cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Unattended sensors for nuclear threat detection

This paper discusses the ongoing development of a compact, unattended, and low-power radiation detection system designed for deployment to the front lines of nuclear proliferation. Current countermeasure deployments aim to detect nuclear threats by screening cargo containers abroad or at ports of entry, but the defensive nature of these systems means that they face the immense challenge of detecting intentionally-concealed materials. A complementary strategy places countermeasures closer to the source of nuclear proliferation, but deployments to these regions often must operate autonomously and in the absence of infrastructure. This application motivates our development of a low-power system capable of detecting gamma-ray and neutron emissions while operating autonomously for extended periods of time. Many challenges are present when developing radiation-detection systems for this application, and this paper describes work focused on two of them: the development of compact, low-power electronics for gamma-ray-spectrometer and 3He- tube signal processing, and analysis algorithms capable of distinguishing threats from benign sources in mid-resolution gamma-ray spectrometers. We discuss our development efforts on these fronts and present results based on implementation in a proof-of-principle system comprised of two 5 cm x 10 cm x 41 cm NaI(Tl) crystals and eight 40-cm 3He tubes.
Proposed Array-Based Deep Space Network for NASA

The current assets of the deep space network (DSN) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), especially the 70-m antennas, are aging and becoming less reliable. Furthermore, they are expensive to operate and difficult to upgrade for operation at Ka-band (321 GHz is shorthand for the allocated 31.8-32.3 GHz. GHz). Replacing them with comparable monolithic large antennas would be expensive. On the other hand, implementation of similar high-sensitivity assets can be achieved economically using an array-based architecture, where sensitivity is measured by G/T, the ratio of antenna gain to system temperature. An array-based architecture would also provide flexibility in operations and allow for easy addition of more G/T whenever required. Therefore, an array-based plan of the next-generation DSN for NASA has been proposed. The DSN array would provide more flexible downlink capability compared to the current DSN for robust telemetry, tracking and command services to the space missions of NASA and its international partners in a cost-effective way. Instead of using the array as an element of the DSN and relying on the existing concept of operation, we explore a broader departure in establishing a more modern concept of operations to reduce the operations costs. This paper presents the array-based architecture for the next-generation DSN. It includes system block diagram, operations philosophy, user's view of operations, operations management, and logistics like maintenance philosophy and anomaly analysis and reporting. To develop the various required technologies and understand the logistics of building the array-based low-cost system, a breadboard array of three antennas has been built. This paper briefly describes the breadboard array system and its performance.
The high pressure interaction of phosphorus trifluoride with transition metal oxides

Abstract The reaction of PF3 at 4000 atm and at 300° with NiO results in the formation of Ni(PF3)4, when combined with NiO, MoO3 and WO3 in the presence of magnesium Ni(PF3)4, Mo(PF3)6 and W(PF3)6 were formed. When Cr2O3, CrO3, RuO2, Na2MoO4, ZrO, V2O5, TiO2, Fe2O3, CoO, OsO4, Ta2O5, MnO and RuO2 with magnesium were combined with PF3 at 4000 atm and at 300°, OPF3 and [F2P(O)]2O were isolated indicating a reduction of the metal oxide.
In vivo stimulation of CD137 broadens primary antiviral CD8 + T cell responses

Given the key role CD8+ T cells play in controlling viral infection, strategies to enhance these responses may have important clinical applications. We found that in vivo CD137 stimulation with an agonistic monoclonal antibody enhanced the primary CD8+ T cell response to influenza type A viral infection in mice. Stimulation of CD137 increased the absolute number of CD8+ T cells to influenza epitopes in the lungs of infected animals, preferentially expanded CD8+ T cells that recognized nondominant epitopes and greatly enhanced direct ex vivo cytotoxicity. CD137 stimulation also restored the CD8+ T cell response to the immunodominant influenza epitope in CD28−/− mice. Thus, in vivo CD137 stimulation enhances and broadens the CD8+ T cell response to influenza virus and can restore the CD8+ T cell response when CD28 costimulation is absent. This suggests that CD137 stimulation may be useful as a strategy to enhance the CD8+ T cell response to viruses.
A case of pulmonary artery dissection diagnosed in the Emergency Department

Pulmonary artery dissections typically occur at the site of a pulmonary artery aneurysm associated with pulmonary hypertension or connective tissue disease. Dyspnea on exertion, retrosternal chest pain, central cyanosis, and sudden hemodynamic decompensation are the four main clinical signs and symptoms associated with a pulmonary artery dissection. Diagnosis of a pulmonary artery dissection frequently occurs postmortem, as many of these patients experience sudden death when the main pulmonary artery dissects into the pericardium, causing acute cardiac tamponade. Pulmonary artery dissection has been diagnosed in living patients using transthoracic echocardiogram, computed tomography (CT) scanning, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and angiography. Surgery is curative. Emergency physicians should consider the diagnosis of pulmonary artery dissection in patients presenting with either retrosternal chest pain, dyspnea on exertion, central cyanosis, or sudden hemodynamic decompensation and who have a past medical history of pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary artery surgery, or a disease causing chronic inflammation of myocardial or vascular tissue.
Peripheral serotonin antagonists: failure to antagonize serotonin in brain areas receiving a prominent serotonergic input.

It has been suggested that drugs block the effects of serotonin (5-HT) in the brain based on (1) the ability to block the effects of 5-HT on smooth muscle and on invertebrate neurons (e.g., cinanserin, cyproheptadine, methysergide [UML], and metergoline [MCE]) and (2) the ability to block certain gross electrophysiological effects of 5-hydroxytryptophan (e.g., methiothepin). Although these “antagonists” are often assumed to block all 5-HT receptors in the CNS, the ability of these drugs to block 5-HT at documented 5-HT synapses in the brain has not been thoroughly tested. Since 5-HT may produce either excitation or inhibition, these antagonists were evaluated with respect to both types of responses. Only inhibition is produced by 5-HT on cells in areas receiving a heavy serotonergic input (e.g., ventral lateral geniculate, optic tectum and amygdala) as determined by fluorescent histochemistry. Raphe cells, virtually the only 5-HT-containing neurons in the CNS, are also inhibited by 5-HT. Cells in the reticular formation, an area which receives little or no 5-HT input may be either excited or inhibited by 5-HT. The five putative antagonists do not block the inhibitory response to 5-HT in any of these areas. The excitatory response to 5-HT in the reticular formation can be blocked by the putative antagonists. However, the failure of these compounds to block 5-HT in any of the three areas tested that receive a heavy serotonergic input casts doubt on the assumption that any one of these compounds is a universal central 5-HT antagonist.
Metropolitan area racial residential segregation, neighborhood racial composition, and breast cancer mortality

There are significant relationships between racial residential segregation (RRS) and a range of health outcomes, including cancer-related outcomes. This study explores the contribution of metropolitan area RRS, census tract racial composition and breast cancer and all-cause mortality among black and white breast cancer patients. This study has three units of analysis: women diagnosed with breast cancer (n = 22,088), census tracts where they lived at diagnosis (n = 1,373), and the metropolitan statistical area (MSA)/micropolitan statistical area (MiSA) where they lived at diagnosis (n = 37). Neighborhood racial composition was measured as the percent of black residents in the census tract. Metropolitan area RRS was measured using the Information Theory Index. Multilevel Cox proportional hazards models examined the association of metropolitan area RRS and census tract racial composition with breast cancer and all-cause mortality. Survival analysis explored and compared the risk of death in women exposed to environments where a higher and lower proportion of residents were black. Breast cancer mortality disparities were largest in racially mixed tracts located in high MSA/MiSA segregation areas (RR = 2.06, 95 % CI 1.70, 2.50). For black but not white women, as MSA/MiSA RRS increased, there was an increased risk for breast cancer mortality (HR = 2.20, 95 % CI 1.09, 4.45). For all-cause mortality, MSA/MiSA segregation was not a significant predictor, but increasing tract percent black was associated with increased risk for white but not black women (HR 1.29, 95 % CI 1.05, 1.58). Racial residential segregation may influence health for blacks and whites differently. Pathways through which RRS patterns impact health should be further explored.
Evaluating the effectiveness of independent verification and validation

The complexity of today's software systems mandates a structured approach to development and a verification and validation process that ensure that the right product is built and that it is built right. A V&V process is critical for those high-consequence systems in which a software failure can result in injury or death or where live testing is not feasible. NASA Langley Research Center funded a study to examine the effectiveness of the Army's Software Engineering Evaluation System (SEES). The project led to a study designed to examine the benefits of using SEES as an independent V&V methodology. The study consisted of two independent-development groups. Each was given an identical set of requirements that outlined a solution to a particular problem. The authors asked both groups to design, code, and test their software. The results indicate that IV&V provides a significant value-added component to the software development process.
On the gravitational structure of elementary particles

Gravitational Bags are spherically symmetric solutions of higher dimensional Kaluza-Klein (K-K) theories, where the compact dimensions become very large near the center of the geometry, although they are small elsewhere. K-K excitations become therefore very light when located near the center of this geometry and this appears to affect drastically the naive tower of masses spectrum of K-K theories. In the context of string theories, string excitations can be enclosed by Gravitational Bags, making them not only lighter, but also localized as observed by somebody who does not probe the central regions. Strings however can still have divergent sizes, as quantum mechanics seems to demand, since the extra dimensions blow up at the center of the geometry.
Will absolute fracture risk prediction facilitate treatment of osteoporosis

Development of valid risk prediction tools for osteoporosis could substantially improve patient care. These tools have the potential to identify individuals at increased fracture risk and specifically direct interventions towards them rather than low-risk individuals. In this Practice Point commentary, I discuss a study by Hans et al. that adds to our current understanding of fracture risk prediction. This large, prospective study aimed to develop a 10-year hip fracture risk prediction tool that combined quantitative ultrasound of the heel bone with clinical risk factors. The authors found that combined use of these parameters was highly predictive of future fracture risk in a cohort of almost 13,000 elderly, white, European women. Significant clinical risk factors included BMI, previous fracture, history of recent fall, current smoking, failed chair test, and diabetes mellitus; age was also found to be a significant risk factor. Before embracing such tools, however, we must acknowledge some important unknowns about their utility.
Proactive or reactive IT leaders? A test of two competing hypotheses of IT innovation and environment alignment

When does it benefit a firm to take a lead in innovation with information technology (IT)? How should a firm align its IT innovation with a dynamic industry? In addressing these questions we present a typology of IT Innovation and Environment Alignment (ITIEA) based on a firm's IT innovation strategic orientation and the industry environment. The traditional ‘fit’ perspective predicts that a firm that matches its IT innovation with a dynamic environment would obtain performance benefits. In contrast, the ‘options’ perspective suggests that a firm that takes advantage of a stable environment to proactively pursue IT innovation and develop IT capability as real options would obtain performance advantage. We employ a quasi-experiment design to test these two competing hypotheses using archival data of IT leaders over a time frame of 6 years. We perform a longitudinal analysis of the performance change trajectories of proactive and reactive IT leaders over time. The results indicate a general support for the ‘options’ perspective that proactive IT leaders that lead in innovation with IT in relatively stable environments are found to consistently outperform reactive IT leaders in overall performance, allocative efficiency, and cost efficiency in management process. However, interestingly, the results also show a partial support for the ‘fit’ perspective that reactive IT leaders that emphasize intensive deployment of IT innovation in dynamic environments are found to obtain a cost advantage in production and operation process over time. The findings offer practical implications for managers to better engage in IT innovations to create and sustain competitive advantage. Synthesizing options thinking and dynamic capability perspective, we provide a framework to better understand IT innovation, dynamic environment, and performance outcomes. The findings also shed useful light on whether, when, and how to innovate with IT for sustained competitive advantage.
Cerebrospinal fluid pressure decreases with older age.

Purpose Clinical studies implicate low cerebrospinal fluid pressure (CSFP) or a high translaminar pressure difference in the pathogenesis of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and normal tension glaucoma (NTG). This study was performed to examine the effect of age, sex, race and body mass index (BMI) on CSFP. Methods Electronic medical records from all patients who had a lumbar puncture (LP) performed at the Mayo Clinic from 1996–2009 were reviewed. Information including age, sex, race, height and weight, ocular and medical diagnoses, intraocular pressure (IOP) and LP opening pressure was obtained. Patients using medications or with medical diagnoses known to affect CSFP, and those who underwent neurosurgical procedures or where more than one LP was performed were excluded from analysis. Results Electronic medical records of 33,922 patients with a history of having an LP during a 13-year period (1996–2009) were extracted. Of these, 12,118 patients met all entry criteria. Relative to mean CSFP at age group 20–49 (mean 11.5±2.8 mmHg), mean CSFP declined steadily after age 50, with percent reduction of 2.5% for the 50–54 age group (mean 11.2±2.7 mmHg, p<0.002) to 26.9% for the 90–95 group (mean 8.4±2.4 mmHg, p<0.001). Females had lower CSFP than males throughout all age groups. BMI was positively and independently associated with CSFP within all age groups. Conclusion There is a sustained and significant reduction of CSFP with age that begins in the 6th decade. CSFP is consistently lower in females. BMI is positively and independently associated with CSFP in all age groups. The age where CSFP begins to decline coincides with the age where the prevalence of POAG increases. These data support the hypothesis that reduced CSFP may be a risk factor for POAG and may provide an explanation for the mechanism that underlies the age-related increase in the prevalence of POAG and NTG.
Possibilistic image processing

There are many methods of processing a digitized image. Some are local, such as edge finding, and some are global, such as contrast enhancement. There are frequency domain methods (using the Fourier transform) and spatial domain methods that process the direct values. Among all these methods, the maximum entropy (ME) method claims to do the best job, though sometimes at a computationally high burden. Adaptive Kalman filters are claimed to be as good as ME and computationally more attractive. Outside the analytic world, neural networks and fuzzy set theory have been applied with remarkable results. This paper presents a new methodology based on possibility theory that is in some ways analogous to the ME method of probability theory.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Conformational Changes in S6 Coupled to the Opening of Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels

In cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNG), direct binding of cyclic nucleotides in the carboxy-terminal region is allosterically coupled to opening of the pore. A CNG1 channel pore was probed using site-directed cysteine substitution to elucidate conformational changes associated with channel opening. The effects of cysteine modification on permeation suggest a structural homology between CNG and KcsA pores. We found that intersubunit disulfide bonds form spontaneously between S399C residues in the helix bundle when channels are in the closed but not in the open state. While MTSET modification of pore-lining residues was state dependent, Ag(+) modification of V391C, in the inner vestibule, occurred at the same diffusion-limited rate in both open and closed states. Our results suggest that the helix bundle undergoes a conformational change associated with gating but is not the activation gate for CNG channels.
Limits on the effect of pressure on isotopic fractionation

The equilibrium distribution of oxygen isotopes between calcium carbonate and water was determined at 500°C at pressures from 1 to 20 kbar and at 700°C at pressures of 0.5 and 1 kbar. At both temperatures, the pressure-dependence of the fractionation factor was below the limit of detection. The experimental results are consistent with theoretical estimates of the volume change due to isotope substitution. Application of the theory to silicate systems leads to the conclusion that pressure effects on oxygen isotopic fractionation between silicates are < 0.2% at pressures of tens of kilobars. Thus the observed large variations of O18/O16 ratio in kimberlitic eclogites cannot be attributed to the effect of pressure
Spousal suffering and partner's depression and cardiovascular disease: the Cardiovascular Health Study.

Objectives To assess the effects of suffering in a spouse on prevalent and incident psychiatric (depression) and physical morbidity (cardiovascular disease [CVD]) in their partner, controlling for known risk factors for depression and CVD. Design Descriptive longitudinal study. Participants A total of 1,330 older married couples enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a large epidemiologic study of the elderly. Measurements Predictor variables were physical, psychological, and existential/spiritual indicators of suffering. Primary outcomes were prevalent and incident depression and CVD. Results Controlling for known risk factors for depression, the authors found a dose-response relationship between suffering in a spouse and concurrent depression in their partner as well as a relationship between suffering and the partner's future risk for depression. With respect to CVD, and controlling for subclinical CVD at baseline, husbands whose wives reported high levels of suffering also had higher rates of prevalent CVD, but there were no significant associations between wives suffering and husbands incident CVD. There were no associations between husbands' suffering and wives' prevalent or incident CVD. Conclusion Exposure to spousal suffering is an independent and unique source of distress in married couples that contributes to psychiatric and physical morbidity. More attention should be paid to the interpersonal effects of suffering in married couples and to its role in contributing to morbidity.
Predicting the Behavioral Intention to Use Collaborative Meeting Technologies: A Goal Attainment Mediated by Meeting Satisfaction Model

Although meeting technologies offer great benefits in increasing productivity of teamwork, their organizational adoption is often challenging. Various studies on the antecedents of adopting and using such technologies identified a number of factors that predict adoption, for example satisfaction with process. This paper presents and examines a model of a user's behavioral intention (BI) to use a collaborative technology. In particular, study the effects of satisfaction with process (SP) and perceived goal attainment (GA) in predicting a user behavioral intention (BI) to use a collaborative technology. Following Baron and Kenny's [1] procedure, we found that satisfaction with process (SP) significantly mediates the relationship between goal attainment (GA) and the behavioral intention (BI) of using a collaborative technology.
Economic Impact Analysis of Terrorism Events: Recent Methodological Advances and Findings

National security is a basic responsibility of national governments, but it is also intangible. What can economic analysis contribute? Benefit-cost analysis has rarely been applied because of the ambiguous and commons nature of the benefits. Our group at the University of Southern California’s Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism (CREATE) has worked to elaborate and apply economic impact analysis to describe the expected losses from various hypothetical terrorist attacks. Our innovation has been to add a spatial dimension to operational inter-industry models.
What Follows Survival of Critical Illness? Physical Therapists' Management of Patients With Post–Intensive Care Syndrome

Historically, the management of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) has involved immobilization and sedation, with care focused on physiological impairments and survival. Because more ICU patients are now surviving their hospital stay, it is imperative that their ICU care be managed with the goal of long-term health, wellness, and functioning. The evidence confirms that mobilization and exercise are feasible in the ICU and demonstrates that the benefits of early mobilization include reduced length of stay in the ICU and hospital. In 2010, the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) invited key stakeholder groups, including the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), to identify strategies to improve long-term consequences following ICU discharge, including early mobilization in the ICU and integration of the physical therapist as a member of the ICU team. This model appears to be successful in some institutions, but there is variation among institutions. The SCCM Task Force developed major areas of focus that require multidisciplinary action to improve long-term outcomes after discharge from an ICU. This article describes physical therapist practice in the management of ICU survivors, the importance of long-term follow-up after ICU discharge, and how APTA is taking steps to address the major areas of focus identified by the SCCM Task Force to improve long-term outcomes after ICU discharge.
Multiresolution molecular dynamics algorithm for realistic materials modeling on parallel computers

Abstract For realistic modeling of materials, a molecular-dynamics (MD) algorithm is developed based on multiresolutions in both space and time. Materials of interest are characterized by the long-range Coulomb, steric and charge-dipole interactions as well as three-body covalent potentials. The long-range Coulomb interaction is computed with the fast multipole method. For bulk systems with periodic boundary conditions, infinite summation over repeated image charges is carried out with the reduced cell multipole method. Short- and medium-range non-Coulombic interactions are computed with the multiple time-step approach. A separable tensor decomposition scheme is used to compute three-body potentials. For a 4.2 million-particle SiO 2 system, one MD step takes only 4.8 seconds on the 512-node Intel Touchstone Delta machine and 10.3 seconds on 64 nodes of an IBM SP1 system. The constant-grain parallel efficiency of the program is η ′ = 0.92 and the communication overhead is 8% on the Delta machine. On the SP1 system, η ′ = 0.91 and communication overhead is 7%.
Decoherence, einselection, and the quantum origins of the classical

as quantum engineering. In the past two decades it has become increasingly clear that many (perhaps all) of the symptoms of classicality can be induced in quantum systems by their environments. Thus decoherence is caused by the interaction in which the environment in effect monitors certain observables of the system, destroying coherence between the pointer states corresponding to their eigenvalues. This leads to environment-induced superselection or einselection, a quantum process associated with selective loss of information. Einselected pointer states are stable. They can retain correlations with the rest of the universe in spite of the environment. Einselection enforces classicality by imposing an effective ban on the vast majority of the Hilbert space, eliminating especially the flagrantly nonlocal ''Schrodinger-cat states.'' The classical structure of phase space emerges from the quantum Hilbert space in the appropriate macroscopic limit. Combination of einselection with dynamics leads to the idealizations of a point and of a classical trajectory. In measurements, einselection replaces quantum entanglement between the apparatus and the measured system with the classical correlation. Only the preferred pointer observable of the apparatus can store information that has predictive power. When the measured quantum system is microscopic and isolated, this restriction on the predictive utility of its correlations with the macroscopic apparatus results in the effective ''collapse of the wave packet.'' The existential interpretation implied by einselection regards observers as open quantum systems, distinguished only by their ability to acquire, store, and process information. Spreading of the correlations with the effectively classical pointer states throughout the environment allows one to understand ''classical reality'' as a property based on the relatively objective existence of the einselected states. Effectively classical pointer states can be ''found out'' without being re-prepared, e.g, by intercepting the information already present in the environment. The redundancy of the records of pointer states in the environment (which can be thought of as their ''fitness'' in the Darwinian sense) is a measure of their classicality. A new symmetry appears in this setting. Environment-assisted invariance or envariance sheds new light on the nature of ignorance of the state of the system due to quantum correlations with the environment and leads to Born's rules and to reduced density matrices, ultimately justifying basic principles of the program of decoherence and einselection.
Susceptibility of human oral anaerobic bacteria to antibiotics suitable for topical use

17 antibiotics, with potential for topical use, were tested for their activity against the human oral flora. Concentrations (mumol/l) required to inhibit 90% of test strains are presented and drug activities are compared. The total cultivable oral flora was susceptible to the tetracyclines including tetracycline itself, minocycline, doxycycline, and oxytetracycline and to erythromycin. On the other hand, actinobolin, kanamycin, neomycin, streptomycin, spiramycin, tyrothricin, vancomycin, clindamycin, and chloramphenicol were ineffective against many of the human oral anaerobic bacteria even at high concentration. Penicillin was effective at high concentrations but could not be recommended because organisms which are not inhibited by low concentrations are penicillinase producers. Carbenicillin was effective against all organisms except Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. The gram-negative organisms involved in adult periodontitis were most susceptible to the tetracyclines, tyrothricin, carbenicillin and clindamycin, while those associated with localized juvenile periodontitis were susceptible to the tetracyclines or erythromycin. These data, combined with the previous findings that some tetracyclines exhibit marked substantivity and collagenase inhibition activity, indicate that tetracycline or minocycline are likely to be good choices in the treatment or prevention of oral diseases.
Review of Gandhi’s Ascetic Activism: Renunciation and Social Action by Veena R. Howard

Veena R. Howard. Gandhi’s Ascetic Activism: Renunciation and Social Action. State University of New York Press, 2013. 314 pages. ISBN 978–1438445564.
Ultraviolet and blue emission properties of Tm doped AlGaN and AlN

We report on the ultraviolet (UV) and blue emission properties of Tm doped AlGaN/AIN thin films under above- and below bandgap excitation. UV (/spl sim/300-350 nm) and blue (/spl sim/465 nm) emission lines of Tm/sup 3+/ ions are of interest for potential applications in chemical/biological sensing, full color displays, and solid-state lightening.
On the n-Dimensional Porous Medium Diffusion Equation and Global Actions of the Symmetry Group

By restricting to a special class of smooth functions, the local action of the symmetry group is globalized. This special class of functions is constructed using parabolic induction.
Learning binaural sound localization through a neural network

A neural network system is implemented that uses binaural time/intensity cues for determining azimuth/elevation of a sound source. The system is designed to approximately mimic the sound localization behavior of the owl. The network is trained in a supervised learning mode. The errors between the estimated position (from the neural net) and the actual position (from an ideal optical sensor) are used to determine adaptively the synaptic connections. The learning paradigm used is the multiple extended Kalman algorithm, which allows training with no parameter adjustments. >
Parental Investment, Club Membership, and Youth Sexual Risk Behavior in Cape Town:

This study examines whether parental investment and membership in social clubs are associated with safer sexual behaviors among South African youth. Participants comprised 4,800 randomly selected adolescents age 14 to 22 living in the Cape Town area in 2002. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between measures of parental investment and associational membership with reported condom use at first and most recent sexual intercourse, net of effects of HIV knowledge, age, education, population group, parental coresidence, and household income. Interaction terms were used to examine gender differences in associations between risk behavior and parental investment and between risk behavior and group membership. Participation in clubs and community groups is associated with safer behaviors. A mother's financial support (for clothing, school fees and uniforms, and pocket money) is negatively associated with condom use, particularly among young women, suggesting that material need impels vulnerabili...
Steroid 5-α Reductase Type II V89L Substitution Is Not Associated with Risk of Prostate Cancer in a Multiethnic Population Study

Although the genetic causes of prostate cancer are poorly understood, variation in androgen biosynthesis and metabolism genes has been hypothesized to alter prostate cancer risk [(1)][1] . Steroid 5-α reductase type II , which encodes the enzyme responsible for converting testosterone to
Optimal Opt-Out: The Effect of the Payroll Tax on Married Women’s Labor Force Participation

Economists know incentives matter and taxes are one incentive affecting labor participation. Payroll taxes create unique disincentives to married women in the labor force. The effect of taxes on labor participation and earnings has been documented and debated, but the effect of payroll taxes on married women remains a mystery. I investigate this mystery by evaluating the effect payroll taxes have on married women’s labor participation. Because women, who are generally the secondary earners in a household, can face a marginal tax rate more than twelve (12) percentage points higher than their husbands, analysis of the disincentive effects of the payroll tax on women’s labor participation is warranted. Using data from 1999-2007 I find that married women whose husbands earn in excess of the payroll tax threshold are 10 percentage points less likely to be in the labor force than similarly situated peers. This analysis demonstrates that some labor decisions of married women are not based on individual preferences, but are instead being perverted by adverse incentives springing from the tax code. Such incentives should be evaluated in any conversation about the determinative factors of women’s labor force participation.
Postpartum uterine diseases in dairy cows

Uterine diseases in dairy cows can be classified as puerperal metritis, clinical metritis, clinical endometritis, and subclinical endometritis. These diseases are highly prevalent (affect between 20 and 30% of dairy cows) in high producing dairy cows and have been associated with decreased pregnancy per artificial insemination (AI), extended interval to pregnancy, increased culling, and economic losses. Puerperal metritis is characterized by the presence of an abnormally enlarged uterus, a fetid watery red-brownish uterine discharge associated with signs of systemic illness, and fever (>39.5 o C) within 21 days in milk (DIM). Animals without systemic signs but with an enlarged uterus and a fetid uterine discharge within 21 DIM may be classified as having clinical metritis. Clinical endometritis is characterized by the presence of purulent (>50%) uterine discharge after 21 DIM or mucopurulent (50% pus, 50% mucus) after 26 DIM. In the absence of clinical endometritis, subclinical endometritis is defined by the presence of >18% neutrophils (PMN) in uterine cytology samples collected between 21 and 33 DIM or >10% PMN between 34 and 47 DIM. The main risk factors are dystocia, twins, retained placenta, stillbirth, abortion, prolapsed uterus, and ketosis. Metritis can be successfully treated either by systemic or intrauterine antibiotic treatment. Ceftiofur hydrochloride (Excenel ® ) intramuscularly or ceftiofur crystalline-free acid (Excede ® ) subcutaneously are effective in treating metritis, and oxytetracycline intrauterine is effective in abrogating the negative effects of metritis on milk yield and fertility. Intrauterine administration of cephapirin benzathine (Metricure ® ) is an effective treatment for clinical and subclinical endometritis, although not approved in the United States. Administration of PGF2α does not seem effective for the treatment of clinical or subclinical endometritis.
MORPHOMETRY AND STEREOLOGY OF THE CONVERSION OF THIN-WALLED YEASTS TO PHASE I YEAST CELLS OF WANGIELLA DERMATITIDIS

Morphometric and stereological analyses of the conversion of thin-walled yeast cells to thick-walled phase I yeast cells of Wangiella dermatitidis were conducted over 15 days of growth. Log phase growth persisted for 48-60 hours and there was no loss in viability up to 15 days. Average cell volume dropped from 23 ^m3 on days 1 and 2 to 18 jiim3 on days 3 and 4, then increased to 38 jxm5 by day 15. Wide confidence limits for measurements of cell volume at each point indicated a very heterogeneous population. Wall thickness increased throughout the growth period with thickness increasing from 0.04 /um to 0.30 jj,m and the volume fraction from 0.10 to 0.24. Mitochondria and nuclei together made up less than 8% of the cell vol? ume [volume fraction of mitochondria, 0.025 (2.5%) and volume fraction of nuclei, 0.05 (5.0%)]. Volume fractions of both declined over time, as a result of increased cell volume from isotropic growth, although nuclei also may have become smaller. Glycogen was always present and increased to about 18% of the cell volume by day 4 but then decreased to 10% by day 15. Lipid was absent in early log phase cells but made up about 40% of the cell volume by day 15, and is presumably synthesized at the expense of glycogen and from residual sugar. Vacuoles, evident in early log cells (10-20% of the cell volume), declined rapidly and were rare after 8 days.
Reconstructing solute-induced phase transformations within individual nanocrystals

Strain and defects can significantly impact the performance of functional nanomaterials. This effect is well exemplified by energy storage systems, in which structural changes such as volume expansion and defect generation govern the phase transformations associated with charging and discharging. The rational design of next-generation storage materials therefore depends crucially on understanding the correlation between the structure of individual nanoparticles and their solute uptake and release. Here, we experimentally reconstruct the spatial distribution of hydride phases within individual palladium nanocrystals during hydrogen absorption, using a combination of electron spectroscopy, dark-field imaging, and electron diffraction in an environmental transmission electron microscope. We show that single-crystalline cubes and pyramids exhibit a uniform hydrogen distribution at equilibrium, whereas multiply twinned icosahedra exclude hydrogen from regions of high compressive strains. Our technique offers unprecedented insight into nanoscale phase transformations in reactive environments and can be extended to a variety of functional nanomaterials.
Quality Test Results of Drinking Water from Rural Self-drilled Well in Anyang County of Henan Province

[Objective]To understand the hygiene status of drinking water quality in rural area of Anyang county.[Methods] The quality of 52 samples of drinking water from the western rural self-drilled well and 63 from the eastern rural self-drilled well were examined according to GB/T5750.6-2006[1]in Anyang County during 2008. [Results]Only 14 samples (26.92%)from western rural self-drilled well were qualified, unqualified items were color, turbidity, total hardness, total dissolved solids, total bacteria, and total coliforms. 13 samples (20.63%) from eastern rural self-drilled well were qualified, unqualified items were fluoride, total bacteria, and total coliforms.[Conclusion]The existed problem of drinking water in Anyang County needs to be solved as soon as possible.
Structure Betterment of Intake System Based on Sensitivity Analysis of Orifice Noise

The noise of engine intake system is one of the most important noise sources of an automobile.In a bid to meet the higher and higher requirement of ride comfort,the control and matching of acoustic property of intake system is of vital importance.An acoustic model of intake system is built according as the three-dimensional model,hereinto the acoustic model of quarter wave tuner is parameterized.Based on the theory of pipe acoustics,the method of noise simulation of engine intake system—no-source-method is studied,by which the simulation of orifice noise of intake system is carried through.Based on design of experiments analysis,the method of sensitivity analysis of quarter wave tuner based on orifice noise is studied,by which the sensitivity analysis of quarter wave tuner parameters is carried through.Even without the engine simulation model,the acoustic simulation of orifice noise of intake system still can be carried out,and through sensitivity analysis the design parameters of quarter wave tuner is determined.The method of sensitivity analysis of quarter wave tuner based on orifice noise is highly valuable in engineering application,and provides theoretical basis for parameter design of quarter wave tuner.
Survey on Epstein Barr Virus IgA/VCA Antibody Level of Health Population in Guangzhou

Objective To determine the antibody level of Epstein Barr virus IgA/VCA of health population in Guangzhou.Methods Epstein Barr virus IgA/VCA was detected with ELISA.Results A total of 707 healthy in- dividuals from an institute in Guangzhou were detected for Epstein Barr virus IgA/VCA with ELISA.18 persons were Epstein Barr virus IgA/VCA-antibody positive(2.55%),among them the male was 12(66.67%)and the fe- male was 6(33.33%).The ratio of male and female was 2:1.Most of the antibody level of Epstein Barr virus IgA/ VCA was from 1:20 to 1:40,and the amount was 14(77.78%).Only one person's antibody level was 1:160.The results were corresponded with the report that in nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)patients,the ratio of male and female was 1.96:1 in all the country and 2.03:1 in 5 provinces of south China.Conclusion The detection of IgA/ VCA may have an important value in aiding diagnosis of NPC.
Evolution of ambulatory care pharmacy practice in the past 50 years

A recent article by Helling and Johnson,[1][1] published as part of the proceedings of the 2014 ASHP Ambulatory Care Summit, provides a chronology of many historical successes in ambulatory care pharmacy practice since the 1960s. As we approach the 75th anniversary of ASHP and celebrate the 50th
Activation of human platelets by protein kinase C antibody: role for surface phosphorylation in homeostasis

A monoclonal antibody that inhibits protein kinase C (PKC) activity, as well as PKC pseudosubstrate inhibitory peptides, was found to cause aggregation of human platelets followed by granular secretion. Binding of this antibody to the platelet surface was demonstrated directly by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence microscopy. Assays of ecto-protein kinase activity revealed that this antibody inhibits the phosphorylation of five proteins on the platelet surface. The platelet aggregation induced by extracellular PKC inhibitors could be blocked by the addition of the membrane-impermeable phosphatase inhibitor, microcystin. Thus the inhibition of surface protein phosphorylation together with continuous dephosphorylation, namely, a decrease in the phosphorylation state of surface proteins, causes the activation of platelets. The aggregation caused by decreased surface phosphorylation appears to be initiated by the exposure of active fibrinogen-binding sites on the platelet surface, as demonstrated by the formation of fibrinogen-dependent microaggregates, as the first step in this process. We conclude that the phosphorylation of surface proteins by a platelet ecto-protein kinase C protects platelets from spontaneous aggregation and thus can play an important role in homeostatic mechanisms that maintain circulating platelets in a resting state.
Tantalum Complexes Bearing eta(1)-, eta(2)-, and "Slipped" eta(2)-Pyrazolato Ligands.

Heretofore, η2-bonding of pyrazolato ligands to d-block metals has been extremely rare. The tantalum−pyrazolato complexes 1 and 2 exhibit η2-pyrazolato bonding and have several unusual features. The homoleptic pyrazolato complex 1 contains three η2-pyrazolato ligands and two η1-pyrazolato ligands and is the first complex to contain both types of bonding modes. Complex 2 contains “slipped” η2-pyrazolato ligands, where one tantalum−nitrogen bond in each pyrazolato ligand is 0.087−0.170 A longer than the other. This type of pyrazolato coordination is unprecedented.
PHYSICAL AND PATTERN CONTINUITY IN THE INSECT EPIDERMIS

Publisher Summary The insect epidermis produces patterns of cell differentiation of astonishing complexity and reproducibility, which have attracted investigators of pattern formation for decades. This chapter illustrates some of the ways in which genetic mutations contribute to the understanding of pattern formation in Drosophila and of the developmental properties of the insect epidermis. The patterns produced by Drosophila offer the opportunity for genetic analysis using mutational modifications and for cell-lineage analysis using induced mitotic recombination to mark developing clones of cells. The chapter discusses some progress in the genetic analysis of pattern formation in the Drosophila epidermis, in the context of the developmental properties of the insect epidermis. Many of the developmental properties of the insect epidermis are related to two fundamental properties: its ability to restore physical continuity through wound healing and its ability to restore pattern continuity through intercalation. The chapter further discusses the extent to which mutant phenotypes reflect the outcome of these two activities of the epidermis.
Depressive Symptoms among Latino Sexual Minority Men and Latina Transgender Women in a New Settlement State: The Role of Perceived Discrimination

Background. Little is known about the role of discrimination on depression among Latino sexual and gender identity minorities. This manuscript examined the relationship between ethnic/racial discrimination and sexual discrimination on clinically significant depressive symptoms among Latino sexual minority men (i.e., gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men) and Latina transgender women. Methods. A community-based participatory research partnership recruited participants (N = 186; 80.6% cisgender men) in North Carolina to a social network-based HIV intervention. Using baseline data, we quantified the amount of perceived discrimination and conducted mixed-effects logistic regression analyses to examine correlates of clinically significant depressive symptoms. Results. A high percentage of participants reported ethnic/racial discrimination (73.7%) and sexual discrimination (53.8%). In the multivariable models, ethnic/racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, masculinity, fatalism, and social support were significantly associated with clinically significant depressive symptoms. Discussion. Improving mental health requires multilevel interventions that address pertinent individual, interpersonal, and system level factors.
Readability Trends of Online Information by the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation:

ObjectivePrevious studies have shown that patient education materials published by the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation may be too difficult for the average reader to understand. The purpose of this study was to determine if current educational materials show improvements in readability.Study DesignCross-sectional analysis.SettingThe Patient Health Information section of the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation website.Subjects and MethodsAll patient education articles were extracted in plain text. Webpage navigation, references, author information, appointment information, acknowledgments, and disclaimers were removed. Follow-up editing was also performed to remove paragraph breaks, colons, semicolons, numbers, percentages, and bullets. Readability grade was calculated with the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease, Gunning-Fog Index, Coleman-Liau Index, Automated Readability Index, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook. Intra- and ...