cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cognitive functioning in patients with cerebral aneurysms measured with the mini mental state examination and the telephone interview for cognitive status.

BACKGROUND: Clinicians and researchers use brief instruments, such as the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS), to measure cognitive functioning in patients with cerebral aneurysms. MMSE and TICS scores are often dichotomized to classify patients as cognitively impaired or not. Frequently, after an initial MMSE face-to-face evaluation, the TICS is used for follow-up assessments by telephone. METHODS: A cross-sectional cohort of patients with cerebral aneurysms completed the MMSE at baseline and the MMSE or TICS at the 12-month follow-up examination. Multivariate logistic regression adjusting for demographics was used to model cognitive impairment. MMSE and TICS results were compared using the MMSE as the "gold standard." RESULTS: Eleven out of 171 (6%) patients had baseline MMSE scores less than 24, indicating cognitive impairment. Multivariate analysis showed that a history of subarachnoid hemorrhage was associated with cognitive impairment measured with the MMSE (odds ratio, 13.9; P = 0.021; C statistic = 0.87); there was no relationship between subarachnoid hemorrhage or treatment and TICS cognitive impairment (i.e., score < 27). In patients without recent or interim invasive interventions that might affect cognition (n = 65), raw baseline MMSE and 12-month TICS scores had fair correlations (r = 0.30, P = 0.015); however, dichotomized scores had poor agreement, and TICS sensitivity and positive predictive value was 0% compared with the MMSE. CONCLUSION: The MMSE may be more sensitive than the TICS to the effects of subarachnoid hemorrhage on cognitive functioning. Raw MMSE and TICS scores are well correlated, but dichotomized MMSE and TICS scores are probably not interchangeable in this patient population.
Inverse analysis-based interpretation of sand behavior from triaxial compression tests subjected to full end restraint

Current laboratory testing often imposes or assumes uniform stress and strain distribution in a specimen for convenient data reduction to interpret soil behavior. This paper presents an inverse analysis framework, Self-learning Simulations (SelfSim), to interpret the drained behavior of sand from triaxial compression tests with fully frictional loading platens. The frictional platens result in significant bulging of and nonuniform stresses and strains within sand specimens. SelfSim treats the specimen as a boundary value problem (BVP) and extracts these nonuniform stresses and strains from within each specimen using external load and displacement measurements. The extracted behavior shows significant principal stress rotation, variation of intermediate principal stress, and nonuniform volume change throughout the specimen. Mobilized friction angles are interpreted on the two-dimensional slip surface associated with the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion, on the octahedral plane associated with the Drucker–Pra...
Estimating the number of pure chemical components in a mixture by maximum likelihood

This paper addresses the problem of determining the number of pure chemical components in a mixture by applying the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) of intrinsic dimension. The application here is to Raman spectroscopy data, although the method is general and can be applied to any type of data from a chemical mixture. We show that the MLE produces superior results compared to other methods on both simulated and real chemical mixtures, and is accurate even when minor components are present. Even if the signal-to-noise (SN) ratio is very low, accurate estimates can still be obtained by smoothing the data before applying the estimator, this approach is illustrated on two real datasets with high noise levels. Since the MLE is computed locally at every data point, we also show how the local estimates can be used for other applications, such as segmenting the specimen into homogeneous regions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Civic Engagement and Environmental Literacy.

This chapter examines the connection between civic engagement and environmental literacy, positioning activism as central to their intersection.
Freight Generation Models: Comparative Analysis of Regression Models and Multiple Classification Analysis

This paper conducts a comparative analysis of two alternative approaches to freight generation modeling: ordinary least square (OLS) and cross classification. OLS models were estimated to identify a functional relationship between the number of freight deliveries per day and a set of company attributes used as independent variables. Cross-classification techniques aim at identifying a classification structure that provides a good representation of the freight generation process. To that effect, multiple classification analysis was used to identify groups of independent variables explaining freight generation, which provided the basis for constructing cross-classification tables. In both cases freight generation is explained as a function of company attributes. The model estimation process used data obtained from commercial establishments located in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York. More than 190 different variables were tested as predictors for the number of deliveries received or carried per day. Six linear regression models found to be statistically significant and conceptually valid are discussed. Establishment attributes such as industry segment, commodity type, facility type, total sales, and number of employees were found to be statistically significant. The OLS models indicated that industry segment and commodity type are strong predictors of freight generation. It was also noticed that many of these variables played a significant role when interacting with economic variables such as total sales or employment. Twelve different groups of independent variables predicting freight generation were found to be significant as part of the cross-classification models. Results indicate that as in the case of regression models, commodity type, industry segment, and employment are strong predictors for freight generation.
A comparison of N-containing carbon nanostructures (CNx) and N-coordinated iron–carbon catalysts (FeNC) for the oxygen reduction reaction in acidic media

In light of the debate about the role of the transition metal in non-precious metal catalysts (NPMCs), two different NPMCs, CNx and FeNC, were compared for activity toward oxygen reduction in acidic media and characterized using various techniques, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry, inductive-couple plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO). The effect of acid-washing as well as long-term exposure to fuel cell and half-cell environment on both catalysts was also studied. Although FeNC exhibited a much higher initial activity than CNx, it was seen to degrade rapidly in both half-cell and fuel cell environments, while CNx retained much of its initial activity. The results discussed are sought to clarify some of the ambiguity in the role of the transition metal in these two catalysts and help establish that they are indeed two different materials with different active sites that catalyze ORR.
THE VARIATIONAL ITERATION METHOD FOR SOLVING TWO FORMS OF BLASIUS EQUATION ON A HALF-INFINITE DOMAIN

The variational iteration method is applied for a reliable treatment of two forms of the third order nonlinear Blasius equation which comes from boundary layer equations. The study shows that the series solution is obtained without restrictions on the nonlinearity behavior. The obtained series solution is combined with the diagonal Pade approximants to handle the boundary condition at infinity for only one of these forms.
Endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the vascular wall: Mechanisms regulating its expression and enzymatic function

Abstract Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is the main source of nitric oxide (NO) in the vascular wall, a molecule with anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, vasorelaxant, antioxidant and finally antiatherogenic properties. eNOS is expressed in vascular endothelium, and it uses l-arginine as a substrate, while it also requires the presence of multiple co-factors such as tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase (NADPH) and others. In the presence of BH4 deficiency, this enzyme becomes uncoupled, and it is turned into a source of superoxide radicals instead of NO. Therefore, under these conditions which are present in patients with advanced atherosclerosis, eNOS in human vascular endothelium is largely a source of reactive oxygen species, inducing in this way atherogenesis. Therefore, the aim of future therapeutic strategies targeting atherosclerosis through regulation of eNOS physiology, should take into account that up-regulation of this enzyme in the vascular wall may not lead to a respective increase of NO bioavailability and improvement of vascular homeostasis, but it may actually induce intravascular oxidative stress, if intracellular bioavailability of eNOS co-factors is not simultaneously elevated. In conclusion, eNOS plays a critical role in the regulation of vascular homeostasis, and it is a therapeutic target against atherogenesis.
Selected factors in bilingualism: The case of Galicia

Abstract This study must be viewed in the context of the decline of the ML (minority language) in a number of Western nations. The authors’ previous research on the social factors in several ML areas (Friulan, Romansh, Breton, Welsh, Gaelic, and Pennsylvania German) pointed to the effects of given ‘subcultures’ such as age and social class. Interviews with both open‐ended and standardised items on usage of the ML and OL as well as attitudes toward bilingualism, were largely carried out in the homes of 104 subjects in representative areas of Galicia. The sample was notably younger and more poorly educated than in the other ML areas studied by the authors, largely because of the years of underdevelopment in Spain and especially Galicia. The findings revealed that as with the other ML areas, upper age, low social status, and rural residence were associated with ML code choice. Particularly during adolescence, language commitment shifted from the ML to the OL (official language). Still, since most Galicians a...
Increased prevalence of the BRCA2 polymorphic stop codon K3326X among individuals with familial pancreatic cancer

Germline BRCA2 mutations predispose to the development of pancreatic cancer. A polymorphic stop codon in the coding region of BRCA2 (K3326X) has been described, and although an initial epidemiological study suggested it was not disease causing, subsequent studies have been inconclusive. To investigate the biological significance of the K3326X polymorphism, we determined its prevalence in patients with sporadic and familial pancreatic cancer. Using a case-control design, we studied 250 patients with resected sporadic pancreatic adenocarcinomas, 144 patients with familial pancreatic adenocarcinoma, 115 spouses of patients with pancreatic cancer, and a disease control group of 135 patients without a personal history of cancer who had undergone cholecystectomy for non-neoplastic disease. The K3326X polymorphism was detected using heteroduplex analysis and DNA sequencing. The BRCA2 K3326X polymorphism was significantly more prevalent in individuals with familial pancreatic cancer: 8/144 (5.6%) vs 3/250 controls (1.2%) (odds ratio, 4.84; 95% CI, 1.27-18.55, P G) suspected to be deleterious. Excluding this case did not alter the significance of the association (OR: 4.24, P<0.01). In contrast, there was no difference in prevalence among individuals with sporadic pancreatic cancer - 7/250 (OR: 2.37, 95% CI: 0.61-9.27). The increased prevalence of the BRCA2 K3326X polymorphism in patients with familial pancreatic cancer suggests that this polymorphism is deleterious and contributes to pancreatic cancer risk.
Aldosterone: Effect on incorporation of leucine into the trichloroacetic acid precipitable fraction of rabbit renal cortical tissue

L'inclusion ded-aldosterone dans le milieu d'incubation a provoque une accumulation elevee de l'acide amino-leucine dans la fraction proteique des tranches d'ecorce du rein du lapin. Cette elevation a ete arrEtee par des antibiotiques (actinomycine D et puromycinc).
Frustrated Ambitions: The George W. Bush Presidency and the 2006 Elections

The 2006 elections dealt a strong blow to the sizeable political and policy ambitions motivating the George W. Bush presidency. Bush’s attempt to entrench a conservative political regime in national politics now faces its greatest peril. In particular, Bush’s “political capital” is much reduced by Democratic control of the House and Senate. Bush’s assertion of his formal powers will also receive greater challenge by Congress. It is now up to future GOP presidents to achieve Bush’s extensive regime ambitions.
Evaluation of a Proposed Space and Missile Warning Symbology Standard for Graphical Displays

A discriminability evaluation was performed on a proposed Space and Missile Warning symbol set. Our analysis focused on the discriminability of the symbols and the application of the information co...
Pregabalin Suppresses Calcium-Mediated Proteolysis and Improves Stroke Outcome

Pregabalin, a Ca(2+) channel α(2)δ-subunit antagonist with analgesic and antiepileptic activity, reduced neuronal loss and improved functional outcome in a mouse model of focal ischemic stroke. Pregabalin administration (5-10mg/kg, i.p.) 30-90 min after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion reduced infarct volume, neuronal death in the ischemic penumbra and neurological deficits at 24h post-stroke. Pregabalin significantly decreased the amount of Ca(2+)/calpain-mediated α-spectrin proteolysis in the cerebral cortex measured at 6h post-stroke. Together with the extensive clinical experience with pregabalin for other neurological indications, our findings suggest the potential for a therapeutic benefit of pregabalin in stroke patients.
Predictors of pre-hospital delay among patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Abstract Objective To evaluate current literature on predictors of pre-hospital delay among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods Medline, CINHAL, and Psych Info databases were searched using keywords: attitude to illness/health, health beliefs, help/health seeking behavior, health behavior, psychosocial factors, treatment delay, socioeconomic factors, time factors, pre-hospital delay, and symptoms. These keywords were combined with AMI to identify literature published during 1995–2008. Results Twenty-six data-based research articles were identified. Delay varied across literature and median pre-hospital delay was often reported due to distribution skewness resulting from extremely prolonged values (1.5–15.2 h). Six categories of predictors influenced pre-hospital delay; socio-demographic, symptom onset context, cognitive, affective/psychological, behavioral, and clinical factors. Pre-hospital delay was shortest when the decision to seek healthcare was facilitated by family members or coworkers and when symptoms suggestive of heart attack were continuous and severe. Conclusion and practice implications Developing interventions programs to reduce pre-hospital delay for high-risk patients is warranted. Because decision delay is the only modifiable part by intervention, it is recommended that future investigations and interventions attend to decision time as the primary variable of interest instead of combining it with transportation time. Moreover, content of patient education need to emphasize on symptom awareness and recognition, and prompt and proper patient actions for optimum results. Also, in order to eliminate sampling bias resulting from investigating surviving AMI patients, it is recommended that future studies incorporate data from both surviving and surrogates of non-surviving AMI patients.
Letter: An open forum

The International Upper Mantle Project, after two extensions of time, comes to a close at the end of Phase III, 1968–1970, as specified by the International Council of Scientific Unions and by various agreements with sponsoring governments. However, current worldwide studies relating to tectonic processes in the Earth's mantle and crust have been surprisingly fruitful, and this momentum and enthusiasm should be encouraged to continue into the 1970's by providing an agreed central theme or focus for continued collaboration and interchange among the many research groups and investigators working in solid-Earth geophysics.
A diagnostic algorithm combining clinical and molecular data distinguishes Kawasaki disease from other febrile illnesses

Kawasaki disease is an acute vasculitis of infants and young children that is recognized through a constellation of clinical signs that can mimic other benign conditions of childhood. The etiology remains unknown and there is no specific laboratory-based test to identify patients with Kawasaki disease. Treatment to prevent the complication of coronary artery aneurysms is most effective if administered early in the course of the illness. We sought to develop a diagnostic algorithm to help clinicians distinguish Kawasaki disease patients from febrile controls to allow timely initiation of treatment. Urine peptidome profiling and whole blood cell type-specific gene expression analyses were integrated with clinical multivariate analysis to improve differentiation of Kawasaki disease subjects from febrile controls. Comparative analyses of multidimensional protein identification using 23 pooled Kawasaki disease and 23 pooled febrile control urine peptide samples revealed 139 candidate markers, of which 13 were confirmed (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC AUC 0.919)) in an independent cohort of 30 Kawasaki disease and 30 febrile control urine peptidomes. Cell type-specific analysis of microarrays (csSAM) on 26 Kawasaki disease and 13 febrile control whole blood samples revealed a 32-lymphocyte-specific-gene panel (ROC AUC 0.969). The integration of the urine/blood based biomarker panels and a multivariate analysis of 7 clinical parameters (ROC AUC 0.803) effectively stratified 441 Kawasaki disease and 342 febrile control subjects to diagnose Kawasaki disease. A hybrid approach using a multi-step diagnostic algorithm integrating both clinical and molecular findings was successful in differentiating children with acute Kawasaki disease from febrile controls.
Future clinical pharmacy practitioners should be board-certified specialists

The vision of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) is that, in 20–30 years, most clinical pharmacy practitioners will be boardcertified specialists. 2 This White Paper develops a rationale for this position, describes specialty board certification in pharmacy, and articulates recommendations for attaining the vision. The justification of the need for board certification as a part of future quality assurance and professional privileging processes, the rationale for the argument that most future clinical faculty and residency preceptors should be board certified, and the identification of obstacles that hinder achieving this vision are also discussed.
Scissors or Horizon: Neoclassical Debates About Returns to Scale, Costs, and Long-Run Supply, 1926-1942

Modern treatment of long-run (U-shaped) cost curves developed from reactions to Sraffa's criticisms of Marshall. He argued that internal (dis)economies were incompatible with partial-equilibrium analysis under perfect competition. Pigou concurred, and drew L-shaped cost curves; Viner realized that this made firm size indeterminate, and industry output volatile. Using Austin and Joan Robinson's analyses, Stigler justified rising costs/supply, determinacy, and stability by irrational entrepreneurs enduring coordination failure and by factor price changes. We conclude that consistency requires constant costs; but firm employment, output, and factor incomes remain theoretically indeterminate. It becomes likely that large firms will undermine perfect competition.
RADIATION CONDITION FOR A MAGNETOPLASMA MEDIUM

Abstract : The paper is concerned with the radiation condition for an unbounded magnetoplasma which is both anisotropic and dispersive. The usual form of the celebrated Sommerfeld radiation condition pertains to an isotropic and nondispersive medium and is not applicable to a magnetoplasma. A technique based on the principle of causality for the resolution of the consequent ambiquity is discussed. The branch-points and the associated branch-cuts of the integrands in the Fourier integral representations of the two modes which compose the actual field component in a steady state problem are examined with particular emphasis on certain of the branch-points which have been overlooked in the existing literature. (Author)
Pars plana lensectomy by ultrasonic fragmentation. Results of a retrospective study.

Abstract The results of a retrospective study of pars plana lensectomy by ultrasonic fragmentation are reviewed. More than 93% of the 284 eyes achieved 20/20–20/40 vision. Complications in 284 operations included retinal detachment (1.7%) and chronic cystoid macular edema (3.9%). In the last 100 operations performed, 98% of the eyes achieved 20/20–20/40 vision, with one retinal detachment, one macular hole, and no chronic cystoid macular edema.
Behind the Curve: Governments versus Criminal Networks

From Pablo to Osama: Trafficking Networks, Government Bureaucracies, and Competitive Adaptation. By Michael Kenney. State College: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007. 312 pp. $45.00 (ISBN: 0-271-02931-3). In the early 1990s, the Colombian counternarcotics police, working with US law enforcement and intelligence agencies, broke up the Medellin and Cali cartels, the two most important groups trafficking cocaine to the United States. They arrested much of their leadership and killed the most prominent trafficker, Pablo Escobar, after he escaped from prison. In October 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan and worked with the Northern Alliance to topple the Taliban and drive the al Qaeda leadership out of its camps and planning sites, subsequently arresting or killing dozens of Islamist terrorists. The result of these operations was an initial weakening of the drug trafficking and terrorist organizations. However, in both cases the groups soon restructured and reorganized themselves into more dispersed, flatter cellular networks that became even more difficult to identify and combat. In doing so, they showed great agility, flexibility, rapid decision making, and, most important, the ability to adapt and change their modes of operations to respond to the efforts of the United States and its allies to destroy them. From Pablo to Osama: Trafficking Networks, Government Bureaucracies, and Competitive Adaptation is an interesting and useful book in which Michael Kenney tackles this dilemma by posing, inter alia , two important questions. First, how do drug trafficking and terrorist organizations accumulate tacit and technical information and knowledge and incorporate this learning into their operations? Second, how do government bureaucracies use the same techniques to combat them? Central to the answer to these questions is …
Work hours compliance in a community hospital

new era in the education of surgeons with regard to work ours began in July 2003. Although some view this as having a otential negative impact on the surgical educational system, thers view this change as a window of opportunity. Graduate urgical education in the United States has evolved over many ears into an excellent system for the training of surgeons. Howver, past inefficiencies and service obligations have resulted in xcessive work hours for many surgical trainees. This report ocuments our experience with 2 models to improve the eduational component of residency training, and to be in complince with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Edcation (ACGME) work hours regulations.
Strict entropy production bounds and stability of the rate of convergence to equilibrium for the Boltzmann equation

We first consider the Boltzmann equation with a collision kernel such that all kinematically possible collisions are run at equal rates. This is the simplest Boltzmann equation having the compressible Euler equations as a scaling limit. For it we prove a stability result for theH-theorem which says that when the entropy production is small, the solution of the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation is necessarily close to equilibrium in the entropie sense, and therefore strongL 1 sense. We use this to prove that solutions to the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation converge to equilibrium in the entropie sense with a rate of convergence which is uniform in the initial condition for all initial conditions belonging to certain natural regularity classes. Every initial condition with finite entropy andp th velocity moment for some p>2 belongs to such a class. We then extend these results by a simple monotonicity argument to the case where the collision rate is uniformly bounded below, which covers a wide class of slightly modified physical collision kernels. These results are the basis of a study of the relation between scaling limits of solutions of the Boltzmann equation and hydrodynamics which will be developed in subsequent papers; the program is described here.
Problem solving and knowledge inertia

Abstract Knowledge is becoming much more important for individuals and organizations than before. Knowledge management (KM) has been proposed as a methodology that can manage knowledge in organizations. However, KM may also have a nature, knowledge inertia (KI), stemming from the use of routine problem solving procedures, stagnant knowledge sources, and following past experience or knowledge. It may enable or inhibit an organization's or an individual's ability on problem solving. In order to explore to what extent, this research investigates several issues. First, types of knowledge have been specified. Second, knowledge from problem solving has been classified and understood. Third, inertia from knowledge is illustrated with some cases. Fourth, circulation of knowledge types in terms of avoiding KI is described. Finally, a case study of a military training institute implementing training revolution and overcoming KI is demonstrated. The proposed knowledge-based architecture investigates the mechanism of case base, heuristic base, and rule base that incorporates explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge, and procedural knowledge in support of managing knowledge and dealing with inertia.
Effect of Soil Flow Changes on Structure Loads

Current methods of analyzing the response of buried structures to ground shock loads consider the effects of structure response on structure loads, but do not consider the effects of structure motion on the soil flow near the structure and subsequent changes in the structure loads and response. Analyses of the effects of these soil flow changes for a high explosive detonation very close to a structure have not been reported until now. In this paper, dynamic finite-element analyses, including the detonation of high explosives in the soil, are used to determine the changes in soil flow and structure loads. These analyses demonstrate that the soil flow near the structure changes significantly due to structure motion, and neglecting these changes in flow causes the underprediction of late-time loads and structure response.
The Polls: Religion and the 2000 Presidential Election: Public Attitudes Toward Joseph Lieberman

For the first time since 1960, the religion of candidates for national office became an election issue as Al Gore named Joseph Lieberman, a Jewish senator from Connecticut, to be his vice presidential running mate. Polls over the past forty years have indicated a greater willingness of Americans to vote for nontraditional candidates for major national office, but these expressed opinions have remained purely hypothetical. With Lieberman's candidacy, we can test whether attitudes toward Jews affected support for Lieberman's vice presidential candidacy. Reviewing a variety of polls, but focusing on the 2000 American National Election Study, I find that attitudes toward Jews affect feelings toward Lieberman. Importantly, the American public appeared warmly disposed toward both Jews and Lieberman. Further, being a member of a group which research on anti-Semitism has identified as at times displaying anti-Semitic attitudes fails to affect attitudes toward Lieberman. Rather, basic political orientations, such as partisanship and ideology, more strongly affect attitudes toward Lieberman. The liberalization in public opinion about who is qualified to serve as president appears a true phenomenon and not merely the expression of socially acceptable responses to survey questions.
Allostatic dysregulation of natural reward processing in prescription opioid misuse: autonomic and attentional evidence

Chronic pain patients who misuse prescription opioids may suffer from allostatic dysregulation of natural reward processing. Hence, this study examined whether prescription opioid misusers with chronic pain (n = 72) evidenced decreased natural reward responsiveness relative to non-misusers with chronic pain (n = 26). Subjects completed a dot probe task containing pain-related, opioid-related, and natural reward stimuli while attentional bias (AB) scores and heart rate variability (HRV) responses were assessed. Compared to non-misusers, misusers evidenced significantly more attenuated HRV responses to opioid, pain, and natural reward cues presented during the dot probe task. These significant between-groups differences in HRV were largest during attention to natural reward cues, but became non-significant in a sensitivity analysis controlling for opioid dosing. In addition, non-misusers evidenced an AB toward natural reward cues, whereas misusers did not. Findings suggest that opioid misusers exhibit attentional and autonomic deficits during reward processing.
Simulation and optimization of a flow battery in an area regulation application

Flow batteries have the potential to provide ancillary grid services such as area regulation. In this paper, a hypothetical 2 MW flow battery is simulated in an area regulation application to find the optimal energy-to-power ratio that maximizes the net present value (NPV) of a 10 year project based on a range of installation costs. Financial and operational results are presented, and candidate battery chemistries are discussed. A simplified model of battery installation costs (dollars per kW h) resulted in a positive NPV for installation costs below $500 kW−1 h−1. For installation costs between $300 and $500 kW−1 h−1, an optimal energy-to-power ratio is 1.39. The traditional advantage of decoupling power and energy capacity may not be realized in area regulation; therefore hybrid flow batteries may be more appropriate. Zinc-bromine and iron-chromium chemistries might fit well with this application, along with lower-cost flow battery chemistries in the future.
Maternal humoral immune response to incompatibility at multiple minor histocompatibility loci in mice

Mice of the H-2b haplotype were mated with males of the same MHC haplotype, but differing at multiple minor histocompatibility loci. Mice were bled during each pregnancy and at 2-day intervals post-partum. The sera were assayed by indirect immunofluorescence for evidence of a humoral immune response to paternal minor histocompatibility antigens. Alloantibody was first detected in the post-partum period following the third pregnancy, and was also detected during the fourth pregnancy. Thereafter, alloantibody levels dropped and by the post-partum period following the fifth pregnancy, fell to control values. Assays on a panel of cells from mice of different inbred strains revealed specificity of the alloantibody to H-3.1, H-4.1 and H-7.1 antigens. A conventional dye exclusion cytotoxicity test revealed the pregnancy-induced alloantibody did not exhibit complement-dependent cytotoxicity. These findings are discussed in relation to the regulation and functional significance of the humoral immune response in allogeneic pregnancy.
Pharmacology of botulinum toxin

Abstract Background: Botulinum toxin has a well-defined role among dermatologists for the treatment of facial wrinkling, brow position, and palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis. Objective: The purpose of this study is to educate dermatologists on the pharmacology of botulinum toxin. Methods: A retrospective review of the literature on botulinum toxin from 1962 to the present was conducted. We examined the clinical applications of botulinum toxin, cholinergic neuromuscular transmission, the toxin's structure and molecular actions, drug and disease interactions at the neuromuscular junction, toxin assays, determinants of clinical response, and adverse side effects. Results: Botulinum toxin blocks the release of acetylcholine from the presynaptic terminal of the neuromuscular junction. Several drugs and diseases interfere with the neuromuscular junction and the effects of botulinum toxin. The mouse bioassay, the most sensitive and specific measurement of toxin activity, is the gold standard for botulinum toxin detection and standardization. The major determinants of clinical response to treatment are the toxin preparation, individual patient's anatomy, dose and response relationships, length of toxin storage after reconstitution, and immunogenicity. To minimize potential antibody resistance, one should use the smallest effective dose, utilize treatment intervals of more than 3 months, and avoid booster injections. Uncommon adverse effects include ptosis, ectropion, diplopia, bruising, eyelid drooping, hematoma formation, and temporary headaches. Conclusion: Botulinum toxin is a safe and effective treatment. Knowledge of the pharmacologic basis of therapy will be useful for standardizing techniques and achieving consistent therapeutic results in the future. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2000;43:249-59.)
Serum Dioxin and Hepatic Abnormalities in Veterans of Operation Ranch Hand

Abstract PURPOSE: We studied hepatic abnormalities and indices of hepatic function in relation to exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (dioxin) in veterans of Operation Ranch Hand, the Air Force unit responsible for the aerial spraying of herbicides in Vietnam from 1962 to 1971. METHODS: The prevalence of ever having liver disease through March 1993, and level of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), alkaline phosphatase, and total bilirubin were examined according to serum dioxin levels. RESULTS: We found an increased risk of “other liver disorders” among veterans with the highest dioxin levels [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2 to 2.1], due primarily to increased transaminases or LDH (adjusted OR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.4 to 5.1) and to other nonspecific liver abnormalities (adjusted OR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.0). CONCLUSIONS: Whether the associations observed were causal is unclear from these data.
The use of tissue plasminogen activator to declot arteriovenous accesses in hemodialysis patients.

Thrombosis is the most common complication of arteriovenous (A-V) access, resulting in malfunction or total failure. We describe the first use of the thrombolytic agent tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) to declot the A-V access in 15 hemodialysis patients (14 A-V grafts and one fistula). The t-PA was infused directly into the A-V access in 10-mg doses, at 2-hour intervals, to a maximum of 30 mg. As determined by angiography, t-PA infusion resulted in a dramatic decrease in clot volume in all cases and complete lysis, with return of bruit and thrill, in 10 patients. Eight of the 10 were able to be treated with hemodialysis via the A-V access the following day. In these patients, angiography demonstrated stenosis at the venous end of the A-V access in eight of nine A-V grafts (the one fistula did not have a venous stenosis). Three patients reclotted within 24 hours, and one had bleeding 5 days later after dialysis requiring compression of the A-V access, which resulted in reclotting. Five patients had functioning A-V grafts 1 to 15 months after t-PA treatment (with angioplasty of the venous stenosis required in three of these), and one patient was lost to follow-up. All five patients in whom t-PA infusion was only partially successful had venous stenosis. One patient died before surgery (unrelated to t-PA). Thus, venous stenosis was present in 13 of 15 A-V accesses studied, the highest incidence reported to date. No bleeding occurred at remote sites and only minor local bleeding was noted in five patients, which suggests a lower incidence of bleeding compared with other thrombolytic agents. Although the cost of t-PA is high as compared with streptokinase or urokinase, only 20 mg of t-PA was needed for declotting in 40% of our patients, thus decreasing the cost of therapy significantly. The importance of venous stenosis as a chuse of the A-V access thrombosis, as well as the importance of rapid diagnosis and repair of any vascular defects noted after thrombolysis, is underscored by the data in this study.
Cytomegalovirus viremia: risk factor for allograft cirrhosis after liver transplantation for hepatitis C.

Background Despite recent advances in diagnosis and treatment, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection continues to be a common cause of morbidity in liver transplant (LT) recipients. Because CMV infection suppresses cell-mediated immunity, which seems to be important in neutralizing hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, we assessed the impact of CMV infection on histopathological HCV recurrence after LT. Methods. The study group was comprised of 43 consecutive LT recipients with at least 6 months of histologic follow-up. Group 1 consisted of the 8 patients who developed CMV viremia after LT; group 2 comprised the 35 patients without CMV viremia. There was no significant difference with regard to age, initial immunosuppression, incidence of rejection, distribution of HCV genotypes, or mean follow-up between the groups. Semiquantitative histopathologic assessment of allograft hepatitis was performed using the Knodell's score. Results. The mean total Knodell score of the final allograft biopsy was significantly greater in group 1 patients (P=0.016), with most of the difference due to periportal/bridging necrosis (P=0.009) and lobular activity subitem (P=0.01) scores. Half of the CMV viremic patients eventually developed allograft cirrhosis as compared with 11% of the CMV-negative patients (P=0.027). Accordingly, the cirrhosis-free actuarial survival by Kaplan-Meier estimates was significantly diminished in the CMV viremic patients. Glycoprotein B genotype analysis of CMV isolates revealed no significant differences between patients who did and those who did not develop allograft cirrhosis. Conclusions. After LT for chronic HCV, patients who develop CMV viremia incur a significantly greater risk of severe HCV recurrence.
Validity of the adiabatic approximation for vibrational energy transfer in collisions between diatomic molecules

Abstract Accurate quantum mechanical transition probabilities for vibrational to vibrational and vibrational to translational energy transfer in collinear collisions of two hydrogen molecules were calculated for a model potential by numerical integration of the Schrodinger equation. The accuracy of these calculations was checked by conservation of flux and convergence tests and by verifying that they satisfied a rigorous theorem proven by Clarke and Theile. These accurate results were then used to determine the range of validity of the adiabatic approximation of Thiele and Katz as applied to this model system by Clarke and Thiele. This approximation yielded probabilities which agreed with the accurate ones to 10% or better for total energies E up to 6.1 (in units of diatom vibrational quanta). However, at E = 7.9 these approximate results could be off by a factor of 1.5 or higher.
Nanotechnology and HIV: potential applications for treatment and prevention

HIV/AIDS is a global pandemic and is the leading infectious cause of death among adults. Although antiretroviral (ARV) therapy has dramatically improved the quality of life and increased the life expectancy of those infected with HIV, life-long suppressive treatment is required and a cure for HIV infection remains elusive; frequency of dosing and drug toxicity as well as the development of viral resistance pose additional limitations. Furthermore, preventative measures such as a vaccine or microbicide are urgently needed to curb the rate of new infections. The capabilities inherent to nanotechnology hold much potential for impact in the field of HIV treatment and prevention. This article reviews the potential for the multidisciplinary field of nanotechnology to advance the fields of HIV treatment and prevention.
Strengthening the Bridge to Higher Education for Academically Promising Underrepresented Students

Several approaches to raising the academic success of minority high achievers exist in the form of school, community, nonprofit, and university programmatic efforts. This article represents a review of K-12 intervention programs in multiple organizational contexts that serve to strengthen the bridge to higher education for academically promising underrepresented students. The article begins with a framework and context for promoting academic success and college readiness through the educational pipeline, as well as an overview of access issues that impede high-achieving underrepresented students from realizing their full potential, followed by a discussion of specific intervention programs that are designed to remedy this situation.
On the valuation of goods and selection of the best design alternative

In the planning and early design stages of new products, the value to the customer for the alternatives under consideration need to be quantified in the same units as costs to make rigorous trade-off decisions. According to the S-model, the value of a good is the price at which demand goes to zero and its demand curve shifts by a prescribed amount when its value changes. To test these findings, we have investigated the simulated demand for two lottery tickets. This was necessary because the full demand curves and the values of commercial products are not known a priori. The so-called "endowment effect" for the lottery tickets was also observed and explained here as a direct result of the stochastic nature of the driving forces for buying and selling a good. The use of the S-model to examine product value trends over time is explored for two minivans competing in the real marketplace. The connections between the S-model and several other engineering design methodologies are discussed.
All the Gender That’s Fit to Print: How the New York Times Covered Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin in 2008

This study examines how the New York Times covered a culturally significant event: the 2008 presidential election. A content analysis of Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and their male counterparts ex...
TEMPORAL CONNECTIVITY IN A PRAIRIE POTHOLE COMPLEX

A number of studies have noted the occurrence of intermittent surface-water connections between depressional wetlands in general and prairie potholes in particular. Yet, the ecological implications of such connections remain largely unexplored. In 1995, we observed spillage into and out of a North Dakota wetland during two field visits. Between May 3 and May 26, there was a positive relationship between specific conductance and water level at this site, suggesting an external source of dissolved ions. We estimated that specific conductance may have increased at the site by as much as 614 μS cm−1 due to spillage from the upslope wetland. Based on a spatial analysis that compared National Wetlands Inventory maps with 1996 color infrared imagery, we estimated that 28% of the area’s wetlands had a temporary surface water connection to at least one other wetland at that time, including one complex of 14 interconnected wetlands. These results indicate that the connectivity observed in 1995 was not confined to the two wetlands nor to that single year. The degree of connectivity we observed would be expected to occur during the wetter portions of the region’s 20-year wet-dry cycle. We hypothesize that intermittent surface-water connections between wetlands occur throughout the prairie pothole region. Given patterns in relief and precipitation, these connections most likely would have occurred in the eastern portion of the prairie pothole region. However, wetland drainage may have altered historical patterns. The implication of these spatial and temporal trends is that surface-water connections between depressional wetlands should be viewed as a probability event that has some distribution over time and space. We refer to connections that are impermanent, temporally discontinuous, or sporadic as temporal connectivity. The most intriguing feature of these temporary connections may be that they could affect biodiversity or population dynamics through transport of individuals or reproductive bodies. Research is needed to determine whether these connections actually cause these biological effects and to characterize the distribution and effects of this phenomenon.
Antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of PEGylated poly(amidoamine) dendrimers

We have investigated the antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of a series of amino-terminated poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers modified with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) groups. The antibacterial activity of the PAMAM dendrimers and their derivatives against the common ocular pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, was evaluated by their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). For the unmodified third and fifth generation (G3 and G5) amino-terminated dendrimers, the MICs against both P. aeruginosa and S. aureus were in the range of 6.3–12.5 μg mL−1, comparable to that of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37 (1.3–12.5 μg mL−1) and within the wide range of 0.047–128 μg mL−1 for the fluoroquinolone antibiotics. PEGylation of the dendrimers decreased their antibacterial activities, especially for the Gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus). The reduction in potency is likely due to the decrease in the number of protonated amino groups and shielding of the positive charges by the PEG chains, thus decreasing the electrostatic interactions of the dendrimers with the negatively-charged bacterial surface. Interestingly, localization of a greater number of amino groups on G5 vs. G3 dendrimers did not improve the potency. Significantly, even a low degree of PEGylation, e.g. 6% with EG11 on G3 dendrimer, greatly reduced the cytotoxicity towards human corneal epithelial cells while maintaining a high potency against P. aeruginosa. The cytotoxicity of the PEGylated dendrimers to host cells is much lower than that reported for antimicrobial peptides. Furthermore, the MICs of these dendrimers against P. aeruginosa are more than two orders of magnitude lower than other antimicrobial polymers reported to date. These results motivate further exploration of the potential of cationic dendrimers as a new class of antimicrobial agents that may be less likely to induce bacterial resistance than standard antibiotics.