cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optical fields of a subwavelength metal aperture in a very small aperture laser (VSAL)

The effect of metal thickness on the transmitted optical field of a sub-wavelength metal aperture on a Very Small Aperture Laser (VSAL) is modeled and studied experimentally. The experimental results were obtained in the far field, on a VSAL fabricated from a commercial semiconductor diode laser using Focused Ion Beam Etching (FIBE). The optical field in the near-field region of the VSAL was modeled by the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method. In this model, the laser was assumed to be decoupled from the aperture.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Alcohol metabolism and fetal hypoplasia in chick brain

Chick embryos given a single dose of ethanol (1.0 g/kg) at the start of incubation (day 0) had widely differing levels of blood alcohol when sacrificed on day 7 and the blood alcohol levels were inversely correlated with whole body and brain weight. Clearance of the alcohol by the embryos was inhibited by simultaneous treatment with 4-methyl pyrazole and this treatment potentiated the brain growth inhibition due to ethanol. Treatment with indomethacin lowered blood alcohol levels on day 7 and protected against the growth inhibition. These data suggest that early chick embryos have varying amounts of alcohol dehydrogenase-like metabolic activity and that higher levels of this activity protect against alcohol-induced brain growth inhibition in this model. If similar variations in the ability to metabolize alcohol exist in human fetuses, it may represent a mechanism by which comparable maternal doses of alcohol produce widely varying fetal effects.
The Production of Oysters ( O. Edulis ) on English Beds in Relation to New Observations on Breeding Phenomena

The Production of Oysters ( O. Edulis ) on English Beds in Relation to New Observations on Breeding Phenomena
Tympanic muscle effects on middle-ear transfer characteristic.

Using the cochlear microphonic potential from the basal turn as an indicator, changes in the magnitude and phase of sound transmission across the open‐bulla middle ear of the guinea pig were determined for two levels of isotonic tympanic muscle contraction. Muscle action was produced by independent electric stimulation of the muscle bodies. Both the stapedius and the tensor tympani muscles attenuated the passage of low‐frequency vibration giving the largest attenuation for frequencies below 300 Hz; the tensor tympani produced an attenuation of 28 dB or more; the stapedius produced 10 dB or more. For some frequencies, in the range 1 to 3 kHz, both muscles were capable of generating an apparent gain in transmission; the tensor tympani causing a gain of 5 dB at 2.5 kHz; the stapedius 0.5 dB at 2.5 kHz. The phase shifts of the cochlear microphonic potential relative to the sound stimulus were leading phase functions for all contraction cases. A second tympanic muscle contraction level, of lower magnitude, gave qualitatively similar but smaller results. Changes in the sound‐transmission magnitude and phase were modeled with second‐order low‐pass system characteristics in which the break frequencies increase, the low‐frequency magnitude decreases and the system becomes underdamped with muscle contraction. These transmission changes are accounted for in the model primarily by a decrease in the compliance of the middle ear, but small increases in resistance and inertance over the flaccid muscle state were also indicated.
Colloidal Calcium Phosphate in the Reconstituted Milk Micelle May Direct Wild-type Recombinant Human β-Casein to Fold Like the Native Protein

Native human beta-casein (CN) at all phosphorylation levels exhibits reproducible behavior and appears to have a unique, stable folding pattern. In contrast, the recombinant non-phosphorylated form of human beta-CN (beta-CN-0P) with the exact amino acid sequence (wild-type), expressed and purified from Escherichia coli, differs greatly in its behavior from the native protein and the complexes formed are unstable to thermal cycling. However, when it was incorporated into reconstituted milk micelles, using bovine kappa-CN at a kappa/beta molar ratio of 1/3 with added Ca2+ ions and inorganic phosphate (P(i)) at levels that would ordinarily precipitate, its association behavior vs. temperature as monitored by turbidity (OD(400 nm)) approximated that of native beta-CN-0P. This suggests that the milk micelle system, and particularly the colloidal calcium phosphate, may act as a 'molecular chaperon' to direct the folding of the molecule into the highly stable conformation found in the purified native human beta-CN molecule.
Defect microstructure in low temperature epitaxial silicon grown by RPCVD

Defect characterization of epitaxial silicon films grown by low temperature remote plasmaenhanced chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) under various conditions is discussed. The film morphology and crystallinity have been examined by defect etching/Nomarski optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Prior to epitaxial growth, anex situ wet chemical clean and anin situ remote hydrogen plasma clean were performed to remove the native oxide as well as other surface contaminants such as carbon. A damage-free (100) Si surface with extremely low concentrations of carbon and oxygen as confirmed byin situ Auger electron spectroscopy can be achieved using this cleaning technique at temperatures as low as 250°. Low temperature Si homoepitaxy was achieved by RPCVD on lightly doped (100) Si substrates. Growth parameters such as silane flow rate (partial pressure), chamber pressure, and substrate temperature were varied during epitaxial growth to investigate the dependence of film quality on these parameters. For comparison,in situ remote hydrogen plasma and epitaxial growth were also performed on heavily dopedp-type (100) Si substrates. Finally, the results of epitaxial growth at temperatures as low as 150° are presented.
The hematocrit value in polycythemia vera: caveat utilitor.

In patients with polycythemia vera (PV), phlebotomy performed to a target hematocrit (Hct) value of less than 45% resulted in a signifi cantly lower rate of cardiovascular death and major thrombosis compared to those patients who had a target Hct of 45 – 50% [1]. In an accompanying editorial, Spivak [2] also stressed the importance of phlebotomy guided by the Hct value, but adjusted for gender. Th e Hct value now widely used in clinical settings is a derived value, i.e. red blood cell count (RBC) mean corpuscular volume (MCV). Since the great majority of regularly phlebotomized patients with PV either are or become iron defi cient, for a given RBC a lower MCV will yield a lower Hct value compared to the RBC. Th us, examining the Hct only may yield an erroneous interpretation regarding the need for phlebotomy. In addition to its importance as a guide in treating patients with PV, the Hct value has been suggested as a surrogate marker for an increased red cell mass (RCM) for the diagnosis of PV [3]. Th us, consideration of certain pitfalls pertaining to the use of this widely employed test is timely and important. We now report our fi ndings regarding relative values of the Hct in patients with PV with either microcytic or normocytic RBC and comment on other factors aff ecting the clinical accuracy of its use. Th e study was approved by our Institutional Review Board, and written consent was obtained for permission to collect a blood specimen and pertinent medical information in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Ten cubic centimeters of blood was collected in BD Vacutainer Venous Blood Collection EDTA ™ tubes for sample measurement of the RBC and hemoglobin (Hb). Two methods were used for determining the Hct values: the derived Hct from an automated blood count and the microcentrifuge method. Th e latter employed 75 mm Hct tubes spun in the usual timed fashion in an Adams ™ microcentrifuge and a Damon IEC/ Division ™ microcapillary reader. Th e average Hct value was determined from three collected specimens. No adjustments were made for trapped plasma [4]. Th e automated counts were performed in duplicate, and the derived Hct was measured electronically by multiplying the average MCV by the RBC, thus: Hct (%) [RBC ( 10 6 / μ L) MCV 10 15 ]/10. Random blood specimens were collected from 94 diff erent patients with PV, 33 of whom had an MCV 80 fL (10 15 /L), the cut-off value for “ microcytosis ” at our institution. Sixtyone of the 94 samples had an MCV 80 fL, and normocytic and normochromic RBC on review of the peripheral blood smear. Retrospective review of these 61 patients indicated that they were in a complete or partial remission, and phlebotomy-free for at least 6 months, or men who had received four or fewer phlebotomies in the prior year (four patients). Of the 33 patients with microcytosis, all were receiving phlebotomies or had been within the previous 6 months.
Unified nomenclature for the semaphorins/collapsins [1]

A new semaphorin is defined as a fully sequenced gene, cDNA, or protein which by sequence homology falls into the semaphorin family of proteins. We have established a Semaphorin Nomenclature web site (http://www.semaphorin-nomenclature.bs.jhmi.edu) that provides details for assigning appropriate names and numbers to new semaphorins, apparent orthologs, gene loci, splice variants, or EST sequences.We recommend that this system of nomenclature be used in all future publications.Semaphorin Nomenclature Committee33441The following scientists have endorsed the use of this nomenclature system: J.A. Bamberg, S. Baumgartner, H. Betz, J. Bolz, A. Chedotal, C.R.L. Christensen, P.M. Comoglio, J.G. Culotti, P. Doherty, H. Drabkin, A. Ensser, M.C. Fishman, B. Fleckenstein, G.J. Freeman, H. Fujisawa, A. Ghosh, D.D. Ginty, C.S. Goodman, S. Guthrie, S. Inagake, R. Keynes, T. Kimura, M. Klagsbrun, A.L. Kolodkin, J.Y. Kuwada, Y. Luo, J.D. Minna, S.L. Naylor, T.P. O’Connor, D.D.M. O’Leary, A. Pini, M.-m. Poo, A.W. Puschel, J.A. Raper, J. Roche, C.J. Shatz, W.D. Snider, E. Soriano, M.K. Spriggs, S.M. Stritmatter, S. Sullivan, L. Tamagnone, M. Tessier-Lavigne, T. Tohyama, J. Verhaagen, F.S. Walsh, and T. Yagi.2Three-letter species designations are based on the first letter of the genus and the first two letters of the species. Additional details about gene nomenclature conventions can be obtained at the Human Gene Nomenclature web site (http://www.gene.ucl.ac.uk/nomenclature/) and the links therein.3The appropriate citation for this letter is: (Semaphorin Nomenclature Committee, 1999).4The committee consists of: please see the list of authors.
The Synergistic Effect of Market Orientation and Learning Orientation on Organizational Performance.

Although a large body of research theoretically asserts a positive relationship between market orientation and organizational performance, fewer empirical studies demonstrate it using multiple and varied organizational performance measures. Additionally, a series of recent studies have theoretically proposed, but not empirically demonstrated, that a firm’s learning orientation is likely to indirectly affect organizational performance by improving the quality of its market-oriented behaviors and directly influence organizational performance by facilitating the type of generative learning that leads to innovations in products, procedures, and systems. This empirical study supports all of these specific contentions and the more global notion that higher order learning processes may be critical in creating a sustainable competitive advantage in the firm.
Integrating Single-Case and Group-Comparison Designs for Evaluation Research

This article describes and assesses the integration of single-case design and group comparison methods to address limitations inherent in each methodology. First, the use of Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) for analyzing aggregated single-case design data is described. Next, two examples of research that combines single-case and group-comparison methods are presented, with reanalyses of data from these studies conducted using HLM procedures. One reanalysis produces results contradicting those obtained by the original researchers. The advantages and disadvantages of using such integrated approaches are then discussed.
The ly-6 protein, lynx1, is an endogenous inhibitor of nicotinic signaling in airway epithelium.

Our laboratory has previously reported that bronchial epithelial cells (BEC) express a regulatory cascade of classic neurotransmitters and receptors that communicate in an almost neuronal-like manner to achieve physiological regulation. In this paper we show that the similarity between neurotransmitter signaling in neurons and BEC extends to the level of transmitter receptor allosteric modulators. Lynx1 is a member of the ly-6/three-finger superfamily of proteins, many of which modulate receptor signaling activity. Lynx1 specifically has been shown to modulate nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) function in neurons by altering receptor sensitivity and desensitization. We now report that lynx1 forms a complex with α7 nAChR in BEC and serves to negatively regulate α7 downstream signaling events. Treatment of primary cultures of BEC with nicotine increased levels of nAChR subunits and that increase was potentiated by lynx1 knockdown. Lynx1 knockdown also potentiated the nicotine-induced increase in GABAA receptors (GABAAR) and MUC5AC mRNA expression, and that effect was blocked by α7 antagonists and α7 knockdown. In parallel with the increases in nAChR, GABAAR, and mucin mRNA levels, lynx1 knockdown also increased levels of p-Src. Consistent with this, inhibition of Src signaling blocked the ability of the lynx1 knockdown to increase basal and nicotine-stimulated GABAAR and mucin mRNA expression. Thus lynx1 appears to act as a negative modulator of α7 nAChR-induced events by inhibiting Src activation. This suggests that lynx1 agonists or mimetics are a potentially important therapeutic target to develop new therapies for smoking-related diseases characterized by increased mucin expression.
Optimization and synthesis for complex reactive embedded systems by incremental collapsing

We propose a software synthesis procedure for reactive real-time embedded systems. In our approach, control parts of the system are represented in a decomposed form enabling more complex control structures to be represented. We propose a synthesis procedure for this representation that incrementally aggregates elements of the representation while keeping the resulting code size under tight control. This method combined with heuristic strategies works very well on real-life designs and demonstrates the potential to produce results that challenge or beat hand-written implementations.
117 Takayasu's Arteritis: Three Presentations in Hispanic Patients and Comparisons with Other Populations

TAKAYASU’S ARTERITIS: THREE PRESENTATIONS IN HISPANIC PATIENTS AND COMPARISONS WITH OTHER POPULATIONS. Ramy Magdy Hanna Wan-ting Yang James Wilson Olive-view UCLA medical center division of nephrology Los Angeles, CA Takayasu’s arteritis (TA) is a medium and large vessel vasculitis, it is defined as a non-specific aortitis that usually involves the aorta and its branches. Its etiology is still unclear and its complications are diverse and severe and include stenosis of the thoracic and abdominal aorta, aortic valve damage and regurgitation, and stenosis of the branches of the aorta. Carotid stenosis, coronary artery aneurysms, and renal artery stenosis resulting in renovascular hypertension are reported sequellae of Takayasu’s arteritis. The disease was first described in Japan but has also been noted to be commonly encountered in India and Mexico. Its incidence in the United States has been quoted as 2.6 patients per 1,000,000 people/year. In Japan its incidence is 3.6 patients per 1,000,000 patients per year and prevalence is 7.85 patients per 100,000 per year. The natural history of this disease, which is commonly present in Asian populations, has only recently been studied in Hispanic patients despite the notable incidence and prevalence of Takayasu’s aortitis in Mexican, South American, and Indian populations. Here we present three cases of Hispanic patients who presented with Takayasu’s arteritis at Olive-view-UCLA medical center (OVMC). We compare and contrast their clinical and radiographic presentations with non-Hispanic patients who presented with this disease. Finally we review the literature to compare and contrast the clinical features of our three patients with data from more traditional Takayasu’s arteritis populations.
CO2 capture and storage: are we ready?

Options for capture and storage of CO2 that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere by combustion of fossil fuels are considered. This paper assesses whether CO2 can be captured, whether sufficient potential capacity exists for storage in geologic formations, describes physical mechanisms that can prevent escape of the CO2 from the subsurface, delineates methods for monitoring the movement of CO2 in the subsurface and for detecting leaks, and describes field experience with CO2 injection. While much remains to be learned about the design of specific storage projects, the current state of knowledge of carbon capture and storage is sufficient to permit testing at the scale of large power plants.
Periodic Distributions of Dislocations

First, explicit expressions are obtained for the state of stress and deformation due to a periodic distribution of dislocations with respect to three-dimensional space and time. Further, equilibrium conditions for continuously distributed dislocations are derived from the law of energy conservation. The conditions are applied to determine several equilibrium states of periodic distributions. It was found that the distributions of edge and screw dislocations must have a phase difference of $\frac{1}{2}\pi$ when all the Burgers vectors are limited to the one direction. A sudden application of constant stress will cause the dislocations to move spontaneously to their new equilibrium positions. Also, an expression for dislocation velocity is established. In addition, expressions for internal stresses due to the periodic distribution of dislocations are used to find the stress field induced by a Frank network of dislocations. It was found that the normal stress acting on planes parallel to the network has a maximum value at a distance equal to one-half of the edge length of the hexagon of the net. The stress is proportional to the sum of the edge components of the three Burgers vectors at a node of the network, and decreases exponentially with distance from the network plane.
Probabilistic packet delay guarantee in buffered crossbar switch

The buffered crossbar packet switch employs the crossbar-based switching fabric architecture with internal buffers and the combined input and output queueing scheme. It is promising to support quality of service (QoS) in buffered crossbar switch without complex implementation. In this paper, we study the problem of supporting traffic classes whose QoS requirements are stated statistically in buffered crossbar switches. Specifically, we investigate the resource allocation issue. We extend the network calculus-based model and techniques developed in Q. Duan and J. N. Daigle (Oct. 2002) to determine the amount of bandwidth and number of credits that must be allocated in a buffered crossbar switch to guarantee each traffic class a packet delay that is upper bounded with a small violation probability. We find that the required amount of resources for probabilistic delay upper bound guarantee is less than what is required for deterministic delay upper bound guarantee. This implies that bandwidth and credits can be saved in buffered crossbar switch if resource allocation is based on probabilistic delay objective.
Old challenges and new opportunities for studying the financial aspects of intercollegiate athletics

Better data can make clearer the relationships among athletics, institutional finances, and prestige.
Conformational dynamics of CYP3A4 demonstrate the important role of Arg212 coupled with the opening of ingress, egress and solvent channels to dehydrogenation of 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen.

Abstract Background Structure-based methods for P450 substrates are commonly used during drug development to identify sites of metabolism. However, docking studies using available X-ray structures for the major drug-metabolizing P450, CYP3A4, do not always identify binding modes supportive of the production of high-energy toxic metabolites. Minor pathways such as P450-catalyzed dehydrogenation have been experimentally shown to produce reactive products capable of forming biomolecular adducts which can lead to increased risk toxicities. 4-Hydroxy-tamoxifen (4OHT) is metabolized by CYP3A4 via competing hydroxylation and dehydrogenation reactions. Methods Ab initio gas-phase electronic structural characterization of 4OHT was used to develop a docking scoring scheme. Conformational sampling of CYP3A4 with molecular dynamics simulations along multiple trajectories were used to generate representative structures for docking studies using recently published heme parameters. A key predicted binding mode was tested experimentally using site-directed mutagenesis of CYP3A4 and liquid chromatography–mass spectroscopy analysis. Results Docking with MD-refined CYP3A4 structures incorporating hexa-coordinate heme parameters identifies a unique binding mode involving ARG212 and channel 4, unobserved in the starting PDB ID: 1TQN X-ray structure. The models supporting dehydrogenation are consistent with results from in vitro incubations. General significance Our models indicate that coupled structural contributions of the ingress, egress and solvent channels to the CYP3A4 active site geometries play key roles in the observed 4OHT binding modes. Thus adequate sampling of the conformational space of these drug-metabolizing promiscuous enzymes is important for substrates that may bind in malleable regions of the enzyme active-site.
Implementing a Processor-in-the-loop with a Universal Controller in the Virtual Test Bed

As digital processor technology has rapidly developed, researchers have proposed various methodologies to design, develop, implement, and test digital control systems. A testing procedure, called processor-in-the-loop (PIL), allows designers to verify the actual control software running in a dedicated processor which controls a virtual prototype of a plant. In this paper, we focus on the demonstration of how to implement PIL technology in the virtual test bed (VTB) with a hybrid DSP/FPGA-based control platform; PIL system structure and simulation results are presented. Based on this example, we can extend the PIL procedure in VTB to other control hardware platforms easily.
Manifesting ecologic and microbial connections.

Suggested Citation for this Article: Potter P. Manifesting ecologic and microbial connections [about the cover]. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2006 Apr [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1204.AC1204
Stable methods to solve the impedance matrix for radially inhomogeneous cylindrically anisotropic structures

A stable approach for integrating the impedance matrix in cylindrical, radial inhomogeneous structures is developed and studied. A Stroh-like system using the time-harmonic displacement-traction state vector is used to derive the Riccati matrix differential equation involving the impedance matrix. It is found that the resulting equation is stiff and leads to exponential instabilities. A stable scheme for integration is found in which a local expansion is performed by combining the matricant and impedance matrices. This method offers a stable solution for fully anisotropic materials, which was previously unavailable in the literature. Several approximation schemes for integrating the Riccati equation in cylindrical coordinates are considered: exponential, Magnus, Taylor series, Lagrange polynomials, with numerical examples indicating that the exponential scheme performs best. The impedance matrix is compared with solutions involving Buchwald potentials in which the material is limited to piecewise constant transverse isotropy. Lastly a scattering example is considered and compared with the literature.
Bridging the Divide: The Case for Harmonizing State and Federal Extraterritoriality Principles after Morrison and Kiobel

The Supreme Court’s recent expansion of the federal presumption against extraterritoriality in Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd. and Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum has had an unexpected consequence: In many circumstances, state law may apply abroad far more broadly than does federal law. Thus, even as the Supreme Court has significantly scaled back the reach of federal law abroad, advocates and litigators have awakened to the potential use of state law to obtain relief in disputes occurring partially or largely outside U.S. borders. While procedural difficulties may exist in bringing such cases, those who surmount these hurdles are likely to find that, at the choice-of-law stage, many state courts readily apply their own law or the law of a different U.S. state to disputes with foreign elements.Thus, in the wake of Morrison and Kiobel, it appears that state law may have greater extraterritorial application than federal law. This result is surely not what anyone would have intended, much less desired. State law applied abroad indiscriminately raises concerns similar to those present when federal law is applied too broadly to foreign disputes. Moreover, extraterritorial application of state law raises issues of unpredictability and lack of uniformity that are present to an even greater extent than when federal law is involved. Because of this, to the extent that U.S. law is to be applied abroad, sound reasons exist for such law to be predominately federal.Existing state choice-of-law doctrine, however, slights such considerations, giving courts little doctrinal guidance in how to navigate the special issues that are present when an otherwise routine conflicts problem involves foreign rather than sister-state law. At the same time, the federal presumption against extraterritoriality leaves little or no room for taking into account the possibility that state law may apply where federal law does not. With this background in mind, this Article argues that , even as state-law and federal-law approaches regarding extraterritoriality have been growing farther apart, a strong case can be made for greater convergence.
Impaired oculomotor response inhibition in children of alcoholics: The role of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Abstract Objective The aim of the project was to determine whether children at high risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) are impaired at performing oculomotor response inhibition tasks sensitive to detecting prefrontal cortex dysfunction. Methods Three antisaccade tasks were administered to 67 10–12-year-old children having fathers with AUD and 12 children whose fathers had no psychiatric disorder. Results Children of AUD+ fathers performed similar to children of AUD− fathers on measures of response latency and gain to target. Peak velocity discriminated the two groups on only one task. Children of AUD+ fathers exhibited a higher rate of prosaccade errors on the most difficult antisaccade task. Within the AUD+ group of men, offspring who qualified for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; N = 13) exhibited more response suppression errors than children without ADHD on two of three tasks. No differences were observed between children without ADHD whose fathers either qualified for AUD+ or had no psychiatric disorder. Conclusion Inhibiting a response to a prepotent stimulus in children of AUD+ fathers is circumscribed to ADHD youths. These findings suggest that frontal–striatal mechanisms may underlie the risk for AUD among ADHD children.
Timing of onset of somatotropin supplementation on reproductive performance in dairy cows

The objective of this field trial was to determine whether delaying the start of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) supplementation from 9 to 10 wk postpartum to 17 to 18 wk postpartum would improve reproductive performance in lactating dairy cows. Cows from nine herds (n = 798 cows; 766 Holsteins, 32 Jerseys) were assigned at random to receive rbST supplementation at 14-d intervals beginning during wk 9 to 10 (n = 399) or wk 17 to 18 (n = 399) after calving. Effects of herd, season of calving, parity, and onset of rbST supplementation (9 to 10 wk vs. 17 to 18 wk) on days to first service and days open were determined. In primiparous but not multiparous cows, there tended to be fewer days to first service and fewer days open when onset of rbST supplementation was delayed. Percentages of cows pregnant at 150, 200, and 250 d postpartum were also examined. Time of onset of rbST did not affect percentages of multiparous cows pregnant at 150, 200, and 250 d postpartum. However, there appeared to be a slight tendency for percentages of pregnant primiparous cows to be greater at 200 and 250 d postpartum for those receiving rbST supplementation beginning at 17 to 18 wk compared to those receiving rbST starting at 9 to 10 wk. In conclusion, delaying the start of rbST supplementation to wk 17 to 18 postpartum had no beneficial effect on reproductive performance of multiparous cows but tended to improve some measures of reproductive performance in primiparous cows.
Primal-Dual Approximation Algorithms for Node-Weighted Network Design in Planar Graphs

We present primal-dual algorithms which give a 2.4 approximation for a class of node-weighted network design problems in planar graphs, introduced by Demaine, Hajiaghayi and Klein (ICALP’09). This class includes Node-Weighted Steiner Forest problem studied recently by Moldenhauer (ICALP’11) and other node-weighted problems in planar graphs that can be expressed using (0,1)-proper functions introduced by Goemans and Williamson. We show that these problems can be equivalently formulated as feedback vertex set problems and analyze approximation factors guaranteed by different violation oracles within the primal-dual framework developed by Goemans and Williamson.
History of uterine leiomyoma and risk of endometrial cancer in black women.

Previous studies have found an association between uterine leiomyomata (UL) and uterine malignancies. This relation has not been studied in black women, who are disproportionately affected by UL. We investigated prospectively the association between self-reported physician-diagnosed UL and endometrial cancer in the Black Women’s Health Study. During 1995–2013, 47,267 participants with intact uteri completed biennial health questionnaires. Reports of endometrial cancer were confirmed by pathology data from medical records and cancer registries. Cox regression was used to derive incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI). There were 300 incident endometrial cancer cases during 689,546 person-years of follow-up. In multivariable models, UL history was associated with a 42 % greater incidence of endometrial cancer compared with no such history (95 % CI 1.12–1.80). IRRs for cancer diagnosed 0–2, 3–9, and ≥10 years after UL diagnosis were 3.20 (95 % CI 2.06–4.98), 0.95 (95 % CI 0.60–1.52), and 1.35 (95 % CI 1.03–1.77), respectively. Stronger overall associations between UL history and endometrial cancer were observed for later stages at cancer diagnosis (IRR = 2.25, 95 % CI 1.09–4.63) and type II/III cancers (IRR = 3.13, 95 % CI 1.64–5.99). In this large cohort of black women, a history of UL was positively associated with endometrial cancer, particularly type II/III tumors. The strongest association was observed for cancer diagnosed within 2 years of UL diagnosis, a finding that might be explained by greater surveillance of women with UL or misdiagnosis of cancer as UL. However, an association was also observed for cancer reported ≥10 years after UL diagnosis.
The important role of simulation in sedation.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW This article reviews the development of simulation-based training strategies to educate sedation providers. RECENT FINDINGS Medical simulation has been utilized to train and evaluate providers in numerous domains related to sedation. Sedation providers come to the patient with a wide range of clinical training and experience and simulation can serve as a platform for achieving a baseline skill level and for periodic retraining. Although widely accepted by participants in simulation training, data demonstrating simulation's efficacy in improving sedation-related clinical outcomes are lacking. SUMMARY Simulation provides an opportunity for sedation providers to develop deliberative practice, to consider rare or challenging clinical conditions, and to benefit from directed feedback, in a manner that does not put patients in harm's way.
From Typee's Tommo to Moby-Dick's Ishmael: gift exchange in the capitalist world system

ABSTRACTTracking Herman Melville's burgeoning interest in the gift economy, this essay focuses on different modes of exchange in Typee, Mardi, Moby-Dick, and The Confidence-Man. In his early travel novel as well as in his later masterworks, Melville registers the global system of capitalism as it begins to emerge in the Pacific and assert its dominance in the USA. A new reading of the gift principle in Typee, and its infamously problematic ending, recognizes the possibility of a utopian society based on reciprocity. Melville's later works are then analyzed in a similar, but now more explicit, global framework in order to chart a further development in the author's understanding of the capitalist world-system.
Altered reactivity to Escherichia coli endotoxin of mice subjected to sub-lethal tourniquet treatment.

SummarySignificantly less E. coli endotoxin (administered as single intravenous injection) was required to elicit a lethal end point in tourniquet treated mice than normal mice. Early intraperitoneal administration of large volumes of physiological saline significantly negated the effects of tourniquet treatment as regards lethal outcome with a given E. coli endotoxin dose. Such saline therapy failed to prevent death in normal animals given endotoxin. These observations plus the estimation of 25-35% original plasma volume loss to the traumatized area suggests that reduction of plasma volume is the major factor in initiating enhanced mortality of tourniquet treated mice receiving E. coli endotoxin.
Studies on polynucleotides

A ribopolynucleotide containing the repeating trinucleotide sequence, adenylyl-adenylyl-guanylate (poly AAG) has been shown to direct the synthesis of polyly-sine, polyarginine and polyglutamate in the in vitro amino acid incorporation system. In experiments on the stimulation of the binding of [ 14 C]aminoacyl-sRNA to ribosomes the following results were obtained. (1) Poly AAG stimulated the binding of lysyl-, glutamyl-, arginyl- and aspartyl-sRNA. (2) The trinucleotide, GpApA, was specific in inducing the binding of glutamyl-sRNA and the trinucleotide, ApApG, was specific in inducing.the binding of lysyl-sRNA to ribosomes. The new codon sequences ApApG for lysine and GpApA for glutamic acid are therefore proposed. (3) The codon sequence ApGpA is proposed for arginine, despite the failure of this trinucleotide to stimulate the binding of arginyl-sRNA to ribosomes. (4) GpApA also stimulated the binding of aspartyl-sRNA to ribosomes. In the in vitro amino acid incorporation experiments, however, no polyaspartate synthesis has so far been detected in the presence of poly AAG.
Notes Upon Tree Diseases in the Eastern States

Some attention has been given to the chestnut blight for the past three years. It was found in July, I909, at Middlebury, Conn., for the first time, and in September, I909, at Bantam, Conn. Also in September, I9I0, at Amherst and Springfield, Mass., and in October, I19I, at Windsor, Conn. The writer has spent most of the month of October each year in the lower Connecticut valley and the adjoining territory; much time has been spent there during the past few years besides in October. The disease was found at Windsor, Conn., the second season it was there. At any rate, it was very scattering in the Connecticut valley in the fall of I909. A trip was made in July, I9II, as far north as Hartford, Conn., and the disease was everywhere in evidence in the Connecticut valley. There can be no doubt that in the three years, I909 to I9II inclusive, the disease has spread so seriously as to now be beyond hopes of control in the lower Connecticut valley. Considerable time this season was devoted to finding out the real situation of the chestnut blight in the state of Maryland. It was found to be much more serious than at first supposed. The northeastern corner of the state cut off by a line running from the northern edge of Baltimore, east to the Delaware line, and another a little westward and then northwestward to the
Considerations for hepatitis B as part of a combination vaccine.

Background. In 1991 the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) developed a comprehensive strategy to eliminate the transmission of hepatitis B virus in the United States, which includes immunization of all infants. Today, as the number of recommended childhood vaccinations increases, combination vaccines are needed to simplify the immunization schedule and improve coverage levels. Methods. A review of the literature was performed to determine the considerations that should be taken when hepatitis B virus vaccine (HepB) is included as part of a combination vaccine. Results. A combination vaccine that incorporates HepB and other routine infant vaccine antigens has been developed for administration at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. Clinical studies have demonstrated that administration of HepB, either as a monovalent or combination vaccine at 2, 4 and 6 months of age, induces a seroprotective immune response similar to that achieved with monovalent HepB administered at 0, 1 and 6 months of age. In addition the combination vaccine results in similar or fewer adverse reactions compared with separate administration of its components. Infants given a dose of monovalent HepB at birth will receive a total of four doses of HepB when the combination is used. The extra dose of HepB has not led to increased adverse reactions. Conclusions. A HepB-containing combination vaccine administered at 2, 4 and 6 months of age is as safe and immunogenic as separate administration of its components and will help simplify the childhood immunization schedule.
A Method for Studying the Hessian Fly and Other Insects

The following method for conducting life history studies was developed in connection with a study of the Hessian fly ( Mayetiola destructer Say) and since then has been used for making detailed observations on the development of several other insects attacking the stem and leaves of various cereal crops. The fact that the Hessian fly larvae develop between the leaf sheath and the stalk often below the surface of the ground has rendered it difficult to follow the growth of this stage. It has also been hard to observe the development of the eggs and the behavior of the larvae on the leaf.
Spatial distribution of aquatic marine fungi across the western Arctic and sub-arctic.

Summary Fungi are important parasites of primary producers and nutrient cyclers in aquatic ecosystems. In the Pacific-Arctic domain, fungal parasitism is linked to light intensities and algal stress that can elevate disease incidence on algae and reduce diatom concentrations. Fungi are vastly understudied in the marine realm and knowledge of their function is constrained by the current understanding of fungal distribution and drivers on global scales. To investigate the spatial distribution of fungi in the western Arctic and sub-Arctic, we used high throughput methods to sequence 18S rRNA, cloned and sequenced 28S rRNA and microscopically counted chytrid-infected diatoms. We identified a broad distribution of fungal taxa predominated by Chytridiomycota and Dikarya. Phylogenetic analysis of our Chytridiomycota clones placed Arctic marine fungi sister to the order Lobulomycetales. This clade of fungi predominated in fungal communities under ice with low snowpack. Microscopic examination of fixed seawater and sea ice samples revealed chytrids parasitizing diatoms collected across the Arctic that notably infected 25% of a single diatom species in the Bering Sea. The Pezizomycotina comprised > 95% of eukaryotic sequence reads in Greenland, providing preliminary evidence for osmotrophs being a substitute for algae as the base of food webs.
Clonal Variability and Field Performance in Sweet Potatoes Propagated in vitro

Tissue culture techniques, particularly short-term culture procedures such as shoot-tip culture and regeneration from primary ex-plants, have been proposed as methods for obtaining large numbers of plants identical to the plant used as an expiant source. Sweet potatoes, although a clonally propagated crop, typically show large yield differences among plants at harvest, with variations that are significant even within rows that appear quite uniform and productive. This study was designed to compare the effects of propagation method, including 3 in vitro propagation methods (2 types of regeneration from leaf expiants and lateral bud culture), nodal propagation, and slips and cuttings from bedded roots, on field performance and variability. The study was repeated a second year, and a carryover study, for which plants were obtained from the bedded roots of the first year’s study, was also completed. Each hill was individually evaluated for yield, skin and flesh color mutation frequency, dry matter, and protein content.
Short-Scar Facelift with Extended SMAS/Platysma Dissection and Limited Skin Undermining

Short-scar cervicofacial rhytidectomy achieves fully advanced results as much as any extended scar facelift, but it also achieves this result with a much shorter incision and lesser skin undermining that in turn decreases complications. The author describes the short-scar technique with the benefits, advantages, and disadvantages of the procedure.
The Decision‐Making/Accountability Spatial Incongruence Problem for Research Linking Environmental Science and Policy

Increasingly, scholars engage policy makers around fundamental, complex questions on environmental change in interdisciplinary settings. Researchers attempting to develop robust contributions to knowledge that can support policymaker understandings in this context face significant inferential challenges in dealing with the spatial dimension of their phenomenon of interest. In this paper, we extend an understanding of well-defined methodological challenges familiar to applied spatial scientists by explicitly articulating the Decision-Making/Accountability, Spatial Incongruence Problem, or DASIP. Three case studies illustrate how spatial incongruences matter to researchers who work on complex, interdisciplinary problems, while seeking to understand decision-making or policy-related phenomenon: urban heat-island mitigation research in Arizona, water transfer conflicts in Kansas, and hydraulic-fracturing debates in Texas. With such examples, we aim to evoke a deeper understanding of this problem in applied research and also inspire thinking about how scholars might innovate methods for creating knowledge about environmental change that supports spatially accountable decision making.
Impact of diagnosis of von Willebrand disease on patient outcomes: Analysis of medical insurance claims data

The inherited bleeding disorder von Willebrand disease (VWD) is challenging to diagnose owing to disease heterogeneity, lack of a definitive laboratory test and variations in diagnostic criteria. We evaluated the impact of diagnosis and diagnostic delay on patient outcomes. The PharMetrics Plus Database was interrogated for medical claims for VWD (ICD-9 286.4) and bleeding events between 1 January 2006 and 30 June 2015. Longitudinal analysis was performed of patients newly diagnosed with VWD (≥9 months' continuous enrolment before first VWD claim) through 24 months following diagnosis. In total, 32 028 diagnosed, including 18 182 newly diagnosed, patients were identified. Most patients (72%) were female. Prediagnosis, bleeding symptoms were most commonly managed by a hospitalist/emergency room physician. Misrecognition of VWD was common, with 25% of patients visiting the same specialist type at least twice for an episodic bleed before diagnosis. Thirty-seven percentage of patients had no diagnostic laboratory test within 24 months of their initial diagnostic claim. Bleed claims reduced following diagnosis: 41% and 26% of female and male patients, respectively, had claims in the year prediagnosis, falling to 21% and 9% of patients at 1-2 years postdiagnosis. The proportion of patients with multiple bleed claims also decreased, from 17% to 6% (females) and 7% to 3% (males). Serially misrecognized patients continued to have more bleeding episodes than other patients, although bleed frequency was lower than before diagnosis. There is a need for improved patient management from bleeding presentation onward to reduce the time to VWD diagnosis and to enhance patient outcomes.
Indentation-Induced Shear Band Formation in Thin-Film Multilayers

We report an exploratory investigation into the cause of shear band formation in multilayer thin-films subject to nanoindentation. The material system considered here is composed of alternating aluminum (Al) and silicon carbide (SiC) nanolayers, atop a silicon (Si) substrate. Finite element models are developed in an attempt to reproduce the shear banding phenomenon observed experimentally. By introducing strain softening into the material model for the hard SiC layers, shear bands can be seen to emerge from the indentation site in the finite element analysis. Broad implications, along with possible directions for future work, are discussed.
Shylocks to superheroes: Jewish scrap dealers in Anglo-American popular culture

For centuries, Jewish entrepreneurs have worked in the second-hand goods economy. Closely allied with pawnbroking, dealing in second-hand goods made it possible for Jews, often forbidden from ownin...
A Professionally Successful Man with the Midlife Onset of Severe Depression and Associated Suicidal Intent

This patient was a professionally successful man with midlife onset of severe depression without systemic illness. Psychiatric hospitalization was refused by patient and recovery attributed to skillful psychiatric treatment in collaboration with a committed spouse. Of note in this case is the medical and psychotherapeutic skill of the treating psychiatrist.
Monoclonal Antibodies to the Light Harvesting Chlorophyll-Protein Complex

The light harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein complex binds antenna pigments which serve to transfer absorbed light energy to photosystem II for use in photosynthesis. Recently LHC-II has been the subject of much research aimed at determining its structure and function in the regulation of exciton distribution between the photosystems and cation-mediated thylakoid stacking (for review see 1,2). Despite this activity, however, the structure of the LHC-II and the factors which regulate pigment binding have remained undetermined. Distinguishing among the LHC-II polypeptides has proven to be difficult. When analyzed with SDS-PAGE, LHC-II is comprised of a group of polypeptides between 23 and 29 kD apparent molecular weight which are difficult to separate from each other. The number of polypeptides reported in isolated LHC-II has varied from two to five. At least two of these polypeptides have been shown to be similar in amino acid composition and to display similar partial proteolytic maps (1). Furthermore, the role of these polypeptides in LHC-II function is unknown. At least one of the polypeptides has been shown to be phosphorylated (1), but otherwise the polypeptides have been hypothesized to function interchangeably in the LHC-II (3).