cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
VARIABILITY OF RESULTS OF CAVERNOUS NERVE STIMULATION DURING RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY

Purpose: We assess the reliability of intraoperative cavernous nerve stimulation for producing an erectile response during radical prostatectomy.Materials and Methods: In 61 patients cavernous nerve function was assessed during radical retropubic prostatectomy using a CaverMap‡ ‡UroMed Corp., Norwood, Massachusetts. nerve stimulator. Control stimulation was also performed before and after prostatic dissection by placing the nerve stimulator tip on the anterior bladder wall. An increase in penile circumference measured by the device was considered a tumescence response while any measurable detumescence was also categorized.Results: Patient age ranged 43 to 72 years (mean 59.8). Before apical dissection 41% and 46% had tumescence, 31% and 21% had detumescence, and 28% and 33% had no response with stimulation of the neurovascular bundle and anterior bladder wall, respectively. After dissection 42% and 25% had tumescence, 16% and 18% had detumescence, and 42% and 57% had no response with stimulation of the ne...
Depression decreases cardiorespiratory fitness in older women.

Abstract Background Depression is associated with decreased physical functioning and increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Whereas physical fitness delays all-cause mortality, little is known of the exercise capacity of depressed women. Method SPPARCS is a community-based longitudinal study of physical activity and fitness in people ⩾55 years. Of 1,246 women, 663 were free of known cardiac and cerebrovascular disease, and performed treadmill exercise. Most (71%) were interviewed and retested 2 years and 4 years later (55%). Two indicators of depression were used: (a) Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale (CES-D) ⩾16; (b) use of antidepressant medication. Results By CES-D score, 8.4% had depressive symptoms (first round). Depressed women showed lower levels of all markers of treadmill exercise [exercise duration, peak VO 2 , Oxygen Uptake Efficiency Slope (OUES)]. Conclusions Depression is associated with impaired physical fitness and treadmill exercise performance in older women.
Wave functions of 0+ states in 42Ca

Abstract Ratios of cross sections in 41Ca(d,p) and 38Ar(6Li,d) leading to 0+ states of 42Ca allow determination of the coefficients in wave functions of the type a(2p)+b(4p−2h) + c(6p−4h), and an independent evaluation of the intrinsic amplitude for (sd)2(fp)2 and (fp)4 α transfer.
Horizontal ventricular septum with dextroversion: hearts with and without aortic atresia.

Two hearts with horizontal ventricular septum, dextroversion (situs solitus), ventricular septal defects, and malaligned great vessels are reported. One of the hearts had aortic atresia and the infant died; the other patient had a Fontan-type physiologic correction. Reviewing the literature, the following conclusions are drawn: (a) Hearts with horizontal ventricular septum and those with criss-cross atrioventricular connections may be the result of different degrees of rotation of the ventricular muscle mass. This rotation is not likely to be postseptational but preseptational. (b) Only those hearts with a complete 180° rotation should be called criss-cross hearts. (c) Partial rotation results in a horizontal septum such that the right ventricle is invariably superior, regardless of atrioventricular concordance or discordance, situs solitus or inversus, or dextroversion. (d) Physiologic surgical correction is often possible but has to be tailored to the details of each heart.
Differential effects of N-methyl-d-aspartic acid and l-homocysteic acid on cerebellar Purkinje neurons

The effects of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) and L-homocysteic acid (LH) were measured on cerebellar Purkinje neurons. In urethane-anesthetized rats, iontophoretic application of NMDA elicited 3 different effects on the spontaneous activity of Purkinje cells: excitation, inhibition and biphasic responses consisting of excitation followed by inhibition. On the other hand, LH elicited excitation, only, regardless of the actions of NMDA on the same neurons. We also examined the effects of various excitatory amino acid antagonists on NMDA- and LH-mediated responses. Excitatory effects of NMDA were antagonized effectively by D.L-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV), ketamine, gamma-D-glutamylglycine (DGG), D,L-2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoate (APH), and were not influenced significantly by L-glutamate diethylester (GDEE). Inhibitory responses of NMDA were antagonized by APV, APH and ketamine. LH-mediated excitations were influenced significantly by DGG and ketamine whereas GDEE, APV and APH failed significantly to attenuate the effects of LH. Based on the differential actions of LH and NMDA and the selectivity of NMDA antagonists for NMDA rather than LH-mediated excitations, it appears that the major actions of LH may not be mediated through NMDA receptor sites, at least in the cerebellum.
Narrowness implies uniformity

This paper is about varietiesV of universal algebras which satisfy the following numerical condition on the spectrum: there are only finitely many prime integersp such thatp is a divisor of the cardinality of some finite algebra inV. Such varieties are callednarrow. The variety (or equational class) generated by a classK of similar algebras is denoted by V(K)=HSPK. We define Pr (K) as the set of prime integers which divide the cardinality of a (some) finite member ofK. We callK narrow if Pr (K) is finite. The key result proved here states that for any finite setK of finite algebras of the same type, the following are equivalent: (1) SPK is a narrow class. (2) V(K) has uniform congruence relations. (3) SK has uniform congruences and (3) SK has permuting congruences. (4) Pr (V(K))= Pr(SK). A varietyV is calleddirectly representable if there is a finite setK of finite algebras such thatV= V(K) and such that all finite algebras inV belong to PK. An equivalent definition states thatV is finitely generated and, up to isomorphism,V has only finitely many finite directly indecomposable algebras. Directly representable varieties are narrow and hence congruence modular. The machinery of modular commutators is applied in this paper to derive the following results for any directly representable varietyV. Each finite, directly indecomposable algebra inV is either simple or abelian.V satisfies the commutator identity [x,y]=x·y·[1,1] holding for congruencesx andy over any member ofV. The problem of characterizing finite algebras which generate directly representable varieties is reduced to a problem of ring theory on which there exists an extensive literature: to characterize those finite ringsR with identity element for which the variety of all unitary leftR-modules is directly representable. (In the terminology of [7], the condition is thatR has finite representation type.) We show that the directly representable varieties of groups are precisely the finitely generated abelian varieties, and that a finite, subdirectly irreducible, ring generates a directly representable variety iff the ring is a field or a zero ring.
Localized vibrational mode absorption of phosphorus in gallium arsenide

Abstract The infrared absorption of two prominent absorption bands related to the presence of phosphorus in GaAs 1− x P x are measured for 10 −5 ≲ x ≲ 0.4. The bands are interpreted in terms of localized vibrational defect mode absorption theory to be the fundamental and overtone local mode bands of the substitutional P. The frequencies and relative line widths are consistent with this model. The concentration dependence of the integrated absorption and line width of the overtone band are given. The room temperature integrated absorption is proportional to x . The line width is temperature dependent and for x ≲ 0.03 is nearly concentration independent. For x ≳ 0.03 the line width shows a concentration dependent Une broadening which is independent of temperature. Clustering of the P is not required to explain these results for low x .
Perceptions on IS Risks and Failure Types: A Comparison of Designers from the United States, Japan and Korea

Information systems (IS) designers from the United States, Japan, and Korea were surveyed to explore potential similarities and differences in their views on two IS risk factors, various types of IS failure and the overall failure rate on IS projects. While there were only a few differences between the U.S. and Japan, there were a number of differences in the views of designers from the U.S. and Korea. The results revealed that a lack of user involvement and a lack of experienced IS personnel were perceived as greater risk factors in Korea than in the U.S. and Japan. The data also revealed that unmet project goals and missed deadlines were perceived by designers from Korea as more likely to contribute to IS failure than did the designers from Japan and the U.S. Finally, the designers from Korea perceived a higher overall failure rate on IS projects than did the designers from the U.S. The findings were discussed in terms of the importance of national differences in technology development and national culture.
Delayed entry into employment after spinal cord injury: factors related to time to first job

Delayed entry into employment after spinal cord injury: factors related to time to first job
Stressful life events and changes in substance use among a multiracial/ethnic sample of adolescent boys

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the prevalence of stressful life events and of the relationships between stressful life events and alcohol, illicit drug, and cigarette use among a multi-ethnic community sample (N = 2,446) of early adolescent boys. The data were derived from a longitudinal study of substance use behaviors and their psychosocial correlates among Hispanic, African-American, and White non-Hispanic adolescent boys residing in Dade County, Florida. Similar levels of event exposure were found among the subgroups, with one exception. African Americans were significantly more likely to experience a death-related event in the past year. Stressful life events were not significantly related with substance use among African-American students. Among Hispanics and White non-Hispanics, however, a number of significant positive relationships were found. A number of bidirectional events (i.e., those events that could be either an antecedent to and/or the result of substance use) were significantly related with stressful events, highlighting the importance of longitudinal research in delineating the temporal ordering of events and outcomes. The authors conclude that future stress research with adolescents should pay particular attention to the important moderating influences of culture and ethnicity as well as to the bidirectional nature of life events and substance use.
Baicalein, a component of Scutellaria baicalensis, induces apoptosis by Mcl-1 down-regulation in human pancreatic cancer cells ☆

Scutellaria baicalensis (SB) and SB-derived polyphenols possess anti-proliferative activities in several cancers, including pancreatic cancer (PaCa). However, the precise molecular mechanisms have not been fully defined. SB extract and SB-derived polyphenols (wogonin, baicalin, and baicalein) were used to determine their anti-proliferative mechanisms. Baicalein significantly inhibited the proliferation of PaCa cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, whereas wogonin and baicalin exhibited a much less robust effect. Treatment with baicalein induced apoptosis with release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, and activation of caspase-3 and -7 and PARP. The general caspase inhibitor zVAD-fmk reversed baicalein-induced apoptosis, indicating a caspase-dependent mechanism. Baicalein decreased expression of Mcl-1, an anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 protein family, presumably through a transcriptional mechanism. Genetic knockdown of Mcl-1 resulted in marked induction of apoptosis. The effect of baicalein on apoptosis was significantly attenuated by Mcl-1 over-expression, suggesting a critical role of Mcl-1 in this process. Our results provide evidence that baicalein induces apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells through down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 protein.
Purification and crystallization of Escherichia coli oligoribonuclease

Oligoribonuclease (Orn) is an essential 3′-to-5′ hydrolytic exoribonuclease which degrades short oligoribonucleotides to 5′ mononucleotides. Escherichia coli Orn has been crystallized under several different conditions using ammonium sulfate, sodium citrate and sodium acetate as precipitants. Both native and selenomethionine-labeled oligoribonuclease (SeMet-Orn) can be crystallized at room temperature in 1.4–1.55 M sodium citrate. The SeMet-Orn crystals diffract to 2.2 A resolution and belong to space group P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 70.43, b = 72.87, c = 147.76 A, and two dimers in the asymmetric unit. When grown in the presence of manganese, a second crystal form (Mn-SeMet-Orn) was obtained containing a single dimer per asymmetric unit (P212121; a = 63.74, b = 74.31, c = 74.19 A). Finally, a hexagonal crystal form was obtained using sodium acetate as a precipitant (a = 91.5, b = 91.5, c = 111.1 A). This crystal (Zn-ApUp-Orn) belongs to the P65 space group and has three oligoribonuclease molecules per asymmetric unit.
Interpretation of the IAU Two-Parameter Magnitude System for Asteroids in Terms of Hapke Photometric Theory

Abstract In 1985 IAU Commission 20 adopted a two-parameter magnitude system for asteroids (Marsden, B. G. 1986, Minor Planet Circulars 10193 and 10194; Bowell, E., et al. 1989, in Asteroids II (R. P. Binzel, T. Gehrels, and M. S. Matthews, Eds.), pp. 524-556, Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson) based upon the application of the Lumme-Bowell photometric model (Lumme, K., and E. Bowell 1981, Astron. J. 86, 1694-1704) to asteroid phase curves. The Hapke photometric theory (Hapke, B. 1986, Icarus 67, 264-280) has been applied extensively to spacecraft and telescopic observations of a multitude of objects throughout the Solar System to derive their physical and optical surface characteristics. We have derived a conversion from the Lumme-Bowell-based parameters to those used in the Hapke photometric model to facilitate comparison of asteroid regoliths to those found elsewhere in the Solar System.
Ultrastructure of the thick ascending limb of Henle in the rat kidney.

The thick ascending limb of Henle (TAL) in the rat until recently has been considered a morphologically homogeneous structure despite physiologic and biochemical evidence to the contrary. The present study was designed to examine the ultrastructural characteristics of the TAL in the inner cortex and the outer and inner stripes of the outer medulla using qualitative and quantitative transmission electron microscopy. Kidneys of male Sprague-Dawley rats were preserved by in vivo perfusion with glutaraldehyde for light and electron microscopy. The peritubular diameter and cell height were determined by direct measurements on tubule cross sections. Morphometric analyses were performed on montages of tubule cross sections. The peritubular diameter of the TAl was similar in the three regions under investigation, but the TAL cells were taller in the inner stripe than in the inner cortex and outer stripe. Morphometry revealed significant differences between the three regions with respect to the mean tubular cross-sectional area (AT), the surface density (SV), and the surface area per mm of tubule (ST) of apical and basolateral plasma membranes, and the volume density (VV) of mitochondria. The major morphologic division appeared to be between the inner stripe segment and the remainder of the TAL. These findings document the presence of significant morphologic heterogeneity of the rat TAL.
Using data mining methods to build customer profiles

This paper describes 1:1 Pro system which constructs personal profiles based on customers' transactional histories. The system uses data mining techniques to discover a set of rules describing customers' behavior and supports human experts in validating the rules.
The Cuba Company and the Expansion of American Business in Cuba, 1898–1915

The Cuba Company was the largest single foreign investment in Cuba during the first two decades of the twentieth century and remained one of the largest corporations. This article presents a detailed history of the commercial networks forged between political officials and North American and Cuban businessmen through the development of the company. These networks proved crucial to the success of the Cuba Company and subsequently shaped the development of the new Cuban Republic.
What the Railroad Industry Needs and Expects from Higher Education: Meeting the Needs

Rail transportation and engineering education in the United States was neglected for decades, from a lack of demand for graduates in the field. However, the increase in freight rail transportation volumes, combined with a growing interest in passenger rail development, has reenergized the academic community. Currently, several universities are either investigating or implementing rail-related activities. Because of the long disconnect between the industry and academia, several challenges have arisen about what the rail industry needs and wants from graduates and universities. Challenges include the quantitative and qualitative demands placed on graduates by the industry as well as industry preference for types of education and the perceived benefits from university education and university-industry collaboration. The educational background of current industry employees and its importance to their career selection are also of interest. This paper reports the outcomes of two online surveys of industry emplo...
The determination of the standard Gibbs energy of formation of β-gallium sesquioxide from e.m.f. measurements using an yttria-doped thoria electrolyte

Abstract The standard Gibbs energy of formation of β-Ga2O3 was measured in the temperature range 873 to 1273 K using an electrochemical cell employing yttria-doped thoria ( ydt ) as a solid-state electrolyte. The cell may be represented as: Pt|CO, CO 2 |YDT|Ga, β-Ga 2 O 3 W|Pt, Separate determinations gave the following values for the standard Gibbs energy of formation ΔG f o (β-Ga 2 O 3 , c , T)/ kcal th mol −1 : {−252.4+0.0702( T K )±0.4} and {−252.2+0.0711( T K )±0.4} . The standard Gibbs energy of formation of NiO, which is well established in the literature, was also measured in order to test the reliability of the experimental procedure.
Prediction of counter-current flow limitation at hot leg pipe during a small-break LOCA

Abstract The possibility of hot leg flooding during reflux condensation cooling after a small-break loss-of-coolant accident in a nuclear power plant is evaluated. The vapor and liquid velocities in hot leg and steam generator tubes are calculated during reflux condensation cooling with the accident scenarios of three typical break sizes, 0.13, 1.02 and 10.19% cold leg break. The effect of initial water level to counter-current flow limitation is taken into account. It is predicted that the hot leg flooding is precluded when all steam generators are available for heat removal. It is also shown that both hot leg flooding and SG flooding are possible under the operation of one steam generator. Therefore, it can be said that the occurrence of hot leg flooding under reflux condensation cooling is possible when the number of steam generators available for heat removal is limited.
Effective flow-through vacuum degasser for fish hatcheries

Abstract Since the fry of certain species of fish cannot tolerate even slight amounts of supersaturation, their water supplies must be degassed. Gas content can be reduced to subsaturated, sublethal levels by passing it through the vacuum degasser described here. The system includes a low-cost, flow-through unit easily capable of degassing (to less than saturated conditions) water flowing at 190 liters min−1. In tests completed to date, dissolved oxygen content was never reduced below 7 ppm.
Catalytic Hydroprocessing of Biomass Fast Pyrolysis Bio-oil to Produce Hydrocarbon Products

Catalytic hydroprocessing has been applied to biomass fast pyrolysis liquid product (bio-oil) in a bench-scale continuous-flow fixed-bed reactor system. The intent of the research was to develop process technology to convert the bio-oil into a petroleum refinery feedstock to supplement fossil energy resources and to displace imported feedstock. The project was a cooperative research and development agreement among UOP LLC, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). This article is focused on the process experimentation and product analysis undertaken at PNNL. This article describes the experimental methods used and relates the results of the product analyses. A range of catalyst formulations were tested over a range of operating parameters including temperature, pressure, and flow rate with bio-oil derived from several different biomass feedstocks. Effects of liquid hourly space velocity and catalyst bed temperature were assessed. Details of the process results were presented included product yields and hydrogen consumption. Detailed analysis of the products were provided including elemental composition, chemical functional type determined by mass spectrometry, and product descriptors such as density, viscosity, and total acid number. In conclusion, this article provides an understanding of the efficacy of hydroprocessing as applied to bio-oil. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2009
Infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among hospital employees.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the spectrum of clinical infection caused by methiciffin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in healthcare workers. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Two Veterans Affairs hospitals in which methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) is endemic. PATIENTS: Five employees presenting to employee health or infectious disease clinic. RESULTS: All employees had had direct exposure to patients colonized with MRSA. Employee infections included cellulitis, impetigo, folliculitis, paronychia, and conjunctivitis. MRSA was isolated from all clinically infected sites and from the anterior nares of two employees. Three employ
Kinetic and DNA-Binding Properties of Recombinant Human O6-Methylguanine-DNA Methyltransferase

Abstract O 6 -Methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is a DNA repair protein that plays an important role in chemotherapy, mutagenesis, and carcinogenesis. Recombinant human MGMT was isolated from an Escherichia coli high performance expression system and purified to homogeneity. The kinetic and DNA-binding properties of the recombinant human MGMT were studied. The purified human MGMT reacted stoichiometrically with methylated DNA under second-order rate kinetics. The rate constant with normal methylated DNA was 1 × 10 9 M −1 min −1 at 37°C. The binding to DNA was the rate determining step in the repair process. Approximately eight base pairs of the DNA substrate were covered by the human MGMT protein. The affinity constant for interaction of DNA to MGMT was approximately 4.7 × 10 5 M −1 . The binding to methylated DNA was also examined; the binding affinity to methylated DNA was two times higher than that to unmodified DNA. The interaction with DNA induced a conformational change in the human MGMT protein as monitored by circular dichroism and fluorescence analysis. A similar conformational change was induced by both methylated and unmodified DNA.
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular flux

In vitro and in vivo studies implicate occludin in the regulation of paracellular macromolecular flux at steady state and in response to tumor necrosis factor (TNF). To define the roles of occludin in these processes, we established intestinal epithelia with stable occludin knockdown. Knockdown monolayers had markedly enhanced tight junction permeability to large molecules that could be modeled by size-selective channels with radii of ~62.5 A. TNF increased paracellular flux of large molecules in occludin-sufficient, but not occludin-deficient, monolayers. Complementation using full-length or C-terminal coiled-coil occludin/ELL domain (OCEL)-deficient enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-occludin showed that TNF-induced occludin endocytosis and barrier regulation both required the OCEL domain. Either TNF treatment or OCEL deletion accelerated EGFP-occludin fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, but TNF treatment did not affect behavior of EGFP-occludin(ΔOCEL). Further, the free OCEL domain prevented TNF-induced acceleration of occludin fluorescence recovery, occludin endocytosis, and barrier loss. OCEL mutated within a recently proposed ZO-1-binding domain (K433) could not inhibit TNF effects, but OCEL mutated within the ZO-1 SH3-GuK-binding region (K485/K488) remained functional. We conclude that OCEL-mediated occludin interactions are essential for limiting paracellular macromolecular flux. Moreover, our data implicate interactions mediated by the OCEL K433 region as an effector of TNF-induced barrier regulation.
IPDP events and their generation in the magnetosphere

Abstract Irregular pulsations of decreasing period (IPDP) are characterized by a broad band of ULF noise that rises in frequency over the duration of the event (typically half an hour). IPDP events frequently have structured elements in the noise that have been detected simultaneously at conjugate stations by Gendrin and Troitskaya. Under the assumption that these structured elements have been generated at the equator in the magnetosphere by an impulsive source, the later arrival of the higher frequencies may be interpreted as a result of propagation in a dispersive medium. Methods that have been applied to pc 1 events are applied to the structured elements of IPDP events to locate their origin in the magnetosphere. The dispersion analysis of the structured IPDP elements observed during 1965 and 1966 shows that they are generated in a narrow range of solar magnetospheric longitude centered around 20 hours local time at L values between 6 and 13 earth radii. The broad-band unstructured noise seems to originate in a zone of magnetic turbulence just outside the normal trapping region, so that the structured elements could be the dispersed signal resulting from a broad-band impulse. This could also be evidence for particle injection into the magnetosphere during times of elevated magnetic activity, since there is a strong correlation between the occurrence of IPDP's and local magnetic index Kv.
Induction of glutamine synthetase in embryonic neural retina in vitro by inhibitors of macromolecular synthesis.

Abstract In the embryonic neural retina glutamine synthetase (GS) is induced by hydrocortisone and related 11β-hydroxycorticosteroids which cause the accumulation of stable, active templates for the synthesis of this enzyme. It has now been shown that, under suitable experimental conditions GS can be induced by exposure of the isolated retina to cytosine arabinoside, or by treatment with cycloheximide followed by inhibition of transcription. It is suggested that these agents induce GS in the retina by blocking the production of inhibitor(s) which in the uninduced cells prevent the accumulation of stable, active templates for this enzyme.
Tension in a Japanese Language Classroom: An Opportunity for Critical Literacy?.

This paper presents one example of moments of tension from a yearlong ethnographic study conducted in a college intermediate Japanese-as-a-foreign-language classroom (Kumagai, 2004). I define moments of tension as those moments when conflicts arise between an instructor's teaching agenda and students' learning agenda. Conducting critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1992) on such moments revealed that the moments of tension manifest interplay among textual representations, students' identities, and the instructor's discourses. Far from being seen as negative incidents to be avoided, moments of tension provided students with an opportunity to challenge the truth claims presented by the text, and to nominate and set a learning agenda that was relevant and significant, yet not a part of the instructor's original lesson plan. I argue that such moments present rich opportunities for conducting critical literacy practices in a foreign language classroom, helping students deepen their understanding of the soc...
A preliminary assessment of the properties of a chromium silicide alloy for aerospace applications

Abstract A preliminary assessment of the physical, mechanical and oxidation properties of a two-phase Cr 3 Si alloy macro-alloyed with Mo for potential aerospace applications is discussed. Detailed cyclic, isothermal and low temperature “pest” oxidation studies conducted between 773 and 1773 K revealed that the alloy has excellent oxidation properties due to the formation of dual protective oxides scales of Cr 2 O 3 at low temperatures and SiO 2 at high temperatures. The alloy also lasted at least 100 cycles at 1473 K under the action of a 0.3 mach combustion flame in burner rig tests. The compressive brittle-to-ductile transition temperature of the alloy is about 1500 K. The compressive creep strength of the as-cast alloy at 1500 K is as good or better than MoSi 2 reinforced with either SiC p or SiC w , respectively, while those of the powder metallurgically processed alloys are comparable only to the unreinforced MoSi 2 . The room temperature fracture toughness of the alloy was determined to be 2.5 MPa m 1 2 .
Heterogeneity in Choice Inconsistencies among the Elderly: Evidence from Prescription Drug Plan Choice

Abstract This paper investigates the degree to which choice inconsistencies documented in the context of Medicare Part D plan choice vary across consumers and geographic regions. Our main finding is that there is surprisingly little variation: regardless of age, gender, predicted drug expenditures or the predictability of drug demand consumers underweight out of pocket costs relative to premiums and fail to consider the individualized consequences of plan characteristics; as a result, they frequently choose plans which are dominated in the sense that an alternative plan provides better risk protection at a lower cost. We find limited evidence that the sickest individuals had more difficulty with plan choice, and we document that much of the variation in potential cost savings across states comes from variation in choice sets, not variation in consumers ability to choose.
Evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of the CryoMedix cryoablation catheter system for the treatment of atrial flutter and fibrillation

Catheter ablation of atrial flutter and fibrillation (AFL and AF) has typically been performed with radiofrequency energy. Cryoablation has recently been used for AF and AFL, but its success has been limited by the nadir temperature achievable using nitrous oxide as a refrigerant. In this study, a novel approach allowing for use of a liquid refrigerant capable of achieving lower nadir temperatures was tested in a canine model with cavo-tricuspid isthmus (CTI) and left atrial (LA) ablation. In six dogs, under general anesthesia, standard catheters were placed in the coronary sinus and right ventricular apex, and the CryoMedix cryoablation catheter (CAC) in the right (CTI) and left atrium (for ablation, across the LA roof, mitral isthmus, and LA septum). Double-freezes up to 2 min each were performed, with a 30-s thaw cycle between freezes. Ablated areas were subsequently grossly inspected and photographed and tissues fixed in formalin for histologic analysis to determine if the lesions were contiguous and transmural. In all animals, long linear (from 4–8 cm) transmural atrial lesions were observed on gross and histological examination in the left atrial roof, septum and mitral isthmus, and across the cavo-trisucpid isthmus. In all animals, bi-directional cavo-tricuspid isthmus block was observed after ablation, during pacing from the coronary sinus ostium and low lateral right atrium, respectively. Up to 50 % thickness lesions were observed in the right ventricle below the tricuspid valve in all animals. There were no acute complications noted in any animals. The CAC system produces extremely negative freezing temperatures, significantly lower than those reported for nitrous oxide based systems. The CTI was easily ablated with the CAC system, producing bi-directional conduction block, suggesting a potential role for the system in the treatment of isthmus-dependent atrial flutter. Transmural LA lesions were also produced with the CAC system, suggesting a potential role in treating AF.
Use of MALDI-ToF MS to elucidate the structure of oligomeric impurities formed during ‘click’ cyclization of polystyrene

Abstract Polymers with a cyclic topology exhibit a range of unique and potentially useful physical properties, including reduced rates of degradation and increased rates of diffusion in bulk relative to linear analogs. However, the synthesis of high purity cyclic polymers and verification of their structural purity remain challenging. The copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne “click” cyclization route toward cyclic polymers has been widely used, due to its synthetic ease and its compatibility with diverse polymer backbones. Yet unoptimized click cyclization conditions have been observed to generate oligomeric byproducts. In order to optimize these cyclization conditions, and to better understand the structure of the higher molecular weight oligomers, these impurities have been isolated and characterized. Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI–ToF) MS is a particularly valuable characterization tool and was used to determine that the high molecular weight impurities are predominantly cyclic oligomers. It should also be noted that the rapid analysis and small analyte requirements of this MS technique make it particularly attractive as a general tool for elucidating polymer architecture.
Uptake of Iron by Bifidobacterium thermophilum Depends on the Metal Content of Its Growth Medium

Abstract Bifidobacterium thermophilum was grown in the trypticase-protease-yeast extract medium containing different concentrations of Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , and Fe 3+ , and Fe 2+ uptake was then measured in cells grown in the presence of metal ions. Cells that grew in metal-depleted media took up more iron than was the case with cells grown in metal-replete media. Such differences were not due to a necessity to transport iron against a concentration gradient, because soluble iron content was the same in cells grown in all types of media. Moreover, iron uptake could be diminished in cells grown only in the presence of increased amounts of Ca 2+ or of Mg 2+ . Iron uptake in cells grown in metal-depleted media was dependent on iron concentration, and the uptake was virtually abolished at 0°C and after heating the cells at 65°C for 20min. A possible explanation for this behavior is that the metals suppress the expression of a metal transporter.
Testing expected utility maximization under price and quantity risk with a heterogeneous panel

Refutable implications based on the curvature properties of the indirect utility function for the competitive firm operating under uncertainty are extended to the case of both price and quantity uncertainty. Using unit roots and cointegration tests for heterogeneous panels, a model of US agricultural production is developed based on the time-series properties of a panel of state-level data. Most refutable hypotheses under output price and output quantity risk are not rejected, but symmetry conditions implied by a twice-continuously-differentiable indirect utility function are rejected. The same test conclusions are obtained from a traditional model that presumes stationarity in all variables.
Physical Self-Esteem in Older Adults: A Test of the Indirect Effect of Physical Activity

The Exercise and Self-Esteem Model (EXSEM) is used to help explain the relationships among physical activity, self-perceptions, and self-esteem. However, the current conceptual framework employed relies on an overly narrow range of physical subdomains to explain variation in physical self-worth and self-esteem in older adults. The objective of the present study was to examine an expanded conceptual framework of the EXSEM in a sample of men and women over 60 years of age. Older adults (N 222; age, M 72.9 years) completed questionnaires which assessed global self-esteem, physical self-worth, subdomain level physical self-perceptions, self-efficacy for physical activity, physical activity, and demographic characteristics. A path analysis utilizing maximum likelihood estimation was conducted. The path analysis provided preliminary support for the expanded conceptual framework and use of the Physical Self-Descriptive Questionnaire (PDSQ) in older adults. In conclusion, the EXSEM employing an expanded conceptual framework may be appropriate for understanding the structure of physical self-perceptions in older adults.
An improved version of an algorithm due to Takeuchi and Saito

Takeuchi & Saito (1972) discussed several numerical techniques for the computation of Love and Rayleigh waves. In particular, they suggested an algorithm which is based on a fixed-step size fourth-order Runge-Kutta-Gill (RKG) method to compute Love and Rayleigh waves in a layered medium which has a piecewise continuous shear modulus and density. In this note we present a single example to demonstrate that this algorithm cannot accurately compute higher-mode Love and Rayleigh waves for frequencies greater than 0.5 Hz. We also show how to modify Takeuchi & Saito's algorithm in a simple fashion so that th'ese higher-mode Love and Rayleigh waves can be accurately computed. We first review the algorithm suggested by Takeuchi & Saito for the computation of Rayleigh waves in a layered piecewise continuous medium. The equation numbers which we reference are equation numbers which appear in Takeuchi & Saito (1972). We assume that the reader is familiar with this paper.
Predictive Approaches to Assessing the Fit of Evolutionary Models

Copyedited by:TRJ MANUSCRIPT CATEGORY: Article[17:30 18/3/2014 Sysbio-syu009.tex] Page: 1 1–4Syst. Biol. 0(0):1–4, 2014© The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists. All rights reserved.For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.comDOI:10.1093/sysbio/syu009
Accelerating Lattice Boltzmann Fluid Flow Simulations Using Graphics Processors

Lattice Boltzmann Methods (LBM) are used for the computational simulation of Newtonian fluid dynamics. LBM-based simulations are readily parallelizable; they have been implemented on general-purpose processors, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and graphics processing units (GPUs). Of the three methods, the GPU implementations achieved the highest simulation performance per chip. With memory bandwidth of up to 141 GB/s and a theoretical maximum floating point performance of over 600 GFLOPS, CUDA-ready GPUs from NVIDIA provide an attractive platform for a wide range of scientific simulations, including LBM. This paper improves upon prior single-precision GPU LBM results for the D3Q19 model by increasing GPU multiprocessor occupancy, resulting in an increase in maximum performance by 20%, and by introducing a space-efficient storage method which reduces GPU RAM requirements by 50% at a slight detriment to performance. Both GPU implementations are over 28 times faster than a single-precision quad-core CPU version utilizing OpenMP.
Power management for energy harvesting devices

The focus of much work in energy harvesting focuses on the mechanisms that capture the ambient energy and convert it to electricity. Comparatively little discussion is given to the problem of what to do with the electrical energy once it has been harvested. This article elaborates on some of the challenges associated with managing harvested electricity, particularly in light of work with small amount of power that comes in erratic and unpredictable bursts.
Local effects after inadvertent digital injection with an epinephrine auto-injector.

A 41-year-old, previously healthy physician, while treating a patient in the emergency department, inadvertently injected the contents of an adult epinephrine (EpiPen® auto-injector into the volar ...
RF MEMS for wireless applications

Micromechanical (or /spl mu/mechanical) communication circuits fabricated via IC-compatible MEMS technologies and capable of low-loss filtering, mixing, switching, and frequency generation, are described with the intent to miniaturize wireless transceivers. Possible MEMS-based receiver front-end architectures are then presented that use these micromechanical circuits in large quantities to enhance robustness and substantially reduce power consumption. Among the more aggressive architectures proposed are one based on a /spl mu/mechanical RF channel-selector and one featuring an all-MEMS RF front-end.
Relationships among spousal communication, self-efficacy, and motivation among expectant Latino fathers who smoke.

Objective Cigarette smoking is a prevalent problem among Latinos, yet little is known about what factors motivate them to quit smoking or make them feel more confident that they can. Given cultural emphases on familial bonds among Latinos (e.g., familismo), it is possible that communication processes among Latino spouses play an important role. The present study tested a mechanistic model in which perceived spousal constructive communication patterns predicted changes in level of motivation for smoking cessation through changes in self-efficacy among Latino expectant fathers. Methods Latino males (n = 173) and their pregnant partners participated in a couple-based intervention targeting males' smoking. Couples completed self-report measures of constructive communication, self-efficacy (male partners only), and motivation to quit (male partners only) at 4 time points throughout the intervention. Results Higher levels of perceived constructive communication among Latino male partners predicted subsequent increases in male partners' self-efficacy and, to a lesser degree, motivation to quit smoking; however, self-efficacy did not mediate associations between constructive communication and motivation to quit smoking. Furthermore, positive relationships with communication were only significant at measurements taken after completion of the intervention. Female partners' level of perceived constructive communication did not predict male partners' outcomes. Conclusion These results provide preliminary evidence to support the utility of couple-based interventions for Latino men who smoke. Findings also suggest that perceptions of communication processes among Latino partners (particularly male partners) may be an important target for interventions aimed at increasing desire and perceived ability to quit smoking among Latino men. (PsycINFO Database Record
The Interplay between Climate Variability and Density Dependence in the Population Viability of Chinook Salmon

The viability of populations is influenced by driving forces such as density dependence and climate variability, but most population viability analyses (PVAs) ignore these factors because of data limitations. Additionally, simplified PVAs produce limited measures of population viability such as annual population growth rate (λ) or extinction risk. Here we developed a "mechanistic" PVA of threatened Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in which, based on 40 years of detailed data, we related freshwater recruitment of juveniles to density of spawners, and third-year survival in the ocean to monthly indices of broad-scale ocean and climate conditions. Including climate variability in the model produced important effects: estimated population viability was very sensitive to assumptions of future climate conditions and the autocorrelation contained in the climate signal increased mean population abundance while increasing probability of quasi extinction. Because of the presence of density dependence in the model, however, we could not distinguish among alternative climate scenarios through mean λ values, emphasizing the importance of considering multiple measures to elucidate population viability. Our sensitivity analyses demonstrated that the importance of particular parameters varied across models and depended on which viability measure was the response variable. The density-dependent parameter associated with freshwater recruitment was consistently the most important, regardless of viability measure, suggesting that increasing juvenile carrying capacity is important for recovery.
Multiuser diversity gain in cognitive networks with distributed spectrum access

Opportunistic allocation of resources to the best link in large multiuser networks offers considerable improvement in spectral efficiency, which is often referred to as multiuser diversity gain and can be cast as double logarithmic growth of the network throughput with the number of users. In this paper we consider large decentralized cognitive networks granted concurrent spectrum access with license-holding users. We assume that the primary network affords to accommodate one secondary user per any under-utilized spectrum band and seek allocating such spectrum bands to a subset of the existing secondary users. We first consider the optimal spectrum-secondary user pairing, which is supervised by a central entity fully aware of the instantaneous channel conditions, and show that the throughput of the cognitive network scales double logarithmically with the number of secondary users (N) and linearly with the number of available spectrum bands (M), i.e. M log logN. Next, we propose a distributed spectrum allocation scheme, which does not necessitate a central controller or any information exchange between different secondary users and obeys the optimal throughput scaling law. This scheme requires that some secondary transmitter-receiver pairs exchange logM information bits among themselves. We also show that the aggregate amount of information exchange between secondary transmitter-receiver secondary pairs is also asymptotically equal to M logM. Finally, we show that our distributed scheme, also guarantees fairness among the secondary users, meaning that they are equally likely to get access to an available spectrum band.
Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin Is Produced by Dendritic Cells

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a type 1 cytokine that contributes to lymphopoiesis and the development of asthma and atopic dermatitis. TSLP acts on multiple lineages, including dendritic cells (DCs), T cells, NKT cells, eosinophils, and mast cells, mediating proliferation and survival and linking innate and adaptive immune responses. TSLP is produced by a range of cells, including epithelial cells, fibroblasts, stromal cells, and keratinocytes. DCs are important primary targets of TSLP, and we unexpectedly demonstrated that DCs also produce TSLP in response to TLR stimulation and that this is augmented by IL-4. Moreover, we demonstrated that when mice were challenged with house dust mite extract, lung CD11c(+) DCs expressed TSLP mRNA at an even higher level than did epithelial cells. These data suggested that DCs not only respond to TSLP but also are a source of TSLP during pathogen and/or allergen encounter.