cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Depression, Immunosuppressant Levels, and Clinical Outcomes in Postlung Transplant Recipients:

ObjectivePosttransplant depression has been linked to increased risk for adverse outcomes in lung transplant patients. Maintaining target serum immunosuppressant levels is also essential for optima...
Seasteading and Polycentric Law

This chapter considers the implications of the Seasteading Institute upon notions of law and sovereignty and argues that seasteading could make possible the implementation or ordering of polycentric legal systems while providing evidence for the viability of private-property anarchism or anarchocapitalism, at least in their nascent forms. This chapter follows in the wake of Edward P. Stringham’s edition Anarchy and the Law and treats seasteading and polycentric law as concrete realities that lend credence to certain anarchist theories. Polycentric law in particular allows for institutional diversity that enables a multiplicity of rules to coexist and even compete in the open market as well as the marketplace of ideas.
Chapter 4 – Climbing the Ladder

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the process of professional growth and advancement. Virtually everyone who attains a high-level position spends years acquiring the experience and skills that job requires, by working in lower level positions. As a metaphor for advancing in career, climbing the ladder has a few problems if taken too literally. In the science field, there are two ladders rather than one. One ladder consists of jobs that are predominantly or always technical, at the top of which might be a corporate fellow or an endowed chair. The other introduces supervisory and managerial roles such as serving as a project leader, department head, or dean. The key for making the best choices is to be honest about personal and professional qualities and goals, to periodically weigh these—and the satisfaction with current job—against opportunities that arise, and making decisions deliberately. Just as organizations have a unique culture, so too science has a culture distinct from other disciplines, and the values promoted by science need to be understood if a person is to be successful. Ironically, while science rewards specialization and technical depth rather than breadth, the positions that relate to administration and management of science require at least a perfunctory understanding of a broad range of technical disciplines.
Corruption in Russia: concept, types, determinants

Today nbsp corruption nbsp is nbsp not nbsp only nbsp a nbsp problem nbsp of nbsp Russia nbsp it nbsp is nbsp a nbsp problem nbsp of nbsp many nbsp countries nbsp Corruption destroys the moral fabric of society and poses a serious threat to the security of society At the same time there is no single and unambiguous concept of this phenomenon in science Based on the analysis of different approaches to the definition of the term ldquo corruption rdquo the concept of corruption is clarified The author identifies the types of corruption nbsp crimes nbsp forms nbsp of nbsp corruption nbsp the nbsp most nbsp common nbsp in nbsp Russia nbsp and nbsp analyzes nbsp the nbsp consequences of corruption crimes The main causes and conditions that contribute to the reproduction of corruption in Russia are identified In conclusion the author comes to the conclusion that the understanding of the determinants will help to improve the focus of the authorities and the office for the prevention of corruption crime
COVID-19 Presenting as Acute Bilateral Submassive Pulmonary Embolism in a Young Healthy Female.

Similar symptoms, signs, and laboratory abnormalities between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and pulmonary embolism (PE) creates a diagnostic challenge to every physician, and emerging data show an association between COVID-19, hypercoagulable state, and venous thromboembolism. We present a rare case of COVID-19 presented as bilateral sub-massive PE. A 28-year-old COVID-19 positive female with no significant past medical history presented with a dry cough and shortness of breath for three days. Initial laboratory test showed elevated D-dimer, electrocardiogram (EKG) showed right axis deviation, right ventricular strain pattern, and SI QIII TIII pattern, and echocardiogram (ECHO) showed right ventricular dysfunction. Those two bedside tests directed the urgency of chest CT angiography that showed bilateral sub-massive PE. Since EKG finding of SI QIII TIII pattern and right ventricular strain, and ECHO finding of right ventricular dysfunction are well described in PE but not in COVID-19, these bedside diagnostic tools can help identify COVID-19 patients with underlining PEs.
Regional Alterations in Cortical Sulcal Depth in Living Fetuses with Down Syndrome.

Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of developmental disabilities. Advanced analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to find brain abnormalities and their relationship to neurocognitive impairments in children and adolescents with DS. Because genetic factors affect brain development in early fetal life, there is a growing interest in analyzing brains from living fetuses with DS. In this study, we investigated regional sulcal folding depth as well as global cortical gyrification from fetal brain MRIs. Nine fetuses with DS (29.1 ± 4.24 gestational weeks [mean ± standard deviation]) were compared with 17 typically developing [TD] fetuses (28.4 ± 3.44). Fetuses with DS showed lower whole-brain average sulcal depths and gyrification index than TD fetuses. Significant decreases in sulcal depth were found in bilateral Sylvian fissures and right central and parieto-occipital sulci. On the other hand, significantly increased sulcal depth was shown in the left superior temporal sulcus, which is related to atypical hemispheric asymmetry of cortical folding. Moreover, these group differences increased as gestation progressed. This study demonstrates that regional sulcal depth is a sensitive marker for detecting alterations of cortical development in DS during fetal life, which may be associated with later neurocognitive impairment.
Closure of a Prosthetic Mitral Valve Paravalvular Leak Using a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) Amplatzer Occluder Device

BACKGROUND Paravalvular leaks (PVL) are becoming more commonly experienced in clinical practice due to the increasing number of mitral valve replacements performed. There are about 182 000 valve replacements performed annually, with a 5-15% prevalence rate of paravalvular leaks. Due to increased mortality associated with surgical repair, percutaneous transcatheter closure procedures are increasingly being performed as an alternative to repeat surgery. CASE REPORT We present the case of a 52-year-old woman with past medical history of mitral valve endocarditis who developed worsening acute heart failure 1 month after surgical bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement. Transesophageal echocardiography at the time revealed dehiscence of the bioprosthetic mitral valve and severe mitral regurgitation. She subsequently had emergent surgical bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement and annular reconstruction. The post-operative course was complicated by increasing dyspnea and lower-extremity edema, with recurrent pericardial tamponade requiring placement of a pericardial window. Based on her multiple comorbidities, most notably the concomitant right ventricular failure with severe pulmonary hypertension and prior pericardial patch repair with compromise of her mitral valve annulus, she was deemed inoperable for re-do surgery and eventually underwent a successful percutaneous closure of the mitral paravalvular leak with a ventricular septal defect (VSD) Amplatzer occluder device. The patient made good recovery and was discharged home a few days after the procedure. CONCLUSIONS Although use of the Amplatzer VSD occluder device for this indication currently remains off-label, our report supports the use of the VSD occluder device in this subset of patients considering the high mortality rates associated with repeat surgical procedure.
A rapid, accurate, scalable, and portable testing system for COVID-19 diagnosis.

The need for rapid, accurate, and scalable testing systems for COVID-19 diagnosis is clear and urgent. Here, we report a rapid Scalable and Portable Testing (SPOT) system consisting of a rapid, highly sensitive, and accurate assay and a battery-powered portable device for COVID-19 diagnosis. The SPOT assay comprises a one-pot reverse transcriptase-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) followed by PfAgo-based target sequence detection. It is capable of detecting the N gene and E gene in a multiplexed reaction with the limit of detection (LoD) of 0.44 copies/μL and 1.09 copies/μL, respectively, in SARS-CoV-2 virus-spiked saliva samples within 30 min. Moreover, the SPOT system is used to analyze 104 clinical saliva samples and identified 28/30 (93.3% sensitivity) SARS-CoV-2 positive samples (100% sensitivity if LoD is considered) and 73/74 (98.6% specificity) SARS-CoV-2 negative samples. This combination of speed, accuracy, sensitivity, and portability will enable high-volume, low-cost access to areas in need of urgent COVID-19 testing capabilities. There is a clear need for rapid, accurate and scalable Covid-19 diagnostics. Here the authors use PfAgo to detect viral sequences amplified by RT-LAMP in a handheld battery-powered device.
Becoming an Executive Education Faculty Leader of Choice

This case provides an opportunity for students to consider and discuss the multifaceted responsibilities of an executive education (EE) custom program faculty leader. The case suggests that such a faculty leader has responsibilities and tasks paralleling many of the protagonists involved in building a custom home (i.e., builder/general contractor, designer/architect, site supervisor, county inspector, and key operations client liaison). As a starting point, students can identify what is involved in each of these familiar roles for building a custom home and then extrapolate those into the custom EE program setting for a faculty leader. Excerpt UVA-PHA-0081 Dec. 8, 2020 Becoming an Executive Education Faculty Leader of Choice Soledad Salinas was in her 12th year as a member of the faculty at the Gail Palmer Ashton Graduate School of Business. She had successfully navigated the tenure hurdle, her MBA students loved her, and she had more invites for research presentations around the country than she could accept. For the past five years, she had also done well on the school's executive education (EE) instructional delivery teams for two high-profile custom clients. As the saying goes, she had hit her stride—her professional life was robust, interesting, rewarding, and she had settled into a manageable rhythm. The Office Visit As Salinas was preparing to send her fall semester grades to the Registrar, Rick Harper poked his head in her office door. “Got a minute?” he asked with a warm smile. . . .
A Constructivist Study of Graduate Assistants' Healthcare Experiences in a Research University

This constructivist study explores 16 graduate assistants’ (GAs) healthcare experiences and uses grounded theory to create a model of graduate assistants’ experiences with university-provided healthcare in a large research university. The model is composed of four broad components: (a) systems; (b) access, care and coverage; (c) knowledge, quality and cost; and (d) self. Graduate assistants’ needs and expectations constantly negotiate various systems in the model. Expanding upon the limited research regarding graduate student healthcare, this study provides implications for higher education administrators and policy makers. Based on our study findings we argue that it is not sufficient for university administrations to simply provide paid health insurance “options” without robust support systems on campus. Because students are often stressed out, lack time and energy, and find it hard to navigate the complicated systems of profit-driven health care industry, the lack of direct support in graduate students’ day-to-day healthcare needs can cause tremendous loss on their success and productivity. Hence, universities have tremendous opportunities to better understand and address their graduate students’ real needs so as to add value to institutional success and productivity
Neuro-Behçet's Syndrome:Case Reports Emphasizing Challenges of Early Diagnosis (P2.075)

OBJECTIVE: To review two cases of Neuro-Behcet9s Syndrome (NBS) and discuss diagnostic and treatment considerations. BACKGROUND: Isolated CNS involvement is the presenting feature in 5[percnt] of Behcet cases; NBS also uncommonly occurs with systemic symptoms. The rarity of NBS causes frequent misdiagnosis at onset, leading to delays in treatment. DESIGN/METHODS: Case reports (n=2) with review of imaging and literature. RESULTS: Case 1. A 57 year-old woman presented with subacute dizziness, ataxia, and confusion. Imaging revealed right thalamic lesions on MRI. She was diagnosed with subacute stroke. One year later she returned with double vision, left hand and face numbness, and left hand weakness. Repeat MRI showed lesion recurrence, and MR SPECT was consistent with inflammation. CSF revealed only mild pleocytosis with lymphocytic predominance. Symptoms and imaging improved with steroids and steroid-sparing agents. Case 2. A 37-year-old man with a history of recurrent oral and genital ulcers and drug abuse presented with headache. He was initially diagnosed with aseptic meningitis. A month later, he developed sudden onset of diplopia, left-sided hemiparesis, ataxia and worsening headache. MRI demonstrated lesions in the right internal capsule, thalamus, cerebral peduncle, and midbrain. CSF showed pleocytosis with lymphocytic predominance. He rapidly improved spontaneously. CONCLUSIONS: In both cases, NBS was ultimately diagnosed based on characteristic MRI findings, particularly fluctuating brain stem-diencephalic involvement, superimposed on supportive clinical and CSF profiles. Challenges to early diagnosis are highlighted by our cases and by the literature. The differential diagnosis is often broad at onset. Mucocutaenous symptoms can be a clue but may not be present. Awareness of NBS and its neuroimaging correlates is critical to enable timely diagnosis, particularly given that this condition can favorably respond to steroids and steroid-sparing agents. Disclosure: Dr. Feldman has nothing to disclose.
Na Incorporation in Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S) 2 Films Grown on Insulator-Coated Stainless Steel Foil Using a Metal Precursor Reaction

Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 (CIGSS) films are formed on flexible 430 stainless steel foils through reacting Cu–In–Ga metal precursors in H2Se and H2S. The foils are coated using an electrically insulating silicone-based resin that can sustain temperatures as high as 600 °C. NaF films with various thicknesses are deposited between the metal precursor and Mo back contact in order to incorporate Na into the CIGSS films. The metal precursor reaction with the extrinsic Na incorporation results in greater Ga homogenization and S incorporation. The higher Na incorporation enhances $V_{{\rm OC}}$ and lowers $J_{{\rm SC}}$ . The temperature-dependent $V_{{\rm OC}}$ and drive-level capacitance profiling measurements reveal that the Na incorporation results in higher activation energy of the recombination and increased carrier density.
Phalanx: withstanding multimillion-node botnets

Large-scale distributed denial of service (DoS) attacks are an unfortunate everyday reality on the Internet. They are simple to execute and with the growing prevalence and size of botnets more effective than ever. Although much progress has been made in developing techniques to address DoS attacks, no existing solution is unilaterally deployable, works with the Internet model of open access and dynamic routes, and copes with the large numbers of attackers typical of today's botnets. In this paper, we present a novel DoS prevention scheme to address these issues. Our goal is to define a system that could be deployed in the next few years to address the danger from present-day massive botnets. The system, called Phalanx, leverages the power of swarms to combat DoS. Phalanx makes only the modest assumption that the aggregate capacity of the swarm exceeds that of the botnet. A client communicating with a destination bounces its packets through a random sequence of end-host mailboxes; because an attacker doesn't know the sequence, they can disrupt at most only a fraction of the traffic, even for end-hosts with low bandwidth access links. We use PlanetLab to show that this approach can be both efficient and capable of withstanding attack. We further explore scalability with a simulator running experiments on top of measured Internet topologies.
Neurochemical and histologic characterization of striatal excitotoxic lesions produced by the mitochondrial toxin 3-nitropropionic acid

An impairment of energy metabolism may underlie slow excitotoxic neuronal death in neurodegenerative diseases. We therefore examined the effects of intrastriatal, subacute systemic, or chronic systemic administration of the mitochondrial toxin 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) in rats. Following intrastriatal injection 3-NP produced dose-dependent striatal lesions. Neurochemical and histologic evaluation showed that markers of both spiny projection neurons (GABA, substance P, calbindin) and aspiny interneurons (somatostatin, neuropeptide Y, NADPH- diaphorase) were equally affected. Subacute systemic administration of 3-NP produced age-dependent bilateral striatal lesions with a similar neurochemical profile. However, in contrast to the intrastriatal injections, striatal dopaminergic afferent projections were spared. Both freeze-clamp measurements and chemical shift magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that 3-NP impairs energy metabolism in the striatum in vivo. Microdialysis showed no increase in extracellular glutamate concentrations after systemic administration of 3-NP. The lesions produced by intrastriatal injection or systemic administration of 3-NP were blocked by prior decortication. However, the NMDA antagonist MK- 801 did not block the effects of intrastriatal 3-NP, consistent with a non-NMDA excitotoxic mechanism. In contrast to subacute systemic administration of 3-NP, chronic (1 month) administration produced lesions confined to the striatum in which there was relative sparing of NADPH-diaphorase interneurons, consistent with an NMDA excitotoxic process. Chronic administration showed growth-related proliferative changes in dendrites of spiny neurons similar to changes in Huntington's disease (HD). These results are consistent with in vitro studies showing that mild metabolic compromise can selectively activate NMDA receptors while more severe compromise activates both NMDA and non- NMDA receptors. Chronic administration of 3-NP over 1 month produces selective striatal lesions that replicate many of the characteristic histologic and neurochemical features of HD.
Direct visualization of the gamma secretase‐generated carboxyl‐terminal domain of the amyloid precursor protein: association with Fe65 and translocation to the nucleus

Amyloid-beta, the peptide that deposits as senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease, is derived from the amyloid precursor protein (APP) by a gamma secretase-mediated intramembranous cleavage. In addition to amyloid-beta, this cleavage produces a carboxyl-terminal intracellular fragment which has an unknown function. The carboxyl-terminal domain of APP interacts in the cytoplasm with an adapter protein, Fe65. We demonstrate by laser scanning confocal microscopy that a gamma secretase generated APP carboxyl-terminal domain, tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP), translocates to the nucleus in a manner dependent upon stabilization by the adapter protein Fe65; APP which has been mutated to block interactions with Fe65 cannot be detected in the nucleus. The APP-CT domain continues to interact with Fe65 in the nucleus, as determined by both colocalization and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Visualization of the APP-CT-Fe65 complex in the nucleus may serve as a readout for processes that modify gamma secretase release of APP-CT.
Chapter 1 – Central Nervous System Stimulants and Drugs That Suppress Appetite

The Side Effects of Drugs Annuals form a series of volumes in which the adverse effects and adverse reactions of drugs are surveyed. The series supplements the contents of Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs: the International Encyclopedia of Adverse Drug Reactions and Interactions. This is a review of the July 2013 to December 2014 publications on central nervous system stimulants and drugs that suppress appetite. This chapter covers amphetamines (including lisdexamfetamine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymetamphetamine), methylphenidate, modafinil and armodafinil, methylxanthines (caffeine), monotherapies and combinational therapies that suppress appetite (lorcaserin, naltrexone/bupropion, phentermine, and phentermine/topiramate) as well as medications used in Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline (rivastigmine, donepezil and galantamine).
A new algorithm for IFFD generation

The authors describes the automated generation of optimal irregular fractional factorial designs (IFFDs), and for regular maximal subset designs (MSDs), for processes involving 2-level factors. They describe mechanisms on separating out confounded effects and new, efficient methods for IFFD generation. It is concluded that, although finding IFFD solutions by using a seed set of tests as a restriction shows some promise as a way to limit the search space, much work needs to be orchestrated toward solving a requirement set containing higher-order interactions. >
Geriatric Sexual Dysfunction: A Case Survey

This study examines questionnaire data obtained from a group of older persons with sexual dysfunction mistakenly referred through a newspaper column. These 35 respondents (28 men, seven women) were characterized by age (43–82 years), symptomatic sexual problems, and a willingness to write about them. They were chiefly men who had varying degrees of erectile failure and were negatively affected by the development of their problems. Two thirds had consulted a physician. The older subjects were more likely to be abstinent, to have total erectile failure (if men), to have known their physicians only a short time, and to describe their physicians as uninterested or pessimistic. Couples involving a medically ill wife, couples married for a long time, and couples who defined sexuality in a nonaffective way were less affected by the development of sexual difficulties. A small group of older men had become impotent because of prolonged abstinence related to lengthy illnesses of their wives. These findings indicate that some physicians show an age-related bias in treating such patients; some contributory factors are outlined. The data may help clinicians in their counseling of such patients and in the identification of certain subgroups at risk. Directions are suggested for further systematic research.
Ozonation as a clean technology for fresh produce industry and environment: sanitizer efficiency and wastewater quality

Aims Inactivating microbial contaminants in fresh produce commonly uses chlorine washing. The effectiveness of ozone was explored as an alternative to chlorine in produce washing for ensuring microbial safety while maximizing water reusability. Methods and Results An ozone washing system was designed to permit continuous addition of contaminated produce and the reuse of washing water. The effectiveness of ozonation (<2 mg l−1) was determined using Bacillus subtilis spores as a stricter measure of efficiency with processing time of 10 min. As a comparison, chlorine (c. 100 mg l−1) was tested in parallel. Water quality characteristics, including chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, disinfectants concentration and microbial reduction were measured. Ozonation showed an average of 1·56 log reduction of B. subtilis spores on lettuce, while chlorination achieved a 1·30 log reduction. The effluents after ozonation demonstrated improved water quality, both in physicochemical quality and microbial quality compared to chlorination. Conclusion Aqueous ozone treatment is effective against microbial contaminants on fresh produce and enables extended use of washing water. Significance and Impact of the Study The results provide significant data about ozone disinfection efficacy and its impact on the water reusability, which can facilitate the ozone utilization in the fresh produce production as an environmental friendly alternative.
The Local Lyα Forest. III. Relationship between Lyα Absorbers and Galaxies, Voids, and Superclusters*

In this paper we use large-angle, nearby galaxy redshift surveys to investigate the relationship between the 81 low-redshift Lyα absorbers in our Hubble Space Telescope GHRS survey and galaxies, superclusters, and voids. In a subsample of 46 Lyα absorbers located in regions where the 2000 February 8 CfA catalog is complete down to at least L* galaxies, the nearest galaxy neighbors range from 100 h kpc to greater than 10 h Mpc. Of these 46 absorbers, eight are found in galaxy voids. After correcting for path length and sensitivity, we find that 22% ± 8% of the Lyα absorbers lie in voids, which requires that at least some low column density absorbers are not extended halos of individual bright galaxies. The number density of these clouds yields a baryon fraction of 4.5% ± 1.5% in voids. The stronger Lyα absorbers (1013.2-1015.4 cm-2) cluster with galaxies more weakly than galaxies cluster with each other, while the weaker absorbers (1012.4-1013.2 cm-2) are more randomly distributed. The median distance from a low-z Lyα absorber in our sample to its nearest galaxy neighbor (~500 h kpc) is twice the median distance between bright galaxies in the same survey volume. This makes any purported "association" between these Lyα absorbers and individual galaxies problematic. The suggested correlation between Lyα absorber equivalent width () and nearest galaxy impact parameter does not extend to ≤ 200 mA or to impact parameters greater than 200 h kpc. Instead, we find statistical support for the contention that absorbers align with large-scale filaments of galaxies. The pair of sight lines, 3C 273 and Q1230+0115, separated by 09 on the sky, provides an example of eight absorbers and seven galaxies aligned along a possible filamentary structure at least 20 h Mpc long. While some strong ( > 400 mA) Lyα absorbers may be gas in the extended gaseous halos of individual galaxies, much of the local Lyα "forest" appears to be associated with the large-scale structures of galaxies and some with voids.
The PedsQL in pediatric rheumatology: reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Generic Core Scales and Rheumatology Module.

Objective The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) is a modular instrument designed to measure health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children and adolescents ages 2–18 years. The 23-item PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales are multidimensional child self-report and parent proxy-report scales developed as the generic core measure to be integrated with the PedsQL disease-specific modules. The 22-item PedsQL 3.0 Rheumatology Module was designed to measure pediatric rheumatology–specific HRQOL. This study was undertaken to demonstrate the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales and the PedsQL 3.0 Rheumatology Module in pediatric rheumatology. Methods The 4 PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales (physical, emotional, social, and school functioning) and the 5 PedsQL 3.0 Rheumatology Module scales (pain and hurt, daily activities, treatment, worry, and communication) were administered to 231 children and 244 parents (271 subjects accrued overall) recruited from a pediatric rheumatology clinic. Results Internal consistency reliability for the PedsQL Generic Core total scale score (α = 0.91 for child self report, α = 0.93 for parent proxy report), physical health summary score (α = 0.87 for child self report, α = 0.89 for parent proxy report), and psychosocial health summary score (α = 0.86 for child self report, α = 0.90 for parent proxy report) were acceptable for group comparisons. The Rheumatology Module scales also demonstrated acceptable reliability for group comparisons (α = 0.75–0.86 for child self report, α = 0.82–0.91 for parent proxy report). Validity was demonstrated using the known-groups method. The PedsQL distinguished between healthy children and children with rheumatic diseases as a group. The responsiveness of the PedsQL was demonstrated through patient change over time as a result of clinical intervention. Conclusion The results demonstrate the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales and the PedsQL 3.0 Rheumatology Module in pediatric rheumatology.
Alignability vs. bandwidth and signal-to-noise ratio for optical interconnects

It is desirable to design an optical interconnect so that it has high bandwidth, signal-to-noise ratio, and alignability. Examining the relationship between the alignability and bandwidth and the alignability and signal-to-noise ratio shows that increasing the alignability can lead to a simultaneous increase in the signal-to-noise ratio, but a decrease in the bandwidth. To find a design which balances these opposing effects, the product of alignability, signal-to-noise ratio, and bandwidth is plotted versus the normalized detector size of the interconnect. The peak of this curve yields the optimum detector size for the given physical interconnect design. Using this detector size, the interconnect's signal power and receiver parameters can be altered, as needed, to yield the required bandwidth and signal-to-noise ratio.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Posterior descending artery origin from the left anterior descending: An unusual coronary artery variant

We recently observed the unusual origin of the posterior descending from the left anterior descending coronary artery in three patients undergoing coronary angiography. These three cases are presented and the clinical implications of this variation are discussed.
A FRESH APPROACH TO THE PLACE OF CONSUMER CREDIT IN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL THINKING

FEW AREAS IN THE FIELDS of economics and finance have been approached from such divergent points of view as consumer credit. Some prophets of doom have feared that the growth of consumer credit might prove to be the undoing of our whole economic system. On the other hand some of its most enthusiastic supporters have maintained that it is one of the most important of the factors responsible for our present high standard of living. Many shades of opinion between these extremes have also been expressed. Since the depression days of the thirties and especially since the publication of Consumer Credit and Economic Stability by Rolf Nugent, many economists have argued that consumer credit plays an important causal role in producing cyclical fluctuations and therefore should be regulated so as to control the amount granted during prosperity periods. As background for a somewhat different approach to consumer credit several of the past approaches will be summarized. The writers whose works are considered have not necessarily been chosen because they are the outstanding men who have written on this subject, but because their views represent different approaches to consumer credit which have had an influence on thinking and practice in the field.
Dawn, diacylglycerol, calcium, and protein kinase C — the retinal wrecking crew. A signal transduction cascade for rhabdom shedding in the Limulus eye

Vertebrate and invertebrate photoreceptors shed their photosensitive membrane on a daily basis. Although we have detailed knowledge of the morphology of the disc shedding and renewal process in vertebrate photoreceptors, and of the turnover of rhabdom in invertebrate photoreceptors, we know relatively little about the molecular mechanisms whereby these processes are triggered by light and/or by circadian efferent input to the retina. We have used the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, as a model system to unravel the molecular means by which the trigger light is communicated to the intracellular machinery responsible for the daily breakdown of the photosensitive membrane. Phorbol esters, potent and specific activators of protein kinase C (PKC), induce a robust burst of rhabdom shedding when injected subretinally into the compound lateral eye of Limulus. This occurs in the absence of the light trigger normally required to initiate shedding in the lateral eye at dawn, suggesting that PKC may play a role in the light triggering of rhabdom shedding. Diacylglycerol (DAG) analogs were also found to elicit rhabdom shedding in the lateral eye without a light trigger, but at uncharacteristically high concentrations. However, injecting inositol trisphosphate (InsP3) and DAG analog simultaneously results in a tenfold decrease in the concentration of DAG analog required to initiate a shedding event. Immunohistochemical screening for PKC in the lateral eye shows that two isozymes (PKC beta II and PKC zeta) are co-localized to the retinular cell rhabdom. Taken together, these data suggest that light triggers rhabdom shedding at dawn via a classical Ca(2+)-sensitive PKC, similar to PKC beta II, which is activated synergistically by the light-evoked production of DAG and InsP3.
Plant transformation: A pilus in Agrobacterium T-DNA transfer

Abstract Agrobacterium tumefaciens transfers a protein–DNA complex to plant cells in a process similar to bacterial conjugation; the mechanism of transfer is beginning to be unravelled by biochemical, genetic and electron microscopic studies.
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy – An emerging chemical sensor technology for real-time field-portable, geochemical, mineralogical, and environmental applications

Abstract Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a simple spark spectrochemical sensor technology in which a laser beam is directed at a sample surface to create a high-temperature microplasma and a detector used to collect the spectrum of light emission and record its intensity at specific wavelengths. LIBS is an emerging chemical sensor technology undergoing rapid advancement in instrumentation capability and in areas of application. Attributes of a LIBS sensor system include: (i) small size and weight; (ii) technologically mature, inherently rugged, and affordable components; (iii) real-time response; (iv) in situ analysis with no sample preparation required; (v) a high sensitivity to low atomic weight elements which are difficult to determine by other field-portable sensor techniques, and (vi) point sensing or standoff detection. Recent developments in broadband LIBS provide the capability for detection at very high resolution (0.1 nm) of all elements in any unknown target material because all chemical elements emit in the 200–980 nm spectral region. This progress portends a unique potential for the development of a rugged and reliable field-portable chemical sensor that has the potential to be utilized in variety of geochemical, mineralogical, and environmental applications.
Practical Strategies to Promote High Quality Authentic Student Research in High School Settings

Review of : Success with Science: The Winner’s Guide to High School Research ; Shiv Gaglani with Maria Elena De Obaldia, Scott Duke Kominers, Dayan Li, and Carol Y. Suh; (2011). Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement, Tucson, AZ. 180 pages.
Experimental and natural infection with Bartonella henselae in domestic cats

Domestic cats were experimentally infected with culture propagated Bartonella henselae by intradermal (i.d.) and intravenous (i.v.) routes. Cats were more efficiently infected by the i.d. (8/8 cats) than by the i.v. (2/16) route. Bacteremia was detected 1-3 weeks following inoculation and lasted for most cats for 1-8 months. However, one naturally infected cat was observed for 24 months and was found to be cyclically bacteremic, with bacterial levels varying one hundred fold or more from one period to another. No clinical or hematologic abnormalities were observed in any of the infected cats, even at the peak of bacteremia. Two cats that had become abacteremic were resistant to reinfection when inoculated with B. henselae a second time. Horizontal transmission through intimate contact between bacteremic and susceptible cats did not occur, and antibody positive bacteremic queens did not transmit the infection to their kittens in utero, peri-partum or post-partum. Only four of the 18 kittens acquired detectable levels of maternal antibody following nursing, which disappeared by 6 weeks of age. These studies indicate that B. henselae exists in an almost perfect host-parasite relationship with its feline host, but that most cats can ultimately rid themselves of the infection. The susceptibility of cats to intradermal infection and the lack of direct cat-cat transmission are compatible with possible arthropod vectors.
Acupuncture for the treatment of post-chemotherapy chronic fatigue: a randomized, blinded, sham-controlled trial

Purpose Many cancer patients experience persistent fatigue after the completion of chemotherapy. A previous single-arm study provided evidence for an effect of acupuncture in this population. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether acupuncture reduces post-chemotherapy chronic fatigue more effectively than sham acupuncture.
Nonlinear dynamic compensation for large-feedback control of a servomechanism with multiple nonlinearities

Abstract Performance is often sacrificed in favor of stability robustness in applied control. This is usually implemented in the form of low-order compensation and reduced bandwidths to gain-stabilize uncertain modes at high frequency and maintain large reserves of gain and phase margin over a range of crossover frequencies. These performance reducing measures must be enhanced if the plant or actuators are known to exhibit nonlinear characteristics that cause variations in loop transmission. Common causes of these behaviors are actuator saturation and friction/stiction in moving parts of mechanical systems. While the former is easily modeled, the latter is more complicated and consensus models of sufficient fidelity for high performance feedback control do not exist. Systems with these characteristics that also have stringent closed loop performance requirements present the control designer with an extremely challenging problem. This paper presents a design method for these systems that combines very aggressive Nyquist-stable linear control to provide large negative feedback with nonlinear feedback to compensate for the effects of multiple nonlinearities in the loop that threaten stability and performance. The efficacy of this approach is experimentally verified on a parallel kinematic mechanism used for vibration suppression, and is shown to provide up to 38 dB of disturbance rejection over the functional bandwidth of 10 Hz with 40 Hz crossover while suppressing oscillations caused by friction or actuator saturation. This is approximately an order of magnitude more feedback over the functional bandwidth than a second-order roll-off controller with the same bandwidth.
Slack resources and firm performance: a meta-analysis☆

Although organizational research posits various relationships between a firm's slack resources and performance, findings to date have been ambiguous. To provide insight into this relationship, this study employed a meta-analysis based on 80 samples from 66 studies (n=54,249). Results provided evidence of a positive relationship among all three slack types (i.e., available, recoverable, and potential) and financial performance and showed that studies controlling for industry-relative performance demonstrated a stronger positive potential slack–performance relationship than those not including these controls. The analysis also found that studies employing lagged slack measures did not show a stronger positive slack–performance relationship than those employing current year measures for either recoverable or potential slack, a result counter to the one hypothesized. Overall, results highlight the importance of additional research into intervening factors impacting the slack–performance relationship.
The need for a leftward shift in the flow-depth relationship during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Dr. Tomlinson and colleagues1 published a study of chest compression force—depth relationship during out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). They reported that the minimum recommended compression depth of 38mm was achieved in 87 of 91 patients (61 men and 30 women) and that more than half the patients were, at some point, compressed to the maximum recommended compression depth of 51mm. They also concluded that in most adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims it takes less than 50 kg of force to compress the chest 38mm and that an average-sized and fit rescuer should be able to perform effective CPR in most adult patients. However, if achieving a compression depth of 51mm (at some point) in more than half the patients is recommended, this means that an adequate compression depth was likely achieved in all of the women (30) and in some of the men (16—18), which is only between 25 and 30% of the male victims. Moreover, since a 51mm compression depth was achieved at some point only, it was not consistently achieved in any patient, male or female. It has been suggested that adequate compression of the adult human chest requires a consistent 20% reduction in the anterior—posterior (AP) dimension of the patient’s chest during the compression phase.2 A recent study of radiological assessment of the adult human chest in 100 patients (66 males and 34 females) between the ages of 55 t h o
Interaction of Cryptococcus neoformans Rim101 and protein kinase A regulates capsule.

Cryptococcus neoformans is a prevalent human fungal pathogen that must survive within various tissues in order to establish a human infection. We have identified the C. neoformans Rim101 transcription factor, a highly conserved pH-response regulator in many fungal species. The rim101Δ mutant strain displays growth defects similar to other fungal species in the presence of alkaline pH, increased salt concentrations, and iron limitation. However, the rim101Δ strain is also characterized by a striking defect in capsule, an important virulence-associated phenotype. This capsular defect is likely due to alterations in polysaccharide attachment to the cell surface, not in polysaccharide biosynthesis. In contrast to many other C. neoformans capsule-defective strains, the rim101Δ mutant is hypervirulent in animal models of cryptococcosis. Whereas Rim101 activation in other fungal species occurs through the conserved Rim pathway, we demonstrate that C. neoformans Rim101 is also activated by the cAMP/PKA pathway. We report here that C. neoformans uses PKA and the Rim pathway to regulate the localization, activation, and processing of the Rim101 transcription factor. We also demonstrate specific host-relevant activating conditions for Rim101 cleavage, showing that C. neoformans has co-opted conserved signaling pathways to respond to the specific niche within the infected host. These results establish a novel mechanism for Rim101 activation and the integration of two conserved signaling cascades in response to host environmental conditions.
Kinetic Solvent Effects on Hydrogen Atom Abstraction from Phenol, Aniline, and Diphenylamine. The Importance of Hydrogen Bonding on Their Radical-Trapping (Antioxidant) Activities1

Absolute rate constants for hydrogen atom abstraction by alkoxyl radicals from phenol, aniline, and diphenylamine have been measured in 14 solvents at room temperature by laser flash photolysis. For all three substrates the rate constants decline as the solvent becomes a stronger hydrogen-bond acceptor (HBA). Thus, on changing the solvent from CCl4 to CH3CN the rate constants decline by factors of 148, 7.1, and 4.7 for PhOH, PhNH2, and Ph2NH, respectively. The kinetic solvent effect for phenol correlates rather well with Abraham's scale of relative HBA activities of the solvents we have employed as measured as solutes in CCl4 solvent. This correlation is not quite so good with aniline and it is almost nonexistent for diphenylamine. With all three substrates the “deviant” solvents produce higher rate constants than would be expected from the value of the solvent and, generally, these are the solvents in which steric hindrance to hydrogen-bond formation would appear probable. The kinetic data for the three ...
Compressive imaging via approximate message passing with wavelet-based image denoising

We consider compressive imaging problems, where images are reconstructed from a reduced number of linear measurements. Our objective is to improve over current state of the art compressive imaging algorithms in terms of both reconstruction error and runtime. To pursue our objective, we propose a compressive imaging algorithm that employs the approximate message passing (AMP) framework. AMP is an iterative signal reconstruction algorithm that performs scalar denoising of noisy signals. In this work, we apply an adaptive Wiener filter, which is a wavelet-based image denoiser, within AMP. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm improves over the state of the art in both reconstruction error and runtime.
Are Household Factors Putting Immigrant Hispanic Children at Risk of Becoming Overweight: A Community-Based Study in Eastern North Carolina

North Carolina has one of the fastest growing populations of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. The prevalence of overweight among Hispanic children in the state has increased to 17%. Therefore, the objectives of this descriptive, exploratory study were to identify potential risk factors for childhood overweight at the household level among 128 immigrant Hispanic families with school-aged children living in Eastern North Carolina. Data concerning parental beliefs about overweight children, family participation in physical activity, and household availability of higher-calorie foods were collected using a structured, close-ended interview form. Forty-seven percent of parents believed that overweight children are unhealthy, 11% that if a child is overweight, it is God's will, and over 90% believed that overweight children should be taken to a nutritionist or physician for help with weight reduction. The activities undertaken by families four to seven times per week were watching television (70%), listening to music (69%), and reading (61%). Cookies, cold cereals, crackers, whole milk, ice cream, cheese, hotdogs, peanut butter, soft drinks, fruit drinks, chips, and pudding were regularly available in a majority of households. Regression analysis indicated that household income, parental education, and rural versus urban residence had no significant impact on frequency of family participation in physical activity or household availability of higher-calorie foods. Findings suggest a need for bilingual community health professionals to develop culturally sensitive wellness programs targeted at immigrant Hispanic families that promote greater engagement in moderate-intensity physical activity and more frequent consumption of lower-calorie foods.
New 111In labeling of IgG: 111In-oxine mediated chelation

Current methods of 111In chelate conjugation labeling of antibodies expose the protein to pH 5–6 during 111In chelation. These conditions could be detrimental if the antibody is acid labile. We have successfully labeled human IgG via the cyclic anhydride of DPTA and 111In-oxyquinoline(oxine). Chelation was achieved at pH 6.9–8.4 and was complete within 1 min at room temperature. The chelation was sensitive to trace metal contamination on labware and in some reagents (including commercial 111In-oxine).