cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Endobronchial ultrasonography versus mediastinoscopy: a single-institution cost analysis and waste comparison.

Background Mediastinoscopy (MED) and endobronchial ultrasonography with transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) have similar accuracy for mediastinal lymph node sampling (MLNS). The threatened financial and environmental sustainability of our health care system mandate that surgeons consider cost and environmental impact in clinical decision making of similarly effective procedures. We performed a cost and waste comparison of MED versus EBUS-TBNA for MLNS to raise awareness of the financial and environmental implications of our practices. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of outpatients who underwent MLNS under general anesthesia in the OR with MED or EBUS-TBNA (September 2007 to December 2009). We analyzed direct costs based on hospital charges, calculated expected payment using a decision support model, and profit margins (modeled expected payment-direct costs). Our waste comparison was measured in kilograms of solid waste per case. Results We performed MLNS in 148 patients (89 EBUS-TBNA, 39 MED, 20 EBUS + MED). Direct costs were lower for MED ($2,356) compared with EBUS-TBNA ($2,503), whereas expected payment was greater (MED, $3,449; EBUS-TBNA, $3,249), resulting in a profit margin that was $347 greater for MED. The amount of solid waste for each MED was 1.8 kg versus 0.5 kg for EBUS-TBNA. Conclusions MED costs less than EBUS-TBNA in the OR setting but generates 3.6 times the amount of EBUS-TBNA waste. The cost of EBUS-TBNA may improve by performance in the endoscopy suite, and surgical pack revision could reduce the amount of MED solid waste. This comparison sets the stage for sophistication of our clinical decision making, taking into consideration the major threats to our health care system.
The Toms Canyon structure, New Jersey outer continental shelf: A possible late Eocene impact crater

Abstract The Toms Canyon structure (~ 20–22 km wide) is located on the New Jersey outer continental shelf beneath 80–100 m of water, and is buried by ~ 1 km of upper Eocene to Holocene sedimentary strata. The structure displays several characteristics typical of terrestrial impact craters (flat floor; upraised faulted rim; brecciated sedimentary fill), but several other characteristics are atypical (an unusually thin ejecta blanket; lack of an inner basin, peak ring, or central peak; being nearly completely filled with breccia). Seismostratigraphic and biostratigraphic analyses show that the structure formed during planktonic foraminiferal biochron P15 of the early to middle late Eocene. The fill unit is stratigraphically correlative with impact ejecta cored nearby at Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 612 and at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 903 and 904 (22–35 km southeast of the Toms Canyon structure). The Toms Canyon fill unit also correlates with the Exmore breccia, which fills the much larger Chesapeake Bay impact crater (90-km diameter; 335 km to the southwest). On the basis of our analyses, we postulate that the Toms Canyon structure is an impact crater, formed when a cluster of relatively small meteorites approached the target site bearing ~N 50 °E, and struck the sea floor obliquely.
In vivo effects of the 5‐HT6 antagonist SB‐271046 on striatal and frontal cortex extracellular concentrations of noradrenaline, dopamine, 5‐HT, glutamate and aspartate

Although the 5-HT6 receptor subtype was identified some 5 years ago, very little is known about its function within the brain. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, the neurochemical effects of a selective 5-HT6 receptor ligand. Using in vivo microdialysis in the freely moving rat, we evaluated the effects of the selective 5-HT6 receptor antagonist SB-271046 by simultaneous measurement of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NA), glutamate and aspartate from the striatum and frontal cortex. SB-271046 did not alter basal levels of 5-HT, DA and NA in either brain region. Similarly, there was no change basal levels of either of the excitatory amino acids within the striatum. In contrast, administration of SB-271046 (10 mg kg−1 s.c.) produced a significant (P<0.05), tetrodotoxin-dependent, increase in extracellular levels of both glutamate and aspartate within the frontal cortex, reaching maximum values of 375.4±82.3 and 215.3±62.1% of preinjection values, respectively. British Journal of Pharmacology (2000) 130, 23–26; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0703288
Space environmental interactions with spacecraft surfaces

Environmental interactions are defined as the response of spacecraft surfaces to the charged-particle environment. These interactions are divided into two broad categories: spacecraft passive, in which the environment acts on the surfaces and spacecraft active, in which the spacecraft or a system on the spacecraft causes the interaction. The principal spacecraft passive interaction of concern is the spacecraft charging phenomenon. The spacecraft active category introduces the concept of interactions with the thermal plasma environment and Earth's magnetic fields, which are important at all altitudes and must be considered the designs of proposed large space structures and space power systems. The status of the spacecraft charging investigations is reviewed along with the spacecraft active interactions.
Emission spectra of Cs2NaTbCl6 and Cs2NaYCl6: Tb3+

Abstract The emission spectra of microcrystalline Cs2NaTbCl6 and Cs2Na(Y0.99Tb0.01)Cl6 have been measured at room temperature and at 77 K. The crystal structures of these compounds are face-centered cubic and the terbium (III) ions lie at sites of octahedral (Oh) symmetry surrounded by six chloride ions. Emission is observed from both the 5D3 and 5D4 excited states of Tb3+. Assignments have been made for nearly all of the magnetic-dipole transitions split out of the Tb3+ 7F6, 7F5, 7F4, 7F3, 7F2, 7F1 ← 5D4 and 7F4, 7F2 ← 5D3 transitions. These assignments are based on the calculated transition energies and relative magnetic-dipole strengths and intensities obtained from a weak-field crystal-field analysis of octahedral TbCl63− units. Magnetic-dipole lines dominate the spectra for transitions of ΔJ = ±1 free-ion parentage, whereas both magnetic-dipole lines and vibronically induced electric-dipole lines contribute significantly to the emission intensities of the ΔJ = 0, ±2 transitions. The crystal-field sub-levels of both 5D3 and 5D4 appear to reach a Boltzmann thermal equilibrium prior to emission. Emission from 5D3 is partially quenched in going from low temperature to high temperature and in going from Cs2NaYCl6: Tb3+ (1%) to Cs2NaTbCl6. This study has led to the identification and assignment of nearly all of the pure magnetic-dipole transitions split out of the Tb3+ 7F6, 7F5, 7F4, 7F3, 7F2, 7F1 ← 5D4 and 7F4, 7F2 ← 5D3 transitions in crystal-line Cs2NaTbCl6. The assignments were based on calculated transition energies and relative magnetic-dipole strengths (and intensities) obtained from a (weak-field) crystal-field analysis of octahedral (Oh) TbCl63− clusters. Excellent agreement between the calculated and observed relative intensities of the magnetic-dipole lines was achieved by assuming a Boltzmann equilibrated set of crystal-field sub-levels for both the 5D4 and 5D3 emitting states. Furthermore, the experimental results suggest that 5D4 ← 5D3 relaxation is temperature-dependent. The energy levels calculated and displayed in table 1 appear to be qualitatively correct and are in semiquantitative agreement with the emission results (as interpreted in section 4). Calculated and observed transition energies for the assigned magnetic-dipole transitions generally agree to within 0.2%. One of the most remarkable features of the emission spectra obtained on Cs2NaTbCl6 is the absence of any vibrational structure in the ΔJ = ± 1 transitions (7F6, 7F3 ← 5D4 and 7F4, 7F2 ← 5D3), and the presence of extensive vibrational structure in the ΔJ = O, ±2 transitions (7F6, 7F4, 7F2 ← 5D4). If other than OO vibronic transitions do contribute to the ΔJ = ±1 emissions, their intensities must be at least two or three orders-of-magnitude weaker than the OO magnetic-dipole lines. Vibronically induced electric-dipole transitions appear, however, to make substantial contributions to the 7F6, 7F4, 7F2 ← 5D4 emission spectra. A clear-cut theoretical explanation for the absence of vibrational structure in the ΔJ = ±1 transitions is not readily apparent. We are presently examining this problem in greater detail.
Sliding mode thermal control system for space station furnace facility

This paper addresses the decoupled control of the nonlinear, multi-input-multi-output, highly coupled space station furnace facility (SSFF) thermal control system. Sliding mode control theory, a subset of variable-structure control theory, is employed to increase the performance, robustness, and reliability of the SSFF's currently designed control system. This paper presents the nonlinear thermal control system description and develops the sliding mode controllers that cause the interconnected subsystems to operate in their local sliding modes, resulting in control system invariance to plant uncertainties and external and interaction disturbances. The desired decoupled flow-rate tracking is achieved by optimization of the local linear sliding mode equations. The controllers are implemented digitally and extensive simulation results are presented to show the flow-rate tracking robustness and invariance to plant uncertainties, nonlinearities, external disturbances, and variations of the system pressure supplied to the controlled subsystems.
Controlled Epitaxial Nucleation of Nickel Oxide on Microfabricated Magnesium Oxide Substrates in a CVD Process

It is shown that the nucleation of nickel oxide crystals grown by CVD on MgO depends on the surface structure of the substrates. On freshly cleaved {100} surfaces of MgO, nucleation occurs readily on cleavage steps. The crystallographic orientation of the surfaces of these steps is {110}, and their height ranges from 1 to 8 μm. In contrast, nucleation is sparse on highly polished {100} surfaces having a step height of less than 0.02 μm. Nucleation on polished {111} surfaces is also poor. However, highly polished {110} surfaces show profuse nucleation under similar growing conditions. This preference for nucleation on {110} surfaces and on the step height was used to obtain periodically spaced nuclei of NiO crystals by etching and microlithography of the (100) MgO surface which exposed the {110} surfaces at periodic locations. In this way the spacing of the nuclei could be controlled from 10 μm up to 100 μm.
REGNET: regulatory information management, compliance and analysis

This paper describes a research effort that aims to develop information infrastructure and tools to facilitate access, compliance and analysis of government regulations. It is well recognized that the complexity, diversity, and volume of government regulations are detrimental to business and hinder public understanding of government. The burden of complying with regulations can fall disproportionately on small businesses since these businesses may not have the expertise or resources to keep track of the regulations and the requirements. The situation can potentially be improved by developing appropriate tools that can help facilitate the regulatory and compliance process. To illustrate, this paper discusses the applications of information technology for selected services related to regulations, such as compliance assistance, comparison of regulation from diverse sources, and e-rulemaking.
A probabilistic theory of indexing and similarity measure based on cited and citing documents

A new model of viewing a document based on the citingcited relationship between documents is introduced. Using Bayes' decision theory, it is shown how a source document may be indexed and weighted by its set of relevant cited or citing document features, corresponding to a one pass relevance feedback Model 1 (probabilistic indexing) or Model 2 (probabilistic retrieval) system of [8]. Once every document in a collection has been so indexed, various forms of similarity measures based on probability of topical relevance between documents are derivable, including asymmetric, symmetric, and the relationship with Model 3 of [8]. Applications to retrieval and document clustering are also discussed.
Deep Tendon Reflexes: The What, Why, Where, and How of Tapping

Deep tendon reflexes demonstrate the homeo‐stasis between the cerebral cortex and the spinal cord. When these reflexes are disrupted, hyperreflexia (disease induced) or hyporeflexia/areflexia (drug induced) occurs. Although nurses perform deep tendon reflex assessments regularly, it is difficult to incorporate theoretical principles in these assessments because of scant medical literature, a lack of nursing research, and time constraints in nursing programs. These conditions usually result in one‐on‐one training, causing reduced consistency. A comprehensive examination assists the clinician to apply theoretical principles, develop expert technique, and serve as a catalyst for clinical research.
Sub-bandgap photoconductivity in ZnO epilayers and extraction of trap density spectra

Photoconductivity is observed in ZnO epilayers due to photoexcitation in the visible spectral region of 400–700 nm, below the ZnO bandgap energy of 3.4 eV. Photoconductive transients due to visible photoexcitation have time constants in the order of minutes. Treatment of the ZnO surface with SiO2 passivation layers results in a significant reduction in the photoconductive signal and photoconductive time constant. The photoconductive response is attributed to hole traps in ZnO, where a rate equation model is presented to describe the photoconductive characteristics. A method of extracting the hole trap density spectrum is presented on the basis of the rate equation model and assumptions for hole capture lifetime and carrier recombination lifetime that are validated by experimental time-resolved photoluminescence measurements of the material under study. Traps are found to be distributed near 0.75 eV and 0.9 eV from the valence band edge for SiO2 passivated and unpassivated ZnO epilayers, respectively.
Cardiac Fibroblasts Regulate Myocardial Proliferation through β1 Integrin Signaling

Growth and expansion of ventricular chambers is essential during heart development and is achieved by proliferation of cardiac progenitors. Adult cardiomyocytes, by contrast, achieve growth through hypertrophy rather than hyperplasia. Although epicardial-derived signals may contribute to the proliferative process in myocytes, the factors and cell types responsible for development of the ventricular myocardial thickness are unclear. Using a coculture system, we found that embryonic cardiac fibroblasts induced proliferation of cardiomyocytes, in contrast to adult cardiac fibroblasts that promoted myocyte hypertrophy. We identified fibronectin, collagen, and heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor as embryonic cardiac fibroblast-specific signals that collaboratively promoted cardiomyocyte proliferation in a paracrine fashion. Myocardial beta1-integrin was required for this proliferative response, and ventricular cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of beta1-integrin in mice resulted in reduced myocardial proliferation and impaired ventricular compaction. These findings reveal a previously unrecognized paracrine function of embryonic cardiac fibroblasts in regulating cardiomyocyte proliferation.
Sensitivity Analysis of Discrete Stochastic Systems

Sensitivity analysis quantifies the dependence of system behavior on the parameters that affect the process dynamics. Classical sensitivity analysis, however, does not directly apply to discrete stochastic dynamical systems, which have recently gained popularity because of its relevance in the simulation of biological processes. In this work, sensitivity analysis for discrete stochastic processes is developed based on density function (distribution) sensitivity, using an analog of the classical sensitivity and the Fisher Information Matrix. There exist many circumstances, such as in systems with multistability, in which the stochastic effects become nontrivial and classical sensitivity analysis on the deterministic representation of a system cannot adequately capture the true system behavior. The proposed analysis is applied to a bistable chemical system—the Schlogl model, and to a synthetic genetic toggle-switch model. Comparisons between the stochastic and deterministic analyses show the significance of explicit consideration of the probabilistic nature in the sensitivity analysis for this class of processes.
Adiposity is associated with DNA methylation profile in adipose tissue

Background: Adiposity is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, suggesting an important role for adipose tissue in the development of these conditions. The epigenetic underpinnings of adiposity are not well understood, and studies of DNA methylation in relation to adiposity have rarely focused on target adipose tissue. Objectives were to evaluate whether genome-wide DNA methylation profiles in subcutaneous adipose tissue and peripheral blood leukocytes are associated with measures of adiposity, including central fat mass, body fat distribution and body mass index. Methods: Participants were 106 men and women (mean age 47 years) from the New England Family Study. DNA methylation was evaluated using the Infinium HumanMethylation450K BeadChip. Adiposity phenotypes included dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry-assessed android fat mass, android:gynoid fat ratio and trunk:limb fat ratio, as well as body mass index. Results: Adipose tissue genome-wide DNA methylation profiles were associated with all four adiposity phenotypes, after adjusting for race, sex and current smoking (omnibus p-values <0.001). After further adjustment for adipose cell-mixture effects, associations with android fat mass, android:gynoid fat ratio, and trunk:limb fat ratio remained. In gene-specific analyses, adiposity phenotypes were associated with adipose tissue DNA methylation in several genes that are biologically relevant to the development of adiposity, such as AOC3, LIPE, SOD3, AQP7 and CETP. Blood DNA methylation profiles were not associated with adiposity, before or after adjustment for blood leukocyte cell mixture effects. Conclusion: Findings show that DNA methylation patterns in adipose tissue are associated with adiposity.
Alcoholism in Vietnam and Korea Veterans: a Long Term Follow‐up

The prevalence of alcoholism was assessed in veterans of the Vietnam and Korean wars. In addition, the role played by exposure to combat in excessive alcohol consumption was evaluated. One-third of patients attending clinics that were not devoted to the treatment of alcoholism had alcohol-related problems. This is far in excess of general population prevalence estimates. A significant association was found between combat exposure and excessive alcohol use. Close to 60% of a group of veterans exposed to combat drank excessively at the time of our study versus only 25% of a group of veterans of the Vietnam and Korean eras. An association between alcoholism and war experiences had already been observed by others in the early postwar era. Our data show that the effects of combat exposure can persist for more than a decade after the stressful events.
A cost-effective combining structure for large-scale shared-memory multiprocessors

A cost-effective combining structure to alleviate hot-spot contention is proposed. The key idea is that the combining function is separated from the routing function, so that a binary tree-based combining configuration becomes feasible. The combining element for realizing the new structure has only one wait buffer and one combining logic, involving less hardware than the element used in earlier combining networks. More importantly, the number of constituent combining elements in such a structure with size N is reduced to O(1/log/sub 2/ N) of that required in the previous design. The proposed combining structure in conjunction with a regular multistage interconnection network can remove hot-spot contention effectively in any sized system at a considerably lower cost, and appears readily suitable for use in some applications. >
The University of Kentucky Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Program

r h 1 fi b g T o g g o t m m s m he University of Kentucky Oral nd Maxillofacial Surgery Program s sponsored by the College of entistry at the University of Kenucky and has as its main teaching enters the College of Dentistry, handler Medical Center, the Vetrans Administrative Hospital in exington, and the University of entucky Children’s Hospital. All f these facilities are physically atached to one another. The Univerity of Kentucky Chandler Medical enter was established in 1957 on he Lexington campus. The Uniersity of Kentucky Hospital is omprised of a 473-bed facility, hich is supported by more than 00 faculty physicians and denists, 400 resident physicians, and a taff of 3,200 health professionals. ith more than 80 specialty serices, programs, and centers, it
Different Ubiquitin Signals Act at the Golgi and Plasma Membrane to Direct GAP1 Trafficking

The high capacity general amino acid permease, Gap1p, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is distributed between the plasma membrane and internal compartments according to availability of amino acids. When internal amino acid levels are low, Gap1p is localized to the plasma membrane where it imports available amino acids from the medium. When sufficient amino acids are imported, Gap1p at the plasma membrane is endocytosed and newly synthesized Gap1p is delivered to the vacuole; both sorting steps require Gap1p ubiquitination. Although it has been suggested that identical trans-acting factors and Gap1p ubiquitin acceptor sites are involved in both processes, we define unique requirements for each of the ubiquitin-mediated sorting steps involved in delivery of Gap1p to the vacuole upon amino acid addition. Our finding that distinct ubiquitin-mediated sorting steps employ unique trans-acting factors, ubiquitination sites on Gap1p, and types of ubiquitination demonstrates a previously unrecognized level of specificity in ubiquitin-mediated protein sorting.
Nitrogen‐cycling bacteria and archaea in the carbonate sediment of a coral reef

In the coarse-grained carbonate sediments of coral reefs, advective porewater flow and the respiration of organic matter establish redox zones that are the scene of microbially mediated transformations of N compounds. To investigate the geobiology of N cycling in reef sediments, the benthic microbiota of Checker Reef in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, were surveyed for candidate nitrate reducers, ammonifying nitrite reducers, aerobic and anaerobic ammonia oxidizers (anammox) by identifying phylotypes of their key metabolic genes (napA, narG, nrfA, amoA) and ribotypes (unique RNA sequences) of anammox-like 16S rRNA. Putative proteobacteria with the catalytic potential for nitrate reduction were identified in oxic, interfacial and anoxic habitats. The estimated richness of napA (≥202 in anoxic sediment) and narG (≥373 and ≥441 in oxic and interfacial sediment, respectively) indicates a diverse guild of nitrate reducers. The guild of nrfA hosts in interfacial reef sediment was dominated by Vibrio species. The identified members of the aerobic ammonium oxidizing guild (amoA hosts) were Crenarchaeota or close relatives of Nitrosomonadales. Putative anammox bacteria were detected in the RNA pool of Checker Reef sediment. More than half of these ribotypes show ≥90% identity with homologous sequences of Scalindua spp., while no evidence was found for members of the genera Brocadia or Kuenenia. In addition to exploring the diversity of these four nitrogen-cycling microbial guilds in coral reef sediments, the abundances of aerobic ammonium oxidizers (amoA), nitrite oxidizers (nxrAB), ammonifying nitrite reducers (nrfA) and denitrifiers (nosZ) were estimated using real-time PCR. Representatives of all targeted guilds were detected, suggesting that most processes of the biogeochemical N cycle can be catalyzed by the benthic microbiota of tropical coral reefs.
Harun Al-Rashid and The Mecca Protocol Of 802: A plan For Division Or Succession?

The succession crisis and civil war that followed the death of Caliph Harun alRashid in 809 is a gloomy chapter in the history of the Abbasid caliphate in its prime that captured the attention of later medieval Muslim scholars. Their main challenge lay in trying to find an appropriate rationale for justifying the conflict between the caliph's sons, al-Amin and al-Maʾmun, and the fate of the community under a caliphate seized by force for the first time in the Abbasid era. The destruction wrought by the civil war on the capital, Baghdad, combined with the spread of factional strife to other provinces of the caliphate, presented an ethical and religious dilemma reminiscent to contemporaries of the early Islamic fitnas. Conscious of this parallel, the chronicler al-Tabari, writing a century later, devotes considerably more space to the years of the civil war than he does to the reigns of al-Rashid and al-Maʾmun that bracketed it.
Media and Affect: A Comparison of Videotape, Audiotape, and Print

Students at the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan participated in an experiment to determine if different affective responses would result from exposure to three different forms...
Knocking on Closed Doors: Host Interferons Dynamically Regulate Blood-Brain Barrier Function during Viral Infections of the Central Nervous System

The central nervous system (CNS) is among the most important organ systems, integrating information inputs and coordinating the activity of all other body systems. Like many organ systems, the CNS is susceptible to infection by pathogenic microorganisms, including many arboviruses that are considered neurotropic because they are able to achieve robust replication in neural cells. Neurotropic arboviruses capable of infecting the CNS include members of the Flaviviridae (e.g., West Nile and Japanese encephalitis viruses), Bunyaviridae (La Cross and Rift Valley Fever viruses), and Togaviridae (Alphavirus species) families, all RNA viruses that are maintained in complex life cycles involving a nonhuman primary vertebrate and a primary arthropod vector [1]. A variety of mechanisms exist to protect the CNS from the entry and infection of neurotropic viruses, including innate immune responses and multilayer barriers formed by diverse host cell types [2]. However, many arboviruses gain access to the CNS either as free virions, within motile infected cells, and/or by using axonal transport mechanisms of peripheral nerves that directly enter or form synapses within the CNS. Viruses that enter via the bloodstream must cross CNS endothelial barriers that exhibit unique specializations, collectively termed the blood-brain barrier (BBB).
Therapeutic Goals in Patients with Refractory Angina

Refractory angina is a major clinical challenge in ­contemporary cardiovascular medicine. As therapeutic strategies evolve, there is increased life expectancy for ischemic heart disease with more patients reaching advanced stages. Due to a better understanding of the disease process and technological advances, coronary revascularization, by means of coronary by-pass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), is now offered to a wide spectrum of high-risk patients. The inception of drug eluting stents in routine clinical practice has reduced the restenosis rates to single digits [1, 2], extending the indications of PCI to poor operative candidates with unprotected left main stenosis or diabetics with diffuse small vessel disease. In a similar fashion, more generalized use of major surgical revascularization breakthroughs, such as off-pump CABG and arterial grafts, have resulted in significant improvements in surgical outcomes [3]. Despite these advances, a significant proportion of patients with preserved left ventricular fraction and no life-threatening arrhythmias remain symptomatic with severe debilitating angina due to progression of native atherosclerotic disease associated with failure or unfeasibility of revascularization. In a prospective observational study, Hemingway et al. showed that at 1-year follow-up angina persists in 52% of patients treated with PCI and 40% of those treated with CABG [4]. Similar findings were observed in the multicenter international ARTS randomized trial, in which only 19% of PCI patients and 38% of CABG patients were free of angina and antianginal therapy at 1-year follow-up [5]. Moreover, in a meta-analysis of 11 randomized trials comparing PCI with medical therapy in stable patients with chronic coronary artery disease, PCI offered no survival benefit [6].
Attaching Spaces with Maps

The purpose of this chapter is to develop the basic theory of CW complexes and their homology groups. An equivalence relation on a topological space is seen to produce a new space whose points are the equivalence classes. This gives a means of attaching one space to another via a mapping from a sub-space of the first to the second. The case of particular interest is that of attaching a cell to a space via a map defined on the boundary. This leads naturally to the definition of CW complexes. To serve as tools in the study of these spaces, relative homology groups are introduced and the excision theorem is proved. It is shown that the relative groups of adjacent skeletons produce a finitely generated chain complex whose homology is the homology of the space, and this is applied to compute the homology of real projective spaces.
A case control study investigating the relationship of low estrogen dose oral contraceptives to thromboembolism

Approximately 500 cases of women sustaining thromboembolism were collected from nearly 40 collaborating hospitals and matched with 2 or 3 controls selected from the same hospitals. Matching variables included age of patient race ward status (when possible) and marital status. All patients and controls were interviewed to determine contraceptive use and medical and personal history; charts of patients and controls were abstracted for pertinent medical laboratory and diagnostic information. This paper presents the results of this study which attempted to determine: 1) the relative risk of thromboembolism among women using oral contraceptives 2) the possibility of dose-response relationship 3) the risks of particular formulations of oral contraceptives 4) the risks among women with certain predisposing characteristics toward thromboembolism who are oral contraceptive user 5) the relationship of blood type to thromboembolism and 6) the replicability and validity of contraceptive histories.(FULL TEXT)
1,2-BN Cyclohexane: Synthesis, Structure, Dynamics, and Reactivity

BN/CC isosterism has emerged as a viable strategy to increase the structural diversity of carbon-based compounds. We present the first synthesis and characterization of the parent 1,2-BN cyclohexane, the BN-isostere of cyclohexane. 1,2-BN cyclohexane is an air- and water-stable compound that cleanly forms a trimer with release of dihydrogen when thermally activated. We also demonstrate that 1,2-BN cyclohexane has a lower activation barrier for ring inversion than cyclohexane due to BN/CC isosterism.
Developing an Original Argument: A Strategy for College Writing.

ABSTRACTAn essay's motive or research problem consists of the rhetorical moves illuminating why that essay matters—what puzzling elements of a primary source it resolves, which contradictions in the data it explains, or what gaps in the literature it fills. This article invites college instructors to dedicate some of their classroom time to teaching students how to construct original, motive-driven arguments. More specifically, the article describes the conceptual triangle technique that uses a simple three-point concept map as the first step in active argument building. This technique is simple and flexible enough to be adapted across subject areas, data, and disciplines. The focus on scholarly motive in general and the use of the conceptual triangle in particular can be effective ways to help academic writers at all levels to develop original arguments that matter.
Pressure Transients due to Compression of Trapped Air in Rapidly Filling Sewer Storage Tunnels

Increasing numbers of lines of evidence indicate that entrapment of large pockets of air during the rapid filling of stormwater and combined sewer systems may …
Analysis on leading phase test of 1GW turbine generator units in Ningxia Power Grid

Combined with the generator's leading phase principle and comprehensive considering every limited condition,leading phase test was made on 1GW turbine generator units in Ningxia Power Grid.The test results show that the reactive power output of the generator not only meet the limitation demands on the stability operation of the generator itself,but also meet the stability operation demands of the whole power system.
OxyR-regulated catalase activity is critical for oxidative stress resistance, nodulation and nitrogen fixation in Azorhizobium caulinodans

The legume-rhizobial interaction results in the formation of symbiotic nodules in which rhizobia fix nitrogen. During the process of symbiosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated. Thus, the response of rhizobia to ROS is important for successful nodulation and nitrogen fixation. In this study, we investigated how Azorhizobium caulinodans , a rhizobium that forms both root and stem nodules on its host plant, regulates ROS resistance. We found that in-frame deletions of a gene encoding the putative catalase-peroxidase katG or a gene encoding a LysR-family regulatory protein, oxyR , exhibited increased sensitivity to H2O2. We then showed that OxyR positively regulated katG expression in an H2O2-independent fashion. Furthermore, we found that deletion of katG or oxyR led to significant reduction in the number of stem nodules and decrease of nitrogen fixation capacities in symbiosis. Our results revealed that KatG and OxyR are not only critical for antioxidant defense in vitro , but also important for nodule formation and nitrogen fixation during interaction with plant hosts.
O-86 Allow natural death/te wa aroha – advanced care planning in paediatric palliative care

Background and aims Starship Chidren’s Hospital instigated a new paediatric end of life care plan which incorporates the words «Allow Natural Death» to replace«Do Not Resuscitate or «Not for Resuscitation». Due to the committment to biculturalism in New Zealand participation and advice was sought from Maori leadership who gifted the words Te Wa Aroha (a time of love) to paediatric end of life care plans. The aim of this paper is to show that the use Allow Natural Death enhances family understanding and ability to engage in end of life care planning for their children. Methods This paper will report the findings of an audit of end of life care plans for children at Starship Children’s hospital. Results By doing an audit of end of life care plans the author hopes to demonstrate the importance of the language used in end of life care planning for children. Discussion Removing negative language from end of life care discussions may help families focus on end of life care that focuses on reducing suffering and the promotion of comfort, quality and dignity for their child. Effective end of life care planning may also lead to a greater number of families choosing to have their child die at home rather than in hospitals. Conclusion Te Wa Aroha/Allow Natural Death has been integrated and leads to a more open discussion about dying and death in the paediatric setting.
Catheter tracking in an interventional photoacoustic surgical system

Photoacoustic imaging in surgical systems would be more prominent if the photoacoustic effect could be used for catheter tracking. A piezoelement in a catheter allows it to be localized with respect to tracked photoacoustic spots.
Measurement of Microbial Protease Activity Using a pH-Stat Titration.

The activity of purified and crude microbial proteases was measured by titration at pH 9 using an automatic pH-stat instrument. The ability of the pH-stat titration method and the trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) method to detect protease activity was compared. The pH-stat titration produced higher measurements of activity than the TNBS method when purified protease from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens was tested. Protease activity determination using the two methods resulted in a linear correlation of R2 = 0.985 and the same repeatability (C.V.=2.6%). The pH-stat titration method was more sensitive than the TNBS method in measuring activity of the purified protease, and it indicated greater proteolytic activity than the TNBS method when culture filtrates from five Pseudomonas spp. which produced proteolytic enzyme with greater activity at pH 9 than pH 7.5 were tested. When culture filtrates from four Pseudomonas spp. with similar but low proteolytic activity at pH 9 and 7.5 were tested, the two methods produced similar results. For proteases with optimum activity at or above pH 9, the pH-stat titration method was simplier, faster, and more sensitive than the TNBS method in determining activity.
Spodoptera exigua modulates gossypol biosynthesis in cotton Gossypium hirsutum

ABSTRACTCotton plants induce high levels of gossypol in response to herbivore damage. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which insect herbivory modulates gossypol biosynthesis in cotton plants. Here, we report the mechanism by which herbivore damage or insect-originated elicitors modulate the biosynthesis of gossypol and jasmonic acid (JA) in plants. Spodoptera exigua larval-damaged (HD) cotton plants and mechanically damaged plants treated with S. exigua oral secretion (MDOS) showed higher levels of gossypol and JA as well as increased transcript levels of genes involved in the biosynthesis of both secondary plant metabolites, compared to undamaged (UD) or mechanically damaged (MD) plants. In correlation with the observed induction of gossypol and JA, S. exigua larvae that fed on HD and MDOS cotton plants showed significantly reduced weight. The findings provide a better insight into the molecular mechanisms mediating herbivore-induced plant defense.
The Great Vanishing: International Trade Agreements in U.S. Courts

Slowly but surely, international trade agreements have disappeared from U.S. courts. This Essay provides a concise historical account of this disappearance--which it calls the ‘‘Great Vanishing’’--and explains how and why it came to pass. It first describes how the Trade Preferences Act of 1979 banned private lawsuits to enforce international trade agreements. It then shows how the Uruguay Round Agreements Act of 1994 further restricted the ability of private parties to enforce these agreements indirectly. Finally, it shows how U.S. courts today refuse to look to international trade agreements--and to decisions rendered by international tribunals construing those agreements--to interpret domestic statutes that implement them. The Great Vanishing is noteworthy, this Essay contends, for two reasons. First, it represents by far the most comprehensive and successful attempt by Congress to banish a particular type of international law from the courts of the United States. Second, the Great Vanishing coincides with an era of greater skepticism when it comes to the private enforcement of public law. Indeed, in many respects it represents the apotheosis of that trend.
Multiple attribute similarity hypermatching

An approach to objects or events similarity is based on the similarity of the data values of the specific attributes. Similarity is refined by considering importance weights for attributes and also the issues of unusual attribute values where the concept of importance amplification is used to provide soft matching of objects or events We then introduce extensions to hypermatching where certain combinations of attributes are relevant. This is approached by modeling how to represent commonly occurring attribute data values whose co-occurrence is uncommon. Certainly not all attribute combinations are typically of the same interest. What can be expected is that for a particular context or application, some subset of the attributes is being focused upon. As an application, we illustrate the importance of considering combinations of attribute values in assessing evidence in geospatial profiling.
The occupier's dilemma: Problem collaborators

ABSTRACTEvery occupying power recruits collaborators but potential recruits vary with respect to their acceptance by occupied populations. That matters because the legitimacy of the occupation regime facilitates securing the war aims of the occupying power. This article surveys the different reasons why collaborators often elicit popular contempt, a response which may inspire insubordination and resistance, to produce a conceptual stencil of the optimal rather than the ideal collaborator. Limited pools of potential recruits mean that occupying powers may not be able to recruit ideal candidates. The resulting conceptual stencil can serve a checkoff list for evaluating the utility of potential collaborators.
Genetic Analysis of Wild Polioviruses towards the Eradication of Poliomyelitis from the Western Pacific Region

Since a laboratory network to eradicate poliomyelitis in the Western Pacific Region started in 1991, the Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, has been functioning as a Regional Reference Laboratory. From 1992 to 1998, we examined 5453 stool samples collected from 3501 patients with acute flaccid paralysis in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, and we isolated 392-type 1 and 10-type 3 wild polioviruses. As a result of the extensive immunization during this time in this area, the numbers of poliomyelitis cases by wild polioviruses have drastically decreased. In 1997, only nine type 1 wild polioviruses were isolated. Eight out of the nine cases were found in Cambodia, and one was in mid-Vietnam. Since then no wild polioviruses have been isolated in the Western Pacific Region for more than two years. A nucleotide sequence analysis of these 1997 isolates indicated that they all belonged to the same strain that has been prevailing in the Indochina area, suggesting the complete interruption of wild poliovirus transmission in the region.
Psychological Functioning of Women Taking Illicit Drugs during Pregnancy and the Growth and Development of Their Offspring in Early Childhood.

Objective: The aim of this research was to assess psychosocial history and psychological functioning in women who use drugs during pregnancy and determine how drug exposure affects child developmen...
Toxoplasmic Encephalitis in Patients with AIDS

SUMMARY Toxoplasmic encephalitis has been recognized as a major CNS complication in patients with AIDS and is the most frequent cause of focal intracerebral lesions in these patients. This complication of AIDS is almost always observed in patients who have a chronic (latent) infection with Toxoplasma gondii. Therefore, patients who from the outset of their HIV infection or AIDS are known to have antibodies to T. gondii should be considered at risk for development of toxoplasmic encephalitis. Although serologic tests cannot distinguish active from latent infection, a patient who is seronegative for Toxoplasma antibodies is unlikely to have toxoplasmic encephalitis. Neuroradiologic studies may be highly suggestive of toxoplasmic encephalitis, but, at present, the definitive diagnosis can be made only by demonstration of Toxoplasma in brain tissue. The unique pathogenesis of toxoplasmic encephalitis in patients with AIDS makes intensive primary therapy followed by a lifelong suppressive regimen necessary. We recommend 6 weeks of high doses of pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine (or trisulfapyrimidines) as primary therapy for the acute disease followed by daily administration of reduced doses of these drugs. The use of clindamycin as an alternative drug for primary therapy, at least at present, must be regarded as investigational and should be reserved for patients who suffer severe reactions to the sulfonamides. As most patients will respond to their primary therapy, those who fail to improve clinically and radiologically to therapy within 10 days should be evaluated for additional or alternative causes of their intracerebral pathology. This will often necessitate brain biopsy.
Baseline characteristics of participants in the Physicians' Health Study: a randomized trial of aspirin and beta-carotene in U.S. physicians.

The Physicians' Health Study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of primary prevention designed to assess the effects of low-dose aspirin on cardiovascular disease and of beta-carotene on risks of cancer. A total of 22,071 U.S. male physicians 40 to 84 years of age were randomized to one of four treatment groups: active aspirin and active beta-carotene, active aspirin and beta-carotene placebo, aspirin placebo and active beta-carotene, or both placebos. Whereas the beta-carotene component of the trial is ongoing, the blinded aspirin component was terminated early primarily because of a statistically extreme benefit of aspirin on first myocardial infarction. We obtained data relating to a large number of variables, including demographics, personal medical history, family history, health habits, and diet before randomization and compared them among the four treatment groups. As expected in a randomized trial of this sample size, the distribution of baseline characteristics was virtually identical among the treatment groups. This comparison indicates certainly no confounding by the baseline variables that were collected and suggests that other unmeasured or unknown potential confounders are also likely to be distributed evenly between the treatment groups. Thus, any observed differences in outcome between these groups likely result from the effects of the treatments themselves.
Cats Not to be Touched Without Gloves: Eric Walten and Other Supporters of Bekker

In the wide public controversy that surrounded The World Bewitched, few voices were raised in Bekker’s defense, and those that were raised were uniformly more radical than Bekker himself. These voices drew harsh criticism in their turn. If Bekker’s book marked a decisive turning point in the spirit debate as some historians have suggested, why was the work received with such nearly uniform hostility? Why was there so little evidence of minds changed by The World Bewitched?1
A Virtual Reality Environment for Synthesizing Spherical Four-bar Mechanisms

This paper describes the development of a virtual reality environment which facilitates the design of spherical four-bar mechanisms. The virtual environment allows the user to naturally interact with the input data and specify the design parameters while operating in a three-dimensional environment. We see this development as a logical extension of existing graphics-based spatial design software. The need for a three-dimensional design space is driven by the difficulty in specifying design inputs and constraints for a spatial problem using a two-dimensional interface. In addition, once the mechanism has been created, the virtual environment provides the opportunity for the user to visually verify that the mechanism will perform the desired three-dimensional motion. Driver Link Link
Education for the Legal Profession

Legal education reflects lawyers' roles within a given society, students' prior preparation, and regulatory systems governing accreditation and licensure. While law students are exposed to wideranging content, particular attention is given in American law schools to helping students think like lawyers, using appellate judicial decisions and the case-dialog method as a means of developing independent critical-thinking skills. Students receive instruction in legal writing and research, and may elect clinical programs, externships, or simulation-based skills courses as available. Professional responsibility courses are required, and pro bono extracurricular efforts are encouraged. Assessment tends to get short shrift.