cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
REGULATION OF ASBESTOS THE MICROANA1YTICS OF GOVERNMENT FAILURE

This article analyzes the government's role in regulating asbestos-related health hazards in the United States. The U.S. government has served as both promoter and regulator of the U.S. asbestos industry, and this article examines the extent to which—in both capacities—it has hindered rather than facilitated the information dissemination essential to voluntary assumption of asbestos related risks. In documenting the behavior of the major government actors, this paper investigates the political and economic forces that have shaped U.S. asbestos policy. It shows how the Congressional transition from promoter to regulator of the asbestos industry can be explained by the susceptibility of political processes to transaction-cost augmentation by the bureaucracy.
Lateral hyperflexion injuries of the cervical spine

Injuries secondary to lateral hyperflexion forces are an unusual and commonly unrecognized entity. Patients demonstrate a wide range of symptoms and physical findings and may incur years of chronic pain if the lesion is not appreciated. Careful evaluation of historical evidence, mechanism of injury, and physical examination supplements interpretation of frontal and oblique radiographs of the entire cervical spine. Because the majority of patients reviewed sustained more than one fracture, careful scrutiny, especially of the vertebral arch, is recommended.
Development of common cold symptoms following experimental rhinovirus infection is related to prior stressful life events.

Previous studies of rhinovirus infection indicate that about one third of the persons with confirmed viral infection do not show evidence of cold symptoms. Factors that determine which infected individuals will develop colds are not known. Using a rhinovirus inoculation protocol, the authors explored the possible role of recent life events, current mood, and perceived stress in the development of symptoms in individuals known to be infected. As part of a larger study, 17 subjects were exposed to a rhinovirus and were individually isolated for 5 consecutive days; cold symptoms, mucus weights, and tissue use were monitored on a daily basis during this period. Although all 17 subjects had confirmed rhinovirus infection, only 12 subjects developed clinical colds, as indicated by self-reported symptoms and by objective symptom indices. The average number of reported major life events for the previous year was significantly higher for those who developed colds than for those who did not (p < .05). Measures of affect and perceived stress before the inoculation were not different for those who did and did not develop colds. Complementing recent research demonstrating psychosocial influences on experimental infection rates, these results provide evidence that the development of cold symptomatology in experimentally infected individuals is related to prior life events.
Insomnia: An Ignored Health Problem

Insomnia is common in all age groups and impairs quality of life. Untreated insomnia can lead to, or cause worsening of, other health problems. Effective treatment is available. Behavioral approaches should be tried first with chronic insomnia, because they are effective with few adverse effects. A number of medicines are effective for insomnia, but providers need to be cautious with their use because they are expensive, have a number of adverse side effects, and their long-term use has not been studied.
The microcalorimeter as a national microwave power standard

The simple construction and good accuracy of the microcalorimeter has resulted in its adoption by many countries as their national standard of microwave power in hollow waveguide. Its use is increasing as a national standard for coaxial microwave power measurement.
Assessing the Potential to Derive Air-Sea Freshwater Fluxes from Aquarius-Like Observations of Surface Salinity

A state-of-the-art numerical model is used to investigate the possibility of determining freshwater flux fields from temporal changes io sea-surface salinity (SSS), a goal of the satellite salinity-measuring mission, Aquarius/SAC-D. Because the estimated advective temporal scale is usually longer than the Aquarius/SAC-D revisit time, the possibility of producing freshwater flux estimates from temporal salinity changes is first examined by using a correlation analysis. For the mean seasonal cycle, the patterns of the correlations between the freshwater fluxes and surface salinity temporal tendencies are mainly zonally oriented, and are highest where the local precipitation is also relatively high. Nonseasonal (deviations from the monthly mean) correlations are highest along mid-latitude moon tracks and are relatively small in the tropics. The complex correlation patterns presented here suggest that a global retrieval of the difference between evaporation and precipitation (E-P) from salinity changes requires more complex techniques than a simple consideration of local balance with surface forcing.
A CAMAC High Resolution Time Interval Meter

A four-channel Time Interval Meter (TIM) with one-eighth nanosecond resolution was designed and packaged into a triple width CAMAC module. The TIM has a common Start and four Stop Inputs with a total range of 65 536 nanoseconds (plus an overflow bit). The basic accuracy is dependent on an internal 125 MHz clock. Preliminary measurements indicate a standard deviation of 185 pseconds.
Incommensurate and commensurate phases in asymmetric clock models

When the ordinary nearest-neighbor $p$-state clock model (discrete $\mathrm{xy}$ model) is generalized to include asymmetric interactions, an incommensurate phase appears for integer $pg~3$ in addition to the usual liquid and commensurate phases. Aside from being theoretically interesting, it is of practical importance in studies of the commensurate-incommensurate transition where the existence of a discrete nearest-neighbor model with this property gives a computational advantage over further-neighbor and continuum models. For $p=3$, the incommensurate phase always has a high degree of discommensuration and a Lifshitz point will occur where the incommensurate, liquid, and commensurate phases coincide. For $p=2$ no incommensurate phase occurs. The system is analyzed at low temperature using a transfer matrix technique recently used by J. Villain and P. Bak to analyze a similar model with further-neighbor interactions.
The Decline of the Number of Interlibrary Loans by Medical Students in a Small Academic Medical Library: A Study of 18 Years of Data

ABSTRACT The objective of this study is to provide data on one aca-demic medical library's experience with first and second year medical students’ use of interlibrary loan at the Indiana University School of Medicine–Northwest, Steven C. Beering Medical Library. The results of a study of 18 years of data show a substantial decline of interlibrary loans by medical students. Several factors, including the unique problem-based learning curriculum and the availability of online journals, which has expanded a small medical library's collection, may be responsible for the reduction of interlibrary loan. This study suggests the need for collection development librarians to understand their medical school curriculum and to invest in the most useful electronic journals for their medical students’ education needs.
Identification and characterization of nuclear and nucleolar localization signals in the adeno-associated virus serotype 2 assembly-activating protein

Assembly-activating protein (AAP) of adeno-associated virus serotype 2 (AAV2) is a nucleolar-localizing protein that plays a critical role in transporting the viral capsid VP3 protein to the nucleolus for assembly. Here, we identify and characterize AAV2 AAP (AAP2) nuclear (NLS) and nucleolar (NoLS) localization signals near the carboxy-terminal region of AAP2 (amino acid positions 144 to 184) (AAP2144–184). This region contains five basic-amino-acid-rich (BR) clusters, KSKRSRR (AAP2BR1), RRR (AAP2BR2), RFR (AAP2BR3), RSTSSR (AAP2BR4), and RRIK (AAP2BR5), from the amino terminus to the carboxy terminus. We created 30 AAP2BR mutants by arginine/lysine-to-alanine mutagenesis or deletion of AAP2BRs and 8 and 1 green fluorescent protein (GFP)-AAP2BR and β-galactosidase–AAP2BR fusion proteins, respectively, and analyzed their intracellular localization in HeLa cells by immunofluorescence microscopy. The results showed that AAP2144–184 has redundant multipartite NLSs and that any combinations of 4 AAP2BRs, but not 3 or less, can constitute a functional NLS-NoLS; AAP2BR1 and AAP2BR2 play the most influential role for nuclear localization, but either one of the two AAP2BRs is dispensable if all 4 of the other AAP2BRs are present, resulting in 3 different, overlapping NLS motifs; and the NoLS is shared redundantly among the five AAP2BRs and functions in a context-dependent manner. AAP2BR mutations not only resulted in aberrant intracellular localization, but also attenuated AAP2 protein expression to various degrees, and both of these abnormalities have a significant negative impact on capsid production. Thus, this study reveals the organization of the intermingling NLSs and NoLSs in AAP2 and provides insights into their functional roles in capsid assembly. IMPORTANCE Adeno-associated virus (AAV) has become a popular and successful vector for in vivo gene therapy; however, its biology has yet to be fully understood. In this regard, the recent discovery of the assembly-activating protein (AAP), a nonstructural, nucleolar-localizing AAV protein essential for viral capsid assembly, has provided us a new opportunity to better understand the fundamental processes required for virion formation. Here, we identify clusters of basic amino acids in the carboxy terminus of AAP from AAV serotype 2 (AAV2) that act as nuclear and nucleolar localization signals. We also demonstrate their importance in maintaining AAP expression levels and efficient production of viral capsids. Insights into the functions of AAP can elucidate the requirements and process for AAV capsid assembly, which may lead to improved vector production for use in gene therapy. This study also contributes to the growing body of work on nuclear and nucleolar localization signals.
O intercâmbio entre arte e antropologia: como a pesquisa de campo em artes cênicas pode informar a reinvenção da pesquisa de campo em antropologia

As criticas do projeto Writing Culture, enderecadas ao texto etnografico, alem de nao atingirem o metodo antropologico por excelencia, a pesquisa de campo nos moldes malinowskianos, ajudaram a dissemina-la nas humanidades e nas artes. A pesquisa de campo tradicional, contudo, mostra-se inadequada aos novos temas de investigacao da antropologia em um mundo mais complexo, integrado e frgmentado produzido pela globalizacao. Este trabalho, originalmente escrito para uma conferencia, sugere a reinvencao do imaginario da pesquisa de campo antropologica a partir de sua apropriacao pelo teatro e pelo cinema. Baseado no trabalho do cenografo venezuelano Fernando Calzadilla, o autor propoe a substituicao do distanciamento e da limitacao espacial da mise-en-scene malinowskiana pela cumplicidade entre observador e observado e pela pesquisa em campos multilocalizados.
Synthesis and biological evaluation of 18F-Norfallypride in the rodent brain using PET imaging

Abstract Norfallypride ( N -[(2-pyrolidinyl)methyl]-2,3-dimethoxy-5-(3'-fluoropropyl)benzamide), an analog of fallypride, has been synthesized and evaluated as a potential PET imaging agent for dopamine receptors with increased subtype selectivity. In order to synthesize 18 F-Norfallypride, the substituted benzamide tosylate ( S )- N -[(1-BOC-2-pyrolidinyl)methyl]-2,3-dimethoxy-5-(3'-tosyloxypropyl)-benzamide) was radiolabeled with 18 F using Kryptofix and K 2 CO 3 in acetonitrile and deprotected with trifluoroacetic acid to yield ( S )- 18 F-Norfallypride in approx. 10% radiochemical yields. Norfallypride exhibited an IC 50 of 0.63μM for displacing 18 F-fallypride in rat brain slices. In vitro rat brain autoradiographic studies revealed weak binding of 18 F-norfallypride to striatal regions. PET imaging in rats showed low brain uptake of 18 F-norfallypride in the rat brain. Ex vivo brain PET analysis displayed binding of 18 F-norfallypride in several brain regions. With respect to the cerebellum, ex vivo PET ratios were: striatum>3; hypothalamus>2; hippocampus~2; cerebellar nuclei >2 while autoradiographic ratios were 14, 9, 4 and 6 respectively. 18 F-Norfallypride exhibited a unique binding profile to rat brain regions known to contain significant amounts of dopamine D3 and serotonin 5HT 3 receptors. Efforts are currently under way to increase brain permeability and fully characterize the binding of 18 F-norfallypride in vivo.
Counseling Psychology and School Counseling Can a Stronger Partnership Be Forged

Romano and Kachgal proposed a model for collaboration between counseling psychology and school counseling, which they argued would advance each specialty and benefit children and adolescents. In this response, the author examines current trends in both specialties that may impede a closer partnership while also considering the advantages of the proposed model. In conclusion, the author argues that there is a common denominator, counseling, that could serve as a uniting factor.
Gencrypt: one-way cryptographic hashes to detect overlapping individuals across samples

Summary: Meta-analysis across genome-wide association studies is a common approach for discovering genetic associations. However, in some meta-analysis efforts, individual-level data cannot be broadly shared by study investigators due to privacy and Institutional Review Board concerns. In such cases, researchers cannot confirm that each study represents a unique group of people, leading to potentially inflated test statistics and false positives. To resolve this problem, we created a software tool, Gencrypt, which utilizes a security protocol known as one-way cryptographic hashes to allow overlapping participants to be identified without sharing individual-level data. Availability: Gencrypt is freely available under the GNU general public license v3 at http://www.broadinstitute.org/software/gencrypt/ Contact: gro.etutitsnidaorb@hleoj Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Managing data transfers in computer clusters with orchestra

Cluster computing applications like MapReduce and Dryad transfer massive amounts of data between their computation stages. These transfers can have a significant impact on job performance, accounting for more than 50% of job completion times. Despite this impact, there has been relatively little work on optimizing the performance of these data transfers, with networking researchers traditionally focusing on per-flow traffic management. We address this limitation by proposing a global management architecture and a set of algorithms that (1) improve the transfer times of common communication patterns, such as broadcast and shuffle, and (2) allow scheduling policies at the transfer level, such as prioritizing a transfer over other transfers. Using a prototype implementation, we show that our solution improves broadcast completion times by up to 4.5X compared to the status quo in Hadoop. We also show that transfer-level scheduling can reduce the completion time of high-priority transfers by 1.7X.
Genetic Variants Identified in a European Genome-Wide Association Study That Were Found to Predict Incident Coronary Heart Disease in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

In 2007, the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC) performed a genome-wide association study in 2,000 British coronary heart disease (CHD) cases and 3,000 controls after genotyping 469,557 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Seven variants associated with CHD were initially identified, and 5 SNPs were later found in replication studies. In the current study, the authors aimed to determine whether the 12 SNPs reported by the WTCCC predicted incident CHD through 2004 in a biracial, prospective cohort study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) comprising 15,792 persons aged 45–64 years who had been selected by probability sampling from 4 different US communities in 1987–1989. Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for age and gender were used to estimate CHD hazard rate ratios (HRRs) over a 17-year period (1,362 cases in whites and 397 cases in African Americans) under an additive genetic model. The results showed that 3 SNPs in whites (rs599839, rs1333049, and rs501120; HRRs were 1.10 (P ¼ 0.044), 1.14 (P < 0.001), and 1.14 (P ¼ 0.030), respectively) and 1 SNP in African Americans (rs7250581; HRR ¼ 1.60, P ¼ 0.05) were significantly associated with incident CHD. This study demonstrates that genetic variants revealed in a case-control genome-wide association study enriched for early disease onset may play a role in the genetic etiology of CHD in the general population.
Switching-induced stable limit cycles

Physical limits place bounds on the divergent behaviour of dynamical systems. The paper explores this situation, providing an example where generator field-voltage limits capture behaviour, giving rise to a stable, though non-smooth, limit cycle. It is shown that shooting methods can be adapted to solve for such non-smooth switching-induced limit cycles. By continuing branches of switching-induced and smooth limit cycles, the paper established the co-existence of equilibria, smooth and non-smooth limit cycles. Furthermore, it is shown that when branches of switching-induced and smooth limit cycles merge, the limit cycles are annihilated at a grazing bifurcation.
Denaturation fingerprinting: two related mutation detection methods especially advantageous for high G + C regions.

Two versions of denaturation finge r printing (dnF 2R and dnF 1R ) are described for detecting mutations. DnF 2R is a sens i tive screening method in which fingerprint s are generated by performing denaturing ge l electrophoresis on bidirectional “cycle-s e quencing” reactions with each of two dideoxy terminators, e.g., ddATP and ddCTP. When the fingerprints generated b y ddATP and ddCTP are combined, all s e quence changes are expected to result in one extra and one absent segment. DnF 2R was performed on 246- and 318-bp seg ments of the human factor IX gene, and th e products were electrophoresed through a 6% Long Range r ™ gel with 7 M urea. Al l 32 single-base mutations were detected in hemizygous males with hemophilia B . DnF 2R has been applied to detect a total o f seven heterozygous sequence changes in large-scale screening and was found to b e especially suitable for high G+C regions. In a blinded analysis, all of twenty-four add i tional single-base mutations were detected , but 7 of 31 heterozygous mutations wer e missed (23%). To reduce the effort of dnF 2R by almost twofold while retaining the abilit y to detect all types of single-base changes , one fingerprint (dnF 1R ) was generated b y performing a single reaction with ddATP and a second chemically modified termina tor (e.g., ROX-conjugated ddCTP), which retards the mobility of the same termination products. The sensitivity and specificity o f dnF 1R equaled that of dnF 2R , with the e x ception that the blinded analysis of he t erozygotes in the 318-bp segment, which r e vealed the presence of an additiona l mutation. DnF under partially denaturing conditions may have optimal sensitivity fo r the detection of heterozygotes .
Optimized sample preparation of endoscopic collected pancreatic fluid for SDS-PAGE analysis

The standardization of methods for human body fluid protein isolation is a critical initial step for proteomic analyses aimed to discover clinically-relevant biomarkers. Several caveats have hindered pancreatic fluid proteomics, including the heterogeneity of samples and protein degradation. We aim to optimize sample handling of pancreatic fluid that has been collected using a safe and effective endoscopic collection method (ePFT). Using SDS-PAGE protein profiling, we investigate (1) precipitation techniques to maximize protein extraction, (2) auto-digestion of pancreatic fluid following prolonged exposure to a range of temperatures, (3) effects of multiple freeze-thaw cycles on protein stability, and (4) the utility of protease inhibitors. Our experiments revealed that trichloroacetic acid (TCA) precipitation resulted in the most efficient extraction of protein from pancreatic fluid of the eight methods we investigated. In addition, our data reveal that although auto-digestion of proteins is prevalent at 23°C and 37°C, incubation on ice significantly slows such degradation. Similarly, when the sample is maintained on ice, proteolysis is minimal during multiple freeze-thaw cycles. We have also determined the addition of protease inhibitors to be assay-dependent. Our optimized sample preparation strategy can be applied to future proteomic analyses of pancreatic fluid.
Approaches to multimedia and security

The requirements on security are increasing, particularly in the field of multimedia. Whether and in which way security mechanisms can be applied to multimedia data and their applications needs to be analyzed for each purpose separately. This is mainly due to the structure and complexity of multimedia. Based on the main issues of IT security, this paper introduces the most important security requirements which must be fulfilled by today's multimedia systems. Furthermore, it describes the security measures used to satisfy these requirements. These measures are based on modern cryptographic mechanisms and digital watermarking techniques, as well as on security infrastructures.
Statins Reduce Inflammation in Atheroma of Nonhuman Primates Independent of Effects on Serum Cholesterol

Objective— Some of the statin-induced reduction in cardiac events in patients with atherosclerosis may be derived from mechanisms independent of lipid lowering. This study tested in nonhuman primates whether statins can influence inflammation (indicated by vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, interleukin-1β, tissue factor, and macrophages) and features of plaque stability (indicated by collagen and smooth muscle cells) independent of their effect on plasma cholesterol level. Methods and Results— Adult male cynomolgus monkeys (n=12 per group) consumed an atherogenic diet for 12 months while receiving (1) no treatment (control), (2) pravastatin (Prava, 40 mg/kg per day), or (3) simvastatin (Simva, 20 mg/kg per day). Dietary cholesterol was adjusted to equalize plasma cholesterol levels among groups. Although the intima/media ratio in the abdominal aorta did not differ among groups, drug treatment reduced inflammation and features of plaque vulnerability. Macrophage content in the lesions of statin-treated animals was lowered (2.4-fold with Prava and 1.3-fold with Simva; both P P P P Conclusions— In primates, these results provide further support for the beneficial effect of statins on plaque inflammation and stability in addition to cholesterol lowering.
Marketing actions can modulate neural representations of experienced pleasantness

Despite the importance and pervasiveness of marketing, almost nothing is known about the neural mechanisms through which it affects decisions made by individuals. We propose that marketing actions, such as changes in the price of a product, can affect neural representations of experienced pleasantness. We tested this hypothesis by scanning human subjects using functional MRI while they tasted wines that, contrary to reality, they believed to be different and sold at different prices. Our results show that increasing the price of a wine increases subjective reports of flavor pleasantness as well as blood-oxygen-level-dependent activity in medial orbitofrontal cortex, an area that is widely thought to encode for experienced pleasantness during experiential tasks. The paper provides evidence for the ability of marketing actions to modulate neural correlates of experienced pleasantness and for the mechanisms through which the effect operates.
Parallel Biclustering of Genes with Coherent Evolutions: Algorithm and Biological Significance of the Biclusters

Uncovering genetic pathways is equivalent to finding clusters of genes with expression levels that evolve coherently under subsets of conditions. This can be done by applying a biclustering procedure to gene expression data. Given a microarray data set with M genes and N conditions, we define a bicluster with coherent evolution as a subset of genes with expression levels that are non-decreasing as a function of a particular ordered subset of conditions. We propose a new biclustering procedure that identifies all biclusters with a specified number of K conditions in parallel with O(MK) complexity. Unlike almost all prior biclustering techniques, the proposed approach is guaranteed to find all biclusters with a specified minimum numbers of genes and conditions in the data set. All of the biclusters it identifies have no imperfection, i.e., the evolutions of the genes in each bicluster will be coherent across all conditions in the bicluster. Furthermore, the complexity of the proposed approach is lower than that of prior approaches. We also discuss the biological significance of the biclusters computed by the algorithm for a set of yeast gene microarray data.
Experiments on the spread of colds. II. Studies in volunteers with coxsackievirus A21.

The amount of virus in nasal and other secretions after infection with coxsackievirus A 21 has been measured daily in ten volunteers. Most virus was found in nasal secretion, less in throat secretion and small amounts were found intermittently in the saliva and faeces. Virus administered as small drops or on a swab was more infectious for man if put on to the nasal mucosa than on to the throat or outside the nose. It was also infectious by the conjunctival route. Virus was sprayed in droplets of about the same size range as those found in a natural sneeze. Virus survived better in larger (> 4 μ) than in smaller droplets. About one tissue culture infectious dose of virus in such droplets also infected volunteers. The symptoms produced by these experimental infections have been analysed. The disease produced was largely independent of the dosage and route of infection. Those with pre-existing antibody resisted infection better than those with no antibody. Antibody rises were detected in about two-thirds of infected volunteers. Volunteers with colds shed virus in large drops on sneezing, or into the handkerchief on blowing the nose, but virus was recovered from the air only after simulated sneezes by volunteers with high concentrations of virus in their nasal secretions. Virus died off rapidly on fabric at room temperature and humidity, and was only resuspended as airborne droplets when large doses such as 0·02 ml. of virus of high titre (10 7·5 TCD 50/ml.) were used. Infection was transmitted from an infected volunteer to an uninfected partner living in the same flat in three out of twenty tests. Infection was not transmitted in experiments when volunteers mixed for a few hours with subjects with colds, or inhaled air into which a subject with a cold had just sneezed.
Nanomodified Endotracheal Tubes: Spatial Analysis of Reduced Bacterial Colonization in a Bench Top Airway Model

Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is a serious and costly clinical problem. Specifically, receiving mechanical ventilation for over 24 hours increases the risk of VAP and is associated with high morbidity, mortality and medical costs. Cost effective endotracheal tubes (ETTs) that are resistant to bacterial infection could help prevent this problem. The objective of this study was to determine differences in the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) on nanomodified and unmodified polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ETTs under dynamic airway conditions. PVC ETTs were modified to have nanometer surface features by soaking them in Rhizopus arrhisus, a fungal lipase. Twenty-four hour experiments (supported by computational models) showed that air flow conditions within the ETT influenced both the location and concentration of bacterial growth on the ETTs especially within areas of tube curvature. More importantly, experiments revealed a 1.5 log reduction in the total number of S. aureus on the novel nanomodified ETTs compared to the conventional ETTs after 24 hours of air flow. This dynamic study showed that lipase etching can create nano-rough surface features on PVC ETTs that suppress S. aureus growth and, thus, may provide clinicians with an effective and inexpensive tool to combat VAP.
Elucidation of Spore-Photoproduct Formation by Isotope Labeling

UV light is lethal to most microorganisms owing to its relatively high energy and efficient absorption by biomacromolecules. However, bacterial endospores, which are responsible for a number of human diseases, such as anthrax and tetanus, are extremely resistant to UV radiation. For example, some Bacillus spores can be 100 times more resistant to UV light than the corresponding vegetative cells.[1] The highly unusual UV resistance is due to unique DNA photochemistry coupled with efficient damage repair in endospores.[2–8] Progress has been made in the elucidation of the damage-repair process.[6–9] However, although SP was discovered nearly half a century ago,[10] and despite the strong interest of the scientific community in how it is formed,[2,11] little is known about the mechanism of spore-DNA photochemistry.[12]
Things arising from electrocardiographic imaging: toward a theory of partial inverse problems.

The task of Electrocardiographic Imaging is an ill- posed inverse problem, requiring regularization. However, it has special features, firstly because it is a "non-stationary" inverse problem, and secondly because the inherent dynamical variety (e.g., epicardial breakthroughs, arrhythmias, ischemic changes) may preclude a fruitful nontivial process model. Importantly, its structure places it in the category of "partial inverse problems" - a theory that arises from this setting. Surprising features of the resulting regularization methodology include the ability to fashion nontrivial regularization matrices in part (and sometimes entirely) from the data. There is evidence that these theoretical results can have significant practical benefits.
Angular dependence of proton kinetic-energy distributions from dissociative ionization of H 2

Results are reported on the angular dependence of the ${\mathrm{H}}^{+}$ translational kinetic-energy distributions resulting from electron-induced dissociative ionization of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$. These measurements confirm a fact clearly implied by earlier measurements, namely, that considerable variation of the energy distributions with angle can occur even for electron energies as much as 40 eV above threshold, and bring into question conclusions previously drawn from comparison of ion and/or high-Rydberg-excited fragment energy distributions measured at widely separated angles.
A mathematical model for quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa use the size and density of their colonies to regulate the production of a large variety of substances, including toxins. This phenomenon, called quorum sensing, apparently enables colonies to grow to sufficient size undetected by the immune system of the host organism. In this paper, we present a mathematical model of quorum sensing in P. aeruginosa that is based on the known biochemistry of regulation of the autoinducer that is crucial to this signalling mechanism. Using this model we show that quorum sensing works because of a biochemical switch between two stable steady solutions, one with low levels of autoinducer and one with high levels of autoinducer.
The Impact of U.S. Military Operations in Kuwait, Bosnia, and Kosovo (1991-2000) on Environmental Health Surveillance

ABSTRACTDeployments of U.S. Forces to the Persian Gulf (1991), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995), and Kosovo (1999) were associated with diverse, potential environmental exposures. Health effects possibly associated with these exposures were cause for concern among service members, veterans, and military and civilian leaders. A need for the military to effectively respond to these exposures, and more importantly, to assess and mitigate exposures before deployments and to conduct environmental surveillance during deployments was identified. The Department of Defense encountered many obstacles in dealing with the exposures of 1991. Even though these obstacles were being identified, and in some cases, addressed, responses to historical exposure concerns continued to be reactive. In 1996, efforts were intensified to improve policy and doctrine, field sampling equipment, risk assessment processes, geographic information systems, and other tools needed to effectively identify and reduce the impact of exposures befo...
Understanding attachment Patterns among Orphans in Residential Care Homes in New Delhi, India:

When it comes to the care and wellbeing of orphaned children, attachment is an important construct to consider. Not only may it help influence how an orphan child will integrate, or fail to, within the setting of a group foster care home, attachment patterns may also have bearing in the nature of relationships they will have as an adult, after leaving the care of the home. Attachment is doubly important in the context of orphan children due to their histories of often having experienced loss or abandonment or witnessed significant trauma, including loss of loved ones. These factors have been described as leading to orphans having attachment challenges, with many being unnaturally avoidant or overly trusting. And yet, attachment theory as we know it is deeply rooted in a Euro-American understanding of child development. Specifically, attachment in the Western context is idealised and romanticised, built upon a pair-bond between one primary caregiver and one child. This paper, using data from research conducted among orphans in New Delhi, India, explores attachment relationships among 89 children across 11 group foster care homes in collaboration with the organisation Udayan Care. The study aims to shed light on the relationships that Udayan orphans have formed with non-parental figures, and in many cases, non-adults. This study is based on two questionnaires: the Inventory of Peer and Parent Attachment-Revised (IPPA) administered for children 9 to 18 years old and the Randolph test of attachment for children ages 4 to 8 in the sample. Our findings indicate that this sample tends to display a stronger sense of attachment to their peers than to their mentor mothers or caregivers. In addition, greater attachment is seen to mentor mothers than to caregivers. These results raise important questions notably, what does attachment to peers rather than to caregivers mean for later functioning? And are these children more vulnerable because they are not closely attached to caregivers?
A Closed-Form, Finite-State Model for the Unsteady Aerodynamics of Rotors

In order to perform meaningful aeroelasticity analyses (including frequency, damping, and modal information) it is necessary to have an unsteady aerodynamic model that can be combined with the structural dynamics. Classical, fixed-wing aeroelasticity has relied heavily on the the Theodorsen Function [1] to provide this information. This function relates the magnitude and phase of the lift to the magnitude and phase of the blade angle of attack. When it is impossible to treat the motion as simple harmonic, the Theodorsen Function can be replaced with finite-state models that approximate the lift behavior in some frequency range [2]. For rotary-wing problems, the analog to Theodorsen theory is Loewy theory [3] which is a two-dimensional approximation to the effect of the rotor wake.
Plant pathogenic oomycetes: counterbalancing resistance, susceptibility and adaptation

AbstractThe genetic basis for the interaction(s) between plants and pathogens has been classically illustrated as a gene-for-gene relationship, through which a single gene product from the pathogen interacts within a single gene product found within the plant. In the simplest terms, it is the outcome of these interactions that underpin resistance and/or susceptibility signalling processes. While this basic concept shapes our understanding of many of the molecular-genetic mechanisms controlling immune signalling in plants, current research has revealed that the timing and ultimate outcome of these interactions are far more complex, and are typically regulated in a genome-by-genome manner. As a central theme for this review, we will focus on recent discoveries in the field of plant-oomycete interactions, primarily on the downy mildews, an important group of obligate oomycete pathogens of plants. Recent transcriptome-based studies have shown that survival, adaptation and virulence rely on complex, bi-directi...
Role of the surface lewis acid and base sites in the adsorption of CO 2 on titania nanotubes and platinized titania nanotubes: An in situ FT-IR study

An understanding of the adsorption of CO2, the first step in its photoreduction, is necessary for a full understanding of the photoreduction process. As such, the reactive adsorption of CO2 on oxidized, reduced, and platinized TiO2 nanotubes (Ti-NTs) was studied using infrared spectroscopy. The Ti-NTs were characterized with TEM and XRD, and XPS was used to determine the oxidation state as a function of oxidation, reduction, and platinization. The XPS data demonstrate that upon oxidation, surface O atoms become more electronegative, producing sites that can be characterized as strong Lewis bases, and the corresponding Ti becomes more electropositive producing sites that can be characterized as strong Lewis acids. Reduction of the Ti-NTs produces Ti3+ species, a very weak Lewis acid, along with a splitting of the Ti4+ peak, representing two sites, which correlate with O sites with a corresponding change in oxidation state. Ti3+ is not observed on reduction of the platinized Ti-NTs, presumably because Pt ac...
Improving the Adsorption and Release Capacity of Organic-Functionalized Mesoporous Materials to Drug Molecules with Temperature and Synthetic Methods

In this report we show that drug incubation temperature, methods used for removing surfactant templates from mesoporous materials and solvents used for placing surface organic functional groups on the materials can improve or affect the adsorption capacity and drug release properties of potentially useful nanoporous silica and organosilica as drug delivery vehicles. This is demonstrated by investigating the adsorption and release properties toward rhodamine 6G (R6G) and an anticancer drug, cisplatin, of various solvent-extracted and calcined mesoporous silicas (MCM-41 and SBA-15), organic-functionalized mesoporous silicas containing terminal organoamine, organothiol and vinyl groups, and bridging organic-functionalized ethane periodic mesoporous organosilica (ethane PMO) under various conditions. Two different solvents, isopropanol and toluene, were used to graft the terminal organic groups from their corresponding organosilanes, producing materials with slightly different adsorption and release propertie...
MRI of the Fetal Chest

A broad variety of abnormalities with widely variable prognosis can be seen in the chest by prenatal imaging. Early and accurate diagnosis is important to appropriately counsel, plan management, and improve outcomes. Ultrasound is the screening tool to first identify a chest abnormality. Magnetic resonance imaging has been shown to be a valuable adjuvant study. MRI description of the different entities affecting the chest as well as prognosis and fetal management options is described.
Cells in sol-gels I : A cytocompatible route for the production of macroporous silica gels

A novel, high hydrolysis ratio sol-gel route for the biocompatible production of macroporous silica gels is presented. This route exploits the two step nature of the gelation reaction to remove undesired alcohol by-products from an acidic aqueous sol prior to gelation. These alcohol-free sols will gel when the pH is raised to the physiologic range in a two-step, acid/base catalyzed process. Furthermore, monolithic macroporous samples can be produced in a controlled manner by introducing water-soluble organic polymers into the sol.
Management of Rectal Injuries During Radical Cystectomy

AbstractWe reviewed the incidence and management of intraoperative rectal injuries in patients who underwent radical cystectomy from January 1980 through July 1988 to assess the role of primary repair without diverting colostomy as definitive therapy. During this interval 163 radical cystectomies were performed and 125 charts were available for review. The incidence of rectal injuries was 9.6% (12 of 125 patients). The rate of rectal injury in patients who had previously received definitive pelvic radiation was 27% (3 of 11). The incidence of injury in patients who received 2,000 rad preoperative radiation (11%, 2 of 17) was similar to that noted in individuals who were not irradiated (7%, 7 of 97).Of the 12 patients with rectal injury 9 underwent primary closure without diverting colostomy. The remainder were treated with an initial colostomy. Only 1 patient who had not received prior radiation required a colostomy after initial treatment with primary closure. The 8 successful primary rectal closures wer...
Lyme disease related keratitis

Lyme borreliosis has been associated with both anterior and posterior segment inflammation. The authors describe three unusual forms of keratitis presenting with stromal scarring and/or subepithelial haze. This article emphasizes the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion for Lyme disease in all patients displaying unfamiliar corneal findings and living in endemic areas
POKER AND GENERAL PARLOR GAMES

This chapter focuses on poker and general parlor games. It is the opinion of many expert card players that poker requires the most skill and depth of all card games. In most card games, if the opponent holds a good hand, nothing can be done about it; but this is not necessarily the case in poker. The elements of bluff and threat are the very spirit of the game. A knowledge of mathematical probability is necessary but not sufficient to make a good poker player. Correct poker is a proper combination of the tools of probability analysis, bluff, sandbagging, risk, and psychology. The impulse to gamble remains an eternal aspect of the apparent irrationality of man. Card games are one outlet for this impulse. When a game like poker is played over a long period of time, the experience acquired by the players tends to crystallize into a set of heuristic rules of play—a collection of practices and gambits that have been tested under fire and been found effective.
WiGroup: A Lightweight Cellular-Assisted Device-to-Device Network Formation Framework

Cellular networks will periodically experience instances where the network capacity is insufficient to meet network demand. This paper proposes WiGroup, a group formation algorithm to help cellular networks organize mobile devices into groups to reduce cellular network overhead while limiting disruption to the end user. WiGroup is based on extending device-to-device (D2D) communications, a standard current supported by the cellular network operators, to create device-to-group (D2G) communications. Experimental results indicate that our framework is able to reduce up to 37% of the direct cellular connections. Also, trace-driven results show its ability of consistently reducing direct cellular connections by as high as 28%.
Fence method for nonparametric small area estimation

This paper considers the problem of selecting nonparametric models for small area estimation, which recently have received much attention. We develop a procedure based on the idea of fence method (Jiang, Rao, Gu and Nguyen 2008) for selecting the mean function for the small areas from a class of approximating splines. Simulation results show impressive performance of the new procedure even when the number of small areas is fairly small. The method is applied to a hospital graft failure dataset for selecting a nonparametric Fay-Herriot type model.
Change in Pseudomonas aeruginosa prevalence in cystic fibrosis adults over time

Little is known about risk factors for chronic and mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) adults, and whether the prevalence is changing. We employed a retrospective cohort to analyze data from a single adult CF center (2002 to 2012). Regression models were used to assess independent predictors and change in prevalence of chronic and mucoid Pa infection over time. The odds ratio of mucoid Pa infection was significantly less in individuals with better baseline lung function (OR 0.84,95%CI:0.77–0.92) and those diagnosed after the age of 25 (OR 0.21, 95%CI:0.05–0.95). The prevalence of chronic Pa and mucoid Pa decreased during the time interval. After adjusting for confounders, the observed decrease in chronic and mucoid Pa between 2002 and 2012 was no longer significant. The prevalence of chronic and mucoid Pa is decreasing. Larger studies are needed to confirm these regional trends and their significance.
The impact of cash transfers on livelihoods, education, health and HIV – what's the evidence?

Cash transfers are a development intervention aimed at alleviating shocks from chronic poverty and inequality by reducing the risks and vulnerabilities associated with them. Implementation of cash transfer programmes is growing rapidly around the world, providing a body of evidence demonstrating the impact of cash transfers in many development sectors, including livelihoods, education and health. Cash transfers have also been effective in influencing positive outcomes for HIV prevention synergistically with other development sectors. Yet, programme effectiveness is greatly influenced by context, including issues such as conditionality, durability and political will. Nevertheless, the evidence strongly supports the effectiveness of cash transfers in leading to positive and multi-sectoral development outcomes, warranting greater use of such programmes.
Safety Climate Measurement: an Empirical Test of Context-Specific vs. General Assessments

Safety climate researchers develop and use both general and industry-specific safety climate measures. Theories about language comprehension suggest that context facilitates meaning; however, the relative value of context-specific safety climate measures in the prediction of safety outcomes is an empirical question that has not been rigorously tested. The purpose of the present study was to provide a rigorous comparison of context-specific vs. general safety climate measures. Seven hundred forty-six university laboratory personnel from five different kinds of research labs (i.e., animal biological, biological, chemical, human subjects/computer, or mechanical/electrical) completed contextualized safety climate measures, a general safety climate measure, and measures of other safety-related constructs. Measurement equivalence analyses indicated that the general safety climate measure was not equivalent across the five lab types. Hypothesis testing revealed that contextualized information was most helpful when included in safety climate measures for less, rather than more, safety-salient contexts, but overall, there was relatively little difference in the validities for general and context-specific measures. Results suggest that context has a small influence on how individuals respond to safety climate measures and provide guidance for researchers/practitioners when deciding between using industry-specific or general safety climate measures. It appears most beneficial to use industry-specific measures when examining safety climate in a less-safety-salient context. This study offers one of the first empirical tests of a contextualized safety climate measure involving a rigorous, unconfounded comparison of five context-specific safety climate measures with a general measure.