cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Are preoperative depression and anxiety associated with patient-reported outcomes, health care payments, and opioid use after anterior discectomy and fusion?

Abstract BACKGROUND CONTEXT Depression and anxiety are common psychiatric conditions among US adults, and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is one of the most commonly performed spinal surgeries. Mental health conditions can affect physical health, and thus have the potential to contribute to adverse outcomes after spine surgery; however, a comprehensive assessment of long-term outcomes and the additive economic burden of these conditions in patients undergoing ACDF has not been well described. PURPOSE Our goal was to assess the associations between depression/anxiety and adverse outcomes and health-resource utilization after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). STUDY DESIGN Retrospective database study. PATIENT SAMPLE We retrospectively analyzed a private administrative health claims database to identify patients who underwent ACDF in the United States from 2010 to 2013. A total of 16,306 patients met our inclusion criteria. Mean (± standard deviation) patient age was 50±7.9 years. Approximately 4,800 patients (30%) had a depression diagnosis and 4,000 (25%) had a diagnosis of anxiety. OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcomes of interest were intensive care unit admission, multiday hospitalization, discharge disposition, 30- and 90-day hospital readmission, 1- and 2-year rates of revision surgery, and chronic postoperative opioid use. Secondary outcomes were 1- and 2-year total cumulative health care payments and cumulative postoperative opioid consumption. METHODS Regression models controlled for demographic and medical covariates, alpha=0.05. RESULTS A preoperative diagnosis of depression was associated with higher odds of multiday hospitalization (odds ratio [OR] 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.19), 90-day readmission (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.46–2.02), revision surgery within 2 years (OR 1.43 95% CI 1.16–1.76), and chronic postoperative opioid use (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.45–1.72) and an increase of $5,915 in adjusted 2-year health care payments (p CONCLUSIONS Patients with preoperative diagnoses of depression or anxiety have a greater likelihood of adverse outcomes, increased opioid consumption, and increased cumulative health care payments after ACDF compared with patients without depression or anxiety.
Primary vesicoureteric reflux in 72 children

Objective To summarize the treatment and prognosis of children with primary vesicoureteric reflux (PVUR) and the correlation between PVUR and urinary tract infections(UTI). Methods The children with PVUR (72 cases) who were hospitalized at the Department of Nephrology and Urology of Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Capital Institute of Pediatrics from June 2007 to April 2018 were selected, and the clinical manifestations were summarized. Results A total of 72 patients (52 boys, 20 girls) were involved, and the median age at diagnosis was 8 months, in which 44 cases (61.1%) were less than 1 year old.There were 55 cases with UTI onset (76.4%), 94.5%(52/55 cases) with recurrent UTI(twice or more than twice) and 2 cases (2.8%) ended with renal failure.Refluxes were unilateral in 34 patients and bilateral in 38 patients.There were 110 ureters, in which 74 reflux ureters (67.3%) were identified as low-grade (Ⅰ-Ⅲ) PVUR, and 36 reflux ureters(32.7%) were high-grade (Ⅳ-Ⅴ) PVUR.Forty patients received conservative treatment, and significant differences of the remission rate were observed between group Ⅰ-Ⅱ grade PVUR(72.2%, 13/18 cases) and group Ⅲ-Ⅴ grade PVUR(32.5%, 13/40 cases)(χ2=7.92, P=0.005). Twenty-two patients (35 reflux ureters) underwent surgical treatment, in which 31 ureters were cured, and the remission rate was 88.6%.Ten patients with refluxes grade Ⅲ or above had no improvement after medical treatment, but the reflux was completely relieved after surgical treatment. Conclusions Children with recurrent UTI, especially less than 1 year-old, should be considered with PVUR.The conservative treatment could be prior for the patients with Ⅰ-Ⅱ grade PVUR.The surgical treatment could be chosen for those patients who suffered from high-grade PVUR, bilateral reflux or failed conservative treatment, especially with recurrent UTI, and reflux nephropathy could be reduced then. Key words: Vesicoureteric reflux; Urinary tract infection; Child
How differential privacy will affect our understanding of health disparities in the United States

The application of a currently proposed differential privacy algorithm to the 2020 United States Census data and additional data products may affect the usefulness of these data, the accuracy of estimates and rates derived from them, and critical knowledge about social phenomena such as health disparities. We test the ramifications of applying differential privacy to released data by studying estimates of US mortality rates for the overall population and three major racial/ethnic groups. We ask how changes in the denominators of these vital rates due to the implementation of differential privacy can lead to biased estimates. We situate where these changes are most likely to matter by disaggregating biases by population size, degree of urbanization, and adjacency to a metropolitan area. Our results suggest that differential privacy will more strongly affect mortality rate estimates for non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics than estimates for non-Hispanic whites. We also find significant changes in estimated mortality rates for less populous areas, with more pronounced changes when stratified by race/ethnicity. We find larger changes in estimated mortality rates for areas with lower levels of urbanization or adjacency to metropolitan areas, with these changes being greater for non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics. These findings highlight the consequences of implementing differential privacy, as proposed, for research examining population composition, particularly mortality disparities across racial/ethnic groups and along the urban/rural continuum. Overall, they demonstrate the challenges in using the data products derived from the proposed disclosure avoidance methods, while highlighting critical instances where scientific understandings may be negatively impacted.
Patient-Centered Contraceptive Counseling

Unintended pregnancy remains a prevalent issue in the United States despite significant advances in contraceptive technology and access. Reproductive goals assessment allows providers to identify patients who may benefit from hearing about contraceptive options, facilitating a patient-centered approach to contraceptive counseling. Contraceptive counseling should include information regarding effectiveness and side effects, particularly menstrual changes, but may also include information regarding need for privacy, noncontraceptive benefits, and return to fertility depending on individual preferences. In this chapter, we provide a comprehensive review of nonpermanent contraceptive methods including long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), short-acting reversible contraceptives (SARCs), and nonhormonal/barrier methods. Patient-centered approaches for eliciting reproductive goals, preferences, and priorities from patients related to contraception and pregnancy are discussed. Informed and preference-concordant contraceptive decisions can enhance patient satisfaction and continuation of any method.
0018 Neighborhood gun violence is associated with increased mental health-related pediatric emergency department utilization

Statement of purpose Community violence exposure is known to have adverse effects on children’s long-term mental health. We aimed to examine the association between episodes of neighborhood gun violence and subsequent acute mental health-related pediatric emergency department (ED) utilization. Methods/Approach This location-based neighborhood study included children living in Philadelphia, PA who presented to a children’s hospital ED from 1/1/2014–12/31/2018. We included children in the study if they had one or more ED visits within 7, 30, and 60 days of a neighborhood shooting and lived within 660 feet (2–3 city blocks) of where the incident occurred. Mental health-related presentations were identified using ED chief complaint data. We used multivariable logistic regression to compare odds of mental health-related ED utilization before and after neighborhood shootings. Results There were 4,217 episodes of gun violence in the study area from 2014–2018, and 54,465 children living near a shooting had one or more ED visits in the 60 days before or after this shooting. Most of these children were Black (84.5%) and Medicaid-insured (78.2%). After adjusting for age, race, ethnicity, insurance status, and zip code, children residing within 660 feet of an episode of gun violence had greater odds of mental health-related ED presentations in the subsequent 7 days (aOR 1.49, 95% CI, 1.08–2.04), 30 days (aOR 1.25, 95%CI 1.05–1.48), and 60 days (adjusted odds ratio (aOR 1.14, 95%CI 1.01–1.29). In stratified analyses, this effect was strongest for Black children (7-day aOR 1.52, 95%CI 1.08–2.14) and children ages 11–19 (7-day aOR 1.60, 95%CI 1.08–2.39). Conclusions and Significance Neighborhood gun violence has immediate adverse effects on children’s mental health. Recognizing the potentially triggering event and mitigating these health impacts will require both community-based support for children exposed to violence, and trauma- informed approaches during and after ED visits.
Continuing The Conversation: Graduate Student Professional Development At Mason

SESSION LOCATION: Johnson Center Cinema (Ground/Bottom Level of the Johnson Center) NOTE: This is a co-located workshop, meaning that it is open to both ITL attendees and the broader Mason community. You do not have to be registered for the conference to attend this session. If you do plan to attend this session, please register with Graduate Education to receive follow up communications and access to event materials (ITL attendees: please also register with this link in addition to your conference registration). Building on previous Mason community forums on graduate education, a community conversation about graduate student professional development was held on August 16, 2019. Results from the "Mason Community Conversation: Graduate Student Professional Development" event and some preliminary mapping of graduate student professional development programming at Mason will be shared. Following this brief introductory presentation, participants will have an opportunity to map out the support they or their unit currently offers graduate students and identify needs and future ideas. The remaining time will be dedicated to townhall style discussion about the future of graduate student professional development support at Mason. Note: This session is focused on professional development opportunities for students, NOT financial support. If you are interested in discussing the financial support models for graduate students at Mason, please visit the "What's New in Graduate Education at Mason?" poster during the poster session 4:15-5:45 in Dewberry Hall.
Association Between Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium and Retinal Disorders.

Importance Case series have identified a macular condition hypothesized to be associated with the use of pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS). Observational studies seeking to quantify this association have yielded equivocal results. Objective To estimate the association between PPS exposure and maculopathy. Design, Setting, and Participants This disproportionality analysis was conducted using the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System from January 2013 through June 2020. Exposure Adverse event reports for pentosan polysulfate were selected and compared with adverse event reports associated with drugs taken for the following indications: interstitial cystitis, cystitis, bladder disorder, or bladder pain. Main Outcome Measures Retinal adverse events were identified using the retinal disorders Standardized Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) Query, which includes conditions associated with retinal damage attributable to blockage of its blood supply, nutritional deficiencies, toxins, and diseases affecting the retina. Results There were 2775 reports available for analysis in the PPS group (of which 1966 were for women [70.9%]) and 6833 reports in the other drugs group (of which 4036 [59.1%] were for women). The proportion of adverse events for any macular event relative to all other events was elevated for the users of PPS compared with those using other interstitial cystitis and bladder pain drugs (proportionate reporting ratio [PRR], 1.21 [95% CI, 1.01-1.44]). With respect to specific retinal conditions, macular degeneration (20 [0.8%] vs 15 [0.2%]), maculopathy (83 [3.4%] vs 2 [0.03%]), retinal dystrophy (3 [0.1%] vs 0), retinal injury (5 [0.2%] vs 0), and retinal toxicity (3 [0.1%] vs 0) were proportionately more common among users of PPS compared with those using other interstitial cystitis and bladder pain drugs, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance The results of the current study add to the growing evidence that PPS use is associated with an increased risk of maculopathy. Studies that rule out prevalent retinal abnormalities prior to the initiation of PPS would strengthen the current body of literature.
The Sensitivity of Biocatalysts to Hydrodynamic Shear Stress

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the current status of shear sensitivity of microorganisms and other biocatalysts. The structural features of biocatalysts serve as a basis for rational explanation of effects of shear damage. One of the key parameters in the development of processes utilizing biocatalysts is their sensitivity to hydrodynamic shear stress. Bioreactors can generate strong forces in the region of the impeller, along the walls, and at air–liquid interfaces. The chapter examines what is known about the sensitivity of enzymes and organisms to shear stress, the magnitude of the forces experienced by biocatalysts in various reactor types, and the implications for the design and operation of biochemical processes It discusses physical and biological mechanisms of shear damage and outlines the ways of overcoming the adverse effects of shear.
Monoclonal antibody therapy of leukemia and lymphoma.

Publisher Summary Through careful clinical trials, a number of obstacles to effective therapy with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been identified. New technologies, however, have continued to provide strategies to overcome many of these obstacles. Four approaches—mAbs can be used as mediators of immune effector function, anti-idiotype (anti-id) mAbs can both target unique surface immunoglobulins expressed on B-cell neoplasms and mimic an antigen triggering tumor immunity, mAbs can be directed against receptors that control tumor growth, and mAbs can serve as vehicles to carry cytotoxic agents—to the therapeutic use of mAbs have been developed. Among the most promising applications of mAb-based therapies are those that take advantage of multiple mechanisms of tumor killing, such as the use of radioconjugates in combination with high-dose chemotherapy and TBI prior to bone marrow transplantation (BMT), the use of mAb-based therapies to eliminate residual disease, and the use of mAbs to purge tumor cells from bone marrow prior to reinfusion after dose-intensive therapy. The immunophenotypic characterization of the various stages and lineages found during hematopoietic differentiation has formed the basis for the selection of therapeutic mAbs. Leukemia- and lymphoma-associated antigens, however, are neither tumor specific, nor are they always stage or lineage specific. Therefore, myelosuppression—that affects the treatment of leukemia greatly—is often associated with mAb therapy of hematologic malignancies.
Gabrenya, William K., Jr

William Gabrenya is Professor of Psychology at Florida Institute of Technology. Following completion of the B.A. in psychology at Ohio University (1974) he earned the M.A. (1977) and Ph.D. (1979) in social psychology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He then spent two years as a postdoctoral research associate at Ohio State University before joining the faculty of Florida Tech in 1981, where he has remained since that time. Keywords: cross-cultural psychology; cultural psychology; indigenous psychology
Investigation of extraordinary optical transmission inside a terahertz parallel-plate waveguide

We study extraordinary optical transmission by placing a metal screen with a 1-D array of holes inside a parallel-plate waveguide at terahertz frequencies. We find excitation with TE 1 or TEM mode strongly affects output transmission characteristics.
THE FINE STRUCTURE OF A NAUPLIUS EYE.

The nauplius eye of the cyclopoid copepod Macrocyclops albidus has been studied by means of the electron microscope. It is composed of 1 ventral and 2 dorsal ocelli. Each dorsal ocellus consists of a large, pigmented cell, 2 tapetal cells which form a hemispherical cup and are tightly packed with crystals, 9 retinula cells and 5 conjunctival cells. The retinula cells have large masses of endoplasmic reticulum, which can be found in two distinct distributional states, also numerous bodies composed of variously coiled membranes, large amounts of glycogen, mitochondria and scattered neurotubules. The light-sensitive brush borders of these cells are closely coapted and form the irregularly shaped rhabdome. Each of the 9 retinula cells sends an axon by one of three routes to the protocerebrum. In addition, a dendrite emerges from the protocerebrum, enters the ocellus and ends blindly in immediate vicinity to the rhabdome. The observations concerning the structure of the eye made in the present study have been compared to those of light microscopical investigations. Comparison of structure and probable function of the nauplius eye and other arthropod eyes has led to consideration of the probable mode of synaptic transmission between primary and secondary sensory neurons in the ocellus, i.e. between retinula cells and eccentric cell dendrite, and various morphological features that might be of importance in this connection.
Chapter 5 Cytoskeletal Interactions with Leukocyte and Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecules

Publisher Summary Each of the major classes of cell adhesion molecules are necessary for leukocyte trafficking. Selectins, integrins, and immunoglobulin superfamily members all play important roles in cellular immune responses and each have cytoplasmic tails that interact with cytoskeletal proteins. These interactions between cell adhesion molecule cytoplasmic tails and cytoskeletal proteins are essential for immune cell rolling, adhesion, migration, and diapedesis. This chapter describes the progress made to date in characterizing these interactions and focuses on the processes that are most essential to leukocyte rolling and adhesion. The major families of cell adhesion molecules involved in mediating leukocyte rolling, adhesion, and migration each associate with, and are regulated by interactions with, the cytoskeleton. Transendothelial migration requires the participation of both leukocyte and endothelial cell adhesion molecules. This chapter provides an overview of the cytoskeletal interactions that occur between leukocyte and endothelial cell adhesion molecules and discusses how those interactions are thought to regulate adhesive functions that are important for leukocyte trafficking under conditions of fluid shear stress. Although this chapter is limited primarily to discussion of cell adhesion molecules in leukocytes and endothelial cells that are involved in cellular immunity and are regulated through interaction with the actin cytoskeleton, recent reports do suggest a role for endothelial microtubules and kinesins in promoting diapedesis.
Robust Preconditioning for Indefinite and Ill-Conditioned Sparse Linear Systems.

Linear systems originating from certain applications in the physical sciences can be challenging to solve by iterative methods. In the past, direct methods like Gaussian elimination have been often used to solve these systems, due to their robust nature. However, as problems are now often formulated in 3-D geometries, the use of direct solvers is becoming prohibitive. Moreover, unlike iterative solvers, direct solvers cannot be easily parallelized. Two classes of methods have attracted the interest of researchers in recent years. First, is the class of multigrid methods, which have been shown to be very efficient for elliptic-type problems, and for which various adaptations have been brought. Second, is the class of preconditioned Krylov subspace methods. Here, work has focused mainly on improving the preconditioning. The underlying challenge is to develop or identify techniques that are robust and efficient in terms of accuracy, stability, and scalability. As problems in computational science continue to evolve, so do preconditioning techniques, as new ideas are incorporated to develop solver technologies that are well adapted to solve novel and challenging problems. To further contribute to this endeavor, my research uses ideas from numerical linear algebra to address algorithmic and computational issues in the numerical solution of application problems. The ideas presented in this thesis will focus on improving the stability and effectiveness of ILU-based preconditioners to better handle challenging problems characterized by indefinite and poorly conditioned linear systems. First, we present various strategies designed to improve the quality of the ILU factorization in order to safeguard stability without compromising the accuracy of the resulting factors. These strategies introduce new contributions to the areas of shifted ILU methods, modified ILU and compensation-based techniques, and reordering techniques for ILU. The resulting factors yield good and more robust preconditioners that are effective on highly indefinite and ill-conditioned linear systems. Next, we demonstrate the effectiveness of combining ILU factorizations with multilevel methods. Multilevel ILU methods have become a popular area of research, as researchers seek to take advantage of the superior robustness of ILU, coupled with the efficiency and scalability of multilevel methods. We discuss issues related to constructing the next-level matrices in the multilevel hierarchy and present ideas from multilevel graph coarsening and reordering strategies to construct an algebraic multilevel ILU-based preconditioner. Finally, we discuss key concepts necessary for an efficient adaptation of the ILU-based preconditioner into a parallel framework. We discuss the parallel implementation within the structure of the parallel algebraic multilevel solver (pARMS) framework. We demonstrate how different preconditioning techniques may be incorporated into this framework, and discuss issues relating to scalability.
Feasibility of Using Low-Cost Motion Capture for Automated Screening of Shoulder Motion Limitation after Breast Cancer Surgery.

Objective To determine if a low-cost, automated motion analysis system using Microsoft Kinect could accurately measure shoulder motion and detect motion impairments in women following breast cancer surgery. Design Descriptive study of motion measured via 2 methods. Setting Academic cancer center oncology clinic. Participants 20 women (mean age = 60 yrs) were assessed for active and passive shoulder motions during a routine post-operative clinic visit (mean = 18 days after surgery) following mastectomy (n = 4) or lumpectomy (n = 16) for breast cancer. Interventions Participants performed 3 repetitions of active and passive shoulder motions on the side of the breast surgery. Arm motion was recorded using motion capture by Kinect for Windows sensor and on video. Goniometric values were determined from video recordings, while motion capture data were transformed to joint angles using 2 methods (body angle and projection angle). Main Outcome Measure Correlation of motion capture with goniometry and detection of motion limitation. Results Active shoulder motion measured with low-cost motion capture agreed well with goniometry (r = 0.70–0.80), while passive shoulder motion measurements did not correlate well. Using motion capture, it was possible to reliably identify participants whose range of shoulder motion was reduced by 40% or more. Conclusions Low-cost, automated motion analysis may be acceptable to screen for moderate to severe motion impairments in active shoulder motion. Automatic detection of motion limitation may allow quick screening to be performed in an oncologist's office and trigger timely referrals for rehabilitation.
The limits of environmental remediation protocols for environmental justice cases: lessons from Vieques, Puerto Rico

The United States Federal Government has repeatedly put the people of Vieques, Puerto Rico in harm’s way due to the injurious after-effects of air-to-ground weapons testing. Most of the harm happened during the Navy’s 70 years on the island. Yet, the harm continues today considering that aspects of the cleanup count as continued acts of environmental injustice, viewed within the context of the island’s colonial history. Usually, this harm deals with public health issues, but the remediation protocols do not account for considerations such as cultural identity and heritage. This paper shows how the procedures for environmental remediation in Vieques qualify as a case of environmental injustice according to Robert M. Figueroa’s ‘environmental justice paradigm.’ The aim of employing this kind of approach is to pinpoint the underlying reasons why this is a case of environmental injustice.
Probability and Statistics Applied to the Practice of Financial Risk Management: The Case of J.P. Morgan's RiskMetrics™

This work describes applications of probability and statistics in RiskMetrics™, J.P. Morgan's methodology for quantifying market risk. The methodology implements an analytical approach to financial risk in trading, arbitrage, and investment based on the statistics of market moves in equities, bonds, currencies and commodities. The public unveiling of RiskMetrics™ in October of 1994 attracted widespread interest among regulators, competing financial institutions, investment managers, and corporate treasurers, while the available technical documentation offers us a unique opportunity for informed statistical research on the theory and practice of financial risk management. For the purpose of identifying problems for further research, this discussion focuses on five applications of statistics in RiskMetrics™, which range from data analysis of daily returns and locally Gaussian processes to stochastic volatility models and Ito processes for the term structure of interest rates. Another important theme of this discussion, however, is devoted to attracting statisticians to the study of financial risk management and developing the foundations for collaborative work with financial economists and practicing risk managers. For this reason, this is also an expository document that touches several areas of active statistical research with applications to problems of risk management.
Regulation of Thymidine Metabolism in Escherichia coli K-12: Optimal Conditions for the Assay of 1,5-Phosphodeoxyribomutase in Ultrasonic Extracts

Assay conditions have been established which allow maximum expression of phosphodeoxyribomutase activity in ultrasonic extracts of Escherichia coli K-12. The enzyme requires 2-mercaptoethanol, manganous ions, and glucose 1,6-diphosphate for optimal activity. When cells are grown in minimal medium with glycerol as the carbon source and supplemented with 10(-3)m thymidine, phosphodeoxyribomutase is induced three- to four-fold. Cell pellets may be frozen for 24 hr before sonic disruption without loss of enzyme activity. The assay is highly reproducible.
The economic organization of legislatures and how it affects congressional voting

Congress confronts two major organizational problems that affect the behavior of legislators, party leaders, and groups doing business with congressional committees: The costly nature of monitoring and the absence of explicit mechanisms for upholding agreements. The problem of monitoring implies that party leaders will have a difficult time influencing decisions made in decision-making arenas where the actions of legislators are less visible, as in congressional committees. While legislators can evade leadership monitoring of their actions within committees, once an issue leaves a committee, the costs of monitoring decline, and leadership influence increases. The absence of mechanisms for assuring that legislators keep their bargains means that groups will place an emphasis on dealing with reliable legislators — those who can be counted upon to uphold their end of a bargain. Thus, party leaders are more effective in influencing floor voting because of their better ability to monitor legislator behavior; however, obligations to important interest groups will be more immune to leadership influence because of the incentives for committee members to adhere to their bargains.
A transmitted reference digital demodulator for mobile digital communication

A demodulator applicable to the dual-pilot tone modulation technique is presented. Examination of orthogonal and ISI-free pulse shapes leads to the novel demodulator structure. This demodulator is advantageous because the processing is strictly linear, the pilot channel and data channel ideally do not interfere or create self-noise, no differential encoding is required since no phase ambiguity is created with the pilot tone processing, and near ideal bit error probability performance is achieved. This demodulator offers an alternative to the transmitted tone-in-band and the pilot-symbol-assisted modulation techniques. The author considers pi /4-QPSK modulation with 33% excess bandwidth in the isotropic time-varying fading channel as a design example. >
Circularization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 DNA in vitro.

Abstract Linear viral DNA present in cytoplasmic extracts of cells newly infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 can be induced to form 1-LTR and 2-LTR circles by incubation of the extracts in the presence of added nucleoside triphosphates. No circular DNA forms are detected when extracts are incubated in the absence of added nucleoside triphosphates. Restriction enzyme analysis and polymerase chain reaction analysis with selected primers, as well as DNA sequence analysis of the polymerase chain reaction products, show that most of the 2-LTR circles are the result of autointegration reactions, while 1-LTR circles result from recombination between the long terminal repeats on the linear viral DNA. In addition, a small amount of simple 2-LTR circles, formed by end-to-end joining of the linear viral DNA, is formed in vitro. Integration of the linear viral DNA into heterologous DNA competes effectively with the formation of 2-LTR circles by autointegration. However, concentrations of target DNA which completely block autointegration have no effect on the formation of 1-LTR circles or simple 2-LTR circles. Factors present in extracts of uninfected cells can mediate the formation of 1-LTR circles and simple 2-LTR circles from purified deproteinated linear viral DNA, indicating that viral proteins are not necessary for the formation of these two types of circular viral DNA. These experiments demonstrate that all the transformations of linear viral DNA which occur in the nuclei of cells infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 can be reproduced in vitro.
Genic Intolerance to Functional Variation and the Interpretation of Personal Genomes

A central challenge in interpreting personal genomes is determining which mutations most likely influence disease. Although progress has been made in scoring the functional impact of individual mutations, the characteristics of the genes in which those mutations are found remain largely unexplored. For example, genes known to carry few common functional variants in healthy individuals may be judged more likely to cause certain kinds of disease than genes known to carry many such variants. Until now, however, it has not been possible to develop a quantitative assessment of how well genes tolerate functional genetic variation on a genome-wide scale. Here we describe an effort that uses sequence data from 6503 whole exome sequences made available by the NHLBI Exome Sequencing Project (ESP). Specifically, we develop an intolerance scoring system that assesses whether genes have relatively more or less functional genetic variation than expected based on the apparently neutral variation found in the gene. To illustrate the utility of this intolerance score, we show that genes responsible for Mendelian diseases are significantly more intolerant to functional genetic variation than genes that do not cause any known disease, but with striking variation in intolerance among genes causing different classes of genetic disease. We conclude by showing that use of an intolerance ranking system can aid in interpreting personal genomes and identifying pathogenic mutations.
Design and Effectiveness of Intelligent Tutors for Operators of Complex Dynamic Systems: A Tutor Implementation for Satellite System Operators

Abstract Training operators of complex, predominantly automated dynamic systems is a challenging problem. Operators of such systems must cope with rare, potentially catastrophic events. The risks and complexity of such systems limit the effectiveness of on‐the‐job training (OJT); conventional classroom instruction with printed and audio‐visual media fails to capture the essential elements required to supervise a complex system in real time. There is a growing sense that computer‐based intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) offer a much needed alternative learning environment. Ideally, an ITS provides one‐on‐one instruction, apprenticeship‐style learning (without the risks of training on the actual system), and greater tolerance for error styles (see Collins, Browning & Newman, 1986).
Appendix A—the Hayford method of estimating surface runoff versus the Sherman (“Unit-Graph”) Method

(1) Introductory—The primary thesis of this discussion is three-fold, namely: (a) To show that the basic principles underlying the so-called “unit-graph” method of estimating surface runoff appearing in an article by L. K. Sherman (Stream-flow from rainfall by unit-graph method, Eng. News-Rec, April 7, 1932) in 1932 appeared in Publication 400 (J. A. Folse, A new method of estimating stream-flow based upon a new evaporation-formula, Washington, 1929) of the Carnegie Institution of Washington; (b) to show that the method of applying the principles involved in the latter reference is more rigorous as well as more widely applicable, and hence, obviously, superior to the mere graphical method; and (c) to point out that the principle involved had been In use since 1911 on the computations and studies involved in Publication 400. (2) Surface-runoff to stream B at Wagon wheel Gap. Colorado—The surface-runoff to this stream as given by equation 86 (p. 177 of Pub. 400), which is rewritten here for convenience, is 1.40 rf1 + 1.43 rf2 + 1.64 rf4 + 14.0 rf5 + 8.24 f6 + 3.11 f7= DF (1) in which rf1 = increase in storage above the ground-surface on the current day; rf2 = increase in storage oin the preceding day; rf3 = increase in storage on the day before the preceding day; rf4 = increase in storage on the next preceding two days; rf5 = increase in storage on the next preceding four days; rrf6 = increase in storage on the next preceding eight days; rf7 = increase in storage on the next preceding sixteen days; rf1 to rf4 are in units of 0.01 inch of depth and rf5 to rf7 are expressed in 0.1 inch of depth; and DF is the “flood-flow” or that part of the total stream-flow due to surface-runoff, in units of 0.001 cfs.
Enriched Branched-Chain Amino Acid Formula Versus a Casein-Based Supplement in the Treatment of Cirrhosis

An orally administered branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) rich supplement (T), Travasorb-Hepatic was compared to a casein based supplement (E), Ensure, in a randomized double-blind cross-over study in eight malnourished, stable cirrhotics unable to achieve a daily dietary protein intake of 1.0 g/kg. Doses of antiportal systemic encephalopathy drugs remained constant and a baseline 1000 kcal, 40 g dietary protein intake was encouraged. To this diet, supplemental protein was added in daily 20-g increments to a maximum of 60 g supplemental protein. Mental status, asterixis, and number connection tests were assessed daily and an antiportal systemic encephalopathy index calculated. There was no significant difference in the mean intake of dietary protein (T, 33.7 +/- 4.0 g; E, 26.7 +/- 10.8 g), supplemental protein (T, 43.1 +/- 8.3 g; E, 47.9 +/- 7.1 g), or N2 balance (T, 4.2 +/- 3.7 g; E, 3.4 +/- 4.4) between treatment trials. The antiportal systemic encephalopathy index improved on E, with no significant change in the BCAA:aromatic acid molar ratio. This ratio improved on T (1.02 +/- 2.0 to 2.7 +/- 1.1), but was not accompanied by improvement in the antiportal systemic encephalopathy index. The improved protein tolerance in both groups was not further increased by a highly enriched BCAA formula compared to one with a moderate BCAA content from a natural dietary protein source. Thus, both conventional casein-based supplements and enriched BCAA formulas are well tolerated and can be safely and effectively used as an integral part of diet therapy.
A PAL/NTSC Digital Video Encoder on 0.6um CMOS with 66dB typ SNR, 0.4% Diff. Gain and 0.2° Diff. Phase

This paper describes a digital video encoder which accepts a component digital video input data stream, and generates a PAL or NTSC composite analog video output signal. The video signal has typical differential gain and phase of 0.4%, 0.2° respectively, and SNR of 66dB rms. These numbers represent broadcast quality video, the paper outlines the architecture, circuit, and die size minimisation techniques used to achieve this level of performance in a 4 × 4mm CMOS die. The die operates with a +5V supply and is packaged in a 44-pin Plastic Quad Flatpack package (7 × 7mm). The digital logic achieves an average power dissipation of 0.37uW/gate/MHz, the paper covers this and other circuit and packaging techniques used to reduce power, Theta J-A, and junction temperature in this small package in order to enable a 10-year life-time, even in a continuous ambient temperature of 70°C.
Epigenetic Memory Emerging from Integrated Transcription Bursts

Some autonomous bacteria coordinate their actions using quorum-sensing (QS) signals to affect gene expression. However, noise in the gene environment can compromise the cellular response. By exercising precise control over a cell’s genes and its microenvironment, we have studied the key positive autoregulation element by which the lux QS system integrates noisy signals into an epigenetic memory. We observed transcriptional bursting of the lux receptor in cells stimulated by near-threshold levels of QS ligand. The bursts are integrated over time into an epigenetic memory that confers enhanced sensitivity to the ligand. An emergent property of the system is manifested in pattern formation among phenotypes within a chemical gradient.
Electron Spin Resonance Analysis of Lattice Defects in Polycrystalline Aluminum Nitride

Electron spin resonance was used in the present study to detect lattice defects in an aluminum nitride lattice. The ESR spectra were obtained from polycrystalline AIN with various thermal conductivities. Measurement of the AIN g values clearly indicated that the obtained ESR signals arose from electrons trapped by nitrogen vacancies. The ESR study revealed that thermal conductivity increases with an increase in the number of electrons trapped by nitrogen vacancies. The explanation for that phenomenon is that the thermal conductivity of AIN increases with a decreasing concentration of oxygen impurities incorporated into the AIN lattice, and the concentration of nitrogen vacancies changes inversely with the concentration of oxygen impurities.
Phase diagram and isotope effects of the quasi-one-dimensional electron gas coupled to phonons

Using a multistep renormalization group method, we study the low-temperature phases of the interacting one-dimensional (1D) electron gas coupled to phonons. We obtain analytic expressions for the weak-coupling quantum phase boundaries of the 1D extended Holstein-Hubbard model and the 1D extended Peierls-Hubbard model for general band-filling and phonon frequency. Away from half-filling, the phase diagrams are characterized by a delicate competition between spin density wave, charge density wave, and superconducting orders. We study the dependence of the ground state on the electron-phonon (el-ph) and electron-electron (el-el) coupling strengths, the screening length, electron bandwidth, phonon frequency, doping, and type of phonon. Unlike the case in Fermi liquids, in 1D the el-ph coupling is strongly renormalized, often to stronger values. Even when the bare phonon-induced attraction is weak compared to the bare el-el repulsion, a small amount of retardation can cause the renormalized el-ph interaction to dominate the problem. We find cases in which a repulsive el-el interaction enhances the superconducting susceptibility in the presence of a retarded el-ph interaction. The spin gap and superconducting susceptibility are found to be strongly dependent on the deviation from half-filling (doping). In some cases, the superconducting susceptibility varies nonmonotonically with doping and exhibits a maximum at a particular doping. For a quasi-1D array of weakly coupled, fluctuating 1D chains, the superconducting transition temperature ${T}_{c}$ also exhibits a maximum as a function of doping. The effect of changing the ion mass (isotope effect) on ${T}_{c}$ is found to be largest near half-filling and to decrease rapidly with doping.
170 MAST CELL ADENOSINE RECEPTORS, G PROTEINS, AND ADENYLATE CYCLASE INTERACTIONS

Forskolin, cholera toxin, and pertussis toxin may alter various aspects of cell function. Mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells exposed to micromolar concentrations of forskolin, an agent thought to directly activate adenylate cyclase, exhibited an inhibition of antigen-induced β-hexosaminidase (β-hex) release but retained the ability of adenosine to potentiate this release. Forskolin alone augmented resting mast cell cyclic AMP levels in a dose-dependent fashion, but adenosine enhanced cyclic AMP concentrations in both control and forskolin-treated cells. Cholera toxin, an agent that ADP-ribosylates and activates Gs proteins in many cell types, failed to alter β-hex release from antigen-challenged mast cells in the presence or absence of 10uM adenosine. Although cholera toxin caused an elevation of mast cell cyclic AMP levels, adenosine enhanced cyclic AMP to a similar extent in control and toxin-treated cells. Mast cells cultured with pertussis toxin, an agent that ADP-ribosylates the Gi protein in some cells, exhibited an attenuation of antigen-stimulated β-hex release and an inhibition of adenosine responsiveness as well. Although pertussis toxin did not alter resting mast cell cyclic AMP levels, high doses of the toxin inhibited the ability of adenosine to increase cyclic AMP. These data suggest that many agents that alter mast cell cyclic AMP concentrations fail to alter adenosine responsiveness. Pertussis toxin appears to be an exception to this finding, although its exact mechanism of action on mast cell adenosine receptors is uncertain.
DDT Contamination in Milk Following a Single Feeding Exposure

Abstract Feeding a single large dose (about 14 mg/kg) of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4′-chlorophenyl) ethane (DDT) to dairy cows caused a very large but transient increase in blood and milk levels of the insecticide. After 3 wk, milk fat levels had declined to a near-plateau of about 6ppm, and the total time required for attainment of a 2.5-ppm level was calculated to be at least 15 wk.
Analyzing spectral sensors with highly overlapping bands

Most traditional spectral sensors have spectrally adjacent bands with little overlap. This overlap is usually ignored in image processing because band-to-band correlation due to oversampling of the scene is almost always dominant. A new proposed class of adaptive spectral sensor based on bias-tunable quantum-dot infrared photodetectors (QDIPs) are different in that they have significant band-to-band overlaps. The influence of these overlaps to image processing results cannot be ignored for such sensors. To facilitate the analysis of such sensors, a generalized geometry-based model is provided here for spectral sensors with arbitrary spectral responses. It starts from the mathematical description of the interaction between sensor and the radiation from scene reaching it. In this model, the spectral responses of a sensor are used to define a sensor space. The spectral sensing process is shown to represent a projection of scene spectrum onto sensor space. The projected spectrum, which can be calculated through the output photocurrents and sensor's spectral responses, is the least-square error reconstruction of the scene spectrum. With this data interpretation, we can remove the influence of band overlap to the data. The band overlap also introduce correlation between noise of different bands, This correlation is also analyzed.
Improved N2Selectivity for Platinum on Alumina Prepared by Sol-Gel Technique in the Reduction of NOxby Propene

The authors present results which demonstrate that a 1% Pt/alumina catalyst prepared by a sol-gel technique is superior in its N{sub 2} selectivity in the catalytic reduction of NO{sub x} by propene to similarly loaded Pt/alumina catalysts prepared by the more commonly used impregnation technique. The selectivity of the sol-gel catalyst to N{sub 2} at maximum conversion is 83% as compared to 43% and 60% selectivity observed with Pt catalysts prepared using the impregnation technique. The sol-gel made catalyst does not change its activity and selectivity even in the presence of 2.5% water.
Primary Care Resident Perceived Preparedness to Deliver Cross-cultural Care: An Examination of Training and Specialty Differences

Objective Previous research has shown that resident physicians report differences in training across primary care specialties, although limited data exist on education in delivering cross-cultural care. The goals of this study were to identify factors that relate to primary care residents’ perceived preparedness to provide cross-cultural care and to explore the extent to which these perceptions vary across primary care specialties.
Evidence for the presence of strong Mn(III)-binding ligands in the water column of the Chesapeake Bay

Soluble manganese speciation was determined in suboxic and anoxic waters of the Chesapeake Bay using a water soluble porphyrin ligand as spectrophotometric reagent. Initial addition of the reagent detected only Mn(II); on addition of 100 μM H2S (excess of the expected total dissolved Mn concentration) an increase in Mn occurred, indicating a reduction of Mn(III). Mn(III) comprised up to 54.21 ± 2.71% of the total dissolved Mn pool. Samples with low H2S (4.82 ± 0.80 μM) had high Mn(III) (6.98 ± 0.63 μM) whereas those with high H2S (38.37 ± 1.70 μM) had low Mn(III) (1.12 ± 0.17 μM) indicating that Mn(III) is kinetically stabilized in situ by strong ligands so reduction to Mn(II) is not complete. Assays for MnOx particles showed that these were negligible or not detected except near the oxic–anoxic interface, and Mn(III) depth profiles showed peaks below the oxic–anoxic interface. Sulfidic sediments were not a source of Mn(III) to overlying waters as no Mn(III) was detected in overlying waters. These Mn(III) profiles likely result from the one electron reductive dissolution of solid MnO2 particles formed at the oxic–anoxic interface, which then fall into the anoxic hydrogen sulfide rich zone. Laboratory experiments with known ligands bound to Mn(III) confirm that Mn(III)-L complexes do not completely react with H2S as these are concentration dependent reactions under kinetic control.
Inherently nonplanar automata

It is shown that for every finite-state automaton there exists an equivalent nondeterministic automaton with a planar state graph. However there exist finite-state automata with no equivalent deterministic automaton with a planar state graph.