cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
False-positive stress echocardiograms: Predictors and prognostic relevance.

Abstract Background Recent studies indicate that the pretest likelihood of significant coronary artery disease (CAD) (≥50% luminal stenosis) is over-estimated and that the frequency and severity of positive stress tests have been decreasing. This suggests an increased prevalence of false-positive (FP) stress tests. The aims of this retrospective study were to investigate the predictors of FP stress echocardiography (SE) and to compare the outcomes of patients with FP results to those with true-positive (TP) results. Methods Patients who underwent SE between 2013 and 2017 in a tertiary-care center were reviewed. Included were patients aged ≥40 years who had cardiac catheterization (CC) within 1 year of the index stress test. SE was considered FP if a new or worsening wall motion abnormality was present in the absence of significant corresponding CAD. Results Of the 5100 patients with SE, 1069 satisfied inclusion criteria. A total of 305 patients had positive SE results; of which 162 (53%) were FP. Logistic regression revealed that female gender (p = 0.009), the absence of diabetes (p = 0.03), the absence of a personal history of CAD (p = 0.004), and lower stress WMSI (p = 0.03) were independently associated with FP results. Patients with FP results on SE had similar all-cause mortality to those with TP results. Conclusions Accounting for predictors of FP findings on SE could improve the interpretation of SE results and limit the use of unnecessary CC. Furthermore, patients with FP results on SE could benefit from aggressive risk factor control and careful clinical follow-up.
Catalytic Advantages, Challenges, and Priorities in Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cells

Recently, anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) have seen a significant growth in research and practical interest as the achievable current density, peak power density, and longevity of state...
Effect of flagellar beating pattern on sperm rheotaxis and boundary-dependent navigation

Abstract The study of navigational mechanisms used by mammalian sperm inside a microenvironment yields better understanding of sperm locomotion during the insemination process, which aids in the design of tools for overcoming infertility. Near- and far-field hydrodynamic interactions with nearby boundaries and rheotaxis are known to be some of the steering strategies that keep sperm on the correct path toward the egg. However, it is not known how the beating patterns of sperm may influence these navigational strategies. In this study, we investigate the effect of flagellar beating pattern on navigation of sperm cells both theoretically and experimentally using a two-step approach. We first isolate bovine sperm based on their rheotactic behavior in a zone with quiescent medium using a microfluidic system. This step ensures that the swimmers are able to navigate upstream and have motilities higher than a selected value, even though they feature various flagellar beating patterns. We then explore the flagellar beating pattern of these isolated sperm and their subsequent influence on boundary-dependent navigation. Our findings indicate that rheotaxis enables sperm to navigate upstream even in the presence of circular motion in their motility, whereas boundary-dependent navigation is more sensitive to the circular motion and selects for progressive motility. This finding may explain the clinical importance of progressive motility in semen samples for fertility, as the flow of mucus may not be sufficiently strong to orient the sperm cells throughout the process of insemination. Significance Finding the egg and moving toward it while traversing the complex structure of the female reproductive tract is necessary for mammalian sperm. Previous studies have shown how sperm use navigational steering mechanisms that are based on swimming upstream (i.e. rheotaxis) and along the boundaries of the female reproductive tract. We demonstrate that the performance of theses navigational mechanisms is associated with the primary characteristics of sperm motility. In fact, sperm rheotaxis is more sensitive to the motility and thus average velocity of sperm while navigation via rigid boundaries is more sensitive to the flagellar beating pattern and selects for symmetric beating. Our results can be expanded to other autonomous microswimmers and their subsequent navigation mechanisms.
The Ecological and Evolutionary Implications of Pyrethroid Exposure: A New Perspective on Aquatic Ecotoxicity

Pyrethroids are one of the most heavily used insecticide classes globally because they have low mammalian toxicity. However, they are highly toxic to arthropods. Pyrethroids are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment as a result of urban (landscaping, structural pest control, home, and garden) and agricultural runoff and spray drift, often at levels that exceed water quality benchmarks established for the protection of aquatic life. Pyrethroids also enter the aquatic compartment through direct application to treat crustacean parasites in commercial fisheries. Here, we briefly review the acute and sublethal toxicities of pyrethroids with a focus on aquatic invertebrates. Our primary focus is on evidence of the evolution of adaptive pyrethroid resistance in aquatic invertebrates (sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis), mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae and A. coluzzi) black flies (Simulium spp.), and amphipods (Hyalella azteca)) driven by target and nontarget applications of pyrethroids in the aquatic environment. We explore the human health, evolutionary, ecological, and risk assessment implications of the evolution of pyrethroid resistance and suggest using resistance in the model invertebrate H. azteca to further our understanding of evolutionary toxicology in wild populations.
Role of NLRP3 Inflammasomes in Obesity-Induced Cardiovascular Diseases

The prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate in many countries across the world. This is a significant concern given that obesity is associated with several metabolic complications including cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, hypertension, atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The discovery of the NLRP3 (NLR family, pyrin domain containing 3) inflammasome as an intracellular machinery responsible for the activation of inflammation in variety of tissues or organs opened new avenues for treatment of a host of obesity-induced cardiovascular disorders. Here, we summarize our current understanding on how the NLRP3 inflammasome is involved in obesity and associated cardiovascular complications. The modulation of NLRP3 inflammasomes may have a great impact in the development of novel therapeutic modalities in obesity induced cardiovascular diseases. We review various NLRP3 inflammasome-targeted strategies and the evidence supporting the role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in obesity induced cardiovascular complications such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, myocardial infarction and adverse cardiac remodeling.
US Domestic Airline Alliances: Does the National Welfare Impact Turn on Strategic International Gains?

The six largest U.S. airlines announced in the beginning of 1998 the formation of three domestic alliances, but the size and scope of these alliances spurred significant public interest concerns. GAO analysis suggests a rough equivalence between the domestic costs and benefits of alliances, yet the international competitive effects have not been considered. I argue that the national welfare merits of domestic airline alliances turn on positive international competitive effects. Empirical tests - run on comprehensive panel data covering the international airline markets among 21 nations over the 1983-1992 period - support domestic market concentration resulting in strategic international gains; hence, domestic airline alliances likely improve national welfare.
Determining Social Factors Predictive of Success in Computer Science Students

In this study, an instrument was designed to measure social factors which might predict student success (n=95). The instrument was administered to computer science undergraduates at a public research university in the Northeast USA. The instrument was a survey which asked a series of questions regarding different social factors such as living situation, experience in computer science prior to university, and use of university resources. The results were then compared to the students' self-reported department GPA with the goal of determining which factors predict student success. We find that students who: (1) live within 15 minutes from campus, (2) receive financial support from their family, or (3) were not responsible for physically or financially caring for their family are more likely to have a department GPA at or above a 3.0. There were other social factors examined that did not have significant correlations with GPA. These results contribute to the body of literature on how social factors impact student success and can guide interventions that may increase student success.
Differences of mentally ill patients' satisfaction degree during their involuntary or voluntary stay in a psychiatric clinic.

BACKGROUND Mental health illness is not considered as a private matter, as it affects not only the mental patient's life and those who are considered his/her immediate family, but also the society as a whole. The involuntary examination and/or hospitalization in the field of mental health as the basic first-line therapeutic solution in Greece, calls for an immediate intervention, which is supposed to counterbalance the need for therapy and patient's rights of personal freedom and safety. DESIGN AND METHODS A research using questionnaire was realized, consisting of 100 hospitalized patients in psychiatric clinics (50 voluntarily and 50 involuntarily hospitalized) at the Psychiatric Hospital of Attica. The sampling scheme was the stratified sampling and the level of statistical significance was set to α=0.05. RESULTS The results have shown that involuntarily and voluntarily hospitalized mental patients did not differ significantly with almost the entirety of the questionnaire; however, the involuntary patients were significantly more satisfied with the conditions of hospitalization as well as assessing the overall quality of the services provided during their hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS For mentally ill patients, greater importance and stronger correlation with gratification, does not constitute the admission procedure to the psychiatric clinic but the development of effective communication and therapeutic relationship with the staff, full knowledge and update about patient's health condition, medication, participation in therapeutic planning and hospitalization in a regime of autonomy and respect for their rights.
A case series of eosinophilic esophagitis and primary adrenal insufficiency

Although previously associated with secondary adrenal insufficiency and other autoimmune diseases, eosinophilic esophagitis has not been described in patients with primary adrenal insufficiency. In this case series, we describe three patients with eosinophilic esophagitis and primary adrenal insufficiency, including two patients with polyglandular autoimmune syndrome type 1. All patients experienced improvement in esophageal symptoms with treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis. The association between eosinophilic esophagitis and primary adrenal insufficiency is unclear, but may include underlying genetic predisposition and/or immune system dysregulation.
Derechos sociales, normas de acceso y democracia. La agenda de los derechos humanos para una convivencia solidaria

Fil: Bonet de Viola, Ana Maria. Universidad Catolica de Santa Fe; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina
Fig Leaves, Pipe Dreams, and Myopia: Too-Easy Solutions in Environmental Law

Much of environmental law and policy rests on an unspoken premise that accomplishing environmental goals may not require addressing root causes of environmental problems. For example, rather than regulating risks directly, society may adopt warnings that merely avoid risk, and rather than limiting plastic use and reducing plastic waste, society may adopt recycling programs. Such approaches may be well-intended and may come at a relatively low economic or political cost. However, they often prove ineffective or even harmful, and they may mislead society into believing that further responses are unnecessary. This Article proposes the concept of “too-easy solutions” to describe these approaches. Too easy solutions can be classified into three subcategories: fig leaves—policy approaches that appear to do something about a problem without necessarily solving it; pipe dreams—policy approaches that are adopted with the good faith expectation of solving the problem but are inherently flawed; and myopic solutions—approaches that address part of the problem but may impede its overall resolution. Too-easy solutions analysis can serve as a powerful mechanism for evaluating policies and improving decisionmaking in the environmental arena and other areas as well.
A Pathway to Professional Identity Formation: Report of the 2020-2021 AACP Student Affairs Standing Committee

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYEXECUTIVE SUMMARY Professional identity formation (PIF) involves internalizing and demonstrating the behavioral norms, standards, and values of a professional community, such that one comes to "think, act and feel" like a member of that community. Professional identity influences how a professional perceives, explains, presents and conducts themselves. This report of the 2020-2021 AACP Student Affairs Standing Committee (SAC) describes the benefits of a strong professional identity, including its importance in advancing practice transformation. Responding to a recommendation from the 2019-2020 SAC, this report presents an illustrative and interpretative schema as an initial step towards describing a pharmacist's identity. However, the profession must further elucidate a universal and distinctive pharmacist identity, in order to better support pharmacists and learners in explaining and presenting the pharmacist's scope of practice and opportunities for practice change. Additionally, the report outlines recommendations for integrating intentional professional identity formation within professional curricula at colleges and schools of pharmacy. Although there is no standardized, single way to facilitate PIF in students, the report explores possibilities for meeting the student support and faculty development needs of an emerging new emphasis on PIF within the Academy.
Space to Air High-Altitude Region Adjoint Neutron Transport:

Neutrons from an atmospheric nuclear explosion can be detected by sensors in orbit. Current tools for characterizing the neutron energy spectrum assume a known source and use forward transport to r...
A Developmental Perspective on Pediatric Decision-Making Capacity

Decision-making capacity (DMC) for pediatric patients can be difficult to determine and is influenced by a myriad of developmental considerations. This chapter begins with a discussion concerning the nature of decision-making and what constitutes competency. The “rule of sevens” framework is then used to explicate pertinent developmental milestones for children, dividing pediatric development into 0–7, 7–14, and 14+ years of age. In particular, the authors highlight the most important cognitive, social, and emotional considerations in each of these periods and how they pertain to a child’s ability to make important medical decisions.
Polarition-Induced Compensation of Picosecond Pulse Broadening in Optical Fibers

During the past few years the use of optical fibers has grown because of their potential application as transmission media in long-distance highbit-rate optical communication systems. Recently considerable attention has been given to the study of pulse distortions in single-mode optical fibers where the maximum data rate of signal transmission is limited by the group velocity dispersion (GVD). Distortion-free pulse propagation has been demonstrated in fused silica fibers at 1.3 µm and in the 1.3–1.7 µm spectral region [1,2]. Recent work showed the recompression of light pulses broadened by passage through optical fibers, using an atomic sodium-vapor delay line [3]. We report the compensation of the pulse broadening in optical fibers using the n = 1 exciton-polariton resonance of a thin direct-gap semiconductor.
Comparison of Sequences and Organization of Photosynthesis Genes among the Prochlorophyte Prochlorothrix Hollandica, Cyanobacteria, and Chloroplasts

Prochlorophytes similar to Prochloron sp. and Prochlorothrix hollandica have been suggested as possible progenitors of the plastids of green algae and land plants because they are oxygenic photosynthetic prokaryotes that possess chlorophyll b. We have sequenced the P. hollandica genes encoding the photosystem II (PSII) reaction-center protein Dl (psbA) and the large and small subunits of Rubisco (rbcL and rbcS) for comparison with those of other taxa to assess the phylogenetic placement of this species. P. hollandica has two psbA genes that encode identical D1 proteins. The gene sequences predict a seven-amino-acid deletion at the carboxy terminus of the deduced D1 protein relative to all cyanobacterial sequences examined, a feature that previously had been observed only in plant psbA sequences. Phylogenetic analysis of deduced D1 protein sequences indicated that the phylogenetic position of P. hollandica is either intermediate between cyanobacteria and chloroplasts or on a branch associated with Synechococcus sp. strain Pasteur Culture Collection (PCC) 7942 (one of the strains hitherto known as Anacystis nidulans) adjacent to the chloroplast lineage. The P. hollandica rbcL and rbcS genes are arranged in an operon, as is the case in cyanobacterial and other photosynthetic bacterial genomes and in the cyanelle genome of the eukaryote Cyanophora paradoxa. Phylogenetic analysis using deduced amino-acid sequences of rbcL and rbcS indicated that P. hollandica is more closely related to cyanobacteria than to the green plastid lineage. We also examined a group of genes that are arranged differently in the genomes of chloroplasts and cyanobacteria. The psbB, psbH, petB, and petD genes, encoding components of PSII and the cytochrome b 6 /f complex, are arranged as an operon in chloroplast genomes. In cyanobacterial genomes, petB and petD form an operon, but psbB and psbH are not part of this cluster. In P. hollandica these genes are arranged as in cyanobacteria, with psbB and psbH not closely linked to each other or to the petBD operon. However, psbH and petBD are preceded by identical 93-bp elements near transcription start sites for each cistron, suggesting that the clustering of these genes in chloroplasts and the presence of putative regulatory elements in the prochlorophyte may represent two mechanisms for coordinating their expression. These studies of gene sequences and gene arrangement support previous analyses of 16S rRNA sequences which indicated that P. hollandica is a close relative of the cyanobacteria, and reveal few special similarities at the gene level among prochlorophytes and chloroplasts.
[19] Assay of thiols and disulfides in intestinal lymph

Publisher Summary This chapter describes an assay of thiols and disulfides in intestinal lymph. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) generally provides a sensitive, reproducible, and relatively rapid means for simultaneous separation and the quantification of a variety of thiols and disulfides. Therefore, this approach can be suitably adapted for the assay of glutathione (GSH), glutathione disulfide (GSSG), and other thiols and disulfides in intestinal lymph. The HPLC procedure described in this chapter has been modified from the procedure of Reed et al. This method is based on an initial derivatization step involving the formation of S -carboxymethylated derivatives of free thiols. The second step involves the derivatization of free amino groups with Sanger's reagent to form the 2,4-dinitrophenyl derivatives. The individual dinitrophenyl derivatives are separated on reversed-phase ion-exchange chromatography and quantified with respect to known standards.
A cryptographic framework for the controlled release of certified data (transcript of discussion)

Welcome to this talk on linked credential systems and controlled release of certified data. This talk is actually about what cryptographics can do for mass protection; more precisely it’s about real world cryptographic techniques to control the release of certified data.
A token based approach detecting downtime in distributed application servers or network elements

This paper defines and outlines and proposes a heuristic method to detect unavailability on a practical service created on the Internet. It uses a token that is passed between all the nodes. The algorithm is under trial in a set of servers spanning over multiple administrative domains. This paper confirms that using a simple token passed through the contributing applications servers, is able to detect unavailability without intruding or changing the service that one wants to monitor.
A FIFTEEN-YEAR SURVEY OF MULTIPLE CESAREAN SECTIONS.

Abstract Two hundred and eighty-four cases of multiple repeat cesarean sections are presented in this 15 year report. These patients had a total of 1,033 sections, between three and nine apiece. Low cervical operations were done in the great majority of cases No deliberate sterilizations were performed, but four cesarean hysterectomies were performed because of severe scar dehiscence. All uterine ruptures during the 15 year period were discussed. There was no maternal mortality. Perinatal mortality with respect to repeat cesarean sections has been discussed.
Improved Yield of Aflatoxin by Incremental Increases of Temperature

Increasing the initial temperature of the rice fermentation of Aspergillus parasiticus NRRL 2999 from 15 to 21 C after 24 h of incubation and then to 28 C after 48 h resulted in about a fourfold increase in total aflatoxin over the usual fermentation which is held constant at 28 C for 6 days. The percentage of aflatoxin B1, the most toxic component, in the total aflatoxin was also increased.
Differential transcription of the human spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) gene in human lung carcinoma cells

The expression of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT), the rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of polyamines, is highly regulated by a number of factors including the natural polyamines and their analogues. The phenotype-specific cytotoxicity that occurs in response to a class of polyamine analogues, the diethylpolyamines, is associated with a phenotype-specific superinduction of SSAT in human non-small-cell lung carcinomas, whereas in non-responding cell types, including the small-cell lung carcinomas, the superinduction of SSAT does not occur. In this study, we have investigated the molecular basis of this phenotype-specific SSAT induction in human lung carcinoma cells in response to N1,N12-diethylspermine (BESpm). To facilitate the study of transcriptional regulation, we have cloned and characterized 11 kb of the human SSAT locus, including 3500 bp of the 5' promoter region. Nuclear run-on transcription studies suggest that the initial induction of SSAT results from an increase in the rate of gene transcription. Results from Northern blot analysis and ribonuclease protection assays indicate a differential expression of SSAT mRNA between the analogue-responsive H157 and non-responsive H82 cells. There is no detectable SSAT mRNA in H82 cells, even after a 24-h analogue treatment, whereas SSAT mRNA in H157 cells was detectable by Northern blot analysis and increased more than 100-fold following drug exposure. Furthermore, nuclear run-on transcription assays do not detect any active transcription of SSAT gene in either treated or untreated H82 cells. These results indicate that at least one component of the phenotype-specific induction of SSAT appears to be due to differences in transcriptional regulation of the gene. In addition, mapping of DNase I-hypersensitive sites of the SSAT gene suggest that the cell type-specific promoter/enhancer utilization may control the expression of the SSAT gene in differentially sensitive cell types in vivo.
Glutamate uptake disguises neurotoxic potency of glutamate agonists in cerebral cortex in dissociated cell culture

The pharmacological properties of glutamate agonists were compared in astrocyte-rich and astrocyte-poor cultures derived from embryonic rat cerebral cortex. The object of this investigation was to determine the extent to which glutamate uptake might influence the receptor-mediated neurotoxic actions of these compounds. In astrocyte-rich cultures, using 30 min exposures, we observed that the potencies of the poorly transported agonists NMDA (35 microM) and D-glutamate (89 microM) were higher than that of L-glutamate (205 microM). In astrocyte-poor cultures, L-glutamate was much more potent, with an EC50 of 5 +/- 4 microM (3–12 microM), for a 30 min exposure, whereas the potencies of NMDA and D-glutamate were essentially unchanged. L- and D-aspartate were also more effective in astrocyte-poor cultures, again with EC50 values of approximately 6–10 microM, as compared with 130 and 108 microM, respectively, in astrocyte-rich cultures. In other experiments, blocking sodium-dependent glutamate uptake in astrocyte-rich cultures, by using a sodium-free medium, made glutamate as potent an agonist as in astrocyte-poor cultures. Finally, we directly assessed the glutamate uptake system in astrocyte-rich and astrocyte-poor cultures and found that uptake was reduced approximately 25-fold in the astrocyte-poor cultures. These results show that in the presence of abundant astrocytes the neurotoxic potencies of L-glutamate, L-aspartate, and D- aspartate are substantially under-estimated.
Effects of social defeat on dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area in male and female California mice

Dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) have important functions related to rewards but are also activated in aversive contexts. Electrophysiology studies suggest that the degree to which VTA dopamine neurons respond to noxious stimuli is topographically organized across the dorsal-ventral extent. We used c-fos immunohistochemistry to examine the responses of VTA dopamine neurons in contexts of social defeat and social approach. Studying monogamous California mice (Peromyscus californicus) allowed us to observe the effects of social defeat on both males and females. Females exposed to three episodes of defeat, but not a single episode, had more tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)/c-fos-positive cells in the ventral (but not dorsal) VTA compared with controls. This observation suggests that repeated exposure to aversive contexts is necessary to trigger activation of VTA dopamine neurons. Defeat did not affect TH/c-fos colocalizations in males. We also examined the long-term effects of defeat on c-fos expression in a social interaction test. As previously reported, defeat reduced social interaction in females but not males. Surprisingly, there were no effects of defeat stress on TH/c-fos colocalizations in any subregion of the VTA. However, females had more TH/c-fos-positive cells than males across the entire VTA, and also had greater c-fos-positive cell counts in posterior subregions of the nucleus accumbens shell. Our results show that dopamine neurons in the VTA are more responsive to social contexts in females and that the ventral VTA in particular is sensitive to aversive contexts.
Gender and racial favouritism in Black and White preschool girls

The authors examined gender and racial preferential behaviour in 108 3- and 5-year-old Black and White girls. Children set up a birthday party for dolls that differed in gender and racial physical characteristics. Whereas White girls showed favouritism towards the doll most closely resembling themselves in both gender and race, Black girls showed most favouritism towards the White girl doll. Black girls were more likely to show preference based on gender rather than race, whereas White girls were equally likely to show race- or gender-based favouritism. Among White 5-year-olds, greater prior interaction with Blacks was positively associated with race-related favouritism (i.e., secondary preference to the White boy doll rather than the Black girl doll). Interracial contact was unrelated to racial favouritism among the other three groups. Results demonstrate the salience of gender identity during the preschool years, and indicate that majority/minority status and intergroup contact shape the development of collective identity and social behaviour.
Combined forced and free-convection over thin needles

Abstract The problem of laminar combined forced and free-convection heat transfer from a vertical thin needle in a variable external stream is considered. The similarity solutions for needles with isothermal walls and needles with uniform wall heat fluxes have been obtained. For a given value of the needle size, the flow and heat transfer behaviours are similar to those encountered with flat plates. The Nusselt number and the skin-friction coefficients increase with decreasing needle sizes for assigned values of Prandtl number, local Reynolds number, and local Grashof number.
In vivo ultrasonographic exposimetry: human tissue-specific attenuation coefficients in the gynecologic examination.

Abstract Objective: The purpose of the current study was to determine in vivo, tissue-specific ultrasonic attenuation coefficients for each of the tissue layers comprising the anterior abdominal wall, uterus, and vagina with use of a quantitative multilayer tissue model. We wanted to validate the "homogeneous" tissue model-based Food and Drug Administration derating factor of 0.3 dB/cm-MHz applied to obstetric-use ultrasonography systems. Study Design: With use of a 3.0-MHz mechanical sector scanner and our previously tested exposimetry equipment, we obtained a set of at least 5 separate acoustic pressure waveforms from each test subject by placing a calibrated 7-element linear-array hydrophone in the anterior vaginal fornix while she was undergoing transabdominal ultrasonography. Corresponding sets of reference in vitro acoustic pressure waveforms were also recorded for each test subject in a 37°C water bath. All linear measurements of individual layer thicknesses and total distances were made on-line with use of electronic calipers. A set of multiple and independent insertion loss values, denoted IL n , was calculated for path n between the abdominal surface and the hydrophone from n sonograms for each test subject. Each tissue layer type was identified and its thickness along each path n was measured. The thickness of tissue type m along path n was denoted by d nm . The only unknown quantities left were the attenuation coefficients A m of each of the m tissue layers for that test subject. The overestimated set of equations d nm A m = IL n was solved for A m with use of a nonnegative least-squares solution technique. Results: With use of data from 162 independent insertion loss estimate paths, the overall tissue-specific attenuation coefficients for each of the tissue layer types, expressed as mean value ± SD, were 2.3 ± 1.5 dB/cm-MHz for the skin and subcutaneous layer, 3.1 ± 2.5 dB/cm-MHz for skeletal muscle, 0.6 ± 0.5 dB/cm-MHz for myometrium, and 3.6 ± 2.7 dB/cm-MHz for the vaginal wall. The overall insertion loss assuming the "homogeneous" tissue model was 0.7 ± 0.3 dB/cm-MHz. Conclusions: We have determined the specific ultrasonic attenuation coefficients for each of the tissue layers comprising the anterior abdominal wall, uterus, and vagina and validated the Food and Drug Administration derating factor of 0.3 dB/cm-MHz applied to obstetric use ultrasonography systems. Of all the models proposed, the "homogeneous" tissue model appears to be the best model for determining ultrasonic exposure risk during reproductive ultrasonographic examinations. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1999;180:866-74.)
Places for the Gods: Urban Planning as Orthopraxy and Heteropraxy in China

Among the many revivals of older urban practices in China since the death of Mao and the Reforms of Deng Xiaoping is the resurgence of unofficial folk-religious space. As a national phenomenon, it is an uneven process, but where it has become prevalent, it presents challenges both to official standard urban-planning practice, as well as to the public presentation of planning practice. This paper describes how nonstandard practices can emerge in the current context of rapid urbanization, which itself is a force for standardized urban spatial practices in terms of Chinese domestic cultural and political institutions as well as global capital flows. Both local and translocal actors, navigating among various conflicting standards of practice and discourse, can find room to resist hegemony, maintain identity, and innovate. The political and bureaucratic ritualization of planning practice, however, conceals this fact.
Non-ionic, thermo-responsive DEA/DMA nanogels: Synthesis, characterization, and use for DNA separations by microchip electrophoresis

Thermo-responsive polymer "nanogels" (crosslinked hydrogel particles with sub-100 nm diameters) are intriguing for many potential applications in biotechnology and medicine. There have been relatively few reports of electrostatically neutral, thermosensitive nanogels comprising a high fraction of hydrophilic co-monomer. Here we demonstrate the syntheses and characterization of novel, non-ionic nanogels based on random N,N-diethylacrylamide (DEA)/N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) copolymers, made by free-radical, surfactant-free dispersion polymerization. The volume-phase transition temperatures of these DEA/DMA nanogels are strongly affected by co-monomer composition, providing a way to "tune" the phase transition temperature of these non-ionic nanogels. While DEA nanogels (comprising no DMA) can be obtained at 70 °C by standard emulsion precipitation, DEA/DMA random co-polymer nanogels can be obtained only in a particular range of temperatures, above the initial phase transition temperature and below the critical precipitation temperature of the DEA/DMA copolymer, controlled by co-monomer composition. Increasing percentages of DMA in the nanogels raises the phase transition temperature, and attenuates and broadens it as well. We find that concentrated DEA/DMA nanogel dispersions are optically clear at room temperature. This good optical clarity was exploited for their use in a novel DNA sieving matrix for microfluidic chip electrophoresis. An ultrafast, high-efficiency dsDNA separation was achieved in less than 120 s for dsDNA ranging from 75 bp to 15,000 bp.
The N-terminal half of the heavy chain of botulinum type A neurotoxin forms channels in planar phospholipid bilayers.

The heavy chain of botulinum type A neurotoxin forms channels in planar phospholipid bilayer membranes. Channel activity is confined to the N-terminal half of this chain; the C-terminal half is inactive. Channel activity is stimulated by low pH (4.5–5.5) on the cis side (the side to which protein is added), neutral pH on the opposite (trans) side, and cis positive voltages. These findings are strikingly similar to those previously reported for analogous fragments of diphtheria and tetanus toxins.
Missing links in food-chain story

Our actions have driven top predators from much of the world, resulting in complex consequences for many ecosystems, explains Stuart Pimm.
A perspective on acoustoelectric instabilities

The acoustoelectric instabilities appear in diverse forms and seem complex because of the large number of factors which influence them. A perspective on the instabilities is provided in terms of experiments on the III-V semiconductors, selected to limit or control the variables. Detailed evidence is presented that the source of the acoustic flux is the thermal equilibrium phonon spectrum. The individual contributions of various factors to the instabilities are identified and discussed; e.g., 1) circuit conditions (constant current or constant voltage) which determine the degree of feedback between buildup of flux and gain everywhere in the sample, 2) boundary conditions, including destruction or reflection of flux, 3) inhomogeneities in resistivity of the samples, to which the current oscillations and initial stages of domain formation are particularly sensitive, and 4) the form of the acoustoelectric gain curve, which determines whether the feedback on the gain is positive or negative when the current is changed by the flux buildup. Also, several aspects of deviation from small signal theory are identified. In strong flux, 1) the peak of the frequency spectrum of the flux is shifted down, 2) the acoustoelectric gain coefficient is changaendd, 3) the carrier distribution function may become hot in the high field of the domain. It is concluded that the strong flux effects modify but do not basically determine the form of the resistance instabilities.
Limit Cycles of Systems of the Second Order.

The importance in non-linear mechanics of these limit cycles, or isolated periodic solutions, is well known. It has led to a variety of methods for finding these solutions which yield some information in noteworthy special cases. In Princeton lectures in the fall of 1949, Lefschetz introduced and applied to certain questions the following method: a rotation by a fixed angle a being applied to the vector field (X, Y) in the phase plane of the system (1) gave rise to a new vector field (X cos a Y sin a, X sin a + Y cos a), whose trajectories were then compared to those of the original system. A method essentially like that of Lefschetz is utilized in this note, and has made it possible to answer systematically many questions concerning limit cycles of second order systems. Consider then a family of systems
Management of fetal hydronephrosis

Prenatally detected hydronephrosis has become a common diagnosis for both pediatric nephrologists and urologists. Hydronephrosis is most commonly assessed by the Society for Fetal Urology grading system or anterior–posterior diameter of the renal pelvis in the transverse plane. Some cases of bilateral obstruction, most commonly from posterior urethral valves, can be life-threatening and require close monitoring or, occasionally, fetal intervention. The majority are unilateral and of no threat to the growing fetus. The crux of postnatal management is the separation of the minority of patients whose renal function is at risk from the majority who will suffer no renal consequences. This management involves a regimen of ultrasounds, voiding cystourethrograms, and nuclear renograms for diagnosis and surveillance. Recent literature has been aimed at the timing and necessity of these studies in order to minimize extraneous studies without compromising renal function.
Design of a CMOS test chip for package models and I/O characteristics verification

Reliable packages for modern chips are crucial for satisfactory system performance. In order to ascertain package's performance, an equivalent electrical model is plugged into circuit simulations and the package's performance characteristics can be analyzed. However, one implicit assumption designers make is that these equivalent electrical models are accurate for performance characterization of packages. For modern high-speed designs, verification of the accuracy of these models is imperative and can only be carried out on real-silicon. In addition, signal integrity for inter-chip communication is crucial from a systems perspective. To study the signal integrity of data under different PVT (process variation, voltage, and temperature) conditions, appropriate test structures are needed. Data can be subjected to controlled variations through these structures and its integrity can be studied. And finally, testing package reliability at high temperatures is important since on-chip temperatures are increasing dramatically as processes continue to scale. The test chip presented in this design is intended to allow 1) circuit and package designers to evaluate and validate the accuracy of package models under a variety of environment conditions; 2) system designers to evaluate package/system level signal integrity issue before actual chips are available; and 3) system designers to evaluate on-chip temperatures and to study thermal integrity of packages. The test chip includes a variety of features to achieve these goals. The test chip is fabricated at TSMC in a 0.18 μm CMOS process. The measurement results and the die microphotograph will be sent later as soon as they are available. This paper presents the layout based simulation results.
Miconazole in Cryptococcosis and Systemic Candidiasis: A Word of Caution

Excerpt An article in a recent issue of this journal reported the use of intravenous miconazole in cryptococcosis (1). Use of this new antifungal drug in the treatment of systemic candidiasis as we...
Synthetic beta-amyloid prions

Author(s): Stoehr, Jan; Watts, Joel; Oehler, Abby; DeArmond, Stephen; Giles, Kurt; Prusiner, Stanley B
Single fiber studies of ascending input to the cuneate nucleus of cats: I. Morphometry of primary afferent fibers.

The morphology of afferent fibers ascending to the cuneate nucleus has been examined in this and the subsequent paper in order to quantify the pattern of arborization and bouton arrangement of selected classes of primary afferents and to compare these data with data from postsynaptic fibers ascending to the cuneate nucleus. Electrophysiologically identified G hair and la muscle afferent fibers in the cuneate fasciculus were intraaxonally injected with horseradish peroxidase. Cutaneous afferents terminated dorsal to proprioceptive afferents, especially at middle levels of the cuneate nucleus. The spacing of collaterals along G hair fibers was variable, but averaged 1.46 collaterals per mm; collateral density was higher at middle cuneate levels than in the rest of the nucleus. Collateral density of Ia fibers was lower than for G hair fibers and was lowest at caudal levels of the nucleus. Branches of G hair collaterals, though often initially diverging, usually converged to terminate in a single focus in the dorsal part of the nucleus. The probability of bifurcation of Ia collaterals decreased steadily at successive branch points. These collaterals branched less symmetrically than G hair collaterals, and terminated in the ventral cuneate with less dense arbors, stretched mediolaterally, but of comparable cross-sectional area. Individual G hair collaterals gave rise to more boutons than Ia collaterals; in both cases they were mostly of the en passant type. Boutons were restricted to distal branches of G hair collaterals, whereas boutons of Ia collaterals were also located on proximal branches. Bouton size was similar for the two classes of collaterals. The data reported here, in combination with the published literature, suggest that the collaterals of roughly 300 G hair fibers overlap at any given point at middle levels of the cuneate nucleus. This high degree of anatomical convergence is not predicted by the functional segregation described with electrophysiological mapping, implying the presence of intrinsic nuclear mechanisms enhancing response specificity.
A Search for Principles in Principles of Psychology

Principles of Psychology was published as an introductory textbook, with the contemporary virtue of having chapters that “can be assigned in any order.” It is a compendium of speculation, with very few connecting threads to tie materials together. This article reports one psychologist's travels through the Principles, in search of latent organizing structure, using as a guidebook the methodological and substantive content of two recent articles (Kimble, 1989, 1990a). The journey had its low and high points: The methodology encountered was hardly worth the trip. The exciting moments were the views of correspondences between James’ insights and what we know today.
HNF-3β, C/EBPβ, and HNF-4 Act in Synergy to Enhance Transcription of the Human Apolipoprotein B Gene in Intestinal Cells

Recently, we identified a 315-bp intestinal enhancer (IE), localized over 55 kb upstream from the transcriptional start of the human apolipoprotein B (apoB) gene, that confers expression of human a...
Sums of Zuchswang games

Abstract A Zuchswang game is a two-person perfect information game in which it is always a disadvantage to move. We prove that the additive structure on Zuchswang games is isomorphic to the diadic rational points on a half plane.
Experimental Buckling Capacity of Multiple-Culm Bamboo Columns

This paper presents the experimental results of an on-going study investigating the buckling capacity of single-culm and multiple-culm bamboo column elements. Four single-culm columns of species Bambusa Stenostachya were tested to obtain single-culm column capacities as well as control tests to determine the behaviour of short-doweled end-conditions. Three multiple-culm columns were then tested in order to investigate the ultimate capacity and buckling behaviour of these elements. Specifically of interest wasthe effect of bamboo stitching on improving column behaviour in the bamboo culms. Experimental values were compared with theoretical predictions for buckling capacity using the Euler equation. The behaviour of multiple-culm columns was shown to exhibit load redistribution and to mimic the sum of individual culm capacities rather than composite column behaviour. Stitching was shown to be beneficial in enforcing column geometry yet detrimental through introduction of lateral loading to culms. Finally, the apparent effective length factor K was shown to be closer to K=1 than to the value obtained from control tests of the designed end condition.
Success Patterns of Professional Women: A Study of 452 Women Architects

This is a report on a survey investigating the work and backgrounds of women architects in order to identify factors influencing success, as measured by salary and self‐assessment. The relationship between their decision styles and values were also examined.
Solid-phase synthesis of callipeltin D. Stereochemical confirmation of the unnatural amino acid AGDHE.

The lipopeptide callipeltin D (1) was synthesized using an Fmoc-based solid-phase strategy in seven steps and 35% overall yield. The 1H NMR of synthetic 1 correlated closely with that of the natural product, confirming the configurational assignment of the novel amino acid constituent (2R,3R,4S)-4-amino-7-guanidino-2,3-dihydroxyheptanoic acid.
Are we all dialecticians now? Reply to MacGregor and Friedman

Abstract In his critique of Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical, David MacGregor argues that my book trivializes dialectical method. He fails to notice the many nondialectical assumptions that pervade contemporary social theory and practice. Dialectics, as a context‐sensitive methodological orientation, can provide tools for a better grasp of systems and processes in the real world—the goal, as I understand it, of the “post‐libertarian” approach Jeffrey Friedman advocates.
Adhesion of polyimide to fluorine-contaminated SiO2 surface. Effect of aminopropyltriethoxysilane on the adhesion

The adhesion of pyromellitic dianhydride-oxydianiline (PMDA-ODA) polyimide to fluorine-contaminated silicon dioxide (F-SiO2) with y-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) adhesion promoter has been studied as a function of the peel ambient humidity. The peel strength was not affected by the change in peel ambient relative humidity (RH) from 11-17% to 35-60% when APS was used at the interface. Without APS, the adhesion degraded significantly with this change in RH. It was found that although the dip application of APS caused the removal of about 80% of the initial atomic percentage of fluorine on the surface, it could not be totally removed even after several days in water at elevated temperature.