cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Si/SiGe heterostructures for Si-based nanoelectronics

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the materials properties, processing challenges, recent technological advancements, device physics, device-design considerations and compact-modeling issues, and circuit and product applications of silicon/silicon-germanium (Si/SiGe) heterojunction devices. The impact of Si/SiGe on future system-on-a-chip (SoC) products is also discussed. The chapter explains why Si/SiGe technology is important not only to the advancement of the entire integrated circuit (IC) industry but also to the daily lives of people. The driving force for developing Si/SiGe technology and new wireless-communication techniques is the need to accommodate the ever-increasing bandwidth required by high-speed data, voice, and image transmissions. Si/SiGe technology is for real and is here to stay for at least 5–10 more years, especially in conjunction with advanced complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices to provide a very powerful bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS) technology that can enable IC designers to design circuits with unprecedented high packaging densities and high performance. Si/SiGe research on circuits, devices, and processing continues in areas such as designing of Si/SiGe monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuit (MMWIC), deep-submicrometer BiCMOS processes, Si/SiGe optoelectronics, SiGe channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), and dynamic thermal voltage devices. In the future, it may be possible to have a Si/SiGe optoelectronics chip that combines SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs), SiGe CMOS silicon on insulator (SOI), conventional CMOS, and III–V-based photodiodes on a single chip. This concept provides a research area for materials scientists, process development engineers, device physicists, circuit designers, and systems engineers.
Data-Driven Diffusion Of Innovations: Successes And Challenges In 3 Large-Scale Innovative Delivery Models.

Failed diffusion of innovations may be linked to an inability to use and apply data, information, and knowledge to change perceptions of current practice and motivate change. Using qualitative and quantitative data from three large-scale health care delivery innovations—accountable care organizations, advanced primary care practice, and EvidenceNOW—we assessed where data-driven innovation is occurring and where challenges lie. We found that implementation of some technological components of innovation (for example, electronic health records) has occurred among health care organizations, but core functions needed to use data to drive innovation are lacking. Deficits include the inability to extract and aggregate data from the records; gaps in sharing data; and challenges in adopting advanced data functions, particularly those related to timely reporting of performance data. The unexpectedly high costs and burden incurred during implementation of the innovations have limited organizations’ ability to addres...
Application of CFD Analysis for Rotating Machinery: Part 1 — Hydrodynamic, Hydrostatic Bearings and Squeeze Film Damper

The traditional method for bearing and damper analysis usually involves a development of rather complicated numerical calculation programs that may just focus on a simplified and specific physical model. The application of the general CFD codes may make this analysis available and effective where complex flow geometries are involved or when more detailed solutions are needed. In this study, CFX-TASCflow is employed to simulate various fixed geometry fluid-film bearing and damper designs. Some of the capabilities in CFX-TASCflow are applied to simulate the pressure field and calculate the static and dynamic characteristics of hydrodynamic, hydrostatic and hybrid bearings as well as squeeze film dampers. The comparison between the CFD analysis and current computer programs used in industry has been made. The results show reasonable agreement in general. Some of possible reasons for the differences are discussed. It leaves room for further investigation and improvement on the methods of computation.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Neural cache: bit-serial in-cache acceleration of deep neural networks

This paper presents the Neural Cache architecture, which re-purposes cache structures to transform them into massively parallel compute units capable of running inferences for Deep Neural Networks. Techniques to do in-situ arithmetic in SRAM arrays, create efficient data mapping and reducing data movement are proposed. The Neural Cache architecture is capable of fully executing convolutional, fully connected, and pooling layers in-cache. The proposed architecture also supports quantization in-cache. Our experimental results show that the proposed architecture can improve inference latency by 18.3X over state-of-art multi-core CPU (Xeon E5), 7.7X over server class GPU (Titan Xp), for Inception v3 model. Neural Cache improves inference throughput by 12.4X over CPU (2.2X over GPU), while reducing power consumption by 50% over CPU (53% over GPU).
Graft function assessment in mouse models of single- and dual-kidney transplantation.

Animal models of kidney transplantation (KTX) are widely used in studying immune response of hosts to implanted grafts. Additionally, KTX can be used in generating kidney-specific knockout animal m...
The fabulous fifties

The 1950’s were the most exciting and glamorous and productive years in the history of Chicago (where “Chicago” means, of course, the mathe matics department of the University). That’s a subjective view, but many share it, and it hasn’t been shot down yet. The research atmosphere of Eckhart Hall, with its first class faculty and, if anything, better than first class student body, and its contrast with the languorous mediocrity of Montevideo were invigorating. I dived into it full of enthusiasm.
The Role of Hemodynamic Alterations in the Pathogenesis of Diabetic Glomerulopathy

Although nephrotic-range proteinuria and progressive azotemia are unequivocal indications of disordered glomerular function in patients with long-standing insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, it is apparent that alterations in glomerular function also occur at an early stage of this disease in humans and experimental animals. Stalder and Schmid1 reported more than 20 years ago that the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is elevated above normal in diabetic children and young adults, a finding confirmed by Ditzel and Schwartz2 and extensively investigated in recent years by Mogensen.3,4 Mogensen described a 40% increment in GFR in 11 newly diagnosed juvenile diabetic patients when compared with values in 31 normal subjects of similar age.3 This remarkable hyperfiltration was shown to be related to the patient’s metabolic status since reduction of blood sugar levels over several days to weeks by standard insulin therapy tended to return GFR to normal or near-normal levels. Indeed, recent studies by Christiansen et al.5 have demonstrated that with reduction in blood glucose levels to normal in diabetics by continuous insulin infusion, GFR also declines from elevated to near-normal values in a matter of hours.
Epithelial Calcium Transport in Crustaceans: Adaptation to Intrinsic and Extrinsic Stressors

Since the classical studies of Ussing employing a nonmammalian isolated epithelium (frog skin) to explore the basic principles of ion transport, physiologists have adopted increasingly reductionist approaches to dissect the biophysical mechanisms undergirding biological transport. In vitro characterization has employed isolated perfused organs, isolated epithelia, and reconstituted vesicle studies. Depth of resolution has been further enhanced by the emerging molecular revolution. Following years of deconstruction, physiologists are now engaging in reconstruction, namely putting the genes back into the organism. This contribution attempts such an integrative approach for a single electrolyte, calcium (Ca2+), in a nonmammalian epithelium, the crayfish antennal gland (kidney). Two collaborating laboratories have archived an inventory of Ca2+ associated proteins believed to play a role in transcellular Ca2+ movement. Using the basic building blocks (expression profiles of key Ca2+ associated proteins and their regulators), the authors attempt to reconstruct a whole cell model for Ca2+ regulation in transporting epithelium (compared with a nonepithelial tissue) under stressors that perturb Ca2+ homeostasis which originate either intrinsically (the postmolt stage of the molting cycle) or extrinsically (unanticipated cold acclimation). Through horizontal integration of expression profiles of seven target Ca2+ associated proteins in epithelial and nonepithelial tissue under two contrasting experimental conditions, emergent themes inform the physiological complexity of Ca2+ homeostasis. Integration at the next level will require placing the epithelium in the context of organismic Ca2+ balance. The unique Ca2+ handling capabilities of the freshwater crayfish make it an excellent nonmammalian model for those studies.
The Development and Validation of a Modesty Measure for Diverse Muslim Populations

This paper reports on the multi-phase development of an English-language modesty measure for use among Muslim populations. The process yielded a 10-item measure that has high levels of internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α of 0.83), and has acceptable discriminant and predictive validity. Specifically although our modesty measure for Muslim women was found to be significantly correlated with measures of positive and negative religious (Islamic) coping, it was not significantly correlated with religious practice-based religiosity (discriminant validity). Further logistic modeling revealed higher modesty levels positively associated with forgoing mammography because of concerns about lack of same-sex providers (predictive validity).
Evaluation of insecticides for control of the spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), a new pest of fruit in the Northeastern U.S.

Abstract The spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (White) (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), was first detected in the United States in southeastern Pennsylvania in late 2014. Since then, the range of this polyphagous pest has increased to multiple states in the Northeastern U.S., threatening many agricultural commodities, including grape and tree fruit. Several insecticides were tested for residual efficacy on eggs, nymphs, and adult L. delicatula. In both laboratory and field bioassays on L. delicatula egg masses, chlorpyrifos was the only compound to provide 100% mortality and paraffinic oil offered intermediate mortality up to 71%. In semi-field and field bioassays against L. delicatula nymphs and adults, several compounds from multiple insecticide classes, including pyrethroids, neonicotinoids, carbamates, and organophosphates, had excellent knockdown activity. However, only thiamethoxam and bifenthrin offered control of 50% or greater up to 14 days after the application for adults. None of the OMRI-listed compounds evaluated in this study provided effective control, indicating anticipated difficulty among organic producers in reducing damage from this new and important pest. As L. delicatula continues to expand its geographic range, we may have to be reliant on chemical control until biological or other cultural control measures are discovered and implemented. These data have helped to formulate pest management programs as a first response to this invasive insect.
High Performance Crystalline TiO2 Mesocrystals for Enhanced Solar Fuel

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is one of the most abundant compounds in our planet. It is cheap, non- toxic, highly chemically and thermally stable semiconductor material. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) show high visible light transparency combined with high UV light absorption. However, altering the particle size and crystalline structure of TiO2-NPs influences the absorption range, adsorption of dye molecules and electron transfer rate at the surface. Unfortunately, TiO2-NPs suffer high electron/hole recombination rates. Therefore, an ordered superstructure consisting of nanoparticles on the scale of nanometers to several micrometers is proposed titanium dioxide mesocrystals (TiO2-MCs). In this work, we represent a new and facile way to fabricate TiO2-MCs with spherical structure by sol-gel method. We were able to fabricate spherical TiO2-NCs with narrow size distribution by controlling the hydrolysis conditions. The effect of air annealing on the morphology, size shrinkage, and phase transition of the nanoparticles was studied by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. Also, the fabricated TiO2-MCs showed exceptional photoactivity compared to their Degussa p-25 nanoparticles counterparts upon their use in water splitting cells.
Sagittal alignment of the spine and hamstring extensibility with Pilates in adolescents: Protocol for randomized controlled trial

Abstract Introduction Several studies have shown that a sagittal spine curvature outside the normal range could decrease functional capacity and perceived quality of life. The Pilates Method (PM) has been attributed to improved posture. The aim of this study will be to investigate the effectiveness of a 9-month PM program on sagittal spinal curvatures and hamstring extensibility in adolescents. Methods This is a protocol for a single blind randomized controlled trial. The experimental group will take part in a PM program implemented over 9 months, 2 sessions/week (15 min/session). The control group will not receive any structured exercise program but they will attend their usual physical education sessions. A blinded examiner will evaluate sagittal spinal curvatures and pelvic tilt with the Spinal Mouse System® (Idiag, Fehraltdorf, Switzerland) in relaxed standing and active alignment of spinal curvatures in standing and toe-touch test positions; and hamstring extensibility by passive and active straight leg raise (P-SLR and A-SLR, respectively) and toe-touch tests. In addition, back pain, quality of life, body mass index, waist-hip ratio and level of physical activity will be assessed. Discussion The results derived from this research will increase the knowledge on the effectiveness of the Pilates method for improving sagittal spinal curvatures and hamstring extensibility of adolescents, and could provide the students with a tool that they could benefit from at school.
Effects of Large-Scale Programmatic Change on Electrical and Computer Engineering Transfer Student Pathways

Contribution: This article details the potential impacts of a curricular revision at a four-year institution on electrical and computer engineering (ECE) vertical transfer students using Heileman et al. ’s curricular complexity framework. Background: The curriculum refresh was prompted by a National Science Foundation funded program called “Revolutionizing Engineering Departments”—encouraging departments to radically shift their curricula and cultures such that it is not possible to complete a one-to-one mapping between the former curriculum and new curriculum. The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which transfer students could integrate into the new curriculum. Research Questions: This article addresses the following research question, “how did the structural complexities of the transfer student pathways into the ECE degree programs change from their previous iterations?” Methodology: Plans of the study were collected from 12 community colleges that had articulated pathways into ECE bachelor’s degree programs ( $n = 24$ plans of study) at a four-year institution and aligned those plans with the university pathways both before and after the radical curricular change. The complexities of transfer degree pathways of the old and new curriculum were compared using Heileman et al.’s structural complexity metric. Findings: All transfer pathways in ECE increased in complexity by 84% on average. We found Computer Engineering to be a much less supported transfer pathway throughout the state’s community college system compared to Electrical Engineering. Moreover, we found considerable variation in the community college system, raising concerns of consistency across partnerships in the state’s system. Other programs can adopt the approach presented here to evaluate the complexity of their curricula.
Striving for Equity: Community Engaged Teaching and Learning Through a Community Practitioner and Faculty Co-Teaching Model

Based on the implementation and assessment of a coteaching pilot program called the Practitioner Scholars Program, this study draws attention to the need for equity in community–university learning partnerships, recognizing and emphasizing that the knowledge and expertise of community practitioners is as valuable as that of faculty in academia. The innovative nature of the pilot program encompasses mutual and reciprocal benefits to students, practitioners, faculty, and community through a unique design of community-engaged teaching and learning. The findings from this study provide evidence of the success and potential of this program while offering a reflection on how we understand equity in community–university partnerships. As a result, this study can inform and inspire new initiatives to infuse equity in teaching and learning, especially in urban public universities with a commitment to their urban communities. This article particularly aims to speak to practitioners interested in this program as a promising practice.
Machine learning identifies candidates for drug repurposing in Alzheimer's disease.

Clinical trials of novel therapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) have consumed a large amount of time and resources with largely negative results. Repurposing drugs already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for another indication is a more rapid and less expensive option. We present DRIAD (Drug Repurposing In AD), a machine learning framework that quantifies potential associations between the pathology of AD severity (the Braak stage) and molecular mechanisms as encoded in lists of gene names. DRIAD is applied to lists of genes arising from perturbations in differentiated human neural cell cultures by 80 FDA-approved and clinically tested drugs, producing a ranked list of possible repurposing candidates. Top-scoring drugs are inspected for common trends among their targets. We propose that the DRIAD method can be used to nominate drugs that, after additional validation and identification of relevant pharmacodynamic biomarker(s), could be readily evaluated in a clinical trial. Clinical trials of novel therapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) have provided largely negative results, so far. Here, the authors present a machine learning framework that quantifies potential associations between the pathology of AD severity and gene-based molecular mechanisms to enable drug repurposing.
Protocol for single-molecule fluorescence recovery after photobleaching microscopy to analyze the dynamics and spatial locations of nuclear transmembrane proteins in live cells.

Summary Single-molecule fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (smFRAP) is a newly developed technique that combines single-molecule super-resolution microscopy and traditional FRAP microscopy. smFRAP enables researchers to measure the dynamics, spatial locations, and relative concentrations of proteins. Here, we describe a step-by-step protocol for smFRAP on nuclear envelope transmembrane proteins on the inner nuclear membrane and outer nuclear membrane in live cells. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Mudumbi et al. (2016a , 2016b , 2020 .
The Role of Corneal Donor Rim Fungal Cultures: Pro Side.

ABSTRACT Fungal infection after corneal transplantation is a rare but potentially devastating complication. It is of paramount concern for transplant surgeons and the eye banking community. The value of universal corneal rim cultures for keratoplasty remains controversial. In 2016, The Eye Bank Association for America reported an increasing trend in the incidence of post keratoplasty fungal infections and a higher incidence of post keratoplasty [penetrating keratoplasty and endothelial keratoplasty (EK)] fungal endophthalmitis cases. This increasing trend in rate over time from previous Eye Bank Association for America reports was disproportionately associated with EK and Candida species. Additionally, several studies confirmed a high correlation between positive corneoscleral donor rim fungal cultures and postoperative infections, and a higher risk to the mate eye of a cornea that had the positive fungal corneal rim culture and developed an infection. Positive fungal donor rim cultures-especially in the setting of interface keratitis after EK surgery-can raise the index of suspicion for a fungal cause and may help direct therapy, especially in the early stages, where the symptoms and signs of spread may not be obvious and obtaining direct cultures is inherently difficult without surgical intervention.
PD-1-stimulated T cell subsets are transcriptionally and functionally distinct.

Despite the obvious inhibitory outcome of PD-1 signaling, an additional series of functions are activated. We have observed that T cells stimulated through the T cell receptor (TCR) and PD-1 primarily do not proliferate; however, there is a population of cells that proliferates more than through TCR stimulation alone. In this study, we performed flow cytometry and RNA sequencing on individual populations of T cells and discovered that unlike naive T cells, which were inhibited following PD-1 ligation, T cells that proliferated more following PD-1 ligation were associated with effector and central memory phenotypes. We showed that these populations had different gene expression profiles following PD-1 ligation with PD-L1 compared to PD-L2. The presence of transcriptionally and functionally distinct T cell populations responsive to PD-1 ligation provides new insights into the biology of PD-1 and suggest the use of T cell subset-specific approaches to improve the clinical outcome of PD-1 blockade.
NHS England should release trust level data from the Medical Workforce Race Equality Standard

The Medical Workforce Race Equality Standard (MWRES) report found major discrimination and disparities across the NHS.12 But if the intention of the report was to enable change, we need more granular …
Classroom Management Coaching for First-Year Urban Teachers: Purpose, Design, and Implementation:

This qualitative study explores one urban district's purpose, design, and implementation of a unique classroom management coaching program for first-year teachers (FYTs). Through interviews of coac...
Revised Predictive Model for Successful Introduction of Native Ohio Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Select Streams in Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio a

Eight cold-water streams in Lake and Geauga Counties, Ohio were evaluated to develop a revised predictive model to assess future streams for the introduction of threatened native Ohio Brook Trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ). A 15-month study was conducted, ending May 2010, in streams where Brook Trout were previously introduced during the years 1997-2002. Fifty percent of the sixteen original reintroduction streams failed to support the establishment of self-sustaining populations of Brook Trout, indicating there were additional factors contributing to their success and failure. Of the 8 streams included in this study, 4 streams were designated successful, 2 variable, and 2 failed, in terms of the Brook Trout’s ability to establish self-sustaining populations by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Multivariate statistical methods including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (AHCA) were implemented to determine the most important characteristics in Brook Trout stream selection. Factors found to be significant for Brook Trout success were stream velocities within the range of 1.4-4.7 cm/s, high hydraulic conductivity of the headwater bedrock aquifer (K>4.7 x 10 3 cm/s), lighter average δ 18 O ‰ (-9.8 to -10.4), either high percent canopy cover (40%-55%) or high percent instream cover (18%-37%), a high number of cold-water adapted benthic macroinvertebrate cold-water taxa (10-16 species), yearly average hyporheic water temperature of 4.6°C-17.2°C, average surface water turbidity of 7 to 31 NTU and long-term surface water temperature and dissolved oxygen monitoring over both winter and summer seasons is recommended prior to Brook Trout introduction to ensure their sustainability.
Spinal Targets for Interventional Pain Management

As noted in the previous chapter, the transmission of pain signals from the peripheral nervous system to the brain involves a variety of specialized neuronal and nonneuronal cells each with a host of specific receptors involved in the processing of these signals. The goal of this chapter is to briefly review the various image-guided interventional pain management techniques that target spinal structures aimed at reducing pain and improving patients’ quality of life. Comprehensive medical management aims to accomplish these goals by utilizing systemic medications that target specific receptors throughout the peripheral and central nervous system. In many cases, this approach is successful with few untoward complications. However, in more severe pain conditions or higher doses of medications, patients may experience medication side effects and toxicities that limit the utility of a systemic approach. In contrast, interventional pain management techniques employ a variety of technologies to influence specific targets involved in nociceptive transmission while aiming to minimize the effects on systems not involved in the nociceptive process.
Evaluation of MapReduce in a Large Cluster

MapReduce is a widely used framework that runs large scale data processing applications. However, there are very few systematic studies of MapReduce on large clusters and thus there is a lack of reference for expected behavior or issues while running applications in a large cluster. This paper describes our findings of running applications on Pivotal's Analytics Workbench, which consists of a 540-node Hadoop cluster. Our experience sheds light on how applications behave in a large-scale cluster. This paper discusses our experiences in three areas. The first describes scaling behavior of applications as the dataset size increases. The second discusses the appropriate settings for parallelism and overlap of map and reduce tasks. The third area discusses general observations. These areas have not been reported or studied previously. Our findings show that IO-intensive applications do not scale as data size increases and MapReduce applications require different amounts of parallelism and overlap to minimize completion time. Additionally, our observations also highlight the need for appropriate memory allocation for a MapReduce component and the importance of decreasing log file size.
Forces in Optical Near-Fields

In this article we use classical electrodynamics to derive the conservation law for linear momentum in an optical field. The net force exerted on an arbitrary object is determined by Maxwell’s stress tensor. It is shown that in the limiting case of an infinitely extended object, the formalism renders the known expressions for radiation pressure. Similarly, in the small object limit, we obtain the familiar expressions for gradient and scattering forces. The theory is applied to calculate the trapping forces near a laser-illuminated metal tip.
Reasons explanations and pure agency

We focus on the recent non-causal theory of reasons explanationsof free action proffered by a proponent of the agency theory, Timothy O'Connor. We argue that the conditions O'Connor offersare neither necessary nor sufficient for a person to act for a reason. Finally, we note that the role O'Connor assigns toreasons in the etiology of actions results in further conceptual difficulties for agent-causalism.
Cluster analysis of the hot subdwarfs in the PG survey

Application of cluster analysis to the hot subdwarfs in the Palomar Green (PG) survey of faint blue high-Galactic-latitude objects is assessed, with emphasis on data noise and the number of clusters to subdivide the data into. The data used in the study are presented, and cluster analysis, using the CLUSTAN program, is applied to it. Distances are calculated using the Euclidean formula, and clustering is done by Ward's method. The results are discussed, and five groups representing natural divisions of the subdwarfs in the PG survey are presented.
Purkinje Cell Synapses Target Physiologically Unique Brainstem Neurons

The cerebellum controls motor learning via Purkinje cell synapses onto discrete populations of neurons in the deep cerebellar nuclei and brainstem vestibular nuclei. In the circuitry that subserves the vestibulo-ocular reflex, the postsynaptic targets of Purkinje cells, termed flocculus target neurons (FTNs), are thought to be a critical site of learning. Little is known, however, about the intrinsic cellular properties of FTNs, which are sparsely distributed in the medial vestibular nucleus. To identify these neurons, we used the L7 promoter to express a tau-green fluorescent protein fusion protein selectively in Purkinje cells. Fluorescent Purkinje cell axons and terminal boutons surrounded the somata and proximal dendrites of a small subset of neurons, presumed FTNs, in the medial vestibular nucleus. Targeted intracellular recordings revealed that FTNs fired spontaneously at high rates in brain slices (mean, 47 spikes/sec) and exhibited dramatic postinhibitory rebound firing after the offset of membrane hyperpolarization. These intrinsic firing properties were exceptional among brainstem vestibular nucleus neurons but strikingly similar to neurons in the deep cerebellar nuclei, indicating a common role for intrinsic firing mechanisms in cerebellar control of diverse behaviors.
16. Robotics in Laparoscopic and Thoracoscopic Surgery

Advanced technology used in modern surgery includes telerobotic and robotic surgical instrumentation. The device currently used for most general surgical, and thoracic procedures (daVinci, Intuitive Surgical Sunnyvale, CA, USA) is more precisely defined as a telerobotic computer-assisted telemanipulator. Current clinical applications include image-guided robotic surgeries and computer enhanced robotic telesurgery. Operative procedures include a wide variety of cardiac procedures that can be accomplished without open sternotomy or thoracotomy. Most general surgical procedures have demonstrated some feasibility using robotic devices, although few have demonstrated superiority when compared to standard laparoscopic procedures. Selected procedures may show benefit such as esophagomyotomy. Urology and gynecology have seen significant growth in computer assisted surgery for the last decade as well as noncardiac thoracic procedures. There are limitations that will continue to slow the adoption of computer assisted surgery in general surgery; however, many examples of emerging technology are in place that will allow us to increase the use of technology to enhance patient outcomes. Ongoing evaluation of this technology is important in order that it be applied appropriately. This chapter gives an overview and introduction to these emerging technologies and their applications.
Specific long-term memory traces in primary auditory cortex.

Learning and memory involve the storage of specific sensory experiences. However, until recently the idea that the primary sensory cortices could store specific memory traces had received little attention. Converging evidence obtained using techniques from sensory physiology and the neurobiology of learning and memory supports the idea that the primary auditory cortex acquires and retains specific memory traces about the behavioural significance of selected sounds. The cholinergic system of the nucleus basalis, when properly engaged, is sufficient to induce both specific memory traces and specific behavioural memory. A contemporary view of the primary auditory cortex should incorporate its mnemonic and other cognitive functions.
Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass as a primary strategy for reoperative myocardial revascularization.

ObjectiveConventional reoperative coronary artery bypass grafting is associated with risk of sternal re-entry, injury to patent grafts, and embolization from diseased grafts. Sternal sparing minima...
Male mating history: effects on female sexual responsiveness and reproductive success in the parasitoid wasp Spalangia endius

Males frequently mate multiply, but are there negative fitness consequences for their later mates? Potential costs include less sperm and less nutrition. In most hymenopterans, daughters, but not sons, are produced sexually. This mean that effects of being a later mate on sperm received versus on nutrients received should be distinguishable. If later mates receive less sperm, it should manifest as a reduction in daughter production, whereas a reduction in nutrients should affect production of both sexes. Any cost to being a later mate may in turn select for polyandry or for female choice of virgin males. Males of the parasitoid wasp Spalangia endius were presented with up to five females in succession. Offspring production was compared among first, third, and fifth females; and it did not differ. However, about half of fifth females had begun producing only sons by their tenth day, whereas first and third females rarely had. Despite the reduction in daughter production, even fifth females rarely remated. However, females tended to mate with virgin males rather than mated males when given a choice. This tendency was dependent on male, not female, behavior, but should benefit the female nevertheless. Sex ratios in this species are one male for every one and a half to three females. Thus, the number of times that males could mate before daughter production was reduced coincided roughly with the mean number of times that males likely mate in this species. Nevertheless, some females are likely to experience the cost of being a fifth female because of skewed mating success among males.
Mutants of the Bacteriophage MS2 Coat Protein That Alter Its Cooperative Binding to RNA

An RNA binding assay measuring cooperative protein binding has been used to evaluate the effects of mutations in the MS2 phage coat protein expected to disrupt capsid assembly. By using the crystal structure of the virus as a guide, six different mutations in the FG loop structure were selected in which hydrophobic residues were replaced with charged residues. Most of these proteins form capsids in Escherichia coli, but not in an in vitro assembly assay, suggesting that interdimer interactions are weaker than wild type. These mutant proteins reduce the free energy of cooperative protein binding to a double-hairpin RNA from its wild-type value of -1.9 kcal/mol. Several of the variants that have large effects on cooperativity have no effect on RNA affinity, suggesting that protein-RNA interactions can be affected independently of dimer-dimer interactions. The V75E;A81G protein, which shows no measurable cooperativity, binds operator RNA equally well as the wild-type protein under a variety of buffer conditions. Because this protein also exhibits similar specificity for variant RNA sequences, it will be useful for studying RNA binding properties independent of capsid assembly.
The Bulgarian Currency Board

Following a severe financial crisis in 1996 and early 1997 Bulgaria established a currency board. In many respects the currency board has been a great success. From hyperinflationary levels in February 1997, inflation fell to single-digit levels in 1998 and 1999. The economy has also begun to grow. While enormously successful so far, the currency board has only been in place for a short time. This paper outlines prospective problems that must be faced and explores whether the currency board is sustainable in the longer-run.
Host-induced virus modification of murine hepatitis virus: Changes in thermal stability

Serial tissue culture passage of two cold-sensitive mutants of murine hepatitis virus altered the thermal stability of one mutant. This phenomenon occurred in only one of the continuous cell lines tested and was reversible by multiple passages in a cell line that does not alter thermal stability. The effect was cumulative with passage and was segregated from the cold-sensitive marker.
Applying multiresolution methods to medical image enhancement

Each image acquired from a medical imaging system is often part of a two-dimensional (2-D) image set whose total presents a three-dimensional (3-D) object for diagnosis. Unfortunately, sometimes these images are of poor quality. These distortions cause an inadequate object-of-interest presentation, which can result in inaccurate image analysis. Blurring is considered a serious problem. Therefore, "deblurring" an image to obtain better quality is an important issue in medical image processing.In our research, the image is initially decomposed. Contrast improvement is achieved by modifying the coefficients obtained from the decomposed image. Small coefficient values represent subtle details and are amplified to improve the visibility of the corresponding details. The stronger image density variations make a major contribution to the overall dynamic range, and have large coefficient values. These values can be reduced without much information loss.
Hypoxia activates Akt and induces phosphorylation of GSK-3 in PC12 cells

Abstract Akt is a serine/threonine kinase that has been shown to play a central role in promoting cell survival and opposing apoptosis. We evaluated the effect of hypoxia on Akt in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. PC12 cells were exposed to varying levels of hypoxia, including 21%, 15%, 10%, 5%, and 1% O 2 . Hypoxia dramatically increased phosphorylation of Akt (Ser 473 ). This effect peaked after 6 h exposure to hypoxia, but persisted strongly for up to 24 h. Phosphorylation of Akt was paralleled with a progressive increase in phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3), one of its downstream substrates. The effect of hypoxia on phosphorylation of Akt was completely blocked by pretreatment of the cells with wortmannin (100 nM), indicating that this effect is mediated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (P13K). In contrast, whereas hypoxia also strongly induced phosphorylation of the transcription factors CREB and EPAS1, these effects persisted in the presence of wortmannin. Thus, hypoxia regulates both P13K-dependent and P13K-independent signaling pathways. Furthermore, activation of the P13K and Akt signaling pathways may be one mechanism by which cells adapt and survive under conditions of hypoxia.
Modification of the Colorimetric Assay for Chloramphenicol in the Presence of Bilirubin

We recently found that bilirubin interferes with the colorimetric chloramphenicol assay of Kakemi et al. (K. T. Kakemi, T. Arita, and S. Ohashi, Yakugaku Zasshi 82:342–345, 1962). Levels of serum bilirubin alone (4 to 6 mg/dl) resulted in apparent concentrations of chloramphenicol which appear to be in the therapeutic range. Concentrations of serum bilirubin greater than 8 mg/dl resulted in levels of apparent chloramphenicol associated with toxicity (>50 μg/ml). Small amounts of activated charcoal added to the isoamyl acetate extraction step of the assay eliminated this interference by bilirubin.
Thermomechanical modeling of laminated plates with piezoelectric sensors and actuators

A finite element model is developed for the active control of thermally induced vibration of laminated composite plates with piezoelectric sensors and actuators. The present model takes into account the mass, stiffness and thermal expansion of the piezoelectric patches. A C degree(s) continuous nine-noded shear flexible element is implemented to model the plate. The piezoelectric sensing layer monitors the structural oscillation due to the direct piezoelectric effect and the actuator suppresses the oscillation via the converse piezoelectric effect. These two effects are then coupled with a constant gain negative velocity/positive position feedback control algorithm to actively control the dynamic response of the plate in a closed loop. Numerical results indicate that thermally induced deformation of a laminated plate can be suppressed through the application of electrical potential to the piezoelectric patches.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Superspreading of Trisiloxane Surfactant Mixtures on Hydrophobic Surfaces. 1. Interfacial Adsorption of Aqueous Trisiloxane Surfactant−N-Alkyl Pyrrolidinone Mixtures on Polyethylene

Interfacial adsorptions of aqueous solutions of trisiloxane surfactant (SILWET L77), N-alkyl pyrrolidinones [N-butyl-(C4P), N-cyclohexyl-(CHP), N-hexyl-(C6P), N-2-ethyhexyl-(C2,6P), N-octyl-(C8P), and N-decyl-(C10P)], and their mixtures have been measured. The adsorptions at the air/aqueous solution interface were obtained from the plots of surface tension versus log(C) by use of the Gibbs equation. The adsorptions onto the powdered polyethylene surface were determined by the use of UV spectroscopy for pyrrolidinones and two-phase titration for SILWET L77, respectively. The adsorptions at the solid/air interface were evaluated by the use of an equation derived from the Gibbs and Young equations. It was found that the addition of the N-alkyl pyrrolidinones to the solution produces little or no enhancement of the total surfactant adsorption at the air/aqueous solution interface. At the solid/aqueous solution interface, the enhancement effectiveness of the pyrrolidinones decreases in the order C2,6P > C8P > ...
Acquired hyperplastic gastric polyps in solid organ transplant patients.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: We report a series of patients who developed hyperplastic gastric polyps after solid organ transplantation. METHODS: A retrospective review of patients with solid organ transplantation from January 1997 to December 1999 was performed. Patients with gastric polyps found during endoscopy were included. Demographic data, polyp characteristics (endoscopic and histological), time of endoscopy, and treatment regimens were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 10 (seven men, three women) transplanted patients (six cardiac, three liver, and one kidney) with gastric polyps were identified. The median age was 61 yr (27–71 yr), and median time of endoscopy after transplantation was 11 months (3–28 months). Eight patients had endoscopy before or soon after transplantation, with no evidence of polyps. Nine patients had multiple polyps (three or more), and one had a single pedunculated polyp. Polyps were confined to the antrum in eight patients, antrum and body in one patient, and fundus in one patient. All polyps biopsied were found to be hyperplastic and without adenomatous or malignant changes. Cytomegalovirus serology was negative in nine patients. Each patient received standard immunosuppression that included a calcineurin inhibitor and steroids. Steroids were tapered and stopped by 3 months. Azathioprine was added in five patients and mycophenolate mofetil in one patient. CONCLUSIONS: The development of gastric polyps after organ transplantation has not been previously reported. The development of these gastric polyps (hyperplastic and multiple) is concerning as a malignant potential has been recognized in patients harboring multiple hyperplastic gastric polyps. The exact cause of these polyps is unknown. The association with immunosuppressive therapy as well as the natural history of these acquired hyperplastic gastric polyps needs further investigation.
Examining the effect of minority status and neighborhood characteristics on cervical cancer survival outcomes

Abstract Objective Understanding the factors that contribute to mortality and survival is central to health outcome research. The purpose of this study was to investigate the following: (1) differences in survival status by ethnicity and neighborhood median income level; and (2) individual- and neighborhood-level factors influencing cervical cancer survival. Methods This study was based on data from 1811 cervical cancer cases obtained through the California Cancer Surveillance Program. The dependent variable was days of survival from date of cancer diagnosis. Zip code-based neighborhood-level variables were obtained from Census 2000 data. Results Ethnicity was significantly associated with survival ( χ 2 =20.58; p χ 2 =4.531; p Conclusions The neighborhood context may be an influential contributor to survival for Asian– and African–Americans specifically. These findings necessitate closer examination of the unique contribution of ethnicity and neighborhood on cancer survival to disentangle the role of ethnic group membership, socio-ecological contexts and stress, and medical factors on disease outcomes.
Functional genomics and SNP analysis of human genes encoding proline metabolic enzymes

Proline metabolism in mammals involves two other amino acids, glutamate and ornithine, and five enzymatic activities, Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) reductase (P5CR), proline oxidase, P5C dehydrogenase, P5C synthase and ornithine-δ-aminotransferase (OAT). With the exception of OAT, which catalyzes a reversible reaction, the other four enzymes are unidirectional, suggesting that proline metabolism is purpose-driven, tightly regulated, and compartmentalized. In addition, this tri-amino-acid system also links with three other pivotal metabolic systems, namely the TCA cycle, urea cycle, and pentose phosphate pathway. Abnormalities in proline metabolism are relevant in several diseases: six monogenic inborn errors involving metabolism and/or transport of proline and its immediate metabolites have been described. Recent advances in the Human Genome Project, in silico database mining techniques, and research in dissecting the molecular basis of proline metabolism prompted us to utilize functional genomic approaches to analyze human genes which encode proline metabolic enzymes in the context of gene structure, regulation of gene expression, mRNA variants, protein isoforms, and single nucleotide polymorphisms.
The relationship between hospital surgical case volumes and mortality rates in pediatric cardiac surgery: a national sample, 1988-2005.

Background Overall surgical volumes and raw mortality rates are frequently used to compare pediatric cardiac surgical programs, but unadjusted comparisons are potentially unreliable. We sought to quantify the relationship between hospital volume and pediatric cardiac surgical mortality. Methods Pediatric cardiac operations assigned to Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery, version 1 (RACHS-1) categories were retrospectively identified by International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) coding from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, 1988–2005. Hospitals were grouped by yearly pediatric cardiac surgical volume (very small, ≤ 20; small, 21 to 100; medium, 101 to 200; large, > 200). Mortality rates were adjusted for surgical volume, case mix (RACHS-1 categories), patient age, and year of operation by logistic regression. Results We identified 55,164 operations from 307 hospitals; 188 (61%) performed 20 or fewer cases per year. The unadjusted mortality rate at very small hospitals was no different than at large hospitals (odds ratio, 1.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.7 to 1.4). After adjustment for RACHS-1 category and age, large hospitals performed significantly better than all other volume groups. As a discriminator of mortality, volume performed significantly worse than a model with RACHS-1 category and age (receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve area, 0.60 vs 0.81). Conclusions As a discriminator of mortality, volume alone was only marginally better than a coin flip (ROC curve area of 0.50). However, large-volume hospitals performed more complex operations and achieved superior results; therefore, the use of overall, unadjusted mortality rates to evaluate institution quality is misleading. Hospital comparisons and pay-for-performance initiatives must be based on robust risk-adjusted comparisons.