cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Higher Mushroom Consumption Is Associated with Lower Risk of Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

Mushrooms are rich in bioactive compounds. The potential health benefits associated with mushroom intake have gained recent research attention. We thus conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between mushroom intake and risk of cancer at any site. We searched MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library to identify relevant studies on mushroom intake and cancer published from 1 January, 1966, up to 31 October, 2020. Observational studies (n = 17) with RRs, HRs, or ORs and 95% CIs of cancer risk for ≥2 categories of mushroom intake were eligible for the present study. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted. Higher mushroom consumption was associated with lower risk of total cancer (pooled RR for the highest compared with the lowest consumption groups: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.55, 0.78; n = 17). Higher mushroom consumption was also associated with lower risk of breast cancer (pooled RR for the highest compared with the lowest consumption groups: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.52, 0.81; n = 10) and nonbreast cancer (pooled RR for the highest compared with the lowest consumption groups: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.66, 0.97; n = 13). When site-specific cancers were examined, a significant association with mushroom consumption was only observed with breast cancer; this could be due to the small number of studies that were conducted with other cancers. There was evidence of a significant nonlinear dose-response association between mushroom consumption and the risk of total cancer (P-nonlinearity = 0.001; n = 7). Limitations included the potential for recall and selection bias in case-control designs, which comprised 11 out of the 17 studies included in this meta-analysis, and the large variation in the adjustment factors used in the final models from each study. The association between higher mushroom consumption and lower risk of cancer, particularly breast cancer, may indicate a potential protective role for mushrooms in the diet.
Selectivity for water isotopologues within metal organic nanotubes

Through a combination of many analytical approaches, we show that a metal organic nanotube (UMON) displays selectivity for H2O over all types of heavy water (D2O, HDO, HTO). Water adsorption experiments combined with vibrational and radiochemical analyses reveal significant differences in uptake and suggest that surface adsorption processes may be a key driver in water uptake for this material.
Eccentric Gaze as a Possible Cause of “Zoom Fatigue”

Background The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a marked increase in the use of videoconferencing for social interaction. Many people report discomfort and disaffection with this modality, which has been labeled "Zoom Fatigue." Common videoconferencing hardware setups necessitate that if a user looks at the image of the person with whom they are in videoconference, they will not be looking directly at the camera and will appear to not be making direct eye contact. This study determined the minimum threshold of eccentric gaze in a videoconferencing setup above which subjects are perceived as not making direct eye contact by the majority of untrained observers. Methods Image captures were made of four subjects successively fixating at small increments eccentric to a video camera, both vertically and horizontally ranging from 0.9 degrees to 19 degrees of eccentricity. The images were embedded in separate Powerpoint files for each subject. Each file was assessed by seven graders who indicated whether or not they felt the subject was looking directly at them in each slide. Results The threshold for which 75% of the graders could detect that the subject was not looking at them ranged from only 2.7 degrees for horizontal eccentricity to 5.4 degrees for vertical eccentricity. Conclusion The hardware setups commonly used for videoconferencing result in persistent eccentric gaze of the participating individuals if they look at the image of the other participants. In theory, this could be a contributing cause of Zoom Fatigue.
AIDS and the Media: A Look at How Periodicals Influence Children and Teenagers in Their Knowledge of AIDS

Abstract The media have had a powerful impact in shaping the public's view of AIDS. Research on the media, however, has focused solely on media directed toward adults. Yet children and adolescents also are at risk for AIDS. The purpose of this study is to determine how magazines geared toward children and adolescents are reporting information about AIDS. Seventy-nine periodicals geared toward children and adolescents were identified, of which 13 had articles pertaining to AIDS. Forty-six articles from eight periodicals were used for the final analysis. Most articles provided only minimal information about AIDS. Very little information was given about prevention, transmission, and testing procedures. The articles did not provide a sufficient quantity and quality of information to prevent the spread of HIV.
Phosphatidyl choline-mediated inhibition of Streptococcus pneumoniae adherence to type II pneumocytes in vitro.

Abstract Nearly 80% of the adherence of several strains ofStreptococcus pneumoniaeto A549 lung cells was inhibited by dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC), as well as by the following mixtures of lipids: DMPC/globoside, DMPC/asialo GM-1 and DMPC/asialo GM-1/globoside liposomes. Control phosphatidylserine liposomes were ineffective at inhibiting bacterial adherence demonstrating the specificity of the interaction between bacteria and liposomes. FITC-labelled bacteria were shown to adhere directly to silica beads coated with DMPC. The proportion ofS. pneumoniaebacteria binding to DMPC-coated beads did not exceed 20% of the bacterial population as shown by the binding isotherm. This clearly demonstrates that only a fraction of the bacterial population (a subpopulation) was capable of binding to the beads. The specificity of bacterial binding to DMPC was further demonstrated by surface plasmon resonance. By this latter technique, the affinity between DMPC and bacteria was shown to be high and substantially non-reversible. Finally, we established that in order to be efficient at inhibiting bacterial binding to A549 cells the average liposome diameter must be greater than approximately 200 nm suggesting that a multivalent attachment of the bacterium to a liposome is required for high affinity binding.
Differences between fallers and non-fallers in the frail elderly

Falls, fall injuries, fear of falling, and difficulty rising from a fall are significant related problems for frail elders. This study used a multivariants analysis to study differences between frail elders reporting one or more falls in the past 5 years, and those reporting no falls. Of 392 subjects, 186 (47%) reported a fall. Subjects reporting falls were more physically disabled, used more devices designed for physical disabilities, had more home environmental problems and used less assistive devices for vision impairment. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.
The effects of auditory and visual interference on the immediate recall of melody

College-age subjects recalled melodies or spoken sentences immediately after hearing them, by either pointing on a chart designed to interfere with a visual memory code orsaying the equivalent responses, which should interfere with an auditory code. Pointing took significantly longer than saying for melodies, but not for sentences. A second experiment showed that this task x materials interaction could be due to interference with contour per se rather than with visual coding of melody, because a similar effect was found for spoken contours consisting simply of the words “up” or “down.” In a third experiment, pointing and saying tasks were modified both to control and to manipulate the amount of contour interference. Visual control stimuli for melodies were introduced, employing a marker that moved up or down. This time the task x materials interaction could be explained in terms of an auditory memory code for melody, but there were some problems with this interpretation. Interference related to contour, rather than to a specific modality, appeared to account best for the results of all three experiments.
Pioneer neurons in the mouse trigeminal sensory system.

Abstract Pioneer neurons establish preliminary nerve pathways that are followed by later-growing axons. The existence of pioneers and their importance is well documented in invertebrate systems. In mammals, early neuronal development has generally been difficult to study because of the size and complexity of the embryos, and the lack of adequate markers. Here we look at the time of earliest axonal outgrowth in the mouse embryo by using specific monoclonal antibodies to stain wholemount preparations. During the period of formation and closure of the neuropore beginning at embryonic day 8.5, we can follow the earliest trigeminal sensory neurons extending axons along stereotyped pathways. In the trigeminal ganglion, an early wave of neurogenesis gives rise to a small number of neurons whose axons pioneer the different trigeminal tracts in the periphery. After a brief pause (12 hr), these primary axons branch out to innervate individual targets. Emerging a day later, secondary fibers extend along the pioneers. By contrast, in the central nervous system, neurons of the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus extend toward the rhombencephalon independently, ignoring preexisting fibers. These results show the existence of an early set of axonal tracts in the mouse peripheral nervous system that may be used for the guidance of later-differentiating neurons.
School Choice: Money, Race, and Congressional Voting on Vouchers

Milton Friedman has suggested that the political power of the AmericanFederation of Teachers and the National Education Association (the twomajor teachers unions) has been instrumental in defeating the adoption ofeducational vouchers. We test this hypothesis.We find that a campaign contribution to a memberof the U.S. House of Representatives by either unionreduces the probability that also a Representative will vote for apro school choice amendment to the ``No Child Left Behind Act of2001.'' Also a Representative whose districthas a large African American population or who is Republicanis more likely to vote for vouchers.
Design and fundamental limitations of large-scale coherent dynamical networks

Networks of dynamical systems occur in diverse areas of engineering, such as distributed computation, automated vehicular formations, and power systems networks. We investigate the interplay between network coherence and the network's interconnection topology. In such networks, synchronization or more general coherence under stochastic uncertainty is an important measure of performance. For example, in power systems this notion corresponds to phase and frequency coherence of multiple generators (the lack of which may lead to so-called inter-area oscillations), while in vehicular formations this notion corresponds to how well vehicles are collectively tracking their commanded trajectories. We study abstractions of all of the above problems as distributed/cooperative control problems. We investigate the asymptotic limits of performance when network sizes become large as a function of the networks' topologies. This has important implications for the design of future highly-distributed-generation power networks, as well as large vehicular formation schemes such as those in proposed automated highway systems. This talk will specifically address the notion of network coherence under stochastic disturbances, and its dependence on network topology and various notions of network dimension. Regular lattices and fractal networks provide case studies with both integer and fractional dimension. We give asymptotic lower bounds on network disorder and show its dependence on both the complexity of individual node dynamics, as well as network dimension. It turns out that higher connectivity improves coherence, while more complex node dynamics can hinder it. However, in all cases there is a critical network dimension above which purely local interactions can lead to the emergence of global order. We outline the connections between these results and those on the statistical mechanics of harmonic solids. For future highly-distributed-generation power networks, we quantify the cost of synchronization in terms of resistive line losses due to the power flow needed to achieve this synchrony. We show that this cost scales unboundedly with the number of generators in the network and is independent of the underlying connection topology. This result is a further argument for the use of information communication rather than only power flows to enhance synchrony in such large networks.
Deoxynucleoside Induces Neuronal Apoptosis Independent of Neurotrophic Factors

Postmitotic sympathetic neurons are known to undergo a programmed cell death (apoptosis) when they are deprived of nerve growth factor (NGF) or treated with arabinofuranosyl nucleoside antimetabolites. Here we report the existence of a biochemical mechanism for the induction of neuronal death by an endogenous nucleoside in the presence of NGF. In support of such a mechanism we show that 2-deoxyadenosine (dAdo) induces apoptosis in chick embryonic sympathetic neurons supported in culture by NGF, excess K+, phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate, or forskolin. Neuronal death was related to a dramatic increase in the dATP content of sympathetic neurons exposed to dAdo (34.96 ± 5.98 versus 0.75 ± 0.16 pmol/μg protein in untreated controls, n = 9), implicating dATP in the toxicity. Supportive evidence for a central role of dATP was gained by inhibition of kinases necessary for phosphorylation of dAdo. 5′-Iodotubercidin in nanomolar concentrations completely and dose-dependently inhibited formation of dATP and also protected against toxicity of submillimolar concentrations of dAdo in sympathetic neurons. Although some of these actions of dAdo were remarkably similar to those reported for human lymphoid cells, several were uniquely different. For example, [3H]dAdo was not transported into neurons by the nucleoside transporter, and therefore inhibition of the transporter (dilazep, nitrobenzylthioinosine) did not prevent neurotoxicity by dAdo. Precursors of pyrimidine synthesis (2′-deoxycytidine, uridine) or NAD+ synthesis (nicotinamide) were ineffective in protecting sympathetic neurons against dAdo toxicity. Finally, inhibition of adenosine deaminase by deoxycoformycin or erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl) adenine did not potentiate the toxic effects of dAdo. Our results provide evidence for the first time that neuronal cells are as susceptible to nucleoside lethality as human lymphocytes are, and provide a new model to study the salvage pathway of deoxyribonucleosides in controlling neuronal populations through programmed cell death.
Port-Site Metastases is an Independent Prognostic Factor in Patients with Peritoneal Carcinomatosis

Port-site metastases (PSMs) have been reported after laparoscopy in patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). We hypothesize that PSM is an independent negative predicting factor of survival in patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC). A retrospective review of a prospective database was conducted to search patients who underwent laparoscopy prior to CRS/HIPEC. Most of the tumors were of appendiceal origin. All previous laparoscopy port sites were excised regardless of macroscopic tumor involvement. Patients were divided into two groups: patients with PSM [PSM (+)] and patients without PSM [PSM (−)]. Overall survival (OS) was estimated by Kaplan–Meier curves and the log-rank test. Cox regression [hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs)] was used to test for independent effects of the PSM (+) and the associated clinicopathological variables. Sixty-five patients had laparoscopy before CRS/HIPEC. One hundred and forty-four port-sites were resected; 41 (29 %) ports were positive for malignancy in a total of 22 (34 %) patients. Mean OS at 1, 3, and 5 years was 88, 66, and 63 %, respectively. Survival in patients with PSM was 73, 35, and 23 %, respectively, compared with 95, 82, and 82 %, respectively, in patients without PSM (p ≤ 0.001). Positive lymph nodes (LNs) were detected in 13/22 patients with PSM and 11/43 patients without PSM. Independent effects on survival shows an HR of 3.136, 95 % CI 1.150–8.549 (p = 0.026) for LN metastases, and an HR of 3.462, 95 % CI 1.198–10.006 (p = 0.022) in patients with positive PSM. PSMs are common in patients with PC undergoing CRS/HIPEC and are independently associated with a worse prognosis. Resection of previous laparoscopy port sites is advocated in patients with PC to ensure complete cytoreduction.
Predatory intent under uncertainty

Current analyses of predatory behavior neglect uncertainty. Its presence complicates a firm's evaluation of profits and risks associated with various pricing strategies. Using a price leadership model (with the supply of the competitive fringe not known in advance), we show that a risk averse dominant firm will price lower than the price which maximizes expected profits. Such behavior could be misconstrued as being predatory if marginal and average variable cost rules are used for establishing the proof of predation.
Fully plastic center-cracked strip under anti-plane shear☆

Abstract The problem of a center-cracked strip subjected to uniform remote anti-plane shear stress is transformed to a problem in a hodograph plane which is solved exactly by Mellin transform and Wiener-Hopf technique. The material of the strip satisfies a pure power hardening stress strain relation and the results are valid for both deformation and flow theories of placticity. Numerical values are given for the crack opening displacement δ and Rice's path independent J integral for several values of the power hardening exponent n and crack width to strip width ratios. Approximate asymptotic formulas are presented for J and δ for large n .
The influence of tetrahydrofuran treatment on hydrogen storage properties of the magnesium

The hydriding and dehydriding properties of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) treated magnesium, along with its electronic energy states, crystalline structure and micro morphology have been investigated. The THF treated magnesium absorbs 6.3 wt% hydrogen at 723 K and 3.5 MPa. After hydrogenation, in addition to the expected hydride MgH2, a new less-stable hydride phase appears at 673 K, but not at a lower temperature. Desorption produces 5.5 wt% hydrogen at 723 K against a back-pressure of 1.3 Pa after 20 cycles of hydriding–dehydriding. The THF treatment improves the kinetics of hydrogen absorption and desorption. The THF treated Mg exhibited reasonable reaction rates with hydrogen at 623 K. XPS (X-ray Photo-electron Spectroscopy) studies show that THF treatment causes the electronic energy state of the magnesium atoms to shift, but the XRD (X-Ray Diffractometer) studies show the crystal structure remains unchanged. It is believed that the chemical state of magnesium surface is activated by THF treatment in favor of hydrogen absorption and desorption. Metallographic observation of the magnesium hydrides reveals some interesting features during hydrogenation.
Firm- and Drug-Specific Patterns of Generic Drug Payments by US Medicaid Programs: 1991–2008

The entry of generic drugs into markets previously monopolized by patented, branded drugs often represents large potential savings for healthcare payers in the USA. Our objectives were to describe and explain the trends in drug reimbursement by public Medicaid programmes post-generic entry for as many drug markets and for as long a time period as possible. The data were the Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Quarterly utilization and expenditure data from 1991 to 2008 were extracted for 83 drugs, produced by 229 firms, that experienced initial generic entry between 1992 and 2004. A relative ‘price’ for a specific drug, firm and quarter was constructed as Medicaid reimbursement per unit (e.g. tablet, capsule or vial) divided by average reimbursement per unit for the branded drug the year before entry. Fixed-effects models controlling for time-, firm- and drug-specific differences were estimated to explain reimbursement. Twelve quarters after generic entry, 18 % of drugs had average per-unit reimbursement less than 50 % of the original branded-drug reimbursement. For each additional firm manufacturing the drug, reimbursement per unit, relative to the pre-generic-entry branded-drug reimbursement, was estimated to fall by 17 (p < 0.01) and 3 (p < 0.01) percentage points for generic and branded-drug companies, respectively. Each additional quarter post-generic entry brought a 2 (p < 0.01) percentage point drop in relative reimbursement. State Medicaid programmes generally have been able to obtain relief from high drug prices following patent expirations for many branded-drug medications by adjusting reimbursement following the expanded competition in the pharmaceutical market.
The antagonistic effects of estrogen and progesterone on the staircase phenomenon in uterine muscle.

THE “staircase” phenomenon is well known to be exhibited by cardiac muscle, but has not been established as characteristic of smooth muscle. As the present paper will demonstrate, the staircase phenomenon readily occurs in experiments on rabbit uterine muscle. Its occurrence has a certain uniformity if the muscle is taken from animals that are in similar condition with respect to the ovarian hormones. If, however, the hormonal status of the animal is varied, the form of the staircase is altered in a way highly characteristic of the dominant ovarian hormone. Unlike earlier studies on the staircase phenomenon our experiments have utilized isometric rather than isotonic recording, inasmuch as the former method has been shown to yield more accurate quantitative results (Hajdu and Szent-Gyorgyi, 1952). The contractions were not only elicited, as in previous studies, by a series of stimuli at constant frequency after a period of rest, but also by varying the frequency of stimulation in a steady state (Dale, 1932).
Leukemic relapse presenting as sciatic nerve involvement by chloroma (granulocytic sarcoma)

A relapse of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia in a child presented as subacute mononeuropathy involving the sciatic nerve. Surgical exploration showed a chloroma (granulocytic sarcoma) of the distal sciatic nerve, but resection and irradiation did not lead to recovery of nerve function or complete resolution of the patient's symptomatic neuropathic pain. This case represents a rare neurologic complication of what is currently an uncommon presentation for leukemic relapse, and may be the only reported case of chloromatous involvement of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) without coexisting epidural or leptomeningeal leukemia.
Crystallization Kinetics and Excess Free Energy of H2O and D2O Nanoscale Films of Amorphous Solid Water

Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) are used to investigate the crystallization kinetics and measure the excess free energy of metastable amorphous solid water films (ASW) of H(2)O and D(2)O grown using molecular beams. The desorption rates from the amorphous and crystalline phases of ASW are distinct, and as such, crystallization manifests can be observed in the TPD spectrum. The crystallization kinetics were studied by varying the TPD heating rate from 0.001 to 3 K/s. A coupled desorption-crystallization kinetic model accurately simulates the desorption spectra and accurately predicts the observed temperature shifts in the crystallization. Isothermal crystallization studies using RAIRS are in agreement with the TPD results. Furthermore, highly sensitive measurements of the desorption rates were used to determine the excess free energy of ASW near 150 K. The excess entropy obtained from these data is consistent with there being a thermodynamic continuity between ASW and supercooled liquid water.
Emergency medicine in Eritrea: rebuilding after a 30-year war of independence.

Abstract Eritrea became a member of the United Nations in 1993, after a devestating 30-year war of independence with Ethiopia. Although Eritrea suffers from many of the problems beset by the developing world, the people are determined to rebuild their country. Emergency medical care and emergency services are in their infancy, yet the signs of progress are already visible in the capital city of Asmara. This report describes the current state of the prehospital system and emergency medical care in Eritrea.
Synthesis and Langmuir-Blodgett film properties of some bifunctional TTF derivatives

Abstract Three new tetra-substituted derivatives of the good one-electron donor tetrathiafulvalene (TTF, 1 ), namely, an asymmetrical diacid with two hexadecylthio groups (TTF(SC 16 ) 2 (SCH 2 CO 2 H) 2 , 3 ), an asymmetrical diester with two hexadecylthio groups (TTF(SC 16 ) 2 (SCH 2 CO 2 Me) 2 , 4 ) and a symmetrical derivative with four hexadecylthio groups (TTF(SC 16 ) 4 , 11 ), have been prepared. These yield stable ‘Pockels-Langmuir’ (PL) monolayers at the air/water interface; some transfer well to a solid support as Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films, when the strong electron acceptor 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQF 4 ) is also added to the air/water interface. However, TCNQF 4 does not transfer onto the LB films. Iodine doping of LB multilayers of 4 yields moderate in-plane conductivity.
Comparative Biology of Calcium Signaling during Fertilization and Egg Activation in Animals

During animal fertilizations, each oocyte or egg must produce a proper intracellular calcium signal for development to proceed normally. As a supplement to recent synopses of fertilization-induced calcium responses in mammals, this paper reviews the spatiotemporal properties of calcium signaling during fertilization and egg activation in marine invertebrates and compares these patterns with what has been reported for other animals. Based on the current database, fertilization causes most oocytes or eggs to generate multiple wavelike calcium oscillations that arise at least in part from the release of internal calcium stores sensitive to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3). Such calcium waves are modulated by upstream pathways involving oolemmal receptors and/or soluble sperm factors and in turn regulate calcium-sensitive targets required for subsequent development. Both "protostome" animals (e.g., mollusks, annelids, and arthropods) and "deuterostomes" (e.g., echinoderms and chordates) display fertilization-induced calcium waves, IP3-mediated calcium signaling, and the ability to use a combination of external calcium influx and internal calcium release. Such findings fail to support the dichotomy in calcium signaling modes that had previously been proposed for protostomes vs deuterostomes and instead suggest that various features of fertilization-induced calcium signals are widely shared throughout the animal kingdom.
Hepatitis C virus RNA codes for proteins and replicates: does it also trigger the interferon response?

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a positive sense virus with a genomic RNA molecule roughly 9,600 nucleotides in length. The single-stranded genomic RNA has a nontranslated region (NTR) at each end and a long open reading frame (coding region) in between. The 5′NTR and portions of the 3′NTR are the most conserved parts of HCV RNA. These conserved regions contain signals for replication and translation. Much of the 5′NTR is folded into a structure that binds ribosomes. This structure, an internal ribosome entry site, promotes the initiation of protein synthesis and is critical for HCV gene expression. The ribosome binding site may extend into the coding region; its exact boundaries are not known. The open reading frame encodes the HCV polyprotein, which is slightly more than 3,000 amino acids in length. The 3′NTR plays a key role in HCV replication and may also influence the rate of HCV protein synthesis. During replication, the genomic RNA is copied by virally encoded enzymes into a complementary antigenomic RNA, which itself is a template for the synthesis of progeny RNAs. At steady state, genomic strands outnumber antigenomic strands about 10 to 1. HCV RNA replication is thought to take place in the cytoplasm and is an error-prone process. It generates a mixed population of RNA sequences (quasispecies), including mutants that may be more fit than the parental type, less fit, or equally fit (but distinct). Natural selection acts upon the progeny RNAs, causing the population to change and drift. Over time, mutation, selection, and population bottlenecks led to the evolution of varied genotypes. The HCV replication complex is a potential source of double-stranded RNA, a powerful inducer of interferon. Thus, HCV-specific double-stranded RNA may trigger the first steps of innate immunity; however, for unknown reasons, the immune system often fails to clear the infection. The plasticity of the HCV genome and the low level of HCV gene expression may counterbalance any immunostimulatory effects of HCV RNA and allow the virus to escape specific immune responses. Antisense drugs and ribozymes directed against HCV RNA are under investigation. Future interventions may include nucleic acid drugs (antisense and ribozymes) and smaller pharmaceuticals that bind to intricate structures in HCV RNA and HCV-specific double-stranded RNA. Infectious clones of HCV RNA are available. These clones and other systems for expressing HCV proteins pave the way for vaccine development.
Prescription and management of contact lenses in patients with monocular visual impairment

Abstract Purpose Contact lens correction for refractive error in patients with monocular visual impairment may be desirable. However, the potential for damage to the sound eye must always be considered in such patients. This report outlines the prescription and management of contact lens wear in a monocular patient. The case report is followed by a discussion of the risks of vision loss associated with contact lens wear. Case report The author conducted a clinical interview, refraction, ocular examination, and contact lens evaluation of a 38-year-old female patient who had undergone a lensectomy in her right eye and the enucleation of her left eye. The patient presented wearing a conventional aphakic hydrogel contact lens in her right eye. She routinely wore her contact lens for up to 16 hours daily and occasionally slept while wearing it. Best-corrected spectacle acuity was 20/40-2 with +13.75 diopter sphere in her right eye. Clinical examination showed 3 to 4 mm of well-perfused neovascularization with associated pannus in the superior quadrant of her cornea and 1 to 2 mm of peripheral neovascularization in the remainder of the cornea. She was refit with a 2-week replacement hydrogel contact lens that partially corrected her refractive error, and she was encouraged to wear polycarbonate spectacles full time for the remainder of her refractive correction and for protection of the right eye. Conclusions Monocularly impaired patients who choose to wear contact lenses for the correction of refractive error should be aware of the risk of potentially sight-threatening contact lens complications. The importance of meticulous hygiene and appropriate contact lens wearing schedules should be emphasized with monocular patients. They should also be encouraged to wear the appropriate spectacle correction to reduce the risk of injury to their sound eyes.
A Robotic System for Real-Time Resin Flow Modification During Vacuum-Assisted Resin Transfer Molding

To complement existing resin flow control strategies currently under development for Vacuum-Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM), and to provide the ability to react to unexpected changes in resin behavior during injection, a new technique for resin flow manipulation has been investigated. This approach consists of a semi-cylindrical shaped vacuum chamber placed on a mold which, when evacuated, increases the permeability of the region under the chamber by lifting the bag atop the mold. A finite element model has been developed to predict the resin flow within the mold while using the external chamber. Laboratory testing has shown significant modification in resin flow with reduced injection time. Using the external chamber, a robotic system has been prototyped that identifies dry regions forming during injection via computer vision, deploys the vacuum chamber over the mold with a robotic arm, and actuates the chamber in order to modify and correct the resin flow within the mold. Test results using lab-scale molds with large variations in preform permeabilities indicate that the robotic system can correct and/or modify the resin flow within a mold in real time, thus eliminating dry, unimpregnated regions. This computer-based method has the potential to significantly enhance molded part quality and consistency by eliminating resin starved regions within a molded composite part.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
N-face GaN/AlN/GaN/InAlN and GaN/AlN/AlGaN/GaN/InAlN high-electron-mobility transistor structures grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on vicinal substrates

Since on-axis GaN-on-sapphire substrates with low threading dislocation density are not available in the N-face orientation, we explored the growth of InAlN on vicinal (4° miscut along GaN GaN-on-sapphire substrates. The microstructure of In0.18Al0.82N layers grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy at different temperatures was studied using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The cross-sectional and plan-view STEM images revealed lateral variations in the InAlN composition along (perpendicular to the step edges). Also, step bunching was observed in InAlN layers thicker than 10 nm. N-face high-electron-mobility transistor structures with lattice-matched InAlN backbarriers were then grown on these vicinal substrates with different InAlN thicknesses. Transmission line measurements showed that step bunching and lateral variation of InAlN composition degraded the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) mobility in the directions parallel and perpendicular to the steps. A 2DEG charge density of 1.1 × 1013 cm−2 and mobility of 1850 cm2 V−1 s−1 were achieved on a GaN/AlN/InAlN/GaN structure with 7.5 nm thick In0.18Al0.82N. By designing a double backbarrier (In0.18Al0.82N(7.5 nm)/Al0.57Ga0.43N(7 nm)), a 2DEG charge density of 2 × 1013 cm−2 and mobility of 1360 cm2 V−1 s−1 were attained, which resulted in a sheet resistance of 230 Ω/.
Bifid epiglottis syndrome

True bifid epiglottis is an extremely rare laryngeal anomaly, which usually presents in the neonate with symptoms of aspiration and/or airway obstruction. Management is generally supportive observation as the symptoms lessen with age, but rarely tracheotomy is required for airway obstruction. Bifid epiglottis occurs in a syndromic picture with associated anomalies, especially polydactyly, cleft palate and retro/micrognathia but a significant number will have endocrine, gastrointestinal and genitourinary abnormalities. A case of true bifid epiglottis is presented and the literature is reviewed on the subject.
Nuclease-containing media for resettable operation of DNA logic gates

We designed and tested a system that allows DNA logic gates to respond multiple times to the addition of oligonucleotide inputs. After producing an output signal, the system spontaneously resets to the background state. This system does not require any operator action to achieve reset of a DNA logic gate, and may become useful for construction of reusable DNA-based computational devices.
A study on switching voice traffic seamlessly between GSM and GPRS cellular networks

As cellular carriers start deploying packet data services such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and 3G cellular networks, packet-switched voice services such as VoIP will be available over the cellular network in the near future. When the existing circuit-switched radio interface and the newly deployed packet-switched radio interface coexist in a cell, the mobile station user may have an option between the circuit-switched call and the VoIP call. While the circuit-switched voice offers a better call quality, the VoIP connection offers a better radio resource utilization. In this paper, we introduce dynamic QoS control schemes for voice traffic, where Class-A GPRS mobile station users can switch their ongoing GSM calls to VoIP calls and vice versa seamlessly in the SIP-enabled GSM/GPRS cellular network based on their desired quality of service. Due to the VoIP's less radio resource demand, these schemes can also be used by the base station controller to handle the dynamically changing load in a cell.
Policy Discourses and U.S. Language in Education Policies

Language in education policy for English language learners in the United States has varied significantly over time and has been shaped by policy discourses that could broadly be described as assimilationist (monolingual) and pluralist (multilingual) views of the role of linguistic and cultural diversity in schools. This article outlines the main arguments underlying these discourses, situating them as distinctly different societal conversations rather than mere opposites. Both discourses have historically been reflected in U.S. language policies at different times with different dimensions being highlighted within each discourse. At present time, the dominance of monolingual discourses is clear, although pluralistic spaces continue to resist monolingual trends. The article concludes with the need for constructing more pluralist discourses and proposes a framework that advocates for policies and practices that affirm cultural identities, promote additive multilingual learning environments, and support an i...
OSTP gets acting director

Amid rumors that the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) will be abolished, President Reagan appointed Benjamin Huberman as acting director, effective March 5. Although the size and shape of the science policy office and the influence it will have under the Reagan administration are undetermined, rumors that the office will be abolished should be discounted, an OSTP official said. The search for a full-time, permanent director is underway, according to a White House official. He added that the new administration seems to be looking for someone from industry.
Cryo-immunization. The cold propagation in the target tissue and the resulting volume of the lesion.

Abstract The factors influencing the effectiveness of destructive cryosurgical techniques are reviewed. From thermal measurements performed during cooling-rewarming procedures on living experimental models, predictions are made of the volume that the lesions will have. Attempts to correlate these predictions with macroscopic damage observed with the help of vital dyeing techniques are also made. Finally, the usefulness of such freezing-damaging techniques in cryo-immunology is exemplified.
Predicting forecast errors through joint observation of earnings and revenue forecasts

Abstract We propose a simple method to infer the forecast error associated with quarterly estimates of earnings and revenue before the firm announces realized earnings and revenue. The method uses estimates of the profit margin implied by an analyst’s forecasts of both earnings and revenue to identify forecasts that are likely to be optimistic or pessimistic. The ability to anticipate forecast error permits a trading strategy that exploits the average market reaction following positive and negative earnings and revenue surprises.
CPS 768 Formation of anisotropic ice-agar composites by directional freezing

Aqueous agar gels were directionally frozen in a temperature gradient of 10 °C/ cm at rates between 8.8×10−5 cm/sec and 8.8×10−4 cm/sec to form highly anisotropic ice-agar composites. Observations of the vitrified agar domains which were localized at the ice grain boundaries were made and the ice domain size was measured as a function of the solidifying conditions. The segregation of the noncrystalline agar was dominated by the vitrification character of the agar gel. Thermal analysis indicated that ice crystallization rate decreased to a negligible level as the water content of the gel decreased to approximately 50 percent by weight agar.
An 8-bit FLUX-1 RSFQ microprocessor built in 1.75-/μm technology

Abstract This paper presents the first single-chip superconductor FLUX-1 microprocessor designed in the rapid single flux quantum logic and fabricated using 4 kA/cm2, 1.75-μm Nb/AlOx/Nb Josephson junction (JJ) technology as a result of the collaboration between SUNY Stony Brook and TRW, Inc. A FLUX-1 chip represents an 8-bit microprocessor with a parallel architecture and a target clock frequency of 17–20 GHz. It includes the pipelined instruction memory, 8 integer arithmetic-logic units interleaved with eight registers, the branch unit, and I/O ports for 5-GHz chip-to-chip communication over Nb microstrip lines on a multi-chip module carrier. The FLUX-1 instruction set consists of ∼25 arithmetic, logical, and control instructions. A FLUX-1 microprocessor chip contains 65,759 JJs on a 10.6×13.2 mm 2 die with flip-chip packaging. First FLUX-1 chips fabricated in August 2001 are currently under testing at TRW, Inc.
Improving Recall in a Person With Dementia: Investigating the Effectiveness of Memory Priming and Spaced Retrieval in an Older Adult With Dementia

Because it is often perceived that individuals with dementia cannot relearn information that has been forgotten, few nonpharmacological memory-enhancing interventions have been developed for this p...
Recognising and Locating Partially Visible Objects: The Local-Feature-Focus Method

A new method of locating partially visible two-dimensional objects is presented. The method is applicable to complex industrial parts that may contain several occurrences of local features, such as holes and corners. The matching process utilises clusters of mutually consistent features to hypothesise objects, also uses templates of the objects to verify these hypotheses. The technique is fast because it concentrates on key features that are automatically selected on the basis of a detailed analysis of CAD-type models of the objects. The automatic analysis applies general-purpose routines for building and analysing representations of clusters of local features that could be used in procedures to select features for other locational strategies. These routines include algorithms to compute the rotational and mirror symmetries of objects in terms of their local features.
Kinetic parameter estimation from SPECT cone-beam projection measurements

Kinetic parameters are commonly estimated from dynamically acquired nuclear medicine data by first reconstructing a dynamic sequence of images and subsequently fitting the parameters to time-activity curves generated from regions of interest overlaid upon the image sequence. Biased estimates can result from images reconstructed using inconsistent projections of a time-varying distribution of radiopharmaceutical acquired by a rotating SPECT system. If the SPECT data are acquired using cone-beam collimators wherein the gantry rotates so that the focal point of the collimators always remains in a plane, additional biases can arise from images reconstructed using insufficient, as well as truncated, projection samples. To overcome these problems we have investigated the estimation of kinetic parameters directly from SPECT cone-beam projection data by modelling the data acquisition process. To accomplish this it was necessary to parametrize the spatial and temporal distribution of the radiopharmaceutical within the SPECT field of view. In a simulated chest image volume, kinetic parameters were estimated for simple one-compartment models for four myocardial regions of interest. Myocardial uptake and washout parameters estimated by conventional analysis of noiseless simulated cone-beam data had biases ranging between 3-26% and 0-28%, respectively. Parameters estimated directly from the noiseless projection data were unbiased as expected, since the model used for fitting was faithful to the simulation. Statistical uncertainties of parameter estimates for 10 000 000 events ranged between 0.2-9% for the uptake parameters and between 0.3-6% for the washout parameters.
Far-Red Light Affects Photosynthate Allocation and Yield of Tomato over Red Mulch

Plastic mulches are frequently used by both large- and small-scale tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Miller) growers to conserve water, control weeds, and keep fruit clean. We hypothesized that changing mulch color to reflect more red light (R) and a higher far-red (FR) to R photon ratio (FR/R) would keep those benefits and improve tomato yield by altering phytochrome-mediated regulation of photosynthate allocation. Photodegradable and nondegradable forms of red plastic mulch were developed to our specifications. Number, size, and total fruit produced over the red plastic mulches were compared with those over standard black plastic. Photodegradable red mulch (placed over a layer of black plastic) increased fruit yield while it was intact, but yield dropped to that of the black control after the red plastic degraded. Nondegradable red plastic resulted in greater yield. Early crop yield advantage of red mulch was evident whether it was placed directly over soil or over a layer of black plastic. We conclude that increased tomato yield over the new red plastic mulch was caused by reflection of FR to the growing plants and its subsequent phytochrome-mediated regulation of photosynthate allocation to developing fruit.
Antennular chemosensitivity in the Spiny lobster, panulirus argus: Amino acids as feeding stimuli

Antennular chemosensitivity in the spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, to extract of the pink shrimp, Penaeus duorarum is based on extract components of less than 1,000 molecular weight. Amino acids account for a major part, but not all, of the extract's capacity to stimulate antennular receptors. Taurine is the most stimulatory of the amino acids comprising P. duorarum extract, although no single amino acid accounts for the amino acid fraction's stimulatory potential.
Workshop on the qualitative and quantitative comparability of human and animal developmental neurotoxicity: Summary and implications☆

Abstract The Workshop on the Qualitative and Quantitative Comparability of Human and Animal Developmental Neurotoxicity was convened by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to address issues related to when testing should be required, what test methodologies should be required, and how the data should be interpreted and applied to the risk assessment process. The background material for Work Group discussions included presentations made at the Workshop by invited experts summarizing qualitative and quantitative human and experimental animals data on specific chemicals or classes of chemicals and EPA's proposed developmental neurotoxicity testing protocol. This overview: 1) summarizes the qualitative comparisons presented at the Workshop and attempts to make some quantitative comparisons of findings across mammalian species following exposure to developmental neurotoxicants, 2) brings the common themes that were discussed among the Work Groups together into a regulatory perspective, 3) provides a status report on EPA's developmental neurotoxicity protocol, and 4) identifies research needs in the development of test methodologies and improvement of risk assessments for developmental neurotoxicants.