cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Age and gender differences in mechanically induced intraoral temporal summation and conditioned pain modulation in healthy subjects

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate intraoral temporal summation (TS) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and compare the outcome with TS and CPM induced in the forearm. In addition, we aimed to study the effect of age and gender on intraoral and forearm TS and CPM. Study Design Mechanical stimulation was induced with # 5.46 von Frey filament applying 26 grams of force. A single stimulus, followed by a train of 30 successive stimuli, was applied intraorally and to the dominant forearm. CPM was assessed with the TS test as the painful stimulus and with immersion of the nondominant hand in a hot water bath as the conditioning stimulus. Results Gender was significantly associated with TS but not with CPM measures. Females had significantly lower mean TS measured in the face and in the dominant forearm compared with males. Age was significantly associated with CPM, but not with TS measures. In both sites examined, older patients had significantly lower mean CPM compared with younger patients. Conclusions Mechanical TM elicited in the oral cavity can be used as test stimulus for CPM testing. Intraoral modulation, both TS and CPM, has an extent similar to that of the standard cutaneous extremity. TS was lower in females, and CPM was reduced with age.
Ups and downs of CHIP.

In this issue of Blood, Berger et al present a longitudinal study of the clonal trajectory of preleukemic mutations in patients who developed therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MNs) after autologous stem-cell transplantation. The authors show that t-MN driver mutations are often detectable as clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) many years before patients develop t-MNs, and they demonstrate complicated patterns of clonal expansion and evolution over time, leading to the development of t-MNs.1
Reasons and Risk Factors for Seeking Unscheduled Medical Advice in the Postoperative Period Among Gynecologic Patients

Abstract Objective: The aims of this research were to characterize unscheduled postoperative contacts made by gynecologic surgical patients and to identify factors that predispose patients to conta...
Goal Programming: The Methodology and its Application to the Pennsylvania Coal Model

Real problems invariably involve multiple, conflicting objectives whereas traditional techniques assume a single objective. In this paper we present an approach to the modeling, analysis and control of large-scale multiobjective systems. To illustrate the methodology, a recent study of the impact of sulfur dioxide emission limits on utility coal supply policies is discussed.
Bloch, Jules (1880–1953)

Jules Bloch, an Indo-European linguistic scholar, spent most of his life teaching and doing research at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes of the University of Paris. He worked as a graduate assistant and helped produce a French abridgment of one of the major German Indo-European linguistic studies by Brugmann and Delbruck; published an original study of Sanskrit; and then spent time doing field research in India and Southeast Asia. He became the leading Indo-European linguist in France after his return, and also did ground-breaking research on Dravidian language, the Pali Buddhist Canon, and Romany language and culture.
Blind Rendezvous: A Promising Candidate of Secure Spectrum Access for D2D communications in IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology that promises a more connected and smarter world. It enables many physical devices, living creature, or cyber-physical systems (all referred as “things”) the ability of wireless communication. The explosive deployment of IoT and CPS systems bring tremendous benefits to this era. However, it also carries unprecedented risks to our lives and society. In this paper, we first investigate the novel vulnerabilities of device-to-device (D2D) communications, which is essential in IoT, including spectrum invading, jamming, and eavesdropping. Then, we recommend the blind rendezvous as a promising technique for D2D’s secure spectrum access. Both the analytical study and performance evaluation validate that certain kind of blind rendezvous efforts can provide communication pairs a whole new experience on spectrum access in IoT, such as helping each other, invisible, and easy to hide from attackers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that comprehensively studies the qualification of blind rendezvous as the desired spectrum access candidate for IoT communications.
Comparison of consumers' perspectives on different health information exchange (HIE) mechanisms: an experimental study.

Abstract Objective Consumers’ willingness to allow the distribution of their health data is a prerequisite for the success of any health information exchange (HIE) initiative. Several mechanisms are being used by healthcare organizations to exchange health information electronically. Our goal is to investigate how patients’ preferences regarding information exchange (i.e., privacy concern, opt-in intention, and perceived health information sensitivity) are affected by different HIE models and exchange architectures. Methods We designed a series of scenarios for controlled online experiments. Totally, 1416 respondents participated in seven experiments. Each experiment includes a separate scenario and 27 questions to measure outcome variables and demographics. Data were collected from a wide range of adult population in the U.S. and all the experiments were performed in English. Results The findings demonstrate that there are significant differences in patients’ perceptions of different HIE mechanisms in terms of privacy concern and opt-in intention. Consumers believe that the patient-controlled HIE at the regional level is the most preferred model to protect health information privacy and they are willing to opt-in to this model. However, there is no solid evidence to show that different HIE mechanisms would affect the consumers’ perceived health information sensitivity. Conclusions This study supports the importance of patient-controlled HIE models that potentially enable patients to access, manage, integrate, and share their medical information with multiple healthcare organizations. The results show in-depth consumer adoption patterns across multiple HIE models and architectures which are required to identify optimal approaches for HIE implementation using different exchange mechanisms.
Asymptomatic endophthalmitis following strabismus correction in a pediatric patient.

Abstract Endophthalmitis is most commonly seen in adults shortly after cataract surgery. It is rare in the pediatric population. Presented here is a case of endophthalmitis following strabismus repair in a 9-month-old patient with Trisomy 21. Leukocoria was observed 15 days after surgery, but the child did not exhibit symptoms of infection, and the ordering clinician requested an MRI of thebrain and orbits to assess the possibility of retinoblastoma. This case highlights the importance of MRI in the evaluation of leukocoria and displays typical MRI findings of this infrequently-encountered condition in the pediatric population.
Cholecystectomy-related malpractice litigation: predictive factors of case outcome.

Complications following cholecystectomy may lead to malpractice litigation. Little research exists regarding cholecystectomy-related malpractice, the complications that lead to litigation, and the outcomes of such cases. This study is a retrospective analysis utilizing the legal database Verdictsearch (ALM Media Properties, LLC, New York, NY). Medical malpractice cases between July 2004 and November 2017 were identified using the search term “gallbladder.” Case information was recorded, including patient information, medical details, trial outcome, and resulting payments. Of 46 cases examined, 39 went to trial with a favorable plaintiff (patient) verdict in 43% (20/46) and a favorable physician verdict in 41% (19/46) of the cases. Only 7% (3/46) of the cases resulted in a settlement, with 4% (2/26) concluding in mixed verdicts or arbitration. The mean plaintiff victory payment was $723,844 ± $1,119,457, while the mean settlement payment was $1,350,000 ± $563,471. Intraoperative care was the most frequently litigated phase of care (67%, 31/46 cases). Problematic visualization of the surgical field was the most frequent intraoperative allegation (67.7%, 21/46 cases). Cases of problematic visualization often resulted in favorable plaintiff trial victory (66.7% vs. 19% in defendant victory). Only 9.5% of the problematic visualization cases settled. Bile duct injuries accounted for 43.5% of the injuries (plaintiff victory rate 60.0%; mean payment $736,434 ± $1,365,424). In cholecystectomy litigation, allegations of problematic intraoperative visualization are both the most common allegation and the most likely to end in physician loss. Bile duct injuries remain the most frequent patient injury leading to cholecystectomy litigation
Oxytocin antagonism prevents pregnancy-associated aortic dissection in a mouse model of Marfan syndrome

Women with Marfan syndrome (MFS) are at high risk for pregnancy-associated aortic dissection. Pathogenic models that singularly invoke hemodynamic stress are difficult to reconcile with predominant postnatal occurrence of aortic tear, often occurring weeks to months after delivery. In consideration of events that peak at term, are sustained after delivery, and might synergize with previously defined signaling pathways implicated in aneurysm progression, we examined the hormone oxytocin, which initiates uterine contraction and milk letdown for the duration of lactation through phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). In a mouse model of MFS that shows highly penetrant postnatal aortic dissection, risk was strongly attenuated by preventing lactation or use of an oxytocin receptor antagonist. Survival correlated inversely with the extent of ERK activation in the aortic wall, and strong protection was observed upon attenuation of ERK phosphorylation using an inhibitor of ERK kinase (MEK) or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medication hydralazine, offering potential therapeutic strategies for pregnancy-associated vascular catastrophe in the setting of MFS.
Reflections on indigenous peoples’ rights vis-à-vis the law of occupation*

ABSTRACTThe article examines the application of the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights (UNDRIP) beyond the confines of a State entity. Specifically, it explores the potential integration of indige...
An analysis of 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring data using orthonormal polynomials in the linear mixed model.

Background The use of 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in clinical practice and observational epidemiological studies has grown considerably in the past 25 years. ABPM is a very effective technique for assessing biological, environmental, and drug effects on blood pressure. Objectives In order to enhance the effectiveness of ABPM for clinical and observational research studies using analytical and graphical results, developing alternative data analysis approaches using modern statistical techniques are important. Methods The linear mixed model for the analysis of longitudinal data is particularly well suited for the estimation of, inference about, and interpretation of both population (mean) and subject-specific trajectories for ABPM data. We propose using a linear mixed model with orthonormal polynomials across time in both the fixed and random effects to analyze ABPM data. Results We demonstrate the proposed analysis technique using data from the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study, a multicenter, randomized, parallel arm feeding study that tested the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure. Conclusion The linear mixed model is relatively easy to implement (given the complexity of the technique) using available software, allows for straightforward testing of multiple hypotheses, and the results can be presented to research clinicians using both graphical and tabular displays. Using orthonormal polynomials provides the ability to model the nonlinear trajectories of each subject with the same complexity as the mean model (fixed effects).
RSS-RSQ Based Base Station and Mobile Station Localization in 3GPP UMTS Cellular Network

Network base station (BS) requires specific measurement reports from mobile station (MS) user equipment for MS localization in 3GPP cellular network. Multiple techniques have implemented at Network side with a performance of the localization, while MS-based localization is inadequate. This paper proposed a method for an MS to estimate BS and MS location based on received signal strength (RSS) and received signal quality (RSQ) in 3GPP UMTS cellular network. Suitable approximations used and formulate the localization problem based on Long-distance Path Loss model with consideration of signal strength and signal quality affected by noise and interference. Simulation results show a promising performance for the proposed method, is the solely MS-based method.
Security in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

Operating in open and shared media, wireless communication is inherently less secure than wired communication. Even worse, mobile wireless devices usually have limited resources, such as bandwidth, storage space, processing capability, and energy, which makes security enforcement hard. Compared with infrastructure-based wireless networks, security management for wireless ad hoc networks is more challenging due to unreliable communication, intermittent connection, node mobility, and dynamic topology. A complete security solution should include three components of prevention, detection, and reaction, and provides security properties of authentication, confidentiality, non-repudiation, integrity, and availability. It should be adaptive in order to trade-off service performance and security performance under resource limitation. In this chapter, we will focus on the preventive mechanism for key management and broadcast authentication with resource constraints.
Legal Education at a Crossroads: Innovation, Integration, and Pluralism Required!

Although historically slow to change, law schools are now facing enormous pressure from educators, students, lawyers, judges, clients, and the public to rethink legal education and the lawyer‘s role in society. Now more than ever, there is robust national debate on the threshold contributions law schools should make to the preparation of law graduates for entry into practice. The clamor for reform in legal education is precipitated by a confluence of factors, including new insights about lawyering competencies and experiential legal education; the shifting nature of legal practice in the United States; a decrease in law jobs; changes in the economics of the legal profession that challenge the current cost of legal education; a dramatic drop in law school applications and admittees; increased competition for students among law schools; increased market demand for ― practice-ready‖ law graduates; and increased numbers of law grads going into solo and small firm practice. Economic, social, and political conditions make it impossible to ignore the clamor for reform. Today‘s climate invites a deeper examination of law school curricula and pedagogy, with a focus on the "sequencing of doctrine, skills and values across the curriculum designed to prepare students for practice . . . ." Legal education is at a crossroads, uniquely ripe for innovative curricular and pedagogical change. Some suggest abandoning the third year of law school; others urge law schools to accept the challenge from educators, the profession, and the market to impart more educational value throughout the curriculum, including the third year. Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law, the influential study produced by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2007 (commonly referred to as the "Carnegie Report"), endorses a three-year curriculum that develops the three lawyering apprenticeships of knowledge/understanding, practice expertise, and professional identity/judgment. In this Article, we recommend an innovative, integrated, pluralistic law school curriculum with expanded experiential education (where students learn in the role of attorney with simulated clients and cases) and required clinical education (where students learn in the role of attorney with real clients and cases).
The Reincorporation of Prisoners into the Body Politic: Eliminating the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy

Incarcerated people are excluded from Medicaid coverage due to a provision in the Social Security Act Amendments of 1965 known as the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (“MIEP”). This Article argues for the elimination of the MIEP as an anachronistic remnant of an earlier era prior to the massive growth of the U.S. incarcerated population and the expansion of Medicaid eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. It explores three reasons for eliminating the MIEP. First, the inclusion of incarcerated populations in Medicaid coverage would signify the final erasure from the Medicaid regime of the distinction between the “deserving” and “undeserving” poor and is consistent with and in furtherance of the ACA’s ultimate goal of universal health insurance coverage. Second, elimination of the MIEP furthers the bipartisan criminal legal system reform focus on reducing recidivism through effective reentry. Current efforts to use Medicaid to facilitate reentry require careful workarounds of the MIEP. Elimination of the policy would reduce logistical hurdles to ensuring continuity of care and enhance rehabilitation services provided during incarceration. Third, eliminating the MIEP coalesces with the goals of the emerging discourse around health justice, and specifically, its focus on how social determinants of health drive inequities. In including a health justice framework, this Article seeks to enrich the discussion in two directions. In the first instance, health justice illuminates structural factors such as discrimination and poverty that are root causes of health inequities and must be addressed alongside immediate health needs. At the same time, this Article aims to deepen the health justice discussion with a sharper focus on the role of incarceration in perpetuating health inequities, and the ways in which extending Medicaid access to incarcerated populations can improve treatment of immediate needs while also addressing structural inequities that cause and are caused by justice system involvement.
Maple Wood Heirlooms and the Re-formation of a Dynastic Identity: Elector John of Saxony’s Sermon Notes as Grapho-Relics

The widespread practice of taking notes on sermons as a form of learning and piety among literate Protestants in the sixteenth century has been largely untreated by scholars. This article offers a brief survey of this phenomenon before focusing on two eight-piece sets of palm-sized maple tablets that Elector John of Saxony used for taking such notes. While research into these rare objects has tended to concentrate almost exclusively on their textual content, this contribution seeks new insights into these tablets by applying methods common to material culture studies. This approach proves to be useful not only for exploring the tablets’ practical features but also for understanding their significance as the earliest surviving tangible expressions of Lutheran piety originating from a Saxon prince. Elector John’s successors regarded these simple objects as “grapho-relics,” elevating them to family heirlooms that symbolized the redefinition of the dynastic identity of the Ernestine Saxon house as the guardian of Luther and his legacy.
Physical Activity, Dietary Patterns, and Glycemic Management in Active Individuals with Type 1 Diabetes: An Online Survey

Individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are able to balance their blood glucose levels while engaging in a wide variety of physical activities and sports. However, insulin use forces them to contend with many daily training and performance challenges involved with fine-tuning medication dosing, physical activity levels, and dietary patterns to optimize their participation and performance. The aim of this study was to ascertain which variables related to the diabetes management of physically active individuals with T1D have the greatest impact on overall blood glucose levels (reported as A1C) in a real-world setting. A total of 220 individuals with T1D completed an online survey to self-report information about their glycemic management, physical activity patterns, carbohydrate and dietary intake, use of diabetes technologies, and other variables that impact diabetes management and health. In analyzing many variables affecting glycemic management, the primary significant finding was that A1C values in lower, recommended ranges (<7%) were significantly predicted by a very-low carbohydrate intake dietary pattern, whereas the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices had the greatest predictive ability when A1C was above recommended (≥7%). Various aspects of physical activity participation (including type, weekly time, frequency, and intensity) were not significantly associated with A1C for participants in this survey. In conclusion, when individuals with T1D are already physically active, dietary changes and more frequent monitoring of glucose may be most capable of further enhancing glycemic management.
Tax Treaties, the Constitution, and the Noncompulsory Payment Rule

US Tax treaties have been regarded as self-executing since the first treaty (with France) was ratified in 1932. Rebecca Kysar has argued this raises a doubt on whether the treaties are constitutional, because tax treaties (like other treaties) are negotiated by the executive branch and ratified by the Senate with no involvement by the House, and all tax-raising measures must originate in the House under the Origination Clause (U.S. Const. Art I, section 7, clause 7). Her preferred solution is to make tax treaties non-self executing, but that would reverse the universal practice since 1932, and is therefore unlikely. Moreover, tax treaties are generally precluded from raising revenue by the Saving Clause (Art. 1(4)). But Kysar’s argument raises another question in regard to the noncompulsory payment rule (Treas. Reg. 1.902-2(e)(5)). Under the noncompulsory payment rule, a US taxpayer who is entitled to a treaty benefit and does not avail itself of the benefit may not get a foreign tax credit for the excess of the withholding tax levied over the treaty rate (Treas. Reg. 1.902-2(e)(5), Example 6). But this means that the treaty raises the taxpayer’s US taxes over the amount it would pay in the absence of a treaty, which in turn raises the constitutional issue invoked by Kysar. The paper concludes by questioning whether the noncompulsory payment rule is worth the complexity it imposes on both taxpayers and the IRS.
Minor variants of swine H1N1 influenza viruses with enhanced polymerase activity and HA stability promote airborne transmission in ferrets

ABSTRACT Understanding how animal influenza A viruses (IAVs) acquire airborne transmissibility in humans and ferrets is needed to prepare for and respond to pandemics. Previously, we showed that hemagglutinin (HA) protein stabilization promotes replication and airborne transmission in ferrets using swine H1N1 gamma strains P4 and G15 (Hu et al. 2020). Here, we show that a combination of enhanced polymerase activity and HA stability is necessary for efficient airborne transmission in ferrets and that minor variants containing both properties are quickly selected. P4 and G15 were found to have decreased polymerase activity and relatively poor HA stability, respectively. Polymerase-enhancing variant PA-S321 was selected in half of P4 isolates that airborne-transmitted in ferrets. HA-stabilizing variant HA1-S210 was selected in all G15-inoculated ferrets and was transmitted. With an efficient polymerase and a stable HA, purified G15-HA1-S210 had earlier and higher peak titers in inoculated ferrets and was recovered at a higher frequency after airborne transmission than P4 and G15. Pandemic risk-assessment studies may benefit from deep sequencing capable of identifying minor variants with human-adapted traits.
Ancient technique of olive detection.

In the February issue of Pediatrics, Dr A. L. Senquiz describes a "new" method for detecting the "olive" of congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. The infant is placed on his abdomen. Sliding his fingers under the abdomen, the examiner palpates upward and gently in the right epigastrium. I agree that the method is more sensitive than palpation of the abdomen with the infant lying on his back. But the method is not new—I described it in an editorial comment in the 1953 to 1954 Yearbook of Pediatrics,p 185. Dr Senquiz hardly could have known this; no one in his right mind would be reading the 1953 to 1954 Yearbook! Furthermore, the method was not original with me; it must have been taught to me by one of the surgeons in my early days.
Lamb Wave Propagation in Multilayered Anisotropic Solids and its Application Towards Imaging Material Defects

In this paper the elastic wave propagation analysis in a multilayered plate is presented. Individual layers in the multilayered specimen is modeled as elastic, homogeneous and anisotropic. From this analysis the incident angle and frequency of the ultrasonic signal for Lamb wave generation in a multilayered composite plate are obtained. Displacement and stress fields inside the plate are computed for different Lamb wave modes. It shows that for detecting and imaging defects in a specific layer certain Lamb wave modes are more effective than others.
Type II Cells as Progenitors in Alveolar Repair

The alveolar epithelium is composed of type I and type II cells. Flat squamous type I cells comprise 95 % of the alveoli surface area and play essential roles in mediating the gas exchange. Cuboidal type II cells occupy only 5 % of the area but have multiple functions including secreting surfactant, transporting ion and fluid, and modulating immunity. Type II cells also function as progenitor cells by self-renewal and differentiating into type I cells to maintain the alveoli cell homeostasis or to induce lung repair. This chapter focuses on the progenitor cell properties of alveolar type II cells in the adult lungs. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that type II cells can behave as alveolar stem cells and play important roles in the repair of various types of lung injury. Some subgroups of type II cells may play more active roles in the repair by displaying higher potential for proliferation and transition from type II to type I cells. The initiation of the repairing program by type II cells depends on the changing microenvironment in response to injuries. Several signaling pathways and molecules involved in the type II cell repair programs are discussed.
A statistical F test for the natural attenuation of contaminants in groundwater.

Natural attenuation (NA) is a catchall explanation for the overall decay and slowed movement of the contaminants in the subsurface. One direct support to NA is to demonstrate that contaminant concentrations from monitoring wells located near the source are decreasing over time. The decrease is summarily expressed in terms of an apparent half-life that is determinedfrom the line best fitting the observed log-transformed concentration data and time. This simple (time-only) decay modelassumes other factors are invariant, and so is flawed when complicating factors – such as a fluctuating water table – are present. A history of the water-table fluctuation can track changes in important NA factors like recharge, groundwater flow direction and velocity, as well as other non-NA factors like volume of water in and purged from the well before a sample is collected. When the trend in the concentrations is better associated with the water table rising or falling, any conclusionabout degradation rate may be premature. We develop simple regressions to predict contaminant concentration (c) by two line models: one involving time (c ∼ c(t)), and another involving groundwater elevation (c ∼ c(z)). We develop a third model that includesboth factors (c ∼ c(t, z)). Using an F-test to compare the fits to the models, we determine which modelis statistically better in explaining the observed concentrations. We applied the test to sites where benzene degradation rates had previously been estimated. The F-testcan be used to determine the suitability of applying non-parametric statistics, like the Mann-Kendall, to the concentration data, because the result from the F-test canindicate instability of the contaminant plume that may bemasked when the water table fluctuates.
Crystallization and Characterization of the l-Arabinose-binding Protein of Escherichia coli B/r

Abstract The l-arabinose-binding protein was purified by conventional methods from Escherichia coli cell paste and crystallized using 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol. A molecular weight of 38,000 was determined using both ultracentrifugation and gel filtration. The amino acid composition revealed high concentrations of aspartic and glutamic residues and nonpolar amino acids. The presence of 2 cysteine residues was also demonstrated. The addition of l-arabinose did not produce changes in the circular dichroism spectra or sedimentation velocity coefficients, indicating that no gross structural alterations occur when the ligand is bound. Studies involving fluorescence spectroscopy and N-bromosuccinimide reactivity have shown that a change in the environment of some tryptophan residues occurs concomitantly with l-arabinose binding.
Focus on . . . Rollovers

The liberalized rules enacted by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) present new planning opportunities, but also new potential pitfalls. This article explains the new rollover rules and offers suggestions as to what issues should be considered before effecting any rollover, particularly a rollover to a different type of plan.
Visualizing High-Resolution Climate Data

The complexity of the physics of the atmosphere makes it hard to evaluate the temporal evolution of weather patterns. We are also limited by the available computing power, disk, and memory space. As the technology in hardware and software advances, new tools are being developed to simulate weather conditions to make predictions more accurate. We also need to be able to visualize the data we obtain from climate model runs, to better understand the relationship between the variables driving the evolution of weather systems. Two tools that have been developed to visualize climate data are Vis5D and Cave5D. This paper discusses the process of taking data in the MM5 format, converting it to a format recognized by Vis5D and Cave5D, and then visualizing the data. It also discusses some of the changes we have made in these programs, including making Cave5D more interactive and rewriting Cave5D and Vis5D to use larger data files. Finally, we discuss future research concerning the use of these programs.
Hole Burning Imaging Studies of Cancerous and Analogous Normal Ovarian Tissues Utilizing Organelle Specific Dyes

Presented in this dissertation is the successful demonstration that nonphotochemical hole burning (NPWB) imaging can be used to study in vitro tissue cellular systems for discerning differences in cellular ultrastructures due to cancer development. This has been accomplished with the surgically removed cancerous ovarian and analogous normal peritoneal tissues from the same patient and the application of a fluorescent mitochondrion specific dye, Molecular Probe MitoFluor Far Red 680 (MF680), commonly known as rhodamine 800, that has been proven to exhibit efficient NPHB. From the results presented in Chapters 4 and 5 , and Appendix B, the following conclusions were made: (1) fluorescence excitation spectra of MF680 and confocal microscopy images of thin sliced tissues incubated with MF680 confirm the site-specificity of the probe molecules in the cellular systems. (2) Tunneling parameters, {lambda}{sub 0} and {sigma}{sub {lambda}}, as well as the standard hole burning parameters (namely, {gamma} and S), have been determined for the tissue samples by hole growth kinetics (HGK) analyses. Unlike the preliminary cultured cell studies, these parameters have not shown the ability to distinguish tissue cellular matrices surrounding the chromophores. (3) Effects of an external electric (Stark) field on the nonphotochemical holes have been used to determine the changes in permanent dipole moment (f{Delta}{mu}) for MF680 in tissue samples when burn laser polarization is parallel to the Stark field. Differences are detected between f{Delta}{mu}s in the two tissue samples, with the cancerous tissue exhibiting a more pronounced change (1.35-fold increase) in permanent dipole moment change relative to the normal analogs. It is speculated that the difference may be related to differences in mitochondrial membrane potentials in these tissue samples. (4) In the HGK mode, hole burning imaging (HBI) of cells adhered to coverslips and cooled to liquid helium temperatures in the complete absence of cryopreservatives, shows the ability to distinguish between carcinoma and analogous normal cells on the single-cell level. In future applications, this system has the potential to be used with smears of tissue samples for single-layer HBI analysis. These conclusions demonstrate that HBI has the potential of providing detailed information about localized intracellular environments and for detecting changes in the physical characteristics (e.g., electrical properties) of cells which constitute the in vitro tissue samples. For the latter, the long-term goal will be to develop NPHB into a diagnostic technique for the early detection of cancer by exploiting the physical differences between normal and cancerous cells and tissues. Moreover, because of the aforementioned HBI's capability to detect cellular anomalies, it has the potential of being used in conjunction with studies involving photodynamic therapy, assuming the chromophore is carefully selected.
Hedonic Ratings of Nutrient-Modified Foods: Effects of Nutrition Information on Ratings from College Students

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of nutrition information on hedonic ratings of nutrient-modified foods. In Experiment I, 100 college-age students used nine-point hedonic scales to indicate how much they liked a commercially available reduced-fat chocolate chip muffin. Fifty students were told that the muffin was reduced-fat, and 50 were not told. Mean hedonic scores were significantly (p 0.05) on hedonic ratings. For both experiments, students were readers of food labels; the majority reported reading labels either “frequently” or “sometim...
Electrowinning of Silicon from K 2SiF6 ‐ Molten Fluoride Systems

The electrowinning of silicon from solutions of in fluoride melts at 745°C has been achieved. Electrolysis close to the deposition potential gave dense, coherent, and well‐adherent deposits. Up to 3 mm thick films were grown using a concentration of 4–6 m/o. The polycrystalline silicon has a columnar structure with grain size up to 100 μm. The morphology of the electrodeposited silicon onto silver substrates and its dependence on the deposition parameters is discussed. The purity of the deposits is substantially higher than that previously reported for electrodeposited silicon.
Earth's tides simulation

This project is a simulation of Earth's tides to be used in introductory geology courses. The simulation models the orbits of the moon and the earth, calculates the resultant tidal forces, and graphically displays the tidal bulges that are produced. For user input the simulation accepts current positions in each of the seven following cycles: solar tide, solar tide subsolar latitude, earth orbit/eccentricity, lunar tide, lunar orbit/eccentricity, precession of the lunar orbital ellipse, and precession of the lunar orbital plane. Each cycle can be turned on or off to accommodate a reductionist learning approach. In addition, current cycle times are used for dynamic output when the simulation is in progress. The project also contains input for simulation play speed and preset input sets to streamline use of the simulation in the classroom.
Single Axioms in the Implicational Propositional Calculus

A class of challenge problems derived from a first-order encoding of the implicational propositional calculus is presented.
Efficiency in a search and matching model with participation policy

This note presents a random search and matching model with ex ante heterogeneity in worker productivity. A Social Planner with the power to prevent labor market participation by the least productive is shown to increase economic efficiency. This is true even at the Hosios rule which, under worker homogeneity, implements the constrained efficient allocation.
Structure of the green lacewing tympanal organ (Chrysopa carnea, neuroptera)

Small swellings near the base of the radial vein in each fore wing of the green lacewing, Chrysopa carnea, resemble typical insect tympanal organs, but some important differences are apparent. The swellings are bounded dorsally and laterally by thick cuticle and ventrally by thin, membranous cuticle. The ventral membrane is formed by a single, thin sheet of exocuticle with flattened hypodermis internally, but lacks the tracheal component that forms part of the tympanum in the typical insect tympanal organ. The portion of the membrane beneath each swelling is rippled while proximally it is smooth. In contrast to typical insect tympanal organs, the swellings in C. carnea are largely fluid-filled since an unexpanded trachea runs through each organ. A distal and a proximal chordotonal organ composed of typical chordotonal sensory units are associated with each swelling. The distal organ contains from five to seven units while the proximal organ is composed of from 18 to 20 units. Each sensory unit is composed of three readily identifiable cells. Distally, an attachment cell unites with the membrane and is contiguous with the scolopale cell, which surrounds the dendrite of the bipolar neuron. On the basis of the morphological evidence, one would not expect these swellings to function as sound receptors. However, the results of physiological and behavioral experiments, presented elsewhere, show that these organs are receptors for ultrasound.
"Making a difference": Asian American women leaders.

SUMMARY This paper attempts to explore the intersection of Asian American culture and gender on leadership. This qualitative study examined the lives of two Asian American women leaders, building on a previous study conducted by Kawahara, Esnil, and Hsu (in press). Six themes from the previous study are found as well as two new themes which emerged from the two interviews. Limitations of current psychological theories on intersecting identities are discussed.
Stochastic performance models of parallel task systems (extended abstract)

This paper considers the class of parallel computations represented by directed, acyclic task graphs. These include parallel loops, multiphase algorithms, partitioning and merging algorithms, as well as any arbitrary parallel computation that can be structured by a task graph. The paper reviews the current state of the art in stochastic bound models of parallel programs and presents new stochastic bound performance models that predict the expected execution time of parallel programs on a given shared-memory multiprocessor system; and provide qualitative and quantitative description of the relationships between the structure of parallel programs, computation and synchronization behavior of the program, and architectural features of the underlying multiprocessor system.The models use a new formulation based on stochastic bound analysis and are solvable for a number of distribution functions. They are applicable to shared-memory multiprocessors with significantly different architectural and synchronization performance characteristics. The accuracy of the models is validated via several measurements on two different shared-memory multiprocessor systems, the Alliant FX/2800 and the Encore Multimax. The results show the models to be quite accurate, even when some of the modeling assumptions are violated. The maximum error of prediction ranges from about 10% to under 1%.
Mutational analysis of HOXA2 and SIX2 in a Bronx population with isolated microtia.

Abstract Objective Microtia is a developmental malformation of the external ear with genetic and environmental causes. The prevalence of microtia varies but several studies suggest increased incidence in Hispanic and African American populations. No causal genetic mutations have been identified in these populations. Mutations in the homeobox gene HOXA2 caused microtia in a single Iranian family. Another homeobox gene, SIX2 , acts downstream of HOXA2 during development and provides another possible candidate for mutational analysis. Methods To determine whether mutations in HOXA2 or SIX2 cause sporadic microtia, DNA sequencing analysis was performed on exons in both genes in 8 patients of Hispanic and African descent in the Bronx. Identified variants were assayed in an additional 4 patients and 100 Hispanic control samples using Sequenom MassArray to rule out causality in heterozygous patients. Results No mutations were identified in the coding sequence of HOXA2 or SIX2 . Four novel single nucleotide variants were identified among the patient samples. These variants lie in the intron and 3′ UTR of HOXA2 and the 5′ and 3′ UTRs of SIX2 . One variant in the intron of HOXA2 lies in a conserved predicted transcription factor binding site for SMARCA3. All four variants are also present at >5% frequency in Hispanic control samples, ruling out these novel variations as causal. Conclusions Lack of mutations in the coding regions of HOXA2 or SIX2 among the sporadic microtia patients studied indicate different etiologies. Identification of four novel single nucleotide polymorphisms in patients and controls of Hispanic descent, but not of Caucasian populations, points to genetic diversity in an understudied population.
Numerical investigation of the performance of microbump textured cutting tool in dry machining of AISI 1045 steel

Abstract This paper investigates the performance of microbump textured cutting tool in dry orthogonal machining of mild steel (AISI 1045 steel) using AdvantEdge finite element simulation. Microbumps are designed on the rake face of cemented carbide (WC/Co) cutting inserts. The purpose is to examine the effect of microbump textured tools on machining performance and to compare it with non-textured regular cutting tools. Specifically, the following microbump parameters are examined: microbump width, microbump height, and edge distance (the distance from cutting edge to the first microbump). Their effects are assessed in terms of the main force, thrust force, and chip–tool contact length. It is found that microbump textured cutting tools generate lower cutting force and thrust force and consequently lower the energy consumption for machining. The micobump width, microbump height, and edge distance all have influence on cutting force in their own ways.
Extracellular cross-striated banded structures in human connective tissue

Extracellular cross-striated banded structures have been found in the connective tissues of a variety of organs. Rarely have they been found in conditions such as: hyperplastic parathyroid, follicular adenoma of the thyroid, metastatic hemangiopericytoma in the lung, sarcoidosis of lymph node, and two biopsies of nerve as reported here. The shape and size of the structure varies, as well as its periodicity, which is usually in the range of 1000 to 15000 A. An unusual exception to this general rule is the banded structure in the follicular adenoma of the thyroid where the periodicity is 270 A. These structures are quite different from native collagen or experimentally reconstituted long-space collagen, both by staining reaction with phosphotungstic acid or uranyl acetate and lead nitrate, and in their ultrastructural morphology.
The League of Nations: a retreat from international law?.

During the First World War, civil society groups across the North Atlantic put forward an array of plans for recasting international society. The most prominent ones sought to build on the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907 by developing international legal codes and, in a drastic innovation, obligating and militarily enforcing the judicial settlement of disputes. Their ideal was a world governed by law, which they opposed to politics. This idea was championed by the largest groups in the United States and France in favour of international organizations, and they had likeminded counterparts in Britain. The Anglo-American architects of the League of Nations, however, defined their vision against legalism. Their declaratory design sought to ensure that artificial machinery never stifled the growth of common consciousness. Paradoxically, the bold new experiment in international organization was forged from an anti-formalistic ethos – one that slowed the momentum of international law and portended the rise of global governance.
Neutrophils Compromise Retinal Pigment Epithelial Barrier Integrity

We hypothesized that neutrophils and their secreted factors mediate breakdown of the integrity of the outer blood-retina-barrier by degrading the apical tight junctions of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The effect of activated neutrophils or neutrophil cell lysate on apparent permeability of bovine RPE-Choroid explants was evaluated by measuring [3H] mannitol flux in a modified Ussing chamber. The expression of matrix metalloproteinase- (MMP-) 9 in murine peritoneal neutrophils, and the effects of neutrophils on RPE tight-junction protein expression were assessed by confocal microscopy and western blot. Our results revealed that basolateral incubation of explants with neutrophils decreased occludin and ZO-1 expression at 1 and 3 hours and increased the permeability of bovine RPE-Choroid explants by >3-fold (P < .05). Similarly, basolateral incubation of explants with neutrophil lysate decreased ZO-1 expression at 1 and 3 hours (P < .05) and increased permeability of explants by 75%. Further, we found that neutrophils prominently express MMP-9 and that incubation of explants with neutrophils in the presence of anti-MMP-9 antibody inhibited the increase in permeability. These data suggest that neutrophil-derived MMP-9 may play an important role in disrupting the integrity of the outer blood-retina barrier.
Monocular blindness in nasopharyngeal cancer.

• The sudden onset of painless monocular blindness was the initial manifestation of a nasopharyngeal cancer in a 78-year-old woman. Computerized cranial tomography demonstrated encasement of the optic nerve by tumor. Examination of the nasopharynx and paranasal sinuses is important in patients with primary neuroophthalmologic complaints.
Oothecal proteins of the oriental praying mantid, Tenodera sinensis

Abstract Proteins from the egg case of the praying mantis, Tenodera sinensis, have been partially characterized. Eighty per cent of the oothecal dry weight is protein. When collected at the time of secretion, the oothecal foam is soluble in acidic solution and two or three protein components (oothecins I–III) can be resolved by polyacrylamide electrophoresis. The major protein (ooethecin I) comprises 80 per cent of the total protein and has an apparent molecular weight of 43,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The amino-acid compositions of oothecins I and II are reported.