cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patient Acceptance of Rapid HIV Testing Practices in an Urban Emergency Department : Assessment of the 2006 CDC Recommendations for HIV Screening in Health Care Settings

Study objective The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released revised recommendations for HIV testing in health care settings, calling for the performance of nontargeted opt-out HIV screening, the integration of informed consent for HIV testing into the general consent for medical care, and the uncoupling of prevention counseling and testing. It is unclear, however, whether patients will understand opt-out screening or be satisfied with integration of the consent for HIV testing into the general medical consent or the uncoupling of counseling from testing. The objective of this study is to evaluate patients' acceptance of the CDC's revised recommendations in an urban emergency department (ED). Methods This was a cross-sectional survey study performed in the ED of an urban, public safety net hospital. The approximate annual ED census is 55,000 patients, and an approximate undiagnosed HIV seroprevalence ranges from 0.7% to 2.2%. A standardized survey instrument was developed and piloted and was then implemented with trained research assistants. Adult patients who were awake, alert, and agreed to participate in the study were included. Results During the 3-month study period, 529 patients were enrolled. The median age was 38 years (interquartile range 27 to 49 years; range 18 to 87 years), 57% were men, 48% were white, 28% were Hispanic, 18% were black, and 6% represented another race or ethnicity. When patients were asked whether they would have been tested had opt-out methodology been used, 81% (95% confidence interval [CI] 77% to 84%) would have agreed to be tested. When asked whether they would have been tested had opt-in methodology been used, there was no difference (absolute difference 0%; 95% CI –5% to 4%). However, explanation of opt-out screening was required for 11% (95% CI 8% to 14%), whereas explanation of opt-in screening was required for only 2% (95% CI 1% to 4%) (absolute difference 9%; 95% CI 5% to 11%). When asked whether the patient's physician recommended an HIV test during the ED visit, 93% (95% CI 91% to 95%) would have agreed to be tested. When asked whether consent for HIV testing should be separate from consent for general emergency medical care, 50% (95% CI 46% to 54%) agreed. When asked whether counseling was necessary before performing an HIV test, 34% (95% CI 30% to 38%) agreed, and when asked whether counseling was necessary after receiving a negative HIV test result, 35% (95% CI 31% to 40%) agreed. Conclusion A large proportion of ED patients appear willing to be screened for HIV infection in accordance with the CDC's revised recommendations for HIV testing in health care settings. Similar proportions were willing to be tested when opt-out or opt-in screening strategies were used; however, a significantly greater proportion required explanation of opt-out screening.
Sterculic derivatives and pink egg formation.

Sterculyl alcohol has been methylated and reduced to form the methoxyl and hydrocarbon derivatives. These two derivatives, sterculyl alcohol and the polymers of sterculic acid and methyl sterculate were fed to laying hens. The sterculic derivatives caused pink egg formation but the polymers did not.
Realität und gesellschaftliche Interpretation von Gesundheit

Die Auspragung von Gesundheit ist von der gesellschaftlichen Entwicklung, insbesondere von den jeweiligen sozialen und kulturellen Bedingungen abhangig. Es existiert eine Vielzahl von Definitionen fur Gesundheit, die pathogenetische und die salutogenetische Orientierung haben jeweils ihre Berechtigung. Die Bemuhungen, den Gesundheitszustand durch Gesundheitsindikatoren wie Lebenserwartung, Mortalitat, Morbiditat, Arbeitsunfahigkeit, Inanspruchnahme medizinischer Leistungen usw. quantitativ zu beschreiben, bilden im Ergebnis jeweils nur Teilaspekte der Wirklichkeit ab. Die Beschreibung von Gesundheit muss deren objektive und subjektive Erfahrbarkeit in ihrer somatischen, psychischen und sozialen Dimension erfassen. Epidemiologische Aussagen sind stets durch Ergebnisse phanomenologischer Beobachtungen zu erganzen, wenn die real gelebte Wirklichkeit abgebildet und die Akzeptanz der Ergebnisse in der beobachteten Gruppe erreicht werden soll. The health profile of a human society depends upon its social development and in particular upon current social and cultural conditions. Health can be defined in many ways; both the pathogentic and the salutogenetic approaches have their merits. Partial aspects of reality are offered for example by attempts to describe health conditions quantitatively by means of health indicators such als life expectancy, mortality, morbidity, incapacity to work, use made of medical services, and the like. The description of health must encompass the entire range of its objective and subjective experience in its somatic, mental and social dimensions. Epidemiological data must always be supplemented by the results of phenomenological observations to obtain a true picture of the experience of reality and the acceptance of the results by the group under observation.
Morningness–eveningness and intelligence among high-achieving US students: Night owls have higher GMAT scores than early morning types in a top-ranked MBA program

Abstract Individuals with a propensity to wake up early in the morning (“early-morning” types) and those who like to stay up late at night (“night owls”) often exhibit distinctive psychological and physiological profiles. Previous research has shown that night owls score higher than early-morning people on different measures of cognitive ability and academic achievement. Baseline cortisol is one of the physiological variables associated with variation in chronotype and cognitive function. In this study we investigated whether a relationship between chronotype and performance is present also in the high range of intellectual ability and academic achievement, namely, among graduate students in a top-ranked MBA program in the US. In addition, we measured baseline cortisol levels in saliva samples collected in the early afternoon and analyzed them in relation to chronotype and GMAT scores. As predicted, GMAT scores were significantly higher among night owls than among early-morning types, regardless of sex. GMAT scores were also significantly higher among men than women, regardless of chronotype. Morningness/eveningness was not significantly associated with variation in sleep amount or in undergraduate or graduate GPA scores, suggesting that the association between eveningness and high GMAT scores was not due to differences in study effort or skills. Sex, chronotype and baseline cortisol jointly accounted for 14% of the total variance in GMAT scores; baseline cortisol, however, did not mediate the effect of chronotype on GMAT scores. Consistent with the results of previous research, our study shows that the effects of chronotype on cognitive ability and academic performance are relatively small but detectable even among high-achieving individuals. The mechanism linking eveningness and high cognitive function remains unclear but the role of personality traits and neuroendocrine function warrants further investigation.
Eolian sand deflation —A cause for gravel barrier islands in arctic Alaska?

Barrier islands in arctic Alaska are composed of sandy gravel, whereas lower-latitude barrier islands are composed of predominantly sandy material. This pronounced grain-size difference needs explanation. Because wind-winnowing of island surfaces is effective during most of the yearly cycle, while sediment supply by waves is effective for about 2 mo at most, eolian sand deflation might be a mechanism to explain the coarse sediments of arctic barrier islands. In late winter, plumes of windblown sand are found on the fast ice downwind of barrier islands. More than 300 t (tonnes) of sand were removed by wind action from one small island near Prudhoe Bay in one winter; this loss suggests a deflation rate of 2 mm for that period.
Experimental assessment of structure and property predictions during hot working

Uniaxial compression experiments were conducted in the hot-working range for a commercial purity aluminum alloy using constant strain-rate tests and strain-rate drop tests producing strain hardening, strain softening, and steady-state deformation behaviors. The structure of the deformed material was characterized by microhardness and grain shape. A single internal state variable constitutive model for flow stress was developed using the microhardness data to quantify the state variable. The change in the grain aspect ratio was related to the imposed bulk strain in the samples. The constitutive model was incorporated into a finite element program. A critical experimental assessment of predictions of the spatial variation in structure and properties throughout a workpiece was then made using a tapered compression specimen. Comparisons with experimental results indicated that the load was underpredicted by 10 pct and the microhardness by 6 pct, while the severity of the strain gradients was overpredicted. This was concluded to be due to an underprediction of the work-hardening rate at low strains. Additional calculations made with alternative constitutive models showed that the internal state variable model predicted the applied force much more accurately than alternative models.
WE-G-108-04: Establishing a Quantitative Relation Between the Spectrum-Sampling Rate On the Dose Distribution Accuracy Using a GPU Based Convolution/superposition Algorithm

Purpose: The focus of this work was to determine the quantitative relationship between the spectrum‐sampling rate and the dose calculation accuracy of a GPU‐accelerated convolution/superposition dose algorithm. Methods and Materials: The GPU‐accelerated dose algorithm is a convolution/superposition that samples, in a hyper‐spherical fashion, the volume surrounding a voxel of primary interaction. A set of 8 static phantoms and 14 deformable physics‐based lung models were used for this study. The static phantoms provided a performance baseline to gauge the more clinically relevant dynamic lung dose delivery and dose accuracy. Respiration simulations used a simple sinusoidal breathing pattern to divide the inhalation and exhalation phases equally into 20 total breathing sub‐phases. The spectrum sampling parameters used for the convolution were the azimuthal and elevation angles, and the radial step sampling surrounding the point of primary interaction. The angular sampling parameters were varied between 8 and 48 steps while the radial sampling parameter was varied between 1 mm to 10mm. The sampling combination of 48/48/1mm was taken as the ground truth. A γ‐statistics based dose distribution agreement of greater than 99% of voxels in the calculation with γ(2%, 2mm)<1% and γ(1%, 1mm)<1% was documented. Results: For γ (2%,2 mm) the sampling parameters of 8/8/1mm satisfied the criteria for both phantom and lungs, while γ (1%, 1mm), a sampling parameter of 8/8/1mm satisfied the criteria for phantoms and a sampling parameter of 12/12/1mm satisfied the criteria for lungs. The GPU implementation provided an additional acceleration of up to 70–80x, ∼200x, and ∼2000X for both the phantoms and lung models as compared to CPU implementation with sampling parameters of 8/8/1mm, 12/12/1mm, and 48/48/1mm, respectively. Conclusion: The relation between the spectrum‐sampling rate and the dose accuracy was quantified using a GPU based dose convolution/superposition satisfying two different γ criteria.
Developmental patterns of antioxidant defense mechanisms in human erythrocytes.

ABSTRACT: To obtain a profile of erythrocyte antioxidant defense potential during late fetal development, we studied selected antioxidant parameters in blood samples from 65 neonates with birth wt between 520 and 4210 g and from 12 healthy adults. Erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity did not change significantly with maturation and no significant differences were observed among preterm infants grouped in increasing birth wt categories, term neonates, and adults. Erythrocyte catalase and glutathione peroxidase, as well as plasma vitamin E levels, showed highly significant positive correlations (p<0.001) with increasing fetal wt and gestational age; by term, CAT activity reached a level similar to the adult control group, but glutathione peroxidase activity, as well as plasma vitamin E levels, were markedly lower in all the preterm and in the term groups than in adults (p< 0.01). Erythrocyte glutathione S-transferase activity showed a negative correlation with increasing gestational age (p<0.01) and the adult values were considerably lower than any of the neonatal levels p< 0.001). The role of glutathione S-transferase in erythrocyte metabolism remains obscure. Maturational changes in the activity of the red cell enzymes that were studied and in the plasma vitamin E level were apparent from about 31-36 wk of gestation, suggesting that the stimulation for these changes may have commenced from about 28-31 wk.
The polarization of Titan

Abstract New polarization observations of Titan in three spectral regions are presented. The results are not consistent with scattering from either an ordinary planetary surface or a pure molecular atmosphere. Apparently an opaque cloud layer with a strongly uv-absorbing constituent is needed.
Cerebellar and brainstem hypometabolism in olivopontocerebellar atrophy detected with positron emission tomography

We studied local cerebral metabolic rates for glucose (1CMRglc) with 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose and positron emission tomography (PET) in 30 patients with olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA) and 30 age-matched control subjects without neurological disease. The diagnosis of OPCA was based on the history and physical findings and on the exclusion of other causes of cerebellar ataxia by means of laboratory investigations. Computed tomographic scans revealed some degree of atrophy of the cerebellum in most patients with OPCA, and many also had atrophy of the brainstem. PET studies in these patients revealed significant hypometabolism in the cerebellar hemispheres, cerebellar vermis, and brainstem in comparison with the normal control subjects. A significant relationship was found between the degree of atrophy and the level of 1CMRglc in the cerebellum and brainstem. Nevertheless, several patients had minimal atrophy and substantially reduced 1CMRglc, suggesting that atrophy does not fully account for the finding of hypometabolism. 1CMRglc was within normal limits for the thalamus and cerebral cortex. The data suggest that PET/1CMRglc may be useful as a diagnostic test in patients with the adult onset of cerebellar ataxia.
Toward a History of Social Computing: Children, Classrooms, Campuses, and Communities

Modern computing involves not only computation but also communication among many people, along with their cultural norms, values, and expectations. Yet, historians have only begun to address how people made computing ubiquitous. The history of computing should include the myriad human interactions that have shaped and supported our digital, networked world.
Topographic projection from the optic tectum to the auditory space map in the inferior colliculus of the barn owl.

In the barn owl (Tyto alba), the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICX) contains a map of auditory space that is calibrated by visual experience. The source of the visually based instructive signal to the ICX is unknown. Injections of biotinylated dextran amine and Fluoro-Gold in the ICX retrogradely labelled neurons in layers 8-15 of the ipsilateral optic tectum (OT) that could carry this instructive signal. This projection was point-to-point and in register with the feed-forward, auditory projection from the ICX to the OT. Most labelled neurons were in layers 10-11, and most were bipolar. Tripolar, multipolar, and unipolar neurons were also observed. Multipolar neurons had dendrites that were oriented parallel to the tectal laminae. In contrast, most labelled bipolar and tripolar neurons had dendrites oriented perpendicular to the tectal laminae, extending superficially into the retino-recipient laminae and deep into the auditory recipient laminae. Therefore, these neurons were positioned to receive both visual and auditory information from particular locations in space. Biocytin injected into the superficial layers of the OT labelled bouton-laden axons in the ICX. These axons were generally finer than, but had similar bouton densities as, feed-forward auditory fibers in the ICX, labelled by injections of biocytin into the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC). These data demonstrate a point-to-point projection from the OT to the ICX that could provide a spatial template for calibrating the auditory space map in the ICX.
Effects of Antihistamine-Epinephrine Combinations on Adjuvant Arthritis in Rats

Three antihistaminic agents—diphenhydramine, doxylamine, and methapyrilene—alone and in combination with epinephrine, were examined for their effectiveness against adjuvant arthritis in Wistar-Lewis inbred rats. Simultaneous administration of diphenhydramine (75 mg./kg. p.o.) and epinephrine (0.4 mg./kg. s.c.) reduced adjuvant-injected and contralateral noninjected hindpaw volumes during a 21-day dosing period as compared to saline-treated controls; however, considerable toxicity was evident at these doses. Protective activity was minimal or absent when lower dosage combinations, which produced no overt evidence of toxicity, were employed. Doxylamine and methapyrilene combinations with epinephrine were effective only against the primary response to adjuvant administration, i.e., early swelling of the injected paw. The individual agents were largely ineffective against adjuvant disease in rats. Sustained protective activity could be achieved only with dosage combinations that elicited toxic manifestations; thus, the potential utility of antihistamine-epinephrine combinations appears limited.
The cytoplasmic sites of the snRNP protein complexes are punctate structures that are responsive to changes in metabolism and intracellular architecture.

Five anti-Sm monoclonal antibodies, Y12, 7.13, KSm4, KSm6, and 128, stain similar discrete punctate structures distributed throughout the cytoplasm of hamster fibroblasts in addition to the expected intense nuclear staining. Several criteria suggest the cytoplasmic staining reflects the cytoplasmic pools of snRNP core proteins. The relative intensity of the cytoplasmic staining is similar to the 30% relative abundance of the cytoplasmic snRNP core proteins compared to the nuclear snRNP core proteins based on cell-fractionation studies. Moreover, the cytoplasmic staining is removed by the same extraction conditions that solubilize the pools of cytoplasmic snRNP core proteins. The cytoplasmic sites of staining are typically spherical but heterogeneous in diameter (0.2-0.5 microm). The larger particles greatly exceed the diameter of individual snRNP core particles and are likely to represent centers of many snRNP proteins or snRNP protein complexes. The staining, though punctate, is evenly dispersed throughout the cytoplasm with no evidence of major compartmentalization. The cytoplasmic staining pattern collapses into larger foci of intensely staining structures when cellular energy levels are depleted or when cells are exposed to hypertonic medium. Unlike the normal sites of snRNP protein cytoplasmic staining, these larger collapsed foci resist detergent extraction. These results suggest that the cytoplasmic staining identified with the anti-Sm monoclonal antibodies represents the large pools of snRNP core proteins in the cytoplasm.
STRENGTH OF SPANDREL WALLS IN MASONRY ARCH BRIDGES

Previous research on the strength of masonry arch bridges has focused on the carrying capacity of the arch barrel in the span direction. Although the results of a spandrel wall collapse may be very serious, the transverse strength of masonry arch bridges has not been widely addressed. Recent experience, however, has shown that the transverse behavior and the strength of the spandrel walls are at least as important as the behavior in the span direction. Although complex computer analysis methods have been proposed for examining the masonry arch bridge as a three-dimensional structure, these methods are not suitable for everyday practical application. An approximate analytical method for the prediction of the strength of masonry spandrel walls is developed based on the conventional analysis of fills supported by retaining walls. The method is based on the determination of loads by Coulomb-Rankine analysis and the determination of resistance by the fracture line method, similar to the yield line method for reinforced concrete slabs. A table that further increases the simplicity and speed of the method is also provided. The proposed method allows the practicing engineer to calculate a factor of safety for the transverse strength of a spandrel wall for different situations, such as moist soil, cracked wall, effect of live load for shallow fill bridges, or existence of parapet walls. Results of these conventional, simplified analyses compare favorably with observed bridge distress and results of a previously validated finite element analysis method.
Nitrous oxide emissions from two dairy pasture soils as affected by different rates of a fine particle suspension nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide

In grazed pasture systems, a major source of N2O is nitrogen (N) returned to the soil in animal urine. We report in this paper the effectiveness of a nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide (DCD), applied in a fine particle suspension (FPS) to reduce N2O emissions from dairy cow urine patches in two different soils. The soils are Lismore stony silt loam (Udic Haplustept loamy skeletal) and Templeton fine sandy loam (Udic Haplustepts). The pasture on both soils was a mixture of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens). Total N2O emissions in the Lismore soil were 23.1–31.0 kg N2O-N ha−1 following the May (autumn) and August (late winter) urine applications, respectively, without DCD. These were reduced to 6.2–8.4 kg N2O-N ha−1 by the application of DCD FPS, equivalent to reductions of 65–73%. All three rates of DCD applied (7.5, 10 and 15 kg ha−1) were effective in reducing N2O emissions. In the Templeton soil, total N2O emissions were reduced from 37.4 kg N2O-N ha−1 without DCD to 14.6–16.3 kg N2O-N ha−1 when DCD was applied either immediately or 10 days after the urine application. These reductions are similar to those in an earlier study where DCD was applied as a solution. Therefore, treating grazed pasture soils with an FPS of DCD is an effective technology to mitigate N2O emissions from cow urine patch areas in grazed pasture soils.
P01-96 Delusions and hallucinations as first symptoms of frontotemporal dementia: A case report of a 48-year old male

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) generally has a presenile onset, behavioral manifestations dominate the clinical picture during which cognitive functions are still relatively intact. Therefore, particularly in the early stages of FTD it is difficult to differentiate this type of dementia from other types of dementia and psychiatric disorders. Although most patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) present with neuropsychiatric symptoms, the frequency of psychotic symptoms, assumed to be rare, is still unclear possibly due to limited temporal-limbic involvement in this disorder. We report the case of a 48-year old man admitted in a psychiatric ward with delusions and hallucinations. Significant behavior impairment was present related to social isolation and personality changes. Structural and functional neuroimaging methods disclosed asymmetric frontal and bitemporal damage, mainly on the left. Differential diagnosis consisted of psychotic disorders as well as one of the subtypes of the frontotemporal lobar degeneration group.
Tumour cell/dendritic cell fusions as a vaccination strategy for multiple myeloma

Summary Multiple myeloma (MM) cells express certain tumour-associated antigens (TAAs) that could serve as targets for active-specific immunotherapy. The aim of the present study was to test the MM/dendritic cell (DC) fusion as a vaccination strategy. We fused MM cells with DC to generate fusion cells (FCs) and tested their antigen presenting cell (APC) function in mixed lymphocyte reactions and cytotoxicity assays. First, the HS Sultan and SK0007 HAT sensitive human MM cell lines and DCs generated from peripheral blood of normal donors were fused in the presence of 50% polyethylene glycol to form FCs. Next, tumour cells freshly isolated from patients were similarly fused with autologous DCs to generate FCs. The FCs demonstrated a biphenotypic profile, confirmed both by flow-cytometry and dual immunofluorescence microscopy. These FCs induced MM-specific cytotoxicity. FCs, but not MM cells or DCs alone, were potent stimulators of autologous patient T cells. More importantly, FC-primed autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells demonstrated major histocompatibility complex-restricted MM-specific cytolysis. These studies therefore demonstrated that MM/DC FC can trigger an autologous immune response to MM cells and formed the framework for a clinical trial currently underway.
On the trail of the Ca2+ receptor(s) for exocytosis

Abstract Recent evidence suggests that membrane fusion may be catalyzed by a common 'fusion machine' whose essential components are conserved throughout evolution. According to this concept, additional, specialized accessory proteins regulate fusion events in specific cell types and compartments. In the presynaptic nerve terminal, membrane fusion is triggered by calcium ions, resulting in the exocytosis of neurotransmitters. Addressing the biochemical mechanisms through which calcium transients are coupled to bilayer fusion has proven to be an experimentally challenging problem. However, potential calcium receptor proteins have been recently identified. The most extensively studied candidate is the synaptic vesicle protein synaptotagmin. A variety of modern techniques have been utilized to determine the role of this molecule in excitation-secretion coupling. In the following, we will concentrate on these efforts, no doubt soon to be applied to other potential calcium sensors, which promise to make it possible to understand the roles of individual proteins in calcium regulated exocytosis.
Triangulated Flap Technique for Nasofrontal Surgery Results in Five Horses

A modified bone-flap technique was used to expose space occupying lesions that involved the conchofrontal sinus, ethmoturbinates, and caudal nasal cavity in five horses. The most common clinical findings were chronic nasal discharge and upper airway obstruction. Surgical intervention was based on endoscopic and radiographic interpretation. The triangulated bone-flap technique increased surgical exposure to the conchofrontal sinus by almost twice the area observed in previously described surgical techniques. The major advantages were that this technique allowed excellent visualization, thorough palpation, and surgical manipulation within the sinus and associated structures. Complications were minimal. One horse was euthanized 1 month postoperatively with recurrence and spread of a mycotic granuloma. The technique extended the usefulness of the other four horses in a 9 to 24 month follow-up period, although the obstructing lesion recurred after 2 years in one of the four horses.
SONOGRAPHIC APPEARANCE OF UREMIC GASTROPATHY IN FOUR DOGS

Gastrointestinal signs are common in dogs with uremia. Structural changes in the stomach associated with uremia in dogs include ulceration, edema, necrosis, gastric wall thickening, submucosal arteriopathy, and mineralization of the gastric mucosa and submucosa. Upon ultrasonographic evaluation of the abdomen in four dogs with severe uremia due to chronic renal disease, a thickened gastric wall, thickened rugal folds, and a hyperechoic line at the mucosal-luminal interface due to mineralization of the gastric mucosa were found. Ultrasonography was more sensitive than survey radiography for the identification of gastric lesions associated with uremia in these dogs.
Genome-Wide Mapping of the Distribution of CarD, RNAP σA, and RNAP β on the Mycobacterium smegmatis Chromosome using Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Sequencing.

CarD is an essential mycobacterial protein that binds the RNA polymerase (RNAP) and affects the transcriptional profile of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis [6]. We predicted that CarD was directly regulating RNAP function but our prior experiments had not determined at what stage of transcription CarD was functioning and at which genes CarD interacted with the RNAP. To begin to address these open questions, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) to survey the distribution of CarD throughout the M. smegmatis chromosome. The distribution of RNAP subunits β and σA were also profiled. We expected that RNAP β would be present throughout transcribed regions and RNAP σA would be predominantly enriched at promoters based on work in Escherichia coli [3], however this had yet to be determined in mycobacteria. The ChIP-seq analyses revealed that CarD was never present on the genome in the absence of RNAP, was primarily associated with promoter regions, and was highly correlated with the distribution of RNAP σA. The colocalization of σA and CarD led us to propose that in vivo, CarD associates with RNAP initiation complexes at most promoters and is therefore a global regulator of transcription initiation. Here we describe in detail the data from the ChIP-seq experiments associated with the study published by Srivastava and colleagues in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science in 2013 [5] as well as discuss the findings from this dataset in relation to both CarD and mycobacterial transcription as a whole. The ChIP-seq data have been deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo (accession no. GSE48164).
47 Parametric Prediction Model Using Preoperative Serum Albumin Concentration for Survival Estimation in Patients Undergoing Heart Transplantation

actuarial survival, freedom from cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV, stenosis 30%), and non-fatal major adverse cardiac events (NF-MACE: MI, CHF, stroke, and need for angioplasty or pacemaker/ICD); and 1-yr freedom from any-treated rejection. Results: Mean donor age of the older vs younger donor group was significantly higher (55 4 years vs 29 10 years, p 0.001). Mean recipient age of the older vs younger donor group was also significantly higher (67 4 years vs 65 4 years, p 0.001). The older compared to the younger donor group demonstrated a significantly lower 5-yr survival and lower freedom from CAV. There was no difference between the two groups in 5-yr freedom from NF-MACE and 1-yr freedom from any-treated rejection (table). Multivariate analysis found donor age 50 to be an independent risk for death (RR 1.8, CI 1.1-2.9) and CAV (RR 1.9, CI 1.2-2.9).
On the initial-value problem for the Madelung hydrodynamic equations

Abstract We show that the initial-value problem for the Madelung hydrodynamic equations is not well-defined unless it is supplemented by additional conditions at the nodal boundaries. These conditions present a challenge for interpretations of quantum mechanics based on these equations, but may suggest means for stabilizing numerical solutions to these equations.
Psychophysical assessment of visual acuity in infants with visual disorders.

Abstract The measurement of visual acuity is an essential part of the eye examination of adults, but is rarely attempted in infants being examined for presumed or known eye disease. We have used a preferential looking technique to test visual acuity of infants attending a hospital eye clinic. Serial measurements of acuity of infants attending a hospital eye clinic. Serial measurements of acuity in infants with certain eye diseases can provide examples of the effects of visual deprivation on the developing human visual system. Amongst 14 cases of monocular visual form deprivation in early life, there were 9 infants who had monocular occlusion as therapy for esotropia; 3 infants who had unilateral opacities of the ocular media; and 2 infants who had unilateral eyelid closure from infection or burns. Despite differences in exact mode of deprivation, the effects on visual acuity were similar. There was a reduction of visual acuity in the deprived eye and a simultaneous increase in acuity of the non-deprived eye. These effects of monocular deprivation were not permanent. Recovery occurred with reverse deprivation or by simple cessation of the deprivation. Of 10 children with binocular visual form deprivation, there were 5 who had bilateral congenital cataracts and 5 who had bilateral uncorrected high refractive errors. Infants with cataract surgery before 2 months of age showed normal early development of visual acuity. A 4–6 month delay before treatment resulted in reduced acuity, but recovery subsequently occurred. Infants with high hyperopia or astigmatism showed no acuity deficits in the first year of life when tested with optical correction. One case of early meridional amblyopia was detected in the third year of life. After a period of optical correction there was recovery of visual acuity to normal levels. This suggests that this deficit at this age is reversible.
THE INFLUENCE OF NONCOGNITIVE DOMAINS ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN K‐12

This paper identifies three noncognitive domains relevant for academic achievement in K-12—student engagement, behavioral learning strategies, and school climate. The paper also documents empirical findings that show relationships between these three noncognitive domains and academic achievement, especially in the areas of reading and mathematics.
Assessment of the Enhancement in Predictive Accuracy Provided by Systematic Biopsy in Predicting Outcome for Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer

ABSTRACTPurpose: Current localized prostate cancer treatment outcome nomograms rely on prostate specific antigen (PSA), tumor stage and grade. We investigated whether the addition of prostate biopsy features may enhance the accuracy of a nomogram predicting recurrence after radical prostatectomy (RP).Materials and Methods: Clinical data from 1,152 patients who underwent RP were used and included PSA, clinical stage, biopsy Gleason grade and systematic biopsy information that quantified the amount of cancer and high grade cancer. Predictive accuracy for freedom from recurrence after RP was assessed with and without tumor quantification in the biopsy by the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC).Results: Percentage and number of cores with cancer, and percentage and number of cores with high grade cancer were predictors of outcome when added to models that included PSA, Gleason grade and clinical stage (all p <0.0001). Nomogram accuracy with 3 traditional variables (AUC 0.790) was min...
Politics and Transcendent Wisdom: The Scripture for Humane Kings in the Creation of Chinese Buddhism

This monograph is a study and translation of The Scripture for Humane Kings Who Wish to Protect Their States, one of the most important East Asian Buddhist apocrypha. The text played an important role both in Buddhist state cults across East Asia and in the development of Esoteric Buddhism.
A modular formal semantics for Ptolemy

Ptolemy‡ is an open-source and extensible modelling and simulation framework. It offers heterogeneous modeling capabilities by allowing different models of computation, both untimed and timed, to be composed hierarchically in an arbitrary fashion. This paper proposes a formal semantics for Ptolemy that is modular in the sense that atomic actors and their compositions are treated in a unified way. In particular, all actors conform to an executable interface that contains four functions: fire (produce outputs given current state and inputs); postfire (update state instantaneously); deadline (how much time the actor is willing to let elapse); and time-update (update the state with the passage of time). Composite actors are obtained using composition operators that in Ptolemy are called directors. Different directors realise different models of computation. In this paper, we formally define the directors for the following models of computation: synchronous- reactive, discrete event, continuous time, process networks and modal models.
An analysis of cavitation occurring in near-&gg titanium aluminide during superplastic deformation

In order to understand the cavitation behavior of near-g the largest cavity size and density of cavities increased with increasing strain or strain rate and decreasing temperature. Since the number of finest-sized cavities examined did not decrease with strain, it is believed that continuous cavity nucleation occurred. For all three initial microstructures, the optimum sheet-forming temperature in the regime examined was identified as 1200 °C, at which the lowest cavity growth rates and highest ductilities were observed.
Multidimensional Compressive Optical Microscopy

In this work, we will summarize recent developments in model-based compressive imaging and its application to hyperspectral optical microscopy and its benefits to fluorescence, dark field, Raman, and video data.
The Quantitative Evaluation of Photographic Line Patterns

A discussion is given of some difficulties encountered in the quantitative evaluation of photographic line patterns, particularly in such cases where integrated intensities are required. As a result of this discussion two methods applicable to absorption densitometry are proposed intended to facilitate such measurements and to reduce the errors involved. One method consists in recording with the densitometer tracing of the line pattern a tracing of a stepped wedge which serves to establish correlation between the densitometer record and a standard conversion curve by projecting the steps in superposition with the corresponding points of the curve. The other consists in recording the line pattern on a moving plate or film which has the result of reducing the peak densities and improving the line shape with but a small increase of line width and exposure time. The first method is equally applicable to the visible and x-ray range, the second method is primarily intended for x-ray patterns.
Comparison of vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor on angiogenesis in SCID mice

Therapeutic angiogenesis is a promising approach to treat patients with cardiovascular disease, and will likely be critical to engineering large tissues. Many growth factors have been found to play significant roles in angiogenesis, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) are the most extensively investigated angiogenic factors to date. However, the appropriate dose to obtain a desired response and the effectiveness of each factor, relative to the other, in promoting angiogenesis at a specific site in the body remains unclear. We have used alginate hydrogels as localized delivery vehicles for VEGF and bFGF, and compared the ability of these factors to promote new blood vessel formation in the subcutaneous tissue of severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. We have found that the thickness of a granulation tissue layer formed around the gel and the number of blood vessels in the layer increased with the dose of VEGF in the gel, but the density of new blood vessels remained relatively constant. Sustained and localized delivery of bFGF from the gels, while similarly leading to an increase in the density of blood vessels in the granulation tissue, did not lead to as high of a blood vessel density as VEGF. The results of this study support previous studies demonstrating the utility of both VEGF and bFGF in promoting angiogenesis, and suggest VEGF is more appropriate for creating a dense bed of new blood vessels in this model.
Exploring gender factors related to PISA 2003 results in Iceland: a youth interview study

Students’ mathematical achievement in Iceland, as reported in PISA 2003, showed significant and (by comparison) unusual gender differences in mathematics: Iceland was the only country in which the mathematics gender gap favored girls. When data were broken down and analyzed, the Icelandic gender gap appeared statistically significant only in the rural areas of Iceland, suggesting a question about differences in rural and urban educational communities. In the 2007 qualitative research study reported in this paper, the authors interviewed 19 students from rural and urban Iceland who participated in PISA 2003 in order to investigate these differences and to identify factors that contributed to gender differences in mathematics learning. Students were asked to talk about their mathematical experiences, their thoughts about the PISA results, and their ideas about the reasons behind the PISA 2003 results. The data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using techniques from analytic induction in order to build themes and to present both male and female student perspectives on the Icelandic anomaly. Strikingly, youth in the interviews focused on social and societal factors concerning education in general rather then on their mathematics education.
Normalized theory of impact ionization and velocity saturation in nonpolar semiconductors via a Markov chain approach

Abstract This paper presents an investigation of the velocity, energy, and impact ionization distributions in nonpolar semiconductors at very high fields. The treatment uses a finite Markov chain formulation. When optical phonon collisions and impact ionization are the major scattering mechanisms in the semiconductor, a transition matrix which characterizes the transition probabilities between virtual states defined by small discrete energy intervals can be easily computed. The resulting matrix provides the means not only to study the impact ionization phenomenon but also the steady state transport velocity and energy distribution of the charge carriers at high electrical fields and a given lattice temperature. In addition, the effects on the transport properties due to either an abrupt infinite (AI) or a finite energy dependent (FED) ionization cross-section above the ionization threshold energy are examined. The calculated avalanche transport velocity shows excellent agreement with the experimental data in Si obtained by Duh and Moll. The resulting calculations when extrapolated to a lower field also agree favorably with existing saturation drift velocity data in n and p type Si and p type Ge. The energy distribution is shown to be strongly affected by the choice of the model for the energy dependence of the ionization cross-section. One of the main applications of the results is to assist investigation of the non-localized nature of electron and hole avalanche ionization coefficients previously noted by Okuto and Crowell (O-C). The present results for this spatial distribution can replace O-C's intuitively chosen exponential approximation. The spatial ionization distribution generated by the present calculation is essentially exponential with a threshold energy dark space. This result provides a useful kernel for a more precise formulation in studies that relate impact ionization coefficients to charge multiplication data. The normalized ionization coefficients obtained from the AI model are very similar to Baraff's calculation as are the FED model results after appropriate normalization. Simple analytical expressions with meaningful asymptotic results for the average ionization energy and the ionization coefficient are also derived from the present data. These results are applicable for a range of different energy dependence of the ionization cross section provided that the average energy for pair production is used as the effective threshold parameter.
Q-Color Problem in D Dimensions

Two methods are introduced to deal with the general q-color problem on a d-dimensional hypercubic lattice: one is the cell-growth method which gives an approximative solution of the problem in two and three dimensions, another is to combine the cell-growth method with the Monte Carlo simulation which leads to a recursion formula for the problem in d-dimensions. The results of both methods are in excellent agreement with Lieb's exact solution for the case of q = 3 in two dimensions and support Mattis' conjecture in the case of q > d, improve it in the case of 2 < q ≲ d. The validity of the recursion formula is supported by a Monte Carlo simulation up to four-dimensions.
Short-time behavior of the vibrational-energy-time correlation function for a one-dimensional model of diatomic molecules

The short-time behavior of the vibrational-energy-time correlation function (VECF) is studied both theoretically and numerically for a one-dimensional model of diatomic molecules with harmonic intramolecular and hard intermolecular interactions. In the equipartition regime, the short-time expansion of the VECF is independent of the vibrational frequency and agrees with statistical mechanics.
Thirteen consecutive well-designed randomized trials show that antidepressants reduce pain in diabetic neuropathy and postherpetic neuralgia

T he surprisingly negative clinical conclusions about antidepressants reached by Goodkin et a1.8,10 invite scrutiny of their entire approach. The authors begin quite reasonably, saying that their review of the data "confirms that antidepressants cannot be concluded to be a generally effective treatment modality," and that "headache pain (regardless of depressive disorder) should be considered an indication." Other published reviews agree with these stances.20,29,37 Without any further explanatory steps, however, Goodkin et al. then leap to the conclusion that "chronic benign pain syndromes associated with other (i.e., non-headache) disorders may be considered for antidepressant treatment ... only after the failure of all other treatment options indicated for the specific syndrome involved," unless there is a psychiatric indication for antidepressant use. This statement flies in the face of so much published data that one must strain to understand how the authors arrived at this conclusion. I will focus this article on the published clinical trials in patients with diabetic neuropathy and postherpetic neuralgia, who represent the largest group of clinical trials of relatively homogeneous pain syndromes. In light of these studies, I must challenge both the authors' clinical recommendations and their Procrustean critique of clinical trial methods.
Indentation of an elastic half-space due to two coplanar heated punches

Abstract Solutions are presented, within the classical theory of thermoelasticity, for some coplanar heated punch problems of the elastic half-space. The boundary conditions are prescribed interior and exterior to two circular regions, the contact regions, and are mixed with respect to temperature and heat flux as well as normal stresses and normal displacements. These problems are shown to be governed by infinite sets of Fredholm integral equations of the second kind, which can be solved approximately by iteration when the spacing between the circular regions is sufficiently large compared with their radii. The case where heat flux through the punches is a constant is given as an example.
The immunologic constant of rejection

The complexity underlying a pathologic process does not necessarily require a complex explanation. The biology determining allograft or cancer rejection, autoimmunity or tissue damage during pathogen infections is complex; however, common patterns are emerging that lead to a common final outcome. For instance, tissue destruction occurs with resolution of the pathogenic process (cancer, infection) or tissue damage and organ failure (autoimmunity, allograft rejection). Observations in humans based on transcriptional profiling converge into what we call an ‘immunologic constant of rejection' that characterizes such occurrences. This constant includes the coordinate activation of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) and immune effector functions (IEFs). Understanding this final effector pathway may suggest novel strategies for the induction or inhibition of tissue-specific destruction with therapeutic intent in cancer and other immune pathologies.