cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Psychopharmacology in Pregnancy and Lactation

Psychiatric illness during and immediately after pregnancy is common and potentially life-threatening. The proper management of psychiatric disorders during the peripartum time period remains controversial, though this is likely secondary to the stigma associated with psychiatric illness rather than a lack of data. Much of the early literature exploring the relationship between in utero psychiatric medication exposure and infant outcomes was flawed by inappropriate control populations, small sample sizes, and a lack of controls for confounds including psychiatric illness itself and associated health risk factors and behaviors. More recent studies are generally better designed to study whether infant outcomes are influenced by in utero medication exposure or by exposure to maternal psychiatric illness or both. The preponderance of the literature is reassuring regarding the safety of the use of most (not all) psychiatric medications during pregnancy and lactation. The preponderance of the literature also supports that unfavorable infant outcomes are associated with exposure to maternal mental illness. This chapter attempts to summarize what is currently known about the safety of psychiatric medications during pregnancy and lactation and, in addition, describes a clinical approach to designing a treatment plan for individual patients during this critical time for both mother and child.
Are Fluoroquinolones or Macrolides Better for Treating Legionella Pneumonia? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: The Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends either a fluoroquinolone or a macrolide as a first line antibiotic treatment for Legionella pneumonia, but it is unclear which antibiotic leads to optimal clinical outcomes. We compare the effectiveness of fluoroquinolone versus macrolide monotherapy in Legionella pneumonia using a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of literature in PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus and Web of Science from inception to June 1, 2019. Randomized controlled trials and observational studies comparing macrolide vs. fluoroquinolone monotherapy using clinical outcomes in patients with Legionella pneumonia were included. Twenty-one publications out of an initial 2,073 unique records met the selection criteria. Following PRISMA guidelines, two reviewers participated in data extraction. The primary outcome was mortality. Secondary outcomes included clinical cure, time to apyrexia, length of hospital stay (LOS), and the occurrence of complications. Results: Twenty-one publications with 3,525 patients met inclusion criteria. The mean age of the population was 60.9 years and 67.2% were men. The mortality rate for patients treated with fluoroquinolones was 6.9% (104/1512) compared to 7.4% (133/1790) among those treated with macrolides. The pooled OR assessing risk of mortality for patients treated with fluoroquinolones vs macrolides was 0.94 (95% CI 0.71-1.25, I2=0%, p= 0.661). Clinical cure, time to apyrexia, LOS, and the occurrence of complications did not differ for patients treated with fluoroquinolones vs. macrolides. Conclusions: We found no difference in the effectiveness of fluoroquinolones vs. macrolides in reducing mortality among patients with Legionella pneumonia.Systematic Review Registration number: (PROSPERO: CRD42019132901).
Navigating Messy Research Methods and Mentoring Practices at a Bilingual Research Site on the Mexico-U.S. Border

Using a dissertation research project at a transnational site, this pedagogical process piece explores the experience from both the student and mentor perspectives. We discuss challenges gaining ac...
Knowledge Transfer for Diagnosis Outcome Preview with Limited Data

Logic diagnosis aims to identify defects in falling integrated circuits (ICs) and thus plays an essential role in yield learning. Previous research has demonstrated that diagnosis outcome (defect number, resolution, etc.) can be accurately predicted using features derived from the data collected from failing ICs. This capability allows practitioners to better allocate resources during yield learning. However, a significant number of diagnosis must be conducted to obtain sufficient training data for building an accurate prediction model. To reduce the data collection cost, we utilize some prior knowledge through transfer learning. Specifically, a prior model is constructed from a correlated dataset and then adapted to very limited training samples from the current design of interest. Experiments performed using real industrial examples demonstrate that transfer learning can significantly improve prediction performance and save training data when a suitable prior knowledge exists.
Archives: Again Unbound

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the refrain most heard amongst scholars who do archival research is a lament for the lost tactile and social aspects of that work. They miss the excitement that comes ...
EQD2 Dose Accumulation Based on Deformable Image Registration of HR-CTV, Bladder, Rectum and Bowel for Combined External-Beam Radiotherapy and Brachytherapy for Cervical Cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) Evaluate the accuracy of DVH parameter summation between brachytherapy (BT) and external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for cervical cancer, by comparing deformable image registration (DIR) EQD2 dose accumulation. DVH summation of dosimetric parameters can overestimate cumulative organ at risk (OAR) doses due to daily variations in relative OAR position. MATERIALS/METHODS Ten patients were studied. Nine out of 10 patients received BT+EBRT. All women were treated with intracavitary tandem and ring BT. In phase I, CT simulation images from each BT fraction were rigidly fused with first fraction BT images, (BT1) focusing on the applicator and uterus. Hybrid-based DIR was then conducted using MIM software. Contours used for DIR were CTV_HR, bladder, rectum and bowel space. For phase II, EBRT and BT1 utero-cervix contours were rigidly fused, followed by contour-based DIR using utero-cervix, bladder and rectum. Each BT fraction and sum EBRT dose was accumulated onto BT1 and converted to EQD2 (Gy) via the linear quadratic equation with a/b of 10 for tumor and 3 for OARs. The absolute dose differences were reported for D0.1cc, D1cc and D2cc (OARs) and D90% (CTV_HR). The dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of all contours was reported. For phase I, the D2cc isodose level and OAR overlap structure was assessed for each BT fraction and the initial and deformed D2cc reported. The mean distance-to-agreement (MDA) and DSC of D2cc were reported for DIR accuracy assessment. RESULTS For phase I, average DSC values for CTV_HR, bladder, rectum and bowel were 0.84 ± 0.07, 0.86 ± 0.08, 0.82 ± 0.05, 0.81 ± 0.07 and average DSC of initial vs. deformed D2cc were 0.88 ± 0.02, 0.89 ± 0.02, 0.88 ± 0.03 respectively. Average D2cc MDA values were 0.28 ± 0.04, 0.29 ± 0.05, 0.33 ± 0.06 for the bladder, rectum and bowel, respectively with absolute D2cc differences in Gy of 0.04 ± 0.04, 0.01 ± 0.01, and 0.03 ± 0.03. For CTV_HR, absolute D90 difference in EQD2 was 2.69 ± 1.98 Gy. For bladder, rectum and bowel, absolute EQD2 differences in Gy for D0.1cc were 5.57 ± 3.73, 2.78 ± 2.27, 5.10 ± 2.70 respectively. For D1cc, values in Gy were 3.27 ± 1.80, 1.62 ± 1.04, and 4.20 ± 2.51. For D2cc, 2.42 ± 0.80 Gy, 1.16 ± 0.72 Gy, and 2.83 ± 2.23 Gy. For phase II, average DSC values for utero-cervix, bladder and rectum were 0.82 ± 0.12, 0.80 ± 0.08, and 0.82 ± 0.17 respectively. Average absolute EQD2 difference in Gy for CTV_HR D90 was 7.43 ± 3.10 and 12.87 ± 6.84 and 6.02 ± 4.80 respectively for bladder and rectum D0.1cc. For D1cc and D2cc, absolute EQD2 differences in Gy were 10.46 ± 5.10 and 8.10 ± 4.48 respectively for bladder and 3.84 ± 2.95 and 3.21 ± 2.17 for rectum. CONCLUSION Arithmetic DVH addition over-estimated OAR D2cc in 7 of 10 patients. D2cc overestimation of bladder occurred in 6 of 9 patients and 7 of 9 patients for rectum. Our results show good estimation of accumulated dose with DVH parameter addition for both BT only and BT + EBRT.
Performance, Complexity, and Receiver Design for Code-Aided Frame Synchronization in Multipath Channels

Next generation wireless communications systems are pushing the limits of both energy efficiency and spectral efficiency. This presents a challenge at the receiver when it comes to accomplishing tasks such as synchronization, channel estimation, and equalization and has motivated the development of code-aided iterative receiver algorithms in the technical literature. In this paper, we focus on the task of frame synchronization. While previous work has predominately assumed an additive white Gaussian noise channel, we develop code-aided frame synchronization algorithms for multipath channels. An iterative receiver is presented which integrates frame synchronization with iterative channel estimation, equalization, demodulation, and decoding. The receiver design includes a novel frame pre-processing stage to reduce the complexity of the proposed receiver. The complexity and performance of the proposed receiver is compared with that of a receiver based on conventional synchronization. The results demonstrate that the proposed receiver is capable of achieving a gain of up to 3 dB while increasing complexity by only 20%.
Transnational digital government research: building regional partnerships

Governments increasingly find it essential to collaborate with each other in efforts to identify, monitor and solve regional and global problems. At the same time, this transnational government cooperation faces unique challenges that either are absent, or are not acute, in national government activities. Individual countries differ in their languages, laws, regulations, cultures, administrative structures, resources, geopolitical characteristics and stages of technological development - all of which impact interactions among government agencies. Information technology (IT) has an important role to play in fostering international collaboration through transnational digital government (TDG) by overcoming these differences and facilitating the collection, provision and exchange of information. To understand the unique IT research challenges of TDG, it is essential for academics to engage with agencies of different countries in the characterization, analysis and resolution of problems faced by concrete transnational government processes. The formation of sound government-academia partnerships is the first challenge of any research project on transnational digital government. This case-study presentation illustrates such a partnership in the context of a unique project whose goal is to conduct research on IT technology to facilitate transnational efforts to monitor illicit drug activities across the Americas.
Localization of Androgen Receptor and Cell-Specific Cytokeratins in Basal Cells of Rat Ventral Prostate

Immunocytochemical techniques labeled androgen receptor and cell-specific cytokeratins in the basal cells of rat ventral prostate. In addition, nonradioactive in situ hybridization verified the production of androgen receptor transcripts in the basal cells. Androgen receptors and transcripts were localized in the nuclei and cytoplasm of the adult basal cells using these two techniques. Monoclonal anti-cytokeratin antibodies identified temporal changes in the expression of basal cell-specific intermediate filaments of fetal, neonatal, normal adult, orchidectomized adult, and testosterone-treated orchidectomized adult prostates. Labeling intensity of the basal cells was elevated during development when compared to the staining in normal adult tissue. Orchidectomized adults exhibited the greatest intensity of labeling, which decreased after testosterone treatment. The detection of androgen receptor and its transcripts in the basal cells supports the hypothesis that these cells are androgen responsive. The observed change in the anti-cytokeratin staining patterns of these cells during development, growth, and regression is an indirect measure of androgenic influence. The androgen-repressed cytokeratin expression in basal cells is similar to that found in prostatic luminal cells.
Genotypic Response to Multiple Abiotic Stresses: Functional Relationships Among Nutrients☆

Abstract Macro- and micro-nutrients estimated in leaves, stems and seed of eleven genotypes of five physiologically diverse crop species (chickpeas, corn, safflower, soybean, and wheat, respectively producing protein, carbohydrates, oil, protein-oil, and carbohydrates-protein, as main seed storage macromolecules) were used in assessing species and genotypic responses to multiple, long-term abiotic stresses. Crops were subjected to two phases, three years each, of multiple abiotic stresses by manipulating length of the growing season and population density under typical management practices of each crop in the upper Midwest, USA. In Phase II, crops were rotated to release the additional edaphic stress of no-rotation in Phase I. Nutrient densities were estimated using LECO analyzer (Carbon and Nitrogen) or ICP instrument (Calcium, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur and Zinc). Comparisons of functional relationships among nutrients were based on statistics (α, β, and R2) derived from 1000-permutations using reduced major axis (RMA) regression analyses. Genotypic differences in nutrients functional relationships were modulated, in decreasing order, by Carbon:Nitrogen ratio, stress treatments, and storage macromolecules. Comparisons between the β statistics for each nutrient in Phases I and II suggested that differences in nutrient functional relationships between crop species were significantly larger than differences between genotypes within species. Nitrogen, rather than Carbon content, followed by plant density, but not short growing season, influenced some (Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, and Zinc) nutrient relationships and their allocations to leaves, stems and seed of crop species. Functional relationships between Copper, Iron, Sulfur and Zinc, at the seed storage macromolecules level in Phase I and II indicated that oil and protein producing crop species are more prone to larger adverse effects of abiotic stresses than those producing carbohydrates alone or in combination with protein. A thorough understanding of these relationships is critical for screening genetic diversity and designing nutritionally-balanced crop genotypes under abiotic stress.
Inhibitors of cyclic-GMP phosphodiesterase alter excitation of Limulus ventral photoreceptors in Ca(2+)-dependent fashion

We have examined the hypothesis that Ca(2+)-dependent cyclic-GMP metabolism may play a role in visual transduction in Limulus photoreceptors. Although phosphoinositide hydrolysis is central to phototransduction and phosphoinositide-dependent Ca(2+)-mobilization seems to be required for transduction, the subsequent steps leading to ion channel gating (the immediate cause of excitation) are not understood. Channels normally opened in response to light can be opened in excised membrane patches by cGMP but not by Ca2+, suggesting that cGMP acts as a channel ligand in excitation. Using phosphodiesterase inhibitors, we investigated whether changes in cGMP metabolism could affect excitation. We report that zaprinast and IBMX increased the amplitudes and retarded the kinetics of physiological light responses. These effects were maximal for brightest stimuli. The effects were markedly enhanced in low Ca2+ conditions. In contrast, excitation induced by direct IP3-injection and by direct Ca(2+)-injection were inhibited. These observations suggest that PI-induced excitation is dependent on cGMP metabolism in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner, and they support the possibility that transduction involves modification of cGMP metabolism by Ca(2+)-release resulting from phosphoinositide hydrolysis.
Incomplete Differentiation of Antigen-Specific CD8 T Cells in Tumor-Draining Lymph Nodes

CD8 T cells lacking effector activity have been recovered from lymphoid organs of mice and patients with progressing tumors. We explored the basis for lack of effector activity in tumor-bearing mice by evaluating Ag presentation and CD8 T cell function in lymphoid organs over the course of tumor outgrowth. Early after tumor injection, cross-presentation by bone marrow-derived APC was necessary for T cell activation, inducing proliferation and differentiation into IFN-γ-producing, cytolytic effectors. At later stages of outgrowth, tumor metastasized to draining lymph nodes. Both cross- and direct presentation occurred, but T cell differentiation induced by either modality was incomplete (proliferation without cytokine production). T cells within tumor-infiltrated nodes differentiated appropriately if Ag was presented by activated, exogenous dendritic cells. Thus, activated T cells lacking effector function develop through incomplete differentiation in the lymph nodes of late-stage tumor-bearing mice, rather than through suppression of previously differentiated cells.
Cloning and characterization of the Pichia pastoris MET2 gene as a selectable marker

We describe the isolation and characterization of a new biosynthetic gene, MET2, from the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. The predicted product of PpMET2 is significantly similar to its Saccharomyces cerevisiae counterpart, ScMET2, which encodes homoserine-O-transacetylase. The ScMET2 was able to complement the P. pastoris met2 strain; however, the converse was not true. Expression vectors based on PpMET2 for the intracellular and secreted production of foreign proteins and corresponding auxotrophic strains were constructed and tested for use in heterologous expression. The expression vectors and corresponding strains provide greater flexibility when using P. pastoris for recombinant protein expression.
The ica locus of Staphylococcus epidermidis encodes production of the capsular polysaccharide/adhesin

Clinical isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci often elaborate a biofilm involved in adherence to medical devices and resistance to host defenses. The biofilm contains the capsular polysaccharide/adhesin (PS/A), which mediates cell adherence to biomaterials, and another antigen, termed polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA), which is thought to mediate bacterial accumulation into cellular aggregates. PIA is a polymer of beta-1, 6-linked N-acetyl glucosamine residues with a molecular mass of 250,000 kDa), acid-stable polymers of beta-1,6-linked glucosamine substituted on the amino group primarily with succinate, although some preparations also contained acetate. Moreover, all recombinant staphylococcal strains with the ica genes had the biologic properties previously attributed to PS/A. ica-positive strains readily formed an in vitro biofilm on plastic, adhered 3- to 10-fold more to catheters during a 30-min assay compared with control strains carrying only the cloning vector, adsorbed out antibodies to PS/A from immune serum, and elaborated a capsule visualized by immunoelectron microscopy with antisera to PS/A. These properties were also seen with PS/A-producing strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis, but not with transposon mutants lacking PS/A. An antiserum raised to PIA contained high-titer antibody to PS/A that was readily adsorbed out by PS/A-positive strains of S. epidermidis and recombinant strains of staphylococci carrying the ica genes. We conclude that the ica locus encodes production of PS/A and that the properties of S. epidermidis associated with initial bacterial adherence, biofilm formation, and intercellular adhesion can be correlated with elaboration of PS/A.
A high-current IrO/sub x/ thin-film neuromuscular microstimulator

The authors report the development of a high-current stimulating electrode and a versatile fabrication technology required for the eventual realization of an implantable microstimulator for neuromuscular applications. The stimulating electrode is based on thin films of activated iridium oxide (AIROF), and is formed by combining more than 450, 20 mu m*20 mu m, small AIROF sites. It occupies a total active area of approximately=180000 mu m/sup 2/ and has been subjected to more than 350 million charge-balanced constant current pulses of 10 mA amplitude and 200- mu s duration without showing any sign of degradation. A versatile fabrication technology has been developed which offers high-performance CMOS and bipolar devices, together with Zener diodes, on-chip poly-Si/poly-Si capacitors, and high-value resistors. Isolated vertical npn transistors with current gains of 140-150, lateral pnp transistors with current gains of 10-20, and 7-V voltage references are available and have been used to implement an integrated circuit chip for an implantable neuromuscular microstimulator. The chip includes 3.5-V and 8-V regulators, RC low-pass and high-pass filters, and regulated current sources and sinks, and measures 1.9*1.2 mm/sup 2/. >
An inexpensive liquid dispenser

An inexpensive liquid reinforcement dispenser was developed from a commercially available automobile windshield washer fluid pump. When tested on laboratory primates, this device proved to be as efficient and reliable as far more expensive models
Web-Based Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) Module Study on Internet Skills for Dietetic Studeints and Dietitians

Abstract Computer assisted instruction (CAI) is an innovative teaching tool that can provide effective learning with a minimum use of resources. Background for a CAI module designed to improve computer skills of dietetic students and dietitians was obtained from a focus group which included seven dietitians with diverse backgrounds in education, health facility management, private practice and business. Based on focus group results and previous surveys of dietitians and dietetic educators, the three most important skills needed by dietitians in the future were determined to be effective Internet searching, e-mail management, and use of the Internet in nutrition education and counseling. A CAI module focusing on these skills was developed using HTML Editor Microsoft Frontpage 98. The CAI module explains how knowledge of search engines. Boolean operators, proximity operators, meta pages and subject trees can aid in searching for information on the Internet. It describes how to send, receive and sort e-mail, add attachments and zip files, and participate in a listserv. The CAI also details how knowledge of dietetic licensing laws, Internet technology, e-mail security and patient Web pages are important to dietitians wishing to conduct nutritional counseling via the Internet. The module, which is designed to take 60-90minutes to complete, incorporates examples from clinical practice and management to provide interactive learning. Review questions allow individual learners to assess progress. Following evaluation and testing by dietetic educators, other dietitians and students, this web-based module will be available nationwide.
Oil Price Shocks and the U.S. Stock Market: Do Sign and Size Matter?

We investigate the effect of oil price innovations on the U.S. stock market using a model that nests symmetric and asymmetric responses to positive and negative oil price innovations. We find no evidence of asymmetry for aggregate stock returns, and only very limited evidence for 49 industry-level portfolios. Moreover, these asymmetries do not match up well with conventional views regarding en-ergy-dependent sectors of the economy. Instead, asymmetries are more likely driven by the effect of oil price innovations on expected and/or realized demand. We inquire whether the size of the shock matters in that doubling the size of the shock more (or less) than doubles the size of the response, finding that the effect of a 2.s.d innovation is just about double the magnitude of the impact of a 1.s.d innovation. Furthermore, we find no support for the conjecture that shocks that exceed a threshold have an asymmetric effect on stock returns.
On Certainty and Religious Belief

Logical positivism and its derivatives cast a sustained philosophical shadow over religious faith and theological reflection. Any number of issues continue to surface in explicit and subdued forms, all of them relating to the status of religious beliefs. In fairly recent years, much fruitful discussion is dependent on the later writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein's last notes, collected in On Certainty , are still largely unmined by those wishing to gain clarity about religious belief. It turns out, however, that these pages promise to be among the most helpful. In what follows, therefore, there is first offered a summary of the dominant themes of On Certainty – Wittgenstein's critique of G. E. Moore and his treatment of Moore's truisms of common sense. By a painstaking analysis, Wittgenstein shows that the truths defended by Moore are among any number of other fundamental propositions which have an extraordinary logical role in our language and judgements about the world. Next, partly by reference to Wittgenstein's lectures on religious belief and other collected notes, it is argued that many beliefs in Christianity share significant logical features with those fundamental propositions. Not least is the fact that, like the latter but unlike scientific hypotheses, Christian beliefs are removed from the ordinary traffic of verification and falsification. Despite the likenesses, notice is also taken of various dissimilarities which further set the peculiarity of Christian articles of faith into bold relief. The disparities, however, do not impugn the logically fundamental role which those beliefs have in the language and lives of those who embrace the faith.
Developmental Changes in Incidental Memory as a Function of Processing Level, Congruity, and Repetition.

Abstract Second-, fifth-, and ninth-grade students (8, 11, and 14 years of age, respectively) answered acoustic and semantic questions about words which were either congruent or incongruent with the questions. Subsequently, students' free recall of the words was unexpectedly tested. For words presented once in the list, only orienting task and congruity main effects were found. For twice-presented words, grade level interacted with both variables in that older students' recall was better than younger students' only for semantically encoded, congruent words. This finding is consistant with the hypothesis that developmental increases in semantic knowledge enhance the potential for encoding elaboration, but is in apparent conflict with the results of M. F. Geis and D. M. Hall (Child Development, 1978 , 49, 857–861) who found no such interaction for second- and fifth-grade children. The different age spans included in the two studies provides one resolution of the discrepancy in results. However, a second experiment tested the importance of a procedural difference between the two studies. M. F. Geis and D. M. Hall (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1976 , 22, 58–66; 1978) presented the question after the stimulus word while we presented the question before the word. For ninth-grade students, the question after condition resulted in an attenuation of the recall difference between semantic and acoustic questions compared to the question before condition. It was argued that the pattern of developmental differences in incidental memory that is obtained may be related to which procedure is utilized.
Lymphocytes and Macrophages Are Infected by Theileria equi, but T Cells and B Cells Are Not Required to Establish Infection In Vivo

Theileria equi has a biphasic life cycle in horses, with a period of intraleukocyte development followed by patent erythrocytic parasitemia that causes acute and sometimes fatal hemolytic disease. Unlike Theileria spp. that infect cattle (Theileria parva and Theileria annulata), the intraleukocyte stage (schizont) of Theileria equi does not cause uncontrolled host cell proliferation or other significant pathology. Nevertheless, schizont-infected leukocytes are of interest because of their potential to alter host cell function and because immune responses directed against this stage could halt infection and prevent disease. Based on cellular morphology, Theileria equi has been reported to infect lymphocytes in vivo and in vitro, but the specific phenotype of schizont-infected cells has yet to be defined. To resolve this knowledge gap in Theileria equi pathogenesis, peripheral blood mononuclear cells were infected in vitro and the phenotype of infected cells determined using flow cytometry and immunofluorescence microscopy. These experiments demonstrated that the host cell range of Theileria equi was broader than initially reported and included B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes and monocyte/macrophages. To determine if B and T lymphocytes were required to establish infection in vivo, horses affected with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which lack functional B and T lymphocytes, were inoculated with Theileria equi sporozoites. SCID horses developed patent erythrocytic parasitemia, indicating that B and T lymphocytes are not necessary to complete the Theileria equi life cycle in vivo. These findings suggest that the factors mediating Theileria equi leukocyte invasion and intracytoplasmic differentiation are common to several leukocyte subsets and are less restricted than for Theileria annulata and Theileria parva. These data will greatly facilitate future investigation into the relationships between Theileria equi leukocyte tropism and pathogenesis, breed susceptibility, and strain virulence.
Surface recombination of O and H2 on meteoric dust as a source of mesospheric water vapor

One of the most provocative recent developments in mesospheric science is the discovery of a narrow layer of water vapor located near 70 km altitude where the H2O mixing ratio reaches the highest values observed in the middle atmosphere [Summers et al., 1997a]. This layer can only be explained by a local source of H2O, which is contrary to conventional gas phase chemistry that predicts net H2O destruction in that part of the mesosphere. Although suggestions have been made that this layer is produced by an influx of small comets releasing water in the upper atmosphere, we propose that the reaction O + H2 → H2O on the surface of meteoric dust can account for the observed H2O layer. Using a chemical-transport model we find that the inclusion of this reaction with a reaction probability of ∼0.01 yields a model H2O layer with the observed characteristics. We suggest that the key to understanding the origin of the H2O layer lies in coincident observations of mesospheric H2 and H2O.
Mathematical and Experimental Modeling of the Circulation Patterns in Glass Melts

Natural convection currents in a rectangular two-dimensional enclosure representative of the longitudinal section of an industrial glass-melting furnace have been established by both model experiments and numerical calculation. For the latter a finite-difference method has been employed to solve the time-dependent coupled flow and energy equations. The highly generalized mathematical model makes allowance for buoyancy, temperature-dependent viscosity, and diffusive radiation. Generalized boundary conditions are employed to permit specification of any combination of temperature, flux, or mixed thermal boundary conditions. Representative temperature and flow contour maps obtained from the calculations are shown to agree well with experimental results obtained with a 1/20 scale model in which glycerine was employed as the modeling fluid.
Institutional logics of the EMR and the problem of 'perfect' but inaccurate accounts

Electronic Medical Records promise to simultaneously enhance coordination and provide transparency and accountability in work process. As such, EMR are purported to benefit both hospitals and patients. In this paper we use grounded empirical data to explore how this promise plays out in the everyday tasks of healthcare providers. Building on the small body of CSCW literature that suggests that the accounting functions of EMR are impinging on the ability of medical personnel to coordinate work, we draw on the theoretical lens of new institutionalism to outline how certain institutional logics around safety and accountability are shaping the experience of EMR systems in situ. We suggest that the institutional logics that currently characterize U.S. healthcare are embedded in the EMR design itself, structuring how institutional values such as 'safety' are achieved and evaluated. Using over one year of ethnographic research in an obstetrical unit, we find that the institutional logics of 'safety' embedded in the EMR create negative organizational outcomes, effectively undermining coordination and necessitating inaccurate accounts of work. We provide design implications to address these issues in the current institutional environment and envision how systems might be designed to promote alternate logics of safety that are social, dynamic, and cast humans as expert agents in the system.
Both Voltage- and Ca2+-Dependent Inactivation of Cav1.2 Ca2+ Channels are Suppresed in Myotubes, Likely Because of Triad Junction Proteins other than RyR1

To investigate the relationship between calcium channel and EC coupling functions of CaV1.1 in skeletal muscle, we have compared its behavior with that of the cardiac L-type channel, CaV1.2. Using expression in tsA-201 cells, we showed that substituting CaV1.1 IQ motif residues into CaV1.2 IQ caused a loss of calmodulin binding and calcium-dependent inactivation (JBC 283:29301-11, 2008), raising the possibility that inactivation is maladaptive for CaV1.1 function in muscle. We thus compared inactivation of CaV1.2 in tsA-201 cells and dysgenic myotubes (null for CaV1.1). For CaV1.2 in tsA-201 cells (co-expressed with α2δ1 and β2a), I50 ms/Ipeak (R50) at +20 mV was .69 in 10 Ca and .87 in 10 Ba, whereas R50 for CaV1.2 in dysgenic myotubes was .95 at +20 mV in 10 Ca, indicating that both voltage- and calcium-dependent inactivation were suppressed. In tsA-201 cells, co-expression of β1a (the predominant skeletal muscle isoform) did not significantly alter R50 values from those with β2a. Furthermore, R50 values were similar for CaV1.2 expressed in dysgenic myotubes and myotubes null for both CaV1.1 and RyR1, suggesting that some component of muscle triad junctions other than RyR1 is responsible for the suppression of inactivation. We thus expressed CaV2.1 in dysgenic myotubes because this neuronal channel, unlike CaV1.2, is not targeted to triad junctions (PNAS 95:1903-1908, 1998). Consistent with the hypothesis CaV2.1 channels showed significant voltage- and calcium-dependent inactivation in dysgenic myotubes which were similar to those of the channel expressed in tsA-201 cells. We are currently seeking to identify the components involved in suppressing inactivation of CaV1.2 in myotubes. Supported by AHA0190016G to JDO and NIH/NIAMS (AR055104) and MDA4319 to KGB.
Encouraging results for the Contegra conduit in the problematic right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery connection.

Objective The Contegra conduit was developed for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction. This report evaluates the Contegra conduit, with focus on certain subpopulations in which conduits are known to perform poorly (ie, patients with previous homograft conduits and infants). Methods A retrospective review of 76 patients who had 77 Contegra conduits placed for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction (January 2001 through August 2005) was completed. Characteristics include the following: median age of 1.6 years (range, 17 days–15.1 years), weight of 9.8 kg (range, 2.5–64.0 kg), and conduit diameter of 16 mm (range, 12–22 mm). Operations performed include right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction for pulmonary atresia–stenosis (n = 33), conduit exchange (n = 28), truncus repair (n = 7), primary conduit placement (n = 6), and the Ross procedure (n = 3). Seventy-nine percent were reoperations. Results There was no hospital mortality. Mean follow-up was 20 ± 14 months. One-, 2-, and 3- year freedom from severe conduit regurgitation was 97%, 86%, and 81%, respectively, and freedom from severe conduit stenosis was 100%. Freedom from reoperation for conduit failure at 1 and 3 years is 98.3% and 93.1%, respectively. All conduit failures (n = 3) were for asymptomatic conduit pseudoaneurysms in the setting of multiple-level pulmonary branch stenoses. Survival at 3 years is 96%. Infants (n = 26) had a freedom from Contegra conduit failure at 3 years of 100%. Patients with previous homograft conduits (n = 26) had a freedom from Contegra conduit failure at 3 years of 100%. Conclusion At midterm follow-up, the Contegra conduit remains a reliable, accessible, and easily implantable conduit for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction. It appears to be the most promising conduit option for patients with previous homograft conduits and for infants.
Three Stories of Loss and Return

"Land of My Fathers," "Another Mother," and "Someday He'll Come Along" were written for and presented at sessions chaired by Norman Denzin at the Midwest Sociological Society meetings in 1998, 1999, and 2000, respectively. Along with two earlier pieces, "My Mother's Car" and "Sarah and Me," they are intended to answer Denzin's call for new stories about life in postmodern society in his presidential address to the Midwest Sociological Society.
Influence of pH and plant nutrient status on ion fluxes between tomato plants and simulated acid mists

SUMMARY Diffusion along concentration gradients, ion exchange, active uptake, and physical damage are possible mechanisms causing fluxes of ions between plant tissues and acidified moisture on plant surfaces. The temporal patterns of ion fluxes during individual wetting events should vary in a predictable manner in relation to moisture pH, plant nutritional status, and the operational mechanism. Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were grown hydroponically at relative nutrient addition rates (Ra) of 7, 12, and 15% per day. At similar growth stages, the plants were exposed to HCl-acidified mists of pH 2–5, 4–0, or 5–6 for 4 h, or left unmisted as controls. Whole-plant throughfall was analysed for pH and ion concentrations after 15, 30, 60, 120, and 240 min. Surface chemical contamination was minimized by pre-rinsing with deionized water. Except for H+ during the first 15–30 min, all ions showed efflux for the duration of the mistings. Effluxes were low (< 150μequiv m−2 h−1), time-invariant, and unrelated to Ra at mist pH of 4.0 and 5.6. At pH 2.5, effluxes of K+, Mg2+, NO3−, and PO43− increased over time, while Ca2+ efflux increased during the first hour, then remained constant. Maximum efflux (105 to 730 μequiv m−2 h−1) mostly occurred at pH 2.5 and Ra= 17 % d−1, increasing in the order NH4+= SO42− < NO3− < PO43− < Ca2+= Mg2+ < K+ < H+. These results suggested that although ion diffusion and ion exchange contributed to observed effluxes, an additional mechanism, temporally accumulating physical damage to cuticles and cell membranes below a threshold pH between 4˙0 and 2˙5, was involved. Foliar concentrations of K, Ca, and Mg did not differ significantly among treatments, but ion effluxes into pH 2–5 mists removed 1–13 % of the whole-plant element contents, with the largest removal for Ca.
MULTIFILTER PHOTOMETRY AND POLARIMETRY OF NOVA CYG 1978 (V1668 CYG).

The results from more than 2700 filtered photoelectric observations of Nova Cyg 1978, obtained at the Flower and Cook Observatory, are summarized. The nova's decline through about 5 magnitudes is documented and amalgamated with similar observations already published by other groups. Variability on time scales up to 0.08 day and with peak-to-peak amplitudes up to 0.13m were common. No short-term periodicity was found. In the two-color plane the variability of the color indices is highly nonthermal and perhaps shows an inflection of slope about the time that dust was reported from IR observations by another group. A distance of 3 kpc is suggested. A few linear polarization measures, taken before dust formation, are listed. From the large interstellar component, a net intrinsic polarization is derived for the post-dust stages.
A Generalization of the Normalized LMS Algorithm

As previously shown, the normalized least mean square (NLMS)algorithm has superior convergence properties than the least meansquare(LMS) algorithm. However, the weight noise effect of the NLMS algorithm is large so that the steady state residue power islarger than that for the LMS algorithm. A generalized NLMSalgorithm is developed based upon the pseudoinverse of anestimated covariance matrix. A preliminary evaluation indicatesimproved performance can be attained but the implementationcomplexity might be high.
Transformation of the 10S androgen receptor in a hamster ductus deferens tumor cell line.

Androgen receptor transformation was studied in a hamster ductus deferens tumor cell line using whole cell and cell-free labeling conditions. After cell incubations with [3H] dihydrotestosterone at 0 or 23 C, receptor was recovered predominantly in cytosol as 406,000 mol wt (10.1 ± 0.4S; 89 ± 1 A) and 237,000 mol wt (7.1 ± 0.4S; 74 ± 1 A). At 37 C, increasing amounts of receptor were retained with time by nuclei as receptor size decreased to 127,000 mol wt (5.5 ± 0.3S; 51 ± 2 A). The half-time of nuclear association was approximately 3 min at 37 C. DNA-binding activity was acquired upon conversion of the 10S receptor to 7S and 5.5S forms. The use of serum-free culture conditions ruled out the possible involvement of serum proteins in the formation of multiple receptor forms. In cell-free preparations, dihydrotestosterone binding was required for receptor dissociation from 10S to 7S, which at short time intervals was enhanced by mercaptoethanol. It is concluded that the 7S receptor is a transformation inte...
Asymptotically efficient adaptive allocation schemes for controlled i.i.d. processes: finite parameter space

The authors consider a controlled i.i.d. (independently identically distributed) process whose distribution is parametrized by an unknown parameter theta belonging to some known parameter space Theta , and a one-step reward associated with each pair of control and the following state of the process. The objective is to maximize the expected value of the sum of one-step rewards over an infinite horizon. By introducing the loss associated with a control scheme, it is shown that the problem is equivalent to minimizing this loss. Uniformly good adaptive control schemes are defined and emphasized. A lower bound on the loss associated with any uniformly good control scheme is developed. Finally, an adaptive control scheme is constructed whose loss equals the lower bound, and is therefore asymptotically efficient. >
Cost relationships in stochastic inventory systems: A simulation study of the (S, S−1, t=1) model

Abstract The analysis of the full stochastic model in which both the demand per unit time and the lead time are stochastic is complex. Analysis of the reduced stochastic inventory models in which only one of the parameters (either the demand per unit time or the lead time) is stochastic and the other is constant is relatively less complex. In this paper we exploit insights from vector analysis and postulate an approximation that expresses the optimal cost of the full stochastic model in terms of the optimal costs of the two reduced models. We demonstrate the adequacy of the cost relationship in the context of one specific type of inventory model—a periodic review ( S , S− 1, t =1) model—by performing an extensive set of simulations, using the Poisson, the exponential, and the gamma distributions to characterize demand and lead time. We also use the simulation data to develop regression relationships between the cost and an appropriate measure of variability, such as the standard deviation, the variance, or the coefficient of variation. For the cost of the full model, we find in our computations that our approximations have 98.4% accuracy for the Poisson, 96% for the exponential, and 97% for the gamma.
Availability of services for emergency contraceptive pills at high school-based health centers.

School-based health centers have the potential to increase adolescents’ awareness of access to and use of emergency contraceptive pills which can prevent unintended pregnancy following unprotected sex. In 2001 250 high school–based health centers responded to a nationwide mail survey that assessed the provision of education referral and prescription services for emergency contraceptive pills as well as the perceived benefits and barriers related to offering these services. Frequencies cross-tabulations and logistic regression models were used to analyze the data. Fifty-nine percent of the centers provided education and referrals for emergency contraceptive pills while 30% provided prescriptions. Staff generally identified the same benefits of and barriers to services although centers that provided services were more likely than nonproviders to report benefits and less likely to report barriers. Predictors of offering education were providing reproductive health services (odds ratio 4.6) and citing the increased likelihood that students would use the method (3.5) and have the opportunity to discuss contraception (2.6). Reporting the benefit of pregnancy prevention was a predictor of offering referrals (2.9) while providing reproductive health services (30.4) and citing pregnancy prevention (6.3) were predictors of offering prescriptions. Predictors of the decreased likelihood of offering services were also identified. School centers that provide all three services have the greatest potential to ensure the successful use of emergency contraceptive pills by adolescents. While the number of centers offering services appears to be increasing greater efforts are needed to improve students’ awareness of and access to the method so they can make informed decisions regarding their reproductive health. (authors)
Magnetoreflection study of graphite intercalated with bromine

Abstract We report here the first observation of interband Landau level transitions in graphite intercalation compounds. Magnetoreflection measurements are reported for residue compounds of graphite intercalated with up to 1.2 at.% Br. The observed magnetoreflection resonances show evidence for domains in which the electronic band structure and Fermi energy are only slightly dependent on bromine concentration. These conclusions are in general agreement with recently reported de Haas-van Alphen results for these compounds.
How the Pueblos Got Their Sprachbund

Pueblo societies comprise a culture area, and a zone of linguistic convergence or Sprachbund, that encompassed four distinct language families. Pueblo groups are also quite genetically homogeneous. The general forces promoting or diluting cultural differences across groups are defined and given a preliminary weighting through time for Pueblo societies. The Neolithic demographic transition and the hierarchical society transition (defined herein) contribute to homogeneity across groups derived from a single descent group, but create differences among groups derived from different descent groups. High mobility across communities and across regions contributes to cultural similarities across phylogenetically defined groups, as may adaptation to similar environments. Pronounced tendencies towards within-group conformity and linguistic purism were probably late (i.e., early first-millennium ad) developments in the Pueblo world.
Introduction to the measurement of stress at work.

This article introduces a special section on the measurement of stress in occupational and work environments. It discusses stress as a creatively ambiguous term that, nonetheless, has important medical, behavioral, and psychological health consequences for people at work as well as away from work. The article discusses the importance of multiple medical and psychological measures for occupational stress assessments and offers an abbreviated conceptual framework for such measures. The 5 articles and 1 commentary that compose the section are briefly introduced.