cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A feasibility pilot study on the use of text messages to track PTSD symptoms after a traumatic injury.

Abstract Objective Monitoring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms after a traumatic injury is beneficial for patients and providers. Text messages can be used to automatically monitor symptoms and impose minimal burden to patients and providers. The present study piloted such a strategy with traumatic injury patients. Method An automated daily text message was piloted to evaluate PTSD symptoms after discharge from the hospital. Twenty-nine patients who experienced a traumatic injury received 15 daily texts and were then followed up at 1-month and 3-months after discharge. Results 82.8% of the sample responded at least once and the average response rate per participant was 63.1%. Response rates were correlated with PTSD symptoms at baseline but not at any other time. Patient satisfaction with this approach was high. Conclusion Text messages are a viable method to monitor PTSD symptoms after a traumatic injury. Such an approach should be evaluated on a larger scale as part of a more comprehensive early intervention for traumatic stress.
The 55 mph limits and front-to-rear collisions involving autos and large trucks

The effects of the establishment of 55 mph limits on front-to-rear crashes involving automobiles and trucks were examined. Since the establishment of 55 mph limits resulted in a reduction in the difference between the reported average speed of automobiles and large trucks, it provided an opportunity to examine the effects of speed differences on the. frequency of crash involvement of these vehicles. Principal results of the study were as follows: In 1974, the year of the introduction of 55 mph speed limits, a substantial reduction in the number of front-to-rear crashes involving an automobile and tractor trailer on higher speed roads occurred in the states whose experience was examined. A substantial decline in the number of front-to-rear crashes involving an auto and single body truck on higher speed roads also occurred in 1974 in these states. The decline in the number of front-to-rear crashes involving an automobile and tractor trailer on higher speed roads was primarily the result of a major decline in the number of crashes in which an auto struck a tractor trailer in the rear. The number of crashes in which a tractor trailer struck an auto in the rear declined by a much smaller percentage. The decline in the number of front-to-rear crashes involving an automobile and single body truck on higher speed roads resulted from comparable decreases in the number of crashes in which an auto struck a single body truck in the rear and those in which a single body truck struck an auto in the rear. Prior to the establishment of 55 mph limits, tractor trailers struck automobiles in the rear in more than half of the front-to-rear crashes involving these vehicles on both higher and lower speed roads. Because the major decline in the number of crashes in which autos struck tractor trailers in the rear following the introduction of the new limits was not matched by as large a decline in the number of crashes in which tractor trailers struck autos in the rear, there was a significant increase in the proportion of front-to-rear crashes involving an automobile and tractor trailer in which the tractor trailer struck the automobile in the rear on higher speed roads. Prior to the establishment of 55 mph limits, single body trucks struck automobiles in the rear in more than half of the front-to-rear crashes involving these vehicles on both higher and lower speed roads. However, single body trucks struck autos in the rear in a lower proportion of their front-to-rear crashes with autos than did tractor trailers. The proportion of front-to-rear crashes involving an automobile and single body truck in which an auto was struck in the rear by a single body truck was not significantly affected by the establishment of 55 mph limits.
Erythropoiesis in the spleen and bone marrow of the pregnant mouse.

Abstract The alterations in blood volume and in spleen and bone marrow erythropoiesis during pregnancy in mice of the C57BL 6J inbred strain have been explored. Blood volumes were shown to increase progressively, reaching 20% above nonpregnant levels by day 12 of gestation and an elevation of 75% at day 18. A progressive fall in hematocrit levels was observed to day 12, with lower than normal hematocrits maintained to term. Spleen weight doubled by day 12, and the spleen's content of nucleated cells increased 3- to 4-fold. Both size and cellularity decreased dramatically toward term. Spleen erythropoietic activity was measured both by Lepehne's staining for hemoglobin, of cells drawn from single-cell suspensions onto Millipore filters, and by uptake of 59Fe in short-term cultures. Splenic erythropoiesis increased sharply to a peak that represented a 40-fold increase by day 12; activity then declined markedly, coincident with the decline in spleen weight. Bone marrow erythropoietic activity increased moderately, reaching maximal values at day 12, and decreasing toward term. At the time of peak response, from days 11–13, the degree of anemia and the magnitude of splenic erythropoiesis were shown to depend directly upon litter size. The development of anemia was not prevented by injection of iron prior to mating, nor did the administration of iron prevent the dramatic drop in maternal splenic erythropoiesis between days 12 and 18 of gestation. Splenectomized mice were used to show that the spleen is not essential for the maintenance of erythropoietic homeostasis in pregnancy.
Some Features of Early Child-Adult Dialogues.

Adaptations to a partner perceived to be conversationally incompetent can be heard in speech to children, the hard-of-hearing, foreigners, speakers with certain speech defects, the aged, and hospital patients. These adaptations may be controlled partially by the actual performance of partners in conversations, through influences on perceived ability. The first half of this paper describes specific changes in children's conversational abilities in early childhood, which in turn may serve to alter how their partners judge their abilities to understand. The second half of the paper addresses the evidence regarding the level and types of changes in adult speech to children as the child's ability changes.
The Au-In-Pb system:The AuIn2-In-Pb portion

The Au-In-Pb system was investigated in the AuIn-In-Pb portion of the system. Pb-AuIn and Pb-AuIn2 quasibinary systems were found:the first, consisting of a eutectic and a monotectic reaction and the second, a eutectic with an inflection in the liquidus. The chief source of information was differential thermal analyses and verification by metallography, X-ray diffraction and microprobe analyses. Four isothermal reactions were found as follows: 1) L1 ⇌ L2 + AuIn2 + AuIn at 433°Celsius 2) L1 ⇌ Pb + AuIn2 + AuIn at 316°Celsius 3) Pb + L ⇌ α + AuIn2 at 172°Celsius 4) α1 + L ⇌ AuIn2 + In at 159°Celsius. Verification of these events and the isopleth from 50-50 wt pct Pb-In, a typical solder, to ≈ 47 wt pct Au are given.
Synthesis of CIT-3: a calcium aluminosilicate with the heulandite topology

Abstract The synthesis of CIT-3, a calcium aluminosilicate zeolite of composition CaO:Al2O3:7 7.2SiO2:6H2O possessing the HEU topology is accomplished by hydrothermal transformation of a specifically prepared zeolite P1 using calcium-containing solutions and HEU seeds. In the absence of seeds, a synthetic epistilbite phase is obtained. Details of the synthetic methodology necessary for the preparation of CIT-3 are enumerated.
Victimhood in the carceral culture of women's prisons

This article is a cultural analysis of how sexualized violence in the United States penal system is mediated by neo-conservative configurations of victimization that work to obscure gendered and racialized dimensions of violence against women in prison. I argue that the meanings of the term 'victim' over the last decade have undergone significant rhetorical and ideological developments that affect imprisoned women along gendered and racialized lines. Special attention will be given to the position of victim and victimhood in US culture following the terrorist attacks of the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. I argue that a renewed socio-cultural shift towards neo-conservatism initiated in the 1980s has retrenched the view that the US has been emasculated and its sovereignty rendered vulnerable to attack. In this discursive space, victimhood is no longer a political category aimed at the mobilization of policy and law reforms but rather provides the context through which sexual violence inside women's prisons gets obfuscated despite national efforts to address the prevalence of (male) prisoner rape. I suggest that the rape of women in prison is eclipsed by an anti-feminist backlash. Language: en
Relation Between Pantothenic Acid and Response to Growth Hormone in the Adult Rat

SummaryIt has been shown that the adult female rat, whose growth curve has “pla-teaued”, can be made to develop an acute pantothenic acid deficiency when stimulated to grow rapidly by the continued injection of anterior pituitary growth hormone. The deficiency, so produced, develops more rapidly and is more severe if the deficient diet is high in fat. It is concluded that pantothenic acid is required for the synthesis of protein in the body.
Swimming speeds of oyster larvaeCrassostrea virginica in different salinities and temperatures

Swimming speeds of oyster larvaeCrassostrea virginica were determined in constant and increasing salinities to learn more about the oyster larval “salinity response”. “Normal” non-directed swimming speeds ranged from less than 1 cm/min for early veligers to 5 cm/min for “eyed” veligers with temperature an important variable. When subjected to hourly salinity increases of 0.5‰, most larvae swam upward or downward at approximately 3 times the above speeds. Larvae with values closed in response to traces of formalin sank at speeds of 5 to 50 cm/min depending on larval stage. The results may explain the differential vertical position of larval stages in estuaries and suggest the presence of a taxic component to the salinity response.
Two-atom dark states in electromagnetic cavities

The center-of-mass motion of two two-level atoms coupled to a single damped mode of an electromagnetic resonator is investigated. For the case of one atom being initially excited and the cavity mode in the vacuum state, it is shown that the atomic time evolution is dominated by the appearance of dark states. These states, in which the initial excitation is stored in the internal atomic degrees of freedom and the atoms become quantum mechanically entangled, are almost immune against photon loss from the cavity. Various properties of the dark states within and beyond the Raman-Nath approximation of atom optics are worked out. @S1050-2947~99!06105-3#
Scale dependence of squark and gluino production cross sections

We investigate the choice of the renormalization and factorization scales for the production of squarks and gluinos at the Fermilab Tevatron collider as a function of the produced sparticle masses. We determine a scale to be used in leading-order perturbative QCD calculations {ital optimized} such that the normalization of the next-to-leading order cross section is reproduced. Use of this optimal scale permits at least a partial implementation of next-to-leading order contributions in leading order Monte Carlo simulations. We provide next-to-leading order predictions of the production cross sections for pairs of supersymmetric particles at the hadronic center-of-mass energy 2 TeV. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}
Reproductive ecology of the coral Astrangia lajollaensis: Sexual and asexual patterns in a kelp forest habitat.

The temperate water coral, Astrangia lajollaensis broadcasts a large number of small eggs. It propagates asexually by budding and regeneration, and forms two-dimensional colonies on hard rocky substrate. Sexual recruitment was absent and asexual propagation was slow during this study. I conclude that budding at the borders of colonies is not slowed by the presence of adjacent space competitors nor is it enhanced by their absence. A model of colony growth is presented and ages of colonies at the study site are predicted. The ecological roles of sexual and asexual reproduction in the kelp forest habitat of A. lajollaensis are discussed. The occurrence of A. lajollaensis population at a study site in Pacific Grove, California extends the northern range for the species. The nearest conspecifics are 200–300 km to the south. Establishment of this northern population probably occurred by settlement of planktonic planulae but the long-term persistence of the population may be possible only by the strategy of asexual propagation and regeneration.
Elementary theorems regarding blue isocurvature perturbations

Blue CDM-photon isocurvature perturbations are attractive in terms of observability and may be typical from the perspective of generic mass relations in supergravity. We present and apply three theorems useful for blue isocurvature perturbations arising from linear spectator scalar fields. In the process, we give a more precise formula for the blue spectrum associated with the axion model of Kasuya and Kawasaki [Axion Isocurvature Fluctuations with Extremely Blue Spectrum, Phys. Rev. D 80, 023516 (2009).], which can in a parametric corner give a factor of $O(10)$ correction. We explain how a conserved current associated with Peccei-Quinn symmetry plays a crucial role and explicitly plot several example spectra including the breaks in the spectra. We also resolve a little puzzle arising from a naive multiplication of isocurvature expression that sheds light on the gravitational imprint of the adiabatic perturbations on the fields responsible for blue isocurvature fluctuations.
New adaptive branch and bound algorithm for hyperspectral waveband selection for chicken skin tumor detection

Detection of skin tumors on chicken carcasses is considered. A chicken skin tumor consists of an ulcerous lesion region surrounded by a region of thickened-skin. We use a new adaptive branch-and-bound (ABB) feature selection algorithm to choose only a few useful wavebands from hyperspectral data for use in a real-time multispectral camera. The ABB algorithm selects an optimal feature subset and is shown to be much faster than any other versions of the branch and bound algorithm. We found that the spectral responses of the lesion and the thickened-skin regions of tumors are considerably different; thus we train our feature selection algorithm to separately detect the lesion regions and thickened-skin regions of tumors. We then fuse the two HS detection results of lesion and thickened-skin regions to reduce false alarms. Initial results on six hyperspectral cubes show that our method gives an excellent tumor detection rate and a low false alarm rate.
Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microprobe: A microanalytical instrument for trace element studies in geochemistry, cosmochemistry, and the soil and environmental sciences

Abstract The availability of high-brightness synchrotron radiation sources has permitted the development of X-ray microprobe instrumentation for trace element studies at high spatial resolution based on the X-ray fluorescence technique. The X-ray microprobe at beamline X26A at the National Synchrotron Light Source (Brookhaven National Laboratory) has been applied to a wide variety of problems in the earth, planetary, soil and environmental sciences, including: volatile element contents of micrometeorites, oxidation state heterogeneity of uranium in contaminated sediments, elemental compositions and speciation of flyash particles and the compositions of hydrothermal fluids based on inclusion analyses.
Readmission in the 30 days after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Objectives This study sought to identify the frequency and etiology of readmission within 30 days of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a large integrated healthcare system. Background One-fifth of Medicare patients are readmitted within 30 days of hospitalization. Identifying the causes of readmission may help identify strategies to prevent readmission. Methods All patients undergoing PCI (elective, urgent, and emergent) at our center between January 1, 2007, and April 12, 2010, were prospectively entered into the American College of Cardiology National Cardiovascular Data Registry. Patients readmitted to any hospital within 30 days of the index procedure were identified using an administrative database and telephone follow-up. Individual charts were reviewed independently by 2 investigators; disagreements regarding the cause for readmission were resolved by a third investigator. Results During the study period, 3,255 PCI were performed, and 262 patients (8.0%) were readmitted within 30 days. Of these, 261 (99.6%) had medical records available for review. Reasons for readmission included: complications related to the PCI (n = 31, 11.9%); non-PCI cardiac causes related to index admission (n = 93, 35.6%); noncardiac causes related to index admission (n = 34, 13%); causes unrelated to the index admission (n = 103, 39.5%). Multivariable logistic regression modeling revealed that female sex, advanced age, peripheral arterial disease, prior valvular surgery, and PCI complications during the index procedure were associated with 30-day readmission. Conclusions Readmissions within 30 days due to complications related to PCI performed on index admission are rare (0.9% of all PCI) and are an infrequent cause of readmission (
Cloning and functional analysis of BAG-1: A novel Bcl-2-binding protein with anti-cell death activity

Using a protein interaction cloning technique, we identified cDNAs that encode a novel Bcl-2-binding protein, termed BAG-1. The BAG-1 protein shares no significant homology with Bcl-2 or other Bcl-2 family proteins, which can form homo- and heterodimers. In gene transfer experiments using a human lymphoid cell line, Jurkat, coexpression of BAG-1 and Bcl-2 provided markedly increased protection from cell death induced by several stimuli, including staurosporine, anti-Fas antibody, and cytolytic T cells, relative to cells that contained gene transfer-mediated elevations in either BAG-1 or Bcl-2 protein alone. BAG-transfected 3T3 fibroblasts also exhibited prolonged cell survival in response to an apoptotic stimulus. The findings indicate that bag-1 represents a new type of anti-cell death gene and suggest that some routes of apoptosis induction previously ascribed to Bcl-2-independent pathways may instead reflect a need for the combination of Bcl-2 and BAG-1.
Memory for frequency in rats: role of the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex.

On a radial arm maze rats were tested for frequency memory of specific spatial locations, a task that presumably involves the coding of temporal information. On any trial during the study phase rats were allowed to visit three different spatial locations only once and one spatial location twice. During the test phase the rats were given a choice between a spatial location that had been visited once and spatial location that had been visited twice. The rats were reinforced for selecting the twice-visited spatial location. The number of spatial locations between a repetition (lag) was varied from one to three. After extensive training rats displayed memory for frequency only for a lag of three spatial locations, i.e., they displayed a repetition lag effect. Animals then received control, medial prefrontal cortex, or hippocampal lesions. Upon subsequent retests control rats continued to display frequency memory, but animals with medial prefrontal cortex or hippocampal lesions displayed a marked impairment. These data support the idea that both the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex code temporal order information.
The Census Bureau's Role in Research On Special Districts: a Critique

n 1957 John Bollens introduced his pioneering study of special districts by noting that they had become "the new dark continent of American politics" (1957: 1). In the three decades since the publication of Bollens' study, social scientists have investigated and debated various aspects of the growing reliance by state and local governments on special districts. But many areas of this "dark continent" remain unexplored. In 1982, as part of one of its own periodic reports on special districts, the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) noted that these entities constituted the fasting growing, most varied--but least studied--type of American government (1982: 356). The ACIR, and others, have called for more in-depth, comparative state studies of special districts. But the features of this "dark continent," however vaguely sketched by Bollens, the ACIR and others, may be considerably less clear than even these authors contend. Although the Census Bureau has been the principal source of the definitions, classification scheme and data used in these and many similar studies since the 1950s, systematic evaluations by independent researchers of the Bureau's approach to the study of special districts are not included in these studies, nor do they appear anywhere in the research literature on this subject. This paper reviews some of the controversies surrounding the proliferation of special districts, and the prominent role of the Census Bureau in the history of research on this topic. The Bureau's methods for defining and classifying special districts are evaluated. The quality of the Bureau's information on special districts is found to be seriously compromised in a number of ways, particularly from the standpoint of public policy research. For example, up to thirty percent of some types of districts counted by the Bureau are functionally inactive. The failure to count hundreds of districts engaged in public works financing results in the Bureau incorrectly categorizing as state obligations 42 percent of the special district debt issued for public works purposes. This discussion concludes with some of the implications of this evaluation: many existing studies of special districts based on Census Bureau infor-
Why Am I Still Doing This

I t is a great honor to have been elected president of this organization. I knew a year ago that I would have to make a few remarks today. At first I was tempted to review some clinical or research interest, or address the disturbing changes occurring in medicine: the loss of autonomy, prestige, and income. But on further reflection I would rather offer some personal observations about surgery to try to describe the qualities that attracted me to vascular surgery and keep me interested and committed. The title of this talk came to me several months ago at the end of a hectic day. There was an educational seminar, surgery in several hospitals, PHO, and committee meetings-you know what I mean. Finally while relaxing after a late dinner, I was asked to see a cardiac surgical patient on a respirator with abdominal distension, renal failure, and an ischemic leg following insertion of an intra-aortic balloon pump. After a few hours of surgery, I found myself sitting on a stool in the corner of the OR, groaning aloud, “Why am I still doing this?” The OR supervisor who overheard my whimpering answered, “Because, Doctor, you’re too young to retire and too old for a paper route; besides, you don’t know how to do anything else!” Well there is some truth here. But on further thought the real reason is that I love what I do.
Economic appraisal of antidepressant pharmacotherapy: critical review of the literature and future directions.

In the United States, an estimated $44 billion is expended annually for the treatment, morbidity, and mortality associated with depression. Domestic and international cost-containment initiatives are mandating a demonstration of value for money defined in terms of a measurable health and/or financial outcome, and, in the case of medicines, attributable to a given expenditure for a given pharmacotherapeutic option. Recent pharmacotherapeutic advances in the treatment of depression have included the development of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), thereby providing an alternative to tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). Herein, we review the pharmacoeconomic literature relative to antidepressant pharmacotherapy and identify issues for future inquiry. Depression and Anxiety, Volume 8, Supplement 1:121–127, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Synergy of ciprofloxacin and azlocillin in vitro and in a neutropenic mouse model of infection.

Combinations of ciprofloxacin with azlocillin, piperacillin and ticarcillin were tested in vitro against clinical isolates. Azlocillin plus ciprofloxacin showed synergy against 30% ofPseudomonas aeruginosaisolates; it was either synergistic or additive against 78% of all isolates tested even those resistant to the beta-lactam. Synergism was rarely noted forKlebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Enterobacterspp. orBranhamellaspp. isolates. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of ciprofloxacin plus azlocillin, plus piperacillin and plus ticarcillin againstPseudomonasspp. were reduced 4 or 2 fold, respectively. However, the combination azlocillin plus ciprofloxacin showed primarily indifference against gram-positive strains. Neutropenic mice infected with a lethal challenge ofPseudomonasspp. were protected by a combination of azlocillin and ciprofloxacin. Its additive and/or synergistic effects and expanded spectrum of activity against streptococci, methicillin-resistant staphylococci and JK corynebacteria may provide an alternative to traditional therapy.
A microchip-based enzyme assay for protein kinase A.

A microchip-based enzyme assay for protein kinase A is described. The microchips were prepared by standard photolithographic techniques. The assay reagents were placed in wells on the microchips, and electroosmosis was used to transport aliquots of these reagents into the network of etched channels, where the enzymatic reaction takes place. Protein kinase A catalyzes the transfer of a phosphate group from ATP to the serine residue of the heptapeptide LeuArgArgAlaSerLeuGly (Kemptide). The outcome of the enzymatic reaction was assessed by performing an on-chip electrophoretic separation of the fluorescently labeled peptide substrate and product. All liquid-handling steps were performed by controlling the electroosmotically driven flow from reagent and buffer wells using electrical current. On-chip dilutions of the peptide substrate, ATP and H-89, a known protein kinase A inhibitor, were performed and the kinetic constants (K(m), K(i)) of these compounds were determined. This prototype assay demonstrates the usefulness of the microchips for performing enzymatic assays for which fluorogenic substrates cannot easily be designed.
Commit-reconcile & fences (CRF): a new memory model for architects and compiler writers

We present a new mechanism-oriented memory model called Commit-Reconcile & Fences (CRF) and define it using algebraic rules. Many existing memory models can be described as restricted versions of CRF. The model has been designed so that it is both easy for architects to implement, and stable enough to serve as a target machine interface for compilers of high-level languages. The CRF model exposes a semantic notion of caches (saches), and decomposes load and store instructions into finer-grain operations. We sketch how to integrate CRF into modern microprocessors and outline an adaptive coherence protocol to implement CRF in distributed shared-memory systems. CRF offers an upward compatible way to design next generation computer systems.
Reduced-Complexity Joint Baseband Compensation of Phase Noise and I/Q Imbalance for MIMO-OFDM Systems

The maximum likelihood estimate of the impulse response of a frequency-selective channel in the presence of phase noise and I/Q imbalance is derived. The complexity of the joint estimator is reduced using approximate cost functions for both phase noise and I/Q imbalance. The proposed estimator is first applied to OFDM transmission in a single-input single-output system and then generalized to multi-input multi-output OFDM systems. The bit error rate performance of popular space-time codes for two and four transmit antennas is evaluated under zero-forcing, minimum mean squared error and maximum likelihood detection rules. An expression for the residual inter-carrier interference variance after phase noise and I/Q imbalance compensation is derived and compared to the uncompensated case. Significant improvement in signal-to-interference-noise is obtained with the proposed algorithm.
Sex and estrogen influence drug abuse

Evidence is accumulating that the etiology, epidemiology, consequences and mechanisms that underlie drug abuse are different in males and females. In this review, we present examples of sex differences in all phases of drug abuse, including acquisition, steady-state maintenance, escalation, dysregulation, withdrawal, relapse and treatment. Most reported findings are based on laboratory research in animals, but there are corroborating reports from human clinical and epidemiological studies. In all phases of drug abuse, females seem to be more sensitive to the rewarding effects of drugs than males, and estrogen is a major factor that underlies these sex differences.
Reservoir Design and Operation with Variable Lake Hydrology

This research quantifies the impact of lake evaporation and rainfall on optimal reservoir capacity and water yield. A reservoir design and operation model was developed and applied to the Santa Ynez River basin of central California, which endures large evapotranspiration and extreme climatic variability. Reservoir design and average annual water yield were obtained in two cases. First, lake evaporation and rainfall fluxes were taken into account in the water balance of the reservoir system. Second, those same fluxes were ignored. The optimization-model results indicate that in-lake hydrology plays a considerable role on estimates of optimal reservoir capacity and yield. Furthermore, results indicate that the lack of proper consideration of in-lake hydrology leads us to err on the side of greater risk. Specifically, reservoir capacity and average water release are under and overestimated, respectively. The optimization model is particularly well-suited for modeling reservoir systems with active in-lake hydrologic fluxes and allows a variety of objective functions to be considered, thus, providing flexibility in the optimization of reservoir design and operation.
Control of moisture ingress into photovoltaic modules

During long-term exposure of photovoltaic modules to environmental stress, the ingress of water into the module is correlated with decreased performance. By using diffusivity measurements for water through encapsulants such as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), we have modeled moisture ingress using a finite-element analysis with atmospheric data from various locations such as Miami, Florida. This analysis shows that because of the high diffusivity of EVA, even an impermeable glass back-sheet alone is incapable of preventing significant moisture ingress from the edges for a 20-year lifecycle. This result has led us to investigate ways to protect module from the moisture through the use of different encapsulating chemistries and materials.
Gender and Other Factors Associated with the Nonmedical Use of Abusable Prescription Drugs

Although there is extensive research on gender differences in the use of alcohol and illicit substances, few studies have examined gender differences in nonmedical prescription drug use. Using data from the 1991 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), based on a sample of 3185 persons, logistic regression analysis is employed to determine how gender and other factors affect the likelihood of past-year nonmedical prescription drug use. Analysis revealed that women are significantly more likely than men to use any prescription drug, and that this gender difference is primarily driven by women's increased risk for narcotic analgesic and minor tranquilizer nonmedical use. Other factors, such as race, age, health status, and other substance use, also are significant predictors of nonmedical use. Findings from this study will enable researchers, policy makers, and providers to have a greater understanding of nonmedical drug use patterns and support greater gender sensitivity in the prevention, educatio...
The impact of wavelet selection on transient motor current signature analysis

This paper focuses on comparing the results using different wavelets for the detection of broken rotor bars in induction machines, operating under transient conditions. In Fourier analysis the basis functions are complex exponentials producing the same results for a particular waveform being analyzed. However in wavelet analysis the basis functions could be any permissible wavelets and the results produced are unique to the selected wavelet. Some wavelets are more efficient at encoding, denoising, compressing, decomposing and reconstructing signals than others. It is therefore desirable to select a wavelet that produces the best results for the signal being analyzed. The results show that using higher order wavelets improve the ability to detect broken rotor bars in induction machines operating under transient conditions
Reflective inquiry and “The Fate of Reason”

What particular privilege has this little Agitation of the Brain which we call Thought, that we must make it the Model of the whole Universe? (Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, 1976, p. 168) ****** ...at once it struck me, what quality went to form a Man (sic) of Achievement especially in Literature and which Shakespeare possessed so enormously�I mean Negative Capability, that is when someone is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts without any irritable reaching after fact and reason. (Keats 1959, p. 261) ****** Die menschliche Vernunft hat das besondere Schicksal in ihrer Gattung ihrer Erkenntnisse: dass sie durch Fragen belastigt wird, die sie nicht abweisen kann; denn sie sind ihr durch die Natur der Vernunft selbst aufgegeben, die sie aber auch nicht beantworten kann; denn sie ubersteigen alles Vermogen der menschlichen Vernunft. (Opening lines of the Kritik der reinen Vernunft (1956), A VII; the italics in the text are mine) Human reason has the particular fa ...
On the physical mechanisms of drag reduction in a spatially developing turbulent boundary layer laden with microbubbles

The objective of this paper is to explain, in as much detail as possible, the physical mechanisms responsible for the reduction of skin friction in a microbubble-laden spatially developing turbulent boundary layer over a flat plate, for ; and (ii) it moves the location of peak Reynolds stress production away from the wall to a zone of a smaller transverse gradient of the mean streamwise velocity (i.e. smaller mean shear), thus reducing the production rate of turbulence kinetic energy and enstrophy.
Diet-dependent cardiovascular lipid metabolism controlled by hepatic LXRα

Summary The high-cholesterol/high-fat Western diet has abetted an epidemic of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in industrialized nations. Liver X receptors (LXRs) are oxysterol sensors that are required for normal cholesterol and triglyceride homeostasis, yet synthetic LXR agonists produce undesirable hypertriglyceridemia. Here we report a previously unrecognized role for hepatic LXRα in the links between diet, serum lipids, and atherosclerosis. A modest increase in hepatic LXRα worsened serum lipid profiles in LDL-receptor null mice fed normal chow but had the opposite effect on lipids and afforded strong protection against atherosclerosis on a Western diet. The beneficial effect of hepatic LXRα was abrogated by a synthetic LXR agonist, which activated SREBP-1c and its target genes. Thus, the interplay between diet and hepatic LXRα is a critical determinant of serum lipid profiles and cardiovascular risk, and selective modulation of LXR target genes in liver can ameliorate hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular disease.
Under-recognition of alarms in a neonatal intensive care unit

Background Treatment decisions for apnoea of prematurity (AOP) are usually based on nursing staff's documentation of pulse oximeter and heart rate alarms. Objective In an observational study, to compare the accuracy of oxygen saturation (SpO2) and heart rate alarm documentation, and the resulting interventions by nursing staff, with objectively registered events using polysomnographic and video recording. Methods Data on 21 preterm neonates (12 male) with a diagnosis of AOP were analysed. Nursing staff's desaturation (<80% SpO2) and bradycardia (<80/min) alarm documentation was compared with events registered objectively using simultaneous polysomnography. Interventions by nursing staff were evaluated using 24 h video recordings and compared with their chart documentation. Nursing staff had been unaware that the polygraphic and video recordings would be used subsequently for this purpose. Results Median (minimum–maximum) postnatal age was 15.5 (3–65) days. 968 SpO2 desaturation events and 415 bradycardias were documented by polysomnography. Nursing staff registered 23% of these desaturation events, and 60% of bradycardias (n=223, and n=133, respectively). Intraclass correlation coefficient (95% CI) between objectively measured desaturation events and those documented by nursing staff was 0.14 (−0.31 to 0.53); and for bradycardias 0.51 (0.11 to 0.78). 225 nursing staff interventions were registered on video, of which 87 (39%) were documented. Conclusions The alarm documentation by neonatal intensive care unit staff does not appear to be sufficiently accurate to permit further understanding and treatment of AOP. It is unclear if the alarms missed here would have led to clinical consequences had they been documented.
Iterative approach to model identification of biological networks

Recent advances in molecular biology techniques provide an opportunity for developing detailed mathematical models of biological processes. An iterative scheme is introduced for model identification using available system knowledge and experimental measurements. The scheme includes a state regulator algorithm that provides estimates of all system unknowns (concentrations of the system components and the reaction rates of their inter-conversion). The full system information is used for estimation of the model parameters. An optimal experiment design using the parameter identifiability and D-optimality criteria is formulated to provide "rich" experimental data for maximizing the accuracy of the parameter estimates in subsequent iterations. The importance of model identifiability tests for optimal measurement selection is also considered. The iterative scheme is tested on a model for the caspase function in apoptosis where it is demonstrated that model accuracy improves with each iteration. Optimal experiment design was determined to be critical for model identification. The proposed algorithm has general application to modeling a wide range of cellular processes, which include gene regulation networks, signal transduction and metabolic networks.
THE FDA'S PERSPECTIVE ON THE EVALUATION OF TUMOR MARKER TESTS

Cancer marker tests are often proposed for three intended uses: screening, diagnosis, and monitoring. For each intended use, performance characteristics need to be well defined. The utility of a marker in a given setting depends heavily on two predominant performance characteristics--sensitivity and specificity. These parameters must be established with respect to the intended clinical use of the marker. The value of the marker in a particular situation also depends on the effectiveness of therapy for the malignancy. In reviewing a cancer marker test, the US Food and Drug Administration focuses on both the proposed intended use statement and the clinical utility of the marker. The sponsor is expected to provide specific claims data in support of the safety and effectiveness of the device through well-designed and -executed clinical studies. Several cancer markers are already available. In the future, new markers are anticipated that may greatly expand the range of usefulness in cancer diagnosis screening and monitoring.
Command Governor-Based Adaptive Control

Even though an important prerequisite for an adaptive controller is the ability to adapt fast in the face of large system uncertainties, fast adaptation with high-gain learning rates can be a serious limitation due to the fact that it can possibly yield to high-frequency oscillations especially during the transient system response. Therefore, achieving fast adaptation with low-gain learning rates and predictable transient and steady-state system response is the challenge for the adaptive control theorist today. To that end, we introduce a novel command governor architecture for adaptive stabilization and command following. Specifically, the proposed command governor is a linear dynamical system which adjusts the trajectories of a given command in order to follow an ideal reference system both in transient time and steady-state without resorting to high-gain learning rates in the adaptation law. It is shown that by choosing the design parameter of the command governor, the controlled nonlinear uncertain dynamical system can approach a Hurwitz linear time-invariant dynamical system with L∞ input-output signals. This provides a systematic framework for verification and validation of adaptive control systems and the proposed command governor can be used in a complimentary way with many other approaches to adaptive control.
The Type Ic Supernova 1994I in M51: Detection of Helium and Spectral Evolution

We present a series of spectra of SN 1994I in M51, starting 1 week prior to maximum brightness. The nebular phase began about 2 months after the explosion; together with the rapid decline of the optical light, this suggests that the ejected mass was small. Although lines of He I in the optical region are weak or absent, consistent with the Type Ic classification, we detect strong He I λ10830 absorption during the first month past maximum. Thus, if SN 1994I is a typical Type Ic supernova, the atmospheres of these objects cannot be completely devoid of helium. The emission-line widths are smaller than predicted by the model of Nomoto and coworkers, in which the iron core of a low-mass carbon-oxygen star collapses. They are, however, larger than in Type Ib supernovae.
Discovery and Mapping of Wheat Ph1 Suppressors

Pairing between wheat (Triticum turgidum and T. aestivum) homeologous chromosomes is prevented by the expression of the Ph1 locus on the long arm of chromosome 5B. The genome of Aegilops speltoides suppresses Ph1 expression in wheat × Ae. speltoides hybrids. Suppressors with major effects were mapped as Mendelian loci on the long arms of Ae. speltoides chromosomes 3S and 7S. The chromosome 3S locus was designated Su1-Ph1 and the chromosome 7S locus was designated Su2-Ph1. A QTL with a minor effect was mapped on the short arm of chromosome 5S and was designated QPh.ucd-5S. The expression of Su1-Ph1 and Su2-Ph1 increased homeologous chromosome pairing in T. aestivum × Ae. speltoides hybrids by 8.4 and 5.8 chiasmata/cell, respectively. Su1-Ph1 was completely epistatic to Su2-Ph1, and the two genes acting together increased homeologous chromosome pairing in T. aestivum × Ae. speltoides hybrids to the same level as Su1-Ph1 acting alone. QPh.ucd-5S expression increased homeologous chromosome pairing by 1.6 chiasmata/cell in T. aestivum × Ae. speltoides hybrids and was additive to the expression of Su2-Ph1. It is hypothesized that the products of Su1-Ph1 and Su2-Ph1 affect pairing between homeologous chromosomes by regulating the expression of Ph1 but the product of QPh.ucd-5S may primarily regulate recombination between homologous chromosomes.
Kernel density estimation-based real-time prediction for respiratory motion

Effective delivery of adaptive radiotherapy requires locating the target with high precision in real time. System latency caused by data acquisition, streaming, processing and delivery control necessitates prediction. Prediction is particularly challenging for highly mobile targets such as thoracic and abdominal tumors undergoing respiration-induced motion. The complexity of the respiratory motion makes it difficult to build and justify explicit models. In this study, we honor the intrinsic uncertainties in respiratory motion and propose a statistical treatment of the prediction problem. Instead of asking for a deterministic covariate-response map and a unique estimate value for future target position, we aim to obtain a distribution of the future target position (response variable) conditioned on the observed historical sample values (covariate variable). The key idea is to estimate the joint probability distribution (pdf) of the covariate and response variables using an efficient kernel density estimation method. Then, the problem of identifying the distribution of the future target position reduces to identifying the section in the joint pdf based on the observed covariate. Subsequently, estimators are derived based on this estimated conditional distribution. This probabilistic perspective has some distinctive advantages over existing deterministic schemes: (1) it is compatible with potentially inconsistent training samples, i.e., when close covariate variables correspond to dramatically different response values; (2) it is not restricted by any prior structural assumption on the map between the covariate and the response; (3) the two-stage setup allows much freedom in choosing statistical estimates and provides a full nonparametric description of the uncertainty for the resulting estimate. We evaluated the prediction performance on ten patient RPM traces, using the root mean squared difference between the prediction and the observed value normalized by the standard deviation of the observed data as the error metric. Furthermore, we compared the proposed method with two benchmark methods: most recent sample and an adaptive linear filter. The kernel density estimation-based prediction results demonstrate universally significant improvement over the alternatives and are especially valuable for long lookahead time, when the alternative methods fail to produce useful predictions.
A computational environment to simulate complex tendinous topologies

Static and dynamic manipulation of objects with the fingertips (precision pinch) is essential to the activities of daily living. Despite numerous efforts to study the hand and its pinch function, a comprehensive understanding of biomechanical function and neuromuscular control of the fingers eludes researchers. To make progress in understanding precision pinch we are creating biomechanical models to simulate finger function, neuromuscular control and rehabilitation. An important challenge in creating biomechanical models of the fingers is to simulate the tension distribution in the extensor mechanism - a defining biomechanical feature of the fingers consisting of a tendinous network that wraps over the dorsum of the phalanges. We have created a biomechanical modeling environment that can, among other things, predict tension distribution in the extensor mechanism. Our predictions show that the distribution of tension can be very sensitive to the assumed network topology -the number of elements and their connectivity.