cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Funding Direct Payments to Americans Through Social Security Deferral

We analyze in this whitepaper a way of addressing both targeting and financing in a direct payment (or “stimulus check”) program to provide households with additional liquidity during the economic downturn associated with the COVID-19 virus: by allowing voluntary loans to individuals in which the proceeds would be paid back through deferral of Social Security retirement benefits at the time when the individual claims Social Security. Specifically, those individuals that choose to receive a check would have the balance carried forward at a pre-specified, favorable government interest rate until the time that they choose to claim Social Security. At that time, the loan would be repaid out of the very first Social Security checks the individual would otherwise receive. Those who choose to receive no check would keep their Social Security retirement benefits unchanged. For most individuals, the delay that could be expected to repay a $5,000 check would be at most 3 months in order to make the program budget neutral.
6 – Indexing Vocabulary

Publisher Summary The biggest issue in case-based reasoning is retrieval of appropriate cases. How do people remember the right ones at the right times? How can one make the computer do the same? This problem is called the indexing problem. The indexing problem has several parts. First, is the problem of assigning labels to cases at the time that they are entered into the case library to ensure that they can be retrieved at appropriate times. In general, these labels designate under what circumstances the case might have a lesson to teach and therefore, when it is likely to be useful. They are used at retrieval time to judge the appropriateness of an old case to a new situation. Second, is the problem of organizing cases such that search through the case library can be done efficiently and accurately. Related, of course, is the problem of retrieval algorithms themselves.
Optimizing the Super H-mode pedestal to improve performance and facilitate divertor integration

Access to Super H-mode is demonstrated for moderately shaped plasmas in agreement with EPED [Snyder et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 056118 (2009)] predictions. In particular, Super H-mode is realized in a DIII-D shape that is accessible to the JET tokamak. The reduced triangularity of the JET-compatible shape compared to previous Super H-mode plasma shapes does not prevent deep ascension into the so-called Super H-mode “channel.” Operationally, access is enabled and optimized by delaying the neutral beam power injection and, thus, protracting the L–H transition. In highly shaped DIII-D plasmas, the injection of nitrogen sufficient for the establishment of a radiative divertor is shown to be possible during Super H-mode without pedestal degradation. Due to its increased stored energy and radiative divertor integration capabilities, Super H-mode is a promising candidate as operating regime for JET, ITER, and future fusion reactors.
Muscle signals to the rescue.

The skeletal muscle of fruit flies communicates with other organs to prevent the accumulation of too much fat and to protect adults against obesity.
Behavior of dicentric chromosomes in budding yeast

DNA double-strand breaks arise in vivo when a dicentric chromosome (two centromeres on one chromosome) goes through mitosis with the two centromeres attached to opposite spindle pole bodies. Repair of the DSBs generates phenotypic diversity due to the range of monocentric derivative chromosomes that arise. To explore whether DSBs may be differentially repaired as a function of their spatial position in the chromosome, we have examined the structure of monocentric derivative chromosomes from cells containing a suite of dicentric chromosomes in which the distance between the two centromeres ranges from 6.5 kb to 57.7 kb. Two major classes of repair products, homology-based (homologous recombination (HR) and single-strand annealing (SSA)) and end-joining (non-homologous (NHEJ) and micro-homology mediated (MMEJ)) were identified. The distribution of repair products varies as a function of distance between the two centromeres. Genetic dependencies on double strand break repair (Rad52), DNA ligase (Lif1), and S phase checkpoint (Mrc1) are indicative of distinct repair pathway choices for DNA breaks in the pericentromeric chromatin versus the arms.
Disparities in Incidence and Severity of Shigella Infections Among Children-Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), 2009-2018.

Background Shigella infections are an important cause of diarrhea in young children and can result in severe complications. Disparities in Shigella infections are well documented among US adults. Our objective was to characterize disparities in incidence and severity of Shigella infections among US children. Methods We analyzed laboratory-diagnosed Shigella infections reported to FoodNet, an active, population-based surveillance system in 10 US sites, among children during 2009-2018. We calculated the incidence rate stratified by sex, age, race/ethnicity, Shigella species, and disease severity. Criteria for severe classification were hospitalization, bacteremia, or death. The odds of severe infection were calculated using logistic regression. Results During 2009-2018, 10 537 Shigella infections were reported in children and 1472 (14.0%) were severe. The incidence rate was 9.5 infections per 100 000 child-years and the incidence rate of severe infections was 1.3 per 100 000 child-years. Incidence was highest among children aged 1-4 years (19.5) and lowest among children aged 13-17 years (2.3); however, children aged 13-17 years had the greatest proportion of severe infections (21.2%). Incidence was highest among Black (16.2 total; 2.3 severe), Hispanic (13.1 total; 2.3 severe), and American Indian/Alaska Native (15.2 total; 2.5 severe) children. Infections caused by non-sonnei species had higher odds of severity than infections caused by Shigella sonnei (adjusted odds ratio 2.58; 95% confidence interval 2.12-3.14). Conclusions The incidence and severity of Shigella infections among US children vary by age, race/ethnicity, and Shigella species, warranting investigation of unique risk factors among pediatric subpopulations.
Urban building energy model: Database development, validation, and application for commercial building stock

Abstract Achieving citywide building energy reduction goals require extensive understanding of energy use at scale, which is challenging due to scarce and disparate data. Despite attention to urban building energy models (UBEM), unexplored aspects and missing details in this emerging field have remained, including further exploring non-homogenous commercial buildings, providing a detailed structure to create UBEMs for replication purposes, and developing methods to mitigate data scarcity and dependency. In this study, a structure is proposed using commercial buildings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We provide a description of an archetype library with relevant sources to improve reproducibility and describe a novel framework to create a database focusing on facade reconstruction through photogrammetry and image processing. For our UBEM, twenty archetypes that comprised eight commercial use types were identified. The average annual energy use intensity was estimated between 74 and 1302 kWh/m2 for different use types. The simulation results also showed discrepancy in energy use of the buildings with similar use types. Validating the results utilizing actual data revealed an overall 7% error. Employing the model to evaluate energy conservation strategies showed energy use reduction of 2–5% for the entire stock. Outcomes of this research can aid policy makers in instituting energy goals and efficiency regulations.
Delay-Bounded Scheduling Without Delay!

We consider the broad problem of analyzing safety properties of asynchronous concurrent programs under arbitrary thread interleavings. Delay-bounded deterministic scheduling, introduced in prior work, is an efficient bug-finding technique to curb the large cost associated with full scheduling nondeterminism. In this paper we first present a technique to lift the delay bound for the case of finite-domain variable programs, thus adding to the efficiency of bug detection the ability to prove safety of programs under arbitrary thread interleavings. Second, we demonstrate how, combined with predicate abstraction, our technique can both refute and verify safety properties of programs with unbounded variable domains, even for unbounded thread counts. Previous work has established that, for non-trivial concurrency routines, predicate abstraction induces a highly complex abstract program semantics. Our technique, however, never statically constructs an abstract parametric program; it only requires some abstract-states set to be closed under certain actions, thus eliminating the dependence on the existence of verification algorithms for abstract programs. We demonstrate the efficiency of our technique on many examples used in prior work, and showcase its simplicity compared to earlier approaches on the unbounded-thread Ticket Lock protocol.
Absolute Lymphocyte Count in Patients with Glioblastoma Treated with Temozolomide Chemoradiation. (S30.002)

Objective: The primary objective of this study is to identify the degree of immunosuppression, measured by absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), in newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) patients receiving concurrent temozolomide chemoradiation (CRT). Secondary objectives included associations between ALC, progression free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Background: Standard GBM treatment includes radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and steroids; all of which can result in immunosuppression by decreasing ALC 1,2. Grossman et al. identified a relationship between low ALC and CD4 counts with low CD4 being associated with worse PFS and OS outcomes3. There remains a lack of research addressing predictors of immunosuppression in patients with newly diagnosed with GBM. Design/Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 158 newly diagnosed GBM patients’ who underwent surgery followed by standard of care CRT. A multivariate proportional hazards Cox model was used to assess the association between the potential prognostic factors, PFS, and OS. We also analyzed the association between ALC and age, sex, MGMT methylation status, and extent of surgical resection. ALC was collected at the time of surgery, CRT start date, and two, four, six, and 10 weeks post CRT start date. Results: Of the 158 patients collected, 92 were males, 47 had gross total resection of the tumor, 58 patients were younger than 65 years, and 47 (30%) were MGMT methylated. Patients with ALC lower than 300/mm3 had a median survival of 3.5 months compared to the 16 months in patients with ALC median higher than >300 (p=0.0007). ALC higher than 300/mm3 compared to PFS and OS showed an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.358 (p=0.006) and 0.297 (p=0.002), respectively. Conclusions: Our study concluded that ALC lower than 300/mm3 was associated with a significant decrease in PFS and OS in this dataset. Disclosure: Dr. Saeed Bamashmos has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ali has nothing to disclose. Dr. Barnett holds stock and/or stock options in Monteris Medical Inc. which sponsored research in which Dr. Barnett was involved as an investigator. Dr. Barnett holds stock and/or stock options in Monteris Medical Inc. Dr. Sagar has nothing to disclose. Dr. Knusel has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ahluwalia has nothing to disclose.
WiSoSuper: Benchmarking Super-Resolution Methods on Wind and Solar Data.

The transition to green energy grids depends on detailed wind and solar forecasts to optimize the siting and scheduling of renewable energy generation. Operational forecasts from numerical weather prediction models, however, only have a spatial resolution of 10 to 20-km, which leads to sub-optimal usage and development of renewable energy farms. Weather scientists have been developing super-resolution methods to increase the resolution, but often rely on simple interpolation techniques or computationally expensive differential equation-based models. Recently, machine learning-based models, specifically the physics-informed resolution-enhancing generative adversarial network (PhIREGAN), have outperformed traditional downscaling methods. We provide a thorough and extensible benchmark of leading deep learning-based super-resolution techniques, including the enhanced super-resolution generative adversarial network (ESRGAN) and an enhanced deep super-resolution (EDSR) network, on wind and solar data. We accompany the benchmark with a novel public, processed, and machine learning-ready dataset for benchmarking super-resolution methods on wind and solar data.
Increased Sliding Friction of a Lubricated Soft Solid Using an Embedded Structure

Controlling the lubricated sliding friction of compliant contacts is important for many mechanical and biological systems. Multiphase materials have been shown to exhibit varied lubricated friction responses when compared to controls of just one phase of the material. In this work, we describe a structured two-phase material composed of a plastic mesh embedded in a compliant elastomer matrix. This embedded mesh structure (EMS) exhibits increased lubricated sliding friction for a number of load, velocity, and lubricant viscosity conditions. The observed friction enhancement appears to be a result of the EMS sample transitioning to the mixed lubrication regime under conditions in which the control is in the elastohydrodynamic lubrication regime. Simulations suggest that the difference in lubrication regimes for the EMS sample compared to the unstructured control comes from areas of high contact pressure induced by the increased local contact stiffness of the material near the embedded mesh. We hypothesize that these areas of high pressure can lead to the destabilization of lubricant films under conditions where the control films are stable, leading to the difference in lubrication regime behaviors observed.
Calcium Entry Blockers in Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease may be complicated by a variety of symptomatic manifestations of inadequate myocardial perfusion. These include exertional angina, rest or variant angina, unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction, sudden death, and chronic congestive heart failure. Although these manifestations of coronary disease are quite divergent, all may in some way relate to an imbalance between myocardial oxygen demand and myocardial oxygen delivery. The dynamics of this imbalance are most thoroughly understood in the syndrome of exertional angina. This review will therefore focus on the pathophysiology of angina and the mechanism of effect of Ca2+ entry blockers.
W/SiC Contact Resistance at Elevated Temperatures

Device fabrication requires the development of contacts and interconnects which are both physically and chemically stable at elevated temperatures. First order equilibrium thermodynamics calculations indicate that the W-SiC couple fulfills these criteria. This paper presents the results of our Auger electron spectroscopy investigation of the W/SiC interface from the “as-deposited” state to samples annealed at temperatures up to 850°C. The annealing has been found to produce no detectable change in the interfacial bonding. However, some W-C and W-Si bonding at the interface does occur as a result of the deposition process. The contact resistance measured at temperature in a vacuum furnace showed no measurable change with annealing temperature up to 900°C. This also indicates that there is no change in the interfacial chemistry. Both chemically- and sputter-cleaned SiC surfaces were used in these studies. No significant difference was found between the two processes.
Oxygen-17 and Sulfur-33 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Organosulfur Compounds

The 17O NMR chemical shifts are obtained for a number of sulfinyl (R-S=O) and sulfonyl (R-S=O) compounds and their chemical shifts range’ from δ -20 to 183 Ő ppm. The acyclic, aliphatic, and aryl sulfoxides exhibit shifts in the narrow range of δ -20 to +20 ppm referenced to naturally abundant 17OH2. Diastereotopic sulfonyl oxygens exhibit chemical shift nonequivalence and in the presence of Eu(fod)3, the magnitude of the diastereotopism is enhanced. The 33S NMR shifts of sulfones and sulfonic acids (and derivatives) occur in the range of δ 310 to 390 ppm downfield of external C33S2. Simple sulfonic acids and their salts afford line-widths-at-half-height of < 25 Hz (at 250 Mhz) and thus allow for relatively easy identification of similar sulfonic acids.
Molecular cloning of chick cardiac muscle tensin. Full-length cDNA sequence, expression, and characterization.

Abstract Here we describe the molecular cloning of 7.1-kilobase cDNA encoding chick cardiac muscle tensin. It contains an open reading frame of 1,744 amino acid (aa) residues. Sequence analysis reveals that, in addition to the previously noted SH2 domain (Davis, S., Lu, M. L., Lo, S. H., Lin, S., Butler, J. A., Druker, B. J., Roberts, T. M., An, Q., and Chen, L. B. (1991) Science 252, 712-715), tensin contains virtually all of the known sequence (362 aa) of insertin, an actin-capping protein that allows actin monomer to be "inserted" (Schroer, E., and Wegner, A. (1985) Eur. J. Biochem. 153, 515-520). Moreover, tensin shares partial homology with actin (46.7% identity in 30 aa), beta-spectrin's actin-binding consensus (40% identity in 26 aa), BCR (40% identity in 25 aa), catenin alpha (35% identity in 45 aa), synapsin Ia (25.6% identity in 156 aa), IL-3 receptor (20.2% identity in 384 aa), and IL-2/EPO receptors (14% identity in 20 aa). Recombinant full-length tensin, tagged with an influenza-derived epitope, was over-expressed by a baculovirus system and purified to apparent homogeneity. It migrates as a 200-kDa protein in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, similar to the native tensin. The structure of the tensin molecule has been characterized by light scattering, electron microscopy, and gel filtration. Nine monoclonal antibodies recognizing different regions of tensin have been prepared and characterized. The epitope-tagged recombinant tensin gene was subcloned into a pRcCMV vector and transfected into NIH 3T3 cells. Immunofluorescence stainings with monoclonal antibodies specific for chick tensin (not cross-reactive with mouse tensin) showed that the expressed protein is indeed localized at focal contacts, as that of native tensin.
Identification of Nitroso Compounds from Biotransformation of 2,4-Dinitrotoluene

The intermediates of microbial transformation of 2,4-dinitrotoluene by a mixed bacterial culture derived from activated sludge were identified as 2-amino-4-nitrotoluene, 4-amino-2-nitrotoluene, 2-nitroso-4-nitrotoluene, and 4-nitroso-2-nitrotoluene. The biotransformation of 2,4-dinitrotoluene occurred only under anaerobic conditions with an exogenous carbon source. The two nitroso compounds were unstable and could be observed only at the early stage of 2,4-dinitrotoluene anaerobic biotransformation.
Rabbit muscle phosphofructokinase. The kinetic mechanism of action and the equilibrium constant.

Abstract The phosphofructokinase reaction was studied at pH 8 with a free magnesium ion concentration of 4 mm. Under these conditions, inhibition by ATP and cooperativity in fructose 6-phosphate kinetics are not apparent. Plots of reciprocal velocity versus the reciprocal of the concentration of either substrate at different fixed concentrations of the other substrate yield intersecting lines for both the forward and reverse reactions. The Michaelis constants for fructose 6-phosphate and MgATP are 21 and 20 µm, respectively, and the turnover number is 8.6 x 104 moles min-1 per 3.8 x 105 g of enzyme, while the Michaelis constants for MgADP and fructose diphosphate are 20 µm and 0.42 mm, respectively, and the turnover number for the reverse reaction is 3.7 x 103 moles min-1 per 3.8 x 105 g of enzyme. MgADP is a competitive inhibitor versus MgATP, with an inhibition constant, 0.11 mm, independent of fructose 6-phosphate concentration. The other product inhibition patterns, MgADP versus fructose 6-phosphate, and fructose diphosphate versus either MgATP or fructose 6-phosphate, are all noncompetitive. No isotopic exchange of fructose 6-phosphate with fructose diphosphate could be detected in the absence of nucleotides. In the absence of sugar phosphates, the isotopic exchange of ATP with ADP proceeded at less than 1% of the rate of the over-all reaction. d-Arabinose 5-phosphate was found to be a competitive inhibitor of both fructose 6-phosphate and fructose diphosphate and noncompetitive relative to both MgATP and MgADP. MgGDP, an alternative substrate in the reverse direction, was competitive with MgADP with respect to ATP production and noncompetitive relative to fructose diphosphate. These results are most consistent with a sequential mechanism in which the order of addition of substrates is random and is approximated kinetically by the rapid equilibrium assumption. The equilibrium constant for the phosphorylation of free fructose 6-phosphate by MgATP to produce free fructose diphosphate and MgADP is 1.2 x 103 at pH 8 and 30°. Thus the free energy of hydrolysis of the 1-phosphate in fructose diphosphate is identical with that of glucose 6-phosphate.
Island Model genetic Algorithms and Linearly Separable Problems

Parallel Genetic Algorithms have often been reported to yield better performance than Genetic Algorithms which use a single large panmictic population. In the case of the Island Model Genetic Algorithm, it has been informally argued that having multiple subpopulations helps to preserve genetic diversity, since each island can potentially follow a different search trajectory through the search space. It is also possible that since linearly separable problems are often used to test Genetic Algorithms, that Island models may simply be particularly well suited to exploiting the separable nature of the test problems. We explore this possibility by using the infinite population models of simple genetic algorithms to study how Island Models can track multiple search trajectories. We also introduce a simple model for better understanding when Island Model Genetic Algorithms may have an advantage when processing linearly separable problems.
An Ethnology of the Admiralty Islands: The Alfred Bühler Collection, Museum der Kulturen, Basel

An Ethnology of the Admiralty Islands: The Alfred Buhler Collection, Museum der Kulturen, Basel. Sylvia Ohnemus. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, and Bathhurst, Australia: Crawford House Press, 1998.430pp.
Genome Sequences of Cluster G Mycobacteriophages Cambiare, FlagStaff, and MOOREtheMARYer

ABSTRACT Mycobacteriophages Cambiare, FlagStaff, and MOOREtheMARYer are newly isolated phages of Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2 155 recovered from soil samples in Pittsburgh, PA. All three genomes are closely related to cluster G mycobacteriophages but differ sufficiently in nucleotide sequence and gene content to warrant division of cluster G into several subclusters.
Intravenous Hydration for Management of Medication-Resistant Orthostatic Intolerance in the Adolescent and Young Adult

Orthostatic intolerance (OI) is common in teenagers (T) and young adults (A). Despite treatment with oral fluids, medication, and exercise, a significant number have symptoms from multiple organ systems and suffer low quality of life (QOL). Previous studies showed that acute intravenous (IV) hydration (IH) could help restore orthostatic tolerance; however, no data are available about the intermediate-term effects of IH. We therefore studied the efficacy of IH to improve QOL and manage medication-refractory OI patients. Our study population consisted of 39 patients (mean age = 16.1 ± 3.3) years; thirty-two were female. Average number of medications failed = 3.1. Average QOL score on self-reported OI questionnaire was 4.2 (normal QOL = 10). IV hydration consisted of normal saline (1-2 l/day, 3-7 days/week). 1) Orthostatic testing revealed Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia (24), Neurally Mediated Hypotension (14) or OI (1). 2) Average orthostatic change in heart rate was 48 ± 18 bpm. 3) IH was performed via intermittent IV access (10), PICC line (22), and Port (7). 4) Duration of IH varied from 1 week to 3.8 years (mean = 29 ± 47 weeks). 5) Overall, 79 % (n = 31) demonstrated clinically improved self-reported QOL. 6) Six patients who discontinued IH requested to restart treatment. (7) Complications consisted of upper extremity deep vein thrombosis (n = 3) and infection (n = 4). IH is an effective therapy to improve QOL in T&A with medication-resistant OI. Most patients continued to report improved QOL once IH was discontinued. IH should be considered a therapeutic option in medication-resistant OI patients with low QOL.
Behavioral characteristics of infants with nonorganic failure to thrive during a play interaction.

PURPOSE To examine the behavioral responses of infants with nonorganic failure to thrive (NOFTT) during play interactions with their mothers. DESIGN Comparative descriptive. METHODS The sample consisted of 31 infants; 17 with nonorganic failure to thrive (NOFTT) and 16 matched healthy controls. The infants were videotaped during a play interaction with their mothers. The behaviors exhibited by the infants were scored with the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment. The environmental context of the play interaction was also rated for how play was initiated, maternal involvement, and the presence of chaos. RESULTS Infants with NOFTT exhibited more difficult behaviors during play such as more negative affect, less vocalizing, and more gaze aversion. Mothers of the infants with NOFTT were less likely to remain involved during the play interaction. The environments of the infants with NOFTT were also found to be more chaotic during play. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Assessment of the infant-mother interaction during play may provide insight into the interactions that occur during other caretaking activities. Strategies could be developed to assist the mother with interacting with her difficult infant. Future research could lead to interventions that could help improve the dynamics of the infant-mother interaction in infants with NOFTT.
Radioimmunoassay of regulatory peptides in the presence of acetonitrile: marked improvement of cholecystokinin assays

Radioimmunoassay has made it possible to measure the levels of many hormones. However, samples for some hormones, such as cholecystokinin (CCK), need to be purified by reverse phase chromatography before assay. Usually, samples are eluted from cartridges or HPLC columns in about 50% acetonitrile, dried on a vacuum centrifuge, and then reconstituted in buffer. Drying and reconstituting samples is time consuming and introduces additional sources of error and peptide loss. The present study investigated the effect of acetonitrile on radioimmunoassays for CCK to see if samples containing acetonitrile could be assayed directly. The non-specific binding of a radiolabeled peptide, the zero binding (B0), and the fall in the presence of 2.5 fmol unlabeled CCK were determined in the presence of various proportions of acetonitrile with 0.1% TFA. Additionally, standard curves were compared in the presence and absence of 200microl of 50% acetonitrile, (n = 5). For assays using two separate CCK antisera, increasing amounts of acetonitrile gave progressively higher zero binding and fall, thereby increasing sensitivity and antibody titer. The use of 200microl 50% acetonitrile, chosen to represent typical sample conditions, increased antiserum titers by three to four-fold, as well as increasing sensitivity considerably. For one antiserum (CCK2), the IC20 was 0.36+/-0.02 fmol CCK/tube in the presence of acetonitrile and 1.45+/-0.08 fmol/tube in its absence (P< 0.001). For the other antiserum (Dino 7), the IC20 was 0.40+/-0.02 fmol CCK/tube in the presence of acetonitrile and 0.63+/-0.01 fmol/tube in its absence (P<0.001). A similar increase in sensitivity was seen with a gastrin assay. However, no significant change in the gastrin antibody titer was evident. Assays for several other hormones were unaffected by 200 microl of 50% acetonitrile. At volumes encountered in samples following chromatography, acetonitrile did not adversely affect radioimmunoassays for a number of hormones, and the sensitivity and antibody titer of the CCK assays were improved. Measurement of CCK samples without drying and reconstitution increases assay efficiency and sensitivity.
Supersensitivity to opioid analgesics following chronic opioid antagonist treatment : relationship to receptor selectivity

The effect of chronic opioid antagonist treatment on the analgesic potency of six opioid agonists was compared to changes in opioid receptor density and the selectivity of each agonist for mu (DAMGO), delta (DPDPE) and kappa (U69,593) opioid receptors. Mice were implanted SC with a 15-mg naltrexone or placebo pellet for 8 days. The pellets were removed and 24 h later, mice were sacrificed and binding studies were conducted, or mice were tested in analgesia (tail-flick) dose-response studies. All six analgesics acted as full agonists for both placebo and naltrexone-treated mice. Naltrexone increased the analgesic potency of methadone, etorphine, fentanyl, meperidine, and oxycodone by 1.9-3.2-fold. The analgesic potency of propoxyphene was not increased significantly (1.3-fold). In saturation binding studies in brain homogenate, naltrexone increased the Bmax of mu, delta, and kappa opioid receptors by 86, 43, and 33%, respectively, without altering Kd. Competition binding studies for each receptor type were conducted in brains from untreated mice, and KIs were determined for each agonist. All agonists had greatest selectivity toward mu compared with delta and kappa receptors. There did not appear to be an obvious relationship between receptor selectivity and the magnitude of supersensitivity. These studies indicate that supersensitivity occurs for a broad range of opioid analgesics following chronic opioid antagonist treatment in the mouse. However, the selectivity of these agonists for mu, delta, and kappa receptors does not appear to correlate with differences in supersensitivity.
Retinal precursors and the development of geographic atrophy in age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose To determine specific retinal precursor lesions and sequence of events preceding the onset of geographic atrophy (GA) in eyes with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Design Retrospective review. Participants All participants in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) at 2 clinical centers (Devers Eye Institute, Portland, Oregon, and University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin) in whom GA initially appeared in at least one eye a minimum of 4 years after the baseline study visit. Methods All stereoscopic fundus photographs taken before the appearance of GA in the involved (study) eye were reviewed. Fundus features at the site of future GA were graded and recorded. Three graders reviewed photographs, with independent grading and adjudication by mutual agreement. Features graded included drusen (classified by size and confluence), focal hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation, and refractile deposits. The time between first appearance of these features and initial appearance of GA was recorded. Main Outcome Measure Appearance of GA. Results Of all AREDS participants at the 2 sites, 95 eyes of 77 developed GA at least 4 years after entrance into the study. Average time from baseline to initial appearance of GA was 6.6 years (range, 4–11). Drusen were found in 100% of eyes at the site of later developing GA, drusen >125 μm in diameter in 96% of eyes, confluent drusen in 94%, hyperpigmentation in 96%, drusen > 250 μm in 83%, hypopigmentation in 82%, and refractile deposits in 23%. Time from lesion appearance to onset of GA varied by lesion type, ranging from 5.9 years for drusen confluence to 2.5 years for hypopigmentation or refractile deposits. Lesions generally followed a uniform sequence of appearance. Conclusions By focusing on the location of initial GA appearance and then retrospectively analyzing prior photographs, we were able to identify specific precursor lesions and the most common sequence of events leading to GA formation in eyes with AMD. The progression was usually characterized by large drusen formation and development of hyperpigmentation, followed by regression of drusen, appearance of hypopigmentation, and ultimately development of GA, sometimes preceded by the appearance of refractile deposits.
The Effectiveness of Schoolyards as Sites for Elementary Science Instruction

This study compared the impacts of traditional classroom and outdoor schoolyard instruction on the environmental science content knowledge and attitudes of 285 third- and fourth-grade students. A modified Solomon Four Group design, including control, classroom treatment, and schoolyard treatment groups, was used. Both the indoor classroom and outdoor schoolyard treatments consisted of corresponding 10-day units focusing on plant and animal ecology. Valid and reliable content knowledge and attitude assessments were administered before and after instruction. Analyses of variance and post hoc analyses of posttest scores and gain scores indicated that elementary students learned significantly more about selected environmental science topics through outdoor schoolyard experiences than through traditional indoor classroom experiences. Both classroom and schoolyard treatment groups developed more positive environmental attitudes as a result of instruction, but the attitude posttest and gain scores of these two groups were not significantly different from each other.
Coping With Spousal Loss: Potential Buffering Effects of Self-Reported Helping Behavior

The present study examined the role of self-reported helping behavior in attenuating the helper's depression following spousal loss. Using archival data from the Changing Lives of Older Couples sample (N = 289), the study shows that among bereaved participants who had experienced high loss-related grief, helping behavior (providing instrumental support to others) was associated with an accelerated decline in depressive symptoms for the helper from 6 months to 18 months following spousal loss. This relationship between giving help and recovery from depression was independent of support received, as well as measured health, and interpersonal and demographic factors. Implications of these results for theoretical approaches to the study of close relationships and well-being are discussed.
Roles of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and bypass graft surgery for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) was introduced by Andreas Gruentzig I in 1977 and has become the most commonly performed procedure for myocardial revascularization in the United States. 2 Patients with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) currently have a choice of being treated with medical therapy or undergoing revascularization with either PTCA or coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Until recently the type of revascularization chosen has often been based on individual patient or physician preference because of the paucity of prospective studies comparing results of these different treatments in similar groups of patients. The use of saphenous vein grafts for surgical revascularization was first reported by Rene Favalo ro 3 in 1969. Since that time advances in surgical techniques and the use of cardioplegia have led to a decline in operative mortality even though patients currently undergoing the procedure tend to be older, have lower left ventricular ejection fractions, have a higher incidence of previous CABG, and have more complex CAD. 45 In the mid 1980s internal thoracic arterial conduits became the grafts of choice because of the demonstration of superior long-term patency compared with saphenous vein g r a f t s . 6-7 In patients with anginal symptoms refractory to medical therapy, CABG offers symptomatic improvement and increased exercise capacity, s-l° In addition, a survival benefit has been demonstrated in patients with significant left main coronary artery disease and certain other anatomic subsets. ~M2 Nine prospective randomized trials of surgery versus
An effective and efficient approach for nonlinear seismic analysis of bridges

A simplified and practical approach for nonlinear seismic analysis of highway bridges is proposed. Efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed model is discussed in detail. The effects of soil-structure interaction, analysis methods, and bridge skews on bridge responses are also carefully examined. The results obtained from the simplified model are compared to those of refined models. The paper concludes with a number of real bridge examples and recommendations.
Partial photoionization cross sections and radiative recombination rate coefficients for Li‐like ions. II

A nonhydrogenic single-electron-transition model with Dirac-Slater SCF wavefunctions and all necessary multipoles has been used to obtain partial photoionization cross sections for C3+, O5+, Al10+, Fe23+, and Mo39+ for principal quantum number n = 10 and all l, hv ⪖ 200 keV, supplementing results reported elsewhere for n = 2, 3, 4, and 6. The partial cross sections for the isoelectronic sequence are represented approximately by a simple analytical form: ln[(Z — snl)2 σnl (hv)] = Σai(nl)xi. (Z is the nuclear charge, x = ln [hv/(Z — 2)2].) n-3 scaling is used to obtain partial cross sections for other values of n (6 < n < 10, 10 < n < 100). Radiative recombination rate coefficients (summed over l and n < 100) have been calculated from the partial photoionization cross sections for kT = 0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, 3.0, and 10.0 keV. The results have application to ionization balance calculations for the solar corona and for Tokamaks.
THE ROLE OF KERATINOCYTES IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF CONTACT DERMATITIS

Industrialization has greatly increased exposure to chemicals, pollutants, and noxious substances, both at home and in the workplace. This trend of increasing chemical exposure continues as reliance on technology deepens. The initial barrier against these substances is the skin. In the majority of individuals, this defense is sufficient and acts without adverse effects. As exposure to chemicals becomes more widespread and frequent, the incidence of pathologic responses to this exposure in the population has increased dramatically. In 1990, the National Center for Health Statistics reported that eczematous dermatitis was one of the most common specific dermatoses encountered in the outpatient setting. 1 It is estimated that dermatitis as a result of incidental or inadvertent exposure to occupational hazards accounts for 30% of all occupational disease. More than 90% of cases described are due to irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) or allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). 85 In a study done in Denmark, hyperkeratotic hand eczema alone was estimated to affect 2.5% of Danish workers on permanent disability at a national cost of $15 million per year. 89 A direct extrapolation to the United States, based on population alone, would imply an impact of nearly $750 million per year solely for hand eczema. Thus, contact dermatitis is a disorder of significant economic dimension. This article seeks to outline the various contact dermatitides, then compare the features of ICD and ACD, and lastly to outline the immune mechanisms of contact dermatitis, with special emphasis on the role of keratinocytes.
Maximum particle sizes in polydispersed aerosols

Abstract The size distributions of mercury and sulfur aerosols have been investigated by a light scattering—settling technique and the results compared with direct electron microscope observations. For the larger size aerosols the maximum size obtained by light scattering agrees with the electron microscope maximum but the distribution curves differ. For smaller aerosols (maximum by electron microscope less than 0.1 μ) the light scattering shows no maximum size. These discrepancies are attributed to convection and coagulation. The liquid nature of sulfur aerosols is demonstrated by photomicrography and a new technique of preparing them for the electron microscope is described.
Cirugía robótica en urología pediátrica

Summary.- OBJECTIVES: To review the use of robotic surgery in pediatric urology and provide a platform from which discussions regarding this technology can arise. METHODS: The available literature and the experien-ce at the author’s institution were reviewed to examine the applications of robotic surgery in pediatric urology. MEDLINE was queried using the following key words: robot, robotic, laparoscopy, surgery, child, and pedia-trics.RESULTS: The available literature is comprised mainly of case reports and case series. Two groups have published small analyses comparing robotic assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty and open pyeloplasty. At our institution, we have utilized the daVinci robotic surgical system to per-form the following surgical procedures: orchidopexy of the intraabdominal testis, total and partial nephrectomy, dismembered pyeloplasty, pyelolithotomy, excision of calyceal diverticula, ureteroureterostomy, ureteropyelos-tomy, intra- and extravesical ureteral reimplantation, me-gaureter tapering and reimplantation, adrenelectomy, creation of a Mitrofanoff continent catheterizable chan-nel, and resection of pelvic Mullerian remnants. CONCLUSIONS: Robotic surgery in pediatric urology is an evolving technology that holds promise for appli-cation to most urological surgeries. Reﬁnements in equi-pment will improve the efﬁciency of these systems. Ulti-mately, the efﬁcacy and role of robotic surgical systems need to be deﬁned with rigorous prospective studies that provide comparisons to gold standard techniques, be they open surgery or conventional laparoscopy. Keywords: Pediatric. Laparoscopy. Robotic.Surgery.INTRODUCTION Pediatric urology was introduced to laparos-copic surgery in the late 1970’s by Cortesi et al who described its utility in the evaluation of nonpalpable testes.(1) Since then, conventional laparoscopic appro-aches have been utilized for numerous pediatric urolo-gical surgeries, including orchidopexy of the intrabdo-minal testis(2-15), varicocelectomy(16-23), total and partial nephrectomy(24-33), pyeloplasty(34-40), urete-ral reimplantation(41, 42), and bladder reconstructive surgery(43-45). Despite the breadth of these reported
Simulating the formation of Hurricane Isabel (2003) with AIRS data

[1] Using the AIRS retrieved temperature and humidity profiles, the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) influence on the formation of Hurricane Isabel (2003) is simulated numerically with the MM5 model. The warmth and dryness of the SAL (the thermodynamic effect) is assimilated by use of the nudging technique, which enables the model thermodynamic state to be relaxed to the profiles of the AIRS retrieved data for the regions without cloud contamination. By incorporating the AIRS data, MM5 better simulates the large-scale flow patterns and the timing and location of the formation of Hurricane Isabel and its subsequent track. By comparing with an experiment without nudging of the AIRS data, it is shown that the SAL may have delayed the formation of Hurricane Isabel and inhibited the development of another tropical disturbance to the east. This case study confirms the argument by Dunion and Velden (2004) that the SAL can suppress Atlantic tropical cyclone activity by increasing the vertical wind shear, reducing the mean relative humidity, and stabilizing the environment at lower levels. Citation: Wu, L., S. A. Braun, J. J. Qu, and X. Hao (2006), Simulating the formation of Hurricane Isabel (2003) with AIRS data, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L04804, doi:10.1029/2005GL024665.
The detuning factor in the dynamics of interlimb rhythmic coordination

Dynamical models of two coupled biological oscillators interpret the detuning term as an arithmetic difference between the uncoupled frequencies, Δ? =(?1 ? ?2) . This Δ? interpretation of detuning was addressed in four experiments in which human subjects oscillated pendulums in their right and left hands in 1?1 frequency locking in antiphase (Experiments 1---3) or inphase (Experiment 4). Differences between the uncoupled frequencies were manipulated through differences in the equivalent simple pendulum lengths, and the effects of this manipulation on the detuning of relative phase from ? or 0 and the standard deviation of relative phase SD? were measured. In Experiment 1, the same values of ? i were satisfied by several different physical configurations. The experiment confirmed that the detuning term is related strictly to the uncoupled frequencies rather than to other physical characteristics of the oscillators. Experiments 2, 3 and 4 showed, however, that the particular dependency of fixed point drift and SD? on Δ? depends on the particulars of ? 1 and ? 2. With variations in Δ? brought about by different ? 1 and ? 2 that always formed a constant ratio, fixed point drift related inversely to Δ?, and SD? varied with Δ? in ways that depended on the magnitude of the constant ratio. These outcomes do not conform to expectations from models of coordination dynamics that interpret detuning as (? 1)?? 2).
Quantitative assessment of song-selectivity in the zebra finch “high vocal center”

1. Auditory responses in the zebra finch (Taenopygia guttata) song-system nucleus HVc were assessed at 54 recording sites by 3 different methods: discriminated action potentials; excitatory summed responses; and excitatory minus inhibitory summed responses. Four standard stimuli were presented at each site: the bird's own song; this song reversed; a conspecific song; and a noise burst. Responses were quantified by calculating a relative response index that partitioned the response, to provide a response profile, across the stimuli. 2. Regardless of analysis method, the strongest response was most often to the bird's own song (78–82%, depending on method). The predominant rank order of response strength across the remaining three stimuli was conspecific song > reversed song > noise. 3. The distribution of relative response magnitude was sensitive to analysis method. Discriminated spikes captured the heterogeneity of HVc neurons, whereas the excitatory summed responses reflected the overall trends more consistently. When inhibition was subtracted from excitation in the summed responses, the variance of the relative responses increased, but this method presented some problems for statistical analysis. 4. A small sample of neurons in other forebrain auditory areas was used for comparative analyses. At these recording sites, the bird's own song did not consistently elicit the best response and there were generally smaller differences in the relative responses to the four stimuli. The smaller degree of stimulus selectivity among these cells resulted in less sensitivity to differences in the assessment methods.
Time-scale structure assignment in linear multivariable systems using high-gain feedback

Abstract A systematic design method for assigning a required time-scale structure to a given multivariable system is developed. The time-scale structure assignment is carried out using high-gain feedback of either the state or the output. The method developed decomposes a given multivariable system into several single-input single-output subsystems, each of which is designed separately. A standard method of design for single-input single-output systems is developed, and this forms a building block for the multivariable system design. The state feedback design depends only on the stage sequence of the given system, while the output feedback design depends only on the set of integers that specifies the order of infinite zeros. In this way, our design is made robust with respect to certain parameter uncertainties. High-gain parameter(s) can be adjusted on line, and this provides a tool for the fine tuning of the desired performance characteristics of a control system.