cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parvovirus B19 in Pregnancy: A Case Review

Parvovirus B19 has been identified as the cause of erythema infectiosum, a common childhood illness. Also known as fifth disease, this virus is highly contagious among school-age children, especially during the winter months when outbreaks within classrooms are widespread. The majority of adults have had the infection in childhood and are immune to recurrence. Approximately 40% of childbearing-age individuals, however, remain nonimmune and susceptible to infection. If acquired during pregnancy, parvovirus B19 infection can have devastating fetal consequences, especially if contracted in the second trimester. Vertical transmission of parvovirus B19 occurs more readily during this gestational period, and fetal loss rates of 8% to 17% have been reported as a result of severe fetal anemia and hydrops fetalis. Unfortunately, adults with parvovirus B19 infection are often asymptomatic and do not exhibit the classic slapped-cheek rash seen in childhood. More commonly, adults will exhibit atypical symptoms such as joint arthralgias. Maternal history of direct exposure to a confirmed case within the family or the presence of atypical symptoms warrants serum antibody screening. Although the presence of immunoglobulin G confirms immunity, any immunoglobulin M positivity will require ongoing fetal surveillance for evidence of fetal anemia and hydrops fetalis. Serial ultrasound imaging for 8 to 12 weeks with Doppler measurements of the peak systolic velocity in the middle cerebral artery are the mainstays of fetal monitoring. Referral to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist with experience in fetal blood sampling and intrauterine transfusion is recommended for any cases of hydrops fetalis or if a concern for severe fetal anemia exists.
Growth of the intrinsic superlattice material Bi4Se3 by DC magnetron sputtering: Layered to faceted growth

The Bi 4Se 3 system is an intrinsic superlattice of two topological materials, a 2D Bi 2 sheet and a quintuple layer (QL) slab of Bi 2Se 3. Both the QL slab and 2D sheet host distinct topologically protected states; this, in turn, allows for the selection of the topologically protected electronic state with the choice of surface layer termination. The Bi 4Se 3 films were grown by direct current magnetron sputtering under an additional external magnetic field to further confine the plasma region. We developed a recipe to transition from an atomically smooth layered growth to a smooth faceted granular growth. We characterized the morphology, composition, and local crystal orientation of grown films via scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and electron backscattered diffraction. Additionally, characterization by scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy confirmed the presence of the topologically protected surface states in these films. This work buttresses the commercial scalability of sputtering materials with tunable Bi 4Se 3 morphology, which provides the option of tuning the surface topological state and thus expanding the possibilities for the production of devices with this material systems.
Designing and implementing a PC-based, graphical, interactive, real-time advanced traveler information system that meets commuter needs

We discuss the design and implementation of Traffic Reporter, a PC-based, graphical, interactive, real-time, advanced traveler information system created to meet the information needs of Puget Sound area commuters. Traffic Reporter's goal is to influence commuter behavior and decision making so as to improve the efficiency with which commuters use available transportation facilities. This project began by studying commuter behavior and traffic needs in the Puget Sound area. We conducted extensive on-road surveys of Seattle motorists, with smaller, in-depth follow-up surveys. We identified four types of commuters, three of which are likely to respond to various types of traveler information. We then used this understanding of commuter behavior to design and develop a working prototype of Traffic Reporter. This paper describes the design and development of Traffic Reporter, how the current system works, and plans for future development.
Clonal sets in GF(q)-representable matroids

Whittle [12] conjectured that if M is a 3-connected quaternary matroid with a clonal pair {e,f}, then M@?e,f and M/e,f are both binary. In this paper we show that for q@?{4,5,7,8,9} if M is a 3-connected GF(q)-representable matroid with a clonal set X of size q-2, then M@?X and M/X are binary.
Synthetic fuel performance, combustion, and emissions from a light-duty DI diesel engine

Two synthetic Diesel fuels, one derived from oil shale and the other from tar sands, were compared to a petroleum-based number-two Diesel fuel. These fuels were tested in a single-cylinder, air-cooled, direct-injected, light-duty Diesel engine. Comparisons were made on the bases of performance, combustion characteristics, gas-phase emissions (including aldehyde) and particulate emissions. The aldehyde emissions were measured using the DNPH method with a gas-chromatographic finish, while the mutagenic activity of the particulate emissions soluble organic fraction was assayed using the Ames Salmonella typhimurium test.
Electronic Health Records and User Participation: Digital Natives versus Digital Immigrants

The need for clarity in the healthcare management is a matter of frequent discussion and concern among healthcare professionals, practitioners, patients and academicians. Electronic Health Records would provide clarity, transparency, interoperability and transferability in the health care information and data of the patients. It will also reduce the human mistakes and will reduce the likelihood of wrongly reading or interpreting the information. This paper introduces this useful concept and links it to the two classes of health care practitioners- ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’. The paper further identifies and discusses the relationship between user participation and system success and analyses the impact of moderation by digital natives and digital immigrants. The paper draws evidences from the existing state of literature to propose the relationships. Implications of the research to the practitioners and researchers are discussed.
Induction of Expressions of c-fos and c-myc Protooncogenes by Basic Calcium Phosphate Crystal: Effect of β-Interferon

Basic calcium phosphate (BCP) crystals control the traverse of cells from the G-G1 to S-phase of the cell cycle and initiate proliferation by rendering fibroblasts competent to respond to insulin-like growth factors in plasma. The present study examines whether BCP crystals induce transcription of the protooncogenes c- fos and c- myc and the effect of β-interferon (IFN-β) on protooncogene transcription as well as BCP crystal-induced DNA synthesis. Stimulation of density-arrested BALB/c-3T3 cells with either BCP crystal or platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) results in maximal accumulation of c- fos mRNA at 30 min after stimulation. Induction of c- myc transcription by BCP crystal or PDGF occurs within 1 h and is maximal at around 3 h after stimulation. Simultaneous addition of IFN-β with either BCP crystals or PDGF had little effect on c- fos induction but delayed both c- myc message accumulation and entry into S phase. The delay in c- myc message induction after IFN-β treatment cannot account for the observed delay in the onset of DNA synthesis, since IFN-β can be added at up to 6 h after stimulation with either PDGF or BCP crystals, and a similar delay in the onset of DNA synthesis is still observed.
UV light source using fiber amplifier and nonlinear wavelength conversion

We report on UV light source of 257nm and 193nm using nonlinear wavelength conversion from 1547nm light emitted by an Er-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). These light sources are based on sixth harmonic generation and a eighth harmonic generation of 1547nm light respectively. Average power of 800mW at 257nm light source and 140mW at 193nm light source were generated. Also we report the results of a durability test up to 100 hours for the 257nm light source.
A new image stream encryption technique

This paper introduces a self-synchronous stream cipher with a considerable key space. In the proposed technique, the parity bit plane of a public image is used to encrypt the message. Simulation results showed that the histogram of the ciphered image is uniform representing almost equivalent probability of occurrence of each intensity level. The entropy of the ciphered image is almost equal to the theoretical value of 8, indicating that the information leakage in the proposed encryption process is negligible. The correlation coefficients of the ciphered image prove that there exists almost zero correlation between its pixels. The simulation results also showed that the proposed technique is highly sensitive to the four different parts of its password. Also, the plain-text attack analysis gave NPCR and UACI values that are close to ideal. The proposed technique is computationally simpler than other image encryption techniques in the literature. Finally, a high PSMSE of 83 dB in the decoded image was achieved at a ciphered bit error rate of 10−4. Therefore, the proposed stream cipher can be efficiently used in real time multimedia and wireless applications.
Testing the Right Target and Right Drug at the Right Stage

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the only leading cause of death for which no disease-modifying therapy is currently available. Recent disappointing trial results at the dementia stage of AD have raised multiple questions about our current approaches to the development of disease-modifying agents. Converging evidence suggests that the pathophysiological process of AD begins many years before the onset of dementia. So why do we keep testing drugs aimed at the initial stages of the disease process in patients at the end-stage of the illness?
Latent variable modeling and cross-national differences in college-level academic performance

Abstract This chapter offers a critique of the latent variable modeling approach taken by Ransdell et al. Suggestions for improving the analytical strategy are described, including the use of confirmatory factor analysis in conjunction with structural equation modeling. The chapter concludes with some examples of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling from other data sets in order to demonstrate each technique's advantages and disadvantages. Finally, several directions for future research, including the use of longitudinal methods, are suggested in order to help constrain the direction of causative links between academic performance and its predictors.
Localization of post-vasectomy sperm autoantigens in the Lewis rat

Major rat sperm autoantigens of 86, 63, 43, 28 and 20 kDa are recognized by post-vasectomy and hyperimmunization antisera from the Lewis rat (Handley et al., Biol. Reprod. 39 (1988) 1239-1250). In the present study, affinity purified monospecific isoantibodies to each autoantigen were produced by elution from antigens which had been separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred to nitrocellulose. Western blot analysis confirmed a singular specificity for the 63, 28 and 20 kDa antisera and demonstrated some cross reactivity between the 86 kDa and the 43 kDa antisera. The polyclonal antiserum from which the monospecific antisera were produced stained the entire spermatozoon, while monospecific antibodies bound only to the sperm tail, staining the proximal portion (43 and 28 kDa), a distal domain (63 kDa), or the entire tail (86 kDa). Immunohistochemically stained sections of normal rat testes revealed that the 63, 43 and 28 kDa autoantigens were synchronously expressed in the cytoplasm of spermatids in the apical portions of seminiferous tubules during stages II-VIII in the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. The 86 kDa autoantigen showed little or no staining in testis sections, implying that this autoantigen appeared on mature sperm following spermiation. These and other data suggest that a highly polymeric structure, possibly within the outer dense fibers of the tail, is a dominant sperm autoimmunogen following vasectomy of the Lewis rat.
Blood and Traits: Preliminary Observations on the Analysis of Mestizo and Indigenous Identities in Latin America vs. the U.S.

In the past decade, anthropologists have reevaluated what they have taken for granted about the process of mestizaje and the meaning of mestizo identities in diverse Latin American countries Comparisons between such processes and identities in Latin versus North America have been lacking, which has tended to obscure the ways that nationalist ideologies have produced and naturalized such identities, and, moreover, how anthropology itself has proven useful to nationalist projects in this endeavor. The identity-making systems that create knowledge about and legitimate the existence of indigenous peoples in this hemisphere persistently recapitulate anthropological obsessions with cultural traits and genealogy. This article offers preliminary comparative observations from the United States and from Iatin American examples based upon recent ethnographic work, stressing that advances in such studies should be oriented around the politics of alliance with indigenous communities and movements
Incidence and management of cataracts in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome.

Of 65 consecutive patients (130 eyes) with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome, 26 (40%) developed cataracts (49 eyes, 38%). Twenty-eight cataracts were posterior subcapsular, six nuclear, 14 combined nuclear and posterior subcapsular, and one anterior cortical. Risk factors for the development of cataracts included age (P = .003), long-standing recurrent anterior segment inflammation (P
Structure-property relations of polyethertriamine-cured bisphenol-A-diglycidyl ether epoxies

Abstract The relations between the chemical and physical network structure, the deformation and failure processes and the tensile mechanical properties of polyethertriamine-cured bisphenol-A-diglycidyl ether epoxies are reported for a series of epoxy glasses prepared from a range of polyethertriamine concentrations. Near-infra-red spectroscopy indicates that these glasses form exclusively from epoxide-amine addition reactions. Their Tg exhibits a maximum and swell ratio a minimum at the highest crosslink density. Stress-birefringence studies reveal that these highly crosslinked glasses are ductile and undergo necking and plastic deformation. The plastic deformation initially occurs homogeneously but ultimately becomes inhomogeneous and shear bands develop. Tensile failure occurs in the high strain shear band region. The ultimate tensile strain of these epoxies attains a maximum of 15% for the highest crosslinked glass. Off stoichiometric networks fail at lower strains because such networks inherently contain more defects in the form of unreacted ends. The density, yield stress, tensile strength, and modulus of these glasses all decrease with increasing polyethertriamine concentration as a result of increasing free volume because of the poor packing ability of the amine molecule. A slight minimum is superimposed on this downtrend in density and modulus with increasing amine content at the highest crosslink density because of geometric constraints imposed on segmental packing by the network crosslinks. The ability of these crosslinked glasses to undergo deformation is discussed in terms of the free volume and the crosslinked network topography. Network failure is considered in terms of stress-induced chain scission which is determined by the concentration ad extensibility of the least extensible network segments.
Labour in the City: The Development of the Labour Party in Manchester, 1918–31 – By Declan McHugh

This useful study analyzes how the Labour Party's attempt after 1918 to move from its infancy as an essentially working‐class movement to a party of mass membership based on a broader constituency ...
Pattern and process in the biogeography of subterranean amphipods

The comparative data from studies of two ‘superfamily’ groups with large numbers of subterranean taxa, the exclusively freshwater Crangonyctoidea and the predominately marine Hadzioidea, support the hypothesis that distributional patterns and evolutionary processes of stygobiont amphipods are closely linked and that the former can be a useful indicator of the latter. Three major biogeographic patterns are indicated by the distribution of subterranean species in these groups, each apparently reflecting a particular mode of origin: (1) freshwater stygobionts (limnostygobionts) derived from epigean freshwater ancestors through colonizations probably influenced by adaptive shifts, or assisted by stream capture and spring failure; (2) freshwater stygobionts derived from marine/brackish water ancestors by stranding during regression of marine embayments; and (3) marine/brackish water stygobionts (thalassostygobionts) derived from epigean marine/brackish water ancestors through adaptive shifts possibly in concert with fluctuating sea levels.
Pericentrosomal Localization of the TIG3 Tumor Suppressor Requires an N-Terminal Hydrophilic Region Motif

Tazarotene-induced gene 3 (TIG3) is a tumor suppressor protein that has a key role in controlling cell proliferation. TIG3 is observed at reduced levels in epidermal squamous cell carcinoma, and the restoration of expression in skin cancer cells reduces cell survival. TIG3 suppresses cell survival through mechanisms that involve localization at the plasma membrane and at the centrosome. TIG3 interacts at the plasma membrane to activate enzymes involved in keratinocyte terminal differentiation, and at the centrosome to inhibit daughter centrosome separation during mitosis leading to cessation of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis. An important goal is identifying the motifs required for TIG3 localization at these intracellular sites as a method to understand the function of TIG3 at each location. TIG3 encodes an N-terminal hydrophilic region (amino acids 1–135) and a C-terminal membrane-anchoring domain (amino acids 135–164). We show that the C-terminal hydrophobic domain targets intact TIG3 to the plasma membrane, but when isolated as an independent element localizes at the mitochondria. We further demonstrate that a segment of the N-terminal hydrophilic region targets the centrosome. These studies provide important insights regarding the mechanisms that guide subcellular localization of this keratinocyte survival regulator.
Evaluation of protein-modulated macrophage behavior on biomaterials: designing biomimetic materials for cellular engineering.

Macrophage is a central cell type in directing host inflammatory and immune processes; hence, its response to biomaterials (i.e. adhesion and giant cell formation) has a direct impact on material biostability and biocompatibility. In this paper, several in vitro and in vivo techniques from previously published results and current investigations are highlighted and presented to demonstrate means of delineating a part of the complex molecular mechanisms involved in the interaction between biomaterials and macrophages. Complement component C3 was found critical in mediating the initial adhesion of human macrophages on medical-grade polyetherurethaneureas. From radioimmunoassay studies, the presence of a diphenolic antioxidant additive in polyetherurethaneureas increased the propensity for complement upregulation but did not affect adherent macrophage density. The subcutaneous cage-implant system was utilized to confirm the role of interleukin-4 in the fusion of adherent macrophages to form foreign body giant cells on polyurethanes in vivo. To probe the function-structural relationship of macrophage-active proteins, fibronectin was employed as a model in the formulation of synthetic oligopeptide mimetics. Peptides were grafted onto previously developed, non-cell adhesive polyethyleneglycol-based networks. The results indicate that grafted tripeptide RGD sequence supported higher adherent macrophage density than surfaces grafted with other peptides such as PHSRN and PRRARV sequences. However, the formation of foreign body giant cells on peptide-grafted networks was highly dependent on the relative orientation between PHSRN and RGD sequences located in a single peptide.
Increased serum prolactin induced in hypophysectomized rats bearing ectopic pituitaries.

SummaryA radioimmunassay was developed for quantifying rat prolactin in blood serum, but the assay detected small amounts of immunoreactive prolactin in serum from hypophysectomized (Hx) rats. Prolonged anesthesia of these Hx rats with urethane significantly decreased their serum prolactin values, while prolonged anesthesia with pentobarbital (PB) had no significant effect.Transplantation of pituitary tissue (AP) to the renal capsule of Hx rats elevated serum prolactin, and this effect was produced with as little as I/8 AP. Prolonged PB or urethane anesthesia combined with multiple blood sampling of Hx rats bearing ectopic AP significantly increased serum prolactin. The absence of stable prolactin concentrations an these rats suggests that prolactin release by ectopic AP may still be influenced by hypothalamic hypophysiotrophic hormones in the systemic circulation.
Formal control techniques for power-performance management

These techniques determine when to speed up a processor to reach performance targets and when to slow it down to save energy. They use dynamic voltage and frequency scaling to balance speed and avoid worst case frequency limitations for both multiple-clock-domain and chip multiprocessors.
Predictors of reduced relative dose intensity and its relationship to mortality in women receiving multi-agent chemotherapy for epithelial ovarian cancer

Abstract Objective There is limited information concerning the role of relative dose intensity (RDI) on clinical outcomes in solid tumors. The objectives of our study were to evaluate the prognostic significance of RDI and predictors of reduced RDI in women with newly diagnosed advanced stage epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. Methods A multi-center retrospective study of women with FIGO stage III–IV epithelial ovarian cancer treated postoperatively with multi-agent intravenous chemotherapy between 1995 and 2009 was conducted. Data were obtained to include the first four chemotherapy cycles administered. Outcomes included: (1) planned and delivered relative dose intensity (RDI), (2) progression-free (PFS) and overall (OS) survival. Survival estimates were based on Kaplan and Meier method, and multivariate analyses were based on logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression. Results Evaluable subjects included 325 women. With median follow-up of 34months (range, 0.4–170), progression or recurrence was recorded in 241 (73.9%) and death in 179 (54.9%). In multivariate analysis, predictors of reduced planned RDI were: treatment off research protocols (odds ratio [OR]=4.3; P 2m 2 (OR=6.14; P 2 (OR=2.35; P=0.008) and use of carboplatin (OR=2.71; P=0.008). In multivariate analysis, the following factors were independently associated with OS: delivered RDI Conclusion In this retrospective analysis, reduced chemotherapy RDI for ovarian cancer was associated with lower OS, but not PFS, despite adjustment for established prognostic factors.
Tempo and mode of regulatory evolution in Drosophila

Genetic changes affecting gene expression contribute to phenotypic divergence; thus, understanding how regulatory networks controlling gene expression change over time is critical for understanding evolution. Prior studies of expression differences within and between species have identified properties of regulatory divergence, but technical and biological differences among these studies make it difficult to assess the generality of these properties or to understand how regulatory changes accumulate with divergence time. Here, we address these issues by comparing gene expression among strains and species of Drosophila with a range of divergence times and use F1 hybrids to examine inheritance patterns and disentangle cis- and trans-regulatory changes. We find that the fixation of compensatory changes has caused the regulation of gene expression to diverge more rapidly than gene expression itself. Specifically, we observed that the proportion of genes with evidence of cis-regulatory divergence has increased more rapidly with divergence time than the proportion of genes with evidence of expression differences. Surprisingly, the amount of expression divergence explained by cis-regulatory changes did not increase steadily with divergence time, as was previously proposed. Rather, one species (Drosophila sechellia) showed an excess of cis-regulatory divergence that we argue most likely resulted from positive selection in this lineage. Taken together, this work reveals not only the rate at which gene expression evolves, but also the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms responsible for this evolution.
Finite mass renormalizations in the Euclidean Yukawa2 field theory

We show that arbitrary finite boson mass renormalizations are possible in the Euclidean Yukawa2 theory. We work in the Matthews-Salam representation with the fermions “integrated out”.
Racial and geographic disparities in the utilization of hepatectomy for primary hepatic malignancies

Abstract Introduction: Hepatectomy serves as the only potentially curative therapy for the common primary hepatic malignancies: hepatocellular cancer (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC). Given the increasing incidence of both of these tumors, effective and readily available application of this procedure is a necessity. This study sought to identify those patient and tumor characteristics associated with the likelihood of undergoing hepatectomy for primary liver cancer. Methods: Retrospective cohort analysis of 13,758 adult patients with HCC or IHCC from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) National Database, 1992 to 1999. Primary outcome measure was performance of hepatic resection with curative intent for either HCC or IHCC, adjusted for patient demographics including age, sex, race, geographic location, median household income based on county of residence, and tumor characteristics. Results: Over the entire study period, approximately 9.8% of the 13,758 patients underwent partial hepatectomy with curative intent. In the adjusted analysis, females were more likely to have hepatic resection compared to males [Odds Ratio (OR) 1.52, 95% CI 1.33–1.72]. In contrast, Hispanic (OR 0.79, 95%CI 1.03–1.43), African-American (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.32–0.56), and Native American patients (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.13–1.12) were less likely to have hepatic resection relative to Caucasians. Patients with tumor size > 4 cm (OR ≤ 0.42, 95% CI 0.35–0.50) and those living in New Mexico (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.26–0.70) were also less likely to have resection. Income level was not significantly associated with hepatectomy after adjustment for race and geographic location. Conclusions: The proportion of patients having resection of HCC or IHCC varies according to race, sex, and geographic location. Among African-Americans and Native Americans, race is as strong a negative predictor of hepatectomy as is tumor size. These associations occur independent of median household income and tumor characteristics. Further research and policy initiatives are necessary to ensure the equitable application of this highly specialized procedure, particularly in light of the increasing incidence of primary liver cancers.
Treating occlusal pit and fissure surfaces by IR laser irradiation

Pit and fissure caries remain the most common form of caries and are difficult to detect and prevent. In this study, the hypothesis that specific IR laser irradiation used for ablation of the occlusal pits and fissures can also inhibit caries progression was tested. To do so on the pits and fissures, higher fluences were used to test this hypothesis than were used by previous studies. Occlusal pits and fissures of extracted human teeth were ablated with Er:YAG ((lambda) equals 2.94 micrometer, 200 microsecond pulse duration), Er:YSGG ((lambda) equals 2.79 micrometer, 200 microseconds pd) or CO 2 ((lambda) equals 9.6 micrometer, 5 microseconds pd) laser irradiation (n equals 10 per group). 'Enamelplasty' performed on non-irradiated pits and fissures using a high- speed 1/4 round carbide bur served as the control group. After laser ablation in the test groups and enamelplasty in the control group, artificial caries-like lesions were created by subjecting the teeth to pH cycling. Thin (80 micrometer) sections were then analyzed utilizing polarized light microscopy and transverse microradiography (TMR). The relative mineral loss, or (Delta) Z values, measured in vol.% x micrometers and (standard deviations) were 2074(929) for bur control, 1053(787) for Er:YAG, 583(261) for Er:YSGG, and 1047(416) for CO 2 groups. Laser ablation of the pits and fissures resulted in a 50% inhibition of caries progression for both CO 2 and Er:YAG and 72% caries inhibition for Er:YSGG. All laser groups were significantly superior in caries inhibition at a statistical level of P less than 0.01 compared to the control (bur) group. Results indicate that these lasers can not only conservatively prepare pits and fissures but, in addition, can have marked caries preventive effects.
Performance of Automatic ANN-Based Incident Detection on Freeways

Automatic incident detection on freeways is an essential ingredient for the successful deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems. Several incident detection algorithms have been developed in the past three decades; however, most of them have not shown the anticipated performance in terms of detection rate and false alarm rate. Recently, the artificial neural networks (ANN) have been introduced to incident detection and shown success over the traditional algorithms. This study explores the application of two neural network models, namely, the Multi-Layer Feed-Forward and the Fuzzy ART algorithm. This study was conducted on the central corridor of I-4 in Orlando using real-world data collected via the traffic surveillance system. Different scenarios were considered to improve the performance and to capture the sensitivity of the developed algorithms to some factors. The study results showed that the Fuzzy ART algorithm has generally outperformed the Multi-Layer Feed-Forward network and California algorithms #7 and #8.
Mild cerebral hypothermia during and after cardiac arrest improves neurologic outcome in dogs.

We previously found mild hypothermia (34–36°C), induced before cardiac arrest, to improve neurologic outcome. In this study we used a reproducible dog model to evaluate mild hypothermia by head cooling during arrest, continued with systemic cooling (34°C) during recirculation and for 1 h after arrest. In four groups of dogs, ventricular fibrillation (no flow) of 12.5 min at 37.5°C was reversed with cardiopulmonary bypass and defibrillation in ≤5 min, and followed by controlled ventilation to 20 h and intensive care to 96 h. In Study A we resuscitated with normotension and normal hematocrit; Control Group A-I (n = 12) was maintained normothermic, while Treatment Group A-II (n = 10) was treated with hypothermia. In Study B we resuscitated with hypertension and hemodilution. Control Group B-I (n = 12) was maintained no rmo thermic (6 of 12 were not hemodiluted), while Treatment Group B-II (n = 10) was treated with hypothermia. Best overall performance categories (OPCs) achieved between 24 and 96 h postarrest...
Opportunities for women and Islam: variations upon variations

Religion has long been thought to be an important institution influencing economic development. More recently, it has also been argued that religion influences economic and social opportunities for women, specifically, that Islam limits women's opportunities. A revisionist view has countered with the argument that once one accounts for oil rents and/or fertility, then much of the negative effect disappears. In addition, it has been argued that the impact of Islam varies greatly from region to region. The empirical results from this article indicate that indeed once an account is taken of the impact of fertility, much, but not all, of the negative impact of Islam on relative female performance disappears. In addition, the impact of Islam on relative female performance does vary greatly from region to region. Finally, the inclusion of a variable measuring oil rents does not seem to substantially influence the results.
Mechanism of mitochondrial DNA replication in mouse L-cells: RNA priming during the initiation of heavy-strand synthesis.

Abstract The major form of mouse L-cell mitochondrial DNA contains a small displacement loop at the replication origin, created by synthesis of a 550 to 670-nucleotide portion of the heavy strand. These short heavy-strand segments remain hydrogen-bonded to the parental light strand and are collectively termed 7 S mitochondrial DNA. The unique location of these 7 S mitochondrial DNAs at the heavy-strand origin suggests that they may function as primers in the synthesis of full-length heavy strands. Ribonucleotides have been detected at the 5′-end of some of these molecules, which are most likely remnants of primer RNAs. Using 5′-end labeling in vitro, we have determined that these ribonucleotides occur at several discrete positions along the nucleotide sequence of the origin region, which suggests that there may be variability in the precise initiation point of RNA priming or in the location of the switchover from RNA priming to DNA synthesis. The length of 5′-end RNA was estimated by alkali treatment of mitochondrial DNA prior to end labeling. A range of one to ten ribonucleotides was hydrolyzed from the 5′-end of some 7 S mitochondrial DNA strands. This is the first evidence of RNA priming at a eukaryotic cell DNA replication origin.
Leukotrienes in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Leukotrienes (LTs) are lipid mediators derived from the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism and are markers and mediators of pulmonary inflammation. Research over the past two decades has established that LTs modulate inflammation in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The purpose of this review was to summarize the current knowledge of LTs in the pathophysiology of PAH and to highlight a recent study that advances our understanding of how leukotriene B4 (LTB4) specifically contributes to pulmonary vascular remodeling. The results of these studies suggest that pharmacological inhibition of LT pathways, especially LTB4, has high potential for the treatment of PAH.
CRUSTAL HISTORY AND THE PRE‐CAMBRIAN TIME SCALE

Many bodies of data are examined in this monograph; the complexity of this data is evident, and the difficulties of resolving events is very great. The crustal history of the earth is complex, and our understanding of the mechanisms of both tectonism of the emplacement and mobilization of rocks is poor. Nevertheless, since the ultimate goal of the science is an understanding of crustal history, it is important to speculate and consider various ideas that treat of these processes.
How state exceptions to employment-at-will affect wages

Little research has been conducted on the effects of state adoption of exceptions to the common law doctrine of employment-at-will, which states that both employees and employers have the right to terminate an employment relationship at any time for any reason. I examine how these exceptions affect wages and find that, as predicted, the two are inversely related. All three commonly adopted exceptions are negatively related to the wage rate, with state adoption being associated with up to a three percent reduction in wages.
Child Welfare Caregivers of Differing English-Language Use: Perceptions of Pediatric Health Care Access Barriers

The purpose of this study was to explore child welfare caregivers' perceptions of health care access barriers and pediatric health care use for children under their care. The caregivers have different levels of English-language use. A cross-sectional sample of 237 parents was interviewed at a child welfare pediatric clinic in Los Angeles, California. Non-English-speaking parents utilized pediatric health services for their children as often as English-speaking parents. Few differences existed in relation to parents' perceptions of access barriers with English-speaking parents rating barriers related to inconvenience of services and rudeness of staff as more troublesome than parents who were non-English speaking. All parents rated difficulty understanding doctors' explanations as the greatest access barrier, which may negatively affect adherence to health recommendations for children in the child welfare system.
Analysis of fluctuations in synthetic excitation functions

Abstract The results of the analysis of a set of synthetic excitation functions, computed according to the statistical model for nuclear reactions, are presented. The emphasis lies on the effect of experimental circumstances on the autocorrelation function, the number of maxima per unit interval and on the distribution function. Curves are presented showing the effect of finite intervals on the relative standard deviation of the coherence length Γ. It turns out that the reliability of Γ determined with the method of counting maxima is higher than in case it is determined from the autocorrelation function. It also turns out that the number of maxima per unit interval is nearly independent of the number of channels participating in the reaction and of the amount of direct interaction involved. Moreover this number is not biased for the interval length, while the Γ found from the autocorrelation function is biased for interval length. None of the techniques discussed is very useful for determining the number of independent channels and the amount of direct interaction involved. Only under very special circumstances are these methods found to give reliable information.
Photorefractive fiber holograms

Recent work on dynamic fiber holographic processes is discussed. Fabrication of single-crystal fibers using a laser-heated pedestal growth system is given. Angular and wavelength selectives are calculated which show that wavelength-multiplexed reflection fiber hologram offers higher and uniform selectivity. Channel cross-talk is also evaluated; we show that the cross-talk noise can be subsided by using narrower spectral light source. Applications of the fiber hologram to fiber-sensing and also to turnable filters are provided.
Personal emergency preparedness for people with disabilities from the 2006-2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Abstract Background People with disabilities may be disproportionately at risk of injury or death in emergency situations due to physical, cognitive, and socioeconomic factors. These factors individually or in combination have the potential to affect response to emergencies before, during, or after the incident. This study examines general emergency preparedness of persons with disabilities compared to those without disabilities. Methods The 2006-2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System of 6 states included 188,288 self-reported respondents with disabilities who were surveyed regarding their general emergency preparedness. Chi square analysis examined the relationship of general preparedness variables with disability status. Logistic regression analysis examined how various demographic variables affected the likelihood of being unprepared for an emergency. Results Persons with disabilities were significantly more likely to state that they were not prepared at all for an emergency. They were also less likely to have a 3-day supply of water, a working battery-operated radio, and a working flashlight and to evacuate an emergency situation. Persons with a disability are 1.22 times more likely to be unprepared for an emergency. For those with a disability, being female, nonwhite, with less education, less income, and uncoupled and living in an urban area increase the likelihood of being unprepared for an emergency. Conclusion Increased effort must be made to empower persons with disabilities to become involved in their own emergency preparedness. Efforts are being made by several government and nongovernmental organizations to assist in this effort though most have not addressed specific needs of vulnerable populations within the disability community. Strategies for emergency preparedness must be considerate of these high risk populations. Finally, mechanisms must be developed to connect persons within the disability community to the information necessary on emergency preparedness through methods such as telehealth.
Offending Heaven and Earth: Sin and Expiation in Islamic Homicide Law

The Qur'ān clearly condemns homicide and assigns the freeing of a slave to any who kill accidentally. Classical fiqh manuals, however, display a remarkable range of responses to and disagreements about this dictate. Many jurists hold that freeing a slave here is an instance of kaffāra (expiation), understood as an antidote to sin. Yet accidental homicide is widely deemed non-sinful, so kaffāra is assigned for a non-sin. Further, many say the sin of intentional homicide cannot be expiated. Hanafīs often add the idiosyncratic assertion that freeing a slave is not kaffāra but rather an instance of "thanking the benefactor," an altogether different kind of act. I conclude that freeing a slave in response to homicide is not consistently treated as the expiation of sin. Further, the jurists' treatment of kaffāra forces a reconsideration of the commonplace assertion that Islamic law treats murder as more tort than crime.
A Study of the Protein Requirements of Bobwhite Quail Reared in Confinement in Battery Brooders to Eight Weeks of Age

Abstract IN order to restore and increase bobwhite populations, artificial propagation and release is being practiced in many states. At the present time this procedure is difficult, inefficient, and costly. The work reported herein was directed toward the determination of rations and methods with which the bobwhite could be reared successfully and efficiently in captivity. Reports on quail reared in captivity by LeCompte (1931), Petty (1934), Bass (1937), and Nestler and Bailey (1941), state that it is possible to keep bobwhite quail chicks confined to battery brooders or similar enclosures for as long as four weeks, after which time they must be removed to holding pens if best results are to be obtained. Mac Namara (1933) stated that he allowed 0.52 to 0.58 square feet per bird and obtained favorable results to four weeks of age, when the birds were removed to rearing pens. He reported mortality at four weeks between . . .
Temperature effects of an all-fiber polarization maintaining Ytterbium optical amplifier

An overview of recent fiber based component developments is presented that lead to robust all-fiber lasers and optical amplifiers. Critical issues impacting the integration of high power rare earth doped optical amplifiers are presented. The optical performance of key fiber components is reported with emphasis on temperature effects of a monolithically integrated multi-Watt, single mode, Polarization Maintaining (PM), Ytterbium (Yb) doped double clad optical amplifier. Performance of an all-fiber optical amplifier design that integrates two fiber coupled laser diode pumps and one PM Yb double clad feed through fiber directly in to a combiner is reported.
Glycerylphosphorylcholine diesterase: Effects of metal-binding agents

Abstract Glycerylphosphorylcholine diesterase ( l -3-glycerylphosphorylcholine glycerophosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.2) has been studied with respect to metal ion involvement. The effects of a number of metal-binding agents have been investigated by preincubation and instantaneous inhibition techniques. A high degree of selectivity of the metal-binding agent has been observed, with EDTA showing the greatest amount of inhibition. Structural analogs of EDTA have however, been found to be as effective as EDTA. The inhibition produced by EDDA has been determined to be competitive inhibition with respect to substrate. Heat and urea potentiate the inhibition seen with EDTA. Zn 2+ ions have been found to alleviate the EDTA-produced instantaneous inhibition and were observed to produce noncompetitive inhibition with respect to GPC. Dialysis against 0.01 m EDTA, pH 7.1, and water has been found to completely inactivate the enzyme, whereas addition of several cations to the EDTA-dialyzed enzyme were observed to bring about restoration of activity. Of 26 cations tested, Zn 2+ and Sr 2+ reactivated the diesterase 100% and 109%, respectively. Zn 2+ ions, when titrated with the enzyme obtained after dialysis with EDTA and water were found to restore the activity in a sigmoidal manner. The binding constant for Zn 2+ was calculated to be approximately 3 × 10 −6 m . The substrate, glycerylphosphorylcholine, was observed to reverse the instantaneous inhibition produced by EDTA, possibly by protecting the metal from the EDTA. These observations suggest that GPC diesterase may be a metalloenzyme, and a mechanism is proposed which suggests the inclusion of two molecules of Zn 2+ per molecule of enzyme.
Optimized planning for intraoperative planar permanent-seed implant.

We describe a fast, PC-based optimization planning system for a planar permanent-seed implant. Sites where this system is applicable include brain, lung, and head and neck. The system described here allowsplacing ribbons of different strengths and of different lengths along and across the implant plane. The program takes full advantage of the availability of different source strengths in inventory, and attempts to find configurations of ribbons that result in optimal dose uniformity over the prescription plane. Dosimetry is based on the AAPM TG 43 Report R. Nath , Med. Phys. 22, 209234 (1995). Compared with TG 43 parameters, the classical tables underestimate the I-125 source strengths needed by 40. The use of several source strengths improves the plan. Typical optimization yields dose uniformity of 10, and computing times are within 23 min. No further enhancement is obtained if ribbons are placed in a grid pattern as opposed to the (simpler) arrangement along parallel lines. Nor is it valuable to have variable ribbon lengths. For an I-125 implant the optimization system described here is a practical alternative to the (strictly speaking inapplicable) classical systems. It calculates correctly the total source strengths, and most notably generates plans with optimal dose uniformity. The fast computing time is well suited for planning during surgery in the operating room. 2002 American College of Medical Physics.
A followup study of the academic attainment and classroom behavior of children with elevated dentine lead levels.

To investigate the impact of low-level lead exposure on children's behavior within a natural setting, we assessed the school performance of a sample of 141 elementary school children classified according to dentine lead level. Twenty-two children had “elevated” levels (≥20 parts per million), 71 had “midrange” levels (10.0–19.9 parts per million), and 48 had “low” levels (<10 parts per million). Four types of outcome data were collected: (1) scores on a standardized group intelligence test, (2) teachers' ratings, (3) incidence of academic failure (assignment to remedial aid, grade retention), and (4) observations of classroom behavior. In general, higher dentine lead levels were associated with less favorable school performance, with most covariance-adjustedp-values in the range of 0.05–0.15. The incidence of grade retention was the outcome most strongly related to lead level. The pattern of results suggests a consistent, though weak relationship between children's dentine lead levels and elementary school performance.