequences of viruses in plant populations deserve further study.
A Comparison of Winter Orographic Storms over the San Juan Mountains and the Sierra Nevada

The winter orographic storms over the San Juan Mountains and the Sierra Nevada are compared. The topography of the San Juans is complex while the Sierra barrier is comparatively simple. The barrier jet is well developed upwind of the Sierra Nevada and its development is restricted upwind of the San Juans. The major difference between the storms on the two barriers is that the Sierra Nevada storms are typically maritime while the San Juan storms are continental. The implications for seeding are discussed.
Environmental conditions during early life determine the consequences of inbreeding in Agrostemma githago (Caryophyllaceae).

In an inbred population, selection may reduce the frequency of deleterious recessive alleles through a process known as purging. Empirical studies suggest, however, that the efficacy of purging in natural populations is highly variable. This variation may be due, in part, to variation in the expression of inbreeding depression available for selection to act on. This experiment investigates the roles of life stage and early-life environment in determining the expression of inbreeding depression in Agrostemma githago. Four population-level crosses (‘self’, ‘within’, ‘near’ and ‘far’) were conducted on 20 maternal plants from a focal population. Siblings were planted into one of three early environmental treatments with varying stress levels. Within the focal population, evidence for purging of deleterious recessive alleles, as well as for variation in the expression of inbreeding depression across the life cycle was examined. In addition, the effect of early environment on the expression of inbreeding depression and the interaction with cross-type was measured. We find that deleterious recessive alleles have not been effectively purged from our focal population, the expression of inbreeding depression decreases over the course of the life cycle, and a stressful early environment reduces the variance in inbreeding depression expressed later in life, but does not consistently influence the relative fitness of inbred versus outcrossed individuals.
Gasdynamic light guide: high power density transmission measurements.

The refractive-index gradients in the gas flow in a radial flow convergent–divergent nozzle whose throat lies on the arc of a circle can create, in the neighborhood of the throat, a region capable of trapping and guiding light. Such a device, with a deflection angle of 90° and a throat radius of 7.6 cm, was investigated. The working gas was nitrogen at supply pressures of 30–100 atm. The transmission characteristics of the device at light power densities up to 3 × 108 W/cm2 were measured. No reduction in transmission attributable to high power densities was found up to levels of 3 × 108 W/cm2 at the beam focus at input of the device, equivalent to an average level over the light guiding region of 107 W/cm2. The maximum measured transmission of the device at the maximum power density was 99.8 ± 1.0%.
Guaianolides and other constituents of Helianthus microcephalus

Abstract The chloroform extract of the aerial parts of Helianthus microcephalus afforded three guaianolides, the flavones hymenoxin and nevadensin, (2 S )-5,7-dimethoxy-4′-hydroxyflavan and 1β,6α-dihydroxy-4(15)-eudesmene.
"In the Nature of a Clinic": The Design of Early Public Housing in St. Louis

Several important episodes in the early history of mass housing in America are the subject of " In the Nature of a Clinic": The Design of Early Public Housing in St. Louis. In the late 1920s housing and reform advocates coalesced out of the strong St. Louis settlement house to push for slum clearance and large-scale home building for the working class. Their first achievement, Joseph Heathcott reports, was Neighborhood Gardens, completed in 1934 with funding from the Public Works Administration. Modern in architectural design and segregated in social plan, the project established a model for the larger undertakings inspired by the landmark 1937 Housing Act. By World War II, housing advocates and officials in St. Louis had created prototypes of a new urban form that would shape postwar activities, including the notorious Pruitt-Igoe.
Bound states of a relativistic quark confined by a vector potential

The prevailing view that infinitely rising potentials which are used in the Dirac equation to confine quark-antiquark systems must not be Lorentz vectors is reexamined. By considering the infinite-mass limit of the Bethe-Salpeter equation, a relativistic single-particle equation which does allow vector confinement potentials to yield a discrete spectrum is obtained.