cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Charging the Quantum Capacitance of Graphene with a Single Biological Ion Channel

The interaction of cell and organelle membranes (lipid bilayers) with nanoelectronics can enable new technologies to sense and measure electrophysiology in qualitatively new ways. To date, a variety of sensing devices have been demonstrated to measure membrane currents through macroscopic numbers of ion channels. However, nanoelectronic based sensing of single ion channel currents has been a challenge. Here, we report graphene-based field-effect transistors combined with supported lipid bilayers as a platform for measuring, for the first time, individual ion channel activity. We show that the supported lipid bilayers uniformly coat the single layer graphene surface, acting as a biomimetic barrier that insulates (both electrically and chemically) the graphene from the electrolyte environment. Upon introduction of pore-forming membrane proteins such as alamethicin and gramicidin A, current pulses are observed through the lipid bilayers from the graphene to the electrolyte, which charge the quantum capacitan...
Perceived Interrelations of Pain and Cigarette Smoking in a Sample of Adult Smokers Living With HIV/AIDS.

Introduction Persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) have very high prevalences of both cigarette smoking and pain, yet little is known about the relationship between smoking and pain for PLWH. This study examined the factor structure, reliability, and validity of a measure of perceived interrelations of pain and smoking in a sample of PLWH. Methods Participants in this study were 108 current cigarette smoking PLWH (64.8% reporting current pain) in the Bronx, NY. Participants completed assessments of demographics, smoking behaviors, and pain. Interrelations of pain and smoking were measured using the 9-item Pain and Smoking Inventory (PSI). The dimensionality of the PSI was evaluated using Horn's Parallel Analysis and exploratory factor analysis. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha, and validity analyses evaluated the relationship between the PSI and demographics, HIV clinical characteristics, smoking, and pain in the total sample. Results A single-factor structure was the best fit for the PSI. The internal consistency of the PSI total score was excellent in the total sample (α = 0.94) and among participants with pain (α = 0.93). The PSI total score was significantly higher for PLWH who smoke and had current pain versus no current pain. Among smokers with HIV and pain, higher PSI scores were associated with higher pain interference, pain severity, and certain neuropathic pain symptoms (ie, numbness and pain to touch). Conclusions Among a sample of PLWH, the PSI appeared to be a reliable and valid instrument as a one-factor measure to assess perceived interrelations among pain and cigarette smoking. Implications Even though PLWH have very high prevalences of both pain and cigarette smoking, little is known about the relationship between pain and smoking for PLWH. This study is the first to examine a measure of the perceived interrelations of pain and smoking in a sample of PLWH. The measure was reliable and valid, and higher scores, reflecting that higher perceived interrelations of pain and smoking, were associated with more intense pain and pain interference. Learning more about pain and smoking among PLWH will help to better target smoking interventions to this key subgroup of smokers.
Medical Student Suicide: An Assessment of Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies

Throughout their careers, medical caregivers face high levels of stress and are at increased risk of depression, burnout, and suicide. Even early in medical training, medical students have been shown to have increased prevalence of mental health concerns and mental distress. Rates of suicide completion in medical students have been in decline since the 1950s. However, as detailed by David Muller and other colleagues, lives continue to be tragically lost to suicide, leaving a resounding impact on families and students, schools, and the medical community. The prevalence of risk factors associated with suicide, including depression, anxiety, burnout, and substance abuse, remains high. Interventions can be made to reduce the burden of mental distress. Familial support and marital status may serve as protective factors against the development or exacerbation of psychopathology in this population. Additionally, the majority of medical schools have begun to implement a wide variety of curricular wellness programs and suicide risk-reduction strategies to ensure identification and treatment of at-risk students, as well as continued wellness for others.
Risk Assessment and Comparisons

Every day we take risks and avoid others. It starts as soon as we wake up. One of us lives in an old house that had old wiring. Each time he turned on the light, there was a small risk of electrocution. Every year about 200 people are electrocuted in the United States in accidents involving home wiring or appliances, representing a risk of death of about 10-6 per year, or 7 × 10-5 per lifetime. To reduce this risk, he got the wiring replaced. When we walk downstairs, we recall that 7000 people die each year in falls in U.S. homes. But most are over 65, so we pay little attention to this risk since both of us are younger than that.
Insights into microbiome research 6: The role of consortia in studying the role of microbes in health and disease.

Consortia are large, multidisciplinary research efforts that carry the power of numbers. In addition, they enable the sharing of protocols and strategies, ultimately resulting in credible, reproduc...
Nursing Home Star Ratings and New Onset of Depression in Long-Stay Nursing Home Residents.

Abstract Objectives To examine the association between nursing home (NH) quality and new onset of depression and severity of depressive symptoms in a national cohort of long-stay NH residents in the United States. Design Cohort study. Setting and participants 129,837 long-stay residents without indicators of depression admitted to 13,921 NHs. Methods NH quality was measured by Nursing Home Compare star ratings (overall, health inspection, staffing, quality measures) closest to admission. Study outcomes at 90 days from the Minimum Data Set 3.0 included depression diagnosis and severity of depressive symptoms (minimal; mild; moderate; moderately severe/severe). Symptoms were measured by resident self-report Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) or a staff-report observational version (PHQ-9-OV). Logistic and multinomial logistic models with generalized estimating equations were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results At 90 days postadmission, 14.1% of residents had a new diagnosis of depression, and odds did not differ across star ratings. Nearly 90% of these residents had minimal depressive symptoms, with only 8.5% reporting mild symptoms and 2.6% with moderate to severe symptoms. Using minimal depressive symptoms as the reference, residents in NHs with 5-star overall ratings were 12% less likely than those in 3-star NHs to experience mild (95% CI: 0.81-0.96) and 31% less likely to experience moderate symptoms (95% CI: 0.58-0.82). In NHs with 1-star staffing compared to 3-star, residents had 37% higher odds of moderate symptoms (95% CI: 1.14-1.64) and 57% higher odds of moderately severe to severe depressive symptoms (95% CI: 1.17-2.12). The odds of any above-minimal depressive symptoms decreased as quality measure ratings increased. Conclusions/Implications Lower NH quality ratings were associated with more severe depressive symptoms. Further investigation is warranted to identify potential mechanisms for a targeted intervention to improve quality and provide more equitable care.
Laboratory Setup, Equipment, and Protocols

A pediatric exercise laboratory should have sufficient space to comfortably accommodate the equipment, which should be able to serve both pediatric and adult patients. It should also have space for the parents of pediatric patients to sit during the test. The temperature should be maintained in the range of 20 °C (68 °F) to 24 °C (75 °F) with a relative humidity between 50% and 60%.
Momentum and heat transfer of a special case of the unsteady stagnation-point flow

This paper investigates the unsteady stagnation-point flow and heat transfer over a moving plate with mass transfer, which is also an exact solution to the unsteady Navier-Stokes (NS) equations. The boundary layer energy equation is solved with the closed form solutions for prescribed wall temperature and prescribed wall heat flux conditions. The wall temperature and heat flux have power dependence on both time and spatial distance. The solution domain, the velocity distribution, the flow field, and the temperature distribution in the fluids are studied for different controlling parameters. These parameters include the Prandtl number, the mass transfer parameter at the wall, the wall moving parameter, the time power index, and the spatial power index. It is found that two solution branches exist for certain combinations of the controlling parameters for the flow and heat transfer problems. The heat transfer solutions are given by the confluent hypergeometric function of the first kind, which can be simplified into the incomplete gamma functions for special conditions. The wall heat flux and temperature profiles show very complicated variation behaviors. The wall heat flux can have multiple poles under certain given controlling parameters, and the temperature can have significant oscillations with overshoot and negative values in the boundary layers. The relationship between the number of poles in the wall heat flux and the number of zero-crossing points is identified. The difference in the results of the prescribed wall temperature case and the prescribed wall heat flux case is analyzed. Results given in this paper provide a rare closed form analytical solution to the entire unsteady NS equations, which can be used as a benchmark problem for numerical code validation.
Thermal Stability and Decomposition of Perfluoroalkyl Substances on Spent Granular Activated Carbon

The aims of this study were two-fold: (1) to improve our understanding of the thermal stability of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and (2) to investigate their decomposition mechanisms on spent...
Can the effects of the mitochondrial DNA mutations found in Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy be protective against the development of cluster headache in smokers?

Is it possible that some mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations enhance the risk of developing a headache disorder while other mutations actually confer a protective effect? Mitochondrial disorders ha...
Conservative Minimalism and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The October 2019 Term offered further confirmation that Chief Justice Roberts is a conservative minimalist. This jurisprudential approach was on display in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where the Chief Justice wrote the opinion for the Court invalidating a for-cause requirement for removal of the CFPB Director. Chief Justice Roberts’ decision embraced a conservative conception of separation of powers, closely aligned with the “unitary executive” theory. Yet his application of this theory was quite restrained. While embracing principles that would seem to have broader application, the Chief Justice eschewed any questioning of prior precedent and provided the plaintiffs with minimal relief, adopting a surgical approach to severability. Whatever the substantive merits of the Chief Justice’s Seila Law opinion, it was quite consistent with his overall jurisprudence since joining the Court.
Calvarium Thinning in Patients with Spontaneous Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks of the Anterior Skull Base.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Patients with spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid leaks (sCSF-L) of the temporal bone have isolated calvarial and skull base thinning that is independent of obesity. This study determines if anterior skull base (ASB) sCSF-L patients also have calvarial thinning. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective Cohort Study. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study of ASB sCSF-L patients compared to nonobese (body mass index [BMI] < 30 kg/m2 ) and obese (BMI ≥ 30) control groups. Twenty-one patients in the ASB sCSF-L group and 25 patients in each control group were included. Calvarium and extracranial zygoma thicknesses were measured bilaterally with blinded, standardized, volumetric analysis. RESULTS ASB sCSF-L patients had a mean (SD) age of 50.43 (10.19) years, an average (SD) BMI of 38.81 (8.92) kg/m2 , and most were female (85.71%). The calvarium in patients with ASB sCSF-L was significantly thinner than the nonobese (2.55 mm [0.77] vs. 2.97 [0.67] mm; P = .006; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.12-0.30; Cohen d, 0.58) and obese control groups (2.55 [0.77] vs. 2.92 [0.76] mm; P = .02; 95% CI, 0.05-0.34; Cohen d, 0.66). The calvarium thickness of the nonobese patients was not significantly different from the obese patient controls (2.97 [0.67] vs. 2.92 [0.76] mm, P = .9). The extracranial zygoma was not significantly different among the groups (analysis of variance, P = .33). CONCLUSIONS ASB sCSF-L patients have isolated calvarial thinning that is independent of obesity. Like lateral skull base sCSF-L patients, these data suggest that the additional obesity-associated intracranial process contributes to skull thinning. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4 Laryngoscope, 131:1271-1276, 2021.
Mechanical performance of rubberized cement paste with calcium sulfoaluminate cement addition

Abstract Due to an increasing amount of waste tires produced yearly, environmental concerns arise as waste tires in landfills pose both a fire hazard, and a habitat for rodents and mosquitos. As a result, the reuse of waste tires in the form of waste rubber in concrete has been attempted. Previous research work has shown that the inclusion of waste rubber in concrete results in a drastic decrease in compressive strength. The limitations regarding the use of rubberized concrete are related to the interfacial transition zone between rubber and paste. Due to mismatch in free surface energy between rubber and cement paste, an interfacial gap is often reported to be present. This investigation aims to determine the effect of expansive cement, specifically calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSA), has on the performance on rubberized cement samples, and its effect on the interfacial transition zone. A comprehensive experimental plan was carried out including pullout and compressive tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging of fractured surface, and non-destructive tests through resonant frequency and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA); furthermore, a temperature sweep via DMA was done to determine damping factor as a function of temperature. Results from compressive strength indicate a marked increase in the performance of rubberized samples with expansive cement. Pullout results, dynamic modulus and damping ratio values, shrinkage measurements, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging validate the hypothesis that a decreased interfacial gap at the rubber-paste interface obtained from using expansive cement results in increased mechanical performance.
Topical Ocular Povidone-Iodine as an Adjunctive Preventative Practice in the Era of COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Ophthalmologists and patients have an inherent increased risk for transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The human ocular surface expresses receptors and enzymes facilitating transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Personal protective equipment alone provides incomplete protection. Adjunctive topical ocular, nasal, and oral antisepsis with povidone iodine bolsters personal protective equipment in prevention of provider-patient transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in ophthalmology.
Applying Soft Power in the Afghan War

The U.S. intervention in Afghanistan has long emphasized hard power measures such as military action. Given the realities on the ground, however, it is crucial not to overlook strategic soft power measures to counter the underlying causes and ideologies that give rise to extremism in the first place. The proliferation of madrassas and rising radicalization across Afghanistan, recruitment of children by extremist groups, regional actors’ involvement in the battle for hearts and minds, and international law considerations necessitate a closer examination of appropriate non-military interventions. The battle for hearts and minds is crucial in ensuring that the overall strategy in the Afghan war is successful. This entails adopting a comprehensive and nuanced approach that treats non-military interventions, particularly measures countering the rising radicalization across Afghanistan, as core elements of the policy. In doing so, the strategy must support Afghanistan’s hard-fought (and relative) progress since 2001 including access to education, girls and women’s empowerment, and freedom of press. As America recalibrates tactics in the Afghan war, effective soft-power initiatives must not be relegated to an afterthought.
Review of Surgical Neovagina Techniques and Management of Vaginal Stricture.

ABSTRACT Study Objective To review the currently available methods for surgical and nonsurgical neovaginal creation with an additional focus on situations requiring vaginal stretching, replacement, or augmentation and the management of vaginal stenosis or stricture. Design Review of the existing literature Methods PUBMED search with key words vaginal agenesis, neovaginal creation, vaginoplasty, vaginal stretching, vaginal augmentation, vaginal stenosis, outcomes of vaginoplasty, Mullerian anomalies, vaginal anomalies Results The need to perform vaginal stretching, replacement, or augmentation will vary depending on the underlying reproductive tract condition. Conclusions A variety of techniques have been described to performed vaginal stretching, replacement, or augmentation. There are risks and benefits to each technique. Vaginal stricture and stenosis remain difficult problems given the high rates of these complications in patients undergoing these procedures. Although several techniques can alleviate this problem, they rely on the thickness of the stenosis and the location of the stenosis within the vagina.
Burnout among Transplant Hepatologists in the United States.

Background & aims Burnout among transplant hepatologists has not been well-characterized. The goal of this study was to describe the prevalence and predictors of burnout among practicing transplant hepatologists in the United States. Methods We designed a 69-item survey, including the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) and questions on provider demographics, practice characteristics, and psychological factors. The survey was administered to practicing U.S. transplant hepatologists between October and December 2019. We described burnout using MBI subscales [emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), personal accomplishment (PA)] and determined significant predictors of burnout, which we defined as high EE, using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results A total of 185 transplant hepatologists completed the survey (response rate= 25% of 738 practicing transplant hepatologists in the US). Forty percent reported high EE, while 17% and 16% reported high DP and low PA, respectively. On multivariate analysis, respondents with more than five colleagues (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.44 (0.23-0.84)), reporting adequate time for outpatient visits (OR 0.42 [0.22-0.80]), reporting greater comfort with their clinical caseload (OR 0.58 [0.37-0.91]) and reporting higher confidence in their prior training (OR 0.59 [0.29-0.86]) had a lower likelihood of high EE. Working six or more hours from home outside of work per week (OR 2.04, [1.07-3.89]) predicted a higher likelihood of burnout. Compensation, age, gender, career phase, caregiver status, and transplant center volume did not predict burnout. Conclusion Forty percent of transplant hepatologists experienced burnout, predicted mostly by factors related to work-time distribution, peer support, and affect. These findings should prompt development of system-level initiatives.
Oxygen is a Dangerous Friend

We all realize that oxygen is a dangerous friend. Oxygen is something that we cannot live without, but it is also a substance that we cannot live with indefinately. This chapter will review two aspects of this subject. First, an overview will be given of some of the points relevant to the idea that oxygen is toxic by pointing out the underlying chemical and biological mechanisms that are important in the toxic effects of oxygen in biological systems. Secondly, same experimental approaches that have been undertaken in our laboratory, using the concept of studying the increased metabolism associated with exercise in order to follow the generation of oxygen free radicals (oxidants) and their consequences, in terms of changes in antioxidants will be described. Antioxidants are major cellular defense mechanisms that are important to preventing molecular, cellular and tissue damage due to free radicals and hence their understanding is pertinent to relating “Cell function and Disease.”
Biosynthesis of Ubiquinone

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the biosynthesis of ubiquinone. Ubiquinone serves as a lipid-soluble electron carrier in the membrane-bound electron transport chains of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Eighty-five percent of cell ubiquinon is located in the mitochondria or equivalent membrane system. The structure of ubiquinone and the dimensions of various ubiquinone homologs with respect to a typical membrane bilayer are diagrammatically represented in the chapter. During respiration, reducing equivalents entering the electron transport chain are transferred through a series of redox components from pyridine nucleotides and flavoproteins to ubiquinone, and then by the cytochromes to oxygen. Ubiquinone provides a linkage between the two-electron transport enzymes and the one-electron cytochrome system through semiquinone formation. Acetone extraction of the endogenous ubiquinone disrupts electron transport. The readdition of ubiquinone-9 to ubiquinone-depleted mitochondria restores both cyanide and antimycin sensitivity to levels approaching the unextracted systems. The first step in ubiquinone biosynthesis is the alkylation of 4-hydroxybenzoate by polyprenyl pyrophosphate. The initial stages of the biosynthesis of polyprenyl pyrophosphate are accomplished in the cytosol and the product is transported through the external mitochondrial membrane to the internal membrane where the alkylation reaction occurs.
Detection of mycoplasma contamination in cell substrates using reverse transcription-PCR assays

Aims: To assess the limit of detection (LOD) and the feasibility of 16S rRNA-based reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assays for advanced detection of mycoplasma contamination in cell substrates. Materials and Methods: The RT-PCR approach is based on detecting the 16S rRNA molecules that, in contrast to genomic bacterial DNA, are represented by multiple copies in mycoplasma cell. The number of 16S rRNA molecules in mycoplasma cells of five species i.e. Mycoplasma arginini, Myc. fermentans, Myc. hyorhinis, Myc. orale and Acholeplasma laidlawii, all known to be frequent cell line contaminants in industrial and research laboratories, was measured using molecular methods. The results of two independently prepared mycoplasma cultures harvested at the stationary phase of their growth showed that the 16S rRNA copy number per cell varied in the range from about 400 to 2000 copies, depending on species, but stayed close between different preparations of one species. The assessment of the LOD of the in-house 16S rRNA-based RT-PCR was performed using samples of MDCK cell culture spiked with different amounts of five aforementioned mycoplasma species. To minimize the bias in methods comparison, the LOD of the RT-PCR assay was expressed in terms of genome equivalents (GEs) and compared with that determined for highly optimized 16S rDNA-based mycoplasma testing methods previously described in scientific literature. Conclusions: The results of the study showed that the in-house 16S rRNA-based RT-PCR assay was able to reliably detect the presence of less than one mycoplasma GE that is at least 10-fold higher of the LOD previously determined for well-optimized 16S rDNA-based assays developed and described by other researchers. Significance and Impact of the Study: The results of the study showed that rapid RT-PCR methods based on the detection of bacterial 16S rRNA are able to expedite mycoplasma testing of cell cultures (1–2 days vs 28 days) and to ensure the limits of detection comparable to that of currently used culture-based mycoplasma testing methods.
A MRAC for multivariable plants with zero residual tracking error

In almost all model-reference adaptive control (MRAC) schemes proposed in the literature the tracking error cannot be guaranteed to go to zero in the presence of plant unmodeled dynamics and/or bounded disturbances. It is shown that when an MRAC scheme is combined with a variable-structure control law, the tracking error goes to zero asymptotically with time in the presence of unmodeled dynamics and bounded disturbances for a class of multi-input, multi-output plants whose modified left interactor matrix is strictly positive real. >
On A Class of Infinitely Divisible Processes Represented as Mixtures of Gaussian Processes

Variance mixtures of the normal distribution with infinitely divisible mixing measures and a class G of stochastic processes, which naturally arises from such distributions, are studied.
Random-Access Multiphoton Microscopy for Fast Three-Dimensional Imaging

Studies in several important areas of neuroscience, including analysis of single neurons as well as neural networks, continue to be limited by currently available experimental tools. By combining molecular probes of cellular function, such as voltage-sensitive or calcium-sensitive dyes, with advanced microscopy techniques such as multiphoton microscopy, experimental neurophysiologists have been able to partially reduce this limitation. These approaches usually provide the needed spatial resolution along with convenient optical sectioning capabilities for isolating regions of interest. However, they often fall short in providing the necessary temporal resolution, primarily due to their restrained laser scanning mechanisms. In this regard, we review a method of laser scanning for multiphoton microscopy that overcomes the temporal limitations of pervious approaches and allows for what is known as 3D Random Access Multiphoton (3D RAMP) microscopy, an imaging technique that supports full three dimensional recording of many sites of interest on physiologically relevant time scales.
Chapter 2 Membrane Topology, Subunit Composition, and Stoichiometry of the Epithelial Na+Channel

Publisher Summary The chapter presents a review of the membrane topology, subunit composition, and stoichiometry of epithelial Na + channel (ENaC). To begin to define the structure of ENaC, the chapter mentions the membrane topology of the rat a subunit (αrENaC). In vitro translation of αrENaC produced a 73-kDa protein, and an additional 93-kDa protein was produced when αrENaC was translated in the presence of microsomal membranes, corresponding to the core-glycosylated form of the protein. Three ENaC subunits have been identified in epithelia of rat and human: α, β, and γ ENaC. It is found that expression of the human, a subunit alone in Xenopus oocytes, produced amiloride-sensitive Na + current. The finding that coexpression of α , β , and γ ENaC is required for maximal Na + current suggests that ENaC is a heteromultimeric channel. Genetic evidence from C. elegans suggests that the degenerins also function as heteromultimers. A biochemical assay is used to determine whether the mass of hENaC was consistent with a complex containing nine subunits. Because α hENaC can form a functional channel by itself, the mass of in vitro is determined, expressed α by sucrose gradient sedimentation.
Bilateral above knee amputations after prolonged exposure to sorafenib and trebananib

Sorafenib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that acts on many targets including RAF kinases, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) 1, 2, 3, platelet derived growth factor and c-kit receptor and is currently FDA approved for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Trebananib (AMG 386) is an angiopoietin 1/2 antagonist and acts as anti-angiogenic agent and may possess synergistic effects with sorafenib. Here we report a case of a 66-year-old male with a history of Hepatitis C, and a 22 pack year (PY) smoking history with unresectable multifocal HCC who was placed on both therapies for an extended period of time with an excellent clinical response but ended up developing bilateral critical limb ischemia requiring above knee amputations.
Mechanisms by which cell geometry controls repetitive impulse firing in retinal ganglion cells.

Fohlmeister, J. F. and R. F. Miller. Mechanisms by which cell geometry controls repetitive impulse firing in retinal ganglion cells. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 1948–1964, 1997. Models for generating repe...
Common-mode noise comparison study for lateral wire-bonded and vertically integrated power modules

This paper investigates the power module design for better common-mode (CM) noise performance. A high frequency full-bridge diode rectifier is studied as an example. For this circuit, a comprehensive parametric study and a proposed CM equivalent model are first presented to identify the most influential factors in CM noise generation and mitigation. It is shown that proper parasitic value and parasitics symmetry can improve the CM noise performance. A vertical module and a traditional wire-bonded lateral module are compared. The vertical module has smaller ac side CM parasitic capacitances, smaller ac side stray inductances and larger dc side CM parasitic capacitances, which are all favorable towards mitigating CM noise. Both modules are prototyped for verification, and their module parasitics are extracted using finite element method (FEM). A simulation case study shows that with the vertical diode module, over 30 dB CM noise reduction can be achieved below 10 MHz, under 7.4% unbalance between the ac side CM parasitic capacitances. Experimental results are presented to verify the simulation and analysis. It is also shown in thermal simulation that the vertical module exhibits at least 30% reduction on the thermal impedance.
Dirty desktops: using a patina of magnetic mouse dust to make common interactor targets easier to select

A common task in graphical user interfaces is controlling onscreen elements using a pointer. Current adaptive pointing techniques require applications to be built using accessibility libraries that reveal information about interactive targets, and most do not handle path/menu navigation. We present a pseudo-haptic technique that is OS and application independent, and can handle both dragging and clicking. We do this by associating a small force with each past click or drag. When a user frequently clicks in the same general area (e.g., on a button), the patina of past clicks naturally creates a pseudo-haptic magnetic field with an effect similar to that ofsnapping or sticky icons. Our contribution is a bottom-up approach to make targets easier to select without requiring prior knowledge of them.
Stimulus-specific and differential distribution of activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase in the nucleus accumbens core and shell during Pavlovian-instrumental transfer

The ability of reward-predictive cues to potentiate reward-seeking behavior—a phenomenon termed Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT)—depends on the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Here, we utilized immunohistochemistry to investigate the subregional pattern of ERK activation during PIT, and the contribution of different elements in the PIT condition to the distribution of ERK signaling in the NAc of rats. We found that the occurrence of reward-seeking behavior (lever pressing) did not affect ERK activation in either the core or the shell of the NAc. In contrast, presentation of the reward-predictive cue (auditory conditioned stimulus) caused a significant increase in ERK activation in both subregions of the NAc, with the effect being slightly more robust in the core than the shell. Different from the pattern evoked by the reward-predictive cue, presentation of the reward itself (food pellets) had no effect on ERK activation in the core but caused a pronounced increase in ERK activation in the shell. Taken together, our results demonstrate that ERK signaling in the NAc during PIT involves both the core and the shell and is driven by the conditioned cue irrespective of whether the situation permits engagement in reward-seeking behavior. Furthermore, our results show that the subregional distribution of ERK signaling in the NAc evoked by rewards differs from that evoked by cues that predict them. The stimulus-specific differential pattern of ERK signaling described here may present the molecular complement to stimulus-specific increases in NAc cell firing reported previously.
Interference Alignment for Cooperative MIMO Femtocell Networks

This paper proposes a method for applying the idea of Interference Alignment (IA) in femtocell networks. In order to manage the uplink interference caused by macrocell users at the femtocell base stations (FBS), cooperation between macrocell users with the closest femtocell base stations could be used to align the received signals of macrocell users in the same subspace at multiple FBS simultaneously. We develop a method to apply IA while providing the QoS requirements of macrocell users, in terms of minimum received SINR at the macrocell base station (MBS). With this approach, the BER performance of femtocell users is shown to improve, while maintaining the quality of the communication channel of macrocell users.
Stability analysis of the three-phase single-stage boost inverter

In this paper, stability of a three-phase single-stage boost inverter is investigated in both stand-alone and grid-tied modes of operation. The state-space-averaging method is employed to develop the dynamic models of the stand-alone and grid-tied boost inverter the synchronous dq-frame of reference. Inverters are normally employed in renewable energy conversion systems, therefore their dynamical models are desired for the stability analysis of these systems. In this paper, the state-space averaged models of the boost inverter are used to obtain the eigenvalues of the boost inverter under stand-alone and grid-tied models of operation. Furthermore, the validity of the state-space-averaged models is verified through experimentally obtained results.
The influence of chronic hypoxia upon chemoreception

Carotid body chemoreceptors are essential for time-dependent changes in ventilatory control during chronic hypoxia. Early theories of ventilatory acclimatization to hypoxia focused on time-dependent changes in known ventilatory stimuli, such as small changes in arterial pH that may play a significant role in some species. However, plasticity in the cellular and molecular mechanisms of carotid body chemoreception play a major role in ventilatory acclimatization to hypoxia in all species studied. Chronic hypoxia causes changes in (a) ion channels (potassium, sodium, calcium) to increase glomus cell excitability, and (b) neurotransmitters (dopamine, acetylcholine, ATP) and neuromodulators (endothelin-1) to increase carotid body afferent activity for a given PO(2) and optimize O(2)-sensitivity. O(2)-sensing heme-containing molecules in the carotid body have not been studied in chronic hypoxia. Plasticity in medullary respiratory centers processing carotid body afferent input also contributes to ventilatory acclimatization to hypoxia. It is not known if the same mechanisms occur in patients with chronic hypoxemia from lung disease or high altitude natives.
Automatic Classification of Medical Images for Content Based Image Retrieval Systems (CBIR)

This paper describes the results after using an automatic classification method to help improve the retrieval of medical images. Using a large dataset of medical images, we established links between low-level features from medical images and high-level features from textual codes of Image Retrieval for Medical Application (IRMA). This paper also explains the process and methods used to automatically classify these medical images, and the results from the classification process. Our best classification results were on image modality with an error-rate of 1%.
The Quantum Theory of the Laser: Reviews and Previews

We first review the quantum theory of the laser problem as it was presented at the watershed 1965 Physics of Quantum Electronics (PQE) conference at which the full: density matrix analysis of the Yale group and the quantum noise operator analysis of the Bell Labs group were given. Then we will attempt to place the problem in context by making contact with the pioneering theoretical contributions from the schools of, for example, Glauber, Haken, Townes, and others. Finally the present interest in Bose Einstein condensation (a.k.a. the atom laser) provides a source of fascinating quantum-laser related physics problems.
MoHCA-Java: a tool for C++ to Java conversion support

As Java increases in popularity and maturity, many people find it desirable to convert legacy C++ or C programs to Java. Our hypothesis is that a tool which performs rigorous analysis on a C++ program, providing detailed output on the changes necessary, will make conversion a much more efficient and reliable process. MoHCA-Java is such a tool. It performs detailed analysis on a C++ abstract syntax tree; the parameters of the analysis can be specified and extended very quickly and easily using a rule-based language. We have found that MoHCA-Java is very useful for identifying and implementing source code changes, and that its extensibility is a very important factor, specially to adapt the tool to assist in the conversion of C++ code that makes extensive use of libraries to Java code that uses similar libraries.
High-energy knee dislocations

Abstract High-energy knee dislocations are severe injuries that usually involve tears of at least 3 of the 4 major ligaments of the knee. Severe capsular, neurovascular, integument, meniscal, and tendinous injuries are common. Patients with high-energy knee dislocations often have sustained remote orthopaedic injuries and other organ-system trauma that may preclude early, aggressive treatment of the torn knee ligaments. Popliteal artery injury occurs in high-energy knee dislocations, and if not quickly recognized and treated, may result in amputation. The range and complexity of injury patterns in high-energy knee dislocations requires the orthopaedic surgeon to use a variety of treatment options to reduce mortality, prevent amputation, and maximize the final functional outcome of the injured limb. Treatment of the injured knee ligaments often must be delayed because of the patient's other injuries. A spanning external fixator applied across the knee joint has been an excellent method for maintaining reduction of the knee before definitive surgical treatment of the knee ligaments.
Skin cancer of the head and neck

Skin cancer is the most common malignancy occurring in humans. There has been an alarming increase in the incidence of skin cancer. The current epidemic probably reflects changes in dress and lifestyle that allow for greater sun exposure. The depletion of the ozone layer, which filters out carcinogenic ultraviolet (UV) rays, will almost certainly contribute to the development of skin cancer in future generations. The American Cancer Society predicted that more than 700,000 skin cancers would be diagnosed in the United States in 1998. Ninety percent of these will be nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC). This article reviews NMSC and malignant melanoma separately.
Optimal fiduciary monetary systems

Abstract In a fiduciary monetary system, there is a social agreement to quote prices and denominate financial instruments in terms of a specific paper liability of the government. What are the best terms for this paper instrument? I investigate a system where the terms involve not only paying market interest rate on the monetary instrument, as proposed by many economists earlier, but also indexing the returns to the price level. The result is a homeostatic monetary system with a highly stable price level in the face of shifts in money demand and other disturbing influences. The paper examines the performance of the new fiduciary standard in equilibrium and disequilibrium models.
A product-form Cholesky factorization method for handling dense columns in interior point methods for linear programming

Cholesky factorization has become the method of choice for solving the symmetric system of linear equations arising in interior point methods (IPMs) for linear programming (LP), its main advantages being numerical stability and efficiency for sparse systems. However in the presence of dense columns there is dramatic loss of efficiency. A typical approach to remedy this problem is to apply the Sherman-Morrison-Woodbury (SMW) update formula to the dense part. This approach while being very efficient, is not numerically stable. Here we propose using product-form Cholesky factorization to handle dense columns. The proposed approach is essentially as stable as the original Cholesky factorization and nearly as efficient as the SMW approach. We demonstrate these properties both theoretically and computationally. A key part of our theoretical analysis is the proof that the elements of the Cholesky factors of the matrices that arise in IPMs for LP are uniformly bounded as the duality gap converges to zero.
A further remark on the ‘Hallean syllogism’☆

This paper is a methodological (re-)examination of Halle's (1959) classic argument against the phoneme. It is argued that previous such analyses, especially that of Sadock (1976), do not appropriately reflect the structure of Halle's argument. It also suggests an explanation for why the vast majority of contemporary phonologist - even those who have presented alternative phonological analyses of the data in question - appear to find Halle's argument convicting.
The dynamics of CO production from the O(3P) + methylacetylene reaction

Abstract The reaction of O(3P) atoms with methylacetlyene was studied at three temperatures between 260 and 350 K by means of a CO laser resonant absorption method. The CO formed in the reaction had a Boltzmann vibrational temperature of about 2400 K and carried only 1.9 ± 0.2% of the total available reaction energy, independent of the initial temperature of the system. Good agreement was obtained between the observed CO population distribution and that predicted by a simple statistical model, with the assumption that CH2CH, and not C3H4, was formed initially in the reaction. The kinetics of the CO formation along with the results from the statistical indicate that the dominant primary step of the reaction is: O(3P) + CH3C2H → CH3CH + CO.
Usefulness of cognitive dysfunction in heart failure to predict cardiovascular risk at 180 days.

Cognitive dysfunction is common in patients with heart failure (HF). Despite the high prevalence and the adverse associations of cognitive dysfunction in HF, the prognostic implications remain poorly understood. We sought to determine the influence of cognitive dysfunction, identified using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), on 180-day cardiovascular events. We analyzed data on 246 participants in an observational cohort study of adults with HF. The interview-format MoCA was administered to all participants. Time to first cardiovascular event was assessed as a cumulative end point during the 180 days after enrollment. Cox proportional hazards model was used for analysis of time to first event. The MoCA score was
Models of methane behaviour in auxiliary ventilation of underground coal mining

Abstract Studies have been conducted in a roadway excavated in a coalbed of a deep underground coal mine located in Northern Spain (Hullera Vasco Leonesa SA), by both airflow velocity and methane concentration measurements. Modelling of ventilation and methane behaviour of that roadway by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), through software Ansys CFX 10.0, is presented. A good correlation was found between the experimental data and the results predicted by CFD. Then a comparison of the results obtained by conventional methods with the results obtained by CFD 4D modelling, for the auxiliary ventilation in a dead-end roadway, was made. Although conventional methods give satisfactory results when considering methane dilution, this research proves that there may be some roadway zones in which methane concentration is higher than regulation values. This is owing to the airflow and methane behaviour in the roadway with the presence of dead zones, and the fact that only a part of the airflow provided by the fan reaches the working face. CFD modelling allows us to know in which zones of the roadway it may be necessary to reinforce forcing ventilation by additional systems, such as a forcing system with exhaust overlap, jet fans, spray fan systems or compressed air injectors.
Relations of travel‐time curves to the seismic wave‐velocities in the continental and suboceanic lithosphere

The velocities of seismic waves and their changes are the only reliable information on structural elements of the inaccessible depth of the Earth. Interpretations of seismic wave-speeds have been used as arguments for and against geotectonic hypotheses. Captain N. H. Heck and Dr. R . M. Field, of Princeton University, suggested that further investigations be made on seismic wave-velocities in suboceanic territories in order to reveal possible differences to continental areas.
Hydrogen Evolution by Direct Electron Transfer from Photosystem I to Hydrogenases.

H2 evolution by direct electron transfer from the dithionite-reduced photosystem I (PSI) complex to both hydrogenase I and hydrogenase II from Clostridium pasteurianum was observed. Evidence indicates that the electron carriers on PSI that transfer electrons to hydrogenase in this system are the FA/FB iron-sulfur clusters on the PsaC polypeptide, the terminal bound electron acceptors in PSI. Light-dependent H2 evolution was also observed, using high potential electron donors to PSI, from a combination of hydrogenase I and either solubilized purified PSI or thylakoids. Mediators capable of transferring electrons from the PSI complex to hydrogenase were not necessary for H2 evolution, indicating again that the mechanism of H2 evolution is direct electron transfer from PSI to hydrogenase, and that this can occur with light-reduced as well as chemically reduced PSI, and with PSI in thylakoids as well as the solubilized complex. Light-dependent H2 evolution was also observed from a mixture of thylakoids and the oxygen-resistant hydrogenase of Rhodococcus sp. MR11. These results suggest that direct electron transfer from PSI to hydrogenase could be engineered to occur in vivo in a photosynthetic organism to create an organism that would efficiently produce H2 from H2O.