cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isavuconazole: Has It Saved Us? A Pharmacotherapy Review and Update on Clinical Experience

The new triazole antifungal, isavuconazole, gained approval in 2015 for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis (IA) and mucormycosis in adult patients. Predictable pharmacokinetics, a favorable safety profile, and demonstrated clinical efficacy against a wide spectrum of yeasts and molds result in expansion of the antifungal armamentarium. The place in therapy for this medication has yet to be defined. This review aims to place isavuconazole’s role in therapy in perspective. Three studies evaluate isavuconazole activity in the treatment of IA, mucormycosis, and candidiasis. Isavuconazole was non-inferior to voriconazole in the treatment of IA and had similar outcomes to liposomal amphotericin (L-AMB) and posaconazole in the treatment of mucormycosis. Isavuconazole did not meet a priori non-inferiority margins for superior clinical outcome response in the treatment of candidemia. Cost-effectiveness analyses compare isavuconazole to other treatment options with favorable outcomes regarding isavuconazole use. Considering the potential for substantial cost savings, non-inferiority to L-AMB and other triazoles in terms of efficacy, a more favorable safety profile, and an oral formulation, isavuconazole has advantages over current standard of care for the treatment of IA and mucormycosis. For other invasive fungal infections including candidiasis, clinical outcome data and cost-effectiveness analysis are needed. Isavuconazole is a safe, effective, and fiscally responsible treatment option for the treatment of IA and mucormycosis.
Drugs for Primary Brain Tumors: An Update

Primary brain tumors are a heterogeneous mix of tumors that can arise from structures within the cranium. This review will focus on tumors of glial origin. The best first approach to a primary brain tumor is maximal safe surgical resection. If the tumor is not amenable to resection, a biopsy is needed for tissue diagnosis. Despite maximal resection of the tumor, there always remains residual disease due to the infiltrative nature of the tumor. This has led to development of various chemotherapeutic regimens which have been developed for use in the neo-adjuvant, adjuvant and recurrent setting. The most significant development of these tumors is for high grade gliomas. Anaplastic astrocytomas and glioblastoma multiforme are frequently diagnosed tumors that continue to have a poor prognosis and short survival. Historically, chemotherapy has been demonstrated to provide a marginal survival benefit in patients with anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma multiforme when used after surgical resection and radiation therapy. Modest improvement in overall survival was initially seen with the use of nitrosurea drugs, such as BCNU and CCNU, as well as some platinum compounds. More recent data suggests the use of temozolomide (TMZ) leads to an improved overall survival when given concurrently with radiation following resection of these aggressive tumors. Data on the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor, bevacizumab, has also been available and will be presented in the preceding text. Chemotherapeutic agents had a less pivotal role in the setting of low grade astrocytomas and other primary brain tumors.
Nutrition and Science

The unifying theme of this meeting on human development is nutrition. Some of you may wonder about my credentials for being here to introduce a symposium on nutrition. With some effort I can think of a few.
Strategic Evaluation of Training

Does training have to prove its worth? The answer seems obvious. But what is the criterion of “worth”?
Mitochondrial DNA variants and pulmonary function in older persons.

Abstract Background We provide the first examination of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants and pulmonary function in older persons. Methods Cross-sectional associations between mtDNA variants and pulmonary function were evaluated as a combined p-values meta-analysis, using data from two independent cohorts of older persons. The latter included white and black participants, aged ≥70 years, from the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders study (LIFE) (N = 1247) and the Health, Aging and Body Composition study (Health ABC) (N = 731), respectively. Pulmonary function included the forced expiratory volume in one-second as a Z-score (FEV1z) and the maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) in cm of water. Results In black participants, significant associations were found between mtDNA variants and MIP: m.7146A > G, COI (p = 3E-5); m.7389 T > C, COI (p = 2E-4); m.15301G > A, CYB (p = 9E-5); m.16265A > G, HV1 (p = 9E-5); meta-analytical p-values Conclusions We have shown that mtDNA variants of African origin are cross-sectionally associated with MIP, a measure of respiratory muscle strength. Thus, our results establish the rationale for longitudinal studies to evaluate whether mtDNA variants of African origin identify those at risk of subsequently developing a respiratory muscle impairment (lower MIP values).
The impact of transition metal catalysts on macroscopic dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) characteristics in an ammonia synthesis plasma catalysis reactor

When non-equilibrium, low-temperature plasmas and catalysts interact, they can exhibit synergistic behavior that enhances the chemical activity above what is possible with either process alone. Unlike thermal catalysis, in plasma-assisted catalysis the non-equilibrium state of the plasma produces reactive intermediates, such as excited species, that may play an important role in the catalytic process. There are two primary plasma-surface mechanisms that could produce this synergy: the effect of the plasma on the catalyst (e.g. enhanced adsorption/reaction of plasma-activated species, change of surface structure/morphology, hot spots, etc) and the effect of the catalyst on the plasma state. This work focuses on the latter. We use a laboratory-scale, packed bed, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor to observe the influence of multiple alumina () supported, transition metal ammonia (NH3) synthesis catalysts on the plasma electrical and optical properties. We find that while the rates of ammonia synthesis over the materials considered, including , , and , are different, the macroscopic properties of the DBD are statistically indistinguishable. These results support the argument that the observed synergy in our catalysis experiments is not due to the catalyst modifying the characteristics of the plasma itself, but rather arises from differences in how the plasma environment and plasma-generated species modify chemistry at the catalyst surface, although the specific mechanism is still an outstanding question.
The nephrotoxicity of new immunotherapies

Introduction: Advanced cancers that did not respond to chemotherapy were once a death sentence, but now there are newer therapies utilizing the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer that are ...
Improving Advanced Care Planning through Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Expansion across the United States: Lessons Learned from State-Based Developments.

Background:The Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Paradigm is an effective advance care planning tool. However, barriers to implementation persist. In the United States, POLST p...
Considering deterioration propagation in transportation infrastructure maintenance planning

Abstract Civil infrastructure system maintenance planning is to determine which facility should be repaired, when and how maintenance should be carried out, and what treatment should be used under budget and other resource constraints. In the existing literature, various simulation and optimization models have been developed to help select the optimal maintenance plan. However, the developed models overlooked the deterioration propagation between adjacent connected facilities of the network infrastructure system. For instance, a facility receiving zero maintenance or having a failure of maintenance treatment affects not only the condition of itself, but also the deterioration rate of its neighboring facilities. This raises the call for taking the deterioration propagation into consideration when developing optimization models and capture to which extent it can affect the optimal maintenance plan. Therefore, in this paper, an infrastructure maintenance planning model considering the deterioration propagation between facilities is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming problem. A heuristic algorithm was proposed to solve the problem efficiently. Example networks were tested for the performance comparison between CPLEX and the heuristic algorithm. The proposed model performs better than models without the deterioration propagation.
Robots for Communities -- A Value Framework

Interactions with robots in organizational and community settings are presented in research mostly as an aggregate of individual interactions, rather than as the product of the social dynamics of the community contexts. Through my Ph.D. research, I have identified the need for a community perspective and conducted field studies to understand the conceptual and methodological relevance of community-centric approaches for Human-Robot Interactions (HRI). I aim to derive a value framework for systematic study of the use and design of robots for communities. A combination of socio-technical and community-centric approaches inform my early conceptualization of 'Community Robots'(CR).
Trade Relationships and Gene Flow at Pottery Mound Pueblo, New Mexico

Pottery Mound is a large Ancestral Puebloan site situated within the Middle Rio Grande (MRG) region of New Mexico. This article adds to our understanding of relationships between Pottery Mound, the Western Pueblos, and Mexico through use of biological distance analysis based on dental nonmetric traits. Extensive material and cultural influences, as well as migration events from Western Pueblos to Pottery Mound, have been proposed by several scholars, while others have highlighted parallels to Mexico, especially Paquime. A total of 1,528 individuals from the U.S. Southwest and Mexico were used to examine relationships between Pottery Mound and these areas. We find no evidence of close biological similarity between Pottery Mound and the Western Pueblos or northern Mexico. Instead, the results indicate biological affinity between Pottery Mound and sites in the MRG region and Mogollon areas. This similarity suggests that although there is evidence for trade between Pottery Mound and other sites in the southwestern United States and Mesoamerica, trade may not have been accompanied by significant gene flow from those areas from which the trade goods originated. It is possible that neighboring regions, such as the Mogollon, served as intermediaries for trade between Pottery Mound and distant regions.
Cash, cash conversion cycle, inventory and covid-19

In recent years, hospital cash balances and cash conversion has been largely stable in Washington State hospitals, with the only increase coming in terms of increasing inventory. At current levels, cash is in short supply at many hospitals. While increasing inventory would appear to be a good move in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, inventory is not a single generic item. Hospital inventory is comprised of literally thousands of supplies and medications, only a few of which are critical. Hospital financial viability could be threatened by insufficient liquidity. Keywords: COVID-19, liquidity, cash, inventory
Spontaneous visceral artery dissections in otherwise normal arteries: Clinical features, management, and outcomes compared with fibromuscular dysplasia.

Abstract Objective Visceral artery dissection with otherwise normal-appearing arteries (VADNA), diagnosed on imaging and suggestive of segmental arterial mediolysis, is a poorly understood disease entity. Study objectives were to define the clinical features, management, and outcomes of patients with VADNA compared with patients with fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD). Methods In this single-center retrospective cohort study, consecutive patients with a diagnosis of VADNA or FMD evaluated in the Mayo Clinic Gonda Vascular Center (January 1, 2000-April 1, 2017) were identified. Patient demographics, symptom presentation, management, composite adverse arterial events (recurrent arterial dissection, stroke or transient ischemic attack, myocardial infarction, mesenteric or renal infarction, or need for revascularization), and overall survival were compared between VADNA and FMD patients. Results There were 103 VADNA patients (age [mean ± standard deviation], 51.7 ± 11.0 years; 27.9% female) and 248 FMD controls (49.8 ± 8.9 years; 81.8% female) identified. The most common symptom for VADNA patients was abdominal or flank pain (80.6%). For FMD, chest pain, headache, and dizziness were more frequent presenting complaints. The median follow-up was longer for VADNA patients (42 months; interquartile range, 9-76 months) compared with FMD patients (19 months; interquartile range, 0.6-52 months; P Conclusions VADNA patients carry a higher risk of recurrent arterial events compared with those with FMD. This difference was primarily driven by recurrent dissections.
Evaluation of the upregulation and surface expression of hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase in acute lymphoblastic leukemia and Burkitt's B cell lymphoma

The aim of this study is to determine whether Hypoxanthine Guanine Phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) could be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of B cell malignancies. With 4.3% of all new cancers diagnosed as Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, finding new biomarkers for the treatment of B cell cancers is an ongoing pursuit. HPRT is a nucleotide salvage pathway enzyme responsible for the synthesis of guanine and inosine throughout the cell cycle. Raji cells were used for this analysis due to their high HPRT internal expression. Internal expression was evaluated utilizing western blotting and RNA sequencing. Surface localization was analyzed using flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, and membrane biotinylation. To determine the source of HPRT surface expression, a CRISPR knockdown of HPRT was generated and confirmed using western blotting. To determine clinical significance, patient blood samples were collected and analyzed for HPRT surface localization. We found surface localization of HPRT on both Raji cancer cells and in 77% of the malignant ALL samples analyzed and observed no significant expression in healthy cells. Surface expression was confirmed in Raji cells with confocal microscopy, where a direct overlap between HPRT specific antibodies and a membrane-specific dye was observed. HPRT was also detected in biotinylated membranes of Raji cells. Upon HPRT knockdown in Raji cells, we found a significant reduction in surface expression, which shows that the HPRT found on the surface originates from the cells themselves. Finally, we found that cells that had elevated levels of HPRT had a direct correlation to XRCC2, BRCA1, PIK3CA, MSH2, MSH6, WDYHV1, AK7, and BLMH expression and an inverse correlation to PRKD2, PTGS2, TCF7L2, CDH1, IL6R, MC1R, AMPD1, TLR6, and BAK1 expression. Of the 17 genes with significant correlation, 9 are involved in cellular proliferation and DNA synthesis, regulation, and repair. As a surface biomarker that is found on malignant cells and not on healthy cells, HPRT could be used as a surface antigen for targeted immunotherapy. In addition, the gene correlations show that HPRT may have an additional role in regulation of cancer proliferation that has not been previously discovered.
A Wizard-of-Oz experimental approach to study the human factors of automated vehicles: Platform and methods evaluation.

Driving simulation is an important platform for studying vehicle automation. There are different approaches to using this platform – with most using scripting or programmatic tools to simulate vehi...
Sensory acquisition functions of the cerebellum in verbal working memory

Several fMRI studies have shown that the superior cerebellum exhibits load-dependent activations during encoding of letters in a Sternberg verbal working memory (VWM) task. It has been hypothesized that the cerebellum regulates the acquisition of sensory data across all modalities, and thus, that VWM load activations may reflect high- vs low-load differences in sensory acquisition demands. Therefore, increased difficulty in sensory data acquisition should elicit greater activation in the cerebellum. The present fMRI study manipulated sensory acquisition in VWM by presenting visually degraded and non-degraded stimuli with high and low memory loads, thereby identifying load-dependent regions of interest in the cerebellum, and then testing if these regions showed greater activation for degraded stimuli. Results yielded partial support for the sensory acquisition hypothesis in a load-dependent region of the vermis, which showed significantly greater activation for degraded relative to non-degraded stimuli. Because eye movements did not differ for these stimulus types, and degradation-related activations were present after co-varying eye movements, this activation appears to be related to perceptual rather than oculomotor demands. In contrast to the vermis, load-sensitive regions of the cerebellar hemispheres did not show increased activation for degraded stimuli. These findings point to an overall function of association-based prediction that may underlie general cerebellar function, with perceptual prediction of stimuli from partial representations occurring in the vermis, and articulatory prediction occurring in the hemispheres.
A New Paradigm in the Academic Study of Anthroposophy

Since 2013, a critical edition of the writings of Rudolf Steiner (SKA) is being published by frommann-holzboog publishing house in Stuttgart, Germany. This first academic edition of the essential works of the founder of anthroposophy, which observers have called a ‘turning point’ in academic Steiner research, triggered a wide range of reactions. The present article discusses the conception, development, and outlook of this edition, gives an overview of its critical reception within academic and anthroposophical research on Steiner, and closes with a bibliography of existing literature on this editorial project. Click here for a bilingual version of the article
Credit Loan Modeling: How Different Factors Shape a Client's Behaviors

An increasing number of credit loans have been developed in recent years as a tool to solve personal and business economic problems. Credit scoring models play a big part in evaluating one's credit score by analyzing one's information and making decisions about customer loan applications. Thus, understanding consumer loan behavior can prevent a loss of the bank. This study shows an analysis of certain factors related to the election of credit risks and potential consumers. The final results are established by identifying relationships, trends, or anomalies from datasets from Kaggle and using a machine learning approach. From this study, people could tell the general trend of loan applications and determine the probability of repaying loans.
Buddhist Monks and the Politics of Lanka’s Civil War: Ethnoreligious Nationalism of the Sinhala Sangha and Peacemaking in Sri Lanka, 1995–2010, by Suren Raghavan.

Buddhist Monks and the Politics of Lanka’s Civil War: Ethnoreligious Nationalism of the Sinhala Sangha and Peacemaking in Sri Lanka, 1995–2010, by Suren Raghavan. Sheffield: Equinox Press, 2016. xvii + 274 pp. £85 (hb), £26.99 (pb). ISBN 978-1-78179-078-6 (hb), ISBN 978-1-78179-574-3 (pb).
A simple stability criterion for nonlinear multi-dimensional (M-D) direct form digital filters

A simple algebraic stability condition for m-D nonlinear digital filters is derived. The proof is based on a comparison between a linear positive coefficient filter and the associated nonlinear filter. The test condition involves the denominator coefficients of the linear comparison filter in a simple form. The application of these results to first-order m-D filters proves the preservation of stability under a large class of finite wordlength operations. Furthermore a class of arbitrary-order m-D stability preserving filters under finite wordlength arithmetic is constructed. >
Designing Internet-Based Selling Mechanisms: Multichannel Market Transparency Strategy

The Internet has transformed the nature of business-to-consumer transaction-making practices in many industries. Sellers now attract customers with innovative Internet-based selling mechanisms that can reveal or conceal market information. We define market transparency as a design dimension for Internet-based selling that involves firm choices about the level of availability and accessibility of information about products and prices. Firms can influence market transparency either by designing and implementing their own Internet-based selling mechanism, or by offering their products through an existing electronic market. We develop an economic model of a monopolist that price discriminates across distribution channels based on their market transparency levels. The model provides normative guidelines for firms to set transparency levels and prices across distribution channels in order to maximize profits. We empirically evaluate airline pricing and market transparency to show the applicability of these guidelines. The evidence suggests that relative prices and transparency levels across the Internet and traditional air travel channels are sub-optimal.
The Amish and the Media

Review of: "The Amish and the Media," edited by Diane Zimmerman Umble and David L. Weaver-Zercher.
ECH mirror interface tank for 110 GHz, 1 MW gyrotron

A 1 MW, 110 GHz gyrotron is to be installed at General Atomics in 1995. A Mirror Optics Unit (MOU) has been designed and built to connect to the existing 110 GHz transmission line system. The unit reduces and directs a 145 mm diameter beam from the gyrotron to a 19 mm diameter beam which is then injected into a 31.8 mm diameter corrugated waveguide of the transmission line system. The unit operates under vacuum and is able to absorb beam spray from the gyrotron. The tank also contains various diagnostics equipment to protect the gyrotron and to determine the amount of energy loss in the tank, and at the window of the gyrotron output. This paper discusses further the design parameters, assembly and installation of the unit in the transmission line system.
Surveying technologies for integrating indigenous knowledge systems in mathematics teaching in South Africa: Potentials and challenges

The article is based on a study that surveyed pre-existing initiatives that integrate indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) in mathematics education in Durban, South Africa. In the exploratory case study, the researchers examined the existing modern and traditional technologies that are used in teaching mathematics by pre-service and in-service teachers enrolled in teacher certification programs at a high-tech university in the South African KwaZulu-Natal province. The overall goal of the study was to explore the feasibility of potential prospects to infuse traditional technologies and IKS in middle and high school mathematics education. A sample of 39 teachers responded to a 23-item online survey that examined the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge of teachers completing their teaching degree and their predispositions regarding the integration of IKS. Juxtaposed between traditional/indigenous technologies and modern/digital tools and resources, findings of the study revealed a number of constraints that preclude preservice and in-service teachers from incorporating IKS in teaching mathematics.
Issues in developing a thread-safe MPI implementation

The MPI-2 Standard has carefully specified the interaction between MPI and user-created threads, with the goal of enabling users to write multithreaded programs while also enabling MPI implementations to deliver high performance. In this paper, we describe and analyze what the MPI Standard says about thread safety and what it implies for an implementation. We classify the MPI functions based on their thread-safety requirements and discuss several issues to consider when implementing thread safety in MPI. We use the example of generating new context ids (required for creating new communicators) to demonstrate how a simple solution for the single-threaded case cannot be used when there are multiple threads and how a naive thread-safe algorithm can be expensive. We then present an algorithm for generating context ids that works efficiently in both single-threaded and multithreaded cases.
NO is necessary and sufficient for egg activation at fertilization

The early steps that lead to the rise in calcium and egg activation at fertilization are unknown but of great interest--particularly with the advent of in vitro fertilization techniques for treating male infertility and whole-animal cloning by nuclear transfer. This calcium rise is required for egg activation and the subsequent events of development in eggs of all species. Injection of intact sperm or sperm extracts can activate eggs, suggesting that sperm-derived factors may be involved. Here we show that nitric oxide synthase is present at high concentration and active in sperm after activation by the acrosome reaction. An increase in nitrosation within eggs is evident seconds after insemination and precedes the calcium pulse of fertilization. Microinjection of nitric oxide donors or recombinant nitric oxide synthase recapitulates events of egg activation, whereas prior injection of oxyhaemoglobin, a physiological nitric oxide scavenger, prevents egg activation after fertilization. We conclude that nitric oxide synthase and nitric-oxide-related bioactivity satisfy the primary criteria of an egg activator: they are present in an appropriate place, active at an appropriate time, and are necessary and sufficient for successful fertilization.
Studies on the effect of trypan blue in the pregnant armadillo, dasypus novemcinctus†

Evidence is presented that the hemochorial placenta of the ninebanded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus, is permeable to trypan blue when this dye is injected subcutaneously into the mother during the postimplantation period. This permeability appears to be related to a time-dependent active process or is associated with the maturation of the fetal reticulo-endothelial system. Spectrophotometric analysis of serum proteins revealed alterations in the dye-injected mothers as well as in thalidomide-treated animals as compared to untreated controls. While it is difficult at present to estimate the stage of pregnancy under teratogenic study, it is felt that this unusual experimental animal warrants further study with other teratogenic agents.
A more intuitive definition of limit

Limit can be defined by two axioms: 1. Strict inequality between limits implies, ultimately, strict inequality between functions. 2. For constant functions limit is trivial. How can basic results on convergence be derived from these axioms? In this paper we propose two answers: a) at the most elementary level- add two more axioms, b) at somewhat higher level, do it in three steps, and, in our forthcoming paper "Axiomatic definition of limit", a third answer- c) do it neater - in an abstract framework, where only order relations are present.
Geophysical Evaluation of the Richland and Holloway Mounds, Southeastern Louisiana, USA

The Mississippi River Valley contains some of the earliest records of Native American earthwork construction, extending back ∼6000 years. Louisiana contains over 700 mounds of cultural significance, most of which have not been examined, leaving significant gaps in our understanding of mound usage in this region. Using geophysical techniques, including magnetic susceptibility (MS) and electrical resistivity, the Richland (16WF183) and Holloway (16TA32) Mounds were examined for anomalies or subsurface features. Based on sediment coring and electrical resistivity profiling across the surface, MS and apparent resistivity (ρa) data are well correlated within each mound, and anomalous ρa zones were identified. The Richland and Holloway Mounds differ markedly in the preserved magnetic features: Richland contained an extensive anomalous area, while Holloway contained two distinct and isolated anomalies. Overall morphology and mound preservation, combined with ρa and MS data, suggest a potential burial or remnants of a burial within Holloway. Richland did not contain evidence of subsurface archaeological material, although there may be fired horizons at depth. A combination of minimally destructive and noninvasive geoarchaeological techniques permitted characterization of these sites without significantly altering site context, expanding upon the limited description of mounds in Louisiana, and provides a framework for future studies at these sites.
Renormalization group improvement of the effective potential in massive ø4 theory

In massive o4 theory two procedures are introduced that use the renormalization group to obtain an improved effective potential. This potential reduces to the ordinary effective potential for small excursions in field space and to the massless effective potential for large fields. Explicit results are given at the two-loop level.
Point Processes, Spatial-Temporal†‡

A spatial–temporal point process (also called space–time or spatio-temporal point process) is a random collection of points, where each point represents the time and location of an event. Examples of events include incidence of disease, sightings or births of a species, or the occurrences of fires, earthquakes, lightning strikes, tsunamis, or volcanic eruptions. Typically the spatial locations are recorded in three spatial coordinates, e.g. longitude, latitude, and height or depth, though sometimes only one or two spatial coordinates are available or of interest.
Effect of Coarse Aggregate Morphology on the Resilient Modulus of Hot-Mix Asphalt

The resilient modulus measured in the indirect tensile mode according to ASTM D 4123 reflects effectively the elastic properties of asphalt mixtures under repeated load. The coarse aggregate morphology quantified by angularity and surface texture properties affects resilient modulus of asphalt mixes; however, the relationship is not yet well understood because of the lack of quantitative measurement of coarse aggregate morphology. This paper presents findings of a laboratory study aimed at investigating the effects of the material properties of the major component on the resilient modulus of asphalt mixes, with the coarse aggregate morphology considered as the principal factor. With modulus tests performed at a temperature of 25°C, using coarse aggregates with more irregular morphologies substantially improved the resilient modulus of asphalt mixtures. An imaging-based angularity index was found to be more closely related to the resilient modulus than an imaging-based surface texture index, as indicated b...
Breast feeding in manchester.

Three-hundred-and-two motlzers in the Manchester Area were questioned about infant feeding. One-hundred-and seventy-two (57%) intended breast feeding when their baby was born, but only 34·4% of all mothers questioned were breast feeding after 4 weeks. The main reasons for choosing to bottle feed were because of previous successful bottle feeding and because breast feeding made the mothers embarrassed. Mothers chose to breast feed principally because they considered it to be better for the health of the baby. The majority of the mothers inverviewed had decided on feeding method before they became pregnant. Early decision to breast feed was significantly associated with long-term breast-feeding. There were significant associations between the decision to breast feed and upper social class, primiparity, the married state, the father's wishes, breast feeding as a baby, friends who breast fed, absence of embarrassment, breast feeding a previous baby, attendance at ante-natal classes and advice from hospital midwives. Long-term breast feeding was more common in the upper social classes, where a previous baby had been breast fed and in the absence of perinatal problems. The two main reasons mothers gave up breast feeding were because of breast problems and because they thought they were producing insufficient milk for their baby's needs. Ways in which breast feeding in Manchester may be increased in incidence and duration are discussed.
Use of in vitro skin penetration data and a physiologically based model to predict in vivo blood levels of benzoic acid

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PB PK) model was developed to predict plasma levels of benzoic acid (BA) in the hairless guinea pig after topical exposure at three finite dose levels. The PB PK model consisted of four compartments: (1) rapidly perfused tissues; (2) slowly perfused tissues; (3) liver, representing the route of elimination of BA from the plasma after biotransformation to hippuric acid; and (4) plasma. The predictive capacity of the PB PK model was assessed by comparing plasma BA levels measured experimentally with those predicted by the model. The percutaneous absorption of finite doses of BA in the model was described by a transdermal input function, which was derived from in vitro percutaneous absorption studies in which viable hairless guinea pig skin in flow-through diffusion cells was exposed to BA. Physiological parameters used in the model were calculated from previously published values. Biochemical parameters, including partition coefficients and metabolic constants, were measured experimentally in vitro. The PB PK model predictions were generally in good agreement with measured plasma levels for each of the dose levels studied. The predicted plasma BA levels and the measured values were closer for the highest dose (120 microg/cm2) than for either of the other two doses used (12 and 40 microg/cm2). The effects of optimizing the metabolic constants and the transdermal input function parameters on the predicted curve shape and fit to that of the measured plasma BA levels were assessed. Varying the transdermal input parameters produced closer agreement between predicted and measured values.
Tissue factor (coagulation factor III) is present in placental microvilli and cofractionates with microvilli membrane proteins.

Summary We have demonstrated that tissue factor is present in preparations of placental microvilli. The similarity of the procoagulant activities of microvilli and placental homogenates indicate that tissue factor is neither deficient nor enriched in microvilli relative to the bulk of placental tissue. On the basis of solubility in Triton X-100 and ammonium sulphate, and its affinity for phenyl-Sepharose, microvilli tissue factor is indistinguishable from that in whole placental homogenates.
Necessary conditions for the calculation of useful electrostatic isopotential maps from CNDO/INDO wavefunctions

The calculation of reliable electrostatic isopotential maps from CNDO or INDO wavefunctions while preserving the ZDO approximation fails because the individual atoms are treated as if they were spherical charge distributions. The resulting potential maps could be adequately interpreted on the basis of classical electrostatics. Approaches to the determination of useful maps include (a) the use of localized orbitals with a ZDO approximation applied among the localized orbitals as long as the localization procedure is defined with respect to the connectivity of the molecule and has no reference to a set of laboratory coordinates or (b) relaxation of the ZDO approximation in the determination of the potential by including the 3-center potential integrals. In either case, the preservation of rotational invariance takes paramount importance.
Plasticity in the Development of Topographic Order in the Mammalian Retinocollicular Projection

Abstract The topographically ordered retinocollicular projection in rats emerges from an initially diffuse projection present in neonates through the elimination of aberrantly positioned axons and arbors. We explore developmental plasticity in this process by making partial retinal lesions at birth and determining the topographic mapping of the remaining retina at later ages when the map normally has a mature, retinotopic order. In normal mature rats, DiI focally injected into the retina labels axons that form a dense focus of overlapping arbors at the topographically correct location in the superior colliculus (SC). Similar injections in rats with partial retinal lesions label axons that form two discrete foci of arborizations; one at the topographically appropriate region of the SC and another in the region of the SC deprived of its normal retinal input by the retinal lesion. A focal injection of DiI into the "deprived" SC region retrogradely labels ganglion cells widely scattered in the retina. Therefore, a partial retinal lesion in developing rats does not lead to an orderly expansion of the remaining retinal projection to cover the entire SC, as it does in amphibians and fish following optic nerve regeneration. Rather, in rats, the remaining partial retina forms two distinct, contiguous projections to the SC: a retinotopically ordered one that retains normal topographic relationships and an aberrant, diffusely ordered one to the SC region topographically matched with the lesioned part of the retina. This abnormal persistence of topographically aberrant axons and arbors indicates that competitive interactions between retinal axons drive the remodeling of the initially diffuse retinocollicular projection into a topographically ordered one.
Family support interventions for adolescent parents

Child care centers are serving an increasing number of children of adolescent parents. Providing a social support network and parenting education for these parents is important to the development of both the children and their parents. Successful family support intervention programs are reviewed and implications for child care programs are presented.
Internal friction and shear modulus of certain metallic glasses

Abstract We have measured the temperature dependence of the internal friction and shear modulus of metallic glass alloys Fe 40 Ni 40 P 14 B 6 , Fe 29 Ni 49 P 14 B 6 Si 2 , Fe 80 B 20 and Fe 78 Mo 2 B 20 in the glassy and crystalline phases using a torsional pendulum technique. The internal friction in the glassy phase remains approximately constant from room temperature to a temperature which depends on the annealing treatment, and the rises exponentially with temperature. The internal friction measurements were made at two different frequencies (∼0.2 Hz and ∼1.0 Hz) and the activation energies for the relaxation processes estimated by the frequency shift method. The shear modulus increases by about 30% when the amorphous alloys are crystallized. The amorphous alloys Fe 80 B 20 and Fe 78 Mo 2 B 20 exhibit Invar type behaviour which disappears upon crystallization.
On coastal trapped waves at low latitudes in a stratified ocean

Results from idealized ocean models indicate that equatorially trapped baroclinic waves incident on an eastern boundary may be partially transmitted north and south along the coast as boundary-trapped internal Kelvin waves. The offshore scale of the coastal internal Kelvin waves is the internal Rossby radius of deformation δR, which decreases as the Coriolis parameter f increases. The effect of the presence of a continental slope of width Ls, along a north–south oriented coastline, on the poleward propagation of coastal trapped internal Kelvin waves is studied in a two-layer β-plane model. The waves propagate from regions near the equator where δR > Ls to mid-latitudes where δR < Ls. It is assumed that f varies slowly on the alongshore scale of the waves L, that L [Gt ] Ls, and that either the topographic slope is weak or that the upper-layer depth is small compared to the lower-layer depth. All of the coastal trapped waves present in the model are non-dispersive. For most values of f, the cross-shelf eigen-functions consist of the internal Kelvin wave and an infinite set of continental shelf waves whose vertical structure depends on δR/Ls. For δR/Ls [Gt ] 1, the shelf waves are bottom trapped while for δR/Ls [Lt ] 1 they are barotropic. The wave speeds Cn of the shelf waves vary linearly with f, whereas the wave speed c0 of the internal Kelvin wave is independent of f. As f increases through critical values fCn, where Cn approaches C0, the phase speeds and the eigenfunctions vary so that the eigenfunctions represent a different type of wave on either side of fCn. In the slowly-varying approximation, the alongshore energy flux in each eigenfunction is a constant. It follows that an internal Kelvin wave which has a wavelength short enough that the slowly-varying approximation remains valid and which propagates poleward from the equatorial region where f < fC1 will transform into a shelf wave, at values of f near fC1, and will continue propagation poleward in that form. As a result, coastal trapped baroclinic disturbances may be able to propagate efficiently from the equatorial region to mid-latitudes where they may take the form of barotropic shelf waves.
Evolution of a State Periodical Index: Converting an In-House Index to a MARC-Based Database on the Web

ABSTRACT This article describes the process of transforming the Arkansas Periodical Index, which began as a card file index in the University of Arkansas (U. of A.) Libraries, to an online database. As in many other states, in-house indexes were compiled to cover local history journals and subject-related magazines. A variety of software now exists to mount locally created databases, one option being the choice to use the same turnkey software that runs the library's online catalog. We began by converting our card files to a local Inmagic DB/Textworks database. The U. of A. received the 1991 Gale Research Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services for that design. We later mapped the database structure to MARC fields and mounted it as a Web-accessible database through our library OPAC vendor, Innovative Interfaces, Inc. (III). The authors begin with a brief history of periodical indexing, the reasons for choosing MARC formatting, and the field mapping required. The article explains the d...
Statistical analysis of electrical breakdown behavior of polyimide following degrading processes

Polyimide (PI) tape has been widely used as electrical insulation for wires and cables due to its excellent balance of electrical, mechanical and thermal properties. However, insulation materials are exposed to various environmental degradation mechanisms during service, which can cause deterioration of their insulation properties. In this paper, the effects of thermal exposure and immersion in water on dielectric strength of Kapton® HN PI film are investigated statistically by two-parameter Weibull distribution analysis. The PI samples were heated at 475°C for 1 to 4 h, and at 450 to 480°C for 4 h, to study the influence of thermal exposure. Moreover, to explore the effect of moisture absorption, other PI samples were immersed in distilled water for up to 96 h at room temperature. After the degrading process, breakdown voltage and thickness were measured at 20 different points on each sample. The Weibull cumulative distribution function for each of the degraded samples was plotted, and compared with that of a sample dried by heating at 200°C for 1 h. Significant decreases in both the scale parameter and the shape parameter of the Weibull distribution, obtained through least-squares regression, are observed, indicating a statistical decrease in dielectric strength and a more dense dispersion of electrical weak points in PI. This observed deterioration of insulation capability of PI is attributed to chemical degradation and formation of ionic side groups during heating and immersion in water, respectively.
Pharmacokinetics and Bioavailability of Hydromorphone Following Intravenous and Oral Administration to Human Subjects

: In a relatively small pilot study, the half-life of elimination of hydromorphone in six subjects was 2.64 ± 0.88 hours and the drug had a high volume of distribution, 1.22 1./kg. In addition, the drug was rapidly but incompletely absorbed after oral administration. An equation to predict the plasma concentration of hydromorphone on oral administration was developed from the data of these six subjects.
Center-piece subgraphs: problem definition and fast solutions

Given Q nodes in a social network (say, authorship network), how can we find the node/author that is the center-piece, and has direct or indirect connections to all, or most of them? For example, this node could be the common advisor, or someone who started the research area that the Q nodes belong to. Isomorphic scenarios appear in law enforcement (find the master-mind criminal, connected to all current suspects), gene regulatory networks (find the protein that participates in pathways with all or most of the given Q proteins), viral marketing and many more.Connection subgraphs is an important first step, handling the case of Q=2 query nodes. Then, the connection subgraph algorithm finds the b intermediate nodes, that provide a good connection between the two original query nodes.Here we generalize the challenge in multiple dimensions: First, we allow more than two query nodes. Second, we allow a whole family of queries, ranging from 'OR' to 'AND', with 'softAND' in-between. Finally, we design and compare a fast approximation, and study the quality/speed trade-off.We also present experiments on the DBLP dataset. The experiments confirm that our proposed method naturally deals with multi-source queries and that the resulting subgraphs agree with our intuition. Wall-clock timing results on the DBLP dataset show that our proposed approximation achieve good accuracy for about 6:1 speedup.
Visual Results in Repeat Penetrating Keratoplasty

In a study of visual prognosis after repeat penetrating keratoplasty, we found that 18 of 29 eyes required only one regraft and 11 required multiple repeat penetrating keratoplasties. After an average follow-up of 15.7 months, six of the 18 eyes with only one regraft had achieved visual acuities of 20/100 or better. After an average follow-up of 27.5 months, only one of 11 eyes with multiple regrafts achieved a best corrected visual acuity of 20/100 or better.
On Response Prediction of Degrading Structures

All structures degrade when acted upon by cyclic forces associated with earthquakes, high winds, and sea waves. Identification and prediction of degradation is thus a problem of considerable practical significance in the field of engineering mechanics. Under cyclic excitations, system degradation manifests itself in the evolution of the associated hysteresis loops. In this paper, a robust identification algorithm is devised to generate hysteretic models of a deteriorating structure from its experimental load-displacement traces. This algorithm is based upon the generalized Bouc-Wen model and the latest theory of differential evolution, streamlined through global sensitivity analysis. It can account for strength degradation, stiffness degradation, and pinching characteristics in the evolution of hysteretic traces, whereby earlier studies in parametric identification of hysteresis are extended. In addition, it is shown experimentally that a hysteretic model obtained by identification can be used to predict the future performance of a degrading structure. Prediction of degradation through identification is a brute-force approach that offers a close representation of reality. There is not any method based upon the fundamental postulates of mechanics that can predict the response of a degrading structure well beyond its linear range.Copyright © 2005 by ASME