cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fully cognitive transceiver for High Frequency (HF) applications

Ionospheric conditions are variable in nature and can cause destructive interference to transmissions made in the High Frequency (HF) band, which ranges from 3-30 MHz. This poses a problem as the HF band is a critical fre- quency range for various applications (i.e. emergency, military). To manage these dynamic conditions, intelligent techniques should be implemented at the transmitter and receiver to properly maintain reliable communications. In this paper, we present work deriving components of a cognitive HF transceiver with agents called cognitive engines (CEs) operating at the transmitter and receiver. At the transmitter, cognition is employed to determine the combination of modulation and coding techniques that maximize throughput. At the receiver, cognition is implemented to derive the best parameters for equalization (i.e. tap length, step size, filter type, etc.) Results are presented showing that the individual components are able to satisfy their objectives. A discussion is also provided surveying recent research efforts pertaining to the development of cognitive methods for the Automatic Link Establishment (ALE) protocol, a common networking methodology for HF stations.
My Life Journey with Cultural Diversity

In this paper I will present a cultural picture of myself by describing how my personal background has influenced who I am today. I will also discuss my feelings toward my culture and how my culture helps me accept other cultures and the dimension of diversity.
Do projectile points get cold? An experimental approach examining composite and stone projectile technology:

Researchers have noted that cold temperatures may have had an impact on hunter-gatherer decisions concerning raw material selection for projectile points. This line of reasoning has been used to ex...
Online Search Behavior for Cancer Immunotherapy Resources and Readability Analysis: An Opportunity to Aid in Medical Decision-making.

Cancer patients are faced with increasing options for cancer care, especially with the introduction of cancer immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Though many patients turn to online resources to supplement their decision-making, it is unknown whether online resources in cancer immunotherapy with ICIs are written at an appropriate level of readability according to national medical organizations. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of internet search behavior for cancer immunotherapy by ICIs and clinical trial availability per ClinicalTrials.gov in the United States (US) from 2004 - 2018 with subsequent quantitation of readability by four readability formulas of top 50 online resources. Internet search behavior for "cancer immunotherapy" has steadily increased since 2013 and coincides with the year of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for individual ICIs. Furthermore, internet search behavior was significantly correlated with clinical trial availability in the US (R = 0.97, p < 0.0001). None of the top 50 resources available to patients were found to be within the recommended level of sixth-grade readability or less with only one (2%) written at the middle school level, 21 (42%) at the high school level, 23 (46%) at the university level, and five (8%) at a graduate level. Population-level internet search patterns may reflect patient behavior in seeking relevant online health information and may be influenced by new options for cancer therapy, including via clinical trials. However, low readability of available online resources may impede patient comprehension and negatively affect medical decision-making.
Trajectories of maternal aggression in early childhood: Associations with parenting stress, family resources, and neighborhood cohesion

Abstract Background The effects of family risk on parenting can be ameliorated or exacerbated depending on factors internal (e.g., appraisals, regulation) and external (e.g., resources, social support) to the role of parenting. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between sources of stress when exploring associations with parenting behaviors. Objective We aimed to identify trajectories of maternal aggression among families across various levels of risk, and explore associations with factors internal and external to parenting. Participants and setting Participants included children in large U.S. cities born between 1998 and 2000, followed through age 9, in the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study with medical records data available (N = 3529). Method Latent growth curve modeling was conducted to identify trajectories of maternal aggression measured through a survey at child age 3, 5, and 9. Correlates of maternal aggression (i.e., family risk for maltreatment, income-to-poverty ratios, maternal education, parenting stress, and neighborhood cohesion) were measured through medical records and maternal surveys at birth, age 1, and age 3. Results Maternal aggression similarly declined between child age 3 and 9 across low-, moderate-, and high-risk families. Across all families, neighborhood social cohesion was significantly, negatively associated with maternal aggression, (β’s = −.20 to −.28, p’s Conclusion The results suggest that families could benefit from supportive neighborhood environments or parenting stress reduction techniques, regardless of level of risk at birth.
Role of shear stress at rest on the viscoelastic response of fresh cement pastes

Fresh concrete is composed of aggregates and cement paste, which itself is a dense suspension that exhibits a yield stress and serves as a binder that solidifies through cement hydration. Although there is relatively little reaction during the fresh state (i.e., before setting), there is still the formation of early hydration products that will influence the paste rheology. Nonzero stress at rest widely exists in concrete practice, e.g., interruption during pumping, static formwork casting, and 3D concrete printing, but its impact on eventual viscoelastic properties is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the influence of different levels of applied shear stress at rest on fresh cement pastes and show that it dramatically alters the eventual solid performance (i.e., static yield stress and stiffness). With increasing applied shear stress at rest, the cement paste exhibited increasing static yield stress and increasingly elastic behavior, where the origin was tied to the progression of hydration. Cement pastes were compared against magnesium oxide suspensions, which served as an inert model system, and an accelerated rate of static yield stress increase over time was observed in the former but not in the latter. This highlights the role of early cement hydration on the solidification behavior of fresh cement pastes in the presence of nonzero shear stress at rest. We further support this by showing that the structural evolution of cement paste under applied stress can primarily be attributed to an enhanced elastic limit, which is associated with early hydration. The influence of two common viscosity modifying admixtures, nanoclay and diutan gum, on these properties was also examined. This work demonstrates the importance of taking the shear stress at rest into consideration for laboratory rheological experiments and industrial concrete applications, as it can substantially impact the eventual solidification behavior.
Distribution of Preventive Dental Care during Pregnancy in Rhode Island, 2012 to 2015.

Aims To examine the distribution of preventive dental care for pregnant women in Rhode Island. Methods The data used were obtained from the 2012 to 2015 Rhode Island Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (RIPRAMS). Statistical analyses were conducted for respondents who had valid information for both preventive dental care receipt and race/ethnicity to examine population differences in the receipt of preventive dental care. Results Respondents who identified as Hispanic and had more than 12 years of education had higher odds for preventive dental care receipt in Rhode Island between 2012 to 2015 compared to non-Hispanic whites. Furthermore, respondents with lower household income were the least likely to have received preventive dental care. This was especially true for black and non-Hispanic women who reported being neither black nor white. Conclusion Preventive dental care in Rhode Island between 2012 and 2015 did not meet the perinatal and Infant Oral Health Quality Improvement (PIOHQI) target of 60% in minority populations.
Circadian desynchronization alters metabolic and immune responses following lipopolysaccharide inoculation in male mice.

Abstract Metabolism and inflammation are linked at many levels. Sickness behaviors are elicited by the immune system’s response to antigenic stimuli, and include changes in feeding and metabolism. The immune system is also regulated by the circadian (daily) clock, which generates endogenous rhythms, and synchronizes these rhythms to the light-dark cycle. Modern society has resulted in chronic misalignment or desynchronization of the circadian clock and the external environment. We have demonstrated that circadian desynchronization (CD) in mice alters metabolic function, and also affects both peripheral and central immune responses following a low-dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. However, it is unclear how this altered immune response impacts sickness behaviors and metabolism following challenge. To test this, we housed male mice in circadian desynchronized (10-hours light:10-hours dark) or control (12-hours light:12-hours dark) conditions for 5–6 weeks. We then challenged mice with LPS (i.p., 0.4 mg/kg) or PBS and measured changes in body mass, feeding, drinking and locomotion using a comprehensive phenotyping system. Plasma, liver, and brain were collected 36 h post-inoculation (hpi) and inflammatory messengers were measured via multiplex cytokine/chemokine array and qPCR. We find that recovery of locomotion and body mass is prolonged in CD mice following LPS challenge. Additionally, at 36 hpi the expression of several proinflammatory cytokines differ depending on pre-inoculation lighting conditions. Our findings add to the growing literature which documents how desynchronization of circadian rhythms can lead to disrupted immune responses and changes in metabolic function.
Hepatitis C virus infections among people aged 15–44, United States, 2009–2018

Objectives To estimate the prevalence, characteristics, and gender differences among people aged 15-44 years who are living with current HCV infections in the United States. Design and sample We conducted a cross-sectional, secondary data analysis using data from people who participated in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycles in 2009-2018. Measurements Sociodemographic, social behavior, and clinical factors that had been identified as related to having HCV, barriers to receiving HCV screening, care, or treatment, and health conditions that increase the risks of developing HCV-related complications were studied. A weighted-data analysis approach was used to generate descriptive statistics. Results The estimated, weighted prevalence of current HCV infections was 0.3% (95% CI, 0.2-0.4), representing approximately 363,161 people (95% CI, 301,402-424, 920). Females were more likely than males to have an unknown risk factor and reported worse overall health. Males were more likely to have comorbidities such as obesity or diabetes that put them at risk for developing life-threatening complications. Conclusions Increased public health attention with gender-specific actions are needed to address the health needs of the thousands of people aged 15-44 years who are living with current HCV infections across the United States.
Nuclear genetic transformation and a restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of soybean (Glycine max (L) Merr) mitochondrial genetics

The maize transposable element Ag. was introduced into soybean plants using Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-DNA. Cotyledons were inoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain A281 harboring the binary vectors PZAC1 and PZAC1/R [containing the NPTII (neomycin phosphotransferase II) gene, ^-Glucuronidase gene, and the Ac. maize transposable element]. The method of transformation does not require intermediate callus formation steps; instead, it involves inoculation of the embryo axis at the point of attachment to the cotyledons. Multiple shoots were produced from this region. Identification of RO plants carrying the Ag. element was done by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification of an internal fragment of the As. sequence. The PCR assay indicated the presence of the As element in the soybean RO genome. Southern blot analysis of the genomic DNA isolated from R1 plants indicated integration and sexual transmission of the whole transferred DNA (NPTII, 35S promoter, A£ element, Nos-P, Nos-T, and GUS gene) into the soybean genome. The frequency of transformation was 24% (with PZAC1), and 10% (with PZAC1/R) of the regenerated plants that survived several cycles of kanamycin selection. Based on GUS assays, the Aq. element was found to be relatively active in some of the soybean R1 plants. Blue sectors were detected in two individually transformed plants. Detection of GUS activity in some of the leaf 8 tissue of the R1 transgenic plants indicated excision of the As. element from the untranslated leader sequence of the GUS gene. The As. element followed a Mendelian pattern of inheritance, segregating in a 3:1 ratio in R1 progeny.
Association between vestibular function and rotational spatial orientation perception in older adults.

Background Spatial orientation is a complex process involving vestibular sensory input and possibly cognitive ability. Previous research demonstrated that rotational spatial orientation was worse for individuals with profound bilateral vestibular dysfunction. Objective Determine whether rotational and linear vestibular function were independently associated with large amplitude rotational spatial orientation perception in healthy aging. Methods Tests of rotational spatial orientation accuracy and vestibular function [vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), ocular and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP)] were administered to 272 healthy community-dwelling adults participating in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Using a mixed model multiple linear regression we regressed spatial orientation errors on lateral semicircular canal function, utricular function (ocular VEMP), and saccular function (cervical VEMP) in a single model controlling for rotation size, age, and sex. Results After adjusting for age, and sex, individuals with bilaterally low VOR gain (β= 20.9, p = 0.014) and those with bilaterally absent utricular function (β= 9.32, p = 0.017) made significantly larger spatial orientation errors relative to individuals with normal vestibular function. Conclusions The current results demonstrate for the first time that either bilateral lateral semicircular canal dysfunction or bilateral utricular dysfunction are associated with worse rotational spatial orientation. We also demonstrated in a healthy aging cohort that increased age also contributes to spatial orientation ability.
Subthreshold mobility extraction for SOI MESFETs

The purpose of this paper is to extract the diffusion based mobility in SJT at low bias conditions to validate the drift-based results. To extract the diffusion coefficient for the SJT using our in-house 2D Monte Carlo device simulator, the following formulation is being used, D = = )(v(t) - )> = 1/N /spl Sigma//sub i=1//sup N/ (x/sub i/(t) )(v/sub i/(t) - ) where /spl delta/x(t) and /spl delta/v(t) are the fluctuations of the particle position and velocity with respect to their ensemble averages. Using the above mentioned method we found that the simulated bulk diffusion coefficient is very close to the experimental values". Also, using the Einstein relation for non-degenerate semiconductors, we find that the corresponding low-field mobility values are on the order of 951 /spl sim/ 1121cm/sup 2//V-sec and confirm the drift based mobility calculation in the subthreshold region. Therefore, the mobility enhancement in SJT is being confirmed by two different but consistent methods, suggesting that this device structure exhibits higher cut-off frequency, which will make it suitable for application in r.f. micropower circuit design.
How Do Campaign Spending Limits Affect Electoral Competition?: Evidence From Great Britain 1885-2010

In half of the democratic countries in the world, candidates face legal constraints on how much money they can spend on their electoral campaigns, yet we know little about the consequences of these restrictions. I study how spending limits affect electoral competition in British House of Commons elections. On the basis of archival material, I have collected new data on the more than 58,000 candidates who ran for a parliamentary seat from 1885 to 2010, recording how much money each candidate spent, and the spending limit they faced. To identify causal effects, I exploit within-constituency variation in spending caps induced by reforms of the spending-limit formula that affected some, but not all constituencies. Consistent with theoretical predictions from a contest model, the results indicate that when the level of permitted spending is raised, campaigns become more expensive, fewer candidates run for office, the proportion of wealthy candidates increases, and the financial and electoral advantages enjoyed by incumbents are amplified.
Original-Intent Originalism: A Reformulation and Defense

Originalists emphasize constitutional text as a means of interpreting and applying provisions of the Constitution to concrete issues. In the 1970s and 1980s, the first wave of originalists considered the intentions of the Framers as controlling for interpretation of constitutional text. Over time—and in part due to the critique of intentionalism that suggests we lack a reliable means of assessing the subjective intentions of all of those who adopted a particular constitutional provision—the focus of originalists shifted to the original public meaning of constitutional text. For reasons detailed below, I maintain that a focus on text, while critically important to constitutional interpretation, is inadequate by itself for faithfully interpreting the Constitution, particularly where its open-textured provisions, which are most often the subject of adjudication, are concerned. By intent, originalists mean what the Framers and Ratifiers sought to do by means of the Constitution’s provisions. It is the actions and results the Framers and Ratifiers sought to achieve that constitute their intent. It is insufficient to say, as Randy Barnett does, that the language to which the Ratifiers agreed constitutes the meaning of the Constitution. It is true that Madison said, which Barnett quotes him as saying, that the Ratifiers’ understanding of the Constitution should control its interpretation. The Ratifiers, however, were not simply voting on words, but on changes in action to be made and implemented in structure and policy, so that the actions of the national government would be different in some respects from what it had done before. The Framers and Ratifiers of the Constitution intended for certain purposes to be accomplished, and it is in those purposes that meaning must be sought.
Experimental depletion of gut microbiota diversity reduces host thermal tolerance and fitness under heat stress in a vertebrate ectotherm

Predicting the responses of ectotherms to climate change is a global conservation priority which requires identifying factors that influence how animals respond physiologically to changing temperature. Host-associated microbial communities impact animal physiology and have been shown to influence host thermal tolerance in invertebrate systems. However, the role of commensal microbiota in thermal tolerance of ectothermic vertebrates is unknown. Here we show that experimentally depleting the diversity of the tadpole gut microbiome through environmental water sterilization reduces the host9s acute thermal tolerance to both heat and cold, alters the thermal sensitivity of locomotor performance, and reduces animal survival under acute heat stress. We show that these tadpoles have reduced activities of mitochondrial enzymes and altered metabolic rates compared to tadpoles colonized with a diverse microbiota, which could underlie differences in thermal phenotypes. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, a link between the gut microbiome of an ectothermic vertebrate and the host9s thermal tolerance, performance, and fitness, thus highlighting the importance of considering host-associated microbial communities when predicting species9 responses to climate change.
Crystal Structure Evolution of UCl3 from Room Temperature to Melting

Uranium trichloride (UCl3) is actively researched to develop and improve applications ranging from molten salt reactors to actinide processing, including spent fuel reprocessing. Here, we report for the first time the crystal structure evolution between room temperature and melting point from in situ high-temperature neutron diffraction to quantify, for example, the thermal expansion of the hexagonal a and c lattice parameters. The results are compared with density functional theory calculations. The melting point of UCl3 is determined by differential scanning calorimetry to be 1108.2 ± 0.2 K.
Losing the Hearts and Minds, or How Clio Disappeared from Canadian Public Schools

VERY DIFFERENT IN TEMPER, purpose, and point of view, the three books under discussion (for I rather invoke them than review them below) converge around a seminal development: Canadian history, as taught in the schools, has changed drastically since the 1960s, and in ways disturbing to more than one side in the country's ongoing culture wars. On the one hand, J.L. Granatstein's Who Killed Canadian History? is the latest offering from a prolific author and retired distinguished professor of military history, known otherwise for his stinging neoconservative critique of current Canadian higher education— including attacks on tenure and journal subsidies as well as multiculturalism and political correctness. On the other hand, both Ken Osborne's In Defense of History and Bob Davis's Whatever Happened to High School History? reflect the concerns of two educator/teachers who have grown up in liberal or left circles and who are by instinct much more sympathetic to the new histories of recent decades as well as the social democratic politics they inspire. Considering the books at their points of greatest overlap and fiercest differentiation offers a revealing window on problems that go to the heart of history's role within a democratic culture — in Canada and beyond.
Creole English Speakers’ Treatment of Tense‐Aspect Morphology in English Interlanguage Written Discourse

The study sought to examine the effect of lexical aspect and narrative discourse structure on the pattern of acquisition and use of English verbal morphology exhibited by creole-speaking students. Findings indicated that the emergent pattern of morphology in the creole participants' written interlanguage appeared to be influenced not only by lexical aspect and narrative discourse, but also by a conglomerate of other factors such as the morphosyntactic features of the creoles, the blurring of the distinction between the linguistic system of English-based creoles and that of the standard English varieties, and the constant bidirectional shifting between the creoles and the standard varieties along the creole continuum, as well as the structure of narrative discourse in creole cultures.
Readings in Uncertain Reasoning

Most everyday reasoning and decision making is based on uncertain premises. This volume collects 42 key papers from the literature, addressing the methods that have been used in artificial intelligence to build systems with the ability to manage uncertainty. The editors have added volume and sectio
Coherent vertical structures in numerical simulations of buoyant plumes from wildland fires

The structure and dynamics of buoyant plumes arising from surface-based heat sources in a vertically sheared ambient atmospheric flow are examined via simulations of a three-dimensional, compressible numerical model. Simple circular heat sources and asymmetric elliptical ring heat sources that are representative of wildland fires of moderate intensity are considered. Several different coherent vortical structures that dominate the plume structure and evolution are evident in the simulations, and these structures correspond well with those observed in plumes from wildland fires. For the circular source, these structures include: (i) a counter-rotating vortex pair aligned with the plume trajectory that is associated with a bifurcation of the plume, (ii) transverse shear-layer vortices on the upstream face of the plume, and (iii) vertically oriented wake vortices that form periodically with alternating sign on either side of the downstream edge of the plume base. For the elliptical ring source, a streamwise counter-rotating vortex pair is apparent on each flank, and a transverse horizontal vortex is observed above the head of the source. In all simulations the plume cross section is represented poorly by a self-similar Gaussian distribution.
The use of differing nucleotides to investigate cross-bridge kinetics

We have investigated the ability of the nucleotides GTP, CTP, and 1-N6-etheno-2-aza-ATP (aza-ATP) to support contraction of chemically skinned rabbit psoas fibers. Working at 10 degrees C, millimolar concentrations of all nucleotides relaxed fibers in the absence of calcium. In active fibers, GTP served as a very poor substrate with isometric tension, isometric GTPase rate, and maximum shortening velocity (Vmax) all less than 10% of those obtained with ATP. Aza-ATP was only a slightly better substrate. CTP, on the other hand, was an effective substrate with mechanical parameters which were 65-100% those obtained with ATP, and with a hydrolysis rate that exceeded that of ATP. For all three ligands, Vmax followed Michaelis-Menten saturation behavior with values for Km which were from 2.5 to 12 times greater than that for ATP, showing that the analogs bound slowly to myosin in the fibers. Increasing concentrations of orthophosphate inhibited tension with CTP, to a lesser extent with aza-ATP, but not all with GTP. A combination of the mechanical data obtained in fibers with the kinetic data obtained in solution (White, H.D., Belknap, B., and Jiang, W. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 10039-10045) is used to better define the actomyosin interaction in fibers.
Characteristics of dysphagia in older patients evaluated at a tertiary center

Objective To determine laryngoscopic and videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) findings in geriatric patients with dysphagia; to evaluate management. Study Design Retrospective chart review. Methods Patients over 65 years old complaining of dysphagia, seen at a tertiary laryngology clinic, were included. Head and neck cancer and stroke patients were excluded. Demographics, laryngoscopic findings, swallowing studies, and treatment modalities were reviewed. Results Sixty-five patients were included. Mean age was 75 years old (range = 66–97) with female predominance of 67.6%. Weight loss was seen in 9.2% of the patients. Whereas 52.3% of the patients complained of solid food dysphagia, 53.8% were choking on food. On laryngoscopy, 15.3% of the patients had pooling in the pyriform sinuses, 30.7% had glottic gap, 18.4% had vocal fold immobility, and 3% had hypomobility. VFSS showed that 38.4% of the patients had pharyngoesophageal dysphagia, 20% had oropharyngeal dysphagia, 20% had pharyngeal dysphagia, and 20% had a normal study. In addition, 41.5% of the patients showed laryngeal penetration and 18.4% showed aspiration. Surgical intervention was employed in 29.2% of the patients in the form of botulinum toxin injection, esophageal dilatation, cricopharyngeal myotomy, vocal fold injection, diverticulectomy, and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. Whereas 21.5% of the patients received swallowing therapy, 61.5% underwent diet modification. As a result, 80% of the patients needed some type of treatment. Conclusions Swallowing problems in older patients are not uncommon. The clinician needs to be diligent to inquire about dysphagia because a large number of these patients will require treatment. Level of Evidence 4. Laryngoscope, 125:400–405, 2015
Time-dependent biphasic response of aromatase to dexamethasone in cultured human skin fibroblasts

Human genital skin fibroblasts grown in cell culture possess aromatase activity and, therefore, provide a model to investigate the molecular mechanisms that control aromatase in extraglandular tissues. Following the observation by other investigators that glucocorticoids stimulated aromatase activity in cultured stromal-vascular cells from adipose tissue, we examined the influence of dexamethasone (DEX) on aromatase in cultured skin fibroblasts. Preincubation of skin fibroblasts with DEX stimulated aromatase expression in all cell strains. In time-course studies, aromatase activity showed a biphasic curve, with peak levels at 12 h and a return to baseline levels by 72 h. When DEX was removed after 12 h, aromatase activity could be completely restimulated by DEX only after a period of 60-72 h. The DEX stimulation appeared to involve glucocorticoid receptor function, since the concentration of DEX required for half-maximal stimulation of aromatase activity (4.2 nM) was similar to the dissociation constant (Kd, 4.3 nM) of the receptor (for DEX). Actinomycin D and cycloheximide (CHX) inhibited DEX stimulation of aromatase when they were present in the preincubation and assay media. When cells were preincubated with DEX and CHX and then washed free of CHX and DEX before the assay, superinduction of aromatase activity occurred. Our data concerning the time course and superinduction of aromatase activity by DEX are in contrast to the findings reported by others for adipose tissue stromal-vascular cells and suggest that the mechanisms for the control of aromatase in extraglandular tissue may vary significantly in different tissues.
On valuing and hedging European options when volatility is estimated directly

Abstract We quantify the effects on contingent claim valuation of using an estimator for the unknown volatility σ of a geometric Brownian motion (GBM) process. The theme of the paper is to show what difficulties can arise when failing to account for estimation risk. Our narrative uses a direct estimator of volatility based on the sample standard deviation of increments of the underlying Brownian motion. After replacing the direct estimator into the GBM, we derive the resulting distribution function of the approximated GBM for any time point. This allows us to present post-estimation distributions and valuation formulae for an assortment of European contingent claims that are in accord with many of the basic properties of the underlying risk-neutral process, and yet better reflect the additional uncertainties and risks that exist in the Black–Scholes–Merton paradigm.
The EEG in patients at different ages without organic cerebral disease

Abstract EEGs during wake and sleep were performed on 420 patients without evidence of organic brain disease, with each decade represented up to and including the 70's. The distribution of the major frequency of the background rhythm shows a shift of the peak from 9 c/sec to 10 c/sec from the first to the second decade, then a flattening of this peak in the next two decades, an increase in the slower alpha frequencies in the 60's and a significant loss of the higher frequencies in the 70's when the major peak shifts back to 9 c/sec. Hyperventilation changes gradually decreased with age; delta patterns rapidly decreased after the first decade, theta activity gradually decreased, and focal slowing as maintained at approximately 20% at all ages, except for the first decade when no such focal changes were seen. The peak incidence of photic driving responses occurred during the 40's with a lower incidence during both the younger, but especially during the older age groups. Positive EEG findings include a gradual increase in sharp waves with age, except for a definite peak in the 40's. Slow waves also increased with age but show an abrupt increase in the 70's, mainly from slowing judged mild to moderate in degree, involving the frontal, temporal and occipital areas. These EEG findings were discussed with reference to other relevant studies and provide a base-line for judging abnormality in routine EEGs on patients with suspected organic brain disease.
Boundaries, junctions and transitions in the gastrointestinal tract

Contiguous regions along the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, from the esophagus to the rectum, serve distinct digestive functions. Some organs, such as the esophagus and glandular stomach or the small bowel and colon, are separated by sharp boundaries. The duodenal, jejunal and ileal segments of the small intestine, by contrast, have imprecise borders. Because human esophageal and gastric cancers frequently arise in a background of tissue metaplasia and some intestinal disorders are confined to discrete regions, it is useful to appreciate the molecular and cellular basis of boundary formation and preservation. Here we review the anatomy and determinants of boundaries and transitions in the alimentary canal with respect to tissue morphology, gene expression, and, especially, transcriptional control of epithelial identity. We discuss the evidence for established and candidate molecular mechanisms of boundary formation, including the solitary and combinatorial actions of tissue-restricted transcription factors. Although the understanding remains sparse, genetic studies in mice do provide insights into dominant mechanisms and point the way for future investigation.
Spin injection and the local Hall effect in InAs quantum wells

We report on our efforts to directly inject and detect a spin polarization in an NiFe/(InAs quantum well)/NiFe system at 4.2 K. Numerous device geometries at inter-magnet spacings of between 750 nm and 64 μm are explored, often demonstrating marked hysteretic behavior consistent with the interaction of strong fringe magnetic fields with the low-density InAs quantum well. These local Hall voltages, interesting in themselves, have been investigated systematically and attempts have been made to minimize their role in smaller spin devices. The apparent lack of a strong and unambiguous spin-coupled signal in our smallest devices suggests that NiFe/InAs interfacial spin-scattering mechanisms are a crucial limiting factor.
Metallic/CerMet laminates from explosively consolidated powders

The technique this study focuses on is the use of explosive consolidation to create distinct interfacial systems from metallic and metallic-cermet powder mixtures. One of the advantages of this technique is that undesired intermetallic formation between the constituents (which can happen with other techniques such as hot-pressing) is usually avoided due to the relatively low temperatures involved. In addition, interfacial strengths actually higher than the surrounding bulk material are achieved. Finally, since extremely high dislocation densities are created by the passage of the shock wave, the strength contribution from dislocation pile-ups is maximized.
Case Study: Melatonin in Severe Obesity

Nocturnal serum melatonin was measured at half-hour intervals from 6:30 P.M. to 7 A.M. in two sisters, one severely obese 15-year-old and one somewhat overweight 12-year-old. Both, otherwise, were physically and psychiatrically healthy. In the severely obese sister, there was a significant increase in the serum melatonin mean level, a delayed phase-shift, and a delayed peak. Also, her overnight urine melatonin and its metabolite, 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate, were significantly higher. Could there be a relationship between dysregulation of the pineal gland and severe obesity?
Named entity recognition using hundreds of thousands of features

We present an approach to named entity recognition that uses support vector machines to capture transition probabilities in a lattice. The support vector machines are trained with hundreds of thousands of features drawn from the CoNLL-2003 Shared Task training data. Margin outputs are converted to estimated probabilities using a simple static function. Performance is evaluated using the CoNLL-2003 Shared Task test set; Test B results were Fβ=1 = 84.67 for English, and Fβ=1 = 69.96 for German.
Recognition and management of imported malaria in children

Abstract Imported malaria has become an increasingly significant cause of mortality and morbidity in children traveling from areas of the world endemic for malaria. Reasons for this trend include international travel, immigration, emergence of drug-resistant strains of plasmodium, and inadequate chemoprophylaxis. The clinical features of malaria in children are generally nonspecific and similar to other common conditions, resulting in missed or delayed diagnosis. Children are more likely than adults to deteriorate rapidly and to develop severe malaria, particularly cerebral malaria. It is therefore important that malaria is suspected in any child who has a history of travel to a malaria-endemic area and presents with nonspecific symptoms. Diagnosis should be made early with repeated thick and thin blood smears. Appropriate antimalarial therapy and supportive care should be instituted as soon as possible. Despite appropriate and prompt therapy, the mortality remains high in severe pediatric malaria, especially cerebral malaria. Copyright © 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company
TRANGUCH GASOLINE SITE CASE HISTORY

ABSTRACT A team, consisting of the United States Environmental Protection Agency; Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; Pennsylvania Department of Health; Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; United States Coast Guard and United States Army Corps of Engineers, has completed major steps to provide a safe and healthy environment for the residents of Laurel Gardens, Hazleton, PA. What started as a simple underground gasoline leak took on more serious dimensions when gasoline vapors were found in nearby homes. The investigation and mitigation expanded to include over 400 properties. The remediation consists of a ground water treatment system and a soil vapor extraction system. This paper and its presenters look at the critical aspects of this case as the investigation went from subsurface soil and ground water contamination impacting surface water to the contamination of indoor air. It examines the impact of preferential pathways that include sanitary and storm sewers as well as a ...
Nuclease SP: a novel enzyme from spinach that incises damaged duplex DNA preferentially at sites of adenine

A novel endonuclease has been isolated from extracts of spinach leaves (Spinacia oleracea). The enzyme has been purified by a series of column chromatography steps and has a molecular size of approximately 43,000 daltons. The spinach endonuclease cleaved double stranded DNA damaged by ultraviolet light or cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) primarily at sites of adenine when end-labelled DNA fragments of defined sequence were employed as substrates. The nature of the structural distortion contained in damaged, duplex DNA appears to be an important determinant for endonuclease cleavage. DNA helical distortions produced by UV light-induced (6-4) pyrimidine-pyrimidone photoproducts, but not cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers are recognized by the enzyme. The DNA cleavage products generated by the enzyme contain 3'-hydroxyl and 5'-phosphoryl termini. Single stranded DNA and RNA are hydrolyzed by the spinach endonuclease. This enzyme, which we call nuclease SP, is similar in several respects to other single-strand-specific nucleases such as N. crassa and mung bean nucleases and may function in DNA repair and/or recombination events in spinach cells. Nuclease SP should be a useful tool for the analysis of (6-4) photoproducts occurring in duplex DNA.
Mean momentum balance analysis of rough-wall turbulent boundary layers

Abstract Mean momentum balances (MMB) are carried out for zero pressure gradient rough-wall turbulent boundary layer flows. The balance characterizes the mean dynamical mechanisms and reveals dominant terms in the governing equation, which constitutes a necessary step in the derivation of scaling behaviors. The Reynolds stress profiles in rough-wall boundary layers are, however, quite scattered and the uncertainty in the data poses challenges for educing the MMB. The present study employs a method that invokes theoretical constraints to more reliably reveal Reynolds stress gradient behaviors in the presence of data scatter. Properties of the rough-wall mean momentum balances are compared to those of the smooth-wall case. Important qualitative features of the layer structure that exists for the smooth-wall are shown to also exist for rough-wall boundary layers. Specifically, the present analysis reveals the existence of a stress gradient balance layer, and thus the importance of the viscous force term well above the roughness crests. The smooth-wall Reynolds stress peak position scales in proportion with the geometric mean of inner–outer characteristic lengths. Roughness, however, imposes new dynamical length scales and evidence is provided to indicate that the scale separations between the inner length, roughness length, peak Reynolds stress length and outer length are important. The failure of the rough-wall Reynolds stress profiles to merge under smooth-wall meso-scalings clearly reveals the additional richness of the problem. Although more data are required to gain a complete characterization, the present results provide evidence that the combined roughness-Reynolds number problem exhibits significantly greater complexity than captured by the prevalent scheme for characterizing and classifying roughness regimes.
Molecular Dynamics Studies of the ERK2 Tyrosine Kinase

The extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) belongs to a class of mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) which respond to growth signals in the environment and regulate cell growth and division. Consequently, these signal pathways are often implicated in various cancers and growth diseases. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we studied the ERK protein in various stages of activation. By studying the quasiharmonic modes, correlation maps, and information flow in the system, we developed a coherent picture of the structural and dynamic changes upon activation of the protein.
Unconjugated Bilirubin Exhibits Spontaneous Diffusion through Model Lipid Bilayers and Native Hepatocyte Membranes

The liver is responsible for the clearance and metabolism of unconjugated bilirubin, the hydrophobic end-product of heme catabolism. Although several putative bilirubin transporters have been described, it has been alternatively proposed that bilirubin enters the hepatocyte by passive diffusion through the plasma membrane. In order to elucidate the mechanism of bilirubin uptake, we measured the rate of bilirubin transmembrane diffusion (flip-flop) using stopped-flow fluorescence techniques. Unconjugated bilirubin rapidly diffuses through model phosphatidylcholine vesicles, with a first-order rate constant of 5.3 s-1 (t(1)/(2) = 130 ms). The flip-flop rate is independent of membrane cholesterol content, phospholipid acyl saturation, and lipid packing, consistent with thermodynamic analyses demonstrating minimal steric constraint to bilirubin transmembrane diffusion. The coincident decrease in pH of the entrapped vesicle volume supports a mechanism whereby the bilirubin molecule crosses the lipid bilayer as the uncharged diacid. Transport of bilirubin by native rat hepatocyte membranes exhibits kinetics comparable with that in model vesicles, suggesting that unconjugated bilirubin crosses cellular membranes by passive diffusion through the hydrophobic lipid core. In contrast, there is no demonstrable flip-flop of bilirubin diglucuronide or bilirubin ditaurate in phospholipid vesicles, yet these compounds rapidly traverse isolated rat hepatocyte membranes, confirming the presence of a facilitated uptake system(s) for hydrophilic bilirubin conjugates.
Senfgas, Stickstofflost, Lewisit und Phosgenoxim

Hautkampfstoffe sind, wie andere chemische Kampfstoffe, seit der Genfer Konvention von 1925 und der Konferenz von Paris zum Verbot von Chemiewaffen im Jahre 1989 verboten. Trotz solcher Verbote wurden weiterhin chemische Kampfstoffe produziert und auch eingesetzt. Ein Einsatz von Hautkampfstoffen durch Terroristen gegen die Zivilbevolkerung ware eine bedeutende Herausforderung fur das Gesundheitspersonal im Rettungsdienst und im Krankenhaus. Planungsstabe von Rettungsdiensten und der Polizei mussen ein solches Szenario in ihren Vorbereitungen zur Gefahrenabwehr zugunsten der Zivilbevolkerung mit einbeziehen. Hautkampfstoffe wie Senfgas schadigen hauptsachlich die Haut, die Augen und die Atemwege durch chemische Verbrennungen. Sofortige Entfernung aus der Gefahrenzone und rasche Dekontamination sind die wichtigsten Masnahmen bei der Soforthilfe von Senfgasopfern. Hautkampfstoffe haben eine niedrige Mortalitat und eine hohe Morbiditat mit langen Krankenhausaufenthalten. Die Behandlung von Kampfstoffopfern in Krankenhausern besteht v. a. aus unterstutzender Therapie. Die Krankheitsverlaufe sind langwierig, und viele ehemalige Opfer haben jahrelange Folgeschaden. Es gibt keine Antidote gegen Hautkampfstoffe, auser gegen Lewisit, wogegen Britisch Anti-Lewisit (BAL) zur Verfugung steht.
Enumeration of the number of microprocesses of cultured murine T-lymphoma cells: A comparative study of two new morphometric methods

Two morphometric methods, one using a transmission electron microscope (TEM), the other using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), were developed to quantitate the number of surface microprocesses, discs or pores over spherical cells. The number of the surface processes over EL-4 murine T-lymphoma cells cultured in vitro were measured by the two methods. The measurement using TEM yielded 511 ± 45 microprocesses per cell, whereas SEM enumerated 532 ± 25 microprocesses per cell. The method using a TEM, in effect, results in reduction of observed data, and may have an advantage over the method using a SEM when the structures of interest are numerous.
Anomalously slow diffusion of single molecules near a patterned surface

Two-dimensional hexagonal arrays of micrometer-sized spheroidal cavities were fabricated from poly(vinyl alcohol) films on microscope cover glasses. The patterned surfaces in contact with solution and another regular cover glass were used to contain single molecules. Bursts of fluorescence from a series of single molecules entering and leaving the beam focus were observed. The molecules were all rotating rapidly compared with the fastest binning time of 100 μs. The fluorescence anisotropy decayed on the nanosecond time scale. The fluorescence spectra of mixtures of dyes confirmed that the bursts separated by time intervals of several to tens of seconds are from different molecules, while those bursts spanning intervals of several to tens of milliseconds are from the same molecule continually reentering the focus. The autocorrelation function of the time-resolved fluorescence intensity suggests a translational diffusion coefficient of 1.7 × 10-8 cm2 s-1 for 6-carboxyrhodamine 6G hydrochloride molecules nea...