cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sex Differences in Achievement and Faculty Rank in Academic Infectious Diseases.

BACKGROUND This study assesses differences in faculty rank between female and male infectious diseases (ID) faculty with academic appointments at US medical schools. METHODS We analyzed a complete database of US physicians with medical school faculty appointments in 2014. This database consists of a linkage between the American Association of Medical Colleges faculty roster and a physician database from Doximity, and includes physician age, sex, years since residency completion, publications, National Institutes of Health grants, and registered clinical trials for all academic physicians by specialty. We used multivariable logistic regression models with medical school-specific fixed effects to assess sex differences in full professorship by specialty and the relationship between these factors and achieving the rank of full professor within ID. We compared this adjusted difference in ID to that of peer subspecialties. RESULTS Among a total of 2016 academic ID physicians, there were 742 (37%) women who together accounted for 48.1% of assistant professors, 39.7% of associate professors, and 19.2% of full professors. Women faculty had fewer total (16.3 vs 28.3, P < .001) and first/last author publications (9.8 vs 20.4, P < .001). In adjusted models, the rate of full professorship (vs assistant or associate) among female compared to male ID physicians was large and significant (absolute adjusted difference, -8.0% [95% confidence interval, -11.9% to -4.1%]). This difference was greater in ID than in cardiology. CONCLUSIONS Significant sex differences in achieving the rank of full professor exist in academic ID, after adjustment for multiple factors known to influence these outcomes. Greater efforts should be made to address equity in academic ID.
Prenatal lead exposure and childhood executive function and behavioral difficulties in project viva

Abstract Background Lead is an established neurotoxicant and early life exposure to lead is associated with detrimental impacts on IQ and several neurobehavioral domains. Less is known, however, about effects of prenatal lead exposure below 5 μg/dL on executive function and on social, emotional and self-regulatory behaviors in childhood. Objectives To examine the association between prenatal lead exposure and childhood executive function and social, emotional and self-regulatory behaviors. Methods We included 1006 mother-child pairs from the Project Viva prospective pre-birth cohort. We measured prenatal maternal lead in second-trimester erythrocytes. In mid-childhood (median 7.7 years), parents and teachers rated executive function related behaviors using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and behavioral difficulties using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). We used multivariable linear regression models adjusted for maternal, paternal, and child characteristics and metal co-exposures. Results Mean maternal erythrocyte lead concentration was 1.2 μg/dL (interquartile range [IQR] 0.8–1.5 μg /dL), equivalent to approximately 0.4 μg/dL in whole blood. In adjusted models, associations with parent and teacher-rated scales were largely null, although effect estimates were consistently positive, suggesting worse scores with increasing lead levels. For an IQR increase in lead, BRIEF Global Executive Composite (GEC) was 0.73 (95% CI: -0.06, 1.52) points higher for parent-rated scores and 0.42 (95% CI: -0.39, 1.23) points higher for teacher-rated scores. Associations were strongest for parent-rated BRIEF plan/organize (β = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.12, 1.59) and shift (β = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.01, 1.75) subscales, as well as the SDQ emotional problems subscale (β = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.33). Discussion In this cohort with lead levels commonly experienced by U.S. women, there were few statistically significant associations with childhood executive function and behavior. However, there was a trend of worse neurobehavioral scores with increasing prenatal lead concentrations, in particular for childhood emotional problems and capacity to plan/organize and shift. Our results highlight the importance of continuing efforts to eliminate lead exposure in the general population.
Tracking the fate of disseminated cancer cells with surgical engineering, intravital imaging, and correlative microscopy

We use Surgical Engineering to overcome technical challenges to intravital imaging, improving its ability to perform mechanistic, hypothesis-driven investigations of live tissues and making surprising discoveries about how cancer cells spread.
Construccionalización y obsolescencia en las colocaciones tipo caerle/venirle/entrarle en N ‘agrado’

Building upon a previous study on the origin of caerle/venirle/entrarle en N‘agrado’-type collocations and their expansion in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, we examine the lexicalization and demise of these structures starting in the Golden Age. The loss of this collocational pattern, which has only left behind relics such as caerle en gracia, involved two related changes that are discussed within Traugott and Trousdale’s constructionist diachronic model: the lexical constructionalization and obsolescence of a constructional subschema.
Fitting a Four Year Computer Science BS Degree Into Three Years: A Case Study

The typical advertised time to complete a bachelor’s degree in the USA is four years. Although many students take much longer than this, some students want to complete their degrees in as short a time as possible. These students could be motivated by getting into the job market sooner, reducing the costs associated with getting their degrees, pressure from parents or family, or pressure from themselves to excel. Beyond student expectations, there are other reasons a University may want to create a path for students to get their degree sooner than usual, such as political pressure. This study describes the challenges of creating a pathway for students to complete a four-year Computer Science degree in 3 years faced by a comprehensive regional university.
What Led Us to the Data

The usefulness of Bibles in Natural Language Processing is wildly underrated, especially when looking at low-resource languages. The reason these texts are so useful in machine translation is because it provides parallel text in languages that would otherwise have non or very little other parallel texts available. The question is then, how can we turn these parallel texts into a useable, organized, and reliable data set? There are two general methods that can be used to collect and organize this data, the old fashioned way by hand or automating the process through a computer. While this paper will touch on both methods, it takes a much deeper dive in the automated processing side and looks at some of the reasons this route was chosen.
Preparing biological samples for stereomicroscopy by the quick-freeze, deep-etch, rotary-replication technique.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the preparation of biological samples for stereomicroscopy by the quick-freeze, deep-etch, rotary-replication technique. The quick-freeze, deep-etch, rotary-replication technique effectively bridges the gap between thin-section and freeze–fracture views. It is not capable of enough resolution to reveal actual molecular structure, but it is able to resolve individual protein–protein interactions such as occur in biopolymers and in antigen–antibody or ligand–receptor interactions. It has the advantage that no chemical fixatives or dehydrants are used and instead, tissues are frozen directly from the living state. It is found that because they are frozen quickly enough to minimize damage from ice crystals, they are amenable to freeze-drying, which in turn minimizes damage from surface tension forces, much as does critical-point drying. It thus preserves a remarkable degree of three-dimensionality. After freeze-drying, the tissues are replicated with platinum and viewed with a transmission electron microscope at conventional voltages. Stereoscopic images obtained with the standard tilt stages available on such electron microscopes provide novel and informative views of cell structure, especially cytoplasmic filaments, extracellular coats, and various membrane differentiations.
Protection of Bacillus larvae from Oxygen Toxicity with Emphasis on the Role of Catalase.

Sporulation of Bacillus larvae NRRL B-3650 occurred only at aeration rates lower than those used for cultivation of most Bacillus species. One possible explanation for the requirement for a low level of aeration in B. larvae is that toxic forms of oxygen such as H2O2 and superoxide are involved. The superoxide dismutase levels of strain B-3650 were similar to those of Bacillus subtilis 168 during sporulation, and no NADH peroxidase was present. Catalase activity was absent during exponential growth and first appeared near the start of the stationary phase. The catalase activity was 2,700 times less than that in B. subtilis 168 at the same stage of development. Therefore, the relative deficiency of catalase (and NADH peroxidase) might be the cause of the apparent O2 toxicity. It was postulated that B. larvae might accumulate H2O2 in the medium and exhibit more than normal sensitivity to H2O2. Experimental results did not verify either postulate, but the possibilities of intracellular accumulation of H2O2 and unusual sensitivity to endogenous H2O2 were not excluded. The catalase present in early-stationary-phase cells was soluble, heat labile, and inhibited by cyanide, azide, and hydroxylamine. An increase in catalase activity also occurred at the time of appearance of refractile spores in both B. larvae NRRL B-3650 and B. subtilis 168. The level of catalase activity in strain B-3650 was 5,400 times less than that in B. subtilis 168 at this stage. In B. larvae, this second increase occurred primarily within the developing endospore. The activity in spore extracts was particulate, heat stable, and inhibited by hydroxylamine but not by azide or cyanide. Synthesis of catalase in B. larvae was unaffected by H2O2, O2, or glucose.
A Response to Charles Cowger: Shaping the Future of Social Work as an Institutional Response to Standards

classic work provides an intellectual and practical case for the inseparability of re search and teaching. In addition to advanc ing and preserving knowledge through research, teaching, and scholarship, Newman emphasizes that among the university's responsibilities is the prepara tion of individuals for duties to society. Other educational obligations include the promo tion of free inquiry, scholarly honesty, civility in discourse, toleration of diverse beliefs and values, and trust in rationality and in public verifiability. There is less dissonance today between Newman's philosophy and the val ues of professional education in institutions labeled by the Carnegie Classification system as Doctoral/Research Universities-Extensive (universities that awarded 50 or more doc toral degrees per year across at least 15 disciplines) and Doctoral/Research Univer sities-Intensive (universities that awarded at least 10 doctoral degrees per year across three or more disciplines, or at least 20 doctoral degrees per year overall). As a matter of fact, Newman's philosophy is compatible with educational preparation at both types of in stitutions and at schools that fall under the
Numerical experiments on stability and transition in plane channel flow

Various secondary and tertiary instabilities in plane channael flow are explored via time-dependent numerical simulations using the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Comparisons are made between transitional flows at Reynolds numbers 1500, 5000, and 8000. The lambda vortex, detached shear layer, and inverted vortex regions are identified, and the origin of the latter is explained. The laminar breakdown of the Re = 1500 flow is computed with high resolution, and the nature of its ensuing hairpin eddies is clarified by numerical particle paths. The potential of center-mode, rather than wall-mode transitions is proposed, and the resulting flow structure is described.
Magnetization, Flux Creep and Transport in Tl-Ca-Ba-Cu-O Thin Films

The enormous experimental and theoretical effort on high-temperature copper-oxide-based superconductors began with the La-Ba-Cu-O system [1], shifted to the Y-Ba-Cu-O system [2], and recently has focused on the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O [3] and Tl-Ca-Ba-Cu-O [4] systems. Tl-Ca-Ba-Cu-O ceramics have zero resistance and Meissner effect up to 125 K [5,6], and exhibit at least five structurally distinct superconducting phases.[7–10] Two common phases, Tl2Ca2Ba2Cu3Ox (Tl-2223 with a c-axis of 35.9 A) and Tl2CaBa2Cu2Oy (T1-2122, c = 29.3 A), contain double T1-O planes sandwiched by Ba-O sheets and blocks of double (T1-2122) or triple (T1-2223) Cu-O planes separated by intermediate Ca layers.
Two-Phase Flow, Boiling and Condensation: The Drift Flux Model and Void–Quality Relations

The Concept of Drift Flux The drift flux model is the most widely used diffusion model for gas–liquid two-phase flow. It provides a semi-empirical methodology for modeling the gas–liquid velocity slip in one-dimensional flow, while accounting for the effects of lateral (cross-sectional) nonuniformities. In its most widely used form, the DFM needs two adjustable parameters. These parameters can be found analytically only for some idealized cases and are more often obtained empirically. These empirically adjustable parameters in the model turn out to have approximately constant values or follow simple correlations for large classes of problems, however. Recall that the diffusion models for two-phase flow only need one set of momentum conservation equations, often representing the mixture. Knowing the velocity for one of the phases (or the mixture), one can use the model's slip velocity relation (or its equivalent) to find the other phasic velocity. When used in the cross-section-average phasic momentum equations, the DFM thus leads to the elimination of one momentum equation. The mixture momentum equation can be recast in terms of mixture center-of-mass velocity. The elimination of one momentum equation leads to a significant savings in computational cost. Also, using the DFM, some major difficulties associated with the 2FM (e.g., the interfacial transport constitutive relations, the difficulty with flow-regime-dependent parameters, and numerical difficulties) can be avoided. These advantages of course come about at the expense of precision and computed process details. Consider a one-dimensional flow shown in Fig. 6.1. Assume all parameters are time averaged.
Outcome of patients with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia and severely impaired ventricular function who have negative electrophysiologic studies.

Abstract Twenty-nine consecutive patients with a prior myocardial infarction, severely reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (26% ± 8%), and asymptomatic nonsustained ventricular tachycardia were enrolled in a prospective trial. After a negative programmed electric stimulation study (3 extrastimull at 2 sites with 2 drive trains), the 26 men and 3 women (mean age 71) were monitored for a mean of 13 months without antiarrhythmic drug therapy. Five patients died suddenly or had sustained ventricular tachycardia; three others had a cardiac, nonarrhythmic death. Events occurred in the first 13 months of the surveillance period. Clinical factors associated with a poor outcome included congestive heart failure and lack of β-blocker therapy. In addition, patients with events tended to have lower ejection fractions than those without (21% vs 28%, p not significant). Thus a negative programmed electric stimulation study does not necessarily imply a benign outcome in patients with a prior infarction and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia if they also have severe left ventricular dysfunction and a history of heart failure. These data have important implications for the design and conduct of contemporary clinical trials.
Household Life-Cycle Effects on Consumer Wealth and Well-Being for the Recently Retired

The present research tests a series of predicted relationships regarding the e fects of household life-cycle variables, as well as other important consumer characteristics, on both wealth and perceived well-being among retired households. Toward that objective, separate samples of retired married households (n = 1,938) and retired single-person households (n = 855) from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) of the University of Michigan were analyzed in an investigation of the e fects of household marital and parenthood characteristics on both accumulated wealth and perceived well-being. After controlling for education, race, gender, and health e fects, the results demonstrate significant life-cycle e fects of marital status and number of children on consumer wealth. In addition, wealth at retirement age is found to be a significant predictor of overall well-being. The implications of these findings, as well as a series of suggestions for future research regarding the study of important changes in life-cy...
The yield point of a super-lattice

Abstract A completely theoretical oaloulation was made of the dependence of the yield point on the degree of long-range order in an AB b.c.c. super-lattice. The resulting equation is where T is temperature, and S 0 is degree of long-range order. For β-brass a maximum in τ at 515°k of 0·54×109 dynes/cm2 is predicted; the experimentally observed values are 493°k and 0·36×109 dynes/cm2. A sharp increase in τ was observed near T c; it is associated with short-range order strengthening as predioted by Sumino. The width of an anti-phase domain boundary was also calculated. For T > 0·5T c the width is given by the equation
Primordial degassing, lithosphere thickness, and the origin of komatiites

It is proposed that parts of the Archean mantle, probably mainly beneath centers of continents, remained volatile-poor from the primordial degassing of Earth. Melting temperatues ( T m ) were hundreds of degrees higher in dry parts of the mantle than in wet parts. Effective viscosity in the mantle is related to T/T m . Thus, in dry parts of the Archean mantle the lithosphere was almost two times thicker than would otherwise have been the case. Genesis of komatiites (ultramafic volcanics) was facilitated because the geotherm remained conductive (“steep”) to higher temperatures before turning convective (approximately adiabatic). Partial melts of dry parts of the mantle left more pyroxene in their residua than would otherwise have been the case, leading to two further advantages for komatiite petrogenesis: the melts had higher MgO contents (due to higher normative olivine/pyroxene ratios), and d T /d f was smaller during melting. Gradual homogenization of the mantle with reference to volatiles, even more than diminishment of radiogenic heating, probably caused the dwindling of ultramafic volcanism about 2700 Ma.
Magnetohydrodynamic flow computations in three dimensions

A complete three-dimensional numerical simulation of steady laminar MHD incompressible flow was carried out. A mathematical model of magnetohydrodynamics in which the electric field vector is eliminated from the Maxwell equations is described. The numerical method for solving the system of governing equations is presented. 14 refs.
The cost of privacy: destruction of data-mining utility in anonymized data publishing

Re-identification is a major privacy threat to public datasets containing individual records. Many privacy protection algorithms rely on generalization and suppression of "quasi-identifier" attributes such as ZIP code and birthdate. Their objective is usually syntactic sanitization: for example, k-anonymity requires that each "quasi-identifier" tuple appear in at least k records, while l-diversity requires that the distribution of sensitive attributes for each quasi-identifier have high entropy. The utility of sanitized data is also measured syntactically, by the number of generalization steps applied or the number of records with the same quasi-identifier. In this paper, we ask whether generalization and suppression of quasi-identifiers offer any benefits over trivial sanitization which simply separates quasi-identifiers from sensitive attributes. Previous work showed that k-anonymous databases can be useful for data mining, but k-anonymization does not guarantee any privacy. By contrast, we measure the tradeoff between privacy (how much can the adversary learn from the sanitized records?) and utility, measured as accuracy of data-mining algorithms executed on the same sanitized records.For our experimental evaluation, we use the same datasets from the UCI machine learning repository as were used in previous research on generalization and suppression. Our results demonstrate that even modest privacy gains require almost complete destruction of the data-mining utility. In most cases, trivial sanitization provides equivalent utility and better privacy than k-anonymity, l-diversity, and similar methods based on generalization and suppression.
Current status of medical therapy of acute dissecting aneurysms of the aorta.

In 6 series of patients with acute dissecting aneurysms of the aorta reported during 1970–1979, the best results were obtained by intensive drug therapy initially to correct hypertension and stabilize the patient, then diagnosis by aortography, and then surgical repair for Type A aneurysms involving the ascending aorta, and drug therapy alone for Type B aneurysms involving the descending thoracic aorta. Using this plan of treatment, mortality rates were 30% in patients with Type A dissections (surgical therapy) and 20% in those with Type B dissections (drug therapy).
An adaptive discontinuous Galerkin method for viscoplastic analysis

This paper describes an h-adaptive, space-time discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for quasi-static viscoplastic response in a time-varying domain. The equations of equilibrium and the evolution equations in the viscoplastic material model comprise an elliptic/hyperbolic system. We focus here on two aspects of the model: stabilization of the hyperbolic subproblem and residual-based error estimates and adaptive algorithms for viscoplastic analysis.
Reinventing the central city as a place to live and work

Abstract Public policies for urban development have traditionally emphasized investment in physical infrastructure, the development of large‐scale commercial facilities, the construction of new housing, and the renewal of existing neighborhoods. Most efforts to revitalize central cities by building new facilities for visitors have focused on suburban commuters and tourists. At the same time, many housing initiatives in central cities have concentrated on low‐income communities because outlying suburban areas have attracted traditional middle‐income households. This article argues that emerging demographic and cultural trends—combined with changes in the structure of business organizations and technological advances—provide new opportunities for cities to retain and attract middle‐class households. Using gay and lesbian populations as an example, it focuses on the role that nontraditional households can play in urban redevelopment. In light of the rise of nontraditional households and the growth of self‐em...
Timing and variability of postpartum sleep in relation to daytime performance

Postpartum women have highly disturbed sleep, also known as sleep fragmentation. Fragmentation extends their total sleep period, also disrupting sleep timing. A stable and earlier sleep period among non-postpartum populations is related to better performance, physical health, and mental health. However, sleep timing has not been examined among postpartum women who are also vulnerable to daytime impairment. The study objective was to examine how the timing and regularity of sleep during the early postpartum period are related to daytime functioning across postpartum weeks 2-13. In this field-based study, 71 primiparous women wore an actigraph, a small wrist-worn device that monitors sleep and sleep timing, for the 12-week study period. Mothers self-administered a 5-min psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) each morning to evaluate the number of >500ms response lapses. They also completed a Morningness-Eveningness scale at the beginning of the study to identify chronotype. After controlling for maternal age, earlier sleep timing was associated with significantly fewer PVT lapses at postpartum weeks 9,12; a more stable sleep midpoint was associated with significantly fewer PVT lapses at postpartum weeks 2,5-13. Earlier sleep midpoints were related to more stable sleep midpoints at postpartum week 2 and a morning-type chronotype. An earlier sleep midpoint was also associated with a reduced slope of worsening PVT lapses across weeks. Across the first 12 postpartum weeks, women with earlier or more stable sleep periods had less daytime impairment than women with later or more variable sleep midpoints. Postpartum women with earlier sleep midpoints also showed less severe decrements in performance across time, which has been attributed to cumulative impacts of sleep disturbance. These data suggest that the sleep period, in addition to sleep duration and fragmentation, should be more closely examined, particularly among vulnerable women, as it may affect the neurobehavioral performance of new mothers.
Sequence-based classification using discriminatory motif feature selection.

Most existing methods for sequence-based classification use exhaustive feature generation, employing, for example, all -mer patterns. The motivation behind such (enumerative) approaches is to minimize the potential for overlooking important features. However, there are shortcomings to this strategy. First, practical constraints limit the scope of exhaustive feature generation to patterns of length , such that potentially important, longer () predictors are not considered. Second, features so generated exhibit strong dependencies, which can complicate understanding of derived classification rules. Third, and most importantly, numerous irrelevant features are created. These concerns can compromise prediction and interpretation. While remedies have been proposed, they tend to be problem-specific and not broadly applicable. Here, we develop a generally applicable methodology, and an attendant software pipeline, that is predicated on discriminatory motif finding. In addition to the traditional training and validation partitions, our framework entails a third level of data partitioning, a discovery partition. A discriminatory motif finder is used on sequences and associated class labels in the discovery partition to yield a (small) set of features. These features are then used as inputs to a classifier in the training partition. Finally, performance assessment occurs on the validation partition. Important attributes of our approach are its modularity (any discriminatory motif finder and any classifier can be deployed) and its universality (all data, including sequences that are unaligned and/or of unequal length, can be accommodated). We illustrate our approach on two nucleosome occupancy datasets and a protein solubility dataset, previously analyzed using enumerative feature generation. Our method achieves excellent performance results, with and without optimization of classifier tuning parameters. A Python pipeline implementing the approach is available at http://www.epibiostat.ucsf.edu/biostat/sen/dmfs/.
Carbon Mitigation and Economics for Energy Conversion When CO2 is Stored via Enhanced Oil Recovery

Abstract The carbon mitigation benefits and economics are described for alternative coal energy conversion options for which CO 2 is captured and sold for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Both the CO 2 capture cost and internal rate of return on equity (IRRE) are considered as economic metrics. Post-combustion, oxycombustion, and pre-combustion capture options are considered for power generation, and pre-combustion capture options are also considered for making synthetic gasoline and for coproducing gasoline and electricity. In addition, coprocessing some biomass with coal is considered for plants coproducing gasoline and electricity. Findings for prospective crude oil prices are that: (i) the most profitable options using only coal are systems providing synthetic gasoline; (ii) systems coproducing electricity + gasoline are more profitable than any systems providing only electricity; (iii) options coprocessing some biomass will become the most profitable options at high GHG emission prices, and (iv) gasoline and coproduction plants, even sited remotely from CO 2 EOR market opportunities, are likely to be competitive in EOR markets if an adequate CO 2 pipeline infrastructure were in place; (v) coal/biomass systems coproducing gasoline + electricity are likely to be more profitable coal/biomass systems making gasoline for crude oil prices less than $75/barrel.
Assessing structural vulnerability against earthquakes using multi-dimensional fragility surfaces: A Bayesian framework

The present paper advocates a probabilistic framework for assessing structural vulnerability against earthquakes. This is justified by the significant randomness that characterizes not only the earthquake excitation (amplitude, frequency content, duration), but also the structural system itself (i.e. stochastic variations in the material properties). Performance predictions can readily be summarized in the form of fragility curves which express the probability of exceeding various damage levels (from minor to collapse) with respect to a metric of the earthquake intensity. In this paper, a Bayesian framework is proposed for the derivation of fragility curves which can produce estimates irrespective of the amount of data available. It is particularly flexible when combined with Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques and can efficiently provide credible intervals for the estimates. Furthermore, a general procedure based on logistic regression is illustrated that can lead in a principled manner to the derivation of fragility surfaces which express the probability of exceeding a damage level with respect to several measures of the earthquake load and can thus produce more accurate predictions. The methodologies presented are illustrated using data generated from computational simulations for a structure on top of a saturated sand deposit which is susceptible to liquefaction.
A new technique of ex vivo gene delivery of VEGF to wounds using genetically modified skin particles promotes wound angiogenesis

Background Transplantation of genetically modified keratinocytes has been shown to accelerate wound healing. However, this method is labor-intensive and time-consuming. We have developed a new technique of intraoperative gene delivery to wounds that involves transplantation of transfected minced skin particles (MSPs) derived from harvested partial-thickness skin. Study Design MSPs measuring 0.8 × 0.8 × 0.35 mm were created from a split-thickness skin graft of a pig. In vitro transfection was carried out with adenoviral LacZ (Ad-LacZ) for qualitative and adenoviral vascular endothelial growth factor (Ad-VEGF) for quantitative analysis. Transfected MSPs were transplanted to each of 2.5 × 2.5 cm full-thickness wounds on the dorsum of the pig. Nontransfected MSPs served as controls. Wound chambers were applied and injected with saline to create a wet environment. Results LacZ expression was detected in migrating cells originating from MSPs both in vitro and in vivo. VEGF expression in the wound fluid of Ad-VEGF-MSP−transplanted wounds on each of days 2 to 4 (mean ± SEM 6.74 ± 1.89 ng/mL, day 2; 9.88 ± 2.27 ng/mL, day 3; 9.87 ± 1.28 ng/mL, day 4) was significantly higher (p 10 transfected MSPs compared with either Ad-VEGF 1 × 10 9 transfected MSPs or untransfected MSPs. Wounds transplanted with Ad-VEGF-MSPs showed significantly higher (p Conclusions We demonstrated successful transfection of MSPs that can be transplanted to wounds as a source of gene-expressing cells. This technique can be used to deliver growth-modulating genes in wound healing.
SHALLOW AND PARALLEL SILICIDE CONTACTS.

Ways of making silicide contacts to Si which have a contact depth of about 10 nm are reviewed. Both Si alloys and refractory metal alloys have been explored for shallow silicide formation, and both high (0.85 to 0.75 eV) and low (0.50 to 0.40 eV) Schottky contacts have been demonstrated. Shallow contacts may not be uniform over the entire contact area due to nonuniform interfacial reaction, so nonuniform contacts consisting of a high barrier silicide and a low barrier silicide in parallel have been analyzed.
Glutamine oxidation by dissociated cells and homogenates of rat brain: kinetics and inhibitor studies

The rates of [U-14C]glutamine oxidation to 14CO2 were determined under a variety of experimental conditions using whole homogenates and dissociated cells from rat brain. The pattern of glutamine oxidation by homogenates differed from that by dissociated brain cells in several respects. The rates of glutamine oxidation by dissociated brain cells showed saturation kinetics with an apparent Km of 0.30 mM. Lineweaver-Burk plots of glutamine oxidation by homogenates revealed two linear segments with two apparent Km values (0.58 mM and 3.0 mM). In the presence of aminooxyacetate, however, the Lineweaver-Burk plots for homogenates were linear with a single Km of 0.47 mM. The oxidation of glutamine by homogenates was inhibited by both rotenone and antimycin A (80-85%), as were glutamate and glucose oxidation, suggesting that a significant amount of glutamine is oxidized via the tricarboxylic acid cycle. In the presence of aminooxyacetate, glutamine oxidation was inhibited less than 40%, whereas the oxidation of glutamate was inhibited 75%; in contrast, glucose oxidation was enhanced 50%. The rates of glutamine oxidation by homogenates were highest in the presence of high levels of potassium (50 mM) and low levels of sodium (2.5 mM). Varying ionic composition, however, had little or no effect on the rates of glutamine oxidation by dissociated brain cells. Measurements of glutamine oxidation by homogenates prepared from 2-, 10-, 15-, 25-, and 90-day-old rats revealed little or no age-dependent difference. In contrast, the oxidation by dissociated brain cells from 2-day-old animals was significantly less than that obtained for animals 10 days or older (7.76 vs. 15.6 nmol/h/mg).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Heart Rate Variability as an Assessment of Cardiovascular Status

Summary In summary, HRV is a useful tool for cardiovascular risk stratification and assessment of sympathovagal balance. It has been shown to be a useful investigative tool in anesthesia to study autonomic balance and dysfunction but has limitations with regard to a depth-of-anesthesia monitor because of the confounding effects of multiple drugs and surgical stimuli. When assessing HRV, it is important to understand the limitations of the methodology. In particular, absolute power is not a surrogate of autonomic tone, but the relationship between the power in the different frequency bands may better reflect autonomic balance.
Single-fraction radiosurgery for the treatment of spinal breast metastases.

BACKGROUND The spine is the most common site of bony metastases in patients with osseous breast carcinoma metastases. Spine metastases are the source of significant pain and occasionally neurologic deficit in this patient population. Conventional external beam radiotherapy lacks the precision to allow delivery of large single-fraction doses of radiation and simultaneously limit the dose to radiosensitive structures such as the spinal cord. This study evaluated the clinical efficacy of the treatment of spinal breast carcinoma metastases with a single-fraction radiosurgical technique. METHODS In this prospective cohort evaluation, 68 breast carcinoma metastases to the spine in 50 patients were treated with a single-fraction radiosurgery technique with a follow-up period of 6–48 months, median 16 months. The most common indication for radiosurgery treatment was pain in 57 lesions, as a primary treatment modality in 8 patients, and for radiographic tumor progression, as a postsurgical boost, and for a progressive neurologic deficit in 1 patient each. RESULTS Tumor volume ranged from 0.8–197 cm3 (mean, 27.7 cm3). Maximum tumor dose was maintained at 15–22.5 Gy (mean, 19 Gy). No radiation-induced toxicity occurred during the follow-up period (6–48 mo). Long-term axial and radicular pain improvement occurred in 55 of 57 (96%) patients who were treated primarily for pain. Long-term radiographic tumor control was seen in all patients who underwent radiosurgery as their primary treatment modality, for radiographic tumor progression, or as a postsurgical treatment. CONCLUSIONS Spinal radiosurgery was found to be feasible, safe, and clinically effective for the treatment of spinal metastases from breast carcinoma. The results indicate the potential of radiosurgery in the treatment of patients with spinal breast metastases, especially those with solitary sites of spine involvement, to improve long-term palliation. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.
Computational modeling and simulation of heart ventricular mechanics with tagged MRI

Heart ventricular mechanics has been investigated intensively in the last four decades. The passive material properties, the ventricular geometry and muscular architecture, and the myocardial activation are among the most important determinants of cardiac mechanics. The heart muscle is anisotropic, inhomogeneous, and highly nonlinear. The heart ventricular geometry is irregular and object dependent. The muscular architecture includes the organization of the fiber and the connective tissues. Studies of the myocardial activation have been carried out at both cell and tissue levels.Previous work from our research group has successfully estimated the in-vivo motion and deformation of both the left and the right ventricles. In this paper, we present an iterative model to estimate the in-vivo myocardium material properties, the active forces generated along fiber orientation, and strain and stress distribution in both ventricles. Compared to the strain energy function approach, our model is more intuitively understandable. Using the model, we have simulated the mechanical events of a few different heart diseases. Noticeable strain and stress differences are found between normal and diseased hearts.
Multiple controls regulate nucleostemin partitioning between nucleolus and nucleoplasm

Nucleostemin plays an essential role in maintaining the continuous proliferation of stem cells and cancer cells. The movement of nucleostemin between the nucleolus and the nucleoplasm provides a dynamic way to partition the nucleostemin protein between these two compartments. Here, we show that nucleostemin contains two nucleolus-targeting regions, the basic and the GTP-binding domains, that exhibit a short and a long nucleolar retention time, respectively. In a GTP-unbound state, the nucleolus-targeting activity of nucleostemin is blocked by a mechanism that traps its intermediate domain in the nucleoplasm. A nucleostemin-interacting protein, RSL1D1, was identified that contains a ribosomal L1-domain. RSL1D1 co-resides with nucleostemin in the same subnucleolar compartment, unlike the B23 and fibrillarin, and displays a longer nucleolar residence time than nucleostemin. It interacts with both the basic and the GTP-binding domains of nucleostemin through a non-nucleolus-targeting region. Overexpression of the nucleolus-targeting domain of RSL1D1 alone disperses nucleolar nucleostemin. Loss of RSL1D1 expression reduces the compartmental size and amount of nucleostemin in the nucleolus. Our work reveals that the partitioning of nucleostemin employs complex mechanisms involving both nucleolar and nucleoplasmic components, and provides insight into the post-translational regulation of its activity.
Benjamin Disraeli and the Myth of Sephardi Superiority

On the day following Benjamin Disraeli's death, Lady Battersea (1843-1931), daughter of Sir Anthony de Rothschild (1810-1876), wrote to her husband that their late friend had been "not only loyal to his Queen and country, but also to the race from which he sprung," adding that "his racial instincts were his religion and he was true to that religion until he drew his last breath. ''1 Lady Battersea's observation that Disraeli's ideas about race were central to his self-definition was consistent with contemporary interpretations of his character and beliefs. Friend and foe alike routinely linked his political behavior and thinking to his ethnic background, to what Lady Battersea called "his racial instincts." In the century following his death, however, his biographers, as well as historians and political scientists, hesitated to view his racial concerns as central to his identity and career, preferring to ignore them or at least minimize their importance. In his biographical triptych Burke, Disraeli, and Churchill (1961), Stephen Graubard, for example, though prepared to acknowledge Disraeli's interest in race, confessed to not knowing what to make of it. "It is difficult to understand," he admitted, "why Disraeli charged Sidonia with another teaching mission to instruct Coningsby in the greatness of the Jewish race." With less hesitation, his biographer Robert Blake dismissed Disraeli's Jewishness in favor of the Italian "streak" in his character. If national or racial stereotypes were to be introduced at all, Blake believed, then the traits associated with the Mediterranean character were more dominant: pride, vanity, flamboyance, generosity, emotionalism, quarrelsomeness, extravagance, theatricality, an addiction to conspiracy, and a fondness for intrigue. Indeed, in Blake's view, Disraeli's financial ineptitude demonstrated the weakness of the Jewish element in his makeup. 2
Multi-institutional study of implantable defibrillator lead performance in children and young adults: results of the Pediatric Lead Extractability and Survival Evaluation (PLEASE) study.

Background—Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy in children and congenital heart disease patients is hampered by poor long-term lead survival. Lead extraction is technically difficult and carries substantial morbidity. We sought to determine the outcomes of ICD leads in pediatric and congenital heart disease patients. Methods and Results—The Pediatric Lead Extractability and Survival Evaluation (PLEASE) is a 24-center international registry. Pediatric and congenital heart disease patients with ICD lead implantations from 2005 to 2010 were eligible. Study subjects comprised 878 ICD patients (44% congenital heart disease). Mean±SD age at implantation was 18.6±9.8 years. Of the 965 total leads, 54% were thin (≤7F), of which 57% were Fidelis, and 23% were coated with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene. There were 139 ICD lead failures (14%) in 132 patients (15%) at a mean lead age of 2.0±1.4 years, causing shocks in 53 patients (40%). Independent predictors of lead failure included younger impla...
Model predictions of the rates of homogeneous oxidation of sulfur dioxide to sulfate in the troposphere

Abstract The distributions for HO, HO 2 and CH 3 O 2 in the troposphere predicted by an available two dimension model have been combined with chemical kinetic rate constants for the SO 2 -HO, SO 2 -HO 2 and SO 2 -CH 3 O 2 reactions to predict gas phase oxidation rates for SO 2 . These SO 2 oxidation rates for the “clean” troposphere are shown to vary substantially with latitude, season of the year and altitude. Gas phase oxidation is an important process for formation of sulfate throughout the year at lower latitudes and in the warmer months at mid-latitudes. The rates of oxidation of SO 2 can be significant from near the surface up to the middle troposphere. Comparisons are made with rates predicted from polluted atmospheric models and from experimental results obtained in plume measurements. The importance of gas phase reactions compared to heterogeneous mechanisms for oxidation of SO 2 are discussed.
Apolipoprotein E Receptor Binding VersusHeparan Sulfate Proteoglycan Binding in Its Regulation of Smooth Muscle Cell Migration and Proliferation

This study showed that synthetic peptides containing either a single copy or tandem repeat of the receptor binding domain sequence of apolipoprotein (apo) E, or a peptide containing its C-terminal heparin binding domain, apoE-(211-243), were all effective inhibitors of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-stimulated smooth muscle cell proliferation. In contrast, only the peptide containing a tandem repeating unit of the receptor binding domain sequence of apoE, apoE-(141-155)(2), was capable of inhibiting PDGF-directed smooth muscle cell migration. Peptide containing only a single unit of this sequence, apoE-(141-155), or the apoE-(211-243) peptide were ineffective in inhibiting PDGF-directed smooth muscle cell migration. Additional experiments showed that reductively methylated apoE, which is incapable of receptor binding yet retains its heparin binding capability, was equally effective as apoE in inhibiting PDGF-stimulated smooth muscle cell proliferation. However, reductively methylated apoE was unable to inhibit smooth muscle cell migration toward PDGF. Additionally, the receptor binding domain-specific apoE antibody 1D7 also mitigated the anti-migratory properties of apoE on smooth muscle cells. Finally, pretreatment of cells with heparinase failed to abolish apoE inhibition of smooth muscle cell migration. Taken together, these data documented that apoE inhibition of PDGF-stimulated smooth muscle cell proliferation is mediated by its binding to heparan sulfate proteoglycans, while its inhibition of cell migration is mediated through apoE binding to cell surface receptors.
Fiber optic sensors in the laser optical engineering technology laboratories at the Oregon Institute of Technology

Optical fibers are finding increasing application in feedback and control systems, medical, industrial, illumination and imaging applications, discrete, as well as distributed sensors and networks. In addition to a course in optical fiber principles and components, a fiber optic systems and applications course designed for both electronics and optical engineering technology students has been created at the Oregon Institute of Technology, in the Laser Optical Engineering Technology (LOET) Department. The systems and applications course is designed to illustrate the benefits of using fibers in communications and sensing, as well as to provide hands-on exposure to concepts of test, measurement, and calibration of fiber-optic components and instrumentation. In the laboratories of both courses, optical fiber sensor experiments are used to teach such concepts as selection and testing of components, design and assembly of transducers, system integration, testing, characterization, and optimization. These two mandatory courses provide an excellent introduction to optical fiber technology and applications. The courses exist primarily due to an NSF-OIT grant, however, companies have made significant contributions of hardware to the program. As a result, over $350 K of fiber optics components and instrumentation now are available for senior-students' use, to develop unique, year-long projects.
Resonance lines of Cs II, Ba III, and La IV

The resonance line spectra of ions in the Xe I isoelectronic sequence, consisting of the five transitions to the 5p6 150 ground state from levels with J = 1 in the 5p5 5d and 6s configurations, have been observed for Cs II, Ba III, and La IV. The observations were made with a sliding spark on the 10.7-m normal-incidence vacuum spectrograph at NBS. The resonance transitions from the 5p5 6d and 7s configurations were also observed for these ions, except for that from 5p5 6d 3P1 of Ba III. Several resonance transitions from higher nd and ns levels were also observed. Estimated values for the J = 1 levels of the 5p5 7s configuration of Ce V were obtained by extrapolation. The derived ionization energies in eV are Cs II 23.17(4), Ba III 35.79(6), La IV 45.95(6), Ce V 65.55(25).