cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Corrigendum to ''Genetic characterization of a human isolate of Puumala hantavirus from France'' (Virus Research 38 (1995) 279-289)

a Special Pathogens Branch, Di ision of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Pre ention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA b Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido Uni ersity, Sapporo 060, Japan c Centre National de Reference pour les Fie res Hemorragiques Virales, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Dr. Roux, 75015 Paris, France
High-resolution esophageal manometry: using technical advances for clinical advantages.

Background High-resolution manometry (HRM) is a new technique to investigate the motor function of the esophagus. It differs from conventional manometry in recording pressures by solid state microtransducers at 12 points around the circumference at every centimeter of esophageal length, and displaying the data in pseudo-three-dimensional format using a topographic plot, where esophageal pressures within a given range are represented by different colors.
Development and Initial Psychometric Assessment of the Reasons for Pretending Orgasm Inventory

Research suggests that women pretend orgasm with their partner as a mate retention strategy, but the cognitive reasons behind this deception are not well known. To explore women's cognitive reasons for pretending orgasm, we first assembled a list of the reasons women report for pretending orgasm. We refined this list using independent data collected on performance frequencies for each item, followed by a principal components analysis, to generate the Reasons for Pretending Orgasm Inventory (RPOI). We found three components encompassing the cognitive reasons women pretend orgasm: Improve Partner's Experience (i.e., increasing the quality of the sexual experience for the partner), Deception and Manipulation (i.e., deceiving the partner or manipulating his perceptions for other gains), and Hiding Sexual Disinterest (i.e., sparing the partner's feelings about the woman's lack of sexual excitement). Discussion highlights limitations of this research and the RPOI, but suggests that the RPOI is useful as a structured means for assessing women's reasons for pretending orgasm.
Input-Feature Correlated Asynchronous Analog to Information Converter for ECG Monitoring

This paper illustrates an architectural design of a novel variable input-feature correlated asynchronous sampling and time-encoded digitization approach for source compression and direct feature extraction from physiological signals. The complete architecture represents an analog-to-information (A2I) converter, designed for ultra-low-power mixed-signal very-large-scale integrated implementation. The device will be suitable for long-term wearable monitoring of physiological signals, such as electrocardiogram (ECG). We show representative case studies on QRS detection in an ECG signal utilizing the proposed A2I converter to prove the functionality of the design. Simulation results show large source compression in the ECG signal and more than 98% efficiency in the detection of the Q, R, and S waves for challenging ECG waveforms, all with extremely low-power and storage requirements.
Photonic bandgaps and resonators in the one-stage Sierpinski gasket basis

This paper discusses theoretical calculations of photonic bandgaps found in the one-stage Sierpinski gasket basis in the hexagonal lattice. Dielectric triangles and cylinders as well as air triangles and cylinders are investigated. All of these structures exhibited complete bandgaps, with the largest complete gap having 6.1% fractional width. The largest TE and TM polarization gaps were 23% and 40% fractional width, respectively. Resonators constructed from these crystals with a Q ten to 2000 times greater than resonators constructed using one cylinder in the hex lattice are demonstrated.
Commentary on: Contraceptive Vaginal Rings: Do They Pose an Increased Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Aesthetic Surgery?

I congratulate the authors on their article entitled “Contraceptive Vaginal Rings: Do They Pose an Increased Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Aesthetic Surgery?” in this issue of Aesthetic Surgery Journal .1 The article is a case series of two aesthetic surgery patients with postoperative venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the setting of vaginal contraceptive ring use. Multiple studies have associated high-estrogen states (either exogenously delivered or from pregnancy) with increased VTE risk.2-4 Vaginal contraceptive rings are, by their nature, designed to be convenient and discreet. Both women in this case series denied contraceptive use at their preoperative visits. The ring device is replaced monthly, and thus it is plausible that the patients simply forgot that the device was present. In addition, patients may report oral or injected medications to their physician, but may not report implanted devices. As over 18 000 women in the United States currently have vaginal contraceptive rings in place, the author's suggestion that surgeons specifically query for these devices seems imminently reasonable. This study should in no …
Modeling micro-end-milling operations. Part II: tool run-out

The effect of run-out is clearly noticed in micro-end-milling operations, while the same run-out creates negligible change at the cutting force profile of conventional end-milling operations. In this paper, the cutting force characteristics of micro-end-milling operations with tool run-out are investigated. An analytical cutting force model is developed for micro-end-milling operations with tool run-out. The proposed model has a compact set of expressions to be able to estimate the cutting force characteristics very quickly compared to the numerical approaches. The cutting forces of micro-end-milling operations simulated by the proposed model had good agreement with the experimental data.
Physical Processes in Comets

The paper discusses physical processes in comets which involve solar and nuclear radial forces that affect the motions of gases and icy grains, gas-phase chemistry very close to the nuclei of large comets near the sun, sublimation of icy grains, dissociation of parent molecules into radicals and of radicals into atoms, and ionization by sunlight and collisions. The composition and dimensions of nuclei are examined along with variations in intrinsic brightness, the nature of volatiles, gas production rates in the coma, characteristics of icy grains in the coma, and the structure of streamers, ion tails, and dust tails. The structure of the coma is described in detail on the basis of spectroscopic observations of several comets. The origin of comets is briefly reviewed together with the relation of comets to earth, the interplanetary complex, and the interstellar medium. Desirable future observations are noted, especially by space missions to comets.
(±)-trans-1,2,3,4,4a,9a-Hexahydroanthrone

The title compound, C14H16O, is largely flat and rigid, with near coplanarity between the ketone and the aromatic ring. The packing includes two inter­molecular C—H⋯O=C close contacts.
Enhancing Pathway Based Analysis Using Different Weighting Schemes

In this paper, we propose to apply non-uniform weighs to the genes in the pathway based analysis and present two weighting schemes for the genes in pathway. Specifically, we incorporate our weighting schemes into the global test pathway based analysis approach and investigate the effects of our weighting schemes. We observe that when non-uniform weights are applied, some originally lower ranked pathways are elevated to the high ranks, prediction performances of the selected genes are improved, and some genes associated with the related phenotype are identified, which are missed by uniform weighting approach.
Limitations of wind extraction from 4D-Var assimilation of ozone

Abstract. Time-dependent variational data assimilation allows the possibility of extracting wind information from observations of ozone or other trace gases. Since trace gas observations are not available at sufficient resolution for deriving feature-track winds, they must be combined with model background information to produce an analysis. If done with time-dependent variational assimilation, wind information may be extracted via the adjoint of the linearized tracer continuity equation. This paper presents idealized experiments that illustrate the mechanics of tracer–wind extraction and demonstrate some of the limitations of this procedure. We first examine tracer–wind extraction using a simple one-dimensional advection equation. The analytic solution for a single trace gas observation is discussed along with numerical solutions for multiple observations. The limitations of tracer–wind extraction are then explored using highly idealized ozone experiments performed with a development version of the Navy Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM) in which globally distributed hourly stratospheric ozone profiles are assimilated in a single 6 h update cycle in January 2009. Starting with perfect background ozone conditions, but imperfect dynamical conditions, ozone errors develop over the 6 h background window. Wind increments are introduced in the analysis in order to reduce the differences between background ozone and ozone observations. For "perfect" observations (unbiased and no random error), this results in root-mean-square (RMS) vector wind error reductions of up to ~4 m s −1 in the winter hemisphere and tropics. Wind extraction is more difficult in the summer hemisphere due to weak ozone gradients and smaller background wind errors. The limitations of wind extraction are also explored for observations with imposed random errors and for limited sampling patterns. As expected, the amount of wind information extracted degrades as observation errors or data voids increase. In the case of poorly specified observation error covariances, assimilation of ozone data with imposed errors may result in increased RMS wind error, since the assimilation is constrained too tightly to the noisy observations.
Chiral Lagrangian of pseudoscalars and vectors

We formulate a parity-invariant chiral Lagrangian which includes nonlinearly transforming vector mesons but no axial-vector mesons. It is gotten by a simple substitution from the Lagrangian involving a linearly transforming vector and axial-vector multiplet. This feature makes it easy to apply in the case when a gauged Wess-Zumino term is present, and we discuss the prototype anomalous strong decay \ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}3\ensuremath{\pi}. .AE
Designing fuzzy net controllers using genetic algorithms

As control system tasks become more demanding, more robust controller design methodologies are needed. A genetic algorithm (GA) optimizer, which utilizes natural evolution strategies, offers a promising technology that supports optimization of the parameters of fuzzy logic and other parameterized nonlinear controllers. This article shows how GAs can effectively and efficiently optimize the performance of fuzzy net controllers employing high performance simulation to reduce the design cycle time from hours to minutes. Our results demonstrate the robustness of a GA-based computer-aided system design methodology for rapid prototyping of control systems. >
Binomial regression with a misclassified covariate and outcome.

Misclassification occurring in either outcome variables or categorical covariates or both is a common issue in medical science. It leads to biased results and distorted disease–exposure relationships. Moreover, it is often of clinical interest to obtain the estimates of sensitivity and specificity of some diagnostic methods even when neither gold standard nor prior knowledge about the parameters exists. We present a novel Bayesian approach in binomial regression when both the outcome variable and one binary covariate are subject to misclassification. Extensive simulation results under various scenarios and a real clinical example are given to illustrate the proposed approach. This approach is motivated and applied to a dataset from the Baylor Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center.
Shear viscosity from kaon condensation in color-flavor-locked quark matter

We calculate the kaonic contribution to the shear viscosity of quark matter in the kaon-condensed color-flavor-locked phase (CFL-K0). This contribution comes from a light pseudo-Goldstone boson that arises from the spontaneous breaking of the flavor symmetry by the kaon condensate. The other contribution, from the exactly massless superfluid ``phonon,'' has been calculated previously. We specialize to a particular form of the interaction Lagrangian, parameterized by a single coupling. We find that if we make reasonable guesses for the values of the parameters of the effective theory, the kaons have a much smaller shear viscosity than the superfluid phonons but also a much shorter mean free path, so they could easily provide the dominant contribution to the shear viscosity of CFL-K0 quark matter in a neutron star in the temperature range $0.01$ to $1$ MeV (${10}^{8}$ to ${10}^{10}$ K).
Cysteine-rich protein 1 (CRP1) regulates actin filament bundling

Cysteine-rich protein 1 (CRP1) is a LIM domain containing protein localized to the nucleus and the actin cytoskeleton. CRP1 has been demonstrated to bind the actin-bundling protein α-actinin and proposed to modulate the actin cytoskeleton; however, specific regulatory mechanisms have not been identified. CRP1 expression increased actin bundling in rat embryonic fibroblasts. Although CRP1 did not affect the bundling activity of α-actinin, CRP1 was found to stabilize the interaction of α-actinin with actin bundles and to directly bundle actin microfilaments. Using confocal and photobleaching fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy, we demonstrate that there are two populations of CRP1 localized along actin stress fibers, one associated through interaction with α-actinin and one that appears to bind the actin filaments directly. Consistent with a role in regulating actin filament cross-linking, CRP1 also localized to the membrane ruffles of spreading and PDGF treated fibroblasts. CRP1 regulates actin filament bundling by directly cross-linking actin filaments and stabilizing the interaction of α-actinin with actin filament bundles.
ExbB and ExbD Do Not Function Independently in TonB-Dependent Energy Transduction

ExbB and ExbD proteins are part of the TonB-dependent energy transduction system and are encoded by the exb operon in Escherichia coli. TonB, the energy transducer, appears to go through a cycle during energy transduction, with the absence of both ExbB and ExbD creating blocks at two points: (i) in the inability of TonB to respond to the cytoplasmic membrane proton motive force and (ii) in the conversion of TonB from a high-affinity outer membrane association to a high-affinity cytoplasmic membrane association. The recent observation that ExbB exists in 3.5-fold molar excess relative to the molarity of ExbD in E. coli suggests the possibility of two types of complexes, those containing both ExbB and ExbD and those containing only ExbB. Such distinct complexes might individually manifest one of the two activities described above. In the present study this hypothesis was tested and rejected. Specifically, both ExbB and ExbD were found to be required for TonB to conformationally respond to proton motive force. Both ExbB and ExbD were also required for association of TonB with the cytoplasmic membrane. Together, these results support an alternative model where all of the ExbB in the cell occurs in complex with all of the ExbD in the cell. Based on recently determined cellular ratios of TonB system proteins, these results suggest the existence of a cytoplasmic membrane complex that may be as large as 520 kDa.
Clinical Aspects of Gastrointestinal Food Allergy in Childhood

Gastrointestinal food allergies are a spectrum of disorders that result from adverse immune responses to dietary antigens. The named disorders include immediate gastrointestinal hypersensitivity (anaphylaxis), oral allergy syndrome, allergic eosinophilic esophagitis, gastritis, and gastroenterocolitis; dietary protein enterocolitis, proctitis, and enteropathy; and celiac disease. Additional disorders sometimes attributed to food allergy include colic, gastroesophageal reflux, and constipation. The pediatrician faces several challenges in dealing with these disorders because diagnosis requires differentiating allergic disorders from many other causes of similar symptoms, and therapy requires identification of causal foods, application of therapeutic diets and/or medications, and monitoring for resolution of these disorders. This review catalogs the spectrum of gastrointestinal food allergies that affect children and provides a framework for a rational approach to diagnosis and management.
The genetics of normal and defective color vision

The contributions of genetics research to the science of normal and defective color vision over the previous few decades are reviewed emphasizing the developments in the 25 years since the last anniversary issue of Vision Research. Understanding of the biology underlying color vision has been vaulted forward through the application of the tools of molecular genetics. For all their complexity, the biological processes responsible for color vision are more accessible than for many other neural systems. This is partly because of the wealth of genetic variations that affect color perception, both within and across species, and because components of the color vision system lend themselves to genetic manipulation. Mutations and rearrangements in the genes encoding the long, middle, and short wavelength sensitive cone pigments are responsible for color vision deficiencies and mutations have been identified that affect the number of cone types, the absorption spectra of the pigments, the functionality and viability of the cones, and the topography of the cone mosaic. The addition of an opsin gene, as occurred in the evolution of primate color vision, and has been done in experimental animals can produce expanded color vision capacities and this has provided insight into the underlying neural circuitry.
Death by Crucifixion

ABSTRACTThe intricacies encountered in scientific studies of the Crucifixion constitute a formidable challenge to experts in various scientific disciplines. In this regard, medical aspects of these studies concerned with postmortem evidence and mechanism and cause of death is in the domain of the forensic pathologist who is trained to investigate violent and suspicious deaths. Unfortunately, numerous articles have been written in this area by sincere individuals who were influenced by their religious fervor causing them to reach erroneous and untenable suppositions and conclusions. As a consequence, serious errors have been made and propagated. This is particularly true regarding the mechanism and cause of death in crucifixion. The most widely held theory in this regard is the asphyxial or suffocation theory which indicates that the position on the cross is incompatible with breathing. In an endeavor to resolve this controversy, meticulous experimentation was conducted, which included blood gases, ear oxi...
Changes in structural and chemical components of wood delignified by fungi

Cerrena unicolor, Ganoderma applanatum, Ischnoderma resinosum and Poria medulla-panis were associated with birch wood that had been selectively delignified in the forest. Preferential lignin degradation was not uniformly distributed throughout the decayed wood. A typical white rot causing a simultaneous removal of all cell wall components was also present. In the delignified wood, 95 to 98% of the lignin was removed as well as substantial amounts of hemicelluloses. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to identify the micromorphological and ultrastructural changes that occurred in the cells during degradation. In delignified areas the compound middle lamella was extensively degraded causing a defibration of cells. The secondary wall, especially the S2 layer, remained relatively unaltered. In simultaneously white-rotted wood all cell wall layers were progressively removed from the lumen toward the middle lamella causing erosion troughs or holes to form. Large voids filled with fungal mycelia resulted from a coalition of degraded areas. Birch wood decayed in laboratory soil-block tests was also intermittently delignified. Selective delignification, sparsely distributed throughout the wood, and a simultaneous rot resulting in the removal of all cell wall components were evident. Scanning electron microscopy appears to be an efficient technique for examining decayed wood for fungi with the capacity to selectively delignify wood.
HLA-DM Constrains Epitope Selection in the Human CD4 T Cell Response to Vaccinia Virus by Favoring the Presentation of Peptides with Longer HLA-DM–Mediated Half-Lives

HLA-DM (DM) is a nonclassical MHC class II (MHC II) protein that acts as a peptide editor to mediate the exchange of peptides loaded onto MHC II during Ag presentation. Although the ability of DM to promote peptide exchange in vitro and in vivo is well established, the role of DM in epitope selection is still unclear, especially in human response to infectious disease. In this study, we addressed this question in the context of the human CD4 T cell response to vaccinia virus. We measured the IC(50), intrinsic dissociation t(1/2), and DM-mediated dissociation t(1/2) for a large set of peptides derived from the major core protein A10L and other known vaccinia epitopes bound to HLA-DR1 and compared these properties to the presence and magnitude of peptide-specific CD4(+) T cell responses. We found that MHC II-peptide complex kinetic stability in the presence of DM distinguishes T cell epitopes from nonrecognized peptides in A10L peptides and also in a set of predicted tight binders from the entire vaccinia genome. Taken together, these analyses demonstrate that DM-mediated dissociation t(1/2) is a strong and independent factor governing peptide immunogenicity by favoring the presentation of peptides with greater kinetic stability in the presence of DM.
Role of active follow‐up for early diagnosis of relapse after elective end of therapies

Objective To evaluate the role of active follow-up for the detection of relapses occurring after completion of therapy in children with cancer. Methods The clinical records of all children who had a cancer relapse more than 3 months after the end of therapies in the period 1985–2000 were reviewed. Relapses were defined “diagnosed at a scheduled visit” or “at an unscheduled visit” based upon how the visit that lead to the suspected diagnosis was scheduled. Information was collected on how the first suspicion of relapse was made. Survival after relapse was calculated, by type of visit and tumor type. Results Among 739 children who completed therapy for a malignant tumor in first complete remission (CR), 101 relapses [74 after solid tumors (ST), 27 after leukemia/lymphoma (L)] occurred after a median time of 12 months (range 3–87). Fifty-one (50.5%) first relapses were diagnosed during a visit scheduled because of symptoms (36 ST, 15 L), and 50 relapses (49.5%) at a regularly scheduled visit (38 ST, 12 L). Overall, 75% of relapses were first suspected on clinical basis, 16% via imaging, and only 9% via lab tests. Survival more than 10 years from first relapse was 25.7% (SE: 0.05%), with no significant differences between relapses diagnosed at a scheduled visit (20.5%), or at an unscheduled visit (32.1%; P = 0.826). Children with L had a better overall survival (OS, 70.6%) as compared to those with ST (9.2%, P < 0.001), probably because of a more extensive use of stem cell transplantation (SCT) as part of the salvage regimens. Conclusions Scheduled follow-up programs failed to detect relapses in 50% of cases presented here. Survival after relapse is not affected by whether relapse was detected at a scheduled or an unscheduled visit. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Formalizing UML class diagrams-a hierarchical predicate transition net approach

Unified Modeling Language (UML) has been widely accepted as the standard object-oriented development methodology in the software industry. However, many graphical notations in UML only have informal English definitions and thus are error-prone and cannot be formally analyzed. We present our preliminary results on an approach to formally define UML class diagrams using hierarchical predicate transition nets (HPrTNs). We show how to define the main concepts related to class diagrams using HPrTN elements.
Partially Observed Mixtures of IRT Models: An Extension of the Generalized Partial-Credit Model

The generalized partial-credit model (GPCM) is used frequently in educational testing and in large-scale assessments for analyzing polytomous data. Special cases of the generalized partial-credit model are the partial-credit model—or Rasch model for ordinal data—and the two-parameter logistic (2PL) model. This article extends the GPCM to the class of discrete mixture distribution models. The developments presented here extend models such as the mixed Rasch model and dichotomous multiparameter item response theory (IRT) mixture models. In addition, the model proposed here allows estimation of multigroup models with partially missing grouping information. An application of the proposed partially observed mixture IRT model to a sparse matrix sample of item responses from a national large-scale assessment program is also presented.
Is the incidence of hyaline membrane disease increased in the newborns of patients with preeclampsia

MORBIDITY ALICE GOEPFERT, WILLIAM ANDREWS, PATRICK RAMSEY, JOSEPH BIGGIO, JR, WALDEMAR CARLO, JOHN HAUTH, SUZANNE CLIVER, ROBERT GOLDENBERG, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Birmingham, AL University of Alabama at Birmingham, Pediatrics, Birmingham, AL OBJECTIVE: To determine the cord IL-6 levels that best predict neonatal morbidity in infants born at 90%. Adjusting for GA, the odds ratio for each morbidity by IL-6 level was determined. SIRS, PVL, and NEC were associated with cord IL-6 levels. A dose response was noted between rising IL-6 levels and SIRS (OR 5, 9, 18, 25 for each category; all P 90%) levels of IL-6 were associated with PVL (OR 15, 95% CI 2-149) and NEC (OR 6, 95% CI 1.1-33).
Assigning Subjective Probabilities to Event Trees: Partition Dependence and Bias Toward the Ignorance Prior

Decision and risk analysts have considerable discretion in designing procedures for eliciting subjective probabilities. One popular approach is to specify a particular set of exclusive and exhaustive events for which the assessor provides subjective probabilities. We show that assessed probabilities are biased toward a uniform distribution over all events into which the relevant sample space happens to be partitioned. We surmise that an assessor begins with an "ignorance prior" probability distribution that assigns equal probabilities to the specified events, then insufficiently adjusts those probabilities to reflect his or her beliefs concerning how the likelihood of the events differ. In five studies, we demonstrate partition dependence for both discrete events and continuous variables (Studies 1 and 2), show that the bias decreases (but may or may not disappear) with increased domain knowledge (Studies 3 & 4), and that top experts in decision analysis are susceptible to this bias (Study 5). We relate our work to previous research on the "pruning bias" in fault-tree assessment (e.g., Fischhoff, Slovic, & Lichtenstein, 1978) and show that previous explanations (enhanced availability of specified events, ambiguity in interpreting event categories, demand effects) cannot fully account for the effect. We conclude by discussing implications for decision-analysis practice.
A Divergence Statistics Extension to VTK for Performance Analysis

This report follows the series of previous documents ([PT08, BPRT09b, PT09, BPT09, PT10, PB13], where we presented the parallel descriptive, correlative, multi-correlative, principal component analysis, contingency, k -means, order and auto-correlative statistics engines which we developed within the Visualization Tool Kit ( VTK ) as a scalable, parallel and versatile statistics package. We now report on a new engine which we developed for the calculation of divergence statistics, a concept which we hereafter explain and whose main goal is to quantify the discrepancy, in a stasticial manner akin to measuring a distance, between an observed empirical distribution and a theoretical, "ideal" one. The ease of use of the new diverence statistics engine is illustrated by the means of C++ code snippets. Although this new engine does not yet have a parallel implementation, it has already been applied to HPC performance analysis, of which we provide an example.
Boll Weevils: Mechanism of Transfer of Diflubenzuron from Male to Female

Data show that is unlikely that copulation is the mechanism by which diflubenzuron is transferred from male to female boll weevils. Anthonomus grandis Boheman. Males treated by feeding on diets containing diflubenzuron were unable to transfer sufficient amounts to affect the hatch of eggs from untreated females. Studies with 14-C-labeled diflubenzuron showed that 3–10% of diflubenzuron applied externally was transferred between the sexes, but the testes of treated males contained insufficient diflubenzuron to affect hatch if the material were transferred to females. Diflubenzuron is apparently transferred between the sexes by physical contact; transfer by copulation seems highly improbable.
Mating Competitiveness of Irradiation-Substerilized Males of the Tobacco Moth

Males of Ephestia elutella (Hubner), substerilized with 15 krad of gamma irradiation, were released at ratios of 4:1 and 9:1 to untreated males into a simulated empty warehouse. The mating competitiveness of irradiated males was 91 to 93% as good as that of the untreated males, and the percentage of hatched eggs was reduced accordingly. In trials where irradiated males and untreated males were released, the majority (55.8 to 73.5%) of the F1 progeny was offspring of the irradiated males and inherited sufficient genetic damage to be sterile when intermated. These results suggest that populations of the tobacco moth within tobacco storages might be greatly reduced or eliminated by the release of a high ratio of substerilized males.
Cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase-deficient mice are protected from high-fat/high-cholesterol diet-induced metabolic disorders

Cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) is the first and rate-limiting enzyme in the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids in the liver. In addition to absorption and digestion of nutrients, bile acids play a critical role in the regulation of lipid, glucose, and energy homeostasis. We have backcrossed Cyp7a1(-/-) mice in a mixed B6/129Sv genetic background to C57BL/6J mice to generate Cyp7a1(-/-) mice in a near-pure C57BL/6J background. These mice survive well and have normal growth and a bile acid pool size ∼60% of WT mice. The expression of the genes in the alternative bile acid synthesis pathway are upregulated, resulting in a more hydrophilic bile acid composition with reduced cholic acid (CA). Surprisingly, Cyp7a1(-/-) mice have improved glucose sensitivity with reduced liver triglycerides and fecal bile acid excretion, but increased fecal fatty acid excretion and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) when fed a high-fat/high-cholesterol diet. Supplementing chow and Western diets with CA restored bile acid composition, reversed the glucose tolerant phenotype, and reduced the RER. Our current study points to a critical role of bile acid composition, rather than bile acid pool size, in regulation of glucose, lipid, and energy metabolism to improve glucose and insulin tolerance, maintain metabolic homeostasis, and prevent high-fat diet-induced metabolic disorders.
Patterning Techniques for sub-100 nm Devices, Circuits and Systems*

Abstract The size range we are interested is about an order of magnitude smaller than that presently being developed for ULSI manufacture; i.e.minimum features of 50 nm and below. Vertical fashioning of materials in this size range is already well in hand; the challenge is to come up with equivalent lateral features. Despite the extraordinary progress made by optical lithography, it still is unlikely to provide features below 100 nm except for very special patterns such as regular gratings. One sub optical technique, direct-write electron beam lithography, has shown suitable resolution for many years but the throughput is too slow for manufacture. Attempts to increase throughput by using X-rays, ions or a flood beam of electrons to replicate the electron-beam generated pattern are being pursued for minimum fetures down to 100 nm. However radically new techniques such as arrays of point electron emitters in close proximity to the workpiece might be needed for the size range 50 nm and below.
THE MOVEMENTS OF THE COLON

This chapter focuses on the movements of the colon. There is a difference between the large roomy colon of the herbivorous animal and the short, simple colon of the carnivorous animal. The meat-eater has little use for a colon, while the grass-eater has much need for one. One of the main functions of the colon is to conserve the water supply of the body, especially in the case of animals that live in a desert. In some cases constipation appears to be due to too great an efficiency in this condenser-like mechanism. The colon is a sluggish organ with few and slow movements. Much of the progress of material in it seems to be due to the pressure exerted by new material coming down from above. The colon holds its contents so firmly that it is doubtful if, in man, fecal masses can be moved onward by massage. In man, if feces are retained too long in the rectum they tend to move back into upper parts of the colon.
Perceptions of Personality: How What We See Influences Our Perceptions About and Behavior Toward Companion Animals

This chapter focuses on how visual media are used to affect human perceptions of personality in non-human animals. Studies on shelter populations in the United States (Workman and Hoffman, Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 18(4), 388–397, 2015; Svoboda and Hoffman, A novel, empirical test of black dog syndrome. Poster presented at the 22nd Annual Conference of the International Society of Anthrozoology, Chicago, IL, USA, 2013; Lum, Grandinetti, Halse, Sims, and Chin, The influence of a dog’s size and color on assessment of responsibility. Poster presented at the 22nd Annual Conference of the International Society of Anthrozoology, Chicago, IL USA, 2013a; Lum, Nau, and McClellan, Exploring “black dog” syndrome: How color can influence perceptions of companion animals. Poster presented at the 22nd Annual Conference of the International Society of Anthrozoology, Chicago, IL, USA, 2013b) indicate that how humans perceive homeless animals affects their adoption chances. Those perceptions, and in turn individual animal’s adoption chances, are directly influenced by photographs and videos posted on the Internet. Creating influential photographs and video that subsequently are posted on the Internet can result in saving lives through adoption from shelters and rescues. Understanding how humans assign characteristics such as “friendly,” “playful” and “happy” based on visual media will allow shelters and rescuers to increase their adoption rates, decrease euthanasia rates and save lives.
Mutual Exclusion in Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks

A typical wireless sensor network (WSN) performs only one action: sensing the environment. The need for smart interaction with the environment has led to the emergence of wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs). The evolution from WSNs, which can be thought of to perform only read operations, to WSANs, which can perform both read and write operations, introduces unique and new challenges that need to be addressed. In this context, we identify the problem of mutual exclusion, which is the requirement to act only to the desired level for any particular location and command. We define the different types of mutual exclusion and the associated challenges in the context of WSANs, and show the undesirable consequences of not providing mutual exclusion with example applications. To address this problem efficiently, we propose a greedy centralized approach, and a distributed and fully localized approach based on the centralized approach. Through simulations, we study the performance of the proposed solution with the centralized approach and a baseline strategy, and show that the proposed solution is efficient for a variety of network conditions
Labor Epidural Analgesia and Postpartum Depression

Background: Although strong association between drinking and depression as well as alcohol-related disorders (ARD) has been reported, the relationship between potential ability to drink (genetic alcohol sensitivity) and depression or ARD is unclear.
Coding for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery

Vascular coding is a complex arena. Codes for open, percutaneous, and transcatheter procedures are delineated. Discussion regarding graft placement and endovascular treatment for occlusive disease is presented. Specifics of the nuances of reconstruction, whether abdominal aorta or peripheral vessel, are elaborated for arterial disease. The treatment and coding for venous disease is described. Specific examples regarding debridement are given with some case examples. Finally, modifiers used by vascular surgeons for coding are described.
Electrical stimulation of superior colliculus affects strabismus angle in monkey models for strabismus

Disruption of binocular vision during the critical period for development leads to eye misalignment in humans and in monkey models. We have previously suggested that disruption within a vergence circuit could be the neural basis for strabismus. Electrical stimulation in the rostral superior colliculus (rSC) leads to vergence eye movements in normal monkeys. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of SC stimulation on eye misalignment in strabismic monkeys. Electrical stimulation was delivered to 51 sites in the intermediate and deep layers of the SC (400 Hz, 0.5-s duration, 10-40 μA) in 3 adult optical prism-reared strabismic monkeys. Scleral search coils were used to measure movements of both eyes during a fixation task. Staircase saccades with horizontal and vertical components were elicited by stimulation as predicted from the SC topographic map. Electrical stimulation also resulted in significant changes in horizontal strabismus angle, i.e., a shift toward exotropia/esotropia depending on stimulation site. Electrically evoked saccade vector amplitude in the two eyes was not significantly different (P > 0.05; paired t-test) but saccade direction differed. However, saccade disconjugacy accounted for only ~50% of the change in horizontal misalignment while disconjugate postsaccadic movements accounted for the other ~50% of the change in misalignment due to electrical stimulation. In summary, our data suggest that electrical stimulation of the SC of strabismic monkeys produces a change in horizontal eye alignment that is due to a combination of disconjugate saccadic eye movements and disconjugate postsaccadic movements.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Electrical stimulation of the superior colliculus in strabismic monkeys results in a change in eye misalignment. These data support the notion of developmental disruption of vergence circuits leading to maintenance of eye misalignment in strabismus.
Physical Theatre Education: Beyond Knowledge Transfer.

ABSTRACTTeaching physical theatre successfully relies on a reverence for the human soul in order to cultivate risk-forward embodiment while demanding technical precision. In an effort to illuminate such praxis, this article documents and analyzes the experiences of novice physical theatre performers guided by master teaching artist and performer, Dr. Nancy Smithner.
Asthma guidelines need to be followed at primary care level to improve symptom control in children

Background: Asthma prevalence is on rise worldwide and adherence with guidelines at primary care level is less than adequate. Aim: To document improvement, if any, in asthma symptom control in children with uncontrolled asthma, referred by their primary care physicians to a specialty asthma clinic, by managing their asthma as per NAEPP (EPR-3) guidelines. Methods: After IRB approval, a pediatric asthma center at nationwide Children9s hospital in Columbus Ohio USA was started in 2010 to provide asthma care as per guidelines to referred by primary care for uncontrolled asthma. Asthma symptom control during one year prior to initial visit was compared to follow up period. Results. 823 children were followed between 2010-14. Male: Female 477 (58%): 346 (42%), age ranged 2-18 years (mean 6.9±4.4). Children were seen every 3-6 months. Mean number of days/month with daytime wheezing or night time cough or exercise limitations or number of colds lasting for >10 days were compared between 1 year prior to initial visits and during 1-3 year follow up. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated significant improvement in all these 4 parameters at 3 month follow-up (9.66 ±9.9 to 2.69 ±5.8, p Conclusion: Following guidelines significantly improved symptom control and need to be followed at primary care offices.
Quantum mechanics investigation of initial reaction pathways and early ring-opening reactions in thermal decomposition of liquid-phase RDX

Abstract Cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (RDX) is a commonly used ingredient in solid propellants and explosives. As a result, RDX has been the subject of many experimental and theoretical investigations to elucidate its liquid-phase and gas-phase decomposition. In our experimental effort involving Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ToFMS) of fast thermolysis of RDX, the results indicate that ring-opening occurs very early due to the presence of carbon-containing species among the detected gas-phase species, such as HCN, H 2 CO, CO and CO 2 . Two existing pathways – 1) HONO elimination and 2) N NO 2 homolysis – are re-examined for liquid-phase decomposition and early ring-opening reactions have been identified after a lengthy search using quantum mechanics. Three additional pathways – 1) reaction with NO and formation of ONDNTA, 2) prompt oxidation via HONO and ONNO 2 addition, and 3) hydrogen abstraction via NO 2 – are also identified along with early ring-opening reactions in each pathway. The quantum mechanics investigation is based on using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level. The liquid-phase studies use the Conductor-like Polarizable Continuum Model (CPCM) for solvation with water as solvent within the Gaussian program package. Intrinsic reaction coordinate calculations have also been performed to verify that the reactants indeed are connected to the expected products. Results explain the mechanistic details of the formation of early carbon containing species, simultaneous formation of formaldehyde and N 2 O, as well as the formation of minor species such as HNCO and HOCN. Proposed reactions can account for the experimentally observed autocatalytic behavior and can assist in the development of a detailed chemical kinetics mechanism of nitramine propellants containing RDX and possibly HMX.
The Relationship of Binocular Convergence and Errors in Judged Distance to Virtual Objects

Abstract Errors in judged depth of nearby virtual objects presented via see-through helmet mounted displays are shown to be linked to changes in binocular vergence. This effect varies measurably across the subjects examined and correlates with the magnitude of the subjects’ individual depth judgment errors. The relationship is demonstrated by visually superimposing computer-generated virtual objects on physical backgrounds in a manner similar to that suggested for some practical applications. Suggestions for improved control of virtual objects under these viewing conditions are briefly discussed.
A re-configurable pipeline ADC architecture with built-in self-test techniques

High-performance analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits are integral parts of today's and future networking and communication systems. The main challenge facing the semiconductor industry is the ability to economically produce these analog ICs. This translates, in part, into the need to efficiently evaluate the performance of such ICs during manufacturing (production testing) and to come up with dynamic architectures that enable the performance of these ICs to be maximized during manufacturing and later when they're operating in the field. On the performance evaluation side, this dissertation deals with the concept of Built-In-Self-Test (BIST) to allow the efficient and economical evaluation of certain classes of high-performance analog circuits. On the dynamic architecture side, this dissertation deals with pipeline ADCs and the use of BIST to dynamically, during production testing or in the field, re-configure them to produce better performing ICs. In the BIST system proposed, the analog test signal is generated on-chip by sigma-delta modulation techniques. The performance of the ADC is measured on-chip by a digital narrow-band filter. When this system is used on the wafer level, significant testing time and thus testing cost can be saved. A re-configurable pipeline ADC architecture to improve the dynamic performance is proposed. Based on dynamic performance measurements, the best performance configuration is chosen from a collection of possible pipeline configurations. This basic algorithm can be applied to many pipeline analog systems. The proposed grouping algorithm cuts down the number of evaluation permutation from thousands to 18 for a 9-bit ADC thus allowing the method to be used in "real" applications. To validate the developments of this dissertation, a 40MS/s 9-bit re-configurable pipeline ADC was designed and implemented in TSMC's 0.25pm single-poly CMOS digital process. This includes a fully differential folded-cascode gain-boosting operational amplifier with high gain and high unity-
Development of a lexicon for flavor and texture of fresh peach cultivars

A universal lexicon to describe the appearance, aroma/flavors, and textures/feeling factors of peaches was developed. The objective was to provide a standardized lexicon for descriptive validation. A trained descriptive panel established 29 attributes using 51 peach cultivars grown throughout the production season. This lexicon includes 18 aroma and flavor attributes to describe mature peaches as well as under-ripe and over-ripe, redness of flesh for appearance, three feeling factors, and seven terms for describing textures. Principal component analysis was used to discern if differences were found among peach samples using the lexicon terms utilized by trained panelists. Texture was the primary differentiating factor in the first dimension of the biplot followed by peach-identity in the second dimension. Additionally, the attributes “peach-identity,” “fruity,” “sweet,” “tart,” “citrus,” “sour,” along with textures and feeling factors were prominent in all peach varieties. This lexicon can be useful to identify and quantify sensory attributes in fresh peaches for food and agriculture research. Practical applications The assessment of peach fruit varieties grown throughout the southeastern United States would create a basis for understanding the prominent and unique characteristics of peach varieties and their inherited variability. The peach lexicon created in this study will provide a platform for researchers and producers to understand the desirable sensory traits in peaches. It will allow comparisons among varieties currently available, create a database to be used in breeding applications, and help the growers to produce peaches with desirable sensory traits that could be commercially successful.