cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Fibroids and Histologic Subtype on the Performance of US Clinical Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Endometrial Cancer among Black Women.

Objective: To assess the predicted performance of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG)’s recommended endometrial thickness (ET) of ≥4mm via transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) for a simulated cohort of US Black women with postmenopausal bleeding (PMB). Methods: We used endometrial cancer parameters from ET studies upon which guidelines are based, as well as documented population characteristics of US Black wom­en, to simulate a cohort of US Black women with PMB. Annual endometrial cancer (EC) prevalence overall and by histology type (I and II), history and current diagnosis of uterine fibroids, and visibility of endometria were estimated. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess performance changes with quality of baseline parameters and impact of fibroids on ET visibility. Main Outcome Measures: Performance characteristics of 3+, 4+, and 5+mm ET thresholds were assessed including sensitiv­ity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves, and the area under the curve (AUC). Results: In the main model with the 4+mm recommended threshold, TVUS ET showed a sensitivity of 47.5% (95% CI: 46.0-49.0%); specificity of 64.9% (95% CI: 64.4-65.3%); PPV of 13.1% (95% CI: 12.5-13.6%); NPV of 91.7% (95% CI: 91.4-92.1%), and AUC of .57 (95% CI: .56-.57). Conclusions: Among a simulated cohort of US Black women, the recommended 4+mm ET threshold to trigger diagnostic biopsy for EC diagnosis performed poorly, with more than 50% of cases missed and an 8-fold higher frequency of false nega­tive results than reported for the general population. Ethn Dis. 2021;30(4):543-552; doi:10.18865/ed.30.4.543
Efficient Selection of Insured Currency Positions: Protective Puts vs. Fiduciary Calls

We examine the empirical results from implementation of portfolio insurance strategies employing currency spot and futures options. Hypotheses are generated from Ogden and Tucker's (1988) generalizations concerning the relative values of American spot currency options and currency futures options. We find that protective puts using futures options are generally dominated by both protective puts that use options on spot currencies and by fiduciary calls on futures contracts. This suggests that the prices of puts on foreign currency futures contracts are too high, relative to foreign currency futures calls and to puts on spot currencies
Assessment of Racial Disparities in Primary Care Physician Specialty Referrals

Importance Disparities in quality of care according to patient race and socioeconomic status persist in the US. Differential referral patterns to specialist physicians might be associated with observed disparities. Objective To examine whether differences exist between Black and White Medicare beneficiaries in the observed patterns of patient sharing between primary care physicians (PCPs) and physicians in the 6 specialties to which patients were most frequently referred. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional observational study of Black and White Medicare beneficiaries used claims data from 2009 to 2010 on 100% of traditional Medicare beneficiaries who were seen by PCPs and selected high-volume specialists in 12 health care markets with at least 10% of the population being Black. Statistical analyses were conducted from December 20, 2017, to September 30, 2020. Exposures Differences in patterns of patient sharing among Black and White patients. Main Outcomes and Measures Primary care physician and specialist degree (the number of other PCPs or specialists to whom each physician is connected) and strength (the number of shared patients per connection, overall, for Black patients and White patients and after equalizing the numbers of Black and White patients per PCP), as well as distance between PCP and patient and specialist zip code centroids. Results The 12 selected markets ranged in size from Manhattan, New York (187 054 Black or White beneficiaries seen by at least 2 physicians within an episode of care; 9794 total physicians), to Tallahassee, Florida (44 644 Black or White beneficiaries seen by at least 2 physicians within an episode of care; 847 total physicians). The percentage of Black beneficiaries ranged from 11.5% (Huntsville, Alabama) to 46.8% (Chicago, Illinois). The mean PCP-specialist degree (number of specialists with whom a PCP shares patients) was lower for Black patients than for White patients. For instance, the mean PCP-cardiologist degree across all markets for White patients was 17.5 compared with 8.8 for Black patients. After sampling White patients to equalize the numbers of patients seen, the degree differences narrowed but were still not equivalent in many markets (eg, for all specialties in Baton Rouge, Louisiana: 4.5 for Black patients vs 5.7 for White patients). Specialist networks among White patients were much larger than those constructed based just on Black patients (eg, for cardiology across all markets: 135 for Black patients vs 330 for White patients), even after equalizing the numbers of patients seen per PCP (123 for Black patients vs 211 for White patients). The overall test for differences in referral patterns was statistically significant for all 6 specialties examined in 7 of the 12 markets and in 5 specialties for another 3. Conclusions and Relevance This study suggests that differences exist in specialist referral patterns by race among Medicare beneficiaries. This is an observational study, and thus some differences might have resulted from patient-initiated visits to specialists.
Impact of Hurricane Matthew on Diabetes Self-Management and Outcomes

Background Individuals with diabetes require extensive self-management. Little is known about how Hurricane Matthew (Matthew) or Hurricane Florence (Florence) impacted diabetes self-management and outcomes in Robeson County, North Carolina. Methods Mixed methods were used to assess the impact of hurricanes on diabetes self-management and outcomes. Individuals with diabetes were recruited for focus groups to understand the perceived impact on diabetes self-management. Health care providers were recruited for parallel key informant interviews. Mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) from hospital data six months before and after Matthew were compared using Student t-tests. Results A demographic breakdown of 34.25% white, 21.70% Black or African American, and 21.38% American Indian or Alaska Native was observed from focus groups. Qualitative results highlight a limited access to a balanced diet and medications. No significant differences were found between mean HbA1c values before and after Matthew (before Matthew: mean HbA1c 8.34 ± 1.87%; after Matthew: mean HbA1c 8.31 ± 1.93 %; P = .366). The period prevalence (PP) of DKA was higher after Matthew than before (before Matthew: 39 cases out of 4,025 visits, PP = .010; after Matthew: 87 cases out of 3,779 visits, PP = .023; P Limitations Limitations include non-random sampling and limited sample sizes. Also, the cross-sectional panel approach did not follow the same individuals over time. Conclusions The period prevalence of DKA was higher in the six-month time period following Matthew compared to before the hurricane. Future interventions may improve outcomes via increased access to foods and medications recommended for those with diabetes.
Young Women and Desistance: Finding a Net to Fall Back On

In this chapter, we explore how Black and Latina young women navigate reentry from the juvenile justice system, desistance, and becoming an adult in urban Los Angeles, USA. Much of the literature on youth reentry centers on young men, and less is known about young women. Using longitudinal qualitative interviews with seven young women, we highlight case studies that illustrate how the participants balance individual survival and social supports. Woven throughout, the women’s stories are interconnected through the themes of finding home, breaking the cycle, caregiving, social bonds, gendered violence, and survival and resilience.
Bus Assignment Considering Flexible Escape Routing for Layer Minimization in PCB Designs

It is necessary for cost consideration to minimize the number of the used layers in a PCB design. Traditionally, the number of the used layers outside components in bus assignment depends on the locations of the bus pins inside components in escape routing in a PCB design. In this paper, the concept of introducing the flexible escape directions in escape routing is considered in the bus assignment outside components in a PCB design. Clearly, the flexible consideration of the escape directions inside components can lead to the reduction on the number of the used layers in the bus assignment outside components. Given a set of buses on a set of components in a PCB design, based on the introduction of the flexible escape directions in escape routing and the construction of the possible bus connections in bus assignment, the two upper bounds of the layer numbers inside and outside components can be firstly computed. By eliminating the redundant bus connections for the given buses, an integrated algorithm can be further proposed to minimize the number of the used layers in a PCB design. Based on the assignment constraints from the intersection relations inside components, the physical connections of the given buses can be assigned onto a minimal set of used layers. Compared with the two-phase algorithm using Yan’s routing algorithm in direction-constrained rectangle escape routing and Yan’s assignment algorithm in bus assignment, the experimental results show that our proposed integrated algorithm use reasonable CPU time to reduce 32.1% of the layer number for 10 tested examples in a PCB design on the average.
The Chemistry of 1-Pyrindines

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the chemical literature, through 1969, concerning the chemistry of the derivatives of 1-pyrindine, 6,7-dihydro-5H-1-pyrindine, hydroxy- and oxo-6,7-dihydro-5H-1-pyrindin-5,7(6H), -1-pyrindine-5,7(6 H)-dione, and hexahydro- and octahydro-1-pyrindine. Some medically important 1 -pyrindine derivatives are discussed. The chemical abstracts nomenclature and numbering system is used. In recent years, much work has been directed toward the synthesis of unsubstituted and substituted pyrindines. Preparation and reactions of various pyrindines are discussed. Some 1-pyrindine derivatives have been found to show analgesic and anesthetic activity. 1-pyrindine derivatives have been screened for their effect as antimetabolites on the growth of Entamoeba histolytica , and other pyrindine derivatives have been studied as possible tubercostatic, and antimalarial agents. Methods of synthesis for a series of these compounds and tests of their relative antishock activity have been described.
GEM: The GAAIN Entity Mapper

We present a software system solution that significantly simplifies data sharing of medical data. This system, called GEM (for the GAAIN Entity Mapper), harmonizes medical data. Harmonization is the process of unifying information across multiple disparate datasets needed to share and aggregate medical data. Specifically, our system automates the task of finding corresponding elements across different independently created (medical) datasets of related data. We present our overall approach, detailed technical architecture, and experimental evaluations demonstrating the effectiveness of our approach.
Combining Configurational and Statistical Approaches in Image Retrieval

We develop a framework for combining configurational and statistical approaches in image retrieval. While configurations have semantic description power, the explicit representation of an image by a set of configurations lacks the vector space structure from which the statistical feature-based representations have benefitted. That makes concept learning and prediction harder. Our framework treats configurations analogously to words occurring in a document. It combines a configuration-based approach with statistical approaches to take advantage of both the semantic description power of the former, and the simple vector-space structure of the latter.
Exploration of the Hemispheric Differences in Number Processing of the Brain

Abstract The current study explored how reaction time and accuracy differed in the left and right visual fields by altering various dot clusters in both number and organization. Researchers have hypothesized that the left hemisphere uses counting to judge small, disorganized clusters of objects accurately and that the right hemisphere uses estimation to judge clusters organized in geometric shape accurately. The current study tested both visual fields of participant’s with organized and unorganized clusters of dots. Dots were clustered between 3 and 12. The clusters were presented on separate sides of a computer screen to analyze visual field differences in counting and estimation. A central target was presented on the screen to maintain central focus for the visual fields. Data from 40 participants (30 men, 10 women) from a small liberal arts college indicated that when clusters reached between 7 and 8 dots, organization in the right visual field created inaccuracy in judgment. Reaction time data indicated that as number level increased, reaction time slowed. Reaction time data also showed that organization slowed reaction times in both visual fields. These data indicated that different numerical judgment abilities do exist within the hemispheres.
Quantitative assessment of the contribution of sodium‐dependent taurocholate co‐transporting polypeptide (NTCP) to the hepatic uptake of rosuvastatin, pitavastatin and fluvastatin

Hepatic uptake transport is often the rate-determining step in the systemic clearance of drugs. The ability to predict uptake clearance and to determine the contribution of individual transporters to overall hepatic uptake is therefore critical in assessing the potential pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variability associated with drug-drug interactions and pharmacogenetics. The present study revisited the interaction of statin drugs, including pitavastatin, fluvastatin and rosuvastatin, with the sodium-dependent taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) using gene transfected cell models. In addition, the uptake clearance and the contribution of NTCP to the overall hepatic uptake were assessed using in vitro hepatocyte models. Then NTCP protein expression was measured by a targeted proteomics transporter quantification method to confirm the presence and stability of NTCP expression in suspended and cultured hepatocyte models. It was concluded that NTCP-mediated uptake contributed significantly to active hepatic uptake in hepatocyte models for all three statins. However, the contribution of NTCP-mediated uptake to the overall active hepatic uptake was compound-dependent and varied from about 24% to 45%. Understanding the contribution of individual transporter proteins to the overall hepatic uptake and its functional variability when other active hepatic uptake pathways are interrupted could improve the current prediction practice used to assess the pharmacokinetic variability due to drug-drug interactions, pharmacogenetics and physiopathological conditions in humans.
Behavioral Cloning for Simulator Validation

Behavioral cloning is an established technique for creating agent behaviors by replicating patterns of behavior observed in humans or other agents. For pragmatic reasons, behavioral cloning has usually been implemented and tested in simulation environments using a single nonexpert subject. In this paper, we capture behaviors for a team of subject matter experts engaged in real competition (a soccer tournament) rather than participating in a study. From this data set, we create software agents that clone the observed human tactics. We place the agents in a simulation to determine whether increased behavioral realism results in higher performance within the simulation and argue that the transferability of real-world tactics is an important metric for simulator validation. Other applications for validated agents include automated agent behavior, factor analysis for team performance, and evaluation of real team tactics in hypothetical scenarios such as fantasy tournaments.
S-Learning: A Model-Free, Case-Based Algorithm for Robot Learning and Control

A model-free, case-based learning and control algorithm called S-learning is described as implemented in a simulation of a light-seeking mobile robot. S-learning demonstrated learning of robotic and environmental structure sufficient to allow it to achieve its goal (reaching a light source). No modeling information about the task or calibration information about the robot's actuators and sensors were used in S-learning's planning. The ability of S-learning to make movement plans was completely dependent on experience it gained as it explored. Initially it had no experience and was forced to wander randomly. With increasing exposure to the task, S-learning achieved its goal with more nearly optimal paths. The fact that this approach is model-free and case-based implies that it may be applied to many other systems, perhaps even to systems of much greater complexity.
How market efficiency and the theory of storage link corn and ethanol markets

This article uses the theories of market efficiency and supply of storage to develop a conceptual link between the corn and ethanol markets and explores statistical evidence for the link. We propose that a long-run no-profit condition is established in distant futures markets for ethanol, corn and natural gas and then use the theory of storage to define an inter-temporal equilibrium among these prices. The relationship shows that under certain conditions, future price expectations will influence nearby futures prices and that a short-term relationship between input and output prices will exist. We demonstrate validity of the theory using a structural price model and then by means of time-series techniques.
EFFICACY OF NEONATAL NURSE CLINICIANS (NNC) IN CARE OF NEWBORNS (NB)

The role of NNC in primary care has reached greater acceptability due to M.D. shortages. To test performance in Level II nursery (nsy), chart reviews of 2 consecutive years were done; the 1st year by residents (caring for all pediatrics) & the next year by NNC caring only for NB with no M.D. The nursery was supervised by the same neonatologist & with no changes in policies. To compare, a scoring system was developed in 3 areas: historical data, diagnostic approach (W/U) & management (Rx). Two frequently seen uniformly managed conditions (SGA-complete care & RDS-pre-transport care were used. Scores per item ranged from 0 (lowest) to 3 (highest). Total maximum score per category is listed in Table 1. 80 patients were screened. Interrater reliability of scores had 100% concordance. Wilcoxon unpaired rank test was used to detect difference between NNC & M.D. (1) NNC function better than M.D.s in acute care of pre-transports while M.D.s perform better on total care. (2) In M.D. shortage areas, NNC function well with acutely ill N.B.
Heavyweight or lightweight: a process selection guide for developing grid software

Along with the advances in wide-area network technologies and computer hardware, the increasing availability of powerful computers and high speed networks are changing the high performance computing paradigm today. Recent related research has led to the emergence of a new paradigm known as grid computing. A major motivation of grid computing is to aggregate the power of widely distributed resources to provide services to users. Several unique characteristics of this paradigm make the development of grid software more challenging. In order to develop grid-aware applications, software engineering principles (e.g. software process, life-cycle model) for building conventional software must be adopted to cope with these challenges. Nowadays two kinds of software processes are frequently mentioned: heavyweight and lightweight. In this paper, we address the issues of comparing the two kinds of processes and selecting the better one for developing grid software. We choose to examine two well-known software processes: IEEE 1074 [6] and Extreme Programming [1], which respectively represents heavyweight process and lightweight process. They are first examined in detail and a comparison between them is conducted. Then we present a selection guide to choose the better methodology for a grid software project. Our analysis shows that lightweight software processes such as XP are more suitable for developing grid software.
Determining a set of B-spline control vertices to generate an interpolating surface

Abstract It is desirable to be able to use the B-spline surface formulation to describe a surface initially defined by a completely specified network of points to be interpolated. An appropriate set of B-spline control vertices which will generate an interpolating surface can be determined by solving a set of simultaneous linear equations. These equations are derived, efficient algorithms are designed to solve them rapidly, and the implementation of this theory in a computer-aided geometric design system is presented.
Quotation as a multimodal construction

Quotationsareameanstoreportabroadrangeofeventsin additiontospeech,andofteninvolvebothvocalandbodilydemonstration. The present study examined the use of quotation to report a variety of multisensory events (i.e., containing salient visible and audible elements) as participants watched and then described a set of video clips including human speech and animal vocalizations. We examined the relationship between demonstrations conveyed through the vocal versus bodily modality, comparing them across four common quotation devices (be like, go, say, and zero quotatives), as well as across direct and non-direct quotations and retellings. We found that direct quotations involved high levels of both vocal and bodily demonstration, while non-direct quotations involved lower levels in both these channels. In addition, there was a strong positive correlation between vocal and bodily demonstration for direct quotation. This result supports a Multimodal Hypothesis where information from the two channels arises from one central concept. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The virial coefficients for argon atoms adsorbed on xenon-plated graphite

Abstract The first two virial coefficients of argon on xenon-plated graphite are calculated. It is found that to fit the experimental data, the well depth of the adatom-adatom interaction potential must be lowered by thirty percent from its gas phase value.
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in an HIV-infected child

A child with perinatally acquired HIV infection presented with acute neurologic deterioration. A cerebellar white matter lesion seen on CT and MRI later proved to be progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) by histology. Although a recognized disease of HIV-infected adults, PML is certain to be seen with more frequency in HIV-infected children who are surviving longer as a result of improved medical care. Recognition of the clinical and radiographic manifestations is important because of the dismal prognosis.
ReDS—A dynamic planning, scheduling, and control system for manufacturing

Abstract Classical scheduling theory has not solved the practical needs of factory management. Management objectives are often many, ill-defined, and changing. Management is generally interested in decision support tools to facilitate specification of changed objectives, to react to shop floor changes, and to make short and long-term planning decisions. This paper describes a dynamic, intelligent, real-time factory scheduling system known as Requirements Driven Scheduling (ReDS). ReDS combines Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Operational Research (OR) techniques to find solutions that are not always optimal but are acceptable to the changing needs of management. ReDS uses a number of techniques such as least commitment planning and abstraction in order to make a plan. To optimize the allocation of resources, heuristics are applied from order and shop-floor points of view. ReDS works in time and event-driven modes of operation. ReDS uses real-time data for two purposes; short term feedback to reconfigure the current schedule, and long-term feedback to adjust heuristics. Using this feedback, ReDS can automatically conform the factory in which it operates. An essential partner for ReDS operation is a data collection and equipment monitoring system. The results of coupling ReDS to a real-time data collection system in a VLSI development line are encouraging. The data collection system receives data from and returns instructions to the shop floor.
Perturbation analysis of nonlinear matrix population models

Perturbation analysis examines the response of a model to changes in its parameters. It is commonly applied to population growth rates calculated from linear models but there has been no general approach to the analysis of nonlinear models. Nonlinearities in demographic models may arise due to density-dependence frequency-dependence (in 2-sex models) feedback through the environment or the economy and recruitment subsidy due to immigration or from the scaling inherent in calculations of proportional population structure. This paper uses matrix calculus to derive the sensitivity and elasticity of equilibria cycles ratios (e.g. dependency ratios) age averages and variances temporal averages and variances life expectancies and population growth rates for both age-classified and stage-classified models. Examples are presented applying the results to both human and non-human populations. (authors)
Spatial externalities and the stability of interacting populations near the center of a large area.

In this paper we analyze the spatial dynamics of a class of systems in which many agents continually reassess decisions of where to locate in a given region. Each agent gives rise to an externality whose impact diffuses to other agents. Thus every agent experiences a composite of externalities emitted by other agents. We term this composite a spatial externality. On the one hand, the level of the externality at any location depends on the spatial distribution of the population. On the other hand, the distribution of the externality induces changes in the distribution of the population. It proves of interest to analyze this joint unfolding of a population distribution and an externality distribution, particularly for the case of several classes of interacting agents. It is well established that the manner in which urban activities adjust to spatial externalities represents a problem at the core of current urban research priorities. Here we extend previous analyses of spatial equilibrium and adjustment dynamics in systems influenced by such externalities [see, for example, Miyao (1978)l. The main object of our concern is the relation between the structure of the externality diffusion operator and the form and stability of the equilibrium population distribution. The externality diffusion operator summarizes the processes by which an externality diffuses away from some agent in the space. Hence, the operator possesses a spatial structure. The stability of an equilibrium population distribution refers to a situation in which small perturbations to the distribution disappear over time. An implicit belief underlying our use of stability analysis is that unstable equilibrium distributions tend not to persist for any significant length of time; hence, conditions that lead to stability have an inherent interest. In particular, it is of interest to relate the conditions for stable population distributions and the spatial structure of the externality diffusion operator. Our plan is the following. We first display the model in full generality and briefly discuss the existence and uniqueness of the spatial equilibria. At this level of generality, however, it proves difficult to discuss necessary and sufficient conditions for the stability of the spatial equilibria, which is the main object of our
Phonon amplification using evaporation and adsorption of helium

We report the results of experiments designed to investigate the feasibility of amplifying a phonon signal using the evaporation of helium from a superfluid film and its subsequent readsorption onto a helium-free surface. We envision a multistage amplifier in which helium is evaporated from a wafer with a helium film only on one side and then adsorbed onto the film-free surface of a similar wafer. The phonons created by the adsorption reach the film on the opposite side of the wafer and potentially desorb more helium than was evaporated by the first wafer. The amplification would come from the high ratio of the binding energy of a helium atom to a film-free surface relative to the binding energy to the liquid. A number of experiments are reported that investigate the efficiencies of the individual steps of the process. The gain per stage is found to be about 3 for high-energy densities in which multiphonon processes are possible. At low-energy densities, the energy deposited into a film-free wafer is found to be less than the original input energy, with the ratio of output to input energy 0.2. Since in applications requiring amplification the phonon density produced by the adsorption of heliummore » on a wafer will be low, the configuration we have studied{emdash}phonons produced in silicon coated with a saturated {sup 4}He film{emdash}will not result in amplification. However, other configurations might improve the efficiency enough to make an amplifier possible. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}« less
The smallest of the small: short-term outcomes of profoundly growth restricted and profoundly low birth weight preterm infants.

The smallest of the small: short-term outcomes of profoundly growth restricted and profoundly low birth weight preterm infants
The effect of tillage practices on the yield of Irish cobbler potatoes

1 Various types of tillage implements including the killifer sub-soil chisel, the jostler subsoil cultivator, the TNT subsoil plow, the conventional moldboard plow and the disk harrow were evaluated as to their influence on the yield of Irish Cobbler potatoes over a four-year period. 2 Disking only consistently reduced the yield of potatoes compared to plowing, or TNT plowing. 3 The only significant effects of killifer treatments was a reduction in yield of potatoes when the frequency and intensity were too great. 4 Except for 1949 there was no significant increase in yield by irrigation. 5 Annual killifer treatments seemed to be more beneficial when combined with irrigation and TNT plowing than killifering once in four years. 6 More studies regarding the economics of deep tillage operations in the Northeast need to be conducted.
Generalized rheology and geophysical consequences

Abstract In some portions of the Earthś crust one finds stresses and creeps which are incompatible with the local geologic history and/or the generally accepted rheological models of Voigt, or Maxwell or Standard linear solid. Also there is no reason to accept that the rheology of the Earth is represented by mathematical formulae modeling combinations of simplicistic springs and dash pots which lead to represent the phenomenon by means of first order time derivatives of stress and/or strains. We describe here an attempt to obtain a rheological model for the lithosphere which is more realistic and flexible than the Voigt, the Maxwell and the Standard linear solid models which are generally used in geophysics and geology. In this model the first-order derivatives of Maxwell stress-strain relations are replaced by z -order derivatives; the resulting creep rates are variable functions of time as indicated by laboratory observations. In the one-dimensional case as well as in the case of the sphere the relaxation rate after a given time is a decreasing function of time. A small value of z could explain the residual deviatoric stress present in the Fennoscandia and Canadian Shields (Herget, 1980; Leijon et al., 1981) and the deviatoric stress present in the Rocky Mountains and in the Appalachian Range (Caputo et al., 1985) which seem stable and were formed many tens of millions of years ago. A small value of z would also explain why the seismicity is decreasing with lithospheric age (Stein, 1979; Bergman and Solomon, 1980) but is still present 100 millions of years after the origin of the lithosphere which implies a relevant residual shear stress after long time. If one wants to take into account the effect of temperature then one should consider that there is evidence that in some materials the creep rate is linearly increasing with temperature in the range between 100°C to 400°C (Caputo, 1983) and that it is independent of the confining pressure; then one would infer that the new viscosity parameter introduced with the model is decreasing with depth which would account for the deformation rates observed on the surface of the Earth which should therefore be caused by the fast creep of the lower layers. The rheological model gives more realistic values for the Q of the mantle. The variation of the node of Lageos and that of UT1 are also discussed; it is suggested that these variations may be caused by the cumulative rebounds due to several deglaciations and not by the last one only.
Determination of the crystalline phases of poly(vinylidene fluoride) under different preparation conditions using differential scanning calorimetry and infrared spectroscopy

A method with good precision has been developed to quantitatively measure the degree of α-, β-, and γ crystallinity in poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) by means of infrared spectroscopy. The phase composition of solution-deposited PVDF films was found to be strongly influenced by the presence of hydrophilic residues on the silicon substrate, the relative humidity present at film deposition, the spatial position on the substrate, and the thermal treatment of the deposited film. Films produced on pristine surfaces gave predominantly α-phase PVDF, but when a layer of polar solvent (acetone or methanol) remained on the surface, the films produced were predominantly γ phase. Higher humidity promoted a higher fraction of γ crystallinity in the solution-deposited PVDF films. Solution-cast films had highly variable composition across the substrate, whereas spin-cast films were uniform. High-temperature annealing of PVDF films normally converts the polymer to the γ phase, but annealing the film while still attached to the silicon substrate inhibited this phase transformation. Low-temperature annealing of freestanding films led to a previously unreported thermal event in the DSC, a premelting process that is a kinetic event, assigned to a crystalline relaxation. Higher-temperature annealing gave a double endotherm, assigned to melting of different-sized crystalline domains. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 1093–1100, 2003
Entry of iron into cells: a new role for the transferrin receptor in modulating iron release from transferrin

The versatile chemistry of iron and the noxious reactions this essential metal may promote have compelled iron-dependent organisms to form specific iron-binding proteins to maintain iron in soluble, nontoxic, and accessible form for cellular needs. A variety of pathways can be traversed by iron to gain access to cells, some available to all cells, others restricted to specialized cells. Of these pathways, the most important and widely functioning is uptake of iron from transferrin in a receptor-mediated process. By regulating expression of the transferrin receptor, iron-dependent cells, including neurons, can be assured an adequate supply of the essential metal while guarding against toxic excess. However, the transferrin receptor functions not only in capturing iron-bearing transferrin, but also in restraining release of iron from transferrin at the cell surface, where iron-catalyzed lipid peroxidation is a threat, while facilitating iron release in acidified endosomes to ensure safe and efficient delivery to the cell.
The Teacher as Leader and Teacher Educator.

Rowley uses an adventure metaphor as a means of examining the role of the classroom teacher from a leadership perspective. Four elements characteris tic of educational adventures are iden tified and discussed in terms of their im plications for the practice of classroom leadership and for the design of profes sional programs in teacher education. He argues that creating new leadership positions for teachers can play an impor tant role in bringing about substantive change in schools.
Computational Modeling of a Cell-Based Microphysiometer

A computational model of a cell-based microphysiometer is presented in this paper. The microphysiometer is a fluid based device that uses electrochemical sensors to measure the concentration of metabolites in the fluid medium around living cells. A computational code has been used to model the convective-diffusive transport in this system. This work focuses on modeling an oxygen electrochemical sensor. An ideal sensor model is used to study the effects of initial concentration and cell uptake rate on the sensor signal. In particular, the relative influence of the oxygen consumption by the sensor and the cells is examined. Removing the effect of the sensor allows isolation of cell behavior for various cell uptake rates and ranges of initial concentration. A preliminary comparison of computational results with experimental data is presented. The computational model provides very useful predictions of trends.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Enhanced bone cell functions on poly(ε-caprolactone) triacrylate networks grafted with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane nanocages

Abstract Poly(e-caprolactone) triacrylate (PCLTA) developed in our laboratory is a photo-crosslinkable, injectable, and biodegradable polymeric biomaterial for diverse tissue engineering applications. To engineer its physical properties for bone regeneration, we incorporated PCLTA networks with a photo-reactive methacryl isobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS), which is a silicon-based monomer with a nano-sized cage. Homogeneous nanohybrid networks were prepared by photo-crosslinking POSS with two PCLTAs having molecular weights of ∼7000 and ∼20,000 g/mol at the POSS weight compositions ( ϕ POSS ) of 0–20%. The lower-molecular-weight PCLTA resulted in amorphous networks while the higher one resulted in semi-crystalline networks. POSS nanocages tethered in the PCLTA networks greatly enhanced the mechanical and rheological properties, but did not significantly alter the surface wettability and the capability of adsorbing serum proteins from cell culture media. Better mouse pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cell attachment, spreading, and proliferation were found on the stiffer PCLTA20k networks than on the PCLTA7k ones, and on the networks with ϕ POSS of 10–20% than the networks containing no POSS. Mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cell cultured for two weeks showed a significantly higher alkaline phosphatase activity and more mineralized nodules on the PCLTA20k networks with ϕ POSS of 10–20%, in correlation with their enhanced mechanical properties. The present results indicated that this series of nanohybrid PCLTA/POSS networks with improved mechanical properties and osteoconductivity has great potential as scaffolding materials for bone repair and regeneration.
Magnetic field of a single muscle fiber. First measurements and a core conductor model

We present the first measurements of the magnetic field from a single muscle fiber of the frog gastrocnemius, obtained by using a toroidal pickup coil coupled to a room-temperature, low-noise amplifier. The axial currents associated with the magnetic fields of single fibers were biphasic and had peak-to-peak amplitudes ranging between 50 and 100 nA, depending primarily on the fiber radius. With an intracellular microelectrode, we measured the action potential of the same fiber, which allowed us to determine that the intracellular conductivity of the muscle fiber in the core conductor approximation was 0.20 +/- 0.09 S/m. Similarly, we found that the effective membrane capacitance was 0.030 +/- 0.011 F/m2. These results were not significantly affected by the anisotropic conductivity of the muscle bundle. We demonstrate how our magnetic technique can be used to determine the transmembrane action potential without penetrating the membrane with a microelectrode, thereby offering a reliable, stable, and atraumatic method for studying contracting muscle fibers.
Ventral pontine catecholaminergic pathway mediates the vasopressin response to splanchnic osmostimulation in conscious rats

This study examines the role of catecholamines, cell bodies and fibers of passage within the subcoeruleus area (subLC) in the arginine vasopressin (AVP) response to splanchnic osmotic stimulation and hemorrhage. Bilateral chemical lesions were induced into the subLC, approximately 1 mm ventral to the locus coeruleus (LC), using 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and ibotenic acid to selectively destroy catecholaminergic components and cell bodies, respectively. Vehicle and 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) injections into the subLC area, 6-OHDA injections into the LC, as well as systemic desipramine pretreatment, were performed as controls for the possible non-specific effects of the lesions. Seven and 8 days later, plasma AVP level, plasma osmolality, mean arterial pressure and heart rate were measured following either gastric infusion of hypertonic (598 mOsm/kg; 2 ml/4 min) or isotonic (290 mOsm/kg) saline or a mild hemorrhage (2.5 ml/300 g) in conscious rats with indwelling tail artery catheters and naso-gastric tubes. 6-OHDA injections into subLC reduced the AVP response to the osmotic stimulation by 62.3% (P less than 0.01), as compared to vehicle-injected controls. These same rats demonstrated a normal AVP response to hemorrhage implying a specificity of the disrupted pathway. All controls confirmed that the effects of the 6-OHDA were due to specific action on noradrenergic components within the subLC area. Ibotenic acid lesions in the subLC did not significantly decrease the AVP response, demonstrating that mainly fibers and not cell bodies in this region are part of the pathway. 6-OHDA injections just anterior to the LC, where the dorsal noradrenergic bundle (DNAB) forms, reduced the AVP secretion due to hemorrhage by 77.0% (P less than 0.05), but had minor effects on the response to osmotic stimulation. These results indicate that catecholaminergic fibers travelling primarily within the subLC, in the ventral noradrenergic bundle (VNAB), carry splanchnic osmotic input to the hypothalamus, whereas the DNAB may mediate the AVP response to hemorrhage.
Adjusting the loading dose of magnesium sulfate for tocolysis.

Abstract The purpose of this prospective study was to establish a method to calculate a loading dose of magnesium sulfate so as to achieve therapeutic levels of tocolysis more quickly. Fifty patients in preterm labor were enrolled. In the first phase 25 patients were studied so that the apparent volume of distribution for the loading dose of magnesium sulfate could be estimated and an adjusted loading dose could be calculated. The efficacy of this adjusted loading dose was then tested on a further 25 patients in the second phase. We found that the apparent volume of distribution could be accurately estimated and an adjusted loading dose calculated, with the use of ideal body weight, degree of underweight, and current use of (β-sympathomimetics. In the adjusted loading dose group therapeutic levels were achieved more often, with higher postloading magnesium levels and a greater decrease in contraction index immediately after the loading dose. We conclude that an adjusted loading dose can be calculated for magnesium sulfate to optimize tocolytic therapy.
Systematic Review of Rehabilitation Versus Operative Stabilization for the Treatment of First-Time Anterior Shoulder Dislocations:

Context:Primary anterior shoulder dislocation is a frequent injury in young active patients. Traditionally, conservative nonoperative primary treatment has been advocated for a majority of first-time dislocators, whereas operative stabilization has been reserved for recurrent dislocators or those involved in strenuous physical activity. Currently, no consensus exists on whether to treat a first-time anterior shoulder dislocation surgically.Objective:(1) To provide clinical recommendations regarding the therapeutic intervention for first-time anterior shoulder dislocators and (2) to determine if there is sufficient Level 1 or 2 evidence available for the establishment of a uniform, optimal treatment protocol.Data Sources:A systematic review of prospective randomized controlled trials with human participants was performed. PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and secondary references were appraised for studies published between 1994 and 2009.Study Selection:Inclusion criteria were English-la...
The Welfare Effects of Allowance Banking in Emissions Trading Programs

Permitting allowance banking in emissions trading programs can reduce expected compliance costs by giving capped firms flexibility to adjust the time path of abatement and to hedge against future uncertainty. Recent literature suggests that this compliance cost dividend is significant (Fell and Morgenstern Environ Resour Econ 47:275–297, 2010). Allowance banking may yield an environmental dividend (a) if the growth rate of marginal damages from emissions is less than the discount rate and (b) if emissions are lower in the short run as firms bank permits for use in later periods. A discrete, stochastic dynamic programming model is considered to simulate the two dividends of allowance banking in the context of the most recent Federal United States greenhouse gas cap-and-trade legislation. Simulation results show that under a range of parameter values, the environmental dividend has the same order of magnitude as the compliance cost dividend. Under the central set of parameters, allowance banking increases expected present value of benefits by about $$350$$ million dollars per year of the program. The environmental dividend, however, is completely eliminated if capped firms can borrow permits from future periods without limit.
The Novel Two-Component Regulatory System BfiSR Regulates Biofilm Development by Controlling the Small RNA rsmZ through CafA

The formation of biofilms by the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a developmental process governed by a novel signal transduction system composed of three two-component regulatory systems (TCSs), BfiSR, BfmSR, and MifSR. Here, we show that BfiSR-dependent arrest of biofilm formation coincided with reduced expression of genes involved in virulence, posttranslational/transcriptional modification, and Rhl quorum sensing but increased expression of rhlAB and the small regulatory RNAs rsmYZ. Overexpression of rsmZ, but not rsmY, coincided with impaired biofilm development similar to inactivation of bfiS and retS. We furthermore show that BfiR binds to the 5' untranslated region of cafA encoding RNase G. Lack of cafA expression coincided with impaired biofilm development and increased rsmYZ levels during biofilm growth compared to the wild type. Overexpression of cafA restored ΔbfiS biofilm formation to wild-type levels and reduced rsmZ abundance. Moreover, inactivation of bfiS resulted in reduced virulence, as revealed by two plant models of infection. This work describes the regulation of a committed biofilm developmental step following attachment by the novel TCS BfiSR through the suppression of sRNA rsmZ via the direct regulation of RNase G in a biofilm-specific manner, thus underscoring the importance of posttranscriptional mechanisms in controlling biofilm development and virulence.