cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differential Impact of Interference on Internally- and Externally-Directed Attention

Attention can be oriented externally to the environment or internally to the mind, and can be derailed by interference from irrelevant information originating from either external or internal sources. However, few studies have explored the nature and underlying mechanisms of the interaction between different attentional orientations and different sources of interference. We investigated how externally- and internally-directed attention was impacted by external distraction, how this modulated internal distraction, and whether these interactions were affected by healthy aging. Healthy younger and older adults performed both an externally-oriented visual detection task and an internally-oriented mental rotation task, performed with and without auditory sound delivered through headphones. We found that the addition of auditory sound induced a significant decrease in task performance in both younger and older adults on the visual discrimination task, and this was accompanied by a shift in the type of distractions reported (from internal to external). On the internally-oriented task, auditory sound only affected performance in older adults. These results suggest that the impact of external distractions differentially impacts performance on tasks with internal, as opposed to external, attentional orientations. Further, internal distractibility is affected by the presence of external sound and increased suppression of internal distraction.
$\Lambda$CDM Cosmology for Astronomers

The homogeneous, isotropic, and flat $\Lambda$CDM universe favored by observations of the cosmic microwave background can be described using only Euclidean geometry, locally correct Newtonian mechanics, and the basic postulates of special and general relativity. We present simple derivations of the most useful equations connecting astronomical observables (redshift, flux density, angular diameter, brightness, local space density,...) with the corresponding intrinsic properties of distant sources (lookback time, distance, spectral luminosity, linear size, specific intensity, source counts,...). We also present an analytic equation for lookback time that is accurate within 0.1% for all redshifts $z$. The exact equation for comoving distance is an elliptic integral that must be evaluated numerically, but we found a simple approximation with errors $< 0.2$% for all redshifts up to $z \approx 50$.
Soil fertility response to Ulex europaeus invasion and restoration efforts.

Invasive plant species can substantially alter the soil fertility of the ecosystems they invade, and in doing so have the potential to reduce the suitability of the soil for native species. Even after removal of the invader these alterations can inhibit the reestablishment of native species. We evaluated the impact of invasion by the leguminous shrub Ulex europaeus on soil properties on Mauna Kea, HI. We also investigated the effect of efforts to remove U. europaeus and restore native ecosystems in the study area; where the efforts included bulldozing the U. europaeus and planting introduced Cryptomeria japonica to compete with regenerating U. europaeus. Mauna Kea supports a strong rainfall gradient and substantial associated variation in soil properties. We use statistical models to extract the effect of invasion and restoration from the influence of rainfall. We found U. europaeus decreases soil pH, calcium content, base saturation, and labile phosphorus. Restoration efforts over an 11-year period restored the soil’s calcium and phosphorus content to levels comparable to those found in uninvaded soils on Mauna Kea, demonstrating that the effects of U. europaeus on soils are reversible.
Revised cardiac risk index poorly predicts cardiovascular complications after adhesiolysis for small bowel obstruction.

Abstract Background The number of patients undergoing preoperative risk stratification in the United States is expected to increase as the population ages. A large percentage of patients undergo some form of preoperative testing, and society guidelines suggest that up to 50% of the testing in lower risk surgical subgroups is unnecessary. The Revised Cardiac Risk Index and the risk calculator of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program are widely used tools as the first step of preoperative cardiac evaluation. The Revised Cardiac Risk Index was developed to fill a need for objective perioperative cardiac risk evaluation. Despite the ease of use of Revised Cardiac Risk Index, it is uncertain if the stratification is accurate for surgical patients because its accuracy in large surgical samples has not been tested. With the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program risk calculator having excellent accuracy in estimating cardiac complications (area under the receiver operating characteristic 0.895), a unique opportunity to test the predictive accuracy of postsurgical cardiac events became available. The purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy of the Revised Cardiac Risk Index for predicting cardiovascular complications after adhesiolysis for small bowel obstruction. Methods From 2005 to 2015, 34,032 cases of open or laparoscopic adhesiolysis (Current Procedural Terminology codes 44005 and 44180) for small bowel obstruction (International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition [ICD-10]) were analyzed using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program dataset. Revised Cardiac Risk Index estimates were calculated for each case and compared to reported cardiovascular complications (myocardial infarction or cardiac arrest) using univariable logistic regression. Overall predictive accuracy was assessed by measuring model discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic) and model calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow chi-squared statistics). Results Although the Revised Cardiac Risk Index predicted cardiovascular complications with an odds ratio of 2.3 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.9 to 2.8 (P Conclusion Despite its relative simplicity, the Revised Cardiac Risk Index performed poorly as a predictor of cardiovascular complications after adhesiolysis for small bowel obstruction. These findings question the utility of the Revised Cardiac Risk Index in this patient population. Future studies should aim to develop models that are computationally simple while retaining predictive accuracy.
Growth and Genetic Modification of Human β-Cells and β-Cell Precursors

A definitive treatment for diabetes will be one that maintains a normal blood glucose concentration in the face of fluctuating dietary intake. To accomplish this, the s-cell must sense the concentration of blood glucose in order to release the right amount of insulin rapidly. While mechanical devices to accomplish this are being developed, ultimately the best approach is likely to be based on genetic modification of cells. Because of the complex nature of the cellular machinery involved in glucose-responsive insulin secretion, the best candidate for a cell that can be grown in large quantities for transplantation is the β-cell, the only cell that produces insulin. This review will discuss various approaches to grow and genetically modify β-cells and their precursors in vitro and in vivo for the treatment of diabetes.
Identification of the hereditary pyropoikilocytosis carrier state

We evaluated the hematologic, rheologic, and biochemical features of erythrocytes obtained from 10 relatives of a 5-yr-old black female with hereditary pyropoikilocytosis (HPP) and severe hemolytic anemia. Erythrocyte morphology was normal in the father and five other relatives, but ghost mechanical fragility and drug-induced red cell endocytosis were increased, as was the percentage of spectrin dimers noted on 3.2% nondenaturing PAGE of spectrin extracts. Identical changes were also noted in the mother and her sister, whose erythrocytes were elliptocytic and exhibited morphological changes upon heating to 45 degrees-48 degrees C (normal 49 degrees). The two other family members were normal in every respect. SDS-PAGE analysis of membrane proteins demonstrated diminished amounts of spectrin in HPP erythrocytes, but was normal in other family members. A diffuse band (mol wt 575,000-665,000), composed entirely of spectrin, was apparent adjacent to the dimer region on nondenaturing PAGE of spectrin extracts from the propositus, mother, and aunt. In this family, HPP appears to have resulted from compound heterozygosity for two distinct genetic abnormalities (reflected by the differences between elliptocytic and nonelliptocytic carriers). Although the membrane abnormalities in carriers did not result in hemolytic anemia, they were of sufficient magnitude to allow the detection of the carrier state.
Effect of divergent selection for residual feed intake on immune system of Yorkshire pigs

High feed costs in pork industry may lead to lower returns. To improve the gains, production cost must be kept minimally. Residual feed intake (RFI) is defined as the difference between observed feed intake and expected feed intake based on estimated maintenance and production requirements. Selection for low RFI is a solution to rising feed costs in pig production. The overall objective of this thesis was to evaluate the effect of selection for RFI on blood cell profile of Yorkshire pigs. In order to do this, an experiment was conducted comparing differences in number of blood cells of Yorkshire pigs that were divergently selected for RFI; estimate the residual correlations between RFI and CBC traits, and the heritability estimates of CBC traits. A total of 518 Yorkshire pigs (224 from the high RFI line, HRFI, and 274 from the low RFI line, LRFI) were bled between 5 and 6 weeks of age in order to obtain CBCs on them. The HRFI line had significantly higher number of monocytes, lymphocytes, and basophils compared to the LRFI line, while the LRFI line had higher hemoglobin concentration and red blood cell volume (P 0.05). Of the 15 CBC traits that were measured, three were highly heritable (h 2 ranged from 0.56 – 0.62, nine were moderately heritable (0.12 < h 2 < 0.47), and three were low heritable (h 2 < 0.12). Since most CBC levels are moderate to highly heritable, our results suggest that there is a fairy large genetic component for CBC’s and that selection based on CBC traits can be effective. Our results also show that selection for RFI has impacted the number of circulating blood cells. In this experiment we studied only healthy animals not under known pathogen challenge; therefore, our results cannot be directly applied to such a disease challenge
Large-Angle Methods

In this chapter we review the various instrumental techniques which have been developed to obtain an angular view of a diffracted order which is greater than the Bragg angle. These methods have been reviewed by Vincent (1989). Such an angular expansion is required for space-group determination of crystals with a large unit cell, in which overlap of low orders may occur at such a small illumination angle θc that little or no rocking-curve structure can be seen within the orders. It has also been discovered that many narrow high-order reflections may be observed simultaneously using large-angle techniques. The intensity of these reflections appears to agree with kinematic structure factors, and so can sometimes be used to assist in solving structures or to measure a static lattice modulation, for example, which modulates structure-factor intensities.
Signal Transduction Pathway Regulation of DDP Sensitivity

Signal transduction pathways play a central role in the regulation of cellular behavior, including growth and differentiation. It has been known for some time that the toxicity of many cancer chemotherapeutic agents is dependent on the activity of the biochemical pathway which they target. The hypothesis which we have been investigating is that growth factors, hormones and chemicals that activate signal transduction pathways can influence sensitivity to cisplatin (DDP). These studies have been conducted using ovarian carcinoma cell lines because they are representative of a type of tumor that is usually initially responsive to DDP chemotherapy in vivo.
Adjudication of AAPL Ethical Complaints

An issue that was very controversial within AAPL for a long time was the question of adoption of a definition of forensic psychiatry. Prior to 1985 a frequently quoted definition ran as follows: “Forensic psychiatry is the application of psychiatry to legal issues for legal ends.”1 Some members felt that such a definition left our profession open to misuse and to the temptation on the part of forensic psychiatrists to practice in accord with legal, not psychiatric, ethical canons. After a great deal of debate and consultation with a number of senior AAPL members, the following definition was submitted to the American Board of Forensic Psychiatry and subsequently adopted on May 20, 1985: “Forensic psychiatry is a subspecialty of psychiatry in which scientific and clinical expertise is applied to legal issues in legal contexts embracing civil, criminal, correctional or legislative matters; forensic psychiatry should be practiced in accordance with guidelines and ethical principles enunciated by the profession of psychiatry.” Linking the ethical prong to the functional prong in one definition was disturbing to some; but the authors of the definition felt fully vindicated when it was included in AAPL’s Ethical Guidelines for the Practice of Forensic Psychiatry,2 adopted by the membership at the Semiannual Meeting in Chicago on May 10, 1987.3
Marketing: The Key to Successful Teaching and Learning

The AIDA model assists marketers in developing vibrant, memorable, and persuasive television, radio, print, and electronic communications. Communication of this nature motivates consumer engagement and action, in regards to goods, services, and ideas. This paper explores the use of the AIDA model in educational settings. Specifically, the AIDA model can be used to improve teaching and learning techniques for educators. Furthermore, the use of the AIDA model in educational settings can improve subject comprehension and enthusiasm in adult learners. Consistent and continuous societal and technological changes make it necessary for educators to adapt and adopt new teaching and learning strategies.
Probabilistic-Based Transient Stability Assessment of Power Systems with Virtual Synchronous Machines

In this paper, probabilistic-based transient stability analysis is performed on a four-machine 13-bus test system with virtual synchronous machines. The newly developed synchronverter model with bounded frequency and voltage integral controllers is implemented, which replaces the conventional synchronous generators in the test system one at a time at different locations. A large number of potential power system faults were simulated with GPU parallel computing to ensure the convergence of the probabilistic approach. The results quantified the transient stability of the system with synchronverters in terms of different locations, penetration levels, and parameter selections.
Laparoscopic Treatment of Esophageal Achalasia

Esophageal achalasia is a primary motility disorder that is thought to be due to a dysfunction of the enteric nervous system [1]. It is characterized by loss of ganglion cells with degeneration of inhibitory myenteric plexus that innervates the esophageal body and the region of the lower esophageal sphincter (LOS) of unknown origin. It is hypothesized that decreased nitric-oxide synthase leads to a neuronal excitatory/inhibitory imbalance with esophageal aperistalsis, incomplete LOS relaxation in response to swallowing, and increased LOS resting pressures.
Towards an information theory of quantitative genetics

Quantitative genetics has evolved dramatically in the past century, and the proliferation of genetic data enables the characterization of complex interactions beyond the scope of its theoretical foundations. In this paper, we lay the foundations of an alternative formulation of quantitative genetics based in information theory. Information theory can provide sensitive measures of statistical dependencies among variables, and provides a natural mathematical language for an alternative view of quantitative genetics. In previous work we examined the information content of discrete functions and applied this formalism to the analysis of genetic data. We present here a set of relationships that both unifies the information measures for the set of discrete functions, and uses them to express key quantitative genetic relationships. Information theory measures of variable interdependency are used to identify significant interactions, and a general approach is described for inferring functional relationships within genotype and phenotype data. We present information-based measures of the genetic quantities: penetrance, heritability and degrees of statistical epistasis. Our scope here includes the consideration of three variable dependencies and independently segregating variants, which captures two locus effects, genetic interactions, and two phenotype pleiotropy. However, this formalism and general theory naturally applies to multi-variable interactions and higher-order complex dependencies, and can be adapted to account for population structure, linkage and non-randomly segregating markers. This paper therefore lays the groundwork for a full formulation of quantitative genetics based in information theory.
Political Representation in Hard Times:Indigenous Reservations and Gender Parity in Bolivia

Virtually all of the world’s polities have historically excluded most citizens from political power. By 2011, over 70 had taken measures to reverse this exclusion: they adopted candidate quotas and reserved seats for women, ethnic minorities, and/or subordinate racial groups. Though we know a great deal about why states adopted these policies and what their effects have been, we know less about the relationship between different claims for inclusion. Are some groups more likely to get representational rights than others? Are their demands competing or complementary? What factors affect the chances for group success and do these vary depending on the group in question? To address these questions inspired by an intersectional approach, this paper analyzes the experience of one country with provisions for both women’s and minority representation: Bolivia. The country’s trajectory is puzzling in its own right, for one would have expected an indigenous-led party with no track record of feminism to be more receptive to the claims of indigenous movements than to women. In fact, the opposite occurred: indigenous groups received a mere five percent of parliamentary seats and women got a gender parity law. To explain events in Bolivia and propose a broader argument about group representation, we focus on the “fit” between political institutions and the characteristics of excluded groups. Inclusion does not occur in a vacuum but in the context of existing representative institutions, especially political parties. Women, because they did not challenge the hegemony of the existing party but sought inclusion within it, got a parity law. Indigenous movements that sought independence from the ruling party, by contrast, were allocated a small, unthreatening political space. This implies that claims for inclusion and social justice are inevitability mediated by existing political institutions. Groups that conform to their logic are more likely to succeed than groups that pose greater challenges.
Debating détente: NATO’s Tindemans Initiative, or why the Harmel Report still mattered in the 1980s

Scholars have long seen the Harmel Report as a significant moment in NATO’s history as the Western allies staked out a role for the Alliance in the pursuit of detente. This article examines how and...
A serum-based DNA methylation assay provides accurate detection of glioma.

BACKGROUND The detection of somatic mutations in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from liquid biopsy has emerged as a noninvasive tool to monitor the follow-up of cancer patients. However, the significance of cfDNA clinical utility remains uncertain in patients with brain tumors, primarily because of the limited sensitivity cfDNA has to detect real tumor-specific somatic mutations. This unresolved challenge has prevented accurate follow-up of glioma patients with noninvasive approaches. METHODS Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling of tumor tissue and serum cfDNA of glioma patients. RESULTS Here, we developed a noninvasive approach to profile the DNA methylation status in the serum of patients with gliomas and identified a cfDNA-derived methylation signature that is associated with the presence of gliomas and related immune features. By testing the signature in an independent discovery and validation cohorts, we developed and verified a score metric (the "glioma-epigenetic liquid biopsy score" or GeLB) that optimally distinguished patients with or without glioma (sensitivity: 100%, specificity: 97.78%). Furthermore, we found that changes in GeLB score reflected clinicopathological changes during surveillance (eg, progression, pseudoprogression, and response to standard or experimental treatment). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the GeLB score can be used as a complementary approach to diagnose and follow up patients with glioma.
Treatment of Mine Drainage by Industry in Pennsylvania

Polluting mine drainage from active mines can and is presently being successfully treated by almost 200 coal companies in Pennsylvania. The increasing level of pollution from coal mining in Pennsylvania resulted in the passage of stricter laws to regulate mining. In order to comply with these laws, mining companies are being required to construct and operate mine drainage treatment plants whenever pollution exists or is anticipated from a mine. All of the treatment plants constructed to date involve various combinations of neutralization, aeration, settling, and sludge disposal. Although further development of mine drainage treatment technology will undoubtedly bring about further refinement and sophistication of treatment, the plants now operating are successfully preventing polluting discharges as defined by the State regulatory standards.
The Papacy, the Spanish Kingdoms and Las Navas de Tolosa

Resumen en: The victory of Las Navas de Tolosa was of profound significance to Pope Innocent iii. It came after a long period of intensive papal activity in Spain. W...
Computing the Cox model for case cohort designs.

Prentice (1986) proposed a case-cohort design as an efficient subsampling mechanism for survival studies. Several other authors have expanded on these ideas to create a family of related sampling plans, along with estimators for the covariate effects. We describe how to obtain the proposed parameter estimates and their variance estimates using standard software packages, with SAS and SPLUS as particular examples.
The hemoglobin of the crossopterygian fish, Latimeria chalumnae (Smith). Subunit structure and oxygen equilibria.

Abstract The crossopterygian fish, Latimeria chalumnae , has a single tetrameric hemoglobin which is composed of α- and β-like chains. The α chains but not the β chains are blocked at their NH 2 -termini. The sequence of the first 15 residues of the β chain indicates that it is homologous with the β chains of other fish and vertebrate hemoglobins. The oxygen affinity of Latimeria hemoglobin is unusually high, with a P 50 of only 1.2 mm Hg at pH 7.0 in 0.05 m Bis-Tris buffer. In 0.1 m inorganic phosphate buffer at the same pH the hemoglobin shows increased cooperativity, n increases from 1.1 to 1.6, and a lower oxygen affinity, with a P 50 of 4.0 mm Hg. Cooperative interactions and P 50 values are substantially reduced above pH 8.
Evaluating Faculty Development: Looking to the Past to Improve the Future

This article examines the evaluation practices used to evaluate teacher formation in the early Christian schools during John Baptist de La Salle’s founding leadership between 1680 and 1719. Stufflebeam’s CIPP Model, Kirkpatrick’s Four-Level Impact Model, and the Eight Dimensions of Quality Program Evaluation provide a three-prong theoretical framework for the analysis. De La Salle’s formation and evaluation practices are chosen in response to an ongoing need for effective models able to inform today’s faculty development evaluation work. This article provides an examination of De La Salle’s formation evaluation practices and their dimensional qualities, a comparative analysis between past and current practices, and recommendations for improvements relevant to today’s faculty development evaluation.
The Army's Search for Increased Vehicle Mobility

Abstract : This paper covers the complete scope of the U.S. Army activities in its search for vehicle mobility. It describes the Army's world-wide comparative operational evaluation program and progress toward increased mobility. A proposed future mobile fleet system for the military is also discussed.
Hydrophobic amino acids in the retinal-binding pocket of bacteriorhodopsin

The hydrophobic amino acids Met-20, Val-49, Ala-53, Met-118, Gly-122, and Met-145 are believed to be among the amino acids that form the retinal-binding pocket in bacteriorhodopsin. We have now replaced the above amino acids, one at a time, and report on the effects of these replacements (M20A/E, V49A/L, A53G, M118A/E, G122C, and M145A/E) on the properties of bacteriorhodopsin. With the exception of Met-20, replacements at all of the other positions resulted in (i) altered rates of in vitro chromophore formation that ranged from 20-fold faster to 45-fold slower than wild-type bacteriorhodopsin, (ii) blue shifts in the visible spectra of up to 80 nm, and (iii) caused changes in the retinal isomer compositions of the mutant chromophores. Specific effects were also observed in the photocycles of the Met-118, Met-145, and Val-49 mutants, suggesting that these 3 amino acids have important roles in light transduction by bacteriorhodopsin. These results are discussed together with previous studies on the effects of amino acid replacements in the retinal-binding pocket of bacteriorhodopsin.
Unnormalized exponential and neural network language models

Model M, an exponential class-based language model, and neural network language models (NNLM's) have outperformed word n-gram language models over a wide range of tasks. However, these gains come at the cost of vastly increased computation when calculating word probabilities. For both models, the bulk of this computation involves evaluating the softmax function over a large word or class vocabulary to ensure that probabilities sum to 1. In this paper, we study unnormalized variants of Model M and NNLM's, whereby the softmax function is simply omitted. Accordingly, model training must be modified to encourage scores to sum close to 1. In this paper, we demonstrate up to a factor of 35 faster n-gram lookups with unnormalized models over their normalized counterparts, while still yielding state-of-the-art performance in WER (10.2 on the English broadcast news rt04 set).
'SEEDY' (Simulation of Evolutionary and Epidemiological Dynamics): An R Package to Follow Accumulation of Within-Host Mutation in Pathogens

Genome sequencing is an increasingly common component of infectious disease outbreak investigations. However, the relationship between pathogen transmission and observed genetic data is complex, and dependent on several uncertain factors. As such, simulation of pathogen dynamics is an important tool for interpreting observed genomic data in an infectious disease outbreak setting, in order to test hypotheses and to explore the range of outcomes consistent with a given set of parameters. We introduce ‘seedy’, an R package for the simulation of evolutionary and epidemiological dynamics (http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/seedy/). Our software implements stochastic models for the accumulation of mutations within hosts, as well as individual-level disease transmission. By allowing variables such as the transmission bottleneck size, within-host effective population size and population mixing rates to be specified by the user, our package offers a flexible framework to investigate evolutionary dynamics during disease outbreaks. Furthermore, our software provides theoretical pairwise genetic distance distributions to provide a likelihood of person-to-person transmission based on genomic observations, and using this framework, implements transmission route assessment for genomic data collected during an outbreak. Our open source software provides an accessible platform for users to explore pathogen evolution and outbreak dynamics via simulation, and offers tools to assess observed genomic data in this context.
Unintended labour supply effects of cash transfer programmes: Evidence from South Africa's old age pension

This paper greatly benefited from discussions with and comments from Cally Ardington, Willa Brown, Rulof Burger, Shawn Cole, Arden Finn, Rema Hanna, Clare Hofmeyr, Michael Kremer, Jose Pacas, Patrizio Piraino, Vimal Ranchod, Martha Rogers, Martin Rotemberg and participants of the Harvard University Development Seminar. All errors and omissions remain fully my responsibility.
Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree: Where?

This Article and a related article, Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree: Why and When? (http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1577966), provide information and advice about Tax LLM programs to American law students and JD graduates who are thinking about pursuing a Tax LLM degree. In addition to discussing factors that can help prospective Tax LLM students determine which Tax LLM programs would be a good fit for them, this Article compiles information about the following thirteen highly ranked Tax LLM programs: (1) NYU; (2) Florida; (3) Georgetown; (4) Northwestern; (5) Miami; (6) Boston University; (7) San Diego; (8) Loyola-L.A./LMU; (9) SMU; (10) Denver; (11) University of Washington; (12) Villanova; and (13) Chapman. The topics on which information is reported in this Article include: (1) tuition; (2) scholarships; (3) the full-time tax professors who teach in each program and the tax courses they teach; (4) the number of full-time and part-time students enrolled in each program; (5) general information about adjunct professors teaching in each program; (6) required courses; (7) elective courses, specialty certificates, and concentrations; (8) opportunities to develop tax practice skills by taking experiential learning courses and simulated practice courses; (9) extracurricular tax activities; (10) opportunities to graduate with honors or receive academic prizes; and (11) career planning and placement services offered to students in each program. This Article also includes supplemental information provided by the directors of these Tax LLM programs, in response to our invitation to provide information of interest to prospective students.
Phenylalanine hydroxylase of human liver: Assay and some properties

Abstract A sensitive, reliable assay for phenylalanine hydroxylase in human liver extracts is described. A few milligrams of tissue are sufficient for a quantitative determination of the enzyme activity in normal liver. With this procedure, the apparent Km values for phenylalanine and for 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6,7-dimethyltetrahydropteridine, a cofactor analogue, have been determined for the human liver enzyme.
Why provide an online review? An extended theory of planned behavior and the role of Big-Five personality traits

Online review, an important form of reputation systems, has been studied intensively because of its powerful impact on online retailers, intermediaries, and customers. However, to date, very little attention has been paid to factors that influence an individual's intention to provide an online review. An extended theory of planned behavior and Big-Five personality framework are used in this study. We empirically examine our model by using a cross-sectional survey study, collecting data from a sample of 171 online shoppers. Results show that attitude, perceived pressure, neuroticism, and conscientiousness are significant predictors of an individual's intention to provide an online review. Findings may help online retailers and/or intermediaries increase the number of online reviews provided, which will lead to more accurate rating information about transactions, products, or services and may serve as a stepping-stone to continuous improvements. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.
Microeconomic modeling of parallel markets: The case of agricultural goods in the USSR

Abstract In a centrally planned economy, non-market-clearing prices fixed by the state cannot be used directly to estimate consumer behavior models. This paper represents an attempt to overcome this problem by utilizing prices in a parallel “free” market. An equilibrium model incorporating parallel markets is discussed and a demand curve arising from this model is estimated using data for the markets for meat and milk in the USSR. the price and income elasticities of demand for these goods are found to be significantly higher than those estimated for the United States.
Time-resolved spectroscopy of plasmas initiated on single, levitated aerosol droplets

Plasma spectra resulting from the irradiation of single, optically levitated glycerine droplets by an intense pulse from a Nd:YAG laser are presented. The temporal development of the plasma is studied by observing emission lines of neutral and once-ionized carbon and of once-ionized nitrogen. Stark shifts of the neutral-carbon lines are used to compute the plasma electron density. The droplet data are compared with similar data for laser-induced breakdown on a graphite surface.
Analysis of Non-Newtonian Liquids Using a Microfluidic Capillary Viscometer

We have used a self-calibrating microfabricated capillary viscometer to analyze non-Newtonian power law fluids. The capillary viscometer can generate a wide range of shear rates during a single experimental run enabling quick and accurate analysis of non-Newtonian liquids. The measurement of viscosity is based on monitoring the capillary pressure-driven movement of fluid sample whose mean velocity and, therefore, shear rate varies with time. The device has been successfully tested for accuracy and robustness with dilute as well as semidilute solutions of flexible elastic polymers including poly(ethylene oxide) and hydrolyzed polyacrylamide to an aqueous solution of a stiff rodlike polymer molecule of xanthan gum, a popular emulsifier and food thickener, as well as with ink-jet printing inks. Viscosities in the range of 1−600 cP were measured, and shear rates varying from 5 to 1000 s-1 have been obtained on the microfabricated viscometer with the current geometry and channel dimensions. The total measureme...
Guild structure in water mites (Unionicola spp.) inhabiting freshwater mussels: choice, competitive exclusion and sex

Unionicolid water mites inhabit freshwater unionid mussels during the nymphal and adult stages of their life-cycle. Regular sampling of mussels from two sites in St. Mark's River, Fl. established that each of four species of water mite (Unionicola abnormipes, U. fossulata, U. serrata and U. formosa) occurred mainly in one or two of the mussel species available at each site.The role of preference for particular mussel species during host location was assessed for the first three mite species by choice experiments, in which mites were offered different mussel species simultaneously. In five out of six experiments, mites entered normally unused mussels as often as they did normally used ones. Additionally, a sexual difference in choice was found for U. fossulata, with males preferring one mussel species and females showing no preference. One mussel species, (Anodonta imbecilis), normally unused but chosen by mite species during the lab. experiments, is inhabited exclusively by the fourth mite species, U. formosa, in the field. An experiment showed that U. formosa excludes other mite species aggressively from Anodonta imbecilis.The results illustrate the sometimes misleading nature of simple sampling data as an indication of host specificity or host preference in parasites. They suggest also that the population dynamics of some parasites might be more fruitfully compared to unrelated, free-living species than to other parasites.
The SGLT2 Inhibitor Empagliflozin for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a Bench to Bedside Review

Introduction The treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) continues to pose challenges for clinicians and patients. The dramatic rise in T2DM prevalence, which has paralleled the rise in obesity, has strained the healthcare system and prompted the search for therapies that not only effectively treat hyperglycemia, but are also weight neutral or promote weight loss. In most clinical situations after diagnosis, patients are advised to adopt lifestyle changes and metformin is initiated to help control blood glucose levels. However, metformin may not be tolerated, or may not be sufficient for those with higher glucose levels at diagnosis. Even among those who have initial success with metformin, the majority eventually require one or more additional agents to achieve their treatment goals. Because T2DM is a progressive disease, the requirement for combination treatment escalates over time, driving the need for therapies with complementary mechanisms of action.
Incorporation of Am into the superconductor-related phase Pr 2 CuO 4

${\mathrm{Pr}}_{1.85}{\mathrm{Am}}_{.15}{\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$ has been synthesized and found to have a structure consistent with the ${T}^{\ensuremath{'}}$-phase electron superconductors. X-ray diffraction, x-ray-absorption spectroscopy studies, and magnetic-susceptibility results are all used to conclude that Am is tetravalent in this Cu-oxide host. Despite the hole doping of the parent ${\mathrm{Pr}}_{2}{\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$ compound by ${\mathrm{Am}}^{4+},$ magnetic measurements show that the ${\mathrm{Pr}}_{1.85}{\mathrm{Am}}_{.15}{\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$ sample does not superconduct, despite the observation that a Ce-doped sample made under the same condition exhibits a diamagnetic signal at low temperatures and small applied fields. The absence of superconductivity in the Am-doped sample is discussed in terms of a magnetic model for the suppression of ${T}_{c}.$ The presence of ${\mathrm{Am}}^{4+}$ in this sample precludes the formation of ${\mathrm{Am}}_{1.85}{\mathrm{Ce}}_{.15}{\mathrm{CuO}}_{4},$ which has been predicted to superconduct.
Spread Pattern Analysis Tool (SPAT): I. Development and theoretical examples

A custom Windows-based program called SPAT was written in MatLab (1999) to theoretically investigate the overall quality of spread patterns. It computes overlapped patterns, spread pattern characteristics, and produces cv-swath width and rate-swath width graphs. Pattern shapes that are often seen in practice such as Triangles, Trapezoids, M- and Crown shapes were analyzed. The effect of skewness, a pattern distorting factor in aerial as well as ground-based application, was studied as well. Traditionally, the quality of a spread pattern is defined in terms of the measured application rate (% deviation from the target rate) and the uniformity (expressed as the statistical coefficient of variation, cv). Both factors are not constants, but are functions of the swath width which makes their practical value disputable. In this study a new descriptor called “robustness” was defined. Robustness is a value based on the average cv-values over a range of potential swath-widths. A robust pattern allows the applicator to change the swath width (and the application rate), and be confident that no damage to the crop will occur. The most robust pattern found was a Gaussian shape, also known as a ‘bell curve’. The second most promising pattern found was a symmetric triangle with the target rate value in the center. Trapezoids were found to be acceptable and even more efficient than triangles, although too much emphasis on large swath widths can make the pattern non-robust. Skewness was found to be a major factor in producing non-robust patterns; it tends to increase the cv over the whole range of useful swath widths. Although SPAT was written for analysis of aerial spread patterns, the overall results of this study can be applied to ground based application.
Axial Thiophene−Boron(subphthalocyanine) Dyads and Their Application in Organic Photovoltaics

We report the synthesis and characterization of boron(subphthalocyanine) derivatives with bithiophene and quaterthiophene as axial ligands, i.e., thiophene−subphthalocyanine dyads (nT-SubPcs), and their application in organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs). Thin films of nT-SubPcs prepared via solution processing can act as the electron donor in bilayer OPVs with evaporated C60 as the electron acceptor. The photophyscial and morphological properties of the nT-SubPcs are studied to rationalize OPV device parameters. The single-crystal X-ray structure is solved for two dyads to show the molecular structures in the solid state, and UV−vis spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy are used to characterize the effect of conjugated thiophene ligands on the photophysical properties, i.e., absorption and photoluminescence quantum yield. Cyclic voltammetry, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and low-temperature photoluminescence spectra show that photoluminescence yields depend on the overall flexibility of...
The epidemiology of emergency medical services use by older adults: an analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

ObjectivesTo characterize older adult emergency department (ED) visits arriving by emergency medical services (EMS) and to identify factors associated with those patient visits. MethodsA secondary analysis of the ED component of the 1997–2000 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey using logistic regression analyses was conducted. The dependent variable was the modes of arrival (EMS vs. not EMS) to the ED. Independent variables were grouped into four domains: demographic, clinical, system, and service characteristics. ResultsBetween 1997 and 2000, 38% of EMS responses were for patients aged 65 years and older. During that period, 62.2 million older adult ED patient visits occurred; 38% arrived via EMS. The average rate of EMS utilization by older adults was 167/1,000 population per year, more than four times the rate for younger patients (39/1,000 population). Fifty-three percent of EMS responses with transport to an ED for older adults resulted in hospital admission. Factors found to be associated with EMS mode of arrival included demographic (older age and urban residence), clinical (need for more rapid care and circulatory system illnesses), and service (need for procedures). ConclusionsOlder adults account for a large proportion of EMS responses and use EMS at a disproportionately high rate. As the older adult population grows, EMS systems must prepare for the increased volume of older adults by making changes in training, operations, and equipment.
An algorithm for servicing multi-relational queries

Let R be a relational database containing relations {R1,R2,…,Rn}. For each relation Ri, 1 ≤ i ≤ n, let Di = {di,1,di,2,…} be its set of domains and let Ki = {ki,1,ki,2,…} ⊆ Di be its set of primary keys. Finally, let D = {D1,D2,…,Dn} and K = {K1,K2,…,Kn}. Suppose that a user of database R wishes to create a new relation, Rn+1, whose domains are Dn+1 ⊆ ? Dj. In this paper, the authors describe an algorithm which, given D K, and Dn+1, determines a sequence of joins to generate Rn+1 from R1,…,Rn (if such a sequence exists). Theoretical and empirical computing times of the algorithm are discussed. A new relational database system employing the algorithm is outlined.
Design for robotic cell safety

Abstract A robot usually works with other machines in a manufacturing cell. Thus, when considering safety, attention should be given not only to the individual machines and robots, but also to their interactions during job processing. This Technical Note presents the six severity level design (SSLD) concept for designing a safe manufacturing cell. This design philosophy integrates guarding techniques with control actions, considers both production needs and safety concerns, and interfaces machine functions with process requirements. This philosophy is implemented in an unmanned manufacturing cell that makes a family of parts. The advantage to using the system designed here is that it provides maximum protection to the operators, while causing minimum interruption in production. Future research needs in the areas of sensor reliability, system integration, and training are also discussed.
INCREASE IN URINARY DESMOSINE AND PYRIDINOLINE DURING POSTPARTUM INVOLUTION OF THE UTERUS IN HUMANS

One of the most rapid changes in collagen and elastin content of a tissue occurs in the uterus following postpartum involution. We measured the urinary excretion of specific amino acid markers for mature elastin (desmosine [DES] and isodesmosine [IDES]) and fibrillar collagen (hydroxylysyl pyridinoline [HP] and lysyl pyridinoline [LP]) before and after parturition in three gravid subjects. For that purpose, we used an isotope dilution method coupled with gel filtration and HPLC. The highest DES values were found 2-5 weeks postpartum and were 18-45 micrograms/g creatinine or two to six times those found for healthy neversmoking nongravid females (7.7 +/- 0.3 micrograms/g creatinine, mean +/- SE). The highest levels of urinary HP for each subject were found 2-3 weeks after parturition and were 115-607 nmol/mmol creatinine or 4-21 times those found for healthy neversmoking nongravid females (28.1 +/- 1.3 nmol/mmol creatinine). For the gravid subjects as a group and also for each subject, the mean values for urinary DES, IDES, HP, and HP/LP during the first 6 weeks postpartum were significantly greater than the mean baseline values beginning 27 weeks postpartum. For the gravid subjects as a group, the mean value for urinary HP/LP during the first 6 weeks postpartum was significantly greater than the value during the 20 weeks preceding parturition. This suggested that the tissue(s) of origin of the excess HP, during the 6 weeks following parturition, was not bony and was consistent with a uterine origin.
Feasibility of intraoperative imaging during Mohs surgery with reflectance confocal microscopy

ABSTRACT Mohs surgery for the removal of non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) is performed in stages, while being guided by the examination for residual tumor with frozen pathology. However, preparation of frozen pathology at each stage is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Real-time intraoperative reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) may enable rapid detection of residual tumor directly in surgical wounds on pa tients. We report initial feasibility on twenty-one patients, using 35% AlCl 3 for nuclear contrast. Imaging was performed in quadrants in the wound, to simulate the Mohs surgeons examination of pathology. Images and videos of the epidermal and dermal margins were found to be of clinically acceptable quality. Bright nuclear morphology was identified at the epidermal margin. The presence of residual BCC/SCC tumor and normal skin features could be detected in the peripheral and deep dermal margins. Nuclear morphology was detectable in residual BCC/SCC tumors. Intraoperative RCM imaging may enable detection of residual tumor, directly on Mohs patients, and may serve as an adjunct for frozen pathology. However, a stronger source of contrast will be necessary, and also a smaller device with an automated appro ach for imaging in th e entire wound in a rapid and controlled manner for clinical utility. Keywords: Reflectance confocal microscopy, non- melanoma skin cancer, Mohs surgery, intraoperative imaging, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma
Modeling noise in optical fiber communications systems

We describe two different methods for calculating the probability distribution of the voltage at the decision point in the receiver, taking into account transmission nonlinearity. These two methods are in complete agreement.