cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Halo Effect in the Presence of Fraud Risk Factors: An Examination of Auditor Skepticism

This study is the first stage of a multi part study examining halo effects among auditors. We specifically examine two questions: (1) Are auditors susceptible to halo effects, and (2) Does the presence of fraud risk factors mitigate halo effects by increasing auditor objectivity and skepticism? The latter question is motivated by SAS 99 which specifically links the concepts of fraud risk and auditor skepticism. Results of a single experiment are both striking and unexpected. Despite successful halo manipulations, judgments by student participants did not exhibit halo effects in the absence of fraud risk factors, but did exhibit significant halo effects in the presence of fraud risk factors. These results suggest that auditors may not be subject to halo effects directly, but become subject to halo effects when processing other information/evidence.
Local thermal non-equilibrium effects on thermal pressurization in saturated porous media considering thermo-osmosis and thermal-filtration

Abstract This paper presents new fully-coupled analytical thermo-poroelastic solutions, introducing four new components to the traditional Local Thermal Non-Equilibrium (LTNE) theory: thermo-osmosis; thermal-filtration; heat sinks due to thermal expansion of the pore fluid and the solid phase; and vertical confinement. Thermo-osmosis, thermal-filtration, and fluid dilation are found to have very different effects in case of LTNE versus local thermal equilibrium (LTE), resulting in a fundamentally different thermo-hydraulic-mechanical (THM) response. The aforementioned non-traditional thermal processes cause generation of notably higher pore pressures in the porous medium that cannot be otherwise predicted using current solutions. Fluid temperatures are more sensitive to these non-traditional thermal processes, compared to the solid phase temperatures. Thermo-osmosis is found to have more significant effects under LTNE compared to LTE, and to be the dominant mechanism affecting solid temperatures, pore pressures and stresses. Thermal-filtration and heat sink due to fluid thermal expansion are the dominant mechanisms affecting fluid temperatures. The vertical confinement and formation anisotropy is shown to notably impact the THM response of a porous layer to heat source or sink. The impact of the aforementioned four novel components are found to be enhanced under an impermeable hydraulic boundary compared to a permeable boundary condition.
Fluorescence spectral shape analysis for fast COVID-19 virus identification: Machine learning approach

Fast and reliable tests for the new coronavirus are urgently needed. Current Polymerase Chain Reaction based virus detection approaches are typically time-consuming and expensive. Technologies capable of providing a fast, real-time and non-contact detection of virus contamination and real-time virus classification are not yet available. Here, we demonstrate the potential of a fluorescence detection technique along with machine-learning based classification for virus detection. The ultraviolet (UV) light irradiated virus emits a fluorescent signal with a characteristic spectrum, which is regarded as a fingerprint for the virus. We analyzed eight virus samples including a heat-inactivated SARS-CoV-2 (virus causing COVID-19) and collected a number of emission spectra. Machine learning techniques are applied to discriminate among the candidate viruses via classifying a number of spectra data collected. First, Principle Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to reduce spectra data dimensionality. Then support vector machine (SVM) with various kernel functions (kernelSVM), k-nearest-neighbor (k-NN) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) methods were used to classify these viruses with dimension-reduced data from PCA. We found that dimension-reduced data in 3 principal components (PCs) space performs better than that in 2 PCs space in the machine learning algorithms mentioned above. Variance ratio analysis is able to explain nearly 95% of variance which allows nearly 100% accuracy of predictions for 25% data test set randomly chosen from the whole dataset. Finally, cross validation (CV) analysis is applied to kernel-SVM and k-NN methods.
Skeletal Stem Cells—A Paradigm Shift in the Field of Craniofacial Bone Tissue Engineering

Defects of the craniofacial skeleton arise as a direct result of trauma, diseases, oncological resection, or congenital anomalies. Current treatment options are limited, highlighting the importance for developing new strategies to restore form, function, and aesthetics of missing or damaged bone in the face and the cranium. For optimal reconstruction, the goal is to replace “like with like”. With the inherent challenges of existing options, there is a clear need to develop alternative strategies to reconstruct the craniofacial skeleton. The success of mesenchymal stem cell-based approaches has been hampered by high heterogeneity of transplanted cell populations with inconsistent preclinical and clinical trial outcomes. Here, we discuss the novel characterization and isolation of mouse skeletal stem cell (SSC) populations and their response to injury, systemic disease, and how their re-activation in vivo can contribute to tissue regeneration. These studies led to the characterization of human SSCs which are able to self-renew, give rise to increasingly fate restricted progenitors, and differentiate into bone, cartilage, and bone marrow stroma, all on the clonal level in vivo without prior in vitro culture. SSCs hold great potential for implementation in craniofacial bone tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. As we begin to better understand the diversity and the nature of skeletal stem and progenitor cells, there is a tangible future whereby a subset of human adult SSCs can be readily purified from bone or activated in situ with broad potential applications in craniofacial tissue engineering.
Computing Phase Amplitude Coupling in EEGLAB: PACTools

Phase-Amplitude Coupling (PAC) in electrophysiological signals refers to the transient interplay of activities in different frequency ranges, wherein phase in a low-frequency band and amplitude in a high-frequency band are in some way dependent. PAC phenomena have received increasing interest in neuroscience given the growing evidence of their apparent role in both normal and pathological brain processes. This interest has resulted in publication of a wave of methods for PAC estimation, each with its own advantages and drawbacks relative to others. Motivated by the widespread study of this phenomenon, most academic open source software environments for analyzing electrophysiological signals (e.g., Fieldtrip, Brainstorm, MNE) have implemented at least one method of PAC estimation. Here we describe an EEGLAB plug-in release, PACTools for MATLAB (The Mathworks, Inc.), that computes PAC in either continuous or event-related data using any of five methods for PAC estimation: Mean Vector Length Modulation Index, Kullback- Leibler Modulation Index, Phase-Locking Value, General Linear Model Modulation Index and Mutual Information PAC (MIPAC). PACTools uses parallelized code for efficient performance and offers built-in direct access to online high-performance computing resources made freely available for nonprofit research by the Neurosciences Gateway (nsgportal.org). PACTools features intuitive graphic user interfaces and equivalent command line calls that make its use straightforward and seamless in the EEGLAB environment. We discuss toolbox implementation, architecture, dependencies, and the implemented methods of PAC computation and visualization.
Risk of Retinal Artery Occlusion in Patients with Migraine

Purpose We sought to determine if migraine is associated with increased risk of retinal artery occlusion (RAO). Design Retrospective cohort study. Methods We reviewed a large insurance claims database for patients with migraine and matched control subjects without migraine between 2007 and 2016. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to investigate the association between migraine and risk of all RAO, central RAO (CRAO), branch RAO (BRAO), and “other” RAO, which includes transient and partial RAO. Primary outcome measures included the incidence of all RAO, including CRAO, BRAO, and other RAO, after first migraine diagnosis. Result There were 418,965 patients with migraine who met the study criteria and were included in the analysis with the appropriate matched control subjects. Among the 418,965 patients with migraine, 1060 (0.25%) were subsequently diagnosed with RAO, whereas only 335 (0.08%) of the patients without migraine were diagnosed with RAO. The hazard ratio (HR) for incident all RAO in patients with migraine compared with those without migraine was 3.48 (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.07-3.94; P Conclusions Migraine is associated with increased risk of all types of RAO and migraine with aura is associated with increased risk of RAO compared with migraine without aura.
A Real-Time, Distributed, Directional TDMA MAC Protocol for QoS-Aware Communication in Multi-Hop Wireless Networks

Time division multiple access (TDMA) based medium access control (MAC) schemes are widely used for communication among directional nodes since they can provide a conflict-free transmission schedule. However, the existing directional TDMA schemes introduce significant overhead and delay, and cannot adapt in real-time to topology changes in a directional multi-hop network. These schemes also incur considerable overhead and delay in order to support the QoS (quality of service) traffic. In this paper, a novel, real-time, distributed, directional TDMA scheme is presented for directional multi-hop wireless networks. This scheme adapts to the topology changes and/or flow requirements in real-time , and facilitates QoS-aware communication with no notification overhead . In the proposed scheme, the 1-hop neighborhood of every node is divided into fully connected 1-hop neighborhoods , which allows the node to intelligently serve multiple routes without requiring a globally converged scheduling solution. This feature allows the use of a low-complexity rank-based mechanism to obtain a distributed, real-time transmission schedule for a directional multi-hop network. The following new features are also added in the proposed scheme: ( ${i}$ ) REQ period which reduces slot wastage, ( ii ) throughput scaling which ensures fairness and helps in congestion management, and ( iii ) piggyback reservation period which increases the spatial reuse and adapts to the dynamic requirements of multiple flows in real-time. The control-period overhead in our scheme is low and linearly changes with the number of nodes in a fully connected 1-hop neighborhood, instead of the total number of nodes in the entire network. Simulation results and comparisons with other recent, distributed TDMA-based schemes show that our scheme provides a higher throughput with very low control overhead for both static and mobile network topologies.
Using properties of electromagnetism to construct speakers from paper cups

An electromagnet is a soft metal core that demonstrates magnetic properties after passing a current through a coil that surrounds. Modern speakers, which function as a result of interactions between electromagnets and permanent magnets, can be modeled using a paper cup, copper wire, neodymium magnets, a razor blade or sandpaper, an MP3 player, and some other related materials. First, the copper wire must be made into a coil of uniform radius. This is easiest when using a tool like a test tube. After coiling the wire, the coil must be unwinded such that a few inches of free wire are available on either end of the coil. Next, the ends of the wire must be stripped, with a razor blade or sandpaper, until the copper-colored wire turns silver. Using the corresponding materials, the wire must be stripped to reveal silver-colored wire which can pass current from the MP3 player. To replicate the interaction between the electromagnet and permanent magnet, an electromagnet must be induced and paired with a permanent magnet such as the neodymium magnet. Audio connector cables should run from the headphone jack of the MP3 player to the terminal conductor. Two alligator clips, each from separate cables, should then be attached to the conductor, preferably by soldering. The other ends of each cable should be clipped onto the stripped ends of the coiled copper wire. These connections allow the electric current coming from the MP3 Player to pass back and forth through the coil. Passing a current through the copper coil creates an electromagnet by inducing a magnetic field, the direction of which depends on the direction of current flow. The copper coil should be secured to the bottom of the paper cup, preferably using a material such as double-sided tape or glue that does not interfere with the integrity of the coil. If this material dislodges some turns of copper wire from the copper coil, this will cause a muffled sound. For simplicity, the neodymium magnets can be placed on a cake pan. With the copper coil secured to the bottom of the paper cup, the paper cup can be placed onto the stacked neodymium magnets such that the coil hangs over the column of magnets. The magnetic field from the electromagnet will stretch over the neodymium magnets in a helical shape. Such arrangements allow the magnetic properties of a copper coil to interact with the north and south poles of permanent magnets, namely the ones attached to the cake pan. As current passes back and forth through the coil, it is alternately attracted and repelled from the magnets on the cake pan. The resulting force pushes the bottom paper cup back and forth, which in turn pushes the air back and forth to produce sound waves. The cone shape of the paper cup concentrates and amplifies these sound waves.
Apheresis practice patterns in the United States of America: Analysis of a market claims database.

INTRODUCTION Indications for apheresis procedures are expanding; however, the evidence for many is low quality. A better understanding of apheresis patterns in the United States is needed to better plan prospective research studies. METHODS Data from January 1, 2013, to September 30, 2015, were analyzed from the IBM MarketScan Research Databases of de-identified health insurance claims data of several million enrollees at all levels of care from large employers and health plans across the United States. Apheresis procedures were identified by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth version (ICD-9) and Current Procedure Terminology (CPT) codes. RESULTS Combining inpatients and outpatients, 18 706 patients underwent 70 247 procedures. The patients were 52.7% female, 5.1% <18 years, and 55.9% inpatient, while the procedures were 49.5% female, 5.7% <18 years, and 19.8% inpatient. For each apheresis modality, the percent of patients treated and procedures performed, respectively, are plasmapheresis 36.4% and 42.5%, autologous harvest of stem cells 22.8% and 10.7%, plateletpheresis 11.1% and 3.5%, allogeneic harvest of stem cells 8.2% and 2.5%, photopheresis 5.4% and 24.4%, erythrocytapheresis 3.8% and 4.7%, leukopheresis 2.0% and 0.7%, immunoadsorption 1.4% and 0.4%, extracorporeal selective adsorption/filtration and plasma reinfusion 1.0% and 3.6%, and other 21.6% and 6.9%. A wide variety of diagnoses were treated; however, analysis of the diagnoses suggests the procedure codes may not always reflect an apheresis procedure. CONCLUSION This study describes the landscape of apheresis in the United States, but may overestimate some procedures based on linked diagnosis codes. Direct measures of apheresis procedures are needed to plan future research studies.
Response to Letter to the Editor: Comparing Intramedullary Nailing Versus Locked Plating in the Treatment of Native Distal Femur Fractures: Is One Superior to the Other?

We would like to thank the editors for the opportunity to respond to their letter regarding our study, “Comparing Intramedullary Nailing Versus Locked Plating in the Treatment of Native Distal Femur Fractures: Is One Superior to the Other?” published in the Indian Journal of Orthopaedics. The authors greatly appreciate the insight and thoughtful feedback regarding the findings of our study, which may be skewed by heterogenous data and/or technical aspects of surgical plating and intramedullary nailing. We agree with the editors and believe that higher level randomized trials along with specific studies focused on studying modes and causes for treatment failure are necessary to further elucidate the heterogenous data. Nonetheless, with an overall union rate of about 90% and without significant differences in outcomes, at this juncture, we conclude that either intramedullary nailing or locked plate fixation is acceptable treatment options for distal femur fractures.
Abstract #917: Cardiac Mrp1 transporter mediates glutathione-conjugated 4-hydroxy-nonenal (GS-HNE) efflux in doxorubicin treated mice

Multidrug resistant-associated protein 1 (Mrp1, Abcc1; 190 kDa) mediates the ATP-dependent efflux of endo- and xenobiotics and is expressed in various tissues including heart. In mouse heart, Mrp1 is localized primarily in sarcolemma, where it is thought to mediate efflux of the glutathione conjugate of a highly reactive product of lipid peroxidation, 4-hydroxy-nonenal (HNE). We used Doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline chemotherapy drug, as a model to induce oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation that has been demonstrated to be associated with cardiac toxicity. Here, we were able to identify GS-HNE in cardiac mitochondria following DOX treatment. DOX also induced Mrp1 expression in both sarcolemma and cardiac mitochondria. The mitochondrial Mrp1 were capable of mediating ATP-dependent transport of Mrp1 substrates such as estradiol-17\#946;-glucuronide, leukotriene C4 and GS-HNE. The transport activities were inhibited by MK571, a selective Mrp1 inhibitor. Sarcolemma membrane vesicles isolated from DOX-treated mice showed similar transport activities for GS-HNE compared to saline controls. However, GS-HNE transport activity in SMP was increased 2-fold in DOX vs. saline treated-mice. A non-linear regression analysis of sarcolemma membrane vesicle transport from FVB wild-type mice yielded Km and Vmax values of 55.6 \#956;mol/L and 983.5 pmol/min/mg protein, respectively. No Mrp1 transport activity was observed in Mrp1-/- sarcolemma membrane vesicles, indicating that transport of GS-HNE was mediated by Mrp1. Thus, we demonstrate here that functional Mrp1 is localized in sarcolemma and mitochondria following DOX. Mrp1 may serve to protect the heart by mediating efflux of toxic products of oxidative stress such as highly reactive lipid peroxide, HNE from mitochondria and the cardiomyocyte. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 917.
The Use of Food Images and Crowdsourcing to Capture Real-time Eating Behaviors: Acceptability and Usability Study.

Background: As poor diet quality is a significant risk factor for multiple noncommunicable diseases prevalent in the United States, it is important that methods be developed to accurately capture eating behavior data. There is growing interest in the use of ecological momentary assessments to collect data on health behaviors and their predictors on a micro timescale (at different points within or across days); however, documenting eating behaviors remains a challenge. Objective: This pilot study (N=48) aims to examine the feasibility—usability and acceptability—of using smartphone-captured and crowdsource-labeled images to document eating behaviors in real time. Methods: Participants completed the Block Fat/Sugar/Fruit/Vegetable Screener to provide a measure of their typical eating behavior, then took pictures of their meals and snacks and answered brief survey questions for 7 consecutive days using a commercially available smartphone app. Participant acceptability was determined through a questionnaire regarding their experiences administered at the end of the study. The images of meals and snacks were uploaded to Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), a crowdsourcing distributed human intelligence platform, where 2 Workers assigned a count of food categories to the images (fruits, vegetables, salty snacks, and sweet snacks). The agreement among MTurk Workers was assessed, and weekly food counts were calculated and compared with the Screener responses. Results: Participants reported little difficulty in uploading photographs and remembered to take photographs most of the time. Crowdsource-labeled images (n=1014) showed moderate agreement between the MTurk Worker responses for vegetables (688/1014, 67.85%) and high agreement for all other food categories (871/1014, 85.89% for fruits; 847/1014, 83.53% for salty snacks, and 833/1014, 81.15% for sweet snacks). There were no significant differences in weekly food consumption between the food images and the Block Screener, suggesting that this approach may measure typical eating behaviors as accurately as traditional methods, with lesser burden on participants. Conclusions: Our approach offers a potentially time-efficient and cost-effective strategy for capturing eating events in real time.
Assessment of Hereditary Influences

The following discussion assumes that the reader has taken a course in introductory and Mendelian genetics and has a basic understanding of its terminology, principles, and role in evolution. Briefly, within the nucleus of every cell except the gametes, most species have pairs of homologous chromosomes, each consisting of a long strand of the molecule deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), with a centromere near one end. One chromosome of each pair is derived from the father and the other from the mother, and both contain the same gene sequence. Perhaps the most important discovery in biological science during the twentieth century, for which the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Watson, Crick, and Wilkins, was the structure of DNA, a double helix consisting of two intertwined sugar-phosphate strands connected by a series of four bases, adenine pairing with thymine, and cytosine with guanine (Watson & Crick, 1953). This structure showed how chromosomes replicate themselves, and thereby the genetic code they contain, during cell division. Chromosomes consist of many genes, each being a section of chromosome at a specific locus that contains instructions for producing a particular protein that, together with others, helps to determine the development, structures, and physiological functions of the organism. In addition to the autosomes, there are two sex chromosomes that are heterologous in one sex, for example, XY in male mammals and WZ in female birds. Humans have 46 chromosomes, 22 pairs of homologous autosomes, together with a pair of sex chromosomes.
Polycistronic animal virus mRNAs.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses some observations concerning the natural occurrence and structural organization of polycistronic animal virus mRNAs, and the mechanisms by which they may be translated to yield two or more unique polypeptide products. In most polycistronic viral mRNAs, initiation of translation of both the 5’-proximal, upstream cistron and the internal, downstream cistron(s) likewise occurs at an AUG codon. Animal viruses encoding polycistronic mRNAs in which translation-initiation occurs alternatively at one or more AUG initiation sites, include members of several virus families that utilize a variety of different replication strategies as parts of their life cycles. They include: 1. viruses with DNA genomes and viruses with RNA genomes; 2. viruses with circular genomes and viruses with linear genomes; 3. viruses whose genomes are constituted by a single piece of nucleic acid, as well as viruses with segmented genomes; and 4. viruses that utilize the cell nucleus as the site for mRNA biogenesis, as well as viruses whose mRNA is synthesized in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, many different biochemical mechanisms may exist in animal cells to permit the expression of functionally polycistronic viral mRNAs.
Bonanzas de flujos de capital: una mirada que abarca el pasado y el presente

En este articulo, un algoritmo cataloga las bonanzas de entradas de capital tanto a economias emergentes como a economias avanzadas desde 1980 a 2007 para 181 paises y desde 1960 a 2007 para un subconjunto de 66 economias de todas las regiones. Factores globales como los precios de los productos basicos, las tasas de interes internacional y el crecimiento de las economias mas grandes del mundo tienen un efecto sistematico en el ciclo global de flujos de capital. Las bonanzas no son una bendicion para las economias avanzadas ni para los mercados emergentes. En el caso de estas ultimas, las bonanzas de entradas de capital estan relacionadas con una mayor probabilidad de crisis economicas. En los paises en desarrollo las bonanzas estan asociadas a politicas fiscales prociclicas y a intentos por controlar o evitar una apreciacion de la tasa de cambio, que muy probablemente contribuyen a la vulnerabilidad economica. En el caso de las economias avanzadas, los resultados no son tan claros. Las bonanzas se relacionan con resultados macroeconomicos mas volatiles en cuanto al crecimiento del PIB, la inflacion y las cuentas externas; ademas, las bonanzas van seguidas de un periodo de crecimiento economico mas lento y de una disminucion sostenida en el precio de las acciones y de la vivienda.
Genetic diversity within the botulinum neurotoxin-producing bacteria and their neurotoxins

The recent availability of multiple Clostridium botulinum genomic sequences has initiated a new genomics era that strengthens our understanding of the bacterial species that produce botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs). Analysis of the genomes has reinforced the historical Group I-VI designations and provided evidence that the bont genes can be located within the chromosome, phage or plasmids. The sequences provide the opportunity to examine closely the variation among the toxin genes, the composition and organization of the toxin complex, the regions flanking the toxin complex and the location of the toxin within different bacterial strains. These comparisons provide evidence of horizontal gene transfer and site-specific insertion and recombination events that have contributed to the variation observed among the neurotoxins. Here, examples that have contributed to the variation observed in serotypes A-H strains are presented to illustrate the mechanisms that have contributed to their variation.
The Recycler Electron Cooler

The Recycler Electron cooler was the first (and so far, the only) cooler working at a relativistic energy (γ = 9.5). It was successfully developed in 1995-2004 and was in operation at Fermilab in 2005-2011, providing cooling of antiprotons in the Recycler ring. This paper describes the cooler, difficulties in achieving the required electron beam parameters and the ways to overcome them, cooling measurements, and details of operation.
The Development And Validation Of An End-User Satisfaction Measure In A Student Laptop Environment

The purpose of this paper is to present the development and validation of a measurement model for student user satisfaction in a laptop environment. Using a “quasi Delphi” method in addition to contributions from prior research we used EFA and CFA (LISREL) to identify a five factor (14 item) measurement model that best fit the data. The structural model identified two factors related to overall student satisfaction. Suggestions and implications for how to use this measure are provided.
Transfer function of a current-fed induction motor

Induction motors fed by thyristorized current-fed inverters are finding increasing application as variable speed drives. The transfer function approach is quite useful in the analysis and design of such drives. A method for obtaining the transfer function of a current-fed induction motor in terms of its parameters and the operating slip frequency is described. The transfer function is used in the design of the speed controller for a closed-loop drive using known control system techniques. >
The structure factor

This chapter summarizes the mathematical development of the structure-factor formalism. It starts with the definition of the structure factor appropriate for X-ray and neutron scattering, and includes the derivation of the appropriate expressions. Beyond the isolated-atom case, the atom-centred spherical harmonic (multipole) model is treated in detail. Expressions for thermal motion in the harmonic approximation and for treatments including anharmonicity are given and their relative merits are discussed.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK MODEL OF MULTIPLE-AIRPORT SYSTEMS

A model for allocating passenger traffic in a multiple-airport system is proposed and tested. The model treats the supply-side of the system as endogenous, and represents it implicity using the principle that as traffic using an airport increases, the airport becomes more attractive. This positive feedback effect and the preferences of air travelers for airports near their trip terminus are argued to be the key factors determining the distribution of traffic in a multiple-airport system. The model is applied to the San Francisco Bay Area, served by airports in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. A disaggregate logit airport-choice model, in which airport utility is a function of travel time to trip origin, airport enplanements, is estimated. The calibrated choice model, combined with estimates of the distribution of trip origins, is used to calculate equilibrium market shares. Comparison of equilibria with observed shares shows high correlation, particularly for larger markets, and for the San Francisco and Oakland airports.
Fetal parts embolization during termination of pregnancy: Report of a case

A 19-year-old woman underwent termination of pregnancy by dilatation and evacuation at 19 weeks of gestation. She subsequently developed persistent massive hemorrhage, with laboratory evidence of a consumption coagulopathy. Attempts to control bleeding were unsuccessful, and the patient underwent a hysterectomy. Pathologic evaluation of the uterus revealed embolization of fetal tissues and placental fragments in the uterine and parametrial veins. This is the first reported case of such a finding, and its importance in relation to the patient's clinical presentation is discussed.
Impaired olfactory behavior in mice deficient in the α subunit of Go

Abstract The ability to respond to chemical signals is essential for the survival and reproduction of most organisms. Olfactory signaling involves odorant receptor-mediated activation of Golf, a homologue of Gs, on the dendrites of olfactory neurons. Olfactory receptor cells, however, also express Gαi2 and Gαo on their axons, with all neurons expressing Go and a subset Gi2. Despite their abundance, possible contributions of Go and Gi2 to chemoreception remain unexplored. We investigated whether homologous recombinant mice deficient in the α subunit of Go are able to respond to odorants, whether possible olfactory impairments are dependent on genetic background, and whether formation of glomeruli in their olfactory bulbs is compromised. In an olfactory habituation/dishabituation test, Go−/− mice were unresponsive when exposed to odorants. Analysis of variance shows that performance of Go+/− mice crossed into the CD-1 background is also diminished in this test compared to their Go+/+ counterparts. Following food deprivation, Go−/− mice in the 129 Sv-ter/C57BL/6 genetic background were unable to locate a buried food pellet until they were ∼10 weeks of age after which they performed as well as their litter mate controls. However, CD-1 Go−/− mice could locate a buried food pellet even when tested immediately after weaning. Despite their compromised olfactory responsiveness, histological examination did not reveal gross alterations in the olfactory bulbs of Go−/− mice. Thus, Gαo is necessary for the expression of olfactory behavior under normal conditions and dependent on genetic background, but is not essential for the formation and maintenance of glomeruli.
Hyperspectral image projection of a pig kidney for the evaluation of imagers used for oximetry

Hyperspectral image projection applied to optical medical imaging can provide a means to evaluate imager performance. This allows repeated viewing of unique surgical scenes without the need for costly experiments on patients. Additionally, the generated scene can be well characterized and used repeatedly as a standard for many different imagers at different times and locations. This paper describes the use of a hyperspectral image of a pig kidney. The scene of the kidney is projected with the full spectral content allowing the oxygenation status of the tissue to be observed and evaluated spatially.
Diagnostic Evaluation of Pancreatic Cystic Malignancies

Cystic neoplasms of the pancreas are increasingly recognized because of expanding use and improved sensitivity of cross-sectional imaging studies. Major advances in the last decade have led to an improved understanding of the various types of cystic lesions and their biologic behavior. Despite significant improvement in imaging technology and the advent of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) the diagnosis and management of pancreatic cystic lesions remains a significant clinical challenge. Previous "operate in all cases of pancreatic cyst" strategies have been refined and largely replaced using EUS and cyst fluid analysis as the crux for a more practical management approach. The first diagnostic step remains the differentiation between pancreatic pseudocyst and cystic neoplasm. If a pseudocyst has been effectively excluded, the cornerstone issue becomes to determine the malignant potential of the pancreatic cystic neoplasm. In most cases the correct diagnosis and successful management is based not on a single test but on incorporating data from various sources including patient history, radiologic studies, endoscopic evaluation, in particular EUS, and cyst fluid analysis obtained during fine-needle aspirate. This review focuses on describing the various types of cystic neoplasms of the pancreas and their malignant potential, and provide the clinician with a comprehensive diagnostic approach.
Molecular dissociation following radioactive decay: Tritium hydride

Abstract When radioactive decay takes place in the TH molecule, the resulting (He3H)+ ion shows a strong tendency to remain bound. When dissociation does take place, the electrons most commonly divide one with each nucleus, rather than both going either with the He3 fragment or with the H fragment. These conclusions are derived from a magnetic analysis of the ions produced as the result of TH decay, the observed relative intensities being as follows: (He3H)+, 93·2 ± 1·9 per cent; (He3)+, 5·1 ± 0·3 per cent; H+, 1·55 ± 0·16 per cent; (He3)++, 0·14 ± 0·01 per cent. The molecule loses an electron in fewer than 1·7 per cent of the decay events.
Inhalational abuse of methanol products: elevated methanol and formate levels without vision loss.

Inhalant abuse of methanol-containing products has increased over the last decade. We performed a prospective observational study of 7 subjects who presented to an ED after inhalant abuse of methanol-containing hydrocarbon products. Four patients had a methanol level greater than 24 mg/dL and 2 had an anion gap greater than 17 mEq/L. The mean formic acid level was 71 μg/mL, and 1 patient had a level considered high enough to induce retinal toxicity (>200 μg/mL). No patient had an abnormal ophthalmologic examination. All patients were treated with intravenous folate, 2 received alcohol dehydrogenase blockade, and no patient received hemodialysis or intravenous bicarbonate. All patients' acidosis resolved within 4 hours. The methanol and formic acid levels are lower than those reported after methanol ingestion. These preliminary data suggest that inhalant abusers of methanol products may have significantly elevated methanol and formic acid levels, but are at low risk for methanol induced complications of visual dysfunction and refractory acidosis.
Fold recognition and accurate sequence–structure alignment of sequences directing β‐sheet proteins

The ability to predict structure from sequence is particularly important for toxins, virulence factors, allergens, cytokines, and other proteins of public health importance. Many such functions are represented in the parallel beta-helix and beta-trefoil families. A method using pairwise beta-strand interaction probabilities coupled with evolutionary information represented by sequence profiles is developed to tackle these problems for the beta-helix and beta-trefoil folds. The algorithm BetaWrapPro employs a "wrapping" component that may capture folding processes with an initiation stage followed by processive interaction of the sequence with the already-formed motifs. BetaWrapPro outperforms all previous motif recognition programs for these folds, recognizing the beta-helix with 100% sensitivity and 99.7% specificity and the beta-trefoil with 100% sensitivity and 92.5% specificity, in crossvalidation on a database of all nonredundant known positive and negative examples of these fold classes in the PDB. It additionally aligns 88% of residues for the beta-helices and 86% for the beta-trefoils accurately (within four residues of the exact position) to the structural template, which is then used with the side-chain packing program SCWRL to produce 3D structure predictions. One striking result has been the prediction of an unexpected parallel beta-helix structure for a pollen allergen, and its recent confirmation through solution of its structure. A Web server running BetaWrapPro is available and outputs putative PDB-style coordinates for sequences predicted to form the target folds.
Activation of cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase Stimulates Cardiac ATP-Sensitive Potassium Channels via a ROS/Calmodulin/CaMKII Signaling Cascade

Author(s): Chai, Yongping; Zhang, Dai-Min; Lin, Yu-Fung | Abstract: BackgroundCyclic GMP (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKG) is recognized as an important signaling component in diverse cell types. PKG may influence the function of cardiac ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels, an ion channel critical for stress adaptation in the heart; however, the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. The present study was designed to address this issue.Methods and findingsSingle-channel recordings of cardiac K(ATP) channels were performed in both cell-attached and inside-out patch configurations using transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK)293 cells and rabbit ventricular cardiomyocytes. We found that Kir6.2/SUR2A (the cardiac-type K(ATP)) channels were activated by cGMP-selective phosphodiesterase inhibitor zaprinast in a concentration-dependent manner in cell-attached patches obtained from HEK293 cells, an effect mimicked by the membrane-permeable cGMP analog 8-bromo-cGMP whereas abolished by selective PKG inhibitors. Intriguingly, direct application of PKG moderately reduced rather than augmented Kir6.2/SUR2A single-channel currents in excised, inside-out patches. Moreover, PKG stimulation of Kir6.2/SUR2A channels in intact cells was abrogated by ROS/H(2)O(2) scavenging, antagonism of calmodulin, and blockade of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), respectively. Exogenous H(2)O(2) also concentration-dependently stimulated Kir6.2/SUR2A channels in intact cells, and its effect was prevented by inhibition of calmodulin or CaMKII. PKG stimulation of K(ATP) channels was confirmed in intact ventricular cardiomyocytes, which was ROS- and CaMKII-dependent. Kinetically, PKG appeared to stimulate these channels by destabilizing the longest closed state while stabilizing the long open state and facilitating opening transitions.ConclusionThe present study provides novel evidence that PKG exerts dual regulation of cardiac K(ATP) channels, including marked stimulation resulting from intracellular signaling mediated by ROS (H(2)O(2) in particular), calmodulin and CaMKII, alongside of moderate channel suppression likely mediated by direct PKG phosphorylation of the channel or some closely associated proteins. The novel cGMP/PKG/ROS/calmodulin/CaMKII signaling pathway may regulate cardiomyocyte excitability by opening K(ATP) channels and contribute to cardiac protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury.
A theory of relative judgment

This paper is concerned with the scaling method of “ratio estimation.” The simple theory that equates reported ratio judgments to ratios of psychological magnitudes is first considered, then two close relatives of this theory are formulated, each of which places weaker constraints on the structure of the data. Structural conditions are stated that express the relations that must hold among observed ratio judgments for each of the models. The models proposed are “cumulative” in the sense that the second is a weakened version of the first, and the third a weakened version of the second. A special feature of the models is that they may be tested entirely in terms of observables, avoiding the necessity of scale construction prior to testing. Tests were carried out on data from 9 published studies. The strongest model, typically used in scale construction using ratio estimation data, was generally inadequate, showing large systematic errors. However, the weakest version generally passed the tests of internal consistency, and the model equation provided a basis for constructing ratio scales utilizing bias parameters.
PSYCHOANALYSIS AND SOCIETY: WHICH LEADS, WHICH FOLLOWS?

In recent years dire predictions have been made about the future and futility of psychoanalysis. This has been disturbing to one who has spent years learning the discipline of psychoanalysis, enjoying its practice, and witnessing its fertility. After all that time and effort, was one going to be thrust out of one's place in society, one's contribution flushed away as waste, even regarded as another pollutant? Was society going to disregard good efforts much as patients often note their failures more than their achievements? When one is confronted with such questions and spectres looming on the horizon, there are three possibilities at the onset: (1) run into a corner to hole in and hold out; (2) jump on the very next bandwagon hell-bent for anywhere; (3) or confront the issues and try to know the nature of what one is dealing with before taking any action. The first possibility elicits fear, and the second points to ultimate impoverishment and destruction in the power struggles that take place there. The third evokes hope. Therefore, when confronted with the cries of "Down with psychoanalysis" that had begun to be heard (but may already be lessening), I had to raise the question of the nature of the problem. Why is what had been of such obvious importance to twentieth-century society now in a worse position than a defeated candidate after an election? At least the defeated one is just forgotten; in the case of psychoanalysis, people were staying around to knock it. The similarity between the incipient fate of psychoanalysis and that of religion and monarchies is striking. What were the interdigitating dynamics of the rise and fall of societal leaders? What do people do with and for fallen leaders? What makes for a loss or shift of leadership from the leader to the former followers? I formulated the question: psychoanalysis and society-which leads, which follows? In trying to answer that question, one can focus on some of the reasons for the alternating rise and fall, that is, the psychodynamics of leadership in the specific example of society and psychoanalysis. Society is here defined broadly as a collective or a group of people at a certain time in history. Society is the matrix in which psychoanalysis developed and from which it then either stepped or was thrust forth as that part to guide the progress and satisfy needs of the group, the part now leading the whole. Later, for whatever reasons, psychoanalysis became a fallen leader. What accounted for the loss of leadership? Another observation has led me to a further question. Psychoanalysis has been singled out for particular criticism by those active in the current wave of the feminist movement. This criticism and what followed in its wake are extremely interesting and important to the question of the nature and dynamics of leadership.
Optimal Trajectory to Minimize Mechanical Vibration for Fast Positioning

Input shaping techniques have been proposed to reduce the vibration in the positioning of the manipulators. However, a practical application is not simple as the target requirements becomes more precise, because the number of mechanical resonances that need to be taken into account increases, and the robustness against the resonant frequency variations is more critical. The vibrations of the positioning at the final state are easily estimated by the plant transfer function and the jerk waveforms at acceleration, deceleration, and settling. The optimal control input for faster positioning can be obtained by minimizing the width of the jerk and minimizing the mode excitations at the same time. This optimization process can be performed by an adaptive filtering technique. It is based on the least-square algorithm, which generates the jerk waveform that minimizes the least-square sum of the vibration only at the settling. Effectiveness of the method is demostrated by computer simulations and the results for a hard disk drive application are also presented.© 2006 ASME
Setting post-2015 health goals: an empirical assessment based on the GBD 2010 results

Abstract Background Setting ambitious targets to address health problems has proven to be an effective motivator for change. We used the results of the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2010 to explore what would be technically feasible but ambitious and motivating goals for Millennium Development Goals 4, 5, and 6. Methods We outlined desirable target attributes and used these to guide our analysis. Annualised percentile declines for the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) as well as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, under-5 mortality, and adult mortality rates from 2000 to 2010 were analysed for 187 countries. Using the 90th, 95th, and 99th percentile declines as well as highest decline observed in a developing country, rates of change from 2015 to 2030 were calculated. These same percentile declines were also used to project country-specific indicator estimates for 2030 that, when aggregated to the global level, informed absolute indicator targets. Findings We applied consistent criteria across each indicator; the most ambitious indicator targets were generated with the 99th percentile declines. Using these declines, rates of change from 2015 to 2030 were 85·0% for MMR, 88·3% for HIV/AIDS, 71·6% for tuberculosis, 95·7% for malaria, 80·7% for under-5 mortality, and 74·7% for adult mortality. In comparison, rates of change for these indicators using the less ambitious 90th percentile declines were 62·0%, 58·9%, 52·7%, 86·9%, 58·2%, and 32·8%, respectively. The absolute targets generated from the most ambitious percent declines were 15·8 (95% CI 13·0–18·6), 1·2 (1·1–1·3), 0·3 (0·3–0·4), and 3·3 (2·5–3·7) deaths per 100 000, and 4·1 (4·0–4·3) and 96·6 (93·9–99·5) deaths per 1000 for these indicators. Interpretation Setting absolute targets for all countries shifts the focus of health goals away from high-burden countries and towards countries that need the most help in achieving the targets. Absolute targets are equity promoting and can easily be applied at subnational levels. New resources and strategies, however, need to be developed in order to accelerate progress in countries furthest from the targets. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Abnormal brainstem auditory evoked potentials in chronic paint sniffers

Two young adults developed neurological disorders consisting of cerebellar dysfunction, optic neuropathy, and dementia secondary to chronic inhalation of spray paint (toluene). Computed tomographic brain scans showed pontomedullary atrophy. Both patients had abnormal brainstem auditory evoked potentials. Although chronic toluene abuse can cause various neurological abnormalities, until now there has been little evidence that the brainstem can also be affected.