cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Classification accuracy of the rare symptoms and symptom combinations scales of the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology in three archival samples.

Objective The Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS; Widows & Smith, 2005) is a 75-item self-report measure intended to screen for potentially feigned symptoms of mental illness and/or cognitive impairment. We investigated the classification accuracy of 2 new detection scales (Rare Symptoms [RS] and Symptom Combinations [SC]) developed by Rogers, Robinson, and Gillard (2014) that appeared useful in identifying simulated mental disorder in their derivation sample of psychiatric inpatients. Hypothesis We hypothesized that the rates of classification accuracy Rogers et al. reported for these 2 scales would generalize to other samples in which the utility of the SIMS previously has been investigated. Method We computed RS and SC scores from archival SIMS data collected as part of 3 research projects investigating malingering detection methods: (a) general population prison inmates and inmates in a prison psychiatric unit receiving treatment for mental disorder (N = 115), (b) college students (N = 196), and (3) community-dwelling adults (N = 48). Results Results supported the global classification accuracy of RS and SC but the suggested cut-score for both scales (>6) produced poor sensitivity. Lower potential cut-offs did, however, improve sensitivity to feigning somewhat while not excessively diminishing specificity. Conclusion These results emphasize the importance of generalizability research when investigating the clinical utility of forensic mental health assessment methods, particularly specific decision rules used to classify individuals into discrete categories. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
A Bond-line Porosity Model that Integrates Fillet Shape and Prepreg Facesheet Consolidation during Equilibrated Co-cure of Sandwich Composite Structures

Abstract Honeycomb core sandwich structures are co-cured to bond partially cured thermoset prepreg facesheets with an adhesive layer to both sides of the honeycomb core under a pre-defined pressure and temperature cycle in an autoclave. In the Equilibrated (Open-core) co-cure process, the honeycomb core cells are vented to the vacuum bag. Although the co-curing is advantageous over the secondary bonding process of sandwich structures, it is strongly dependent on the materials and process parameters and could result in high porosity within the bond-line. In this paper, we present a comprehensive model for the evolution of the bond-line porosity in which we introduce and couple new models for the bond-line fillet shape and the void escape process from the bond-line with the facesheet consolidation and the porosity models. First, a model is proposed to simulate the adhesive bond-line fillet shape. Next, a previously formulated prepreg facesheet consolidation model is used to calculate the amount of prepreg resin containing voids that bleed into the bond-line. A diffusion model of bubble growth tracks the porosity within the bond-line as a function of the cure cycle. The fillet shape allows one to estimate the number of bubbles that escape from the bond-line. The cure kinetics and the gelation time of the prepreg resin and the adhesive dictate the entrapment of the voids and the porosity evolution within the bond-line. The usefulness of the integrated model is demonstrated with an example in which it is shown that if an adhesive with perforations is used or if the gelation of the adhesive triggers after the gelation of the resin it will result in lower porosity. The results of this example are validated with a reported experimental study with the same material properties and processing conditions.
Power Synchronization PID Control Method for Grid-Connected Voltage-Source Converters

Power synchronization control of grid-connected voltage source converters (VSC) in high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission is applied as a credible method. However, the non-minimum-phase phenomena in the dynamic models of this system developed through the space-vector approach imposes a significant limitation on the stability margin of the VSC-HVDC converters. This restriction is more pronounced in valtage fault conditions and frequency oscillations. In this paper, a new PID design based on power-synchronization law along with a new approach to power-frequency swing equation has been designed. This new control method has the features of a virtual synchronous machine and is equipped with a highpass filter that robustifies the control operation during severe voltage and frequency instabilities in weak-grid conditions. A thorough analytical explanation of the proposed method along with performance evaluations in Hardware-in-the-loop environment demonstrate the efficacy of the operation and its simple implementation.
A Conception of Giftedness as Domain-Specific Learning: A Dynamism Fueled by Persistence and Passion

Most conceptions of giftedness have been based on intellectual and academic potential or aptitudes for high-level performance in a valued human endeavor. Individual characteristics have been used as markers for acknowledging advanced development at each stage of development. Moreover, these conceptions have driven our responses to advanced development in schools, in the work world, and in the larger society. As a society in general, we have chosen to ignore positive individual differences in favor of focusing on individual pathologies. Yet, some pockets of our society have always acknowledged the need for talent development through selective admission to mentorships and tutorials, advanced education, and work settings including the military, sports, and political spheres.
Information Tecnology Based Decision Support System for Integrated Pest Management on Rice

Pest and disease are important biotic obstacles to increase rice yield and production in Indonesia since adoption of green revolution to increase rice yield. This is partly due to the irrational use of pesticides. This paper is a review on information technology (IT) based decision support system (DSSs) in line to the integrated pest management (IPM) implementation strategy for extensionists and farmers in the fields. IPM integrates compatible control techniques to manage pest populations below the economic injury level. IT based DSSs ultimately needed so that extension workers and farmers can quickly access sources of information about pests and diseases as well as prediction of development and control techniques to implement IPM. Web based DSSs to grow healthy rice plant, pest observation and monitoring, cyber extension to make famers an expert on IPM were available, except on how to identify and utilize natural enemies are still lacking. Indonesia need to develop more IT based DSSs which accessible on web as well as on smartphone and create enabling environment for improving IPM implementation on rice not only by officer but also gradually by farmers it self to control pests and diseases of rice which are still an obstacle in increasing production. Keywords: Rice, pest, diseases, integrated pest management, information technology Abstrak SISTEM PENDUKUNG PENGAMBILAN KEPUTUSAN HAMA TERPADU PADA TANAMAN PADI BE RPBEANSGIESNDALIAN TEKNOLOGI INFORMASI Sejak inovasi revolusi hijau diintroduksikan di Indonesia, hama dan penyakit tanaman semakin berkembang sehingga menghambat upaya peningkatan produktivitas dan produksi padi. Hal ini antara lain disebabkan oleh penggunaan pestisida yang tidak rasional. Tulisan ini mengulas kesiapan sistem pendukung pengambilan keputusan (SPPK) berbasis teknologi informasi (TI) dalam pengendalian hama terpadu (PHT) oleh penyuluh maupun petani di lapangan. PHT mengintegrasikan berbagai teknik pengendalian hama dan penyakit agar tetap berada di bawah ambang ekonomi. TI diperlukan agar penyuluh dan petani dapat dengan cepat mengakses sumber informasi tentang jenis hama dan penyakit tanaman serta perkiraan perkembangan dan teknik pengendalian untuk penerapan PHT. SPPK berbasis TI yang bertujuan menjadikan tanaman tumbuh sehat, pengamatan dan monitoring perkembangan hama dan penyakit, serta penyuluhan berbasis web sudah tersedia, kecuali identifikasi dan cara pemanfaatan musuh alami. Oleh karena itu perlu dikembangkan SPPK berbasis TI yang dapat diakses melalui web maupun telepon pintar dan menciptakan lingkungan yang memungkinkan untuk meningkatkan implementasi PHT tidak hanya oleh petugas tetapi juga petani secara bertahap dalam upaya mengendalikan hama dan penyakit padi yang masih menjadi kendala dalam peningkatan produksi. Kata kunci: Padi, hama, penyakit, pengendalian hama terpadu, teknologi informasi
Consolidative Radiation with Chemotherapy in Early Stage Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma with Unfavorable Risk: The Kentucky Experience

Abstract Introduction: Early stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) carries good prognosis. Patients with B symptoms have been found to have unfavorable risk. Due to overall good outcome, studies are focusing on minimizing toxicity by omission of consolidative radiation. The aim of our study is to review outcome of this cohort in a population based analysis. Methods: All early stage (stage I and II) cHL adult patients diagnosed 2005-2014 were collected through Kentucky Cancer Registry (KCR). Patients reported to have had B symptoms (Unexplained fevers >38°C; drenching night sweats; or weight loss >10% of body weight within 6 months prior to diagnosis) were included in the current study. Baseline characteristics as well as survival outcome were compared between chemotherapy alone and combined chemo-radiation treatment. Pearson Chi-square, log-rank, and cox regression tests were used in the analysis. To minimize selection bias, events during the first 6 months of therapy were censored. 10-year survival data were then compared to Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry. Results: A total of 130 adult patients were included in the study; 76 patients got chemotherapy alone and 54 patients got chemo-radiation therapy. Median age was 35 (ranged 18-88). Most patients were younger than 50 year-old (76.9%). Most patients had nodular sclerosis (N=91) while 29 patients had unknown histology. There was no statistical difference in pretreatment features between the group receiving chemotherapy and those who received chemo-radiation (See table). There was no difference in 10-years overall survival between the chemotherapy group (73%) and chemo-radiation (80%) (p=0.830) (See figure). When adjusting for multivariate analysis, age younger than 50 was the only statistically significant variable affecting survival with a HR 0.17 (95% CI: 0.058-0.505). Only 4 (5.3%) patients developed second primary cancer in chemotherapy alone versus 1 (1.9%) in chemo-radiation therapy (p =0.4). Compared to overall survival in SEER database, younger patients ( Conclusion: Our study shows lack of benefit of the combined approach for the management of unfavorable prognosis classical Hodgkin lymphoma in a population based analysis. Younger patients had worse outcome when compared to SEER registry while older age group had worse prognosis with the available therapies and might benefit from alternative interventions. Download : Download high-res image (95KB) Download : Download full-size image Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Mission Reborn in the COVID Crisis

The COVID crisis continues to affect many in ways which have led to health, economic, and personal loss of no small consequence. All of us have a unique and personal perspective on the pandemic. I ...
The “Princess Syndrome”: An Examination of Gender Harassment on a Male-Majority University Campus

Gender harassment is prevalent in contexts where women are underrepresented and negatively stereotyped, yet instances of gender harassment are often discounted as unimportant and inconsequential. The current research presents an examination of gender harassment operating on a male-majority university campus in the form of a sex-based slur known as the “Princess Syndrome.” Across two studies, the present research investigated the prevalence, meaning, and adverse consequences of the label. Study 1 indicated that the label was widespread at the university: 70% of participants had heard of the label, nearly half had used the label, and 1 out of 4 female participants had been targeted by the label. Inductive content analysis of open-ended responses revealed that the label was a derogatory term used to insult and degrade women by stigmatizing women as manipulative, exploitative, and stuck up. In Study 2, participants read about and rated a female student who was either labeled with the “Princess Syndrome” or not. Consistent with predictions, participants were more likely to discount the female student’s success in an engineering course as due to external factors (e.g., luck), rated her as less competent, and were less likely to choose to work with her on a team project when she was labeled with the “Princess Syndrome” than when she was not labeled. Results contribute to a growing body of literature demonstrating that sex-based slurs matter and suggest that slurs such as the “Princess Syndrome” may constitute a consequential yet understudied source of gender harassment for undergraduate women in STEM that reinforces and maintains gender inequity.
Sinding-Larsen-Johansson Syndrome

Sinding-Larsen-Johansson syndrome (SLJ) is a common cause of insidious onset of knee pain in early adolescent active children. It is an apophysitis, affecting the growth center at the inferior pole of the patella with surrounding soft tissue swelling, commonly extending into the proximal patellar tendon. Diagnosis is made by tenderness at the site on physical exam and an open apophysis on radiograph with associated swelling. Treatment consists of ensuring pain relief, commonly with relative rest and assisted by a patellar tendon strap; improving flexibility of the surrounding musculature; and ensuring good biomechanical alignment at the knee.
Taking Self-Governance Seriously: Synthetic Biology’s Last, Best Chance to Improve Security

Synthetic biologists have vigorously debated the need for community-wide biosecurity standards for the past decade. Despite this, the US government’s official response has been limited to weak and entirely voluntary Guidelines. This article describes attempts by journal editors, academic scientists, and commercial firms to organize private alternatives at the grassroots level. Private commercial standards, in particular, are significantly stronger than federal Guidelines and currently operate across more than eighty percent of the synthetic DNA industry. The paper generalizes from these examples by asking when strong private standards are both feasible and likely to produce outcomes that are comparably democratic to conventional agency regulation. It closes by describing interventions that government can use to promote and manage grassroots standards initiatives.
Chapter 3 Interactions between Microtubules and Intracellular Membranes: The Roles of Microtubule-Based Motors and Accessory Proteins

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the interactions between mircotubules and intracellular membranes and the roles of microtubule-based motors and accessory proteins in vesicle trafficking to the plasma membrane. The dynamics and motility of intracellular membranes are complicated processes that utilize at least two classes of cytoskeletal filament, each of which supports movements driven by a number of cytosolic motor proteins. Cells have the capacity to regulate their endomembrane dynamics in many ways—for example, as they pass through the cell cycle or during differentiation into specific somatic tissues. Many of the molecules involved in these processes have been defined, but countless more await identification and functional analysis. The next decade is sure to be as fruitful and illuminating as the last in terms of the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie intracellular-membrane motility.
Identification of genes whose transcripts accumulate rapidly in tomato after root-knot nematode infection

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) penetrate tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and other hosts near root tips and migrate intercellularly to the developing vascular tissue where they induce formation of feeding cells or, in the case of resistant tomato, trigger a localized necrosis. To investigate early events in the host response to nematode infection, a seedling inoculation procedure was designed that produced hundreds of root tips synchronously infected withMeloidogyne javanica . RNA extracted from these tips was used to produce a cDNA library. Differential screening of a subset of this cDNA library identified eight cDNA clones representing genes that are reproducibly increased in level after nematode infection. Sequence analysis revealed that two clones correspond to previously isolated genes encoding ascorbate free radical reductase and an extensin. A third appears to encode a peroxidase. A fourth encodes a product similar to a tumor-induced tobacco gene and belongs to the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor family of proteins. Another encodes a protein highly similar to a tobacco LEA5-like protein. Transcripts of all eight genes are present at higher levels after nematode infection in both susceptible and resistant tomato cultivars.
Unreasonable Reasonableness: Standardizing Procedural Norms of the ICC Through Al Bashir

On March 4, 2009, the International Criminal Court issued its first ever arrest warrant against a sitting head of state, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir. The warrant, issued in relation to the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan, was notable both for its inclusion of charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and for its exclusion of charges of genocide. On appeal, the decision not to include the genocide charges in the warrant was unanimously overruled for an error in law regarding the standard of proof utilized to determine the sufficiency of mens rea. The International Criminal Court is the only permanent international adjudicatory body tasked with the criminal adjudication of individuals accused of the most serious crimes of international concern. In overruling this decision, therefore, the International Criminal Court not only standardized the evidentiary thresholds for the prosecution of genocide charges in its Chambers, but at the same time distinguished itself among the growing field of international adjudicatory bodies.
Probabilistic and analytical estimation of software development team size

Labor cost is one of the major contributors of software development cost. Among the variables that affects labor cost is the software development team size. There are very few methods available in literature to determine software development team size because team size selection happens during early stages of software development, and varies throughout systems development cycle. Under such circumstances, only methods that can be used to predict team size are Bayesian and analytical methods. In this paper, we use both Bayesian and analytical methods to predict team size. Specifically, we use a hybrid Bayesian network and simulation methodology for estimating posterior distributions of the team size using a real-world software engineering dataset, and a Cobb-Douglas function to estimate optimal team size. Using the leave-one-out sampling, we test our Bayesian approach and find that our approach predicts appropriate team size category with over 90% accuracy. However, our tests with optimal team size indicate that less than 20% of real-world software projects use optimal team size.
Topical Delivery of 5-Fluorouracil and 6-Mercaptopurine by Their Alkylcarbonyloxymethyl Prodrugs from Water: Vehicle Effects on Design of Prodrugs

Purpose. To determine whether the fluxes through hairless mouse skin for three homologous series of prodrugs of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU, 1) and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP, 2) from saturated aqueous suspensions show dependencies on aqueous (SAQ) and isopropyl myristate (SIPM) solubilities similar to those shown by the identical compounds delivered from IPM.
Development of Environmental Indices: Outdoor Recreational Resources and Land Use Shift

Economic and social indicators and indices such as the index of wholesale prices, index of retail sales, and the cost of living index have been utilized by governmental decision makers and the general public for years. More recently, environmentally related indices have been developed to assess the quality of our air, the quality of our water, and the environment in general.2,4,12 These environmental indices serve a useful purpose, but they are somewhat limited in scope, failing to consider many important factors. The EQ (Environmental Quality) Index, published annually by the National Wildlife Federation, is strikingly illustrated and contains a variety of interesting, often alarming facts, but the Federation does not claim to be analytically rigorous in its derivation of quantitative results.
The effect of multi-track year-round academic calendars on property values: Evidence from district imposed school calendar conversions

Abstract Multi-track year-round school calendars allow a school to make continual use of its building over a calendar year by rotating students on separate tracks. Homeowners may a have a preference or distaste for year-round calendars for a variety of reasons, ranging from perceived academic effects to family home and work life disruptions. If households do favor one school calendar relative to another, they may have to pay an additional amount to move to a house with a different calendar. In this paper, we test this possibility. We exploit a natural experiment setting to examine how multi-track year-round calendars influence Wake County, NC residential housing prices. School assignment zone and school fixed effects are included to control for unobserved neighborhood and school characteristics that might be correlated with year-round calendars and housing prices. Our preferred estimates suggest year-round calendars are associated with a statistically significant price penalty of between one and a half to two percent.
Pediatric Hospice Care

The concept of pediatric hospice care is in many ways a new one that is subject to misunderstanding, especially as to its character and scope. Nevertheless, with or without this particular title, implementation of pediatric hospice care may already be underway via existing caregivers and provider systems, and further development is dependent in large part upon the sensitivity, expertise, and cooperation of pediatricians and their colleagues. To encourage the collaborative effort that is required, this article reviews: the main principles of the hospice philosophy that are relevant to pediatric care, three types of situations involving children to which those principles might be applied, the wide range of needs and bewildering variety of factors that may complicate such care, three basic contexts within which this sort of care can be delivered, the multiplicity of skills that are relevant to this approach to care, and the many ways in which services can be provided.
Material corrosion issues for nuclear waste disposition in Yucca Mountain

For more than two decades, an extensive scientific effort has been underway to determine whether Yucca Mountain, Nevada, is a suitable site for a deep underground repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Even though the geologic site is stable, additional engineered barriers are planned, including waste packages, drip shields, and tunnel inverts that will be within the emplacement tunnels. Research is under way into the best materials for corrosion prevention in those engineered barriers to ensure their long-term mechanical integrity.
A Preliminary Study of Recent Diatom Assemblages in Lake Superior Sediments

Abstract Nine fossil planktonic diatom species were used for quantitative stratigraphic analysis of four cores from Lake Superior. Few changes in relative abundances of diatom species can be correlated among the cores. However, a consistent increase in Melosira islandica within the upper 20 cm of sediment is evident in all four cores. This increase occurs before an increase in Ambrosia (ragweed) pollen that marks the postsettlement horizon. Therefore, the Melosira islandica increase cannot be attributed to nutrient enrichment by man but may be a response to gradual climatic cooling over the last few thousand years, to differential dissolution, or to some other unknown cause.
Scattering of electrons by hydrogen atoms at intermediate energies

The algebraic variational method has been applied to the scattering of electrons by hydrogen atoms at intermediate energies. The atom was represented by an eleven-state expansion, including exact $1s$, $2s$, $2p$, and $3d$ states plus seven pseudostates. The pseudochannels are allowed to be open. Results are presented for $1s\ensuremath{-}2s$ and $1s\ensuremath{-}2p$ excitations for energies between 10 and 12 eV, and for $1s\ensuremath{-}1s$ elastic scattering from 10 to 30 eV.
A new method for sister-chromatid exchange studies in vivo, a single injection of BrdU in melted agar

Details are given for a new, rapid, and simple method of BrdU administration for SCE studies in vivo. BrdU was dissolved in melted agar and administered to mice as a single subcutaneous injection. Clear and reproducible sister chromatid differential staining of bone marrow cells was obtained. Melted agar, when injected into mice, solidified quickly and formed a clump which provided a sustained release of BrdU. HPLC analyses showed that a considerable serum level of BrdU was maintained for at least 10 h in a mouse injected with 25 mg of BrdU in agar.
The cost‐effectiveness and cost of treatment failures associated with systemic psoriasis therapies

Background: Psoriasis is difficult at times to treat and treatment failures are not uncommon regardless of approach. With the advent of expensive biologic therapies for psoriasis there is increasing discussion on the cost efficacy of a given systemic or biologic agent. An alternative and overlooked aspect of cost efficacy is the cost that accrues from treatment failures. Methods: We review the literature and develop a model to analyze the cost‐effectiveness and the cost of treatment failures per success for various systemic psoriasis agents using a 12‐week treatment period. Results: For continuous‐dose agents, the cost‐effectiveness results are: methotrexate $623, acitretin $2729, cyclosporine $2969, nUVB $3692, PUVA $4668, etanercept $16 312, and efalizumab $17 196. The cost of expected treatment failures to achieve one success for the same agents were: methotrexate $187, cyclosporine $505, PUVA $767, nUVB $1034, acitretin $1310, etanercept $8319, and efalizumab $12 897. Conclusions: Methotrexate appears...
Cooperative nest defence in red-winged blackbirds: reciprocal altruism, kinship or by-product mutualism?

Male red–winged blackbirds ( Agelaius phoeniceus ) often cooperate with their neighbours in defending nests against predators. Some studies have suggested that this is an example of by–product mutualism, whereas others have suggested the possibility of reciprocal altruism. No study has addressed the possibility of kin–selected cooperation in nest defence in this species. Reciprocal altruism, kin selection and by–product mutualism are not mutually exclusive alternatives, but few studies of territorial neighbours have tested for multiple mechanisms simultaneously. We test for these three possibilities in a population of red–winged blackbirds. We used simulated defections to test for reciprocal altruism. We used analysis of microsatellite loci to test for kin selection between adult male neighbours. We also used microsatellite loci to test for by–product mutualism resulting from nest defence of offspring sired on neighbouring territories. We found that male red–winged blackbirds cooperate in nest defence primarily as a form of reciprocal altruism. Experimental males reduced their level of nest defence relative to controls following simulated defection by a neighbour. In contrast to some earlier studies, we found no evidence for by–product mutualism: males did not defend nests where they had sired extra–pair offspring. We also found no evidence for kin selection: males were no more cooperative with more closely related neighbours. Considered alongside the results from other studies, our study suggests that mechanisms stabilizing cooperation in red–winged blackbirds may vary among populations.
Effect of substrate on graphene-based interconnects

Layered insulator hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has been used as a substrate for graphene interconnects. Three different material systems, i.e. CVD graphene on h-BN, CVD graphene on SiO 2 , and exfoliated graphene on SiO 2 have been studied in terms of resistivity, carrier mobility, and breakdown power density. A remarkable reduction is observed in resistivity of CVD graphene interconnects on h-BN substrate as compared to CVD graphene on SiO 2 and exfoliated graphene on SiO 2 (reduced by 19 times and 8 times respectively). The carrier mobility shows good improvement with CVD graphene on h-BN showing a mobility of ∼15,000 cm2/V-s at electric field strength of 0.5 MV/cm. High thermal conductivity of h-BN as compared to SiO 2 facilitates heat dissipation and leads to improvement in breakdown power. Current annealing does not appreciably shift the Dirac Point on h-BN which may result from the interface-state-free nature of h-BN substrate. High voltage annealing is required to cleanup the channel. Switching polarity during annealing further reduces the contact resistance. Overall, it is evident that h-BN as a substrate can help resolve reliability issues and push the performance limits imposed by SiO 2 substrate on graphene-based interconnects.
The Damus-Fontan procedure

Abstract The Damus-Kaye-Stansel operation is a useful technique for the treatment of complex cyanotic congenital heat disease when there is obstruction between the systemic ventricle and the aorta. Modifications of the technique include transection of the aorta and the pulmonary artery, anastomosis of the contiguous aortic and pulmonary walls, and connection of the distal aorta to the perimeter of the new bivalved proximal great artery. In addition, the bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt technique can be used with or without the Fontan procedure. Six patients underwent a Damus-Fontan operation, and all survived. Two patients underwent the Damus-cavopulmonary shunt (hemi-Fontan) procedure, and 1 survived. The postoperative status of the 7 survivors is good to excellent. Follow-up ranges from 2 months to 7 1 / 2 years.
Interference of biogenic amines with the measurement of proteins using bicinchoninic acid

The use of bicinchoninic acid (BCA) to measure protein concentrations has received wide acceptance because the reagent is insensitive to many of the buffers, sucrose solutions and detergents used with various tissue and enzyme preparations. However, any compound capable of reducing Cu2+ in an alkaline medium such as biogenic amines will produce a color reaction. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether biogenic amines present in neuronal tissue would interfere with the measurement of protein using the BCA method. Catecholamines were found to produce a linear increase in color of the BCA reagent at concentrations between 1 and 100 nmol/2.1 ml assay volume. Catecholamines appeared to be more sensitive to the BCA reagent than either serotonin or ascorbic acid. Catecholamines at concentrations of 50 nmol/mg of protein or 1 nmol/2.1 ml assay volume or higher will produce significantly (P less than 0.0001) higher color reactions than protein alone. The BCA reagent is not ideal for measuring protein concentrations of intact synaptic vesicles and chromaffin granules since the catecholamine concentrations in these organelles are high enough to increase the color developed by 1.1 to 2.5 times that observed with protein alone. The linearity of the color development produced by catecholamines suggest that BCA could be used to quantitate catecholamine concentrations between 1 and 100 nmol. The BCA reagent will not distinguish between the different catecholamines.
Use of Central Bank Credit Auctions in Economies in Transition

A number of economies in transition have instituted central bank credit auctions as part of a package of reforms seeking to improve monetary control and foster money market development. This paper examines the use of those auctions and features of their design, including collateralization and access rules intended to minimize adverse selection and moral hazard. The implementation of credit auctions in Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union is surveyed. The experiences of countries in Eastern Europe suggest that credit auctions can be a useful tool in the transition toward indirect monetary control and the development of interbank markets.
INVOLVEMENT OF MANAYUNKIA SPECIOSA (ANNELIDA: POLYCHAETA: SABELLIDAE) IN THE LIFE CYCLE OF PARVICAPSULA MINIBICORNIS, A MYXOZOAN PARASITE OF PACIFIC SALMON

A coelomic myxozoan infection was detected in freshwater polychaetes, Manayunkia speciosa from the Klamath River, Oregon/California, a site enzootic for the myxozoan parasites Ceratomyxa shasta and Parvicapsula minibicornis. The tetractinomyxon type actinospores had a near-spherical spore body 7.9 × 7.1 μm, with 3 spherical, protruding polar capsules, no valve cell processes, and a binucleate sporoplasm. Parvicapsula minibicornis-specific primers Parvi1f and Parvi2r amplified DNA from infected polychaetes in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The small subunit 18S rRNA gene of the spores was sequenced (GenBank DQ231038) and was a 99.7% match with the sequence for P. minibicornis myxospore stage in GenBank (AF201375). Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) exposed to a dose of 1,000 actinospores per fish tested PCR positive for P. minibicornis at 14 wk postinfection and presporogonic stages were detected in the kidney tubules by histology at 20 wk. This life cycle is 1 of only about 30 known from ...
Using literature cases to examine diversity issues with preservice teachers

Abstract A study of case method instruction was conducted to investigate the use of literature as teaching cases with preservice teachers. Novice teachers often lack a shared knowledge of school culture and the experimential base that provides alternatives for decision making. Literature includes a wider variety of settings and situations, represents the diversity in society and schools, and provides greater insight into the thinking of characters than traditional teaching cases. The research investigated how undergraduate students make meaning from instances of cultural conflict portrayed in literature cases and delineates appropriate practice for case-based instruction using literature cases.
Instantaneous 2D Velocity and Temperature Measurements in High Speed Flows Based on Spectrally Resolved Molecular Rayleigh Scattering

A Rayleigh scattering diagnostic for high speed flows is described for the simultaneous, instantaneous measurement of gas temperature and velocity at a number (up to about one hundred) of locations in a plane illuminated by an injection-seeded, frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser. Molecular Rayleigh scattered light is collected and passed through a planar mirror Fabry-Perot interferometer. The resulting image is analyzed to determine the gas temperature and bulk velocity at each of the regions. The Cramer Rao lower bound for measurement uncertainty is calculated. Experimental data is presented for a free jet and for preliminary measurements in the Lewis 4 inch by 10 inch supersonic wind tunnel.
Research in general internal medicine.

Excerpt This issue carries two articles (1, 2) from faculty of general medicine divisions. These articles were selected from 80 submitted in response to a call from the Society for Research and Edu...
Intraoperative comparison of sequential-pulse and single-pulse defibrillation in candidates for automatic implantable defibrillators

Abstract Sixteen survivors of cardiac arrest underwent intraoperative comparison of the effectiveness of sequential-pulse and single-pulse defibrillation. Defibrillation was tested alternately with the single-pulse or sequential-pulse technique 10 seconds into an episode of ventricular fibrillation that was induced with alternating current, the sequential-pulse defibrillation technique using truncated exponential pulses was performed with a right ventricular endocardial catheter and a left ventricular epicardial patch electrode. The first pulse was delivered between the right ventricular apical and the superior vena caval electrode on the right ventricular endocardial catheter. The second pulse was delivered between the right ventricular apical electrode and the left ventricular patch electrode 0.2 ms after termination of the first pulse. Single-pulse defibrillation was performed with a standard intracardiac defibrillation system in which a single truncated exponential pulse was delivered across 2 epicardial patch electrodes positioned over the anterolateral right ventricle and the posterolaterai left ventricle. During defibrillation threshold determination, voltage and current waveforms were recorded and integrated to determine delivered energy. Average defibrillation threshold leading-edge voltage for the sequential pulse technique was 496 ± 140 V, compared with 365 ± 157 V for the single-pulse technique (p
The Nature of Evolutionary Radiations: A Case Study Involving Devonian Trilobites

Evolutionary radiations, times of profound diversification of species against a broader background of more muted evolutionary change, have long been considered one of the fundamental patterns in the fossil record. Further, given the important role geological, environmental, and climatic processes play in causing speciation, analyzing the biogeographic context of radiations can yield important insight into their evolutionary mechanisms. In this study we examine biogeographic patterns and quantify rates of speciation in a diverse group of Devonian trilobites, the calmoniids, that has been hailed as a classic paleontological example of an evolutionary radiation. In particular, a phylogenetic biogeographic analysis—modified Brooks Parsimony Analysis—was used to examine the processes and geographic setting of speciation within the group. Results indicate that the Malvinokaffric Realm was a geographically complex area, and this geographic complexity created various opportunities for speciation via geodispersal and vicariance that created the fuel that fed the speciation in these taxa. Part of the geographic complexity was created not only by the inherent geologic backdrop of the region, but the overlying changes of sea level rise and fall. Rates of speciation were highest when sea level was lowest. Low sea level encouraged isolation of faunas in different tectonic basins. By contrast, sea level rise facilitated range expansion and geodispersal to other distinct tectonic basins, and speciation rates concomitantly fell; however, the taxa with the expanded ranges were later fodder for diversification when sea level fell again. Here we present a view of evolutionary radiations driven fundamentally by external abiotic factors—geology and climate—that cause range expansion and opportunities for geographic isolation with resultant rapid speciation.
Prediction of Material Properties of Nanostructured Polymer Composites Using Atomistic Simulations

Atomistic models of epoxy polymers were built in order to assess the effect of structure at the nanometer scale on the resulting bulk properties such as elastic modulus and thermal conductivity. Atomistic models of both bulk polymer and carbon nanotube polymer composites were built. For the bulk models, the effect of moisture content and temperature on the resulting elastic constants was calculated. A relatively consistent decrease in modulus was seen with increasing temperature. The dependence of modulus on moisture content was less consistent. This behavior was seen for two different epoxy systems, one containing a difunctional epoxy molecule and the other a tetrafunctional epoxy molecule. Both epoxy structures were crosslinked with diamine curing agents. Multifunctional properties were calculated with the nanocomposite models. Molecular dynamics simulation was used to estimate the interfacial thermal (Kapitza) resistance between the carbon nanotube and the surrounding epoxy matrix. These estimated values were used in a multiscale model in order to predict the thermal conductivity of a nanocomposite as a function of the nanometer scaled molecular structure.
Hot spot cooling in 3DIC package utilizing embedded thermoelectric cooler combined with silicon interposer

A novel design for hot spot cooling in 3DIC package by integrating the embedded thermoelectric cooler (ETC) is presented in this paper. The silicon (Si) interposer with through silicon vias (TSVs) was used as electrical paths for ETC and stacked on a Si chip that possesses a hot spot area on it. Finite element analysis (FEA) software ANSYS was utilized in present study to analyze the thermal performance. Three different structures: (1)TEC only, (2)TEC with copper ring and (3)copper spreader only were analyzed in present paper. The first two types are the novel designs and the third one is the traditional structure for thermal management in packaging. The dimensions of the Si chip and Si interposer are 5mm in length and width, and 100um in thickness, respectively. Three different sizes of hot spot area were adopted to investigate the cooling performance of each structure of package. Moreover, Si interposer used as an active device was also discussed. An improved novel design (second type: TEC with copper ring) was demonstrated from simulated results that provide the superior cooling performance to the other two structures.
Pulmonary T cells and eosinophils: Coconspirators or independent triggers of allergic respiratory pathology?

Etiologic discussions of allergic respiratory pathology frequently engender rabid constituencies of pro-T cell or proeosinophil disciples, each claiming, often with religious fervor, the importance of their leukocyte. However, increasing evidence suggests that the exclusionary rhetoric from either camp is inadequate to explain many of the pathologic changes occurring in the lung. Data from both asthmatic patient and mouse models of allergic respiratory inflammation suggest that, in addition to cell-autonomous activities, T-cell and eosinophil interactions may be critical to the onset and progression of pulmonary pathology. These studies also suggest that T-lymphocyte subpopulations and eosinophils communicate by means of both direct cell-cell interactions and through the secretion of inflammatory signals. Collectively, the data support an expanded view of T-cell and eosinophil activities in the lung, including both immunoregulative activities and downstream effector functions impinging directly on lung function. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2001;107:945-57.)
Systematics of holometabolous insect orders based on 18S ribosomal RNA.

Abstract Phylogenetic relationships of 19 species representing nine holometabolous insect orders and three outgroup orders were examined using sequence data from two-thirds of the 18S nuclear ribosomal RNA molecule. Of 1330 aligned nucleotide sites in 19 taxa, 460 were variable and used for phylogenetic analysis. Parsimony analyses resolved relationships in a few groups but left the most controversial questions regarding relationships among major lineages unresolved. All analyses supported a clade with Lepidoptera and Trichoptera as sister taxa most closely related to Diptera. Mecoptera and Siphonaptera were most often linked basally to this group, supporting the existence of the Mecopterida superorder. Phylogenetic affinities of this superorder and remaining lineages, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and neuropterids, were ambiguous. In contrast, distance analysis produced a tree supporting one of three morphologically based hypotheses. Neuroptera and Hymenoptera were placed as sister taxa ancestral to Mecopterida, with Coleoptera basal to all orders. The inability of the 185 molecule to resolve ancient divergence events may be due to the rapid divergence of holometabolous orders, resulting in few synapomorphies.
A series of yeast shuttle vectors for expression of cDNAs and other DNA sequences

Expression/shuttle vectors for the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have usually been large plasmids with only one or a small number of sites that are suitable for cloning and expression. We report here the construction and properties of a series of 12 expression vectors with multiple (four to eight) unique sites in their polylinkers which allow directional cloning and expression of DNA sequences under four different promoters. Eleven of these plasmids replicate at high copy number in Escherichia coli, and all have the yeast TRP1 gene, and the 2 microns origin including REP3 sequence, allowing selection and high copy number replication in yeast. Six of the plasmids are designed for the construction and selection and high copy number replication in yeast. Six of the plasmids are designed for the construction and selection of cDNA libraries from various eukaryotic organisms, allowing directional cloning and expression of cDNAs. All of these six have similar polylinkers containing a unique promoter proximal EcoRI site and a unique promoter distal XhoI site, allowing for directional cloning and expression of 'ZAP'-type cDNAs. cDNAs that complement a wide variety of yeast mutants can be selected from libraries constructed in this way. The four alternative promoters, ADH2, PGK, GAL10 and SV40 were compared for their relative activity, both in E. coli and in yeast. All yeast promoters showed substantial activity in E. coli with ADH2 showing the highest activity. ADH2 also was well-regulated in yeast, showing very high relative activity under derepressing conditions. cDNAs selected by genetic complementation from libraries constructed in these vectors should be easily subclonable into other vectors, allowing expression in different eukaryotic organisms, DNA sequencing or site-directed mutagenesis.
Pure Quantum States Are Fundamental, Mixtures (Composite States) Are Mathematical Constructions: An Argument Using Algorithmic Information Theory

From the philosophical viewpoint, two interpretations of the quantum measurement process are possible: According to the first interpretation, when we measure an observable, the measured system moves into one of the eigenstates of this observable (“the wave function collapses”); in other words, the universe “branches” by itself, due to the very measurement procedure, even if we do not use the result of the measurement. According to the second interpretation, the system simply moves into amixture of eigenstates, and the actual “branching” occurs only when anobserver reads the measurement results. According to the first interpretation, a mixture is a purely mathematical construction, and in the real physical world, a mixture actually means that the system is in one of the “component” states. In this paper, we analyze this difference from the viewpoint ofalgorithmic information theory; as a result of this analysis, we argue that onlypure quantum states are fundamental, while mixtures are simply useful mathematical constructions.