cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Human papillomavirus (HPV): college male's knowledge, perceived risk, sources of information, vaccine barriers and communication

Abstract Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted infection. With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of an indication for the HPV vaccine for males, it is important to assess male college student's HPV knowledge, perceived risk, and sources of information, as well as HPV vaccine barriers and communication. Methods This was a cross-sectional survey study of 165 male college students. The participants completed a survey about HPV and the HPV vaccine. Results Among the 165 participants, most males had poor HPV knowledge, in that 132 (80.0%) reported having had sexual intercourse, but only 20 (12.1%) perceived being at risk for acquiring HPV. Information sources about HPV were commercials/advertisements, friends, news and health education programs. Concern about the HPV vaccine's long-term effects and cost were the most frequently reported barriers. Most students reported having a regular healthcare provider, but had difficulty getting to their provider, and finding time to discuss the HPV vaccine with their provider. Additionally, most students reported relying on their parents when making medical decisions and being willing to discuss the HPV vaccine with their healthcare provider to make an informed decision about the vaccine. Conclusions Educational programs providing information about HPV, the HPV vaccine, and communication skills training are needed for male college students, parents, and healthcare providers. Findings from this study will guide the development of HPV vaccine messages and educational programs that should be tested in future research.
Agent-based support for collaborative data mining in systems management

Addresses the issues of structuring and supporting the collaborative data mining process. This paper extends the technology of multi-participant decision-making support into the data mining process and describes a perspective agent-based support architecture for data mining committees. The proposed architecture is based on agent-facilitators integrated with the layered structure of a case-based reasoning memory and an artificial neural network to support collaborative classification and linkage analysis between the heterogeneous views of system managers. A telecommunications management example is used to illustrate the approach.
Statistics of Wire Lengths on Circuit Boards

The expected length of connecting wire on a rectangular board has been found based on random starting and stopping points. Two cases of connections are considered. One case uses x and y motion and the other uses a direct path. The results are important in the consideration and design of circuit performance in electronics packaging. The same probability distributions are also directly applicable to the problem of searching on tape and arrays.
Redirecting reductant flux into hydrogen production via metabolic engineering of fermentative carbon metabolism in a cyanobacterium.

Some aquatic microbial oxygenic photoautotrophs (AMOPs) make hydrogen (H2), a carbon-neutral, renewable product derived from water, in low yields during autofermentation (anaerobic metabolism) of intracellular carbohydrates previously stored during aerobic photosynthesis. We have constructed a mutant (the ldhA mutant) of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 lacking the enzyme for the NADH-dependent reduction of pyruvate to d-lactate, the major fermentative reductant sink in this AMOP. Both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) metabolomic methods have shown that autofermentation by the ldhA mutant resulted in no d-lactate production and higher concentrations of excreted acetate, alanine, succinate, and hydrogen (up to 5-fold) compared to that by the wild type. The measured intracellular NAD(P)(H) concentrations demonstrated that the NAD(P)H/NAD(P)+ ratio increased appreciably during autofermentation in the ldhA strain; we propose this to be the principal source of the observed increase in H2 production via an NADH-dependent, bidirectional [NiFe] hydrogenase. Despite the elevated NAD(P)H/NAD(P)+ ratio, no decrease was found in the rate of anaerobic conversion of stored carbohydrates. The measured energy conversion efficiency (ECE) from biomass (as glucose equivalents) converted to hydrogen in the ldhA mutant is 12%. Together with the unimpaired photoautotrophic growth of the ldhA mutant, these attributes reveal that metabolic engineering is an effective strategy to enhance H2 production in AMOPs without compromising viability.
Multimode Transmission for Multiuser MIMO Systems With Block Diagonalization

A low-complexity multimode transmission technique for downlink multiuser multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems with block diagonalization (BD) is proposed. The proposed technique adaptively configures the number of data streams for each user by adjusting its number of active receive antenna and switching between single-stream beamforming and multistream spatial multiplexing, as a means to exploit the multimode switching diversity. We consider a highly loaded system where there are a large number of users, hence a subset of users need to be selected. Joint user and antenna selection has been proposed as a multiuser multimode switching technique, where the optimal subset of receive antennas and users are chosen to maximize the sum throughput. The brute-force search, however, is prohibitively complicated. In this paper, two low-complexity near-optimal user/antenna selection algorithms are developed. The first algorithm aims at maximizing a capacity lower bound, derived in terms of the sum Frobenius norm of the channel, while the second algorithm greedily maximizes the sum capacity. We analytically evaluate the complexity of the proposed algorithms and show that it is orders of magnitude lower than that of the exhaustive search. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms achieve up to 98% of the sum throughput of the exhaustive search, for most system configurations, while the complexity is substantially reduced.
Risk Factors and Screening for Colorectal Cancer

Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) involves consideration of only a patient’s age and their family history of CRC [1, 2], but there are other risk factors which can potentially affect screening. This section will examine known risk factors and how some of these can affect one’s risk and subsequent screening for CRC. Other factors such as personal and family history of colorectal neoplasia as well as aspirin and other chemo-preventative agents will be discussed elsewhere. This section will serve as an overview of the various factors and the respective studies that examine their association with CRC as well as advanced adenomas. Age has been shown to be one of the strongest predictors of CRC [3] and will not be discussed as there is little debate as to the importance of this factor. In addition, this chapter will examine the modifiable risk factors since this is where clinicians can help patients to reduce their risk of CRC. A study by Platz et al. demonstrated that over two thirds of CRC may be preventable in men [4].
Short-Term Variability and Long-Term Change in the Composition of the Littoral Zone Fish Community in Spirit Lake, Iowa

Abstract We assessed short-term variability and long-term change in the composition of the littoral fish community in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Fish were sampled in several locations at night with large beach seines during spring, summer and fall of 1995–1998. Long-term changes were inferred from comparison with a similar study conducted over 70 y earlier in Spirit Lake. We found 26 species in the littoral zone. The number of species per sample ranged from 4 to 18, averaging 11.8. The average number of species per sample was higher at stations with greater vegetation density. A distinct seasonal pattern was evident in the number of species collected per sample in most years, increasing steadily from spring to fall. Patterns of variability within our 1995–1998 study period suggest that: (1) numerous samples are necessary to adequately characterize a littoral fish community, (2) sampling should be done when vegetation and young-of-year densities are highest and (3) sampling during a single year is inadequate to re...
Organization of PSI Subunits in Thylakoid Membranes

The native Photosystem I complex (PSI-200) contains a light-harvesting antenna complex (LHCP I), and a core composed of ten different subunits (PSI-100). The apparent molecular mass and functions of the subunits are described in Table I.
Absence of increasing cortical fMRI activity volume in response to increasing visceral stimulation in IBS patients

Cerebral cortical activity associated with perceived visceral sensation represents registration of afferent transduction and cognitive processes related to perception. Abnormalities of gut sensory ...
The neutral coalescent process for recent gene duplications and copy-number variants.

I describe a method for simulating samples from gene families of size two under a neutral coalescent process, for the case where the duplicate gene either has fixed recently in the population or is still segregating. When a duplicate locus has recently fixed by genetic drift, diversity in the new gene is expected to be reduced, and an excess of rare alleles is expected, relative to the predictions of the standard coalescent model. The expected patterns of polymorphism in segregating duplicates (“copy-number variants”) depend both on the frequency of the duplicate in the sample and on the rate of crossing over between the two loci. When the crossover rate between the ancestral gene and the copy-number variant is low, the expected pattern of variability in the ancestral gene will be similar to the predictions of models of either balancing or positive selection, if the frequency of the duplicate in the sample is intermediate or high, respectively. Simulations are used to investigate the effect of crossing over between loci, and gene conversion between the duplicate loci, on levels of variability and the site-frequency spectrum.
Left ventricular epicardial admittance measurement for detection of acute LV dilation

There are two implanted heart failure warning systems incorporated into biventricular pacemakers/automatic implantable cardiac defibrillators and tested in clinical trials: right heart pressures, and lung conductance measurements. However, both warning systems postdate measures of the earliest indicator of impending heart failure: left ventricular (LV) volume. There are currently no proposed implanted technologies that can perform LV blood volume measurements in humans. We propose to solve this problem by incorporating an admittance measurement system onto currently deployed biventricular and automatic implantable cardiac defibrillator leads. This study will demonstrate that an admittance measurement system can detect LV blood conductance from the epicardial position, despite the current generating and sensing electrodes being in constant motion with the heart, and with dynamic removal of the myocardial component of the returning voltage signal. Specifically, in 11 pigs, it will be demonstrated that 1) a physiological LV blood conductance signal can be derived; 2) LV dilation in response to dose-response intravenous neosynephrine can be detected by blood conductance in a similar fashion to the standard of endocardial crystals when admittance is used, but not when only traditional conductance is used; 3) the physiological impact of acute left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and resultant LV dilation can be detected by blood conductance, before the anticipated secondary rise in right ventricular systolic pressure; and 4) a pleural effusion simulated by placing saline outside the pericardium does not serve as a source of artifact for blood conductance measurements.
ADAM10 Overexpression Shifts Lympho- and Myelopoiesis by Dysregulating Site 2/Site 3 Cleavage Products of Notch

Although the physiological consequences of Notch signaling in hematopoiesis have been extensively studied, the differential effects of individual notch cleavage products remain to be elucidated. Given that ADAM10 is a critical regulator of Notch and that its deletion is embryonically lethal, we generated mice that overexpress ADAM10 (ADAM10 transgenic [A10Tg]) at early stages of lympho- and myeloid development. Transgene expression resulted in abrogated B cell development, delayed T cell development in the thymus, and unexpected systemic expansion of CD11b(+)Gr-1(+) cells, also known as myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Mixed bone marrow reconstitution assays demonstrated that transgene expression altered hematopoiesis via a cell-intrinsic mechanism. Consistent with previously reported observations, we hypothesized that ADAM10 overexpression dysregulated Notch by uncoupling the highly regulated proteolysis of Notch receptors. This was confirmed using an in vitro model of hematopoiesis via culturing A10Tg hematopoietic Lineage(-)Sca-1(+)c-Kit(+) cells with OP-9 stromal cells in the presence or absence of Delta-like 1, a primary ligand for Notch. Blockade of the site 2 (S2) and site 3 (S3) cleavage of the Notch receptor demonstrated differential effects on hematopoiesis. OP9-DL1 cultures containing the ADAM10 inhibitor (S2 cleavage site) enhanced and rescued B cell development from wild-type and A10Tg Lineage(-)Sca-1(+)c-Kit(+) cells, respectively. In contrast, blockade of γ-secretase at the S3 cleavage site induced accumulation of the S2 product and consequently prevented B cell development and resulted in myeloid cell accumulation. Collectively, these findings indicate that the differential cleavage of Notch into S2 and S3 products regulated by ADAM10 is critical to hematopoietic cell-fate determination.
Medical Research Participation as Citizenship: Modeling Modern Masculinity and Marriage in a Mexican Sexual Health Study

In this article, I discuss people's use of medical research participation to perform and model modernity amid societal insecurity. I analyze data from interviews with heterosexual Mexican couples undertaken throughout men's multiyear participation in a human papillomavirus (HPV) study. I argue that through activities like willingly undergoing genital examination and involving wives in husbands’ clinical visits, spouses used the study as a forum for performing ideals of modern gender and health, specifically companionate marriage and non-macho masculinities emphasizing male self-care. They also hoped to serve as role models for their children and for society at large. I discuss how specific elements of the Mexican context made fomenting social change through individual research participation seem possible: cultural narratives of the Mexican populace as a bioculturally homogenous whole; longstanding state efforts to modernize the population away from “traditional” gender and health practices; and ongoing failures of the “slippery State” to reliably provide the resources those practices required. In this context, participants framed themselves as a middle-class vanguard and experienced sexual health research as an act of citizenship through which they hoped to spur national progress despite state failures and the persistence of antimodern gender and health attitudes. [medical research, modernity, Mexico, gender, health]
Economic and agronomic strategies to achieve sustainable irrigation

The achievement of sustainable irrigation in arid regions requires greater attention to waterlogging, salinization, and degradation of ground and surface waters, which are among the problems that continue to threaten productivity and degrade environmental quality. We consider sustainability to be achieved when irrigation and drainage are conducted on-farm, and within irrigation districts, in a manner that does not degrade the quality of land, water, and other natural resources, either on-farm or throughout an irrigated region. Sustainability may also be described as maintaining the productive resources required for irrigation, so that future generations may have the same opportunity to use those resources as we do. Given the increasing importance of irrigated land for food production, the time has come when it is vital to intercept, reuse, and isolate drainage waters within the regions in which they are generated. Adoption of this strategy can be enhanced by policies that require farmers, and irrigation districts, to consider the off-farm impacts of irrigation and drainage. Such policies include linking water rights with salt rights to require the monitoring and management of both irrigation water and the salt loads in drainage waters. We review the knowledge gained since the early 1970s regarding the economic and agronomic aspects of irrigation and drainage, with a focus on drainage water reduction and sequential reuse of drainage water on salt-tolerant crops. Economic incentives that motivate farm-level and district-level improvements in water management are also reviewed. We conclude that adequate knowledge exists for implementing strategies that focus on water use and salt disposal within irrigated regions, and we recommend policies that will motivate improvements in productivity and enhance the likelihood of achieving sustainability.
GABAA Receptor-Mediated Cl− Currents in Rat Thalamic Reticular and Relay Neurons

Zhang, Shuanglin J., John R. Huguenard, and David A. Prince. GABAA receptor-mediated Cl− currents in rat thalamic reticular and relay neurons. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 2280–2286, 1997. Spontaneous and ...
The Textual Constitution and the Origins of Original Intent

Scholarly work on the print culture of the Eighteenth century American colonies has cast light on the importance of the medium of print to the development of the public sphere. Indeed, it has been argued that the strength of the US Constitution at the time of its creation was due in no small part to its printed, and therefore impersonal, nature. However in our contemporary era the understanding of the Constitution as the product of a select group of framers is ubiquitous. This paper seeks to examine the evolution of constitutional interpretation over three distinct points within the early Republic in order to suggest that the idea of framer intent had gained widespread acceptance within popular debate by as early as the 1810s. Looking to newspaper debates in 1790-91, 1800-01, & 1810-11, it argues that over this period constitutional interpretation moved from a textual focus to one in which the intentions of the framers were central.
Giant resonances in 16 O

Giant resonances in ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}$ have been studied with inelastic scattering of 240 MeV \ensuremath{\alpha} particles at small angles. Isoscalar $E0,$ $E1,$ and $E2$ strength corresponding to $48\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}10%,$ $32\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}7%,$ and $53\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}10%,$ of the respective energy-weighted sum rule was identified between ${E}_{x}=11--40\mathrm{MeV}$ with centroids of $21.13\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.49,$ $21.67\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.61,$ and $19.76\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.22\mathrm{MeV}$ and root-mean-square widths of $8.76\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.82,$ $7.10\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.52,$ and $5.11\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.17\mathrm{MeV},$ respectively. Elastic scattering and inelastic scattering to states at 6.13, 6.92, and 11.52 MeV were measured from ${\ensuremath{\theta}}_{\mathrm{c}.\mathrm{m}.}=2.5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ to 11.5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}.
Auditory localization and judgments of straight ahead during adaptation to prism

During adaptation to prismatic displacement, there are systematic changes in visual localization, in auditory localization, and in subjective straight ahead. The change in auditory localization is associated with the change in straight ahead rather than with the change in visual localization.
Cytological Observations on Gametogenesis and Fertilization in Achlya Flagellata

The development of the sexual organs of Achlya flagellata is similar to that in other members of the genus. A single mitotic division occurs within the oogonium and antheridium. The chromosome numb...
Successful Remedial Mathematics Programs: Why They Work

(1986). Successful Remedial Mathematics Programs: Why They Work. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 93, No. 9, pp. 724-727.
The Interaction of Bottom-up and Top-down Consistency in the Development of Skills

An experiment is reported that was conducted to examine the possible value of higher-order consistency in skill development. Subjects made judgments about ordinal properties of stimuli. The presence or absence of consistency was defined by the type of decision – consistent or varied decisions. In both decision conditions the stimuli were inconsistent at the individual stimulus level; however, subjects making consistent decisions concerning the stimuli could make use of consistent relationships among the stimuli. Subjects in the consistent decision were faster and more accurate at identifying target stimuli when compared with the inconsistent decision subjects. In addition to the quantitative differences, subjects receiving consistent decision training were qualitatively different in performance when compared to the inconsistent decision group. The pattern of results from the present experiment is quite consistent with previous memory/visual search investigations. The experiment supports the suggestion tha...
Biaxial mechanics of excised canine pulmonary arteries

A new method has been developed for measuring the stress-strain relationship in excised canine pulmonary arteries. Segments of dog main right pulmonary arteries were isolated by making two transverse cuts at each end of a segment near the bifurcations, yielding short cylinders, which were then cut radially, relieving the residual stress, causing the cylindrical shells to spring open to approximately flat rectangular slabs with dimensions approximately 1.0 x 3.0 x 0.1 cm. The specimens were then tested using a biaxial tensile testing machine. The resulting data show an approximately linear relationship between Kirchhoff stress and Lagrangian strain with very little hysteresis. The following pseudostrain energy function serves as a practical approximation for pulmonary arteries subjected to physiological levels of stress and strain: rho 0W(2) = 1/2(a1E2xx + a2E2yy + 2 a4ExxEyy), where rho 0 is the density of the wall (mass per unit volume), W is the energy per unit mass [superscript "(2)" indicates this is a 2-dimensional strain energy function], E is strain, a1, a2, and a4 are material constants with units of stress, and the subscripts x and y refer to the circumferential and axial axes, respectively, of the artery. To assess the physiological level of strain in the main right pulmonary artery, vessels were perfused in situ at physiological pressure (26 cmH2O) with silicone elastomer. The arteries were then excised and marked with small ink spots. Photographs of the spots on four tangent planes of the excised artery indicate a maximum circumferential strain of 21.5% and a maximum axial strain of 36.5% relative to the zero-stress state. These values are within the range of strain used in the biaxial tests. The relationship between Kirchhoff stress and Green's strain is approximately linear within the physiological range. The stress levels required to cause tissue failure are at least 10 times greater than the estimated normal physiological level.
The Study on Iron Dextran Treated Calf Anemia

Iron dextran treated calf anemia were studied in this article,the author detected concentration of hemoglobin,cholesterol,malonaldehyde(MDA),catalane(CAT),in order to validate therapeutic efficacy of iron dextran.The results showed that hemoglobin and ferrous ion concentration were significantly higher in experimental group compare to control group(P0.05);cholesterol and MDA were significantly lower in experimental group compare to control group(P0.01);but the concentration of CAT were significantly higher in experimental group compare to control group(P 0.05).Therefore,iron dextran significantly increased ferrous ion concentration and hemoglobin level,meanwhile corrected oxidative stress because of iron deficiency.There might be good effect for calf anemia with iron dextran.
Research on the Key Technologies of Cascaded STATCOM in Large City Power

The topology of the cascaded STATCOM is presented,and the mathematical model is built based on the topology.Unbalance of dc-capacitor-voltage is a key technical problem of cascaded STATCOM.To solve this problem,a multi-level cooperation control strategy is used.Dc-capacitor-voltage could remain constantly,when changing the angle between H-bridge voltage and current to adjust the active power absorbed or discharged by it.The simulation results have proved the correctness and the feasibility of the control strategy.
Approach to the collateral flow and ischemic brain lesions in patients with unilateral internal carotid artery stenosis or occlusion

Objective:To approach the collateral flow and ischemic brain lesions in patients with unilateral internal carotid artery stenosis or occlusion.Methods:22 patients with unilateral internal carotid artery stenosis or occlusion were divided into three groups(unilateral internal carotid artery stenosis with collateral flow,unilateral internal carotid artery occlusion with collateral flow and unilateral internal carotid artery stenosis without collateral flow) according to collateral circulation and the severity of stenosis of the blood vessel.The result of the three groups in cerebral blood flow perfusion imaging were compared.Results:Of 13 cases,six patients with unilateral internal carotid artery stenosis and nine patients with unilateral internal carotid artery occlusion collaterals appeared.In other nine patients with unilateral internal carotid artery stenosis,collaterals can not be seen.Patients with unilateral internal carotid artery stenosis or occlusion with collateral flow demonstrated severe ischemic brain lesions compared without collateral flow.In the frontal,temporal and parietal area, the cerebral blood flow perfusion were significant different(t=-2.613,P=0.020;t=-2.489,P=0.030;t=-2.737,P=0.016).In occipital area,basal ganglia and thalamus,they showed no significant different(P0.05).Conclusion:In the individual patient,cerebral blood flow perfusion depends not only on the degree of stenosis but also on the existence of collateral pathways.Although cerebral blood perfusion imaging cannot be directly compared with digital subtraction angiography(DSA),it would promote our understanding of the cerebral lesions considerably by combining angiographic information with perfusion data.
Observation of an Alfvén Wave Parametric Instability in a Laboratory Plasma.

A shear Alfven wave parametric instability is observed for the first time in the laboratory. When a single finite ω/Ω_{i} kinetic Alfven wave (KAW) is launched in the Large Plasma Device above a threshold amplitude, three daughter modes are produced. These daughter modes have frequencies and parallel wave numbers that are consistent with copropagating KAW sidebands and a low frequency nonresonant mode. The observed process is parametric in nature, with the frequency of the daughter modes varying as a function of pump wave amplitude. The daughter modes are spatially localized on a gradient of the pump wave magnetic field amplitude in the plane perpendicular to the background field, suggesting that perpendicular nonlinear forces (and therefore k_{⊥} of the pump wave) play an important role in the instability process. Despite this, modulational instability theory with k_{⊥}=0 has several features in common with the observed nonresonant mode and Alfven wave sidebands.
United States Parmacopeia Chapter timeline: 1989 to 2013.

This article features a tabular chronology of events deemed relevant to the creation and revision of United States Pharmacopeia General Chapter Pharmaceutical Compounding--Sterile Preparations, which premiered in 2004.
Radon emissions from natural gas power plants at The Pennsylvania State University

ABSTRACTBurning natural gas in power plants may emit radon (222Rn) into the atmosphere. On the University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University, atmospheric radon enhancements were measured and modeled in the vicinity of their two power plants. The three-part study first involved measuring ambient outdoor radon concentrations from August 2014 through January 2015 at four sites upwind and downwind of the power plants at distances ranging from 80 m to 310 m. For each plant, one site served as a background site, while three other sites measured radon concentration enhancements downwind. Second, the radon content of natural gas flowing into the power plant was measured, and third, a plume dispersion model was used to predict the radon concentrations downwind of the power plants. These predictions are compared to the measured downwind enhancements in radon to determine whether the observed radon concentration enhancements could be attributed to the power plants’ emissions. Atmospheric radon concentr...
Solving the traveling-salesman problem with time windows using tabu search

This paper presents a robust tabu search approach to the traveling-salesman problem with time windows. The approach uses a two-level tour hashing scheme within a reactive tabu search procedure to d...
An Acoustic Emission Chip-Form Monitor for Single-Point Turning

An acoustic-emission-based microcomputer chip-form monitor has been designed and built at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS). The monitor implements algorithms based on research by the University of California, Berkeley. The ability to identify chip form in turning of three types of metal (aluminum, low-carbon steel, and an alloy steel) has been demonstrated at both institutions, each using different machine tools and different tooling. The monitor performs best for the soft, easy-to-machine metals where chip breaking is most difficult and disastrous tangles are most likely.
The Nervous System

Abstract The central nervous system (CNS) has been proposed as one of the prime targets for pluripotent stem (PS) cell-based therapies, due to early successes in directing PS cell towards neural fates, due to the experience with fetal tissue transplantation in neurodegenerative diseases, and due to the devastating nature of many CNS diseases which often lack efficient alternative treatments. Some of the most striking advantages of embryonic stem cells as compared with any other cell type are: extensive self-renewal capacity and differentiation potential, access to the earliest stages of neural development, and ease of inducing stable genetic manipulations. The development of protocols that allow the directed differentiation from embryonic stem (ES) and induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells to specific neural fates provides an essential basis for all PS cell-based approaches in neural repair. Over the last few years, directed differentiation protocols have rapidly progressed and neural induction is now a routine procedure for studies in both mouse and human PS cells.
Location of fatal prescription opioid-related deaths in 12 states, 2008-2010: implications for prevention programs

INTRODUCTION: Prescription opioid pain reliever overdose is a major public health issue in the United States. To characterize the location of drug-related deaths, we examined fatal prescription opioid and illicit drug-related deaths reported in 12 states. METHODS: Data are from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Medical examiners or coroners in 12 states (MA, MD, ME, NH, NM, OK, OR, RI, UT, VA, VT, WV) reported details of state-wide drug-related mortality during 2008-2010. DAWN data included location and manner of death, age, race, and drugs involved. Deaths were coded into three categories: prescription opioid-related, illicit drug-related, and cases that involved both a prescription opioid and an illicit drug. RESULTS: During a 3-year period, there were 14,091 opioid or illicit drug-related deaths in 12 states. More than half of the prescription opioid-related deaths in all states, except Maryland, occurred at home, rather than in public or in a health care facility. Although it was still the predominant category, lower percentages of illicit drug-related deaths occurred at home. CONCLUSION: Prescription opioid overdoses have increased substantially, and the location of the person at the time of death can have important public health implications for interventions. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This paper highlights that bystander support can be a critical lifesaving factor in drug related deaths but may be more likely for illicit drug-related deaths than for prescription opioid-related deaths.Published by Elsevier Ltd. Language: en
What Do We Know About Enrollment in Consumer-Driven Health Plans?

This paper summarizes the literature on CDHP offer rates and enrollment. Since consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) were first offered in 2001, estimates of how many workers would be enrolled in these plans have varied widely. The U.S. Treasury Department has predicted that 25-30 million people would be covered by a health savings account (HSA)-eligible plan and would have an account by 2010. The percentage of employers offering CDHPs has gone from virtually none in 2000 to 12 percent in 2009. When examining the entire employment-based market, what had been steady growth in offer rates appears to have slowed. Between 2008 and 2009, the percentage of small firms (3-199 workers) that offered a CDHP declined from 13 percent to 11 percent (although the change was not statistically significant). However, larger firms continued to add a CDHP as an option. The percentage of employers with 500-999 workers reporting that they were likely to offer a CDHP in 2009 was 20 percent, or 6 percentage points higher than the actual offer rate in 2008. The percentage of firms with 1,000 or more workers that offered a CDHP increased from 22 percent in 2008 to 28 percent in 2009. The overall trend rate did not change because employers with 1,000 or more employees account for about 15 percent of all employers. Based on the various sources of data on enrollment in health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and HSA-eligible plans, it appears that 15-19 million people were enrolled in these plans in 2009, representing 9-11 percent of the privately insured market. The PDF for the above title, published in the December 2009 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another December 2009 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “Investment Behavior of Target-Date Fund Users Having Other Funds in 401(k) Plan Accounts.”
Grading and Treatment of Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) remains a major complication and is the leading cause of nonrelapse mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The most commonly involved organ is the skin, providing an opportunity for clinicians to recognize and intervene in this potentially fatal process. Appropriate grading of severity is critical to determine treatment. Therapy for advanced aGVHD is challenging. This chapter reviews the evidence for commonly studied and novel approaches that hold promise.
Musicogenic Epilepsy and Treatment of Affective Disorders: Case Report and Review of Pathogenesis

Musicogenic epilepsy is a rare syndrome in which music triggers seizures. Affective network processing appears to play a key role in epileptogenesis. Many people with epilepsy suffer from comorbid affective disorders, the shared basis of which involves similar pathophysiologies, including deficiencies of serotonergic and noradrenergic function. Seizures and mood disorders may thus have reciprocal effects on one another, particularly in emotionally precipitated syndromes such as musicogenic epilepsy. I report a man with long-standing depression and anxiety who developed focal epilepsy that evolved into musicogenic seizures. His case suggests a pathophysiologic basis for this shared phenomenon.
In-beam γ -ray spectroscopy of S 38-42

The low-energy excitation level schemes of the neutron-rich $^{38--42}\mathrm{S}$ isotopes are investigated via in-beam $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray spectroscopy following the fragmentation of $^{48}\mathrm{Ca}$ and $^{46}\mathrm{Ar}$ projectiles on a $^{12}\mathrm{C}$ target at intermediate beam energies. Information on $\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ coincidences complemented by comparisons to shell-model calculations were used to construct level schemes for these neutron-rich nuclei. The experimental data are discussed in the context of large-scale shell-model calculations with the SDPF-MU effective interaction in the $sd\text{\ensuremath{-}}pf$ shell. For the even-mass S isotopes, the evolution of the yrast sequence is explored as well as a peculiar change in decay pattern of the second ${2}^{+}$ states at $N=26$. For the odd-mass $^{41}\mathrm{S}$, a level scheme is presented that seems complete below 2.2 MeV and consistent with the predictions by the SDPF-MU shell-model Hamiltonian; this is a remarkable benchmark given the rapid shell and shape evolution at play in the S isotopes as the broken-down $N=28$ magic number is approached. Furthermore, the population of excited final states in projectile fragmentation is discussed.
Hierarchical Archimedean copula models for the analysis of binary familial data

Archimedean copulas are commonly used in a wide range of statistical models due to their simplicity, manageable analytical expressions, rich choices of generator functions, and other workable properties. However, the exchangeable dependence structure inherent to Archimedean copulas limits its application to familial data, where the dependence among family members is often different. When response variables are binary, modeling the familial associations becomes more challenging due to the stringent constraints imposed on the dependence parameters. This paper proposes hierarchical Archimedean copulas to account for the natural hierarchical dependence structure in familial data and addresses the details in the modeling of binary familial data and the inference based on maximum likelihood estimate. An example showing the flexibility of this powerful tool is also presented with possible extension to other similar studies.
Maximizing available diversity in a MIMO fading channel

The effects of Rayleigh fading on a wireless communications link and MIMO technique to combat fading is explored in this paper. In harnessing spatial diversity, the use of Quasi-Orthogonal space-time block code (QO-STBC) is proposed to combat fading. QO-STBC codes are able to achieve a unity rate with more than two antennas. The concept of constellation rotation for QO codes to maximize the available diversity is demonstrated. QO codes are shown by simulation to be able to achieve full diversity, despite the fact that the codes are non-orthogonal.
Pilocytic Astrocytoma with Specific Gene Signature

Researchers at Universite de la Mediterranee, and other centers in Marseille, France, using the microarray technique to compare the transcriptional profiles of five optic pathway, hypothalamo-chiasmatic and six cerebellar pilocytic astrocytomas, found that these 2 tumors are genetically distinct and topography-dependent entities.
Structure theory for simple Lie algebras

In this chapter we continue the development begun in the previous chapter. These two chapters focus on determining the structure of a Lie algebra and putting it into some canonical form. In the previous chapter we determined the types of subalgebras that every Lie algebra is constructed from. In this chapter we put the commutation relations into a standard form. This can be done for any Lie algebra. For semisimple Lie algebras this standard form has a very rigid structure whose usefulness is surpassed only by its beauty. Objectives of this program In the previous chapter we studied the commutation relations of a Lie algebra through its regular representation. This study was carried out using as a tool the Cartan–Killing inner product. As far as possible, this was the only method used. In the present chapter we introduce a second powerful tool from the theory of linear vector spaces. This is the eigenvalue decomposition. This tool is introduced in an attempt to find standard forms for the commutation relations. If a standard form is available then the properties of a Lie algebra, as well as its identification (classification), can be determined at sight. The eigenoperator decomposition is effected by computing and studying a secular equation determined from the matrix of the regular (or any other matrix) representation of the Lie algebra.
Bipartite graph matching-based coordination mechanism for multi-robot path planning under communication constraints

We propose a coordination mechanism to avoid inter-robot collisions when the robots' paths overlap with each other. Our proposed coordination technique uses a weighted bipartite matching-based formulation to solve this problem. Initially, each robot is given a unique goal location. But the robots do not know about other robots' planned paths until they come within each other's communication ranges. When two or more robots get within an unsafe distance, they coordinate their paths to avoid collisions with each other. The objective of the coordination mechanism is to plan a modified path for each coordinating robot (if needed) so that all the robots can reach their goal locations without collision with each other and also while reducing the extra distance introduced while resolving path conflicts. We have proved the correctness and convergence of our coordination strategy. Our experimental results show that the robots using our proposed strategy travel up to 4.2 times less than a comparable heuristic approach.
Multipolar second harmonic generation in a symmetric nonlinear metamaterial

Optical nonlinearities are intimately related to the spatial symmetry of the nonlinear media. For example, the second order susceptibility vanishes for centrosymmetric materials under the dipole approximation. The latter concept has been naturally extended to the metamaterials’ realm, sometimes leading to the (erroneous) hypothesis that second harmonic (SH) generation is negligible in highly symmetric meta-atoms. In this work we aim to show that such symmetric meta-atoms can radiate SH light efficiently. In particular, we investigate in-plane centrosymmetric meta-atom designs where the approximation for meta-atoms breaks down. In a periodic array this building block allows us to control the directionality of the SH radiation. We conclude by showing that the use of symmetry considerations alone allows for the manipulation of the nonlinear multipolar response of a meta-atom, resulting in e.g. dipolar, quadrupolar, or multipolar emission on demand. This is because the size of the meta-atom is comparable with the free-space wavelength, thus invalidating the dipolar approximation for meta-atoms.
Generalizing Morley’s and Other Theorems with Automated Realization

A new approach is shown that mechanically proves various theorems in plane geometry by recasting them in terms of constraint satisfaction. A Python 3 implementation called GEOPAR affords transparent proofs of well-known theorems as well as new ones, including a generalization of Morley’s Theorem.
PCB power integrity flow — efficiently designing-in large pin-count, smaller pitch devices

This paper presents the latest advancements in a design methodology of complex printed circuit boards with the goal of meeting power integrity criteria while minimizing both product cost and time spent debugging in the lab. Having a robust but flexible power integrity methodology can ensure high confidence that in the lab you will be doing more validation and much less debugging.
Evolution and Development of Eye-Specific Layers in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus

The pattern of inputs from the two eyes to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) is a distinguishing feature of mammalian species. Eye-specific connections to the LGN form through a process involving the segregation of right versus left eye ganglion cell axons, from an initially overlapping state. Recent experiments have shown that this process requires both spontaneous retinal activity and axon guidance cues. The specific role of eye-specific segregation in visual processing is unknown, but manipulations that alter the pattern or degree of segregation may provide new insights. Since the degree of eye-specific segregation in the LGN generally correlates with the degree of binocular vision, we consider how the evolution of frontally placed eyes and eye-specific connections in the LGN may relate to one another in terms of visual function and developmental mechanisms.
Abstract 581: Smooth Muscle Cell Specific Loss of the Pluripotency Factor Oct4 Enhances Atherosclerosis via Shifting Smooth Muscle Cells to a Less Migratory, but More Proinflammatory Phenotype

Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death in Western civilization accounting for more than 40% of all deaths. Despite reduced death rates due in part to statin treatment, there is little understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that can help to reverse atherosclerotic development and/or decrease the chances of plaque rupture with associated clinical sequelae such as myocardial infarction or stroke. We recently demonstrated a functional role of the pluripotency factor OCT4 in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) during atherosclerosis, in that SMC-specific conditional Oct4 knockout mice exhibit marked alterations in lesion size and cellular composition within atherosclerotic lesions of Apoe -/- high-fat diet fed mice, including a thinner fibrous cap, increased necrotic core and increased intra-plaque hemorrhage. Results of SMC-lineage tracing studies show that these changes were likely due to marked reductions in SMC number within lesions including in the fibrous cap area, as well as significant increases in macrophage-like (LGALS3 + ) SMCs within the tunica media. Further studies show that inactivation of Oct4 in SMCs nearly completely abrogated the pro-atherogenic oxidized phospholipid POVPC-induced migration of SMCs in vitro and outgrowth of SMCs from aortic explants ex vivo. RNA-seq and ChIP-seq analyses of lesion specimens from Apoe -/- high-fat diet fed mice and cultured SMCs treated with POVPC or 1% O 2 hypoxia show that loss of Oct4 in SMCs was associated with marked activation of genes associated with inflammation and phagocytosis, and suppression of genes associated with cell migration, including extracellular matrix proteins, matrix metalloproteinases and multiple axon guidance molecules. Moreover, loss of Oct4 significantly increased ability of SMCs to phagocyte red blood cells in response to oxidized LDL treatment in vitro . Results advance our understanding of mechanisms by which OCT4 expression in SMCs impacts atherosclerosis lesion development and may help identify novel potential therapeutic targets for treatment of atherosclerosis.
Reduction kinetics and electrochemistry of tetracarboxylate nitroxides

Tetracarboxylate pyrroline nitroxides undergo very fast reduction with ascorbate/glutathione (GSH), with second-order rate constants that are five orders of magnitude greater than those for gem-diethyl pyrroline nitroxides. For tetracarboxylate nitroxides, the electrochemical reduction potentials, measured by square wave voltammetry, are much less negative (by about 0.8 V), compared with the corresponding gem-diethyl nitroxides, while the oxidation potentials become more positive (by about 0.7 V). Electrochemical potentials correlate well via simple regressions with field/inductive parameters such as Swain/Lupton F-parameters (and/or Charton σI-parameters). Rates of reduction with ascorbate/GSH similarly correlate well for four pyrroline nitroxides, except for the slowest reducing gem-diethyl nitroxide. These results suggest that the electron withdrawing groups adjacent to the nitroxide moiety have a strong accelerating impact on the reduction rates, and thus they are not suitable for the design of hydrophilic nitroxides for in vivo applications.