cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Resistivity Recovery of Dilute Alloys of Silver, Copper, and Gold, Proton-Irradiated at 80°K

Ag-Be, Ag-Li, Cu-Be, Au-Mg, and Au-Al were irradiated by 12-MeV protons at 80\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. High-resolution isochronals were then obtained from---130 to 90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C and activation energies were determined every 10\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C using the change-of-slope method. The order associated with the reaction kinetics was determined at temperatures appropriate for the various annealing peaks by fitting 240-min isothermal anneals to first or second order. The recovery of the silver and copper alloys showed remarkable similarity to pure silver and copper, but the gold-alloy recovery was markedly altered as compared with pure gold. Activation energies for the stage-III defect in silver, copper, and gold alloys were found to be 0.64, 0.71, and 0.70 eV, respectively. The copper and silver alloys had a small first-order recovery stage near the low-temperature side of the main stage-III annealing peak. The main stage-III peak obeyed second-order kinetics in all cases. In the gold alloys the stage-III recovery was composed of a main second-order annealing peak with a small second-order annealing peak on each side of the main peak. These annealing results have been fitted to the various models for the recovery of damage, and some conclusions are drawn.
Disquieting change--extraordinary challenge.

This is the text of the AADR President-elect's address, delivered on March 6, 2002, during the Opening Ceremonies of the International and American Associations for Dental Research, 80th General Session and 31st Annual Meeting, respectively, in San Diego, CA.
Air electrode design for sustained high power operation of Li/air batteries

The rapid development of portable electronic devices increasingly requires much more energy to support advanced functions. However, currently available batteries do not meet the high energy requirement of these devices. Metal/air batteries, especially Li/air batteries, have a much higher specific energy than most other available batteries, but their power rate is limited by the accumulation of reaction products in the air electrode. Several approaches to improve the power rate of Li/air batteries have been analyzed in this work, including adjustment of air electrode porosity and catalyst reactivity distributions to minimize diffusion limitations and maximize air electrode material utilization. An interconnected dual pore system (one catalyzed and one non-catalyzed) is proposed to improve oxygen transport into the inner regions of the air electrode, but this approach alone cannot supply high power for long term applications. A time-release multiple catalyst approach is analyzed to provide temporal release of reactivity in the air electrode. When coupled with the dual pore configuration and catalysts with high reactivities, the time-release catalyst concept can extend the duration of higher powers to longer times, and result in maximum utilization of air electrode materials.
BFIRES-II: A behavior based computer simulation of emergency egress during fires

This paper acquaints the reader with BFIRES, a computer program designed to simulate the emergency egress behavior of building occupants during fires. Use of the program is illustrated, and findings concerning the simulation’s validity are presented.
Fitting In and Fighting Back: Stigma Management Strategies among Homeless Kids

Using data collected during a four-year ethnographic study, this article examines the stigma management strategies of kids who are homeless in the San Francisco Bay area. We focus specifically on strategies of inclusion and exclusion. Strategies of inclusion are attempts by homeless kids to establish harmonious relationships with both peers and strangers. The most common are forging friendships, passing, and covering. Strategies of exclusion are aggressive and nonconciliatory attempts to gain social acceptance. They include verbal denigration and physical and sexual posturing. Some of these strategies successfully protect the kids’ sense of self, while other strategies had the unintended effect of reinforcing their spoiled identities. We argue that these stigma management strategies are both informed by and interpreted through their disadvantaged social structural location.
Site-specific retrotransposons of the trypanosomatid protozoa.

Abstract Retrotronsposons are mobile genetic elements that have invaded a wide variety of organisms. While these mobile elements share gene homologies and structural features with retroviruses, they have lost the ability to produce infectious particles. Typically these elements are 5–10 kilobases (kb) in length, are conserved in their structural organization and are present in many copies in the genomes into which they have integrated 1 . Retrotronsposons generally interrupt their host genome promiscuously and thus cause a variety of random effects. In general, their insertion results in mutations, inversions, deletions or rearrangements among host sequences. All of these changes are thought to add to the plasticity of the host genome and thus contribute to a faster pace of evolutionary development. However, because of the random nature of insertions, it has been difficult to attribute any one specific function to these diverse elements. Here, Serap Aksoy describes a newly recognized family of mobile elements that are different from most retrotronsposons in that they have the ability to integrate into specific host sequences.
Successful Transmission of a Retrovirus Depends on the Commensal Microbiota

To establish chronic infections, viruses must develop strategies to evade the host’s immune responses. Many retroviruses, including mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV), are transmitted most efficiently through mucosal surfaces rich in microbiota. We found that MMTV, when ingested by newborn mice, stimulates a state of unresponsiveness toward viral antigens. This process required the intestinal microbiota, as antibiotic-treated mice or germ-free mice did not transmit infectious virus to their offspring. MMTV-bound bacterial lipopolysaccharide triggered Toll-like receptor 4 and subsequent interleukin-6 (IL-6)–dependent induction of the inhibitory cytokine IL-10. Thus, MMTV has evolved to rely on the interaction with the microbiota to induce an immune evasion pathway. Together, these findings reveal the fundamental importance of commensal microbiota in viral infections.
Molecular structures and compositions of trans-1,2-dichlorocyclohexane and trans-1,2-difluorocyclohexane in the gas phase: an electron-diffraction investigation.

The structures and compositions of gaseous trans-1,2-dichloro- (DCCH) and trans-1,2-difluorocyclohexane (DFCH), each of which may exist with the halogen atoms in a diaxial (aa) or diequatorial (ee) conformation, have been investigated by electron diffraction. The analysis was aided by rotational constants from microwave spectroscopy for the ee form of DFCH and by ab initio and density functional theory molecular orbital calculations for all species. The skeletons of the molecules have similar parameter values, but for the Cl-C-C-Cl and F-C-C-F fragments there are significant differences between the corresponding C-C-X bond angles and the X-C-C-X torsion angles in the two systems. There are also significant differences between the values of these parameters in the aa and ee forms of the same system. The composition of DCCH at 100 degrees C was measured to be 60(4)% aa, and that of DFCH at 70 degrees C was 42(7)% aa; the uncertainties are estimated 2sigma. From the preferred B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ calculations, the predicted theoretical composition is 51.2% aa for DCCH and 40.8% aa for DFCH. (Calculations at the levels B3LYP/6-31G(d) and MP2/6-31G(d) give similar results for DCCH, but both predict more aa than ee for DFCH.) Values (r(g)/A and angle(alpha)/degree) for some of the more important parameters of the aa/ee forms of DCCH are = 1.525(4)/1.525(6), C-Cl = 1.806(2)/1.787(2), angleC2-C1-Cl = 107.3(3)/111.5(3), angleC1-C2-C3 = 113.9(5)/111.6(5), angleC2-C3-C4 = 111.3(12)/109.9(12), and Cl-C2-C3-Cl = 165.3(9)/-59.4(9); and for DFCH C-C = 1.525(6)/1.520(9), C-F = 1.398(2)/1.390(2), angleC2-C1-F = 106.5(6)/109.2(6), angleC1-C2-C3 = 111.4(9)/110.9(9), angleC2-C3-C4 = 113.1(10)/113.1(10), and F-C2-C3-F = 171.1(37)/-67.2(37). The structures and compositions are discussed.
To what extent can spermatogenesis be maintained in the hypophysectomized adult rat testis with exogenously administered testosterone

In a previous study it was demonstrated that spermatogenesis can be maintained quantitatively with exogenously administered testosterone in adult intact rats that lack LH. The studies described herein were designed to examine the extent to which spermatogenesis can be maintained quantitatively with exogenously administered testosterone in adult rats that lack all pituitary hormones. Adult male rats were hypophysectomized and testosterone was administered at the time of hypophysectomy via sustained release polydimethylsiloxane (PDS) capsules of increasing lengths. We used the PDS capsules to clamp testosterone at defined concentrations within the seminiferous tubule fluid over a 2- to 3-month treatment period. Mean testis weights and advanced spermatid numbers per testis stabilized by 8 weeks of testosterone treatment regardless of testosterone dose. Both testis weight and advanced spermatid number responded to testosterone dose, reaching plateaus of 1.2 g and 170 x 10(6) per testis, respectively. These values were 60% of, and significantly less than, the respective control values. This result was in striking contrast to the results of our previous study of LH-suppressed intact rats, in which exogenously administered testosterone resulted in testis weights and advanced spermatid numbers that plateaued at values not significantly different from those in controls. These different effects of testosterone in intact and hypophysectomized rats occurred despite the fact that the seminiferous tubule fluid testosterone concentrations achieved in the hypophysectomized rats (up to 25 ng/ml) were greater than the minimal testosterone concentration found previously to be required to maintain spermatogenesis quantitatively in LH-suppressed intact rats (13 ng/ml). Taken together, these results demonstrate clearly that intratesticular testosterone doses that are as high as or higher than those that maintain spermatogenesis quantitatively in intact rats lacking LH fail to maintain spermatogenesis quantitatively in rats lacking all pituitary hormones.
An eye irritation test protocol and an evaluation and classification system

An in vivo test protocol and an evaluation and classification system for the determination of eye irritation potential of chemicals and mixtures (substances) is proposed. The protocol uses two or three rabbits and reduces distress in test animals. The test substances are classified as non-irritant, irritant or severe irritant to meet regulatory needs. They may be classified on the basis of past experience with similar compounds or mixtures. Screens such as structure-activity relationships, pH extremes, validated and accepted in vitro tests, severe dermal irritation (primary dermal irritation index > or = 5) or severe dermal toxicity (lethality at < 200 mg/kg body weight) should be used to classify irritant or severe irritant materials when one or more of the screens can provide convincing evidence. For suspected severe irritant materials, the proposed in vivo test permits the use of one rabbit and instillation of 0.01 ml (0.01 g) of the test material into the cornea. Materials that are not classified irritant or severe irritant by screens or severe irritant by one rabbit test are tested in two or three rabbits; 0.1 ml (0.1 g) is instilled into the conjunctival sac. The responses (corneal opacity, iritis and conjunctival redness) are scored according to the modified Draize scoring system at 24, 48 and 72 hr and 7 days post-instillation. A rabbit is considered positive when corneal opacity of 1 or above, iritis of 1 or above or conjunctival redness of 2 or above is present at 24, 48 or 72 hr post-instillation. The material is classified as a severe irritant when the rabbit in the one-animal test or two or more rabbits in the standard test have responses of corneal opacity of 3 or above and iritis of 2 at 24, 48 or 72 hr, or positive responses on day 7 after instillation. The material is classified as an eye irritant when two or more rabbits are positive but the responses are not severe and they clear 7 days after instillation. The material is classified as a non-irritant when no more than one rabbit is positive. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of US Federal agencies.
Comment on Searle: Philosophy and the Empirical Study of Consciousness

Abstract I make three points about Searle′s philosophical work on consciousness and intentionality. First, I comment on Searle′s presentation and paper "The Problem of Consciousness". I show that one of Searle′s philosophical claims about the relation between consciousness and intentionality appears to conflict with a demand he makes on acceptable empirical theories of the brain. Second, I argue that closer attention to the difference between conceptual connections and empirical connections corrects and improves Searle′s response to the so-called "Logical Connections" argument, the argument that claims that mental states cannot be causes, since they are conceptually connected with actions. Third, I give a formulation of his Chinese Room Argument that avoids some tempting responses.
Risk Factors for Malignancy in Benign Papillomas of the Breast on Core Needle Biopsy

Background This study was designed to evaluate the clinical and pathologic parameters of benign papillomas diagnosed on core needle biopsy (CNB) and predict malignancy risk after surgical excision.
Food Group Categories of Low-income African American Women

Abstract Objective Describe lay food group categories of low-income African American women and assess the overlap of lay food groups and MyPyramid food groups. Design A convenience sample of African American mothers from a low-income Chicago neighborhood performed a card-sorting task in which they grouped familiar food items into food groups. Setting One-on-one interviews in a neighborhood community center. Participants Twenty-eight African American mothers. Main Outcome Measure A hierarchical taxonomy of food groups for each participant, represented as a matrix of distances among food items in the individual sort of each participant. Analysis Cultural consensus analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, and coding of food group category labels and sorting justifications. Results Consensus analysis revealed a consistent cultural model of lay food groups among the women. Lay food groups were systematically different from MyPyramid food groups. Lay food groups were more influenced by how food items are prepared or when and how food items are eaten than are MyPyramid food group categories. Conclusions and Implications Nutrition messages framed using lay food group categories of low-income African Americans may be more effective for that population than messages using MyPyramid food group categories.
Discovery as correction

In recent years, there have been some attempts to defend the legitimacy of a non-inductive generative logic of discovery whose strategy is to analyze a variety of constraints on the actual generation of explanatory hypotheses. These proposed new theories, however, are only weakly generative (relying on sophisticated processes of elimination) rather than strongly generative (embodying processes of correction). This paper develops a strongly generative theory which holds that we can come to know something new only as a variant of what we already know — and that the novelty of this variant is not thereby eliminated nor beyond our powers of characterization, a double requirement that is vital for resolving the Meno paradox. In this light, the discovery of a new hypothesis is taken as the correction of an antecedent hypothesis in response to the discrepancies between the predictions generated by that antecedent hypothesis and the desired result (e.g. the actual data to be explained). This process comprises two parallel operations: the first, which demonstrates the positive role of the facts in generating new explanations, involves a mapping between multiple hypotheses and sets of predictions generated from those hypotheses, for the purpose of taking the actual data as a determinable variant of neighboring sets of predictions. This mapping permits the facts to indicate how corrective adjustments in the working hypothesis should be made; the second operation, which demonstrates the positive role of explanations in generating new facts, involves a mapping between differently construed versions of the actual data and the conceptualizations derived from those perceptual versions, for the purpose of taking the working hypothesis as a determinable variant of these neighboring conceptualizations. This mapping permits a given hypothesis to generate predictions increasingly closer to the actual facts. The proposed theory provides the basis for a reformed conception of justification. Because hypotheses are meaningful only as variants of neighboring hypotheses, and because such variation is corrective, their justification in the reformed sense will incorporate not only their justification in the traditional sense, but their generation as well.
Acquired hemophilia A: is more better?

[Comment on Collins et al, page 1870][1]Collins and colleagues report the epidemiology, clinical course, and treatment outcomes of a 2-year observational study of all patients with acquired hemophilia A in the United Kingdom. Acquired hemophilia A is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by the
Independent radio-occultation studies of venus' atmosphere

Closed-loop frequency data from Mariner 10 have provided S and X-band temperature-pressure profiles for Venus' neutral atmosphere, as well as an S-band profile for the nightside ionosphere. The dual-frequency radio-occultation experiment was independently monitored by two radio telescopes: Goldstone and Owens Valley (X-band only). Comparisons are also made with data obtained from Mariner 5 and in-situ measurements from Veneras 8, 9, and 10. Attention is given to anomalies in the amplitude and frequency of spacecraft signals during their exit from the Venusian atmosphere, as evidenced by radio occultation.
Histone H2AX stabilizes broken DNA strands to suppress chromosome breaks and translocations during V(D)J recombination

The H2AX core histone variant is phosphorylated in chromatin around DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) and functions through unknown mechanisms to suppress antigen receptor locus translocations during V(D)J recombination. Formation of chromosomal coding joins and suppression of translocations involves the ataxia telangiectasia mutated and DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit serine/threonine kinases, each of which phosphorylates H2AX along cleaved antigen receptor loci. Using Abelson transformed pre–B cell lines, we find that H2AX is not required for coding join formation within chromosomal V(D)J recombination substrates. Yet we show that H2AX is phosphorylated along cleaved Igκ DNA strands and prevents their separation in G1 phase cells and their progression into chromosome breaks and translocations after cellular proliferation. We also show that H2AX prevents chromosome breaks emanating from unrepaired RAG endonuclease-generated TCR-α/δ locus coding ends in primary thymocytes. Our data indicate that histone H2AX suppresses translocations during V(D)J recombination by creating chromatin modifications that stabilize disrupted antigen receptor locus DNA strands to prevent their irreversible dissociation. We propose that such H2AX-dependent mechanisms could function at additional chromosomal locations to facilitate the joining of DNA ends generated by other types of DSBs.
Wireless beyond the third generation-facing the energy challenge

After a stellar growth over the last decade driven by voice as the killer app, wireless communications is now rapidly moving into a new era propelled by data networking. For a wide host of devices, wireless will serve as the "last interconnection hop" to the high data-rate wired networks. The basic trends in these devices can be best summarized under the following two headers: "ubiquity" and "more bits/sec". Both of these have some important ramifications on energy dissipation. We outline the predominant trends in wireless, analyze the energy challenge of those trends, and examine a number of emerging solutions.
Photoelastic Waveguides Formed by Interfacial Reactions on Semiconductor Heterostructures

Lateral confinement of carriers and photons in semiconductor heterostructures is an important feature in modern electronic and optoelectronic devices. A number of techniques have been invented to induce lateral confinement with varying degrees of success and processing requirements. One of simplest but least commonly used technique is to utilize the strain induced effect (or the photoelastic effect) to cause confinement. While the concept is simple, the control of stress in the stressor layers is rather difficult in practice, without resorting to complicated selective growth of strained layers. We have investigated the controlled introduction of stable stresses into semiconductor heterostructures using a simple scheme of interfacial reactions between a metal and the substrate. Since the volumetric change for a given reaction is fixed, the induced stress in the structure is independent of the deposition method or the deposition system, as long as the deposited film is fully reacted to form a compound. The stability of the stress depends on the stability of the compound. We have made low-loss (~ ldB/cm at 1.53 μm) photoelastic waveguides in GaAs/AlGaAs and other layered structures by reacting Ni and other metals, with an underlying semiconductor. In the case Ni on GaAs/AlGaAs, the dominant stressor compound is N 3 GaAs, and the waveguide characteristics are thermally stable up to 600°C. Other photoelastic optical devices are also demonstrated.
Cost Assessment of the Possibility of Using Three Types of Wind Turbine in Turkey

Turkey's some region has a vast open land. Therefore, it has great potential of using solar and wind energy sources for domestic and industrial use. This research is going to propose and assess about the wind power cost per kWh of electricity produced using three types of wind electric conversion systems at 14 locations in Turkey. Wind during curves were developed and utilized to calculate the cost per kWh of electricity generated from three chosen wind turbines. According to the research findings, Bozcaada is the most advantageous station from the point of view of economical and production of wind power.
Similarity in context

Similarity comparisons are highly sensitive to judgment context. Three experiments explore context effects that occur within a single comparison rather than across several trials. Experiment 1 shows reliable intransitivities in which a target is judged to be more similar to stimulus A than to stimulus B, more similar to B than to stimulus C, and more similar to C than to A. Experiment 2 explores the locus of Tversky’s (1977) diagnosticity effect in which the relative similarity of two alternatives to a target is influenced by a third alternative. Experiment 3 demonstrates a new violation of choice independence which is explained by object dimensions’ becoming foregrounded or backgrounded, depending upon the set of displayed objects. The observed violations of common assumptions to many models of similarity and choice can be accommodated in terms of a dynamic property-weighting process based on the variability and diagnosticity of dimensions.
Optimal timing problems in environmental economics

Abstract Because of the uncertainties and irreversibilities that are often inherent in environmental degradation, its prevention, and its economic consequences, environmental policy design can involve important problems of timing. I use a simple two-period model to illustrate these optimal timing problems and their implications for environmental policy. I then lay out and solve a continuous-time model of policy adoption in which the policy itself entails sunk costs, and environmental damage is irreversible. The model generalizes earlier work in that it includes two stochastic state variables; one captures uncertainty over environmental change, and the other captures uncertainty over the social costs of environmental damage. Solutions of the model are used to show the implications of these two types of uncertainty for the timing of policy adoption.
Multiscale Conformational Heterogeneity in Staphylococcal Protein A: Possible Determinant of Functional Plasticity

The Staphylococcus aureus virulence factor staphylococcal protein A (SpA) is a major contributor to bacterial evasion of the host immune system, through high-affinity binding to host proteins such as antibodies. SpA includes five small three-helix-bundle domains (E-D-A-B-C) separated by conserved flexible linkers. Prior attempts to crystallize individual domains in the absence of a binding partner have apparently been unsuccessful. There have also been no previous structures of tandem domains. Here we report the high-resolution crystal structures of a single C domain, and of two B domains connected by the conserved linker. Both structures exhibit extensive multiscale conformational heterogeneity, which required novel modeling protocols. Comparison of domain structures shows that helix1 orientation is especially heterogeneous, coordinated with changes in side chain conformational networks and contacting protein interfaces. This represents the kind of structural plasticity that could enable SpA to bind multiple partners.
Identifiability of Two-Tree Mixtures for Group-Based Models

Phylogenetic data arising on two possibly different tree topologies might be mixed through several biological mechanisms, including incomplete lineage sorting or horizontal gene transfer in the case of different topologies, or simply different substitution processes on characters in the case of the same topology. Recent work on a 2-state symmetric model of character change showed that for 4 taxa, such a mixture model has nonidentifiable parameters, and thus, it is theoretically impossible to determine the two tree topologies from any amount of data under such circumstances. Here, the question of identifiability is investigated for two-tree mixtures of the 4-state group-based models, which are more relevant to DNA sequence data. Using algebraic techniques, we show that the tree parameters are identifiable for the JC and K2P models. We also prove that generic substitution parameters for the JC mixture models are identifiable, and for the K2P and K3P models obtain generic identifiability results for mixtures on the same tree. This indicates that the full phylogenetic signal remains in such mixtures, and the 2-state symmetric result is thus a misleading guide to the behavior of other models.
Autofluorescence Bronchoscopy and Endobronchial Ultrasound: A Practical Review

Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and autofluorescence bronchoscopy (AFB) are the two technologies to have the largest impact on diagnostic bronchoscopy in the last forty years. The AFB utilizes inherent tissue properties to identify preinvasive lesions of the central airways. The EBUS can accurately define airway invasion versus compression from tumors, guide transbronchial needle aspiration of hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes, and predict, based on ultrasound morphology, whether peripheral nodules are benign or malignant. It is also extremely useful for determining the proximal and distal extent of tumors in and around the airway, and aid in surgical planning. This article will review the principles and clinical applications of these two technologies.
Implied Equity Duration: A New Measure of Equity Risk

Duration is an important and well-established risk characteristic for fixed income securities. We use recent developments in financial statement analysis research to construct a measure of duration for equity securities. We find that the standard empirical predictions and results for fixed income securities extend to equity securities. We show that stock price volatility and stock beta are both positively correlated with equity duration. Moreover, estimates of common shocks to expected equity returns extracted using our measure of equity duration capture a strong common factor in stock returns. Additional analysis shows that the book-to-market ratio provides a crude measure of equity duration and that our more refined measure of equity duration subsumes the Fama and French (1993) book-to-market factor in stock returns. Our research shows how structured financial statement analysis can be used to construct superior measures of equity security risk.
Hopf algebra methods in graph theory

Abstract We study invariants of graphs, matroids and other combinatorial objects by considering certain associated Hopf algebras. We prove a structure theorem for these Hopf algebras which implies that any invariant which counts subobjects of a particular type is given by a unique polynomial in invariants which count connected subobjects. We introduce an invertible transformation between the set of all such invariants and the set of additive invariants.
Gene Therapy of mdx Mice With Large Truncated Dystrophins Generated by Recombination Using rAAV6

Recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vector-mediated gene transfer represents a promising approach for many diseases. However, the applicability of rAAV vectors has long been hindered by the small (~4.8 kb) DNA packaging capacity. This limitation can hamper the packaging and delivery of critical regulatory elements and/or larger coding sequences, such as the ~14-kb dystrophin complementary DNA (cDNA) that is of interest for gene therapy of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Here, we have demonstrated reconstitution of an expression cassette (7.3 kb) encoding a highly functional “minidystrophin” protein (ΔH2–R19, 222 kd) in vivo following intravascular co-delivery of two independent rAAV6 vectors sharing a central homologous recombinogenic region of 372 nucleotides. Similar to previously reported trans-splicing approaches, one rAAV vector provides the promoter with the ~1/2 initial portion of minidystrophin, while the second vector provides the remaining minidystrophin cDNA followed by the polyadenylation signal. Significantly, administering a modest dose [2 × 1012 vector genomes (vg)] of the two minidystrophin-encoding rAAV vectors to dystrophic mice elicited an improvement of physiological performance indicative of prevention or amelioration of the disease state. These studies provide evidence that functional dystrophin transgenes larger than that typically carried by a single rAAV genome can be reconstituted in vivo by homologous recombination (HR) following intravascular co-delivery with rAAV6.
Impact of Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention on Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcus Blood Cultures in Conjunction with Rapid Diagnostic Testing

Rapid diagnostic testing with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight (MALDI-TOF) decreases the time to organism identification by 24 to 36 h compared to the amount of time required by conventional methods. However, there are limited data evaluating the impact of MALDI-TOF with real-time antimicrobial stewardship team (AST) review and intervention on antimicrobial prescribing and outcomes for patients with bacteremia and blood cultures contaminated with coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS). A quasiexperimental study was conducted to analyze the impact of rapid diagnostic testing with MALDI-TOF plus AST review and intervention for adult hospitalized patients with blood cultures positive for CoNS. Antibiotic prescribing patterns and clinical outcomes were compared before and after implementation of MALDI-TOF with AST intervention for patients with CoNS bacteremia and CoNS contamination. A total of 324 patients with a positive CoNS blood culture were included; 246 were deemed to have contaminated cultures (117 in the preintervention group and 129 in AST the intervention group), and 78 patients had bacteremia (46 in the preintervention group and 32 in the AST intervention group). No differences in demographics were seen between the groups, and similar rates of contamination occurred between the preintervention and AST intervention groups (64.3% versus 72.6%, P = 0.173). Patients with bacteremia were initiated on optimal therapy sooner in the AST intervention group (58.7 versus 34.4 h, P = 0.030), which was associated with a similarly decreased mortality (21.7% versus 3.1%, P = 0.023). Patients with CoNS-contaminated cultures had similar rates of mortality, lengths of hospitalization, recurrent bloodstream infections, and 30-day hospital readmissions, but the AST intervention group had a decreased duration of unnecessary antibiotic therapy (1.31 versus 3.89 days, P = 0.032) and a decreased number of vancomycin trough assays performed (0.88 versus 1.95, P < 0.001). In patients with CoNS bacteremia, rapid pathogen identification integrated with real-time stewardship interventions improved timely organism identification and initiation of antibiotic therapy. Patients in the AST group with blood cultures contaminated with CoNS had decreased inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing and decreased unnecessary serum vancomycin trough assays.
Effect of diet and exercise intervention on inflammatory and adhesion molecules in postmenopausal women on hormone replacement therapy and at risk for coronary artery disease.

Inflammation and the recruitment of monocytes into the artery wall are thought to be important aspects in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. The present study was designed to examine the effects of a rigorous diet and exercise intervention on plasma lipids and inflammatory and circulating adhesion molecules. Twenty postmenopausal women at risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) were placed on a high-fiber, low-fat diet, where food was provided ad libitum and daily aerobic exercise, primarily walking, was performed. In each subject, pre- and postintervention fasting blood was drawn for serum lipid, insulin, glucose, C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and both soluble (s) intracellular and vascular adhesion molecule (sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1) were measured. After 2 weeks, significant reductions in body mass index (BMI) (P < .001), glucose (P < .05), insulin (P < .01), all serum lipids, and total cholesterol (total-C): high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (P < .01). Reductions in homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (P < .01), CRP (P < .01), SAA (P < .01) and sICAM-1 (P < .05) were noted, as well as an increase in the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (P < .05). Reductions were also noted in 5 women not using hormone replacement therapy (HRT). No significant reductions were found in IL-6 or sVCAM-1 in response to the intervention. Overall, this intervention resulted in improved metabolic and lipid profiles, reduced inflammatory, and cell adhesion molecules in postmenopausal women in the absence of caloric restriction. The rapid improvements may reduce the risk of acute myocardial infarction (MI), and if sustained, these changes may mitigate the risk for atherosclerosis progression and its clinical consequences. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Estradiol Receptor Content in Rat Granulosa Cells During Follicular Development: Modification by Estradiol and Gonadotropins

To examine the relationships between gonadotropic hormones, ovarian follicular development, and estradiol receptor content in rat granulosa cells, follicular growth was stimulated in intact immature rats and hypophysectomized immature rats. In intact rats, both PMSG and oFSH given for 2 days stimulated follicular growth and endogenous estrogen production but caused estradiol receptor content in granulosa cells to decrease markedly. In hypophysectomized rats estradiol (2 mg⁄day × 4) was capable of increasing the content of its own receptor, stimulated preantral follicular development, and potentiated the responses of granulosa cells to highly purified hFSH. Thus, subsequent treatment with hFSH stimulated antral formation and maintained high levels of estradiol receptor content in granulosa cells. LH, on the other hand, caused a rapid decline in the content of estradiol receptor in nuclei of granulosa cells. In hypophysectomized rats primed with estradiol alone, a high dose of oLH caused follicles to underg...
Trend and concentrations of legacy lead (Pb) in highway runoff.

Abstract This study presents the results of lead (Pb) concentrations from both highway runoff and contaminated soil along 32 and 23 highway sites, respectively. In general, the Pb concentration on topsoil (0–15 cm) along highways was much higher than the Pb concentration in subsurface soil (15–60 cm). The Pb deposited on soil appears to be anthropogenic and a strong correlation was found between the Pb concentration in surface soil and highway runoff in urban areas. The concentration of Pb measured during 1980s from highways runoff throughout the world was up to 11 times higher than the measured values in mid 1990s and 2000s. The current Pb deposited on soil near highways appears to be a mixture of paint, tire weight balance and old leaded gasoline combustion. Overall, the Pb phase-out regulation reduced the Pb deposits in the environment and consequently lowered Pb loading into receiving waters.
The Orphanista Manifesto: Orphan Films and the Politics of Reproduction

In this essay, I review the works of filmmakers Bill Morrison and Gregorio Rocha and contextualize their work within a growing apocalyptic cultural movement of film preservationists who identify as “orphanistas.” As orphanistas they struggle to reshape and reproduce cultural memory and heritage through reviving “orphans”—films abandoned by their makers. Moving images mimic cognitive memory, yet, depending on reproductive technologies, copies of moving images may organize mass publics and influence cultural imaginaries. Traditionally considered conservative, preservation in the midst of destruction is not only a creative but also an avant-garde act of breathing new life into storytelling and the reproduction of cultural memory. In this essay, I discuss how the surrealist works of Morrison and Rocha radically confront dominant cultural imaginings of race and nation, and I argue that film preservation has the potential of being socially transformative. An interview with Gregorio Rocha follows.
Sunlight or sunburn: a survey of attitudes toward online availability of US public records

Many have enthusiastically greeted the ability to search and view public records online as a great advance for transparency and accountability. Such ability, however, also creates value tensions with privacy and other important human values. In this paper, we report findings from a survey of 134 residents of the US Pacific Northwest on their awareness of and attitudes towards online access to political campaign records and real estate transaction histories, bringing to light some of the social implications of technological changes that increase ease of access to public records. We show that. while respondents often understood the reason behind making these records public, considerable concern about the current accessibility of these records exists, along with a precautionary indication that such open access may reduce public participation for some individuals.
INCREASING FOLLOWING HEADWAY WITH PROMPTS, GOAL SETTING, AND FEEDBACK IN A DRIVING SIMULATOR

We evaluated the effects of prompting, goal setting, and feedback on following headway of young drivers in a simulated driving environment and assessed whether changes produced in following headway were associated with reductions in hard braking when drivers were and were not using cell phones. Participants were 4 university students. During baseline, drivers spent half of the time talking on cell phones while driving. At the start of the intervention, drivers were prompted to increase following headway while on the cell phones and were provided a specific target for following headway. Drivers were given feedback on increasing following headway when on cell phones at the end of each session. The intervention package was associated with an increase in following headway and a decrease in hard braking when participants were on and off the cell phones. Cell phone use did not affect any of the measures.
Preparatory Attention Relies on Dynamic Interactions between Prelimbic Cortex and Anterior Cingulate Cortex

An emerging view of prefrontal cortex (PFC) function is that multiple PFC areas process information in parallel, rather than as distinct modules. Two key functions assigned to the PFC are the regulation of top-down attention and stimulus-guided action. Electrophysiology and lesion studies indicate the involvement of both the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and prelimbic cortex (PL) in these functions. Little is known, however, about how these cortical regions interact. We recorded single unit spiking and local field potentials (LFPs) simultaneously in rodents during a sustained attention task and assessed interactions between the ACC and PL by measuring spike–LFP phase synchrony and LFP–LFP phase synchrony between these areas. We demonstrate that the magnitude of synchrony between the ACC and PL, before stimulus onset, predicts the subjects' behavioral choice after the stimulus. Furthermore, neurons switched from a state of beta synchrony during attention to a state of delta synchrony before the instrumental action. Our results indicate that multiple PFC areas interact during attention and that the same neurons may participate in segregated assemblies that support both attention and action.
Adolescent immunizations. are we ready for a new wave

Abstract Context Factors associated with vaccination coverage rates for the 20% of U.S. adolescents enrolled in managed care organizations (MCOs) are not known. Objectives To examine recent trends in receipt of two doses of measles–mumps–rubella (MMR2) and three doses of hepatitis B (Hep B3) among U.S. adolescents enrolled in managed care organizations (MCOs); to determine whether specific characteristics of MCOs are associated with higher vaccination rates; and to assess the impact of state middle school immunization requirements on these rates. Design Longitudinal (1996–1999) and cross-sectional (1999) analyses of National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) data to estimate adolescent vaccination coverage rates for MMR2 and Hep B3. In 2002, using 1999 data only, a cross-sectional analysis examined the relationship of specific plan characteristics and state immunization laws with immunization coverage. Main outcome measures Percentage of 13 year olds in MCOs with documented receipt of MMR2 and Hep B3. Results From 1996 to 1999, MMR2 rates increased from 56% to 64%, and from 1997 to 1999, Hep B3 rates increased from 23% to 38%. By 1999, higher rates for both vaccines had been achieved in larger plans ( p p p p p Conclusions Despite encouraging increases, adolescent immunization rates are significantly below the Healthy People 2010 goal of 90%. State laws and accreditation incentives are effective. Research is needed to identify additional interventions to increase vaccination coverage in the adolescent population.
Towards a standard technique for soil quality assessment

Abstract A soil quality index (SQI) that integrates key soil attribute information would be beneficial in minimizing spillover effects of indiscriminate soil management such as shortages in food, water, energy and abate adverse repercussions of climate change. In this study, a new SQI that synthesizes soil attributes is developed using partial least squares regression (PLSR), and compared with crop yields. The field data were acquired in the year 2013 from 5 different on-farm sites within Ohio, USA that were under Natural Vegetation (NV), No-Till (NT), and Conventional Till (CT) management. The data shows that P w (Pewamo silty clay loam) soil under NV land use had a higher quality, than GWA (Glynwood silt loam), kbA (Kibbie fine sandy loam), CrA (Crosby silt loam), and CtA (Crosby Celina silt loams) soil; whereas CT managed soil had P w > CrA > kbA > CtA > GWA. The soil bulk density (ρ b ), electrical conductivity (EC), available water capacity (AWC) and soil organic carbon (SOC) greatly influenced the SQI especially at the soil surface. The SQI and yield were highly correlated, with that for corn ( Zea mays L.) being 64%; whereas soybean ( Glycine max (L.) Merr.) was 100%. This finding is of special relevance because it explicates the interconnection between on - farm soil quality vis-a-vis crop yields by objectively blending soil attributes from different management scenarios and soil layers. Future research will investigate techniques for integrating this SQI with socio-economic indicators of agro-ecosystem sustainability.
Fourier Spectral Filter Array for Optimal Multispectral Imaging

Limitations to existing multispectral imaging modalities include speed, cost, range, spatial resolution, and application-specific system designs that lack versatility of the hyperspectral imaging modalities. In this paper, we propose a novel general-purpose single-shot passive multispectral imaging modality. Central to this design is a new type of spectral filter array (SFA) based not on the notion of spatially multiplexing narrowband filters, but instead aimed at enabling single-shot Fourier transform spectroscopy. We refer to this new SFA pattern as Fourier SFA, and we prove that this design solves the problem of optimally sampling the hyperspectral image data.
The Capital Structure Decision Applied to Grading

One of the most fundamental concepts in corporate finance is the capital structure decision and the effects of leverage. In this paper, I illustrate a method for allowing corporate finance students to make a capital structure decision with real potential costs and benefits to their grade. This exercise provides an experience for students to carefully make the leverage and capital structure decision in advance of uncertain exam performance, similar to the way a firm decides its own capital structure in advance of uncertain revenues.
Towards an Integrated Microneedle Total Analysis Chip for Protein Detection

Real-time monitoring of an individual’s physiologic state without constant observation by a healthcare professional necessitates the construction of an autonomous remote diagnostic device that is capable of performing a wide range of diagnostic functions. For many applications, assessing the immediate physiologic state of an individual as he or she is continuously exposed to diverse environments would require complex dynamic chemical processing scenarios that are capable of real time readouts. We seek to answer these problems by combining in vivo microneedle platforms with multifunctional lab-on-chip electrode arrays that are capable of detecting a wide variety of relevant biomarkers. The results presented here provide an important proof-of-concept demonstration of integration of microneedles with a microchip platform containing fluidic channels and electrode transducers. As shown by immunoassay detection of myoglobin and troponin, such a device may be used to extract interstitial fluid and monitor biologically important molecules.