cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Surgical Procedure to Minimize Lower-Eyelid Retraction With Inferior Rectus Recession

• Advancement of the capsulopalpebral head at the time of inferior rectus recession has been described as a technique to minimize postoperative lowereyelid retraction. In a prospective randomized masked clinical trial, this technique combined with inferior rectus recession was compared with inferior rectus recession alone, with respect to postoperative lower-eyelid retraction. The mean (±SD) postoperative lower-eyelid retraction was 0.7±82 mm for patients in whom the capsulopalpebral head was advanced, as opposed to 1.3±85 mm for the control group. This difference was statistically significant (Student'st=2.787;P=.006).
Smoking prevention: towards a process approach.

Current studies of smoking prevention treat the adolescent as a target of influence, they emphasize the acquisition of skills for resisting peer pressure and give too little attention to motivation for resistance. Studies consistent with this social learning framework show moderate reductions in the incidence of smoking for the short term; recent, long-term follow-ups show no reduction in experimental over control conditions. We propose a re-examination of the influence framework and suggest that adolescents use smoking and dress, to project an image of self that will increase the likelihood of success in the formation of relationships in which participants share feelings and attitudes toward each other and the adult world. We also suggest that adults focus upon external, perceptible, and remote threats, e.g. smoking is seen as evil, a response to peer pressure, and a long term threat to health, and ignore discourse about proximal, subjective feelings respecting the changing sexual urges and feelings of social anxiety that accompany adolescence. The socialization of these affects is left to the peer group. It is suggested that future programs intensify their focus on motivation for resisting smoking based upon a revised view of the adolescents objectives in self definition, and combine this with the best of the current skills approaches.
Regression Modeling of Allele Frequencies and Testing Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium

Background/Aims: Tests for whether observed genotype proportions fit Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) are widely used in population genetics analyses, as well as to evaluate quality of genotype data. To date, all methods testing for HWE require subjects to be classified into discrete categories, yet it is becoming clear that the distribution of allele frequencies tends to be smooth over geographic regions. Methods: To evaluate the HWE assumption, we develop new approaches to model allele frequencies as functions of covariates, and use these models to test whether there is residual correlation between the two alleles of subjects; lack of residual correlation supports the null hypothesis of HWE, but conditional on how the covariates influence the allele frequencies. Results: By simulations, we illustrate that a simple statistical test of residual correlation of alleles adequately controls the type I error rate, while maintaining power that is comparable to standard tests for HWE. Conclusion: Our approach can be implemented in standard software, enabling more flexible and powerful ways to evaluate the association of covariates with allele frequencies and whether these associations ‘explain' departures from HWE when the covariates are ignored, opening new strategies to evaluate the quality of genotype data generated by next-generation sequencing assays.
Analysis of Lipids in Dairy Wastewaters

Abstract A Rapid Fat Method was developed for routine analysis of dairy wastewaters. The new method using ammonium hydroxide to dissolve the protein and ethyl and petroleum ether for fat extraction proved to be superior to the standard Soxhlet Method using either hexane or trichlotrifluoroethane as extracting solvents. From 1 to 5% more fat was recovered by the Rapid Fat Method than by the Soxhlet Method using hexane. Test results can be obtained in 1.5h as compared to 6h for the Soxhlet Method. Equipment required for the Rapid Fat Method is available in most dairy plants.
Amphitrite ornata dehaloperoxidase: enhanced activity for the catalytically active globin using MCPBA

Dehaloperoxidase (DHP) from Amphitrite ornata is the only heme-containing, hydrogen peroxide-dependent globin capable of oxidatively dehalogenating halophenols to yield the corresponding quinones. To ascertain that this enzymatic activity is intrinsic to DHP, we have cloned and expressed the enzyme in Escherichia coli. We also find that an alternate oxygen atom donor, meta-chloroperbenzoic acid, gives appreciably higher activity than hydrogen peroxide. Under optimal turnover conditions (large peroxide/peracid excess), after an initial burst of activity, DHP appears to become trapped in a non-catalytic state (possibly Compound II) and is unable to fully convert all halophenol to product. However, full substrate conversion can be achieved under more physiological conditions involving a much smaller excess of oxygen atom donor. Parallel studies have been carried out using horseradish peroxidase and myoglobin to calibrate the activity of DHP versus typical peroxidase and globin proteins, respectively.
Pericardial effusions in the cancer population: Prognostic factors after pericardial window and the impact of paradoxical hemodynamic instability

Objective In the cancer population, pericardial effusions are a common and potentially life-threatening occurrence. Although decompression benefits most patients, paradoxical hemodynamic instability (PHI) develops in some, with hypotension and shock in the immediate postoperative period. This study examines paradoxical hemodynamic instability after pericardial window and identifies prognostic factors in patients with cancer who are treated for pericardial effusion. Methods Retrospective review of 179 consecutive pericardial windows performed for pericardial effusion in a tertiary cancer center over a 5-year period (January 2004 through March 2009). Demographic, surgical, pathologic, and echocardiographic data were analyzed for the end points of paradoxical hemodynamic instability (pressor-dependent hypotension requiring intensive care unit admission) and overall survival. Results The most common malignancies were lung (44%), breast (20%), hematologic (10%), and gastrointestinal (7%). Overall survival for the group was poor (median, 5 months); patients with hematologic malignant disease fared significantly better than the others (median survival 36 months; P = .008). Paradoxical hemodynamic instability occurred in 19 (11%) patients. These patients were more likely to have evidence of tamponade on echocardiogram (89% vs 56%; P = .005), positive cytology/pathology (68% vs 41%; P = .03), and higher volume drained (674 mL vs 495 mL; P = .003). Overall survival was significantly shorter in those in whom paradoxical hemodynamic instability developed (median survival 35 vs 189 days; hazard ratio = 3; P Conclusions Postoperative hemodynamic instability after pericardial window portends a grave prognosis. Evidence of tamponade, larger effusion volumes, and positive cytologic findings may predict a higher risk of paradoxical hemodynamic instability and anticipate a need for invasive monitoring and intensive care postoperatively.
Development of a Model for Testing Third Body Wear of UHMWPE Acetabular Components

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a new wear test protocol utilizing third body particulate debris in order to assess conventional and highly cross-linked polyethylene components. A series of tests were performed using the Boston Hip Simulator to evaluate different types of particles for possible use. Modifications to the simulator are described which ensure that the third body particles can be maintained in suspension. In this series of studies, alumina particles in a concentration of 0.15mg/cc appeared to provide the most effective challenge to the wear resistance of UHMWPE while at the same time not creating unrealistic destruction to the femoral head. In all of the experiments, under all conditions, the WIAM highly crosslinked polyethylene acetabular components resisted the effects of the third body particles and the concomitant changes in the femoral heads distinctly better than the conventional UHMWPE.
A Theory of Charitable Fund-Raising with Costly Solicitations †

3Despite its significance, however, fund-raising costs have not been fully incorporated into the theory of charitable giving. This is the gap we aim to fill in this article. We build on the “standard” model of giving in which donors care only about their private consumption and the total supply of the public good. 4 Unlike the standard model, we assume that each donor becomes aware of the charitable fund drive and thus participates in the “contribution game” only if solicited by the fund-raiser. 5 The solicitation is, however, costly. Our first observation is that the charity will contact an individual if he is expected to give more than his solicitation cost, or become a “net contributor” in equilibrium. We show that identifying these net contributors in our model is equivalent to identifying the contributors in the standard model (without fund-raising costs) except that each donor’s wealth is reduced by his solicitation cost. This important equivalence allows us to appeal to Andreoni and McGuire’s (1993) elegant algorithm to solve for the latter. Without requiring any equilibrium computation, our optimal fund-raising strategy pinpoints the exact set of donors to be targeted based on their preferences, incomes, and solicitation costs. 6
The GL(3) mellin transform for twisted non-cuspidal forms of higher level

The main result in this paper is the explicit computation of the functional equation satisfied by the GL(3) Mellin transform of a twisted non-cuspidal metaplectic form of non-trivial level. For concreteness, we work with one particular metaplectic form, automorphic under Λ(3), although our methods extend without change to any form automorphic with respect to Λ(p),p an odd prime. We clearly show the computations one must undertake in order to determine the pole locations of this transform (which depend on the form in question), and carry out those straightforward computations in the case of our one specific form.
The relapse patterns and outcome of postoperative recurrent tongue cancer

Abstract Purpose: The relapse patterns and salvage treatment results for patients who developed locoregional recurrence after surgery for squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue were retrospectively analyzed. Materials and Methods: Between April 1986 and January 1995, 77 cases with recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue were evaluated. Most of them were males in the early stages of initial disease. Although the surgical margins were negative in most cases (67 of 77), relapse eventually occurred. The relapse patterns showed 15 patients with primary recurrence, 45 patients with regional neck lymph node (LN) relapse, and 17 patients with relapse in both sites. Results: Salvage treatment was given to most of the patients, but their median survival time was only 9 months. Survival data were analyzed and compared with different types of relapse patterns, salvage treatments, disease-free intervals, age, and sex. In univariate analysis, the neck LN relapse and shorter relapse-free interval ( Conclusions: Recurrence of tongue cancer is not uncommon, but there are little data in literature regarding the prognosis. Although this study showed poor salvage results, various prognoses could be predicted on the bases of the different relapse patterns and salvage methods.
FINE STRUCTURE OF THE SPERMATOZOID OF ZAMIA: THE VIERERGRUPPE

A B S T R A C T The spermatozoids of Zamia integrifolia were examined by electron microscopy in order to clarify the structure of a fibrous organelle underlying the flagellar basal bodies. The ultrastructure of this organelle was found to resemble one similar in organization occurring in Marchantia spermatozoids and termed the Vierergruppe. Therefore the term is extended to include this structure in the Zamia spermatozoid. The Vierergruppe of Zamia is interpreted as composed of an upper (distal) layer of keeled microtubules and a lower (proximal) layer of vertical fins with lateral processes that give a three-layered appearance to this component. THE VIERERGRUPPE first was described by Carothers and Kreitner (1967) in a study of the ultrastructure of spermatozoids of Marchantia polymorpha. This structure is associated with the basal bodies of the flagella and consists of four layers. The outermost layer is composed of keeled tubular elements which are continuous with an array of parallel, cytoplasmic microtubules. The other three layers of the Vierergruppe of Marchantia form a unit composed of parallel fins, compartments, and tubules. The Vierergruppe plus the associated cytoplasmic microtubules may be termed the spline apparatus (Carothers, personal communication). Vierergruppe-like organelles have been reported
A Plant Poly(A) Polymerase Requires a Novel RNA-binding Protein for Activity

We have purified a novel factor (PAP-III) that is a component of a multisubunit poly(A) polymerase from pea seedlings. This factor consists of one or more polypeptides with molecular masses of about 105 kDa and of a population of associated RNAs that can serve as substrates for polyadenylation. When these RNAs are separated from the 105-kDa polypeptides, polyadenylation becomes dependent upon exogenously added RNA. This RNA-dependent activity does not require the presence of a polyadenylation signal in the substrate, indicating that the activity under study is a nonspecific polyadenylation activity. One or more of the 105-kDa polypeptides could be cross-linked to the products of polyadenylation labeled with [α-32P]ATP and to exogenously added labeled RNAs. Cross-linking of the 105-kDa polypeptides to the products of polyadenylation was not affected by the presence of exogenously added competitors, whereas cross-linking to exogenous RNAs was diminished by excesses of RNA homopolymers. Exogenous RNAs could be polyadenylated by the combination of PAP-I + PAP-III, and this activity was diminished if the binding of the exogenous RNAs to PAP-III was prevented. We conclude from these studies that PAP-III is an RNA binding protein, that polyadenylation by the poly(A) polymerase occurs while the substrate RNAs are associated with this protein, and that the pea poly(A) polymerase can only polyadenylate those RNAs that are associated with PAP-III.
Backup agreements in fashion buying—the value of upstream flexibility

We focus on backup agreements between a catalog company and manufacturers-a scheme to provide upstream sourcing flexibility for fashion merchandise. A backup agreement states that if the catalog company commits to a number of units for the season, the manufacturer holds back a constant fraction of the commitment and delivers the remaining units before the start of the fashion season. After observing early demand, the catalog company can order up to this backup quantity for the original purchase cost and receive quick delivery but will pay a penalty cost for any of the backup units it does not buy. In representative contracts with five companies, the fraction held as backup varies from 20% to 33% and the penalty ranges from 0 to 20% of cost. We model this inventory problem and derive the optimal solution. We provide results from a retrospective parallel test of the model against buyer decisions in 1993 based on a data set from the women's fashion department at a catalog company Catco. The results indicate that backup arrangements can have a substantial impact on expected profits and may result in an increase in the committed quantity. Also, these arrangements may maintain the manufacturer's expected profit for a wide range of parameters.
On the high-spin motion of a satellite containing elastic parts.

The effect of flexible antennas upon the stability of motion of a spin-stabilized satellite was investigated. The satellite is assumed to consist of a symmetric rigid body with two flexible rods that extend along the symmetry axis in opposite directions. First, a simplified model, replacing the flexible antennas by viscously damped oscillators, was considered. The analysis has been facilitated by representing the motions by means of complex vectors. The resulting equations were linearized, and an infinitesimal stability analysis was performed. The conclusion reached was that the motion is unstable if C A'9 however, the stability of the system depends on the ratio Os/con, where con is the natural undamped frequency of one oscillator. A time-dependent solution of the linearized equations by the Laplace transform method and a numerical solution of the nonlinear equations by the Runge-Kutta method were obtained. The agreement between the two solutions, for the values considered, was excellent. A series solution of the linearized equations corresponding to the continuous model indicates that the simplified model provides a good approximation of the continuous model.
Non-preemptive real-time scheduling of dataflow systems

Real-time signal processing applications can be described naturally with dataflow graphs. The systems we consider have a mix of real-time and non-real-time processing, where independent dataflow graphs represent tasks and individual dataflow actors are subtasks. Rate-monotonic scheduling is optimal for fixed-priority, preemptive scheduling of periodic tasks. Priority inheritance protocols extend rate-monotonic scheduling theory to include tasks that contend for exclusive access to shared resources. We show that non-preemptive rate-monotonic scheduling can be viewed as preemptive scheduling where the processor is explicitly considered a shared resource. We propose a dynamic, real-time execution model inspired by multithreaded dataflow architectures.
Do Adults Change their Minds after Reading Persuasive Text

To change the mind of a reader, authors compose written persuasion according to a set of rhetorical features. This article describes the features of persuasive texts and reviews research results to...
Device-grade ultra-shallow junctions fabricated with antimony

Extremely shallow, below ∼80 nm, n+ junctions fabricated with antimony have been analytically and electrically investigated. It is shown that by the use of antimony one can reach sheet resistivity/ shallowness combinations that are superior to those achievable with arsenic. The leakage of these junctions was found to be sufficiently low to allow VLSI applications. These investigations indicate that below a certain junction depth antimony should be the dopant of preference.
On Sensor Coverage by Mobile Sensors

We study the problem of using a small number of mobile sensors to monitor various threats in a geographical area. Using some recent results on stochastic sensor scheduling, we propose a stochastic sensor movement strategy. We present simple conditions under which it is not possible to maintain a bounded estimate error covariance for all the threats. We also study a simple sub-optimal algorithm to generate stochastic trajectories. Simulations are presented to illustrate the results.
Can Document Selection Help Semi-supervised Learning? A Case Study On Event Extraction

Annotating training data for event extraction is tedious and labor-intensive. Most current event extraction tasks rely on hundreds of annotated documents, but this is often not enough. In this paper, we present a novel self-training strategy, which uses Information Retrieval (IR) to collect a cluster of related documents as the resource for bootstrapping. Also, based on the particular characteristics of this corpus, global inference is applied to provide more confident and informative data selection. We compare this approach to self-training on a normal newswire corpus and show that IR can provide a better corpus for bootstrapping and that global inference can further improve instance selection. We obtain gains of 1.7% in trigger labeling and 2.3% in role labeling through IR and an additional 1.1% in trigger labeling and 1.3% in role labeling by applying global inference.
STAT3 and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3: potential targets in lung inflammatory responses

The expanding knowledge involving the cytokine transcription factor network has provided new insights into the acute lung inflammatory response. There are numerous lung inflammatory diseases that at present lack effective treatment (adult respiratory distress syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, asthma and so on). Although cytokines themselves and their receptors comprise a communication system that is crucial to detect the presence of pathogens and the injured lung, the cytokine signals and the milieu that surrounds these signals can clearly determine the nature of the lung responses that are elicited. Functioning as a transcription factor, STAT3 participates in the signaling pathways for many cytokines in various cells and organs that are regulated by the suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family, including SOCS3. Recently, data on the activation and function of STAT3 and SOCS3 in the lung during the acute inflammatory response are emerging, suggesting that these molecules can be potential targets for regulating pulmonary inflammatory responses. The authors review the progress in understanding how STAT3 and SOCS3 regulate the lung inflammatory response.
Antiviral CD8+ T cell responses in neonatal mice: susceptibility to polyoma virus-induced tumors is associated with lack of cytotoxic function by viral antigen-specific T cells.

Polyoma virus is a potent oncogenic pathogen when inoculated into newborn mice of particular H-2k strains. Using Dk tetramers containing the dominant antipolyoma CD8+ T cell epitope, middle T protein (MT)389–397, and intracellular interferon γ staining, we enumerated MT389-specific CD8+ T cells in infected neonates having opposite susceptibilities to polyoma virus–induced tumors. In resistant mice, MT389-specific CD8+ T cells dramatically expanded during acute infection in neonates to a frequency rivaling that in adults; furthermore, in both neonatal and adult mice, this antipolyoma CD8+ T cell response exhibited nearly identical T cell receptor (TCR) functional avidities and TCR functional fingerprints. Susceptible mice mounted an MT389-specific CD8+ T cell response of only fourfold lower magnitude than resistant mice; but, in clear contrast to resistant mice, these CD8+ T cells lacked ex vivo MT389-specific cytotoxic activity. However, MT389-specific CD8+ T cells in resistant and susceptible mice expressed similar TCR avidities, perforin levels, and surface type O-glycan levels indicative of mature CD8+ T cell effectors. Upon in vitro restimulation with infected antigen-presenting cells, CD8+ T cells from acutely infected susceptible neonates acquired strong MT389-specific cytotoxicity. These findings indicate that polyoma-specific CD8+ T cells are armed with, but restrained from deploying, their cytotoxic effector function in mice susceptible to polyoma virus tumorigenesis.
A Q-band monolithic linear amplifier using AlGaAs/GaAs HBT's

The authors report on a Q-band monolithic heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) amplifier demonstrating high gain, efficiency, excellent linearity, and low added phase noise. The amplifier used 40 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ CB-HBTs in a balanced configuration. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifier showed a peak gain of 13.5 dB at 38 GHz and a 3 dB bandwidth of 10 GHz. Under class-A bias conditions, the circuit exhibited P/sub 1 dB/ higher than 15 dBm from 35-41.5 GHz and a peak PAE of 32% at 35 GHz. Two-tone tests showed an IP/sub 3/ of 30 dBm at 44 GHz and IMD/sub 3/ ratios better than 20 dBc at 1-dB gain compression point. Amplifier phase noise measurement showed added phase noise of -148 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz away from the carrier at P/sub 1/ /sub dB/. This circuit demonstrates a great potential for the HBT MMIC's for MM-wave high-efficiency linear applications.
What is engineering? — An Exploration of P-6 grade teachers’ perspectives

Age-appropriate authentic engineering problems offer educators opportunities to integrate math, science, and technology and foster higher-level learning. However, P-12 teachers typically do not have adequate access to or knowledge about engineering, which limits their ability to bring engineering into their classrooms. This study was conducted to document and analyze P-6 teachers' perceptions of engineering. As part of the pre-post assessment strategy for two different week-long INSPIRE Summer Academies (Local and National), teachers responded to two questions: "What is engineering?" and "What do engineers do?" Qualitative research methods were used to create coding schemes for the written responses to the two questions. Analysis resulted in the creation of seven main coding categories and twenty subcategories which were used to analyze teachers' responses. Findings indicate some significant differences between the two academies and changes in teachers' responses from pre to post-academy. This paper will articulate the methods used to analyze the responses and present findings from the pre and post teacher responses.
Video compression based on distributed source coding principles

This paper applies distributed source coding principles to three areas of video compression, leading to Witsenhausen-Wyner video coding, layered Wyner-Ziv video coding, and multiterminal video coding. Compared to H.264/AVC and H.26L-FGS video coding, the advantage of Witsenhausen-Wyner video coding and layered Wyner-Ziv video coding is error robustness when the compressed video has to be delivered over a noisy channel. The price for this added error robustness is a small loss of compression performance. In multiterminal video coding for video sensor network applications, since the encoders are not allowed to communicate with each other, the use of distributed source coding is out of necessity. We propose a generic scheme for multiterminal video coding based on Slepian-Wolf coded quantization, where we explore multiple view geometry in computer vision to generate the side information. Experimental results with two- and three-view video sequences show that our multiterminal video coder can achieve a lower sum-rate than separate H.264/AVC coding. Comparison with the standard JMVM joint encoding scheme is also provided.
Securin and Separase Phosphorylation Act Redundantly to Maintain Sister Chromatid Cohesion in Mammalian Cells

The spindle assembly checkpoint monitors the integrity of the spindle microtubules, which attach to sister chromatids at kinetochores and play a vital role in preserving genome stability by prevent...
Eosinophil transendothelial migration induced by cytokines. II. Potentiation of eosinophil transendothelial migration by eosinophil-active cytokines.

Activation of HUVEC monolayers by IL-1 beta or TNF-alpha induces migration of eosinophils across the endothelial monolayer (i.e., transendothelial migration) in vitro. In the present study, we demonstrate that culture of freshly isolated eosinophils in the presence of IL-5 for 24 to 48 h before use in the assay dramatically potentiated CD18-dependent eosinophil transendothelial migration through unstimulated endothelial monolayers. Granulocyte macrophage (GM)-CSF induced eosinophil transendothelial migration but did not induce neutrophil transendothelial migration. When IL-1 beta-activated endothelial cells were used, GM-CSF, IL-3, or IL-5 caused only modest potentiation of eosinophil transendothelial migration. Since activated endothelial cells are known to produce GM-CSF, we hypothesized that endothelial-derived GM-CSF might play a role in the process of IL-1 beta-induced eosinophil transendothelial migration. IL-1 beta-activated endothelial monolayers grown on the permeable supports produced 0.3 +/- 0.1 ng/ml of GM-CSF during a 4-h incubation and neutralizing Ab against GM-CSF inhibited eosinophil transendothelial migration by 48%, suggesting that endothelial-derived GM-CSF may participate in the response. Eosinophils purified from bronchoalveolar lavage 18 to 20 h after experimental Ag challenge in the lungs of allergic volunteers showed enhanced transendothelial migration, indicating that the cells may have undergone cytokine activation in vivo. Eosinophil-active cytokines may contribute to the preferential accumulation of eosinophils in vivo in part via potentiation of eosinophil transendothelial migration.
Scalable specification mining for verification and diagnosis

Effective system verification requires good specifications. The lack of sufficient specifications can lead to misses of critical bugs, design re-spins, and time-to-market slips. In this paper, we present a new technique for mining temporal specifications from simulation or execution traces of a digital hardware design. Given an execution trace, we mine recurring temporal behaviors in the trace that match a set of pattern templates. Subsequently, we synthesize them into complex patterns by merging events in time and chaining the patterns using inference rules. We specifically designed our algorithm to make it highly efficient and meaningful for digital circuits. In addition, we propose a pattern-mining diagnosis framework where specifications mined from correct and erroneous traces are used to automatically localize an error. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on industrial-size examples by mining specifications from traces of over a million cycles in a few minutes and use them to successfully localize errors of different types to within module boundaries.
Pharmacist Impact on Clinical Outcomes in a Diabetes Disease Management Program via Collaborative Practice

BACKGROUNDClinical outcomes resulting from pharmaceutical care have been incompletely addressed in the diabetes population. We conducted a retrospective study evaluating clinical outcomes in a diabetes disease management program in which clinical pharmacists possessed collaborative practice agreements.OBJECTIVETo evaluate changes in clinical outcomes for patients enrolled in a pharmacist-coordinated diabetes management program.METHODSMedical records of 157 patients enrolled in the diabetes management program between June 2003 and April 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Data collection included baseline and follow-up values for hemoglobin A1C (A1C) and lipids as well as frequency of adherence to preventive care, including annual foot and eye examinations and daily aspirin therapy.RESULTSFor patients with both baseline and follow-up data, the mean A1C reduction was 1.6% (n = 109; p < 0.001). For patients with an initial A1C of ≥8.5%, the mean reduction was 2.7% (n = 57; p < 0.001). The percentage of patie...
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: The Family and Medical Leave Act as Retrenchment Policy

This article discusses recent efforts by states to adopt paid family leave since the original passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993. In proposing their legislation, 21 of 26 states dropped the family component of the original law and, instead, reduced coverage to baby care or parental leave. I explore the potential policy implications of what appears to be a retrenchment of the FMLA, as it shifts from an emphasis on family (including care of elderly parents) to parental (baby care only). This discussion is particularly important in light of a growing aging population that will demand greater assistance from family caregivers who will most likely be in the workforce and in need of benefits such as family leave.
Nutrition Knowledge, Attitude, Dietary Behavior, and Commitment to Nutrition Education of Nutrition Educators

The nutrition knowledge, food/nutrition attitude, dietary behavior, and commitment to nutrition education of nutrition educators were assessed. Nutrition educators were de fined as those individuals, by virtue of baccalaureate level training, who are often responsible for, or expected to take part in, teaching nutrition. The population was comprised of six groups of individuals who earned baccalaureate degrees in nutrition, home economics, nursing, elementary education, health and physical education, and/or individuals in any other field of study. Data were collected by means of a mailed questionnaire. Results indicate that nutrition knowledge is positively correlated with both food/nutrition attitude and commitment to nutrition education. Also, food/nutrition attitude is positively correlated with dietary behavior and commitment to nutrition education. In addition, enrollment in home economics courses at the secondary level of school correlated positively with food/nutrition attitude, knowledge, and commitment. Knowledge was not significantly correlated with commitment. These data suggest that interrelationships among nutrition knowledge, food/nutrition attitude, dietary behavior, and commitment to nutrition education for nutrition educators as well as the general population warrant further study because this may aid in the improvement of nutrition education efforts.
The Case For Inelastic Reflection Of Photons In Laser Diodes

The wavelength of stimulated emission at 8175.25 A of GaAlAs broad-area, single-heterojunction laser diodes of the close-confinement type was experimentally found to increase as a function of emission angle. The shift was 0.42± 0.08 A/deg and approximately 0.01 A/deg in the lateral and transverse directions, respectively. The increase of wavelength is postulated to be due to momentum loss of the photons by inelastic reflections at the Fabry-Perot surfaces. An optical model was developed by which the changes in the following properties per photon per reflection were calculated for the optical cavity-air interface (no = 3.60, na = 1.00): wavelength, AX = 3.03 x 10-4 A; momentum, Ap = 3.00 x 10-30 erg.s/cm; momentum loss coefficient, n = 3.70 x 10-8; energy, DE = 2.50 x 10-20 erg; and increased angle of reflection, a = 2.04 x 10-4 deg. By determining the number of reflections per beam path in the cavity, the full width at half power for the lateral beam divergence was calculated to be 20.6°. The pressure and energy per pulse at the cavity surface of the diode were calculated from the momentum loss concept and are in reasonable agreement with the Knoop hardness and heat of fusion for the fracturing and melting of GaAs.
Finite element exterior calculus with lower-order terms

The scalar and vector Laplacians are basic operators in physics and engineering. In applications, they show up frequently perturbed by lower-order terms. The effect of such perturbations on mixed finite element methods in the scalar case is well-understood, but that in the vector case is not. In this paper, we first show that surprisingly for certain elements there is degradation of the convergence rates with certain lower-order terms even when both the solution and the data are smooth. We then give a systematic analysis of lower-order terms in mixed methods by extending the Finite Element Exterior Calculus (FEEC) framework, which contains the scalar, vector Laplacian, and many other elliptic operators as special cases. We prove that stable mixed discretization remains stable with lower-order terms for sufficiently fine discretization. Moreover, we derive sharp improved error estimates for each individual variable. In particular, this yields new results for the vector Laplacian problem which are useful in applications such as electromagnetism and acoustics modeling. Further our results imply many previous results for the scalar problem and thus unifies them all under the FEEC framework.
The Pseudo-Information Filter

The pseudo-information filter is defined in order to solve a linear state state model. The filter offers significant computational advantages over the Kalman filter when the data are high-dimensional.
Tolerance of SP-A-deficient mice to hyperoxia or exercise.

Mice carrying a null mutation of the surfactant-associated protein A (SP-A) gene have normal respiratory function, but their surfactant lacks tubular myelin, is sensitive to protein inactivation in...
Complete Genome Sequence of a Reassortant H14N2 Avian Influenza Virus from California

ABSTRACT We report the complete genome sequence of a reassortant H14N2 avian influenza virus isolated in 2011 from a northern shoveler in California. This introduced Eurasian subtype acquired seven segments from North American viruses and circulated in the Pacific Flyway 1 year after its detection in the Mississippi Flyway.
Both CD8+ and CD4+ T Cells Contribute to Corneal Clouding and Viral Clearance following Vaccinia Virus Infection in C57BL/6 Mice.

UNLABELLED Vaccinia virus (VACV) keratitis is a serious complication following smallpox vaccination and can lead to blindness. The pathological mechanisms involved in ocular VACV infection are poorly understood. Previous studies have used rabbits, but the lack of immune reagents and transgenic or knockout animals makes them less suitable for mechanistic studies. We report that infection of C57BL/6 mice with 1 × 10(7) PFU of vaccinia virus strain WR results in blepharitis, corneal neovascularization, and stromal keratitis. The DryVax strain of VACV was completely attenuated. Infection required corneal scarification and replication-competent virus, and the severity of ocular disease was similar in 4- to 6-week-old and 1-year-old mice. Viral titers peaked at approximately 1 × 10(6) PFU on day 5 postinfection, and virus had not cleared by day 13 postinfection. Neutrophils were found in the peripheral cornea on day 1 after infection and then declined, followed by infiltration of both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, which remained peripheral throughout the infection. Blood vessel growth extended 2 to 5 mm into the cornea from the limbus. Infection of CD4(-/-), CD8(-/-), or antibody-depleted mice resulted in similar disease severity and corneal clouding, indicating that both T-cell subsets were involved in the immunopathological response. Depletion of both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells resulted in significantly more severe disease and failure to clear the virus. On the basis of our results, the pathology of VACV keratitis is significantly different from that of herpes simplex virus keratitis. Further studies are likely to reveal novel information regarding virulence and immune responses to viral ocular infection. IMPORTANCE Potentially blinding eye infections can occur after vaccination for smallpox. Very little is known about the pathological mechanisms that are involved, and the information that is available was generated using rabbit models. The lack of immunological reagents for rabbits makes such studies difficult. We characterized a mouse model of vaccinia virus ocular disease using C57BL/6 mice and strain WR and show that both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell subsets play a role in the blinding eye disease and in controlling virus replication. On the basis of these results, vaccinia virus keratitis is significantly different from herpes simplex virus keratitis, and further studies using this model should generate novel insights into immunopathological responses to viral ocular infection.
Quality Detecting Method of Electricity Meter LCD Screen Based on Image Processing

In order to solve the problem of incorrect detection for LCD screen quality of smart electricity meters in automation test system,a quality detection method based on image processing is proposed in this paper. First,the LCD screen is roughly located using image segmentation techniques and LCD localization algorithm. Then the LCD screen is further accurately extracted by using adaptive thresholding methods. Finally,the Chinese characters,symbols and numbers in the LCD screen are classified for detection. Application testing in complex industry environment shows that the proposed detection method has higher efficiency and accuracy for smart electricity meter LCD screen quality testing,therefore has high application values.
Clomiphene citrate directly impairs endometrial receptivity in the mouse

Clomiphene citrate (CC) has known antifecundity effects in animal models. To help define the site of action of this effect, we studied the direct effect of CC on endometrial receptivity by transferring embryos to hormonally prepared prepubertal mice. Prepubertal mice were begun on one of four blinded hormonal preparations consisting of two consecutive 3-day periods of daily injections: oil vehicle, oil-progesterone (P), estradiol (E2)-P, or CC-P. Blastocysts, which had not been exposed to CC, were then surgically transferred to these prepubertal recipients. Fourteen days after embryo transfer, implantations and term pregnancies were counted at necropsy. In this model, CC demonstrated no estrogen agonist effect, and had a significant adverse effect on endometrial receptivity. CC appeared to lower fecundity by a direct endometrial effect.
Predictors of course completion for the U.S. Army pharmacy specialist course.

The purpose of this study was to determine predictors of successful completion of the U.S. Army Medical Department pharmacy specialist (91Q) training program. The sample consisted of 143 students from four course iterations, and only students enrolled in the course for the first time were included for analysis. The relationship between 16 predictor variables and successful completion was assessed. Five variables, the ranks of private (E1) and specialist (E4), cross-trainee status, gender, and Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) general technical (GT) score, were found to be significant predictors using simple linear regression. Using hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, three variables, service component, gender, and ASVAB GT score, were found to have a significant unique shared variance with success. The results of this study indicate that ASVAB GT scores are predictive of success (p < 0.01) in the 91Q training program. Using these predictors, the selection process may be modified to improve the likelihood of student success in the course.
The Liquid Helium Thermosyphon for the GEM Detector Magnet

The GEM detector magnet, a horizontal solenoid 19.5 m in diameter and wound with a niobium-titanium cable in conduit, will be located with it’s axis 19.5 m below grade. The conductor is wound on the inside of an aluminum bobbin which is cooled by liquid helium which flows by natural convection in a thermosyphon loop from a large storage dewar located at the ground surface. The function of the thermosyphon system is to absorb the environmental heat load as well as any internally generated heat. In the first category is included that heat which is transfered to the magnet by way of the mechanical supports, the insulation and the current leads. The internally generated heat includes the resistive heating within the normally conducting conductor splices and the inductive heating of the bobbin during current transients. Though similar systems1 have been employed elsewhere, there are some unique aspects to the present design. By taking advantage of the large vertical head available, the parallel heat exchanger passes within the magnet remain sub-cooled, thus insuring single phase coolant within the magnet. It is believed that this will be the first instance of such a large vertical head being used to this advantage in a helium system.
Foreign Body Reaction and Stem Cell Responses

The utilization of stem cells in tissue engineering has generated huge excitement in regenerative medicine. Tissue engineering scaffolds are typically seeded with isolated stem cells and then cultured in bioreactors to increase cell proliferation and differentiation prior to transplantation. Unfortunately, these procedures are costly and time-consuming. Furthermore, since the cells are isolated from the patients, the tissue engineering implants have very short shelf-life and cannot be mass-produced. This chapter summarizes the progress made over the years to overcome these challenges by exploring the possibility of regenerating tissues in situ by directing autologous stem cell responses. Specifically, investigations have revealed that the implantation of biomaterials prompt the recruitment of progenitor cells, including fibrocytes and mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cells. Inflammatory chemokines are responsible for such recruitment. These cells differentiate into fibroblast-like cells, which cause scar tissue formation. Interestingly, with the localized release of differentiation cocktails, the immigrated progenitor cells can be differentiated into adipocytes and osteoblasts to form adipose and bone tissue in vivo respectively. These new findings open up new directions for in situ tissue engineering.
Control Flow Optimization Via Dynamic Reconvergence Prediction

This paper presents a novel microarchitecture technique for accurately predicting control flow reconvergence dynamically. A reconvergence point is the earliest dynamic instruction in the program where we can expect program paths to reconverge regardless of the outcome or target of the current branch. Thus, even if the immediate control flow after a branch is uncertain, execution following the reconvergence point is certain. This paper proposes a novel hardware re-convergence predictor which is both implementable and accurate, with a 4KB predictor achieving more than 95% accuracy for SPEC INT, and larger implementations achieving greater than 99% accuracy. The information provided from reconvergence prediction can increase the effectiveness of a range of previously proposed performance optimizations, including speculative multithreading, control independence, and squash reuse. This paper also demonstrates a new technique that takes advantage of the dynamic reconvergence prediction information in order to predict a wrong path excursion ahead of branch resolution. On average, 34% of wrong path fetches are eliminated.
Controlling Multicycle Replication of Live-Attenuated HIV-1 Using an Unnatural Genetic Switch

A safe and effective human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine is urgently needed, but remains elusive. While HIV-1 live-attenuated vaccine can provide potent protection as demonstrated in rhesus macaque-simian immunodeficiency virus model, the potential pathogenic consequences associated with the uncontrolled virus replication preclude such vaccine from clinical applications. We investigated a novel approach to address this problem by controlling live-attenuated HIV-1 replication through an unnatural genetic switch that was based on the amber suppression strategy. Here we report the construction of all-in-one live-attenuated HIV-1 mutants that contain genomic copy of the amber suppression system. This genetic modification resulted in viruses that were capable of multicycle replication in vitro and could be switched on and off using an unnatural amino acid as the cue. This stand-alone, replication-controllable attenuated HIV-1 virus represents an important step toward the generation of a safe an...
Security assurances and proliferation risks in the Trump administration

ABSTRACTComments that Donald Trump made while campaigning to be U.S. president have raised concerns that his administration will pull back from U.S. alliance commitments and encourage countries such as Japan and South Korea to acquire nuclear arms. The new article by Fruhling and O’Neil outlines an institutional framework that can be helpful in assessing the risks that Trump administration policies will lead to nuclear proliferation. An institutional perspective shows that important elements of U.S. security assurances will continue to function, and this reduces the chances that President Trump’s actions or statements will trigger proliferation by U.S. allies. The greatest risk to global non-proliferation efforts posed by a Trump administration in fact lies elsewhere, in the possibility that President Trump will seek to abrogate the Iran nuclear deal.