cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cerebral perfusion pressure, and not cerebral blood flow, may be the critical determinant of intracranial injury in preeclampsia: a new hypothesis.

Abstract Objective: The relationship between cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) and cerebral blood flow is unclear in preeclampsia. Our objective was to clarify this issue by comparing normal pregnant women to those with mild and severe preeclampsia. Study Design: Patients with mild (n = 72) and severe (n = 120) preeclampsia underwent transcranial Doppler (TCD) imaging of the maternal middle cerebral artery (MCA). At the same time, blood pressure was taken with a Dinamap monitor (Dinamap; Criticon Inc, Tampa, Fla). CPP, resistance area product (RAP), and the cerebral flow index (CFI) were calculated by standard formulas. Data were plotted on normative curves for pregnancy (5% and 95%) and compared by χ 2 and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: CFI is usually normal in both severe (75%) and mild (72%) cases. If CFI is abnormal in severe cases, it may be either increased (14%) or decreased (10%), although in mild cases almost all abnormal CFI (25%) is lower than normal. In those cases with low or normal CFI, severe cases are associated with a significantly higher CPP, RAP, and MAP than mild cases ( P Conclusions: One of the fundamental differences between mild and severe cases relates to the degree of cerebral perfusion pressure that the MCAs are subjected to. Because most preeclamptic women, regardless of degree of severity, have a normal CFI, it appears that autoregulation is generally intact. Because women with severe cases are more prone to cerebral catastrophe than those with mild preeclampsia, uncontrolled CPP may cause barotrauma and vessel damage, leading to hypertensive encephalopathy and overperfusion injury. Therapeutic strategies that ensure reduction of the CPP with maintenance of the CFI seem most likely to prevent the cerebral injuries (overperfusion or underperfusion) that cause seizures or death in women with preeclampsia. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2002;187:626-34)
Tours of Graphs, Digraphs, and Sequential Machines

A tour of a graph (digraph or sequential machine) is a sequence of nodes from the graph such that each node appears at least once and two nodes are adjacent in the sequence only if they are adjacent in the graph. Finding the shortest tour of a graph is known to be an NP-complete problem. Several theorems are given that show that there are classes ofgraphs in which the shortest tour can be found easily. For more general graphs, we present approximating algorithms for finding short tours. For undirected graphs, the approximating algorithms give tours at worst a constant times the length of the shortest tour. For directed graphs, the size of the calculated tour is bounded by the size of the digraph times the shortest tour. Not only are the bounds worse for the directed case, but the running times of the approximating algorithms are also larger than those for the undirected case.
The costs and benefits of providing feedback during learning.

It seems uncontroversial that providing feedback after a test, in the form of the correct answer, enhances learning. In real-world educational situations, however, the time available for learning is often constrained— and feedback takes time. We report an experiment in which total time for learning was fixed, thereby creating a trade-off between spending time receiving feedback and spending time on other learning activities. Our results suggest that providing feedback is not universally beneficial. Indeed, under some circumstances, taking time to provide feedback can have a negative net effect on learning. We also found that learners appear to have some insight about the costs of feedback; when they were allowed to control feedback, they often skipped unnecessary feedback in favor of additional retrieval attempts, and they benefited from doing so. These results underscore the importance of considering the costs and benefits of interventions designed to enhance learning.
Investigational Therapies for Brain Metastases

Contrary to the incidence of primary cancers, the incidence of brain metastasis has been increasing. This increase is likely because of the effects of an aging population, improved neuroimaging surveillance, and better control of systemic cancer, allowing time for brain metastasis to occur. Unlike systemic cancers, for which chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment, the therapeutic strategies available to treat brain metastasis have traditionally been limited to surgical resection, whole brain radiation therapy, or stereotactic radiosurgery, either individually or in combination. It is important to put the treatment in the context of the prognosis for patients with brain metastases.
Epitaxial structure and transport in LaTiO3+x films on (001) SrTiO3

The structure and transport properties of LaTiO3+x epitaxial thin films grown on (001) SrTiO3 by pulsedlaser deposition is examined. Four-circle X-ray diffraction indicates that the films possess the defect perovskite LaTiO3 structure when deposited in vacuum, with the higher X compounds forming at moderate oxygen pressures. The crystal structure of the LaTiO3 films is tetragonal in the epitaxial films, in contrast to the orthorhombic structure observed in bulk materials. A domain structure is observed in the films, consisting of LaTiO3 oriented either with the [110] or [001] directions perpendicular to the substrate surface. Z-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals that this domain structure is not present in the first few unit cells of the film, but emerges approximately 2 – 3 nm from the SrTiO3/LaTiO3 interface. Upon increasing the oxygen pressure during growth, a shift in the lattice d-spacing parallel to the substrate surface is observed, and is consistent with the growth of the La2Ti2O7 phase. However, van der Pauw measurements show that the films with the larger d-spacing remain conductive, albeit with a resistivity that is significantly higher than that for the perovskite LaTiO3 films. The transport behavior suggests that the films grown at higher oxygen pressures are LaTiO3+x with 0.4 < x < 0.5.
Galilean-invariant Nonlinear PDEs and their Exact Solutions

Abstract All systems of (n+1)-dimensional quasilinear evolutional second-order equations invariant under the chain of algebras AG(1.n) ⊂ AG 1(1.n) ⊂ AG 2(1.n) are described. The obtained results are illustrated by examples of nonlinear Schrodinger equations.
Pulmonary response to intratracheal instillation of ultrafine versus fine titanium dioxide: role of particle surface area.

Background: The production and use of nanoparticles is growing rapidly due to the unique physical and chemical properties associated with their nano size and large surface area. Since nanoparticles have unique physicochemical properties, their bioactivity upon exposure to workers or consumers is of interest. In this study, the issue of what dose metric (mass dose versus surface area dose) is appropriate for toxicological studies has been addressed. Rats were exposed by intratracheal instillation to various doses of ultrafine or fine TiO2 . At 1, 7, or 42 days postexposure, inflammatory and cytotoxic potential of each particle type was compared on both a mass dosage (mg/rat) as well as an equal surface area dosage (cm2 of particles per cm2 of alveolar epithelium) basis. Results: The findings of the study show that on a mass basis the ultrafine particles caused significantly more inflammation and were significantly more cytotoxic than the fine sized particles. However, when doses were equalized based on surface area of particles delivered, the ultrafine particles were only slightly more inflammogenic and cytotoxic when compared to the fine sized particles. Lung burden data indicate that ultrafine TiO2 appears to migrate to the interstitium to a much greater extent than fine TiO 2 . Conclusion: This study suggests that surface area of particles may be a more appropriate dose metric for pulmonary toxicity studies than mass of particles.
Continuous Multistate Structure Functions

Usually, systems and components are described as being in one of two modes, "on" or "off." Such systems are described using binary structure functions. More realistically, components can be in more than two states-for example, there can be partially failed or partially operating modes. In fact, the system state can be described by continuously many values if percentage effort or percentage capacity is recorded. This paper discusses the structure functions of such continuous multistate systems and obtains a decomposition of these functions into more elementary functions.
Dynamic Reweighting of Visual and Vestibular Cues during Self-Motion Perception

The perception of self-motion direction, or heading, relies on integration of multiple sensory cues, especially from the visual and vestibular systems. However, the reliability of sensory information can vary rapidly and unpredictably, and it remains unclear how the brain integrates multiple sensory signals given this dynamic uncertainty. Human psychophysical studies have shown that observers combine cues by weighting them in proportion to their reliability, consistent with statistically optimal integration schemes derived from Bayesian probability theory. Remarkably, because cue reliability is varied randomly across trials, the perceptual weight assigned to each cue must change from trial to trial. Dynamic cue reweighting has not been examined for combinations of visual and vestibular cues, nor has the Bayesian cue integration approach been applied to laboratory animals, an important step toward understanding the neural basis of cue integration. To address these issues, we tested human and monkey subjects in a heading discrimination task involving visual (optic flow) and vestibular (translational motion) cues. The cues were placed in conflict on a subset of trials, and their relative reliability was varied to assess the weights that subjects gave to each cue in their heading judgments. We found that monkeys can rapidly reweight visual and vestibular cues according to their reliability, the first such demonstration in a nonhuman species. However, some monkeys and humans tended to over-weight vestibular cues, inconsistent with simple predictions of a Bayesian model. Nonetheless, our findings establish a robust model system for studying the neural mechanisms of dynamic cue reweighting in multisensory perception.
Combined Treatment Approach in Surgical Management of Carcinoma of the Esophagus: A Preliminary Report

Surgical management of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus continues to be a controversial area in thoracic surgery. In a series of 20 patients, 15 received preoperative chemotherapy with cis-platinum (cisplatin), 2 received cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil, and 3 received cisplatin plus vinblastine sulfate. Eighteen patients underwent en bloc esophagogastrectomy and postoperative radiation therapy. All patients were staged preoperatively by thoracoabdominal computed axial tomographic scan, bone scan, bronchoscopy, esophagoscopy, and barium swallow. Patients with liver or bone metastasis were excluded. The majority of patients received preoperative enteral hyperalimentation. Eighteen of the 20 patients completed the study with a follow-up of 12 to 24 months. There was 1 operative death, and 3 patients were in the hospital for more than three weeks after operation before they were discharged. Fourteen of the 18 patients survived for a year, and 11 survived for 12 to 24 months. Substantial reduction in mucosal disease and tumor burden based on preoperative barium swallow and endoscopy was evident in 11 of 18 patients, but in no patient was the tumor completely eradicated by preoperative chemotherapy. Although follow-up is short, this treatment regimen involving a combined treatment offers hope in the palliation of this disease.
Psychological Language on Twitter Predicts County-Level Heart Disease Mortality

Hostility and chronic stress are known risk factors for heart disease, but they are costly to assess on a large scale. We used language expressed on Twitter to characterize community-level psychological correlates of age-adjusted mortality from atherosclerotic heart disease (AHD). Language patterns reflecting negative social relationships, disengagement, and negative emotions—especially anger—emerged as risk factors; positive emotions and psychological engagement emerged as protective factors. Most correlations remained significant after controlling for income and education. A cross-sectional regression model based only on Twitter language predicted AHD mortality significantly better than did a model that combined 10 common demographic, socioeconomic, and health risk factors, including smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Capturing community psychological characteristics through social media is feasible, and these characteristics are strong markers of cardiovascular mortality at the community level.
Radiation patterns of higher azimuthal order spatial modes from a concentric-circle-grating waveguide cavity using the volume-current method

We calculate the surface-emitted scattered radiation from a concentric-circle-grating waveguide cavity. The full vector form of the scattered radiation is calculated using the volume-current method, where the index perturbation caused by the grating is represented as an induced-current driving term in the free-space wave equation for the scattered field. We show intensity patterns and field vector plots for a range of azimuthal modes besides the previously reported fundamental mode, and we find excellent agreement with the observed emission patterns and field polarization from concentric-circle-grating surface-emitting semiconductor lasers.
Exploiting the web for point-in-time file sharing

We describe a simple approach to "point-in-time" file sharing based on time expiring web links and personal webservers. This approach to file sharing is useful in environments where instant messaging clients are varied and don't necessarily support (compatible) file transfer protocols. We discuss the features of such an approach along with a successfully deployed implementation now in wide use throughout the IBM corporation.
Implementing Water Pollution Policy in the United States: Total Maximum Daily Loads and Collaborative Watershed Management

This article builds on a growing literature about collaborative environmental policymaking and assesses its use in relation to a major element of American water pollution policy—the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program. It extends current literature by tying collaborative policymaking to a key element of the federal Clean Water Act and by compiling information on the implementation of actions recommended in TMDL reports. We find that recommendations contained in TMDL reports are being implemented in many—but not all—of the TMDL-limited watersheds in Ohio and West Virginia. In addition, we find that the presence of a collaborative watershed group is positively associated with perceived progress in TMDL implementation. However, we also find that current efforts are far from sufficient, and we suggest that future efforts to understand collaborative watershed management should take account of TMDL processes and the federal policy structures in which they are embedded.
Patient-controlled analgesia with sufentanil: A comparison of two different methods of administration

Abstract Study Objective: To examine the safety and analgesic efficacy of sufentanil administered via either epidural or intravenous (IV) patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) in patients recovering from gynecologic surgery. Design: Randomized, double-blind comparison. Setting: Patient care unit at a university medical center. Patients: 29 healthy women presenting for major intraabdominal gynecologic surgery with epidural anesthesia who requested postoperative PCA. Interventions: Following completion of surgery performed using epidural anesthesia with 2 % lidocaine and IV sedation, patients were assigned to one of three treatment groups: Group 1-epidural PCA (EPCA) with sufentanil: 0.3 μg/kg bolus followed by 8 μg/hr infusion plus epidural PCA boluses of 4 μg every 6 min as needed; Group 2-IV PCA with sufentanil: 0.3 μg/kg bolus followed by 8 μg/hr infusion plus IV PCA boluses of 4 μg every 6 min as needed; or Group 3-IV PCA with morphine: 0.1 mg/kg bolus followed by 0.5 mg/hr infusion plus IV PCA boluses of 1 mg every 6 min as needed. Measurements and Main Results: Patients were observed at regular intervals during a 24-hour evaluation period. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores were used to assess analgesia and satisfaction with therapy. Pulmonary function was assessed by monitoring respiratory rate, oxygen (O 2 ) saturation, and forced expiratory flow. Total opioid dose delivered and the presence/severity of side effects was also collected. Sufentanil plasma levels were measured in a subset of eight patients. Patients receiving either EPCA or IV PCA sufentanil experienced equivalent analgesia that was more rapid in onset than IV PCA morphine. Total dose administered and plasma concentration of drug were similar in both sufentanil groups; however, a greater number of patients in the IV delivery group experienced clinically significant O 2 desaturation. Conclusions. The main advantage of EPCA sufentanil in this postsurgical setting was its ability to provide a more rapid onset of analgesia than traditional IV PCA with morphine while offering greater safety than IV sufentanil.
The Effect of Air/Fuel Ratio on Properties and Reactivity of Combustion Soots

The dependence of specific properties of black carbon (BC) soots on fuel type and combustion conditions has been studied, and the effects of these properties on soot particle hydration and reaction with ozone determined. Series of soots were prepared from n-hexane, diesel and JP8 aircraft fuels, utilizing a flow combustion system designed for accurate control of the air/fuel ratio in premixed flames. It has been shown that, for each of these, linear relationships exist between the state of soot surface oxidation, surface area, unpaired electron spin density, and air/fuel ratio. The interrelationship of these properties potentially enables the preparation of soots with pre-selected characteristics by establishing combustion conditions for each fuel type. Predictable variations in these soot characteristics have been demonstrated through preparations near sea level and at higher elevation. Soot hydration and its reactivity with ozone are quantitatively related to surface oxidation and, thus, the air/fuel combustion ratio for soot's formation in premixed flames. The effect of relative humidity (RH) on the soot-ozone reaction over the O3 concentration and RH ranges 2–4.8 ppm and17–78%, respectively, is expressed by−d[O3]/dt =k[O3]2[H2O]0.2and is directly related to particle surface oxidation.
Effects of aerobic exercise and dietary carbohydrate on energy expenditure and body composition during weight reduction in obese women

To test the benefits of aerobic exercise and dietary carbohydrate during reduced-energy feeding, 23 obese women (44 +/- 4% fat) were randomly assigned to either aerobic exercise (Ex) or no exercise (Nx), and to a low-fat (LF) or low-carbohydrate (LC) reducing diet (5.00 +/- 0.56 MJ/d) for 12 wk. Changes in body composition, postabsorptive resting metabolic rate (RMR), thermic effect of a meal (TEM), and total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) were measured by respiratory gas exchange and doubly labeled water. Significant effects of Ex included a greater loss of fat mass (Ex: -8.8 +/- 2.1 vs Nx: -6.1 +/- 2.3 kg, P = 0.008) and maintenance of TDEE (Ex: +0.07 +/- 1.23 vs Nx: -1.46 +/- 1.04 MJ/d, P = 0.004), due to a difference in physical activity (Ex: +0.75 +/- 1.06 vs Nx: -0.61 +/- 1.03 MJ/d, P = 0.006), which was not attributable solely to the Ex sessions. RMR in both groups decreased comparably (-0.54 MJ/d), and TEM (% of meal) did not change. Diet composition did not significantly influence body composition or energy expenditure changes, but a greater weight loss was observed after the LC than after the LF (-10.6 +/- 2.0 vs -8.1 +/- 3.0 kg, P = 0.037) diet. The addition of aerobic exercise to a low-energy diet was beneficial in the treatment of moderate obesity because of its favorable effects on body composition, physical activity, and TDEE.
A symptom profile of depression among Asian Americans: is there evidence for differential item functioning of depressive symptoms?

Background Theoretical and clinical publications suggest the existence of cultural differences in the expression and experience of depression. Measurement non-equivalence remains a potential methodological explanation for the lower prevalence of depression among Asian Americans compared to European Americans. Method This study compared DSM-IV depressive symptoms among Asian Americans and European Americans using secondary data analysis of the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES). The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used for the assessment of depressive symptoms. Of the entire sample, 310 Asian Americans and 1974 European Americans reported depressive symptoms and were included in the analyses. Measurement variance was examined with an item response theory differential item functioning (IRT DIF) analysis. Results χ 2 analyses indicated that, compared to Asian Americans, European American participants more frequently endorsed affective symptoms such as ‘feeling depressed’, ‘feeling discouraged’ and ‘cried more often’. The IRT analysis detected DIF for four out of the 15 depression symptom items. At equal levels of depression, Asian Americans endorsed feeling worthless and appetite changes more easily than European Americans, and European Americans endorsed feeling nervous and crying more often than Asian Americans. Conclusions Asian Americans did not seem to over-report somatic symptoms; however, European Americans seemed to report more affective symptoms than Asian Americans. The results suggest that there was measurement variance in a few of the depression items.
Photofragment imaging of HNCO decomposition: Angular anisotropy and correlated distributions

Photodissociation of jet-cooled isocyanic acid has been examined by photofragment ion imaging of H(D) from H(D)NCO and CO from HNCO, and by laser induced fluorescence (LIF) of NH(a 1Δ) from HNCO. Only modest recoil anisotropy is observed in the H+NCO channel at 243.1 nm (β=−0.13±0.05), while the D+NCO channel at approximately the same wavelength reveals no anisotropy (β=0.00±0.05), confirming that the dissociation of H(D)NCO from the opening of the H(D) channel proceeds via vibrational predissociation on the S0(1A) surface. In contrast, substantial anisotropy (β=−0.66±0.08) is observed in the NH(a 1Δ)+CO channel at 230.1 nm, but this value can correspond to dissociation on either S0 or S1. The photolysis region between 243 and 230 nm thus appears important in providing clues to the dissociation mechanism and the competition between different potential energy surfaces. At 217.6 nm, product state distributions exhibit clear dynamical biases. CO is produced in both ν=0 and ν=1, while NH(a 1Δ) distributions c...
Analyzing Sub-Threshold Bitcell Topologies and the Effects of Assist Methods on SRAM VMIN

The need for ultra low power circuits has forced circuit designers to scale voltage supplies into the sub-threshold region where energy per operation is minimized [1]. The problem with this is that the traditional 6T SRAM bitcell, used for data storage, becomes unreliable at voltages below about 700 mV due to process variations and decreased device drive strength [2]. In order to achieve reliable operation, new bitcell topologies and assist methods have been proposed. This paper provides a comparison of four different bitcell topologies using read and write VMIN as the metrics for evaluation. In addition, read and write assist methods were tested using the periphery voltage scaling techniques discussed in [4–13]. Measurements taken from a 180 nm test chip show read functionality (without assist methods) down to 500 mV and write functionality down to 600 mV. Using assist methods can reduce both read and write VMIN by 100 mV over the unassisted test case.
Dose-response effects of intrauminal infusion of propionate on feeding behavior of lactating cows in early or midlactation.

Abstract The objective of this experiment was to evaluate whether dose-response effects of intraruminal infusion of propionate on feeding behavior and dry matter intake (DMI) differ by stage of lactation. Six cows in early lactation (EL) and six cows in midlactation (ML) were assigned to blocks in a duplicated 6×6 Latin square design experiment. Treatments were mixtures of sodium propionate and sodium acetate containing sodium propionate at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% of total volatile fatty acids (VFA), infused into the rumen continuously for 18h starting 6h before feeding at a rate of 21.7 mmol of sodium VFA/min. All cows were ruminally cannulated prior to the experiment. The diet was formulated to contain 30% NDF, and dry cracked corn was the major source of starch. We hypothesized that hypophagic effects of propionate infusion were greater for EL compared with ML because of greater plasma concentration of nonesterified fatty acids (275 vs. 76 μ Meq/L) and expected greater basal oxidative metabolism in the liver for EL compared to ML. Propionate infusion decreased DMI for EL and ML, but a quadratic effect of propionate infusion was observed for ML but not EL. This indicated a greater marginal reduction in DMI at higher doses of propionate for ML compared to EL, contrary to our hypothesis. Propionate infusion decreased meal size similarly for both stages of lactation, but linearly increased intermeal interval for ML but not EL. We speculate that lower milk yield for ML compared with EL (30.8 vs. 42.0 kg/d) decreased glucose demand by the mammary gland and increased the proportion of infused propionate oxidized in the liver for ML compared to EL.
Resonance and Q Performance of Ellipsoidal ENG Subwavelength Radiators

The resonance performance and Q-factor of electrically small ellipsoidal radiators made of epsilon negative (ENG) material is investigated. It is demonstrated that the material polarization can successfully provide resonance radiation at the negative material constitutive parameters. In principle, arbitrary low resonant frequencies for a fixed antenna dimension can be achieved. The dependence of resonant frequency on the shape of the structure is determined. Special attention is devoted to the sphere, thin disk, and long rod, and physical insights into the radiation characteristics and Q (or bandwidth) are highlighted.
High glucose-repressed CITED2 expression through miR-200b triggers the unfolded protein response and endoplasmic reticulum stress

High glucose in vivo and in vitro induces neural tube defects (NTDs). CITED2 (CBP/p300-interacting transactivator with ED-rich tail 2) is essential for neural tube closure. We explored the regulatory mechanism underlying CITED2 expression and its relationship with miRNA and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. miR-200b levels were increased by maternal diabetes or high glucose in vitro, and this increase was abrogated by transgenic overexpression of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) or an SOD1 mimetic. CITED2 was the target of miR-200b and was downregulated by high glucose. Two miR-200b binding sites in the 3'-untranslated region of the CITED2 mRNA were required for inhibiting CITED2 expression. The miR-200b mimic and a CITED2 knockdown mimicked the stimulative effect of high glucose on unfolded protein response (UPR) and ER stress, whereas the miR-200b inhibitor and CITED2 overexpression abolished high glucose-induced UPR signaling, ER stress, and apoptosis. The ER stress inhibitor, 4-phenylbutyrate, blocked CITED2 knockdown-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, the miR-200b inhibitor reversed high glucose-induced CITED2 downregulation, ER stress, and NTDs in cultured embryos. Thus, we showed a novel function of miR-200b and CITED2 in high glucose-induced UPR and ER stress, suggesting that miR-200b and CITED2 are critical for ER homeostasis and NTD formation in the developing embryo.
Significant factors impacting export decisions of small- and medium-sized softwood sawmill firms in North America

An augmented internationalization process (AIP) model is developed to explain important factors influencing decisions of small- and medium-sized softwood sawmill firms in the United States (US) and Canada. The decision to participate in exporting (i.e., export orientation) and the decision to intensify exporting activities (i.e., export involvement) are analyzed using ordinal probit hurdle regression model. Production capacity, geographical location, and the degree of differentiation strategies are factors playing important roles in determining the level of internationalization of the firm (i.e., export orientation + export involvement). Larger US firms are more likely to participate in exporting activities, whereas Canadian firms of all sizes are exporters. Also, firms in the US South are unlikely to participate in international business activities unless they adopt a product differentiation strategy, and even then they are more likely to use intermediary firms rather than undertake export activities dir...
High breakdown single-crystal GaN p-n diodes by molecular beam epitaxy

Molecular beam epitaxy grown GaN p-n vertical diodes are demonstrated on single-crystal GaN substrates. A low leakage current <3 nA/cm2 is obtained with reverse bias voltage up to −20 V. With a 400 nm thick n-drift region, an on-resistance of 0.23 mΩ cm2 is achieved, with a breakdown voltage corresponding to a peak electric field of ∼3.1 MV/cm in GaN. Single-crystal GaN substrates with very low dislocation densities enable the low leakage current and the high breakdown field in the diodes, showing significant potential for MBE growth to attain near-intrinsic performance when the density of dislocations is low.
Metabolism of 2-phenylethylamine to phenylacetic acid, via the intermediate phenylacetaldehyde, by freshly prepared and cryopreserved guinea pig liver slices.

Background 2-Phenylethylamine is an endogenous amine, which acts as a neuromodulator of dopaminergic responses. Exogenous 2-phenylethylamine is found in certain foodstuffs and may cause toxic side-effects in susceptible individuals. Materials and methods The present investigation examined the metabolism of 2-phenylethylamine to phenylacetic acid, via phenylacetaldehyde, in freshly prepared and cryopreserved liver slices. Additionally, it compared the relative contribution of aldehyde oxidase, xanthine oxidase and aldehyde dehydrogenase by using specific inhibitors for each oxidizing enzyme. Results In freshly prepared and cryopreserved liver slices, phenylacetic acid was the main metabolite of 2-phenylethalamine. In freshly prepared liver slices, phenylacetic acid was completely inhibited by disulfiram (inhibitor of aldehyde dehydrogenase), whereas isovanillin (inhibitor of aldehyde oxidase) inhibited acid formation to a lesser extent and allopurinol (inhibitor of xanthine oxidase) had no effect. In cryopreserved liver slices, isovanillin inhibited phenylacetic acid by 85%, whereas disulfiram inhibited acid formation to a lesser extent and allopurinol had no effect. Conclusion In liver slices, 2-phenylethylamine is rapidly oxidized to phenylacetic acid, via phenylacetaldehyde, by aldehyde dehydrogenase and aldehyde oxidase with no contribution from xanthine oxidase.
One Server, Infinite Queue (M/M/1)

This chapter pertains to a one-server, infinite capacity system with exponential inter-arrival and service times. Could be the airline passengers arriving to a security checkpoint in the airport. The checkpoint is the service facility and the passengers are the arrivals. The difference, equilibrium and reduced equations are listed. The probability on n units in the system, and the corresponding performance measures are developed. Examples are presented to guide the reader.
Still Waiting: The Slow Evolution of the Law in Light of the Ongoing Student Suicide Crisis

College and university student mental health issues, especially student suicide, have emerged as matters of national concern. Modern college and university students face an array of mental health challenges. The risks associated with suicide, which in some situations may include an attendant risk of homicide, have become signature risks in an ongoing college and university student mental health crisis. Suicide is neither the only, nor the most prevalent, mental health issue for students, but it has become salient. Just a few years ago, there was much less public discussion of the mental health challenges of the modern student and very little by way of systemic and proactive suicide prevention for a college and university community as a whole. The times have changed. Dealing with suicide risk in college and university populations is now a top concern for administrators. In 2002, Nancy Tribbensee and I wrote of the emerging crisis of college and university student suicide. We addressed the wave of mental health issues menacing institutions of higher education and sounded an alarm that the delivery of higher education and litigation patterns would change. We acknowledged that, at the time, alcohol and drug use dominated the agendas of many college and university administrators. Events at Virginia Tech in April of 2007, however, put greater priority upon issues of self-inflicted injury and attendant violence. While college and university mental health issues had continued to garner interest prior to 2007, the Virginia Tech tragedy served as a catalyst for greater intervention by colleges and universities with respect to mental health issues. In 2002, we anticipated that in the near term, however, attention paid to suicide and other serious forms of self-inflicted injury will continue to increase and that these concerns may begin to gain prominence. The April 2007, tragedy has made our prediction regarding issues of suicide and related violence come true faster than we imagined. Unfortunately, although suicide and related risks have jumped in priority, the law has evolved at a frustratingly slow pace. This article is an update to my earlier article with Nancy Tribbensee and a call to action: colleges and universities desperately need more legal guidance on the parameters of managing student suicide danger.
Quality-Control Regulation of Home Health Care

This article examines the comparability of nursing homes and home health care with respect to the quality-control effects of private litigation and state licensure. It explains that the false assumption of broad comparability between nursing homes and home health care could hamper effective regulation of quality in the delivery of home health care.This article has two main sections, the first of which compares nursing homes and home health care in the context of private litigation. Points of comparison in the litigation context include the barriers to private litigation in long-term care, issues in institutional liability, applicable standards of care, and the availability of statutory private rights of action for violations of state licensure standards. Limitations and obstacles in private litigation, particularly potent for elderly individuals, reveal that although private litigation exerts influence on quality control, it cannot replace government regulation. The second main section makes the nursing home and home health care comparison with respect to state licensure and enforcement mechanisms. It begins by identifying a regulatory model focused on the individual caregiver as best-suited for home health care, using governmental regulation of hospitals and nursing homes as alternative models. Next, it provides an overview of the status of licensures for home health care providers, coverage of state statutes, intermediate sanctions currently available, and the experience of several states in the licensure of home health agencies. Finally, it analyzes the rationale for supporting intermediate sanctions for nursing homes and considers the applicability of such sanctions to home health care. Recognizing that regulatory programs alone do not guarantee quality of care, the article concludes with recommendations for how to best utilize private litigation and state licensure mechanisms to achieve effective quality-control regulation.
Optimizing force spectroscopy by modifying commercial cantilevers: Improved stability, precision, and temporal resolution

Atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) enables a wide array of studies, from measuring the strength of a ligand-receptor bond to elucidating the complex folding pathway of individual membrane proteins. Such SMFS studies and, more generally, the diverse applications of AFM across biophysics and nanotechnology are improved by enhancing data quality via improved force stability, force precision, and temporal resolution. For an advanced, small-format commercial AFM, we illustrate how these three metrics are limited by the cantilever itself rather than the larger microscope structure, and then describe three increasingly sophisticated cantilever modifications that yield enhanced data quality. First, sub-pN force precision and stability over a broad bandwidth (Δf=0.01-20Hz) is routinely achieved by removing a long (L=100μm) cantilever's gold coating. Next, this sub-pN bandwidth is extended by a factor of ∼50 to span five decades of bandwidth (Δf=0.01-1000Hz) by using a focused ion beam (FIB) to modify a shorter (L=40μm) cantilever. Finally, FIB-modifying an ultrashort (L=9μm) cantilever improves its force stability and precision while maintaining 1-μs temporal resolution. These modified ultrashort cantilevers have a reduced quality factor (Q≈0.5) and therefore do not apply a substantial (30-90pN), high-frequency force modulation to the molecule, a phenomenon that is unaccounted for in traditional SMFS analysis. Currently, there is no perfect cantilever for all applications. Optimizing AFM-based SMFS requires understanding the tradeoffs inherent to using a specific cantilever and choosing the one best suited to a particular application.
Genome-wide expression for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis: a multicohort analysis

Summary Background Active pulmonary tuberculosis is difficult to diagnose and treatment response is difficult to effectively monitor. A WHO consensus statement has called for new non-sputum diagnostics. The aim of this study was to use an integrated multicohort analysis of samples from publically available datasets to derive a diagnostic gene set in the peripheral blood of patients with active tuberculosis. Methods We searched two public gene expression microarray repositories and retained datasets that examined clinical cohorts of active pulmonary tuberculosis infection in whole blood. We compared gene expression in patients with either latent tuberculosis or other diseases versus patients with active tuberculosis using our validated multicohort analysis framework. Three datasets were used as discovery datasets and meta-analytical methods were used to assess gene effects in these cohorts. We then validated the diagnostic capacity of the three gene set in the remaining 11 datasets. Findings A total of 14 datasets containing 2572 samples from 10 countries from both adult and paediatric patients were included in the analysis. Of these, three datasets (N=1023) were used to discover a set of three genes ( GBP5, DUSP3 , and KLF2 ) that are highly diagnostic for active tuberculosis. We validated the diagnostic power of the three gene set to separate active tuberculosis from healthy controls (global area under the ROC curve (AUC) 0·90 [95% CI 0·85–0·95]), latent tuberculosis (0·88 [0·84–0·92]), and other diseases (0·84 [0·80–0·95]) in eight independent datasets composed of both children and adults from ten countries. Expression of the three-gene set was not confounded by HIV infection status, bacterial drug resistance, or BCG vaccination. Furthermore, in four additional cohorts, we showed that the tuberculosis score declined during treatment of patients with active tuberculosis. Interpretation Overall, our integrated multicohort analysis yielded a three-gene set in whole blood that is robustly diagnostic for active tuberculosis, that was validated in multiple independent cohorts, and that has potential clinical application for diagnosis and monitoring treatment response. Prospective laboratory validation will be required before it can be used in a clinical setting. Funding National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Library of Medicine, the Stanford Child Health Research Institute, the Society for University Surgeons, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Deductive Closure, Defeasibility and Scepticism: A Reply to Feldman

If entailment is truth-preserving and justification is a positive status vis a vis truth, one might expect justification for believing a proposition to transmit to certain propositions entailed by it. One might think, e.g., that if S is justified in believing p, and also justified in believing that p entails q, then S is justified in believing q -let us call this the transmission by justifiably presumed entailment principle [the entailment principle for short]. In previous work I have attacked various closure principles, in part with a view to rebutting scepticism. In his paper 'In Defence of Closure' (above, pp. 487-94), Richard Feldman's probing, very valuable study of some of my efforts indicates that there is far more to be said on the matter. I shall try both to assess his main points and to move towards a better understanding of when justification transmits and when it does not. I should add that I believe he would take his main points to apply to the principle just stated, which is among those I have rejected, though he intends to be discussing the issue in terms of his principle (C3), the principle that if S is justified in believing the conjunction p and p logically implies q, then S is justified in believing q (p. 488). I shall compare the principles later.
Lanthanide probes for bioresponsive imaging.

The chemistry of the less familiar elements is a fascinating topic especially for the inorganic minded. The lanthanides, or rare earths, comprise the 5d block of the periodic table and represent a huge array of applications from catalysis to lasers, and of course, imaging agents.1 Recent advances in luminescence and magnetic resonance microscopy have, in part, been stimulated by extraordinary success in the development of new lanthanide probes. The unique properties of the lanthanides provide for a deep tool chest for the chemist, biologist and the imaging scientist to exploit, and that exploitation is in full swing. In this review we focus on two classes of lanthanide probes that are subsets of the larger area of metalloimaging: luminescent and magnetic lanthanides. In Section 2 we discuss the general design and photophysical properties of lanthanides and how these parameters are tuned to develop bioresponsive probes for optical imaging. In Section 3 we provide a brief description of how MR images are acquired and the how MRI contrast agents are engineered to respond to biological events of interest. These guiding principles have driven research that has produced a truly diverse number of new agents that are target specific and bioresponsive (or bioactivatable). While other imaging modalities utilize lanthanide-based probes, these topics are beyond the scope of this review. We direct the reader to explore some excellent reviews in the important areas of radiometals and multimodal imaging.2–5
Rational Advocacy and the Logic of Persuasion

Professionalization brings with it many complications and compro-mises. It also works to normalize and naturalize particular tactics and goals which come to dictate the “common sense” of Nonhuman Animal advocacy. As explored in the previous chapter, the rationalization processes of large non-profits may lead to problematic irrationalities that can actually work to hinder or worsen progress toward Nonhuman Animal liberation. Organizations prioritize tactics and goals that are best suited to fundraising and organizational longevity, not necessarily those which would be better adapted to dismantling speciesism. It is therefore problematic to take for granted the efficacy and appropriateness of popular tactics promoted by these groups. Attention should be paid to whether or not tactics work for liberation and, to a much lesser extent, their economic potential. Advocates should be accountable to other animals, not to funding agents.
Effects of exurban development on trophic interactions in a desert landscape

Mechanisms of ecosystem change in urbanizing landscapes are poorly understood, especially in exurban areas featuring residential or commercial development set in a matrix of modified and natural vegetation. We asked how development altered trophic interactions and ecosystem processes in the matrix. We examined the effect of varying degrees of exurban development (housing density) on a trophic system that included an apex mammalian predator (coyote, Canis latrans), mammalian herbivores (lagomorphs and rodents), and herbaceous plants. We tested the hypothesis that plant recruitment would be negatively affected by exurban development due either to increases in herbivores associated with increased resource availability (a bottom–up effect) or to a reduction in predators that avoid humans (a top–down effect). In Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA, four replicate sites were located in each of three urbanization levels: high density exurban, low density exurban, and wildland dominated by Chihuahuan Desert vegetation. Seedling trays measured herbivory rates, live trapping estimated abundance of pocket mice and kangaroo rats, and remotely-triggered wildlife cameras estimated the activity of lagomorphs and coyotes. Increased herbivory on seedlings and decreased herbaceous plant recruitment were observed in high density exurban areas. Overall rodent abundance, seed consumption rates, and activity of the lagomorph Lepus californicus did not vary with urbanization level. Activity by another lagomorph, Sylvilagus audubonii, and coyotes was highest in dense exurban areas, consistent with a bottom–up effect. Exurban development can have important indirect effects on trophic interactions occurring in adjacent, untransformed ecosystems. Similar to earlier studies, such effects in the Chihuahuan Desert may be mediated by bottom–up processes associated with anthropogenic inputs.
Use What You Choose: Applying Computational Methods to Genre Studies in Technical Communication

This paper reports on the results of an intensive application development workshop held in the summer of 2015 during which a group of thirteen researchers came together to explore the use of machine-learning algorithms in technical communication. To do this we analyzed Amazon.com consumer electronic product customer reviews to reevaluate a central concept in North American Genre Theory: stable genre structures arise from recurring social actions ([1][2][3][4][5]). We discovered evidence of genre hybridity in the signals of instructional genres embedded into customer reviews. Our paper discusses the creation of a prototype web application, "Use What You Choose" (UWYC), which sorts the natural language text of Amazon reviews into two categories: instructionally-weighed reviews (e.g., reviews that contain operational information about products) and non-instructionally-weighed reviews (those that evaluate the quality of the product). Our results contribute to rhetorical genre theory and offer ideas on applying genre theory to inform application design for users of information services.