cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evolution of PACS concepts in hospital environment

The constant improvement in computer power and performance currently offers convenient and efficient means of manipulating images, graphics and movies on off-the-shelf workstations. The trend toward integration of multimodality clinical documents from patient records follows naturally. Images and graphs are certainly the most important part of the complementary information that must accompany the text and numerical data. There is, however, a possibility to include sounds and voice messages, together with all the other modalities. In medicine this could certainly help to convey heart murmur or sounds, but could also offer a convenient way of including vocal messages and comments. These new possibilities will certainly change the way physicians use workstations for direct communication. The computer industry will soon offer means of interactive communication between remote users, through computer workstations that will open a completely new area in co-operative computing and remote consultation scenarios in medicine. More than the technology itself, it is a complete change in the behaviour and work habits that can be observed in the medical community.
Modeling the effects of energy efficiency improvements on life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of products and in determining policy effectiveness

AS greenhouse gas emissions from human activities continue to increase; it has become clear that our current trajectory is not sustainable. It is also apparent that current state, national, and international policies individually are not sufficient to meet the greenhouse gas emissions reductions recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The fourth assessment report by the IPCC calls for greenhouse gas emissions rates that are 50%–80% of those experienced in year 2000 in order to stabilize atmospheric carbon dioxide levels [1]. It is my hypothesis that from a life cycle perspective, one vitally important factor that has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions more rapidly than the integration of renewable and low carbon energy sources into our energy production mix is energy efficiency improvements by industrial, commercial, and residential consumers. Further research using life cycle assessment models illustrates the effectiveness of well constructed policy that stimulates real energy efficiency improvements as part of a long term comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is also used to determine whether policies that encourage energy efficiency improvements, for example mandatory carbon labels for products, are more or less effective at meeting greenhouse gas reductions in both the short term and long term future than other popular current or potential policies and technologies such as low-carbon fuel and renewable energy mandates.
Inhibition of androgen aromatization in human breast cancer

The inhibitory activity of aminoglutethimide, 4-hydroxy-androstenedione and 7α-(4'-amino) phenylthioandrostenedione on human placental and mammary tumor aromatase activity was examined. [14C]-Androstenedione was incubated with placental microsomes and mammary tumor homogenates in the presence of an NADPH generating system with or without inhibitor. All three inhibitors were equally effective in inhibiting microsomal placental aromatase at various inhibitor concentrations. Inhibitions of mammary tumor aromatase using 12 μM inhibitor concentrations were essentially similar to results on placental aromatase inhibition and ranged from 81–97% inhibition. These findings are discussed in regard to the potential clinical use of aromatase inhibitors in the treatment of estrogen dependent metastatic breast carcinoma.
Methylation of DNA guanine via the 1-carbon pool in dimethylnitrosamine-treated rats

Treatment of rats with radioactive methionine and nonradioactive dimethylnitrosamine resulted in the formation of radioactive 7-methylguanine in rat-liver DNA. By comparing the specific activity of administered [14C-Me]-dimethylnitrosamine to the specific activity of isolated 7-methylguanine it was determined that following 20 mg/kg dimethylnitrosamine DNA methylation via the 1-carbon pool may account for up to 30% of the total 7-methylguanine formed.
Phosphoinositide hydrolysis activated by muscarinic or glutamatergic, but not adrenergic, receptors is impaired in ApoE-deficient mice and by hydrogen peroxide and peroxynitrite.

Apolipoprotein E (apoE)-deficient (knockout) mice, 4 and 12 months old, were used to test if activation of the phosphoinositide signal transduction system coupled with muscarinic, adrenergic, or glutamatergic metabotropic receptors or inhibition by hydrogen peroxide or peroxynitrite was affected by apoE-deficiency in cerebral cortical slices. In 4-month-old apoE knockout mice, glutamatergic metabotropic receptor-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis was 57% lower than age-matched wild-type mice, whereas the responses to muscarinic and adrenergic receptor stimulation were not different from wild-type mice. In 12-month-old mice, the response to glutamatergic metabotropic receptor stimulation remained impaired in apoE knockout mice, and an impairment in phosphoinositide hydrolysis activated by muscarinic receptors (36% decrease), but not by adrenergic receptors, also was evident. Oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide or peroxynitrite inhibited phosphoinositide hydrolysis activated by muscarinic or glutamatergic metabotropic receptors equivalently (41 to 52%) in 4- and 12-month-old wild-type mice. In contrast, these oxidative agents had no effect on phosphoinositide hydrolysis activated by adrenergic receptors. The inhibitory effects of oxidative stress were not enhanced in apoE knockout mice. These results demonstrate that apoE-deficiency and oxidative stress have receptor-selective inhibitory effects on the phosphoinositide signal transduction system. These differential sensitivities to apoE and to oxidative stress may contribute to selective impairments in signaling activity in neurodegenerative conditions associated with apoE isoform-sensitivity or oxidative stress, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Design of a Bulk Conductive Polymer Using Embedded Macroscopic Copper Cells

This paper introduces a technique of inducing bulk conductivity in a polymer. The technique uses coiled copper ‘cells’ embedded into a polymer during fabrication which can subsequently create highly redundant series-parallel networks. The preceding body of work aimed to improve the conductivity of non-conducting polymers by embedding particulates (of metal, carbon, etc.) into the polymer, or by altering the polymerization chemistry to incorporate conductive elements. The technique described here keeps the process independent of the specific polymer chosen by not relying on the polymerization chemistry to aid in the incorporation of the cells. The embedding drastically lowers the resistivity of the polymer, from 1012 Ω -cm (approx.) for pure silicone rubber to less than 50 Ω -cm for the composite at room temperature: a drop of 12 orders of magnitude. A secondary consideration of this paper is the mechanical stiffness changes brought about by the embedding of metal inside a flexible polymer. Although the connected network of copper cells allows the rubber to be highly conductive in bulk, the cells are themselves compliant and thus have minimal effect on the stiffness of the cured silicone rubber.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
The absolute quantification strategy: a general procedure for the quantification of proteins and post-translational modifications

Advances in biological mass spectrometry have resulted in the development of numerous strategies for the large-scale quantification of protein expression levels within cells. These measurements of protein expression are most commonly accomplished through differential incorporation of stable isotopes into cellular proteins. Several variations of the stable isotope quantification method have been demonstrated, differing in isotope composition and incorporation strategy. In general, the majority of these methods establish only relative quantification of expressed proteins. To address this, the absolute quantification (AQUA) strategy was developed for the precise determination of protein expression and post-translational modification levels. The AQUA method relies on the use of a synthetic internal standard peptide that is introduced at a known concentration to cell lysates during digestion. This AQUA peptide precisely mimics a peptide produced during proteolysis of the target protein, except that it is enriched in certain stable isotopes. Analysis of the proteolyzed sample by a selected reaction monitoring (SRM) experiment in a tandem mass spectrometer results in the direct detection and quantification of both the native peptide and isotope labeled AQUA internal standard peptide. As an example, the development and application of a method to measure a tryptic peptide representing the amount of polyubiquitin chain formation through lysine 48 (K48) is presented. The simplicity and sensitivity of the method, coupled with the widespread availability of tandem mass spectrometers, make the AQUA strategy a highly useful procedure for measuring the levels of proteins and post-translational modifications directly from cell lysates.
Parent skills training to enhance weight loss in overweight children: evaluation of NOURISH

Abstract Objective Although there is general agreement that parents should be involved in pediatric obesity treatment, few studies have investigated the effectiveness of interventions that target parents exclusively. Moreover, the effectiveness of this approach has not been adequately assessed with racially diverse families, particularly African Americans(AA), a group at high risk for elevated Body Mass Index (BMI). Methods NOURISH (Nourishing Our Understanding of Role modeling to Improve Support and Health) is a culturally-sensitive parenting intervention targeting overweight (AA) children (ages 6–11; M BMI = 98.0%ile). Families ( N = 84; 61% AA, 37% White) were randomly assigned to NOURISH or a control group. Results NOURISH families significantly improved on child BMI from pre- to post-testing after adjustment for random effects, baseline BMI, and child race. NOURISH parents were very satisfied with the intervention and would recommend it to other parents; 91% strongly or moderately agreed that NOURISH helped them eat in a healthier manner. Conclusions These pilot data suggest that NOURISH is acceptable and, with refinement, offers promise for reducing pediatric BMI. Outcomes, lessons learned, and parent feedback will inform a larger randomized controlled trial.
Effects of Digital Elevation Model Accuracy on Hydrologic Predictions

Abstract The effect of vertical accuracy of digital elevation models (DEMs) on hydrologic prediction accuracy was evaluated by comparing three DEMs and associated streamflow simulations for the 7.2 km 2 USDA-ARS watershed at Mahantango Creek, PA. The DEMs were the standard 30 m USGS 7.5′ DEM, a 5 m product derived from low altitude aerial photography, and a 30 m product derived from interferometric processing of Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C). Statistical analysis of the DEMs showed that the USGS DEM had the typical stipling errors resulting from processing of the source digital contour maps, and a vertical error structure related to the topographic attributes of the watershed. The SIR-C DEM had a vertical offset of about 50 m from the high resolution and USGS DEMs, as well as error features that were somewhat related to topographic features. Inaccuracies in both the USGS and SIR-C DEMs were apparent in the drainage network, as well as in spatial images of elevation, slope, and contributing area. Comparisons of runoff predicted using a hydrologic model based on the three DEMs showed that mean annual predicted runoff volumes were 0.3% and 7.0% larger for the USGS and SIR-C DEMs, respectively, as compared to the reference DEM. Much larger differences were apparent in individual hydrographs; and the USGS and SIR-C DEMs predicted lower peaks, and higher base flows, than did the reference.
Holographic apparatus for forming nanograting device

This paper studies the fabrication of the nano-scale grating using laser beam interference. The beams come from a He-Cd laser @442nm were interfered with each other inside a prism, and form the interference pattern on the photoresist layer that coated on the bottom of the prism. The method can fabricate gratings with period that less than the half of the wavelength of the interference laser beams. It becomes a promising process that can fabricate a grating with periods of 160nm without using UV light source. The experimental result is also demonstrated.
Constructing Race and Civility in Urban America

Images of violence and conflict often go hand-in-hand with life in Black, urban communities, an association buttressed by the sensational media accounts that highlight crime, firebombings and riots...
Laminar flow in channels with porous walls, revisited ☆

Abstract An analytical solution for the pressure drop in fluid flow in a rectangular slit and cylindrical tube with porous walls is presented for the case of constant wall permeability. It is shown that model predictions for the particular case of constant wall velocity for rectangular slit with permeable walls agrees very well with Berman’s solution [J. Appl. Phys. 24 (1953) 1232]. The derivation presented in this work leads to analytical expressions for pressure drop as a function of wall permeability, channel dimension, axial position and fluid properties. These analytical expressions for constant wall permeability could be used to benchmark numerical routines for fluid flow modeling past semi-permeable membranes and for quick engineering estimates for pressure drop in cross-flow membrane modules.
Active Highways (Position Paper)

Highways are an essential component of our society because they are critical to quality of life and to local and national economies. Under good conditions, highways provide a safe and efficient route for people and goods to reach their destinations. However, as a direct consequence of their use, traffic congestion is ever-increasing, undermining the ability of highways to adequately provide an acceptable quality of service. It has become imperative for highway traffic to provide the same time guarantee quality as other transportation methods such as air and rail travel, while maintaining the convenience of flexible scheduling and destination for the individual traveler. In this position paper, we propose Active Highways, a fundamental departure from todaypsilas highway traffic management approaches that shifts the highway paradigm from a transportation infrastructure that monitors and controls traffic at the aggregate level, to a computer-based service that operates at the level of individual vehicles. In this sense, highways will become active managers of their own traffic similar to air traffic control. In our vision, future highways and future vehicles will communicate with one another, making the highway system aware of the driverspsila travel plans and allowing it to cooperate with and actively instruct the driver on achieving them. In particular, Active Highways will allow drivers to reserve slots in special high-priority intelligent lanes. This fine-grained traffic management model will guarantee travel time bounds, handle exceptions and enforce global community and environmental policies using real-time information from vehicle- and infrastructure-based sensors.
Organometallic reactivity patterns in fluorocarbons and implications for catalysis: Synthesis, structure, solubility, and oxidative additions of a fluorous analogue of Vaska's complex, trans-Ir(CO)(Cl)[P(CH2CH2(CF2) 5CF3)3]2

The reaction of [Ir(Cl)(cod)]2, P(CH2CH2(CF2)5CF3)3, and CO (1 atm) gives the title compound (2, 97%). Tri(n-octyl)phosphine (3) and rhodium (4) analogues are similarly prepared. Crystal structures of 2 and 4 show anti CCCC conformations in the six perfluoroalkyl groups (average torsion angle 169°), with four chains (two per phosphorus) in parallel coplanar arrays that define ca. 21 × 6 A “rafts”. The other two chains extend on a common side of the raft, which pack back-to-back in stacks, maximizing parallel chains in every dimension. DSC shows one phase transition (melting, 2/4 75/79 °C) prior to thermal decomposition (>200 °C). The IR νCO values (2/3/4 1975/1942/1979 cm-1) show that the CH2CH2 spacers do not completely insulate the metals from the perfluoroalkyl groups. Both 2 and 4 are soluble in CF3C6F11, CF3C6H5, ether, THF, and acetone but insoluble in hexane, toluene, CHCl3, and CH2Cl2 (CF3C6F11/THF partition coefficient >99.7:<0.3). Reactions of 2 with RI, H2, and 3O2 or 1O2 in CF3C6F11 give Ir(CO...
MOR23 promotes muscle regeneration and regulates cell adhesion and migration

Odorant receptors (ORs) in the olfactory epithelium bind to volatile small molecules leading to the perception of smell. ORs are expressed in many tissues but their functions are largely unknown. We show multiple ORs display distinct mRNA expression patterns during myogenesis in vitro and muscle regeneration in vivo. Mouse OR23 (MOR23) expression is induced during muscle regeneration when muscle cells are extensively fusing and plays a key role in regulating migration and adhesion of muscle cells in vitro, two processes common during tissue repair. A soluble ligand for MOR23 is secreted by muscle cells in vitro and muscle tissue in vivo. MOR23 is necessary for proper skeletal muscle regeneration as loss of MOR23 leads to increased myofiber branching, commonly associated with muscular dystrophy. Together these data identify a functional role for an OR outside of the nose and suggest a larger role for ORs during tissue repair.
An observational study of skilled memory in waitresses

A two-phase observational study was done on skilled waitresses as they served lunch orders in a Manhattan restaurant. Three months of participant observation provided a job description which characterized the skilled use of memory by waitresses. A second set of observations tracked the handling of orders for five confederate customers, and looked at ways in which waitresses had to reorganize information in order to do their job quickly and accurately. The date revealed that waitresses sort-order information into different organizational configurations to match locations in the restaurant, and that they adaptively utilized these configurations in the flow of their activity.
Risk Shifts in the Market for Audits: An Examination of Changes in Risk for “Second Tier” Audit Firms

SUMMARY: The market for audit services has been affected in recent years by significant changes like the demise of Andersen and the implementation of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002. One impact of these market changes has been an increase in the frequency of auditor switches, and in particular, the frequency of clients switching from Big 4 auditors to smaller audit firms. We examine whether this switching activity has resulted in changes in the risk characteristics of publicly traded clients of Second Tier audit firms. This analysis is important as regulators are concerned about audit market concentration and would like to see the Second Tier audit firms expand their share of the publicly traded client market. Results indicate that Second Tier firms are accepting clients with potentially increased audit and client business risk characteristics relative to their existing client base, but they also appear to be “shedding” clients that have increased audit and client business risk characteristics relative to ...
Regiospecific Synthesis of Novel Cyclic Nitrostyrenes and 3-Substituted 2-Nitronaphthalenes

A two-step, practical, regiospecific, and readily scalable benzannulation protocol for the preparation of novel 3-alkyl- and 3-aryl-substituted 2-nitronaphthalenes is disclosed. Addition of a β-nitrostyrene or nitroalkene to a solution of freshly prepared lithiated o -tolualdehyde tert -butyl imine first leads to the formation of a nitronate, via rapid 1,4-addition, then an intramolecular aza-Henry reaction takes place to afford a six-membered carbocycle. Subsequent treatment of the reaction mixture with aqueous acid affords novel substituted cyclic nitrostyrenes that can be conveniently aromatized via a one-pot radical-induced bromination and elimination sequence to furnish the corresponding 3-alkyl- or 3-aryl-2-nitronaphthalenes in excellent yields. The straightforward syntheses of 2-aminonaphthalenes, substituted BINAMs, 2-naphthols as well as tricyclic fused 1,2,3-triazoles are also described.
Functional modularity in stereotype representation

We employed the retrieval-practice paradigm to test the hypothesis that stereotypes are organized in a meaningful, valence-based way that promotes evaluative coherence. Replicating previous research, we demonstrated that the rehearsal of traits known to describe a target person produced enhanced recall of those practiced traits and reduced recall of other known but non-practiced traits, relative to baseline. However, both the availability of a group label that united the traits within a stereotype and the evaluative consistency of the practiced and non-practiced traits moderated the nature of these effects: although recall of non-practiced stereotypic traits that were evaluatively inconsistent with the practiced traits showed the typical pattern of inhibition, recall of non-practiced stereotypic traits that were evaluatively consistent with the practiced traits was facilitated relative to baseline. We conclude by discussing how the modular representation implied by these findings is functional, potentially fostering the momentary experience of evaluative consistency in person perception.
Order-of-scattering and doubling method for the solution of transfer equations

A method to obtain scattering and transmission functions for computational purposes has been developed in this paper. This method can be easily extended to the scattering atmosphere involving internal energy and may be to the time-dependent case. Special cases such as the homogeneous process, the Helmholtz's principle of reciprocity and the self-adjoint are presented.
Comparison of light scattering devices and impactors for particulate measurements in indoor, outdoor, and personal environments.

Short-term monitoring of individual particulate matter (PM) exposures on subjects and inside residences in health effect studies have been sparse due to the lack of adequate monitoring devices. The recent development of small and portable light scattering devices, including the Radiance nephelometer (neph) and the personal DataRAM (pDR) has made this monitoring possible. This paper evaluates the performance of both the passive pDR and neph (without any size fractionation inlet) against measurements from both Harvard impactors (HI2.5) and Harvard personal environmental monitors (HPEM2.5) for PM2.5 in indoor, outdoor, and personal settings. These measure ments were taken at the residences and on the person of nonsmoking elderly subjects across the metropolitan Seattle area and represent a wide range of light scattering measurements directly related to exposures and health effects. At low PM levels, nephs provided finer resolution and more precise measurements (precision = 3−8% and uncertainty = 2.8 × 10-7 m...
Homalozoon vermiculare (Stokes): I. Morphology and Reproduction*

SUMMARY. Homalozoon vermiculare (Stokes) is a vermiform holotrichous ciliate of the family Spathidiidae. Its functional ventral side bears 12 longitudinal rows of short cilia. The functionally dorsal side bears a prominent longitudinal ridge, is devoid of cilia, and has very fine pellicular striations. The nuclear apparatus consists of a long folded moniliform macronucleus and several small spherical micronuclei. The contractile vacuoles are variable in number and form a longitudinal row along the functionally right side of the organism. The organism varies from 150 μ to 1500 μ in length and 35 μ to 45 μ in width in its relaxed state. It is highly contractile and its movement resembles that of a turbellarian. The body can be divided into three regions: neck, trunk, and caudal region. The neck region has a cytostome at the anterior end surrounded by a pharyngeal basket and a pair of conspicuous parapharyngeal granular masses at the posterior end. The trunk region is very granular and contains the contractile vacuoles and nuclear apparatus. The caudal region is hyaline and often contains trichite bundles. Free floating trichites are found throughout the organism. Two types of reproduction have been observed. The first type is transverse fission during which the macronucleus separates into two lengths, a new pharyngeal basket forms posterior to the division constriction, and parapharyngeal granular masses develop posterior to the new pharyngeal basket. In the second type of division the cytoplasm condenses in the anterior end of the animal leaving the posterior end very flaccid. The macronucleus then undergoes extensive reorganization followed by the development of a daughter cell from the flaccid posterior region. A new flaccid posterior region grows out of the anterior mass after separation of the first daughter cell and the division process is repeated several times until the remaining portion of the anterior mass disintegrates.
On singular complex surfaces with negative canonical bundle, with applications to singular compactifications ofC 2 and to 3-dimensional rational singularities

IfX is a compact complex manifold of complex dimension two, denote by K x the canonical line bundle (the second exterior power of the cotangent bundle) of X. It is immediate from the classification of surfaces [15, 5] that if K x is negative then X is either the complex projective plane IP 2, or the product tP ~ x tP 1 of two projective lines ( t h e non-singular quadric surface Q2C IP3), or is derived from one of these by blowing up points. Here a vector bundle E on a complex space X (singularities allowed) is negative if the zero section X o is exceptional in E. Now if (X, (gx) is an analytic surface with singular points, then if each singularity is Cohen-Macaulay (the homological codimension of each stalk (gx, x equals the dimension of X = 2; this is equivalent to normal (integrally closed) in this dimension) then at least the canonical sheaf ~ x is defined and Serre-Grothendieck duality holds. And if each point is Gorenstein ((gx, x has finite injective dimension) then J{x is locally trivial and so it is the sheaf of sections of a holomorphic line bundle Kx, the canonical bundle of the singular space X. The purpose of this note is to expose all compact Gorenstein surfaces (compact two-dimensional complex spaces with only Gorenstein singularities) for which K x is negative.
Assessing Confocal Microscopy Systems for Purchase

Confocal laser scanning microscopy now has so many functions and applications that choosing a new multiuser confocal laser microscopy system can be a daunting task, particularly for a first-time buyer and new users of confocal microscopy. How does one determine which features are most appropriate for any particular laboratory, application, or imaging environment? Each confocal microscopy system has its own individual advantages and limitations, which ultimately defines its market niche. Here, we describe the features that differentiate the four confocal microscopy systems we assessed. The decisive factors in choosing a confocal microscopy system for our anatomical laboratory were user-friendly software for on-line acquisition and off-line processing; the working distances of objective lenses; applicability for a multiuser environment; interactions with company representatives; and turnaround times for questions, service, and accessories.
Neural Control of Swimming in the Leech

Leeches swim by undulating; they alternately form crests then troughs at their anterior end and move Them backward, thereby producing forward thrust. These movements are accomplished by alternating contractions of dorsal and ventral longitudinal muscles in each of the 21 body segments. These contractions are caused by bursts of impulses in groups of excitatory and inhibitory motor neurons. Connections among motor neurons help to coordinate these bursts: synergistic muscle excitors are electrotonically coupled, which aids in keeping their bursts nearly synchronous; muscle inhibitors also inhibit the excitors to the same muscles, and it is this inhibition which keeps the excitors from being tonically active during swimming. Neurons sensitive to either dorsal or ventral body wall stretch produce reciprocal stretch reflexes to the muscle excitors, probably via the inhibitors. That these stretch reflexes may be involved in generating the periodic bursts is supported by the results of both behavioral and electrophysiological experiments.
The relation between interest congruence and satisfaction: A metaanalysis.

Abstract A metaanalysis of 27 studies reporting a relation between interest congruence and job or academic satisfaction was performed. The overall mean congruence-satisfaction correlation was not significant. An examination of type of congruence measure, gender, Holland type, and academic versus job setting showed no significant moderating effects. Surprisingly, a breakdown by quality of the measurements used in the study indicated that the methodologically weakest studies yielded the strongest satisfaction-congruence relations. The results have important implications for research and for vocational counseling.
The long-term burial and exhumation history of basement blocks in the footwall of the Wasatch fault, Utah

Thermochronologic studies of the Santaquin and Farmington Canyon crystalline basement complexes, exposed in the footwall of the Wasatch fault in Utah, provide rare opportunities to investigate the long-term tectonic, burial, and exhumation history of this region. Both complexes underwent amphibolite-facies metamorphism at ∼1700 Ma, followed by a complex pressure-temperature-time history. By 740–770 Ma, exhumation had brought both complexes to the surface from a depth of ∼9–10 km (3–3.5 kbar), followed by reburial by passive margin, Oquirrh Basin, and foreland basin sedimentation from Neoproterozoic through early Cretaceous time. The final structural pathway to present-day surface exposure of both complexes began in early Cretaceous time, with crustal contraction along the Sevier belt and resultant structural stacking. Structural breaching of the thrust culminations and final cooling of the crystalline complexes occurred as a result of Tertiary through Holocene extension and accompanying normal faulting. Inferred exhumation rates for the last 10–15 my are on the order of 0.3–0.6 mm/yr, although recent slip rates across the Wasatch fault appear to be several times higher. This suggests that: (1) periods of enhanced slip on the Wasatch fault from Miocene to present time may have been punctuated by periods of quiescence; and (2) the fault now may be experiencing an episode of rapid slip. Alternatively, strain may have been partitioned into multiple fault strands at a boundary between the Provo and Nephi segments.
Hepatitis B vaccination coverage among high-risk adults 18-49 years, U.S., 2009.

Abstract Background Approximately 43,000 new hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections occurred in 2007. Although hepB vaccination has been recommended for adults at high-risk for incident HBV infection for many years, coverage remains low. Methods We used the 2009 National Health Interview Survey to assess self-reported HepB vaccine uptake (≥1 dose), series completion (≥3 dose), and independent predictors of vaccination among high-risk adults aged 18–49 years. High-risk adults were defined as those reporting male sex with men; injection drug use; hemophilia with receipt of clotting factors; sexually transmitted disease in prior five years; sex for money or drugs; HIV positive; sex with persons having any above risk factors; or who “felt they were at high risk for HIV”. Persons with none of the aforementioned risk factors were considered non-high risk. Bivariate analysis was conducted to assess vaccination coverage. Independent predictors of vaccine uptake and series completion were determined using a logistic regression. Results Overall, 7.0% adults aged 18–49 years had high-risk behaviors. Unadjusted coverage with ≥1 dose was 50.5% among high-risk compared to 40.5% among non-high-risk adults (p-values Conclusions A small increase in ≥1 dose HepB vaccination coverage among high-risk adults compared with non-high risk adults was documented for the first time in 2009. Higher coverage among persons 18–30 years may reflect aging of persons vaccinated when they were children and adolescents. To improve protection against hepatitis B among high-risk adults, healthcare providers should offer hepatitis B vaccination to persons at high risk and those who seek vaccination to protect themselves and facilitate timely completion of the three (3) dose HepB series.
Targeted overexpression of Bcl-2 in ovaries of transgenic mice leads to decreased follicle apoptosis, enhanced folliculogenesis, and increased germ cell tumorigenesis

We have generated transgenic mice overexpressing Bcl-2, an apoptosis suppression protein, in ovarian cells using the inhibit-alpha gene promoter/enhancer. Ovarian apoptotic DNA fragmentation induced in immature animals by a low dose (2 IU) of PMSG was suppressed by greater than 55% in transgenic mice compared to their wild-type littermates. Morphological and in situ DNA end-labeling analyses showed that granulosa cells in large antral follicles of wild-type animals undergo apoptosis, but most follicles in transgenic animals are healthy. When the animals were treated with a high dose (4 IU) of PMSG to stimulate follicular growth, spontaneous ovulation was observed in 14 of 23 (61%) of the transgenic animals, but in only 3 of 18 (17%) of wild-type siblings. Furthermore, transgenic females had a larger litter size (9.07 +/- 0.25 pups/litter; n = 29) than wild-type controls (7.54 +/- 0.26 pups/litter; n = 28; P < 0.01). These data suggested that decreased ovarian apoptosis in transgenic animals could lead to ...
Design Charts for Selecting Minimum Setback Distance from Side Slope to Horizontal Trench System in Bioreactor Landfills

The primary objective of bioreactor landfill is to achieve adequate and rapid distribution of moisture in landfilled municipal solid waste (MSW) to accelerate the anaerobic biodegradation of the organic fraction within MSW. A horizontal trench system (HT) is commonly adopted for leachate distribution in MSW under pressurized conditions. However, this approach should be implemented carefully due to the potential instability of landfill slopes that comes from the generation and distribution of excessive pore fluid pressures. In this study, HT design charts are presented that determine the optimal location of horizontal trench systems from the side slope (i.e., minimum lateral setback distance) under continuous leachate addition with maximum applied injection pressures, for which the landfill slopes remain stable [factor of safety (FOS) where FOS ≥ 1.5]. Use of any higher injection pressure and/or shorter lateral setback distance of HT than the one presented in the design charts would result in an unacceptable design of the bioreactor side slope (FOS < 1.5). The design chart was developed based on a parametric study that used a numerical two-phase flow model that involved different slope configurations and landfill waste depths. MSW heterogeneity and anisotropy, as well as unsaturated hydraulic properties, were taken into consideration in these simulations. Transient changes in pore water and gas pressures due to leachate recirculation were accounted for dually in the slope stability computations. The importance of these design charts is illustrated using a practical example. Site-specific conditions and the expertise and prior experience of a designer or operator must also be adequately considered and utilized with the design charts presented here for the safe design of a horizontal trench system in a bioreactor landfill.
A simple model for structural control including soil–structure interaction effects

A simple model for the seismic response of a one-storey structure subjected to active control in the presence of soil–structure interaction effects is presented. The approach is based on the successive use of equivalent 1-DOF oscillators which account for the effects of control and soil–structure interaction. Simple expressions for these oscillators based on exact analytical solutions of the control equations and approximate solutions of the interaction equations are presented. The study includes an evaluation of the effects of soil–structure interaction on the seismic response of actively controlled structures in which the control gains have been determined with and without inclusion of soil–structure interaction effects. A simple procedure to include the interaction effects on the control gains is also presented. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sensitivity of Fatigue Assessment to the Use of Different Reference S-N Curves

The S-N curve based fatigue assessment approach is the most widely used one in both ship and offshore industry, in contrast with a fracture mechanics approach. The S-N approach, implemented by either simplified or spectral method, has to apply S-N curves to calculate fatigue strength. The S-N curve, which represents the number of cycles (N) of a constant amplitude stress range (S) that will cause a fatigue failure, is normally developed based on experimental data. Which S-N curve should be applied to a particular detail depends very much on the geometry of the detail, welding information as well as loading condition. There are various S-N curves published by different institutions, e.g., S-N curves published by UK HSE, IIW, AWS etc. The newly developed ABS “Guidance on Fatigue Assessment of Offshore Structures”, [1], proposes the ABS S-N curves, in which two categories of joints, tubular and non-tubular, are included, and both size and environment effects are taken into account. However, the application in Gulf of Mexico is also influenced by API recommendations. In API RP 2A, AWS S-N curves are referred, which in US practice is accepted for fixed (buoyant and non-buoyant) platform deck structures. The objective of this paper is to address the difference between different S-N curves and to present the detailed results of fatigue assessment by using different S-N curves for non-tubular joints. Conclusions made based on the study provide more background on the S-N curve application in fatigue assessment.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Accounting, ambiguity, and the new institutionalism

Abstract The New Institutionalism is a recent development in organization theory with great relevance to accounting research. New institutionalists view accounting practices as one of a larger set of features that can legitimize organizations through construction of an appearance of rationality and efficiency. Ceremonial adherence to legitimate norms may have little material impact because formal organizational structure is decoupled from actual organizational processes. Whether substantial decoupling undermines organizational legitimacy, who the key audiences for organizational appearances are, and the relation between technical and institutional factors, are key issues that remain unsettled in new institutionalist research.
Voluntarism Against the Open Shop: Labor and Business Strategies in the Battle for American Labor Markets

Was the American Federation of Labor's (AFL) embrace of “voluntarism” a decisive turning point in American labor and political history? Voluntarism was the belief that trade unions should focus on “pure and simple” gains in wages and working conditions, rather than independent labor politics and industrial unionism. This belief dominated AFL strategy by 1900, and the results seem self-evident. By rejecting public health insurance, unemployment insurance, and inclusive labor regulations, the Progressive era AFL helped delay the emergence of American social welfare protections and contributed to their limited reach. By rejecting an alliance with a social democratic political party and by unionizing on the basis of broad industries rather than narrow crafts, the AFL circumscribed the scope and ambition of American labor organization. Today American trade unions provide far less inclusive representation of the workforce than is true in comparable nations,Franz Traxler, “Collective Bargaining and Industrial Change: A Case of Disorganization? A Comparative Analysis of Eighteen OECD Countries,” European Sociological Review 12 (1996):271–87; Bruce Western, Between Class and Market: Postwar Unionism in the Capitalist Democracies (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997). and labor is not allied with an explicitly social democratic party as is true in virtually all other capitalist democracies.Maurice Duverger, Political Parties: Their Organization and Activity in the Modern State (1951; London: Methuen, Ltd., 1964, 20–22; Giovanni Sartori, Parties and Paty Systems: A Framework for Analysis (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1976), 1:192; Frances Fox Piven, ed., Labor Parties in Postindustrial Societies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992); Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword (New York: W.W. Norton, 1996), 77–109.
Active sensing of fatigue damage using embedded ultrasonics

Embedded ultrasonics has demonstrated considerable utility in structural health monitoring of aeronautical vehicle. This active sensing approach has been widely used to detect and monitor cracks, delaminations, and disbonds in a broad spectrum of metallic and composite structures. However, application of the embedded ultrasonics for active sensing of incipient damage before fracture has received limited attention. The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of embedded ultrasonics and nonlinear acoustic signatures for monitoring pre-crack fatigue damage in aerospace structural material. A harmonic load was applied to structural specimens in order to induce fatigue damage accumulation and growth. Specimens of simple geometry were considered and piezoelectric active sensors were employed for generation and reception of elastic waves. The elastic wave signatures were analyzed in the frequency domain using nonlinear impedance and nonlinear resonance methods. A relationship between fatigue severity and linear as well as nonlinear acoustic signatures was investigated and considered in the damage classification procedure. Practical aspects of the active sensing of the fatigue damage before fracture were discussed and prospective avenues for future research were suggested.
COMPUTATIONAL GEOMETRY COLUMN 12

Seven open problems are discussed. The problems are gathered from recent papers and from problems sessions at recent conferences.
Clinical informatics sub-specialty board certification

Increased funding for health information technology and the advance of electronic health records in hospitals and practices have created the need for a new specialist: the clinical informatician. Clinical informatics was recognized in 2011 as the latest subspecialty in medicine by the American Board of Medical Specialties. This article reviews the need for this new specialty as well as the steps necessary for its creation. The content and training requirements for clinical informatics are discussed as well as eligibility criteria for taking the board examination. Training programs as well as board preparation are addressed along with the expected impact that this new field will have on the practice of medicine.
Integrating thumbnail features for speech recognition using conditional exponential models

We describe a novel approach for modeling segmental information in speech recognition, through the use of thumbnail features. By taking into account dependencies at the segmental level, thumbnail features are more resistant to changes in speaking rates and other factors. While the traditional acoustic features are fixed for every utterance, one set of thumbnail features is computed for each hypothesis, which may violate the traditional scoring paradigm. To this end, we introduce a conditional exponential modeling framework. It allows better integration of various knowledge sources in a discriminative fashion. We present preliminary experiments on the Switchboard task.
Pyrin levels in human monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages regulate IL-1beta processing and release.

Macrophages and their precursors, monocytes, are key cells involved in the innate immune response. Although both monocytes and macrophages produce caspase-1, the key enzyme responsible for pro-IL-1β processing; macrophages are limited in their ability to activate the enzyme and release functional IL-1β. In this context, because mutations in the pyrin gene (MEFV) cause the inflammatory disorder familial Mediterranean fever, pyrin is believed to regulate IL-1β processing. To determine whether variations in pyrin expression explain the difference between monocytes and macrophages in IL-1β processing and release, pyrin was studied in human monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages. Although monocytes express pyrin mRNA and protein, which is readily inducible by endotoxin, monocyte-derived macrophages express significantly less pyrin mRNA and protein. Pyrin levels directly correlated with IL-1β processing in monocytes and macrophages; therefore, we asked whether pyrin might promote IL-1β processing and release. HEK293 cells were transfected with pyrin, caspase-1, apoptotic speck protein with a caspase recruitment domain, and IL-1β. Pyrin induced IL-1β processing and release in a dose-dependent manner. Conversely, pyrin small interference RNA suppressed pro-IL-1β processing in both THP-1 cells and fresh human monocytes. In summary, both pyrin expression and IL-1β processing and release are diminished upon the maturation of monocytes to macrophages. When pyrin is ectopically expressed or silenced, IL-1β processing and release parallels the level of pyrin. In conclusion, in the context of endotoxin-induced activation of mononuclear phagocytes, pyrin augments IL-1β processing and release.
Diabetes, Obesity, and Hypertension May Enhance Associations between AirPollution and Markers of Systemic Inflammation

Airborne particulate matter (PM) may lead to increased cardiac risk through an inflammatory pathway. Therefore, we investigated associations between ambient PM and markers of systemic inflammation ...
Early VLF perturbations caused by lightning EMP‐driven dissociative attachment

[1] We propose a new mechanism for lightning-induced perturbations to VLF transmitter signals known as Early VLF events. This mechanism involves electron density changes due to electromagnetic pulses (EMP) from successive in-cloud lightning discharges associated with cloud-to-ground discharges (CGs), which are likely the source of continuing current and much of the charge moment change in CGs. Through time-domain modeling of the EMP we show that a sequence of pulses can produce appreciable density changes in the lower ionosphere, and that these changes are primarily electron losses through dissociative attachment to molecular oxygen. Modeling of the propagating VLF transmitter signal through the disturbed region shows that perturbed regions created by successive horizontal EMPs create measurable amplitude changes.