cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Plagues, Public Health, and Politics

Dr. Koplan (Figure 2) is vice president for academic health affairs at Emory University. His research interests include the spectrum of public health disciplines. Figure 2 Dr. Koplan is vice president for academic health affairs at Emory University. His research interests include the spectrum of public health disciplines. Dr. McPheeters (Figure 3) is a healthcare epidemiologist whose work focuses on translation and use of research in policy and practice, particularly in the areas of women’s health and pregnancy care. Figure 3 Dr. McPheeters is a healthcare epidemiologist whose work focuses on translation and use of research in policy and practice, particularly in the areas of women’s health and pregnancy care. On July 1, 1665, the lord mayor and aldermen of the city of London put into place a set of orders "concerning the infection of the plague," which was then sweeping through the population. He intended that these actions would be "very expedient for preventing and avoiding of infection of sickness" (1). At that time, London faced a public health crisis, with an inadequate scientific base in that the role of rats and their fleas in disease transmission was unknown. Nonetheless, this crisis was faced with good intentions by the top medical and political figures of the community. Daniel Defoe made an observation that could apply to many public health interventions then and today, "This shutting up of houses was at first counted a very cruel and unchristian method… but it was a public good that justified a private mischief" (1). Then, just as today, a complex relationship existed between the science of public health and the practice of public health and politics. We address the relationship between science, public health, and politics, with a particular emphasis on infectious diseases. Science, public health, and politics are not only compatible, but all three are necessary to improve the public's health. The progress of each area of public health is related to the strength of the other areas. The effect of politics in public health becomes dangerous when policy is dictated by ideology. Policy is also threatened when it is solely determined by science, devoid of considerations of social condition, culture, economics, and public will. When using the word "politics," we refer not simply to partisan politics but to the broader set of policies and systems. Although ideology is used in many different ways, in this case, it refers to individual systems of belief that may color a person's attitudes and actions and that are not necessarily based on scientific evidence (2).
Use of computer-based medicaid drug data to analyze and correct inappropriate medication use

In an experimental controlled trial, prescribing records were obtained from the Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) of four states for all physicians participating in the Medicaid programs of those states. Three categories of drugs that are commonly misprescribed were identified, and moderate to high prescribers of these drugs were identified from the MMIS data set. These physicians were then randomly divided into three groups. One group received no intervention, the second group received an innovative series of print materials urging appropriate drug use, and a third group received the print materials and was visited by consultant pharmacists to discuss the drugs in question. Our experience suggests that use of Medicaid prescribing data can be an efficient and accurate way of conducting large-scale surveillance of misprescribing, and of targeting interventions that can improve such suboptimal drug utilization. Use of the same data set in a follow-up period can monitor the effectiveness of each mode of intervention and will measure the degree of behavior change for each physician.
Do Patients Seeking Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding Surgery Differ from Those Seeking Gastric Bypass Surgery? A Comparison of Psychological Profiles Across Ethnic Groups

Background Understanding presurgical psychological functioning is important in determining whether patients may benefit from psychological support before or after undergoing bariatric surgery. However, few studies have directly explored whether presurgical psychosocial profiles differ for patients presenting for different bariatric surgeries and what, if any, impact ethnic background might have. The present study compared presurgical depressive symptomatology, binge eating symptoms, and psychopathology in Caucasian and African American laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) and gastric bypass (RYGB) patients.
Nuclear electric power and propulsion system for earth orbital and solar system exploration applications

This paper discusses the design of a Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) system, selection of thrusters and propellant. Outer planet exploration requirements are compared to earth orbital power requirements and a nuclear electric power system with a power level of 200 to 250 kWe is recommended. Current technology appears capable of accomplishing the early missions and growth potential exists for accomplishing more difficult later missions without significant changes in the basic system.
Gender, Material Chronotopes, and the Emergence of the Eighteenth-Century Microscope

This essay expands on previous feminist rhetorical scholarship to account for the ways that material, spatial, and temporal rhetorics operate together to enable gender performances and relations. Extending M.M. Bakhtin's concept of the literary chronotope, we offer the concept of the “material chronotope” to examine how routinized engagements with material objects, such as emerging technologies, and their surrounding material–rhetorical contexts facilitate particular embodied performances of gender. Drawing from the example of the eighteenth-century microscope, we demonstrate how three coexisting designs—the pocket microscope, the solar microscope, and the standard microscope—each positioned women users differently in time and space, facilitating different relationships to science, nature, and femininity. Whereas previous scholarship has emphasized the extent to which new technologies are incorporated into existing social institutions, becoming complicit in the maintenance of gender dichotomies, we draw f...
Sclerocornea Associated with the Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome

A 2,000-g infant boy had many features of the Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (prenatal growth deficiency and developmental retardation, microcephaly with unusual facies, hypospadias, and feeding difficulties) as well as sclerocornea. The association of this rare eye finding with this rare congenital syndrome is unique. Successful penetrating keratoplasty was performed in one eye at 8 months of age.
Ceramides Are Bound to Structural Proteins of the Human Foreskin Epidermal Cornified Cell Envelope

An important component of barrier function in human epidermis is contributed by ceramides that are bound by ester linkages to undefined proteins of the cornified cell envelope (CE). In this paper, we have examined the protein targets for the ceramide attachment. By partial saponification of isolated foreskin epidermal CEs followed by limited proteolysis, we have recovered several lipopeptides. Biochemical and mass spectroscopic characterization revealed that all contained near stoichiometric amounts of ceramides of masses ranging from about 690 to 890 atomic mass units, of which six quantitatively major species were common. The array of ceramides was similar to that obtained from pig skin, the composition of which is known, thereby providing strong indirect data for their fatty acid and sphingosine compositions. The recovered peptides accounted for about 20% of the total foreskin CE ceramides. By amino acid sequencing, about 35% of the peptides were derived from ancestral glutamine-glutamate-rich regions of involucrin, an important CE structural protein. Another 18% derived from rod domain sequences of periplakin and envoplakin, which are also known or suspected CE proteins. Other peptides were too short for unequivocal identification. Together, these data indicate that involucrin, envoplakin, periplakin, and possibly other structural proteins serve as substrates for the attachment of ceramides by ester linkages to the CE for barrier function in human epidermis.
The Statue and the Clay

Soulevant le probleme de l'identite de la masse d'argile et de la statue fabriquee a partir de cette argile a un instant donne, l'A. etudie les arguments contre la these de l'identite fondes sur l'idee de devenir et de constitution. Examinant les notions de proprietes temporaires, de propriete de l'artefact, de portion de matiere, de la continuite de la forme, de remplacement d'une partie definie comme objet materiel, l'A. analyse la nature de la relation tripartite x constitue y a l'instant t d'un point de vue de la logique modale, de la recherche scientifique sur la fusion des atomes, de l'ontologie et de la metaphysique des parties du temps
Ape1 abasic endonuclease activity is regulated by magnesium and potassium concentrations and is robust on alternative DNA structures.

Abasic lesions are common mutagenic or cytotoxic DNA damages. Ape1 is the major human apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease and initiates repair of abasic sites by catalyzing strand cleavage at the lesion. I show here that Ape1 single-stranded (ss) AP site incision activity prefers 0.5 mM or 2 mM MgCl2 and low concentrations (≤50 mM) of KCl, whereas its double-stranded (ds) activity favors 10 mM MgCl2 and 50 mM KCl or 2 mM MgCl2 and 200 mM KCl. Both activities favor a pH between 7.0 and 7.5, suggesting a common catalytic mechanism. In conditions designed to mimic the intracellular environment (pH 7.2; 100 mM KCl; 1 mM MgCl2), Ape1 ssAP site incision activity is either about fivefold more active or ∼20-fold less efficient than its ds activity, depending on the oligonucleotide employed. Secondary structure predictions suggest a role for the DNA conformational state in determining the effectiveness of Ape1. Ape1 complex stability in the presence of EDTA (non-incising conditions) is significantly weaker for ssDNA than dsDNA, regardless of the AP substrate. Duplexes where the AP site is positioned opposite the 3′ terminus of a complementary primer strand are incised with an efficiency similar (less than twofold difference) to that of the ssAP substrate alone. Moreover, Ape1 cleaved AP sites in fork-like and bubble DNA structures with an efficiency that is identical or up to sevenfold higher than ssAP-DNA. The findings here suggest that Ape1 ssAP and dsAP endonuclease activities are regulated by sequence context and the relative concentrations of certain chemical elements in vivo, and that Ape1 incision activity occurs on complex replication, recombination, and/or transcription DNA intermediates.
In vivo regulation of GSK3 phosphorylation by cholinergic and NMDA receptors.

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3), which is inhibited by serine-phosphorylation, is involved in the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We tested if the two therapeutic strategies used for AD, inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, modulate the phosphorylation state of the two isoforms of GSK3 in mouse brain. Large, rapid increases in the levels of phospho-Ser21-GSK3α and phospho-Ser9-GSK3β occurred in mouse hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and striatum after treatment of mice with the muscarinic agonist pilocarpine or the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine. Treatment with memantine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, also increased the serine-phosphorylation of both GSK3 isoforms in mouse brain. Co-administration of physostigmine and memantine increased serine-phosphorylated GSK3 levels equally to that achieved by either agent alone, indicating that the actions of these two drugs converge on overlapping pools of GSK3. Thus, drugs in each class of therapeutic agents used for AD have the common property of increasing the regulatory serine-phosphorylation of GSK3 within common pools of the enzyme.
Thrombus formation reimagined

In this issue of Blood , Ivanciu et al, Welsh et al, Tomaiuolo et al, and Stalker et al, in a series of studies from the University of Pennsylvania, use intravital microscopy to evaluate how thrombi form following vascular injury and reveal unexpected interactions and physical forces that dictate
The distribution of dust in the inner coma of comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock (1983d)

The behavior and characteristics of the inner coma of the Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock (IAA) were examined for five nights in May 1983 using a ground-based 2.2 m CCD telescope. A highly variable, asymmetric sunward emission was detected, along with a long filamentary structure. The brightness was highest in the sunward direction, with radial brightnesses diminishing more slowly than predicted with a 1/r model. The slow fall-off is attributed to the emission of conglomerate dust grains which fragment while traveling through the inner coma and increase the effective surface area of the dust. Significant day-to-day variations were observed, and the filamentary features were indicative of a centralized region on a mantled nucleus which rotated. The nucleus is estimated to be no more than 17 km in diameter.
A Guide to the Electoral Systems of the Americas

Abstract In a democracy the constitutional structure and electoral laws provide the basic framework within which the nation's political life functions. An informed understanding of the constitutional and electoral components of this framework is required to fully comprehend the political dynamics of any democracy. However, academic knowledge of the electoral systems of the Americas has not kept pace with the recent growth in the number of functioning democracies in the region. This article partially fills this void by providing a description of the prominent dimensions of the electoral systems of 33 countries in the Americas since 1945.
Hydromorphone: pharmacology and clinical applications in cancer patients

Hydromorphone is a more potent opioid analgesic than morphine and is used for moderate to severe pain. It can be administered by injection, by infusion, by mouth, and rectally. Oral bioavailability is low. The kidney excretes hydromorphone and its metabolites. Some metabolites may have greater analgesic activity than hydromorphone itself but are unlikely to contribute to the pharmacological activity of hydromorphone. With the exception of pruritus, sedation and nausea and vomiting, which may occur less after hydromorphone than after morphine, the side-effects of these drugs are similar. On a milligram basis hydromorphone is five times as potent as morphine when given by the oral route, and 8.5 times as potent as morphine when given intravenously.
A comparison of drinking in the normal and nephrectomized hooded rat

Normal ad lib drinking was studied in food deprived nephrectomized, sham operated:, and normal rats under the same environmental conditions. Nephrectomized animals drank normal amounts of water until they developed obvious symptoms of uremia at about 60 hr.
2012 AGU section and focus group awardees and named lecturers

Each year, more than 20 awards are presented by AGU sections and focus groups to recipients at various stages in their careers. In addition, nearly 25 individuals are selected annually to present lectures under the Bowie Lecture Series and the Section and Focus Group Named Lecture Series. The Bowie Lecture Series was inaugurated in 1989 to commemorate the fiftieth presentation of the William Bowie Medal, which is AGU's highest honor and is named for AGU's first president. Named lectures are designated by sections and focus groups to honor and memorialize distinguished scientists in their respective fields of science.
Urologic cancers in Uremic patients

From 1981 through 1990, 21 urologic cancer cases were discovered in 21 uremic patients at our hospital. This constituted 55% (11 of 20) of the total malignancies in nondialyzed uremic patients, 41% (nine of 22) of the total in chronic hemodialysis patients, and 50% (one of two) of those in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. No cases of urologic cancer were found in kidney transplant recipients. When compared with the general population, the standardized incidence ratio of kidney cancer in chronic hemodialysis patients was found to be 24.1 (P < 0.01) and that of bladder cancer was found to be 16.4 (P < 0.01). Multiple underlying renal diseases contributed to the development of the urologic cancer cases, including four analgesic nephropathy-associated transitional cell carcinoma cases, two acquired cystic kidney disease-associated renal cell carcinoma cases, two chronic pyelonephritis-associated (stone and tuberculosis) squamous cell carcinoma cases, and one xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis-associated transitional cell carcinoma case. Uremia per se may be an important promoting factor. Hematuria (17 of 21 cases) was the most common presenting feature despite the fact that most of the patients were anuric. The clinical diagnosis of renal parenchymal tumors was based on ultrasonography (five of five cases), whereas most urothelial tumors were detected by cystoscopy or retrograde pyelography (14 of 16 cases). The survival rate of the 17 aggressively treated patients was 82% at 2 years and 45% at 5 years. We conclude that uremic patients are at greater risk of developing urologic cancer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Differential response of stream periphyton and invertebrate grazers to habitat modification by the emergent macrophyte Justicia americana

An instream experiment was conducted using artificial substrate tiles during summer to examine the relative importance of shading by the emergent macrophyte Justicia americana and top-down control by stream grazers on summer periphyton accrual. Macrophyte treatments included removal of above-ground stems, removal of stems and rhizomes and an unmanipulated control, whereas grazer treatments included snail-accessible and snail-exclusion tiles. Above-ground Justicia structures reduced both sunlight to the stream bed and velocity by almost 50%. Abundance of the dominant snail, Elimia ucheensis (Pleuroceridae), on snail-exclusion tiles was significantly lower than on snail-accessible tiles only during the first week of the experiment; therefore, the barriers were ineffective over the entire experiment. Despite ineffective reductions of Elimia abundance over the entire experiment, periphyton accrual was higher on snail-exclusion than snail-accessible tiles irrespective of macrophyte treatment. Among the macrophyte treatments, periphyton biomass (as ash-free dry mass) was significantly lower on tiles in the unmanipulated control than treatments where Justicia stems were removed. Higher mean differences and relative magnitude of effects were associated with the macrophyte treatments when compared with the grazer treatments. Periphyton appeared to be primarily light-limited by Justicia and secondarily controlled by grazing invertebrates; however, the effects of grazing may have been underestimated because snail-exclusion barriers were ineffective at reducing grazer abundance over the experiment. Removal of Justicia canopy did not result in higher abundance of any invertebrate grazers on tiles; however, the abundance of the freshwater limpet (Ferrissia mcneili) was twice as high on tiles within the more shaded Justicia control sections compared with either of the two open-canopy treatments. Habitat modification by Justicia can negatively affect benthic primary producers and influence the distribution of some, but not all, primary consumers.
Deactivation of Methylrhenium Trioxide−Peroxide Catalysts by Diverse and Competing Pathways

The peroxides from methylrhenium trioxide (MTO) and hydrogen peroxide, CH3ReO2(η2-O2), A, and CH3Re(O)(η2-O2)2(H2O), B, have been fully characterized in both organic and aqueous media by spectroscopic means (NMR and UV−vis). In aqueous solution, the equilibrium constants for their formation are K1 = 16.1 ± 0.2 L mol-1 and K2 = 132 ± 2 L mol-1 at pH 0, μ = 2.0 M, and 25 °C. In the presence of hydrogen peroxide the catalyst decomposes to methanol and perrhenate ions with a rate that is dependent on [H2O2] and [H3O+]. The complex peroxide and pH dependences could be explained by one of two possible pathways: attack of either hydroxide on A or HO2- on MTO. The respective second-order rate constants for these reactions which were deduced from comprehensive kinetic treatments are kA = (6.2 ± 0.3) × 109 and kMTO = (4.1 ± 0.2) × 108 L mol-1 s-1 at μ = 0.01 M and 25 °C. The plot of log kψ versus pH for the decomposition reaction is linear with a unit slope in the pH range 1.77−6.50. The diperoxide B decomposes mu...
Factors Affecting the Production of Candicidin

Factors affecting candicidin synthesis and mycelial growth of Streptomyces griseus IMRU 3570 were studied. Inorganic phosphate was found to inhibit candicidin synthesis but to stimulate mycelial growth. Zinc, iron, and magnesium ions stimulated candicidin synthesis at relatively high concentrations in a complex medium but not in a synthetic medium. No other factors studied, such as temperature, oxygen absorption rate, and sugar concentration, were found to differentially affect antibiotic synthesis and mycelial growth. Optimum concentration of inorganic phosphate for candicidin synthesis in a chemically defined medium was found to be between 5 × 10 −5 and 5 × 10 −4 M. The culture in idiophase stage can be reverted to typical trophophase growth by the addition of inorganic phosphate, suggesting the controlling role of inorganic phosphate in repression and derepression of secondary metabolic and primary metabolic activity of the culture. With a soya peptone-glucose medium, the maximum rate of candicidin production could be maintained and extended for a considerable length of time by controlling the culture pH at 8.0, using glucose to adjust the pH during the later stages of a batch fermentation. Carrying out fermentations in this way has given candicidin yields up to 4 g/liter.
Techniques for simulation of realistic infrastructure wireless network traffic

In the design of wireless networking protocols and systems, simulation has become the primary form of initial validation and performance evaluation. Hence, ensuring the realism of simulators and simulation methods is fundamental for simulated results to be interpretable. In this paper, we provide a simulation framework for infrastructure wireless network traffic that allows researchers to use publicly available captured traces as a primary or background traffic source. We investigate the question of trace classification as a necessary task for these traces to be useful and apply our framework to a well-known power-saving application, showing that the use of real traffic provides substantially different results as compared to traffic generated from an application-specific fitted model or contrived source. Additionally, we show how trace classification provides unique insights into application behavior in both typical and extreme scenarios.
Eating styles of obese and nonobese black and white children in a naturalistic setting

Abstract The number of bites, number of chews, number of sips, number of talks, and number of chews per bite were compared by observing 120 obese and nonobese, black and white children in their school cafeterias. A 2 × 2 × 2 analysis of variance revealed that obese children took significantly more bites, significantly fewer chews, and significantly fewer chews per bite in 30-sec intervals. Males took significantly more bites and chewed more often than females. There were no significant effects of race and no significant interactions. Additionally, the data on sips and talks did not reach significance. These data represent the beginnings of a microanalysis of the problems of childhood obesity, and their behavioral treatment implications are discussed.
The role of the hospitalist in quality improvement: systems for improving the care of patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Quality improvement (QI) initiatives for systems of care are vital to deliver quality care for patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and hospitalists are instrumental to the QI process. Core hospitalist competencies include the development of protocols and outcomes measures that support quality of care measures established for ACS. The hospitalist may lead, coordinate, or participate in a multidisciplinary team that designs, implements, and assesses an institutional system of care to address rapid identification of patients with ACS, medication safety, safe discharge, and meeting core measures that are quality benchmarks for ACS. The use of metrics and tools such as process flow mapping and run charts can identify quality gaps and show progress toward goals. These tools may be used to assess whether critical timeframes are met, such as the time to fibrinolysis or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or whether patients receive guideline-recommended medications and counseling. At the institutional level, Project BOOST (Better Outcomes for Older Adults Through Safe Transitions) is an initiative designed to improve outcomes in elderly patients who are at higher risk for adverse events during the transition from inpatient to outpatient care. BOOST offers resources related to project management and data collection, and tools for patients and physicians. Collection and analysis of objective data are essential for documenting quality gaps or achievement of quality benchmarks. Through QI initiatives, the hospitalist has an opportunity to contribute to an institution's success beyond direct patient care, particularly as required for public disclosure of institutional performance and financial incentives promoted by regulatory agencies. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2010;5:S1–S7. © 2010 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier for ultrashort high-power multikilohertz pulses without an external stretcher.

We report a simple and robust Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier without prepulse stretching. Pulse stretching by positive group-velocity dispersion and negative third-order dispersion are provided by highly dispersive flint glass prisms inside the regenerative amplifier cavity. Using a single-grating compressor, we obtain transform-limited 60-fs Gaussian pulses at up to a 5-kHz repetition rate with energy of 50 μJ/pulse.
Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide Alters Membrane Potential and Cyclic Nucleotide Levels in Retinal Horizontal Cells

Vasoactive intestinal peptide stimulated the synthesis of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in fractions of isolated carp horizontal cells. When applied extracellularly to isolated and cultured horizontal cells, the peptide also induced a slow depolarization (30 to 40 millivolts) accompanied by a decrease in membrane resistance. However, analogs of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate applied extracellularly or intracellularly, and forscolin applied extracellularly, had no effect on the membrane potential of cultured horizontal cells, indicating that the induced depolarization was not related to the accumulation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in these cells.
Efficient, High-Quality Bayer Demosaic Filtering on GPUs

This paper describes a series of optimizations for implementing the high-quality Malvar-He-Cutler Bayer demosaicing filter on a GPU in OpenGL. Applying this filter is the first step in most video-p...
Simulation applications in computer center management

Significant developments occurred during the 1960's in the use of computer-based simulation models for management analysis. Data processing personnel contributed extensively to these developments. However, the role characteristically attributed to them emphasized programming and machine operations. Relatively few models have been concerned with management aspects of computer center operations.
Reducing Traffic Fatalities in the American States by Upgrading Seat Belt Use Laws to Primary Enforcement.

A key component of crime deterrence is the certainty of detection, but in 2005 seat belt laws in 27 states prohibited law enforcement officers from ticketing an observed violation unless the driver is stopped for another offense, which is referred to as secondary enforcement. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have upgraded from secondary to primary enforcement, which authorizes police to stop a motor vehicle if a driver or occupant covered by the law is observed not using a seat belt. To test the impact of seat belt enforcement provisions, cross-sectional time series regressions are estimated for annual driver and occupant fatality rates in the American states from 1990 to 2002. Using several control variables for other traffic policies and state demographics, the results indicate primary enforcement is more effective in saving lives than secondary enforcement. Furthermore, upgrading to a primary law enhances the effectiveness of an existing state mandatory use law. © 2006 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Language: en
The Peritoneal Fluid Levels of Interleukin‐12 in Women with Endometriosis

PROBLEM: Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is produced mainly by monocytes/macrophages, and it induces proliferation and cytotoxicity of T-cells and natural killer cells. In women with endometriosis, natural killer cell activity in the peritoneal fluid is significantly decreased. We aimed to measure the peritoneal fluid level of IL-12 in endometriosis. METHOD OF STUDY:We measured IL-12 levels in peritoneal fluid samples from women with or without endometriosis and in supernatants from endometrial stromal, ovarian stromal, and mesothelial cell cultures, using a high-sensitivity enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The median concentration of IL-12 in the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis was 1.1 pg/ml (range, 0.2-5.5) and was 1.6 pg/ml (range, 0.4-2.8) in women without endometriosis, not a statistically significant difference. IL-12 was not detected in the supernatants of endometrial stromal, ovarian stromal, and mesothelial cell cultures. CONCLUSION: Concentrations of IL-12 in the peritoneal fluid of women with or without endometriosis are low, but they are detectable and are not affected significantly by the presence of endometriosis.
Active Dual Mode Tilt Control for Narrow Ground Vehicles

SUMMARY Small, narrow commuter vehicles have attracted considerable interest in recent years as a means to increase the utilization of existing freeways and parking facilities. However, conventional narrow track vehicles are likely to have reduced stability against overturning during hard cornering. A possible solution to this problem lies in vehicles which tilt toward the inside of a turn. Two different ways to achieve this tilt will be analyzed. For direct tilt control (DTC) an actuator forces the upper part of the vehicle to tilt. Steering tilt control (STC) uses steering to control the tilt as is done by motorcycle or bicycle riders. At low speeds, only the DTC system is effective while at high speeds the STC offers less lateral acceleration for the passenger during transient cornering and may seem more natural. The two methods of control will be studied separately and it will be shown that even though the same steady state tilt can be achieved with either system, the transient behavior of the systems...
The dynamics of unsteady detonation with diffusion

Here we consider an unsteady detonation with diffusion included. This introduces an interaction between the reaction length scales and diffusion length scales. Detailed kinetics introduce multiple length scales as shown though the spatial eigenvalue analysis of hydrogen-oxygen system; the smallest length scale is {approx} 10{sup 7} m and the largest {approx} 10{sup -2} m; away from equilibrium, the breadth can be larger. In this paper, we consider a simpler set of model equations, similar to the inviscid reactive compressible fluid equations, but include diffusion (in the form of thermal/energy, momentum, and mass diffusion). We will seek to reveal how the complex dynamics already discovered in one-step systems in the inviscid limit changes with the addition of diffusion.
Signal analyser on an optical chip

By carefully optimizing the properties of a waveguide made from a highly nonlinear glass, Australian researchers have achieved record optical nonlinearity and put it to use in a broadband radiofrequency spectrum analyser. The work could ultimately lead to improved all-optical signal processing.
The history of medical simulation

The historical roots of simulation might be described with the broadest definition of medical simulation: "an imitation of some real thing, state of affairs, or process" for the practice of skills, problem solving, and judgment. From the first "blue box" flight simulator to the military's impetus in the transfer of modeling and simulation technology to medicine, worldwide acceptance of simulation training is growing. Large collaborative simulation centers support the expectation of increases in multidisciplinary, interprofessional, and multimodal simulation training. Virtual worlds, both immersive and Web-based, are at the frontier of innovation in medical education.
Cost containment in anesthesiology: A survey of department activities

Study Objective To survey cost containment activities in anesthesiology and to determine to what extent departments use cost policies and guidelines. Design Mail survey. Setting Academic and large nonacademic anesthesiology departments. Measurements and Main Results: 147 responding departments answered 20 questions. 38% of surveys were returned. 90 responders identified themselves as academic departments and 57 responders as nonacademic. 73% of departments reported pressure from hospital administrators to reduce anesthesia costs. The most common cost-saving activity, used by 90% of departments, is improving operating room (OR) utilization. 53% of all departments have policies or guidelines to contain drug costs, while 48% of departments have these to contain other product costs. Departments reporting themselves as academic generally reported greater use of cost policies. Conclusions Anesthesiology departments are experiencing pressure to reduce costs and the majority have cost policies and guidelines concerning utilization of ORs and anesthetic drugs. Academic anesthesiology departments may be experiencing more cost-containment pressure than nonacademic departments.
Dynamic modeling and simulation of a relief valve

A nonlinear dynamic model of a relief valve is for mulated in state-space form from fundamental princi ples of rigid-body motion and fluid dynamics. Model parameters are calculated from steady-state character istics and the physical dimensions of the valve. The transient response of the nonlinear model (as well as system eigenvalues and the frequency response of a linearized model) is obtained by digital simulation. Results indicate that the opening time of the valve is linearly related to the dimensionless parameter given by the ratio of orifice length to its radius.The analysis provides design information and perform ance evaluation for fluid systems incorporating relief valves. It is particularly suitable for relief valves for liquids and it can be adapted for other applications.
Structural and Molecular Evolutionary Analysis of Agouti and Agouti-Related Proteins

Agouti (ASIP) and Agouti-related protein (AgRP) are endogenous antagonists of melanocortin receptors that play critical roles in the regulation of pigmentation and energy balance, respectively, and which arose from a common ancestral gene early in vertebrate evolution. The N-terminal domain of ASIP facilitates antagonism by binding to an accessory receptor, but here we show that the N-terminal domain of AgRP has the opposite effect and acts as a prodomain that negatively regulates antagonist function. Computational analysis reveals similar patterns of evolutionary constraint in the ASIP and AgRP C-terminal domains, but fundamental differences between the N-terminal domains. These studies shed light on the relationships between regulation of pigmentation and body weight, and they illustrate how evolutionary structure function analysis can reveal both unique and common mechanisms of action for paralogous gene products.
7. Component Analysis methods for pattern recognition

Component analysis (CA) methods (e.g. kernel principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis, spectral clustering) have been extensively used as a feature extraction step for modeling, classification and clustering in numerous pattern recognition, signal processing or social sciences tasks. The aim of CA is to decompose a signal into relevant components that explicitly or implicitly (e.g. kernel methods) define the representation of the signal. CA techniques are especially appealing because many can be formulated as eigen-problems, offering great potential for efficient learning of linear and non-linear representations of the data without local minima. Although CA methods have been widely used, there is still a need for a better mathematical framework to analyze and extend CA techniques. This tutorial reviews previous work and proposes a unified framework for energy-based learning in CA methods.
Ambulatory Blood Pressure Patterns in Children With Chronic Kidney Disease

Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring (ABPM) is the best method of detecting abnormal BP in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), whose hypertension may be missed with casual BP measurements. We report ABPM findings in 332 children 1 year after entry in the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children cohort study. All of the subjects underwent casual and ambulatory BP measurement. BP was categorized based on casual and ABPM results into normal (42%), white-coat (4%), masked (35%), and ambulatory (14%) hypertension. Only half of the subjects had a normal ABPM. BP load was elevated (>25%) in 52% (n = 172), whereas mean BP was elevated in 32% (n = 105). In multivariate analysis, those using an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor were 89% more likely to have a normal ABPM than those who did not report using an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (odds ratio, 1.89 [95% CI, 1.17-3.04]). For every 20% faster decline in annualized glomerular filtration rate change, the odds of an abnormal ABPM increased 26% (odds ratio, 1.26 [95% CI, 0.97-1.64]). A 2.25-fold increase in urine protein:creatinine ratio annualized change was associated with a 39% higher odds of an abnormal ABPM (odds ratio, 1.39 [95% CI, 1.06-1.82]). Abnormalities on ABPM are common in children with chronic kidney disease and are strongly associated with known risk factors for end-stage renal disease. Individuals on angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were less likely to have abnormal ABPM, suggesting a possible therapeutic intervention. ABPM should be used to monitor risk and guide therapy in children with chronic kidney disease.
Stroke in the immature brain: review of pathophysiology and animal models of pediatric stroke

Pediatric stroke research presents many challenges. Relatively low incidence, need for age stratification, diverse etiologies, delays in diagnosis, lack of an established age-based stroke severity scale and outcome measures are only some of the issues that have prevented the implementation of clinical trials in infants and children with stroke. Experimental animal models of pediatric stroke, therefore, are critical to understanding the pathophysiology and management of ischemic brain damage in the immature brain, and provide the necessary platform for future clinical trials. In this review we discuss the pertinent clinical aspects of pediatric stroke, the pathophysiology of stroke in the developing brain and the animal models established to study basic mechanisms as well as translational issues in pediatric stroke.
Spatial and temporal drivers of wildfire occurrence in the context of rural development in northern Wisconsin, USA

Most drivers underlying wildfire are dynamic, but at different spatial and temporal scales. We quantified temporal and spatial trends in wildfire patterns over two spatial extents in northern Wisconsin to identify drivers and their change through time. We used spatial point pattern analysis to quantify the spatial pattern of wildfire occurrences, and linear regression to quantify the influence of drought and temporal trends in annual number and mean size of wildfires. Analyses confirmed drought as an important driver of both occurrences and fire size. When both drought and time were incorporated in linear regression models, the number of wildfires showed a declining trend across the full study area, despite housing density increasing in magnitude and spatial extent. Fires caused by campfires and debris-burning did not show any temporal trends. Comparison of spatial models representing biophysical, anthropogenic and combined factors demonstrated human influences on wildfire occurrences, especially human activity, infrastructure and property values. We also identified a non-linear relationship between housing density and wildfire occurrence. Large wildfire occurrence was predicted by similar variables to all occurrences, except the direction of influence changed. Understanding these spatial and temporal drivers of wildfire occurrence has implications for land-use planning, wildfire suppression strategies and ecological goals.
An energy‐efficient, scalable and collision‐free MAC layer protocol for wireless sensor networks

Wide range of applications such as disaster management, military and security have fueled the interest in sensor networks during the past few years. Sensors are typically capable of wireless communication and are significantly constrained in the amount of available resources such as energy, storage and computation. Such constraints make the design and operation of sensor networks considerably different from contemporary wireless networks, and necessitate the development of resource conscious protocols and management techniques. In this paper, we present an energy-efficient, scalable and collision-free MAC layer protocol for sensor networks. The approach promotes time-based arbitration of medium access to limit signal interference among the transmission of sensors. Transmission and reception time slots are prescheduled to allow sensors to turn their radio circuitry off when not engaged. In addition, energy consumption due to active to sleep mode transitions is minimized through the assignment of contiguous transmission/reception slots to each sensor. Scalability of the approach is supported through grouping of sensors into clusters. We describe an optimization algorithm for energy conscious scheduling of time slots that prevents intra-cluster collisions and eliminates packet drop due to buffer size limitations. In addition, we also propose an arbitration scheme that prevents collisions among the transmission of sensors in different clusters. The impact of our approach on the network performance is qualified through simulation.. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparison of GPS–based Autonomous Vehicle Following Using Global and Relative Positioning

Differential GPS methods are developed for use in automated vehicle convoy positioning. The GPS pseudo-range and carrier phase measurements are used to compute relative position vectors between two vehicles with sub-meter errors. The carrier phase measurement makes this level of accuracy attainable, but carrier phase ambiguity must be resolved prior to the relative position estimation. An algorithm, referred to as the Dynamic base Real Time Kinematic (DRTK) algorithm, is described to estimate carrier phase ambiguity and the relative position vector between two GPS receivers. A comparative study of the performance of the algorithm using either single or dual frequency measurements is presented. The use of relative positioning to autonomously follow a human-driven lead vehicle is presented. Time Difference Carrier Phase (TDCP) measurements are used to estimate the change in the position of the following vehicle between measurement epochs. The TDCP algorithm is combined with the DRTK algorithm to estimate the position of the following vehicle relative to a virtual lead vehicle position. Analysis of the accuracy of the TDCP algorithm at individual measurement epochs and over varying time intervals is presented. The DRTK/TDCP following method (using relative positioning information) is compared to a GPS waypoint following method (using global positioning information) using an all-terrain vehicle which is automated to follow a human-driven lead vehicle.
Methane and seismicity: A reply

In a recent Forum article in Eos (“Methane in Association With Seismic Activity,” June 14, 1983, p. 410), R. S. Oremland presents observations which he claims contradict the deep methane gas hypothesis. His principal case rests on observations of one M 5.7 earthquake near the volcanic area of Mammouth Lakes, California, which did not result in any increase in methane content of gases in four local seeps. In our published discussions of the deep gas hypothesis [Gold and Soter, 1980, 1982], we proposed (1) that outgassing from mantle depths is an ongoing process both in volcanic and nonvolcanic regions; (2) that the gases CO2 and CH4 are the principal carriers of the surface excess carbon; (3) that chemical equilibrium between CO2 and CH4 in the presence of hot or liquid rock is strongly shifted towards CO2, especially in the low pressure domain, and that therefore active volcanic or high heat flow regions would be less likely to exhibit CH4; and (4) that faultlines, particularly those which are seismically active, are locations where outgassing in cool regions can be sampled. The evidence there is that flames from the ground are often seen in association with major earthquakes. (Just as in many mud volcano eruptions, ignition of combustible gases can be attributed to electrostatic effects.) Methane is also observed in many of the major crustal rifts, together with helium having the high 3He to 4He ratio indicative of deep origin [Lupton, 1983].
The Complexities of Assessing Teacher Knowledge.

The authors of this volume's stimulus papers have taken on the challenge of developing measures of teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT). This complex and difficult task involves many...
The Effect of Commitment on Relative Left Frontal Cortical Activity: Tests of the Action-Based Model of Dissonance:

The action-based model of dissonance and recent advances in neuroscience suggest that commitment to action should cause greater relative left frontal cortical activity. Two experiments were conducted in which electroencephalographic activity was recorded following commitment to action, operationalized with a perceived choice manipulation. Perceived high as compared to low choice to engage in the action, regardless of whether it was counterattitudinal or proattitudinal, caused greater relative left frontal cortical activity. Moreover, perceived high as compared to low choice caused attitudes to be more consistent with the action. These results broaden the theoretical reach of the action-based model by suggesting that similar neural and motivational processes are involved in attitudinal responses to counterattitudinal and proattitudinal commitments.