cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sex and β-Endorphin Influence the Effects of Ethanol on Limbic Gabra2 Expression in a Mouse Binge Drinking Model.

Binge drinking is a widespread problem linked to increased risk for alcohol-related complications, including development of alcohol use disorders. In the last decade, binge drinking has increased significantly, specifically in women. Clinically, sexually dimorphic effects of alcohol are well-characterized, however, the underlying mechanisms for these dimorphisms in the physiological and behavioral effects of alcohol are poorly understood. Among its many effects, alcohol consumption reduces anxiety via the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, most likely acting upon receptors containing the α-2 subunit (Gabra2). Previous research from our laboratory indicates that female mice lacking the endogenous opioid peptide β-endorphin (βE) have an overactive stress axis and enhanced anxiety-like phenotype, coupled with increased binge-like alcohol consumption. Because βE works via GABA signaling to reduce anxiety, we sought to determine whether sexually dimorphic binge drinking behavior in βE deficient mice is coupled with differences in CNS Gabra2 expression. To test this hypothesis, we used βE knock-out mice in a "drinking in the dark" model where adult male and female C57BL/6J controls (βE +/+) and βE deficient (βE -/-; B6.129S2-Pomctm1Low/J) mice were provided with one bottle of 20% ethanol (EtOH) and one of water (EtOH drinkers) or two bottles of water (water drinkers) 3 h into the dark cycle for four consecutive days. Following a binge test on day 4, limbic tissue was collected and frozen for subsequent qRT-PCR analysis of Gabra2 mRNA expression. Water-drinking βE +/+ females expressed more Gabra2 in central nucleus of the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis than males, but this sex difference was absent in the βE -/- mice. Genotype alone had no effect on alcohol consumption or drug-induced increase in Gabra2 expression. In contrast, βE expression had bi-directional effects in females: in wildtypes, Gabra2 mRNA was reduced by binge EtOH consumption, while EtOH increased expression in βE -/- females to levels commensurate with drug-naive βE +/+ females. These results support the contention that βE plays a role in sexually dimorphic binge-like EtOH consumption, perhaps through differential expression of GABAA α2 subunits in limbic structures known to play key roles in the regulation of stress and anxiety.
Establishing a standard emotion processing battery for treatment evaluation in adults with autism spectrum disorder: Evidence supporting the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotion Intelligence Test (MSCEIT).

Abstract Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia are neurodevelopmental disorders which show markedly similar deficits in emotion processing, yet treatment evaluation in ASD and treatment comparisons across ASD and schizophrenia are constrained by a lack of empirical work validating a standard emotion processing battery across ASD and schizophrenia. Encouragingly, the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotion Intelligence Test, version 2.0 (MSCEIT (Mayer et al., 2003) spans the range of emotion processing deficits in schizophrenia and ASD. This study therefore aimed to establish MSCEIT's factorial, measurement, and structural invariance in community-residing adults with schizophrenia (N = 103) and ASD (N = 113) using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Consistent with prior studies in normative populations, a two-factor structure comprised of emotional experiencing and emotional reasoning was supported in ASD and schizophrenia. Both groups operationalize MSCEIT measures similarly, with all measures except for Facilitation and Management showing comparability across groups. To our knowledge, this study is not only the first to establish the measurement and structural invariance of a standard emotion perception battery in adults with ASD, it is also the first to establish its comparability across ASD and schizophrenia. Ultimately, these findings underscore MSCEIT's utility for standardizing treatment evaluation of social cognitive outcomes across the autism-schizophrenia spectrum.
Magnetism of cave sediments

Abstract The Earth's magnetic field reverses polarity at irregular intervals in the range of a few hundred thousand years. Magnetic mineral grains suspended in cave waters orient themselves with respect to the prevailing field direction when they settle from the water and then become locked in place in the resulting pile of cave sediment. Because the time scale of magnetic reversals is well established, measurement of magnetic orientation in cave sediments and the location of magnetic reversals within sediment piles can be used to date the deposits and thus provide a minimum age for the cave.
Novel Insights Into Effects of Cortisol and Glucagon on Nocturnal Glucose Production in Type 2 Diabetes.

Context The effect of physiological changes in night-time cortisol and glucagon on endogenous glucose production (EGP) and nocturnal glycemia are unknown. Objective To determine the effects of changes in cortisol and glucagon on EGP during the night. Design Two overnight protocols were conducted. In Protocol 1, endogenous cortisol was blocked with metyrapone and hydrocortisone infused either at constant (constant) or increasing (variable) rates to mimic basal or physiological nocturnal cortisol concentrations. In Protocol 2, endogenous glucagon was blocked with somatostatin and exogenous glucagon was infused at either basal or elevated rates to mimic nocturnal glucagon concentrations observed in nondiabetic (ND) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) individuals. EGP was measured using [3-3H] glucose and gluconeogenesis estimated with 2H2O in all studies. Setting Mayo Clinic Clinical Research Trials Unit, Rochester, MN, US. Participants In Protocol 1, 34 subjects (17 ND and 17 T2D) and in Protocol 2, 39 subjects (21 ND and 18 T2D) were studied. Main outcome measures Endogenous glucose production. Results EGP, gluconeogenesis, and glycogenolysis were higher with variable than with constant cortisol at 7 am in T2D subjects. In contrast, nocturnal EGP did not differ in ND subjects between variable and constant cortisol. While elevated glucagon increased EGP, glycogenolysis, and gluconeogenesis in ND, the data in T2D subjects indicated that EGP and gluconeogenesis but not glycogenolysis were higher during the early part of the night. Conclusion Nocturnal hyperglucagonemia, but not physiological rise in cortisol, contributes to nocturnal hyperglycemia in T2D due to increased gluconeogenesis.
Natural Language Processing for Surveillance of Cervical and Anal Cancer and Precancer: Algorithm Development and Split-Validation Study.

Background: Accurate identification of new diagnoses of human papillomavirus–associated cancers and precancers is an important step toward the development of strategies that optimize the use of human papillomavirus vaccines. The diagnosis of human papillomavirus cancers hinges on a histopathologic report, which is typically stored in electronic medical records as free-form, or unstructured, narrative text. Previous efforts to perform surveillance for human papillomavirus cancers have relied on the manual review of pathology reports to extract diagnostic information, a process that is both labor- and resource-intensive. Natural language processing can be used to automate the structuring and extraction of clinical data from unstructured narrative text in medical records and may provide a practical and effective method for identifying patients with vaccine-preventable human papillomavirus disease for surveillance and research. Objective: This study's objective was to develop and assess the accuracy of a natural language processing algorithm for the identification of individuals with cancer or precancer of the cervix and anus. Methods: A pipeline-based natural language processing algorithm was developed, which incorporated machine learning and rule-based methods to extract diagnostic elements from the narrative pathology reports. To test the algorithm’s classification accuracy, we used a split-validation study design. Full-length cervical and anal pathology reports were randomly selected from 4 clinical pathology laboratories. Two study team members, blinded to the classifications produced by the natural language processing algorithm, manually and independently reviewed all reports and classified them at the document level according to 2 domains (diagnosis and human papillomavirus testing results). Using the manual review as the gold standard, the algorithm’s performance was evaluated using standard measurements of accuracy, recall, precision, and F-measure. Results: The natural language processing algorithm’s performance was validated on 949 pathology reports. The algorithm demonstrated accurate identification of abnormal cytology, histology, and positive human papillomavirus tests with accuracies greater than 0.91. Precision was lowest for anal histology reports (0.87, 95% CI 0.59-0.98) and highest for cervical cytology (0.98, 95% CI 0.95-0.99). The natural language processing algorithm missed 2 out of the 15 abnormal anal histology reports, which led to a relatively low recall (0.68, 95% CI 0.43-0.87). Conclusions: This study outlines the development and validation of a freely available and easily implementable natural language processing algorithm that can automate the extraction and classification of clinical data from cervical and anal cytology and histology.
Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound for Detecting Severe Presentations of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Analysis.

Objectives: Analyze the diagnostic test characteristics of point-of-care lung ultrasound for patients suspected to have novel coronavirus disease 2019. Design: Retrospective cohort. Setting: Two emergency departments in Detroit, Michigan, United States, during a local coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak (March 2020 to April 2020). Patients: Emergency department patients receiving lung ultrasound for clinical suspicion of coronavirus disease 2019 during the study period. Interventions: None, observational analysis only. Measurements and Main Results: By a reference standard of serial reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reactions, 42 patients were coronavirus disease 2019 positive, 16 negative, and eight untested (test results lost, died prior to testing, and/or did not meet hospital guidelines for rationing of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction tests). Thirty-three percent, 44%, 38%, and 17% had mortality, ICU admission, intubation, and venous or arterial thromboembolism, respectively. Receiver operating characteristics, area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity with 95% CIs were calculated for five lung ultrasound patterns coded by a blinded reviewer and chest radiograph. Chest radiograph had area under the curve = 0.66 (95% CI, 0.54-0.79), 74% sensitivity (95% CI, 48-93%), and 53% specificity (95% CI, 32-75%). Two lung ultrasound patterns had a statistically significant area under the curve: symmetric bilateral pulmonary edema (area under the curve, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.50-0.64), and a nondependent bilateral pulmonary edema pattern (edema in superior lung ≥ inferior lung and no pleural effusion; area under the curve, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.68-0.90). Chest radiograph plus the nondependent bilateral pulmonary edema pattern showed a statistically improved area under the curve (0.80; 95% CI, 0.68-0.90) compared to either alone, but at the ideal cutoff had sensitivity and specificity equivalent to nondependent bilateral pulmonary edema only (69% and 77%, respectively). The strongest combination of clinical, chest radiograph, and lung ultrasound factors for diagnosis was nondependent bilateral pulmonary edema pattern with temperature and oxygen saturation (area under the curve, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.76-0.94; sensitivity = 77% [58-93%]; specificity = 76% [53-94%] at the ideal cutoff), which was superior to chest radiograph alone. Conclusions: Lung ultrasound diagnosed severe presentations of coronavirus disease 2019 with similar sensitivity to chest radiograph, CT, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (on first testing) and improved specificity compared to chest radiograph. Diagnostically useful lung ultrasound patterns differed from those hypothesized by previous, nonanalytical, reports (case series and expert opinion), and should be evaluated in a rigorous prospective study.
New evidence on son preference among immigrant households in the United States

This paper provides new evidence on the acquisition and persistence of child gender preference among immigrant populations in the United States using Census and American Community Survey data. We first confirm the existing evidence of son preference among immigrant populations from South East Asia that was documented across multiple studies and samples. We then demonstrate several new empirical findings. First, Japanese immigrants exhibit daughter preference. Second, assortative matching between immigrant parents is associated with stronger gender preferences. Third, comparing male and female migrants who marry natives provides suggestive evidence that paternal preferences could be more to blame for son preference than maternal. Fourth, child gender preferences are strongest for migrants who arrive after childhood but do not appear to diminish with the duration of residence in the United States. Finally, while higher-order generations exhibit weaker son preference, there is a high degree of heterogeneity across groups. Most of the second- and higher-order generation immigrants assimilate more rapidly to US norms except Indian immigrant populations, which exhibit strong son preference among higher-order generations.
Predicting Poor Sleep Quality in Fibromyalgia with Wrist Sensors

Fibromyalgia is a musculoskeletal disorder characterized by chronic, widespread muscle pain. This condition is associated with disturbed sleep, which has a direct impact on patient quality of life. Patient-reported outcomes are frequently used to assess sleep quality, but show modest correlations with objective measures of sleep, such as polysomnography. Working towards our goal of an automated ambulatory system of assessing sleep quality, we use features from blood volume pulse (BVP) and electrodermal activity (EDA) collected with a wearable device during sleep. We compare these measurements between individuals with fibromyalgia who experienced poor sleep and individuals in a control group who experienced refreshing sleep. By applying Learning Using Concave and Convex Kernels (LUCCK) and Support Vector Machines (SVM), we achieve mean Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC) of 0.6573 and 0.6526, respectively, by using BVP data for classifying individuals to the two groups.
Researchers, patients, and other stakeholders' perspectives on challenges to and strategies for engagement.

There is growing interest in patient and stakeholder engagement in research, yet limited evidence about effective methods. Since 2012, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has funded patient-centered comparative effectiveness research with a requirement for engaging patients and other stakeholders as research partners in study planning, conduct, and dissemination. This requirement, unique among large healthcare research funders in the US, provides an opportunity to learn about challenges encountered and specific strategies used by PCORI-funded study teams. The primary objective of this study is to describe -- from the perspective of PCORI investigators and research partners—the most common engagement challenges encountered in the first two years of the projects and promising strategies to prevent and overcome these challenges. Descriptive information about investigators, partners, and their engagement was collected from investigators via annual (N = 235) and mid-year (N = 40) project progress reporting to PCORI, and from their partners (N = 260) via voluntary survey. Qualitative data were analyzed using content and thematic analyses. Investigators and partners most often described engagement challenges in three domains: (1) infrastructure to support engagement, (2) building relationships, and (3) maintaining relationships. Infrastructure challenges related to financial and human resources, including funding support and dedicated staff, identifying diverse groups of partners, and partners’ logistical needs. Challenges for both building and maintaining relationships encompass a variety of aspects of authentic, positive interactions that facilitate mutual understanding, full participation, and genuine influence on the projects. Strategies to prevent or mitigate engagement challenges also corresponded overall to the same three domains. Both groups typically described strategies more generally, with applicability to a range of challenges rather than specific actions to address only particular challenges. Meaningful engagement of patients and other stakeholders comes with challenges, as does any innovation in the research process. The challenges and promising practices identified by these investigators and partners, related to engagement infrastructure and the building and maintenance of relationships, reveal actionable areas to improve engagement, including organizational policies and resources, training, new engagement models, and supporting engagement by viewing it as an investment in research uptake and impact.
SARS-CoV-2 Myocarditis in a High School Athlete after COVID-19 and Its Implications for Clearance for Sports

This case report describes a high school athlete with palpitation, myalgia, fatigue, and dyspnea on exertion after SARS-CoV-2 infection with evidence of myocarditis by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), but echocardiography and troponin were normal. This case is unusual as the standard cardiac tests recommended by the American Heart Association for sports clearance, including ECG, echocardiography, and cardiac biomarkers, were normal. Still, she continued to be symptomatic after mild COVID-19. The CMR was performed to evaluate her unexplained palpitation and showed patchy myocardial edema two months after her initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this case, the diagnosis of myocardial involvement would be missed by normal echocardiograms and cardiac bio-markers without CMR. Because acute myocarditis is a risk factor for sudden death in competitive athletes, pediatric cardiologists should consider performing additional tests such as cardiac MRI in symptomatic COVID-19 patients, even if cardiac biomarkers and echocardiograms are normal.
Temperature Compensated Internal LNA Noise Calibration Source

In this letter, a new temperature-compensated internal LNA noise calibration source for system temperature monitoring is presented. It is easily integrated into amplifiers and has a negligible impact on the noise performance. The power level of the proposed calibration source is temperature compensated by a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor varying the bias voltage of the noise diode. The measured variation of the compensated calibration level is only ±0.5 K for 34 K calibration level at 1.4 GHz in a temperature range from −40°C to +40 °C. This internal noise calibration source is controlled by the detection of a tone signal applied on the RF output cable thus requiring no additional wiring to the amplifier. The designed noise calibration source provides monitoring of system noise temperature without the additional noise and cost of a directional coupler between ambient-temperature LNA and antenna.
Treponema denticola dentilisin triggered TLR2/MyD88 activation upregulates a tissue destructive program involving MMPs via Sp1 in human oral cells.

Periodontal disease is driven by dysbiosis in the oral microbiome, resulting in over-representation of species that induce the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and tissue-remodeling matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the periodontium. These chronic tissue-destructive inflammatory responses result in gradual loss of tooth-supporting alveolar bone. The oral spirochete Treponema denticola (T. denticola), is consistently found at significantly elevated levels in periodontal lesions. Host-expressed Toll-Like Receptor 2 (TLR2) senses a variety of bacterial ligands, including acylated lipopolysaccharides and lipoproteins. T. denticola dentilisin, a surface-expressed protease complex comprised of three lipoproteins has been implicated as a virulence factor in periodontal disease, primarily due to its proteolytic activity. While the role of acylated bacterial components in induction of inflammation is well-studied, little attention has been given to the potential role of the acylated nature of dentilisin. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that T. denticola dentilisin activates a TLR2-dependent mechanism, leading to upregulation of tissue-destructive genes in periodontal tissue. RNA-sequencing of periodontal ligament cells challenged with T. denticola bacteria revealed significant upregulation of genes associated with extracellular matrix organization and degradation including potentially tissue-specific inducible MMPs that may play novel roles in modulating host immune responses that have yet to be characterized within the context of oral disease. The Gram-negative oral commensal, Veillonella parvula, failed to upregulate these same MMPs. Dentilisin-induced upregulation of MMPs was mediated via TLR2 and MyD88 activation, since knockdown of expression of either abrogated these effects. Challenge with purified dentilisin upregulated the same MMPs while a dentilisin-deficient T. denticola mutant had no effect. Finally, T. denticola-mediated activation of TLR2/MyD88 lead to the nuclear translocation of the transcription factor Sp1, which was shown to be a critical regulator of all T. denticola-dependent MMP expression. Taken together, these data suggest that T. denticola dentilisin stimulates tissue-destructive cellular processes in a TLR2/MyD88/Sp1-dependent fashion.
Fuzzy Rule Based Models and Approximate Reasoning

Fuzzy systems models form a special class of systems models that use the apparatus of fuzzy logic to represent the essential features of a system. From a formal point of view, fuzzy systems can be regarded as one alternative to the linear, nonlinear and neural modeling paradigms. Fuzzy systems models, however, possess a unique characteristic that is not available in most other types of formal modeling techniques — this is the ability to mimic the mechanism of approximate reasoning performed in the human mind. The most common fuzzy systems models consist of collections of logical IF — THEN rules with vague predicates; these rules along with the reasoning mechanism are the kernel of a fuzzy model.
Direct Observation of Layer-by-Layer Wear

Wear at the macroscopic scale has been well documented to involve the deformation of sliding interfaces. The mechanical behavior of single asperities in sliding contact, however, is not fully understood. Classical wear mechanisms have not been necessarily substantiated by direct studies of events at the contacting interface and have often contradicted post facto investigations. Wear processes, particularly those under mild loads, are not well understood at the nanoscale to submicron scale. We report here the observation, via in situ transmission electron microscopy, of wear of M23C6 carbides in a CoCrMo alloy sliding against a single silicon asperity. Each slide of the asperity under a normal stress of ~20 MPa resulted in removal of one atomic layer of the carbide. This represents a new type of wear process, which differs from what one would predict from models based on fracture of brittle materials and what has been called atomic wear. For context, we compare the processes and conditions used to those relevant for metal-on-metal hip implants, concluding that these severe wear processes are probably not important for the head/cup junction but could be relevant to fretting wear and corrosion at modular junctions.
Did Colonialism Retard Human Resource Development? Theory and Cross-Country Evidence

It is the central thesis of this paper that imperialism retarded the development of human resources in lagging countries during the century ending in the 1950s. This result is established both theoretically and empirically. Controlling for other factors that might affect stocks of human capital per capita, it is shown that years of schooling per worker as well as literacy rates - in 1965 and 1960 respectively - were significantly higher in countries that were independent in the period preceding 1950 compared to countries that had been colonies in the period before 1950. This result is robust to several changes in specifications, functional forms and sample size.
Secure Data Aggregation in Wireless Sensor Networks

The inherent resource constraints associated with wireless sensors make it important to minimize data transmissions within the network so that the sensor lifetime is improved and the network works for a longer period of time. Data aggregation is one such technique where data originating at different sensors is combined and transmitted together. This in-network processing of data helps in reducing the wireless communication but it also makes the task of providing security to the data much more challenging. In this chapter, we motivate, review and discuss research issues in secure data aggregation. In particular, we provide a discussion on general secure data aggregation framework and survey a few existing secure data aggregation schemes.
Neutral antagonist activity of naltrexone and 6β‐naltrexol in naïve and opioid‐dependent C6 cells expressing a µ‐opioid receptor

Background and purpose Adenylyl cyclase sensitization occurs on chronic agonist activation of mu-opioid receptors and is manifested by an increase in cAMP levels (overshoot) on challenge with antagonist. It has been proposed that a long lasting constitutively active receptor is formed on chronic mu-opioid exposure and that antagonists with inverse agonist activity rapidly return the receptor to a basal state causing a cAMP overshoot and a more severe withdrawal response in vivo. This hypothesis depends on an accurate characterization of neutral and inverse agonist properties of opioid antagonists. Experimental approach C6 glioma and HEK293 cells expressing mu-opioid receptors were used. Opioid antagonists were examined for their ability to induce a cAMP overshoot following chronic treatment with the agonist DAMGO ([D-Ala(2),N-Me-Phe(4),Glyol(5)]-enkephalin). The compounds were also characterized as agonists, inverse agonists or neutral antagonists by using assays for competitive binding, [(35)S]GTPgammaS (guanosine-5'-O-(3-[(35)S]thio)triphosphate) binding and changes in cell surface receptor expression. Key results Naltrexone, 6beta-naltrexol and naloxone were indistinguishable to the mu-opioid receptor in the opioid-naive or dependent state and acted as neutral antagonists. The delta-opioid receptor inverse agonist RTI-5989-25 [(+)-N-[trans-4'-(2-methylphenyl)-2'-butenyl]-(3R,4R)-dimethyl-4-(3-hydroxyphenyl)piperidine], a 3,4-dimethyl-4-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-piperidine, was an inverse agonist at the mu-opioid receptor, and the peptide antagonist CTAP (H-D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Arg-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH(2)) showed variable, assay-dependent properties. All the antagonists precipitated the same degree of cAMP overshoot in opioid-dependent cells. Conclusions and implications Antagonists at the mu-opioid receptor may be neutral or show inverse agonist activity. Formation of a constitutively active mu-opioid receptor is not a requirement for the development or expression of adenylyl cyclase sensitization.
Geodynamic Investigations Using Very Long Term Observation of Near-Earth Satellites

Orbital arcs of 6000 or more revolutions of near-Earth satellites have been used by several investigators to recover estimates of polar motion and solid and fluid Earth tidal parameters. Techniques involving both osculating and mean Kepler elements have been used, the former yielding results (in terms of satellite position in the out-of-plane direction) good to about 1 meter and the latter about 3 meters. The use of osculating elements obtained from direct numerical integration of the equations of motion is vextremely attractive because of the ease of modeling the force field, especially in consideration of the few-centimeter accuracy required for current and future geodynamic research projects. The need for improved efficiency and accuracy of numerical integration techniques is therefore obvious. Techniques used to minimize the effect of such errors will be discussed.
Pannus Is the New Prepuce? Penile Cancer in a Buried Phallus

Two males presented to our urology department with complaints of bleeding and malodor from buried phallus within a suprapubic fat pad. Although both men had neonatal circumcisions, advanced penile carcinoma was found in both men. Formal penectomies showed high grade, poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma invading the corporal bodies and urethra. Buried penis represents a difficulty in early detection of suspicious lesions but may also provide an environment susceptible to poor hygiene and subsequent chronic inflammation. Patients with buried penis may be at a higher risk for development of invasive penile cancer and may benefit from regular and thorough genital exams.
2‐Lithio‐N,N‐diethylbenzamide

[81380-82-7] C11H14LiNO (MW 183.179) InChI = 1S/C11H14NO.Li/c1-3-12(4-2)11(13)10-8-6-5-7-9-10;/h5-8H,3-4H2,1-2H3; InChIKey = KNVJQQWNAALZEY-UHFFFAOYSA-N (reagent used for production of highly substituted benzene derivatives) Preparative Method: solutions of the title compound can be obtained by deprotonation of N,N-diethylbenzamide using sec-Butyllithium in THF/TMEDA at −78 °C.
Incremental Transfer Effectiveness

A new method of measuring transfer of learning is presented, A universal relationship is postulated in which the effectiveness of successive increments of training on one task, as measured by the relative incremental savings in learning a second task, is a negatively decelerated function of the time devoted to pretraining or interpolated training on the former task. It is further postulated that the relationship, inferred from aircraft-pilot training situations, applies in different forms to all educational experiences, thereby allowing all formal educational programs, in theory, to be evaluated in terms of their incremental cost effectiveness.
Binge drinking and disordered eating in college students.

Purpose: To explore the co-occurrence of binge drinking and disordered eating behaviors in college-aged students. Data sources: Data were collected from 211 college-aged students (mean age 20.7 years) at a private university in the northeastern United States using a web-based survey. Gender-specific binge drinking rates (five drinks per occasion for men and four drinks per occasion for women) were ascertained. Disordered eating behaviors included measures of binge eating as well as unhealthy weight loss behaviors (skipping meals, fasting, diet pills, laxatives, and self-induced vomiting). Conclusions: Binge drinking rates were high (63% of female, 83% of male students). Binge eating was reported by 48% of students and was correlated with healthy and unhealthy weight loss behaviors. Female students were more likely to endorse the use of skipping meals, fasting, use of diet pills, laxatives, and self-induced vomiting. Implications for practice: Binge drinking and disordered eating behaviors are practiced by both male and female students and are common occurrences on college campuses. Nurse practitioners need to be aware of these behaviors, their co-occurrence, and the need to assess and intervene with students who are at risk for the negative health outcomes associated with the use of these behaviors.
Nanoengineered polymers for photonic integrated circuits

We describe nanoengineered polymeric materials, their properties, and their use to produce state-of-the-art integrated optical components with optimal optical, electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties. These components met all performance and reliability requirements in the telecommunication industry, including Telcordia GR-1209/GR-1221 qualification, as well as accelerated aging tests that significantly exceed Telcordia requirements, such as aging at extreme temperature (5000 hours at 175°C) and optical power (6000 hours at 1.5 W of 1550 nm light). The types of components we describe include variable optical attenuator arrays, intelligent optical cross-connects, and fully reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers.
DNA conformation induced by the bacteriophage T4 UvsX protein appears identical to the conformation induced by the Escherichia coli RecA protein.

Abstract The study of homologous genetic recombination has been dominated by the RecA protein of Escherichia coli, which is involved in DNA recombination and repair, as well as phage induction, in vivo. The active form of the RecA protein is a helical filament formed on DNA in the presence of ATP, and within this filament, the DNA is extensively stretched to about 5-1 A rise per base-pair and untwisted to about 19 base-pairs per turn. The bacteriophage T4 UvsX protein is only weakly homologous to RecA, but it has very similar ATP-dependent DNA binding and strand-exchange activities. We can now show that the UvsX protein forms helical filaments that are very similar to those made by RecA, and induces the same extended DNA conformation within these filaments that is induced by RecA. This implies that the unusual conformation of DNA in the RecA filament may be a universal structure in homologous recombination.
A structural econometric model of family valuation and choice of employer-sponsored health insurance in the United States.

This paper estimates a fully structural unitary household model of employment and health insurance decisions for dual wage-earner families with children in the United States, using data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey. Families choose hours of work and the breakdown of compensation between cash wages and health insurance benefits for each wage earner in order to maximize expected utility under uncertain need for medical care. Heterogeneous demand for the employer-sponsored health insurance is thus generated directly from variations in health status and earning potential. The paper concludes by discussing the benefits of using structural models for simulating welfare effects of insurance reform relative to the costly assumptions that must be imposed for identification.
Evaluation of Post-Contrast Myocardial T1 in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Using Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The objective of the study was to perform a retrospective pilot study to evaluate the potential of myocardial T1 in assessment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) cardiomyopathy. Early identification of DMD cardiac disease, particularly myocardial fibrosis, would allow earlier therapy, potentially improving outcomes. Shortened myocardial T1 measured by cardiac MRI (CMR) is a measure of cardiac fibrosis that may be detected before late gadolinium enhancement (LGE). We hypothesized that the post-contrast T1 obtained from the Look-Locker sequences (T1LL), an easily obtainable surrogate of myocardial T1, would be abnormally shortened in DMD compared with controls. T1LL measurement was performed on 21 DMD subjects and 11 controls; to account for individual variations in gadolinium distribution, myocardial T1LL was divided by blood pool T1LL, deriving T1LL ratios. DMD subjects had shorter mean T1LL ratio than controls (1.42 vs 1.72, p < 0.001). Subset analyses in DMD subjects with normal LVEF and without LGE also demonstrated significantly shorter T1LL ratio (−0.28, p < 0.001 and −0.25, p = 0.028). Post-contrast T1LL ratio is abnormally shortened in DMD compared with controls, even in DMD patients with otherwise normal CMRs. The application of more aggressive therapy for those with shorter T1LL may favorably alter morbidity and improve mortality associated with DMD cardiomyopathy. These data suggest that further prospective evaluation of myocardial T1 will be of benefit to patients with DMD.
Development of a high sensitivity three-axis force/torque sensor for microassembly

There is a growing need for multi-axis force torque (F/T) sensors to aid in the assembly of micro-scale devices. Many current generation robotic microassembly systems lack the force-feedback needed to facilitate automating common assembly tasks, such as peg-in-hole insertions. Currently, most microassembly operations use vision systems to align components being assembled. However, it is difficult to view high aspect ratio component assemblies under high magnification due to the resulting limited depth-of-field. In addition, this difficulty is compounded as assembly tolerances approach dimensions resolvable with optics or if the mating parts are delicate. This paper describes the development of a high sensitivity F/T sensor. Optimal design theory was applied to determine the configuration that would result in the most sensitive and accurate sensor. Calibration experiments demonstrated that the sensor can resolve down to 200μN and possibly less.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Elastic Relaxations in Ultrathin Epitaxial Alloy Films

Elastic interactions responsible for the stability of nanometer-scale patterns in ultrathin, bulk-immiscible-alloy films are analyzed within the context of a hybrid atomistic-continuum model. Two apparently different descriptions of alloy film behavior, a continuum elasticity theory describing a deformable substrate and a rigid substrate atomistic scheme, emerge naturally as limiting cases on long and short length scales, respectively. Quantitative first-principles calculations explain the origin of recently observed nanoscale patterns in Co-Ag/Ru(0001), and reveal a surprising failure of the continuum model.
Internet Research: Implications for The Future of Health Care

The phenomenal growth in Internet usage, largely due to the success of the World Wide Web, has stressed the international networking infrastructure in ways that were never contemplated when the early ARPAnet emerged from research laboratories in the 1970s. Some of the challenges are logistical and legal, and have to do with management of domain names, intellectual-property agreements, and international business activities. Others are technical, resulting both because we are envisioning applications that the current Internet cannot support, and because the existing infrastructure cannot scale to a world in which a huge portion of the world's population is online and individual homes and businesses may have IP addresses for tens of electronic devices, such as appliances, heating systems, or security alarms. In this presentation, I will discuss some of the US research and testbed activities that are currently underway in an effort to respond to the technical challenges. These include the Internet-2 testbed created by a consortium of academic institutions, and the federal government's Next Generation Internet research initiative. I will explain the difference between these two programs and identify some of the technical requirements other than a simple increase in bandwidth that have been identified for the evolving Internet. This will lead to a discussion of the limitations of the current Internet that have constrained its use in health care and that accordingly help to define the networking research agenda that is of greatest importance to the biomedical community. Policy and regulatory issues that arise because of health care's use of the Internet will also be discussed, as will those technical requirements that may be unique to biomedical applications. One goal of the discussion will be to motivate an international discussion of the ways in which the medical informatics community should be engaged in both basic and applied research in the area of networking and the future of the Internet." []
Performance Distributions: Measuring Employee Performance Using Total Quality Management Principles

Abstract There have been numerous criticisms of traditional performance appraisal systems made by Total Quality Management (TQM) advocates. This article describes a performance appraisal and management system that addresses many TQM concerns about appraisal systems. The Performance Distribution Assessment method (PDA) explicitly considers system versus person sources of performance variation and provides a means for developing “targeted” performance and quality improvement programs. The literature regarding the development and validity of the PDA method is reviewed, and the compatibility of this appraisal system with quality management principles is discussed.
A correlation between the pretransplantation MELD score and mortality in the first two years after liver transplantation

The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score is now the criteria for allocation in liver transplantation for patients with chronic disease. Although the score has been effective in the prediction of mortality in patients awaiting liver transplantation, its abilities to predict posttransplantation outcome need study. The aim of this study is to compare outcome in the first 2 years after liver transplantation according to the pretransplantation MELD score. The study includes 669 consecutive patients who underwent primary liver transplantation between December 1993 and October 1999 in a single transplant center. Patients who died of malignancy were excluded from the series. Pretransplantation MELD score was calculated using the United Network for Organ Sharing formula. Patients were stratified according to MELD score less than 15, 15 to 24, and 25 and higher. Posttransplantation survival at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months was significantly lower in the groups with a higher MELD score. The difference was significant for hepatitis C and noncholestatic liver diseases, but not cholestatic diseases. In patients with a MELD score between 15 and 24, survival was significantly greater with cholestatic diseases and lower in patients with hepatitis C. In our study, pretransplantation MELD score correlates with survival in the first 2 years after transplantation. There is a survival advantage for patients with cholestatic diseases compared with those with hepatitis C. These findings suggest the need to readjust MELD score-based allocation decisions to consider patient outcome.
Biochemical and spectroscopic studies of the electronic structure and reactivity of a methyl-Ni species formed on methyl-coenzyme M reductase.

The enzyme methyl coenzyme M reductase (MCR) catalyzes the final step of methane production by methanogenic organisms. The active site contains a Ni−macrocyclic complex, F430, in which the Ni is in...
Charge transfer, polarization, and relaxation effects on the Auger line shapes of Si.

The Auger line shapes of Si are quantitatively interpreted noting particularly the core-hole screening effects as exhibited through charge transfer, polarization, and atomic relaxation. The ${\mathrm{KL}}_{1}$V, ${\mathrm{KL}}_{2}$,3V, and ${L}_{1}$${L}_{2}$,3V line shapes reflect a core-hole-screened density of states (DOS) consistent with the core hole in the final state of these processes. A DOS appropriate for the screened core hole is obtained by distorting the theoretical DOS for the ground state utilizing the Green's function for a tight-binding Hamiltonian and a central-cell potential. Comparison of the ${L}_{2}$,3VV and KVV line shapes reveal large differences. These differences are discussed in the context of surface effects, intrinsic and extrinsic plasmon losses, and final-state shakeoff. The ${L}_{2}$,3VV and KVV line shapes also suggest some distortion effects due to final-state hole correlation. The ${\mathrm{KL}}_{2}$,3${\mathrm{L}}_{2}$,3 line shape is interpreted in the context of similar line shapes for Na, Mg, Al, and P; all show plasmon losses and, except for P, initial-state shakeoff contributions.
Quantitative Precipitation Estimation in the CASA X-band Dual-Polarization Radar Network

Abstract This paper presents the sensing aspects and performance evaluation of the quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) system in an X-band dual-polarization radar network developed by the Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) Engineering Research Center. CASA’s technology enables precipitation observation close to the ground and QPE is one of the important applications. With expanding urbanization all over the world, vulnerability to floods has increased from intense rainfall such as urban flash floods. The QPE products that are derived at high spatiotemporal resolution, which is enabled by the deployment of a dense radar network, have the potential to improve the prediction of flash-flooding threats when coupled with hydrological models. Derivation of QPE from radar observations is a challenging process, in which the use of dual-polarization radar variables is advantageous. At X band, the specific differential propagation phase (Kdp) between the orthogonal linear polarization st...
On some questions concerning strong compactness

A question of Woodin asks if ? is strongly compact and GCH holds below ?, then must GCH hold everywhere? One variant of this question asks if ? is strongly compact and GCH fails at every regular cardinal ? < ?, then must GCH fail at some regular cardinal ? ? ?? Another variant asks if it is possible for GCH to fail at every limit cardinal less than or equal to a strongly compact cardinal ?. We get a negative answer to the first of these questions and positive answers to the second of these questions for a supercompact cardinal ? in the context of the absence of the full Axiom of Choice.
Factors Influencing Counseling Center Staff's Perceptions of Treatment Difficulty in Relation to Student Childhood Sexual Abuse

Abstract Influence of the client variables of frequency and memory of sexual abuse, as well as the therapist variables of gender, relevant professional experience, and personal history of sexual abuse, on treatment perceptions was examined. A random, national sample of university counseling center staff participated and responded to a repeated set of five questions after reading each of four different client vignettes. Client variables of frequency of abuse and memory for the abuse, as well as therapist variables of gender and related professional experience, significantly influenced treatment perceptions, while therapist history of sexual abuse did not. Additionally, the influence of externally imposed session limits was examined, and those therapists operating under brief therapy session limits were more likely to refer all sexually abused clients, especially those clients perceived to be more severe, than they would if they operated with no session limits. Implications for assessment, training, and bri...
News Photographers, Librarians, Tags, and Controlled Vocabularies: Balancing the Forces

ABSTRACT This article discusses a survey distributed to photojournalism professionals in order to determine their metadata preferences for photograph retrieval in an online archival system. Their top preferences included: named objects, specific events occurring in the photograph, browsing, and photographer-supplied keywords. Findings included problems with news photographers' metadata quality as well as librarians' inability to supply all the necessary metadata in this context. Additionally, it was found that current controlled vocabulary methods are not useful for the photojournalists' setting. New approaches to better facilitate search and retrieval of news photographs are suggested.