cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Keeping Balance in the Face of Death

Some years ago, I provided an ethics consult at Vanderbilt University Medical Center that is indelibly marked on my memory. In what follows, I will tell that story, but must first note that, to respect and protect the privacy of all those involved, I have altered all identifying characteristics, with the exception of myself.
Di-Sense: In Situ Real-Time Permittivity Estimation and Soil Moisture Sensing using Wireless Underground Communications

Abstract Internet of Underground Things (IOUT) communications have the potential for soil properties estimation and soil moisture monitoring. In this paper, a method has been developed for real-time in situ estimation of relative permittivity of soil, and soil moisture, that is determined from the propagation path loss, and velocity of wave propagation of an underground (UG) transmitter and receiver link in wireless underground communications (WUC). The permittivity and soil moisture estimation processes (Di-Sense, where Di- prefix means two) are modeled and validated through an outdoor UG software-defined radio (SDR) testbed, and indoor greenhouse testbed. SDR experiments are conducted in the frequency range of 100–500 MHz, using antennas buried at 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm, and 40 cm depths in different soils under different soil moisture levels, by using dipole antennas with over the air (OTA) resonant frequency of 433 MHz. Experiments are conducted in silt loam, silty clay loam, and sandy soils. By using Di-Sense approach, soil moisture and permittivity can be measured with high accuracy in 1–15 m distance range in plant root zone up to depth of 40 cm. The estimated soil parameters have less than 8% estimation error from the ground truth measurements and semi-empirical dielectric mixing models.
Associations between features of placental morphology and birth weight in dichorionic twins

Low birth weight is associated with perinatal and long-term morbidity and mortality, and may be a result of abnormal placental development and function. In studies of singletons, associations have been reported between features of placental morphology and birth weight. Evaluating similar associations within twin pairs offers a unique opportunity to control for key confounders shared within a twin pair, including gestational age, parental characteristics, and intrauterine environment. Data from 3 studies in the United States that were completed from 2012 to 2013, 2006 to 2008, and 1959 to 1966 were used in our analysis of 208 sets of dichorionic twins with unfused placentas. We used linear regression to model difference in birth weight within a twin pair as a function of differences in placental characteristics (i.e., thickness, 2-dimensional surface area, intraplacental difference in diameter). After controlling for sex discordance, a 75.3- cm2 difference in placental surface area, which reflects the interquartile range, was associated with a difference in birth weight of 142.1 g (95% confidence interval (CI): 62.9, 221.3). The magnitude of the association also may be larger for same-sex male pairs than same-sex female pairs (males: 265.8 g, 95% CI: 60.8, 470.8; females: 133.0 g, 95% CI: 15.7, 250.3). Strong associations between surface area and birth weight are consistent with reported results for singleton pregnancies.
Marjolin's Ulcers: A Case Series and Literature Review.

Background A Marjolin's ulcer describes malignant degeneration in any chronic wound. The majority of cases arise in burn scars and are often latent for decades. Materials and methods This case series presents 6 patients with an average age of 63 years with Marjolin's ulcers (both acute and chronic). A review of the literature was also undertaken. These cases underscore the aggressive course and poor prognosis associated with Marjolin's ulcers and the importance of recognizing the potential for malignant transformation of a chronic wound. Results In the reported cases, the ulcers were found on the upper and lower extremity, flank, and over the sacrum, emphasizing the propensity of these ulcers to arise in nearly any location. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most prevalent malignancy identified in Marjolin's ulcers and was confirmed in all patients in this study. Patients underwent surgical resection, and all patients eventually succumbed to the disease. Conclusion Based on observations and a review of the literature, early detection and aggressive management with wide local excision and prompt coverage yield optimal results when treating patients with Marjolin's ulcers.
Veblen Effects and Counter-Effects: How Local Product-Price Rankings Explain Consumer Choice

Veblen effects and counter-effects occur when product prices signal consumer wealth. This study quantifies such effects and counter-effects through a quasiexperimental approach that addresses identification threats inherent to social interactions, unobserved supply factors, alternative social processes, unobserved consumption utility, and alternative effects of prices. The analysis capitalizes on the richness of a four-dimensional panel data set on automobile rentals to reveal that consumer sensitivity to local rankings of selling-prices of products is highly heterogeneous, often negative, and comparable in magnitude to consumer sensitivity to rental fees. Additional analyses suggest that the estimated effects of price rankings do reflect positional concerns and conspicuous consumption.
Applied Data-Centric Social Sciences: Concepts, Data, Computation, and Theory

The monograph summarizes the author’s 12 years information scientist’s experience of working in interdisciplinary fields from physics to economics. The book consists of 4 parts and 10 chapters, wit...
An Updated Severe Hail and Tornado Climatology for Eastern Colorado

AbstractA localized tornado and severe hail climatology is updated and enhanced for eastern Colorado. This region is one of the most active severe weather areas in the United States because of its ...
Liver Cryopreservation for Regenerative Medicine Applications

The liver has unique regenerative properties that make it an ideal target for regenerative medicine applications. Hepatic systems are functional subunits of the liver and include hepatocytes, liver organoids, precision cut liver slices (PCLS), liver segments/lobes, and whole organs. Each has particular role in research, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications. In particular, hepatic systems have critical roles in pharmacotoxicology testing during drug discovery, liver pathophysiology research, and treatment of acute and chronic liver failure through bioartificial livers or liver transplant. However, each of these applications is limited by scarcity of donors and large variability between these donors. One strategy to mitigate these limitations would be to develop a method for cryopreserving hepatic systems. Cryopreservation could revolutionize how these tissues are used and ultimately save many lives. In this review, we will discuss the limitations for applying conventional methods of cryopreservation to hepatic systems and how new strategies for cryopreserving livers, PCLS, organoids, and hepatocytes by vitrification may overcome these limitations. There is an ever-growing shortage of livers for transplant as well as for research and diagnostic applications. Strategies for liver cryopreservation, or storage at ultralow temperatures, could allow preservation of these organs and tissues indefinitely. Such methods for “banking” livers and liver tissues would revolutionize how they are used in research and the treatment of patients. Here we describe limitations of existing technology and propose a new strategy for indefinite storage of liver and liver tissues in a low-temperature vitrified, or glass-like, state.
Effect of power supply type on the electroplastic effect

Abstract The electroplastic effect (EPE) encompasses the known reduction in flow stress and increase in ductility in a metal resulting from the application of an electric current concurrently with deformation, a phenomenon which cannot be accounted due solely to resistive heating. While several theories have been postulated, the mechanism responsible for the electroplastic effect is still in debate after nearly 60 years of scientific research. A significant amount of research has been conducted on the anomalous effects observed when performing research on the EPE. Particular behaviors which remain elusive are the transient effect of electric current application and the difference between constant and pulsed current applications. Throughout literature, the type of power supply used in electric current application appears to be ignorantly selected and output signals improperly or incompletely documented. It was found herein that the type of power supply used in electrically assisted tensile testing can have a significant effect on the resulting transient mechanical behavior for pulsed current testing within the parameters explored in this research.
Data-driven learning of nonlocal physics from high-fidelity synthetic data

Abstract A key challenge to nonlocal models is the analytical complexity of deriving them from first principles, and frequently their use is justified a posteriori. In this work we extract nonlocal models from data, circumventing these challenges and providing data-driven justification for the resulting model form. Extracting data-driven surrogates is a major challenge for machine learning (ML) approaches, due to nonlinearities and lack of convexity — it is particularly challenging to extract surrogates which are provably well-posed and numerically stable. Our scheme not only yields a convex optimization problem, but also allows extraction of nonlocal models whose kernels may be partially negative while maintaining well-posedness even in small-data regimes. To achieve this, based on established nonlocal theory, we embed in our algorithm sufficient conditions on the non-positive part of the kernel that guarantee well-posedness of the learnt operator. These conditions are imposed as inequality constraints to meet the requisite conditions of the nonlocal theory. We demonstrate this workflow for a range of applications, including reproduction of manufactured nonlocal kernels; numerical homogenization of Darcy flow associated with a heterogeneous periodic microstructure; nonlocal approximation to high-order local transport phenomena; and approximation of globally supported fractional diffusion operators by truncated kernels.
Characteristics of soil organic matter 14 years after a wildfire: A pyrolysis-gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) study

Abstract Severe wildfires combust most above ground vegetation and detritus layers, altering the content and chemical composition of soil organic matter (SOM). To evaluate the lasting effects of wildfire on SOM and the recovery of burned soils, we sampled surface (Oa horizon) and mineral soils (0−5 and 5−15 cm depths) in unburned areas and areas burned at moderate and high severity 14 years after the 2002 Hayman Fire, in Colorado, USA. We characterized SOM using Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC–MS) and identified 106 pyrolysates within eight chemical classes [aromatic hydrocarbon (ArH), carbohydrate (Carb), lignin compound (LgC), nitrogen containing compound (Ntg), polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), phenol compound (PhC), saturated hydrocarbon (SaH), and unsaturated hydrocarbon (UnSaH)]. Burned soils had greater total quantified peak areas (TQPA) for the pyrogenic C indicator (PyC) benzene, compared to unburned soils; however, other common PyC markers were not abundant in burned relative to unburned soils. Factor analysis on the individual pyrolysates suggests that factors 1 and 2 correlated with pyrolysate aromaticity and hydrophobicity, respectively. Sample factor scores potentially suggest that SOM aromaticity increases with fire severity, though difference between moderate and high severity was slight. Factor analysis also indicates that the ratio of [ArH + Ntg] / [PhC + LgC] may serve as index of PyC content in SOM. This study shows that wildfire effects on SOM character may persist for more than a decade of ecosystem recovery and that Py-GC–MS coupled with factor analysis has utility for evaluating how disturbance alters SOM and PyC in complex environments.
To capitate or not to capitate (thrombectomy): is that the question?

Costs of stroke intervention are increasingly relevant as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cut payments and institutes' bundles,1 while mechanical thrombectomy (now offered within 24 hours since last known well) increases in frequency.2 3 This mismatch is likely to worsen as neurointerventional capabilities expand and results of upcoming large-core thrombectomy trials (SELECT2, TESLA, TENSION, RESCUE-Japan LIMIT, LASTE) emerge. The manuscript by Shah et al 4 therefore represents an important contribution, as little has been published on capitation of neuroendovascular devices apart from a prior manuscript from the same institution on coil costs using a theoretical capitation model.5 In their current paper, Shah et al retrospectively reviewed 364 thrombectomies performed between February 2018 and August 2019, during which they had access to capitation bundles from one company (February to September 2018), three companies (February to August 2019), or none (in-between time period). After excluding 11% of thrombectomies owing to insufficient data, they found that …
Interdisciplinary Team-Based Learning: An Integrated Opportunity Recognition and Evaluation Model for Teaching Business, Engineering and Design Students:

This paper describes a pedagogical framework and a set of team-based learning (TBL) activities which can be applied to an interdisciplinary course comprised of a mix of engineering, design, and bus...
Can 'Big Bath' and Earnings Smoothing Coexist as Equilibrium Financial Reporting Strategies?

We study a model of financial reporting where investors infer the precision of reported earnings. Reporting a larger earnings surprise reduces the inferred earnings precision, dampening the impact on firm value of reporting higher earnings, and providing a natural demand for smoother earnings. We show that for sufficiently "bad" news, the manager under-reports earnings by the maximum, preferring to take a "big bath" in the current period in order to report higher future earnings. If the news is "good", the manager smoothes earnings, with the amount of smoothing depending on the level of cashflows observed. He either over-reports or partially under-reports for slightly good news, and gradually increases his under-reporting as the news gets better, until he is under-reporting the maximum amount for sufficiently good news. This result holds both when investors are "naive" and ignore management's ability to manipulate earnings, or "sophisticated" and correctly infer management's disclosure strategy.
Gelatin solution pH and incubation time influences the size of the nanoparticles engineered by desolvation

Abstract Gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs) have been extensively engineered by desolvation processes. However, engineering monodisperse GNPs of reproducible size remains a challenge. Therefore, the starting material processing steps such as gelatin solution pH adjustment and incubation time prior to desolvation were investigated to understand their implications on GNPs size and size distribution. The GNPs were engineered by one-step and two-step desolvation processes using ethanol as a desolvating agent. Irrespective of the desolvation steps, gelatin solution pH incubation times between 0 h and 24 h showed significant (p
Abstract P276: A High Sodium Diet Reduces Cutaneous Microvascular Function In Normotensive Individuals With Salt Sensitive Blood Pressure

Impaired vascular function likely contributes to the association between dietary sodium intake and the development of cardiovascular disease. Using the cutaneous microvasculature as a model, we hav...
Immune-mediated attenuation of influenza illness after infection: opportunities and challenges

Summary Sterilising immunity that blocks infection for life, and thus prevents illness after infection, is the ultimate goal for vaccines. Neither influenza infection nor vaccination provide sterilising immunity. Mutations during influenza viral genome replication result in the emergence of viruses that evade immunity and cause reinfections. Waning of immunity also results in reinfections to homologous influenza viruses. However, immunity might limit the severity of disease after infection or vaccination (ie, immunoattenuation). We provide a comprehensive examination of experimental and observational peer reviewed evidence since 1933, when the first influenza virus was isolated, on whether immunity blocks subsequent infection or attenuates illness. Although an abundance of experimental evidence supports immunoattenuation, clinical evidence is rudimentary and conflicting. To the extent that immunoattenuation occurs, understanding the varied pathways to illness, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and correlates of attenuation can improve the design and evaluation of influenza vaccines. By elucidating the mechanisms of immunoattenuation and phenotypes of illness, we clarify ambiguities and identify unmet needs that, if addressed with priority, could strategically improve the design of vaccines for the prevention of influenza.
Will We Ever Close the Gender Gap Among Top Mathematics Achievers? Analysis of Recent Trends by Race in Advanced Placement (AP) Exams:

Analyzing the test scores of more than 10,000,000 students who participated in the Advanced Placement (AP) math exams from 1997 to 2019, this study examined the direction and magnitude of the trend...
Fiber Evolution in the Heat Flow of Harmonic Maps

The heat flow for harmonic maps u: M 3x(O, T) →N 2is considered in terms of the geometrical properties of the fibers u ∈ M: u(x, t)= y for various y ∈ N, as these curves evolve with time t. This includes a special limiting case for the evolution of nematic liquid crystals.
Pathway model of parental help seeking for adolescents experiencing first‐episode psychosis

AIM Parents and caregivers are confronted with many challenges when caring for adolescents experiencing first-episode psychosis (FEP). Understanding and support for parental help-seeking process is essential for adolescents' timely access to treatment. The study aimed to develop a pathway model of parental help seeking for adolescents experiencing FEP and identify crucial time points for intervention. METHODS Directed content analysis was conducted on semi-structured qualitative interviews of 16 parents whose children had experienced FEP and focused on parents' experiences prior to and during FEP until first hospitalization. RESULTS The resultant parental help seeking for FEP model included two stages and six phases. The contemplation stage is composed of phases of initial awareness, recognizing severity and considering options. The action stage entailed help-seeking intention, securing help and service appraisal. All parents promptly began help seeking after recognizing severe symptoms and sought advice from professional and community supports, although parents' lack of initial awareness was common. Further analysis on individual parents' help-seeking trajectories showed that among the 50% parents who reported pre-existing childhood conditions, 87.5% did not report initial awareness of psychotic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Findings recommend intervention at three specific periods of help seeking. First, psychoeducation is needed when parents first engage with health care for their children's disabling conditions. Professionals treating childhood conditions need training to vigilantly monitor the overall mental health of the children over time. Second, it is important to enhance the roles of formal and informal community resources in facilitating parental help seeking. Finally, family-focused interventions are essential in supporting the family for securing needed treatment.
Bivens' Revisions: Constitutional Torts After Minneci v. Pollard

This Comment examines the current state of the Bivens doctrine in light of the Supreme Court's recent holding in Minneci v. Pollard. The author argues that, rather than another example of the Court's wariness toward "extending" Bivens to a "new context," Minneci represents a subtle but significant retreat for the doctrine itself. After critiquing the Court's application of the traditional two-step test for assessing potential Bivens claims, the Comment concludes by exploring what the Minneci Court's reasoning may portend for the future of Bivens.
Trends in crime and the introduction of a needle exchange program.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine whether introduction of a needle exchange program would be associated with increased crime rates. METHODS: Trends in arrests were compared in program and nonprogram areas before and after introduction of a needle exchange program in Baltimore. Trends were modeled and compared via Poisson regression. RESULTS: No significant differences in arrest trends emerged. Over the study period, increases in category-specific arrests in program and nonprogram areas, respectively, were as follows: drug possession, 17.7% and 13.4%; economically motivated offenses, 0.0% and 20.7%; resistance to police authority, 0.0% and 5.3%; and violent offenses, 7.2% and 8.0%. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of association of overall and type-specific arrest data with program implementation argues against the role of needle exchange programs in increasing crime rates. Language: en
Neuropathologic alterations in mild cognitive impairment: a review

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the earliest clinically detectable phase of the trajectory toward dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD), led to the need for even earlier detection and prevention of AD. Although it is a clinical diagnosis, its underlying neuropathological findings are just being defined. MCI is best studied in longitudinally followed patients in centers that are experienced in dementing disorders. In this review of the few major clinical-pathological reports of longitudinally followed patients, it appears that most autopsied amnestic MCI (aMCI) patients are on a pathway toward AD. Neurofibrillary pathology in entorhinal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala--not amyloid plaques--is the major substrate for aMCI and for memory decline. In addition, many MCI patients have other concomitant pathological alterations, the most common of which are strokes, but also include argyrophilic grains and Lewy bodies. These findings are not surprising because most MCI autopsied cases have been in the older (80 to 90 year) range where these findings are common. In early AD, the phase following MCI, the significant change is an increase in neurofibrillary tangles in the neocortex that correlates with an increase in Braak score and the observed clinical progression.
The eosinophil and allergy: Why?

Abstract The eosinophil has a long association with allergic disease, but its function is still not well understood. This review assimilates current information from the literature and from our observations in an attempt to arrive at the clinical role of the eosinophil. With this purpose in mind, structure kinetics, and factors related to eosinophilotaris, eosinopenia, and eosinophilut are discussed. Although it is apparent that this cell has a unique function in the inflammatory process, its precise role remains unclear. The eosinophil is possibly the sole source of profibrinolysin. The collection and disposal of antigen-antibody complexes by the eosinophil may be an essential function for homeostasis of the host.
Coagulopathy: Its pathophysiology and treatment in the injured patient

Hemorrhage continues to be one of the leading causes of death following trauma. Trauma patients are susceptible to the early development of coagulopathy and the most severely injured patients are coagulopathic on hospital admission. Hypothermia, acidosis, and dilution from standard resuscitation can worsen the presenting coagulopathy and perpetuate bleeding. Early identification of coagulopathy is dependent on clinical awareness and point of care laboratory values. Routinely used laboratory coagulation parameters fail to adequately describe this state. Thrombelastography is a test that can be done at the bedside and uses whole blood to provide a functional evaluation of coagulation. Rapid diagnosis of coagulopathy, followed by prevention or correction of hypothermia and acidosis should be a priority during the initial evaluation and resuscitation. Judicious use of resuscitation fluids and early replacement of coagulation factors will help prevent iatrogenic hemodilution. This review covers the pathophysiology as well as the clinical and laboratory diagnosis of coagulopathy. Prevention and treatment strategies are discussed, including early transfusion of coagulation factors during massive transfusion and the use of recombinant factor VIIa. Damage control resuscitation is briefly discussed, and it involves the combination of hypotensive resuscitation and hemostatic resuscitation. Finally, a description of the use of fresh whole blood in the military setting is included. Its use has been proven to be safe and beneficial in this setting and warrants further investigation as an adjunct to the management of civilian trauma patients.
Efficient Latch and Clock Structures for System-on-Chip Test Flexibility

This paper describes a novel implementation of edge-triggered flip-flops that incorporates the most optimum features of the leading design-for-testability (DFT) methods in the industry in a manner that is efficient from the standpoint of performance, power and area. The result is a flip-flop design that provides testability that is free of timing hazards (race-free and LSSD compatible), while operating at product frequency using only a single edge clock
Non-convex prior image constrained compressed sensing (NC-PICCS)

The purpose of this paper is to present a new image reconstruction algorithm for dynamic data, termed non-convex prior image constrained compressed sensing (NC-PICCS). It generalizes the prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS) algorithm with the use of non-convex priors. Here, we concentrate on perfusion studies using computed tomography examples in simulated phantoms (with and without added noise) and in vivo data, to show how the NC-PICCS method holds potential for dramatic reductions in radiation dose for time-resolved CT imaging. We show that NC-PICCS can provide additional undersampling compared to conventional convex compressed sensing and PICCS, as well as, faster convergence under a quasi-Newton numerical solver.
Human immunodeficiency virus risk behavior among white and Asian/Pacific Islander high school students in the United States: Does culture make a difference?

Purpose: This article analyzes sexual behavior among white and Asian/Pacific Islander (API) adolescents, to determine the risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission from a multicultural point of view. Methods: A total of 5,385 white and 408 API high school students were included. The national school-based Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS 1991) was used. Results: After controlling for academic performance, white students were 2.3 times more likely to communicate about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)/HIV, 2.7 times more likely to be sexually experienced, and 2.5 times more likely to use alcohol or other drugs before sex than APIs. There were no significant differences between these two groups in the age of initiating sex, the number of lifetime partners, the proportion of being currently sexually active (having had sex during the past 3 months), and condom use behavior. Although APIs had a low rate of AIDS/HIV, they have behaviors at as high a risk as white students once they became sexually experienced, and they have an even greater number of recent partners if they are currently sexually active. Use of alcohol or other drugs before sex and condom use is significantly related. Conclusions: Given the importance of attention to risks among API adolescents, this study underscores the need for more research to explore how culture values play a role among all API students, those who are sexually experienced, and those who are currently sexually active API students, to develop culturally sensitive AIDS/HIV prevention programs.
Image guided 3D OCT for early diagnosis of carcinoma in situ of the bladder

Bladder carcinoma in situ (CIS) remains a clinical challenge. We compare the efficacies and potential limitations of surface imaging modalities, e.g., white light (WL), fluorescence (FC), blue-light imaging (BL) and 3D optical coherence tomography (3D OCT) for early diagnosis of bladder CIS. SV40T transgenic mice, which develop carcinoma in situ in about 8 to 20 weeks then high grade papillary tumor in the bladder, were employed as the rodent carcinogenesis model to closely mimic human bladder CIS. A total of 30 mice (i.e., SV40T mice blinded with its back strain Balb/c mice) were enrolled in the study, including 20 with CIS and 10 with normal or benign lesions of the bladder mucosa. Our results show that the low diagnostic sensitivities and specificities of WL, FC and BL for early CIS were significantly enhanced by quantitative 3D OCT to 95.0% and 90.0%, suggesting the value of image-guided 3D OCT for future clinical diagnosis of CIS in vivo.
Isoelectric focusing-affinity immunoblot analysis of mouse monoclonal antibodies to the four human IgG subclasses

Isoelectric focusing (IEF)/affinity immunoblotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used for parallel analysis of murine monoclonal antihuman IgG-subclass antisera (MoAbs). Coomassie Blue-stained protein bands in the pH region 5.5-8.0 were shown to be murine IgG by direct blotting onto nitrocellulose followed by detection with conjugated antimouse IgG. Use of IgG myeloma antigen-coated nitrocellulose in the IEF-affinity immunoblot allowed detection of the charge microheterogeneity of MoAbs. The MoAb group contained one to five major dense bands flanked by up to four minor fainter bands, all with pIs ranging from 6.1 to 7.8. Semiquantitative estimates of binding specificity in the IEF-affinity blot compared well with cross-reactivity data obtained from a quantitative ELISA.
The Veterans Administration's Comparison Study: Alcoholism and Drug Abuse—Combined and Conventional Treatment Settings

Traditionally, alcohol and drug abusers have been treated in separate environments. However, due to a growing interest in combined treatment, a 6-mo comparison of patient performance obtained in conventional and combined treatment settings was carried out. While both treatment settings produced sizable improvements in patients, results indicated an improved outcome for alcoholics treated in a conventional setting which, though small, was statistically significant.
Hysteresis and scanning behavior of mesoporous molecular sieves.

Sorption hysteresis is a widely studied phenomenon whose predicted behavior is well documented and researched. On the other hand, there is much less known about the region that lies between sorption isotherms, believed to be a metastable region. Scanning curves are a way of understanding the mechanism of hysteresis and a tool for hysteresis model validation. Scanning curves were produced for mesoporous materials: SBA-15 and MCM-41 for N2 sorption at 77 K and Ar sorption at 87 K. A limited set of different scanning behaviors is identified. Like most hysteresis theories, it was found that a single model for scanning behavior cannot be extended to all materials under the same or different experimental conditions. Two behaviors are consistent with recent theories and simulations; however, several are not. The implications as to the characterization of pore dimensions and structure are discussed.
A simple electronic device for the measurement of band migration distances in polyacrylamide gels.

Abstract An electronic device for the measurement of migration distances in polyacrylamide gel electrophrresis was developed and tested. Principal advantages over manual methods are: Speed, ease of operation, improved detection of minor bands, and adaptability to automated data storage and processing.
The zonal distribution of selected elements above the Kalamazoo porphyry copper deposit, San Manuel district, Pinal County, Arizona

Abstract There may be many as-yet-undiscovered porphyry copper deposits that exist as blind deposits deep within exposed rock bodies. The Kalamazoo porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit is a blind deposit present at depths up to at least 1,000 m (about 3,200 ft) that contains zoning features common to many of the known porphyry copper deposits found in western North and South America. As the preliminary phase in a geochemical study of the Kalamazoo deposit, whole-rock samples of core and cuttings from two drill holes have been analyzed for 60 different elements. Each hole represents a different major rock unit and each has penetrated completely through all the existing alteration zones and the ore zone. Plots of concentration vs. depth for 17 selected elements show distinct high- or low-concentration zones that are spatially related to the ore zone. For most of the ore-related elements no significant correlation with the two lithologies is apparent. The spatial distribution and abundance of elements such as Co, Cu, S, Se, Mn, Tl, Rb, Zn, B, and Li may be useful in determining the direction for exploration to proceed to locate a blind deposit. Trace element studies should be valuable in evaluating areas containing extensive outcrops of rocks with disseminated pyrite. Elemental zoning should be at least as useful as alteration-mineralization zoning for evaluating rock bodies thought to contain blind deposits similar to the Kalamazoo deposit.
In Vivo Assembly and Arrangement of the DNA Translocase SpoIIIE During Chromosome Segregation and Membrane Fission in B. Subtilis

SpoIIIE, a DNA translocase motor protein of the SpoIIIE/FtsK family, is responsible for chromosome segregation during bacterial cell division. In sporulating Bacillus subtilis, SpoIIIE aggregates as a focus at the mid-sporulating septum to export a circular chromosome from the mother into the daughter cell. The architecture of SpoIIIE at the focus and its mechanism of operation for the DNA translocation and the membrane fission are still controversial. Here, we directly visualize the SpoIIIE architecture at the macromolecular scale and developed a novel genetic tool to determine its operational mode during DNA translocation and membrane fission in vivo. Using a combination of these genetic tools together with quantitative single molecule imaging and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, we demonstrate that SpoIIIE assembles as two complexes (∼40nm size), one in the mother and one in the daughter cell. In these complexes there are enough molecules to form either two or four hexamers. Moreover, we demonstrate that the mother cell-SpoIIIE is able to translocate DNA and accomplish sporulation, even in absence of daughter cell-SpoIIIE. On the other hand, SpoIIIE from both mother and daughter cells mediate the septal membrane fission. Altogether, our results indicate that two hexamers of SpoIIIE assembles into a DNA crossing channel across the sporulation septum for chromosome segregation and septal membrane fission.
Fundamentalism, suicide, and homicide

The percentage of fundamentalists in the USA contributed to the prediction of homicide rates of the American states in 1980 but not to the prediction of suicide rates.
Ovariectomized steroid-treated mares as embryo transfer recipients and as a model to study the role of progestins in pregnancy maintenance.

Abstract Embryo transfer into ovariectomized steroid-treated mares was used as a model to evaluate various progestin/estradiol treatments and to determine the level of progesterone necessary for the maintenance of pregnancy in mares. Once a donor mare was in estrus and had a ≥35 mm follicle, an ovariectomized recipient was selected and assigned to one of three groups: 1) 1 mg estradiol (E2) was injected subcutaneously daily until the donor mare ovulated; on the day of the donor mare's ovulation, daily intramuscular injections of 300 mg progesterone (P4) were commenced and continued until the end of the experiment (Day 35); 2) E2 and P4 treatments were identical except E2 was continued daily until Day 20; and 3) The same E2 treatment as Group 1, 0.044 mg altrenogest per kilogram body weight were administered daily until Day 35. Embryos were recovered 7 d after the donor mare's ovulation and were transferred via surgical flank incision. Twenty additional embryos (controls) were transferred into intact recipients that ovulated 1 d before to 3 d after the donor. Pregnancy rates did not differ (P>0.05) among groups at Days 14 or 35. Pregnancy rates at Day 35 for mares administered injectable P4 (70%) were identical to those given altrenogest. Overall, pregnancy rates for ovariectomized-progestin treated recipients (28 of 40, 70%) were similar (>0.05) to that of intact mares (16 of 20, 80%). Dose of P4 was decreased in Groups 1 and 2 to 200 mg (Days 35 to 39), 100 mg (Days 40 to 44), 50 mg (Days 45 to 49) and 0 mg (≥Day 50). Blood samples were collected once on Days 34, 35, 39, 40, 44, 45, 49 and 50 and assayed for P4. Dose of altrenogest was decreased to 0.022, 0.011, 0.0055 and 0 mg per kilogram body weight at Days 35 to 39, 40 to 44, 45 to 49 and ≥50. Number of mares in Groups 1 and 2 that lost their pregnancy while given 200, 100, 50 or 0 mg P4 was 0, 2, 8 and 4, respectively. Doses of 0.022, 0.011, 0.0055 and 0 mg altrenogest per kilogram body weight resulted in 0, 6, 4 and 3 mares aborting. Fetal death did not occur until concentrations of P4 decreased below 2.56 ng/ml 24 h after injection.
Differential effects of GTP on the coupling of β-adrenergic receptors to adenylate cyclase from frog and turkey erythrocytes application of new methods for the analysis of receptor-effector coupling

Abstract A detailed comparison of the interaction of β-adrenergic receptors with adenylate cyclase stimulation and modification of this interaction by guanine nucleotides has been made in two model systems, the frog and turkey erythrocyte. Objective analysis of the data was facilitated by the development of new graphical methods which involve the use of logit-logit transformations of percent receptor occupancy versus percent enzyme stimulation plots (coupling curves). Receptor-cyclase coupling in turkey erythrocyte membranes demonstrates a proportional relationship between receptor occupancy and adenylate cyclase activation and is unaffected by exogenous guanine nucleotides. By comparison, the proportional relationship of receptor occupancy and adenylate cyclase activation observed in frog erythrocyte membranes in the absence of guanine nucleotides is modified by the addition of exogenous guanine nucleotides such that a greater fractional enzyme stimulation is elicited by low receptor occupancy. Methodological criteria crucial for valid comparison of receptor occupancy and adenylate cyclase activity are delineated. In addition, the possible molecular mechanisms of receptor-cyclase coupling which might give rise to the coupling curves observed are discussed.
Nano power electronics: a breakthrough in the miniaturization of electronic systems and instruments

In recent past, research has been broadly based on controlling matter at nanometer scale, and this idea led to the development of new materials with unique and useful properties. Thus, the implementation of new technology has so far made possible many small-scale power electronic circuits and elements, which are widely being used, in various commercial applications. Nano power electronics is a developing field, where the circuitry is composed of molecular dimensional power electronic components, which includes all types of power switches and devices. The area of nano power electronics have recently been the most intensive area of concentration for researchers of all fields like material science, biotechnology, physics, chemistry, and all engineering fields. Nano scale electronics would define the latest advancements in the solid-state device technology; to make nanometer dimensional FET and MOSFET switches operate for molecular scale circuits and devices. Micro and nano scale electromechanical systems which function with many nano scale elements inbuilt within them, are very useful for different purposes in medical science and many other areas.
E‐Government in China: A Content Analysis of National and Provincial Web Sites

The Chinese government has actively encouraged and invested in the growth of the Internet to capture the technology's vast commercial potential, while exerting state control. Even before the country was fully connected to the global “network of networks,” China began to implement programs that would facilitate e-government. Despite some valuable examinations of e-government in China, no studies were found that systematically explored the content of both national and provincial Chinese government Web sites. This study fills that gap in the literature by analyzing the content of the opening pages of 177 government Web sites. The study found that broad e-governance, e-knowledge, and e-service functions were implemented at sites of national, costal, and inland government units. Generally, national and costal sites were more sophisticated, but inland sites seemed designed to meet the specific needs of government, citizens, and businesses in inland areas. The coding form and method designed for analyzing these sites holds promise for future researchers and the findings suggest that China may have begun to achieve its goals of facilitating government functions via the Internet.
Pattern discrimination learning set formation in rats with brain stimulation as a reinforcer

Three rats were criterion trained on 135–165 problems using 112-dimensional minimal stimuli. Reinforcement consisted of electrical stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus. All Ss demonstrated interproblem improvement.
Acute appendicitis presenting as acute gastritis in an adult patient with undiagnosed congenital gut malrotation: a case report.

Abstract Background We report a case of an atypical presentation of acute appendicitis in an adult due to an undiagnosed congenital gut malrotation. Objective The obvious benefit of observation with serial examinations followed by the use of computed tomography (CT) is discussed in aiding in the diagnosis for atypical presentations of appendicitis. Case Report A 45-year-old man who presented with epigastric pain and vomiting was diagnosed with acute left-sided appendicitis on CT scan. The patient’s appendix was located in the left lower quadrant of the abdomen due to undiagnosed congenital gut malrotation, thus resulting in an atypical presentation of a common illness. Conclusion Observation with serial examinations, followed by CT scanning if indicated, is an invaluable strategy to use in diagnosing atypical presentations of common pathology.
Global Attractivity of the Equilibrium of a Nonlinear Difference Equation

The authors consider the nonlinear difference equation xn+1=αxn+xn-kf(xn-k),n=0,1,(0.1) where α∈(0,1), k ∈ 0,1, and f ∈ C1[[0,∞), [0,∞)] with f′(x) < 0. They give sufficient conditions for the unique positive equilibrium of (0.1) to be a global attractor of all positive solutions. The results here are somewhat easier to apply than those of other authors. An application to a model of blood cell production is given.
Relationship of ethnicity, gender, and ambulatory blood pressure to pain sensitivity: effects of individualized pain rating scales.

Abstract A growing literature has reported significant reductions in pain sensitivity associated with increasing levels of blood pressure. However, most of this research has been limited to casual blood pressure assessments in white men. The present study examined associations between pain reports and ambulatory blood pressure in a sample of African American and white men and women. Possible response bias during pain assessment due to ethnicity and gender was evaluated with individualized pain rating scales. One hundred thirty-five (72 African American and 63 white) men and women underwent 24-hour blood pressure monitoring and arm ischemia pain sensitivity evaluation with both standard verbal rating scales and individually ordered verbal rating scales of intensity and unpleasantness. Lower individualized pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings were associated with higher levels of ambulatory blood pressure. African Americans and women reported higher levels of pain intensity when using the standard verbal rating scale but not when using the individually ordered rating scale. Collectively, these results support previous research relating reduced pain sensitivity with increased blood pressure among men and women. Furthermore, reported differences in pain sensitivity between ethnic groups and genders might in part be associated with variations in response styles to standard pain assessment tools. Perspective The findings of the present study suggest that, in some instances, different ethnic groups and genders may use the same descriptors to report different levels of pain. In the context of clinical pain assessment, it may be important to consider the possibility that descriptions of painful sensations reflect, in part, demographic characteristics.
From cyclohydrolase to oxidoreductase: Discovery of nitrile reductase activity in a common fold

The enzyme YkvM from Bacillus subtilis was identified previously along with three other enzymes (YkvJKL) in a bioinformatics search for enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of queuosine, a 7-deazaguanine modified nucleoside found in tRNAGUN of Bacteria and Eukarya. Genetic analysis of ykvJKLM mutants in Acinetobacter confirmed that each was essential for queuosine biosynthesis, and the genes were renamed queCDEF. QueF exhibits significant homology to the type I GTP cyclohydrolases characterized by FolE. Given that GTP is the precursor to queuosine and that a cyclohydrolase-like reaction was postulated as the initial step in queuosine biosynthesis, QueF was proposed to be the putative cyclohydrolase-like enzyme responsible for this reaction. We have cloned the queF genes from B. subtilis and Escherichia coli and characterized the recombinant enzymes. Contrary to the predictions based on sequence analysis, we discovered that the enzymes, in fact, catalyze a mechanistically unrelated reaction, the NADPH-dependent reduction of 7-cyano-7-deazaguanineto7-aminomethyl-7-deazaguanine, a late step in the biosynthesis of queuosine. We report here in vitro and in vivo studies that demonstrate this catalytic activity, as well as preliminary biochemical and bioinformatics analysis that provide insight into the structure of this family of enzymes.
Animal and plant cell lysates share a conserved chaperone system that assembles the glucocorticoid receptor into a functional heterocomplex with hsp90.

The hormone-binding domain of the glucocorticoid receptor must be bound to heat shock protein (hsp) 90 for it to have a high-affinity steroid-binding conformation. Cell-free assembly of a glucocorticoid receptor−hsp90 heterocomplex is brought about in reticulocyte lysate by a preformed protein-folding complex containing hsp90, hsp70, and other proteins [Hutchison, K. A., Dittmar, K. D., & Pratt, W. B. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 27894−27899]. In this “foldosome” system, hsp70 is required for assembly of the receptor−hsp90 complex and concomitant activation of steroid-binding activity [Hutchison, K. A., Dittmar, K. D., Czar, M. J., & Pratt, W. B. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 22157−22161]. All previous experiments involving cell-free assembly of both receptor−hsp90 and protein kinase−hsp90 heterocomplexes have been carried out with the protein-folding system in rabbit reticulocyte lysate. In this work, we show that concentrated lysates of receptor-free mouse (L cells) and insect (Sf9) cells and also a plant (w...