cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 15428: Development of Instability in QT Interval Dynamics Before the Onset of Ventricular Fibrillation

INTRODUCTION: Experimental evidence indicates that unstable repolarization dynamics plays an important role in the initiation of ventricular fibrillation (VF). However, assessing repolarization instability before VF onset in the clinic remains a daunting task. HYPOTHESIS: The QT interval (QTI) in the ECG is a manifestation of ventricular repolarization. We have developed and reported a novel algorithm that detects instability in QTI dynamics. We hypothesize that QTI dynamics tends to become unstable in the approach to VF onset. METHODS: One hour-long ECG recordings (one per patient) were collected right before VF onset from 17 patients admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital, and were assembled into a VF group. From each of the 11 patients who did not have cardiac events, one hour-long ECG was randomly selected and assembled into a CONTROL group. All ECGs were subdivided into 1-min episodes termed minECGs. The latter were annotated to obtain QTI and RR intervals (RRIs). Each QTI within a given minECG was defined as a function of QTIs and RRIs of several prior beats. The stability of this function, which describes QTI dynamics of the given minECG, was determined dichotomously in the z-domain. For both VF and COTROL groups, the number of patients who had unstable QTI dynamics, N, was counted every five minutes. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine the trends in the value of N in both groups. Paired t-test was used to compare N between VF and CONTROL groups. RESULTS: Linear regression results show a significant increase (p=0.002, R2=0.62) in the value of N in the VF group (Figure) but not in CONTROL (p=0.43). In the VF group, N increased from 7 (first 5 minutes) to 13 (last 5 minutes). The mean N of the VF group (9.33±1.8) was significantly (p CONCLUSONS: More VF patients had unstable QTI dynamics as compared to CONTROL patients. QTI dynamics has a tendency to become unstable in the approach to VF onset.
Learning How Things Work Here: The Socialization of Newcomers in Organizations

Current scholarship views organizational socialization as a learning process that is primarily the responsibility of the newcomer. Yet, recent learning research recognizes the importance of the social interactions in the learning process. This study investigated how newly hired engineers at a large manufacturing company learned job-related tasks and the social norms of the organization. From the perspective of social exchange theory, two major findings emerged from the data that indicated (a) relationship building was a primary driver of socialization and (b) the work group was the primary context for socialization. These findings challenge the current views of organizational socialization by accentuating the relational processes at the local level that mediate learning during socialization.
Therapy Dogs in Couple and Family Therapy - A Therapist's Perspective

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand therapists’ strategies, benefits, and challenges in working with therapy dogs in couple and family therapy. Eight individuals participated in semi-structured interviews; areas of inquiry included how therapists made the decision to work with a therapy dog, how the therapy dog was managed in session, the impact of the therapy dog’s presence in the therapy process, and concluded with recommendations for therapists who aspire to work with canine-assisted psychotherapy (CAP) in their practices. The data were analyzed using transcendental phenomenology. The findings suggest that the majority of therapists who use CAP with couples and families find it to be beneficial for their clients, the therapy dog, and the therapists themselves, with the identification of a few challenges. Participants reported that compared to individual therapy, in which the therapy dog is included to fulfill a treatment goal or enhance a therapy model, in couple and family therapy, the therapist was much more flexible in regards to the therapy dog’s presence. Overall, therapists observed the system’s dynamics as family members interacted with the dog. Additionally, the majority of participants reported on the therapy dog’s ability to help the therapist better understand their clients and the dog’s presence also helped to overcome challenges particular to working with more than one client. Clinical and research implications are discussed.
The hippocampus is necessary for the sleep-dependent consolidation of a task that does not require the hippocampus for initial learning

During sleep, the hippocampus plays an active role in consolidating memories that depend on it for initial encoding. There are hints in the literature that the hippocampus may have a broader influence, contributing to the consolidation of memories that may not initially require the area. We tested this possibility by evaluating learning and consolidation of the motor sequence task (MST) in hippocampal amnesics and demographically matched control participants. While the groups showed similar initial learning, only controls exhibited evidence of sleep-dependent consolidation. These results demonstrate that the hippocampus can be required for normal consolidation of a task without being required for its acquisition, suggesting that the area plays a broader role in coordinating sleep-dependent memory consolidation than has previously been assumed.
Obesity is Associated with Higher Blood Pressure and Higher Levels of Angiotensin II but Lower Angiotensin-(1-7) in Adolescents Born Preterm.

Objectives To evaluate if obesity is associated with increased angiotensin II (Ang II) and decreased angiotensin-(1-7) or Ang-(1-7) in the circulation and urine among adolescents born prematurely. Study design In a cross-sectional analysis of 175 14-year-olds born preterm with very low birth weight, we quantified plasma and urinary Ang II and Ang-(1-7) and compared their levels between subjects with overweight/obesity (body mass index ≥85th percentile, n = 61) and those with body mass index Results Overweight/obesity was associated with higher systolic blood pressure and a greater proportion with high blood pressure. After adjustment for confounders, overweight/obesity was associated with an elevated ratio of plasma Ang II to Ang-(1-7) (β: 0.57, 95% CI 0.23-0.91) and higher Ang II (β: 0.21 pmol/L, 95% CI 0.03-0.39) but lower Ang-(1-7) (β: -0.37 pmol/L, 95% CI −0.7 to −0.04). Overweight/obesity was associated with a higher ratio of urinary Ang II to Ang-(1-7) (β: 0.21, 95% CI −0.02 to 0.44), an effect that approached statistical significance. Conclusions Among preterm-born adolescents, overweight/obesity was associated with increased Ang II but reduced Ang-(1-7) in the circulation and the kidney as well as higher blood pressure. Obesity may compound the increased risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in individuals born prematurely by further augmenting the prematurity-associated imbalance in the renin-angiotensin system.
Developing a new thermoelectric approach for energy harvesting from asphalt pavements

Abstract The importance of green technologies for generating renewable energy and sustainable development is widely accepted. Highway pavements which are exposed to solar radiation, absorb a large amount of heat that could be harvested. This study aims to design an innovative thermoelectric generator system that utilizes the thermal gradients between the pavement surface and the soil below the pavement and converts it to electricity. This system consists of a heat collector, a thermal electric generator and a coolant module. A prototype was fabricated to embed directly into asphalt pavements. Several simulations using finite element analyses were conducted to evaluate the performance of the system components and determine their optimal design. The final design was also tested in the field. Based on the experimental and finite element results, the efficiency of the system was enhanced by improving its coolant module by incorporating a phase-changing heat sink. The optimized prototype was able to generate an average of 29 mW of electricity for South Texas conditions (i.e. temperate zone), which appears to be a promising independent source of power for road-side wireless sensors and near-field data communications.
Boron Containing Pyrimidines, Nucleosides, and Oligonucleotides for Neutron Capture Therapy

Abstract The synthesis and encouraging biological findings with boron-containing nucleosides, such as 5-dihydroxyboryl-2′-deoxyuridine, which could be used for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for the treatment of various malignancies, has provided momentum to synthesize several boron containing nucleosides and oligomers. BNCT is based on the property of the non-radioactive boron-10 isotope to capture low energy neutrons, thereby producing a localized cell-destroying nuclear reaction. Thus, irradiation of tumor cells with neutrons, following incorporation of the boronated nucleoside, would result in the destruction of tumor tissue only. Intracellular phosphorylation by nucleoside kinases, and/or incorporation into the cancer cell DNA as a false nucleotide precursor, followed by irradiation by neutrons, would lead primarily to tumor cell death. The synthetic and biological approaches for boronated pyrimidines, nucleosides, and oligonucleotides for BNCT are reviewed.
Utilizing the group in teaching disturbed delinquents to learn.

A group of disturbed, delinquent children were taught under 3 conditions. The group acted as its own control. Dependent variables were reading gains and appropriate classroom behaviors. Making rewa...
On Spectrum Sensing, a Machine Learning Method for Cognitive Radio Systems

Spectrum sensing plays an important role in enabling cognitive radio technology for the up-and-coming generation of wireless communication systems. Over the last decade, several sensing methods have been proposed, including energy detection, cyclostationary feature, and matched filter. However, these techniques present several limitations. Energy detection performs poorly under low signal-to-noise ratio, cyclostationary features are complex, and matched filter requires some prior knowledge about the primary user signal. In addition, all of these techniques require setting a threshold which needs the prior knowledge of the noise distribution. Thus, the reliability of spectrum sensing is still an open issue in wireless communication research. In this paper, we propose a spectrum sensing method based on a machine learning theory for cognitive radio networks. The spectrum sensing problem is rigorously modeled and out of which a large-scale comprehensive dataset is built. This dataset is then used to train, validate, and test several machine learning techniques, including random forest, support vector machine with different kernels, decision tree, Naive Bayes, K-nearest neighbors, and logistic regression. The models were extensively tested and evaluated using metrics such as the probabilities of detection, false alarm, and miss-detection as well as the accuracy of the classification. The simulation results show that the random forest model outperforms all the other machine learning methods.
Incidence and Imminence of Pregnancy in At-Risk Teens After Emergency Department Visits.

BACKGROUND Interventions aimed at reducing teen pregnancy rates in the United States have focused on clinics and schools. Teens disproportionately seek care in emergency departments (EDs), making these an important and understudied arena for interventions to prevent subsequent unwanted pregnancies. Establishing the risk of subsequent pregnancy (SP) in this population is a necessary prelude to effective interventions. Therefore, we set out to measure the incidence and imminence of pregnancy in sexually active teens after an ED visit. METHODS A medical record review was conducted in an urban medical center with a general ED and a pediatric ED. Subjects were included if they were female individuals aged 13 to 19 years, were tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia in the EDs from 2004 to 2006, and were patients in the primary care clinics at the affiliated institution. Subsequent pregnancies were determined from the primary clinic charts. The duration of follow-up was 4 years. RESULTS Three hundred ninety-eight subjects were included in the study. The mean age at ED visit was 17.3 years. A majority (70.1%) had a documented SP. For patients with an SP, the mean interval from ED visit to conception was 15.8 months. Patients who had an SP were significantly more likely to be an ethnic minority, to have tested positive for gonorrhea, and to have visited the adult ED. CONCLUSIONS In this population of sexually active teens, 70.1% became pregnant within 4 years of being tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia in the ED. The encounter in the ED represents a potential opportunity for pregnancy-prevention interventions.
Essay: How Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Can Transform Business Education

This essay describes the challenges of Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation as a field and explores how it could contribute to transforming business education. The first suggestion is to think about System Change as a much needed shift in perspective away from focusing on the lone individual hero entrepreneur. Current problems often defy the market based approach to entrepreneurship and requires collaborations across sectors and silos. Another shift is to focus more on whole person learning and bringing the lived experience of students as changemakers in the classroom. That would possibly require a different approach to admissions into university programs, expanding the criteria for successful candidates. A final contribution could be a focus on "inner work" ensuring that changemaking work does not deplete and lead to burn out.
Unreal as a simulation environment for off-road autonomy

We describe contributions made to the Unreal gaming engine community supporting our development of algorithms that enable navigation in off-road and unstructured environments. Simulation of autonomous ground vehicles traversing complex 3D terrain requires accurate modeling of vehicle-terrain interaction. Widely used community gaming engines model this interaction well but do not include sensor model and other features found in open source tools. We have extended the Unreal engine to include models for LiDARs, IMU, and GNSS systems that are compatible with the Robot Operating System middle-ware. We have also added features that allow for the automated testing of off-road navigation algorithms.
Analysis and Synthesis of Planar Cam Mechanisms Using Working Model 2D

Several Working Model 2D simulations for the analysis of disk-cam mechanisms and for cam profile generation as follower envelope in a motion inversion approach are presented. Using these simulations, the relationship between the follower motion program, follower bias and its geometry and cam undercut can be suggestively demonstrated. As shown in the latter part of the paper, cam mechanisms with followers other than flat-faced or cylindrical can also be easily synthesized using the same approach. Suggestions for improvement of the Working Model 2D program have been additionally formulated in the conclusions to this paper.
Using the Online Capstone Experience to Support Authentic Learning

Academic programs commonly feature a capstone experience as the final building block of the course of study. Often, capstone experiences allow students to demonstrate mastery in the context of an authentic learning experience—a real-life problem or project situated in the field of practice. The growing number of academic programs conducted online raises the question of how distance environments can support an authentic experience in a program capstone. We examine the concept of the capstone, tracing connections to authentic learning frameworks; summarize some of the literature on online capstones; and propose guidelines for structuring online capstones to support rich authentic learning experiences. We then describe two examples of online capstones from our own master’s programs, focusing on features highlighted in our guidelines. We conclude that online capstones can satisfy the requirements of an authentic learning model, but must be specifically designed to include critical components of authentic learning, utilizing an array of tools, strategies, good pedagogy, and good design.
Is the Market Perceived to be Civilizing or Destructive? Scientists’ Universalism Values and Their Attitudes Towards Patents

Is the market civilizing or destructive? The increased salience of science commercialization is forcing scientists to address this question. Benefiting from the sociology of morality literature’s increased attention to specific kinds of morality and engaging with economic sociology’s moral markets literature, we generate competing hypotheses about scientists’ value-driven attitudes toward patenting. The Civilizing Market thesis suggests scientists who prioritize universalism (i.e., concern for the welfare of all people) will tend to support patenting. The Destructive Market thesis, by contrast, suggests universalism will be correlated with opposition to patenting. We analyze survey data from biologists and physicists nested within academic organizations, which are nested within the following regions: France, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, and the USA. Employing multilevel analysis, we find correlational evidence to support the Destructive Market thesis. Universalism is associated with anti-patenting attitudes, suggesting scientists expect patenting to have deleterious effects on science and society. We end with a discussion of this article’s implications for the moral markets literature, sociology of morality and business ethics.
Time-resolved double-resonance spectroscopy: Lifetime measurement of the 6 1Σg+(7,31) electronic state of molecular sodium.

We report on the lifetime measurement of the 6 1Σg+(7,31) state of Na2 molecules, produced in a heat-pipe oven, using a time-resolved spectroscopic technique. The 6 1Σg+(7,31) level was populated by two-step two-color double resonance excitation via the intermediate A 1Σu+(8,30) state. The excitation scheme was done using two synchronized pulsed dye lasers pumped by a Nd:YAG laser operating at the second harmonics. The fluorescence emitted upon decay to the final state was measured using a time-correlated photon counting technique, as a function of argon pressure. From this, the radiative lifetime was extracted by extrapolating the plot to collision-free zero pressure. We also report the calculated radiative lifetimes of the Na2 6 1Σg+ ro-vibrational levels in the range of v = 0–200 with J = 1 and J = 31 using the LEVEL program for bound-bound and the BCONT program for bound-free transitions. Our calculations reveal the importance of the bound-free transitions on the lifetime calculations and a large difference of about a factor of three between the J = 1 and J = 31 for the v = 40 and v = 100, respectively, due to the wavefunction alternating between having predominantly inner and outer well amplitude.
StressNet - Deep learning to predict stress with fracture propagation in brittle materials

Laboratory Directed Research and Development program of Los Alamos National Laboratory [20170103DR]; LANL Applied Machine Learning Summer Research Fellowship; National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation (NSF) [1855651]
Second Amendment Realism

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court declared a constitutionally protected individual right to keep and bear arms. Subsequently, the scope of the right has been hotly debated, resulting in circuit splits and lingering questions about what, exactly, the right entails. Despite these splits, the Court has denied certiorari to the myriad gun cases to land on its doorstep. But the balance of the Court has shifted, and likely, too, its willingness to hear these cases. Among the most pressing questions in Second Amendment jurisprudence is the constitutionality of public carry restrictions. With a constitutional challenge inevitable given the Court's new makeup, the issue demands scrutiny into how the justices should consider the question in light of a growing gun violence epidemic. This Article argues against a rights-as-trumps approach, instead using a population-based perspective to shift the focus from the scope of the right and properly place the rights and liberties of the general public into the equation. This Article uses public health law principles, such as social determinants and its inevitable balancing of protecting the public and safeguarding individual rights, and empirics to examine the true burden on self-defense in comparison to the state’s ability to protect the wider community. In doing so, this analysis proposes that “good cause” restrictions—which have divided the Circuit courts thus far—are a constitutional approach that respects both the individual right declared in Heller and the state’s interest in protecting its citizens from a public health crisis.
Granulomas in Diagnostic Biopsies Associated With High Risk of Crohn's Complications-But May Be Preventable.

Background Granulomatous intestinal inflammation may be associated with aggressive Crohn's disease (CD) behavior. However, this has not been confirmed, and it is unknown if associated disease complications are preventable. Methods This is a retrospective cohort of patients younger than 21 years at CD diagnosis (November 1, 2005 to November 11, 2015). Clinical information was abstracted, including dates of starting medications and the timing of perianal fistula or stricture development, if any. Diagnostic pathology reports were reviewed, and a subset of biopsy slides were evaluated by a blinded pathologist. Patients were excluded if perianal fistula or stricture developed within 30 days after CD diagnosis. Medications were included in analyses only if started >90 days before development of perianal fistula or stricture. Results In total, 198 patients were included. Half (54%) had granulomas at diagnosis. Granulomas were associated with a greater than 3-fold increased risk of perianal fistula (hazard ration [HR] = 3.24; 95% confidence interval CI], 1.40-7.48). Immunomodulator and anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (anti-TNF) therapy were associated with 90% (HR, = 0.10; 95% CI, 0.03-0.42) and 98% (HR, = 0.02; 95% CI, 0.01-0.10) reduced risk of perianal fistula, respectively. Patients with granulomatous inflammation preferentially responded to anti-TNF therapy with reduced risk of perianal fistula. The presence of granulomas was not associated with risk of stricture. Immunomodulator and anti-TNF therapy were associated with 96% (HR, = 0.04; 95% CI, 0.01-0.22) and 94% (HR, = 0.06; 95% CI, 0.02-0.20) reduced risk of stricture, respectively. Conclusions Granulomas are associated with increased risk of perianal fistula but not stricture. Steroid sparing therapies seem to reduce the risk of both perianal fistula and stricture. For those with granulomas, anti-TNF-α therapy greatly reduced the risk of perianal fistula development, whereas immunomodulators did not.
Reexamining how ecology shapes the ontogeny of colony size and caste composition in social insects: insights from turtle ants in the arboreal realm

Identifying how the evolution of colony ontogeny is shaped by ecology remains one of the major challenges of sociobiology. Colony size and caste composition are two colony traits generally predicted to undergo substantial ontogenetic change, with an extended period of continuous growth followed by stability in the representation of the largest colony members and most specialized castes only at reproductive maturity. Yet these predictions are based on classic theory developed and subsequently tested using data primarily from soil-nesting ants. Here, we address the contrasting hypothesis that growth in the arboreal realm, an environment with substantially different ecological pressures, is modular via the addition of repeated nest units, and is coupled with early stability in caste production and size. We do this using full-colony collections of the turtle ant Cephalotes persimilis, spanning newly founded to reproductively mature colonies. We demonstrate predictable modular growth via an isometric scaling relationship between increases in colony size and the number of nests a colony has expanded into, and a minimum nest number for reproduction. This modular growth is further associated with specialized use of cavities with particular entrance and stem sizes. Additionally, soldiers are produced immediately by newly founded colonies occupying a single nest, and percentage soldier composition scales isometrically (19%) across all colony sizes regardless of reproductive status. This stable caste composition at the colony level is contrasted against highly variable deployment of castes across the nests of each colony. Finally, ant size increases steadily for worker and soldier castes in early colony growth and then stabilizes at reproductive maturity, but this transition happens early in colony ontogeny, at only 200 ants. These findings challenge key theoretical and empirical expectations and contribute new insights into how ecology shapes the adaptive evolution of colony ontogeny.
Triangulation approach to developing, evaluating, and applying the evolving theory of adolescent acceptance of asthma

Acceptance is a term used by healthcare professionals regarding patients' psychosocial adjustment to chronic conditions. This paper describes a triangulation approach, applied over 25 years, to develop and evaluate a theory of adolescent acceptance of asthma. The theory was used to guide the development and evaluation of an education and counseling program focused on fostering acceptance. The approach was effective in (a) defining acceptance and isolating its attributes; (b) identifying its antecedents and consequences, and specifying relationships among them; (c) revealing overlooked variables and augmenting theory; and (d) using theory to guide development and evaluation of the self-management program.
Cross Cultural Differences in Health Literacy and Consumers’ Empowered Engagement in the Management of Health

Perhaps no other area of human consumption offers more promise for transformative consumer welfare and, at the same time, presents more challenges for achieving it than consumers’ engagement in medical decisions that directly affect their health (Herzlinger 2006; Berenson 2005; Enthoven 2004). Consumers, even those who are literate by conventional standards of education and communication, are often functionally illiterate as they generally lack sufficient specialized knowledge to autonomously select medical professionals or evaluate medical advice (McCray 2005).
Unbirri's Pre-Macassan Legacy, or How the Yolngu Became Black

In the 1980s, the memory of prolonged Yolngu (Australian Aboriginal) contact with visitors from south-east Asia (the Macassans) was influencing the ways that Yolngu were then fighting for sea rights, mineral rights, and also a treaty with non-Aboriginal Australians. Among David Burrumarra’s Warramiri clan there was a deeply held conviction that the relationships that were forged in the very earliest days represented a ‘high water mark’ in terms of coexistence. The two intermarrying moieties (or halves) of Yolngu society, Dhuwa and Yirritja, find harmony in an intricate net of social relations, and such was the case, also, in the ‘golden age’ at the dawn of time when Yolngu and Indonesians danced together on the beaches of north-east Arnhem Land. Why was there not the same sense of connectedness between black and white Australians, Burrumarra would ask. In this paper I will share one story told to me by David Burrumarra in order to show how some Yolngu view the history and legacy of trepanging not just through the narrow lens of tamarind trees, pottery shards and the years 1780-1907, but, rather, through an entirely different and sacred lens.
Ribosomal Resistance to Streptomycin and Spectinomycin in Neisseria gonorrhoeae

A cell-free protein synthesizing system was used to study the mechanism of resistance to streptomycin (Str) and spectinomycin (Spc) in laboratory mutants and clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The 70S ribosomes from sensitive strains were sensitive to the effects of Str and Spc on synthesis directed by several synthetic polynucleotide messengers, whereas 70S ribosomes from resistant strains were resistant to these same effects. In each case, the alteration was localized to the 30S ribosomal subunit by studying antibiotic sensitivities of hybrid 70S ribosomes formed by combining subunits from sensitive and resistant strains. No evidence was found for streptomycin- or spectinomycin-inactivating enzymes.
INTEGRATIVE MENTAL HEALTH CARE: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE, PART 2

Integrative approaches will lead to more accurate and different understandings of mental illness. Beneficial responses to complementary and alternative therapies provide important clues about the phenomenal nature of the human body in space-time and disparate biological, informational, and energetic factors associated with normal and abnormal psychological functioning. The conceptual framework of contemporary Western psychiatry includes multiple theoretical viewpoints, and there is no single best explanatory model of mental illness. Future theories of mental illness causation will not depend exclusively on empirical verification of strictly biological processes but will take into account both classically described biological processes and non-classical models, including complexity theory, resulting in more complete explanations of the characteristics and causes of symptoms and mechanisms of action that result in beneficial responses to treatments. Part 1 of this article examined the limitations of the theory and contemporary clinical methods employed in Western psychiatry and discussed implications of emerging paradigms in physics and the biological sciences for the future of psychiatry. In part 2, a practical methodology, for planning integrative assessment and treatment strategies in mental health care is proposed. Using this methodology the integrative management of moderate and severe psychiatric symptoms is reviewed in detail. As the conceptual framework of Western medicine evolves toward an increasingly integrative perspective, novel understanding of complex relationships between biological, informational, and energetic processes associated with normal psychological functioning and mental illness will lead to more effective integrative assessment and treatment strategies addressing the causes or meanings of symptoms at multiple hierarchic levels of body-brain-mind.
Spectroelectrochemical study of indirect reduction of triphosphopyridine nucleotide

Summary The indirect electrochemical reduction of triphosphopyridine nucleotide was investigated spectroelectrochemically using electrogenerated methyl viologen radical cation in the presence of the electron carrier, spinach ferredoxin-TPN-reductase. The experimental results using a tin oxide optically transparent electrode clearly showed that the free radical cation could reduce TPN+ to TPNH at an appreciable rate only in the presence of the reductase. For these particular experiments the kinetic rate was found to be first order in reductase. Further confirmation of the reduction sequence and rate was afforded by the technique of chronocoulometry where the charge-time response function was evaluated for a current limited condition.
Formal Genetics of Humans: Modes of Inheritance*

Mendel’s fundamental discoveries are usually summarized in three laws: 1. Crosses between organisms homozygous for two different alleles at one gene locus lead to genetically identical offspring (F1 generation), heterozygous for this allele. It is unimportant which of the two homozygotes is male and which is female (law of uniformity and reciprocity). Such reciprocity applies only for genes not located on sex chromosomes. 2. When these F1 heterozygotes are crossed with each other (intercross), various genotypes segregate: one-half are heterozygous again, and one-quarter are homozygous for each of the parental types. This segregation 1:2:1 is repeated after crossing of heterozygotes in the following generations, whereas the two types of homozygotes breed pure. As noted above (Sect. 1.4), Mendel interpreted this result correctly, assuming formation of two types of germ cells with a 1: i ratio in heterozygotes (law of segregation and law of purity of gametes). 3. When organisms differing in more than one gene pair are crossed, every single gene pair segregates independently, and the resulting segregation ratios follow the statistical law of independent segregation (law of free combination of genes).
Rheumatologic manifestations of HIV infections

The clinical manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections are myriad. Musculoskeletal problems plague up to 72% of HIV-infected individuals (1). Rheumatologie complications can occur at any time during the course of HIV disease, and such rheuma-tologic conditions as Reiter’s syndrome, psoriatic arthritis, polymyositis, and necrotizing vasculitis may sometimes be the first clinical clue to the presence of HIV infection (2). Nonspecific arthralgias and myalgias are common features of primary HIV infections.
Sublethal effects of environmentally relevant run‐off concentrations of glyphosate in the root zone of Ludwigia peploides (creeping water primrose) and Polygonum hydropiperoides (smartweed)

As one of the most widely applied agricultural chemicals in the world, glyphosate has many effects on the environment. The present study quantified plant responses to exposure by glyphosate through the root zone for a range of concentrations (0, 10, 100 and 1000 μg L−1). Ludwigia peploides and Polygonum hydropiperoides were grown in a greenhouse and given a single exposure to glyphosate via the root zone. The growth and physiological parameters were measured before exposure and for 18 days postexposure. The growth variables that were measured included the relative growth rate, stem length increase, biomass and root-to-shoot-ratios. The physiological variables that were measured were the chlorophyll content index and chlorophyll fluorescence. The data analyses revealed that the root-zone glyphosate affected some of the measured variables in P. hydropiperoides more than for L. peploides. Polygonum hydropiperoides showed a significant decrease in the root-to-shoot ratios for the 100 μg L−1 treatment, compared to the 10 μg L−1 treatment. The chlorophyll content index of the treated plants was significantly reduced in P. hydropiperoides, compared to the untreated plants on Days 7 and 18. Ludwigia peploides was affected only on the day after exposure, with the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters being significantly less for the 1000 μg L−1 treatment, compared to the 10 μg L−1 treatment. Glyphosate-treated P. hydropiperoides showed a decreased chlorophyll content and reduced chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. In contrast, L. peploides showed a decrease in the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters but no reduction in its chlorophyll content. In addition to demonstrating the adverse effects of root exposure to glyphosate for the study species, these data help to partially explain the highly invasive and persistent nature of L. peploides in marginal aquatic environments, such as agricultural ditches.
Current Management of Hodgkin’s Disease

The prognosis of patients with Hodgkin's disease has dramatically improved over the past few decades. Treatment with currently standard radiotherapy or combination chemotherapy programmes will result in durable complete remissions and probable cure in most patients. However, these programmes are intensive, technically demanding, and associated with a risk of certain acute side effects and long term complications which vary in nature and severity according to the specific therapy employed. The outlook for the few patients who do not achieve complete remission with induction therapy, or for those who later relapse (especially after complete remissions induced by chemotherapy), is less optimistic. Current trials of innovative induction and salvage therapies may lead to improved treatment approaches for such patients.
Absorption and transport via tunneling in quantum-well solar cells

Abstract Absorption and tunneling are two major physical processes contributing to photocurrent generation in solar cells. Many new “ultra-high efficiency” PV devices utilize quantum effects to enhance their efficiency. This paper calculates the impact of quantum effects on the absorption and tunneling current as a function of electric fields and light trapping ratios. Results show that increasing electric fields enhance tunneling of photogenerated carriers, which dominates over the opposing effect of reduced absorption. Also, the significant advantage of light enhancement over increasing the number of quantum wells (QWs) has been demonstrated. These calculations allow optimizing the tunneling photocurrents in design of QW solar cells.
Generalized liouville distribution

In this paper, we study some properties of the generalized Liouville distribution. The 1-1 correspondence between two kinds of generalized Liouville distributions is given. The stochastic representations are derived and the marginal and conditional distributions of this family of distributions are also studied
Neurophysiological and psychopharmacological approaches to sensory deprivation phenomena

Abstract 1. Research concerned with neurophysiological aspects of sensory deprivation phenomena is surveyed. 2. A theory is developed regarding the neurophysiological processes involved in sensory deprivation phenomena. It is postulated that the high amplitude bursts of slow waves observed in the visual cortex and lateral geniculate nucleus in deafferentation studies represent a PGO-like substrate of dream initiation. Concurrent neurochemical alterations are hypothesized to consist of a decrease in central serotonergic activity and an increase in norepinephrine level. 3. Hallucinogenic drugs, which produce subjective effects similar to those reported in sensory deprivation, are noted to induce neurochemical changes similar to those hypothesized for sensory deprivation. 4. New directions for research in this field are suggested.
Optical Phase-Shifting Technique For Submicron Linewidth Measurement: Simulations And Measurements

applicable for metrology of sub -micron features.Theoretical analyses have shown that this technique will be viable well into the submicron range.Experimental measurements have been made on different features having relatively large dimensions ( -100µm) to verify the theory. Experimental results have demonstrated the validity of the concept and given the
Systematic errors in high-precision optical interferometric astrometry

This paper lists several of the systematic error sources which we have identified in our studies of POINTS, concentrating on those which are expected to affect other spaceborne astrometric interferometers as well. Many of them also are expected to affect ground-based optical interferometers. Among the errors is a newly discovered systematic contribution which only occurs in the simultaneous presence of diffraction, aberration, spectrometer dispersion, and two-beam (Michelson) interference. This error can be as large as several nanometers of optical path difference, and thus may constitute an important source of systematic uncertainty in ground-based astrometric measurements as well.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Applying Instructor Communication Behaviors and Learning Outcomes to the Pediatrician-Parent Context

To examine instructional communication behaviors in the medical context and to explore the role of health literacy in pediatrician-parent relationships, the current study assessed parents’ (N = 299) perceptions of their pediatricians’ nonverbal immediacy, clarity, and verbal receptivity and their own communication satisfaction, affective learning, and cognitive learning. Results demonstrated that when pediatricians are nonverbally immediate, clear, and verbally receptive, parents report that they are satisfied with their pediatricians’ communication, affectively predisposed toward their pediatricians, and able to recall their pediatricians’ medical directives. Further, health literacy moderates the relationships between pediatricians’ behaviors and parent outcomes such that for parents with low health literacy, pediatricians’ use of nonverbal immediacy and verbal receptivity was related to higher affective and cognitive learning.
Anterior Corneal Aberrations after Descemet's Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty for Fuchs' Endothelial Dystrophy

Purpose To determine the change in anterior corneal high-order aberrations (HOAs) after Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) for Fuchs' dystrophy, and to compare the HOAs with those of age-matched controls. Design Prospective cohort and cross-sectional study. Participants and Controls Forty-eight eyes with Fuchs' dystrophy were examined before and after DSEK, and were compared with 52 eyes of age-matched controls with normal corneas. Methods Corneas of patients with Fuchs' dystrophy were examined prospectively before and at intervals through 2 years after DSEK. Wavefront errors from the anterior corneal surface were derived from corneal topograms and were expressed as Zernike polynomials through the sixth order. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was measured by the electronic Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study protocol, and subepithelial haze was measured from the brightness of confocal images. Total HOAs were compared before and after DSEK, and with those of age-matched controls, by using generalized estimating equation models. Relationships between HOAs, BCVA, subepithelial haze, and recipient age were determined. Main Outcome Measures Anterior corneal HOAs, BCVA, and subepithelial haze (backscattered light). Results In Fuchs' dystrophy before DSEK, total HOAs (4 mm optical zone) from the anterior corneal surface (0.29±0.13 μm) were higher than those of controls (0.17±0.08 μm; P P = 0.99), and remained higher than in controls ( P r = 0.59; P r = 0.41; P = 0.01; n=25), and with recipient age ( r = 0.59; P Conclusions Anterior corneal HOAs are higher in Fuchs' dystrophy than in controls, and remain higher through 2 years after DSEK. The aberrated anterior surface might be related to anterior corneal ultrastructural changes and haze formation in Fuchs' dystrophy, and should not be ignored as a source of decreased visual acuity after DSEK. Financial Disclosure(s) The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any of the materials discussed in this article.
Black holes in review

Black holes are the theoretical space-time warps where gravitational forces are so intense that all matter and energy—even light—are effectively trapped and absorbed. So far, there has been no direct evidence, no positive acceptable proof or observation, of black holes, but their incredibly unique properties have been used by modern-day astronomers to provide explanations for many unanswered questions, including those associated with the ‘big bang,’ from which the universe is residue. Black hole theory has provided heady excitement in the past several years as its unique aspects have emerged. For example, the Hawkings radiation effect was the result of an impressive application of quantum theory to objects of astronomic dimensions that demonstrated that black holes could be the origin of the observed X ray emissions from globular star clusters. However, as the fascination with black holes continues to grow, with new results that test the laws of physics against black hole theory, physicists are beginning to cast doubt on their validity. According to a recent report, ‘… participants at an International Astronomical Union meeting in Bandung, Indonesia, presented several papers indicating the growth of something of a backlash against the black hole as an astrophysical panacea’ (New Scientist, Jan. 14, 1982). Nonetheless, as long as black holes are in fashion, theorists continue to derive interesting physical models, such as ‘On being lowered into a black hole,’ by Newcastle-upon-Tyne University physicist Paul Davies (New Scientist, op. cit.).
The roles of vehicle and gaseous hydrogen during short contact time coal liquefaction

Abstract The roles of the vehicle and gaseous hydrogen during short contact time liquefaction (SCTL) in microreactors were examined by using a number of synthetic vehicles. The importance of vehicles during SCTL was evaluated on their ability to convert coal to tetrahydrofuran (THF)-soluble products. Reaction conditions were three minutes at 425 °C following a one minute heat-up. Although the consumption of hydrogen (hydrogen donor or gaseous hydrogen) by reactive coal fragments is minimal during the early stages of liquefaction (as in SCTL reactions), hydrogen donors were important and could be ranked according to the extent of conversion to THF-soluble products (tetrahydroquinoline > hydrogenated pyrene > dihydroanthracene = dihydrophenanthrene > tetralin). The importance of gaseous hydrogen was also studied. Gaseous hydrogen was needed if either quality or quantity of hydrogen donor was not adequate in a SCTL reaction. With certain synthetic vehicles, the SCTL stage of an integrated two-stage liquefaction process could be conducted in the absence of hydrogen. Solubility properties that might enhance solubilization of coal-derived products, and therefore the extent of liquefaction, were examined by varying the concentration of certain components ( m -cresol and quinoline) of the synthetic vehicle mixtures. Solubility effects were minimal.
Does pluto have a substantial atmosphere

The presence of CH4 ice on Pluto implies that Pluto may have a substantial atmosphere consisting of heavy gases. Without such an atmosphere, sublimation of the CH4 ice would be so rapid on a cosmogonic time scale that either such an atmosphere would soon develop through the exposure of gases trapped in the CH4 ice or else the surface CH4 ice would soon be all sublimated away as other, more stable, ices became exposed. If such stable ices were present from the beginning, the existence of CH4 frosts would also imply that Pluto's present atmosphere contains a remnant of its primordial atmosphere.
Long-term variations of circulation in the tropical Atlantic sector and Sahel rainfall

Following diagnostic work two decades ago, this study examines the long-term variations of rainfall in the West African Sahel and the underlying circulation mechanisms over the past century. Raingauge measurements bear out DRY regimes during 1910–1919 and 1979–1988 and WET regimes during 1950–1959 and 1999–2008. In the WET as compared to the DRY regimes the cross-equatorial winds from the Southern Hemisphere are enhanced, consistent with lower surface pressure over the tropical North Atlantic, which in terms of hydrostatic forcing plausibly accompanies warmer surface waters, with cooling/warming leading pressure rise/drop in the tropical North Atlantic and DRY/WET in the Sahel. The controls of the observed long-term variations of sea surface temperature in the tropical North Atlantic must remain target of further diagnostic evaluation. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society
cis-Diol functional group recognition by reactive desorption electrospray ionization (DESI)

Heterogeneous reactions at a solution/solid interface are utilized in an ambient mass spectrometry experiment to recognize the cis-diol functionality by its selective complexation reaction to form a cyclic boronate.